#i don't have the ability to quit my job - or allow my discussions within the workplace be more blunt let alone aggressive lest i be fired

[irl-magicalgirl]

I discovered this morning that my work place's donation matching program includes the PCRF, Pious Projects, and MedGlobal, so i submitted my own receipts from previous donations to request matches, and then posted about it in work communication channels because i found 0 mention of PCRF or Pious Projects by acronym or full name (infuriating but not surprising) in my workplace comms.

Pleased to report that so far none of my zionist coworkers have tried to have my posts taken down (which has happened to previous pro-palestinian posts from other colleagues), about 30 colleagues have reacted to it positively, AND one of my colleagues who sits on the board for our internal racial diversity ERG reached out to me privately to thank me for posting about Palestine. They also let me know they submitted their own receipts to request donation matches for Pious Projects because of my posts (they had already done so for MedGlobal and PCRF, but had been unaware of the PP campaign for menstrual kits for Gaza).

If you work for a company that matches charity donations from employees, please check to see if they include the PCRF, MedGlobal, Pious Projects, and any others that would be applicable. And if they don't currently, please consider requesting one or more to be added. Even if the workplace/company/CEO/whatever has no intention of ever making a public or internal statement in support of Palestinians, they will often still match donations with recognized charities like the PCRF and MedGlobal, and every bit of financial support we can get for Palestinians matters.

I guess I'm sharing to say, don't let your coworkers or workplace's stance silence you, or discourage you from even trying to do anything in support of Palestine at work. I know we all have different circumstances re: job stability and risk of termination - but please still try. If you are frustrated and angry and you want to do something, it's likely that you have at least one if not many coworkers who are feeling exactly the same way. Plus, any form of discussion about Palestine - even if it has to be delicate in the workplace - is better than silence, and it can be an opening for coworkers who claim they're too ignorant to start actually learning.

[thatgirl4815]

Sand & Perspective

So Sand finally gets the attention this episode, and it's demonstrated a lot of things: namely, that as much as he has brushed it off, he is down bad for Ray. Like really bad. Honestly, he's down even worse than I thought.

A lot of this is evident in his narration, a device which has been used quite skillfully up to this point (I'm usually pretty wary of narration in shows, but I think it suits the general tone of OF and its large cast of characters). It's also exposed something I didn't think too much about before this episode--Sand and Ray's relationship has been consistently filtered through Ray's perspective. We've witnessed Sand's lingering looks and blushes, but with the exception of a few scenes, we've always been right alongside Ray.

"I gotta work for everything I want."

So what do we learn about Sand? He's a caretaker by nature--we knew that already--but we come to understand the root of this trait in his upbringing; he was forced to grow up fast as a result of being raised in a single-parent household. He's managed to get his mother out of her debts in the past. From this, and Sand's ability to earn money from multiple jobs, we can gather that Sand is both pragmatic and determined. Though his lifestyle seems lonely and monotonous, there's no indication that he necessarily feels that way about it; rather, he sees it as the "way things are."

Again, this seems to be the marker of a person who has grown up paving his own way, not expecting others to give him anything for free. (This also explains why he was so uncomfortable with Ray throwing money at him in Ep 4.)

I find Sand's dreams interesting as well. We know he idolizes musicians, but when Ray asks him if he wants to become a famous musician himself one day, he instead describes going to music festivals. To me, this indicates that Sand might not be interested in achieving his own stardom so much as he wants to be part of a collective. It's the thrill of enjoying music with others that attracts him, and I don't think it's any coincidence that we see him doing that very thing with Ray twice prior to this discussion (once at the record store in Ep4, and once at the concert in Ep5). It's illustrating how Ray plays a part in Sand's interests, bringing the two of them closer in the process.

"Ray's Extra Hour"

Sand falls hard and fast, and a large part of this can be attributed to his obligations as a caretaker. He's motivated to help others and offer support, because that's just who he is. Still, the fact that he's willing to carve out an extra hour in his day for Ray is very telling of just how deeply he feels for Ray already. It all brings me back to the first sign of feelings Sand demonstrates in Ep1:

Sand sees Ray as someone in need of help, and I suspect that role will only become more prominent as he continues to unveil just how broken Ray is by his past.

"I've always thought Ray is my 25th hour, my extra hour. But the truth is everyone has the same 24 hours in a day.

I see these lines as Sand coming back to reality. There is no actual "25th hour"; it's a piece of time he's invented to categorize the part of his life he's now devoted to Ray. Sand is pragmatic, but he's allowed himself to live in what he thinks is a fantasy; a fabrication.

"And within Ray's 24 hours, I'm not a part of it. I'm not that special."

As several others have pointed out, Sand's language here mirrors Ray's last episode. Sand wants to be cherished by Ray the way Ray wants to be cherished by Mew. Will we see Sand resort to his old routine, pushing Ray away the way he tried to once before? Will we witness Sand recommitting himself to his dream, narrowing in on his goals and isolating himself from Ray in the process (to protect his own feelings)? I predict we will see some of that, but Sand will ultimately run back to Ray at the first sign of distress. Because like or not, he cares about Ray, even if Ray doesn't put him first. His feelings won't just disappear overnight.

[dearayei]

Holiday Break Productivity

As a lady born in the year of the "Horse" 🐎, it is a natural characteristic of ours to always do something productive, even during breaks. This holiday break should have been a rest or game day for me, but instead I practiced my drawing skill and continued reading "Ikigai," which I hadn't opened in weeks.

I've been practicing different "emotions or feelings" in chibi, as I haven't drawn chibis in a while.

