#BUT THE EDUCATION SYSTEM DOESNT ALLOW ME

[willows-escape]

purposely avoiding doing things that i NEED to do because i wanna write 🤝 not writing anyways because the things that i need to do are stressin me outtt

actually ruining my life - last month i had a REALLY important final criminology exam, and i didn’t study for it for the months leading up to it because i was like ‘noo i wanna write’ bitch i didn’t write OR study 🤬 EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION CAN KISS MY FUCKIN ASS

[sugar-spice-everything-vice]

i think shameless was able to give fiona a good ending considering the circumstances of having to write off - although emma def deserved to get paid more so fuck them for that

but anyway

regardless of that, i still hate the way she was written off; its similar to what they did with mandy; its this idea that the hood is a sinkhole and that the only way to be better is to leave it and never look back and that concept is so icky and gross to me

it feels like such capitalist, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, rhetoric; like the problem is you for being there and not society for segregating and screwing over the poor

and also implies that anyone who stays there will inherently amount to nothing

idk but as someone who was born, raised, and still lives in the hood; that all just rubs me the wrong way; yea theres a lot of bad shit here - but that doesn't define any single person that lives here - theres bad people here but theres also good people here, just like anywhere else

[raven]

i feel like the tipping culture in my country might be different than in yours so i have a question (in good faith, i hope it comes across this way): why does tipping seem to be “reserved” only for waiters? why isn’t tipping for example cashiers a thing?

yeah im not super in the know on why tippong originated but heres my perspective as someone whos worked counter service cashier jobs and food retail and as a server

tipping is not reserved for waiters it's for people in the food industry, including cashiers, baristas, delivery drivers, etc (& support staff at restaurants get tipped out too) as well as for people giving services like hair dressers, masseuses, tattoo artists, taxi drivers, etc. like many people (stupid) wont tip cashiers and many places (fast food) wont let you tip their cashiers (they do get paid regular minimum wage though, while server minimum wage is 2.35 but it's weird to me to not allow tips). I always tip on to go orders bc the workers are doing the same amount; my restaurant doesnt have to go orders really but my old one did and tips on to go went straight to the support staff. but basically, its just how it is. why not tip retail? thats just not how it is. I dont know. Sorry. I havent really worked retail (i worked food retail and didnt get tips, but people would sneak me cash since i was doing some barista stuff) but it's kind of just that you are less in control of a customer's experience, generally. Like if you get your bra size measured, would you tip the person who did it? Idk. I'll have to check this out when i get my size measured soon. Idk, i try to tip as much as possible lol. Cashier, barista, etc. i buy something for $5 leave a $5 tip because it feels bad to leave just a dollar or two... theres also a retail store that allows tips at checkout and idk what it really goes to but i tip every time, i guess i could ask. and there's other services you tip for like hairdressers or masseuses or tattoo artists or taxi drivers like i mentioned before. at least thats just how i and others do it. because these people spend time, even several hours with you helping you and are probably not paid enough is my guess. (definitely taxi drivers are not paid enough especially if its uber/lyft...) Do you tip car repair? I need to get my car repaired, I'll look into it...

For why servers are prioritized in conversation: The bottom line is that it has been ingrained into american culture down to LAW that servers get paid less because they get tips. love it or hate it, by not giving tips you are not showing you disagree with a system, you are just fucking over a worker. You still spent the money at my restaurant, it will stay open. Many servers are also against passing laws to invoke minimum wages to lessen tipping because they would be paid way less, and i cant blame them. Like, my restaurant cant afford to pay me $60/hr. I got paid $60/hr tonight. I felt like i was going to die, but i would feel the same way if i was getting paid minimum wage by my employer, and i would be getting 1/4 that amount. Like serving simply isnt really worth it as a job because of the toll it takes on your mind and body to deal with customers, stand on your feet all day, carry heavy plates, clean the restaurant, etc, if we are not getting lots of money. At least for me since im disabled and killing myself with this job lol. But i have no college education and i LOVE feeding people good food! (I've also worked counter service not fast food, complicated , we did a lot of takeout, i mostly cashiered, never got a ton of tips, it was definitely much easier than being a full server in a full service restaurant. you should still tip people there thoughh)

[away-ward]

"I think you're on to something with Michael and Emory both seeing what the group needs and how people can be used. Maybe that's how they bond. And Emmy has time to sit and observe them up close, but I think even then she's just natural at understanding people."

yeah this. I'm ngl, i understand how people love to find the similarities and compare emory with damon, but i've always been on my michael x emory mastermind family and friends agenda, alright. I know many people dont like michael, but hear.me.out. I think because temperament wise, D & E matches and are pretty similar to each other on a surface level, readers tend to confuse them being the most similar with each other, but vision and role wise? Personality? Goals in life? Interests? The way they look at the systems around them? The way they handle their conflicts in life?

Damon and Emory could not be any more different than each other! And their differences in everything was clearer as we get to will's pov in nightfall, and we came to the conclusion that to a certain extend, one was an enabler, and one was an usurper. This shows their thoughts, words, beliefs and actions' patterns. What made them an enabler? An usurper? How does will come to that conclusion? Only two traits bring them back to be similar: dominance and aggression. But nothing else beyond that because the way they want and vision their life to be are very different from each other. Damon wnating his friends and banks, emory wanting the best for everyone and settle down his responsibilities towards education, caring duties and career first. (Their financial background does play in this factor, but hey, michael and kai were from rich families too, they werent acting all entitled towards their inheritance and life like damon. Much to think about). And Despite being angry and hopeless, emmy still put one foot in front of the other, visioning whats her future gonna be like. But damon want to be in hell, he doesnt give a fuck about anything else, even his company was started out of nowhere, he didnt even have the skills to know that people would want to pay for his labor's services, and when he fucks up too much, he didnt know how to reconcile with all that. Only promised that he'll make sure he deserves them later. D & E are so different, i was always confused when they relate one with the other. I believe, much to the disgrace of a lot of readers, damon was more similar with rika than he was with emory, or even banks.

Thats why it's also infuriating to me when readers said damon and will married the girl version of each other, because did we read the same books? What about will and winter, and damon and emory is the same to a T? This is Penelope Douglas we're talking about, they're not shy to write raunchy sapphic, polyamorous, dubious relationships. If they wanted a gay relationship between Damon and Will to happen, it wouldve happened, but the text always made it clear that theyre not into each other like that because of what they wanted the most in life, and also because damon only use sex to control people. Not until winte then he felt like he can just enjoy sex without pain. And now in this bonus, even Kai called him out for it. Not even will, his #1 bff had the power to change that. And will had years by his side, but this winter pops out of nowhere, and fix that for him in such a short amount of time (which emmy also knows that winter's the ony way to damon, interesting). I'm not even a fan of winter, but even i can't say that theres anyone else who would fit to be damon's lover or even anyone else in this series because they all have their very specific wants in their partners that they couldnt find anywhere else. Not even their best friends can fill in the rika, banks, winter snd emory-shaped holes in their lives. Ofc, fanon interpretations are allowed, so wtv. Damon and Emory has no similarites other than 1. Theyre in the same family for the same call of void, 2. They love will very much, 3. They had a very sad backstory that impacted their plots, and 4. Theyre grumpy on the exterior, dominant and aggressive. But even point 4 is debatable, because even though emory is dominant and aggressive, she is still pretty amicable to people as long as those people are or can be usefull to her or her higher motives.

Do recall her first interactions with Alex, Aydin, Micah, Rika in the present time. She saw what they can do for her, and she wasnt sorry at all to use them. I like that her character can be questionable sometimes, and i even like it when Alex called emmy a manipulative monster, because just like michael, i never saw something wrong with that. This is a dark romance with fucked up people who do want they want, who think they actions and words justify their ideas and beliefs, in an ugly way, why can't we see the potential of emmy being someone else's monster? And her not even denying alex? I was screaming!!! Because Isn't that cool? That she's not just this pure innocent nerdy girl from the town? Finally after 3.5 books, we actually see a dominant questionable FMC in this series. Let FMCs and women be morally grey!! She's a fictional dark romance character, let her be slimy AF just like the men in the series! Let her bully her lover! Let her use and support that serial killer and the son of a terrorist! Let her be friends with that same leader you hate (michael/aydin)! Emory Scott was not a morally righteous person, let her do her thing, and enjoy the ride. This is also why I like it when she was dealing with the police' questioning and reaffirming will about their family in fire night. It's for this reason. And noticed how michael didnt care what she did? Because he knew she did it for them! We need more questionable FMCs in literature, pleasee.

