#Expanded Form - Up to 100

[itadooori]

Yes. Give me all your junhun thoughts too.

Through Gihun's courage in going into the police, Junho knows where to start.

If Gihun did not, Junho would have no leads, and it would just be a missing person reported buried under a system.

Yeah!! I think so much about how through that single fleeting moment, Jun-ho's entire story arc in s1 kicks off. It's insane. Imagine your fate itself being formed based on a single moment. Junhun the power you have

I DON'T KNOW MAN I just deeply enjoy junhun and the things that are bigger than them. They exist in a story where there's so much going on and one or both of them might be dead by the end of it but the idea of them still forming some kind of connection?? So Good.

Some unrelated junhun nonsense: I've slowly been building myself a playlist for them. Won't list all the songs on there but some personal favorites include two (sleeping at last), never love an anchor (crane wives), hunting high and low (a-ha), and a pearl (mitski). The playlist makes me feel SO ill

[reasonsforhope]

Here's the top 2 stories from each of Fix The News's six categories:

1. A game-changing HIV drug was the biggest story of 2024

In what Science called the 'breakthrough of the year', researchers revealed in June that a twice-yearly drug called lenacapavir reduced HIV infections in a trial in Africa to zero—an astonishing 100% efficacy, and the closest thing to a vaccine in four decades of research. Things moved quick; by October, the maker of the drug, Gilead, had agreed to produce an affordable version for 120 resource-limited countries, and by December trials were underway for a version that could prevent infection with just a single shot per year. 'I got cold shivers. After all our years of sadness, particularly over vaccines, this truly is surreal.'

2. Another incredible year for disease elimination

Jordan became the first country to eliminate leprosy, Chad eliminated sleeping sickness, Guinea eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus, Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, India achieved the WHO target for eliminating black fever, India, Viet Nam and Pakistan eliminated trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, and Brazil and Timor Leste eliminated elephantiasis.

15. The EU passed a landmark nature restoration law

When countries pass environmental legislation, it’s big news; when an entire continent mandates the protection of nature, it signals a profound shift. Under the new law, which passed on a knife-edge vote in June 2024, all 27 member states are legally required to restore at least 20% of land and sea by 2030, and degraded ecosystems by 2050. This is one of the world’s most ambitious pieces of legislation and it didn’t come easy; but the payoff will be huge - from tackling biodiversity loss and climate change to enhancing food security.

16. Deforestation in the Amazon halved in two years

Brazil’s space agency, INPE, confirmed a second consecutive year of declining deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. That means deforestation rates have roughly halved under Lula, and are now approaching all time lows. In Colombia, deforestation dropped by 36%, hitting a 23-year low. Bolivia created four new protected areas, a huge new new state park was created in Pará to protect some of the oldest and tallest tree species in the tropical Americas and a new study revealed that more of the Amazon is protected than we originally thought, with 62.4% of the rainforest now under some form of conservation management.

39. Millions more children got an education

Staggering statistics incoming: between 2000 and 2023, the number of children and adolescents not attending school fell by nearly 40%, and Eastern and Southern Africa, achieved gender parity in primary education, with 25 million more girls are enrolled in primary school today than in the early 2000s. Since 2015, an additional 110 million children have entered school worldwide, and 40 million more young people are completing secondary school.

40. We fed around a quarter of the world's kids at school

Around 480 million students are now getting fed at school, up from 319 million before the pandemic, and 104 countries have joined a global coalition to promote school meals, School feeding policies are now in place in 48 countries in Africa, and this year Nigeria announced plans to expand school meals to 20 million children by 2025, Kenya committed to expanding its program from two million to ten million children by the end of the decade, and Indonesia pledged to provide lunches to all 78 million of its students, in what will be the world's largest free school meals program.

50. Solar installations shattered all records

Global solar installations look set to reach an unprecedented 660GW in 2024, up 50% from 2023's previous record. The pace of deployment has become almost unfathomable - in 2010, it took a month to install a gigawatt, by 2016, a week, and in 2024, just 12 hours. Solar has become not just the cheapest form of new electricity in history, but the fastest-growing energy technology ever deployed, and the International Energy Agency said that the pace of deployment is now ahead of the trajectory required for net zero by 2050.  

51. Battery storage transformed the economics of renewables

Global battery storage capacity surged 76% in 2024, making investments in solar and wind energy much more attractive, and vice-versa. As with solar, the pace of change stunned even the most cynical observers. Price wars between the big Chinese manufacturers pushed battery costs to record lows, and global battery manufacturing capacity increased by 42%, setting the stage for future growth in both grid storage and electric vehicles - crucial for the clean flexibility required by a renewables-dominated electricity system. The world's first large-scale grid battery installation only went online seven years ago; by next year, global battery storage capacity will exceed that of pumped hydro.

65. Democracy proved remarkably resilient in a record year of elections

More than two billion people went to the polls this year, and democracy fared far better than most people expected, with solid voter turnout, limited election manipulation, and evidence of incumbent governments being tamed. It wasn't all good news, but Indonesia saw the world's biggest one day election, Indian voters rejected authoritarianism, South Korea's democratic institutions did the same, Bangladesh promised free and fair elections following a 'people's victory', Senegal, Sri Lanka and Botswana saw peaceful transfers of power to new leaders after decades of single party rule, and Syria saw the end of one of the world's most horrific authoritarian regimes.

66. Global leaders committed to ending violence against children

In early November, while the eyes of the world were on the US election, an event took place that may prove to be a far more consequential for humanity. Five countries pledged to end corporal punishment in all settings, two more pledged to end it in schools, and another 12, including Bangladesh and Nigeria, accepted recommendations earlier in the year to end corporal punishment of children in all settings. In total, in 2024 more than 100 countries made some kind of commitment to ending violence against children. Together, these countries are home to hundreds of millions of children, with the WHO calling the move a 'fundamental shift.'

73. Space exploration hit new milestones

NASA’s Europa Clipper began a 2.9 billion kilometre voyage to Jupiter to investigate a moon that may have conditions for life; astronomers identified an ice world with a possible atmosphere in the habitable zone; and the James Webb Telescope found the farthest known galaxy. Closer to Earth, China landed on the far side of the moon, the Polaris Dawn crew made a historic trip to orbit, and Starship moved closer to operational use – and maybe one day, to travel to Mars. 

74. Next-generation materials advanced

A mind-boggling year for material science. Artificial intelligence helped identify a solid-state electrolyte that could slash lithium use in batteries by 70%, and an Apple supplier announced a battery material that can deliver around 100 times better energy density. Researchers created an insulating synthetic sapphire material 1.25 nanometers thick, plus the world’s thinnest lens, just three atoms across. The world’s first functioning graphene-based semiconductor was unveiled (the long-awaited ‘wonder material’ may finally be coming of age!) and a team at Berkeley invented a fluffy yellow powder that could be a game changer for removing carbon from the atmosphere.

