#The Principle of Scapegoats

[treeshrine]

me after putting down the book i was reading that devolved into some absolute batshit crazy out of character pre-established values of the world spit on and thrown to the wind nonsense

[mayvnwrites]

Fox demon sy au, except more demon and less uwu.

After dying due to expired food, SY wakes up as a fox demon with a natural affinity to poisons and poisoning. He is unamused at the irony, thanks, but at the same time... he IS kind of in some chaotic demon realm adjacent like place and needs all the help he can get, so ... thanks?

His transmigration even came with a subspace for drying and preserving herbs and ingredients, and an encyclopedic manual of all the possible tinctures, ingredients, and handling procedures installed into his brain.

Pretty adequate, although the subspace can only take medicinal ingredients and can't be used for growing/raising ingredients, and the manual is so massive SY feels like it will take decades to read. (Spoilers: it does take decades to read)

Cool, SY thinks, I can be a wandering apothecary and stuff - but of course things don't turn out like that, because why wouldn't this world be full of poisonous plants that require... um ... *alternative* methods of healing.

After the fifth time someone tries to force SY to cure someone with papapa, he says fk it and, unable to escape in more conventional ways, he poisons his way out of the demon lord's castle.

SY is also beginning to understand which world he's been transmigrated to and is cursing a "Master Airplane" under his breath nonstop as he stomps angrily away from rando demon lord's territory, almost no guilt in his heart because the dude and his vassals eat people and are *assholes*.

SY starts using the direct method (aka poison) in refusing persistent inquisitors that want help he's unwilling to give (whether it's papapa or just a matter of principle) and slowly becomes known more for poisoning than cures. Doesn't help that SY has evolved from death-poisons to poisons that would make you wish you were dead.

Soon SY is known as a fox who would rather kill you than speak to you.

At first SY feels upset about this, because after all that work curing people, killing people is what he's known for? But eventually he's like, whatever gets people to stop bothering me~.

After decades, SY has embraced getting his way with his pretty face and poisonings, becoming a bit of a naughty foxy, and is enjoying his life away from the plot and with much less harrassment by the demons.

He's gained the title of Poisonous Shoutao (longevity peach), and his reputation as a venomous fox demon who could cure whatever ails you but would rather poison you has grown far and wide (as well as his foxy bewitching ways as he gloats over poisoning you).

SY has a long list of admirers and haters alike, including those grateful for his healing and those who want revenge for his poisonings, but what good demon *doesn't* have an enemy or 20?

And then one of his haters sets him up to be the scapegoat of a rash of poisonings in some human communities, and suddenly SY is the target of some pony-tailed pretty boy head disciple from Cang Qiong with a mole, who hasn't realized that the Poisonous Shoutao is outside of his capabilities... after paralyzing the boy, SY thinks about just ending the kid but... well, SY has used his pretty face to sway others before, but this is the first time he's been swayed by a pretty face.

B-besides, it's probably better to avoid making enemies of Cang Qiong, no matter where in the plot they are right now! So SY just teases the kid until the kid's practically steaming (out of anger? or...), reveals he's NOT the culprit, and disappears into the night with a faint scent of nightshade lingering behind.

Expecting it all to be done and dusted after that, SY is surprised to find out that the pretty boy now has a vendetta against him and has sworn to take him down.

Cue cat-and-mouse interactions all over the two realms with a poisonous (and slightly flirty) fox demon chased by a serious (but easily flustered - at least when it comes to a certain fox) young cultivator.

[pierrelott]

Considering recent history, Mercedes definitely have the right to object to rules being rewritten/exceptions being granted off-the-cuff during an ongoing season which may affect race and championship results.

Mercedes being the one team that was against Ferrari/Sainz not getting a grid penalty

(The FIA may have been able to write off the penalty if all the teams agreed but 1 didn’t)

[valtsv]

This isn't a gotcha, so please don't take it as such, but would yuou be willing to explain what it is about VAL that makes her such a favourite of yours? I can't stand her myself, she comes across to me as a bully given god-like power that she abuses for her own amusement, and I've seen you acknowledge as much, but we draw completely different conclusions from that. I just want to understand your perspective.

i've been anticipating a question like this for a while now, so i'm more than happy to answer for you!

you're right, VAL is in some ways a "bully given godlike power" as you put it, and there's no avoiding that (nor do i want to). and yeah, i do like her in part because of that, because i have a fondness for horrible fictional characters and in particular "bad victim" archetypes, of which VAL certainly is one. but i think what makes her compelling to me, rather than repulsive, is that she is fundamentally a cautionary tale and a tragedy. in-universe, she's the scapegoat. the example. the "make the right choices or this could be you". she's inescapably, heartbreakingly human in her awfulness, and that makes her terrifying, but it also makes her deeply sad (at least to me).

i also strongly believe in rehabilitative/restorative justice, so for me, wanting better for VAL is about my real-world principles to a degree. i can't and won't argue that VAL doesn't function as an uncomfortable allusion to a lot of atrocious crimes against humanity (by humanity) within the narative, and that anyone who finds her upsetting or even hateful for these reasons is absolutely justified in doing so. however, she's still a fantasy entity at the end of the day. she's not a 1:1 stand-in for real-world abuses any more than, say, a vampire or werewolf, which plenty of people are more than happy to explore the nuances of. and there's also the question of what punitive measures would even achieve in her case, beyond personal satisfaction for the one administering or spectating them (which is not to say that wanting to punch VAL makes you as bad as she is, just that her arc is, among other things, about how cycles of abuse and violence perpetuate). the worst that could possibly happen to her has already happened. she's been tortured. she's been taken advantage of for her mistaken belief that working for and with the system has the opportunity to benefit her, and died for it. there's nothing to be "learned" from her punishment that hasn't already been shown to us. that she hasn't already internalised. if she were ever to develop a stable conscience, that would be punishment enough in my opinion.

despite being a victim of people not entirely unlike VAL, i personally am not her victim, so treating her with sympathy and kindness whilst acknowledging the elephant in the room that is her many (fictional) war crimes is not something that requires any cognitive dissonance on my behalf. i would cautiously argue that the narrative agrees with me somewhat in this regard - the few times VAL is treated to a genuine act of kindness with no ulterior motives, it shatters her composure and outward conviction that what she's doing is necessary for her personal satisfaction, and even prompts her to reconsider on occasion (sparing the woodsman comes to mind). i'm not saying anyone needs to hug her and tell her she's valid, but if all it takes is some genuine good intent to get her to engage in introspection, i'm willing to be the person to offer it.

