#that i think for some people might be a sign of bias fueled by the underlying desire to ‘have the community back’ or what have you
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What's your take on the settlements in the West Bank though?
Short answer: arrrrggghhhh
Longer answer:
I wrote and deleted a whole thing when I found this video of the history that I think it worth watching because it helps people visualize what's going on and how entangled Palestinian and Jewish settlements are. It's part of a series, and the whole thing is worth watching if you want to familiarize yourself with the basics although I think it has a bias and omits consideration of some of the bigger strategic aspects at play.
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Politically, the West Bank is a jumble of ideas about people, power and land and all the ways these can be combined. There are several possible outcomes of the current conflict: a single state, a single state with enclaves, or 2 independent states. A state could be Jewish, Muslim, or secular with a spectrum of population and power balances. All of these options vary in popularity. Like any good foreigner, I favor a solution that is locally unpopular on both sides - a 2 state solution. And I think the idea of an international force running Jerusalem is pretty good too. The '2 states for 2 peoples' camp did gain ground in the early aughts though, so it may still take effect.
The West Bank settlers tend to be one of 3 types:
religious zealots who want all of Judea and Samaria for Jews because God gave it to them
Israelis looking for cheap housing and a subsidized quality of life as long as there are enough guards to ensure they feel secure
Americans who want to recreate the Wild West feeling but with Judaism (not kidding, they're a sizeable and loud chunk of this group)
The proportions wax and wane depending on government support. If Israel doesn't support a settlement with infrastructure and armed guards, the more radical elements populate it. But subsidies have also drawn in people for more prosaic reasons. You don't need to be too religious or radical, just confident that one day this land that exists outside of Israel's national boundaries (but has occupied since 1967) will be yours because it's not like anyone else might want it... wait, that is radical isn't it? Which is why I hate the idea of these settlements.
The process of radicalization happens on both sides, and I don't think people realize that this is a central aspect of the conflict. I hear commentary that Israel's campaign in Gaza will breed an entire new generation of radicals, but little thought is apparently given to the impact Hamas' attack had on Israelis. By targeting civilians and killing indiscriminately - even notable peace activists like Vivian Silver - it gives more radical Israelis justification for an increasingly hardline stance. The intense antisemitism of the Islamist movements fuels increasingly anti-Arab sentiment and actions. Few Israelis will look at the Oct 7 attacks and think these are people they want to live next door to. That is the desired effect of terrorism, after all - to strike terror into your heart. The reactionary rage comes later.
A notable feature in this conflict is that more moderate people are neutralized - often violently - by extremists on their own side. Signing a peace treaty with Israel has been hazardous to the health of multiple high-ranking officials. Hamas splintered from the PA because the PA made compromises with Israel, and if Hamas gets torn down, the PIJ is waiting in the wings with even harsher, hardline politics. Moderates in Israel have been pushed aside by increasingly right-wing governments. Any attempts at compromise are met with radicals who try to supplant moderates in power, or test the limits and will of those in power. So, the West Bank settlers are to Netanyahu what the PIJ are to Hamas. After Oct 7, WB settlers had easy access to retaliate against their Arab neighbours and, in turn, we see growing support for Hamas over the PA in the West Bank among Arabs as life sours as the conflict boils over. And so over time those currently in power are one step more radical than those who came before, and they are in turn under pressure from those who are a step beyond.
The West Bank faction don't just take action in the West Bank, they're the same faction that pushed for Israel to declare itself a specifically 'Jewish homeland' in 2018, which was a slap in the face for Arab Israelis and shifts Israel away from democratic values and toward a religious nation state, which makes peace ever more elusive. (Vox suprisingly has a fairly informative article explaining why people are critical of this move.)
So how do the settlers ruin the prospects for peace? The boundaries of Israel have shifted, mostly expanding outward, following numerous wars in the region. The borders of 1948 and 1967 aren't the same. And Palestinians are left negotiating for less and less land with every iteration. Now... Israel has largely fought defensive wars and it's not uncommon for the winning side to seize disputed territory when they've won the war. However, the Oslo accords carve out the West Bank to an almost uninhabitable degree for Palestinians living there. Maintaining enough security for Jewish settlers means operating under military law, with checkpoints and restricted roads that make economic development impossible. This is largely a result of settler actions, forcing the Israeli government to include them in their negotiations. One look at a map demonstrates how convoluted any separation would be. Settlers have, in essence, used the Palestinian tactic of refusing to declare their statehood to their advantage.
For anyone confused about how this works, Palestine has never and does not exist as a state. It has 'leaders' and 'de facto leaders' but not a president. Palestinian might, roughly, define a group of people, but Palestine isn't a real place you can find on a map. This has served groups like the PLO very well. By refusing to accept statehood, or even accept Israel as a state, or even accepting the war of 1948 is over... they are hard to pin down in negotiations. Thus their hopes that they can somehow win a better settlement in the future is kept alive. But it also means that settlers can move into the West Bank because it's not the country of Palestine, it's not anything, it's just Israeli occupied territory that is currently under dispute.
The kindest interpretation of this view I can give is 'if Arabs can live on Israeli land then why can't Jews live on Arab land'. Israel at some points has encouraged this settlement process, but is starting to find it expensive to police and politically limiting. It showed up as a major issue in the Abraham accords, with a proposed land swap for alternate territory to be given to Palestine in order to prevent the unpopular move of having to relocate several hundred thousand Israelis. But of course the land swap idea isn't popular either.
Personally, if Palestine decided to declare its independence along the green line - I'd support that move. I think Israel should as well and signal to its settlers that they would need to decide whether they want to relocate or live under a Palestinian government. Now, if a strictly Muslim state is going be created by hardliners, this won't work well, but if Israel can live with a 20% Muslim population then why can't Palestine live with a 20% Jewish population? Well, I know why... but I still don't think peace needs to be delayed because a bunch of people decided to ignore international law.
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Can we see some criminal reactions/meeting with the ringmaster? Possibly some big territory debate thing and some new upstart starts talking shit about this stupid ringmaster and all the rules?
Uhhh okay! Please note this may not be canon for Gremlin verse since atm I don't have any solid criminals-meet-Ringmaster scenes planned out aside from like- one and it's friendly.
-They're a new gang setting up shop near the docks. Imports from Mantle who finally got tired to dodging Atlas's security drones. They're traffickers of just about anything, from expensive but usually legal goods to drugs and people.
-They've been settled for maybe two weeks, just putting out some feelers, and are surprised when the local underworld gives one of two reactions: refusing to so much as speak with them, or nervous chuckling and a warning that if they keep being so obvious about what they do, they'll get the attention of the Ringmaster.
-"The Ringmaster? Who the heck is that?" Mantle's underworld might not be the thriving hub that Mistral's is, but they're not usually out of the loop. If the Ringmaster was a name for one of the local underworld bosses or kings, they should have heard of them before now.
-New blood, they're told by the few groups who will cautiously interact with them. New blood with power and charisma and Rules™. Rules that get enforced, usually after one warning, sometimes after three for the milder breaks. For things like drugs and person trafficking however, there is only ever one warning. If they get caught doing that, even outside the Ringmaster's territory, they will be destroyed. Smuggling in other things like expensive foods, Dust, and hard to get but legal items is tolerated, even permitted within the Ringmaster's territory and weapons are tolerated on a territory basis only, but drugs and people? Hard no. There are consequences, and even those who don't answer to the Ringmaster directly are skittish of touching the stuff. Nobody wants a gang war, it's bad for business. But the locals, even the ones who are known as powerhouses in their own right, seem wary of the war less because of the potential damage and more because they seem to think they'd lose.
-The group from Mantle scoff. They've never heard of this Ringmaster, and who cares what other gangs do so long as they stay in their territory? They've dealt with Atlas security, some uppity new blood with a pesky honor code means nothing to them.
-The other gangs all collectively exchange glances and take a long step back.
-For the first month or so, there's no sign of this Ringmaster. The gang stays close to their tiny territory pocket, sets up some trade rings in their more palatable stock. Then, once the income is trickling in, they move for the big haul.
-Slums are always a good place to lure in marks, and Faunus always sell well, even if humans are more of a premium. It's easier to make Faunus disappear though. Faunus bias runs deep on both sides, both in humans who won't look as hard, and Faunus who believe that humans won't bother looking, so why bother telling? Even though there are actually plenty of officers, human and Faunus, who would risk their skin gladly to rescue anyone, extra ears or no.
-They've snagged about ten marks and are hoping to round that number up to thirty before selling them off to various buyers in Mistral and Mantle when the warning shows up. It's delivered right to their door, and none of them know how they didn't hear the racket of someone hammering a paper notice onto their door.
-"Return the people and cease selling drugs and people or leave entirely. This city does not welcome your kind. -Ringmaster."
-They *laugh*. Really? A note? Big Whoop. Besides, they were careful not to take anyone from inside the Ringmaster's territory, so what business it is of theirs?
-Four nights pass, they snag three more marks, one of which is a particular prize, a young human boy, dark skinned and green eyed. His price will be lowered a little from the limp he seems to have, but his scar like tattoos are intriguing and his face is pretty enough they figure they'll still get quite a bit. The boy is oddly calm as they push him into the warehouse with the others, watching them with almost eerie green-gold eyes as he says calmly that they should let everyone go. It's not right, he says softly, to sell lives. And if they don't stop, they're going to regret it.
-They laugh some more as they shove him into the worried arms of a young Faunus mother who already has a few other children she's been trying to comfort.
-Three hours.
-That's how long it takes for the world to come down around their ears.
-The warehouse is taken first, all the marks gone in what feels like one blink, then it's set on fire, fueled with Dust so there's no hope of recovering the building. Their four backup safehouses are gone by the end of the hour, members of the group either trussed up and knocked out and dumped on the doorstep of the police or killed where they stand if they tried to fight back.
-In three hours, their central base of operation is all that's left, and they learn quickly that there is nowhere left to run.
-Roman Torchwick spins his cane idly as he saunters in, backed by his silent partner. They're both known entities in the underworld and have been for years. The leader spits at Torchwick, mocking the name Ringmaster as pretentious even for a thief and crime lord like him.
-Torchwick smiles, it's not a nice expression, "Oh. I'm not the Ringmaster. That's my boss."
-A flourish and a sidestep and the gang cringes back in disbelief and shock as a massive Grimm shoulders its way through the broken doorway.
-Perched on its back, a dark king on a fallen steed, is the boy. Those eerie green-gold eyes look at them in disappointment, in knowing, and the Dust orbs in his elaborate cane gleam warningly when a few of them inch hands toward hidden knives.
-No way. This is the Ringmaster? This child?
-"You were warned," says the boy in a voice too calm and too mature for his skin, "I'll give you one more chance. Surrender and turn yourselves and all relevant evidence in to the police, and you won't die."
-The leader of the group from Mantle snarls and pulls out a hidden pistol, taking aim at the boy.
-He's dead before the safety of the gun can click off.
-The other child, silver haired and grinning like a wild thing, lowers his foot, the shot from whatever weapon he has hidden in his boots echoing through the house. The Grimm looms large, jaws parting in an echoing snarl of warning, one massive paw rising to show huge claws.
-The child -the Ringmaster- doesn't so much as flinch. He just shifts those eyes to those that remain with a silent question in his eyes.
-Many of them decide that dealing with the law is better than dying at the hands of this- this demon child.
-None of them question anymore why Vale's underworld treats the Ringmaster with respect, even if the factions that do not yet answer to him.
#SE asks#anon asks#Team Gremlin verse#oscar pine#oscar pine being a crime lord#friendship is nice#but sometimes murder is necessary
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Artificial intelligence
How Facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation
The company’s AI algorithms gave it an insatiable habit for lies and hate speech. Now the man who built them can't fix the problem
Joaquin Quiñonero Candela, a director of AI at Facebook, was apologizing to his audience.It was March 23, 2018, just days after the revelation that Cambridge Analytica, a consultancy that worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign, had surreptitiously siphoned the personal data of tens of millions of Americans from their Facebook accounts in an attempt to influence how they voted. It was the biggest privacy breach in Facebook’s history, and Quiñonero had been previously scheduled to speak at a conference on, among other things, “the intersection of AI, ethics, and privacy” at the company. He considered canceling, but after debating it with his communications director, he’d kept his allotted time.
As he stepped up to face the room, he began with an admission. “I’ve just had the hardest five days in my tenure at Facebook,” he remembers saying. “If there’s criticism, I’ll accept it.”The Cambridge Analytica scandal would kick off Facebook’s largest publicity crisis ever. It compounded fears that the algorithms that determine what people see on the platform were amplifying fake news and hate speech, and that Russian hackers had weaponized them to try to sway the election in Trump’s favor. Millions began deleting the app; employees left in protest; the company’s market capitalization plunged by more than $100 billion after its July earnings call.
In the ensuing months, Mark Zuckerberg began his own apologizing. He apologized for not taking “a broad enough view” of Facebook’s responsibilities, and for his mistakes as a CEO. Internally, Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer, kicked off a two-year civil rights audit to recommend ways the company could prevent the use of its platform to undermine democracy.Finally, Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s chief technology officer, asked Quiñonero to start a team with a directive that was a little vague: to examine the societal impact of the company’s algorithms. The group named itself the Society and AI Lab (SAIL); last year it combined with another team working on issues of data privacy to form Responsible AI.
Quiñonero was a natural pick for the job. He, as much as anybody, was the one responsible for Facebook’s position as an AI powerhouse. In his six years at Facebook, he’d created some of the first algorithms for targeting users with content precisely tailored to their interests, and then he’d diffused those algorithms across the company. Now his mandate would be to make them less harmful.Facebook has consistently pointed to the efforts by Quiñonero and others as it seeks to repair its reputation. It regularly trots out various leaders to speak to the media about the ongoing reforms. In May of 2019, it granted a series of interviews with Schroepfer to the New York Times, which rewarded the company with a humanizing profile of a sensitive, well-intentioned executive striving to overcome the technical challenges of filtering out misinformation and hate speech from a stream of content that amounted to billions of pieces a day. These challenges are so hard that it makes Schroepfer emotional, wrote the Times: “Sometimes that brings him to tears.”In the spring of 2020, it was apparently my turn. Ari Entin, Facebook’s AI communications director, asked in an email if I wanted to take a deeper look at the company’s AI work. After talking to several of its AI leaders, I decided to focus on Quiñonero. Entin happily obliged. As not only the leader of the Responsible AI team but also the man who had made Facebook into an AI-driven company, Quiñonero was a solid choice to use as a poster boy.
He seemed a natural choice of subject to me, too. In the years since he’d formed his team following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, concerns about the spread of lies and hate speech on Facebook had only grown. In late 2018 the company admitted that this activity had helped fuel a genocidal anti-Muslim campaign in Myanmar for several years. In 2020 Facebook started belatedly taking action against Holocaust deniers, anti-vaxxers, and the conspiracy movement QAnon. All these dangerous falsehoods were metastasizing thanks to the AI capabilities Quiñonero had helped build. The algorithms that underpin Facebook’s business weren’t created to filter out what was false or inflammatory; they were designed to make people share and engage with as much content as possible by showing them things they were most likely to be outraged or titillated by. Fixing this problem, to me, seemed like core Responsible AI territory.I began video-calling Quiñonero regularly. I also spoke to Facebook executives, current and former employees, industry peers, and external experts. Many spoke on condition of anonymity because they’d signed nondisclosure agreements or feared retaliation. I wanted to know: What was Quiñonero’s team doing to rein in the hate and lies on its platform?
