#i'm by no means an expert but i can actually hold my own?? more than i realized??

[practically-an-x-man]

practicing for my audition today had me realize I'm actually a pretty good guitar player?

[matan4il]

Hello! What kind of power does the recent ICC statement hold, and what kind of precedent will the arrest of Netanyahu and other several high ranking members of the Israeli government set? I'm genuinely frightened, as I can't imagine that the consequences will be anything but utterly disastrous

Hi Nonnie!

Honestly, I've read and heard so much about this topic, I will do my best to convey what I've been exposed to and processed, but keep in mind that I am not a legal expert.

First, I just wanna point out that for the time being, the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan has only asked for arrest warrants against Hamas' leaders and Israeli ones. They've not been granted yet.

Second, a short explanation on the difference between the UN's two international courts.

The ICJ (International Court of Justice) is where states can be "judged" and "be sentenced," with some judicial outcomes having more real life consequences than others. This is upheld through conventions these states are signed on to (apparently, this is somewhat problematic, because it means the judges are not necessarily using established laws, rather they go by loose and open to interpretation statements that exist in the conventions), while the ICC (International Criminal Court) can only be used to prosecute individuals, not states, for their own crimes that they personally committed or oversaw.

The ICC's record in actually bringing major human rights violators to justice is... rather poor. It's not very good at getting these leaders extradited, so the court can put them on trial (because it's really easy to not travel at all to avoid extradition, especially for a wealthy tyrant who got rich from their war crimes, or to only travel to countries the criminal has reason to believe won't extradite him... shall we talk again about South Africa not extraditing Omar al-Bashir when he was on its soil, despite being responsible for countless murders in his country of Sudan?) and then, even on the rare occasion when they do get a leader extradited and put on trial... more than one ended up being exonerated by the court. Most people prosecuted there are NOT brought to justice.

In the case of Israel, it is NOT a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. It initially wanted to join, but then had reason to believe the ICC might end up being used to wage political warfare instead of justice. I think seeing this proves Israel was right. BTW, the US ended up not being a party for the same reason. The ICC can only investigate and prosecute for 1 of 4 possible crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against peace. This means if you want to prosecute someone at the ICC, you HAVE to accuse them of one of these crimes, giving people motivation to make false accusations if need be), and only if that person's own country is "unwilling" or "unable" to do so.

That means Israel has several reasons to point out that the ICC's chief prosecutor is abusing his power: Israel not being a party to the Rome Statute means he has no jurisdiction over us (which means Israelis prosecuted will not even "get to" appear in court and plead their case, because as subjects of Israeli law, they can't recognize the court), it has not yet been established beyond doubt that any of the aforementioned crimes has actually been committed (how do you prosecute someone for a murder that might not have been a murder?) and lastly, Israel as a democratic country has an independent judicial system, which is both willing and able to investigate and put on trial its leaders (this is demonstrated by the fact that several of our past leaders have been put on trial, some even found guilty and imprisoned, and that our current prime minister, one of the two Israeli men the ICC is targeting, was and still is on trial in Israel, and is under threat of imprisonment).

On top of that, there's of course a few more signs that point to the prosecutor's behavior not being "kosher." For one thing, there's the fact that by requesting arrest warrants against Hamas' Sinwar and Israel's Bibi and Gallant, Khan created a moral equivalence between Hamas, the antisemitic, genocidal terrorist organization, which we KNOW carried out on Oct 7 (as well as before and since) war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity, and the elected leaders of a democratic state, waging a defensive war started by said genocidal terrorist organization. There's also the fact that Khan was supposed to come to Israel for the stated purpose of collecting evidence, but he canceled the trip, and made this move instead. What is he basing his request on, if he hasn't completed the measures that he himself thought were necessary to have a proper idea of what's happening here? This is also a precedent, because this is the first time ever when a democratic state's leaders are prosecuted by the ICC, something that as an idea shouldn't happen at all, since democratic countries have judicial systems willing and able to prosecute their leaders.

Now as an idea, if the ICC prosecutes individual Israeli leaders, not states, that shouldn't have an influence on Israel as a country. In reality, it does.

Because the prosecutor's move creates this false moral equivalence between Hamas' leaders, men responsible for insane death tolls for both Israelis and Palestinians for decades through their violent, extremist, genocidal antisemitic ideology and corresponding actions, and Israel's leaders, who are waging a defensive war, in which Israel is providing the enemy controlled territory with water, electricity, humanitarian aid, does its best to differentiate between civilians and terrorists, and even has a legal team to make sure all orders and struck military targets comply with International Humanitarian Law. This moral equivalence plays into every anti-Israel lie and dehumanizing propaganda, and enables the antisemitic wave we've been seeing around the world, so this is def gonna affect Israel for the worse, not to mention Jewish communities everywhere.

But it will also have consequences for Israel as it's painted as more and more of a pariah. "Why did you overstep your own jurisdiction and prosecute a democratic country's leaders?" will get twisted around to "this is proof that Israel is not a democracy and is committing war crimes!" which will make many wanna stay away from us, even though they'd be wrong. If Israel does become more and more shunned on the international stage, not because of actual crimes, but due to public perception, then this can hurt its financial, commercial, scientific and cultural ties. Basically, anything that requires international collaboration can be hurt, and the people who will pay the price will be the regular people in Israel. Ironically, this might also come back to bite the regular Palestinians in the ass. The Palestinians have never done anything (not under Hamas and not under the Palestinian Authority) to develop their own financial system, independent from Israel, so when Israelis will suffer financially, so will the Palestinians. The regular ones, the Hamas leaders and terrorists will continue to enjoy the donated money and stolen humanitarian and financial aid.

Lastly, the ICJ in its case against Israel (submitted by the same South Africa which has failed to extradite al-Bashir, and which enables its own political party guilty of genocidal chants) might be able to now quote Khan's request as "support" that Israel is committing a genocide. Just notice the possible loop between these two courts. The ICJ will take years to decide on this case, but in the meantime, can decide on provisional measures, which will punish Israel as if it has already been found guilty. The ICC, as an idea, is supposed to rely on the ICJ's findings and not prosecute anyone on a crime that hasn't yet been determined to have happened. But by requesting these warrants anyway, the ICJ can rely on the ICC to justify even further provisional measures against Israel.

This is a mockery of justice, a political weaponization of courts against a democratic state whose greatest crime is being misjudged based on the same ignorance and hatred that in the past have led to the type of genocide (against Jews) that these courts are meant to help prevent.

(for the record, several states have condemned the prosecutor for its moral equivalence of Israel and Hamas, but they also seem to understand that this blatant violation of some core principles regarding how the ICC is supposed to operate means that one day, that court can be used against others, too)

Footnote: Khan has never prosecuted anyone for crimes committed in other human-created disaster areas, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Philippines, Afghanistan and Venezuela, despite investigations there, and to the best of my knowledge has never ordered investigations into other areas where HUNDREDS of thousands have been murdered, such as Yemen and Syria, or regime leaders whose states sponsor global terrorism, like Iran.

Yeah, one day people are going to look back on this and try to figure out how the ICC and ICJ went so terribly wrong.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[currentlyobsessedwithobi-wan]

Random thoughts about the Jedi Code.

(Reminder that I am no expert, so what I'm going to write at are just that : thoughts and opinions)

I guess what irks me is that, in my opinion, those who said that the Jedi Code/mantra is wrong take it way too literally.

People sees sentence like :

There is no emotion, there is peace

Or

There is no passion, there is serenety

And immediately thinks "oh, the Jedi aren't allowed to have or express emotions. How unhealthy !"

Now, I'm not religious but my mother is and so when I was younger I sometimes went to the church with her. And of course, I know the jedi order and christianism isn't the same thing at all, but what I realised is that religious writing have deeper meaning than it seems. And sometimes this meaning isn't quite obvious at the first read. Otherwise, there wouldn't be someone willing to spends minutes explaining one single sentences.

And even if we don't talk about religion, there's also philosophy. I don't know about other countries but where I'm from philosophy exams consisted in reading a complex text (sometimes long, sometimes short), difficult to understand and then "rewrite" in our own words and making it easier too understand. And sometimes I will actually spend an hour trying to understand it, because often the meaning of the text wasn't obvious. Because I had to study it and actually make an effort trying to understand it.

What am I trying to say ? Each field of knowledge has it's own vocabulary, it's way of expressing itself. Same words don't always have the same meaning depending in which field it's used (like attachment in psychology vs attachment in Buddhism). And knowledge, especially the philosophycal kind, is usually expressed in a more complex way than we would like.

I don't think I'm doing a good job at explaining this. Ironically, I'm not very good with words.

Basically, when I see "There is no emotion, there is peace", or there is no passion, there is harmony", I don't immediately think "the Jedi can't have emotion". I think about how none of the Jedi are emotionless, I think about Obi-wan joking with Anakin. I think about Obi-wan laughing in the elevator scene. I think about how kind Plo Koon is. I think about looking so broken as he hold his dying Master. I think about obi-wan getting angry at Anakin before the fight with Dooku. (I realise of course, that obi-wan is my main exemple, but since this is mostly based on the movies it's either he or Anakin). Anyway, if Jedi were forbidden to have emotion, he would have been expulsed a long time ago. But I also think about how Yoda said that "fear lead to anger. Anger leads to hate. And hate lead to suffering". And so, all of that considered, when I read "there is no emotion, there is peace" what I understand is that one shouldn't allow their emotion to control them. One can feel emotion and acknowledge them, but should always have a clear head, be balanced, before acting. Because instantly acting on emotions, mean acting on impluse. And acting on impulse when lives are on the line isn't the best decision, in my opinion.

