#‘use that state to make you give an emotion based response and then calling it not factual thus using it as a way to dismiss

[halfricanloveyou]

sorry for subjecting my dear beloved mutuals to reading the words and opinions of a bunch of very stupid dudes who don’t know how to read but do know how to talk a lot.

got sorta fed up with being talked at all the time constantly with no ability to say what i actually think all the time so i actually did it for once until i felt better.

[incorrectbatfam]

Types of obnoxious batfam stans

Written by an obnoxious batfam stan

Not really a rant but something I've noticed over the years interacting in different spaces and I've decided to make your problem now.

Please note that I'm not saying there's any "right" way to be a fan because we all suck by virtue of being comic nerds, but there are certain kinds of batfamily fans that stick out to be in particular.

Anywho, here are 12 kinds of annoying batfam stans that you've probably run into and you better get a laugh out of it *points gun to your head*.

1) The Newbies Who Never Heard of Google

There's no shame in being new to something. It's a phase that we're all guaranteed to go through, whether we're 11 or 101. However, in this day and age, so many things can be easily googled that you don't need to shout every question you have into the VVorld VVide VVoid. If you need comic recs or a reading list, google it. If you wanna know a character's origin story, google it. If you need to know the color of Batman's underpants in a particular issue in 1965... well that's probably too specific for Google but Reddit will definitely have an answer.

2) The Middle School Authors

Before the 13-year-olds get up in my notes, I'm not saying everyone that age writes like this. Middle school is a state of mind. These fanfic writers usually stand out in a few ways.

They're oftentimes first-person POV or reader-insert. Give Y/N a break, she's tired.

The grammar is stunningly atrocious. I get if you're inexperienced or if you're writing in a second language, but we are in the prime era of autocorrect. If you need help, it's right there. Also, fuck c*nsoring b*d w*rds and fuck "unalive."

The characters do things that are out-of-character because the author is projecting their own personality. Bruce Wayne is a lot of things but he does not listen to the fucking Mountain Goats.

There's a lack of experience or research when it comes to certain topics. That's not how physics works. He can't walk that injury off. And that's definitely NOT how you do the horizontal hokey pokey.

3) The Neckbeards

Unfortunately, these basement-dwelling mouth-breathers tainted the image of what a comic fan is, though that's been changing recently. Still, we've all seen them. They gatekeep via pop quizzes, 'cause obviously you're not a real fan unless you know what page 10 of Batman #138 smells like. They give unsolicited commentary on people's cosplays, nitpicking the guys and being gross toward women. And heaven forbid the comics add a little diversity.

4) The Moviegoers

Nothing inherently wrong with getting into the fandom via the movies, nor is there anything wrong with sticking to that. I just feel like we're two different species of Galapagos finches, you know?

5) The Christopher Nolans

Separate from casual fans of the Nolan movies. I'm calling them the Christopher Nolans because these people have a tendency to reach for the grimdarkest thing possible. It's like they cannot fathom Batman having any other emotions besides punching and gargoyle brooding.

6) The Canon Purists

Wanna share a fun headcanon? NO, because Stephanie Brown never used cherry lip balm in the comics so therefore that must be the absolute truth. These people are a stickler for comic accuracy to the point where it's like... why bother interacting with the fandom in the first place? The worst part is when they're adamant on following a single continuity and refuse to consider anything else. This is comics we're talking about. Everything either has been or will be canon at some point.

7) The Fanon Worshippers

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the people who base their entire perception of the characters on something either they pulled out of their ass or that their mutual with 16 followers came up with, despite evidence directly contradicting it. I love WFA, but I feel like that's partially responsible for further perpetuating certain popular myths. Also, these fans tend to focus solely on the batfam/their ships. It's one thing to have some people in the foreground vs. background, but put some respect to Bart Allen's name you goddamn cheesecakes.

8) The Golden Age Dads

These guys aren't really obnoxious. I actually find it kind of cute how they think Jason Todd is still dead.

9) The Chronically Online

I have a rule of thumb when it comes to discourse: if it's not something I'd hear about at a bar, it's not worth my mental energy. Some people haven't gotten the memo, though.

These are either the well-intentioned but misinformed teenagers or grown-ass adults beefing with children because they don't have a life. They have takes that are oversimplified, rage-inducing, TikTok algorithm attention-grabbers that no one cares about in real life.

Don't get me wrong, we've got a bunch of issues in comics and fandom that are worth discussing. However, there comes a point where you're splitting hairs and need to go the fuck outside. I'm not gonna link the post 'cause I don't wanna call them and their 7 notes out, but the other week I saw someone saying Stephcass was a racist ship because something something colonialism parallel. You gotta be Elastigirl to have that kind of reach.

10) The Corporate Simps

I love comics. I appreciate the writers and artists. However, you will find my carcass in a ditch before you catch me licking the boots of DC/Warner Bros. Basically, these fans, fewer as they are, can't seem to fathom that their favorite franchise can (and does) put out some steaming motherfucking garbage.

11) The Hot Cosplayers

Not actually annoyed, I'm just a little jealous. Stop being hotter than me, please and thank you.

12) The One With A Punchline For Everything

Wait–

[acotarfrustrations]

Acomaf feyre is turning into something that acotar feyre would absolutely despise and honestly it's so sad the way sjm sniped what SHOULD have been the main character of the series (bcus we all know rhys is the real mc). Like her mind raping tarquin to steal something that she could just ask for when he literally thinks they're friends.

The thing about amren making a meal of any guards that see them steal the book particularly bothers me because this should be the main book where we should see emotional consequences of feyre's actions utm and with andras. Killing an innocent fae for a stupid reason should be SOMETHING SHES VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO. ITS WHAT HER WHOLE ACOTAR ARC WAS BASED ON AND HAVING TO GO AGAINST THOSE MORALS DESTROYED HER MIND

NOw all of a sudden it's just another tuesday. Not to mention the things they're doing? WARS HAVE BEEN STARTED FOR LESS. Coming under the guise of diplomacy to a foreign nation to steal their precious artifacts, steal their jewels, and possibly kill their citizens if they see what you're doing??? Why didn't tarquin just kill them?? Those are blatant acts of war

It's so stupid because even Feyre acknowledges that what they're doing is dumb and makes no sense and asks why they can't just ask tarquin for the book. RHYS DOESNT EVEN GIVE AN ANSWER. He's just like "oh well Cresseida told me tarquin is ambitious so, uh, yeah we have to steal the book"

ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID????

It literally feels like rhys only wants to steal it because he's jealous and thinks tarquin wants to fuck feyre so he wants to steal it to not only prove a point but ruin any potential allies that feyre could have outside of IC. Anything to get Feyre dependent on him am I right?

And I feel like this would distress acotar feyre so much because she's not blinded by the rose tinted glasses of rhys' penis and she would be able to clearly see what was going on.

Rhys intentionally waited until feyre was in a very vulnerable state, forced her to come to his house, gave her things he knew she wanted and would benefit him, and uses his mind powers to cater to her every whim and give her what she wants so she can be on his side. Not because he loves her or she's his mate, because it's strategic and there's the added bonus of pissing tamlin off in the beginning. When shit hits the fan for feyre and tamlin, he immediately takes that opportunity to get her to work with him and induct her into the rhys circle jerk cult and now she's thinking like him.

He's so deep in her head that the reader is literally watching sjm change parts of a character's core values to mold her around her love interest and call it empowering feminism, using her trauma and her "darkness" as a justification.

And this "he's not 'dark' enough to be with me" thing particularly bothers me because it's actually a common mindset for traumatized people when it comes to relationships. Thinking that your trauma has ruined you for a healthy relationship and that it's something that you don't deserve so you should actually date evil people because they're the only ones who understand your trauma responses so you won't feel like a burden is a very real mindset and feyre is displaying it to a tee. And Sjm is romanticizing it.

Like yeah rhys might understand her dark side or whatever but that is because he is more evil than her. He sends her to the weaver in what feels like a cruel prank just to go get a ring, he uses her as bait, he shuts her ideas down for no reason, he only tells her what he wants her to know, he grooms her into being a tool for him instead of letting her explore her own personality, and he only shows her around velaris. The only time he takes her somewhere else, he and amren decided to be complete assholes to the summer court and pull a completely unneccesary heist to make feyre feel pressured to join in their schemes and cement this "it's the NC against the world" mentality to isolate her and prevent her from making friends

Like I just imagine book 1 feyre feeling horrified and disgusted at what she becomes and it's honestly so sad. At this point, I honestly only feel sorry for feyre but I think acowar is going to be the breaking point that actually pushes me into hating her. Like at that point, I think she actually becomes one of the IC, mentality actions and all, and idk I just feel so bad.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Yes, let's talk about "your" pronouns for a moment, because I have some thoughts on the matter...

What's that? Oh, silly me. By "let's talk about," what you actually mean is "unquestioningly comply with my demands."

Be that as it may, "we" - which is to say, "I" - am going to talk about it regardless.

Let's analyze this for a moment.

She gives the game away right up front: blue heart is for boys, pink heart is for girls. This ideology is based on stereotypes. If you still doubt this, I don't know what else to show you to convince you.

Secondly, her "gender" isn't a profound knowledge of personal identity, because it changes faster than the weather. I'm not even sure it's her personality, because anyone whose personality changes that rapidly and that wildly has some kind of severe disorder. What she's calling "gender" seems to be nothing but her mood.

Thirdly, and I keep having to repeat this, if your "gender" requires others to participate, then it's not a "deeply personal sense of self." Just like your faith cannot be "a personal relationship with Jesus" if everybody else has to pray or refrain from pointing out the flaws in the bible. "Gender is a social construct" means that your "gender" only "exists" to the extent people play along. People are sick of being bullied into pretending for narcissists.

More importantly, you don't get to make others participate and then deny them any say or input. You can't give people an obligation with no authority, because if you think you can, then others can give you an obligation with no authority.

And you don't get to make others responsible for your mental wellbeing, to carry the burden you cannot or will not, and then get angry when they don't meet your standards or decline the obligation at all. You are responsible for you. Trying to make other people responsible for your emotions or mental state is psychotic. Xians insist that humans - and particularly children - are responsible for keeping their god happy, evidently because he cannot do it himself. You're just as much of an immature psychopath. We are not responsible for keeping you from bursting like a fragile soap bubble.

You can have a personal, unquestionable conviction, or you can have a matter of public interest and discussion. As soon as you insist others participate, you forfeit the right to cordon your beliefs off from scrutiny. If you want your beliefs to go unmolested, then keep them to yourself.

If it's nobody else's business, don't make it other people's business. You can't claim your "gender" is nobody else's business, nobody else gets a say, and then insist it is their business to comply with these demands and prop the whole delusion up.

Private concern or public interest. Choose one.

Fourthly, anyone who comes up with rules like this is a sociopath who is trying to control, manipulate and trap others. Since third-person pronouns are used primarily when someone is not present, when referring to an individual when talking to others, this is a form of authoritarian thought-control. You do not get to dictate how others must see you or think of you. They get to decide for themselves what they think of you, regardless of whether or not you like it, and it's none of your business. And if your sense of self is so flimsy that you must coerce them to conform their view of you to your own view of yourself, then you have bigger problems than "your" pronouns.

