global strikes really cannot feasibly be done without support and safety nets for the working class in place. the working class drives the economy and if you are asking people to take off an entire week off work with 4 days notice, you are asking the working class to get fired from their jobs. they are not going to do that. and they are the majority of the people that need to strike to have any kind of economic impact. middle class people who can afford to strike for a week and lose future vacation time aren't going to dent it, esp bc they're still making money bc they're salaried.

like yall it's just..... it's not feasible. you have to plan months, sometimes years in advance to make sure you can successfully carry the working class during a strike.

saw someone refer to a week long strike w 4 days notice as "the bare minimum" you can do and I'm sorry but it's not. you are asking people to give up a quarter of their monthly income and lose their jobs. you need to be cognizant of that.

MINORS DNI 18+

Usually when you envision a "dad" you see someone dorky. Someone with the same sense of humor as a child, someone with a lot of energy who keeps up with toddlers running him ragged, someone with a desk job to provide for his family. The stereotypical "dad" imagery dissipates at the sight of BABY DADDY!JASON TODD interacting with his daughter.

He's not around a lot—it's not feasible to be—but when he comes over, you tilt your head at how different he looks than what one would expect. Sometimes you forget that he's a father at all, since he appears so far removed from one. He's dangerous, and untameable. Nothing like any dad you've known. Wild hair, that striking white streak pluming proudly from his hairline. He hasn't gotten a cut in a while, and it looks too good on him. He wears clothes you'd think a father wouldn't like, the kind of biker jackets and big boots that would make a father forbid his daughter from seeing that rebellious boyfriend. Brief memories of riding around town on the back of his motorcycle or staying up late to fuck brings a smile to your face despite how mad you still are at him.

There's something hopelessly alluring about him, keeps you forgiving him every time he tracks you down when you've hidden yourself and your daughter away. No matter where you move, it doesn't take him long to find you.

"Dad! Dad! Watch this, watch me!" the shrill voice of your daughter cuts through your thoughts, demanding Jason's attention as she stands wobbly on the couch cushion.

He towers next to you, halfway facing you and your daughter, dividing his attention. Hands rest on his hips, shaping his leather jacket exquisitely as he nods to her to let her know he's watching. She leaps from the cushion to land on the floor, flipping her hair up to beam at him, waiting for his approval.

"You're a regular acrobat, you know that? Just like your old man." he commends casually as she chases his leg, latching on with her full body to peer up at him. Carefully, he extracts her, picking her up by her arm like a monkey until he can settle her on his hip. Your gaze scans his figure, having bulked up since you last saw him. You knew bits and pieces about his past, specifically his time as a Robin. He was flexible then, flying through the air like a bullet. Now he's much more solid, as immovable as a mountain and less agile which he makes up for in sheer strength. You don't want to imagine your daughter growing up in the same way he did.

Bats usually keep an eye on large gatherings in Gotham, but in this case Bruce literally can't pay them enough to do their jobs.

---

In Gotham, large gatherings are always risky business. With half a dozen big name rogues with half a dozen screws loose, things can get out of hand FAST.

So yes, forgive Bruce if he likes having at least two bats or birds on the scene when people group together and make themselves easy targets.

His rag-tag group of children, adult or otherwise, usually agree with him. But in this case-

"I'm not going out of my way to help anti-gay protestors," Tim says before Bruce even let's himself think about which of his partners in anti crime he would like at his back. "I'm the one that green-lit the Wayne Enterprises gay agenda that they're protesting."

"That's... Fair."

And it was! Bruce was hardly going to force his bisexual son to save people that would tear him down if given half the chance. He'd demanded far too selflessness of Tim already.

It was just... No one else was volunteering either.

---

Dick, alerted by Tim about the group of anti-gay protestors planning their little event on Facebook, takes one look at Bruce approaching and shakes his head.

"I've heard what they said about my baby brother," he cautions before Bruce can say anything.

Tim, out and secure in his identity, doesn't care what any civilians have to say about him. Dick, deeply angry and protective, cares very much what slander people sling at his little brother.

Bruce, understanding that maybe his eldest was getting better about managing his anger, but deeply unwilling to test his resolve, nods and backs away.

---

Damian is his next choice, though he doesn't hold very high hopes for him either.

"Father, I will not be responsible for the safety of fools willingly endangering themselves," Damian says, reasonably and Bruce is glad to hear it. He has a whole speech about protecting civilians even if they act in defiance of their own safety. It's blown to pieces when Damian explains further. "I've already taken the liberty of inviting Jon and his paramour to heckle them."

"No metas in Gotham," Bruce says before his brain can catch up to his mouth. "This is already a tense situation and-"

"No metas in Gotham," Damian repeats, pitching his voice lower as he mocks his father. "What do you propose Duke is, Father?"

This is an argument he isn't willing to have. Not right now. He puts a pin in it and reaches out to Jon to politely request that he doesn't make an appearance at the protest. Jon concedes in exchange for his permission to come to Gotham's pride event next week. Bruce gives it under the stipulation that Jon and Jay let him give them a full primer on Gotham rogues and how to counter them.

---

Stephanie is somehow warned in advance and texts him before he can reach out to her.

"sorry not sorry, if doctors in Texas can choose to let people die then so can I. ask someone else to help w your homophobe problem"

Bruce wants to point out that is a gross simplification of the fraught political state of Texas. He also wants to point out that they are nowhere near Texas.

He wonders about the feasibility of sponsoring abortion access and trans healthcare in another state if only because it is GENUINELY funny when bigots with talk shows get into a tizzy over Brucie Wayne.

He lets the thought lie for the moment.

---

Duke hears him out, at least, before telling him that he's really sorry, B, but he's gonna be sick that day. It's all very sad, has he tried to talk to Jason?

---

Cass looks at him. He looks at her. They both know she won't be his backup.

---

He hates to say it, but Jason WAS his last choice in this situation. Not for lack of trust or faith in his abilities, but because-

"I'm asking Aunt Harley to have Poison Ivy start a pollen induced gay orgy," he says bluntly when Bruce asks if Jason would be busy on the day of the protest.

"At the-"

"At Wayne Enterprises, for the protest. Yes. Stay away if you value your heterosexuality, old man."

Bruce, remembering his college days and the types of things he's gotten up to in his own time, doesn't correct his son. Revealing that his father was intimately familiar with gay sex isn't a conversation Bruce ever wanted to have with Jason. Or anyone else.

Bruce, wisely, lets the police handle the protest.

been thinking too hard about my batman mob au. so i would like to share it. this is so long im sorry let me put it under a cut

i want to begin by saying that i think the only way bruce could feasibly become a mob boss is if he was able to be swayed to see that "clean" methods would genuinely do no good and in fact succeed in achieving more harm due to how much corruption and crime permeates the system. i think it would take a LOT to convince bruce of this, so he's kind of the hardest character to put in a mob au. however for the sake of fun we will suspend our disbelief a little bit!

okay, moving on, alfred: he's long been proven to be bruce's biggest enabler. i think he would get over it and end up helping him as he does as batman

as for dick: ooh boy. okay. so first of all i DO think bruce would let him kill zucco. however!! i think as dick grows up within the mob his strong code of morals will also begin to conflict with the lifestyle. but he's stuck there because bruce. insert all those posts about how dick grayson loves freedom and he also loves bruce and those things are at constant war with each other and because he loves bruce he sometimes clips his own wings. etc etc. i think he is the talia al ghul of this whole sitch if you get what i mean

speaking of talia!!! i believe her father would still be at odds with bruce bc yes, bruce is in crime, but bruce refuses to join with the league. so they semi-preserve their canon dynamic, except i think there's more opportunity for cooperation between talia and bruce considering talia's lexcorp era. in fact i do believe that lexcorp and waynecorp would become business allies during talia's time as ceo

but jason isn't dead. what his kidnappers hoped to do was turn him against his benefactor, taunt him about how it's been months and bruce still hasn't been able to save him, had refused to save him. but one night the door's left ajar and the sound of the TV drifts in, talking about how bruce is waging a bloody gang war, the first he's ever instigated, and jason... well. :)

as for jason—i think he would be the most loyal of the bunch. the first thing i actually dreamed up wrt this AU was a reimagining of ditf/utrh! in here, he's kidnapped by a rival gang. they demand bruce an impossible ransom, and bruce has no choice but to refuse. so bruce is sent a video of jason being killed.

