When someone asks me how I'm doing, I don't usually have an answer. After some thinking, I finally understand where I'm at.
Everyone around me continues to grow, to learn, to live. It's all at different rates, but there's progress.
Then there's me.
After losing my job, I set out to make use of my free time to figure out what my issues are - physically and mentally.
Despite my best efforts, I got nowhere.
I still hurt. I'm still tired. I have gastrointestinal issues. And that's just the physical stuff.
I know I'm unnaturally withdrawn. I can't tell when someone's joking. I can't express my feelings because I don't understand them, or even detect them as they're happening. I only notice them after I've had time to process.
Everywhere I've reached for help, I've been turned away at the gate.
I can't grow unless I know what to fix and how to fix it.
As a result, everyone emerges from their chrysalis, while I remain trapped in mine.
I pay no mind to the race of progress, but it's hard not to notice when others outgrow me. When I don't serve their needs anymore or when I hold them back.
Friends and loved ones drift away to places I can't follow.
Meanwhile, I stagnate in my pod, where I'll likely remain until it rots.
It's a painful truth. There's a lot to take in and much more to mourn. My hands alone can only reach so far.
I don't stay because I like it, or because it's comfortable.
I stay because I have to.
Something is wrong and no one who is qualified will help.
So I remain in my chrysalis while the other butterflies migrate.
The fact that yoshida is one of the only adults in the p5 series to actually give joker room to express himself and be more than what they want/need him to be instantly makes him one of my favourite social links. which is why it's so sad he's never present in fandom works
And what makes this worse is JOKER HAS NO OPTION TO ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT IT.... this poor boy doesn't even consider the possibility that someone actually cares to hear about His problems :(
Kaveh going to find alhaitham at the end of the day when preparations are complete means a lot to me, like wdym he's nervous so he goes and seeks alhaitham, someone who he just said he would never sort out his issues with?? even worse that he wants to check in on alhaitham and make sure that alhaitham isn't nervous too
The very telling silence as alhaitham clocks that kaveh is exhausted and kaveh correctly interprets that, this time around in comparison to the gag in previous events, alhaitham not answering him is valid since his question was arbitrary
The care and reciprocity of this interaction speaks volumes as to where they stand in their relationship, even though kaveh asserts that there is no way for them to resolve their issues, and they haven’t come close to doing so like what tighnari believed, the back and forth of alhaitham noting kaveh’s exhaustion and offering kaveh support, that once you clock out, there’s no looking back since you can’t do anything more, and your worries should be left behind, and then kaveh offering alhaitham water and proposing to cook for them, even as means of a distraction, is still so telling
When kaveh is stressed, he goes and seeks out alhaitham – the complete opposite of in alhaitham’s story quest where kaveh left multiple times during a conversation because he couldn’t take talking to alhaitham anymore. So you HAVEN’T sorted anything out kaveh?? really??
Alhaitham identifying that kaveh is nervous and kaveh confiding that, yes, he is, but alhaitham doesn’t seem to be. we go back to alhaitham’s perspective, that there’s nothing more they can do, any worrying further will only cause unnecessary trouble for yourself – directly addressing kaveh’s current concerns, giving kaveh the comfort he needs to hear
(Also ‘I don’t worry about things I cannot influence’ okay, I’m looking at you a parade of providence alhaitham, running around looking into Sachin to give kaveh some kind of closure)
them talking about the first archon quest amicably for once, and kaveh's conclusion that they're stronger!! and then immediately pivoting to how alhaitham asked him where he was the last time, like, we get it, you're stronger TOGETHER
The second time this specific line has been mentioned since earlier in the quest. The arc has fulfilled itself because this time kaveh IS here, we’ve come full circle, and now a new path opens (thank you king of invokations) <3
Also !??!?! this acknowledgement of the discrepancies in their communication is crazy because alhaitham points out rightfully that kaveh initiates their arguments, arguments which kaveh takes to heart! but then kaveh pointing out that he didn’t intend on causing an argument and that he came for a conversation emphasises that their perceptions of their interactions negatively impact their communication – kaveh believes alhaitham to have interrogated him, causing the argument, but alhaitham holds that it was kaveh who came to him looking to start an argument
Man I just think this acknowledgement is really important in contextualising their current relationship, would this have been able to happen earlier when they were constantly at odds and kaveh was more lenient in taking everything alhaitham said as a slight? I don’t think so personally
‘it’s good having me around to help out, huh?’ oh my god I love him, I love how his self-doubt has been completely eradicated, like earlier he was doubting his ability to be able to pull such a colossal feat off, but all alhaitham had to do was say ‘at least you’re here now (so you don’t have to nag me for details)’ and kaveh’s doubt disappeared LIKE MAGIC (IM NEVER GETTING OVER THIS BTW!!!)
