#people who value a show more than human rights and can't bare to see anything against the show's creator are ripping her apart on twitter

[feluka]

Neil Gaiman has literally said "I think Israel has the right to exist." a full year after the killing of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza in 2014 - by very definition, Zionism. If he currently feels that this statement is outdated or inaccurate, then he should have responded as such or acknowledged that what he has said before warrants suspicion at the very least, but instead his response has made it seem like OP's post came out of nowhere, causing his leagues of fans to flood OP's blog with assumptions and accusations of antisemitism - knowing full well they are wont to jump to his defense at the slightest judgment, and yet he chose neither a definitive statement in response nor to ignore the OP, but the most deplorable middle ground. He must have known that accusations of antisemitism are THE leading silencing tactic against anyone who opposes Israel. He couldn't spare support for the cause, and even fanned the flames against it, and I'll always remember how people considered their love for a show more important than bearing the thought to even QUESTION its creator.

[fancygremlin]

Narrative foils: John and Yellow

Humanity is a central theme in Malevolent. While it is easy to recognise Arthur's, the listener is more cautious when it comes to John (and Yellow).

Arthur is human, just like the person that is listening to the podcast. We can understand his kindness and empathy towards people, his tendency to expect people to act on their best intentions. We also can understand his emotional outbursts and his feelings (his anger and his immeasurable guilt, his sorrow and his stubbornness), we can understand how his motivations, personal biases and previous experiences can shape his decisions and actions. It's easier for the listener to forgive Arthur for his missteps and flaws because we empathise with him very deeply on a human level. It's easy for the listener to recognise themselves in this deeply flawed character and how hard he is trying to be better, fix his mistakes and improve.

It's a lot harder for the listener to do the same with John. At the very start of the podcast, he is presented as an eldritch entity of indescribable appearance, unknown motivations and even more mysterious origins. His thoughts and actions are harder to understand, he always seems to have ulterior motives, he is less empathetic and a lot harsher in everything he does. He is not a human characters, he's quite far from it. The listener (and Arthur) is left to grapple with something completely foreign. Instinctually, we perceive things that are inexplicable or unknown as dangerous and evil and not to be trusted (all in the name of self preservation).

At the beginning of the podcast, Arthur appears to be a calm and collected private investigator. He has a very methodical and logical way to solve problems. He values his intellect the most, and he is often calm and collected where John's more emotional and instinctual, temperamental and impatient.

As the show progresses we gradually see how Arthur's trust is broken and his empathy is betrayed on countless occasions. He is continually backed into corners, betrayed and beaten... and the more he is forced into a relentless fight or flight mode, the more he is forced to bare his teeth and act on instinct, rather than reason.

At the time of season three, Arthur has become a shell of the man he used to be at the very start. It has been (quite literally) beaten into him how dangerous and unforgiving both the Dreamlands and the real world (his home) really are. He can't trust anyone, he is alone. He only has John to rely on. So when Kayne offers to bring John back to him after thinking he had lost his one and only friend forever... of course Arthur agrees and strikes the deal.

Even if John won't have his memories... anything is better than the alternative.

Unfortunately, John is different from who was given back. This is because John and Yellow are ultimately the same character at different points in their development.

So, what were the conditions that allowed Arthur to see John as a friend, and Yellow as an enemy?

Arthur's state of mind

Arthur at the beginning of the show was still kind and mild. He was still trusting of others and was far more willing to extend compassion to humans and eldritch/monstrous creatures alike (he was willing to save the baby, but he was also willing to trust John and save and release rather than kill the wraith). He was therefore more patient or willing to cooperate with and trust John. There is also the bonus that both him and John were helping each other work out the exceptional situation of sharing a body. Furthermore, being forced to experience the horrors together allowed them to experience the very best and the very worse of each other. Every time they managed to survive, they formed a stronger and stronger bond based on trust.

Yellow met Arthur when he was at the end of his wits. He was impatient, abandoned, lost and alone. He was not exactly in the right state of mind to help and guide Yellow on how sharing a body with him worked. Arthur was also more snappy and less tolerant of Yellow's quirks and resistant to Yellow's suggestions/ideas.

To further worsen the situation, Arthur also decides to use fear as a control tactic with Yellow. The human came to know John extremely well in their adventures, and he knew what his friend feared the most (being sent back to the Dreamlands to the King in Yellow). Arthur decided to use that to continually threaten Yellow into submission. So, not only was Yellow in a new, strange and uncomfortable situation (sharing a body with a stranger and being only able to see through said stranger's eyes), but he also felt unwelcome, threatened and constantly compared to a "better" version of himself. Hence, Yellow was continually pushed back into the role of the "evil eldritch entity" by Arthur himself and never allowed to actually grow out of the bias that "unknown creature of mysterious origin" = evil and dangerous creature. That doesn't exactly help build trust...

Naming conventions

John was allowed to name himself. He decided that the name John Doe felt right for him and asks Arthur to call him so from that moment forwards. Of course, his friend obliges right away. I love that John Doe is a name that is usually used by the police (in America and in the United Kingdom) to give a temporary identity to people whose name is unknown or intentionally being concealed. Fits John quite well, since he is quite literally and metaphorically trying to give himself a blank slate. This is him tentatively steeping out of his previous role as the King in Yellow's wayward fragment and into something different. Choosing a name for himself is a great first step.

Yellow was never given the possibility or time to do the same. Not only was he denied exploring his environment with the innate curiosity both him and John have, but he was also denied choosing a name for himself. Arthur was the one who dubbed him Yellow, a name that is way too similar and easily associated to the King in Yellow. How can Yellow be expected to be anything else, if his own name is a constant reminder of where he came from?

John decided on a name for himself that is synonymous to someone whose identity is unknown (or willingly being concealed) and was allowed to shape himself into someone new. Yellow is given a name that never allows him to be seen as anything more than just a mere fragment of the King in Yellow.

John was given the space (and time) to grow into something that felt true to himself, Yellow was expected to fulfill impossible expectations and fill the mould made for someone else (namely, John).

Exploring the surroundings

Personally, I really, really love how innately curious and inquisitive John is of his surroundings. He always showed genuine interest in anything that was completely new to him (the objects, environments and social situations) that he came in contact while observing the world through Arthur's eyes. Luckily, his curious nature was encouraged, as Arthur often took time to explain to him, correct him and even teach him new things to him. The best and first example that comes to mind is John describing a "chair with wheels", which was amicably corrected as a "wheelchair" by Arthur in Season one, Part 3. Arthur's friendly aid allowed John to familiarise himself with an otherwise confusing new world. Slowly, he is able to expand his knowledge and form personal opinions (likes and dislikes) on anything new he encounters.

Yellow also showed right away the same inquisitive nature that John demonstrated. However, his attempts to show interest in anything unfamiliar was constantly shut down, reprimanded and discouraged by Arthur's angry outbursts and impatience. Missteps and honest mistakes were met the same way as well. Instead of learning and exploring his environment with the support of the human he is (physically) attached to, Yellow learns to keep to himself and never question anything. He quickly learns to limit himself to just flatly relaying visual information to help Arthur on his endeavours. Yellow is immediately minimised to just an aid for the human's needs.

To add insult to injury, Arthur also never hesitated to constantly compare Yellow to John. The latter was presented as the golden standard: someone Yellow should aspire to become, while also being expected to inherently be able emulate. This constant comparison represented a major pushback to Yellow's development. It was demoralising and stunting: no matter how good Yellow could have been, he was never going to be given the chance to grow and improve the way John had been. It wasn't fair of Arthur to expect Yellow to become someone else. He should have given Yellow a chance to become his own person instead.

Development of interests

John being allowed to explore his surroundings helped him push further and develop interests. In particular, he has shown a lot of enjoyment from literature and poetry, which Arthur often seems to very patiently share and recite to him. This is something the two enjoy and it's a point of contact between their two wildly different personalities.

It's so fascinating that John shows interest specifically in these two art forms. Art is such an effective medium that allows humans to express their feelings and experiences and hopefully connect with a wider audience to feel less alone and more understood. It's funny that in this case, even a non-human creature was able to relate and connect to very human emotions.

In season four we learn that John has developed a deep interest and fascination for moving pictures. Just based on Arthur's reaction, I think it is very safe to assume that John has been (a pain in the ass) insistently and actively pestering his friend for a very long time to go and watch one.

It's really endearing.

What makes John's interest in movies so much more important is that this is something that diverges from Arthur's interests. Moving pictures are for his eyes only... quite literally (pun intended). He is ultimately the only one of the two consciousnesses sharing Arthur's body that will be able to enjoy them at all. It's a thing that would be for himself alone. John is successfully starting to have personality and interests of his own outside of both the King in Yellow and Arthur. After all, moving pictures are not something that is inherently useful for Arthur's survival or ability to navigate his surroundings... they are purely for John's enjoyment.

John is finally becoming his own person, not just a fragment or part of someone else (and I am so here for it!).

In regards to Yellow... the last time I saw him was at the end of season three, where it is revealed he is now bound to Larson. I would not be surprised to find out that Yellow feels a lot of resentment towards both Arthur AND John (the person that he was being compared to so unfairly). Yellow hanging out with Larson, another character who holds a lot of loathing and hatred towards Arthur, surely will incite Yellow's negative emotions. I can only imagine what Larson is exposing Yellow to and how he must be taking any opportunity to shape Yellow into something he can manipulate and use for his personal gains (just like he did with his daughter). I can't even begin to imagine which behaviours Larson might be encouraging and I am honestly concerned of what will come out of this.

[balkanradfem]

I don’t see opening up tips or donations as monetizing your blog. When friends go through hard times, they band together. Very different thing altogether from branding or anything. People like your blog and have learned stuff from it or even just plain enjoyed the content during hard times- I wouldn’t call letting people show you appreciation during a difficult time capitalizing on it… but I understand if you’re still hesitant or don’t want to either way

Anon I'm so sorry that I happen to be one person on here that hates money. I can't help it!

I'll try to give a bit of a background to this (tw mentions of a male).

I had to live with a male (my father) who valued money more than human life, his family, or anything else. He even called himself a 'boss of the company' and the workers were his wife and children. We were forced to do physical labour whenever he found a way to monetize it, and he would take the money for himself. He saw everything in the terms of how much it could earn him. He'd walk past a tree and say 'this tree is worth $60 cut down'. If anyone in the family had something that costed him money, even a bus ticket, they would get berated for being a burden.

So my whole childhood I had to deal with being secondary to money, and it shaped how I perceived myself, and the world. I was in poverty even though my father had plenty of money. I became the exact opposite of him, refusing to acknowledge that money has any kind of value, and seeing people first, connections first, humanity first. And if I ever monetize anything, it feels wrong, gross and exploitative.

Money in general, I believe, is bad for human psyche. Because we love naturally hoarding resources, right, we love to pick things up that are useful to us, and then have many of them, to be safe and secure. And for every resource out there, there's a limit for how much we need of it, and how much we can store. You can only hoard so many tomatoes, or potatoes, or wheat, before you have a storage issue, or issue with food spoiling. But money can be hoarded indefinitely, can't get spoiled, and it can be used to exchange for any other resource imaginable. And we don't have to think about how that resource came to be, who created it, managed it, brought it to us. It's overpowering for our little hoarder brains! And when you count in that we now absolutely need it for bare survival, it becomes worse, it becomes so incredibly important to us, that we feel we need to have it at all and any costs.

I do acknowledge I need it to pay rent, that's a survival issue, but it's on me to figure out how to survive, and I'll somehow figure it out :) If I can't do that much then I'm just not fit for survival, but I have faith in myself! I believe I am fit for it.

[takaraphoenix]

On the one hand do I understand latching onto the main character on a show. And I even understand protectiveness over one's favorite character. What I don't understand is the inability to see that not everything is for everyone and with a broad variety of tastes and of other characters available, people may just latch onto someone else.

Especially since main characters are tricky.

Protagonistic main characters always carry this heavy burden of having to be pure of heart and intentions, forgiving and accepting, trying to find the good and right solution. Be good.

In my experience, that's a tightrope to balance.

A character who exclusively stands for everything good and pure and right in the world can easily turn mind-numbingly boring. For various reasons even. Maybe because the audience feels preached to. Maybe because flaws and bad choices give flavor. Maybe because always doing the Good And Right Thing gets too predictable. Maybe because the audience's core-values clash with those of the main character.

