It's not great, Dan.

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[baelorbreakthisback]

My Little Fire - First Look

Baelor Targaryen x Saerys Targaryen (Niece!OC)

word count: 2475

207 AC - King Daeron has lived long enough to know that stories rarely end the way they should. Princes die too young. Princesses are promised to the wrong men. And every generation of Targaryens seems determined to repeat the mistakes of the last. So when a frightened princess seeks refuge from one prince and finds it in another, Daeron cannot help but wonder whether history is beginning another familiar song—or whether, for once, it might choose a different ending.

warnings: 18+ mdni, Targcest, (what it says on the tin), Aerion Targaryen is his own warning, Emotional Abuse (referenced), Arranged Marriage, Forced Betrothal (Discussed), Emotional Distress, Fear of Abuse, Patriarchal Society, Family Politics and Dynastic Marriage, Hurt/Comfort

REMINDER - YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT AND MEDIA YOU CHOOSE TO CONSUME

DISCLAIMER: All themes, plot, images used in general and characters from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms + elsewhere belong to the rightful owners, I hold no rights to the original media - but my writing belongs to me.

“Saerys?” Baelor called before her face fully emerged into the candlelight.

The surprise he felt faded almost immediately into a sense of foreboding as he caught sight of her expression. As she came forward, his gaze caught on how she wrung her hands, the way she fidgeted with her rings, so similar to his own habit.

“What has happened?” he asked as he turned away from the desk, so quickly that he was unable to ponder how easily she captured his attention.How many times had Maekar, Valaar, or even Jena been able to truly pull him away from his reports and ledgers? But as soon as he saw the fear on her face, his center of gravity shifted, his pressing report an afterthought.

“Please, sit,” he insisted as he moved to the counsel table, drawing out the chair next to him. 

Even near him, Saerys had trouble meeting his gaze. She’d been so long away from court and away from other family, she was unused to conversations she didn’t have to flinch away from.

She curled in on herself in the chair, shrinking herself as she said, “As I’m sure you know, my father wanted me off his hands and settled before his death." she took in an unsteady breath, "For simplicity’s sake, he proposed a match between Aerion and I. Maekar agreed and plans to bring the match to the king on the morrow.“ Her voice was brittle as she shuddered.

Finally she met his gaze again with watery eyes. “I can’t marry him. I won’t,” she vowed.

Sadly, this wasn’t the first Aerion related quandary he’d been involved in and he doubted it’d be the last. Dread coiled in his stomach just the same. 

He swallowed roughly, as if what he was about to say already disagreed with him before he spoke. “Marriage changes the shape of a man’s predilections" he said carefully, but the words sounded weak even to himself. “Some men are improved by the responsibility. I know Maekar was.”

Saerys looked away and sucked in her cheeks as if she had been forced to bite down bitter medicine.With a rare disdain she replied, “Some men. She forced out a laugh with such venom that Baelor almost flinched. “But this is Aerion.”

She reached for one of Baelor’s hands, imploring. “You see what he is, and that is only what he’s willing to expose around court. Summerhall has been a torment ever since I reached my majority.” She paused and took in a wavering breath.“I don’t have to imagine the terror he’ll inflict once I’m his property.”

Baelor’s jaw ticked at how Saerys referred to herself, “You’re a princess of the blood, you’ll never be any man’s property—”

“—And he is a prince of the blood and I’ll be his to torment as he pleases.” Saerys choked out a sob. She felt her desperation rising the more her thoughts swirled about the torture Aerion inflict upon her once under his control. 

Baelor, imagining it too, squeezed his eyes shut. Though ever pragmatic, he hated thinking the worst of his family.“ Maekar denied your request I take it?”

Saerys shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I didn’t go to him,” she whispered ,holding his gaze. I chose you. “Maekar has inured himself to Aerion’s true nature. I think on some level he knows but he doesn’t let himself see.”

Saerys rose from the chair and sank to her knees before him taking both of his hands.“Please, Uncle, I came to you because you’re the most honorable man I know.” Her voice broke. “I’ll do anything, marry anyone else, any house any relation, I just ask that he might be good and kind, please”

Saerys pressed her head against her hands that held his and heaved another sob. “Please, Your Grace” she whispered, giving herself over to tears.

Something in him shattered seeing her on her knees before him.

Wrong. Why haven’t you already given her what she asked?

Baelor loosed his hands and leaned forward, kneeling on the ground before her. He wrapped her in his embrace, rubbing a soothing hand down her back.

The words "good” and “kind” echoed through his thoughts.

As he looked into the fire there were plans, matches, alliances, all reforming in his head. Each heaving breath from Saerys further cemented his plan of action.

Finally he nodded with a sigh, bringing his hand to cup the back of her head. “Sweet girl, I will take care of it.” 

Saerys drew back and stared at him, almost disbelieving, “Truly?” 

“I promise.” Baelor brought his hand to her cheek to wipe away her tears. “I’ll go to the king directly.” He stood bringing her with him, but as he stepped away she held on to one of his hands.

“Uncle,” she said, her voice hollow. “I’ll be forever in your debt.”

He brought his other hand to hers and drew it up towards his mouth for a fleeting kiss. “You owe me nothing Saerys.” He then led her from the room into the hall.

“Ser Roland,” he called to the knight posted outside. “Please see the Princess back to her rooms, I should like you to guard her door this evening,“

“Of course, Your Grace, and for your rooms?” 

“Any other will do, I suspect I will have a late night” 

“Uncle,” Saerys called before she was escorted away. “I’ll never forget this.”

