#and neither would change their viewpoint

[infpravenclaw5w4idkwhatelse]

Sometimes I forget that real people in the lgbtq+ community do also hate asexual and/or aromantic people, and then I stumble across one post about one thing that so many different groups of people do that’s annoying, and it mentions aroace people as a category specifically as an example (no hate to op. I do disagree because I think the tags is actually where someone’s supposed to relate a post back to themself?? Like. That’s their intended function? Off topic. Anyway) but the rest of the tags are full of people being like ‘#asexual people are so annoying’ or ‘#aroaces are just straights who can’t get any bitches’ or ‘#theyll never be part of the community’

And 1: so much of that is bullshit that homophobic people use to discriminate and belittle other people in the community, and you’re just gonna rebrand it slightly to the left, and it’s ok now?? How does that make any sense at all? Riddle me that one, Batman.

And 2: that post wasn’t even intrinsically aphobic. You specifically make it so because what? You can? That’s a different flavor of exactly what the post was arguing against (adding your own two cents and changing the meaning of a post)

And it just makes me sad to see. Because what do you mean so-called liberals and fellow gay people (umbrella term obvs) are out there, not only devaluing ace and aro people’s identities, but going out of their way to make that known and exclude them on a post that’s not even about that. What the actual fuck has gotten into you? How is you claiming to be superior for feeling attraction any different from aroaces (or any combination of that) claiming to be superior for not feeling attraction?

(aka, the reason you cite for hating them) ((plus, the only, the only, reason aroaces people would celebrate it is in retaliation to having attraction being The Best Ever shoved so far down our throats we can’t conceptualize our self-worth without it, but I digress))

Sorry about the *scrolls back to the top rq* 5, about to be 6, paragraphs, I just really needed to get this out of my system.

[bloodborne-on-pc]

I've been trying to think of the best way to articulate this for a long time, but I think something that maybe influences many outdoor cat owners to be adamantly against the idea of the idea of their pet being an invasive species, is the way we talk and think about invasive species.

If you see any post on social media talking about an invasive species, people in the comments tend to talk about "destroying" them with a sort of gleeful malice. Essentially, invasives are acceptable targets for cruelty. They are considered "evil", making it okay to hate them and inflict violence upon them, and to revel in that violence.

So, if a person has this viewpoint, consciously or not, and sees someone claim their beloved pet is invasive, they will probably balk at the idea and reject it. Their cat isn't evil! That's absurd! How could you say that?

And that is completely true. The domestic cat isn't evil. Neither is the spotted lanternfly, common buckthorn, or any other invasive species. They are harmful to the environments they are introduced into, but they don't cause that harm because they are malevolent. They're doing the exact same things they would be in their original environment. Those things are just bad for their non-native one. In some situations, removing invasive species may involve killing the organism, but we shouldn't relish in the suffering this will cause them.

Obviously, there are lot of factors influencing why people refuse to keep their cats inside. But I can't help but wonder if this kind of attitude might exacerbate it - and if changing the way we talk about invasive species might help a little. Even if not, we should do it anyway - all living things deserve respect.

[justatumblinweed]

The little things do help, y'all ♥️

i had a whole crisis last night, got real bothered by the state of this broken world and felt like i didn’t deserve to call myself punk because i felt like i wasn’t doing enough. but i am. i’m being a kind person. i’m caring about people. i’m helping when i can. i’m being authentically myself in a town that doesn’t want me to. i’m showing other people they aren’t alone. i’m leading by example. i am spreading hope, i am making a difference, even if it is a small one. and i’ll make an even bigger difference one day. things are getting better, and everyone who cares is part of that.

There isn't a whole lot we can do alone, that's why we're a social species. But it sounds like you're doing more than enough on that level. As you said, things are getting better, and everyone who cares is a part of that.

[utilitycaster]

as someone who DMs in Exandria and tries to at least keep the happenings of the campaigns canon, i’ve been struggling to decide how i’m going to handle the ending of c3. if you had to decide what to scrap, what to keep, and what to change, what would you do?

Hi anon,

Honestly...at a macro level? In terms of Exandria (the worldstate, as a lot of us referred to it) I wouldn't change anything! If you're running a game during the 843 PD Apogee Solstice, have the characters be aware of its approach, and then have them notice the ley lines are weird and some magic isn't working and things have come unsealed or unenchanted. And then, eventually, have the gods become mortal, and really, you get to play the events of that as you want.

I think the parts I'd scrap, keep, or change are like...background lore that was inconsistent. For example: we do know from written works (Netherdeep, Tal'Dorei Reborn) that Ruidusborn experienced unfounded persecution...but as this doesn't square up with Fearne nor, frankly, Imogen's experience. Alyxian was taunted and threatened and people in rural Tal'Dorei would commit infanticide with full knowledge of what a Ruidusborn was, but Fearne and Imogen straight up were fine when wandering around Exandria and Imogen's experiences in Gelvaan were due to her powers, and neither of them even knew what Ruidusborn was. This isn't to be clear inconsistent - it could be that the rumors about Ruidusborn did not properly make it/survive in rural Marquet in the 800s PD the way they did in modern Tal'Dorei and Calamity-era Wildemount - but you should be cognizant of that difference across continents and take that in mind.

I also think, and this isn't Exandria lore nor specific to Exandria DM-ing but was a failure of this campaign, that this is a good opportunity to like, point out that when players riff and make things up about a fairly heavily built-out world that would conflict with your plans or just would be a weird fringe viewpoint, you should let them know. I've seen this done at tables I've been at - someone gave a very United States in the 21st century answer about their thoughts on the divine and the DM stopped and was like "so. we are in a world where gods are real and this would be a radical fringe view that people would, in this world, judge you for. Is that what your character thinks? because we can roll with that but people are going to think they're nuts." Like, the statements about oppressive religion in Exandria when none has ever been established and it's usually all been lone actors, fringe cults, or one-offs in C3 probably should have been either refuted or incorporated instead of just left to float there, unconfirmed and useless.

I think the shortest answer is "If your only source for information is out of the mouth of a Bells Hells character, try to find a different one and don't feel bad about scrapping it, but the overall state of the world should stand."

