#and i think the exact attributes depend on the individual

[tinkerbitch69]

I’m sure this one will attract the terfs like flies but I’m gonna say it anyway cuz I haven’t heard anyone express or discuss this exact take but here goes:

‘biological sex’ categories are just modern day phrenology

Like first off it’s based around the idea that someone’s ’biological sex’ is dependent on the convergence of multiple factors I.e chromosomes, hormone levels, genitalia, etc. But the idea that any of these indicators are inherent to the ‘biological sex’ they are attributed to is disproven by both intersex people and trans people. I.e Many cisgender women are born with a Y chromosome. Trans women with so called ‘male’ physiology can develop breast tissue and estrogen levels on par with someone with ‘female’ physiology.

Now the existence of these traits and the effects on the body is verifiable if disputable, but the modern idea of sex involves the assumption that these physical traits are indicative of someone’s character or capabilities. (i.e high testosterone means someone is more aggressive, high estrogen prevents high levels of physical achievement etc.)

How is this any different from assuming someone’s skull shape says anything about their intelligence?

And the fact that the modern ideas of what it means to be ‘biologically male’ or ‘biologically female’ were formed through deeply racist and violent phrenological research kind of supports this fact. So why do we assume these value assertions about individuals because of their physical traits are in fact true when the others are clearly false (obvs not everyone does think that sadly but generally speaking phrenology is scientifically discredited)

So when people claim we need to acknowledge the ‘biological reality’ of sex, both disingenuously and sincere,

do we though???

Yes we need to acknowledge the fact of generalised physical differences between people but I think we should question the idea that these physical differences indicate anything about a person’s personality, behaviour or capabilities and the validity of ‘sexual categories’ especially.

Side note: if this is like the stalest possible take in intersex discourse I apologise, I am merely a humble perisex trans woman who has engaged in way too many arguments with my increasingly right wing mother about imane khelif over the past few days and thought I should share my thoughts. Y’all are awesome and people should listen to your takes on sex and gender more often 🫶

[wolfofcelestia]

I’m sorry if this is a dumb question but you’re the only one I’ve seen who’s willing to answer combat questions for lads. So on twitter a lot of people post their stats of their combat team (like the attributes and skills) and not the protocores itself and it seems to help a lot of people. How do you use the stats to decide on which protocores to use for your team? Cause when I look at them, I just see a bunch of numbers

Yeah, looking at each individual protocore someone is using doesn't do very much in helping you learn where you should improve because core stats are random by nature. You'll never be able to replicate someone else's protocore setup but you can replicate their total stats

The only time I ever show off a core is when they have uniquely impressive stats like a 29% attack boost or something

It's like finding a cool rock and showing it off but you can only see the pretty mosaic when you put it together with all your other cool rocks. You can make a mosaic that's similar to someone else's if you collect similar coloured rocks but you'll never find the same exact rocks

When I look at total stats for a team, I really only pay attention to the offensive stats. Meaning everything that isn't HP or DEF. There are exceptions to this like how Dragon Sylus wants more HP, but in general, only the offensive stats really matter since you're fighting against the clock

Let's compare my more developed Zayne team to my less developed Sylus team

You can see that Zayne's team has higher stats overall, but CRIT DMG and Oath could be a little higher

Meanwhile, my Sylus team still needs a more ATK and CRIT Rate if I wanted to clear the same stages as my Zayne team. In my team right now, I only have one core with a CRIT Rate main stat, so I'll have to look for another one to equip to boost this stat a bit more

In ideal situations, I like my CRIT Rate to be above 70%, CRIT DMG around 200%, and ATK as high as possible. But as you can see, it's not easy to reach my ideal. It all depends on the cores you have

That being said, there is no right number your stats should be at because your strategy could be different from other people's. For example, you could be focusing on DMG Boost to Weakened instead of Crit, so you'll load up on those cores instead. The strategy for general use is focusing on ATK and CRIT, but depending on your companion and the stage you're fighting, your strategy can change

Keeping in mind your team's total stats is important to know what you're working with. Don't worry too much about this at first. Just try your best at clearing the stages you're working on. If your team isn't able to clear a stage, take a look at your stats and see where you can improve

Because of how random core stats are, you might not have good ones right now, so farming cores is a never ending process. Pick the cores you like the best right now, level them, and use them. But keep farming so you can find better ones. When you find a new core with better stats and you know that they'll be better than the ones you're already using, you can use your older ones to level your newer, better ones. This is always a gamble though so make sure you still have cores for a full team before you use any current ones as upgrade fodder

I think that's all you need to know about looking at stats but if you have more questions, feel free to ask!

I know how it feels to be overwhelmed by numbers (I came from the GBF fandom where people were throwing spreadsheets and graphs at me when I was a newbie!! 💀) so don't worry about any question sounding dumb. I'll be happy to help you out

[potsmart]

1000 MG Weed Lean? Shut Up and Take My Money

Lean, sizzurp, purple drank, whatever you call it, it’s Opiates. Several celebrities, including Bow Wow, have admitted to having severe addictions to lean. Rapper 2 Chainz was arrested for possessing promethazine. The drink has even been attributed to Lil Wayne’s seizures. The odds of overdose increase when lean is mixed with alcohol, making it highly addictive and potentially deadly.

Instead of drinking cough syrup recreationally like a weird addict, why don’t you try something legal and much better for you. Put down the Promethazine and step towards the lighter side of weed lean friend. Do you want to replace your cough with seizures or good sleep? That’s the question you’re really answering in the decision between weed lean and codeine cough syrup.

THC syrup is just a cannabis-infused simple syrup type of liquid that is similar to cough syrup in texture.

Unlike regular cough syrup, it does not have a medicinal flavour and is packed with cannabinoids. The syrup is made by mixing cannabis concentrate or extract with coconut oil or vegetable glycerine to thicken it. The packaging and delivery method are similar to cough syrup, with many people taking it by the spoonful. This method is thought to be faster acting as it can be absorbed orally and sublingually. The THC content is clearly labeled on the product for easy dosage.

Drinking THC syrup is like drinking any other syrup, it can be consumed easily on its own. However, most people prefer to mix it with soda or seltzer water.. Pretty much any way your favourite mumble rapper would prep his cough syrup you can do with your weed lean. Shocking, I know. So go max out on pineapple soda, Jolly Ranchers and double or triple up your damn cup! Let the world think you are a true baller with total disregard for your health all the while you’re actually keeping it low-key with your plant based concoction.

Wait, you aren’t concerned with looking like Lil’ Pump? Oh well, THC syrup also provides the same benefits as other cannabis edibles, allowing you to enjoy the medicinal properties of THC and other cannabinoids. Additionally, it has the added benefit of potentially acting faster and being more discreet.

For individuals who experience nausea or have a low appetite, THC syrup can be an excellent alternative to smoking or consuming high-fat edibles like cannaoil or cannabutter. However, THC syrup can be high in sugar, which may not be suitable for people with diabetes.

According to some reports (made by me and all my homies), THC syrup is known to produce effects more quickly than traditional edibles like your buddy’s brownies or gummies from the MOM. However, the exact timing of the effects can vary depending on individual differences. Higher metabolisms metabolize things at a higher rate it turns out. Also, shocking, I know.  It’s recommended to wait for at least half an hour before considering taking a second dose. Even experienced smokers can find edibles or drinks overwhelming. It’s not a great feeling.

Some folks may argue that cannabis brands should not associate their products with addictive and destructive drugs like Opiates. However it is an easy argument to make that converting users who would otherwise enjoy an unhealthy drug to a more health conscious alternative is a net positive. It’s also a little corny to get worked up about adding weed to soda and candy because other people add codeine to it. It is simply a delivery method some of the public has decided it enjoys. It makes sense the market will adapt and deliver.

So there you have it. Kick the lean to the curb and go for the weed sizzurp. Your body will thank you in the long run and I will stop judging your life choices. I know you were worried about that last part most. Or maybe you’re a patient who requires very high doses of cannabinoids to get the desired relief. This is your product. This has the punch to knock you out or dull sensation. That can honestly be hard to find.

THC syrup may have numerous benefits for those who consume it, such as:

Relaxation. Most THC syrup consumers agree that they enter a relaxed, stress-free state relatively quickly after consuming the product.

Nausea related to eating disorders, digestive disorders, IBS, chemotherapy for cancer treatment, and so on. There is extensive research highlighting the positive effects of THC and other cannabinoids (and, therefore, THC syrup) in nausea and vomiting regulation in certain circumstances, so you can use this product to alleviate some gastrointestinal symptoms.

Boosting appetite. Like many cannabis products, THC syrup can encourage a boost in appetite, especially in people with some eating problems.

Inflammation and pain relief. THC syrup provides the same level of pain relief in chronic pain and inflammation situations as other high-dose or high-concentration options. In addition, compared to smoking, edibles, or concentrates, it has a quicker effect, especially if you use it sublingually.

By the Potmaster General, for Potsmart

[urcharactersclasspect]

what are some power dynamics that you think could happen beetween a Page of Heart, Sylph of Blood and Witch of Light?

also so sorry if this is not something you do .x.

I can easily see the Witch of Light and Page of Heart being inseparable best friends. Since I've actually seen that and its a pretty common friendship. Well, Depending on the general mental state of the witch.

And, well, Blood players are blood players. They'd probably be friends with them both regardless even if the two wanted to push each-other off a cliff one day. Which might sound like an extreme, but lets be honest with ourselves, once you cross someone with a Witch class they don't always go for the reasonable response regardless of Aspect attached.

Although, I personally don't think its very easy for Heart players and Light players to exactly get along very often. Its a bit of a rarity but it does and can happen, just very rough to get more of an explanation for in a deeper manner.

This is, on some level,  because of how Light players typically are outwards about being themselves and don’t often have to really struggle with figuring things out on their own or simply being themselves naturally; probably in even more ways than they might think at first as they are self aware, and Heart players tend to struggle with truly being themselves without a MASSIVE amounts of internal and external conflict with themselves, with others, with the influence of outside forces, etc. Heart aspect is all about that identity crisis, and when they inverse its all about that indecision and the Mind Vs Emotions and a lot more complex stuff going on there. While the individual Light player might have something similar, its not quite in the same intense manner as a Heart player nor will it ever be in the exact same context of identity as a Heart player will have to deal with. This can cause certain personalities that are typically attributed between the two aspects to have a lot of friction against each-other. Kind of in a way, it depends on the Attachment style of the person/characters in question.

 The heart aspect is all about the “self”. And Light is about having knowledge. When a Heart player is sitting with a lot of thoughts on if who they really are really is that, but a Light player who might have a cockier or more confident personality and seems to have it more figured out. That can definitely lead to mixed results. Pages are also, naturally insecure and have a difficult time getting their shit together to get to where they need to.  Page of Heart is a decent class and can become a vital person to peoples self realizations, They just need to figure shit out to become useful on their teams for that purpose; They can help both the Sylph of Blood and Witch of Light find out more about their inner deeper selves over time. They could possibly grow with eachother very gracefully as a friendship. Or crash and burn horrifically and lead to a lot issues within a session at any given point. 

