#And thus continues the downfall of media I like

[prettychillbrainfreeze]

Omg the tweet may actually be real. . .

If this is incorrect though pls tell me, I do not wanna be spreading around false information

Sources:

Sorry to everyone who’s enjoyed the last 130 years of science and culture journalism, but Disney needs the money to fund Toy Story 9

[matchalovertrait]

Alegría VS Caruso: Day 1, Part 3

Previous

Dulce’s lifelong friend, Matthew Fyres, agreed to take the stand in court to verify the digital evidence. He works in cybersecurity and is highly skilled in computer science.

Back in Italy, he lived a bit further from Dulce and Guillermo, so they didn’t get to hang out as much. However, their bond was as strong as ever. He was more than willing to help Dulce.

It was risky to use him instead of a random expert who would be undeniably neutral on the stance, but part of the strategy was to show that Dulce has a lot of support and loyal friends.

“Mr. Matthew Fyres, please explain your role and credibility,” Antonio calmly asked. He knew Matthew was quite nervous.

Matthew took a deep breath to soothe himself. “I work for the cybersecurity agency of Italy’s government. I cannot share much about what I do since I handle sensitive information, but I am a professional in this line of work.”

“And you have verified the digital evidence we presented thus far? Including Ms. Alegría’s cookbook project files and data from her channel?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Isabela smirked. It was her turn to question him.

“Mr. Fyres. I’d also like to point out the interesting timeline of the creation of these digital records. They only date back to about a year ago, correct?”

Matthew hesitated.

Dulce’s eyes widened.

It’s true! Still, it’s her work. She transferred everything over from-

“Yes..” Matthew admitted. He was stuck! He didn’t know what else to say to that.

The courtroom began to fill with a few whispers from the jury and audience.

Dulce was thinking of something, what was it???

Isabela took a sharp turn and faced the jury. “And the social media accounts? When the evidence was being presented, I noticed a small dip in viewership and subscriptions before Mr. Caruso’s video was published. There was one, correct?”

“Yes, because Mr. Caruso posted an Instagram story announcing the breakup. However, the percentages were an insignificant amount.”

“It was still a noticeable amount. Viewers and sponsors were already losing faith in her or only liked her because of Mr. Caruso. Her videos appealed to the masses because she was good at playing the part of a chef with humble beginnings. However, many comments in Mr. Caruso’s video prove that a good portion of viewers already had suspicions about her. He inspired other people to come forward with their opinions. Ms. Alegría is not a real chef. She is a liar and a manipulator. Her downfall was destined to come sooner or later–”

“Objection! Ms. Campos is making baseless accusations against my client.”

Too many objections can make a lawyer look like there is something to hide, but Antonio felt like he had to do it.

“Overruled. Continue, Ms. Campos.”

Antonio sat down, his mind racing.

“Here is my last question: So far, we’ve gathered that Ms. Alegría is rather skilled at exploiting others. Could she have persuaded you to fabricate or alter the evidence? Just like how she let Mr. Caruso believe there was a future between them AND persuaded him to let her take credit for his recipes?”

The courtroom burst with noise as people reacted to her bold claims. Some people seemed persuaded.

Antonio glared at Isabela. I miscalculated...

Dulce looked down. It was hard to concentrate with all the chatter. Gosh, can everyone shut up for a second?

The judge was exclaiming, “Order! Order!” to no avail.

Then, it clicked. Shit. My notebook! That’s where I originally kept all my recipes. Where did I last see it? Did I leave it in Tartosa?

She smiled.

No, of course I brought it! That's how I transferred everything from my notebook to my computer a year ago.

It’s in my office. It has the dates and everything.

Maybe we can do ink dating testing or whatever it's called!

Things look bad now, but her culinary friends would come another day. Her notebook could surely help too. She has to tell Antonio.

Previous

[suffarustuffaru]

Reading your tags about how people miss the very obvious "there's some fucked up shit boiling underneath" regarding Otto, just gave me a sudden realization. Otto is the only character I know in fiction where they act all innocent and drive up the "clumsy", "just in the side-lines" and "straight-man (heh)" persona. When. Like no one's in the EMT camp is buying it. They know he's way more capable than he let's on. Meanwhile, the tomfoolery is completely brought on by the Western audience.

Like Otto is failing miserably to make other characters believe that he's not up to mischief, Roswaal even thinks it can bring his downfall. But the audience, who even sometimes *sees* his fucked up thought process, is buying it.

*head in hands*

no u bring up so many good points bc ive been really thinking about this for a while T^T its such an interesting phenomenon in the difference in perception otto has between the japanese speaking half of the fandom vs the english speaking half which can be explained by—yeah. media illiteracy mainly. im also putting my head in my hands anon T^T

because—okay sorry wkdndn im gonna get into meta again but hear me out bc this pattern of the fandom underestimating otto is interesting bc i kind of sort of i cracked the code maybe??? o.o i think the nature of otto is a character is that youre SUPPOSED to underestimate him at first, just like what happens sometimes in universe. i mean wayyy back then i definitely wasnt expecting him to get more depth added to him in arc 4–which was a pleasant surprise—which is also the reaction the vast majority of people have to reading/watching arc 4, along with the other vast majority reaction which is being a bit endeared to ottosubas friendship and respecting otto for being a good friend. and then its easy to underestimate otto bc of 1. all the chaos going on in rezero at any given moment and 2. hes almost always overshadowed by other characters doing worse shit or being more insane than he is and 3. otto of course damn well knows hes easy to underestimate and counts on that. thats what he did against roswaal in arc 4. plus—i mean even aesthetics-wise hes 100% DESIGNED to be easy to underestimate. his outfit and physical features make him look either friendly or frazzled or soft. so i think that the point is that we were supposed to be kind of fooled—at first.

because yeah, we’re endeared to otto. we respect him for helping subaru the way he did. we think that hes a nice person and we now support his actions especially after feeling sympathetic towards him after learning his backstory. (or at least the average audience member will think this wjdndn.) but like—you dont even NEED to look at any side content at all for it to dawn on you that theres something Wrong. with him. like all you need is main route arcs 3-8 aka ottos entire screentime thus far, because at arc 4 its so easy to overlook otto unless youre thinking a bit deeper (for example—he gets violent with subaru. like yeah its entertaining, its played for laughs a bit, yeah subaru needed to be snapped out of his own head, but was it 100% necessary??? why did otto have this response??? bc if you just look at the main timeline otto really decided to beat up subaru first. and bc this tendency is now Less Funny in arc 8).

but even if youre just looking at rezero face value, when you get to arc 5 its starting to get even more clear that ottos weird in the head. like we already saw him being very good at scheming and planning in arc 4–in arc 5, we find out about otto hiding the tome for a year. we find out WHY hes been hiding the tome for a year. the tome then leads the witch cult into priestella, so like—in the sense, otto is RESPONSIBLE for arc 5. but theres STILL a tendency sometimes for the audience to continue underestimating him even though by this point we’re getting more clues and many characters around otto, like you said anon, KNOW hes very capable. i keep wondering why this is, but arc 5 is, again, FULL of chaos and different storylines happening at once, so its so easy to almost kind of forget otto there in the background until he occasionally pops up again. plus otto serves an additional role as comedic relief sometimes—he spends all of arc 5 being bitchy and whiny (i say this affectionately HAH) about his camp being full of disasters, for example, so i think the natural response from the audience tends to be “aw otto!! what a silly guy!!” sometimes. you know? so its like. i think at this point some people tend to be like “yeah fair that otto was wary of roswaal and thats why he saved the tome…. anyway ooooh whats going on with these other plot points” wobsbss. its so fascinating bc—ok this might be my own personal experience but anyone reading this pls tell me if you agree or not—i dont think ive seen a lot of people actually even MENTION otto bringing the tome into priestella attracting witch cultists. and the english speaking fandom LOVES to go into certain characters’ wrongdoings so why gloss over otto????

the only explanation i have for this is that from arcs 3-4 underestimating otto is. kind of the point of his character UNTIL you get to arc 5 and the clues in the main story start seeping in even more. and also the western audience DOES have media illiteracy a lot. theres that too. just look at rezero content on youtube or reddit or fanfic sites or other things of that sort T^T but no yeah i think ottos nature as a character exacerbates it. youre supposed to start asking questions about him. youre supposed to start connecting the dots and then SUDDENLY its now EXTREMELY obvious in arc 7-8 and even while theres so much chaos going on its basically shoved in your face. arc 7-8 is just delivering on all the leadup that was arcs 3-5.

and i think that youve gotta be media illiterate for sure to NOT get that otto is not squeaky clean and innocent BY ARC 8. i think that ottos the deconstruction of the loyal best friend trope, and also a mirror into what subaru couldve been like if he decided to be more ruthless instead of jumping right to forgiveness and saving everyone, except sometimes that flies right over the audience’s head wkdndnd. it confuses me bc ive seen some people completely miss the point or completely agree with otto and overlook the Bad Parts of it or, you know, STILL think ottos perfectly sane—like T^T please.

and yeah so back to what you said about otto Not being underestimated In Universe—its such an interesting detail bc hes ALWAYS been simultaneously pathetic and Very Competent wjdndnd. but yeah no all of his friends have seen various hints and clues and evidence of what hes capable of. like even though he hid the tome from them successfully and even though hes hiding info now its INEVITABLE that its gonna blow up in his face one day. like you got characters like garfiel who literally saw otto punch the wall and break his hand in an unhinged fit of rage, julius who got snapped at by otto and while julius is a Bit naive definitely knows somethings off there, anastasia whos smart as hell and definitely knows not to underestimate otto, and roswaal who, like you said anon, literally went out of his way to stop otto from breaking his hand in another unhinged fit of rage and warned otto that he will literally be destroying himself if he keeps going on like this. its this fascinating dichotomy bc otto is NOT fooling anyone around him but at the same time his current schemes are mostly unnoticed—for now—which yeah i havent seen that in a lot of media!!! its an interesting balancing act bc people around him realistically know hes competent after seeing the Proof of that for the past couple arcs, but otto is still finding ways to try and Win…

which—again, the anger and violence is an extension of arc 4 otto!! this is the same guy!! hes always been like this!! ottos kind of stayed the same, deep down, this whole time and as an audience its ONLY shoved in our face with a big gigantic spotlight on it FOUR ARCS LATER, but it was hinted to all this time. and like you said anon—we LITERALLY see ottos fucked up thought processes. literally what sane person thinks any of that shit. its spelled right out for the reader HAH T^T which—yeah. media illiteracy…. and also this whole ask was a longer way of just saying that otto is VERY easy to see at surface level if youre media illiterate. but at the same time it should be very easy to figure out otto is A Bit Fucked Up bc tappei underlines it in bright red print!!! i think people sometimes just hang onto soft awkward silly otto and forget about the rest T^T either that or they dont think he cares about subaru at all. which. that phenomenon of thinking characters that do care about subaru Dont Care is also interesting to me bc why????? we’re at arc 8 and you STILL dont get it??? o.ooooo

but yeah apart from that….. i said this earlier but yeah sometimes some people agree with ottos realism in arc 8 which is. understandable, but the whole point is that he is EXTREME. with it. hes Not in the right here, but the same crowd that wants wanton revenge in rezero is gonna agree with that kind of stuff T^T ottos been lurking in the background so much so that tappei made it meta by doing the whole “walking in darkness” part of his character, so i guess people just. dont see ottos ACTUAL worst traits and instead think he would ditch subaru at the first opportunity or something. but at the point we are now, arc 8 ottos problem isnt that hed ditch subaru. his problem is that he would sacrifice the world for subaru. his problem is that he gets extremely angry at subaru for trying to do good. his problem is that hes trying to micromanage everything around him and is willing to sacrifice anything necessary to get what he wants. but sometimes people dont get that bc otto doesnt look sound or seem like a character thatd do that. the Underestimation part of his character is doing too well on. certain audiences. please T^T the soft and awkward and silly parts ARE part of his character just like all the Darker parts are!!!

