#it's so reluctant to commit to ANY claim

[il3x]

it's a fun detail that leonard peabody worked in antiques restoration/woodworking, given that he took it upon himself to restore the White Violin.

[unnamed-atlas]

Having brain worms. What if uhhhhhh SOS Mianite au

[fairuzfan]

I have concern that I may still be technically zionist despite claiming to be pro-palestine. This is because I knew very little about Palestine when October 7th happened, so in the time since I have been reluctant to have a stance on a two-state or one-Palestinian-state solution. I know now that almost all of Isreal is stolen land and recognize Isreal only exists due to colonialism, it took me a long time to learn that but I know it now. Before I knew that, I knew that regardless of the prior history that in current day Palestine is being subjected to a genocide. However, I struggle with politics and therefore struggle with understanding how a one-Palestinian-state could be achieved and have concern about what would happen to any genuinely innocent people who live in Isreal. To be clear, Isreal as a whole is guilty and I just have concern about what will happen to the portion of people in Isreal who are just as horrified as the rest of the world at what their government is doing. I do not personally know any Palestinians, so I have not known who to talk to about this especially since I do not want to overstep in any way. Theres more context I could provide but I wont because this is roughly the gist of where I am currently at when it comes to my concerns about whether or not I am still zionist. Do you have any reccomendations as to what I can do about my concerns? I am not sure whether or not I am overstepping right now by asking you this, but I do not know any other Palestians on a personal level that I can go to.

hey thanks for sending this in. i think we all have zionist biases that we have to unlearn, even i catch myself falling for it sometimes. so it's not necessarily a moral failing if you're trying to undo the zionism you've been taught. thanks for trying to undo it!

i do want to correct you a bit thought, in that *all* of israel is stolen land because israel is a settler colonial society. until it is relabeled as "Palestine" it can't not be stolen land.

I guess my advice is that you read scholarship and perspectives on palestinian thought and heritage. i can't tell you what a free palestine will look like but i can tell you what i imagine it to be. but what i can tell you is that the state of israel is fully intent on erasing all traces of palestinian life no matter what.

i guess i can tell you why "two state solutions" don't really work because there is no.... prevention of settlement building in the west bank and they'll never really promote *not* settling in the west bank. like i really cannot imagine a world where there aren't settlers on palestinian land no matter the case. and that's even not allowing palestinians the right of return to their homes and expecting them to give up what they dedicated their lives to. many palestinians in the west bank and gaza are themselves refugees because they were displaced in '48. so no matter what, palestinians will always get the short end of the stick and told to "just deal with it."

plus, why are we concerned with the supposed future danger towards israelis when the current, very real danger towards palestinians exists? shouldn't we prioritize actual events over hypothetical ones? why should we concern ourselves with the future when for palestinians its not a guarantee? i have no idea what's going to happen to gaza, for example.... shouldn't we prioritize that gaza lives on today?

i think i would question why you think israelis are inherently in danger in a one state solution? like do you assume that palestinians will all universally commit violence on all israelis? is it because you believe that hamas wants to kill every single israeli jew no matter what? if so, i think that's where your problem lies — in the assumption that peace can only be achieved through segregation just in a lighter form (because the state of israel relies on segregation as a principal of its existence as a jewish state). what about the palestinians who fear living side by side with the same people who raped, tortured, and murdered them for 75 years, or advocated for their deaths? aren't they inherently in more danger?

i mean palestinians have consistently been painted as the villains for more than 75 years. like in every aspect. i think to really truly be antizionist you need to prioritize palestinian concerns and worries over israeli ones because of how.... unwilling much of the world is to even consider them.

approaching zionism from an idea of an inequality structure is also necessary — rather than assuming its a one off system, we examine it as a perpetuation of multiple types of systems of inequality embedded into one. i recommend the institute for the critical study of zionism (click) for more information on this. There's also this book by Ismail Zayid written in the 80's (click) about the longtime violence the ideology of zionism has done to multiple communities, not just palestinians.

Here's a great reading list by palipunk about different aspects of palestinian thought and culture (click). i suggest looking through them to help decolonize our way of thought.

i might add on to this later if i think of something else to say.

[bkdk-prophet]

“I don’t expect this to change a thing between us.” (MHA MANGA SPOILERS 322-423)

I think a lot about the fact that, in Katsuki’s apology, he says “I don’t expect this to change a thing between us.” indicating that he accepts the current state of their relationship, that his apology may not be left with a reply, and that he may be the only one who entertains the idea of deepening their bond of rivalry into friendship.

But regardless, he had to speak his truth, and in the future, live by his truth, which is to give Izuku his utmost support.

In the same manner, Izuku had also accepted the current state of their relationship before hearing Katsuki’s apology, judging by how he already felt blessed that he could have a “normal-ish” conversation with him.

And since the JT arc, knowing that Katsuki’s at the center of the “control your heart” issue, it probably solidified that that’s the extent of their bond to him, cause if he indulges in these feelings and make it stronger, being able to control his heart would be increasingly more difficult. So maybe he’d been starting to entertain the idea of being close friends with Katsuki again, but then blackwhip puts his heart on his sleeve, and so his deeper feelings and the yearning he felt for something more were locked away. Katsuki at that point also hadn’t explicitly shown any interest in deepening it anyway, just that he’s committing himself to their rivalry.

But then Katsuki does, throws him a curveball and sacrifices himself for him, then apologizes—calls him his first name “Izuku,” and implies that a “change” is possible between them. It's not expected, but the ball is now in Izuku’s court.

At the moment Izuku couldn’t respond properly since the conditions weren’t ideal. But even after that, when he had the time to broach the the subject to Katsuki, he chooses not to and put a tighter rope on his feelings. He had enough courage to thank his classmates generally, and and also thank Ochaco for her speech, but the apology wasn’t something he feels like he could talk about without revealing too much when he has to hold himself together for the next war. Like a talk could change something fundamental, and take away his attention from the war.

And also, when Katsuki almost makes the mistake of calling him “Deku,” Izuku jumps to say that he doesn’t have to call him that if he can’t, showcasing some of his reluctance to the change, clinging onto the past which at the moment was easier to digest. Katsuki responds to this by saying that he’s not forcing himself, as he will continue to act and speak his truth.

After his apology he makes good on that claim, where he initiates small talks with Izuku even when people surround and can see them, stays by his side as much as he can as a form of emotional support, and continue to be his primary partner in training. And all throughout the second war he commits to his truth even further, taking his self-introspections and sentimentality with pride, and because of it yearns even more intensely.

“So Izuku… can I still catch up with you?” he says as he yearns to be on equal footing with Izuku, in power, in heart, and in their relationship, “Gotta win right… Izuku?” he says as he yearns to be the hero Izuku had always believed him to be, someone who never loses, “That’s Kacchan Bakugou to you!” he says as he becomes the hero Izuku had always seen him as.

As their eyes meet when Katsuki revives, their feelings, as had been said, become one. The feelings of wanting to save All Might, the feelings of wanting to be near and beside each other, and the feelings of wanting to work together to win and save and again be on equal footing are communicated and united. Katsuki’s questions of “Can I catch up to you?” “Gotta win, right?” were answered, as Izuku has outstreched his hand to Katsuki once more and he’d taken it. It’s also the first and only time Izuku really calls for help during the final war, where he usually just lets others help him.

But now the question is if Katsuki’s outstretched hand is something Izuku will take, if Izuku will also speak his truth, as opposed to just showing and acting his truth. It was an invitation to meet in the middle. As Katsuki said “Don’t you dare let me surpass you!” an echo to “Surpass me, become the hero I’d always seen you as—Izuku who’s full of strength and of worth—just make sure to take my hand while you’re on it.

