#the way teachers talk about and treat their students is so dehumanizing

[apostate-in-an-alcove]

There's (idiotic, possibly sadistic, but definitely miserable) people in this world that have an intense hatred for children and teenagers and then choose being a school teacher as their career.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Reasons Jason Todd is actually a green flag because i'm always dunking on him and now i feel bad about it LOL

As Robin he was a soft sunshine boy who was too shy to talk to girls and a theater lover but also had a strong sense of justice that was so powerful he pushed a guy off a roof for SA'ing a woman and only felt bad about it because Bruce made him cry over it by making him feel like a monster for killing him due to the 'No Kill' rule

Shakespeare nerd and loves classical literature in general and his poetry(narration)is actually pretty good

Cocky ass nigga but not a serial flirt and has demi/romance favorable aroace swag with a canon distaste for amatornormativity that's a running trait of his

It's also canon his type is weirdgirls who match his energy and all of his love interests have woc too boot(Rose who's half cambodian,Artemis who's egyptian and Dana who's black)

And he rejected a normie blonde white girl(Isabel)because she was too corny and forceful with her advances and was grossed out by Kory's deblackification and dehumanization instead of taking advantage of her

Mama's boy to the max(Catherine,Talia,Nocturna and in a tragic way Sheila too)

Was a street kid and grew up to still hate rich people with his whole chest instead of being performative about it(comrade Jason)

Manly but in a trans kinda way

This includes being goth punk and a tough guy not out of fragile masculinity and 2/3 of the girlfriends he's had were butches but as a trauma response

'*Sees the first ever black Robin after not giving a fuck about any of his other brothers*I fuck with him actually,let's go to Batburger manito'

One time he targeted a guy to kill him because he was an elementary school teacher who was sexually abusing one of his student's and stated this as the reason in-text for why he hated him

Also is anti-incest as he said he thinks the thought of kissing his brothers is disgusting and included Duke in it so Jason stays saying Duke is a real Batkid rights

Re him being punk,it's implied he's a straightedge since he almost never drinks alchohol at bars and dosen't smoke either

In his lego movie,they himbofied him and he sounds like a fucking surfer in it.It's so hot.Ignore that last part,

When DC finally let him and Stephanie interact,he was a lot nicer to her than she was treated back in the 90s and 2000s by other male characters(thank you Cass for giving her the appreciation she deserved)and nothing romantic comes out of it and instead they're like siblings

His favorite food is neapolitan.What a fucking dork

Great cook and homemaker in general

There's a thirst trap ass panel of him saying 'You spread your legs for stability' so i mean.He cares(I'm so sorry LMAOOOOOO)

Dad-Shaped but well-written instead of an offputting cornball i.e His dynamics with kids have his trauma and lack of experience in mind and he had to develop into it and he's actually pretty good at it now

The only times he behaved the way the fandom wants him to is in og Rhato,where he was written with complete disrespect to his character and history and that's tells you a lot with the kinda people Grant Morrison and Scott Lobdell turned out to be and how Jayr*ys continue to defend their writing.Love Jason,hate fanon

[dirhwangdaseul-archived]

then why don't you spend that money on abbott? help us make this school better, since you care so much

really appreciated this and honestly all that scene like very clear that the community knows the community best and like the improvements they want to bring aren't the only shit in the world that could create a new tomorrow because the teachers are already resourceful, smart, kind and trying to thrive under duress imagine what they could do with money and not with someone coming to replace them and tell them what to do and terrorizing kids in the process, grades are demonic when they're just used to diminish kids like do teachers, principals, parents don't see that? how degrading it is to become a number and not even have the words for the rage of it

and like i really appreciate abbott elementary making a point of showing us how different students have the lessons adapted to them and how much effort the teachers put to go back and try again and like how little emphasis they're doing on academic prowess through grades and prefer to show us the kids enjoying learning like just that and even so they do talk about the world put in preparing them for tests so you know that the motivation can come from learning itself because there's joy in it and there's all that to connect but like the most important thing is that they care about the kids and they find many ways to use teaching with it to help in other places of the child's lives as well as the community in turn and it's all connected like the way the kids are treated in charters is how the world would rather treat everyone as well, as scores to cull, and with the rise of eugenics i cant stop thinking how ready is the culture to dehumanize other people over scores and what they deserve to live in the world for it too when a lot of success reflects power and money rather than actual intelligences and even then intelligences can be cultivated like christ im so

[beardedmrbean]

Wait I thought that First Nations is a proper term we use now to describe Native Americans?

Ugh

Also yeah the learning thing

It’s not like our education system is outdated as hell

Or being run by out of touch politicians

Perhaps you can find the link, but I heard that the public education system was changed in the 90’s for specifically to cater to neurotypical girls

Teachers unions are corrupted up the ass

But as I mentioned before that thanks to DNA ancestry test, we know black Americans of slave descent are 64% Yoruba

Yet despite one of the biggest gaming franchise Assassin’s Creed is based off pseudo surrounding it

And I’m not lying

The British Museum and the Smithsonian used assassin creed games for a Alexander the Great event and to visual the American Revolution in a sector

Imagine telling yourself 20 years ago that games would reach such levels?

Also when was dna ancestry known to the public

But anyways, one thing that perhaps other black Americans can help me with. Is that we when it comes to history, all we know about the old world is that we were enslaved

Keep in mind that I only learn about the Yoruba because of Hollywood fuck up

So imagine how HARD it’s going to explain community…who literary rates ain’t exactly the best

Okay there a saying I heard (paraphrasing) “If they ain’t going to teach you right. You think they’re going to treat you right?!”

Also perhaps in the evening as I notice something with a lot of stuff surrounding government in the 80’s-90’s media

I was trying to say the whole “Why we weren’t taught this in school” started with SJWs millennials in the early 2010’s

I’m just wondering how bad sjws critical thinking skills are when they never connected the dots that people who run the education system have their hands in the military industrial complex as well

Killary anyone?

It works, there's a screenshot floats round from a kids textbook that people try to pass of as HS talking about, well.

Every time it pops up we get dozens of people whining about the US education system until it's pointed out that, one it says "First Nations" which is the official way Canada says it (US is Native American) and two it says Quebec City in the bottom right center.

Outside of official things I don't think it matters which you use provided everyone knows what you're talking about.

Snopes actually covered this one, didn't need to but it was a opportunity to bash Europeans so they took it.

Perhaps you can find the link, but I heard that the public education system was changed in the 90’s for specifically to cater to neurotypical girls

I don't have a link on that one, nothing is turning up either but it is something that I've seen stated, also seen loads of studies showing that single sex classes turn out more capable students. Fairly well established that guys and girls learn differently so that makes sense.

The British Museum and the Smithsonian used assassin creed games for a Alexander the Great event and to visual the American Revolution in a sector. Imagine telling yourself 20 years ago that games would reach such levels?

That's rad, 20 years ago I'd have believed it, 30 jamin on my SNES not so much.

Also when was dna ancestry known to the public

Not sure, let's learn together

"Affordable" is the keyword there, general public wasn't doing them

But anyways, one thing that perhaps other black Americans can help me with. Is that we when it comes to history, all we know about the old world is that we were enslaved Keep in mind that I only learn about the Yoruba because of Hollywood fuck up So imagine how HARD it’s going to explain community…who literary rates ain’t exactly the best

Oakland’s rebellion against phonics set children back; let’s not repeat it

TL:DR; there was a structured phonics based curriculum that was increasing literacy rates rapidly in Oakland schools the teachers well.

Despite the obvious success of that curriculum, Weaver says teachers hated it. “This seems dehumanizing, this is colonizing, this is the man telling us what to do,” Weaver said. “So we fought tooth and nail as a teacher group to throw that out.” They succeeded, and Oakland children paid the price. Reading proficiency in the Oakland Unified School District abruptly decreased from 2014 to 2015, when the curriculum change was introduced. It hasn’t rebounded to pre-2015 levels. The district has a reading proficiency score of just 34%, well below the already stupidly low California state average of 51%.

🎉🎉🎉🎉Score a big win for decolonizing education🎉🎉🎉🎉

Also perhaps in the evening as I notice something with a lot of stuff surrounding government in the 80’s-90’s media I was trying to say the whole “Why we weren’t taught this in school” started with SJWs millennials in the early 2010’s

I said that several time actually, reading a random thing about WWI and came across the Ottoman Empire and couldn't remember learning a damn thing about them, WWI was Germany and Austria Hungary vs everyone else and for some reason this extended into Africa and the middle east but we're not going to worry too much about that.

As gaps go, that one was a doozy, you thought skipping over some random activist that did something that kicked off some movement was bad wait till you hear about the Empire that existed in the middle east, Africa, and Europe that was nearly completely left out of my history lessons.

Leaving Uzbekistan out I get, but not a 700 year old empire that our founding fathers had positive diplomatic relationships with.

Positive part was it gave me a whole bunch of stuff to learn, all on my own, without some bureaucrat deciding what was and wasn't important.

I’m just wondering how bad sjws critical thinking skills are when they never connected the dots that people who run the education system have their hands in the military industrial complex as well. Killary anyone?

Wait till you find out who helped make it so student loans couldn't be discharged through bankruptcy (biden)

The federal department of education was the beginning of the end for the US educational system and federal student loans greased the slide we're riding down.

People get mad when i say they need to be phased out, but honestly it's one of the best ways to make college affordable again imho. Just be bumpy for a decade or so till schools realize they need to stick with classes that will allow people to make a living.

Other option is make schools secure the student loans not the fed, they want their investment back they need to make a good investment.

[llycaons]

I talk big about in-character writing as if I wasn't 2 chapters into a wx AU of a desperately tragic yet very hokey movie called 'unleashed' about an orphan raised like a dog by a mob boss as an enforcer who breaks free from his captors and starts reconnecting with his humanity and this orphan hero is none other than lan wangji...

edit: I'm almost done and this is less offensively bad that just....deeply odd. long rambling post under the cut

this is why I tend to dislike AUs based on very specific works - the characterizations and relationships just don't match and it feels like reading another story. because it IS.

first of all, why is this dehumanized and abused character manipulated into a weapon who lost his parents young and was treated like an animal lwj and not wwx? it would fit the story better. wwx (survivalist, very powerful, abused and used in canon) escapes and finds a lovely, stable, (wealthy), somewhat naive, caretaking piano teacher with a young son. he slowly recovers in a safe place as he grapples with his past of abuse and cruelty. he learns to love and be loved. but lwj is one of the wealthiest and most sheltered characters in the show! the choices simply do not make sense!

like...the lwj is decent, but that's only bc this lwj has been raised in very different circumstances and his core character traits (loving animals/music/wwx/small children, having a hidden humorous side, wanting to help people and generally unwilling to hurt the innocent) are somewhat simplistic. his other important traits (like his specific relationship with rules, his character arc as it related to his sect, how he acts wrt his privilege) don't really get a chance to manifest in this situation. he's pretty straightforward, which just makes the wx dynamic pretty boring.

based on his thoughts and dialogue, wwx just thinks he's just a hot sweetheart and so so good and brave. which he IS ig, but it's lacking the drama or intrigue or flair of canon. canon wwx didn't fall in love with simply a good brave kind sweetheart, he fell in love with someone with very strong principles that aligned with his, who challenged him at every turn and surprised him with his hidden sweet side and caretaking streak and humor and eventual willingness to break rules. who is also hot and good at swordfighting. there's shades of this to the relationship, but it's ultimately just a watered-down and decontextualized version of canon. and the draw of wwx and lwj and their relationship has so much to do with canon that this AU is just kind of boring and irrelevant to read

speaking of which, the wwx is VERY odd and somewhat insulting. he's currently a single dad of a-yuan (🙄, and side note but wq and wn aren't even RELATED to the bad wens???? way to drop a really important and thematically relevant detail), and he's a building super so he collects rents, and his personal history is similar to college except he has this really strange characterization around college and in this entanglement with this woman whose death he feels responsible for. like he describes himself as a failing student who drank way too much without getting into the why of it all or the other people who were definitely in his life at the time, also canon wwx at that same age was still a highly prolific and celebrated author even in the midst of severe trauma AND alcoholism. and he described himself and this oc woman as 'two shitty people who had nobody else to be shitty with' or something and then talked about how she was an addict and it was just a really strange and and insulting (to addicts) and ooc direction for his character to be taken.