[tanoraqui]

Having just read/reread 2/3 of the serieses, the most interesting side character in the assorted Percy Jackson books is definitely Chiron. Explicitly or very clearly implicitly canonical facts about PJO!Chiron:

Obviously, Chiron is the metaphorical heart of Camp Half Blood, and the one actually in charge of it regardless of whoever the gods appoint as Camp Director. He’s the best parent a lot of these kids ever have. If Chiron isn’t at Camp, something is wrong, either at Camp or something is so wrong elsewhere that he’s off dealing with it. If Chiron goes down in a fight, it is quite literally time to Panic.

He was blessed/cursed by the gods with immortal life “so long as there are heroes to train.”

Because demigod lives are the way they are, this has trapped him in an endless grieving cycle of training young people just enough to survive for a little longer before they’re killed. Enough to die heroically at age 15 rather than desperately at age 12, like.

His unhappiness with this mostly comes out in vague allusions to the fact that you will probably die on this quest, which he refuses to elaborate on, instead forcing a smile back into his face and handing you a first aid kit for the road.

Because of this? he never goes to Olympus unless explicitly summoned. This isn’t something that’s been barred to him, it’s a matter of principle.

Because of all this? the gods immediately scapegoat him for tree!Thalia’s poisoning, despite the fact that literally half of them are also Kronos’s children.

Despite all this, there is absolutely no indication that any villain ever attempts to suborn Chiron by offering him, and/or the youths under his care, a better deal. Presumably because they know he’d tell them (politely) to fuck right off.

Grieve though he does, care deeply for every child who comes under his care though he does, he is never (outright) cynical nor does he hesitate to embrace the mythological genre and role he’s in. He trains, guides, and guards where he can…and he encourages them to be heroes, risky though that is. The second it might be safe, he helps Rachel attempt to become the new Oracle, even though the last person to try went mad. He takes a dozen kids who came to Camp Half-Blood for the first time 2 weeks ago into potentially deadly battle to save NYC, as a “field trip.”

Chiron is as good at archery as Apollo at his best (Apollo admits this, privately). I don’t think we ever see him shoot an arrow that’s not a successful kill shot.

In about 36 hours, Chiron can raise a small army of wild centaurs from any or all herds throughout North America. There is no indication that centaurs will regularly listen to anyone else.

He’s an honorary member of the ruling council of satyrs.

Chiron periodically coordinates with hero-trainers from other mythologies to avert truly world-shattering disasters. He does not seem to regard this as the gods’ business.

He likes Dean Martin.

Truly the epitome of that one good teacher who genuinely understands and supports you as best they can while dealing with an unhelpful and often unfriendly school administration, whom you eventually realize is somehow even cooler in their non-school life!

[relicsongmel]

I've already explained my thoughts on how Dahlia fears Iris' love because it's the only thing contradicting her worldview that she is inherently unlovable, and how her inability to handle that reality affects the way she returns that love (i.e. in an incredibly backwards and convoluted manner). But recently I've also been quite captivated by the idea that maybe a similar principle holds true for Iris herself.

That being, that Iris is deeply afraid of her own capacity for love.

Iris, who feels Dahlia's pain so deeply as if it were her own (and it often is due to their shared upbringing). So hurt by the idea of her beloved sister hurting that it drives her mad. So much so that'd she'd do anything to help her feel whole again. So she loses herself, gives everything that she is and has to make sure her sister knows she's not alone. To some, it would be a lofty sacrifice, but to Iris, there's not much loss in throwing your life away when your life never had much meaning to begin with. And it's worth it, if it's for Dahlia.

At least, that's what she'd like to think.

In truth, Iris is utterly terrified of the person she turns into when Dahlia asks for her help. How all she can focus on is protecting her sister from harm or blame, to the point that everything and everyone else either fades into the shadows...or becomes warped into a simple cog in the machine of whatever crime they were unfortunate enough to become tangled in. Murder weapons become tools for freedom. People become mere vessels for whatever role they've been assigned. Any collateral damage—lives lost, scapegoats blamed, and the suffering of all parties hurt as a result—becomes an afterthought.

Only when it's all over does Iris snap back to reality and realize the weight of what she's done, and the guilt is enough to crush her. But all too soon, before she can finally swear off letting herself give in to overbearing compassion to the detriment of herself and others, Dahlia needs another "favor" and the cycle repeats itself again. And again...and again.

Eventually, somehow, Iris decides enough is enough, and narrowly manages to convince her sister not to kill the man who unknowingly accepted incriminating evidence from her latest plot to eliminate anyone standing in her way. She agrees to take on the burden of retrieving said evidence, and at first, she treats this task as she would any other cover-up job: not quite as dangerously tunnel-visioned as in crimes past due to there being less at stake, but with a certain air of detachment nonetheless. She doesn't want the man to be hurt, sure, but it's less about him specifically and more about Dahlia, who's dug herself so deep into a ditch of seeking revenge that she can no longer climb out unless Iris throws a rope down to save her. However, not long into her mission...something unexpected happens.

The man she's taken it upon herself to save from Dahlia's wrath is a deceptively tough nut to crack. For all Phoenix Wright seems easygoing and happy-go-lucky on the surface, there's a certain stubbornness lurking underneath—and despite asking numerous times, Iris can't seem to convince him to return Dahlia's deadly poison-bearing necklace. She's going to have to keep up the "girlfriend" charade for longer than she thought, but...for some reason, that reality doesn't bother her as much as she would have expected. In fact...it almost seems to invigorate her.