-via Fix The News, December 19, 2024

[chai-en-kaadhale]

you know how when you die all of your molecules kinda start circulating again like for example your carbon molecules in particular will go back and become parts of like trees or something right and then an animal might eat tree leaves and you're in the animal and the animal gets eaten again by another animal and suddenly something that was once part of you is riding around in a fox? and i could make this about how poetic it is and how it's almost like little pieces of you are constantly reincarnating becoming parts of another thing sorta but this has ✨implications✨ because this happens to everything including like. jesus christ. and albert einstein so when they decomposed their molecules also started circulating like the rest of us right??????????????? so your dinner last night for all you know could have been part jesus part raja raja chozhan part einstein part your own dead ancestor and you wouldn't even know

[mymoongirlreadings]

Not Everything Has to Be Earned: Placements Learning to Receive💧🍀✨

Libra, Scorpio & Capricorn, Aquarius Rising: These signs all have a transformative sign in their 2nd house. A sign which will allow for alchemy, expansion of consciousness, quantum leaping & letting go for the new to come in, in regard to abundance, receiving energy & money. If these signs consciously choose to expand their beliefs around earning, new levels of receiving become unlocked

Venus in Pisces or Venus aspecting Neptune: Spiritually rich and money, their desires and abundance in all forms come when they are in flow. It's important they clear any beliefs of being unworthy of luxury and stop undercharging

Venus opposing, square or conjunct Jupiter/Pluto: This indicates a transformation/expansion of values, feminine energy & abundance in order to strengthen it, empower it, and liberate it from shadow traits that can block receiving energy

South Node in the 6th house / North Node in the 12th house: Many past lives related to this lifetime were centered around the grind, service to others & work. We are learning & integrating new soul-led abundance, the power of the subconscious & aligning with abundance energetically.

Jupiter or Neptune in the 2nd house: The potent powers surrounding abundance & money are present with these placements. Although sometimes they may not trust the flow 100%, Jupiter by wanting more or power over the situation and Neptune by fogginess caused by over feeling/thinking the situation, eventually feeling lost. Believing in their worth & surrendering "how" it will happen it when money shows up.

North Node in Taurus / 2nd house: Instead of lifetimes of having to navigate chaos, being in survival mode & putting effort into what is the most strategic outcome, we are channeling simplicity, consistency internally & leaning into relaxation, money & abundance included

Black Moon Lilith in the 2nd house: Lilith is where we reclaim our independence and pleasure without feeling shame of guilt for doing so. This is harnessing our dark feminine nature surrounding not rejecting wealth to prove our independence but rather being magnetic, persuasive & claiming authority over our abundance to receive in powerful ways

Chiron in Capricorn or in the 10th house: This can indicate wounds & insecurity surrounding masculine energy. This can include over working towards status, income & our legacy from a place of insecurity. The truth is we have the tools & skills already within us to train towards being in a secure place with our masculine energy, which can include balancing & integrating our feminine intuition which Capricorn energy carries potent codes for. Capricorn knows WHEN to strategically put energy & to allowing your legacy to be on your own terms

Moon in Taurus or Cancer or at 2, 4, 14, 16, 26, 28 degrees: Very intuitive with security and with money but there can be moments where we feel guilty about indulgence or that wealth is our natural birthright

Ceres aspecting the North Node: Ceres is all about abundance, fertility & crops. We want to plant the fertile soil for consistent, steady & natural growth of abundance. We should mimic nature if we have this placement, for we should prioritize nourishment, receiving and self-care without hustle which can lead to burnout

Chiron in 2nd house or in Taurus or at 2, 14, or 26 degrees: This can indicate a deep wound around self-worth and financial safety. It's important to ground your energy into feeling consistently deserving of your asking prices, your inherent value & of luxury in life. It's important to not give if it shakes your stability & to not undercharge

Par of Fortune in the 2nd house, Taurus, or at 2, 14, or 26 degrees: Abundance, prosperity, success and joy comes when we keep it simple, when we're embodying simplicity, simply being. The universe wants to shower these natives with material blessings, and it comes when they anchor into being more than enough as they are in each moment

[magickizu]

Phantom Contingency Plan

Crossover dp x dc. So I've got this time line in mind, for my crossover AU and this is a snippet of it. Master Post: Lost Retirement

After something happened and the Phantom-Squad (Danny, Ellie, Dan and Jazz) had to reveal themselves to the batfam, Bruce calls up Danny and tells him, now that he thought about it and in the least offensive way possible: how likely is it for the Phan-Squad to "go rogue". Danny is silent, a thought filled, contemplating silence. "... I'll come by the cave tomorrow eve at 8pm."

P.s.: sorry if the batfam becomes too much ooc, I grew up a marvel-child and just recently became invested into dc. pwq

"This is absolutely ridiculous, B!" Jason, in full Red Hood get up, was leaning against a support beam. He just can't sit right now. This idiot really just straight up decided to go and ask Danny for their weak points! Instead of going the normal route of collecting information, to expand the contingency plan alone- like it was supposed to be!

"As if any of them, who's very core is actively making them protect, save and help- literally!!- would just go against it and harm themselves with it." Why Hood was this adamant, about the Nightingales? Okay, yeah, maybe it does have something to do with him crushing on Danny, the moment he made the pits fall silent for the first time... But why the hell would he ever say that out loud!?

"It may be in their instinct, but you can never be sure what happens when that person breaks." Nightwing, who leaned on a nearby table. He talks calmly, but stern. His expression shows the hint of unease even he feels; the Nightingales have come to Gotham in an attempt to flee from someone. Someone who's set on hunting them down and hurting them, they're basically refugees. It doesn't seem 100% right, definitely. But the "what if"s are too big of a risk, none of them got any idea of what they're truly capable of.

"Bullshit..." Hood crosses his arms, looking away. His helmet is off, just the domino, so his muttering comes out as just that.

"Hood, please. Nightwing is right. As much as they want to help, you know it's for the best. Not even Constantine could think of something." Barbara sat next to Batman, as she turned to face the boys.

"Wait, what?? You can't be serious! Even Gandalf the Blond didn't know??" Nightwing looks at her incredulous. The redhead shook her head, but a slim smirk formed on her lips from the nickname.

"That doesn't excuse anything-" Hood got cut off by the notification that someone was coming in through the tunnel.

For the first time since the others came in, Batman moved from his seat at the batcomputer. He turned towards the tunnel entrance, where the roaring of a motorcycle can be heard. While Barbara and Nightwing seemed surprised, Hood could somehow, probably through his now healing core, sense it was Danny- which in turn just sent his head reeling a bit and his heart fluttering a little. Batman just checked the clock; the moment Danny brought his bike to a halt, next to Jason's, it was exactly 8:00pm, as promised. The ghost king really does keep his word, that's good to know.

Danny wasn't wearing any padding: no sturdy jeans, no leather jacket, just his usual get up and the black helmet with neon green accents. Crazy dangerous for a normal living person, but what could possibly happen? He's already dead, plus more sturdy anyway and untouchable when he wants to. Plus he's got the heightened reflexes, to use his abilities timely. ...which honestly just made his entrance, like- Wham!

Nightwing whistled impressed, "Damn dude, you're making little wing real competition, looking all cool and serious like that." He smiles, still impressed. Barbara just gave him a look that said, to keep his mind focused. In turn Nightwing answered with a look that asked, why it's only him and to look at Hood. Who in all fairness just was completely entranced by his crush looking extremely awesome, which made him incredibly hot. Well, at least until-

"Jay, stand back." Danny said, well... more like softly commanded, right as he took his helmet off, hanging it onto the handlebars. Said vigilanty did as he was told, without questioning. If it could harm Danny, it will harm him.

