#the kind of thing that's not teaching you anything based in theory but it's presented as objective fact that makes any piece good or bad
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in the context of "learn the rules before you break them" and seeing people get really mad about it i just always think of the online art tutorial/advice industrial complex and how since you get taught the short version First you don't actually learn the theory behind it and they're at best incomplete at worst straight up Wrong
#i dont mean wrong in that there's a wrong way to do art. im talking about advice like NEVER shade with black. NEVER use dark yellow#the kind of thing that's not teaching you anything based in theory but it's presented as objective fact that makes any piece good or bad#there's not a 'get rich quick' scheme for art anyone who says so is a charlatan#it makes me just want to make more in-depth and accessible resources for art fundamentals if i ever have time to. you know
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The amount of power you hold by making this series is INSANE LIKE I HAVE SO MANY QUESTION AND THEORIES
Like the institute, was it a bad experience? A good one? A mix? Does Omega! Reader have any specific memories that don't seem to leave? Maybe the omega's who had behavioral issues were punished but no one spoke of the punishments? I HAVE SO MANH THOUGHTS
That's what I love about reading fic series is that the readers talk to the writers and I feel like yall just sit and laugh like 'these guys have no idea how much pain I'm about to cause them' LMFAO like your the person behind the slaughter
No but really y'all have no idea what's coming. Even here very soon...y'all have no idea lmaooo
(please don't hate me I promise it has a happy ending 😬)
Institutes are not good places. I'll just clear that up right now, even though that's going to be kind of brought up here in a couple chapters. They are not good places and they never really have been. They were started in the late 19th century as a place to send omegas that had behavioral issues, health issues, all sorts of issues or perhaps were unwanted by families that couldn't support them or didn't want to have to deal with the work that goes into omegas. So think like mental institutions. They were run by "doctors and professionals" that "understood omegas" and could cure/fix/care for them.
Of course as the years went on people started to realize maybe not everything that goes on in them is so good and after some investigations and such there was a huge reform on institutes and they became more like they are in the present day in the fic. Actual institutes that "care for omegas and prepare them for pack life." Originally omegas didn't leave institutes after they were handed over, but then people realized there was money in institutes so naturally, they started dumping money into them to train omegas and then pretty much sell them off. Not directly like selling humans, but most institutes require application payments and then there's fees for all sorts of things like testing, files, anything they can legally charge for, they will.
Obviously we're beginning to realize a bit at this point that not everything the reader learned at the institute is...right. What omegas are taught and how they're taught varies institute to institute, usually based on the types of alphas that are seeking omegas from the institute. So institutes that have higher standing, more funding, tend to teach more subservience and obedience because that's where you have the rich alphas and the politicians and government looking at omegas. Lower level institutes might teach more how to serve and keep a pack since they might have the upper middle class, future family pack omegas. The lowest level institutes might also teach subservience and obedience less in an "I have an appearance to uphold" type of way and more of a "these are not good alphas picking up these omeags and we know that" type of way.
So, the reader didn't have a good experience because there is no real good experience at an institute. They're very strict, controlling, almost abusive in some instances (kneeling for two hours anyone?) Not every omega gets sent to an institute either. Some omegas live with their families until they're old enough to start seeking an alpha themselves. I think I did touch on that briefly in a chapter somewhere.
There's so much I could talk about on institutes omg. This is probably way more than you expected 😅 I just love this stuff so much.
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Yay! The request is open! :D
Could you do the request I ask you other day? The one with Meenah having pitch feeling for human or Gamzee?
I don't have much practice on writing pitch so I hope you still like it!
Yandere! Meenah Peixes feeling pitched for a Human
Pairing: Pitch/Kismesis ♠️
Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Human/Troll relationship, Manipulation, Entitlement, Culture shock, Black romance courting, Kissing/Biting mention, Isolation mentioned, Forced relationship.
The whole thing is certainly confusing for you.
Humans have no real counterpart for black romances like Trolls
Meenah doesn't quite understand it herself at first.
Supposedly signs of a black crush include hating someone but not really understanding why.
Meenah, for some reason, harbors a special kind of hate for you… one she can't seem to get rid of.
She doesn't get it either, it's not like you did anything.
You're just a human she met-
Despite this Meenah finds herself picking up on your traits, especially your flaws.
You're already on edge around Meenah.
Her base personality is aggressive, rude, sarcastic, and mean to generally everyone.
Her trying to pursue black romance with you just feels like her… except very condescending and probably worse.
Meenah's black feelings probably just feel like bullying to you as a human.
Or some odd attempt to start a rivalry.
It's like Meenah is trying to coax out the same reaction from you.
The point of a Kismesis is supposedly to have both parties better each other by recognizing their flaws, similar to other quadrants.
However this romance is much more volatile, even with the right pairs.
Meenah already feels a bit weird trying to teach a human such a thing.
Yet not enough to stop pursuing you.
Yeah, poor thing, you're confused and she is too.
That is until someone tells her what these feelings are coming from.
Aranea may tell Meenah she feels pitch for you, for some reason she feels she'd love this human if not for their flaws… making her pitch for them.
Meenah's confusion lessens when she has her theories confirmed, your confusion is still rather present.
Even when you have someone like Karkat try to explain the caliginous black romance quadrant, you just grow concerned.
As a human you want nothing to do with such a thing.
To you it probably sounds like some sort of alien hate mating thing and it doesn't appeal to you.
This may result in you trying to distance yourself from Meenah, which only fuels her black hate.
In fact… a lot of what you do fuels her feelings, that's the frustrating part.
If you attempt to be friends, if you try to avoid her, if you express annoyance or hate towards her…
It all feeds the obsession.
It only makes Meenah want to pursue you more, even if you don't understand how troll romance works.
If anything, she can take the hate you're festering for her as the start of black romance.
Even if you don't mean to do that….
What's worse is Meenah is an entitled troll.
She feels she deserves you and shows aggression towards others with you.
If anyone doesn't like you she'll take it as them taking her spot.
Then there's the issue that black romance can affect other relationships, which may drive her to isolate you.
In her eyes she feels she's the only one you deserve, flaws and all.
Only she can pick you apart all while kissing your face and nipping your lips until you bleed.
If this makes you hate her, then she's only winning.
Making you hate her will make her quadrant feel complete.
Meenah already knows she'll have you as her Kismesis… it's just a matter of when.
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Not to be outdone by Florida for long, the Ohio State Senate just passed this monstrosity of a bill to assure "intellectual freedom and diversity" in state universities. Among other things, it suggests:
Forbidding any kind of required DEI training;
Forbidding any form of affirmative action or scholarships based on race, gender, sexuality, etc (the official wording is that no one is to be "advantaged or disadvantaged" based on these things, but I'm sure you can see that this is the logical fallout from that);
Forbidding "training" about any kind of systemic oppression or privilege;
Forbidding anything in the university that would group students by sex, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation. This includes extracurricular activities. The intention is pretty obviously to get rid of clubs, fraternities, and sororities for queer students or students of color, or events like Queer Proms, or graduation ceremonies for students of color. (Somewhat hilariously, it would also require co-ed dorms, and I sincerely hope that if this passes someone has the balls to turn all restrooms on a campus gender-neutral);
Requiring that all course syllabi be made publicly available on the University website, including a description of every single lecture or discussion, to be made available by the first day of the term;
Requiring that all faculty allow students to draw their own conclusions about "controversial matters" and not attempt to inculcate any particular belief about them in students. Controversial matters, btw, explicitly includes climate change. But this also means that an instructor is not allowed to tell students that systemic racism or sexism is real or a problem, and could easily be stretched to include things like vaccines or conspiracy theories. Additionally, considering the fact that many people consider any discussion of LGBT topics to be "indoctrination"... I'm sure you can see where this might go;
Requiring that all student evals for courses include the question, "Does the faculty member create a classroom atmosphere free of political, racial, gender, and religious bias?" Honestly, this could go a number of ways, but given the rest of the bill, it's pretty clear why they included it;
Requiring all students to take a course in American history. Seems legit, but combine that with the fact that we're not allowed to talk about any kind of systemic oppression;
Forbidding any state university employees from striking;
Requiring post-tenure reviews for faculty every three years, submitted to the university chancellor. At least 50% of faculty members' teaching evaluation is to be based on student evals; and
Forbidding any relationships with the Chinese government or Chinese universities (including exchange or study abroad programs).
If you live, teach, or attend a university in Ohio, please contact your state house rep.
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Hello~ So I think there's a flaw with swwsdj actually..... Everyone says, Jack can't do anything the MC wants right? Thaaaats not entirely true, I don't think anyways...
Example: Jack starting to disappear when MC says No when Nick asks about dating....
Why? Why does he Suddenly start to disappear? The demo starts Months after meeting Jack, if MC doesn't truly like him to that point, then how is Jack still around to begin with??
I theory that he's kiiiinda lying to that extent! Cause MC feels Horrible for saying No, but why? If they don't like Jack, why would they Suddenly feel bad, and why would Jack only then start disappearing? See I think Jack has more control over us then we are lead to fully believe, warping our minds so we struggle to hate him and rethink our No options.
That’s just it, MC doesn’t want Jack to leave. We see it in their desperation to keep him after they can’t touch him.
However, that doesn’t mean that MC’s need for them didn’t weaken in that moment.
Jack is an actor, and a good one at that. It can easily be argued that he faked the incident to teach MC a lesson for that reason alone. However, there’s very strong pieces of evidence to indicate that it wasn’t faked.
For one thing, Jack’s expression and reaction, dark and traumatized, is similar to his reaction to the bad choice in the yogurt mini game. There’s no reason for him to fake that negative reaction, so this seems to be how he looks when he’s genuinely haunted.
However, the bigger piece of evidence is the monologue Jack has afterwards.
...That was close.
Too close.
...
Haha...I thought I was doing everything right.
...
Wasn’t all this what you wanted?
...
Or was I meant to be giving you more?
...
I can do better.
...I WILL do better.
...
You’ll see how good I am for you.
...
I can make you whole. You’ve just got to trust me.
The red text that results from the “yes” or “no” choice doesn’t seem to be a direct conversation with MC. Rather, this seems more like Jack talking at them, or perhaps thinking.
Jack expresses fear, frustration, and confusion. This is in direct contrast to his quiet, sad reassurance to MC when he was directly speaking with them. Saying that he just had a close call is the opposite of what he implied, that he was still there and he wasn’t disappearing. It kind of makes him out to be a liar if he suddenly switches like this, doesn’t it? That’s something he certainly wouldn’t want his sunshine to believe him to be after all...
I think that the red text here is us, as the players, hearing what Jack is thinking about MC. Maybe they subconsciously hear it, but it’s not on a level where they are aware of it. This suggests that anything said here isn’t meant to be a direct manipulation tactic.