[cosmowgyral]

Jude's Main Story

Both Ends Bonus Snippets

So sorry guys for being terribly late with this one. I had typed it down somewhere while reading it back then but couldn't manage to find it in the end. So I had to rewrite it.

MDNI

The story is entirely from Jude's POV.

It's been several seasons since Jude's been 'cursed' and his research for developing a rocket capable of reaching the moon is still ongoing.

MC walks into Jude's office and feels that Jude is in a good mood. Jude claims she must be imagining things, but when she persists, he replies that he received news from the researcher working on the rocket, that the issues of balancing air pressure regulation and oxygen supply have been solved. It had been a concern for a long time.

When they head over to the lab to witness the results for themselves, they discover the debris of the rocket scattered all across. It appears the initial attempt was a success, but the second verification didn't proceed correctly. Jude noticed MC was making a sad face and he realised he had given her false hope and happiness.

Jude states that this was better since it would have caused a larger issue if the rocket had exploded mid-air. He asks the scientist to carry on with his research while he prepares the necessary funds. He doesn't plan to quit halfway as that would mean he spent for nothing.

That night, MC barges into Jude's room and requests him to follow her. Despite his initial reluctance, Jude accompanies her at a lake where she rows them out to the center of the water.

"Jude: A boat in the middle of the night."

"Jude: What? Ya trynna commit suicide now?"

When they arrive, she tells him she wanted to touch the reflection of the moon floating in the sky. Jude understood that although he sensed her sadness back then due to her dream being distant, it was really because she believed that Jude would be upset because of the failure. She had been seeking a method to encourage him following that. She tells him that their dream is certainly absurd and perhaps even unachievable, yet he must always strive for it, regardless of how many times he might fail in the future.

She then asks him to touch the moon's reflection as well, but he refused, stating that his hands would get wet. So, she says she will touch it for him, but then she abruptly leans forward, tilting the boat and sending them both into the water.

Back at the castle, MC regretted disrupting her plan and apologized to Jude for getting him soaked.

"Jude: I'm freezin' 'cause I got wet. So go on 'n warm me up with yer body."

And so... *coughs*

"Jude: You're squeezin' too tight. ...Hah, what a nice 'n sloppy face."

"Jude: Even so, you're really hot. Yer inside, skin 'n everythin'. Make sure to share the whole lot with me."

While at it, Jude recalls how he has always longed for the moon. I am putting an excerpt of his monologue here since it was very soul-stirring.

I've always had a longin' for the moon.

Even though I say I hate it 'n it's annoyin', the truth is, I've always been starin' up at the sky.

In my pitch-black life, far from any bit o' happiness, the moon was the one thing that ever shone.

But then, I thought this to myself.

(This hand o' mine will never reach the moon.)

Never thought anythin' shiny would ever come into my life.

Talkin' of hope-- I was already knackered 'n worn out.

('N yet)

My fingertips are now touchin' the moon.

Sometimes carefree, sometimes brazen, a woman who’s always goin’ on about love to me, nearly every day.

This woman is the moon that suddenly appeared in my pitch-black life.

Only gotta hold the moon 'n live my life, that's all.

Maybe it's 'cause I'm used to misfortune.

But the thought that it might slip through my fingers again pops into my mind.

Like the moon fadin', I wonder if it'll just up 'n vanish off somewhere.

She was on top of him but then he reversed their positions, pinning her down on the bed.

"Jude: If ya ever run away from here on, kill me."

"Jude: 'Cause as long as I live, I ain't lettin' ya go 'till you're nothin' but bones."

(Do you see how deep his feelings run? Who would want to leave you, huh?!)

"Jude: You've completely lost yer crisis management skills 'n yer taste in men, haven'tcha?"

(I don't care, I want you.)

"I laugh 'n say I'm happy, even though every day's soaked in blood."

"I'm sure I'll be laughin', even down in the depths of hell."

A few days later, MC storms into Jude's office again. She says that the researcher has genuinely succeeded with the process this time. Inspite of it being his research, he feels that she is happier than him. He claims her to be as dazzling as the moon that unexpectedly appears during daytime.

"--My fingers are now, touchin' the moon."

(I know this wasn't the first time I'm reading it, but I'm in tears AGAIN. 😭

Oh baby, you deserve ALL the happiness in the world.)

➽──────────────❥

With this, I'm done summarising his route. I will once again say, that I deeply love this man and his route didn't at all disappoint me. It rather made me fall for him more. *sighs*

About the two routes, I liked the BLE a teeny bit more. MLE just had the spicier chapter. But Jude is still Jude no matter which route it is. I love him SOO much ughh.

➽──────────────❥

[Masterlist]

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By Julia Doubleday

For many disabled and immunocompromised people, hospital settings are a significant threat to health and safety. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, nosocomial- or healthcare acquired- SARS-COV-2 infections have been an additional risk for sick and vulnerable people seeking care. As of today, there have still been no updates to national-level guidance to reflect that SARS-COV-2 was determined to be airborne in 2021.

In 2020, such a risk was to be expected; hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, PPE was in short supply, proper isolation wasn’t always possible, and public health guidance about transmission was confusing and, it turns out, incorrect. Early on, the WHO confidently and wrongly asserted that COVID was not airborne; this decision led national health bodies to advise against full airborne precautions in healthcare.

But in the nearly five years since, one might assume that any patient visiting their local hospital could reasonably expect safety from infection with COVID-19. After all, we’ve had five years to study transmission, update guidelines, redesign infrastructure, upgrade ventilation, purchase PPE and train staff, right?

As a matter of fact, the CDC has yet to even issue updated infection control recommendations, much less have we seen implementation. The CDC did ask their infection control advisory body, HICPAC, to update the Guideline to Prevent Transmission of Pathogens in Healthcare Settings, last reviewed and updated in 2007. But when HICPAC submitted a first draft of the updated guidelines in November 2023, it was over loud public objections registering that draft’s inadequacy to control airborne infections.

Now, HICPAC is continuing to insist that surgical-style masks are equivalent to N-95 respirators as it pushes forward with its draft guidelines. This decision is emblematic of its commitment to preserving ineffective droplet-based infection control in spite of new information and evidence. While bizarre from a purely scientific standpoint, it makes more sense from a cultural, political and economic point of view.

I’ve written at length about the political and economic factors that led the WHO to immediately claim that COVID wasn’t airborne without the scientific evidence to do so in Spring 2020. Perhaps just as irresponsible as their early decision to spread this misinformation has been their subsequent reluctance to correct their mistake as loudly as they first made it, and ongoing refusal to unequivocally recommend airborne precautions in the years since.

This year, the WHO released a document that rescinded the previous distinction between “droplet” and “airborne” transmission of viruses. This represents progress, as new data showed that no viruses actually transmit solely via “droplets”- i.e., only via sneezes and coughs.

The evolution of the science was tracked beautifully in this Wired article. It’s astonishing that we had such basic science so wrong, for so long. But it’s critical to note that for decades, there was a large financial incentive against looking too closely at the claim that flus, colds, and other common viral and bacterial infections were being spread only via large “droplets.”

“Droplet” precautions are relatively cheap and easy compared to the more complex and expensive requirements of controlling fully airborne infections. If a virus spreads through coughs and sneezes, how do you prevent transmission? Well, we all remember early pandemic guidance. Loose fitting surgical masks, social distancing and keeping diners (or patients) six feet apart, putting up physical barriers to protect from spit, and simply washing hands and covering coughs and sneezes are all examples of droplet-based infection control measures.

