almost always improvising

sunderwight:

Yes I know you mistrust the banks, milord, and I don’t blame you, but their Vault Wizards are specially trained to prevent dragons from detecting large amounts of gold. I cannot emphasize enough that it’s a full-time job employing multiple specialists, I’m not trying to be humble here but it’s not something that just the court magician and I can set up a couple wards for on the weekends and call it good.

It’s, it’s just that dragons are the primordial embodiment of avarice wrought into fire and flesh. They are truly, supernaturally good at finding large amounts of valuables, that’s why the big mines hire those Dragon Scouts to go sniff out their lairs and mark them on the maps as potential mining ventures. You know, in case someone slays the relevant dragon. Which doesn’t happen often because, milord, they are simply not that easily slain.

No I know you’ve hired many knights, blooded warriors and true. Yes, I was there when you gave the ten most impressive ones their special sashes. Very grand, very high honors, of course. Ehm. It’s just, none of them have ever actually faced a dragon. Yes no I know Sir Edbert says he did but Sir Edbert is rather notoriously prone to exaggerated and tragically unverifiable tales—

Well no milord of course I would not doubt the word of a sworn knight. Perhaps his sobriety, but not his word, as such.

The point is that the grand treasury, while surely grand and a very special notion, is just… it is mayhaps not the ideal way of handling the realm’s finances? Perhaps a series of smaller vaults, capped well below the dangerous wealth threshold at which gold is known to whet the appetite of colossal winged harbingers of death, in different corners of the realms or…?

No, I, yes well I do realize that will impede anyone’s interests in coming into the vault to hurl around the gold coins and go “whee, I’m so rich!” I am aware of its deficiencies as a plan in that regard. No, I see I’ve misjudged a few things.

Actually, thinking on it, milord, I truly believe what you need is a fresh set of skilled wizards on this job. The court magician and I, we cannot keep up with your visionary thinking. We’re too old-fashioned. But the wizards revolutionizing the eldritch academies seem to be more on this sort of level. I hear they’ve made some truly remarkable choices in terms of outsourcing all of their spellwork to the Ever-Whispering Void, such that it takes mere minutes for them to set up an entire defensive array. That’s just the sort of innovative thinking you require.

Though it will grieve the court magician and I to leave your service, perhaps this is a sign that retirement is overdue. So I’ll just… be moving further away from the big pile of gold… in the opulent, dome-shaped building with the crystal skylight… best wishes.

(via unpretty)

flipchild:

The court jester’s curt gesture

(via skimble-shanks-the-railway-cat)

jezunya:

whumpster-fire:

Just reread Fugitive Telemetry and upon a reread I think Murderbot is a tiny bit misinterpreting Senior Officer Indah’s behavior towards it. Murderbot thinks it’s because it’s a SecUnit, which is obviously not wrong, but I think there’s another facet of this which isn’t on Murderbot’s radar: once Indah starts thinking of it as a person, she’s probably thinking of it as This Arrogant Asshole From the Corporation Rim who thinks Preservation Security are a bunch of incompetent hippies, tells them how to do their jobs and keeps complaining about them not having the dystopian levels of mass surveillance that it’s come to expect from working in the CR, and is upset that they said no to giving it access to a bunch of data that violates privacy laws.

I can see how, from the perspective of a cop who has grown up in Preservation culture, this must be incredibly annoying, and means even setting aside any prejudices over a SecUnit being a deadly weapon, it kind of comes across to Indah as someone who she can’t trust to follow basic standards of professional ethics if it thinks it knows better.

And Murderbot doesn’t really consider this as a possibility because it’s not used to being seen as a person at all, let alone seen as one by the Corporation Rim, so the idea that someone else would see it as a Corporate Person just never crosses its mind.

Yessss, this is especially clear in this exchange:

[ID: two photos of a passage from Fugitive Telemetry that read:

“Yes, I’ve had experience with investigating suspicious fatalities in controlled circumstances.”

Indah’s gaze wasn’t exactly skeptical. “What controlled circumstances?”

I said, “Isolated work installations.”

Her expression turned even more grim. “Corporate slave labor camps.”

I said, “Yes, but if we call them that, Marketing and Branding gets angry and we get a power surge through our brains that fries little pieces of our neural tissue.”

