in almost every other children's book where the main heroine is swept away to a land of whimsy she's shown having a lovely time; braving dangers occasionally, trying to find her way home, sure, but ultimately delighting in the magic around her. meanwhile alice spends her entire time in wonderland like
look, here’s the thing: alice in wonderland’s enduring fucking charm is that it perfectly captures the vibe of being a very tired and annoyed child who is nonetheless required to play along with adult nonsense.
alice is dragged from place to place without warning, forced to play stupid games with no good prizes, grilled over her schooling and manners and recitation and dress, scolded, judged, insulted to her face, sent away, given gifts she didn’t ask for and doesn’t like, corrected incorrectly, been subject to shifting and arbitrary rules, and then when she gets snappish with all this bullshit everyone acts like a little girl’s temper is the end of the fucking world.
alice in wonderland isn’t a drug trip or a nightmare or a metaphor, that’s just what being ten years old is LIKE. that’s why kids love it so much. even if they can’t quite articulate how, they recognize themselves in it.
“This month, Finland launched the world’s largest sand battery, enabling residents to remove oil from their district heating network and reduce emissions by nearly 70 percent, as reported by Euro News. If it continues to operate as efficiently and affordably as expected, sand batteries could become common worldwide. Developed by Finnish company Polar Night Energy, this battery uses excess clean electricity to heat sand to high temperatures, storing thermal energy that can later be released to heat homes and power local industries. This is not Finland’s first sand battery, but it is significantly larger. The facility in Pornainen is an insulated silo that stands 13 meters tall and 15 meters wide, containing 2,000 tonnes of crushed soapstone. The sand retains heat remarkably well, losing only 10 to 15 percent during storage and recovery, according to The Cool Down.”
—
Sand batteries are a significant advancement in clean energy technology.
Holy shit, this is incredible.
“This new facility can hold 100 MWh for about a month in summer and a week in winter. That’s enough for the town of 5000 local residents.
TechCrunch estimates the Finnish battery’s costs are under $25 per kilowatt-hour, compared to around $115 for leading lithium-ion batteries.90% efficiency.It doesn’t use any “rare earths” or critical materials. Instead using locally sourced, recyclable materials.Units are scalable and modular to fit different needs and uses.
Suits small towns (like the current facility) and large scale industrial uses.
13 meters tall and 15 meters wide. Independent of geography.
No supply issues due to any geo-political problems.
Designed to store energy when it’s cheap and plentiful and supply when it’s expensive.“
The government says destroying his own data during an airport interrogation was illegal.
In early 2025, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick was on his way home following a trip abroad. After landing in the US, customs agents demanded access to his Pixel phone, which was running an alternative version of Android called GrapheneOS. Rather than hand over his data, Tunick used a clever feature of the software to delete everything. Now, he’s facing federal charges.
The first hearing in this case happened last week, according to The Guardian, during which government attorneys and agents claimed that Tunick was subjected to a standard secondary interrogation at an international airport. During that encounter, agents were “looking for anything that’s prohibited.” However, Tunick’s legal team alleges he was targeted for his activism.
Tunick was involved with a group called Defend the Atlanta Forest, which opposed the construction of an enormous law enforcement training facility in the area often known as Cop City. What Tunick didn’t know, according to his lawyers, was that he’d been placed on a watch list for his actions and that Customs and Border Protection had discussed over email plans to detain him upon his arrival back in the US for “suspected terrorism activities.”
xavier knows you too well, it’s upsetting really. where you’d usually get home, sulk, and allow yourself to marinate in your self loathing before eventually crying yourself to sleep; you’re met with kind concerned eyes and a gentle voice.
your eyes are already brimming with tears as you unlock your front door, taking in a shaky breath as you kick your shoes off. you don’t realize xavier is in your apartment until it’s too late, and for a split second you regret adding his finger to your lock.
“starlight you’re home already?”
his voice makes your body freeze in place, staring at the wall with wide eyes as you try to blink away your tears and quickly wipe your face.