Speaking of his manipulation tactics, Jack’s tactics aren’t threat based, at least when it comes to MC. He does his best to present a gentle, supportive persona for his sunshine. He doesn’t lie directly, but rather he misleads through lies of omission. While he does make it clear that what’s happened to him is because of them not wanting him there, he doesn’t condemn them for it. He is reassuring, trying to be cheerful and supportive of them despite being sad. Yes, his sadness can be a manipulation tactic, but given his shocked stammering for words earlier and his red text thoughts after, I doubt it would entirely be for show.
I think what happened was that Jack started to lose his grasp on being real because MC was pulling away from him. They didn’t need him as an excuse to say no to some random guy hitting on them at work. They’re deciding not to get closer to Jack. They don’t need him in their life to do things, to stand on their own.
Wants and needs can be different. MC might want Jack, but it could be that unless they need him too, he goes away.
Hell, for all we know, Jack might even be on a time limit. Similar to the Little Mermaid needing the love of her prince before a deadline, if he doesn’t get his sunshine’s love in time or loses it to another, then maybe this big yandere clown ghost(?) will turn back into a lost memory in static...
It can take a while to trust someone. It takes time to develop a relationship and a strong bond where you feel that you need a person. Love needs time to grow, and that’s what Jack wants ultimately - he wants his sunshine’s love.
Jack is patient though, as we’ve seen. He’s gently doing his best to coax MC into choosing him. He can’t force it, and he won’t do anything they don’t want.
MC was scarred by love before. Ian betrayed them in the worst way. Someone they grew up with who they loved and wanted to spend forever with cheated on them. That’s a deep scar that takes time to heal. It takes time to trust anyone, especially if they are as suspicious as a ghost(?) clown suddenly appearing one day.
I think, for as strange as the situation is, for whatever it might say about their mental state, Jack’s presence has brought MC a twisted sense of comfort. They’re not alone when he’s around. He makes them feel good, and it’s hard to want to give that up after they’ve felt bad for so long.
However, wanting to feel good isn’t the same as needing someone, let alone forever. That’s not love.
That’s where our choices come in, and where Jack is going to be desperate to guide those choices towards loving him.
That’s what make Jack’s tactics scary. He’s not taking control, he’s convincing others to make the choices he wants. He’s making the idea of surrendering control too attractive to refuse. He does it to MC, and he does it to the unknown people in those teaser pictures Sauce drew when he convinces them to use a knife on themselves...
There are a lot of people out there who convince people into surrendering control through words alone, including with technical truths that lie by omission. Reality gets twisted around until the victim feels as though it was something they wanted all along. They are lured into the cage and lock the door behind themselves willingly. Jack is that type of antagonist in this horror game, and those type of people can be just as scary as axe wielding maniacs.
Is a few months enough time for MC to start to fall in love with Jack? Well, that’s up to us, the player. If it’s not, then, well... this colorful little mermaid is at risk of turning into seafoam, isn’t he?
@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur
#Sunny Day Jack#Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack#SunnyDayJack#sdj#swwsdj#Headcanon Ramblings#Ask
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I was studying my History book - Themes in Indian History - 1 for Revision. And I came across small interesting things that mostly escape our attention.
"It is likely that social relations were more complicated." Alright. They might be. But why should I believe that? Who said that? Your leaned opinions on Historical instances?
"We're going to teach these highschool kids this kind of history."
"But, shouldn't it be based on facts? What's 'probably used by ordinary people'?"
"Ah, but where's the fun in that? Besides, It's just a book! They're gonna mug anything up anyway right? Lol."
Again, Who hotly debated? Are we gonna be presented with your conspiracy theories as itihas now?
Let me guess. By "some" you mean your UwU fantasy characters? Or the Sahebs you suppose are incarnated by god as they can speak nothing but the truth?
Or should I say, Your truth?
Sure. "1st millennium BCE is the turning point in history" sounds plausible to me. Um, but I'm afraid-
"Tch tch tch. Mug them up, will you? Who cares about facts in History anyway?"
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trans did vergil wrt nero below cut baybey!!!!!!!
tl;dr vergil knows he has a kid but hasnt seen that kid since he was a newborn by dmc5. v feels like theyre more entitled to being nero's parent than anyone else in the system for reasons
let us get some basics out of the way. vergil is trans, he's asexual, and he has DID according to me. i also think he's autistic. also according to me, eva was a witch and while she did teach both her sons how to use magic as a sort of companion activity to sparda training them in combat, vergil was the one who really took to it; dante for the most part didn't have the attention span for the kind of book learning needed to learn the ins and outs of magic. he can do some basics, has taught himself some things as he's aged, but doesn't really consider himself to be a witch. (witch being a gender neutral term here)
vergil, on the other hand, hyperfixated on it even after eva died, though from there it would have become more v's thing than anyone else's. v considers themself as well as the system as a whole to be a witch, but there's some discrepancies between alters based on opinions on eva and degree of attachment to her memory. (v's a total mama's boy (gender neutral) and i wont be argued w about it. source of strife btwn them and vergil. delicious)
i'm going off my headcanons so i will be including nelo angelo in this, as well as altered pronouns from canon, so
pronoun list:
v: they/them
vergil: he/him
griffon: he/him
shadow: she/her
nightmare: it/its
nelo angelo: he/him
nero: he/they
dante: he/him
vergil system collective pronouns: they/he
yeah im an enby nero truther as well and what of it.
basic summary of events leading up to nero's conception is this:
vergil is in his late teens. he is attempting to transition via magic though this is entirely homebrewed, entirely a spell of his/v's own making, and entirely untested
this backfires horrifically, almost killing them in the process. the ramifications of this leave them physically weak and as we all know this is unacceptable.
prior to this the plan to raise the temen ni gru is already in the works but this just spurs them on. weak, recovering slowly bc as previously stated they nearly killed themself, they head to fortuna looking for information; if you're gonna find anything on ancient demon towers and hell gates its gonna be in the dusty church basement libraries of thee sparda cult id think.
i have 2 branching theories here but the end result is pretty much the same and results in them getting pregnant and carrying baby nero to term. theory one is Unpleasant and i'm going to leave it at that but theory 2 is a sex for information type dealie. makes more sense to me for vergil to view sex as a largely transactional thing and not really have a problem with using it to get info. given that he kinda, y'know, is an orphan and i imagine hasnt had any sex ed, i'm really operating under the assumption that he doesnt really know where babies come from? or at the very least isnt fully aware that this is a risk.
demon baby proceeds to wreak havoc upon an already very weak vergil; abortion attempts are made but are unfruitful. information quest continues despite this.
to make a long story short v is the alter who's most present at nero's birth; they're the one who first lays eyes on this baby, they're the one who holds him, who cleans him, who has a horrible little panic attack wherever the fuck this happens bc what in the fuck tbh. i imagine here, vulnerable and tired and extremely weak, they see Baby and theyre like oh.... youre small and defenseless and yet you have caused me so many problems.... my baby now
power quest takes precedent, nero is abandoned in fortuna days after being born. v later claims to have been against this but at the time would have agreed that power comes first; how else are you going to protect yourself or your baby when you're a heavily traumatized half demon teen dad
raising the temen ni gru becomes a pretty much suicidal endevour from here. it's stupid and dangerous and will probably end with them dying awful and bloody but they've just experienced true weakness; it's power and therefore safety and stability or death. canon pretty much happens from here.
now. i have done a lot of world building on witches in my dmc headcanons and am SO willing to talk about it but the necessary information here is the ability to practice witchcraft is generally inherited mother to daughter (strictly in the biological sense) as it was a gift bestowed upon human priestesses by demons prior to sparda cutting the human and demon worlds off from each other. eva's family goes waaaaaay the fuck back as the original priestesses of sparda's family line. vergil and dante both inherit this ability but crucially so does nero, despite the fact that according to me he is for all intents and purposes amab. chalk this up to either nero being intersex or vergils fuckshit genetics messing with things. either way, nero inherits this ability. or if you are taking my ideas and running with it, which by all means please do, and you decide he's a trans man, that literally works lkke i dont care all that you need to know here is nero inherits the ability to preform witchcraft from vergil.
a very good friend of mine has allowed me to bounce ideas off him and has given me many ideas so should i talk about neros witchcraft at any point, a lot of the credit for the ideas goes to him.
and if he is reading this and would like me to credit him for his baller ideas he should dm me on discord but ANYWAY.
i am now going to breakdown how each alter relates to nero. i feel its worth it to note that no matter what happened in fortuna to create nero, the whole pregnancy was probably pretty traumatic and dysphoria enducing.
as i'm sure most DID havers and systems can tell you, interpersonal relationships when you are like this can get wildly complicated. you're balancing differing opinions and outlooks and gut reactions and it can be really difficult! so it follows, to me at least, that vergil & co have a very complicated relationship w/ their kid post DMC5 and just. super complicated feelings about nero In General.
vergil
now, vergil has extremely limited experience with people and a very narrow, very warped view of what family means. he also has a massively warped moral compass and tends to put self preservation above all else. this is really obvious when he doesnt have the other alters holding him back; he would have killed both dante and nero if they weren't so durable just because they got in his way. that said, it's not like he doesn't care about them. dante's his twin brother, the one thing he wants more than anything is for dante to join him and i imagine it's similar with nero.
