#its easier and fewer people are hurt

[heliads]

Heyy can I get Four x fem!reader, where four can see sher struggling and offers some private lessons, you can take it from there xo

as a fic writer, i love taking it from there (xo)

masterlist

Four is not particularly suited to kindness. He never has been. That’s part of why he never fit in with the other Abnegation, after all; his inability to carve away pieces of himself to give to others stuck out like a sore thumb. That, and the fact that he hated their two-faced duplicity with a passion so burning that it left him choking on the smoke. 

He’s always figured that even if he was Divergent, even if he contained multitudes of other factions within him, he never once showed a shred of Amity, either. Kindness, generosity, none of these have ever described Four. He certainly shouldn’t be wishing for it now. 

Yet, when he looks across the Dauntless training room, which is strewn with the fighting figures of initiation’s latest round of transfers, he doesn’t feel that usual call to apathy. Not now, at least. Four had supposed it would come later, when the initial interest of new faces had worn off and he was left with irritation prickling under his skin, that fidgety sort of feeling he gets when people refuse to do what’s good for them.

Four has never been the most patient, even if he is forced to play the long game of waiting and hiding due to his status as a Divergent. It makes him insufferable, or so he’s been told. Usually, Four just assumes he’s better off alone and not reaching out to anyone. Fewer secrets are shared when no one knows about them in the first place.

That doesn’t explain why he’s ignoring that favored precept of his in favor of staring at one of the initiates yet again. Four tells himself that he doesn’t do favorites, that he treats all of the trainees with the same blunt criticism and harsh words. It makes it easier that way. He once knew a few instructors who would place bets on their favorites, but they always ended up losing more than their money when their chosen trainees didn’t make the cut.

Dauntless may not be a place that encourages its pupils to choose safety over fun, but Four always betrayed that particular principle while leading initiation. He’s only been at it for a year or two, he can’t afford any screw ups now. That’s why he would do well to ignore that one initiate in the corner. It would be his best choice, but for some reason, it’s the one path he refuses to travel.

As if Four has ever been known for his rational thought. There’s a reason he’s not in Erudite, after all, why he scorned every faction one after another until he could only ever end up here in Dauntless. Dauntless, where at last he’s the one in power, where he’ll risk his life again and again because at least in this faction people wear their hatred firmly on their sleeves instead of hiding it behind some ambiguous political game.

Perhaps Four isn’t one for politicking, then, but that’s no surprise. He does what he pleases, he likes who he likes, and when Y/N L/N happens to glance up at him when she finishes a round in the fighting ring, she doesn’t look remotely shocked to see him looking at her again. No one is, but then again, no one notices Four’s attention except Y/N herself.

Y/N is a transfer. Y/N is an initiate. Y/N is the one person that Four really should be avoiding, but can’t seem to manage it. He doesn’t know what it is about her that keeps calling his interest back to her again and again like the snap of a hypnotist’s fingers, but his heart refuses to explain. His head has tried to make amends, but his heart keeps on traitorously beating, still seeking her out after every time Four promises himself he won’t trust that magnetic pull to her again.

She never follows up on his attention, which makes her better than him, at least. She knows the rules. She’s also a little bit afraid of him, Four thinks, which hurts him more than it should. Y/N seems to be frightened of nothing in this world but him, and that is why he can’t bear to look away. Should he glance over at her once and find her willing to stand near him, maybe he would be able to guide his breathing back to a normal state, his heartbeat to return to rest once more.

It has yet to happen, however, and Four thinks he knows why. See, he knows what he thinks when he encounters Y/N, the curious storm of emotions all centrally positive that linger around his heart, but she has absolutely no idea of that. She wouldn’t, because whenever Y/N looks at Four or any other Dauntless training instructor, she thinks not of them as people but as physical manifestations of her initiation rank. Her rank, which happens to be pretty damn close to failing.

In all his time in this world, all his experience with heroes and cowards, fighters and thinkers, Four has no idea why Y/N’s rank should be that low. He knows what his eyes see, of course; fights lost, punches not thrown, but it makes no sense to him. Four is accustomed to the dropouts of Dauntless initiation, the ones who would rather go live with the factionless than stick through training. They’re nothing like Y/N, not in the slightest.

Those kids, those unwanted former initiates, they’re afraid. All of them, they’re afraid. Terrified to throw a punch for fear of bruising their knuckles, hesitant to step in a ring lest they take more hits than they dole out. They lose before they even try, but that’s not Y/N.

Y/N is brave, like he said. Braver than Four, probably. He would love to see her fear landscape if she could manage to make it past the first round of initiation. It would probably be pretty close to empty, what from the way she stares down even the most dangerous threats without a blink of an eye. Four has a brief terror that he might open her fear landscape just for it to hold him and nothing else, but he forces that thought away just as quickly. He doesn’t know that. Nobody does.

Y/N is brave, and that’s what makes this so hard. If she had half the spirit that she does, if she flinched away from every blow like the others, Four could brush her off like the other trainees. She would blend into the crowds, and he would go throughout his life without this trial of conscience that he’s undergoing now.

That’s not the case, however. Instead, Four looks at her and he sees the strength of Dauntless, the bravery, the need to get ahead. Y/N should be at the top of the rankings, but she isn’t. Four has a theory for that, though. Despite the fact that Dauntless loves to pride itself as the equalizer, that its initiation lets anyone from any background succeed, that simply isn’t the case. At the end of the day, trainees with more experience will pick up skills far faster, and that means they’ll always win.

That’s why cruel Candor and Erudite manage to make the transition so well. Y/N lacks that experience, and so although she’s learning things at an excellent rate, she can’t beat the prior knowledge of the others. Four remembers one time in which she’s been struggling with knife throwing. He had given her one hint and just like that, she was hitting the bullseye every time.

If Four wants to keep Y/N around a while longer, that’s what it’s going to take. More of that advice, more of that help. Y/N has the ability to change this faction just like him. Four just has to make sure that she makes it through initiation long enough to make that work.

Four isn’t supposed to have favorites. He does, it’s her. That’s why, despite days of him telling himself that he won’t get involved, he finds himself making up his mind. Still facing torment in his own head, Four drops by the training room later that evening, hoping some time alone with a punching bag and his own bruised knuckles will clear up his mind.

When he opens the door and sees Y/N there still, practicing her hits, he knows then and there that he has no choice. Four walks briskly through the training hall until he’s by her side. He watches her form for a few moments more; she knows he’s there, he can tell by the stiffness of her shoulders, her guard is already up.

He speaks at last, words echoing around the spacious room. “Punch more from your own strength. You’re pushing the bag, you don’t want to do that. Snap your fist forward instead.”

Four demonstrates with one quick hit. Y/N nods, mirroring him. Four has to bite back a smile. The change is immediate. A voice in the back of his head tells him that if he just stayed a little longer, helped a little more, she’d become a better fighter overnight. It’s not hard to convince himself to linger by her side.

“Good,” he murmurs, “now, try hitting with more combinations. Four hits instead of two. You’ll disorient your opponent.”

Once again, Y/N does as he says, and once again, she does it perfectly. That’s another problem with initiation, Four thinks, it’s impossible to help every student as much as they need, what with the incoming class of transfers growing so rapidly every year.

Y/N practices a while longer, then relents, taking a step back and giving Four a quizzical look. “Why are you doing this? I mean, I appreciate the tips, but I don’t think you do this for every initiate.”

“I don’t,” Four confirms, “maybe I just want to see you win tomorrow. Is that such a surprise?”

Judging by the expression on her face, the answer would be yes. “Last time I checked, you were supposed to make sure everyone had an even playing field. I didn’t think private punching lessons were included in that.”

Four has to try his utmost to smother a laugh. “They’re not. Still, I wanted to.”

“You wanted to,” Y/N repeats contemplatively, “what, you got tired of seeing me get my ass kicked all the time? I know you watch my rounds more than the others, that must be it.”

Four swats her gently on the shoulder. He’s just as surprised about it as she is; nothing they’ve done has brought them close enough for soft friendship. Still, it feels right. Maybe that means something.

“Self-pity doesn’t treat you right,” he says, “I like it better when you’re walking around like you own the place. Sometimes I think you do.”

Y/N laughs. “And melodrama has never been your strong suit. I think I like it, though.”