like wwx always had a ton of friends except for when he was a social pariah for saving people from literal death camps and even then the wens and his siblings really cared about him so idk why his primary social connection is this oc woman whose only purpose is to have a baby and then be a bad mother/partner and then die to make wwx feel angsty. like, he does talk about her ballet skills and her intelligence and her humor but her role in the story is pure plot device. it must be from the original movie but it's SO random and shitty and ooc and cruel to addicts? and if you write an AU for a fanfic that you want to make sense you really have to actually alter the other work a bit to accommodate the other relationships and character dynamics. it would have made more sense for wwx to be barely scraping by while working three jobs and getting disowned by the jiangs and still getting straight As even if he struggled with alcoholism. and then he still would have taken in a-yuan if the alternative was the foster system. a-yuan's biological parentage and wx's adoption of him is genuinely so important oh it makes me mad they erased that

speaking of family, the jc and jyl aren't too bad and the jfm is mostly fine but the myu is bizarre. instead of the abusive, out of control, shaming, self-centered, violent woman from canon who literally hates wwx's guts, she's a kind of sharp divorcee whose method to curry favor with her grandchildren is to buy them expensive gifts and who asks nosy but well-meaning questions about wwx's love life. I do think myu would dote on a grandchild, but NOT if it was wwx's. his role in the jiangs is a little difficult to translate completely accurately to a modern setting, but her dislike for him and her blame on him for ruining her marriage and being better than her son is a really important part of her character. adult wwx would by all rights offer her the respect she is due as his parental figure, but would likely avoid her when possible and need to seek support from other people in his life when he interacts with her. and I don't think he'd easily let her be a part of his child's life. because she abused him as a child and teenager!

[ashgunnywolf]

This gets its own post bc it got too damn long. Re: my last reblog (the video of the lady talking about how pretty white girls choose to be property bc if they're hot property they get special privileges)

Cishet white women can easily be suckered into complying with patriarchy bc cishet white women are cishet and white, and with patriarchy comes cisheteronormativity and white supremacy and classism and the dehumanization of children, so if they happily shackle themselves to an ideology that makes them into domestic slaves to their husbands, they get the privileges of exerting control over their children and breathing a sigh of relief that at least they have it better than the queers and the poors and the non-white people.

A lot of people overlook just how important controlling children is to cishet white women's participation in patriarchy. They take on all the drudgery of domestic labor like cleaning, cooking, shopping, child-rearing, etc, but with child-rearing comes the option to be an authoritarian parent. Think of every mean girl who became a nurse or a teacher so she could exert control over her patients or her students. Now imagine her with a baby: a person who cannot be free of her after one terrible school year or one bad stay in the hospital. She looks at that tiny human being and sees a blank slate, ready for her to mold into her vision of the perfect child. The way her husband treats her: as property to show off as a sign of his superiority, she treats her children. Like a domestic middle manager.

They're pretty white girls with good husbands and darling children! They're just like the bright and cheery moms in the 1950s refrigerator advertisements! Except they're not. Being a domestic slave sucks. It's not rewarding work; it's what they're "supposed" to do. If they're not stay-at-home moms (an incredibly boring life for seven hours every day once the kids all start school and all the adult friendships have drifted away) then they're coming home from a workday to a second workday where they don't even get paid. And if their parenting style is forcing their kids into a perfect little mold they're never going to perfectly fit, and not, you know, nurturing and celebrating the human beings their children already are, they're not going to like their kids very much, and their kids won't like them either.

Not to mention that a LOT hinges on their ability to function as domestic slaves that look pretty. It is truly incredible how many more men leave their sick wives than women leave their sick husbands. And if it's not as drastic as a sudden serious illness like cancer, it's something else. Maybe she becomes disabled (and rejects disability activism because it opposes the structures that she's shackled herself to). Or fat (and rejects fat acceptance for the same reason). Or even just older and not as cute as she was when he met her in college. Perfect youthful faces and bodies do not last forever. These women WILL cease to be trophies and become just... property. Not cherished anymore except for three or four obligatory special occasions per year. If he remembers.

Cisheteronormativity and white supremacy and classism and the dehumanization of children promised those cishet white women that they were better than everyone else, that they deserve a better life than everyone else. But they're not happy. And rather than realize they've shackled themselves to a toxic ideology, they choose to maintain their idea of a natural order by being cruel to queer people, to people of color, to poor people, to fat people, to disabled people, and to children. To everyone they see as beneath them, everyone they think they can get away with being cruel to. Because if they aren't better than everyone who isn't cishet and white, then what is it all for?

[the-sweetest-little-angel]

How much of childhood just did not know what was happening? I mean. I experienced things. I was delayed in a lot of things especially motor skills. I was in speech therapy for a good 4 or 5 years once I started school. But I just. Can't remember much. And it felt like it was always dancing around. Like the way they talked about me and stuff. It was clear was different. But...never really treated as different.

Even in high school, everyone could tell. I didn't have any help or anything. But the way teachers and students treated me was that I was different. Like I was just that special nice person you act kind towards.

And I very bad at understanding people. I take things at face value and can be naive aside from general distrust from trauma. And I just. Everyone has ALWAYS acted that way to me except my friends in elementary school. Treating me as different, as someone...special (for lack of better word), overly nice. It like I was more animal or pet or object than person.

I always thought I could mask. Come to find out, no. Me masking was just denying my issues and faking emotions. Everyone could tell. Everyone could tell and no one told me. And even now my parents deny it. My mother describes me as barely being on autism spectrum. Despite EVERYTHING in my life. She refuses to see me as even moderately autistic.

Everyone can tell I'm different, but no one will admit it. No one will say what it is. They'll just treat me like a special little pet. Treat me differently. Be overly nice to me. And I always took it as genuine. As people liking me. It feels so dehumanizing now. Seeing how much was just...so fucking fake because they could tell I was "off" and something was "wrong." Being othered when thinking I was masking so well. Because people can look at me and tell. And I never knew it until this year.

How many fucking adults knew?! How many times have my parents denied me help?! It cannot be unintentional. Not this level of neglect and abuse. Not this level of denial. It's horrific neglect. Even now as an adult. They'll say they'll do anything to help, but then they prolong it and never bother to remember. It can't be unintentional. They claim they never knew. But they saw. They saw it all. You have to be real unaware and incompetent to not notice about your own child. And that comes from someone that can barely process anything, is extremely slow, and forgets when people are near me. I do not believe it is unintentional. But even now, it's so hard not to take their excuses at face value. And assume that *I* must be wrong. If other kids could tell and my teachers could tell, how many adults knew? How many knew and never said anything? Did they tell my parents and my parents deny it? I don't know. I don't fucking know.

I don't know anything about my own life. How much I've been disabled especially with my brain and it just...was never addressed. Never mentioned. And I don't know if I'll get the answers.

[greensaplinggrace]

So you mentioned in another post that you have some strong thoughts on Baghra, especially about how the story frames her as one of the good guys. I would love to hear about it.

@youremotionallystablefriend: I would love to hear you rant about Baghra if you feel like it (and haven’t already)! Personally I don’t think she gets enough constructive critique in the fandom for being the one that brought Aleks up and for the way she treated her pupils and especially Alina :/

Anon: Hello! I love your thoughts on the grisha books. I'm actually interested to hear your take on Baghra

@misku-nimfa: If you are up for it, I would love to read your thoughts on Baghra or your full critique of society in the Grishaverse. Your analysis is really well structured and interesting! ^.^

Anon: Hi! I saw your recent post and was wondering if you'd share more of your thoughts on Baghra?

---

Hello everyone! I was honestly very surprised to see so many people interested in my thoughts on Baghra? I'll share what I can, but please know that this is by no means a full breakdown of her character! It’s just some Thoughts I’ve had, and they’re mostly centered around show Baghra because that’s how I was first introduced to her character. Although IMO book Baghra might actually be even worse.

I’d like to preface this by saying that many of my issues with the treatment of Baghra as a character in fandom come from the wild double standard there seems to be regarding her and the Darkling. Darkling Antis and a vast majority of the people in this fandom who don’t like his character have a disturbing habit of absolutely ripping into the Darkling for all of his faults and then turning around and treating Baghra as some sort of pristine mother figure for the exact same shit.

They’ll talk about how badass she is, how strong she is, how they sympathize with her past (although they’ll continue to dehumanize the Darkling and refuse to sympathize with his own past) and sympathize with the fact that she has to deal with the Darkling (who’s always referred to as a monster she must corral or control, as if he is inhumane and beastly. These particular comments always take on the very distinct tone of victim blaming as well). They’ll laud her for all of these “powerful girlboss” moments as if they aren’t carbon copies of the Darkling’s own behavior - as if they aren’t things Baghra herself taught him. Which is why this is the wildest double standard of all to me, because every horrible action they praise Baghra for is something she taught the Darkling, and something they cannot stand to see in him as well.

It’s as if there’s a disconnect between their consumption of the literature when it comes to the two characters, and I’m of the opinion that it’s largely because Baghra is a woman and a mother and therefore infantilized in the fandom quite a bit. In fact, Bardugo herself often infantilizes many of her female characters in her writing. This is mostly through the process of excusing their terrible deeds, not allowing them to do anything remotely dark, or brushing any morally grey actions under the rug without ever touching upon them. Which puts me in the strange position of knowing I’m supposed to sympathize with Baghra for having to deal with the monster she’s created, and instead feeling resentful of the fact that this bitter woman is held up as this wise old strict teacher instead of the abusive mentor/mother she should have been.

Now, here’s what I said to make so many of you send me asks:

Last note, in reference to your first line, and also probably a pretty unpopular opinion. I do not like Baghra. And it legit has nothing to do with the Darkling or with Alina, I just don't like her "I'm going to hit you and berate you and emotionally abuse you and manipulate you and act like the good guy at the end of it" vibe she's got going on. At least Aleksander is acknowledged as the villain within the narrative. Idk wtf Baghra is on but it's absolutely wild to me that people aren't more critical of her actions. Which is, rather fortunately for you, another rant I will save for another post if anybody ever wants to hear it lol. (but like kudos to Baghra's actress. I loved the character as a character, I just don't like the way she's framed as a good guy. Weird. Uncomfortable. She literally set bees on the kids she was teaching).

This basically summarizes most of my thoughts on Baghra as a character and how she’s portrayed. I touched on it a bit above, but the way she’s able to get away with so much and not suffer under heavier critique is honestly baffling to me. There should be a lot more criticism of her out there in the fandom. This is the woman who abused her students and neglected her son. Although to be honest I don’t even know how to quite describe the emotionally neglectful yet unhealthily codependent bond she fostered in him from a young age. IMO, Baghra’s behavior around Aleksander is creepy, and I know she has a history that makes it more understandable, but it’s still incredibly disconcerting to witness.

But let’s get back on track! First of all, her students. Whom she physically, emotionally, and mentally abuses. She’s derisive, she’s insulting, she’s belittling. She works hard to strip them of any self confidence they may have. She uses pain as a means of triggering powers. And the strict teacher excuse doesn’t fly. The “it’s only a training method!” excuse is even worse. This is literal abuse she’s heaping on her students and it’s wretched.