(unfortunately nero's a little too much like his uncle to join vergil's crazy power quests but y'know.)
he absolutely would not have been a good dad to a small child but with nero grown up and not dependent upon him for anyrhing, i can see vergil really being the one who tells nero about their family, about where they come from, and just all of the history there, which like... nero's an ophan, i can see that being very important to him.
i also think the whole arm thing like... in vergils mind, thats a mercy. he didn't try to kill him, just ripped off his arm bc he Needed the yamato for self preservation reasons. like, you get in his way, vergil will kill you. he didnt kill nero, to him that is almost positively a mercy and i imagine he has significant difficulty understanding why nero might hold that against him- vergil's been torn apart and remade and just destroyed more times than he probably remembers, like... this isn't anything to him.
as for interactions with infant nero, i can see vergil having a similar Oh... My Baby initial reaction as v, but this is Vergil- he needs to be strong, and if he can't protect himself, how's he supposed to protect a baby? i think he's fully aware that the temen ni gru quest is almost certainly a suicide mission, but in his mind, he has no choice.
in summary, i think he tries. i think he is a terrible father but i think every decision he's ever made has just been him Trying in his own fucked up way. whether or not he ever has much of a relationship with nero is entirely up to nero.
v
v is really interesting to me wrt nero. i see them as viewing themself as being somehow more entitled to being nero's parent than anyone else. on top of that, v is manipulative, they're cagey, they're the first alter who actually talks to adult nero, they're the kind of person who'll tell you only what you need to know to the point where it's basically a lie of omission.
this is all self defense, but it's still something that makes them wildly unpleasant to be arnd. couple that with feeling like nero Belongs to them, they actively sabotage other alters attempts to get to know their kid (until confronted about it). the non-humans are just "familiars", vergil and nelo angelo are "dangerous", etc. they honestly probably dont even really tell nero that they're All Vergil, Technically. this is probably something nero finds out from either dante (thinking nero already knew) or griffon (just telling him bc vergil doesnt think it's relevant information and v is actively keeping that from him)
that all said, v cares very deeply about nero and about what he thinks of them. they love him Dearly, would do anything for him, and genuinely just want what's best for him, though their idea of what's best for him doesn't always match up with reality.
they'd delight in sharing their witchcraft with him, in sharing the history of that, sharing everything they know, just... Teaching him like eva did them.
as with vergil they are just doing their fucking best. they just kind of happen to be an asshole. they also just happen to be emotionally unavailable. these things make interpersonal relationships difficult. i imaginr they also make connecting with your long lost son extremely difficult as well.
griffon
as v's kinda direct protector, griffon's heavily entwined with their bullshit but that does Not mean he puts up with it. post dmc5 and post hell, griffon? he is not pulling punches. nero wants Truth, in all its gory details? he should talk to griffon.
out of all of them, griffon's the most... mentally sound, shall we say. he's generally levelheaded, he's very silly, and is the most openly affectionate aside from shadow.
he very much considers nero to be Their son, rather than His son; nero's as much his as he is any other alters, they're all nero's dad, full stop.
how he shows affection, however, is by relentlessly bullying and he Definitely takes it too far and nero Definitely does not always understand that he's joking.
what v won't admit and what griffon has given up trying to tell them is that he was just about as present during nero's birth as They were, they are Very closely tied as alters, but . well. u try telling that to a wildly unstable witch.
shadow and nightmare
to be honest, i don't have a whole hell of a lot to say about them. they love nero, they both consider him the system's kid, etc, but they don't tend to front unless there's some.kind of imminent danger be that psychological or physical.
That Said, shadow can be VERY snuggly if you catch her fronting outside Danger Time. she's extremely sweet and loving to anyone she likes, and she Likes nero, that's her BABY.
angelo
and finally we come to the one that is entirely headcanoned. i'm gonna keep this relatively brief bc im running out of steam anf patience to keep.typung this but angelo's intial gut reaction to nero is about the same as it is to dante, which is just . sheer, gut wrenching terror followed by the worlds most aggressive fight response. consequently i Do think he's gutted nero once or twice.
as he begins to recover, begins to get out of the mundus brainwashing and starts to really just. be a person, if nero is willing to let him in he is the most fatherly. he's gentle but firm, he's patient, he's the kind of person who will do little things for you just because he wants you to be happy. i also don't see him pulling a v; he's very honest, very humble, and *very* willing to apologize and admit to wrongdoing- for fuckssake, he gutted his son, who he really does want a relationship with. gotta start somewhere, u know.
i can talk more about system interpersonal relations but as a tldr v Does Not Like Angelo Whatsoever; angelo represents the single worst time in their life, and he's also just everything v isnt.
anyway. thank you all for reading if youve gotten this far. if you wanna hear about anything else i may have mentioned in passing i am ABSOLUTELY willing to babble about my dmc headcanons.
#dmc#devil may cry#vergil dmc#dmc vergil#dmc nero#nero dmc#dmc shadow#dmc griffon#griffon dmc5#v dmc5#vergil posting
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Faced with the acutely disturbing reality of the Unification Movement…
Why people follow Hyung Jin
Especially for the first generation, witnessing what is happening with the movement we once joined is, at the very least, disappointing. More likely disheartening, or even traumatic.
It seems that everything we taught and believed in is being knocked down, disassembled. The very pillars of our faith, the True Parents, are being exposed as much less than perfect. Our belief in the importance of chastity suffered a big blow since Hyo Jin’s confession in 1988, followed ten years later by Nansook’s book revealing all kinds of abuse in the heart of East Garden. We heard of the Six Marys, of children outside marriage… We saw power struggles; lawsuits for hundreds of millions of dollars; persecution campaigns; money stealing, you name it. More recently we heard of the True Mother coming with a new understanding of her position and lineage and making some little changes here and there, stirring the outcry of some rigid believers. There are memos and open letters from the leaders accusing, excommunicating… Our belief in the importance of unity went out the window with Preston, Sean and Justin; our faith in ancestor liberation ended up being a lucrative business for a phony shaman… while the sacredness of marriage was stepped on by Tatiana… All of it challenging our very sanity.
What’s a person who was faithful for thirty, forty years to do with this reality? I know what that person does NOT want to do: face that reality. It’s too painful to come to terms with the high possibility that our worldview was based on a fantasy; that our dear and adored True Parents may have been two delusional people; that the True Family, a.k.a. the foundation for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, is a bunch of spoiled, bad-tempered bullies or phony personalities. It hurts. For THAT we left our family and friends, our country? For THAT we put aside our personal goals and desires, and gave our lives? It’s painful; it’s embarrassing.
Faced with the acutely disturbing reality of the Unification Movement, some people would rather hold on to a fantasy which now Hyung Jin is trying to embody. It’s a way to create hope from hopelessness. Not having enough guts to leave the asylum altogether, they remain under the wing of the “heir,” just in case… It doesn’t matter to them how he behaved during his chairmanship… Yes, he did a few weird things, he believes in conspiracy theories and other questionable stuff; yes, he’s trying to build a church financed by his gun-making brother… but hey! following him keeps their eyes in a future that will be better (or so they want to believe) – anything but facing what is. Afraid of being their God-given selves, they’d rather follow someone; they need “the lineage” to feel safe, to feel their value. They dug for some words of the Rev. Moon that support their present fantasy (while ignoring a whole lot that point in a different direction) and they’re ready to pledge absolute obedience to the new king!
Personally, I’m among the ones who decided to look at reality right in the face, lower my head, and admit that I have made a mistake; that I committed the crime of ignoring God – that compass within me – to follow someone in the name of the Principle of Restoration. I was young then… Today I see that such Principle is the perfect tool to control the minds and hearts of good, idealistic people like me.
The very philosophy of Hyung Jin is: to become a Zero in front of Christ. Those words may sound lofty and true, but in the practice they mean you have to put aside who you are. That is seen as a merit – and a necessity. However, I’m convinced that mindset is an aberration of God’s design. Beware, people!
I hold the Reverend Moon in spirit world to his own word – his single, most truthful teaching, “Follow your conscience,” as I do just that and move on.
YR
Adam and Eve were not real
Reflections on a very Korean “messiah”
Reflections on the significance of lineage and of Jesus
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SU Music Rankings
Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.
I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.
Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.
1.) Change
Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not.
If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.
2.) Change Your Mind
This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me.
As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.
3.) Drift Away
This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.
4.) Here We Are In The Future
THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.
This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.
5.) Let’s Only Think About Love
Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.
6.) Here Comes A Thought
This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.
And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.
7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?
Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!
There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.
8.) Stronger Than You
Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa
To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.
9.) Other Friends
I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.
10.) Independent Together
This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it
11.) Who We Are
Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.
12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)
It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky.
I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!
13.) Something Entirely New
I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.
And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.
14.) I’m Just a Comet
The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.
15.) Do It For Her
This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”
Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.
Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.
16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)
I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.
Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.
17.) Full Disclosure
This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster.
The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.
18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?
I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.
19.) Tower of Mistakes
This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.
Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.
20.) On the Run
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs!
The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.
21.) Be Wherever You Are
This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.
22.) Familiar
I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.
23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart
Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one
24.) What Can I Do?
I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.
Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.
25.) Cookie Cat
I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”
26.) Giant Woman
I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly.
The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.
27.) Strong in the Real Way
This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong.
And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?
28.) That Distant Shore
I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.
But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.
29.) Dear Old Dad
I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.
Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.
#Steven Universe#Steven Universe Future#SU Analysis#(I guess????)#Music#Steven Quartz Universe#Amethyst#Garnet#Pearl#Yellow Diamond#Blue Diamond#Blue Pearl#Yellow Pearl#Greg Universe#Bismuth#Spinel#Lapis Lazuli#Steg#Opal#Rose Quartz#Lars Barriga#Sadie Miller#Sapphire#Ruby#Stevonnie#Falc talks
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since tomorrow is Christmas I wanted to ask, how would the JTTA cast celebrate the holidays?? :D
anyway happy christmas dear author <3 I really hope you are having an amazing day :DD
ahhh sorry i started writing a response and then saved it to my drafts and totally forgot about it
but anyway! thank you and merry (late) christmas to you too, and a happy new year!!! i'll put a couple of notes about a post-jtta christmas under the cut ^^
there's no lead up, ik just looks at her d.d.d. one day and goes 'oh hey it's christmas!'
and (in the jtta version of the devildom), none of the demons have a goddamn clue what christmas is, so ik has to explain it to them
and they are not very enthusiastic about the concept
i mean, xmas traditionally celebrates the birth of GOD'S son, and we all know those demons do not like god
at some point diavolo gets his hands on like this old-fashioned vhs video telling the nativity story - the sort of thing teachers would show to five year olds to 'teach them the meaning of christmas''
satan is intrigued by the history aspect of it and the logistics of a virgin getting pregnant, and asmo seems to have a crush on the guy playing joseph, but other than that everyone else hates the experience
but then ik's like: "the xmas story is weird but it'd be kind of nice to celebrate it, but if you guys don't— beel where are you doing"
beel, sprinting out of the house of lamentation: "I'M GOING TO FIND A CHRISTMAS TREE"
he ends up bringing back this eleven foot tall tree with leaves sort of resembling a pine, with the right sort of spread out branches for decorating
the purgatory hall folk come over to help decorate it and it takes literally two hours
diavolo enlists the help of the little ds and brings over like three full crates of various christmassy decorations they found in the castle, for some reason
(the theory is that a previous ruler of the devildom left them there)
luke and ik are sitting around the base while diavolo, beel and lucifer are in charge of the top levels, and everyone else just kind of has to find room in between
mephisto somehow hears about this decorating business and arrives at the house of lamentation to suggest hanging a giant ornament shaped like his face on the tree
ik agrees before anyone can stop her, with the further suggestion that bauble-mephisto should be hung above the dining table
mephisto LOVES this and goes to do this immediately
everyone else? not so much. but this is the hardest they've seen ik laugh at anything in a while, so in the end they just let it slide
so now bauble-mephisto is staring down at everyone as they tuck into the sort-of christmas dinner that luke, barbatos, ik and simeon have all hurriedly slapped together
it's not really a traditional christmas dinner - it's a mixture of celestial realm and devildom-style dishes, a range of signature sweets from barbatos and simeon, this GIANT chocolate cake that's taller than both of the beings that made it (ik and luke), and a mixture of human world cuisine that ik's just picked out at random
nearly nothing from a traditional western christmas dinner is here - apart from, inexplicably, a bowl of brussels sprouts
mephisto eats them all because no one else will touch them and he enjoys the 'respectfully, what the fuck' looks he gets from everyone else
(ik invited mephisto to stay for the celebration and he agreed immediately, because of course he did)
(several of the others disagreed with this decision but, since they're mainly doing this whole christmas for ik, they opt to let him stay. ik wouldn't invite him in the first place if she didn't enjoy his company, after all)
this whole mini christmas thing happened too short notice for anyone to get gifts ready, which solomon seems a little worried about
he hasn't been in close enough quarters to human society for so long that he hasn't really celebrated a modern christmas before, but what he does know is that there are meant to be presents
he brings this up, and the little exchange that ensues is so cliche but also so so so earnestly sweet (and heartbreaking) that several of the others straight up start crying
ik: "it's fine, you don't need to get anything for me."