Four likes it too. He raises a brow, inviting her sarcastic remarks once more. “Does that mean you’ll allow the lessons to continue? You won’t keep pushing me away with your own disbelief?”

“I’m still debating,” Y/N retorts, but she’s grinning and that makes it much better.

Four leaves the punching bag, not her; he walks to the ring instead. Climbing easily up, he extends an arm for Y/N to join him. She takes his hand without a second’s hesitation, and Four has to fight all parts of himself to hide the swarm of warmth that cloaks his insides when he realizes her fear of him is gone, if it was ever truly there at all. Perhaps he was just looking for excuses to stay away, knowing nothing would work for long.

Y/N puts up her fists, interrupting his musing. “So? Are we fighting or not?”

“Of course we are,” Four says, getting into his own opening stance.

After that, he loses himself in the even rhythm of punches and kicks, blows and strikes. Sometimes he calls out tips and tricks, other times he lets Y/N learn from what works well and what doesn’t. Even after the night ends, when their strength gives out and they both walk away with new bruises and old grins, Four knows one thing for certain:  this is not the end of Y/N’s time in Dauntless, nor her time with him. No, their story is just starting. It is one that he looks forward to with all his heart.

divergent tag list: @rogueanschel, @with-inked-solace, @gods-fools-heroes, @23victoria, @manyfandomsfanvergent, @ilovexavierthrope

[luulapants]

murder is sometimes acceptable, in self defense or to protect people. rape is never acceptable. it depends on the circumstance but of course it's easier to forgive a murderer than a rapist.

You're confused. Killing someone in self defense is not murder, it's killing in self-defense. Murder is by definition killing someone intentionally and unlawfully. In any case, "sexual assault is my only exception to prison abolition" is already explicitly rating that as worse than intentionally killing someone, because the statement was not "my exception is rape and intentional killing." So this is utterly beside the point.

Perhaps you should examine why you're so committed to the idea that rape is the worst crime someone can commit, to the extent that you're going out of your way to insist that murder isn't so bad. Have you known anyone who's been murdered? I have. It's fucking awful. It hurts the whole community, not to mention robbing the victim of every beautiful thing they could ever have experienced. It means they never get to eat their favorite food again. They never get to hug their families again or see children in their families grow up. It means they will never see that place they always dreamed of going to. It means they'll never grow old with their partner. It takes everything from them.

And, yes, sometimes rape survivors who are still processing their trauma say they wish they'd died instead. That's because they're experiencing suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation is not a basis for moral judgment. And perhaps fewer people would feel that way in the first place if society was not relentlessly telling them that rape is worse than death.

Life is precious, and this stance of yours devalues it. Let's take it to its logical end: People all over the world - in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and dozens of other conflict zones - are fighting to live through some of the most horrific conditions imaginable. People are being sexually assaulted in those places in massive numbers. Would you wish them dead instead? Because that's a more forgiveable crime, right? But we hear the calls from these places, time and again: Let us live, let us live. Please, God, just let us live through this.

I think they have something to teach you.

[thelien-art]

Happy Kidnap fam train sketches

Messy headcanons under cut

I like to think neither Maedhros or Maglor were sane when they got Elrond and Elros but in their own way, Maglor was half torn between thinking Eru gave him the twins and just wanting to do something good, Maedhors himself was pledged by his whole life tragedy and probably had a step back when the third Kinslaying happened meaning having more fewer conscious moments either thinking he was back in Angband or seeing dead people, the only reason he put up with the twins was because of his love for Maglor.

Maglor himself would never hurt the children but still did unintendedly, because of his instability, and I think it was first a week or two in with having the twins he tries to take really care of them, and quickly then he began to really love them and not just the idea of them, later the twins would too although still a little bit of fear that disappears over the years.

I'm a firm believer Maglor loved the twins and the other way around, but their love had its flaws because of all the trauma built around it.

Maedhros loves them too, he's way more unstable but might seem calmer in a way and easier to deal with, I like to think of Elrond more than once thinking about how it would have been better if he survived (if he finds Maglors) but quickly dismissing it when thinking it through.

Maedhros would probably have killed the twins without really thinking about it if he was the one finding them unless he found them a day or so after the Kinslaying.

[creature-wizard]

Man, witchtok and witchbook sure do love the narrative that Christianity stole everything from them, huh?

So I see that you asked a mutual of mine the same question, while also asking what can be done about this problem. Since said mutual suggested that you come to me for advice here, that's what I'll post.

First of all, understand that this is nothing new. this has always been a popular narrative among neopagans, because it gives people a narrative in which they can frame and talk about their grievances with society. "The Catholic Church stole Christmas" isn't factually true, but it's easier to learn and spread than advanced socioeconomics. People believing this stuff is not a personal failing. It's a consequence of systemic failure. We live in an information crisis, with conservatives effectively sabotaging education at every turn and algorithmic feeds designed to serve up whatever will get the most clicks, not what's most accurate.

The problem, therefore, must be addressed systemically. This means participating in politics, voting on whatever elections you can vote on, spreading relative political news, whatever. Do whatever you can do keep the GOP out of power or from gaining more power. Get involved in political activism circles if you aren't already.

You can also put out your own information to counter the misinformation, and boost or promote good info. Work with the limitations of social media - short, memeable content is always more likely to spread.

When you catch yourself wanting to complain about something you hate, try to find a way to transform it into praise for something you love. Like instead of complaining about people who post misinformation about the goddess Aphrodite, find some cool facts about Aphrodite to post instead.

When you're creating educational content of any kind, follow this very simple guideline: don't shit on the dinner table. That is, don't mix big ranting gripes in with content meant to educate the masses. If you got a big gripe to get out of your system, put that gripe in its own space.

When you do have to address incorrect beliefs specifically, try to avoid shaming believers, because not only does it not work, it's just unnecessary cruelty. Nobody misinforms themselves on purpose. Nobody wants to be a bad person. What we have are a lot of people suffering from systemic fuckery and just want to not feel sad, scared, and helpless, because feeling that way hurts.

(This post is an example of how I took something frustrating and put a positive spin on it. I wrote it when I was feeling pissy about the kinds of problems you mention in your message.)

Prepare to deal with the same misinformation a lot. Like not just intellectually and emotionally, but physically - create FAQs, masterposts, whatever. It can get really frustrating trying to deal with that stuff a million times, but the reality is that there are billions of people in the world and they're making new ones every day.

Keep a list of resources on hand that you can share with people you're talking to, depending on what they're searching for. The fewer steps/resources that are needed to access said resource, the better. Keep a list of podcasts, scholars with YouTube channels, blogs with good information, whatever, that you can just suggest to people looking for info.

And finally, take care of yourself. If you find yourself wanting to rip people's throats out or something, it's time to take a break and focus on yourself.

[novelcain]

I just realized wukong’s relationship with Tripitaka is abusive…

/j /lh

Yeah I always hate how jttw and its adaptations try to paint Tripitaka as this saintly being that can do no wrong when he constantly abuses and humiliates Wukong for doing things within his nature when he's never had someone to teach him the right way in a non harmful way.

Of course, he kills people! He's a demon with anger issues! Instead of immediately punishing him for it, teach him coping methods and calming techniques!

Of course, he's egotistical! He's a god that took on Heaven and almost won! Instead of humiliating him for being prideful, explain to him the virtue of being humble and how too much ego can lead to bad situations!

Of course, he's sneaky and conniving! He's needed to be for himself and his kingdom to survive! Instead yelling at him for stealing and cheating to win, show him there are other ways such as logic and diplomacy that will make far fewer enemies!

Tripitaka is the toxic narcissist parent that beats their kid for the unhealthy personality traits they developed to survive childhood except he managed to gaslight his way into making everyone including Wukong believe his actions are justified and Wukong is the adult that got spanked as a kid and was gaslit into thinking he was bad enough to deserve it even though no parent should lay a hand on their kid.

Tldr; Tripitaka is an asshole and hurts Wukong instead of trying to correct him in a proper manner because it's easier to just be abusive and abandon him when that doesn't work

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Broken promise

warning : hurt, angst, hurt/no comfort, tiny comfort, fluff, implied/referenced smut, mention of sex (fivesome), kissing, hugging, major character death, tw death, blood/wounds, no use of Y/n, emotional

Summary : You come back to Santa Carla after a trip to your parents' house. Your four friends have missed you and you have missed them too. A sweet reunion and a few events happen. But what happens when things are left unsaid? What happens when you don't tell everything? What happens when you make promises and they are...broken?