[revoevokukil]

Ciri's Omelas Dilemma

Can you walk away from a destiny that is inscribed in your own body? Does possessing the capacity to help create an obligation to do so? Might Ciri, in taking The Trial of Grasses, be choosing the Greater Evil?

Le Guin’s parable of Omelas presents a critique of the false binary of the utilitarian sacrifice (utopia or a child’s suffering). Sapkowski subverts the chosen one narrative wholesale, critiquing authoritarian uses of utilitarian rhetoric. He digs into the trauma of being ‘chosen’ when you are a woman. Women are often ‘chosen’ for motherhood, their bodies transformed into a battleground for others’ ambitions.

Ciri bridges these critiques as she is both the chosen one and the potential sacrifice. Unlike the suffering child in Omelas, she retains the ability to choose, though doing so may mean condemning others. Stories about chosen ones – those who have no choice but to choose – revolve around how necessity and choice interact. Ciri's is the burden of Power.

This positions Ciri’s ethical struggles as a twisted mirror of Geralt’s. Geralt, who doesn’t have the power to change the system but will do all to fight for his loved ones, can walk away from Omelas. Ciri, the idealist, poses a counterpoint, as Ciri is both the suffering child and the potential ‘walker’ simultaneously. And also someone with the power to bring change.

Thus, Ciri faces a triple-layered moral choice:

Her right to choose her own path (personal freedom, bodily autonomy).

Potential salvation of elves—a dying race facing systematic extermination.

Implications for future generations of Elder Blood carriers who may have power to effect change.

In the original story, walking away from Omelas serves as moral protest that actively neither worsens nor betters the situation. The Witcher’s world, moreover, is no utopia. Nevertheless, Ciri’s knowing ‘walking away’ would actively contribute to allowing an ongoing tragedy to reach its conclusion. This creates her own version of Omelas, where her personal liberty (her own greater good) would be purchased at the cost of thousands of lives.

Perhaps though, our viewpoint is binary without good reason...

See here for the full article.

[cruyuu]

hello 💕 love your sukuita analyses and edits 🙏 my friend and i were looking through Gege's official chosen songs for each character specifically for yuji and sukuna now that the manga is over and i don't know if many people noticed Yujis first song was "Heart ni Ho wo Tsukete" and the lyrics are??????? literally canon sukuita 😭 "burn your loneliness" "don't turn to ashes" "you and i are together" "will we love each other? will we turn to ashes?" like 😭😭😭 if you haven't checked it out please do because we were losing it

Hi jenjen and thank you!

I already heard Heart ni Ho wo Tsukete and I agree. The lyrics are crazy. The song is quite beautiful, tho, shipping aside.

As someone who loves looking into stuff and finding connections, it's interesting to me that a character song is hinting at having a deep emotional connection with someone as a way of pushing on through the worst of "the worringly bad state they are in".

Sure, some would say "It doesn't have to mean that" as in "It doesn't have to be abt sukuita" but I like to think that it does because it's not like the story itself relied heavily on Sukuna and Yuuji- beginning with their reluctant union and ending with their parting- right? It's not like Yuuji taught Sukuna something about love and managed to reach him, right? That definitely didn't happen lmfao.

Also... how do you even begin to explain these lines?

I’m attached Deeply attached to you It doesn’t go in a single line I’m attached to you And the lies we tell each other

Remember that this is coming from a song picked for Yuuji, so it's supposed to represent him. Who is he deeply attached to, so much so that the attachment he shares with that person "doesn't just go in single line"? Who does he tell lies to?

Who, again, said he'd do anything to kill that creep and then asked for his return to his body, said that he is the only one who can accept him and would live with him?

It's all so mind-numbingly sweet, very confusing and terribly funny. It makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff. Gaze into the sunset with the cigarette in my hands and just sigh like I'm seventy thousand years old. It makes me want to squeal, screech and not at all act composed like I usually am.

Like, sukuita's relationship has been at the very center of the story even if it was out of focus for a while. Yuuji was with others and Sukuna was with others but then when they met again... those others just couldn't compete. One of my friends joked that they're lowkey that sentence "I have been looking for you in other people only to realize you've been right in front of me this entire time." and I can't help but giggle. Hell, the story itself is proof of it lol

Like I keep mentioning in my posts, these two tend to just act weirdly around each other. It's not even "just hate", neither "indifference", because everything that Yuuji did made him reluctant to part with Sukuna in the end, and no matter how much Sukuna dismisses Yuuji, he's also praising him and acknowledging him over and over and over. Yes, they can't see eye to eye, yes, they're fundamentally different from one another but Yuuji still managed to try and understand him. Sukuna also ended up accepting Yuuji's viewpoint and considered taking on a different path, finally changing after years of remaining stuck in a single mindset.

Like not one person had managed to change his mindset for all those years yet Yuuji- the idiot, brat, thing, whatever- did. In just a couple of months lol. That was the final seal on just how important he was to him in the end. The only one to beat him, the only one to reach him, the only one to come running back with arms open to still allow him to live no matter if he destroyed everything in his life.

Lol.

Which brings me to:

If we burn our union If we burn everything Won’t we love each other? Won’t we love each other? Won’t it become ash?

It fits them all too well. Love under the guise of hate, killing as an expression of love, hate as an expression of fondness. Everything flipped onto its head because, after all, aren't they too, (from human to curse in Yuuji's case, from curse to human in Sukuna's) when around each other?

I swear figuring out these two (and, in general, just trying to think about their relationship or write an analysis) makes me want to bang my head against the wall. All I'm saying is, if Gege ever goes to create a tragic romance manga, they have my full support because they knew what they were doing, twisting and intertwining these two to perfection before they ripped them away. They made them so entertaining, both as individual characters and when they collided with each other.

Yeah. I despise it here (affectionately).

I hope both you and your friend have an amazing day or night and thank you for the ask!