I used to sketch "anime" rather than chibis or illustration back in elementary because I was a big fan of ✨ 90s anime ✨ like Fushigi Yuugi, Ghost Fighter, Ranma 1/2, Flame of Recca, Hell Teacher Nūbē, Oh my Goddess!, Sakura CardCaptor, Boys Be, Gatekeepers, Slam Dunk, HunterxHunter, Sailor Moon, and many more.

Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of my sketches today because I used to draw on notebooks or pad papers - I remember back in primary school, my classmates would pay me PHP 5.00 - 20.00 💰💰💰 (yup! business-minded since I was a kid 🤣) to draw their favorite anime which technically honed my skill in creating anime art and marketing/sales, but as I grew older, I outgrown drawing animes and now I prefer to draw still life or illustrations/chibis since I love anything kawaii and sketching beautiful landscape or places.

Book Review: Ikigai (Chapter 1 to 3)

I promised myself to finish this book by May 🎯; please don't get me wrong, on why I'm still not done reading this book its because I didn't have a time for reading this past few weeks due to my workload (my job), but this holiday I made sure to allocate 3-4 hours just to read this book and discovered that...

Ikigai is one of my favorite book out of my 7 new self-development books and I am now currently on Chapter 4: How to turn work and free time into space of growth - very timely to what I need nowadays, isn't it? 😀

To give you an idea why I love this book so far, one of the reason is that it tackles on how we determine our life's purpose and reasons to live more, like the centenarians in Okinawa, Japan. It also emphasize the importance of maintaining physical health by staying active even after we reach the age of 60, since sedentary lifestyle can lead to hypertension, imbalanced diet, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and even some cancers. Sleep plays an important role in how we can slow the aging process and build our immune system because "melatonin" is a powerful antioxidant in our bodies that contains an ingredient that protects us from cancer, Alzheimer's disease, aging, and other diseases.

This book also discussed "Logotherapy," a therapy developed by Victor Frankl that focuses on people's search for meaning in life. Unlike other therapies, logotherapy takes a spiritual approach. Frankl's logotherapy incorporates three philosophical and psychological concepts: freedom of will, will to meaning, and meaning in life.

Freedom of will asserts that we have the ability to chose and take action in response to both internal and external circumstances.

Will to meaning states that we have the freedom to follow our goal and purposes in life, which means this is our major motive for existing and doing, allowing us to bear pain and suffering.

Meaning in life is a subjective experience, but the meanings exist within us and waiting to be realized by us in any moment or in any situation.

One of the therapies that this book also tackles is the "Morita Therapy," a therapy based on the Buddhist perspective and developed by Dr. Shoma Morita, wherein the therapy focuses more on accepting the fluctuations of thoughts and feelings, embracing negative emotions, and learning how to blend with nature - if you ask me, it is quite similar to what we've learned from Grandmaster Lao Tzu (Taoism) which is

"Go with the flow, Be like water 🌊"

Sounds very profound, isn't it? 🤔 The first time I heard that, I was perplexed: how and why be like water? Then our Grandmaster taught us the value of being fluid, soft, and flexible in any situation, just like water, which takes shape wherever you put it and can adjust to any environmental changes.

Change is inevitable and if you resist it, problems will arise in your life and that's why our ancient philosophers taught us the importance of adaptability, because change is constant and not fixed; our lives are the result of constant change in our environment, feelings, emotions, interpersonal relationships, religion, and so on, and those who adapt easily win life, whereas others rot in the past, are unable to move on with their lives, and are depressed.

Like "Morita Therapy," embrace the imperfections in your life, welcome them with open arms, and acknowledge that the sentiments or emotions you're experiencing are valid. Simply accept how things are and then figure out how to mend them or overcome your own demons.

I'm about halfway through the book, but I'm looking forward to get more insights and teachings from Ikigai.

I definitely suggest this book to everyone who has ever felt empty on the inside, unable to discover their purpose in life, or simply lost.

Sincerely, Ayei 🌻

[butch-chastity]

tell me about ur fiction podcast!!

:) ok yeah podcast

elevator pitch straight from my outline:

edit 12/6/22: this wasn't supposed to take a long time to write, but i couldn't figure out an accurate way to describe what is going on in short-form. I have an outline already, but an online doesn't work well in a tumblr post, so i wasn't quite sure what to say. I think I have it down now, though. enjoy.

ok. so I am going to talk about this, and you're going to see that there is a large amount of characters listed. I want you to look in my eyes now. i know there are a lot of characters. you're not allowed to tell me, "hey luke that's a lot of characters" because i KNOW it's a lot of characters. it's an anthology (kind of), there's supposed to be a lot of characters. very few of them matter. in the grand scheme of things, you're only seeing slide 1 out of 5. ok? don't even worry about it.

ok. this podcast is kind of an anthology. most of the characters are introduced by a series of stories in the beginning, which makes up the bulk of the "true crime" cases covered on the podcast-within-a-podcast.