The first thing she does to Alina when they first meet is insult her. Then she hits her. Then she kicks her out.

Second time they interact is a montage. Baghra hits Alina multiple times. She shames her. And then when Alina actually calls a light she tells her it’s not nearly enough, effectively wiping the smile off of her face and every sign of self confidence that had been building. Then we see the door to Baghra’s hut shut in Alina’s face. So now she has been bruised, battered, berated, stripped of all self confidence, and then banished again. As training methods go, this is not only entirely ineffective, but it’s also just abusive.

Then we get this interaction between Alina and her friends:

Marie: One time, Baghra released a hive of bees on me. Nadia: Worst part is, it worked. Marie: It really did. I could summon at will after that.

Which is fucking horrifying and not talked about nearly enough. That goes beyond hitting your students. Baghra used a fear tactic on a young girl to activate her powers. She literally tortured Marie to make her powers work.

Alina throughout this conversation is looking very disheartened. She’s lacking in any self confidence and the comment about the bees has clearly affected her. For someone who’s first words to Alina were “Everyone believes that you are the one. Come back when you believe it too,”  Baghra doesn’t exactly seem keen on Alina actually believing she’s the one. If she did, she wouldn’t be stripping her of every positive emotion associated with sun summoning.

Let’s not forget that Baghra demeans Alina multiple times for her status as an orphan. How she utilizes what she knows of Alina’s emotional weaknesses to provoke her and discourage her and make her angry.

And then Baghra drugs her without consent. To take advantage of any information Alina gives her in that state. To use the way Alina reacts for her own ends.

Because why else would she say this?:

Alina: We planned to run away together. Baghra: You had plans. Perhaps he never did, because where is he now?

Which is, strangely enough, the same sense of isolation and separation from Mal and her past that Aleksander is attempting to foster. Weird how mother and son are both using the same manipulation tactics.

In fact, why does Baghra never tell Alina about the letters until she’s already engaged with Aleksander? Baghra must have known he was taking them. Alina talks about it enough. Baghra must have known he was isolating her from Mal. How could she not, when it’s revealed later that she has spies in the Little Palace collecting information on him? How could she not, when she knows he’s the villain from the beginning - when she knows he’s manipulating Alina?

Baghra knows, and yet she keeps the same lies Aleksander does and furthermore uses that information to make Alina feel even more isolated and weak. Baghra literally just piggy-backs on Aleksander’s manipulation and then exacerbates it. She wants Alina to feel no attachments to her past because she wants to use Alina as well. But for some reason, because this manipulation and treatment of Alina as some sort of tool is done by the woman who opposes the Darkling, it’s suddenly okay. As if it still isn’t the same terrible shit but with a different perpetrator. I mean damn, at least Aleksander feels something for Alina. Baghra’s just cold.

So, point by point. Baghra mentions how Mal doesn’t care for Alina, she mentions Alina’s failings constantly, she mentions Alina being an orphan, she constantly hits her, she guilts Alina about orphans dying, she works to instill a sense of isolation from her friends and her family.

And when Alina finally comes to Baghra, having decided to abandon her attachments to her past and her attachments to Mal, the words that ring in her head are Baghra's words - “needing anyone else is weak.”  Which is honestly just a horrible sentiment in general, but an even worse one when considering how hard these people are working to detach Alina from anybody who can help her or give her an outside perspective.

Strangely, it’s also similar to this line:

The problem with wanting, is that it makes us weak.

...which is spoken by Baghra’s son. You know, the Darkling? Our big bad villain? The one Baghra raised?

Which gives me the impression that Baghra’s teaching methods with her students are really not that far off from the teaching methods she used on him as he was growing up. It’s a horrifying thought, and leads into my problems with her relationship with Aleksander.

First of all, show wise. What the fuck.

Aleksander: They’re punishing us for being Grisha. Baghra: Punishing you. You made him afraid. Now he wants you to fear him. Aleksander: I won a war for him. Baghra: And in doing so, started a war on us.

I get that she’s trying to convey how the king feels here, but it still feels incredibly victim blamey from a narrative standpoint. It isn’t Aleksander’s fault the king fears him when he used his powers under the King’s banner to help him win a war. Aleksander trusted this man who betrayed him and then betrayed his people, and we get a line from his mother, entirely unsympathetic, talking about how it’s his fault all of these people are dying.

Baghra: Where’s the girl, your healer? Aleksander: Dead. She died because of me. Baghra: She died because they always do. They’re not as strong as you and me.

Baghra’s use of the term ‘girl’ and ‘healer' here instead of Luda is pretty telling. She either doesn’t like Luda or doesn’t care for her. Either way, this is the woman her son loves, and Baghra talks about her so dispassionately. Then he comments on Luda’s death and there’s no reaction except to say that they always do.

Like, her son is literally broken up over here. Grieving. Desperate. Run ragged. Caged and hunted. Feeling guilty as hell. Mind running through a million different ways he could possibly save all of these people. And Baghra offers him nothing except a paltry “people die, get over it, we’re better than that, she didn’t matter anyway.”

Honestly, how is Aleksander even still functioning at this point? He has no support system and he’s working against a king and his army to protect a group of civilians he could easily abandon to save himself. The sheer amount of responsibility and mental strain keeping track of a group alone entails is already monstrous, but adding in every other factor? The recent death of Luda, the fact that they’re cornered and they’ve been hunted down while fleeing across the land, the fact that he was just a couple hours ago forced to his knees and entirely at these men’s mercy, begging for Luda’s life. And here his mother is, if anything a negative support system. Offering no other ideas, telling him to give up hope, not even offering the barest smidgeon of emotional support as he grieves, putting everything on his shoulders.

It pisses me the fuck off.

Aleksander: You’re the one who taught me how to kill, mother. Their blood is on your hands as much as mine.  Baghra: I taught you so you could protect yourself. Not them.

Once more, Baghra highlights how he needs to protect himself. How he should abandon the people he’s protecting. How he shouldn't help others and only ever himself. Once more, she says it’s my way or the high way. There’s zero effort to work with him. Zero effort to sympathize or compromise. She’s constantly pushing him to take the one option she knows he won’t take. The hell did she think was going to happen?

Also, Baghra taught him how to kill. Not necessarily great parenting, but understandable given the circumstances of his upbringing. But the level to which she takes it is honestly concerning. Like, look no further than this woman to see where Aleksander got it from lol.

Baghra also forbids him from using Merzost. Which is great and all, she gets to claim the moral high ground. But she doesn’t offer a single alternative except to flee and let everybody die. There was legitimately no other option to Merzost except for torture and death. If there was, Baghra sure as hell didn’t help Aleksander come up with one. Aleksander, who - by the way - is in no fit emotional state to be making any kind of decision right now.

So anyways, that’s just my tv show grief regarding Baghra, and it’s not even really all of it. I don’t want to make this an hour long read though lmao. But I’ll go over a few other things.

First of all, Baghra’s whole “We’re the only two that matter. We have to do whatever we can to protect ourselves,” mentality is one that she actively touts to Aleksander on a regular basis when he’s incredibly young. It’s honestly a wonder he grows up to care about other people at all. But the mentality itself is something Aleksander still heavily internalized in regards to protecting himself and those he deems worthy at any cost.

There’s a moment in the books when Aleksander is attacked and nearly drowned by some kids who wanted his bones (one of which was a close friend of his). He uses the cut in self defense and then blames the nearby Otkazat’sya village. Baghra knows he’s lying, and yet she allows an entire village to get slaughtered for harming him. This is a disproportionately violent act that Baghra approves of, and Aleksander as a kid is definitely internalizing that mindset.

Also, Baghra’s behavior around Aleksander has always been weirdly possessive and controlling. Especially when it comes to the people he loves. Her actions often come across as her trying to isolate him in order to keep him by her side, even when the relationships he has are clearly intimate. Which... is especially strange for a mother to be doing to her son.

She was also an extremely emotionally neglectful mother. Based on the show and what I gathered from her actions there, I’m actually half convinced she was physically abusive as well, in that “I think I’m being a stern, good parent figure when in reality I’m actually harming my child” kind of way. She fosters codependence with her son and then refuses to provide for any of his emotional needs. She drives it into his head that everybody dies, that he’ll always be alone, that love is useless and power is everything. She denies him the opportunity to be soft and works to harden him at a young age. She tells him he must never allow people to touch him, except she doesn’t work to supplement those physical needs in any way. She essentially abuses him.

Honestly, I could go on. But in reality the simple fact is that I just don’t like her. I think she’s a hypocrite. I think she’s abusive. I think she’s a terrible mentor and an even worse mother. And I think the fandom and the books are willing to brush aside so many of her faults simply because she opposes the Darkling.

I’m sorry if this isn’t what you guys were looking for! It sounds like a lot of you wanted a more of a sophisticated breakdown, but my thoughts on Baghra come with a heap of emotional baggage lol. It feels weird to say this now, but I actually do like the character as a character, I just,,, don’t like her in every other aspect. My feelings on Baghra are just a bit personal, to be honest. But hopefully this was at least comprehensible??

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

Train Day - Rowe and Mason

[I TRIED SO HARD TO COME UP WITH WHUMP ON A CHOO CHOO BUT  

I 

COULD 

NOT

so here’s some “training Whump” but with a Twist! Mason and Rowe (who belongs to @whumpzone (and Tomas) The Training is from this prompt, and this interaction :)

hehehehe sorry Rowe Also I kinda want to write more Training!Rowe but who knows]

CW: Conditioning, past abuse discussed, cursing, dubcon touch (non sexual), misunderstanding (look Tomas is TRYING), implied electrocution, Pet Whump, conditioned mindset, dehumanization

[Rowe’s Masterlist] [Mason’s Tag] 

Mason sat, scribbling notes with the office phone wedged between his shoulder and his ear.

“Just a general kind of refresher?”

Tomas nodded before remembering he was on the phone. “Yeah – nothing harsh, though. He’s been acting out lately and I just don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“Acting out how?”

Tomas bit his lip for a second before he sighed. Strangely enough, he felt almost like a teacher phoning home about a disruptive student. He would never hurt Rowe, but he needed some correction.

“Uh, marking up things around the house” – destroying my favorite shoes- “messing with things he knows better than to mess with” – playing around with the collar I should have thrown away – “I mean, he cut his own hair for goodness sake.”

Mason wrote down attention seeking and hummed understandably. “Has anything changed recently? Did you get a new job or move or something to that effect?”

A pause.

“Well, Luca’s been coming around more...”

Mason leaned back in his chair, a knowing grin creeping along his face. By the blush in the man’s voice, he could tell Luca was more than just a random friend. He chuckled silently and shook his head. That explains it.

“Alright. Has he ever been through a formal training before?”

“I, I don’t think so. I got him, uh, he came to me through some, not, great circumstances, if you know what I mean. Pretty rough shape. So, uh - no. I’m going to go with no. Or at least, not like, kind training.”

Mason nodded subconsciously as he took more notes. Alright, a little handholding necessary with this one. Fair enough.

“Sorry to hear about that. Is there anything else you want to tell me? Anything other changes?”

Another pause, longer this time. Mason just waited, understanding that some people who were embarrassed about needing a trainer for their pet. Really, there was nothing to be ashamed for, but there was still that expectation. Sadly, that mindset is what messed up the pet in the first place.

“He has nightmares,” Tomas blurts, feeling like this might be the only opportunity for Rowe to get some professional help. “Almost every night – all from before. Not me, all before.”

