#dw its a rhetorical question i know the answer

[tentacle-therapissed]

Yk when you’re watching a children’s cartoon that’s really good but there are moments when you sort of cringe because a character says something in a way that reminds you it’s a kid’s show? Like the writing is too on the nose, too simplistic, too predictable, and you have to take a step back and remember not to be so harsh because you’re not the target demographic? Why do I constantly feel that way when watching Hazbin Hotel

[extravagantwolf]

A snow-covered grief. Story beneath the cut. TW for animal death, grief, and murder.

The soft exhale creates a puff of white. It fades gently into the white abyss as if it never was there to begin with. Closing her eyes does not part the image of white from her eyes. A lingering constant, ebbing at her, and refusing to leave even when her voice cracks to plead, “Please go.”

So many cats seem to come and go, flickering in and out brutally and cruelly. No matter how many times she screams, begs, or yowls, there’s never a budge in the sky nor a miracle. Her worn and callused paws can only carry her across barren ground, picking up burrs as walks, to the graves she built to take their place.

Crude is the only word she can think of whenever her eyes lay on the snow-covered mound of rocks with the roots of a mangy tree sprawling across its surface. A family grave should be more dignified, but she found herself wallowing in despair. The only sign that this can be considered a “proper” grave is the broken pillar sitting in front of it. Each day, she tells herself to wake up with conviction. Pride, maybe, too. It’s all she can do for them now.

Belief is not something she can give anymore. Uttering prayers never helped ease the agony of loss. Perhaps they are frolicking in the sky above and watching her with their myriad of emotions. It isn’t that she hopes they aren’t in a beautiful world of full bellies and warm pelts. She wants to believe death is as wondrous as the nursery tales told; where stars fleck their pelts and they are honored warriors serving the Moon.

“But why? Why let everything be taken from us?” she asks, to which she receives no answer. She never expects one. StarClan does not follow her pawsteps, and she has come to accept such realities. Aspenstar often rambled that her warrior name was a gift from the stars. Hence why suddenly she took an interest in her doings. When the mural of the left behind was discovered, it only furthered Aspenstar’s silly rhetoric.

Another breath touches the frigid air and becomes another lost sight. Sitting down, her paws whine about the sting of the cold. How ironic it complains when they can’t anymore. Her head tilts to the side, lingering on another grave made only a year ago on a starless night. But tonight, the stars gleam and watch the living from their haven. If she could ask them to come down and answer one thing, it would be a simple question on the surface.

“Did I do enough?” she murmurs as she outstretches a paw and brushes away the snow from where a nameplate should sit. Every time she attempts, she throws it off of the cliff and storms back to camp. No cat asks her what happened now. They all know of her self-made graveyard below. Some attempt to comfort her, but it feels hollow. She knows – well, for most cats here – they do mean what they say. Yet the ostracizing will always linger.

Perhaps that is why she got along with Chikoritabreak. Cats often whispered about his past too, and they were not secretive about their distaste. Jokes about kittypets, twolegs, and all that comes with them was nothing but normalcy too. Even though he was Aspenstar’s apprentice, that did not silence the meowing. Specklefire, while careful, still spread such rhetoric on occasion. She thinks she did too unknowingly. Those words were bred into her.

It’s far too easy to turn someone into an outcast. Easier yet is when no cat realizes they are. Now… It’s too late to ask any cat about the whys. Bleakchest might be shunned, but she cannot bring herself to turn her back to her. Revenge wasn’t the answer, she knows that, but what if she was there that night? What if she was staring down Chikoritabreak, her dear friend, and heard him confess to the crime of killing Specklefire? To the crime of killing…

“Stars, I wonder if you enjoy my misery,” she bitterly chuckles. Her shoulders crash in, leaving her head to fall and linger on the pathetic and wilted plant trying to grow. Doesn’t it know that few ground-dwelling plants can survive on cold and wretched nights? Is it a fool too? “You want something you can’t have, you miserable thing.”