[ariel-seagull-wings]

@rei-ismyname @mikeellee @themousefromfantasyland @thealmightyemprex @the-blue-fairie @professorlehnsherr-almashy @maedelin @s10127470 @obufalo

"Now I 100 understand why some folks don't like this ending as it wraps up a lot of complex issues about racism and intolerance with a nice little bow and while I respect that Viewpoint I also can't help but think of something that George Lucas said about fantasy stories and I'm paraphrasing here: fantasy stories from Star Wars to Gargoyles are, in essence, fairy tales, and fairy tales teach us morals, inspire us to be better, and generally have happy endings. So, while I agree that an action packed train rescue would never solve such serious issues, I also don't think there's anything wrong with it giving us the inspiration and the hope that one day we would reach a more enlightened time of tolerance and acceptance."

(Erod from the Blockbuster Buster: Honest Review Gargoyles)

I bring in this quote here because I think it can help us understand how the Mutant Metaphor Changes: since in both animation and comics X-Men is an ongoing narrative with different writers taking charge, the level of it wanting to be a fantasy with its own sense of worldbuilding vs wanting to be a more accurate reflexion of our reality will vary: If you are a writer who wants to give the X-Men the fairy tale aproach and make them its own world with its own sense of verossimilitude, more likely you are to portray a more hopeful world where someday humanity will become more enlightned and accepting of mutants.

If you are more inclined to make them a more direct reflection of OUR reality though, then the focus changes, from the hope of coexistence, to the struggle for autonomy and survival that is more relevant to minorities in the real world.

Generational factors also can come into play: The original 1992 Animated Series comes during the Bill Clinton Era, when otimism was encouraged and there was a view that racism would soon be over.

So you could see an element of fairy tale like the Days of Future Past two part adaptation, where Kelly becomes a moderate and gives up suporting the Registration and Sentinels after having his life saved by the X-Men (different from the 80s comic storyline where he didn't learned any lesson and still pursued the Registration after being saved by the X-Men, more close to how real life bigots behave).

The 97 sequel comes in a time of post Covid Pandemic Deaths, Supression of Trans Rights, Height of Israel x Palestine conflict with civilians dead or displaced as refugees, one attempted Capitolium coup and two times of Donald Trump being ellected president, so the fairy tale of the 90s writers generation gives place to the proximity to our reality and survivalism that is the focus of our generation.

Neither writing aproach is "right" or "wrong", is just that they arise from different generations of writers having different needs in different historical contexts, and both aproaches are valid.

[locklylenerd77]

Aziracrow kiss scene analysis

Okay, so we've all seen it.

But what does it mean? Today I'm going to talk about Aziraphale and Crowley's kiss.

Viewpoints

Firstly, there are numerous ways to view this scene, including assault, romance, desperation, and an attempt at communication. I won't be talking about all of these, but I do want to delve deeper into the body language of Aziraphale and Crowley.

It's not "cute".

Firstly, this kiss wasn't romantic, gentle, or tender. Crowley grabs Aziraphale by the collar and basically smashes his lips onto Aziraphale's. It's quite an aggressive kiss, throwing them both off-balance. They sway a little, both of them very still, and neither of them pull away or deepen the kiss. It's obvious neither of them know how to kiss, and I think this makes it unpleasant for them both. We see Crowley holding Aziraphale for quite some time but nothing happens. He doesn't pull away to see if Aziraphale is okay, or use body language to make Aziraphale feel more comfortable. He's got no idea what the purpose of the kiss is, but its the last thing he can do. The kiss wasn't romantic, it was a culmination of the prior 6000 years.

Aziraphale's reaction

Secondly, Aziraphale is very clearly in shock. He gradually closes his eyes and places his hands on Crowley's back. It seems to me that this is him trying to "kiss back", except he obviously doesn't know how, and he's confused and angry at the same time. He looks distressed, which could be because of the situation, but also because he's trying to decide what to do. He doesn't want to hurt Crowley by shoving him away in disgust, or kiss him passionately back. They're both in new waters.

It's important to note that Crowley seems to release Aziraphale and not the other way round. He's the instigator of the kiss. Aziraphale is breathing heavily afterwards, on the verge of tears, and this signals to the audience that he's panicking slightly. I think this is because it couldn't be more clear now that he and Crowley are in love. There's no room for ambiguity or questioning- Crowley's defined his feelings (and their relationship) now, and through a human action.

Although they were both aware of their love, they were also both comfortable in their relationship, and perfectly happy going on dates, sharing property, calling each other pet names, and hearing others refer to them as a couple (at least, they don't deny it most of the time). To summarise, the kiss wasn't needed. Defining their relationship by human means was unneeded. Aziraphale is upset and disgusted because the action is so unnecessary, so unlike them. Crowley's trying to fit them into a mould as a desperate attempt of preserving the relationship. Crowley's confession might have been a way of indirectly asking for reassurance, or making their pre-existing relationship more physically intimate, but its's not a get-down-on-one-knee "will you go to nandos with me" imogen-from-heartstopper. His confession also clearly doesn't change anything, because Aziraphale doesn't recoil in shock, or even react much. He knows Crowley loves him, but he doesn't communicate that. So Crowley, thinking Aziraphale has misunderstood him, tries again.

Why kiss?

I think it's crucial that we understand that the kiss isn't a confirmation of their love. Crowley has already stated that they could've been "us", and that "he would like to spend" his existence with Aziraphale. The kiss is a reinforcement of what's already been said, and Crowley instigates it because he's trying to communicate with Aziraphale through human behaviours to bridge their contrasting perspectives.

This fails.

Crowley and Aziraphale already know they love one another. The kiss was a "stay with me, I love you" from Crowley, and an "I know, it's more complicated than that" from Aziraphale in response, but neither of them see it that way. Crowley was trying to make it clear how he feels, when that wasn't the problem. Nothing was unaddressed after Crowley's speech, and the kiss was an unexpected and confusing event for them both. Crowley never planned this- their bad communication has just reached a point where he's desperately trying to make Aziraphale understand him using any tool he can.

My thoughts

I think the true function of this kiss is to highlight their dysfunctional relationship. They can't communicate, so they fill in that gap with apology dances, protecting one another, and human interactions like kissing. They're so far apart in perspective and worldview that the only way to communicate is through a common thing they are both familiar with, which is human behaviour.