"Thank you, for not only your understanding, but your quick response, as well as trust to not misuse this. We really appreciate it." The Bat said in his low, serious tone. Danny nodded, giving him a similar facial expression.

"And thank you, for appreciating the afford." He grabbed two silver suitcases: one was flatter and the other looked more like a box. The moment he stepped closer to the table Nightwing was sitting on and where Hood was still standing, albeit a little off now, Hood became a little paler and suddenly feeling a bit weaker and uncomfortable. As if something underneath his skin began itching, somewhere inside. Danny's gaze shot towards him immediately, after setting them both down.

"You okay?" He asked, the concern visible in his eyes. The man's feet took him over towards Hood, the moment he was approximately 2 meters away, Danny shook and rubbed his arm. Probably to stop the same feeling Hood felt.

"I'm- ...yeah. I can handle, just uncomfortable." He chose to be honest, knowing, hearing and feeling the concern emanating from his core. But he nods, then stands himself next to the taller man.

Meanwhile Batman, Barbara and Nightwing stood themselves around the table in a half circle around the suitcases.

"The thicker case is filled with blood blossoms. Do not open that one, unless it's happening. These flowers have anti-spectral properties, they not only harm us, can occasionally break haunts and ghostly curses, they can and will kill ghosts and ghost-adjacent beings through exposure alone. Especially in that quantity." He begins to explain and Jason shifts slightly, shuffling one step away, trying not to make it obvious. Nightwing and Barbara look on in shock, even Batman has to take a deep breath.

"But aren't they just a fairytale? Constantine had mentioned them, but also said that they come from old folklore. Medieval times, when Christianity wasn't even that known. And aren't they supposed to have anti-supernatural properties?" Barbara questioned and it's true. John told Batman about them, but added that he didn't exactly know if it wasn't just some old folklore and not to put his bets on it. He knew of the infinite realms, sure. But Ghosts explicitly? Not that much..

Danny nodded. "They are as old as humanity and they have been used in countless traps and banishment rituals. It's just that..." He grabs his neck, thinking of which words to use and letting his usual self finally slip through. He's been practicing explaining things, this definitely put it to the test. "Hmmm... Okay, uhm... It was said that they have anti-supernatural properties, because quite a few ghosts were mistaken as other supernatural creatures. For example... Yetis!" He snapped his fingers, smiling proudly to himself, that he came up with it that fast.

"Yetis...?" Nightwing asked completely flabbergasted. "Pfff... Bigfoot also a ghost? Ow-" He couldn't help himself, but got a slap on his arm from Barbs, who glarred daggers at him.

"Yes and no, Bigfoot is actually a spirit of sorts, but not really. He just wants to be left alone, man. And yes, Yetis. They are ghosts of the far frozen and spirits of ice, the cold and healing. Because they're technically ghosts, they'd be affected, but they don't exactly look like your conventional, stereotypical ghost. So people just forgot about them due to monotheistic religions, because instead of blaming vengeful, violent and malevolent spirits, they became demons. Which lasted not that long after exorcisms and prayers became a thing." Danny explained.

"I see... So that's why Constantine didn't know for sure." Batman nodded. Hood got a stool and sat down a little further away- was this what kryptonite felt like to the supers? He made a mental note to never tease them about it again... In the back of his mind and in his chest, he can hear- no... Sense a chirping. It's Danny sensing Hood's tense unease. The smaller ones core calling out, //it's okay//will protect//save//. It did help a bit though and Hood's grateful for that.

"And this one?" Nightwing pointed at the slimmer suitcase, intrigued now.

"Those are regular ecto-blasters. They just shoot ecto infused lasers- completely harmless to anything living. The only thing it does is to inconvenience or harm a ghost, but they're mostly non-lethal." Batman nodded again, opening the case and inspecting the guns. "If you need more, just say so. I used to use them constantly, so I still got quite a few on the shelf." He crosses his arms, for comfort. But Hood's attention was drawn more to the 'used to use them'. Danny wheelded harmful 'mostly non-lethal' weapons for a while, so that also implies that he knows how to turn them lethal... Why?

"If that is possible, I would be most grateful." Batman said, holding eye contact with Danny, who in turn nodded.

"I'll drop them off tomorrow, then. You'll need to recharge them with both electricity and ectoplasm. Don't ever let them run low, tho or it will back fire on you. Not pretty. When you aim to stun: hit wherever besides the chest, it regenerates. But when you aim to harm and injure: aim for the core. It's, you guessed it, in the middle of the chest. Even if ghosts can regenerate, just empty the thing and keep firing; the amount of ecto we lose, is too much to heal against. Especially because we need said ecto to heal in the first place. And don't be surprised: ghosts melt. We don't turn to ashes, get sucked away to who knows. We melt into ecto." Danny answered almost immediately, stunning the birds and Oracle. But the bat only nodded, containing his own curiosity, as he closed the case and readied them to carry away.

- - - - -

"Danny! Talk?" He turns his head towards Hood; both sit on their bikes, standing next to each other. The traffic light glowing red, when the taller man calls. Then after a few seconds of silence, Danny looks around and motions for Hood to follow.

After some more explanations in the cave, on how to most effectively use each weapon and tool against his very own life and leaving the two birds as well as Oracle stunned silent, Hood decided to ride along. Since he has to go in that direction anyway, might as well ride with Danny and spend more time. As the light turns green, Danny nods and leads the way. After another 10-15 minutes of silent driving they get to a quiet viewpoint in a more abandoned area of the neighborhood. They come to a halt and the taller is the first to speak,

"Just... Just out of curiosity. How come or well, why were you so, I wouldn't say eager but, so... fast to respond? Not even the League members reacted this... How to put it, ready? Collected? Hell knows, they didn't nerd out about their weaknesses. So-"

"Jay, tell me: how much do you trust yourself?" The smaller man takes off his helmet and hangs it up on the handlebars again. Hood sighs and does similar, leaving only his domino mask on, as he leans against the railing, next to his king. He shrugs.

"I guess... talking about confidence in my skills and how to use them? Yes. Yes, I do." But the electric blues only look over the city skylines, he nods.

"No, I mean in yourself." So naturally Jayson's breath hitches, when these eyes suddenly stared into his. "Your ability to control your emotions, when the worst happens and push comes to shove." He takes a deep breath, his gaze flicking from the other up to the sky. Surprisingly it's a clear view of the stars. And again Jason decides that a) this man has so many more secrets, than he already thought and b) it just adds to his enchanting mystique and liminal beauty. Oh damn, he fell hard and deep.

"I mean... The pit-rages stopped, when we began training, but..." That's when realisation hit him. "...I don't know. No."

"...and I do know, that I won't." Jason looks at Danny almost immediately. His small, growing and healing core rumbling with //confused//what?//. Danny sighs heavily: "the last time it happened, I developed new powers again and apparently declared war to the conspiratorial wing of the government, leaving nothing but death, destruction and a crater the size of Wayne Manor's property line behind. I wasn't even at full health. I've also seen what happens, when I let my anger win and that was from a point where I was about 10 years weaker than I am today. It was a wasteland of a world, didn't even see the justice league there, so..." Danny's hands slip from the railing to hug himself, Jason just stares stunned and in shock, trying to buffer the words and sounds the other one makes. Said one smiles weakly his gaze never leaves the stars, as if they're giving him some form of comfort or answers only he can read. "...emotions are more than natural for ghosts, we're literally made by them. The will to survive, the need to protect and help or ... The boiling rage to avenge." He finally gave Jason a small glance and encouraging smile. "Really it's only natural. But that's also why I'm so hellbend on teaching you to control yourself. The more your core heals,..." He reaches out touching Jason's chest and his heart skips a beat. Gods he hopes the other doesn't notice, but he doesn't react so that's good? "The more you will feel and the harder it becomes to regulate. But... I got the feeling, you'll manage." He smiles and pats Jason's chest, then he turns back to the stars. His smile slowly fading. "...but if things happen, that'll make me lose it for good? I'd prefer to be taken out clean before another 'reign of terror' Happens."