Baelor only nodded as he watched her figure retreat down the hall. Neither would he. He only hoped he and she both could both forgive him come morning.

As Baelor walked towards his father’s chambers, he pondered the family line and wracked his brain for houses with eligible sons, for a mental exercise if nothing else.

“Is he awake?” Baelor asked Ser Corbray once outside the door to the King’s solar.

“Come in, son,” Daeron called from inside. Baelor found him pouring over a familiar report. One look at Baelor’s face informed him that this would not be a casual conversation between father and son. “It better be a pressing matter if we’re getting started this late.”

Baelor tilted his head in deference before clarifying, "It’s a family matter.”

“What’s Aerion done now?” Daeron scoffed.

Baelor sighed as he tilted his head and admitted haltingly, “It’s not not an Aerion problem”

“Oh it’s a problem now? Seven Hells,” Daeron bit off before muttering under his breath.

“Before Aerys passed, it would seem he and Maekar were playing at matchmaking down south. They settled on Saerys for Aerion.” Baelor met Daeron’s gaze with a thinly veiled disdain.“Maekar means to bring the match before you tomorrow.” He swallowed roughly before continuing, “Saerys came to me tonight weeping, and begged me to wed her to anyone else.”

He took in a heavy breath. “The way she came to me...” he said, his eyes faraway now. Memories flashed before him, the threadiness of her voice as she pleaded, the way she looked at him, beseeching. He swallowed down what might’ve been bile before he reached the heart of his request. “I can not allow her to wed that boy.”

Daeron tilted his head then, keen. “Rather peculiar that she brought her petition to you, rather than myself or Maekar” 

Baelor mused on this a moment before answering, curious that this caught his father’s attention first. “I don’t think Saerys believed Maekar would be of any help.” He closed his eyes and uttered the next few words as if they were very precious to him. “She told me that she came to me because I’m the most honorable man she knows”

For a moment the room fell quiet as Daeron studied his son.

Curious, he thought. Of everything that had passed between them that evening, that was the detail Baelor seemed least willing to release. The king filed the observation away.

”Maekar’s been turning a blind eye to that boy for far too long.” he said wearily instead. “My namesake’s wastrel ways cause most of his ire while Aerion is merely an annoyance—”

“And so the worst of Aerion infects everyone around him,” Baelor finished. 

So often were he and his father of like minds, Baelor thought, though his stomach began to sink. This was perhaps the only time he had ever wanted his father to disagree with him, to persuade him otherwise. 

“I was mulling it over on my way to you,” Baelor continued. “If you approve it on the morrow, they’ll expect to announce it during the festivities a sennight from now. If we draw this out they may force the issue. It may be difficult to make overtures to other houses.”

“I agree,” said Daeron. “We risk less offense should the match remain in the family.”

Baelor paused, swallowing, not quite ready to have that option eliminated in earnest. But he carried on. “Daeron would be an ill match for anyone, the other boys of Maekar’s line are too young, Aelor is to wed Aelora… Matarys is too young…”

“There will be a bounty of Dornish lords with us in just a few days,” Daeron proposed.

“—I worry that matching us further to Dorne may risk alienating other houses”

 “—Ah yes” Daeron agreed, loftily.  “The houses that we don’t have time to arrange a match with.” 

“Yes,” Baelor nodded seriously, willfully or no, ignoring his father’s flippancy. 

“Besides,” Daeron mutters to himself, “At two and twenty, she’s a bit older than these lords would like for their sons.” Baelor tilted his head only slightly, his jaw ticked as though Daeron said it as a slight.

“Did we rule out Daeron too quickly?” his father mused.

“ —He wouldn’t be able to protect her from Aerion, and we’re back at square one.” Baelor interjected, almost short. “The whole purpose of this is to put an end to it. If we leave her to the same torment, then we’ve accomplished nothing.” The look in his eyes was piercing, as his chest rose and fell in frustration.

Daeron tilted his head. He’d seen that look before, long ago. Righteous fury, intense devotion, the need to protect no matter the cost.

He considered for a moment. Then, watching for his son’s reaction, he posited, “Maekar could remarry.”

“He won’t.” Baelor’s answer came much too quickly.

Daeron’s eyes sharpened infinitesimally. “Matching her to Maekar would certainly protect her from Aerion. The boy wouldn't dare, then”

“He practically raised her, along with his four sons,” Baelor said at once, the words clipped now. “He has no need to wed again”

“Need rarely governs these things.”

“He and Dyanna were a love match.” There was a surprising force behind the statement. “He mourns her still.”

Only after the words left him did Baelor realize how tightly strung his voice had become. Strain or no, he knew he was right in this. Though Maekar was the brother farthest in age, they were closest in heart. He knew the workings of his brother’s soul, in this moment, perhaps better than he knew his own.

Daeron regarded him quietly then, “And what of you, Baelor?” 

Baelor looked away from the gaze that saw too much, saw what he was not ready to confront.

“Were you and Jena a love match?”

Baelor swallowed. The mention of Jena caught him off guard. “You know we weren’t.” He glanced back at his father, faintly bewildered by the turn in conversation. “I was happy to do my duty for the realm though our union, and she blessed me with my sons—”

”Two sons,” Daeron corrected mildly.

“Yes,” Baelor replied, irritation creeping faintly into his voice now. “Two healthy, dutiful sons. What are you getting at?”

Daeron held his gaze steadily. “Do you want to know what I think, Baelor?”