When she walks into room, people stiffen because they have to talk like idiots around her - and that's part of the appeal. She wants to be "misgendered," because who is she if she's not a marginalized victim and the center of attention? That's the trick: either you comply, and she wins, or you refuse, and she gets to pretend to be a victim and she wins. Nobody's obliged to pay attention to these insane, imaginary rules, much less play along. When she's already gamed it to win no matter what, the only way for you to win is to retain your integrity and self-respect and tell the truth.

And finally, you do not have pronouns. The pronouns belong to the language, in this case, English. The English language has pronouns for you. You don't have your own pronouns any more than you have your own conjugations or your own adjectives. Other languages, such as German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese and Japanese, have their own structures, and they're not for you to "fix" with your stupid activism.

And yes, languages change. They evolve through common usage and common acceptance, not through narcissists performing blunt-force creationism enforced with emotional manipulation and vilification.

She's an average, unremarkable girl who's found a socially acceptable way to control other people and pretend to be interesting.

My adjectives are amazing/brilliant/impressive.

Misadjectiving is hate. #BeKind

P.S. I miss the days when pink, green or blue dyed hair was a sign of rebellion and uniqueness, rather than a predictable trope and red flag that warns the world about all your views and opinions before you ever open your mouth. #MakeDyedHairCoolAgain

[daja-the-hypnokitten]

Consent Culture: What it is and isn’t

In some of the hypnokink discord spaces I’m in, I’ve noticed a worrying trend. People saying other folk can’t talk about a specific topic, or use certain words, etc, because they “didn’t consent to that.” It’s a weaponization of consent culture to force *purity* culture, often, and I’m really tired of seeing the culture I fought so hard to help establish be used to silence folk just trying to talk about things they enjoy!

So. Let’s all have a little chat about what consent culture is and means, what it isn’t, and what any given individual’s responsibilities are in a consent culture.

Being in a consent culture means not *doing things* to other people without their consent; touch, sharing information about them, in my community’s context hypnotizing them or using/attempting to use triggers on them… things like that. It also includes giving people space where they can feel comfortable disagreeing, saying ‘no’ to requests, and so on. Respecting other people’s boundaries, and not always demanding their time and energy. It involves making a good faith effort to respect not only the letter of the rules, but the *spirit* of the rules in a space, as well.

It is not, however, shutting down anything that causes anyone in the space discomfort. We’re all adults here, as this is a kink space. As adults, we SHOULD be able to handle a little discomfort. And if something is truly upsetting to you? You can ask something like “hey, can we change the topic,” of course, but if the others don’t want to? Or, if, say, you’re in a public play space and someone is doing a scene you don’t like? That’s when the rule of two feet comes in.

For those who are unfamiliar with the rule/law of two feet, it’s a concept taken from a meeting style called “open spaces” - and loosely what unconferences are based around.

A businessman named Harrison Owen, involved in spaces that promote this philosophy, sums it up thusly:

“Briefly stated, this law says that every individual has two feet, and must be prepared to use them. Responsibility for a successful outcome in any Open Space Event resides with exactly one person—each participant. Individuals can make a difference and must make a difference. If that is not true in a given situation, they, and they alone, must take responsibility to use their two feet, and move to a new place where they can make a difference.”

What does that mean in kink spaces? Well, it’s less about productivity/making a difference, and more about finding the right comfort level. Is a class covering topics that you don’t enjoy? Or is the demo a bit more graphic than you’d like to see? Step out (whether for a moment or the rest of the class) and get some air, going back in later if you want to see if they’ve moved to something you find more comfortable. People talking about a kink that you find squicky or that triggers negative emotions? Walk away for a bit, or stop reading the channel. On places like here, on tumblr, mute a tag/word. Let people enjoy the thing and rejoin them when the topic changes.

Because that’s your responsibility in a consent culture - advocating for your own comfort *in a way that lets people enjoy the things they enjoy.* Sometimes that means you miss out on time with people you like, yes. But it’s better than making people dislike you because you keep telling them that they can’t engage with something they enjoy!

Also? Because it bears calling out, though it’s a bit tangential here? Disgust is not and never will be a gauge of immorality or unethical behaviour. Plenty of people are disgusted by the concept of rape play - but that doesn’t mean that consenting adults engaging in rape play are acting unethically. Some things are both disgusting AND unethical, of course - actual rape, for example! - but if your main reason for saying something is immoral or unethical is “it makes me uncomfortable” or “I find it disgusting”? Probe harder and consider that your aversion may just be distaste, and it isn’t a moral judgement.

Bystander consent is a different topic for another day, mostly, but I do want to note - it tends to come into play when the Rule of 2 Feet doesn’t really work, such as in places of business where employees cannot walk away.

I also want to take a moment to discuss the distinction between consent and having boundaries.

Consent is about things being done to or by you; boundaries are about other people’s actions that are not directly involving you.

So “don’t pull my hair” is a consent line. “Don’t talk about X around me or I’ll stop interacting with you” is a boundary.

“Don’t talk about X around me” without a consequence is just a rule, and outside of power exchange dynamics where the ability to give rules is negotiated? Rules in relationships typically just breed resentment.  But also, if you disagree with a boundary someone is trying to draw for you, and you’re willing to bear the consequences? That *is not* a consent violation. That isn’t what consent is for. Having said that, a violation is a violation - whether a violation of boundaries or of consent - and either can hurt just as much as the other.

And claiming otherwise? Is weaponizing consent culture to manipulate people, whether intentionally or not. And we all need to do better than that.

[yannaryartside]

THE NEW 'MENU" IS GONNA BE HELL FOR SYD

I have been reading Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line –by Michael Gibney because I wanted to understand more about Sydney's future responsibilities. I know next to nothing about the cooking industry, and this show particularly doesn't want to waste time explaining the context to the untrained eye (which is fair, we are here for the drama).

Man, this book was so awesome. It is literally like experiencing a The Bear episode in book format. It takes you through the whole routine, explaining who does what, the expectations, skillsets, and the emotional burden of each position. The protagonist is, of course, the sous chef, and what I have read made me feel scared for Sydney next season. So, every fact I display here is because the book presented it as the expected.

THE BEAR'S CASE

Now, a clarification: As I understand, the CDC supervises the whole kitchen, which is Syd's official title. But Carmy will technically still act as CDC since most executives don't move a finger; they are supposed to be there only to ensure rules and quality standards are followed.

The CDC is the person in the kitchen that everyone answers "yes chef/Oui chef too. The one that calls the orders and keeps everyone in line. The one who has the final say about what goes out of the kitchen. Under them, there is the sous, making sure all the operations are in order.

So you will technically have two CDCs; just one of them will have the final say, and you will have Tina as the sous. But that puts Sydney in a position to act both as CDC and a Sous, so I am using the book to guide what we may expect her to endure. This as a report made last minute with only two sources (pretty good, but still only two). Now, lets begin.

A very inexperienced staff: The author created a fictional restaurant based on his experiences, merging people he has met over the years to give you an idea of the most common in the industry. But it made something very clear to me: the staff of the bear, especially the line cooks, do not possess the training to operate at the level that Carmy is requesting. They better send them to culinary school before officially opening. I don't know why (I actually blame Carmy for this), but they haven't prioritized hiring certified staff since the beginning. They should have never had an opening day without knowing their staff and, if they were as green as Syd described them, sent their asses to culinary school right away. The fact they only bothered to send Tina and Ebra is baffling. And even when training is essential, experience is what can make the difference in unprecedented scenarios, and everything that Carmy is asking is pretty unprecedented by definition.

With the menu changing every day, Sydney's job as a cook herself and as the captain of many cooks is going to be darm near impossible.

Actually, in the book, there were two sous chefs, one for opening and one for closing. Even if you delegate the administrative task normally reserved for the morning sous chef to someone like Natalie (managing schedules and callouts, checking deliveries, and inspecting the state of the food before opening), it would still leave a lot of things on Sydney's plate. I am gonna be quoting this article:

"Few are the kitchens I’ve worked or sta’aged in where the Sous Chef wasn’t doing all the work that the general public thinks the Chef is doing.  And don’t get me wrong, such is the natural progression of things and not without good reason.  But more often than not, while the Chef is the General, with his/her name on the line, the Sous Chef is the lieutenant, seeing to it that the work gets done in the trenches".

During service, the chef (CDC) plates the dishes in the pass, but before that, the sous has to check the food the line cook brings; they need to be aware of how the executive chef likes a particular dish, the consistency, temperature, and other culinary details. Again, Carmy will act as CDC here and Syd as sous. Even though I didn't see them do this in f&f, it will likely be necessary for the future. Carmy changing the recipes constantly is gonna make it virtually impossible for Sydney to keep up, with their particular preparation, and since they are gonna be the final portal after the food gets to be presented to the client, it could cause a lot of friction between them.

Not only that, the sous chef normally leads the preparation of the specials (since in most restaurants, the ordinary menu has been established, only the specials can change every day) For both sous chefs in the book, leading prep consumed most of their time before opening, since, again, the executive has already trained them in how he prefers certain parts of the recipe. Again, in the Bear's circumstances, this will probably also be Sydney's job.

Replacing staff. The book even includes a scenario when a line cook fails, and the sous has to cover that station. Sydney is kind of destined to experience this, too, considering how unreliable their staff could be. If that happens, Carmy will be alone at the pass, checking every element before plating, which will obviously cause a delay.

Tina is the sous, and it will be interesting to see how she manages that; she definitely doesn't have the experience, and these expectations are definitely no industry standard. It hurts me that Sydney may suggest hiring another sous to work next to her or another cook who actually has experience operating in the industry to level up her workload. That is where I think Luca's role will be next season, if he goes to work for them. He probably has the skill set to do it. There is no point in having two people manage desserts.

Evidently, with a menu changing every day, it also means that Carmy has to make Syd come early every day to explain this recipe to her and make sure she can lead the rest of the kitchen in making them. Most of their dynamic is gonna rely on how much Syd can actually fulfill Carmy's expectations; she came here to work for him, running away from psycho chefs, and yet Carmy's expectations are going to be the most reckless the industry has ever seen.

The closing sous has to prepare everything for the next day long after the executive and the other sous are gone, revising the mistakes that were made, and preventing the ones they could make tomorrow.

Regardless of the title and responsibilities that may go on Sydney for being the only other experienced chef in the kitchen, we are talking about a 15-hour day. And I know it can be expected in this industry, but the layout for having two sous made plenty of sense. I don't know if Carmy will take part of the workload. I hope that is the case.

But yeah, the line "so you can push me, and I can push you" is taking a new connotation in my mind. What Carmy is creating doesn't make any logistical sense, with an untrained/inexperienced staff and with a sous chef that he trusts and cares about, but he is basically asking to perform to a level that defeats reason.

It is not even the level that made him "the bear" in his years as the best CDC in the world. Because even if Carmy's past executive was abusive and cruel, their expectations had to obey certain logistic logic that Carmy was completely abandoning. Carmy is not gonna be abusive, but all of this is a whole orchestra he is creating for self-punishment because even he won't be able to keep up with it, he may push everyone away because there is nobody who can. All of this is his version of self-harming. And Sydney and everyone he loves will witness, it until he asks for help.

