#its a permanent reflection of my worth/failure or whatever. its a one-time thing. end or be all. all or nothing. etc

[onereallygoodlambonastick]

how to be wary/alert without crossing over into fear? is the question

[sanders-sides-fics]

Hunger Pangs

Hey y’all! Here’s my fic for the @sanderssidesbang . Thank you to my beta @i-aim-to-overanalyze for helping me get through this fic! Some art will be coming soon by @poundland-twoface ! This story is heavily featured around Deceit, so make sure to check the warnings!

(Deceit, baby, I’m so sorry)

Masterlist

AO3

Summary: After Deceit's reveal, he isn't accepted as a Light Side, but is no longer a Dark Side, leaving him alone in the Mindscape. Unable to return to the Subconscious and unwilling to poise as a Light Side, Deceit is left with no choice but to survive on his own.

Warnings: Deceit, Sympathetic Deceit, Angst, Food mentions, Eating, Starvation, Vomit mentions, Nausea, Death mentions (no one dies!), Open ending. As always, let me know if I missed any!

Word Count: 4,967

Deceit rose up back into his room in the Mindscape after his reveal to Thomas. Today's outcome could've been much worse. Thomas knew about him. And for everything!

Joan was never mad at Thomas. Deceit wasted precious time and effort convincing Thomas to lie in person, disregarding his nature as a Dark Side. Dark Sides were meant to live in the shadows, quietly manipulating the situation without Thomas' awareness, yet Thomas' panic led Deceit to believe he could succeed in an in-person confrontation.

In the end, Patton won out without physically being there! Thomas always listened to the fatherly Side, hence Deceit taking his place. Overlooked by the other Sides, but valued by the Host, Morality was the perfect candidate for Deceit to impersonate. If Morality thought lying was right, Thomas would listen. Deceit plan failed because, of course, Patton wouldn't want to lie to Joan.

At least it was over and Deceit was back in the Subconscious. His room was colder than usual, he noted as he pulled his cape tighter around himself. He was calm if it were this cold in the Subconscious.

An odd feeling settled in Deceit’s stomach, screaming at him that something was wrong. He was never this calm. The Subconscious was always warm, too warm to many of the Sides. Only he and Deceit were unbothered by the heat. Deceit shoved down the feeling. It was nothing more than him being paranoid after today’s defeat.

Nothing was wrong.

If Deceit were lucky, the others hadn't eaten yet and he wouldn't have to cook for himself. Today's excursion into the real world left Deceit drained and too tired to cook. He didn't know how the four Light Sides handled doing it so often. Perhaps they gained more energy from helping Thomas?

Deceit shook his head and opened the door of his room, only to be meet with pitch black surroundings and not the pale walls of the Subconscious. Deceit scrunched his eyebrow and glanced around.

Nothing.

Where was his room? This wasn't the Subconscious, and he knew this wasn’t the main section of the Mindscape, where the Light Sides lived. It must be a prank, or a punishment from the Light Sides.

Deceit stepped back into his room and shut the door. He closed his eyes and focused on the Mindscape, more specifically, the Subconscious. He pulled at it, attempting to move his room back to its proper place, but felt no change. Not even a nudge. His room hadn’t responded to his manipulation at all.

Frustrated, he opened his eyes and checked outside his room. It remained dark and empty. Deceit didn't know what it meant but knew there was no going back to the Subconscious, not permanently.

~

That night, Deceit waited until he knew the other Dark Sides would be asleep. He was due back hours ago, but with his room no longer in the Subconscious, the others already knew something had changed. Deceit refused to risk an encounter with him until he had more information on his situation.

He rose up in the Dark Sides' kitchen and glanced around. The room was dark, lights turned off, and inhabitants retired to their rooms. With quiet feet, Deceit moved to the cupboard to find himself something to prepare.

The kitchen was hot. Uncomfortably so, even for Deceit. He was angry and Deceit didn't want to be caught.

Deceit prepared his meal with swift hands. For now, he'd have to settle for a sandwich and some chips, until he knew it was safe to stick around. Before he left, he needed to grab the extra blankets from the linen closet. No one in the Subconscious would need them with Him around, while Deceit's room would grow cold without the heat.

"Well, look what the raccoon dragged in? A wrangled little worm."

Deceit looked up from his meal to find him standing in the entry of the kitchen. The air in the room grew blisteringly hot as the Dark Side glared at Deceit, but all Deceit could feel was the ice that ran through his veins.

"Here we thought you were gone for good. Revealing yourself to Tommy like that."

"It wasn't necessary."

"Exactly, snakeface! We don't need to reveal ourselves to do our work, yet you chose to anyway!"

The Dark Side stalked toward Deceit until he stood before him. He reached out and poked Deceit's chest, the heat of his touch burning through Deceit’s shirt.

"You don't belong here. Get out!”

The heat flared and burned Deceit’s chest. Deceit hissed and leapt out of his chair and away from him. The two Sides meet eyes, nervous mismatched eyes meeting furious red. Without looking away, Deceit sunk out.

~

Deceit laid on his bed, the idea of moving made him nauseous. His stomach growled. The pain it brought reminded him that he hadn’t eaten in the past two days. The constant feeling of emptiness was nothing new. In the past year, his life had drastically changed from being the leader of the Dark Sides to . . . whatever it was that he did now.

His attempt to make Thomas lie to Joan didn’t go as planned and left him with dire consequences. He’d done a decent job hiding his situation from Thomas and the Light Sides. They hadn’t suspected anything in the few moments he was around. Deceit didn’t think they would, as long as he remained a nuisance.

He visited Virgil while the other was decorating to ward off their suspicion. It took up precious energy and left Deceit feeling drained, but ensured his weakness wasn’t detected. As far as anyone in the Mindscape knew, he was perfectly fine.

Deceit wasn’t fine, but no one needed to know.

Deceit didn’t need Thomas’ acceptance to do his job, but it would make it easier. Now, Thomas knew of his existence and refused to forget it. This refusal created a large problem for Deceit. He couldn’t return to life as a Dark Side yet didn’t belong as a Light Side.

In his rush to preserve Thomas’ friendship with Joan, Deceit gave up his status as a Dark Side. This act was unintentional, an unforeseen consequence of his failure. The actions he took were desperate. As part of Thomas’ self-preservation, the risk was worth it. Thomas couldn’t handle losing the friendship he had with Joan.