The version of herself when she's with him, despite literally bearing a different name than her own, feels more authentic and natural than any other role she's been born into, forced into, or crafted for herself out of desperation. And when one rainy October day she's lifted up and spun around in Phoenix's arms after she came to Ivy University's art building to deliver an assignment he had forgotten at home, Iris finally figures out the reason why.

When she locks eyes with him as he gently sets her down...

Iris realizes she's falling in love.

And Iris, knowing exactly the lengths she's willing to go to for love, feels nothing but despair at that realization, despite her face being flushed as red as her dyed hair and her heart feeling like it could burst forth from her chest at any moment.

How many more people could be hurt because of her feelings for a man she was never supposed to meet, let alone fall in love with? How long will Dahlia let her maintain this illusion until she gets impatient and takes matters into her own hands? If it came down to it, which one of the people she loves most in the world would Iris choose to protect? Which one of them would she have to sacrifice? Is her love forever fated to result in tragedy, or can she save both of them somehow?

In the end, Iris is powerless to help either of them—Dahlia is found guilty of murder and sentenced to execution, and Phoenix is nearly poisoned by Dahlia, initially framed for the murder she committed and leaves the ordeal deeply scarred by her betrayal. And Iris, having done so much for their sakes and yet still failing them, decides that she should at least do what she can to protect the one that still has a life ahead of him: Phoenix. And given that her involvement with him led to nothing but devastation—her love led to nothing but devastation, she decides to permanently isolate herself from him in the hopes that he can eventually move on and heal without her. The idea of leaving him behind (while he's experiencing such profound grief, no less) makes her heart ache, but to her the feeling is nothing if not deserved, and at least she can rest easy knowing that Dahlia is no longer a threat to him. And by sequestering herself on Eagle Mountain, she can protect him and others from the frequently gruesome outcomes of her undying devotion.

Iris spends five whole years surrounding her life around a practice she hates, to "atone" for her sin of letting her love corrupt her. Too fearful of it to face the truth of the hurt she's caused. And Phoenix spends five whole years suffering because of it.

Iris' love is pure, all-encompassing, and selfless. But the ironic reality she struggles against is that such love can also make her terribly, terribly cruel.

A cruelty not unlike that of her sister.

[sugar-grigri]

Chainsaw Man only exists through you

The principle is simple with Chainsaw Man: there are no revelations. The keys to understanding are to be found in the previous chapters. That's why, to get the most out of your reading experience, you need to keep rereading this work. 

This chapter is just a condensed answer to the question that Part 2 sets out to answer:

Who is Chainsaw Man ? 

Let's take this chapter apart, because nothing is left to chance. 

First of all, Fujimoto reminds us that Denji is a spectator of his own reputation, that he doesn't use or instrumentalize it, unlike Fake!CSM, which relies on it.

Since the beginning of the manga, Chainsaw Man has been a controversial figure, but this point is shown more clearly in part 2, notably through the adoration young people have for him, making him a hero, and the fact that he is a dangerous demon for older people. In just two pages, this framework is recalled. 

He's not only a scapegoat (he's blamed for actions for which he's not responsible = the buildings are the result of the falling demon, and the disappearance of the aquarium is Asa's doing). 

But young people also trust him blindly. The two high-school girls don't take Nostradamus's prophecy seriously, to the point of mistaking the man of the cloth for a demon, as if they'd been passively listening to the news, not taking the threat seriously. 

This shows that Chainsaw Man is a figure, a reference point for society, on which it holds its balance. An image that fuels debate while channeling concern. 

Moving on... The next pages are just as interesting for their staging. Because TV is never shown. Denji focuses solely on the Nayuta he looks after, as if convinced that she is his sole objective. 

Nor is it insignificant that Nayuta, Makima's reincarnation, is the one who challenges this dream of normalcy.

For symbolically, her former self was the one who exploited this dream to manipulate for Denji. For me, the closer focus on Nayuta, who repeats her question, serves to emphasize that her very existence is the answer. Not only did Makima dream of normalcy too, but it was Denji's realization that he could afford to raise her standards that enabled him to fight her while saving her.

Let's go forward two more pages. Once again, not a single detail is insignificant. Meowy and the toilet make sense because they refer to a specific scene.

Power had promised Denji to touch her breasts if he saved her cat, the fulfillment of a venal dream that Denji had defended to the bat demon as a valid dream. However, it was at this point that Denji experienced his first existential crisis.

A dream is a way of projecting oneself. The more little things you dream, the quicker they come true, and the more aimless you become. This is what follows Denji throughout Part 1, the absence of meaning. What he finds in the love of his peers. 

Denji also confirms his dream in the way he zaps TV shows. Banalities bore him, and magnetically, he can't help but follow the shows that are about him. Once again, Chainsaw Man is on the other side of the TV, a spectator. 

But the page I find ABSSOLUTELY brilliant is here, the clearest answer to who Chainsaw Man is, or rather how he came to be, is here. 

These are the people who created Chainsaw Man. When Denji fights, he simply follows his instincts, not pursuing great causes. It's the people who decided to make him a scapegoat for everything that's wrong with him, the people who decided to make him a hero.

Chainsaw Man is just a machine that constantly dies and suffers, scaring away demons and bringing humans closer together. He's a figure who can't make up his mind by choice, because he's diffuse. These are the people who made Denji Chainsaw Man. In other words, the choice is not his to make.

That's why fake!CSM is profoundly an imposter.

Becoming an actor with his face uncovered, instrumentalizing the attention of humanity, speaking to it orally as such, is not Chainsaw Man.