But airborne spread is far more difficult to control. Now we’re talking about viruses spreading well beyond six feet, well beyond the radius of a single cough or sneeze. We’re talking about the virus spreading, not just via coughs and sneezes, but via the simple act of exhaling. And not only that, but because airborne particles are so light, they don’t quickly fall to the ground the way droplets do; instead, they can hang in the air, much like smoke. So now, a waiting room or crowded examining area full of patients with flus, colds and COVID suddenly represents a much more complicated and expensive infection control problem for a hospital.

Proper airborne infection control procedures are expensive, but they are not mysterious. Some changes would be relatively simple; masking with proper respirator-style masks, rather than surgical, is an obvious, necessary upgrade. New ventilation and filtration standards are a simple fix technologically, but require investment. Tools like Far UVC are exciting and could mean drastic leaps forward in both patient outcomes and occupational safety for HCW.

Most likely, in order to save money long term and make airborne infection control sustainable, hospitals themselves would be constructed with airborne infection control, patient isolation, airflow, ventilation, etc. as major priorities in the process of designing the infrastructure.

Airborne infection control would require, rather than tinkering at the edges of existing practices, a top-down rethinking of hospital protocols. How are patients being screened upon entry into the hospital? How can COVID, flu, RSV, etc. positive patients be protected from one another in a waiting room? Why are so many hospitals designed without windows in patient care areas?

Are you beginning to see how the economic incentives align against admitting the need for airborne infection control?

Let’s return to the WHO’s document, the one that rescinded the distinction between airborne and droplet spread. Instead, all viruses which spread through the air are now referred to as “infectious respiratory particles” or IRPs. The document encourages moving “beyond the dichotomy of previous terms known as ‘aerosols’ (generally smaller particles) and ‘droplets’ (generally larger particles).”

But problems arise when the WHO attempts to apply what we’ve learned practically- or rather, doesn’t attempt to apply it. Here, it balks at what would be a massive undertaking. As I reported previously, back in 2020, the WHO had been quick to claim:

“Would there be evidence of significant spread of SARS-CoV-2 as an airborne pathogen outside of the context of AGPs [aerosol-generating procedures], WHO would immediately revise its guidance and extend the recommendation of airborne precautions accordingly”

But in 2024, the WHO, now well aware that SARS-COV-2 is a fully airborne pathogen, adopts a new approach to infection control. It’s one totally unprecedented for any other pathogen in healthcare. They advise:

There is NO suggestion from this consultative process that to mitigate the risk of short-range airborne transmission full ‘airborne precautions’… should be used in all settings, for all pathogens, and by persons with any infection and disease risk levels where this mode of transmission is known or suspected. But conversely, some situations will require ‘airborne precautions’. This would clearly be inappropriate within a risk-based infection prevention approach where the balance of risks, including disease incidence, severity, individual and population immunity and many other factors, need to be considered, inclusive of legal, logistic, operational and financial consequences that have global implications regarding equity and access.

In other words, we shouldn’t always try to control airborne disease. That would be so hard and annoying! The document then goes to state that “risks” have to be balanced and goes on to list a bunch of factors that are never considered when it comes to the spread of other pathogens in healthcare.

When it comes to the spread of norovirus in healthcare, do doctors weigh whether to wash their hands, based on the local levels of diarrhea? When it comes to the spread of bacterial wound infections, do doctors clean surfaces based on how deadly they think the wound will be? I mean, if it’s not going to kill you, why bother, right? When it comes to bloodborne illnesses like HIV, do doctors no longer test for it because it’s now a treatable disease, no longer a death sentence?

Or, when you apply this logic to any other type of infection, is it clear that this is an absurd attempt to continue evading liability for nosocomial airborne infections in healthcare, including SARS-COV-2? People should not be infected with diseases in hospitals. Period. Regardless of disease severity. Of course, SARS-COV-2 is also incredibly severe for hospitalized patients; in Australia, nearly 1 in 10 patients who caught COVID in hospitals in 2022 and 2023 died. And these events are far from rare. Of 206 patients admitted for strokes in a hospital in Japan, 44 were infected with COVID-19. 6 of them - or 13% - died. Globally, we see the same thing over and over again: lack of airborne infection control, high rates of nosocomial infections, high rates of patient death.

The WHO chose to incorporate “balance of risks”, “disease severity”, “immunity,” and the rest of its laundry list of “factors”, not because it expects infection control bodies to do serious risk assessments, but in order to provide cover for them not to do any such thing. Universal airborne infection control would be expensive and disruptive so the WHO simply gives disease control bodies a series of “outs”.

This is the international backdrop against which the US has also been updating infection control guidance. The CDC, like other national public health bodies, does not directly report to the WHO; the WHO does not have enforcement power over the CDC. However, guidance from the WHO is taken seriously at the CDC, and experts at the CDC also influence the WHO.

The WHO’s document constructs a mile-wide loophole for HICPAC to drive through. Although HICPAC provides no evidence whatsoever that the characteristics of SARS-COV-2 (or flu, or RSV for that matter) would justify dropping airborne precautions, the language in the WHO document exists to justify dropping them in the face of the ongoing, global pandemic. Despite SARS-COV-2 being a systemic, multi-organ disease with the potential to cause long-term disability, and highly fatal when contracted by vulnerable patients, culturally and politically, we are treating it like a cold. HICPAC members are not making scientific decisions, but political ones.

The science on disease transmission has advanced tremendously since 2020. In a world that actually wanted to implement what we’ve learned from COVID, this would mean dramatically safer care for patients and healthier workplaces for HCWs. Instead, HICPAC does the opposite, working to ignore the advancements in scientific knowledge and fighting to keep infection control as similar as possible to the outdated droplet model of the pre-pandemic era.

For example, they advise that N95 respirators should be worn for “new and emerging pathogens,” but make an irrational distinction between these and other viruses that are already in circulation. You know, the ones that are actually, currently infecting patients. “Emerging/new” isn’t a type of transmission, so shouldn’t denote a type of infection control.

Even the CDC balked at HICPAC’s initial draft, sending it back with pointed questions about this bizarre distinction and other inadequate protections. It asked for clarification, stating:

Another issue relevant to preventing transmission through air is to make sure that a draft set of recommendations cannot be misread to suggest equivalency between facemasks and NIOSH Approved respirators, which is not scientifically correct nor the intent of the draft language. Although masks can provide some level of filtration, the level of filtration is not comparable to NIOSH Approved respirators.

Why would HICPAC equate surgical masks with respirators? HICPAC’s draft was not designed to protect patients; it was designed to protect the status quo and allow hospitals to continue to infect patients with COVID and other airborne diseases. It’s likely that the CDC’s decision to push back on this claim was influenced by the massive outpouring of public outrage at the draft, which was seen in both the public comments submitted and read at HICPAC’s meetings.

Additionally, both OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, agree with both the CDC and patients that surgical masks are not sufficient protection. N95s are required to control airborne infections.

However, despite months of pushback, the tears of suffering and scared patients, the word of the experts who design respirators, as well as the input of occupational safety leaders, HICPAC remains unmoved on the subject.

In a series of votes held last month, HICPAC stuck to their guns. Lisa Baum of the New York State Nurses’ Association was the sole dissenting member of the committee, as reported by Judy Stone of Forbes. She not only voted against the anti-science equating of surgical and N95 masks, but also against allowing COVID positive staff to return to work 3 days after a positive test. The 3-day time frame has absolutely no scientific basis, and return to work should be based on negative tests, not on an arbitrary time window or symptoms. Since a quarter of all COVID cases are asymptomatic, staff should also be asymptomatically screened; they aren’t because hospitals don’t want staff taking time off. Again, these are economic, not scientific, decisions.