Secondary main characters are usually free of these burdens. They get to mess up - sometimes, it is even vital for the story that they mess up specifically so the protagonist has something to fix or gets an opportunity to show their goodness in comparison.

There's edges and roughness and flaw in secondary main characters that too many primary main characters aren't allowed.

Not all! There are plenty titular leads who get to mess up, who get to be mean and rude and make bad choices and be selfish and loud and take up space (looking at you, Buffy Summers, my beloved).

But too many writers are afraid that these "flaws" somehow cut into the goodness and righteousness of their protagonist in some way. When all it really does is show that they're human.

Doesn't mean people can't latch onto the characters who supposedly do everything right, or are overly good, or are shining examples of morality and forgiveness and rainbows and kittens. Heck, sometimes that's even very nice, sometimes I like that too, because it's easy and sometimes, easy is nice. I love Clark Kent, who always holds out his hand to help even those who hurt him and who looks at the world with endless optimism and the fundamental belief that there is good in the people around him (he hopes and forgives because that's his only option because he is too powerful to do anything else, otherwise he'll make himself a god, so he has to believe the good in people will make them make the right choice on their own).

Sometimes, easy is also boring. Sometimes, easy rubs me the wrong way. Sometimes, easy isn't enough.

Because depending on the execution of forgiveness and righteousness and goodness, it makes me bare my teeth and recoil. When it shouldn't be that easy, when it shouldn't be forgiven that easily, when the good and righteous solution isn't satisfying, when the crime deserves a punishment and not a hug and a 'you're part of the team now, bud', when you know that the 'no kill' solution will just inevitably lead to the problem returning and getting worse, when revenge would be so much sweeter than forgiveness.

Because not everything has to be a rainbow colored Saturday morning cartoon with a happy end resolution and I'm not that little girl who wants everyone to always get along anymore.

I'm the vindictive woman who holds grudges and thinks forgiveness shouldn't be handed out like candy on Halloween but should be hard-earned and that redemption and forgiveness don't have to go hand-in-hand, just because they're being redeemed doesn't mean they have to or should be sticking around right here, with the very people they hurt in the past. An eye for an eye is more tantalizing than hugging it out, sometimes.

I like my protagonists flawed. Struggling. Not just struggling with the plot but maybe struggling with themselves, with their own morals, with the decisions they have to make.

If they don't have to fight for it, if it is all handed to them because the writers are too afraid of conflict and don't want to make their protagonist selfish, if they are assigned the high moral compass and the good righteous decisions and if they keep forgiving and giving second chances, even when it's been proven again and again that this route only leads to more problems...

...Well, I'll go ahead and sink my teeth into the broken ones that lash out and want revenge and fuck up along the way and have to fight for what they have, even when it's taken away from them, even when they are forced to lose it or mess up to make the protagonist look better.

[nightswithkookmin]

RE JIKOOK IS ESTRANGED

Them

Me

Lol

JUMP CUT ALERT: This is a continuation of an ongoing discussion behind the scenes.

DISCLAIMERS:

Article 19, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression which includes the freedom to hold an opinion without interference through any media.

Misinterpretation of my opinion, my words constitute a violation of my human rights. Please do not take my words out of context, share it on another platform in furtherance of your own agenda. If you do hold yourself accountable first. You are the author of your own intentions and interpretations.

I do not intend malice by my words nor do I seek to be disrespectful of any member mentioned in here. I simply enjoy mentally stimulating conversations and thought provoking discussions.

Let the records show.

MATTER OF THE DAY

Thanks to everyone that's shared your thoughts on this matter with me and thanks to that person that brought this matter to my attention.

I haven't looked into it and I don't know how severe this issue is.

I think people have the right to believe in anything they want to believe in. Personally, I don't think Santa is real but clearly others do, doesn't mean I'm sane or that they are crazy.

I don't think discussions of this nature should be about who is right or who is wrong. Everyone's opinion is valid and holds true to their own delusions. Lol.

Frankly, I prefer this kind of ship wars to the slurs and abuses and they are distributing hard core porn now?? What is going on! Chileee.

I have never believed JK and Tae to be anything more than friends. At one point, I wondered if they were even friends at all lol but since they admitted to having had a falling out themselves at one point the topic is now moot.

Tae and JK have- had- have a really special bond. To me anyways. I always saw them as the evil power twins of BTS due their ability to come together to wreck havoc especially on Bang PD's scripts. Lol. I think I have mentioned this a few times now.

I smiled to myself when I heard them call themselves partners in crime. The bond is there no two ways about it- you either appreciate it for what it is or you don't. personally I love their bond. Can't stand their shippers but I love their bond. They keep the drama going for me- love it. Lol

The question has always been whether their bond is as profound as their shippers make it seem. I argue it's not and I will always argue it is not. Lol

I think it's only fair that they also question whether Jikook's bond is as profound as we make it sound. I really can't be mad at that. All is fair in love and war- at the very least we can agree to disagree.

I mean even Jikookers themselves question the extent of JK and JM's bond. Some think they are just very special friends and nothing more. I think I talked about this in my is Jikook real post when I mentioned labels and the degree of love between JK and JM?

We know JK and JM have a unique bond. The question then is how far does that bond go. Is it just platonic, romantic or something in between?

This is the question I was aiming to answer with my is Jikook real post. My objective was to try and dismantle all the nuances that keep us from seeing the 'truth' about Jikook- that they are real. At least the way I see them.

I talked about unrealistic expectations we have of Jikook, false conditionings that often leads us to see Jikook as something more than they are- the amplified Jikook. We get used to highlight reels of Jikook's interactions in edits such that we feel there is something wrong with them when we see them in real time.

I mentioned that Jimin's nurturing nature often also estops people from reading more into his relationship with JK. He is nurturing of everyone, JK ain't special- they argue, just as this person is doing.

I talked about Jimin's Idol persona, the facade of the boy in love with JK- Jimin's role within BTS since debut and how that can equally blind us into thinking Jikook is something more or less than they really are. I have a post dedicated to this topic sitting in my drafts so I will not go into the details of it here. Please look forward to that.

But this person's post touches on another aspect of Jimin's personality that I feel is one of the things that often keeps us from seeing his relationship with JK for what it really is- his inclination for professionalism.

I keep saying this, several times now, that Jimin's Idol persona to me seems well developed, elaborate and very elusive.

I have mentioned a few times how I think during Jikook break ups that they keep it civil and professional for the sake of the team and that you might not even notice the difference especially if you place high value on their skinship.

The skinship would be there, the cordiality and civility would equally be there- except for moments when they are fighting, that gets bloody. Lol. They are best friends at the very least. It is why it's important to reevaluate the metrics we use to determine whether or not they are a couple.

I wish I could dialogue with this person to understand her assessment of Jikook and what she is using to determine whether or not Jikook are a couple and what makes her think Tae and JK are. Know what I mean?

What makes her think Jikook were a couple before 2017? What makes y'all think Jikook are a couple at all? I would like to hear from y'all- but come at me with the skinship bit and I'll block you deadass. Lol

So on this person's post, I think I agree with her assessment of JM's persona but I don't agree with the Jikook have been broken up since 2017. And I think I understand where this is coming from... I think some of us do. Yes they had a few fights that year especially leading up to Jimin's birthday- August was it? but we all know JK more than made up for it with the damn GCFs. Lol. kindly visit the timeline, peruse as many content as you can and form your own opinion on it. This is just mine.

Are Jikook Jikooking all the time? Absolutely not. They are human too. They fight, they make up, they break up they get back together, they have introverted, extroverted moments, they go up, they go down- have bad hair days, it's all part of their dynamics I'm afraid. From my point of view of course.

I feel some people notice these things too and when they sense Jikook aren't in a good place they bow out and Jump ship- I don't blame them. They are shippers not supporters. What Jikook need are supporters not shippers- or maybe both, do you.

Could this person be one such people? DNF shippers? Given up on Jikook before the end of their story? I don't know. May be.

Jikook is not a fantasy that you ship. It's a relationship that you support. You can't escape into them. They are an ongoing love story- chapters close, chapters open, you just have to ride it out till the very end.

I think the challenge of their post for me is whether or not Jikook is a performance. Her post leans into the whole Jikook is fanservice bull especially in light of the recent photoshoot video which some are using as evidence Jikook don't 'click' when the cameras are off- the lies they tell on Beyonce's internet!

I think I have speculated on this and shared my thoughts on this whole Jikook is fanservice bit. I will delve deeper into it in my next post on Jimin's idol persona but as I've already said, Jikook is fanservice is equally a misnomer.

Yes Jikook does fanservice sometimes, but they are not fanservice. Fanservice is the cover for their relationship. It's their glass ceiling- nothing to see here folks just two snakes under glass. Keep it pushing. (Sorry. Couldn't help myself. Lol)

But you do raise a valid question, what is Jikook like when the cameras are not filming?

Is the mood of Jikook in that footage the general mood of Jikook behind cameras as Tuktukkers are claiming? They barely interact, JM doesn't pay much attention to Kook, yadda yadda yadda?

And the part that gives me a complex, that JK only interacts with JM when they are the center of attention. Huh???????????

Sigh.

I feel caught between a rock and a hard place on this one.

The theory you pointed out in support of this assertion isn't mine and I think I made it clear I didn't share the same thoughts on it. I said it was valid nevertheless. Chilee, this is hard. Lol

Yes JK is an introvert, Jimin is an extrovert, JM doesn't live for JK, all that is true and some Jikookers have said that too- so when you ask, if this is who they are when the cameras are off does that mean what they do when the cameras turn on is fanservice-

I-👁👄👁

I don't know the thought process that went into that theory so I can't confidently defend it. I'll ask? Lol.

Personally, I'd like to know whether or not they see the tension in that footage as tension in the first place. Chileee I don't know.

I see it as tension. Not a very serious one though. So we'd have to agree to disagree on that one.

But the part I can argue, the part I agree with is Jikook aren't hyper super duper lovey dovey on each other all the time. They aren't cuddly all the time. They have their moments of quiet- Jimin seems like the more affectionate kind who'd rub all over JK in the comfort of their homes but still...

If you ask me though, I think Jikook are tamer on cameras than they are behind scenes. I always talk about the fear and panic in the members' eyes when they see Jikook gravitating towards each other- it's probably because they know the extent of Jikook's shenanigans. They know how worse it can be because they've seen it all.

And when JK panics sometimes when JM gets closer too you just know dude is scared perhaps because of his Mochi chick's devil may care shamelessly in love policies- Jimin wild. Bless him.

I did say also that Memories 2019 is equally eye opening. These were censored bits. BigHit was holding all of that and giving us crumbs- stingy mfs. Bless.

All that said, again I don't think Jikook are hyper lovey on eachother behind the scenes. Another part I diverge from that view is that this is not exactly off camera. It was just behind the scenes of a photoshoot. Something we've seen a countless times.

This is not BTS's first ever behind scenes photoshoot. It's just a different angle that's all.

They were working. They were at work. This wasn't an alone private space for them so they can't base on this to say Jikook don't interact when the cameras are off.

The cameras were rolling. We saw them interact, JM was interacting with everyone the way he always does on camera all the time except he wasn't interacting with JK the way he does all the time, grainy footage or not- I mean let's call a spade a spade and not a big fat spoon. Lol

As to why he was doing that- let's just say there are many schools of thoughts.

My thought as I've said is JM was freezing JK out. I think with anyone that's recognized and is familiar with Jikook fights, that mood is all too familiar as I mentioned earlier.

If JM was being courteous and not mad at his man then he would have kept it 'professional' and done the 'fanservice' bit with Jk as per usual just as this person is saying since the cameras were still rolling.

Jikook is not fanservice. They are real.

I have refrained from providing a detailed analysis of that '5 minutes' footage for reasons I will explain later when I do share my thoughts on that footage- eventually. Some day.

But my hypothesis remains the same that I think Jikook were fighting or had a minor issue. As to why they were fighting, chileee I don't know. The confirmation bias in me feel it had something to do with JM's birthday but honestly it could have been over anything at all- dumplings, microphones- we all saw that slap on stage, a certain Iphone notification perhaps, did JinMin make a secret VLive without Kook again? Lol

There are plethora of reasons, I can only speculate on a few. And I think we've all seen Jimin when he is not 'Jimining' with the others, JK included. Take his mood with Tae at GDA for example- since this is not a VMin post I won't go into it.

