#that’s praxis baby

[theashesofthefirststar]

Bernard’s college friends find out he’s dating the CEO of Wayne’s Industries and are like “when we said fuck the rich, we did not mean like that”. Now his nickname in the group chat is class traitor.

[praxis-app]

Outreach Series Kick-Off

We're having our first session and Kickoff for Outreach in the Discord server for all those who are interested in attending.

The topic up for discussion is inter-generational and intra-generational differences; how we may be able to bridge the gap between us. It will be a live event — however we are recording it and transcribing it for the community to access at their own pace.

Feel free to join the server and attend the event we'll be hosting tonight at 9pm EST via Discord Stages. All server members are welcome to attend.

Invite link to the Praxis Discord

[low-shear-velocity-province]

It is both iconic and objectively funny that George Santos scammed a bunch of republicans and then spent their money on botox and onlyfans.

[huny-bun]

Next person I see going off about 'this isnt the time for grief, its time for hope!' Im going to strangle.

Can people have like,,, one week to feel the crushing weight of their rights being stripped between Roe and Miranda Rights being gone now... Please your gunna need your strength down the line, and a lot of whats coming up is organizing, rationing, strategic moves that cannot be asked in spaces like the internet but whispered among community organizations and friends. All that takes so much energy to organize, to care, to get it done right. It takes months for these structures to form properly. It will be hell, but if you cant do things today, if you need a week to hide and cry you can and I want you to. You must put on your oxygen mask on first, take a few breathes, than help other people. Particularly if you have to rebuild the plane around you while the flight crew is trying to crash it.

[theygender]

I just found out that the majority of the music I used to listen to back in my "emo phase" was actually nu-metal. I don't know what to do with this information

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippets: Tuesday

Splinter Cell au: Jak found his Seal of Mar from a previous time loop in the ruins of Samos's Hut. Sig doesn't know what to think.

Sig caught Jak halfway to the foundry. The kid was distracted, lost in his own thoughts. Even Daxter wasn't with him this time; unusual, but it made Sig’s job easier.

There still weren't many recruits filling up this new factory of theirs -- few enough that if Damas gave the word, Sig was pretty sure he could take over the whole operation in the name of Spargus. Still, there were two or three men carrying crates down the wide metal stairs, making the perfect amount of noise to cover Sig’s approach.

He tried to put on the friendliness -- heck, the fondness -- he'd had for Jak just four days ago, but the doubts were creeping in faster than he could stamp them out.

Jak is a good kid.

Jak had an amulet of the House of Mar.

Jak is a good kid.

The only people who should've had amulets like this were Damas and The Baby. Mar.

Jak wouldn't get caught up in all that. He'd never do something to hurt another kid.

Jak didn’t always know friend from foe when the battle frenzy took him.

No! Jak is just a kid! He would've been way too young to have been involved!

...but the adults around Jak seem to take it for granted that he'll obey them, no matter how dark or dangerous their demands are...

Sig dropped an arm around the boy's shoulders and tightened it when he predictably jolted. "Hey there, cherry! Where've you been all day, huh?"

Jak made an uncharacteristically sluggish effort to twist out of Sig’s grip. "Cleared out the lower levels for Titan suits," he mumbled, "Power's not rerouted yet. Need to tell Vin."

Now that Sig was close enough to get a good look at him, Jak looked worn to the bone. There was engine grease on his cheek, and the skin under his eyes was nearly as dark. Despite the dark undercurrents in his thoughts, Sig felt concern wash over him. He'd seen warriors burn out before. Jak was circling that fire a little too closely by the look of him. Sig clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"When's the last time you slept?" he asked sternly.

Jak finally managed to shrug off his arm. "I'm fine."

He snarled softly when Sig merely caught hold of the leather strap at his shoulder.

"Let go, Sig. I have work to do."

"No you don't," Sig said lightly. Then, with barely any effort, he marched Jak up the stairs and towards the control room that had become one of four temporary barracks. "You have sleeping to do."

Jak dug in his heels, halting them abruptly. "Don't make decisions for me," he snapped, "I know my limits!"

Oh. Right.

Raising his hands in a placating gesture, Sig stepped back. Fair enough, Jak had valid reasons to rebel against the idea of someone overriding his autonomy. But he didn't back down.

