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phoenixyfriend · 9 months ago

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How to Call Your Reps About Gaza

I make a lot of posts telling you to call your reps! Anyway, here's the overall shape of how to argue to them.

Disclaimer: I am not in politics. I do not have experience as a staffer. I am just someone who cares a lot about where things are going, and wants to help. Also, this is specific to the US, because that's where I'm based. Hopefully, people with expertise can add more suggestions on.

Find your elected officials.

My Ko-fi: this took me two days to write up, so uh. If you've got a few dollars, send them my way so I can keep doing this sort of thing, and maybe move out of my parents' house sooner.

General tips:

Be polite, or at least civil. Do not swear or shout at whoever answers the phone. This will quite possibly get your number blocked. Fifty civil calls over the course of several months will do more than one where you shout. You can be frosty, you can say you are disappointed, you can say you find the actions of your reps to be reprehensible or morally bankrupt, sure. But keep calm and aim criticism at the rep, not the staffer.

Keep it short. The staffers who answer call centers are busy. They usually start trying to hurry me off after about two minutes. I've yet to manage a call longer than four or five minutes. Pick one or two topics for the day, and focus on those. Cycle through them every time you call. Stick to just one from day to day if it's a large, ongoing issue like Gaza.

Plan for voicemail. I get voicemail more often than not. My House rep usually has a staffer free, but the Senators are almost always voicemail. This will give you a minute and a half max. Be ready to get your point squeezed into that.

Only call your representatives. The important, powerful word here is "constituent." You will be ignored or even counted against if you are from a different district or state. The first thing you start with is your name and address. A staffer will ask for the information they need. On voicemail, leave your full name, your city and state, and zip code before you go into your message. Do not lie, either. They look these things up in the system when you call. I'm not sure how--I think maybe they have access to a database of registered voters--but every time I call, they ask for my last name and address and at some point say, 'oh, yep, I've got you right here,' which indicates a database of some sort.

Research at least a little bit about their opinions. If they already agree with you, then it's much easier to leave a quick "I support you and want you to know that" to combat anyone who's arguing from the other side. If they don't, then you're best off finding out what specific issue they have so you can know the best kind of comment to leave.

Look up specific bills or arguments. I get daily emails from GovTrack about bills that are on this week's docket or have been voted on in the past day. IDK about anyone else, but being able to say that I disagree specifically with HR 815 or something makes me feel powerful, and possibly like I will be taken more seriously. Sometimes you can start with articles like this one, which include links to specific bills on the official congress website.

Email after if you can. Reportedly less effective, and takes longer, but you are more likely to get a written (canned) response, and it reinforces whatever you called about.

Basic structure of a call, at least as I've been doing it:

"Hi, my name is ____ ____, and I am a constituent from [city, state], [zip]. I am calling to express my opinion on [topic]. I am concerned about [short argument with a clear impact on the topic]. I ask that you support [measure or fellow congress member]/vote [yay/nay on specific legislature]. Thank you for your time, and I hope you keep my opinion in mind."

For this post, the topic can be stated as the war in Gaza, military funding for Israel, or unrest in the Middle East, depending on which you think your elected official will respond to best. That said, the structure should work for whatever your call is about.

Arguments to use against your elected official... or your on-the-fence cousin:

I'll be honest, some of these are not going to do much against your representative. They know the arguments, and have been going over them with each other for months. You just need to have one locked and loaded that they consider relevant instead of a nonstarter, in order to back up your opinion as 'founded' instead of 'nonsense, can be swayed with a good marketing campaign.'

I'll include explanations if I don't think something is self-evident (or needs more evidence to tell your cousin), but in most of them I'll provide some suggested verbiage that you can tweak as needed, and for a few of them, that's really enough.

THESE ARE FOR THE TOPIC OF CONCERN, ONLY. You still need to end each one with "I ask that the [official] votes to [action]" at the end. Give them something actionable (example from Feb. 13th). My go-tos right now:

Both chambers: Reinstate funding for UNRWA

Both chambers: Place mandatory restrictions on any aid to Israel, with contractual threats to cut funding if Netanyahu and his government continue to disregard civilian life

Senate: Put support behind Bernie Sanders and his motion to restrict funding to Israel until a humanitarian review of the IDF’s actions in Gaza has been completed (S.R. 504) (Tabled by the Senate on 1/16, but it is being brought back in as conditions continue to escalate)

House: Put support behind Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s petition for the US government to recognize the IDF’s actions in Gaza as ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and put a stop to it.

House: Put support behind H.R. 786, introduced by Rep. Cori Bush, calling for an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.

What Not to Say

"There is no threat to Israel." I've talked about this elsewhere, but the short version is that this will be basically laughed out as you not knowing what you're talking about.

Anything generically antisemitic. (I mean, it might work on some of the white supremacists, but do you really want to encourage that thinking? No, so don't do it.)

Facts that you "heard somewhere" but cannot find a reliable source for. If it's being reported by the New York Times, NPR, or the BBC, it's probably trustworthy by government standards. If it's not a super common statistic, cite the journal you got it from by name. Remember, you aren't arguing to tumblr mutuals. You are arguing to your elected official or your 'I don't really pay attention' cousin. When it comes to this, big name news sources are better.

Unrealistic demands for complete isolationism, permanently abandoning Israel to its own devices, supporting Hamas, etc. Again, you will not be taken seriously. Pick an argument they might actually listen to, and use it to press them towards a possible solution. You want them to believe that if they adjust their position, they will be doing the will of most of their constituents, and thus more likely to get reelected.

The Ethics Argument

Third-party reporting has stated that that nearly 29,000 Gazans are dead since Oct. 7th, as of 2/18/24. The vast majority of those are civilians, and over half are children. Palestinians in Gaza are facing an acute hunger crisis threatening to become a full-blown famine.

The International Court of Justice has found that there is credible reason to believe that the state of Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza.

This does not mean that every single Israeli is complicit. It does mean that the government, particularly Netanyahu and his associates, has been reprimanded by a large, diverse coalition of countries, and has consistently refused to listen to that court since.

This argument will possibly work on your cousin. Less likely to work on your elected official. They already know the numbers. I just wanted to get it out of the way first.

The Re-Election Argument: Michigan vs New York

Meanwhile, this is possibly the most effective. Again, this is not an argument of ethics. This is an argument of "how can I make my elected official do what I want." We do not use only the purest moral argument. We use what works.

What to say to your elected official: Michigan, as a swing state, was won by democrats on the power of the Arab-American vote in the 2020 election. We (either party) are at risk of losing Michigan due to the current Congressional approach to the Gaza conflict, as that demographic is now polling as likely to abstain from voting entirely. The risk of losing several congressional districts due to the Jewish vote is a real one, but the risk of losing the the executive branch is greater, especially after what we saw with Suozzi. Supporting Palestine might lose us parts of New York, but supporting Israel will lose us Michigan.

Explanation: Something that has been taking up a lot of time and space in the election coverage is the situation in Michigan, and more recently, there has been attention paid to the special election of New York's third district, AKA the "who gets to replace disgraced George Santos" competition.

Michigan is traditionally a swing state. While 2.1% doesn't sound like a lot, that is some 211k-278k people (depending on your source), and while not all of them can vote... Michigan was won by about 154k. Arab-Americans are not the only relevant demographic, but they sure are an important one, and they are vocally opposed to the situation. Approval has dropped from 59% to 17%. From that same article:

As Axios notes, Biden won Michigan in 2020 by 154,000 votes, but there are at least 278,000 Arab Americans in Michigan. Biden took Arizona, a state with an Arab American population of 60,000, by only 10,500 votes. In Georgia, Biden prevailed with a margin of 11,800 voters, in a state that has an Arab American population of 57,000.

Democrats cannot afford to lose these states. Pressure your congresspeople about that, especially if you live in one of those states. I assume most Arab-Americans in said states are already calling every day; the rest of you can join in.

Meanwhile, most Jews (considered the most pro-Israel demographic by strategists) in America are concentrated in a very small number of electoral districts. Of the twenty most-Jewish, ten are in New York, which is why I put it up in the section header.

One of those districts was won by a Republican in 2022: George Santos, New York's third congressional district. Following his scandals and ousting, the seat was up for a special election, and the two candidates were Tom Suozzi, a democrat who held the seat previously (he decided to run for governor, and lost), and Mazi Pilip, a Nassau county legislator who was of Ethiopian Jewish background and had been in the IDF. She ran on a campaign that leaned strongly pro-Israel and anti-immigration, and when Suozzi won, she interrupted his victory speech to accuse him of supporting a genocide against Israel due to his rather centrist, rather milquetoast stance on the conflict during his election campaign.

Now, Suozzi's win probably had more to do with Pilip being anti-choice than her pro-Israel arguments, but he still won.

Democrats can better risk possibly losing a few seats in NY than definitely losing three swing states.

"But I don't want Dems to win their districts after what they've been--" Nope. Listen to me. Surveys indicate that Republicans are on average more pro-Israel, because Trump and Netanyahu are buddy-buddy, and we do not have a viable third option.