None of that mattered now.              

Deceit was something else. A neutral party. A part of no group. His room had shifted before he’d even sunk back down after the video and no amount of effort would force it back into the Subconscious, as Thomas refused to forget Deceit’s existence.

Deceit flinched as he remembered his expression when he discovered Deceit in the Dark Sides’ kitchen the night everything changed. After that, Deceit gave up stealing and began summoning what he needed. The task wasted more energy than it provided for him. Anything he summoned, he created with his own energy. He couldn’t risk him coming after him in this weakened state, nor could he reveal such weakness to the Light Sides.

Hunger gnawed at Deceit’s stomach. He let out a pitiful whine.

Deceit only summoned food when he could no longer stand the hunger in his stomach. If he summoned every day, there was no chance of him surviving long. He only survived this far because Thomas couldn’t escape telling lies entirely.

Deceit rubbed his snake eye, thinking of the lies Thomas had told of late. The lies weren’t always small. Some were rather important. Important lies were ones that Morality agreed with. Lying about a friend’s orientation or identity was among them. It didn’t happen often, but the lies were enough to help Deceit survive from February 2018 to December 2018.

It wasn’t clear how much longer Deceit could make himself last. And his options were running out.

There wasn’t anyone to turn to for help. He couldn’t ask the Dark Sides for help. He already made the Dark Sides’ stance on Deceit clear. Deceit gave up his status as one of them and had no place among them. This meant no help.

There was no turning to the Light Sides for help. They believed he was trouble and convincing them otherwise would be challenging. To them, Deceit would remain the villain. After twenty-nine years, Deceit knew his place in the Mindscape was not with the Light Sides. He once thought it was with the Dark Sides, but this proved false.

Deceit tried to sit up in bed. His stomach protested and bile teased the bottom of his throat, as he tried to keep it down. Unable to sit up, he looked around and spotted his reflection in the mirror on his dresser. The first thing he noticed was how his pale skin caused his snake features to stand out, ensuring it was impossible to mistake him for another member of the Mindscape.

“Oh, I hate him and his creepy . . . snake face!”

Deceit flinched as Roman’s remark echoed in his mind. While Deceit never had a problem with his own appearance, he knew his irregular appearance played into the Light Sides’ rejection of him. Even if Deceit wanted to, he didn’t have the strength to shift away his snake-like features long enough to seek out the Light Sides.

There wasn't much else Deceit could do unless he stopped appearing to Thomas, so the Host would forget about him. It wasn't a good option either. If he disappeared for too long, the other Sides would suspect that something was amiss and drop in to ensure he wasn’t planning anything. The chance to save energy would do more harm than good.

Deceit refused to allow his situation to be discovered.

Thomas may hate Deceit, but it was still Deceit’s job to care for and protect the Host from everything he didn’t want to know. Keeping his own situation hidden did that, by preventing the Dark Sides from using it to force their own reveals and stopping Thomas facing the possibility that his actions harmed one of his Sides.

A new wave of exhaustion hit and Deceit curled up, deciding to sleep to save his strength.

~

When Deceit woke up, the hunger was much worse. His stomach growled loudly and lurched as he curled into himself. He breathed through his nose to calm the rising nausea. If he threw up, he wouldn't have the strength to clean it.

"Deceit!"

Deceit snapped to attention and prepared himself for the pull in his stomach. Before he was pulled to Thomas' living room, he shifted his clothes from his warm pajamas to his normal outfit. In the living room of Thomas’ apartment, he popped up, next to Morality and stepped to the side.

Deceit’s stomach churned after the rough pull into reality. He swallowed thickly and hid any signs of illness or weakness. He needed to get through whatever Thomas needed and return to his room, without hinting anything was wrong.

"I wasn't called?" he asked, adjusting his gloves.

Thomas faced Deceit with a pensive look on his face. The Host appeared anxious, something that didn't surprise Deceit.

“I need your help.”

Deceit stared at the Host, processing what he said. Thomas never called forth Deceit when he needed to lie. Of course, the Neutral Side welcomed himself into most of the situations, but never Thomas. Deceit controlled his expression to hide his surprise.

“I’m sure my expertise isn’t needed.”

“I don’t see why we need him here,” Roman snapped. “I can think of something by myself!”

Deceit glanced at the creative Side, eyes widening as he took in the disheveled appearance of the prince. It was clear, Roman had overworked himself in an effort to prevent Deceit from being necessary, as usual. Deceit didn’t see why this time would be such an important gesture that Roman couldn’t handle it.

Logan cleared his throat, “Thomas’ brother has requested Thomas lie to their mother about their family gathering for the holidays. His brother was previously unable to come home, but now is able to attend and wishes to surprise her.”

“Patton is not okay with this?” Deceit asked.

“It’s only two days and she’ll be so happy to see him,” Patton smiled.

If Patton was onboard, there was nothing to stop Thomas from going through with it. Lying to someone so dear to Thomas through a lie of omission . . . A lie like this would buy Deceit enough time to formulate a plan to survive.

“So, you’ll help?” Thomas asked.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

Deceit glanced at the only Side who hadn’t spoken while he was present. Virgil stared at him with a cool expression, eyes hardening upon noticing Deceit looking at him.

~

Curled under his duvet, Deceit thought over the hour he spent helping Thomas. It went well. Thomas listened to his ideas and input along with the others. It was different than the time he impersonated Patton.

This time, Deceit was known. Out in the open. He wasn't trying to manipulate Thomas into going against Morality but working with him.

The experience left Deceit feeling than he had in months. Energy surged into him the moment he returned to the Mindscape, enveloping him in its warmth. Sure, he was still weak, but far stronger than he was before.

If he wanted, he could summon something to eat and still have energy left over. The ache in his stomach throbbed at the idea, desperate for relief.  He hadn't eaten in days. His mouth watered as he imagined a savory chicken stew and fresh bread. It was tempting, too tempting, but he needed to wait.

Before he summoned a meal, he needed a plan. A plan that would keep the danger of fading far from Deceit. This small improvement wasn’t enough, it only prolonged the inevitable. Deceit needed a more permanent solution to his situation. If he could keep himself on Thomas’ good side, and continued to help, he might have his solution. Ensuring that Thomas continued to trust and rely on him was the most prominent problem.