Putting these two votes together, HICPAC has voted to allow sick, infectious, COVID+ staff to go to work without proper PPE and infect fellow HCW and patients, in hospitals without proper ventilation and filtration. Patients who are infected in hospitals using outdated droplet precautions will have a 10% risk of death. Coworkers- even if fully vaccinated- will have a significant risk of developing a long-term health condition following their acute infection.

At a time when hospitals remain crushed by the ongoing burden of both COVID and post-COVID health problems, failing to protect workers is a particularly short-sighted decision. Studies have already shown that HCWs suffer unusually high rates of Long COVID, with a recent one in the UK finding a whopping 33.6% reporting symptoms, and 7.4% of respondents reporting an official diagnosis.

These decisions not only mean infected doctors and nurses returning to work actively ill; they also mean that hospitals will continue to reinforce false information about how COVID spreads, purposely miseducating doctors and nurses in their employ to save money.

The members of HICPAC understand that surgical masks aren’t really the equivalent of N95s, they simply believe HCWs are more likely to wear surgicals (they’ve explicitly stated such; this is not, incidentally, how infection control decisions should be made). But this reasoning is not shared with patient-care level HCWs. Instead, HCWs are told that surgical masks are a sufficient infection control measure for COVID-19 when infectious. When an informed patient seeking care tries to correct them, they are greeted with condescension; after all, the doctor’s information comes directly from the CDC.

Disabled and immunocompromised people relate stories of medical professionals who believe COVID spreads via droplets, who wear surgical masks instead of N95s, who draw curtains to prevent the spread of COVID and other viruses; in other words, they are continuing to adhere to outdated precautions. This is unsurprising, because they have never received accurate guidance reflecting our updated technical knowledge about how SARS-COV-2 and other common viruses actually spread.

They’ve never received updated information because the medical system does not want to spend money to protect workers or patients.

At the end of the day, this story is not about droplets and airborne particles as much as it is about dollars and cents. What sounds like an in-the-weeds scientific debate, is no more than a common tale of industry greed. We know- and have known- exactly what it would take to protect patients in healthcare settings. Instead, our leaders sit back and watch as day after day, more unnecessary infections and deaths accumulate. As day after day, more healthcare workers acquire illnesses at work which lead to staff shortages, worse patient outcomes, long-term departures, and the loss of talented, highly trained people from the field.

All of us, patients, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff alike, deserve medical leadership that will value our rights to safety in these settings. We deserve medical leadership that won’t actively try to slow scientific progress, and instead will welcome its arrival. We deserve to enter a hospital knowing we won’t be infected and killed because HICPAC would rather allow airborne nosocomial infections to continue on its watch than spend money preventing them.

Right now, the biggest factor protecting hospitals as their negligence rolls on into year five is the ignorance of the public. Most people have no idea how COVID and other viruses spread, have no idea that it’s so dangerous to contract COVID as a vulnerable patient (thanks to years of normalizing propaganda), and may themselves believe that social distancing or curtains prevent infections. This public ignorance is a deliberate tool which enables continued public health negligence on multiple fronts. Continuing to educate ourselves and each other is resistance when the state relies on ignorance to tamp down resistance to policies of mass infection and death.

[narcissistcookbook]

Hi! I am little nervous, I have never approached anyone quite like this. First of all, I love your songs, they have made me happy and moved to tears many a time. You strike me as a person who has something to say. Although there is something I have been wondering... I have not seen you post anything about the genocide in Gaza. I know it's in no way your responsibility to give your opinion on anything you don’t want to but I guess personally, I'm a little confused. I feel like your music doesn’t shy away from politics so I am wondering if there is any specific reason you have not posted/said (to my knowledge) anything about Palestine? Thank you for taking your time to read this. You can respond in any way you want to and if you don’t want to, I hope I at least made you think for bit. ^^ Thank you for your music and thank you for existing<3

short answer: I believe there are forces within Israel's government and the more militant populace who would happily commit a full-on genocide if given the chance. I believe they're a minority.

I believe the events on October 7th radicalised a lot of previously moderate Israelis whose private stance is now that it's not a nice business going scorched earth on Palestine, but if they just hand-wring for long enough then the 'problem' of Palestine will be solved by Netanyahu and his government. They believe they can then absolve themselves of blame for the atrocities by voting him out and claim they were never in favour of his approach while still benefitting from the end of a near-century old compromise to their preferred scenario - which is an ethnostate. I believe most of these people might not even be aware on a conscious level that this is what they want.

I believe Hamas is using human shields by holing up in or near dense population centres, and I believe that the solution to that tactic shouldn't be killing civilians and saying they got in the way of your bombs.

I believe that Hamas probably were/are setting up within or near some hospitals, I haven't seen any convincing arguments as to why they wouldn't do that - I believe the response shouldn't be to destroy the hospital.

I believe there is no effective and ethical means of fighting Hamas with military force. It can be done effectively but unethically or ethically but ineffectively. I believe the majority of the Israeli government / professional military cares very little for doing it ethically.

I believe Israel as a state is an inherently colonial enterprise - which puts it on roughly equal footing with its closest allies.

I believe I am thoroughly capable of falling for misinformation about everything I just stated, which is part of why I've been reluctant to talk about this.

I believe it's odd to expect me and other entertainers to talk publicly about Israel/Palestine with any degree of authority. The reason for this being that if I say one thing wrong or get one statistic out of place, it invalidates my entire argument in the eyes of the very people I would be trying to convince and risks invalidating others' arguments if I make a particular mess out of it.

I believe it is performative for most entertainers to talk about this publicly - not in the sense that I or they are being insincere, but that there is an expectation for us to invoke certain left-wing shibboleths to signal that we're part of that ingroup, and reluctance to join in is taken as evidence that we're part of the outgroup.

But here we are. Those are all my beliefs on the topic.

[hrizantemy]

Rhysand and his Inner Circle have long been portrayed as progressive leaders, yet their approach toward the Illyrian women and children paints a different picture. While they claim to support equality, their efforts for the Illyrians always fall short. For instance, the Inner Circle makes only surface-level attempts to help the oppressed Illyrian women, such as permitting training and instructing them in fighting, but they never address the root cause of the problem—Illyrian male dominance and the entrenched abuse within the society.

Their reluctance to stop the abuse of boys, who are broken down and treated harshly to make them “stronger” warriors, is because they need this brutal culture to continue so the Illyrians can remain their battle-hardened soldiers. If Rhysand were to truly dismantle the toxic traditions, it would jeopardize the cycle of abuse that fuels the creation of his army. The Illyrian people, especially women, remain pawns in a broader system where real, lasting change is conveniently ignored.

Instead of confronting the patriarchal abuse head-on, Rhysand and the Inner Circle turn a blind eye to it when it becomes inconvenient. The warrior caste’s ability to fight in wars and support his regime outweighs any deeper commitment to justice or reform. They allow abuse to continue under the guise of tradition, knowing it reinforces the very power structures they rely on, ensuring the young boys and oppressed women remain trapped in cycles of violence and subjugation for the Inner Circle’s benefit.