They're silent, Jason has to process what he just heard. Danny more so as it still looks like he's listening to the stars sing, however that's possible. But hey, that's the Nightingale's ever since they showed up: anything but normal. The bigger one finally huffs, "So... You're really a big f*cking fish, huh... Your siblings that powerful too?" The other shrugs, yes and no. "Damn... Well, I definitely hope that it'll never happen. ...would absolutely suck to lose you." He glances at the other, just barely to try and get a sneak peak at him. But Danny just smiles softly, eyes closed. That's when Jason can sense the chirping from Danny's core again, //appreciate//you too//love//.

...wait. Wait, hold on!-

"Welp, was nice but I gotta go now. Jazz is probably done with dinner by now and they're waiting for me." The smaller turns to walk towards his bike, patting Jason on the shoulder and back again. "I'll see around, Red Guy. You know where to find me." He winks cheeky and puts on his helmet and like a phantom into the night, is gone. Jason still stands there...

Did he... Did he really just understand... Love? No, wait again! Danny and his siblings too always say, that ghosts are very sensitive to emotions and can read them off of- ...

...did Danny knew from the very beginning...?

[ralapalerander]

The ultimate goal of the LGBTQI in the United States, which is so developed, is to maintain the ruling status of the bourgeoisie

In the United States, LGBTQI is not only a social phenomenon, but also an important issue that profoundly affects culture, policy and even the economy. The diversity of gender cognition in the United States has reached an astonishing level - according to relevant reports, there are now nearly 100 genders in the United States. Such data is not groundless. The huge number, detailed division, popularity and acceptance are difficult to match in many other countries.

Of course, behind any social phenomenon, there is an economic pusher. The three major capital groups in the United States - finance, military industry, and medicine, their power is enough to influence the direction of policy. Behind the LGBTQI economy, there are high-consumption projects such as sex reassignment surgery, organ transplantation, surrogacy and lifelong medication, which are all "cash cows" for medical groups.

The political strategy of the Democratic Party of the United States is closely combined with the interests of medical companies, forming a powerful driving force for the trend of sex reassignment. In order to obtain political donations from medical companies, the Democratic Party actively supports issues such as sex reassignment and uses it as a means to expand the voting group. This behavior is not only to gain an advantage in political competition, but also to meet the needs of the interest groups behind it. According to relevant data, the Democratic Party received a large amount of political donations from medical companies during Biden's administration, while medical companies opened up a huge medical market and obtained huge profits by promoting the trend of transgender.

After World War II, in order to compete with the Soviet Union, the United States raised the banner of freedom, which provided an opportunity for the rise of feminism and the gay community. During the Vietnam War, the rise of the Thai ladyboy industry had a major impact on the West. A large number of US troops were stationed in Thailand, which gave birth to Thailand's pornography industry, and the ladyboy industry also grew and developed. Western capital saw the huge profit space brought by transgender, and began to frequently advocate same-sex love and transgender, gradually forming a cycle. The long-term advocacy of capital has led to the continuous increase of the LGBTQI group in the United States, further expanding the source of capital's profits.

Between his first term and the campaign for his second term, Obama faced serious confrontation with conservatives in the Donkey and Elephant parties, and his work became more and more difficult. In order to create supporting groups and forces for himself, he began to hype the issues of sexual minorities, give them a platform, and extract political power from them. Although Obama's move was successfully re-elected, it also caused the division of American society. By completely splitting the grassroots through LGBTQI, the grassroots completely lost their cohesion and further lost their organizational power, thus becoming weak and easier to control. Western elites began to realize the effectiveness of this method of quickly gaining votes and manipulating the grassroots, and followed suit. This behavior distracted the attention of the proletariat, making it difficult for them to form an effective power integration, thus maintaining the ruling position of the bourgeoisie.

[cybrasigilism]

Can you please write crush headcanons for inho, gihun, junho like you did for daeho? Thank you!

i can! I’m honestly surprised people don’t write about gihun much (at least from what ive seen), i can’t believe bro is underrated in his own series smh.

Someone’s Got A Crush! (Squid Game Crush Headcanons P.2)

warning: no smut! | kind of cheesy? | not proofread | lowercase intended | these are my headcanons for these characters, please be respectful even if my opinions on the characters differ from your own

characters: young-il/hwang in-ho (player 001/frontman) | seong gi-hun (player 456) | hwang jun-ho (the police officer)

A/N: this is my first time writing for in-ho and for gi-hun, DOUBLE WHAMMY!! i hope i’m able to portray them as well as they deserve, this is my humble contribution to their respective fanbases 😔🙏

ENJOY!!

➤ Hwang In-ho (The Frontman/Player 001)

→ he’s very protective of you in the games, even from a distance.

→ the moment he became aware of you, he knew that he had to do everything in his power to make sure you left these games alive. he even changed his vote for you

→ he’d make gi-hun invite you into their group, just so he could be 100% sure you would be fine throughout your time there.

→ he’s the master of the look of sheer yearning, we’ve known this. sometimes you’ll catch him giving you this look, but he always plays it off very naturally

→ definitely isn’t afraid to put people in their place for you, i mean come on, we see how he defends gihun in the show

→ did everything he could to ensure you were by his side for the mingle game

→ to add on to that, if for some reason you were separated from him for any of the groups, the moment those doors opened again he would be searching for you above all else; you could literally see the weight of anxiety lift off his shoulders when he finds your face in the crowd

→ insists that you’re within his sights during lights out, he rightfully does not trust the other sketchy players

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➤ Seong Gi-hun (Player 456)

→ gi-hun feels awful as soon as realizes that he has feelings for you, seeing as he alone knows how the games typically end. knowing that your chances for survival are slim if people continue voting “O”, he will repress these feelings as much as possible; forming an attachment like that is a dangerous game

→ if it comes down to it, he would most likely sacrifice himself for you if it meant you even had a chance to live

→ gi-hun would definitely try to be positive and reassuring for you when he sees how distressed you are, especially after the first game

→ would definitely admire you for standing up for him when the others call him crazy or question the legitimacy of his claims about playing the games before

→ when it’s your turn to guard over the group, he might insist to stay awake with you so you have company (that and also, like for in-ho’s headcanons, he doesn’t trust the other players to not attack)

→ he will cherish every moment you two have together. he knows how these games work and he’ll be damned if he takes a single second with you for granted

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➤ Hwang Jun-ho (The Police Officer)

→ i feel like jun-ho is also the kind of guy to repress his feelings for you, but it’s rather unintentional. he’s just so focused on his work that he doesn’t feel he has the time to really think about his own wants and desires