"but poppy," you ask. "where's babs? tim? steph? cass? helena? jpv?" ok let's be real people aren't usually asking about the last 2 rip my babygirls BUT ANYWAYS—

the most important figure is HELENA. in the absence of batman, guess who's becoming the foremost protector of gotham??? EXACTLY. HELENA BERTINELLI. her whole backstory is that she wants to bring organized crime down SO WHO BETTER TO BE THE MAIN ENEMY IN A BATMAN MOB AU.

also because i love her.

im not biased i swear.

ALSO HER FIRST "ROBIN" (not necessarily named robin i just mean like. sidekick) IS JAMES COOPER FROM CAVALIERI'S HUNTRESS. CHUCK DIXON I HAVE NOT FORGIVEN YOU FROM ERASING HIM FROM MAIN CONTINUITY. he doesn't go out into the field that much bc he's still baby but he's the oracle before oracle. although when he does go into the field he's like. remember in cavalieri huntress where he was scurrying arohnd in the sewers and planting fucking grenades and shit. yeah.

later on he and babs will be best buddies <3 babs is his favorite aunt

ALSO!!! the rest of james' family will still be alive. idgaf. it's MY au and i can randomly reveal that his family has been alive all along IF I WANT TO. comic writers stop killing black people off for shock value challenge 2k24

also, james is ABSOLUTELY the one who wheedled helena into making a lair

babs does join the fray still! her story arc is mostly the same except that she partners with the huntress instead of batman. their ages are closer together so it's a slightly different dynamic

tim will remain a civilian. he will, however, be a very helpful civilian, in that he's the one who's stalking dick grayson & trying to prove that dick's involved in organized crime. him and dick will have the saddest tragickest "we could've been brothers. but not in this life. not ever." type of relationship. like jaderoy but platonic.

also tim & helena will have the same littlebrothernephew relationship that they have in canon 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

i guess jpv will get roped in in a similar way to canon, but the idea of bane doing what he did to helena makes me so so sad :( however since she is taking batman's narrative space in this story then i think it should still proceed. i will then also insert a little bit of the vichelena agenda here—

in the wake of bane, JPV WILL STILL STEP IN AS HUNTRESS. "but they'll know he's not a woman" COWARDS. just give him a dye job and he'll look like helena. all white people look the same. he can pad the fucking suit or he can get the fuck out.

as for steph, she will absolutely be a vigilante alongside the huntress. her father is still cluemaster, after all, so she'll follow a similar arc to canon except it's helena and not bruce that she'll develop a complex mentor relationship with!!

i think helena can see a little of herself in steph. i think part of helena envies steph's moral compass also. iirc at steph's age, helena still thought her mafia family was okay & that it was just the people who killed them that were bad. yet steph, who's half her age, has no such illusions about her father, and is already fighting to try and bring him down

cass!!!! cass will still come to gotham!!!!! i can't see a way for cass to be on bruce's side in this au simply bc of how strong her morals are. she killed a man and never ever wanted to kill again, even with shiva where it was kill or be killed, she had already made up her mind to let herself be killed in the end. so she is going to be on the vigilante side :]

also, it would be amazing for me personally if cass came to gotham during azbats (...azhuntress?) era. ohhh lord. a situation RIPE for incredible interactions

i still haven't read damian & duke comics properly yet so that's going to have to be added in the future. but that's what's been rattling around in my brain so far!

#stuff like this makes me hope the Lamp's 100-year countdown starts from the first question rather than the last#because then its entirely feasible that we can get Jinn back in as a reliable* narrator#but then again we have Robin as well. tbh I expect Salem will be the one to suggest including her in any parlay to begin with#*ish/not really but at least she tells /somebody's/ truth whether they want it or not ( via @blakistan here )

it’s tangential enough to merit its own post but: i am 100% confident jinn will be out of questions for the remainder of the story and that her knowledge will come into play again.

jinn is not free.

the narrative has also taken the time to establish that while she is compelled to answer three questions each century, she can choose to answer if she's called for another reason and she can choose to offer knowledge freely. jinn is not the lamp; she's an autonomous being bound in service to the lamp.

given her palpable dislike of ozma, the warning she gives ruby ("i will not let you use me without a question again"), and her obvious regret when she's forced to answer cinder's question, it's clear that jinn does not especially enjoy this experience.

we know very little else about her beyond that she dislikes ozma and appreciates ruby's cleverness, but... she is a person, and she's wearing shackles. the lamp doesn't go dormant once those three questions have been asked; it merely becomes impossible to compel jinn to come out of the lamp.

but what happens if someone makes it worth her time?

in V8, salem talks to the lamp conversationally ("i have questions for you"), but also does not seem to know there's a person inside; she's looking for a password, not a name. cinder uses the last question and leaves atlas with salem, who likely inferred the truth about who really asked the final question when cinder confirmed that she used the staff—how did cinder know how the staff works?

so by the end of V8, salem has both the lamp in her possession and the means to learn not only jinn's name but also that the lamp is not inanimate, that there's a person bound inside.

consider the allusions at play here.

first, jinn is (superficially) the genie in the lamp and this is a connection that the narrative emphasizes very explicitly ("can we ask for more questions?"/"they're not wishes, nora"). in appearance she specifically evokes the genie of disney's aladdin (blue with gold shackles), for whom being freed is the focal point of the story.

and she is (actually) scheherazade, forced to weave elaborate stories to satisfy the demands of a higher power. scheherazade prevails in the end; her life is spared and she becomes a queen. she's set free.

meanwhile, in the ozian narrative, the relics—collectively but the crown in particular—evoke the golden cap, which is a magical item to which the flying monkeys are bound as slaves. anyone who possesses the golden cap has three chances to command the flying monkeys, who have no choice but to obey.

and salem is glinda. in the interest of brevity i won't get into the weeds of that; the salient point for this discussion is that glinda frees the flying monkeys. the golden cap falls into her possession and she bequeaths it to their king, thus ending the curse which bound them to obey it. the ozian allusion has been quite straightforward so far; if that continues, we can expect salem to have a direct hand in freeing the spirits from their relics.

lastly, salem's core allusion is to maiden-in-the-tower tales; the theme of liberation from imprisonment is of central importance in her character arc. she is consistent in aligning herself with those who lack freedom, and her ultimate goal is to free remnant from the brothers. the thematic structure of this story prohibits salem using the relics; it's not coincidental that salem tries and fails to extract the "password" by force in correlation with her cruelty inciting cinder's defiance, or that cinder regains the lamp and learns jinn's name only after salem surrenders her futile effort to control cinder and changes course, or that she is now in a position where she needs to convince cinder to trust her enough to tell the truth about the lamp.

so this is the situation:

the lamp is in salem's possession, cinder knows jinn's name and is keeping it secret and jinn can no longer be compelled to appear on command because the three questions have been spent. all of this followed from salem's choice to stop trying to force cinder into obedience and give her more freedom instead; the only way for salem to speak to jinn is for her to follow through on her promise to treat cinder better, because she certainly isn't going to be able to extract this knowledge from cinder by force.

the natural trajectory for the narrative to follow here is for salem to, figuratively speaking, "earn" jinn's name by continuing to relinquish what power she still has over cinder—and then carry that character development forward in relation to jinn. salem can't use jinn. she can't control jinn. but she can invite jinn out of the lamp for a conversation, and she can offer something in return for the knowledge she seeks.

and—the thing is, we've seen salem do this before.

in the lost fable.

with the brothers.

she does not come to either brother empty-handed; salem lays flowers on the steps of light's shrine before she ascends to his domain to pray, and she not only offers her most prized possession—ozma's staff—to the god of darkness, she also implicitly promises to revere him above his brother in return for the favor she asks of him. salem was... religious. she made appropriate offerings to the gods and told them what she wanted in return, which is the fundamental interaction at the heart of all religious practice.

and while the brothers abused her devotion and shattered her faith in them, salem does still believe in this principle of reciprocity; it's evident in the way she treats cinder, it's the very obvious subtext of her speech in 6.4, and—i mean, "you chose to disobey my specific instructions, just to fail again; and i've realized it's all my fault. you've fought your whole life unwaveringly for what you want, and here i am holding you back, instead of lifting you up. you deserve so much more than i've given you." manipulative, yes, but also a very clear demonstration that salem is both able and willing to give and that she understands that she cannot expect to be obeyed if she doesn't make good on her promises.

reciprocity matters to her, not just in principle but also in guiding her choices, her actions, the way she interacts with other people.

so... what happens when salem comes face-to-face with a divine being—a god of knowledge—whom she's never met before, one who's spent the last few thousand years chained to a relic created by the god salem hates and compelled by his will to answer questions for the benefit of his anointed champion?

consider the questions jinn has been asked, that we know of.