But it seems they squashed whatever beef they were having on stage when JM extended his hands to Tae and they shaked it out.

We've seen him and Suga bicker too- which again, I am not gonna to get into out of respect for their shippers but I can point you to the On comeback VLive early this year when Suga touched JM and JM mouthed Hajima to him- which I think had something to do with what was going on with him and JK at the time but that is besides the point. Every shipper for themselves.

I contrast his 'fights' with Suga and V to show you the difference between Jimin being professional and courteous and Jimin being rah rah. He was sat next to suga, talking and laughing with him but snapped the moment Suga held his back.

He did the same in the Dynamite MV Vlive, smiling and laughing with Suga but the moment JK teased him with the Yoonmin comment his countenance fell.

Jimin is not that good of an actor if you ask me. I have said he is very Kumbaya in nature, often makes compromises for the sake of the team but that don't mean he is a pushover or one to trifle with- he scares me when he is mad. Lmho.

The scene in that footage didn't look to me as that he was being nice and courteous to JK- is that y'all's definition of professional courtesy? Damn.

If they were having a lover's squabble then the 'icy' mood of Jikook we saw in that footage is not the general mood of Jikook when the camera's are turned off.

I have to state again that I don't know much of what goes on behind the cameras and most of the things we see sometimes are equally missing context.

That been said we have seen enough of Jikook 'behind cameras' and they are more intimate than we can imagine. A certain cozy selfie at the back of an abandoned truck comes to mind. Whatever they were doing at the back of the track wasn't intended for the cameras judging from JK's reaction.

We've had glimpses of Jikook when they are not the center of attention enough to have a fair idea of what they are when cameras are off and I don't think it is that mood we saw in that footage.

We saw them at Jingle ball bell, towards the end of 2019. We saw them in their own space doing what they do best- making us feel single as fuck. Bless them.

We've seen them at awards, we've seen JK eating Jimin's ear nom nom to calm him down- like I would have just bought him icecream to calm down his nerves or rubbed his back but whatever JK. He is your man; you know him best. Good for him. Good for both of you. Now come back and feed us.

And the bit about JK only laughing with JM when he noticed he was on the Bangtan Bomb cameras in that footage- now that's nasty below the belts phony ass ass! I felt that one straight in my chest, shit. Lol

Dude was in a doghouse it seemed and I noticed them stealing glances at each other and.... sigh.

I just think JK was looking for an opening to warm his way back into JM's good graces- it's really nothing we haven't seen before.... sigh.

This is 2020 that narrative of JK hates Jimin, JK doesn't like JM needs to stop. It's dead. Pack it up. Chileee, y'all tried it with this one.

Jk is nice to JM only when the cameras are on him? Nice try.

JK is so fake and fraudulent he glared RM down till he stepped away from Jimin- again, in the very same photoshoot footage y'all swear to God is proof Jikook is not real.

Find it. RM stood next to JM. Looks up see's something- or someone. Does his tell- the hand to head thingy he does when JK glares at him over Jimin. He backs away inches from JM.

Cut to JK. Dudes a mood. Jin bumps into him, stares at him but JK wouldn't even look at him and then deadass looks away grumpyly- talk of professionalism. You doing great swidy keep going!

You can hide a relationship, fake it on God but you can never hide the intimacy. Taekook just lack that intimacy, I'm sorry. Even in that 'estranged' moment Jikook's intimacy was still there-

Even in whatever mood JK was in- which again, I believe was just due to their lover's squabble- JK still was claiming his man and exercising his right of authority over him. That's how you know they are not broken up. In my opinion. Chileee. I'm gonna get in trouble. Deep sigh.

Y'all think JK was hovering over Jimin because he was preparing to strike him down like a censored censored censored? Yea, he was preparing to strike alright- All the corners of Jimin's heart. Y'all better stop before I find you. Lol

I said I wasn't going to analyze the footage in this post but damn. This man out here serving us all kinds of brooding assorted jeonlous as his man takes a time out or two to wiggle wiggle wiggle on him Malfroy style and y'all are out here peddling nonsense. Strike one.

He was a mood alright. Did y'all see Tae rubbing his chest, arms and legs, ears did y'all see any body else in there doing that for him? Y'all's falcon cannot hear his falconer give it up and sorry, Jikook can't relate.

As I've posited, JM I feel was mad as hell for whatever reason and wasn't in the space to be that person JK needed him to be- in that moment. Doesn't mean they are like that behind scenes all the time.

And before I get attacked again for causing drama, being toxic etc by Jikookers understand that I am just a delusional person shipping these two in a way that makes sense to me. Write me off as delulu, and go please.

Whatever ambiguity surrounds that moment, to me, Jin and RM's reaction to JK clarifies things a bit. Jikook were boiling hot. JK was still keeping an eye on his man. Lol. Bless them. That's my conclusion. I'm running miles with that. Catch me. Lol

Feel free to come up with your own theory in a way that makes sense to you.

I'm not sure how long that fight lasted but from the rain day incident I'm hoping it wasn't that long. Jikook are fine I believe- I hope. Judging from the way JM drew JK out in his VLive with the whole I miss JK comment? Did that not sound familiar to y'all? And that Mickey mouse thingy- JM ain't slick. Bless him.

JM is the perched akekeke whisperer whispering all kinds of things in JK's ear, feeding JK news of what goes on on social media and what not. Dude don told his man they won a BB on his birthday, told his man Jin wasn't happy he chose his bag over his- definitely told his man Army was missing him- what? I'm going with that too sue me. Lol

Did you or did you not see Jk coming out to do a live log afterwards? And JK seemed less grumpy, in very high spirits? Wedding bells- I'm manifesting it for JK. Manifest with me.

Remember when JM did a log and talked nonsense about JK, and JK did a rebuttal log to respond to JM and address some of the things JM had said about him? Remember that? It's a jikook thing and it's back😌

I have said JM uses social media to connect with Army while JK uses it as an outlet to express himself. Through out his Live he kept talking about how he wasn't prepared to do a live and it shows in the way he kept saying it was awkward, he just kept it business and didn't know what else to share... I wonder who put his paws on him, dragged his ass to turn on the camera because Armys had asked of him- a certain quick tempered chick who dragged his man out on social media to do the whole Chuseok greetings 2020 on Twitter perhaps?

And JK is so whipped he'd do just about all the hoops to appease his man- Jikook AU written by Goldy. High five. No but seriously...

Behind the scenes, JK sneaks into JM's bed at night- Taekook does it too? Please! The look on JM's face when RM spilled that tea is enough said.

There's only two people in BTS that panic and don't want us to know they lay one on God in bed and it's not Tae Kook.

JK: Jimin hyung and I will sleep here

JM: how about we let the others choose first

Everyone shares a room:

Footage:🦄🍲🐯🧀🐺🍟🐓🥛🐑🛏

JIKOOK share a room:

Footage: 🚪👀

Behind the cameras Jikook sneak into each others bed- camera caught them live. You saw JM's face, I can't make this shit up. Lol

Behind the scenes, Jikook do laundry at 1am. *insert JM pervy face meme.

Chileee, y'all making me trip with this one. Deep breaths.

Jikook have their moments. This was one of them. Can they be human? Please. Thank you.

At this point, these folks are not even shippers. They is shoppers shopping a man for their bias. Lol. Just admit y'all want Jeon thick thighs strong butt for your bias and go. Just admit you want some tall glass of Tiger charming face husky voice strong chest for your bunny and go. Lmho

Chilee, when we say Tae and Kook had a falling out we don't mean they freeze eachother out behind cameras. Hell, we don't even mean they fake their bond or interactions. C'mon! Tae and JK admitted they are not lovers and y'all is bitter. That's why y'all is making up this nonsense about Jikook. Speak the truth and shame the devil. Peter would be proud.

When we say Tae Kook is not real, We just mean JM spends JK's birthday with him while every one including Tae is out there cruising for Jesus with friends. We just mean Jikook claim eachother even when they beefing. That ship beefed and didn't even know they was beefing and they are real? Damn.

We just mean Jikook make efforts for each other even when they are having bad days- Had it not been for Jimin they'd still be gnashing on these cold streets. Place some respect on his name, y'all's ungrateful. Lol

Tae and JK don't want each other they both want Jimin- there. I said it.

Thanks for attending my Tedtalk. 👁👄👁

Now where was I? Never mind. I'm just gonna go burn some sage. There's too much negativity going on around. Hakuna matata!

There is nothing wrong with Taekook as a ship. Personally, I'm a multishipper I ship all the ships but I support Kookmin. I don't mind their shippers calling them whatever, but my eyes twitch when people who claim they support Jikook act wishy washy with Jikook. Lol. Like are you going to withdraw your support of Kookmin if JK sits on Tae's lap?👀 Yall make me nervous. How can you think Jikook is real but then look at Taekook and go huh??? What are y'all seeing that I can't see?

Like those are two completely different dynamics. It's the skinship isn't it? Talk to me. Jikookers who see something nonplatonic in Taekook honestly give me trust issues. Y'all have me out here looking over my shoulders.

I am delusional but I'm confident in my delusions because to me it is about the love and support for JM and JK as LGBTQ plus couples. Please stop shipping Jikook, stop shopping JK and JM for eachother and start supporting them because they are real.

IN MY OPINION.

Signed,

GOLDY

[thefreelanceangel]

Shadowbringers Is Finally Ended

With Patch 5.55 and the official end of the Shadowbringers story, setting up now for Endwalker in November, there are now a few months ahead to grind gear, finish content and reflect on the most recent expansion.

And, without any hyperbole, I can say definitively that I have never in my life been as impressed with a game's writing as I have that of Shadowbringers, both the original expansion and a lot of the patch content. I have... thoughts.

I'm a bit of an outlier; I skipped Stormblood (oops) and went straight from completing Heavensward (which greatly impressed me at the time and still does) into Shadowbringers because I wanted to get a max level character already.

Within the first few cutscenes of Shadowbringers, I was absolutely hooked.

First, let me just say that "monstrous angels" is 100% My Thing. I ADORE the reinterpretation of the standard "Renaissance art angelic figures" into something closer to incomprehensible beings taking on twisted, terrifying appearances. The human mind is a finite thing and comprehending an angel would be as difficult as comprehending infinity; these are things so alien to our experience that assuming they'd be easy to grasp and familiar feels disingenuous to me.

So the sin-eaters and the Lightwardens? SLAP.

Also, the intent behind the usage of "Light" in Shadowbringers was deliberate and purposeful. Our Lord and Savior, Yoshi-P, stated this clearly in his Forbes interview.

"The inception of this idea was very simple: in recent fantasy works, the perception that light equates to good and dark equates to evil is very set in stone, we wanted to shake this up a bit.

"Until this point in Final Fantasy XIV, our players have been Warriors of Light: the hero. However, with Shadowbringers, we leave the Source and embark on a journey to the First, and through this I want our players to discover the truth of the world, as well as think about the real nature of light and dark. That is the theme of Shadowbringers.

"In any case, a light too strong could potentially become evil. Darkness and night are also necessary for the world to maintain its balance; that's the kind of theme we will be shedding light on."

And the themes in Shadowbringers had such an amazing resonance that they were both painfully clear and masterfully executed. Not only was the theme of "balance" clearly executed in the "returning Darkness to a world flooded by Light" goal, but the desire for players to "think about the real nature of light and dark" showed in a multitude of ways.

The Warriors of Light (who we met as the Warriors of Darkness in Heavensward) are, in their home world, reviled. They directly caused the Flood which nearly destroyed their home and although they were able to save it with personal sacrifice, the populace at large is unaware of that sacrifice. The motives behind what the Warriors did is essentially lost to history; all that remains is the perception of their actions and the results thereof.

Motives, however, which you (player and WoL) are privy to.

"At long last, you see. To save our world, we gave our lives. We were just adventurers trying to make our way. An odd job here, a favor there—we never aspired to be Warriors of Light. But word of our deeds spread, and soon people were calling us heroes. They placed their hopes and dreams on our shoulders and bid us fight for all that was good and right. We fought and we fought and we fought...until there was no one left to fight. We won...and now our world is being erased from existence. We did everything right, everything that was asked of us, and still—still it came to this! You of all people should understand! We cannot—we will not falter. We brought our world to the brink of destruction, and now we must save it."

