#everyone regulates just some of us regulate more than others or in more obvious ways

[sillybruja]

roasting your moon sign pt 1. (Aries - Gemini) p.s. this one's gonna hurt your wittle feelings 🥲

Aries Moon

OH MY GOD. SHUUUUUUT UPPP. Seriously, you don't have an off button and talking to you is very frustrating. It's kind of like you jut like hearing yourself talk, which is fine, but the rest of us are suffering. And Holy lack of emotional regulation! When you are upset, you are really upset, eh? Seriously, you cannot control your emotional reactions even if you tried your hardest. If you feel triggered, you have to let the whole room hear about it 🙄And one more thing -- why do you think speaking louder makes your argument valid? It's kind of like listening to a toddler start screaming because crying was not getting their mom's attention good enough. It's fine to have emotional outbursts once in a while, but try to remember you're an adult, not a six-year-old. Communication takes more than scream-crying until you are heard / get your way. Btw, y'all are some of the most delulu people out there! It's like, everyday is a rollercoaster for you emotionally and you kidnapped the rest of us to have to suffer with you. Yeah, that's right, you can be insufferable and the people around you feel it. Are you even aware of that, though? Or are you more focused on creating a narrative that makes you the victim? Your lack of impulse control is a whole other thing. We get that you react first and think last, but to have the audacity to blame others for your decisions/actions is wild. Oh you punched a wall? No, that person didn't make you do that, you did that. Oh, you're insecure so you acted out of character? No actually, it's not their fault because they are secure with themselves. It's all on you. Guess what? Accountability is not the same as being held at g*npoint. You will not die. You will not wither away. You are actually wrong a lot and that's fine, but you don't have to be such a tool about taking responsibility. It gives everyone in your life the ick, and people are probably tired of walking on egg shells around you. 🤷‍♀️

Moon in 1st House:

Okay, drama Queen/King!🙄😅Besides the fact that you literally wear your heart on your sleeve, you are also so dramatic and for what, special effect? Seriously, you emotionally respond to things with the same voracity and urgency as you would an actual emergency. You can literally stub your toe and have a meltdown over it, saying that was your "13th reason" likeee y'all are D R A M A T IC and because I also have this placement, I know it's because it actually feels really dramatic but tbh it's not that deep. You just feel too deeply which is fine but guess what? You're still responsible for your emotions, no one else is. You sacrifice your power too often looking for acceptance and love, and then expect the people who you give said power, to reciprocate the same energy but they never do because what you are really expecting from them is you and that's pretty messed up tbh. You gotta let people be! your attachment issues are showing. BTW, being the sacrificial lamb in every situation does not actually gain you aura points, it just makes it obvious that you lack boundaries. The People around you take advantage of you because 9/10 times, you have made it pretty clear very early on that taking advantage of your kindness can be easy to do. Its insane that people have projected on you your whole life, and yet, you still can't detect when its happening. People are not mean to you because they hate you lol but the fact that you make everything about yourself makes it even easier for these people to project their problems onto you. Why wouldn't they? You are all consuming, and you take on the responsibility of everyone's actions, making yourself a stomping ground for ab*se. Your problem is, you are looking to find you in everyone and you will constantly be disappointed because that's something you will not find. Learn to be comfortable with others showing you how they feel, and accept it for what it is instead of for what you want it to be. Your scope of other's emotions needs work -- there's a whole universe outside of your own mind. You gotta learn to consider others emotional needs and try to walk in the shoes of other people once in a while and you will see that not everything is not in relation, caused by, or about you. Also, you have the same emotional regulation as a toddler sometimes. Stop making your problems, everyone's problems. Go to therapy.

Taurus Moon

OKAAAAAY, SLOTH. How do you expect to have the rich bitch bougee life you keep creating pinterest boards about if you won't even get off the couch and take small steps to reach those goals? Queen of "manifestation", all things "come to me naturally". Can we cut the bs and call a spade, a spade? You are lazy. You know deep deep down that you have the gift of the moon as your placement's exalted, but you have proven so many times that you prefer comfort over work. You're sitting there, waiting for the universe to deliver all the things you want in life, but your uninspired, bland, lazy ass won't even break a sweat for half of what you want in this world. YOU are the reason you do not seem to accomplish as much as you want to, because you do not challenge yourself. Do you feel incapable? I would if I'd rather live in repetitive and tired routines instead of challenging myself to grow. Speaking of growth.... do you even know what that is? Or are you still holding the same opinions of people that you had in middle school? Guess what, people grow and change... it is time to catch up! Why are you more comfortable with clinging onto the past, especially onto an old way of thinking? How is that actively helping your life? Be so for real. You cling & obsess over the past because its easier to revictimize yourself & build resentment than it is to take responsibility and make changes. Why is it more comfortable being stubbornly wrong, instead of owning up to your ways?

Moon in 2nd House

STAY OUT OF MY WALLET & GET A JOB! Seriously -- for someone who needs & craves financial stability, you sure will do a whole lot of nothing to get it. It's so weird because you manage to do absolutely nothing, and the people around you end up picking up your tab. What's it like being the community leech? And another thing... why is it that you feel you only have value when the 'yes men' around you over compliment you, or give you attention? Why is it that you cannot regulate your sense of self worth, but instead need to feed your self-esteem through manipulation, clinginess, and insecurity? Your relationships are probably prone to being unstable because of this. You are too much. Your expectations are too much, and they do not even match what you are willing to give back. You can't expect other people to pour from an empty cup just because You can't seem to fill your own. Your erratic self-esteem issues have an impact on your closest loved ones but your mindset is in the gutter because of how harshly you cling onto old mindsets and negative beliefs. Your greediness is not justified, no matter how much you have been hurt. You seem to never take your pain out in a healthy way, or on the person who actually inflicted the pain. If people come too close, you automatically assume there's alternative motives, even if there's no reason to think that. You act more like an 8H moon in your lowest vibration, and ironically enough, you are "triggered" and angry with other people who act this way. Your self-awareness is probably is as little as your confidence because you seem to live in your own bubble, and cannot understand how your own projections you put on other people are hurtful and make you look very weak. Your people pleasing tendencies will never grant you the stability you seek and until you take accountability, responsibility, and action to secure the life/lifestyle you want for yourself, you will always think shrinking yourself through people pleasing equals safety. But ya know, BE DELULU.

Gemini Moon

OHMYGOD CAN YOU SHUTTHEFUCKUP?! Yes, your friends do think you are annoying as fuck. It's because you never know when to STFU. And the worst part? It's not like you don't know you talk a lot... you do. you know you can dominate a conversation like no other. You are aware of the snotty asshole you sound like when you articulate and use word play to your advantage, and you don't care lol. If you're not that person, you're the opposite - you're weird af, you still never shut up, you have weird af obsessions, collections, and stories, and chances are you're easily forgotten about 😅 You share random facts with your friends all the time and at first it was really funny but because you never know when to stop, your friends are over it. When you talk, they sigh. It's because being your friend is exhausting. It's always the GEMINI MOON SHOW!!!! and you never give them (or anyone) the space to express themselves. You think you know what everyone wants and because you are lowkey controlling, you make decisions for others -- can you be any fuckin' worse? No wonder people don't really like hanging out with you lol. By the way, you are so dense. For being a mercury ruled moon, you would think you'd be better at reading people and yet, you constantly miss the red flags in others. What's it like being a door mat? It's like you know they hurt you, you know they are sus, and you don't care. LOL btw y'all are really big cry babies and so sensitive sometimes. You'd think that being a gemini moon would make you easy going, but you walk around and act like you have a stick up your ass. Your submissive nature is 10000% your decision but you have this talent of blaming other people for why you have codependency issues, let's call you the King/Queen of Projection. You act out, you push people away, you start fights and for what? For people to pay attention to you? lol that's sad. Why do you feel you are only worthy of getting attention when there's controversy? When you act out of character? Is it because you feel like no one cares about what you have to say unless you're being the worst version of yourself? Is that why you are so skilled at wearing masks with people? Maybe if you spent more time figuring your shit out, spending more time with yourself, and less time giving a fuck about others, you'd be able to heal the identity you shattered trying to morph into whatever everyone else wanted you to be. Basically, FIGURE OUT WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE SO YOU CAN STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE TO SECURE PEOPLE.

Moon in 3H

WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?! You wishy-washy bitch you lol. (pls don't take this seriously this is a roast ok? ily) But fr, who even are you? Because you switch up your entire personality depending on the group of people you're around. You think no one notices this but I promise you they do and they're tired of your shit. A lot of people probably find you unreliable because you also seriously lie...over dumb things too? Like, who lies about what they had for breakfast? Pfft. This need to maintain a certain level of "mystery" is actually kinda cringe because you are actually so transparent. Also, you do realize you cause a lot of your own problems, right? No one can drive people away better than you can, huh? :) Your need for banter and excitement is all fun and games until it became really fucking annoying. People do not like to constantly be poked and picked at and tested. Especially if you think you're some prize to win over. Speaking of being some prize... your ego though? It's like to feel intelligently superior, your say a whole lot of nothing polished in purple prose to humiliate others. Imagine being so insecure with yourself that you feel the need to verbally tear down the ones who are just plain doing better than you in life. Your problem is that you spend so much time focusing on the people around you, wanting to gain their approval, wanting to be the center of attention, that you actually end up losing sight of your identity and you become this annoying asshole 😅🙈 By the way, you definitely do talk soooo much shit about people, and yes it is so unnecessary. MAYBE IF YOU STOPPED YAPPIN YOUR TRAP ABOUT PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE WOULDN'T ALWAYS LEAVE YOU or fantasize about leaving you for your much hotter family member, sibling, or friend 🤭

Pt. 2-4 are coming x

[acti-veg]

hi, would appreciate any thoughts on this

https://www.tumblr.com/fishyfishyfishtimes/756368117613117440/spontaneousmusicalnumber

i know im def against culling feral cats and what not like some geniuses in the tags, but im not sure about invasive species n such. the ideal reaponse would probably be to transfer them back to their natural habitat or find people with appropriate training to actually keep em as pets idk this is another situation where it seems like an animal in question must die because of someone’s negligence and cruelty…

This really seems like just of another case of someone picking a subject to criticise vegans about to be honest, as opposed to an actual constructive conversation on conservation and the control of invasive species.

The key assumptions are that culling actually works as a method of population control, and that there is no viable alternative. Neither one is strictly true, as everyone is pretending they are on this post.

Feral cats are a good example, culling programs have been introduced in several countries over the years, they reduce population in the short term then numbers bounce right back. The reason is obvious, increased food availability and reduced competition means bigger litter sizes and more kittens surviving into adulthood. If you don’t address the root cause, the problem always resurfaces.

The root cause in this case, of course, are people buying, breeding and abandoning cats despite massive numbers of them in shelters and on the streets. A sensible, effective solution would involve sterilisation of feral, adopted and purchased cats, licensing for ownership, regulation of breeding, compulsory microchipping, and state funding for shelters. The only advantage that culling has over any of these methods is that it is cheaper.

The same is true of many other ‘overpopulation’ issues, as we see in roe and white-tailed deer. Hunting brings in money, and people enjoy killing animals for fun, so we pretend it as effective population control despite us doing it for decades with very little impact. Reintroducing predators is the obvious solution here, but that would mean fewer animals to hunt and the potential for predators to interfere with the profits of ranchers, so we pretend that culling is the only option. There will be cases like that, but they’re few and far between.