HOWEVER, because the stories are related to one another, it's not technically an anthology. it doesn't really matter, but i'm calling it an anthology anyway.

the beginning of the podcast is mostly concerned with establishing tone, characters, world, and so on, so it's a little difficult to explain. however, the main plot is split into three storylines that kind of chase each other around.

the first storyline is what it says on the tin. two true crime podcasters talk about the underground world of vigilante superheroes. this is where the actual anthology happens, and is the vehicle for the main story. even as things get weird and kind of complicated, this storyline specifically ties it all together. the podcast is hosted by two women, hannah and cameron. hannah was a journalism student, but dropped out of college. it's implied several times that the podcast was her idea. cameron is a freelance writer and programmer. cameron suffers from paranoia, and takes extreme measures to obscure the identities of the hosts and any guests or interviewees they have on the podcast. her paranoia usually creates a lot of tension between her and hannah, especially as time goes on. the podcast establishes three things about the world of the story: 1) this podcast is focused mostly on just one city (which i have yet to name, rip). 2) vigilantes with superpowers exist, but this city only has a few heroes with said supernatural abilities, making it less interesting to the media. 3) because they aren't well known or media-significant and are loyal to only one city, these vigilantes go missing or die all the fucking time. bad for them, good for those of us hosting a true crime podcast. most of the characters are introduced via the cases hannah and cameron talk about on this podcast. additionally, it becomes clear somewhat early on that this podcast in-universe has a number of hardcore fans, who request that h&c discuss cases and local vigilantes on a regular basis.

the second storyline follows a pathologist named Rose. she's recently developed carpal tunnel and is currently unable to take notes while doing autopsies, meaning that she now has to take audio notes for her assistant Jessica to transcribe later (yes, ghost of christmas plot contrivance, i'm aware). to cut all the bullshit: it becomes clear very quickly that Rose is a vigilante, and that she fucking hates her day job. she's trying to work her way up from pathologist to city coroner, so that she's able to more easily access data on missing persons and have custody of sensitive information concerning her friends & coworkers on the vigilante side of things. she's also highly motivated to find information on her parents, who were arguably the city's first vigilantes from way back in the day, and were also the first set of vigilantes to go missing. occasionally, Rose as the narrator is replaced temporarily by her assistant, Jessica, and Jessica is occasionally replaced by Rose's daughter, Valerie. rose's goals and view of the world is the most direct voice of opposition against the narratives hannah and cameron discuss in their podcast. she regularly contradicts what they say or theorize. i want to emphasize that even though i'm not a true crime fan and this fiction podcast is pretty critical of tc podcasts in general, h&c and rose are not true opposites and aren't bad vs. good reflections of one another. if anything, this podcast is more focused on asking stuff like, "is telling a complete, whole story possible? even with you have 'both sides' telling their POV?" and also places an emphasis on what ISN'T said, which is best emphasized by storyline 3.

storyline 3 tends to be the most confusing. for clarification: Rose's storyline starts a little late compared to the main podcast, but still appears, at latest, only about 1/4 of the way through the story. storyline 3 however, appears a while after the halfway mark. for further context, the podcast can bisected into before and after the murder of a vigilante jane doe*. this vigilante (codename: myrmidon) goes missing and dies immediately after appearing on hannah and cameron's podcast, which brings a lot of attention on hannah and cameron and changes the structure of the podcast permanently. it's at this point that jessica (rose's assistant) takes over rose's role as the audio-notes narrator, and also is the point at which the podcast becomes more abstract. cameron's paranoia gets the better of her, and the attention kind of goes to hannah's head (it's more nuanced than that, but that's essentially what happens). while jessica is taking over and hannah & cameron are kind of losing it, storyline 3 is introduced. we begin to hear more audio-notes, similar to Rose's notes from before, but this time from the city coroner named virginia volkov. however, NONE of the details virginia is recounting are even remotely similar to what both rose and h&c have given to us so far. additionally, she has a weird way of discussing the cases she's investigating; it's like virginia lives in a 1930s/40s noir detective thriller. and most interestingly: the jane doe that was murdered after appearing on hannah and cameron's show? wherever virginia is broadcasting from, jane doe is there too, and is apparently helping her investigate the cases she has on her roster. this is really all I want to say about storyline 3,, it's weird to explain and doesn't make sense without the full context of the story. sooooo <3 *there's a lot to say about vigilante jane doe. you'll see in the relationship web below that she really affects everyone. her real name does appear within the story, and she is a really important part of it, but she's more of a metaphor than a character.

i put a lot of my early ideas on a powerpoint. i've cleaned them up, and here's some of my favorite slides:

thank you for your interest ella, i love you so much.

[sylverstorms]

Cassandra x Maiden ----Anonymity Ch. 11 (NSFW) (END)

Ch.1 Ch2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 Ch.10

If you are curious to know what my version of Alexia looks like, check here

All maids are dismissed from dinner at night.

The doors are kept sealed shut. It is clear whatever the Dimitrescus are discussing is not for ears outside of their family's to overhear.

You are thankful for the windows you have to focus on repairing while they talk. It keeps you from overthinking and that keeps you sane.

Once everything is fixed, the only physical sign of the nightmarish day you had is Cassandra's sickle, still embedded within what is no doubt a priceless painting.

You approach slowly, as though the weapon has a will of its own and can turn right around to finish the job of gutting you. Your fingers close around the leather handle. The first pull does nothing. The blade is so firmly lodged it won't budge an inch.

But you are nothing if not determined.

That is what you busy yourself with until you see a familiar fly come to land on your shoulder. It doesn't cut at your flesh, but it does bite and tug on your shirt. You understand the silent command to follow.

The insect leads you to the dining room. The table is cleaned, but the daughters are all still there, talking in hushed tones among themselves, poker faces adorning their expressions.

Three sets of yellowish eyes immediately fall to the sickle in your hand. Bela raises an amused eyebrow. The redhead whistles. "That looks sexy on you~"

"Can't imagine it would look as good in me." You give Cassandra a pointed look as you pull the chair beside her, but she only shrugs and leans back, motioning for you to hand it over.