Anyway, I'm not sure if most of you will be able to understand what i tried to say since I am, I repeat, bad with words (and English isn'tmy first language, I only use it on social media), but I wanted to share anyway.

[iztea]

They still feel off specially the eyes i could feel them about to manifest their own life and run off

Even my linework is ... Idk what's wrong and it's the problem maybe I'm staring too much but I don't think so

Sorry for bothering alot but i loved your last advice ty

i think the main problem with the first picture has to do with the proportions and anatomy of the lower body area aka the neck and shoulders. i'd make the shoulders wider and add some sort of form to the neck so that it looks believable instead of a flat rectangle shape ( maybe make it slimmer a bit too? although that might be just a stylistic choice so you do you). That's the first thing i'd fix because otherwise the head looks too big in comparison to the rest of the body, and it can throw you off

I actually think you did a great job with the eyes, they have a lot of life and that comes from the fact that they are the most rendered part of your piece, which is not a bad thing. The thing is, while it is true that the eyes are the main focal point of a face and portrait in general, that doesn't mean you can neglect the other parts, so i think it is also a consistency issue or not figuring out exactly what sort of style or rendering you want to go with that holds you back (which is totally fine and normal ofc). So let's pick a semi-realistic stylized rendering style for this since this is the vibe i'm getting from this piece.

If that's the style we're going for, then the face should have a bit more form. You have to remember that our facial features ( eyes, nose, lips) are connected with each other via the planes of the face, right? So, for a semirealistic style, revisit your reference and try to idenitify what those planes are and how they connect to those features, and most importantly, where the shadows hit, and just accentuate them more, because at the moment they look like 3rd forms plastered over a 2d surface which is not right, our skin has form as well. Color-wise, don't be afraid to go darker with the shadows, they really make your drawings pop. Without looking at a reference, i'd def add some shadow under the lips, a bit where the lips connect to the nose, under the neck, and in the lower body area.

I'm really trying to avoid the most basic answer which is " practice anatomy !!1! " because everyone can say that however, at the end of the day, this is the main thing the face lacks. And tbvh you don't have to actually know anatomy, you just gotta know some proportions things that make the face look believable enough. I feel like the features are mostly just drawn from the reference without an understanding of the structure behind it. Something tells me that in the reference picture, the person had their head tilted a bit upwards, but here it's kinda flat and the features are just painted without following the motion. Try to draw over your reference picture the vertical and horizontal lines and make up the head shape behind it to figure out the way it is tilting and facing, because the lips, eyes nose, etc will follow that same sort of flow, they're not stationary. I'd also make the eyes a bit smaller, or maybe make the skull bigger bc i think they are touching the outer edge too much now, and also narrow the distance between the nose and lips just a bit. Kinda hard to explain without actually doing it myself. But really, try to play with that, and try getting comfy with drawing 3d forms i know it's easier said than done but..... there really isn't any shortcut unfortunately As for the lineart drawing, yes it's actually pretty solid, i like that duplicate blur thing you did, i'm familiar with that technique and it def has its perks so that's great. Im not an expert on lineart, however here i think there are too many " unnecessary" lines that could easily be omitted (purple). Less is more and all that~ The hair strands at the end feel too stiff and identical (green). If you notice, they all just end in this " V" shape and they rarely overlap thus making the image look flat. Try to break this pattern by introducing more spontaneity aka random hairflies, making the strands overlap, adding more shape variety etc

Make sure that the lines connect properly whenever they meet, and also although you already did it and i think that's great, you can make some lines even thicker, go even further and add even more lineweight. As a general thing, usually, the exterior or contour lines are thicker and whatever it is inside is thinner so experiment with that, you can start from the nose- thicker lines for the nostrils thinner for that nose tip i forgot what it's called and also add thin lines that just hint at the form. Lineart is hardd so i don't blame you, but if you're gonna keep the lineart in, try "shading" with black blocks so to speak, make sure the lineart layer can stand on its own, and pay more attention to the lower part area (neck and shoulders) even if it is less exciting to ink

[shesalewa]

Wanna know what type of comedy happens in my fanfic of Dad Gun?

Incorrect quotes

1.

Gun: sometimes I wonder how the hell I ended up here.

Daniel: ACHOO!

Gun: bless you DanDan.

Daniel: thanks dad.

2.

Gun: mind if I get excited for a little bit? Have any of you seen a grown man smile? *Smiles very creepily*

Everyone but goo and Daniel: *visibility shocked and sacred*

Gun: every time I show emotions, it disturbs a lot of you.

3.

Eli: which one of you was gonna tell me that Tea tastes different if you put it into hot water?

Olly: you're putting it in... COLD WATER?!

Jake: ELI. ANSWER THE QUESTION ELI.

Eli: yeah? I thought for like 5 years that people just put it into hot water to speed up the TEA-IFFICATION process, didn't realize there was an actual reason.

Olly: YOU DON'T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO BOIL WATER IN THE MICROWAVE FOR 3 MINUTES!?

Johan: WHY. ARE YOU. BOILING IT. IN THE MICROWAVE.

Olly: DO YOU THINK I HAVE THE PATIENCE TO BOIL A CUP OF WATER ON A STOVE!?

Johan: it. takes. LESS. THAN A MINUTE.

Olly: BESTIE IS YOUR STOVETOP POWERED UP BY THE F-CKING SUN?!

Johan: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO BOIL A CUP OF WATER ON A STOVE!?

Olly: LIKE 7 MINUTES!

Samuel: JUST STICK THE MUG ON TOP OF THE STOVE ON MEDIUM HEAT. AND IT BOILS IN LIKE 2 MINUTES, LESS THAN THAT AND YOU USE A SAUCE PAN!

Daniel: *laughing at the drama, somehow he knows how to make tea* YOU'RE PUTTING THE WHOLE MUG ON THE STOVE?! ON MEDIUM HEAT?! ... Your stove is enchanted!

Goo: every single person in this room is a f-cking lunatic.

Gun: DO NONE OF YOU OWN A F-CKING KETTLE?! (Gun an expert Japanese man who loves tea more thsn himself, legit KNOWS how to make tea)

4.

Gun: ... How the hell did I get here.

*the four major crew legit Reeking chaos in his f-cking household*

Daniel: ... I THINK I'm the cause of all this.

5.

Goo: I'm sometimes asked how I'm associated with Gun so often. To the point I just pull out a Marriage certificate, and shut them the hell up.

Olly: hold that sh-t up, you're married to Gun...?

Goo: see what I mean?

6.

Jake: someone told me not to piss off Daniel. What's he gonna do with his short a— kick me in the knee?

Jake: HEY DANNY!

Daniel: oh hey Seonbae what's up-

Jake: *legit pushes Daniel*

Daniel: ...

...

Eli: I'm back- whoa. What the actual f-ck happened here.

Johan: Daniel is beating up Jake, and is kicking his knee and breaking his ankles.

Samuel: what? Why?

Johan: Jake thought Daniel couldn't do sh-t because of Daniel's height.

Olly: Gun would be proud.

7.

Daniel: GUY'S A BOMB IS ON THE TRAIN!

Goo/Jake: OBAMA'S ON THE TRAIN?!

Daniel: NO A BOMB!

Goo: oh good I f-cking hate Obama but I'm not racist or anything.

Jake: I am(joke)

8.

Zack: I'll fight off bad guys and earn money from it! Then I'll become FILTHY RICH HAHAHAH-

Daniel:(you know... It's kind of sad how I'm living most of his life for him...)

9.

Jace: so what's this game about?

Vasco: is about an assistant detective who works as a Gumshoe to help Zack Lee solve a case.

Eli: why Zack Lee?

Vasco: I do not know.

Jace & Daniel: (so it's a fantasy game)

10.

Gun: IM BRINGING. YOU WITH ME. TO GO OUT. SHOPPING. FOR FOOD. *Olly is in trouble but we don't know what trouble*

Olly: I'm not hungry anymore! I have Cupcakes hidden under my bed!*Olly sleeps on the floor in Gun's house, on the floor with Samuel, so where the hell is he hiding his cupcakes.*

11.

Daniel: ALL WOMEN ARE QUEENS!

Olly: IF SHE BREATHES. SHE THOOOOOOO-

12.

Jay: ...(in every family there's the older brother, who has problems but won't talk about it.)

Kitae: hi...!

Jay: ... (The girl who's desperate for a boyfriend)

Joy: HELLO!!! HI!!!

Jay: ... (And the gay Mysterious awkward socially isolated member of the family)

Jay: ... (Oh wait that's me.)

13.

Eugene: STOP LEACHING OFF MY MONEY!

Beakgyeol: (you were broke until I came...)

14.

Samuel: ALL I KNOW IS THAT YOU CAN BE ANNOYING SOMETIMES!!! sigh... I'll be in the dinning room.

Jake: WAIT!

Daniel: (there they go again...)

Johan: I think they broke up... *Whispering*

15.

Gun: which is fine because you're a thief anyways, first peoples limbs and now a stupid video game.