"I know, kid. Sorry." He sighed. "I'm just trying to...aw shoot. I'm worried about you, alright? Takin' all this on your shoulders. We got a saying back home: a good warrior takes care of their body like it's their best weapon. When's the last time you took care of yours?"

Jak opened his mouth to argue, but Sig had clearly struck a nerve. He risked putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and grimaced.

"Kid, the cell is big enough to delegate tasks now, I promise. You don't have to be the only one doing the heavy lifting anymore!"

"Well who else is gonna do it?" Jak demanded.

It was probably meant to be a challenge, but he just sounded so, so tired.

Sig frowned. "Cherry," he said solemnly, "if you keep going like this, you're gonna burn out. You know you don't have to..."

He struggled to find words to describe that look he kept catching in Jak’s eye, the way he curled a little further inward when people jumped to get out of his way even here.

"You don't have to justify your existence," he finally settled for, even if he wasn't sure it was adequate, "or, or atone for what someone else did to you. You know that, right?"

The kid looked like Sig had just punched him in the stomach.

"Are you delusional?" Jak hissed at him, pinning his ears back, "You've seen that thing, you know I'm- I'm a-"

His throat bobbed like he couldn't force the words out.

Oh hang it all. Interrogating the boy would wait. Sig couldn't stand seeing his young friend like this.

Jak’s a good kid. Even if he doesn't believe it.

Feigning nonchalance, Sig snorted. "What, you think you're my only friend with spikes on their head and adrenaline issues?"

Damas might’ve been irate at the description, but it wasn’t like there was anyone to tattle to him.

"You're...you're a force of nature, cherry. That doesn't have to be a bad thing."

He jostled Jak’s arm, and affection bled through his last attempt to keep himself emotionally removed from the situation. "I hate to break it to you, but as Wastelanders go, even your more destructive days would measure up pretty average compared to desert teenagers."

Jak squinted at him, clearly incredulous. "Really."

"Kid," Sig snorted, "I took you out hunting with me. You've seen the metalheads out there. You go ahead and take a wild guess what kind of people actually want to live in places like that."

Glassy-eyed, Jak mumbled, "No walls, no guards, no crowds..."

It sounded like freedom to him. Maybe, when this was all over, he could talk Sig into taking him there again.

Perhaps his lack of sleep had loosened his tongue. Or perhaps he had simply become desperate for a confidant who wasn't native to the city that was, more or less, just a larger prison than the one Daxter had rescued him from. Later, when he'd had the chance to rest, Jak would regret having spoken so freely with Sig. He trusted him, probably more than anyone else, but he would still come to dread the potential consequences of revealing little Mar's existence in an open room. Anyone could have overheard!

But for now, he was just an exhausted teenager, glimpsing the possibility of a life beyond the walls.

"Soon as the Baron’s finally dead," Jak admitted, fighting off a yawn, "Me and my baby brother, we're going to travel. I want to go back there. Daxter too, if he can bear to leave Tess for ten minutes."

Sig was taken aback. The kid had family?

"Huh. Didn't know you had a brother, cherry."

Jak scoffed bitterly. "Yeah, well. Neither did I. The sage didn't think I needed to know about that, apparently -- or about anything to do with where I came from, I guess."

"You weren't allowed to know you had siblings? Or your own history?" Sig asked. He sounded disturbed. "Kid, that's pretty messed up."

As if finally realizing he'd been speaking without thinking, Jak shut his mouth with a click. He resumed his sullen expression and looked away.

Sig bit the inside of his cheek. Blast it, the kid had closed up again. His mind wheeled through topics, hoping to coax him into talking again.

"So who keeps your little brother when you're out causing shenanigans?" he asked. "You bring him to the base?"

Jak clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles whitened.

"I...hid him. With the Lurkers. Couldn't trust the others."

"Yeah," Sig admitted, "I guess they don't seem like the most kidproof gang."

Jak shook his head and bared his teeth.

"Samos and Kor wanted to send him into the Tomb of Mar. Alone! I had to strap him to my back and dive in to keep them from trying."

He curled his lip scornfully. "Like I was gonna leave him with someone who thought he could handle those traps by himself-! Aft- After we escaped the Baron, I couldn't find anywhere in the city safe enough for him so I...I gave him to Brutter's tribe. He's gonna be safe with them."