With this in mind, it becomes more about the dynamics of the Heart and Light. As the blood player easily can befriend them both and possibly be a mediator or someone who gives both (often times unwanted) advice, and might be pushy about it or go the slightly wrong way about it but mean well too. The Witch might have complaints about what the Blood player is doing, but will know, to some degree, that the Sylph is correct. and The page might accidentally be super insightful on an emotional level with why things are proceeding the way they are, based on maybe Witch’s stubbornness on being wrong - the sylph’s tendency to smother others, or maybe even the pages naivety getting in the way.

Imagine how a witch of light and a page of heart might clash based on these factors. How would the Page decide to help the Witch? Would the Sylph be in between, take a “least destructive side” approach inside the chaos?

A Witch of Light would be domineering and try to do “whats best”, the sylph will push for a positive relationship for all three and a solution to the issues, and the Page might try and fail to prove they are emotionally smart enough to make theior own choices and take offense to both their attitudes - or maybe just the witch’s and have a tolerance for the Sylph’s.

[tomreview]

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[bigskydreaming]

Its always interesting to me when I see people saying Damian is just like Bruce, in a totally matter of fact way, like its just such a foregone conclusion to them, because I don’t really see it at all, lol. 

Like to be clear, its not that Damian doesn’t have ANY similarities to Bruce, I think all of Bruce’s kids share various attributes with him....I just think most of the ones Damian shares tend to be more superficial than characteristic, and there are others who are far more like Bruce than he is? Personally, I think Cass and Tim have the most in common with Bruce, albeit in different ways.....but tbh I think even Jason has more in common with Bruce than Damian does, for example.

Idk.....like for instance, I consider one of the key differences between Dick and Bruce being that Bruce’s sense of morality and ethics is clearly defined, exists as specific, hard-clung to views that he applies regardless of whom is involved in whatever situation he’s applying them to. To Bruce, ethics and morality exist outside of people, and are inviolate.....they’re not meant to change depending on who they’re aimed at or will be affected by them. In contrast, Dick is someone I see as having a morality largely defined by people. His sense of morals and ethics are more fluid....its not that he doesn’t have clearly defined views of right and wrong that underly his regular actions and choices as sort of a default benchmark, a starting point to work off of....its that Dick sees morals and ethics as meaningless if they don’t serve those he cares about or fights for, or if he has to sacrifice someone he values in service to what he views as an arbitrary moral or ethic that CAN be adjusted if he so chooses to adjust it....like that’s the thing HE’S not willing to do. Its like.....Dick sees individual lives as having more value than the abstract, which is what he ultimately considers a singular principle, and so he’d rather sacrifice the principle than the life. Bruce in contrast doesn’t view morals and ethics as being remotely abstract, and views them as the very things that GIVE individual lives value, so he’s not willing to sacrifice his values or principles full stop.

Or to put it another way: If it comes down to a choice between a killer and their intended victim, where it looks like the only possible way to save their victim is to kill the killer before they can kill instead....Dick will take the shot so to speak.....but since he does still believe killing is wrong and an absolute last resort and he’s been raised by someone who he very much does value and who believes that there’s always another way.....then Dick will self-flagellate for not having been able to find another way that didn’t involve killing the killer. Bruce on the other hand, will attempt down to the very last second to find a way to save both lives, no matter how impossible it seems.....and if he’s ultimately unable to, he’ll then self-flagellate for not having found a way to save both. 

The truly ironic thing IMO, is even in a situation where BOTH consider themselves to have failed, they’ll both still consider their failure to be the exact same thing....though for entirely different reasons and with different results. Both will view ‘not having been able to find another way’ to have been the true failure.....even though, one killed and one didn’t. Because Dick wouldn’t perceive having killed as his true failure.....because that’s the part he doesn’t actually regret, if it means that he saved the killer’s intended victim as a result. He still did it with intent, in this complete hypothetical, because he perceived the victim’s life as more important than his personal desire not to kill or view that killing is wrong. BUT he’ll still consider himself to have failed because despite having saved one life, he’d view the fact that he couldn’t find another way where taking one life wasn’t a NECESSITY in order to accomplish that.....that was his failure, in his mind. Similarly, but completely differently at the same time....Bruce will consider his failure to have been not having found a way to save both. BUT just like Dick’s true regret isn’t that he killed the killer, Bruce’s true regret isn’t that he DIDN’T, in order to save their victim. Its that he couldn’t find a way out of that box that made it a choice of one or the other.

Course, that’s just my perception of the two of them.

But as examples, this is I think WHY Dick was able to kill the Joker at all in Last Laugh, whereas Bruce will ultimately never bring himself to cross that line. (And while Dick wasn’t matter of fact about it by any means, its significant in my mind that his actual stated regrets about that were always that he played into what the Joker had wanted and thus let him win, and that he’d failed Bruce and let him down....never once was it actually that he’d killed the Joker, period.) Similarly, its why Dick’s a lot more willing to work with people he’s ideologically opposed to or more flexible....in fact, I maintain its specifically why Bruce was so convinced that only Dick could infiltrate Spyral. It wasn’t JUST about the logistics of Dick being believed dead after Forever Evil, or Bruce’s issues about having just watched Dick die.......because Bruce is great at undercover work himself, as Matches Malone, and he traditionally HATES delegating the ‘hard stuff’ to someone else, especially when the stakes are this high....even if he does trust that person absolutely. He believes that if its his responsibility, its up to him to do it if at all possible.

Which is why I think that ultimately, the only reason Bruce didn’t find a way to take on the Spyral mission himself, is because he didn’t think he’d be able to. Spyral was a shady spy organization that engaged in morally compromising work on a day to day basis. Deep down, I think Bruce was aware that there would be too many occasions in which he’d be likely to be sidetracked or frozen by his conviction that there HAD to be a way around whatever he was being asked to do for the sake of keeping his cover, that didn’t require acting against various hard-set morals....which more than likely would have cost him the mission and rendered it a failure.....with catastrophic results for his family and the rest of the hero community. Whereas he knew that Dick would be able to find a way to make it work, because despite having a very strong sense of right and wrong of his own, he knows Dick’s highest moral prerogative is that he WILL act on even something he does firmly believe is wrong, if he’s convinced its the price he needs to pay for the sake of loved ones. And thus, even though he wouldn’t be any happier about the moral compromising nature of a lot of Spyral’s work than Bruce is, he’d be less likely to find himself unable to act in a split second decision time, so long as Bruce uttered the magic words: this is an utter necessity for the sake of your family.

Also ironically, btw, I think one of the key ways that a lot of people perceive Dick and Bruce as different....I’d disagree and say is actually where they’re MOST alike. And that’s that people point to Bruce as closed off and tightly guarding his emotions, hurts, and vulnerabilities at the expense of getting close to people or letting them in.....whereas Dick is more of a people person. But honestly, I disagree. I think people overlook that Brucie Wayne is still as much a part of Bruce Wayne’s life as Batman is. Bruce is and always has been completely capable of being the life of the party and surrounding himself with droves, on a surface level. I think Dick takes it perhaps a bit further than that, he IS more approachable than Bruce in general, that sorta thing.....BUT when it comes to his most private emotions, hurts and vulnerabilities.....I think Dick is just as inclined as Bruce to keep those parts of himself closely guarded and he doesn’t LIKE giving them up. The actual difference between them IMO, again comes down to the role other people play in their ways of thinking.....as I think that the times and reasons Dick DOES open up about his most closely guarded thoughts or emotions....its for other people, because he’s convinced himself that THEY need this from him. Left to his own devices, or at least the perception that he’s the only one likely to be affected by whether he shares his most intimate self with someone else or not, I think he’s just as likely as Bruce to well, not.

And all of this is key to why I think that Damian tends to have a lot more in common with Dick than Bruce, whereas others in the family have more in common with Bruce than Dick. Because see, Damian, like Dick, is more likely to ACT as a result of other specific individuals rather than his own personal sense of right and wrong. Look at when he first came from the League of Assassins. He had a clearly defined view of right and wrong, an already formed morality of his own, even if it was diametrically opposed to most of the Batfam’s, particularly Bruce’s. 

Damian didn’t set all that aside because people succeeded in just uniformly shifting his paradigms to be more in line with their views of right and wrong. The changes to his moral code came as a trickle down result of him ALREADY adjusting his actions or behavior - even before he necessarily came to view them as wrong - for the sake of the connections he was building, with Dick, with Alfred, with Steph, and then from there with others.

Just like I outlined with Dick, where he’s more likely than Bruce or many others to act on even something HE believes is wrong, if he views it as a necessity for the sake of a loved one.....Damian is similarly likely to act in a way that completely flies in the face of everything he came to Gotham already believing....if he views it as a necessity for the sake of the individuals he came to value. Just like Dick, simply starting from a different point on the moral spectrum. The sense of right and wrong that they ‘betrayed’ for the sake of other valued individuals was different....not the reasoning for that ‘betrayal’ of their previously established moral code.

Similarly, while Damian is just as inclined to be closed off and guarded as Bruce is (and Dick. and well, most of the Batfam shares this part in common, lol) - like Dick, when he does open up, be it to Dick or Alfred or Jon or Colin.....its because he’s convinced himself that on some level its what THEY need, rather than because he actually believes that he himself needs to let them in.

Meanwhile, the reason I say Jason is actually more like Bruce than even Damian is, lies in viewing Jason as falling somewhere between Dick and Bruce on a lot of this. Basically, I think that Jason is more naturally inclined to be more like Bruce in how rigidly he holds to a particular sense of right and wrong.....its just that the particulars of what they both view as right and wrong are different. Same thing with it being more natural to Jason to be like Bruce in terms of guarding his emotions. But in both instances, he’s still ENOUGH like Dick, as opposed to Bruce, that he does still adjust his emotional behavior and how likely he is to act on or against his personal view of morality.....for the sake of valued individuals. It just doesn’t come to him AS....naturally, I guess, as it does to Dick, and thus he’s not AS fluid as Dick in these things....but he’s still MORE fluid about them than Bruce. And that’s why even though it takes a LOT to budge him from his view of the right and wrong approach to vigilantism, he IS still willing to put aside what he does still believe is a necessity or right....if that’s what it takes to have his family in his life, etc.

To be clear - I am trying to not cast any particular judgments on any of the approaches to morality here....simply just, not the aim of this post. I’m more trying to view things analytically here, so when I frame Bruce as being the most intractable of the lot here, the least likely to budge his morals or act against his personal sense of right and wrong for the sake of loved ones, its not because I’m trying to say that he DOESN’T love his family, or even that he loves them any less than Dick does, Jason does, etc. And I’m not even trying to suggest that he’s wrong for his approach. I’m literally just....exploring the WHY of it.

And for me, that tends to go back to the singular difference between Bruce’s later childhood, after his parents’ deaths, the period between ages 10 and adulthood.....versus the childhoods of his various children around those same ages, or after their parents’ deaths.

Because these are the ages when most of us most fully develop the....intricacies of our personal moralities, when we explore and shape how our behavior stems from that sense of right and wrong and when and where we act on our beliefs, etc. 

And the key thing about Bruce during this period of his life, IMO, is that at the time.....he had very few specific INDIVIDUALS who played significant emotional roles in his life and in his mind. Bruce cares about people. Absolutely. A lot. But for a lot of the period in which Bruce shaped a lot of his personal moral behavior, people were almost as much an abstract to him as morals themselves. That’s not quite the right way to put it, but I mean, its more like....there was a kind of uniformity to the way he viewed people as a whole, because there were less individuals specifically standing out from the rest, as PARTICULARLY significant to him himself....and thus likely to influence his growing moral code.