[uponawhitehorse13]

Akiha Tohno SFW alphabet

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

She claims she doesn’t really care about affection. She is lying. She needs it so fucking bad. The smallest thing is enough to make her day.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Unless you two go to school together you met when she was waiting for her ride home after an unexpected delay and decided to spend the time chatting with you.. From then she decided to request she gets picked up later on other days as well.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

She’s so embarrassed but she’s little spoon. Always. But don’t tell anyone. She becomes a lot better at owning it when drunk though, straight up demanding you hold her even in front of others.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Growing up with servants she doesn’t have any domestic skills. But I do feel like she’d be pretty quick about picking things up if you decided to teach her.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

She’d be very direct and firm. Doesn’t sugarcoat things or mince her words.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

She would be completely down. However she’d want to marry into your family. It’s not even so much that she wants to leave the Tohno family but that she really doesn’t want to bring you into it.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Due to her tsundere nature she can often be pretty harsh. She often feels really bad afterwards.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

She loves them. She hates how much she loves them. If you hug her she will blush so hard, even harder if it’s in front of other people.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

She’d really set it up. Doing it at the end of a really long and nice date or dragging you away to give you a whole speech about how you make her feel before dropping it.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Oh god does she get jealous. As soon as she sees someone just talking to you even a little bit too much the whole tsundere act is getting dropped in favor of the overly clingy girlfriend.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Anytime you two kiss it destroys her. Doesn’t matter who initiated or if it’s on the cheek or mouth she will immediately after turn away and cover her face from embarrassment.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

She’d be very reluctant about having children due to her heritage.However she’d probably be really  good at it. She’d know how to set realistic expectations and not overwhelm kids like she was overwhelmed.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

This depends. If you two are sleeping separately she is getting up before you and then complaining about you sleeping too long. If you are together in bed however she will not want to get up. She’ll cling to you and whine about 5 more minutes or even taking the day off.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

You already know. Tea. Or alcoholism of course.

O = Open  (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say  everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

She really REALLY wouldn’t want to involve you in the history of the Tohno family. Tries her best to keep it all a secret from you but will reluctantly reveal the truth when she comes to a point of no return.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

She’s snapping at you at the smallest thing. She  is not hard to anger.

Q = Quizzes  (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little  detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

I think she’d honestly be so worried about forgetting things she’d keep notes on your dates and conversations in a little diary.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

One time she got too drunk on one of your dates and you ended up taking her to your place to sleep over. You tried to sleep on the floor but she insisted on sharing the bed. When she woke up she felt horrible and it was almost noon. She felt dirty and messy. You gave her one of your shirts which was fitting her more like a dress. Then just as she was about to apologise about making you go through all this trouble you just had to go and compliment her. It hit her so fucking hard. Being with someone who didn’t have any extraordinary expectations and could love her at her lowest was such a foreign experience for her she almost cried.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

She will kinda hide behind you when you are at unfamiliar places. But should you get hurt she will take very good care of  you and really scold you for getting in trouble.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

It’s a difficult process for her. She knows she can just go all out with expensive things but she really wants to do more personal things. Thank god she has  a friend group to guide her through it.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Other than her tsundere tendencies that most people (including me) would probably like. She can be incredibly overbearing. She honestly does it out of habit but she really wants you to be the best version of yourself.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

I mean what do you expect. Of course the rich girls is gonna try to keep up appearances. But she does find dressing casually a guilty pleasure.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

She’d feel horrible without you. She’d probably think that she’s cursed to lose everyone she cares about.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

She can’t handle spicy food. Now you’d think that wouldn’t be a problem. And it wouldn’t unless you made it. It’d be rude for her to decline a meal you made, especially since she personally lacks such skills. But she’s also too prideful to admit it’s too spicy. So she’s just gonna sit there with tears in her eyes and a raspy voice because she won’t even allow herself  to cough. Please get her a glass of water.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

God where to begin. Getting up late, lack of table manners. I want to continue but it feels like I'm just spoiling the game.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

She’s prone to nightmares. Often muttering  in her sleep while holding onto you tighter.

[forgetmenotseason]

Kiev backs minerals deal ‘beneficial to US and America’ – FM

Kiev and Washington have been in talks to finalize a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, including rare-earth elements, in return for American military aid provided during the conflict with Moscow.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga appeared to confuse Ukraine and the US while speaking on Tu According to media reports, the latest version of the deal includes significantly tougher terms for Ukraine. The US would reportedly recoup all aid provided to Ukraine since the 2022 escalation of the conflict with Russia, and would impose a 4% annual interest rate on the total before Kiev could access any of the profits from the joint extraction fund.

“The Ukrainian side is committed to concluding a document that would serve the national interests of both the United States and America,” Sibiga said in a video released by a Ukrainian news outlet.

The foreign minister did not correct himself and went on to say that the potential agreement, which envisions a continued presence of major US businesses in Ukraine, would contribute to the country’s broader security.

The arrangement was initially proposed by Vladimir Zelensky in his so-called ‘victory plan’ presented last year ahead of the US presidential election. Kiev aimed to secure continued US support against Russia by offering privileged access to mineral resources.

The two sides were expected to sign the agreement in late February, but the ceremony was derailed by a public clash between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump, who accused the Ukrainian leader of ingratitude and reluctance to make a peace deal with Russia.

In addition, while Trump has portrayed the deal as a way for Ukraine to pay back past US assistance, Zelensky has insisted that Kiev owes Washington nothing.

According to media reports, the latest version of the deal includes significantly tougher terms for Ukraine. The US would reportedly recoup all aid provided to Ukraine since the 2022 escalation of the conflict with Russia, and would impose a 4% annual interest rate on the total before Kiev could access any of the profits from the joint extraction fund.

The US has allocated more than $123 billion in military and financial assistance to Ukraine since 2022, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute. Trump has claimed the true cost to the US has exceeded $300 billion.

Last week, Zelensky said the new framework differs significantly from what had been planned in February, though he did not dismiss the proposal outright.

Trump has warned that Zelensky would face “big problems” if he attempts to back out of the deal.

source

[suzannahnatters]

TTT Re-read: Book 3, Chs 5-11: Suzannah Would Like To Be An Ent, Thanks

Ch 5 - THE WHITE RIDER

Gandalf is such a drama queen, and so is Galadriel for being like welp I've dragged your naked carcass off Caradhras now you get a MAKEOVER good thing I've got lots of WHITE stuff lying around

:') the ole grump is back

military strategy discussion with the team! first, they've successfully baited Sauron into a premature attack when a defensive strategy would serve him better; he's already committed Failure to Anticipate. second, having Saruman and Sauron at odds benefits them even though they need to fight on two fronts.

Galadriel being gracious to Gimli is so cute, especially her using the familiar "thee", but a huge part of why this is so wholesome is that you never get the feeling he's entitled to any sort of reciprocation.

absolutely dying at the fact that Gandalf is more polite to the horses than he is to pretty much literally anybody else.

Ch 6 - THE KING OF THE GOLDEN HALL

we get a Rohir poem and it's basically Tolkien's version of "The Wanderer" and obvs it's absolutely beautiful

the whole scene with the weapons at the door of Edoras is fascinating to me. like on one hand I kind of do understand Aragorn's reluctance to part with his sword - Anduril is basically the only evidence he has that his claim to being Isildur's heir has any substance at all and if anyone else gets their hands on it we could be having an episode of Middle Earth Identity Theft. on a second hand, Gandalf is absolutely correct to tell him he's being silly to treat these Rohir grunts as the enemy. and on a third hand I can't be the only one getting the impression that Aragorn is being precious about his sword, precisely so that when Gandalf insists on bringing his staff into the hall the guards will just throw up their hands and allow it.

anyway it just makes me extremely happy how supremely Beowulf this whole scene is.