"where are the other relics?" "what powers do they possess?" "how can i destroy salem?" "what is ozpin hiding from us?" "what do ruby and her friends have planned?"

all requests for factual information required to make progress toward a certain goal; later in V6, ruby chooses not to use the lamp again because she's afraid to waste the last question, and in V8 hazel decides not to ask his question because he feels like he already has all the knowledge he needs.

but jinn appreciates cleverness and—to judge by the mocking way she goads ozma with "do you have a question for me, old man?"—curiosity. she's knowledge incarnate.

salem had similar questions in mind—likely "where is the beacon relic?" and "how did ozma hide it?" and "what is ozma planning?"—but now that the lamp is out of questions and she's poised to learn that there's a living being inside the lamp...

well, that raises different questions, doesn't it? like "who are you?" or "where did you come from?" or "what do you want?"—questions jinn might actually want to answer. has ozma ever asked her a single question that wasn't strictly necessary to achieve his ends?

has anyone?

millions of years ago, salem looked at an "evil" god known solely for the "monstrosities" he raised from his "pools of annihilation" and thought he must feel so alone. i understand his sorrow.

like, jinn frames it as manipulation, as a trick, because that's how ozma imagines it happening, but if you stop for a moment to think about it, it's actually crazy that she does this because the only thing anyone knew about the god of darkness was that he made monstrous abominations that ate people, and salem walked into his domain, knelt before the pool of darkness with grimm snarling all around her, and appealed to his empathy. because she understood intuitively that he felt lonely and that her own grief would resonate with him. the nightmarish god of monsters.

so...

what will salem see when jinn comes out of the lamp?

hiiiii can i ask more about percy's pack? 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 what's the group dynamic like, what do they love and hate most about each other? or anything else you wanna share about them! i wish to perc(y)eive

Oh, yeah, of course! tysm for taking an interest 😭

A Not-So-Brief Introduction to the Pack :)

Sir Percival [Ventrue Antitribu] [Templar] [Pack Member]

Art beautifully crafted by @/belthegore - Survivor of the Week of Nightmares, Percival ["Percy" to friends and allies] is feverishly devoted to seeing the Sword of Caine's goals brought to fruition - his near death experience at the proverbial hands of the Antediluvian in conjunction with ~general~ Sabbat propaganda frying his brain in that regard. - He's principled in the sense that he's dedicated to Dominique Touraine's philosophy of 'Absolute freedom demands absolute responsibility.'. The Sabbat, in his eyes, are never going to achieve their goals if everyone is letting their base/Beast's desires control their every whim. There's a time and a place for indulging in such things and it isn't while they're actively fighting a war. - Doesn't necessarily understand the wanton violence some of the sects members engage in but is far from a stranger to violence himself. - Holding every Cainite in the highest of regards - seeing them as brothers, sisters, and siblings in Caine, he will willingly put his life on the line for any of them or even die for them if the situation calls for it [NOTABLY DOES NOT INCLUDE: Camarilla, Tremere, Giovanni, Setites, or any of the others on the Sabbat's laundry list of enemies]. More fanaticism. yadda yadda. - Adamant about sticking to preferred titles/epithets. "His excellency" for the Archbishop, "Grand Inquisitor/Reverend Sister" for the Grand Inquisitor, "The Dark Father" exclusively for Caine, so on so forth. - Kind.

Judith Margolis [Brujah Antitribu] [Ductus] [Black Hand]

- Also referred to as "Judy", "Moody Judy", or "M.J." - A member of the Black Hand. - A scholar of the Convention of Thorns even before she defected, Judy had always been Sabbat sympathetic - even during her nights of holding fairly decent sway within her domains' local Anarch Movement on account of her Bloodline and how much of a vocal proponent of direct action she was. Convinced that the Anarch Movement wasn't doing all it could to combat the Camarilla, she took the fight directly to them: finding herself being bloodhunted out of town for having made attempts on the Brujah and Ventrue Primogen's lives. She diablerized the Brujah Primogen directly, but the Ventrue got away one haven and a handful of bodyguards shorter. - - The Brujah was probably a set-up: having taken advantage of their good will/willingness to hear out members of the clan. Have a trusted insider set up a meeting, go in their place, profit. Conspirators didn't know she was planning on diablerizing them - maybe Final Death'ing to make a point but not diablerie. They balk at the idea, turn on her, and report the crime to one another. The Ventrue would've probably been an attempt to maximize the damage on the way out of town, eventually ending up as a failed break-in attempt that resulted in the haven getting torched but not the Primogen themselves - I rather like the idea that, during modern nights, she ingratiates herself with the local Anarch communities and scouts them out for potential recruits when such a thing is feasible/allowed - She's just as focused on taking out the Camarilla as Percy is, though tangibly less… [gestures vaguely at how willing Percy is to take one for the team]. - Dresses like evil Jesse Pinkman. Baggy pants, beanies, and hoodies galore. All variations of red and black - 5'5'' - Brown hair, dark brown eyes - Physically Late 20s, early 30s

Ida Obertus [Former Revenant, Tzimisce] [Pack Priest] [Children of the Dracon - scholarly wing (Akoimetai)]

- Shortest member of the pack at a solid 5'2'' - Born and Embraced in Montreal - She and Percy are both on the Path of Honorable Accord - Former Revenant, upon being Embraced she kept the Revenant Weakness [OCD] in addition to the regular clan weakness. - While she's perfectly capable of defending herself or reveling in sanguine succor if the situation calls for it, Ida is probably the only member of the pack that isn't on a martial bent. She prefers the time she gets to spend locked away with ancient tomes or helping prep for the Sword of Caine's festivals to, say, engaging in War Parties or the Wild Hunt. - Barring Noddism, of which she and Luther have [good naturedly] debated one another about the semantics of for hours on end, her expertise in life veered toward [supernatural] quirks of the blood: Ghouls, Revenants, trying to figure out what on earth a changeling is and why their blood is allegedly fucked up when they aren't visibly distinguishable in the slightest from everyone else, etc. etc. It would've been to help with the family's whole [gesturing vaguely at usurping humanity] even if she doesn't care about any of that now. - She would love to get her hands on a Lupine's corpse for study but, for a plethora of reasons, it's extremely Unlikely. The handful of times the pack has been Dog tagging they trend towards leaving the damnable creature where they found it - Ida, without fail, asking a one (1) time if she can bring it back to the haven. M.J., without fail, will pretend to humor the idea and put a pin in the conversation with a resounding "No." - She's significantly younger than Luther in age, but also lower than him in Generation [9th]. Both of them are ancillae. - She shut off her nerves via Vicissitude. Pain tolerance is through the roof - She has a personal "Grand Library" in her Montreal haven that she's left in the care of some of her former mortal family. While she keeps the volume entrusted to her from the Library of the Forgotten with her at all times, any books of note she can't cart around with her from domain to domain she sends back to them. - She has a singular Obertus revenant that she brings w/ her from domain to domain. He mostly tend to the haven's cleanliness (barring her own room which she insists upon doing herself) and aiding her in her studies. - - A distant cousin of hers, his name is Colin. - - Percy is polite but noticeably more distant than he is with other Cainites, Luther refuses to engage with him on grounds of his Path, and M.J. orders him around like a Pack Member with none of the benefits. - She knows [Latin, Byzantine Greek (For studying Constantinople), and French (She's from Montreal)] - She's friends with @/Styxnbones' Peona. Montreal Tzimisce buddies :) - She has Eidetic Memory, lending to her exceptionally high stats in the Knowledge Category (aided by the Grand Library she owns)

Ritae Ida Knows: - All 13 Auctoritas Ritae - Ignobilis Ritae: [Allegiance, Acceptance, Contrition, Stealth, and one she's developed for the Pack to use] I don't know if you can tell, but Ida is the one currently giving me brain worms :)

Luther 😎 [Lasombra] [Pack Member] [Caine's Goofiest Goober]

- Noddist scholar. Loves Caine^2 & took part of a now-forgotten ritus that marked his forehead with the Mark of Caine. Now has a "twisted form of true faith" from it. He can essentially use Noddist symbols to scare other vampires away :) - As mentioned, devout noddist now. He initially clung to the stories of Caine willingly forsaking the will of God and the Heavenly Host as comforting and growing to sympathize with the tragedy of the First City. He has these theories about Enoch being buried somewhere in the ocean, having been left there without hope of reclaiming it properly after the flood & wants to go looking but lacks support, time, and wet-suit. The Lasombra Antediluvian's vitae vaguely suggesting that he and some of his clanmates spend a little time with the sea/Mediterranean certainly doesn't help dissuade him from his dreams. - He loves a good practical joke, though, odds are that only he ever really finds them more than moderately amusing. Tough crowd the Sword of Caine are. I've likened him to Bugs Bunny before. - A cold draft always follows him wherever he goes. - Wears his sunglasses at night [He may look like a dork but he does have a valid reason to be wearing them :)] - He puts on a front of just being a Silly Little Guy who doesn't take anything seriously save for his pack and other ritae related to Caine himself. - Do not let him drive. - [he has more Tragedy in his backstory but it's not overly relevant atm :)]

Your Questions! :D

What's the group dynamic like?