Dg: ...!?

16.

Random woman working as a hotel register: here you go sir. When you leave please return this back to me.

*room number 96*

Johan: huh. It's almost my favorite number.

17.

Goo: so do you have anything?

Jake: if I had I wouldn't be the one calling you! So sadly I legit have no clue on how to help take down the 1st affiliate.

Goo: no. You must have something.

Jake: haah...??????

Goo: and you're taking it to me. *Has a voice recorder out,*

Jake: what are you saying-

"WHAT THE HELL DO YA THINK YA DOING TO MY SAMUEL!"

Jake: ... YOU PROMISED TO DELETE THAT!

Goo: *professional blackmailing b-tch*

18.

Crystal: DG! Look at this mess! No wonder you haven't gotten any work done! This place is like a pigs Isle!

19.

Gun: that was some good coffee baby! I'd get another but I'm too damn lazy.

20.

Daniel: I'm going to search what Slay means.

Daniel: *saw the meaning of slay* WUHA, I PROMISE YOU ALL I DO NOT SLAY.

[breadnabreadd]

✦ Oh boy! Here we go.

I created a LMK Au just for funsies. A furutistic, high technologic world with cyberpunk vibes! (Because I absolutely love this type of aesthetic)

✦ the picture above is just a quick drawing I did of Macaque in this AU. I will get into details about the AU while showing a few infos of a few LMKs characters alongside with their designs. (Just a reminder I'm still creating the AU and it's my first time making one. It might be a little messy, so I apologize if it gets too messy--)

Oh! And by the way, the characters on this AU follow the same basic formula as the original characters. So it doesnt have much changes, other than the world they live in, their clothes and a few events.

✦ MK, The Monkie Kid

• Its the same thing as our little MK from the animated series, he works at Pigsy's Noodles as a delivery boy, is the Monkey king's biggest fan and is his successor and pretty much the basic stuff.

• He learned about the Monkey king with Mister Tang. He is a huge fan.

• Tho he isn't a great expert, he knows how to how to fix computer cases, machines and vehicles and build stuff by using old pieces (he learned with Pigsy and Sandy, just in case his delivery vehicle breaks in the middle of the road or a something start malfunctioning in the noodle store). As we can see, he works more in the hardware part.

• He likes to collect the old pieces of old devices that people throw away in the city's old graveyard. It's like a type of recycling. (That's also how he find the Monkey king's staff but that is a thing I will tell in details in another day--)

• He loves to draw!!! Hooray!!! He also likes to play games. Is always playing video games with his best friend, Mei, on the arcade or online.

✦ Mei, The White Horse Dragon Girl

• She's a programmer/developer of softwares (Yes I know that in I drawing I said she's a "hacker but a bit clumsy" but actually i wanted to say shes a programmer. I was sleepy, it was 2 am, and my brain wasn't braining 😰😰😰---) with a few knowledge about hardwares. She created her technological helmet system with MK's help. (Her helmet it's similiar to Iron man's helmet from inside.)

• She built her own motorcycle, again with MK's help. She participates a lot motorcycles race just for funsies.

• Loves to play games. I guess I could say she is quite of a professional gamer? She play to win. But when she is playing with MK or with other friends, she doesnt care losing or winning, she only cares about enjoying some quality time with them.

✦ Liu'er Mihou, The Six Eared Macaque.

• Pretty much same as the original Macaque. (Lost his eye in the past with a fight against Sun Wukong. Omg betrayal. Yknow the deal-)

• Here he is a Hacker/Cracker.

"But what is a cracker?" You may ask. Now it's time for my nerd/TI studant side take over. A cracker it's a mean hacker. The cracker breaks/attacks the systems and webs for their own benefit, which it's for illegal purposes. Now a Hacker it's actually a job, which their purpose its to find the security breaches and ways to how break it, so then they can make the security stronger and prevent invasions/attacks at the system.

With that being said, Macaque is a hacker/cracker. So he makes defense systems to himself and breaks into other systems for illegal purposes.

• He got these gloves that helps him hack things better, he created it himself. He create floating holograms like it's a tablet screen and can hold on these holograms using these gloves. With a simple touch he can steal database from a device and hack it's system. (He can hack machines, computers, tech weapons and even the light system.)

• He got his shadow magic too, same as the original one. Shadow clones, shadow portals... but he kinda makes a fusion between his magic and the technology he invented to himself. (Before anyone say it. YES! I got heavily inspired by Sombra from Overwatch. 😔)

✦ The Monkey King, Sun Wukong

• Yeah, the Monkey king. The great sage equal to heaven. The silly who made a havoc on heaven---

• HE GOT THAT HUGE MECHA WE SAW IN THE ANIMATED SERIES BECAUSE HE DOESNT LIKE USING HIS KAIJU FORM !!!

But he doesnt use the mecha much. It has been CENTURIES since he last use it. Now MK is the one who uses it because he is Sun Wukong's successor.

• That's not his "Monkey King" royal clothes. It just some casual/comfy clothes to use in everyday life.

• He already knew who MK was. MK is a stone Monkey just like himself. Wukong have been watching the kid grow up from far. He grow a bit attached to the boy.

Sun Wukong surely wasn't expecting to MK being able to lift his golden staff, so he think in the opportunity to make him his sucessor and teach him how to use his new powers. (Yes, I was lisiting to "the horse and the infant" song. How did you kn--)

Oh God. That explanation was long.

✦ Welp, that's all for today!

I will post more stuff about the AU in the future. And I still need to think a name for it...

It is clear I got heavily inspired by Cyberpunk, techwear, overwatch, New Gods: Nezha reborn, Arcane and other stuff. I'm sorry, BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT AESTHETIC AND VIBES!! HHHHHHH-

✦ I'm a huge nerd. 🤓

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Thank you for your many insightful posts on the current conflict going on. The one giving a detailed breakdown on the "who was there first?" argument was particularly helpful given that, as someone very familiar with the "Land Back" movement in America, I struggled from trying to approach the Palestine issue from that same perspective.

I did have something else I've been struggling with that maybe you can help me out on, though: I've seen "Zionist"/"Zionism" used a lot to help separate those who endorse the concept of a modern state of Israel from Judaism as a whole, since a very large portion of the Jewish community doesn't support what Israel is doing. For me personally, however, I've frequently seen that word used as a dog-whistle for antisemitism in general (most infamously in relation to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion), so I've been kind of wary about using Zion/Zionist in regular discussion. Did I just have a misinformed first impression towards using that term, or is it indeed something we still have to be careful about using even in regards to current events?

Hello! I hope you don't mind me publishing my response, in case anyone has further information to share on the topic of zionism. I am by no means an expert on this — I'm kind of synthesizing various posts & articles I've read over the years to write my answer, and I may be missing some important elements. I welcome correction or added info from anyone with more knowledge than I.

I'm with you in feeling there's a need for care when encountering talk of "zionists," because this term is indeed bandied about inappropriately. Just here on tumblr, I've seen various Jewish folks speak out about how freely people label any Jew with an opinion they don't like a "zionist" in order to dismiss any concerns that Jewish person tries to raise.

So when "zionist" is used to mean "any Jew I disagree with," or "all Jews," or anything not specifically related to "movement in favor of a sovereign Jewish state (e.g. modern Israel)," it's being used incorrectly and harmfully.

...And ugh, it's bad enough when randos on tumblr are doing it; it's been disturbing to see political leaders and activists and the like doing it on a wider scale these past few months.

We all need to be able to talk about the very real issue of zionism without contributing to antisemitism. How do we do that? Here are some rules of thumb I follow (and again, I welcome more if anyone has other tips):

I educate myself on what Zionism actually is. This article on the Jewish Voice for Peace site is super helpful as a starting point. It discusses where this ideology originated, how zionism takes various forms, and how Zionism is harmful for Jews (for instance, it's harmful because it rejects the diaspora as "inherently toxic and unhealthy for Jews," which means rejecting elements of Jewish culture that have arisen from diaspora).

I resist wondering if a Jewish person is zionist / pro-Israel without any reason to think they might be. (I've seen a couple posts from Jewish people now saying that gentiles do this to them. It's super inappropriate and antisemitic to do this — after all, we don't demand that of every non-Jewish person, so we shouldn't be demanding it of every Jewish person.)

If I see a claim that X person is a zionist, I don't just take that claim at face value; I investigate. See if that person has self-identified as a zionist anywhere, etc. If I can find no evidence, I don't spread that claim around; and I might reach out to whomever posted it to ask what gives.

I focus my time, energy, and concern on zionists / people who are pro-Israel in my own communities — rather than running around declaiming every Jewish zionist I can. As a Christian, I focus on trying to cultivate conversations with fellow Christians whom I know hold zionist or philosemitic views; those are the people I'm more likely to be able to change, after all. For any other Christians interested in what Christian zionism tends to look like and how to combat it, I highly recommend this post.

(Another helpful post tangentially related to this topic is this one about "the three Israels")

[sunnysam-my]

One of the funniest things in Criminal Minds to me was the writers poor attempt at making Reid look super smart. I say poor because, if you know anything about what they claim Spencer can do, you know why it's ridiculous.

1. Speed Reading.

It's a unique skill Spencer has that's used often through out the show. He claims he can read 20,000 words per minute. The thing is, the way he does it makes no sense.

