#after a protest etc. i don't know how much i trust him as an author yk

[hexjulia]

i was going to read van reybrouck's congo book at some point after finishing his revolusi but then i read a really long review just tearing it apart and now I 1. wonder what other book i should read on the past few centuries in congo (don't really have an interest in congo specifically atm so not assembling a whole syllabus for myself -- but a trustworthy oversight of recent history would be good to read). 2. if I should toss his Revolusi and find another book on dutch colonialism in indonesia OR if he is more trustworthy when talking about dutch colonialism.

A big part of why his book on Congo seems to paint a dishonest picture is his desire not to make Belgium look too bad. But he's Belgian, not Dutch, so it's possible that's not as much of an issue with this book? Hm.

I wish all negative reviews included lists with suggested alternative reading.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Agitation 3.5 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

Which would be a disaster.  I swallowed hard, “What if I told you there was a spy in the PHQ?” “You’d be setting off the lie detector.  Try again.”

Really Armsy? You're so sure there's no spy? None? At all? No chance?

He frowned, then stopped gazing out the window to look straight at me. “I’m not giving you any protection.” I clenched my fists at my sides, “This is the only thing I need, and you’ve got them!” “You’re a stupid girl,” Armsmaster said.  He gave me a moment to let the words sink in.

Yeah, not a great look dude. I get not wanting to just hand over blanket protection without something to go on (and Taylor really isn't giving him enough, but there's not much she can give really). I think she could probably go so far as to say the Undersiders have a boss, but I do get why she doesn't.

If nothing else, that pesky lack of trust in authority is rearing up for her.

I didn’t get to finish my question.  Armsmaster talked over me until I shut my mouth and listened.  “Do you think you’re clever?  In the real world, undercover cops have handlers.  They have someone to report to, someone that can call in backup at any time.  You?  You’re a middle schooler with delusions of grandeur.” “I’m not in middle school.” “Oh, well,” he crossed his arms, “I stand corrected on all counts.” The sarcasm in his voice was palpable.

Not a great comeback. But also, like, she's coming to you specifically because she wants a handler, someone she can call on. Jesus christ, Armsmaster.

I'm just imagining how much better this would have gone if the Protectorate Hero that Taylor met on Sunday was anyone that wasn't Armsmaster. He's just the exactly combination of traits required to fuck this up.

Like, yes, I suspect the notion that Miss Militia would have been perfect and wonderful with Taylor that I have seen in some fics would not be true, but I do think just about anyone would have handled this better than Colin here.

I protested, “And if I did have back-up or a handler or anything like that, they’d know.  The way I’m doing this is the only way this could work.  Use your lie detector, you’ll know I’m telling the truth about this.” “I know you believe you’re right.  That doesn’t make it god’s honest truth.”

Also a fair point, but consider: You don't know much about the Undersiders or their powers, so maybe the person who does know might know?

Like, I get that Armsmaster was probably tailor-made (hah) to be exactly what was needed to make Taylor react this way, etc, but still. Holy shit man. Actively making the worst choices every stop of the way.

It's the Worm Drinking Game!

“You gave me a dying man!” Armsmaster bellowed, startling me, “That was on my shoulders!  I had to put up with two days of losing command of my team, two days where they confiscated my Halberd and power armor!  I was interrogated, all my equipment taken apart and checked!  All because you couldn’t resist using your bugs to give that man a fucking near-lethal dose of poisons!” His attitude from the beginning of this meeting had been hostile.  Now I understood why.  I held my ground. “That’s not my fault,” I told Armsmaster, my voice strained with anger.  I gave voice to a suspicion that had been nagging at the edge of my consciousness since I’d heard about Lung being hospitalized, “I didn’t dose him with enough venom to kill him.  What I think is that the tranquilizers that you pumped into his system knocked out his ability to heal, which is what let the poisons do as much damage as they did.”

Really is a dick move for him to take this out on her like this.

Besides, it's Lung, and it was a fight to the death on her end. Yeesus Christe, what is she supposed to do, go easy on him?