additionally im also wondering if western audience perception of otto is also clouded by the fact that otto looks and sounds more feminine / androgynous and he doesnt have the appeal of Overt Power either……. he cant Really be waifu-ified… and he cant be used as a weird self insert like subaru…. and you Have to look at him closer to understand him…. and for some reason people dont tend to hate on him so aggressively, if anything people cant even see his actual canonical flaws half the time wkdndn so if youre not paying attention otto CANT be aggressively hated on bc theres nothing there if ur not looking at it….. and if youre not paying attention otto seems more “boring” compared to the others…… (not that people arent allowed to not have otto as a favorite character bc thats totally fair but im talking about the tendency to think hes Saner than he actually is.) but yeah these are just my guesses. i have no clue the western fandom is a little T^T some people unfortunately cannot read.

anyway. big thank you to the japanese fanbase for understanding ottos character more and making so much wonderful fancontent for him T^T also i think that we as a collective fanbase should stop underestimating otto in general bc its exactly what he wouldnt want and i think itd be really hilarious. <3333 make him explode with rage please

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 6, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) met in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, sparking speculation over the 2024 Republican presidential field. Hard-right figures like Donald Trump and his loyalists Mike Lindell, the MyPillow entrepreneur, and Kari Lake, who lost the 2022 race for Arizona governor, attended, along with House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and right-wing media figure Steve Bannon, but many of those testing the 2024 presidential waters gave it a miss. CPAC started in 1974, and since then it has been a telltale for the direction the Republican Party is going. This year was no exception. CPAC was smaller this year than in the past, and it showcased the Republican extremism that is far outside the mainstream of normal American politics. “Feels like MAGA country!” Donald Trump, Jr., told the crowd. The headliner was former president Trump, twice impeached, deeply involved in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and embroiled in a range of criminal investigations. In his speech, Trump embraced his leadership of those hardening around a violent mentality based in grievance that echoes that of fascist movements. “In 2016, I declared: I am your voice,” he said. “Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.” He claimed that he and his followers are “engaged in an epic struggle to rescue our country from the people who hate it and want to absolutely destroy it…. We are going to finish what we started. We started something that was a miracle. We’re going to complete the mission, we’re going to see this battle through to ultimate victory. We’re going to make America great again.” After listing all the “villains and scoundrels” he and his followers would “demolish,” “drive out,” “cast out,” “throw off,” “beat,” “rout,” and “evict,” he continued: “We have no choice. This is the final battle.” Other Republican hopefuls are waiting in the wings. Trump has, in fact, never won the popular vote, and his leadership has brought historic losses for the party, but his control over his voting base makes him the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Other candidates seem to be hoping that criminal indictments will knock Trump out of the race and open space for them without making them take a stand against Trump and thus alienate his followers. It seems likely that if such an indictment were forthcoming, they would blame Democrats for Trump’s downfall and hope to ride to office with his voting bloc behind them, without having to embrace that voting blocs’ ideology. That hope seems delusional, considering the increasing emphasis of the Trump Republicans and their imitators on violence. The Republicans are hitting on a constant refrain that crime is on the upswing in the U.S. Since crime does not, in fact, seem to be rising, it seems worth noting that an emphasis on crime justifies the use of state power to combat that crime and normalizes the idea of violence against “criminals,” a category the Republican Party is defining more and more broadly. This will be an extremely difficult genie to stuff back into a bottle, especially as leading Republican figures are increasingly talking in martial terms and referring to the U.S. Civil War. That emphasis on violence corresponds with something else on display at this year’s CPAC: how completely the Republican Party now depends on a false narrative constructed out of lies. CPAC fact checkers had their work cut out for them. Linda Qiu of the New York Times found Trump repeated a number of things previously identified as incorrect as well as adding some new ones. Politifact fact checked other speakers and found they, too, continued to develop the idea of a country run by those who hate it and are eager to undermine it. Various speakers said the Department of Justice is calling parents worried about their kids’ educations “terrorists” (false), fentanyl will kill you if any of it touches your skin, thus putting us all at deadly risk (false), cartels have “operational control” of the U.S.-Mexico border (false), and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants America’s “sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine” (again, false). Right-wing media amplifies this narrative. Depositions in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against the Fox News Corporation made it very clear that both Fox News executives and hosts work closely with Republican operatives to spread a Republican narrative, even when it is based on lies—in that case, in the lie that Trump won the election, which they privately agreed was ridiculous. So, when House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave to FNC personality Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 44,000 hours of video from the footage from the Capitol on January 6, 2021, he indicated the Republicans will continue to try to garner support with a false narrative. Carlson’s coverage of the videos started tonight, with him depicting the rioters as “sightseers” and claiming that other media outlets have lied about the violence on January 6. In reality, Carlson simply didn’t show the many hours of violent footage: more than 1,000 people have been arrested on charges relating to their actions surrounding January 6, more than half have pleaded guilty, and around one third of those charged were charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding police officers. McCarthy’s desperation to maintain the party’s narrative shows in his unilateral decision to give Carlson exclusive access to that video. A wide range of media outlets are clamoring for equal access to the footage while congressional Democrats are demanding to know on what authority McCarthy gave Carlson that access. The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol had arranged to transfer the films to the National Archives, but when the Republicans rewrote the rules in January, they instead transferred the video to the House Administration Committee. McCarthy did not consult the committee when he gave access to the films to Carlson. Nor did he consult House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who has noted that releasing the films without consultation with the Capitol Police is a security risk. Instead, McCarthy apparently coordinated with Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight. Loudermilk led a tour of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021. Representative Norma J. Torres (D-CA), ranking member of the Oversight Subcommittee, told Justin Papp of Roll Call that McCarthy “totally went around, not just the subcommittee, but the entire committee…. I hope Ethics will have something to say about this. I think it needs to be investigated on all different levels.” In contrast, House Administration Committee chair Bryan Steil (R-WI) appeared unconcerned with the end run around the responsible committee, saying that “the key is that we’re balancing the transparency that’s needed for the American people with the security interests of the House.” Republicans are planning to take this disinformation campaign across the nation. Despite their insistence that they want to slash government spending, Republican leaders are in fact urging their colleagues to engage in “field hearings” that will take their “message” straight to voters at a time when they are not managing to accomplish much of anything at all in Washington. Jordan’s Judiciary Committee has requested a travel budget of $262,000, more than 30 times what it spent on travel last year and 3 times what it spent before the pandemic, and it is not just the Judiciary Committee that is hitting the road. As Annie Karni and Catie Edmondson of the New York Times noted today, this also means that they speak at the plants of Republican donors, thus giving them free advertising. Congressional Democrats say they received almost no notice of these trips.

[MORE] 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[homosexuhauls]

I can't believe I've seen this slogan for so many years without knowing where it comes from.

Anita Bryant, a proud homophobe and anti-gay campaigner, became a spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission in 1969. She appeared in their adverts and one of their slogans was: "Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine". This collaboration lasted into the early 70's, which was also when her anti-gay campaigning shifted into overdrive. By '77, she was the public face of the Miami-based "Save Our Children" coalition, which aimed to overturn local legislation which prevented discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, in housing and in employment specifically.

Naturally, the Florida gay community was furious, although unable to speak out as they were mostly closeted. Gay rights leaders from San Francisco and NYC were called in to try to fight the ordinance's repeal. There were calls for an orange juice boycott, and Anti-Anita paraphernalia used slogans like "Anita sucks oranges".

Bryant spread the idea that homosexuals (and especially gay teachers) "recruited" and molested children, at a time where local media and community members had begun to portray and view homosexuality in a gradually more sympathetic light. Her campaign ultimately led to the repeal of the anti-discrimination ordinance in a public vote. Two weeks after the vote, a gardener named Robert Hillsborough was stabbed to death in a homophobic attack. His mother held Bryant and her rhetoric partially responsible for his death. A Cuban gay activist, Ovidio 'Herbie' Ramos, took his own life, and other suicides were also linked to the Save Our Children campaign and the homophobia it stirred up.

Galvanised by the repeal of the anti-discrimination ordinance, the gay community formed the Coalition for Human Rights and the Miami Victory Campaign. They doubled down on the orange juice boycott; gay bars stopped serving Screwdrivers and instead began serving a vodka/apple juice cocktail which they called the Anita Bryant, and used to raise funds for gay causes. The slogan "A day without Human Rights is like a day without sunshine" was popularised, as a twist on Bryant's orange juice refrain. Since Anita Bryant had declared herself an enemy of the gay community, everything about her became synonymous with homophobia, and thus ripe for mockery and insult. On one memorable occasion, an activist pied her in the face.

Bryant didn't back down either. In the next few years, she led anti-homosexuality campaigns in other states, including California, where she continued her crusade against gay and pro-gay teachers with the Briggs Initiative. Bryant has been credited by some as the first figurehead and originator of the modern religious right - which obviously stands strong to this day. Prior to Bryant, the most recent populist Christian intervention with the law was their battle against evolution being taught in schools in 1925.

Bryant's attempt to prevent teachers from holding pro-gay positions or making pro-gay statements failed. She was opposed throughout the state, by the Californian Democrats, by Harvey Milk and even then-President Jimmy Carter. Amazingly, even Ronald Reagan opposed the Briggs Initiative, and at the end of 1978, it failed miserably at the polls, setting the stage for the gradual downfall of Bryant's career and reputation.

In a twist of fate, Anita Bryant's granddaughter, Sarah Green, came out to her grandmother as a lesbian on her 21st birthday. Bryant told her own granddaughter that her sexuality was an evil delusion from the devil. As of 2021, Sarah was engaged to another woman and debating whether to invite her grandmother to the wedding.

TLDR: One of our most famous lesbian slogans has its origins in an orange juice commercial, a homophobic demagogue, and the enduring spirit of homosexual satire.

Sources:

Gay Freedom Day Parade, San Francisco, 1979.  

[dreamteamspace]

They really went there huh

/rp (good lord I rly hyperfixated on this essay huh)

torture tw, abuse tw, manipulation tw, gaslighting tw

So the Dream SMP built a character, once maybe morally gray, who slipped straight into villany with little to no desire to change, and willing to cause a LOT of pain to get his way. Despite this, he doesn’t question what he does enough to stop, justifying his actions with a good intent that doesn’t come close to justifying what he’s done.

C!Dream is unremorseful of what he’s done, he’s quite literally manipulated and gaslit (like actually, not in the way everyone keeps throwing the word around) c!Tommy, almost drove him to take his last life- like, jesus christ. That’s not even to mention blowing up L’Manburg three times, encouraging c!Wilbur, wanting the discs JUST to have power over c!Tommy, etc.

