#and so the propaganda begins

[djcarnationsblog]

Hello!

To celebrate the beginning of the Family Reunion Summer Camp, we (cabin 8) decided to offer every other participant and cabin a little something!

(Art and Mind’ O Wave AU by @liya4kar

EMD AU by @evenmoreofadisaster

Big Mama’s Favorite by @usernameneon)

I won't be able to draw the rest of the response but like, I'll write it

"....Uuuuuh." MM!Leo buffered, trying to how he was much more green than usual.

"MY SHIRT, OH MY GOD-" Primordials!Leo panicked, her hands flapping as she stammered. "OH THAT-THAT MEANS WAR-THIS MEANS WAR!!!"

"Is this the part where you tell them you can control water?" MM!Leo asked lamely, only to jolt as the green ooze on him shudders, drifting up with intent as Primodials!Leo grinned evilly.

"THIS HAS LIQUID IN IT!!! IT HAS LIQUID IN IT-" The lady cheered with a glint of pure evil in her eyes. With a thrust of her hand the ooze was shot back at the perpetrators like a liquid-y bullet, splattering the three turtles instantaneously.

"Ohooor we could do it like that." MM!Leo hummed with a restrained giggle.

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

[sghr10423]

boys and their. Weasels.

[w1lmuttart]

Wip :) 👍

[unordinary-diary]

Seraphina and Arlo: The Brainwashing of High Tiers

Exposition:

— Remi, Episode 50.

There is a heavy implication that Seraphina and Arlo were raised in much the same way. The pressure on Seraphina comes from her parents, so I’ll extrapolate that the same goes for Arlo. This raises the question: how do the authorities create such a strong societal pressure on such a small percentage of the population? Most high tiers will probably not know any other high tiers besides their parents. Take Wellston Private High School for example: it’s the most prestigious private school around, and canonically has the “highest concentration of high tiers in the region”. There are six high tiers in Wellston. Apply this to god tiers specifically, and there are only three. Not to mention that this current group of students is uniquely strong, even for Wellston. In Rei’s senior year, he was the strongest at 5.8 max.

So much of this brainwashing relies on the parents to do all of the work, and it only takes one or two people to break the cycle. So how are the authorities creating this immense pressure? One tactic could be by isolating high tiers. There is a very widespread concept that one shouldn’t associate with those outside their level range. A caste system like this that affects everyone is much easier to create and maintain than an expectation for a small group, and it also means that high tiers are only being influenced by those who are also high level. This creates an echo chamber. I’ve researched cults and how they brainwash victims, and the first step in the process is isolating them in exactly this way.

But, if there are so few high tiers, how the hell are they supposed be isolated from other groups? The answer is that high tiers are just isolated in general. Take a look at Arlo: his only friend is Remi, and even her, he keeps at an arm’s length. Arlo is only close with Remi in the first place because he was close with Rei, who, at the time of meeting Arlo, was presumably close in level with him. [EDIT: I forgot about Holden, which I think says a lot about his relevance. He is kept at more than an arm’s length and doesn’t seem to have any actual influence on Arlo, let alone a deep relationship. He is also not presented as an equal.] Take a look at Seraphina: before meeting John, she didn’t seem to have any friends other than possibly Arlo. Seraphina and Arlo pre-John seemed to have had more of a professional relationship, and while they were not close in level, Arlo did fit the bill of being a fellow god tier, and strong enough to also be brainwashed.

Now let’s look at Remi. In episode 60, Cecile says to Remi: “And yet here you are... Always hanging around those two monkeys, Blyke and Isen. Letting them treat you as an equal even though you’re in a completely different league.” This struck me as odd because, aside from Cecile herself, the Wellston students closest in level to Remi were Arlo, Blyke, and Isen. And who is she friends with? She actually was doing a pretty good job at following that social convention, unless Cecile wanted to be friends with Remi, which she clearly didn’t. But... her friends were still not close enough to her level. Was she supposed to just not have friends at all? The answer seems to be a resounding yes. Can you think of any genuine friends that Cecile has either?

Friendship simply isn’t considered a necessity for high tiers.

But... why is it that Arlo and Seraphina were brainwashed differently? Creating a societal norm for an isolated group of people is one thing, because those people’s mindsets feed into each other. Putting pressure on individual families to keep them in line, but doing it all in different ways? That would be near impossible. My theory is that Seraphina recieved the typical high tier brainwashing, and that Arlo was raised differently because he was being groomed to work for the authorities. Seraphina didn’t have a set career path planned out for her, but if she’s trying to be “perfect” by the standards of those controlling her, she’s bound to end up going in a direction that pleases them. Arlo on the other hand was specifically planned to become an authority figure. That’s why his brainwashing is so centered on leadership. Also, growing up with direct contact to the authorities makes it more possible for them to customize his brainwashing in this way.