Unsheathing her claws, her paw wraps around the pitiful sprout. It would be so easy to pluck it from the ground and toss the weed away. Whisk its legacy into nothing more than a forgotten memory. Yet her heart knows better, and it sheathes her claws for her. “You’ll be forgotten if I keep waiting and dawdling and failing and…” The rambling trails away as her eyes steady onto the brilliant moon hanging above. White clouds her vision, but even then she can see Silverpelt gleams brilliantly without cease.

No cat can lose their way whenever Silverpelt stands above them, or so Specklefire said. Perhaps a few nights of work will forge passion. Seoli said not to stay up too late, to get some sleep for once in her life, but apparently she’ll be able to sleep endlessly when death comes for her. For now, if only to appease her heart, she’ll ponder a mural again. Think from the angles of these cats only she knew and saw. Imagine a beauty that can carry their legacy far into the future.

“And maybe…” She chuckles with a lop-sided smile. “Maybe it’ll be something so wonderful you’ll descend from the stars.”

[nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany]

Links 7/30/19

Digital Elixir Links 7/30/19

Yves here. The Democratic Party debates are tonight and tomorrow night. Both evenings, Lambert will host a debate special feature. However, it takes a lot out of him to participate. So he will be actively involved in this evening’s debate (Warren and Sanders as the big names, where the policy issues, what is said and isn’t said are important) and will sponsor an open thread tomorrow (Biden and Harris, which will presumably lend itself to more reader snark).

I’ve Stayed Silent for Too Long: Opossums Deserve Our Love Mother Jones (furzy)

Boar wars: how wild hogs are trashing European cities Guardian

Scientists Stunned By ‘City-Killer’ Asteroid That Just Missed Earth On July 25 Washington Post

Ethiopia Plants 350 Million Trees in a Day To Help Tackle Climate Crisis Guardian

Can Robots Solve America’s Recycling Crisis? CNBC

5G May Drain Batteries, While Base Stations Will Require Three Times As Much Power IEEE

Lithium Industry Buildup Is Outracing the Electric-Car Boom Bloomberg (UserFriendly)

Despite denials, study claims 2017’s mysterious radioactive cloud did come from Russia New Atlas (David L)

Could cheap drugs (up to a century old) be the new way to tackle cancer? That’s the intriguing question raised by patients who swear they work – but profit hungry big pharma is ignoring them… Daily Mail

No, Lyme disease is not an escaped military bioweapon, despite what conspiracy theorists say The Conversation

China?

Rising rhetoric drowns out Sino-US trade talks Asia Times (Kevin W)

Brexit

Boris Johnson Issues Ultimatum to EU Over Brexit Talks as Pound Slumps Bloomberg

UK Made Illegal Copies and Mismanaged Schengen Travelers Database ZDNet. And no doubt passed it to the US.

This is key. No-deal will last for years. And during that period we’ll struggle to sign meaningful deals with other countries until they know what our relationship with the EU will involve. https://t.co/xooynZWg7N

— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) July 29, 2019

New Cold War

China-Russia air patrol shows Japan and South Korea in disarray ejinsight (Kevin W)

Syraqistan

Tanker Seizures and the Threat to the Global Economy from Resurgent Imperialism Craig Murray. Kevin W: “Includes image of actual law in article. Worth scrolling down to last paragraph which he lays out his qualifications to talk on this subject.”

US to reduce Afghanistan forces by 2020 DW

I can’t overstate how many times President Bolsonaro & his government have accused me of committing crimes & threatened to arrest me in the last few days without specifying a single crime other than reporting. This exchange is surreal: the reporter asks 5 times & gets no answer: https://t.co/hr7SyaJfOc

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 30, 2019

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Amazon Told Police It Has Partnered With 200 Law Enforcement Agencies Vice

BoJo adviser lays down strict ‘no leaks’ policy — but the warning is instantly leaked to media RT (Kevin W)

United Airlines Is Expanding Its Creepy Biometric Screening Technology to More Airport Hubs Gizmodo (Kevin W)

‘Never-Googlers’ Take Extreme Measures To Avoid Data Tracking Washington Post. I must confess to not being this rigorous. My big issue is the avoidance of being GPS located.

How the West Got China’s Social Credit System Wrong Wired (David L). Who paid for this handwaving? The plan is there and the fact that execution is behind schedule doesn’t make it any nicer.