SO, he gets thrown in a box for it so he doesn’t hurt anybody anymore, making his own hubris his downfall (narrative consequence my beloved). This leads us to a good finale - the bad guy, the person who’s caused objectively the most pain and destruction, is now unable to do so anymore, taken down by the person whom he tried to weaken. It is also revealed he was planning on blackmailing and threatening pretty much everyone, but now everyone gets their stuff back.

Good, right?

Especially for the finale, yeah! The message of the finale is good, c!Tommy manages to escape his abuser with nothing more but his clothes on his back and fights his way back to c!Tubbo and his home.

He doesn’t let his trauma (which is still very present!) let him become a terrible person (arguably the way that c!Dream DID let his frustrations make him a terrible person, c!Tommy, despite bearing quite a heavy weight, recognizes when he begins to turn that way and actively works against it).

It shows that while alone, c!Tubbo and c!Tommy were outfought by Dream, but because c!Tommy went the length to ask for help (which he didn’t even really seem to be relying on actually showing up), he wins! It truly is a good message.

C!Tommy escapes his abuser and manipulator, refuses and fights his trauma to not become someone he doesn’t want to be, and defeats his abuser by asking for help and receiving it, even more than he thought he’d get. He refuses to play c!Dream’s “game”, refuses till the very last moment to let c!Tubbo die, to surrender and say goodbye to him.

So, great! Good finale! C!Dream The Villain is boxed like a fish in a prison of, quite literally, his own making. It sent a good message to people. C!Tommy wasn’t expected to forgive him and did, in fact, axe him down twice, causing c!Dream to finally fall from his high horse.

Most media would stop at this point, say the villain is now defeated and never show them again, or have them come back another one or two seasons later, escaped and seemingly unharmed and worse than ever.

Alternatively, there’s a throwaway line, (or, in good media, a genuine, reasonable backstory, complete with remorse and bad role models and complicated situations), that allows the villain to be redeemed.

In GOOD redemption arcs (See: Zuko from avatar tbh), the villain was already never quite as heartless, or stressed their good intent, or felt remorse for what they felt they “had to do”. Then, ideally, the villain takes a looooong time adjusting their habits, regretting their actions and changing until they’re considered redeemed.

Not on the Dream SMP, though.

They don’t stop at c!Dream’s defeat.

He doesn’t dissapear off-screen and is never spoken of again. His life continues on, everyone’s does, just like it would in reality. He doesn’t magically want to become a better person, far from it. So no redemption. But he doesn’t dissapear, either.

They go on to, slowly, stress how awful the conditions in Pandora’s Vault are. c!Bad says c!Dream should be imprisoned, but at least at slightly better conditions. We’re in very VERY morally gray territorry here. Nobody says c!Dream is a good person, of course not, but even c!Bad - who knows Dream was planning on keeping c!Skeppy in a cage to control him with - goes, “yeah, he should stay boxed, but does he really need to like... suffer suffer?”

Still, c!Dream seems to be kindof inconsistent in his behavior. Is he faking his pain? Is he not? His actions don’t fully make sense for either take. He acts differently to each person, but at the same time some things he does don’t make sense if he were just fishing for pity.

Then c!Sam admits to trying (and thinking he succeeded) to “break Dream’s will”, to quite literally starving him for weeks.

Okay, so now we’re a step further. C!Dream is now suffering even more, although already boxed and unable to hurt anyone. Pandora’s Vault is one thing, but now c!Sam just seems to be out for revenge and nothing more. Instead of spending his time with c!Tommy, he spends his time pickaxing(?) c!Dream.

C!Sam isn’t an angel, and we should all know that by now. He does what he thinks is right, but he’s deeper than that, all characters on the DSMP are.

He cares deeply for the Badlands, and would always choose them above anybody else. He’s a capitalist. He built the prison because it would benefit the Badlands resource-wise, despite knowing Dream would probably use it on his enemies, and it was no secret that ALL members of L’Manburg, especially c!Tommy, are his enemies. C!Sam, undoubtedly, knew that. He still built it.

Arguably, he didn’t know about c!Dream’s attachment obsession at the time, but the point still stands.

People have already latched onto the untold story happening between c!Dream and c!Sam, and frankly, we barely know enough about it. Does c!Sam torture him regularly? Do they talk? Does c!Dream try to verbally fight back? CAN he fight back? We don’t know! We’ve gotten proof for both, between c!Sam saying that c!Dream is terrifying even in prison and c!Dream going silent to go on strike. We don’t have enough of an idea how bad or how good it truly is.

So the people who prefer to humanize c!Dream and explore morality imagine c!Sam to downright torture him, people that prefer to see c!Dream as nothing but evil due to his actions imagine prison on the DSMP to not be equivalent to real life prison, and thus nowhere near as torturous as people are making it out to be.

Now all that is thrown out the window as c!Quackity quite literally tortures him.

So now the internet is faced with a question that, judging by some of the impulsive reactions *cough cough* celebrating torture *cough*, it didn’t turn out to be ready for.

Tell me.

How far do we go?

C!Dream hurt a LOT of people. He did a lot of things that caused irreparable damage. Now what? Do we torture him forever? Why? Because he deserves it? How do we determine that without comparing one kind of pain to another?

It’s custom and kindof generally respectful not to compare people’s pain too accurately, because different things vary greatly in severity depending on the person that experiences them.

At what point do we say he’s suffered enough without comparing exile to the prison?

And if we DO compare, does that even make the question easier to answer?

And if he’s never suffered enough ever, killing them would be a mercy...

At what point has a person done enough damage that they “deserve” to die? What if someone only did half of the things c!Dream did. But if c!Dream gets infinite punishment, and half of infinity is still infinity, do they ALSO deserve endless suffering?

Do you think every person that did something you can’t emphasize with deserves to suffer for eternity and die?

I’m not saying we SHOULD emphasize with c!Dream. He did things we cannot justify, that NOTHING can justify. He did things that were, by their nature, unjustified.

I’m also not saying anybody should forgive him. I think it’s a GOOD thing that c!Tommy doesn’t want nor is narratively pushed to forgive c!Dream.

But c!Dream doesn’t need c!Tommy’s forgiveness to be... a person.

There’s a saying that I’m sure you know, that goes “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”, because there’s things you wouldn’t want any human being to experience. Not because you like them, not cause you think they’re right, but because they’re human.

And perhaps this is my personal opinion, but I don’t think c!Dream being a bad person justifies dehumanizing him, because then we get into an area where someone needs to meet criteria just to be human.

-

I met someone once, whom, because of outside circumstances I knew I probably wouldn’t meet again. We’d been getting along just fine for people who just met, and were both getting into an interesting discussion about morality. They kept insisting upon something I kept refuting, so they said they needed to get something off their chest.

They proceeded to tell me that they had, years ago, while a teen, manipulated someone in a relationship, pushed boundaries and tried to convince them to do things they didn’t really want to do to get what they wanted.

They cried, while telling me, too terrified to tell anybody they know, terrified nobody would ever speak to them again, insanely regretful of their actions. They didn’t know whether to go back and apologize or just stay as far away as humanly possible, didn’t know which one the right thing to do is.

It had been years, by then, and I talked them through it. I said that what they did was bad, and there’s no going around that. But I also said what I saw, which is someone who would never do something like that ever again. I saw a human being. Someone who regrets a mistake they did and now, after enough time has passed, would do anything to make it undone.

Someone who is too terrified to be close to anybody in fear that they would do it again. I don’t remember if they already went to therapy or not, but it was definitly on the table, or in the near future.

They asked me how I could possibly even keep talking to them after they told me all that. They implied they felt like some kind of monster despite literally chocking back tears, firmly convinced they don’t deserve to be close to anybody in their life ever again.

I never swerved from the fact that what they did was wrong, and harmful. But I also told them they’re human. The universe isn’t keeping score. They want to be a better person now, and they were never going to learn how if they never let themselves be close to anybody.

I told them to seek therapy, and to slowly, carefully, try. Assured them that the fact that they regret it so strongly will at least help them in not falling back into the same pattern, and if they do, they can learn to recognize that.

They thanked me after the conversation, genuinely, especially for the fact that I didn’t sugarcoat what happened, because I know otherwise it would’ve felt like I was lying, like I was just sparing their feelings. I wasn’t. I was thinking about how to make sure they get to live without hurting anybody.

As per the circumstances, we didn’t speak again after that, which we knew basicly from the very start.

-

I still think about that conversation a lot.

Do you think they should’ve been locked up for life after it happened, instead?

Do you think this real human being, that I spoke to, that took years to realize their mistake - and never would have realized it if they hadn’t had the time to, if they’d been killed right afterwards - deserves to suffer forever?

Let me tell you something, from someone who’s been in more than one abusive situation: People that hurt you are human.

That doesn’t mean you have to forgive them. That doesn’t mean you have to like them. That doesn’t mean you have to make an effort to understand them. That doesn’t mean you need to go anywhere near them ever again.

You can hate them. You can be angry at them. You can (and should) go as far away from them as possible, and/or defend yourself.

But that doesn’t mean you have to dehumanize them.

You’re allowed to hate and dislike people that are human, because you’re human, especially if they hurt you. That’s how life is.

And to go back to my original point - c!Quackity torturing c!Dream is not something that should be celebrated.

There’s a difference between necessary measures (locking c!Dream up so he doesn’t hurt anyone), and torturing people for fun.

It’s not right. It’s never going to be right, and do not justify literal torture on human beings, and do not make someone lower-than-human to justify torturing them.

Taking revenge on someone for what they did tenfold is romanticized, I know, but I promise you it’s not actually as cool as it sounds.

[wheredemdokis]

[tastebreaker review] Law School (no spoilers)

Sometimes, I wish I could have a shrine for all the cerebral media that I consumed, because it definitely is my favourite archetype. Death Note was a masterpiece that I hungrily binged in one day - similarly with Psycho Pass (though I haven't watched the second season due to most of the reviews I have read). This extend well into non-anime media for me - State of Play (with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams) remains one of my favourite movies, Inception and, well, honestly anything by Christopher Nolan, and I have recently began watching The Matrix as well.

And so, the thirst for real mystery and brain games was quenched when I started watching Law School, with Kim Myung-min, Kim Beom and Ryu Hye-young, directed by Kim Suk-yoon. Needless to say, throughout the whole trip, I was hooked, counting down days until the next episode came... but towards the end - an unpopular opinion - I was actually quite disappointed.

And so, before you start your cross-examination, allow me to present my findings first.

- How did I start watching this?

My friend and I were looking around for something to binge on Netflix and forget about COVID-19. This series popped up, and the moment I read the title, my sapiosexual senses were tingled.

- And how was it?

Very good!... until the ending came. ;w;

- Genres & overarching themes?

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological

Overarching themes: murder mystery, law vs justice, intelligence (as in, the characters are all really smart hahah)

- Plot: 4/5

It could have been a high four, near five if it wasn't for the ending, frankly. The first episode started out with Professor Seo Byung-ju of Hankuk Law School dead, and the spotlight shines on Professor Yang Jong-hoon (the man in the poster above), the first suspect. But was it really him? From then, the mystery unfolds as our favourite study group (who shall be very well elaborated on later in this review) launches itself into investigation for true justice.