First of all, when speed reading, you pay the price of comprehending the text. It is suggested by experts that speed-reading is most useful to those who need "to skim a large amount of material or need to improve their study skills" and less useful to those who read "highly technical material that requires careful study of each sentence". A lot of what Spencer reads is exactly that.

Second of all, on a normal book page, about 250-300 words fit on a page. Unless my math is incorrect, if he can read 20000 w/m then he can read 333.333 per second. He can read a book page in less than a second.

Even if my math is wrong, the average word count for adult fiction and non-fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. ​The average word count in a book is between 60,000 and 100,000 words. He can read a 80,000 words long book in 4 minutes. He could read the entirty of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (~75,000 words) in less than that.

2. Eidetic Memory

Again, I'm not really sure the writers even know what that means. Eidetic memory, also (incorrectly) known as total recall and photographic memory, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision, at least for a brief period of time, after seeing it only once.

The key words here are for a brief period of time. Unlike with photographic memory, it's a vivid afterimage that lingers. Additionally the memories often contain minor errors, including information that was not present in the original visual stimulus.

It's a very complicated and interesting matter, you can look into it more, but basically the writers just used it as an ass excuse to give Spencer perfect memory.

3. The Star Puzzle

I genuinely laughed at this scene. The Star Puzzle is literally a beginner-medium level puzzle. I have that star, I can see only 2, maybe 3 ways you can make a mistake while assembling it. My mom, who doesn't do those regularly like I do, only needed 15 minutes to figure out all on her own. The hard part is physically putting it together, because, until it's complete, nothing is holding the pieces together and they fall through your hands.

Noticed another thing? The way she describes it? "It's basically impossible to figure out. You have to put all the pieces back together to form a star." "It's basically impossible to do, because you have to take all those pieces and put them exactly…-" Like, yeah? That's how puzzles work??? Congratulations? All puzzles work like this. You have to put them together in the only correct order or solved them using the only solution. It's rare for puzzles to have more than one solution, that's kinda the point of them. And yeah, you can cheat usually, like with the star if you assemble it loosely and jam the last piece, but that's not the same.

And the thing is, there are harder versions of this, but no, they had to go with the identical 6 pieces. This just makes her look like an idiot.

4. His geeky overreactions were very reasonable, actually.

TBH I stopped watching CM a while ago, so don't remember as many situation as I used to, but I remember Phantasmagoria scene. Maybe this is more of geeky pet peeve of mine, but whatever.

Reid is 100% underselling Phantasmagoria here. It's not just a horror theatre play with a bit of science magic to spook the audience. They literally invented holograms for this.* Our modern image of a ghost? It's all thanks to Phantasmagoria which used live holograms** so the actors playing ghost could appear to be half transparent and floating.

You can still think that's not that cool, but wait, there's more. Other than that it used projects and many other 'magic tricks' to not only bring the monsters to life, so you can see them, but also feel them. Phantasmagoria used many special effects outside of visual illusion to make you feel cold winds, smells blood e.t.c. That's better than any other movie you can go to, especially since we're talking about reenactment, which use improved technology. Although you won't get drugged drinks before going in nowadays, so count that as a win or loss. On top of that, reenactments of Phantasmagoria are rare and for many this may be the only chance in their life to see it.

It's kinda like a walk-through haunted house, except you don't walk and there's a plot. The scene shows Spencer as some weird geek for being excited, which sucks. In general I could talk about how awful the teammates are to him half of the time, but that's not my biggest problem here. We as an audience are meant to find Reid's excitement and knowledge as lame and nerdy, but he's not even overreacting. That's a very tamed reaction when you invite your friends to possibly one in a lifetime chance to see this amazing horror magic, horror, theatre play.

*For horror shows in general, a bit earlier than Phantasmagoria, but it gave birth to it.

**Pepper's ghost isn't technically holographic, but you get it. Most people call it that anyway.

[jessjad]

Unexpected

Chapter 8

Summary: After a Halloweenparty Y/N actually didn't want to got to, her life seems to be turned around. The reason is a very stubborn Supe that seems to have her in his visier. Is it just a coincidance or more?

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Reader

Word Count: 2590

Warnings: some language, character death (mentioned), graphic violence and a little hurt/comfort (as best as possible)

A/N: Aaand we're back. This is going to be a little emotional. Do we all remember Y/N's sister Jenny? Yeah, we're going there. Buckle up, guys... All mistakes are mine.

My Masterlist Series Masterlist

The tension was high. In the last couple of days the world seemed to be upside down. No matter what channel Y/N decided to watch, Homelander was all over the place. The horrific pictures of his son Ryan killing the poor boy on the other side of the street were still shown. Wheter it was anchormen or so called experts in superhero topics who discussed the situation over and over again, kept it alive. All of a sudden Soldier Boy was not the most important thing to talk about anymore.

After this, Annie has gotten way more followers. Anti-fans of supes, as they started to call themselves now, made their own videos of supes and what was so wrong about them. Some of them even catching a glimpse of misbehavement and recklesness. The danger that came with this kind of research willingly forgotten.

Homelanders followers on the other hand were still on the side of Vaught and all the other supes. Calling the straight up murders little accidents and just collatteral damage. Nothing to worry about. It had Y/N's stomache churning with disgust and disbelief. But not just her. Ben seemed to be more stressed too. He also stopped venturing out as much as before. He did not say it, but Y/N could see it in his face. The worry behind his stoic eyes and the small crease on his forehead that showed his tables turning in his mind.

Mallory had contacted both of them more than once after the live broadcast and was pressing changes in their plan. Not even now, after all these weeks, Y/N still didn't know any more details about THE plan and what they were trying to do and how they wanted to stop Homelander. It was kinda frustating to be left in the dark, to feel like a puppet on strings. On the other hand though, she was a little glad not to know everything.

"I was really worried there for a second, girl! Seeing you falling into the ice cold Hudson River..." said Caroline and brought Y/N's attention back to her. "I mean, you know that I never really cared about Vaught and the supes... But after everything I saw on the TV..."

Her gaze traveled to the screen on the wall on which the news showed the incident with Homelander again and discussed what would be happening next. Ben was sitting on the couch, deep in thought.

"Yeah... It's not the first time that happend. It's only the first time, that the whole world is seeing this."

"And..." Care was getting a little closer to Y/N and started to lower her voice. "... I did some research online about... Ben." She pointed with her head to the man on the couch.

"Don't... say it."

"But... he is one of them. The original one, I believe. And he is no different than Homelander." the woman said.

"I'm nothing like the flag licking dick sucker." Ben interrupted from the living room with a short glanze to the kitchen table. "And I can hear you."

Y/N smiled a little. "Anyway... this whole situation... is a mess and I had my problems with it too in the beginning. Care, trust me..."

And to make it clear to her friend she told her as much as she could about it all without giving to much away. Her best friend gasped a couple of times and couldn't hold back on the dirty jokes, when the story came to certain points. Y/N had to laugh a little and the realization hid her that it felt good to finally talk to someone about it. She was pretty isolated in her own apartment.

Of course she had Annie or Hughie to talk to, but that was not the same. Only the supe who shared the apartment with her was 24/7 around her, but he was not the biggest talker. Although it seemed as if he was trying to open up a little more to her.

"... and now we... we came to terms. And it's fine. For now."

"Okay." Caroline nodded her head. "I trust you if you say so."

Y/N nodded too and laid her hand on top of her friends.

"But, Care... it would've been better if you didn't have come here. There is a reason why I went into hiding."

"I know, I know. I get that." Caroline agreed. "But I needed to know that you were okay." That really touched her heart. "But it was not just me, Y/N. I talked to your mom and she is worried, too."

"Yeah, I know that." Y/N sighed. "But it would be to risky if I kept in touch with her. Not just for me, but for my family too."

Caroline nodded in agreement. She totally got that, now that she knew what had happenend. And she assured Y/N that this was the only time she would come looking for her. The silence that followed was comfrotable. But then...

"Y/N, your mom... told me about Jenny..."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

In a dark, small corner somewhere in the abandent building outside of New York that served as Victoria Neuman's operation center were two men standing and hiding from unwanted eyes, whispering to eachother.

"We have to keep going." Johnson answered. "We know now where he is hding out and what his plan is. We only have to give him as much time as we can."

"But... with Homelander involved now? It is not that easy anymore. We can not fool them forever."

"I know, Harlow!" Johnson said with a little bit mor force, but dialed back to whispering. "But we owe Soldier Boy, you know that. Better than me. That's the only reason I took this job."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Harlow sighed and crossed his arms infront of his chest. "But we have to be careful. And we can trust noone, except us."

Johnson nodded and a moment of silence followed, before Harlow spoke up again. "All of this is going to bite us in the ass. I can fucking feel it in my bones."

"Don't worry, my friend. It will all play out in the end." Johnson smiled a little and gave Harlow a assuring clap on the shoulder before both men parted ways to get back to their duties.

But noone of them noticed the third person near them in the shadows.

Shortly after Caroline left, Y/N started to cook. She needed to do something with her hands, keeping herself busy. That her mom had told Care about Jenny was unexpected, but in a way she understood why she did that. They were branded by what had happened a long time ago. But she didn't wanna talk about it and her best friend didn't force her do to so. She just wanted to let her know, that she knew and was there for her if needed.