Poly!Lost Boys x fem reader

masterlist

Info : (Originally named Broken promises) I hope my dear reader you still like it, despite the hurtful things and enjoye the reading. I enjoed the writing but even I had to admit it, it was a though one. Have fun

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The moon shone especially brightly on the night of her arrival. The planet seemed to rejoice as well as the four vampires. They all knew that their beloved was coming back today. Knew that her heartbeat would fill them again. Knew that their beloved was finally coming back to Santa Carla. They could hardly wait. But the young woman at the wheel also drove faster than allowed down the long road towards her four friends.

She turned up her radio and listened to loud music and hummed. A smile played around her lips. She had been away too long to visit her family for a long time. She had stayed here for the last few years since she graduated from school and came back to her hometown for a few weeks to visit her parents.

It was a good time, no question, they had a lot to talk about, what the job was like, studying and of course if she had a boyfriend yet. You could say that, she had told her mother with a small, mischievous smile as she pushed the homemade muffin into her mouth. ,,You could say that," she muttered after her words and her finger tapped lightly on the steering wheel before she drove on faster. She still knew exactly where she was going, knew exactly where she had to go. Knew exactly that they would all be waiting for her.

The light shining from the front of her car illuminated the streets well. Even though she was not a creature of the night, she swore she could drive the roads better at night. It was easier, fewer people on the road and the night offered so much more. She didn't know what had happened in the last few weeks.

Didn't know about the new residents of Santa Carla. She didn't know what had happened. But she was sure that her four friends would tell her everything. She turned off the radio before parking her car near the entrance of the cave. She pulled out the key and took her small bag of clothes.

She hurriedly got out of the car and, with one last look up at the moon, went into the cave. She heard her footsteps echoing inside, as if she were chasing herself. But she knew it wasn't like that, knew that the cave had its own peculiarities.

She knew where she had to go. She had taken the path too often to stumble. Before, with one last big step and a leap, she finally reached the inside. The usual musty smell with its mix of leather, perfume, cool night air and metal was in the atmosphere. Nothing had changed. If anything, only more spider threads and pigeons had been added.

She looked around at the individual nests under mountains of pillows and blankets. But none of them seemed to be there. Not even Star and Laddie were there. Where are they? she asked herself, guessing that maybe they were out for a walk or on one of the rides. She was not a vampire, her heart was beating, her warm blood was flowing through her body and her teeth were not made for killing.

But still she could feel them watching her from the darkness. They seemed to be watching her as if they were trying to play with her. Testing how far they could go. You're welcome she thought and a smirk came to her lips before she put the bag down on the couch and positioned herself in front of the fountain. A little show couldn't hurt.

She knew the four of them were watching her, suppressing their lust and love for her. They only seemed to be waiting for something. She slowly took off her jacket and laid it carelessly on the edge of the fountain. Before she gradually felt the relative cold of the surroundings.

She felt the goose bumps spreading. ,,Is anyone here?" she asked playfully into the darkness, but heard only a giggle. Paul. She recognised the giggle above all. She had missed him and wanted to hold him in her arms again. She had missed his loving yet slightly clumsy romantic nature. She had missed them all. All of them.

Before she took off her thin jumper that was almost the last instance. Carelessly laying it on the edge, she wore only her thin top. Which clung to her upper body and yet gave a good view of her body underneath in the right moonlight.

Only a few moments later she saw a small flame flicker up, followed by smoke coming out of the darkness. David. The charismatic leader. She had almost missed the little smell of smoke that always seemed to be everywhere. She missed him, his laugh, his seductive words that made her heart beat faster.

Before she decided to let the boys wait a little longer. She moved to the edge of the fountain and walked a few laps around. Moving slightly spinning and slightly dancing as if she could hear the music on her radio. Moved her arms and hips slightly to it, got lost in a rhythm. Sinking into the melody of love. Saw a pair of eyes flash in the darkness. Dwayne. The black-haired tall quiet one.

She felt the intense gaze and a shudder go through her body. His looks always told her more than words, his looks had already persuaded her to do many things. Many things she inwardly wished she had done earlier. Before she moved on and her fingers played lightly with her hair.

Down to her neck where she felt her aorta. Before she saw the grin flash out of the darkness. Marko. The smallest and yet most bloodthirsty of the four. She had missed his way of showing her things that had evoked something in her. It was unbelievable.

They were all there. Wordlessly she turned one last time before spreading her arms and jumping backwards off the well. For a moment she felt herself fall before she felt the cold hands of the four vampires on her. ,,Coming straight into our arms, huh?" Marko said and grinned at her as the four of them lowered her to the ground and were finally together again. ,,I missed you all so much," she said, spreading her arms to simulate the need for a hug.

Before Paul was the first to throw himself into her arms followed by Marko and David who threw his cigarette away carelessly before the round was completed by Dwayne who hugged them all almost to death. But it did feel good. It was good to have their four friends with them again.

She seemed to finally feel her life through the others again. Their love was reunited. ,,The five of us together so close brings back sinful memories," she heard Paul, who was pressed closest to her. Before David laughed slightly, Dwayne sighed and Marko just grinned wider before they all broke away from the embrace. The four of them had not changed as they were immortal. They all still looked beautiful.

She felt Paul's hand still around her though. She had missed his hugs, his sweet and energetic way. She felt Marko playing with a strand of her hair and his fingers almost innocently stroking her neck every now and then. Saw that David already had a new cigarette between his lips and Dwayne didn't take his eyes off her.

They all hadn't changed. ,,We thought you weren't coming anymore," the leader said and she actually thought she saw something like worry flashing in his ice-blue eyes. She saw Paul nod and the other two seemed to agree. Her heart beat faster knowing that the four of them had missed her. It touched her. A soft smile came to her lips before she laid a hand gently on the leader's cheek. Cold. As always.

She took the cigarette from him, took a puff of her own before she said, ,,Did my boys miss me that much?" before she gave him a kiss. She felt him respond, a grin on his lips.

He deepened the kiss and seemed almost proud. As Marko tightened his grip on her hair and Paul's hands slowly moved over her body, she sighed. She had missed the touch of the four of them.

She lost herself in the kiss and wanted to get closer to David. Before Dwayne suddenly detached her from him and kissed her instead. More gently, less impetuously, and yet she felt goosebumps come over her body as she looked up at him. They all seemed so incredibly attractive. They always did.

Ever since she had run into the four of them and asked for a motorbike race with her car. Which she had almost won. But she had never drunk the blood from the bottle. She didn't want to, she loved life. She loved to have a heartbeat and to be really alive. She would decide for herself when she wanted to be transformed.

But she was torn from her kiss when she felt Paul's kisses on her neck and Marko's light, not deep bites. Knew what the little one was getting at. Felt her heart beat faster at the thought. It had been a long time. ,,I suggest we move our lovely reunion over there," David ordered, taking a last drag on his cigarette. He finished it before taking her hand and pulling her and the three boys towards one of the many nests full of blankets and pillows.

The night when the moon was so brightly lit had been over for a few days. The long night of love between the five had passed. But she seemed to still feel them all. How Paul had placed himself between her legs, bringing her to ecstasy.

How Dwayne had pulled her onto his lap and whispered sweet words to her. Marko bit into the soft skin of her thighs again and again. Before she felt the sweet tug on her breast as the icy blue of David's eyes seemed to devour her. It was a night of lust and sin.

But the love between them seemed stronger than ever. The days had passed and slowly it would be day again. Star, Laddie and the four others were all with her in the cave. They were all waiting to go to sleep.

Laddie was already under the covers, dozing lightly even though he was not yet completely asleep. Star was also sitting on her bed reading a book, but something about her seemed different. She seemed happier and yet sadder. Something had happened. But her friend had not really had time to find out everything.

She only knew that David had made a young man named Michael drink his blood. But she had not met him yet. She was curious what he would be like. She sat on the couch with a book between her hands and read the pages halfway attentively. Even though her attention went to the four of them every now and then. David sat in his wheelchair and smoked quietly.

Every now and then he chuckled about the events. Dwayne looked at Laddie's bed and seemed to just watch everything, even though he seemed to be in thoughts. Paul made himself another joint for the coming night and she wondered if it would really be enough. While Marko talked to his pigeons and put another patch on his jacket. It was a calm, relaxed atmosphere. It was caring.