Declaring one's goals and demands is not Chainsaw Man, since it's the public that finds them (which is also what I literally do). Involving the demon of justice when Yuko is the first to understand that having nice ideals isn't enough to become like Chainsaw Man is dishonest. Fake!CSM is Yuko's assassin, the first to understand CSM is ironic. 

Fake!CSM is there to sweep away the essence of Chainsaw Man, who is not an embodied being. Chainsaw Man is a feeling, whether of anger or admiration. He's something more diffuse and immaterial than he appears, transcending Denji himself.

Chainsaw Man is at once this television, this audience, these arguments, these demonstrations, this gossip in the corridors.

So Denji is more Chainsaw Man than impostor.

[bigratsdeservebigpats]

Overblot Victims witnessing Yuu finally having enough of the overblots and stuff happening in the school that they basically scream into Crowley's face how sick and tired they are of seeing everyone, including themselves and the victims, suffer because of Crowley's irresponsibility.

These are so fun to write lol

It’s exhausting. 

Surely, if Yuu had magic, they would have overblotted themselves. It’s cruel to say they wish they could, that all their pain could be condensed into a single little rock and thrown into the ocean or the gaping maw of their cat, and all their troubles and worries would disappear. But they were the magicless prefect, and the Perfect Scapegoat. Because without that physical manifestation of anger and pain and suffering, they would never be heard. Because without consequences, actions wouldn’t matter. 

Like ink, these angers stain them. Like tar, they are dragged further by sticky, viscous threats. Like a black hole itself, they cannot escape, stretched impossibly thin where even their screams come out as a warbled, compliant, yes. 

Dorm meetings are incredibly, irrevocably important to the health of the students, as it is how the principle makes decisions that would best suit the student body, so it must be no wonder that everyone has suffered. For a man who’s very office gives him a view of the entire school, his mask must function more as a blindfold. 

For once, everyone is present for the dorm meetings. How this is possible? It’s because Yuu had to make sure everyone got their invites and arrived on time. The only one who physically and spiritually could NOT show, was Kalim, who was redoing an alchemy final he had failed. Therefore, Jamil would take his place. 

So all the dorms are here, even Malleus who they had to remind constantly, and Leona, who they physically had to drag. Everyone is here except one bastard. One bird brained, cackling motherfucker, who had decided that Yuu had enough time on their hands to deal with this VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR OF HIS OWN JOB.

They wouldn’t handle this treatment anymore. They couldn’t. There was already so much on their plate. They needed to keep their HOUSE from collapsing, they needed to reshape their entire perspective on what was possible to pass the most basic of tests, they needed to babysit a rampant, selfish … thing, they needed to worry about whether they would even have enough thaumarks to even eat, and now?

Even if ink does not flood the room, or fire does not singe the ground, the dorm leaders can feel the air thicken, the very atmosphere sinking over them with unparalleled pressure. No one can speak, let alone breathe as Yuu’s fingers drum the hollow surface of the desk. Their anger rolls off them in thick, misty waves, and when they finally stand, all eyes turn to them. “I’ll go fetch Dire Crowley myself then.”

“Prefect, I’m sure we can start without-” Azul is the first to jump in. This isn’t the first time he’s bartered with someone, so hopefully he can de-escalate the citation, but his words are instantly shot down. 

“I just wanna talk to em.” They grab a fountain pen off the desk, pricking their finger over the edge a few times. Malleus gulps. 

“W-Why do you have that pen.” Jamil is the one to jump up, he knows when someone is about to do something that may or may not have horrible consequences, but he is definitely not going to jump in the way of the steel nub. This was a different citation than trying to reason with Kalim. 

“I just wanna talk to em.” Yuu repeats, testing the swing of their pen before making a beeline to the door. Idia’s tablet flies out of the way with a squeal, but a few of the dorm members aren’t as cowardly. 

“This is ridiculous-” Leona starts, rubbing his temples at the sheer insanity of it all.

“I just wanna talk to em.”

“Put that pen away!” Riddle has dealt with annoyances and threats and all sorts of stresses, but this isn’t one of those hollow, tasteless messages. He could understand the feeling, but really, what were they gonna do with the pen against the head of NRC? He worried more about Yuu doing something stupid than anything. “What is- wh-what are you doing?”

“I just wanna talk to em.” The door slams with a deafening blow that rattles the very floor they stood. In the silence left behind, the dorm members share a knowing, worried glance before scurrying after like rats. 

-+-

The french doors that block off Crowleys office are ornate, drenched in a dreamy purple and highlighted with seven golden starlike symbols, the door handles meet together in three circles, oddly reminiscent of a certain mouse in their mirror. One of the more impressive parts had to be the door knocker, which was entirely unnecessary seeing as it led to a single, empty room.

Most people disregard it, but this time, Yuu disregarded knocking at all because he lost the respect and the dignity that basic humans deserved. 

Playing cards flew up like scattering crows, feet propped on the desk suddenly crossed neat and tidy on the ground. “Why if it isn’t the Prefect! I thought you would be hard at work collecting notes at the meeting!” 

His laughter fell on deaf ears, crossing the needlessly large space to the other side of his desk. “Get out of that seat. Stand up. Stand the fuck up.”

“Y-yes? Is something the matter? I’m a bit busy at the moment-!” Playing solitaire, that is. Brandishing the sharp nib of the fountain pen was enough to get him out of the way. He certainly didn’t expect the Prefect to sit down and prop their own feet on the desk. “And just what are you doing!”

“I’m the fucking principal now. Get out of my office you useless sack of shit and feathers.” The pen broke down on the desk, embedding itself in the center of the mahogany surface. Even if the poor table couldn’t scream, Crowley would do the honors. 

“That table is as old as the school! Crafted by the most talented of woodworkers! By the most grand and wise of trees!”

“Yea well now it’s my goddamn footrest. Are you deaf or just stupid? I’m the principal. Get out of my office. I’m gonna make this place as decrepit as the shitty ruins I live in.” Yuu leaned back, spinning in their seat to face the unkept image of the one and only, Dire Crowley. 