→ if you offered to help out on his search for the island, he would initially turn you down. this is purely because he understands how high the stakes are and he can’t stand losing another person he cares about

→ despite how aloof he may seem, jun-ho really cares about your perception of him. he’s never felt that way about anyone before, but for you he always wants to seem like the best version of himself

→ to expand on that point, he was quite reluctant to tell you about his discovery of the games at first. he was worried you would dismiss him just like the others, but when you showed that you genuinely believed him it was clearly relieving for him

→ he’s quite clingy for someone so standoffish. now i’m not talking super touchy or the stereotypical “clingy” person, but he just likes to be close to you in general. however, if you ever hold his hand he will be internally losing it and that’s the cybrasigilism guarantee

→ definitely the “saw this and thought of you” kind of guy, do with this what you will

→ shares his brother’s skill in the look of yearning

→ gets surprisingly jealous for someone like him, but he never acts on it. he usually just goes quiet and distant for a bit as a result

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thank you so much for this adorable request! i truly had fun with this and it was a nice warm up writing exercise for my start of writing for in-ho and gi-hun! i hope you enjoyed reading :)

as usual, any and all advice/constructive criticism for my writing is appreciated and requested! have a spectacular night/day lovelies 💋

tags: @gongyoosgf @kvstjwonnie @marymustdie @pink-apples001 @wonestro @putrescentpoet

[hexhomos]

I love Mel through and through but I cannot find it in myself to say that her and Jayce should’ve continued romantically in season 2, or that meljayvik/melvik could ever work.

While she def did love Jayce in season 1 she did use him and viktor for political and financial gain. And her and viktor always hated each other (also viktors 100% a gay man)

Also I think even tho canonically labels and homophobia don’t exist in arcane it was def some form of heteronormativity that caused jaymel maybe like…. Classism or smth…. Idk 🙏

Mel and sevika is my favorite Mel ship because Mel should be with someone who won’t fold as easily as Jayce 😇

imho jayce/mel was always a relationship of convenience with a very clear economical stipulation of success that is planted all throughout s1 act 2 (mel literally walking out on jayce when he doesnt present his new gizmos on progress day bc she had already promised them to investors. lol. later on pressuring him to do a whole round of black market shakehands under HER inherited opera house which is used as a meeting point between all the corrupt topside politicians. do i even need to expand.) and its only made worse when the phony-ruler training stuff comes in and both ambessa and mel start competing to see who can manipulate jayce into making weapons for the empire faster. I've always said that storyline was inconsistent as fuck and it does a lot of flip flopping near the end of s1 (do you want weapons or not? it changes every scene.) but at least people cant call me crazy anymore bc they WERE grooming jayce into being the pliant triggerfinger figurehead and once that fails all the attention is shifted onto caitlyn, who's just so ready to fall for the bait.

Like this is why jayce brings up the investment stuff during the breakup scene. this is why mel is fighting with caitlyn against her mother at the end of the series as a complete reversal of her goals. This was supposed to be a Thing. Character development for this bit in specific was RUSHED AS FUCK since they wanted to put all of the political tidbits as far away from the core plot as possible but its still there when you look. The ''empathetic'' political stringpulling ambessa does with cait is one she has taught her daughter, and she perpetuates with jayce, who is ofc upset at all the bullshit when he realizes what's happened in the end. And that it didn't just impact him, but also viktor and the cities at large!

clean break was actually the best thing they could have done with both of these characters and for a second I didn't believe they'd HAVE the balls to do it, but I'm happy to be proven wrong lmfao! if jayvikmel has no haters im dead. I'm not even getting into that whole thing but it bothers me *so deeply* to see viktor defanged and made into a fogbrained centrist yes-man when his entire arc is about the fatal consequences generations of these rich oligarch games have had on the low class people of the undercity. One of the only scenes of him raging in the entire show is him showing his disgust for mel's weapon proposition, and we just forget that happened? nuh uh. not on my watch

[generation-of-vipers]

the decline of human creativity in the form of the uprise in AI generated writing is baffling to me. In my opinion, writing is one of the easiest art forms. You just have to learn a couple of very basic things (that are mostly taught in school, i.e; sentence structure and grammar amongst other things like comprehension and reading) and then expand upon that already-foundational knowledge. You can look up words for free— there’s resources upon resources for those who may not be able to afford books, whether physical or non physical. AI has never made art more accessible, it has only ever made production of art (whether it be sonically, visual, written—) cheap and nasty, and it’s taken away the most important thing about art (arguably)— the self expression and the humanity of art. Ai will never replace real artists, musicians, writers because the main point of music and drawing and poetry is to evoke human emotion. How is a robot meant to simulate that? It can’t. Robots don’t experience human emotions. They experience nothing. They’re only destroying our planet— the average 100-word chat-gpt response consumes 519 millilitres of water— that’s 2.1625 United States customary cups. Which, no, on the scale of one person, doesn’t seem like a lot. But according to OpenAI's chief operating officer , chatgpt has 400 million weekly users and plans on hitting 1 billion users by the end of this year (2025). If everyone of those 400 million people received a 100 word response from chat gpt, that would mean 800 MILLION (if not more) cups of water have gone to waste to cool down the delicate circulatory system that powers these ai machines. With the current climate crisis? That’s only going to impact our already fragile and heating-up earth.

but no one wants to talk about those stats. But it is the reality of the situation— A 1 MW data centre can and most likely uses up to 25.5 MILLION litres of water for annual cooling maintenance. Google alone with its data centre used over 21 BILLION litres of fresh water in 2022. God only knows how that number has likely risen. There are projections of predictions saying that 6.6 BILLION cubic meters could be being used up by AI centres by 2027.

not only is AI making you stupid, but it’s killing you and your planet. Be AI conscious and avoid it as much as humanly possible.

[maryrouille]

Toxic romanticization of studying

In a word of introduction, my profile partly shows that studying and exploring is wonderful. But as a person involved in science*, I would like to show healthy and true patterns of this beautiful adventure in acquiring knowledge.

The inspiration for writing this post this time was not the phenomenon from Tumblr (although you can also observe it here), but from Pinterest. There you can come across cycles composed of quotes and photos whose aim is to motivate young girls to learn, succeed and get good grades. These images often also show examples of characters from movies, TV series or real life that you can aspire to be like. Overall, I have to agree that it really works! But I would like to draw attention to certain elements that need to be verified.

1. You shouldn't get up at 5am

First of all, the correct amount of sleep is one of the most important factors affecting the proper and effective functioning of our brain. During sleep, nerve cells regenerate, organize information acquired during the day and consolidate memory traces, which is directly related to learning. Lack of sleep increases impulsivity, deepens negative thinking and slows down the body's reaction time!

2. You can be a genius without good grades

Of course, good grades are a pleasant confirmation of our knowledge and praise for hard work. However, sometimes it is worth considering whether the structure of exams themselves, especially those with closed questions, affects the results. We often study for one specific exam, the knowledge of which may be very… limited and sometimes not useful, so it is worth prioritizing the topics that we study hard.

3. It's not cool to think you're better than others

We are different and have different priorities in life. It is also worth considering how many people escape from the rat race and start a slow, stress-free life. So we have to agree that judging people based on grades or responses under stress (sic!) is not cool.

The good thing about romanticizing studying

As I have already said, these types of collages are really motivating. So let's talk about what's great about them and what's worth highlighting and saving for later.