The other key factor is the people he DID have valued emotional connections to at this point, like....they had a kind of permanence that stretched back to early childhood for him. They weren’t NEW additions to his life. While I believe that his parents’ deaths absolutely was formative for him and left him with severe abandonment issues....for Bruce, these abandonment issues were specifically geared around fear of losing people to death. He was already rooted in the same place, same life, same people, that he was before his parents’ death, that part of his life didn’t change.....and thus the people who were left to play large emotional roles in his life and worldview, like Alfred and Leslie.....he might have been afraid of losing them the way he lost his parents, but he wasn’t especially of losing them for other reasons. Specifically: I don’t think Bruce grew up during this time feeling any particular fear of losing someone like Alfred - a staple of his entire life - to, say, Alfred judging him for his choices or his morals.

As a result, Bruce grew up shaping his personal view of right and wrong and resulting morality-stemming behavior, on pretty much nothing BUT those morals and ethics themselves. And there wasn’t any particular NEED to shape those morals AROUND the people he valued in life, or likelihood that he’d lose them due to differences in opinion or ideology, like....with all of this adding up to be the reasons HIS moral code and behavior is less fluid than even most peoples’. Because there wasn’t really any reason for it NOT to be. There were very few people and thus few occasions, while still DEVELOPING all this, that made him feel that he was maybe on the wrong track, or that he needed to make room for exceptions or the possibility that he might need to adjust his views or behavior in these regards.

In contrast......Dick, Jason and most of the others all came to Bruce after significant upheavals in their life that necessitated basically starting over in an entirely brand new environment with brand new people, etc. So they lacked the specific aspect of the PERMANENCE Bruce felt in regards to his own valued loved ones during this period of his life. So unlike him, where he had a bit more space to contemplate his moral code and behavior without being particularly afraid of getting it wrong or that his choices here might cost him these people.....Dick, Jason, et al like....they formed their moral codes and behavior with significantly more awareness that many of the people they valued already had fully formed codes of their own they felt very strongly about...AND at the same time, they had REASON to be....less secure about whether or not the choices they made here could potentially cost them these people.

Which is a perfect recipe for the kind of moral fluidity based around specific individuals, that I maintain most of the kids display to various degrees. In fact, you can almost kinda....chart the extent of their moral fluidity, via various factors like the QUANTITY of significant emotional attachments in their lives at this time. Like I maintain Dick is the most morally fluid based on people.....but that I think has a lot to do with the fact that Dick had the most attachments to....protect or preserve. Even though he was forced to live apart from his extended circus family, they still very much figured into his thoughts as people he cared about and valued, and then there were Bruce and Alfred, and then Clark, Barbara, the Titans, etc, etc. 

In contrast, look at how Jason came to Wayne Manor with very few pre-existing emotional attachments with anyone still alive.....and the fact that Jason during his time living with Bruce didn’t really even have occasion to form a large number of attachments outside of his immediate family, as he wasn’t on any teams unlike Dick, and he didn’t mingle all that much with other members of the hero community. Ergo, Jason’s LESS morally fluid than Dick simply for the reason that like Bruce, he had more reason to construct his personal morals around simply his own perceptions and convictions, and less people he felt this moral code and behavior needed to acccomodate, or be prepared to make exceptions for or around. 

Meanwhile, I’d argue that Damian is like Jason in that he had fewer people to build into his personal view of right and wrong and how and when to act based on that.....BUT a key difference here is that Damian didn’t have a lot of experience pre-Gotham with feeling valued and valuing other individuals in turn, like...at all. The connections he developed with Dick, Alfred, Steph, etc.....they were brand new to him, basically a revelation in a lot of ways, because before that we’ve seen how he was often taught to dampen his view of how valuable or not to view personal connections.....whereas Jason, pre-Wayne Manor, like......we know that he DID very much have a strong emotional attachment to Catherine that he embraced and was not hesitant to value, etc. So my point here being that the sheer NEWNESS of what Damian was feeling in regards to even WANTING to adjust his behavior based not on what he THOUGHT was right or wrong but based on the PEOPLE he was coming to value....this was a complete shock to the system to Damian in ways that it wouldn’t necessarily have been for Jason, resulting in a likelihood that Damian would feel an enhanced INTENSITY around all this that Jason might not, and thus despite both of them having similar NUMBERS of emotional attachments they shaped their changing and developing moral codes around, these people carried an additional weight for Damian, just as Jason’s few carried an additional weight that Bruce’s didn’t have due to the differences in THEIR upbringings in this period of their lives.....and thus resulting in Damian having an even more fluid moral code and behavior than Jason did....closer to being on par with Dick’s, just as Jason still has a more fluid one than Bruce does.

ANYWAY.

This was a LOT longer than I thought it would be when I started a little post about huh weird how I don’t see Damian the way a lot of other people do BUT SINCE WHEN IS THAT NEWS.

In conclusion, this has been a post.

Good day.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Don’t Hesitate (Ensnarled 2)

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Angst/Hurt/Comfort Characters: Colonel Casey, Scott

Well, it turns out that @whumptober-archive’s prompts for day two lent themselves very nicely to a part two for yesterday’s entry, so we have a continuation, using the prompt choking from Talking Is Overrated (and arguably an interpretation of garotte as well).  Once again, this fic may continue further depending on if any other whumptober 2021 prompts fit!

(I am using @gumnut-logic’s first name ‘Val’ for Col. Casey)

<< Ensnarled

It had been too good to be true.  A chance to capture one half of the Chaos Crew for good.  Colonel Casey had known there would be a trap involved; Havoc was too smart, too cunning, not to have something up her sleeve, but there had been no choice. If they let opportunities like this slip through their fingers, the GDF would lose whatever face it had with the public.

Her team had been briefed thoroughly: proceed with caution but don’t hesitate.  No matter what Havoc threw at them, they had to catch the woman.

How Scott had ended up involved, how Havoc had captured Scott, she had no idea.  That had been lightyears out of the realms of their expectations, but in the end, it couldn’t change anything.  Havoc’s demands couldn’t be met, she had to be caught, and the Colonel’s own orders to not hesitate had come back to bite her hard.

With the barbed wire coiled menacing around his neck, which the young man was clearly doing everything in his limited power to evade, Havoc’s threat was clear: she wasn’t playing around.

The GDF didn’t play around, either.  Scott was important, both to Val personally and to the world at large, but he was only one man.  Only one Tracy.

Her heart shrieked apologies to Jeff as she sacrificed his eldest son.

The noise was sickening, flesh pierced by metal and a choked-off gargle of pain as Scott’s head came down and the barbed wire went in.

A moment was wasted as instincts – the instincts of the godmother, the honorary aunt, not the Colonel she had to be – drove her to cry out his name, but she’d drilled her team well.

No hesitations.

Gunfire rang out, sharp cracks as bullets rushed through the air to the space Havoc occupied, but the woman was crafty and highly skilled in evasion.  Her hostage situation failed, she cut and ran.

“Get her!” the Colonel barked, even as Val was moving forwards, towards the rasping, struggling young man.

“Yes, Ma’am!” came the automatic response.  She trusted them to do what they could without her; she had a life to save.

Scott was still conscious when her knees hit the ground before him, but the way he was thrashing around, trying to get free but just tearing more and more of his skin apart on both his throat and wrists, told her that rational thinking had fled, leaving little more than the instincts of a snared animal.

He was going to kill himself if he kept this up.

Val felt sick as she reached out and gripped his head, pinning it in place in a cruel mimicry of Havoc’s own actions.  Bloodstained metal disappeared into flesh, scrapes and tears criss-crossing his skin at random where the cruel barbs had sunk in and moved against his thrashing. The collar of his flight suit went high, but not high enough to protect him from this.

Scott fought against her grip, still trying to jerk away from the barbs hooked in his skin as alarming choking noises came from his throat.

Val wasn’t a nurturing woman.  Not a mother, and never the one to look after distressed little boys – that had always been Lucille’s role.  Empty reassurances always fell awkwardly flat and hollow, failing to do their job, if she said them, so she didn’t.

In the military, no-one had time for soft spoken false promises that everything would be okay.  She dealt with logic, hard facts, and the laws of the world.

“Scott, stop moving,” she ordered, the exact same tone and sharp expectation she’d used barely seconds earlier on her own team.

It wasn’t soft.  It wasn’t nurturing, or reassuring.  But Scott’s military instincts were still strong despite being out of the organisation for years and his obedience was immediate. Blue eyes were hazed over with shock and pain, and she knew he wasn’t seeing her, but as long as he was hearing her, she could do this.

“I’m going to get you out,” she told him – not a promise but a fact.  “You need to stay still while I do.”  He didn’t acknowledge her words, verbally or otherwise, but when she cautiously released his head from her grip he remained motionless.

A glance over to where her team had been showed them still attempting to capture Havoc.  There was a high chance that if they hadn’t caught her by now then she would escape, but that was a problem for the Colonel to address later.  One of the men was hanging back, and seemed to be favouring an ankle.

“Corporal!” she barked at him.  “Find me wire cutters and a stretcher.”

His acknowledgement was immediate and she returned her attention to Scott.  Even though he wasn’t moving, his chest was still heaving with panic, and there was a disgusting gargling noise emitting from his throat as he tried to breathe with limited success.

It sounded horrifically like he was choking on blood.

Val prioritised.  The wrist injuries were nasty and blood loss was a major concern, but there was no sign of an arterial bleed.  His throat was rapidly approaching fatal.

There was little she could do until the wire cutters arrived, laser cutters worse than useless so close to Scott’s skin, but she gripped slippery wire with her fingers and started easing the outermost coils away, loosening the snarl in an attempt to distance it from his bloody throat and jaw.

The results were negligible at best, but she had to do something while she waited.

Wire cutters were easily located on a flyer as a staple part of an engineer’s kit.  Even with a dodgy ankle, the Corporate returned barely a minute later, holding the tool out in shaky fingers while an equally shaky voice caught her attention.

“Colonel.”  He was pale, too, face white as his eyes focused on Scott and a sheen of sweat across his skin.  He’d been too fast, but at that moment she could feel nothing but gratitude for his determination.

“At ease,” she allowed, snatching up the tool and immediately deploying it on the loosened strands.

The ones furthest from Scott’s skin were easy to cut away, blood spattered rather than coated and falling obediently into a discarded heap by her side.  It was the closer ones, more red than the original dull silver of the metal and slippery that gave her trouble, even before she reached the ones still embedded.

Each barb had to be cut out individually, the twisted wire either side being cut as close as possible before she withdrew the metal from skin that was almost reluctant to let it leave. There were more of them than there ought to be for the length of the wire, and in the back of her mind she wondered just how prepared Havoc had been.  Blood dribbled free from the exposed punctures, running down his skin and soaking into the collar of his flight suit.  Crimson and blue made a dark, bruising purple.

The last barb came out with a sickening suction noise and Scott’s head immediately lolled forwards. She let him for a moment, blood trickling out of his mouth as well as the holes in his throat as he weakly coughed it up, before tilting his head back slightly.  Her fingers left bloody streaks across his cheeks and in his hair.