Also, again, this is about convincing Dems to be better. "If you do not vote to put restrictions on funding to Israel, I will not vote for you in November" is a lot more powerful than "I will not vote for you either way, because of what you've been doing, but you should do what I say anyway."

The Re-Election Argument: Risk of Escalation

So, that thing I said about Trump and Netanyahu?

Yeah, so, while Biden is giving Israel military aid while cautioning them to slow down and be careful, Trump is... complicated, but suffice to say he's much closer to Netanyahu on a personal level than Biden is. Biden's relation with Netanyahu is reportedly pretty frosty, while Trump's is based on relations through the Kushners.

Just from wikipedia:

Netanyahu made his closeness to Donald Trump, a personal friend since the 1980s, central to his political appeal in Israel from 2016.[21] During Trump's presidency, the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokered the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and various Arab states.

Trump's been more all-over-the-place recently, badmouthing Netanyahu for being what Trump perceives as a loser, which complicates understanding what his approach is. It's kind of incoherent right now.

Given Trump's general history of being pro-Israel, though, and the attempts by House Republicans to push through a bill of unconditional funding for Israel. It failed, but notable is that the more recent bill passed in part because it was paired with aid for Ukraine and Taiwan (something Dems are much more invested in having happen).

What to say to your elected official: If Trump is reelected due to his current appearance of being more critical of Netanyahu, there is evidence from his presidency to indicate that he will support Israel much less critically if elected. While he claims to want to settle the Middle East, it seems incredibly likely that he will worsen the situation for Palestinians, and ramp up retaliatory strikes to groups like the Houthis in a manner that will impact non-military parties, igniting tensions that are already tenuous.

The Disrespect/Wild Card Argument

This particular argument is best used against the Very Patriotic Politicians who are more concerned with the US's image and Being The Alpha Nation than with other things. Basically, this might work on Republicans.

This isn't really something I believe in, as a matter of foreign policy, buuuut it might work on your rep, so. Consider it!

What to say to your elected official: With Israel's recent actions in ignoring Biden, blocking US-sent aid like those flour trucks that got stopped at the Rafah border because they'd be distributed by UNWA, and generally Disrespecting The USA and Being Unpredictable is not only making the US look bad for being unable to wrangle a smaller country, but also making it so we are less able to wrangle other countries in the future, because Israel cannot be predicted and might set someone off.

The Europe and Reputation Argument

What to say to your elected official: The United States is losing credibility as a world power known for its military and ability to manage international disputes on behalf of the UN, because it is seemingly unable to influence Israel, and losing credibility as an upstanding moral state that is not doing foreign coups and banana republics anymore, as it appears to be tacitly supporting Israel's ICJ-labelled genocide, which is a really bad look with the other Western Powers.

I'm not entirely sure who this might work on, but there's gotta be at least a few politicians who are really concerned about America's image, more than about actually doing the right thing. Figure out if your politician is one of them.

If necessary, you can bring up how Trump is threatening to pull US support for NATO if Russia attacks someone.

The Middle East Stability Argument: Iran-backed Militias

What to say to your elected official: I'm concerned that the continued support of Israel, and thus the funding of their actions in Gaza, will increase the instability of Iran-backed militias, as we have already seen with the Houthis and Hezbollah. Entire Muslim-majority nations are showing increased displeasure not only with Israel, but with the US by extension. We cannot afford another war in the Middle East when we haven't yet pulled all our troops from the last one, not with the recent and recurring economic recessions. Any situation would also very likely be complicated or inflamed by the growing tensions among Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia regarding Red Sea access as well.

Use this on the ones that claim to be pro-military or pro-veteran. See what they said about HR 815 before the foreign military funding amendment was added.

The Middle East Stability Argument: Egypt

What to say to your elected official: Egypt's government has been unstable since the Arab Spring, and even now the military government is incredibly unpopular. With that existing instability, the addition of economic strain from the reduced usage of the Suez canal, the international disputes occurring because they're the main throughway for aid into Gaza, and the threat of a sudden influx of nearly one and a half million Palestinian refugees should Israel continue to push south... Egypt is looking at a possible near-collapse as we've seen in nearby nations suffering similar instabilities.

Explanation: It took several years for Egypt to really start recovering from the revolts in 2013, and it has applied for four IMF loans in recent years. The current government is unpopular to such a degree that they are looking to build an entire new capital from scratch in the middle of the desert so that they're less open to the risk of civilian uprisings; one of the primary causes for civilian dissatisfaction is economic issues.

Due to Houthi attacks at the Bab al-Mandab Strait, traffic through the Suez canal is down massively, and since the canal "represents almost 5% of the GNP and 10% of GDP and is one of Egypt’s most important sources of hard currency." (src) Various sources are reporting that trade through the canal is down 40-50%, which is putting more strain on the already unstable economic and political situation.

Finally, Egypt's population is about 110 million, but the governorate that shares a border with Israel and Gaza, North Sinai, has a population of barely 500,000. A push of one and a half million starving, injured people will, very suddenly, nearly quadruple the population of the governorate, and require extreme aid response from Egypt's government to keep alive and prevent a larger crisis in North Sinai and neighboring governorates.

The Middle East Stability Argument: Normalized Relations

What to say to your elected official: I am concerned that Israel's continued attack on Gaza is jeopardizing any chance of normalized relations with the Arab states in the future. American has put a lot of work into trying to get these various countries to normalize with Israel, and our funding of the current attacks on Gaza are sabotaging all that effort.

This one can be combined with the Iran-Backed Militias argument: Israel, in pursuit of revenge against Hamas, is setting itself up to be in more danger long-term, rather than less.

The International Trade Argument

What to say to your elected official: I am concerned about how the war in Gaza is impacting international trade and shipping costs. With the Suez Canal down to half its usual capacity and the Panama Canal raising costs and dropping capacity in response to the water restrictions, along with rising fuel costs in Europe and Asia, global trade is incredibly strained. We are being relegated to the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, and the Malacca strait for much of intercontinental trade, and the macroeconomic projections are looking very bad for America.

The Domestic Economics Argument

What to say to your elected official: Many of the plans for Israeli military funding cause damage to other parts of the budget. For instance, a recent plan put forward by the Republicans of the House suggested IRS cuts in order to move that money, a plan which would impact the US budget negatively in the long term; we need those 14 billion being spent domestically, not supporting an overreaction/possible genocide in Gaza.

Explanation: In general, pick something receiving budget cuts that your congressperson will care about. I care about IRS funding, and saw it mentioned as a target in an article, so that's what I've got in my suggested verbiage up there.

The fewer people that are working for the IRS, the more they focus on auditing poor people (simple, easy taxes) and the less they can effectively audit rich people (complicated, time-consuming taxes), which means rich people are more likely to get away with evading millions or even billions in taxation. So yeah, you want more funding in the IRS if you are poor. They are already auditing you. You want them to audit the big guys.

The Russia and China Argument

What to say to your elected official: I am worried that the current focus on funding Israel without restriction is causing us to lose sight of the international threat posed by Russia and China. Russia is actively invading Ukraine, which continues to put massive strain on the European economy with regards to oil prices, especially with the Suez situation, and China has been testing missiles near Taiwan, and thus testing US responsiveness to those threats, for months now. We cannot afford to support an internationally unpopular war if we want to remain ready for Russia and China.

This is less likely to work on Republicans, since Trump is friendly with Russia, but hey, give it a shot if they're one of the ones who aren't fully in his camp.

EDIT 2/22/24: I'm a bit unsure of this tactic, but I'm putting it out there with hopes that someone with more political experience can offer feedback:

"Congress, and the US government in general, has promised to sanction Russia for the alleged assassination of one man within a week of the suspicious death, after five months of refusing to enact even slight consequences on Israel for the deaths of nearly thirty thousand, half of which are children. This is ethically questionable at best, but for the interests of elected officials, it is a very bad look. The mismatch shows a massive bias by the American government in regards to Israel's ongoing mass murder, with over two million facing famine as a result of Israel's aid blocking, and America's reputation on the world stage, as well as individual politicians' reputations domestically with constituents, is plummeting."

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Finally, my ko-fi again. I spent a long time on this and I'd like to move out of my parents' house sooner rather than later. If you appreciate my time and effort, please feel free to donate a couple bucks.

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curly-my-beloved · 5 days ago

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It still doesn't mean that you're gonna fucking entertain a pre pubescent individual,partaking in insanely inappropriate shit. You should either just ignore their asks completely or tell them to not engage with you/and or content like yours.

so they continue interacting with the content in secret, great idea, dude.

let me tell you how teens work, hm? in most cases, especially traumatized teens, if being told not to do something, will do it anyway, just in secret. this often results in them lying about their age and getting involved with creeps.

anon here has felt safe enough to say "hey, i'm very young". and when they revealed that, i informed them that this is an adult dominated space. they are aware of everything going on here and agreed to handle themself.

i would much rather have the kid here, where i am aware of their age and they are aware of how my blog is, than potentially getting in danger.

hiding porn from kids has been a thing for decades now. it never worked and only caused issues between the children and the adults.

teenagers will seek out sexual content, as shocking as it might be for you. and i would much rather offer a safe environment for them and have the children explore the twisted shit safely. because this way they are more likely trust me in case anything happens.

i would rather be a trusted adult to them than risk them getting in danger elsewhere. you can disagree with the way i approach the issue, in which case you're free to leave. but i'm not changing my mind on this.