-It didn't cross my mind when I was initially slotting puzzle pieces together for Ida, but Percy's bloodline ~generally~ started having issues w/ the Tzimisce as a direct result of his Methuselah diablerizing one in Constantinople. It's a complicated mess of pack dynamics/sins of the father/personal philosophies but I think Ida being a Dracon & sharing their general outlook/reverence for the time|domain: --Being the quieter members of their pack, they enjoy one another's company now-a-nights [I find the mental image of them reading their own niche books in the same room of the communal haven to be a nice one.] but those first few months of knowing one another were capital T tense. Ida, through other Akoimetai as study of Constantinople's vampiric history is ~tentatively~ a side hobby of hers compared to her other (k)nightly duties, was made aware of the Circumstances regarding the Methuselah and his bloodlines' general disposition toward the clan. The stress of the Week of Nightmares and the wounds therein would've been still been fresh for Percy as well. --Ida would prefer that the main clan -and everyone who abides by their rulings- would carefully dissect every choice they make and refrain from haphazardly damning the rest of the clan even further (for Percy it'd be dragging the whole sect down w/ them) further than they already are, playing devils advocate like the Children are want to do: make them consider the weight of their actions and consider the responsibility that intrinsically comes with as much sway as they do. Percy, on the other hand, is like. Yeah… Excellent points to make - we don't always have the luxury of deliberation, though. [this would've been less of a point of contention during the Gehenna War, mind, but she's probably started up again now that things have tentatively cooled down a bit.] --Percy + Ida: wanting the best for Cainites 'everywhere'

- ignoring the fact that Judy has considered hitting him with a car before, the pack wouldn't really be the same without Luther. 1 of the reasons he keeps up his funny little guy routine is that he recognizes that they'd all burn out without a little brevity in their unlives - being as overly focused on their individual goals as they are in a world where the Sword of Caine is in a particularly fragile state. He's happy to provide laughs (or someone to be frustrated with) if it keeps them from teetering on the edge.

- As the Pack Priest - and one who takes confession at that - Ida is probably the Cainite they confide in the most. Few secrets of personal relevance being kept between them (faction stuff is another story), she's the person they'd go to for, say, interpersonal advice or a friend to alleviate their mental woes with.

- Percy & Judy are on the war path, but their respective duties tend to take them away from the Pack for long bouts of time :(. Keeping tabs on one another isn't the easiest thing in the world either

What do they love most about each other?

They're all potently driven in their chosen fields of expertise, being able to talk about their interests for hours on end and provide one another with valuable insight they might've missed. Percy & Judy's combat practice, for example, can be expanded upon by Ida's occult knowledge when they're doggtagging. Luther [through adherence to the faith] & Ida [through being as well-read as she is] provide one another with new perspectives on Noddism anytime they talk about it, etc. etc.

What do they hate most about each other?

- That Percy and Judy are taken away so often [Ida never comments on it but it certainly doesn't feel Good when it happens]

- Judy's taste in music [Percy & Ida do not understand how people listen to Industrial metal. She introduced Luther to the Sisters of Mercy so he doesn't care all that much]

- Percy's staunch adherence to formalities. [Judy has asked him time and time again to just call her by her name]

- That Judy seems to place very little emphasis on the more secular aspects of the sect. [Luther -> Judy. She does believe in Caine, but she mostly joined up for a better chance at dealing with the Camarilla properly]

Sylas lives AU question: ... I can’t see Vecna completely abandoning his plans just because the Briarwoods are no longer under his thumb. He already has this one siphon down, and we see there are a good few cultists and his deathknight to feasibly set the others he needs up.

Does Delilah know enough to help Vox Machina prepare against him? Does Vecna leverage some shit against the Briarwoods, or potentially sow distrust between them and VM (god of secrets, after all)? Vecna seems far less threatening a prospect without the Briarwoods backing him up, so how does he keep up the pressure?

In a similar vein: Delilah is likely decently pissed Ripley jumped ship. How would she and Sylas react to the reveal she’s gathering Vestiges? Hell, might one or both come to Glintshore to... shall we say, pay Percival back for the harm they've done? (... though I could see Delilah herself being very tempted by Vestiges, being an Assembly mage and her successor's own fondnesd for artifacts, which could be its own issue.)

He doesn't have the Whitestone siphon actually! Pike Divine Interventions on Sylas when VM are just at the base of the ziggurat and Sylas and Delilah are climbing it - the siphon doesn't get activated! Dismantling the altar and setting to rest the corpses there is a part of Delilah's amends later on.

That said, you're absolutely right, that one play going awry in no way stops Vecna, and Vecna very much seems like the kind of person to have contingencies and other cultists. His attempt at godhood is slowed, but not stopped.

Delilah does know a good bit - and does inform them on what she knows! After all, her husband has just been brought back to life and she and Sylas are no longer beholden to Vecna. And these people are just demanding answers and amends, not work towards making someone else a god - she's not happy to fill them in on answers, but she understands that giving them someone to point the overarching blame at, especially someone who is not her or Sylas is a good aim to have. However, the Conclave is a significant enough concern that they don't really get much chance to do anything about it during that period of time, and Vecna is the demigod of secrets, and so I highly doubt he tells anyone anything more than what they need. That said, I do think the Briarwoods end up informing Allura of Vecna's attempt to ascend to godhood, and the Pansophical does what it can to impede that.

I don't actually know what Vecna might do to keep up pressure - I have not yet decided.

To be fair, they don't find out about Ripley or her hunting Vestiges until after Glintshore, and I think that after Glintshore Delilah may be having a little moment of looking at Percy and Vex and going "Oh dear, they might be just like us." which is a concerning realisation to have about two of the people whoare currently demanding you be better - if they cannot themselves be better, if they too would break the world for their loved ones... well. Not ideal. To be avoided, really.

I actually think Delilah might know some inklings about Vestiges, just as things which came up when she was researching things to save Sylas. Of course, whether what she knows is immediately relevant or useful, I don't know, and I don't think Vox Machina or the war council in Whitestone, or Allura and the Pansophical are much inclined to let her do any independent research on them. Delilah is set her work with which to make amends, no one is inclined to let her give in to any of her impulses again.

(Well, except Sylas. But her and Sylas blowing off steam is to be expected - they are both married and sickeningly in love.)

My mother-in-law is probably a bad person. A woman doesn't just lose custody and visitation in the 1980s. Reconnecting with your adult child doesn't just utterly fall apart after a year. I am now an aunt to a child I will never meet because of this. I will never leave a child alone with her until that kid is big enough to defend him or herself.

Her ex is bad, she has said, a terrible person and she divorced him because he was a cheater and terrible person. And her estranged son is supposedly of the same stock, never mind that she desperately wants so much as a picture of the newborn's face.

Her entire not-small family will not speak to her to this day- the woman is over 60- because she "revealed to authorities" her dad assaulted children, or so my husband has been told. This, of course, did not affect him in a small town because he'd quit working by then and then married a rich woman and my MIL did not get any of the money when he died along out of all his children. All of them are addicts and worse, she has told my husband, which is why he and his brother have never met any of them. I wonder, sometimes, if the reason his dad's brother did not come to our wedding is because of her.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, assaults children according to my MIL. Any movie star or musician? Adopter of children (everyone, anyone, including people we personally know and she does not)? Politician she does not like? Famous dead people? All of them, that is her go-to. It's like the boy who cried wolf.

I know people do bad things to each other, terrible ones, but how many of those can one woman- whose last job was running a painting business, she says- meet or be connected to in one lifetime?