“And just who made you principal? This is a direct violation of-”

“I got rid of that rule, then. And it was voted on at the Dorm meeting.” They spun again, picking up one of the cards still on the table. The Joker. How fitting.

“That couldn't have-”

“And how would you know?” Eying the yellow divots in his mask, Yuu didn’t bother to let him speak. “You weren’t there. You don’t listen to your students. You don’t care about their health or their mental wellbeing. You talk as if you are the kindest ever, yet the Blots that are supposed to be rare, happen every month. Every single month, and you know why? It’s your negligence, and your lack of teaching and your shitty, greedy ideals. You are the denominator!”

“Yuu! Just what is the meaning of this behavior! I will not tolerate-” He leaned over the seat, so close that the edge of his crow mask threatened to gouge a part of their face out. 

“Tolerate? Oh, you wanna talk tolerating?!” They stood again, forcing the pen out from its upright position in the table to prod it against his chest, leaving black stains on his clothing. “Do you know what I have to deal with because of you?? Do you know what I lost and might never get back because of you?!? I can’t see my family anymore! I can’t see my friends anymore! They don’t even know if I’m okay or heck, even alive, and you in all your kindness, in all that slimy, filthy, fake gratuity, take advantage of it! You treat me like a servant, and then say that you are the one doing me a favor!”

The pen snaps, spilling ink down the front of his shirt. 

“If you really want this place to improve, then you’ll get the fuck out of here. But I know you won’t. I know that you won’t leave until it’s beneficial for you. So you know what? I’m gonna overblot. I’m gonna destroy everything until there’s nothing but crumbs for you to pick at, because that might be the only way you’ll ever learn.” They drop the pen, smearing the leaking ink off their hand with the leather of his fancy chair. He can take everything done today as collateral damage.

The door opens, and there stands several dorm leaders, who awkwardly back away to let Yuu pass. It’s obvious they’ve followed the Prefect from the beginning, and heard everything, but there wasn’t exactly a moment that could burst in, or needed to for that fact. 

Grim was right, Yuu goes for the jugular.

[geographerdose]

I read an astro observation regarding Sun square Mars/pluto people (I think) over a year ago, something like:

🚨I can’t find the original post to give credit (I have tried, trust me) so idk who said it, please share if you do cause I’d like to read that post again.

Also i think this was for those who have both of these within 3 degrees. Sun square mars and sun square Pluto.

“They’ll burn a bridge while they’re still on it just to show you they can swim”

It’s almost as if they have no choice.

They have to stand on their own principles and trust their own intuition when everyone is lying to their face.

They have to walk away from situations in which they will never be respected or appreciated.

Usually they have a feeling about this (Pluto is involved after all…) but once it’s for sure been proven to them…

They’re gone.

Unfortunate if they have one of these 3 planets in the 2nd house bc finances are likely affected.

Sure they might be impulsive but it’s like their own self-respect and self-worth matter more than a paycheck.

They need authenticity.

People with this aspect can’t really be lied to though. But they’re wise enough to know calling out liars isn’t worth the energy most of the time.

Until they’re pushed to their limit

Then it’s like watch the f*ck out cause shit is about to go down. They will obliterate anything within a mile distance, including themselves. And they won’t apologize for it either.

Also something about truth with them. They always want the truth to be told.

Even if they end up as the scapegoat.

(Which happens a lot, I think, especially with strong Lilith in their charts.)

“It’s the principle of the matter” vibes

[inqilabi]

I think people misunderstand marxism / communism and I don't blame them. In the dominant public perception it's just a mix of vague leftist principles. And I do think that the ruling class did a great job at blurring the lines between actual Marxism and what is their own ideology - liberalism, through academia and involvement in "revolutionary politics" themselves. Yes the ruling class was very much involved in civil rights movement and onwards. The woke capitalist politics you see today are not a co-optation. It is the ideology of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeois is very much "revolutionary" in their optics.

So the writers strike of Hollywood eg. People think that this is what a leftist revolutionary strike looks like. No. Hollywood is an arm of empire. So from a Marxist pov these are petty bourgeois or labor aristocracy (the folks who benefit from imperialism) fighting for top dollar wages (which itself extracted from imperialism ie dollar hegemony).

In the north america, marxism would look like reinvestment in production. Since imperialism resulted in deindustrialization. Hence the entire economies of US and Canada are service based. Not based in productive output. So this means investment in agriculture, industry, infrastructure. Labor. This is usually your American that is not urban. It's the rural folks doing productive labor. These are the people when they strike will strike fear. Like the UPS strike.

Also tax the rich is a useless phrase. Taxing the rich wouldn't do anything. That's just even more powerful ruling class families making a couple of multi-millionares into a scapegoat for public placation. China has billionaires ever since market reforms but they answer to and are beholdened to the party. Taxing isn't the answer. It's a total overhaul of production and who owns they production.

[mecachrome]

twitter discourse about oscar/mclaren makes me so irrationally upset i wish more people would master the art of leaving him alone

i don't think it's irrational at all anon i totally get it!!! ngl idek what people are saying about him right now but the algo did feed me some mcl illegal car bait earlier after quali and i was like :D ??? ahm ok. but my toxic trait is that i find public copium somewhat cringe so...

not sure if this makes any sense but i was reflecting earlier on how oftentimes in fandom people feel like a need to prove their unconditional dislike of other [drivers] so they can still Get A Good Grade in also unconditionally liking their own and tbh i kind of get that vibe behind a lot of baseless mcl discourse and the artificial divide you see sometimes between lando fans and the "i don't like mclaren but i like oscar 😇" lando hateurs who don't even really like oscar that much but just find him more ~tolerable~ and #relatable and use him as a scapegoat for irrational wank... which is fine ig because we can all like and dislike whomever we want and it is our right to be mad about things on the internet but 🤷‍♀️ idk i think f1 & celeb fandom in general can just get really binary about moral principles and it never leaves any room for... i guess situational observations or Nuance or Relativity and lands us in all sorts of inane drama and cursed mental health discourse and back-and-forth 814 comparisons wherein oscar is set up to shit on lando and then people make fun of oscar in return for not meeting arbitrary expectations that the team has never even set in the first place and so on.......

anyway sorry for the ramble but 🧡 people just say things fr. and this is always a safe space to chat positively about ojp!!!!

