#Diminishing Influence

[dinoserious]

arc goes on a silly little trip to a dying kingdom on a finding nemo style search for its kid

[sinnbaddie]

I don’t understand why Kishimoto never added Kakashi having thoughts about Gai when he died in the pain assault. It’s like he doesn’t want his relationship with Gai to have depth but then adds all these interactions and feelings that show how much he means to Kakashi.

He thinks of his dead friends and family, he thinks of Konoha 11, but he doesn’t think about his longest and biggest support? Not even a passing thought?

Might Gai is Kakashi’s best friend and rival, he isn’t a nuisance to him and he doesn’t think he’s less than him. Their relationship has substance and evidence to show how much they care about one another, im sick of Kishimoto and his constant need to diminish it then prop it up and then diminish it again. How can he be so inconsistent with relationships and character writing??

[wonder-worker]

"[Elizabeth Woodville] was the only member of [Crown Prince Edward of Westminster's] original 1471 council not already on the king’s council and her name headed the list of those appointed as administrators in Wales during Edward’s minority. [She remained on the council after it was expanded in 1473 and granted significant new governing and judicial powers]."

"In 1478 Prince Richard [of Shrewsbury] married the Mowbray heiress. Like his elder brother he had a chancellor, seal, household and council to manage his estates. His council, like that of Prince Edward, comprised the queen [Elizabeth Woodville] and a group of magnates and bishops, few of whom were Woodville supporters [...] It was Elizabeth who mattered, for Richard resided with her and Rivers treated his affairs as their own."

-J.L. Laynesmith, The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503 / Michael Hicks, Richard III and his Rivals: Magnates and their Motives in the Wars of the Roses

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

Why do you hate Alexander Hamilton so much? The guy lived and died before you were even born dude. He isn’t going to come alive and bite you XD

No, his actions just persist in the policies that my home nation was founded upon.

[falinscloaca]

*the softened yet punctual thwack of wood being swung violently against flesh*

[cactuslester]

dan is actually SUCH a romantic I didn't expect that

idk if this is in reference to something specific that happened recently lmk if it is, but yeah he really IS

he's got his edgy cynical persona and brand and we love him for it, but he can never really help being a bit of a sap when it really comes down to it

most recent silly example i can think of is him thinking the sims shouldve had an option for evan to lovingly wake dab up lmaooo

and of course there's all of those interviews, archenemies, husbands, 4000 year old tortoises, and so on <3

this is getting slightly off topic but also slightly related, something i find absolutely fascinating is the differences in how dnp navigate these types of things, being romantic and/or being emotionally vulnerable on camera/in print

like had has the edgy cynical aloof "coincidences are just statistics" thing he likes to project, but really it doesn't make much digging to get him to start waffling poetic

but phil has the cheerful optimistic believes in the magic of coincidence thing, but i think he holds a lot of his sappiness and/or emotional vulnerability way closer and way more guarded

there's obviously a lot more complexity to this that we are not privy to and i also cant explain in just a few sentences, but still, it's so interesting how the major/most noteble aspects of their branding and online personas can give a viewer, especially ones who arent insane about them like all are here on this website, an almost opposite impression as to what's really happening

(this also is tangentially related to my thoughts about how dnp navigate the idea and practice of lying, which i also find fascinating, like i think for dan lying is a Bigger thing, like he has a greater urge/need to feel like he is being authentic and honest and a greater want to not lie, but phil sees lying as more of a neutral practice that can be helpful and useful in situations where people just aren't entitled to that information, like i think when dan said "phil doens't care, he's just like like 'i'll fucking lie to anyone'" there was a kernel of truth to that, but this is a longer conversation and i've already made this answer way longer than i expected lmao thank you for humoring me guys)

[ironborealis]

What kinda kills me is that living Alastor would definitely have known what a television was -- the technology is taking great newsworthy leaps during the late 1920s, and more importantly broadcast television today still relies on radio signals to transmit. Television merely became mainstream media after Alastor's death and eventually overtook radio in popularity.

The programming genres between the two were similar to each other. News, dramas, comedies, soaps, talk shows, politics, religion, game shows etc.

What sets modern television apart from what Alastor knows of radio is that TV is now reliant on 24/7 programming (24/7 radio was a rarity when Alastor was alive), the rise of cable/satellite/streaming television, and the death of long format music television...

Which considering the first video played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, the inverted version of which becomes the title of the 2nd episode...w

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

There seems to be some misunderstanding about what "manipulation" actually is.

Manipulation does not need to be pre-meditated, nor does if need to involve lying. Sometimes, people can manipulate others without even knowing that they're doing so due to things like poor communication or avoidance.

Manipulation often does involve these things, but at the core, manipulation is when your actions, or lack of actions, have harmful influence over someone else as a means of getting what you want.

This is exactly what Orym did with Laudna. Yes, I do think this decision, in part, was clouded by the fact that Bor'Dor was working for Ludinus and clouded by the fact that he wants retribution for what Ludinus did to his family, but at the end of the day, fully aware of what he was doing, his actions (nodding his head at Laudna when she looked up at Orym to see if she should kill Bor'Dor, something that she very well may not have done had he decided to answer otherwise and remind her of who she is post-Delilah) had harmful influence (Delilah potentially being back due to Laudna giving in to that darkness) over Laudna as a means of Orym getting what he wanted (Bor'Dor dead and Delilah possibly back to aid them in defeating Ludinus).

And yes, Laudna did, at the end of the day, decide to listen to Orym and kill Bor'Dor, something she didn't have to do regardless of what Orym said, but the key aspect of manipulation is INFLUENCE. Orym had influence over Laudna in that moment... if he didn't, she wouldn't have looked to him for guidance, and he decided to make a decision that could potentially harm Laudna as a means of getting what he wanted.