And of course my husband believes it all...despite last time we saw them, they had a day and a half long fight about anything and everything that resulted in my family declaring that they will be civil and no more to this woman. The woman makes up memories that make her the victim and demands all others in her vicinity play along; she has accused my mother of things I know absolutely she would not do. She will not accept the vague 'go along to get along' apology that was extended. My husband is very upset about the fact my family is beyond done with it and he gets mad at me that I can't make my family tough out this insanity.

He wants us to move closer to them (we live 30 minutes from my family) but if we did I fear the end result would be the same as almost everyone in her life: I will cut her out...and given my husband is such a momma's boy, so credulous, so always on her side for everything, possibly I will have to cut him off as well.

I fear this may happen anyway, that these ugly things are a part of him, too, and this was all my mistake. I try every communication tactic recommended, as many compromises as I feel feasible, and he just doesn't listen. I feel so lonely in it, as if God has- justly- abandoned me to my own poor decision making. We have good times, loving times, but these things are so massive that focusing on those feels like ignoring the elephant in the room.

Please pray for me. I just want to do the right thing, I don't want this to go down in misery and ruin. I hate that I feel like maybe it's for the best if we can't have children.

okay the thing is what I really like about happiness (2009) is that it kind of plays hopscotch with the line between revue and continuous story and the reason it feels successful to me is because 1) wiedman does a good job having each character clearly being the main character of their own narratives and incidentally these other randos are here, the characters that exit the narrative do so because they're done with it; 2) wiedman does a good job showcasing how and why each moment of happiness might have such strong meaning to each individual, it's essentially a string of character studies; the ones that exit the narrative earlier have, like... mechanically sound reasons for doing so.

given that the only way to get the full context of this is to either be in 2009 and watch the show, or to request permission to schedule an appointment to view it in an archive, or wait until the script gets released, I'm just going to go through each character, their song, and what narrative/structural utility is highlighted by each one. oh I probably need to include a summary of the musical

the summary from concord theatricals:

Happiness unfolds the stories of a dozen or so New Yorkers stuck in the morning rush of a stalled subway car and required by the spectral trainman to recall and re-enact the happiest moment in their lives before they can continue their travels... and travails. Happiness celebrates those fleeting moments in everyday lives – typically unanticipated, largely overlooked, always ephemeral – that upon reflection become people's fondest memories.

so there are *supposed* to be seven passengers, but there's actually eight. you know what I'm just going to go down the cast list and have a brief blurb.

Cast:

Stanley: train conductor

Zack: not supposed to be here

Helen: really old lady

Kevin: somewhat older gentleman

Gina: wants a life of glamor, is in retail

Maurice: somewhat older gentleman (refined)

Cindy and Neil: interracial couple

Miguel: chipper carefree (kinda fuckboy) vibes

Arlene: right-wing radio host

to set this up, there's the first number which has everyone in the cast rushing around and also kind of giving the context to their death (except one guy who doesn't die and just gets on the train by accident). the second number has stanley, the train conductor, complaining about everyone and in general giving off "I hate my job and I hate people" vibes--very specifically saying that, no matter what people might think, they're all "blips on the cosmic radar". the train stops, everyone complains, stanley comes in and prompts them to all think of their happiest moment.

Helen; “Flibberty Jibbers and Wobbly Knees”

Helen is a really old lady in a wheelchair. the context we get for her cause of death is her wheelchair rolling away from an oblivious nurse. the moment she picks is going to a dance with a friend and meeting a drafted soldier before he's sent to WWII. the song is titled “Flibberty Jibbers and Wobbly Knees”, sung by the band at the dance. in terms of mechanics, this scene offers the following: 1) it shows a different side to stanley that contrasts his initial presentation, he sits with Helen and listens patiently as all the other commuters are arguing; 2) it starts off the explanation for the premise, having to pick one happy moment to live in after death; 3) it shows an example of happiness from an older perspective and an example of happiness related to a distant memory; 4) it makes casting an old woman pretty feasible by not being too demanding; she's there for three scenes and she gets to exit, whether she's present in the ensemble in future scenes can be left up to the production. like it balances a lot of considerations and I think it matches them pretty well. and one of the aspects of happiness highlighted here is essentially the impact of potential that ends being cut short. Helen's sweetheart gets drafted, gets deployed, and dies during the war. Helen gets married and lives a full life afterwards, but still chooses this moment for the emotions she felt during the time and because he never got to be in her life. I really like it because it really... even if tragedy happened later, even if it never went anywhere, these moments still have meaning! the joy of those experiences aren't wasted! anyway I like it.

2. Kevin; “Best Seats in the Ballpark”

So Kevin is an older gentleman who works as doorman, like his father before him, and this song actually... exists in the world because there's a video up on youtube, maybe as a workshop? maybe at a concert before the musical? anyway, his death context is that he was a cancer survivor but went in for a check up since things were feeling off. at the hospital, he sees someone who looks Pretty Rough and kevin asks admin (or a nurse?) to let that guy go ahead. with that said, there are several ways this scene fits into where it is in the narrative: 1) while everyone else is in denial about death, kevin provides confirmation Well He's Definitely Dead Because He Was Just At The Hospital For Cancer Stuff; 2) similar to Helen--in fact, building off of Helen--Kevin showcases an older perspective of finding A Happy Moment and having more surety/closure. Helen and Kevin being older characters and being among the first to leave definitely feels in line with like... since both of them are in positions that are closer to death, with age and illness, it makes sense for them to feel more resolved with their life. I didn't even talk about the song yet lmao, it's “Best Seats in the Ballpark” and it's about the time he was a kid and his father's boss promised him and his dad Really Good Seats to the ballgame, then forgets and gives them to someone else, but Kevin's dad is determined to fulfill his promise to Kevin and buys tickets himself and gets them... The Worst Seats In The Ballpark. weather's terrible, view's terrible. everything kind of sucks. and in that moment kevin sees something terrifying in his father: disappointment in himself. so they decide to pack it in and leave, but then there's a complete turn around because their end of the field is where the action amps up and some star baseball guy is right under them and making The Catch Of The Game and LOOKS UP AT HIM and kevin SWEARS he WINKS AT THEM!! so it's this whole moment of triumph, it's about the effort his dad took to fulfill his promise, it's about the effort not being wasted, it's about sports. and then he leaves because he doesn't need to deal with anyone else's stuff in order to move on lol.

So we have two easy exits that don't really interact with the rest of the cast and don't really need to. do we need them both? I say: yes. because I like them. I think they're sweet. but also because having those two before the next one really reinforces how it turns out, there's practical utility in having 1) establishing mechanics, 2) reinforcing mechanics, and 3) trying to manipulate mechanics. I'll explain more when I'm talking about it

3. Gina; "Gstaad"

So Gina is a woman in her late 20s/early 30s who works at the perfume counter of a department store. her death context is while she was walking around some construction accident happens. after Kevin exits the narrative and The Mechanics Of The Train are essentially proven, she's actually happy. *really* happy. In fact, she has her moment all picked out--while she was traveling in Gstaad and admiring the view from her hotel room and the lake was beautiful and there was a hot guy who was super into her... except it's not real because a different passenger is an architect who actually was in Gstaad and knows the scenery and knows that what she's describing isn't how it actually looks. so she tries again, but he keeps correcting her, and it comes out that she's trying to put herself in a fantasy because she's always dreamed of a life of glamor but has always been trapped behind the department store counter. this is, of course, setting her up for later identifying a happy moment within her life. this establishes 1) establishing another outlier for future development and exploration (character who is trying to look outside of her own life for a happy moment), 2) further clarifying rules and mechanics.

so you do need both of the first exits because it allows the development to be: 1) are these the rules? 2) these *are* the rules! 3) let's try finding a loophole in these rules. going straight from 1 to 3 wouldn't really have as much impact or buy-in.

also, Gina's non-moment directly leads into the next character's actual moment.

