#the entire local group is just a mess of “your beliefs are wrong” | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kendrixtermina · 4 years

Text

The “Genocidal Edelgard” Shallowtake

I was not going to make a post about this because it’s most likely futile and not going to convince anyone nor do I believe in dinifying the purity police with attention, but maybe it will let some ppl know that they dont have to let themselves be shamed for liking the wrong video game character

Whatever might have been the case in the distant past when Nemesis was around, by the “present day” the Nabateans are not at all some commonly oppressed stereotyped minority - the setting is chock full of characters that fit that bill a lot better like Dedue or Cyril. Characters that are ordinary humans not magic dragons.

And even that is more founded on general purpose xenophobia than from the specific, relatively new early modernity construct of racism. (the dedue situation probably comes the closest)

Sure, Seteth and Flays have to hide from their old enemy the Agarthans, I see how some might find that relatable etc. but most of the population isn’t aware that they exist at all. They hold high status positions, are worshipped by the local religion and Rhea all but rules the entire continent (and says so herself to Byleth in that speech about how she was just “ruling this wayward country in your stead”, “you” being Sothis) - though that is mostly Rhea’s doing of which Seteth and Flayn are relatively innocent.

The interviews pretty much confirmed that the Nabateans constituted the local aristocracy and that many humans genuinely saw the Elites as liberators - though there was definitely also an element of ppl going around killing random Nabateans to gain superpowers, not to speak of Nemesis’ very obvious very unambiguous mass murder. Not wanting to be ruled over by foreign powers is understandable, though obviously killing them all down to the last civilian was just flat out evil - its certainly not a simple situation, we can all agtree Nemesis & the Agarthans were evil but there is no clear defined good guy.

There are historical conflicts you could compare this to, perhaps some conflicts in Africa or the middle eastwhere different groups took turns being the ruling class after the latest war, but it’s not at all like the modern USA or early modernity colonialism, and forcing every real or, in this case, imagined scenario inherently dependent of fantasy elements, into this one framework from the present or near past isn’t conductive to understanding at all.

And in the present day, by the time Edelgard is alive, we are talking about three specific people that she has good reason to dislike individually. Not any sort of group at all.

She calls Rhea a cruel beast because that’s all she’s ever seen Rhea to be. She’s the shadow tyrant who rules her world, who created the crappy world Edelgard grew up in. It’s no different Cubans thiking badly of the castros after suffering through famines - or, no need for such extreme examples really, ppl call their least favorite politicians monsters all the time.

She’s wrong to assume that Seteth & Flayn are wholly on board with this, but on the other hand, it’s not at all a far-fetched assumption to make: They hold high positions in the church though they ostensimbly just appreared out of nowhere one day. Do you have to be an evil bigot to assume that the brother and right hand man to the tyrannical god-queen is condoning & supporting her actions?

The truth is of course that underneath her pseudo-parental facade Rhea is sort of a scared girl, very lonely, very afraid, and ashamed, in a shallow, childish way, for “breaking the rules” just because they are rules. She says she can’t trust anyone, that she feels lonely & isolated... and while no one can blame her for distrusting humans after the slaughter of her people, but the reason she can’t trust Seteth is that she’s keeping her bad deeds secret from him. He wasn’t there the whole time, he just showed up a few decades earlier.

She sees herself only as filling out for Sothis and doesn’t quite grasp that she’s in charge, very much a follower personality bent on stasis & regularity.

Is Edelgard obliged to try & unravel the complex psychology of the tyrant who rules her home to correctly deduce why she would deceive even her own family? By all intents and purposes, Edelgard is the one getting rid of an oppressive government that doesn’t let ordinary humans let a say at all. A government where ppl of others faiths and nationalities are typically oppressed unless they work directly for the church.

It’s like having a disdain for, say, Ivanka Trump. She holds a high position in her father’s administration despite having no obvious qualifications, she appears to be profiting & making bank from her father’s atrocities, she certainly hasn’t done anything to stop him or disavow him the way that, say, her cousin Mary did - if you suffered under Trump’s regime you’d be very justified in assuming that Invanka is probably a bad person.

Flayn only looks young (She might not if we saw her in other clothes). I mean, Kronya could badly impersonate a schoolgirl. At the very least they’ve supported the regime by refusing to question their own side and they show some however benevolent belief that it is their duty to “guide” the people. Leaving her to the Agarthans is certainly questionable, but no more so than doing it with Rhea herself, under the assumption that she’s guilty and that it’s a sacrifice that will prevent larger chaos. The agarthans had their plan long before they created Edelgard as we know her, and she couldn’t stop their plots all on her own.

You could say that it’s callous, distasteful or a deal breaker - as the death knight is her direct subordinate & she makes a personal appearance in mask, I would argue that she definitely knew & sanctioned the kidnapping - but she’s no more callous towards Flayn than towards anybody else.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re evil, or that they deserve to die.... and Edelgard would agree with me. She doing all this to prevent death – flipping the lever on the trolley problem so it crushes one person instead of five so to speak. She always gives her enemies the chance to surrender, unwilling allies the chance to leave, and jails enemies whenever leaving them alive wouldn‘t lead to further death… even the ones she has the most personal reason to hate, like the PM.

As servants of the church who have chosed to back her enemies, she’ll certainly kill them if she has to, but not any more than any other enemy. At no point anywhere in the story does she say anything like that they need to die on principle. Nowhere at all. Indeed there is much evidence to the contrary.

The church paints her as being completely against the religion or even wanting to set herself up as a satanic godess cause it‘s good politics & they don‘t get what she‘s doing – to an extent her own credibility & messaging is compromised by her secretive and at times unscrupulous actions, no one said she was perfect. In truth all she wants is to have the church out of politics, you know, what we have in nearly every modern country outside the vatican and saudi arabia.

You can absolutely let Flayn & Seteth go on CF and there is no word, no fuss about it anywhere. No „make sure to kill em all“ which would certainly be there if the narrative wanted to portray Edelgard that way. It requires the mediation of Byleth as someone they would talk to & not immediately assume the worst of, but, they see the church as the embodymet of all that is good & fighting its enemies as their sacred duty so of course it wouldn‘t be possible for just anyone to talk them down. It‘s framed as Flayn letting Byleth go cause they saved her life once, even if we know from behind the screen that she wasn‘t going to survive a fight to the death against the player-controlled faction.

Heck, even when it comes to Rhea, the one most guilty that Edelgard has the most reason to loathe, she‘s ultimately surprisingly gracious. She gives her the option to surrender – and this is not a lie, she discusses this with Byleth in a lecture question, and seriously ponders the possibility. Here Byleth gets a range of options like „stab her in the back“ and „keep the church under imperial control“ but you know which one nets you the support points? „Strip her of her authority so she can‘t interfere in politics“. She wasn‘t gonna mess with the religious folks & their religion at all, just make it so it‘s separate from government. Rhea could even keep being pope, if she could be satisfied without having complete supreme authority (and ripping her precious artifact out of Byleth‘s chest) – even when she puts her down she‘s not 100% without pity, telling her that „Your duty is done“ (the translators mucked this up)

Couldn‘t be any further from „lets kill them all on principle“.

What really annoys me is how ppl go and twist everything Edelgard says out of context to ascribe a motive to her that just isn’t there.

Common examples:

„If you have Flayn or Seteth fight her she‘ll say they need to die because they‘re nabateans“

Actually what she says is this: „You are a child of the godess. You must not have power over the people!“ Not getting to be privileges rulers anymore =/= being opressed. Stay out of politics =/= Diediedie. Also, this is from the VW/SS boss fight, where they have literally come to get her in her own capital.

„Linhard & Leonie don‘t tell her & hubert about Indech, probably cause he expects that she‘ll go & kill him„

What he actually says is: „Lake Teutates is a place that concerns the saints of the Church of Seiros. It may become bothersome should the two of them find out...“

„It may be bothersome“ as in, „we might get in trouble“, for doing the possibly very inadvisable thing of waltzing into what could possibly be an enemy location to satisfy personal curiosity. If it‘s something related to her agenda she might take over and Linny wouldn‘t get to investigate as he pleases – at very most you might construe it as Linny fearing that they‘ll be accused of consorting with the enemy, but „bothersome“ suggest possible annoyance not imminent murder.

The whole scene ends with Linhard telling Byleth to fill her in later. Doesn‘t sound at all like he expects her to go back with a harpoon.

„She said Claude isn‘t fit to be a ruler cause he‘s a foreigner“

What she actually says: „I understand your ideals are not so far removed from my own. But without knowledge of Fodlan‘s history, I cannot entrust its rule to you“

Now without the additional contexts that Claude won‘t get until after the fight, it might easily feel a bit like the former with the raw spots he‘d have from his backstory, but what she means is that he‘s ignorant of the Agarthan threat – which he is. Edelgard is all for making peace with Almyra and sees fostering isolationism & prejudice as one of the many faults of the church.

Once Claude basically kills Edelgard for information, he winds up having to take care of the storm she had been holding back. But to his credit, he DID „finish the job“ and get the info. But he didn‘t have it at that point.

And I don‘t mean any of this in the least bit as a diss of Claude - He is the smartest character, so there would be no plot if he got easy access to the info. At this point, they both think they can probably do better, and more importantly, both their backstories have made them so that they won‘t let down their guard far enough to cooperate in this scenario.