Before, after a few more minutes, David rose from the chair and finished his cigarette before saying, ,,Time to go to sleep". There was a rolling of the eyes from Marko and a grumbling from Paul, but they all rose and slowly walked towards the passageway that led further inside.

Their mutual friend also stood up and put the book away carelessly before she joyfully placed herself in front of the passage. Before she gave the boys a hug and a goodnight kiss. First Paul, then Marko before Dwayne and finally David.

She had just pulled away from him when she felt his hand on hers. ,,You sure you don't want to sleep with us?" he asked quietly and looked briefly at the rest of the mattress and blankets. They had offered her to sleep directly under them. But she shook her head slightly. ,,It's fine, really, I like sleeping on the couch, closer to Star and Laddie in case anything happens," she replied, squeezing his hand lightly.

She saw his blue eyes run over her, searching for something. ,,If anything is, you know...we're all here to protect you, I promise," he said before kissing her hand and disappearing into the darkness himself. ,,Good night!" she called into the darkness to the four of them before sitting back on the couch to get a few hours sleep herself until noon before running a few errands for the group and planning to take care of the pigeons. Slipping happily under the covers, she sighed at the comfort before falling asleep with thoughts of the night ahead.

The sun stood brightly over Santa Carla at noon and she slowly woke up again. The light did not reach every corner of the cave, but it was bright enough to see more than just everything. Yawning, she had already bought the most necessary things in town and was already on her way back to the cave. She took another entrance, so she didn't take the stairs. It would bring fewer questions if she was seen less.

And not always a young woman disappearing in the cave. Humming a song to herself, she put the box down and wiped her hands on her jeans. Before she looked around and noticed something. Or rather, didn't notice something. Is she under the covers? she asked herself and walked over to Star and Laddie. But the closer she got, the more clearly she saw that the two beds were empty.

Discomfort and fear rose up in her. That was not possible, they were both asleep in an almost comatose state. They could not be gone. ,,Star? Laddie? Where are you two?" she asked into the cave as she turned over and scattered all the blankets and pillows. They were gone. She knew not to worry about the sun. ,,They can't be out," she muttered, knowing that they were asleep and wouldn't wake up any time soon. Something or someone happened.

Looking around she tried to spot signs. Before she hurried back to the couch and reached in her pocket for her knife. Strictly speaking, it was a gift from the four of them for defensive reasons. They knew that as soon as the sun came up they could not protect themselves very well. She took it in her hand and grasped the handle, looking at the blade for a moment.

Sharp and deadly if need be. The more she searched and looked around, the more nervous she seemed to get. She knew she could hardly defend herself alone. Especially not if it were the Surf Nazis. She bit her lip and cursed inwardly. They must be people she thought nervously and looked around.

She had just arrived back at Star's bed when she saw two figures scurrying towards the doorway.They're heading for them, she realized in a panic before running after them. ,,Stop!" she shouted and reached out a hand in the half-light. She felt a collar catch her hand and she yanked on it with all her might.

The person was lighter than she had thought, which is why she flew back out of the shadows with the person and went to the ground. ,,Shit, you're bitten!" she heard a childish voice, a teenager barely older.

Picking herself up but not letting go of the knife she saw who was standing there. The Frog brothers. She knew them from the comic shop, she had bought something there a few times. ,,No, just a scratch," the other replied, a small bloody scratch on his arm from the impact.

He was about to run back to his brother when she grabbed him by the collar again. ,,What are you two doing here?" she asked, looking at them uncertainly. They can't know, can they? she asked herself, but when she saw the weapons the younger two had, she shuddered. It would be enough to kill all four of them. ,,Let him go! We should have known, you're her bride like in the comics, you're keeping them alive!" Edgar shouted, his red bandana already drenched in sweat.

They were all tense and fucking terrified. ,,Just shoot!" the other one yelled and tried to get out of her grip. But she continued to hold him out firmly before she pressed the knife against his neck as gently as she could in the situation. What am I doing here? she asked herself and knew that her hands were trembling slightly. That her heart was beating far too fast and she was afraid. She was threatening children...and yet only to protect her love. She would do anything for them.

She had fallen for them, but of her own free will, they all loved each other. One does everything for love. She knew the dangers that would come. ,,They love me! And I advise you whatever you think you know, they are not here...leave and be glad that I don't call the police!" it was a weak lie and yet a warning. A warning that would come true and become reality when night fell. She thought feverishly about what to do.

She looked at the stake gun and swallowed. One shot to pierce her and she would be dead too. ,,Lie! We know you're here, we've already got the little one and the girl. We'll get your bloodsucking mates too and then you'll die, you half-vampire!" Alan shouted and his brother aimed at her. But she moved Alan in front of her and if Edgar pulled the trigger he would hurt his brother. He wouldn't risk it.

Her eyes wandered searchingly for David's bottle. All she had to do was take a sip and, if she was lucky, bite one of them. All she had to do was turn and she could win.

Before she saw the bottle lying next to the wheelchair. Something she could not know. ,, They are not here for the last time! If you don't want him to die then get out now!" she shouted and pressed the knife harder against the younger man's throat. There was no sign of Alan winking at his brother to draw his attention to something. She didn't see Edgar reply silently. She only heard the click of the gun but it was not a stake coming out. Instead it was holy water.

But the surprise effect was there. She flinched, pushed Alan away, lost the knife and ran towards the bottle. It was only a few steps away. She had already reached out for it when a shot echoed through the cave. A single shot. ,,Come on, let's go!" she heard Edgar say muffled as he pulled his brother out of the cave with him.

She had fallen to the ground from the force of the shot. The rush of her blood seemed too loud for her to hear them any more. Slowly, apppathetically and trembling, she looked down as far as she could. She lay lightly on her side and her vision blurred by the tears in her eyes.

The wooden stake had pierced through her middle. She only partly felt the pool of blood spreading beneath her, only partly felt how heavy the wood actually was, only partly felt her strength leaving her. She looked at the bottle and reached for it. Empty. She sobbed painfully as she realised what it meant. Death.

Tears ran down her cheek to the floor mingling with the pool of blood. No-No...I don't want it to end like this she heard her inner voice and looked towards the doorway. Rescue. ,,My...love" she murmured as she pulled herself up with a scream. She almost fell to the floor again if she hadn't supported herself. Everything hurt, her tears wouldn't stop and she could feel her blood escaping.

She lost more and more and left a trail behind her. She limped, walking far too slowly towards the passage, always thinking that the four of them would save her. You said it David she thought of his promise and groaned painfully as the wood shifted slightly due to her movement.

It hurt so much. ,,Help me...please" she cried out and tried not to look at the wood. It would only have made her cry more. It would have stained her hands even more with blood. It would only be a few more steps, but she began to stumble. The weight of the wood and her lack of strength were too much.

She collapsed and went down again, crying out again from the impact. She seemed to bleed even more from the collision, but she was only half aware of it. Her body could not hold out much longer. ,,Ju-Just...into the darkness," she gasped and heaved herself towards the passage.

But it didn't work, she had no strength left, she lay powerless and on the verge of death in front of the darkness. She had not reached the darkness. She had not reached the four. She had not reached her love. It was the end. ,,David...Dwayne...Paul...Marko don't leave me alone...I'm scared" she murmured before her vision became more and more blurred and her heart stopped beating.

══════════════════════

The moon seemed to glow blood-red that night as the four awoke from their sleep. But they all seemed to feel something. That something had happened. David saw the same uncertain look in the eyes of the three. It was the same uncertain look in his blue eyes as they were unaware of her heartbeat. Immediately they ran out of their section and the short way back to the main cave.

The light of the moon shone darker into the cave, not illuminating every corner. But before they could even enter, they all stopped in shock. Wordless, powerless, powerless, they stopped in front of her.

The vampires fixed their gaze on her corpse as if they were still dreaming. It seemed to be a nightmare. This could not have happened. Then it would have happened. ,,What...What happened?" said Dwayne first, who seemed to have banished any sign of his feelings within seconds.

He put a hand on Paul's shoulder when he saw the blond shaking slightly. He was crying. Paul was the first to cry bloody tears. His crying was the first to turn into sobs and he hid his face in his hands as he knelt down beside you.

He reached out his trembling hands and clasped yours. He held you convulsively as if he was afraid you might disappear at any second. He would have given anything to hold you in his arms again. Dwayne also went over to you and knelt down next to you.