You had that fight with the Warriors of Darkness. You heard Ardbert explain exactly what happened, how they came to the point where they faced off against you, and you saw what happened when they were given the choice to hold back the Flood. And you were there when the one favor Ardbert asked was for the Warriors of Darkness to be taken home.

You see how the First remembers them and it's stark contrast to the heroes you met who were fighting desperately to save people who now spit on their names. History quite clearly has two sides and which you believe is dependent entirely on what information you have.

This becomes even more of a clear theme when you meet Emet-Selch and learn more about the Calamity which led to the entire Zodiark/Hydaelyn duality. Here, your previous experiences with Ascians has painted them solely as "villains." They are established enemies, manipulating events and people in order to attain goals which, to you, are nothing but Calamities.

And yet, as you learn more about the original Source and the Amaurotines that once lived on it, these goals are painted in an entirely new light. Instead of merely seeking to wipe out "the world" for no apparent reason or, at best guess, greater power for their deity Zodiark, the Ascians were striving to repair the damage done by the original Sundering. They, in a manner of speaking, were doing what the Warriors of Darkness were. What you, the Warrior of Light, have been doing. They were trying to restore what was lost.

Which leads into another of Shadowbringers' major themes: grief and loss.

The earliest touches of this are in Alisaie's questlines where you learn about what happens to people tainted by the Light. Families are destroyed, people are transmuted into sin-eaters and those who avoid that fate must stand by and watch as their loved ones fall to something far worse than death. "A Purchase of Fruit" shows you exactly what the end result is while also highlighting something very specific: with no hope of removing the Light's taint, knowing that all that awaits the tainted is a painful transmutation and existence as a sin-eater, those untainted make the best they can of those last days and end the tainted individual's pain before it begins.

Grief, yes. Loss? Absolutely. And yet, this is a loving, compassionate thing that those in Amh Araeng are doing. They face their own grief and loss. Rather than refusing to accept the actuality of their circumstances or refuse to weigh themselves down with taking a decisive action, they make the choice to face their grief and loss directly, even willingly taking on the guilt of their actions rather than leaving the tainted to suffer.

Magnus in Twine lost his wife and son, which immobilizes him. He can't find solance in anything save alcohol and brooding over their graves. It takes outside interference to pull him directly from his grief, to help him see past the loss of his family and look towards the future where life might once again be worth living. His struggle with grief is painfully familiar and so very, very close to many real life struggles that it's extremely poignant.

This struggle with grief is the fight the Ascians are, without question, losing. Let's set aside the "tempering" argument when it comes to Emet-Selch and Elidibus for the moment, largely because it's actually quite true that grief can spur people into committing horrific acts either as a desperate attempt to assuage their own pain (revenge) or make 'things right' in some way (vengeance).

Emet-Selch does not, in fact, properly grieve for Amaurot and the Ancients he knew. He clings to them, as Hythlodaeus tells us, weighed down by an aching sense of loss.

"And though he may carry himself with a certain glib ease, Emet-Selch is not a man to bear his burdens lightly. In fact, I imagine they have only grown heavier with every passing century. ...T'is truly a terrible weight he has chosen to carry."

Quite significantly is the word "chosen" in that. Grief is a process that involves, eventually, letting go of the pain and living with the memories of what was loved and what no longer is. Emet-Selch chooses not to do that. He does not grieve for Amaurot and his lost loved ones; he refuses, no matter how often he mentions his loss, to admit that what is gone is gone.

Elidibus, rather similarly, refuses to accept that the duty he took on when called upon to become Zodiark's heart is finally at an end. That the world he and Emet-Selch originated from is gone. Although he admits that he can barely remember why he's set on this path, he refuses to turn away from him.

One won't forget, one can barely remember--neither will grieve and let go.

Even the Ascians' characteristic arrogance and disdain for what they consider "lesser beings" is easy to read as their long-lasting struggle with grief. Considering the Sundering, all the beings that the Ascians are so disdainful of are, in fact, echoes of that which they once knew. If they acknowledged that, accepted those beings as what they are and perhaps even admitted they had worth... well... Rather like realizing abruptly that you've spent a whole day without thinking of someone recently departed, it feels like a betrayal.

To find value in the worlds as they currently are, to turn away from the duty they were asked to uphold, to choose to lay down the memories of the past are all, in essence, choices the Ascians will not make because to do so would be to let go of what's lost, to move into the acceptance of grief and that can feel like betraying those whose memories are slowly fading.

Emet-Selch's end--"Remember us."--is directly tied to his refusal to forget. To let himself have even one day without hoping for an eventuality that's highly unlikely regardless of effort, without remembering the Sundering and the Final Days. He remembered, forcefully and tenaciously, and wishes that legacy to live beyond him.

While Elidibus, in remembering, unable to deny failure any longer, finally expresses grief and loss. "My people. My brothers. ...My friends. Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty's end, we will meet again. We will. We will. The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it."

And coming from villains, quite specifically from villains that have been largely indistinct "puppet master" figures throughout the previous expansions, these story arcs were a punch to the gut. (Yes, I had to pause writing this to cry helplessly over Elidibus again because my gods, that last line just...) Villains are at their best in fiction when they're relatable. When it's so very easy to see that thin line between villain and hero.

Faced with the loss of everything you'd ever loved, with the faintest possibility of getting it back, what would you do? What wouldn't you do? Yes, the Ascians did terrible things and that's undeniable. Stopping them was necessary to save hundreds of thousands of lives. And doing so, being victorious, didn't feel like a victory and that is such a rare, rare thing in media. The Warrior of Light does the right thing, but in doing so, must face the fact that those they've been fighting have hopes and dreams and feelings and pain as real and as motivating as theirs.

And Shadowbringers does such an impressive job of turning those standard tropes around. Heroes are a dime a dozen because if you just awaken them, as Elidibus did with the starshower, well, there can be dozens of Warriors running around. Villains have heart-wrenching motivations and relatable reasons for their goals. History is multi-faceted and no one person knows what the "truth" truly is. Grief can spur people to helping others (i.e. the tank Role Quest ending) or it can fester and go unhealed and create nothing but more destruction.

There is so much that Shadowbringers did beautifully, I don't have the time to touch on all of it. The lack of "breaking the flawed system fixes everything" trope following Eulmore's liberation from Vauthry and the struggles that Eulmore faces in trying to build a functional, working social order for themselves. Embracing the value of childish dreams and tending to the smallest, most overlooked victims of trauma with the Pixie Tribal Quests. Dealing with a commander whose soldiers died and seeing Lyna's survivor's guilt. Seeing how having a single, unified goal can inspire and rally people into putting differences aside and helping each other.

Shadowbringers has finally ended with Patch 5.55. The story on the First ended with Patch 5.3. And all I can say is that this is a game that I will never forget.

[fanmoose12]

Found your account at almost 2AM and it was the first thing I thought of discovering in the morning. And look at me now, it's been almost an hour and I can't stop scrolling down cuz IT4S JUST SO AMAZING. Can i request some levihan angst AU about one of them being tortured then getting saved by the other one? Thank you for your magestic writing

ok, so it's set in modern setting but the events are similar to the uprising arc in canon???? anyways, i hope you like it, take care :)

Hange watched, disinterested, as a big burly man picked up a large knife and then crouched next to her.

“I would advise against it.” Hange noted nonchalantly.

The man stared at her, dumbfounded. “You would advise against what?”

“Doing that,” Hange nodded at the knife. “Hurting me.” She added, when she saw that her previous words didn’t help to clear the fog in the man’s eyes.

The man gave her a feral smile. “Really?” he cocked his head to the side. “Do tell me then why I shouldn’t hurt you.”

“Well, you do know who I’m married to, right?”

The man gave Hange another confused look, and Hange was honestly surprised by that. So he wasn’t one of the thugs, who kidnapped her so they could get their revenge on Levi? Was she kidnapped because someone actually needed her, and wasn’t just looking for the way to hurt Levi? Well, Hange thought to herself with a grin, that made this whole situation less humiliating. Even if Hange got caught like the biggest fucking idiot. Although, in her defense, she hadn’t been sleeping for the last two days, too engrossed in her research, and it made her less aware about her surroundings. However, Hange knew that this explanation wouldn’t work on Levi. Oh, her husband would get so furious, Hange could already picture his angry little face, with his eyes narrowed dangerously at her and his angry voice shouting at her to be more careful.

Hange returned her gaze to her kidnapper, squinting suspiciously at him. “You really don’t know?” she asked, just to be sure.

“Lady, I don’t give a fuck about who you are married to,” the man growled. “The only thing I care about is the location of Erwin Smith. Which I expect you to reveal for me.”

Hange wanted to shout in triumph. She loved Levi and their marriage was one of the best things that happened to her, but sometimes it was really hard being his wife. Levi was a cool strong man, who beat up bad guys on a daily basis, and Hange loved him for that! She admired his strength and his convictions and how he was willing to sacrifice even his life to help other people. But. Every fucking criminal in their city thought it would be wise to kidnap Levi Ackerman’s wife just so they could screw with him. And Hange really hated to be the damsel in distress. She knew how to defend herself, and she was fucking good at it, but, sometimes, well, sometimes, like in this particular instance, she became too absent-minded to notice two guys following her through the dark alley. She didn’t notice them until they jumped right onto her, pressing a chloroformed handkerchief to her nose. Ah, well, no big deal. Happens to everyone.

Hange gave the man a big, toothy smile. “Listen,” she began cheerfully. The man stared at her with wide eyes, obviously shocked by the sudden change in her behavior. “I would really, really, like to tell you about that, but,” if Hange’s hands weren’t bound behind her back, she would have shrugged, but now she could only bat her eyelashes at the man, feigning innocence. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that. That’s classified information.”

The man growled in frustration, and grabbing Hange by the hair, he punched her hard. Hange’s head lolled to her side, but surprisingly the blow didn’t hurt as much as she expected. Did he go easy on her?

“Tell me where Erwin Smith is!” The man demanded angrily. He held Hange’s shirt in his fists, putting her face close to his. As he began shouting at her, Hange felt the smell of his breath. Eugh, she thought, now she kinda understood why Levi was such a clean-freak. The man reeked and it was disgusting.

“I don’t know where he is!” Hange exclaimed, deciding to change the strategy. “You took the wrong person, I’m just a scientist, I’m not involved in Erwin’s secret plans!”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” the man shook her again, looking furiously at her. “I know who you are! I know everything about you!”

Hange smirked, cocking her head to the side and regarding the man with interest. “Do you?”

“You are Hange Zoe, a researcher and lead scientist in Erwin’s Smith agency called “Wings of Freedom”. You are his right-hand man and I’m sure he doesn’t need to tell you about his plans, as more than half of them are devised by you.”

Hange couldn’t lie to herself, she was impressed. She thought he was just an amateur, but this man actually knew a lot about her, in fact he knew too much.

“And yet you have no idea who my husband is,” Hange raised her head and looked at the celling. It was dump and leaking. “A grave mistake, really.” She sighed.

“I told you I don’t care--“

“But you should,” Hange cut him off. “If you value your life, of course.”

“Oh?” the man raised his eyebrow sarcastically. “Then please tell me who your husband is.”

Hange grinned at the man. “Does the man Levi Ackerman ring any bells to you?”

It was a fantastic sight. The man palled immediately, his eyes widening in shock and his gaze filling with fear.

Hange’s grin grew wider. “You know, how angry he would get? Oh, he would get so angry with you, he would be furious!” Hange snickered, watching how the man slowly swallowed. “No one likes when Levi gets angry, well, I do like it, but only because sex with angry Levi is amazing. But I don’t think you’ll enjoy what Levi would do to you. You stole his precious wife, after all, and believe me, he loves me very much.”

To Hange’s surprise, her threats had a diametrically different reaction. She probably went too far, because instead of being scared, the man, like a cornered animal, got angry. He grabbed Hange by her hair again and punched her for the second time. That hit was much stronger than the first one, splitting Hange’s lip and throwing the glasses off her face. They fell to the ground loudly, the sound of broken lenses filling the room.

“That was your second mistake,” she told him grimly, spitting out the blood in her mouth. “You broke my glasses and that was the third broken pair this month. Now you’ve made me angry too.”