Now, coming back to damon and emory, i cannot deny, D & E both did make up to each other's strength, weaknesses and quality of what they want at work. That's why their partnership work very well. But that's where their pesonalities' similarities end (other than the ones i listed).

Onto my Michael x Emory family and friends masterminds agenda, M & E are like leader x architect mastermind. Theyre always in the position to either lead, or in an active stance, unlike kai, will, rika or winter. Damon and banks did fluctuate between passive and active depending on what others needs, but michael and emory's the pioneer. They're the front and center. Their opinions and decisions are usually what shape their current situations or the final say in a discussion. Their approach towards strategising is more hollistic, and it touches pretty much all aspects of their life. What i meant by that is their leadership, opinion and building of something doesnt just revolve around their work, but it also shapes the dynamic of the group, the role they or others play in their family, and they execute their role very well. Michael more so a leader than emory was. But i 100% believe than unlike damon, if emory actually wanted to take over michael's position, she could. She's an usurper, i dont think she'll just let michael have it easy if she didnt agree with something. And this is beyond like banks and michael bantering because they have some weird tension and families' companies. Emory actually do have input on what they do, and she is known to have a say in things, that other might not agree with.

another interesting thing about michael and emory's interaction with the people around them is, Being around people like M & E can make you feel like you're a fish in the water, not only you're breathing, but you feel at home, because when they disagree with you, it feels like youre being chided or corrected or shamed, but them being by yourside made you feel good about yourself. This part of M & E are not always explicit though, but you can see the implicit text by observing the reactions of how people react to their words and actions. Like how rika, kai, damon snd will reacted to michael's approval, help or disappointment, like how will, damon, aydin, alex, micah and rory reacted to emmy's actions and disagreements. Their words and actions have very impactful rippling effect on people unlike the rest. You can actually feel like you can achieve or be who you want to be, or where you want to Be with them. As if they knew where your wrong or right on your path to somewhere. I think rika, kai and will felt that with michael, and will, aydin and others felt that with emmy. We dont see much of others but we know that this is can be possible especially after ten years. Because their personality revolves not only being visionary, but them being accustomed to the system around them, made them able to have the ability to execute their plans to get what they want. Emmy doing all that in nightfall to support her grandma, to get a degree and a job, to have aydin's ally, to be friends with micah and rory, to borrow rika's items, to have someone by her side with alex, to offer herself to them sll in that train. "Nothing wrong if she just give in to what you want". Michael too with rika, with his nba career, to stay loyal with his friends, to open that resort, and many more. Can you see the vision, KO? (Pun intended)

M with the horsemen and later on with all the addition to their family, and E with the guys at blackchurch, and later with their big family, making decisions around them, finding what fits best for them etc. They both knew what was important to their values in life, and how to keep the family up, and it's not only within the group, but also to match the system outside of their family, like their potential allyship with khadirs and morreaus, enemies with ilya evans martin trevor, police system when they cause mischief around town, third and significant places of/in the town like the tower, church, cathedral, resort, etc. M & E knew the vision, what and how to preserve, and how to polish or do better so that they can move forward and profit more. This Doesnt mean that theyre better than the rest but this was where their strength lies best as compared to rika, banks, kai, damon, winter and will who took care about rules, state policies, morales (in private and in public) or tradition, They all take care of each others strength and weakness like this.

Unlike the majority of the fandom, i Never saw how D & E can be similar other than the ones listed above, but M & E? They've always been pretty similar, i believe. If not their background, it's the way they move. I still believe that Emmy is smarted than Michael but Michael is more intuitive than Emory. Hence why i think michael understand will's need for something more, above and beyond. Not like damon who he knew will didnt need alex. But michael would know WHY will needed emory. Someone that not only makes him see what's up there, but also someone who can take him up there to see what he's made of. Sounds similar to how michael made rika feel huh? The difference is that michaelrika just wanted to feel and discover something unknown, outside of their monotonous privileged life, but willemmy wants to use whatever unknown path in the light and dark to ACHIEVE something bigger, better, something above what they already knew about themselves. MichaelRika felt like an idea or a calling, but WillEmmy is like the tough final destination executioner, with KaiBanks as the strong steady pillar, and DamonWinter as the whimsical storytellers and dreamers of the group. WillEmmy would be the final destination executioner that wraps up all of their unknowns, where they gather the ideas, pillars and dreams from others and then set up a more structured, efficient and profitting path that benefits their families and everyone, knowing when and where to anticipate people like how they always deal with everyone. and i believe that was how they build their world when i finished the series then, I always get this feeling from these couple. This bonus just strongly reaffirmed my opinions about them building things together. WillEmmy "we build thunder bay together now, Em"! Exactly! Now they know what theyre made of!

side note: Made me also think about Rika and Emory's interaction throughout the series, and from that bonus from banks' pov, emory IS a steady, firm and strong support system for their family. Like a big sister. Like a pillar. That's why i also believed that nightfall should come before kill switch so that sensitive matters like rika's pregnancy can be handled better if she had a stronger, mature and steadier female presence and support system by a big sister like emmy, who's love is always flowing and very unyielding. I just knew that emmy would know how to breach this topic with rika and she would spoil them all always. That bonus really just showed that even in a short period of time, she was a very adoring and doting sister to everyone. Banks just didnt realised that emmy loved her the same way she did with rika because of her insecurities. Now this made me crave a rika, banks, winter and emory get together! What would they do on the weekends or for fun, huh?

Anyway, back to my M x E agenda, It's interesting too because at one point, i had the thought of switching michael's life with emmy's and i wonder, if emmy grew up like michael, how different or similar would she think, act, lead, follow etc. and how would michael react if he grew up like emmy. Sex and gender swap included. Because the very big differences for them would be their dinancial status and physical strength to overcome their abusers. Hmmm? How long would they take since by the end of nightfall, michael still havent killed evans, but martin's dead. And between michael and emory, emory was more likely to use physical violence than michael. Interesting, no? out of all the horsemen, michael and kai were the most class conscious. Like they knew how the system around them works, and only people who knows how system works can get far in life. damon and will had a late awakening, due to whatever things they were going through or enabling themselves with, but michael and kai were pretty clear-headed. Emory was clear-headed too. Making tough decisions was her forte. Again, the M x E crossover. But how would their class consciousness impact them if they swap realitues and sex/gender?

idk i havent think that far, but it's something that interests me now. What do you think of all these, KO? What do you think were similar or different about michael and emory? Or even other horsemen with her? I fully believe what alex said in emmys car at that cove scene was very important. In chapter three about what alex and the family needs. And emory knew it too, she just cant have it. Them.

but vision and role wise? Personality? Goals in life? Interests? The way they look at the systems around them? The way they handle their conflicts in life?

I totally get what you’re saying (I think). The thing about Emory and Michael is that they can see the blueprint.

Michael, as Kai said, is like The Builder. He sees how all the parts of something make the whole. How their strengths and weaknesses balance each other, who can hold what load, and where they need reinforcement.

Emory (an architect that can actually read blueprints, so it’s just funny in literal and figurative sense), does the same with people. She can destruct them, see how they fit together, and move forward based on that.

However, Damon, like Michael and Emory, is not without the ability, he just uses it differently. He sees life like a chessboard; people are just pieces to move. That takes understanding how people work, who has what power, where is their weakness, what holes are they leaving unprotected.

But going back to your point.

Reading this first point, I realized how true it is that Emory and Michael share a lot of the same traits. They’re both determined, realizing what they’re good at from an early age, set a goal, and took a path to achieve that goal. They were both able to make careers out of something they loved, despite all obstacles – family, financial, or otherwise. The only other person who shares this quality with them - knowing from a young age what they wanted to do and finding a way to do it - was Winter.

Additionally, the way that Michael allowed Evans to stay alive at the end of Nightfall to take care of his mother sort of echoes the way Emory let her grandmother stay with Martin. Both were on the condition that the person they’re letting off the hook is going to take care of the person they actually care about. At the same time, Emory acknowledges that a part of her loved her brother, at least the memory of him. And while Michael doesn’t want to take another person away from his mother, there might still be a part of him that wishes things could be different between him and Evans. At the very least, both Michael and Emory wanted their abuser to leave them be, without wanting to take revenge for the abuse.