"No... did you throw it at her?" Daniela guffaws. "And you missed?"

A sour grimace comes from the brunette. "I wasn't trying that hard..."

"What if I hadn't dodged?" you ask.

"...well. It's good that you did." Cassandra looks down at her manicured nails, as apologetic as she'll let herself be in front of her sisters.

"Do I want to know what was hit instead of Alexia?" Bela carefully asks.

"You really don't." Cassandra shakes her head and they leave it at that for both their sake.

"So." Bela speaks up after a brief moment of silence. "After our discussion with mother, we are to inform you that you're free to come and go from the castle as you please. Cassandra's key is as much hers as it is yours, now. But. Should any other maid escape using it or learn of our weakness, we'll have to do something nobody here wants."

"We'll have to brutally murder you to make an example. And whoever knows." Daniela cuts in and Cassandra gives her a glare. You aren’t looking forward to learning what their interpretation of the word ‘brutal’ is like.

"Yeah I... I could have guessed that." you reply.

"But I'm sure you're smart enough to not let that happen." Bela states. "This settles everything, I think."

"Not everything." Cassandra retorts, a shadow around her eyes.

"Cassandra, drop it. You heard what mother said." The blonde's tone grows harsh.

"What did she say, other than what we already knew?" comes the sharp bite back. "Why is she so vague every time one of us asks how we came to be?"

"I'm sure she has a good reason. What does it even matter about before?"

"Because I'm sick of having nightmares about people I don't remember!" Cassandra slams her hands onto the table. Both you and Daniela flinch back a bit.

You could have already guessed Alcina is not their biological mother. But a lot of puzzle pieces fall into place before your eyes now. And this new picture you're starting to see of the Dimitrescu family isn't a pretty one at all.

The tension between the two siblings is enough to electrify the air around the table.

"Did you ever consider it's probably for the best that you never do remember them?" Bela asks, her irritation ice-cold as opposed to Cassandra's sizzling fire. "Maybe there's a reason nightmares are all that's left."

You can see your lover's jaw clench. Cassandra's fingers curl into white-knuckled fists as she sits back down. "Don't you get these flashes? These almost-memories?"

"No." Bela says as she stands to leave. "I don't get them. And even if I did, I don't much care for leftovers."

"Daniela?" Cassandra asks, turning to her younger sister.

"I uh... I gotta go do a... thing. Bye now!" The redhead disperses into a swarm right there, before any more can be said.

Cassandra huffs in an exasperated, 'of course' manner. Only the two of you are left in the gigantic room, but you're not sure if you should speak up. You're not exactly confident in your ability to comfort others, nor can you tell where she and you currently stand. It doesn't look like either of you has the energy for any type of loaded talk.

You need each other, that much is as certain as the sun’s rise and fall.

And that's enough, for now.

-

-

Within the next few days, Cassandra and you take your time gravitating back together.

You let the thought of her ripping you in half slowly bleed away and she probably does the same with the notion of you using her weakness against her.

It starts with little touches, on your shoulder or your hand, as you make plans to spend a night or two in your house at the village once the temperature allows it.

Then one evening she comes to your room complaining about Daniela just like the old times and it feels only natural to rub her back like you used to.

Cassandra leans into you like a purring cat.

"Oh, you're so warm..." she sighs, resting her head atop your shoulder.

Absent-mindedly, you bring your travelling fingers up to her nape, pressing at a tiny knot of tension there with your thumb. A little moan slips past her lips –you're aware of just how close to touching your neck they are– and it hits you straight in the gut. You've missed drawing these sounds out of her.

Cassandra shifts against you and every minuscule brush of her lithe form on yours brings sparks to life. Her finger reaches under your chin to tip it her way.

"If you want us to stop here I need to leave now." she speaks with that impatience in the edges of her voice you recognize well.

"What happens if you stay?" you ask. It's not just your body warming at the thought of keeping her close.

"Don't tempt me, Alexia." Her lower lip just barely traces yours as she says it. "I'm not good at resisting and you know it."

You know it. Maybe that's why you tempt her with another almost-kiss in the first place. You could never deny how badly you wanted her and that certainly hasn't changed.

Cassandra crashes your mouths together hungrily, like she's been left without it for too long and now she can't go another second without having you. Her leg crosses over yours to lift herself into straddling you, two strong thighs bracketing your hips tight.

She's trying, you can tell, to not tear both your clothes off and have what she craves hard and fast and right there.

You keep a smirk to yourself when you slip your tongue into her mouth and unhook the buttons of her outfit extra slow. Her nails press into your shoulders. You refuse to speed up.

"Can you go any faster?" she breathily pants once you trail your lips to her neck.

"I can." you say. And lightly bite her.

She's one step away from ripping your shirt off, you can tell from how her fingers curl on the fabric. So you make the smarter choice and distract her with another little bite where you know she likes it best, just underneath her ear, then guide her clothes off of her.

Cassandra pushes you back into the mattress and kisses you again while her cool hands make short work of your clothes. You let her grind her hips into you for some measure of relief as you continue to suck and nibble on her flushed, sensitive skin. Her hands find purchase on your sheets when she no longer trusts her control to have them on you.

"Will you touch me already?" she growls into your ear. You can feel how badly she needs it from the way she shakes on every caress near her center, but this is your payback for that sickle throw.

"I am." you give her a smirk, then lightly push a fingertip into tight, wet heat to cut off her response.