But Entin and Quiñonero had a different agenda. Each time I tried to bring up these topics, my requests to speak about them were dropped or redirected. They only wanted to discuss the Responsible AI team’s plan to tackle one specific kind of problem: AI bias, in which algorithms discriminate against particular user groups. An example would be an ad-targeting algorithm that shows certain job or housing opportunities to white people but not to minorities.
By the time thousands of rioters stormed the US Capitol in January, organized in part on Facebook and fueled by the lies about a stolen election that had fanned out across the platform, it was clear from my conversations that the Responsible AI team had failed to make headway against misinformation and hate speech because it had never made those problems its main focus. More important, I realized, if it tried to, it would be set up for failure.The reason is simple. Everything the company does and chooses not to do flows from a single motivation: Zuckerberg’s relentless desire for growth. Quiñonero’s AI expertise supercharged that growth. His team got pigeonholed into targeting AI bias, as I learned in my reporting, because preventing such bias helps the company avoid proposed regulation that might, if passed, hamper that growth. Facebook leadership has also repeatedly weakened or halted many initiatives meant to clean up misinformation on the platform because doing so would undermine that growth.In other words, the Responsible AI team’s work—whatever its merits on the specific problem of tackling AI bias—is essentially irrelevant to fixing the bigger problems of misinformation, extremism, and political polarization. And it’s all of us who pay the price.“When you’re in the business of maximizing engagement, you’re not interested in truth. You’re not interested in harm, divisiveness, conspiracy. In fact, those are your friends,” says Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley who collaborates with Facebook to understand image- and video-based misinformation on the platform.
“They always do just enough to be able to put the press release out. But with a few exceptions, I don’t think it’s actually translated into better policies. They’re never really dealing with the fundamental problems.”
In March of 2012, Quiñonero visited a friend in the Bay Area. At the time, he was a manager in Microsoft Research’s UK office, leading a team using machine learning to get more visitors to click on ads displayed by the company’s search engine, Bing. His expertise was rare, and the team was less than a year old. Machine learning, a subset of AI, had yet to prove itself as a solution to large-scale industry problems. Few tech giants had invested in the technology.Quiñonero’s friend wanted to show off his new employer, one of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley: Facebook, then eight years old and already with close to a billion monthly active users (i.e., those who have logged in at least once in the past 30 days). As Quiñonero walked around its Menlo Park headquarters, he watched a lone engineer make a major update to the website, something that would have involved significant red tape at Microsoft. It was a memorable introduction to Zuckerberg’s “Move fast and break things” ethos. Quiñonero was awestruck by the possibilities. Within a week, he had been through interviews and signed an offer to join the company.His arrival couldn’t have been better timed. Facebook’s ads service was in the middle of a rapid expansion as the company was preparing for its May IPO. The goal was to increase revenue and take on Google, which had the lion’s share of the online advertising market. Machine learning, which could predict which ads would resonate best with which users and thus make them more effective, could be the perfect tool. Shortly after starting, Quiñonero was promoted to managing a team similar to the one he’d led at Microsoft.
KEEP READING
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/11/1020600/facebook-responsible-ai-misinformation/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
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An OBJECTIVE look at James Ironwood
A much needed TL;DR: Ironwood’s story is sad. But it doesn’t excuse his actions just cause we’ve known him longer.
So I’ve made it.... abundantly clear on many many posts that ever since the end of volume 7 and into volume 8, I’ve hated General James Ironwood. I’ve made SOME posts “throwing him a bone” but I usually end up still emphasizing his flaws. So... Here’s a post where I DON’T focus solely on his flaws. Here’s a look at Ironwood’s actions from his introduction in volume 2, to now. And I’ll try to be as, well, objective as possible.
So James’ first appearance is in episode 2 of Volume 2 where he talks to Ozpin and, briefly, Glynda. He clearly has some history with Glynda, maybe a romantic relationship that I personally support 😗... Well I mean not NOW but I did. So Ironwood seems to be a bit of a 3rd wheel to Oz and Glynda, Glynda dismissing him and his compliment and Oz not being PARTICULARLY happy with him and his army’s presence in Vale and after a bit of arguing, James says the infamous line, that’s even quoted in his theme track, “Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?” James bringing his army to Vale, and then later going behind Oz’s back to the Vale counsel to get permission to protect the kingdom, and also get Ozpin in the Counsel’s bad graces? He... meant well. But it was still a betrayal of Ozpin’s trust. Which is ironic considering trust is Ironwood’s whole... thing.
And it also tells us something interesting. He UNDERESTIMATES the capabilities and potential of humans. I know that may sound a bit like I’m reaching but think about it, Atlas mostly sends soldier bots to take care of Grimm attacks instead of humans. And even when he DOES send human soldiers, they rely on surprise attacks to get the job done, like the Ace Ops arresting RWBY and friends at the beginning of Volume 7. And when they DON’T have surprise attacks, Atlas’ huntsman lose. The Ace Ops lost to RWBY, they basically lost to Penny in a 1v4 fight, which Harriet admits in saying “Good work would’ve been capturing Penny.” So yeah they lost, Clover lost to Tyrian and Qrow, which I know is a different scenario but still if he were among the best of the best he would’ve either recognized the bigger threat in Tyrian, or would’ve been able to hold them both off, or, 3rd option, would’ve retreated and let Qrow and Tyrian have it out then come back to arrest them both, or the remaining one considering Qrow vs Tyrian, when we get it again, is GONNA end in a death. Fair Game bias aside, everyone blames Qrow but Clover also could’ve been smarter in his final moments.
In fact EVERY major Atlesian we’ve seen has lost a fight at least once. Winter lost to Qrow in Volume 3, if you count that AS a fight, and Cinder in Volume 7, Ace Ops lost to RWBY and Penny, Clover, as mentioned, lost to Tyrian and Qrow, Watts lost to Ironwood, and Weiss has, notoriously, lost a lot of fights but among the first was against Banesaw, the White fang lieutenant in Volume 2, and most recently, Rhodes lost to Cinder, if you count him. Whyyyy? I’m personally of the belief that it’s because of Atlas’ over reliance on its tech, and I know I’m not the only who thinks this 😗. Atlas has the best Tech on remnant and can easily create robosoldiers or mechs to protect the pilot while also allowing the pilot to still fight. What use is training humans to fight when they have mechs and robots to do it for them?
Phew. That was a little off topic. I’m sorry, anyway, so in volume 3, James brings Penny to Vale to participate in the Vytal festival which, speaking of trust, he didn’t tell anyone about. I understand not making it public knowledge. Soldier bots are one thing but a robot that looks like a little girl? I don’t think that woulda sat right with people. So, yeah not making it general knowledge, makes sense. But not trusting your 3 closest allies, and FRIENDS, in Oz, Glynda, and Qrow? Like Glynda said, it’s time to stop talking about trust and start showing it. That aside, things go decently well. No DIRECT signs of any conflict *looks at Cinder* and the festival goes well until the one on one finals. Yang attacking a “defenseless” student, in James’ mind, is horrible yes, but people’ll move past it, especially cause he disqualified her. But then shortly after that, Pyrrha, Ozpin’s chosen one for the Fall Maiden’s power, dismembers Penny on national TV. That is a huge blow for both the festival and him personally.
Continuing with Volume 3, while he’s calling for reinforcements, the robosoldiers that’re in his plane with him are hacked and cause him to crash land. Also a hit to him personally, HE ordered these be created and the fact that they were so easily turned against him and the people he swore to protect? Yeah... Kinda get it. Although, something else interesting in Volume 3, when he DOES rendezvous with Qrow and Glynda, Qrow immediately turns his sword into Scythe form for the first time in the show. And James’ immediate reaction? “Qrow! This wasn’t my doing!” and preparing his gun for a fight, before turning around and realizing that Qrow actually just saved him from a Griffon. This is........ interesting. Why would he assume a colleague he’s worked with for so long would suddenly be turning on him? I dunno. Just seems a little... paranoid wouldn’t ya say?
Volume 4, we see a new side of James. We see that he cares for Weiss, at least somewhat. More than Jacques, but granted a squirrel cares more about the Schneeblings than Jacques. But yeah, James has some pretty sweet moments with Weiss in volume 4, standing up for her at Jacques’ party, offering her a place at Atlas academy, he’s a pretty stand up guy to Weiss. But, big picture? This volume shows the signs of his paranoia being something serious. He completely shuts down Atlas. In his own words, “No one in. No one out. Not without the Counsel’s permission.” now, he knows about Salem. But he doesn’t know what she’s CAPABLE of, as implied by Qrow last volume. So, from James’ perspective, this DOES seem like the safest course of action. But this is exactly what Salem wants. Separation. Anxiety. Paranoia. FUEL for the Grimm. And this is the first sign of a common theme of James inadvertently playing into Salem’s hands.
Jumping to Volume 7, we don’t see him in 5 or 6 😗, James is still hella, HELLA paranoid, but he’s still happy to see Qrow and happy to have new allies. Now this is where we get a little dicey because volume 7 is a.......... divisive volume 😓. I’m gonna talk about JAMES’ perspective of events. Not necessarily my thoughts because... well... I’ve done that already lol. Many times 😓. So JAMES’ perspective on Volume 7. James sent the Ace Ops to investigate a stolen air ship and arrest the ones responsible for... ya know... stealing the air ship. So the Ace Ops do. And then they go back and take them to James’ office, and it’s the general’s old friend Qrow and his niece’s team and her friends, and a mysterious young man. We can see that James is happy to see Qrow, especially cause of the hug :3, and he’s especially happy to see Oscar, the new Ozpin. He trains Ruby and her friends with his Ace Ops, and allows Winter to help Weiss. And he DOES start to relax more. He starts to, dare I say it, let loose. He allows some lenience, he lets RWBY have the night off. Ruby going to Robyn’s celebration, Yang and Blake going on a double date with Flynt and Neon, and let’s the boys and Weiss have a movie night. He even gives RWBY and their friends their huntsman licenses. These are really great things to do :3
But where things start to crumble is after he announces that Amity is ready, which is a whole speech full of half truths, that he didn’t tell any of his allies about once again, to lure out Watts. It works, they fight, he wins, and we see THIS face.
This is a man who is completely CONTENT. He is happy in this moment. He’s arrested a man who’s always, by his own admission, been a pain in the ass, he has Clover, Qrow, and Robyn on the way back with Tyrian Callows, everything is great right now. He KNOWS that Ruby and her friends lied to him because Oscar told him, but he can sort that out with an honest conversation right? In my opinion, THIS screenshot is Ironwood’s last GOOD moment in the series. That thought process of everything is great goes to shit when he sees the Black Queen piece that Cinder left expressly to fuck with his head. And THEN he gets irrational and, once again, plays into Salem’s hands. He directly ORDERS the divide of the people. He plans to abandon Mantle, leaving them to die in the process, and he plans to completely sever Atlas from all of Remnant basically by launching it into the atmosphere to keep the Vault safe. That only ACTUALLY accomplishes one thing, being keeping the vault, which IS important. But it isn’t more important than keeping the people, ALL of the people, calm and prepared to face this threat, like he did at Beacon. He should have remained calm, like an experienced military official should, and made an announcement to all of Atlas and Mantle saying kind of what he did in Volume 3. “Grimm are all over the kingdom. You can either stay and protect your kingdom, or save yourself. No one will fault you if you leave.”
Ironwood has a thing with fear. He doesn’t want to admit he’s afraid of Salem. As evidenced both times he’s shot someone....... interesting 😓. In the last episode of Volume 7, The Enemy of Trust, this exchange happens. Ironwood: You still think I'm afraid? Oscar: We all are. It's what we do in our fear that reveals--Ironwood: That's easy for you to say!
And then later, in the first episode of Volume 8 Divide, he shoots and kills Sleet once he says... Well... His last words “And what’s this about martial law? Have you lost your damn mind?! Are you that scared of what-- “ And notice, Ironwood shoots after Sleet goes to say “Are you that scared of what might happen?” And he IS right about one thing. It IS easy for Oscar to say “It’s what we do in our fear.” Because Oscar is child who can AFFORD to be afraid. James doesn’t have the luxury. He’s denying his fear because he’s the general. He’s James Ironwood. He can’t AFFORD to be afraid. If he’s afraid, everyone is going to be afraid. And, well, he can’t have that. That would attract the Grimm. He thinks he HAS to have a level head at all times for the sake of the kingdom. But James even generals in the military have feelings.... and sometimes need therapy to talk through some shit 😶. But... well... Maybe too late for that 😶😓.
In conclusion: James Ironwood is indeed a tragic character. A character who has taken A LOT of blows. A character who has always been paranoid. ALWAYS been ready for an attack. But even though he’s always been ready, he still wasn’t PREPARED. He wasn’t prepared for the sheer strength and AMOUNT of Salem’s forces. If he was more calm and more rational, he could have prepared better. He could have had Mantle and Atlas united against Salem, and that’s what can beat Salem, like Ruby said. James Ironwood is a tragic character, he has had it rough. But that doesn’t mean we should overlook his OBJECTIVELY horrible actions through out these last 2 volumes. Like ya know... Murder.
Phew .-. This is DEFINITELY my longest post. This better get attention I didn’t do all this for nothing >_>
#RWBY#RWBY2#RWBY3#RWBY4#RWBY7#RWBY8#RWBY analysis#James Ironwood#General Ironwood#Siddy Rambles#Side note: this whole time I thought Sleet's name was Slate .-.#Turns out Slate is an entirely different character from After the Fall 😶#I have to go back and edit some posts even though it's kinda...#Too little too late .-.
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capitalocene: the profit motive will always get in the way of our collective humanity. the oil companies that profit from the destruction of the human ecology want to sacrifice human beings for more money. this is how the capitalist system works.
(via)
Harvard researchers chart evolution from denial to misdirection as House inquiry widens
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee earlier this month widened its inquiry into the oil industry’s role in fostering doubt about the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change. A letter from the panel to Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chief executive, said lawmakers were “concerned that to protect … profits, the industry has reportedly led a coordinated effort to spread disinformation to mislead the public and prevent crucial action to address climate change.” The Gazette spoke with Geoffrey Supran, a research fellow in the History of Science, who, together with Naomi Oreskes, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science, published a series of studies in recent years, the most recent one in May, on the climate communications of ExxonMobil, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies.
Q&A
Geoffrey Supran
GAZETTE: Tell me about your research on the oil and gas industry’s role in spreading climate disinformation.
