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tamsong · 8 months

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the homestuck quadrant system & relationships in KotLC

i am fully aware no one asked for this. WAIT that’s a lie three of you asked for this. @orionhong @the-way-astray @soryasongsaa this post is for you <3 it’s been simmering in my drafts since november and i finally had an excuse to finish, and i hope u guys find it interesting!

so. what exactly is the quadrant system, you may ask? and why is it relevant to kotlc? well, we’ll start with the webcomic homestuck. (oh boy) this comic features an alien species called trolls (based off internet trolls) that have some very fun cultural distinctions, such as a caste system based on blood color and the quadrant system, which is a fun variation of romance that i think could be very fun if we applied it to elves, which don’t have enough cultural differences in my opinion.

homestuck trolls have four type of romance as opposed to one and each has its own specific purpose. 2 of them are necessary for reproduction, and 2 of them are necessary for peace and harmony in society. it’s considered desirable to partake in all four kinds of romance, and there are certain rules around this that i’ll get to later. while KOTLC elves only use the one traditional form of romance, it’s considered desirable to be in a socially-acceptable relationship, an approved match, to help grow the elven species, and have a similar sense of Regulation around romance. telepaths also have cognatedom, a special kind of relationship that adds potential for romantic drama into the mix.

i thought it would be interesting if in an alternate universe, the elves recognized more than one form of romance to distinguish their society even more from that of humans. it’s also just fun to ship characters but with extra nuance and spice. so without further ado, let me explain the four quadrants and speculate which relationships in KOTLC, both canon and otherwise, would be in which quadrant! enjoy this silly little time with me

so!! there are two categories: red romance and black romance. red is associated with positive feelings and black with negative, although it’s a bit more nuanced than that. they’re also divided into Concupiscent (associated but not exclusively linked with sexual attraction and reproduction) and Conciliatory (not associated with reproduction). each of the quadrants is assigned one of the four suits in a deck of cards, hence red and black. here's a convenient chart:

a relationship might not just fall into one quadrant, too. relationships are only meant to use one label at a time (more on this later) but often shift across quadrants or be called one quadrant but have some traits of another.

below, i’ve written descriptions of each romance type and also given suggestions for KOTLC ships that would fall into these categories. feel free to fight with me on my choices if you like.

FLUSHED QUADRANT: MATESPRITSHIP/HEARTS <3 (red, concupiscent)

this quadrant is most similar to regular human romance, and already features in kotlc. there's not a whole lot much more to say here, so let's get into examples.

a good canonical example of this in KOTLC is edaline and grady ruewen being matesprits (the name for this kind of partner). an example of flushed feelings that were mutual but never became a relationship is kenric and oralie. sophie and fitz also had flushed feelings for each other canonically, as do sophie and keefe right now, but i would say in both cases the feelings aren't purely <3. i'll talk more about that soon, though.

other noncanon relationships i would describe as matesprits/flushed crushes are tiergan/prentice and marella/linh.

PALE QUADRANT: MOIRALLEGIANCE/DIAMONDS <> (red, concilliatory)

moirails could be best described in our terms as platonic soulmates/queerplatonic partners. that being said, while it doesn't involve kissing or sexual attraction, it IS a type of romance and is distinct from an average friendship. moirallegiance is actually WILDLY similar to the concept of Cognatedom in KOTLC, which is what inspired this behemoth of a post in the first place.

(furthermore, this is why posts implying that cognates are always romantic rub me the wrong way. there are plenty of forms of closeness that aren't traditional romance/flushed).

like cognates, moirails aren't just soul besties, but they're balancing forces that complement each other and keep each other grounded. these relationships hinge on sharing feelings, mutual acceptance, giving advice, and bringing the other person down to earth.

this makes alden and quinlin a good canonical example of ex-moirails. a non-cognate relationship in KOTLC that resembles moirallegiance is that between keefe and dex: they have similar personalities, share secrets, and are able to help each other even when their other relationships are on the rocks.

while sophie and fitz obviously had flushed feelings for each other, their cognate relationship most closely resembles a moirallegiance. they're a pretty good representation of quadrant vacillation, going from close friends and cognates to dating to back to close friends (although their friendship is still recovering from that).

also, while sophie and keefe have flushed feelings for each other, they would actually make really good moirails. they repeatedly have "feelings jams" where they share their worries and trauma with each other (not to say that matesprits can't do this, it's just specifically associated with moirallegiance) like the sleepover scene in neverseen. they're able to see who each other are under their own individual masks, and have well-complementing personalities that bring each other back down to earth. sophie is impulsive but good at connecting with others while keefe thinks things through but makes decisions without consulting other people.

PITCH QUADRANT: KISMESISSITUDE/SPADES <3< (black, concupiscent)

this is where we start to get a bit confusing. pitch relationships are based on hatred, frustration, and annoyance, but just like moirallegiance isn't just an average friendship, kismesissitude isn't your average hatred. there is also an element of attraction and in homestuck is one of the two reproduction-based quadrants.

a kismesis, one's pitch partner, must be someone that not only annoys and angers you but also indirectly challenges you to grow and recognize your own flaws. a kismesis is someone you hate, but grudgingly respect, but also find attractive. basically, it's a very strong arch-rivalry. and while a kismesis is intrinsically hate-based, they’re supposed to cause more or less equal trouble for each other and not actually wish to kill or permanently disable the other. if one or both wants this, or there is a power dynamic where one is harming the other much more, then it’s not a healthy kismesis.

obviously, these feelings aren't really recognized in human or canonical elf society, but if they were i think keefe and tam would make a good kismesis pair. they have outwardly clashing personalities and abilities, but are actually very similar people with a lot of chemistry who just present in different ways. they are at odds for most of their interactions but do show trust and care.

some even better kismesis pairs could be sophie/stina, marella/stina, or even dex/stina. tbh this is just telling me that stina is really good as kismesissitude. home girl just loves hatred i guess. maruca/biana is also a plausible one. you could even do vespera/fintan. go crazy lol

a good example of unrequited pitch feelings is dex’s hate obsession with fitz in the first couple books. in recent material, keefe/fitz could be on their way to a pitch relationship after spending most of their lives in an either pale or platonic situation, but i digress.