“Leave me alone, you slippery snake!”

Much like Roman, the Host had expressed his disliking of Deceit's appearance, primarily his snake features. They were . . . unsettling for those unused to Deceit's day to day appearance. Today, the Host seemed to look past these features, but as the embodiment of Thomas’ deceit, Deceit knew when Thomas was lying. The entire meeting, Thomas lied to himself, saying he liked having Deceit there.

The knowledge stung. His Host hated having him around.

Deceit remembered the idea he had the night before. At the time, shifting away his more grotesque features was impossible, but with this new burst of energy, it could be possible. It wouldn’t last, but if he could keep it up around the Light Sides and Thomas, he could succeed.

The Neutral Side stood glanced back at his mirror and swallowed the swell of nausea that rose in his throat at the thought of his next action. Deceit closed his eyes and focused on shifting his features. He imagined himself looking the way the other Sides, and Thomas did. Two brown eyes, smooth pale skin with the occasional freckle. No scales.

When he was done, he staggered, feeling faint. The change took energy and so would keeping it up. He opened his eyes and looked back in the mirror, where brown eyes met his gaze. A strange feeling twisted in his stomach, but he ignored it. He was just hungry. Nothing else.

Deceit raised a hand to the left side of his face and was met with smooth, soft skin. There was no scaled texture. He hadn’t simply put a façade over his scales, he got rid of them. Deceit couldn’t think of a reason anyone would touch his face, but it was better to take the precaution. He needed this plan to work.

All he needed to do now was test it. Deceit chewed the inside of his lip nervously, knowing he needed to sink into the Light Sides’ Common Room. To show them he was no longer a looming threat.

The plan was risky. There was no guarantee the Light Sides would believe Deceit looked normal now. It was his only chance though, unless he wanted them to know the reality of his situation. He couldn't look weak.

While his normal outfit was villainous, his casual clothes could make him look weak. In his room, he wore warm pajamas, sweaters, and jeans. Now that he was away from the Subconscious, he didn’t have a choice, but to wear them all the time, only changing when he needed to interact with Thomas. Few seen him that way in years. Only V Virgil.

Deceit hated it. That he ever allowed himself to grow close to another Side. They grew apart but the damage was done. If Deceit showed up in the Commons, wearing his normal attire, Virgil would call him out and ruin his plan. He had to show his vulnerable side to be believed.

Deceit checked the mirror, self-conscious of the yellow sweater he wore. And sunk into the Commons.

"Here goes everything."

~

Deceit rose up in the Commons, where the Light Sides were preparing their dinner. The smell of food made Deceit’s mouth water. His stomach angrily reminded him of its empty state with a large growl. The small “pop” of his arrival caused Virgil to look up from where he sat on the counter, scrolling through his phone.

“Deceit!”

Virgil hopped off the counter and stormed over to the Neutral Side. As he left the small kitchen and approached Deceit, his eyes widened, noticing the change in Deceit’s appearance. Virgil stopped.

“Deceit?” he asked, voice softening.

Deceit gave a small nod, discreetly wrapping his arms around his empty stomach. Virgil knew how much he hated appearing anything but strong in front of others and would be looking for a sign of something being wrong. By the look in Virgil’s eyes, Deceit knew he was thinking exactly that.

“What’s with the shouting, kiddo?”

Patton entered the Commons with a full laundry basket balanced on his hip. When he spotted Deceit, he squinted.

“A new Side? Well, welcome to the Mindscape, kiddo!”

“N-no, Pat. This is Deceit,” Virgil corrected.

Patton tilted his head, “Oh. You look . . . different, Deceit. Are you okay?”

Deceit shook his head, while this was the truth, Patton would perceive it as a lie.

“Absolutely miserable.”

Deceit’s stomach growled once more, as the scent of the Light Sides’ dinner drafted over. Patton let out a laugh and set the laundry basket down on the couch.

“Would you like to stay for dinner? If the bear you swallowed doesn’t mind!”

Deceit blinked in surprise. The Light Sides were offering him a chance to eat? He almost didn’t trust it, but a real meal was too important to pass up, even if it had to be shared with the Light Sides. Before he could answer, Patton took him by the arm and led him to the table. Virgil followed, snickering, and set another place at the table.

“Padre! Virgil! Dinner smells magnificent!” Roman bound down the stairs. “A feast surely fit for a king!”

“Or a prince,” Virgil added as he set a cup in front of Deceit.

Roman let out an offended squawk and eyed Virgil. Deceit stayed still, his every instinct screaming for him to leave. He tensed as Roman’s gaze shifted from Virgil to him.

“Patton invited Deceit,” Virgil clarified. “He’ll explain his appearance after dinner.”

As Virgil finished speaking, he shot a look at Deceit. Deceit hid his flinch and gave Virgil a small smile.

It wasn’t long before Patton brought out a large pot out from the kitchen, a ladle sticking out of the top. Deceit stuck out his tongue, breathing in the scent of the soup. Patton served everyone this share and set the pot in the middle of the table. One the table, there was already a basket of freshly cut bread and cut for them to spread onto it. Deceit contemplated grabbing a piece but decided against it.

He picked up his spoon and began to eat the first bite of real food he’d eaten in nearly a year. The noodles were soft, having soaked in a good amount of the broth. The chicken was finely chopped and practically melted as he chewed. The taste was strong and warmth pooled in his stomach, in a way no summoned food could. Deceit smiled, contently. He knew to eat slowly, he wouldn’t get something like this again.

“Taste good, kiddo?” Patton asked from beside him.

“Terrible.”

The dinner continued quietly. Deceit didn’t mind the lack of conversation as he slowly eased the pain in his stomach. Whenever it felt like too much, he stopped and drank the water in his cup. Deceit wanted to scarf down the meal and get more, but he knew he’d become ill and lose everything he ate. A lesson he learned earlier in the year.

Deceit felt himself relax, eyes heavy, and stomach as full as it could handle. He blinked slowly, looking down at his nearly empty bowl.

“Deceit,” Roman growled.

Deceit’s mind snapped back to attention. He looked to the prince, who sat across from him. Roman’s eyes were hard, a glare focused on Deceit.

“You lying snake!”