“yeah, i got out a bit early today,” you clear your throat, putting on a tight lipped smile and turning around, “what are you doing here?” the words come out more strained then you intend them to, you feel your chest tighten as he rounds the corner and smiles at you.
“I remember you mentioned running out of that perfume you liked so i got you a new bottle,” the smile on his face slowly disappears the closer he gets to you, “figured I’d come leave it for you and see if you were running out of anything else.” his gaze is completely fixed on you, brows furrowing ever so slightly as he takes in your body language.
your eyes tear from his quickly, glancing around your apartment and moving past where he stood. you notice a vase filled with fresh flowers, your heart clenches at the sight.
“thank you xavier that’s really sweet of you,” your voice trembles on the last word, you hope he doesn’t catch it. “I’m uh- I’m really tired so i was gonna just sleep,” you glance at your bedroom door, the lump in your throat growing by the second.
xavier nods, already walking towards you, “okay we can nap together.” he’s not stupid, he knows you’re trying to get him to leave, he knows you’re upset. so he slips his hand into yours, tugging you towards your room.
“xavier-” you sigh out, blinking your tears back as you try and hold it together. i just need to get him out of here and then i can cry, you think. “y’know i just got my period so im gonna be real moody and mean, we can hang out tomorrow,” xavier turns to look at you, annoyance written all over his face. it catches you off guard.
“starlight you should know better than to try and lie to me,” his eyes narrow slightly at you before he lets out a sigh, his grip on your hand loosening. “you’ve been tense since you walked through the door, your eyes are slightly red which means you probably cried on the elevator, you haven’t called me any pet names and you haven’t even tried to grab my butt.”
you stare at him for a second, huffing before turning you head away from him, “i don’t always grab your butt.”
“that’s what you got out of that?” he smiles slightly and you can only pout. “plus your period isn’t due for another week and a half,” the information makes you look at him, he just smiles at you.
“do you wanna talk about it?” his voice is gentler now, crystalline eyes softening as he examines any shift in your expression. the moment you shake your head and your bottom lip wobbles he’s wrapping his arms around you.
xavier hits your senses all at once; the warmth of his body, the smell of his cologne, the feel of his hair tickling your skin. it makes the lump in your throat impossible to swallow as you quietly sob into his shirt.
“I’ve got you, you’ll be okay,” he says softly, one hand rubbing your back as the other cradles your head to his chest. he listens intently as you vent to him (in reality it’s just you mumbling incoherently between sniffles against his shirt), he hums as you speak, placing a gentle kiss to the top of your head when you finally seem to calm down a bit.
the two of you are quiet, the only sound in your apartment being your sniffles. the grip you have on him never falters, nuzzling yourself even closer to him.
“i love you so much, my pretty girl,” he whispers when you finally pull away. you frown at him, blowing your nose with a tissue and wiping away your tears with the back of your hand.
“i probably look terrible right now xav,” you mumble, still sniffling as you stare down at your hands. xavier scoffs, his index finger coming under your chin to force you to look at him.
his blue eyes stare into yours, softening as he looks at you. the corners of his lips twitch upwards. “what?” you ask, face heating up as he continues to look at you. he only leans in and places a chaste kiss to your lips, then another to your cheek, and then your nose, and then forehead.
“you’re beautiful. my beautiful, amazing, smart, talented girl,” he sighs, punctuating each adjective with another feathery kiss to your face. it’s impossible for you to not giggle, letting yourself melt into his every affection. “will my star do me the honor of cuddling with me?”
you roll your eyes at him, he wastes no time in scooping you in his arms, carrying you effortlessly to bed. before you know it, you’re being handed a hoodie. his favorite hoodie. you’re eyes widen.
“is this-”
“please don’t steal it from me,” he says half heartedly. he was going to give it to you anyway, he’d already sprayed his cologne on it for you.
the two of you end up a mess of tangled limbs and quiet giggles. xaviers breathing gets softer after a moment of silence, his eyes fluttering shut as his body relaxes. you stare at him for second, memorizing his every feature and each freckle adorning his skin.
and when you’re sure he’s sleeping and his nose is twitching, you finally speak up.