ASHEN QUADRANT: AUSPITICISM/CLUBS c3< (black, conciliatory)

this is definitely the weirdest one and is the least defined within the text of homestuck itself, but it means we can also have some fun with it. in homestuck, the ashen quadrant is mostly used for the purpose of mediating two opposing people so they don’t fall into the pitch quadrant. it’s a weird three-way situation involving the conflicting pair and the auspistice, who would be the one having ashen feelings. these feelings might be expressed through an attitude of “god these two are idiots but they’re My idiots damn it and i need to make sure they don’t cause problems.”

two important things to note here: 1) you are only meant to have one person in each of your four quadrants at any given time. 2) while you can shift quadrants, your relationship with someone is only meant to have one of these labels at a time. homestuck trolls are very aggressive and develop feelings of dislike quite easily, so auspistices are needed to prevent people from cheating / getting into romantic fights with people who aren’t their kismesis. while elves aren’t as aggressive, this still could be a problem. for example, if tam and keefe were an established kismesis pair, but keefe and fitz started fighting in a way that could turn into hatred, sophie might be called to be an auspistice for them and make sure their fighting doesn’t turn pitch (in which case keefe would be cheating).

assuming keefe and sophie are matesprits, this also poses a problem for their relationship since sophie is acting as keefe’s auspistice and not his matesprit. It’s a lot.

auspisticism can also be a generalized way of describing relationship mediation. sophie, fitz, and keefe probably need some auspisticizing for all the quadrant shifting they’re doing.

this kind of feeling may be hard to recognize as romantic because of all the utilitarianism surrounding it. think of it as being a very dedicated therapist friend, or part of a very stressful polycule. it requires a Hell of a lot of devotion for two people for their friend to get involved in all that conflict, a devotion which can very much be romantic. I imagine sophie having a high capacity/desire to be an auspistice, as would biana.

that’s the main chunk of the explanation, and there’s a lot to play with here. beyond what i described, you can also get things like two people rapid-firing between flushed and pitch and back to flushed, to people who have feelings for each other but not the same kind, to messy groups of 3, 4, or even more people where relationship types are constantly shifting. conflict in one quadrant can also impact your relationships with all other partners. for example, when alden and quinlin’s cognatedom/moirallegiance fell apart, it could have put stress on quinlin’s matespritship with livvy to the point where the flushed feelings between them are either gone or turned into unhealthy kismesissitude depending on how you look at it.

still confused? that’s okay, you’re kind of meant to be. andrew hussie is a fucking mad lad who doesn’t even take their own story seriously. that being said he did give us the bare ideas for some cool and complex relationship dynamics and a new way of seeing romance, so i’ll give them that.

but anyways, have fun with this!! i would LOVE to see your homestuck-based HCs if you happen to come up with any. a couple more kotlc/homestuck related notes before you go:

- sophie foster is a valid troll name (6 letter first and last name) as is gisela sencen. i couldn’t find any others, which is weird considering the amount of characters.

- trolls have varying powers depending on their blood color, not unlike special abilities.

that’s all folks! have a spectacular day and i hope you learned something cool!

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mysteriawrites · 1 year

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Rules and Regulations:

DNI if you are one or more of the following:

Racist

Anti-lgbtq+

Islamophobic

Antisemitic

P3dophilic

Sexist

Ageist

Hater

Troll

In summary if you’re gonna be a jerk kindly move along please

Please do not:

Plagiarize

Send hate to me or others

Harass me or others

Give unsolicited criticism (some polite constructive criticism is fine tho)

Doxx me or anyone else

Share any personal identifying information (name face address etc): this is just a personal thing i grew up with strict internet safety rules and ik some people are more comfortable sharing things like their name or their face but im not and i think it’s better in practice not to so id prefer if you didn’t share that kinda thing appearance description is fine but like your name or anything like that especially cause i most likely wont use your name unless asked personally in which case that’ll be a private post (however pet picks are v much welcome plz send them).

What I will not write for:

Smut: I don’t know a thing about sex other then the biological understanding so I don’t think I could write it very well nor do I feel comfortable with writing it so sorry im fine with insinuating it tho 😉😏

Anything hateful towards irl people

Anything political

Romance with children

Incest

Noncon

Anything that makes me uncomfortable: if you request something that makes me uncomfortable that is not this list i will explain why im not writing it

What I will Write for:

Note: if you want to request more than one fandom you can, but it has to be separate asks for each one because my headcanons are kind of long.

