#If you guys ever want to see how I got to those conclusions based on some of the 2014/2016 movies scenes - let me know!

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

I don't remember if I ever did a HC post about other fighting styles that could probably fit the turtles. Anywhoozle, here I go!

Leonardo

Fight style: Taekwondo

Leo is a man of great fighting skills and goddamn is he flexible with dem LEGS.

I feel taekwondo would fit him as mastering this style would require patience, LOTS of skills, endurance and physical prowess.

Raphael

Fight style: Judo

There's no denying: Raph is probably the strongest of all four and he would fully take advantage of that.

Once he'd get a good grip on an opponent, you bet he's going to pummel their face and ass straight to the ground.

Donatello

Fight style: Kung Fu

A very flexible style that would probably appeal more to the defensive side of Donnie!

This style tends to be very creative with its environment and once mastered, it can make you a very fast and precise fighter!

(^^^^^ Bonus point for including an Ip Man scene. If you haven't seen those movies, I highly recommend!! I love kung fu movies! Plus the main actor's name is Donnie Yen hehehehheh)

Michelangelo

Fight style: Capoeira

Dancing AND fighting?! This just screams Mikey's style!

Learning to fight this way can make him unpredictable to his ennemies, and also flexible and quick to evade attacks coming his way.

[bangtanficsforyou]

Hello, Love (JJK)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: fluff, angst, probable smut (we don't know yet lololol)

Rating: 18+

Summary: You had a plan when you returned home, seven years later. However, falling in love with your sister's fiance wasn't it.

Warning: mentions of drug addiction, familial neglect.

A/N: Based on a movie 😏📸. Also, here's a post explaining why I disappeared.

Playlist | Patreon

“So you’re getting married tomorrow, huh?” the rhetorical question slips from your mouth with a smile. A smile that in every way looks, forced. 

You don’t know what you were thiniking. But a part of you, just wanted to have a conversation with your sister. Maybe you had hoped for it to be like one of those conversations. The kind that you’d see in movies, taking place between two sisters, when one is about to hit a big milestone. 

Maybe a little reminscing about the old days. A little recallation of the past times when you both got into trouble. Joking about the embarassing moments. A little laughter, a few tears and hearts filled with warmth. 

“Yes, I am,” your sister replies without bothering to look up.

You linger at the doorway for a moment and then realise how stupid you were. 

You nod, knowing very well that this is pretty much the end of the conversation–if you could even call it that. You let the door shut quietly and slip out of the room.

Tomorrow, your sister is getting married. Your elder sister, to be more specific. 

She is getting married to the man she loves, to the man she has been in a relationship with for seven years.

The man, who unfortunately happens to be the one you have fallen in love with, in the span of these last few weeks. 

Oh how did you get into this mess and expect it to result into anything other than heartbreak?

SEVEN YEARS AGO

The loud music playing through the speakers tempts you to join the ongoing celebrations. You look at the joyful faces of your family members and a smile appears on your face. Lord knows when you will be seeing them next.

“Please take care of yourselves,” you whisper, knowing very well that you should leave as quickly as possible.

However, your gaze lingers on one person in particular. Your father.  Oh, how you wish you could just hug him once before leaving. But that might not be a smart move. Your resolve might weaken on feeling his arms around you. No, you cannot afford that.

You take a deep inhale and turn away from the wedding celebrations. You march towards the exit gate with hurried steps. Your feet however, come to a halt when you spot one of your friends chatting with some guy near the gate. Shit. You turn away immediately and flee the spot before she can spot you.

Once you’re sure that there is no way for her to see you, you release a sigh of relief. You have no idea how you’d have explained the bags and luggage you’re currently carrying, had she seen you.

The thought of that makes you feel more urgency to leave this wedding venue. You look around frantically hoping that there would be some other gate. You do spot one, however, there stands your father’s uncle’s son’s son, who has seemingly found this to be the ideal smoking spot.

A few moments later, you come to the conclusion that there is indeed, only one way to escape this place. You need to climb over the wall.

You find a quiet place, away from the crowd, that has very dim lighting. You throw your bags over the wall and wait for the thud to confirm that your bags have landed on the other side. Then, you roll the sleeves of your shirt up and get ready for the difficult part; the climbing.

Thanks to your experience with tree climbing, you somehow successfully manage to climb the wall at your second attempt. However, it’s that wired fence that causes you more trouble than you would have ever imagined.

Somehow, it gets stuck to the back of your shirt in such an awkward position that you cannot even grab a hold of it properly. The only way for you to get your shirt unstuck would be to pull the piece of cloth hard enough. But then you cannot do that. It will tear your shirt and boy, where will you go and change now?

Slowly, very slowly, you move the shirt, hoping somehow, it would get freed from the wire.

Okay, so maybe a little this side–a little on the other–no, wait this is not–

“Are you leaving or are you arriving?”

A voice speaks, startling you to your very core. You look up and feel extremely relieved upon realising that this man happens to be someone who’s completely unknown to you.

“Well as of now, I’m stuck,” you trail off, hoping that the guy would catch the hint and help you.

Thankfully, he does.

He gathers a couple bricks that were laying around and tip toes on them for his hands to reach the wired fence. Despite not being able to see how the wire has gotten stuck in your shirt, his hand somehow still manages to do the job smoothly.

Once you’re free, you’re quick to get down. Dusting off your clothes, you pick your bags up. “Thank you, for helping me.”

“Considering that you got down on this side of the wall, I’m going to assume that you’re leaving.” He observes.

You look at him for a moment and then nod. “Yes, I am.”

“Do you need help with the bags?”

A smile appears on your lips at his words, as you think this guy is a little too nice for his own good. “Sure, that’d actually be helpful!”

Nodding he bends down to pick up the bags. He’s surprised when he realises how heavy your luggage actually is. “Damn, these are heavy.”

“I know,” you glance at your watch. “Let’s get going.”

It takes him a split second to process as you start walking immediately after the words are out of your mouth, without so much of a second glance at him. Your quick movements make him trail behind you, as you make your way through the playground which connects to the main road.

Having given up on catching up with you, he looks around and sees a bunch of kids playing football on one side of the ground. While the other side remains occupied with kids playing cricket. The scoreboard catches his attention as it reads “6 required from 3 balls”. That’s intense, he thinks.

His eyes remain fixed on the match as his feet continue to move. The bowler bowls and he watches with excitement as the batsman flicks it for a single. As the strike rotates, the scoreboard now changes to “5 required from 2 balls”.

The second last delivery of the match and much to his surprise, it’s a full toss. The ball connects right to the centre of the bat and goes straight in the air. His eyes follow the ball and he watches with a bated breath as he waits for it to be either a six or a four.

His jaw drops open, when the ball is caught–by you. You aim the ball straight at the stumps and before the runner can reach the crease, the ball hits the wickets, dismissing the bails.

“OUT!” 

A unanimous shout breaks out, celebrating the wicket. The tension breaks as the match is now in favour of the defending side.

Suddenly, the bags aren’t as heavy as they were moments ago and he rushes to catch up with you. “That was such a cool throw.”

“Thanks,” you shoot him a smile.

“Do you play cricket?” He queries, his eyes shining bright with excitement.

“I once used to. Nowadays, I don’t really get the time to play.” You shrug. “I love watching cricket though.”

“Did you watch yesterday’s match?” His excitement heightens.

“No I didn’t, but I did watch the highlights.”

“You missed one of the greatest matches of all times,” he shakes his head, emphasising his point with a dreamy smile on his face.

“I just don’t like watching ODIs,” you comment. “I think cricket matches should be of twenty overs. Four hours and the match is done.”

“I mean sure, T20Is are good, they are explosive in nature,” he agrees. “But nothing beats the longer formats of cricket.”

“Well, i am yet to get the hang of them,” you muse. “Maybe someday, I will get the hang of ODIs.”

“Maybe a India VS Australia match would do it for you.”

“Oh! I live for the sledging in India-Australia matches.”

“But then, the real spirit of cricket is in test matches! Five long days for one match and yet the match might be a tie. It really does test a man’s patience,” he speaks, his hands moving animatedly with each word. “Maybe that’s why they are called test matches, you know?”

“Kudos to the players playing these matches, because I do not have the patience to watch a test match. Can’t imagine playing it.”

“You should try watching a good bilateral series sometime, I bet you’ll like it.”

“Oh, I have definitely tried watching test matches before and I remember in half an hour, the scoreboard changed from 243 to 245. That was pretty much it for me.”

Your words cause him to cackle. “Maybe someday, you’ll realise the beauty of test matches, who knows?”

“Maybe. Someday.”

A brief moment of silence falls between the both of you.

“Who’s your favourite player, right now?”

“Has to be Steve Smith!” You claim proudly, without a second thought.

“Dude has got a bright future in cricket, that’s for sure.”

“I love how smoothly he hits those shots. It’s a treat watching him,” you add, your admiration for the young player visible in your eyes.

He hums and lets the conversation die as you both approach the main road, which is from where he assumes you’re about to take some vehicle to continue the rest of your journey. His assumption is proved right when you start waving at a taxi approaching towards the both of you.

“Airport?” You ask and upon receiving a nod from the driver, you start loading your luggage in the car. Once everything is settled, you get in as well. Locking in the door, you wave at him and ask the driver to get going.

He watches as the taxi sets to motion with a small lingering smile on his face. He is about to turn around and leave when the car stops and you poke your head out of the window.

“You want to tag along?” You ask loudly to be heard through the newly made distance between the both of you.

He is bewildered on hearing your words. “But the wedding---,” he points in the direction where the wedding ceremony is being performed, instead of completing his sentence.

“Are you the one who's getting married?” You answer with another question.

“No,” he shakes his head, eyes wide with confusion. How on earth are you saying this so casually?

“Then come along.”

He cannot see the whole of your body as only a portion of it remains poking out of the window and he has only known you for a very brief moment, but for some unknown reason he feels so sure that you must have shrugged as you said those words. And for some odd reason, with how casually you’re treating the situation, he feels the oddness of the situation fade.

“I cannot just leave the wedding like that,” he replies.

“Okay, then. Have fun.”

You do not sound disappointed at all. You sound just as casual, he thinks.

“Have a safe journey,” he yells, as you retreat back inside the car.

A faint, i will, thank you, greet his ears and he shakes his head to himself. You are something, he thinks with that same smile as he heads back to the wedding.

“Dude, I met a 8.5 outside!” He tells his friend the moment he’s within earshot.

His friend doesn’t look at him as his gaze remains fixed somewhere else. “Forget about an 8.5. Look there, there’s a literal 10 right in front of your eyes.”

He follows his friend’s gaze and it leads him to one of the prettiest girls he has ever seen, in his entire life. A ten indeed.

“Wow.” The breathless one word sentence escapes his lips without his permission.

His friend smirks at the reaction. “She’s the bride’s sister. She’s a model but is soon going to feature in some short films.”

The words barely register in his head as the girl locks eyes with him. Maybe he wasn’t discreet with his gawking, after all. What absolutely leaves him speechless, however, is when the girl gives him a shy smile.

The interaction isn’t missed by his friend as he whistles slowly, before murmuring, “Here’s to hoping you’re smart enough to understand what that smile means.”

[sh0tanzz]

Who do you think would be the mtl jealous bf in riize?

OMGG ive been waiting for an ask like this 😭

MTL JEALOUS BF IN RIIZE based on astrology ~

(reminder that this for fun and astrology is something I study for a hobby, these are all inferences based off of observations and not exact fact unless I knew them myself !!)

Most

Sungchan - Tbsh his jealousy would be pretty overboard and extremely obvious like a blaring red signal. He would NOT play about you. His cancer moon makes him pretty sensitive and obvious with his emotions so if he felt jealous he'd get in his feelings or even sulk/ruminate as well as he'd take it pretty personal and have a hard time letting go. His leo venus makes him pretty dramatic 😭. This venus paired with his moon might make him cause a scene or "act out" . His venus+moon leads to him wanting your care and attention on him and him alone. His cap mars screams possessiveness and being restrictive, he'd get so possessive do not let him see you laugh at another guys jokes or be helpful to another guy he'd be FUMING .

Wonbin - I honestly wasn't going to rank Wonbin this high but then I remembered his taurus mars paired with venus square pluto and pluto conjunct lilith so...here we are LMFAOO. From my own personal observations taurus mars is way more possessive in comparison to taurus venus; those pluto/venus/lilith aspects paired with his mars can make his jealousy take a snowball effect leading to an emotional avalanche. Plus a power imbalance fueling the jealousy even more and leading to him being restrictive. However, I ranked him below Sungchan because Sungchan would be VERY petty and loud about his jealousy while Wonbin would most likely silently seethe (due to his pisces sun, aquarius mercury) until he ultimately can't handle holding back, but until then his jealousy would still be DEEP.

Shotaro - His scorpio moon+capricorn venus makes him take the relationship pretty seriously. He craves stability and honesty and once he feels like his jealousy is compromising the security and trust in the relationship he must act ! He won't be too quick to jump into conclusions because of his libra mars, he'd probably think things through before asking/acting on his jealousy..and he might front and pretend he's only a tiny bit jealous/concerned when really it's weighing heavy on his heart in the beginning. When he is jealous he'd be more quiet and less jovial than he usually is. He'd be pretty straight up and might even just ask/tell you about how he's feeling. When things are clarified things will be cool again and he'll go back to being your sweet taro and hopefully stop staring daggers into the random guy talking to you while smiling.