There was no good position for him while he stayed upright, his choices to bleed out externally or choke on blood internally, and she dived straight for the snarl of barbed metal keeping him pinned to the wire fence.  Her own hands picked up superficial scratches that were ignored as inconsequential as she hacked away at the wire, disentangling the short scraps until she could pull his hands apart and forwards.

Blood trickled across his wrists, the metal still tangled around them and biting in, but he was choking on blood again, his body wracked with coughs and head bowing forwards in an attempt to expel the liquid before it flooded his lungs.

The Corporal reappeared in her periphery, still too pale but nudging a hoverstretcher in range.

“Do you need assistance, Colonel?” he asked, and he was in no state to be lifting anyone but Scott was tall and the rest of her team had yet to subdue Havoc – or admit defeat and slink back with their tails between their legs.  She made a mental note to ensure he got plenty of rest and treatment as soon as circumstances allowed.

“Take his legs,” she instructed as she shifted around enough to grip onto Scott’s torso.  Her eldest godson hated being stretchered anywhere and always fought for the right to walk no matter how badly injured he was, but this time he didn’t even begin to resist as they bundled him down onto the stretcher and over onto his side in a bastardised version of the recovery position.

Blood splattered onto the surface by his mouth the moment they had him rolled over.  Both his arms were arranged loosely in front of him, wire still tight around his wrists, and with the danger of choking alleviated as much as possible, Val turned the wire cutter’s attention to them.

While the damage was older, it was clear that Scott had had his wits about him up until his throat had been impaled because they bore no more signs of struggle than could be attributed to his shock-induced panic.  The wounds were deeper, though, and some barbs Val elected to leave in until he was in the hands of a medical professional.  Scott had already lost too much blood.

How he was still conscious – albeit unresponsive and in clear shock – she didn’t know.

With the wires removed and discarded, crimson glistening on the tips of the barbs and stained onto the twisted sections, she looked over to where her team had been and was disappointed yet unsurprised to see Spoiler blinking out of existence as it teared away.

Another failure, and this time all they had to show for it was a badly wounded Scott Tracy.  His family were going to be furious when they found out, and once again she wondered how he’d ended up in Havoc’s clutches. No-one had known about this mission; Kayo and Lady Penelope had been investigating another lead and thereby uncontactable, and while she wasn’t naïve enough to think that John couldn’t hack the GDF information, she doubted he did it unless he had a reason.  She was also certain that he wouldn’t have informed Scott about this even if he had found out about it.

She straightened up as they approached, the hoverstretcher rising with her.  Her heart screamed to ignore Havoc and get Scott to a hospital immediately, but that was Val talking, and she needed to be the Colonel.

“Your orders, Ma’am?”

There were nineteen of them not counting the injured Corporal, and Captain Rigby was standing at the head of the pack looking like he’d bitten into a particularly sour lemon.  Behind him, eyes were divided between looking at her and the limp figure on the hoverstretcher, and she knew there were torn instincts in more than just her.

“Back to the flyer,” she ordered.  “Captain, I want every part of this analysed. What went wrong, why it went wrong, and any new information about Havoc that it’s brought to light.”

He saluted, still visibly frustrated.

“All injured are to report to the medical officer,” she continued, sending a pointed look at the Corporal before sweeping across the ranks before her, seeing a few others standing stiffy.  Havoc had truly lived up to her name.  “We’ll return to base and re-strategise there with the information we’ve gained here.”

A sea of salutes acknowledged her and she barked at them to get moving.

Beside her, Scott made another wet choking noise and more blood splattered out onto the stretcher. Base had hospital facilities; depending on why Scott was coughing up blood, it should do.  If full hospitalisation was required, that could also be arranged there.

Ignoring her team as they obeyed her orders, she guided the hoverstretcher into the back of the flyer, where painkillers, antiseptics and bandages were waiting in bulk.  Scrapes, gouges and punctures alike needed cleaning, and it wasn’t the Colonel’s job but Val needed to do it herself rather than trust the eldest son of her best friend, her godson, to the care of anyone else just yet.

Soft she was not, but when it came to medical treatment she could do precise.  Scott remained limp as she poured on the hydrogen peroxide then dabbed at his throat and the tender skin beneath his jaw, not even flinching against the sting of the disinfectant.  The same was repeated on both wrists as best she could.  The neoprene sleeves had held up against the barbs, and likewise held up against the fabric scissors; blood had seeped through and underneath it, but she couldn’t chase it to clean it up and was forced to leave it as she worked around the deep-set barbs she hadn’t dared remove.

Captain Rigby must have given the order for take-off while she was intent on treating Scott’s injuries, because as she reached for the rolls of bandages the flyer rumbled beneath her feet and she had to steady herself on the stretcher.  It was technically insubordination, but she would let it fly given the circumstances.  The man knew Kayo, and how deep her fury would run when she found out about this.

The crisp white bandages didn’t make things look better when she wrapped the wounds.  It made things look neater, no red smudges and dark wounds ravaging skin, but it highlighted just how pale Scott had become.

Blood loss and shock. Both were dangerous enough to kill and once Val had the blood flow stemmed by the linen strips she located a foil blanket to wrap around her godson.  His eyes were somehow still open, but hazy and unfocused enough that she hesitated to consider him conscious any more.

Val was a Colonel, not a medic.  She could stop bleeding but little more, and even if she could set up an emergency blood transplant, International Rescue’s uniform didn’t come with a useful dog tag containing blood type information, and off the top of her head she didn’t know Scott’s.

Now the wounds were cleaned and wrapped, there was nothing else she could do for Scott.

Well.  Nothing except the one thing she was inwardly dreading.

It was time to call Thunderbird Five.

[ashxketchum]

Hello!

I have been hearing people tell that Tyson defeated Kai due to plot armor, is it true?

Hello! Thank you for your ask!

I know which discussion you're referring to, I was strictly planning to stay out of it due to the absolutely one-sided and highly opinionated some of the statements in the original post were but I will try my best to address it as politely as I can!

And sorry in advance, if this turns out to be lengthy.

To begin, statements like these can never be "true", wherein true is being used to refer to something that is considered canon in the course of the story. Why, one might ask, because when manga authors or screenwriters write a chapter/episode, they don't go "Oh well, this win will be attributed to the Plot Armour", they need to explain to the readers/watchers what was the reason behind the win with a scene or dialogues and in case of the episode and match in question here, @rainbow-pearls and @where-them-kinomiya-at already mentioned a lot of these in the original post, which clearly gives us a valid explanation for Tyson's win from the viewer's point of view.

Viewers are free to disregard these (as they often do) and come up with their own theories or reasonings behind the win, but the canon facts will remain to be true regardless.

Some things which weren't mentioned in the original post, is what I'd like to touch upon next. Tyson's win in G-revolution, was not in fact, his first win against Kai nor was it Kai's first ever loss in the series (he loses to Johnny of all people for f-k's sake in S1), so it's not something unexpected or a decision that was made out of the blue to make sure the protagonist comes out on top (the definition of plot armour) , it completely fits the narrative route the story has been taking so far.

Of course, Tyson is the protagonist, so his growth and development is what carries the show forward, him winning a match is not a last ditch effort by the creators to save the show's plot in S3. He wins and loses consistently throughout the three seasons, something Chief praises him for because he believes that to be Tyson's strength as losing gives him the infinite potential to improve on his skills and constantly challenge himself to become better.

Other things pointed out in the original post were his strong bond with Dragoon, or his stamina since Hiro states that the win could be attributed to mere seconds or Tyson's luck, and to that I would like to add that his form was also in top condition during the final match. In the first half of the tournament he's under a lot of pressure and stress, and also dealing with his teammates abandoning him or trying to gel with Daichi, which reflects in his form and he ends up losing. But after Egypt, when he deals with these issues and recovers his mental health, he comes back into form and is able to unleash his strength and skill as a Blader in the second half.

However, personally, I do think that Tyson is stronger than Kai, in fact I believe that Kai thinks the same too otherwise he honestly would not go up against Tyson as often as he does, since his goal is to always be the strongest. Kai sees something in Tyson that pushes him to not just challenge him again and again, but also guide him during battles, battle alongside him and believe in something bigger than just strength or skill (aka the power for friendship lol). This, I believe, takes root in Kai's mind when Tyson is able to use Dranzer to defeat Kai and Black Dranzer (the biggest testimony to Tyson's strength in all 3 seasons tbh) and Kai understands that the Beyblade and Bitbeast is only as strong as their Blader.

In my personal opinion, Kai is as interested in Tyson's journey as the rest of us. Kai has been taught that top notch skills and strength is what makes a good Blader but after meeting Tyson and the others he realises that, belief in yourself and your teammates/partners/friends and the willpower to keep pushing forward is important to win a match as well. What Kai seeks is absolute strength and that is what he finds in Tyson, not just as a Blader, but as a teammate, a rival and ultimately, a friend.

And it was also pointed out, that if Kai should've won against Tyson, then for the exact same reason, Rei could've won or so could've Max, but they didn't because there is something about Tyson and Kai that put them above those two, and similarly there is something about Tyson that puts him on the top.

And finally what I'd like to say is that, the S3 tournament final is in no way the end of Kai's Beyblading career, he and Tyson will continue to challenge each other during the course of their lives and sometimes Tyson will win and sometimes Kai will win, (as he does in the beginning of Rising manga I believe) and the outcome of their battles will always depend on not just their individual strength but external factors as well, so I don't see a point in denoting these wins to terms like "plot armour", because literally anything in the plot can be denoted to this, depending on the likes/dislikes of the person reading/watching the series.

At the end of the day, Tyson and Kai will continue to win and lose against each other and still neither would ever think less of their rival, so why should we?

[alagaesia-headcanons]

Sorry I snatched this screenshot from a different post, but this drives me insane and I don’t want to derail that post

*adds this to the list of reasons I would throw hands with chris*

Inheritance is the titular theme of the Inheritance Cycle, yet Paolini seems so incredibly inconsistent about what he wants to say about it. On one hand, the series has so many examples of how circumstances can frequently push children into the roles their parents once had, either willingly or forcefully. A lot of the growth of the characters and themes comes from the idea that such fates aren’t binding and these people can leave behind the roles of their parents by growing beyond them and making something entirely their own or by rejecting the role entirely and carving a new path outright. It’s a theme that means a lot to me and think is very valuable to consider for the truth it carries and the beauty of the idea that our lives are our own to shape.

And then he turns around and says shit like this that undermines all of that.

The idea that Eragon inherited his determination and his “deep seated sense of what’s right and wrong” from Selena makes me so mad. Morals are not inherited. Remember, Selena didn’t raise Eragon at all. She left right after he was born. She had no influence on his upbringing. To declare that she passed on such complex moral characteristics by merit of having conceived and given birth to him is so reductive.

This does a disservice to the people that actually interacted with Eragon as he grew up. If anyone had a formative affect on Eragon’s personality, it would likely be Garrow and Marian first and foremost. And after that, Roran growing up along side him and the rest of the villagers he interacted with frequently. These people around him are the ones who could pass on their knowledge, their experience, and their beliefs.