Thirty minutes later, the pasta sauce was cooking and she started to boil water, Y/N heared noises from behind her. She glanzed at the couch and saw Ben laying sprawled out and sleeping. But his brows were creased and his fists were balled. His upper lip shivered almost aggressivly. Y/N went slowly over to the man, as he started growl and grumple, before he began to shout and squirm.

"Ben?" she tried carefully and touched his shoulder with a soft hand. "Ben!"

He catched her wrist almost painfully, as he suddenly sat up, shocked out of his nightmare. His green eyes darted wildly through the room to fight of the pictures in his head.

"Ouch! Ben!" she exclaimed. "You're hurting me!"

That brought his attention back to her and fighted off the pictures of his torturous years with the commies. He released her wrist right away and got up. Turning his back to her, he wiped his face with his hand and he cleared his throat.

Y/N could already see the bruise on her wrist form. This was not the first time she experienced Ben's nightmares. They didn't happened often, but she assumed that his PTSD was fighting his way back up to the surface, now that he did not take the hard drugs anymore.

"I didn't... want to..." was all he said, without looking at her.

"I know. Don't worry about it."

Y/N really didn't mind. He didn't do it on purpose and with all the other bruises on her body from their mattress sports it was just another mark he gave her. And she just knew how much he liked to mark her up. But she could still sense that he felt uncomfortable, probably because he thought he now looked vulnerable. So, she went back into the kitchen and finished the food.

The silence was deafening and a little uncomfortable, but Y/N tried not to show it. Ben kept an close eye on her, but she only smiled a little everytime she saw him looking at her her. And everytime he seemed to relax a little more. When they both sat down on the table to eat, Ben poured himself a full glass of whiskey, before he started to speak.

"Who's Jenny?"

Y/N was about to take her first bite but she paused with wide eyes.

"What?" the surprise fully displayed on her face.

"I asked you this once and you didn't wanna talk about it. But now..."

Ben didn't finish his sentence and he didn't need to. She understood what he was getting at. He had a moment of weakness and now he wants her to repay it. She sighed and put her fork aside.

"Jenny was... my sister."

"Was?" he crocked an eyebrow.

"There is a reason why I hate Vaught and the supes." Ben huffed, but Y/N slapped him lighty on the arm. "You knew that already."

"Yeah, yeah..."

She sighed. "Our dad worked in the army. He had a lot of friends that worked for Vaught and once a year... there was some kind of ball. You know? To celebrate a year of good work and to honor certain people. And when my dad decided to retire, the whole family was invited. Jenny was younger than me by two years and I have always been a little protective over her."

The memories from the past started to play infront of her third eye.

"That night, a lot of supes were there, too. And Jenny got introduced to a supe named Skyrider. He was in his mid twenties and he had wings. Strong, fast and he had a charming smile that lured Jenny in." Y/N laughed dryly.

"While she was talking to him, I was wandering around the room. Dad was talking to his general and nobody really noticed me. So, I went out in the hallway to search for the bathroom and there, in a corner, I heard to other supes talk about a woman and what they did to her."

Y/N started to slightly shiver. "I can't remember everything they said, but I remember that I was utterly shocked. They laughed and then I thought 'Oh, maybe they made a joke. A very bad one at that, but... just a joke'. However, days later I still had a bad feeling."

She had wanted to talk about it with her dad, but when she heared that Jenny was starting to date Skyrider, she didn't wanted to ruin it for her. Her sister seemed happy about it and that's all she ever wanted for her. To be happy.

"So, I kept my feeling for myself and for a couple of months everything seemed fine. Jenny was happy and we got to meet Skyrider officially. There was nothing to worry about."

Y/N smiled, but that expression faded quickly. She sucked in her lower lip with her teeth and Ben could see the tears starting to form in her eyes.

"It was on the weekend of the 4th of july. Skyrider wanted to spent the weekend with Jenny somewhere far away. A little trip just for the two of them... but that had me worried again. He didn't wanted to tell us where he would take her to, in sake for it being a surprise." Y/N sighed. "I did not like that."

Now, she grabed Ben's still full glass of whiskey and took a big sip out of it.

"A week later, they still weren't back from their trip and we all started to worry. My dad tried to contact Skyrider, but he was nowhere to be found. Vaught also wasn't willing to help and after another week, we got a phonecall from the police in Mexico City. They had found Jenny. Dead. Skyrider had brought her to an luxury villa... which had security cams installed."

Tears made their way down her cheeks.

"On the video... Skyrider had forced her to take drugs and while he... was recideing about how great the supes were, what great power they held over the world, so that they could do whatever they wanted and that she could be so happy to be with him... he started to force her into sex." Y/N had to get up, couldn't sit down anymore. "He kept talking and talking, but I can't remember any of the words anymore. The only... the only thing I remember were the screams... that escaped my little sister's mouth while he hammered into her so hard... that you could hear her hips break while blood was bursting from her sides."

She couldn't hold herself back anymore. While she hugged herself, Y/N sobbed and turned away from Ben. The supe didn't stay untouched from her telling, he had tuned into her thoughts and the pictures he saw made him understand her pain. He also slowly got up from his stool, the food already forgotten.

"He laughed. All the while... he assaulted and... mutilated her... he kept on laughing." she paused to try to take some deep breaths. "And... when her screams of pain were becoming to much for him... he... he cruched her skull while he came in her..."

Her legs gave in and she landed on her knees while he sobbed uncontrollably. The pain about it all was still so fresh. That's why she never wanted to talk about it. She'd buried it deep inside her and promised to never let her become weak again. Ben could understand that. He came around the table to her, sat down on the floor next to Y/N and scooped her up into his lap. Maybe, just maybe, he asked to much of her.

"I... I should have talked to someone, to my dad... I" she said and clung to Ben's chest like he was the only safety net she needed.

"Sh..." Ben stopped her from talking and rubbed her back lightly. "You could've done nothing against it."

"But... but I could have at least tried!" she looked at Ben. "I should've done something!"

"Y/N..." he took her cheek in his hand and dried it with his thumb. "It's not your fault." He catched her gaze so that she truly listened to him. "Trust me. No matter how... he still would've done it."

And eventhough she did not like it, Y/N could see the truth in his eyes and it made her question, if the supe infront of her that was holding her right now, had once done the same.

A/N: Yeah, the truth hurts. But in this universe it's a fact. And they bonded once more. Hopefully that will not backfire... 😉

@lyarr24 @k-slla @leigh70 @deadlydivergentgirl @deans-spinster-witch

[pagegirlintraining]

helloo

i have been re-reading your sex-shop au (it's really good) you co-wrote with sb else and i have been wondering. in the sequel when stuff gets more explicit, how is it to write that? do you plan intimate scenes a lot or more than other scenes. what is important? or are they more spontaneous? is it a big challenge to write them together with sb else and do you read each others parts to give feedback? what kind of feedback?

haha that's quite a few questions but i'm curious :)

hi there anon :)

First of all thank you, that’s so sweet and I’m glad it’s holding up on the re-read too 🫶🏼

Now as for your questions, I’ll try going through them one by one. Just a warning, this might get a bit long (when asked about writing, I’ll always have a hard time shutting up again 😅).

Also disclaimer, I’m obviously not some sort of expert on this topic. This will only be an answer based on my personal experience.

1) do I plan explicit scenes more than others? - Not usually. In fact, the only real planning I do for them in any of my other fics is whether they’re gonna happen and where in the plot. The specifics are being decided as I write.

Obviously, with sex shop it was a bit different because we needed a different toy/gimmick to be included in each chapter. We actually made a list of six things we wanted to include beforehand, then each claimed the ones we felt like writing ourselves (or in my case, handed off the one I didn’t feel like writing). Beyond that, though, it was write as I went again.

2)what’s important in an intimate scene? - Emotions. I could read the most detailed description of a sexual act and feel nothing if it doesn’t include how the characters feel. That starts with what they perceive, what they hear, see, smell, feel etc. (think moans and such, the light catching in someone’s hair/eyes/on their skin, do they smell freshly showered and like a comfy hug or are they still sweaty from a run, the temperature or strength of someone’s touch and so on and so forth) and moves on to how the things they perceive make them feel in this moment. Most of the time, that second part is in some way amplified or modified by the fact that they’re experiencing it with this specific person, which is my personal favorite part about intimate scenes.

I’m sure there’s also plenty of people who lean more toward description heavy stuff, which is more than fine. It’s just not what I’m trying to do with my own writing.

3) are they more spontaneous? - kinda answered that one already but I’ll add that I’ve never been able to write out of chronological order, so every intimate scene is very much written with the previous parts of the story in mind. It’s spontaneous in what the specific sexual acts are, but I always know ahead of time what I want the characters to feel/think about/realize during them.

4) is it a challenge to write explicit scenes with someone else? - I guess it depends on the person, but in this case, not at all. I think it’s important though to discuss ahead of time if one or both parties are uncomfortable with writing or reading certain things.

Also, writing together mostly means we write different parts of the same story, hence we each write our own explicit stuff, then make sure both parts fit well together. So the real challenge is daring to show somebody else your vision and hoping they agree with it.