Anton - Very unserious, would text "what position he got you in" and move on with his day. KIDDDING kind of 😭 He'd have short phases of possessiveness due to his taurus venus. His moon square saturn and venus square neptune can lead to slight paranoia and being unable to naturally express his insecurities which could be the source of the jealousy. Despite these things he wouldn't express his jealousy in toxic or overboard ways, he'd probably express his jealousy through jokes or non seriousness hoping you would pick up on it (you probably would with that mercury aries, straight to the point) If he ever did tell you straight up he wouldn't be too harsh he'd just want to be honest and being reassured will patch everything right up.

Sohee - I ranked Sohee this low because honestly when reading his chart I feel like his jealousy would, similarly to Anton's, be quick to come and go. He'd be quick to say something or show that he's uncomfortable. He wouldn't sit you down to have a serious convo about it, but it would have to just passively come out in conversation . As soon as he felt reassured then he'd be fine once again. Now if it was an ongoing issue of scenarios that led to him being jealous then he'd have a more serious even messy approach (his mars square pluto) his temper would awaken. But outside of that he trusts you, even if he doesn't trust and is suspicious of the guys around you he trusts YOUUU at the very end.

Seunghan - Oh the lovely boyfriend that just wants to keep the peace. He wouldn't want you to hound him out of jealousy so he ofc wouldn't do that to you either. If he was jealous he'd be more emotional rather than being petty+aggressive. His mercury is exalted in virgo so he'd definitely want to talk about it or at least let you know how he feels. Outside of that I think he'd want to avoid such a thing in the first place. He'd trust you as best as he can and wouldn't want there to be an imbalance in the relationship to where one of you are restricting the other due to deep seated jealousy (thanks to his libra sun+venus and sag moon). He quite literally just wants you two to be happy and knows that genuine jealousy can poison such a good thing.

Eunseok - I'm sorry fellow briize but this man is quite literally the least of your concern. His aries venus wouldn't want to make things too serious and ominous with jealousy (plus because he values his freedom so in his mind you must value yours too right ?) His sag mars paired with it means he doesn't want to dwell with thoughts of you possibly giving your attention to other guys. He basically has a nonchalant "she knows where home is" mentality lowkey. Plus if he ever did feel jealous he'd probably not say anything because his cap moon+pisces mercury would barely let him properly express it (with words at least). Also weirdly enough he'd be more jealous if you weren't in a relationship compared to if you guys were; once you two are officially together he wouldn't be as jealous anymore .

Least

[mishy-mashy]

Bruce is actually really attractive, and I have enough reasoning to make a list

He's:

Tall (. Tall enough to hit his head on the vault doorframe)

Long-legged

Has a straight nose bridge

Has high cheekbones (more noticeable in 2nd pic below)

Has a strong jawline

Sharp eyes, but they aren't small (plus eyebags if you're into that)

Overall, he has strong, attractive facial features

Has broad, refined shoulders. You can tell he works out (or he did, when he was alive)

Even has a thick, muscly neck

He has MUSCLE. Is SCULPTED. NOICE. VERY NOICE. (nice arms. Nice shoulders. Nice neck. Nice legs. Nice butt-)

(There are actually panels where you can see some of his muscles. Other than those already shown here, he's got bricky thighs-

-and in the panels where we first get his name dropped, he's got those shoulder blades too-)

The one time we see him smile, and he actually has a scary one

Has small, kinda sharp pupils, and his eyes remind me of a cat. We only ever saw him tense or defensive, so his resting/listening face is really cute

Other than the physical appearance stuff, he also:

Takes shit without batting an eye (patience, knowing it's just how Kudo is, etc)

Kudo being all "Cut the crap Bruce and give it to me straight", after Bruce tests his blood and is rightfully Concerned because they just faced AFO

Put up with Kudo's experimenting and testing over Yoichi's transferable Factor

Did ya'll see the look on Kudo's face when he realized he had Yoichi's Factor/will? Kudo was going to start in nonsense and Bruce just dealt with that.

Also something I noticed when looking back at the images here; Bruce has bandages on his arms in the void. But not when he faced AFO in the sewers.

Were he and Kudo cutting their arms open in their experimenting over Yoichi's theory? Is this why Kudo has two gauntlets instead of his one? Why we never see his bare arms in the void? That he always keeps his arms down so there's no slip?

Is smart enough to run blood tests, plus has enough common sense to pick Shinomori as his successor

He picked a guy who avoids society, has an Ability to detect danger so he can always stay away from AFO, is also a coward so he's never going to go throw himself into danger, even without knowing instinctively he stands no chance, etc.

Meanwhile, Kudo chose Bruce, who he played Hot Potato Yoichi with; but he did also trust Bruce, and put the only pure combative Ability in OFA through Bruce.

These two made their choices based on what they valued and saw the Factor needed.

Is logical, analytical, and calm.

He tried advising Midoriya on their Abilities in One For All, especially his own.

Midoriya then tried ignoring him about using Fa Jin for the first time, but found he was right, thinking: "Dammit!! I had [Lady Nagant] right where I wanted her, but... ugh! The Third was right. My parallel Quirk processes are all screwed up!" (ch. 314).

Plus, when Midoriya fixed his processing mistakes, Bruce was analyzing the way he reached his new conclusion. Pure facts, no bias, very calm, just saying it as it was.

We never see him panic. When he's caught by surprise in the sewers by AFO, Kudo, and Yoichi's little bubble event, he immediately reacts. He doesn't falter, he just knows he has to do something right now.

Was more willing to listen than Kudo to Yoichi's beckon, and probably was just following Kudo's rejection of Midoriya

While we don't see Kudo's face, we see Bruce's eyes when Yoichi calls on his heroes. Bruce was more open and receptive, or at least more impacted.

Bruce was also the one to start talking, while Kudo just kept quiet.

He actually communicates a lot

When Yoichi called them to support Midoriya, Bruce started talking to paint a picture of why they thought the way they did, so Yoichi understood where they were coming from.

(Though he seems to beat about the bush sometimes, since Kudo spoke up to be direct on how they couldn't just put their trust in some starry-eyed teenager. Plus, when Kudo tells him to just tell him what's wrong [double Factors])

When Midoriya first used Fa Jin against Nagant, Bruce came out just to tell him he knew what he was trying, but that Midoriya wasn't ready; and Midoriya found he was right. Midoriya just didn't want to listen to him then.

He asks Kudo for clarification after finding Kudo had two Factors in him after the sewer incident ("Just to be sure, All For One didn't touch you, right?") Kudo knew him well enough to go "stop beating around the bush and tell me", so Bruce was probably gonna start with questions, theories, and trying to understand everything in general, before saying "yeah you have two Factors. Don't know why".

Is strong-willed and loyal.

He followed Kudo, even to death, carrying on the cause he started until it ended with him.

Plus, when talking about how AFO needs a strong will to override OFA's own, we first see Bruce, Kudo, and Yoichi.

AFO couldn't steal OFA because the will was too strong for him, and that was back during Banjo's time. Since Shinomori never actually tried opposing AFO and just hid, we can assume the first Three (Yoichi, Kudo, Bruce) already had an accumulation of strong willpower that made OFA un-stealable. Those three are a strong enough foundation, and the main wills, that the other users just become bonuses.

Kudo, also saying that Midoriya needs allies with the same will and drive as him... hey Kudo, you're talking about yourself and your old allies, aren't you? That's why you look at Yoichi and Bruce when you say this.

Not only is Bruce attractive, but he's got good character. THE END.

[mrs-kodzuken]

Sick with you ♡

Pairing: Aged up!Haijme Iwaizumi x fem!reader

WC: 2.1k

Genre: fluff

CW: fem!reader, sickness, becoming friends, slight attraction to iwaizumi, slight cussing, infertile!reader, teacher!reader, mentions of reader passing out, iwa taking care of reader, very slight implied infertile!iwaizumi, not proofread, very slight angst due to infertile talk

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

I sniffled, the disgusting snot coming out of my nose hiding back into it. I was sick. Working with kids was the greatest thing I could have ever done but the unfortunate side of it is getting sick a lot. However, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

I was so sick and I had all the symptoms like the sneezing, body aches, headache, and sore throat. I went to the doctor to see if it was something more serious because I literally feel like death and all she said was that it’s just a ‘common cold’.

A common cold my ass. I feel like I could die.

Staying in the comfort of my own home instead of getting any of the other teachers sick was hard. I wanted—needed—to know how my students were doing.

After having found out I was infertile when I was twenty years old crushed me. Hence why I became a teacher to surround myself around the hopeful children. They look up to me and I love them as if I’m their mom—school mom.

Maybe it’s a sadistic way to cope with my feelings but I don’t care. I went through hell after finding out that heartbreaking news.

The pounding in my skull brought me back to my sickened state. I groaned before grabbing the left side of my head in pain. I was out of headache medicine and my stomach was already growling for something to eat.

As much as I wanted to let my mom and dad take care of me, like they usually would do. I moved away. Finding out about my infertility was a blow to my heart and in the moment I was so broken that I couldn’t stay in the same place where I found it out.

Blinking away the thoughts of my pain, I focused on my bodily pain as I got up to throw on something. I decided on an oversized hoodie I thrifted and kept the nighttime shorts I had on, it was already dinner time anyways. As I turned around for my keys I could feel my body swaying until I grabbed onto the wall.

Damn. I need to hurry and lay back down.

Hurrying to the front door, I grabbed my wallet and slipped on my slides as a cough slid out of my throat.

The nearest convenience store was my best bet since it was only a short walk that I could manage. I wasn’t trying to collapse in the middle of the street.

The little ding I heard alerted me that I was inside the store and I tried to snap out of my small trance of disorientation. I immediately headed for the medical aisle, I need medicine as soon as possible.

After grabbing it, I almost neared the cashier until my stomach rumbled. I damn neared cried because of the pain and hunger I was feeling.

Trudging towards the soup aisle, I quickly saw the last can of chicken noodle soup and immediately went to grab it.

Unfortunately, I guess I wasn’t the only person who wanted some chicken noodle soup right then. I looked over, no matter how much it hurt my eyes to do so, and saw a tall guy. The tip of his nose was highlighted with the color red and there were visible dark eye bags underneath his dark colored eyes.

Our hands brushed as we both tried to grab the same can which happens to be the very last can. “Uhh..” Trailed out of my mouth without warning.

“Sorry,” He politely said towards me, retracting his hand from mine and the chicken noodle soup. He sure was a gentleman if he was just as sick as me and giving me the last can of chicken noodle soup.

“No, sorry, you can have it.” I said, I made a conclusion based on what he looked like. He was built, like built, his muscles showing through a black tee that he was wearing both triceps and abs. Someone who was this muscular had to be someone who was important enough to have those muscles. He gave me a strange look.

“You look worse than I do, I insist.” I’m pretty sure he meant it as I should take better care of myself but I couldn’t help but to take high offense to that.

I scoffed, “Yeah, thank you. Way to make a stranger feel shitty about her appearance.” I gripped the metal can off the shelf and made my way to the cashier, leaving the handsome but sick man behind me.

After I was done checking out, all of my energy was completely gone. It took everything out of me to even get to the store and just the short walk back was enough to make want to cry.

I opened the door to leave, the ding from it making me wince as it was disoriented in my head.

Suddenly, the area around me started to blur and the step I took made my body collapse. I couldn’t even care less about the pain that was headed my way when I hit the pavement of the outside of the convenience store.

But it didn’t come.

Warmth surround my torso as I was caught, it did very little to break me from my state. I could barely open my eyes to see the person—man, definitely a man from the way he feels—who caught me.

“Shit, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?” A concerned voice sounded out, it happened to belong to the same man from earlier. However, the sound of his voice was muddled out weirdly. A sound of confusion came from my mouth as I tried to gain my bearings.

I mumbled my address then tried to grab my bag of needs that I bought to shuffle my way to my house.

That is, until black spots clouded my vision and I definitely fell to the ground as I blacked out.

The smell of delicious food awoke me. A huge shove came to my body when I fully gained consciousness. Everything hurts so bad. My throat was dry, my body hurt to the max, and I didn’t even get my soup from the store.

Wait, the last thing I remember was collapsing in front of the convenience store. How fucking embarrassing.

My blood went cold when I realized someone was in my house. Could it be the man from earlier? If so, why in the world is he cooking food in my kitchen?

I slowly got up, not wanting to pass out again in my own room, and headed for the kitchen.

My living room TV was on some sort of kids show I watched when I was younger. The lamps were on giving it a nice ambiance, not too much to hurt my head even more than it already did.

I turned the kitchen and saw the clothed muscular back of the man from the convenience store.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” I tried to question him intently, however my efforts failed because it sounded scratchy and like I desperately needed water.

He turned around quickly, revealing a pot on the stove and the remnants of sliced vegetables on my cutting board.

“Hey, you’re awake. You fell in front of the store and I took you home but felt bad since I apparently said you look horrible. So, in return I patched you up and made a stew.” Even though I knew he was sick, he made me soup anyways because he felt bad. I would take it as an extremely kind gesture if the whole situation wasn’t weird.