The reason Aziraphale is so upset, from my interpretation, is that the kiss changes nothing. They're both talking at one another and not listening, not compromising or attempting to understand each other's views. Aziraphale and Crowley both talked the talk, and the kiss is just Crowley repeating his earlier words. Essentially, Crowley's still not listening. They still aren't communicating.

We view kissing as a romantic interaction between two people to show mutual affection. For Crowley, it's not that. It's a final, desperate resort. "This is how I feel, can't you understand? I'm going to make you understand in the only way I know how that I have left!" But Aziraphale does understand, and he agrees. He just wants them to be together under different circumstances because he's in a toxic relationship with heaven and he thinks he can change it for better.

Summary

-the kiss wasn't romantic, it was just passionate

-Aziraphale isn't disgusted, he's confused and devastated because they've failed to communicate again, and they can't reach an understanding

-The kiss doesn't change their relationship, it just defines it, and neither of them really wanted to define it. We see multiple people pressure them into a "relationship", from calling them an "item" to interrogating Crowley about their status (he's not anybody's "bit on the side"!), and this causes Crowley to want reassurance, especially after their relationship has weakened slightly due to the stress of recent events concerning heaven, hell, Gabriel and Beelzebub, and poor communication. He confesses due to not only insecurity, but others changing his viewpoint of his relationship.

--------

Thanks for reading my essay I have too much free time

[musicalmoritz]

If Sakumei stay together and go further. What will their date and relationship belike? Family dynamics even (if they adopted kids)?

More on SakuMei! Alrighty so if they got back together I see them being much more mature and ready for a relationship than the first time around. It starts out very slow, they’re hesitant to get back together after what happened the first time. But since they’ve been friends for so long, they fall into a natural comfortability with one another

They enter a honeymoon phase, being the happiest they’ve ever been together. Their friends are happy to see them happy, although there’s some slight jealousy on Natsuhiko’s end. Mei is leaving the art room more and actually trying to enjoy her “life.” Sakura helps her work through her existential problems and figure out who and what she is. Mei helps Sakura make sense of their own feelings and learn how to express them. Instead of focusing so much on their own wants for a relationship, they focus on helping each other. And through that help, they both become comfortable expressing when they’re unhappy with something or want something in the relationship to change. Real healthy shit, we have left their toxic yuri days behind

As for the type of dates they go on, I think they’re very lowkey. They drink tea and read books in the broadcasting room, or in Sakura’s boundary. Due to the open space, their dates often turn into group hangouts, so if they want privacy it’s best to go to the art room or the library. The art room isn’t always safe as Nene and Tsukasa will barge in whenever they feel like it. But the library can get crowded too so really, this school is hell for these two introverts. They make it work though, once the students have cleared out it’s pretty vacant

If you haven’t noticed I’m a big filmbro and like to include movies in just about every fic I write. This is more of a Sakura/Natsuhiko thing but I apply it to other ships with them, I think Sakura would be rly into creepy/gory movies. They have tackled the Disturbing Movie Iceberg (I’m only two tiers down, I’m too sensitive to watch all that shit lmao) and like to make ppl watch gross movies with them. To Natsuhiko it’s a form of torture but Mei doesn’t care for fiction so she’s more indifferent (Ik a lot of the movies on the Iceberg are documentaries/home videos but shhhh we’re ignoring that for this). She complains but she doesn’t get scared or grossed out the way Natsuhiko does, it’s more that she’ll point out how unrealistic the special effects are and make fun of the bad writing. Bad movies are Sakura’s favorite though so they laugh along, that way they end up bonding over their judgemental natures. By the end, Mei might end up falling asleep on Sakura’s shoulder

Most of their dates involve them just sitting around and talking. They don’t always have to say something, but they can keep a conversation going very easily. Neither of them are that talkative in crowds but one-on-one they could yap for hours. Because of this they know each other super well, they’re able to keep up with each other’s interests and viewpoints. They get into deep, philosophical discussions often, which leads Sakura to lighten the mood with tea

Now let’s imagine them in another life where they’re both human and get to grow old together. OG Mei and No.4 Mei are twin sisters here bcuz I said so. I don’t see No.4 Mei doing art full time but she keeps it up as a hobby for whenever she’s stressed, partially because it’s something that connects her to Shijima. She would have an art room in her house full of paintings of Sakura and her family (credit to you for that hc lol). OG Mei absolutely becomes an art teacher tho. I could actually see No.4 Mei going into the medical field and becoming a doctor, since art isn’t really her thing I think she’d be more of a science person. There’s also more personal reasons for it, she wants to help kids that are going through what her sister went through

For Sakura it’s hard to say. I think they’d own some sort of gothic tea room. They sell tea there as well to make some extra income. Not that they need it with their rich doctor wife, but it’s a nice bonus. To commit to the bit they wear black vintage gowns to work every day. And their house is an old manor, funded mainly by the aforementioned doctor wife. One thing abt Sakura is they’re going to commit to an aesthetic. They host a lot of events at the tea room like murder mysteries/scavenger hunts, especially around Fall. Mei stops by each one to support her partner, and when she does she’s always the one to solve the mystery

They have a son, one of those cursed little Victorian boys. They also own an unreasonable amount of cats, all with very formal names. They’re very weird parents, but good ones. I’m getting Addams Family vibes. Mei also goes butch in the future so she can be the Gomez, trust. They encourage their son to learn healthy communication skills and take up hobbies so he can explore his interests and make friends. They’re also very loving towards one another, a very romantic couple. They end up having a wonderful life together, along with their son and many friends who crash the manor. Natsuhiko and Shijima pop in most often, along with Tsukasa and Aoi/Nene. On occasion Mitsuba will drag Kou up to visit but he always gets creeped out by the place. This would make a great family sitcom

Thank you for the ask mootie, I love talking abt SakuMei!!

[eev583]

Ready for me to randomly dump some of my PLA headcanons on y'all? Well, here they are.

1# Akari and Dawn are cousins. Yes, cousins. They aren't the same person in my Poke Verse.

2# Adaman and Irida were childhood friends. They usually met in secret and nobody from either clan knew about it.

3# Volo can talk to Giratina telepathically. This specially becomes useful when other people are nearby, and they don't want to be heard.