200 Million Devices — Some Mission-Critical — Vulnerable To Remote Takeover ars technica. Honestly, I’m surprised the number isn’t much much higher.

Capital One Says Breach Hit 100 Million Individuals in U.S. Bloomberg

US Files Lawsuit Against Bitcoin Exchange That Helped Launder Ransomware Profits ZDNet

Trump Transition

Trump Adviser Tom Barrack Pushed for Saudi Nuclear Deal — and Planned to Profit From It ProPublica (UserFriendly)

Experts Say the DOJ Justification for T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Approval Is a Joke Vice

2020

sanders spoke at the @NAACP convention where he got a standing ovation. The @nytimes straight up pretended he didn’t go. @AsteadWesley mentioned every other candidate there. Did Wesley submit it like that? Or did editors cut sanders out? Here’s what happens when you search (1/?) https://t.co/XpGIuFVWjb

— Katie Halper (@kthalps) July 30, 2019

Gabbard’s run: “A different type of vibe” Washington Post. UserFriendly: “Actually somewhat positive.”

Conservative Democratic Ringleader Josh Gottheimer Gets A Progressive Challenger Huffington Post (UserFriendly)

Count every vote and count them all by hand Tim Canova South Florida Sun-Sentinel (furzy)

Journey to power: The history of black voters, 1976 to 2020 NBC (furzy)

Judge Dismisses Covington Student’s Lawsuit Against ‘Washington Post’ Rolling Stone (furzy)

The Dangerous Austerity Politics of the Washington Post Dean Baker, FAIR (UserFriendly)

More Older Couples Stay Together Because They Live Apart Wall Street Journal

Privacy Group Challenges FTC’s Small Facebook Settlement, Also Wants an Admission of Guilt The Verge

Apollo Trawls Records in Hunt for Epstein Links: Report Bloomberg

S&P 500 buybacks are driving an unprecedented cash decline, says Goldman MarketWatch

Facebook warns investors that Libra may never see the light of day CNBC

Deutsche Bank probes access of fired workers to lender’s systems Financial Times. We pointed out DB’s IT is terrible. This is far from the worst possible mishap.

Hiring is Broken And Yours Is Too Rajiv Prab. Important.

Class Warfare

28% of Delivery Drivers Have Tasted Your Food, Survey Finds Restaurant Business Online. If 28% admit to it, the reality has to be worse.

Parents Are Giving Up Custody of Their Kids to Get Need-Based College Financial Aid ProPublica (UserFriendly)

Against Against Billionaire Philanthropy Slate Star Codex (UserFriendly)

Antidote du jour (MGL):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

Links 7/30/19

from WordPress https://ift.tt/333Hz3p via IFTTT

[deathtouch]

💛 femfeb day 12 | my femfeb masterpost 🧡 xposted → ao3 | dw | pf.io 💖 Ashe/Widowmaker | 1.9k | Mature 🧡 Branding, Torture, Kidnapping, Tied-up, Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Sexual Slavery, Non-Consensual Touching 💛 Ashe finds Widowmaker trespassing on her land and punishes her accordingly