Fluff

Angst

Gore

Headcanons

One shots

Matchups

Original stuff I come up with out of boredom

Character x Reader

Character x Character

AUs

Pretty much anything that wasn’t on the will not write for list unless or until i say otherwise

List of Fandoms:

Note: I’m in a lot of fandoms and always joining new ones so if there is a fandom not on the list that you want feel free to ask me I might know about it and forgot to add it or you’ll be introducing me to something new :) I’ll also try and keep the list updated

Note #2: I’m ok with writing for celebrities or vtubers as long as we’re respectful about it ok that means you understand that everything here is complete fiction and you understand their boundaries and if they dont feel comfortable with works about them those posts will be taken down

Marvel (Movies)

Harry potter (Movies)

The Maze Runner (Movies)

Motherland Fort Salem (Series)

Siren (Series)

The Owl House (Series)

Arcane (series)

The dragon Prince (series)

Avatar the last air bender (series)

Legends of korra (series)

The magicians (series)

My Hero Academia (Anime)

Sword Art Online (Anime)

Oshi No Ko (Anime)

Takt Op Destiny (Anime)

The Disastrous Life of Saki K (Anime)

Revue Starlight (Anime)

Blue Reflection (anime)

RWBY (anime)

Classroom of the Elite (anime)

The Apothecary Diaries (anime)

Revue Starlight: ReLIVE (game)

Bang Dream (game)

D4DJ (game)

Fire Emblem: Awakening-Engage (Game)

Persona 5 (Game)

Tales of Arise (game)

Our Life forever and always (game)

Mystic Messenger (game)

Obey Me (game)

Twisted Wonderland (game)

Honkai Impact (game)

Honkai Star Rail (game)

Genshin Impact (game)

Tears of Themis (game)

Zenless Zone Zero (game)

Punishing Gray Raven (game)

Aether Gazer (game)

Project Sekai (game)

Takt Op Symphony (game)

Blue Reflection series (game)

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (game)

Danganronpa TTH-2GD (game)

Master Detective Archives: Raincode (game)

Rune Factory 5 (game)

Hyperdimension Neptunia (game)

Atelier Sophie (game)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (game)

Love and Deep Space (game)

Nijisanji EN (vtubers) (Hiatus)

Hololive EN (vtubers)

Holostars EN (vtubers)

Avallum EN (vtubers)

(More to be added later)

Masterlist

#multifandom fanfiction #multifandom x reader #multifandom imagines #multifandom #multi fandom blog #multifandom account #multi fandoms posts #multifandom writer #headcanons #matchups #oneshots #original content

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talictries · 11 months

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you, me, us, them

Daniel fights to feel alive. Max fights to stay alive.

That's the fundamental difference between them.

The only similarity between them is their ideology when it comes to combat: kill or be killed.

They've voluntarily entered the Gladiator's campaign for a multitude of different reasons, the main one being the wealth, safety and comfort being the year's victor provides.

Atop of that, the victor's one wish will be granted no questions asked. Daniel wants that wish more than anything. Max needs it more than anyone.

But when foes become friends, and then something more, both their tiny worlds turn upside-down.

ok so like a hunger-games gladiator style AU where participants enter a fight till death round robin and the winner gets whatever they wish for.

daniel used to be a happy-go-lucky guy, living on the beaches of the town, with his family and friends before one person ruined everything. they made him bitter, they made him hate, and more than that daniel would do anything to escape his reality, anything to forget it. turns to drinking, then drugs, then sex, then... he finds it.

fighting.

and his one wish to 'forget what happened' so he can go back to that unburdened happy self micheal and scotty and his family used to know and live has a chance of being granted. and god, is he good at killing, all that anger he has directed onto whichever poor soul is placed in front of him. better than that, he's good at press. he charms and fucks people until they love him, throwing sponsor money and good gyms and surgery to sharpen his teeth and replace his half-bitten-off ear. life is good. fighting helps him forget, helps his get closer to his wish being granted, gets him closer to being his 'good old self' he mourns for.

max has been trained for the ring since the day he was born. his father, jos, failed at becoming the victor, back when the Ring had rules - never to kill another soul intentionally. but now, the rich beg for bloodshed, and if max doesn't learn quickly he's gonna' get stabbed. all he wants is to live a life of peace. he wants two cats, a endless stock of redbull, and a nice home for his mother sophie and sister victoria. but coming from one of the lowest classes in society - a place his father was banished to after loosing, his only chance for a life of serenity is if he kills to win, and becomes the victor.

it's at training camp they meet. daniel is doing the best in his category and max in his. on the TV there are pleas from a woman named grace for her son to 'come back' before they are broken off, replaced by regulated shows, such as how to get away with murder (the irony.) daniel stops eating each time they come on. max wishes he had somebody who cared enough about him to pay for ad space on TV, or that the people who did care about him didn't have to survive on stale bread and soup for a living. but max can see something - beyond daniel's exterior. no matter the steroids and heroin he shoots, the people he fucks, how wide he smiles at the cameras blood from the throat of the poor lad he ripped out with those sharpened teeth, max /knows/ there's something beyond it. he may just be encaptured by the daniel effect - that halo of enticement and allure the fighter seems to have the whole world under, but max is going to be different.

and somehow he is.

max doesn't know how it happens. they fuck, then they fight then they fall in love. it's a doomed romance, it really is, because daniel isn't losing his battles and nor is max. eventually they will meet at the middle - the final two of this year's campaign, set to fight one another; kill or be killed.

'i'm going to tear you apart' daniel gently brushes his teeth over the thick column of his throat and max groans, heat pooling in his stomach. maybe it's just dirty talk, maybe it's just the truth. riccairdo's classic grin is his best weapon. max's best weapon is his mind.

you never really know if like max is actually in love or if he's just playing daniel because daniel is like holy fuck an emotion that isn't disdain or disgust or rage, i seriously love this dorky little dude. and max is known for being smart and using psychology in his kills - outside and inside of the arena. his father taught him to monitor everybody - find their weakness whether it's their kneecaps or the secret lover waiting for them at home.

it progresses and they keep winning and they keep fucking and they keep breaking down in each other's arms - dreading the future where they have to fight, but have been waiting for what happens one second after they kill the other for their whole lives.

they get in the ring. they both hesitate when the siren blares. the crowd is getting rowdy around them. the cameras are zoomed in close - capturing every painful emotion in each other's eyes as they wait and see who will strike first. soon the 'helpers' will come in with their spears - forming a circle around them and pushing them closer together, so what happened years ago with starcrossed lovers lewis and sebastian won't ever happen again.