The series started out extremely strong in my opinion, with its first few episodes filled with twists and sub-plots that were waiting to get wrapped up. Every episode just leaves you gripping on the sides of your seat in suspense. It really makes you doubt every single person that appeared on-screen and watch out for anything that happens - the show uses the Chekhov's Gun trope really well. As the knots become unravelled, we gain more depth into the characters. However, as we near the end - about two-three episodes for me - the show started to lose its thrust, falling into a comfortable stereotype that made things rather frustrating.

One of the major advantages of Law School, in my opinion, is its ability to twist and turn everything. It prompts the viewers to realize that when the case is really examined in a whole different angle, with more and more evidence coming to light, everything changes. The use of different suspects' stories being told in each episode is a pleasure to watch - the viewers feel like an omniscient judge, overseeing the motives and evidence to draw out a conclusion for themselves on who might be the murderer. The series prompts the viewers to think, which is a trend I really like. It's also interesting to question why characters do certain things they do. Professor Yang Jong-hoon (my favourite character!), for example, is a very... chaotic (haha) character, who keeps on surprising people with his actions - yet, his actions are all elaborate executions of his strategy, a whole plan that he has concocted which accounted for multiple steps ahead, thanks to his extremely sharp vision of what could happen. Thus, it is extremely satisfying when everything falls into place as Yangcrates (a nickname he earned due to his Socratic teaching) explains everything that led up to a particular tense moment where the truth was unveiled.

Yet... this very trope had its downfall near the end. The murderer was so heavily shadowed on in the beginning that the viewers would have expected the murderer to be someone else completely unexpected, a mastermind that pulled the strings behind all the proceedings. Yet, the murderer and the mastermind behind the murder were someone so... I dare say, unimpressive. I mean, this particular 'mastermind' behind the murder fell into so many traps! The murderer was definitely my major disappointment - the villain was a weak character, an unsatisfying antagonist that the intelligent heroes, once having figured who he/she is, didn't even break a sweat to bring to light. The last, final twist that was supposed to be the most glamorous of them all, completely knocking the viewers off their feet, fell completely flat.

Secondly, whilst having a lot of sub-plots still remains a favourite trope of mine as I'd expect everything to wrap up nicely near the end... well, it didn't. Whilst most sub-plots were hastily answered, there was one particular sub-plot which was just left completely unaddressed (for those who have watched it, it's about J****s), and unless they're hinting at a second season where this would be further elaborated on, this was a dead-end sub-plot, a plot with no elaboration or continuation whatsoever.

Overall, the plot was breathtaking in the beginning. It lost momentum very near the end, and wrapped everything up with an anticlimactic last episode.

- Characters: 4.7/5

Definitely the strongest set of characters I've seen in a Korean drama, frankly. All characters were so well utilised, each having their own quirks and flaws which were delightful to watch. Everyone was so, so intelligent, that they honestly were the main fuel to the series, our main stars.

Allow me to first start off with my favourite character, Professor Yang Jong-hoon. Stoic, yet with an extremely savage side that he does not hesitate to show to anyone of any ranks or social standings, Yangcrates carefully plots everything, always thinks, questions, and then thinks even more. Intelligence-wise, this man is most definitely the smartest on-screen persona I've seen in the Korean drama franchise - able to see miles ahead and figure out all the answers down to their root, he is someone that definitely earns all the respect he has, from both his students and viewers alike. Personality-wise, this man is equally interesting as he is smart. With a cold exterior, Yangcrates does not take any bullshit (cue a particularly funny water spitting scene), and does not hold back harsh words to point it out. Yet, underneath this cold exterior is a burning desire to find the absolute truth, which would in turn bring justice to ones who have been wronged (refer to a particular lecture-like speech he made in episode 10), and a passion for teaching his students. He secretly cares for his students a lot, and expresses it in his own way.

Next, our favourite study group - a group of capable, enticing individuals. Firstly, we have Han Joon-hwi, a complex character that always pursues justice and fairness. His intelligence shines through with the way he, firstly, is able to take advantage of his sharp understanding of law into the case, and his careful processing of the evidence he gathers during investigation. Whilst he always keeps a cold head when needed, he has an equally warm heart, genuinely caring for wronged and innocent people. His expressions were all extremely raw and did not feel fake at all - really, props to his actor. More on this later.

Then, we have the two girls - Kang Sol A and Kang Sol B. Don't be fooled by their names - they are very much polar opposites. Whilst Kang Sol A is excitable and wears her heart on her sleeve (sometimes a bit too much), Kang Sol B always keeps a cool head, sometimes taking it to the extreme. I do admit that if I had to pick out of the two, though I love both of them very, very much, I'd probably lean a bit more towards Kang Sol A - even though she definitely gets on my nerves sometimes because of her overload of emotions that could be disruptive, she has her frequent bouts of creativity and "a-ha!" moments that display her underrated intelligence (I'm always soft for underdogs that are underestimated by everyone, only to turn the table on them later). She is also an extremely loyal friend and a very generous individual that isn't afraid to place herself in danger just to help others - overall, a very warm person. Kang Sol B, on the other hand - perhaps due to her family environment - does not really taking other people's emotions into consideration, though I really, really admire her for her intelligence, her ability to always keep a calm head (making her the blue counterpart to Kang Sol A's red), as well as her straightforwardness which has proven many times to be necessary to push the case forward. She does have a soft spot, though - a very adorable one at that. These two make an extremely adorable pair of friends.

My favourite student of the study group must be Seo Ji-ho. I'd say he's a less intimidating version of Kang Sol B hahah - cool and composed, Ji-ho is a reliable member who always pursues logic and reason first. He is also driven to achieve his goal and, like Joon-hwi, utilizes his deep understanding about law very well to solve his own case, his sub-plot. Though his sub-plot eventually was wrapped up as an open ending, it was a nice sub-plot to watch. Not to mention his dynamic with Joon-hwi is very adorable as well - the two really balance each other out.

Other students also have their own quirks and flaws, but for the sake of this review's length, I won't elaborate them as much - but I will say they are all a delight to watch, adding their own personal elements to the overall study group. I will definitely miss this set of characters so, so much. ;-;

- Acting: 4.4/5

Frankly, perhaps because of some K-drama series I have watched, I had a problem with acting in some K-drama series - the actors and actresses did not feel genuine, and they either overacted, pushing their expressions to the extreme, or underacted, simply being way too... stiff (some of my personal favourite actors and actresses so far are Kim Seon-ho, whose theatrical experiences probably really helped with his very natural acting, Jo Jung-seok, and Kim Hye-yoon, an actress who impressed me with both of her most popular series - hope to see her versatility shine through with more diverse roles though). This series, however, is a definite favourite of mine in terms of acting. Firstly, Kim Myung-min is a veteran actor that deserves so much respect - he basically morphed into Yangcrates. I absolutely loved the way he delivered his dialogues - very long ones! - without even so much as taking a breath in between - it was smooth and the flow was excellent.

Kim Beom also became one of my favourite actors after this series - the way he handled his role was so good, his expressions, actions, everything. I noticed that he's very good with his eyes, if that's the right way to put it - he is very good at displaying emotions with them, all emotions ranging from sadness to adoration (towards a particular someone *wink*). It's a top-notch skill, really, and I'm glad to have seen him on-screen. Similarly, Ryu Hye-young impressed me so, so much that I shall add her to my list of favourite actresses as well - I can't spoil, but she is really able at... altering her vibes, yes. She seems to have studied her character really carefully too, being able to bring all Sol A's quirks to real life. Other actors and actresses were amazing, but for me, these three definitely shone.

- Doki moments?

Ah. Definitely some between Sol A and Joon-hwi, as a lot of other people have commented. From the way they tease each other to the way he cares about her every little thing, the way he stares at her, the way his whole demeanor just changes around her and the way she unknowingly influences him so much - they do balance each other out really well, Joonhwi being the cool to Sol A's warm. I do find myself thinking Sol B and Ji-ho would be rather compatible as well (also, them being study rivals in high school? My rivals-to-lovers side is ready).

- Enjoyment: 4/5

Again, could have been higher if it wasn't for the ending! But yes, overall, a whole trip worth embarking on.

- Overall: 4.2/5

Really, could have been higher... but yes, still an excellent show. I just hope they could have had more episodes to really wrap everything up nicely and maybe throw us one final, absolutely ground-breaking twist.

- Watch it or neh?

Yes, please do watch it! And let me know how it goes, too. ;3

[lets-steal-an-archive]

They will falsely claim that everything is fine and that there is nothing wrong. They will try to first misdirect us or claim there is nothing to the allegations or circumstances.

If evidence is presented, they will seek to have it invalidated or claim that it is false, fake, or a product of vague conspiracies, but most certainly not true.

Any evidence presented, and those that present it will be attacked aggressively and vindictively. The better the evidence the more aggressive the attack. Individuals who are doing the right thing by reporting criminal acts, unethical behavior, or failings are to be discredited, humiliated, hounded and bullied—not even their families are to be spared if need be. The narcissist will engage supporters or enablers to simultaneously attack those who offer proof or evidence, even if it embarrassingly exposes their poodle-like behavior as that of spineless sycophants.

Foolproof evidence will be portrayed as false and the result of: pettiness, jealousies, bad actors, malicious individuals, negativity, haters, enemies, losers, conspirators, opposition, gain seekers, the faithless (usually seen in religious groups or cults), or as we are seeing now in American politics, “fake news” or “deep state” actors. There is always a large constellation of people to blame, the narcissist casts wide to see which vacuous claim resonates, especially with their supporters.

As they lash out with vindictiveness, the malignant narcissist will continue to talk about themselves in glowing terms; irrespective of their actual situation, as they are incapable of introspection, much less contriteness. They will trumpet their greatness, their achievements (real or imagined), their faux infallibility, and even portray themselves as worthy of being revered rather than reviled.

They will seek to find someone to blame for their troubles or downfall, preferably someone that cannot defend themselves. A scapegoat is always useful and when there is not a real one, one will be invented. If they are not promoted or fired, it is because a cabal at work was against them. If they cheat their business partners, it was because they deserved it. If the wife gets the kids in a divorce settlement, it is because of her dastardly attorney, not his abominable behavior. If they lose an election it is because of campaign managers, unappreciative voters, trickery, fraud, or some other kind of malfeasance on the part of a conspiracy (conspiracies are useful to the narcissist because they conveniently require no evidence). As they are not married to the truth, they will prattle countless baseless reasons that all point away, never at themselves.

As circumstances become dire, the narcissist will not take any responsibility—EVER! Anything that has gone wrong is the responsibility of others. They will blame spouses as undeserving of their greatness, ignorant colleagues who just don’t measure up, the disloyal (Oh, they love to blame the disloyal), those who abide by rules and laws because ironically, they abide by rules and laws, or those that just clearly did not understand the very specialness of the narcissist. Everyone, and I mean everyone from people long gone, to the peripherally connected, to the earthly departed will be blamed for the failure or downfall of the narcissist. Once more it is never their fault.