The tallest one wanted to be closer to you, even though he loved to just kiss you on the head or forehead. Now the thought seemed to hurt him even more. Dwayne was the second to shed tears of blood. He did it silently, quietly, not to be heard. He put his hand so unspeakably carefully on your leg, he was afraid he would hurt you. He had always been afraid of hurting you.

A loud crack went through the cave as Marko punched one hole after another in the stone, his knuckles had long since burst open, but it didn't hurt. He felt nothing. He felt nothing more because you could only give him that feeling.

You made him feel something again. More than just a thirst for blood. He hated himself at that moment more than ever before. Marko was the third to cry bloody tears, trying to hold them back but it didn't work.

Dwayne opened his mouth but closed it again. He had no strength to nag Marko to let it go. For the first time he didn't care. ,,Marko" said David after the smallest one had cut a particularly deep hole in the stone and a complete rumble went through the cave. It didn't bring you back. It wouldn't do any good.

The usually grinning vampire turned to you. His face full of sadness and anger and hate. Anger and hatred for the one who had done this to you. Before he came to you and knelt beside you as well. His fingers slowly went to your hair, just holding a strand. He had felt fear for a long time. Fear that he might hurt you.

He cried and seemed to want to say something, but instead he just sobbed. David. David was the last one to come to you. His attempts to light a cigarette had failed. His fingers were shaking too much, his lighter wouldn't light and he wanted to scream.

He knelt down next to you. He saw your battered body. Saw the wooden stake that went through you. ,,She...protected us," Paul whimpered in response to Dwayne's question and only sobbed more. David swallowed, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. ,,Protected," he mumbled, his voice seeming to break every second.

The three did not take their eyes off you and yet they listened to their leader. Then it was David's turn to cry one bloody tear, he was the fourth and last. Before he realised what he had done. He had broken his promise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[forestshadow-wolf]

Blossoms of Love

Leaves and breath

Pairing: Soap/Ghost

Important tags: angst, hurt/comfort, hanahaki

Ao3 link here || chapter 1 here || Chapter 3

Ghost finished loading the last of the supplies into the cargo hull of nikolai’s plane, so they could fly off to bum-fuck-nowhere for roughly 4 weeks. Nik would fly them up to the first drop-point, far enough away to avoid detection. Then the four of them; Price, Gaz, Soap, and himself; would hike the rest of the way to the location on the map, gather what intel they could, then remove all traces of it and themselves after sending it to Laswell. The 7 or so extra days they were allotted to allow them time to get to the next location, they’d be traveling on foot as any vehicle they could use either couldn’t maneuver around the terrain, or remain unseen. On any other mission like this one would have two teams of at least 12 men, but this one required discretion. A feat much easier accomplished with fewer feet, and Price refused to send the lieutenant and his sergeants without putting himself at the same level of risk.

He adjusted the last crate to fit snuggly before loading up the cargo ramp, and shutting the compartment. As he walked around to the loading ramp, he finished up the last of the plane checks that Nikolai asked him to do. Finally boarding the plane, he found himself a seat near the cockpit of the plane. His throat had remained as sore as it had been the day before; if not more so; while he donned the headset, and buckled himself in. He pulled out his phone as the others took their own seats; soap directly across from him at the back of the plane, Gaz to the seat right of Soap, and Price took the other corner by the cockpit. As soon as the doors were sealed and everyone was sat, the plane began it’s taxi.

He clicked on his messenger app, flicked his eyes up to the clock, the time read 0553. It was cluttered to all hell, he hadn’t opened the damned thing in months, much less cleaned it out. What better time to do so, than an 11 hour flight. He scrolled past the starred contacts, and clicked one at random. The first message it showed was a link, and then the words “sad but interesting article I found earlier, you should check it out.” he received from G.R.S., he inhaled a breath and his hands shook slightly as he tapped on the link and it pulled up an informational website.

~~~~~~~~~

Vomere floresco ‘amo’ insanitias, commonly mistaken as ‘Hanahaki’ disease, is most commonly identified when an individual with such disease begins coughing up flower petals. Unlike Vomere floresco insanitias, which is a disease, Vomere floresco ‘amo’ insanitias is a fungus, often referred to as type 2 ‘hanahaki’ or ‘hanahaki-B’. Its damaging properties remain similar to it’s cousin, though it is a much slower infection.

Hanahaki-B stems from unreturned or unacknowledged feelings, spanning the entirety of positive emotions an individual can feel for another. The common ‘Hanahaki’ takes root due to a one-sided feeling of exclusively romantic love.

Much like the common ‘hanahaki’, ‘hanahaki-B’ causes an affected individual to cough up petals and flowers. Unlike the common ‘hanahaki’, this variant of infection causes the individual to vomit various other parts of the same plant; often relating to the sought after love. In some cases this can be especially discomforting, as some plant species may sport spines, or stinging leaves.

The infection can dissipate on its own if feelings are returned towards an affected individual. Though surgical removal is possible, though removing the infection also removes any positive affliction towards the wanted individual, it is also more difficult to perform than for the common variant. Many people prefer to let the infection run its course, rather than endure the consequence of surgery.

If left untreated common ‘hanahaki’ will fill the lungs of an individual with flowers and petals in such a way that they asphyxiate to death. ‘Hanahaki-B’ will grow roots throughout the esophagus and chest to stop the heart. While ‘hanahaki-B’ will similarly fill the lungs with petals and flowers, it will not do so in such a way that the host asphyxiates to death without outlying medical conditions.

Early symptoms of ‘hanahaki-B’ include: chest aches, shortness of breath, and a sore/scratchy throat. Onset symptoms, which appear based on how strong the feelings are, can include: heart aches, and coughing flowers, petals, blood, and other plant parts, and shortness of breath. Late stages look like sharp pain in the chest, akin to a heart attack, vomiting entire parts of plants, easy bruising on the upper dermis layer, and difficulty breathing.

*special cases have been recorded to occasionally worsen with physical proximity with the wanted individual.

~~~~~~~~~

He thumbed his way down to the bottom of the article, scanning as it passed. There wasn’t much else, it listed off several famous instances of this happening in the past, he found that tragically many people don’t survive the fungus. His hands still shook, as a sense of deja vu passed over him, and he quickly exited out of both the article and messenger app. He checked the time, 0647, before shutting his phone off. 10.5 hours left before they land, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the call of the cabin area.

A sharp, raking stabbing feeling in his throat had his eyes shooting open. Ahead of him soap was staring at him, and all the while the pain did not let up. He was just barely able to reign in the cough he could feel building in his esophagus. He did his best to discreetly clear his throat, even as he could taste the coppery tang of red on his tongue. He tipped his head to the side a little hoping he correctly displayed, ‘you need something?’. The pain held tight as the sergeant continued to stare at him for another second, before turning his attention back to the man beside him. Then and only then did the claws in his throat slowly release their grip. It left him with a raw throat, and swallowing a full mouthful of blood.

When the pain had mostly leveled out he took stock of himself and his surroundings. He was fine, all his stuff was on him, he hadn’t dropped or broken anything. When he looked over Price was looking at him, with what he could only decipher as worry. Old man sees too much, knows something isn’t right with him. The captain gestured with his hands, ‘YOU SOLID?’, ghost immediately recognized familiar motions of BSL. he gave a thumbs up, not even looking at the man as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. He ‘s gonna catch a few Zs, seeing as how he’s foregone sleep in favor of reviewing the mission plans.

-----------

@checkerscharlie @halb-nichts @heyitsropi @trekkie-in-space

[theunwellkingdom]

Design Deep-Dive #4: Lands Week - Designing the Illusory Palace

One big takeaway from researching set cubes is that mana bases in an average MtG set have a tendency to be very weak, to the point that many cubes will pad out the quantity and quality of mana-fixing lands from other sets.

For the Unwell Kingdom to remain self-contained, I knew I'd need some solid lands... but I also knew that each card in the set is precious, representing hours of work for me to design and illustrate! I wanted to find a way to make color-fixing consistent without devoting a huge chunk of the set list to do it. To solve this, I looked to real Magic cards, hoping to find some insights...

What Would Wizards Do?

Two existing lands stuck out to me as potential solutions, though each came with caveats.