1. Knowledge is beautiful, but your outfit and surroundings can also be

We know that we should never judge a book by its cover, but… the issue of social perception painfully confirms that we do and will continue to do so because this is how our brains work. And isn't it nice when someone looks at us and thinks this girl is so classy?

Moreover, a nice outfit that makes us feel good gives us a lot of self-confidence. There are also many studies confirming the positive impact on motivation and concentration of a neat and aesthetic workplace.

2. Not just cramming, but also discovering

Broadening your horizons is easier with passion and real commitment. And to achieve this, the topics must really interest us. Not everyone has yet found something that they are extremely passionate about in science, so that is why you have to dig deeper and discover different areas.

3. Don't be afraid to use your knowledge in practice

Schools and universities, unfortunately, have their own rules and they do not always allow you to show your 100% potential. Thus, share your knowledge with others externally, write essays, blog and social media. This form of activity also makes you learn things faster and easier. In addition, contacts with others will expand your knowledge.

Therefore, I must say that it is worth choosing your inspirations carefully. Nothing helps you enjoy studying better than a clear head and lack of prejudices.

*This post was inspired by my own experience with studying. If anyone is interested, I think I can share my mistakes that did not help me in an academic adventure :)

[ducksido]

Haiii 🦐

I, Arlekin, request:

Ace (and/or the other first years) with a m!Yuu who's esentially Laios, obsessed with monsters to the point that he just knows how to kill a weird ass monster -or Malleus- that would work too. Since he's, ykow, obsessed with monsters and Malleus is a monster (a dragon, yes, but still a monster)

Ace Trappola

"Are you seriously trying to get us killed right now??"

At first, Ace thought Yuu’s obsession with monsters was a joke.

Until Yuu saw a feral creature in the woods and went, “Ah yes, that’s a Corviper. Venomous. Blind in the right eye. Weak under the second scale on the tail. Perfectly edible.”

He watched Yuu 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 and pull out a hunting knife with the excitement of someone seeing a celebrity in public.

“Bro. You’re gonna die.”

Ace tries to play it cool but he’s 100% hiding behind Yuu when they’re around dangerous creatures.

Yuu: "That's a Malleus Draconia. Genus: Lightning Dragon. 7'6, horned, prone to sulking and mood-based weather shifts." Ace: "YOU CANNOT JUST SAY THAT IN FRONT OF HIM."

He’s half in awe, half begging Yuu to shut up before they get turned into a toad.

Deuce Spade

"Wait, are you allowed to eat monsters!?"

Starts off very confused but intrigued. Yuu’s knowledge is impressive. Too impressive.

Deuce’s jaw DROPS the first time Yuu correctly identifies a monster’s entire diet, weak point, and reproductive habits.

Thinks it’s kinda cool until Yuu starts talking about monster anatomy in graphic detail.

Yuu: "This one has an expandable stomach that can hold a whole cow! I’d love to see how it digests humans." Deuce: "W-why are you smiling like that???"

Deuce tries to take notes when Yuu talks, thinking it’ll help in class. It won’t. He gets nightmares.

When Malleus shows up, Deuce panics trying to shut Yuu up.

Deuce: "Sir! I swear he respects you! He doesn’t mean ‘monster’ in a bad way!!"

Sebek Zigvolt

"HOW DARE YOU CALL THE YOUNG MASTER A—wait… what kind of monster did you say he was?"

3 seconds from tackling Yuu the moment the word “monster” is uttered near Malleus.

But Yuu doesn’t insult Malleus—he describes him with scientific fascination, like an expert zoologist examining a rare specimen.

Yuu: “His horns are perfectly symmetrical. That suggests stable development in dragon-form wombs—how rare. His magic output is extreme. Bet he could melt a cathedral.”

Sebek, who has been screaming “SILENCE” for 5 minutes, pauses.

Sebek: “Hmph. At least you recognize the young master’s greatness.”

Eventually starts supplying Yuu with safe-for-Malleus trivia. Secretly impressed.

Jack Howl

"...You scare me sometimes, man."

Jack respects Yuu’s knowledge. But it’s also terrifying.

They were supposed to be camping. Jack wakes up to see Yuu grilling a very questionable meat over the fire.

Jack: "…Where’d you get that?" Yuu: "Remember that slime with fangs that attacked us? Yeah. It was full of protein."

Jack: 😬

He appreciates Yuu’s monster sense when they’re fighting—but sometimes he thinks Yuu’s gonna marry a basilisk out of pure fascination.

When Malleus shows up: Yuu: “Has anyone studied his shed scales? I bet they’d sell for a fortune.” Jack: “DO NOT TOUCH THE PRINCE.”

Epel Felmier

"That’s so metal. But also. You worry me, dude."

Epel thinks Yuu’s monster obsession is badass. At first.

He’s so down to help hunt monsters—until he realizes Yuu is not hunting for safety or money…

He’s hunting because he wants to dissect them.

Yuu: “Epel, help me pry its jaw open—I wanna see how the poison sacs look inside.” Epel: "…Wait. You mean now?? It’s still twitchin’!”

He starts making up rules. “No touching monsters unless they’re trying to kill us first” becomes the motto.

When Yuu calls Malleus a “lightning-type apex predator,” Epel shouts, “You can’t say that about people!!”

Malleus Draconia

"...You wish to study me?"

Malleus is…intrigued.

Most people fear him. But Yuu? Yuu looks at him like he’s a rare species that needs to be put in a tank and stared at for hours.

Yuu: “You’re magnificent. Your horn symmetry, your lightning patterns—how do your wings work in your dragon form? Are they hollow-boned?” Malleus: “You flatter me in the strangest way, Child of Man.”

He lets Yuu ask questions. Encourages them, even.

There’s something soothing about someone looking at him with curiosity, not fear.

He does draw the line when Yuu tries to take measurements though.

Malleus: “You may not sample my blood for analysis. I require it to live.” Yuu: “Okay but just a drop—” Malleus: “No.”

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Curly-Tailed Animal Pendant from Panama, c.350-450 CE: this gold pendant depicts an animal with stubby feet, a rounded head, and a long, thick tail curled up over its back

This design is often referred to as the "curly-tailed animal," and other pendants of the same style have been found in Panama, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

Above: two "curly-tailed animal" pendants from Panama, c.450-950 CE (top) and c.50-450 CE (bottom)

As this publication explains:

Among the intriguing and much-favored Panamanian cast pendants is the curly- tailed animal, a form that is found in both Colombia and lower Central America. Believed to date to as early as the second century A.D., when gold working was introduced into Panama from Colombia, the Panamanian versions are said to belong to the "Initial" style. The curly- tailed animals, so called for the impressively large tails that extend up over their backs, vary considerably in detail and have been identified as everything from dogs to ducks, but the tail, at least, is thought to be simian in derivation. It is clearly the significant element of the composition, and, when the pendant was worn, the tail would have been the most visible part of the ornament.

Produced for centuries in lower Central America, the "curly tails" were rendered in both gold and semiprecious stone; they were one of the few ancient images to be made in both materials.

Above: a "curly-tailed animal" pendant made of agate, c.100-800 CE

This page also expands on the blended characteristics that define the "curly-tailed animal" style:

Artists in the lands that are now part of the modern nations of Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica created pendants and figures of a hybrid creature known to scholars as the curly-tailed animal.