“thank you,” your voice is barely above a whisper, trembling slightly, “for being here for me even when i don’t want it.” you pause for a second, making sure he’s really asleep before speaking up again. “i hope you never stop letting yourself in.” xavier stirs slightly, you grin.
“i love you so much, angel eyes,” you whisper, kissing his collarbone before taking a deep breath and letting your eyes finally close.
and as xavier unconsciously pulls your closer to him, you find yourself believing the affirmations he makes you tell yourself. there’s no sulking or wallowing in self pity, there’s only the warmth and reassurance your lover provides you. there’s only affirmations of how loved and cherished you are by those around you.
there’s only love and soft golden flecks replacing where sadness and darkness would find purchase.
a/n: two xavier comfort fics back to back everyone act shocked
"The AbioCor device, like the heart, is a softball-sized pump that, like the heart, resides fully within the chest without any protruding tubes or wires. But the AbioCor is a machine, powered by batteries, and an experimental one at that. Although the coverage of [Robert] Tools' new heart was almost universally positive, many African American news media took a divergent stance asking whether Tools had been selected for an exceedingly risky and untried surgery because he was Black (and by implication, expendable).
However, no media outlets asked another important question: should self-contained artificial hearts become FDA-approved and go on the market with a hefty price tag, will African Americans be able to afford them, or will they be shut out of the technology that they helped to perfect?
The same question can be asked of other bionic technologies being devised to replace diseased or damaged eyes, ears, and limbs. Geography, tradition, and culture interaect to make Blacks likely research subjects for new technologies, but race and economics tend to place them outside the marketplace for these same technologies when they are perfected.
This is a consistent pattern with novel surgical technologies. Marion Sims' vesicovaginal fistula research subjects were Black slaves, and today's groups of poor Black women are the least likely to benefit from the surgery. Today's highly visible role of Blacks in testing heart-transplantation technology parallels a deluge of medical-journal articles documenting how Blacks are less likely than whites to receive high-tech cardiac interventions once they are perfected and become the standard of care."
Chapter 14- Medical Apartheid, Harriet A. Washington
As my official favorite lads author on tumblr, I offer you my best idea:
What do we think of XavMc overstimulated bc Xavier eats the 🐱 waayyy too much to the point where mc cant take it anymore; but he JUST. WOULDNT. STOP. pussy drunk some would say.
Since MC is a strong hunter, her only way to stop Xavier from pushing her to another orgasm is to lock her legs on xavier and roll him alligator style and knocks him off the bed :D
Gluttony
Is not much, dear anon, but it's honest work 😊
CW: Oral 🔞MDNI 🔞
You knew Xavier. The soft spoken, patient Xavier.
But you also knew the one between your legs right now. He had his forearms hooked under your thighs, legs pinned wide open.
He was eating you out like it was his only source of oxygen, lap after wet lap, sucking your clit into his mouth and teasing it with the tip of his tongue until your were practically floating out of your body.
"Xavie." you pulled at his hair."Xavier."
He hummed against you. A self satisfied hum that went straight to your clit, to all the eight thousand nerve endings of it
"I'm serious," you gasped, thighs trembling against his shoulders, fingers tightening in his hair with what was supposed to be a discouraging grip "I can't —fuck— Xavier, I'm going to pass out—"
He pulled back half an inch. Just half an inch, just enough that you could see his face, which was a huge mistake because his face was not the face of a man who was about to stop. His mouth was slick and swollen, his eyes had that particular glaze that meant his brain had fully departed the premises, and he looked at you with unfocused devotion.
"Just one more, you sound—"
"No."
"—so pretty when—"
"I can't—"
He went back down.