In the process of casting blame, even the most loyal and stalwart will be discarded and denigrated if needed with reptilian indifference. For the malignant narcissist there is only the “good” — those that provide blind unwavering loyalty who are useful, and everyone else who is an enemy, useless, and thus “bad.” Whether you are in or out, good or bad, is not determined by history, by friendship, sacrifices, or how well you have performed in the past—it is determined by the capricious and selfish needs of the narcissist, and that can change in a moment.

Expect lies to increase and to be repeated exponentially. They will, even in light of factual evidence to the contrary, lie more profusely and adamantly. Lies are and always will be the number one tool of the malignant narcissist. The only difference now is that in facing failure or public ridicule, the lies must increase in frequency and audacity to the point of incredulity. The narcissist will expect supporters, the unethical, and enablers to lie for them or even create plausible alibies. That they imperil others by compelling them to lie is the collateral damage the malignant narcissist does as they thrash in despair when they are failing or caught.

And while lies will increase, so too will be the need to devalue others in order to further value themselves. They will attack everyone and anyone in the most vicious and vindictive ways. This is when we see their rage come through. Not just anger, but unbridled rage. They will say things that shock the conscience and they expect everyone to swallow what they say, much as their enablers do. The most decent of persons will be attacked, mocked, ridiculed, and turned into a human chew-toy as the narcissist unleashes untethered rage and hatred. They will dip down into a bottomless cauldron of antipathy and like an arterial spurt, will spew this toxic brew far and wide with metronomic regularity.

The malignant narcissist lacking guilt or a conscience, is only concerned with respect and not being publicly shamed. Any kind of public embarrassment will cause them further anger, further rage, further attacks, further unethical comportment, and unprecedented incivility.

If the narcissist is going to be brought down, they will also seek to bring everyone else around them down to vindictively make them suffer. How the narcissist vilifies, lashes out, or destroys others (spouse, friends, business partners, workmates, the general public) is up to the morbid creativity and depravity of the malignant narcissist, the viable tools they have available, and of course how dire or desperate the situation. The internet and social media are certainly useful as lives can be ruined with a single tweet. But so are guns and rifles, poison, and even assassins for hire. And if they command a country, they can put the security organs or the military to work on their behalf.

In certain situations, as the end nears, the suffering of others is paramount to the malignant narcissist. It is their way of elevating themselves—sick as that sounds—by malevolently paying back society with even more suffering. As they lash out, they will show no concern or empathy because they have none. If others are suffering because of their actions, the narcissist simply does not care. Lacking a conscience or any kind or remorse, much like Robert Hare’s psychopath, they sleep very well at night while everyone else is anxious, worried, stressed, physically or psychologically traumatizes all the while nervously and justifiably pondering what further malevolence will take place.

As they face failure, arrest, indictment, or dismissal, they will endlessly air their grievances. Narcissists are natural wound collectors and as such, they have been collecting and nurturing social slights and perceived wrongs just for this occasion. They will wallow in victimhood claiming they have been relentlessly and needlessly persecuted. They, of course, expect their attorneys, followers, or enablers to subserviently echo their flatulent claims.

[alianoralacanta]

There is solid research backing taking the phenomenon seriously. Cheung et al (2017) reported that seeing trolling in the first place and negative mood (the typical result of trolling) both increase the chances of trolling by the victim (not just against them, and not just against the perpetrators). Thus, "ignoring" trolling promotes it. (Don't resort to trolling in your response, though, since this also encourages trolling). There is a significant number of people who troll out of low emotional literacy (Peterson and Wegner, 2023), and a significant number of people whose social media expectations are in places where community standards aren't enforced at all (e.g. Twitter/X). For both of these, without correction, these people simply continue to troll - whether that's you A polite notification that the troll is wrong, or informing the troll of why they are being blocked (and giving the troll enough time to read the message before hitting "block"), are the approaches that don't make trolling worse according to research. Instant-block might give instant relief, but if one can hold off on it long enough to issue the correction, responding is better for the health of the wider community. There are some important exceptions on this: - the platform you are on still has community standards (Tumblr still has vestigal anti-troll defences, some forums and Discord channels have stronger versions): follow the community standard for reporting. Block and mute to taste. No need to have a dog and bark yourself. - spam (including troll spam): report and block as spam. - bot trolling: report and block as spam (this includes suspected members of the "85 ruble" club if multiple people are posting the same thing; it is not only programs that may be treated this way). - the troll is an ad: report the ad under the relevant terms. - the troll has no history of interpreting polite refusals as trolling: the classic "ignore and block" does in fact work in this context. - the business model that benefits from "engagement" (e.g. it is a company or individual associated with a company that monitors likes and views): inform the business owner (or the nearest thing to that on the platform of the reason their conduct is unacceptable, give that person chance to respond, block and consider warning others. Don't frequent that organisation until the situation is resolved unless forced to do so (e.g. by work obligations). Also, I can report that "ignoring it" doesn't work online any more, not for me and not for the internet generally. It used to work in the first decade of the 2000s because the like economy was so strong. However, since 2010, the metrics used for engagement have become more extensive (so being able to see the message in the first place often counts the exact same way as a full-blown two-party flamewar) and consideration of content has gone down a lot (so the people who do the counting no longer care if the response has lots of content, small amounts of content, or is a block - unless it's an actionable correction, in which case it can modify future behaviour. Yes, organisations can monitor blocks against them, and many consider blocks to be a form of engagement to be sought. This may be a factor in Twitter/X's downfall - apathy isn't in the algorithm). These days, not responding is counted as a response by trolls, specifically passive-agressive trolling, and thus encourages trolling. In my experience at least, "ignoring" trolls led to dogpiling and worse trolling from accounts that were not initially involved. Correcting the troll led to those third-party accounts neither dogpiling nor otherwise involving themselves, thus constituting effective damage-limitation. On the wider internet, ignoring trolls led to them counting the ignoring as further trolling, thus not only a response but a response that itself justified further trolling (of the target and other people). This largely explains the dramatic increase in trolling on social media.

I really have noticed - as others have noticed - a shift from taking harassment as "trolling" to acting like it's something to take seriously instead of just reporting and blocking and moving on.

And I think that shift is what's causing people to actually believe this harassment somehow represents entire demographics of people, instead of like, a few assholes who deserve to be reported and blocked.

This is why, if I feel like an Anon is actual harassment, I screenshot it to share it, because the actual message is going to be reported and blocked and gone from my inbox.

People have to be logged in now to send Anons. You really will be blocking an actual user if you block an Anon message. And if you report them, then there's a chance they'll actually be banned.

So... That's my advice. Instead falling for the bait and taking it personally or worse, believing what the harasser has said about their alleged identity, realize it's likely just some lying asshole with too much time and not enough self-esteem.

And if this is your first time receiving hate Anons, I'm sorry. It does hit harder the first few times. I'm able to laugh at transphobic Anon asks, but when I started converting to Judaism, the first antisemitic Anon I got made me shake. But they're both coming from the same stupid place, so they both deserve absolutely none of my time. Report, block, move on.

[anonymouslyangsty]

If you haven’t done it already how about Ultimate programmer Taka?

Indeed I have not done it.

Ya know, I usually keep the backstory for talent swaps pretty similar to canon, and I'm doing the same thing here more or less. But also? I kinda want Toranosuke to be the equivalent of Mark Zuckerberg.

So consider. Toranosuke is a tech giant. A billionaire, created his own social media site and search engine kinda deal. And it's Toranosuke, so you know it isn't totally moral. He's selling so much data, allowing misinformation to spread like wildfire, deleting positive posts about politicians that don't support him.

But he doesn't have his downfall. Toranosuke Ishimaru was and is a big name in business, and he's got a pretty decent reputation (and a lot of politicians in his pockets)

So Kiyotaka doesn't grow up surrounded by disdain for his family name. He's the grandson of a big shot, and is thus respected on that principle alone.

And Kiyotaka looks up to his grandfather so much. The man has created a platform that encourages simulating debate and connects people together regardless of how far they physically are! Toranosuke has revolutionized how the internet functions, making it a better place for everyone!

(sidenote: Imagine someone thinking Twitter is such an inspirational creation that they start crying about it. That's Kiyotaka)

Kiyotaka truly believes in his grandfather, so much so that he wants nothing more than to follow in his footsteps. Programmer Kiyotaka is extremely dedicated to improving his tech skills, even though he's not naturally gifted in it whatsoever.

And what better way to learn than to see the work of the best? So Kiyotaka starts digging around in his grandfather's work, learning the ins and outs of how his code functions. And in doing that, Taka starts noticing the...less than savory aspects of it.

We already know that Kiyotaka doesn't deal well with his world views being questioned. So realizing all the shady dealings his grandfather is doing, both with his program and with politicians, would be devastating.

Because the man he's looked up to for years, the man whose career he's based his own path on, is not who Taka thought he was. Because all the luxuries and wealth his family enjoys isn't based on honest hard work like Taka thought, but through bribes and the exploitation of users.

And there's no way Taka can just accept that as fact. So he goes to his grandfather, because surely there's an explanation, right? There must be some explanation that allows Toranosuke to be the honorable man Taka believes him to be.

But there isn't

The man just looks at him like he's an idealistic, foolish moron. Because of course Toranosuke isn't running some ultra moral business, because that kind of business doesn't make a profit. Kiyotaka just needs to 'grow up', to see that the world isn't the selfless, innocent world he wants it to be.

But Taka, regardless of how much he loves his grandfather, isn't going to be able to do something like that. His morals come before anything else.

So Kiyotaka turns against his grandfather. He drags all of the man's questionable dealings into light, revealing all that dirt into the light.

It causes quite the stir up of course, even sparking an investigation and some significant controversy. But Toranosuke is powerful, both in his connections and in his control of the media.

It wouldn't be hard to get lawmakers and judges on his side, encouraging them to speak in his favor. And it wouldn't be hard for him to paint his grandson as a bitter, greedy young man looking to usurp his grandfather's position. It wouldn't be hard to paint it as family drama rather than the serious dialogue on privacy and misinformation that it is.

Toranosuke doesn't face a total downfall. He's still continuing his same corrupt practices despite Taka's best efforts to force strict regulations on such actions. The man just has too much power.

Knowing that he can't take down his grandfather (yet at least), Taka decides to become everything he thought Toranosuke was. He mainly focuses on programs that will have some impactful affect on the world, rather than social media. Improved vote counting, better security for banks and government facilities, ect

He also does his own fair share of speeches regarding internet safety. Mainly about the importance of security and whatnot. He's regularly petitioning for stricter regulations on data collection. Which usually doesn't work, because Toranosuke's influence is absolutely present, but he's doing his best.

[bring-it-all-down]

I’d like to talk a little bit about why I think Black Sails, while definitely tragic, is NOT a tragedy. Rather, I think that Black Sails ultimately is more hopeful than tragic.

The literary conception of tragedy is divided into two types, Greek and Shakespearean. I’m in no way an expert on tragedy, but broadly speaking, in Greek tragedy, the plot must have unity (it must have a clear beginning, middle, and end) in order for the audience to reach some sort of emotional catharsis. Most importantly, though, the plot must be driven by a character’s pointless struggle to avoid their fate brought on by their hubris (an attempt to become like a god), which has been predetermined (largely from prophesies) and from which they cannot escape. For instance, everything Oedipus attempts to do to escape his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother only draws him closer to that fate. 