SUPRAN: In 2017, I and Naomi Oreskes published a series of three papers focused on what you might call traditional climate-science denial by ExxonMobil. Then, in May of this year, we shifted gears slightly, releasing a new study looking at the company’s more subtle forms of climate propaganda.
GAZETTE: What kinds of issues do you suspect the House committee will find?
SUPRAN: In 2017, our research was the first peer-reviewed analysis of ExxonMobil’s 40-year history of climate-change communications. And what we discovered was that there were systematic discrepancies between, on the one hand, what Exxon and ExxonMobil scientists said about climate-science privately and in academic circles, versus what Exxon, Mobil, and ExxonMobil said to the general public in The New York Times and elsewhere. That analysis showed that ExxonMobil misled the public about basic climate science and its implications. They did so by contributing quietly to climate science, and loudly to promoting doubt about that science.
Our work and others’ in that area provides evidence for the committee, demonstrating ExxonMobil’s long history of attacking science and scientists in order to undermine and delay climate action. Our more recent work, this May, is an evolution of that study in that it focuses on how, beyond outright disinformation, ExxonMobil has used language to subtly but systematically shape the way the public thinks about climate change, often in misleading ways. That study demonstrates how the company has selectively emphasized some terms and topics in public while consistently avoiding others.
The takeaway message across all of our work is that over and over, ExxonMobil has misled the public about climate change by telling the public one thing and then saying and doing the opposite behind closed doors. Our latest work shows that while their tactics have evolved from outright, blatant climate denial to more subtle forms of lobbying and propaganda, their end goal remains the same. And that’s to stop action on climate change.
GAZETTE:So according to your findings, within the walls of ExxonMobil there was never any doubt about climate science. Is that right?
SUPRAN: Right, there was never the undue doubt that they promoted in public. In fact, behind closed doors and in academic circles, Exxon has known that its products would likely cause dangerous global warming since at least the 1970s. By way of its trade association, the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry as a whole has been on notice even longer — since the 1950s.
Naomi Oreskes (pictured) and Geoffrey Supran’s new study looks at ExxonMobil’s subtle forms of climate propaganda.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard file photo
GAZETTE:What was the most disturbing finding from this hard look at ExxonMobil’s communications?
SUPRAN: A key contribution of our work has been demonstrating the systematic and statistically significant bias of ExxonMobil’s public communications toward denial and delay. But the most uncomfortable realization is how subtle and systematic and increasingly sophisticated their propaganda has become.
In our most recent work, we’ve had to rely on statistical techniques from computational linguistics to uncover patterns of speech hiding in plain sight. These include a systematic fixation on consumer energy demand rather than on the fossil fuels that the company supplies and the systematic representation of climate change as a “risk” rather than a reality. These are subtle patterns that, we’ve now realized, have been systematically embedded into climate discourse by ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel interests.
That’s particularly discomforting, because when you start to pull back the curtain you see just how sophisticated the oil industry’s propaganda machine has been, how easily their rhetoric has snuck into people’s consciousness and biased the way the public thinks about this. Mobil’s vice president and pioneer of PR in the ’70s and ’80s literally talked about what he called “semantic infiltration.” He called it “the process whereby language does the dirty work of politics.” And he said that the first “general principle” of PR was to, quote, “grab the good words … while sticking your opponents with the bad ones.” Our research now shows that’s exactly what they’ve been up to for decades.
GAZETTE: Have the oil companies stopped outright denying climate change? The subtle approach you talk about, is that all they’re doing now?
SUPRAN: From the mid-2000s through to the 2010s, ExxonMobil and other fossil-fuel companies gradually “evolved” their language, in the words of one ExxonMobil manager, from blatant climate denial to these more subtle and insidious forms of delayism. Another ExxonMobil manager described the effort by former company chairman and chief executiveRex Tillerson in the mid-2000s as an effort to “carefully reset” the company’s profile on climate change so that it would be “more sustainable and less exposed.” They did so by drawing straight from the tobacco industry’s playbook of threading a very fine rhetorical needle, using language about climate change just strong enough to be able to deny that they haven’t warned the public, but weak enough to exculpate them from charges of having marketed a deadly product.
So while their outright denial has tapered off, their propaganda hasn’t stopped. It’s in fact shifted into high gear and is now operating with a sophistication that we’ve never seen before. In our recent study, I mentioned the rhetoric of risk and individualized responsibility, but we also identified systematic use of language indicative of other what we call “discourses of delay,” such as greenwashing, fossil-fuel solutionism, technological optimism, and so on. These are now pervasive in industry marketing and, in turn, in the ways that the public and policymakers think and talk about the climate crisis.
To give just one example, did you know that the very notion of a personal carbon footprint — a concept that’s completely ubiquitous in discussions about personal responsibility — was first popularized by BP as part of a £74 million per year marketing campaign between 2004 and 2006?
They’ve also upgraded their tactics, moving from print advertorials to digital advertorials and microtargeted social media. Digital advertorials are ads presented to appear in the style of newspapers online and made for the oil companies by the newspapers themselves. They are the direct digital descendant of the print advertorials that Mobil pioneered in the ’70s through the 2000s, in part with their climate messaging.
“The takeaway message across all of our work is that over and over, ExxonMobil has misled the public about climate change by telling the public one thing and then saying and doing the opposite behind closed doors.”
GAZETTE:Did we get a sense as to how this happens? Are there company memos about phrasing and language, that kind of thing? Or is it still opaque?
SUPRAN: Proving intent is generally nontrivial, but all signs point to “Yes.” In terms of outright climate denial, we have smoking-gun documents that lay out in black and white Exxon’s intentions from the ’80s and ’90s to, in their words, “emphasize the uncertainty,” “extend the science,” and so on. In terms of delayism, we know, for example, that in 1981, Mobil internally reviewed its PR campaigns from the previous decade and celebrated how their advertorials in The New York Times had allowed them to become part of what they called “the collective unconscious” of the nation, as not only the general population but the Times editorial board had begun to shift their opinions in line with the company’s views. As I mentioned, the pioneer of Mobil’s advertorials, Herb Schmertz, also talked a lot about their public-affairs principles.
Beyond that, we don’t yet have the smoking-gun strategy documents for delay equivalent to the ones for denial. This is speculation, but part of the reason that we see propaganda mirrored so closely between different companies and different industries is because much of the time they work with the same PR firms and ad agencies. And so it could be that those memos lie in the file cabinets of PR firms rather than the oil companies themselves. That’s why there are now campaigns to hold those PR agents to account as well.
GAZETTE:This is kind of a horrible question to ask, but were you ever, despite yourself, impressed with the strategy and its effectiveness?
SUPRAN: Through our research, it has gradually dawned on me and my colleagues how central to the invention and advancement of modern propaganda the oil and gas industry has been over the last century. For me, coming from a physics and engineering background and retraining to work in this discipline, it’s been eye-opening and humbling to realize how much of the way we think and talk about this crisis has been encouraged and embodied by fossil-fuel-industry propaganda.
So I do recognize just how effective this industry’s public-affairs tactics have been. They’ve certainly undermined public concern and action on this crisis for decades. For my entire lifetime, in fact, the climate denial and delay machine has been in full swing. I’m not sure if “marvel” is the right word, but I’m very cognizant of the fact that I am part of the climate-change generation, born into a society locked into fossil fuels not for want of scientific understanding or technology or policy know-how, but because of the greed and disinformation and lobbying of a small group of fossil-fuel interests and conservative billionaires.
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I don’t really have a platform or any sort of public voice, I know. But there’s something that I want to talk about anyways because it’s really important to me and if even one person understands it or even sees it and keeps it at the back of their mind, it would make a difference in my opinion.
I want to talk about one of my best friends’ dads, Dr Hasan Gokal. You may have seen him all over the news, labeled “thief” by our lovely sensationalist media. I was really hesitant if I want to include him being my friend’s dad because I know it adds an element of bias to my argument. But I think it adds another perspective, another angle that the media can’t cover- I’m far enough that I have no obligation or pressure to go out of my way to support his cause. I’m close enough that I truly do see his side of it- the whole story unfold from before it ever hit the media: the struggle, the confusion, the misunderstanding and the pain that family is going through. My point is- I wouldn’t be writing this unless I truly believed him to be innocent.
Dr Hasan Gokal is accused of stealing vaccines. But he didn’t. Not really. He used up the remaining doses that were about to expire because he was ordered from higher ups to simply ‘find arms’ and use them all up because there was a shortage and we couldn’t afford to waste any. He filed all the appropriate paperwork, he asked permission from the highest higher-up available at the time. The word stealing implies the worst image: someone breaking in and stashing them in their bag and running. Which I know, is a technicality and it might technically be ‘stealing’ legally- but the way the media took that phrase and ran with it is extremely harmful to someone’s career. It is slander and deceitful, fueled by the media’s obsession with sensationalizing and demonizing people of color, especially Muslims. Especially someone who did something heroic and brave where he absolutely didn’t have to.
Dr Gokal was looking at the bigger picture, what truly mattered at that time, which was saving as many lives as possible as fast as possible. Each of those vials in his hands could have been someone’s life. Every arm out there was another person who could have caused another chain of infection. How could he bear to toss them in the trash? And I know- I know very well that protocol is important. The government, the healthcare system, they claim to take care of the bigger picture, “just do what we tell you, don’t think too much, too hard”
And I also know if everyone applied their own morals and ethics and ignored the system in place, there would be chaos. But in healthcare, you have to admit that there is a clear, clear grey area for unexpected situations such as these. These are unprecedented times, times with barely any frame of reference to look back on. All the protocol, all the rules, seem hastily made and vague and self contradicting. There’s orders from superiors to “find arms, waste nothing” And there’s orders from superiors saying to waste nine out of ten vaccines. Which are you supposed to follow? Dr Gokal was in an extremely grey area, and he made the best judgement call he possibly could have, given his time limit and his situation. He literally called and reported it to his superiors and filed all the necessary paperwork the next day. A ‘thief’ or anyone who believed what they did was wrong would not have done that.
Legality should not determine morality- wildly inhumane things were once determined legal by our country such as literal slavery.
This is not to say abandon all sense of propriety and do what your heart says- but I think Dr Gokal did an excellent job of balancing legality and morality. He did what he believed was right despite it being unconventional AND he followed all protocol- asking permission first as well as filing it in immediately after.
Admittedly, it may have been not the smartest thing to remove the vaccines from the site and administer them at people’s houses. Even so, it���s something that could have been cleared up with a fine or strict warnings. A court case and firing is very extreme for someone who was only going above and beyond to only do what the government and the hospitals were encouraging in the first place, to not waste.
Some aspect of racism definitely applies here, especially with the comment about “too many Indian names” brought up in court. The only reason he vaccinated many people from his cultural community was simply because they were the first ones he could reach. He called as many people as possible, his only goal was to just find arms. This would not have been brought up at all if the doctor were white and he vaccinated his friends Debby and Charles and Linda and Bob. No one would’ve raised an eyebrow and said “wow an awful lot of white people you vaccinated there.”
Well obviously? Maybe he was white and he knew many white people or lived in a white area? The sad truth is, that if it were a white man, he would be celebrated as a hero, not a criminal.
The racist comments I’ve seen are literally insane. I’ve seen people say Dr Gokal must be mailing vaccines to middle eastern terrorists- Please what?? I believe all logic goes out the window when some Americans see someone a few shades darker than themselves.
The biggest argument I’ve seen by far is- it’s not fair. But. How? These vaccines were being trashed. Wasted. They were not going to someone who could’ve deserved them more. They were being crushed when they were most needed, most precious. And most importantly- every person who got that vaccine was one hundred percent eligible. As in, if Dr Gokal hadn’t given his friends and family the about-to-be-trashed vaccines, they’d be in line within that next week anyways, consuming another entire set of vials. He could’ve gotten his people fresh new ones, but he didn’t because he felt it would be a waste of resources when there was already such short supply. This man prioritized you all’s health over his own family and community’s. He gave his people, his ‘inDiaN nAmEs’ the almost expired ones so there would be enough for the rest of the city. For all of you.
For every person he vaccinated that night, there opened up an empty spot in line the next day. A spot for your grandmother maybe, for your sick child maybe.
Someone could be alive today from his actions.
Dr Gokal helped conserve vaccines and he’s being labeled a thief. This is how our country rewards heroes. This is what our healthcare system prioritizes- petty legal formalities above human life. In a time when people are dying left and right, this is what they chose to focus their attention on. Hunting down a man who went above and beyond with zero regard for himself or his own gain and blasting him on social media and news as a criminal.
I’ve seen what it’s been doing to their family. They are so so tired of the stress, of the pressure. They don’t deserve this.
He is not a vaccine stealer. He is not some strange man from another country. He is American, just like all of you out there. He texts his daughter to please study and he plays hide-and-seek with Mikey the cat and he fixes our bikes when they break. He did the right thing and our blasted system is making him pay for it because we are so caught up in the details we hardly know right from wrong anymore. We are willing to let people die- as long as all the precious paperwork is filed, as long as our maze of systems remain perfectly in place.
Justice for Dr Hasan Gokal because he did what no one else could- care for his people. And maybe if our country cared half as much as he did, billions of people wouldn’t be dead today.
Please please sign this to help his cause
https://www.change.org/p/harris-county-district-attorney-kim-ogg-the-prosecution-of-dr-gokal-is-unjust-and-da-kim-ogg-should-stop-his-prosecution?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_27323511_en-US%3A4&recruiter=826836508&recruited_by_id=6d273550-c08c-11e7-8bf0-510c1cf8213e&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial
For the full story of what actually happened that night in detail:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html
Thank you for reading it means a lot🤍
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Name: Bel
Writing Blog URL(s): @skzctnightnight
What fandom(s) do you write for? Kpop: Stray Kids and NCT
Age: 27
Nationality: American
Languages: English
Star Sign: Capricorn
MBTI: ENFP-T
Favorite color: Pink
Favorite food: Chocolate covered marshmallows
Favorite movie: Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookie dough
Favorite animal: Dogs
Go-to karaoke song: Do Ya Think I’m Sexy by Rod Stewart or if they have it, Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus (I do NOT go to karaoke anymore)
Dream job (whether you have a job or not): Court reporter
Coffee or tea? What are you ordering?
Coffee! Iced Americano or a Cafe au Lait.
If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? Time stop
If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose?
Golden age of Hollywood, but purely as an invisible visitor
If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?
Not at all.
Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken?
100 chicken sized horses. Chickens have sharp bits!
If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been?
Like a stock character? Cool loser, not so socially awkward you can’t hang out with her, but also just weird enough that you still might not want to.
Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures?
Sure!
Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know?
I can clap with one hand!
When did you post your first piece?
January 7, 2019, 6:38 PM
Why did you decide to write for Tumblr?
Tumblr was my home for years shortly after it began, and I left it before I graduated college. When I got back into kpop, I never knew there was a fic community for it on tumblr! I wanted the sense of community that I missed from first being here.
Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why?
I write primarily plotty smut in all sorts of combinations except for crack.
Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc?
I write X Reader plots! Sometimes my pieces include an element of ships or OC’s.
What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most?