"Ah. I— fuck Alexia!" You've never heard her curse before. And you can't figure out why it's so sinfully hot. “Oh, yes, darling, there!”

As much as she deserves to be tormented for the fright she gave you, you can hardly contain your own lust when she's moving on top of you like this, calling you ‘darling’ and hers.

Both of you come undone not long after, gripping at each other, her soft cries of pleasure filling the room until she lowers her head over your heart, completely spent.

Your fingers gently comb through her wavy hair. For quite some time, Cassandra looks so relaxed you think she has fallen asleep on you.

Until she lifts her head up and nuzzles your jawline, in a way she probably knows kills you every time she does it. Her teeth trap your earlobe. That spells trouble even before she speaks up:

"You didn't think one round would do it, did you? After all, I have yet to pay you back for sneaking into my room and stealing my key, darling…"

Well.

It turns out you won a battle and started a war that lasts throughout the night. And it's only the first, you're sure, of many to come.

For once in your life, you can't wait for what's next.

[chibimyumi]

Silly question, but regarding the whole thing with Sebastian's offer to bring R!Ciel back from the dead, how would that even have worked? Sebastian is manipulative, sure, but I don't think even he's capable maintaining that ruse indefinitely, especially once multiple people get involved, and it's not like he can hypnotize people. What do you think- would the demon have just shapeshifted into the dead earl, or are we looking at some kind of morbidly hilarious Weekend At Bernie's situation here?

【Response to: Will UT use Bizarre Phantomhive Dolls to lure O!Ciel?】

Dear Anon,

It is not a silly question at all! But the answer is very simple; Sebas wouldn’t have to do anything as long as his master does not manage to bind him completely and effectively. It is a bit similar to what I have written before in this post about what Sebas would do if somebody asked for teleportation or mind-reading powers. We’re dealing with this ⇊ piece of Trash™, after all.

Now, let us look at how everything would have worked in practice depending on how the contract was discussed.

The Importance of Phrasing

First of all, the execution of a term about reviving the dead would depend entirely on how the order is phrased. Whether Sebas can lie or not does not matter one bit.

With important contracts and laws, it is of paramount importance that no loopholes and freedom to interpretation are left. And yet, if we pay attention to chapter 138, nowhere do Sebas and O!Ciel discuss how the contract terms need to be phrased exactly. From this, we can tell that in this universe, law is that the way terms are phrased is in great part dependent on how the demon likes it. Demons are free to paraphrase term demands.

By not diverting from O!Ciel’s specific demands, Sebas was actually already being “fairly kind”. During the signing for example, O!Ciel said: “you must never lie to me,” but then he also added that “all my questions shall be answered truthfully from now on.”** (this is my translation from the original Japanese. Will explain at the bottom of this post.) If Sebas really wanted to, the first term could also have been:

This would have meant that as long as Sebas is not ANSWERING a question, he could still lie. So if a later wish O!Ciel makes revolves around reviving his dead family, it’d not be a question, so Sebas could still lie and say he agrees to the term... and then just not carry it out.

Now, what would have happened if O!Ciel did manage to effectively seal off the demon’s lies like he did in the manga, and he asked for the revival of his family?

As demonstrated, the way contract terms are phrased are in much control of Sebas. So if O!Ciel asks: “Revive my dead family”, Sebas could easily turn it into: “reunite the contractee with his deceased family.” And as you can see, whether Sebas’ lies are sealed first or second wouldn’t matter one bit, because paraphrasing is not necessarily lying, after all.

In this case, O!Ciel would truly, truly, truly be screwed, because then he’d sign a contract term that ‘legally’ allows Sebas to kill him. That’s the easiest way to “reunite” the Phantomhives, after all. As I wrote before in the post linked above: “As long as there is no clause in the contract that makes Sebas prevent AND forbid his master from being exposed to danger,” Sebas is free to “reunite” O!Ciel with his dead family.

In this sense the Sebastian roleplayer @akumadeshitsumon​ was very right in this reply about the shortest contract term lasting mere seconds, as we now fully understand how powerful Sebas can be just because he’s so eloquent.

Now you may ask, what IF there is a clause similar to term three?

Even so it would not matter too much to Sebas as long as the hypothetical second term is phrased as “reunite the contractee with his deceased family”, and signed. The steps would look as follows then:

Term 1: “Do not lie to contractee” ➡ Lies or no lies don’t matter as long as paraphrasing is possible within magic law.

Term 2: “Reunite the contractee with deceased family members” ➡ Signed contract term to obey.

Term 3: “Do not betray, but protect the contractee” ➡  Because contract term 2 is valid and agreed upon mutually, fulfilling this term would not be “betraying”. And what “dangers” you protect someone from is subjective. One could interpret “protect contractee” as “protecting the contractee from not getting his second deal fulfilled”, or “from solitude of NOT being reunited with his beloved family”.

Conclusion

So, to conclude, as canonically demonstrated, a demon has quite a lot of power in manipulating the contract since they have the ability to paraphrase contract terms. Regardless of whether Sebas can lie or not, as long as the contract-terms are phrased and agreed upon in a way that allows Sebas enough wriggle room, this demon could hypothetically end his end of the contract within seconds, never having to break a single sweat.

I hope this helped and had been interesting! (*´ ｀*)ノ⁾⁾⁾

Bonus Translator’s note:

** I re-translated this myself for this because I am being a pedantic arse. The phrasing in the official English translation would have been disastrous😱 for O!Ciel if contract term 1 really became: “from now on you are only allowed to answer my questions truthfully [as service within the contract]”.