"Oh, and what are you going to do?” the man gripped the knife in his hand tighter. “Need I to remind you that you are currently tied up to a pipe in my basement. You are bloodied, alone, and completely at my mercy. And besides,” the man made a show of looking around and squinting into darkness. “I can’t see your husband here, whoever he is, so you better be a good girl and just tell me the truth.”

Hange lowered her head, her hair falling to obscure her face. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because… Because then Erwin will get angry with me. And I hate when he does that. He always scolds me like some school teacher, like… like an angry math teacher!”

Hange suddenly remembered her high school math teacher, she had hated the man, and she was sure that the feeling was more than mutual. A sharp pain in her shoulder, however, reminded her that she was getting distracted.

Hange looked to her left and saw that the man’s big knife was now stuck in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out. She was Hange fucking Zoe, she wouldn’t let some amateur asshole have the satisfaction of seeing her scream in pain.

“I’m fucking sick of you!” the man shouted. “Just tell me the information so I can finally kill you!”

Hange threw her head back and laughed. “Really shouldn’t have told me that. Why would I tell you anything now?”

The man tore his knife out of Hange’s skin. He began playing with its edge, regarding Hange with thoughtful eyes.

“I’ll give you one more chance,” the man said finally. “I’ll give you an hour, so you сould reconsider your answer. And I’ll give you a little cut,” he grinned, showing his knife. “To give you some motivation.”

Hange met his amused eyes with icy cold stare.

“You can do that,” she said in a low, dangerous voice, baring her bloodied teeth at the man. Her injured face and crazy eyes made her look almost feral and the man took a step back, terrified but unable to look away from Hange. What kind of man this Levi Ackerman was, if that scary woman was his wife? “You can also shoot me, strangle me, hit me again, whatever tortures your tiny mind comes up with, but no matter what you do, no matter how much you hurt me, I will never, ever betray Erwin’s trust.”

The man felt sweat gathering on his forehead and his hands began to shake. He gripped the handle of the knife harder. He was sure that whoever sat in front of him, it wasn’t just a woman. Looking at her, kneeling on the dirty floor of his basement, her eyes ablaze with fury, he wasn’t even sure she was a woman, that she was a human at all. She was a monster, a fucking demon, and he cursed himself for taking this job.

But there was nothing he could do. If her husband was even half as dangerous as this woman, it meant he had to finish his business quickly and then run fast and far. But before running away like a goddamn coward, though, he needed to give his boss the location of Erwin Smith.

So, holding his favorite knife securely in his grasp, he plumaged it deep into woman’s stomach. The sharp edge pierced her soft flesh like it was nothing. The woman kept looking at him with the same fierce glare, her face never changing, as though she didn’t even feel the pain.

The man staggered shakily to his feet, kicking woman’s leg with his as he stood over her.

“I’ll ask you again in an hour.” He promised before leaving her alone in the dark cold room.

 Hange sat on the damp floor, surrounded by darkness. She wondered how much time has passed. To her it felt like ages went by since the man shut the door after himself, but surely it couldn’t be more than an hour? The blood was oozing from the wound on her stomach, forming a pool under her legs. Hange smirked grimly, things didn’t seem to go very smoothly for her right now.

Hange couldn’t help but wonder: where the fuck was Levi? Usually it didn’t take him a lot of time to find her, beat up all the bad guys, and then heroically save her, all the while grumbling about her stupidity.

Suddenly Hange remembered. The day before her kidnapping. She told Levi not to wait for her in the evening, saying that she had a deadline on her research project and there was a lot of work at the lab and she would probably sleep on the couch in her cabinet. But as Hange spent her day in the lab, it turned out that there weren’t many things left for her to check and re-check. Moblit volunteered to finish the rest and so Hange decided to surprise Levi and come home earlier.

Yeah, surprise him she did.

Feeling her head getting dizzy because of the blood loss, Hange wondered: could it be that Levi didn’t even notice her disappearance? A chill ran through her spine as Hange’s head filled with unwanted, panicked thoughts. She already lost a lot of blood, and even if she can survive that, the angered man would return and then surely kill her. She needed to think how to escape, because telling him about Erwin’s location was definitely out of question. Even the threat of death wouldn’t make Hange betray her friend. 

Before Hange could start planning her escape, the door of the basement opened. After sitting so long in the dark, Hange was blinded by the bright light, coming from the corridor.

The man walked up to her slowly, taking pleasure in watching how pale Hange was and how labored her breaths were.

“Ah, you don’t look so good, honey,” the man smiled all too sweetly at Hange. He crouched next to her again, and his loyal knife was held tightly in his palm. “Do you want my help?”

Hange sneered at him. “Go fuck yourself.”

Suddenly, Hange heard something. The sound was quiet, almost silent, and the man probably didn’t hear it. But Hange did. And she recognized it immediately. After all, she would be a pretty bad wife, if she didn’t know her husband just by the sound of his footsteps.

The man didn’t notice anything, didn’t even seem to see the grin that spread at Hange’s lips. He raised his hand, as though to grab Hange by her chin. Levi was at him in a second, sizing his giant head in his hands and then quickly snapping his neck.

“Fucking scum.” Levi spat out. “Wanted to touch my wife with his filthy hands.”

Levi stared at the dead body for another second, before turning his attention to Hange.

“What the fuck, four-eyes?” Levi asked angrily as he went behind her back to untie her hands. “It’s the third kidnapping this month. The third. When will you get your head out of your ass and finally start noticing when people are following you?”

Hange chuckled, relief and happiness making her head spin. Or maybe it was the blood loss. Well, part of it was definitely due to the blood loss, but she was really happy to see Levi.

When Levi was done with the ropes, he took Hange’s wrists into his hands and gently rubbed the bruised skin. Still holding her hands into his, Levi came to sit in front of Hange.

His brows were furrowed in annoyance, as he was probably still angry at Hange’s carelessness, but his eyes showed how worried he was for her.

Levi’s breath hitched as he finally took notice of the extent of Hange’s injuries.

“It looks worse than it actually is,” Hange was quick to assure him. She didn’t want Levi to faint.

Slowly, with trembling hands Levi grabbed the end of Hange’s shirt and lifted it up. He cursed when he saw a wide gushing wound that ran through Hange’s stomach. His grip on her shirt tightened, and Levi turned to glare at the already dead man.

“Oi, Levi,” Hange gently touched his cheek, making him look at her. “He’s already dead and can’t do any harm to me. Besides, the wounds don't hurt that much.”

“Your hand is cold.” Levi grumbled.

“What?”

“Your hand is cold,” Levi repeated in the same gruff voice. “It’s always warm and now it’s cold, so don’t fucking tell me you are fine. If I hadn’t arrived in time, if I hadn’t called to check on you in the evening, you would have died, Hange.”

“But you arrived in time,” Hange gently smiled at her husband. “I’m still alive, because you saved me, just like you always do.”

“You saved me first.” Levi muttered under his breath and carefully approached Hange, kneeling beside her.

Hange put her hands around his neck, and then Levi put his hands under her knees, slowly lifting her up.

The moment Levi’s warmth enveloped her, Hange’s eyes closed and she drifted to sleep.

 The first thing Hange noticed upon waking up was the feeling of someone’s hand tightly clutching hers. The second thing she felt was the smell of antiseptics. Judging by the soft bed and the annoying beeping of the machinery, Hange guessed she was in hospital.

She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Her shoulder and stomach hurt a little, however the moment her eyes landed on the familiar mop of black hair, all uncomfortable feelings were replaced by immense love and adoration Hange felt for that man. With her free hand, Hange touched Levi’s head, her fingers immediately tangling in his soft locks. Levi’s head was on her lap, as he fell asleep in the hospital chair.

“Idiot,” Hange whispered fondly, looking at her husband. His whole body would be sore, when he wakes up, but Hange didn’t have the heart to disturb his peaceful slumber. It wasn’t often that Levi slept so soundly and the recent events probably tired him out.

“I tried to make him go home, but he didn’t listen.” Hange heard a familiar deep voice. She whipped her around and smiled when she saw who was sitting on the other side of her bed.

“Erwin!” Hange exclaimed, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

“You haven’t noticed me, until now, huh?” Erwin chuckled. “After so many years of marriage you two are still so in love with each other, it’s impressive. I tried so hard to send Levi home, but he stubbornly refused to leave your side. Even Moblit agreed to get some sleep and come back in the morning, but Levi didn’t budge.”

“Ah,” Hange gazed at her husband tenderly. “He sure is a stubborn one.”

“Don’t say it like you aren’t the same. I swear you two were made for each other.” Erwin gave her a fond look, before his eyes suddenly turned serious. “Forgive me, Hange,” he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “I got you involved, and by trying to keep me safe you’ve got hurt.”

“Oi, stop it, Erwin,” Hange’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “I’m a big girl and I can handle myself. And you didn’t get me involved, I got involved myself, so don’t you even think of blaming yourself.” Hange looked sternly at Erwin. “I forbade it.”

Erwin laughed, his hand squeezing Hange’s shoulder with affection.

“Levi obviously doesn’t share your feelings. When he found what that guy was after, he got so angry with me, I thought I would lose another arm too.”

Hange looked away, embarrassed. “Sometimes he worries too much.”

“Because he loves you.” Erwin told her softly. “So do try to stay out of trouble, Hange. You don’t want to become a widow, because your husband had a heart attack, right?”

Hange laughed. “Yeah, that would be quite troublesome. I mean, it would take some time to find a new husband-”

“Oi!” Levi tightened his hold on Hange’s hand, as he raised his head and glared furiously at her. “What was that shit about a new husband?”

“Levi!” Hange cried out in surprise. “I thought you were asleep!”

“I was. Until you two started blubbering.”

“Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?” Hange asked with a sly smile.

Levi rolled his eyes. “I was just giving you two idiots some privacy to talk about your feelings and shit.” Then he narrowed his eyes at Hange. “And you’re avoiding the question, four-eyes.”

“What? It was just a joke, Levi!” Hange threw the hand, that wasn’t held in Levi’s grasp, in the air.

“Do you already have someone you’re planning to marry after my death?”

“Of course, not!”

Levi looked at Hange closely. “Is it Moblit?”

“And yep, it’s time to take my leave,” Erwin announced, rising up from his chair. Neither Hange, nor Levi paid any attention to him, too busy glaring at each other.

When Erwin disappeared behind the door, Levi huffed.

“Fine,” he said, sighing. “You can marry Moblit after my death. But only if he takes good care about you.”

Hange turned away from him, pouting. “You’re such an idiot, Levi.”

Levi moved closer to Hange, pressing a soft kiss on her cheek. “And yet you still love me.”

“Unfortunately, I do.” And even though, Hange’s voice was still annoyed, her eyes, when they finally looked at Levi, shined with love.

Levi stared at Hange’s face and his hands involuntarily clutched into fists.

“Is it that bad?” Hange whispered.

“Not worse than usual,” Levi replied absent-mindedly, his eyes tracing the bruises on Hange’s face. “I killed that bastard too quickly. Should have let him suffer for what he did to you.”

“You’ve killed him and saved me,” Hange said softly. “That’s enough, Levi.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Levi admitted.

He put his hand on Hange’s cheek, his thumb caressing her soft skin. Hange smiled at him and leaned into his touch.

“We will be fine, Levi.” Hange promised, looking deeply into Levi’s eyes.

“As long as we are together.” Levi agreed, placing a tender kiss to Hange’s lips.

[skyhopedango]

State of the Season pt 1

So, so many shows! :O I don't remember the last time I watched so many ongoing shows. Alas, quantity doesn't translate into quality, but still, there are some pretty nice shows that I enjoy a lot.

Not these, though.

Dragon, ie wo kau

Yeah, this was crap. I expected something fun and fantasy-spoofy, I got a badly animated, badly produced, badly acted (from the main character) video-game-referencing show that takes one joke that is already not incredibly funny, and runs it into the ground until there's nothing left but dust. Pity.

.

Mars Red

Oh, this show. The first episode was stilted and vaguely pretentious*, but I thought eh, let's see a bit more of it. So I watched episode two and three, and bam, the usual vampire-hunter-vampires shenanigans with some half-hearted attempts at ~Historical Relevance~ but still pretentious. Perhaps it could've been better with more interesting/charming characters, but they weren't interesting at all... OK, that's not quite true, I liked that young vampire (supposedly the most powerful one?) who was always doing the "hey enemy vampire, you can join us or you can die" speech, that was cute.