Evolving Wilds is a quintessential fixer that gets reprinted constantly. It's simple, familiar, and flexible -- not strong enough to see much constructed play, but a welcome sight when building a limited deck! However, in this set cube environment, even Common cards only exist as 4 copies total. That alone wouldn't cut it, but printing more might enable greedy decks with too many splashed colors!

So I turned to a set designed for high-powered draft play: Double Masters. For those draft boosters, WotC tried something bold: a land guaranteed in every pack called Cryptic Spires. The Spires function as a tapped two-color land, which is nothing special, but this time there was a twist! Before shuffling up to play, you could choose the colors on each copy by physically marking the cards.

This proved to be an elegant solution with some serious pain points. Obviously, I don't want people writing on my cards in a set that's meant to be replayed. My solution couldn't be single-use. Second, it could be tricky to tell which colors were picked, since the art stayed the same. And lastly, it introduced a minigame to deck building that seemed more fatiguing than fun... Adding even a simple choice to a card can take precious time away from more pressing deck building decisions.

By combining aspects of Evolving Wilds and Cryptic Spires, I found my answer:

Introducing: The Illusory Palace

The Illusory Palace is both a single card and 10 unique ones -- one for each color pair. It will be the 16th card in each Unwell Kingdom pack, a guaranteed extra slot!

It has two functions. You can sac it like an Evolving Wilds to grab a basic land from your library, with the restriction that you must stay within its color pair. The land enters tapped, so it's a bit slow, but thinning a land out of your deck never hurts!

Alternatively, you can use it right away as a filter land, paying a mana in to get a mana out in one of its colors! This still nets you one fewer mana for the turn, but it can allow you to tap into that color pair the turn you play it! You can also use this side of it if you can't decide which color basic to commit to, and keep paying extra for the flexibility.

My hope is that Illusory Palace will make it much easier to play two- and even three-color decks without ever feeling like the star of the show. Guaranteeing one in each pack should make it feel like a solid backup plan in case you don't find some of the more powerful lands lurking in the set...

Tomorrow on Lands Week! Tri-Lands of the Unwell Kingdom

UWK Lands Week >Designing the Illusory Palace The Tri-Lands Discard/Sac Lands Utility Lands Back to Basics

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

In a time when life expectancy in the U.S. is declining for the first time in decades and Americans can expect on average to enjoy even fewer years of retirement, Republicans are considering a radical plan to shrink the retirement window.

House Republicans have been working out the details of their deeply unpopular plan to cut Social Security and Medicare in order to deepen poverty and shackle people to the labor force further into old age.

The party is considering a proposal to raise the retirement age for Social Security to 70, per The Washington Post, which means that workers and retirees would have to work an additional 3 to 4 years to receive full benefit. This proposal would mostly affect younger workers who have not yet started to receive benefits from the program.

Under this proposal, Americans could expect to be able to enjoy retirement for only about six years, if the most recent life expectancy estimates hold: In 2021, the average life expectancy in the U.S. dropped to 76 years and one month.

This is 2 years and 9 months less than the pre-pandemic average, which is a larger drop than other wealthy countries had experienced in the same period of time. It is also already harder to retire in the U.S. than in other countries, as older Americans have a higher poverty rate than those in other wealthy countries; by contrast, over a million people in France are striking to protest the government’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 to qualify for a full government pension.

The GOP is also considering a proposal for panels that would recommend changes to Social Security and Medicare, which are at risk of facing solvency issues in coming decades thanks in part to Republicans’ efforts to chip away at the program for years. This supposed solution would likely be crafted to ensure that the panel would suggest cuts to the program — but could be done in a way that makes it seem as though the GOP isn’t directly responsible for the cuts.

Cutting Social Security and Medicare could have disastrous consequences for middle- and lower-class Americans, who are already having trouble affording basic expenses like medical care. Social Security is the single most effective anti-poverty program by far in the U.S., even with payouts that are still too low to prevent poverty for many. Medicare is similarly an extremely effective anti-poverty program, and, importantly, helps millions of Americans afford medical care that would otherwise be out of reach.

“We have no choice but to make hard decisions,” said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma), who leads the Republican Study Committee, the largest House GOP caucus which endorsed the retirement benefit age last year. “Everybody has to look at everything.”

Democratic lawmakers have said that Republicans are focusing on Social Security solvency because they think cutting the program under President Joe Biden could hurt Democrats.

If they were truly worried about the funding of the program and maintaining its anti-poverty effects, Republicans could support efforts to make it so that the rich pay an equal share of their income into Social Security as the working class does, for instance; a proposal introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) last year to “scrap the cap” at which people’s incomes are taxed for the program would fully fund the program until 2096, while also upping payments by $2,400 a year.

Democrats in the House, meanwhile, have advocated for decreasing the Medicare eligibility age to 60 or even 55, which would provide tens of millions of people with easier access to health care.

Implementing a change like this would be popular among voters. Polling last year by Data for Progress found that a bipartisan majority of Americans support raising taxes on those making over $400,000 in order to fund Social Security expansion. Meanwhile, more recent polling by Data for Progress found that a majority of voters — Democrat, independent or Republican — say that Republicans should allow the debt limit to be raised without cuts to Social Security or Medicare.

[bestworstcase]

A lot of people don't like it when I point out that Vacuo is a dystopia (feeling that the fact that it's anti-Atlas and a victim of imperialism justifies all of its modern day policies), but I would like to point out that Menagerie is canonically in even worse shape than Vacuo economically and yet STILL manages to base it's culture on something other than "culling the weak", in spite of the fact that it has far FEWER allies than Vacuo does.

And yet, Menagerie isn't a dystopian hellhole the way Vacuo is. It's far more stable even though Adam almost started a Civil War at a FAR more politically unstable time than the Crown did.

Menagerie highlights how Vacuans don't NEED to be monsters to survive, they just choose to be their worst possible selves.

not just economically, geographically too. the vacuan desert is harsh and dangerous; the menagerian interior is uninhabitable. kuo kuana is the most crowded city in the world because the four kingdoms cordoned off as many faunus as possible on a small continent of which only a tiny fraction of the land is habitable. (and it’s not because of the grimm! blake says the wildlife in menagerie is a lot more dangerous than that of the vacuan desert and i want to know what the FUCK kind of beasts they’ve got that are worse than mole crabs.) and while obviously it’s easier to subsist on the coast than in the middle of a desert, coastal living has its own dangers and the people of kuo kuana don’t have any habitable higher ground to retreat to if a hurricane or tsunami swamps their homes. the environmental precariousness vacuans face, the constant danger of losing their homes to a natural disaster, is also present in menagerie.

and there’s another point of similarity in that the national identity of both states is so strongly defined by the history of suffering and exploitation by the other three kingdoms: the city vacuans have this… almost sour grapes, spiteful pride thing of “our home used to be a perfect paradise but we were COMFORTABLE and LAZY and that made us so WEAK we let people conquer and enslave us and now our home is hell on earth and we’re tougher and better than anyone else because suffering made us strong” whereas the people of menagerie have the bittersweet acknowledgment that they won the war for their rights and have a kingdom of their own now but also menagerie was given to them to shut them up and encourage them to segregate themselves from the rest of the world. and i think the key difference between these cultural narratives is that the menagerians own the fact that it still hurts, that turning that kick in the teeth into something good that they can really be proud of and find joy in doesn’t make it less discouraging to be rejected and neglected. meanwhile the city vacuans are multiple generations deep in trying to cope with the open wounds of this cultural trauma by telling themselves it was actually a good thing, that it was their fault for getting soft and it’s better now because it made them strong.

which makes the point you raised earlier about the nomadic tribes of the vacuan desert helping the city vacuans pretty interesting, i think? because the nomads have a markedly different relationship to the desert: fox’s tribe taught him that it’s beautiful and miraculous that life can persist in such a harsh environment and that the hardship makes each and every life all the more precious. yes it’s difficult, yes it’s dangerous, yes the desert will kill you if you don’t respect it, but the nomads live in it because they love the desert and they’re proud of themselves for being a part of it. there’s a lot of superficial overlap with the city vacuan attitude but the emotion behind it is one of appreciation, not resentment. and that much healthier mindset goes hand in hand with the nomadic culture being one that shaped fox into a well-adjusted, resilient, compassionate young man who believes that vacuo has “two kinds of people: those who were selfish and those who were fully dedicated to their community” and that selfishness is self-destructive; the beacon brigade, which gets ridiculed by the students of shade, is fox’s idea and he explicitly modeled it on the way his tribe supported each other.