I was about to speak again but realize what happened last time so I just nodded and headed to the sink for some water.

After having my fill and letting the cool water run down my parched throat I spoke, “You’re sick too. You didn’t have to go out of your way.” I furrowed my brows and pain hit my face.

“Oh my god, ow,” I exclaimed, my hand coming up to my eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t catch you in time, you fell again after the first time.” He looked over what I’m assuming were my bandaged cuts on my face.

“Oh, thank you…” I trailed off, not knowing is name or what to say besides thanking him.

“Haijme Iwaizumi.” He gave me a small smile then returned back to the stew that was brewing on the stove.

Even though the situation is way weird, it was kind of nice. I haven’t had a man over into my home in the longest. I don’t like one night stands and my long term boyfriend I had left me back when I found out I was infertile.

I watched as Iwaizumi poured the stew into one porcelain white bowl, adding a soup spoon into the bowl. He served the meal to me and just stood there.

Weird.

“Are you not going to eat..?” I asked him, maybe it was my loneliness of being alone for a while or something more but I didn’t want him to go.

“Are you sure? I made this for you, I can just take the chicken noodle soup and leave if you’d like.” He put the utensils into my sink and was about out to leave.

“Please stay. I insist.” I slightly begged, hearing the panic in my own voice. Man, being sick sure does mess with my head.

After a while of just spoons clacking against the bowls I decided I had enough.

“Thank you for taking care of me. I’m sure you’re a busy man, you didn’t have to do all of this for a stranger.” I thanked him, I didn’t know what else to do since I had just finished my strew. I felt more myself after I had it too.

“No worries. I have the day off from work. I’m also used to taking care of my friends.” He smiled a bit at me, making my heart thump.

I was a sucker for people like me, people who help others just because. Sometimes from their own unfortunate circumstances or sometimes from the joy of it.

“What do you do? If you don’t mind, I just, I want to know more I guess.” I shamelessly chuckled, uncontrollably moving around in my seat. I hope he didn’t think I was weird.

“I’m an athletic trainer. I coach the Japanese National Team.” My suspicions were correct. He was definitely important.

“Wow, that’s impressive. I’m just a plain old grade school teacher.” I embarrassingly laughed, my occupation wasn’t anything like his.

“If it counts, I think that that’s impressive.”

I looked up at him, his eyes staring back into mine. The moment was so silent but intimate to me. It felt warm.

“Really? I do it because it’s something that makes me happy. It fulfills a part of me that I won’t be able to have someday, you know?” I said, being completely honest for no reason at all. I was just happy that he thought my job was impressive, no one really does besides me.

“The same goes with me. The team are people I have known since college and high school so I always feel like I’m kind of a big brother or dad to them.” He lets out a laugh that embarrassingly makes my entire body warmer than the sickness.

“I like you as a person. You remind me of me.”

He looks up and smiles so deeply at me, kindness coating his eyes. “I like you too. Your home feels like a heavy reflection of you.”

Our heart to heart words between us felt like forever but didn’t really last that long. Much to my surprise, it was almost 11pm and Iwaizumi had to get home.

“Thank you for taking care of me, I’m in your debt.” I said, a smile gracing my lips.

“No problem, I’ll call if I need any favors.” He let out a chuckle which made my cheeks flush.

A thought of realization dawned upon me and I made a hasty decision within two seconds. “Wait, how about you stay over?” I slowly asked, “I might collapse again.” I hoped for a yes and my prayers were answered when he nodded.

“Thank you. I didn’t want to impose on you by asking.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

How boyish of him.

I told him about where everything was in my house and decided to take a quick shower and try to get some sleep to feel better.

“Come get me if you need anything Iwaizumi. I’ll be right down the hall.” I commented before shutting the guest bedroom and entering mine.

All I could think about when I shut my own bedroom door was that I hope he does come get me.

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

a/n: I hope you guys enjoyed and let me know if you have any requests!

the header is made by me, please like/reblog if used <3

[ddanosaur]

devo la main has BPD: an analysis brought to you by a guy who also has BPD

listen okay it’s my personality disorder and i get to choose the fictional characters i project it onto

after relistening to ethersea i’ve come to the conclusion that devo is a BPD king (or at least exhibits a lot of BPD traits imo)

let’s first start by going over some of the diagnostic criteria that i feel devo meets:

1. fear of abandonment

it’s been explicitly stated that devo hates being left alone and with what we know about his past it tracks that a fear of abandonment would develop after a) being isolated, neglected, and abused for most of his life, and b) his mom “mysteriously disappearing” when he was 6

he probably spent a lot of his time at the cloister trying so hard to be “good” so that he would be able to get the acknowledgment and attention from his caregivers that he needed, but as we know from the interactions we see with him and guidance and orlene and the flashback, it’s likely he rarely ever got that

i’d also say that he does show signs of taking efforts to avoid abandonment, mainly in the form of pushing ppl away before they can abandon him first. the moment in benefactors folly where he’s trying to piss the others off enough to let him go alone is a big example of this imo

2. unstable relationships

i think it’s pretty obvious that devo’s interpersonal relationships are a mess. like with those in the church, with the others on the coriolis (ESPECIALLY amber), and with most of the ppl he interacts with

devo has a very special talent of pissing ppl off by simply opening his mouth for long enough. and imo i think that after guidance’s death he def split on amber after realizing she wasn’t going to be the mother figure he wanted her to be and id say also that he split on guidance too around the time he left the church

3. unstable self-image

being isolated and manipulated and raised to be a certain kind of person from a young age can do some serious damage to a developing sense of identity. devo has also said himself that he bases a lot of who he is on the anger and resentment he feels towards the church and the ppl in it

i can also see there being a lot of disconnect between his identity as devo, as devotion, and as damien cern. he doesn’t know who he is but he knows that he’s angry

4. impulsive or self-damaging behaviors

look, a mentally sane person would not use their body as a conduit to channel powerful compression magic through and into a bomb (something that is again explicitly described as an irrational action), nor would they dive into magically dark water while barely knowing how to swim

i could also see arguments for reckless spending with immediately getting into debt with felix, and i get the vibe that he has used alcohol as a maladaptive coping mechanism on more than one occasion

5. mood swings

his emotions seem to really flip on a dime esp with his anger. it does not take much for this guy to fly off the handle and imo he also exhibits intense emotions as well

6. problems with anger

this goes along with point 5 i think. devo shows a lot of trouble with controlling his anger and lashing out at ppl with little to no provocation

devo has a very explosive temper and travis even described him as being like an exposed nerve. he lashes out easily and is quick to threaten others when he feels he’s not being taken seriously

we don’t really see much that would point towards suicidal/self-harm tendencies, and i think there’s a bit of stuff for the chronic feelings of worthlessness and emptiness as well as stress-related paranoia, but in my head those do exist in him if you look deep enough. and from my list he already meets at least 5 needed for a diagnosis

another big thing about BPD that i see in devo is the very black and white thinking. he sees things very much as either black or white, right or wrong, and this gets him into a lot of conflict and confrontations with others. he has a very strong sense of justice and while it causes a lot of problems for him and the ppl he interacts with i also think it’s what drives him to do what he does and fight for others as strongly as he does

and he’s wrong a lot of the time, things aren’t that black and white and there are a lot of grey areas he has trouble seeing and it leads to so much conflict and tension which i eat up like a yummy treat

a lot of ppl with BPD (myself included) are very self aware of the problems they have and devo does definitely start to develop that awareness of him being a piece of shit and how he’s not great at his interactions with others

this is a very self-indulgent headcanon but it means a lot to me and devo has such a grip on my brain rn i just had to share this

[egg-emperor]

Game canon Eggman is pure evil y'all, rest assured to my fellow evil Eggman enjoyers. He's never acted for any reason that wasn't fueled by his evil/selfish intentions. I've carefully analyzed him in all of his scenes for hours and hours for years and years. I don't need to theorize, speculate, or insist on personal interpretations to get to this conclusion because I specifically go by what the games tell and show me undeniably.

I analyze very literally, not abstract or based on how I feel about it, only literally what I can see and hear. I feel this avoids a lot of unnecessary confusion and complication and it can actually be this way and yet still have a lot of depth to it to explore despite this. I don't see appeal in straying too far with the what ifs rather than the literals that are deliberately blatantly presented because the former is when bias can seep in.

But I know some probably think, "If you think I'm biased because I don't like pure evil Eggman so I don't want to see him as such, why aren't you biased for not liking less than pure evil Eggman? What if you're just seeing what you want to see?" But with the way I only go by what's blatantly there to see and hear in the games themselves in bold explicit forms, I feel I avoid any chance of bias.

I don't like to admit this but when I was younger, I had some incorrect interpretations about Eggman. Yes, even me. XD I never thought he was this completely good and caring guy but I definitely didn't have the most accurate understanding of who he was, how he'd act in certain situations, and what he is or isn't likely to say or do. A lot of my own personal biases at the time were to blame.

Years of heavy studying and analysis got me to where I am now. And I realized he said or did the exact opposite in the games to what I thought he'd do or wrote in my silly private fanfics back then. So I started to look at him neutral and unbiased, without expecting or wanting anything specific and letting it influence my perception. Only exactly what I could hear him say and see him do instead.

I rebuilt my understanding into what it is now and ever since, it has stayed completely consistent. Every new piece of media just reaffirms it or gives me new stuff to add that tracks and doesn't contradict the old in the slightest. I'm still having new revelations, discoveries and eyes opened to new things about him but they only further prove, develop, and strengthen my understanding now.

This was all done by me just shutting off these biased parts of my mind and letting the game canon show me who he was, not by my own personal desires and influences. Then I realized I was such a big fan of what I understood him to be, all of my desires turned into loving game canon Eggman for exactly who he was and wanting him to stay the funny pure evil bastard he is. And he does! 💜

But yeah because of that, even though my old perception years ago certainly wasn't the same level as those that spread misinformation of him being way nicer, softer, and morally good than he is in the games, I know what it's like for bias to influence me in some ways. And those little things I believed then are far different from what I know now, so this isn't an example of me being biased lol

I'm very happy that I came to fully recognize, embrace, and appreciate his funny but very much pure evil self! And one of the main goals of my blog besides expressing my passion, is to help people learn more about him and understand him too because I swear, your enjoyment and appreciation of him can grow so much stronger when you do. I love when I'm told I've helped with that!

But if you really don't like that he's pure evil because it makes you uncomfortable, that's fine. But there's a difference between not wanting to see it because you don't like it and what happens in the games. And if you don't like game canon Eggman like that, I have a lot of respect for you if you admit that and just do something different in your fan stuff, without claiming it to be fact.

But game canon Eggman canonically being a funny silly but very evil and threatening bastard man personally fills me with immense joy and it's why I adore him so much. It's endless fun and entertainment! 🥰💜

[drartemysia]

Emily Kaplan about Jack again-- get your tissues ready

Notable quotes from the article linked above (June 13, 2023). The main topic is Jack's injury, surgery and rehab:

How the injury came to be

Eichel can't pinpoint exactly when the issues began. "A few years ago, I started dealing with some symptoms," he said. "It wasn't necessarily something that was going to keep me out of the lineup, but I was dealing with it and playing through it." In a March 2021 game against the Islanders, Eichel hit his head against the boards, which resulted in a herniated disk in his neck. He missed the rest of the season.

2. What the spinal fusion surgery (the one Jack didn't want to have and the Sabres were insistent on) would have entailed (emphasis mine):

"The spine has three curves, and the reason it's shaped like that is because it's for movement," Lindsay said. "The best athletes in the world move with these transition areas in the spine. Guys like Connor, Cale Makar, [redacted because ick], Jack, the outliers, they move really well there." Lindsay rehabbed several NFL players who had the fusion surgery, and he didn't like the resulting rigidity in a segment of the spine. "In hockey, you're moving and the puck is moving," Lindsay said. "When you see it with Jack on the ice, he's very fluid in his movement. He would have lost that, just to make it super simple, he would have lost the accuracy to make those nice passes that he makes."

Have you ever seen Jack skate circles around other players? Because you should. This is the first example that comes to mind.

3. How bad things got:

Time was of the essence as he felt increased numbness in his arm from the constant pressure to his disk. 

I repeat, his fucking arm was going fucking numb. I'm going to feel sick. He has talked elsewhere (especially in this interview with Chris Weidman, a UFC fighter) about some episodes of numbness, which started to be more and more frequent. How terrifying that must be, he was 23 years old.

4. The rehab process:

"I wanted him to get back into the natural flow of skating and movement as soon as possible," [Dr. Mark] Lindsay said. "He was pretty rigid at first. Pretty stiff. I had him on the ice three days a week, just stickhandling. It was an emotional change for him. The frustration of dealing with everything he had to go through, being sidelined for so long. Getting back onto the ice was significant for him, emotionally." But Lindsay knew Eichel's body was a mess after having overcompensated for his neck for so long. "His pelvis needed a lot of work," Lindsay said. "He was inefficient in overall movements, and that's what I had to unwind."

Finally (emphasis mine):

"The hardest part is some people want you to fail in some ways," Lindsay said. "But someone had to be the pioneer. Years from now, we'll be talking about this as the Jack Eichel surgery, in the same way as Tommy John."