5) do we read each other’s parts to give feedback, and if so, what kind of feedback? - YES. That’s the best part of writing together imo, is hyping each other up but also getting to give and receive the kind of input that can make a story even better. To be fair, my feedback to most of @the-amber-fox’s smut is a pretty unhelpful combination of 🫠 and 🔥, but we make do 😂 from time to time we’ll suggest adding something, mostly if the other person’s a bit stuck. But yeah, most of it is just getting to read it ahead of everyone else and being happy about that 😁

I hope I could answer some of your questions in a helpful way 💜 Thanks for giving me the opportunity to think about this so explicitly (pun not intended). I’ve never done that before so that was fun :)

[kyouka-supremacy]

i'm curious about the whole 'the author doesn't believe what dazai did to akutagawa is abuse' sentiment - i completely see what you mean in that dazai is presented as this fully formed character, but if the author doesn't think what dazai did was wrong, why do you think it's so closely paralleled to mori/dazai or akutagawa/kyouka's abuse (both narratively, through the cycle of abuse, and artistically through how they're depicted). i feel like both of those are more explicitly deemed as wrong by the author, so why do you think that they're presented in such a similar way to dazai/akutagawa if the author didn't think that abuse was really abuse?

Alright, I know everyone loves to talk about the cycle of abuse, and I agree it's delicious to explore thematically and fun to play with, but it's not a rigid scheme we should stick to no matter what. I think that at best certain events can be interpreted as a cycle of abuse, but I don't think the cycle of abuse itself can be used as an interpretation scheme.

And I just… Can't see any close parallels between the Mori-Dazai relationship and the Dazai-Akutagawa relationship. Moreover: I don't read the Mori-Dazai relationship as an abusive one at all. Sorry about that? But like, I don't see anything blatantly abusive like for the Dazai-Akutagawa or Akutagawa-Kyouka mentor-student relationships, not even close. Yeah Mori probably ended up fuelling a dark side of Dazai but even then… It's not like that's something Dazai didn't have within him despite. In Beast Dazai's interactions with Mori were supposedly way more limited, but it's not like he was any less stained in black, quite the opposite actually. Overall, I think Dazai was doing alright in the pm; for how I see it, him and Mori shared this kind of complicity that didn't necessarily bother Dazai. Mori treated Dazai as an equal, recognized his wits even at an early age and often praised him, even going as far as saying that Dazai reminded him of himself. People have talked about this better than I have. Mori never had any interest in harming Dazai, and to an extent I believe he was even attached to him. I'm not saying it's an healthy relationship- but first, which relationship in bsd is healthy?, and second, quite frankly it's not comparable to the Dazai-Akutagawa or Akutagawa-Kyouka dynamics. I'm no expert of Dazai, so feel free to correct me on this; I haven't read any of the novels with pm Dazai. But I think that what he shared with Mori was more of an intergenerational friendship than anything necessarily negative. Mori's betrayal hit that hard for Dazai exactly because Dazai thought that Mori was someone he could trust, and that only goes to show how Dazai did trust Mori, and didn't hold any hostility towards him before Oda died. Dazai being so effected by Mori's betrayal and resenting him for years after in my opinion is proof of how Dazai relied on Mori; if from the start he hadn't held any positive feeling towards him at all, Mori's betrayal wouldn't have impacted him as much as it did.

If the relationship between Mori and Dazai wasn't really abusive per sé, then we can hardly discern a concrete pattern of abuse between the three different mentor-student relationships. In my opinion, the same goes for the Dazai-Akutagawa / Akutagawa-Kyouka relationships: I can't see a lot of similarities to be drawn between them. Where Dazai was skilled at manipulating and controlling Akutagawa, as well as heavily violent towards him, Akutagawa failed completely at controlling Kyouka, all his attempts to psychologically manipulate her resulted fruitless, and - at least as far as the manga goes - he was never actively violent with her¹, for sure not to Dazai's extent towards Akutagawa. (See this post for more on how Akutagawa and Kyouka's relationship differs from the one between Dazai and Akutagawa).

All accounted, I fail to see any evident narrative parallel between the three relationships– which might perfectly be due to my own personal shortcoming! After all literature is filled with shades and nuances that make it prone to different interpretations. But that's why, again, I don't think the cycle of abuse can be used to interpret the three bonds, or to understand Dazai's aptitude towards Akutagawa and the author's moral stance on it. In my opinion the cycle of abuse can be the result of a reading analysis, but it hasn't got strong enough canon basis to be used as an interpretation tool itself. Neither I think that there's other parallels between the relationships that allow me to tell whether Dazai's abuse is portrayed as fair or not for comparison to the others.

¹ An entire new discussion could be opened on this. In the manga, we never saw Akutagawa hit Kyouka while she was still in the pm / under him (it's different in the anime, with that added scene of Akutagawa piercing her neck in episode 4; but then again, that mostly accounted to a threat, and it's nothing in comparison to what Dazai did to him). Akutagawa seems to get rougher with Kyouka when she starts slipping out of his control; pulling her by the hair (?) in chapter 9 and grabbing her neck in chapter 11; but again, that can't compare with the Dazai/Akutagawa relationship used to be like (he did very much try to kill her though). That said, since Kyouka is a little girl, there's probably also a publishing-reticence factor playing a role, aimed to use special caution to not depict a man beating up a young girl; there's a chance that, had Kyouka been a boy, Akutagawa's portrayed treatment of her would have been different. The way the two times Akutagawa tried to kill her remained strictly non-graphic and free of violence feel like further proof of this, in honesty. I know this kind of considerations to not hurt the reader's sensibility are usually taken into account when publishing manga; but then again, mine are just speculations.

[bathsaltsmcgee]

Lore in the Merch

Okay, so as I'm sure everyone has probably already heard, the latest line of merch from Vivziepop just dropped this morning on Shark Robot, and as I was perusing the list, figuring out exactly what it was that I was going to snag for myself, I found something that I thought was just a hair interesting.

Okay, so in the t-shirt line, there are a bunch of glow in the dark tees featuring various hazbin and helluva characters in the style of tarot cards, which were, to be fair, exceptionally neat.

And yes, I've already ordered one.

However, as I was admiring the designs later in the evening to make sure I got the one I wanted, just in case I missed any, I noticed that there were little numbers on each of the designs.

Numbers for tarot cards.

One quick trip to google later, I realized they were all for corresponding tarot cards from the major arcana, which, admittedly, does make a great deal of sense, all things considered.

It would be a little weird if they were supposed to be tarot cards and didn't have the numbers in the design.

That, I will assent.

In any case, I did a little digging and I found that Beelzebub was the sun, Blitz was the moon, Charlie and Vaggie were the strength card, Human Loona was the chariot, and Alastor was the devil.

And while my first response was 'yeah, that tracks', when I started to think about it, to really think about it, I realized that perhaps there was more here than just a funny little reference to a tarot card deck.

For example, Stolas got the star card for his tarot card number, and if one digs into the deeper meaning of what the star represents in the arcana, there are a number of parallels with his story and character that tie in with the star card. Finding new meaning, holding a new sense of self, discovering a new sense of purpose, getting away from your crazy ass ex-wife, just to name a few.

So, it makes sense that he'd get the star card.

Furthermore, Angel Dust got the hanged man card for his number, which also makes sense because, from my understanding, it's all about taking pause to reevaluate your strategy on life and consider whether or not this is the right way to go before taking the next step. 'The thinking that got into this mess won't get you out of it and it's time for a change' sort of card. So, considering his horrible life as a pornstar/ prostitute/ stripper and wanting to get away from it all by making a split second decision and submitting to the Happy Hotel for redemption treatment instead of just continuing on the way he's been would be more than enough to qualify him for the Hanged Man.

So, what does the card for Alastor mean?

Sure, it's easy to write it off with a 'well, he's the Devil of the show' sort of thing, but I suspect it has far more to do with his own way of thinking than it does anything else. I'm not an expert on tarot, but from what I can glean, the devil card has something to do with being trapped or restricted or held back by something that keeps you from being your best self; self-imposed limitations, or a lack of power, or feeling like you're not in control, or there's some external force that making someone feel like they're powerless to affect their situation, so they might as well not even try to change it, which, honestly, doesn't sound like Alastor at all, given what little we know about him thus far.

it sounds like something he might inflict, sure, but not something he'd be going through himself personally.

However, given the nature of the other cards and how those arcanas are linked to the individual character's arcs, logic dictates that the symbolism of the arcana are directly tied to the characters and their struggles.

So, what gives here?

Is Alastor really trapped a prison of his own making?

Does he actually feel powerless about his situation, which is why he outrightly dismissed Charlie's redemption scheme because, in his mind, it's far too late to change and there's no undoing what's been done?

Is that what's really going on here?

Or am I overthinking things again?

Well, either way, they hid lore in the merch.

I just wanted to point that out.

Furthermore, if they actually did foreshadow future character developments within the tarot card shirts for a show that has yet to premiere, I will officially be impressed.

That was clever.

[bardicbeetle]

hey. Hey. You got any analysis of the Lost Boys or thoughts on the movie to share? who's your favorite character in it and why??

@abalonetea

Analysis on the movie I've been many levels of obsessed with since age 14 you ask?

...this is going to end up undercut for length I can already feel it.