Shakespearean tragedy, on the other hand, has a less clear beginning and plot, including many subplots that take place over a much longer period of time: it lacks the Greek elements of unity of plot, time, and place. Furthermore, the struggle is driven not by divine prophecy but by a character’s struggle between good and evil; the character is doomed not by an external power but by an internal failing. Thus, while the tragic hero in Greek plays gains full knowledge of the situation by the end, the Shakespearean tragic hero rarely gains self-knowledge. In essence, Greek tragedy is more plot-focused and Shakespearean tragedy is more character-focused.

Although Black Sails has a predetermined end thanks to both Treasure Island and the historical context of piracy, if it was to be a tragedy, it would be a Shakespearean tragedy, not a Greek tragedy. The plot is complex, focusing on a number of characters, and is driven largely by the characters’ internal struggles. However, the show differs in several key ways that ultimately prevent it from being a full tragedy.

Most importantly, Black Sails lacks a real tragic hero, who in Shakespearean tragedy is somebody well-regarded––often a member of the nobility––who is fundamentally a good person, but whose fatal flaw leads to his downfall and the downfall of society at large. As Tom McAlindon puts it in his article, “What is Shakespearean Tragedy?”:

The hero’s fall involves a self-betrayal or loss of identity which constitutes the breakdown in the balance of a richly-endowed nature, one in which feeling is so powerful that it is never far from the point of destructive excess...loosely speaking, then, anger and ambition (including pride, a sense of honor, and the desire for glory), and, on the other hand, love and grief, are the passions whose overflow brings disaster; and it should be stressed that the first pair are to be seen in as positive a light as the second (9-10).

This tragic hero frequently wants to do good, but is blind to the truth of reality, and his initial errors in judgment due to this blindness compound over time, leading to his destruction. Throughout this decline, the ‘hero’ status is maintained through a constant reminder of the environment in which the tragic hero exists; Othello’s paranoia, for instance, is in part a product of the racism in Venetian society. Furthermore, the tragic hero is always juxtaposed by a manipulative figure who knowingly attempts to rouse the hero’s passions for his own gain.

In Black Sails, the person who most closely matches this description is Flint, a high-ranking pirate who commands the respect of his inferiors. Flint certainly is driven by some continuously shifting combination of ambition, love, and grief. His entire project is one dedicated to honoring Thomas’s memory, but it’s also very true that Flint enjoys being in power. He relishes the opportunity to take back command of the Walrus from Dufresne, and as much as he sees his crew as men rather than animals, he absolutely believes himself superior to them. His penchant for murdering those who stand in his way is constantly justified to us through reminders that civilization is even more violent and less discriminating in its use of violence. Furthermore, he is manipulated at times by Silver (though the extent of each other’s knowledge of this is questionable).

This brings us to the question of Flint’s fatal flaw. Unlike with Shakespearean tragic heroes (Romeo’s impulsiveness, Hamlet’s indecision, Macbeth’s ambition), it’s hard to pinpoint a singular flaw for Flint. To be sure, the guy has many flaws: his arrogance, his reticence to trust people, his anger, etc. But it’s difficult to pick out a singular flaw that leads to his demise. In fact, it’s perhaps his abandonment of these flaws that results in his death (“Flint” died, regardless of how you interpret the ending). He trusts Silver, he humbles himself enough to believe himself unworthy of overseeing a post-revolutionary world alongside Madi and Silver, and it’s his love in place of anger that makes it impossible for him to kill Silver. So, ultimately, his fatal flaw is trusting Silver too much, but this is not a flaw that is inherent to him, that he had even from their first meeting. 

A second way in which Black Sails differs from Shakespearean tragedy also concerns the ending. In Shakespearean tragedies, the reciprocal relationship between the disordered tragic hero and the disordered society in which he exists comes to and end with the hero’s demise, and a new orderly society springs up in its place. In Macbeth, Malcolm becomes king, ushering in an era of benevolence; in Othello, Iago receives a fitting punishment, thereby restoring some sense of justice; etc. In essence, the tragic hero’s death results in the end of conflict and the beginning of peace.

In one sense, Black Sails follows this plot. The end of Flint brings about the end of war and the beginning of peace in Nassau under Max’s rule. However, we know that this peace is deeply unsatisfactory because we have come to learn that compromising with civilization is actually impossible. We learn that while the Maroons have a peace treaty, it does not extend to any other freed Black person, and it includes the Maroons re-enslaving people who come to them for freedom. We know through historical context that Jack and Anne only have a few more years of freedom before they’re captured and Jack is hanged. We know that Silver spends the rest of his life haunted by what he did to Flint. And so Flint’s death brings about no actual peace.

The key element that prevents Black Sails from being a Shakespearean tragedy, despite it fitting most of the typical components of a Shakespearean tragedy, is the idea that the central conflict––freedom vs. civilization––extends beyond the show. And so we are aware that no character’s actions will actually affect the conflict in a monumental way. Even though there is the idea that it could have ended differently, we know from the beginning, with our historical knowledge, that the revolution is doomed. The central conflict of the show is an ongoing conflict; there is no possibility of reconciliation as with the Montagues and the Capulets. While all Shakespearean tragedies begin in medias res, they have a definite conclusion, but Black Sails does not.

So, Black Sails is not a Shakespearean tragedy, but on its surface, it looks like it’s incredibly tragic. However, I think that, for all of the reasons I just talked about, Black Sails is actually a show about hope. Flint’s arc demonstrates to us that people can change, that hope can be found in a mutual recognition of suffering and a desire to end that suffering not just for yourself but for others. We learn from Max that nothing is worth doing unless it begins and ends with love. We find a deep sense of familiarity in these characters through the recognition that their battles are our battles, that their flaws are our flaws, but their failure does not have to be our failure. 

Unlike with Macbeth or Othello or Romeo and Juliet, the Black Sails story is still being written and so long as that is the case, there is room for hope.

[popcorn-hero]

How the villians reveal the issues in the BNH society

“Good deeds should be done with intention, not for attention. “

Honestly, stain was taken out of the story to quickly for my liking. I resonate with his ideology because I see it in regards to our culture. You see it on social media all the time: people recording themselves “helping” the homeless, or donating money. People must have their good deeds acknowledged and glorified.

But as I say, if you have to be perceived as a good person, you’re probably not a good person.

I think stains argument can be seen with the character Mt.Lady who comes across as an attention seeking, lazy, I’m only here so you can take my pic type of hero. What really drives her to be a hero? Is it because she can help society or is it for the fame?

And then we have the hero ranking system which I feel is the number one problem in this society. It’s a status that many strive for- like actor who only acts for the sake of getting "Academy-Award Winner” added to their title. Now theres nothing wrong with recognition, however, if your only you should strive to be the best at your craft for yourself rather than to get notoriety, that will come naturally.

And its not the heroes fault, its society as a whole that has laid out a culture that treats heroes as professional athletes. They get merchandise, riches, fans, etc. 

All Might is the embodiment of what it means to be a true hero. Get the job done because it needs to, not because it will make you famous. I would like to see an OVA of the world before it got to where it is now.

There are far too many silent sufferers.  Not because they don't yearn to reach out, but because they've tried and found no one who cares

- Richelle E. Goodrich

I can’t stand child abuse and that chapter showing us Shigarakis’ back story really hit me. Here you had a little boy who wanted to be a hero and was punished by his father for that. His father abused him, and his family enabled the abuse to continue. There was no hero for Shigaraki.

No one looking out of him No one there to save him.

You had a little boy who at first thought he was quirkless and then bestowed a very destructive power at his most vulnerable state. It was sad to see him accidentally kill his dog and ask his sister to help him after thinking he was in danger.

Then you have this child walking alone in the streets, half dead, starved, and traumatized, and no one saw him. (The old lady did, but when she saw his appearance, she moved on like it was nothing.)

No one thought to take this child to the police station? A hero didn’t see him?

Except for All-for-One. He saw Shigaraki. He saw a broken child that could be molded and raised to be his perfect vessel. 

And so he left one abusive relationship and entered another.

For a society filled with heros, there was non in his life.

“When good people consider you the bad guy, you develop a heart to help the bad ones. You actually understand them.”

La Brava and Toga are characters that weren’t given a chance to be themselves. Both of their quirks take on an instinctual nature. Both of their downfalls happened in their school years.

Toga is naturally drawn to blood. It is blood, ones life force, that she needs to use her quirk. When she drinks the essence of someone, she becomes that person- its like the ultimate type of bonding with a person. Now, I think Toga may have had something mentally going on with her that was only amplified by her parents and peers view towards her. With positive reinforcement, consulting, acceptance of her nature, I think Toga would’ve lived a pretty normal life. If she wanted to be a hero, she would be good for stealth and spy missions.

La Brava is very similar to Toga in the obsessive nature linked to their quirk. La Brava has to know everything about a person and actually love them for her quirk to work. Her quirk is probably the best quirk to have on a support team. The teachers and her parents should have taken the time to understand her quirk (I’m sure quirk counseling exist.) and maybe have some type of quirk sensitivity class, so children can understand that not all quirks manifest in the same manner.

If La Brava had the right guidance and acceptance early on, she would be amazing to have on a team.

“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so....

- Mahatma Gandhi

Majority of the worlds population has a quirk. It may be mundane; it may be extraordinary. They may never have to use, or the have to use it to survive.

From what I understand thus far, you have to have a heros license (or maybe other licences) to use your quirk. Using your quirk without a license is a felony offense.

But is that fair? If someone has a quirk that allows them to fly, why should they be penalized for just wanting to get around faster? If they aren’t using their quirk to cause damage and harm, then why is it a problem. Why are people punished for their ability?

It would be no different from only professional singers signed with a label allowed to sing- anyone else will be fined.

In the MHA: Team Up Missions and Vigilantes, we get more a behind the scenes of the hero society. Vigilantes are classified as criminals even though the work they do is for good reasons. The little boy in the first team-up mission was holding the toxin of his quirk for YEARS because society forbids the use of quirks without a license.

What if your quirk is always active?

So now we have the Meta Liberation Army. They believe the use of ones quirk is a human right. I agree. By standing against a system that is flawed, they have become a terrorist group. They may have well done some terrorist actions thats not touched upon in the manga.

I kinda wish they didn’t merge with the LoV. I think them being a neutral opposing force between heros and villains would have made the story more interesting. 

Since it seems that Hirokoshi is releasing novels that takes a side path to the main story line, I hope to see novels that takes up back the beginning (like day one with the first person to be born with a quirk and a mutation)

It's not at all hard to understand a person; it's only hard to listen without bias.

- Criss Jami, Killosophy

 @waxwingedhawks​   Did a good job at pointing  out mutant discrimination. I knew that spinner was ostracized based on his appearance, but some of the things that waxwingedhawks mentioned that I didn’t catch the first time around. 

Even when I’m reading the story, I question when do we consider whos human and who’s an anthromorph/object brought to life?  

Hawks, Miruko, and Tsuyu are people who’s quirk presents as animal traits. They look more human than animals. Then we have Tokoyomi, Mina, Kojiro Bonda, Centipede and

(Ok, idk if wash is really a washing machine, or thats their costume)

Who clearly are closer to being non-human that human

If Horikoshi does decide to shed more light on that topic, I would like to see that as part of Mina’s character development.