3 (for real). Maurice; "The Boy Inside Your Eyes"

Maurice is another older gentleman who is specifically black and gay. He's a well-known architect that gets features in magazines and travels around the world and is living the exact life of glamor that Gina dreams of. of course, he tells Gina that it's not what it's cracked up to be, and of course Gina dismisses that because it's easy to say when you're rich and famous, and that leads to Maurice describing his happy moment in "The Boy Inside Your Eyes". how it goes is this: Maurice's partner is in the hospital with AIDS and is just about at the end. it's like. mega depressing. me and sister cried during the number. Maurice shows up with a picnic, his partner essentially pleads with him to just stop doing all that because his partner is miserable and dying and is essentially not worth spending time around at this point, and maurice's song is about how even though it's a pretty miserable situation he's choosing to be there out of love, and is able to convince his partner to eat and enjoy the picnic. I definitely think this one loses impact without the visuals, and with visuals it's really. I've heard the song without visuals before and was alright but after seeing it acted out and everything I get teary just thinking about it. so anyway, this serves the purpose of 1) concretely countering Gina's perspective because this guy literally lived that life, 2) having a character choose a moment directly in response to the previous scene. has continuity while transitioning the character to leave the narrative, because seeing Gina's desperation for glamor clearly reinforces to him what he really finds important. and the moment that's highlighted is unique from the other older folks' moment because it's not a childhood or young adult memory, it's something that takes place in his later years. This establishes variety and avoids locking the narrative into The Only Moments Worth Anything Are In The Beginning Of Your Life, which I'm sure is a message the writers would've wanted to avoid. anyway, it's also a very unique moment because it's so sad. it's so fucking sad. anyway, whereas helen's moment is highlighting the meaning of joy before (and despite) future tragedy, maurice's moment is about finding joy during tragedy, and is less of One Moment and more of The Natural Accumulation Of Moments. when maurice chooses that moment as his happiest moment, it is build off the context of their entire relationship. the first meeting, the falling in love, the struggles, how they've started and how they've grown and why they've committed, the weight of that culminates in being able to have a peaceful moment together. and I think another really sweet part is that maurice's moment has less emphasis on Being Happy In The Moment, and is more focused on being able to cheer up his partner in a moment of despair. ough.

anyway then there's a song with the remaining passengers getting a little more anxious about picking a moment--started out with 8, went down to 5, (4 dead, 1 living), and as they're getting agitated they turn against the train conductor and go like hey. what the FUCK is his deal. Zack, the living dude, specifically goes something like "they're dead, I'm not, which one are you?" and we get sent to stanley's lack of a moment which I'm going to add to the list but not count

x. Stanley; "Step Up the Ladder"

So Stanley, as it turns out, was an investment banker, "the big bad barbarian at the gate"--basically he didn't give a shit about anyone or anything except making money, he died in his 40s, and as the song reveals, if you don't pick a moment you end up as a guide for others to find their moment. now, this is necessary because it clarifies the rules to the other characters and the audience, and it also raises the stakes for the remaining characters. it also is a Direct Callout for Zack, basically saying he's on the road to being exactly like Stanley was. this is a good midpoint, separating the ones who are able to be sure and able to leave the narrative from those who are unsure and unable to leave yet for whatever reason. so in terms of mechanics: 1) rules clarification, 2) introduces stakes, 3) reinforces character parallels, 4) Banger Of A Song With Killer Choreography. oh, something else cool it does is by highlighting some of the moments from the passengers with stanley, you get more little nuggets of what can be considered happy moments, like if you *want* to read into it, it gives you ample opportunity. someone says "the winning hand in vegas", someone else says "my final cigarette" and even THOSE SNIPPETS are just. so interesting. for example, 'winning hand in vegas' to me speaks of someone who isn't used to winning, so a moment of victory and triumph, and 'final cigarette' could be finding a moment of peace before death or it could be the final cigarette before deciding to quit or it could be something else entirely. something that gets me immediately teary is that there *is* a little girl who says "the nutcracker suite with my mom" like. even with so little that says so much. it's a GOOD show they did a good job with it. okay anyway moving on

4. Cindy and Neil; "Family Flashcards"

Cindy and Neil are a fairly young couple, maybe 20s-30s range; they're both definitely nurses, Cindy is Chinese and Neil is Jewish. Side note, in Stanley's song there's some Yiddish so having Neil sort imo avoids of antisemitic stereotyping and establishes pretty firmly the stance These Are All Different People In Different Conditions, but your mileage may vary on that. So throughout the whole show, this couple is. Very Clearly Tired And Kind Of Miserable. they're snippy with each other, but they show moments of connection and alignment, e.g. Cindy is very much "oh my god are you alright do you need your inhaler" whenever Neil's Going Through It. after stanley's number, though, neil has an epiphany and knows exactly what moment to pick, he goes to cindy and goes like hey if this isn't your moment it's okay and I understand but then it turns out they both have the same moment. cheesy, but charming and therefore forgivable. anyway, cindy and neil being an interracial couple is very much the center of this, and family flashcards is them being exhausted after doing nurse stuff, but neil goads a reluctant cindy to keep studying each other's culture through flashcards to prepare for meeting and connecting with each other's families. it's sweet! it definitely makes sense where it's placed: Helen and Kevin establish the rules, but are more individually centered; Maurice really highlights relational dynamics, and Stanley highlights having none of that (lol). for a couple prone to anxiety and conflict (and regarding that, again: They Are Nurses Coming Off A Shift, So,) it makes sense for them to need examples and time before the decision, and the moment that's chosen is unique compared to the others because it's very mundane. it's just them going from tired to having fun and being in alignment. I do think it's also to clear the stage because they have nothing to learn or contribute to the following passengers, but their exit actually directly contributes to miguel's exit. okay it's starting to get slow when I scroll so I think I have to end the post here and continue with a pt 2

OC-ask! Pick whichever you'd like to answer: 1. who or what is Voltage's worst enemy? 2. Does Killjoy have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? 3. what is one unique thing that Vip3r is afraid of?

@skullchicken I'm always down to infodump about my OCs, so I'm gonna go for all of these.

It might seem kinda counterintuitive considering how aggressive Voltage is, but she doesn't really make enemies that often excluding the politician whose house she blew up. Personal conflict isn't really something she does. If we're being real here? It's probably the police. While conflict with law enforcement entities isn't personal by nature, Voltage is absolutely the type to make it personal.

It's not that much of a secret, but this knowledge tends to surprise people who know her: Killjoy is excellent at cooking! She spent six years working various positions in professional kitchens until the responsibility of having to shoulder her family's debt made highly-demanding, low-paying service work no longer feasible.

Vip3r has one particular fear that is very unique and specific, which had its origins in-game and has come up on table often. She spent an extended period of time doing a lot of work for a corporate executive whose company she planned to extract her family to, but after a job where she helped to extract a MCT researcher and replace him with a shapeshifting adept, Vip3r realized that she was manipulating and gaslighting her. In the aftermath of that run, a number of different anxieties congealed into an intense and powerful fear of impostors replacing the people she cares about.

I wanna translate this into fantasy allegory, lol

On a thread, a man accused Lenin of ableism because he said every man should work for his food, but when I asked him if he genuinely thought Lenin believed hospital patients and other invalid people should be denied food, he couldn't answer because he couldn't articulate his outrage into a feasible demand Lenin would make against physically and mentally disabled people.

So, he tried again to say this MUST be ableism because it felt cruel to demand disabled people to work at all. I repeatedly asked him to work with me to make a tier-list of "disabled" because there is a large gap of space between a person with mild intellectual disability (MID) being a cashier at the local grocery story and a person with several schizophrenia who needs inpatient care. And did he have any reason to think Lenin was against expanded inpatient care with independent living? Does he have anything besides the momentary outrage of this one quote and concept that sounds entirely like it is presuming an able-bodied person? (Which means it does nothing to inform us of Lenin's actual views on disability.)

So, after a small tangent of complaining about American healthcare, which did nothing to inform us of actual communist Russia healthcare policy, he returned on topic to declare he'd work twice as hard if it allowed a disabled person to not work at all. I told him that sounded very noble and all, but - again - what does HE think he is referring to when he says "disabled people" because unless he thinks any Leftist political philosopher believed in starving people who were under medical care, why does he think anyone WITH a disability but with a functioning mind and body should be "spared" work? What does he think people should do with the 16 hours they are awake? Sorry, Timmy, you can't be an engineer; you're in a wheelchair. Rayshawn had big dreams of owning his own streetwear fashion store, but too bad that he's deaf. Who does he think he's helping? Also, has he ever actually worked with mentally disabled people, like as coworkers or worked with his local County Board of Developmental Disabilities?

He said no to either.