#ask #anon

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alyssa-the-witch · 2 months ago

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Misconceptions I've had about Hestia

Whenever working with a new deity, I've learned that the myth doesn't always match the (wo)man. But a lack of mythos adds a whole new layer that I encountered when working with Hestia for the first time. I realized that, because there's not much about her, the little information out there has a high likelihood of not being true. And the few myths about her are maybe 3 sentences? So I decided to share some things that I've learned for input. There's also some general advice, as Hestia is the first goddess I've fully worked with. Coming up one year now, yayyyy!

As always, agree to disagree and please don't start fights!

🔥☕🏡🐖------🔥☕🏡🐖------🔥☕🏡🐖------🔥☕🏡🐖

1~ Hestia is passive

Ha! Not really! Many people believe that because Hestia is a home goddess and stays on Mt. Olympus, she's passive and unassertive. But from what I've learned, that could be farther from the truth. Despite Poseidon and Apollo's advances, she stayed true to what she wanted. She picked her job, chose what she wanted to do, and she's stuck to it. That's part of why she took her vow to Zeus, so she would have no man to deter her from the life she chose. That, I think, is crucial to hear these days, especially with the rise of trad wives and feminism. She is the prime example that it should be your choice and not anyone else's. Yes, she is calm and peaceful compared to her siblings, but she's also powerful in her quiet nature. There's a power in that.

2~ To devote yourself to Hestia, you have to be completely modest and veil all the time.

This was a hard one for me going into it. I thought that to devote myself, I had to stay true to all her virtues. And I tried to dress how I thought she would want me to. However, I realized that I felt so unhappy and nothing like myself. I was already fairly modest by nature, but I still felt like I wasn't modest enough. I prayed that night, did a little meditation, and I realized something. I don't have to be exactly like her to worship her. I can just be myself. Hestia, as a hospitable and kind goddess, she will take you and love you as you come. Recently, I've gotten myself real veils, but for a while I've just used a red hair tie while doing housework. And again, it wasn't all the time, just while while cleaning or cooking. And that's okay, she won't hate you for it!

3~ She'll be mad if you don't do your house chores on time or if you mess up cooking

This has got to be my anxiety showing, because looking back, there's no way that she would be like this. Cooking and baking are imperfect arts. Things tend to go wrong. And when they do, you just have a second, pick yourself up by your bootstraps, and keep going. If you mess up, Hestia is there for you: she lets you take those moments and guides you to get up and keep going, keep persevering, and finish that casserole. When it comes to chores, those are a lot harder, especially for neurodivergent people (like myself). Sometimes it can feel like that hardest thing in the world. But Hestia knows that, and she doesn't mind. As long as it gets done. Even if the laundry load is so big it feels like a mountain, she'll help you climb it. She knows, and she's there for you.

4~ By family, she means blood family.

Also no. Family is a very different thing than it was in Greek times. Now, family is what you make it, not who you're related to, and if your family is a danger to you, you have every right to not call them family. Hestia, along with being protector of hearth and home, she is the protector of those without a hearth to go to, those who don't have a stable home. She knows that family isn't linear, and I believe she wants everyone to have a stable family, no matter what it looks like. What is a home but the bricks you make it out of?, what is a fireplace but the kindling you put in it?

🔥☕🏡🐖------🔥☕🏡🐖------🔥☕🏡🐖------🔥☕🏡🐖

So yeah, that's my top four. Feel free to reblog with anything that you've learned, either from Hestia or any other deity you work with and give your input on my thoughts! Blessed be, everyone!

#hestia #witchcraft #baby witch #hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #greek gods #greek mythology #hestia deity #hestia devotee

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incorrectmahabharatquotes · 19 days ago

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This is not as coherent as my usual posts and I'm sorry about that in advance. This is tangentially related to our last post about women in Mahabharat. I saw this post by @nushkiespeaks. I have a lot of thoughts about it but what matters the most in the context of our previous post is that I do not like the use of the phrase "her dharma saves her" in this scenario. I will explain.

TW: violence against women, sexual assault. Please proceed with caution.

(I want to clarify that this is not meant as a call out post or anything. These are just my thoughts about what some feminist analysis of the epic lack sometimes. You can feel free to agree or disagree with me but please be kind and respectful about it and not call people names or harass anyone.)

I love Draupadi as a character so I say the following with all the love in my heart for her:

People usually either praise Draupadi for being a perfect victim. Or denigrate her for not being one. To them, she's either the pure hearted goddess who believed in her personal god and fulfilled her dharma of being a perfect wife. Or she's the cunning woman who didn't perform her dharma properly and deserved what she got.

What gets left behind is that the fact no one should have to go through any of that regardless of whether you believe they performed their dharma correctly. What also gets left behind are: all the other women mentioned in the scene, if only in passing. The slaves.

If you're strictly talking about the BORI CE version of the story(as the post clearly is), while reading it, it's almost impossible to miss the repeated mentions of the normalised and legally sanctioned sexual abuse/harrassment and rape of slaves. (Side note: Yes, slavery was a thing back then. It's horrible. People just don't like to acknowledge the instances in the Mahabharat where slavery is mentioned because it's just not a good look for sacred books to be chill with and actively encouraging buying and selling of actual people like objects. Trust me, if you have a favourite character in the epic, they were probably involved in the practice of slavery somehow, even Krishna, I'm very sorry to tell you this.)

To me, it's odious to mention dharma whenever we talk about Draupadi's vastraharan because it leads the obvious conclusion that those other women mentioned in text suffer at the hands of their "masters", in part because maybe they weren't performing their dharma correctly.

Maybe that's not what people mean when they praise Draupadi for her dharmic perfection. But every time those people, I cannot help but think of those women. The ones that are forgotten.

The ones who were not allowed to save themselves.

I guess, I'm ultimately just trying to say that this post is just my humble request to people to not talk about topics such as sexual assault in terms of the moral character of the victim. The people may mean well, but it does unfortunately perpetuate the idea of a perfect victim.

-Mod S

#this was a ramble #sorry #mahabharata #draupadi #mahabharat #not an incorrect quote #I'm sorry for the uncharacteristically incoherent mess #i will be going back #to the more well spoken mod s soon #thank you for your patience #mod: s #tw: sa

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trans-luis-serra-navarro · 3 months ago

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okay i'm asking this because you're the friendliest ever, but I wanted to ask: what do you think the scene was like between Leon and Luis when Leon got off the elevator (after almost collapsing/passing out/whatever the hell was going on with him and Las Plagas) and from the point in which Leon was sitting there at the start of the next chapter squeezing is hand and saying he felt better???? Because it must have been a little while (both because of the seemingly time cut between chapters, but also later when Leon gives Ashley the suppressant and he clearly settles down to wait which implies it took Leon a while to respond and he is anticipating the same thing with Ashley) and surely they talked? Luis I'm-not-that-kind-of-doctor-but-wow-you-look-bad Serra and Leon I'll-rest-when-I'm-dead Kennedy must have talked, right???? I just wanna talk about themmmmmmmmm

Okokok I left this ask unanswered for SO LONG cuz the SECOND I started reading it I just KNEW I was gonna be lead down a rabbit hole that I wanted to do justice because like,,,, what WOULD they have talked about?!?!

Edit: this got a L O T longer than I intended I’m so sorry HDNEHENDJ so everything’s gonna be under the cut!!!! Give me the opportunity and I’ll talk about Luis for hours (also obligatory This Is All My Personal Opinion/Reading You Don’t Have To Agree If You Dont Wanna please don’t kill me HCHDNEDJ)

Like you said there seems to be a fair bit of time inbetween chapter breaks we just don’t see for the sake of pacing that REALLY fascinates me, ESPECIALLY because we’re at a pretty interesting point in Leon (and subsequently the player) and Luis’ relationship. It’s right after Luis has fluked us twice on call, and it’s right before the massive mine section you fight together in- it’s a pretty pivotal point in their relationship where Luis needs to up his game and prove to Leon that he CAN trust him. Yet he’s still gotta maintain some sort of mysterious and/or suave persona that I think throws a lot of people off when talking about how his and Leon’s relationship develop

Now of course this is all just MYYYYYY personal opinion/reading of his character cuz I am very very very invested in it BCNENEJD and you’re free to disagree!!! But I think that scene is a pretty perfect example of just how DESPERATE Luis is for companionship and trust. I think a lot of people are of the assumption that Luis only started ‘changing for the better’ AFTER he met Ashley and Leon- which personally I don’t think is the case!! We meet Luis after he’s clearly hit a moral rock-bottom. He’s been trapped under Los Illuminados’ reign for however long for whatever reason and has been COMPLETELY isolated from any human contact aside from his own coworkers for at the VERY LEAST five years. And in those five years, he’s watched the people who were most likely once individuals he grew up with become infected and loose all sense of humanity. RIGHT AFTER he escaped Umbrella too, most likely cuz he found out that all the hard work he poured into that company was being used for malicious reasons. One horrible thing on top of the other.