That‘s also why the outcome in CF is contingent on Byleth‘s choice. - You‘d sort of have to trust that he will also act so as to minimize casualties.

Very disingenious since many players wouldn‘t necessarily trigger these dialogues.

I guess because Adrestia got a vaguely central-european aesthetic (partially; all the countries are hodgepodge mashups and there’s more than enough spanish or ancient roman vibes there) and central europe existed only for those 12 years of tyranny I guess, even though many other places have had similar BS happening, including the US that delights in making craptons of movies about their faraway victory because their governments haven’t added much of value to the planet as of late. -.-

Faerghus (vaguely french/ russian - not at all places where nothing bad happened ever) has actually annexed some territory from their northern neighbors in the recent past, not to speak of the whole Duscur atrocity - but no one seems to go around laying that at Dimitri’s feet, because it would be nonsensical - he was a child at the time and as an individual he is super against it and champions a policy of reconcilliation if he gets to rule. after all, there wouldn’t be much of a plot if the characters inherited three perfect faultless problem free countries.

Edelgard, too, is completely against the previous administration under Duke Aegir (which was in charge during the Bridgid war). She deposed him and is plotting to do the same with Arundel once she can politically afford to do so. For all that one can understand why she would chose the other path (depending on how much she knows about what Edelgard’s doing and why) it makes all the sense in the world for Petra to support her on CF or if not recruited, because again, she got rid of that previous administration.

#edelgard #edelgard von hresvelg #fe3h #fire emblem: three houses #fire emblem three houses

58 notes · View notes

jebazzled · 3 years

Text

Level Up! Upcycling an Intermediate App

Hello friends and welcome to another unsolicited writing tutorial, aka my bread and butter! Today we’re going to build off of ground covered in my earlier tutorial, Level Up! Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced RP and You.

As always, I’d like to point out that there is nothing wrong with being a writer more naturally suited for intermediate sites! But if you’re looking to write in the more ~advanced or ~literary space, you will need to adjust your writing to fit the community standard. While your writing will likely improve over time as you write with more advanced writers, step one to threading in such a community is getting an app accepted there.

In today’s tutorial, I’ll be talking about how to revise an existing intermediate application to make it more suited for an advanced site. Let’s begin!

As a staffer on an advanced site, the note I most often have for applications that we pend or decline is: this feels very telly.

I don’t mean “telly” as in Telly the Sesame Street character:

I mean “telly” as in extraordinarily expository.

An intermediate freestyle application often looks like a straight-up timeline of a character’s history, delivered without much style or voice. It might feel like a Wikipedia article, or a very long explanation like you might see in a shipper.

I often find that it can help streamline the writing process to write a handful of telling anecdotes, rather than rehashing a character’s complete history, infancy to present. More on that in my freestyle application tutorial here!

But if you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around anecdotal-style applications, particularly if you’re accustomed to application formats that have you write a “history” section as opposed to a freestyle, you can improve upon your current app to make it more suited for an advanced site. It will take some work, and certainly more than ten minutes of it. Writing on a “reach” site can be very rewarding, but only if you’re willing to put in the effort.

TELLING

Before we solve the problem of “telly” writing, we need to establish what “telly” writing is. For purposes of this tutorial, I’ll be using my one application that is a full rehashing of character history. Below is a “telly” take on Sadie Shunpike:

Sadie grew up in a working-class neighborhood of London with her twin brother, Sam. Neither of her parents were very good at magic, but hid their insecurity in the belief that any magic at all made them better than their Muggle neighbors. Sadie and Sam weren’t educated at the local primary school, but were homeschooled by their mother until they could read. From there, Sadie and Sam would check out books from the local library and teach themselves, with Sadie helping Sam.

Sadie was very smart, but Sam struggled more with learning. As they got older, Sadie started to read books she ordered from Flourish and Blott’s, learning about magical theory. Sam started to show signs of magic, which he hid from Sadie. When they turned eleven, it became clear that Sadie was a squib. She resented Sam for being magical, especially when he went to Hogwarts and needed Sadie’s help to do his homework. Sadie continued to educate herself.

Sadie developed an interest in the Dark Arts and got mixed up with Death Eaters in a research and study group she attended at Flourish and Blott’s. One of them promised her a Ministry job and ensured her safety if she acted as a spy in the Ministry for the Death Eaters. Later, she got placed into a safehouse, and began to spy on the safehouse network for the Death Eaters.

This tells you a lot about what Sadie has been up to, but doesn’t tell you much about Sadie, or about my skill as a writer, or about how someone else might expect Sadie to behave in threads. There is no voice, no personality, no interest - just rote explanation.

As a staffer on an advanced site, when I see an app like the above, I know I will be pending or declining the application. The question I ask when making that distinction is: is the character development strong enough to merit working with the writer on the prose? Is the prose strong enough to merit working with the writer on the character development?

If the writing itself or the character development is there, it can make sense to help guide the writer - though this is more the case with character development issues than with prose. Character development can be improved with specific notes and adjustments, whereas generally speaking, improving prose is a gradual process over time.

It is entirely possible that a writer might have much better prose in their threads than in their application! However, your application serves here as a writing sample. which is why it is imperative that it be good writing on its own. I have said it before and I will say it again: I don’t care how much you hate writing apps, lmao! You’ve got to write a good one if you want to do well on sites that use them!

SHOWING

Writing communities are always talking about show vs. tell. Unless you’re writing stage directions, it is always better to show than to tell - or at least, there aren’t enough exceptions to the rule that you shouldn’t be aiming primarily to show.

So how do you communicate a character history without making it too telly?

DESCRIPTION

Here, I’ve described Sadie’s neighborhood as “working-class” and left it at that. What if I went into a little more detail? Explained to you what I imagine when I imagine her upbringing, and shared with you what’s going on in my head between the lines?

In a small, shabby house in a small, shabby suburb, a small and shabby family lives a small and shabby life. Samuel Shunpike, Sr. sells advertisements for the Daily Prophet, tossing a handful of Floo powder into the minuscule fireplace in the sitting room every morning and getting ash on the threadbare round braided rug every night.

This has more flavor, doesn’t it? The repetition of “small, shabby” is a deliberate style choice that communicates an idea of how I write in practice when I’m being ~artsy, and the image of a man in a shabby suit crawling into his fireplace and messing up an already messed-up rug builds Sadie’s father as an NPC that will come into play later in her app. Dynamic NPCs - whose actions impact your character, who are more than wooden cutouts - help build the fictional world of your character’s life. They don’t even need to be vital to playing your character - I’ve never really had anyone in Sadie’s family in play onsite, despite how heavily her brother figures into her character development - but they can be very useful in understanding your character.

DIALOGUE

Ha, irony, that dialogue can make an app less telly! Dialogue gives your reader an idea of how your character interacts with the world in concrete situations, not merely in the abstract. It also helps build the dynamic NPCs that make your character’s history feel more real, and feel like something that genuinely impacted them rather than something manufactured for plot.

While the Shunpikes are nobodies in the circle of wizarding society, Margie and Samuel Sr take comfort in the fact that they do have one thing making them better than the Muggles who live the small shabby lives on either side of them: the Shunpikes are magic. small, shabby magic, but magic nevertheless. "You lot are better than this," Margie says, smoking a pipe on the stoop, gesturing at the sidewalk where children walk to school with their parents. Sam and Sadie don't take their eyes off their Exploding Snap game. It's no use arguing with Margie, they know. When she goes inside, grumbling about Muggle trash, Sam and Sadie train their eyes on the walk outside. The parade of children their age, all wearing matching khakis and polo shirts. "What do you think they get up to?" Sam asks, glancing at Sadie. "Same as us, i imagine," she says, "but probably, y'know, more guided."

This brief vignette tells us a few things:

Margie Shunpike, Sadie’s mother, is mean, and relies on what little magic she has to feel like she has worth

Sam looks to Sadie for leadership/guidance

Neither of these are specifically about Sadie, but having this background information about her mother seen in action rather than merely mentioned will impact how we digest the news that Sadie is a squib. Sam, as a recurring NPC, will inform how we see Sadie develop, and seeing his changing relationship with her will give another metric for the reader of how Sadie has changed.

DETAILS

Details build your world, make it feel more real. When I wrote earlier that Sadie ordered books from Flourish & Blott’s, they could have been any books - they could have been the magical equivalent of ABC “First Concept” books - they could have been magical erotica. Don’t details tell you a lot about a person? If I tell you that Renee Rye Bread reads 50 books a year, what have you learned about her? What if I clarify that it’s 50 romance novels? 50 crime dramas? 50 political biographies?

When Sam and Sadie were younger, Margie would sit them together at the kitchen table and clumsily teach them letters and numbers. Once they could put together sentences and basic sums, she happily stepped back and let them figure it out on their own. On an average day, Sam and Sadie will watch the parade of schoolchildren, finish a game of Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess, eat an early lunch, and spend the rest of the day doing their best to get an education. Sadie tries the hardest, dragging Sam with her to the Muggle library around the corner to read Muggle fiction and do basic research on whatever catches her fancy. She saves her allowance and coins from doing chores for the neighbors and orders secondhand books from the Flourish & Blotts catalog, poring over wizarding texts and trying to make sense of magic beyond even her parents' meager skill. Sam sometimes gives her his sickles, too. He isn't doing anything with them, and everything makes more sense with her in charge.