The Lost Boys is my comfort movie, my I-feel-like-shit-nothing-is-fixing-it movie, my I-can't-write-please-help movie and my go-to for when I am inflicting media upon a new friend. I know it backwards forwards, upside down and inside out, I own the out of print novelization written by Craig Shaw Gardener, I posted the original prequel script to fanfiction.net in the early 2010s because I found it buried in a forum post and wanted it to be easier to find, I have listened to every version of cry little sister that G Tom Mac has ever put out in addition to the entire stage musical he produced. The fic I wrote for it in 2011 is still on Wattpad and to this day for some fuck ass reason gets 1000s of hits per year. I have another fic for it on ao3 that still takes up brainspace for me on a minimum weekly basis.

I.

Honestly do not know who I am as a writer if not for this film.

It is such a huge part of who I am as both a fan of media and a vampire writer and as a horror enjoyer in general.

And it is undeniably, baked into its bones, queer as fuck.

Not just from the overt point of here is a film in the 1980s about men sharing blood, directed by an openly gay man, hands us platonic and familial and romantic interactions between male characters, who are allowed to hold one another, allowed to express emotion, allowed to exist freely and without shame I am--so very abnormal about this movie.

I'll be the first to admit it's not perfect by any means, it very much exists a time capsule of its era, but also, to momentarily put the bar on the floor, it isn't slur laden and full of take-backs for any of the emotional vulnerability like other things around then were (see: Once Bitten, which while unarguably very much more on the comedy side of horror-comedy, i'm going to put into the same category by virtue of Camp Vampire Movies of the 80s).

It hands us one of my favorite mothers of all time. Lucy Emerson is a treasure, she spends the whole movie trying her goddamn best to remember that she is stronger than anyone gives her credit for. That she chose to divorce an abusive man, pick up her two sons, and leave without more than signing the papers and getting out. She doesn't care if they're poor, she doesn't care if she could have gotten something from her ex-husband, she wants her boys safe and there is a very large implication that sticking around to do the whole song and dance would have ended badly. Lucy lives for her sons, she wants so badly to make the world easier for them than it was for her, she wants to be part of their lives and part of their interests even if she does not understand them, and I maintain that Had Max Actually Succeeded, it would not have been long before the Lost Boys themselves were Lucy's as much as her own two sons, and that would not have ended well for Max. Protecting mother, lioness, made to be underestimated so you are always caught off guard.

Edgar and Alan Frog are near and dear to my heart, these idiot vampire hunter children were just so very much what my brother and I were in terms of Making Up Games To Play--ignoring the fact that for these two it's real, not that it ever had been before the Emerson family rolled into town and Sam's brother got mixed into the Lost Boys group. Edgar wanting to be in charge of things and wanting to protect the people he cares about and the town he is too stubborn to admit he loves despite being what, 12? 14? Alan being quieter but just as absolutely ready to go "yeah we are totally experts at this" as his twin, the fact that neither of them have any idea what they are getting into. Dipping barely into the sequels territory (which...they aren't good. by any definition. but Edgar and Alan are the best part of them both) we get Edgar dealing not only with his perceived loss of Alan to half-vampirism, but his whole loss of Sam after having to kill him and I just.

Ugh.

NOW, dipping into the main event there is Michael, who spends this whole movie just trying to figure out where the hell he's supposed to belong at this point. He doesn't see any point in starting a new high school in his senior year, he doesn't want to upset his mother by just absolutely dropping off the planet, he cares deeply about his family and wants to help however he can because they are struggling for money. So what does this seventeen year old kid do? He starts picking trash up off the beach for eight hours a day. He gives that money to his mother under the guise of it being "leftover from christmas" because he doesn't want her to worry about him working. He feels so fucking lonely without the friends he left behind in Phoenix and he feels like he's too old to supplant himself into a new friend group in Santa Carla before everyone goes their separate ways after high school anyways.

Enter Star and the Lost Boys.

Yes, Michael is taken in by Star because she's beautiful and mysterious and he's a teenage boy seeing nipples through a tank top, but beyond that he sees in her, in David and the others, how self sure they all are of the decisions they've made. This group is all within his age, they're all living in a goddamn sunken hotel half claimed by the ocean, they have motorcycles like him, they smoke weed and eat chinese food and Marko keeps pigeons and Dwayne can skateboard and Paul is a music nerd and what the fuck how do they manage to seem like they have their lives more together as a group of teenage runaways than he does?

He's enamored with it, obsessed with it, the movie speeds up a timeline of something that does in fact happen over the course of a couple weeks, of him hanging out with them, slowly experiencing more and more symptoms of vampirism from the blood he drank the first night, unable to stop coming back, unable to really figure out what it is they have figured out that he doesn't, and hoping that maybe if he stays with them he will eventually feel the same confidence in his own existence that they do.

But couple that with the horrifying reality that he is becoming a monster. His younger brother is terrified of him, the family dog bites him, the horses won't go near him, he pulls a mouse out of a trap freshly dead and squeezes it like a spent juice box into his mouth, he is falling apart at the seams by the time David decides it's time to finish things. And that's what David wants, he wants Michael in a position where he is no longer lucid enough to resist once there's blood in the air.

And it almost fucking works.

I stand by my belief that the entire movie hinges on the beach party where the Lost Boys kill a whole bunch of Surf Nazis. The whole thing, the outcome of the final fight, the failure of Max's plan, all of it hangs on that one night, and whether or not Michael can actually manage not to give into the bloodlust. He does manage, obviously, he leans into the shock and fear and near throws himself out of that tree because he knows that if he doesn't, he will join the blood bath happening not ten feet away. He is starving and exhausted and everything in him is screaming that if he just gave in, it would all feel so much better.

But he doesn't.

He lays in the sand until he cannot hear any heartbeats left.

Lays there clawing his hands into the ground like if he can hold himself still enough then maybe this will stop being real.

Three of the four boys don't pay much mind to this, Dwayne Paul and Marko have slipped back into regular antics despite being coated red. Their faces have returned to normal, their eyes no longer brilliant gold rimmed red, they are laughing and shoving and having a good time.

But David is furious. He's quiet about it, he isn't loudly angry, something I think he probably absorbed from Max over the years, he tells Michael what needs to be done if he wants to stay with them, and then he and the other Lost Boys leave him there in the sand, burnt flesh and ashes drifting down to him on the breeze.

The thing about David is that he realized the night on the train bridge that he didn't care about Max's bullshit plan. He didn't care that he was originally going to feed Michael to Star. He is fixated on getting Michael to join them, not just for himself, not just to keep Star around, but also because there's a refusal to give up in this kid that has him excited, a stubbornness that he wants to break. It's the thing that eventually leads to his death.

ANYWAYS.

I think, perhaps, I have yelled enough.

Oh, shit, favorite character.

I think without any doubt it has to be David. Especially after reading the novelization, the comics, the original prequel script, he's just, he is such an interesting character and his motivations are so obvious despite how much he would appear to hold them close to his chest. He's a root character I can trace a lot of the tropes that carry over in my own antagonists to, and some of my protagonists as well.

double anyways, camp vampires from 1987 my beloved.

Thank you Katie <3

[justhere4thevibez]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @staceymcgillicuddy @cyraclove and @bibiche007 thanks guys 💛💛💛

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

32! I can't believe it!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

420,197 which is insane!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things, hellcheer specifically

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Long Is the Road Out of Hell (dnd au)

The Interview (college/fake dating au)

Hold Onto Me (vampire au)

Cooking Up Something Sweet (rockstar social media au)

Waiting For This Moment (flower shop/tattoo parlor au)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I try to respond to every single comment! They took the time to give me a comment, why wouldn't I take the time to thank them for it?

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's tough, because I always try to give hellcheer a happy ending - they deserve it! But Release My Inner Fantasy, despite being almost purely smut, definitely has the angstiest ending. (although it might be slightly cheating since it is part of an ongoing series, and I do intend to give them an eventual happy ending)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, I love to write happy endings! So most of my fics are very happy at the close. But Hooked on a Feeling might be my most sappy-sweet ending. It's definitely one of my more lighthearted fics!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

honestly, no! the hellcheer fandom overall has been very kind to me. the closest I get to hate on fics is people wishing/asking me to do something different than I've already done (i.e. write an alternate ending because they didn't want A or B in it), which can be very discouraging. but I don't get that a lot!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! However, I had never written actual smut in my life until this year, so I'm still pretty new at it

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not really. The closest I've ever gotten to a crossover is crossover elements loosely integrated in a fic. Devil in the Woods, for example, uses bits and pieces from things like little red riding hood and beauty and the beast while remaining very much its own thing!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of! And I'd very much like to keep it that way

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't think so! but i'd be honored if somebody did

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't, but I have a lovely friend who betas for me on occasion and we bounce ideas back and forth so much it sometimes feels like cowriting ( @slumped-in-the-arms-of-fiction )

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

hellcheer, if you couldn't tell 😉

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I intend to finish every single wip I have going atm (As well as a few on the back burner lol). but sometimes it feels like i'm never going to finish them, especially when i'm on the very last chapters. why does it always work like that???