I love writing thrillers and mysteries lately, but my bread and butter is developing relationships. I enjoy college au’s and other adult life scenarios, but occasionally I really enjoy finding a perspective I don’t see very often and expanding on that.
What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand?
I love friends to lovers, and adore rivals to lovers. I like power dynamics and developing relationships. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I really do not like fate or destiny or soulmates. I like characters that stumble upon a new purpose, or feel that they’re supposed to be with someone, but I feel like destiny is just too convenient.
Who is your favorite person to write about?
I do love writing Han Jisung with all my heart. I love him so much and he has such an amazing personality to work with. I also love writing my Reader inserts.
What inspires you to write?
I love the satisfaction in crafting a plot and seeing it come together. Making a vision into a tangible piece that you can share and revisit is special, no matter how big or small.
What is your writing process like?
Typically, I mull over a concept for a couple days before I begin a bullet point outline in google docs. The draft gets added and worked on within the outline until the draft is finalized, and then I finally remove the outline framework. This is typically where the title is made with a header image before I proofread. I read one more time while formatting on tumblr itself and then post!
What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively?
I take a break, walk away, and come back. If it’s still not there, I write something either related in theme or character or something entirely different so I can get myself worked out. This sort of move has birthed a few side projects that turned into personal favorites.
What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful?
My favorite completed work is my series Standby. It began shortly after accepting the fact that I had a new bias that I wasn’t expecting and those feelings seeped into the plot and helped it grow. I never expected to get so invested in this little love story. My most successful work is my series Righteous, which my readers know I have a difficult relationship with. I understand why it has fans, but I still struggle with feeling like I could’ve done so many things better.
What do you think makes a good story?
I can’t help but feel like it’s good characters and a good plot together, as cheesy as that sounds. Everything needs a satisfying conclusion and good characters help that to be even more satisfying, even if that conclusion is sex.
What do you hope your readers take away from your work?
I hope the plot comes through, as hokey as it sounds. Some of my favorite comments are from readers who weren’t expecting to be so invested from just reading the tags and description. If I can make someone care for a character and make them want a certain ending for them, then I’m happy.
Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose?
Absolutely! I came from writing original works and the freedom is almost overwhelming at times. You can literally write whatever you want. The key to good fanfiction, though, is understanding the character you’re using and how you are using them in the plot. If the only thing the character has in common with the source is their name and appearance, then what is the point?
Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story?
I have absolutely considered it, but only for Prowl so far.
How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you?
Feedback means the world to me. Whether it’s incoherent praise, or a full length review, or even just a friendly reminder of a tag I missed, everything is valuable and helps keep me moving. Things can take exponentially longer when I’m solely writing for myself, which is easy to feel like with no feedback or engagement.
What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)?
Connecting with other writers has been beneficial and satisfactory in multiple ways. Networks and making friends with other writers has helped me improve and share my work. I really don’t think I’d be nearly as successful without these other writers. The community aspect of our craft makes it stronger.
Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged?
Definitely! And more lines get drawn the deeper you get. When tumblr first started and fanfiction(dot)net was still the reigning empire, fanfiction was purely taboo to the mainstream. Every writer was Tara Gilesbie and every work was My Immortal. Let’s be entirely real, EL James becoming a household name changed everything. But the medium is under more scrutiny than other fan work, because talent is less surface than in visual mediums. Every author is assumed to be amateur until proven otherwise, and this stigma thankfully lessens the more a reader becomes familiar with the medium. It’s that introductory phase that really affects things.
Do you think art can be a medium for change?
Absolutely! Even on a small level. In the smut side of the medium, writers are always using their platform to display ideal examples of consent, communication, and how identity is discussed and expressed. Cheesy, sure, but be the change you want to see in the world.
Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself?
I always feel as though I’m writing for others, ever since I first got feedback that my work personally affected someone. I write for them, even if I don’t know who they are. They’re just as important to the story as I am when writing it. I do write for myself, because why else would I? I cook for myself, but food is better when shared. I write for myself, but it’s always better when shared.
Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times?
Considering the ethics of the specific nuances of my writing (real people x reader smut) it’s hard not to feel that way, to be honest.
Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr?
On a need to know basis! My fiancé knows and is incredibly supportive. My friends know (except for friends on Tumblr), and they’re completely supportive or simply don’t mind and pay it no attention. My mom knows, but she doesn’t know I write smut specifically. No one tell my mom lmao.
What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers?
I want them to know I love and appreciate all of them. I do want to know more about what they like or don’t like, but I understand why it’s difficult to engage sometimes.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there?
Make a pen name and create a new you. Does anyone actually think my name is Belmont? When you have your new you, get to networking. Socializing is hard, but making friends who support you and want to share your work is important. Start out with requests and hate and doubt your work like everyone else. That fear is normal, that doubt is normal, but it’s how you use that fear and doubt that matters. Use it as fuel to write, and prove it to yourself.
Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr?
Sure! There are some users on here who have too much time on their hands and not enough hobbies so they use their precious time on this earth to harass writers. That toxicity makes it tempting to regret this whole venture.
Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey?
I keep saying this and I will keep saying this, but I only started this blog after feeling encouraged by Bea @sluttyten to do so. She’s been such an incredible, dear friend, just like Lexi @hellapainyo who came as soon as I started. Moe @wildernessuntothemselves helped me realize some of my strengths and embrace my writing. Rae @starxblossom is truly my younger sister on the other side of the planet, and I love geeking out or plotting together. Yue @yueliangs-wonderland is such an inspiration and dear friend of mine. I can’t imagine being here and enjoying myself like I do without her. There’s so many more, and I love all of them.
Pick a quote to end your interview with:
“What critics call dirty in our pictures, they call lusty in foreign films.” - Billy Wilder
BONUS ROUND: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL
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What do you think about having both mars and lilith in the 7th house? I have these placements and the general descriptions I’ve read from astro forums scared the ever living shite out of me lol
I’m interested to know your perspective on how these placements would play out :D
okayyyy I love “Scary” placements because they’re not that scary and I’m a slut for people with power placements lmao -hi, me with mars and saturn in the first house ;))) --
what’s the sign that’s in? I mean is it like a “Serious” sign like Capricorn or Scorpio. not gonna lie that would be kinda hot xD is it in like Taurus or Libra?
I think it really boils down to what it’s also... aspecting with right. my lilith is in my fourth house and I don’t really connect with it outside of what happened to me growing up. I also don’t have aspects to it. except for like one or two.
and I mean just break it down ya know? Mars, the passion, the fire, the rage and the instinct. in the SEVENTH house. the house of partnerships. so you’re passionate about who you’re with. you’ll defend them and love them. so it comes out to you more in relationships. you might be more impulsive in those relationships. Just... with mars, I get someone so full of life, and someone who cares so much that like they will strike down anyone with their bare fists if they have to lol
and I mean lilith isn’t that scary either. I think people just have their own bias. ya know? like no placement is inherently good or bad, it’s what we do with those placements that make the man. do you nurture them and let them grow into what they can be? or do you stay undeveloped and be the whiny kindergartner?
Lilith in this house just makes you more private with your love affairs. you have strong passions, even stronger now that you also have the martian ruler with you. they’re like friends in this house lol. they fuel each others flames and it’s pretty fucking hot xD but I like intense, passionate people.
this can be you also attracting these kind of people to you. if you’re not into intense people or strong people -aries, scropio, capricorn... maybe some geminis lol- then yea, I can see how it can be a little secret. with these two in the house of relationships you want to talk about dark things with people. what scares them, what horrific things they have seen or done. like. you like the darker things to the relationship. You want it to be a little deep, intense and romantic. who cares lol
and you get a little angry??? so what lol. everyone should be free to express their emotions xD.
your relationships will only make you stronger. you attract strong people, you become a strong person yourself. if this is tmi don’t answer but how’s the sex?? xD with all that intense energy it must be good.
be carefullll though that you don’t attract abusers lol.
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Hey. This is not an ask. Just a vminler ranting i guess. I always loved vmin and the fandom but recently i am coming across more and more delulu vmin shippers and with the sudden increase in poularity i fear that vmin will become the next larry :(
Sadly this is a problem that comes with gaining in popularity. We say Vmin shippers are the best/softest/least delulu maknae line shippers and part of that is probably because Vmin themselves are seen as very soft and obviously loving but often with a platonic label. Safe, one could say. But mostly I think it has to do with Vmin being the least popular out of the three. Now, when Vmin has gained new followers and start to look as “competition” against other popular ships you will get more negativity towards them (calling them fake for example) and you will also get more fans who act rude/crazy or delulu. It really happens to all popular ships. Or fandoms, which is why I can recognize there are plenty of toxic ARMY as well, it just happens with growth of a fandom sadly. It’s important to remember this in regard to other ships and fandoms as well, that just because it seems to be a lot of rude or delulu fans, not everyone part of a community is like that.
Within One Direction too it’s far from only Larry that had very deulu shippers, but they were clearly the biggest and loudest group. Also I don’t really think we can compare Larry to any BTS ship because Larry and more importantly One Directions management did a lot of really weird things that fueled on those fans as well, I really can’t blame Larry shippers for finding things weird, because they were. But so were a lot of things with 1D, and the main problem with Larry as with many other shippers are that there are many loud and very cocky people who “know they are right“ and act rude about it and even let it affect the members involved. Just like how people write about ships on weverse or vlive or bring shipping signs to concerts etc.
Why I am not all that scared of “vmin becoming the new Larry” is because there are too many crossing ships popular in BTS. There is no clear “winner” in popularity so fans are less likely to be convinced of a ship being real. And even if one ship became like Larry I doubt it would be Vmin.
That being said I also agree that seeing more clearly convinced and delulu Vmin shippers isn’t a good thing and will likely reflect on the whole Vmin community as it gets worse. If you are a fan that can’t separate what a minority of fans do loudly from the majority of quiet fans it will be difficult to keep on enjoying your ship as you used to. I don’t think we will have to be afraid of becoming “the next Larry” but I do think we will see delulu vmin shippers increase more and more.
What I try to do is to not give in to believing everything and hyping up every small moment, to remember that other ships have moments as well and that BTS all love each other no matter what. I will keep talking about why it’s dangerous to get too biased or act certain about your view being correct, but in the end I can’t do more than say this and hope some listen. I won’t be able to stop more and more shippers from becoming more delulu as times go by. Especially not if Vmin keeps being as open and affectionate as they have been the last year.
So yeah, while I understand your rant and agree with it partly, my only advice is to find a way to enjoy BTS and Vmin in a way that you are comfortable with. If you can ignore the comments you don’t like and stand up against people you feel cross the line in a calm way that’s great. But if you can’t then that’s ok too, as long as you personally feel comfortable. <3
Maybe find people you can talk to openly and remind not to get too swept up if it feels like they are about to get carried away. I know I have moments I find myself feeling delulu too, but I try to take a step back if I notice I do.
Sorry if my reply can’t bring too much comfort, but at least remember that being delulu is mostly a bias in combination with confidence and a lack of understanding a lot of what you personally think and feel is interpretation and not facts.
We can still enjoy Vmin, no matter what their bond is, and no matter how other shippers act. It all depends on how we personally get affected by others.
Also, I realize this might sound hypocritical coming from a person who does Vmin analysis and think there actually possibly could be something between Vmin, but again I think the real problems start when you act like you are superior and have all the facts, not when you just question things in general. This goes for other ships as well, not just Vmin.
I hope I maybe could make you feel a little bit better, and that you will be able to keep enjoying Vmin’s bond no matter how the fandom evolves. Please don’t be too sad or worried and remember that no matter what Vmin loves each other a lot, and that should be enough. <3
#jimin#btsandvmin#Vmin#Taehyung#Btsandvmin ask#Btsandvmin answer#Bts shipping#Delulu shippers#My post
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Chapter 1: Teaming up with a criminal she hates? A good plan, truly
Edit: Yeah, remember how I said the beginning hasn’t changed in a while?
Well... heh...
But still, enjoy this slightly less canon chapter anyways.
“No one knows the exact moment or reason why the Gifted became this way.
“Some believe it was the consistent radiation due to the nuclear war in 1948; with the chemicals floating through the air and giving a few who survived abilities to gain the upper hand. This combat led to the planet we live in today. According to elders, there used to be an abundance of resources and technology, but the wars had decimated nearly everyone who knew how even an ‘automobile’ worked and the fuel required to use them was impossible to obtain.
“Others think it was an insane mutation that occurred in our species, not unlike the anomaly that caused humans to have larger brains and become more developed than many other species of their time. This is my personal belief, because, from what I can infer out of the 100 years of suffering, Gifts seem to be somewhat passed down within families.
“Still more believe it to have been geneticists of the era splicing genes of certain species beyond recognition, and they forced the Gifted to be a reality instead of one’s nightmare. Though, this is unlikely, due to the amount of the Giftless who have given birth to a Gifted person.
“A minuscule fraction of people think humans got it by mating with animals in order to obtain those traits and therefore gain a biological advantage. Those ones are, undeniably, incorrect. I’m pretty sure the constant exposure to radiation messed with their minds.
“But what truly are Gifts? They are, to state it simply, magical abilities. Usually, they develop by age ten, but they tend to crop up around five years old — typically adding features that hadn’t been there beforehand. They currently have little to no history, but they’ve started becoming more and more varied throughout the generations (or maybe that’s just because people are more willing to have kids now)-.”
Cal Montello looked up from his book just in time to avoid getting trampled by a horse. “I thought you were paying attention for us,” he whined at his twin, but the slight smile on his face told her that he wasn’t really all that upset. He probably should have been, he had almost gotten run over, but since it hadn’t happened he didn’t care. Crisis averted, stay tuned for next time to see whether or not he got killed.
“Technically, it is your turn to pay attention,” she argued. “Besides, why are you even reading that book? The author sounds biased.”
“Well, Mrs. Plinthe happens to agree with this bias. If I’m writing two, five page essays tonight I’d better get a perfect score.” While their mentor had never been particularly lenient on them, she had amped up her teaching style the past year, and it took an undeniable toll on him: even makeup could hardly conceal the dark circles under his eyes. Alexia certainly pitied him, but she couldn’t help being grateful that she had been born twenty minutes later — she did not envy him in the slightest. She’d take not having to try over a crown any day.
“Isn’t there supposed to be a banquet tonight, though?”
“Er… probably,” he said after a few moments.
The iron gates of the castle came into view and, as if by magic, all the broken down homes and beggars seemed to disappear into neatly rolling hills, flowered gardens, and pathways lined by clean homes. People still bustled about with the same urgency, but they tended to keep their distance from everyone around them. A few chanced waves at the twins, who smiled and waved back to seem polite, but none approached them.
The pair slumped unanimously as they reached the gates. They passed through, a stiff silence between the two siblings as they sulked through the gardens, a pair of bodyguards on their heels.
Their guards left them without a word, joining the others walking along tiny footpaths into the flowers.
The royals pretended not to notice a gardener attempting to cover up what they assumed to be a plant that had died to the Frost. Most humans had expected a wasteland full of mutated creatures but instead had gotten a nuclear winter. Humans had only survived by going into hiding with a few domesticated animals.