Indah winced. Mensah folded her arms, her expression a combo of “are you satisfied now” and “get on with it.”

End ID]

Indah absolutely is looking at MB as a snobby Corporate Person, with the way she sneers out ‘corporate slave labor camps,’ like MB was intentionally sugar-coating the reality of CR slave labor camps, as if it and any other SecUnits were the ones making the decision to enslave the human workers on their contracts. She clearly forgot (or never fully understood before) that MB was a slave from the moment it came online, and one that was routinely tortured for literal thought crimes. A slave with no end of indenture to work towards or any amount of pay to slowly try to save up to buy its freedom, no future except an endless expanse of violence and pain. If MB uses a softer term like 'isolated work installation’ it is because it learned the hard way not to tell it like it is, and when called out on that, it throws the true horror of its existence within the CR into Indah’s face (much like it did with the memories of governor module punishments when it first met ART and ART also initially treated it like it was some inherently evil corporate actor).

I think you’re right that in the intervening weeks (months?) since it arrived at the end of Exit Strategy, Indah had learned from her first mistake of treating MB like Not A Person (the deadly weapon comment early on for which Pin-Lee was going to get her removed from her position of authority). But she still doesn’t trust MB, and unless you get that very direct reminder of how horribly the CR actually treats constructs, I think it can be all too easy to see that SecUnits are physically powerful and then mentally equate that to them having any kind of actual power in those slave labor camps they’re forced to guard.

Indah’s change in attitude throughout FT is one of my favorite secondary character arcs, and I have to think this specific conversation, in addition to just working through the murder case with MB, was a big turning point for her. She went from 'this isn’t even a person, it’s a weapon’/'fine it’s a person, but it’s a bad corporate person who uses its gun arms to enslave poor innocent human workers’ to 'oh you really are a person who just wants to help, and you get shot in the back by bigots even when you do help, and I will help you press charges if you want’ over the course of basically one criminal investigation. And Martha Wells is able to show us that progression even though MB itself doesn’t seem to be fully aware of it!! Gosh I just love this book <3

(via drsinbin)

luvwich:

hi just a quick PSA / request from me, your friend luvwich

please don’t feel guilty about your fandom engagement!

• don’t feel bad if you haven’t been able to keep up with tumblr or discord!
• don’t feel guilty for not reading or commenting on a fic, and especially not for being “late”!
• don’t fret if you haven’t responded to a tag or ask game! these are not homework assignments, they are playdate invitations and you don’t need to make it to all of them!!
• don’t feel compelled to maintain the same amount or type of activity consistently!
• you aren’t delinquent
• i won’t forget about you
• i will always be happy to see you again

thanks for your time!!

(via the-yearning-astronaut)

urgetocreate:

Alice Dalton Brown (American b.1939), Summer Breeze, 1995, Oil on linen, 50 in. x 70.25 in

(via butts-for-days)

ilovedthestars:

“how do you feel about labels as a queer person?”

ALT

ALT

ALT

ALT

(via butts-for-days)

non-binarypal7:

airandangels:

These little-known bank accounts allow Americans with disabilities to save and invest

If you're an American with a disability who receives government assistance, you likely qualify for an ABLE account, or you may starting next

AP News

The age of eligibility for an ABLE account, allowing USAmerican disabled people to save up money without losing their government assistance for having “too much,” is going to go up to cover disabilities diagnosed by age 46 (currently it’s age 26), meaning a much larger number of people will be able to access them. As the article notes, many Americans don’t know these accounts exist, let alone whether they or someone they care for could qualify for one, so please share this information around.

It seems to me it would obviously be better if the “no more than $2000 a month” limit were simply removed and disabled people could have whatever savings accounts they chose, but this is heaps better than nothing.

Effective as of January 1, 2026, eligibility has expanded to folks whose disabled diagnosis was established prior to turning 46 years old

What are ABLE Accounts? - ABLE National Resource Center

About ABLE Accounts An ABLE account is a savings and / or investment option for people with disabilities who qualify. It falls under Section

ABLE National Resource Center

(via thecottageinthedark)

charlesoberonn:

charlesoberonn:

charlesoberonn:

charlesoberonn:

charlesoberonn:

charlesoberonn:

charlesoberonn:

Necessary and sufficient

Adding a second lock was not necessary.