4# Ingo and Akari are friends. They talk to each other about their past lives. (Even if neither of them can remember much of it.)

5# Akari has the biggest crush on Volo. Though Volo, for the most part, didn't notice. (He is smart but also very dense.)

6# Professor Laventon has a father-daughter like relationship with Akari and a father-son like relationship with Rei. (Nobody can change my mind on this.)

7# Irida and Adaman would deny having a crush on the other, but everyone already knows that they do.

8# Akari is a little older than Rei. But not by much. (She's 17 while he's 16 at the start of PLA)

9# Arceus would text Akari through the Arc Phone occasionally just to check in on how she's doing.

10# Beside just working together, Volo and Giratina are actually good friends. (They've come to realize that they have similar viewpoints on a lot of things.)

I have a lot more headcanons, but that's the end of it for now. I don't want to make this post too long. Just so everyone knows, I'm gonna be very busy for the next several weeks so I won't be on for a while. I'm not gonna be gone for too long though. But you'll know I'm back when I start posting things again.

[shipping-isnt-morality]

I was frankly shocked the first time I discussed the Shoah with Israelis (rather than American Jews). There was a level of… I don’t know what to call it but victim-blaming, that I wasn’t sure how to handle. That’s of course not universal but the very fact that that’s an accepted viewpoint in Israel is kind of telling I think. For example there was even some scandal on the right in America when Ben Shapiro suggested that arming the Jews (more) would have prevented the Holocaust. In Israel that viewpoint is quite common.

There’s a kind of scorn among some Zionists for victims of the Holocaust, and if you really understand their point of view it’s easy to see why. If anti-Semitism is inevitable and incurable, if the very presence of Jews brings it about, then they should have fought harder, or at least left sooner. They should have known better than to ever think they could be welcome or safe in their home. It’s almost an exoneration of the anti-Semite; like a force of nature, he is inevitable and inexhaustible.

Not to always bring everything back to what I know, but it reminds me of how we talk about abusers and victims. These posts about protecting yourself from attackers in your car, in a parking lot, in your home, on a boat, whatever: They take for granted that you can not and should not feel safe in these places. They treat the danger of sexual predators the same as the danger of wildlife. Zionists talk about anti-Semites in a similar way, I’ve noticed.

Lord knows in many cases these are born from trauma. It’s no surprise that victims of serious violations would like to know how to protect themselves from it ever happening again and would want to protect others from the same.

The problem is that this trauma-informed response cannot actually fix the root of the problem. Neither anti-Semitism nor male sexual violence are forces of nature. They are byproducts of exploitative and imperfect systems run and populated by highly imperfect humans. Different systems have had different outcomes, though, some better than others, and recently some quite well indeed. Systemic solutions to these problems - at the least, to greatly reduce them, and to make justice more accessible - do exist. Humans can and have built them.

A systemic solution to the problem cannot start with the victim, though. It has to start with the perpetrator. It has to ask why the system keeps producing people who can and would do this. It has to ask what the perpetrator wants, why they want that, and why they think harming someone else will get them what they want. Simplistic, spiteful, or dehumanizing answers to these questions aren’t helpful; neither are trite or fatalistic ones. Only truthful, consistent, verifiable, rational answers will allow us to change the circumstances which lead to these crimes.

The victim is rarely in a position to change that system, or even to change the circumstances of a single abuser; on a personal level it makes sense to treat the threats as inevitable. On a societal level, though, it is essential that we recognize the perpetrators as rational actors who are fully responsible for their actions and whose excuses must be challenged.

Ideologically it is completely backwards to start from an assumption that it is up to the actions of a victim to avoid victimization. It is infinitely easier for perpetrators, who are after all themselves rational actors and members of our society, to choose a different action which does not victimize someone else. And where possible it is our role as a community to make better choices more accessible, and to punish exploitative behavior.

Because a victim-led initiative, at worst, would result in avoiding victimization through in turn becoming victimizers of a different, even more marginalized group. It recreates the problem: the victim cannot feel safe because the only defense they can conceive is one which never puts them in the position to be victimized ever again, but there is no battle to be won against the entire system. So a smaller battle is chosen, and a weaker opponent singled out (and rhetorically aligned with the systemic danger and hostility), and the exploitation dance happens again, one level down.

I’m hardly the first to observe this. This is probably a clumsy rephrasing of common philosophy examining human exploitation.

But the point is: all of that makes sense as a protective coping mechanism for the victim, but as a society it must not be where our analysis begins or ends. On a societal level this exploitation is not omnipresent, inevitable, or inexhaustible. The perpetrators are in our society as much as the victims are; an uncomfortable fact that I think people need to grow up about.

Our solutions can, should, and must look at why this happens and what we can do about it. The answer is not “nothing”. We have accomplished extraordinary things as a species. We have concepts of justice, of empathy. We have written documents of shared humanity, we have demonstrated shared humanity - for better and for worse. It is possible for us to find answers to these brutally difficult questions.

Palestine must be free, and Jews must be safe. These imperatives are not mutually exclusive. Those who tell you otherwise have something to gain from your fear.

[midnight-in-town]

Hi. I hope you are having a nice day.

I just happened to have a question about Kuroshitsuji. We are all wondering that who could it be that attacked the Phantomhives on the twins birthday and 2 of the most common theories r that either it's the queen or it's real Ciel.