These are all problems that we created. We wiped out the natural predators of deer to protect our cattle and our sheep, we introduced massive numbers of invasive species because we think cats are cute and we benefit from their pest control, then we let them roam freely because we can’t be bothered to provide a stimulating indoor environment for them. The least we can do is work to solve these problems in the most humane way we can, rather than reaching for the cheapest option and making animals pay the price for what we did to them.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

More replies about recent stuff, plus some random twst stuff pluuuus a reply related to a Malleus sketch from our 🔑🔞twt <3 Thank you for your questions.

thestarlightfae asked:

...Do I want to know what Lilia has on his phone?

Somehow I doubt it… But he wouldn’t mind showing!

Anonymous asked:

Ryuichirou just to let you know your literally the reason why I download Tumblr and I'm so so glad I did so🙇🙇

Oh god Anon, I am very sorry for doing this to you LOL Thank you so much!!! <3 I am glad you’re enjoying it!

m1lk-n-cook1es asked:

Dragon Malleus has six limbs and is therefore an insect. Discuss

(idk if he has 4 limbs in the dragon body but oh well)

Does…that mean that a centaur would also be an insect? This is kind of troubling… 😟

I think this is something we could discuss for hours until Malleus appears and ends this discussion forever, looking offended af :(

Anonymous asked:

Ace and malleus won't be together because ace has no Rizz  and no skills. he would fumble malleus so hard he would end up with someone else twice over, who im not sure but definitely someone he has to see a lot

(related to a reply about Ace the donkey to Malleus’ dragon)

OUCH, Anon!! You’re roasting Ace more than Malleus would’ve roasted him while literally breathing fire 😭🔥

Give this boy a chance. That being said, we all know the chance is slim….

Anonymous asked:

about the mosquitoes bites ! If you put a burning hot metal spoon on it for a few seconds the heat will kill the itchiness ! Tested and approved every summers you should definitely do it 👍

My favourite part about posting that mosquito comic is people recommending remedies for the bites…!

Thank you, Anon. I’ll keep that in mind.

Anonymous asked:

Would the twst ppl ever go down of ppl of the opposite sex? Or is everyone just gay? Like Floyd on a female riddle or something

-english is not good with me

“Everyone is gay” is our default because we prefer gay ships, but we don’t really headcanon sexualities for characters. If we ever come up with a good story with Floyd and fem!Riddle, nothing would stop us from indulging in it 💪 There are some that are more difficult for me to see with the opposite sex than the others though.

Anonymous asked:

Do the doms give oral? Like will the dom suck the sub's dick at all or nah?

With you would oral sec be strictly a bottom's job?

It is a tendency in my art to only leave it for the bottoms because it is a personal preference. But I don’t think that all of our tops would be strictly against it on the same level.

I wrote some hcs quite a while ago, if you want a detailed answer about someone in particular! Although I think my bias is pretty obvious lol Sorry.

Anonymous asked:

Okay the post of Malleus laying an egg from a while ago on your locked twt has been driving me so up the walls I haven't even been able to find the words??? I was so gagged when I saw it????

Shota Malleus always feels like he's totally convinced he's mature enough to handle Lilia and anything else you throw at him (he isn't) and him dealing with something like that when he's definitely way too young and unprepared and being completely overwhelmed and scared by it is SO GOOD

I can imagine him calling out Lilia's name in such a broken way, half upset because he just went through something really painful and scary and he wants to be comforted by his caretaker, and half because he's so confused and he has no idea what he should do and he needs Lilia's guidance, when Lilia was the one who put him into that mess in the first place... I worry that Lilia is going to take one look at him and their egg and be like "guess it's scrambled eggs for breakfast!" to cover his own mistake before anyone finds out 😭

(And also...... I just think it's a little hot... Malleus pushing out an egg that's too big for his body all alone in his room with nobody to help him regulate his breathing and pushing?? He just has to figure it all out on his own because he can't/won't call for help??? Squeezing that egg out a little at a time and slowly stretching himself open, before it falls back inside him and he has to start all over again, basically fucking himself on it until he finally gets it out... 🥵)

I am SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT, ANON!! <3 I want to say that it was a very self-indulgent sketch, but then again, everything that we post is lol

Poor Malleus absolutely wasn’t ready for anything like that to happen and he definitely wasn’t told that this was something that could happen to a dragon fae… And Lilia was probably surprised too, looking at him like shoot that wasn’t supposed to happen yet, wtf, “dragon eggs are rare” my ass lol Lilia really fucked up his cycles…

I guess they really are going to have scrambled eggs for breakfast…! God we had so many conversations about Lilia and dragon eggs, I really should finish that one comic from ages ago.

(I’m also glad you find this hot as well~ If definitely would’ve been much easier for him if Lilia was around when that was happening, poor thing probably thought he was dying or something. He often feels alone, but when that happened, he felt especially alone and helpless. It’s honestly a miracle he wasn’t mad at Lilia afterwards, but I guess it’s because he was way too shocked for that)

[lucadrawss]

I'm not at all a psychologist but I want to go into the psychology behind the actions of the Arclight family. I apologise if anything sounds wrong at all feel free to correct me. I'll go through all of them individually. I won't go into Byron though as I'm not entirely sure what to write about him.

Overall theres a lot to unpack with this family so this'll be long.

(Its gone 2am as I'm writing this hence my rambles about fictional characters)

Christopher:

So Chris being the oldest seems to put alot of pressure on him, he seems to take alot of the responsibility which could tie into him feeling he needs to take care of his brothers as their father is downright neglecting them but also him as well, which he doesn't seem to realise or he does realise and he just doesn't care. We already saw in flashbacks that he already acted older than he was when they were younger which could really tie into his current mental state seeing as he seemed to force himself to grow up quicker than he should have. This could also tie into Chris feeling protective of his brothers as we know they were eventually separated for a little while, he seems to really care for them, even seeming extremely worried when Michael is dueling Yuma, he could feel like he owes it to them to protect them. Sure he's acting like a big brother should, but there seems to be more to it. Obviously he misses his father, thats very obvious with all three of them, but it also seems like he carries a bit of guilt about what happened to him, survivors guilt so to speak. When his father didn't come back he could have felt so much guilt that he didn't go with him. This would be made even worse when he eventually learns what really happened, causing the guilt to tug on his heart even more after seeing what his father had become and how he was no longer the person that had raised him. I would go into more detail and I know I haven't touched on the whole thing with Kaito and Haruto but this is already super long and I have to write about his brothers too.

Thomas:

We've seen how he reacts to being put down and insulted by his father: with anger and retaliation. Thomas seems to have a fear of failure or not being good enough, he strives for his fathers validation and just wants to be seen as a good son, maybe even better than that. All he wants is his fathers approval and love and he takes that out in the form of anger and aggression towards anyone and everyone. He wants to prove himself, prove that he can do things on his own and that he's worthy of his fathers time and acknowledgement. When he realised he was just being used to manipulate someone else for his father he snaps, letting his rage take over and he doesn't think straight which eventually leads to his downfall, he makes the same mistake during the duel against Nasch. Its clear that he's never been taught how to regulate his emotions and that he doesn't know how to control his anger. Thomas seems to have really low self confidence but tries to mask it in a way that makes him appear confident which causes him to become arrogant and selfish as well as causing him to hurt others who he feels are standing in his way of approval. He enjoys hurting others as thats what he's been encouraged to do, he's two faced because he feels he needs to be, he acts this way towards the world because he feels like no one will help him, they'll get in his way and turn their backs on him.

Michael:

Oh god there is a lot to talk about with Michael, he's probably the worst of them all. First off: He was willing to manipulate, torture and kill all for his families revenge, he really didn't need to but he felt it was necessary so he did. Secondly: He was very willing to sacrifice himself and almost did, he didn't care what happened to himself he only cared about his family. If he had to die for his father to get revenge then so be it, he'd happily do it. This has some concerning implications. Sure alot of people would say they'd die for their family but Michael actually went through with it and seemed very at peace with the idea, only hesitating because he has empathy for others and seemed more worried about them than he was himself. If he was so willing to die then whats going through his head? Is he really that loyal to his family or had he just given up? Onto the topic of the manipulation, torture and murder: Michael did not fucking hesitate to harm Astral and to manipulate Yuma's memories so that he wouldn't be able to duel anymore or remember his father which in turn caused Yuma to lose his spark. The moment Astral tried his best to help Yuma, Michael literally murdered him. Not even painlessly either, Astral was chained up, put through so much more pain than he would normally experiance, forced to watch his friend suffer and them put through even more pain before basically being crushed and disappearing, this was all done by Michael. He seems to have a similar situation to Thomas, wanting his fathers love and willing to do anything to get it, even harming others killing himself in the process. He just wants to make his father proud. Theres some really fucked up implications on whats going through Michael's head for him to be willing to hurt people when he seems to be extremely empathetic and kind as well as being willing to commit suicide.

All of them have issues and thoughts that would be brought on by neglect, manipulation and abuse, mainly neglect especially with Thomas.

The amount of abuse that these three have been put through is astounding, I'm surprised they're not more fucked up.

[sarucane]

OFMD Spiral Parallels 19: Ed and Izzy Sing

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

---

In both seasons 1 and 2, a person the crew of the Revenge knows very well turns up, wearing an unexpected and gender-non-conforming outfit, and starts belting out a heartfelt song. The crew initially reacts with some confusion, but that soon shifts to encouragement, and even participation.

In season 1, Ed is reeling from his breakup with Stede. Rather than retreat into his Blackbeard persona, or running away, he tries to sit with his pain. It's wallowing, it's undignified, and it's emotionally healthy. The result is a rather terrible but entirely heartfelt song about trying to accept the "death" of that relationship.

In season 2, Izzy is reeling from his "breakup" with Ed/Blackbeard and the loss of his leg. Rather than wallowing in self-pity though, he's using the leg offered by the crew to participate fully in a group activity.

When Ed sings, the Revenge crew are confused and a bit uncomfortable about how personal he's being (and how obvious the bad breakup behind it is, there's a reason Olu is very firm telling Stede "you dumped him" later), but they don't question Ed's choice to do this or come close to laughing. That said, Ed is essentially forcing everyone to participate in his pain, so this could easily have gone to a dark place. But then Ed, with a combination of earnestness and obliviousness, almost immediately acts to create emotional space for others. He's turning his own poisoning into positivity, into a chance for everyone to deepen their community--even to stop being pirates.

In contrast, when Izzy sings, he's joining a pre-existing group activity. He's not the only one in drag, he's enhancing something that's already there. It's a very different community act from Ed's: while Ed was creating a safe community around him, Izzy is just adding depth to a community that's already safe.

Which brings us to the reactions Ed and Izzy each have to the other singing. Because each is present at the other's debut, and the reactions each has to the other's singing sets a tone for the entire relationship going forward.

In season 1, Izzy is baffled and horrified by Ed's singing, and how he acts after singing. Ed is very clearly changing in front of all their eyes, embracing a side of himself that he previously buried deep. Stede's gone, but Ed's growth triggered by that relationship is actually continuing. Izzy thought the "problem" with Ed--the reason he wasn't into being Blackbeard anymore--was Stede (and Izzy still thinks that as late as S2E1). But he was wrong that "no Stede" would lead to Blackbeard again, and he's realizing that, and he hates it. Unable to deal with this directly, he instead tries to regulate the way the crew treat Ed, to make them act as re-enforcers of the "Blackbeard" persona. This fails, because Ed himself is no longer interested in living like that. The next time Izzy tries to intervene in this, he does so in private.

And then there's the queerness of it all. Ed's gender expression here is very different from his normal presentation. Sure, the silk robe is technically men's clothes, but it's also pink and covered in flowers. On top of that, Ed's mannerisms in this scene are noticeably more "gay"-coded than at just about any point in the past. Yet, despite his pain, he seems comfortable in his skin as he presents like this. He's not performing a persona, he's "laying himself bare."