But does all of this apply to high tiers in general, or is it specific to god tiers? Let’s take a look at the high tiers in Wellston. We have Seraphina, John, Arlo, Terrence, Remi, Cecile, and Blyke. John is a unique circumstance because he wasn’t raised by high tiers, so we’ll cross him off the list. Terrence was also unique, so we can cross him off as well. Remi was different from the norm as well. Why is that? Well, Remi actually wasn’t raised by high tiers either. Rei said on screen that both of his parents were elites. We can cross Remi off. Blyke doesn’t fit the bill either, but that’s easy to explain. He was an elite for a large part of the story, and he shot up rather quickly. We don’t know much of his family, but he probably wasn’t expected to be a high tier at all, and was raised as an elite. (All of this also serves to emphasize how much of this brainwashing comes from a person’s parents.) That leaves only Seraphina, Arlo, and Cecile to look at.

Cecile does seem to have high tier brainwashing, but it’s not nearly as intense as with Seraphina and Arlo. She doesn’t seem “obsessive”, and she wasn’t one of the examples Remi mentioned in chapter 50. It’s clear that high tiers are brainwashed in general, but god tiers are kept on a much shorter leash. This makes sense, obviously, because keeping a population in control like that is less necessary the lower the level. However, it’s also a chicken an egg situation: god tiers are both more important to keep in control, and also easier to keep in control. It’s important to note just how many exceptions we had to cross off. People like Remi and Blyke aren’t actually that unusual— a lower leveled high tier is much more likely to have non-high tier parents, or to have not always been a high tier themselves, or just in general, to have way more day-to-day interaction with non-high tiers. The brainwashing gets more and more diffused the lower down the ladder you go.

[achilleslyre]

@aquataines ohhh absolutely i am soo happy to talk about food as an amalgamation of the uchihas love and the way it haunts them after the massacre. i'm really passionate about this so you don’t even understand the can of beans you have opened. i am going to be talking about both canon and filler in this though, because there is lots of supporting canon however filler continues to support and fuel this thought.

growing up with his family, sasuke is very commonly shown at the dinner table with his family eating together, and it’s where a lot of conversations with his family take place. now to start this off, i’m going to point out the obvious that the uchiha canonically are a clan that holds too much love inside of them, which is what develops their sharingan. carrying so much love within you of course needs an outlet to come out. we don’t really see the uchiha showing much verbal affection towards each other but sasukes family very obviously loves each other. fugaku even tells itachi that he doesn’t wish for words of flattery, but nonetheless to show his thanks and return the love back to itachi for what he said fugaku immediately offers to get him his favourite snack, dango. so we would infer that they communicate their love to each other in a different way. food.

sasuke and his family really share their most intimate moments together when they are in the kitchen at the table. here is where sasuke asks fugaku why itachi doesn’t give him much attention while at the dinner table, and fugaku explains that itachi is just not very social, sasuke later admits to mikoto that he thinks he’s unfavoured between him and itachi by fugaku, to which mikoto explains the differences between him and itachi and reassures him that he’s not. it’s where they’re seen talking most commonly just in general as well, about the sharingan, about training, exciting moments, ect.. the dinner table is where their love is shown when they gather together and eat the food that mikoto has made with the love for her family. it’s where they feel most comfortable to show their love and be honest because in the kitchen is where their love grows.

why is the food their centre of love though? just in general making food for someone is something very special, intimate and ultimately caring. you are turning basic ingredients and foods into something for others to not only to take nutrients from, grow and gain strength from, but also to spend time with them and enjoy the taste of the food you made with care together. you pour the love you have into the food you make for the people you love because you want to see them be happy and healthy. for people like mikoto and itachi who’re shown to enjoy cooking, it’s something special that they put everything into because not only do they want to see their family eat to keep them alive, but they want to see them enjoy the taste and feel the care and love for them that they’ve stored within the food as they make it. they want to place their love inside their family and have them carry their love around wherever they go and what better way to store their love inside them other than to put it in the food your make for them? mikoto is obviously the main cook of the uchiha household and she makes sure that her family stores the love she puts into the meals she cooks inside of them. she is frequently seen ensuring that her kids are fed, making sure they’re filled up, making them lunches, giving them snacks and making sure they are eating good food.