and i think that’s probably the point rwby is building up to, with vacuo, that the rampant toxicity in city vacuan culture is a manifestation of festering trauma repeating itself from one generation to the next; it’s what you get when an entire nation tries to deal with imperial exploitation by burying it and pretending everything is fine, for centuries. they’re not bitter, they’re tough! they’re not resentful, they’re better than everybody else! there’s nothing wrong with them, their country is a shitty miserable hellscape nobody would ever want to live in but that’s FINE because it makes them STRONG and anyone who leaves is a traitor! and so forth. (in contrast fox leaves vacuo because he wants to live somewhere less dangerous, and when he comes back the nomads he encounters give him a warm welcome and tell him it doesn’t matter how far or how long he’s been away, he’s still one of them and he’ll always have a place here if he wants it.)

there’s this deep hurt that never healed, and when you get down to the foundations of what’s messed up in vacuo it’s just… that. menagerie healed after the faunus revolution and built a culture bound together by community support and ideals of equality, justice, and peace. the nomadic peoples of the vacuo accept hardship as a worthy price for living in the desert they chose as their home. both of these examples together reveal how city vacuans can move forward and fix what’s broken in their society.

[skopostheorie]

I've been dancing around this point generally, but it might be worth saying it in less uncertain terms: Anti-Christianity is, by design, necessarily going to delve into Anti-Islam because our religions are closely related. Analysis into the core tenets, traditions, or rules will implicate the same or similar things for us.

Now, most people are relatively mask-off about this, if you'd like. They'll talk about the tyranny of Abrahamic religions rather than just Christianity, or even simply "religion" (which is awfully vague and implies guilt of a great deal of people across human history!). Many even criticise Islam directly. Much like many people who fall down political rabbit holes, they're usually very hurt individuals who seek a group to blame and, because of the marked lack of connection to culture, tradition and spirituality of the new era, the idea that this a religion has inherent value and its destruction would be a violation of humans rights doesn't exactly compute. These people are a little easier to deal with if they simply keep to themselves because, even if their views are fascist at times, they don't exactly invite themselves into your life as allies (LGBT community aside), and far fewer have the guts to go and commit a hate crime about it.

But some people are less honest with themselves about that, either because they know very little about Islam or because the label "islamophobe" is sort of scary. It's a strange time because, until very recently and even now in some circles, the concept of being an "islamophobe" didn't exactly make people embarrassed or defensive; the Muslims (Mozlems, rather!) were truly a depraved people twisted into terrorists and misogynists by their cult-ish religion. Those ideas haven't exactly gone away, but as I see it, supporting the War on Terror went out of fashion and the islamophobia that drove it is rather evident to people - that is, people didn't want to be associated with it anymore.

So instead they form this sort of, "Christianity bad, everything else good" politics, and nobody really questions it because it's not as though that would make you anti-religion, right? Just the bad one. At that stage, you have free reign to tear into it as much as you'd like. That anything and everything associated with it is necessarily oppressive, misogynist, terrorist.

There is an obvious endgame for Islam when one thinks that way, though.

Once again, some people who realise this dissonance resolve the hypocrisy by openly hating Islam and Muslims too. At least, I can commend them on their ability to be logically consistent. It doesn't make the old-Islamophobia-new-labels any less upsetting, but at least they announce themselves before I have to listen to what they say.

Those who don't seem to realise this will, on the other hand, simply say that your culture, identity, morals are despicable and oppressive to your face and not even realise it. And then condemn Islamophobia seconds later.

I don't have a meaningful conclusion to this. I hope it was a worthwhile read.

[evansbby]

Ok, first of all, I love your hot takes. Always good to hear both sides to get things into perspective. So don't apologise, be confident with your interpretations, and just maybe try to (it's your blog, do whatever you want) tone down the undercurrents of rudeness (sometimes they are there, other times they aren't, and please don't take this personally). Also, the movie seems like a good one-time watch. A popcorn flick of you may, now I know that might not be everyone's taste and that's ok. Some people like watching critically acclaimed movies, while some just want popcorn flicks to get entertained, and that's it. And honestly, that might be just my hot take, so I don't mind if you disagree, but maybe he is just not that into doing serious films, as he was pre marvel, or maybe he just wanted to be in a popcorn flick. Also, as far as that female James Bond comment is concerned, could you like tell me the exact interview. Coz I watched this one where Ana and he were with the Radio jockey in London I guess, where they were asked about Rege Jean Page being a potential next Bond, and he swerved it to say that Ana could play, coz she was great in her cameo in a previous Bond film. Was that what you were talking about, or was it another interview? Also as far as male celebrities are concerned, especially, be it any country, east, or west doesn't matter much. Simp over their looks sure, but never have high expectations as far as feminism or issues in that bracket are considered. Two reasons, for me personally, it's always better to be pleasantly surprised, and 2nd which I deem more important, if you have fewer expectations, its easier to have a discourse if necessary, coz then you aren't setting yourself up for disappointment and can minimize the hurt to rationalize the discussion. Always good to share views here though :)

I stopped reading after “try to tone down the undercurrents of rudeness” I’m ngl

[floofyfluff]

electronic medical records are such a weird phenomenon bc like

Pros:

makes it really easy to communicate with care teams and get everything in order. critical connections between seemingly unrelated problems and specialties get connected and get people diagnoses faster and/or before real damage sets in. fewer accidents happen because its harder to miss important things. when accidents do happen its easier to hold people accountable because all your clicks are tracked.

cons:

if something is put in wrong this can result in the worst game of telephone imaginable where suddenly every provider alive starts blaming symptoms on something some other guy said that may or may not be true so that they sign off on the visit faster and go home. so then you have a whole new category of negligence and prejudice based upon information you got from outside sources. that are also not outside sources but are kind of and its odd.

me problems:

makes me feel evil bc when someone says something and im like huh that sounds potentially worrying. let me look at what's up. and i have access to their labs for the last 10 years so i know that they did not fall bc their stye is making their eye hurt and giving them a headache but bc they have had 20 blood draws with etoh levels over 250 in the last 4 years. which is also reassuring bc then i know that the headaches and falling have been really thoroughly checked out by like 3 different levels of care but also. kinda weird to have someone lie to your face and then have to talk around it.

[flamingo-bubbles]

A03 First Lines Tag Game

Rules: Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

Tagged by @mcalhenwrites ! Thank you for remembering even though I’ve only recently come back to the land of Tumblr joijepriksjdfjl

I’m gonna cheat and pick just 10 of my fics, not my 10 most recent ‘cause I go through bouts of writing for the same ship/fandom and variety is the spice of life!

Lets’ago!

1. Going for Gold

The cheers and whoops of the packed arena died down quickly to respectful murmuring. The sudden stillness pounded in Amy's ears and shot adrenaline into her bloodstream. This was always the worst part; it never got easier. 

2. Notes to the President

Sayori stood outside the clubroom.

She had stared at this door countless times. The unique quirks of its craftsmanship and wear had been burned into her brain - the black smudge along the bottom, the slight indent above the door handle, the discoloration on the left side. Tiny, inconsequential things her mind latched onto and carefully checked to make sure they remained unchanged.

3. Made With Love

“Judas! Teach me how you make omelet rice!”

Judas looked up from the campfire to find Reala staring intently at him, her eyes practically bugging out of her head and the firelight casting her pink, puffed cheeks in an orange glow.

4. Smiles

You're not allowed to cry.

All the sadness, all the pain, all the fear – every grief-ridden emotion must be pushed away. You must find the strength to smile. When you're standing outside the door, that's when you're allowed to be human; that's when you're allowed to grieve.

5. A Convenient Liminal Space

The doors slide open, a cheery chime announcing Meiko’s departure from the real world into the climate-controlled void of sanitized fluorescence. Places like this were called “liminal spaces” or something like that, right? Not the haven of home nor the hell of her cubicle - someplace in between where she can breathe.

Or, y’know, it could just be the convenience store that she visits on her way home from work.

6. Bury Me In Your Flames

Bury me in your flames and let me forget.

Burn my eyes with smoke and dreams.

Clear away what I've done, the people I've hurt, the lives I've taken, the guilt that sears my brain.