But far more important than that, enough to make that close to irrelevant, it that this does and incredible disservice to Eragon himself. Despite the influence of the people who were actually around him, it is still up to him to decide how he wants to live and what he considers important. Throughout the series we see as Eragon fights with himself to figure out how to use the power suddenly thrust upon him, for example, when he makes the choice to prioritize his service to the Varden and subsequent training with the elves out of his devotion to the peoples of Alagaesia as a whole over his quest to slay the Ra’zac out of a sense of loyalty to his family. He has to examine himself to understand why that desire to fight for (what he sees as) the greater good of the public is the most important to him and what he is willing to do to achieve that.

We see him struggle when presented with people who have moral systems different than his own, such as Murtagh, who feels no obligation towards a large group or a ideological cause, but has an incredibly loyalty and devotion to the individuals he loves. And Roran, who, in the end, fights for the same cause as Eragon does, but for wildly different reasons based on the wellbeing of a smaller group and the immediate, tangible things they need to be cared for, like housing, food, and safety from military threats.

Eragon’s sense of right or wrong, is not inherited because it’s not innate. I wouldn’t even say it’s deep seated. It changes. It’s something he learned as he grew and then had to personally refine as it wavered and strengthened and shifted in response to the far reaching dilemmas he found himself in. It was a journey Eragon had to personally take when formerly abstract ideas of what is good and what is evil became much more tangible when he became a Dragon Rider with incredibly influence. It’s not a journey anyone did or could have taken for him.

How Paolini managed to write all that and then just say he got his moral compass from his absent mom is beyond me. It’s a condemnation.

This idea degrades a persons autonomy. It declares that even something as deeply personal as morality is subject to an outside force, to someone else, and not something built and shaped by our own actions. This idea binds people to the character of their parents, which seems benign and inoffensive enough when talking about positive characteristics, but it implies vile things about those with bad parents.

Sorry for being a prick and quoting myself, but I touched on something similar to this in another post about Murtagh and said, what does it mean to say, “Oh, you aren’t like your father, so you’re not damned to follow his path; you’re like your mother instead!”

I think the temptation is to attribute good characteristics of children to parents as something those children can then depend upon as something innate that they don’t have to struggle for and something that won’t fail them. It makes things nice and simple. But that’s not true, it never is, and the idea falls apart when considering the possible inheritance of negative traits. Using Murtagh as an example, cherry picking positive traits from Selena that he has in common to negate the idea that he got negative traits from Morzan is still damning him to the exact same idea that he is solely a product of his parents and that his actions don’t truly belong to him. Murtagh literally states that his frustration in being compared to Morzan isn’t because he’s being compared to someone who did horrible things, it’s that he isn’t being regarded as an individual who can make his own choices independent of someone else’s influence. He longs to be seen as his own person, not a continuation of someone else.

Attributing Murtagh’s qualities to Selena, or Eragon’s, or any other character’s qualities to their parent is continuing the exact same problem, no matter how complimentary the comparison may seem at first glance. Morals are not inherited, they are learned through the world and our experiences as we go through it. The books do a great job of showing this in many places which makes me even more angry and sad to see the author himself say things like this. I think it demands a critical eye not just in the way that we view these characters, but how it relates to the way we see real people.

These are just my thoughts for consideration if you want them.

Edit: got the source of the screenshot just bc I wanted it here

[max1461]

Ok, so I need some help here.

There's a particular set of ideological currents that have emerged in the American leftist and left-liberal spheres over the past decade or so, and they don't really have a commonly accepted name. Depending on who you ask, they may be called "woke(ism)", "radlib(ism)", "woke ideology", and so forth. But I don't think any of these are very good names, because they're all both ambiguous and highly charged. To be clear, what I'm referring to is not synonymous with the broad (and considerably older) concepts of "social justice" or "identity politics", but is rather a much more specific strain of thought that exists within those headings.

Anyway, the point is that I'd like some help coming up with a clear, neutral, and relatively unambiguous way to refer to this ideological current. Below I've tried to describe the exact things I'm referring to in more detail, so maybe someone can suggest a good term.

Since this strain of thought (as far as I can tell) emerged more-or-less organically within the online and college-campus left over the course of a decade, there is no definitive Woke Canon or whatever that I can refer back to in defining what I'm talking about. So I've tried to come up with a list of characteristics that I think, uh, characterize a sort of Ur-Wokeism. That is to say (in the interest of not strawmanning anyone) that I am not claiming all adherents of "wokeism" believe everything I've listed. Rather, I'm trying to present the form of "woke" or "radlib" thought that I feel is most sharply distinguished from other left-wing currents, with the acknowledgement that most people will fall along a spectrum between these beliefs and others.

(But Ur-Wokeism is still not a good name, because in addition to referring only to this exaggerated form, it's even more charged than the other terms are!)

I think Ur-Wokeist positions can roughly be divided into an ontology, an epistemology, and an ethics. The characteristics of the ontology are something like this:

a characterization of society as being made up of different, interlocking, but absolutely rigid identity categories with in-built power relations between them (privileges)

an association of each category with an inherent and immutable psychological essence (usually attributed to socialization), which collectively both create and are created by the aforementioned power relations

something approaching a codification and formalization of this system of identity categories, such that new categories can be invented and slotted into the existing system as if they'd always been there (the logical end point being that post about barlo and kaan)

The Ur-Wokeist epistemology is then a sort of vulgar standpoint epistemology:

owing to the immutable psychological differences between identities, people of different identity categories are fundamentally inscrutable to one another (cf. this twitter post about Americans and Iranians having nothing in common). It is therefore impossible for people of different identities to meaningfully understand one another

when communicating with someone of a less powerful identity, it is the responsibility of the person with the more powerful identity to believe whatever they say without question so long as it is qualified as being derived from their "lived experience". Since their experiences are fundamentally foreign and inscrutable, this is the only reliable way to avoid beliefs which are harmful

I think the most important part of Ur-Wokeism, though, is the ethics that then follow from all this. They're characterized by:

an identification of the relative power imbalances (privileges) between different identity categories as the core locus of social injustice, and a conception of these privileges as a sort of original sin held by members of the privileged category

an identification of speech and media, rather than material conditions, as the primary mechanism by which these privileges manifest

a focus on personal and individualized atonement for privilege, and public confession of one's privileges, as the primary avenue by which to remedy injustice

likewise, a focus on maintaining purity of thought as a necessary component of justice-seeking. This means shunning the impure and avoiding any direct engagement with the opposition.

the construction of an elaborate and ever-evolving system of avoidance speech that must be performed in order to mitigate the inherent harm that privileged individuals cause to the less-privileged

the characterization of all harm, including failure to adhere to the various purity requirements, as a form of violence

Ontologically and epistemically, I'm struck be the parallels to Orientalism. I think there might even be some level of direct descent via subaltern-studies types, though perhaps the concept of an inscrutable other is just very deep rooted in people. The ethics, on the other hand, are very individualistic and extremely protestant.

But, ok, I don't want to be accused of the age-old vice of Making Up A Guy To Get Mad At. So I'll just say that this is all a characterization of only the most exaggerated form of this thought. And it's certainly not all things I disagree with; I do think (for example) that it's pretty undeniable that culture constructs different identity categories and power imbalances between them, in ways not entirely reducible to material conditions. And that these imbalances contribute significantly to injustice. I just think that these categories are a lot more mutable and culturally contingent than most people of the woke persuasion seem to believe, and I think the best solutions are systemic and not individual.

Anyway, I was originally asking about names, I think? Yeah, so, anybody got a good name for this?

[notebook-13]

BNHA History

Alright! I decided to assemble what we’ve been told about how society has changed since the advent of quirks. So here’s a rough timeline + my speculation.

Distant Past

≈200 years ago

The birth of a glowing baby signaled the beginning of superpowers. Considering the tremendous chaos that followed, I think it’s likely that the onset was fairly rapid—the glowing baby was the first of a lot of people all at once born with superpowers (or, it was the first baby born with a noticeable superpower). Crime skyrocketed, the law became meaningless, humanity came apart at the seams.

Why there was such an explosion of crime and chaos hasn’t been directly addressed; presumably it’s because early metas were violently shunned as nonhuman, and because new powers entailed the opportunity to use them.

Under these conditions, All for One rose to prominence. He used his meta power to win slavish loyalty, granting powers to those who desired them and removing them from metas who rejected them. His manipulation of his devotees was so great that he didn’t need to give them orders: they anticipated his will and acted on it. He didn’t tolerate dissent and crushed those who defied him. (ch193)

AfO’s period of de facto rule is not included in history books (he persists as a myth), so it’s unlikely that he occupied an official, publicly recognized position. But his rule apparently stretches from approximately the advent of quirks till the battle of Kamino Ward. (ch59)

However, AfO’s younger brother opposed him. AfO punished him by forcing on him a “useless” power-stocking ability. This power fused with the brother’s latent ability to transfer his ability, and the brother was able to pass it on. Over the next two centuries, the OfA holders continued to pass it on, largely to whoever happened to be nearby when they were dying instead of to selected proteges. (ch59, 257)

Relatively soon after the advent of superpowers, the police foreswore using them as weapons in order to keep the trust of the public. Vigilantes emerged to fulfill this role, attempting to mete out justice, and at some point the government authorized certain people (heroes) to use their powers offensively to enforce the law. Heroes were heavily criticized at first, but they eventually developed public support thanks to their strict adherence to the law (according to police chief Tsuragamae). (ch56)

According to the bnha spinoff Vigilantes, the government classified vigilantes into heroes or villains based on public opinion of them. (ch13)

MLA Era

How long ago was the Meta Liberation Army active?

Ch232: Redestro weakly implies that Destro was born before the beginning of heroes as a profession. This early date would also coincide with writing legislation to authorize heroes to use their powers to apprehend any other meta who used their ability.

Ch238: the MLA was in hiding for generations, plural.

Ch223: Redestro states the MLA has trained for “many generations”

So…somewhere between seventy years ago and more than a hundred years ago?

Regardless of the exact dates, Destro was born into a borderline period when there was intense prejudice against metas and official effort to coexist peacefully. When his mother defended him by claiming his power was a mere “quirk,” she was killed by a mob.

Sometime later, when the government drafted legislation to (supposedly?) promote peaceful coexistence, they recalled her idea of “quirk” and tried to use it as part of their reform. Destro, now an adult, opposed this and their reform, asserting that this was not the world his mother envisioned when she’d said “quirk.” (ch232)

He rallied metas to his cause, to bar any restriction of meta ability use, and the MLA fought the government for several years before defeat. It dissolved, many of its members in jail, including Destro himself. He penned his autobiography and then killed himself. (ch218)

Post-MLA, Pre-Symbol of Peace

Unknown number of years ago

Villain: “Seems like no one’s willing to break the law nowadays. All this whining about not selling out their friends. It’s a real pain. […] Man, I miss the days before All Might came along… I was young, and this country was a way more impulsive place.” (ch57)

Yagi: “I believed that this country needed a symbol so I started dashing headlong towards that goal. A shining light…hope. A wake-up call for everyone. As I ran, I swore I’d become that sort of man. People always had these worried looks. All the heroes in the world couldn’t slow the rising crime rates. Much more than now…they were truly scared.” (ch165)

This was an apparently cutthroat, impulsive period where efforts to curb chaos continued but found limited success. Crime was on the rise, something Yagi attributed to the idea that there wasn’t anyone (a “pillar”) for people to rely on. (ch93)

≈70 years ago

When Ujiko proposed his “paranormal singularity theory,” he was roundly rejected and mocked. Due to his own struggles with housing multiple quirks, AfO recognized how prescient Ujiko’s warning was, and he reached out to recruit Ujiko. (ch270)

(Note: Ujiko’s use of “paranormal” could mean he proposed his theory before “quirk” became the standard term, meaning “quirk” could be a rather recent change of language.)