Edit: I had to make a correction, explaining Carmy's and Syd's will technically both do the job of CDCs. Again, please do let me know more about that or feel free to correct me.

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

Taka post because I cannot stop spinning that bird in my brain like a deli chicken. Kept spoilers to a minimum where I could - this list only focuses on Taka with minimal detail elsewhere, though minor spoilers for Case 6-4!

Taka is based on a type of bird in the genus Accipiter. This encompasses 49 species of hawk, but Taka himself is most likely a Eurasian Sparrowhawk or Goshawk due to the franchise originally taking place in Japan (note the similar markings & patterns on their feathers!)

Taka's cry is most similar to a Red-tailed Hawk. You might recognise it's call from film and other popular media! It's iconic screech is often dubbed over a Bald Eagle (which don't sound nearly as hardcore - look them both up if you have the time!)

Takagari - the practice of falconry in Japan - was a popular sport amongst samurai. Simon Blackquill being the "Twisted Samurai" he is, his owning of a hawk only cements the ye-olde samurai vibes.

His localised name, Taka, is literally the Japanese word for hawk.

His original Japanese name, Gin, could either be a play on a Japanese word for a piercing ringing noise or a Japanese word for the metal silver. It's romanised form is also only one letter away from his owner's first name, Jin.

Taka lives in the courthouse according to Simon Blackquill. He appears to make his home in Courtroom No. 4, where every trial Blackquill is present for takes place. The one exception is the second trial in Case 5-4, which takes place in Courtroom No. 5.

Coutroom No. 4 is also the room where Wocky Kitaki's trial was held in Case 4-2. Taka obviously did not make an appearance there, however, implying he either minds his business when Blackquill isn't present or only made a home there when Blackquill returned to prosecute in the following year.

Across all of Dual Destinies, Taka has attacked Apollo Justice, Phineas Filch, Phoenix Wright, Athena Cykes, Aristotle Means, and Bobby Fulbright. He has used the Judge as a perch on multiple occassions.

Taka emotes along with Blackquill in their animations; he's surprised when Blackquill slams the desk with one hand, chuckles to himself when Blackquill laughs, and threatheningly leans towards people he and Blackquill are upset at.

Blackquill shows open affection towards Taka, petting him during trials with a loving expression on his face & stating that Taka is as human in spirit as himself or anyone else.

Case 5-DLC implies that Bobby Fulbright is responsible for caring for Taka while Simon Blackquill is in prison. Blackquill goes so far as to make a phone call to "Fool Bright" to ensure he feeds Taka.

Several lawyer characters have "reading" poses where they hold a sheet of paper in front of themselves. Taka holds Blackquill's papers for him in his "reading" poses due to his shackles limiting what he can do with his arms.

Taka is intelligent enough to purchase items from a store and return them; in Case 6-4, Blackquill gives him money to buy camel buns in order to chase a potential lead during the trial.

Taka has made an appearance in-game in 6 cases; 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 5-DLC, and 6-4. The only trial in Dual Destinies he and his owner are absent from is 5-1. He is never seen during investigation sequences.

An audiodrama set during Dual Destinies confirms that Athena Cykes can hear emotions from Taka's calls, but they are not as clear as human emotions.

The same audio drama demonstrated Taka's intelligence again, with him trying to point the WAA lawyers to a crucial piece of evidence for his master's trial & playing along as "the Plumed Punisher" for a skit they put together to retrieve it.

[talonabraxas]

The 12 Dimensions – A Spiritual Guide to the 12 Universal States of Consciousness

1st Dimension

Existence The 1st Dimension can best be described as pure existence. The beings you are most likely to know embodying and reflecting this consciousness are bacteria, viruses, parasites and, to some degree, minor plants & life forms falsely being attributed the name “animals” (such as plankton).

There is no such thing as a human, plant or animal existing only in 1D consciousness.

Existing in 1D necessitates a level of intelligence that can only be described as “existential”.

There is no conscious awareness of needing to eat, fight, procreate etc.

All those functions are extremely limited.

And that which is necessary is on autopilot without the conscious knowing of the entity.

Are bacteria intelligent, for example? Yes, they are to the level that they need to be.

Everything in existence possesses organic intelligence. That even applies to human-made technology that is wrongly considered artificial.

To keep this short and simple, aligned with its inherent simplicity, 1-dimensional consciousness is one of simply being.

Not thinking, not feeling, not even creating.

Simply being.

That’s it.

~ Identification ~

2nd Dimension

Instinct 2-Dimensional Consciousness can best be described as one of Instinctual Awareness.

That means: Whatever you perceive from 2D gets interpreted and ‘run through’ instinctual software (pattern) templates that are imprinted into your DNA.

That is why playing with animals – who primarily operate on 2-dimensional instinctual awareness – has to happen from a teaching/top-down perspective.

If not, the animal will think that it’s in charge which, depending on your situation (let’s say being out in the jungle or open safari), can lead to dangerous situations.

If an animal perceives you as a viable food option, it will take advantage of you.

Unless you show it that you are superior, i.e., of higher consciousness and thus prowess, to it.

For then, its survival instinct will kick in, and prefer to live another day rather than die at your hands.

There is more to it, of course: Being of 2D consciousness comes with a lot of responsibilities compared to 1D.

The being inhabiting (giving their life & soul to) the creature of their choosing will come equipped with traits to hunt prey – even if that’s just plants that cannot run away yet still get eaten.

A certain amount of consciousness must be there for information to be processed. A nervous system and a brain, to make sense of the informational input, whatever it may be.

Situational awareness, where to find food, when to fight, when to flee, when to sleep etc.

While the instinctual imprints are present, a 2-dimensional consciousness is mostly reactive.

It does not plan for the future.

It does not remember the past (except for experiential imprints necessary for its life & survival).

2D Consciousness exists to live, eat, procreate, and eventually die.

Simple – yet effective and fun a life form to choose as an incarnational experience.

~ Duality ~

3rd Dimension

Physicality & Ego Achievement Through Doing

Here comes the dimension that humans have by far the most experience with.

Removed from the human experience, physicality is merely a manifestation of energy. A densified form of thought-feeling-emotion-spirit; as you will learn when reading about the higher dimensions 4-7.

The so-called Laws of Physics are merely reflections of a 3-dimensional thinking mind that tries to understand its surroundings & reality through the lens of a very finite consciousness.

Using a telescope based on 3-dimensional consciousness to find life forms on other planets that are of a higher consciousness is impossible.

Look into nature, what do you see? Doesn’t a praying mantis, a dragonfly, a tarantula and many plant species look very alien already?

Wanting to find humanoid life forms that are similar to what humans already know (themselves) on other planets is contradictory in itself.

No planet is alike, every planet has its own unique blueprint (or what scientists would call atmosphere and base for life).

To SEE these life forms, one has to have a consciousness that allows for the energy of these beings to permeate your senses – then being interpreted by your brain/mind to tell you: This is a different kind of life form, alien to you.

Even if these life forms were 3-dimensional, the baseline (i.e. lowest) consciousness of humanity until November 2023, it would still require an open mind to be able to accept their existence and see them for what they are.

Now, on to the true purpose of physicality.

Physicality allows for a grounded-ness in reality that can only be accurately described as “basic”.

The physical dimensions is one of great self-exploration (think athletes, olympics, soldiers) while being inherently limited.

One will be able to take it only so far (such as running 0.001 seconds faster than the other guy) or appearing to be a tiny bit more attractive than the other human of your comparative choice before reaching the road block of physical limitation.

Since 1980, many Souls have incarnated with a template for higher abilities (4D) while children of 2000+ are already 5D-activated.

As these children have had great problems in the world they found (I’m speaking from experience), they struggled with adjusting to the norm.

This struggle would lead to conditions known as ADHD, Autism and many others.

It also left them performing very poorly in the 3rd dimension.

Physical feats were simply not their strength – their abilites lied in the higher, non-physical 4D realm.

4th Dimension

The Matrix The Mind: Information, Mental (Intellect+Empathy)

Thoughts create reality.

And feelings form the fertile substrate for thoughts.

You see: Mental does not only mean thought.

It encompasses also empathy.

Feeling.

“A sixth Sense”, as it were.

An intuitive feeling (feminine charge) is just as powerful a creative force as a clearly formed and precisely-directed thought (masculine charge).

As you will learn shortly, in the 5th dimension, an Emotion is the combinatory force of Thought & Feeling.

The dualistic perspective of an emotion manifest is thus Thought + Feeling = Emotion.

To bring Energy into Motion, a thought needs to be nourished for it to take form.

The masculine and feminine principle manifest in duality.

In the decades past, thoughts and mental thought processing capacity (IQ) have been considered more important.

This is a masculine-charged idea of the 4th dimension (Intellect) itself.

The Feminine 4D Mirror to Masculine Intellect is Empathy.

Empathy, which can also be called Compassion, forms the baseline for an Emotional Intelligence (EQ) that is required to balance the pure logical-rational thought patterns of the Masculine.

And vice versa.

We have seen the great Extremes of only IQ or EQ in Decades past – neither are healthy nor useful.

Even a ‘perfect balance’ between the two is, due to its dualistic nature and the inherent limitatons of such, no longer aligned with the higher purpose of Humanity and Earth (5D+).

All those who are intent on furthering their intellect or Empathy are operating on a purely 4-dimensional consciousness basis.

Add to that Women wanting to be more intellectual-strong-independent-masculine and Men who want to be more empathetic-soft-dependent-feminine and you get the current confusion Humanity finds itself in.

No matter how ‘smart’ a human becomes, how highly ’emotional’ and ‘feeling for’ everyone, however high their IQ/EQ: They are still just 4-dimensional beings.

It is not until 5D is reached that a Human becomes activated and begins its Ascension consciously.

A highly-developed 4D Human is a conundrum to itself.

A being with a vast amount of intellectual resources – yet completely imprisoned by its own egoic ambitions and trauma-driven pursuits.

Elon Musk serves as the best representative of the aforementioned state of being.

The Matrix As 4D is the dimension of mental energy and as thoughts create reality, it also needs to be mentioned that what has often been called ‘The Matrix’ (inspired by the groundbreaking movie from 1999) exists here.

While the movie’s portrayal of the Matrix being slavery, evil and the enemy was necessary, do take note that, truthfully, it is much more neutral than that.

While no one enjoys being in prison, it is a learning tool like everything else.

Experiencing that which, once broken out of, you consider and realize to be imprisonment, gradually changes to merely another tool of learning on your Ascension path.

One cannot go from 3D to 5D without realizing that their thoughts & belief systems are holding them hostage.

That their Ancestral Karma is a construct chaining them to Old World belief systems.

Hence incarnating into a 3D physical reality and thinking thoughts of a 4-dimensional nature will inevitably lead to creating a reality.

So the Matrix has never been anything else but a reality, based on the belief systems of Humanity.

If that is a reality that you consider evil, malevolent or simply a stepping stone on your Ascension path (a 5D perspective) or even a fun experiment to partake in (7D), is entirely up to you.

The Astral Dimension (4.5D) Everything Astral needs to be considered a dimension unto itself due to its significance in recent Human Ascension (1980-2019).