His life is a cycle of trying and failing over and over again- he watches his Grandfather pass away from something entirely out of his control as a young boy, and takes that trauma and grief and pours it into his research with Umbrella possibly in the hopes of preventing something like that to ever happen again- only for that to backfire. Whether it’s because he had no idea or because he purposefully let that anger consume him and let apathy fester and grow to the point where he just didn’t care, either way, he’s lost everything he loved once again. And when he returns to the only place he knows he can find solace in companionship, his childhood home, it all comes crumbling down on him too. Every attempt he’s made at righting his last wrongs, proving himself to the people he loves- it fails every single time. Obviously we don’t know WHY exactly Luis joined Los Illuminados, but if you were asking ME PERSONALLY based off of the beginning of Seperate Ways I think he didn’t have a choice but I DIGRESS!!!! Luis is at a point where he’s hit a rock-bottom he’s unsure he can come back from. Every attempt at doing good has been squashed, and no matter how hard he tries, the cycle just keeps on repeating. He’s desperate not just to escape Valdelobos, but to prove to SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, that he CAN do good. That he CAN right his wrongs. And I think the first place we physically SEE that need and desperation is in his relationship with Ada during Seperate Ways

(But I’m gonna save that for another post cuz this one’s already getting too long and rambly BCNEJSNJX but the tl;dr is that Ada and Luis are two sides of the same coin. Ada is in a similar situation as Luis where her hands are tied and she has no other option BUT to do what she’s told, despite not wanting to, and I think Luis can tell that. He trusts her and puts so much faith in her cuz he KNOWS that when the time comes, she’ll do the right thing)

But getting back on track- at the point where we first meet Luis he’s hit a rock-bottom. All attempts to help people, to prove that he can do good things- ie joining Umbrella under the guise of medical research, creating the Plagas removal machine etc- have been squashed. Every. Single. Time. He’s living a cycle of trying to do good, trying to live up to the people he’s lost and is desperate to prove that to ANYONE. The guilt of his actions is consuming and in my humble opinion it’s genuinely so admirable that he STILL KEPT GOING despite it all!!!! but anyways!!!!!!! When Leon and Ashley roll into his life, two people who are completely innocent in everything happening around him, it’s the perfect chance for Luis to genuinely help somebody and prove that he can do good. They don’t know about his past! They don’t know about all the blood on his hands!!! He can FINALLY prove to somebody that he’s a good person!!!! They’re probably some of the first people he’s been able to have a proper conversation with aside from Ada in YEARS- he’s been beaten to the ground so many times that he’s willing to do ANYTHING to gain not just their trust, but their friendship and appreciation too.

I think a pretty subtly overlooked fact about Luis is that deep down, no matter how much bad he does, no matter how much he throws himself into his work, he craves companionship and human company. He keeps the photo of the Umbrella Dream Team and his lighter with him, the first place he runs to when things turn south is his childhood home- no matter how badly he tries to resist it, he craves human contact and a sense of familiarity over anything. He wants friends, people who see him as more than just his mistakes, as more than all the wrong he’s caused- he wants people to see him for who he is in the now, in the moment. Even when he feels as though he doesn’t deserve forgiveness or friendship. And yet Leon and Ashley and Ada give that to him before they even know his full story, before they even know what his motives are and why he cares so much. The last time Ashley met him, she put her faith in his work- the last time Ada saw him before his death, she equally put her faith into his work, too. And he gives that faith back tenfold, which I think is what makes his friendship with them all so compelling among other things.

But then there’s Leon. Leon, who by all means from Luis’ point of view, is the complete opposite of him. No matter how much life throws his way, no matter how much danger he’s in- Leon is seemingly incapable of doing the wrong thing. He’s EFFORTLESSLY a hero, his actions never backfire on him… something Luis craves so, so badly. He’s everything Luis wishes he could be, even when he has to uphold that uncaring suave persona, which going back to the original point of this ask (this got extremely rambly very quickly im so sorry GDNEHENCUDN) I think that cutscene where Luis gives Leon the medicine is where we can see that trust between characters fully cementing. Leon already KNOWS Luis worked with Umbrella, and I think at that point he’s already hazarded a guess at his involvement with Los Illuminados- by all means, he’s got zero reason to trust Luis. Yet he still does. He’s the person Luis has been craving for so long; somebody who can see straight past all his flaws and his past self and see Luis for LUIS (And once again, that blind trust is S O COMPELLING in my humble opinion) But obviously, Luis doesn’t know this at this point. He’s still trying to hesitantly form a friendship with Leon and prove to him that he’s a decent person whose deserving of love, even when he doesn’t feel that way about himself, and I think that’s probably what their conversation inbetween cutscenes would’ve been about.

Like you said, I think Luis probably would’ve been pretty concerned to say the least about the state Leon’s in HXNSHENDI we can see that he prioritises the safety of his friends (ie refusing to leave when Ada was showing symptoms, dropping his persona to comfort Ashley when she started coughing etc etc) so there definitely would’ve been some level of, ‘oh my god you dunce how tf did you get so bad here lemme did you up’, but also,,, I think Luis probably would’ve tried to make conversation with Leon. About literally anything- his love for Don Quixote, what he was getting up to while sexily waiting for Leon to get off the elevator etc etc- anything to strengthen that fragile yet ever growing bond between them. Again, just looking for companionship and somebody to see past the skeletons in his closet. And I’m SURE Leon probably would’ve done the most Leon thing ever and just respond with a bunch of ‘yeah’s or ‘ok’s WHENDHDNJXJX but whatever it was they talked about, if they talked at all, it clearly strengthened their bond. Or at the very least, if they didn’t say anything to each other, the pretty intimate act of administering medicine to another person probably would’ve been enough to more or less solidify Leon’s growing trust. I think also it would’ve given Luis an insight into how Leon works- ESPECIALLY with the way Leon’s insistent on prioritising Ashley immediately after. Then of course right after that cutscene is the first time we see Luis’ love for Don Quixote be said OUT LOUD but again I’ll save that for another post BCNSHENDJXNXN

Again I really really really really hope you don’t mind how LONG this turned out to be!!!!!!! I just LOVE talking about Luis’ character and his effect on the story and motivations etc and I love to ramble BCNEHENDJDJ there’s SO MANY OTHER fade to black cutscenes with Luis I’d love to dig my teeth into (cough cough THE HAND HOLD) so!!!!!!! Maybe someday soon idk!!!!!!!!!

#luisposting #ask #asks #luis serra #luis serra navarro #serennedy #luis sera #luis sera navarro #long post

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heyftinally · 7 months ago

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Swifties love the “you’re too dumb to understand her lyrics” excuse. like no. I completely understand, that is why I hate them. That is why I know they are awful. And if they were more difficult to decipher she’d lose her 30 year old teenage mean girl fan base that needs instant understanding and gratification to like something.

Honestly, anon, I can't disagree with you.

"Karma is a cat, purring in my lap because it loves me" is my favorite example of this because it shows a COMPLETE misunderstanding of the concept of Karma - which is a real belief, not just some social media pop culture buzzword Taylor co-opted for her songs. It's roughly like misrepresenting the concept of prayer.

But there are other lines, too. "What doesn't kill me makes me want you more" sounds like you're glamorizing an abusive relationship.

"Look what you made me do" is dodging responsibility for your own actions.

These are just the lines that get stuck in my head because the same song plays on the radio eight times in five hours (this is not an exaggeration - I have counted this while running errands).

I'm only a few years younger than Taylor - I should be her prime demographic (besides the fact that I'm gay and she's not an ally, and I disagree with her morally on just about everything). Yet I can't tell you the last time I related to, agreed with, or even enjoyed one of her songs. Because more often than not, they sound like a 13-17yo either having a pity party, being wildly out of touch with a situation, or just being catty.

There are ways to write good songs about sad things, about situations you might not fully understand or have experience with, and about things that make you want to give a big FU to the target. I have examples of all of these in my music library. They're better than anything Taylor Swift has written in a very, very long time. Possibly (probabbly) ever.

Anyway, feel free to DM me or drop another ask if you want more critical Taylor Swift conversation. I promise I won't publicize your url anywhere - I know Swifties can be downright feral (I've literally seen them defend grooming behavior from Taylor, so...yeah)

#ask #anon #anti taylor swift #taylor swift critical

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writeforfandoms · 2 months ago

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Island 7

Find the series masterlist

After the revelation of last time, things move forward. You're not entirely sure how you feel about all of this.

Warnings: Feelings of inadequacy, Survivor's typical insistence that the guys survive, swearing, canon typical violence, potential violence.

Word count: 1.3k

It took a couple days to get everything in order as you wanted. Soap and Gaz took care of inventory, and Gaz went over every item with you.

The list was better than you'd thought it would be, honestly.

Price was both your biggest asset and your biggest headache. He had to be involved in everything. Which wasn't a big problem, given there were only five of you, but he was annoying sometimes.

Gaz seemed to have a knack for knowing when you were reaching your limit of Price, because he swooped in more than once to drag you outside or elsewhere.