I have. I've trained a 22-year-old girl who couldn't read; taught her to memorize the menu of our restaurant and kept pushing her until she finally applied to be a supervisor. I needed a good Lt. in that kitchen and she'd put her whole foot up dishwashers' and cooks' asses when they slacked off. I honestly hope she lives with her grandmother for a long time; I think more people SHOULD live intergenerationally because we can't hire an entire third of the nation to be home health aids. But I certainly don't think that girl "deserves" to not work.

The guy kinda petered off into silence after a while because he just didn't have anything but empty outrage. The forum was anti-work and lord knows plenty of people on it have many reasons to hate labor (while also hating investing and capitalism) and don't want to work for others but also don't want to work for themselves, and so on and so on and so on.

But I asked him what point did he honestly think he was trying to prove. 1) Disability doesn't make a person invalid and more people, 2) by the full definition of disability, have one than you may think, adn 3) the vast majority of disabilities do not move the needle as much as he is assuming.

A person with mild mental retardation (2.0-2.5% of the population) can do your taxes for you because they can learn up to a 6th grade level and the average American reading level is 7th grade. High school graduation tests only test for 9-10th grade level and collegiate level education is used very sparingly in real life and most college-educated people use middle school level in daily life.

Who do you think you are saving when the only difference between you and a person with a 70IQ is that you have the capacity to learn more complex concepts and then waste your life never actually picking up a book? Do you know how dumb you look when a girl who can't read knows your job better than you because she had to put more work in to overcome her disadvantage, so she memorized and repeated until she perfected it while you used all~llll that extra IQ to rationalize your laziness and lack of integrity with "I won't be paid more if I know the menu better"? And then she got promoted. Above you. Before you. You chump. (Yeah, there was a 50yo guy at work who loved to undermine and game the system using that whole "if I make $16/hr but put in $12/hr effort, its like I'm making over on them" but then he went ballistic when she was promoted and because his supervisor.)

And with all that being said, comprehensive medical assistance care and public accommodation are vital to a nation that cares about quality of life and public health. But even the most depressed person in the world is awake for 16 hours a day, and I'm fairly certain digging up a potato and plucking a tomato would help both their depression and their hunger. There is no such thing as being too good or too bad for labor. Labor is not the enemy.

I think Jesus said it best. "Are you seriously telling me that if your cow fell into a well, you'd refuse to save it because its Sabbath day? The dogma of "I get one day off to rest" is more important to you than the clear and present necessity of saving your only cow? Honestly?"

About Doja Cat said she doesn't care for her fans on Twitter. They were calling her out for dating someone they don't like and she snaped. Fans told her they loved her and she said "well i don't, i don't know y'all".

I don't think Al would SAY that even if he felt that.

I mean she’s not wrong. These fans clearly have issues with boundaries. Telling her who they approve for her to date is crazy! They should check their parasocial relationship and reel it back. I also get where she’s coming from with that quote. I feel similarly about the anons here who complain all the time and expect me to change things. “I don’t know y’all” either but they have these demands on a stranger on the internet. For Doja Cat those fans are nothing concrete or feasible either like her friends or family. They are a humming mass. Strangers making demands is mad!

What Are The Types Of Autism?

Differences Between Asperger's Syndrome And Typical Autism

Finishing one or more of these surveys can determine abilities, dispositions and habits that could be a sign of Asperger's syndrome. The outcomes might recommend that it makes sense to investigate even more if adequate requirements are present to indicate a medical diagnosis of Asperger's.

The individual completing the questionnaire may be reacting to the questions with the objective, conscious or not, of showing that they don't have, or for that matter they do have, Asperger's. Frequently individuals answer these questions based upon what they understand about Asperger's, they have actually checked out or been informed about it, or what they imagine it is, and what they are showing in their answers is not an accurate reflection of the attributes they in fact have.

Understanding The Difference Between Asperger And Autism

That is not an insurmountable issue. We work with what we have, and a diagnosis, either method, does not rely on any one piece of the assessment process. I have had many cases where I had the ability to conclude with confidence whether the individual had Asperger's without seeing one single piece of written proof about that individual's past.

Sitting down and speaking to someone makes the distinction in between an evaluation of Asperger's that has a high degree of self-confidence and one that is questionable. When I assess someone for Asperger's I ask to satisfy face-to-face for three meetings. The very first conference covers general realities about the individual, specific those connecting to his/her present life.

Autism Vs Asperger's: What's The Difference?

I am interested in how the individual gets along at work and his or her work performance, how the individual handles everyday living, what effort the individual takes in preparation and achieving life objectives, and how satisfied the person is with his or her life. These concerns help me assess whether the individual's attitudes towards life, conduct in relationships, and basic success in accomplishing life objectives reveal any of the attributes that usually are found in individuals with Asperger's.

Since Asperger's is a condition that exists at or prior to birth, ideas about the existence of Asperger's are found in the history of the individual's childhood. Hence a comprehensive understanding of early social, psychological, family, scholastic and behavioral experiences are important to the diagnostic procedure. The 3rd and last conference is a time to clarify concerns that were not totally responded to in the previous conferences, gather additional information and raise extra concerns that have emerged from the information collected so far.

Difference Between Autism And Asperger's Syndrome

I explain that certain attributes are central to Asperger's syndrome. If those qualities are not present in the person then he or she does not have Asperger's and if they are present a diagnosis of Asperger's is much more feasible.

Great deals of people do not pay much attention to whether individuals are listening to them, however that doesn't imply they have Asperger's. On the other hand, in mix with other signs of Asperger's, not observing how people react in discussions, could be a substantial confirmation of an Asperger's diagnosis. Consistent problem in communicating with, and relating to, other individuals.

The Difference Between Autism And Asperger's Syndrome

Narrow, repetitive habits and interests. Examples of these are demanding inflexible routines, eating the very same foods daily, brushing teeth the same method, following the very same route every day, consistently turning down changes in one's lifestyle, being either very reactive or hardly reactive at all to modifications in one's environment like indifference to temperature level modifications, hypersensitivity to sounds, fascination with lights or movement.

If, on the other hand, the individual participates in limited back-and-forth communication, tries to make pals in odd and generally not successful methods, and is not particularly interested in connecting to others, a medical diagnosis of Asperger's could be thought about but not assured. A medical diagnosis is most ensured when the signs of Asperger's are present in the individual all the time, they have an obvious effect on the individual's capability to be successful in life, and don't vary much.

What Are The Types Of Autism?

The benefits of having an accurate, trusted medical diagnosis of Asperger's are lots of. Other individuals, once they are conscious that the individual has Asperger's are frequently able to be more accepting and helpful.

"It's gotten into a ridiculous situation,” she says of the rising cost of renting a home.

“In normal times, years and years ago the way it used to be, I would even choose to have a three-bedroom,” Santana says. Santana moved into her building six years ago and pays just under $800 in rent a month.

Soaring real estate prices have also forced her to give up on plans to eventually buy her own home. “In the past few years, I’m sitting here thinking it doesn't matter what I do, I feel like it’s gonna be impossible now because of the prices,” she says.

The cost of housing, both renting and buying property, is one of the top issues facing residents in Toronto. The main political parties are all making promises on housing affordability, with the Progressive Conservatives, New Democrats and Liberals all promising to build new homes if elected.

The Tory government passed a law shortly before the election but critics said it lacked bolder measures such as changing zoning rules.

The New Democrats are promising to build rental homes operated by public and non-profit providers. They also pledge to bring back rent control and allow first-time buyers to access home equity loans of up to 10 percent of the purchase price.

The Liberals are promising to expand zoning options, bring back rent control and establish the Building Corporation to finance and build affordable homes.

She says finding affordable housing in London has become a real issue for her and many others like her. Brunner says she’s been trying to find a two-bedroom apartment to rent after securing a new job in London but five trips dedicated to the search for a new home have been unsuccessful.

The 53-year-old, who currently lives in a rented house in Barrie, says she may move into a motel or the house. A Canadian woman says she is considering moving out of her rented house and living with her daughter so she doesn’t lose her new job as a supervisor.

"I have a job waiting, a good-paying job wait and I don’t have a place to move to,” she says. “One place, they said it was $1.1K and then when I went to look at it, the guy called me back to give me the address and said 'oh, it's $1,500.'"

She says landlords and their agents have been telling her the rent has gone up recently due to high demand from people moving to the city. Brunner says she hopes to save enough money to buy a mobile home one day before she retires because buying a property is not a feasible option anymore.

"I don't think I’ll ever get a real house. Mobile homes, you can get them for under $200K,” one London resident says about the cost of housing in the city. Haan, an associate professor of sociology at Western University, says housing in London is relatively undervalued compared to other jurisdictions.