The diversity of zoological attributes present on this and similar pendants precludes a definitive identification of any specific animal, but the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinis), coatimundi (Nasua narica), or even domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) may have provided inspiration.

Why Indigenous Artifacts Should be Returned to Indigenous Communities

Sources & More Info:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Curly-Tailed Animal Pendant

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Curly-Tailed Pendants 2, 3, 4, and 5

Cleveland Art Museum: Agate Animal Pendant

Museum Publication: Gold of the Americas (PDF)

[disturbedbeautywrites]

Nightmares - Tyler Owens

The air was muggy and heavy, heat coursing through it. You could smell the tornado coming in the air; a smell that was 100% Oklahoma during the spring. The sky was a dark black and the clouds were forming into a funnel cloud above your head. The rain was slow to come but was coming down now. “Baby, my rigs rated for an EF1. I’ll be okay.” Tyler’s words echoed in your mind as the sirens started to blare and suddenly you were in an empty field.

Well, it wasn’t completely empty. The all too familiar red truck was in the middle as the tornado was descending from the sky. The tornado was a lot bigger than you thought it would be and it was headed straight for your boyfriend. “Ty!” You were calling out to him, the wind stealing your voice and taking custody of it. “Ty! You gotta go!” You were screaming at them top of your lungs, watching as the darkness enveloped his truck.

You were screaming until you were hoarse, watching in a panicked state as your boyfriend’s truck got picked up by the winds and force of the beast that was on top of him now. It picked the truck up and threw it like it was a hot wheel-

You shot up in bed, tears rolling down your cheeks. Your heart was absolutely hammering in your chest and your breaths were coming out in ragged, uneven pants. You could feel Tyler reaching out for you, starting to worry at the lack of your presence. “Baby?” His voice was deep and laced with sleep, his hand resting on your knee as he slowly pulled himself up in bed.

He heard your sniffles and your uneven breathing, his eyes snapping open as he got noticeably worried. “Hey, hey. Talk to me.” His words were soft as he enveloped you in a warm embrace, pulling you into his body. You were shaking and almost unable to speak, the dream right on the cusp of your memory. You could’ve even think of it without more tears streaming down your cheeks.

You let out a soft sob, your chest heaving. You knew he had a dangerous job and he loved it. But, you couldn’t help the fact that you worried about him. You had been through tornadoes before and knew just how dangerous they could be. “It got you. The tornado got you.” Your voice was panicky and cracking as you looked at him, a look that absolutely broke his heart. He knew you worried but he didn’t know it was this bad.

“C’mere..” He murmured out the words as he pulled you into his body, his own leaning over you as he coaxed you to lay down beside him. “No tornado is scary enough to get me.” He teased and sighed when he saw the glare you leveled his way, his fingers brushing through the hair that was stuck to your sweaty forehead. “My perfect girl.. always so worried about me..” He whispered the words as he leaned in to kiss your cheek, his nose nuzzling against your clammy skin as you tried to push him away. But, it was to no avail.

He held your hips, pulling your back against his bare chest. He held you close, this arms enveloping you in a tight hug. He was grounding you and you could feel the air slipping back into your lungs. They were no longer burning and you could feel them expanding now with each and every breath you took. You could feel his arms massaging your shoulders and gently running down to your wrists as he tried to soothe you even more.

He pulled the blankets up over the two of you as you settled back into his warmth, feeling the thoughts of the nightmares slowly slipping away. Tyler was your person and it was even more obvious in moments like this. He was allowing his hands to soothe down over your skin, sliding up under the big t shirt of his you were wearing. “I love you.” You breathed the words out as you allowed your eyes to slowly slide closed, relaxing into his touch. “I love you more, angel.” He brushed his nose against the shell of your ear before he peppered kisses along your jaw. “Get some rest. I’m right here.” And you could finally feel yourself relaxing enough to sleep, knowing that he was safe and right next to you.

[qqueenofhades]

I am FULLY ONBOARD the Harris/Waltz train, tho before this i was leaning towards Mark Kelly (AZ is a swing state! He's an ASTRONAUT!) If you want or have time, no pressure, but any thoughts on what makes Waltz a better pick?

I like Mark Kelly too, and since he's married to Gabby Giffords (having run for public office after she got shot and could no longer do so) he would have been an amazing pick in terms of supporting the first female POTUS. But he is a less charismatic public speaker than Walz (for whatever that's worth, but politics is a mess of Aesthetics and Vibes that matter as much and/or more than actual facts) and more moderate/conservative. He's been a great senator and picking him would defuse some of the BORDER IMMIGRATION BLAH BLAH!!! scaremongering that Republicans love to run on, but it would also leave open the possibility of losing a special election and other dangers with the Democratic senate that we really need to minimize. So Walz is a better choice for that alone, but also:

He really has serious progressive credentials as governor, even if he was a fairly mainstream Democrat (who flipped a rural red House district in Minnesota that Democrats have not been able to win again after he left) during his 12 years in the House. This is an INCOMPLETE LIST of what he was able to do in two years with a one-seat Democratic majority in Minnesota:

A Climate Action Plan that included:

Investing in energy infrastructure

100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 goal

Transition off of fossil fuels and onto clean energy resources

Building more electric vehicle charging stations

Providing funding to help workers acquire new skills through apprenticeship programs in clean energy fields

Direct state funding for transit

Money for rail

Tax credit for e-bikes

Permitting form to fast-track clean energy projects

And that was in addition to:

Codified abortion access in Minnesota

Guaranteed paid sick time and paid family and medical leave

Funded replacing ALL LEAD PIPES IN THE STATE

Free school breakfasts and lunches for all

Made public college free

Stronger labor protections

Drivers’ Licenses for All

Voting Rights Act to reverse recent court rulings that make voting harder, including restored voting rights to convicted felons

Banning medical debt from credit bureaus

The "Taylor Swift Bill" requiring all ticket "junk fees" be shown up front

Banning most "junk fees"

No book bans

Protection for tipped workers

Banned non-competes

Legalized recreational cannabis

Gun control, including increased penalties for straw purchases of firearms, expanded background checks and enacted red-flag laws, passing gun safety measures that the GOP has thwarted for years

Made MN a Trans Refuge State, and required health plans to cover “medically necessary gender-affirming care.”

Pay increase for Uber and Lyft drivers

Elimination of the so-called “gay panic defense”

A ban on “doxxing” election workers

A prohibition on “swatting” elected officials

In March, during the height of the Gaza/uncommitted primary protests against Biden, Walz said that young people should be listened to and they had a right to be speaking up and the situation in Gaza was horrible and intolerable, without directly slamming Biden or getting involved in the issue in a way to draw negative headlines. Regardless of what you think about any of it, that is a very deft way to handle it and pairs well with Kamala's better responsiveness on the Gaza issue overall. That was a big part of the reason why Gen Z/younger voters were very excited about Walz despite him being an "old" (actually the same age as Kamala but he has joked that teaching high school for 20 years will do that to a guy) white guy. If half the battle in politics is making the right pick to excite your core voters and reach out to new ones, then Harris nailed it. As I have said in earlier posts, there was just too much energy with young voters FINALLY checking in when Harris became the candidate, to risk introducing a big ideological split with Shapiro.