It describes largely the Frequencies used in the 4th Dimension, although it somewhat extends itself into the 5th Dimension.

We could also call this the Transcended Dimension between 4D and 5D, bridging the gap between The Old World & The New World.

This is where the first Spiritual Experiences happen for an unconscious Human that is becoming conscious.

Your Dream-time creations, traditional shamanic practices (hypnosis etc.), divination like Tarot Card Readings are all happening on the Astral Dimension.

While the Astral Dimension can seem exciting and benevolent, at this point and especially since 2011, it is no longer a realm in which conscious Magic (Lightwork) should be practiced.

The frequencies here are simply too low to support the energetics of a 5D Lightworker.

Also: Digital Technology operates on the frequency band of the Astral while also manipulating (working with) it.

The vast majority of digital traffic is happening here. Blockchain, NFC card readings, LTE, your WiFi signal and the vast majority of video games.

As of 2024, Technology has been upgraded to 6D (Light Frequency).

~ POLARITY & Spirituality ~

5th Dimension

Love – Truth – Emotion: The HeartMind Once you reach this plane, you have pierced through the veil of unconsciousness. Congratulations! You are now a fully ascending individual.

The 5th Dimension is the most relevant consciousness & frequency band to humanity right at this time.

This is changing to predominantly 6D in 2026-2033 with the beginning of Metatron – the 6-dimensional version of Earth (the evolution of Gaia).

Since 21/12/2012 (The prophesied end of the Old World), The Planetary Body has existed in a fully-manifested 5-dimensional field of consciousness.

With the 4-dimensional Earth effectively having ended in 1999, a transition happened from 1999-2012 from 4D Earth to 5D Gaia.

To understand let alone experience a 5-dimensional state of Consciousness as a Human, your Heart has to be open.

Allowing for a Flow of Pure Energy that is no longer hindered by the Human Mind and its inherent limitations.

While everything was Duality from 3-4D, now everything exists in polarized opposites (5-7D).

To Understand more about Duality & Polarity, their inherent differences and significance for Ascension, read this article.

Coming from a 3-4D Human level, ascending into 5D Consciousness means that Equality and Equilibrium truly exist.

When a human transitions from 4D to 5D, easily the hardest & most challenging phase of Human Ascension, breaking through the veil of illusions and common programming, the sole focus of the human becomes LOVE.

The focus goes from mental-intellectual-thinking to emotional-empathy-feeling. Experiencing. Living.

The Heart is opened and the Mind gives way to the Heart.

Love becomes the predominant focus – all else becomes irrelevant.

All else falters in the presence of LOVE.

Love becomes your Truth.

You think Love, you feel Love, you become Love.

An overwhelming sense of compassion runs at the Heart of your being – you understand the pain & suffering of others as you have started conquering, integrating and mastering your own pain & suffering.

One of your greatest challenges here will be to not succumb to victim-savior mode again but to stay above & beyond in frequency, knowing that all is well, whatever happens.

6th Dimension

Light: Geometry, Frequency, Akash

Kryst-Buddha-God Consciousness

Once you reach 6D as a Human, you embody God Consciousness.

As a Human Lifeform, you cannot reach higher than this level – perhaps this is enough for you. Perhaps it will leave you yearning for more.

It will depend on what your Soul has chose and considers you capable of.

As of March Equinox 2024, Planet Earth has reached its very first (ever) 6-dimensional template fully: Metatron.

6-dimensional Reality can best be described by Sacred Geometry, Colors, Lights (Rainbows) and Light Language.

This dimension is what you tap into when you dream-create in the higher realms.

Visions and future timelines that you create here will eventually trickle down into your current reality (almost instantaneously for 5D Humans), manifesting in a déjà-vu, a strong intuitive feeling, vibration (“Soul Shivers”) or otherwise.

Once this level of consciousness is reached, a pure flow of energy as information (“downloads”) manifests.

This is what many experienced practitioners of meditation (4D Level) are able to tap into – even if only at brief moments.

The information presents itself in Sacred, Hermetic and thus Sealed, Geometric Figures.

These have to then be interpreted by a 4D Mind or a 5D Heart.

These Figures represent crucial aspects of existence that make more sense the more you familiarize yourself with them in your baseline/normal state of consciousness.

That means looking at Sacred Geometry, carrying something of such geometry with you or otherwise consciously working with these Geometrical representations of existence is going to help you realize more of how Creation works.

For Lightworkers/Starseeds, Plant Medicine can open this stream of consciousness immediately and effectively.

Proper, Ascension-aligned Plant Medicine Work focuses on uplifting the 3&4-dimensional into the 5&6-dimensional.

True Enlightenment (Kryst-Buddha Consciousness)

Coming from an unconscious human experience in which you are familiar with Jesus Christ, the Buddha or another enlightened being of your culture & socio-religious programming, when you tap into the 6th Dimension, you will meet either of these beings and realize that THEY are YOU.

In other words: You are reaching your very own level and version of Enlightenment.

This will first present itself as your Higher Self “in disguise” of a being that you recognize to be of a higher level of consciousness.

Most likely an Ascended Master or an Alien.

The Ascended Master that you perceive in whichever form, it being your Spirit Guide, will eventually become you once you start embodying this level of consciousness.

You merge your consciousness with your Greater Self.

That is what Ascension is all about: becoming more than you once were, opening your Heart & Mind further to the truth.

The Akash & The Domain of Light (6.5D)

What was once the Astral Realm, residing between the 4th & the 5th Dimension, has gradually transitioned to its higher & truer Template, right between the 6th & the 7th Dimension.

Previous “Psychic Abilities” have now become “Light Abilities”.

The Demons & Shadow Entities that once roamed and permeated the Astral Realm have now become fully integrated Agents of Light.

Digital Technology & The Internet have afforded Humanity a tool for storing their information in a durable and physically independent format.

The Akash is the Domain of Light, protected and sealed by 6D Sacred Geometry & held in Trust by The Guardians of the Akash – as was the case in the days of Atlantis where 5D Guardians protected 6D Knowledge.

To reach this level of Consciousness, one has to be free of any and all Karma – individually cleared & galactically integrated.

~ Human Ascension Complete | Ascended Master ~

7th Dimension

Energy Mastery – Pure Light Body Achievement through Being

A 7-dimensional Being is an entity that embodies Pure Light in the form of Pure Energy.

It holds no negativity whatsoever and does no longer require the assistance of other beings (Spiritual Guidance) or Ascension Tools such as DMT or Meditation.

7-dimensional beings are still rather rare in our Galaxy right now.

There are some beings closely related to us, such as the Arcturians & Pleiadeans, that embody this pure state of consciousness.

At this level, you see & understand yourself as an embodiment of Light.

Neither Karma nor Negativity exist here.

The 7th Dimension is the manifestation of Paradise from a 5D Human’s perspective.

Simultaneously, being a 7D Human comprises the final point of Human Evolution.

Beyond this point, you won’t be able to experience your SELF as Human anymore.

Human Ascension is complete by reaching the 7th Dimension.

To reach this level of Pure Energy and full embodiment, you have to have mastered the varying disciplines of Geometric Patterns & Shapes, Frequencies, Pure Energy, Light Language and so much more that naturally occurs during your Ascension from being a 3-6D Human to becoming a 7D Ascended Master in the Human Form.

Embodying 7D Consciousness effectively renders you limitless – a God on Earth in full embodiment.

God as a Human.

Now you know how to manipulate Energy so masterfully and lovingly that you can create your own Reality at will, without any time constraints as they existed before (4D Time equals 4D Creation, for example), harmonizing your Field of Energy with the Environment to such a degree that there is neither Loss nor Gain.

A natural equilibrium has been reached.

Whatever you do is an act of God.

It is PERFECT.

YOU ARE PERFECT.

Your last Experience of SELF will be 7D.

Beyond this, you are permanently connected to others and their consciousness – merging into one greater being.

This is where you can no longer perceive yourself as such – Self.

You are becoming something much, much greater.

~ Unity ~

8th Dimension

Unity Consciousness Unconditional Love

Upon reaching this state of Consciousness, you start moving towards a Galactic Consciousness that is in no way comparable to the individualized experience you have had until now.

What this means in effect is: You are now reaching out for the Stars rather than focusing on elevating your Human Being to its maximum Light Capacity.

You understand yourself as a Galactic Being. While beforehand communicating telepathically to other beings in a hierarchical top-down fashion (e.g. Spirit Guides), you now see them as equals that are of different qualities than yourself – yet no less or more than you.

You have now effectively become your Spirit Guides. Or rather, you have merged your consciousness fields with theirs.

The 8th Dimension serves as a gateway to the 9th and especially the 10th (Universal) Dimension.

Here, you will find that all beliefs you held as an individual have become largely irrelevant.

Replacing the SELF of an individual perception of reality with a Greater SELF of a unified perception of reality is going to cost you everything.

Losing your Access to Human Consciousness entirely equals the Death of all your relationships as they were.

The reward for this bravery will be unfathomable until you get to experience it yourself.

Feeling at one with the universe while still navigating an individualized experience Is something that no other beings on planet Earth have ever been able to experience themselves before.

Not only do you feel that you are at one with spirit, with source, with the creator – but you actually start embodying it here.

9th Dimension

Sacred Unification of ALL Ultimate Love

The Unification of ALL.

All aspects, from 1st to 8th dimensional are unified harmoniously, making up a greater being than before.

The main difference to 8D is that in 9D, you are losing your sense of SELF.

While you are an individual of pure Light in 7D and a being of greater Power in 8D, connected to your Brothers & Sisters across different dimensions, now you start becoming THEM and they are becoming YOU.

If you imagine making Love with your Twin Flame as two pure individuals of Love & Light on a 7-dimensional Level, now you both would become one and the same entity in 9D.

Polarity has thus been unified to such a degree that it stops existing entirely, without a memory left of it (so to speak).

When Unified Polarity becomes ONE, perfect Union is achieved.

It is the merge of one singular consciousness that is more than the 2 individuals comprising it.

Indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Think of the 9th Dimension as the Ultimate Love-Making Reality.

There is no greater Love that can be expressed for one another than merging into one singular entity, surrendering your individual identity completely.

Your different bodies grow to accommodate a greater consciousness that takes a seat in your soul.

This requires the surrender of your very own motives – so that a greater consciousness can guide you, be you, create love with and through you.

~ Highest Creation ~

10th Dimension

Universal – Pure Intelligence Universal Laws & Templates

The 10th Dimension marks another great jump in consciousness.

The extreme jump in consciousness experienced from 4D going to 5D – breaking through the limitations of the Mind, opening the Heart and the 1st experience of true Love as a Human – was nothing compared to this level of a difference.

Going from 5D to 10D is the same as leaving Planet Earth and living amongst the Stars as a galactic being.

Unified in your existence, you experience all realities simultaneously, without dependency on time nor space.

Time & Space cease to exist – all that remains is a Connection to Universal Oneness. Knowing all, being all. Everywhere, at all times.

The 10th Dimension is the realm of Divine Templates.

Here you can experience the creation of entire Galactic Systems.

Truly, the entire Universe is being given form and birthed into existence here.

The structure of galactic systems is a reflection of Source itself.