itachi as well, in filler, spends the episode finally getting to be around sasuke and bond with him. the day was spent making sasuke happy and sharing the love that he does have for sasuke with his brother, and at the end of the day makes a huge feast for sasuke. he made him so much food to show sasuke that he cares about him and loves him, he wants to see him eat and he wants to see him eat well. he intends to pack him full of his love. not to get into the fact that clearly mikoto would have had to teach itachi how to cook, sharing the ‘secret’ of spreading love. now this isn’t canon however i personally would like to think (considering how young itachi is here and how much he can make already on his own) that mikoto also had started teaching sasuke how to cook a little as well. this will come back later, which is why i mention it.

the common theme within all of these meals— all of mikoto’s dinners, her bento boxes, fugaku and itachi’s dango, and his feast for sasuke— they are all good, yummy food. they’re something you want to eat and hold inside you and cherish. they’re all made and/or given with care, thought, intention and love.

sasuke grew up eating a variety of good tasting and well made food.

after the massacre, though, he changes. sasuke has lost the love from his family, he doesn’t have it anymore. sasuke grew up with food being the indicator of love, and grew up with the dinner table being the centre of family and bonding. as a reaction to the loss of his family he couldn’t bare to keep storing that love inside him, food as a love language died with them. his family was now gone, and the thought of storing love (read: well made food) inside him after his family was killed was not in the question. after the loss of their love, the only thing he needed to focus on was catching up to itachi to kill him.

here we can see what foods sasuke favours post massacre. “sasuke’s every move is designed to make him stronger, he approaches his diet with equal intensity.” his diet has changed drastically. from being fed a large variety of yummy, well made food filled with love and care for him to enjoy eating, he goes to eating raw and bland food, anything just to get stronger quicker. you could argue that he just didn’t know how to cook, which i can’t say he didn’t, but as i stated before it seems very likely that mikoto started teaching the boys to cook from a very young age, added to the fact that sasuke intentionally only starts eating food for its nutrients and health benefit, it’s fair enough to infer that he can cook at least some meals that he used to eat, he just can’t bare to anymore.

“he never selects his meals based on what he actually likes.” we look to his favourite foods to eat and they’re broken down into their health factors. this kid, reportedly, is known to be eating raw tomatoes simply because he wants to get stronger as fast as possible. he does not like the taste of what he is eating. he does not eat food with the intention of enjoying it’s creation. with the loss of his family he lost the will to store himself with love (this is not to say he does not still have love, he has been stored with love all his life, he is an uchiha, he will always be motivated by love), he couldn’t bare to continue consuming love filled food so he ate food solely to get stronger. food made with no care, thought, intention, or love. the love of his family haunts him. this is beside the point but i can’t even begin to express how heart breaking that is. the uchiha show their love with food and sasuke stops eating food created with love once he loses his family, all the love he had.

sasuke, isolated, left all alone in this village with no friends spent his time from 7 to 12 years old avoiding the love of food. but when he finally finds someone to create a bond with, what does he do?

he offers naruto food. despite what he says, this an olive branch to start forming a bond with naruto. this is him extending care with the intention of filling naruto so that he doesn’t go hungry. whether the food was made with love or care doesn’t matter because at that moment sasuke put the intention into the food. it’s how he creates bonds, it’s how he shows care and how he shows love because that was how he was raised, he was raised to bond over food, to show care and to love with food.

the uchiha’s love has always revolved around food and it’s woven so into the text that at this point it’s not even a head canon to me, but fact.

[sapphoscorner]

Edit: please reblog this with some information about demisexuality, I did make a mistake here by saying "Cove doesn't understand sexual attraction" he does, so my bad on that part

SO, I usually don't get too involved in fandom discourse, but with how Baxter fans are acting about the loss in the MDDB I snapped and decided we should have a talk.

(This turned out longer than expected so more under the cut. I BEG YOU TO READ THIS AND TOP UNDERSTAND WHERE THE ANGER AND FRUSTRATION COME FROM.

This is all over place, I tried my best to make this as comprehensible as possible)

Specifically I want to talk about this fandom obsession with him and how, is getting to a point where people are legitimately re-writing the game and erasing Cove existence to have this fucking man instead.

And look, I want to say that I get the appeal, I do, but I don't because Baxter's route is genuinely the worst written one out of the three; Compared to Cove's and Derek's (and Derek treatment in the fandom is a WHOLE OTHER ISSUE) is really not. I'm not here to judge one taste, I am here to tell you that your love for him is ridiculous.