Give me a second chance. Take me away from the screams that haunt my heartbeats. Let me go back to those simpler days, when I knew I was good and Arthur was just. When Laphi was there, struggling but smiling. Complaining. Breathing. Alive .

7. Chasing Shadows in the Morning Light

Sitting at her window, Rhea watches the sunlight cresting the horizon, the hazy light chasing the shadows from the monastery. Although she has been up for hours, it's only now that she moves from her vigil, making her way slowly and steadily to her armoire. In stark contrast to the grace with which she walked, she falls heavily into the chair, as if the weight of the world pulls her down.

8. Beneath the Mascara and Blush

They had stumbled into each other's lives like rainbows - bright, sudden, and entirely unexpected. At first, all that tied them together was their mutual friendship with Ludger. However, chance meetings in Trigleph led to chatting led to lunches led to friendship.

Led to a massive crush. Much to Leia's dismay.

9. Tracing Constellations

Ashe always fell asleep first.

After three years of sharing a bed, Marianne knew Ashe’s routine as if it were her own. The tight grip of his arms around her waist would slacken as his breathing grew deep, slow, and even. After a few minutes more, his soft snores would signal that he had fallen into a deep sleep, one he would not wake from until the sun rose in the morning and streamed through their bedroom window.

10. Points of Contact

The hand on his shoulder is firm, assured even.

The transfer student leans down slightly so they're at the same eye level and Mishima's sight immediately falls to the floor. He slumps down, trying his best to be as small and non-threatening as possible.

Dark emotions explode one after another like fireworks in his brain - hatred for the transfer student's prying, anger at Sakamoto for dredging all of this up in the first place, fear that he won't be able to keep it bottled any longer and what that'll mean for his next "special coaching" session.

(This has made me realize - although really I kinda already knew - that I’m a big fan of impact single short sentence to start stories out, haha. It’s a good strategy! Oh, also, not tagging anyone since my Tumblr resurrection is still young and I’m not sure who’s still about. But if you’d like to do this, consider yourself tagged!)

[wyn-or-lose]

(@wingsofachampion) What's it like working in a shelter? -Tropius

That's a good question. It has its pros and cons like everything, ups and downs, good days and bad days.

Overall, it's tough but rewarding. We always have a few Pokemon in the shelter, but that number can skyrocket at times. Most of the ones we have are either wild or released Pokemon that were badly injured in some way and we do our best to either rehabilitate them for release or help them adjust to people and find a home. This process can take a long time- I adopted Candy very quickly, but she's the exception, not the norm, and she's still going to be having treatments for a little bit.

Right now, we don't have many Pokemon here, which is good in that it means we can give the ones we have more specialized attention, and fewer Pokemon getting badly injured or sick is always a good thing. Of course, not every Pokemon that's brought in is hurt, but a lot of them are. We also get a number of Pokemon that shouldn't be in the area, but relocating them is one of the easier tasks.

It can be very stressful, and it's definitely not a job for everybody. We sometimes lose Pokemon despite our best efforts and even having to see the state of some of these Pokemon when they're brought in is difficult. It's a lot of hard work, too, and you have to get some qualifications before you can fully work at one (volunteering is a bit different). But I don't think I'd ever give it up.

I hope this gave you a little insight, and please feel free to ask more if there's something specific you want to know about.

[yugtechnology109]

SEO Basics: How to Optimize Your Website for Search Engines

In the digital age, having a website is essential for businesses, but simply owning one isn’t enough. With millions of websites competing for attention, how do you ensure that your website stands out? The answer lies in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a critical strategy that helps improve your website’s visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), driving organic traffic to your site.

In this blog, we’ll explore the basics of SEO and how you can optimize your website for search engines effectively. Whether you're a beginner or someone looking to refine your SEO strategy, understanding the core concepts will help you enhance your website’s performance.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of optimizing your website to increase its visibility when users search for products, services, or information relevant to your business on search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.

When done correctly, SEO can improve your site’s ranking in the SERPs, making it easier for potential customers to find you. Without SEO, your website may remain hidden beneath your competitors’, losing out on valuable traffic and business opportunities.

Why is SEO Important?

Search engines are often the starting point for consumers seeking information or making purchasing decisions. Research shows that most users click on one of the first five results, with fewer visitors venturing past the first page. This means that ranking higher in search engine results directly impacts your website’s traffic, conversions, and overall success.

SEO is also cost-effective compared to paid advertising. While ads can generate immediate results, organic traffic driven by SEO is sustainable in the long run, providing a better return on investment (ROI) over time.

Key Components of SEO

SEO is made up of several important components, all of which work together to improve your site’s ranking. These include:

1. Keyword Research

Keywords are the foundation of any SEO strategy. They represent the search terms that people use to find content, products, or services online.

To optimize your website for search engines, start by conducting keyword research to find relevant keywords that your target audience is using. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify popular keywords within your niche.

Once you’ve identified your target keywords, incorporate them strategically into your website’s content, titles, meta descriptions, headers, and URLs. However, be mindful of keyword stuffing, which can harm your SEO efforts and lead to penalties.

2. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to the optimization techniques you implement directly on your website. This includes optimizing your content, images, meta tags, headers, and URLs.

Key on-page SEO factors include:

Title Tags: Each page should have a unique and descriptive title tag that includes your target keyword.

Meta Descriptions: Write compelling meta descriptions that summarize the content of your pages and include your target keywords.

Header Tags: Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content. The H1 tag should contain your main keyword, while the subsequent headers can support subtopics.

Image Optimization: Use descriptive alt text for images to help search engines understand what the images represent. Additionally, compress images to improve site loading speed.

3. Technical SEO

Technical SEO focuses on the backend elements of your website that affect search engine indexing and crawling. This includes:

Mobile Friendliness: Search engines prioritize websites that are optimized for mobile devices. Ensure your website is responsive and provides a good user experience on mobile.

Site Speed: A slow-loading website can hurt your rankings. Optimize your site’s speed by compressing files, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing HTTP requests.

XML Sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines to help them crawl and index your website more efficiently.

HTTPS: Secure your site with HTTPS to protect users’ data and build trust with search engines.

4. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO involves activities that occur outside of your website but still contribute to your rankings. These include:

Backlinks: Earning high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites is crucial for building your website’s credibility and improving its ranking. Aim to get backlinks from industry-relevant websites and avoid low-quality link schemes.

Social Media Signals: While not a direct ranking factor, social media can indirectly impact SEO by driving traffic to your website and increasing your content’s visibility.

Online Directories: Submit your business to relevant online directories and citation websites to increase your visibility and attract local traffic.

5. Content Creation

Content is king in SEO. High-quality, relevant content not only attracts visitors to your site but also helps search engines understand what your site is about. Regularly creating fresh, informative content, such as blog posts, articles, or videos, can help boost your rankings.

When creating content, focus on solving problems or answering questions your target audience may have. The more value you provide, the more likely your content will be shared, linked to, and ranked higher in search results.

Local SEO: Optimizing for Local Searches

If your business serves a specific geographical area, local SEO is essential for attracting nearby customers. Local SEO involves optimizing your website for location-based searches, such as "SEO services in [city]" or "restaurants near me."

Key elements of local SEO include:

Google My Business: Claim and optimize your Google My Business profile to appear in local search results and on Google Maps.

Local Keywords: Include location-specific keywords in your content, meta tags, and titles.

NAP Consistency: Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are consistent across all online directories and platforms.

SEO Best Practices

To achieve long-term success with SEO, it’s important to follow best practices that align with search engine guidelines. These include:

Avoiding Black Hat SEO: Black hat techniques, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, and buying links, can lead to penalties or even getting your site banned from search engines.

Monitoring Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website’s performance and make data-driven decisions.

Continuous Optimization: SEO is not a one-time task. Regularly update and optimize your content, fix any technical issues, and stay on top of industry trends to maintain your rankings.

Conclusion

Optimizing your website for search engines is a continuous process that involves a combination of strategies, including keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, and content creation. By focusing on these areas, you can improve your website’s visibility, drive more traffic, and ultimately grow your business.

At Yug Technology, we specialize in helping businesses enhance their online presence through effective SEO strategies. Whether you’re looking to boost your rankings or gain more visibility locally, our SEO Services Company in Udaipur can assist you in achieving your digital marketing goals.

By investing in SEO, you’ll be positioning your website for long-term success and ensuring that your target audience can find you when it matters most.