I’ve actually become disgusting engross in this world and I’m currently reading Vigilantes to pick up some more pieces on the shady nature of this society.

[mleighsquickspot]

Thus the week of Halloween is finally upon us 💀👻🎃. Hey there my fellow ghouls and goblins I hope you and yours are looking forward to a week full of thrills and chills. Do me a solid and check me out on my other social's the link will be below, and I hope you have enjoyed my spooky tales this month.

Also my pieces this week will be in celebration of my 6 year anniversary of sharing my work with you all. That's right 6 years strong and still going. Thank you for all of your continued Much Love and support my friends, it really means a lot to me 😘💗.

Now let's get into my thoughts on last week's questions...

Tuesday, even though it's spooky month there are some more light hearted films coming out like Adam's Family 2 and Ron's Gone Wrong. For me I save the lighter stuff for after Halloween. During spooky month like most of us I want to watch classic horror films to the max lol.

Thursday, so as usual I have been keeping up with the Masked Singer. I do like the characters as well as the voices behind them. I'm still into the show for now and I'm looking forward to see who wins this season.

Sunday, TPQ's 86 - 90...

86. I would say love feels like a apace where even when it's not perfect you still feel better from being with your partner than without them.

87. My favorite simple pleasures are watching silly videos, eating hood food, laughing, reading and listening to music.

88. I actually don't think I'd want to tell my younger self anything about who I am now. It might change something for better or worse and even telling your younger self about your future life may not really make a difference.

89. Sadly for the longest time to impress others I would do all I could to please them even to my own downfall. I'm a people pleaser but I have a way better grip on it now.

90. I will never sell my soul for anything, nothing in the long run is worth it.

Let me know what you think and pass my thought along my friend's 🎃🍂.

Stay well and safe Inter World 💗.

Click on my new Link Tree link to find all of my social media https://linktr.ee/Mleighqs

Check out my YouTube Channel and become a $1 patron and support my work

[cassiopeia-black]

One of the pieces of fanlore I think about often is the existence of a Harry Potter Adventure Series that is sold as a set of children’s books in Flourish and Blotts. They don’t exist in canon but in some fanfictions they are described as books with wildly varying stories about the kind of adventures a young Harry Potter would have - adventures that seem to mirror/foreshadow Harry’s years at Hogwarts in terms of things he’s done except with a much younger Harry Potter. These stories are often seen by Harry as something to be dismissed or scoffed at or even the brief subject of legal action by Harry or a competent guardian, and are targeted for the absence of adult or even Ministry intervention or even mockingly used as a comparison to Lockhart’s books about himself.

Now of course, this is interesting to think about both as a storytelling aspect in terms of foreshadowing and as a plot device in terms of showing Harry how he’s expected to behave as far as everyone in the wizarding world is concerned. But that’s all based on how Harry uses them and I sometimes think about the potential this trope has.

Essentially, these books are propaganda, and if a writer was to explore the reaction of the Wizarding World in terms of Harry’s fame the books themselves could easily be framed as being the thing that ultimately hands Harry Potter wizarding britain on a silver platter.

Personally, I’ve always seen Harry’s fame as proof of two things 1) the Good Guys were losing the war: not so hard to believe with the narrative of later books but much more prominent in the relief of the population finding out that Voldemort was dead; to the point of celebrating for days despite knowing that there were pther Death Eaters out there who might continue fighting, no one should be that relieved with the war still being fought and so much not being known unless it was obvious that they were losing, 2) the war never actually ended at least and at most wasn’t won by the Good Guys: narratively this is backed up by the Order being the only group spoken of as having fought, by Mad-Eye’s listing of all the Order members who did die or worse, by the way Sirius was sent to prison without a trial, and by the way so many actual Death Eaters were able to claim the imperious or bribe their way out. But it’s also backed up by the emphsis of ‘Harry Potter killing Voldemort’ it keeps being repeated despite being shown over and over again that he didn’t. Harry didn’t win the war and since the war isn’t ever memorably stating as being won by anyone it’s suffice to say that it wasn’t won at all; rather the war moved onto a different battlefield and politically even then were the Good Guys losing (Arthur having to fight hard for his Muggle Protection Act, the Anti-Werewolf Legislation, not to mention the number of times we see Ministry officials ‘just having to do something’ - Hagrid and the Chamber of Secrets, the Dementors, Sirius Black, Scrigemour’s entire time in office.) when facing a very facist anti-muggle political party Harry Potter’s home life would be a scandal waiting to happen and as such the media needed everyone to assume Harry Potter was spoilt and everything that Snape assumes he is, but they also need the people to love him.

Thus the Harry Potter Adventure Series is born. Kids love it and that is eventually what leads to the canon Ministry’s downfall. Because like how we have dystopian fiction featuring teens rising up against the corrupt and leading a resistance, or just being the subject of prophecy alone, the newest generation of children born during the war now have their own books with a character their own age defending themself against a miad of magical creatures or dark wizards that the Ministry should have really gotten involved in. And as that generation grows up it becomes more obvious that the message of the stories, whether intentionally written that way or not, is that if they want any kind of change or security they have to fight for it themselves. The exact opposite of what we’re taught about the majority of wizarding britain’s contribution to the aar effort the first time around (how was it that both Dumbledore and Voldemort were able to narrow down the subject of the prophecy to two families if the requirement was just that they defied Voldy three times and had the expectancy date of end of july? Three isn’t a high number and end of july could have been anywhere between july 25th and august 1st).

However, they know that they need someone to organise them and the “Leader of the Light” had lead their parents to a loss the first time around. So they look to the only person they can, Harry Potter: the DA in book five but on a much larger scale. And with an entire generation following his lead it won’t take long at all for wizarding britain to truly belong to Harry James Potter. Providing, of course, that the Harry Potter it’s being given to wants it and/or knows what to do with it.

Picture this, if you will: Petunia Dursley, who hates magic, is struggling with the realisation that her sister is dead - was killed by some terrorist who broke into her house - and is reading what can only be described as ‘failrytale bullshit’ about the power of love and blood wards after finding her nephew on her doorstep in a basket with the bottom of the page signed with all of the titles Dumbledore was able to boast at the time, and in her rightous fury deciding to raise Harry to be critical, raise him knowing about the wizarding world and his heritage even if it meant going to Diagon Alley and buying the books herself. Because knowledge is power. Because wizarding britain did not work for her sister as it is, it is decidedly not working for her, and she can already tell that it won’t work for her nephew if she doesn’t teach him how to make it work for him. A version of Petunia Dursley who convinces her husband that, rather then trying to make Harry hate magic and himself they should raise him as would be expected for a child in the upperclass - after all, didn’t her sister’s husband say he was a lord? It’s not like they want more of their kind showing up if they find anything amiss. And a Vernon Dursley who agrees because Harry won’t have the time for normal friends and not putting Dudley through all of that will enforce an image of them being modest.

A Petunia Dursley who teaches Harry how to play to an image and to what is expected of him and it being something she can do well because she is a housewife and that’s an important part of being a good housewife. Vernon reluctantly teaching Harry about corporate politics and finances, about how to not just make a good deal but make any kind of deal sound fair, as well as the importance of investing and making good investments, the kind of people not to make deals of any kind with at all - and after one or two trips to Gringotts you can expect Vernon to have already gotten an idea of how to work with Goblins. How much he hates Goblins for being not human.

Despite this and much more Harry Potter gets sorted into Gryffindor House. It’s a close thing, and Harry is the only hatstall in his year. But for all the Sorting Hat might want to have sorted Harry into Slytherin, even he cannot argue that putting Harry in that house would allow him to truly flourish and succeed. After all, placing him in a house he’s not expected to go into so soon will only lead to scrutiny where Harry needs freedom and with Professor McGonagall doing three jobs: Transfiguration Teacher, Deputy Headmistress, and Head of House, it’s the latter that’s impacted by her workload leaving the House itself largely unsupervised in areas other houses might not be.

Harry keeps very good grades to the point he’s among the top of his class, he’s in study groups - practically formed one or two, joined a club for curiosity if asked, is still on the Quidditch team and follows Dumbledore’s bullshit just enough to not have the man change his plans too much (better the devil you know). He doesn’t take muggle studies in third year but does take the other four as well as a saturday class and gets a timeturner because of this plus quidditch: though he manages to handle them better then Hermione because Oliver Wood has dormed with Percy taking twelve NEWTs Weasley for years and there’s no way his seeker is suffering when this is his last chance to win the House Cup, and the Twins might corrupt the boy a little at the request of Resident Marauder Moony whether they know it or not.

Dumbledore doesn’t really start suspecting anything about Harry’s homelife and how it deviated from expectation until fourth year when Harry is using a whole other mask for the tournament and Rita Skeeter and even then it takes Harry politically assassinating Fudge in his farce trial without any help for him to realise just what’s going on - the extent of Harry’s reach is still beyond him too until he’s dying and being thoroughly laughed at by the Sorting Hat, which rude.

Voldemort knew something was off when he was resurrected because he’s not putting the fear into some of his followers he was before and it doesn’t take him long to realise it’s the followers with kids at Hogwarts. He wasn’t planning to kill Harry Potter for a while after the graveyard - it’s not until he needs Harry to pick up the prophecy that he’s a target after all - and after the thing with Fudge Voldemort is curious. As grating as it is for him to have to work at earning the respect and loyalty of his followers all over again it does help his case that they see Harry Potter as a worthy opponent, for all Voldemort himself doesn’t understand why some think Harry Potter is the opponent (he still think it’s Dumbledore pulling the strings) but then the old man dies and everyone’s asking the same question about who taught him to be like that: and Snape’s more inclined to tell Voldemort just what Petunia Dursley’s been up too the past fifteen years (Petunia may or may not have referred to Snape’s hatred of Harry and lingering hatred of James Potter with the words “woman scorned isn’t a good look on you” and this man can hold a grudge: it later becomes wildly apparent that the world didn’t give Petunia Dursley magic because she would have been a muggleborn sorted into Slytherin and the wizarding world was not ready, particularly so when she stands in front of the Killing Curse that dissipates before it hits her as she hates magic enough that magic fuelled by hate destroys itself, the shock is used to give her time to grab a nearby aerosol and aim for the eyes. The Death Eater in question is blind and there’s not much magic can do about it.)

Just... it’s obvious that I got a bit carried away and deviated from my main talking point but Petunia and her dislike for magic has so much potential just as Vernon and his refusal to take orders from a magician has so much potential and I just can’t see Dumbldore successfully raising Harry to be a martyr going well if the Dursley’s blamed every other wizard in Britain over Harry. In which case the very obvious set up of Harry being nothing more then a wartime poster boy would be a very different weapon then what it’s meant to be.

[tashyrasvoice]

Don’t Get Stuck in the Study

Its back-to-school time! Although not one of the norm with limited to no back-to-school commercials, virtual learning, and a pandemic. Nonetheless, this is the time of year we are conditioned to be more attentive to the start of new educational endeavors. From adult-learners to students matriculating through grade school everyone is getting ready to learn and to study. 

If you’re anything like me you enjoy learning, studying, and acquiring new, sound skills. Whether in a traditional setting of a classroom (virtual or physical) or through self-induced study birthed from curiosity, obtaining knowledge is my thing. It so much my thing that I’ve been guilty of lots of study and accumulation of information, and sometime little to no application. That I call, paralyzed by analysis. 