solomon: "are you sure? i could run out and get something, it's a special occasion—"
ik: "i'm sure! i think everyone being here to celebrate is a good enough present already :)"
(the :) isn't just her expression, it's part of the WAY she says it)
anyway diavolo, luke, simeon and mammon are now in tears
but you know these jtta pals!!! can't be emotional for too long before devolving into crack
for example: satan and ik spend like forty minutes sitting by the fireplace and cackling furiously with each other, and at first everyone thinks they're planning some kind of trick, but then it turns out that they're just taking it in turns to compose the lines of a stupid christmas poem
here's the first verse:
'tis the night before christmas, and all through the house
ten bombardier beetles are hunting a mouse
hear the patter of his feet, but then a harsh SNAP
oh no! his leg is caught in a mouse trap!
it only gets more ridiculous from there
at one point mephisto pulls this giant christmas cracker out of nowhere and gets diavolo and lucifer to pull it together
it comes apart with a caterwauling wooooooOOOOAOAOAOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, accompanied by a large cloud of purple smoke
then everyone realises that mephisto's the one going wooooooOOOOAOAOAOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and making the smoke with magic
(the 'christmas cracker' is just a bunch of tinsel and colourful paper that mephisto stole and tied together)
okay i think there was something else i was going to mention but i've forgotten what it was
so i guess that's all ^^;
#answering asks#anon asks#journey to the attic#jtta bonuses#obey me#jtta ik#obey me lucifer#obey satan#obey me diavolo#jtta mephisto#obey me mammon#obey me luke#obey me simeon#obey me solomon
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numerous issues with “The Aftermath of Seaworld”
When I get time to do so (aka when I’m done with the documentary), I’m likely going to make a video version of this going into the details.
But for right now, I’ve made this. Both as a guideline for me and so everyone can begin to get an idea of the severity of issues involved.
Researching things is time-consuming and can be very difficult - believe me, I know. But I’m of the mind that if you’re making content with the intent of educating people, you have a responsibility to perform a certain level of due diligence. It IS okay to express uncertainty or doubt if you have it. It is NOT okay to confidently assert things that you do not know with certainty.
The video has an anticap slant, and I’m obviously not disagreeing on that front. But again: if you’re gonna go through the trouble of teaching people something. Bare minimum... please make sure it’s actually correct.
***
1) x ‘founded in 1964 and based out of Florida’ - ???? Seaworld definitively began on the west coast, in San Diego, CA. And given that the first park opened in early 1964… things came together before that. Uh?
2) x ‘four people founded Seaworld [...]’ For one… it wasn’t originally conceived as a restaurant, it was originally conceived as an underwater bar/lounge. Two… calling the four guys involved in founding the place “frat brothers” is fucking ridiculous and completely overlooks a) how each was actually involved and b) the overall significance of their contributions to the field as individuals. Hint: like it or not, they were important and did a lot!
3) x If one is going to bring up SWBGCF/rescues while talking about the literal founding of SW, it gives the impression that it’s been around for that duration. It hasn’t.
It’s actually a bit unclear when SW started an organized rescue program, but the Fund itself and all that it did came about much later. The rescue information and how it’s presented is actually INCREDIBLY complex, nuanced, and has a fascinating history (from a “bad company behaving badly” perspective). Oversimplifying this, to this degree and in this misinformative way, does the facts of the situation an INCREDIBLE disservice.
4) x [assertive statement about what the name Shamu means] ….Uh actually there’s several explanations for the name Shamu, and the most likely one IMO seems to be the “she-namu” one, not the “friend of Namu” one(? What is this even based on.)
4b) It’s not quite clear if she’s saying “Namu was the first ever orca to be displayed and perform shows” or or Namu was the first to be displayed and, like Shamu, performed shows. Either way, Moby Doll was the first to truly be displayed to the public, not Namu.
5) x ‘Namu died after one year in captivity and you’d think that this might deter Seaworld from doing the same thing again…’ Seaworld truly had nothing to do with Namu. And they leased/took possession of Shamu before Namu died. ‘Again’? What?
6) x “Now, PETA paints a pretty disturbing picture…” [while showing Okura’s artwork]
This video segment is, and this is putting it nicely, a pile of poorly-researched BULLSHIT.
-Yes, PETA talks about Shamu’s capture, re: the harpooning of her mother. This Youtuber cannot apparently be arsed to look more than 1 Google search into this, as she proceeds to dismiss the information as potentially fabricated. There are two detailed accounts of Shamu’s capture that I’m aware of - in books - and though they have some slight conflicts, it’s absolutely NOT in doubt that the female who was very likely Shamu’s mother was 1) harpooned, 2) died from her injuries and 3) this had been done to make her easier to catch/locate because there was a fucking buoy attached to the harpoon. Which she dragged around for at least 24 hours prior dying.
So maybe don’t dismiss that as PETA hysteria, maybe TRY to determine the truth of the matter, which would inform one that it is both true and completely horrifying.
-In addition, Okura is an awesome individual who has worked very hard to create a variety of informative artwork for our cause. Okura is NOT associated with PETA and it’s borderline libel in my eyes to use their artwork in this dismissive manner when the primary sources of it can be easily identified online, with full explanations and everything.
Do I take special offense to this because of the misuse of artwork? Absolutely. Artists get disrespected enough online. I’m tired of it. This kind of laziness IS NOT acceptable.
7) x ‘timeline is fuzzy about when Shamu died’ …………… it’s…. It’s really not … newspapers are pretty clear about it…..
8) x [complete and utter oversimplification of the lifespan issue, which is not acceptable for anything published in 2020. It just isn’t. If you’re going to bring it up like this, either do the legwork and get into the weeds or stay out.]
8b) [same for reproductive ages. sigh]
9) x if we’re going to talk about when Cornell was involved with Seaworld it’s very important to specify when Cornell was involved with Seaworld and not make it seem like it’s present tense.
10) x “both were rescued by Seaworld” - uh? no. Zero orcas have been rescued by Seaworld. Literally none.
The infected-jaw orca was Sandy, whose story is complex and certainly does not involve Seaworld until much later. And many of the orcas in that time period had bullet wounds, often only identified post-mortem because they didn’t seem to hurt the animals much.
Also, unflinchingly blending 70s captivity ethics with modern ones is also complete nonsense?
11) x [tilikum coming from sealand] inhales I am going to make an entire video centered on this fucking subject because it’s one of the single most profound arguments for Seaworld being garbage as assessed by US government agencies in the 90s yet everyone utterly fails to mention this. Why?!
12) x what on earth is this nonsense re: quoting a quote from Zimmerman’s article - which has already been removed from its original context, so the original context is not available - and then penalizing the quote for existing as if Zimmerman’s article were the context? That is offensively disingenuous.
I honestly don’t know what the original context is, either - but it’s wildly inappropriate to act as if the Zimmerman article is.
13) x this is relatively minor but ‘Paul Sprong’? You literally have his name on the screen. And then mis-reading his age too? While asserting it from a static article published years ago? Effort? Where is it?
14) x ‘another trainer, Peter’ ….. Ken Peters….
15) [weirdly glossing over the widely-available list of orca-trainer injuries/aggressions, despite it being central to the point.]
16) x This pilot whale outrage certainly happened but it was pretty clearly Blackfish that started the cascade of woes for Seaworld. Who has ever asserted this?
17) if you’re gonna just rehash blackfish, tell people to go watch blackfish.
18) x I’ve already gone over the context issue with Seaworld calling out Howard’s statement in Blackfish here (point 23). Which is to say, IN CONTEXT in Blackfish it’s clear what Mr. Garrett is talking about but, divorced from that, it sounds incorrect.
But this Youtuber AMPLIFIES the issue by doubling down on the assertion with “no record of a killer whale doing any harm to anyone in the wild.”
The surfer event should always be mentioned. Yes, there’s absolutely room for doubt. But there’s also a clear demarcation between an accidental attack (eg mistaken identity, as was likely for the surfer) and intentional one (eg the incidents at marine parks.) Why do people kneecap themselves on this point
18b) please stop acting like Luna represents orcas in general.
19) x “Howard, for all of his research…” … while referring to David Duffus’ b-roll and statements. Uh.
20) x Apparently this Youtuber has single-handedly resolved the dorsal fin issue. You know, the thing that hasn’t been properly researched ever, that has been subject to a ton of debate, that isn’t 100% settled for a variety of reasons, and almost everyone talks about in terms of theories and likely possibilities.
21) x Alexis Martinez wasn’t “torn to shreds.” In a space where even moderate exaggerations are often penalized harshly by the opposition, this kind of blatant nonsense is not welcome. Plus, the reality’s bad enough… you don’t have to make anything up!
22) x *sighs. points at own webpage*
23) Talking about the shows stopping without acknowledging how that’s a bit of a farce is something else. In addition to apparently just flipping to buying what Seaworld’s selling re: its ‘improved image.’
***
Tl;dr video is so unrelentingly full of errors ranging from small to egregious it makes me seriously concerned for the veracity of the rest of this person’s content.
The maker of the video provided a list of their sources in their video description, which I will have time to look through in detail later. The above is solely a response to the information they present IN THE VIDEO - which, is very important because let’s be real: a lot of people are not going to look at the list of sources. People don’t even do it when citing papers (no really, you’d be surprised, fml.)
For anyone who wants to whinge that I haven’t linked or asserted any sources of my own for my claims… well, remember what I said about time-consuming and ‘I’m busy’? Yhea. Getting all of that together will be part of making a video. So if you want to shrug loudly at my list here… you can, that’s your prerogative, I’m happy to say I DGAF if that’s your takeaway.