I love it so much and think it's so incredibly important that what Gandalf brings to Rohan, specifically, is HOPE. Tolkien is always all about hope against despair. and I'm trying to forget the movies exist this time through but cannot refrain from pointing out that in the movies Gandalf does not offer hope to a despairing man, but simply exorcises a possessed man, and to me it's just another of the myriad ways that PJ failed to grasp the nature and strength of goodness in Tolkien's vision.

"too long you have watched her steps" - what really strikes me this time through the book is how well JRRT understands what it's like, as a woman, to be around a creepy man. like, a lot of Male Authors seem to think that sexual harassment is super overt and physical - but most of the time it's just comments, and body language, and the awareness that you're constantly being Watched.

"Eowyn knelt before him and received a sword and a fair corselet" stop me if you've heard this before but SHE IS GETTING KNIGHTED. THIS IS THE ANCIENT GERMANIC KNIGHTHOOD CEREMONY. THEODEN MAKES EOWYN A KNIGHT OF THE RIDDERMARK.

also love the indications that this is an elective monarchy which is super authentic to the early middle ages

Ch 7 - HELM'S DEEP

this is all so epic and the siege writing is so great - just definitive proof that sieges don't have to be boring

it's really fun how Tolkien uses the medieval trope of warriors acting as a chorus... like when like when the king rides out on his sortie or when Aragorn and Eomer defend the postern gate, the Riders of Rohan proclaim: "Anduril goes to war. The Blade that was Broken shines again!" and it kind of feels realistic because they are shouting battle cries???? but also it's very reminiscent of formal poetry in chansons de geste, where the heroes take action and their followers comment on how cool and heroic it is. it's so fun to see Tolkien using this medieval trope.

Ch 8 - THE ROAD TO ISENGARD

Gimli's raptures over the glittering caves is so wholesome and it strikes me what a very hopeful note it brings this part of the story - Moria may never be habitable again, but now Gimli has a vision for how beautiful the caves of Helms Deep could be. it brings this sense into the story that not everything has been done in Middle Earth - even with so much that is fading, there's still so much room for more beauty and more stories and more craftsmanship

and something else that strikes me about this is that in stories these days if you see two people agreeing to see or do something after a war, it's usually a sign that at least one of them is going to die tragically and that's not what happens to these two! they get to take their joint sightseeing trip! and I love it so much it's just so hopeful

also Legolas is such a chaos gremlin. here's Gimly enthusing over the caves like a normal person and Legolas meanwhile is all oh I want to go and look at the creepy trees. oh I'm going to throw myself at the creepy eyes in the creepy forest. just in case you were forgetting this elf grew up in Mirkwood.

this chapter is such a slow burn - part of it is Tolkien letting the tension off after the intense battle sequence of the last chapter, part of it is the history-and-geography lesson that comes with each new location, but also a big part of it is just WEIRD STUFF IS HAPPENING IN NATURE and suspense-building and it's so weird and I love it. Don't we all just wish nature could fight back for a change and defend itself.

and then the Rohirrim get their first experience of Hobbits and it's so great, Tolkien is just getting enormous comic mileage out of putting these cosy little guys into Epic Situations, you just know he was up late one night with the lamp on scribbling this down in a notebook and waking up Edith with his snickering.

Ch 9 - FLOTSAM AND JETSAM

"the forest itself was moving behind us!" OKAY YOU ALL KNOW THIS WAS TOLKIEN SETTLING SCORES WITH SHAKESPEARE RIGHT???

"sallow and squint eyed" is not great 😅

"began to pull down a bit more of the wall just to amuse himself" GOALS.

actually you know what I think I want to be an Ent. so badly. please let me be an unstoppable force of environmental justice when I'm not just hanging out in my garden or forest or whatever.

Ch 10 - THE VOICE OF SARUMAN

THE AUDACITY OF THIS WIZARD

seriously though it's almost as though Tolkien personally lived through two world wars complete with multiple dictators spinning their evil deeds for all their worth

that's actually a thought I've been having over and over throughout this book: the problem with most fantasy authors today trying to write war is that they've never actually lived through it. Tolkien had. He knew tactics, he knew trauma, he knew propaganda, and all of that comes through in this book.

Gandalf gives Saruman EVERY chance to repent and earn back the trust and power he's lost and Saruman completely whiffs the chance. it's epic and somehow frustrating that even a Maia, a quasi-angelic figure, is not infallible.

Wormtongue choosing this exact moment to ineptly brain Saruman with a palantir would be way too coincidental if it wasn't so dashed believable.

"he will not serve, only command" stares straight into camera

Ch 11 - THE PALANTIR

think it's fascinating the effect the palantir has on Pippin - it's coded very much the same way that the spell of the Ring is, but not just that: the Arkenstone, and even the Silmarils, kind of had this effect. amazing how any sufficiently cool art/tech in Tolkien has this perilous glamour to it.

again, Pippin's vision of Barad-dur is just so incredibly cinematic in the way it's described

love that two (2) people in this book speak directly to Sauron himself and one of them is this mad lad from the Shire. like. Sauron has been using this magnificent Feanorian artefact to commune with a fellow Maia and powerful wizard. now he's getting pranked by Peregrin Flamin' Took. magnificent.

huh so the seeing stones were designed to facilitate the elvish telepathic ability and could even help men do it. sweet!

love that Gandalf so freely brings pippin into his confidence after the debacle with the Palantir

[yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon]

Amise Semaj

Name: Amise Semaj

Gender: Female

Class: 2-2

Club: None

Persona: Ally

Reputation:

Overall: +66

Liked: +100

Respected: +100

Feared: 0

Crush: ???

Strength: Capable

Likes: Solitude, Psychology, LIterature, Cooking, Combat

Dislikes: School, Anime, Money, Justice, Dating

__

Aye, the ally Ayano dislikes so much. In terms of the persona, I feel like an "ally" persona gets as straightforward as they come. If one person accuses Ayano of committing murder, an ally will claim that Ayano was with them, likely getting rid of a ton of suspicion and leaving the suspicion on the accuser. Additionally, if there's more than one accuser, the ally likely won't back Ayano up, and instead will help Ayano get rid of the evidence- only if a crime has been seen or if Ayano asks them to.

Then again, an Ally isn't meant to be a multi-student thing, and several cases are unique in Amise's case due to her supposedly being the "perfect" Ally. On that note, the only reason she ISN'T the perfect ally is due to her reluctance to help Ayano most of the time. While Info-Chan pushes Ayano to murder or ruin the lives of these girls, Amise will stubbornly insist that it would be better to take a pacifist route.

__

The text in the pictures read:

1. Despite being Ayano's "ally", she usually disapproves Ayano killing or harming anyone, and will present every other option before helping her do so.

2. Amise hasn't explained her reason for helping Ayano, but seems pretty reluctant to do many favors for her. Ayano assumes that Info-Chan must be blackmailing her, but Info-Chan has also shown that she dislikes Amise helping.

3. Amise usually smiles around her peers, but doesn't bother doing so around Ayano. Ayano isn't sure if she does this out of respect or distaste.

4. Amise usually makes an effort of befriending the shyer students since they're harder to gain the trust of.

5. The only students who even remotely dislike Amise are likely Raibaru and the bullies, all for different reasons.

6. Although Amise has a flawless reputation, she usually stays securely to the side lines of any event and tries to remain there so that anyone who needs help conveniently knows where she is.