Both were aware of class differences. I think Michael, aware of his privilege might have admired, or even envied, Emory because she had to fight for everything she got. Every accomplishment, every bright of recognition; none of it came because she was anyone’s child or she had an advantage. In fact, she had nothing but disadvantages and it didn’t stop her. Michael would have recognized that. In the bonus chapter, Trevor questions whether Michael would be as good at basketball if he didn’t have a court, and Michael wonders the same. In Nightfall, Emory wants the pool to herself because unlike them, she doesn’t have access to a private pool in her home. Micheal would have respected that, I think, even if Will hadn’t asked them to leave.

Michael doesn’t want to give up his privileges and good life; he wants to earn them for himself, apart from his father. Emory doesn’t want to stay poor, as if that would be revenge against the wealthy classmates she hates. She wants to earn it all herself and show them up. They have similar lines of thought about money and privilege.

They’re not always right; sometimes their biases get in the way. Still, they have much in common.

But after reading your message, something else occurred to me. We’ve been talking as if there can only be “X is most like Y”, “A is a reflection of B”, “C and D are literally the same, just different fonts.”

And none of that is true. Truth is Damon and Emory do share a lot of similar traits. They’re more reserved, they’re more calculating and suspicious of new people. They can endure a ton of pain by themselves, both physical and mental, possibly more than anyone else in the group could tolerate.

Emory is a lot like Michael, in that both of them can see people for what they are, they’re strengths and weakness, and make a plan to use them to the best of their ability. Like you said as an example, despite knowing that the group didn’t like Aydin and that he’d used her, she could see the value and benefit of keeping him close and including him. She didn’t let her personal opinion get in the way, and I think if it were Michael alone, she could probably sway him. But he as the think of the group as a whole.

Emory is also a lot like Kai in that she’s patient with people, and she realizes when she might have said something insensitive and backtracks (Emory with Elle in Nightfall vs. Kai with Damon in the Bonus Chapter). Emory also cares a lot about people, like Kai does, and they’re willing to do the dirty job of caring for those even when they don’t want to.

Emory is like Will in having a sense of curiosity and adventure, wanting to create something no one else has before.

And I’m guessing the same could be said for any of the other characters, and that’s why they’re a family? One thing I picked up from the Bonus Chapter was how often they guys commented ‘I need him for xyz reason’ Michael and Damon had their fathers in common and a dislike of extreme drugs and alcohol abusers (Will excluded, though Damon got on that fairly quickly when he came back). Damon and Will were wild, where Kai and Michael were cautious. Michael and Will were curiosity, and Kai and Will were easier to be around. Kai and Damon were opposites in almost always, but they both agreed that sometimes you need some healthy violence. All of these traits play into and off of each other, and as their family grows, the same can be said for each new addition.

I like the idea of comparing the characters, seeing where they are similar and where they are different, and what those differences mean of the situations they get into. So perhaps it is time to lean away from the “Damon and Emory are exactly the same” talk, and replace it with “what do the similarities mean? What do the differences mean?”

I was trying to think of where this discussion was coming from. We see Emory compared to Banks and Damon, and now Michael. We see Rika and Winter compared often. As you mentioned, so people compare Will with Winter.

At first, I thought that it was the "If this hated female character where a man, they'd basically be this male character who is universally loved." But that's not really the case here, is it?

D & E are so different, i was always confused when they relate one with the other. I believe, much to the disgrace of a lot of readers, damon was more similar with rika than he was with emory, or even banks.

And this goes to what I was saying above. Damon and Rika do share a lot in common. They like playing games of manipulation, treating situations as if they’re a game of chess. They value family (Rika forgiving Christiane because that’s her mother vs. Damon not seeing her as family because he’s got all the family he needs, and the fact that they fight over what makes someone family). They both wanted children. A lot.

While I get that what you’re saying is the comparison between Emory and Damon is weak when there are others that are more alike, I think the discussion of MBTI as shown me that these characters are all really different and that’s what makes the group work.

Thats why it's also infuriating to me when readers said damon and will married the girl version of each other, because did we read the same books? What about will and winter, and damon and emory is the same to a T?

I, fortunately, haven't been confronted with this comment (that I can remember), but I can imagine people saying it.

I think the case for comparing Emory and Damon is stronger than comparing Will to Winter. Though I can see why they do. Will and Winter are easy to deal with (in theory). They’re both generally warm and welcoming people. But those are basic traits, and I’m not sure if there’s are deeper aspects in their personalities to draw comparisons to.

Still, I don’t agree that any of the characters can be compared as if they’re a 1:1 version of each other. Therefore Damon and Will couldn't have married the female version of the other. That’s stupid.

If they wanted a gay relationship between Damon and Will to happen, it wouldve happened,

That’s what I think every time I see someone state with complete confidence that they were in love. As if a part of this story isn’t that there are different ways to love a person. That not all love is romantic. As if their brotherhood doesn’t and can’t exist because Damon and Will care about each other deeply.

“But the sex!” they cry.

Yeah…because neither of them ever had sex with someone they didn’t love? Or had no real emotions towards? Because Damon never used sex as a manipulation tactic, and Will as a way to ease his pain? I’ll accept that they’re not completely straight as an argument, but I highly doubt either of them would ever fall in love with a man.

Do recall her first interactions with Alex, Aydin, Micah, Rika in the present time. She saw what they can do for her, and she wasnt sorry at all to use them. I like that her character can be questionable sometimes, and i even like it when Alex called emmy a manipulative monster,

To have this as an example after saying that Damon and Emory don’t have anything in common is interesting, because I remember Damon using Alex to get information on Evans. He had no problem seeing what she can do, and using it to his advantage, even if it meant going behind the group's back. Alex even had a few words for him at that party, too, and Damon didn’t really care.

There’s the phrase “two sides of the same coin”?

These people are like six sides of the same dice. (Die? Is a single dice a die? You know what I mean.)

Because while I think Damon and Emory are the same in this situation, I can argue that Damon is more extreme than Emory.

Remember when Damon said that he didn’t think any of the boys would help him murder someone, but then when he was killing Natalya, Emory jumped in. She didn’t even really know the situation, but she recognized something in Damon that was in herself.

We know she never took the chance to kill Martin, because for her, it never got that far. She was never that desperate, though I have no doubt that if the situation were life and death, she’d be able to make that decision. Similarly, I don’t think Michael would have killed Trevor if the situation wasn’t life and death. Michael and Emory match up in that aspect, but that doesn’t mean Emory didn’t get there before him.

I think on the scale of No-Murder to Murder, she’s probably a lot closer to Damon than she is to Michael.

who think they actions and words justify their ideas and beliefs, in an ugly way, why can't we see the potential of emmy being someone else's monster? And her not even denying alex? I was screaming!!! Because Isn't that cool? That she's not just this pure innocent nerdy girl from the town?

 I mean, I think Emory always sort of owned that she was a bomb waiting to go off in Will’s life, and that’s why she tried to get away from him. She never denied that certain things were her fault. She always had a backbone and was willing to cross the line if she needed to. She accepted accountability easily.

But I thought Alex was calling Aydin a manipulative monster, not Emory, because he was able to “manipulate” Emory into thinking she doesn’t have to answer to them, even though she owning up to her role in Will's life. She was essentially calling Emory weak for being Aydin's victim.

However, Emory came to that conclusion because she was ready to, not simply because Aydin opened her eyes. As Emory said, her view of Aydin was more complicated than Alex was willing to comprehend. Even so, Emory refused to apologize for it, which I guess made her a monster in Alex’s eyes, too.

Their [M&E] opinions and decisions are usually what shape their current situations or the final say in a discussion.

And it’s in this way that Will and Rika are similar. Both had to wait for the person they desired most to be ready to accept the inevitability of their love. They spent years watching, waiting, following, as their person was just outside of their reach. And when they finally thought that they’d grabbed hold of them, after just one night, Michael and Emory slipped away again.

Just an interesting comparison I thought about as I was reading.