These details - what Sadie and Sam’s homeschooling looks like, Sadie’s attitude towards books and learning, Sam’s support in her academic endeavors - are building blocks in your understanding of Sadie’s personality. She is driven, self-directed, curious. She doesn’t ask Sam for his input. She is, perhaps, a little selfish.

DIORAMA

Trying to keep to a “D” theme here for an easy mnemonic device here! What I mean by “diorama” is that even in an app not specifically built around anecdotes it is good to provide a few key slices of the character’s life - a clear window into specific scenes and moments. What strikes you as more impactful: me telling you, “there’s a scene in Heathers (1988) where Veronica’s boyfriend has put a bomb under the bleachers during a pep rally. It’s fine, it doesn’t go off,” or me describing to you: “the gym is full of stamping feet and shouting cheerleaders; no one could hear Veronica and JD fighting under the stands even if they were interested. The bomb is beeping so loudly but no one is paying attention, no one can hear it. It’s a pep rally and everyone is cheering at their own wake.”

Rather than saying:

Sam started to show signs of magic, which he hid from Sadie. When they turned eleven, it became clear that Sadie was a squib. She resented Sam for being magical, especially when he went to Hogwarts and needed Sadie’s help to do his homework. Sadie continued to educate herself.

I went with the below:

In June, Sam is sitting in the kitchen while Sadie makes a solo trip to the library, folding paper airplanes and flying them with no success. After a dozen failures, however, he watches in amazement as a piece of notebook paper folds itself up into a perfect airplane and flies around the room on its own. He's done magic, and he has no idea how. And he keeps it a secret from his parents, but more importantly, from Sadie, who he now knows is not going to be coming with him to Hogwarts after all. Later that week, while the family is tucking into ham sandwiches for dinner, the owl arrives, and Sam's stomach sinks when Sadie proudly carries it from the sitting room window into the kitchen on her forearm. She unties the letter from its leg, looks at the front of the envelope, grinning. Samuel Sr and Margie see a shadow pass over their daughter's face for half a heartbeat before she slowly hands the envelope to her brother. But Sam sees it all: her smile cracking like broken china, her eyes widen just a little, the furrow in her eyebrow. He catches the hitch in her voice as she congratulates him. He senses her anxiety in the lightspeed jiggle of her left foot under the table, as he stares at the letter, unable to make sense of the words, as worried as he is about Sadie. She excuses herself early, and Samuel Sr and Margie exchange a look, as if they've forgotten Sam is there. Sam doesn't know what any of them were expecting, but it wasn't this. The next few days, during which Sadie does not speak to him at all, are the longest of his life. Then, one morning, as he sits at the kitchen table having a silent breakfast with Samuel Sr and Margie - who are still flabbergasted to have a squib in the family - she comes down the stairs from their shared attic bedroom. She sits across from Sam at the table as if nothing has happened. She helps herself to a slice of toast from the stack on a plate in the middle of the table, and takes a piece of bacon off Sam's plate. "Since i won't be going to Hogwarts as expected," she says, folding the toast to make a sandwich and taking an enormous bite, "I'll need to arrange for a more formal education.” She swallows her bite and pours herself a glass of orange juice. “I’m happy with our current method of self-directed study, of course, but - i intend to supplement it with the odd lecture or class audit in the city.”

We get a few things here:

Sam’s anxiety/guilt about being the magical one, a dynamic that informs how Sadie will use him later

Sadie quickly hiding her actual emotions and performing fake ones, which comes up later when she manipulates people at the Ministry and in safehouses as a spy for the Death Eaters

Sadie’s decision making, which doesn’t allow room for input, feedback, or disagreement

Think of your favorite books and characters. If a novelist gave you a quick description of a character in one paragraph, you wouldn’t feel the close connection to them that you feel after reading even just a few chapters of them acting, reacting, interacting. Of course we don’t have as much time for that in an app as we do in a novel, but there’s a happy medium between the shallow understanding we get from pure exposition and the deep one we get from 50,000 words and a hardcover.

IN PRACTICE: HOW DO???

So we’ve got our intermediate app. We’ve got our Four D’s: Description, Dialogue, Details, Diorama. We’ve got an advanced site we are lusting over.

How do we Frankenstein this all together?

STEP ONE: REREAD YOUR ORIGINAL APP

Give her a look. Get the basics in your head. Think about how you might be able to repurpose this writing for your shipper. Because, hey! It’s already done! And at least in my experience on advanced sites, shippers are a TL;DR for your app, so a quick expository jaunt through the highlights fits the bill just peachy.

But you’re not going to be able to work from that app directly for version two, okay? Be honest with yourself. How much do you ever revise things? Because this isn’t a “change a word, add one (1) sentence,” project. This is an overhaul.

Like I’ve said! Going from intermediate to advanced is HARD WORK!

STEP TWO: GET WRITING

Start writing that app from scratch. Think about the Four D’s.

If you’re approaching this as a straight history of your character, have at it wherever you want to get started. But before you move on to the next phase, address your Four D’s.

Susie was a difficult baby.

STOP! Give me the D. Was her nursery hyperfeminine? Did her nannies gossip about her parents behind their backs? Was Susie a fussy baby, or was she sickly? Show me her cold and distant mother awkwardly holding her before passing her off to her father!

If none of these D’s feel important to this phase of the character’s life: don’t include it in the app! A character history does not need to cover every minute! You can just hit the important phases, and you should! Believe me: staff usually do not want to hear about how mom and dad met each other unless it actually has a major bearing on Susie’s life!

Once you’ve given the moment its due (Due, the fifth D), move on to the next, and consider the D’s every time.

STEP THREE: REREAD & REVISE

Before you submit your app, give it another look. You’ve likely done a lot of character development between your original application and the fully-overhauled version. Is your characterization consistent? Do your character’s motives make sense? Have you left any gaping holes in their story? Look back at your shipper, especially if you used your original application to build it out. Does it align with the new application? What edits do you need on the shipper to have it describe the same person as your app?

STEP FOUR: PROFIT

Obviously, as with anything else, your mileage may vary. It might take a few tries, or even a few different characters to land on something that works for an advanced site. But the practice of implementing the five D’s - and keeping them in mind subsequently as you post with and develop your character - will be instrumental in growing your abilities as a writer, and isn’t that what this is all about? Wishing you all the best in writing as in life - let me know how you’re doing, and what other tutorials you’d like to see from me. Cheers, and happy writing!

#rp guides #resources #writing resources #rp writing #applications

7 notes · View notes

inorganicone2230 · 5 years

Text

Purity (Part 1) Yandere!Overhaul x Fem!Reader

Part 2

Summery: Overhaul meets a quirkless foreigner who holds some very interesting views on his way of thinking. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants to keep her and her purity for himself. And he has no problem with falling to the depths of obsession if it means getting what he wants.

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Kai Chisaki certainly considered himself to be, above all else, a visionary, a Messiah meant to save the world from itself. He saw the world for what it truly was. A vile, rotten cesspool, filled to the brim with filth and ugliness, and plagued by a disease called quirks. Despite possessing a powerful one himself, he never considered it to be the blessing that other people did, not that he felt above using it to achieve his goals of course. He was going to be the one to set the world right again, and rule the underworld with an iron fist, so he begrudgingly realized that he would need the power of his quirk to accomplish said goal. No matter how much it sickened him.

Some might call him insane for his beliefs. That quirks were a sickness, infecting the populace with Hero and Villain Syndrome. But he knew the truth that they were all just blind to, that’s why they needed him to be their guide and show them the way to purity.

Perhaps that’s why he found you, you were meant to be his reward for all the good he was doing. It’s only been a few weeks, but he’s sure that it’s a day he won’t ever forget. Not ever, he thinks, gazing down at your form spread out over the sheets in sheer, manic glee as he recalls the all too vivid day…

—————

In hindsight, pulling you out of the way of that moving vehicle could be seen as the starting point to the chain reaction that sent him down this long and winding road of obsession. Not that he would change it for anything in the world.

He had merely acted without much thought when he reached out his white gloved hand to pull you out of the way, touching you as little as possible. He simply wasn’t in the mood to get himself soiled with your blood that would go flying everywhere should you get hit. Touching your shirt seemed like a small price to pay if it meant avoiding being covered in bodily fluids.

You turned around, your (e/c) blown wide in shock and blinking up at him stupidly. Your features were obviously that of foreign descent, not that cared enough to guess what country you came from. It was far too beneath him.

“Umm… thank you. That definitely would have been horribly messy.” You said, your Japanese was relatively decent, if a bit too formal.

He glared, noting with quiet contempt that you didn’t seem affected by it, probably because you were too stupid to know when to be afraid. “The only reason I did it was because I’d rather not get covered in blood and gore. If I could have avoided it, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

You seemed more amused than perturbed by his attitude, and he was beginning to wonder if you were very brave or just hopelessly stupid. “Well thank you for the assistance nonetheless, even more so considering what a hassle it was for you.”