Understanding the difference between necessary and sufficient is necessary, but not sufficient to earn a math degree.

Part 2

Gladly!

A bit more complicated, but sure!

(via thecottageinthedark)

knownqueerbaiter:

knownqueerbaiter:

idk who needs to hear this but it’s healthier for you to just accept that you’re gonna be kinda fat than it is to live the rest of your life miserably trying to monitor yourself to maintain a skinny weight your body doesn’t want to hold onto

“nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” what feels even better is living a life where your self-worth isn’t entirely dependent on your thinness and you don’t constantly monitor and shame yourself. attaching the tweet that was worth at least five hours of therapy for me

(via thecottageinthedark)

depsidase:

(via thecottageinthedark)

fuckthisshit-ugh:

please read this even if you’re not indian. especially if you’re not indian.

you’ve seen the jokes. india is “dirty”, indians are “everywhere”, why don’t they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what’s happening right now while nobody’s watching.

first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik’s research estimates around $45 trillion in today’s money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every “why is india like this” question starts there. you don’t get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.

now, what’s happening RIGHT NOW:

in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that’s the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families’ savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.

and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they’ve been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.

and then there’s sonam wangchuk. if you’ve watched 3 idiots, he’s the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he’s 59 and he’s been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him “anti national” and “foreign funded”. a man starving himself for other people’s children. that’s the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.

it’s not one incident, it’s everywhere you look:

• infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.

• youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.

• only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.

• manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.

• journalists raided. critics’ houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.

• even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.

and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.

what i’m asking:

if you’re not indian: share this. our media mostly won’t cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk’s fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.

if you ARE indian: speak up even if you’re comfortable. especially if you’re comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.

india is not “dirty”. india was robbed, and it’s being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it’s also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers’ kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.

we can still save her. but only loudly.

reblog. share. don’t scroll past.

(via alwaysbeenarambler)

markscherz:

so uh I have a very important Thing™ coming out tomorrow apparently and it would be great if you guys would watch this space for some pretty good frogs, okay?

(via maybe-the-real-language)

redstonedust:

the whole “insulting someone based on their appearance is bad because it could indirectly hurt people you like who share that feature” is a good start for unlearning body shaming but i do think we need to go further and remind people that even if there was some physical trait that was magically 10000% exclusive to conservatives and creeps and nobody else ever had it, we still shouldnt be insulting them based on that. because the problem with them is not their appearance its their ideology and actions. by insulting their appearance you arent just indirectly insulting others who look like that, youre literally not making the correct point. stay on topic ya know.

(via coquelicoq)

disturbanceonthesoup:

therearesomewhocallmemari:

many years ago (and under a different name) I wrote a story about [redacted Austen character] [redacted]ing a [redacted] to try to sell to a niche ebook erotica collection. It worked! I wrote a story I adore, and made fifty entire dollars off it. 😂

but in preparation for that, I read Austen’s canon, particularly Pride and Prejudice, on heavy repeat for about a week straight, to try to capture The Voice. Which was fun! And helped with the story! And also meant that many years later (i.e. last year) coming up with the first line for a roughly Regency AU murderathin drabble for Wanksgiving was kind of like breathing for me:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an ungoverned construct in possession of a good contract must be in want of a spy.

The rest of the drabble - and particularly hitting 100 words on the dot - was trickier. But I’m happy with the results. I’m gonna paste it under a cut here, for anyone who wants to read it on Tumblr, but you can also find it here on AO3: Constructs and Consequences, by Mari.

I should note that one thing I struggled with is what to rate it. They are definitely doing some kind of sex in this story, but it’s vague as hell. So just…know that, going in. I guess.

Keep reading

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an ungoverned construct in possession of a good contract must be in want of a spy.

That the pair might find themselves fucking nasty on a desk is less of a surety, but still very likely.

Absolute, complete perfection. Go read the whole thing either in this post or in ao3 if you haven’t. GO NOW.

zinesbycee:

i love sluts i love perverts i love dykes i love faggots i love aromantics i love freaks i love librarians i love ibuprofen

(via revealmyselfinvincible)