Whether it was to protect you or to protect Price, you didn't know. Frankly, you didn't care, either. You were just grateful he did it.

Price butted heads with you on the tames. More than once.

“I don't see why we need so many,” he said, hands on his hips, frowning at you.

You resisted the urge to scream and walk away. Somehow. “Like I told you before, they're the best form of transportation and defense,” you ground out.

“I understand that,” he snapped back, eyes narrowing, correctly assessing that you were losing your temper. “But why are you trying to get a dozen more?”

“Because nothing out there is safe,” you half-yelled, gesticulating wildly beyond the gates. “Because out there, most everything wants to hurt you or eat you, and it's only going to get worse as we travel inland towards the volcano. Because if I have to throw a tame between you and a carno, I will do it! Because if we lose Bessie it will be easier to throw supplies onto another tame than carry them ourselves! Because this is the best way I have to keep you idiots safe!”

“Okay, time to go for a walk.” Gaz looped his arm around your waist and physically pulled you away from Price, quickly putting himself between the two of you. “Take deep breaths for me, yeah? Nice big breaths.”

You realized your hands were shaking and balled them into fists, pulling in a deep albeit stuttering breath. And then another.

“Got the armor sorted,” he informed you easily. “Got a few different sizes in there, which is nice. Be able to make sure you're fully kitted. Gotta protect Soap's legs, too.”

You snorted softly, already feeling a bit better. “I don't need the armor,” you muttered stubbornly.

“Don't worry about Cap,” Gaz said, as if you hadn't spoken. “He'll come ‘round. He's just stubborn sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” You lifted one hand to wipe under your eyes, just in case. Your hand came back dry.

Gaz laughed softly. “Fair,” he allowed. “Tell you what. He should finish taming that dino he started with before.”

“He should,” you agreed with a little sigh. “I don't think he'll listen to me, though.”

“He will,” Gaz said, free hand patting your arm. “I'll mention to Ghost, too. And you and I can go tame more hyaenadons.”

“Still want one of your own?” You couldn't help but smile. Biscuit was with Gaz if she wasn't with you.

“If I can.” He smiled. “Besides, they're good defense, right?”

“Right.” You breathed out slowly. Gaz wasn't arguing. He didn't disagree. In fact, he was helping you.

It was getting harder to ignore your attraction to him. But you could push it down.

“If those two each get a tame, that will help,” you mused aloud. “Soap should have a couple, too. Not that these will be exclusive to each of us, but more is better.”

“Any suggestions?” Gaz kept you walking even around the back of the building. You almost wanted to protest that you were fine, that you didn't need the coddling.

Almost.

“I mean, bigger is better,” you said with a shrug. “Trikes are good for carrying things and for defense, so are stegos. We just want to make sure we don't have to wear ourselves out carrying too much. I have no idea how long it will take us to get to the volcano, or how easy this path will be to find.”

“Better to be prepared and have too much,” Gaz agreed.

“Exactly.” You smiled, pleased with his easy acceptance. “I would love to get another couple raptors, but that would be very dangerous.”

“You never did tell us how Tom got that one.”

As if he knew you were talking about him, Ripper growled from his pen, claws tapping at the wood in the sign that meant he wanted something.

“Ask me after dinner,” you decided, detouring to grab a chunk of meat. “It might be good information for the lot of you to have anyway.” You walked over and tossed the meat into Ripper's pen, Gaz still right beside you.

“Nervous?” He asked softly, one hand migrating to your back again to rub gently.

“A bit,” you admitted carefully. “I've traveled before, on this island, but…” You trailed off. This was different, and you knew it. This was the possibility of escape, or saving someone, of getting out.

But getting out to what?

You swallowed hard, and Gaz stopped, turning to fully face you, gaze searching your face. Without a word, he hugged you tight.

“I'm okay,” you whispered, even as your arms lifted slowly to hug him in return.

“Course,” he agreed, though he made no move to release you. “I've got you.”

You breathed in sharply, gaze blurring with sudden tears. It wasn't just Gaz. It wasn't just the first hug you'd had in a long time. It wasn't just the uncertainty of this escape.

It was also the absolute, undeniable longing to find out what life outside would be like with this man that hit you like a truck. You wanted to know how he took his coffee. If he was a morning person. How he dressed on a lazy day at home. What his perfect idea of a date night entailed. His favorite kind of flower.

Your throat constricted with the feeling that you'd never know. You'd never have a chance to find out.

You'd probably die here, but you'd make sure he got out, if it was the last thing you ever did.

You pulled back from him first, the instant your eyes were dry. You refused to look at him, to see the pity in his eyes, instead looking down at your boots.

“We'll need to gather more berries in the morning,” you told him brusquely. “Maybe take the ghillie and go try to tame some hyaenadons for the trip. Might be able to tame them in two days if we force the issue a bit.”

Gaz sighed softly, disappointed, though you weren't sure why. “Alright,” he agreed. “Sounds like a plan. Want me to take care of dinner tonight?”

“Sure,” you agreed after a moment. That would give you time to take care of a few other things. “Yell if you need anything.”

“You do the same.” Gaz grabbed your hand and squeezed once. You forced yourself to smile, returning the squeeze, before you stepped away.

You had other preparations to make. More planning to do. You wanted to make sure of the route before you started - as safe as you could manage without being unreasonable, sticking to water for as long as you could. Once the lot of you approached the volcano, there would be little or no fresh water.

Which meant carrying canteens and boiling fresh water daily to be sure there would be enough.

Maybe you'd get lucky and a drop would fall nearby with a few more canteens. More water was never a bad idea.

You stood in front of the map, arms crossed tightly across your chest, ignoring the rest of the world, until Gaz called everyone for dinner.

It didn't matter if you survived this. It mattered if they survived.

#island #kyle gaz garrick x you #kyle gaz garrick x reader #f!reader

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robotmechagirl · 3 days ago

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A text conversation with my parental figures:

Me: “Got a bread machine at a thrift store with my girlfriend 😌

Found myself a love for making bread

It brings me back to watchin' you bake bread and make pizza dough. I remember you would freeze the dough to have an easier time makin' meals later.

It's such a vibe and it makes me feel happy because I can express my care for other people with fresh baked bread now.”

Aunt: “That's great [DEADNAME]. It's really good to know you have some good memories”

Me:

-Image depicted is a drinking glass-

“"Oh look! Sand!"

It's what you sound like right now :/“

Aunt/Uncle:

“I don't get it”

Me:

“Maybe pictures don't show for you via text.

Sent an image of a glass, the type you would hold drinks in, such as water.

Calling me by "son" and my dead name is like calling this glass sand. :/“

Aunt/Uncle:

“[DEADNAME] you didn't die. You have always been [DEADNAME]. You can't make me believe in a fairytale. Something you made up in your brain.

If you told me I have to start calling you Andre and Start looking at you and treating you as such, because you are an 8 foot tall giant I couldn't do that either. I refuse to get down on the floor and look up to you like you are a giant. You are no more an 8 foot giant than you are a girl. I cannot see you that way. I cannot treat you that way. I don't know how far you are planning on going down this rabbit hole. But you better be damn sure you have done all the research. Once things get cut off there is no going back! I raised 6 boys and 1 girl.”

Me:

“The fairytale is thinking that I'm this image you've built for me based on your own misconceptions about the world. 😩

There's a butt load of medical research, literature, and history that you could read to understand the phenomena that is the existence and validity of transgender people. It would benefit you to learn it because ya clearly don't have an inkling about the subject given your piss poor analogies.

But I can't expect y'all to read it because y'all have told me ya can't even be bothered to read your own holy book. The hypocrisy at tellin' me to reread it is wild to me.

Y'all are so trapped by your ignorance ya can't even see I'm thriving over here and how much good it's done for my mental, emotional, and physical health.

I wanted very much to have a healthy relationship with my parental figures, to let y'all be part of my life, but y'all are proving to be toxic as fuck. Quite frankly I don't need it and am content to disconnect to leave ya to your own business. This grown ass woman has her own life to live ✌️🕊️”

Aunt/Uncle:

“We have read the Bible. And even your "research" isn't in the Bible. We will always love you [DEADNAME]. We just don't agree with you. You are the only one disconnecting from us because we don't agree.

And my analogy isn't any more piss poor than yours”

Me:

“"I know you are, but what am I?"

Is what you sound like

And nah, you don't get to be hateful and say that you love me. It doesn't matter your intentions, you're acting shitty. I'm disconnecting because you're acting shitty towards me and I have way too much self respect to accept this treatment.”

Aunt/Uncle:

“I am not being shitty to you. I am allowed to disagree with you. It is a free country. We do love you whether you believe it or not”

Me:

“You're not acting like it 😩

I'm okay with you believing differently. What I'm not okay with is the shitty behavior stemming from those beliefs and I reserve the right to disassociate from the toxicity.

I'm not gonna pretend to be someone or something I'm not just because you can't unpack your own biases.