≈35 years ago

AfO killed Nana. All Might was eighteen; he subsequently went to America to complete his training.

Symbol of Peace Era

≈30 years ago – Battle of Kamino Ward

Deku: “Ever since he appeared on the hero scene, his strength has won him undisputed popularity. Every year that he’s been active has seen a marked decrease in the appearance rate of villains. His existence alone is a deterrent to villainy.” (ch2)

Gran Torino: “[Stain’s] ideals and opinions…they’re gonna get out there. On the net. In papers and magazines. On TV. This age we live in, for better or worse, is one of suppression. But mark my words—people are gonna be influenced by this.” (ch57)

Shigaraki: “It’s not crazy to imagine that someone could commit an atrocity at any given moment. So why do they smile and mingle like this? Because the laws and rules are built on their individual morality, they’re convinced that ‘No one would ever do that.’” (ch69)

Shigaraki: “The reason these fools can smile and live their lives is cuz All Might’s always got that grin on his face. Smiling wide, as if to say there’s no one he can’t save!!” (ch69)

Deku: “All Might. Was there ever a time you really couldn’t save someone…?” Yagi: “…? … Sure. Plenty of times. Right now, somewhere out in the world, someone could be hurting or dying. It sucks, but I’m only human. I can’t save people who are out of my reach… That’s why I stand tall and smile. I’m the Symbol of Justice. The citizens…heroes…villains…I need to light the way for all of them.” (ch70)

Kid: “Nowadays people expect different things from heroes than they used to. It’s all about the entertainment factor and approval ratings.” (ch144)

Shigaraki: “You heroes pretend to be society’s guardians. For generations, you pretended not to see those you couldn’t protect and swept their pain under the rug. It’s tainted everything you’ve built. That means your system’s all rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It all builds up, little by little, over time. You’ve got the common trash, all too dependent on being protected. And the brave guardians who created the trash that need coddling. […] I don’t care if you don’t understand. That’s what makes us heroes and villains.” (ch281)

After about two centuries of chaos, Japan achieved stability after All Might established himself as the Symbol of Peace. All Might was specifically noted to have demolished most organized crime, so that villain teams were relatively rare (ch83, 115, 125). As Shigaraki put it, now people could go about their lives confident of their safety because All Might convinced them that everything will be alright, a hero will take care of them. This was true to the extent that people would flock to the sites of hero/villain battles to take photos and videos.

Whereas, as Twice put it, if you were on the wrong side of the law, then All Might’s catchphrase “I’m here” was a curse, something to fear and loathe. Gran Torino characterized this era as an age of suppression, as in, the symptoms were suppressed, producing superficial stability, but the underlying conditions hadn’t changed.

During this period, the industry of heroism shifted to over-emphasize heroism as public entertainment, rewarding attention-grabbing stunts and PR skills over humbler virtues.

This shift inspired Stain the Hero Killer to enact a purge of unworthy heroes in order to revive true heroism. He deeply impressed society, and, despite his murders, he became a popular figure. His ideals provoked some people to question whether society’s heroes were “true heroes,” while others disregarded his ideals and simply found him cool.

During this era, 80% of the population had a quirk. Whether that statistic was stable or if it was an effect of demographics (ie, most quirkless people are elderly and almost all kids have quirks) hasn’t been specified.

This era could be separated into All Might’s Bronze, Silver, and Golden Ages, each with a different costume.

≈30 years ago

All Might debuted in Japan, and he kicked off an unprecedented era of stability.

5 years ago

All Might fought and “killed” AfO.

Age of Endeavor

Battle of Kamino Ward – Present (ch283)

HPSC: “All Might had it all…power with enough charm to win the people over. The gulf between him and the perennial runner-up was always huge… I doubt we’re gonna find someone that charismatic again anytime soon.”  Mera: While we’re waiting for the next All Might, hero squads with a focus on team unity are gonna have to fill the gap. This order from up high is meant to make some headway on that front… (ch111)

Miyagi (newscaster): “If we’re being honest, I think All Might just got too big for our own good. So big that we lost sight of things. […] As for us, we shouldn’t just passively protect the status quo. Isn’t it our duty to bring back a culture of excitement around heroes?” (ch115)

Kid: “We know what’s up. Mom and dad and the TV all ask the same thing. ‘Are the heroes doing okay?’ …We know. We’re better than them!” (ch165)

Hawks: “That guy earlier, screaming ‘Long live metahuman liberation’…this [rumors of nomu sightings] is kinda like that. They republished some old-school criminal’s autobiography, and it’s flying off the shelves. I’m thinking that’s influencing people. That stuff tends to sell best when society’s feeling unstable, right?” (ch186)

Gentle: “What counts as a spectacle is a question for the current generation. We shall go to the source [UA]—the source that enchants our society.” (ch171)

Newscaster (surveying the stampede of fleeing civilians during Endeavor’s nomu battle): “This is society without a Symbol of Peace!!”  Can’tcha See-kun: “Stop saying that crap already!! Open your eyes before spouting off on TV! Especially at a time like this! Look! Those flames’re still rising up! You see ’em, right?! Endeavor’s alive and fighting!! So don’t give up just cuz the other guy’s gone! There’s still a dude out there risking it all for us!! Can’tcha see?!” (ch189)

Kuraishisu (newscaster): “In the past, a situation like this [the destruction of Deika City], where heroes were forced to make a difficult call, would have earned those same heroes criticism, but I suspect we may be witnessing a critical turning point in this era. A large-scale shift in opinion from criticism to passionate support.”  Uraraka: “Feels like everything’s different ever since the ‘Can’tcha See kid’ did his thing.”  Ashido: “It’s all cuz Endeavor kicked butt!” Mt. Lady: “Y’think the future’s bright? Not so fast!! It might seem like the winds of good fortune are blowing our way, but if you stop and think about the flip side of all this…it’s actually coming from a sense of urgency—it’s a response to danger! These cheers for the conquering heroes are really prayers—a plea that we emerge victorious! They’ve had enough of the showbiz side of heroism and want us to prove our worth for real now!” (ch241)

Mineta: “Not too long ago, she didn’t give a crap about anything except being on camera…” Aizawa: “Mt. Lady’s not the only one who has changed. Every hero out there is being pulled up by the number one’s rising ride.” (ch241)

After All Might retired, uncertainty gripped Japan as people wondered what would happen now. A strong consensus agreed that Endeavor wasn’t suited to fill All Might’s boots, something reflected in how the crime rate went up 3% in the month after Kamino, and reflected in how people suddenly became interested in reading the MLA ideology of rejecting heroes and protecting themselves.

During Endeavor’s battle against the nomu, the press attributed the public’s frantic stampede—ignoring heroes trying to guide evacuation—to the public’s lack of trust in Endeavor (and heroes generally) now that All Might was gone. Public trust improved after the nomu battle, especially thanks to Can’tcha See-kun.

Within a month after the battle, expectations shifted. People had enough of showbiz heroism and wanted the heroes to walk the talk and protect the public against villains, to the extent that comfortable armchair criticism was replaced a passionate support driven by fear of villains.

Miscellaneous Questions

When did “hero” become a recognized profession?

When did the hero ranking system begin?

When did the celebrity culture around heroes develop?

When did “quirk” come into common use?

How old is Yagi? How long ago did he debut in Japan and begin the era of peace?

How old is AfO? How long after the advent of quirks did he come to power?

When did AfO recruit Machia?

When were the nomu invented?

When did humanity pass the point of quirk singularity? (ch193)

[artsyargentsblog]

Adalheidis by A.B.

Adalheidis, a performance task of mine in school for the subject CPAR, is an art piece that epitomizes not just one essence or distinctiveness of being Filipino, but all of its notable qualities. Because, while I was creating this work, I figured that we are far too multifaceted to be perceived or classified in a single utterance. Filipinos are abundant in marvels, to the extent that appreciating them sometimes necessitates a significant sense of zeal and discerning erudition, not that I'm exaggerating it. As a consequence, I rendered this artwork that illustrates many different nuances of Filipino identity.

Some may consider my artwork to be a tad bit dreary and excessively dense at first glance, and even a touch provocative. It really depends on who you ask. However, the intention or exact explanation of an artwork is not necessarily determined by the artist, but rather by the perceived notions of the people who visualize it. As a result, I understand if this appears to be a completely varied approach, since everyone has their own unique vision of things. But, given that I'm obliged to give an explanation regarding my artwork, this is how I view things from my vantage point.

Adalheidis is an artwork dreamed up from several abstract insights. The colour scheme, which is wholly monochrome, is among the first features that stand out. This is because these two hues, in my opinion, indicate parity. I was really contemplating which colors to use when I came to the conclusion that these tones would be appropriate. Again, just in my opinion, Filipinos and their inherent peculiarities are weighed. Filipinos are adamant about choosing factions, pinning everything on one end and the other on the opposite. We have a thinking that sees things in their best light as a section of our identity. The other, on the contrary, perceives things from a pessimistic standpoint. Another noticeable detail is the female who is positioned between two groups of people who are pointing at one another. The girl in the centre might embody a broad spectrum of individuals, including the young, the aged, and so on. Society is the illustration of the two different groups alongside the girl.

They are seen donning a face that symbolizes melancholy and joy, as well as a mask that conveys drama in general. Filipinos, in my interpretation, is excessively immersed in contentious subjects that are both relevant and unhelpful to everyone. We have a proclivity for striving for both right to free speech and trivial amusement. And considering we don't normally engage in unison, this may be one of the factors why our ability is so poor. The two females beside the phone-like chamber in the centre, which encapsulates a lady, are another distinguishing aspect of the artwork. Filipinos' voices are represented by these two women. One who weaves falsehoods, who is appealing yet deceitful. And one that is silenced, yet whose aims are true and honest to reality. Next to them is a smartphone that is encasing a woman draped in foliage. Above it, a red bar with the word "Live" appears, signifying a social media site that is broadcasting the woman's agony. The phone represents contemporary technology and how our generation has become progressively reliant on it. It is a versatile instrument as well as a figurative tool for people who are powerless to combat directly.

This, to recapitulate, piece of art embodies the attributes that distinguish a Filipino. A single term can not adequately delineate an individual's identity. Our figures are rendered out of a multitude of components. This, in my opinion, is what distinguishes an identity. It's about one's view of things, ideologies, technology, and many more. That is the true Filipino identity, with its customs and all. All of the assertions in this artwork are based on my personal opinion. I don't intend to displease anyone. As a matter of fact, the aim of this piece is for folks to voice their ideas.