The snow made the castle look warm and inviting. That’s what snow does, right?
Despite the exterior, the castle was gorgeous once you made it inside. Flowering plants dotted the rooms, giving much-needed splashes of color. Smiling portraits were hung in every room. Stone floors were decorated with bright mosaics. Numerous attendants could be found in any given room.
They hounded the pair the moment they recognized their faces in the door.
“Alexia, would you like us to iron your dress for you?”
“Your hair must be fixed.”
“Cal, what did the queen say about you wearing those glasses in public? And where are your contacts?”
The twins had never had a normal life, but they figured it felt something like having a hundred moms around the moment they got home… except for the fact that they only did it in order to be paid.
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Ah, no, thank you all, though. I would like to be alone for a minute, then I’ll work on my appearance.”
Alexia crossed her arms over her chest. “Won’t you need help getting into your outfit?”
“I want to be alone with Cheshire to recharge a bit. I will call someone when I need help… but thank you. See you later, Alex,” he chirped. He gave her one last kiss on the cheek before he disappeared down the many halls. Alexia didn’t think much of it.
Until he wasn’t at the party, that is.
Once a week the queen met with the other six rulers of the kingdoms and other powerful people throughout what had been England. It existed solely as a way to boost both her popularity and ego. The richest and most influential came, such as the Hans (well, the father did, everyone else was almost always sick), that one princess that for some reason wouldn’t leave the twins alone, the entirety of Gardenia’s royal family, and many more people Alexia struggled to really care about.
Cal and Alexia had to go every time no matter what; Alexia knew something was amiss when Cal didn’t show. The queen made up an excuse about how Cal had gotten sick and ended up being unable to come to the banquet. Alexia gave a smile, nodding her agreement wordlessly.
She mumbled that she wanted to be excused as soon as she deemed it acceptable. When questioned on it, she said that she wanted to make sure Cal was okay, which really wasn’t a lie. She got a few coos about how good of a sister she was, then left.
She broke into a sprint once she had gotten out of earshot of the guests.
The room looked as if it had been hit by a hurricane — the sheets strewn across the floor, the drawers forced open in a rush, books and papers littered the floor, the list containing their secret codes in tatters on the ground, their food stash had been depleted and so had a large portion of their money. It looked as if Cal had run away.
Alexia knew better. Sure, Cal had voiced his distaste of the castle many times before, the fact that he hated being there enough to leave was pretty much common knowledge. However, if he was ever to leave he would have certainly asked her to go with him, or at least warned her of his departure. No, he’d been forced out, and rather suddenly.
Alexia looked at her suitcase and began packing the essentials: clothes, food, books, maps, clothes, sheets so she wouldn’t have to lay on the ground, weapons, money, clothes… the list went on and on until she had filled seven bags. The essentials were getting less and less essential, she noted, and put down the tiara that she had considered taking in order to look cute. She looked through her bags and removed a bit, but honestly couldn’t part with much.
Who should I take with me? Obviously not the castle staff, I can’t tear them away from their occupations, and the other royals couldn’t care less. I’m not getting someone else injured because I mess up, she mused. So, who could hypothetically get injured without impacting Mandalo? Maybe… She made a decision and walked to the stables. She freed her prized horse, a strong black one named Blackjack, and loaded her up with all of her belongings.
She clambered onto Blackjack’s back and set off to the other side of the city where the slums were located, pulling her hood over her head so fewer people would recognize her. The princess had hidden her bags under a blanket so she didn’t look too wealthy, though she did feel people staring at her as she made her way to the thief’s house.
Not everyone owns a horse, Alexia, might as well have worn a giant sign saying ‘rich person’ on your back.
She rapped on the door twice and waited. The house was not at all what she expected of the thief: small, dingy, one of the windows broken, in general disrepair. The twins gave him far too much money for what he did, so she couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t afford a better house than the decaying one-roomer.
Alexia regretted her decision the moment she spotted Nathan Green’s face in the doorframe. The male was unhealthily skinny, with matted hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Yellow freckles were dull under a thin layer of grime. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he gave her a once over. Both twins had long since used to this, the general Which one is this routine. She could have lifted her bangs to give him an easier time, but she didn’t. Once he came to a decision he motioned for her to get on with it.
“Hello, Nathaniel,” said Alexia, toying with her fingers.
“Evenin’, princesa. Why are you here?” He asked. If there was anything to like about the criminal, it was that he always got to the point.
“Your ‘occupation’ is finding things us royals lost, is it not?”
“Sometimes…” Nathan said carefully.
Alexia straightened to her full height. He wasn’t impressed. “I lost Cal, help me find him,” she ordered.
“No,” he said, moving to close the door. Alexia put her foot out to stop him. He seemed to consider breaking her foot with the door for a minute.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” She whined, more than aware that she sounded like a four-year-old who wasn’t allowed a new toy.
“I mean ‘no’. I could say it in Spanish if you’d like.” He moved to close the door once again, almost crushing Alexia’s foot in the process.
“I’ll pay you, of course,” Alexia said quickly, wishing she had started with that. The male paused for a moment and she flexed her foot a few times to make sure it was okay. “One hundred lous if you come with me,” she added before he lost interest.
He opened the door fully, leaning against the frame.
“Listen, it’s not that I don’ like you… actually that’s exactly it, you suck. I have things to do other than help you, princesa.”
She couldn’t miss the greedy look in his eye, though.
“I’ll give you an extra fifty lous if we do find them. You have a baseline of one hundred even if we fail,” she offered, and she could immediately tell that he was sold. Nonetheless, he pretended to mull it over.
Really, just say yes. We’re losing valuable time.
“I guess I could help you find them, it’s only a month or so anyways if we can get this done quickly,” he said after a while, cracking a devilish grin that almost made Alexia nervous. “I’m finally growin’ on you, then? Took, what, thirteen years?” He teased, before disappearing into his home. Only a few seconds passed before the thief popped out with only a small bag slung over his shoulder.
“You don’t want to bathe before we go? Whatever, I suppose, let’s get started. If we leave now we might be able to catch up to him. He’s going on foot,” she said.
“Do I get un caballo?” Alexia stared at him until he started motioning to the horse.
Nathan and his family were from Spain, so she wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t aware of certain terms. What did she do with this knowledge? Attempt to trick him, of course.
“You mean a ‘school’,” she lied. The male looked offended.
“Honestly, how dumb do you think I am?” he whined with a defeated expression, as if he already regretted agreeing to help Alexia. She chose not to answer his question and he pretended not to notice.
A true friendship.
So, they went to the royal stables and Nathan tried to pick a horse. The horses all whinnied as if in protest as he neared them. Smart animals.
“Honestly, which one of them am I supposed to choose? They’re all so creepy and…” He trailed off. “Caballos,” he whispered disdainfully, before choosing the one that seemed least likely to murder him. It obviously wanted to, but he stuck to his decision anyways. “AYYYYYY- c’mon, Lance, I just want to live-” he stopped speaking as he was distracted — he had fallen over Lance’s head and laid in a pile of hay dejectedly.
“Horses can sense fear,” Alexia said ‘helpfully’ as she watched him climb on again.
“So, it’s called a horse.” He pumped his hand in the air victoriously before almost sliding off the tail-end of his steed.
Getting outside ended up being relatively easy. No one came up and bothered them for fear of upsetting the princess, the guards pretended they didn’t see her sneaking out, and Nathan managed not to magically die.
This good mood did not last.
While it was clear there used to be a forest outside, little had actually survived. The only living plants were pioneer species attempting to break through the snow. There wasn’t an animal in sight, it wasn’t obvious any had ever existed.
Sure, she’d been outside before, but only in a carriage, and she tended to sleep during trips. To actually see the world was horrifying.
Alexia pulled her map from her many, many bags. “There’s a part where the path forks up ahead. One leads to Gardenia and then the other kingdoms, the other leads to the Giftless Camp. Which one do you want to try first?” She questioned. Though she had asked, she didn’t want to head off to where the Giftless were; it was criminal territory, and traveling with one of them was more than enough for her.
Nathan idly twirled his knife through his fingers, which she figured would end up with a few missing. “Cal probably went towards the place with all of the Lames,” he said.
“Giftless,” she corrected. The Giftless were exactly what they sounded like, people without any form of ‘magical’ ability, though there were so few of them that they had been renamed ‘Lames’ by the general population. Discrimination against disadvantaged minorities? That’s basically unheard of! Nonetheless, they were to be taken to a labor camp once they reached eleven years of age. Most people avoided the topic like the plague.
“Are you going to explain your reasoning, Einstein?” She muttered sarcastically after a few moments.
He sighed so loudly he must have broken a rib.
“Obviously there would be fewer people in that direction. Whatever he was runnin’ from was clearly terrifyin’, he would go where it would be harder for them to find him,” he explained slowly, as if explaining two plus two. It annoyed Alexia that he made sense.
“Whatever, I suppose we should find a place to sleep before it gets too dark,” she mumbled, holding out a hand and concentrating for a short moment. The light around them gathered into a ball in her fingers, but even that was faint with so little to work with. She figured they had about an hour before even her Gift would be useless. She found herself actually glad for the lack of trees, as they would have run out of light long beforehand. “Maybe they’re at an inn or something,” she tried, though she doubted it.
She wondered if she would be able to find him if he didn’t wish to be found. He’s been gone for less than a day, don’t give up yet, Alexia scolded herself mentally, looking around. Nothing but dead shrubbery as far as the eye could see, certainly not any buildings.
“A place to stay out here? We’ll take shifts. Go ahead and sleep.”
The princess wanted to argue, but she couldn’t deny that sleep sounded really good. She pulled a pillow and blanket from one of her bags and promptly passed out.
#chapter 1#alexia's pov#cal#alexia#nathan#holy crap guys look i uploaded chapter 1!!!!#also i had almost no internet all week so i couldn't have updated sooner sorry#ill get back to my only somewhat inconsistent schedule now#probably should put the name of the book and part in the tags huh oops#gifted#part one: the lost prince#writing#original writing#ocs
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One thing that pisses me off in the SnK fandom is how most treat as if Marleyans are the victims in Liberio. No. Not fucking true. The only victims there are the Eldian civilians and foreign dignitaries that Marley DELIBERATELY set up for deaths. Marley knew an attack might happen but didn't minimize casualties. They MAXIMIZED the casualties for their own benefit. Tybur said it its part of their plan himself. So fuck Marley and their tyrannical empire. Those heartless assholes are no victims.
I agree with you anon. Completely.
There's this misconception going around about what really went down in Liberio. People are all too eager to point fingers at Eren (not even the SC or, strangely enough Zeke as well) and only Eren. Besides their bias regarding him, I can see why: he crushed all those people and it was horrifying. In our world legal jargon that could be considered a war crime. But still: you are totally right regarding how some ppl miss the Tybur/Magath side in all of this. It was a political plot and move they decided to implement as soon as they knew an attack was inminent. They both knew and choose to use it to further their own agendas: to lay all blame on Paradis and it's demonic leader, thus redirecting all the attention and anger of the world away from Marley. You know, the country that was invading them and forcing their citizens to join the marley military to keep invading even more countries. That's a war crime. The marleyan volunteers formed bc of that.
The kids have the gist of it
Willy and Magath knew Marley was in danger: the power of the titans they had used for almost a century to opress the rest of the world was no longer unbeatable; if they didn't change tactics Marley was going down. That's why they, egged on by Zeke, attempt to invade Paradis as soon as they could to seize it's resources. But the higher ups were not ready to accept the power of the titans was declining. And it's for that that Magath and Willy decide to take matters into their own hands.
Here they are talking about all the old and stubborn higher ups they need to remove from the picture if they want their plan to succeed. As they knew the enemy was planning an attack, what best way to get rid off the old trash than to put them directly into the line of fire? It was for the good of Marley after all.
Remember: Willy and the Tyburs were the defacto leaders of Marley. By working together they had the chance to install Magath, the one able to see where the future was gonna lead them if they didn't take action, as the higher military authority of Marley. Tybur and Magath were co conspirators.
And for that goal they were gonna use the enemy inminent attack to make their play.
They invite representatives from all over the world with the excuse of a peace treaty and a new declaration of war at the same time. Using Willys charisma and good connections, they convinced them to reunited for an important announcement in the Liberio Interminent Zone.
The world sees eldians (sans the Tyburs) as dirty blooded demons. Inviting them to Liberio, as the kids told us, is paramount to being asked to hold a meeting in a dumpster. Under the pretense of good will, they were actually knowingly leading all those foreign dignataries to their deaths. They choose to make this sacrifice, to use their biggotry and deaths as fuel to justify their crusade against the island. Willy Tybur as bait, the supposed holder of the WH, was tempting. Gathering all the military higher ups an even more tantalizing one. The stage was set already.
Once they convinced the world of their pure intentions and how Eren Jaeger and Paradis were ready to annihilate them all, once their declaration of war was heard and baptized with the willing blood of Willy and all the other witness as sacrifices, and the military purged, Magath was ready to capitalized on all of it.
Willy talks about how Marley as a nation belongs to both eldians and marleyans. The nerve of that guy. The same eldians they let be opressed and weaponized in Marleys conquest wars. The same eldians that lived cramped in ghettos and at the first signs of dissidence were tortured and turned into monsters. They same eldians that were so hated, so despised that some dude could literally feed a lil girl to the dogs without consequences. Because she and all the others were demons. The Tyburs were eldians as well, and willingly choose to not only turn a blind eye to all that, but to make it the norm. They lived grand, comfortable lifes at the cost of all their people suffering. In my eyes that's unforgiva
ble.
Were the victims Marleyans? Of course not!! Why should they be? All they needed was the world representatives and the trash of society to bleed in front of that stage. Uniting the world as a whole, even mainland eldians, against the devils of Paradis Island. Marleyan civillians suffered almost no cassualities, bc I bet there were few who would had put up with the devils stench just for a glimpse of what was happening. The only marlyans who died were military. That's what both parts were after: Willly and Magath wanting to purge them, and Eren and the SC as well.
So no, the only people who died that night were either soldiers, dignataries or eldians from Liberio whose lives all made for a pretty sacrifice in order to redirect the hatred of the whole world. No one else. And they died in part bc Magath and the Tyburs decided to use those deaths instead of preventing them.
As for if they deserved to die... my answer is no. No matter how easly swayed and bloodthristy all of those foreign guests were, I don't think they deserved to be crushed like that. It was brutal. The eldians and honorary marleyans even less. They were disposable tools, poor ppl whose lives were hell and their deaths used as fuel to Marleys new holy war. Nobody asked them if they were willing to lay down their lives as Willy desired to do with his own.
As for the military that Eren, Armin and the rest of the SC felled... those were soldiers at least. People who chose to wear those uniforms and fight. If they werent so awful Id feel pity for how Magath and Willy played them. But they were all horrible and cruel ppl so I dont give a damn. Fuck Marley.
Thanks for asking!!!