max doesn't know who moves first. but then the only thing in each of their minds is victory, and what awaits them afterwards.

they're equals in the ring. each fist is responded with another. each 'i'm sorry' whispered into his ear late at night coming back to haunt max is echoed in daniel's eyes, before they cloud over and a snarl showing his sharpened teeth replaces the dismay.

it was always going to end like this.

surrounded in each other's blood, laying, heaving on the ground, like they'd just had the best sex of their lives when really max's lungs were beginning to fill with his own blood and seven of daniel's fingers were snapped at awkward angles, along with the entirely of the left side of his ribcage.

max finds daniel's eyes as his own start to close. daniel finds his.

maybe they won eachother, a brief romance, an eternal love.

maybe they won nothing at all.

and so together, they lose.

together they die.

it's a 4 part fic - you being daniel POV, me being Max POV, us being them falling in love and fighting in the arena, them being everyone around them's reaction - the press from both victor's dying in the arena, daniel's family, and max's. in the end their wishes are given to the mothers - and they both just have one. 'bring our sons back.'

and tbh idk wtf would happen. like this shit is set in the future so #revive the bitches and boom happy ending where not one of them had to die? or is it that they wish for nothing because their sons died for a pointless capitalism scheme and the mothers and families (except jos) grieve and try to move forward together?? idk. knowing me the latter.

#f1 #formula one #ao3 #fic idea #maxiel #daniel ricciardo #max verstappen #dr3 #mv33 #drabble #kinda fucked up tbh #fanfic writer #fanfic

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duchessofostergotlands · 1 year

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Do you know why some designers will share photos if Sophie Wessex wears an item but less likely to do so if Kate does. Is there a rule?

There’s lots of rules that are kind of around this area. There’s laws about the usage of royal symbols or imagery but usually that is more for things like logos or branding where you are registering an image or copyrighting something so it doesn’t totally apply. There’s rules about false advertising so implying that someone wore your stuff when they didn’t. But there are actually restrictions on advertisers including photographs of royals in their advertising. The royal family’s official guidance says that you shouldn’t advertise using photographs of members of the royal family, even if they were wearing your stuff or you met them at a stall you had at an official event, and that is a violation of advertising standards regulation. I’m not actually sure how they define advertising. Most regulations pre-date the internet era so it can be a grey area. So technically it might only be a legal issue if someone posted a picture of Sophie and said “buy our Coronation fascinator, as worn by the Duchess of Edinburgh” with a picture of her in it. Just saying she wore it may be legally ok. However, ultimately, the royals hold a lot of sway. Like my Instagram is full of images I didn’t pay for and have no right to post but I make no money and I’m not a massive influencer so no one pursues me through the courts about it! If they did, I’d have to change, but thousands of us just carry on doing it because no one minds. Kate or her team are known to be very unhappy when people use her image to promote their brand. I think in the past someone has actively been in touch with some brands to ask them to take things down, and as the brand would like the exposure that comes with repeat custom just through references in the media etc then they tend to agree and take the post down. I imagine Sophie’s just not that fussed. The rules that could apply, apply to them all so there must be a degree of personal preference to it (from the designers and Kate/her team potentially) or at least a difference in how actively their teams look at these brands to check if they’re sticking to the rules

#ask #anon #british royal family #Kate Middleton #duchess of edinburgh #the Duchess of Edinburgh

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beardedmrbean · 2 years

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to revive Britain's traditional system of imperial measurements, such as pounds and ounces, in a post-Brexit move that has divided the public and businesses.

Coinciding with this week's 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation, the government will launch consultations on how to change the law on weights and other measurements to capitalise on freedoms after leaving the European Union.

While the bloc normally requires members to use the metric system, it allowed Britain, while a member, to label its produce in some imperial units alongside metric units. Speed limits are set in miles per hour and milk and beer are sold in pints, but most other products such as sugar are sold in grams and kilograms.

After leaving the European Union in 2020, Britain is reviewing thousands of rules that it retained and determining whether they serve the national interest. This includes the rules banning sales of packaged goods like sugar in some imperial units.

"You will know the EU regulation required the sale of certain products under the metric system, but the prime minister has been clear he wants to consult on this later this week," the prime minister's spokesman said on Monday.

Some Britons hailed the plan as a way to reconnect with the past.

Cheryl Devlin, who runs a fruit-and-vegetable stall in west London, said the imperial system was part of Britain's culture.

"It's just nice to keep our heritage. I was brought up with pounds, shillings and pence and, you know, just why has it got to go?" she said. "Why can't we keep what we've had for a hundred years?"

But Sophie Bainsfair, living nearby, said the move would be a hassle and confusing.

"I don't understand why you want to go back," she said. "It doesn't make any sense."

#nunyas news #come crawling back to the proper measurement system

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aurorawest · 9 months

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Reading update

Just Like That by Cole McCade - 2/5 stars

So I started reading this age gap romance about two professors at a boys boarding school expecting it to be different than the last Cole McCade romance I read. It...wasn't. The emotions are turned up to 11 all the time, from the very first page, and that means there's nowhere emotionally to go. It also felt rushed and like the characters didn't really have room to breathe. So...I might retract what I said about the first Cole McCade novel I read needing to be shorter, because this one was shorter, and it didn't work.

Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell - 4/5 stars

Bought this for the SnowBaz story, ended up reading the whole thing and quite enjoying it. The SnowBaz story was definitely still the best though.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - 4/5 stars

In my last reading update I said I wasn't going to read any my Leigh Bardugo books, totally forgetting this one was sitting very near the top of my TBR pile. I liked it a lot, but I have been informed that Hellbent involves a glowing, fully erect demon penis in multiple scenes (and not even for demon sex) soooo yeah. I think I'll give it a miss.