Baelor looked down once in shame and back up again  

He was now fixed with an even steelier gaze. “I think you came here, mind made up, hoping I’d talk you out of it,” Daeron said quietly. “Instead I’ve done you the inconvenience of agreeing with you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re next in line for the throne, my boy, unmarried,” Daeron said almost chiding. “Ascending with a Targaryen queen would strengthen us against the Blackfyres without alienating others. A young wife like Saerys? All the better. She can give you more heirs, strengthening your line.”

“She will not bring alliances or coin.”

"Nor does she need to.” Daeron's voice softened slightly. "The crown will require you to wed again." He paused. "I imagined we'd spend months weighing daughters and alliances and grievances. Instead we find ourselves discussing a woman whose character you already know."

His gaze remained fixed upon Baelor. "There are worse foundations for a marriage."

Baelor swallowed thickly and strode over to the window. He braced himself against the ledge, his shoulders creeping up towards his ears. He didn’t want eyes on him for this. 

He let out a controlled sigh and grit out the words as if they pained him, “She came to me because she trusted me. What kind of man would I be if I took advantage of that?”

Daeron walked over to his son. “She asked you to find her another match, did she not?”

Baelor looked down at his hands, the very hands Saerys had held as she wept and pleaded with him. He then repeated her words haltingly, words that he’d since committed to memory, “She said ‘I’ll do anything, marry anyone else, any house any relation, I just ask that he might be good and kind’.” 

Baelor pressed his eyes shut at the recollection. His shoulders tensed once more. Were he a weaker man, he might have yielded immediately to the certainty that had seized him beside the hearth.

Daeron squeezed his shoulder. “She asked that he might be good and kind… and you’re the most honorable man she knows.” 

“Good, kind and honorable men don’t marry their nieces,” Baelor practically spat through gritted teeth.

Daeron breathed out slowly, weighing giving voice to a truth he’d long fought. “We aren’t simply men, we are Targaryens.”

In a lower tone he said, “I wed you all to great houses to strengthen our esteem and ties in the realm after a perilous time, and I certainly believe that bringing Dorne into the fold gave us strength. I love your Mother, after I met her I would have no other. But the only reason we were matched was for the sake of the realm." Daeron looked out towards the sea churning below "For the sake of the realm, you would not be the first Targaryen to wed his sibling’s offspring, nor will you be the last” he said, as if offering a benediction.

Baelor wanted to shake his head, not yet willing to give voice to his actual torment. For he wasn’t conflicted about marrying Saerys. The true torment lay in discovering how little of him wished to resist it.

Finally, he nodded in an almost resigned agreement. “As is your will, Father.” 

“We’ll go with that then. I trust you’ll inform all involved, we’ll meet on the morrow.” 

Baelor left his father’s chambers then.

For the sake of the realm, at least that’s what he'll tell himself. 

[souvenirs]

[spitfaggot]

happy birthday, gilbert baker. (june 2, 1951 — march 31, 2017)

[charlesoberonn]

Writers: Bad people are still people with their own problems and emotions, even when they cause problems and distress and hurt other people.

Tumblr Gremlins: Problematic. Blocked.

[against-anti-antis-deactivated2]

If you portray bad people as good people, then you’re normalizing abuse. Of course that’s fucking problematic.

[untitled23343]

[alarajrogers]

Newsflash: people and good people are not synonymous.

If you portray a villain, that villain has thoughts, emotions, desires. Maybe even loved ones. They have things they want. They have reasons for what they do. And none of this excuses their villainous acts.

If you portray a good person, all of the same things apply. Thoughts, emotions, desires, loved ones, things they want, reasons, etc. And when you look at the acts they commit, you think to yourself, “That is a good person. I consider this person heroic, someone worth emulating.” Whereas when you see what the villain does, you think, “Man, that is fucked up.”

The entire difference between a good person and a bad person is not whether or not they are people, but whether the things they do and their reasons for doing them are good or bad. So you can portray a bad person, who abuses people, as having emotions, and desires, and thoughts, and they can still be a bad person. 

So yeah. The OP says “bad people should be written as if they are people.” This is true. “Normalizing abuse” is what happens when you write bad people as if they are incomprehensible evil monsters with no common humanity with the rest of us, because this tells abuse victims, most of whom love their abusers, “You’re not really being abused because the person you love is not a bad person! Bad people are 100% evil monsters and the person who is hurting you obviously has feelings!” No. Bad people are people. When you write an abuser, write them as a person, with thoughts and feelings, because real abuse victims know that their abusers are people, and you don’t want to convince them that their abusers can’t be abusers because only monsters are abusers. You want them to understand that abusers are human too, because they already know the person abusing them is human. What they don’t know is whether or not they can consider what’s happening to them to be abuse. 

[lines-and-edges]

^^^

[golbatgender]

Antis: “Only good people are actually fully human beings! This totally isn’t fascist or anything!”

[wetwareproblem]

“If you write well-rounded, deep, believable characters you’re a fucking abuse apologist!”

[junemondegreen]

This is way too similar to that god damn “if you write characters being traumatized/in traumatizing situations then you are fetishizing abuse and you’re bad!” Like stories need conflict and sometimes being involved in conflict can be traumatizing, do you really want to consume only media that is entirely Good People Doing Good Things, Everyone Is Happy And Nothing Bad Ever Happens?? Because that’s sounds like a whole lot of boring to me

[wetwareproblem]

Given the alternative that we’ve had forever now, where characters go through intensely traumatic shit but have absolutely no trauma whatsoever - thus conveying the message that the problem is YOU, YOU’RE the only one who breaks like that - I’m gonna have to say I’ll take the realistic portrayals of trauma.