[whoopsie-daisie]

Toto is out here acting like the bond villain everyone knows he is (pls keep going Toto for the plot) and yet F1 reporters still managed to put blame on Susie??? Are you so blinded by your sexism you can't write a coherent article anymore?? Susie runs F1 Academy, that has nothing to do with F1 races or F1 ruling how on earth does her position in F1 Academy advantage Mercedes? Use your last decaying brain cells: you think she's in the room when they're discussing cost cap breeches? She's there giving her 2 cents about dolling out penalties? What's next, she controls the FIA and rigged the championship?

Susie is her own person, the fact that she's being used as a scapegoat for Toto being an absolute menace is gross and honestly poor journalism. She's a former driver, former team principle of a formula e team. SHE'S HER OWN PERSON WITH HER OWN CAREER AND HER OWN MERIT

AND ANOTHER THING the media has been so harsh and critical of F1 Academy literally the only positives I've seen have been from female fans advocating for the series (ie asking for broadcasts) so I find it a bit stupid that suddenly F1 Academy is soooooooo relevant and imposing that Susie Wolff might have access to private information. Like???? Be so ffr

Anyways F1 world has a long way to go and we need to keep calling out this sort of behaviour if we ever want to see it change. I know it's winter break and everyone's bored but can we not make funnier rumours? More "lewis actually called me asking for a seat" and less "how can I blame women for everything that has ever happened" thanks x

[bimgtt]

One thing is even if naruto acknowledged itachi's words not bearing everything alone that doesn't matter to Sasuke bc naruto is align with the system, like him also his friends they are blinded by WOF of Konoha, so they can't understand why Sasuke's revolution is important

Sasuke understands that the ninja system and missions based on usage of warfare, spying and proxy wars and WOF created autocratic blind and extreme nationalism like hokage's words are final laws who can change anything on a whim or may not reform anything from past hokage's mistakes as their blind amoral loyalist nationalism refrain them for any reform the best examples are

Hiruzen who did not reform anything for uchiha or Naruto who still teaches children endure and die for the village bc they are your family, child soldiers custom, unnecessary chunin exam ,

so for these reason sasuke can't align himself with these villages bc they have different types of ultra nationalist propaganda like WoF from Konoha, WoR from Iwa etc. where you can't choose different ways of life even if those ways of yours are harmless to the overall village population and you can't follow or advocate your ways bc corrupt and prejudiced and autocratic kage and elders will not let you go against any custom of shinobi as you just have to act and endure like a blind loyal tool without no question according to those kage and elders otherwise you will be executed or marginalized in your respective village even accept being bullied and shunned and hatred from villagers for their war trauma scapegoat like mainly kekegenkai clans and jinchurikii , you have to endure oppression from shinobi system and its shinobi and kage bc enduring for greater good and greater goals means being ninja that lies being align with the village where you can't advocate individual or certain group rights otherwise you will be targeted by corrupt and fascist and nationalist and autocratic people like Onoki, Danzo, Raikage, tobirama, Hiruzen and konoha elders and Suna elders, Kurotsuchi etc. who will do anything to maintain their respective village hegemony many examples in the whole naruto series for such these scenarios and mindsets and principle values for examples:

1.rin dying for greater of the village without relying on kakashi as she is blindly indoctrinated from the childhood even kakashi in the waves arc saying how "we" as shinobi are

2. Itachi being indoctrinated with blind nationalism of WOF which clouded his moral judgement and couldn't help him saying how segregation and confinement to one job were dangerous policy from authority and pure injustice for Uchiha and then daily bad words from villagers, even tho Uchiha also suffered so much from wars and missions and invasions

3. Sakumo hatake's suicide, amegakure and small villages being pillaged, naruto being shunned, jinchuriki practice, zabusa and haku's yuki caln genocide, uchiha clan genocide, iatchi and shisui immoral spying on their own people, neji's father death, hyuga slavery and curse, Madara being ostracized by tobirama from being hokage bc of sharaingan power without given any chance and proof for at least as beginner, child soldiers practice, immoral anbu spying practice, supressing your emotions for missions, glorifying your ancestors as Gods and WOF like propaganda without knowing their bad sides and betraying or opposing and leaving village means death, hokage's words and judgement are constitution no one can oppose, covering uo genocide, grooming and indoctrinated child soldiers in exteme belief of WoF propaganda like itachi, shikimaru, rin, naruto etc. and so on

Sasuke knew most of the people live in this shinobi framework which destined to bring disaster and inhuman and injustice to certain groups of people and individuals and disagreeing to opposition and different views where change and reform can't be possible in the long run as they all are in village circle blinded by this propaganda and shinobi system which is casuing child soldiers practice, jinchuriki practice, various tragedy, bullying, mass killing, genocide, systematic and direct oppression, cycle of hatred among clans, individuals and villages in the shinobi frame work, for the sole reason why Sasuke have to be alone for his revolution bc whole shinobi worlds are blinded by shinobi customs and propaganda in shinobi framework or shinobi system

So to cure the darkness that shinobi system created without time to time reform or fact checking, Sasuke have to be alone bc everyone is blinded by the system and stupid enduring meaning of the shinobi, so revolution is important no bloody it is bc people alrady died bc of this blind nationalist system that created only violence after violence down the line, either you maintain and judge it with impartial executioner like Sasuke or abandons this fascist and stop being ninja,