But i 100% believe than unlike damon, if emory actually wanted to take over michael's position, she could. She's an usurper, i dont think she'll just let michael have it easy if she didnt agree with something.

I don’t think Emory would let Michael have it easy either, but is she persuasive enough to sway the group as a whole? I’m not so sure. Micah and Rory were different because their bond to Will was different, as well as their view of him. For over a year, he’s been a friend and ally, but all of the sudden he and his six friends – who they have no loyalty to – are ganging up on this girl they’ve come to care about? It’s no wonder she was able to get them to change sides. Not sure Emory would have as much success with Kai or Rika.

But she might have success with Damon, though. Because they have similar thought processes.

My point is that it all plays into each other, and it’s why I would have liked to see more of the dynamic between Emory and some of the others, especially Michael, but they hardly share more than a sentence in the entire series.

this is beyond like banks and michael bantering because they have some weird tension and families' companies. Emory actually do have input on what they do, and she is known to have a say in things, that other might not agree with.

But a part of Banks' character is never coming to the table without a plan, even if she knows Michael isn’t going to agree with it. She still tries; she puts it out there, states her case, and will argue to get Michael to see things her way. And sometimes she wins, like we see in Conclave when Michael eventually agreed to her idea.

There’s a reason people compare Emory and Banks, too. They think and strategize, and they don’t let people they see as equals boss them around.

They both knew what was important to their values in life, and how to keep the family up,

I do see your vision (haha!). But I think Emory probably isn’t as skilled in this as Michael is, if only because he’s had more time to develop and live with the responsibility of making this team, this family, work. You said that Emory was smarter, while Michael more intuitive. Emory is book smart, but then her goals in life relied on her getting out of town and into a school, while Michael relied on his intuition to survive his father and find his real family. Both are logical and goal orientated.

I can see Michael teaching Emory how to develop her skills. Maybe not directly, but identifying that she has these same skills and helping her cultivate them by testing her, giving her the opportunity to make plans and see them through. He did that with Rika. And being a mayor, Rika is something of a leader now. Banks learned from Damon, and A.P. how to execute her role as a Senator. But no one is there to teach Emory how to use her skills to the best of her ability, and as a leader of the family and the other person who can see the blueprint – the builder, the visionary, the mastermind, as you said – Michael could help her in that way.  

This Doesnt mean that theyre better than the rest but this was where their strength lies best

Agreed. This doesn’t mean that they're better, just that their skills serve a different role. If they were all leaders, it wouldn’t work.

The difference is that michaelrika just wanted to feel and discover something unknown, outside of their monotonous privileged life, but willemmy wants to use whatever unknown path in the light and dark to ACHIEVE something bigger, better, something above what they already knew about themselves.

This is interesting, because I see your point. To me, it feels that Michael and Rika are very inward focused; they are concerned with themselves and what their family is doing, but not overly focused on things outside the group (this isn’t to say they’re unsympathetic or unwilling to help when they see a problem in Thunder Bay or the world), but that their concern will first and foremost always be them and the family. Whereas, Will and Emory are very focused on Thunder Bay as if the entirety of It (the town, with its traditions and mysteries and lore) is their family, and they want to build it up and take care of it. They’re more focused on the external.

I’m not sure if that’s what you were getting at but it’s how I heard it. Again, neither better or worse. Just different.

And between michael and emory, emory was more likely to use physical violence than michael. Interesting, no?

I completely forgot you made this point when I was talking up there but I think we agree?

if emmy grew up like michael, how different or similar would she think, act, lead, follow etc. and how would michael react if he grew up like emmy. Sex and gender swap included.

This really gets into the idea of nature vs. nurture, which is not something I’m competent enough to discuss thoroughly, but it’s an interesting question all the same. If we had Emerson Crist and a Michelle Scott instead?

I fully believe what alex said in emmys car at that cove scene was very important.

 I believe it too. It was a fundamental theme in the story, but I think I would have liked it coming better from Michael, seeing that Emory was the missing piece that kept their family from reaching its full potential. Since he was the builder, after all. Instead, we got him being all defensive and acting like he didn’t know they needed her. Sure the family could continue without her, but he had to see the benefit if he was the visionary of the group.

Sorry it took so long to reply. There was a lot to reply too! Thank you for the message and the thoughtful comments. It was interesting to see Emory and Michael, and the group as a whole, from this perspective.

Let me know your thoughts!

KO

[selamat-linting]

so, i was enrolled in a vocational highschool. its the type of school that are halfway a tradeschool. its a program in my country that i quote here, meant to produce ready-made workers right out of the education system. the curriculum for every highschool major you took is different, but i personally never learn biology, geography and chemistry beyond the basics in middle school.

random aside over, for one year me and my classmates (computer programming major) had to share a classroom for normal school lessons with the guys majoring for heavy equipments engineering. one time there was an orientation presentation for them and we had to sit there as the teacher told them the kind of work theyre expected to do. so, theyre going to learn maths and physics and everything else so they know how to operate and fix industrial grade machinery like the massive trucks meant to ship coal around, mega structures to dig tunnels for mining operations.

during the last slide, the teacher showed them a slideshow of workplace deaths.. it was morbid, he said to us that death is inevitable on your line of work. its going to happen. of course we can minimize this by following safety codes, but accidents will happen.

and it doesnt register to me as weird at the time, but its stuck in my mind. like i had the vague sense that something wasnt right. and it isnt. like, he's showing kids that dying on the job, its a tragedy sure, but its normal. its fact of life. my country is an imperialized nation so they never try to lie about whats the purpose of our education. we are here to prepare for work, not to learn. and from the beginning, the oil and mining industry doesnt care about human life. and im thinking of the shares and stocks where all of those profits fueled by death eventually finds itself, in the pockets of men who might never see the inside of a oil tank. or where all the oils and minerals are heading, as i sit here waiting in a queue on the gas station to fill my motorbike even though there's an oil and coal processing site just a few hundred kilometers away still in border of my hometown.

worst part is i know this isnt the worst because someone out there who might even be younger than me is dying for the gasoline im getting, the circuit boards inside my phone, and i know one of my friends online is sleeping inside a car while office buildings and billboards stay lit and functional every day of the year fueled and powered by unimaginable amount of normalized deaths.

and im also thinking of the oil spills at the beach, the days that gets hotter and hotter every year. last year there was a gruesome car accident. an oil truck swerved off the sidewalk and killed a dozen people. its not the only major first accident in that place, as always the old complaints about public safety and roads came back for a while, and they might be satisfied that there's a barricade and a rule for large trucks not being allowed to be on the road during the day, but im also thinking of my friend who worked in the industry as a safety operator, complaining that half of the trucks are overdue for maintenance for years and the drivers license have expired but no one ever did anything about it because theyre on a constant deadline and spending time to do checks only makes the managers yell at you for missing a quota and you had to stay longer instead of getting some sleep or spending time with family, in a job where you already work 12 hours a day on average.

my point is, its all connected. just simply asking where the gas powering your car came from revealed a lot. i know this is retreading the basics but i think its good to remember how interconnected everything is. how the tragedies and genocides and social murders arent an aberration but a logical conclusion of the way society is organized. its a well oiled machine, excuse my pun. its all-encompassing, but seeing it as it is makes it easier to find its weak spot, areas where we can fight. this is why im a communist, specifically a marxist leninist, i do think workers' revolt with international proletariat society is the only way we could break free.

but anyway, all this is to brag about how i never learn geography in highschool and yet i can still name more countries and capitals than the average college student in the us so (⁠＾⁠3⁠＾). also now that i mention it i also never learn biology but i know more about the human body than your average terf so 😌 shitty schools is not an excuse 💖

[maxellminidisc]

I've been meaning to make this post cause like a good chunk of my mutuals are in their early 20s and have a very common sentiment among them that I really want to comfort y'all about because you're all such intelligent lovely people and I would like to help ease some of the thoughts you're having.

Now, I'm not gonna say it's not absolutely rough as fuck out there, especially in terms of finding jobs and the general state of the future for you as a person and society as a whole BUT in one respect I do want y'all to remember you're are still in your early 20s. That horrible nagging thought of, "Everybody feels so far ahead of me and I'm not doing or going fucking anywhere" is like a mainstay of the 20s experience. I think it does you far more good to realize you are absolutely not alone in that sentiment. And at least in that regard, I think its unfair to compare yourself to other people; you're an individual with a world of experiences that will be all your own, and allowing yourself a healthy amount of patience, understanding, and grace will do you far more a good than that constant urge to compare yourself to others.