What I hope, is that if there’s anything I’ve made clear over the While of running this blog, it’s that I don’t fuck around when it comes to sources and information and do my best to provide what information exists, all of it, not just cherrypicked bits and bobs.
Anyways. Here’s step 0 at least. Please don’t share that video. Pretty please.
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Routine Procedure - Finale
Author's note - Hope you enjoyed!
Part 7 - Kate
If you'd asked her, Kate wouldn't have been able to tell what exactly had gotten her interested in it.
Maybe it was the idea of the power dynamic. She had always been one of those girls labeled as 'bossy' growing up, which was a misogynistic way of saying that she wasn't afraid to speak up and speak her mind.
Or maybe it was the subversion of expectations of a traditional relationship that did it for her. The idea that she was the one in control, the one making all the decisions.
Maybe it was the fact that it was so taboo and kinky that appealed to her. It didnt really matter, whatever the reason.
Kate was into being a Mommy Domme, and Kate found nothing hotter than having a diapered little bitch boy to call her own.
The ultimate fantasy was teaching the boy to love and trust his diapers. Make him associate orgasming with wet diapers and diaper changes. Create a leaking "accident" in public so he learns that while thicker diapers might increase the risk of being noticed, they save you from the embarrassment of wet pants.
Of course, she had considered bringing up her desires to Mike, but based off of past experiences, she didn't want to chance it. Mike was just too perfect of a guy to risk blowing it like that.
She had always been the dominant one in bed, with Mike eagerly submitting to her every whim, so she knew they were sexually compatible. It had never gone past light bondage though, and Kate was starting to get an itch that handcuffs and blindfolds just wouldn't scratch.
────────
It had come up entirely by chance, one day while she was scrolling through an obscure ABDL forum.
The post read: "Biomedical engineer here, and I think I've figured out a way to induce instant, semi-permanent incontinence."
The post was over 3 days old, and only had two comments on it. The first was from a mod, basically saying to take everyone's posts with a grain of salt. The second was from the OP, about 24 hours after the original post.
"I know it sounds like a fantasy, but I'm pretty confident it will work. I've had a career in medical devices for the last 8 years, specializing in the urology space. I don't want to get too deep into the details on here, so just PM me of you're interested."
Kate rolled her eyes.
Everyone in this community is so hooked on the 'I want to be instantly incontinent' thing, and all it ever ends up being is some silly fap content, she thought to herself.
"You know what, let's feed the troll and see what bites," she muttered.
Liv2DomU: ok spill, what's your magical method?
PrinceOfPadding: this for you, or someone else?
Liv: hypothetically, let's say it's for a boyfriend
Prince: Ahh okay. Very interesting. Well, like I said, I've worked in med device for awhile, and I've recently started my own company. I primarily work in the urology space, catheters, scopes, that kind of stuff.
Liv: hmm hate to break it to u bud, but catheters kinda already exist
Prince: oh sure, catheters exist, but my idea is to bridge the catheter world with the stent world
Liv: sounds idk...sketchy? illegal?
As she read more, Kate was beginning to think that this guy might not be as full of crap as she had initially thought. He had his own start-up, which had already launched a Foley catheter to the market. It was all above-board and legit.
Prince: so, for the aspiring incontinent-person-to-be, the ring is positioned with a catheter, and stays in place once the Foley is removed. Then overtime, probably a month at minimum, depending on the chemical makeup and customer desire, the ring breaks down and is naturally absorbed into the body. And they all sign a consent form saying they accept the risks of such a procedure.
Liv: so then once it's dissolved they are back to being being able to control their bladder?
Prince: that's the theory, yes
Liv: theory?
Prince: well, dissolvable stent technology present state takes like 18 months to break down, and the manufacturing of it is patented and kept under lock and key
Liv: so basically all you have to offer is a catheter lol
Prince: well no. I've got some good leads on dissolvable compounds, but I've got to do trials of the rings first to see if it would even work. I've promised free diapers for the first few months if people sign up, but it's been hard to get subjects
Liv: so these trial rings wouldn't dissolve?
Prince: nope
Liv: meaning my hypothetical boyfriend would be....?
Prince: permanently diaper dependent, yeah
────────
In the end Kate was curious enough that she was willing to hear the guy out.
He'd asked for a mailing address and her phone number. The first was to send proof that his company was real, and the second was just to keep in contact should she decide to proceed.
It all made sense, at least in theory. Foley catheters were safe, provided they were inserted by a trained healthcare professional. A normal person would get a normal catheter just like everyone else. But an ABDL would be signing up for what was essentially an intentionally faulty catheter.
Assuming they knew they were willingly signing up for it.
When asked about 'accidental' ring implants, Prince had basically said, hey, people really need to learn to read the fine print.
────────
I walked out to the mailbox. I've been expecting test results back from the scan I'd had a few weeks back. Opening up the box, I noticed a large envelope with my hospital's address on the front.
About time, I thought, grabbing the envelope and the rest of the mail.
I walked back into the house, where Kate was making herself a cup of tea.
"Anything good in the mail?" she asked, taking a sip from her mug.
I listed them aloud as I started to flip though the mail, "Looks like some junk mail, an internet bill, a brochure for some UroVention medical thing, and last but not least, my test results."
I dropped the rest of the mail on the counter and started to open up my scan results. As I was reading, Kate walked over and began sorting through the other mail.
"Oh good, they said it's benign, but they're still worried about the location. They're recommending removal, just to be on the safe side."
"Removal for something benign? That sounds odd, but whatever," Kate said, tucking something into her back pocket.
"I'm not too worried. It sounds like it should be a pretty routine procedure."
────────
Part 8 - Mike
I sat down on the couch, my diaper squishing underneath me. Kate had taken to putting two stuffers in my diaper, even though these Tykables could already hold a lot. The warm, comforting feeling of my wet diaper started to turn me on, just like it did every time I realized how wet I was or if I was about to get a change. Not that I could do anything about it, though.
I flipped open the laptop and signed in. It would probably be a good hour before Kate got back from the store. Apparently I was being downgraded from sippy cups to bottles.
Once logged in, I noticed that the screen was still up to the site where Kate had last been. It was another diaper order, this time a case of Megamaxes. I felt my cheeks start to heat up, seeing that Kate had chosen the pink color for the whole case.
I opened up a private window, and navigated to KinkLink. My profile on here was pretty bare. It always had been, just containing my age, gender, and some basic interests. I hadn't even bothered to post a picture when I set it up. I preferred to look at other people's profiles rather than post things of my own.
I was always intrigued by people's locations and how close they were to where I lived. One such person who I came back to check the posts of daily was a mommy domme, who it happened lived in my town. Her first posts, from nearly three years ago, were what had first caught my attention.
'Every night I dream about finding my perfect diaper slut. He will wake up to me rubbing his thick, soggy padding, the little bedwetter that I turned him into.'
'Picture this: You, in a wet diaper and nothing else. Me, in my black lingerie with a strap on. Do I have any volunteers?'
'Have no doubt, if you date me, it's diapers forever. There's no "only at home" or "but my parents are coming over". Maybe I'll just find a way to make you incontinent. Then you won't have an excuse.'
And then there were the pictures. She never would show her face, but she didn't need to.. She wasn't lying about the black lingerie. It left very little to the imagination. Then the next picture, where the bra came off, and she was just in her lacy panties, her pierced nipples and tattoos on display. Maybe it was the octopus tattoo on her arm, my favorite animal, that made her stick out to me.
But there was one post that I always came back to and was entranced by. It was a picture of her holding an ABU Kiddo, right below her breasts. She wasn't wearing any clothing.
'Aww baby, did you wet the bed? I think we should probably put you in some protection.'
────────
I stood in line at the coffee shop. It wasn't too busy for a Tuesday at 9 a.m., only two people were ahead of me. As the first person in line got her coffee and the second lady stepped up to place her order, I checked my phone. Still a half hour before I needed to be at work, I had some time to sit and enjoy my drink. I got my usual and went off to a booth in the corner.
"Excuse me, but do you happen to know what the Wi-Fi password is here?"
I looked up to see the woman who had been in front of me in line.
"Oh um, yeah it's....oh I think they just changed it. Try 'PINTO'. They always pick some sort of bean, I think they find it amusing, but it's never a coffee bean..." I trailed off.
She smiled, "Oh thank you so much, yeah I'll try that."
My mouth fell open is shock.
"I uhhh...I like your tattoo," I said. "They're my, um, favorite animal."
"Oh mine too! Isn't the octopus, like, the coolest animal?"
"D-definitely. Hey, would you like to sit with me? I'm just hanging out while I wait for work. My name is Mike by the way."
"That sounds really nice. Thank you, Mike. I'm Kate."
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On Having “Whiteness”
(~2,200 words, 11 minutes)
Summary: A metaphysics of “Whiteness” has overtaken actual sociology in the Democrats’ popular consciousness - blinding them to racial interventions that might actually work and taking them off the table of political discussion.
-★★★-
Donald Moss - On Having Whiteness, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (emphasis mine)
Whiteness is a condition one first acquires and then one has—a malignant, parasitic-like condition to which “white” people have a particular susceptibility. The condition is foundational, generating characteristic ways of being in one’s body, in one’s mind, and in one’s world. Parasitic Whiteness renders its hosts’ appetites voracious, insatiable, and perverse. These deformed appetites particularly target nonwhite peoples. Once established, these appetites are nearly impossible to eliminate. Effective treatment consists of a combination of psychic and social-historical interventions. Such interventions can reasonably aim only to reshape Whiteness’s infiltrated appetites—to reduce their intensity, redistribute their aims, and occasionally turn those aims toward the work of reparation. When remembered and represented, the ravages wreaked by the chronic condition can function either as warning (“never again”) or as temptation (“great again”). Memorialization alone, therefore, is no guarantee against regression. There is not yet a permanent cure.
So both @arcticdementor [here] and @samueldays have linked me to this allegedly “peer-reviewed” article. The Federalist has a bit more context, but it doesn’t really make the situation better.
Race Theory Problems
Obviously, this is a work of sloppy thinking. The categorization of “white supremacy culture” or “whiteness” used by people like this is vague handwaving that describes being bad at management as “white supremacy culture,” and which in general labels universal human problems, like organizations being resource-constrained, or people being impatient, as somehow uniquely “white.”
But this sort of article is really what I mean when I say that social justice’s approach to “whiteness” is about “spiritual contamination.”
Samueldays called it “the ‘I’m not touching you’ of inciting race war,” and I may cover more of his response to it later. Suffice it to say, it has the same general kind of problems as “stolen land” arguments (where an entire present population’s living area becomes undefined), unbounded “reparations” arguments where no amount of transfers by the designated oppressor are considered to clear the debt, and so on.