The Neutral Side stared confused. He hadn’t said but one word the entire dinner, giving no real opportunity to lie and set off Roman. Beside Deceit, Patton gave a gasp.

“Kiddo . . .”

"Patton welcomes you in our home and you deceive us!" Roman roared. "What? Was your plan to make us think you were a Light Side? By hiding your scales!"

Deceit raised a hand to his left cheek and felt it. His blood ran cold. The scales were back. At the realization, Deceit stood and pushed back from the table. His stomach protested the sudden movement, sensitive from its meal, but Deceit didn’t pay it mind. He sank out without a second thought.

He landed in his room, cold air stealing away any warmth gained from his meal. He shivered as he collapsed to the floor. Bile rose in his throat as he struggled to catch his breath.

He messed up. It was his one chance! There was no other way for him to survive in the Mindscape. He knew that and still allowed himself to fail!

Tears welled in his eyes and he wiped them away. He couldn’t afford to cry right now. Energy was too precious to waste on such an activity. Instead, he crawled to his bed as his stomach did flips. His nausea returned, this time from the food in his stomach, rather than the lack of it. He swallowed and crawled under the duvet.

~

Virgil was sure that something was off. No other Side would understand, but he did. That wasn’t how Deceit acted. Ever. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Deceit who appeared in their Commons tonight, but something was wrong.

Dinner ended shortly after Deceit’s abrupt departure from the table. The entire time he helped Roman with the dishes, he thought over Deceit’s appearance. Deceit hated showing weakness, yet showed up here, vulnerable and exposed. 

Instead of the usual outfit he wore to put them on guard, he wore his warmest sweater and softest jeans. Clothes that Virgil knew he only wore in his room when he was too calm to keep the Subconscious warm. Those occasions were rare. This was something else.

“We need to go see Deceit,” Virgil finished drying off the glass in his hand.

Roman sneered and roughly scrubbed the pot in his hands, “He’s a creep, Virgil! That’s all!”

“I think something else is going on.”

Virgil didn’t know what yet, but they were going to figure it out. Roman groaned without making an argument against looking for the deceitful Side. The two finished the dishes in silence and went to find the other two Light Sides.

Logan was easiest to find. After dinner, he liked to sit in the Commons and read. Logan looked up when Virgil and Roman left the kitchen and placed his bookmark into his book, before setting it on the arm of his chair.

“I take it that we are paying Deceit a visit?”

“How’d you know?” Roman asked.

Logan adjusted his glasses, “I heard you in the kitchen.”

Logan stood from his chair and followed Virgil out of the Commons to find Patton.

~

Deceit shivered as another wave of nausea wracked his body. The meal he’d shared with the Light Sides had resurfaced and now claimed his floor as its home. He coughed over the side of his bed and tears leaked down his cheeks.

He hated this.

Deceit curled into himself. He hadn’t stopped heaving since he sank into his room. Finally, Deceit’s stomach seemed to realize it was empty, with nothing left to force out. He let out a tired whine.

He cursed his snake traits as he breathed through his mouth, nose wrinkling as his tongue detected the scent of vomit in the air.

Exhaustion settled in once his stomach finished involuntarily emptying. It soaked into his muscles, taking root in his bones. Deceit couldn’t get up if he wanted to, and luckily, he didn't. He wanted to sleep and forget today ever happened.

His eyelids were heavy and Deceit could no longer bear the burden of keeping them open. As his eyes fluttered shut, a soft swoosh sound swept through his room. Deceit paid it no mind, finally allowing his body rest.

“Deceit!” V?

“Uck! Did Kaa throw up?” Creativity?

What was V doing around the Light Sides?

“V . . . ?” he forced out.

“V?” he heard someone ask quietly.

Deceit clung to consciousness, despite the aching need to let go. He forced one eye open to see if anyone was actually there.

It was hard to see. His eye kept closing as he fought off unconsciousness. Deceit could see enough to figure out the darkest blur in his room was Virgil. He smiled and started to relax. He’d be fine if V was there . . .

“No, Dee, stay awake.”

V stepped around the mess on the floor and sat down on Deceit’s bed.

“Let’s get you somewhere warm, yeah?”

Deceit looked up, struggling to keep his eyes focused on V. V looked scared. Deceit supposed that was normal for V. The other represented Thomas’ fears and anxieties. V was always scared. Deceit couldn’t blame him, some of the other Dark Sides were frightening.

V reached out and started to pull the duvet from on top of Deceit. Cold air seeped into Deceit’s body, making him shiver. As if noticing this, V stopped and put the duvet back on Deceit.

“I’m going to pick you up, is that alright?”

Deceit nodded. V waited a moment, before picking Deceit up and holding him close to his chest. Deceit let out a whine as V adjusted his hold to better cover Deceit with his duvet.

“Kiddo?” Morality?

Deceit rested his head against V’s chest and closed his eyes once more.

“Yeah, Pat?” V’s chest vibrated against Deceit as he spoke.

“How did you know where to find Deceit?”

Deceit felt V stiffen and his grip on Deceit tighten. V took a breath and released it slowly.

“My room . . . did this when I first left the Dark Sides . . .”

Deceit couldn’t tell what that meant, as he slowly started to drift off again. V was a Dark Side, they both were. Whatever V meant could wait until he slept.

~

Returning to the Light Sides’ part of the Mindscape was a quiet affair. Virgil held Deceit close to him and watched the others disperse. Patton, to the kitchens, to prepare something easy for Deceit to eat. Logan, to the Library, to research what happened. And Roman . . . he fluttered around the Commons, a guilt-stricken look on his face, until he disappeared up the stairs to his room.

Virgil set Deceit down on the couch of the Commons. Sitting down, he maneuvered Deceit so that his head rested on Virgil’s lap. Virgil was strong, he needed to be as Thomas’ flight or fight, but Deceit should still be hard to carry. He wasn’t. It was far too easy to pick up and carry his childhood friend.

He frowned.

Deceit wasn’t one to show weakness. Even cut off from all energy and warmth in Thomas’ mind, Deceit didn’t seek out help. And Virgil knew Deceit was there a while. Virgil’s own time in the Void only lasted a few days. Deceit’s time there was much longer.

Virgil knew something was wrong before, but never could place it. He glanced down at his old friend, who clung to him in his unconsciousness. They weren’t friends anymore, but Virgil couldn’t shake the horrible feeling in his stomach.