If there were just a few less people out and about he might have decided to use his blasted quirk on you, consequences and mess be damned. Instead he turned on his heel. “Perhaps next time, whatever filthy quirk you have will be able to save you.” He fully intended to walk away and never think about this incident again, however, what you said next was more than intriguing enough to make him stop and give you a second glance.

“That would make sense, if I actually had a quirk. I’ll be sure to ask for one in my next life.”

He turned around to look at you, you were already walking away, but it looked like you were lost, you kept looking at your phone and then back to the street signs and buildings as if you were trying to translate the writing.

“You were born quirkless?” He’d never actually met someone who was genuinely born quirkless, only those that had lost their quirks due to his drug. He could only imagine what it must be like to feel so clean and pure.

You only gave him a brief glance as you continued to scrutinize your surroundings, more than likely surprised that he was still standing there, let alone talking to you. “Yup. No special power for me, unless you count my extraordinary ability to walk a straight line in platform heels while drunk a quirk that is.” You chuckled, the sound not nearly as annoying as he thought it might be.

“Then you’re one of the lucky ones.”

It seems that was the comment that got him your full attention, your head lifting up to stare wide eyed at him. “Lucky? That’s certainly not the word most people would use when describing a quirkless individual. Do you have something against them by chance? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but now you’ve got my curiosity peaked.”

Kai thought about it, why he was still here, why he was still talking to you, and the only answer he could come up with was that he was interested to see what your reaction would be to learning his views. Would you agree? Look at him like he was insane? He wanted to know, so he figured there couldn’t be any harm in enlightening you.

“Have you ever heard the theory that quirks were caused by a strain of virus carried by rats?” You gave a quick shake of your head, (h/c) strands bouncing around your face as he continued. “Quirks are a sickness, they ravage humanity with Hero and Villain syndromes and people seem content to go along with it. It sickens me that the world has fallen so low as to rely on abilities and deformities that we were never meant to have in the first place. It’s unnatural and disgusting.”

He was expecting some kind of reaction from you, he didn’t think you’d jump right into agreeing with him, that would have been too perfect. His best guess was that you were going to think he was crazy, most outside of the Shie Hassaikai thought he was, why should one quirkless girl be any different. The reply you gave him definitely didn’t fit into either of those categories.

“That’s certainly an interesting way of looking at it, from an evolutionary standpoint at least. I’ll admit that when looking back on human history and development, quirks are definitely not what I would have expected human evolution to progress towards. So perhaps your rat theory does have some merit. Almost like a second coming of The Black Death or something.” You said, having moved closer to the wall of a building while the two of you spoke.

“You don’t think I’m crazy for thinking this? Most people would have stopped listening after I used disease and quirk in the same sentence.”

“No.” You chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion that differs from the norm, sometimes it’s what we need to progress and move forward. Culture and society are constantly changing and adapting to new things as time goes on, but we wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t for someone else stepping forward and saying that something needs to be done or fixed if we are to ever move on from the ways of the past. Your views may be a bit extreme, but definitely not crazy. After all, no one ever said passion was a bad thing.”

You couldn’t have possibly known how pleased he was by your words as you looked up into his eyes, eyes that even his underlings flinched at when attempting to hold his gaze for too long, but you just stared right at him, unflinching with a small smile tugging at your lips. It set his pulse racing pleasantly, and if he didn’t already know that he was in top physical health, he might have thought something was wrong with him.

“You looked as if you were lost, perhaps I can help you find your way.” He honestly felt like taking apart his own brain when the words left his mask covered mouth, but it was too late now, you were already agreeing.

“If it’s not too much trouble, that would be amazing! I can speak Japanese fairly well, but reading it is another story entirely.” You said pulling out your phone to show him an address for a local hotel, he took note of how soft and clean your hands looked, not a speck of filth to be seen. “I’m here on a study trip with a group of classmates and I went wandering off to look around, ended up getting lost along the way and was too embarrassed to ask for directions.”

“It’s three blocks away, follow me.” He ordered, turning on his heel. He didn’t bother to see if you were tagging along behind him or not, he knew you would obey.

The walk was kept silent and he was pleased that you didn’t seem to want to fill the time with pointless chatter as most people would have, but a small part of him was a bit disappointed as well, he wouldn’t have minded hearing you speak more of those intellectual views of yours. He wondered what else you might have to say about his views on the world. He might have even asked if the two of you had not just reached your destination.

There was someone rushing over, a blonde girl with blue scales around her yellow eyes was marching over to you. “Where in the Nine Circles of Hell did you run off too?! We’ve been worried sick! Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” She said, pulling you into a tight hug.

He wanted to obliterate the annoyance as soon as she touched you. It was blasphemous that this piece of garbage would even think to touch someone as clean as you with their dirty hands. He was even more annoyed that you didn’t seem bothered by this, just reached up to pat her filthy head.

“Sorry Nell, I went for a walk and got a little turned around. But this guy helped me out!” You turned around, to say thank you one last time and maybe get his name, but he was already gone.

Nell just gave you a look, like you had lost your marbles. “What guy (Y/N)? Don’t tell me your seeing ghosts again like you did in elementary school. Was this one at least hot?” She jeered with a barking laugh, bumping her shoulder against yours and motioning for you to follow her towards the hotel entrance.

“That was one time! And you know it was only because Mike was hiding in the attic of that old house to purposely try and scare us. What ten year old wouldn’t have been terrified.”

“Right… sure that’s all it was.” She teased.

“I swear to God, he was right there not even two seconds ago!” You were amazed he managed to slip away in so short a time span. “But he did seem pretty antisocial so he probably didn’t want to hang around longer than necessary. Still though,” You look back over your shoulder one more time to see if you can spot that green jacket. “kind of cliche to just up and leave like that without a word.”

“You didn’t answer my question though, was your mystery man easy on the eyes?”

You did have to smile a bit at that. “He did seem pretty handsome from what I could see of him. He was wearing a black dust mask over his mouth and nose, so all I could see of him were his gold eyes. It’s a shame I didn’t get to find out his name, he was interesting to talk too.” You sighed. “But oh well, it would be a miracle if I ever ran into him again in a city this big.”

From up on the roof of another building, Kai watched and listened, a plan already forming in his head. He had to agree with you, it was a shame you couldn’t have spoken more. He found himself pleased with the sound of your voice and wondered what his name would sound like rolling off your tongue, the thought had him shuddering in pleasure. He was not one to question himself on anything, if he wanted something or had a goal, he would find a way to accomplish it. And he most definitely wanted to interact with you again.

“I’ll come find you again soon (Y/N), then we will both get what we want.”

This was my first time writing for Overhaul, so please let me know if you thought I did his character justice! Thanks and please enjoy!

And a special thanks to @talpup for helping me brainstorm this and all my other stories!

#yandere!overhaul #yandere!overhaul x reader #kai chisaki #kai chisaki x reader #fem!reader #reader insert #bnha #yandere bnha #typical yandere behavior

397 notes · View notes

marshal-raylan-givens · 4 years

Text

Angel’s Lullaby

Okay, so this was requested by @chompachompa for some Dave fluff and the title comes from Richard Marx’s Angel’s Lullaby from his 1997 Greatest Hits album. Enjoy :)

The day you and Dave brought your daughter home, Dave tried everything in his power to not mess up. He constantly asked questions, wanting to learn every little detail there was to making sure she was happy and healthy. Sure, Dave wasn’t entirely the smartest man on the planet when it came to certain things, and you’d never think he’d try to take being a father seriously. Dave McLean was just a party boy who liked hanging out with his friends, drinking a beer, and working in his garage. When you two got together, nobody was expecting that. You were nice and sweet, and while Dave was also, none of the crew could actually see Dave being in a relationship.

He was too immature and well, he wasn’t always the best boyfriend. Sometimes he’d accidentally forget dates to go hang out with Rod and the gang, or he’d just be too stoned out to really listen to what you’d have to say. You even had a discussion with the gang, especially with Denise, the only other girl in the group, about what you should do. The said to just give it time, let him get used to actually having another person to think of. When you first got together, it was almost like Dave treated you like any other girl.

Yes, he occasionally made you things, and you treasured them beyond belief, but talking about your feelings always seemed hardest. Not because you got emotional, but because Dave got emotional. The poor man would cry his eyes out on the phone with you, or in person, if you guys would get into fights. One time, it even got so bad, that you had Rod pick you up just so you could hang out with Denise and cry to her because you were at a loss of what to do. Dave was such a sweetheart, you had told her, sobbing into a tissue. “But I can’t see him being more serious when it comes to us. It’s like he doesn’t even care if we’re together or not.”

When you had come home the next day, having been too wine drunk and emotional to walk home, you found a new gift from Dave, your favorite flowers, and a hand written note. You sighed, picking it up:

Dear Y/N,

I’m so sorry about our fight last night. I was such a jerk and I never want to hurt you. Rod called me and told me how you felt and you’re right, I don’t do enough to show you how much I appreciate you. I honestly think you’re too good for me, and it’s a miracle you even like me. But I’m willing to continue to be with you, and while I might not be the best with words, I’ll do what I can to show you how much I love you.

Yours,

Dave.

