#We need to reinforce stranger danger

[hootsiegrimgrin]

*discreetly slides hootsie an extra large rat snack*

HOOTSIE!!!

[barrymccaulkinem]

what is the polite way to tell someone their pattern of behavior crossed the border from stupid to evil a long time ago (and its time to finally see a therapist)?

[autisticandroids]

been listening to you're wrong about and like. okay @barren-and-trivial-words said once that on hannibal, serial killing is fundamentally considered a type of artistic pursuit. and they were right, obviously they were right. that's the basic structure almost, of the series. my favorite example is the eye sculpture serial killer where hannibal is literally like. we are situated in his gaze and he is evaluating the sculpture on artistic merit. but overall hannibal is a tv show about aestheticism and the inherent amorality of aestheticism - it is of course immoral to kill, but it is also often beautiful to kill, and shouldn't beauty outweigh morals sometimes?

and the thing is, media is... a good place to make this point. obviously because making a point is going to be in media, but the nature of hannibal as a tv show for consumption means that aesthetics will always trump morals. because the people on the show aren't real, but the beauty is, beauty does by default outweigh morals.

so hannibal kind of becomes this fascinating metatextual text on the nature of stories, or, you know, it can be read that way. because it is in the nature of all stories for beauty to outweigh morals.

but it's also a comment on the nature of serial killers as a concept. i want to link the two episodes of you're wrong about that got me thinking about this - both of these episodes are about the symbiotic relationships serial killers have with media. with fiction but even more especially with news and non-fiction. serial killers sell papers, and in fact the figure of the serial killer is kind of invented to sell papers - in one of these episodes, sarah marshall reads off a letter sent to a london paper "from" jack the ripper that was probably actually forged by a journalist to heat up the news cycle. it's very cinematic, it reads as absolutely cliche to the modern ear and maybe to the victorian one as well, but i'm sure it made the paper that printed it a lot of money.

and one of the things that i already kind of knew but was reinforced in these episodes is that most of the common knowledge that the public has about "serial killers" both in general and in specific cases is just... wrong. and that's for a lot of reasons. some of it is definitely because it's convenient for the police to have access to the figure of the mastermind serial killer for all sorts of reasons, especially to cover their own incompetence or to just pawn off unsolved cases. but also it's because the media needs sensation to sell papers, and so lurid stories of superhuman killers are just a lot tastier than some guy who murdered three women for obvious, petty reasons and also molested his stepdaughters. the public demands uniqueness, spectacle, extremity. it's not enough to bleed if you want to lead, stories have to bleed spectacularly. so the modern concept of the serial killer was built almost entirely on the back of newspapers, true crime paperbacks, and silence-of-the-lambs-alike feature films. it's not like. a real thing. it's a product of the spin factory, re-working reality into something marketable.

and hannibal lecter - the original, fava beans and a nice chianti hannibal lecter - is perhaps the height of this cultural concept, the star of the serial killer... craze? moral panic? i suppose the word is phenomenon. so it's interesting to read bryan fuller's hannibal as a kind of indulgent commentary on the existence of the newspaper-literary "serial killer" figure.

[i would also recommend ywa's episodes on ed gein, jeffrey dahmer, and the dc snipers for more perspectives on serial killers. while i'm at it you should also listen to their episodes on gangs, human trafficking, sex offenders, the satanic panic, stranger danger, and true crime, but i realize i'm kinda pushing it.]

[strangerthingsreversebigbang]

In case you missed them, here are the next ten works posted from the Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang!

---

In All of Its Phases by @mojowitchcraft | Art by @artbean

Rating: Teen

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Dustin Henderson, Eddie Munson, Lucas Sinclair, Steve Harrington

Relationship(s): Dustin Henderson & Eddie Munson, Lucas Sinclair & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson

Summary:

Sure, Eddie survived their last trek into the Upside Down, but he spends most of his days hiding out in his new house. Unwilling to even talk to his friends. Dustin’s on a mission to convince Eddie that all he has to do now is live.

He might need some reinforcements.

Through and Through by @lightoftheseraph | Art by @alduade-art

Rating: Teen

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Lucas Sinclair, Erica Sinclair, Jason Carver, Maxine “Max” Mayfield (mentioned), Dustin Henderson (mentioned)

Relationship(s): Lucas Sinclair/Max Mayfield

Summary: After getting caught trying to warn the Party about Jason’s plans; Lucas is buried alive in a coffin as punishment for trying to escape.

A Fork in the Road by @soaringornithopther | Art by @alduade-art

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): Graphic Depictions of Violence

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Dart, the Party

Relationship(s): N/A

Summary: After being forced to separate from the rest of the Party in the Upside Down infested tunnels, Steve must find a way to survive as every decision he makes seems to lead him into ever greater danger.

Life is Ours; We Live it Our Way by @it-gets-worse-at-night | Art by @cxwzkeys

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Nancy Wheeler

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/ Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson & Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley & Nancy Wheeler

Summary:

Growing up in a small town in Indiana, Eddie was ready to move on, to spread his wings and flourish in LA. With big dreams of getting a band together he jumps from open mic night to open mic night until one day he hears her. Nancy Wheeler is the bass player and back up singer for a local small time band. When Eddie steals her away for his own band, will they finally make it big?

Excerpt: “Nancy Wheeler,” Eddie slurred, leaning against her as she leaned against him. “Naaaaancy Wheeeeler.” “I’m right here,” she said, her words slow, like she was trying hard not to slur them together. Eddie burped and stopped walking, holding his gut and swaying a bit when Nancy stopped leaning against him. “Dude, you know what would be so cool?” “Uh, not puking?” “Yeah, that’d be pretty cool,” Eddie said, rocking back on his heels and closing his eyes, “If we started a band. You’re always complaining about your bandmates, and I can’t even find a good band.” Nancy chuckled and gently pulled Eddie’s arm. “Come on big guy, let’s get you home.” “Noooo.”

Warmer by @ghostdeb | Art by @bronoun

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington; Eddie Munson; Robin Buckley

Relationships(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson; Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson

Summary:

Steve should know better than to try and beat Robin when it comes to trivia, especially when it involves some of her favorite artists. But even still, the brat in him decides to try.

Steve sucks at winning bets.

He pays the price in more ways than one.

A Martyr's Lullaby by @imfinereallyy | Art by @llamalpaca

Rating: Mature

Warnings(s): Graphic Depictions of Violence

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Barb Holland, Henry Creel, Joyce Byers, Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington's Mother, Chief Hopper

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Summary:

Steve Harrington will do anything in this world for Robin Buckley, and apparently, that includes dying for her.

~~~

Welcome to the 66th Annual Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

You Stole My Money Honey by @whataboutthefish | Art by @karadanverss

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Murray Bauman

Relationship(s): Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler

Summary: Nancy Wheeler was a con artist. She went by many names, Ruth, Natalia, Chloe, all figments of her imagination. Not a single fact about her life was true and yet she was still able to make people fall in love with her. Maybe it was her natural magnetism or she was just a really good actor. It didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact she kept marrying over and over and leaving her spouse with an empty bed and an empty bank account. But her past was about to catch up with her when three of her marks decided to team up and chase her down.

Cheering the Cheerleader by @giverobinagfbrigade | Art by @cxwzkeys

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Chrissy Cunningham Eddie Munson Steve Harrington Robin Buckley Wayne Munson Chrissy Cunningham's Brother Chrissy Cunningham's Parents Nancy Wheeler Jeff (Stranger Things) Gareth (Stranger Things)Unnamed Freak (Stranger Things)Andy (Stranger Things) Chance (Stranger Things) Patrick McKinney

Relationship(s): Chrissy Cunningham & Eddie Munson

Summary:

Chrissy Cunningham, a small town princess, who had a completely different plan for her life than this. But, when those plans fall through, what's left is building a friendship with town pariah and finding a new life. She'd never expected to find herself at this class either but new friends bring new experiences and this is shaping up to be a lot of fun.

tldr: Chrissy gets out, moves out and joins a circus arts class

the conditions are right (for a good time) by @jkrockin | Art by @oriarts

Rating: Teen

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Chrissy Cunningham, Robin Buckley

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, background Chrissy Cunningham/Robin Buckley

Summary:

This is Eddie's summer. He's got his own booth. Wayne's letting him run a real booth. Not filling in, not picking up the shitty shifts for this jointy or that, not running a kiddy ride. An actual, factual, single-front midway amusement, and it’s all his. Well, on paper it’s still Wayne’s. But this time, she’s in Eddie’s hands.

And it’s— his booth! His!— even actually a pretty good one. To the unenlightened townie, balloon darts may seem like a simple, even a childish pursuit, but Eddie maintains that there is an art to even the most straightforward pleasures. There's a science to it. Physics. Like every game, it can be rigged, but even played straight, it's an earner. He's going to finish out the summer with more money than he started with, for once.

Especially if everyone in Nowheresville, Indiana is as juicy a mark as the handsome, fancy-haired guy who's bellied up to his counter.

Latent by @staymagical | Art by @doomcheese

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, The Party, Wayne Munson

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Summary:

The first time Steve shifts, he's alone and scared and has no idea what the fuck is happening to him.

The first time Steve shifts, he meets Eddie Munson.

---

Stay tuned for more incredible works from the Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang!

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[bonsaiiiiiii-fics]

Eggs

Is it destiny? Is it a coincidence? But especially, What should she do now that the person she has been looking for doesn’t exist anymore?

Words: 5300-ish

Genre: fluff, slice of life. a bit of angst too? cos memories and stuff…no trigger warnings mentionable.

Fandom: Thunderbirds are go!2015

Characters: boi, all of ‘em! We also have Lucille, and I sprinkled in some oc’s!

Special mention: thank you to @louthestarspeaker for lending me her Laurie, your girl has been an absolute delight to write!

This story is kinda weird, and I don’t know if there’s gonna be a continuation or not. I just had an idea, wrote it down and here we are! Nothing serious, just for fun/writing again/passing the time. Don’t @ me, if you read it and discover you don’t like it, leave it where it is and back tf away slowly. (just for precaution. moots i don’t wanna bite ur ass <3)

Ao3 link

"...Is it too late to back up now?" She asks timidly, grimacing and taking a small step away from the door. Gran Roca Ranch. At least that's what it says on the billboard at the entrance. "Probably she isn't even here anymore!" 

"Nope." Laurie answers her first question, a haunting hand hovering on the door. "This is the time to act like that amazing, confident, person that you are, no ifs, ands or buts about it." She tries to fight her best friend when she gets a grip of her hand, forcing her to depart it from the door the farthest possible. "And you- ugh!, you won't know if you don't knock!" She grunts, noticing just how strong Quinn can be. Seriously, she eats tacos and smoothies all day, how the hell does she manage to keep it if she's as slim as a twig? Genes? 

"Well I need a reinforcement taco before this!" Quinn forces through gritted teeth. "And what do you think I'm going to tell her, hey! I'm your donor baby and I'm here to flip your life upside down?" She rolls her eyes, adjusting her sunglasses. "What if she doesn't even want to see me?" 

"If she left you her address in the envelope, then I think she wanted you to find her." 

"Well, I'm not ready to find out just yet!" 

"Not that you can help it, you know. You're screeching so loud I think all the neighborhood heard you." Laurie says, hands on her hips and a false innocent smile on her face, the plan morphed into her mind taking action. "And if she hasn't heard you before, she surely will hear this now!" And with that awful sentence she rings on the doorbell, doing what Quinn tried stopping her from doing until now. 

The blonde girl, in return, starts by gawking at her with her eyes almost out of their sockets and a jaw so low you could store an entire cake inside her mouth, then punches her -not so lightly- on a shoulder, making Laurie gasp at the pain and the sudden movement. "Traitor!" She spits, just seconds before the door opens, revealing... 

"Uh..." Kayo falters, taking in the scene in front of her very eyes upon opening the door. There's two women, soft blonde waves and some midnight black locs, arms tangled in each other, more like the blonde is trying to strangle her friend and the latter is trying to defend herself, both looking awkwardly at her. "Can I...help you?" She asks tentatively, her eyebrow raised, studying them intently. The blonde is holding an envelope in her hand, and now that she looks at her...the resemblance is dangerously familiar to someone... 

"Uh!" Quinn gasps, detangling from her best friend and just smiling broadly, as if nothing happened. "Hi, my name is Quinn, and this is Laurie." 

"Hi, Quinn and Laurie. So, what can I help you with?" Kayo repeats, her patience wearing thin. Who are these two strangers? This isn't pizza delivery! She mentally prays that it’s not another string of paparazzi striving to secure an interview, them being the first two of a long queue. Even if the Tracy’s like to be reserved about their whereabouts, the paps’ job is to unveil, tell and write as many tales as possible, and this requires some great investigative skills, for example finding Jeff Tracy’s old house. It’s not the first time paparazzi are at their door, and it certainly won’t be the last.

"Um," Quinn clears her throat, shifting from embarrassed to confident, again, that spark in her eye that looks dangerously familiar. Now that Kayo thinks about it, if Gordon was to have a female counterpart, Quinn would be embodying it. "I'm looking for Lucille Collins. Does she, um, live here?" 

Now this leaves Kayo dumbfounded. 

And with a lot of questions. 

How does she know? Why is she looking for her? Could it be...? 

"Um. Excuse me." Is all Kayo can say to excuse herself and close the door in their faces, now leaving both girls with a fish out of water face. 

"What was that?" Quinn asks, her cordial smile still plastered on her face, but one eye twitching in incredulousness. 

"I don't...know?" Laurie is smiling too, holding her still painful shoulder. They both look at each other, and this is the moment when Laurie knows Quinn's about to lose control. 

"So who was it at the door? Did the pizza delivery read our minds before we could place the order?" Gordon asks smugly, a note of curiosity in his voice. 

"That would be so dope!" Alan adds, leaning forward in his chair so his arms come to rest on his lap. 

Kayo, however, doesn't seem to hear them as she clears her throat, ready to drop whatever bomb this is on them.

"Are you okay, Kayo? You look like you've seen a ghost." Virgil butts in, obviously concerned about her losing all the color in her face. 

"There's two women at the door, they're looking for Mrs. Tracy, and I don’t mean Grandma." She says as neutrally as possible, not seeming to avoid massaging her arm awkwardly in the process. "What am I supposed to do?" 

Nobody answers her, and the silence is so audible you can hear the indistinct chatting of the women still at the door, probably debating on whether to stay and just vanish from the premises from the heat of it. 

"Huh." Jeff mutters, taking the situation in his own hands. "I think I know what this is about. Help me up, please." He asks no one in particular, Scott jumping up from his armchair like it's on fire, instantly by his father's side. "Thank you, son. Take me to the door." 

"If we disappear silently, she probably won't even know we were there! We can say she just imagined it! Or that I'm the, uh, mailman?" Quinn tries, shrugging her shoulders in the process. 

"I don't think she would believe you, you're not exactly dressed up as one." Laurie counters, eyeing her short romper. 

"Gasp," she audibly gasps. "Are you trying to say I look ugly?" 

"If the shoe fits." She winks at her bestie, earning a glare from her. 

"I hate you." 

"No you don't." 

A sound near the front door, like a crane tapping on the floor, makes both straighten their backs up, standing like soldiers in wait for their general. Moments later, Jeff Tracy himself, accompanied by his son, opens the door, and the girls just...stare. 

"Uh, Quinn? I think we got the wrong house..." Laurie recognizes immediately the man standing in front of her, seemingly unlike Quinn, that flashes him and his exact same, younger copy, her dimpled smile. 

"Hiiiii!" She tries a more energetic approach. "I'm Quinn, and this is Laurie." She gestures to her bestie, who is looking mildly uncomfortable, deeming it necessary to introduce themselves again. "We're looking for-" 

"I know." Jeff nods. "You must be her daughter. Co-" 

"HUH!?" Scott gasps, involuntarily interrupting his dad who side looks at him. "What!? Her what??" He looks wide eyed at her, then at his dad, then back again at her. 

She seems to ignore his apparent outburst. "Yeah, something like that. So, does she live here?" If there's one thing to know about Quinn Prescott is that she gets straight to the point. And eats tacos nonstop, apparently. 

Jeff is silent, a pang of sadness visible on his face. "Come in." He replies to her question, stepping aside - and forcing Scott, as still as a statue, to do the same - and welcoming them in what used to be Luci's house. Scott disappears right back in, probably to warn everyone of the unexpected new visitor invading their home, or to prepare them psychologically for this, leaving the girls to let themselves in without too many ceremonies, Quinn taking off her paperboy hat and just holding it in her hand as Jeff slowly accompanies them to the living room, where everyone is gathered. 