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles - 4.75/5 stars

Drama! by AJ Truman - 4.25/5 stars

Bloodline by Jordan L Hawk - 4.75/5 stars

Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

Oh I loved this one so much. I love when KJ Charles writes books with a twist because I never see them coming. And it's not like the clues aren't there. This is a super quick read but so good. I definitely could have read a full length novel about Martin and Theo.

The Klockwerk Kraken by Aidee Ladnier - 5/5 stars

You look at this book and you think, tentacle porn. And yeah, there's some sex with tentacles. But??? This book??? It kind of wrecked me. It's two connected novellas about trauma, healing, family, memory, love...really really good. Highly recommended.

Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara - 5/5 stars

And then I read a werewolf book and loved it! Not that I expected to hate this or anything, but I definitely went into it feeling a bit iffy, because werewolves are really not my thing. This book is romantic suspense and really good, and I loved Julien and Eli so much. This is a spinoff of Adhara's other werewolf series, which I want to read, but it's only available as an ebook, and I don't do ebooks.

Seven Tears at High Tide by CB Lee - 4/5 stars

Cute little YA mermaid book. Mermaids also aren't my thing so I liked this more than I thought I would. Much better than Jason June's Out of the Blue, imo.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske - 4.75/5 stars

Again, my toxic trait is I don't really enjoy reading books about women or f/f romances. But not surprisingly at all, this book was really good. Though, you know. I inhaled all references to Robin and Edwin (of which there were many) and was sorta/kinda more invested in the hints of romance between Hawthorn and Alan. Obvs excited for the third book.

The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic by FT Lukens - 3.5/5 stars

Just Like This by Cole McCade - DNF

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I put this one down before I got through chapter 2.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales - 5/5 stars

I tore through this book in a single day. It was SO funny and sweet. It's considered YA but quite honestly I'd call it New Adult. Or if you don't like New Adult, straight Adult. Sophie Gonzales is the author of one of my top reads of last year, but of course, since this is an f/f romance, I was wary. But ugh, so good. Highly recommend this one.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard - 5/5 stars

Apparently the idea for this came from the author posting polls on twitter for what would happen next, which is...unspeakably lame, honestly. But the book that came out of it is great. Loved the world, loved Winnie and her family (especially her brother and his boyfriend).

Beguiled by Joanna Chambers - 5/5 stars

Loved the first one, loved this one more.

This Census-Taker by China Miéville - 3.25/5 stars

What was this even about? Pretty sure Miéville was high on peyote when he wrote this.

Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman - 3.75/5 stars

Picked this up because it was 20% off at Target and was actually pleasantly surprised by how much more adult it is than the series. Then of course started watching season 2 of the series and found it to be as sanitized as season 1.

The Henchman of Zenda - KJ Charles - 3.5/5 stars

He Bears the Cape of Stars from Duck Prints Press - 4.5/5 stars

Glitterland by Alexis Hall - 3.75/5 stars

This is a re-release of one of a novel Hall wrote like a decade ago. It's not a romcom (which I knew going in), but I didn't expect it to be quite so rough. Similar in ways to Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble, only that was funnier. The fact that he wrote out the Essex accent really grated, but I guess it kind of made sense. My bigger issue with this book was the absolutely shit editing. There were repeated paragraphs, formatting issues, and places where it seemed like there had to be something missing because it made no sense.

The new edition is annotated by Hall, which was pretty fun. Not a bad read, but it's not Boyfriend Material.

Part 2

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mariacallous · 1 year

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When she was working in Brussels, Meritxell Serret used a Belgian phone and a Belgian number. Between June 2018 and October 2020, while working as a representative of the Catalan government to the European Union, Serret was infected by Pegasus, a spyware exposing her messages and calls, and switching her camera and recorder on without her knowledge or consent. A report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab determined that she had been spied on by the Spanish government.

Spyware abuse is not new. Commercial spyware, including the Israeli-made Pegasus technology, is widely used to target political opponents and journalists in countries from the United Arab Emirates to Azerbaijan. Tensions between Catalonia and Spain are not new, either. But in the wake of the Citizen Lab report, both issues landed side by side on the desk of Sophie in ’t Veld, the Dutch member of the European Parliament who launched the EU’s current efforts to investigate spyware abuse in Hungary, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, and Spain. Her investigation is defined as much by its stonewalling as by its findings.

Pegasus’s invasiveness and use in high-profile cases—Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s phone was found to be targeted by Pegasus prior to his murder by Saudi agents in Istanbul—led the United States to blacklist the technology, and other countries to call for its ban. But government use of spyware, and not just Pegasus, is on the rise in Europe, which is becoming a hub for producing and exporting this technology, including EU-based company Intellexa. While the United States blacklists Pegasus and issues export controls on U.S.-made spying technology, the EU lacks the capacity to issue similar EU-wide blacklists, let alone bans, on any commercial spyware programs.

Madrid’s recent obstruction of the European Parliament’s investigation of government abuses of spyware in the EU showcases Brussels’s limited ability to regulate the technology. The EU’s vulnerability to illicit, abusive spying, including by governments, is growing—a trend that leaves the continent resembling what a European Parliament spokesperson referred to as “a Wild West.” Brussels, a famously stern protector of online data, can only raise public awareness of government spyware abuse. In November 2022, in ’t Veld and her team released a report on their findings; in January 2023, they issued non-binding recommendations for the countries under scrutiny.