This is exactly the sort of material that conservatives are seeking to remove government funding for and prohibit from use in employment training. This is the kind of material that the Trump Anti-CRT executive order prohibiting racial scapegoating was meant to cover.
Race Theory Definitions
This kind of stuff is, of course, not really defensible, so usually at this point people will argue that 1), “that’s not real critical race theory,” and then 2), “it’s just a few weirdos.” For those, I would say...
1) If it’s not real “Critical Race Theory,” then what is it?
We can’t measure or disprove Moss’s proposed “Whiteness,” and this malevolent psychic entity said to “deform” white people obviously isn’t based on a comparison with other human populations or historical periods. When it comes to “insatiable” appetites, one study argued that the Mongol invasions killed so many people that it showed up in the carbon record.
At best, it’s sloppy race science as practiced by an amateur, like twitter users idly speculating whether whites have ‘oppressor epigenetics’ - but with the veneer of official status. And it has similar risks to proposing that there is such a thing as biologically-inherited class enemy status, and other collective intergenerational justice logic.
Presumably, the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association is intended as a journal of science, or at least serious scholarship, and not of bad racist poetry with no rhyme or meter.
Moss provides a relatively pure example of whatever-this-is. I need to know what it’s called, so we can get rid of it.
Race Theory Prohibitions
2) If it’s just the product of a few race-obssessed weirdos, then it won’t hurt to get rid of it. So get rid of it.
The actual text [PDF] of the Trump Anti-CRT order does not ban teaching about the Trail of Tears, or Jim Crow, and so on, and both of those topics were taught in school before this recent wave of whatever-this-is was popularized.
Trump’s order banned teaching that any race is inherently guilty or evil due to the actions of their ancestors, and the level of resistance to this has been bizarre.
These teachings don’t seem to provide gains in relatively objective metrics like underrepresented minority test scores (or at least that’s not something I’ve seen - and the continued opposition to standardized tests suggests proponents do not expect it to), so it’s unclear just what of value is going to be lost here.
Collateral Damage
Samueldays wrote,
Because right now the conservatives talking about "critical race theory" as they fire in the direction of Moss et al. are very important in preventing another race war and you have a moral duty to help them aim, not throw smoke for Moss.
Right now Conservatives are assessing just how much stuff they’re going to have to rip out to make “standardized tests are racist” and “it’s impossible to be racist to white people�� stop. While this may not be the message that Liberals are intending to send, it is the message that many people are receiving. (I discuss problems with both, and some alternatives to handle them better, in another post.)
Liberals need to get out in front of this. Sooner is better.
If Conservatives think that they have to gut hostile work environment law in order to avoid their children being taught that they’re permanently morally contaminated by their race, and Liberals have no means to actually close race gaps within a 4-8 year period (and right now it’s slim pickings on that front), Conservatives are just going to gut hostile work environment law.
Aether
From their perspective, why not?
Everything in the world is only six degrees of separation from something racist. Anything in the world can be tied to something racist. (So can anyone.)
But nowhere in this pervasive atmosphere of tying things to racism are there solutions. There are guesses based on correlations. Proposals. But usually when you reach out to grab them, to really get a grip on whether it’s correlation or causation, they dissolve in your hands. The few that do have any solidity to them are moderate in their success (such as Heckman’s involvement in the Reach Up & Learn study in Jamaica) - and don’t appear to be based on the same style of thinking as shown by Moss and others.
It isn’t just that trying to turn combating an invisible, non-measurable, unfalsifiable, parasitic psychic force into an actual political program would inevitably be oppressive and totalitarian. It isn’t just that articles like Moss’s are an in-kind donation to the 2024 DeSantis Presidential campaign for that very reason.
It isn’t just that unfalsifiable Metaphysics of Whiteness content like White Privilege Theory has been found to lower sympathy for the poor, and that present diversity training doesn’t work...
Race Content Crowding
This stuff is crowding out legitimate scholarship. I don’t just mean in terms of funding, tenure track positions, or high-flying magazine coverage - all limited by their nature. I mean among the base. I have been interrogating Democrats on Twitter for months, and not a single one has been able to cite a strongly-demonstrated intervention that’s being held back, or even a past one that was conclusively demonstrated to be effective. They can often recite a list of racial grievances on cue.
Tucker Carlson could run boomer_update.exe on a list of every educational failure since the 1970s, and they would be reduced to sputtering accusations of racism against people who increasingly don’t care. He could do this tomorrow. The only thing that prevents this is Tucker Carlson’s conscience.
I discovered the Reach Up & Learn program through Glenn Loury - described as a ‘conservative.’ Scott Alexander, attacked by the New York Times crew, brought some success with multivitamins to my attention. When I first heard about the Perry Preschool program, I believe it was from someone well to the right of him.
About the only one brought to my attention by the Democratic establishment constellation proper was lead removal, and the gains on that are probably getting tapped out. The frame it was proposed in was not Critical Race Theorist, as this was likely in 2012.
As it stands, I’m more likely to find something that works from someone the New York Times would disapprove of than someone they wouldn’t. Or, as Wesley Yang wrote,
Reality has been contrarian for a while.
Succeed Early
Even if we suppose that Conservatives are inherently racist, Liberals have a duty to support interventions that work. In fact, the more that Conservatives are a seething, undifferentiated mass of uniform racial hatred, the more important it is that Liberals stick to racial interventions that work, because nobody else is going to fix the problem if Liberals get it wrong.
It isn’t just a matter of resources per year. It’s also a matter of time.
From Heckman’s website,
Although Perry did not produce long-run gains in IQ, it did create lasting improvements in character skills [...] which consequently improved a number of labor market outcomes and health behaviors as well as reduced criminal activity.
Even if we propose an unlimited amount of funding (which is not the case), people and politicians only have a limited amount of time and attention each year. Newspapers only publish so many issues with so many pages each week. Television programs only cover so many hours for so many viewers each day. Even the dedicated can only read so many books in a year.
Even though the Perry intervention was imperfect, and the sample size was not as large as desirable, every second Democrat I talked to should have been able to answer the question “can you name an effective intervention?” with “what about Perry Preschool?”
Every year that we have entire cottage industries working on and popularizing contentious, ineffective, and backlash-provoking Metaphysics of Whiteness content, based on oversimplified oppressor/oppressed binaries, or theories in which power is held collectively by races as monolithic blobs (rather than modelling power as a network of relations between individuals, in which an individual of any background might be destroyed by the racialized relations in their environment), is another year we haven’t spent that energy on finding or implementing something that actually works.
This isn’t just an individual failure by Democrat voters, who typically have day jobs to focus on - it is a failure by the institutions who are supposed to inform and guide them. This institutional failure likely contributed to the popularization of Metaphysics of Whiteness content in the first place.
Okay, now what?
Donald Moss is a crackpot. Metaphysics of Whiteness content is unfalsifiable. The idea that there is a psychic parasite of “Whiteness” is not a legitimate field of study; it’s parasociology. The idea that “a sense of urgency” is “white supremacy culture” isn’t much better. [1]
We already tried isolating this content to obscure corners of academia, where individuals with high racial attachment could write about it. It leaked out.
We need to get this stuff out of the popular consciousness to make room for stuff that might actually work. The best way to do that may be to cut off the source. Since Donald Moss is a crackpot, perhaps it’s time we started treating him, and everyone else like him, as what they are.
People involved in Metaphysics of Whiteness content, like Donald Moss, need to be (figuratively) grabbed by the shoulder, and firmly, but politely, told to stop. Society has been recklessly handing out race-colored glasses to the general population since around 2014, resulting in a rise in amateur race science, of which both right-wing Twitter users memeing about Italians and Metaphysics of Whiteness participants like Moss are examples. If they do not stop, they must be stripped of institutional authority. Metaphysics of Whiteness content is unfalsifiable and we should not be certifying it.
If institutions refuse to reduce the authority of Metaphysics of Whiteness practitioners, those institutions must have their accreditation penalized, and their government funding reduced or eliminated, just as if they insisted on producing study after study on magic or ESP which failed to yield results. If they do not comply, they must be replaced.
It’s possible that Metaphysics of Whiteness content might have had some obscure, niche function in terms of the exploration of the idea space.
However, as it has displaced popular knowledge of interventions that might work, and the attention given to them in the political system, Liberals should seek to surgically remove it, at the very least until some more effective interventions see the political light of day.
If not, Conservatives will attempt to remove it with a bludgeon. "They described an entire race as ‘voracious, insatiable, and perverse,’ and here’s the citation for the exact page where they did that,” is perfect material with which to abolish entire departments.
-★★★-
[1] If we go a bit farther out, scholars of “Decolonization” argue that the field is wholly unconcerned with “settler futurity,” a phrase not much less ominous than describing “whiteness” as “incurable.” It seems that their entire job should be to answer the very difficult questions they have decided not to.
#racepol#american racepol#critical race theory#social justice#racial justice#longpost#flagpost#black lives matter
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🌹🥀💫 for Riag!
@mystery-salad
Riag appreciation hours! Ty for the ask :D
🌹 Where in the world does your OC feel most at home? Is there any reason why? If it’s not the place they were born, where were they born? Is there a certain somebody that makes them feel at home where ever they may be? What does home mean to them?
The Grove - sort of. Yes, it's where he was 'born' and where his people are from. So in that sense, it's home. When he was younger he felt more of a connection to the other Sylvari there but given all that's happened, he sort of doesn't resonate with them. Especially with Ventari's teachings.
So yes, he's at home there and honestly if he lived any place else he'd always worry about the Grove. But it's still slightly off. Home as a person would have to be Trahearne, no surprise there - but again it's Home ™
Slightly off again. The most comfortable he can be around someone is with him, but there's a level of apprehension still. Of expecting things to go wrong. So he's at home around him, but it's also like waiting for the other shoe to drop all the time. That's just a him thing since Maguuma, not because there's actually any apprehension between the two.
Home, to him, is someplace where he can afford to let the grip of control loose a little. Where if he slips up or can't quash things quick enough it's not the end of the world. A place where he can have a bad day and it's just a bad day, it's not a mark against him. If he absolutely has to be vulnerable then it's a safe place to be.
🥀 How would your OC decorate a notebook or journal? What kind of things are written in there? Could you give an example of a nice entry?
Answered here!
💫What is your favourite fact about this character and why?
Oh man, oh man I have so many. I'll try to keep it in the single digits hehehehe.
I've mentioned before the accidental plant theory that happened with him but I'll recap. He was based on a flower that grows where I live. I didn't know what the flower was originally. Discovering it way later, I ran to look up the meanings (as you do when you're a plant nerd) and found it was the perfect flower for him.
Primrose. Meaning young love, and I can't live without you.