“Oh,” Mason said, dropped from that professional voice to one a little more casual. Clients liked that, made them feel like friends or something. Personal anecdotes. “Yeah, one of my boys got those too after a little scare with a SUV that was speeding through our neighborhood. It’s fixable.”

“Thank goodness,” Tomas muttered, head in hands. “He’s still scared of that guy. I just, I just wish he wasn’t so scared of everything. I want him to be calm, and comfortable, and feel safe with me. I, I care about him.”

Companion, Mason noted. “Sounds like you’re trying all the right things. I’ll see what I can do to help you and-” he checked the form again “Rowe.”

A sigh of relief from Tomas. It had been a while since there was someone who could help him with Rowe. After, after the whole Kasia debacle that blew up in his face.

It was nice to have someone on his side again. Someone who wanted to help Rowe like he did.

A few more pleasantries, and they said their goodbyes. Mason hung up the phone, glancing over to the pet that had been kneeling in his office. It had been trembling the entire time, not daring to look up. Mason stretched as he stood and made his way over to it. He crouched down, taking the pet by the chin to examin its face.

Big, scared brown eyes couldn’t decide where to look; flickering from the floor to his face, but never quite reaching his eyes. Poor thing flinched when he brought up his other hand to inspect the sloppily shorn hair. He could already tell that the pet was layered in scars, trying to breathe silently but given away by a slightest rasp. It tried to studder something out, but the words got caught.

Mason tutted, using his thumb to rub the boy’s temple in comforting circles. Barbaric. That’s the only way to describe the treatment of the pet’s previous owner. How could people do shit like this? Pet were just that - pets, not just living punching bags. Disciple needed to be humane, needed to help get the lesson across instead of useless violence.

The comforting touch seemed to confuse it even more, the pet staying stalk still. He tried a different spot, and the pet quickly relaxed, neck going slack. Mason smiled a little, faintly remembering another pet that came through a while ago. Loved touch, that one did.

He wondered how it was doing now.

~

Rowe couldn’t stop shaking. He was trying, oh he was trying his best but he just couldn’t seem to stop. The man was big, biceps as big as Rowe’s head. He was shorter than Master Tomas, but he scared Rowe more.

And that made him feel so guilty.

He should respect his Master the most; should be the most concerned about what Master Tomas thought or wanted. He shouldn’t care so much about what happened to him, or about what this man would do. He just needed to be good, and obey. But he was scared. This man was going to fix him, teach him to be better, and with Rowe’s old Master that always meant pain. Pain and darkness and hunger that hollowed him out. Burns and cuts and lashes and begging that made everything worse.

When the man lifted his other hand, Rowe flinched away from it. He wasn’t ready to be hit again. Master Tomas had been too easy on him! Too pitying, too nice. He had gone soft, spending all this time doing house chores and sleeping on a bed and reading. Now he needed to learn his place again and it scared him so much.

“P-p-please Sir, please. I-I-I-I, I, hng-“ Rowe’s voice cracked, and he could feel heat rush to his face. The man made a little clicking noise, and Rowe froze. A thumb was rubbing little circles into his temple and he didn’t know what to do. He found himself looking into the man’s face, utterly confused. Was, wait – did Rowe do something right? What was happening? It, it didn’t hurt. It felt kind of nice. What was he supposed to do? He stayed still, chest rising and falling quickly.

The man made an expression, but it was gone so quickly Rowe couldn’t tell what it meant. Hands reached for his neck, and Rowe whimpered. But they just laid across his skin, not squeezing or putting any pressure. Even so, Rowe still felt faint. Oh, oh oh he must have been so so so bad.

But there was no pain. The man’s fingertips pressed into the back of his neck, right where his spine met his skull. Little circles again, digging into the muscle. Rowe’s head moved a little with the motion for a second - before he felt the tension in his neck just melt away.

It felt so good, his eyes fluttered closed. It was hard to keep his head up straight, gravity pulling it back to rest on the man’s hands. Rowe was still incredibly confused, but he didn’t want it to stop. Didn’t want to mess up somehow and lose this reward that he certainly hadn’t earned. He almost didn’t hear it when the man started talking.

“Feeling a little ignored, eh? Had a bitch of an owner before, didn’t you. Fucked you up real good.”

Rowe’s brain snapped to attention hearing mention of his old owner. He tried to shake his head a little. No, no his old owner was fair. Rowe was the one who kept messing up and needing correcting. He was just a pet, that was how he was supposed to be treated. He knew better. He knew it.

“Hey hey hey,” Mason said, suddenly stopping the motion and firmly holding Rowe’s neck straight. The brown eyes flew open, wrenched from his blissful state. “No, you don’t correct your Trainer. Your old owner was wrong. Now, let’s get you all fixed up for your Master. No more acting out, no more breaking your rules, no more attention seeking.”

Rowe cringed in on himself as he was reprimanded. Yes, yes that’s what he had been doing. Trying to take up Master’s time like an ungrateful thing. He could be good. He could show the man he was well trained.

“I-I’m, I’m sorry. Please, p-please p-punish me, I-“

Mason scoffed lightly, releasing Rowe and stand. “Yes, but that’s only part of the reason you’re here.”

He paused. “Talkative. Does your Master like you to talk with him?”

Rowe’s jaw snapped shut, eyes wide as he realized what had happened. He covered his mouth with his hands instinctively but nodded to answer his Trainer’s question.

“Alright. What does he do for punishments?”

Rowe shivered, starting to tremble again – wait when did he stop – remembering his old punishments. But Master Tomas never did that. He was so kind to Rowe.

“He, he, he h-has me remove spider-rs? Sometimes? Or, um, or he, um.”

Mason sighed and rolled his eyes. Of course, one of those loosey-goosy owners that never punished anything. Probably too afraid to seem like “the bad guy” or like the pet’s old Master. Two extreme pet owners; too much punishment and not enough.

Rowe stopped talking immedicably, unsure of what to do. The Trainer gestured for him to stand as well, and Rowe obeyed. Mason took a step behind him, pinning one of the pet’s wrists to the small of its back while the other hand firmly gripped the back of its neck. The lack of collar made sense now.

“Come on. Let’s get you to the training floor and get started.”

~

Tomas was pacing in the waiting room. The door opened, and Tomas wheeled around.

“Master Tomas!”

Rowe came up to him excitedly, not falling to his knees, but standing sheepishly in front of him. Tomas looked him up and down, a little shocked.

“Rowe? Oh-h, you seem, well.”

Rowe nodded, eyes locked on Tomas’ face. “I, I am! Thank, thank you.”

Tomas glanced over and saw Mason leaning in the doorframe, looking rather smug with himself. Tomas smiled at him half-heartedly. He filled out the paperwork quickly, anything he had to do to take Rowe home.

Every day Rowe was gone made Tomas doubt his decision more. He was so glad they were going home, and that all of this was behind them. He already felt awful for sending Rowe away for the week or so he’d been gone. He’d thoroughly missed having Rowe around the house.

The moment they left, Tomas took Rowe’s hand.

“Are you really okay? Rowe, I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have done that to you. Did he hurt you? What did he do?”

“I’m fine, M-Master,” Rowe said, smiling. There was a pause in the conversation for him to add more, to answer the other questions, but he didn’t. Tomas swallowed, not really believing him.

~

Rowe curled his toes and twitched his shoulders as he spoke. (If you have to move, if you have to flinch or feel scared, move somewhere your Owner can’t see. No one wants a pet that flinches away) Master Tomas seemed concerned. And sorry? Sorry for what? Rowe was his pet and Master Tomas could send him wherever he wanted.

His trainer had been fair, helping Rowe be the best he could. But, but he didn’t want to go back to the Trainer. Under his arms still stung, the little electrodes removed only that morning. There were so many things he had to remember, so many secret rules that he needed to follow to keep Master Tomas happy. To make sure Master Tomas knew his pet was calm, and comfortable, and felt safe with him. It was a lot to remember, but his Trainer has explained that this was how Rowe showed how thankful he was.

You don’t need attention; you need to make sure your Master is happy.

He, he kind of liked his Trainer, but he was also so scary. He got loud sometimes, able to make Rowe nearly fall apart with just his words. And he was downright terrifying when he made Rowe tell him about his nightmares. All the little details and everything that happened. Making Rowe say it over and over again; but with a different ending. Saying that Master Tomas had come and saved him. Taken him away from his old Master.

His Trainer said it would help. Help stop the nightmares. That, and the stretches that didn’t hurt so much after hours of practice. Master Tomas had saved him, and he was forever grateful to him. So thankful to be his pet.

Pets smiled. Pets did what they were told. Good pets followed the secret rules, the ones that kept them good pets. His Trainer had explained those, too. Explained why Master Tomas acted how he did. Why he acted kind.

Why he told Rowe he was a person.

He wasn’t, Rowe knew and his Trainer made sure he knew, but it made Master Tomas feel better to say. So, it was a good thing. Anything that made Master happy was a good thing. Rowe just had to play along. It wouldn’t be hard, as long as he reminded himself the truth when he was alone.

He was a pet.

He was there to be a companion to Master Tomas.

He wasn’t a person.

He belonged to Master Tomas.

He did what Master Tomas wanted.

Master Tomas saved him so he could do whatever he wanted to Rowe (even play this pretend game with him)

He was a pet.

Rowe just had to follow his secret rules.

Just because Master Tomas hadn’t given him rules didn’t mean there weren’t any.

[defyances]

𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀

( where yugen is so incredibly obsessed with this woman that she decides to rant about her )

on: her followers

to start us off, we’ll discuss the main event of irelia’s performance: her relationship with blossoming blade. they are very close with each other, and it can be interpreted as platonic or romantic. i only say this because they establish their relationship as teacher/student, a platonic/familial bond that can be as powerful as a romantic one. but i also digress, given the affectionate remarks they give each other such as:

irelia: i wish i could give you silks, but i must give you steel. blossoming blade: stay by my side. i cannot ask for more.

irelia: ionians into formation! blossoming blade: i’d follow you to the black heart of noxus itself.