You're aware that the state of work, education, and opportunities in both are absolutely shit, and in that same awareness you should be noticing and appreciating the hard work you're doing to try and make something of yourself IN that chaos. Just because these systems are failing you, doesnt mean you're not doing anything with your life or that you've failed. You're absolutely trying your best, if not you wouldnt be so worried, you wouldn't care so fucking much. I applaud you, and I hope you love yourself for the all you're putting into your future! In my eyes, so many of y'all are worth every bit of the respect you deserve by mere virtue of trying and trying again despite the doors being closed in your face. It's taken so much out of y'all to keep trying and I genuinely hope and pray that all that hard work pays off for so many of you.

[browserfreak]

can we stop saying this fucked shit in the year 2024??? yeah we get it girlinspo on instagram, you like using mental disorders as comebacks. maybe you fucking shouldn't.

as an autistic person, I see people freak out when someone calls something fictional 'autistic', but not calling a living, breathing person 'narcissistic' or 'paranoid' or anything of that nature. I'm fucking sick of people using these words as a casual little thing, a character trait, an ADJECTIVE. Paranoia SUCKS ASS. OCD SUCKS ASS. BPD SUCKS ASS. and WHY does it suck ass? Because half of the ass sucking is the world being full of ignorant little shits that won't recognize their struggles. That leads us to the OTHER half where they struggle to live or get help for their worse symptoms because of ignorant people.

Due to the popularization of 'tiktok psychology', shit like THIS is so so prevalent in every online space. It pisses me off to no end how people just use these real disorders as fucking throwaway adjectives, despite them being REAL DISABILITIES and MENTAL ILLNESSES that are in the minds of REAL PEOPLE. They call their ex a narcissist, they give signs of OCD and it's only 'likes to keep things organised', they call their child ADHD because they like causing trouble. Again, TikTok reduces everything it touches to a steaming hot rotting corpse that eats the flesh of the people who are involved.

Also, quick thing on Paranoia, paranoia DOESNT equal schizophrenia. Some people DO experience hallucinations, but mostly paranoia is delusion. Of thinking there's always someone watching you, or behind you, or that the world is fake. ITS NOT QUIRKY. Its FUCKING ANNOYING. Do you think I enjoy sweating my ass off thinking about if God is judging my every move???? NO!

I'm out for fucking blood bitch. Nobody disrespects my fellow mental disabled people like this. Fuck Off!!!!!!!

Anyone reading this post who is not mentally ill / disabled, think, WHAT LANGUAGE DO YOU USE EVERYDAY THAT COULD AFFECT PEOPLE LIKE US? I get not having any disabled friends by sheer coincidence, but maybe at least talk to people like us or read our blogs / stories. Being educated and accepting will make you feel better, will make other people near you feel better, and you'll discover some things about society.

(by the way this is NOT about self-diagnosers. I love you, self diagnosers, im so sorry that this shitty system doesn't allow you to get the help you need, or at least find out whether you have it / possibly have it. Also if you find the person who made the original post do NOT harrass them. this is towards the whole "culture" around it and not this specific post)

[nahalism]

Your answer where you mentioned perversion of pornography only existing because we sort of put it in this place collectively as society made me want to ask. Do you believe age of consent is fundamentally rooted in something universal (and needed?) or do you think there is not as big of a need for it as societies made it to be and sometimes, some younger individuals can and do consent despite what we grew to believe (that they are unable to)

same for big age gaps, what do you think about them

(i know this is a big question and i didnt mean to provoke-maybe thought provoke at best-in good or a bad way)

no worries im always open to questions cause i just like to think about/consider things lol idk. anywayyyy. ill preface this with a trigger warning given the topic matter.

to answer ur question :: just cause something is a social construct doesnt mean its a fabrication altogether. there are ultimate truths and relative truths. ultimately, sex, nudity, and erotic interactions between people, are nothing more than human acts. there is nothing inherently perverse about them. howeverrr, relative to the society we currently live in, pornography/social norms around who should consume it and how, exist as a consequence to the perversion and hyper-sexualisation of people, that exists, and is generally around us. its a preventative safe guarding measure. & that perversion isnt always sexual. it is all pervasive & woven into the fabric of society. — since constructs are usually formed in reaction to what currently exists around us, denying them is dangerous (its the actual definition of gaslighting) and cant be progressive because it only serves to warp peoples perception of their lived experience. whilst continuing to alter our perception and definition of the ultimate truth based on relative truths is also dangerous, (it would be much better to detangle a mess than add more tangles), only perceiving ultimate truths in the face of relative truths is just as harmful because it only serves to purposefully misunderstand the problem and task at hand. to find solutions, a more nuanced view needs to be had.

howeverrr, age is not the same as that (imo). and answering these kinds of questions tends to fill me with dread, because i see people asking these kinds of questions in order to create confusion, blur lines, and consequently warp the reality of ultimate truths by making them bend to present day (changeable) relative truths. do i believe children should have agency and autonomy? i do. do i believe they should be respected, and allowed to make their own decisions? i do. however. do i also acknowledge the perverse nature of the world and the system of conditioning we live under? i do. — a child is a child, an adult is an adult, and an elder is an elder for a reason. — there are stages to life. e.g, a butterfly begins as an egg, then becomes larva, then a pupa, then a butterfly. its the same for humans. trying to blur the lines between an egg and a pupa is to purposefully and fundamentally misunderstand natural law and order. so, in that same vein, children (who should be made aware of their sexual/creative energy in much different ways than our society currently allows for), should be free to explore themselves. whether that be mentally/physically/emotionally/spiritually/sexually. but it should be with a trusted adult or elder who will inform them and not take advantage of their naïvety, or with other children their age. this distinction is important because it clearly demarcates the difference between an adult educating a child and demystifying adult concepts for them, versus abusing that child and taking advantage of them, their lack of knowledge, and lack of experience.

aside from the matter of children, i dont judge any consenting adult that decides to participate in a relationship where theres an age gap. the age of consent is a bigger question than i am qualified to answer, but what is do know is not every 20 year old is an adult despite having 'come of age'. i think the age of consent is more so an advisory that states, after 'this' age, a person can be made responsible for what they choose to do, and bare the consequences whether good or bad. — however, personally, i always question what business someone who is 60 has with someone who is 20. even 40. when people find it easier to partner with individuals who arent in their age class, it usually reeks of them being emotionally/mentally stunted. ive seen that as time comes to pass, the younger individual continues to grow and mature, whilst the older individual who has already peaked stays stagnant, and in the worse case scenario begins to resist, resent, and thus restrict the growth of that person. i also see how the older individual imparts their own lived experience on to the younger individual under the guise of 'having the answers due to experience'. which only serves to frame the younger individuals experience of life and often times cause them to miss steps that are formative for them, because, they end up doing what their older partner does under the pretence that it makes them more mature or that they can 'tag along' because they are more mature. in truth, everything has its time, and whilst some people are more mature, there are things to be learned from immaturity. (ask any child star, or child who was a genius and went to uni whilst they should have been at primary school. they may be glad for the path they took, yet fundamentally miss the experiences of youth that other children had, and their experience deprived them from). in addition to that it condemns one person (usually the younger more naïve party) to a prematurely partnerless future, and any children that come from the union, to losing a parent early.

again. if your a consenting adult, do what you want. we all have different paths, neither is right or wrong so long as we are arriving at the decision to do what we do without being coerced or without it being a reaction to unresolved trauma. even then, perhaps the 'wrong' choice is the right choice because even if a decision is reached as a consequence of something perceived 2 be negative, it may be the very thing that helps resolve the unresolved issue. but when it comes to children (individuals still dependent on adults, elders and community in any capacity) its not an age gap, its predatory.

would love 2 kno ur thoughts & opinions too 😌

[sobredunia]

HELP IM FAILING MATH AND HAVE UNDER SEVEN DAYS TO GET MY SHIT TOGETHER, ALGEBRA SUCKS ASS AND I AM IN PURGATORY LIKE HOLY FUCK I WOKE UP TO MA SCREAMING AT ME OVER THIS SHIT

LMFAO YOU'RE IN AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM THAT DOESNT ALLOW YOU TO MAKE MATH OPTIONAL SKILL ISSUE

[thenextchapterbegins]

Keep them on their feet

@voxiiferous {mentioned}

After gier’s arrival to vox things had begun to pick up, both sides had met with their teams and discussed their plans but gier was the first to strike once more, a continous pressure put onto vox and it all started when an employee bursted into vox’es office. “VOX, YOU TOLD ME TO LET YOU KNOW IF ANYTHING CAME UP WITH GIER..THERE HAVING A CONFERENCE RIGHT NOW ON THE NEWS!” 