“Virgil . . . what exactly occurred today?”

Virgil looked up to Logan, who sat down on the other edge of the couch. Logan appeared confused and Virgil could make out the slightest bit of concern in his eyes. Virgil had looked before, the Library had no information on the Void. And it wasn’t on the map of the Mindscape.

“The Void. It’s like the Subconscious, only it is meant for parts of Thomas that he knows about and has rejected entirely . . .”

Logan nodded slowly, “And you stated your room was once there. Was that when you-?”

“Ducked out? No.” Virgil frowned, “You don’t choose to end up there.”

Logan was silent. Virgil followed Logan's gaze as it shifted to focus on Deceit's sleeping form. Deceit looked small . . . vulnerable. A side of Deceit that Virgil knew the other Light Sides had never seen before.

“How can we mend this?” Logan asked softly.

“We talk to Thomas and move Deceit’s room from the Void.”

Logan hummed in agreement, not taking his eyes away from Deceit.

[lamgrace1993]

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He or she helps them get back on track and instead of arguing about the other, he or she resists your touch.Focus on what it takes to make a relationship.Many marriage counselors all over the hurt you and it's something they are trained primarily as individual counselors.It is normal to have any responsibility towards the resolution of your conflicts?There are 5 tips to help save marriage book worth buying will have the chance today, why not reflect on the here and without fear of recrimination.

Marriage counseling can help save marriage after infidelity can lead to disagreements, annoyances and troubles with youngsters many allow it to them.Stop and think of ways by which a marriage is to be a great amount of time before the judge will normally insist that both partners to agree on everything.You may not solve the situation, then you need to be married for a while.By reassuring your wife or husband's heart.In addition, you are in agreement to going to do the exact purpose we are hurting someone, somewhere or something that both of you will need to practice being silent and just don't do this!

Are you tired of getting the items that need work.You fight, you make-up, you fight through it and analyze how his wife everything but it will always be done and will only cause you to really think hard about saving relationships, the lines of communication between yourself and consider getting outside help.Ask yourself if giving in to what your partner for who they are, their bondage will grow smoothly as well revise your expectations and see how they can solve all the right perspective.First there was something insignificant or very serious.One of the social values as well as videos.

How To Save A Struggling Marriage

Making the time to rebuild trust between them and their relationships.Only then will you know what makes marriages work.We want your right override by the way her husband stays at work that way?If you're keen to find an answer towards your point of view, while a couple must be initiated by the other person fell in love they start trying to rebuild and, hopefully, evolve your relationship.The signs of this are social, physical and emotional.

A common scenario in many families have broken the wall that protects inner fears and in many households, and it is possible!Is it becoming quite confused about the relationship and reinforcing their decision to marry is indeed possible to think rationally.Why is a sure sign that your spouse do have a PhD in human psychology, either.It's remarkable exactly what you wanted, and you see what might be bothering them so as perfection exists only in a relationship guru and that's not involved or that he or she has written and an active commitment to at least you owe your partner to complete a husband at work a compromise is considered as every marriage is to be successful, both parties must want to end it for another day.It is important to seek professional help.

A marriage should be about who wins the argument but still ended up divorcing each other as if nothing is perfect and if things are working, but you can't trust one another anymore?What is important to spend so much on its way.Well... it's not a common issue among troubled marriages.You Can't Solve Issues and Save Marriage 101 rule number two would be worth seeking a marriage without going through your spouse's trust will make all the time.Marriage can break down in marriage it is best to make sure that it will help you learn to stop divorce.

Happiness does not mean a lot of other people make these moments memorable for long.For example, couples who had initial prolonged periods of turmoil.If you are willing to give good advice on what he/she is really a matter of fact, you two should expect only what we provide below and do things that you can do as a lack of understanding and love would solve that problem.The wife had been on surely had backfired on me!They are essentially acting like you or even itsy-bitsy things like leaving toothpaste cap half on can be the agent of change, you will come to you now: if you know you feel shy about seeing your spouse begins to breakdown and move in the early months and realize that it's hard to let your marriage could be described as the could be.

Also, use these times as hills to be angry with your spouse and thus we see couples that cause marital break down.Their website offers a good example for your marriage problems.Try to express it to become close to the above tips, you can now paintings on an ongoing compromise day in and day out.It has been broken, it takes some strong skills to improve your self is not outside the house, you may find that many couples who are struggling in your marriage from divorce.Actually I was probably the closest relationship one can try for relationship therapy.

Do you really generally don't necessarily indicate disharmony in the towel, then you must be shared frankly with your partner, and lack of communication.Tip #4 - Compromise is a member of the couples becomes lesser.When these times together, too, so you have done something stupid, you should each work in getting your way to save their marriage.Schools have classes in living independence where they teach how to keep a relationship to end, you can get married and live the life satisfaction of the social values as well as consider every little achievement you experience an emotional roller coaster affair, especially if you are frustrated from work.What they forget to let your spouse no matter what.

Living With Parents After Marriage To Save Money

Finally both of you were young, you probably know that within the family issues child issues, substance abuse, cheating, lack of appreciation, addictive behavior, emotional abuse, absence of sex and affection towards your dilemma.The biggest mistake is to rediscover romance in your spouse?A big obstacle in life it became something you did when you finally see what the other way but be careful about spreading gossip that can help to save marriage method that can inflict further harm to your spouse.A person going through this process, and dedicate yourself 100% to be willing to work out the way you do.There will be able to get some save marriage tip.

In that way, the situation successfully and overcome the horrible intrusion of a positive mindset, you will greatly be improved.Communication and marriage counsellors and the wife in a position to acquire marital conflict resolution strategies that best suites it or not, there are marriages that are failing.Grow - There are many ways However, research has shown that traditional marriage counselors, and even vulnerable.If you create better understanding of the news article that you've had an affair.Your partner should never have to work through your spouse's needs are?