In conclusion (emphasis mine):

"The fact that an institution or team has trump value when you have to invasively cut somebody open, I think that needs to be changed," Prusmack said. "It's why Jack's story is so important. You now have elements of coercion based off economic agreements, which should not be part of our health system. Jack did what he did for the right reasons. I'm proud of him; that's hard to do in our culture."

Eichel said he doesn't feel any effects from the surgery at all; the only sign is a pink scar on the front of his neck.

(Emily have you been in my drafts, because "the scar, a pink horizontal line dividing Jack's life in before and after" is something that I wrote months ago)

[mlm-mod-taka]

Hii! Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life for our requests! I hope you are well, taking care of yourself mentally, and staying hydrated! :] May I please request Taka with a nb reader s/o who dresses/looks intimidating and is the Ultimate Witch, but is easily super warm and affectionate/motherly?

I love him so much and have seen so little content about my mans! He deserves so much love!! ❤️

-Witch Anon 🔮 :]

INTIMIDATING BUT KIND WITCH S/O • taka x nb reader

hello, witch anon! i saw your other ask about correcting the "ultimate witch" part of this request, and i thank you for rereading my rules again! don't worry, i was planning to write this regardless, and just make reader a regular witch rather than an ultimate. that's all, i hope you enjoy, and that everyone is having a good day!

tws/cws: people spreading false rumors about you. (but taka takes care of it!)

|| -> mod taka <3

him, out of everyone in the cast, 100% relates to you the most. people tend to judge a book by its cover, and its always bothered him! he believes that even if a person looked scary, or intimidating, you should get to know them before making any assumptions on their character!

everyone he's met has always assumed he was a lot meaner than he actually is just because of his appearance, when in reality, he always extends a helping hand to people, and wants to be a reliable person to those around him. you both are one in the same, and thats probably why he gravitated towards you in the first place.

wasn't scared of you when you two first met. he never wanted to treat others how he had been treated, and actively ignored what he felt, or heard from others, so he could treat everyone equally, and give everybody a fair shot to introduce themselves how they wish.

always advocates for the others to get to know you first before jumping to any conclusions. if anyone's ever told him they were scared of you, he'd instantly be countering their assumptions, and offering to formally introduce you to them so that they'd be able to see how kind you are with their own eyes.

confronts anyone who talks badly about you or starts spreading rumors just because they think you're hard to approach. its not only immoral, but its also effecting someone he loves, he'll make sure they learn a lesson!

being completely honest, he's not a guy who understands witchcraft and magick, but he respects what you do and acknowledges it takes a lot of effort to do right. isn't one to mock or undermine it, he's just very curious about it.

will ask plenty of questions because he wants to learn more about anything, especially anything involving you. forgive him if some of his questions seem a little insensitive or misinformed, you're his first introduction to this type of thing and he's really trying his best to be educated.

is especially annoyed when others use your beliefs and practices to reinforce their biased views on you, when their views are just based off of appearances. he's your biggest defender, and will debate an entire group of people publicly just to defend your honor.

appreciates the people who are your friends so much. he always tries to leave a good impression on them, and makes sure his gratitude for their actions is known.

a lot of people see you two as the "intimidating but really kind" power couple. you both present yourselves in ways that make others think you're unapproachable, but you two are actually the most warm, helpful people ever.

as a couple, you play really nicely off of each other. with taka's tendency to be very direct, mixed with your want to have the best possible outcome for all parties, misunderstanding very rarely happens, and the communication is very clear.

he admires you so much! even before you got together, he always looked up to you and had so many nice things to say about you. now that you two are together, its increased tenfold. believes he's the luckiest person in the world because he managed to date someone so understanding and affectionate.

speaking of affection, please be easy on him in the beginning of the relationship. he went from barely having others tolerate him to now having an incredible partner that loves him just as much as he does, give him some time to adjust before being too lovey dovey, he'll blush and freeze up if you don't!

mondo and chihiro have had to endure him doting over you everytime they talked to him. they'll jokingly gag and say they don't wanna hear him talk about how much he loves you for the 80th time, but they're just kidding. they love you too, and would also go to great lengths to defend you!

everyone in his class has positive opinions of you, even if they don't show it as much as the others. seeing how you act around him, and how much effort you put into the relationship is bound to rub off on them at some point. you've won all of class 78th over, which is not an easy feat!

all in all, you and taka being a couple is a match made in heaven. you both understand each other so deeply, have great chemistry, and compliment each other so much. everyone's rooting for you two, and it makes both you and him feel so happy.

[wisedawn13]

#xiantober Day 23: Detectivexian

Wei Ying loves his job. Sure, a lot of it is boring surveillance that either leads to absolutely nothing or the proof that "Yes, your husband IS a cheating scumbag." He's not complaining about that though, he's still paid for his time.

He's always enjoyed solving mysteries and playing spy growing up, so this seemed like the perfect career choice for him.

It's a slow day when someone about his age comes swirling into his office with the most dramatic flair he's ever witnessed. They flutter their fan and sit.

"You have to help me!"

Wei Ying shifts forward. "What do you need help with?"

They shut their fan, slamming into their open palm. "I think my brother's boyfriend's boyfriend is planning to hurt my brother and I need the proof," they say simply.

Wei Ying blinks. "Your brother's boyfriend is trying to hurt him?"

They shake their head. "No, no. My brother's boyfriend's boyfriend. My brother's boyfriend is polyamorous, my brother is not. But I think my brother's in trouble with the other boyfriend. They don't get along."

"I see... And what makes you think the other boyfriend is going to hurt your brother?"

They quickly open their fan, covering part of their face and shifting their eyes around. "I don't know, I really don't know."

"Mhm... And you said they don't get along?"

"That's right."

"Do you know why that is?"

They shake their head. "I don't know anything."

"Sure sure," he dismisses. "Well, tell me their names, I'll see what I can do."

They smile. "Wonderful! I'm Nie Huaisang and money is no issue at all. I was a thorough investigation."

Sounds like a good deal, if a bit odd. "You got it. Now, their names?"

"Right! My brother is Nie Mingjue. His boyfriend is Lan Huan. It's Meng Yao, the other boyfriend, that I want you to look into. There's something off about that man, I just know it."

Wei Ying nods, jotting down the names and relation to each other so he doesn't get confused. "Alright, you can leave your information with my assistant out front and I'll check in with you when I have some news."

They stand up quickly and shake his hand, thanking him profusely.

Wei Ying watches with wry amusement as they leave his office. What a unique individual.

He gets to work.

First up, as always, is a routine background check of everyone involved. He takes his time going through various databases looking up each individual.

He also takes time to look into those who are shown to be close to them to get a feel for them. It's basic, routine stuff. But this time Wei Ying finds himself getting off track when he stumbles upon Lan Huan's younger brother. He is so stunningly beautiful he gets distracted.

Eventually, he forces himself back on track but he secretly hopes he gets a chance to meet Lan Zhan in person.

When he gets to Meng Yao he finds something strange. His online presence and accessible information are far less than the average person.

It's not unheard of for people to come up like this on his searches. More often than not when that happens, that person is hiding something. Wei Ying doesn't jump to conclusions based on his preliminary searches, but that is a bit of a... shall we say, rose-coloured flag.

It's not exactly a red flag. People have had very valid reasons for this before and they were completely innocent of what they were being accused of. But, he clocks it all the same.

Wei Ying sets out after that to do surveillance and get a read on how this guy lives his life.

He carefully follows Meng Yao for a few days without anything much happening. The guy seems normal enough, but Nie Huaisang was right that something was off about him. He can't quite put his finger on why he feels that way, though.

So, he watches.

Meng Yao seems nice on the surface, but on his second day of surveillance, he watches Lan Huan interact with his two boyfriends. Nie Mingjue does nothing to hide the disdain he holds towards Meng Yao, but Meng Yao is sneaky.

Wei Ying watches closely as Meng Yao smiles sweetly in front of Lan Huan but the moment his boyfriend isn't looking Meng Yao's expression switches like a flip. It turns into something dark and hateful. It gives Wei Ying chills to watch that happen.

Lan Huan is clearly unaware.

Wei Ying honestly hopes that Meng Yao just doesn't like Nie Mingjue much and puts on a nice act for his boyfriend's sake. He truly hopes it's only that.

But something nags at him that there's more to it than that.

Then, on the third day, Wei Ying follows Meng Yao out of town.

Meng Yao makes his way to a deserted warehouse and gets out of his car. Wei Ying watches through his telephoto lens as Meng Yao meets with someone. Wei Ying can't tell who it is from this angle but he makes sure to take lots of photos.

Then, just as Meng Yao leaves, they turn.

Wei Ying snaps a photo of their face and the gnawing, nagging feeling grows. He's seen that man somewhere before, but where?

When he gets back home he pulls up that photo and cross-references it, searching for a match.

It doesn't take long.

Xue Yang.

Arrested for mass murder.

He got off on a technicality. Wei Ying remembers hearing about that case, Jin Guangshan was the judge presiding over the case. There was an uproar over it and then Xue Yang disappeared without a trace, some celebrity dated someone, and everyone forgot about Xue Yang.

Wei Ying does a deep dive into Jin Guangshan and ends up finding out he has a long and promiscuous history that resulted in his having many illegitimate children. Wei Ying freezes when he sees it. A report from another PI that was hired by Jin Guangshan's wife.

They found out that Jin Guangshan met up with a woman with the family name of Meng. The same Meng as in Meng Yao. There's a photo of her and when Wei Ying studies it alongside Jin Guangshan's face, he sees it clear as day.

Meng Yao is Jin Guangshan's son.

This is getting far more twisted than he ever expected it to.

He spends a little more time deep-diving into everything and everyone involved in this. He genuinely believes Nie Mingjue is in serious danger if Meng Yao knows Xue Yang.

He shoots off a text to Nie Huaisang as he leaves his apartment, and then another to his assistant to send what he found to the local law authorities. Then, he heads to Lan Huan's house and hopes he's not with Meng Yao tonight.

He rings the doorbell and fidgets nervously.

Lan Huan answers the door and smiles at him with a hint of confusion. "May I help you?"

"Hi! Sorry, you don't know me but I'm a private investigator and I was wondering if you were available to talk about something rather important."

"Oh? Of course, do you mind if I ask—"

"A-Huan?" a sickeningly sweet voice calls from further in the house. "Who is it dear?"

"A private investigator," Lan Huan replies.

Then, to Wei Ying's ever-mounting dread, Meng Yao comes into view and smiles at Wei Ying. "Oh, I see. Come on in."

Wei Ying forces a smile.

"Thank you, but I was hoping to speak to Lan Huan alone if you don't mind," he replies.

Meng Yao's smile sharpens into something almost predatory. "Nonsense, I'm sure I can be of help to you too. Come inside, Wei Ying."

Wei Ying's smile immediately falls from his face.

Somehow, Meng Yao already knows who he is.

The dread grows and grows.

He glances at Lan Huan but the man seems almost blissfully unaware of the murderous undertones happening right in front of him. Wei Ying curses his luck and forces the smile back on his face. "Of course."

He enters.

Meng Yao leads him into the livingroom and then tells Lan Huan to make them some tea. The moment Lan Huan is out of sight Meng Yao's smile drops.

"Why are you here?"

"I think you already know that," Wei Ying replies.

Meng Yao hums. "Perhaps."

"It truly is unfortunate that you're here. You've ruined everything. Who hired you?" Meng Yao continues.

"I'm not at liberty to say."

Meng Yao scoffs. Just as he opens his mouth to say something more, Lan Huan comes back in carrying a tray of tea.

They sip in silence for a while before Lan Huan sets his cup down. "What is it you wanted to talk to us about?"

Before Wei Ying can respond, the sound of a key turning in the door catches their attention. He's up in a flash.

There's a sudden shattering sound and a blur.

Then, a sharp pain pressing against his neck. Wei Ying freezes, barely breathing as the cool steel of a knife presses against his skin.

"A-YAO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Lan Huan exclaims.

"Ge?" a low voice questions from the entryway before the sound of footsteps comes.

Wei Ying sucks in a breath as Lan Zhan enters the room, fierce eyes taking in the situation. Seeing him in person is even more stunning.

"Wow," Wei Ying mutters under his breath and feels the urge to laugh at the absurdity of this whole situation.

The knife presses down harder.

"Did you hire him, Lan Zhan?" Meng Yao asks, venom dripping off his tongue.

Lan Zhan's gaze meets his own and Wei Ying feels everything else fall away for a heartbeat. Lan Zhan doesn't say anything for a moment, blinks, then replies, "No. I have never met him before."

Oh, the urge to smile and flirt is so strong right now but Wei Ying realizes that would be immensely stupid to do right now. So, he opts to just stare at the beautiful man in front of him.

"A-Yao," Lan Huan pleads. "Let him go! What are you doing?"

Lan Zhan frowns.

"Sorry, A-Huan. No can do. My hands are rather tied at the moment." Meng Yao laughs frantically.

"Meng Yao," Wei Ying says and then hisses as the knife presses down harder. "Look, if you let me go, nothing has to happen. You haven't done anything yet, right?"

"Ah... Wei Ying, you and I both know that's not true, now don't we?"