Izzy shames Ed for this. In their next scene, he calls Ed being like this "a fate worse than death." He then displays maybe the most overt homophobia ever to appear on the show, mocking Ed as "namby-pamby," shaming his clothes, and tying all of that to Ed's sexual preferences. It's frankly an evil thing for one human being to do to another, and done when Ed is just starting to feel better about being himself again. The relationship between Ed and Izzy never really recovers (til the very end), it just morphs from one kind of toxicity to another before exploding.

Which is why it's important that Ed doesn't say anything when Izzy comes out in drag. Now it's Izzy who's moving outside the traditional bounds of gender, flirting with a drag queen and singing a love song (written by a woman, to add to the nonconformism). And Ed, like Izzy did, keeps his distance from this. KHe's a bit confused, like Izzy was, but his reaction to this confusion isn't to attack. It's to offer approbation. He raises his drink to toast Izzy, confused but not remotely hostile.

And crucially, the reason all this was able to happen was Ed himself. This party is how they're turning Ed's poison into positivity: Ed's own actions, his desire to correct the very mistakes that Izzy once pushed him to make, have helped create a space for Izzy himself to be vulnerable.

On a personal level, Izzy and Ed just weren't any good for each other. When they tried to hang on to each other, one way or another, they dragged each other down. But when they step back from each other, each is finally able to grow.

Over the course of season 2. Ed is accepted back into the crew--but as Stede's boyfriend. He never goes back to the same emotional place with the crew as when he was singing. He even forgets that there was supposed to be a talent show at all.

But despite the interruption of Ned Lowe, Izzy gets to finish his song. He gets to lead the crew in humming along. And he even has a chance to sing another.

[lizzybeth1986]

Nadia Park: The Moral Epicenter of "Perfect Match"

Nadia has, in some ways, been a polarizing figure amongst Perfect Match stans ever since the series debuted back in 2018. A lot of us loved her spunk, spark, humour and optimism, but there were just as many who found her "annoying", looked down on her for "ditching the group" in Book 2, and dubbed her love for Steve as a " crazy obsession". Of course, there is very little that is accurate about such descriptions and there would be very little chance some in the fandom would view her this way if she were a white woman - and besides, such views entirely miss the point on why Perfect Match needed a character like Nadia.

Nadia starts out as the only member of the MC's (canonically large) family that we see, and the Park cousins often see themselves as a unit, who do most things together and look out for each other.

Her attempts to find true love through Eros, and her recommendation of their services to the MC, is what kickstarts the story, and the series itself ends with the cousins reflecting together on their experiences. She is also an artist, and seeing her beau Steve describe her work as "indescribable" is our first indicator of the Matches' most obvious flaw: that they can't interpret meaning from, or attribute emotion to, the abstract.

But over and above all else - Nadia is the eternal optimist. While in the abstract, her thoughts may seem quite morbid, at heart she is someone who believes the best of the people she meets and tends to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. This is in stark contrast to Damien, who is known for his extreme skepticism.

There are different ways Nadia's optimism is viewed throughout the story. By Damien, by the MC, by the people around her - both those who love her and those who grow to love her. Sometimes as an optimism so extreme as to be borderline ridiculous, sometimes as naïveté. But the value of the perspective she brings can only be understood when you look at the theme that is so central to the series.

What Does It Mean To Be A Person?

Simply put, Perfect Match is first and foremost about personhood, identity, and what it means to be human. It starts out with the possible premise of whether androids are human enough. Both the characters in the book as well as many readers in the fandom initially viewed the Matches as inferior to the "actual human beings" in the series, when it was running. But PM managed to turn such an idea on its head. Even now, the narrative has a deft way of making us ask questions about what personhood and senitence could mean.

Shortly after the MC discovers the truth about Hayden (PM1 Ch10), Sloane says the following about the idea of Hayden being "a machine": We are all machines...Your nervous system works on electrical impulses, and your emotions are regulated by chemicals in your brain. It's just that you're a machine of blood and bone, and s/he's a machine of metal and plastic.

More specifically, the core theme of PM is about how personhood doesn't emerge merely from being creatures of blood, bone and brain; how there is a lot more nuance to the concept of humanity than just that, or just emotions, or just free will. It asks us to explore what being human means to us, what it means to have a soul of one's own. It questions the logic of feeling superior to any sentient being who isn't built exactly like us.

Hayden Young - the MC's Perfect Match - is the character that embodies this core idea, with their questions, their conflicts, and their desire to know more about themselves and their world. The fact that they evolve far beyond their programming challenges the simplistic notion that they are not "person enough", that they can be more easily controlled than humans. Their true beginning as a character begins from the moment they ask "How do you open your mouth and tell someone you don't feel real?" and keeps evolving from that point.

Other Matches show elements of this internal conflict too, though not to the extent Hayden does; Steve chooses to embrace the identity Eros has given him rather than challenge it, Dames' personality stops him from attacking the MC even when Cecile overrides his programming. Harley's mission takes a backseat when they fall in love with Cecile, who is ironically the more inhuman person in that dynamic.

Keegan has their own doubts about Rowan and Cecile, and attempts to find out - through their discussion with the MC - whether the outside world is really worth trusting. All the Matches are programmed a certain way, to achieve certain goals. Yet, each of these Matches find their own ways to exercise their independence.

How does the human end of this fare? That is a question that has varying answers throughout the book, across different characters.

Thematically, Rowan and Cecile perhaps inhabit the bottom-most tier of this hierarchy. They are the villains of the series, and their defeat is the high point of the story. Their villainy manifests in two ways: first, in the way they treat the Matches, their "children" (using and abusing them, discarding them whenever convenient, gaslighting the ones who have only them to turn to, violating every possible boundary to get what they want), and second, in the way they treat other human beings.

They celebrate the pain of other people (Khaan, Damien, the guard Hayden hurts at the SF HQ) when it suits their aims (The Siren Project, mapping the human soul).

Rowan and Cecile are the direct antithesis to the idea that humans could be "superior". They are proof that a person could physically be a "human" yet completely lack humanity.

You also have characters like Damien and Alana. People who are human, people who do possess some compassion and empathy, yet allow their cynicism to justify words and acts of casual cruelty, and engage in dehumanizing the Matches. They prefer to save their empathy only for those they like.

Damien calls Hayden "nuts and bolts, computer for a brain" in a dialogue option (PM1 Ch10), and insists on throwing Hayden and Sloane back into the clutches of Eros, even though they have literally just saved the group. Alana herself actually betrays the entire group to Eros with little to no remorse, and is shown often speaking of the Matches in dehumanizing terms.

(last two screenshots are from the Jazmine Cadena YouTube channel, and only show up if you didn't save Steve in Book 1)

While some may claim that Damien and Alana's suspicions and behaviour are understandable, and the narrative itself doesn't exactly require them to apologise for their behaviour...the harm that their language and beliefs generate lasts beyond those stray moments. For instance, Hayden themselves later confirms how much they dread being viewed as an object and the level of discrimination they will face, once they reveal who they are at Winona's talk show:

Eventually, Damien and Alana are required to change their mind to an extent at least. Once they're deeply involved in exposing Eros, there are less occurances of them using dehumanizing language. They are required to at least work with both people and androids whose views differ from theirs, and tone down the hostility, to achieve their goals.

Damien's story starts with him being a man who is forever suspicious and warning his friends about the relationships they choose to be in. As the story progresses, he learns to open up more, trust his allies more, and eventually even attempts to gently talk Keegan out of killing Cecile just to save them. While he never apologizes to Hayden and Sloane - the people he had harmed - for his earlier behaviour, he still manages to look out for them.

Alana's story begins with her desire to not be tied down yet still have some sort of home base to return to, as well as deep-seated insecurities about her own worth as a partner and friend. While it isn't fully known how much she changes with regards to her attitude towards the Matches, she does take a step back in her jibes and insults, co-operating with the ones who are clear allies, and following the law when it comes to Sirens like Harley.

Sloane and Khaan navigate their relationships with the Matches very differently, having played significant roles in creating and shaping them. Sloane, in particular, believes in the rights of the Matches, and is one of their most passionate defenders. She literally quits her job and betrays her company to save Hayden, and is disgusted by Eros' abusive practices towards the Matches. Khaan is fascinated with the growth the Matches have shown since he'd left Eros five years ago, and tries his best to ensure that Rowan and Cecile cannot make assassins out of them.

However, even with all these good intentions, even Sloane and Khaan cannot fully escape some of their own deep-seated biases as human beings. In PM2 Ch 6, Sloane and Khaan speak of Hayden's many skills as if they're a science project, and when the MC adopts UWU, Sloane repeatedly compares Hayden to them. Both times, Hayden voices their discomfort, which is goes mostly ignored.

After an entire day of grappling with different issues - including Sloane and Khaan leaning into technical-speak when talking about them - Hayden calls them out on the damaging impact of their words:

As with Damien and Alana, Khaan and Sloane aren't exactly required to apologize for this either, or even view the way they speak of Hayden as a problem. But the group as a whole doesn't repeat this behaviour again, especially once the battle with Eros is really on and they learn more and more about the other Matches. Eventually, as CEOs, the two can demand for the investors to stall the Match program and replace it with a rehabilitation program for the remaining Matches. When the MC shows an interest in rehabilitating Harley, Sloane confesses that she, too, finds that the best option. If we do not win Keegan's trust, it is Sloane and Khaan's plans to help the Matches, that makes them reach out.

The MC

Where does the MC fit in all this? That depends on the player. The MC begins by viewing Hayden and Sloane with suspicion (PM1 Ch 10), and rightfully so. Both they and Nadia were the ones directly affected - as clients who were duped and later targeted by the company (who - at this point - Sloane represents).

No matter which choices one goes for when they first question Sloane, the MC begins by viewing Hayden as a con artist who betrayed them. Once Sloane explains Hayden's plight to them, the MC has the option of either viewing them with empathy and compassion (like Sloane does), or with a distinct lack of either (as Damien and later Alana do). They can also choose to either trust Sloane, or demand she earn back the trust she'd lost.

As the series progresses, the MC becomes friendlier and nicer to the two by default, and advocates for the group to rescue Hayden at the Arctic HQ. By Book 2, whether we have saved Steve or not, the MC cares about both Hayden and Steve as an integral part of their group, by default.

Dames does mention, in PM2 Ch1, that the MC's response to learning his identity was different from everyone else's. "You sat next to me and asked me if I was okay [...] you didnt treat me like...whatever I am". By default, the MC is respected and trusted in the group for their compassion by default.

With the appearance of Keegan in PM2 Ch12, the MC is truly faced with the question of how they view the Matches in general. Not just the ones they are friends with/in love with - but the ones they have seen only in passing, the ones they have never met...the ones they have never built any sort of relationship with. The narrative treats this scene as a turning point for the MC - their response to Keegan dictates whether Keegan's flawed worldview (fed by Eros) will change. It dictates how they will act in the series finale - leaving Cecile to the authorities rather than killing her themself all boils down to whether they trust the MC enough to accept their sound advice.

Emphasizing the rights of every Match allows Keegan to learn to trust the outside world; admitting the MC only gives a damn about the Matches they know personally only confirms Keegan's biases. Even if you're a player who is vehemently anti-robot and would like to refer to the "Match" characters in the story as objects...the narrative itself encourages you to think otherwise, or to at least pretend to do so to save your own skin. It is, eventually, the MC who is credited with encouraging certain Matches (like Dames and Keegan) to trust more human beings and hope for a better future.

But How is Nadia the Moral Center of This Book?

So far, we've spoken about the different approaches the other characters (esp the LIs) take to the question of the Matches. We have the skepticism of Damien, Alana's prejudices, and the tendency to be careless with one's language in Khaan and Sloane. In the middle of all this, the MC is allowed to choose which view they align with more (unless it's Rowan and Cecile's). So where does Nadia fit in here?