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Ashe asked, though the question was rhetorical. She had her semi-automatic propped up over one shoulder, hand on the grip and fingers clear of the trigger. She came sauntering up to the hog-tied beauty face down in the dirt. Her underlings had done a fine job capturing the intruder, roping her up, and bringing her in for their boss to see. Ashe nudged the woman at her feet with the toe of her boot, pushing her over to get a better look at just who it was. The high-tech sniper rifle and blue hued skin were dead giveaways, but it could be someone playing dress-up sent to mislead her. The murderous glare that greeted her told Ashe otherwise. This here was the real deal, the Widowmaker herself. Ashe tsk’d gently and moved to crouch down. “So, this is how Talon does business?” She asked, unimpressed. “I extend an olive branch and they send a sniper to take me out?” She reached for Widowmaker’s pretty face. Widowmaker, of course, tried to jerk away but she was all roped up. She wasn’t going anywhere. She could spit and curse though, so that’s exactly what she did. Well, Ashe assumed she was being cursed at. She didn’t know what ‘si tu me touche je te couperai les doigts’ meant, but it probably wasn’t anything nice. Ashe ignored that to cup Widowmaker’s jaw and run a thumb along the blood leaking from a cut on her bottom lip. It was a shame, really. Ashe had been getting on so well with all the other rival gangs here in the states. Business was booming, so to speak. Sometimes literally where her dynamite was involved. She was even making friends south of the boarder in Mexico. She thought branching out internationally would be a good idea. Who better to get in bed with than the nefarious Talon organization themselves? So far as she could tell they did business just about everywhere in the world, and it would be nice to have friends in high places. Apparently, they weren’t too keen on being friends with her, though. That was just fine. She would have taken no for an answer, they didn’t have to send someone to kill her. “Well, you’re new around here so you don’t know it, but we got a few rules around these parts,” Ashe said, letting Widowmaker twist away from her touch. “Keep your word, don’t work with the law, respect each other’s territory and always punish betrayal.” Widowmaker stared hatefully up at her from her position on the ground. She was damn pretty. Too pretty to kill. They couldn’t cut her loose, though. Even without her weapons she was still dangerous. Ashe would just have to keep her around. She could think of a few uses for her. “So far as I know, you ain’t with the law so we’re good there. That’s lucky for you, because otherwise I would have had to shoot you dead.” Ashe stood up from where she had been crouching down in the dirt. A few steps away there was a cast aluminum chiminea sitting near the wood and wire fence that circled parts of the Deadlock Gang’s property. Ashe stepped up to it and pulled back the lattice cage cover to reveal a fire box full of half charred wooden logs. “As for keeping your word, well.” Ashe shrugged, “I guess technically you haven’t made any promises to me that need keeping, so your word is intact.” She made quick work of adding paper for kindling. When she was done, she lit an entire book of matches and tossed it inside. A fire roared to life, flames licking upwards and smoke rising from the top of the chiminea’s stack. Ashe glanced back to see Widowmaker watching warily. She wasn’t moving now but must have been a moment ago because her wrists had gone red from trying to twist free of the rope she was bound up in. “Concerning betrayal, Talon and Deadlock ain’t friendly enough that I’ve been betrayed here. Although, my feelings are a little hurt that I been nothing but nice to you and you been nothing but murderous in return.” Ashe moseyed on over to the fence nearby where a handful of branding irons sat leaning against the wooden post. She traded her gun for an iron, resting her weapon against the fence as she took up the long cast iron rod. When she lifted it, she took note of the symbol on the end. It was a simplified version of a skull with wings, just similar enough to evoke Deadlock imagery but without all the details that would get lost when being seared into someone’s skin. That one wasn’t right. “Now, as for respecting my territory, we’ve got a bit of a problem.” Ashe set the first brand down and went for another. T for thief. That wasn’t the one she wanted either. She set it back. “I can’t let just anybody walk around my land and among my people like they own the place. Least of all someone sent to kill me.” Apparently unconcerned with whether her getaway attempts were witnessed or not, Widowmaker began to struggle in earnest. She twisted, jerking her shoulders back and forth, writhing in the dusty New Mexico dirt. She was back to cursing viciously in French, impressively managing to make such a romantic language sound so dangerous. Ashe just smirked and plucked up another brand. Ah, this was the one she wanted. Two diamonds intersecting and laid one on top of one the other to create a third diamond in the middle. The symbol was meant to abstractly represent handcuffs or chain links and it evoked the message of law and justice. Anyone marked with double diamonds earned the affectionate nickname of *diamond dog*, though dogs were usually treated much nicer. Diamond dogs