P. S: I ended up with glass in my eye again, it’s no big deal, though.

You couldn’t help but laugh at the last part, though there were tears in your eyes, and worry did come over you as you heard a knock on your door. Walking over, you open it to reveal Dave, tape on his eye with a bandage, and looking as though he’d just got done crying again. One of you had to speak first, as he just stood in your guys’ doorway, afraid you’d kick him out or yell at him again. You reached your hand out, grabbing his as you pulled him into a hug. “I love you, too,” you sniffled.

“Hey, Y/N?” Dave asked softly, wrapping his arms around you as his face flushed and he buried it in your hair. “Hm?”

“I think,” he paused. “That was the first time we said I love you.” You freeze for a moment, slowly looking up at him and realizing he was right. He smiled down at you before sheepishly scratching his hair. “I’m sorry I haven’t been very good to you. I’m not used to the whole, ‘relationship’ thing, since girls don’t usually talk to me.” You nodded, understanding as he told his side. “But I do want to make it up to you. So, will you let me show you how much I love you?”

A few weeks later, you starred at the pregnancy test in your hands. You knew exactly how this happened but honestly? Despite knowing that, it scared you to death. You and Dave had been together roughly about a year by now, and the fact you guys hadn’t even discussed kids made this worse. You placed the test on your sink, pacing your small bathroom as Denise stood in the doorway. “It’s positive, isn’t it?” She asked quietly, you nodding frantically as you wrung your hands and thought of all the ways you were gonna have to tell Dave what was going on.

He’d been doing so much better, yes, since your last makeup. He even texted you today to let you know he missed you, that he was gonna pick up a surprise for you on his way home from the ice rink. Would Dave be okay with kids? He didn’t seem to really hate them or like them either way, almost neutral. He did like when the smaller kids were around though, he liked carrying them on his back for piggyback rides and making sure they didn’t drown in the local pool.

“It’s going to be okay, Dave loves you, you know that.”

“What if we’re not ready?” You were now on the verge of tears. “What if decides that’s too much responsibility? He’s not exactly the most responsible guy, Denise. What have I done?” To make your fingers less busy, you wished you had some bubble wrap to pop, that would stop you from almost pulling your hair out. Denise stood, “it’s going to be okay.” She repeated, stopping you and putting your hands on your shoulders. “Do you want me to go with you?” You nod.

The drive to Dave’s house felt like an eternity. You saw him standing next to Rico by the pool in the front yard, overhearing “pools are great for holding water, man.” Stepping out, you forced a smile and gave Dave a hug from behind, surprising him as just at the moment, Rico sprayed him with the hose. You couldn’t help but laugh. He wiped himself off and looked behind him, smiling. “Hey, baby! What are you doing here?” You took a deep breath before leaning up to kiss him, trying not to cry as you walked him over to one of the lawn chairs.

“Honey, we have to talk.”

“What… what’s wrong?” His face fell, and you immediately felt the need to correct him.

“Oh-! No, I’m not-!” You waved your hands, trying to calm his ease as he let out a breath.

“That’s good,” he laughed. “I thought you were gonna break up with me or tell me you were pregnant or something.”

He stopped laughing as he saw your face.

“Oh, no. Sweetie, did I- did I make you hate me? Do you not-“ he started crying, his shoulders shaking as you reached over to hug him, frantically attempting to comfort him as you repeatedly told him you weren’t gonna leave him at all.

“Then what’s wrong?” He sobbed.

You sigh. “Dave, I’m pregnant.”

He stops almost immediately.

“For serious?”

“For serious.”

Before you know it you’re standing, wrapped in a bear hug so tight that you can’t even return it, Dave sobbing into your shoulder as Denise lets the rest of the crew in on what was going on, a round of applause meeting the both of your guys’ ears.

Nine months later, after the baby shower, gender reveal, a Dad Party™ held by Rico for Dave in the garage, you’d pushed your bundle of joy out in a sobbing mess at 4:25 A. M. With Dave right by your side. You held his hand so tightly he thought it’d break, crying just as much as you did when you got to hold her. “She’s so beautiful.” “Of course she is,” Dave wiped some of the sweat off your forehead. “We made her and she’s gonna be so awesome.” You couldn’t help but laugh, kissing him and holding your baby as close as you could without hurting her. Dave had been so attentive during your pregnancy, fighting your mood swings, cravings, and when you just couldn’t sleep. He made your child’s crib, even.

This particular night was a bad one. You couldn’t sleep, and the baby wouldn’t stop crying. Dave was nowhere to be found and as you sat down in her room, you tried hushing her to sleep. Eventually, you fell asleep, as had the baby, before she unfortunately woke up when she realized you weren’t moving anymore, crying loudly. Feeling a small tap on your shoulder, you gently jolting to see Dave waving at you, he was smiling as he took the infant, switching spots with you and gently swaying her in his arms. If you listened hard enough, you’d be able to hear him sing gently. You weren’t sure where he’d heard the song but it was beautiful. Your heart swelled at the sight.

I was never alive

'Til the day I was blessed with you

When I hold you late at night

I know what I was put here to do

I turn off the world and listen to you sigh

And I will sing my Angel's Lullaby

Know I'm forever near

The one you can always call

Right all you know to fear

Are the shadows on your wall

I'm here close enough

To kiss the tears you cry

And I will sing my Angel's Lullaby

#tumblr ruined my format >:(#bill hader #dave mclean #hot rod #dave hot rod #bill hader x reader

12 notes · View notes

rotationalsymmetry · 4 years

Text

How to Vote

(the other half -- ie, not about how to register, the complicated mess of voting during a pandemic while the USPS is being sabotagued, disability accommodations etc but rather: how to go about deciding who and what to vote for.) (focused on the US) (lefty wavering dramatically between obvious bias and attempts to be politically neutral)

You can probably get info from your county and/or state’s Department of Elections (website, phone number, email, etc) and/or from the library or 411, if there’s info that you want but don’t have yet, like finding out who and what is on the ballot so you know what research to do. (Or where to deliver your ballot because you’re worried the post office won’t -- but that’s not what this post is supposed to be about.)

I desperately miss California’s voter guides -- when I lived in CA that was always my starting point. They’re not perfect. But, like Wikipedia and school research projects, they’re a perfectly good place to start. Anyways: if you got a voter guide or can access one online, start there.

If you’re not sure about a post or issue, or don’t care, it’s OK to only vote on the things you care about and leave the rest blank. You might be asked if you did that on purpose, but that’s it. It’s not going to disqualify your ballot or anything, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing democracy wrong. I mean, I think it’s generally worth voting on everything? But if not knowing who to vote for county dog catcher is stopping you from voting for us president, or vice versa, the important thing is that you do vote about what you care about.

Endorsements: which newspapers, advocacy orgs and other politicians like which candidates and propositions, and why. There’s two ways you can go: you can just go “OK, I trust this group/newspaper/org, I’ll vote how they say” (voting all Democrats or all Republicans is the most straightforward example of this) or you can pay attention to their reasoning and see if you agree with it. Local newspapers are especially useful for local candidates and ballot measures, and if you’re significantly left of center (hi) there might be an alternative weekly newspaper in your area that you can look at. (Dunno about other places, but the San Francisco Bay Guardian routinely rises from the dead to make election endorsements.) There’s advocacy groups for LGBTQ+ people, women, racial and ethnic groups, the environment, renters, disabled people, and people who have strong opinions on other specific issues like gun control and campaign finance reform. Oh, and labor unions make endorsements, so if you like labor unions, you can look at who they endorse.

Friends’ and family members’ opinions and reasoning, similar but less official. Incidentally, if there’s someone whose political views you can’t stand, you can just decide to vote against whatever they’re for and vice versa -- once in a while this can backfire, but most issues and candidates are very partisan. This goes for groups too: there’s some SF groups where if they spoke out against a ballot measure, I almost always ended up voting for it and vice versa.

Looking at history: has a proposition like this come up before, how has this politician voted in the past, to what extent did this politician keep last election’s campaign promises, how do they respond when you send them an email, etc. Kind of like cramming for a test vs paying attention throughout the semester, this is easier the more you’ve been following what your representatives have been doing in between elections. But, cramming is better than nothing. (In this case by “history” I mean like what’s happened in the last 4 years or whatever, not what you’d find in a history textbook, but you’re welcome to take that kind of history into account too.) If you’re young or especially bad at following politics, asking the opinion of someone who’s older or better at following politics and shares at least some political views with you can help.

Reading the actual legal text (for propositions.) Honestly, ime this is one of the least effective things you can do, but it’s an option.

Platforms -- generally candidates say what they stand for and what they intend to do in office on their website. There’s sort of a stereotype of politicians as never fulfilling their campaign promises, but it’s still good to know what politicians say they’re going to do.

Debates, town halls, speeches, rallies, following candidates on social media, etc. Basically: what do the candidates say, and/or do you have a good gut feeling about them. (Gut feelings can be miseading. But so can literally everything else. It’s OK to take a politician’s character into account, as far as you can tell what their character is, in addition to how they stand on the issues.)

Political ads: will probably not tell you anything useful, and will distort your emotional “read” of a candidate. If you can avoid exposure to these entirely that’s ideal; if not, you might want to deliberately give mental points to candidates who are being slammed and take them away from candidates doing the slamming. This stuff has nothing to do with reality. (People putting up signs in yards/windows might give you some sense of whether a candidate is electable in local elections where a dark horse independent or third party candidate is running and will give you a very approximate sense of how popular major candidates are, but that’s about it.) Ads are not really intended to convey meaningful information, they’re intended to create emotional reactions.