And that he was.

it was easy enough to put a few bribes here and there and gain a channel to promote themselves. Thats the problem with a single monopoly these people have been dying for new fish with new money...they practically lept to gier to help out and across pride standing at the front of a conference hall stood gier guld his presidents standing to his left and right. 

“Good afternoon pride and thank you all for attending in person. I am gier guld overlord of the greed ring, recently i have acquired territory in pride under the leadership of hitachi. In our short time here we have revitalized this dying ring. I come before you today to announce our goals going forward.”

He shuffles a few papers before looking forward smile widening. 

“We standing here want to bring back the prosperity of pride. Under our systems and we cannot hide what we are. Anyone can look to greed and see what i have brought. Yes it is a hard system, cruel even. But hell is a cruel place, a harsh and evil place. Pride is plagued by gangs, and violence, riots. Your leader feeds you just enough so that doesnt topple into the abyss. He shackles you with his singular monopoly, your chance of rising above is nill. You starve, and he has the gall to claim or even think. “He thinks your happier if you work towards something you like.” 

He grabs the sides of the podium leaning forward.

“Yet in greed. There is a shot, each one of you stands to become a manager, a postion lead, head of security, even a corporate leader..maybe you’ll be standing next to me one day. We encourage promotion and rising to the top. We admire the struggle and if you simply cant we understand. You will make what you need, you will never go hungry, never worry, you will afford the things you want if you simply show the tiniest bit of effort. It’s hard, its a struggle and many dont make it but your pride. I expect here of all places to see a rebirth of effort. I see the next generation of leaders...and to prove we all not simply  a cruel ring that wants your untold suffering thanks to the branches under morita and last night i was approached with a another set by those under ibuka i have a set of ordinances to take place within this ring and bring it back up to speed.”

He looks down and begins to read.

“Ordinance Highway and transportation act: will see revitalization efforts into the highway systems of pride, we will undertake the rebuilding of new roads, new highways, and a subway system. We will offer compensation to those affected by reconstruction efforts and re-housing if needed.”

Ordinance Public stability act: Reforms to the current police system will be enacted to bring a real sense of security. The amendment only those that show proficiency both in mind and morals will be allowed to become police, no more will corruption flow in our police and no more will stupid hicks be allowed to become cops. We will build an efficient and capable police force to keep our people safe.

Ordinance parks and recreation act: We will see the building of new parks, and other recreational activities across our territory. We will incentivize our people to spend time outside in a community they know they can trust in order for their spirits to not shatter.”

Ordinance Public and future education act: We will begin the process of rebuilding and building schools and colleges for our citizens. Amendments of education quotas and science parks to foster the next generation.

And finally an act many have hoped for and wished for and we have done the data, we have done the tests and we have finalized that finally now after so long we can offer this as we expand in this new space...we are afforded new opportunities simply not allowed in greed we are no longer a ring we akin to an empire and an empire newly fledged requires new rules for it to function.

Ordinance Reformation of work act: We will revitalize our old working structure to foster this new age of greed and pride. We will implement work safety once more in our jobs, nets will be placed in our most dangerous factories to reduce work sucides. Trinket minimum wages will be uped to foster new more buying from our consumers, light pollution stands will be put into effect to lighten the harsh air, and finally...we will be ending unlimited working hours a new 12 hour work day will be implemented...we want our citizens to be able to spend their time outside of work to foster other businesses for continued growth.”

The conference erupts into cheers and in greed where this was also being shown erupted into full blown celebration. This ordinance was revolutionary and many had hoped in greed that once expansion into new rings was achieved profits would be so high that a small touch of normalcy could return for what matters most is profits....if profits allow then things change.

But these shifts set a tone, this was no longer a business not entirely. Gier was looking long term, incredibly long term and if he was going to run two rings he would need them stable, he would need them to operate more then just a giant business, it would need some form of control, some form of reform. He wasnt komai who would torture endlessly, he wasnt morita with his bleeding heart of ibukda that would see the stupid die...

Everything offered was calculated...and like anything everything offered can be taken away if they bite the hand that feeds them...and they know it. 

He raises a hand. “We enter a new age for both pride and greed and vox may stand soon in his own conference and he will offer you an apple of lies. But vox is not a leader he is a techy, his own empire stands on the abyss whilst ours has only begun...With vox you will fall and die with gier guld and greed you will thrive...” He spreads his arms out once more to the cheering crowd before looking to the camera. “Your turn vox...dont disappoint now.”

And then the feed cuts.

[krisztamayer5]

I chose Internal hyperactivity as this is something that cant be seen from the outside by other people which is a huge reason as to why you cannot rule out ADHD if a child doesnt outwardly show hyperactivity. I used bold typefaces that is not a regular nor does it have any real system when being drawn theres a lot going on in a small space seeming as though the letters can breathe. The word internal is used and a arrow used to show its in/on the hyperactivity. However for me its not just on it its also outside it. I used lowercase as for my experience i do outwardly show a lot of hyperactivity too. This is just a demonstration on how it is so different for each female. Even though theres a lot of room so the letters dont have to overlap i have placed them so close almost like they are boucing ontop of eachother - this is exaclty how it feels inside the brain of someone with adhd - well at least for me , when i get an idea they just keep coming at a rate i cant even process and become almost unrecognisable as theres no system to document them.

 The next one i chose is inattentiveness with these letters quite ironically i have now noticed theres a spelling error. I drew a grid thats very weak and tried to maintain a system while allowing my brain to make careless mistakes. At first i had this in just black but later noticed that i really like how the red can draw out and highlight the details where theres been lack of attention therefore mistakes in the drawing. The letter forms are clearly trying to stick to a rule however really struggling to do so. This makes this sketch quite jarring to look at when you can see the guides in the background. I added little details of lining where i was resizing the page on procreate this really shows where theres no thought into double checking the work this is due to the fact that as someone with adhd this is a really boring task we tend to skip on a lot more than we like to admit. Using a serif like font base here is really crucial to communicate what i want visually as usually these more elegant like typefaces dont tend to be manipulated like this. Showing this is most likly a mistake and not intentional by the designer.

The final thing i chose to really highlight is distress this is definitely  a big one for me and a lot of females not only is this a statistic i have got from my research but as-well as this regulating your emotions is very difficult when you have adhd. This is a huge struggle i feel especially as a young female as you are just seen as an emotional girl. We really try to supress this struggle which leads to a lot of other issues when you get home from your workplace or school. This is why parents (the target audience) must be made so aware of this one! The type is just showing frustration and anger that can be built up due to lack of understanding and lack of understanding of our own emotions. With such sudden changes in feelings it can be overwhelming and this is exactly what i show with these letter forms. Changing in the pressure of the pen really shows the fluctuation in moods. 

The methods i have chosen to communicate this is really appropriate to the target audience in my opinion as the number one thing all parents have in common is they just want their child to feel like they understand, Parents are trying to understand what their kids are thinking but sometimes lack the knowledge on how to do so. This method of keeping it really stripped back and raw enables parents to feel as though they are being spoken to by their kids so they can help their familys and people close to them by educating themselfs.

[fenris-ranger]

ah yes, the “there’s no way i can learn any of this in the next six hours but i feel like i need to at least pretend to try” all nighter before an exam, punctuated by such gems as 

who goddamned cares what shape the virus is, is that going to get little johnny’s mother out of my ER without the unnecessary antibiotic script she’s demanding?  no?  then let’s move on

oh cool there were three whole diseases in that high-yield review chapter i have literally never heard mentioned in lecture that bodes fantastically

"proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9" that's like a fuckin doctor who planet or some shit, get this the fuck out of my textbook

and everyone’s favorite

i know my test is in six hours but is it too early to start drinking?