Being alone is necessary for Sasuke's revolution bc all of the shinobi people are blinded by shinobi village system, even in peace time child soldier still in practice where children still taught in ninja academy about fighting but not history of its dark side, in konoha shinden mirai still glorifies 3rd hokage without knowing his dirty secret and many house women talking about their children being in ninja academy but why chidren needs to go to ninja academy or shinobi missions only adults can go as it is peace time meaning nor kakashi nor naruto did not change a thing still practicing child soldier shinobi custom, bc of this non changing mindset of shinobi from these villages which is why Sasuke has to bear his Revolution alone so he could slowly uprooted it little by little and thus he can completely change the past of this shinobi village system no he will slowly destroy it to the core until shinobi start to live like normal civilian people so past will be totally transformed slowly

For sole reason why sasuke has to bear darkness alone in his revolution as darkness of the village causes proxy and cold wars or genocide or cycle of hatred, personal tragedy, brainwashing people immorally etc. which causes more and great war geopolitically down the line in the shinobi world and why changing the past of the shinobi system is necessary as everyone is blinded by the system

so in easy term sasuke has to do his revolution solely alone to be impartial as everyone is blinded by the system and behaves like blind brainwashed tool where no will understand his point how dangerous they have become under shinobi system and by becoming a darkness that darkness that shinobi system has been using for its villages hegemony and its interest and to destroy the past that current shinobi system has been based upon that caused so many inhuman acts and injustice that made everyone blind and ignorant to the truth and humanity and created paradoxical aspect in its nature and core

[crazyhickofftheirrocker]

Carmen's Double Promotion: potential migajas for Season 2 🕵‍♀️ 🧐

Absolutely rooting for nuestra capitana 🥰🥳 after being made store manager. And according to some behind the scenes pictures from when filming took place, it's definitely going to happen.

But what if this ends up introducing the main conflict of season two and puts Carmen in a more central role?

Carmen is ofc married to Tasio, who Damián is clearly trying to incorporate into the company, either to assuage his own guilt or for some other reason (maybe even to make him a scapegoat so Jesús can go fuck with someone else other than the rest of the family)

Since Jesús' true character has been revealed to much more of the family, things seem to be lining up so that it'll turn into a war between Damián and Jesus, versus the Merinos and the rest of the DLRs. No matter Damian's disgust for Jesús now, he's made his bed and will stick with him to the bitter end because it's all he knows how to do with him.

Depending on the outcome of this, I would expect that Tasio's true parentage will be revealed at the end of the season and if that has been made the focus, then Carmen is now in a very complicated and important position.

No doubt her loyalties are with Mafin and she would personally support them and the rest of the family against Jesus. But if Tasio is to take a position as one of the DLR, he will have to go along with the same bullshit his newfound siblings have put up with all their lives and he will feel he needs to prove himself. That will also conflict with her own personal principles, particularly if Fina shares with her the true reason for the Barcelona plan.

I actually don't believe season one will have a positive ending or that Jesús will be killed; in fact, he'd probably end up at worst imprisoned and somehow sneak his way out of it through financial favours or through some ruse. But it could happen in such a way that ostracises his siblings and thus takes them out of the company, leaving a vacuum for Tasio to slot into in some way. This season is probably one that gives Jesús his 'win'; to end up as sole director of the company.

So Carmen's loyalties will be tested; either she supports her husband and she's obliged to follow the agenda set by Jesús at work. Or, she turns out to be the person who keeps her ears to the ground to support the exiled DLRs (and Mafin ofc 🧁) and lays the groundwork for their return and ultimately the downfall of Jesús.

Who knows 😉?

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

Man, I love a lot of the shows that I grew up with, but I as I was trying to think of more possible DBD crossovers to suggest, I thought of BtVS & it's wild now to think of how that was considered "feminist" & "progessive" for its time (oh the ways in which Joss Whedon & Neil Gaiman are cut from the same fucked up cloth, wrt how they both have made careers out of presenting themselves as "feminist men," which is it's own rant, tbh) and the ways that DBD just casually blows BtVS out of the water in terms of gender parity & racial & sexual diversity:

--DBD shows up out of the gate with two main cast members who are women of color, something BtVS never had in seven seasons. Closest we got is Kendra & she was a recurring character who was killed early. & season seven with some of the potentials I guess -- I don't think any of the potentials were main cast though (was Kennedy?)

--DBD has no straight, white men wrt the main cast or recurring cast. Charles is a person of color, Edwin is gay/queer/mlm, Tragic Mick is black, TCK & Monty are some flavor of queer, all the rest of the regulars are women or female-coded. Meanwhile, BtVS has Xander for 7 seasons. It's not until Andrew -- who was a villian! -- that we get a queer man as a regular/main cast member and that's season 6 & from what I remember it is kind of frustratingly done! (Season 4 is the first canonical queer rep with Willow/Tara. Retroactively we know Willow is queer from tge get go, but watching in real time it was a surprise when she came out) And as homoerotic as Angel, Spike, & Giles might be to fans, they're all written as straight on the show and they're all white. The first character of color who gets a main role is in season fucking seven with Principle Wood.

--there's not a true female big bad on BtVS until the 5th season. I love Drusilla, but Angel is the S2 big bad not her. There's the S4 millitary professor lady (totally forget her name), but ultimately it's her creation, Adam, who is the big bad. Meanwhile DBD is blessed with Esther right out of the gate.

--Ratio wise, I always think about how of the 90's Trek series Voyager is the "feminist" one, but if you look at the main cast the ratio of men:women is always 2:1 in every season it aired. BtVS isn't as bad as Voyager & tbh I forget who was main cast vs supporting (like, Tara should have been main cast but wasn't, I know that), but DBD is just set up from the on-set in a way that feels so much more female-powered, imo.