And kaveh wanting alhaitham’s opinion on his contributions, and alhaitham OFCCC saying that they're the better off for it! jeez i wonder if that's why he was 'interrogating' you the last time,,,, also alhaitham taking the objective lens ‘as a citizen of sumeru’ to give a sincere compliment, lmao it’s so in character for him, it reminds me of how kaveh tries to compliment alhaitham but can only do it passive-aggressively
Them having a conversation at the end of the world surrounded by a sky of stars just the two of them, what in the apocalypse au is this??? I can’t believe this is real
Also I love how kaveh speaks so freely around alhaitham; like after using king deshret’s ipad, he expressed his thoughts about it to alhaitham, how it was blurring the lines between reality and a dream, to which alhaitham agreed, saying it was a novel experience, and kaveh goes ‘what is my spirit leaves my body’ and alhaitham grounds him by going ‘that won’t happen’ – I’m reminded of how kaveh was freaking out about mehrak gaining sentience and leaving him in nahida’s bday quest, and how alhaitham just went along with it. these small, earnest exchanges now really are a testimony to how their relationship has evolved over time!
When I tell you I GASPED!!! It’s been YEARS (or however long in canon idk anymore) and kaveh is still thinking about the note alhaitham wrote him in a parade of providence, “lofty ideals may provide no defense at all against nihilism, but perhaps little decisions can. By their own choice, the idealist seeks to bring happiness to all, while denying themselves the same. Thus they shall never reach even the borders of truth until they wipe away the ignorance that blinds them." And now he finally connected the dots..??? AND THE SUN STARTS TO RISE AS HE DOES SO??? SHUT
Alhaitham saying that awful things are a part of life and that sometimes they can't be stopped and other times they can, and that he and kaveh have done the best they can without detriment to themselves correlates to kaveh's self-sacrificial thinking and how he feels he has to invest himself into every situation regardless of how it plays out for him should something worse happen down the line, so kaveh linking this to alhaitham's note conveying that self-sacrificing ideals may not actually be feasible when it’s at the bane of the person holding them; instead of risking your life, doing your part can be enough to impede disaster, is like kaveh recognising the merit of this, a logic he once thought disturbing?
Also the concluding line referring to sacrificing yourself to achieve happiness for others is contradictory to this principal in the happiness for all, like um, yes kaveh please make the connection that happiness is what alhaitham wants for you!!!
Kaveh not wanting to talk about it now is and then changing the topic to the prospect of there being a future is !!! the sky lightening into morning can be indicative of there being a future in which they can discuss these things further NOOOOOO
kaveh admitting that alhaitham acts more like an upperclassman than him?? idk if this would’ve been possible for kaveh to admit in a parade of providence, it’s another kind of honest admission that might’ve been stifled by his pride, and then alhaitham’s retort about the difference in their temparement, he’s not wrong lmaoooo
I love this light-hearted exchange at the end when we transition into morning, some things never change, and honestly that’s fine, isn’t it? their dynamic is bickering over their respective differences but learning to accept and respect them regardless
Kobayashi (Jiro's VA): [Report] I've managed to get my hands on them.
The manga panels on the background are all from scenes that I have deep emotional attachment to一it feels like my own life is flashing before my eyes*...
Remembering the numerous, "Okay. Got it," I have said and all those battle scenes makes my heart races like crazy so I'm trying so hard to keep it under control.
Of course Yuri have wormed his way into my place too. Compared to Jiro, he really has a lot of speech bubbles, huh...
*走馬灯 (soumatou) means "revolving lantern" but it's also an idiomatic expression of seeing your whole life flashing before your eyes (usually before death or when you experience something so close to death).
Yuri, so proud to be a doctor who sticks to his own ideals, even if no one else understands his genius. And his jiro. The person he "remade". He is still so proud of that achievement
Jiro. Getting a second chance to live. And spending it with the one who awoke him, loving him above all else
Between what's happening in my country, and now even multiple fandoms...
I understand having discourse. I understand having disagreements.
But when you let that hate of people/a character/a ship/a certain group/ race/whatever consume your life.
And before you comment "first time here lol"
No. It's not.
This sort of thing has been around forever and isn't going away.
But when we start fucking policing each other on what is or isn't "okay" in a fandom space or bash other people for X,Y,Z...
Seriously?
Life's too fucking short for petty shit - especially when people are literally disappearing off the fucking streets and our shifty healthcare is being gutted.