NOTE: I forgot to share this work here that gave me such a boost and lesson in many aspects of my life upon progressing and finalization. I just wanted to introduce a portion of my psyche's perception.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 22

Tawakkul, Taslim, Tafwiz, and Thiqa (Reliance, Surrender, Commitment, and Confidence)

Reliance, surrender, commitment, and confidence are the four steps or stations of a spiritual journey beginning with reliance on (or trust in) God, continuing in full awareness of one’s helplessness and destitution before God, and ending in entrusting all of one’s affairs to God Almighty in order to attain absolute peace and tranquillity of heart. Reliance (tawakkul) means total confidence in God, and feeling troubled or uneasy when it occurs to one that there may be other sources of power (that one can resort to). Without such a degree of confidence, it is wrong to talk about reliance. Moreover, one cannot attain reliance so long as the doors of the heart remain open to others. Reliance means doing all that is necessary to obtain a desired or intended result, and then waiting in expectation for the Eternally-Powerful One to bring about His Will. After this comes surrender (taslim), which many friends of God have described as one’s being before God’s Power and Will like a dead body in the hands of a mortician. Then comes commitment (tafwiz), leaving or committing all things and affairs to God and expecting everything from Him.

Reliance is the start of a journey, surrender is its end, and commitment is its result. Therefore, commitment has a wider meaning and relates to those who have almost completed the journey, rather than to beginners. Commitment comes after surrender, which requires the conviction of one’s helplessness and destitution before God’s Power and Wealth, and the ability to feel in one’s heart the meaning of: There is no power and strength save with God. It also requires the utmost dependence on and the expectation of help from the heavenly treasure of: There is no power and strength save with God. In other words, commitment means that a traveler on the path to God feels warned by the point of reliance and the point of seeking help in his conscience and, in exact awareness of his or her helplessness and destitution, turns to the Unique Source of Power and Will and says: Hold me by the hand, hold me, for I cannot do without You.

If reliance means that one entrusts all worldly and otherworldly affairs to the Lord, commitment means that one is fully aware that it is actually God Who does everything, Who produces every result, and Who creates all things and deeds that many consider to be done by themselves. Reliance means that one relies on God and closes the doors of one’s heart to whatever or whoever is other than Him. It can be regarded as the outer fulfillment all duties of worship and the inner attachment to God, the Lord Who is the sole Sustainer and Administrator of all that exists. This is what Shihab expresses in the following couplets:

Rely on the All-Merciful in all your affairs; One who relies on Him is never in loss. Confide in God and be patient with His disposal of you, For you can obtain only as His favors what you expect from Him.

I think ‘Umar, the second Caliph, may God be pleased with him, drew attention to the same point in a letter he wrote to Abu Musa al-'Ash'ari: If you are able to submit to whatever or however God decrees for you [i.e. by not objecting to whatever befalls you], this is wholly good. If you are unable to do so, then endure it with patience.

From another perspective, reliance signifies reliance on and confidence in God. Surrender is the state of those who have been awakened to spiritual life. Commitment, meaning that travelers are not detained by considerations of means and causes, is a station special to those of high spiritual achievement.

Even if travelers possessing commitment seem to attach a certain importance to means and causes, this is due to the fact that they live in the material world, the sphere of means and causes, in which God has made any accomplishment dependent on certain preliminary conditions. If they give priority to means and causes, thereby disregarding the fact that God disposes of everything as He wishes, then they will become like vermin crawling on earth, despite their previous resemblance to birds flying in the highest parts of the heavens. It is related in books on the lives of saints that those saintly people who try to advance but become caught in the over-consideration of means and causes hear these words:

Give up taking precautions, for involvement in precautions causes perishing; Commit your affairs to Us, for We are more thoughtful of you than yourself.

Such a commitment is a heroism that can be achieved only by those who persevere in their relations with God while living among people.

Doing what is necessary to obtain a certain result without attributing any creative effect to them may mean different things to different travelers: reliance for everybody, submission for those awakened to realities beyond the visible dimension, and commitment and confidence for those who have attained true peace or tranquillity of heart. How fine is the following saying of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, which combines exerting effort and reliance and commitment: If you were able to rely on God as true reliance on Him requires, He would provide you as He provides birds that leave their nests hungry in the morning and return full in the evening.

This Prophetic Tradition contains different truths for people of different spiritual ranks. What it means for the typical individual is what Rumi says:

Even if reliance on God is a guide, Fulfilling preliminaries is a practice of the Prophet. He told (a Bedouin) loudly (in response to his question): First fasten your camel and then rely on God.

This meaning is what is pointed out in: On God let the reliant rely (14:12).

Those who lead their lives at the level of pure spirituality understand, in perfect awareness of their helplessness and weakness before God, that they should trust wholly in God’s Power and Strength, and become like a corpse in the hands of a mortician: In God put your trust, if you are true believers (5:23). As for those who fly around the summits of “self-annihilation in God” and “subsistence with God,” they say, like Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, even while being thrown into fire: God is sufficient for me (39:38) and commit their affairs wholly to Him. It is enough for them that God Almighty knows their condition.

We can also see this greatest degree of commitment in God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. When the feet of those pursuing him during his emigration to Madina were seen from the cave where he was hiding with his nearest friend Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, and their pursuers’ voices echoed from the cave’s walls, he relied wholly upon God and told Abu Bakr: Grieve not! Assuredly, God is with us (9:40). This is also alluded to in the verse: Whoever puts his trust in God, He will suffice him (65:3).

Commitment and confidence are the highest degrees of reliance on God. Those who have attained these degrees have entirely submitted their reason, logic, and belief, as well as their outer and inner feelings, to God’s commandments. As a result, they have become “polished mirrors” in which His Names, Attributes, and acts are reflected. Signs of these degrees are under-standing that taking precautions is included in God’s preordainment, and thereby finding peace; seeing their willpower as a dim shadow of the Divine Will, and turning to that Divine Will; and being pleased with God’s treatment, whether it be favorable or not, and agreeing with whatever happens to them.

The author of Minhaj describes this degree of commitment as follows:

I committed all my affairs to the Dear One, Whether He keeps me alive or makes me die.

The following words of Wasif of Andarun are also most appropriate: Whatever was destined will certainly happen, so Commit your affairs to God; neither be grieved nor suffer pains.

One of the most beautiful descriptions of commitment belongs to Ibrahim Haqqi, the initial verses of whose Tafwiznama (Description of Tafwiz) are as follows:

God changes evils into good; Never think that He does otherwise. One with knowledge of Him watches In admiration what He does. Let us see what our Master does; He does well whatever He does. Put your trust in God, the Truth; And commit to Him your affairs So that you may find peace. Be patient and agree (with whatever He does). Let us see what our Master does; He does well whatever He does.

[fathersappointed]

UNDERSTANDING THE REAL ALIENS OF LUCIFER’S REBELLION.

Tomorrow morning when you wake up, aliens are lurking around ready to attack. 

(All right, let’s get the wrong going right from the start).

Our demonic enemies — are more lethal than any terrorist, or any murderer, or hardened criminal and they’ll be waiting for you. They have flaming arrows. That God says are ready to watch for the exact moment to shoot at you a fiery missile right into your mind. Are you ready to deflect that missile?

The purpose of the Devil’s missiles (and aggrandizement for fear manipulation purposes) John says is to cause believers to forsake their trust in God. It simply isn’t the truth, there are a number of reasons the Devil is attacking you. And within these attacks, there are variables in degree. They are; he wants to manipulate you to run to God. Or to get you to believe in extraterrestrial. He’s attacking to kill you or have you kill (one of his favorites, two birds) or destroy you in some other way and feed his contempt for you. The manipulation of an event or manipulate you to be a shoe salesman so you can tell Fred your story. One thing to note depending on the situation and need, it may not necessarily be the devil that is doing the communicating.

Flaming arrow another aggrandizement. In the man’s defense, he doesn’t know what he’s doing! He’s trying to emphasize the power attributes of the Devil. This brings me to the real reason the Devil and Christ motivated this gentleman to make this video.

The power of the Devil and the Demonic Fallen Angels. He says this is what our lesson is about, and indeed it is.

I had to laugh at this poor enthralled mutton and his marker! Dr. John says My dry erase wide tip marker is Lucifer. Lucifer was created at the hands of God, and like all the rest of creation, God’s holding him. So that’s the fall of Satan, that’s where evil comes from, that’s where all the problems came from. It was when God removed his hold God let go of holding him. That’s the fall of Satan that’s where evil came from. That’s where all the problems came from it was God who removed his hold. God let go of holding him that’s the fall of Satan that’s where evil came from that’s where all the problems came from it was God removed his hold created at the hands of God and like all the rest of creation God holds it together you know what it says all things were made by him and by him all things consist literally hold together if God doesn’t hold something it goes like this Lucifer just fell out of my hand he’s Satan now down there on the floor let me get him.

Lucifer’s Rebellion they are Satan’s demons and they’re part of this Cosmic war against God they’re the supernatural super-powerful creatures.

The attacks on humans are led by the Serpent Dragon his named the Devil & Satan. He is a person he has a single focus as the Adversary of God. He was formerly Lucifer the most brilliant and powerful of all God’s created angels. Now as Satan, he leads the hosts of darkness in their relentless attacks.

All the scientific science fiction movies are about these creatures with glowing eyes with powers that they have those are angels and the Fallen Angels the demons are what we would call the extraterrestrials the UFOs They are the demon, so there are all kinds of activity in the universe the real aliens that fill this universe and that all of our science fiction movies that everybody immerses himself in her about our products of Lucifer’s Rebellion they are Satan’s demons and their part of this Cosmic war against God they’re the supernatural super-powerful creatures.

Now he’s the highest created being he’s the most powerful creative being he is the smartest created being. He was the most honored of all created beings ever. He was the top of all God’s creation until he fell. But he knows he can’t be greater than God.

God! What’s happening to the people with sin is a very important thing. People die, diseases ruled the world. God, Omni Himself, wouldn’t be, you would think, a fluffy puffs kind of guy when it came to the serious stuff! But old Omni Mr. Love He’s got to pause for the cause and tell you what a beautiful guy the devil is. Because this is really important to know! And another thing that’s important to know is how he was so adorned in the most precious of jewels. And Powerful, powerfully strong, almost as strong as God himself. Then he turns his attention to the Angels explains how their powerful evil, demonic and merciless! Now you could argue that it’s important to know how powerful the Devil and the Fallen Angels are. But when you can just wave a hand and say magic words and make them run home. How important could it really be? It would be, in actuality not important at all. But yet this man and many others are constantly drilling, this point home why? The religious don’t know why they just know it’s in the book. God, said it so it must be important, so they repeat it. But this gentleman is saying it so you’ll be scared. And run to God and cover yourself in all the armament of his words. To this gentleman, this is an honorable endeavor. And he has dedicated his life to bring the knowledge to as many in the world as you can.

There is a cunning deception here that you just cannot see.

All of this about the Devil’s power the Angels powers these are all ploy this is all manipulation the religious the Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, etc, can only see this from a religious perspective. But the Devil, Christ, and the rest of the betrayers are not confined to simply the Christian Doctrine. This is that main vehicle of attack! But they will cooperate with all religions in deceptive manipulation. All of this preaching conditioning it’s for an elaborate manipulative hoax! The power of the Devil, the power of the Angels, this critical need to know information is solely for a plane that will be heinously executed.

The Bible was written over 1,600 years by 40 different authors? Bits and pieces And that’s how they feed it to you in bits and pieces but that’s not the only place it’s in the music you listen to it’s in the movies you watch the holidays you celebrate

God just let go and if you ever want to know where the origin of evil and how you know all this started and how the whole universe started falling apart think of my marker falling on the floor (Sometimes you got to laugh).But wait there’s another philosophy in the land of Gods. Religious Jewish people say that’s all a bunch of nonsense and they’ll have none of it! They claim they have pages and pages and books of their own nonsense.