[angryrivaini]

.

[eroticcannibal]

For all the stock society gives to parents deserving complete control over their children, schools sure are given a LOT of leeway when it comes to effecting children's development. Even if parents WANT to ensure their kid is receiving adequate physical affection, schools can veto it the second they decide it inconveniences them. You want your kid to get a proper amount of sleep and free time (with the scientific papers to back it up)? Nope. The school gets to decide when your child has to be awake and show up and how much time they have to devote to school's expectations of learning and homework even once they're home. Want your kid to listen to their body and have small frequent meals instead of cramming food in as fast as possible while feeling starved and on a time limit? Too bad. The school doesn't allow snacks outside of designated eating times.

It's fucked up! School systems should NOT be the ones essentially deciding how parents have to raise their children or saying "It's just while on school property" and making parents do fucking damage control at home.

Its a weird contradiction when u actually parent, parents shoulder the responsibility but schools have the control (unless u abuse ur kids, then no one cares). Like everyone is always like "I blame the parents" but who is raising the kids most the day?

Like, even down to shit like "I want my child to eat healthy food". School decided actually the child wasn't allowed the healthy, homemade, all natural fucking hippy snacks we sent because they were too nice and other kids might get jealous. Or they don't like the length of the childs hair so im not allowed to have it cut. Or they think its inconvenient to educate kids so they berate my child every time it doesnt misgender me. Oh its upset over that is inconvenient I better stop being trans now.

And yeah, it does fuck shit up when you're doing the damage control at home. It destroys family relationships. The whole thing is fucked up.

[faggotcitosis]

like the usa university/college system allows you to “chose” your major meaning people are allowed to chose what they want to graduate on. you don’t go into uni with a set path, you make it up as you go. and like, i feel like a lot of young people don’t get is that just because you can take classes on your preferred subjects doesnt mean you should and there is a huge difference on what you love and what will pay the bills (they often don’t overlap). the secret isnt in doing something that will make you miserable so you can make bank, the secret is finding a middle ground of something you like enough that pays decently well so you can make ends meet

and it leaves me shocked that usamerican students go to university with LOANS, knowing they NEED TO REPAY IT, and they still choose careers that are extremly saturated or careers that need endless academic qualification (which to get more qualification, you need more loans. its like a pyramid scheme).... like you’re aware education in your country isnt free right. like youre aware neither is healthcare, so you need to make money even more just to not die right. like are you aware of this

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Martial Arts.”

Had this lined up for today based on two requested ideas given to me by readers. I hope you like it and have a great day!

“I think you’re really going to like this.”

“So I assume it involves beating the ever-loving shit out of someone.” 

Adam grinned, “Exactly.”

Sunny cheered and Krill sighed, “Why do you two always insist on having the most violent pastimes.”

“I promise today is ALSO educational. Now stop being a stick in the mud. I am sure you will find use for yourself today.”

Krill sighed but allowed them to continue on. The Admiral was wearing a duffel bag over one shoulder, and the tennis shoes he was wearing, alone with the shots suggested that he intended to participate in some sort of physical activity. The same shades of blue light flickered over his prosthetic leg and those that licked over hers, and even from here, he could hear the soft whirring of the machine.

Sunny craned her neck at the city around them trying to figure out where they were being taken, and neither of them figured it out until the admiral cut right and shouldered open the door to a large building. 

Stepping inside they were greeted with a waft of warm, humid air. The ground under their feet was squishy, made of some sort of synthetic material, and all around the room humans in various stages of physical activity dominated the landscape.

The predominant sound was that of flesh impacting padded bags as humans -- both bare knuckled -- and wearing padded gloves punched and kicked and violently strove to beat the ever loving shit out of inanimate hanging objects. Krill wanted in surprise and -- what would have been horror if he wasn’t so used to being appalled-- as two humans sparred together in a ring lined with three large ropes.

They were padded, with gloves and face masks and helmets of some sort, but that gave them free reign to punch and kick each other silly, until one of the humans grabbed the other by the arm and flipped backwards throwing them both to the ground with a violent thud.

Across the room, humans wearing strange white uniforms tied with colorful belts moved in synchronization to the call of a master. He'd punch and then kick and then block venting air by way of shouts.

Sunny turned in a tight circle, her eyes wide as they fell on another padded platform, this time in an octagonal shape, and bounded by a chain link energy cage.

Inside two women were roused to blood, fighting with nothing but barely padded gloves and the clothes on their back.

One of the women managed to throw the other to the ground and for a second they were a mass of tangled limbs before she had her arms around the other’s neck squeezing tight. Krill stepped forward but a sharp tap on the arm of one woman to the other caused the winner to let go, and the fighters to return to their feet, one rubbing her soar neck..

“What is this place?” Sunny asked, in absolute awe

Adam grinned, “This, my fine friend is what humans call a dojo. Not exactly sure where the word comes from per say, but I am pretty sure it originated in asia more than two thousand years ago and basically means a location where people train in the art of hand to hand combat. 

Sunny turned her head again eyes wide as another two men grappled each other to the floor hands gripping onto each other’s uniforms tugging and pulling and trying to swipe with their feet.

“It all looks so… different.”

Adam nodded, “That's because it is. There are hundreds of different fighting systems developed by humanity over the years, sort of like how you have different spear stances in your culture fire versus water, accept these ones work on different principals.

He motioned to the square ring, “Boxing for instance focuses a lot of its attention on punches specifically. Historically the rules required that you couldn't use elbows knees or kicks, and your punches had to land above the belt, or at least that’s what I remember. He turned to point at the other side of the room where the men and women in white were still busy in their forms. Stuff like Karate Kung Fu and others are sort of more about forms and techniques. I would say that that sort of fighting is more of a philosophy or a way of life than anything, and very ancient.”

He then turned to look at the two men still wrestling on the floor, “Then there is Jiu Jitsu, a form of combat that relies on submission and grappling. USe the weakness of an enemies body against them, use their weight, use the weakness of their wrists and elbows and knees and neck. Jiu Jitsu is likely to always end up on the ground. It is similar to wrestling, though wrestling requires than you pin the other person’s shoulders to the ground.

Krill turned to look at Sunny’s face and would have rolled his eyes at the giddy expression she had if it weren't for his inability to actually roll his eyes.

“Why are there so many types?’

Adam paused tapping his chin, “Well, humanity has always been working to find a system that works best. In many cases it started with a philosophy of some kind. IN certain cases it was poise, or focus or any number of things. Monks dedicated their entire lives to the mastery and perfection of a single art of combat. In a way it was almost like meditation that could be used in times of need. Some martial arts required steal or quick movement which spawned stuff like Ninjitsu and still live son in spots like parkour despite it not being a combat sport.”

He lend them further into the room, “A lot of them spawned out of the fact that humans just love to fight, we love to see who is physically better. It made it’s way to the olympics, and then into popular culture. Wrestling, while a great athletic endeavor was just as much a theater production as it was anything else and requires an understanding between two parties to put on the most dramatic show possible.”

He walked over a few feet pausing before the octagon, “Then someone had the idea of what would happen if you put the different martial arts up against each other in a contest of who is better hence Mixed Martial Arts fought in an octagon just like this. At first practitioners of one discipline were pitted against each other to see who was better.” He rested his hand against one of the braces, “In the end it ended up weeding out a lot of the older forms of martial arts which were more a form of art than actual fighting. Philosophy wasn’t exactly helpful in the octagon, and many of the flashier forms, while they looked cool in practice turned out to be impractical in the ring.

He dropped his bag to the floor, reaching in to take out a pair of gloves, “The idea became that the more brutal straight to the point contact sports were most superior.”

Sunny crossed her arms, “So what is it, which martial art is more superior?”

Adam grinned, “That’s the catch… all of them are.”

“What do you mean.”

“All of them are assuming you put them together. Fighters that were well versed in multiple styles of fighting were the most victorious.” he fell into a standard human fighting posture feet shoulder width one foot before the other hands up and loose before his face neck down, “If you can punch like a boxer, Kick like a Muay Thai fighter, grapple like a Jiu Jitsu master and put all of it together, you may have more than a chance of winning.” he patted the side of the cage, “The general consensus is that the best kind of fighting is one that doesnt just take focus from one discipline, it is someone who can take the best things from all the disciplines and put them together all at once.”