However, I think it could be a bit different. Like maybe real Ciel, still being a child may not be the mastermind (although my viewpoint is kinda changed after seeing so many kids in real life turning psychos or murderers more often than ever lol XD). I remember Yana showing us the evil aristocrats in the circus arc from Vincent's time. We saw undertaker, Claus, dee, that photographer, one unnamed lady I think, and maybe some more guys. Here's the thing, what if it's one of them that backstabbed Vincent? We know that Claus, undertaker and dee could never do that since they were there to help Ciel after he became the watchdog (although now undertaker took real ciel's side, somewhat). But not all of those people from Vincent's time came to serve his successor, which was our Ciel at that time. The photographer looked quite sus as well since he didn't necessarily take anybody's sides and would just do whatever would benefit him (like what if he's not just a photographer but an aristocrat under a fake identity?). Then whatever could have happened to the rest of those evil aristocrats like that lady for example. Did they just stop being evil or being related with the Phantomhives especially after what happened to the Phantomhives or did they really betray Vincent? What if somebody was grooming (not in the sexual way) real Ciel and was collecting all sorts of information from him like how the Phantomhives may let their guards down on the twins birthday? It obviously seemed like the attacker was indeed close to the Phantomhives or else how did they manage to carry out this plan so perfectly? Also real Ciel did have a bubbly personality and was extroverted. We saw nothing of the boat trip that happened without our Ciel. What if real Ciel was hanging out with an adult with whom he would be talking about his problems (like how he didn't want his brother to leave him and open a toy store) and that person was taking advantage of real ciel's vulnerability to gather information about the Phantomhives. But real Ciel at that time may not have known that and maybe he trusted that adult but then sadly he realized that he was betrayed? What if that's the reason he looked more disappointed and guilty while being kidnapped (since neither him or his dad was able to see through that attackers real self) while our Ciel looked confused and scared.

Sorry for the long ask. Well, I want to know what you think, if you don't mind.

Hi Anon ! I'm having a busy day but I'm okay, I hope you're fine as well. :3

So, about the attack on the manor 4 years ago, I definitely talked about this subject many times, meaning next time, please do a quick check before asking. ;) Long story short, it's not "the Queen or real!Ciel", it's "the Queen, John Brown and real!Ciel".

For real!Ciel's motivations, please read my recap post about the RCMT theory (the name is definitely a misnomer yes, since real!Ciel was manipulated by Victoria and John Brown). Also feel free to browse the RCMT tag for more discussion.

As for the Queen and John Brown, here's the companion theory about the Fenian Brotherhood being one trigger behind Vincent and Rachel's death.

Lastly about Vincent's evil nobles that we have yet to meet, I think most of them are still working with the Watchdog, it's just that, like Dee, they may not all be in England.

As for any potential traitor, yes it's possible, though there is no real hint so far in the story (UT being a special case). To tell you everything, @dorkshadows and I, we bet on Klaus.

No real reason why, except that we see him a lot in the story despite him having, so far, 0 narrative significance. Also, we believe, unlike Dee who probably knew all along which twin our!Ciel was, that Klaus might choose real!Ciel's side in the upcoming future.

TL;DR Vincent probably became a political enemy of Victoria, so she indeed used real!Ciel's obsession for his little brother against his parents ("maybe you could replace your father as my Watchdog, that way I won't have to get rid of you and your little brother, also you would have enough power to make your little brother stay with you forever UwU").

Lastly, on December 14th, it's probably John Brown, as "Jane the maid", who killed most of the servants and abducted the twins.

My blog's missing a post about John Brown's motivations, as a demon staying for about 50 years by Victoria's side, but @dorkshadows and I discussed a few ideas that I'll share publicly at some point when I have time.

Have a good day Anon ! :)

[raayllum]

Been rewatching Infinity Train (3rd show of all time for me) and reflecting on how they write relationships:

The first is that they let characters have real issues with each other — actually unhealthy / toxic individual traits and subsequently unhealthy patterns with each other — even when those characters don’t know anything is wrong! They think they’re fine, fun, healthy, as a dynamic and as a person, the way most people do. The second thing is that in letting the characters be wrong, the show lets both characters, every time, be wrong. [...] It would be so easy for Infinity Train to just go “one half has all the problems, the other just has to help them through it”.

and it just filled me with so much love for how S4 and S5 of TDP but especially S4 wrote its main character relationships.

Rayla was wrong to leave, and Callum isn't wrong to be angry, but they both leave a lot to be desired when it comes to relationship repair; Rayla is awkward and kind of aloof, and Callum is cold and closed off. He mandates that he doesn't want to talk about what happened and she respects that, but then the next day he's jabbing at her over it. And we see in late s4 and early s5 that despite coming back, Rayla isn't really breaking old patterns of behaviour, either. Callum had to burn through his anger and hit a turning point of giving her a solid basis to work from — if he withholds help, she'll never learn how to accept it; if she never shares, they'll never be anywhere but square one — that lets them both do repair on their wound(s).

Janai and Karim are mutually bad at communication. Initially, Karim doesn't plan to divulge his worries at all, but Janai gently nudges him. Then when he expresses them, because they're borderline bigoted, Janai doesn't want to hear them, which is fair, but does leave the concerns he does express completely unaddressed as she shuts him down. Karim isn't wrong that both Lucia and Amaya are being insensitive over what happened, and Janai doesn't communicate her changing feelings regarding being queen, so Karim bites himself in the ass by assuming she'll step down. Was Karim being a bit unhinged and stupidly dangerous by orchestrating the Blood Duel? Of course. But did he actually 100% think Janai would step aside (when in the same episode, Janai was considering that maybe Karim would be a better king to begin with)? Also yes. But neither communicated well, and that's part of why things escalated to the degree that they did in s4.

Viren and Claudia are another great example, and honestly reminded me the most of the pair from S3 of Infinity Train, in which one starts to back out of the Literal cult they've formed while the first 'follower' refuses to consider any other paths till they end up destroying each other. We see something reminiscent here. Viren is responsible for setting Claudia on her path and for bringing Aaravos into their lives, but Claudia has been making her own choices independent of what Viren wants for a while now as of S4, bringing him back because she couldn't afford to lose him and slapping his concerns out of him for the same reason, when Viren thinks he may ultimately want something else. She's been through too much to have her turning point with clear eyes, and we see Viren in S4 steadily building up to have his own (circa S5). I'll be very interested to see the two interact and this massive divide in choices/priorities come to a head, should Viren live into S6, especially as it teaches the hard lesson arc 2 keeps reaffirming over and over: you cannot save someone who doesn't want help, and you cannot change someone who isn't willing to change. They have to do those things and accept your viewpoints / accept your help piece by piece when they're ready or willing to. And that's life

[stripedstarsblueflags]

i feel so high school (au) pt. 6.A: piarles

anyway here are some high school aus for my fav f1 rpf ships and an exploration of who knows how to ball, and who knows aristotle