I also love that he got my plant lore knowledge. Talk about meta of a meta.
I also have had so many accidental things line up for him that I DID NOT plan and just they unfolded that way! Like for instance, in the early player story, he helped out Occam. I didn't think much of it until replaying it on another character but this line jumps out at me at beats me over the head.
And then with the old
In both of Apatia and The Big Ouch ™ it was a matter of being later and having to essentially mercy kill. Sorry beeb, accidentally made your Worst Fear foreshadowing x2.
I didn't plan this! I am not that smart! It just happened that way!
And last so I don't gush about him for years - I adore that love hasn't 'fixed' anything. By that I mean I see a lot of stories and a lot of characters where love happens all sudden wow look at all the things fixed in their life. This especially irritates me in regards to mental health, because it does not work like that.
Even a literal miracle (in my canon, the return of the 'hearne) does not fix his issues. It makes them less sharp and brings more joy but it's not a WOW AND EVERYTHING WAS HAPPY THE END. Because... no that's not how it works. Depression isn't fixed, ptsd isn't fixed, trauma and psychological damaged is not fixed just because love is present. It allows for some new growth but does not heal what has been injured and broken.
#gw2#ocs#sylvari#asks#Riaghael#My cabbage son child#he's my most developed character and my most complex in a lot of ways#and i care the him ;;#though you wouldn't be able to tell with how much stuff i've put him through OOF
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The Boyz as my University Professors
Disclaimer: Some of my professors are evil bitches; none of the boys are truly evil and I am in no way implying they are or trying to make them look bad! I love the boys and I just thought it would be a fun thing to post :D
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Sangyeon:
the one professor that absolutely loves the topic of his class
super wholesome and smiley throughout the 90 minutes class time
getting super close to the camera (actually to the mic) because he is worried students won’t hear him well enough
always asking questions and encouraging students to interact
not offended when something isn’t clear and therefore students don’t know the answer
reading EVERY. SINGLE. MESSAGE written in the chat (sometimes students have mic problems or don’t wanna speak)
making everyone feel valid and appreciated
being super calm and relaxed
barely doing breakout-rooms cause he knows no one likes them
ending class always a little earlier cause “I know how stressful your life can get.”
just the cutest prof out there
Jacob:
another sweet guy
never holds class at its normal timeframe
just uploads all the files students will need (although attendance is supposed to be mandatory)
“you guys are all grown-ups, I trust you to decide yourself when it is the best time for YOU to study.”
constantly uses smileys and is therefore super popular with students
doesn’t teach many classes, cause which good prof does that? ugh
gets right back at students when they email him their concerns
and no, you don’t get half-assed answers
you get a very detailed answer, which is rare in university life
THANKS STUDENTS FOR SENDING HIM THEIR HOMEWORK!!!!
“Dear [name of stundet], thank you very much! 😊”
offers students to call him by his first name
“I’ll call you by your first name too if that’s okay... creates a more comfortable atmosphere!”
the best <3
Younghoon:
he is a savage professor
his look is hella scary and students fear taking his classes
but he is actually the coolest and most laid back dude ever
the first time class is held, he comes in, stone cold expression and literally throws his bag on the desk - everyone is hella scared
then he says, in the scariest voice ever, “We can have fun here in class, no problem, but i AM YOUR PROFESSOR. NOT YOUR FRIEND. Remember that.”
*everyone scared to death*
“Welcome to class everybody! My name is Mr. Kim and I am very looking forward to teach this class in our summer term! Feel free to ask any question that might come up and don’t hesitate to reach out to me whenever!”
no need to be scared, he is a sweetheart
strict and has high expectations, but won’t overdo it with homework or assignments
constantly jokes around but then switches back to being serious
he creates a nice atmosphere where students want to learn something and do it voluntarily
cares for his students and appreciates their hard work - especially during the pandemic
“I know this is not easy for any of us but I am so amazed by your guys’ work this semester. It was an absolute pleasure teaching you. I hope to see you guys again, but not in this class. Please don’t fail.”
I love him
Hyunjae:
omg, he is an absolute legend
class starts and he is doing his introduction part
the class i about british literature
“Welcome to this literature class, you are in for a long ride!”
so far so good right?
“Let me just say, British Literature is an ABSOLUTE shit show!”
when I tell you, I almost died hearing that (no offense to anyone, pls don’t take my profs words to heart... he lives for british literature 🥺)
he definitely has his students hooked with this one sentence
“the teacher that taught this class before me... what was he even talking about! I mean, british literature is so much more than what he made it out to be!”
basically starts ranting
teaches with so much passion
can’t forget the jokes here and there
also uses smileys which students seriously love (at least I do)
wants students to be informal with him as well
“moving on to this next topic... a little disclaimer before we start: I will go batshit crazy with this topic because I LOVE IT. So please tell me to shut up when I exceed the 10 minutes mark. Thank you!”
A savage legend that everyone loves
sadly only teaches a handful of classes as well
Juyeon:
super laid back and chill
does never check attendance and just trusts his students
usually talks most of the time and doesn’t ask too many questions
is super happy when students contribute though
but he isn’t one to force them
“I know your day has probably been really long, so it’s okay. I’m not taking this personal.”
his class is not based on theory but more on experiences he made
shares funny stories, mistakes he made and what he learnt from them
always gives the smallest and easiest homework ever
“please just share your experiences with these types of situations in our forum”
and he does not want to grade students based on an exam
“I have a better idea. In order to understand a certain topic, I want you to write a portfolio about it. It should be detailed but I won’t give you a number of words. Do what feels right and surprise me! Be creative, nothing will be worth a failing grade as long as you put in some effort.”
does split classrooms
one half is in the main room with him, the others are in breakout rooms, working on a certain topic
super chill and just not as hard as some other classes
but students definitely learn from him!
Kevin:
oh boy, students either gonna hate or love him
he is very kind and nice but he is STRICT
take his class serious and work or you will fail
although he has very high expectations, he will make sure students will be prepared for all the essays, assignments and presentations he throws at at them
no half-assed instructions, you will get the full program (as every student should!)
you have to write an argumentative essay but have no idea how to do that?
Professor Moon (students are allowed to call him Kevin) will explain an argumentativ essay in detail, will show examples and will tell you exactly what to put in it
having trouble finding sources?
Kevin will help you, just let him know!
Also a very empathetic teacher
something happened and you can’t attend class? Absolutely no problem
whenever something serious happens (for us it was a shooting), Kevin will cancel class and spare his students cause their well-being is more important
he doesn’t throw out A’s and B’s easily but when you do get such a grade in one of his classes... dude, you did a really good job
so as I said, he is either your fav or least fav professor... choose your side!
Chanhee:
he is a bitch (not really, but he gives the impression)
at first, he is that nice, bubbly professor
super friendly and kind
and his classes are absolutely okay! no biggie
or so they THOUGHT
his exams and progress tests or whatever ARE HELL
he makes it seem as everything is so easy and not overwhelming at all
BUT nothing is easy and everything is overwhelming
50 pages for a damn progress test two weeks into the semester!
the grading is so strict, you need at least 65% to pass! (maybe I am a baby but 65% is a lot for a passing grade hahaha)
but he confuses students
he is so kind and soft spoken
constantly smiling and in a good mood
but the exams????
are you sure you were the one creating them Mr Choi?
and yes, he is one of those professors that wants to be addressed by his last name (nothing wrong with that)
as I said, he confuses students
they don’t know what to think of him
at the end of the day he isn’t a bad guy
just not the type of professor the students would want in every single class for the rest of their lives
Changmin:
changmin is not your ordinary professor
because he is a big fan of team-teaching
so all his classes are taught by him and his dear colleague Haknyeon!
YAAAAY
I love this duo already
he is the part of the duo that is EXTREMELY motivated
he is is so hyper and so ready for teaching
his classes are always fun but also slightly overwhelming?
juts imagine having too much caffeine in your body
that is changmin being able to teach something he loves
that’s just the passion jumping out of him
he is constantly talking and laughing and throwing jokes left and right
he is having a good time!
super understanding and empathetic
and although everything seems fun and games
you will definitely learn from him!
he has this natural and authentic way of teaching in his body
it comes... naturally and it all makes sense somehow
although the class is packed with inside jokes and changmin teasing haknyeon
haknyeon doesn’t even have time nor the chance to speak
this is changmin’s time to shine!
they love and hate each other
but the students definitely love this iconic duo
Haknyeon:
as I mentioned; haknyeon and changmin are a team
it wasn’t really something haknyeon wanted but... how could you possibly say no to baby changmin? 🥺
so yes, changmin’s cute face got him into this situation
he doesn’t even have to prepare anything for class - his lovely colleague does the talking anyways
he usually lays back and relax
he frowns into the cam cause he tries to intimidate students
but they know he is a soft guy anyways
while changmin is talking, he is chatting to students in the chat
as I mentioned earlier, not everyone wants to unmute themselves and therefore posts in the chat
so he is having chats with students, often not even related to the topic
“Please excuse me, I will be absent for a few minutes - mommy duties” -student
“Don’t worry Miss! I know exactly what you mean... children.” -haknyeon
whenever he tries to get a word in, he has to talk VERY LOUDLY
he literally has to talk over changmin
but changmin doesn’t mind, he just smiles, nods and listens
changmin is super proud whenever haknyeon speaks
and haknyeon thinks that’s very sweet
but that thought passes as soon as changmin makes a joke about him
at the end of the day, they love each other at least to a certain extent and students adore them
Sunwoo:
he is not an ordinary professor either
class time? virtual meetings?
nope, not with sunwoo
again, in the classes the boyz teach, attendance is mandatory
mandatory? sunwoo has never heard of her
he doesn’t require students to attend meetings and homework is also something he does not expect from them
he uploads powerpoint-presentations with videos and audio of him explaining everything in the presentation
but the boy is clumsy
and he is not good with anything technical
so him dropping his glass and spilling his water all over his lap?
well, students will see this in the video
“... and it’s important to- YAAAAH OH NO....”
*awkward silence*
“I spilled my water... if you haven’t seen.”
*more awkward silence*
“Give me a minute”
*the video continues and sunwoo is nowhere in sight*
after ten minutes of an empty chair, sunwoo returns and continues as if nothing has happened
sometimes his kids walk in and dab in the camera without him noticing
“and then - Hey! I am at WORK.”
he loves it though
and he posts these “fail” videos on purpose
“I want to show you, that it is okay to not be perfect and to not be in control of everything! Stuff like that happens, especially with us being in home-office! And don’t worry, if your mom walks in or whatever, in my classroom no one gets judged! This is life and now that we have to do everything from home, the unexpected is unavoidable!”