If y'all want to still be a part of my life you're gonna have to meet me where I'm at with this. Otherwise, señora”

Aunt/Uncle:

“We will pray for you [DEADNAME]. We love you”

Me:

“Lies and pettiness

I don't need your prayers

Focus them on yourselves”

Aunt/Uncle:

“Good bye”

Me:

“Bye”

Below is the image from earlier:

#lgbtqiia+#lgbtqia #transgender #trans woman #lgbtq #trans #transfem #hrt #transphobes #dead name

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covid-safer-hotties · 1 month ago

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Also preserved on our archive

By Julie Luchetta and Troy Oppie

Residents in the Southwest Idaho Health District will no longer be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at District Health offices.

The District’s Board of Health voted 4-3 Tuesday to remove the COVID-19 vaccines from its facilities after receiving around 300 public comments urging them to do so. The board vote followed anti-vaccine presentations from multiple doctors widely accused of spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation, including Idaho pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole.

Other presenters joined by teleconference, including Dr. Peter McCullough, a Texas-based cardiologist who had his medical certifications threatened by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 2022, pediatrician Dr. Renata Moon, who has sued Washington State University over free speech when the school did not renew her contract after an appearance before a 2022 U.S. Senate panel questioning vaccines, and Dr. James Thorp, an OB/GYN who was featured in the conspiracy-laden and widely debunked documentary 'Died Suddenly.'

They were invited to participate by the only physician on the Southwest District board of health, Dr. John Tribble. The board initially heard a presentation from a district staff physician, Dr. Perry Jansen, who recommended keeping the vaccine available through the health district offices.

"We really serve as a safety net provider for people who can't get health care in any other way, largely because of finances," Jansen told the board. "We're able to offer free and discounted services for people who don't have access through private care."

COVID-19 vaccines are no longer free, but public health departments can purchase them at a discount. Health insurance often covers the cost of the shots, but anyone paying out-of-pocket would pay less at their local health district clinic.

Many public comments received by the board expressed outrage at local tax dollars supporting COVID-19 vaccine distribution, but Jansen reminded the board that people who want the shots pay for them, either through insurance coverage or in cash, and the health district is not subsidizing the costs in any way.

Board chair Kelly Aberasturi questioned the authority of the board to remove vaccines for everyone, saying many going to the District for COVID vaccines are referred by their doctor.

“So now, you're telling me that I have the right to override that doctor? Because I know more than he does?” Aberasturi said.

"It has to do with the right of the individual to make that decision on their own. Not for me to dictate to them what they will do. Sorry, but this pisses me off," he added.

Tribble disagreed, saying the COVID vaccines had not been proven to be safe.

“They show up at the door, trusting us, and we continue to break that trust by saying, tacitly or otherwise, that these things, there's no risk from these.”

The CDC recommends everyone above the age of six months receive a COVID vaccine and acknowledges the potential risks.

Board member Jennifer Riebe said she didn’t agree with a lot of the CDC’s recommendations but didn't think it was the board’s role to make this kind of decision.

“My concern with this is the process because if this board and six county commissioners and one physician is going to make determinations on every single vaccine and pharmaceutical that we administer, I'm not comfortable with that," she said. "It may be COVID now, maybe we'll go down the same road with the measles vaccine or the shingles vaccine coverage.”

“I don't know why we as a health agency, as a public health agency, would want to give that or make it available when they can go other places,” said board member Viki Purdy.

Dr. David Pate, the former CEO of St. Luke's Health System who also served on the Governor's Coronavirus Task Force told Idaho Matters the decision would only serve as a financial barrier to those who wanted to get the vaccine.

"We've got tons of data now, and the fact that there is this group of physicians who is still able to promote scientific nonsense and scare people, and have a public health board of all people, fall for it, and vote in favor of vaccine disinformation is disheartening," he said.

The District serves Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette and Washington counties. The organization had already received 50 doses of the vaccine at the time of the vote; they are still scheduled to go towards residents of a skilled nursing facility in Canyon County.

COVID vaccines are still available at other locations, like commercial pharmacies and healthcare clinics not affiliated with Southwest District Health.

#mask up #covid #pandemic #wear a mask #public health #covid 19 #wear a respirator #still coviding #coronavirus #sars cov 2

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oo-delallymrcrow · 3 months ago

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A Kiss to Change Your Mind?

Summary: You have feelings for Kremy Lecroux. It seems like you were the only one that does until something changes that.

A/N: this made me fall soo in love with this alligator!!! @amethyst-gemstone is just feeding me with prompts and it's making me go feral I swear!!!! This is a little angsty but I promise it ends happily!

You watched as Kremy Lecroux was talking up some waitress. Everyone decided to stop by a tavern for a quick drink before heading home and you were starting to regret saying yes.

As soon as everyone sat down, Kremy went up to order everyone's drinks. It seems like he easily got distracted with a cute waitress that was helping him. He let out a laugh and tapped his cane against the floor as he talked.

“Hey what's with that face (Y/N)?”

You quickly look at Gideon who's giving you a questioning look. You shake your head and shrug.

“I don't know what you're talking about. I wasn't making a face.”

“Really? You weren't?”

“Nope I was being totally normal,” you avoid his eyes as you look at the table.

“She's been that way since Kremy started talking to the waitress.”

You shoot Frost a glare as Gricko sits up to look where Kremy was at and makes an ‘oh’ face.

“Ah it's because she's got romantical feelings for Kremy huh?”

“I do not,” you sputter out as they all made a noise of disagreement.

“Yeah I totally don't believe that,” Gideon let out a laugh, “you've been making eyes at Kremy since we started traveling together.”

You opened your mouth to disagree before Frost chimed in.

“Hmm, yes I too have seen the way you look at each other and can tell that there is some chemistry there.”

“Oh yeah! Hootsie and I have been wondering if you two were a thing officially or not. Either way you two are cute together.”

“I don't-wait we have chemistry?”

“Oh yeah, you guys are a little sick with how cute you act together. I think we all thought you were dating secretly but just hid it badly.”

As your mind reeled with this information, Kremy came over with a bunch of drinks and set them down before straightening up to fix his bowtie before grabbing onto the lapels of his suit jacket.

“Here we are friends, I got our drinks!”

Everyone thanked him as the drinks were passed around. Gideon gave a look to you before clearing his throat.

“There's not a lot of room but how about (Y/N) scoots over and you can sit next to them.”

Your eyes widened as you choked on your drink before going into a coughing fit. Frost slapped your back as you claimed down and thanked him.

“That's quite alright Gid. I have some prior engagements.”

He turned his head back to the waitress before nodding his head to the group and walking away. Your cheeks burned from embarrassment as the guys looked from Kremy to you. You shrunk into your seat as Gricko popped up.

“So there aren't romantic feelings?”

“No,” you mumble out and swallow hard as you stare at the table.

You didn't see the look the guys sent each other as you glared a hole into the table before Gideon stood from his seat.

“How about we find a room for tonight and head to bed?”

Everyone agreed and let you take your time to follow alongside Gid, noticing how he blocked your vision to the bar. You glanced up to him as he nodded to you and you gave him a small smile. As everyone walked out, Frost caught up to the group.

“I told Kremy we were retiring for the night. I saw a lodging house up the road we can go to.”

Frost then led the way to a modest looking house. He was able to get a few rooms for the night and all headed to bed. As you headed ro your room Gricko walked behind when Hootsie bumped her head into your leg, making you kneel down to scratch her head.

“I'm sure it's nothing serious. Kremy just likes to pull people's chains. Hey, he's probably just flirting and talking to get free drinks.”

You gave Gricko a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes as you nodded.

“Yeah, maybe he is. Goodnight Gricko, goodnight Hootsie.”

You entered your room and sat on the bed, just staring at the wall before you felt your eyes well up with hot tears that started streaming down your face. You just got under the covers of your bed and cried into the pillow before falling asleep.

When you awoke the next morning you felt a little better but not by much. You pushed yourself out of the warm bed to look into the mirror they had on the dresser. Your eyes looked red and felt puffy but you just wiped at your face before leaving your room.

You bumped into Gideon as he lumbered by your door. He smiled but brought a hand to your face with a scowl at the state of you.

“Are you alright?”

“I'll be fine, Gideon.”

He brought you into a hug that you happily returned before a throat was cleared. You pulled away to see Kremy with his face scrunched in confusion as he watched you two.

“Is there something going on?”

You just stared back as Gideon started speaking.

“Nope. Nothing going on, just comforting a friend.”

Kremy looked at you as his face softened and he took a step forward, “what's wrong chérie?”

“Nothing man took care of it.”

Gideon took a step forward and slapped a hand on his back to turn him back around as he just started talking Kremys ear off. Kremy looked back at you with concern before Gideon pushed him around a corner and disappeared.

You let a breath you didn't know you were holding before following the direction they went off. You heard a hum and almost jumped at Frost walking beside you.

“Remind me to put a bell on you Frosty.”

He let out a small chuckle as he nodded his head.

“Apologies. I forget how quiet I can be sometimes.”

He looked to you, “I saw what happened just now. Are you going to be alright?”

You smile up at him as you nod, “I'm sure I'll be fine.”

He hummed with a squint before turning and leading you both out the door of the lodge. It looked like it rained last night as the roads were muddy and there was a chill in the air as you both quickly made your way to the tavern.