&& there is so much more. blossoming blade is not confident in her ability to fight, much like irelia && her lack of confidence in her ability to lead, which might explain why irelia has some sort of connection to her. she sees her as a mirror of herself, and much like she needed at one point, blossoming blade needs someone to support her. so, she will give that plus much more. lastly, irelia’s reaction upon blossoming blade’s death; it is simply undeniable that they love each other.

i am a bit bothered by the lack of interactions between irelia && zinneia since it is implied that zinneia is her former mentor:

irelia: zinneia, you are a master at your craft. zinneia: and fate has sent you to give my craft purpose.

irelia: as a child, i watched you dance at the placidium every spring. zinneia: it was your bravery that brought me to the fight.

i was hoping to have more information on their relationship && the sort of impact zinneia had on irelia, but at the same time, it gives me the opportunity to fill in the gaps! given zinneia’s interactions with the rest of irelia’s followers, she is an elder ( we will not talk about how that isn’t reflected in her card art ) who leads the dance program at the placidium. while irelia’s o’ma taught her how to dance, zinneia perfected it with her lessons, and she became the mother/grandmother figure in her life once all her family members passed away. it assures me that irelia did have a support system ( even if a part of her might disagree. ) i will do a more thorough ( * headcanon based ) look at their relationship in another post.

when irelia said she is a warm && caring person, she really meant it. she cares a great deal for her followers as shown:

coastal defender: generations tended this land. i cannot leave. irelia: we must retreat for now, but i promise we’ll return.

ribbon dancer: stand behind me! they won’t hurt you. irelia: if they hurt you, i’d never forgive myself.

fighting for your freedom is important, yes but not so recklessly. if a battle isn’t turning out in their favor, irelia would rather retreat and keep her followers safe rather than dying in vain. her tone is mother-like, always worrying for them even though they are confident and determined to protect their home, and at their deaths, she is torn apart. she is both grateful ( ‘ your sacrifice mattered ’ ) && heartbroken ( ‘ so young . . . ’ ), which is why i emphasize her hesitance to believe in herself as a leader. she is responsible for their lives and for each that falls, she fails. she cannot fail them ( something she says herself upon the death of her card ); her people deserve to live to see the day of bittersweet victory.

on: noxus

as expected, irelia harbors a lot of hate towards them, and rightfully so. however, what i want to talk about is riot confirming my assumption on how deep this hate runs.

imperial demolitionist: for the empire. irelia: so young, already so wicked.

imperial demolitionist: remember the objectives. irelia: ‘murder the innocent’ and ‘destroy their homes’?

for those who don’t know, imperial demolitionist is a child. irelia is speaking to a child and not in a tone you would expect an adult would talk to a child ( especially one who was brainwashed to commit awful atrocities. ) this confirmed my headcanon of irelia’s white && black mentality: no matter who you are or how you came to be, if you are noxian, she will kill you. she will refuse to see you as anything but a tyrant, and she will continue to allow this hate to fester and dehumanize noxus as a whole. she won’t even refer to them by name! she has her reasons, given how much they have taken away from her, but it doesn’t make it right. as we all know, noxus has slaves, ranging from adult to children, and will send them to war whether they volunteered or not. they have to act in order to survive, but irelia can’t see that they’re trying to live; she sees them trying to kill her home, so in turn, she’ll kill them. && that is a flaw i will cover more on in another post.

even though the faith in herself wavers, the passion to protect ionia doesn’t with how confident she talks back to the noxians. she threatens them, promises to kill them, even when faced with their technology and their machinery. she has that much faith in her people and the land, and it’s admirable. no wonder why people follow her.

on: shurima

i never expected interactions between irelia and the shurimans ( especially with azir and nasus ), but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless! azir && irelia are two fierce leaders, fighting tooth and nail to secure the safety of their homes; however, the difference between their idea of leading is evident within their interactions.

azir: a leader must see victory beyond each loss. irelia: my heart weeps for every fallen ally.

azir: war is an instrument that can make or destroy its leaders. irelia: instruments create beauty; war ends it.

from my perspective, azir isn’t so affected by the loss of lives in the war like irelia is ( it could be because he’s become desensitized after leading for so long or he truly doesn’t care ), and i could be wrong as i am not so familiar with azir. but with irelia, it is obvious that she is very sensitive towards the death of her people. whether they were close to her or not, as far as she knows, they were innocent souls, and they were dragged into this war unprepared. so many lives lost, so many deaths unjustified — it is simply unfair to her people, who have done nothing wrong. && no matter how many times she’s seen a body belonging to the first lands, it never hurts any less. she’s been able to mask that pain over the years she’s grown, but she still grieves, and it can be seen/heard whenever someone very close to her dies.

another difference i like to point out between the two leaders is their viewpoints on war: azir sees war almost like survival of the fittest. in the second quote, war is a way to create leaders, the best of the best while irelia sees it as destroying the beauty of life. war is a massacre, no matter which side wins, && even though she also strives for victory, she will only remember it as the day that peace died.

nasus: sorrow weighs upon you, but death could bring you peace. irelia: not yet, curator. i am far from done.

this made me snort because it’s basically nasus telling irelia, “k’ing yourself would make you feel better,” but i’m sure it isn’t meant to sound that way. rather, he understands her grief && how badly it is affecting her, so he is “testing” her will to see how strong it really is. if she had the opportunity, would she die && end her suffering there, or would she continue to preserve despite the agony she holds in her heart? irelia answers almost incredulously; if she dies now, ends her suffering now, who will lead her people to victory? certainly not anyone she knows/trusts. so, she cannot die. she will not die, not until she knows that her home is safe. ( this plays a bit into my headcanon that irelia doesn’t really fear death since she anticipates the day of reuniting with her family && ending her torment. )

there isn’t much to say about her interactions with the soothsayer && the voice of the risen other than she’s grateful for their aid in these trying times.

on: miscellaneous champs

lastly, i’ll be touching upon her interactions with in-game characters — which, suffice to say, isn’t a whole lot. it’s a bit disappointing. i expected more interactions with shen, karma, riven, and zed; i expected interactions with yasuo, yone, and lulu ( who is apparently in ionia?? ) but unfortunately, we weren’t given that. but i won’t say i’m heavily disappointed either because we did get some interactions with ionian && noxian champs plus extra.

shen: the balance requires a watchful eye. irelia: ionia needs brave hearts and able hands, too.

much like akali, irelia does not believe in waiting around && letting the land fight on its own. she even questions shen’s philosophy because of the slaughter that happened, which makes me theorize her faith in the spirit; clearly, she still believes in it but not so deeply like shen and the elders.

karma: ionia speaks through me. irelia: then tell me when this bloody fight will end?

she even questions the spirit of ionia itself, in a tone that is tired and desperate to end this terror. she is a lot nicer to karma in lor than lol, which confirms my suspicion that while irelia was initially frustrated with karma’s ( lack of ) action, she has come to understand her reasoning through the years that they’ve worked together.

zed: pledge yourself to the shadows. irelia: noxian tyranny has already forged our bond.

riven: [ dies ] irelia: irredeemable.

isn’t it crazy how irelia would rather side with the “evil” shadow master rather than the former noxian? of course, zed isn’t all bad, and riven isn’t all good, but it just further proves how she doesn’t treat noxians as humans at all; however, i would also like to point out her interaction with riven is if she’s against her. irelia would perhaps give her a chance if her quote in-game with her proves anything: “you want redemption? join me, and kill your masters!”

&& i’m still flabbergasted by her interaction with zed. she might not entirely agree with him, but she’ll work with him without hesitance. after all, they do share the philosophy of killing all noxians.

irelia: join us, prince jarvan. dance by our side. jarvan: i’m afraid i was born with two left feet. it’s a lightshield thing…

jarvan: noxus will pay for what they did to your people. irelia: yes, demacian prince. we will see to that.

so not only does she have shurima’s support but also demacia’s! a bit shocking since demacia is antimage and irelia is technically a mage, but i am glad to see that she and jarvan are on good terms.

irelia: my family...h-have you seen them? kindred: drifting between innocence and consequence.

STOP!! astra and i literally discussed this: if irelia was given the chance to talk to kindred, she would most certainly ask for her family && question why she was spared. of course, kindred would answer ominously, which in this interaction, makes me curious. between innocence and consequence? what do they mean? is her family stuck in limbo? are they currently being judged based on irelia’s actions in life? or are they waiting for irelia to join them? perhaps we’ll never know.

[centuriantalevevo]

Draco x Nonbinary Reader

Reader is AMAB, also this contains my headcanons lmao- hella OOC because of that (one of my headcanons, Draco has like.. multiple cousins who are basically on crack /j)

TW: transphobia and enbyphobia, with talk of biphobia. LGBTphobia in general. Misgendering

    5th year is.. Hectic.. Especially for a certain kid, Y/N L/N, who had to deal with a literal pink toad this year. Like.. ew? What made it worse, was they seemed to be the only kid in the school, well Slytherin specifically, that was… Different. Not in the normal, cliche sense, where ‘oh Y/N was drop dead gorgeous but abused by everyone around her, she can sing amazing-’, no. This isn’t your typical x Reader story, Y/N was different in the sense of Identity, Gender, specifically Gender Norms. They seemed to be all alone on this feeling, a feeling of discomfort, a feeling of loneliness despite multiple friends being in the room with them at this moment. They were away from earth, where no words can hurt. Where the erasure cannot get to them.

Oh god did the words hurt.

Oh? What words? You’re about to find out.

    “No, but did you hear some of the bullshit Umbridge was saying?” He asked, he as in the blonde. Draco. Draco Malfoy. “Especially to my cousin-” “You have a cousin?” Pansy asked, “Welcome to the conversation, first time speaking to me?- Yes, you are hella late to the conversation.” Draco groaned, “Now let me get back to the story” “Continue, which cousin? Darla?- Dominic?-” Blaise asked, “No, Jamie..” He responded quickly, “Oh hold on, what did the toad do to Jamie? I swear, if she hURT THAT PRECIOUS CHILD- Gryffindor or not, I love that girl to death” Blaise said quickly, interrupting Draco.

The blonde sighed deeply, “Blaise.. I love you to death but holy shit let me finnish, alright..” He took a breather, Y/N came back from their little world, queuing into the conversation. “Okay, so Umbridge had the AUDACITY to misgender MY COUSIN OVER AND OVER again! Misgendered her, invalidated her, you know that rule about like.. Something distance from the opposite gender? Yeah she’s forcing Jamie, a literal girl, to distance from girls and not guys-” He halted for a second, “No, my bad.. She’s forcing Jamie to stay away from both because she believe that Jamie is gay.. No, Jamie is a whole straight girl..” Draco ranted, “um.. Sorry to interrupt but… Jamie’s a girl? So how was she invalidated?” Y/N asked, tilting their head, Draco’s eyes moved to them, softening some.

    “Oh, you didn’t know? I thought everyone knew. Jamie is trans, she’s a trans girl specifically”

THERE! THERE IT WAS! They weren’t alone now.. There was someone who understood, yet they’d been clueless this whole time.

“I swear I will jack that woman UP” Blaise said lowly and Draco nodded in agreement. “Jamie was CRYING when she came to me, she could barely speak. That poor girl passed out from crying so much. She felt so hurt and the amount of dysphoria she felt was astronomically high.” He sighed, even he wanted to cry. “Like, damn bitch you didn’t have to out yourself as a whole LGBTphobe, you could’ve just stayed quiet and it would cost you nothing yet you chose to mess with a child who is related to the MALFOY family, very smart yes mhmm..” He growled in aggravation “Only merlin knows what she’d do if there was a nonbinary in the school, she’s probably dehumanize them.” He shook his head.

    “I’d commit a hate crime if I’m honest” Dominic said, coming from the stairs of the boys dormitory, “The LGBT had their way for a moment because she hadn’t thought about the gays, bisexuals and lesbians. Well.. the gays and lesbians, I don’t think she thinks Bisexuals exist..” He hummed, “She’s enforced the rule so now Darla can’t be near Daphne, luckily I don’t have a boyfriend.. The one time being single is a good thing.” Dominic dramatically cried.

“I will prove bisexuals exist, damn seems like I gotta stay away from ALL of you, sorry” Draco jokes, but was dead serious at the same time. “Until then, if there are nonbinaries in the school, technically they can by-pass the rules, if they present as masculine one day feminine the next. Or just androgynous to confuse the toad.” Draco then added, “I think I have to stay away from you guys too, shit Bisexuals can’t do ANYTHING” Blaise said, pretending to get up and leave.

So.. the students know of the nonbinary gender…

“Although, no surprise, Snape is always the decent one, along with all the other professors, and respect the trans kids pronouns, I’ve gone into his class to give him something during one of his lessons and heard him deliberately calling out kids that misgendered Jamie, it was amazing. And everyone says Snape is a bad teacher.” Draco says, smiling some at the memory. “Ooo! Speaking of which! While in Umbrdige’s class I think.. A few days ago, Snape actually found out about the incident and told her the fuck off for it-” “Damn, snape really said ‘trans rights are human rights’, go off honestly” Dominic interrupted, Draco nodded “The best look honestly, it was pure bliss watching that.” He responded.