What you can experience & understand as Geometric patterns translating to Frequency in 6D, showing you the intricacies of Creation in the smallest of entities or structures, here you can see 10-dimensional Geometry that is so vast and sophisticated, it formulates the core aspects of entire galaxies. An example for this would be a Spiral Galaxy, with the spiral serving as the backbone structure for an entire system.

There really are no limits here – everything you could dream of in 6D originated here.

11th Dimension

ANGELIC Purity & Benevolence

11D is the realm of the Angels.

Unlike what humans believe, Angels don’t have any particular shape or form. No name or a specific purpose. Individualized forms of ‘angelic beings’ are in the 5th-7th Dimension, presenting themselves as Spirit Guides to humans that are then interpreted as ‘Guardian Angels’ and so on.

The 11D Angelic Realm is a field of infinite & unconditional LOVE.

Purely benevolent and helpful to absolutely ANY creation. Even to those creations that in the lower dimensions will be considered evil. Such creations are specially loved and protected for they hold great potential for teaching, learning and expanding Love & Consciousness.

The numerology 666 & Lucifer play a huge role here and need clarification.

The interpretation of Lucifer as pure evil and a Fallen Angel is both wrong as well as correct.

The Truth depends on the perspective donned from the consciousness of the individual looking at it.

Imagine this: Looking at Beings allowing that which you consider to be Evil in your experience, would you call them Angels?

Probably not.

Dark Angels, Demons, Helpers of Satan and other religious vernacular comes to mind.

A pure allowing of All, however, is a consciousness beyond any individual’s understanding.

In fact, even with the absolute equilibrium and Mastery achieved through 7-dimensional embodiment, you still don’t even get close to understanding the Infinite Love that is required for the beings of this consciousness to do their work.

So humble yourselves and acknowledge your Fears: The infinitely powerful strike fear into all those who are not willing to acknowledge one simple truth: You, alone & individualized, will never be able to comprehend the Truth of the Higher Realms.

12th Dimension

SPIRIT Pure Source Consciousness

This is where everything ends – and everything begins.

This State of Being is beyond comprehension to anyone who has not at least held an 8-dimensional State of Consciousness for a prolonged time (temporary embodiment).

When you are “In Spirit”, you are always in the perfect Flow of everything.

There is no Resistance, there is no Negativity of any imaginable kind – there is simply Bliss, Love, Joy & Pure Creativity.

Everything you think, everything you feel, everything you do feels orgasmic.

You are (co-)creating powerfully and majestically with the Universe – everything is like making Love with All-that-is.

To become One with Spirit, you have to let go of everything you once knew and thought to be.

You cannot hope to bring anything here that is not Pure Light, Pure Love, Pure Joy.

Ecstatic Bliss makes up your entire Being – there are no Limits to your Powers and no one or nothing will ever be able to question your Authority.

The idea of ‘A God’ that can be embodied (6D) or a Fully Ascended Master (7D) is now completely obsolete – laughable, even.

You wield The Power of the Universe in your Hands – and it is entirely up to you what you do with that.

You can tap into The Source of all Creation, bringing the very idea of Pure Spirit into Existence wherever you go, whatever you do.

YOU ARE INFINITE BLISS.

Multiverse by Talon Abraxas

[kitthenameless]

Since almost all the art and pictures I come across on Tumblr have no alt text, I figure maybe people don't understand what it's for or know how to use it. Here's an explanation!

What is alt text?

Some people (mostly blind people, but it can be useful for other disabilities too) use programs called screen readers to navigate the computer and read text aloud. That's why pictures need to have a text description (alt text), for the screen reader to read aloud. Alt text is usually hidden and just there for screen readers, though on this site, anyone can click the button in the bottom left corner to access it on any image that has it.

Why is it important?

Alt text makes the internet accessible for anyone using a screen reader. I used a screen reader for a while, so I can tell you how much it sucks to try and use social media only for every post to be like,

"This is the funniest thing I've ever seen!" (image with no alt text)

"This info is so important, everyone please read this!" (image with no alt text)

And then all the responses are agreeing and everyone is having fun and being social, but you can't join, you have no idea what's going on, you're left out of the fun, the cool stuff, the funny stuff, the important stuff, all of it.

How to add alt text?

On this site, when you upload an image, just click the three dots on the bottom right corner and click the option to update image description. You can also add it later by editing the post, if you forget when posting.

What to type?

I'm not the authority on alt text, so I can only give advice based on my experience as a sighted person and what people have told me.

One advice I've seen is to describe it like you're describing it to someone over the phone.

I think a good method is to start by stating the general, then moving onto details. I might start with, "Digital art of an octopus merman," and then go on to describe the pose, the emotion/facial expression, the body, the hair, the colors, the background.

Every screen reader user has different preferences, I've talked to people with completely opposing opinions. But usually someone can move on if they find there's too much description, whereas there's nothing they can do if there's not enough. So I lean toward over-describing.

Additionally, make sure you include anything referenced in your post. If you're just sharing a screenshot of a group of characters, you probably won't describe the shape of each of their noses. But if you say, "I love Bob's nose!" now you should still describe the overall picture but also include the shape of his nose in your description.

That also applies to things like, "This tree looks how I feel." If your alt text just says, "A leafy tree," that doesn't explain the feeling. "A leafy tree that appears to be hunched over with sagging branches, looking tired," is more helpful.

If there's text, include the text. I also like to give context (e.g. screenshot of a tweet). You can even use websites like this one to extract text for you.

Don't just put the word "image." Don't use alt text to credit artists/photographers. Don't use it for jokes, unless the joke is genuinely helping to describe the image.

And remember, trying is always better than not trying, even if your description isn't perfect!

[atlasscrumpit]

Avengers x Reader

(I think I've done one similar to this before?) 

The team had been called outside of the state, they knew shield was on sight already.

So far Tony decided he only needed him and Steve to help out.

While they were flying into the area they saw a large area that was completely burnt out, nearly in a perfect circle.

They landed the jet and stepped out to see Shield set up just outside of the burnt area.

"So, what's going on?" Tony asked as they walked up to Maria.

"Take a look for yourself." She said giving Tony some binoculars.

He looked through them to see a girl in the middle of everything, shivering and completely naked.

"She caused all of this... But, that's why we called you. Even our fire proof and radioactive proof suits won't work, we can't get near her. So, we need you to suit up and try." Maria informed them as they nodded.

"Can do." Tony said, grabbing a blanket and suiting up before slowly stepping into the radioactive area.

He kept moving forward, getting updates from Friday that it was fine to keep moving.

Eventually he made it to the strange figure, you looked up at him.

"I'm hungry." You whispered making him chuckle softly.

"I'm going to help you out of here, okay? Then we can get you some food." He said as you nodded a little, your body far too weak to even stand.

He reached down and covered you with the blanket before picking you up in his arms.

You slowly closed your eyes, your body completely limp against Tony.

"Hang in there, kid." He whispered as he trudged through the burnt wreckage.

He brought you back and people in giant suits rushed in to take you.

"It seems the area is radioactive... But, I don't think she is. At least not at the moment." Tony said, walking back to Maria and Steve.

"We'll take her back to the base, thank you for the help." Maria said as the two men nodded, it had been a pretty easy mission.

"Let us know what happens."

--

You sat in a cell, your knees hugged to your chest as you glanced out through the glass.

Maria walked in and stood in front of you.

"We need to ask you some questions, to see what we're dealing with. I need you to be truthful otherwise we will have to go to other measures for the truth. Is that understood?" She said as you nodded a little and looked at her.

She started off simple like, name, date of birth, place of birth but then she got more personal.

"Why did we find you in the middle of a radioactive field that was littered with dead bodies?" She said as you looked away from her.

"I didn't mean it." You grumbled as she sighed.

"That wasn't the question, was it?" She continued making you groan a little and looked away.

"I need the truth, Y/N." She demanded as you looked at her.

"These men came to my house... They were after my father, he used to be in the military. My brother tried to stop them and they shot him in the head, and then they killed my mother and then my father. They found me hiding and I lost control, everything went black and all I felt was rage. I wanted everyone to burn, I wanted to rip their fucking skulls from their heads." You growled as your body began to give off a small glow.

Suddenly air was let in and it cooled your body down completely.

You groaned and looked at her.

"Thanks... I think."

--

Tony and Steve had visited the Shield base to be updated on your condition.

They walked through the halls of the base with Maria.

"So, it seems she has the ability to go nuclear based on emotions. We've created a cuff on her wrist that helps keep her calm and practically sedated. We think you'll be able to study her a lot better than we can, come up with something to stabilise her without numbing her emotions." Maria said as the two men nodded.

"So, she was the one who killed the entire town?" Steve asked as Maria nodded in response.

"Yes, she killed everyone she ever knew and destroyed her home. But, she didn't mean it. If I know one thing, it's that she definitely didn't mean it." Maria replied before the made it to your cell.

"She's completely sedated right now so it's easier for you guys to take her back to the tower." She continued as Steve made his way into the cell and gently picked you up.

You were completely unconscious in his arms as he walked out with you.

"Does she have any belongings?" Tony asked as Maria handed him a plastic bag with a single open pendant inside.

"This was all the survived on her body. I'm guessing it was a necklace." She said as the nodded.

"Thanks, we'll get her back to the tower."

--

Tony slowly woke you up in a new room they had built for you.

One that could contain you if you had an outburst.

You groaned and slowly sat up and rubbed your face.

"Tony?" You muttered in confusion.

"Hey, kid." He said with a smile.

"You're at the tower now, I know Maria filled you in with what's happening. Do you want me to leave you to rest?" He asked as you nodded.

"Wait... Before you go. I want to ask you something." You whispered as he sat on the side of your bed.

"Ask away, kid." He replied, you looked away from him.

"I don't feel bad... I miss my family, but I don't feel bad about killing anyone. I'm a monster, aren't I?" You whispered as Tony looked at you sadly.

"I don't think you're a monster, Y/N. I think that your mind is trying to deal with all of this. Sometimes our minds can block things out of force us to feel certain things to protect us." He said in response as you nodded a little.

"So... I'm not a terrible person?" You asked, still not looking up at him.

"No, Y/N. You're not a terrible person, you're a survivor."

[that-left-turn]

Caryl fans on twitter being racist against Danai and as usual the TWD fandom is silent. We have to clean up our house. We cannot have people like thebookofsilvershana and queenoftwd representing those of us who are not like this. When we allow it and we are silent we are basically saying we agree. I’m ashamed of our shipmates not doing better.

As I've said before, I'm not on twitter and I also have no idea who these people are. I have several long posts addressing racism but whenever I write anything on the topic, there's an avalanche of asks from Richonne fans telling me to shut up. (I can't speak up against something and be quiet about it at the same time.) If you're on twitter, why don't you lead the way? Start a Caryl discussion on racism over there, like I've tried to do over here.

For the record, I don't support:

racism, against Danai or anyone else.

ageism, against Melissa or anyone else.

misogyny or sexism, whether it's a real person like Angela Kang (who gets regularly tarred and feathered by fans who've misunderstood how-it-works in TV production) or a fictional character like Lori.