"We're kind of reaching a fever point now where there’s so much of that demand and that missing supply.”

He says multiple issues are hampering the ability to increase the supply of new homes, including backlogs and delays in the process. The housing minister says the province has a strong capacity to potentially make legislative changes to streamline development approval and zoning processes.

Building supply-chain issues have also had an impact on the capacity to deliver new homes, says Zaifman.

"We experience this every day as an industry, trying to find skilled trades to be able to be on sites.”

Ontario's election is set for June 2.

I read these wacky comments and proposals from Nesta fans and I just marvel sometimes..."Still waiting for Nesta to leave the IC!" Really? And where is homegirl gonna go, exactly? Nesta's entire existence depends on the IC. Why? Because she has NO LIFE SKILLS. Pouting and snarling is not a life skill. She doesn't know how to do basic work, or any work, at that. Maybe she can become a librarian, lol. Again, something the IC sort of forced her into. Her whole life is paid for by the IC--her house is given to her by the IC, her dresses, her food, her every need is taken care for by Rhys/IC. Perhaps if she was craving independence so much she could've learned how to do something useful, but no... The only skill that she sort of learned--fighting--still came from the IC!!!!! From Cassian. And NO, Cassian will never leave the IC. He is the Commander General of the Night Court armies. He is not just going to walk away in a hissy fit. And, in her defense, Nesta would never demand or want him to. Because she actually loves him--unlike this fandom--and understands that taking him away from the only family he ever knew, his friends, his whole life would be completely devastating.

Sigh... I don’t know why I keep getting these anti-Nesta things. I think it’s hilarious. I’m assuming this anti-Nesta, because when I read it again I’m like maybe not... I’m thinking so. But I don’t know what exactly your point is. 

But I’ll just say... you know this is a book right? 

ANYTHING can exist in a book. Any narrative can exist in a book. SJM basically in this book neglected what she already set up in previous books not for just Nesta, but for MULTIPLE characters’ characterization, MULTIPLE facts/plotlines, so I think it’s safe to say that if we the readers are thinking of ideas that branch off of “Still waiting for Nesta to leave the IC!” We can! We have no limitations. 

If SJM decided at the last minute for Nesta to bug off, steal some money, buy a boat ticket to Timbuktu, she can and it would be perfectly feasible if she just explained it in some way or just relied intently on the suspension of disbelief. Don’t take this book seriously, don’t even take the facts of the book seriously. SJM doesn’t. But I have said this many times and I will say this many more times: 

BOOK CHARACTERS DO NOT HAVE AUTONOMY. THEY DO NOT MAKE DECISIONS. THE AUTHOR MAKES THE DECISIONS FOR THEM. 

i.e. If Cassian was given a more complex narrative where he didn’t kiss the ass of his friends who treat him like crap in previous books, or learned to stop kissing their ass and treat them like normal people, normal friends, normal family members, that can and will make mistakes, then the narrative of Nesta leaving and Cassian leaving or staying with her could very well work, because that’s how writing works. That’s how writing fanfiction works. I don’t know why I have to explain this. 

AYAYAY please guys, please I’m so tired. 

Teaser- Story Coming Soon

Summary: The heart tends to be uncontrollable.

Author's note: Dedicated to @prodmina who lives, breathes and bleeds JunJin to an admirable level, thanks for everything you do my dear! If you've been around for a while you're used to my teasers then, I'm a teacher and this week will be very crazy for me I know I won't be able to update until the weekend. But I know exactly what's going to happen in the next chapter so here's a teaser I wrote, I'm feeling very inspired today. It's been a productive day on Tumblr (don't ask me about the rest of my life) please enjoy this second cliffhanger (I'm sorry truly!!) But also know some fun stuff is coming and then it gets sad again LMAO 🎢

She stands dumbfounded in his arms, unable to process the words that have left his lips. She couldn't have heard him right, why on Earth would someone like him who had girls fighting to be his girlfriend want anything to do with her? Did he pity her that much? Was this the premise of a high school drama and he’d taken some sort of bet to befriend her? Somehow all of those options seem more feasible than him having genuine feelings for her. 

But it's her first real confession, she's always seen others receive this and never experienced it herself. There had been some grandiose ones at school but she secretly tells herself she prefers this, just them two without an audience. it feels more intimate and authentic, as if he couldn’t wait another minute and his feelings for her overwhelmed him. Her heart is beating rapidly despite her deep calming breaths, he's effectively turned her world upside down with just those small three words.

I like you.

She can't control the way her heart flutters, but surely it would react that way to anyone? It wasn't connected to the confession-er, she was merely affected because someone liked her that was human nature. It didn't matter that it was Han Seojun, they were nothing to each other. Pity was surely clouding his emotions and she wanted no part in being there when he realized that and abandoned her, it was best not to get attached at all she argues with her traitorous heart. 

Her phone brings her back to reality, suddenly she remembers where she's meant to be right now and her father's enraged face appears in her mind. He'd told her not to embarrass him, which meant she had to go on this date and paint on a happy face and pretend that she wasn't dying inside. All for a man who treated her no better than scum under his shoes.

Pulling out the phone, Obligation flashes on her phone screen that's all he was after all she'd already forgotten his name, it was of no importance to her. She doesn't know if she should answer, still confused about her next step and while she's ruminating a hand suddenly fills her vision and snatches the object from her hand. Twisting out of his hug she stares in shock before trying to grab the phone back, "Are you insane? Give it back!" But he steps back, putting more space between them as he holds the stolen object just out of her reach tauntingly using his looming height. 

"Is this your date? Obligation." He reads the name from the phone, venom in his voice and she's taken back by his tone he's hardly ever serious or cold with her. She’s seeing many different facets to his personality today. 

"Han Seojun, give it back!" She demands, stomping her feet before lunging for the item, putting a hand on his shoulder for more leverage. But she miscalculates and her face smashes into his jaw making him cry out in pain and sending her flying forward her body crashing into his painfully, he steadies her with an arm around her waist bringing her dangerously close to him. Their eyes connect as if they are magnetized, just like that day in front of her house. 

"Is this your answer, princess? You sure know how to hurt a guy." She peers at him in bewilderment before searching his face, there's not even a fraction of a smile on his lip and he refuses to meet her eyes. Gazing off into the distance although he's speaking to her. He seems...hurt and he’s not doing a good job of hiding it at all, it’s written all over his face and she wonders vaguely what kind of world he must live in to be able to so freely reveal his feelings? She yearns to grab his lips and literally turn his frown upside down, smiles look much better on him. 

"You mean it." She whispers in awe, the ice around her heart defrosting as his palpable pain washes over her. He'd thought she was rejecting him for her "date". He clearly wasn't a great listener, she had no feelings for that guy it was just another part of her world that she had no control over. For some reason she wants to explain that to him, make him understand that in another universe maybe things would be different, maybe she would be allowed to want and she would explore this but this isn't her reality, things are not that simple. Love isn't an option for her.

"I told you. About my world, I can't--"

"That's just an excuse. You have a choice Sujin." He states his word are cold as ice, he looks livid as he puffs out an exasperated breath of air and frantically runs his fingers through his hair. 

Shoving him hard she sneers up at him before shouting in his face, "What choice do I have? I have control over nothing in my life, my first date is being stolen from me. I'll probably have to kiss him too so that will also be stolen! I can't control anything I didn't even choose this outfit. None of this is my choice." It's not his fault, and he's the one person that's been there for her and that makes her even angrier, why isn't she allowed to have this? Go on a date with a boy who might care for her, why is life cruel enough that this is being presented but she can't grab onto it with both hands? 

For the first time ever, he doesn't deflate or back off like he usually does when they get to these moments, he's usually her safety pin pulling her back from the edge of detonation so she's not ready for him to scream back at her, "Then choose me! Fuck all of that, fuck your father." He lifts up her phone which has started to ring again, "Fuck this guy! Just choose me, let me be your first." They both stand still, staring at each other the jingle of her iPhone not enough to cut the thick coiling tension and then she watches in gaped surprise as he angrily slides her phone open. "Stop fucking calling, she's not coming. She's with her boyfriend." Then he slides the phone close, finally handing it back to her looking at her with those hard glistening eyes. She looks at the phone and then back at him, eyes wide as the moon.

Stupefied and flustered she stutters out, "You're n-n-ot my boyfriend. What are you doing?"

"Let me take you on a date. Pick me Sujin.”