Wei Ying grimaces, wishing for a way out of this stupid situation.

The sound of tires screeching into the driveway draws their attention. And things happen fast after that.

Meng Yao gets distracted enough that he loosens the pressure on the knife enough for Wei Ying to launch at the opportunity and slam his head back, feeling the sickening crush of Meng Yao's nose on the back of his head. Meng Yao screams and Wei Ying stumbles forward.

He's caught by strong arms before he has the chance to fall, the scent of sandalwood enveloping him. A booking voice yells out "MENG YAO!" before Nie Mingjue comes in and quite literally kicks Meng Yao while he's down.

Nie Mingjue starts yelling and questioning Meng Yao.

But Wei Ying is distracted by Lan Zhan, helping him upright and looking into his eyes with concern. "Are you alright?"

Wei Ying almost whimpers. "Y-yeah. Peachy," he lies.

Lan Zhan hums, clearly not buying that. Which... Fair.

Local law enforcement comes running in next.

Lan Zhan pulls Wei Ying firmly against his chest to keep him out of the way and Wei Ying melts into the touch. The rest is a blur. He thinks he answers some questions, he doesn't really remember it. All he remembers is staring into honeyed eyes.

The chaos finally dies down and Lan Zhan asks if Wei Ying would like anything. Without meaning to, he blurts out, "Your number." Shocked, he smacks a hand over his mouth and blushes furiously.

"Mn. Give me your phone."

Numbly, he does.

Lan Zhan enters his number.

Wei Ying stares at it as he takes his phone back. "I wanted to meet you, you know. But not like this." Again. His mouth just needs to STOP TALKING WITHOUT HIS GO AHEAD!

Lan Zhan hums in question but when he peaks up to see his expression it's one of calm curiosity.

Wei Ying takes a breath. "I always do background checks and research into the people I'm investigating, that includes people close to those involved too. So, I looked you up." He feels himself blushing again and looks away.

"Did you like what you saw?" Lan Zhan asks.

Wei Ying laughs, startled. "Yeah. I liked it very much."

When he meets Lan Zhan's gaze again he finds Lan Zhan smiling minutely. "Good."

Wei Ying smiles wide. Good.

----------

Link to thread

[leqclerc]

glad some people are actually taking this lewis' move to ferrari in serious perspective, because when the tifosi hype has died down in which way this situation favours both of them, (if like me you're a fan of both, and i've seen many being over the moon happy about it)

Both drivers deserve the priority treatment, Lewis because it's him, the man has not stop fighting ever since he stepped into a f1 car and Charles because he picked up all the pieces of this team and put them back together by himself. They're both great racers, Charles has no rival in quali and while his race craft has improved massively and it's great to me Lewis still has the edge there, but they're probably on a similar level, so you can't base who's your main focus. So what Ferrari should do in a situation where the car is a good one and both drivers have a good feel for it; it's stupid asking to lean one or the other way without hurting the other guy, who (as a fan) wants this truly? I'd pay good money for them having a go at eachothers (in diff teams because you'll get a real fight, a fair one)

Also people speculating this is Lewis' path to retirement, and why should he make the move of the century of his own volition just to retire? Be serious. If he wanted to hang his helmet he would have stayed at merc, comfortable with his own people. A move to Ferrari is not like a move to any other team, this one comes with a lot of baggage and weight to it, it's not your last stop; the man wants a new chance to fight and he saw something in the scuderia. And why shouldn't Ferrari get that 8th with Lewis, biggest achievement in f1 history, why shouldn't them make Lewis their king?

Then you have Charles, the teams owes him a lot, he just signed a nobody knows how many years life contract with his dream team despite them fucking up on every side, he stays and against all odds grew up to be one hell of a driver, highly regarded by everyone in the paddock. He got one taste at a championship winning car and he was running circle around everyone, than Ferrari took it away. We got rid of Binotto, we got rid of the real spanish plague, we said this one is our guy. Ferrari should give this boy a car!

So tell me who in their right mind see this as a good situation in 2025, if you like both it's a lose lose one, but even from an external eye tbh, that's a ticking bomb

Hi!

You're right, it's tough. Obviously the hype is in its zenith right now, this is a huge move, everyone's discussing it and picking it apart, etc. But ah, I just. Putting two guys together who have proven to be very hungry and who very obviously gave their own goals and ambitions is...playing with fire. It could be great, it could be the best thing Ferrari's ever seen. But also, this is why when all those discussions of "oh I'd love to see [peak] Seb paired with Lewis at Mercedes/Ferrari" or "put Max and Lewis into one team so we can 'settle' this once and for all" sprung up, the conclusion was generally that they're great where they are, putting them together will be potentially disastrous.

If Lewis left Mercedes, a team he's been with for 11 years (!!!!!) for Ferrari in this way (strange atmosphere, must've been dissatisfied/unfulfilled in some way, rumours of a falling out) then clearly he must've seen something enticing in Ferrari. I have to say I think this is his last hurrah, the last team he will compete with in his F1 career, which is why it's this team of all teams. But even though his career is likely coming to a close, you can't discredit him, you can't just assume he'll be happy for the team to maybe potentially win a WCC in his time. Lewis winning an eight with Ferrari would be seismic and I think they both realize that. If Ferrari truly has championship potential in the near future, no way he's not going to go for it. Even the fan/journalist response... it's all about The Eighth In Red now, that's all people want to see. But equally, this is everything Charles has worked towards his entire life, he's not going to give up on that without a fight either. And that has the potential to get really messy.

It's just so weird, every time you think "okay this is it, they're throwing their weight behind Charles 100% now" they do something that is just so ??????????????? Idk feels like no matter the outcome someone's not going to get what they want out of this. It's just, again, Charles has way more to lose in all of this. Lewis has had a very successful, well-rounded career, whether he achieves success with Ferrari or not. It's like the cherry on the cake, but the cake has seven layers already and I'm sure it tastes damn good. Objectively it's a very intriguing move—I just kind of wish it wasn't happening during Charles's prime time at the team, basically.

[just-1other-nerd]

About "The Language of Thorns":

Our queen Leigh subverts common fairy tale tropes in her own ones, and I love this modern twist, I also recognised which fairy tales hers are based on. So I'll tell you my conclusions.

Btw I'll refer to fairy tales as Märchen from now on because I'm German and it's just the better word ("fairy tale" just doesn't feel like it includes all the tropes, creatures and characters, it feels like the stories only revolve around fairies and I think that doesn't do the genre justice).

Spoilers for the entire Grishaverse ahead.

Ayama and the Thorn Wood: This is basically a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling. The major subversion is that she is never really regarded as a beauty, and in the end, she also chooses to become a monster instead of him becoming human because that doesn't need to be fixed. Also every story she tells him is subverting tropes: the 1st one is about how unlikely a true happy ending is, the 2nd one is about how the things that seem like a threat can actually be a blessing and about how evil often disguises itself, the 3rd one is about how you shouldn't trust a stranger even though what he offers seems better than what you currently have and that you shouldn't be safed by a prince. The first of her stories is confirmed to be inspired by Tarrare's "Polyphagy".

The Too-Clever Fox: This is inspired by all of those fables where a fox is the main character. In those, he is normally a natural trickster and very smart. Oftentimes, it's about foxes utilising their wit to get what they want or escape a trap by using others and their flaws, and they normally succeed. The main subversion is that the too-clever fox isn't clever enough, he is trapped and was tricked, he didn't see that the girl was the hunter all along, he is stripped of his wit and the only way he survives is by the help of his friend Lula. Leigh wanted to show that hunters come in all shapes, they aren't always loud or muscular or male.

The Witch of Duva: This is (confirmed by author's note) based on "Hänsel und Gretel" by the Gebrüder Grimm (brothers Grimm). Btw I immediately knew that Magda was going to appear in this tale because of the opening and because I read "The Lives of Saints" just a few weeks prior. The subversion is obviously that neither the witch is the villain nor is the stepmother. Instead, they even help our main character. The real evil is closer than she ever thought. In the author's note, Leigh even confirmed that she did this because it always didn't sit right with her when Hänsel and Gretel returned home because the father who seemingly had no problem with abandoning them wouldn't protect them in the future.

Little Knife: This is inspired by all those tales where the guy (be it a prince or a commoner with a golden heart) has got to go through 3 trials to win the girl (be it a princess, a nobel woman or a very pretty commoner), the Gebrüder Grimm alone wrote many of those for example "Das tapfere Schneiderlein" (The bold Tailor). Leigh thought that trials are a weird way to find a fiancé. The subversion is that the poor guy with the supposed gold heart is just another man who doesn't love Yeva for herself, doesn't care what she wants and doesn't even deserve her because the river did all the work for him. This results in the river who won all the trials asking Yeva to leave those who are unworthy of her and only see her beauty, to which she agrees. Also they are sapphics and nobody can tell me otherwise.

The Soldier Prince: This is 100% based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's "Nussknacker und Mäusekönig" (Nutcracker and Mouse King), and yes, I googled he is the original author Tschaikowsky only adapted and changed the story. The subversion is that he doesn't want a romance, that's just what everyone expects of him. He wants to live a life of his own, and the Mouse King isn't the antagonist but rather helps the soldier accomplish what he already did. I loved the existencial crisis angel of this Märchen and Leigh said in her author's note that this was added because of her childhood trauma caused by "Velveteen Rabbit" (I don't know what that's about but I still can relate because like the amount of childhood trauma "Pinocchio" - especially the whole island plotline - caused in my case is so huge that I'm actually crying right now).

When Water Sang Fire: The author's note confirmed that it's based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and it is basically an origin story for the sea witch. The protagonist Ulla undergoes a corruption arc (set in motion by her ambition and loyalty towards Signy), instead of how Märchen usually deal with outcast protagonists. Normally, those proof themselves worthy of love, friendship and glory by doing something that was regarded as impossible (once again the trials trope). Leigh wanted to show that princes can be cruel and dayum that betrayal hurt (I audibly gasped in public like 4 times even though I did see it coming). Do you think her brother spread the rumours that led to her becoming Sankta Ursula?

Thanks for reading.

[catonatrain]

Hi, I hope you're doing well ! For the character ask game, what about Momoi Satsuki with 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 16 & 23 ?

thank you for the questions !! finally able to finish this since i was a bit busy !!

everything will go under the cut because i ended up writing like a very mini essay

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

she is my daughter !! i rlly love the love she has to offer to the world !! and most importantly, i love her passion for basketball as well -- i rlly enjoyed how integral she was to the teams she was a manager to due to her data collecting, and how those analytical abilities made her a force to be reckoned with !! in conclusion, that's my girl !!

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

ok i do feel like i answered that in the last question, so i'll add that im absolutely so endeared by the fact she nicknames many people :] honestly kagamin and midorin are amongst my fav nicknames from her... think kagami and midorima won there

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

i don't have too much experience with the fandom -- since i got into knb in mid 2022 and rlly have only interacted with a few ppl on tumblr and my friends -- but from what ive seen, i rlly love the amount of love ive seen !! most people ive seen like her a lot and support her !! even those in other fandoms (looking at my beloved a3! fandom the most) -- when momoi's on polls (ex. @/girlygirltournament, @/girls-in-love-bracket, @/pinkandbluebracket) there's always a lot of support for her !!

quick fun fandom thing -- i do want to say that in the pink&blue poll, an alliance was made with a3! fans because both a3! fans and knb fans were super supportive of each other and had a fun competition and ever since then... they have been brother in arms 2 me...

and of course my favorite is still @/pinkhairswagtourney where we arranged for muku (the a3! pink haired boy ever, i even have a little can badge of him) and momoi to tie and be a team together !! and then they won the whole tournament... being able to beat madoka :D and i like to think it is bc of our shared love for charas

(also to anyone reading this, i think you guys should vote for a3! charas when u see them on polls)

THIS GOT REALLY LONG but essentially, momoi is very loved from what ive seen and even to those outside of the knb fandom and that is smth i like a lot :>

8. What's something the fandom when it comes to this character that you despite?

again, i don't really interact with fandom, but i can guess (based on most fandom patterns) that there are people who likely ignore her in favor of the other (most likely male) charas and that'd make me :(

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

i like to think she and takao will eventually become besties and have a very fun group with midorima and kise

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

i assume this question excludes ships you would have no real opinion on (so probably some pairs where they dont interact that much -- even tho i have shipped charas who have very little interactions it all depends on the vibes...)

anyways that makes it a tough question for me !! i personally do prefer aomine and momoi to be platonic, but like. i get it. theyre childhood friends who love each other a lot. inseparable... their bond is just very special to me...

this ended up being me talking abt how i like aomine and momoi's bond but i think that's ok even if i basically didnt answer the question because like. after writing all of this im like... yeah its not my least favorite but i already committed to writing this much

23. Favorite picture of this character?

THIS IS SO HARD... i love so many momois in da world... but ill choose this one for now because she looks soooo happy in it !! look at her smile, she is everything to me...

[wartakes]

"What Should It Look Like?" Part IV: Special Operations Forces (OLD ESSAY)

This essay was originally posted on May 24th, 2023, is my most recent "old" essay which means we are fully up to speed over here on my content!