Anyway, I just wanted to take a second to appreciate all that. When I see meta posts about Crystal seeped with with misogynoir or when I get frustrated that there seem to be more fics that focus on TCK or Monty than there are fics that focus on Niko or Jenny or when I get bummed that there aren't any canonical ace or trans or nonbinary characters, it's also nice to remember how things used to be and how much the media landscape has improved. I can name multiple shows currently on with queer characters. Multiple shows with black women & other women of color in the main cast. I still have a lot of fondness for BtVS & I'm definitely using it as a scapegoat here, but it's true that my enjoyment had a lot of caveats & I don't feel that when watching DBD. I really appreciate that.

.

[tepkunset]

A little bit of history of the Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland

My name is Lydia-Isaac. I was born in Ktaqmkuk, but have spent most of my life in Sipekne'katik and Kespukwitk. As far as most people are concerned, that means I’m a Newfie raised Nova Scotian, but Newfoundland and Nova Scotia are simply built on top of the same territory known as Mi’kma’ki. As far as I’m concerned, despite moving around a lot growing up, I can at least say I’ve never had to leave my people’s homeland.

Pre-Colonization Travel

Evidence says that the Mi’kmaq of Unama’ki (Cape Breton) travelled across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) for seasonal hunting and fishing at least as early as the 16th century. Oral history says this goes back even further.

Relationship with the Beothuk

There are mixed historical analyses on what the relationship between the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq was like. There is a common myth among settlers that the Mi’kmaq are responsible for the Beothuk genocide, pushing in on their territory and killing them on behalf of French settlers, whom the Mi’kmaq were allied to. This should be highly scrutinized and criticized for what it truly is: Displacement of blame onto another Indigenous Nation as a scapegoat. Most tales of hostilities between the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk come from English accounts. The one explanation we have from a Beothuk source, the captured woman known as Shanawdithit, said to one Bishop Inglis: “Originally they [the Beothuk] had intercourse with the Mi'kmaq and they could partially understand each other, and that the Mi'kmaq who have been visitors here for centuries were formerly on friendly terms but their enmity has been implacable and of the deadliest character for about 150 years.” According to this, hostilities only began after outside colonial pressures were in place. Make no mistake that those responsible for the Beothuk genocide are the settlers who hunted them and their resources, and spread deadly diseases.

Colonial Changes

The relationship between the Mi’kmaq and the land/its other living beings is not just one of harvesting resources, but a spiritual connection and responsibility. The principles of this relationship is known as Netukulimk, which guides the Mi’kmaw way of life. One of the core understandings of Netukulimk is the concept of Msit No’kmaq; the understanding that all spirits are related. (It is also worth mentioning that everything that casts a shadow has a spirit.) Therefore, a person is responsible to respect the life around them—that of the land, of the flora, of the fauna—just as you would respect another family member. When you harvest, you only harvest what you need. When you hunt/fish, you only hunt/fish what you need. And you offer thanks to that which you have taken from, every time. This way of life is one of sustainability!

Unfortunately, that sustainability was catastrophically interrupted by colonizers when Newfoundland came under British control. The caribou herds for example, which were a staple reliance for the Mi’kmaq and originally numbered up to 300,000, went near extinct. With this, so too came the astronomical death of the Mi’kmaq. John G. Millais wrote of Steve Bernard, a Mi’kmaw hunter and wilderness guide: “Steve is the sole survivor of eleven children born to old Joe Bernard, late chief of the Newfoundland Micmacs, all of whom have died from the bottle, consumption, or strains, the three principal causes which decimate the red men.” One survivor in a family of eleven children.

Those that survived this period of death were forced to largely assimilate into the settler’s society, but this too the settlers made a challenge. Getting a job as a Native person was near impossible, save for ill-paid work on the docks and boats. This is where the Newfinese slur jackatar/jack-o-tar comes from, the insinuation being that you are a poor grunt worker because of your race. (Employers denying work to Natives is still a problem today by the way, and the very reason that my family moved to NS.) It was not uncommon for communities of congregated Mi’kmaq to be forcefully relocated and then destroyed, such as Crow Gulch. In the 1870’s, Newfoundland established five reserves to try and control congregation: Conne River, Codroy Valley (Grand River), Halls Bay, St. George’s, and Gambo. But the only one still considered reserve land today is Conne River (Samiajij Miawpukek).

Joseph Fucking Smallwood

In 1949, Newfoundland joined Canada. When asked about the island’s Native population, Premier Joseph Smallwood falsely claimed there were no Indians in Newfoundland. This meant that the Mi’kmaq living on the island were not registered under the Indian Act, enabling the new province to ignore the People’s existence and rights. It also meant settlers were taught in schools the myth that all Indigenous peoples of Newfoundland were killed off, for a very long time.

Miawpukek First Nation

It wasn’t until 1987 that Miawpukek First Nation (Conne River) was federally recognized, after a long-time campaign from Indigenous activists on the island insisting they were not, in fact, ghosts.

But Samiajij Miawpukek is just one of many traditional Mi’kmaw communities, and that’s not even counting those living in urban areas. What about them?

Qalipu First Nation

Qalipu First Nation was established in 2011 by the federal government as an “easy” solution to catch all the rest of the Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland. The problem is, they were not expecting very many applicants—because of that old Joseph Smallwood-sourced myth—so they decided that the checks for applying for Status and membership were not required. This was a huge mistake, as it opened up doors for over 100,000 people to apply. Naturally, the Mi’kmaq of other provinces were rightfully cross with the government for this, and questioned the legitimacy of the Band.

It took nearly a decade for Qalipu leadership to sort out membership, limiting the number of members down to those actually involved with the Band, and making cultural participation a requirement. In 2019, the First Nation was recognized by the Mi’kmaw Santé Mawio’mi (Grand Council).

Today

Thanks to revitalization efforts, the Mi’kmaw language is making a come-back on the island after many decades of near extinction. With this comes the revival of practicing traditional songs, dances, artwork, and other expressions of cultural identity. To paraphrase from my uncle: it’s about relearning what was taken from us for so long.

What should come next, in my opinion, is the restoration of Netukulimk on a large scale. There are many who agree and are working on just that, so we’ll see what comes in the future of the island.