Aside from that: the most insufferable Smart White-Bro Political Pundits (TM) are big mad about Walz, many Never Trumper Republicans thought they were entitled to a "moderate" in exchange for oh-so-generously lending us their vote against Trump and not run the risk that we might end up with someone *gasp* progressive, and the regular MAGA Republicans are hysterical, which means they're terrified. It's also incredibly hard to paint Literal Midwestern Stereotype Dad (football coach, social studies high school teacher, military veteran, etc) as THE EVIL END OF AMERICA in the way they desperately want to do, though the fact that they're trying shows that they've got literally nothing. The fact that Kamala picked Walz against the PREVAILING WISDOM!!! that she had to take Shapiro (for whatever reason that might have been) is also a good sign, because by far the most genuine and extensive enthusiasm that I have seen from Democratic voters, especially those feeling burned out or disillusioned or angry with specific policy choices of the current administration, was for Walz. Having everyone excited for the pick beforehand, effectively using the "weird" line, and rallying behind the guy, only for her to actually go for him, is inspiring. It makes people feel like they're being heard and the Democrats have decided to win by being progressive, and not just endlessly Catering To The (Imaginary) Middle as they have always been told to do (and often done). That alone is MASSIVE.

Walz is tremendously funny, personable, has Democrats from AOC to Joe Manchin praising it (again, shocking), was right out the gate supporting Kamala, has already been majorly successful on TV, was by far the most progressive-on-policy picks of the VP finalists, is incredibly, hilariously wholesome and small-town Midwestern (he's the JD Vance that they wish JD Vance was), and is already sending ActBlue gangbusters with donations again. And when you're getting this kind of response on the Cursed Bird Hellsite, just:

Just. I don't know what's happening either. But let's enjoy it, and then work hard, because we gotta fucking do this and for possibly the first time this entire year, I really think we might. Heck yeah.

[headspace-hotel]

current progress in theories of ecological succession!!!!!! This paper lists 19 different ecological succession theories and their perspectives and limitations

Before I knew its name, I knew succession....I still remember the exact moment of realizing the endless flow of change moving through the ecosystem around me. Looking at weeds, shrubby woods, gardens, and fields, I was seeing this unfolding and expanding web of trajectories and possibilities, and it was like peering into the secrets of the universe.

And ever since I've paid attention to it. Constantly observing the movement in ecosystems and its patterns.

All of these theories are partially correct but incomplete. How could we ever come up with a complete theory of succession? It's like studying the convergence of order and chaos itself. Some of the important tensions of succession brought up in this paper are:

Does the environment determine which plants survive, or do the plants that survive determine the environment? (both)

Does the plant community before disturbance determine post-disturbance regeneration, or does dispersal of new plants determine it? (both)

Are communities at different successional stages formed by whatever random assemblage of plants happens to exist at that stage, or are plant communities adapted to form certain stages of succession? (both)

Is succession a process of maturity of one big thing, or cycles of death and life of a bunch of smaller things? (both)

Do plants exclude other plants from niches as succession progresses or do they open up new niches? (both)

Is succession cyclical or linear? (both)

and like ok. this topic will get me sounding like some kind of deeply unscientific weirdo because I will be like Yes, The Weeds Taught Me The Secrets of Order and Chaos. but also this is a topic in science where all the literature written for non-layperson specialist audience makes Sense.

I was really excited reading this paper because this is like, the stuff I think about randomly all the time. like the other day I just basically blacked out and wrote like 2000 words about The Nature of Disturbance and Temporal and Spatial Dimensions of Ecosystem Change not even thinking about how I was writing about succession, and almost made my brain blow up.

like each successional theory developed so far has highlighted part of the big picture but there are several pieces of the puzzle that have barely been articulated yet. my questions:

Disturbance: What Does It Mean. When talking about something alive and changing, there is no stable state of being, so what does it mean to "disturb" an ecosystem? Every ecosystem is maintained by disturbance, like in an old-growth forest animals will graze and trample and trees will occasionally die and fall and there will be storms and fires and that is part of what a forest is. So like...where is the line between a disturbance that maintains an ecosystem at "climax," and a disturbance that makes the ecosystem no longer "climax."

disturbance, even the most severe and devastating disturbance with near 100% mortality of all plants, does not fully erase the previous plant community. so like, early-successional communities aren't a blank slate, but there is a such thing as an "early-successional community" in the sense that weed species not visible in the pre-disturbance community will pop up. Now, a lot of the theories assume that long-distance seed dispersal (and the availability of seed sources and dispersers) influences the arrival of weeds, but I think the soil seed bank is just as important if not MORE important. Do all soil seed banks have plenty of weeds? Do they have different weeds or the same weeds? Do those weeds match what was there the last time there was a weed community on that site?

disturbance is usually distributed over the land SUPER unevenly except in cases of lawns, logging and industrialized farming. at what spatial scale do edge effects irretrievably muddle the concept of discrete early-successional or late-successional communities. Like if you go into the forest and bulldoze a patch of forest down to bare dirt, that patch is fundamentally different from the bare dirt in a huge housing development, just because of being directly adjacent to a forest. Even completely disregarding seed dispersal- it's shaded, it is affected by the leaf litter and fine woody debris, etc.

I would tentatively state that linear processes of change occur in most man-made environments that are disturbed cyclically, for example, lawns- intensively managed monoculture lawns seem to persist in a lush state for a short time before the grass starts to die. most tilled agricultural fields are losing topsoil and fertility in a linear fashion. so like, the land has an accumulative legacy of tens or hundreds of disturbance cycles. Isn't this likely to be true on a much larger temporal scale? Like, is a forest ecosystem now affected by the fact that it was a prairie 1,500 years ago?

likewise, might this accumulative legacy be necessary for certain ecosystems to reach a "climax" state? e.g. prairie will overgrow into woodland in a few decades absent any disturbance, but cyclic disturbance by fire allows the cumulative progression of a larger successional process

[bigwishes]

Don't Fall For It

This is John, at least it was John, up until about 20 minutes ago. He was one of the lucky few to stumble onto the opportunity of a lifetime. You see he had rented out a locker at his local gym and when he opened it there was a dirty bronze bodybuilding trophy inside. He took it out and tried to clean off the base to see if he could find a name to return it to its owner but he was met with a surprise. The tiny statue of the bronze muscle man sprung too life and greeted him with a hello.

John was originally shocked but after the tiny guy explained he was a fairy that had been trapped as a punishment for performing pranks John began to feel bad for the little guy and asked how he could help.

The fae had told him that for him to be free he had to be bound to a master and grant his desires for a year, John volunteered to be the creature's master and repeated an ancient phrase the fairy told him to speak, of course he didn't know what it meant.

The fairy then asked john what his hearts desire was....

This is John now...

Moments after saying "he'd do anything to get bigger" his body began to expand to freakish size. At first he thought it was awesome but when the fairy broke free from the statue and showed its true form as a ugly blue cackling creature he started feeling concerned and it only took a moment for his concerns to be realised as his body continued to grow, his clothes tore away and his hair began to fall out.

Every time John said he was big enough the creature would fall on its back laughing as he continued to grow in size. Soon taking a single step left John out of breath and panting like he had just run 100 miles. Soon it was hard for him to move and he began to feel embarrassed about being so large.

John hadn't agreed to be a master, but rather a play thing and he had unknowingly agreed to trade every aspect of his life and everything he held dear in exchange for size...