16. What are your writing strengths?

I feel like i'm pretty good at writing intimate scenes. and by that i mean scenes where not a lot's going on, where a small group of characters (usually two) can be together or have a conversation that doesn't do much for the plot but sheds a lot of light on the characters themselves (both to the readers and within the story between characters)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm very undisciplined with writing habits, i don't write every day or have certain goals. i struggle to describe people and scenery in a concrete way that is integrative with the story itself.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

find a native speaker and get (and listen to) their feedback. whether it's tenses, phrases, or cultural tendencies, let someone who's actually the expert be the expert.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

hellcheer! unless you count me scribbling in my journal when i was about eight, writing a boxcar children story because i'd heard that they employed ghost writers and i thought "i could do that!" i wrote like half a dozen sentences, convinced i was going to become employed by the boxcar children publisher.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

honestly? probably Devil in the Woods. it's the one i go back to the most when i need a comfort read.

Tagging @slumped-in-the-arms-of-fiction @sloelimbs@ebongawk and anyone else who wants to join!

[trans-axolotl]

I'm facing 6 months of compulsory treatment right now. How did you survive?

💜anon, I so deeply wish that this was not something that either of us have been forced to survive. I'll share what kept me going and I hope that some of it can resonate with you.

First: Always remember that no matter what they try to tell you, what ways they try to dehumanize you, what ways they try to convince you that you are inherently wrong, or broken, or need to be saved from yourself--you are always the expert on what it is like to live in your body and brain, and you always have the right to define your own narrative and truth and experience. there were many times while forcibly hospitalized where there was nothing I could do to actually change the things that were happening to me because I had no power. all I could do in those moments was hold onto the truth that I knew I didn't deserve this and that even if no one was listening, I believed myself and I was bearing witness to the fucked up things that were happening and that someday, i wouldn't be so incredibly trapped.

secondly: do whatever the hell you need to survive without judging yourself for whatever you need to do to get through it. you do not have to be a "good patient"--you can be a "terrible patient" and that doesn't mean you're a bad person. during these last 4 months I was instituionalized, there was times that it was too hard to process the fucked up power structures and everyday violations because I couldn't process it while it was still actively happening to me. some days i needed to shut down and pretend that I was fine with everything happening and follow the rules and not let myself feel any rage or dream of what it was going to be like when i got out. other times, especially when i was younger, the only way i survived was by breaking rules, being a terrible patient, and demanding my autonomy in whatever way was accessible to me. sometimes that looked like destroying my room, swearing at staff, self harming because that was the only thing i had any fucking control over at all. and letting go of judgment for what I had to do to survive helped me get through it. knowing that I had so very few options and was doing the best I could to feel like a person and that as much as they wanted to make me feel like shit for it, I was not a bad person for needing to feel human.

thirdly: know your rights and if possible, have a person on the outside who knows your rights and can advocate for you on the phone. knowing your rights doesn't always mean much because hospitals and psychs still sort of break the law anyway, but knowing what your rights are about how many times you see your treatment team a week, how long they can commit you, what the rules are about forced medication and forced antipsychotics, what the rules are about restraints, visiting--all of that can help you advocate for yourself and recognize when the people in power are lying to you.

fourthly: there still will be moments of joy, even while instituionalized, and holding onto those and keeping them close helped me more than any of the treatment I received ever did. for me, becoming close to the other patients was incredibly healing. not always easy when we're all in crisis and don't have tons of emotional regulation, but listening to others stories, goofing around and rolling down the hallway together, making fun of nurses--the bonds I have with the people i was instituionalized with were truly lifesaving and taught me so much about what it means to love and take care of people. if you can, reach out to the other patients and get to know each other and how to share space with each other. it helps more than i can say. other moments of joy to hold onto--art, whether a million coloring sheets or graffiting onto the hospital walls, the moments you look out the window and see the weather changing, sneaking in vapes, little things like getting new bedsheets or if there's chocolate ice cream or learning how to do a handstand. even amongst everything, there will still be joy + love, and letting myself have that saved me.

fifth: depends on the rules of the place you can go to what is considered contraband or not, but bring comfort items, lists of phone numbers of people you want to stay in contact with, a journal, fluffy blanket, stuffed animals, art supplies, candy, comfy clothes, anything that brings you some peace. it really helped me to do a journal entry every day so that I could have some record of what was actually happening so that I wouldn't forget when I looked back later. that made me feel more grounded and secure.

sixth: Embrace whatever healing you can find in there. this doesn't have to be the bullshit you hear in group therapy or ridiculous worksheets, but if the shit you hear in group therapy works, then by all means embrace it. if embracing your rage helps, hold onto it. if other patients coping skills resonate with you, use them. it is incredibly fucking hard to heal while being instituionalized and there is absolutely no shame if you don't feel like you're getting better, but it's okay to find those moments of healing despite it all and fight for yourself and fight for building a better life in whatever way that means for you.

overall just know that whatever you are feeling--rage, sadness, pain, relief, fear, panic, grief--you are allowed to feel all of it and feel it as deeply as you need. you are not alone in this. I am so sorry that you are facing the threat of compulsory treatment right now, and know that I believe that you will survive this. depends on the rules so I don't know if you'll have your phone while you're in treatment or not, but feel free to come back, ask for advice, complain as much as you want because it can really fucking suck. know that you are allowed to take up space, you are allowed to exist as a full person with wants, opinions, and desires, and that you are allowed to be struggling, wanting support, and that you never deserve to be locked up and be treated as anything less than the beautifully complex and worthy person that you are.

followers who have faced forced psych treatment before, if you have any words of encouragment or suggestions for anon, please add on <3

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

NCT Spooky Season [Day 20]

Madame Pseudo

TW: Language, ghosts, seances, Genre: Romance, Comedy Pairing: Moon Taeil x Reader YN Pronouns: Not specified Word Count: 0.6K Prompt: “Let’s do a seance!” “Let’s not”

[NCT Masterlist] | [NCT Spooky Season Masterlist] | [Yesterday] | [Tomorrow] [Ao3 Link] | [Wattpad Link]

Notes: Last day! ... or is it? It is lol but hopefully I'll have my last little treat ready by Halloween! Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

Feedback is greatly appreciated!! Thank you for reading!

"Jesus fucking Christ," you cursed as soon as the lampshade toppled over. "Haechan, we can't stay here," you called your boyfriend over and he poked his head out of the bedroom.

"Why not?" As soon as he asked, the picture frame behind you fell over.

"That's why."

"Okay? So what? We have a roommate."

"Haechan!"

"Okay, okay... let's do a seance, then."

"Let's not, I don't want to invite any bad energy into our life," you argued.

"Invite? Babe, we live with a ghost! Maybe we can help them cross over or something."

"Mm..." You weren't convinced.

And you still weren't convinced when Haechan's hired spiritualist came in, whole kit in hand as she set up the area on your dining room table.

"I don't buy this, Haechan," you whispered.

"What do you mean? The ad said that she's an expert."

"Babe, her name is Madame Pseudo. Do you know what 'pseudo' means?" You asked. Haechan didn't answer. "Fake, Haechan, it means fake, Pseudoscience is fake science, Pseudonews is fake news, Madame Pseudo has pseudo credentials," you whispered quickly and you heard the spiritualist laugh.

"They never believe me at first," she lights the candles and invites you and Haechan to sit in front of her. You both do so. "Alright, tell me about this spirit."

"Well, they like to knock things over," you nodded toward the lampshade.

"Yeah, sometimes they'll pull (Y/N)'s hair too," Haechan says.

"Sometimes they'll draw scribbles on our walls too."

"I see, you may be dealing with the spirit of a child then," the spiritualist mutters.

"A kid?" You asked, feeling a sudden pang of guilt.

"Yes, children tend to not realize they're no longer of this world," Madame says. "They stay where they are, waiting for parents who probably aren't of this world anymore too." You swallowed harshly.

What a sad existence.

"Well, hopefully, we'll be able to send them across the plane. Remember, when you speak to the spirit, please be kind. Guide them toward the light," she says and she holds her hands out. You and Haechan take one of hers before holding on to one another's. Madame says a slow and steady chant before her eyes shoot open, pupils rolled to the back of her head so that only the whites of her eyes remained. "Have you seen my parents?" Her voice was noticeably not of her own. You and Haechan look at each other, a cold bead of sweat ran down your neck.

"No, I'm sorry," you responded.

"Why?"

"They don't live here anymore," you responded.

"Mm... where do I go then?"

"Toward the light, probably," Haechan cuts in. The spiritualist's head turns toward the window.

"That one?"

"Yeah," Haechan looked over, but it was dark, only the moon was visible tonight.

"Hmm... I'm scared. What if my parents come back home?"

"They're waiting for you over there," you cut in. The voice whimpered.

"I believe you," then the spiritualist collapsed on the table and after a few moments she stood up slowly and a bit pained. "It is done."

"That's it?"

"The spirit of children tend to be rather obedient, if you had an adult it might have been harder."

"I see... and if the supernatural things keep happening?"

"Well, you have my card now, right?"

"Yes?"

"Good, then give me a call," the spiritualist packs her things and you walk her to the door.

"I feel kind of bad now," you commented.

"Well, at least they won't be bothering us anymore," Haechan sighs and you both look at each other. Then, a knife flies from your kitchen and lodges in the wall next to the spiritualist. Everyone holds their breaths, and then things start flying.

"Hell is real!" She shrieks. "You're both on your own now!" She runs out and leaves you and Haechan behind, now clinging onto each other as objects slammed against the door, but once it closed the items fell to the ground. You and Haechan were, noticeably, unharmed.

"What the hell?" You muttered.

"We should move."

"Yes."

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