"Holy shmeesus!" Is the first thing she mutters to Laurie upon seeing all these people, wondering just now that maybe she got the wrong house. But if she did, the man living inside it wouldn't let them in, right? She's probably not home at the moment, yeah, that's it. One thing for sure, the room is loaded with people and every single one of them seem to be looking- no, gawking, at her. Expecting her to be joking about the matter. There's the woman that opened the door the first time, the man that opened it the second, 5 other men and a old lady. And not to mention this house is gigantic. Dam, egg mama's loaded! 

Everyone is so still, the silence is so deafening, like they can't believe their eyes; she manages to get a sound from them all, a collective general gasp, after her sunglass lenses fade back to clear, not sensing any sunlight inside, revealing her warm brown eyes. 

"It's uncanny." Scott mutters, breaking the silence. 

"It's mom." Virgil backs him up, just gaping at her. She shares his same eyes, and, well, mom's. Come to think about it, she is mom, just a different smile, skin tone, and some round glasses added.

"What is this, dad?" Scott confronts their dad, wanting, needing, to know more. A perfect stranger, with the same appearance as their mother, comes at their door, searches for her, and apparently she's her daughter? And seemingly, Jeff knows about it all. 

Jeff in reply looks at Quinn, holding out a hand towards her as if to show she's there. "Want to do the honors?" 

She nods, taking in a deep breath. "So...I'm Lucille's donor baby, and I'm invading your lives!" She jokes, to then immediately facepalm, followed by a nervous chuckle from Laurie, accompanied by a head shake. "Hehe, sorry...I always joke when I'm nervous, I don't know why I do that." She first scratches her jaw, then behind her ear, handing Jeff the envelope she carried until now, covering her lap with her checkered white and brown hat. "But that's about it. The address listed in her description was this one." 

"Yeah, I know who you are already." Despite this statement, he still opens the envelope, suddenly invaded by his eldest three sons that read over his shoulder too, reading indeed his late wife's name, but another as well. "I just didn't think you'd even show up, even if she hoped to see you." 

"She does?" She smiles, her dimples showing. She unconsciously side glances at Laurie, which shoots her a timid thumbs up. 

"She did." He corrects her, the pain in his words leading her to lose the dimples she shares with Scott. 

"Um, care to explain for those who can't understand the situation?" Alan butts in, knowing the heaviness of the situation but now how to decipher it. 

"Yeah, like, we just got mom's clone and then what?" Gordon counters. 

Just when she wants to speak, Jeff looks again at her, prodding her silently to explain herself. It's her situation, and she gets to take it into her own hands as she wants. 

"So, from what my parents told me, they weren't able to conceive, so they picked out donors from both sides; Lucille was my egg donor, while Clinton was my sperm donor. I don't really know anything about them, my parents told me about it just recently and recommended that I speak personally with them first, but without them I wouldn't exist, so...ta-daaa!" She slightly enlarges her hands, waving her open hands up and down. 

"Well, you surely took your time." Jeff comments sarcastically, loosening her stiff shoulders a little. 

"That's cool! Is it something like out of a lab?" Alan asks, earning a side glare from Virgil. 

"Egg and sperm donors have existed for a long time, you know?" The second eldest points out to him in a scolding tone. 

"I didn't know about the egg ones, Virg!" 

"Me either Virg! We're not all medical like you." Gordon, as always, speaks as if he and Allie are the same. 

"Pardon my sons," this sentence from Jeff seems to override their sons'. "They're just curious about you, she never spoke to them about you." 

"How to blame her?" Grandma says, laughing gently. "She didn't expect the gal to even show up. She just did a good deed." She gets up, sitting on an armrest of the armchair Virgil sat back on, patting gently his shoulder. 

"That she did." Jeff looks at her, drinks her in with those silver eyes of his. Yep, she's Lucille's spitting image: long blonde hair, chocolate brown eyes, same nose, same lips. The only thing changing is a golden skin tone, complimenting perfectly her eyes and hair and making her look like a golden ember, and the way she smiles; even if she has Luci's lips and dimples, she smiles differently, a charming and 'I'm sexy and I know it' kind of smile instead of Luci's warm and harmless one. "You look a lot like her." He says after a long while, in which she seems content basking in the attention. She knows she's beautiful, she probably has an overly big ego, and the fact this family is feeding it is rather nice to her. 

"Yeah, Laurie says I'm her spitting image. Uh, from the pictures I found in the envelope." 

"I'm sorry, but you won't be able to see her anytime, I'm afraid." He says.

She doesn't seem to read between the lines. "Oh, yeah, I totally get it! She has another family now, not that I was her family before, but I get it, no worries. Just tell her I've been here." She gets up, dusting absent-mindedly her dress and hat. 

"No, you don't get it." Jeff is finding all the strength in himself to say the words long dreaded in the Tracy household. "She passed some time ago." He lets out after a long, painful, sigh. 

"Oh." She mutters, to then plop back down. "Can I ask for how long?" 

"Almost 20 years." 

She gets silent, a lot of thoughts whirling in her brain, but she pushes them aside for her to think about them later. "I'm sorry for your loss." 

"I'm sorry too." He raises his eyes to look at her. "She wanted to meet you, she really did." 

"Well...I wouldn't be me if I didn't keep my always being late rap, right?" She tries to crack a joke, earning a cheeky smile from everyone, even a tiny laugh from the tinies. 

"Oh, preach!" Laurie exclaims, happy that her friend finally noticed. 

"So, what is it you do in life, Quinn?" Jeff changes subject after she so helpfully contributed in raising the spirits back up; unfortunately, Lucille has always been a tough topic to talk about after her passing, and probably this is just what they needed now that they're all back together. 

"Oh, I just got into college, Columbia." 

"Ah, Ivy League! Impressive! Major?" 

"Programming." 

"I see. Well, I wish you best of luck on your journey." 

"Thank you, um, Mr..." She just now realizes she never properly caught his name, nor the others'; it sure looks like a wide family, though. 

"Oh! We didn't introduce ourselves, sorry! We were just so caught by everything..." He immediately apologizes, getting up not without any help from his second eldest. "I'm Jeff Tracy." Once in front of Quinn, who just got up too, he extends his hand for her to shake it, and notices she has a very tight grip, too. 

"Huh, Tracy you say?" Quinn is silent for a second, an eyebrow raised to try and remember when she heard that name before, while Laurie, once her suspicions (that weren't so suspicious) got confirmed, draws in a shaky breath, not understanding why in the Heavens her bestie doesn't realize how lucky she is to even breathe the same expensive air as these business tycoons. And, yeah, International Rescue themselves. "I like it. I assume you are- uh, were..." 

"Yeah, her husband. These are our kids. Boys?" He calls out for them to get up and present themselves, to which they oblige dutifully. 

Scott is the first one to present himself, his grip somewhat strong, but not menacing. He saw the description, everything true to the minimal detail, and the fact she's their mom's spitting image contributes greatly to the cause, as if she was cloned, and their dad seems to know and support of this situation; however, he still doesn't know if she's lying, faking it all, and found sensible information, touched a nerve who could bring them down, his Commander brain gearing up for action. He, alas, has complete faith in dad, and in John, who didn't go unnoticed by Scott as he briefly excused himself to go to the bathroom, secretly fulfilling the eldest' order to run a background check on her. He notices her firm grip too, complete with the fact she either doesn't seem to care, or is oblivious to the pinning, calculating stare he's giving her, flashing him a taste of his own medicine, killer dimples. Yep, truly mom's child. 

The next in line is Virgil, who takes her hand softly and shakes it gently, and she swears he's like massaging it or something, because she finds instantly relief from a throbbing she didn't even notice until it passed, truly magical. They both get lost in the eyes they both share the color of, mom's color, and both wonder how one could be a spitting image of the other. Virgil is calm, trusting, not wanting to start any rumors or thoughts, just trusting what the person in front of him is saying. Like, how could she lie with those eyes? He swears he's looking at mom who came back to life and waltzed back into their lives.

Gordon pops up next, and damn! If she thought to be Lucille's spitting image, from that little description pic, then this man is taking it up a notch! Same features, different gender. It's almost frightening. Gordon, on the other hand, is totally unaffected by any negative thoughts and emotions, just excited to hear about this new, strange thing, egg donation, and the fact that a new sibling is added to their family, even if she's just a half-sibling. It's still something from mom, and everything from mom is precious right now. 

Alan is quick in presenting himself with a fist bump, a gesture that Quinn loves gladly, evolving it into a weird bro hand salute Alan seems to be on board with, professionalism not necessary right now. After all, if she’s in college right now…same as him! They’re college buddies!

Last but not least brother, John, shaking briefly her hand and directing a hidden thumbs up at Scott, who nods and exhales briefly, his worries dissolving temporarily. 

Kayo is up, her way of shaking hands translated into shoving a tablet into Quinn's face, that shrugs and places her thumb on it, more than calm about the fact that they can't get money from her as she's broker than a broken record, having invested her last savings in...tacos. Kayo swiftly nods, and Quinn just shrugs, before she gets presented to the next person.

A sweet old lady, who seems very spirited. “Hello, gal! Well, I’ll be damned, you’re her spitting image!” This makes Quinn crack a wide smile, the girl identical in her biological mother even in these simple gestures. "I'm Sally, but you can call me Grandma. I'm the boys' grandmother and Jeff's mother. It's nice you finally joined us." To unknot her nerves, Grandma gently squeezes Quinn's shoulder, to which the girl looks at her warmly. This woman, this part of her newfound family, has this capacity to melt her worries and insecurities away in a way...familiar to her, like it's been done to her since she was born. 

"Don't blame her too much, she has this knack for always showing up late." Laurie butts in the conversation after being presented too to the boys, daring to see if a joke can fix up the mood. 