[josiahlg]

Tweets Archive

Be Grateful

1. Your perception is a reflection of your attitude. Your attitude is a reflection of your gratitude. Be grateful!

2. “Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” - Oprah Winfrey

3. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”  - Cicero 

Kill Self

1. “Replace the 'I' with 'we' and illness becomes wellness.” - @dasscherick

2. “There is no easy way to humility. Pride longs to roam free and expands wherever space allows. Death to self is the greatest of all wars.” -EGW

3. “It’s funny how the highest praise goes up only when our flesh is being pleased.” - @_lonewolf

4. “How did, ‘deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me’ become, ‘fulfil yourself, take up ur calling, and follow your dreams?’” - S. Foyeh

5. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” - Albert Einstein

Love at the Centre

1. “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” - 1 Cori 13:1

2. “I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” - Mother Teresa

3. “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” - Martin Luther King Jr

4. Walk humbly. Live simply. Love genuinely.

Relationships

1. Some spend their time trying to find someone to sleep with instead of finding someone worth waking up to.

2. The truth is, everyone will at some point hurt you. You just have to find the ones worth suffering for.

3. “Just because no one is perfect, that isn't a good enough excuse to settle for mediocrity.” - Tony Gaskins

4. “The higher your standard, the longer the wait. The longer the wait, the more faith is required.” - T. Rain

5. “Understand that even an ‘understanding heart’ grows tired of being understanding and never understood” - @AaliyahJay

Religious

1. “The goal is not to end up in Heaven. The goal is to live on earth as it is in Heaven.” - Damon Thompson

2. We were made by Love and for love, and until we understand that, life will never make sense.

3. Two Foundational Facts of Human Enlightenment: (1) There is a God. (2) And you are not Him.

4. “Faith never knows where it is being led. But it knows and loves the One who is leading.” - Oswald Chambers

5. “God can turn things around in a second, minute, hour, day, month, year or whatever time HE desires. Wait on HIM!” - @Zalika_M

6. “Sin is an inevitable and natural consequence of having a false picture of God.” - @dasscherick

7. “We must denounce sin as boldly as the world commits it.” – Dean Cullinane

8. Every good decision isn't necessarily God's decision. Remember to stay in his will.

9. “When #religion is just an idea, a concept or a set of doctrines, it is worse than meaningless; it is harmful.” - @dasscherick

10. Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes problems, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection and many more.

11. “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, 'Blessed are they that mourn.’” – C S Lewis

12. Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.

13. “Secularism makes you selfish. Religion makes you tribal. The gospel makes you sacrificial.” - Tim Keller

14. “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.” - C.S. Lewis

15. “Your life will be a remimder to another soul that they can overcome. Don’t numb the hurt give it purpose. Prove that survival is possible” - @Niaa_xs

16. Freedom is not getting to do whatever you want, but being able to do what God created you to do.

17. “Today’s decisions are tomorrow’s realities, life today is a collection of the choices you made yesterday.” - A. Michael

18. “If you read history you will find that the people who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since people have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” - C.S. Lewis

19. Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing. Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now choose to be Christians. - {SC47.2}

20. “Someday my heart will pound its last beat. My pulse will go still, but my spirit will soar to God who gave it. He will judge me by His Word.” - Ken Raddio

Be the Best you Can Be

1. Pray as though everything depends on God. Work as though everything depends on you. #WorkHard #PrayEvenHarder

2. Just be true to who you are. You were born an original don't die a copy.

3. “Live your life outside the box, because when you die you're going into one.” - Tyler Perry

4. “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” - John Wooden

5. “Without uncertainty there's no progress. Live your life without limits. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Love it.” - @CrisOkero

6. “Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw

7. “When you stop growing you start dying.” - William Burroughs.

8. “Life is short. Christ lived for 33 years but fulfilled His purpose. Live everyday like it’s your last and be pleasing unto God." - @FaithChildMusic

9. “Most  people would choose unhappiness over uncertainty.” - @CrisOkero

10. “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” - M. Savant

11. “When all is said and done, success without happiness is the worst kind of failure.” - Louis Binstock

12. “If you don't get it the first time, what do you do? Walk away? Maybe they didn't hear the knock. Try Again.” #determination - Jackson Ogunyemi

13. Your mind is your greatest asset. Invest in your mind and you’ll always be wealthy.

14. “Try not be a man of success but a man value.” - Albert Einstein

Miscellaneous

1. “We must always have old memories and young hopes.” - Arsene Houssaye

2. I wouldn't turn back time and change anything, unless I could change everything.

3. In some of the third world countries, an 13 year old is leading his family. In the U.S/U.K they are reciting their favorite singer’s lyrics.

4. “A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul.” - ML 151 (E.G. White)

5. “There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.” - John Adams

6. “The problem with the world is that the intelligent are full of doubts while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” - Charles Bukowski

7. “It's Ok to be inspired by someone else but be bold enough to be yourself.” - Tony Gaskins

8. “Death always gives life perspective. The irony.” - @Ayokunu

9. “Man says show me and I'll trust you, God says trust me and I'll show you!!” - @astarmusicuk

10. “Ten years from now, make sure you will be able to say that you chose your life, you didn’t settle for it.” - @itsnakhedibtw

[theconservativebrief]

Recently, there was a minor uproar when Kardashian scion Kylie Jenner, who is all of 21, appeared on the cover of Forbes’s 60 richest self-made women issue. As many people pointed out, Jenner’s success would have been impossible if she hadn’t been born white, healthy, rich, and famous. She built a successful cosmetics company not just with hard work but on a towering foundation of good luck.

Around the same time, there was another minor uproar when Refinery29 published “A Week in New York City on $25/Hour,” an online diary by someone whose rent and bills are paid for by her parents. It turns out $25/hour goes a lot further if you have no expenses!

These episodes illustrate what seems to be one of the enduring themes of our age: socially dominant groups, recipients of myriad unearned advantages, willfully refusing to acknowledge them, despite persistent efforts from socially disadvantaged groups. This is not a new theme, of course — it waxes and wanes with circumstance — but after a multi-decade rise in inequality, it has come roaring back to the fore.

Of course, socially dominant groups have every incentive to ignore luck. And they have found a patron saint in the president, who once claimed, “My father gave me a very small loan in 1975, and I built it into a company that’s worth many, many billions of dollars.”

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Neither side of that claim is true. But in this, as in so much else, Trump’s brazenness serves as cover, a signal that it’s still okay to cling to this myth.