Ayano Aishi: Ayano does trust Amise any more that she does her, but frankly only sees her as a walking favor. Amise often names students that she doesn't want Ayano to harm in any way, but even this depends on the situation. If the time comes where one of Amise's favorites gets in the way, or even if Info-Chan gives Ayano permission, she'd likely kill that student regardless.

Kuroko Kamenaga: Megami expressed concern and suspicion towards Amise and told Kuroko to keep an eye on her. Still, while Kuroko doesn't think that Amise is up to anything, she is cautious around her.

Horuda Puresu: Although Horusa herself is pretty morally gray, she gets along well with Amise. Amise knows that if Horuda is pushed far enough by the bullies, she'll likely do something that she'll regret, and Horuda knows that she knows this, so she takes her advice most of the time.

[a-vampire-culturelover]

As Time Goes On- Chapter 1

Empress never sought out the prospect of leading a cult at first. When she had first awoken from that horribly cramped cryo-pod with the Vault devoid of any people or worse her own mother, she had initially mourned, believing her to be dead. She had tried to convince herself that it would be ok, and that there may be a chance her mother was alive despite the devestated lands outside.

It wasn’t until 3 months had passed that she gave up on that hope.

In the months towards her awakening, she had discovered the remains of her old gated community. Some people, by a miracle, had stayed alive and ended up with descendants or managed to leave other vaults and ended up in the area. The existence of ghouls, while there, was exceeded by that of people desperate for survival, like Rosita herself.

When she first left the vault, fears arose about whether or not the people outside would be willing to even accept her, the idea her mother died at their hands not alien to her. Killing her first ghoul in the open, the blood staining her as if she was a feral beast akin to that of the corpse below her, made her feel better in some horrible way.

of course, this and the crowds awe and murmurs led her to realize another aspect of her centuries long frosty nap:

Her ears and canines had elongated, for whatever reason, due to experiments conducted on her and the genes of others in the cryopods before the vault fell to ruin. She had not realized her pale complexion and added features would lead those who witnessed her beating of a ghoul to believe she was, in their eyes, a vampire.

Suddenly, it was as if any sanity the survivors had slipped away, praising her and devoting themselves to her, perceiving that if a vampire, an “allegedly immortal creature”, from before the war and the bombs went off survived such a horrific future, then perhaps they could to. It gave them hope.

And in a way it gave Rosita hope. Well, by that point her name was more so “Empress” by then. They’d crowned her such and came to her for everything, seeking refuge in a vault long left locked from the outside world. Empress wasn’t.. sure exactly that she could bear to see what the world went to outside of it though, her childhood home’s crumbled and overgrown remains too much to handle the sight of. Instead, her and her newfound cult had taken refuge in the vault and what remained of it and its resources. Many adopted a “Kill or be killed” mentality under her, something that as years went on she encouraged, if only to further the appearance of what she claimed to be. Obviously she had no taste for blood, any vampire that lived this long would have starved or died from the radiation coursing through every creature on the surface by now. A simple “Oh I don’t drink wine” would do and they’d leave her be, to dine on rations that had been given to her by those who insisted on living off of blood for real.

Then again they usually keeled over by a month.

Empress, despite her reluctancy and wishes for things to go back to what they were, had found solace in her new life, her new identity.

By her 34th birthday however..

_ _

It had started with a dead Rad-Sheep. Not much at the time aside from wasted meat. The notes of blood loss were unsettling but with the nature of Empress and her followers, it was just seen as eccentricity.

If only Empress had seen the signs. The signs of hissing beasts and eyes in the dark, glowing from the years of radiation in their blood. The very radiation they had came to worship.

How was she supposed to know Vampires had became real in the Wastelands of the world before?

_ _

“My Empress?”

“What is it now?” She had scoffed, she hated being interrupted when watching her shows. To the surprise of her own, the seemingly dead tvs were not quite dead in the vault, and out of a need for power had tricked her followers into routing enough power to one in her own room, the “Mother’s Den” as her followers called it. Many thought she was committing sorcery, or better yet figuring out what to do about the bloodless bodies not of any cultist’s doing around the refuge.

In truth, she was merely watching the same cowboy shows of America’s former glory prior to the Wars and Vaults. Old habits died hard after all.

“Well erm.. it’s just that many are getting concerned the number of people disappearing in our ranks. The people are beginning to worry and we’ve all assumed that you’ve been working a way to save us, our Empress.” Her most loyal follower had bowed. She didn’t like him much, so pushy when no one was around. Why she didn’t just kill him she didn’t know, but maybe that was because he was so loyal to her, indispensable despite his annoying personality.

“Tell my subjects that I am.. working on something.”

“And that is??” He questioned, before she gave him a glare of her angry red eyes. At least those helped sell the image of a vampire to her followers. Immediately, he had left apologizing deeply, closing her Den’s door as she continued looking desperately at the burning screen, cowboys and guns ablazing. It was astounding how she moved hated cowboy things as a child. Yet by her teens it was all she could enjoy, with her mothers depressed state and well.

She’d rather never think of her father again.

It was hours before she heard the screams. Crunching, splattering, the gurgles of a broken neck gushing blood.

Was it just her, or was ignoring it getting harder?

The suddenly quiet halls unnerved her, especially after stepping out to see some of her more innocent followers strewn across the Vault Halls, blood not wasted as chittering from further down grew louder.

“Squirming, bleeding, crying, screaming!”

“Back off sister, it’s my prey!”

“You always hog the fun ones though. Let me eat this one, I like the funny way its eyes squirm for help!”

Voices grew louder, two to be precise. Using an old flashlight she kept on hand, it was gut wrenching to see true bloodshed as she saw two figures, humanoid yet devoid of humanity, digging into one of her followers, light reflecting off of their eyes, scraggly and most definetely not friendly.

Empress didn’t know how long she ran, how long she kept to herself crying in her room, if she had even locked the door to her Den. As she fainted from the tears, she hoped if this really was the end, her mother would be on the other side.

[agentrouka-blog]

Season 8 “what if?”

Could Daenerys have openly acknowledged Jon as Rhaegar’s legal heir and let him relinquish his rights in the line of succession for the whole realm to see?

Jon: "My Northern subjects who bled for our Independence. As you know, I gave that independence away under duress in order to obtain assistance for our effort to save the entire Realm, and we are once again beholden to the Iron Throne in the South that we only submitted to under duress the first time, too. All hail Daenerys the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms. But I have news! I am actually not the bastard son of Eddard Stark but the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and my name is Aegon Targaryen, and by rights this throne should actually be mine! But I have more news! I have freely chosen not to claim this inheritance. Because.... Dany just really wants to rule us all so much! No, this doesn't just make her an ordinary conqueror, it's all totally legit! I am just giving away this claim because I don't want it! But also we still remain submitted to the Iron Throne. No, the North isn't getting any kind of compensation out of this. Yes, as the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, I still remain warden of the North for my aunt. Sansa doesn't mind. .... Would any of this sound better if I explained that I didn't actually have to submit the North to her rule and chose to do it anyway, shortly before starting an affair with my aunt? She will TOTALLY be a good queen though! All her councillors who cower in fear of her say so with complete honesty and faith! Like I do!"

Also Jon: "Dany, you know I have been really reluctant to continue our relationship after you revealed you were my aunt, which is making me very trustworthy in your eyes, so surely you'll just take my word for it that I am 100% commited to you, and you'll totally leave me alive and in reasonable dignity and power, even should I ever voice disagreement with any of your choices to burn people, thus making myself look like a more reasonable alternative ruler to your opponents. Right? I know you have no local support and entirely rely on your dragons and foreign armies to enforce your rule and your will and no one actually cares for a Targaryen restoration, so surely this won't be a problem anyway. After all, it's just conquest by fire and blood to establish your new dynasty for yourself and your future children. Oh, sorry, sensitive subject I know. You don't like talking about legals heirs because of the infertility thing. Well, since I totally said I don't want the throne, no one will be looking for me and my own future children to replace you sooner or later, haha. Here's a to a bright future and a stable reign!"