*I mean... yes, you've read Salome. Yay. So how is it related to what happens in the episode? Does she kill the one she loved to possess him or something? No. Does she do anything even vaguely related to the story of Salome? No. So... what's the significance of the references? And from episode 2 it was downhill. EP 2 has Romeo and Juliet for "tragic lovers" which is about the most clichéd thing ever and the lovers' story had nothing in common with Romeo and Juliet other than them dying in the end. And in episode 3 the characters are literally standing around reciting Relevant Poetry. I suppose this works for people who are satisfied with understanding a reference and who want to feel smart for knowing some classical literature, but other than that...

I've been putting off watching episode 4 since Monday, and frankly at this rate likely I'll never watch it.

.

Fumetsu no anata he

3 episodes in, and oh yes, I remember why I didn't keep up with the manga. Look, I'm not saying it's a bad show. As most people I was very impressed with the first episode. Good stuff, emotionally powerful. But what happens after that is just totally not my cup of tea. Nonhuman entity learning to understand humans and gaining sympathy for humanity would be totally up my street - but not really when it happens via a generic adventure story, tryhard epicness tipping into unintentional hilarity every now and then, overwrought music, precocious kids mugging for the camera, and the threat of misery porn looming just over the horizon... and that's not even mentioning the obvious production issues apparent from episode 2 that further undermine the epic tone the show is going for.

I think I'll give it one more episode, although I have a feeling I'm not going to last longer. I'm sure the story will eventually have some profound things to say, but I'm also sure it'll be nothing I haven't heard before in ways that resonated better with me.

.

86 -Eighty-Six-

aka "Liberal Circlejerk - The Anime". (And while it can't be "white liberal" for obvious reasons, it has the attitude down pat.)

This show. This is what you get from a LN for horny teen boys fantasizing about being badass soldiers and naive girls in sexy uniforms, that also wants to say Serious Important Woke Stuff. You get a show about Super Special Teenagers that is hilariously dumbed down, preachy, self-congratulatory, and also cynical about how it treats its female characters. (And that's not even saying how stupid the setting is... I'm sure there'll be some twist but seriously, it still wants us to just handwave away stuff like "even if the enemy's weapons will expire in 2 years, how come nobody asks 'what if they built new ones' or 'what if they have other stuff up their sleeve'" etc...)

Really, I'd like to say that at least the show has its heart in the right place, but I can't, because for every preachy and dumbed down but decent message it delivers it does shit like ogling the main female character (whose uniform has a garterbelt apparently because the LN writer is into that), having her make cute pouty or blushing faces, pointing out how she's a virgin, having a "boys ogle bathing girls" scene* where the girls of course talk about boys and romance because girls, eh? etc. Hell, in episode 4 it even manages to undermine the single best thing that happened in the show so far by basically tone policing the oppressed character who told the MC to fuck off and not treat them as her morality pets. Clearly even if your friend was just killed in action and this random person who is also your oppressor and is wallowing in privilege, is crying in your ear making it all about her, you shouldn't be rude to her because aw shucks she meant well. And of course all it takes is a "sorry, I'll treat you like humans from now on, I swear" for everyone to start respecting her. Like, wow, she's committed to the bare minimum, where's the champagne?!

*Yes, the girls were dressed, but you just know that at one point in production (or perhaps in the source material) they were were naked. The entire scene is set up as a usual ogling-bathing-girls scene, so I'd bet money that what happened was someone in production vetoed it in the very last moment so they didn't have time to rewrite everything, only to give the girls clothes.

I'm still getting some entertainment value out of 86 (those spider tanks are pretty nice...) but oh boy, the cringe.

[bobbystompy]

68 Quotes I Enjoyed From 2019

Below are my favorite quotes from 2019. Though most occurred throughout the year, some took place before but were encountered during.

1) “I don’t bitch about Millenials.

John Entwistle once complained that he didn’t understand rap. Pete Townsend said, ‘It’s not our job to understand it. It’s our job to get the fuck out of the way.’

New generations come of age. The older generation’s job is to shut up and adapt.” - @danagould

2) “I can’t do drugs with you until we kiss.”

3) “If you pay me $50 I'll show up to your funeral but stand really far away, holding a black umbrella regardless of the weather, so that people think you died with a dark and interesting secret.” - @DanaSchwartzzz

4) “A human being is a dangerous thing to let loose in a room with itself, when it cannot think.” - Roger Ebert

5) “There are no bad bourbons, only better bourbons.” - Dave Hernandez

6) “You can’t put a dollar in a kimono.”

7) “This is how it was.” - rampant takeaway from watching ‘Superbad’ several years after its release

8) “What if I had been born fifty years before you in a house on the street where you lived / Maybe I’d be outside as you passed on your bike / Would I know? / And in a wide sea of eyes, I see one pair that I recognize” - Ben Folds, ‘The Luckiest’

9) “Learn the rules so you can break them.”

10) “Nobody makes chili for two.” - Stacy Massey

11) “‘Best city in the world,’ I mutter to myself, as i adjust my ‘driving blanket’.” - Chicago resident Deanna Belos, during the 2019 Polar Vortex

12) “Dude, no one’s ever got arrested for listening to Counting Crows.” - Ricky O’Donnell, justifying late night music volume at his party

13) Bill Belichick: We’re going to have fun tonight. Rob Gronkowski: Yes we are. We deserve it. Belichick: You’re damn right. Gronk: I haven’t stepped out in like eight months. I gotta step out tonight. Belichick: I’m with you, man. I’m even going to step out. Gronk: Oh, I like it!

A Super Bowl winning exchange.

14) Center David Andrews thanked Bill Belichick for giving him "a shot".

Belichick disagreed with it.

Andrews: Thank you for giving me a shot. Belichick: A shot? I didn't give you shit. You earned it! I don't give anything.

Another Super Bowl winning exchange.

15) “We elected one of the very worst living human beings to be President, and it's exhausting. Each and every day, it's an exhausting slog, just to exist in a world where that's true.” - Michael Schur

16) “Some of y’all always picked Odd Job when you played Goldeneye and it shows” - @thedad

17) “Any app is a dating app if you try hard enough.” - Z.W. Martin (though he says it’s lifted)

18) "Once you're as woke as I am, you learn to feel bad all the time.”

19) “Everything’s a balance beam when you’re 90.” - John Dingell

20) [I wake up in a world where The Beatles never existed]

Me: Check out this song I just wrote

[I begin playing “Ob La Di Ob La Da” without having first built up years of goodwill]

Crowd of people: Wow, this sucks ass

-- @seanoneal

21) “People change people.” - Corey Matthews, Girl Meets World

22) “The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.” - William Goldman

23) “Dan could be like a difficult uncle. I didn’t love his fire-breathing conservative politics. I didn’t love the transformation that came over his novels. In Semi-Tough, he created two benighted Texas jocks and laid their prejudices bare. He was declaring himself a member of the Mark Twain coaching tree. In later books, Dan seemed to be trying to prove he could still tell a racist joke. He insisted that his memoir—the last truly immaculate piece of writing he delivered—include a tirade against political correctness. When his editor said people might be offended, Dan said, ‘Fuck people.’

There are certain writers whose style you pilfer. Certain writers whose moral fiber you try to inherit. For me, Dan represented a third category: a writer whose aura you replicate—or, failing that, try to stand in for a while.” - Bryan Curtis, on Dan Jenkins

24) “Never marry anything. Never choose. Even in love, it's better to be chosen.” - La Dolce Vita

25) “An uncluttered, uncomplicated happy ending might sound wonderful, but it’s hardly ever satisfying. Because the value of great stories lies in the tension between desire and need, between the yearning for the ideal, and the unshakable conviction that ideals don’t really exist, at least not the way we want them to. A great story should hurt a little when it leaves us. There should be some hope, but that hope should remain somewhere just an inch beyond our fingers, because that’s the truth. Even if you had all the perfect moments in the world, you’d still be reaching.” - Zach Handlen, on the Futurama series finale

26) “You can’t see him because he has sunglasses on.” - Alissa Levy

27) “The cinema is the greatest art form ever conceived for generating emotions in its audience. That's what it does best. (If you argue instead for dance or music, drama or painting, I will reply that the cinema incorporates all of these arts).” - Roger Ebert

28) “‘Are you gonna let politics ruin a friendship?’ 

Yes tf I am

People talk about politics as if it’s this isolated, abstract concept that only matters at election time. Somebody’s politics is their world view. It’s whether they think certain human beings deserve rights. It’s how they think the world should be. And if somebody thinks that the world should be colder, meaner, less accepting and downright hostile to people that are different to them, then sure as fuck is the friendship over.”

29) “Can the Supreme Court get me mushrooms?” - J-Papp

30) “Any song under two minutes already has a head start on its way into my heart. Just scream at me and then leave me.” - Drew Magary

31) “Long neck cold beers never broke my heart.” - Clemson Tom

32) “I’d just like to point out that the last spoken words of Game of Thrones were: 

‘I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel.’”

- @Authoroux

33) “Just once before I die, I want to toss my keys to someone and tell them ‘Bring the car around’.” - Mike Skully

34) “For all the weight they're given, last words are usually as significant as first words.” - Grand Maester Pycelle, Game of Thrones

35) “The best remedy for unrequited love is a trip around the world.” - Cheers

36) [on switching from a hotel to a motel]

Manny: I don't like the sound of that. A lot of amenities disappear when an H turns into an M. Jay: Hey when I met you, you were eating cereal out of a bucket.

-- Modern Family

37) “You and Lindsey don’t want to be ‘estranged’. Estranged is the relationship we want to have with our mothers.” - MegFil

38) “Cigarettes are undefeated.”

39) “My toes are like my fingers on my feet. I can pick stuff up with them.” - Tracy Cunningham

40) “Republicans govern without shame, Democrats shame without governing.” - Bill Maher

41) Sam: I don’t understand the vagaries of the Internet Josiah: Post often, without thought, and you’ll either get cancelled or cancel someone else.

-- Blink-155

42) “Hang a lantern on your problems.”

43) “What a weird web we weave.” - The Situation, The Jersey Shore: Family Vacation

44) “Let the ocean worry about being blue.” - Alabama Shakes, ‘Hang Loose’

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45) “Honesty without tact is cruelty.” - Shelley Rokos

46) “My whole life is the wrong porn link.”

47) “One parent can take care of 10 kids, but 10 kids cannot take care of one parent.” - Joe Gestetner, via “an old Yiddish saying”

48) “There are no heroes in the room.” - Classics of Love, ‘Gun Show’

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49) “If I am a little dismissive, it's only because of my harrowing backstory.” - Mitchell, Modern Family (on why he doesn't like sports)

50) “Every time I’m wearing black, I meet a dog.” - Tracy Cunningham

51) “Shower sex? Why would I fuck in my crying chamber” - @chridollarsign

52) “My theory about quarterbacks, having written about some of them, is you either have to believe in god or think you are a god.” - Mina Kimes

53) “The contradictions of capitalism always manifest in our lyrics if you look deeply.” - Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker, Riot Fest 2019

54) “Got a ‘hang loose’ from the weakside bartender.”

55) “It’s Jennifer’s birthday always.” - Eric Hutchinson 

56) “I can’t think of a less relevant artist in 2019 than Kanye West. A Jesus freak in a MAGA hat. Yeah, congrats dude -- you’re every grandma who watches ‘Young Sheldon’ and mails checks to Joel Osteen now.” - Dan Ozzi

57) “The past and future are in the mind. I’m in the now.” - Tom Brady, via someone else

58) “Sometimes you walk around boring places and you feel like the most exciting thing in it.” - Drew Magary

59) “Sitting is the new smoking.” - Modern Family

60) “I'll straight up fight folks at a book club and discuss books at a fight club I really don't give a shit anymore.” - George Wallace

61) “Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.” - Rose Garvey via wine country

62) “It’s all ‘ok boomer’ until you need someone who can drive stick shift.” - @OrdinaryAlso

63) “He likes the result of the math.” - Dad, talking about my worst subject frustrating during the process but satisfying in the end

64) Stepmom: Do you want a Bears urn or Alabama urn? Dad: Ask me after they play Auburn.