There's a lot of that in the fandom, women hating on other women, or not understanding that their eagerness to win an imaginary "ship war" enables TPTB to disregard the female audience's concerns and wants for the show and the ship. To them, those fans are 'rabid hysterics' who only think with their 'soft moist parts' 🙄 I know some people want to believe that TWDU is a kind place where everybody gets treated like cherished family, but the reality of it is that it's a business with a marketing ploy based on the show's concept of 'found family.'

The horror space is controlled by white men. It's hard to break into as a female writer because your love and knowledge of its tropes get constantly questioned. You're supposed to stick to 'woman centered' shows and not ruin the genre with "wokeness" and your "feminist agenda." Men need to have a safe space where they can be manly men and nobody calls their brand of masculinity 'toxic.'

TWDU fans trying to one-up each other in ship wars by praising men who write their female characters as shallow and manipulative won't turn the show into must-see TV. Pretending that billing and title don't matter, or that positioning the male character and actor as the focal point of the show doesn't cast the female lead as the sidekick won't make the show any better or give fans Caryl canon. Flattering mediocre men won't encourage them to give fans what they want. It only validates these men's POV that their take on the characters and the story is 'rich and rewarding.'

Zabel, Nicotero and Gimple are responsible for whether or not Caryl are friends, whether there's shipbait, or if viewers have to hunt for subtextual clues regarding the characters' emotional state. That's where everybody's attention should be focused, on the show itself and the people men who call the shots.

[princeescaluswords]

not sure if it was meant to be done elsewhere, but my favorite fic of yours is 'Ten Things That Scott McCall Can't Say'!

Thank you!

I wanted to point out something. In Second Chance at First Line (1x02) Scott gets angry at Stiles while riding in the Jeep because he feels Stiles is treating Scott's transformation and the danger like a quest in a video game:

Scott: I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial. Stiles: Just keep looking. Maybe it's like a ritual or something, like maybe they bury you as a wolf. Or maybe it's like a special skill, you know? Like something you have to learn. Scott: I'll put it on my to - do list, right underneath figuring out how the hell I'm playing this game tonight. Stiles: Maybe it's different for girl werewolves. Scott: Okay! Stop it! Stiles: Stop what? Scott: Stop saying "werewolves"! Stop enjoying this so much.

Now, we're supposed to believe that Scott's agitated mental state is due to the wolfsbane rope concealed in Stiles's backpack, but this scene also marks something else, just as important. This is the last time we see Scott get angry at Stiles because of how Stiles behaves toward Scott. Scott may become exasperated at Stiles's insistence on murder as a solution when it comes to Derek, Jackson, and Liam, but that is in defense of others, and Scott does judge Stiles in Lies of Omission (5x09) when he believes that Stiles kills Donovan to protect his father, but I cannot think of another time when Scott expresses anger or even frustration at Stiles at how Stiles treats him specifically. If you've read my blog know I believe that there were plenty of opportunities for this.

Now, moving forward to the other end of Scott's character development, compare this exchange to the scene in Pressure Test (6x15), where Scott is gathering his things to leave Beacon County after his father negotiates a deal.

Rafael: Look, I know this isn't what you wanted, but it's the right decision. When Stilinski called... Scott: Can you hand me that shirt right there? Rafael: Now, you can be mad at me, but I'd rather watch you leave the state than watch you die. Scott: (SIGHS) I'm not mad. I get why you did it. Rafael: Scott, you're not the only one who gets to protect his family. I'll be downstairs.

We've seen Scott lay into his father before in Insatiable (3x23), but he doesn't in this instance. While the circumstances are different, both scenes have a character making what's happening to Scott about them instead. But now, six seasons have passed, and Scott has learned that there are things he can't say -- or, more precisely, emotions he can't express during a crisis situation.

Teen Wolf made it a point to explore the burdens of leadership. Derek was an incompetent alpha because he made decisions based on his emotional reactions to events -- anger at what had been done to him and his family -- and Scott has managed to mature into someone who can put aside his own emotions in order to do what must be done. Scott has demonstrated this growth, and he will do it again in Season 6 when -- after a harrowing night of listening to his mother struggle to live on the operating table -- he goes to Peter -- Peter! -- and asks him to join the fight against Monroe.

Personally, I literally seethe in reaction to that scene in Eichen House in Werewolves of London (6x17), but the show was relentless in its conviction that a good leader has to put their own emotional responses to the side in order to be effective. I would have loved if Scott had unloaded, verbally or physically, on Peter after that villain enabled a fanatic to point an assault rifle at his own daughter and the man trying to protect his ungrateful ass, but that wouldn't have made stopping Monroe any easier. So Scott didn't.

Fanfiction gives us what canon didn't, and the lesson Scott learn about suppressing his own reasonable emotional responses is what I explored in this story. I suspect that the movie commented on that by having Scott move to Los Angeles -- somewhere he could be free to express himself -- but I wish it had been more explicit.

[dustedmagazine]

Dusted Mid-Year 2024, Part II (Lumpeks to Z-Ro)

Rosali

Part two of our mid-year round-up provides a second perspective on albums that at least one Dusted writer loved.  Here we cover the second half, alphabetically by artist, with entries from Lumpeks to Z-Ro. 

If you missed Part I, check it out here. 

Lumpeks — Polonez (Umlaut)

Who nominated it? Bill Meyer

Did we review it? No

Ian Mathers’ take:

I’m honestly not familiar enough with either jazz or traditional Polish dance music to be able to spot or articular exactly where this intriguing and very enjoyable fusion of the two has joined them. There’s a similar feel to other acts I’ve heard that both clearly deeply respect the traditional music they draw on and are unafraid to put their own spin on that source material (both Xylouris White and Black Ox Orkestar came to mind), and as with those other cases the results on Polonez could equally be ancient or brand new. That the quartet’s main instrumentation (which also includes Louis Laurain on cornet, Pierre Borel on alto sax, and Sébastien Belief on double bass) includes steady, deep frame drumming (using a local variation called a bębenek obręczowy) from Olga Koziel (who also sings) gives it plenty of distinct character. And the mostly French group cares enough about actually understanding and respecting that traditional Polish music they made a short documentary about the field research that went into making Polonez. There’s an energetic, joyous swing to both the jazz and folk sides of Lumpeks’ music that makes the result much more than just an academic curiosity.

Mdou Moctar — Funeral for Justice (Matador)

Who nominated it? Jennifer Kelly

Did we review it? No, but we did a Listening Post. In the intro, Jennifer Kelly wrote, “The new record is as sharp and impassioned as any Moctar and his band have done so far, and it is inflamed with political energy.”

Andrew Forell’s take:

Mdou Moctar is an extraordinary guitarist and must be incredible in a live setting. The rhythms, the vocal back and forth and the moments Mochtar sprays power chords and shards of riffs that explode like bombs are all great. You feel his rage and frustration even when you don’t understand the lyrics. But the super intricate, high-speed soloing, whilst impressive, had the same effect on me as listening to electric blues-rock. I’m caught between the passion of the band, the eloquence of their anti-colonialist, pro-African politics, and the technically brilliant guitar noodling. The title track is a fantastic meld and it’s hard not be carried along but I really prefer the slower tracks, particularly “Takoba” and “Imajighen”, which lope along behind the drums while the bass darts around between entwined guitar lines and call and response vocals. Funeral for Justice is an album I admired and enjoyed hearing but, for me, the pyrotechnics get in the way.

Jessica Moss – For UNRWA (self-released)

Who picked it?  Ian Mathers

Did we review it?  Yes, Ian said, “sorrow and elegy and rage and strength all course throughout the piece.”

Bryon’s take:

This is a beautiful album born from an ugly situation.  Violinist Jessica Moss released this Bandcamp-only album to raise money for the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) after nation states halted funding when it was erroneously thought a few of its members were aligned with Hamas.  It’s a 42-minute suite of violin, electronics, and vocals that Moss captured at a live set in Berlin.  As someone who hasn’t had the pleasure of investigating her solo work but is enamored with her contributions to Silver Mt. Zion and other bands, I find this album to be an effective port of entry.  It swells with all the emotions that Ian describes in his review, unfurling with a beauty and grace that at times evokes stillness and at others exudes passionate fervor.  Based on this piece alone, I’ve decided that I need more of Moss’ music in my life.    

NYSSA — Shake Me Where I’m Foolish (Six Shooter)

Who nominated it? Alex Johnson

Did we review it? No.

Jennifer Kelly’s take:

NYSSA gets its kick from the charisma of the eponymous front woman, a wailing, belting, crooning dynamo, whose delivery is part punk, part roots rock, part blues and part adrenalized, corruscating confession. NYSSA’s first album, Girls Like Me, was long-listed for the 2021 Polaris Prize. This follow-up is less synthy and more rock, fleshed out by a ripping band. It’s larger in every way, from the stomping, vibrato-laced rager, “Werewolf,” to the torchy, piano-bar introspection of “Blessed Turn.” “I’m good for nothing but the hell I raise,” NYSSA intimates on the rollicking “Hell I Raise,” but she’s wrong. She’s good at lots of things.

Rosali – Bite Down (Merge)

Who picked it? Jennifer Kelly

Did we review it? Yes. Christian Carey wrote: “Rocking out is on the menu” and “the connections between pleasure and pain seem to coalesce in Rosali’s work.”

Alex Johnson’s take:

It’s a ferocious album, but intimate too. I hear a lot of Christine McVie in Rosali’s vocal. The way her delivery of “I want to feel right at the end of the day/I’m letting things come as they may” on “Rewind” contains warmth and sadness and joy and a sense of power in powerlessness that’s somewhere between cynicism and hope. It’s right out of Rumors. There’s some Fleetwood Mac in the groove of the title track too. But the spaciousness and spontaneity that Rosali and Mowed Sound capture remind me more often of the Oldham family — Will, Ned, et al. — from the raucous and inviting Viva Last Blues of “My Kind” to the clanging Anomoanon-ish country rock of “Hopeless.” 

This is music that not only lets you in but keeps you there. Like how the primordial bass drum in “May It Always Be on Offer” both grounds the rhythm and carves out a space you can practically sit in. The charismatic draw of Bite Down, though, is the guitar work. There’s so much texture and dimension in, say, the fraught duet that rips through “Change is in the Form” or the gravelly solo patched under the strings of “Slow Pain,” echoing the toughness of “maybe I’m just used to it/maybe I don’t give a shit.” With their various yelps and rumbles, the guitar tones that run through “Hills on Fire” don’t so much create the atmosphere as define it, adding a palpable, tectonic heat to the song’s otherwise easy daze.

Bite Down is a big, organic album, full of sensations — heard, articulated, and felt. Someone yells “act natural” as “My Kind” gets revved up — I’m surprised the band needed a reminder.

Thou — Umbilical (Sacred Bones)

Who nominated it? Jonathan Shaw

Did we review it? Yes, Jonathan wrote, “If we set aside Umbilical’s thorny thematics, we still have a superlative metal record, loud, as aggressive as it is palpably aggravated.”