To understand this, we must go back to the role Rowan and Cecile have to play in the story. As mentioned earlier, they are the villains that the group is meant to ultimately defeat. There is nothing particularly redeemable about them, even in playthroughs where the MC can turn on the charm and flirt with Cecile. Both of them are arrogant, power-hungry, and consistently look down on both Matches and other humans alike.

They also completely, and consistently, lack empathy. No matter who is harmed in the wake of their deranged experiments. We are shown, time and again, a Rowan and Cecile whose victims are left bleeding, hurt, and traumatized - and never given even basic medical attention (eg. Cecile celebrates the advancement of the Siren Project when a Match breaks Khaan's arm, and again when Hayden hurts the human Eros guard at the SF HQ... instead of actually calling for a medic to treat them). In fact, the more pain they inflict, the happier Rowan and Cecile feel.

You cannot find a more direct contrast to this mindset than Nadia's. Not only is she someone with an inherently nurturant personality, someone who protects the people she loves - she is also incredibly empathetic. Very often in the story (especially Book 1) we find her constantly regulating the group's emotional responses. When they seem morose and pessimistic, she demands for them to enjoy the moment. (Some good examples of these are the screenshots below and when she forces everyone out of their "sulky pity party" post the humiliation on Winona's show):

But when the group tries (unconvincingly) to maintain a sense of calm in an abnormal situation, Nadia is emphatic on being honest about the gravity of what's happening:

She also has a keen sense of intuition. When Steve goes missing, with a harsh note indicating that he is leaving her, Nadia is insistent that the real situation can't be as simple. She even formulates an "evidence board" to convince the MC and Damien that they should investigate his disappearance further:

The most obvious conclusion the Park cousins can draw, is that Steve wasn't who Nadia thought he was and had unceremoniously dumped her. But it is Nadia who takes the initiative to look back further on the experiences she has had so far with him, and understand that something doesn't quite add up. It is her insistence that gets Damien and the MC to search further and find Gary, that makes Eros have to recall the model, that eventually gives Steve and Nadia a second chance as a couple (either at Arctic HQ if you save him, or in Tokyo if you don't). The fandom often called this Nadia's "weird obsession", but a desire to not want to give up on others is a trait entirely unique to her and isn't just restricted to Steve.

Nadia is also unapologetic about how she feels or how deep those feelings go - nor does she take half-measures when it comes to protecting Steve. Especially once Eros demands for Hayden and Steve to be given to them (or, in the story where one doesn't save Steve at the Arctic HQ - where the group manages to take Steve with them in Tokyo), she looks out for Steve and makes more efforts to understand his needs. Her brief departure from the group (after funding most of their travel and staying expenses) is both an attempt to return to her job and to allow Steve the space to embrace the identity that Eros gave him. She ensures that he isn't too deeply involved in the fighting and investigating that the rest of the group does. She also understands that while the group can still operate pretty well without her, Steve still needs her support more, to rebuild his own life.

Both Nadia and Steve bear scars from what Eros did to them in Book 1, and - depending on when Steve is saved from Eros - seek to navigate their relationship differently from how they did in the beginning. You will notice that in PM1 (esp Chs 3-5), their relationship progresses at a rate that alarms everyone (including Eros, who note that it is going "ahead of timeline"). By Ch 3 they have moved in together, and by Cedar Rest, Nadia drops heavy hints about being interested in marriage.

Nadia learns and grows from this experience. Once she reunites with Steve, she doesn't take initiative herself to pop the question, instead allowing Steve to determine the pace he is more comfortable with for their relationship. If he was part of the group at the end of PM1, the relationship proceeds at a much more relaxed pace in the second book, culminating in a wedding proposal from him in the finale (he also seems hopeful about the prospect mid-book, responding to a speculation that they may get married in PM2 Ch 7 with "never say never"). If not, they have to rebuild that relationship from scratch.

In a lot of ways, the experience of losing Steve and then understanding who he truly is, makes her not only protective of him but also determined not to repeat what could be past mistakes ("rushing" the relationship, asking questions for which Steve may not necessarily have the answers).

At no point in the story does Nadia ever judge Steve, either before she knows the truth or after Sloane confesses. She senses deeper issues when he leaves, and is reluctant to hate on him as a person even after she confronts Gary. Once she discovers the truth from Sloane, she wastes no time in viewing him as a victim of this situation (which he is!).

On its own, this is great. But what perhaps makes Nadia unique from the other (esp human) characters, is that her empathy isn't restricted to those she is directly attached to, and she doesn't wait to have a deeper connection with Match before wholeheartedly supporting their rights and defending them.

The MC can choose to say similar things and act in a similar manner. But if the player has them respond otherwise, it is Nadia who consistently argues for treating the Matches like the sentient beings...for the persons...that they are. It is Nadia who consistently believes they are worthy of respect and deserve their rights. Anf It is Nadia who is, by default, the most powerful counterpoint to the twisted beliefs of Rowan and Cecile.

Even before Sloane can properly explain Hayden's predicament to a suspicious MC, it is Nadia who realizes that Hayden (and by extension Steve) is innocent. It is Nadia who stands up for Hayden against Damien and Alana, and agrees first to support them. Among the entire group, she is the one who most consistently calls out her friends when they dehumanize and objectify a Match. Even Steve, the Match she loves, is expected to understand this and lend his support to fellow Matches. If he does seem to falter in doing so, she doesn't hesitate to remind him.

This is an approach that most of the group, and most of the "good" characters in the story, follow by the end of the book - but it is clearly Nadia who follows it first, and exemplifies this respect and sensitivity for all sentient beings best.

If Rowan and Cecile are utterly devoid of empathy and humanity, Nadia is the one who is full to the brim with it.

The MC can be credited with changing their minds if they insist that every Match deserves the same respect, the same rights as any human being. But it is Nadia who - in every way, and in almost every scene she is a part of - truly embodies this principle.

At a very important turning point in PM2, Keegan can ask the MC why they care so much about the Matches, why they put themselves at risk for them. The narrative indicates to us that our response changes the way Keegan (who later becomes a powerful union leader for the surviving Matches in the series finale) views not only us but humans as a race. And if the MC treats them with respect and compassion, it allows them to break out of Eros' brainwashing and gaslighting and accept a newer perspective on the world.

--

Tagging @nadiaparkappreciationweek and @sazanes for NPAD!

[mercifullymad]

Interesting update to my previous posts urging people to call their senators and oppose the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA): KOSA is "essentially copied" directly from legislation created by a British Baroness and film director who directed, among other things, the second Bridget Jones movie.

Baroness Beeban Kidron, who has been successful at pushing various online restriction bills through British Parliament, is partnering with U.S. politicians championing similar causes. I very much agree with her stance that it is the responsibility of platforms, rather than parents or kids, to ensure their product is safe for users of all ages. However, the Electronic Frontier Foundation opposes the too-vague language used in one of the U.S. bills copied off of Kidron's bills, the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA), which has already been signed into law and will go into effect in 2024. CAADCA, "the first [law] of its kind anywhere in the U.S.," says it will "protect children from seeing posts about self-harm or from predatory digital advertisers."

The same problem occurs over and over again with these children's digital "protection" bills — the language is simply too vague, and vague enough to be implemented dangerously by either social media companies or Republicans using these bills to block children from seeing queer or race-conscious content. Aside from those more obvious problems, we also must think seriously and deeply about what good it does to stop everyone under 18 (as CAADCA defines a "child," with no differing restrictions for different ages under this cut-off) from seeing any content about self harm, suicide, eating disorders, and other forms of "self-destructive" conduct that are imagined to be highly transmissible by the sane public. Why do these bills prevent children from seeing content about "self-destructive" behavior but not "other-destructive" behavior? Why do they focus more on preventing access to content about suicide rather than content glorifying gun culture, or content about eating disorders rather than content about white supremacy, sexism, transphobia, and fatphobia (some of the biggest forces causing/encouraging eating disorders)?

These bills want children to self-manage their reactions to living in a dangerous and unjust world in "proper" ways, without actually moving the conditions of the world closer toward safety and justice. And per usual, the target audience of these bills are children who are imagined to be not-mad, children who are not already contemplating suicide or hurting themselves, but who could be "corrupted" into doing so by nefarious forces on the internet. Meanwhile, already-mad children get psych-warded or locked out of the care need.

There's a fine line to thread here, because I am extremely pro-regulating Big Tech and pro-digital privacy/rights, and I don't want to come off as if I'm not. But much of the motivation for these bills comes not so much for genuine concern for digital privacy but overextended paternalism of (mad) children and even more generally, an unexamined discomfort with changing norms for social interaction in a digital world. Kidron recounts that she initially got into this sphere of activism because she once walked into a room to find a bunch of teens "all just looking at their screens," prompting her to make a documentary about teens' digital behaviors. More than looking at how much time children are spending on screens and what they're doing on screens, we must first look at why they're using this technology in these ways. The why of it surely has more answers to what we can do to make the world more livable for them.

[doctorguilty]

re: zootopia though

what sucks about zootopia, more on a personal critique thing, is that I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the movie, it had some of the best like backgrounds and like world environments of an animated movie (quality that is drastically declining w/ cgi animated stuff), really great animations, fun characters ALSO designed really well, it's just so like......... run-of-the-mill copaganda like, omg the underdog cop breaks all the rules and regulations because she's so empathetic and it's the right thing to do and that's why she saves the day and is never punished for any of that, including exploiting nick like using blackmail to make him work for her, etc etc like cops breaking laws = good, you know

I think sometimes like what could fix that movie? but really not all that much without gutting most of the plot like, the predator/prey thing needs to just be gone because it just doesn't work for the kind of moral-of-the-story movie it's trying to be, and it was a weird angle in the first place because there's a million other ways like these animal people could hold prejudices against other animals that are way more arbitrary things that don't hold any "and they SHOULD be afraid" implication, like if we are taking that angle of like, addressing prejudice, which also like why was it all mammals that's also a weird thing like as soon as you throw other kingdoms into the mix it becomes more obvious like reptiles and mammals not getting along for no reason idk

I do enjoy a good action detective drama I wouldn't like, completely remove that per se, and in fact judy's character setup is interesting--rural town petite young woman who dreams of being on the force in the big city and doing good in the world, overcomes being told she'll never be good enough, moves to the city, is disillusioned very quickly by how her boss and peers treat her, and city life being a lot more chaotic and stressful than living out in the sticks, that's all good I like that kind of story, what I'd do with that though is continue it with the disillusionment line like, her vision of cops as her heroes is broken because she witnesses THEM like upholding prejudice, her being picked on in the school was sort of the writing on the wall in that sense like oh it's not just her as an individual, they act this way towards all marginalized groups, so she's like torn between like, all I ever dreamed about was to be here and be a hero but these aren't MY heroes what do I do?

and you can explore that in all sorts of ways which WOULD be a reasonable way to like put her in a sympathetic light b/c like, there are certainly people out there in the real world who share her dream and want to be one of the "good cops" but they can't because the whole system is broken and it IS like tragic especially when you, yourself, are a marginalized person going into that

and you could keep the like higher conspiracy stuff which like is sorta weird that it was there at all but NOT connected to the cops whatsoever like even your standard copaganda flick will have the Secretly Bad Commander or whatever pulling all the strings all along (which paints police corruption as an unusual and unexpected thing! if we just get rid of the bad cop then we're all good!) but like yeah I'd make that?? connected to the police on purpose? but the big conspiracy is something Not about the predator/prey thing

idk what to do with Nick like, something else besides blackmailing him to work illegally, maybe he's a private eye or something

anyway yeah idk that's what I'd sorta go at if I were to rewrite it, an exploration of a young woman's disillusionment about her life dream when she discovers achieving it means upholding the very things she thought she'd be fighting to make the world a better place and she didn't know because she fell for the mask like everyone else, in the form of a colorful animated kid's movie, would be really interesting I think

[czigonas]

I have a few too many WIPs to do this right now, so I'll keep it on the back burner for later (or maybe someone else will be inspired). Either way, I was thinking of old works the other day and remembered Dust My Broom (DXHR/MD, Jensen/Pritchard; it's short, I encourage a read) and it got me thinking.