Y/N finally managed to form words. “I.. didn’t know there was a trans person in the school.. A fellow trans person..” They said, mumbling the last part quietly, but Draco, Dominic, and Blaise caught it. “Fellow trans person?” Blaise tilted his head, and Draco glanced knowingly, the last part of their sentence was all he needed. They shook their head quickly, “Nothing” They shrugged, “Just nice to know”

It hurt, to be misgendered everyday, to be fair no one knew they were misgendering the kid. But they were so scared of being erased, discriminated against, that they said nothing. Since 1st year, pretty much.

They stretched some, “I'm gonna head to the library, I need to get studying done for Defense Against the Dark Arts, I’ll talk to you guys later.” They smiled, getting up, and grabbing paper, a quill, ink and their books from their dorm. Speed walking out, though it didn’t take long to hear a second pair of footsteps racing after them. Who the-

    “Hey, Y/N..” Draco trailed of, catching up to them quickly, “What’s up?” They looked at him from the corner of their eye, “There’s something you never told anyone, isn’t there?” He asked. Y/N averted their eyes and shook their head, “Nn… No..?” They sounded unsure, “Is that a statement, or a question because you don’t know?” He asked. He didn’t wanna be rude, but this was the only way he could truly confirm. If there was someone he had been accidentally misgendering, he wanted to stop that quickly.

    “I don’t wanna sound rude, nor put you on the spot.. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but.. What are your pronouns?” he asked, he knew of the nonbinaries, he knew of them.. So it’s fine to tell him, yes? He was basically defending them. They shook their head, not ready yet. “Not ready? That’s fine, I can respect that. You can always tell me, you know that right? I’ll understand. And if not me, then Jamie will.” heHe had sincerity in his voice, Y/N simply nodded. “Noted, thanks Draco..” They smiled and headed to the Library.

    The next day, Defense Against the Dark Arts was boring as ever, all because of Umbridge. But she had a new lesson today, not the normal one though. She had been doing her usual bullying of Jamie, Draco had been on edge and heard about it earlier, fairly quickly too. It was like it was her MISSION to be an LGBTphobic idiot with no life. Jamie had mentioned nonbinaries before she dipped from class, arguing about trans in general with the woman, or.. Monster.. Both terms work. So she was now here, in front of kids, spewing out enbyphobic shit, and not planning on stopping.. Y/N was starting to cry, but tried their best to hold it in.

The first person to notice the distress was Draco, Hermione did too, as she sat behind Y/N but could see them jolting some, “These.. Non-binaries, are less than human. You’re either a boy, or a girl. Everyone agrees, yes? If you are born a girl, you’re a girl. If you’re born a boy, you’re a boy. It’s a mental disorder, and you need to be fixed-” “They’re normal.. They just happen to not feel like a guy or a girl..” Y/N said quietly, “Trans folk are human, they aren’t an it.. That’s incredibly hurtful..” They said, it took all their strength to keep their voice from cracking.

“What was that Mr. L/N?” Umbridge smiled that sweet yet disgusting smile, tilting her head.. No, that smile had more dangerous intent behind that. They flinched. “Is there something you would like to say sir?” She asked, stopping in front of them. “Trans people.. Are people.. Just because you’re too ignorant to learn doesn’t.. M..mean you- b-bring someone down b-beca-use of it..” Their voice started to crack, they hiccuped some. “I’m sorry.. Do you think you have more knowledge than me?” She asked, her tone was dangerous. “Y..yes. Clearly, I’ve d-done my research on this, th-there is science tha-at defends us” They said.

“Detention Mr. L/N.. For talking back to a teacher, when I am giving a lesson you are to listen, you’re too caught up in whatever freak show you tra-” Umbridge was cut off, “Don’t you DARE finish that damn sentence, I can promise you I am not against hitting a teacher and a woman at that.” Draco intervened, “There is a lot of science that backs transgenders up, plenty of brain science has shown there is a female and male brain, that’s what backs up trans girls and trans boys, the nonbinary is still being researched, but I can assure you it is much more than a mental illness. Yes, dysphoria is a disorder, it CAN be treated, it can be treated with Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT. It can be treated with transitioning. Some nonbinaries transition, some don’t feel dysphoric enough to transition, but at the end of the day they are still a they, I am still a he, and you are still a she. Just imagine if someone called you ‘he’, or even ‘it’ because they didn’t believe you were actually a girl-” “DETENTION, for BOTH of you.” Umbridge screamed, glaring daggers at both of them.

    “I’d take detention over hearing another second of the erasure, you’ve hurt my cousin enough, I’ll gladly take the blow for her. I thought Snape would’ve taught you.” Draco muttered, staring at her, “Both of you, leave. Now.” She said with a huff, Draco grabbed his things, but stopped Y/N when they tried to collect theirs, getting it for them, “Come on.” He said softly, leaving the classroom with the student.

He handed their things to them gently, “I.. Noticed you got really upset..” He said softly, “More like panicked..” They said softly, “It’s easier said than done, but try not to let her get to you. Some people just choose to stay stupid. Sometimes even I hurt from some of the shit she says. Damn the amount of biphobia I have heard from her is ungodly.” He sighed, “You’re bi?” They asked curiously, “Yeah, I thought it was obvious by now. I kinda stopped caring at like.. 2nd year, hell I made out with.. A lot of guys in 2nd and 3rd year, mostly to piss my father off because he’s also LGBTphobic, but also just because it’s fun, and guys are cute.” He said with a small grin, they laughed. “Fair enough, do what you can to piss the oppressors off” They joked, drying their eyes. He turned to head to the Slytherin Common Room, when their voice ringed out again.

“They/Them..” Y/N said, he turned around and tilted his head, “You asked what my pronouns are.. I use they/them. I’m nonbinary” They said softly, and Draco smiled with a nod. “Is there a different name you want to be called?” But they shook their head, “The name I introduced myself as is the name I want to use.” Y/N said, “Alright, come on. Lets go to the common room” Draco said, “I can probably try and get Jamie in there too..” He hummed softly.

    Later that day, it was after dinner, and all the Slytherins were in the common room. Aside from Draco and Y/N, “Do you want to tell them? Most of them are accepting, aside from a few exceptions, Pansy surprisingly is accepting.” He said quietly, and thought for a moment.. “Blaise told me a few of the kids got told off because they agreed with us.” He added, “I think.. I was always scared to say anything because I didn’t wanna be made fun of.. I didn’t know there was someone who was trans like me til you talked about what happened with Jamie..” They said, “Well, you’re safe here. Hell, I’m more than 110% sure that our headmaster is gay, so.. Do with what you will on that information” He said with a small lighthearted laugh, Draco kissed their cheek with a small hum “It’ll be okay.”

They’d chosen to tell them, they didn’t want to feel misgendered any longer, Umbridge aside. “Oi, everyone shut your trap for a second, I have something to say- THEO… Thank you” He said, after staring down Theodore for a moment. “Let us reintroduce someone, but properly this time. This is Y/N, they’re nonbinary, use they/them pronouns and the moment I hear any of you say something against that, I will personally come for you, with Jamie in tow.” Draco said, Y/N smiling a little with a small wave. “Could’ve told us sooner, but glad you did, especially after Professor Umbridge, good job” Blaise said.

    Even Pansy was accepting, they were all proud that you had the courage to say come out, and also that you said something to Umbridge.

This was fine, everything is fine. Umbridge wasn’t fine, but.. This was nice, being accepted as who you are, by people who you’d think would be the last people to ever accept you. The person you thought would be the last person to accept you ended up being the most accepting, which is ironic when you consider his dad. 

This was bad 😭

[thenightling]

Does The Frankenstein Monster have a soul?

    I have seen many strange blog posts and articles recently claiming that Mary Shelley’s creature in the Frankenstein novel does not have a soul.  I believe this does a disservice to Mary Shelley and the intention behind her story.       Before we proceed please note that this is written in the literary context of assuming that within the narrative humans definitely do have souls themselves.       First let is begin with the literal and possibly occult aspects of the Frankenstein Story.  Victor studied the works of Agrippa and Parcelsus in the novel.  Agrippa and Parcelsus were a self-proclaimed sorcerer and alchemist.  Victor was not studying hard science as we know it today, despite what you might see in some Frankenstein movies.   Victor was studying metaphysics and he was still a student when he brought his creature to life.  Many consider Frankenstein to be the first science fiction novel but without the actual description of how he brought his creature to life he could easily be the result of alchemy.   

   At no point does any character in the Frankenstein novel ever refer to The Creature as soulless.  Even Victor, who loathed his creation near the end, never described him as being without a soul. The closest thing to it is when he uses the term “mockery of a human soul” which indicates that what soul The Creature has he sees as an inhuman one.      

     An article from “The Conversationalist” argues that because the eyes are the gateway to the soul that this means The Creature is soulless since his eyes are watery and yellow.  But it is not that The Creature lacks eyes at all. It is that his eyes are different from a human’s.  Watery eyes suggests sad, expressive and tragic.   Eyes are usually watery as a result of deep emotion.   I cannot understand why a description of something often used to convey profound emotion would be used to mean “soulless.”   

     A different Google Search result on the subject of “Does the Frankenstein Monster have a soul” is a teacher’s resource site that claims it would be a good exercise for the class to discuss “Ways in which it is portrayed that The Creature in Frankenstein has no soul.”  But this is, again, pure speculation, and not based on anything of the actual novel.   The essay directly under this described “exercise” talks about how The Creature would not have killed Victor’s loved ones if he had a soul and that a creature with a soul would feel remorse for his actions.

     There are two things wrong with this sample essay.  First, many humans have killed other humans and shown no remorse. That does not mean they do not have a soul.  It means there is something wrong with their conscience.   The second thing the matter with this assumption is at the end of the Frankenstein novel The Creature does show remorse.   He laments the pain and suffering he has caused.   His education had consisted of books that glorified revenge as something noble and righteous and justified such as the actions of both God and Lucifer in John Milton’s Paradise Lost.  And he only learned after the fact that revenge only helped to make him feel more isolated from humanity and actually served to bring him no peace or satisfaction and in fact only helped to make him feel worse than what he already felt.      

  Now onto potentially more subjective content.  

     The Creature, who is well-spoken and articulate in the novel, repeatedly talks about his own soul.   He becomes obsessed with the depictions of Adam and Lucifer in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and is actually a surprisingly spiritual figure. He talks about his own soul frequently and does not seem to have any doubt that he has one.  He also seems quite certain of the fact that he will have an afterlife.  The indication here is simple. If humans have immortal souls that can ascend than logically- as he is capable of the full range of human emotion and thought- so does he.  

     Mary Shelley, herself, has been quoted as calling The Creature a “Poor soul” and “wretched soul” or “a romantic soul” and as she is the author I do not think she chose those wordings lightly.   Note:  I cannot precisely source these quotes at this time but most of what I have written here can easily be found in both the 1818 and 1831 editions of the novel Frankenstein.     

      It is also important to consider that if The Creature was indeed “Soulless” this feels like it would diminish Victor’s accountability for abandoning him, and the world’s fault in rejecting him.  It dampens and potentially ruins the entire idea that you ought to pity The Creature and are supposed to sympathize with him despite the horrible things he has done.  To claim he is without a soul overly exonerates those who have wronged him and immediately dehumanizes him, making the portions of the novel where The Creature tells Victor his own sorrows and experiences practically pointless and creates a barrier between the reader and character.  The ability to sympathize with him is dramatically reduced and I feel this would undermine Mary Shelley’s intentions by dehumanizing him further than Victor already did, and almost justifying mistreatment toward him.            

      It’s an odd thing to me, to see so many comments, articles, and blogs talking about him not having a soul.  I think people forget that in 1818 the soul was usually depicted as a person’s spirit, consciousness that could live on after-death, the part of you that thinks and feels.   Your very awareness.  In the nineteenth century if you could feel emotion and think it was considered a given fact that you have a soul because “You are a soul, you have a body.”   