[hazel2468]

There is something, I think, to us as a whole, as humans, that is INSANELY disturbing and difficult about viewing irredeemable, evil people as PEOPLE. Like, we cannot accept that people who do things like commit genocide or murder people or abuse people are, in a lot of ways, just like us. That they have families and feelings and complex inner lives. And my gf just summed up why the portrayal of evil people as something apart from human is such a problem:

Because it keeps us from confronting evil when it DOES actually show up. It keeps us from confronting other people, who we know, who espouse hatred. Because how can this person, whom we know , who maybe we are even friends or family with, be an empty evil husk? It’s what keeps us from addressing things like racism, fascism, white supremacy- you name it. 

When we dress up evil people as something apart from us, when we act like humans are inherently better than the evil people we see in media, it means that come being faced with a person who is doing abhorrent things, we are unable to process that. Because we feel like humanity and evil are incompatible. 

[theassholeantiarchive]

You know it’s funny but we really need more bad people depicted as real people because it’s meant to be a warning to what you can become if you aren’t careful. Antis are good examples of that because they genuinely don’t realize how evil their behavior is because they think they are doing it for the greater good or with the best intentions justifies it. People are always the hero of their own story and if you can’t recognize that you are capable of being a monster then you will become a monster because you see everything that you do as good. It takes any complex thinking about morals out of the picture because you aren’t a laughing disney villain so why should you be concerned if your decisions hurt people if it wasn’t apart of the big picture or plan you have.

Think the Original The Lorax where the bad guy was viewed as complex and had good points even though he still was the bad guy. He was complicated and Kids could understand it through Seuss’s writing that he was just a person. Then look at say Ursula or Makeficent who had the complexity of a wet napkin and few kids could imagine themselves becoming. Obviously some kids can imagine themselves as them but which story really teaches you that good people do bad things or bad people don’t always realize they are bad.

It’s not some evil pro villain thing to make bad guys real. It’s a warning that you need to be careful because you could easily become the bad guy even if you have the best intentions.

[fantasiesescape]

good thread about bad people.

[baelorbreakthisback]

Tfw you’ve written Pages ™️ of sexual content and totally neglected the fact that your MMC has a beard.

[violetallnight]

With the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics officially beginning on Friday 6th February and content surrounding the games starting to gain traction, it’s time to remind everyone of why Fournier-Beaudry/Cizeron are competing as an Ice Dance team

Below is a link to an article written by figure skating fans which is entirely sourced and referenced detailing the background to their partnership and everything you should know about them prior to the games. It is an extremely difficult read but extremely important

Don’t be fooled by the positive commentary and press they’re being given. Don’t let the ISU succeed in their attempts to cover up the prevalence of sexual assault and abuse in figure skating

Believe victims, Fix the system, Protect women, Suspend, Ban and Sanction abusers of any capacity

https://skatingaccountability.notion.site

TW: Sexual Abuse, Rape (including graphic descriptions), Abuse Denial/Apologising, Verbal and Emotional Abuse

[peachfromcmbyn]

You know this website really has changed Tom Hiddleston is being gay as fuck in a TV show and I've seen maybe two posts about it. If that had happened 10 to 12 years ago it would have been inescapable it would have been truly radically inescapable you would have not been able to get away from it

[trwinsome]

Please watch season 2 of The Night Manager. This should be remedied. For TRADITION. And because it's hot af and generally a good show.

[mo-mode]

GUYS I FIGURED IT OUT

Clint in the vents and that’s his whole personality because he wasn’t fleshed out in the movies → Ava in the walls and that’s her whole personality because she wasn’t fleshed out in the movies

Thor eating poptarts and overusing proper words because English isn’t his first language and he’s the comedic relief → Alexei eating Wheaties and overusing proper words because English isn’t his first language and he’s the comedic relief

Natasha pranking and laughing at everyone from the sidelines because fanon decided she’s just silly like that → Yelena pranking and laughing at everyone from the sidelines because canon decided she’s just silly like that

Bruce being a sweet, soft-spoken, unassuming guy but also the most fucking unhinged monstrosity if you catch him on a bad day → Bob being a sweet, soft-spoken, unassuming guy but also the most fucking unhinged monstrosity if you catch him on a sad day

Steve being handed the de facto title of goody two shoes leader despite being the LAST person on board with this → Bucky being handed the de facto title of goody two shoes leader despite being the last person on board with this

Tony being a big-mouthed asshole that’s secretly haunted by his past mistakes which involved publicly supporting the US military via PR stunts as a weapons manufacturer → John being a big-mouthed asshole that’s secretly haunted by his past mistakes which involved publicly supporting the US military via PR stunts as a weapon himself

[chrispineofficial]

i am begging all of the 20something usamericans on this website to understand that “disillusioned with us politics” is a constant state of affairs. you still have to vote. you still have to keep the needle as far left as you can. there is literally no other option and every election has echoes of consequence. please please please just fucking vote

[chrispineofficial]

like. i agree with you!! i agree the system is broken and terrible and i want so much for it to be not broken and terrible!! but it very seriously is true that right now voting is our best avenue of power. the next president will appoint probably at least two supreme court judges. your local government or state government is gonna be the best line of defense to protect you against everyday bullshit. please please vote

[chrispineofficial]

here is a handy map of what you need to vote by state. in 22 states you do not need photo ID or anything else. in even more you don’t need a photo ID it’s just requested. i live in MA and all you need to tell the polling person is your address. just be prepared and i promise it’s a great feeling when you walk out of your polling station having said what you said

[cowboycostume]

here is a handy list of every state's primary election dates

if you want to protest vote these are the ones you don't want to miss - vote uncommitted, vote for an alternative candidate, vote write in, leave it blank - depending on your state all of these are valid options that demonstrate your disapproval of the Biden administration.

here is an article about what your state actually counts & reports of these options

and most importantly, you will be participating in the political process for your local and state representatives which are also extremely meaningful. every inch helps. look at what Minnesota has accomplished since the last election. if enough people show up change can happen.

change is not meaningless just because it seems slow or small. all progress requires steps.