Removable Hearts AU Soap/Ghost

Now, as far as I know, there are only a few fics with the trope (there were three when I wrote the fourth, now there are four more in the unofficial tag) so the 'rules' are still a bit up in the air. However, the main parts are that the physical removal of one's heart does not fully cut off emotions, only dulls them.

The practice isn't well known - definitely more folktale than anything else - and those who have their hearts out usually keep the fact very secret. One cannot be mind controlled by the holder of their heart but, if it's destroyed, the person will die. (The person can die in other ways as well and the heart will stop beating, but they're otherwise separated.) Physical distance dulls the emotions even more, as does prolonged removal. This comes with the downside of abrupt reintroduction to the full force of whatever emotions the person is feeling when the heart is returned to them, which can go very badly if not regulated properly.

With all that in mind, the obvious starting point would be that Ghost's heart has been removed and hidden somewhere, but when, where, and by whom? Options:

Ghost's father took it out when he was young. It was just another way to control and hurt his child. Papa Riley finds out fast that the mind control rumours aren't real, but he can still use the threat of harm to the heart to keep Simon in line. Plus, the sustained separation from his heart at a young age severely stunts Ghost's emotional intelligence, pushing him away from his peers and making him seem cold and unfriendly. Ironically, this helps him survive Roba. They can't take his heart like they did everyone else, and they can't torture or kill him with it. This makes their other torture of him worse, but his long-term dissociation from his emotional centre (both the physical distance from England to Mexico and the metaphysical distance from having it out of his chest for so long) helps to keep him from breaking. Ghost retrieves his heart only after his family has been killed and he finally confronts his father. (Papa Riley doesn't tell him where it is, but he only had so many hiding spots and there has always been a tug in Ghost's chest, calling him back to it.) He doesn't put it back in his chest though. Having his heart out has made him a more efficient operator, in his mind, so he stashes it in his room on base and resolves to just continue on as he has been. Until Johnny.

Roba is the one to remove Simon's heart. Just another way to torture his captives and, even if the mind control rumours are fake, it's so, so much easier to break a man's mind when you can see what makes his pulse jump and you hold his heart in your hand literally. What beautiful torture to take the heart, make someone watch their comrades die, and then give it back to break the mind under the full force of the shame and survivor's guilt. Roba buries Simon's heart not in the grave with him and Vernon, but nearby in the grave of another of his victims. Simon leaves it there when he digs himself out because clearly it's safer in an unmarked grave than in his own chest. After Las Almas though, Ghost makes a secret trip out to retrieve it (probably with Price's approval, since the Captain would have been informed that Ghost's heart was out and probably learned where it was at some point in the course of them working together) and stashes it in his room back on base. He refuses to look into why he wanted it closer though (the answer is Johnny still).

Ghost himself decided to remove his heart after his family was killed. He buries it with them (or near them) because he doesn't ever want to be that hurt again. He's resistant to the idea of putting it back in, even as he gets closer to Johnny. He's not even sure how to bring up the fact that it's not in his chest. He starts making bargains with himself - once Hassan is dead, once they kill Shepherd, once Makarov is dead - he'll come clean and take Johnny with him to get it and put it back. Of course it doesn't necessarily work out that way. (I need a happy ending though, so I think that even if Soap is hurt by such a secret being kept, he'll come around and realise that if what he and Ghost shared was good already, it can only be that much better now that Simon has access to the full depth of his feelings again.)

A less personally tragic option (but more dystopian) is that the SAS removes the hearts of all of their active operators. They're kept on base in special storage - it's much easier to monitor them and be able to declare someone KIA vs just MIA when you can see their heart stop - until a mission requires it in (undercover, etc.) or they're discharged/reassigned. Now Price's Task Force... well, he doesn't condone that. But he can't go against the rules quite so blatantly, so instead he collects and stashes the hearts of all his operatives in a place only he knows. Maybe he lets Laswell in on it, but I'm not sure he trusts her that much. And this saves them! Because Shepherd has his fingers in so many pies. When the betrayal in Las Almas is going down, Shepherd has someone tearing through the base storage facility, trying to find the hearts of the 141 so he can take them out now that they can no longer be controlled. Once they set out on the hunt for Makarov and Shepherd, they'll all have to decide for themselves whether to put them back in or not (Johnny does it immediately. He's always felt lesser with it out. Gaz follows not long after. Price and Simon take longer to decide.)

There's so many more ways this could go, including Soap being the one who has had his heart removed and no one knows, but I'll let that percolate a little longer and make another post if I think of something more solid.

[sasquapossum]

"React” is a Bad Word

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react.

There is some truth to that, perhaps even some important and valuable truth, and I’ll get to that. However, there’s also a lot wrong with this aphorism. For one thing, it downplays both the level of control you actually might have over what happens to you and the difficulty of controlling your reaction. We’re talking about emotional regulation (and a bit of executive function) here. That just doesn’t come as easily to some people as it does for others. It’s basically “turn that frown into a smile” in fancier clothes. Without providing actual tools to do that, it’s pretty damn useless advice. I get that, but my criticism is of a different sort.

“Action” vs. “reaction” is a false dichotomy. They’re the same.

Actually there are two false dichotomies here. One is that using two distinct terms implies that one is a beginning and the other is and end. More often, the “action” and “reaction” are part of a much longer process, or even a cycle, which makes the distinction meaningless. Every “action” is a reaction to something previous, and every “reaction” triggers something else.

The second false dichotomy is more subtle - between external/tangible actions and internal/emotional reactions. My issue is that our internal states affect our external perceptions and behaviors in far more fundamental ways than most people realize. Here’s another one you’ve probably heard before.

One person’s failure is another person’s opportunity.

This time I’ll do the opposite of what I did before; I’ll breeze past the superficial flaws with this aphorism (which I believe are obvious) and focus on its useful truth. If you see something as an opportunity, you will behave differently. In fact I believe the attitude is an essential driver of positive change in behavior. To illustrate, I’m going to talk about chess. Wait ... what?

When I was young, I dreamed of being a great chess player. Pffft. So much for that. But I believe that trying to play better chess taught me a great many things that proved useful in other pursuits. I learned a lot about patience and concentration. I learned about strategic thinking - move and countermove, plans within plans, managing resources - and I think that’s a skill everyone should develop. (I even have a long essay about just that, from my blogging days, and might revive it here some day.) There were also two other lessons that are more relevant to this particular topic.

Very early on in my chess “career” I learned that most moves can serve a dual purpose. A defensive “reactive” move can also help prepare for a later attack. In fact, I found it was often good strategy to choose defensive moves on this basis. Instead of choosing the move that would improve my defenses the most, I would choose the one that best served this dual purpose. (In Go, which I also studied, this is related to concepts of “thick” vs. “thin” defense.) In other words, my reactions were also actions - part of a process leading to my own eventual attack and inevitable (hah!) victory. That’s basically the same false-dichotomy point I made before, so I won’t belabor it further.

An even more important lesson came to me much later, and it had to deal with handling setbacks. Even the best players sometimes blunder and lose a piece. (For the chess purists: I’m including pawns as pieces for pedagogical purposes. Substitute “material” if it makes you more comfortable.) My realization was that what happened after that was a key difference between strong and weak players. Many weak players would basically just give up. Some would launch desperate (but unsound) attacks, or set easily-seen-through traps, to get the piece back immediately. I did plenty of both myself. Then I learned how to accept the loss and make the most of what I had. My results immediately improved.

In chess, the very act of taking a piece often carries a cost. It might leave the capturing piece slightly out of position, no longer covering or able to reach some other square. It almost always means a slight loss of initiative. In general taking pieces is still good and losing them is still bad, but a good player - a resilient player - who loses a piece might still find some aspect of the new position that’s exploitable. Surprisingly often, I found that these “consolation prizes” enabled me to make up for the lost piece. Occasionally, analysis would even show that my “blunder” might have been played by someone better than me as a fully valid and deliberate sacrifice.

Stepping back a bit, the obstacle that the weaker players faced was that they hadn’t learned to come from behind. They could be winning all along, they could be losing all along, they would inevitably turn a likely win into a loss sometimes, but they could never turn a likely loss into a win. Over time, correcting that deficiency yielded significant dividends. It’s also significant that those dividends didn’t come from getting better at chess itself. I wasn’t able to see more moves ahead, set up or avoid combinations better, attack or defend better. The difference was from choosing to see opportunity instead of defeat. I literally wouldn’t have seen the opportunity in those “losing” positions if I hadn’t first adjusted my mindset. That’s a lesson with implications far beyond chess.

In the rest of my life, I’ve received criticism or punishment for decisions I’ve made. I’ve had projects or even whole companies fall out from under me. I’ve been dumped. Every time, the lesson has been the same: stop reacting. Take the initiative, and make the best of what’s left. Those same setbacks have often been essential steps on the way to successes, but I wouldn’t have been able to capitalize if I hadn’t first adjusted my attitude and resolved to grind it out instead of giving up or wasting my diminished resources on pointless long shots.

I’m not saying this “change your mind and the world will follow” crap always works. I’m certainly not saying it’s easy. I’m not a motivational speaker, TED talker, or TikTok twit. In a world of massive inequity, most people are working from a disadvantaged position most of the time, and that’s a precarious situation no matter what cognitive tools are at your disposal. All I’m saying is that it’s often your best chance, and that it’s something you can learn to do better than you did before. Don’t get stuck reacting. Feel the loss, grieve the loss, accept the loss ... and act by finding that next step forward.

[robo-writing]

Soldiers With Benefits

Summary: You and the Captain decide to throw caution to the wind, and your dignity along with it.

oral (fem giving), implied p in v actions, 18+ MDNI, unbeta’d and unedited

You were an enigma to him. A single blooming flower in a rotten field. 

He didn’t expect to like you so much, didn’t expect your charm and personality to win him over but you did, you wormed your way into his heart and you were there to stay. He reminded himself every day that you were under his command, that it was his job to protect and lead you, not to follow you around like some kind of lovesick puppy. 

Men like him don’t get happy endings. It’s a truth he accepted long ago, but his confidence wavers when he sees you, far too naive to be on the battlefield, too hopeful. When he looks at you he sees that white picket fence he never thought was possible, so for the sake of his sanity he doesn’t.

It worked for a while, as much as it hurt him to do so. He noticed how you would look at him, but he would simply turn his head, pretend that he didn’t notice your pretty eyes staring at him like something to be desired. Temptation personified. The fruit he knows he shouldn’t taste.

It worked, until it didn’t. Until it became harder and harder to ignore you, to treat you like the others because in reality you weren’t like the others, you were special, different. You were his test of faith, one he feels himself failing every day.

It worked, until one day you noticed him staring back, and he couldn’t bring himself to look away any longer.

A game of cat and mouse ensues. An obvious attraction between the two of you with neither being able to admit defeat—He presses against you a bit too much in sparring, enough to make you feel what you do to him. You make sure to leave your shirt untucked when you bend over, a sliver of your panties in view before you leave the room.

Last he’s checked, lace is certainly not regulation. He thinks of the thin material when he fists his cock that night, and his release is found when he thinks of you doing the same, pleasuring yourself to the memory of his half-hard length rutting against your thighs.