"I call it being fashionably late." Quinn replies, swooshing a strand of hair behind her shoulder smugly. 

Grandma laughs heartily. "I know a thing or two about it. Between us, but...your mother was always fashionably late too." She confesses to the girls, Quinn gaping a little. 

"See?" She triumphantly points out. "It's all in the genes!"

Laurie laughs too, looking at her bestie. “Don’t give her excuses now, or it’ll get to her head!”

Quinn is about to counterattack with a not too ladylike answer, when another voice joins in the conversation again. "Clinton Smith?" She turns to look at Jeff, which looks at the envelope then at her.

“Oh, yeah, that’s my donor dad. Or at least that’s all I know about him, I haven’t visited him yet.” She replies, looking somewhere else with a bitter smile, that doesn’t go unnoticed by Jeff.

“Is he…unavailable too?” He tries this word, not having enough guts built up to say that word, that nefarious word he wishes he never had to say to describe his wife.

“Actually…I don’t know?” She replies questionably back, scratching her neck in the process. “I haven’t been able to find him at all. Either he vanished, or he doesn’t want to be found, or…yeah.”

“Doesn’t want to be found…why is that?” Jeff asks back, trying to understand more from that situation; maybe he can help, he can ‘rescue’ her if she wants to.

“Well, there’s his name, but no address. But I suppose if he didn’t want to be found, then he wouldn’t have wanted his name to be added to that document, because it’s supposed to be for me to read once I came of age.” She plops down to her previous seat, crossing her arms with a focused frown painted on her face, the upper lip touching her nose septum, her dimples visible and her eyes looking upwards, painting Lucille’s face with an almost childish and exaggerated undertone. “I know I’m very late in searching for them since I got the documents, but if you don’t want your child to know anything about you, then…you cancel everything they might know about you, right?”

“I don’t know exactly, it never happened to me…” He replies ironically, earning a broad smile from his boys, a sign that they had a father from the start that cared about them and loved them deeply. “But if you want to get to know him, we can help you out.”

She widens her eyes slightly. “Really? You don’t have to…”

“Yeah, of course! Family is important, and if you want to know exactly who both of your biological parents are it’s perfectly normal! I just happen to know a detective that can help you out on this, that is if you accept our help.” He states tentatively, knowing he doesn’t have any ‘power’ over her, despite her being Lucille’s first child and only daughter, her only female lineage, making her very precious; but at the same time he knows that he can’t force her to be a part of their lives just because she’s family by blood, she has another adoptive family that love her and raised her to be the woman she is now. The decision to be a Tracy must belong to Quinn and Quinn only. “And, of course, I’ll tell you more about your biological mother as well.”

“Well…” Quinn takes it all in, pondering deeply which answer she should give in return and moving her gaze to the floor. She knows that if she replies positively, this means she’ll come in contact with part of her biological family again, but she also knows that this decision is totally up to her, just like before when Jeff allowed her to explain who she was and why she was connected with this family. The question is, does she want to be part of this family? She already has another one, the one that has been there with her from the start, waiting for her at home. Can she replace them so easily? Being part of more than a family at once, even her biological dad’s side, is it possible? Does it mean that if she chooses to do this, she’ll have to leave her ‘old’ family behind, or can she rotate between one family and the other on random days?

“I’m sorry…” She finally comes up with an answer. “...but I have to think about it. This thing about Lucille has been a huge blow for me, and I’m not saying this because she…well, passed, but I think it would have been a blow even if today I would’ve gotten to talk to her. I received the document just recently…and…you guys…”

“Don’t apologize at all, Quinn, it’s understandable.” This is the first time that man calls her by her name. it’s…strange. “You have yet to elaborate all of this, and we’re here when, if, you’ll be ready to talk to us again.”

“Thank you.” Quinn smiles fondly at Jeff, and for the first time since she smiled at him, it seems like Lucille is smiling at him again after 19 long years where the world has been deprived of his wife’s warm and innocent smile. Another person notices, and where Jeff forces himself to keep the tears in, Virgil can’t manage to, a single, lonely, tear leaving a trail down his cheek but a happy smile painted on his chiseled face, Scott and John reaching out to place a hand on each of his shoulders, sharing the same emotion he’s feeling in seeing that smile, happy that they got the wish to see their mother’s smile one last time, even if it’s not their mother that’s in front of them right now. She captivated with that dimpled smile of hers everyone in the room, not just Jeff and his second eldest, and she doesn’t even notice it, how similar but how different she is from her biological mother. She glimmers with that smile.

“So…I’ll go home now, I think I already spent too much of your time.”

“Believe me,” Jeff starts, raising himself up to his feet and prompting his eldest and Quinn to do the same. “This time has been very well spent.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Alan, surprisingly, asks, like it’s not the first time he makes this question. Surprisingly, because he doesn’t feel the same way as his brothers and dad; sure, he saw mom’s photos, but she unfortunately doesn’t have the same place in his heart like it does for everyone else of them, since he didn’t have the opportunity to grow up with her, leaving the surprisingly vivid picture of her with an eerie heaviness over it, almost as if, everytime he looks at his mom, it’s like he’s worshiping a Goddess. It used to be like this with his dad too, before he returned from the deserted and secluded place he was left in for all these years, just after mom’s death…for as long as he can remember before things changed, his dad disappeared, his mom left them, and he was essentially an orphan growing up with his brothers, under Scott’s guardianship over nothing more than a toddler. But now that he looks at things under another perspective…it’s bad to say, but she also will never get the chance to meet her, didn’t get the chance to grow up with her either, and will always look at her photo to remember where she came from…they’re similar, if not the same, in this. Maybe they can help each other.

“Yeah, we have pizza!” Gordon butts in too, visibly perturbed by her departure.

“If you remember to place the call to order it.” John points out like usual with a raised eyebrow, earning an eye roll from his younger pufferfish sibling.

“I’d love to, but my parents are waiting for me at home.” Quinn turns towards Jeff, as if to seek some approbation from the Commander Supreme. “Another time, maybe?”

He nods, waiting for his two youngest sons’ faint oh’s to dissipate before speaking again. “We are more than happy to welcome you again. You can take my contact or one of my sons’, so that you can have your way of reaching out when you’re ready to.” He offers, glancing at his sons that all nod.

“Yeah, that would be a great idea. I hope you won’t mind if I take my time in…”

“Ah, no worries! We’re more than happy to help.” Jeff replies while he scribbles something on a paper, probably his comm link or his number; once he’s finished, instead of passing it to Quinn he raises it somewhere on his right, Virgil taking the paper and scribbling something on it too. “Once you’re ready, reach out to us, here’s our contacts.” Once the paper is in Jeff’s hands again, after it being passed through some brothers, he hands it over to Quinn, who takes it gladly, folding it and tucking it into her romper’s pockets.

“Well, then, I’ll leave you to your dinner. Thank you for everything, and it’s been a pleasure meeting you.” Quinn bows her head slightly, smiling warmly to everyone.

“It’s a pleasure for us too, and it was nice meeting you too, Laurie.”

“Are you living far from here? Do you need one of us to accompany you?” Virgil asks, his ever caring spirit always present.

Quinn shoots a quick glance to Laurie, which in the meantime has almost teleported to her side; in exchange, Laurie raises her eyebrows and glances to the side, Quinn responding to her by shrugging slightly, and this ‘conversation’ goes on for a bit, all the while Virgil looks confused at them, then at his father.

“It’s a girl’s way of communicating, boys. You wouldn’t know.” Grandma intercepts the question marks in Virgil’s mind, talking to everyone.

“Well,” Quinn’s voice makes them all turn towards her and her bestie, who is smiling. “She’s coming back home with me, and we live just here across the neighborhood, so we’ll manage on our own, thank you anyways.”

“Perfect then. We hope to see you soon again, and I wish you good luck again on your journey. Please say hi to Bentley from me, and tell her I’m sorry I didn’t get to visit her and Charlie.” The procession has finally arrived at the door, escorting warmly their newfound family member out.

Quinn smiles as a sign of gratitude, before dropping her jaw to the floor and widen her eyes. “You know my parents?”

“Of course! Me and Luci have known them for a very long time now, we’ve been to school together, but we lost contact after we started working and had our children.”

“Oh…!” Quinn replies, then looks at the floor and smiles. “Sure, I’ll let them know.” She looks at Jeff with that smile on again. That warm smile that makes her dangerously familiar in his eyes.

“Well then, thank you for coming by. It was truly needed.”

“You’re kidding me? Thank you for having me!”

Once they finish bidding their farewells and the door closes, making them depart from the ranch, she turns towards her bestie, her smile radiant. “Girl, that was…”

“I’d say it was a success, but you didn’t find your mom.” Laurie counters, matching her newfound speed towards Quinn’s home. “Why are we running?”

“Well, but my parents are supposed to know her well, and I have all these step-brothers. And…oh, don’t brag.”

“We have no reason for running!” Laurie hisses, out of breath, her long locs whirling in the wind. “They can help you find your biological father too. Maybe you have some brothers or sisters from there too.”

“Well…” They both pant profusely, finally arriving at their destination; Quinn also lets out a deep sigh. “I don’t know…I gotta talk to my parents. I want to know them, but…having them in my life…ugh! I need tacos.”

“Nu-huh. We’re home now and we’re eating what your parents made. Stop spending your life savings on tacos, bestie.” Laurie ushers Quinn towards the entrance door, forcing the latter to get the keys out to open it with another deep sigh. “And if talking with your parents is what you need…just, think about it. They are pretty important after all.”

“Hm?” Quinn says after greeting her parents loudly, announcing them she’s back home. “They’re just my biological half-brothers and their dad. Yeah, they’re important, but-” “Girl,” Laurie interrupts her with a serious face, making Quinn furrow her eyebrows in confusion. “You have no idea who they are, do you?”

[hazard-and-friends]

6 months!

Old. 6 months old. I've only had her for almost-4-months.