Sunny looked on rather hungrily at the ring.

“Let’s do it.”

He grinned back, “I thought you might be interested.

Krill just shook his head and backed away, leave it to the drev and the human to find one of the most dangerous pastimes in the world. Who would have thought that philosophy could span a better way to kick the shit out of someone.

Kril Turned his head to look around the room and was surprised at all the thighs he saw. He may not have agreed with the martial arts necessarily, but there was something to be said about the variety, and the sort of human that came out of it. The men and women he could see practicing were, without a doubt some of the fittest humans he had ever laid eyes on, and he spent his time with a crew that wasn’t likely to shirt their physical health.

Men and women alike glistened with lean muscle sharp and prominent against their sweat glazed skin. Hands punched bags over and over and over again. In certain cases he watched as men and women kicked wooden poles repeatedly ramming their shins against the unforgiving surface their faces barely showing any hint of pain,

The feats of acrobatics which they managed, and the way they utilized their center of gravity was astonishing. He saw a five foot woman throw a two hundred pound man over her head simply by throwing herself to her back and kicking the other man over.

While weight and size seemed to matter to some degree there were a few humans here who didn’t seem to care.

Sunny and Adam were on the other side of the room Adam explaining the idea of kinetic linking to sunny, how by moving your body, you could force the power from your feet, all the way up through your legs hips and back and into a single punch making it more powerful.

Krill could see, on a physiological standpoint where that was true.

He even watched for a few sessions as Sunny and Adam went a few rounds Adam winning a surprising amount of times for someone who was so small, but often using the techniques that Krill was seeing around the room.

It was only after they had taken a break and were gearing up to go again that Krill noticed another human walk onto the floor. He was an older human, the pigment having faded from his hair long ago, bleaching him silver. Despite that, the man had the body of someone half his age, lean and sinuous, veins crawling up his arms like the vines of a tree.

Adam was just pulling on his gloves when the man stepped up.

“Excuse me, son.”

Adam lifted his head standing when the man approached, “Can I help you.”

The man set down his bag. Based on his voice, the man was clearly an older gentlemen though Krill had trouble guessing. Either way he had the opinion that this guy probably should take it easier than this palace suggested.

“I hate to ask, but My sparring partner is sick today, and I was wondering if you might consider a round or two. You look spry enough.”

Adam blinked in surprise but then shrugged, “Yeah sure I guess.” The way his ione eye traveled over the man suggested he was having the same thoughts as krill. He seemed like he was a bit too old to be doing something like this. Krill worried that he could potential break or tear something , but no one said a word as the man set down his bag and took a few minutes to stretch.

Krill was a bit more than surprised at the flexibility of the old man who managed a full split in both directions after warming up.

Adam seemed a little less sure of himself upon seeing that.

He definitely could not do that.

The old guy’s face was lined with delicate wrinkles through the skin, the body becoming less taught with age, but when the two of them hopped up into the ring, the older man seemed just as energetic as Adam, which seemed surprising.

No matter though, as old as he was, he would probably tire pretty easily.

“What do you say, no crotch shots and no eye gouging.” Adam announced and the old man agreed as they moved into position.

Krill and Sunny came to the side of the cage to watch as the two men squared off.

Adam kept his hands a bit relaxed, still guarded but not too concerned.

The older man didn’t keeping tight and low as they circled for a bit.

“You’ll want to keep up your guard, son.” The man chided, and adam smiled but pulled his hands in tighter.

Krill tapped his fingers.

Sunny smirked as if she knew something he didn’t

They exchanged a few blows, Adam going eas and the old guy, well being old and slow as Krill had expected. Adam’s guard began to drop again, and then all of a sudden out of absolutely nowhere there was a sharp blur of motion and a loud THWACK. 

Adam hit the ground hard dazed and confused as the old man stood over him.

Sunny ohhhhed in absolute glee.

Krill hissed in pain.

Adam had just been round kicked to the head.

“I told you to keep your guard up.” The old man said, reaching down a hand to help Adam to his feet, “probably also a good idea not to underestimate senior citizens.”

Adam rubbed his head, “Ok, ok I deserved that. Let's go another round.”

“You sure, you got your memory jogged kind of hard there.”

Adam shook himself and squared back up, his guard tight this time, “bring it on grandpa.”

The old man smiled and fell back into his stance. This time Adam was not smoking, and his expression was hard as he stared at the old man. Adam came forward with a jab which the man blocked and they exchanged a few punches catching each other only grazing blows as they hit. 

Adam got a kick to the upper leg,, the old man took a body shot that should have downed him, but by the staggering way Adam moved to the side suggested he had kicked something as hard as a brick wall.

The old man moved forward and the two of them were suddenly head to head, hands gripping shoulders, fingers digging into shirts, before any of them knew what happened Adam was thrown to the ground his wrist held tightly in the other man’s hands,

He tried to get up but the old man leaped down after him throwing his legs over Adams chest and positioning his elbow over his hips.

He arched his back subtly which had Adam tapping one of his legs frantically.

He let go and the two disengaged.

Sunny cheered.

Adam rubbed his elbow, “Armbar?”

The old man smiled, “I’m old boy, not an invalid.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, “I can see that. How about another round.”

With a teasing smile the old human winked a grey eye, “Only if you want to get beat again.”

Adam snorted, “yeah not so sure about that.” he squared up, “Besides, today’s early bird special is on a knuckle sandwich.”

The old man wiggled his head mockingly, “Oh a wise guy eh.”

Once Upon a time Krill would have assumed they were being aggressive in their words, but the cadence and the smiles on their faces assured him that, despite their actions, this was a friendly fight.

And how strange it was to see someone like the old man holding up so well against someone less than twice his age. By all rights Adam should have beaten him easily, but this old human despite his looks was more than what he appeared. Krill was going to have to do some more research on human aging processes, for there was something he felt he was missing.

The two had squared up again, dancing around in a circle as they came in repeatedly for attacks. Adam tried to get the upper hand with a sudden flurry of blows but the old man weathered it using precision to his advantage with precis body shots that had Adam packing off huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf.

At some point Adam did something neither of them had ever see, grabbing the man under his arms and turning, flipping the man over the fulcrum of his hips and sending him flowing into the ground. Adam jumped after trying to claim full mount but the old man somehow flipped him to the side and reversed it catching Adam around the back of the neck with a forearm.

The flat of his forearm went across Adam’s throat, his legs wrapped around his middle, and his opposite hand grabbed onto his wrist. As he squeezed, he also elongated his body..

Krill stepped forward hand out afraid the man was going to pop his cervical spine apart until Adam tapped falling to the ground with a grunt.

“Ok ok, ONE more time.” Adam said wobbling to his feet

The old man followed after grinning, “Whatever you say.”

This last fight went much like the one before it. An exchange up top and a sudden move onto the ground, though this time the man trapped adam using his legs, thighs constricting around the side of his neck.

Adam was still breathing just fine, until his body slumped to the side.

Krill leaped forward in shock and confusion thinking that the man had somehow injured his neck, killed him. But almost as soon as the man let go Adam twitched and then sat up looking groggy.

“What the.”

“You were supposed to tap before passing out.”

Adam rubbed his head, “Was that a triangle choke… didn’t even feel like I was choking.”

Krill stormed forward, “What happened! Adam are you alright. Do I need to call the police.”

Adam waved him off, “It was a blood choke krill, he temporarily cut off blood supply to my brain, no big deal.”

“No big deal!” Krill shreakied, “How is it having blood in your brain NOT a big deal.’

Sunny cheered with glee behind Krill’s protests leaping up into the ring and towards the old man, “Can you teach me.”

The old man seemed surprised, but agreed and glanced oer at Adam, “Someone needs some extra lessons anyway.”

Adam snorted and rolled his eyes but otherwise took it with good humor.

Krill sat fuming in the corner.

Humans, frigging humans always finding ways to hurt themselves. Crushing each other’s windpipes and cutting off carotid arteries, and bending joints that weren't supposed to be bent, and all for what because it was FUN to look STRONGER. He couldn't believe this.

Stupid 

Stupid humans.

He was going to have to tell someone. He was going to have to rant.

He was…..

Probably going to write an academic paper, though he was going to be angry while doing it.