Plus, Armsmaster could have just privately admitted that it wasn't actually all his takedown, if he'd actually wanted to. So that really does jive with that 'obsessed glory hound' read of him, in some ways, that he wouldn't admit he didn't take Lung down even after this.

“I-” I paused, trying to find the words, “I’m asking you to please not tell anyone we met tonight.  No records, on paper or computer.  Don’t do anything different because of what you learned tonight.  I know I can’t make you.  I don’t have anything to offer you, besides the information I’m going to get.  But if these guys get wind that I met you, it’s going to go really badly for me.”

This is like, a smart move inside a dumb move inside a smart move, because... she's not wrong to not want this somewhere where Calvert/Coil can find it, but she's also very dumb to not want any paper trail to cover her ass (because that's quite literally essential for undercover cops) but also, she's very smart because she knows that the Undersider's boss has some degree of inside info, though she can't realize how much.

It was a dick move, that last bit, because I was following his order if I listened and it made me look bad if I didn’t.  Still, if there was any upside to the bullying I’d endured out of costume, it was that I could handle the little maneuvers of bullies and assholes when I was in costume, too.  I left and didn’t think twice about it.

The guy really was the perfect combo of character traits to fuck with Taylor, and set her up for her latest round of rationalizations:

Fuck it.  I was going to rob the hell out of that bank. 

Crime Lord Skitter LETS FUCKING GOOOO!

[comic-the-adventurer]

For Cosmicco,

1: Probaaaaably Harriet. I& mean, they're literally her adoptive dad so she's more than willing to listen to him and actually keep their advice in mind, unlike someone like Allen.

Plus, Harriet is literally the king so, obviously, they have authority over Cosmicco and she knows, if Harriet wanted to, they could certainly order her to take a break. But Cosmicco would prefer to rest on her terms than be sent to bed so her protests are barely ever desperate and are more playful, trying to gently convince Harriet to let her continue.

So, if Harriet came up to Cosmicco and was like "why don't you take a break," Cosmicco would start stretching and such, getting ready for bed. She knows there's no point to argue; Harriet is fairly adamant and barely ever did protesting change their mind. But there's still a chance Harriet would understand her side and it's almost tradition to protest a bit. In the end, if Cosmicco protests too much, Harriet gets firm. And if Co protests after that, she gets punished vpojcpjc

1A: Ig until their task is brought up again. Sometimes, Cosmicco will forget her task, but only momentarily. It depends on the task is what I'm& saying xD

1B: As I& mentioned before, if Cosmicco refuses to obey Harriet's "suggestion," she gets punished, and no, I& will not specify skkbakvsk.

But if we're talking about what if Harriet does not interfere, Cosmicco gets tired/worn out/etc and thus, grouchy. She knows it too, and therefore, she tries drinking tea like Harriet (and lesser so, Reginald and even other tea-y friends) because if it calms them down, why not her?

She doesn't hate tea (in fact, she thinks it's okay) but she doesn't go actively seeking it out either, unless she was craving it for some reason. If she was offered tea from someone trusted, she'd ofc take it and drink it out of courtesy but- what am I& doing? This isn't about tea xD

Also, many funny conversations with Harriet when Co drinks tea to be like them- and Charles would just make fun of her xD

2: This kinda feels like the same question as the first one but let's just say Harriet isn't nearby or, better yet, Cosmicco is in the toppat base (yea, some of my& ocs are inspired by thsc, let me& live.). The answer is Reginald.

Cosmicco's other friends would care and all, but Cosmicco would either dismiss them or her friends know this and don't engage. Spare for worried looks as they pass by ofc.

2B: Ooh, this is gonna be fun. Most, if not all, others that Cosmicco knows are either, in her opinion, childish or too serious. So because Reginald has nearly identical maturity to her, (though, he's occasionally childish), Cosmicco is far more willing to hear him out than others.

She knows Reginald caring and is very experienced with taking care of others (*ahem* ALLEN.) so, if Reg out of all people thinks she's being unhealthy, Co knows she almost certainly is.

She'd sigh and tell him he's right. Reg would bring her water and, depending on the situation and circumstances, help her get ready for bed/take her home/finish paperwork/generally wrap up the day.