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Longest Night (14) Gasping
Marinette had thought Highschool had been hard. Right now, in this moment, she'd give anything to go back to those petty arguments and gossip fueled drama. But she couldn't. Instead, she and Adrien were trapped here, being punished, humiliated, tortured, for being heroes, all broadcasted for the world to see. At least she and her kitty were in this together. For now. Whump!Fic
Ao3 | FF.net
Warning: This chapter, we go back to Adrien and Marinette, and it is very dark. There is a conversation with Hawkmoth, and then after that, things get grim.
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7:00 am.
As strange as it would seem, this was the most comfortable Adrien had been in the last 24 hours. The chain held his bum arm up so weight wasn’t pulling on it. He wasn’t in a small enclosed space, and he wasn’t laying on hard dirty ground. The stage lights were warm as they beat down on him from all sides.
Finally, he could get some rest. Though again, rest was to loose term.
Marinette didn’t bother him. She just watched from across him to make sure he was still breathing.
All that was left to do was wait. Wait for Salo to come back and inflict more pain. Wait for her to mess up, give someone a clue. Wait for the authorities or someone to find them.
She tried pulling at the chains, and tried to make her hand slide through the cuff, but it was solid, and cutting into her wrist the more she moved.
So her feeble escape plan ended prematurely.
8:00 am
There were people looking for them right? Mr. Agreste had certainly seemed like he had been following their tribulations. Her parents had been in that room too, right?
What about the others? What about Alya and Nino? The rest of their classmates?
With the way they had left things in the classroom, she wouldn’t be surprised if they had abandoned them. At least her. Adrien didn’t do anything wrong.
Well, neither did she, but sometimes that’s enough to draw enemies.
What was Lila saying about her now? Not that it mattered anyways, but it was impossible to not think about it.
Don’t let people who hate you take up real estate in your head. That was something her mom had always said. Meaning not to give thought to how others have wronged you, if you can’t do anything about it. It made more sense than ‘forgive and forget’. Right now, Lila was none of her concern. And depending on what she was like when and if they got out, she may not ever be a problem again.
Marinette wanted to believe they would beat this foe like anything other. She wanted to believe that they’d fight the good fight. But without Miraculous, what could a model and a baker’s daughter do? Sure, they had the brains of a superhero team, but what good were brains against guns?
9:00 am
She surveyed the room. There was one man sitting in the shadows, his reflective classes illuminated by the light of the computer screen. He hadn’t so much as sneezed in the hours they had been here.
“Hey,” Marinette called.
He didn’t reply.
“Can I ask for water? Does Salo want us to die of dehydration?”
He finally turned to look at her. Then after a beat, he stood and went to Salo’s table of horrors.
Marinette couldn’t see what he was doing, but she heard him pouring something.
He came over with a glass of water, or so she hoped. It had a straw.
“This isn’t poisoned, is it?” She frowned.
He only held it up to her, face impassive.
Well, If this was the opportunity to get a drink, she wasn’t going to miss it.
Hesitantly, she took the straw and sucked up some water. Well, what was partly water. And partly something else? It burned and certainly didn’t taste good. If anything, it dried her mouth out more.
“Ugh!” She shivered as the liquid sloshed uncomfortably in her empty stomach. “What is that?”
“Water.” Said the man. “With a little Vodka. To kill the bacteria.”
“What?”
“It’s not tap water.”
“Then...where did it come from?”
The man shrugged. He walked over to Adrien, smacking his face.
He blinked blearily, noting the glass and took a drink. He finished all the water, before he shuttered and coughed. Then, almost immediately, he fell back to sleep.
The man set down the glass, and meandered back to the computer, off frame. She could see as he moved, he had an earpiece in. Most likely to hear Salo’s commands.
Even if the woman wasn’t in the room, she was still in control of it.
11:00am
Marinette’s stomach was growling quite loudly. She wouldn’t be surprised if those at home watching could hear it.
Noon
In vain, she tried to swing her arms around, trying to get the feeling back in them. Her hands tingled unpleasantly and her arms trembled. She swallowed, trying to quell the dryness in her throat, but it did little good. She didn’t bother asking for more water. Salo was going to make sure they didn’t die until she wanted them to. She didn’t want to make herself sick in the meantime.
1:00pm
She started to feel lightheaded and nauseous. There was a large chance it was the lack of food. On the other hand, she had had her arms raised above her head for the last few hours.
2:00pm
It was stifling under these lights. She needed more water, even with the alcohol in it.
3:00pm
There were at least four cameras in the room. One behind Adrien, pointed at her; one behind her, pointed at Adrien; one on their side, and one towards the ceiling looking down.
Marinette kept staring at the one behind Adrien, looking right in the lens. She imagined those who were watching. Her parents, Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie. Maybe her classmates. Fans. Children.
“Hey,” she spoke to them. “If you’re watching this, you…you’re probably feeling a little hopeless. I don’t blame you. I feel…pretty hopeless too. I mean, I’m…I’m stuck. I’m not sure how I’m going to get out of this. But…but Ladybug always saves the day, right?” She glanced away, choosing her words. “My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m 17 years old, and my favorite color is pink. I’m the daughter of the best bakers in Paris, though I might be a little bias.” She smiled slightly. “Before I became Ladybug, I was a normal girl, with a normal life. What made me extraordinary, was my willingness to help others, and my kindness. So Paris, I have a favor to ask:
“Be helpful and kind. Go out of your way do something nice for someone once a day. If you can do this for me, then I know Paris will be safe until we return.”
She glanced over to Adrien, then the man at the computer, and then back at the camera. “Maman, Papa...I’m really really sorry I had to hide this from you. I didn’t want to, and some days I thought about how much easer it would be if I just told you. How I could explain the lateness and absences, and my bad grades. But I just had to let you think I was a bad kid. It was for your safety, after all...but despite my best efforts, this still happened, and now you’re in danger. Please get somewhere safe. Leave Paris if you have to. I love you so much. I promise I’ll be out soon.”
Her bit the inside of her cheek, hesitating, but then said, “Alya, I’m sorry too. You…you probably feel kinda betrayed right now. But, like I said, it was for your own safety. You were put in peril so many times because of me. How many more would that have been if Hawkmoth thought you knew my identity? After everything, I hope you finally believe me now...sorry, that was harsh. I...I’ll forgive you, if you forgive me. Deal?”
Then she was out of words. What else could she possibly say? ‘It’s going to be okay?’ Because she had no idea if it was.
4:00pm
She started to follow the cracks in the walls with her eyes. It was hard to see them in the shadows, but she’d follow a line until she couldn’t any longer.
Then, her eyes ran into a letter. And another. And another. Squinting, she could sort of make out a word. Not one she immediately recognized, but it was a word none the less.
‘Notausgang’
Marinette stared at it for a long time. Was it an acronym?
Adrien inhaled harshly, then squinted against the light. “My lady?” He whispered, his voice soft with sleep.
“I’m here kitty. Did you get some sleep?”
“Yeah, I…I was exhausted. Sorry to leave you alone.”
“It’s fine, Cat. You were awake alone last night. I say we’re even.”
“Did I miss anything?”
“Not really. I tried to give a pep talk to those watching us. But I don’t know how genuine it sounded.”
“I bet it was lovely, My Lady.”
She smiled at him, longingly. She desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him for hours. Somewhere safe, where the Salo’s and Lila’s and Hawkmoth’s of the world could never find them.
It was odd, staring at Adrien like this. It had nearly been a full 24 hours since they were revealed to each other, and now, he felt like a stranger to her, rather than Chat Noir or Adrien. Both. And Neither. She still loved him, of course, that was undeniable, but her view of him was skewed.
It didn’t matter anyway. There was no point in asking the big questions right now. What were they now? How did this change their dynamic? If Chat loved Ladybug, did that mean—
“Notausgang.” She blurted.
“Pardon?”
“Notausgang. Does that word sound familiar?”
He creased his brow, thinking. “No...it sounds German though. Why?”
“It’s written on the wall behind you.”
“Like Graffiti?”
“No...it looks like it’s supposed to be there. Like a sign.”
“A German sign on the wall? You don’t think...we’re in Germany, do you?”
She swallowed thickly. “I have no clue where we are, but...why else would there be German on the wall?”
“Well, maybe we’re still in France. Maybe not Paris, but Alsace-Lorraine or...” he choked.
“Oh Kitty,” she tried to console, though this revelation had shaken her too. If they weren’t in Paris, what were the chances they’d be found? How likely would it be for Rena Rouge and Carapace to take trip to Germany without raising suspicion in their normal lives?
Did the authorities in Germany even care about Parisian superheroes?
6:00pm
The door opened with a loud creak.
Up until this moment, Marinette had been silently praying for Salo to come back and just get it over with, because the suspense was killing her. But now, her stomach was in her shoes and she was terrified.
“Well well well, how are we doing now? 12 hours is a long time to leave you hanging around. I’m so sorry, I meant to come back sooner, but I had errands to run.”
She set a paper bag down on her table in the shadows.
“I heard your little speech, Ladybug. Very moving. I’m sure mommy and daddy loved to hear all about how you lied to them over and over for years. And the Ladyblogger! Oh, she must be absolutely crushed. Her best friend, her hero, lying selfishly. Dangling that one bit of knowledge that she always wanted just out of reach. What a friend!”
Marinette looked away, in an attempt to block out her lies.
“But I’d like to correct one thing, however. You told Paris to be kind and all that junk, to make sure it stays safe until you could come back. Sorry, Ladyliar, you’re not leaving. Gabriel Agreste blew the only chance of Adrien getting out, and you…you have no chance. I have you right where I want you.”
Marinette glared at her, her eyes full of malice and rebellion.
“So much spirit in you still. That’s fine, we’ll cure you of that soon enough.”
Pasolini came over, undoing the chains that kept them hanging from the ceiling, and instead had their hands link behind their backs.
Adrien’s bum arm flopped uselessly down, and a wince pulled from his mouth.
Another man came forward with two steel buckets, and placed them on the floor in front of them, upside down.
“Step up.” Salo commanded.
They had to be careful, as the buckets wobbled with the uneven weight.
Marinette’s flipped out underneath her, and she fell shoulder first on the ground.
“My lady!” Adrien called out, but he was swiftly silenced with an elbow to the gut.
“Get up.” Salo demanded, standing above her.
Without the use of her arms, Marinette struggled to stand. Finally figuring out how to do so, she returned to her feet. The bucket was righted, and she stood back on it again, no fumbling this time.
Salo held her hands up like she was framing a picture. “Yes, yes this is all coming together.”
With a little swing in her step and a hum on her lips, Salo waltz over to her table, and returned with two black cloth bags.
The first one, she brought over to Adrien, holding it open and bringing it towards his face.
“No…no, no please don’t! Please!”
“Oh, what’s wrong kitty cat? Afraid of the dark?”
Adrien didn’t answer, just continued to stare with wide, fearful eyes.
“Or are we…claw-strophobic?” She grinned.
He never hated a pun. Until now. Was this woman going to ruin puns for him?
Without his consent, he whimpered, his lips trembling.
With a chuckle, she raised the hood again, ready to put it over his head.
“Incoming call ma’am.” The man at the computer spoke.
Salo backed off, gleefully going towards him. “Oh, a call, hmm?”
“The facial recognition program found a match.”
“Oh goody. We mustn’t keep him waiting then!”
The large screen opposite of them blinked to life, and there, in a dark room, with a completely phlegmatic expression, stood Hawkmoth. The man who had spent years trying to kill them.
Marinette couldn’t imagine this conversation going well.
“My my, took you long enough. I would have thought Hawkmoth would have the Ladyblog as the home screen on his computer.”
“Did you summon me to antagonize me?”
“Summon you? What, like you’re some sort of demon? Some kind of god?”
He remained emotionless.
“Your face says I’m wasting your time, but your eyes say you’re jealous.”
“Get on with it.”
She chuckled, “And impatient too. No wonder you always lost.”
She walked over to the safe, entering a combination that Marinette couldn’t quite make out. Then she walked to the camera and held out her hand. “Here, the Ladybug earrings and the Black Cat ring. Bonafide jewels of magic. Now, what will you give me for them?”
Hawkmoth narrowed his eyes.
“I have no idea what you want with these. I can’t see the appeal of a grown man running around playing superhero. Perhaps you want the Black Cat to use for heists? But I couldn’t fathom a use for the Ladybug earrings. Unless you want them to be a circus performer.”
Marinette bit her lip, she desperately hoped that Hawkmoth wouldn’t say anything about the ultimate power of their combination.
Luckily, Hawkmoth just kept his mouth shut, and continued to glare with his steely expression.
“You know, in bartering, there has to actually be, you know…bartering.”
“What about the children?” He asked. “If I want the gems, and those two along with them. What’s the price?”
Salo barked out a laugh. “You-you want—oh that’s rich! What? You want to torture them yourself?” She shook her head. “No can do, Hawkman. I have business with them. But that was a good joke.” She wiped a pretend tear from her eyes. “Look, these are useless to me. I have all the power anyone could ever want. I’m being reasonable by offering these to you first, since you so desperately want them. But if you don’t want them, then I’ll just put them for auction up online. You can try to get them there, before some other yahoo outbids you. So, do you want them, or not?”
Hawkmoth’s lip twitched in a scowl. “Oh, I want them. But I’m not making any deals with you. I abhor torture.”
She scoffed. “Oh yeah, and what would you have done with these two if you had gotten their miraculous on your own?”
“I would have sent them home. I have nothing against them personally. It is their job to fight the akuma. And once relieved of that duty, they are free to go. In the same way, they have a duty to Paris to stop criminals. But now they’re only teenagers. What you’re doing goes beyond revenge, it’s insanity.”
“Oh, so now the terrorist is trying to lecture me? You’re playing all high and mighty, now that you’re not the villain anymore. But I guarantee you, if it was you verses them, and the Miraculous were in sight, you would do anything, including killing them, to get them. Don’t talk to me about insanity.”
Hawkmoth grit his teeth in anger, a fire of hatred burning in his eyes. “I will be taking those Miraculous on my own.”
“I’d love to see you try. Tell you what, I won’t put these up for auction until I’ve disposed of these two maggots. Go ahead, akumatize any random, innocent civilian you want and send them to me. But unlike them,” she thrust a thumb over her shoulder, “I won’t hesitate to kill your little minions.”
Hawkmoth ‘hmph’ed and the call ended.
Salo laughed. “What a moron! No wonder he loses all the battles. No strategy, no thinking, just ‘I’m gonna get them’. It’s pretty sad actually. You weren’t even good heroes, just better than the villains you faced.”
Marinette had basically tuned out all of Salo’s blathering. She was more focused on what Hawkmoth had said. I would have sent them home.
“Alright, now that that flaming garbage is over…where were we?”
Adrien tensed, seeing her go for the hood again.
Then he had a stroke of genius, or idiocy. His arms were bound, but his legs weren’t. He was free to run.
Salo picked up the hood, and brought it closer to his face. He waited until the last moment and collided the top of his head with her chin, making her bite her tongue.
“You motherfu—!” Salo bit, before covering her bloody mouth.