The only thing these two guys have in common is that God’s a scummy fella who is causing all of this, by holding it all together.

According to the rabbi, your no good, your no good, baby your no good!

WHO IS SATAN? He is not who you think he is. The Jewish and Christian concepts of Satan are extreme opposites.

According to this gentleman, God’s a pretty sick fellow but it’s okay because it’ll make us all mentally better! He is explaining their religious teachings their religions believe It seems they believe that we had to be brought down to the very foundations of repugnance to the point. Where will commit acts of violence that leave People face down in the dirt dead! Because if we popped up later on and mental evolutionary timeline we wouldn’t appreciate the absolute decorousness of a pretty dining room set?

Hey you, what do you see?

Something beautiful or something free?

Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?

If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean.

The beautiful people.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypkv0HeUvTc The beautiful people.

Ok, I’m going to spell it out you should have been able to figure it out really on your own. They believe in the right of what they’re doing. This mindset is what has compelled the growth of religion in all walks of faith. This is one of their most effective manipulative dangerous weapons in the Devil and Christ’s arsenal and they welded it with skilled precision!

Rabbi Mic; Four times more crap does not qualify as twice the truth! I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. Yeah, this was written down because we have a creep that’s been manipulating everything. God did it. It says so right here in the book! It was put there clearly put there purposely by Christ and the betrayers. And by a Being that tells you, he’s God and to kneel to him and beg for forgiveness and your life! Snap out of it for crying out loud you freaking bookworm zealots and look the frig around once in a while. Christ and the betrayers have written a lot of different religions. This is all part of their Smokescreen of confusion and manipulation. The main vehicle of attack is the Catholic Christian religion. This is the one they have the most psychological pull with. They have spent thousands of years. Gone through numerous populations and religions to isolate this deceptive and manipulative power. This is not only in the Christian Muslim and Jewish religious books the cunning manipulation is in all religious writings immense amount of literature music and all other branches of entertainment.

Rabbi Mic says; That there’s not one passage in the Christian Bible, not one passage that shows that the Devil is subservient to God, not one passage in the New Testament showing that the Devil is subservient to God. Religion like so much else is a lie! What we are living in is an elaborate fabrication and elaborate deception of incomprehensible magnitude the individuals are real the characters are fiction as are all contributing Literature. We haven’t been brought down to the dregs of existence just so you can hopefully learn to clean up after you shave and go to work. This is design for multiple purposes one of the biggest mistakes the enthralled religious make is in the absolute belief in the narrow religious teachings. The Devil and Christ and the rest of the compromised betrayers are under no such constraints.

Both of these religious teachers are absolutely convinced within their religions. They’ve studied it intensely examine each other’s books. Both religions are convinced God controls all the good and evil. Neither is able to come to the understanding that they’re both being manipulated by the same group.

All perceptions are misconceptions.

Ape-man — God †★† Christ — Shiva †★† Islam, Judaism, Christianity — Extraterrestrials. Are all designed they are all in place for a division of controversy. No single prevailing thought can hold absolute acceptance this is all a strategical maneuvering. With the Devil and Christ prevailing with God in absolutes. With enthralled worshipers that are going to be used in the most heinous act of manipulated hate. And the world will be consumed in an all-consuming fire and no one will be saved.

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[pilawforhire]

@bookofaion asked:

(( bro, I miss your HCs, give me something about Law & how he views the past, what are his big regrets, what are things he reflects on most? besides Corazon's death, what's something he would like to change? does he believe 'everything happens for a reason' or nah? ))

//Hey, Ane! Thank you so much for the ask. It really got me thinking, and I haven’t been thinking about such deeper topics in a long time. I don’t think I could express my thoughts well in this, so please excuse the rambling, if things don’t make sense, and the very disorganised everything.

Reflections:

“Death surrounds us. If there’s one thing you can count on in life, it’s the infallible, all-embracing hand of death, and the permanence and irreversibility of its fatal touch. Death is an old friend of mine, but also a teacher, a companion: lifelong, eternal.”

Given the death he’s witnessed, death lurking in every corner one turns, the ‘death’ tattooed on his fingers (a reminder, now), I think death and mortality would feature commonly in his reflections – not with pessimism, not necessarily with despair, but as a stimulus to live; reflecting on death in order to reflect on life, its impermanence (in the scope of an individual’s), its shortness of nature, ever-changing.

For instance, thoughts on: why death is generally feared, the lessons death has taught him, how he should like to die (by his own hand, ideally within his control, but not alone), what a good death would be like (facing death with courage, dying for a worthy cause; what is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying), when is it time to let go, and most importantly, why he should not die yet. Especially in his adolescence and/or young adulthood, owing to the losses he survived, and their ripples of anguish, it would’ve been crucial to ask, over and over, why he should live on – and how. How should he live. With strength, courage, dignity – exactly how he envisions he would die.

Of course, there’d also be reflections on the bigger decisions he’s made in life (with regards to his goals, the crew, etc.); reflections on his past (with a yearning, and a smidgen of loneliness), on how far he’s come (with incredulity; made it, after all), on his crew and Bepo’s friendship (with gratitude, appreciation); reflections on those he failed to save (I kind of headcanon that throughout his travels, in order to gain the experience as a doctor/surgeon, he would’ve helped civilians, either those who can’t afford to be treated in hospitals, or if he encounters someone who’s ill/hurt, or in clinics in smaller towns – granted, he could practise on corpses, but I doubt he’d turn down someone who needed help if it was within his means to treat them (‘bad’ guys aside; circumstances dependent); at least once he’d have failed to save a child, and the experience would’ve been humbling).

More in his younger years, he’d likely have reflected on numerous what-if scenarios, if Corazon had survived, etc.

How he views his past:

Over time, he’d have crawled along the path towards acceptance of the people he’s lost, though the sorrow is an undying presence (and would’ve, more so in the past, manifested as anger or irritation). Yet, on the path to acceptance, it’d still be difficult to fully let go of the guilt or self-blame, considering they spur him towards his goal, and his goal of fulfilling his legacy, taking down Joker, is everything that keeps him moving forwards.

I think, for the longest time, he viewed his past with regret; when he thought of the past, he thought only of everything he lost. But I’d like to think that later along his journey, although the past is still something he cannot talk openly about, without fear of it all spilling out in an overwhelming way, he’s able to reflect on the good times as well, with gratitude. He had a good, loving family; Corazon had given him hope, and his last dying breath. Yes, they were all taken from him too soon, but there were some fonder memories, bittersweet to relive.

Eventually, he wouldn’t think of his past as a burden or something that weighs him down, but more a series of events that has strengthened and taught him a number of things: courage to scrabble his way through and drag his leaden limbs back from the pitch darkness not once but time and time again, to embrace the suffering (albeit, possibly to an unhealthy extent; without suffering, how could he appreciate pleasures), the necessity of being prepared, that everyone dies (because life comes at a price) (but that death makes life meaningful; death gives us incentive to live), to appreciate the smaller things: his crew (they are his lifeboat), the sunrise, (every breath, every pain) – still, he was willing to give it all up for his goal.

Does he believe that everything happens for a reason?

I don’t think he’d ever be able to accept that his family’s and Corazon’s deaths happened for a reason, and he’d be of the opinion that reasons or meaning are just things humans attribute to circumstances out of their control in order to make sense of things. Nothing could explain or justify their deaths. Did they all really have to die so he would learn how to cope with grief and loss, and understand what suffering was like? In his teens, he would’ve brooded about the unfairness of life taking everything from him not once but twice, though eventually he’d have tried to use his past to empower himself instead, believing that he’d survived all that, he could survive anything – though this leads to him developing a belief in his invincibility (thus the necessity later on to remind himself of his mortality), by pushing himself always to the limits, braving harsh weather/conditions, disregarding colds or ailments.

Big regrets:

Aside from accidentally running to Vergo and disclosing Corazon’s undercover identity – I’d think he’d regret more of his states of being in the past: ignorant, inadequate, helpless, and he’s extra hard on himself in attempts to avoid stumbling into such scenarios again. On some level, he’d understand certain circumstances are out of his control – when he brought Vergo that document, he’d decided it was the best course of action to take – yet he’d strive to be as prepared as possible; can’t risk complacency or carelessness.

On the whole, in his adulthood, I don’t think he’d have big regrets. He’d be of the firm belief this is the path he’s meant to take. (And if he does have regrets about decisions made in battle or involving their voyage, those would be regrets he reflects on to learn from.)

As Viktor Frankl said: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way” – albeit, for Law, the path he chose was one rooted in feelings of guilt and despair.

Still, even after that talk with Sengoku post-Dressrosa, even after hearing the words he’d subconsciously been desiring to hear someone say to him all the years, that he was under no obligations, that Corazon saved him not just because of the ‘D’ in his name (paraphrasing the exact words because I don’t remember), if Law were able to return to the past and choose a different path, 101 out of 101 times, he would not have chosen differently. Even if taking out Doffy did not alleviate the sense of emptiness, that goal carried him 13 years, longer than any other would’ve (he thinks).

“He gave me life; he gave me a reason to live. I made a choice of my own free-will. Who’s to say any other path or choice would’ve resulted in a ‘better’ outcome? Would I have been better off not dedicating my life to pursuing Joker? No, I’d have been worse off.”

Besides, I think he may not be able to picture himself leading an ordinary, civilian life. It would be a generally safer, more stable and secure way of living, but at the risk of succumbing to ennui? He’d crave the heart-pounding adrenaline from fights, the thrills of walking a fine line between life and death (mocking, challenging, taunting death). (Though he doesn’t take unnecessary risks, especially since assuming his responsibilities as a captain.)

Besides Corazon's death, what's something he would like to change?

In all honesty, while he would’ve, in the past, wished he could’ve gone back in time and acted differently to save Corazon’s life, in the present, at 26, I think he’d have accepted Corazon as dead for over a decade, that he wouldn’t feel strongly about changing that. Not that he doesn’t wish he could speak to or see Corazon one last time, but he’s, over time, come to accept that such wishful thinking is completely pointless. Furthermore, I think he’d have gotten used to…mourning/missing him. Having him back would be undeserving. If Corazon is back, what excuse would he have to explain his self-destructiveness – it would mean that he ought to be absolved from the guilt (but he’s not ready to let that go). It would mean that he could maybe even be happy, and that is a scary thought. ‘Happiness’: terrifying, quite so very something he’s unaccustomed to letting himself experience. Although he’s reflected on death, mortality, it would still be nagging him in the back of his mind that one day he’d have to mourn Corazon again.

As for something else he’d like to change, his hirsuteness, or lack thereof. (In all seriousness, I haven’t thought of a good answer, sorry.) I think he may aim more for inner change first – forever wanting to a better self than who he was the day before. By better, I don’t necessarily mean doing ‘good’ but…more knowledgeable, tougher, experienced. To aim to stand ready and confident to take without flinching whatever life throws at him.

Because he will persevere. Granted, his resolve wavers from time to time, being that he is only human; there are weaker and lower moments and phases, but he persists because through and through, Law is a rebel. Guiltily, I would like to think he would rebel against the ocean of greyness that threatens to engulf.

He will never surrender. He’ll die fighting, like Corazon did.

And with a smile.

Probably giving the finger too.