[naamahdarling]

They just don't want to hear it. They just don't. And it baffles me that so many will be among the first to be hit with the consequences of their own inaction.

"The system we have won't save me, save us!"

Yeah I know, me too, I'm a huge target. I'm being choked off right now, my existence is so constrained by the lack of support for and horrific restraints placed upon disabled people I have considered suicide more times than I can safely admit. My communities are struggling so hard. But the shit-tier life I may live for another 15 years or 20 years is way fucking better than the utter disaster if Trump gets reelected. I don't know how long I'll be able to last, then. It will be a whole hell of a lot worse. And I don't consider slinging everyone else under the bus by abstaining from doing the tiniest fucking thing to keep the worst from happening to be acceptable. This isn't the time.

"It's never the time! Everyone says that and does nothing!"

No, really. This. Isn't. The. Time.

There are meaningful things we can do WHILE doing damage control by voting in the god damn presidential election. If the wrong guy gets it, again, the emboldenment of the worst of society that we saw last time will look like a birthday party.

Biden isn't as bad. Hate all you want, but look me in the eye, look everyone scrabbling for survival, and tell me things would be the same under Trump. Tell me you want that for you. For us.

Or don't. I don't want to hear it. I'm too busy trying to figure out what to do if we reelect a fucking dictator, because no country I could survive in will take a disabled person.

[patovpran]

#Merry Christmas everyone

[variantoutcast]

Episode 1×09 is a really clear demonstration of Cassian’s character growth this season. Prior to the show, (as explained in 1x03) Cassian stole an Imperial starpath unit, an evidently expensive piece of equipment he was planning on selling to Luthen on a rainy day. When Luthen asks him how he got his hands on it, Cassian says,

“You just walk in like you belong […] They’re so proud of themselves, they don’t even care. They’re so fat and satisfied, they can’t imagine it. That someone like me would ever get inside their house, walk their floors, spit in their food, take their gear”

Cassian’s always understood the arrogance of the Empire, and how to weaponize it into a sense of invisibility, and he comfortably wields this for his own personal gain. Crucially, it’s his success, that indicates the power of the Empire, and causes his disillusionment with the idea of the Rebel Alliance. He believed that the Empire, so powerful that it is blind without consequence to somebody walking right in, stealing from them, and walking right back out, is untouchable in any real capacity.

During the Aldehani arc, Cassian engages with the Aldehani rebels in a sort of hopeless apathetic manner. He’s only participating in the heist because Luthen’s paying him. In a very real sense, he feels he doesn’t have much alternative. He wasn’t very liquid because Luthen never paid him for the Imperial starpath unit and he needed to get away from Ferrix until the imperials looking for him turned their attention elsewhere. When Nemik tries to rationalize the usefulness of rebel mercenaries with his idealistic viewpoint around the Rebellion in 1x06, Cassian says the following:

“The Empire doesn’t play by the rules. They don’t care enough to learn. They don’t have to. You mean nothing to them.”

It’s clear from the context of the scene, and Cassian’s reluctance to begin working with the Aldehani rebels, that he believes the Aldehani heist might be doable, but will not lead to any real success for the Rebellion. This is because he still believes the Rebellion will never be able to strike a decisive blow due to their insignificance compared to the power of the Empire.

But during the Narkina-5 arc, Cassian has truly lost everything. He was arrested, far from Ferrix and his family, under an assumed name and sentenced to 6 years on Narkina-5. But he becomes a much less passive character in spite of his circumstances. He understands that the insignificance of the Rebellion, or of himself, or of his fellow prisoners, is an advantage that can be used for more than just survival. That arrogance of a prison structure, or of an Imperial base, or of the Empire itself, can be a protective cover for more than just talking with your fellow inmates or stealing an Imperial starpath unit. So when Cassian says to Kino

“You think they’re listening? You think they care enough to make an effort? I know this. They don’t need to care […] Why bother listening to us? We are nothing to them.”

It’s no longer a hopeless speech about the pointlessness of action, it’s a call to arms that demonstrate his newfound belief in the possibility of something larger than himself

[stargabs]

Lots of people are talking about Maus on my dash, which is wonderful!

I'm Jewish and just read this story for the first time (I know, right?!). I don't know much about my own family's experiences with the holocaust because the grandparents I knew had all been able to leave their respective countries (Austria and Hungary) before the worst of it. Both sides of my family were extremely lucky. But, even so, not everyone made it out. I know that at least one relative on each side met their ends at Auschwitz.

And, to be fair, reading Maus gives me the impression that it was impossible to survive the Holocaust without being incredibly lucky, many times over. Seriously, please read it.

Like I said, I just ordered and read Maus for the first time. It's just as good as everyone says. But anyway, it came with a booklet with other related works and art pieces from the author/artist, Art Spiegelman. And among them... This.

A branch of the Spiegelman family tree 1939 on the left. And once more in 1945 on the right.

Eighty-six names on the left side. Sixteen names remaining on the right. And this doesn't include so many people from the story. Most of the relatives we see die in the book are from Art's mother's side of the family. More are friends and acquaintances with their own extended family trees.