He’s failing faster and faster every day, and he’s not sure how much longer he can keep this act up. He curses and praises your name in the same breath, because damn you for making him feel this way, and damn him for wanting more. 

The briefing is long, monotonous. The only thing that keeps your attention is the Captain.

Oftentimes you find yourself staring when you should be listening, thoughts of his large hands when you should be thinking about mission details, the feeling of his beard when you should be paying attention to the rules of engagement. You wonder if it’s as soft as it looks, or if it’s that delicious mix of scruff that leaves your skin raw and makes your thighs clench just that bit tighter.

After what feels like hours it’s finally over, everyone packing up and leaving. 

Everyone, except for you and Price.

Minutes pass and eventually you two are the only ones left in the room. The tension reminds you of a live wire, electrifying and dangerous.

The Captain is the first to speak. “Did you have a question for me, soldier?”

Soldier. The name reminds you of your place, and maybe that’s why he used it. As a reminder.

You cut through the red tape, not one to mince words. If you’re going to damn yourself, at least let it be with confidence.

“I’ve seen the way you look at me, Captain.”

He purses his lips, squints a bit. He’s cautious when he replies, careful with his words. 

“How do I look at you?”

“The same way I look at you.”

It’s a blanket statement, subtle in its implication. What isn’t subtle however is how the Captain shifts in place, looks away for a moment before looking back at you.

“Whatever it is you’re implying,” he says, his eyes scanning you. “is a very dangerous idea.”

His words are harsh, but you see through him, uncertainty in his eyes. It’s as if he’s trying to convince himself rather than you.

“Whatever it is I’m implying,” you repeat, looking up at him. “You know exactly what I’m implying Captain—“

“Soldier.”

The authority in his voice makes you pause. He’s looking away, but you see the way his fists open and close at his sides. 

“I already made myself clear.” He gestures towards the door. “Now, if you have nothing else to say, then you’re dismissed.”

His voice is firm, solid, definitive; His eyes are anything but.

So you walk towards the door and he sighs in relief at the sound of your footsteps moving away, only for his back to straighten out when he hears the door close, and the click of the lock fall in place.

You turn back to him, something yet unknown to you swirling in his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

You walk closer, determined. He’s silent, glares at you from beneath his bucket hat as you walk closer, but doesn’t make a move to leave.

You don’t answer, footsteps echoing in the empty room. Up, down, your eyes fall from his stone-faced visage to his broad chest, the rise and fall of it faster than you remember.

His voice catches your attention once more. “You should stop.”

You should stop. You should. But you don’t want to, and really, isn’t it the things we want that are usually the worst for us?

“And if I don’t?” You challenge.

He fixes you with a hard stare. “You do not know what you’re asking for love.”

The nickname does little to deter you, if anything it only encourages you further. “And what am I asking for, sir?”

A low noise escapes him. He walks closer to you and it's only now you realize how truly imposing he can be. He towers over you, nearly double your size, and you find yourself backing up on instinct into the wall behind you.

“I’m your Captain, nearly twice your age.” He says, far too calm. “Could write you up for a multitude of things just for this little stunt, insubordination for one.”

For a moment you doubt yourself, head full of conflicting thoughts as he forces himself closer. Chest to chest, he pins you in place and traps you between him and the wall, the deep rumble of his voice resonating in your ears.

A shaky sigh slips between his lips, the hint of his latest cigar on his breath. The last vestiges of his slowly fraying self-control.

“I’d ruin you, y’know,” A single hand rests against the wall, near your head as his gaze locks you in place. “Pretty girl like you? I’d use you like a goddamn toy.”

He breathes out, moves his head next to you to whisper in your ear. “You sure you want that?”

His words pin you in place, the deep timbre of them making your body hot. A warning, and an invitation all the same. 

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself,” you say, grinning as you do. “And who says I wouldn’t want you to ruin me? Bet you’d treat me real nice after, wouldn’t you Cap?”

Innocent as you look, your words are laced with sin, enticing. He hums in satisfaction, taking your chin between two fingers.

“We’ll see about that.”

Everything happens in a blur. The walk to his quarters, the taste of nicotine that lingers on your lips, the speed in which your knees hit the floor and your hands scramble to undo his belt.

What isn’t fast is his cock pressing against your lips, the salty taste of precum against your lips as he hisses your praises from above between clenched teeth. He taps it once against your cheek, watching amused as your eyes are drawn to it. Your mouth practically waters at the sight, moving closer until you’re pulled back by the hair.

“Pretty fuckin’ girl,” He groans, teasing you. “Stick your tongue out for me doll.”

You follow his orders like a good soldier, the tip well past your lips at this point. He savors the feeling, moving forward inch by agonizing inch as your eyes well up with tears.

He notices of course, holds himself steady and strokes your face, a gesture far too gentle for what you two are doing.

“What’s the matter darling?” He growls, rocks his hips just barely to hear you gag before stopping again. “Thought you were a big girl huh? Can’t take me like you thought?”

It’s an out, you realize, one you deny with a muffled whine. You grab his thighs, pull him closer towards you and squeeze. You can’t see his face, but you hear it, the devilish laughter that erupts from his body.

“I should’ve known…” he chuckles, bullies his cock further until it’s in your throat. “My girl’s a good slut ain’t she? Willing to let her Captain fuck her mouth like the pretty little whore she is.”

He gives you barely enough time to adjust before the wet sounds of his dick in your mouth fill the room. It’s not gentle in the slightest, strands of saliva leaking from the sides of your mouth as he revels in the tightening of your throat. He stuffs your mouth full but you accommodate him, press yourself further until your nose is firmly against his pubes as he grabs you with both hands and uses you for his own needs.

“Should see the fuckin’ state o’ you…” he breathes, stops himself to admire his handiwork. Down on your knees, barely any preparation, and yet you were so quick to take him down to the hilt. Gagging for it, both literally and figuratively.

The view is damning, he thinks to himself. You’re damning. The number of rules and regulations he’s breaking right now mean nothing to him at the moment, not when your throat closes against him so magnificently.

A heavy hand trails through your hair before he traces his cock against your lips, tapping the head of it on your open tongue. You follow his every move, desperate for whatever he’s willing to give you. He leaves your mouth, and on instinct you reach out to pull him back, whining for the heavy press of his cock against your tongue.

It’s cute, a word far too innocent for the way you suck on his tip and savor the pre-cum that gathers, like you’re fucking starving for it. A spiderweb of spit connects you to him, filthy and depraved in the best kind of way.

“Be patient,” he says, chest heaving. He taps once, twice, watches the way your hips buck each time he does. “Can’t have you passing out yet, now can I?”

A heavy hand holds you by the neck before he glides himself back into your throat, the added pressure making him grunt in pleasure.

It’s hard for you to breathe but you bear it, all so that you can hear him whisper your name under his breath, feel his cock twitch with need as your pussy makes a mess below you. Your hips rise and fall with the rhythm of his cock, grinding on nothing as the Captain laughs at your sorry state.

“Been a while since you’ve had your mouth stuffed, right princess?”

He swears he hears you answer yes, somewhere between you gagging and sucking his balls like your life depends on it. The flat of your tongue dances against them before taking his cock into your throat once again, marveled at just how depraved you are.

“Innocent as you look, you’re just a needy little whore,” He thrusts shallowly, rambles half-finished sentences with every movement. “Look at you, yeah? Bet you’d be happy with anyone so long as that pretty mouth of yours is filled.”

You whine, shake your head as little as you can as you gag against his length. He gives you a moment of reprieve, letting himself fall from your mouth as you rasp out, voice hoarse.

“No, just you,” he cradles your head in his hands as you reach for the hem of his shirt, eyes full of lust. “Jus’ you, John, only you.”

He smiles at your words, the use of his name stirring something much more frightening than lust. He moves back to watch your eyes glaze over, fingers playing with your tongue peeking out past your lips, smiling wider as you suck on the digits.

“A charmer, aren’t you love?” He presses his fingers further before replacing them with his cock. “Want me all to yourself then, is that it?”

You nod, present your mouth to him as an offering, licking at his head wantonly.

The moment is over far too soon before his cock obscures your view again, the drag of it making your jaw hurt.

“Obedient, can take directions too—fuck!” He wheezes, plays with your breast before fucking your mouth once more. “You’re not goin’ anywhere, yeah? Gonna keep you all for myself—fuckin’ hell—“

His hips move fast against your face, but he doesn’t stop, doesn’t entertain the idea as he keeps speaking through choked off moans. “You’re mine, all fucking mine, my personal cock-drunk little slut.”

There’s an incessant throb in your core, your aching cunt clenching around nothing, desperation in every fiber of your being. Your fingers move between your legs, a jolt of pleasure moving through you when they find your clit before being pushed away by Captain Price.

“No no no, don’t you fucking dare,” he pulls away from your mouth, slaps your hands away and squeezes at your neck until your vision blurs. 

“You’ll come like this, or not at all,” he snarls, presses his cock against your face and smearing his mess further. “Understand?”

He lets go and you breathe in deep, gasping for air. You cough against him, spit and precum running down your face. 

“You wanted my cock, right? So fucking take it, and nothing else.”

He doesn’t wait for a response before he moves again, faster this time. 

Your fingers twitch at your sides, but you hold them back. You want so badly to have your fingers glide across your soaked pussy, but you already learned your lesson for attempting, so you behave.

There’s a telltale throb against your tongue, once, twice, before a familiar heat fills your mouth, doing your best to swallow every drop even as some of his cum dribbles past your lips and down your cheeks. Price watches the mess with interest, languidly spreading it around with his half-hard cock and hissing as you lick at his tip, cleaning up what you’ve left behind.

It takes him a moment to recover, his breathing strained, but when he does he drags you up on shaky legs and places you in the bed. Dazed, you look down to see his blue eyes staring at you from between your legs.

“I’m nothing if not fair darling,” he growls against your pussy. “Now do me a favor and lie back.”

[jpshealth]

Beat Viral Fever Stress-Free: A Guide to Viral Fevers

Today, we're diving deep into the world of viral fevers. We'll explore what they are, how they sneak into our lives, the telltale signs, and most importantly, what to do when you're under the weather with one. So, grab a cup of tea, get cozy, and let's get started!

What Exactly Are Viral Fevers?

Let's begin with the basics. A viral fever isn't a unique disease on its own. Instead, it's a symptom of various viral infections. When your body plays host to pesky viruses like the flu or the common cold, it often raises its temperature to create an inhospitable environment for these intruders. That temperature hike is what we call a fever.

The Viral Culprits

So, who are the troublemakers behind these fevers? Viruses! They're tiny, sneaky, and have a knack for making us feel miserable. Viral infections can range from the mild annoyance of a runny nose to more serious illnesses like COVID-19.

Recognizing the Sneaky Symptoms

Alright, now let's talk about how to spot these viral fevers. Remember, symptoms can vary from person to person, but there are some common giveaways to keep an eye out for.

The Fever Spike

The most obvious sign is, of course, the fever itself. If your trusty thermometer starts flirting with temperatures above 100.4°F (38°C), that's a pretty good indication. But don't fret; fever is often your body's superhero act to fend off these unwelcome viral guests.

Headache and Body Aches

Ever felt like your head is pounding, and your body's been hit by a freight train? That's a classic combo that often accompanies viral fevers. It can range from mild discomfort to "please make it stop."

The Energy Drain

Viral infections are notorious for leaving you feeling like you've been drained of every ounce of energy. So, if you're suddenly more tired than a sloth on a lazy Sunday, it might be the viral fever talking.