Abruptly, Sig took hold of his shoulders and turned him to be face to face.

"The Tomb of Mar?! I'm gonna need some details, cherry," he said sharply, "How old is this brother of yours? What's he look like?"

Jak floundered, opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds. Then the fight went out of him, and he looked strangely defeated. Sig supposed that asking for help must have been difficult for the boy.

"He's four," Jak croaked, and blinked fiercely. "He looks just like me, but he wears this nasty leather cap he won't let me wash. He...he doesn't talk. At least, not with his mouth. But he can understand just fine. He-"

Jak's hand rose to pluck at a chain around his neck that hung down somewhere under his jacket. Sig knew what was on the other end of that chain. The fact that Jak was playing with the Amulet of Mar out of nerves was concerning.

"Sig...can I trust you?" Jak sounded shockingly vulnerable. "If...if I show you something, will you promise not to tell the Havenites?"

Ah. He thinks I don't know about the amulet.

"What, these city slickers?" Sig feigned a scoff. "They’re on a need to know basis about everything I do, cherry. And 95% of it they just don't need to know. Only way I'd ever tell a secret that wasn't mine was if it meant life or death for somebody I care about."

Trust me, kid. Please, please, trust me enough to tell me the truth. Where did you get that?

With several nervous glances around, Jak finally tugged the chain out of his collar and revealed a battered and very old amulet.

"Look," he mumbled, "I know what the Underground thinks this means. But all I know is I had this when I was...I dunno, I was too young to remember. And the sage took it away from me. Locked it up so nobody would know. My little brother, he-"

Jak took a deep breath. "He's wearing one exactly like it. Well, it's newer, I think."

What.

Sig stared, uncomprehending.

There was no possible way this was true. Jak couldn’t be saying what it sounded like he was saying, no matter how the visual clues fit together. He would've known if Damas had had a kid before Mar!

But...would he have?

Damas kept his hurts and his secrets close to his chest, to be sure. If he'd lost a child before the Baron betrayed him, it might explain why he'd always been so overprotective of Mar. But no, that was getting ahead of himself. He needed all the facts before he jumped to any conclusions.

Sig swallowed hard. "What's...what's your brother's name, kid?"

He knew the answer in his heart even before Jak whispered, "It's Mar."

Jak made a muffled grunt of surprise as Sig suddenly yanked him into an embrace.

"You found him!" Sig whispered in wonder, "By the Precursors, you found Mar!"

He pulled back. "Lemme look at you, kid! By the dunes, how did I not see it before? The resemblance is uncanny, now that I think about it."

"W- what?!" Jak struggled out of Sig’s grip and took a few steps back. "What are you talking about?"

In response, Sig grabbed his shoulder again and resumed their walk to the barracks. "I need to make a call, cherry. You got any proof about where that necklace of yours was? It'll make it easier to round up an army if the Baron messes with you again."

"An army?" Jak sputtered, "Sig, you said you wouldn't tell!"

The barracks were mercifully empty at that time of day. Sig locked the door behind them and grinned widely at Jak.

"Sure did. I'm not talking about Havenites. I mean Wastelanders, cherry! Toughest of the tough! They don't give two craps about "royal blood" or anything like that, don't you worry. But if you can prove that kid is your brother, you're gonna have a lot of people willing to watch your back."

[crimeronan]

“Kill Them Kids” wasn’t the right thing to vandalize that with because aborted fetuses aren’t kids. Don’t kill actual kids. That’s not nice…

kill them kids.

[atypi-cals]

guysss we went to a cat Cafe today and I met the sweetest leetol guysss

these were my fave babies. black cat is praxis. ginger is meadow. licky interesting calico is spice. eepy baby is ashley.

this is the catfe in vanc btw

[louisdotmp3]

love starting my 12 hour days by not doing anything productive for a few hours <3

[gnostaire]

[nightmareonpeachstreet]

me, inevitably at some point in my Teachings grinds: I don’t want to do this anymore....someone save me from this hell I’ve inflicted upon myself...

[comradecowplant]

Did that Gaia Thomas woman who strung along and scammed multiple Palestinians ever get her shit kicked in? Her face & name are known, how hasn't she been doxxed yet?