Successes:

No accidents since December 21, and the ones in the 2 weeks prior to that were zoomies-induced

Nice walker, can go on the harness and pull gently or (with lots of reinforcement, but she is 6 months) on the collar and not pull at all

Alone in the car up to 75 minutes at a stretch or at home, crated, with Hazard, up to 2 hours

Sit/down/touch all fairly good

Drop it VERY good, 99% of the time she will spit the item out.

Very nice toy skills! Will drop a toy and wait to hear "take it" (tug) or "geddit" (fetch)

Her dog-dog social skills are insane. She is so good at adapting play to different confidence levels, or backing off entirely if the other dog is uninterested. She can navigate weird personal conflicts (like when a BC bitch decided to resource guard me) with ease and draw shy dogs into play. If this holds true, she's going to be an exceptional dog for socializing others.

Work in progress:

She can sleep through the night but only if (a) minimal food in the 2 hours before bed and (b) she poops right before bed. Otherwise we get up around 3 am to poop. This past week she's also had a streak where she decides there's Monsters outside and needs to huff about it. That's been steadily decreasing but we're still working on getting the poop schedule right.

We've graduated from the no-spill bowl. MOSTLY she doesn't go swimming in the water bowl, unless she's overtired in which case all bets are off.

Recall is uh, extant. Usually. Which is very good for 6 months lol

Evening relaxing remains something we need to actively remind her to do. I'm typing this post in the bedroom with her, because she won't wind down most nights in the living room--and she won't usually put herself in the bedroom to sleep. So someone goes into the bedroom with her, closes the door, and just hangs out for the last 1-2 hrs before bed, and that's working okay.

She's not as people-friendly as I (after all of Hazard's issues) would like. She's EAGER to meet people but not eager for them to meet her, head-shy, will flinch away from strangers. Like Hazard once you're in her circle you're in, and you can do whatever, and it's a lot easier to get in her circle, but hmm. More love on this I think.

Cat skills: She LOVELOVELOVES the cat. Penny even loves her back. But if Penny is in an accessible place (ie, 95% of the apartment) K'seil is incessant about bothering her, unless being actively distracted.

Leave it/trash is like, she Wants A Thing In Her Mouth on walks sometimes. So she'll dive at trash and shove it in her mouth--not EAT it, rarely even CHEW it, just Hold In Mouth. Which is why her 'drop it' is so stellar. 95% of the time she'll leave it if I can get the cue out, but the reason this is a WIP is she needs the cue. She doesn't have any sort of default "oh I should ignore this" yet. This goes double for certain trash bins in the apartment--thus far no thefts of anything dangerous, but she likes to chew apart masks and eat clumps of shed hair. I know how to fix this I just haven't put the work in.

Counter surfing is juuuust about a success but I don't wanna jinx it XD Very early on she was very persistent about trying to put feet on the kitchen counter, and through consistently ignoring/redirecting her from that and rewarding a down in the kitchen, we have gone...like a week or so? Without any attempts to get on the counter. So that's very nice, both because I hate counter surfing and because it validates my R+ approach.

Bite inhibition/mouthing I think is a WIP but might be a success, she's still Very Sharp sometimes but that's also when she's aroused, so we might just be having arousal problems (because she is 6 months). On walks about 75% of the time she can take a treat from my fingertips perfectly gently. She's still very mouthy, including with new people which is Ungreat, but it's steadily improving.

Body handling, while SO much better than Hazard, still needs some love. She'll let me brush the dremel against her nails but not hold it there, and rear nails have been a no-go since I quicked her fairly badly there. Brushing is 50/50.

Yikes:

Dogs in complex. She's not really reactive beyond staring at dogs outside the apartment complex, but inside it (how does she know. why does she know.) she is loudly and quickly vocal about There Is A Dog Over There. Think husky noises. We're making progress on this but it is still deeply embarassing.

Home alone without Hazard. I haven't done as much work on this as I should, because she can be in the car alone for an hour, so if he's got a class I can just bring her. But it would be nice. Sigh.

[gingersnapwolves]

Okay y’all it’s been six months since I last posted so you know what that means! Time to rant about my family! Specifically this post has to do with my brother’s dog. Feel free not to read but I genuinely need advice on this topic since I’m basically at a loss. tl;dr how do I visit my parents without getting eaten by my brother’s dog???

Backstory: My brother and SIL have a dog named Rex (3M). They got him from a rescue at some point during the early days of the pandemic (but not for pandemic reasons, their elderly dog had passed away about a year previous and they had been talking about getting a new one for a while). He’s a mutt, probably some boxer, probably some Rhodesian Ridgeback, who knows what else. Relevant to the story: My parents (in their 70s) live with my brother and his family about 45 minutes away from my wife and I.

Last year, my dad began to complain to me about Rex, saying he barked constantly (I could usually hear him during our phone conversations) and he could be aggressive and badly behaved on walks and he was worried about it. I said Rex was probably bored and needed more activity and that they should call a trainer to help out (my brother and SIL have more than enough money for a good trainer). My dad said that they actually did have a trainer at one point but neither my brother nor SIL reinforced the training afterwards so the dog basically ignored them. My brother apparently approaches dog training the same way he approached parenting, which is to say he ignores the bad behavior until it annoys him and then he yells a lot.

When we were there at Thanksgiving, the dog was super disruptive. He barked all the time, especially if he saw a “stranger” (there were a lot of family members there he didn’t meet often) somewhere in the house. 

Bonus backstory: I actually used to be afraid of big dogs. I had a bad experience with a German Shepherd when I was 7-8 years old. When I met my wife and found out she loved big dogs, we had to work on that for quite a while before I could be okay with big dogs. I was cool with our first dog and I adored our second, and I love our third and current dog. But I still am not one hundred percent comfortable around large dogs that I don’t know, especially if they are loud or if they jump on me.

So shortly after the holidays, we went down to visit. At one point, my wife got up to use the bathroom. When she came out, Rex charged at her, barking and growling. Now, my wife is good with dogs. See above, loves big dogs, has trained all three of ours. She de-escalated with him like a pro. We talked with my dad about it and he said Rex is getting more and more territorial in the house and doesn’t like strangers. The kids (11F and 13M) have friends who don’t want to come over anymore because of the dog. At Thanksgiving, my cousins (7F and 10F) were afraid of the dog. 

My wife talked with my brother while we were there and said, plainly, that she thought Rex was becoming dangerous. He was showing a lot of aggression and they needed to get a trainer for him and really stick with it. My brother didn’t quite brush her off but basically just said “Okay, I’ll look into it”.

Half an hour later, I needed to use the bathroom. When I came out, Rex charged at me, barking, snarling. I completely froze up and just screamed for my wife to help me. My SIL is calling “Rex, come here, stop that,” et c, which Rex is completely ignoring. My wife gets between me and the dog until my SIL gets off her ass and comes to get him. I went into a room with a door, shut it, and refused to come out. It was a nice room, lol. My niece and my parents joined me and my wife there and they spent some nice time chatting, or so I would assume that’s what they did, since I spent most of that time in post-panic-attack haze.

My dad told me later that brother and SIL both think I completely overreacted and it was just “some barking” and I basically need to get a grip. My wife says that is completely bullshit and she knows a dangerous dog when she sees one. She was especially pissed because for the next few days I kept flinching away from our dog when she barked (which she doesn’t do often, but she will alert when strangers come near the house, which happens more frequently than you would think since we live at a dead-end and people use our driveway to turn around a lot).

So we agreed that we just won’t go there again unless Rex is in daycare or my parents have said he has improved. That was six months ago, we are now trying to plan Father’s Day activities, and Rex … has not improved. In fact, he was just kicked out of doggy daycare for being “difficult to handle” and “not listening to commands”. My brother and SIL’s reaction to this was to say that the place “obviously doesn’t know how to handle dogs”.

I just legitimately don’t know what to do at this point. I could pretty happily never see my brother and SIL again at this point, they’ve pissed me off so much, but my parents are there and so are my niece and nephew. Planning to see my parents anywhere but my brother’s house is very difficult. My dad doesn’t drive at all anymore and my mom only feels safe driving in good weather when it’s that far. We’ve had to cancel due to bad weather for our last two visits where they were supposed to come up to our place. My parents aren’t getting any younger and although I’ve had my issues with them at times, they’re my parents and I love them. As for my niece and nephew, I pretty much only see them when I go down to my brother’s; my brother and SIL have only come up here once for our housewarming and that’s it.

I originally suggested we ask them to keep Rex downstairs in their basement (finished and enormous) while we were there. My dad said he was ‘hesitant to ask them to do that’ since they don’t think Rex is a problem. And at this point, I don’t trust them not to brush me off and ‘forget’ and let him out, or do it because he’s barking so much (they did put him in a bedroom once while people were there and he barked the whole time). They aren’t taking the problem seriously, and their reaction to Rex getting thrown out of daycare proves to me that they don’t even want to acknowledge there is a problem. I’m pretty convinced that Rex could tear my hand off and they’d blame me for provoking him.

So … rant over. Thoughts, ideas?

[wartakes]

War: The Chronic Condition (OLD ESSAY)

This essay was originally posted on December 6th, 2020.

In it, I basically talk about how war isn't going anywhere - but try to frame it not as being a nihilistic or doomeristic comment (quite the opposite, because I hate that shit), but instead as a renewed call to arms to take it more seriously from the left and to have more of a coherent policy position regarding it beyond simply "war bad." (Full essay below the cut).

If you don’t want to read this whole essay: tl;dr war isn’t going anywhere.

I feel like I’ve already said this ad nauseum in the first few essays I’ve posted here – and rest assured, it is not going to be the last time I say it. But after thinking about both of those points, I decided it was worth dedicating a piece solely to that point, seeing that it’s so central to why I started this site and began writing about war from a leftist perspective to begin with.