That would have meant that besides answering questions, Sebas can’t do ANYTHING for his master. Not fight, not protect, not cook XD And also not sign contract numbers 2 and 3! (By adding “as service within the contract” Sebas could then easily do anything else he pleases as long as it’s not ‘service’.)

Look, don’t get me wrong! 99% of the time the official English translators probably do a marvelous job, and it is a difficult job too. It’s just that in very specific cases wherein Yana purposely chose words VERY carefully because she understands Sebas fully, the official English translations can end up undoing the result of Yana’s carefulness a bit. (Then again... I wonder how many people actually read as carefully as Yana had hoped...)

[prosteticanimals]

10 Things Most People Don't Know About fireinsidemusic

Just one these types of millennial who knocked my socks off was this younger Woman named Anushka, a teenager in her early twenties. Her white t-shirt with "MILLENNIAL" in huge, black, bold letters just caught our rapid interest and we couldn't prevent considering her Special Talent Presentation, here at Nirmiti Academy. The Do it yourself (Do It You) Craft was her unique expertise. She represented a young deal with of your millennials. Moreover, it was her presentation that spoke extra of her as a millennial. She was a real go-getter when it came to existing her unique talent in a unique way. We could see her beaming with delight and contentment to showcase her distinctive expertise to others. She was so psyched that she was talking a mile a moment. She experienced a lot of to mention about it and she or he could go on and on and preserve us glued to her presentation. The millennials like Anushka and several Other folks are determined to work on factors which interest them. Concurrently, I could also see her being struggling to smile and present herself Fortunately. Long gone would be the moments to the millennials where they really feel current and luxuriate in their surroundings. These are the era who feel the continuous want for Digital notice which potential customers them to overshare their life and times on social networking or go inward in deep conscience to find on their own. This leaves them unconnected With all the Bodily world all over them.

Millennials can be a hugely praised and self-assured generation. They can be a really optimistic generation. They may have a greater will need to obtain existence activities in lieu of to accumulate materials prosperity, While they do like to amass things that might help them to delight in These ordeals. Millennials are one of the most educated generation. Since the value tag of education and learning has become so superior and continuing to climb annually, Millennials have grown to be quite savvy with regards to their instructional decisions. Unlike past generations who observed training like a ritual and an investment in their potential, millennials perspective education as an price, Except if it'll empower them to be able to be an improved person. They be expecting instruction that can help them prepare for The brand new alternatives and problems of the age, as opposed to helping them by furnishing fact-primarily based info/understanding. The millennials wish to be challenged by pondering the long run And the way they will contribute to creating a greater society and surroundings. They do not experience the need to come to be "textbook intelligent / book worms".

They are aware that points can be quickly found on line by their very own unbiased action. These are the generation that boasts and thrive on information at finger "simply click". Inside of a world of open up use of knowledge, it will make very little sense to count on the classroom as being a Discussion board for that transfer of knowledge.

In its place, the students Considerably prefer to master in the stories and experiences of Other individuals. These shared stories and activities assistance them to augment their particular encounter by Understanding in the accomplishment and mistakes of others. This helps them avoid creating a similar blunders as their influencers. As a result, they like to speculate more in their money and time on these applications which help them to establish various methods that they could include into their thoughts and final decision-creating method, therefore building a new skill established.

We are unable to disregard The reality that millennials also are a generation of uncertainties and fluctuations. These are the era who likes to help keep switching their gadgets. They grew up with know-how where by anything was at their fingertips. It will become disheartening for them not to get what they want once they want it. The majority of the items have already been handed to them with a silver spoon. This helps make them truly feel entitled to get what they want with out putting in A lot exertion.

However They can be the major workforce of the businesses currently, they do not believe in lifelong work. Lifelong commitment is a fairy tale for the millennials. They generally soar from on career to another since they are often searching for some thing new and much better. These higher expectations turn out to be their downfall and can make them fewer economically steady than their mom and dad.

Millennials are listed here to remain! They are really young, vibrant and energetic and they're the longer term. They are great belongings which the world will have to harness and use. These are the generation which is revolutionizing the planet. They are the budding leaders of tomorrow. They adopt technological innovation and stimulus in the identical breadth. This era can also be a collaborative and social technology that includes a focus on comprehending and setting up their expertise by means of different kinds of medium to find out the responses. It can be for your educator like us to provide an arena for engagement and discovery along with be considered a information specialist and mentor. It can be for learning platform companies like Nirmiti Academy to give an explorative and experiential expertise and produce out their true probable in everyday life and at work. It is this transformational journey that we at Nirmiti Academy look ahead to every single day to master, unlearn and relearn Using these youthful and magical era - the Millennials!

If the above mentioned title confuses you, you may well be missing out on a few of the very best possibilities the world wide web has to offer. Meanwhile, other people are expanding their Professions, getting ready For brand spanking new life as business owners, or are learning new techniques or increasing their knowledge base, normally at little if any Charge.

How are they executing this?

These are accessing MOOCs, or Substantial Open Online Programs. Although platforms are actually offered from elite colleges like MIT and Stanford for virtually ten years, open-supply classes proceed to improve in amount and popularity. Now, even some local people colleges like Wake Specialized University,Situated outdoors Raleigh, NC, offers MOOCs to a global viewers. This growing availability suggests There's now an unbelievable variety of courses available to anybody using an internet connection, in spite of area.