were offenders who had broken gang rules, untrustworthy and despicable. Ashe thrust the business end of the branding iron into the fire, burying it deep in the depths of the orange flame. It would take a few minutes to get good and hot. She turned her attention back to Widowmaker, walking back over to crouch down in front of her again. “Harm me and I’ll-“ “Yeah,” Ashe interrupted. “Save the threats sweetheart. This is happening whether you want it to or not. I can’t let disrespect like this slide. Not from Talon, not from you, not from anybody. So you can keep your mouth shut and I’ll mark you good and quick or you can keep running it and get two marks for the price of one.” Widowmaker’s hateful stare returned. She glared hard at Ashe but kept her mouth shut. “Good choice,” Ashe flashed her a winning smile. She dug around in her waistcoat pockets until she found her knife. It was a pretty little thing, with an Italian wood handle and shiny brass bolsters. Windowmaker flinched back when it was unfolded, the clean blade shining in the sunlight. “Let’s just get some of this fabric out the way,” Ashe mused. “Best hold still now, you don’t want me to slip.” She brought the sharp edge of the blade to the purple and black clothing stretched tight over Widowmaker’s hip. She trailed the tip of the knife down, following the black lines. When she made a quick nick in the cloth, it was like a dam broke open. The fabric was so taut it went ripping of its own accord, tearing up the length of Widowmaker’s thigh. Ashe got a good view of pale blue skin, smooth and light like plumbagoes in spring. She couldn’t resist touching. She switched her knife to her other hand and smoothed her fingers up and down Widowmaker’s lush thigh. “Just about here should do it,” Ashe said. She stopped to rub her thumb at the curve of her hip. She felt the muscles under her hand tense. The iron was probably good and hot by now, but for luck Ashe thought it ought to stay in a little longer. She slid her hand towards the swell of Widowmaker’s ass, fingers disappearing under the torn fabric. Widowmaker was either too dignified to squirm or still heeding Ashe’s warning that she ‘best hold still.’ She said and did nothing as Ashe discovered her distinct lack of undergarments. Her wandering fingers slid towards the split in Widowmaker’s soft ass cheeks and then down, deep between her legs. This earned her a low, vicious noise in warning like a growl from an angry animal. “Easy, sweetheart,” Ashe laughed, easing back. “After you’re marked, sex’ll be just about the only thing you’re good for so you might as well get used to wandering hands.” Diamond dogs couldn’t be trusted to do much of anything, but they were fun to touch and tease and play with. A warm body was a warm body, and a wet tongue was a wet tongue. Ashe didn’t mind taking a diamond dog to bed. Widowmaker was good with a sniper rifle and all but what did that mouth do? Before the end of the day, she would find out. Before all that, there was business to attend to. The brand was definitely ready now. Loathe as she was to pull away, Ashe stood up straight and headed on over to the chiminea. She pulled the iron from the fire and the end was glowing red, hot as hell. When she turned to Widowmaker, she was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no fear just simmering anger. Good. Squealing, crying, and begging for mercy was just so pathetic and undignified. If Ashe was being honest, she was somewhat charmed by Widowmaker’s disdain. Teasing would just be tacky, and there was no point in letting the iron rod get cold, so Ashe wasted no time. She walked the short few steps back over to where Widowmaker was laying down in the dirt. She took hold of the Iron rod with both hands and held it with purpose, bringing it to heel less than a foot from the unclothed expanse of blue skin. “Take a breath, honey,” Ashe suggested. “Do it if you’re going to,” Widowmaker snarled. Ashe reacted on instinct to the antagonization. She shoved the red-hot brand forward, pushing it hard against Widowmaker’s upper thigh. She anticipated the startled response, the instinct to pull away from pain. She kept the brand pressed tight against the soft blue skin, in the same exact spot, and watched as wisps or grey smoke rose from place where flesh met iron. Widowmaker managed not to scream, but just barely. The strangled noise she made gave away how much pain she was in. The sizzling sound was sickening and the smell of burnt flesh overwhelming. Ashe pulled back after a few seconds, pleased to see a clean mark there. It looked a little odd, violent red and charred brown on a canvas of blue, but the diamonds were there. “Oh, good dog,” Ashe said, pleased. Widowmaker writhed, breathing gone awry. She would get Widowmaker all cleaned up, find her a nice collar, and keep her around awhile. If for no other reason than to let Talon know that entering into Deadlock territory meant they weren’t coming back.

i’m taking femslash february suggestions year round send requests or prompts ➝ here follow me on twitter ➝ here thanks for reading ✩°｡⋆

[uncentury]

can someone pls make a fanfic community for non blue eye (GREY EYES.... how arrogan) self inserts/ocs.... my god... why are they so common... i don’t have anyone in my immediate circle of friends with blue eyes... so why do people write like its that common???.... and pls... .. if anyone gives green eyes as an alternative ill self combust