[jonathanbowmanus]

[solarpunkani]

"Oh no, someone's attracted to the aesthetics of my -punk movement but doesn't know the praxis and history behind it like I do--"

OK. Tell them. Make it a teaching moment. Everyone who's in your movement learned the background from somewhere at some point, maybe this is that point for that person. Give them a jumping off point that they can dive into later.

"Oh but I shouldn't be responsible for teaching baby -punks about the history and the how-tos and--"

OK. Then don't tell them. You don't have to be responsible for teaching people with a budding interest in your group the ins and outs and how-tos. That's fair and valid! It can be a lot of work. Someone else will handle it

"But I'm annoyed that they would try to claim to be part of/be interested in my community without knowing all the details that I know after being in it for months/years/decades, they're dumb, they're posers, they're--"

OK. Then don't engage with them, if it's that bad. Maybe someone else will come around and tell them the history, maybe they'll pick it up on their own, maybe they'll just enjoy the fashion elements for awhile.

"But they shouldn't claim to be part of the -punk community if they don't know the--"

I feel like we have a few options here. People can either talk to them, share the history, share the values, share the praxis. Or they can just chase off anyone who even thinks about dipping a toe in their community, and then wonder why it's dying off later down the line.

I dunno, maybe I'm too naive and patient or whatever. But if people are entering your -punk spaces without knowing The Rundown of what you feel they need to know, maybe being nice about it and informing people instead of immediately assuming stupidity and malicious intent could help you make a new friend. Even the loudest voices in a space had to learn from somewhere, and not everyone has the luxury of being in the space as the History was Happening--whether it's an age thing or a not being aware of the space thing. Or maybe I just don't see what the big deal is behind people hating people who like the aesthetic of something and don't know the behind the scenes history about it yet.

Because I believe in the word 'yet.' No one comes into this world knowing everything about everything, and we're all constantly learning new things. I'm not gonna degrade someone and call them a poser for not knowing what I know. Because if it were me, interested in a scene but getting chased out and called a poser? I wouldn't hit the books and study up, I'd go 'that fuckin sucks, those people sucked' and then avoid anyone and anything having to do with it.

So chase people off and call them posers if you want. But if your community starts dwindling, don't be fucking shocked.

[aingeal98]

Batfam siblings ranked on how good they'd be at babysitting their younger siblings

Duke. He only has one younger sibling so he has it easy but the younger sibling is Damian so. It's very likely they'd end the night in the middle of an impromptu mission on the other side of the world which would give Bruce a heart attack BUT they'd be working together and not fighting about it so he tops the list.

Dick. Dick has the most stacked against him because he has five whole younger siblings who he has to be a good babysitter to, so the fact that he's second is a testament to his skills. He'd probably be less likely to steal the batplane for continent hopping shenanigans than Duke but he gets second place because I can't see him being in charge of teenage Jason or Cass without something going wrong and him likely getting punched. Sorry Dick your little siblings are menaces.

Damian. We have no real proof but if they add baby Helena Wayne to the family you cannot convince me that he wouldn't be the best big brother to her. He'd tell her bedtime stories that Talia told him and become Helena's favourite. I know this in my heart.

Tim. I don't think Tim would have a problem with Duke unless there was something dangerous he wanted to do but either way there is no universe where Duke or Damian respect Tim as an authority figure who gets to tell them what and what not to do so sorry Tim. You can't qualify as a good babysitter if they just ignore you and run away to do what they want.

Cass. Cass would keep her younger siblings safe but she would also go along with every single risky idea they have. The others above her would at least try not to enable them but Cass would be even worse than Duke about ending up in random countries on impromptu missions. If any of them are in the mood to fight a god she'd be like "Yeah sure sounds fun." They'd survive without a scratch on them but I still can't put her higher than this because "It worked out fine." isn't going to fly with Bruce when explaining why babysitting turned into child endangerment (He's not really one to talk but he will anyway). Tim and Cass had fun fake killing each other, Cass and Duke had fun sneaking off to meet Shiva, and Damian and Cass had fun blowing up the batboat. So maybe that's all that matters. (Also she loses points with Jason even though he's only like six months younger than her. Still counts and knocking him out so he can't cause problems isn't good babysitting praxis, sorry Cass)

Jason. Self explanatory. Not only does he lose points for shooting Damian and attacking Tim but I can't see either of them or Duke respecting him as an authority figure. Robin Jason would be a great babysitter though so at least he has that.