Andrew Forell’s take:

At the end of his typically on point review of Umbilical, Dusted’s Jonathan Shaw pondered whether Thou singer Brian Funck might agree with his assertion that “pleasure isn’t what we need most from culture right now” and asked, “Should we listen to him?”. On the first point, there’s not much pleasure evident on Thou’s new album, which perversely or not appears to be this half year’s metal album de jour with even The Guardian unguarded in its praise. And yes, there are so many reasons right now when pleasure seems futile in the face of No Future. To the second point, a definite yes! Once you acclimatize to Funck’s voice, a dyspeptic shredder of a thing which renders his lyrics nigh indecipherable, the wall of sound coming at you is a caustic bath for the ears. The drums and bass a thumping foundry shaking and burning whilst the guitars surround you like a swarm of rusting chainsaws. Amidst this maelstrom, Funck screams as if his spleen is about to join his word splatter. Now, that’s a t-shirt I’d wear again without washing. Umbilical is a nasty, irate fury that I will be revisiting.

Uranium Club — Infants Under the Bulb (Static Shock)

Who picked it? Alex Johnson

Did we review it? Yes. Alex wrote, “these enigmatic Minneapolitans fling their conceptual heft in a new direction and expand their musical objectives without ceding much, if any, of their signature, careening tension.”

Patrick Masterson’s take:

When I first heard Infants Under the Bulb in the spring, it was with only a cursory commitment; I understood its tinny, furiously strummed contours, but the full thrust of its oddball conceptual heft passed me by. A second, much closer listen for this midyear exchange has proven far more rewarding, and while Alex pretty well nails what makes this record so interesting in his review, what I keep coming back to are the myriad voices across this record. I think core members Brendan Wells, Harry Wohl, Ian Stemper and Matt Stagner all take a turn behind the mic, though liner notes prove frustratingly (appropriately?) limited, and Molly Raben drives the four-part “Wall” sequence. A few points of order unite the Club and its associates — namely, all of them take pointed barbs at contemporary society in different ways, all of them play with noticeable tightness (even Raben in the New Age-y “Wall” songs), and none of them can sing. Musically, “Small Grey Man” might be an obvious single to that effect, but it’s the guitar licks in “Game Show,” “2-600-LULLABY” and “Abandoned by the Narrator” to which I keep returning. More than anything else in Alex’s review, what hits home hardest is very succinctly tucked away in its middle (my emphasis): Chorus of voices aside, Uranium Club has been and remains a great guitar band.

Waxahatchee — Tigers Blood (Anti-)

Who picked it? Christian Carey

Did we review it? Yes, Christian said, “Tigers Blood doesn’t have a weak cut on it. One imagines it will be in heavy rotation for many long after its release.”

Tim Clarke’s take:

Tigers Blood starts out promisingly enough. On opening track “3 Sisters” it’s immediately evident that Katie Crutchfield has an intensely expressive voice, plus the skill to wield it with nuance. There’s plenty of space for her to emote, then when the song takes off, it feels well earned. From there, things start to feel too rote to fully engage. The band is clearly playing in the country-rock pocket, but there are no surprises to be found in the songwriting to capitalize on the promise of that opening song. Ultimately, it mostly ends up sounding a little hokey. A genuine shame, as I had high hopes coming into this one.

Whitelands — Night-bound Eyes Are Blind to the Day (Sonic Cathedral)

Did we review it? Yes, Ian said, “Right from the start, there’s a clarity and focus in the songs here that belies their sometimes diaphanous settings.”

Tim Clarke’s take:

Right from the opening blare of guitars, British quartet Whitelands nail a particular shoegaze aesthetic: Ride’s Going Blank Again. The six-strings are loud, but with enough delay and reverb to create a blurry wall of sound, while the rhythm section keeps things punchy to give the songs plenty of momentum. Can’t say there’s anything here that quite rivals the first wave of shoegazers who combined hallucinatory sonics with catchy songwriting, but Whitelands are clearly tapping into some inspiring sounds, which will hopefully mean their next release will have its own distinct personality. 

Winged Wheel — Big Hotel (12XU)

Who nominated it? Bryon Hayes

Did we review it? Yes, Bryon wrote, “No Island hinted at Winged Wheel’s ability to craft such a sonic space, but that record was merely an appetizer for the hefty dose of momentum that Big Hotel provides.”

Christian Carey’s take:

A collection of artists who also belong to other bands, Winged Wheel coheres far more fluidly than most “supergroups.” On their second recording, Big Hotel, the band recorded in the studio together rather than remotely collaborating as they did on 2022’s Big Island. The difference is palpable, particularly in the power and execution of the rhythm section, which now includes Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. At the beginning of the recording, the one-two combo of the spacy and clangorous “Demonstrably False” and “Sleep Training,” on which Whitney Johnson supplies beguiling singing amid a raft of guitar textures. The songs tend to move directly into one another, underscoring their interconnectivity. Most of them stretch out a bit, clocking in at around the six-minute mark, but “Aren’t They All” and the album-closer “From Here Out Nothing Changes” are both under three minutes. The former is a bustling instrumental featuring oscillating riffs and urgently rendered and foregrounded percussion. The latter begins with a brief, disjunct, nasal wind solo and a discordant guitar duo, that rhythm section punching away. Johnson shares a brief, delicately delivered vocal, which then disappears into a concluding maelstrom.

Z-Ro—The Ghetto Gospel (One Deep Entertainment)

Who nominated it? Ray Garraty

Did we review it? No

Jonathan Shaw’s take: Much contemporary hip hop is lost on me, and The Ghetto Gospel doesn’t do much to convince me that I should be paying more attention. That judgment has little to do with the record’s sonic qualities, which I am in no competent position to evaluate closely; but I like the mix of late-1970s hard funk, R&B swooniness and occasional flashes of (yep) gospel’s dramatics. And Z-Ro’s flow and vocals are pretty great to groove on. His seamless, artful shifts into more conventional singing, especially at some tracks’ refrains, are deft and pleasurable. But the constant focus on money—having it is unassailable proof of virility, craft, power, self-worth; when one’s antagonist doesn’t have it, or doesn’t have as much of it, that confirms he’s a fool and a loser—is by turns tedious and sort of depressing. The just as constant self-aggrandizement, endemic in the genre, is so ever-present that it’s completely unconvincing. When I can tune out the lyrics’ content, The Ghetto Gospel is just fine. Patient, cool, smooth. When, inevitably, I begin paying attention to Z-Ro’s rhymes and their themes and figures, the record irritates me. If I had the savvy to place his performances of black masculinity in hip hop’s regionally or generically specific modalities, I might find them more engaging. But that would require plowing through a lot more music, much of it singing the praises of cash as an end in itself and celebrating “pimpin” as a variety of socially compelling activity. It ain’t for me.

[aihoshiino]

chapter 128 thoughts!

a little late because i have been fighting for my life against sleepy bitch disease all week but HERE WE GO

Right off the bat, the little power level rankings for everyone are such a cute visual while also being a great way to quickly and immediately get across some super important and interesting info about everyone's capabilities going into the chapter. I won't comment on everything but there is some stuff I want to make a note of before going into things!

Ruby's acting skills being ranked as D and accordingly as her biggest weakness is pretty interesting. I was worried that might be left hanging but I'm glad to see the story continuing to acknowledge how much is riding on the movie's success and how Ruby's acting might not be able to bear that weight. That combined with One Other Thing really does have me start to seriously wonder if we won't have a lead actress switcharoo on our hands at some point in the future.

Melt's acting skill being ranked as B (the same level as Aqua, even!) made me go <3. He really has come such a long way from where he first started and the blood, sweat and tears he wrung out of himself during Tokyo Blade seems to have really paid off. Melt, my beloved!!!

Moving onto the chapter itself, I was really surprised to see Aqua playing Kamiki! I guess I shouldn't be with how hard that family resemblance has been played up but for some reason, I was really certain he was specifically playing Ryosuke, not Kamiki... I guess because it was originally stated he was 'the culprit'? Anyway, Aqua playing Kamiki is part of why I'm starting to wonder if either he or Ruby will end up backing out of their roles – having a pair of twin siblings play a real life couple who Definitely Fucked seems like the sort of things that uh, might put a dampener on the movie's intended reception, just from an in-universe perspective!

This chapter also finally gives us a name for the Crow Girl - Tsukuyomi! I felt SUCH a thrill when I saw her use that name because I had wondered last chapter if her pointed reference to the moon might be some indication that's who she was but at the time it felt like a stretch, so I didn't voice it. Gah, I should've put it in my chapter thoughts so I could be extra smug about calling it!

In general, I'm really surprised by how many of my long-term issues with OnK were specifically touched on in this chapter to a really eerily specific degree lol? But holy shit! Somebody actually acknowledging the huge bombshell of Aqua and Ruby's connection to Ai! Akane, specifically, finally fucking acknowledging that Ruby was also traumatized by her mother's death! Akane acknowledging Ruby exists at all!! Akane interacting with characters that aren't Aqua!!! Thank god!!!

I'm also becoming increasingly curious about the DVDs the kids saw. They're a pretty transparent retcon and I imagine we'll eventually see them for ourselves but I'm still itching to know wtf Aka was even cooking when he added them.

For all that was good about this chapter, though, I do have a pretty major issue with the way a lot of the emotional stuff is being skimmed over purely to not let the reader in on the content of the movie too early. This info isn't necessarily new to all the characters but there are some major bombshells about the culprit and Ai's relationship with him that we get no commentary on from the characters.

The biggest and most baffling missed opportunity here is Taiki, honestly??? Based on what Aqua says to him and the fact that Frill is going to be playing Airi Himekawa we can probably guess that her abuse of Kamiki will be laid bare in the movie. If that's the case then Taiki has just found out, possibly just from this fucking script, that his mother is a child rapist and he himself is a product of rape. The fact that we do not see any emotional response from him about this information beyond "that's on my mom you caught her slippin" genuinely fucking blows my mind! Completely insane!!! Was there really absolutely no space in the story for Taiki to have literally any time or room to process an incredibly traumatic dump of information like that???

that said, for my complaints... I won't pretend it didn't kick me in the gut to see Ruby all dressed up as Ai on that final page. Definitely her mom's daughter.

Break next week..........................................

[sophieinwonderland]

Just addressing the latest lies about me: No, I didn't call anyone an abuser. 🙄

The rumor mill is apparently running again

It's come to my attention someone has been claiming I called them an abuser. Just to set the record straight, here is what I believe is the comment I made in a discussion that included the classic "you can't prove DID is only caused by trauma" talking point.

Here's a link to a reblog to prove I haven't edited it.

I didn't accuse them of being an abuser. What I did say is that their talking point is designed to associate endogenic systems with abusers. And I stated the fact that it's emotionally manipulative.

It's the classic "think of the children" argument often employed by right-wingers, designed to shutdown critical thinking.

Art, Argument, and Advocacy (2002) argued that the appeal substitutes emotion for reason in debate. Ethicist Jack Marshall wrote in 2005 that the phrase's popularity stems from its capacity to stunt rationality, particularly discourse on morals.

This particular instance is based on a false premise that the only way to prove DID can only be caused by trauma is to traumatize children.

It's also directed at an audience of abuse survivors in a way likely to trigger fight or flight responses.

I am not saying this particular user intentionally is using that tactic either. I said the talking point was emotionally manipulative, not that they personally were. Often, people repeating talking points like these are pawns who just absorb what they're told uncritically and repeat it back to others. (Although, lying about what I said and claiming I called them abusive does make me think they're being emotionally manipulative too.)