If you’re new to voting, this will get easier with time. I mean, it’s always a bit time consuming, and there’s also “the more you just follow one group or person’s endorsements exactly the easier it is, and the more you make each decision individually the harder it is”, but also, you’ll pick up patterns and get a sense of how different groups stand relative to your values (and probably get more confident about your own political beliefs in time as well) and you’ll get a good sense of where you can cut corners and still be happy with your choice, vs where you really should spend the time to do thorough research and reflection.

If you’ve got executive function issues or very limited time, do what you need to do. Set a timer? Do the research with someone else? Ask someone else to do the research for you and tell you what they found? Put a time limit on how much research you’re going to do, and at the end of the time just make a decision whether you feel ready or not? Give yourself lots of get-psyched-up time before and unwind time after? I know I was making test analogies earlier, but there really is no cheating here.

Maybe you’ll make a mistake and regret a voting decision later on. This is OK and it happens to everyone (at least, everyone capable of admitting they made a mistake.) Mistakes can be learned from.

It’s OK to be uncertain. People can be certain and wrong. The whole idea with democracy is that, while any decision-making mechanism can spit out wrong decisions, democracy will overall involve fewer wrong decisions because the people affected by bad decisions are part of the decision-making process. (Which is why being convicted of a felony should never remove someone’s right to vote, but I digress.) It’s an attempt to cut power imbalances, oppression, and cruelty out of the system. Obviously it doesn’t always work in practice. But that is why if you can vote you probably should, even if you feel unsure. Young people should vote. People with mental illnesses should vote. People who have less access to information and resources should vote. Learning disabilities or developmental disabilities? Take your time, ask for help/accommodations if necessary, and vote.

Because, here’s the thing: sometimes it’s hard to figure out who and what to vote for and you have to do a lot of research and thinking it over, and other times it’s really really easy. Because you need healthcare. Or because you know you should be able to get married to your partner. Or because you know that you should be able to use public restrooms like everyone else. Because you’re swimming in thousands of dollars of college debt. Because ludicrous numbers of people are dying from a contagious illness and relief checks are being treated as optional, because your city got wiped out by a hurricane, because your state got wiped out by a derecho, because your state is on fire, and because you know who isn’t handling all that the way they should be. Sometimes the decisions are really, really easy. But only really really easy for some people.

#off the top of my head #politics #us election 2020 #how to vote #I know there should be some sort of black lives matter thing in the next to last paragraph but I was struggling with the phrasing #so I dropped it but it's there in spirit #actually it's possible some of us shouldn't be voting when it's not that obvious for us?#it's complicated #certainly there's always people who think it's obvious when really it's no skin off their nose #but a life or death issue to someone else #political #advice #how to #adulting #i mean yes sometimes human rights shouldn't just be something people can vote on #but again any decision making system is going to have issues #and doing things other ways doesn't automatically get better results

4 notes · View notes

rwt-mystic-corner · 7 years

Note

So I'm in a weird place... my town has a curse. Nothing that massively negatively impacts peoples lives just kind of vaguely steers them at best. It's mostly a legend. But my friend wants to try to take control of the curse and I really think it's a bad idea. Not only is it a very old curse, but as a white person (according to legend the curse was done by poc) I don't think it's their place to fuck with it. I just have an awful feeling. Advice?

Wow, yikes. (Sorry for the delay; Tumblr didn’t notify me of this message.)

My advice: Get their nose out of it, that is definitely NOT something to mess with, and especially not for them to mess with alone. Go with your gut. If it feels awful to you, there’s probably a reason. Something is telling you to stop it.

First of all, if you’re around this person often or they intend to try taking control in your presence: Protect yourself. Shield yourself from wayward energy, create a decoy so anything aiming for anyone ASSOCIATED with your friend goes to that instead of you, pray for your gods/guardians/spirits to watch your back if you have someone you trust to stay vigilant. Whatever you have to do, protect yourself.

Especially if it’s not massively negative but this person plans to make it more negatively effective. It’s the snowball rolling down a hill effect, you know? It can gather more and more momentum until it snowballs out of control, hits something in its path, and explodes everywhere.

We can’t always stop our friends from doing something stupid. I guess, protect them too, if you think you can. (Preferably they’ll be protecting themselves, but if they’re actually planning to take control of a historical spell like that, their foresight is probably not that strong.)

Second: hijacking spells is an INTENSE working. If I’m reading your friend’s intention right, they’re planning to, essentially, dismantle the original caster’s intention and rework it with their own, to their own advantage. (Which, with curses, tends to backfire immensely. Because curses tend to have “I’m angry at you, don’t touch me” energies built right in....)

Even if you’re just redirecting it, there’s a huge chance your energies won’t be able to overpower the original energies, or the energies won’t match up in a way that yours affect them enough to change anything, or there’s a protective backlash just waiting to happen... Curses on places tend to carry a LOT of momentum, and changing that is like trying to redirect a falling boulder.

Not to mention, the point of a curse is to bring negativity. By virtue of being a curse, your friend using it to their advantage is going to require a powerful 180 swing on its very core. Not a lot of spellworkers can take in an energy that powerful, assimilate it without being affected themselves, rewire the spell to do what they want it to do, and send it back out without getting some of that curse-y residue left on themselves in the process. Even the original casters get stuck with curse gunk.

I can’t even imagine how hard you’d have to fight to grab a curse with HISTORY.

And there is always, always the risk of their attempt going haywire. They might just end up charging this thing up without being able to control it. There might be misfires. They don’t know this curse inside and out, like the person who originally cast it did.

If you can’t dissuade your friend from doing this thing, try to redirect them? There has to be a reason they think they want/need to do this. So if you can’t get them to abandon the plan: I’d offer alternatives.

If they need a curse, they should cast their own. Maybe something to work alongside the current one, if they really, really feel the need to curse. They can take some energy from your local earth and trees and buildings or something for that Customized Effect. And they can call on events/energies/spirits that were there in the past if their reason has any historical element to it.

There are just so many better ways to accomplish whatever they’re trying to do, I’m sure.

As far as the caster being POC: Disclaimer, I’m mixed-race White with some American Indian blood, so this might not be my place to speak. But unless the curse was cast with intention and effect related to race, or by a group or ritual closed to lineage or place of origin or something: I don’t think that would have any effect on this outcome.

If it was a POC getting revenge for a racist act, for instance: Yeah, that’s probably going to backfire HARD. But if the caster sent the curse out to harm the economy of the town, wholesale: it wouldn’t matter who’s messing with it, white or otherwise.

Personally, and I do put a lot of emphasis on this being my PERSONAL take on the situation: It’s not a matter of cultural appropriation, just because the caster was POC.

Like, if a Hindu in my area sends out a prayer to one of their gods for financial boons in the temple, and I walk by and take the energy of that for myself: That’s overstepping a line. There’d be a conflict of culture and pantheon to resolve. Hinduism is a closed religion; they’re likely praying to a certain god or group; it’s specifically directed to them; I believe there are specific rituals involved in Hindu temple prayer; etc. etc. etc. That’s not my culture, it’s theirs; the prayer was sent within a closed culture context.

But if my black neighbor puts a sigil of protection on their garden, a universal act without any associations with their heritage, and I take the cloth they painted it on and placed it on my own garden, stripped their energy, and repurposed their sigil with my own energy: I still stole their spell, but it’s not an issue of cultural appropriation. Because the spell wasn’t affected by them being black, or me being white. Does that make sense?

Anyways, if they’re going to try replicate a culturally-closed ritual or prayer or practice, that’s an issue. Definitely do NOT fuck with that, they’ll just be ASKING for gods and spirits of the caster’s culture to come down on them.

But they really, really really shouldn’t try to take charge of a curse cast on an entire town. Even if it IS just a rumor: In my experience, the belief of the locals feeds into it being there, whether it originally was or not. That’s reckless, dangerous, and there are just so many ways it could go horribly, terribly wrong.

My advice is definitely to try and dissuade and redirect them as best you can. And if you need any more help, let me know. I’ll keep a closer eye on this inbox henceforth.

Best of luck to you-- to BOTH of you.

1 note · View note

intjsassypants · 7 years

Text

Taking Care of Business

(phone rings, INTJ ignores it, doesn’t recognize the number)

(same number calls again, Afghanistan area code)

INTJ: Stupid telemarketers.

(same number calls again)

INTJ: I have no idea who this is but whoever you are I do not want your product or-

Terrorists: Hello Infidel, we have kidnapped your friend.

INTJ: I have friends?

“Friend”: I know your phone number.

INTJ: Excellent point, that is some Fort Knox shit there.

Terrorists: For one million dollars, you filthy American Infidel, we will return-

INTJ: You want that much? Seriously, look at what you kidnapped.

Terrorists: I think this is the wrong number.

INTJ: With the prices that you’re charging it’s no wonder that you’re not moving inventory.

“Friend”: You are aware of the fact that you are on speaker phone.

INTJ: Also, there are better ways to achieve your organizational goals. What is your organization’s goal or mission statement?

Terrorists: Uhh….