     It seems that the modern “interpretation” of The Frankenstein Monster being soulless mostly comes from not quite understanding what the nineteenth century described the soul as in most literature.  This wasn’t the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer where the soul and conscience are easily confused and interchangeable.  

    It’s peculiar to me that a low budget schlock film like “I, Frankenstein” can explore The Frankenstein Creature’s soul and conscience with more respect for the source material and Mary Shelley than some so-called academics.  Kevin Grevioux is a very underrated writer and his film deserved a better budget and care than what it received.  This is why I like that low budget and cheesy little film.  

     In any event, if you are trying to figure out if The Frankenstein Monster has a soul or not I think it is safe to assume that at least the novel’s author and the character, himself, believed that yes, he does have a soul.   And I hope whoever was trying to figure this out heeds this post before the righteous rantings on the Google results from those whom I suspect might not have actually read the novel or may not have wanted to feel compassion toward The Creature.

___________________

Further note:  Lots of people mistakenly think Frankenstein’s main moral is not to play in God’s domain.  

I do not have patience for those with the assumption that the moral of the novel was "Don't play God." That's the 1931 film, not the novel. The themes of the novel included parental responsibility, the need to forgive, the futility of revenge, and judging by appearance.There are literary professors who have assumed the film was accurate in the novel's moral but thankfully most people who read the book know better. The Creature began benign and gentle and only went evil after several instances of mistreatment.  A third of the novel is there just to tell is this.  If simply creating him was Victor's sin then that diminishes Victor's accountability for how he treated him.  It's also why I don't like film versions where The Creature has an "abnormal brain."  It overly justifies the mistreatment of him and exonerates his creator.   If simply creating him was Victor's sin than we would not have been repeatedly told he would have remained Good if he had not been mistreated. Victor's sin wasn't creating him but how he treated him after he was created.  The "I shouldn't have played God thing"  was the 1931 film, not the novel.  Victor, himself, acts as if merely creating him was his sin but The Creature, and (at times) even Victor admitted that The Creature was once benign and gentle, until the cruelties of others got to him. Finally, "Modern Prometheus." PROMETHEUS! Why do so many people think Prometheus was some sinner who was righteously punished? Does no one know Greek mythology anymore? Prometheus was a Titan and the creator of the human race. In short, he was God. Zeus and the new Gods coveted light. The fire Prometheus stole represented knowledge and the power to invent. He gave humans (his own creatures) this and it pissed off Zeus. He severely punished Prometheus but it was unjust and in later myths he was freed. The great centaur who invented medicine even gave up his immortality as payment to keep Zeus from trying to return Prometheus to his punishment.  Mary Shelley's own husband, Percy Shelley, wrote Prometheus Unbound.

[yandere-daydreams]

Pls write the origin story of the yandere verse ❤️

It’s been a while since I’ve written for this AU, but I’d never pass up an opportunity to instill some helplessness in a few Darlings. For the escalation alone, really.

TW: Mentions of Death and Violence, Toxic Thoughts, Toxic Relationships, and Dehumanization. 

~

They were called isolated incidents, at first.

Kidnapping wasn’t unheard of. Predators and stalkers and lunatics were acknowledged, albeit with fear and disgust, as were murderers and thugs and plenty of other criminals no one cared to pity. People figured it was just a bad week, a bad month, a bad year, that things like this happen all the time, you all were just paying more attention now. It wasn’t wide-spread. No one believed it was wide-spread.

No one would admit it was wide-spread.

Some thought it was an infection, a disease. Something contagious and unexplainable that worked its way into your brain, reworked a few of the necessary wires, and left you without the self-restraint most humans used to stop themselves from doing the awful, awful things everyone else was too decent to think about. That, or it was just their neighborhood, you’d always thought your town was a little off. There must be a cult, a new religion, something encouraging the madness, giving these people commands they were delusional enough to follow. Why else would the creepy man down the street have kidnapped his girlfriend, keeping her tied down to the bed for days before her family noticed she was missing? Who else could’ve been responsible for that girl trying to drown her ‘obsession’ in the bath after he turned down her confession? No one does these kinds of things unprompted.

Casualties, Obsessions, Bitter Sweethearts… people used a lot of words, for the victims of these attacks. The media loved nicknames, even if they danced around treating the inflictors of such violence with the same apathy. Newscasters always seemed too understanding of their motivations. 

Sympathetic of the scum, even.

Society adapted slowly. Prisons were overcrowded, judges were overworked, and law-enforcement was simply tired of arresting productive members of society for the same crime every hour of every day. You saw it happen with your own eyes, empty houses and apartments filling as years in a cement room were substituted with parol, community service, a slap on the wrist, if no one got hurt. It wasn’t encouraged, but you doubted harassment was as urged against as it should’ve been. It became a hobby of yours, to lay awake at night, listening to the sirens pass by your window, wondering which house was the site of something bloody that night.

Your guests tended to visit you less often, when you stayed awake, too. You’d even managed to scare the one with the camera off, after a few nights of insomnia.

The schools were next, after the prisons. You could still remember the first schedule change, one of your electives replaced by a ‘Self-Defense’ course. Teachers ranted and raved about the recent events, about how they had to accommodate for the police’s failure to prevent a few maniacs from ‘losing it’, but they stopped when an adored office administrator disappeared. She hardly left the principal’s side, when she came back, so much more timid than before, nor did she say a word about her absence. She didn’t seem to want to talk about the band on her ring finger, either. 

No one asked, after the first time she broke out crying.

It took time for the students to warm-up to the changes, but the new classes turned out to be quite popular. Most took them for fun, playing around with their friends in Knot Tying and refusing to take the knife-safely seminars seriously, even if there was a dark glint in your partner’s eye as she restrained you, cuffing your hands behind your back a little too tightly for a standard Escape Drill. They were bizarre, you didn’t care for them, but no one stopped to listen to your opinion. Education and safety were hand-in-hand, by the second year of their application. Even if some of the classes didn’t seem very safe.

The worst of it happened like that, silently. No one talked about it. No one said a word. Some were more vocal than others, protests and petition and riots spreading around on both ends of the spectrum, but only one side could win.

You figured the Darlings knew they’d lost, by the time it was decided that marriage would only need one consenting partner.

Quiet discontent swiftly became the norm. Friends complained about their latest stalker rather than their part-time jobs, laughing over creepy messages and long love-letters and how easy it was to escape that basement, when they put their mind to it. Parents had to be begged on hands and knees if their children wanted to go out after sunset, civilian patrols became more of a treat than a protection, and the ‘True Love’ movement seemed to gain popularity every day. Those who showed signs were called Threats, at first, but the offense wasn’t worth the accuracy. Lovers came next, then Devotees, but ‘Yandere’ was the only thing that seemed to stick, an affectionate title from an old Japanese trope.

It was kinder than calling them psychos, even if one was much more honest.

You watched as an observer, never taking part. You dealt with things as they came, even if that meant sitting through another lecture on the warrants of Classifications, a new topic the Debate Club seemed fond of. They’d been going back and forth for half an hour, now, and you couldn’t be bothered to listen to anyone take anything so ridiculous so seriously, anymore. What would it matter if people started calling themselves Possessives or Obsessives or whatever, you didn’t care. You all still went to the same fucking university.

Instead, you focused on the boy sitting in front of you. He was pretty, and you liked his hair. You liked his voice and you liked the way he laughed and you liked how he doodled on the notebook in front of him, regardless of how many times he was told-off by a passing teacher. You didn’t know his name, but you were sure you would like that, too, once you did. His friend, on the other hand, was another story entirely. You loathed him, you hated him. He was too friendly, too loud, always smiling and giggling and touching things that didn’t belong to him.

Your mind quickly turned to the box-cutter in your bag, to the area just off of the main courtyard without any security camera. To how easy it would be, as long as you weren’t followed. These things happened all the time, there’d already been another body found on campus that week.

And besides, even if you did get caught, it wouldn’t matter.

You were doing it for love, after all, weren’t you? Who wouldn’t understand love?

[boycottyashahime]

that very problematic in japan it should legal law before this law needs protected Japanese children include teens from grooming by older people

I think there are probably LAWS regarding the protection of children, but how effective those laws are, and whether they apply under the argument of "freedom of expression" in cartoons and animated media is where the application of law probably gets a little tricky. Grooming works because it's sneaky - it uses a child's affection and trust to manipulate them into various positions of being sexually abused out of an obvious context. As a strategy, it's MEANT to look like an innocent friendship/mentorship/parent-child relationship in view of other people, and in view of the child, but that relationship serves a completely different function behind closed doors. This is why it's very difficult to build laws to combat it. Are we going to arrest and interrogate every father helping his child in the restroom? Every teacher tutoring a student? Where do we draw the line between what is appropriate contact with a minor and what is inappropriate? There are a lot of variables, and not a lot of room for nuance.

And when we enter the realm of fiction, this gets even dicier. Do we try to dictate how people write about the subject of grooming? Even fiction that is a clear condemnation of this issue is often misconstrued as a love story. Take Lolita, for example - a novel that is told from the pedophile's perspective, yes, but that perspective includes clear language that denotes the dehumanization and abuse of his victim. This is a book that is certainly not ENDORSING the actions of its unreliable narrator, but people still view it that way anyhow.

The very book that shippers love to cite, The Tale of Genji, is NOT a glowing endorsement of child grooming by any stretch of the imagination. Genji was obsessed with his stepmother, and spends the rest of the book chasing the sexual ideal ingrained in him by her, forever poisoning all of his future relationships with women and girls as he tries to find fulfillment in treating them as toys. But shippers continue to uphold this novel as a shining example of how grooming was fine and dandy back in the day. I don't even believe most of them have READ it, but they're perfectly willing to cite it regardless.

Interpretations of fiction, and even what we have HEARD about fiction, are so malleable because none of the things we talk about pertaining to fiction are real - there are no facts - so there is no stopping people from formulating whatever ideas they want on the text, regardless of how unsound those ideas may be. So forming laws around how fiction may be written, what it should say, how people should read it, would ultimately an exercise in dictatorial futility.

This is, unfortunately, not really an issue that I believe can be solved by more laws. Just, more people within our fandom communities caring about and looking after their younger members.

[yellowbluemoonshine]

Bnha 277; The boy who is being Left Behind

Lets talk about chapter 277.

War arc vs Gentle Arc;

First, THIS

Source; https://twitter.com/CDCubed/status/1279821074373283841

Most people pointed that they looked like Allmight and Afo but i think that scene is clearly is more like Gentle vs Deku fight.

Deku vs Shigaraki is really looks like Deku vs Gentle but difference is Deku is the one who is up, like he is kinda in villain pose or like he is the one who is trying to supress him.

Remember that Gentle is also Deku’s foil just like Shigaraki. In spor festival arc, Deku fight it to protect Eri’s smile and other people’s hard work while now Deku is fighting with another Eri.

After their fight, Gentle was redeemed and they both realized that they are kinda similar too. (Which in Izuku and Tenko’s case, their similarities are more, their origins are literally same.)

Also Deku realized that how Gentle’s existence is a light for someone else so maybe in the future, he might realize that Shigaraki’s existence is light for some people too (league).

Gentle was saved (a villain who was saved by a hero) and after the fight, he wished that Deku’s feelings can reach out to others.

(Like since their pose is very similar,and clearly meant to be parallels, maybe, those scenes might be hints for the the future encounters between Deku and Shigaraki.)

Shigaraki’s smile & Dehumanization by Proheroes;

First, it started with Miruko who enjoy by killing noumus, dead people who were kidnapped and tortured. She called Shigaraki as thing.

Aizawa who is ready kill the cat that Shirakumo/Kurogiri wished to save.