Don't like it? Don't interact! It's that simple.
I recognize that people may see this as hypocritical but I don't fucking care. I'm just trying to have fun in fandom spaces with people that share a common interest.
There's no one group or individual guilty party here. I see it far too often and it's becoming a norm. Just get out of everyone's fucking business and scroll past if you don't like what you see.
No one is being assaulted, beaten, r**ed, m**red by someone writing something. It's fiction.
Don't like how someone is treating you? Block them and move on.
And no, policing fandoms and "warning people about problematic people/discourse" will not "save" anyone. Adults are allowed to make their own choices and mistakes.
I'm just tired. So fucking tired.
If y'all need me, I'll be writing my fics and RPing in Discord.
This is the last I'll say on the matter. Comment if you want, but I won't reply.
Today I learned that Van Halen have that rider in their contract about “a bowl of M&Ms with all the brown ones removed” in order to know at a glance if the promoter read the entire contract. And the reason they do THAT is because they once had a stage collapse because a promoter hadn’t read the proper way to set up all the specific technical stuff.
So if the band goes in the dressing room or catering and sees brown M&Ms, they know they have to double-check the stage setup for safety.
I heard about this on Freakonomics Radio. Turns out the bit about no brown M&Ms is HUGE, in BIG font, bold, underlined and quotated like they’re on the Group W Bench.
The band was all, “We have fifty-pound lights hanging over our heads and fire being shot out of cannons. We had to know whether they read our safety regs so we didn’t flamebroil any roadies.”
interesting how this has become a meme in the music industry about divas. i’ve always heard jokes that amount to “this stuck up celebrity hates the green gummy bears!! they’re refusing to perform just for that???” and its reading stuff like this that i realise how that joke might have come about. people get grumpy that the band refuses to play but cant admit its because THEY’RE incompetent, so they make it all about the M&Ms. another example of artists using a creative method to ensure they have a perfectly reasonable request fulfilled that is then bastardised by lazy people who wanna make money off them.
We all know the McDonald's hot coffee case about the lady who got rich suing the fast food chain for her coffee being too hot. Here's the tr
Also some quotes from the article.
“February 27, 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck ordered a 49-cent cup of coffee from the drive-through window of a local McDonald’s restaurant.”
“Liebeck placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap. Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin.”
“Liebeck originally asked McDonalds for $20,000, the cost of her medical bills. McDonalds offered her $800, at which point Liebeck retained an attorney. During the discovery process, her lawyers found that not only was McDonalds coffee made to be about 50 degrees hotter than other chain-restaurant coffee, but that they had recorded more than 700 similar claims in the last 10 years (1982-1992).”
“A similar case arose in 2023, when 85-year-old Mable Childress sued a San Francisco McDonalds after suffering severe burns from their coffee.”
before i start seeing those "july is pride pt 2" or "july is queer wrath month" posts circulate since june is almost over, i just wanna remind everyone that july is actually disability pride month and to please let disabled people have the spotlight for our month, thank you
Elizabeth MacDonough doesn’t give fiery speeches on the Senate floor. She doesn’t pound podiums, tweet clapbacks, or beg for airtime on cable news. Most people couldn’t pick her out of a photo lineup. But this week, she did more to derail Donald Trump’s legislative fever dream than any Democrat in Congress. With nothing but a binder, a brain, and a spine forged from 230 years of procedural precedent, she calmly gutted the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — and sent the Republican Party into a frothing, incandescent rage.
Here’s the part that should terrify the GOP: she’s not even elected. She’s the Senate Parliamentarian, the nonpartisan referee responsible for interpreting the arcane rulebook that governs the world’s most dysfunctional deliberative body. She doesn’t write laws. She doesn’t vote. She doesn’t grandstand. Her job is simple: enforce the rules, no matter who’s in charge. And when Republicans tried to use reconciliation — a fast-track process meant for tweaking budgets — to shove through a far-right wishlist of land seizures, healthcare rollbacks, and anti-trans cruelty, she read the fine print and dropped the hammer.
The “Big, Beautiful Bill” was supposed to be Trump’s magnum opus: a tax-slashing, Medicaid-burning, land-devouring beast of a bill that would reshape America in his image. It included everything from selling off millions of acres of federal public land to states and private developers, to gutting Medicaid for low-income families, immigrants, and trans people, to defunding Planned Parenthood and hacking away at environmental protections like they were weeds in a billionaire’s backyard. It was grotesque. It was rushed. And it was entirely dependent on sliding past Senate rules without a fight.