His tongue found your clit again— he'd mapped the whole thing by this point, knew exactly the angle, the pressure, the combination that made your back leave the mattress— and he used all of that information without mercy, two fingers pushing inside you and cuuurling up while his tongue worked in slow circles.
Your thighs tried to close but his shoulders were in the way. He pressed them back open and didn't even look up.
Words had failed. You'd tried please, you'd tried stop, you'd tried the man's full name in three different tones of voice. None of it had worked. He was pussydrunk. Again.
You were a trained Deepspace Hunter and desperate times call desperate measures.
He dipped his head to lick your entrance just above his fingers and you snapped your knees together around his neck.
"Mmph—"
Locked your ankles and felt him go still. Gave him approximately two seconds to understand what was happening and then threw your weight sideways with everything you had and executed a full roll.
THUD.
The sheets went with him. Two pillows hit the floor. Xavier hit the floor.
Your breathing was the loudest thing in the room. You were lying close to the edge of the bed, every muscle below your waist sending you strongly worded messages, but you were free.
Slowly, a head of disheveled hair appeared over the edge of the mattress.
He was sitting in a nest of fallen pillows, sheets twisted around his legs, looking up at you with beautiful innocent blue eyes.
"Did you just—" He cleared his throat, rubbing his jaw.
"You left me no choice." You pointed at him, your hand was shaking slightly. " I have lost feeling in my legs."
He looked at your legs. Then back at your face and pressed his lips together.
"Don't."
He pressed his lips together harder but it wasn't working. The corners were losing the battle.
"The lock was—"
"Xavier."
Resting his chin on the edge of the bed, he looked up at you with a slow, stupidly calm smile. He had absolutely no right to look that pleased with himself after what he’d just put you through.
"You're so beautiful when you're furious"
"And you are grounded" you looked at the ceiling "You don't get to be sweet right now."
"Sorry. I got carried away."
"You got possessed," you said"There's a difference."
"I got carried away," he repeated, softer, and he was your sweet Xavier again. "Are you okay?"
The problem with Xavier was that he did this. Went from whatever that had been directly to this, like there were two completely different people living in the same body and they took turns and you never got enough warning before the switch.
"I need water"
"I'll get it."
"You're still grounded."
"Okay."
"I mean it."
He stood up, gathering a tangled sheet off the floor and held it out to you like a white flag, bending low to brush a kiss against your cheek."The roll was genuinely impressive"
"I know" you yanked the sheet up to your chin and clamped your mouth shut, fighting for your life not to crack a smile.
The first time it happens you feel so embarrassed that you end up locking yourself in the bathroom.
Sylus is a collected (and sometimes perhaps detached) person. You're not. Let's start there.
A few months into dating you sort of fall into this routine where you go spend the night at his place once to twice a week. You would be done with your daily activities (work/uni) then make a quick trip to your flat to fix yourself up (it's a date after all) grab your bag and then get picked up by your boyfriend either with his car or his bike.
And it's been wonderful.
To be fair there are some days that drain you more than others and, sure, it would feel nice to just go home, get into your pajamas and just lay on the couch watching whatever is on TV just letting your mind declutter.
But still even if you're not 100% in the mood, once you get to his place and he starts treating you so well, you immediately feel better and tell yourself that it was worth it even if you are tired and the day has been rough.
And then it happens.
The day starts off pretty bad because the route of your bus has been changed due to roadwork, and you only find out after having been waiting for that very bus for half an hour, which immediately makes you late for your shift.
So by the time you get to work, the tasks have already been assigned and you're stuck doing what you hate the most but you can't even complain because, again, you were late.
The day is still not done yet because in the afternoon you're due for a presentation and your manager has clearly stated that she's counting on you doing a good job with the commission
And maybe it's because you've just spent the morning looking at all those numbers, or maybe it's the fact that your manager is somehow making you feel even more pressure but it doesn't go as well as you had planned.
You end up disappointing the commission, your manager the most importantly yourself.
5:36 pm Sylus >> remember it's date night kitten
5:37 pm Sylus >> I'll pick you up as usual.