Another students’ favorite
Eric:
I would love to imagine him as this savage prof I have in mind... but no <3
he is a sweet guy
also super obsessed with the class he is teaching
he is LIVING for it
usually experiences technical problems right before class starts
“oopsie daisy, sorry guys... might take a few minutes *giggles*”
and no, it’s not a creepy giggle but a really cute one, I swear!
constantly has a pen in his hand and clicks it absentmindedly while teaching
students constantly hear the clicking sound... or when the pen falls to the ground.... which happens every five minutes
he constantly forgets to mute himself whenever he wants students to work by themselves and all they hear is him chugging down his water or whatever drink he has prepared
also sends out super sweet emails
but due to him being a young dude, he wants students to call him by his last name
he also calls students by their last name but he does use smileys to lighten the professional mood that comes with honorifics
overall a very motivated but extremely kind-hearted dude
#the boyz#scenarios#kpop#imagines#reactions#headcanon#the boyz as#eric sohn#jacob bae#kevin moon#ju haknyeon#younghoon#hyunjae#juyeon#sunwoo#sangyeo#chanhee#changmin
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I’m obviously late to the tumble party... but I stumbled across your Notagami Essays posts and they are absolutely Fabulous! Love your writing and the amount of detail you go into :)
So I figured you may be a good person to ask - if you just had to guess (bc as far as I know it’s never been officially confirmed?) but if you had to take a guess or give a rough estimate, how old do you think Yato was when he first met Sakura? We know he’s estimated to be at least a thousand years old, we know he’s - from the start of the series to present - estimated to be somewhere between 18 and his early 20s (physically)... but I can’t find a single thing/discussion/post/stickynote/whatever where it talks about how old he might have been when he first met Sakura - let alone the emotional/psychological effects of Sakura coming into his life and introducing healthy mindset/morals/maternal-influence etc. etc. (obviously no mom and Father’s neglect played a big role in him not knowing how inappropriate it was for him to ‘accidentally touch’ and yell “boobs!” but you can also just say he was so young he didn’t know how inappropriate that was?) My point is: how old do you think Yato was (physically anyway) at the time of their meeting? and Do you know of any discussions or care to share your opinion on how being the no more than the age of blank affected his mental/emotional understanding of Sakura teaching him a new narrative?
Sorry this is a random out of the blue ask 😅😓 if I rambled on and you don’t feel like answering, I get it, just figured it was worth asking :)
I fell down a serious rabbit hole trying to see if I could figure out the answer to this question about Yato’s age but unfortunately I’m mostly coming up empty-handed.
The answer to this question actually depends on two different pieces of information which--as far as I can remember--we’ve never actually been given for certain.
1) We would need to know when Yato was actually born.
The manga has kind of hinted at a total (not physical) age for Yato in the flashbacks which showed him as a young child during the Heian era (putting him somewhere in the vicinity of a little over 1000 years old) and Father not making masks before ~1100 years ago, but the problem is we still don’t know how many years might have passed between this scene (the youngest we’ve ever seen Yato):
And the next flashback scene, where Yato meets Nora:
If gods age normally when they are children, these two scenes might be only a handful of years apart. But if gods don’t age normally, then these two scenes could be decades or centuries apart, which leads to the other missing piece of information (under the read more to save people’s dashes):
2) We would need to know the aging process for gods who are just born/reincarnate.
Up to this point in the manga, we’ve only seen two gods reincarnate--Ebisu (who reincarnated too recently to really help answer this question) and Takemikazuchi. The implication of Takemikazuchi’s backstory is that his shinki forced him to reincarnate and then hid his reincarnation from all of Heaven. The only way they could have kept other gods from noticing that Takemikazuchi had reincarnated would have been by not allowing him to go out at all until he had grown enough to match his previous reincarnation in appearance. This seems to suggest that gods probably do age normally when they are children--hiding Takemikazuchi away for ~20 years seems a lot more likely than being able to hide him away for centuries, after all... (I also feel like I have very vague recollection of some scene in the manga where someone comments on Takemikazuchi not having been around for a “few years,” but it’s been so long since I reread I can’t recall if this is a real moment from the manga or just me misremembering.)
Overall, however, based on what we’ve seen in the manga, my guess would be that when they’re young, after just being born or being reincarnated, gods age pretty normally. This would suggest that, for the first few years at least, the physical and mental ages of reincarnated/newly born gods actually overlap; baby Ebisu acts like a little kid because he is, in fact, both mentally and physically a little kid.
That would mean that, for all intents and purposes, Yato’s physical and mental ages lined up when he was young and meeting Sakura, and he acted like a little kid because he really was just a little kid, god or not.
(Detour for a second though:
This line always struck me as interesting in that it might, just might, give us a more specific timeframe for Yato’s “birth”: although the constellations, of course, are visible in the sky every single year, this particular combination of concepts (kanoto-tori, yin metal rooster) is known much more commonly as one of the sixty years on the cyclical Chinese calendar, also used in Japan. Counting back on the calendar, 961 A.D. was a yin metal rooster year and would align just about right for what we know about the timeframe in which Yato later met Sakura (~970ish). Just referencing constellations doesn’t mean Adachitoka was pointing to a specific year, but it might have been another hint as to the timeframe of the flashbacks.
Okay, detour over.)
Anyway, without 100% confirmation on either of those pieces of information--when Yato was born and whether gods age at the same rate as humans after reincarnating--I don’t think it’s really possible to pin down Yato’s “real” age (physically or mentally) at the time he met Sakura. We mostly just have to estimate.
Personally, based on his size and behavior at the time, I’d put him somewhere between seven and maybe up to ten, but the way Adachitoka draws characters kind of makes it impossible to judge their ages by appearance; Yato is about the same size as Nora when he meets Sakura, implying that he and Nora were around the same physical “age” at that time; meanwhile, Nora is later portrayed as being roughly the same age as Yukine, suggesting she was maybe 12-13ish years old when she died. So, despite being drawn tiny, it’s possible Yato was meant to be anywhere from a little kiddo (6-7) to all the way up to Nora’s age by the time he met Sakura.
But all that said, I think what you were really asking about was more the mental state Yato would have been in when he met Sakura and how his young age would have impacted his ability to change his world views, right? The answer to that is... complicated and could be approached a lot of ways. Coming from a background of working with and educating social work students, there are several common psychological theories of child development that might apply here, for example.
I’d recommend checking out Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development, though.
(Pulled from here.)
I don’t have time to explain the entire theory with the complexity it might deserve, but the basic idea is that, as children develop, they experience a series of crises or challenges that they must overcome. Successfully overcoming each challenge results in successful psychological and social development; failing to overcome a challenge in childhood will result in long-term negative impacts later in the child’s life. (There are plenty critiques of this theory too, so don’t take this as gospel or anything--just a theory worth thinking about!)
Given Father’s lack of interest in teaching Yato basic concepts of humanity, I would put Yato at approximately the “Initiative vs. Guilt” stage when he met Sakura. At this level of Erikson’s theory, children struggle with asserting themselves and developing a healthy sense of how their personal desires might conflict with the expectations and rules set out by others. In this stage, giving a child positive feedback for their actions teaches the child that those actions are “right,” while giving negative feedback teaching the child that their actions are wrong. In order to overcome this particular challenge, children need to begin taking initiative and aligning their actions with social standards; the child acts, and the parental figure reacts--through this process, children learn “I can do X thing but I cannot do Y thing.”
When you hear things like “Children are cruel,” most often what people are referring to is that it takes time for children to learn empathy and to experience guilt when they cause harm to others; children do not natively understand the repercussions of their actions. It’s only through a process of testing the boundaries, of receiving praise or punishment, that children define what is “right” versus “wrong,” and begin to feel bad when they do something deemed wrong.
And this is pretty much word-for-word what we see Sakura teaching Yato.
If they have healthy role models and caretakers during this phase, children develop successfully. Successful children in this phase get their first taste of personal responsibility; unsuccessful children are (supposedly) plagued for years afterward by a sense of guilt and shame when their actions produce disapproval from everyone around them.
Yato... doesn’t exactly make it through this development stage unscathed, because he receives conflicting definitions of right and wrong from his Father an Sakura:
Which ultimately results in, years later, the Yato we know and love who still does his Father’s bidding to kill humans even though it fills him with a horrific sense of guilt:
Through his time with Sakura, I think it could also be argued that Yato moves into the next stage of Erikson’s theory as well, getting into the “Industry versus Inferiority” crises.
Meeting Sakura brings out Yato’s true, deep down desire as a god: to help people. (I think it’s important to note that this isn’t something Sakura teaches him--it’s a quality Yato already possessed; it was explicitly Yato’s desire to please people that led to him murdering in his father’s name.)
Once he learns what makes people happy, Yato immediately pursues that with intense focus:
The primary goal of this phase of psychosocial development is to experience a sense of confidence in one’s actions. When children practice their skills, pursue areas where they are praised, and gain new skills and aptitudes through mentoring from healthy role models, they gain confidence in their ability to excel, to fit in with peers their age, and to create meaningful things. By encouraging Yato to pursue positive behaviors--playing peacefully with other children, appreciating natural beauty, and creating useful things like boots for the needy--Sakura moved Yato toward successfully completing this phase and developing a sense of confidence in his actions and his ability to achieve positive things in the world.
Of course, Father cannot have that (because confident children with a sense of self-worth are much more difficult to abuse), so he puts an immediate end to Sakura’s influence over Yato in the most insidious way possible: although he clearly manipulated the situation to achieve Sakura’s death, out loud, he blames Yato, implying that Sakura’s death was all Yato’s fault, the results of Yato taking unwanted action “industry” and yet failing--creating a sense of “inferiority” instead.
This, of course, haunts Yato all the way to the present, as he--again and again and again--blames himself for things outside his control or failing to live up to expectations that no one in his situation (still being manipulated) could possibly hope to get “right.”
Finally, you could say that Sakura’s presence is Yato’s life is ultimately what sows the seeds of the manga’s main plot up to this point, with Yato’s quest to create an entirely new identity for himself as a god of fortune instead of a god of calamity. Personally, I would say that Yato is currently still in this phase of development, still working out how to define himself and who he will ultimately become once he is finally free to decide on his own path in life. It was Sakura’s gentle influence--his desire to become the kind of god who could make her smile--that eventually sparked his conflict and finally led Yato to the brink of catastrophe. If he wishes to become the god Sakura told him he could be, he can no longer suffer his father to live.
So, long story longer, I think it can be argued that Yato meeting Sakura at such a young age is EXACTLY what made it possible for him to change, and exactly what has led to his crisis in identifying himself and redefining his sense of right and wrong.
Uhhhh... I hope that answers your question!
#noragami#noragami meta#noragami spoilers#noragami manga#psychosocial development#Yato#Sakura#Father (Noragami)#speculation
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