The French Oboe Tutor Experiment

Let's say you want to conduct a study on children. You have a hypothesis that the only way children can learn to play the Oboe is to have a tutor from France.

So you gather 200 children. 100 kids make up the experimental group and are taught to play the Oboe by a French tutor.

The other is the control group, and they're not taught to play the Oboe.

By the end of the experiment, the entire experimental group learns how to play the Oboe. But none of the control group do.

Therefore, the researchers conclude that you can only learn how to play the Oboe by being taught by a French tutor.

Proving Causation Doesn't Prove an Exclusive Causation

It shouldn't be hard to see the problem. While "being taught by a French tutor" results in a 100% causation rate compared to the 0% of children who learned to play the Oboe in the control group, this doesn't tell the whole story.

The Oboe is an uncommon instrument to learn in the general population and a group of 100 not having Oboe players isn't remarkable. Alternative hypotheses weren't tested. What would the results have been with a group with a Russian Oboe tutor? With a Korean Oboe tutor? Could some kids learn from online lessons if instructed to?

Likewise, testing a trauma hypothesis of DID could certainly prove causation. But it's not going to prove exclusive causation. It can't show that other things wouldn't be able to cause DID in certain cases.

That requires testing alternative hypotheses.

Which is still unethical...

Again, we can't do that. We can't try to give someone a mental disorder in the name of science.

So neither this proposed study nor similar testing alternative hypotheses for causation can be conducted.

But I want to address the reason that responses to anyone mentioning how the DSM says DID is associated with trauma but doesn't have a requirement is met with this ridiculous talking point of "THAT'S BECAUSE PROVING IT'S CAUSED BY TRAUMA WOULD MAKE US HAVE TO TRAUMATIZE KIDS!"

Traumatizing kids doesn't prove that's the only way to form DID anymore than the French Oboe Tutor Experiment above would somehow prove you can only learn the Oboe from French tutors.

This argument is 100% an emotional manipulation tactic meant to equate any people questioning the science to wanting to abuse children. It's made to trigger emotional reactions and shutdown your critical thinking so you don't question it any further, or to shame you into silence by associating you with child abusers.

And it's made for a base who already hold this view, and for them, the argument just further reinforces why they shouldn't ever question their beliefs.

Keep thinking critically!

To those reading this, keep questioning what you read. Keep thinking critically about it. Don't blindly accept what you're told as fact. Especially when it comes to science. If an argument appears to be based more on stopping you from thinking, be sure to ask yourself why.

[chaotic-theatrical-weaver]

I didn't forget your other asks, by the way! I just don't have answers to them yet. But I've been wanting to ask YOU:

How do you determine/decide when spoken dialogue stops and a song starts in musicals? When is the best moment for that? What point in a story--not to mention a specific scene? How do you know?

Good question! (Wow, what an honor to answer one of your asks for once! Thanks!) A musical with a book (in other words, one that isn’t sung-through) is structured differently from a play. A play keeps everyone talking almost all the time, regardless of particular moments of strong emotion, whereas a musical with a book builds emotion up in the spoken dialogue and puts the rest into a song. Typically, your song is going to give your audience insight into a character’s thoughts in a way that doesn’t work as well if you have him or her speak or act out something silently. This has to do with how much the audience already knows about the character based on his or her interactions with other characters. Characters in plays tend to say everything out loud in their interactions with other characters or in asides—obviously not in the sense that they outright state their emotions in a linear cause-effect format, but in the sense that their reactions and responses to the topics of conversation reflect their inner thoughts rather reliably. Even when they lie, audience members usually have the benefit of knowing it's a lie and can pick up on how that lie and its use in conversation reflect things about the character as a whole. Characters in musicals aren’t as forthright, not even the main characters. When this “silence”—perhaps a better term is “obscurity”—leaves us with gaps in characterization or motivation, musical writers like to put songs there to fill in the gaps! Aside from filling in gaps in characterization, songs can also serve to dramatize events, provide exposition, be a source of comic relief, and set up future developments, but you’ve got to be discerning so that the musical moments don’t feel gratuitous.

Since I assume that you are not seeking to write a jukebox musical the way I did, pick the musical points in a story based on key dramatic points or points that aren’t the most immediately clear. Aside from these main uses, you can use songs as transitions that foreshadow events to come, as brief lead-ins to a spoken scene that shows off an important development, or as ways to replace a spoken version of a scene that might take too long or be too flat. Soliloquies have largely gone out of style in modern theatre, so a song has taken up the role of pulling back the curtain on a character's inner process—unlike a soliloquy forcing the character to turn to the audience and explain it, a song lets the audience experience it while giving the character some level of privacy. The character is thinking, and you can see it, but it's not like he or she knows you're there and tries to put it in terms you'll understand or judge less. Overall, a song is a resolution of the buildup of tension or suspense, but it should also drive you forward.

Which moments often get the most songs (or, to put it another way, which parts are tense enough to warrant a song as resolution)?

Openings: Act One openings answer the question "what is this story about?"; Act Two openings answer the question "where are we going?"

Anything vital to understanding a character, be it motivations ("I Want" songs) or thoughts on a situation

Dramatizations of events that would drag on too long or feel redundant or underwhelming if spoken, including big enough comic relief moments

Dramatizations of big turning points in a character's arc or points of no return (sometimes these fit into the above category, but I'll make this a category of its own)—if a critical realization happens in song format near the end of the second act, this can be called an 11 o'clock number.

Finales: Act One finales pose the question "what remains in the cards for these characters?" as an unresolved moment of suspense; Act Two finales answer the question "what was the ultimate trajectory these characters took?"

Let's take a look at how one of my favorite book musicals, Dear Evan Hansen, handles the divide between speech and song.

Our opening number, "Anybody Have a Map?" introduces the Hansen and Murphy families and follows their respective mothers' struggles to connect with their sons. This establishes the theme of isolation as it applies to them and their children and shows the moms' motivations: to connect with and support them. Once Connor shoves Evan and calls him a freak, we get "Waving Through a Window" as a song describing Evan's motivation: to feel seen and important. We get two brief reprises of this song: the first one takes place as he writes the letter that will later be mistaken for Connor's last words, and it drives home this motivation of his. The second one establishes it as a motivation for the socially awkward go-getter Alana as well (foreshadowing of something not immediately clear). When the Murphys come to believe that he was Connor's friend, the beginnings of Evan's lie in "For Forever" take the form of a song because this would feel too long and underwhelming if spoken and because it's the first threshold. (Inability to correct a miscommunication is one thing; outright lying becomes another.) The next threshold, creating fake emails between Evan and Connor in "Sincerely, Me" becomes another song for the same reasons: it's another point of no return that would drag on if it were normal dialogue, especially due to its status as comic relief. When Zoe's mom tells her to read these emails, which supposedly show a softer side to the brother who mistreated her, Zoe argues that Cynthia is trying too hard to make everything perfect. "Requiem" therefore shows us her true thoughts and those of her family as they handle their bereavement in their own ways. Evan tells Zoe that Connor admired her but couldn't admit it; this takes the form of "If I Could Tell Her" for many reasons. It's a point of tension because the audience knows Evan is crushing on her and wants to know how he'll handle this; it would be disappointing for him to simply speak. It's a turning point for their relationship as Zoe begins to open up to the idea that there were good things about her brother. It's an expression of Evan's thoughts about his inability to connect with her. As the school begins to forget about Connor, Evan's imaginary Connor tries to convince a hesitant Evan to start a memorial project in his honor, appealing to the idea of telling people they matter. "Disappear" is a threshold because it takes the lie from being localized to reaching an entire community. With these grand appeals to the themes of isolation and identity, Connor needs to sing because Alana just spoke without touching on those themes. "You Will Be Found," the Act One finale, dramatizes Evan's speech about what Connor supposedly meant to him and shows the Internet community's overwhelmingly positive response. Now that the lie has reached an entire community, the song takes place. There is nothing that Evan could say without being anticlimactic, and showing this verbally would be too long and redundant. As we pass this particularly huge point of no return, this is a nice place to leave off when asking "what remains in the cards for these characters?" because the dissonance hangs over our heads; we know that although this has affected the community positively and even allowed the Murphys to connect with each other, Evan is still speaking based on a lie and can still be found out. End of act.

Act Two opens with a spoken scene where Evan and Alana announce that they are planning to raise money on Kickstarter to reopen an orchard in Connor's memory. Our Act Two opener is a brief reprise of "Sincerely, Me" in which Jared tries to insert himself into the fake friendship, and this acts as a lead-in to spoken dialogue in which Evan chastises him for doing so. This is the opener because it helps show us where we're going; the rift between Evan and Jared is one that Evan doesn't think much of considering how snarky and dismissive Jared has been previously, but it matters to Jared, as little as he shows it, and it shows that Evan is beginning to turn more self-centered. In the next song, "To Break in a Glove," Larry shows Evan a glove he bought for Connor and talks about how Connor ignored it, how to break it in using a weeklong method instead of a glove-ruining instant one, and the importance of perseverance. This gradually turns into Larry trying to justify to himself his more stern disciplinarian attitude towards Connor, which he is beginning to doubt. It would feel too on-the-nose to watch Evan and Larry talk their way into a surrogate father-son relationship with life advice gained from the glove as a symbol and a metaphor, so the song becomes a vehicle. Let's move onto "Only Us," where Zoe tells Evan she wants to date him because of who he is as opposed to any closure or information he may be able to provide for her regarding her brother. This shows us their motivation: they want to let the rest of the world disappear so they can move forward and escape into each other. It's also a turning point because important things disappear with the rest of the world. Sure enough, the next scenes feature Alana disappointed in Evan for neglecting his duties and Heidi disappointed that her son would let the Murphys become surrogate parents to him. Cue "Good for You" as this tension begins to come to a head; we get everyone's thoughts about feeling used and Evan laments that there is no erasing what has been done. A brief reprise of "For Forever" shows Evan's imaginary Connor taunting him into continuing to lie by reminding him of his motivation to be connected with others so as to avoid himself. In desperation to keep Alana from discovering him to be a liar, Evan gives her his letter, which supposedly contains Connor's last words, and she posts it to gain money for the orchard. The Internet turns on the Murphys during "You Will Be Found (Reprise)," a critical threshold. Evan admits his lie to the Murphys and to himself in "Words Fail," the 11 o'clock number. This is a turning point in his arc as he owns up to his motivations (being seen as worthy and escaping his brokenness), recognizes his reasons for his actions and their inability to excuse him, and decides on truthfulness from now on. Heidi consoles him in "So Big/So Small," gives him the space to admit his struggles to her, and promises that he will move forward and have her support in doing so. The finale takes place a year later as Evan reflects on his growth; he is now in a place where he can be more honest with himself without relying on others' validation or recognition to feel important.

If you've read all this, I hope it helps! For anyone else who might be reading this and seeking to do a jukebox musical, the same principles apply. (Granted, you can, as I did, write around the shared themes of your desired songs for an idea about the plot and then carve in specific little ways to put in something particular, but these guidelines are there to help you keep it organic and fitting with the theme and the storyline. There is nothing worse than a shoehorned plot point established for the sake of a fanservice song. Audiences can tell.)