INTJ: Do you have a slogan, logo? You need good branding before you can have a good branding strategy, seriously, who am I talking to here? What makes you stand out?

Terrorists: We didn’t think about that before we became terrorists.

INTJ: I understand, most people don’t think about a lot of things before they become terrorists. But your do have one thing.

Terrorists: A valuable hostage?

INTJ: No, passion. Passion is great to have, but it doesn’t make a solution magically appear, however, it can drive you to find one.

Terrorists: I am writing that down, it is an excellent quote.

“Friend”: I would like to use one of my other lifelines.

Terrorists: No, we like this one.

INTJ: What you have is a really exciting, potentially explosive concept. You could make a big impact-

“Friend”: She knows that those are really dark puns but she’s using them anyway.

INTJ: I am negotiating with the startup, what is the name of your organization?

Terrorists: Al Shasteve.

INTJ: You need to work on the name.

Terrorists: I know.

“Friend”: Stop helping the terrorists!

INTJ: Hey, you didn’t get kidnapped by Al Qaeda or ISIS.

Terrorists: What are you implying extremely helpful infidel?

INTJ: I’m implying that you could be on that level, you could be Al Qaeda, or ISIS, or Hezbollah even, I assume that you want your organization to grow and develop, be a worldwide brand?

Terrorists: Yes, we want to be on CNN, but how?

INTJ: It’s a combination of brand connectivity and awareness, what’s your story, what makes you human, relatable to your audience?

Terrorists: We want to connect with our local audience and kill our international audience.

INTJ: On the surface those are counter intuitive, but they could work together.

“Friend”: How?

INTJ: That is an excellent question, the simple answer is, they both involve engagement, engagement would be much easier with your international audience because you’re trying to kill them.

Terrorists: They will be very scared of us.

INTJ: But your local audience, how will they connect and condone you killing your international audience?

Terrorists: We’re locally owned and operated, we share the same beliefs, have the same problems, want to solve them. By problems I mean infidels like you, and you!

“Friend”: I’m sorry, your English is excellent!

INTJ: Those are all excellent aspects of your organizations that any killer organization should possess.

“Friend”: Really?

INTJ: What you need are local brand ambassadors and evangelists, local businesses and organizations need to connect on a local level in order to succeed. I assume that you have a recruiting department.

Terrorists: We do, but, all the other terrorists join other terrorists, who aren’t us.

INTJ: That’s a completely different subject, but long story short, you need to invest in recruiting, if you have the top talent and top recruits, you will be on top. Have you considered affiliate marketing? In return, being somehow affiliated, or at least endorsed, acknowledges your organization’s worth as a quality organization. Also knowing that your competition thinks you’re competition is a real confidence boost.

Terrorists: Also…brand awareness?

INTJ: Exactly, brand awareness, free marketing! See, you have to invest in it at first, but the dividends and return. You are catching on Al Shasteve.

“Friends”: Whatever they say, don’t explain incentivization to them.

Terrorists: Why not, why not helpful infidel?

INTJ: Well, with your unique startup I’m not sure that would be a good idea, it could be disastrous for you, your competition could turn that against you. You don’t want to scare away your audience, with however, you’d convince, or forcibly earn someone’s loyalty. Also, you can’t hack growth and have genuine growth.

Terrorists: You are very wise and just saved us the trouble of taking many lives. Would you like to negotiate for your friend’s release now?

INTJ: Oh, that, sorry, we were just having such a great, valuable conversation, does she want to come back?

Terrorists: The helpful infidel wants to know if you want to come back.

“Friend”: She’s not my favorite person now and I am totally reporting her to the FBI now but yes.

INTJ: Well if it’s going to be-

Terrorists: Wait, don’t hang up, you’ve been so helpful to us, we’d feel bad if you got absolutely nothing out of this.

INTJ: You’re right, the terrorists are right, tell the nice terrorists thank you.

“Friend”: Thank you nice terrorists.

Terrorists: You are welcome, so, One million dollars.

INTJ: That’s a bit high for me, I gave you a good $999,999 in advice. Also, you need to build up your brand and associate it with such a high price tag. You should aspire to be a real luxury brand. Think about it, a purse is basically a purse, but with a certain name on it, convince your consumer that you are that good, with what you have there and being a startup and all.

“Friend”: Tell my mother I love her.

INTJ: What I’m saying is this could be a great opportunity for you, have you kidnapped anyone else for ransom money before?

Terrorists: Yes, but they died.

INTJ: Ahhh, well I have some idea what could have happened.

Terrorists: You do, we’re terrorists. Very bad terrorists.

INTJ: But do you want that mess again? This is a prime chance to develop your negotiating skills. A paid ransom for a living person is very important for your business model. It also cleans up your reputation, and saves you quiet the cleanup, she is just going to splatter everywhere. That’s not halal.

Terrorists: Caves are hard to clean.

INTJ: And she can tell the west how truly terrifying and threatening you are, right?

“Friend”: Yes, brand evangelism.

INTJ: To an international audience that you could probably not afford to reach with paid advertisement currently. She could be so very useful for once.

“Friend”: That’s right, I’ll be so…what do you mean for once?

INTJ: I think she’s only worth $10,000.

Terrorists: We need more than that.

INTJ: You see that’s the thing, when you start a business, you think money is everything, but there are valuable free, literal and metaphorical resources that matter too. Also, where would that money go? You might think that things like administrative costs and travel expenses are at the forefront now, but no, in fact, make a list, decide the minimal amount you’d need. You’re going to have to be creative, but what small business isn’t at this stage? Also, a small amount of money could get to you faster than a large amount, and cover immediate pressing expenses.

Terrorists: We could kidnap other people.

INTJ: More valuable people.

Terrorists: And be like a luxury brand?

INTJ: Yes, and then you’d have her, on CNN, you know, what you have coming together here is a real strategy for growth.

Terrorists: When you put it that way.

“Friend”: This is your nice way of saying I’m not worth that much to you but I agree with you and it’s working.

INTJ: Whatever lets everybody win, huh?

Terrorists: We do need to get rid of her, she is getting kind of annoying.

INTJ: I know right, good job incentivizing and promoting a sense of urgency.

“Friend”: Yes, I wasn’t just scared because I was kidnapped by terrorists at all.

INTJ: Personally, I think she has great sales skills, $50,000, and her and I launch a promotional campaign for the hottest new terrorist group, Al Shasteve?

Terrorists: $100,000 and the promotional campaign.

INTJ: You’ve had to put up with her for at least a week.

“Friend”: Three, did you not see that I wasn’t active on Facebook at all?

INTJ: Oh, you’re on Facebook? (pretending not to know) I’ve been, busy.

“Friend”: You manage Facebook pages and make Facebook ads, you have to have a Facebook account!

Terrorists: $90,000 you have an excellent point, you’re the one who’d really be paying.

INTJ: I know right, I saw on one of my friend’s pages that she just posts so much, it’s like, get a life, scoff, $75,000.

Terrorists: $80,000 and you have to become Facebook friends with her.

INTJ: $75,001. She asks for prayers and demands likes.

Terrorists: $75,002, we will drop the entire promotional campaign and you have to give her all the infidel likes and infidel prayers she wants.

INTJ: Only if in the event that she has kids she never mentions them on Facebook or posts pictures of the things. I’m concerned for those poor children’s privacy and safety.

Terrorists: An even $75,000 if you throw in some goats.

INTJ: I have an Applebee’s gift card.

Terrorists: What is Applebees?

INTJ: $50,000, the goats, and Fly Emirates T-shirts for all of you, no conditions attached.

Terrorists: You have to help us make the list.

INTJ: That’s a fair deal, send me your T-Shirt sizes.

Terrorists: Can the goats get Fly Emirates T-Shirts too?

INTJ: Uh, that would be hilarious, send me their sizes and I will throw in the Applebee’s gift card for free. Send me pictures of the goats in the T-shirts, inchallah.

“Friends”: How am I getting home?

INTJ: Oh, sorry, I was distracted by the idea of seeing goats in, where is the nearest airport?

Terrorists: Uhh…

INTJ: Could you drop her off outside a military base and just tell her what you want to say about your organization?

Terrorists: We could drop her off on Pakistan, what idiot would think that we didn’t have connections in Pakistan?

INTJ: I know, but in a semi-safe area, there’s a Harry Potter café, I’d love for her to bring me back some pictures and souvenirs.

“Friend”: Oh F’ you.

Terrorists: Is that how you thank your helpful infidel friend?

“Friend”: I’ll take pictures.

INTJ: Good, then find your way to a US Military base, say what they want you to say. Also, pick up and mail the the T-shirts and goats. The terrorists are the ones making you do that, not me.

“Friend”: I am not thanking you for negotiating my release at all.

INTJ: Splitsies on your ransom, and you get to punch me in the face as hard as you can when you land.

Terrorists: How selfless.

INTJ: I’ll mail the Applebees gift card?

“Friend”: You had me at punch you in the face as hard as I can when I land.

Terrorists: She’s coming home!

INTJ: I am such a good friend.

“Friend”: Reporting you to the FBI is not exactly off the table.