(based on american high school setups cause of the song)

photographer!charles and motocross!pierre: pierre knows how to ball, charles knows aristotle. they’ve known each other since they were kids, lived on the same street, in fact neither of them can remember a time before the other was in their lives. it’s a small, folksy-looking town right on the edge of a national park, so not only is it surrounded by forests and mountains but it’s pretty cut off from “the outside world”. no nearby amusement parks or sports stadiums, if you want to have fun there and you’re a kid your playground is the Great Outdoors. that’s where young charles and pierre have their best memories together. they’d go exploring on nearly-forgotten hiking trails, form their own trails when they discovered a cave or a spring or a waterfall or somewhere they liked to go back to. pierre was better at climbing rocks but charles was way better at climbing trees, and they were definitely way too competitive at stone skipping considering they were both egregiously lenient about what constituted a “full skip”. they went camping every summer, tried to go stargazing and ended up making their own constellations, just two kids and nature.

it changed a little bit around middle school. their hometown had an elementary but that’s it so all the kids in that age group had to take the bus to the next town over for the next two schools. that town wasn’t really any more urban, but it was definitely bigger and being surrounded by so many new people threw a wrench into everyone’s social life. it was practically a rite of passage. pierre starts to drift away from charles in the first place because he finally meets some other kids who ride dirt bikes. he and charles both have one and while he was constantly trying to get charles to join him, charles would pretty much always say no and pierre would begrudgingly agree; now he’s got friends who will actually go riding with him and he’s elated. it doesn’t seem like such a big deal but he starts spending more and more time with them, especially after school, and ends up taking a different bus home because he stays in that town later. charles gets a little worried and tries to approach him about it, like hey why are you hanging out with those rough-looking kids? why are you out so late i thought you had a curfew? and even though he means well pierre feels increasingly like charles is trying to mother him and being overbearing and even a little possessive (although this last one is closer to the truth).

so they grow apart, only charles has spent so long with pierre that he never really made other friends and he’s left a little stranded. instead of taking the ambitious risk of trying to find new people he gets really invested in various hobbies, trying to disappear into his mind and feel less alone. he goes through half a dozen crafty activities (songwriting, sketching, any musical instrument he can find in a tourist shop) until he gets a camera for his birthday and that’s something he can finally connect with. that’s one of the last moments he spends with pierre when he could still consider them “friends”, bringing pierre along on this really tall hiking trail so he can get the optimal viewpoint and pierre hasn’t seen charles with this much wonder and excitement in his eyes in so long and when charles is taking his picture pierre feels suddenly bashful like he doesn’t deserve that much attention, doesn’t deserve to be treated like an art piece… and if there was any one moment the two of them could have realized what was really going on between them that would’ve been it but do either of them do even a little bit of self-reflection? noooo

they graduate to high school and if charles thought anything would change he’s wrong, but maybe things are starting to look up for him a bit. by now he’s coming around to the fact that he’s definitely not straight, even though that hadn’t even been a possibility only a few years ago he’s a teenager and he’s old enough to start having certain thoughts about certain people. if he and pierre were still super close maybe he would’ve been able to take more notice of his own complex feelings, but as it is it’s a lot of fleeting infatuation and half-formed lust around boys who barely know he exists. that changes when he meets carlos and lando, two guys in his year; they’re friends because they’ve both moved recently from much bigger cities and don’t have a lot in common with the small-town park ranger crowd. they also don’t know charles’s somewhat loser status so they kind of take him in, and he’s just so relieved to have friends that he doesn’t really question whether carlos looks at him a little too long sometimes or tries to get him alone an awful lot. in fact he finds he rather likes the attention. the three of them fall into this sort of little-too-close rhythm where the lines between friendliness and flirting are so blurred they might as well not even be there.

pierre, on the other hand, has kind of gone down the opposite path. when high school started he got a motor bike for the first time and as soon as he felt that level of speed and adrenaline he was pretty much addicted. the group of guys he runs with have mostly gotten their own bikes aw well and it’s not long before a few of them start to compete, there are actually trails nearby in dried out lake beds and such and he finds that even as an amateur he’s got serious talent. that starts to be his dream, to be a pro athlete, and that journey starts early. between races and sponsorship events and basically joyrides, charles pretty much never sees him. but they’ve got something major in common now.

(pt. 2)

[stupidrant]

Speaking from my (admittedly vast) experience with fandoms (sweeps some dust off of myself). I'm fairly confident that the reason more people have been speaking out lately about their appreciation for Atreus and Angrboda's natural and healthy relationship development (which is vanishingly rare in popular media as far as romantic arcs go) or their enjoyment of Angrboda individually (recently stumbled across a YT comment which echoed almost everything I said before about how refreshing it is to see a female character with self expression, who isn't afraid to be vulnerable and caring in front of a male lead and let him know she wants and needs him around instead of being a yet another girlboss stereotype or a hardened woman with Walls TM; the comment was posted about half a year before I joined the fandom so neither of us inspired the other) - is because people are seeing a support system for this ship and character building up in the fandom. They're witnessing others coming up with their open and confident analysis of how outstanding and unique a character Angrboda is and how well written and meaningful her interactions with Atreus are.

Reading those, more people are gaining courage to join those discussions. And voice a similar viewpoint which they hesitated to express before, out of fear they'll have to deal with a vocal minority of trolls. Because trolls always operate using the method of wearing down the opponent. They *know* they're a minority so they are creating an illusion of importance and prevalence of their opinion by suppressing another viewpoint (which often dominates among the audience/consumers but because of trolls' well organized harassment many people withdraw from discussion boards and comment sections altogether; because one only has so much time and energy and cannot go up against consistent group attacks).

But once people see the vector changing, analytical approach becoming more mainstream and their response to a character and storyline being reflected in other posters' comments they resume - or start - expressing a similar view more confidently, knowing that trolls no longer dominate the spaces. Not to brag, but to illustrate how it works in practice: in my other fandom several people told me they didn't have the guts to speak out before they read my posts and before other people left me positive feedback and started breaking down storylines and characters from various angles (not necessarily matching mine but still important to be talked about). Fandom environment thus changed from trolls having a presumed "exclusive right to speak out" to a space where a massive number of people felt comfortable talking about the story and characters, not being afraid it would inevitably end in harassment and verbal abuse on part of self appointed wardens. This way trolls lost the ability to execute their "wear down the opponent" tactic.