Brussels’s difficulties begin with confirming that governments are even using spyware in the first place. Serret discovered that she had been spied on when Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto focused on technology-driven human rights abuses, told her so. She was apparently one of as many as 65 Catalan politicians involved in the region’s 2017 referendum for independence from Spain, alongside journalists and activists, whose phones had been infected with Pegasus and Candiru by the Spanish government. The Spanish Supreme Court ruled Catalonia’s independence bid unconstitutional in 2017.

NSO Group, the Israeli company that produces the Pegasus software, confirmed it sold the technology to the Spanish government, and the Citizen Lab report was mentioned in the U.S. State Department’s 2022 human rights report for Spain. Those hacked, however, received no confirmation from the Spanish authorities that they had been spied on despite filing repeated requests for the information. The news of her targeting was “shocking” to Serret: “I always thought that they wouldn’t spy on me, being in Brussels,” she said.

On March 20, the same day that the U.S. State Department published its human rights report for Spain, in ’t Veld and her team headed for Madrid. Their fact-finding mission was hindered by the fact that members of the Spanish Congress Defense Committee declined to meet with them. The team did emerge with a clearer understanding of how Spain authorized spyware targeting, but the information only raised further concerns. In ’t Veld’s team learned that as many as 18 of the targets in Spain had been ordered by a judge, which renders the government’s use of spyware technically legal.

“But then the next question is, legal in the sense that the procedural steps have been followed, but was it also proportionate and necessary?” asked in ’t Veld. The spyware was also used on journalists and the family members of politicians.

While Spain has a procedure in place for targets of spyware to raise concerns to a judge about having been snooped upon, citizens receive no confirmation about whether they were in fact inspected by spyware—leaving them to rely on the Citizen Lab report, which judges routinely discredit. “In Spain there’s been very sustained attempts to discredit Citizen Lab as motived by political interests,” in ’t Veld said. “This I’ve not seen in any other country.”

But other countries don’t necessarily play well, either. Across the continent, “we get no meaningful information from governments,” in ’t Veld said. Unlike the U.S. Congress, the European Parliament does not have the power to subpoena member states to testify or require them to hand over information for its investigations. During the visit to Madrid, in ’t Veld also met with Serret, who left feeling that the European Parliament’s commission “were willing to find all the answers that we are demanding.”

Serret highlighted what she sees as the main danger: “This is a real threat for democracies in Europe.”

In ’t Veld echoed that point, noting that European countries’ use of spyware is “a siege or storming of the EU democratic institutions, but in a digital way,” and it poses a threat to democracy as much as to privacy and individual rights. In January, her committee called on Hungary, Poland, and Greece to “restore … legal safeguards” breached by their use of spyware, but concluded that “the regulatory framework in Spain seems to be in line with the requirements set by the treaties and by judgments by the CJEU [Court of Justice of the European Union] and the ECtHR [European Court of Human Rights].” The recommendations, published before in ’t Veld’s visit to Madrid, cited the need for further fact-finding in Spain.

The Spanish government did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Spain is not Europe’s problem child when it comes to democracy, issues with Catalan separatists aside. Hungary and Poland have both run roughshod over the judiciary and civil rights, and both have incurred the wrath of Brussels. And both have ridden Pegasus or similar software. In Hungary, laws stipulate that citizens cannot be informed that they have been targeted by spyware by the authority that is spying on them. According to the European Parliament’s November report, in Poland, the “abuse of spyware does not seem to be part of an integral authoritarian strategy, but rather a tool used on an ad hoc basis for political and financial gains.”

“It’s a very invasive technology which would very easily lead to human rights concerns,” said Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But while data-protection laws can be passed and enforced at the EU-wide level, national security is up to each member state, and regulating spyware falls under that umbrella. That will make it harder for the European Union to follow in the United States’ footsteps and regulate spyware use by its member states or implement export bans on EU-made technology. The likelihood that Brussels will be able to craft a proper regulatory regime is low, said Winnona DeSombre Bernsen, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council.

The White House hosted another Summit for Democracy in Washington last month. It made headlines for booting Hungary and Turkey from the event. Less noticed was the fact that those in attendance promised to counter the misuse of commercial spyware by governments. Well, almost all. Poland, Greece, and Spain declined to sign.

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lanarih · 2 years

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Chart taken from an interesting article about the ways neoliberal politics influence urbanism.

It attempts to draw a link between the neoliberalisation of the market and the transformation of the urban, arguing that an intangible ideology is made tangible through the process of construction, and is the result of national, regional and local contexts shaped by institutions, political regimes and modes of regulation.

Source : Nik Theodore, Jamie Peck and Neil Brenner, “Neoliberal urbanism: cities and the rule of markets,” in Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson eds., The New Companion to the City. Oxford: Blackwell-Wiley, 2011, p.15-25

#architecture #politics #urbanism

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ericsonclan · 2 years

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I don't know if someone brought up or linked this idea of an AU for characters of the TWDG in with Avatar the Last Air Bender, so I am curious about an alternate universe topic. Out of the Ericson kids what element bending power/non-bending ability do each of them belong to of the 4 elements: fire, water, earth, and air from Nickelodeon's Avatar the Last Air Bender cartoon series. Can include sub-bending elements as well, like metal, sand bending, lava, lighting, blood bending, healing, spirit bending, combustion, redirection, spirit projection, temperature regulation, flight

Avatar the Last Airbender AU! Let's freaking go!!

Clementine: She's the avatar. We don't make the rules. JK she's an earthbender. She usually likes tossing boulders at people and uses rocks as shields. She's a rebel and is working to liberate the Earth Kingdom.

Louis: He's a waterbender. He comes from the Northern water tribe so he's been sheltered for a lot of his life. When he travels outside of his home he realizes how much he still has to learn but he's open-minded and dedicated in his pursuit of knowledge and understanding.