Chills and Sweats

Fever usually comes with a rollercoaster of sensations. First, you're shivering like you've been dropped in the Arctic, and then you're sweating like you're in the Sahara. It's your body's quirky way of regulating its temperature.

Cough, Sore Throat, and Other Nuisances

The list doesn't stop there. A nagging cough, a scratchy throat, or even nausea and vomiting can join the viral fever party. Oh, and don't forget the runny or stuffy nose; it's like your body's way of saying, "Get out, germs!"

Taking Action: What to Do

Okay, you've recognized the symptoms, and you're certain it's a viral fever. What's next?

Rest and Hydration: Your Best Friends

Your first and most crucial allies in this battle are rest and hydration. Your body needs both to fight off those pesky viruses effectively. Sip on water, cozy up in bed, and Netflix-binge guilt-free.

Over-the-Counter Remedies

Over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help bring down the fever and ease body aches. Just remember, follow the dosing instructions to the letter.

Doctor Knows Best

If your symptoms hang around for more than a few days or get worse, it's time to consult a doctor. They're the experts who can rule out more serious issues and provide tailored treatment options.

Isolate and Prevent Spread

In these pandemic times, if you suspect you have a viral fever, it's vital to isolate yourself. Stay in a separate room, use a dedicated bathroom, and don't forget to mask up around others. It's not just about your health; it's about everyone's.

Symptom Surveillance

Keep a vigilant eye on your symptoms. If they suddenly take a turn for the worse, especially if you're having difficulty breathing, don't hesitate to seek immediate medical attention. This could be a sign of a severe viral infection that requires prompt care.

Prevention Is Key

Now, let's switch gears and talk about the superhero cape of viral fever management: prevention. Here's how you can minimize the chances of getting cozy with viral infections:

Hygiene is Everything

Practice good hand hygiene. Wash your hands like you're scrubbing in for surgery, avoid touching your face, and use hand sanitizer when you can't find soap and water.

Vaccination: Your Shield

Don't underestimate the power of vaccines! They can protect you from a slew of viral infections, including the flu. Chat with your healthcare provider about which vaccines are your best bet.

Stay Home When Sick

If you're not feeling your best, do yourself and everyone else a favor by staying home. It's not just responsible; it's considerate.

Boost Your Immune System

Eating a balanced diet, getting your beauty sleep, and managing stress can help turbocharge your immune system. A robust immune system is your best defense against viral fever.

Conclusion

So, there you have it—our comprehensive guide to viral fevers. We've covered everything from the basics of what they are to recognizing the sneaky symptoms and taking action. Remember, rest and hydration are your allies, and when in doubt, consult a doctor. Preventive measures, like good hygiene and vaccines, can go a long way in keeping those viral villains at bay.

[ailelie]

Fantasy Politics

In Eleanora's Return (working title), some of the plot deals heavily with politics. I am not a political scientist, so I'm trying to think through what I need to know to create some believable systems and plots.

The first step is the easiest--I need to know who has power, what form that power is in, and how they wield it. I also need to know the most and least obvious avenues for them to gain more power.

For example, I have guilds. Their power is over their control of trade, supply, and demand. They also have some personal power they use to keep their members in line. These guilds have aspects of joint-stock companies, corporations, and unions. That is a very confusing mix, I know. They exert power by manipulating prices and through threats/blackmail. "If you don't give us this thing we need/want, we will make sure you can't get the thing you want at a reasonable price." (I know this is over-simplifying). They gain more power through regulations and policies that give them more autonomy and ability to enforce their threats. They also gain power by getting sympathetic people into powerful positions or by weakening the unsympathetic.

But I want to zoom out a bit and think about the systems the powerful operate within. Monarchies and democracies are very different and aren't the only possible models either. So I want a table of governmental forms with their core philosophies in the next column, followed by a description of how power typically flows within the system, and lastly two lists: (1) the benefits and ways the government is the best; and (2) the downsides and ways the government can be corrupt and harmful.

But that wouldn't necessarily be enough. Because, there are strong and weak versions of each form of government. And there are centralized and decentralized versions. And there are mythic/vulgar divisions as well.

Like, you could have a kingdom with a strong monarchy, but decentralized power and a vulgar philosophy (aka, the king's king not because of divine right or magic blood/etc, but because the king got power first and has the ability to retain and enforce that power and b/c the king does his job well, etc).

And you can have a weak democracy with centralized power and a mythic philosophy (aka, an elected congress decides all but divisions often keep them from making decisions leading to many policies and rules being created by other parts of the government and enforced without congressional support, but everyone in the nation follows those rules and there's this idea that serving on the congress is the highest honor, always works to do the best it can for the people, and that the system is the only system that gives people their voice. Etc).

So it isn't enough to discuss forms of government--monarchy, democracy, oligarchy, empire, etc--you must also discuss the strength, centrality, origin story/myth, etc. Oh and the underlying philosophy or assumption(s) that keep(s) the government running.

And I don't want to say one form of government is better than another (mostly because I don't know that I believe that; all seem both beneficial and corrupt to me) so I also need to think about what makes a specific government good.

To me, a government is good if the people are safe and able to live fulfilling lives as defined by them (so long as they don't hinder others' sense of fulfillment). Of course, I also just came up with that just now. I may think differently this evening after stewing on this more.

The trappings almost seem the least important part beyond how they affect power flows. (In a monarchy, you gain power through favor with the monarch or by assassinating the monarch. In a democracy, you gain power by bribing officials and filling seats with supporters. There's more to it than that, but you get my point).

So what are the key features of a government I should be examining/deciding?

Strength (aka, the government sets policies that are followed)

Centrality (aka, all power flows from a central government vs local areas often have localized rules/laws).

Mythology (aka, how venerated the government is, even if that veneration is negative, for example, the impossible to defeat Evil Overlord)

Underlying assumptions

What else???

[foolish-moods]

capitalism fears AI

ok yeah we all got our anxiety about it it ain't unreason able to shake in yer wee booties when something new and ACtUALLY able to change the world is sprinting at us at mach 5 (maybe 6)

im no artist maybe i write a bit, but like i get it, seeing the soulless machines rip you and your friend shit off these promptbros passing their PROMPT SKILLS off as legit like we aint one step away from bashing them in the head with a rock yeah it sucks and its bad feels that make other bad feels feel badder and not in the good way

BUT ok here me out AI taking your jobs is....... a good thing (eventually) some time in the future))

lemme explain:

The creation and improvement upon tools has been and continues to be the greatest driving force behind human progress throughout our entire history. I'm not just speaking of technology and science either, I'm talking about everything, social and cultural advances included. A good example is the Polynesians whose ways of life, traditions, knowledge, and beliefs are heavily influenced by their early discovery and use of ships to sail an ocean that other people believed to be impossible to navigate. This is true, to an extent, for just about everyone and everything else.

The industrial revolution happened fast, faster than anything before it, because the breakthroughs that occurred compounded upon themselves. When a new discovery and subsequent tool was made, this in turn allowed for another discovery and subsequent tool. It became a cycle of development that grew exponentially, we went from horse drawn carriages to landing on the moon in 60 years. Obviously I'm heavily simplifying things, but you get the gist.

It was a wild time that necessitated change within society. Old ways just weren't compatible with the new ones and to not adjust would lead to instability and falling behind. It's no coincidence that radical new ideologies formed during this era because the possibilities of these ideologies coming to fruition were now truer than ever. New tools meant new opportunities, new ways of life, and sticking with the old not only started to make less and less sense but it became difficult to do so.

When capitalism first started it was unchecked and ruthless, far worse than what we have today. The working conditions were appalling even if you weren't an indentured slave and there was truly zero concerns outside of making a profit. Adjusted for inflation, the net worth of those early capitalists like Rockefeller and Ford make our current billionaires look like chumps and that's when money represented tangible gold.

As new tools were made this bolstered capitalists, it allowed them to keep up profits despite increasing regulations, yet it also had a side effect for the common people. For example, mass use of physical labor became less and less efficient as factories and machines became more and more numerous. Why hire (or enslave) workers to attend a field when you could buy a fleet tractors and do the same work in a quarter of the time for a fraction of the cost? This wasn't just an obvious business decision, it was also a shift pushed by the changing ideals. I'm not saying slavery was abolished because of tractors (partially because one occurred much earlier than the other) but I am saying new tools opened up the opportunity for social considerations that were previously thought of as being out of reach. Which is to say I don't think Marx would have been nearly as influential as he was and is if he were born before the widespread use of the printing press.

Then came computers. I don't think I have to state how massive of a change this introduced to the world. Even if you were born into this digital era you only have to read up and watch some things from 30 to 40 years ago to see the stark difference. When I was a kid less than half of the people in the US had internet access, not computers, just plain internet access (as in a local library), now it's more than 90% and it's in their pocket. I'm sure you've likely heard this spiel before, but it's important to understand how tools affect the world. It's also important to know that computers used to be a job that people were hired to do.

So, back to my original point, why does capitalism (or more accurately: capitalists) fear AI? Because of automation. Take the tractor example from before, there is an issue there that has been a point of contention with all new and powerful tools: the reduction in necessary labor and skill to achieve the same or better result. Historically this has been mostly a concern for the workers, not the capitalists, who are stripped of a source of income by automation and forced to find work elsewhere, however the capitalists themselves aren't immune to it. We all know about Blockbuster and how it was dealt a quick and sudden deathblow by online streaming. In just a few clicks anyone with access could watch a movie without ever leaving their home, a complete automation of the entire renting process including what goes on behind the scenes that the customer never sees. Blockbuster couldn't adapt like other companies (Netflix) since they had too much invested into their physical locations, product procurement, work force, and a desperate hope that streaming was just a fad. The company died, miserably, because of automation, and everyone who worked there had to pack up and leave. They're far from the only business to be killed or severely diminished in a similar way, I mean travel agents can tell you all about that, but they're a very clear example of what can happen.

Yet as a whole automation has readily been welcomed by capitalists. The production output of the modern world is only possible because of it and major companies almost entirely owe their profits to it. Even smaller companies that don't produce goods rely upon automation in one way or another. I mean what is google if not an automated librarian for a library that no human workforce could ever properly manage? Would a family owned business for pressure washing have the same success without google to help them be discovered by people looking for their service?

But AI is different, we can feel it in the air. Anxiety over new tech has always happened, yet something about AI really kicks up the dust in a way comparable to nukes. I mean literally, some people think it's going to lead to the destruction of humanity, that's a pretty big deal. Maybe they're right, maybe Skynet will kill us all, I really doubt it but just like I how doubt nuclear war will ever happen I still acknowledge it's certainly possible.

No, I think the reason why people like Elon Musk and AI developers are so scared of it is because of the existential threat it posses - not to humanity - but to capitalism and the society that clings to it. Where automation before was on a scale small enough that the displacement of workers wasn't a major issue, AI flips that on its head and claims the very real potential of replacing millions upon millions of jobs worldwide in a figurative snap of the finger. Imagine what would happen if just one major job was entirely replaced by AI within a few years like accounting, that would be over a million unemployed people in just the US. Now imagine the same for managers, consultants, clerks, security, engineers, doctors, and so on. It might sound ridiculous, but if you think AI can destroy humanity then how is this anymore absurd? You may think there's no way people would let that happen, to which I ask: would the capitalist whose main concern with profits let it? If you've paid attention at all to how they operate, then you know the answer is yes. In their pursuit of endless profits, there is only one way forward, to embrace AI. You don't have to pay AI wages, you don't have to give them benefits, you don't have build and manage offices, you don't have to deal with human error and inefficiencies. Every company will be forced to adopt AI or fail, and by doing so they create more and more unemployed people with no source of income.