#intj problems #intj thoughts #intj #the negotiator #negotiation #strategies & tips #tips #helpingothers #helpingpeople #helping #freindship

66 notes · View notes

isiyasy · 4 years

Quote

Analysed by: Hassan Aliyu Adam $ Mubarak Zakariyya B.Sc Sociology The trend of Slavery in Nigeria is still continuously moving in every tick of the clock. And, Neo-colonialism can be seen as a colonization or enslavement of citizens of a given country by its citizens (some brother citizens) and they became an agent of such of evil former colonial matsers. Although, there was a drama in 1960 which marked Nigeria as an independent state by gaining independence from its colonial masters. The law was taken for granted by the executive arm of government. Why I called the 1960 event as merely a drama? This is because of the draconian nature of their leadership style and other fundamental reasons as follows; Firstly, the colonial masters came to Africa to allure our wealth (resources) and maltreat or enslave our citizens as their slaves, then it reached to the situation whereby they realized that there was a need of what is called 'Modernization' to legitimize their actions in order to continue with their evil acts, so they took a decision and finally brought the idea of giving independence and attached it with 'English written laws',. This is what we termed as "Giving a gift with the right hand and collecting it with the left hand". Remind you! this law is dictating what the former colonial masters likes or do not like, and we as a so-called independent state can not do anything outside the confine of these laws, except what the laws says. Furthermore, our resources go straight to them (Western powers) without getting anything in-return and also they continue exploiting our people not in the traditional (old style) of slavery but in more exorbitant one the modern style. Secondly, Depriving our citizen's human rights and freedoms for instance; No person or group of persons have the full right to protest or stand against government, that person(s) or movement will either be declared or treated as a terrorist group, simply because these people are claiming for their constitutional rights which needlessly abused by this tyrant and oppressive government. Thirdly, the last but not the least, the people in the helm of affairs (government) the so-called leaders are just their statue. Of course they are, because they are busy receiving directs and orders from the same modern colonial masters who are called imperialists. Infact, they're working for their masters, siphoning our resources and stealing from the public treasury. NIGRIA IS A CAPITAL HOME OF INJUSTICE Painfully, things are bad in this country, now getting even worser than before. This country is because even the law markers are not obeying the law, most especially the executive, they wrongly felt that they're above the law, now they do whatever they want and nobody can abash them, because when it comes to the judicial sector, they're the one who choose or appoint whoever (judge) would dance to their tunes and have a full dictates over him out there, therefore there is nothing they can do justly and if not they will fear to loose their jobs. Same case to the legislative in short we have only one arm of government instead of three i.e Executive, Judicial and Legislative Arms of Government WAYS OF SORTING OUT THE PROBLEMS Base on our own thinking and understanding, the main way of getting rid of all these problems are not that many or difficult to understand, because I felt that this few reasons may bring vital in solving majority of social problems of this country and the entire world at large. Therefore, they can be discussed and outlined as follows; UNITY There must be unity for a society or even a State at a large to develop, lack of this unity it's our major problem because we have a wrong belief that, if my tribe or religion is not the victim of some tragedy, then let them go to hell and God may punish them, which is very wrong, because if they finished with the other tribe or religion they would certainly turn to your own direction because the problem is not tribe or religion, but is the Wealth God has blessed this country (Nigeria) with and you are also a member of this country, so for them to get that they can go extra mile, they can even kill and destroy properties, what is happening in Zamfara is a good example to us, so for this we need to come together as the citizens of this great country and show these merciless politicians that enough is enough! KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION To be a very reasonable and sound thinking individual, you need to have a very good educational background so that even if u don't have the privilege to further your study, you will be able to understand the real happenings going-out and coming-in in the local and international communities, so that you will be able to analyse and understand some happenings as possible. And that's why you see our education system is very poor because, they don't want us to be educate and to be educated persons, because if they allow us to have access with good education we will easily understand all their evil doings. so with this, I think we need to squeeze in and study, though I know it's hard but never mind because "No sweet Without Sweat". With this few words, we will be able to comprehend that we need to come together, keep tribe aside, forget our religious differences and study hard to get rid of all this mess. "Certainly, justice one day must overcome their injustice and also must be prevail by God will" Ameen.

http://www.5five-stars.com.ng/2019/12/the-continue-slavery-neo-colonialism.html

#5Five Stars Media posted

0 notes

mrjohnangulo · 5 years

Text

Top tips for fixed gear crit racers

I love anything fast, technical and intense and fixed gear crits are all of these and more. These relatively niche races are insanely fun races and essentially, the entire reason I became hooked on training and racing. Fast paced and furious, fixie crits push competitors’ skills and fitness to the limit but despite (or because of this?) you’ll rarely find me competing in one without a wide smile across my face.

Whilst many of us experienced racers are gearing up for the start of the season, others are standing on the sidelines wondering how they can get involved. I distinctly remember being one of those people and feeling slightly intimidated. So, in the interest of making things easier for beginner or first time fixed crit racers, here are my top tips.

youtube

Select the right equipment:

As a minimum, your bike needs horizontal dropouts and drop handlebars. A high bottom bracket, short cranks or both are ideal as there’s a lesser chance of catching your pedal when your corner. Road and track bikes are not the same so converting a frame to a single speed is not gonna cut it if you want to race. Nearly all races have a mandatory bike inspection to ensure you’re riding something that’s safe.

Select your gearing:

What gearing you select depends on how fit or strong you are, how good you are at pushing a big gear or spinning a high cadence, and what the course is like – the bigger, more open and less technical the course, the less you’ll need to slow down in corners and then get going again – tricky (though not impossible) with a big gear.

A good place to start is 48:14 or 49:15 – you won’t got too far wrong with that. I usually take a selection of cogs and chainrings, ride the course practice or qualifications then make a call on what gearing to run for the main race.

Practice slowing down, cornering and sprinting out of corners

It’s highly likely that at various points on the course, you’ll need to slow down by backpedaling or pushing back on the pedals. Practice this beforehand and practice sprinting out of corners too. Being able to do this efficiently and safely is paramount. If you haven’t access to a closed road circuit, put a brake on and head to an industrial estate at night.

Cornering on a fixed gear bike is very different to cornering on a road bike so make sure you practice this too.

youtube

Practice riding in close proximity to other people

If you’ve never raced before, it’s essential that you practice riding ‘on someone’s wheel’ and right next to someone else, both on straight roads and around corners. If you have a road bike, join a cycling club and go on their club runs or rope in mates for training sessions.

Practice clipping in

A good start is vital! Fixed crits begin with everyone lined up at the start with one foot on the floor. When the bell goes, you have to clip in as you ride off. Mess it up and you’ll be left behind and you’ll waste a lot of energy trying to catch up. Make sure you’re familiar with your shoes and pedals and can clip in easily.

Find a local crit and practice racing

The best thing you can do to train for racing… is race. I’m assuming here that you have a road bike, when maybe you don’t.. but if you do, you should 100% race some roadie crits to get some practice. It’s great training for fitness, handling, tactics and awareness.

Make a big effort now to save a wasted effort later

Once you’re racing, do every damn thing you can do to stay with the other racers. Never, ever give up trying to and let a gap open up. A really hard effort right now will save you a long, drawn out, really hard solo ride later as you try to catch back up. The start is always very hard but stick with it as the pace will settle. Whether it will settle to something you can cope with is another matter, but unless you can read crystal balls, you won’t know that until later.

Train your mind

Belief is a big part of doing well in races. You need to believe that you deserve to be there and that you’re capable of staying with the group. You need to want to do well (and I’m talking about doing well for yourself, not necessarily compared to everyone else). Never go into a race with the idea that you can’t do that. Shut that voice out and keep telling yourself ‘I can, I will, I am. I’m prepared, I’m going to enjoy this experience.’ The minute you decide ‘you can’t,’ you’ll let that wheel go and get dropped.

Also, don’t forget to have fun and enjoy yourself. I’m often photographed smiling whilst racing because I’m stoked to be there.

Don’t pump your tyres up crazy hard

It’s generally agreed that these days, you don’t need to run 23c tyres pumped up to 120psi. A wider tyre with a lower pressure will give you better traction when you’re cornering, which is particularly important when it’s wet. Don’t skimp on tyres – decent ones are a valuable asset and improve your safety and that of those around you.

Choose your first race wisely

If you don’t have much race experience on a road bike or haven’t ridden a fixed gear bike for very long, look for a fixed gear crit which has as A and a B category so that you have a chance to fully experience racing. At some of the bigger races, you might find that you don’t qualify for the main event so your day is over pretty quickly. In the UK, Thundercrit always has A and B races so you’re guaranteed to get a decent amount of track time.

Don’t start at the back

If you’re feeling nervous, it can be tempting to start right at the back but doing this makes everything that much harder. Give yourself a chance of success by starting near the front and dig deep at the beginning. Races always go off hard but the pace will settle so just remember that.

I hope these tips make race day just that little bit more straight forward for you. It’s easy to be intimidated by fixed crit racing but it’s actually a very welcoming and inclusive scene so do put yourself out there and take the plunge. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice at the race or to chat to other riders, if you’re unsure of something just ask. And on that note, if you see me at a race, please come and say Hi!

The post Top tips for fixed gear crit racers appeared first on Bikes 'N' Stuff.

from Bikes 'N' Stuff https://ift.tt/2O8n26v

0 notes