Violet: She's an earthbender and has the rarer ability to bend metal. She learned metal bending to break out of jail. She tends to be more aggressive with her bending during fights.

Marlon: He's a firebender. He can be reckless with his fire bending when he is overly emotional. This leads Marlon to rarely use his bending for fear of hurting others.

Mitch: He's a firebender as well. He's a hothead and cocky, only learning to be a bit more humble when he gets his ass handed to him by some of the others. He goes from place to place trying to find the most technologically advanced city and doesn't care much about politics.

Brody: She's a waterbender that learned the forbidden technique of blood bending. She refuses to use it but did accidentally do so once during a panic attack. It scared her deeply and she swore to never use it again. That oath she made would be tested later on.

Ruby: She's a firebender. She has a fiery temper but decides to be a healer among her people. She bonds with Brody over the fact that they are both healers.

Aasim: He's an airbender and guess what folks, he's bald! He would want to assimilate with and respect the tradition that his bending came from the most.

Omar: He is a citizen of the Earth Kingdom and a non-bender. He tends to stay out of battle and work on honing his craft of cooking. When a friend is in need though he does let them hide away with him. He also regularly gives out food to those in need.

Tenn: He's an airbender and he follows the traditions and is really respectful with a deep understanding of the spiritual aspects of airbending. He would also be a pretty proficient airbender.

Sophie: She is a waterbender. She lives in a remote village in the Southern water tribe and rides on the otter penguins. She isn't that good of bender though, she just goes with the vibes of life.

Minnie: She is also a water bender. She is proficient in her bending because she practices tirelessly. Also knows blood bending and is freaked out by it but will use it if she feels it's justified.

James: He's a swampbender. He covers himself in vines especially when he sees new people. He wants to meet them he just gets lots of social anxiety and gets nervous.

Willy: He is a non-bender in the Fire Nation. He travels alongside Mitch, his older brother. He idolizes him and spends most of his time trying to make inventions that help him mimic firebending.

AJ: He is a non-bender. He was devastated when he learned he didn't have bending abilities. So he tries to find a swordmaster who can help him become strong. He meets Piandao and he learns to incorporate different bending techniques into how he handles the sword.

And some of our ocs too since this au is really cool!

Prisha: She's a waterbender. She is in the Northern Water Tribe and she joins in the movement for equality for women. She pushes for women to be able to be fighters and not always be forced into solely being healers.

Renata: She's an airbender who is bald and rocking the look. She is more chaotic and carefree though and that didn't work well with some of the older Air Nomads so she wanders around on her own. Renata also invented the air pantsing technique.

Allison: She's an eathbender and she's a bit of a gun for hire. She goes where the jobs take her. Later on she meets Willy and settles down in one place. She eventually uses her skills for more noble, revolutionary causes for the Earth Kingdom.

Jesse: He is an earthbender but lives in the desert and is an expert on sandbending. He usually stays isolated and keeps himself out of the affairs of other groups.

Thanks for the ask! Feel free to send more for this au or any others if you want!

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bookbaran · 2 years

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Alright, if you're looking for something queer to read this pride month, here is my list of LGBT+ book recommendations:

The Masterpieces:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

(These are so good! Please read them! They are as close to perfect as it is humanly possible to get. I'm serious. If you only read one book this month, make it one of these! I promise they're not boring or depressing like a lot of books that are considered works of art.)

The Good:

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St James by Ashley Herring Blake

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Pedro-Roy

Liquor by Poppy Z. Brite

Gives Light by Rose Christo

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

The Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

(These don't have the combination of artistry and perfection that make them a masterpiece, but are still very, very good and well worth your time.)

The If you Haven't Read These by Now, You Must Have Chosen Not to, but I Still Feel Compelled to Mention Them:

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

(Yes, I already know about these. You already know about these. Almost everyone already knows about these. There's a reason for that and the reason is they're very good.)

The Just Plain Fun:

Camp by L.C. Rosen

Check, Please by Ngozi Ukazu

Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson et al.

Fence by C.S. Pacat

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig

Spellbound by Allie Therin

Any book by Cat Sebastian

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles

Point of Hopes by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett

The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic by F.T. Lukens

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

(These are all just fun reads.)

The Audiobooks:

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall, narrated by Joe Jameson

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales, narrated by Mark Sanderlin

The Ballad of Ami Miles by Kristy Dallas Alley, narrated by Brittni Pope

(Yes, I did create this whole section just to talk about Joe Jameson and the Boyfriend Material Audiobook. Even if you read the book and didn't care for it, you should still listen to the audiobook because wow.)

I promise all of these end happily and nothing too bad happens to any queer people because I haven't had the mental or emotional energy to deal with downer books for years now. If you have your own pride month recs, feel free to add them.

#book recommendations #pride #lgbt pride #lgbt books #lgbtq

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atlanticcanada · 1 year

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Why you might see ATVs driving on some streets in Shediac, N.B.

Drivers can now use off-road vehicles on some streets in Shediac, N.B., as the town looks to increase the use of nearby provincial trails.

The bylaw comes after debate and approval by town council, a public information meeting in October, and final approval by the province’s Department of Justice and Public Safety.

“With so many improvements to the trails system for off-road vehicles, we needed to ensure that access was improved in order to maximize their use by tourists and others who travel between communities on them,” said mayor Roger Caissie, in a news release.

“As well, public safety is of utmost importance, so we need to ensure that drivers of these off-road vehicles know and obey the rules of residential area traffic. Following discussions with various stakeholders, including Quad NB, the RCMP and the Province of New Brunswick, we’re confident that can be done.”