The nature of war may change over time, yes – the tools and techniques used to fight it will certainly change, as they already have throughout history and are doing right now. But whether its war between states or within them, it’s my belief that war in all of its forms will remain a constant factor in our lives and in the lives of whoever follows after us.

This is not something I take pleasure in saying. I don’t feel a sense of smug satisfaction in pointing this out like I imagine most newspaper columnists and foreign policy talking heads probably do when they’re lecturing to us about how we should just accept the state of the world as it is (which conveniently leaves them in a very advantageous position). I don’t feel an inflated sense of self-importance typing all of this out and I hope it doesn’t come across as that.

If anything, what I feel is fear and frustration and borderline depression in the fact that I even need to say any of this. In the time I’ve been involved with the left it feels like the few voices that exist talking about war and international relations seem to think that there’s a way to magically make war disappear. I think that is a dangerous line of thinking; one that would put the type of system we’d all like to see at risk if we’re ever finally able to create it. We need to accept the persistence and permanence of war, be knowledgeable about it and be ready to deal with it.

Politics as Usual

I want to preface this section by saying I hate Carl von Clausewitz with a burning passion.

I had to read On War in grad school and it was a painful experience.

I memorized only enough in order to pass my comprehensive exams and get my master’s degree and since then I have quickly forgotten most of it. If you ever see me quoting him or referencing him, 99% of the time it’s probably ironic.

However, among the overused statements of Clausewitz’s that still trapped in my brain folds in a non-ironic way, is his oft-repeated comment that “War is merely the continuation of policy by other means.”

While I still cringe whenever I hear someone repeat that overused quote – often in a way that makes no sense or has no real meaning – I still have to begrudgingly admit there is some truth in that statement (this is somewhat awkward for me, seeing that I want to write about how I think Prussian influences in military thought are harmful and dangerous – but that’s for another day). The phrase retains its meaning – or even reinforces it – in an alternate translation, that says rather that “War is merely the continuation of policy by other means.”

We on the left, though sharing a sense of solidarity and unity against fascism, imperialism, authoritarianism and all the other -isms I’m probably missing, are well known for our almost comical degree of division and disagreement with one another. We argue and squabble with one another over just about everything you can possibly imagine. We’re no strangers to disagreements on politics and policy within our own world. Leftists in the past have even come to blows over it – often to their own detriment as other enemies than swoop in to divide and conquer the left as its factions eat one another.

The reason I bring this up though is not to just dunk on my fellow leftists, but to drive home a point. The world already has a great number of political and policy differences. Even if the world were predominately governed by leftists states – or, for any anarchist readers, a world simply populated with leftists individuals and communes and what have you – as long as political and policy differences of one kind or another exist, the potential for them to escalate to the extent of going to war will always exist. As long as humans exist, politics will exist in some shape or form. So, we can be pretty sure that war will still continue to exist in some shape or form too.

Despite this, any predictions have been made in the past of the coming end to war. This isn’t exclusively a leftist problem by any means and has been seen with theorists and thought leaders all across the political spectrum from left to right. World War I was supposed to be the “war to end all wars” – which it famously wasn’t. With the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Francis Fukuyama famously declared “the end of history, claiming that liberal democracy would be universalized as the final form of government – bringing about an end to war on the basis of democratic peace theory. Clearly that never panned out either – especially since he’s had to come back and ‘amend’ his statements decades later (oopsy).

Some have made more toned down but still ridiculous predictions, claiming that while war as an overall concept won’t go away, that the age of major wars between nations with large armies is over and that the future of war will be “shadow conflicts” fought by special forces and spies on the periphery of great powers – the same imperialism we’ve come to know and love but with a bold new taste! To them I’d say that clearly no one told the rest of the world, which are still producing, buying, and selling the weapons needed to fight one another in a conventional war, like tanks, combat aircraft, and more at a brisk pace – all while interstate tensions rise in places like the Caucasus, the Indian-Subcontinent, the Far East, and many more locales worldwide.

On the topic of weapons, to anyone arguing that a specific new weapon or emerging domains of warfare like cyberwarfare will make an entire way of war obsolete, I’d point to the interwar military theorists like Italian General Giulio Douhet who believed the advent of the bomber would essentially phase out the need for ground warfare (spoiler alert: it didn’t). Going back even further in history, Polish theorist Jan Gotlib Bloch, who wondered in 1899 if the growing deadliness of weapons would keep war from occurring (spoiler alert: that was wrong too). In that vein, while the advent of the atomic bomb has contributed to preventing another war on the scale of the World Wars, it certainly hasn’t prevented other smaller but still sizeable conflicts from breaking out since 1945.

I feel like I’m just rambling, so I’ll try and get back to something resembling a point. While I’m not in the Fallout school of “war never changes”, you should always take anyone telling you that war is “going away” or changing in a way that conveniently allays your fears of large-scale death and destruction with a massive barrel of salt as those predictions have a demonstrably bad track record when it comes to bearing out. To explain away war on a massive scale is dangerous wishful thinking, no matter what political ideology the person doing the explaining holds.

The Part Where Savage Gets Existential

From here on in, I make a bit of a personal digression that I wasn’t expecting to make – but bringing up the topic of war and its persistence made me do some deep introspection.

I spend a lot of time thinking about my profession and the relationship between it and the values I hold – especially in the last year. In particular, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I feel about war itself in a personal sense.

One worry I always have is maybe I’m “in love” with war, to put it bluntly. I’ve spent so much of my adult life studying it, learning about it, consuming media about it in all shapes and forms – I wonder sometimes if I’m some kind of armchair war junkie and if I’m part of the problem. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a strange feeling whenever a new crisis or conflict broke out and I begin tracking down the latest news and updates on it. I always worry that feeling is a sense of joy or happiness, thinking back to George C. Scott as George S. Patton in the eponymous biopic, where he’s surveying the corpse strewn battlefields of World War II and proclaims “I love it, God help me I do love it so.” That is one of my worst fears, that I am in effect a war-crazed sociopath that is contributing to a darker and deadlier world.

Thinking about it deeper, I don’t think it’s that I feel joy or happiness when some new war breaks out somewhere (at least I hope to God it isn’t). I do feel some degree of exhilaration, but I think that is more so in that suddenly I feel useful. Many people – even those that have participated in it directly at a micro level – don’t necessarily understand the ins and outs of war in a big picture sense. When a new conflict breaks out, I suddenly feel like I am contributing to something by trying to help people understand what is going on and why. That is why I started this blog after all, trying to see if my rantings and ravings can help other leftists understand war (or at the very least, push them to come up with something better to prove me wrong. The main event that catalyzed me into finally buying a WordPress site and starting writing was posting news updates and analysis to friends in a discord server as war played out between Armenia and Azerbaijan recently.

Maybe that sense of usefulness, that sense of somehow contributing and maybe helping people understand a complex but commonplace phenomena, is maybe why I sometimes feel a sense of existential dread when I think about a theoretical world without war. After all, if the world had no war, what use would there be for me? It’s not even the fear necessarily that I’d be out of a job – I’d like to think that in such a society I’d be well taken care of if I suddenly became unemployed – but that basically that the field I had pursued for my entire life would suddenly be meaningless and irrelevant, and by extension so would I. I feel a sense of shame for even thinking that, but I’d like to think people would understand why I and others would have these kinds of complex feelings.

I want to believe that sense of existential dread about becoming irrelevant is not the reason that I believe why war will always be a concern. I accept that that fear is a part of me and something I’ll need to deal with, but I don’t think my thoughts on the persistence of war is purely me trying to keep war alive by force of will in order to feel special and appreciated. The other part is looking at the world around us both past and present and thinking about all the factors at play in how war occurs, looking forward into the future and thinking about how some realities will never change or not change as much as we’d like no matter what systems we put in place.

Really, thinking about what it might take to end war on Earth creates another sense of fear. Ending war would likely require the most deadly and destructive conflict in human history if you wanted to remove anyone or anything capable of starting it. That would be the case whether if you wanted to replace all states with one global superstate, or create an anarchic world without states or governments as we understand them now. Even if one of those goals was achieved – and if anyone were left alive afterwards, who is to say that decades or centuries later, some charismatic leader wouldn’t try to raise up a new army and change the new status quo and start the cycle anew? If you wanted to stop that, you’d likely have to create a new system of oppression much like the ones we all seeking to disband or demolish. War is like water; one way or another, it will find cracks and it will leak through and you’ll need to start mopping up.