Topics MOOCs cover can differ from contemporary robotics and astronomy to Roman architecture and the American Novel Due to the fact 1945. MIT, for example, has courses centered all-around Mathematics, Engineering, Power and Science, in addition to a stunning variety of lessons concentrating on the Humanities and Fantastic Arts. The University of Michigan gives programs ranging from "Storytelling for Social Modify" to Python, info analytics, and device Finding out. You can also just take Management classes from HEC Paris by way of MOOC, rated via the Economist as having the second strongest small business university alumni network on the planet.

Some MOOCs are intended to be taken for awareness attained, but lots of programs also give you a certification of completion via internet sites like Coursera.org. Certificates of completion--that are unique from class credits--typically cost about $50. Money assist is available for many who qualify.

Factors to Consider a MOOC

There are lots of reasons why a MOOC course could be best for you outside of time management, Despite the fact that most MOOCs allow pupils to work at their own rate, meaning they effortlessly suit into most schedules, Regardless of how busy. Other pros incorporate:

An opportunity to try out A serious just before paying out for faculty classes. Everyone trying to decide over a job path, for The very first time or due to a midlife adjust of path, is aware the aggravation of thinking "Imagine if I'm Incorrect about my choice? The amount money am I going to invest prior to I understand this isn't for me?" MOOCs are a great way to 'dip your toes' in, so to talk, prior to the headache of coping with standard higher education courses and common university prices. You may try out as many courses while you have time for till some thing actually sparks your interest.

Just take classes not available domestically. There are actually pretty much A huge number of MOOC courses obtainable on the web. Even when you reside in Boston (wherever Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Boston Faculty and Boston College are all Found) or Various other comparable College-dense locale, you are able to possibly come across a category or two as a result of MOOC choices not available to you domestically.

Discover (or relearn) a language for free. Not only can you're taking a overseas language program without cost by way of MOOCs, but because of courses taught at foreign universities, You can even train your ear by listening to indigenous speakers. Have a class taught within the language you should find out and comply with alongside employing English subtitles. The 2nd method is a terrific way to effectively double your Discovering, but only works if you already have not less than an intermediate grasp in the language.

If Mastering One more language isn't really large with your to-do checklist, it's possible it ought to be: In 2017, New American Financial state noted employer need for bilingual staff members more than doubled given that 2010. This demand from customers proceeds to grow. Finest languages to check? Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

Create up your resume with wanted competencies. Perhaps there is a far better job at work you know you can do, but your manager doesn't Feel you happen to be capable for it simply because you absence certain abilities. MOOCs are a great way to grow to be proficient in places like HTML coding, Search engine optimization analytics, or no matter what skill you have to come to be the ideal human being for that occupation.

Adhere to the backlinks in this article To find out more on a lot of MOOC classes. MOOCs can also be out there as a result of many different academic platforms, which include Coursera, Udemy, and edX. But MOOCs may be accessed directly via Each individual university, and can be found by making use of the following Google research restricting syntax entered into your google lookup bar:

internet site:edu MOOC subject

By way of example, if I enter web site:edu MOOC robotics, I get about 7,000 final results, like this Introduction to Robotics Specialization from Penn Engineering. By using this syntax, you are able to usually bypass the clearinghouses and find just what exactly You are looking for on university websites, even classes the clearinghouses might not supply.

Pleased MOOCing!

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Came across this excellent short essay I’d bookmarked on the episode “Inquisition” as well as Alexander Siddig’s role as Julian Bashir and the several ways DS9 was ahead of its time. It’s over on AO3, as part of a long series of reviews, and I’m linking to it, but in the interest of having it shared and discussed here on Tumblr, I’m posting it in its entirety below.

- Wendy 

I Read It So You Don't Have To: Book Reviews, Television and Film Ratings, and Short Media Essays by tb_ll57

Chapter 9: Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (Series 6, Episode 18)

You know, I once spent money on DVD sets. It's sort of annoying that it's all on the internet now. I mean I bought it for the Extras, and joining all the dots it's a good thing I had the DVDs as those VHS tapes really didn't last too long, but still.

Anyway, it's incredibly refreshing to watch a show like DS9 and realise how amazing and thoroughly good television can be. DS9 has a lot of the usual Star Trek faults in its early series, but something happened to it around Series 4. It transformed into a heavily serialised, character-orientated storytelling and cinematic art form. Each episode became a mini-movie; the production values are fantastic, down to the carefully plotted camera shots, the rhetorical flourish of the snappy dialogue, the narrative that built larger and larger arcs and yet was never afraid of a call-back. There's very few shows on today that match the quality of those 1990s types of shows; the sheer dedication long-form narrative is probably unparalleled in today's mainstream television format. It requires and expects a commitment from the audience that producers seem to fear these days. The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and other American cable series are reaching for the same thing, but it's almost quintessentially anti-British. I imagine it has a lot to do with budget, but it also seems to be a cultural artefact. British television lends itself well to shorter series, episodic plotting, and set-pieces rather than long-form character development. When we try to go American, we end up with Downton Abbey, and I'm sure I speak for many at this point in time when I say we quite wish we wouldn't.

Then, too, DS9 was politically prescient. Did you know that DS9 invented both the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (UK)-cum-Patriot Act (USA) and the rendition of Arab men to black-site prisons? It's true. I'm talking about, of course, the excellent episode 'Inquisition'. 'Inquisition' is one of the best of DS9's episodes, reaching almost unsurpassed heights of tension, character development, narrative twists, and sheer Aristotlean prowess of conflict creation.