You sigh. Right. Date night. Are you even in the mood for it? No really, no, but what you dread even more than that is the possibility of disappointing someone else today.
5:38 pm you << sure. See you later!
Thankfully though, your shift does come to an end at some point, and you finally manage to go back home, even though it takes you longer than usual because of the bus route change. It even starts raining a little bit and all you can think about is the fact that it would be a perfect evening to spend inside your house, eating warm food in comfy clothes and then go straight to bed curled up with a book.
But because you don't like standing people up you simply go inside, grab your overnight back and get out.
Sylus is already there by the time you're outside, so you just jump in the car and you drive off. during the trip You're unusually quiet and you're almost sure that sylus can pick up on that but even if he does he does not mention it.
At his place there are two bags of delicious smelling take out food waiting on the counter and you do feel a little bit better at the thought of having someone get dinner for you, but the atmosphere shifts once he begins doing small talk.
"so how was work today?"
Shit. It was shit.
"um. Fine. Tiring."
He hums. "I remember you told me you had a presentation, right?"
You feel like you're swallowing stones instead of chewed up food. "Uh huh. That was fine too."
Your phone pings and from the corner of your eye you recognize your landlord's profile pic. Rendered puzzled by the odd timing (it's around 7 pm) you take a peek at his text.
Hey I just passed by the house to take a look at the washing machine but noone was home
What? You've been complaining about the washing machine for almost a month and he finally decides to show up without warning on a wednesday evening?! And then has the courage to be passive aggressive because you weren't there?
But because the universe has decided to go all out today, you get another text from your manager this time. It's the file you spent all morning working on, with the caption "to fix by tmrw"
You feel your patience quite literally snap like a tree branch being stepped on.
Sylus, ever so observant, notices the way you've stopped eating and are staring at your phone screen, so he pops the question: "are you okay?"
Your blood boils and bubbles in your vessels. "Am I okay? Am I okay? No, I'm not okay! Today has been awful! I proved to everyone at my office that I can't do my job! My manager hates me now! I got to work late on the only day they had warned us not to because corporate was there! The washing machine has been broken for a month and I know that my landlord doesn't want to get a new one so I'll be stuck going to the laundromat for the rest of eternity! I stained my good sweater with oil at lunch and I just know that thing is ruined! On my way home I had to walk a bit more and I fell down and scraped my knee and hand! Oh, and I burnt my toast this morning, I turned it into a piece of coal!"
Sylus appears mildly startled by your outburst, but nothing concerning.
You, however, feel a freezing shower pouring over your head and immediately cool you down. You're so cold now that you realize that you've been raising your voice to the only man who did nothing but make you feel better.
Before you even realized it, you've run off and locked yourself in the bathroom.
It's one thing to embarrass yourself in front of your partner once in a while but it's a whole other thing to basically throw a tantrum like a child. You fear Sylus will never look at you the same again.
What's even worse is the fact that you've spent so much time proving to him that you're a grown, mature woman with a career and an attitude and all that. Now what? Is he going to dump you?
Is he going to stop hosting date night because clearly you can't handle it?
You press your head on the door and weirdly enough there's no noise outside. Has he left?
Eventually you come out.
I'll just grab my stuff and call a cab, there's no way I can take the bus at this time of the night.
The kitchen is all cleaned up, like a crime scene at the end of the investigation.
You head to the bedroom to grab your bag and find Sylus inside, freshly washed up and in his disgustingly expensive pajamas, and it startles you.
"oh my- what are you doing here?"
"I thought we were going to turn in early tonight. I'm getting ready for bed."
"o-oh. Right. Okay. Well, I'm just going to- get this. And go. Goodnight then."
"how about you kiss me goodnight later, when we're both in bed?"
"wait, you want me to stay the night?"
"I don't believe I ever asked you to leave."
"well, no. But given what happened at dinner, I feel like-"
"pardon?"
"I feel like sometimes you don't really see me as your partner."