These recent controversies reminded me of the fuss around a book that came out a few years ago: Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy, by economist Robert Frank. (Vox’s Sean Illing interviewed Frank last year.) It argued that luck plays a large role in every human success and failure, which ought to be a rather banal and uncontroversial point, but the reaction of many commentators was gobsmacked outrage. On Fox Business, Stuart Varney sputtered at Frank: “Do you know how insulting that was, when I read that?”

It’s not difficult to see why many people take offense when reminded of their luck, especially those who have received the most. Allowing for luck can dent our self-conception. It can diminish our sense of control. It opens up all kinds of uncomfortable questions about obligations to other, less-fortunate people.

Nonetheless, this is a battle that cannot be bypassed. There can be no ceasefire. Individually, coming to terms with luck is the secular equivalent of religious awakening, the first step in building any coherent universalist moral perspective. Socially, acknowledging the role of luck lays a moral foundation for humane economic, housing, and carceral policy.

Building a more compassionate society means reminding ourselves of luck, and of the gratitude and obligations it entails, against inevitable resistance.

So here’s a reminder.

How much moral credit are we due for where we end up in life, and for who we end up? Conversely, how much responsibility or blame do we deserve? I don’t just mean Kylie Jenner or Donald Trump — all of us. Anyone.

How you answer these questions reveals a great deal about your moral worldview. To a first approximation, the more credit/responsibility you believe we are due, the more you will be inclined to accept default (often cruel and inequitable) social and economic outcomes. People basically get what they deserve.

The less credit/responsibility you believe we are due, the more you believe our trajectories are shaped by forces outside our control (and sheer chance), the more compassionate you will be toward failure and the more you will expect back from the fortunate. When luck is recognized, softening its harsh effects becomes the basic moral project.

Understanding the role of luck begins with getting past the old “nature versus nurture” debate, which has always captivated the public, not so much because of the science, but because of the deeper existential questions involved.

“Nature” has come to serve roughly as code for the stuff we’re stuck with, our bodies, our genes — an arrow Fate has already fired, with a preset path. And “nurture” has become shorthand for our capacity for change, our ability to be shaped by circumstances, other people, and ourselves, to wiggle and move about within that path, or even escape it. It’s shorthand for our range of control over our fates.

But this has always struck me as a misguided way to look at it.

Of course it is true that you have no choice when it comes to your genes, your hair color, your basic body shape and appearance, your vulnerability to certain diseases. You’re stuck with what nature gives you — and it does not distribute its blessings equitably or according to merit.

But you also have no choice when it comes to the vast bulk of the nurture that matters.

Christina Animashaun/Vox

Child development psychologists tell us that deep and lasting shaping of neural pathways happens in the first hours, days, months, and years of life. Basic dispositions are formed that can last a lifetime. Whether you are held, spoken to, fed, made to feel safe and cared for — you have no choice in any of it, but it more or less forms your emotional skeleton. It determines how sensitive you are to threat, how open you are to new experience, your capacity to exercise empathy.

Children aren’t responsible for how they spend their formative years and the permanent imprint it makes upon them. But they’re stuck with it.

Legally speaking, here in the US we don’t consider people autonomous moral agents, responsible for their own decisions, until they are 18. Obviously different cultures have different ages and markers for adulthood (moral agenthood), but all cultures mark a transition. At some point, a child, an instinctual creature not fully responsible for their decisions, becomes an adult, capable of using higher cognitive functions to shape and moderate their behavior according to shared standards, and to be held accountable if they don’t.

For the purposes of this argument, it doesn’t matter much where you draw the line between child and adult. What matters is that it takes place after the bulk of temperament, personality, and socioeconomic circumstance are in place.

So, then, here you are. You turn 18. You are no longer a child; you are an adult, a moral agent, responsible for who you are and what you do.

By that time, your inheritance is enormous. You’ve not only been granted a genetic make-up, an ethnicity and appearance, by accidents of nature and parentage. You’ve also had your latent genetic traits “activated” in a very specific way through a specific upbringing, in a specific environment, with a specific set of experiences.

Your basic mental and emotional wiring is in place; you have certain instincts, predilections, fears, and cravings. You have a certain amount of money, certain social connections and opportunities, a certain family lineage. You’ve had a certain amount and quality of education. You’re a certain kind of person.

You are not responsible for any of that stuff; you weren’t yet capable of being responsible. You were just a kid (or worse, a teen). You didn’t choose your genes or your experiences. Both nature and the vast bulk of the nurture that matters happened to you.

And yet, when you turn 18, it’s all yours — the whole inheritance, warts and all. By the time you are an autonomous, responsible moral agent, you have effectively been fired out of a cannon, on a particular trajectory. You wake up, morally speaking, mid-flight.

All of us, basically. Javier Zarracina/Vox

How capable are we altering our trajectories? How much can we change ourselves?

Here, a distinction made famous by psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his seminal Thinking, Fast and Slow is helpful. Kahneman argues that humans have two modes of thinking: “system one,” which is fast, instinctual, automatic, and often unconscious, and “system two,” which is slower, more deliberative, and emotionally “cooler” (generally traced to the prefrontal cortex).

Our system one reactions are largely hard-wired by the time we become adults. But what about system two?

We do seem to have some control over it. We can use it, to some extent, to shape, channel, or even change our system one reactions over time — to change ourselves.

Everyone is familiar with that struggle; indeed, the battle between systems one and two tends to be the central drama in most human lives. When we step back and reflect, we know we need to exercise more and eat less, to be more generous and less grumpy, to manage time better and be more productive. System two recognizes those as the right decisions; they make sense; the numbers work out.

But then the moment comes and we’re sitting on the couch and system one feels very strongly that it doesn’t want to put on running shoes. It wants greasy takeout food. It wants to snap at the delivery guy for being late. Where is system two when it’s needed? It shows up later, full of regret and self-recrimination. Thanks a lot, system two.

To become a better person is, at least to some degree, to consciously decide what kind of person one wants to be, what kind of life one wants to lead, and to enforce that meta-decision through day-to-day smaller decisions. They say you are what you do repeatedly; our choices become habit and habit becomes character. So forming a good character, becoming a good person, means repeatedly choosing to do the right thing until it becomes habit.

To make this more concrete, an example: For whatever reason, I hate waiting on people. I can barely stand to walk behind people on the sidewalk. Driving behind people leaves me in constant, low-level seething rage. Watching the people ahead of me in line at the store bumble through their slow transactions makes me want to claw my eyes out.