You see, I’m pretty much an all or nothing person, black and white, on or off so when it comes to obtaining information, I seek to get it ALL! How ambitious or unrealistic is that?! The beauty of learning is the discovery of new things, the downfall is the oversaturation of information will little application or execution. During my time of studying the Bible in 2019 I heard a very still small voice in the back of my mind say:

“Don’t get stuck in the study.”

Simple, right?? Not so much for me. I was once a person who looked at things and asked the question, “What’s next?” While in my 20s and my early 30s, very seldom did I enjoy the moment, but rather kept moving to do or participate in the ‘next great thing’. The greatness of it all, for me, came at measuring the impact but often I found myself so consumed with the next thing or learning something new that I didn’t fully comprehend the need to apply what I knew in its entirety thus developing deep-rooted connections or relationships. You see, for those of us who are knee-deep in books, articles, education, and other methods of learning and don’t come up for air to teach what we’ve learned, share what we’ve learned or communicate what we’ve learned are doing ourselves and those who are waiting for us a disservice. In the end, its counterproductive and counterintuitive - almost oxymoronic. In fact, if we look at some of the things we read about and understand the moral association, history, the premise of the learnings themselves, I bet that each of the topics we’re studying come with a plan of execution - even if the plan isn’t obvious but suggestive. What am I saying?

Don’t miss the action within the instruction!!

From history books, to ‘how-to’ manuals; eBooks to documentaries and social media posts, we can certainly find an action item that pulls us out of paralysis. Just like our bodies - the way our bodies are set-up, if we do not release the foods and drinks that we consume we get full, and eventually sick if the body doesn’t release what it doesn’t need. Think of yourself as a cup that is running over, the coffee that is spilling onto the saucer because of the overflow of information. The saucer is the people who are waiting to hear what you’ve learned. They are waiting to hear how you will especially articulate what you’ve learned in a way no one else can or possibly has. Consider yourself congested or backed-up with waste that you no longer need when you do not release what you’ve studied. How?

From a biblical perspective, our answer is in part in 2 Timothy 2:15

15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

 Let’s look at the first four words ‘Study to show thyself...’. Yes, we could possibly get into a deeper discussion about this, but for sake of this blog post, we’re going to focus on the action items of this instruction. It begins with what we’ve, or at least I’ve, mastered and that’s the study. However, ‘study’ is immediately followed by a verb and adverb which denotes action. So, in plain sight do we see the instruction on what we are supposed to do with what we study, or should I say what should we do in order to ‘show’. That’s a whole ‘nother issue...people ‘showing before they study’. Another post. Another time. 

In closing, I encourage you all to not ‘GET STUCK IN THE STUDY’. Do not miss your window of opportunity to teach what you learn, to sow where you have reaped, or the plant where you were watered. You will begin to feel full, which is a good thing, but as you fill, help another person, place, thing, or cause to be filled with your goodness. In doing so, be wise to know that you will need to continue your work of eating and feeding yourself through study, mentorship, prayer, and a relationship with God. But whatever you do....

Don’t get stuck in the study!

Written by: Tashyra Ayers, Voiceover Artist | Media Personality | Speaker

Web: www.tashyrasvoice.com 

[rwoan]

    𝒉𝒊  𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆  !  oh  gosh  ,  i  am  so  excited  to  finally  be  posting  this  ?  ya  girl  has  been  ecstatic  about  this  group  for  the  past  few  days  and  just  wow  ,  thank  you  all  for  being  here  !  not  to  be  emo  ,  but  i  really  appreciate  your  interest  and  excitement  ,  i  truly  can’t  wait  to  meet  and  write  with  you  all  .  briefly  ,  my  name  is  lenny  (  22  ,  mst  ,  she  /  her  )  and  i’ve  been  freezing  my  ass  off  in  -  40  temperatures  all  week  #canada  .  i’m  a  huge  harry  potter  nerd  and  will  gladly  scream  with  you  about  ariana  grande  ,  harry  styles  ,  or  the  jonas  brothers  .  below  the  cut  is  all  that  you  need  to  know  about  my  dear  rowan  ,  one  of  my  favourite  muses  who  i’ve  developed  so  much  in  the  past  that  what  lies  below  is  a  novel  and  a  half  ,  so  i  apologize  in  advance  .  i  will  likely  be  messaging  you  all  through  discord  ,  so  keep  an  eye  on  your  dms  !  i’m  the  biggest  h*e  for  plots  ,  so  straight  up  just  throw  ‘em  all  at  me  —  angst  ,  drama  ,  fluff  ,  tension  ,  we  love  it  all  !  okay  shut  up  ,  lenny  ,  no  one  cares  —  mwah  ,  love  you  all  already  !

❛  ⋆  ․  i  totally  just  saw  𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒏  𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒔  walking  down  sunset  boulevard  ,  looking  so  much  like  𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆  𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒔𝒄𝒉  that  i  had  to  do  a  double  take  !  the  𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚  𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓  year  old  has  been  living  in  the  city  of  angels  for  𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓  𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔  now  and  has  made  quite  a  name  for  𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇  working  as  a  𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅  𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓  /  𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒃𝒆𝒓  .  i've  heard  they  can  be  quite  𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄  &  𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆  ,  but  at  least  they're  𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆  &  𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕  ,  hey  ?  they  remind  me  so  much  of  𝒂  𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂  𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍  𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍  𝒐𝒇  𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅  𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒔  ,  𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅  𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆  𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓  𝒂  𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈  𝒓𝒖𝒏  ,  𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏  𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔  𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈  𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅  𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔  (  lenny  ,  22  ,  mst  ,  she / her  )

*  /  ♡  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒  .

full  name  :  rowan georgina collins

nicknames  :  row

age  /  dob  :  twenty4 / september 1 , 1995

gender  :  cis female ( she / her )

sexuality  :  openly bisexual

hometown  :  calabasas , california

label  :  the epicure ( a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink )

*  /  ♡  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘  .

rowan comes from a fairly opulent background : her parents never married — in fact , her father came out as gay when she was young — but both were quite successful on their own independent ventures and raised row in a very happy , yet slightly spoiled , childhood

her mother is a big - time magazine editor and had sole custody of rowan in their lush calabasas home , but rowan has always remained incredibly close with her father , a celebrity chef , and often spent weekends and holidays in his long beach penthouse apartment .

because of her wealthy lifestyle ( and having a chef for a father ) rowan was exposed to fine cuisine at a young age . she had incredibly mature tastebuds — even at the age of like 6 she was munching on calamari and truffle oil . she honestly can’t remember a time she ever turned her nose up at trying something new , her father having instilled a deep curiosity and passion for all foods in her .

there honestly isn’t much else to say about her upbringing , there’s no big sob story or rising climax — rowan is incredibly grateful for the stable , happy , and comfortable life her parents blessed her with . she found going between homes quite exciting and looked forward to the double christmases and birthdays — which is a great symbol of how rowan looks at the world . while some may call it “ rose coloured glasses ” , rowan sees herself as an optimist and prefers to find the silver lining in most situations and considers dwelling on the negatives a waste of time .

alright , continuing on : when she was in her early teens , rowan started a food blog purely out of boredom and a general desire to share her passion for food . she started out by sharing low quality images of her meals and writing littles blurbs — nothing too fancy .

however , fast forward a couple years of ritualistic posting , her father discovered the blog one day and immediately shared it on his own social media ( because of course he had to brag about his little food connoisseur ) and row’s blog blew up from there . by the time she was 18 , rowan was getting paid to visit some nice ass restaurants around los angeles and write reviews on her blog , which was gaining interest with each post she wrote . 

high school graduation came and went , and row’s online influence grew bigger and bigger , and continued to grow even as she attended the university of california to major in communications , which she envisioned would only serve to aid her in her online endeavours .

during her college career , rowan started up her youtube channel . it started as a couple videos that she linked in blog posts , prompted by questions from her followers about how she juggled her busy calendar , what her favourite recipes were , and more . her videos opened her up to an entirely new audience , and thus rowan blew up even more . she has since become a popular youtube star , her channel a collection of daily vlogs , cooking videos , restaurant reviews , and more .

my main inspo for rowan’s youtube aesthetic was alisha marie , our queen , with her casual daily vlogs and fun challenge videos , but with a mix of madelaine herself and laurdiy ( i imagine row as the foodie version of lauren ) , and those sort of vlog queens !

rowan graduated uofc with her degree in communications 2 years ago , when she was 21 , and has since been able to fully dedicate herself to her online presence . for the last two years , she’s been mainly focused on consistent posting on both ( although she did get rid of having a set schedule about a year and a half ago in order to ease up her stress ) .

*  /  ♡  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄  .

label(s)  :  the epicure , the icarian , the aesthete , the sybarite

epicure : the whole basis of rowan’s existence is food . like , it’s pretty much the whole basis of everyone’s existence , but rowan is extra in love with food . she’s both incredibly passionate about eating and cooking , although possibly more so about eating — it is her job after all .

icarian : curiosity , adventure , and spontaneity are likely the three words most commonly associated with rowan — aside from food of course .

aesthete : to be a popular food blogger / youtuber / instagrammer you kinda have to have a good aesthetic , but rowan’s is extraordinarily good . the girl is always on the look out for cute backdrops for selfies , decor for her home , and new clothes to fill her wardrobe .

sybarite : materialism is probably row’s biggest downfall . she can’t help but have a deep inner desire to own all things on trend .

traits  :  materialistic , creative , passionate , self - indulgent , obsessive , honest , expressive , confident , starry - eyed

aesthetics  :  a camera roll full of food photos , large red waves , hourly instagram stories , iced coffee after a morning run , a red kiss pressed onto a white napkin , golden rings decorating manicured fingers , keyboard clicks at midnight , chilled mimosas paired with laughter .

personality  :  rowan’s definitely very bubbly and charismatic , but can also come off as quite spoiled , materialistic , and bossy at times . she knows what she wants , how she wants it , and she’ll stop at next to nothing to get it .

she practically radiates bde and oozes confidence .

her friends are literally her everything and she’d likely do anything for them . she’s definitely that Rich Friend™ who will buy your lunch for you , take you shopping for the perfect outfit when you land the interview of a lifetime , and also buy the first ( and most ) of many rounds of shots at the bar .

her home has an open door to anyone she cares about . no point in letting two spare bedrooms sit empty , as she says , and she’ll always welcome you in with open arms when needed .

she’s a party girl , but is also the girl who will be texting the group chat at 9am after a night out asking when brunch is .

above all , she’s incredibly passionate about her work . she is a virgo after all , so she’s very organized , ambitious , and a bit of a perfectionist . she’s never afraid to stay up all night ensuring her latest video is perfect , or will re-read a new blog post at least twenty times to make sure she didn’t miss a thing . 

this ambition and perfectionism is both her saving grace and her downfall . it makes for incredibly cohesive , put - together , and strong content , but can also often drive her to the point of insanity of trying to make sure everything is just right .

*  /  ♡  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒  .

in order to keep this from becoming a novel ( too late ) , you can find some extra info about rowan by following the links below :

wanted plots .

headcanons .

pinterest .

playlist .