Elizabeth MacDonough was the fight. She reviewed the bill’s contents and ruled — piece by piece — that major provisions violated the Byrd Rule, which bars unrelated ideological junk from hitching a ride on budget bills. The land sell-off? Not budgetary. Out. The Medicaid provider tax cap? Out. The bans on gender-affirming care, immigrant coverage, and ACA subsidies? Out. The GOP was left holding a gutted husk, their legislative trophy reduced to a few tax cuts and a pile of redacted dreams.
This wasn’t sabotage. This was MacDonough doing her job — the job she’s held since 2012, appointed under a Democratic majority, and respected by both parties until it became inconvenient. She is the Senate’s quiet guardian of process, a civil servant who doesn’t answer to polls, Super PACs, or social media mobs. Her loyalty is to the rules — even as the people around her treat those rules like a hotel minibar. She doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t yield. She simply reads the law and applies it, with the precision of a scalpel and the force of a freight train.
And oh, how the GOP hates her for it.
Mike Lee, who tried to shove his public lands fire sale into the bill like it was a foreclosure listing, is already scrambling to rewrite the language and sneak it back in. Trump, fuming from whatever taxpayer-funded golf course he’s currently defiling, is screaming about “deep state rule tyrants.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune is getting asked uncomfortable questions about whether it’s time to “review” the Parliamentarian’s role — a polite way of saying, “Can we fire her for being smarter than us?”
Because that’s the rub. They didn’t lose because the Democrats outmaneuvered them. They didn’t lose because of public pressure or media backlash. They lost because a woman they barely understand said, quite plainly, “You can’t do that.” And when they asked why, she handed them the rulebook. And when they tried to argue, she pointed to precedent. And when they blustered, she didn’t even blink.
Elizabeth MacDonough has no political agenda. That’s what makes her so dangerous to people who do. She exists outside their theater. She answers to no party. And yet, she is currently one of the most powerful people in Washington — not because she makes the laws, but because she refuses to let anyone break them.
So no, she didn’t kill the Big, Beautiful Bill. The GOP killed it themselves — by trying to use budget procedure as a battering ram for authoritarian fantasy. MacDonough simply told the truth. And in 2025, that might be the most radical thing anyone in government can do.
Let the Republicans rant. Let them plot her removal. Let them rewrite their monstrosities and try again. But remember this: when the bulldozers were revving, when the Medicaid cuts were inked, and when Trump’s wrecking ball of a bill was barreling toward the American people — it wasn’t a senator who stopped it. It wasn’t a protest. It was a woman with a binder and a backbone.
You can also TEXT "START" to 678-678 or go to their website! There are 700+ of you following me. You don't need to be from the US to reblog this. Reblog.
Since there’s that huge heat wave that’s about to fuck up like 3/4 of the US, I’d like to stand on my soapbox for a second. I’m not a doctor, I’ve just lived somewhere with summer temps over 110 for most of my life.
Obviously, the best thing to do during a heat wave is STAY INDOORS. Of course, that’s not always possible.
Get a couple washcloths, or rags, or old shirts you don’t care about. Get them nice and damp. If you wanna get fancy with it, throw some essential oils on them. Who cares. The important thing is that they are WET. Next step, fold them into rectangles (so they hold the coldness longer!) and put them in their own zippy bag or an old grocery bag or whatever. Doesn’t matter, just don’t let them freeze in a clump. ANY TIME YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE, GRAB A FROZEN RAG. Drape it on the back of your neck. Dab yourself like a fancy Victorian lady. Do whatever helps. One of my friends keeps them in her bra. Whatever works!
Windows. They let heat in. Blackout curtains help a lot, but they’re not magic. Get a nice thick blanket (not a comforter, too heavy) or fold up some sheets. Pin or nail your blanket/sheets above your window like dorm curtains. Block that heat OUT!
HYDRATE. Everyone says it because it’s TRUE. Dehydration sucks. Heat stroke sucks more. Learn the symptoms and what to do if it happens to you or someone else. On that note…
Replenish those electrolytes! It’s gonna be hot. You’re gonna sweat a LOT. If you’re chugging water and not replenishing your electrolytes, you can actually have a heart attack. Even if you don’t have a heart attack, you can still faint (medical emergency, especially in the heat!) or best case scenario, feel like garbage. Pedialyte is nasty but it works. Sports drinks, sure whatever. Those little pouches of powder that you add? Whatever you like. If you don’t have any of those, eat something salty while you drink your water.
y’all remind yourselves your account is your space. you’re not a performance. you’re not annoying by being yourself. if people aren’t into it they can leave. you’re not obligated to please anyone, especially at the cost of your personal expression. the worst thing you can do for your online enjoyment is to filter or censor yourself.