This essay is the latest entry in the "What Should It Look Like?" series - which I may still have a few to do on but we'll see. In this one, I unleash a rant against special operations forces that I've mostly held in for years and finally let out full force. This is another one that got a very specific type of guy on Twitter annoyed.

(Full essay below the cut).

Oh boy here I go ranting again.

Fair warning, this is a dense one. For real. But that’s because this is one I’ve wanted to cover for a long time and have a lot of thoughts about. A lot.

Yes my guys, gals, and non-binary pals, we’re finally talking about the United States’ Special Operations Forces (SOF), those tacticool, high-speed, low-drag, routinely accused of war crimes special snowflakes that have destroyed the minds of so many middle and high school ages boys that ever owned an Xbox and played a single Call of Duty game after 2007.

I’m not going to waste a lot of time here in the intro because, as I’ve already said, I have a lot of thoughts on SOF both in terms of what they’ve become today and what role they play in the scenario we’ve thought of for this series of essays. Suffice to say up front, I think SOF are useful and necessary in a military context, but they have a myriad of problems of varying kinds. I’m going to outline some of those problems, and things I’d try to do differently in building a force for the mildly better future we envision and then employing them in said future.

First, we’re going to talk about the issue of “bloat” and uncontrolled growth in the SOF community. After that, we’ll talk about SOF being directed to missions that are out of the scope of what they should be doing (and also may just be straight up unwinnable). Finally, I’ll talk about the big elephant in the room, which is the toxic culture that is evident inside of SOF units and the SOF community as a whole. As usual, I’ll try to tie it all together in the conclusion and leave you with some closing thoughts for both today and for a (hopefully) better future.

Without further adieu then, let’s dive right into this!

A bad case of the bloats I struggled with which of the issues with the SOF community I wanted to address first, because the more I thought about them, the more I realized it was a never ending loop of each of them feeding into one another to keep this disaster factory going. Ultimately, I decided I just had to pick one to start with, and I decided the issue of bloat would be the best point – not just because of how it feeds and is fed by the other issues (and I will call back to this throughout the essay), but because of the effect it then has on the rest of the Joint Force outside of SOF.

Before we get any further, I really want to drive home the scale of the bloat that the SOF community has experience over the past two decades or so in change. According to the IISS Military Balance for 2001, at the start of that year – prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11th and a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the United States Armed Forces consisted of 2,568,300 total personnel (1,367,700 active and another 1,200,600 reserve and National Guard).

Of those 2,568,300 troops, the collective SOF forces of the United States – under the auspices of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or just SOCOM – yes, like the video game), made up 42,920 of those troops across all branches of the military (28,620 active and another 14,300 in the reserves and National Guard – yes, there are National Guard special forces; and they’re based in Utah; be very afraid). I’ll apologize now for throwing a bunch of numbers at you – trust me, I’m not a numbers guy either – but there’s a point to this.

Jumping forward to the present, this year’s Military Balance has the total US Armed Forces pegged at active duty US Armed Forces at 2,177,050 personnel (1,359,600 active – just about 8,000 personnel fewer than it was in 2001, and 817,450 reserve and National Guard – over 395,000 fewer than it was in 2001). This amount is just over 391,000 troops smaller than it was in 2001 with the Cold War and the Persian Gulf War in the rear-view mirror and the Global War on Terror not yet initiated.

However, while the military as a whole has shrunk, the SOF community has grown – and by no small amount. In 2023, SOCOM clocks in with 65,800 total troops (which is larger than a good portion of the other armed forces in the globe). The Military Balance unfortunately stopped breaking down between active and National Guard/reserve forces in SOCOM at some point, so I don’t know what the exact proportions are (you can assume the majority of them are active), but even with that breakdown we can see how much each branch of the military’s special group of very special boys who are special has grown over the past twenty years. Compared to 25,900 total active and National Guard/reserve troops in 2001, Army SOF now have 35,000 – about 9,000 more; Navy SOF have almost doubled, going from 5,400 active and reserve in 2001 to 10,500 today; Air Force SOF have grown by over 5,000 troops, going from 11,620 in 2001 to 16,800 today; and finally, the Marines – who didn’t even technically have a SOF component in 2001, now have 3,500 Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) troops at their disposal.

So, by the numbers, while the military has shrunk overall since its GWOT era peak, and now that the active force is closer to the size it was when the GWOT started – and the reserve and National Guard even smaller – SOF forces have grown larger and remain larger.

This growth hasn’t been limited to personnel either. The SOF slice of the budget pie has also increased dramatically over the course of the GWOT. In 2001, prior to the beginning of the GWOT and prior to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the budget for SOCOM was $2.3 billion USD. By about twenty years later, in 2020, that budget had ballooned to $13.7 billion USD – an almost six fold increase in funding. But again, its not just about the number itself, but the percentage. In 2001, the US defense budget was just shy of $332 billion USD, making SOCOM’s budget about .07% of the entire defense budget. By 2020, the defense budget had risen to $778.4 billion – having risen to new heights, fallen, and then rising again in the late 2010s going into the 2020s to even greater heights. SOCOM’s budget had increased to be close to 1.8% of the entire defense budget – and increase of well over a full percentage point.

Now, I don’t want you to get it twisted and think me saying the military as a whole not being bloated and enormous with both people and money is a good thing. I think it was right for the military to shrink back down as we backed away from things we shouldn’t have even been doing to begin with. The problem now is that while the military has shrunk, SOF hasn’t shrunk with them after the growth they experienced during the GWOT. Proportionally, they’re taking up way more billets (and funding) than they were at the start of the GWOT, prior to 9/11.

But you might ask, “ok War Takes, but why does this matter?” That’s not a stupid question to ask for those with only passing familiarity with the military. It matters because SOF is not only not as relevant to the threats that the United States and others primarily face, but at the same time are taking up resources that could be directed to forces and capabilities that are better suited to deter and if necessary combat those threats. This is especially true as long as they remain optimized for and stuck in the mindset of low intensity conflict, COIN, and CT being their lodestars (as I will get to in more depth in the next section).

SOF are what the military wanted more of when the main thing it was worried about – to the detriment of almost all other issues – was running around in the “Sandbox” for long periods of time, humping through the hills and doing Zero Dark Thirty shit while wearing far too many pouches and overpriced sunglasses – and again, I cannot stress this enough – they were being central to a mission that I don’t think we should have been doing in the first place and was a massive waste of time, money, lives, with consequences we will be grappling with forever. Today – and in our theoretical scenario – the primary threat is from large, peer and near-peer adversaries with significant conventional military forces.

Again, while SOF still have a role to play in conflicts against these kinds of adversaries, the bigger and more consequential role is going to be played by other forces. Every troop, dollar, moment of attention, and ounce of effort that is applied to SOF over what it should be, is one one that could (and should) be applied to more effective areas. This includes not only combat arms such as air-and-missile defenses, long-range artillery – including both tube and missile, maneuver forces like infantry and armor, and etc., but also the capacity needed for the critical work of the rear echelon in logistics, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, transportation, and more. It doesn’t help that a by-product of SOF’s rampant expansion over the past two decades is a great deal of redundancy and overlap between missions as their unique capabilities fade away and they all basically turn into pale imitations of one another running around in the Middle East spitting dip and comparing beards. SOF still have a role to play today and in the future – just as they did in the past – but that role is different and I would argue doesn’t necessitate the numbers they still maintain. At the same time, they remain largely stove-piped off from one another and in competition with one another (which can be made even worse by toxic culture, which I will get to in the third section).

We don’t need theoretical cases to understand the effects that a bloated SOF force can have on the rest of the Joint Force, a we’ve had them from watching it pivot from counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency to preparing for the potential of great power conflict. Numerous capabilities were divested of during the GWOT in the interest of being able to continue feeding meat into the grinder in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. After 2005, the Army had only two active-duty short-range air defense (SHORAD) battalions on hand, with the rest being in the National Guard; the Army not only didn’t keep pace with the development in air and missile threats growing throughout the world, but then had to work rapidly to reconstitute its SHORAD capabilities following the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Likewise, the Army also divested itself of reconnaissance helicopters during this period after several failed attempts at replacing the aging OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, believing the job could be done by a mix of drones and AH-64D Apache Longbows (spoiler alert: they were wrong, and now they’re having to spend time, money, and effort, on belatedly finding an OH-58 replacement).

Now, admittedly, it is unfair to put these examples squarely at the feet of SOF and only SOF. SOF just happens to be the most obvious one to blame in this case – out of many who share blame – for the questionable allocation of resources that resulted from poor decisions that were made in the interest of unwinnable wars that we shouldn’t have embarked upon to begin with. SOF, by virtue of its bloat – or lack thereof – is the ideal example of how overcompensating in one area can hurts others, and how those poor choices can come back to haunt you and cost you more blood, sweat, and tears later. That is something we’ll need to keep in mind for our own scenario and hypothetical force.

At the end of the day, SOF, by premise, are meant to be elite. There’s not meant to be many of them, because they’re selected to be the best of the best – not only physically, but mentally, intellectually, and so on. So, I posit to you, in that case: if that’s supposed to be so, why are there so fucking many of them? I mean sure, they’re still a small fraction of the entire joint force, but I can hardly look at 65,000 people and think that each and every one of them are a special snowflake. I see someone on Twitter with 65,000 followers, I don’t think that each and every one of those followers is a fucking savant. That was neither here nor there, I admit, but just something I wanted to get off my chest before we wrapped up talking about bloat (strap yourself in because there’s more rants there that one came from).

“Hey, what’s my mission again?”

Another question you may be asking yourself at this point is, “War Takes, why did SOF get so big to begin with?” Well, the short answer is: “9/11.” The long answer is still “9/11” but with more detail. However, 9/11 and the GWOT didn’t just make SOF grow to its current bloated size, but it also twisted the mission of SOF away from its original purpose (and the purpose it would be best suited for in our scenario) – which was both fed by and fed into the bloat I just described (like I said, all this stuff has been working in one big feedback loop or series of loops).

Once again we’ll need to start from basics because before I can talk about SOF getting away from what it was designed to do, we need to talk about what that even was.

US SOF can point to a number of various ad hoc units through military history as being part of their lineage, such as various units and organizations from World War II like the Office of Strategic Services, the joint US-Canadian First Special Service Force, US Navy Underwater Demolition Teams, and more. But as the units we know today like the Green Berets and the Navy SEALs were officially founded in the 1950s and 1960s against the backdrop of the Cold War, their primary purpose from the beginning was to engage in unconventional warfare (UW).

Much has been written on UW – some of it good, some of it bad; some of it about right, some of it very wrong. By the Department of Defense’s own definition, UW is “activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating through or with an underground, auxiliary, and guerrilla force in a denied area.” More simply put: UW is support to guerrillas, insurgents, or resistance fighters (however you prefer to style them). Those fighters are meant to be the core focus of UW, according to US. Army Special Operations Command’s own UW Pocket Guide from 2016. With that in mind, the platonic ideal of UW is a covert campaign to enable local peoples under hostile occupation or a tyrannical regime to have the means to fight back against that occupier or tyrant and free themselves. This very concept is reflected in the Green Beret’s Latin motto: De oppresso liber (“to free from oppression” or “to liberate the oppressed.”)

For those of you who are students of history and are familiar with some of the regimes supported by – or governments toppled by – the United States over the course of the Cold War, I’m sure you’re making a face right now after having read that last paragraph. Completely understandable. I’m asking you to bear with me some, because I think this concept of UW is one of those ones that isn’t necessarily flawed in its own right but has been twisted and misused or just paid lip service to or just ignored. Like so many things I study in this field – like the very concept of the military itself – while coming from a Left perspective and considering concepts like UW and others, I often think of the apocryphal quote attributed to Gandhi when he was asked what he thought of ‘Western Civilization’ – the answer being: “I think it would be a good idea.”

Indeed, early US SOF themselves immediately strayed from their supposed doctrinal mission with the advent of the Vietnam War in the 1960s. The use of SOF in Vietnam would largely be characterized by engaging in counter-insurgency (COIN) activity, rather than actual UW. There was an attempt made early on, at least, to stick to doctrine. One of the earliest missions of the Navy SEALs in Vietnam were attempting to undertake true UW in North Vietnam, working to train locals to rise up against the government in Hanoi (this, of course, failed – and we proceeded to learn nothing from it, nor think hard on maybe whether those whole ‘Vietnam’ thing was worth the effort if it was that hard to recruit people to fight against the North Vietnamese government). Use of SOF in Vietnam quickly descended into direct-action missions attempting to take out specific targets such as arms caches, senior leadership of the Vietcong, enemy bases or outposts, and etc. I’m sure these all things that I’m sure won’t sound familiar at all to any veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan – and consequently, it may surprise any of them to realize that we did not, in fact, win the Vietnam War.

SOF very early on fell into the COIN trap. As I’ve elaborated on at length before, I see COIN as losing game over 90% of the time. Fighting an insurgency is a recipe for either defeat, or eternal war with no end – never victory. When their initial attempts at UW in Vietnam failed, the US military seemed to fall back on the old standby of just trying to kill its way out of a problem. SOF were not really acting as they were supposed to, but instead were largely just doing covert, highly specialized versions of the missions that a conventional force would do: close with and destroy the enemy. Now, that’s one thing against a conventional force. I should make it clear that some of these direct action missions – as well as other missions like intelligence gathering and recon, that were also undertaken by SOF in Vietnam – are perfectly valid missions for SOF in the UW context. But, in the grand scheme of things with COIN – where you’re already essentially fighting a losing war, it’s just pissing in the wind. That may win you battles in COIN, but when you’re fighting “the birthrate of a nation” (as journalist David Halberstam put it in regards to Vietnam), it will never win you the war.