Maybe I’m wrong. Let’s be real, it would absolutely be 100% better for the world if I was wrong. Regardless of whether it would make people like me irrelevant, a world without war would be objectively better for everyone on the planet and people like me would just have to find a new phenomenon to study. A peaceful world is what anyone with any degree of empathy or sanity should want. But as a wise philosopher once said: “you can’t always get what you want.” And while a planet with a terminal case of war isn’t “what you need” – to complete the thought –  it’s what we have now. We need to understand that and learn to deal with it going forward in our efforts at trying to create a better world for everyone.

I’ve previously described war as a man-made disaster, explaining that those can never be 100% avoided – just as a natural disaster cannot. Perhaps another apt comparison would be to call war one of humanity’s chronic conditions. It’s not a fatal one if properly treated, but it is none the less incurable. At times it can be debilitating, and while there are often ways to lessen the occurrence of its symptoms or their effects, the symptoms and effects are still unavoidable and sooner or later they are going to flare up. The best we can hope for is to do everything we can in order to lessen the frequency and impact of war when it does rear its ugly head, and power through it as best we can when it inevitably does show up uninvited. It may not be the utopian solution that many anti-war activists may dream of, but at the very least it is something that is in the realm of the possible when dealing with an intractable problem like war.

[female-malice]

Population anon from earlier: Thank you for your response, though I still think non-coercive forms of population control would be appropriate especially in high-consumption countries. I also think that there's a lot of ways that high population leads to poor quality of life (e.g., child neglect, noise, trash/sewage) and harms women (e.g., harassment/violence on transit, being forced to live with men). I really appreciate your well-informed response.

Most high-consumption countries already have very low birth rates. I think that's a major reason the US government allowed states to ban abortions. It's becoming more and more difficult diplomatically for the US to exploit other nations. And so the US needs to rely on exploiting domestic poverty more and more. That's why they need to grow the wealth gap and shrink the middle class. And one fast way to do that is to take away women's reproductive health care options.

Reproductive health care is very important because it closes wealth gaps.

I don't agree that density leads to child neglect. Car-oriented suburban and rural sprawl leads to fractured communities and long commutes. That takes several hours out of family life every day.

The city I live in has 9,000 people per square mile and no trash or sewage problems. I lived in Tokyo for a month where it's 16,000 people per square mile. No trash or sewage problems there either.

I have experienced no difference in my personal safety whether I'm in rural or urban areas. I personally feel safest in a city because I'm never alone. Density doesn't mean it's just all unstable people living together. The majority of people in a dense area are regular stable people like you and me. If I need help, I can trust a stranger walking their dog at a park. But I can't trust a stranger driving by on a rural road. But that's just a feeling I have because I was born in a city.

You can point to this or that city and say it's dangerous or has poor waste management. But that doesn't mean density leads to danger and poor waste management. I can point to rural areas that have high crime and poor waste management, too. So it's a moot point.

Cities don't force you to live with men. Cities are just a place where people can live efficiently.

Female separatist settlements in the woods are still American settler culture. They still rely on the "American dream" of individual enterprise and self-reliance. Well, the truth is, human self-reliance is a myth. We can either live densely and help each other, or we can live alone and rely on machines. Machines like cars and extra refrigerators and spare generators and guns. Rural living requires quite a few machines just in case there's an emergency. You're alone and a long way from help and services. So you need to be machine-reliant. And that takes a lot of energy.

In order for rural life to be efficient, it needs to be dense. Condo buildings with goods and services on the ground floor. A hub of human life. No need to drive long distances several times a day. No need for 100 people to disrupt natural ecosystems in 100 different ways. 100 people can live together very efficiently in a human habitat.

The area where I'm from, native people traditionally lived densely in longhouses. It's efficient and comfortable, so why not? Why risk living far apart?

The real odd thing is that every settler needed his own ranch. Why did they each need to claim acres of land as their private property? I don't know. Maybe they never got along with each other. Out here in the west, settlers' inability to share space shaped the fabric of western American society. And car culture just reinforced that fabric. But there's no reason we need to keep living like that.

[wheelercurse]

I have mentioned many times before about the rule “show, don’t tell”. Stranger Things follows this rule a lot, so that’s why I think it’s pretty intentional that Mike’s monologue can be contrasted with what the series has been showing us. 

I know many believe that Mike was lying intentionally, that’s one way to interpret it, but to me it’s just as simple as this: he was telling all these things to El, but the problem is that he didn’t show it. 

“I’m sorry I don’t say it more.” But he never said it, or maybe he’s just talking about the only time he said he loved her in a room full of people, when El wasn’t there. 

“I’m not scared of you.” I think this is truth, also of course he doesn’t see her as a monster, but he acted cold when El hits Angela, and she thought that he also viewed her as one. 

“I love you in your bad days.” Welp, one of her lowest moments was at rink o mania after she hit Angela. And Mike never tried to comfort her. They show us El sitting alone crying, and Mike next to Will just glancing at her. In the van, he never looked at her. During dinner, he made a bitchy comment “She didn’t look fine.” El got up and went to her room, and he didn’t follow her. His actions reinforced the idea that he didn’t love her. 

“I love you without your powers.” Yes, Mike sees and appreciates her as a person, and not only for her powers, but the truth is that he never told her that he loves her when she didn’t have her powers. And this also made El insecure, that’s why when he called her a superhero, she told him that she wasn’t one anymore. She didn’t feel worthy without them. 

“I love you since the day we found you in the woods.” Mike is a compassionate kid, of course he wouldn’t have left her alone in the rain that night. So he took her to his home. She needed someone. But still, Mike’s priority was still finding Will. That’s why his plan was let her sleep in his house that night, and then in the morning El would knock the door and Karen would send her back to wherever she came from. 

“We’ll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night we go back out. And this time, we find Will.” 

But he changed his plans, when El told him that she was in danger, and his family and friends would also be in danger. Then they bonded because they needed each other. Mike hid her from the bad guys, and El helped him to find Will. It wasn’t love at first sight. 

And also it’s interesting that they decided to show you this flashback, because we can see Mike’s expression, and there wasn’t love in it, he was just confused, because at that moment in his mind was Will. He was expecting to see him, but he found another kid.  

So all these words were meaningless. That’s why they weren’t enough to save the day. 

[texas-electricity-ratings]

2024 Hurricane Season NOAA Update

2024 Hurricane Season NOAA Update

NOAA Says "Above Normal" Hurricane Season

Texans are no strangers to hurricane seasons but according to NOAA, this season could be above normal. Learn what to look out for to stay safe.

June in Texas not only means the start of summer but also the official start of hurricane season. NOAA released its 2024 Hurricane season forecast back on May 23. Like other hurricane forecasts we covered earlier, NOAA is forcasting an 85% chance of an above-normal season. And given summer temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, "above-normal" is not an exaggeration.

17 to 25 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher)

8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher)

4 to 7 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher)

Why Will This Hurricane Season be "Above Normal"

NOAA explains the following factors can help create the kind of summer conditions that produce active Atlantic hurricane seasons.

Weaker trade winds coming off the coast of Africa. 

Weaker vertical wind shear off west Africa, stretching westwards.

An above-average West African monsoon. These systems produce African easterly waves that carry enough heat and churn up air currents to seed tropical storm systems.

Near record warmer than normal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the Main Development Region (MDR). That is, the area stretching from west Africa to the Caribbean. 

NOAA expects a La Niña to emerge sometime this summer (possibly late-July). La Niñas tend to reinforce conditions that spawn tropical storms and hurricanes.

Does NOAA Predict Hurricanes Will Hit Texas This Summer?

The Houston derecho on May 16 left many without power for days. So, it's natural to wonder if a tropical storm will hit Texas this summer.

While there's a possibility for a tropical storm or hurricane to hit the Texas coast, there's no certainty. Nor can anyone say if it will happen or when. However, there are things that all Texas residents need to be reminded of in advance.

1.  Hurricanes in the Gulf Mean Trouble. Any time a tropical storm forms or enters the Gulf of Mexico, Texas residents should pay attention. The best way to stay informed about possible tropical storms threats is to check the National Hurricane Center. This way, you can see the disturbances that NOAA forecasters are tracking. Tropical storms in the Gulf also threaten to shut down off shore oil and gas platforms. Such shut downs can raise the price of the natural gas used to generate electricity. That can ultimately increase your electricity rates. So, if you haven't locked in at least a 12 month cheap electricity rate, do it now.

2. Storm Surges Endanger Coastal Areas.  High winds in front of a hurricane blow very high ocean tides towards land. Sea level rise since 2000 has pushed the average height of storm surge in the Gulf to over 20 feet. Elevations along much the Gulf coastline are barely more than 10 feet above sea level. If you live in such an area, always be ready to evacuate in land.

3. Flooding is the Biggest Inland Danger.  During tropical storms, rain-swollen streams and creeks can grow into river over a mile wide. And all that water can wash out bridges and entire roadways. Flood water is a powerful force and it only takes one to two feet of water to float a car. Nearly half of all drowning deaths during storms resulted from people driving vehicles into flooded areas and getting washed away. So, if you see a flooded road ahead of you, turn around, don't drown.