That sentence makes you do a double take.
"sometimes I get the feeling that you don't want to rely on me, that you don't feel comfortable with me. You don't allow yourself to be transparent with me. I still have to convince you that I'm worth it."
Sylus, the most confident man you've ever encountered, appears genuinely hurt and resigned.
"I do rely on you." You insist.
"do you? You were so tightly wound earlier, I thought you were going to pop like a bottle cork. Why don't you just come talk to me when you're feeling like this?
"because I wouldn't be talking, I'd be venting. And I don't want to bother you."
He sighs. "You wouldn't. But I still can't get you to trust me on that. How about you get washed up, now. I want you to get as much sleep as possible tonight."
By the time you're back in the room, Sylus is under the covers with only a lamplight on.
You snuggle in bed on the other side and wait for the room to turn dark.
"I understand that."
Once it does, you speak.
"It's not that I don't trust you. I do, truly. I'm just used to doing things my way, on my own terms."
"I just don't want to take too many liberties, Sy."
"it's not about that. I'm telling you outright that you shouldnt feel shame sharing different aspects of your life."
"yeah but this was date night, it's no place to rant."
"it can be. I don't want you to force yourself to pretend for the sake of the evening. Date night is just another way to say eating together and then watching TV. In fact, if it makes you less comfortable, I'd rather not do date night at all."
Silence dawns on the room.
Sylus turns to you, convinced that you're being quiet to get this conversation over with and is met with your big wet eyes instead.
"I'm sorry. I just don't want you to deal with my stuff too, I know how difficult your job is, you must be stressed out already. But. If me keeping it all to myself makes you feel even worse, I'll share more. Even if it's just complaining that a lady at the bakery cut the line."
He smiles, reaching over to side hug you. "Thank you, kitten, I really appreciate it. Now, what are we going to do about that washing machine?"
I've talked at length about Sylus's connection with the FFXIV dragons, Ishgard, and Estinien, but I do also see a lot of Zayne's qualities in Aymeric
Like it's ridiculous how much Sylus and Zayne remind me of Estinien and Aymeric. I love the Ishgard boys on their own merits, sure, but their similarities to my LADS mains coming into the game definitely helped me immediately latch on to them
And in my head, I can't help but picture Sylus and Estinien rage baiting each other while Zayne and Aymeric are peacefully having tea and cakes akalsjslsjsh
To the same degree, I do see a lot of similarities between Haurchefant and Caleb, both taking on the big brother role to the point where Haurchefant's family treats us as a full member of the family. Not to mention their personalities and uhhh what happened to them
There's gotta be a ffxiv fan somewhere high up on the LADS character development team because there are way too many coincidences
I study graphic design and my tutor recommended and used this in his classes at art college last year, it’s so good it has SO many features for free, I really recommend it, even if you’re just trying to learn the basics of PS, such a wonderful thing <3
person who invented a special glue that lets them walk up and down anything
pervert
grim reaplet
cloth mother
hopelessly depressed transgender woman of color desperately seeking employment
Remaining time: 3 days 11 hours
hi. truly sorry to do this. i will be able to make this month's rent in five days, but not next month's -- after paying my power bill too, i'm gonna be down to just under $300 for groceries and hrt. i've been feeling intensely tired and hopeless, but i'm trying to get ahead of next month's expenses while i continue job searching. i just had a followup job interview today that could be promising but i've been burned plenty before. i'd appreciate any and all aid you're able to spare, even if that's just sharing my post. thank you 🖤
A 19-year-old black trans girl was shot to death this month, and there has been absolutely no media reporting on it - despite extensive reporting on almost identical incidents in the same part of Florida, at the same time. The police, as usual, misgendered her in the police report and have done nothing to find her killer. Her name was Jayla Mcgee. Black trans people deserve to grow old.
Police misgendered Jayla McGee, local media overlooked her homicide, and her community was left to make sure she was not erased.
dailybridgerton
2087
gummygunk
romaincrisis
prguitarman