Even with all the horrible stories and imagery detailed in the main two volumes, this is the image that's seared into my brain. The lost lives, the lost stories. Entire lines and generations wiped out. This is our recent history. No Jewish community has been left unaffected. Listen to and amplify Jewish voices when we speak, or write, or make art about this. Please.

[bi-dazai]

"maus is triggering just fyi!!" yeah that's the point??? lmfao?? "oh no the holocaust exists and it's triggering my anxiety" shut the fuck up

[puzzle-paradigm]

For real. I see people saying “oh Maus traumatized me.” not to be a dick, but GOOD. It should traumatize you. It should be upsetting. The Shoah shouldn’t be some sanitized thing that is comfortable and fun to read about.

Imagine, just for a moment, that you’ve grown up being told that the things that happened in Maus could happen to you at any time. Any. Time. From the time you could understand being told about the atrocities. This book is a sliver of the trauma that lives between Jewish generations. Then imagine it being taken away because it makes people sad.

I am so fucking sick of people using being upset or uncomfortable as an excuse to ignore and make excuses for hatred. Maus is, in my opinion, the best resource to educate people of pretty much all ages about the horrors of the Shoah. It’s format is accessible to everyone, even people who “don’t like to read” and will ignore other assigned reading. It doesn’t shy away from the truth of things, but it doesn’t romanticize. It talks about the “after”, what is happening now. It is a beautiful, terrible, painful book and banning it because it is “age inappropriate” is a tragedy. An absolute fucking shanda.

[modern-politics111]

I was going to include every tweet, but I realized fast it would be far too long. There are 55 tweets. Read them all here

[modern-politics111]

Wrote up a full list:

Government/Health Spending

1.9T American Rescue Plan

$1400 stimulus checks for adults, children, and adult dependants

1 year child tax credit expansion - $3600 0-5, $3000 6-17, removed income reqs and made fully refundable

One year EITC expansion

$350 billion state and local aid

$130 billion for schools for safe reopening

$40 billion for higher ed, half of which must go to student aid

Extended $300 supplemental UI through September 2021

Expanded eligibility for extended UI to cover new categories

Made $10,200 in UI from 2020 tax free

$1B for Head Start

$24B Childcare stabilization fund

$15B in low-income childcare grants

One Year Child and Dependent Care credit expansion

$46.5B in housing assistance, inc:

$21.5B rental assistance

$10B homeowner relief

$5B for Sec 8 vouchers

$5B to fight homelessness

$5B for utilities assistance

Extended Eviction moratorium through Aug 2021 (SC struck down)

2 year ACA tax credit expansion and ending of subsidy cliff – expanded coverage to millions and cut costs for millions more

100% COBRA subsidy through Sept 30th, 2021

6 month special enrollment period from Feb-Aug 2021

Required insurers to cover PrEP, an HIV prevention drug, including all clinical visits relating to it

Extended open enrollment from 45 to 76 days

New year round special enrollment period for low income enrollees

Restored Navigator program to assist with ACA sign up

Removed separate billing requirement for ACA abortion coverage

Eliminated regulation that allows states to privatize their exchanges

Eliminated all Medicaid work requirements

Permanently removed restriction on access to abortion pills by mail

Signed the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act to fund increased ALS research and expedite access to experimental treatments

Rescinded Mexico City Policy (global gag rule) which barred international non-profits from receiving US funding if they provided abortion counseling or referrals

Allowed states to extend coverage through Medicaid and CHIP to post-partum women for 1 year (up from 60 days)

Judicial

42 Lifetime Federal judges confirmed – most in 40 years

13 Circuit Court judges

29 District Court judges

Named first openly LBGTQ woman to sit on an appeals court, first Muslim American federal judge, and record number of black women and public defenders

Infrastructure

$1.2T infrastructure law, including $550B in new funding

$110B for roads and bridges

$66B for passenger and freight rail

$39B for public transit, plus $30.5B in public transit funds from ARP

$65B for grid expansion to build out grid for clean energy transmission

$50B for climate resiliency

$21 for environmental remediation, incl. superfund cleanup and capping orphan wells

$7.5B for electric buses

$7.5B for electric charging stations

$55B for water and wastewater, including lead pipe removal

$65B for Affordable Broadband

$25B for airports, plus $8B from ARP

$17B for ports and waterways

$1B in reconnecting communities

Environmental

Rejoined the Paris Climate Accords 50% emission reduction goal (2005 levels) by 2030

EO instructing all federal agencies to implement climate change prevention measures

Ordered 100% carbon free electricity federal procurement by 2030

100% zero emission light vehicle procurement by 2027, all vehicles by 2035

Net Zero federal building portfolio by 2045, 50% reduction by 2032

Net Zero federal procurement no later than 2050

Net zero emissions from federal operations by 2050, 65% reduction by 2030

Finalized rule slashing the use of hydrofluorocarbons by 85% by 2036 – will slow temp rise by 0.5°C on it’s own.

Set new fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, raising the requirement for 2026 from 43mpg to 55mpg.

Protected Tongass National Forest, one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, from development, mining, and logging

Revoked Keystone XL permit

Used the CRA to reverse the Trump administration Methane rule, restoring stronger Obama era standards.