2C: God, I& love the dynamic between her, or even anyone, with the toppat clan :) /g. Probably Allen. I& mean, Cosmicco trusts him and all, but she doesn't think Allen has good advice to offer. (He does. Just when he breaks character, AKA, rarely. xD)

And with that, (taking this as an excuse to talk about Co's relationship with Allen, yk, routine things xD), Cosmicco honestly finds it really hard to genuinely trust Len. Cosmicco would trust even Reginald with her life, in fact most toppat members, but something about how Allen and Mist-Jun working together (though she knows and understands it was Mist's idea) makes her very uncomfortable and scared for Mist's safety.

She knows, though she refuses to outwardly admit it or confess to how she doesn't trust Allen, it's unreasonable not to trust Len, considering she trusts other toppat members. But something about his demeanour is...unsettling in her opinion. Honestly, this all has a good chance of stemming from Misty and Len working together and she knows she has to stop judging by his shifty appearance.

Maybe I'll& decide Cosmicco goes through an arc where she learns to trust Allen (think Raya and the Last Dragon but like... Good. Or, at least, addressing the crazy message and using common sense. Trust isn't black and white.)

3: Had to think about this one. Caard, if any. Caard's motive...

3A: It would be accidental, I& think. Caard just wants to prove they're reformed, and what better way to do that than (he prioritizes this because Harriet, aka, the king, knows he's changed) sucking up to the princess? He'd just be trying to agree with whatever Cosmicco wants and that'd include unhealthy things too.

(Also, I& feel like Burt would fall into this category too but only if this takes place very soon after the Toppats are "befriended" so I'll& just go and pretend like he doesn't fall into this category xD. Plus, Caard is more interesting. But if you were wondering, here's the answers for the rest of these questions for Burt: Burt would genuinely think he's doing the right thing. Co barely knows 'em but they think Burt is A-okay. Annnnnd, the same answer as Caard. ^-^)

3B: I'm& getting bored so I'll& summarize: Caard used to be horribly evil (including attempts to cause harm to the royal family, Co included) but it technically wasn't his fault since xey were literally born with evil energy, which we'll call the Dark element. However, that dark element was altered into Light after his arc (...Don't turn this into a race thing. It's literally just a dark beats light thing. It's very common.) And now Caard is good lol

Surprisingly, Cosmicco was fairly accepting when Caard joined the "good guys." I& mean, if Harriet trusted him, Caard's gotta be fine, right? For Caard's sake, let's hope so /j

But Caard assumes Co is either ordered by Harriet to treat Caard somewhat kindly or she's just pretending to accept him. She isn't, she genuinely thinks Caard is okay.

(Plus, Co is fascinated by the changing element thing. And, ofc, the Light element because she's (most people) never seen that before. She, unlike most, has seen the Dark element before because... Her adoptive brother is literally a dark elemental and he's, at least, slightly kind. (Whereas others think dark element = inherently evil.). Maybe that has something to do with accepting Caard. That, and she's been dealing with villains all her life lol)

So it's like

Caard: Please, forgive me, I beg you.

Cosmicco: I just said I already do...! Like five times.

3C: Honestly, it depends on Co's mood. Maybe she'll take Caard's words as encouragement and reassurement to continue as is (though she'd visibly react the same way: dismissive and apathetic.) or maybe even bringing up the topic would provoke her to take a wanted break. Either way, if Harriet told Cosmicco to go to bed, she'd listen xD

If your oc is the type to keep pushing themselves when it's healthier for them to take a break:

1. What is most likely to convince them it's time to rest?

1a. How long are they willing to spend 'off-the-job?'

1b. If they still decide not to rest, what kind consequences do they face?

2. Who is most likely to encourage Character A to take time off?

2a. If the answer is 'multiple characters,' do they all have a similar relationship with Character A? How or how not?

2b. Among these characters, who is Character A most likely to accept advice from? Why?

2c. Who are they least likely to accept advice from? Why?

3. Are there any characters who actually encourage Character A to not take time off?

3a. What is their motive in doing so?

3b. What sort of relationship do these two characters have?

3c. How likely is it that Character A will listen to them?