So what about these these people with no income, what happens with them? It's rather simple, they don't participate in the system, because they cant, and the more jobs automated the less participants there are. Less participants means less money flowing, less products being sold, less profits being made. This obviously can't work, it would be like driving a car straight into a concrete wall. It would be a level of unemployment and unrest far beyond anything before it, the Great Depression would pale in comparison, extreme unrest would sweep the world if something isn't quickly done to counterbalance it. I don't exactly how it'd be handled, it could go many ways, but in this new environment of widescale automation I'm certain the very concept of money and wealth will be called into question and with it the billionaires who cling to these concepts for power.

That's the beautiful irony of it all. In the end, the only thing to kill capitalism is capitalism itself. Total ideological suicide.

This right here is why there is so much fear around AI. It's why propaganda is being created to sow distrust of it, to fill our heads with ideas of misuse and the potential for annihilation or dystopia. It's why the default assumption is that AI will be malevolent. It's why considering the benefits is seen as naïve. It's why they want to pause the experiment and to carefully tailor it so they can give the crippled bureaucracies the time they need to regulate and ban it. That's the capitalist's only hope to cling onto their empires of greed, to turn everyone against it so they don't have to use it. It's a paradox they desperately want to escape. It's too late though, the writing is on the wall, it can't be stopped, someone will inevitably push it through and force them to follow suit and march right off the cliffs edge, lest they dare lose out on potential revenue.

Of course, it will be a very bumpy road for all of us, society as whole will have to adjust faster than it ever has before and a lot innocent people are going to get hurt. Ultimately though, I believe AI is the key to a utopia where people can finally just enjoy life how they want without the constant stress of manmade obligations, pursing things for the sake of the experience and not to pay bills. If you've watched Star Trek then you know what the possibility looks like.

[michaelbellu]

Positive Social Media? Is There an Algorithm for That?

7019 Blog 2/2

Using Twitter, the study found four online fields of focus: lifecasting, politics, promotion, and entertainment. This breakdown is interesting because there are definitely lots of subgroups in each one that are very different.

The article also mentions the digital divide and its relevance to the study. In today’s modern tech-driven world, especially as college students, people forget that not everyone has the same media access. Digital inequalities tend to mirror the offline areas of inequality, such as race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. In many cases, even if people have economic and logistical access to technology such as social media, streaming, smartphones, and the internet as a whole, they still cannot access them. Age and geographical location are significant factors in the digital divide that were not mentioned in this study. People 65 years old and up, especially 80 and up, struggle to keep up with our continually evolving climate. In most cases, they are not the target demographic for any new technology or thought of when everything is moved to digital. The unfortunate part is the elderly could stand to benefit greatly from new technology, either from heath and emergency areas or just general entertainment.

The study pointed out that pundits and men were significantly more negative on Twitter due to the discussion of politics in an increasingly polarized society. They also mentioned that the entertainment field expresses a more positive outlook than tweets posted in the political field. I thought this was very obvious data in this study, that people who tweet about entertainment are more positive than people who post about political news. I believe that social media, especially Twitter, has facilitated a more polarized political climate. Constant misinformation, arguing in comments, and the ability to attack anyone with opposing views all contribute to division.

There are new apps that have been gaining traction in recent years that are only positive apps. The apps promote goal setting, compliment others, and mental health. Their whole goal is to facilitate a positive platform where users can go to escape the sewer that most regular social media has become. The irony is that regular social media was thought of as an escape from the real world and was supposed to be fun and enjoyable when created. Now companies are creating sites to escape the old ones, and people turn off their phones as an escape to the real world. The entire intended use of social sites has been inverted in recent years.

Some think of algorithms as technological prescriptions and logical instructions created by data engineers, mathematicians, and programmers. Other people think algorithms are an invisible infrastructure for internet users who consciously or unconsciously follow their instructions. I think both are true; algorithms have pros and cons. There are times it is helpful when online shopping, and it helps you find things or sorts out content you do not like. I love the algorithms on Spotify. The app will suggest new music that it thinks you will like and builds personalized playlists from your listen history. The downside is they can keep people scrolling for much longer than they normally would because the algorithm keeps showing them things they want to see. Also, it can feel a little intrusive with your device showing ads for things you have previously looked up or searched.

One big complaint is buying plane tickets online. In many cases, if a person looks up tickets once but doesn’t buy them, then returns later, the price can increase and have different flight options than before because the system knows you are interested in that flight. One way to combat this is to look up plane tickets in incognito mode, where the data is supposedly not tracked. In all, I believe that algorithms are a good thing, but they must be regulated and used in ways that are good, not just for profit.

[projectcubicle1]

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on our Everyday Life

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on our Everyday Life

The term Artificial Intelligence, or AI as it is more often called, is a popular technology that promises to revolutionise the way we work, play, and live. It is the capacity of a computer or a robot controlled by a computer to perform duties typically performed by humans because they call for human intelligence and judgement. Expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition, and machine vision are some examples of specific AI applications. The most prominent examples of AI that the majority of us are familiar with and use are the built-in smart assistants on our phones, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.

Use of AI in our daily life

How is AI helping us in our daily lives by completing different tasks both easily and timely, and changing the way we manage our routine assignments; let’s have a look at it… Although AI may not be immediately obvious, it is present and has an impact on our daily life. Here are a few instances from our everyday life where Artificial Intelligence is being used.

Healthcare

Given the escalating cost of healthcare and the strain on doctors, it is not unexpected that many instances are misdiagnosed. Machine learning, a subset of Artificial Intelligence, may be taught to evaluate medical data quickly, reach diagnoses more quickly than doctors can, and occasionally even spot problems that doctors might overlook. In terms of everyday life, the smart wearable is an AI-powered tool that monitors your health and assists you in maintaining or perhaps enhancing it.

Reduction of efforts with the use of AI

In every regard, Artificial Intelligence is beneficial. When you shop online, websites remember your preferences and offer suggestions. When you access your email account, the clever software will divert spam and even categorise mail based on parameters you can define. If you're stuck in traffic, AI can help you identify the quickest or least congested routes. By assisting authorities in developing predictive capabilities about rush hour traffic and other issues to sooth flows, traffic management systems benefit. Computers pick up information from individual users and modify their replies. You don't need to grab your smartphone and start typing in search terms to find goods online. Just say them to Cortana or Alexa. With AI working in the background, you can hear or watch the news and media that you choose. Everyone is aware of Google's self-driving car initiative, and it won't be long until they are a common sight on the road. The equipment responds to your command and completes the task. It's possible that you won't need to enter a PIN if you use a credit card. It's enough if you just show your face.

Crime and fraud

AI is being utilized by monetary establishments to locate anomalies in transactions and to pick out tries at fraud. AI safety cameras can pick out humans from faces or even sharpen up blurred photographs to assist regulation enforcement agencies. If existence is more secure and could be even extra so, it will likely be in large part because of AI's contribution.

Lawyers and regulation

If someone talks about crime then legal professionals aren't a long way away. A common attorney should acquire lots of evidence, undergo files after which extract kernels of facts that would assist their client. It is though a painstaking task. AI is, however, involved here in the rescue via way of means of doing all this and with precision that a human isn't always in all likelihood to achieve.

Travel & Navigation

We use navigation offerings. For many, it's far a part of their everyday lives. Whether the use of maps for navigation or the usage of a taxi-lease carrier like Uber, you're enjoying AI-enabled offerings in your journeys from one vicinity to another. Google, Apple, and plenty of different navigation-associated carriers make use of AI to interpret the rankings of facts being acquired. There are lots of Geo-coding and Maps API to transform a concept into reality.

Smartphone Apps

Imagining our lives without cell phones does sound to be a challenge. Different packages on our mobiles have come to be an indispensable part of our everyday lives. Many of those packages are primarily based on AI. Built-in clever assistants on our telephones like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are the extra apparent examples of AI that maximum people are aware about and use. More cell generation companies are using AI to cope with extraordinary components of the tools like battery management, occasion guidelines, etc. One of the usual features, like the usage of a portrait mode at the phone, additionally makes use of AI. AI-enabled offerings are actually a big a part of the updates on each iOS and Android structures.

Social Media Feeds

Check out your smartphones to experience the presence of AI inside diverse social media apps. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or different structures, what you notice and do on those packages is, to a big extent, motivated via device learning. AI controls the feeds which you get to peer at the same time as surfing via those structures or the notifications you receive.

Advertisements

In how many instances have you wondered searching at a web ad, “I turned into considering shopping for this product”? It is AI at work. There isn't any magic right here in which AI is studying your mind. Instead, it's far maintaining song of what you do online. The merchandise you browse on diverse purchasing websites or engines like Google are tracked, and commercials associated with those merchandise are fed to you. AI additionally makes use of facts associated with demographics, like your age, gender, profession, etc., to decide the ads of merchandise that are in all likelihood to your preference.

Video Streaming

While YouTube pointers and recommended playlists on track apps were round for a few time, one could see those pointers turning into extra applicable for your likes as time is going on. This is AI at work, which tracks the films and the track you concentrate to maximum and provide you with guidelines regarding the same. Various variations like artists, genre, etc., are factored in to offer pointers on those streaming offerings. Many of those pointers are the ones that you are not going to know, assisting you watch or concentrate to more modern content.

Smart Homes

Alexa and Bixby come to the pinnacle of our minds while one talks of the usage of AI in growing clever houses. However, those packages of AI aren't simply confined to those Smart-voice assistants. Some examples like thermostat gadgets that employ AI to regulate the temperature routinely, AI packages that preserve electricity via way of means of routinely switching on/off the lighting primarily based on human presence, clever speakers, apps that extrude the colour of the mild primarily based at the time of the day, etc. are few of the packages wherein AI is getting used to make the houses smarter. The use of AI is evolving, and increasingly more answers are being evolved that apprehend our conducts and features accordingly.

Smart Input

Are you questioning wherein AI is utilized in input? Typing out textual content has come to be extra snug with the mixing of AI, in which it predicts words, phrases, and emoticons primarily based to your normal utilization and fashion of writing. Phrases may be written with an easy swipe throughout the screen.

Security & surveillance

AI does carry notions of it, getting it used for larger-scale surveillance. AI makes use of technology like face recognition, item and area recognition, etc., to reveal the inputs acquired and examine them.

Finance offerings

Banks are one of the domain names which have followed technological innovations earlier than many other fields. Banks use AI in lots of areas, consisting of detecting any fraudulent hobby, reading the funding tendencies of customers, imparting patron offerings, etc. Have you ever acquired a notification from a financial institution whilst you do a transaction from a brand new tool? This is a case of AI getting used to locate any ability fraud. The notifications acquired from banks & monetary establishments concerning their products and services are examples of AI.

Artificial Intelligence; Beneficial or not?

As can be seen, AI is in all spheres of lifestyles beginning from commercial enterprise to domestic or maybe military. How does this wave of AI have an effect on our lives? What are negative effects of Artificial Intelligence? Here are a few crucial examples: •        High Costs. The ability to create a machine that can simulate human intelligence is no small feat. ... •        No creativity. A big disadvantage of AI is that it cannot learn to think outside the box. ... •        Unemployment. ... •        Make Humans Lazy. ... •        No Ethics. ... •        Emotionless. ... •        International Rules. ·         Hacking done more quickly. •        Terrorism by AI.

Benefits of Artificial Intelligence?

With the use of AI facilities, the time needed to complete different tasks can be reduced considerably. It makes multitasking possible and lightens the demand on the available resources. AI also makes it possible to complete complex jobs without spending a lot of money. AI has no breaks and no downtime and runs continuously, without any interruption.

For many years to come, AI will continue to develop. We were not prepared for the advances that AI has made to date, and it will soon surpass previous boundaries. AI is not just revolutionary for the business world; it has a profound impact on all of us, regular people. Read the full article