65) “A cold body carries a warm heart.” - Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Instagram, after his Iceland sabbatical

66) [preparing a dish called the Sandwich of Justice with his friend’s recipe]

"The fun thing about it is when you give it to someone, you can say 'Justice is served.’ That's, uh, Ryan's line. I built my whole life on the backs of my friends." - You Suck At Cooking

67) “Usually three people can keep a secret only when two of them are dead.” - The Irishman

68) “An artist can't control who consumes their content any more than a chemist can control how their chemicals are used once they're created.” - Brian Crooks

[hak-7]

THE METAPHYSICAL MEANING OF EVE

From Wonderland To The Promise Land

The Bible says that the first mother was made from the rib of our first father, that G-d had made our first father complete. Then He forgot that the man had a lonely nature. Then G-d said: "Oh, I've got to make him a mate." Now, I'm not laughing at the Bible, I don't laugh at it. To tell you the truth, I respect it. But I'm giving it to you in this language so you can see the kind of childish ideas that we grown-ups have been holding on to. It says, He took a rib one rib from the man, and filled up the hole no ... it gives you the impression that it was just gouged out He's not even a good surgeon. He put the flesh that was taken out, back in its place just a patch-up job, a butcher's job—and then made the woman with this rib. What does that make the woman? It makes her a different creation from the man.

How can the Bible say, "Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone?" How can she be flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone and she was just made from the bone? Just one bone. In the forming of human life in the womb of the mother, bones don't come first, flesh comes first. So if this woman is made from one bone she doesn't have the full value, the full human worth of the man. Right from the beginning the woman is put in an inferior image. If you don't believe that this is the trend; keep reading about the woman as her story is told from Genesis to Revelation. She becomes more and more ugly, inferior and wicked. I'll just name a few of the stars for you in the Bible: Eve, Jezebel, Delilah, Salome. We can look right into the language of the present environment and see that these evils, these destructive concepts in human ideas or in human minds are still hurting human development. They're still being preached and they're still hurting our human development. G-d gives us the most beautiful concept of the man that He creates. The man that He creates is a mind, a human mind—a rational and compassionate human mind; and from that mind is born, not a woman, but society. And the rib of the man simply tells us, in symbolism, that society was made from the man that G-d inspired called Adam in the Bible and that society had a law, a principle. Not many, but one.

The Bible says G-d made the woman from a rib of the man. Not from all of them, but from only one. This is symbolism, telling us that this generation or this genesis of the man that the Bible is telling us about is the story of the church. You may ask how can that be the story of the church when the Genesis was revealed and written long before Christ Jesus? But it was interpolated, interpretated, and changed, and reformed long after it was revealed. They formed it to speak the church doctrine, and the church doctrine says that Jesus gave only one commandment—that you should love ye one another.The scripture gives us the proper concept of man, that man should not be seen in the individual, the male or the female, or any single individual, but in the creation of society. Man should mean humanity and humanity includes both male and female; he or she is a part of a unit. The male has to mate with a female to reproduce his physical self. And the female has to mate with a male to reproduce her physical self. How can we see society as male and as female separated one from the other? And how can we think that the whole society was generated from one man called Adam? How can any sensible, intelligent people think that G-d made a man and then reached into his body and deformed that man after forming him rightly, and made a female of his rib? That looks like guesswork to me.

What do they call the tornadoes and the hurricanes—these terrible violent forces that make human beings fear for their very lives, that take away their houses and their cattle, destroy the hard earnings they have worked so hard for and built up in homes and businesses? These strong violent forces are called by the names of women. Isn't that proof that the same mentality exists. The mentality of the writer of the Bible is still existing. "Will you attack the writers of the Bible?"You don't want to see the contradiction. You don't want to see the ugliness in the Bible, so you suppress it. You push it out of your mind. But remember, every time you push something out of your mind, you're only pushing it out of your conscious mind. It goes into your subconscious and causes mental problems if the environment doesn't do something to bring about the kind of healthy change needed for you.We've been saying that G-d made man in his own image and likeness when we should have been saying that God intended humanity society to be in His image and likeness, character-wise or morally speaking. The scripture has meaning. The scripture can attract the rational mind, the logical thinker; the scripture can attract the shipbuilder, the banker, the chemist; it can attract all men if it's taken back to its original purity: if we just take off the false dress of poetry, mythology, symbolism and allegories that take us into wonderland instead of the promised land.

Community life must exist by both our excellent human form and by material development. At the base of our community problems are the religious formed habits of seeing life and the world through mythological eyes. When I say that I'm going to cross over Jordan one day, this clearly is not a religious expression. This is an expression colored or designed by the language of mythology. When I say that I'm going to a Kingdom in the skies, that's mythology; that's not pure religion. When I say that God is a Man of War, that's the language of mythology and not pure religion.When I say that G-d created man from the dust of the earth, formed him as a person, and created a mate for him with a rib taken from his body, that's the language of mythology and not pure religion. We have been given more mythology than we have been given religion, in terms of the language that we use. How can people clearly understand what religion is all about if they are using a language that is foreign to the purity of religion? They have to have a language that is consistent, that speaks clearly the word of truth that G-d revealed to His prophets.

The symbolic concepts that we have been given of first man, of first woman, of the creation, of the origin of the races, all of this is so heavily covered under mythological concepts, the beautiful symbolism of the poets, that we can't see the reality that should be influencing our lives. We don't get the beautiful language under the surface. We get socially destructive language. When you read the Bible, you read it literally, but the hints revealing the evil of the Bible are also given in it.The Bible says that a certain religious man took another man who is called Son of Man on a tour of the city to show him the extent that evil had grown in the society. He took him to the gate of the city and he told him. "Son of Man, look at the evil that these people are practicing inside the gates of this city." He took him to the courtyard of the Temple, "Look at the evil that these people are practicing right around the Temple." He said, "Come Son of Man, let me take you into the Temple." He took him into the sanctuary where there were the holiest of the holy, and there he found the abomination of abominations.

This is in the Bible, I didn't dream this up. The Bible states it, and it's not given as something that was presently existing. It's given in the Bible as a prophesy revealing what will come. And the Bible tells us of the last day; it says that the greatest evil will be in the Holy Sea. I'm not referring to the Catholic Church. It so happens that their sea is called Holy. I'm talking about the lake that God intended to be for religious life and religious development.

The Bible says that in the end that lake would be ruled by a beast. And G-d would destroy the beast in the lake by turning it into a lake of fire. Haven't our church lives been turned into a lake of fire? Wasn't it once a cool water for us to bathe in, and now it has become a lake of fire burning the conscience of the great number of Christians who are looking for high sensation, and yet calling themselves church goers? Our conscience has almost been buried six feet and left without any sign of life in it. But there is still enough light in most of the American Christian lives to feel guilt occasionally.

Those Christians who really are sincere and are giving their best to be Christians are in a lake of fire. Their conscience is not only on fire because of the sins that they're doing, but, also because many ministers and priests are just changing the role of the preacher or the priest into a role of an opportunist, preaching money,preaching song and dance. They preach whatever they think will appeal to your need for high sensation. I know there is still the good preacher. But look at him today. Even he has gone back, he has fallen.I saw in one magazine where a Catholic priest was sitting down in a meditation position before the bare-bone skull of some animal it looked like it was a donkey. He was meditating and saying that he didn't see anything wrong with a priest doing that as long as he kept his Catholic religion. How is he going to keep his Catholic religion and give himself to that kind of pagan exercise? The Catholic is supposed to be dignified. Though the atmosphere was ghostly, they've always been dignified. We've seen them bring in the bands, bring in the electronic . . . acid . . rock. Long ago the Christian churches turned themselves into bands.

You go to hear the preacher and you're wondering when he's going to preach. He comes up and says, "Amen." Amen is said when we finish something. He finishes before he starts. And then the choir begins to sing, and he just comes in to build the momentum up again. As soon as he gets the momentum up he says, "Have you got the feeling . . . have you got the feeling?" And somebody says, "Yeah." And the band starts again. I'm talking about the great majority of the churches in America.Where are we going to go if we only crave for sensation and don't want any sense? I thought that the correct definition for the human being is homo sapien thinking individual. I thought that's what separated us from apes and other creatures. If we're not going to think but give ourselves to sensation, to the influences in the air, then where will our lives be that G-d Created? Religion teaches the Christian, Muslim and Jew that God created the human being to be a thinking being.

Let's look at some of the so-called religious concepts. And they are religious concepts, but in the composition that we get them they are more concepts of fiction, fantasy, and mythology than religion. We're told that the world was made out of a void. There was nothing but water, and light rose, out of the water and formed the sun, moon and stars. This is the kind of ideas religious people have been given of the creation of the world.What kind of picture is this giving us of Almighty G-d? It's giving us a kindergarten story of Almighty G-d. Those who view G-d this way see Him with nostrils, and some Bibles show G-d with nostrils and breath coming out of His mouth flowing down to the people. If you ask most Christians how did man get on the earth, "Well, G-d made him." G-d made him from what? "The Bible says, from clay." Notice when they get in trouble it's always the Bible says. . . ." They will start off speaking from themselves, but the more trouble they get into the more they refer you to the Bible.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)k

[reading-writing-revolution]

"What will it take to convince humanity? Mourning the unjust murders of black men and women hasn’t woken us enough to make meaningful change. Peaceful protests have been brushed aside. Riots have lead to only more police brutality this week, as well as a threat to deploy troops on American cities."

--

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We need more than stories about black people and black men who have been killed. We need to see more about who all of these people are, people who live in these neighborhoods. We need to see what their lives look like. This is an opportunity for the media and the press to get into these neighborhoods and see what's going on beyond the police barricading a street and opposing a few hundred peaceful protesters holding signs. Right now that's the only narrative - there's a pitched battle going on between law enforcement and human rights activists.

The narrative needs to change. This is the opportunity to go into all these neighborhoods and talk to all these people and see what their lives are like. It's easy to sit back in the comfort of your own home, in your suburb, where everything is fine. And you look at these neighborhoods and think how trashy they are or how awful they are or how terrible the people are who live there, but you don't actually know anything about them, and you're not actually seeing anything that's real, because all you're seeing is that there's a bunch of people fighting with the police, or vice versa. No one is seeing what goes on day to day.

No one sees this neighborhood where there's no grocery store. No one sees this neighborhood where the school is barely standing. No one sees that one block over all the houses are boarded up. No one sees how the local resources here are stretched so thin that no one can get any real help and there's very little chance for them to get out of that neighborhood and get someplace but they can have a better life and feel safer. No one sees that everyone has to take three buses and it takes an hour to get to work, whereas if they could move, or if they had more reliable transportation, they could be at work in 20 minutes or less. No one sees that there are little shops on the corner that sell food, but most of that food is like snack food with little nutritional value. No one sees that to go to the doctor is an epic trip, that too many people who live in that neighborhood can't afford their prescriptions. No one sees any of these things.

This is why a lot of white people don't understand what's going on. It doesn't even register to them. They can't know because they're safe in their little suburban bunkers, where they criticize urban life is being like living in some giant trash can.

These stories need to be told, and these scenes need to be seen. As people like to say, we need to humanize this tragedy. People need to see the people that are involved. We do this in Syria, and we do this in Iraq, and we do this all over the globe in places that are falling apart. We humanize the tragedy and show the tragic stories of those being affected. We need to do that in America, too.

It's the only way to change people's minds. Everyone needs to see that these people are just people, too. That they are us and we are them. #AsOne

[opisafascist]

"I can't take criticism so I send out my minions from 4chan out to get you" blocklist

I’ll be honest, I do not get what are these peoples deal but they seem to always get on the bad side of everyone and they can get to this very contrarian personality from 4chan /v/ so I’ll just take that a hint to making a list of them, they aren’t fascists by any means, crypto-fascists at the least, but they often gobble up the worst of people from this website and have probably been co-opted by fascists multiple time because of their apatheticness and coyness, the whole “I’m not a SJW! I don’t like protesters, fighting for something is dumb!” kind, shit they aren’t even probably right-wingers so this is a very special blocklist because I keep seeing them on tumblr whenever something bad happens, in fact i see so many fascists on this site only follow these people, so it’s probably better to block them to cut off their social rings immediately. 