4. Be Ready for Your Power to Go Out.  High winds can still cause enormous damage especially to trees and power lines. As many in Houston have already seen this spring, recovering from natural disasters can take days or even weeks. Sheltering in place may be worth trying for a while. However, it can be extremely dangerous for the very young, the elderly, or for people with chronic illness. In that case, be prepared to evacuate to a safe location away from the storm.

As always, it only takes one storm to create a disaster. The most important thing to do is to make a plan for keeping your family safe. Be sure to check https://www.texaselectricityratings.com again this summer for more information as the season progresses.

[youthmasala]

How to Stop Dog Barking at Night on Strangers: A Practical Guide

As a dog owner, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of your furry friend barking at strangers. But fear not! In this blog post, we’ll explore practical strategies to help you Stop Dog Barking at Night on Strangers and create a more peaceful environment for everyone. Whether it’s the mail carrier, a neighbor, or someone passing by on the street, excessive barking can be annoying and even embarrassing.

Why Does My Dog Bark at Strangers

Before we dive into the solutions, let’s briefly explore why dogs bark at strangers. Understanding the underlying reasons can guide our approach: - Territorial Instincts: Dogs are wired to protect their territory. When they see unfamiliar people approaching their home or yard, they may bark to alert you and ward off potential threats. - Fear and Anxiety: Some dogs bark out of fear or anxiety. Strangers can trigger these emotions, leading to excessive barking. - Alarm Barking: Dogs also bark to alert their owners to potential dangers. This behavior extends beyond their immediate surroundings and can occur in parks, streets, or unfamiliar places. - Attention-Seeking: If your dog has learned that barking gets your attention, they may use it as a communication tool.

Practical Tips to Stop Dog Barking at Night

1. Recognize the Causes - Identify whether your dog’s barking is territorial, fear-based, or attention-seeking. - Avoid yelling or shouting at your dog, as it can worsen the behavior. 2. Basic Obedience Training - Teach your dog the “quiet” command. When they bark, calmly say “quiet” and reward them when they stop. - Gradually reduce treats as they learn to associate quiet behavior with positive reinforcement. 3. Reduce Exposure to Strangers - Close curtains or blinds to limit your dog’s view of outside triggers. - Distract your dog by shaking keys or using white noise machines to drown out external sounds. 4. Exercise and Mental Enrichment - Regular walks, play sessions, and puzzle toys help release pent-up energy. - Lick mats and chew toys trigger endorphins, promoting relaxation. 5. Avoid Reinforcing Barking - Don’t rush to your dog when they bark for attention. Wait until they stop before giving them any. - Consistency is key: Reward desired behavior, ignore barking, and avoid accidental reinforcement. 6. Professional Help - Consult a certified dog trainer or behaviorist if barking persists. - They can assess your dog’s specific needs and provide personalized guidance.

Conclusion

Remember, patience and consistency are essential when modifying your dog’s behavior. By understanding the reasons why your dog barks at me for no reason and implementing these practical tips, you’ll be well on your way to a quieter, happier household. Happy training! FAQ Q: Why Does My Dog Bark at Me for No Reason? A: Dogs may bark due to boredom, attention-seeking, anxiety, or a need for exercise. Observing behavior patterns can provide insight. Q: Why Does My Dog Bark So Much at Strangers? A: Dogs bark at strangers due to territorial instincts, fear, or lack of socialization. Training and positive exposure can help manage it. Q: Why does my dog only bark at one family member? A: Dogs may bark at one family member due to fear, past experiences, or feeling protective or threatened in their presence. Read the full article

[customcanine]

Understanding and Addressing Common Behavior Issues with Working Breeds

Working breeds are known for their impressive intelligence, intense drive, and unwavering loyalty. But sometimes, these traits also come with certain behavior issues that can be challenging for owners. German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Dobermans, Rottweilers, and other working breeds need focused training and socialization to help them become well-behaved, happy, and confident. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the common behavior issues with working breeds and provide helpful tips for addressing them.

Separation Anxiety and Destructive Behavior

Aggression and Reactivity

Working breeds are naturally protective and may become aggressive towards strangers, other dogs, or even family members if they feel threatened. This behavior can be dangerous and require professional intervention to address. If your dog shows signs of aggression or reactivity, consult with a certified dog behaviorist who can assess the situation and provide positive reinforcement techniques and behavior modification exercises.

Herding and Chasing Instincts

Some working breeds, such as Border Collies and Australian Shepherds, have a natural herding and chasing instinct that can be challenging to manage in a residential area. Dogs with these traits may chase after cars, bicycles, or other animals, leading to potentially dangerous situations. To address this behavior, provide plenty of physical exercise and mental stimulation for your dog, such as obedience training, scent work, or agility training.

Digging and Escaping

Working breeds are often high-energy and may become bored or restless without enough stimulation or playtime. This can lead to destructive behavior such as digging or chewing, and even attempts to escape the yard or house. To prevent these behaviors, ensure that your dog has a variety of toys, chew items, and interactive games to keep them occupied. You can also consider building a designated digging area for your dog, or using a kennel or fence to secure your yard.

Fearfulness and Timidity

Some working breeds, especially those with a difficult or traumatic past, may be prone to fearfulness or timidity. This behavior can manifest as trembling, hiding, or avoidance, and may require extra patience and understanding from owners. To help your dog build confidence and reduce fearfulness, provide positive reinforcement training and socialization experiences, such as meeting new people and dogs in a controlled environment. Visit us for more information :- german shepherd training near me

Working breeds are amazing dogs with boundless energy and intelligence, but they also require special care and attention to help them thrive. By understanding and addressing common behavior issues, you can build a strong and happy relationship with your working breed dog. Remember to be patient, consistent, and positive in your training efforts, and always seek professional advice if you encounter serious or persistent behavior problems. Together, you and your working breed can accomplish great things and make wonderful memories that last for a lifetime.

[song-of-the-rune]

I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier.

Decided to do some writing from Luke's perspective since he had a rough day in today's session.

I'm not sure I'm cut out for all this. I just wanted to help out the town. Alright, you got me, maybe make a little money on the side. But I did want to help the town! I knew it'd be dangerous, but... logging's dangerous. This is terrifying. Is there anything in the Keep that actually makes you go insane, or is this just what happens when people spend too long being afraid for their lives?

Lee's been acting strange -- stranger than normal. I think his reincarnation went wrong. I know, I feel bad saying it, after defending him, but... he's a little terrifying now! Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just because he's not short and squishy anymore. But was he always this aggressive?

Camille... I don't know what happened to her, exactly. Maybe that snake thing took her over. Maybe she was always like this. But, gods, she didn't have to try to kill the man.

Nip... Nip was always odd. I think we scared her away. I think scaring her away probably killed her. I keep dreading finding her body somewhere deeper in the dungeons, like we did with the Paulsons...

The people in town are acting strange, as well. They say things, to themselves, to each other, to me, that don't make sense anymore. It feels as if someone is speaking through them, at times. Did I do this?

I'm not cut out for this. Something is happening to me. But it's not what I've heard about, with the Keep calling to people and luring them in... I think I'm just cracking under the stress.

If it comes down to something like that again, I don't think I can fight back. I can't just... kill someone. It doesn't matter what or who it'll save. I realized that today -- I'm not cut out for this hero stuff. I can go on adventures, I can face danger, but I don't want to see anyone die, much less take part in it.

I say that, but I already killed someone. He deserved to die. I keep telling myself that. He deserved to die. He was a serial killer. He was going to hurt more people. I saved the town!

I still killed him.

I want to help people, but I can't get the image out of my head. He was alive, and then I hurt him, and then he wasn't.

And I keep asking myself -- how much of what I did was to protect Otari? I thought... I thought maybe if I killed the real werewolf, people would accept me. But it doesn't make anything better. All I've done is reinforce that people like me need to be hunted down. I'm back at square one -- and I killed someone for it. Even if I know he was going to come back and kill more people, no matter what we did, I regret doing it. There had to have been another way.

Is this how I'm going to feel when we reach the end? Am I going to hesitate when it's time to destroy whatever's controlling the Gauntlight?

I can't do this. I want to be a hero, but I don't have what it takes to protect this town. I can't do it again. I'm not a soldier.

[sweetladydestiny]

Returning to the Adventure

The giants sat quietly in thought before saying necromancers, we are going to need magical reinforcements. All three of the giants looked at Bella and asked if anyone in the town would be willing to help reclaim their dying forest. Bella, after staring off into the distance for a couple of minutes sadly responded we have lost many in the forest for them to become enemies against us in our fight, you are lucky if our citizens leave the gates during this time.

After a few moments of deafening silence, Bella stood up and began to pace back and forth in the chapel. The giants all looked at this little 3-foot elf just walking back and forth. They sat awaiting her next move. It seemed as if forever had passed before Bella finally spoke, I'll help she stated in a small but fierce voice.

The giants fought to stifle their laughter when the tiny elf volunteered herself to go against a necromancer. Bella being the smallest elf but the oldest in the village was no stranger to danger much less adventure. Before settling down back into her quiet church life Bella had traveled the world with a rough and tumble gang of adventurers. They had become friends, no family to Bella and she knew it was impossible for them to turn down a good fight.

[mitsoumi]

The Next 9 Things You should Do For Dating Success

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