[thevelaryons]

Addam of Hull was simply a child. But the identity of ‘Addam Velaryon’ is that of a child soldier.

As Addam of Hull, he has never known war in his life. His birth was long after the War in the Stepstones ended and before the Dance of the Dragons began. Addam earns his new name because he managed to claim a dragon. After that, he is positioned in situations where he is expected to commit acts of violence towards others, through his dragon (or at least threaten them with the intent to commit the act):

It is one thing to face a dragon, another to face five. As Silverwing, Sheepstealer, Seasmoke, and Vermithor descended upon them, the men of the Triarchy felt their courage desert them. The line of warships shattered, as one galley after another turned away. The dragons fell like thunderbolts, spitting balls of fire, blue and orange, red and gold, each brighter than the next. Ship after ship burst asunder or was consumed by flames. Screaming men leapt into the sea, shrouded in fire. Tall columns of black smoke rose up from the water.

.

Addam Velaryon remained aloft, flying Seasmoke around the city walls, the beat of his dragon’s wide leathern wings a caution to those below that any defiance would be met with fire.

.

It had long been the custom for at least one dragonrider to reside at the pit, so as to be able to rise to the defense of the city should the need arise. As Rhaenyra preferred to keep her sons by her side, that duty fell to Addam Velaryon.

.

Most notably of all, House Tully had joined the war. Seasmoke’s descent upon Riverrun had at last persuaded that reluctant warrior, Ser Elmo Tully, to call his banners for the queen, in defiance of the wishes of his bedridden grandsire, Lord Grover. “A dragon in one’s courtyard does wonders to resolve one’s doubts,” Ser Elmo is reported to have said.

Addam's behaviour at Tumbleton is actually a dramatic contrast to everything that came before. At the Gullet, he and the other Dragonseeds were expected to participate in the fighting and they did their part as ordered, nothing beyond that. In every other instance after that, Addam doesn't commit the actual acts of violence. The threat always hangs in the air, but Addam displays surprising restraint. It is only at Tumbleton that Addam starts showing heightened aggression and suicidal tendencies. Such traits are quite common amongst child soldiers. Obviously, Addam would be affected by all that he's gone through and now that he's in such a high stress situation at Tumbleton (where he feels that he needs to prove himself), he's starting to show it. His actions become over the top violent:

Most devastating of all was the dragon. Seasmoke came swooping down again and yet again, breathing flame. A hundred tents were soon afire, even the splendid silken pavilions of Ser Hobert Hightower, Lord Unwin Peake, and Prince Daeron himself. Nor was the town of Tumbleton reprieved. Those shops and homes and septs that had been spared the first time were engulfed in dragonflame.

When Addam chose to engage in battle at Tumbleton, it was a clear act of desperation and at the same time, childish hope of victory too. But sometime in the midst of the battle, he does seem to realize the futility of the situation. In a final act of desperation (and Addam knew this would be final), he put himself directly in harm's way to protect the soldiers in his army.

Alone of the four dragons on the field that day, Seasmoke had a rider. Ser Addam Velaryon had come to prove his loyalty by destroying the Two Betrayers and their dragons, and here was one beneath him, attacking the men who had joined him for this fight. He must have felt duty bound to protect them, though surely he knew in his heart that his Seasmoke could not match the older dragon. This was no dance, but a fight to the death.

He goes from someone who's character arc has him positioned to commit acts of violence onto others to allowing the violence be done to him.

It was Addam who was with Corlys for much of the war after earning his new name (while his younger brother stayed with their mother). Unlike Alyn, who was kept mostly sheltered (until he had to take his brother's place), Addam gets several instances of being exposed to warfare and politics. Even the very act of Addam being legitimized as Corlys' heir highlights his position as a pawn, as child soldiers often are. Post Battle of the Gullet, when the Blacks take King's Landing, Addam still remains in a military role once he's stationed at the Dragonpit, tasked with watching over the city. The position he holds would make it difficult for him to let down his guard and act like the child he is.

In the end, when his remains are finally returned to Driftmark, he is not buried at sea as befitting his identity as Addam Velaryon (though that identity is of course still relevant to him despite the violence associated with it). Instead his bones are laid to rest at Hull, where he was born and grew up and spent so much of his childhood. Dead at 16, the same age his mother was when she gave birth to him.

[paragonrobits]

i also have to admit i REALLY don't like the way a lot of online writing and creative thought has come to assume that 'villain = revolutionary' to such an extreme that a lot of corners assume that by DEFAULT a villain wants to change society or accomplish something good, to the point that if there is a story idea for a hero radicalizing or doing something to change society, its assumed that its the hero joining the villain side, and not just... the hero just doing those things to begin with, and the villain opposes it

i think its the idea of villain as more heroic by default that annoys me. This isn't an MCU inspired, as much as people want to act like the MCU set this off. It's been a trend for a while, and frankly you get a LOT of people suggesting that villains as fundamentally heroic but not bound by societal limits is the DEFAULT, and to arrive at that conclusion you kind of have to spend a LOT of time in the kind of echo chambers that conclude that Poison Ivy is an actual hero saving the world from corporate pollutants like a new captain planet character and not, you know. an eco fascist who regularly takes people's minds and bodily autonomy from them without consent. it's her iconic gimmick. Arguably given how much of her gimmick is also 'seduce people and brainwash them with a kiss and pheromones', sexual assault is her actual gimmick

but anyway the point of it is that that the idea of villain as inherently noble or motivated by moral causes and the hero as a bullying spoilsport is so ingrained, and I notice it also tends to be common among the moral puritans you're likely to see in fandom; the sort of people who generally tend to apply a morality that, again, assumes that a hero joining a villain team and killing lots of people for a moral cause is purely heroic

and not, you know. committing mass murder is generally not considered a moral thing to do. (And this is ironic because the vast majority of criticisms leveled at me by the past, by friends, is that I lean VERY hard into what is known as the Knight Templar archetype, or the principles zealot; the kind of characters who basically would rather let the world burn than compromise their morals, or consider their personal code/ethics more important than consequences on a grand scale. Suffice to say, a dark interpretation of my characters COULD have them actually becoming apocalypses destroying the world on purpose because, i dunno, they decided that humanity's capacity for evil is the same as the INEVITABILITY of evil, so they're going to murder the world and if anyone complains or cries, they will be surprised that they aren't automatically agreeing with them because it seems obvious.

i should stress this isn't canon but that's the point i'm trying to make: basically i'm saying that I'm criticizing the kind of people who honestly thought the villains in BNHA/MHA were supposed to be right or that they, for the most part, had any real basis, spinner being the only real exception as far as i can tell

its just a very, VERY weird trend in the creative writing/fandom side of things to automatically assume the villain is secretly the True Hero, or even treat their willingness to do horrific things as a sign of purer morality, or even regard shows of mercy or a reluctant to commit mass murder as a sign of moral weakness. i've seen those sort of people say things like "yeah, so what? if you're in a revolution, murder all the children of the people you're rising up against so they won't feel revenge towards you, problem solved, its not like its a big deal" and this kind of mentality lends itself towards a very amoral goal-focused outlook that regards human life as meaningless in the service of a goal which is a really weird thing to see from people that claim to want to change the world for the better