Similar thing that currently happens to Angrboda and Atreboda happened in the fandom earlier, when GowR had just been released, only it was in regards to Freya. Back when Gow18 came out, every first post in YT comment section and on various discussion boards was how Freya is "a biatch who nEedz to DYI!!11!!" Once in the blue moon there could be found a logical comment pointing out that Freya can still work though the Baldur issue&heal from it. That if Kratos, a ruthless killed, was able to overcome his past and move towards a healthier existence so could Freya (especially since even at her worst she never reached old Kratos's level). But those rare displays of intelligent thought were immediately and brutally silenced by dog piling trolls. Then GowR came out and the narrative itself vindicated the aforementioned, logical point of view which naturally gave Freya fans a safe space to speak out and have discussions. That didn't mean creating an echo chamber but providing people with an opportunity to talk about complex characters at length instead of bending to trolls pressure.

Thus, the more we openly talk about Atreboda/Angrboda, the more we let the developers know how many of us enjoys this storyline and the deviation from pseudo-"feminist" (actually utterly misogynistic) mainstream cliches in GowR, the more we point out that Angrboda's arc has to be the first in over 10 years that allowed a female character a full measure of self expression, the more people are going to join in.

YESSS i have noticed this in the recent months and truthfully, you are one of the reasons for this newer confidence in them! youve helped reassure me and realize that its really just a vocal minority that acts like this 😭i knew before i came here that it was gonna pass but ofc things happen and i get bummed out. but im glad im getting over that 😭 Im really happy more people are coming out of the shell even after the initial hype has died down (which is where the ‘true’ fans shine) and im glad its been getting so much better🥹 Im not shocked abt the freya one unfortunately. Theres too many people that want to stay in that negative state just because and after a while, you have to ignore it alot of times. Freya hate makes no sense alongside angrboda/atreus and anyone else from this game. No, the game isnt perfect and has its flaws and i understand critiques and whatnot but i will never understand the hate LOL

[cruyuu]

same anon from before here! i agree with both of your answers. i really do just hope we'll get something outside of these two being total opposites of one another... maybe reach a middle ground? it seems impossible but i'm hoping hard for it lol what do you think?

Hi anon!

Well, it's pretty hard to say. I would also really love if these two stopped being so contradictory with each other but you know what they say- Opposites attract. If they were the same, I wouldn't really enjoy their dynamic as I am right now.

Still, I get where you're coming from. It remains unsaid and yet it is so glaringly obvious, yet they can't acknowledge it because they piss each other off and hurt each other. Both of them would rather die than admit they felt anything outside of anger at the other, despite the fact that both of them do complete each other.

maybe reach a middle ground?

Well... it is not impossible, I'll tell you that. The more you pay attention to them, the more it seems like that's exactly what they need to do lol.

I still don't know what to make of this but as we progress further and further into the story, I am starting to believe that Kenjaku wanted Yuuji to be the next Sukuna. The next ideal. The next strongest. Not evil but good. To use all that strength not for himself and his ego, but for others, because Yuuji surviving can fix the problems of the society where the weak ones are shunned and plucked off. Yuuji can protect them. He wouldn't fight to show off his strength, unlike the jujutsu sorcerer of history (Sukuna), but would use it for good.

Basically, if Yuuji survives he can be the change of the entire jujutsu society, so to speak. He could be an example to teach everyone that strength comes from protecting the weak, protecting humanity, and not just for status.

That would put him as an antithesis of Sukuna, a complete opposite of him and that ending can work for me.

Loneliness as strength - Sukuna

Companionship as strength - Yuuji

Still, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm discrediting the middle ground approach because it would truly change everything.

There's the weak and there's the strong. There's the selfish and there's the selfless. Humans are dual by nature. Each of us have the good and the bad. Each of us are both selfish and selfless. We're not just a single emotion, we embody a lot of others. Just like how Sukuna isn't entirely evil, Yuuji isn't entirely good.

Sukuna ate his brother just because he wanted to live and now the same fate is creeping up on Yuuji. If he wants to live, then Sukuna must die. You could say that is Sukuna's route all over again, except less brutal and guided by moral views. But history will repeat. Considering that we know that curses can reincarnate, who's to say Sukuna won't come back wearing someone else's body in the future? If his twin brother managed to be reincarnated than that must mean that Sukuna might too.

So would it be a satisfactory ending? Depends on the way you view it. The only positive thing is that Yuuji might die of old age but maybe Sukuna can reincarnate even before that so it's truly up for debate.

In fact, I do think that them reaching a middle ground would be a totally fitting ending. Making both of them acknowledge the faults within themselves that they're trying to ignore. Yuuji doesn't want to die, and neither does Sukuna, yet instead of co-existing, they're forced to kill each other because they think it's the only way. They don't want to meet in the middle because they look at each other in black/white. Yuuji sees Sukuna as evil and just evil and Sukuna sees Yuuji as good and just good.

Yet against others... they continually acknowledge the other sides of them. They acknowledge their differing viewpoints and everything. Look at all their fights against others and then take a look at when they're fighting each other. It's hilarious really. Like Yuuji keeps assimilating everyone into his found family (which are people who wanted him dead) and yet won't acknowledge Sukuna nor try to change his mind and Sukuna keeps praising everyone who dies against him yet won't praise someone who survives (Yuuji) even though he should, really lol.

Their hands are forced against each other, even though, as we have seen time and time again, they work well together. They unconsciously match each other. They're twins basically, but they won't ever admit it lol.

Precisely because Sukuna loves to yap how he abandoned his humanity (even though he has empathy for his opponents??), and Yuuji abandoned his selfishness when taking on his grandfather's wish (even though he's taking more lives than helping at this point??). Funnily though, both of them do their best to act a total opposite to each other. I've already mentioned that in one response to an ask (and also touched upon it here).

And if they can only acknowledge this, who knows, maybe that is the real change which is necessary. But this is just my opinion. Who knows where the author will take us and what else we may get along the way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