Then, there is another hero who call Shigaraki as monster, only because of this smile.

He doesnt smile to mock heroes, he smiles cause it hurts.

Shigaraki always give this reaction to pain. Smilling is how he express his pain.

He laughed when he was tortured cause he can not handle the pain of that surgery.

He smiled when the thinks he is about to die cause he was scared.

He also smiled when he remembered his origin, his worst trauma.

And Shigaraki’s smile is how he express his pain. This is also norrmal reaction for real life trauma,abuse victims.

Source; https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-trauma-s-wounds/201509/why-clients-smile-when-talking-about-trauma-part-1

Also i already mentioned before how Shigaraki’s sitution is similar to Pop’s sitution from Bnha. So this is not the first time that Endeavour tried to kill a victim who should have saved.

And also Shouto is not here, yeah but Endeavour would want him to be here. Probably reason is he still wants him to carry his legacy. Notice; unlike Gran Torino or Aizawa, he didnt even say them to “stay away from Shigaraki”. Bringing children to war, fighting with them is not a big deal for Endeavour cause he is used to raising a child soldiers.

This guy is hero who supposed to save people. He is also Nana’s friend, also someone who knows a lot of things about him. He is the one who decided to neglected Nana’s son. So its also his responsibility but insteda of facing his mistakes, he didnt just dehumanize him but also he blamed Shigaraki for everything.

Let me remind you. It’s not Shigaraki’s fault for being Nana’s grandson, borning with a decay quirk, being ignored by society, being kidnapped by Afo..etc. Shigaraki’s all life is out of his control and not only he suffer more and more but he is also blamed for existing.

“Your existence brigns pain”, well, tell this to League, to people like Twice. To them, meeting with Shigaraki, league is the only blessing thing in their life.

(Even kids are blind. Tokoyami is blinded by hero society, he thinks what Hwaks did is right, thats probably why the chapter name is “Dark cloud”. Deku who wanted to save everyone fights with another Eri.)

Rejecting Nana and Afo;

Most people are happy to see that Shigaraki rejects them but unfortunately, despite rejecting them, Shigaraki also cant let them go at the same time.

Shigaraki ‘s biggest desire is freedom, a little agency but he is someone who always carry the burden of his past. Despite destroying them, he keeps remembering them againd and again.

Even after he destroyed them (because they rejected Shimura Tenko), he still take the hand besides him.

Shigaraki cant reject his family cause he cant get rid of this guilty feeling that he he had to be punished for what he did so he has to remember. So Shigaraki destroy his memories but then, he will come back to them cause he believes he had to be punished, he cant just continue his life after what he had done.

Then, we see that Afo is trying to take Shigaraki’s will, full control of him but this is too much even for him.

Look how he feels gratefull the person who ruined his entire life. Shigaraki is fighting for little agency, for his will, for the power he gained (remember how Shigaraki had to endure those full of hell-horrible surgery for this power).

Despite rejecting Afo, he is saying “i wanna be greater than you” like Shigaraki doesnt want to be Afo, yeah but he is trying to be his successor, he is still carrying his legacy anyway cause to him, he owed this to him.

Look at how he is still going after One for all, despite saying that its his own will. Shigaraki is not the one who wants One for all. Its Afo. Shigaraki is living his life for the sake of Afo. He still does what Afo wanted him to do.

(His face is not happy smile face, he is smilling cause he is afraid of loosing his will.)

Afo goes far to take Shigaraki’s only agency and Shigaraki still doesnt reject him completely. He doesnt even see this as betrayal, like this is normal to him. His only reaction is “No, this is too much.” like you already took a lot but no more. Shigaraki wont reject Afo completely. he will come back to him eventually cause thats how he used to.

Shigaraki was abused his all life and he is trapped with cycle of abuse, he will eventually return to his abuser’s hands. Despite rejecting and trying to escape from them, he will come back to them.

Shigaraki cant get out of this prison by himself but its impossible for him in those conditions. Shigaraki’s biggest desire is being treated as person but he cant see himself as person cause he was never treated as person.

(This is also i believe that will chage later when one hero saves im and league, the people who saved by Shigaraki tell him that he is not a thing, his existence is not destruction, that meeting with him is a miracle for them.)

Shigaraki was dehumanized by Afo and Ujiko.

He was dehumanized by random people he never met before.

He was dehumanized by heroes who should have saved people. He is abandoned by everyone.

Overhaul Arc vs War arc;

This was mentioned by a lot of people how this arc is opposite of overhaul arc. Since this was mentioned, i wont mention about it a lot. Just a summary;

- Heroes came to save Eri in overhaul arc, heroes came to kill Shigaraki in war arc.

- Heroes/teachers are worried about sudents in ovrehaul arc, heroes /teachers are bringig students to the war and focusing on revenge/destruction in war arc.

- Overhaul experemented on human, Eri and heroes defeated him by saving Eri and her power. Ujiko expremineted on many people, heroes killed all the victims of science and they also tried to kill Shigaraki. They didnt even really Ujiko and they didnt dehumanize him the way they did with Shigaraki, despite Shigaraki is the one who is victim here.

- Overhaul’s arc’s victim is Eri, This arc’s Eri is Shigaraki. Heroes won that arc with saving Eri, heroes are loosing in this arc cause they dehumanized Shigaraki. (Narrative punishment for heroes cause they didnt act like heroes).

- Extra; In overhaul arc, Nighteye was killed by a villain and Uraraka understood the meaning of the life, this became her own motivation to save people, just like Deku. In war arc, Twice was killed by a hero and Toga understood the meaning of life, this became her own motivation to destroy hero society, just like Shigaraki.

Conclusion;

I think meaning of this arc is to show that how far heroes can go, how they are not different from what they fought, like the true face or lets say dark side of heroes, hero society. How much they are blinded by system and dont realize what they did is horrible but also how they saved people depends on to their situtions. Saving Eri and destroying another Eri, only because one of them cant cry like another. since Shigaraki cant cry and cant ask for help, i wonder how they will see his pain.

Cause in this chapter, he showed his pain, he was distracted by Afo, pretty much was fighting for his own will, he was literally cried (yeah its crying, remember how his smile is no differen tthan his crying, its obvious that he was suffering) but heroes, all of them, even Deku ignored it.

So since this is the story of how Deku became the greatest hero and there is a clear set up for to fix the flaws of society, i think something will happen to change their perspectives. But it has to be something different like that they will feel so regret that what they have done, especially what they have done to Shigaraki. Since they are heroes.

(I might edit a little things later but for now, thats it. This became random cause i wrote analysis before but i accidently deleted it :’/ so i had to write different version of it again. Well, i hope i didnt forget to write anything. )

[fluzzyneko-chan]

Reflecting on My Life

Today on Thursday, April 29th in the year of our lord 2021, I sit here procrastinating from doing my final few assignments by drifting down memory lane and thinking about my life. I am 100% a mess, however, I have come to a conclusion in my evaluation of my life. I have come a long way over the years I have lived in the state I live and I think it is pretty cool. prepare for a sort of essay as I dance over the past years of my life.          

        Elementary school years here were not the best, my mom knows all about how I was beaten up and bullied all of the 4th and 5th grade as well as how teachers never really helped much. I mean I was a weirdo and very ADHD active so I guess I don't 100% blame em but still. My 4th-grade teacher took my special binder I kept doodles in that I drew in class, locked it up in her cabinet, said I could have it back on the last day of the year(which was a long time away), then had a sub the last day of the year who DID NOT have the key, so I never got it back. The folder belonged to my older sister who didn't live with me at the time so it really hurt to not get it back. She also would not help me when I got bullied or when students would steal my things claiming it was there's. My 5th-grade teacher always has me separate from everyone either in the corner or right next to his desk. he would yell at me a lot and threw my notebook at me once and of course rumors followed into middle school twisting it to where classmates said he threw the textbook at me. He said he threw it in my direction and not at me. Sure Mr. Crider, suuuure.         

        Middle school was full of emotional bullying instead of physical and I was still isolated. By this time I was a little brat and I would smack myself upside the head if I could meet my past self. I would backtalk teachers and I am pretty sure I screamed at some before. I also would randomly burst into tears at various times, whether it be in class or at lunch. Eventually, my grades started slipping as a mixture of me just being done with everyone and everything, and I am sure me genuinely struggling. I was a brat and I hate to admit it, but I was a pretty sassy bad kid. I do remember the 7th (or 8th I can't remember) grade English teacher Mrs. Smith though was really nice. Unfortunately, my classmates were not at all nice to her, but I listened in her class. She was one of the teachers I don't think I was rude to. I think I was usually nice to the English, Science, and History teachers for the most part. People tried to group with me in her class because I knew the vocabulary words and understood the material and they wanted to cheat off of me. I didn't let them though because I saw it as my form of revenge. I read books a lot in middle school, because what else was I going to do? I didn't have friends. Mrs.Smith ordered new books for her classroom library because she knew I loved reading books and was one of the only kids to actually read them. I helped her put them up and we talked about me being in honors classes in high school, she is who encouraged me to sign up for honors English when I started high school. I wish I could have done more for her because my classmates made her cry a few times and it ticked me off every time they did because she didn't deserve it. Kids suck. In 8th grade one of the school delinquents defended me from a bully who pushed me up against the wall in history class to hit me before the teacher showed up and again when another kid at my assigned table wouldn't leave me alone and I moved from my table (without permission). She told me not to listen to the bullies and the school pegged me as a delinquent like her..most likely because I wore black sometimes and hung out with her. Even though in the long run she seemed to not be a great person, she was nice to me and helped me with bullies. In the 8th-grade year, I had a couple of friendly classmates but not people I would say were the best bosom buddies with me.       

        High school for me was the best four years of my life. I honestly flourished and became a whole new person in high school, and it was for the best. I finally got to meet new people that weren't the same kids who tormented me for the past five years and I finally got to make close friends. I was a nicer person and with the introduction of friends, had totally changed my outlook on the world. Yeah, I would occasionally have classes with old bullies but it didn't bother me as much. Teachers were nicer to me for once for the most part. The Geometry/Bridge teacher excluded from this. Lady people told me to kill myself in your class and you did nothing but make fun of my lisp when I got my retainer and call me stupid every time I asked questions! I enjoyed my classes and genuinely felt like life was good. Yeah, junior/senior year was stressful as we were preparing for graduation, but I still had a nice time. My honors English teacher from sophomore year, Mr.Parsons, was very relatable and made understanding material fun. I also had him for theatre too. My creative writing teacher Mrs.White was also lovely and I miss her too. I could write a whole other essay-like post on high school teachers and who all inspired me so I'll leave it there. Overall most people say they would never wish to go back to high school/do it over again, and though my time at Central wasn't perfect...I don't regret my time there. I wouldn't mind doing it over again. High school was when I started bettering myself. High school was when I started seeing the good things in the world. high school was when I started seeing myself as actually intelligent. High school was when I finally found the light at the end of the tunnel.  thank you high school for giving me a chance, and thank you teachers for encouraging me and treating me like a person. Yeah, I got in trouble a couple of times for being hyperactive or talking too much, but I never felt devalued or dehumanized.         

        Now I have been in college since the fall of 2016 and have had multiple existential breakdowns, however, looking back at where I started and where I am, I feel accomplished. There were so many points where my life could have taken a dreadful turn. There were many many dark points and lows in my life....but I am here. I overcame each and every hardship and came out as a good person. I owe it to the few middle school teachers who believed in me and gave me hope and I owe it to the high school that finally gave me supportive friends and amazing teachers. I think I am probably about to start rambling and repeating points, plus I should actually finish these assignments up haha. Just one more time, thank you, everyone.