It builds on a character who'd been a little lost in previous series. Dr Bashir was hardly a cypher, but he was more archetype than fully-fleshed human being until about Series 5. 'The Wire' explored Bashir's humanity-- his expansive compassion, with all its consequences and its personal costs-- but we essentially hadn't learnt anything new about Bashir since the pilot. He's a good doctor, he's a nice guy, he's a little arrogant in his abilities and intellect, he's both open-minded and naive in that way of liberal bleeding-heart Star Trek heroes, and... that's about it, until the Series 5 revelation that he's genetically enhanced. Suddenly he's not just those things-- he's those things and a fraud. A liar. A man who's hidden a dangerous and explosive secret for thirty years, perhaps so deeply that he himself didn't even think about it most of the time. But the intimation that Bashir had any kind of depths to him created instantaneous layers. Suddenly the slightly contradictory facts of his childhood come into focus. Suddenly the blank slate of his life previous to his post on DS9 is deliberate, not careless, writing. His friendship with Garak, the consummate outsider, becomes a desperate search for personal truth looking into a mirror of a future of a exile, not a foil of Otherness.

And most importantly of all, Bashir's history of questionable decisions must come into new light. He's not just a naif with a youthful zeal for saving life in all its forms, even his enemies. When you wrangle with that amount of genetically enhanced intelligence, you have to anticipate that he weighed the consequences and chose his path knowing more than you did about how it might end. That's where 'Inquisition' is so brilliant. Julian Bashir is not an easy character-- he was hard to love in the beginning, then hard to beat, and suddenly he's hard to accept as part of the Star Trekparadigm. To confront him within the bounds of that very paradigm-- that truth, that justice, that very rigid moral code that demands an odd kind of obedience to a uniform way of life-- Bashir suddenly looks suspicious.

'Inquisition' took everything we knew about Bashir and re-interrogated it. Why is he so dedicated a doctor? Is he really saving lives-- or is he just trying to be better than all of us? Does he express such compassion for aliens and enemies because he views all life as equal, or because he's secretly in sympathy for their Otherness? And for being different, Bashir is interrogated, stripped of his rights, treated like an outsider, vilified by his own command. His Captain, that father figure Sisko, doesn't believe him when he says it's a frame job.

And the show very deliberately puts the audience in the dark. Our sympathy is always with Bashir, but we're allowed to doubt him along with his friends-- to the point where Julian even doubts himself. And suddenly the colourless world of Star Trek has a dark-skinned man being accused by white police of complicity in a war with religious and imperial overtones; he's a spy, he's a liar, he's taking advantage of our open society to bring us down from within. Julian Bashir becomes a literal darkness within Star Trek's pristine lightness. The layers in 'Inquisition' are amazing. Remember, too, that this was written in 1996. An Arab character gets accused of being a sleeper agent and, when the accusation builds to the right pitch of hysteria, the white policeman accusing him uses an executive order of unimaginable reach and power to remove Bashir from his right to counsel and protection to a secret prison to undergo enhanced interrogation techniques. Damn, Star Trek.

But that's not the end. Bashir's innocence is perhaps never truly in doubt. While we wonder and while we view him in a new light and while Bashir himself is pushed, eventually, to admit that he's made decisions that he wouldn't take back but which understandably place him outside the realm of Star Trek's bright moral universe, we know in our hearts he's not an evil man. So the revelation that he's actually innocent is no real shock. What is-- and here's where 'Inquisition' goes from good episode to great episode-- is that the same qualities that cast Julian into shame and doubt are the qualities that make him a perfect spy for real. Julian gets an offer to join Star Trek's equivalent of MI5, or the KGB, or the CIA-- and being the wonderful Julian Bashir that he is, he of course refuses.

And then-- when this goes from being a great episode to a fantastic episode-- his captain orders him to join them anyway. To spy on them from within as a double agent.

It's important to remember that the Original and Next Generation Star Treks would never have risked something so dark, something so grey-edged, and something that implied such serialisation. Picard would have thundered and clashed with his admirals and reamed them all out at episode's end. Sisko admits that Section 31 exists and decides to go after it-- but not on his own terms. He puts his crew in danger to do it. And Julian is a particularly vulnerable character, for all the reasons 'Inquisition' has just explained. There's very little protection for Julian if he does as he's ordered, and his grim, confused expression at the end suggests he knows it. And knows that for all the reasons he's vulnerable, he also has to do as he's told. He's too suspicious if he doesn't provide his commanders reasons to trust him.

Alexander Siddig has gone on to play a range of Arab-ish baddies since he's left Star Trek, in the post-terrorism age. It's interesting to look back at Star Trek and recall that he was cast not as an Arab doctor, nor even as an English one; in the peculiarly American slant that Star Trek always had, Bashir was merely a little exotic, but almost blandly so, a little high-class but not identifiably so, a little foreign, but still totally familiar. And he was cast in foil to Elim Garak, the most obvious 'Outsider' that ever was, so the image of a brown-skinned doctor born to lower-class parents who enhanced their physically and mentally retarded child is all too easily lost against the background of aliens and lost souls. But I think Bashir was one of Sid's best creations: someone fully human, maybe even super-human-- enhanced, yes, but also superlatively sensitive to the demands of humanity because he knew better than most how easy it is to be stripped of that humanity. In the most haunting line of 'Dr Bashir, I Presume?', Bashir says to his father, 'You're not my father. You're my architect.' 'Inquisition' preys on every fear we have about our own foolish youth, our rash actions, our innermost doubts about our identity and our inclusiveness and our ability to be related to by our fellow humans. At the end of the day, we want to be believed in. It's all too easy for that facade to crumble.

[ original source: AO3 ]