EPA proposed new methane rule stricter than Obama rule, would reduce 41 million tons of methane emissions by 2035

Partnered with the EU to create the Global Methane Pledge, which over 100 countries have signed, to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels

US-EU trade deal to reward clean steel and aluminum and penalize dirty production

Ended US funding for new coal and fossil fuel projects overseas, and prioritized funding towards clean energy projects

G7 partnership for “Build Back Better World” – to fund $100s of billions in climate friendly infrastructure in developing countries

Restoring California’s ability to set stricter climate requirements

Signed EO on Climate Related Financial Risk that instructs rule making agencies to take climate change related risk into consideration when writing rules and regulations.

$100M for environmental justice initiatives

$1.1B for Everglades restoration

$100M for environmental justice initiatives

$1.1B for Everglades restoration

30 GW Offshore Wind Plan, incl:

Largest ever offshore wind lease sale in NY and NJ

Offshore wind lease sale in California

Expedited reviews of Offshore Wind Projects

$3B in DOE loans for offshore wind projects

$230M in port infrastructure for Offshore wind

Solar plan to reduce cost of solar by more than 50% by 2030 including $128M in funding to lower costs and improve performance of solar technology

Multi-agency partnership to expedite clean energy projects on federal land

Instructed Dept of Energy to strengthen appliance efficiency rules

Finalized rule to prevent cheating on efficiency standards

Finalized rule to expedite appliance efficiency standards

Repealed Federal Architecture EO that made sustainable federal buildings harder to build

Reversed size cuts and restored protections to Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments

Restoring NEPA regulations to take into account climate change and environmental impacts in federal permitting

Extended public health emergency through at least April 15, 2022

Covid & Health

$50B in funding for FEMA for COVID Disaster Relief including vaccine funding

Set 100% FEMA reimbursement to states for COVID costs, retroactively to start of pandemic

$47.8B for testing

$1.75B for COVID genome sequencing

$8.5B to CDC for vaccines

$7.6B to state and local health depts

$7.6B to community health centers

$6B to Indian Health Services

$17B to the VA, including $1B to forgive veteran medical debt

$3B to address mental health and substance abuse

Over 500 million vaccine shots administered in a year

Established 90,000 free vaccination sites

Raised federal reimbursement from $23 to $40 per shot for vaccine sites

6000 troops deployed for initial vaccination

Cash incentives, free rides, and free childcare for initial vaccination drive

400 million vaccines donated internationally, 1.2 billion committed

$2B contribution to COVAX for global vaccinations

Funded expansion of vaccine manufacturing in India and South Africa

Implemented vaccine mandate for federal employees, contractors, and employees at healthcare providers that receive Medicare/Medicaid funding.

Implemented vaccine/test mandate for large businesses (SC struck down)

Invoked DPA for testing, vaccine, PPE manufacturing

Federal mask mandate for federal buildings, federal employees, and public transportation

Implemented test requirement for international travel

Implemented joint FDA-NIH expedited process to approve at home tests more quickly

Over 20,000 free federal testing sites

8 at home tests per month required to be reimbursed by insurance

1B at home tests available for free by mail

50M at home tests available free at community health centers

25M high quality reusable masks for low-income residents in early 2021

400M free N95 masks at pharmacies and health centers

Military medical teams deployed to help overburdened hospitals

Rejoined the WHO

Civil Rights

Ended the ban on trans soldiers in the military

Reversed Trump admin limits on Bostock ruling and fully enforced it

Prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ patients in healthcare

Prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ families in housing under the Fair Housing Act

Prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ people in the financial system to access loans or credit

Justice Department declared that Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education.

Revoked ban on Federal Diversity Training

Instructed the VA to review its policies to remove barriers to care for trans veterans

First Senate confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet Secretary

First trans person confirmed by the Senate

Extended birthright citizenship to children of same sex couples born abroad

State Department allows X gender marker on passport for non-binary Americans

Banned new contracts with private prisons for criminal prisons

Justice Department reestablished the use of consent degrees with police departments

Pattern and Practice investigation into Phoenix, Louisville, and Minneapolis

Banned chokeholds and limited no-knock raids among federal law enforcement

Initiative to ban modern day redlining

Doubled DOJ Civil Rights Division staff

Increase percentage of federal contract for small disadvantaged businesses from 5% to 15% ($100B in additional contracts over 5 years)

Sued TX and GA over voting laws. Sued TX over abortion law. Sued GA over prison abuse.

Signed law making Juneteenth a federal holiday

Signed EO to use the federal government to improve voting access through federal programs and departments.

Signed COVID-19 Hate Crime Act, which made more resources available to support the reporting of hate crimes

Signed EO for diversity in the federal workplace

Increased federal employment opportunities for previously incarcerated persons

Public Security

Banned ghost guns

New regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces

First annual gun trafficking report in 20 years

New zero tolerance policy for gun dealers who wilfully violate the law

Signed COPS act, ensuring confidentiality for peer counselling for police officers

Signed Protecting America’s First Responders Act, expediting benefits for officers disabled in the line of duty

Signed bill making it a crime to harm US law enforcement overseas

Student Loans

Student loan freeze through April 30th, 2022

Changed criteria so an additional 1.14M borrowers qualified for the loan pause (retroactively forgave interest and penalties)

Forgiven $11.5B in student loans for disabled students, students who were defrauded, and PSLF

Fixed PSLF so that it is much easier for previous payments to apply. Determined that the paused months will apply to PSLF

Student loan debt forgiveness is tax free through 2025

Immigration 

Ended Border Wall emergency and cancelled all new border wall construction and contracts

Repealed Trump’s Muslim Ban

Set FY 2022 refugee cap to 125,000, the highest in almost 30 years

Prohibiting ICE from conducting workplace raids

Family reunification taskforce to reunite separated families. Reunited over 100+ families and gave them status to stay in US