All-terrain drivers cannot go over 40km/h, must drive in the same direction as traffic and have to stay on the “extreme right” side of the road, according to the Town of Shediac. Drivers must have a valid driver’s license, proof of registration, insurance and a trail pass. Both drivers and passengers also have to wear a helmet.

According to the town, the new bylaw allows all-terrain vehicles on:

Riverside Drive between Lino Road and Webster Street

Webster Street, Harper Drive, Chesley Street between Webster Street and Main Street

Donat Street, du Vestiaire Street between Donat Street and Main Street

Sackville Street between Harper Drive and Main Street

Weldon Street between Main Street and Belliveau Avenue

Belliveau avenue between Weldon Street

Pleasant Street, Bellevue Heights and Pellerin Road

All-terrain drivers have to comply with all provincial Off-Road-Vehicle Act regulations.

The president of the Greater Shediac Chamber of Commerce says opening up some streets to off-road traffic is good for tourism and will make it easier to get to gas stations and restaurants.

“There are people who travel quite long distances on their off-road vehicles along New Brunswick’s trails system,” said Sophie Belliveau-Doiron, in the release.

“We need to adapt as a town in order to accommodate them and the business they bring to our area. This is a large, untapped opportunity for us, and I’m pleased to see these forward-thinking regulation changes while ensuring public safety.”

Residents looking to learn more about the program can contact the town’s director of community living at (506) 531-2237.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/4BEgVbc

#new brunswick #prince edward island #nova scotia #news #politics #canada #CTVAtlantic

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alastairstom · 7 hours

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Sohpideon fic question related

witht the only dance with wife, also applies to the ones that are engaged but not yet married? Because I was imagining the Pouncebys being engaged but like their son not wanting to dance with their future partner

I don't think it'd be a regulated rule or anything, haha. Just Gideon going "Anddddd you should 1000% dance every single set with your wife because I cannot let go of my beautiful Sophie for a second! ...Any comment, Will?" And Will's like. NOPE LET'S GO

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olko71 · 5 months

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New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on https://yaroreviews.info/2023/12/baby-formula-soaring-costs-i-struggle-but-i-wont-buy-a-cheaper-brand

Baby formula soaring costs: 'I struggle, but I won’t buy a cheaper brand'

Emma Davies

By Sam Gruet and Ashleigh Swan

Business reporters, BBC News

Single mum Emma Davies is struggling with the cost of baby formula for her 13-week-old daughter Nancy.

But despite the expense, the 42-year-old says she won’t buy cheaper alternatives.

“You just want the best for your children, you don’t want to give them a cheaper brand,” she says.Many new parents feel the same.

Amy, 25, says she and her husband have skipped meals to ensure their children are fed, clothed and warm. The mum of two spends about £72 a month on formula milk.

According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), formula prices have risen by 25% over the past two years, generating high profit margins.

The watchdog highlighted that parents could save £500 in the first year of a baby’s life by shopping around for alternative brands.

Although there are many available, the market is still dominated by two big players.

Danone, which owns the Aptamil and Cow & Gate brands, and Nestle, which owns SMA and Little Steps, have an 85% market share.

Shoppers hit by escalating prices of branded goods

Emma feels like breastfeeding is not an option for her, after she contracted mastitis while breastfeeding her first child.

When it comes to her weekly grocery shop, she says she will buy the cheapest possible own-brand products available and will often look for deals and damaged products that are discounted.

“I’ve always been a single parent, so you budget,” she says.

But for baby formula, she won’t change from a more expensive brand.

“It’s a risk. I’d rather stick to what I’ve been told, obviously, by my parents, and what I’ve used with my older children. It’s what’s been reliable.”

Some parents worry that cheaper brands are less nutritional than the more expensive ones. But Amy Brown, a professor in maternal and infant health at Swansea University, says that is not the case.

“All infant formulas are tightly regulated to make sure they include the same carb, fat and protein levels and there is no evidence to say that one formula milk is better than the other.”

She believes that parents may be reluctant to buy cheaper brands due to the idea that if a brand is more expensive, it must be better quality.

“Parents want the best for their baby and so they will get the more expensive product. However, parents need to understand that the price does not reflect the quality,” she says.

Paul Edwards

Part of the issue might be down to the law as well.

In the UK, it is illegal to advertise infant formula – for babies up to six months – because it might discourage breastfeeding.

Additionally, retailers cannot communicate special offers via any platform for infant formula, although they can with follow-on formula – for babies older than six months.

Boots infant formula adverts broke rules – watchdog

Many, including supermarket chain Iceland, want those rules to change.

The frozen food chain’s boss Richard Walker has called them “archaic and outdated” and said it prevents Iceland from being able to accept loyalty cards, cash equivalents and High Street vouchers.

“You can’t even donate to food banks with infant stage formula,” he said.

Another factor may be that, although the CMA says savings can be made by shopping around, when it comes to baby formula, there aren’t that many own-brand products available, which are typically much cheaper than branded products.

Currently, Aldi is the only supermarket that offers formula through its own brand Mamia. Campaigners have called for more retailers to do so to help ease the financial pressures on parents.

Whatever the reason, experts agree that this is a huge issue.

Sophie Livingstone, the chief executive of charity Little Village HQ, says she hears about “terrible choices” parents and carers are having to make every day.

“Watering down formula to make it stretch further, nappy rationing and kids wearing shoes that are too small for them,” she says.

The charity supports families with children under the age of five living in poverty across London.

Ms Livingstone says increases in bills, rents, food and the price of formula has created a perfect storm.

“The huge increase in demand for our help is a clear indicator of the increased pressure families are under. By August of this year, we’d helped 50% more families than the same time last year,” she adds.

The CMA has said it is launching an investigation into the baby formula market, with an update expected around mid-2024.