Gricko and Hootsie were already eating a nice looking breakfast as Gideon and Kremy sat across from them. You looked down to your feet and felt Frost's hand on your shoulder in reassurance. Once a minute passed you looked back up and headed to the table. As you approached you were headed to where you always sit, next to Kremy before Gideon called out.

“Hey sweetheart! How about you sit with me for a change.”

Kremy looked at Gid with confusion before looking back to you. You just nodded your head before changing directions and sitting next to Gideon.

“What happened? You always sit with me chérie.”

“Gideon was going to ask her something this morning, Kremy.”

Frost spoke as he sat next to Kremy and crossed his arms as someone came out and placed plates of food in front of the rest of the group. You blinked down at the pancakes and hashbrowns in front of you and slightly smiled.

“I made sure to get you extra hash browns like I know you like chérie.”

You glanced up at Kremy smiling at you before your heart lurched and you quickly looked back down. As you picked up your fork Gideon suddenly sat up straighter and looked at Frost. They looked like they were having a silent conversation before he turned to you with a grin.

“(Y/N) I was wondering if you would go with me to the market to pick up some food for the road.”

“Um sure,” you mumble out, “that sounds like a good idea Gid.”

“You couldn't ask her that from sitting next to me?”

Your eyes moved from Gideon to Kremy as he seemed to be glaring up at him. Gideon shrugged and started eating his breakfast.

“Well I could have but I prefer talking to someone when they're close to me.”

“She would literally be a person away from you, Gid!”

“Well maybe I just wanted her to sit next to me. That's not so wrong is it?”

“Well, no, but we always sit with each other. Everyone eats fast and leaves but we sit and have a nice conversation while enjoying our food. That's how it's always been!”

“Well maybe if you weren't flirting with the waitress so much she would be sitting next to you now wouldn't she?”

Kremy shut up and blinked up at Gideon with wide eyes before looking at you. You just stared back with a shocked expression. It was quiet before Hootsie let out a hoot and you shot up from your seat and rushed out the door.

“Gideon, you better explain what you just said right now.”

“She likes you man.” Gideon ran a hand through his hair before standing to follow you. “She's upset that you were flirting with that waitress last night.”

“And also us all saying that we thought you two was together from how close you are.”

Gricko chimed in as Frost nodded along. Kremy placed his head in his hands before letting out a growl. Gideon took a few steps before a chair screeched as Kremy rushed over to the door.

“Stay here Gid. I'll take care of this.”

You were huddled against a random building and had your face buried in your hands.

‘That's it. I'm going to just leave the group and be on my way. That would probably be better.’

Right as those thoughts entered your head, you heard the sound of running and panting as they slowed next to you.

You peeked up to see Kremy string down at you as he took in large breaths of air.

“I thought I lost you. What are you doing in the mud chérie? Come on.”

He reached out to help pull you up but you just stared at it as he sighed. He pulled it away as you buried your head into your hands again. You heard the sound of footsteps and thought he walked away before a warmth covered you and felt someone settle beside you.

You raised your head to see Kremy sitting beside you and placed his jacket over you to stop you from shivering, his cane and top hat beside him. He brought his legs up and placed his arms on his knees as he started wringing his hands together, nervously glancing around and to you.

“Chérie, I-” Kremy started, but you turned away, trying to hide your unshed tears at how this all turned out.

Kremy cleared his throat and took in a shaky breath, you could tell that he was nervous and clearly upset. You've never really seen him like this before. He was always well spoken and knew exactly what to do. A charming smile or a clever word would get him what he wanted but right now? In the silence of you both sitting here, he seemed to be at a loss.

“I didn't mean to hurt you chérie. You know that I'd never want to hurt you. I just started talking to her and she had something useful.”

You stayed silent, staring pointedly at the wall as if it was more interesting than anything he had to say. His usual tricks, the suave words and playful demeanor, weren’t working, and it seemed like that terrified him.

“Please, chérie. Talk to me. I promise it wasn't for anything but information.”

You glanced at him, your expression softening just a little, but you still didn't say anything.

“I'm sorry, truly. I messed up real bad, and I don't know how to make this right. But I can't stand this, you not talkin’ to me. It's like a knife in my chest (Y/N).”

“You could have just said that,” you softly whispered to him.

Hearing your voice made Kremy scramble onto his knees to cup your cheeks in his hands as he nodded.

“You're right. I should have said that. It wouldn't have broken your heart and caused the both of us so much pain. You not talking to me, even for a little bit, is torture. I was so careless and I shouldn't have. You mean the world to me (Y/N).”

You studied his face, seeing how panicked he is at the thought of losing you. He watched your face and glanced down to your lips before he rasped out.

“I know you're mad at me but will a kiss change your mind?”

A smile slowly crept to your face as he matched it. You placed a hand on his chest as you whispered.

“I could never be mad at you.”

He tenderly pulled you into a kiss, a small kiss. You broke apart and gazed into each other's eyes before you grabbed his shirt and pulled him back into another kiss. It was more passionate as Kremy all bit toppled onto of you as you both landed in rhe mud. But it seemed like neither of you cared as you felt him cradle your head.

You ran a hand up and placed it on the back of his head as his hands ran down your body, to try and pull you closer to him. A large noise escaped from him as he shifted and you pulled away with a gasp. He smiled sheepishly as you realized he was making that noise that alligators do to attract mates.

“Are you…?”

“Yes yes, let's not talk about that right now.”

You giggled as he stood up and helped you up with a shake of his head. As soon as you two were standing you pulled his face down to kiss him again. He smiled into it before he pulled away and brought a hand to your cheek to stroke his thumb against it.

“I’m really sorry for everything chérie.”

“It's alright,” you smiled as you leaned into his hand, “you made it up to me.”

He smiled back before he looked over the both of you.

“Well we can't go back to breakfast like this.”

He snapped his fingers and you both were cleaning again. He placed his top hat back on and grabbed his cane before placing his hand in yours to led you back to the tavern. You smiled and brought your other hand up to grab his arm before realizing you were wearing his jacket still. You went to take it off before he stopped you.

“Keep it on. You seem cold plus I like it on you. Purple suits you.”

“You think so?”

You laughed as he pulled close again as he hummed.

“I definitely think so.”

You both walked in and you avoided the smirk Gideon gave you two as you both sat in your seats again.

“Oh are you two romantic partners now?” Gricko asked as he helped Hootsie eat her breakfast.

“Yes, yes we are,” Kremy shot you a wink.

You smiled as the boys started talking again. Everything was back to normal with the exception of Kremy giving you a few heated glances now and again. You picked up your fork and happily ate your breakfast.

#kremy lecroux x reader #kremy lecroux #once upon a witchlight #legend of avantris

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david-talks-sw · 1 year ago

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So, why should I care about Lucas’s narrative? Like seriously why should I care? Not to sound dismissive but a genuine curiosity? Man sold it for one thing and the EU and the fans that made it showed Star Wars was may more then his narrative at some point.

If anything Star Wars moved beyond Lucas’s narrative even before he sold it. Even from a grande perspective his narrative stopped mattering in some sense the minute A New Hope arrived and became a hit.

Oh, you're free not to care about it.

But the fact remains:

When Lucasfilm creatives promote new content, they’ll use George as an authority figure to legitimize what they say.

Big chunks of the fandom do the same by using Lucas’ words to make authority arguments on why they believe the new films and the current direction of the franchise is good or bad.

Seeing as there seems to be a general consensus that Lucas’ word holds some power, I'd rather set the record straight on what he actually stated and intended.

You totally can just say “death of the author, what Lucas intended or what he said outside the movies doesn’t matter, what matters is what’s actually on screen” and I’d have nothing to counter that argument with because this is a subjective stance. We can debate its merits, but that’d result in a much larger discussion about the place of authorial intent in fiction.

But again, you can discard my posts and analyses by simply saying:

“I don’t care what Lucas stated, I’m a free-thinker and I can interpret any movie I watch however I want.”

At which point, the only answer I can give you is “cool, good for you”.

You wouldn’t be the only person I’ve met who takes this approach, either. I have friends who are older than me, saw the Original Trilogy films in theaters and felt Lucas’ dropped the ball as early as Episode VI: Return of the Jedi or the Special Editions, let alone the Prequel films. These friends don’t put Lucas on the same pedestal as everyone else seems to do, and flat out tell me:

“David, either the Jedi are the problem or the Prequels are bad, I don’t care what Lucas was going for, the result is crap and the only thing that makes it all have some degree of sense is that interpretation.”

And I mean… what do I say to that? What can you say to that? That’s a personal interpretation of a movie, it’s not an opinion that’s less valid than anyone else’s.

But when I’m taking this approach, I’m not saying “your read of the movie is inferior to that of George Lucas” (unless you confer some degree of power to his word, as the creator of the franchise).

All I’m saying is “Lucas’ message was X”.

You can agree with the message, you can disagree with the message, the message may be factually/morally/philosophically right or wrong, that’s all debatable.

I’m just pointing out that, when you look at all the data and you go by what George Lucas stated, it’s X, not Y, like most of the fandom and even authors of the franchise seems to keep stating.