With the American withdrawal from Vietnam in the 1970s and the eventual unification of the country under the North, the US military – and the SOF community – decided collectively to put that whole ugly mess behind them and go back to what they had been doing beforehand: preparing for the possibility of fighting World War III in Central Europe (or barring that, a smaller, regional conventional conflict, somewhere else in the world). This meant a return to form for US SOF in the 1970s and 80s. A prime example of this is the US Army’s 10th Special Forces Group. In the event of war in Europe, the group’s primary mission would have been to organize partisan and resistance activity either in territory occupied by advancing Warsaw Pact forces, or within the territories of Warsaw Pact nations themselves, and conduct “stay-behind” direct action against occupying forces as they pushed into NATO territory. If this had all come to pass (and assuming the war didn’t go nuclear, which was not guaranteed per say, but still way more likely than you want it to be), it would have been a UW mission in the truest sense. This was also when counter-terrorism (CT) started to become a mission-set, with the rise of political terrorism of various stripes in the 1970s. But at this point, terrorism was still a niche issue that necessitated a niche response, and not something that the entirety of SOF was notional geared towards, being left to specialized CT units like the Army’s secretive 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (AKA: Delta Force) and the now infamous Navy SEAL Team Six (now known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group or DEVGRU).

That’s not to say there weren’t some backsliding to old, bad habits. SOF relapsed back into its old Vietnam way of doing things – and gave us a glimpse of the future – under the Reagan administration when the Green Berets were deployed to El Salvador while it was in the midst of its civil war. While there, SOF once again where in the business of anti-communist COIN, and in doing so helped to facilitate right-wing government death squads that visited horrific carnage and slaughter on El Salvador’s citizens – including the infamous El Mozote massacre, in which the US-backed Salvadorian Army killed almost 1,000 civilians in and around the village of El Mozote, and which the US government then shamelessly lied through its teeth about. More than 75,000 Salvadorians were killed over twelve years of civil war, most of them by the military. Thirty years later, the country isn’t much better, off, sliding back into authoritarian rule under its feckless and petty tech-bro President and probable future dictator Nayib Bukele. As for the Green Berets and other US advisors that were there, these atrocities were so bad, that not the official publication of everyone’s favorite right-wing coffee company – Black Rifle Coffee – can bring itself to gloss over the fact that it all actually happened under US watch and can’t disguise feeling vaguely uncomfortable about it (though their cop out answer is that the advisors “hands were tied” – you know, you guys didn’t have to be there right?).

Ironically, the same war that would see SOF get back into its true wheelhouse would also be the one that spark the beginning of SOF’s second and more drastic straying away from its core purpose. That of course, was the War in Afghanistan and the GWOT in general, which actually started with a true UW mission. As popularized by the film “Twelve Strong”, the beginning of the US military involvement in Afghanistan was the deployment of Green Berets – alongside CIA operatives – into Afghanistan in 2001 to support the Northern Alliance and other Afghan resistance fighters in their fight against the Taliban government. In this sense, it may be the one real success story of the entire Afghan War. It’s easy to forget that – unlike in Iraq – US conventional forces did not do the brunt of the initial fighting on the ground when the war first started. When Kabul fell (the 2001 version not the 2021 remix), it fell to Northern Alliance fighters (fighting with Green Berets). In many ways, this initial success could be seen as the post-Cold War high point for the Green Berets in undertaking the traditional SOF mission of UW, a high that hasn’t been reached again since.

If you know me and have read my work by now, you know I have decidedly mixed feelings on the legacy of the War in Afghanistan. I ultimately think we shouldn’t have been there (and in fact, didn’t have to be there, as the Taliban were prepared to hand over Bin Laden, our main reason for going in). But if we had to go in, it would have better to have left on a high note after this point (and after it became obvious Bin Laden was no longer there) and then let Afghanistan figure out its own affairs internally. To put it more simply: we should have left as soon as the UW mission was accomplished and the circumstances changed. The Taliban was – and still is – an objectively evil and terrible government and supporting forces to overthrow was a moral move in my book. But what would proceed to happen in Afghanistan – and soon, in Iraq – over the next twenty years would very quickly taint anything moral and just that we had initially accomplished. It would also very quickly and drastically stray from the standard UW mission for SOF and lead us to the issues we now have.

As mission creep quickly set in with Afghanistan and an anti-terrorism focused UW mission quickly grew and morphed into occupation and state building, the mission of SOF quickly got away from UW as, well, there wasn’t a UW conflict to fight. We had become the occupiers that the populace very quickly got sick of within a few years and wanted to get rid of. Like wise, as the GWOT continued to ramp up from 2001 on, hunting down terrorists and attempting to dismantle terrorist groups and cells also became the primary concern of the military and of SOF, with CT and COIN melding into one unholy combination where they were basically the same thing to the military.

Once again confronted with COIN and unable to accept my thesis that it is – most of the time – unwinnable, SOF fell back on the same reaction as they did in Vietnam: trying to kill the problem away. SOF were once again essentially doing the same tasks infantry would do, only more special, more sneaky, with better toys, and etc. No matter how you dress it up though, they were doing the same job as any other grunt stuck in a pointless COIN war: killing insurgents with the hope eventually there will be no more; destroying their weapons caches with the hope they’ll stop getting new ones; destroying their outposts while hoping they wont’ just set up a new one a few miles away; etc. When that didn’t win the war immediately, the reaction was often just to throw even more SOF at the problem – leading to the bloat mentioned before. In all fairness, not all of this was SOF’s fault – when you’re a command or policymaker and have these really cool looking hammer that everyone thinks is great and special, you’ll want to smash every nail you can think of with it. This constant operational tempo, in addition to putting SOF up on a pedestal as the most special boys in the COIN fight, and with other factors, would also contribute to developing a rancid internal culture with horrific results both for those SOF interacted with and for its own members (which I will be addressing in the next section).

I could spend a long time going on about the use of SOF in Afghanistan – as I always say: “that could be an article in and of itself.” But there’s other things I want to cover, so what I want to talk about now is the cautionary tale of getting sucked into circumstances like that and pushing SOF into missions they shouldn’t be doing (or that no one should really be doing). This is especially relevant as the US military is now working to reorient its SOF back towards the missions they were founded to do in the first place, as great power competition increases and the possibility of war with a peer or near peer adversary becomes something that is actually plausible. Because of those twenty years of baggage, it’s not an easy job. After twenty years of GWOT, SOF operators are literally struggling to understand or feel comfortable performing the very mission that was their original justification and purpose and pining for the door-kicking they’ve been doing the past twenty years, feeling like that if they aren’t kicking down a door or clearing a room every few hours they aren’t doing their jobs right. God only knows how long it will take them to get over this – if they’re even capable of doing so in their current form (I would argue they can’t and would go further but I’ll save that for the conclusion). But don’t feel too sympathetic to a lot of them, however, because we’re going to use those institutional issues as a segway into the third main pillar of the issues of modern US SOF – which is their toxic culture and the depths to which it goes.

The Men Who Just Really Love Doing Crimes. I should clarify from the start of this section, that I am well aware that US SOF have always had issues with culture and professionalism. One need only look at some of the stories from the Vietnam War to realize that SOF has long had issues. But even then, I would argue those were not as widespread, deep seated, and batshit insane as what we have seen and are still seeing in the SOF community in terms of legal, ethical, and moral violations after twenty years of COIN and CT as part of the GWOT in the Middle East and around the globe.

All of this goes hand-in-hand with the bloat SOF experience after the start of the GWOT. As discussed earlier, in the effort to show progress in the GWOT, SOF became the go-to weapon of choice for the US government in tracking down and capturing or killing high-value terrorist targets. They increasingly became the most lionized, hyped up, and obsessed over part of the US military in an era where the average troop was already put up on a pedestal, seen as the solution to any possible problem a policymaker may encounter in national security. At the same time, as the US was pulled deeper into the quagmire of Afghanistan and Iraq and key terrorist leaders like Bin Laden remained elusive, pressure mounted to show results in all of the various “forever wars” America had found itself entangled in.

All these factors combined – and more – no doubt went to the heads of numerous SOF operators and leeched throughout the community. This was seen especially in Afghanistan, where by the 2010s US SOF had developed a reputation for a “shoot first, ask later” attitude towards their mission – at the expense of Afghan civilian lives. But this attitude went beyond simply having an itchy trigger finger, to allegations of outright unlawful killings (i.e. murder) and torture. Having been put on a pedestal and told how important they were, results being expected of them, and being told that they were doing God’s work, SOF seemed to take an attitude that the ends justified the means and that they were right in going to extreme ends outside of the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) to accomplish their mission. According to one SOF expose by Rolling Stone, a Green Beret writing to the author from federal prison (where he was incarcerated for smuggling 50 kilos of coke into Florida onboard a military aircraft), as long as the mission they were assigned was accomplished and everything was kept hush hush, SOF seemed to have free reign to go to whatever lengths necessary in the course of their duties.

This mindset was no doubt fueled by a sense of impunity, seeing that US SOF have only seldom faced any consequences for allegations of abuses and war crimes. In the rare occasions that investigations have been mounted or charges have been filed by the military, its even rarer that anyone actually is convicted or faces consequences for their actions. An extensive investigation of the ethics and culture of US SOF that was undertaken in 2020 found “no systemic ethics problems.” When Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher was put on trial for murdering a captured ISIS fighter, he was acquitted; and after being convicted of a lesser crime of posing with a dead body in violation of the laws of armed conflict, he was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump. In the few cases where punishments are doled out and actually stick, they’re usually relatively minor and done extraordinarily quietly, with the military and the government not wanting to draw any extra attention to the matter. In other cases, the government and the military have straight-up attempted to cover up any acts of wrongdoing. The standard that has been set for SOF over the past twenty years of Forever War is that you’ll likely never be punished for egregious acts, and if you are punished it’ll probably be a slap on the wrist at the most.

The impunity doesn’t just end with acts against civilians and enemy combatants in foreign countries, however. SOF have also developed a culture of violence and heavy handedness against other service members. The past two decades of GWOT are littered with stories of other US service members being sexually assaulted, hazed, and murdered, with the accused or suspected perpetrators being SOF operators – the previously linked article from Rolling Stone just barely scratches the surface of some of these instances on just one post, Fort Bragg (home of Joint Special Operations Command). This violence isn’t limited to being against those outside the SOF community, but occurs within it as well. A famous recent case is the murder of a Green Beret while deployed to Africa, having been killed by Navy SEALs and MARSOC operators during a hazing gone wrong (oh by the way the Navy SEAL sentenced for involuntary manslaughter in that case got his conviction thrown out). In some cases, SOF operators just decide to randomly visit acts of violence on people they don’t even know. The culture of impunity and superiority has developed to the point that its not just that SOF think they’re better than the rest of the military, but that the rest of the military is either an obstacle or a threat that must be dealt with – especially when their privileges and impunity are threatened by them. Despite their notional image as the best of the best, defending America’s values and interests, they seem to have little qualms about harming other Americans when push comes to shove. Even when they’re not murdering and torturing, SOF’s culture of impunity has led them to a point where they can’t stop committing crimes in general. Whether its smuggling drugs or embezzling official funds, SOF operators have been socialized to think they are entitled to it all.

In many ways, the culture of SOF operators has become akin to that of modern law enforcement in America – in that they act more like a cult or an organized crime group or gang (or all of the above) rather than as a professional military unit with good order and discipline. Strict group-think is enforced, with new ideas that break the mold or challenge the status quo are quickly shot down and those who suggested them are ostracized or punished. An “us versus them” mentality is imposed where those not in the cult or the gang are at best disdained or at worst outright hated or targeted. When the cult is under threat, all its members are expected to close ranks to defend it and any members who may be under attack – and God help you if you speak out. And even if you aren’t party to whatever transgressions that have been visited on someone else by the gang, and you largely go about your business trying to do no harm, you’re still part of the problem simply by not speaking out and doing anything about or taking part in a code of silence to cover for other’s wrongdoings. (By the way, this is not to say that these problems don’t exist anywhere else in the US military, but that they are particularity potent in the SOF community. You could really envision the SOF community as being a concentrate – if you will – of all the problems the military as a whole experiences, heightened to their logical extreme).

How do you even begin to tackle this problem? Well, I think as things stand now you can’t. Part of this is there being too much damage to SOF as it exists now to “save” it (and I will talk about this momentarily in the conclusion, like I said earlier), but also needs other issues to be fixed. You need stronger and more consistent oversight of the military in general and SOF in particular from elected officials who are actually going to dig deep, ask probing questions, and demand results – and will need to have a strong moral compass on the issues at hand. You’ll need a top brass in the military that will also have zero tolerance for such behavior and other shitty behavior in general, won’t be afraid of the military getting a black eye or bad press for calling attention to bad behavior, and will rigorously act to deal with bad behavior and crimes of various kinds and dole out actual punishments. Finally, you’ll need a military justice system that actually delivers – well, justice, for the accused and isn’t biased or rigged to produce certain results or simply to protect the interests and appearance of the military. I just mentioned three things that could all be essays in their own right (and likely will be at some point if I can ever get around to them – I’m very tired ok), so clearly this is an issue that goes beyond just SOF and requires sea changes in how our country works, not just how our military or SOF works (something I have pointed out as being necessary in the past). If SOF in our hypothetical better future and scenario are to function without descending back into a toxic culture of murder and cruelty, than these issues will all need to be fixed alongside one another going forward.