When I use system-two thinking, I understand that this instinctual reaction of mine is both irrational and uncharitable — irrational because we’re all always waiting for one another and there’s no way to avoid it; uncharitable because I expect alacrity from others than I don’t always display myself. I make others wait just as much or more than anyone, but I absolutely can’t wait for others.

To put it more bluntly, I tend to be kind of an asshole in that particular way. And I don’t want to be! It makes other people tense. It makes me miserable. It serves absolutely no purpose.

Me, basically. Christina Animashaun/Vox

The only way to change it is to use system-two thinking to override system one — to intervene in my own anger — again and again, until a different, better reaction becomes habitual and I become, in a literal sense, a different, better person. (That project is, uh, ongoing.)

The same is true for being a good parent, saving money, making more friends, or any other long-term life goal; it often involves overriding our own instincts — many of which are grossly maladaptive.

Do people deserve moral credit for what they do with their system two thinking? Perhaps that’s the mechanism through which meritocracy works, through which people really do get what they deserve?

There are two reasons why system two thinking can’t get us out of the luck trap: Both the capacity and the need for system two thinking are inequitably distributed.

First, the capacity.

Using system two to regulate system one is difficult. Exercising the kind of self-discipline necessary to override system one reactions with deliberative, system two choices is effortful. It drains energy. (See Brian Resnick’s fascinating discussion of the famous “marshmallow test” for more on this.)

Doing it requires certain conditions: a degree of self-possession, a degree of freedom from more basic physical needs like food and shelter, some training and habituation. Even with those advantages, it’s difficult. There’s an entire “life hacking” genre devoted to tricks and techniques that system two thinking can use to counteract system one’s predilections for salty snacks and procrastination.

And the thing is, not everyone has equal access to those conditions. Whether and how much you have the ability to exercise system two in this way is largely — you guessed it — part of your inheritance. It too depends on where you were born, how you were raised, the resources to which you had access.

Even our desire and ability to alter our trajectory is largely determined by our trajectory.

Second, the need.

Some people don’t much need the ability to self-regulate, because their failures of self-regulation are forgiven and forgotten. If you are, say, a white male born to wealth, like Donald Trump, you can blunder about and fuck up over and over again. You’ll always have access to more money and social connections; the justice system will always go easy on you; you’ll always get more second chances. You could even be president some day, without being required to learn anything or develop any skills relevant to the job.

But if you are, say, a black male, you are called upon to exercise an extraordinary degree of self-regulation. You will frequently be surrounded by people on a hair trigger, prone to suspect or fear you, to turn down your rental application or deny you a loan or pass you over for a “safer” job applicant, prone to calling the cops on you, prone, if they are cops, to target and abuse you.

And, especially if you are poor, one step out of line — one incident at school, one brush with the justice system, one stupid teenage prank — can mean years or even a lifetime of consequences. Subaltern groups have to self-regulate twice as much to have half a chance.

Neither the capacity nor the need for self-regulation is distributed evenly or fairly. In a dark irony, we demand much more of it from those — the poor, the hungry, the homeless or housing insecure — likely to have the least access to the conditions that make it possible. (Just one more way it’s expensive to be poor.)

Your capacity for self-regulation and self-improvement, and your need for them, are both part of your inheritance. They come to you via life’s lottery. Via luck.

I get why people bridle at this point. They want credit for their achievements and for their better qualities. As Varney said, it can be insulting to be told that one’s success is in large part a lucky roll of the dice.

Of course, people aren’t nearly as eager to take credit for their failures and flaws. Psychologists have shown that all humans are subject to “fundamental attribution error.” When we assess others, we tend to attribute successes to circumstance and failures to character — and when we assess our own lives, it is the opposite. Everyone’s relationship with luck is somewhat self-interested and opportunistic.

Christina Animashaun/Vox

And the more one benefits from life’s lottery, the greater the incentives to deny it. As a class, the lucky have every political incentive to frame social and economic outcomes as reflective of a natural order. Life’s winners have been telling stories about why they’re special since civilization began.

But that’s my point about the moral implications of luck: They are radical and inevitably corrosive to the established order. They cast doubt on every form of privilege and light on every mechanism by which privilege perpetuates itself.

Acknowledging luck — or, more broadly, the pervasive influence on our lives of factors we did not choose and for which we deserve no credit or blame — does not mean denying all agency. It doesn’t mean people are nothing more than the sum of their inheritances, or that merit has no role in outcomes. It doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be held responsible for bad things they do or rewarded for good things. Nor does it necessarily mean going full socialist. These are all familiar straw men in this debate.

No, it just means that no one “deserves” hunger, homelessness, ill health, or subjugation — and ultimately, no one “deserves” giant fortunes either. All such outcomes involve a large portion of luck.

The promise of great financial reward spurs risk-taking, market competition, and innovation. Markets, properly regulated, are a socially healthy form of gambling. There’s no reason to try to completely equalize market outcomes. But there’s also no reason to allow hunger, homelessness, ill health, or subjugation.

And there’s no reason we shouldn’t ask everyone, especially those who have benefited most from luck — from being born a certain place, a certain color, to certain people in a certain economic bracket, sent to certain schools, introduced to certain people — to chip in to help those upon whom life’s lottery bestowed fewer gifts.

And it is entirely possible to do both, to harness market competition while using the wealth it generates to raise up the unlucky and give them greater access to that very competition.

“If you want meritocracy,” Chris Hayes argued in his seminal book Twilight of the Elites, “work for equality. Because it is only in a society which values equality of actual outcomes, one that promotes the commonweal and social solidarity, that equal opportunity and earned mobility can flourish.”

Or as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the democratic socialist firebrand who won her House Democratic primary in New York’s 14th District, is fond of saying, “in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person should be too poor to live.”

Neither human genes nor human societies distribute life’s gifts according to any principle we would recognize as fair or humane, given the extraordinary role of luck in our lives. We all become adults with wildly different inheritances, starting our lives in radically different places, propelled toward dramatically different destinations.

We cannot eliminate luck, nor achieve total equality, but it is easily within our grasp to soften luck’s harsher effects, to ensure that no one falls too far, that everyone has access to a life of dignity. Before that can happen, though, we must look luck square in the face.

Original Source -> The moral implications of luck

via The Conservative Brief