Finally, on a personal note:

I don't like the fact that every time I see my childhood heroes on screen, nowadays, they're portrayed as protocol-worshipping stoic assholes.

I don't like that 90% of the fandom thinks that's how they're meant to be seen when the data demonstrates it's not.

I don't like that the reason my childhood heroes keep being portrayed in this uncharitable light is because the fans from the generation prior to mine - whom these characters weren't meant for - wanted to ensure that their childhood hero, Luke Skywalker, would be preserved as "the ultimate Jedi" and concluded that the only way to do so would be to reframe the Prequel Jedi as dogmatic and emotionless.

So now the OT fans have Luke, the Sequel fans have Rey, the TCW fans have Ahsoka... all unsullied protagonists.

Whereas pro-Jedi PT fans need to mentally ready themselves for when Lucasfilm decides to release the nth "Windu was more strict than a droid" case.

#QnA #jedi order #george lucas

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lola-andheruniverse · 4 months ago

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Anon who asked me about "sides" in the caryl fandom and which one I place myself on because you believe I "switched sides"/changed my opinions:

I'm not posting your ask because you named people and that's not something I do on my blog or generally agree with. The only instance you'll find me naming or tagging people is in fic recs posts, so that caryl authors who are on Tumblr can read them and be found by readers who'd like to reach out.

If you have a problem with the opinions, feelings and/or behaviors of a particular individual/blog, I ask you to 1) please reach out to them directly so you can express your disagreement or 2) use your block button, so you no longer see content you don't like. I believe that our fandom is big enough to hold every single caryler out there who wants to join in, regardless of their opinions, posts or feelings. People should feel free and safe to post whatever they want, either 'positive' or 'negative'. I have no problem with anyone in the fandom and I respect everyone's opinions, even when I disagree with some stuff I read.

Please, I ask you to not use my ask box to indirectly badmouth, bully or attack any caryler.

That said, the answer to your question is after the cut.

I'm not on either "side" and never have been. I'm just another enthusiastic fan that loves Carol and Daryl. Since joining the Tumblr fandom just before the pandemic (I was a lurker for many years), I've been using my own critical thinking skills and knowledge of AMC's shenanigans to form my own opinions.

I'm confident in TBOC because I believe there are concrete reasons that support how I'm feeling, from Melissa's return, to filming spoilers and rumors, to Tribeca and SDCC. You're free to agree or disagree with my interpretation of these facts, and to feel positive or negative about it.

I also continue to believe that AMC/Gimple hijacked the original caryl spinoff to highlight the richonne spinoff because it follows similar decisions made before to give Rick more screen time at the expense of all the other TWD characters. I believe Melissa had no choice but to opt out of the original spin-off and negotiate new terms to ensure that Carol's (and therefore Caryl's) story was respected and told with integrity. To me, that's why there were things to be sorted out, as she said, and why she lengthily discussed Carol with Zabel and co. even before scripts for the France spinoff were written. She was involved since the beginning, yes, but she only signed on when she got what she wanted. There is no greater supporter of Carol than Melissa and we have known this for years. I'm glad she's back in her own terms. I believe it was a pretty difficult time for her, as she expressed it by basically refusing to promote 11C or the series finale, and by not saying anything about the whole mess on SM, while other cast members/friends such as Laurie Holden and Khary Payton spoke out in her behalf.

I believe AMC tried to make money off just Daryl because he's their original character and it backfired in their faces. They also made a mistake using Norman to save face as he should have been protected from the SM backlash. Norman has never been a reliable narrator and I always take every thing he says with a grain of salt, but I don't think he's intentionally malicious. I appreciate how much he loves Daryl and is considerate of his fans, even when I don't approve of his behavior. I just wish he would keep his frustrating mouth shut. I believe Norman had lots of input in S1 and that he initially thought he could pull it off without Melissa. But there's no Daryl without Carol and no Carol without Daryl. It's crystal clear how much Norman's happy for having Melissa by his side, and how much they love each other and are excited for S2. I'm glad they are reunited, both for them and for us, but I believe everything worked out in the end because Melissa didn't give up on getting what she wanted. I believe she had lots of inputs in S2 and is satisfied and happy with the final result.

So, that's how I believe things have gone these last two years. Again, feel free to agree or disagree with my interpretation of facts. None of us will ever know exactly what happened, but each of us can decide what to believe based on our own judgment of the facts. That's what I do and will continue to do.

In the end, for me, the important thing is that Melissa and Norman are happy and that Carol and Daryl get their hard-earned happy ending. It's everything I ever wanted and I'm going to enjoy it. I hope you enjoy it too.

That's it. Caryl on!

#caryl #caryl positivity #caryl fandom #fandom life

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doberbutts · 10 months ago

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Hi, I recently came across a post of yours that said

"The only thing men have to lose from supporting feminism is misogyny. Feminism is not about tearing men down. It is about lifting women up."

I disagree with this assertion. Well, the first one at least, I absolutely agree with the second one.

I think men, materially speaking, do have things to lose from supporting feminism, aside from just misogyny.

Men would lose the ability to take advantage of women's labor. Either for free in the form of labor around the house, or for cheap by paying them less compared to men (this usually being achieved by relegating the majority of women in the workforce to positions that have been devalued as a result of being associated with womanhood, like teachers or nannies or housekeepers and so on).

I don't believe it's dangerous to acknowledge that oppressors dont have material reasons to cease their oppression, because after all if they they would've stopped a long time ago. Misogyny is pervasive not because of some pure ideological effort, but rather because it's a convenient excuse for the people in power to take advantage of a quite large subset of the world population (and as consequence spread as an ideology).

Of course I do think that quite a lot of men, once they understand this reality, would choose to reject the privilege being offered to them as they recognize accepting it would mean taking part in and upholding the system, but in doing so they're clearly not only giving up misogyny, but a tangible advantage in life that would make their lives easier (not to mention that, even if they did want to do this, the system is nonetheless pervasive and inescapable in its current form, so they would still benefit regardless of their intention. That's male privilege, after all)

I also do believe that men of all sorts suffer from living under the system. I reject the idea that all men equally benefit from it and that none ever feel its aftereffects. That being said, I do still think it's relevant to acknowledge that even men whose manhood is questioned by the system (either rejected or seen as a threat or any other way in which it doesn't fit the perfect idea of a wealthy abled cishet white man) and suffer as a result are rewarded for being men in the first place, even if they can't take full advantage of the benefits reserved for the ideal male archetype.

(I'm largely leaving my thoughts on how trans men fit in all this because I believe that to be a fairly complicated discussion)

I hope I don't come across as picking a fight or arguing in bad faith, and I'm open to hearing counterpoints if you feel differently from me (of course, if you even care to engage at all. Feel free to ignore this if that's not the case)

I mean I don't think you're picking a fight I just think you're dramatically misunderstanding what I'm saying, partially to the point where you're saying you disagree while repeating my logic back at me.

Men have nothing to lose from supporting feminism except misogyny. Taking advantage of women's labor is, in fact, misogyny.

Feminism is not about tearing men down but about lifting women up. Yes, by losing male privilege, one could I suppose argue that there are a lot of losses that come with that. To me, that is not a material loss, because the only thing we'd be removing is the entitlement to that privilege.

When I say feminism is not about tearing men down but about lifting women up, what I mean is this:

There is a fairly well documented pay gap, with men of most demographics being paid higher (even if marginally so) than women of equal demographic. Fixing the pay gap isn't lowering men's salaries. It's raising women's. What they have stays the same. What they lose is the ability to pay women less- the misogyny.

There is a fairly well documented disparity regarding women in the workplace vs men, especially in physical labor and in STEM. Fixing this issue does not remove jobs for men- it judges job candidates on their actual ability instead of sex or gender.

This is also what I mean when I say this contributes to a net positive for both sides: don't hire a shitty welder just because he's the only man applying. Hire any number of the experienced and proven welders that are women who also applied. Return to teaching welding in schools, get any kid interested in the trade the knowledge they need to start. This will not only improve the quality of the trade skills your specific employer has to offer, but it will also improve the quality of trade skills for the future generation that will replace you when you retire or die. Literally the only thing men have to lose in this situation is misogyny- the misogyny of keeping women out of the workforce, and the misogyny of keeping women from learning the trade in the first place. They get more qualified people working and all for the low low cost of not being a jerk to women.

Misogyny, like most oppression, is about control. It is not about making things better for just one demographic, because often time that very same demographic does suffer under that oppressive system while simultaneously benefitting from it. As said in my previous example, continuing to hire shitty welders just because they're dudes while deliberately passing up good welders just because they're women just makes things worse for everyone.

Not accepting college applicants just because they're women while taking substandard men who can't get in without daddy's money just makes things worse for everyone.

Continuously questioning the credentials of accomplished and professional women traching a class while nodding along in agreement to some jerk-off man's half-assed non-researched opinion on twitter just makes things worse for everyone.

Voting for Old White Man #736194 because his opponents with politics that align more closely with what the country wants- and needs- are women just makes things worse for everyone.

Ditch the misogyny. That's all. Level the playing field by actually bringing women up to the standard we've set for men. Feminism is about lifting women up.

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