Adrien skirted around her, running to the door. It was open! If he could just—
A gunshot echoed and whizzed passed his good arm, putting a hole in the wall. Adrien halted immediately.
“Next time I won’t miss.” She hissed.
He turned to look back.
Marinette was still on the bucket, biting her lip to keep from screaming out. Salo had her gun pointed right between her eyes.
“It’s your decision kitty cat. The door is right there. You can run, or you can save your little girlfriend.”
The choice was simple, and he complacently walked back to his place.
“What do you say?”
“…sorry, ma’am.”
She punched him solidly in the gut, knocking the wind out of him, and sending him to the floor.
He rolled onto his side, desperately gasping for breath.
“What do we say?”
He gasped over and over, trying to breathe. “I’m—I’m sorry, ma’am.”
She kicked him in the side, making him cry out.
“What do we say!?”
“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!” He all but screamed.
Pasolini grabbed his arms and hauled him to his feet.
“Then stand on the bucket.” Salo demanded fiercely.
His legs were a lot more wobbly now, and he trembled all over. But he stood on the bucket, not eager to upset her again.
He clenched his eyes shut as the bag slipped over his head. It blocked out all light, and he could feel the heat of his breath on his face. It was too hot, and the cloth pressed into his nostrils as he inhaled. He couldn’t get any air. He couldn’t—
“I can’t breathe,” he choked.
“What was that, kitty cat?”
“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Desperately, he shook his head, trying to shake it off. “Please, I can’t breathe! Get it off!”
Salo was silent. The room was quiet. Could anyone hear him?
“I can’t breathe!” He wailed. “Help!”
“Adrien!” Marinette’s voice cut through the darkness, making his panic subside for the moment. “Take a slow, deep breath.”
“I-I can’t! I-I-!”
“Sshh…” She hushed him. “Just inhale….and exhale…”
He did as she instructed. Keeping his eyes shut tight and focusing on his breathing.
Shortly after he was bagged, she was too, and she understood why he was so terrified. The hoods did make it harder to breathe, but not impossible.
Salo and her men were doing something, though neither of them could tell what it was.
“What’s happening, my lady?” Adrien asked, panic still very much taken hold of his body.
“I…I don’t know. Just keep breathing…”
“I’m—I’m scared.”
“Me too, kitty. Just keep breathing.”
And then, there was something else over their heads, and resting on their shoulders.
“Do you know what this is?” Asked Salo, sounding ever like a kindergarten teacher.
Adrien shuttered.
Marinette answered. “It’s…a rope…”
No.
A noose.
“Oh god…” She started to cry. Was this it then? Was this the end to their torture?
“This is a very easy game to play.” Said Salo. “All you have to do, is stay very still. As long as you don’t fall, you won’t lose! Now won’t this be so much fun?”
Adrien made a noise that sounded halfway between a sob and heave.
“Oh come now! You’ve been standing for 12 hours already, what’s one more?”
One hour of this.
One hour of looming demise.
All she had to do was stand still. Very still. Marinette controlled her breathing, and tried her damnedest not to even twitch.
Her heart broke as Adrien’s haggard breathing reached her ears. He was hyperventilating, choking on the hood, being swallowed by it.
“Breathe…” she said again. “Inhale…exhale…”
“No no,” Salo chastised, “we don’t speak!” She hit Marinette, not enough to push her, just just hard enough to knock her off balance.
The bucket wobbled under her.
Oh god please no…if there was ever a time for her to be graceful and balanced, now would be the time!
Unfortunately, Marinette was doomed to fall.
The bucket toppled, and skidded across the ground, clanking loudly.
“My lady!” Adrien shouted, hearing the commotion.
Marinette didn’t answer, just let out pathetic gasps for air.
“Marinette! Marinette please say something!”
But she didn’t. She couldn’t. She just kept gasping, gurgling, and coughing.
With nothing to keep him calm, Adrien spiraled into another panic attack.
Marinette landed on the pads of her feet, thankfully, but the rope tightened around her neck.
She was choking. Her breathing asthmatic, her pulse thundering in her ears. If she could just stay still like this, she’d still be safe! Just a little longer!
Bright lights danced in her vision as her jaw felt tight. She didn’t have much longer. How long had it been? A few minutes?
Finally, the rope was cut and she collapsed on the floor.
“My lady…my lady…” Adrien kept calling for her. Begging her to answer.
The hood was ripped off her head, and she could see him, still playing Salo’s game.
“Adrien…” she whispered. “Hang…hang in there…”
“My lady!” His voice was wet with relief, and he outright sobbed.
The hour ended, and his noose and hood were pulled off as well.
He met her tired eyes, nothing but longing and relief in his gaze.
“So, Adrien’s our big winner for the day, hm? Well, you get a very special prize! I know you’ll just love it! Come now, it’s getting late. It’s been a big day! And tomorrow’s going to be big too!”
Adrien obediently stood and waited to be escorted back to their cages, but Marinette still laid on the ground.
“I said, it’s time to go. Get up.”
She turned on her side, but she looked extremely weak and couldn’t find the strength to get up.
Pasolini simply grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her across the cement.
Back in the cages, Marinette was uncuffed, and then tossed into her cage. Adrien got a little more ceremony, where he was able to walk in on his own.
The cage, by comparison to the hood, felt a lot less suffocating, and he felt much more relaxed than the first night.
The slot in the door opened, and a deep voice said, “your prize.”
A blanket dropped on him. Wool, smelly, itchy, and maybe a little moldy, but it was much much warmer than nothing. He wrapped the blanket around himself and then settled on the floor, reaching his arm out under the door. “My lady? Are you there?”
Her small hand weakly grasped his, her fingers cold in the dampness of the room.
“That was a stupid thing you did.” She chastised. “Brave, but stupid.”
“…I know…I was just…I saw the hood and my flight or fight kicked in…I’m sorry.”
She squeezed his hand, but didn’t reply.
“So…what happened? I couldn’t see anything.”
“I fell, but the rope was long enough that it didn’t kill me, just choked me.”
“Salo sure knows what she’s doing.”
“Yeah.”
They lapsed into silence.
“Can I confess something?” Asked Adrien.
“Anything.”
“I hope…I hope Hawkmoth is successful in getting our Miraculous.”
“You think he’d show us mercy?”
“…at least, more than Salo.”
“I don’t know…but I think he might just be our only hope.” Marinette’s eyes closed, her body begging for rest. “I’m sorry, I’m so tired…”
“Sleep, my lady. I’m right here.”
And so sleep, she did.
#miraculous ladybug#ml#fanfiction#longest night#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#hawkmoth#ladybug#chat noir#adrinette
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I think Link and Lavi are excellent foils who's stories can parallel each other. Both are watchers. Both are suppose to remain neutral over certain areas. Both got attached when they shouldn't. Both were willing to sacrifice themselves for Allen. Allen thinks they're both dead. But Link is too weak willed right now to truly stand for his own beliefs. He's willing to let Allen fade away while desperately hoping he won't. Lavi has made a lot of strides to become more aware of himself and what-
2 life means to him. He probably still has ways to go but he’s far enough to know what to die and not to die for. It’s too bad Link didn’t meet Allen sooner. Maybe his friends wouldn’t have become Thirds/Noah slaves thanks to him handing over the akuma egg shard w/o question.
yESS my thoughts kinda??
For now Link is still “in progress” tbh, where Lavi went perhaps a little further already in how he pictured Allen.
I mean, Lavi experienced a time where he thought Allen was dead, had to face his murderer and at that time, was lectured like hell by his grandfather/his duty for letting this emotion get to him: to the point of having confronted his duty about it in Road’s dreamland and, while not yet to have a full solution, still had made progress in the acceptance of this part of himself.
Link didn’t experience any of Allen’s close call before Apocryphos and there was no grief from it since he jumped into it to protect him (and died) , there can also be guilt on realizing that he stopped Allen from saving Tokusa as well that might hold Link back for different reasons, and while he reminds himself to not be conflicted, Lveille didn’t even NOTICE this conflict, believes in Link’s loyauty, and for now is adamant in “protecting Allen” (until the 14th can take all control) so this loyauty doesn’t have to be put back in question about it right now, or at least it’s not an emergency.
I think that’s also a key of the problem right? Lavi had Bookman lecturing him, because well, as much as Bookman treats him, he treats him like a peer, a grandson figure, an apprentice who will be just as important as him later. Lveille meanwhile treat Link more like a tool. (The worst is that both party “cares” about Lavi and Link in their own way but it kinda makes me despair to have to call Lveille going to multiple length to save Link because his loyauty left an impact on Lveille and it makes him a good tool “caring”.) Lveille isn’t even doubting in Link, he probably doesn’t even think Link could let his feelings change his path, while Bookman considers Lavi with enough humanity to consider it.
The thing is that Link’s conflict is mostly internal at this point, he’s the one who’s raising his own questions, who noticed the conflict in his soul, and so far he’s allowed to carry on his duty and still keep an eye on Allen. He still hadn’t figured an answer either but as he’s also caught in the crossfire of “Wanting to Protect Allen” and His duty to protect Nea, he is forced to watch the situation and intervene to protect Nea. Which he did, and when he discussed with Nea he did no attempt to save Allen (not that he could have done anything anyway), just showed his major dislike to the event, and left as soon as Allen took control back. He’s still held back by his duty.
Which is not something I’m holding against Link btw, this is just an ellaboration of what i’m saying about Link still starting on this path of self doubt and tbh I think it is more normal when you were raised to be a weapon with unquestioning loyauty, than with Lavi who as a Bookman can afford to at least be social with people so he can get more information out of them, therefore still managing to access some sort of feelings by procuration.In comparaison, Lavi’s duty is not linked at all to Allen’s internal conflict, so Lavi could express his care of Allen’s situation without jeoparding his duty. Which Link cannot.
The moment Lavi’s conflict was voiced externally with Bookman putting spotlight to it, Lavi had no choice but to pounder it, to question it, to put it into perspective. And Road furthered that as well, pushing Lavi to find answers to questions, even if it was only acknowledging those questions existed: In comparaison to Link, Lavi questions the details of his loyauty to the Bookmen in a way Link hadn’t started to process with the Order.
and ye i’d go as far as to say that it’s the two things: the meddling or therefore, lack of, from Bookman/Road and Lveille, and how long they had been staying at Allen’s side.
Besides, Lavi discovered Allen as “the young naive recruit”, if he knew of the prophecy, he probably just raised an eyebrow like “seriously? that punk?”, and had to be a silent watcher, not having any involvement in this destiny. and then he went on a journey to discover what kind of person Allen was, and the tragedies that befell Allen where just as new for Allen as they were for Lavi at the time.
Link was asked to watch over Allen the moment it was known Allen had connection with the 14th, when Central started to meddle. He discovered Allen as “that fishy guy with links to the Noah and that shady Mareshall who is already suspected for his bad behavior”. There is a whole other journey in discovering Allen’s softer sides if only because Link was introduced to him as a potential enemy, someone who could become one, and had to be watched over for signs of said takeover.
And that’s also why it’s not innocent that Link opened to Allen right after Link wrongfully judged Allen’s attempt to save Tokusa and thinking “Allen joined the bad side”. The fact Link jumped into that conclusion is because it was the starting thought of the reasons he had to investigate Allen to start with. If Allen had challenged him so far, this moment was so shady to him that he jumped back on his duty and stopped Allen completely- leading to everything that went wrong afterward. With Link also realizing that he was too quick to jump on conclusion when he realized how all of this unfolded.
If Lavi’s major moments with Allen were linked to how much he shouldn’t get attached, with a battle in his own heart, and dealing with the grief of losing Allen, therefore challenging the very feelings Lavi had when he met Allen, Link’s major turning point was the moment he realized that by jumping right back on his duty at the first suspicion actually doomed Allen AND his found family. Link directly fucked up BECAUSE of his duty, not just “because his duty is there in the background”
The fact Link was wrong in his judgement and that his duty actually had Allen and the Crows suffer was the turning point for Link’s development. Before that, it was say like Lavi from the Vampire Arc to Allen’s death: sure, Link was softening up to Allen, especially in Paris after what happened with Cross, but he stayed focused on his duty and had no reasons to Challenge it. But wrongfully thinking Allen was hurting the Order was what caused Link to have to face his bias. Just like Lavi, it’s the wrongfull assumptions on Allen’s situation that challenged their views on their duties and had them conflicted ever since.
So in a way it’s fascinating because Link and Lavi has a similar journey for vastly different reasons due to their different background and the different people watching over their duties.
And in term of where they are now…. Lavi spent some time with Allen after Allen’s death. He had to process some of his feelings, dazzling light yada yada, Road’s dreamworld, the fight against Joyd, discovering the 14th ect….Sicne “Link’s turning point” Allen had been in jail, Link almost died protecting him, he was resurected at the last minute to watch over Nea and protect Nea. For now, Link didn’t have enough confrontation to anything else to challenge those feelings back, except for that one conversation with Kanda. And that’s also another thing: Lavi had to think about it and talk about it with Bookman and Road, and well, since his turning point, he had also others interreactions with people. (we can even count his outbrust toward Lenalee as a way to proceed that information). Ever since Link’s turning point, he only talked with Lveille who imposed him his new goal, Kanda who did further the questioning, and Nea, his duty. In opposition, Link is still far from being able to question it fully.(now my wishfull thinking would be the return of the Thirds if only to fuel Link’s views on that. If anyone can actually help Link emotionally proceed something, aside Allen, it would be them).
Had Link known Allen before the 14th mess.. it’s hard to say. His characterization was so much linked to his ties to Central that it’s hard for me to picture him trying to see something in Allen was he not asked to do so. It could have helped but i admit i don’t have the necessary projection for that.as for “Allen preventing the Thirds” i think i remember Link being mad at the Third because he didn’t know they partaken that experiment? It’s blurry for me.. but i seem to recall Link not being found of it to start with and i doubt Allen could have changed much to that situation. Although, had Link known Allen before, he perhaps wouldn’t have jumped to the conclusions with the Tokusa’s scene, so perhaps we would be in a totally different manga right now.
Take care!