--The list that has probably already been made once--

moontouched-moogle - Not much interesting to talk about here they’re just this hive mind for /v/ people. They kind of helped me build this list a bit. 

thefeelofavideogame - This guy never catches a break of not minding their own business and can’t help but feel cynical about anything but just ‘vidya’

nentindo - This one deserves a special mention because they’re 15 years old so it’s better to just block them and ignore them in advance rather then let them act elitist, i mean jeez kid you’re 15 you BARELY experienced life yet. Like really this amount of them surrounding themselves by adults that don’t wish them the best is an unhealthy obsession for them at it is. 

inkerton-kun - Dontcha hate when a porn artist has to have a ‘personality’

steven-universe-official - Kind of like the grand papi of this gang, I don’t even need to tell people to block them because I think about everyone does already due them sending their weird combination of anti-feminist fans around sending hate to anyone that would do criticism against their shitty attitude, technically in the recent years they kind of toned down on going around spewing bullshit and being THE uncle tom but it’s good to double check

dream-cassette - Oh this one I’ve heard of the most! Used to make child porn by the name of hoshime, in the name of rule 34, along the lines she deleted her original blog because she believed the obviously fake “down with cis” situation was the biggest EXAMPLE OF BIGOTRY in the world and the not absurd at all rival towards inequality (ignoring how it works systematically) and ever since then she’s been hanging out with the anti-sjws. 

thathomestar - I think they used to be a 100% gamergater but then again almost everyone here on this list was at one point. They still have that suspicious aura of “all the misery in the world is the left-wing’s fault for fighting back against their human rights being removed rather than just submitting!”. Says everything that is politically incorrect is just a joke, might be just a weird case of /pol/’s law (haha, get it?)

mr-cappadocia - Also an infamous gamergater, they sorta hold a grudge so much against social justice they end up sounding like they’re high on sherm. You know those try-hards that sound REALLY hard to sound politically incorrect? Yep! They sound like that. I also recommend blocking leopirate too as they are also a hotspot for gamergaters. Both are pretty terrible Islamophobic people. 

takashi0 - The OG Anti-SJW Brony of Tumblr! What a title. 

shitpost-senpai - I don’t even know why this guy’s on this list they’re just a 100% obvious fascist to the point they won’t stop being antisemitic about everything but hey, I guess because they like anime and metal gear rising that’s enough for them to fit in this blocklist... They’re also constantly being reblogging by this social ring of people and could just be the reason why a sum of people don’t trust them. 

maoh - They hate it when people fight back against oppression in general, the old cuck-like mentality of “No, don’t do anything, don’t fight back and die and it will be a win!” without knowing that peaceful protest holds no consequence and allows fascists to do anything they want to do at any time while removing human rights. They’re very petty about god damn children rather than just let them be too. What kind of an adult is this? Kind of funny that they changed their description recently from “I dislike the left-wing of tumblr” to “zero tolerance for faux morality and art censorship”, dude got some brand new codewords to pass off “I hate criticism” and “I’m a nazi sympathizer cuck and I’ve been brainwashed by the enemy to say that violent dynamics, no matter how history shows the story otherwise, is ineffective in justice and is villainous, anyways let me just frantically love an anime where they beat someone up”. It’s basic praxis and how the world works! 

shameshack - Ey! the-cringe-channel, known for producing their own cringe content because for some odd reason they keep ignoring the academic values of things and brush ofF everything in the world as mindless paranoia but probably aren’t a very smart person themselves and would rather waste their life making fun of kids and fueling the quickly made anti-sjw blogs on this website that all have urls like “tumblr-is-dumb-because-i-hate-minorities”, out of everyone who acts coy about why people dislike them, this one acts the most coy out of them all, what a malicious kind of guy. I really don’t know if they legit don’t get how things work in the real world because they take silly things seriously and serious things as if they were silly. Have you ever tried living life once where you have to don’t have to keep insecurely looking down on others that are just harmless oddities to fuel your ego or what?

--End Of List-- 

Just copy and paste each url onto your blocklist if you wanna. 

Again I repeat these guys aren’t “fascists” and will deny they’re “anti-sjw” (Even though they don’t do anything to show for it besides say “Oh don’t worry we make fun of anti-sjws too! But we sound exactly like them when we go against our vague idea of social justice”), but fascists and crypto-fascists always seem to be around these people because they act coy about it all the time for the sake of being contrarians. They don’t want to care about them being followed by neo-nazis, just the power of having many followers that come straight from 4chan’s /v/! Almost the same as sympathizers.  

It’s the same odd link towards people who take video games and substancless anime too seriously and... Neo-Nazis, seriously what’s up with that? Anyways be careful when you criticize anime or them and don’t have them checked! 

Special mentions: KanColle fans I guess? Moe anime attracts a lot, and I guess that’s what happens when a medium genre is 100% bottom feeders towards substanceless girls just being cute, blogs with gray backgrounds, the nihilists that blog about trump jokes “ironically” (poe’s law), youtube celebrities, it’s more about ethics in games journalism and not objective game design. It’s not like they can’t be analytical ABOUT EVERYTHING right. Like how video game game design isn’t the only analytical theory in the world to take into consideration when criticizing media. Why is it always the gamers? 

Won’t say it again! Act coy about it all you want but take the loss because you guys have negative connotations and never really worked on it. 

This isn’t a “Reach” like a lot of you guys keep blaming it to be one or just belittle it as just “discourse” (the most thrown around word ever), the fact is just that you simply won’t accept the weight of your actions by either doing bullshit yourselves or allowing fascists to co-op your communities because you guys aren’t actively critical at all despite your contrarian image. 

Anyways this blog’s been moving slow (Which is good! Unless they've just been more secretive) to the point I gotta make a list out of these infamous dudes that i’m pretty sure everyone on tumblr already blocks or at least is suspicious about the people who reblog from them so i’m gonna go jack off to hentai rather than cowardly reblog ecchi to my blog to remind people I do indeed jack off to anime have no mistake about it. 

[authorsblocksucks]

Love in Low Places

Chapter 4

Warnings: kissing

Writer's notes: n/a

*Lucifer's POV*

“My name isn’t exactly “Nick” either.” “Then… what is your name?” “... Lucifer.” “Lucifer," she asked. "Yeah, right, you're the Devil?” “Yes, I am. At least, that is one of many names your species has given me over the millennia." She seemed… unconvinced. Dubious, if not also still a bit taken aback by the unusual claim I had made. "There’s no reason for you to be nervous, Aislin. I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted us to meet… officially.”  “Good to know…” I said cautiously, setting down my coffee cup. “So… why did you want to meet me in the first place? I never would have thought that the Devil himself would ever show any interest in a human. That is, if you even really are who you claim. Why would you, of all people… well, of all angels, would you elect to be a guardian angel? I thought you hated humanity.” “I do hate humanity. But, do you know why?” I knew that I had a chilled edge to my tone, but I couldn't help it. The subject of humanity was always a… what is the word? ......Bitter. Ah, that’s it. It had always been a bitter subject for me, especially after what my Father did to me because of them. “Why… what?” “Why I feel the way I do about your kind.” “...No, I don’t. Why?” I took a deep breath. “...Do you know the story of my fall?” She shook her head, “I don’t think I do. But I would like to, if you’d be comfortable with telling me.” “You seem... extraordinarily calm.” “Do I have a reason not to be calm? You have yet to show me concrete proof to back up your claims concerning your identity, nor have you given me personal reason to fear or hate you to any degree.” I clenched my jaw and continued.

“Very well, you do have a point. Millennia ago when my father, God, first created your race, he told all of the angels to love you above all else and commanded us to... bow down to your kind. But, I loved God too much and couldn't bring myself to put any above him. I was proud of my beauty and status as the second eldest archangel. I saw the flaws in your species that he refused to acknowledge. So, I refused to kneel and tried to make him and my siblings see the truth… and as punishment for my "crime", I was ripped away from all I knew and loved and my father ordered my older brother, Michael, to cast me into a unique cage deep in Hell. I… I loved my brother. I looked up to him… once. But when push came to shove, he threw me away just like all the others. Now, tell me… does the punishment fit the crime?” She looked deeply into my eyes, searching for any sign of deception. I could see the wheels turning in her head, weighing all the information. Her face scrunched adorably in her disbelief. “I… I don't think I understand."

"What's not to understand? I can see your mind, Aislin. You are quite intelligent, for a human. You aren't like the others. You value knowledge and balance and I know for a fact that you can see the truth in my face. You understand how to figure out how people think, even without telepathy. You know the signs and signals of a liar. The little ticks and microexpressions that are involuntarily common in all human bodies. The tells that not even I can keep my vessel from displaying, even if it's for only a split moment. You know that I didn't lie. Aislin, I swear that I will never lie to you, I will never trick you. I do not need to, not that I would ever want to." "And if you did want to? What then? Am I really all that different than all the other humans you feel are so unworthy compared to your great divinity?" "You are getting off topic, angel. Now… does the punishment fit the crime?” She thought about my question for a moment, looking at me with mild sadness. “No… no, it doesn’t. And I know you probably won’t appreciate this, but I... I really, really am truely sorry for what happened to you.” Her warm, kind, light amber eyes were reassuring and beautiful, but that didn’t stop the biting pain from the memories from seeping into my voice. “I don’t want, or need, your pity,” I said coldly. “I assure you,” she said firmly. “I’m not pitying you.” “Then why are we here,” I asked, my voice taut. “I don’t know,” she snapped. I blinked a few times in bewilderment at her reaction. Even after all this time, I still don't think I'll ever fully understand humanity. “I… I don’t know why I want to be here with you. I don't claim to understand everything you just told me or why I believe your story, no matter how ridiculously psychotic it sounds. I don't even understand why I feel so strangely drawn to you, even though we only just met. I just don’t know! And I really, really hate not knowing. I want to know, I want to understand, it's just… it's just how I am. It's how I've always been. And I don't even understand why that is either! I just want to know why. Why can't something in my life be simple? Just for once, I want to understand what my heart actually wants and what it will take to get my head and heart to finally agree on something, anything!” A million thoughts ran through my head. Did she really say that she felt inexplicably drawn to me? Could it really mean what I thought it did? I remember what Dad said. Not only when he assigned me to her against my will after Sam Winchester freed me by killing Lilith, but when he first taught us angels about what being a guardian angel was and… and what that connection could mean for both angel and human. It was a once in a lifetime for both of us, one in a million shot that didn't always occur, but… the fact she felt something too had to mean something.

So, I slowly leaned toward her, silently pleading for her to kiss me. If she did and what I hoped would happen did in fact happen, then I would know for sure. She looks like she was about to protest or demand to know what I was doing but… she says nothing. Only bites her lip nervously then leans forward to meet me halfway. Her lips brush gently against mine, curious and unsure. She’s so gentle and soft, I can barely feel her. Her taste against my lips, her fingertips hesitantly caressing my cheek… I can almost see her tender desire in my mind. She’s so afraid of making a mistake by making the next move, and yet also so very afraid to let go of the moment just yet. I cupped the back of her head in my palm, gently easing her closer and deepening the kiss. She slowly wrapped her arms around my neck, but then tightens her hold around me and held me as tight as she could. I could feel her heart hammering nervously in her chest as she returns the kiss slowly and passionately. The sweet peppermint taste of her lips was absolutely intoxicating. Our lips locked together in sync so perfectly, it was clear that neither of us wanted to pull away. It felt so good to have her in my arms at long last, so… so right. I had never felt so at home since before I was cast out of Heaven. I could feel it that this… well, dare I say that this was even better than memories of Heaven. Her passion was sweeter than any thought of revenge. The feel of her heartbeat and breath flush against my vessel making me feel warm for the first time in millennia. Her fingers running through my hair, tugging softly and making me moan against her... the pure completeness I felt embarrassed in the brilliant radiance of her soul’s embrace. But then… she pulled away and left me longing for more. I felt a desire for this human unlike anything I had ever experienced. I yearned to earn her touch, her affection, her trust… her love. I wanted her to love me, to want to be with me, to… to… I wasn't sure. I was still feeling more than I had in millennia as I took every detail of her face into my memory. And as she finally opened her eyes, she seemed like she wanted to say something but instead, she let out a small gasp and was staring at something right behind me with wide eyes and I could feel the excited anticipation welling up inside me. I was right.