[dxxtruction]

///

[fideidefenswhore]

Despite relentless pressure to acknowledge her illegitimacy, Mary had always held out. But now, under the very real threat that her dear friends would otherwise go to the block for supporting her claim, Mary finally submitted and put her hand to the document that declared the invalidity of her parents' marriage and her own bastardy. The lives of Exeter, Carew, and their allies were saved, if only temporarily, by Mary's sacrifice, but their political influence had been shot.

Henry VIII’s Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Jessie Childs

[oathofkaslana]

i really do think the writers did so so well w both kiamei and elymei like i think both individually work so so well w mei's character arc AND both together create such a beautiful story.

[wonder-worker]

The division between the two families [the Woodvilles and the Nevilles] and their allies can be seen in the royal charters that they witnessed. Warwick, Rivers and Archbishop Neville of York, while serving as chancellor and afterwards, were fairly constant witnesses to royal charters and consequently often appeared together. This was not, however, the case for other family members and friends. From 1466 to 1469, if Scales or Woodville associates like Sir John Fogge, John Lord Audley or Humphrey Lord Stafford of Southwick witnessed royal charters, then members of the Neville group, such as John Neville, earl of Northumberland, or John Lord Wenlock would not, and vice versa. Discounting the ubiquitous Warwick, Rivers and Archbishop Neville, of the twenty-four charters issued between February 1466 and June 1469, twelve were witnessed by men associated with the Woodvilles, eight by men associated with the Nevilles and two were witnessed by no member of either group beyond the two earls at their heads and the archbishop; only two charters, both from 1466, featured associates of both families.

Such striking segregation of witnesses suggests that something more than simple convenience or availability was at play. [...] The evidence of these witness lists does show the extent of the split between the two groups from early in Edward's [first] reign and of the need for political society to work with that cleavage in the heart of the Yorkist regime."

-Theron Westervelt, "Royal charter witness lists and the politics of the reign of Edward IV"

*This is specifically applicable for Edward IV's first reign; in contrast, the charters in his second reign displayed a great deal of aristocratic and domestic unity and cohesion.

[ruthlesslistener]

Fuck, I need to remember to bring the Wanderer's Journal back with me for a reread during the break, bc all I remember from it atm was the detail that the 'statues' in the Forgotten Crossroads are perhaps fossilized bugs, that the Pale King was a civil engineer whose architecture was specifically designed to work with the nature of Hallownest (at least in the Queen's Station), and that the beetle tribe in the City of Tears was racist towards the Mantis Tribe, considering them savage for using bone and sinew as building materials despite the Mantises having advanced mechanisms and entering a treaty with PK, which stuck with me specifically bc it indicates that the tribes in Hallownest are indeed extremely segregated via ancient cultural differences rather than anything tied to the gods. Which makes sense considering the fact that they're all segregated by species and have different needs/lifecycles as well as clear indicators of distinct tribes dwelling within the caverns for millenia pre-Radi and PK, but also godDAMN do I need more information on that bc its really, really fascinating

[found--family]

Dean and Cassie is a better canonically, better than Dean and Cas

dean and cassie are good but they're different, not better. a character can be in love two different times with two different people and one lovestory need not be "better" than the other to be worthwhile for the viewer or significant for the character.

that being said, cassie was in (1) episode versus cas' 12 seasons so you're either a cas hater or you buy into the ridiculous notion that only sexual scenes prove two characters are in love. grow up hon.

[littledreamling]

Okay here’s another Religious Hob post (because that’s apparently my niche, not that I’m complaining at all):

I don’t think Hob has given up his religion. And I could end the post there, because for those who grew up religious or have found a true faith in religion, my point has already been made. But I won’t, because I know most of us don’t fall into either of those categories, so here’s what my true point is: people who truly have faith, a blind, all-encompassing, trusting, and deep faith don’t give up on their religion. Anyone who has ever talked to a Jehovah’s Witness can attest to this; religious people are stubborn as fuck. And this comes from the very essence of what faith is; it doesn’t need proof. It’s a blind leap into a veiled chasm with only the word of an invisible entity to rely on that you will be caught at the bottom. If Hob was truly religious (which I think he was), then his blind faith, combined with his indomitable stubbornness, means that he hasn’t let go of a religious conviction even once in his life. The man cannot do it. Even in the face of every awful thing that has happened to him and those around him, his faith would’ve been a constant. He is convinced that he is going to heaven, that his everlasting devotion to the Almighty will grant him peace and perfection at the end of it all, whenever that may be.

And you know what? He’s probably right! The Creator exists in the DC universe; Dream mentions them in episode 4! God exists, Lucifer exists, Hell exists, so Heaven must exist too, right (logically, anyway)? And while Hob doesn’t need any reassurance (that’s how faith works) that his devotion will pay off, can you imagine how overjoyed he would be when Dream told him about the Creator, about the Creator’s absolute existence? He’s never had doubts, not enough to lose his faith, and with knowledge like that, he never will either. So no, I don’t think Hob ever lost his religion, I think he’s stubbornly and faithfully clung to it, knowing that all good things in his life have come from his inability to give up on them

[celestial-sapphicss]

i haven't seen oppenheimer yet but i know that the most funniest criticism of the movie by hindus is that tHeY iNcLuDeD a tEXt fRoM a rElIgIouS sCriPtuRe iN a sEx sCenE as if the entire fucking religion isn't based on oppression and division and maintaining caste (and by default class) purity by committing atrocities against the marginalised.