#I don't think i've ever talked about Link for this long wow#I don't even think i've thought about Link this much in length before#try to get me on there though: I was in the fandom back when BEFORE the Alma's arc was released#we didn't know what to do with Link back then we had no clue what sort of character he would be#when the Tokusa stuff happened we were quick to jump on conclusions#and we DID believe him dead#his survival was revealed so close to the hiatus too (and personally it's when I stopped reading ) that I didn't take the time to process it#and him actually voicing how conflicted he is is pretty recent i think???#so ye Me overthinking Lavi for ten years VS me only thinking about Link for about 4 years: fight.#ichafantalks dgm#ichameta dgm#Anonymous#ichareply
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Western Feminism and Hijabs
Throughout this class we have taken a closer look at different types of gender inequality and women's issues. Within these parameters we also explored different sub-themes with one of them being ethnocentrism and feminism. But the one theme we talked about that I really wanted to focus on is ethnocentrism with a focus more on Western views towards Muslim countries and religious practices done by Muslim women. These ethnocentric views towards Middle Eastern countries, religions, and cultures comes from a lack of knowledge or an unwillingness to learn about their culture. Many Western mindsets believe that our way of life is better and therefore others should convert to our way instead of us learning and respecting theirs. The lack of knowledge has fueled not only a fear but a savior complex in Western culture towards Eastern culture and religions, especially the Islamic religion and predominantly Islamic countries. This fear is spread through misinformation and negative media coverage. In Dalia Mogahed’s TED talk she discusses how in a study it was found that over 80% of news about Islam or Muslims is negative. As a nation that is glued to televisions and has strong bias towards specific news outlets it is startling that most of the information we are receiving about Islamic culture is negative. This negative narrative towards Middle Eastern countries and Muslims started around 9/11. Life for American’s as we knew it changed that day, and with that change came a new hostility towards Muslims. Most Americans do not have a solid understanding of Islam, only knowing what they have heard from the news or others, and therefore view some of the religious practices as oppressive or extreme. One of the common arguments of oppression brought up by Western societies is that women who practice Islam tend to wear hijabs, niqabs, or burqas. They claim that it is oppressive for them to have to cover up and they blame religion and misogyny for this. But in all reality it is the woman's choice, many practicing Muslims do not wear any kind of facial covering at all. It is their choice how they practice their religion and how they follow the Quran.
These views and conversations started happening more openly after 9/11. As Dalia Mogahed said in her TED talk “...somebody else's actions turned me from a citizen to a suspect, Muslims were now viewed as terrorists just because of their beliefs and hijabs made them a more recognizable target. Racism against Muslims was not something that was new, but now it was being televised and was becoming a common view among Americans. Muslim’s were being ripped out of Mosques, harassed and beaten on the streets all because of their shared religion with a group of terrorists who radicalized it. Now how does this hate towards Islam turn towards a hatred for the hijab? Well in the obvious way hijabs are an outward way to show and practice Islam but in another way some people view it as oppressive. They can not seem to wrap their minds around the idea that a woman could make that choice herself to cover up, to hide her hair, face, and or body with a garment. It is obvious that men would take issue with this just in the same way they take issue with women who do not wear enough clothes for their liking. In my opinion non- Islamic mens views on hijabs are deeply rooted in ethnocentrism, the fact that women in hijabs are not dressed like typical Western women and also in misogyny because they believe the woman's body is for their pleasure and gaze. The biggest shock to me came with who truly has an issue with hijabs.
It is “feminist” who seem to have the biggest issue with women wearing hijabs and who view it as the most oppressive. I put feminist in quoations because in my own opinion you can not want equal treatment and rights for women if you yourself are degrading them. To me it is very degrading to tell a woman they are oppressed when they are doing something out of their own free will. Feminism is about celebrating being a woman, fighting for the rights we all deserve, and protecting our fellow women. It is impossible to say you are fighting for the rights of women when in tandem you are disregarding their own choice. I do not see wearing a hijab as a women's issue but rather the response from others as the issue. In writing this reflection I re-read a few of the articles from this semester course load and noticed that in almost every TED talk or article about Muslim women they discussed how it was female friends or self proclaimed feminist who questioned their decision to wear a covering the most. But this is where ethnocentrism and feminism meet in this issue. Western women and Western feminist call these practices oppressive because to them it is. Wearing hijabs or burqas is not something that is common in America or Europe and therefore is already viewed as “wrong” or “bad”. Add to that the fact that it is women who wear it and it becomes a feminist issue. It becomes a case of “I can save you” not “let me understand why you do it and support you”. I used a meme in my commonplace book to show this whole savior complex women in Western societies have adopted. In the image you can see a woman in a burqa while a white woman tries to rip it off while saying “Hang in there, we will free you” while the woman desperately tries to keep it on. This is a perfect example of the overall idea that it is lack of knowledge that fuels this conversation. In our Persuell annotations assignment for Lila Abu Lughod’s Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving, my fellow classmate Sarah Jones made a compelling comment saying “To instantly assume a veil is a sign of oppression is being negligent to 1) learning the real reason behind why a women wears one and 2) the actual struggles that are being fought and not heard because of the "western obsession" about the veil”. This comment really stuck with me as it not only strengthened my own beliefs but also wrapped together all we had been learning from not only Lughod but all the other amazing Muslim women voices whose work we had been listening to and reading all term. This comment also made me think about the fact that it might not even be about the hijab but more so converting everyone to look and think like them. The hijab may be a symbol of difference from them, one they do not accept. Being a true feminist is fighting for what is truly right for women and to do that you have to be educated on what is actually needed.
Although I have a few memes on my tumblr depicting the ethnocentric feminism practiced in Western feminism I tried to aim my tumblr posts at the power in the hijab. It is important to switch your own personal opinion and appreciate that it is the woman's choice. One video I posted shows a women's soccer team circle and shield an opponent from the public as she fixes her hijab after it was shifted during the game. The other players did not even think twice before gathering around her, even though they did not wear hijabs and maybe were not Muslim they still respected her choice and knew that it was important for her hijab to cover her hair fully. That is what being a true feminism is about, you support women even if you do not share a common choice while also fighting for their right to that choice. The rest are aimed at showing the power Muslim women feel from wearing the hijab. That is what other women should be focused on, celebrating the beauty in them deciding to wear these covers and supporting their decisions. This is the biggest thing I have taken away from this class. I have taken away the knowledge about other cultures and other women's issues and have been able to use it to be a better fighter for women's rights. I have taken away that there is such beauty in other cultures and the beauty in the female spirit and everything women have endured to get to the place we are. That being said, there is still so much work to do and the only way to make progress is through understanding and education, two things I gained through this class.
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You’ve probably seen reports in the media about obesity and overweight statistics, and it’s true – the numbers and prevalence of these conditions are definitely increasing. And, we can see the effects in real life… Have you noticed, for instance, when walking down the street, taking the subway/bus, shopping in a store, working at the office, attending public events, or eating at a restaurant, that more and more people seem to be larger and larger and taking up more and more space? I know I definitely have.
The numbers are startling. According to the CDC, about 70% of adults 20 or older are considered overweight or obese… that’s more than 2 out of every 3 people who are facing a higher risk for a variety of diseases and early death. And, even worse, about 1 in 5 teens, about 1 in 6 kids aged 6-11, and about 1 in ten toddlers and kids up to 5 years old are considered obese. What was that old adage how about how our kids are our future? If that’s true, what do these statistics tell us about our future?
Here’s the thing, there are a lot of people that say that it’s totally fine to be overweight. That it’s “normal” and to quit the “fat shaming”… but… to deny that this is a problem is to not live in reality.
This issue of obesity and overweight is certainly complex, and not attributable to one simple cause, and, yes, I agree, people still deserve dignity, but this issue definitively has a huge impact on us, both on an individual level and society at large.
Again, to deny the health impacts on individuals who are overweight is to deny reality. For instance, overweight and obese people pay, on average, $1,429 more per year in health care costs, according to a 2009 study by Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen and Dietz published on Health Affairs. And this is not institutional/systemic bias against “people with larger bodies,” it is a sign that there is a clear correlation between weight and impacts on health, regardless of whether you believe any data from the CDC or scientific studies on the correlations of overweight/obesity on the risk for diabetes, heart disease and other conditions, for instance.
“But, I’m healthy, why should I care,” you might think? Well, because, as I mentioned above, it’s not just about the individual, his/her costs and his/her increased risks of pre-mature death. There is a cost to society as a whole, both financially and progress-wise.
The Finkelstein study above estimated that total annual costs of health care related to obesity came in at about $147 billion dollars for 2008. (Yes, I realize this is 10 years ago… so imagine what that number is now.) If you divvied that up among our current population, to reduce the impact, that works out to be about $451 per person per year.
Don’t think that you foot the bill for any of this? Do you pay taxes?
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, in 2016, health programs including Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and Affordable Care Act made up about 26% of the annual budget. And, according to an article on financial expert Dave Ramsey’s website, a “sample 2011 tax receipt provided by whitehouse.gov shows the total tax bill for a married couple with two kids making $80,000 was just over $9,000″ total, and of that, about 21% was designated to health care related programs. And, in that Finkelstein study, they determined that 8.5% and 11.5% of Medicare and Medicaid spending, respectively, are directly related to obesity/overweight. That means, about $1,800 (or more) of this sample family’s income taxes are going to medical programs in general, and about $360 obesity related care directly. How much of your money do you want to spend on obesity care for society, or on yourself, for that matter?
And, to top it off, this isn’t even taking into account the cost of lost productivity… based on time out of work due to health issues connected to obesity, obesity-related disabilities, and so on, which I don’t have numbers for at the moment.
So, why am I so passionate about this? It’s not really about the money, for me. I personally grew up over weight and out of shape, and not for a lack of exercise, as I was pretty active doing soccer and dance throughout my childhood. I later realized that the food I was eating, and I don’t blame my parents, but the food I was eating was not properly fueling my body. In addition to eating too much processed food and sugary foods, I also ate a lot of refined carbs and not a lot of nutritious veggies/etc. I am partially to blame/responsible for this, having been a picky eater for most of my youth, and busy/on the go a lot… And it wasn’t until I was in my early twenties that I decided I would do something about it. So, I set about to learning about food, nutrition and going down the rabbit hole of attempting to figure out “the truth” about healthy eating.
I got so passionate about this area that I decided to devote some of my professional work in photography to this area – particularly through food photography – but also started a podcast exploring topics around food, health, food systems, food entrepreneurship, nutrition and more with entrepreneurs, game changers and experts.
This all, ultimately, led to my attending the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference, this past February, where I met a woman named Sophie who works in the Culinary Institute of America’s strategic department. When I mentioned my podcast, Put a Fork In It, and how I’m on a mission to create a healthier, wealthier and happier world, she told me about a conference she was working on through the CIA – the Menus of Change.
I didn’t know what it was at that time, but she mentioned to follow up and she could connect me with the right people to get a press pass, on behalf of the podcast and my blogging.
Being the diligent person I am, I did just that, and with that deal of networking, a few weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to attend this 2.5 day leadership summit at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY (not too far from where I live).
This conference was founded several years back as a way to include the food service and food consumer packaged goods industries in the good fight: helping to shape these industries to influence healthier options/choices for consumers and adapting our current food system to a healthier and more sustainable version that prioritizes personal and environmental health and, ultimately, delicious food.
It was truly a great opportunity to be among the CEOs of large food companies, chefs and culinary/nutrition directors, scientists, and more who are all on the cutting edge of this work.
My eyes were opened to the fact that the food industry and agriculture are one of the leadings contributors of climate change. Something I realized while at the conference, since I really try to be apolitical and not polarizing, and try to find the middle ground on these types of things, is that whether you believe in human caused climate change or not, there are definitely measurable and important impacts on the environment from our current behaviors in the food/ag industries, and we can always improve. In retrospect, that should of been pretty obvious, considering that we use land to grow our food, both plants and animals, which certainly has impacts on the soil, and, how about erosion of soil from replanting crops annually, or methane coming from livestock, or waste and pollutants of all sorts from shipping materials, or pollutants from herbicides, or decreasing bee populations, or getting rid of “sub par” produce, or packaging from processed goods (or otherwise), and so on.
If you want more specific information, here are a few resources to get you started:
Environmental Effects of the US Food System, a report on the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s website, and
Environmental Impacts of Food Production and Consumption, a report from the UNESCO- Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, which catalogs “state-of-the-art, high quality, peer reviewed, thematically organized archival content in many traditional disciplines and interdisciplinary subjects with including the coverage of transdisciplinary pathways”.
Or, if you prefer something a little simpler to follow, check out the this Vice piece about the impacts of Climate Change on the wine industry.
Another interesting show is Rotten, on Netflix.
So, similar to above, regarding denial of health impacts of obesity, to deny that our actions in the food/ag industry has an environmental impact, is to deny reality. So, again, whether we believe in climate change or if we do believe it exists, but aren’t sure that we could really do anything about it, the fact is that we are currently doing things that impact the environment and, again, if we believe in our kids being our future, it’s really in our best interests to take care of the environment, to do a better job, and create a sustainable world where our kids can grow up and raise kids of their own.
This event, the Menus of Change, really opened my eyes to this. And while, at first, I did have some resistance and skepticism to what was being said, since environmental issues are often a politicized and therefore polarizing and propagandized issues with a lot of buzz words designed to make us feel guilty and shameful (from both sides of the spectrum), I’ve opened my mind back up to this topic and it’s true importance, because it’s critical to recognize that our actions, individually, as as people and businesses, as well as in the collective industry and society at large do really matter for the long term success of our species and life on earth. And, if we don’t take care of our environment and resources, we all lose out in the end regardless of whether you’re on the left, on the right, believe that humans have caused climate change, or that we can’t do anything to prevent or reverse climate change.
So, as you might expect, the conference included presentations from industry leaders in various sectors of the culinary and food system, entrepreneurs, scientists, chefs and so on, as well as networking opportunities. But, what was unique was really how deeply the concepts and values were actually applied. What I mean is… they actually practiced what they were preaching about plant-forward menus, the “protein flip” and the “Mediterranean diet”/using unique ingredients and local sourcing. It wasn’t just a load of preaching or trying to “inspire” or “educate” or propagandize to make change, there was actually a full-reaching application of the principles during their own meal times. They sampled some of the dishes that were discussed or shown during cooking demos, and even provided the recipes for the foods that were served, through the conference app. It was certainly a refreshing change to be at an event that actually served delicious AND nutritious foods – a pet-peeve and big weakness for me.
This really is exciting and makes me grateful to have been a part of it and to meet so many people that also want to improve the food system and public health. It’s very encouraging and, even if there are certain things that may be polarizing or pique my skepticism or critical side, it really comes back to one of my favorite guiding principles, from Ghandi himself, to the CIA: “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and, therefore, lead by example.
It was really wonderful to be a part of that experience and be able to be a part of something that embodies this philosophy – it’s one of the reasons that I do what I do and pursue the goals that I pursue, in spite of challenges and naysayers. I really believe that if you want to change the world, you have to start with your self and act in accordance with your values, first, and if you do that in your own life, the more people around you will see that it’s possible and be inspired to try it too. And to me, this is the greatest approach we can take to create the positive changes we wish to see. One small act and one person or organization at a time.
Here are some of my photos:
Pork Tsukune and Shishito Skewer, tare glaze over warm lentil salad
Kozy Shack Rice Pudding with slow roasted strawberries and crispy citrus pistachios
Kozy Shack Rice Pudding with slow roasted strawberries and crispy citrus pistachios
Illy coffee rubbed blended mushroom and beef slider with coffee barbecue sauce
Improved Nature Mini Bites Creamy Pistachio Pesto Pizza
Wonderful Pistachio and Almond Orange Energy Bite
Wonderful Pistachio and Almond Orange Energy Bite
Menus of Change: a summit aimed at making a healthier world through the food industry You've probably seen reports in the media about obesity and overweight statistics, and it's true - the numbers and prevalence of these conditions are definitely increasing.
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