Granted or extended TPS for Haitians, Venezuelans, Syrians, and Liberians

Lifted moratorium on green cards and immigrant visas

Ended use of public charge rule to deny green cards

Loosened the criteria to qualify for asylum

Changed ICE enforcement priorities

Re-initiated the CAM Refugee program for Northern Triangle minors to apply for asylum from their home countries

$1B+ in public aid and private investment for addressing the root causes of migration

Ended family detention of immigrants and moved towards other monitoring

HHS prohibited working with ICE on enforcement for sponsors of unaccompanied minors

Got rid of harder citizenship test

Allowed certain visas to be obtained without an in person consulate interview

Rescinded “metering” policy that limited migrants at ports of entry

Foreign Relations

Ended the War in Afghanistan

First time in 20 years US not involved in a war

Ended support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen

Airstrikes down 54% in 2021 from 2020.

Issued policy restricting drone strikes outside of warzones

Restored $235M in aid to Palestinians

AUKUS defense pact with Australia and UK

New rules to counter extremism within the military

Signed law funding capitol police and Afghan Refugees

EO on competitiveness to write consumer friendly rules, such as right to repair

EO on improving government experience, incl

Social Security benefits will be able to be claimed online

Passports can be renewed online

General 

Makes it easier for low-income families to apply for benefits

Increase telehealth options

WIC recipients can use benefits online

$7.25B in additional PPP funds

Signed PPP extension law to extend the program for 2 months

Changed criteria to make it easier for small and minority businesses to qualify for PPP loans

$29B Restaurant Recovery Fund to recover lost revenue

$1.25B Shuttered Venue fund

$10.4B for agriculture

30 year bailout of multi-employer pension funds that protects millions of pensions through 2051.

Pro-labor majority appointed to NLRB

Established task force to promote unionization

Restored collective bargaining right for federal employees

Negotiated deal for West Coast Ports to run 24/7 to ease supply chain

Signed EO to secure and strengthen supply chains

Investing $1B in small food processors to combat meat prices

Extended 15% SNAP benefit increase through Sept 30, 2021

Made 12 million previously ineligible beneficiaries eligible for the increase

Public health emergency helps keep benefits in place

Largest permanent increase in SNAP benefit history, raising permanent benefits by 27% ($20B per year)

Made school lunches free through for all through the 2021-2022 school year

Extended the Pandemic EBT program

Largest ever summer food program in 2021 provided 34 million students with $375 for meals over the summer.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

this is what I mean when I say “vote for the guy who will cave to your demands.” obviously this isn’t even remotely close to everything on my personal political wishlist, but I’d rather have this than someone actively working against my interests.

[everyonehasamnesia]

As someone recently diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, one thing that’s been helping me grapple with the intense shame I have over all my “wasted potential” is accepting that potential doesn’t exist and never did.

This sounds so harsh, but please bare with me.

I procrastinated a lot growing up. I still procrastinate today, but less so. And yet, I got good grades. I could write an A+ paper that “knocked [my professor]’s socks off” in the hour before class and print it with sweat running down my face.

I was so used to hearing from teachers and family that if I just didn’t procrastinate and worked all the time, I could do anything! I had all this potential I wasn’t living up to!

And that’s true, as far as it goes, but that’s like saying if Usain Bolt just kept going he could be the fastest marathon runner in the world. Why does he stop at the end of the race??

If ANYONE could make their top speed/most productive setting the one they used all the time, anyone could do anything. But you can’t. Your top speed is not a speed you’re able to sustain.

Now, I’ve found that I do need to work on not procrastinating. Not because the product is better, even, but because it’s better for my mental health and physical health to not have a full, sweating, panicked breakdown over every task even if the task itself turns out excellently. It’s a shitty way to live! You feel bad ALL the time! And I don’t deserve to live like that anymore.

So all of this to say, I’m not wasting a ton of potential. I don’t have an ocean of productivity and accomplishments inside of me that I could easily, effortlessly access if I just sat down 8 hours a day and worked. There’s no fucking way. That’s not real. It’s an illusion. It’s fine not to live up to an illusion.

And if you have ADHD, I mean this from the bottom of my heart: you do not have limitless potential confounded by your laziness. You have the good potential of a good person, and you can access it with practice and work, but do not accept the story that you are choosing not to be all that you are or can be. You are just a human person.

[jonbutter]

reblog this to have a Happy Wildcat New Year™

[jonbutter]

not enough people reblogged this last year we gotta really try this time to have a Happy Wildcat New Year™

[georgeharrisonsharekrishna-deac]

Yes, because the other guy tried to overturn our democracy. Get a fucking grip.

[carsonjonesfiance]

Also worth mentioning that he's not like just saying this. Its been a year and every attempt at a federal policy has been blocked by Republican judges. There is no federal solution left, thanks in part to Trump's appointees and their vendetta and the active attempt by Republicans to prolong the pandemic and run on the fact that it hasn't ended yet.

[princeescaluswords]

To everyone who wants Biden just to ignore federal law and the way our government is set up: do you want tyranny? Because that's how you get tyranny.

The U.S. president has a lot of power, but he can't nullify court decisions and he can't ignore congress, and we don't want the office to be able to do so.

[britttaperryhasmoved-deactivate]

[aurevoir-mes-amis-deactivated20]

YOU GUYS IT’S DECEMBER 10TH YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS HAS BEEN IN MY QUEUE SINCE FEBRUARY

[donttwalkaway-deactivated201302]

you have the rest of the day to reblog this