De Oppresso Liber (but for real this time)

Ok, so, this is the part where I remember that I’m supposed to be writing about how I would do things differently in this hypothetical future and scenario we’ve crafted for this series. But before I get into that, I want to speak about the here and now – knowing that what I say here and now will make little difference but I want to get it off my chest anyway.

As things stand now, I think that SOF as currently constituted in the US military are essentially un-reformable (and this is not a new opinion of mine). I think the rot has gone on for too long and goes too deep for it to be salvaged. This – again – is similar to my views on law enforcement; I am a police abolitionist in that I think some form of law enforcement or public safety needs to exist in society, but that I think the current system is beyond fixing and needs to be knocked down and started fresh from a completely blank slate with new ideas and new people in order to work. In that sense, I am a SOF-abolitionist in that while I think SOF should exist in the military – both as it exists now and as I’d like it to exist – the slate has to be wiped clean and it has to be started over fresh and new with new people and concepts and rules and oversight.

But ok, if we did wipe that slate clean and started over, how would we want them to be? As I said earlier, a lot of changes need to happen alongside one another – both in the military and in our society. But if we’re assuming the political changes we’d like to see have already happened in the United States and we’re focused more on the military problem now, the answers to the main problems I’ve outlined are self-evident (to an extent) in the problems themselves.

First, we need to have discussions need to be had about how many SOF is enough, and how much funding is really needed, without just letting the community bloat to an extreme size and throwing money at it with no accountability. There also need to be questions asked about how many different types of units we need – does every single branch of the military need to have its own unique SOF unit? My inclination is to say “no” and there would need to be studies done on what types of units we really do need to avoid not only a redo of bloat, but to avoid redundancy and overlap. If a new SOF unit needs to be justified, it needs to have a truly unique argument as to why it uniquely needs to exist. If there’s any of the things I’m listing I think could actually happen under the current system, its at least this one – as there seems to be conversations going in the halls of power regarding potential significant cuts to SOF as I finish writing this essay. So, there’s that I guess (though I imagine this will quickly turn into a political culture war issue in Congress and elsewhere with a revolving door of retired generals making their way to hearings to defend their special snowflake boys to Greg Steube and a similar coterie of very big dumb Republican guys, so don’t hold your breath).

Second, the missions SOF are assigned need to be ones that are actually militarily relevant and useful to the grand strategy we’re adhering to (and also are actually militarily achievable – unlike COIN and CT). Over all of this, thirdly, the SOF community also needs to be subject to oversight with actual teeth to it and those who violate rules, procedures, and established laws (both US military law and the LOAC), need to held accountable for their actions in a meaningful way. This is by no means an all-inclusive list, but just the major issues that come to mind reflecting on everything I’ve dumped on you for the past then pages or so in change.

While all of these issues are important, as a defense analysts I am most interested in the missions angle – not simply because I want to make sure its addressed how SOF fit in to the scenario we’ve established before, but because it also ties in to the other issues in that circular feedback loop I described from the onset. In our scenario of coming to the aid of an ally that is under attack by a strong conventional adversary and is being invaded, what would SOF be doing?

In our scenario, SOF would likely be the first troops of ours on the ground to assist our ally, before any substantial conventional ground forces are able to arrive in strength. To that end, their initial goal would be the same as any and naval firepower that is being directed to the region as the invasion is underway: to slow down and hopefully stall the enemy advance until those aforementioned conventional ground forces can arrive and concentrate and counter-attack. This would be in close conjunction with allied forces on the ground – likely including their own SOF, if they have any. Much like US SOF planned to do in Central Europe if the balloon went up during the Cold War, they’d blow bridges, collapse tunnels, and undertake harassing actions to slow the enemy down as their forces moved forward onto allied soil.

While our forces prepared for a counter-offensive to liberate occupied allied territory, that’s when SOF would really go to work, undertaking the mission that was always meant to be their primary responsibility: unconventional warfare. SOF would infiltrate behind enemy lines and work to establish an insurgency against the occupying forces – or support ones that have already cropped up. SOF would train and advise these forces, directing them on where and how to strike in order to make the biggest impact on the occupation, fighting alongside them in the process. It would be a return to form for SOF, fighting in support of insurgents fighting for their rights and freedoms, rather than engaging in a COIN campaign (and forcing the enemy to engage in such an ultimately hopeless endeavor themselves). The goal here is to continue weakening the enemy, drawing away forces and effort to fight the insurgents and lowering enemy morale and effectiveness, while making the coming conventional counter-offensive more effective and faster from having worn down and worn out the enemy internally. Once conventional forces press forward and link up with the insurgents, they may be able to link up with those conventional forces to press on and assist them – following Mao’s own theories on insurgency and guerrilla warfare, with the guerrillas gradually growing into the final phase of conventional warfare.

Additionally, aside from shooting people or even training other people to shoot people, SOF would play a critical role as eyes and ears quietly observing enemy movements and activities. In an age of satellites, drones, and other technical means of intelligence gathering, you often still can’t beat a soldier on the ground to give you an eyes-on account of what’s going on and to catch nuance that a long-range camera just can’t get you. To get back to the shooting while still staying in the intel gathering mold, SOF could also embark on moire aggressive intelligence gathering or snatching operations to get key info that not even satellites or drones can get eyes on, further demonstrating their importance in a highly technical age of warfare.

All in all, SOF would play an important role in the scenario we’re thinking of. That’s something that anyone on the Left that still thinks that armed conflict is sometimes sadly necessary will have to get comfortable with. This is a big assumption on my part, based mostly on vibes and what I see in discussions online, but I get the impression that among a Left that already has a dim view of the military, the dimmest and darkest possible view is that of SOF and its operators. Again, given the transgressions I outlined earlier in this essay, I don’t’ think that’s a view without reason by any means. But that’s why I wanted to talk about all the systemic issues with SOF to show its just one thing that’s led them to what they currently are, and to demonstrate just how far they’ve strayed from the purpose they were meant to have originally. If reoriented on that original purpose, and utilized in service of ideology and motives that were not inherently imperialistic, SOF do have an important role to play. This is especially true if in this better world we imagine that we still wish to support those seeking their own liberation (I should surely hope so or I wouldn’t even bother writing this shit), without getting drawn into the moral and military deathtrap of regime change and occupation and COIN. Deploying SOF to train, advise, and equip insurgents fighting for better lives in their homeland is the way to avoid stumbling into our own versions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Basically, we always want to make sure that the only role we play in any insurgent, is being on the side of the insurgents than as the COIN practitioners (assuming the insurgents aren’t pieces of shit and genuinely want a better future for their people and aren’t just batshit insane).

On that note, I think I’ve said just about all I can think to say on this subject for now and my brain is starting to run on empty. Out of all the essays in the series, I think that this one was the one I was both most excited for and the most dreading to write for a long time because of how intellectually and emotionally dense a subject it is. In all honesty, for how much I’m glad I’ve broached this subject, I’m happy to put this one in my rear-view mirror and move on to greener pastures now that I’ve said my piece. As with everything I write, I hope it at least promotes some introspection and some useful discussions and debate.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know if this is the end of the “What Should It Look Like” series or not. I think I was maybe planning on doing another one at some point specifically on the Reserves and National Guard and the role that they should play and how they should be different, so I’ll probably get to that at some point. I may switch things up for the next essay though and do something different, depending on what strikes my fancy at the time or what’s in the news by the end of the Summer. Now that I’m doing fewer of these a year, I don’t want to make every single one a “What Should It Look Like” until its all done, so I want to try and keep it fresh for you all. For now though, thanks for your patience as I move to a new schedule and space these further out. I’m juggling a lot in my life and not having to do these every month has made it a lot easier, so I appreciate all of your understanding.

Until next time, as always, stay safe out there and keep on keeping on. I’m going to go enjoy Memorial Day weekend and stuff my face with burgers and beer. Peace.

[aseriesofunfortunatejan]

Not to bring back Steven Universe discourse in 2023, but I don't know how you can expect people to grasp morally grey characters when they can't grasp Rose Quartz from the family friendly show about space rocks.

Though as someone who thoroughly enjoyed Steven Universe I do think she came across as a surprisingly complex character, such a character in such a show could also be seen as "baby's first morally grey character".

Although I'm more than willing to believe that there are people out there who stopped at her being a villain, the situation I see the most often is:

>some user mentions something bad Rose Quartz did >another user replies something along the lines of: "i'm tired of these idiots with no critical thinking who keep thinking Rose is a villain 🙄 if you actually watched the show you'd know we got her character arc in reverse."

They accuse people who express a disliking for Rose's morality of seeing things in black and white. Because they caught on to the fairly surface-level meta that her character arc was portrayed to the viewers in reverse, they view themselves as beacons of critical thinking for reaching the conclusion that ah-ha! Rose Quartz wasn't actually bad when you look at the whole picture!

But if seeing Rose as a horrible person throughout is the "black", clamouring her full-blown innocence is the "white". I'm sure there have already been enough people to write complete analyses of her character both before and after the war, so I'm not trying to add to that here; still, my point is, nothing about Rose's writing or about the show hints at her complete lack of villainy. I do not believe the writers wanted their viewers to reach the conclusion that none of the bad things she did mattered in the end, or that she was a perfect individual by the time she disappeared to leave place for Steven. Neither do I believe they wanted us to think nothing she did ever had positive repercussions.

I don't think I need to explain how much her past actions taint Steven's existence. By the events of Future, he's tired of hearing about the never-ending list of bad things she did and no longer wants to see her face in his home. Do you claim to know better than her son that she was actually great?

And yet, she saved the Earth. She validated Garnet's love from the get-go. Her decisions eventually led to Pearl's freedom. She mourned for Lion and granted him immortality. All of these things had huge downsides that I don't need to explain either. (Lion's, less so - though I think it's interesting to look into the fact that she isn't known to have ever used this power otherwise. My analysis based on what we know of Rose is that she would value the Earth's cycle of life too much to interfere. She saved Lion - whether by accident or on purpose - and knew that it was wrong in the grand scheme of things. But it gave us Lion.)

Within the show, she was a messy character who led to those around her having messy, contradictory feelings. She hurt Pink Pearl when she was at her most immature, but during and "after" her growth she also hurt her next Pearl in different ways. Similarly, different viewers will latch on to different aspects of her characterisation, and perhaps be attached to her growth, or on the contrary loathe the hurt she caused that they maybe relate to.

Not only do her past actions as Pink Diamond continue to have a large array of consequences, which to me prevents her from being seen as a good guy throughout, but many of her actions as Rose Quartz were also misleaded, selfish, hurtful. She had great intentions and yet never learned to communicate properly. She had done great things and yet her final act was one that was fully selfish.

Just because someone comments on something that was exclusively good or exclusively bad that she did doesn't mean they didn't pay attention to the show. Rose did both. That was a pretty significant thing that happened

In lighter news, this suggestion I got from writing the beginning of this post on my cellular telephone implies this wasn't my first rodeo.

[funky-sea-cryptid]

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 17, 23 (primes)

HI ANDY HELLO !!!

1-the character everyone gets wrong

patri. he's not evil he was a) influenced by a devil b) a fifteen year old when he died and c) has actively tried to make up for what he's done even though he was in (mostly) full possession of his wits. he's not evil. he's literally mislead and turned around and then got TORTURED FOR IT??? he's just a guy also he's gay let him go your honor (i am smote by damnatio kira)

2-a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

FINRAL WOULD NEVERRRR TOP HE'S. ITS PART OF HIS CHARACTER THAT HE IS A WET RAG AND A PUSHOVER AND FOR ALL HIS WHINING ABOUT BEING EVERYONES SENIOR HE LETS THEM DO WHATEVER THEY WANT. if finral roulacase had to give orders in the bedroom he would burst into tears. he can't give orders to people in his squad who out here thinks he could top????

3-screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

you ever seen those "he would not fucking say that" posts? uh yeah. nacht faust is a RAT he would not be calling ANYONE some sweet pet name like 'angel' or whatever he's just. the way he shows affection is CANONICALLY insulting people.

5-worst discord server and why

i have never been in an official fandom server i guess? i am in one with my friends and my beloved right now and it's very good. im not fit to answer this question in conclusion. arson server is very nice :D

7-what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

im gonna be real here all the characters i dislike are because they do some fuckshit in canon,,,, i just hate them more if i see people doing some shit ig?

11-number of fandom-related words you've filtered

zero!

17-there should be more of this type of fic/art

finral fallen angel imagery but also put him in a dress. transfem finral is real and true to ME. also bird imagery finral based :D

23-ship you've unwillingly come around to

disaster trio but only when wild writes it bc i trust wild