It is genuinely ridiculous how much popular he has gotten and so many of you are forgetting about Cove and how important he is to the story, and generally how he is important to a lot of marginalized people. Some of you keep forgetting that Cove is autistic and demiseuxal and that is such a rare representation to see and it is already erased in the fandom (especially his autism), but now is even more erased because people are grabbing everything that makes Cove Cove, and are applying it to Baxter.

That is also not touching the fandom treatment of Derek and how overly criticize his route his compared to Baxter's, like...DEREK'S PARENTS ARE GETTING MORE SHIT THAT BAXTER CANONICAL BIGOTED PARENTS LOL, WHAT IS THIS?? Are you guys serious?? I've seen a fanfic with Irene being transphobic, why the fuck would someone write that when Baxter's mom is right there?

And Derek shitty treatment doesn't end here because people are straight up erasing the guy and not ?? talking about on how well written he is ?? He is not erased sorry, he's forgotten, no one cares about him. And when people care is a) rare or b) so criticize to the point where is no longer a criticism but just you bitching about it.

And it doesn't end there! Baxter is so talked about that people are more interested in him making a cameo in OL:N&F than the main characters of that game, THAT'S HOW THINGS HAVE GOTTEN, We've gotten to a point where people cares more about some white man than Qiu or Tamarack, which are way more interesting than him as characters but neither of them are white skinny man so lol, who cares about them.

AND TO TOP THIS SHITSHOW IT SOMEHOW GETS WORSE FROM HERE BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T EVEN ARE CARE ABOUT THE INTERESTING ASPECTS OF BAXTER'S CHARACTER!!

Everyone is molding him like clay to create this, confident rich white boy when he is not?? and that's...the whole point of his route?? That he shouldn't need to put up this mask and to actually be a fucking human being?? THE FACT THAT HE IS A QUEER KID WHO HAD TO CUT OFF HIS PARENTS AND HAD TO BE INDEPENDENT FROM THEM AND LEARNING TO NOT DEPENDENT ON HIS PARENTS? (monetarily wise that is)

And like, people forget the man is queer, he is queer, he's a queer person who had to hide who he is to his parents and then had to cut them out for his own sanity, and no one mentions it.

The fandom as a whole erases queer identities,when this game is literally made FOR queer people don't you love it when straight people come into our spaces and erase our identities lol, that is a problem that more people should acknowledge, alongside the fact that Baxter's stans have taken over this safe space, overtook the main love interest, and ignore the genuine interesting aspects of Baxter's character to make him their own little doll they can play with and not appreciate a guy who is trying to learn how to stop being that mask everyone in the fandom has fallen over.

And I know, I know , I will get shit for daring to go against your favorite white boy, but consider that some of us played this game because an autistic character was in it, consider that this game is queer friendly and the fandom is also erasing that queerness to make horny fan fiction**, consider that some of us fond comfort in Derek and Cove's story and now we see everyone overtaking their stories by a white boy (that you can find in every other game), consider that his talk is tiring, consider also the fact that Baxter is technically queer and no one ever talks about it, consider that this game was a safe space for marginalized people and now it no longer feels that way

.

.

.

**with horny fanfiction I mean people re-writing Cove whole personality (and sexuality if we're being honest here) and making him this...horny big man when...he is not? He got stressed out by simply having to share a bed with MC, he's extremely shy around the subject of sex and he gets incredibly nervous about it.

I personally think that is due of both his queerness and autism (and yeah his personality, but autism affects ones personality so lol, sue me) since demisexuality means he genuinely doesn't understand how people can feel sexual attraction, and mixing that with autism means he probably doesn't understand the SOCIAL pressure around sex and having sex.

Granted that's speculation on my part but as someone who is (probably) autistic and asexual I can tell that, at least a majority feels this way and Cove is literally is the type to have this kind of mentality, he does not understand how Baxter can flirt with him after mere seconds of knowing each other

[theinfinitedivides]

genuinely never witnessed the kind of injustice like the greatest love story some of us will ever get to see in the 20th/21st century losing to pasty ass pieces of fucking felt with a bitchy mustache. there is evil in this world and it comes from the minds and hands of this hellsite and the multitude of fuckers on it

[b4rfbrain]

source

[chaiaurchaandni]

really important!!!

after killing 40 Palestinian journalists (+ many journalists who survived but their entire families were killed because their HOMES were targeted), zionists are now spreading dangerous propaganda linking journalists to hamas to

minimize their credibility

refuse to hold any accountability for killing them and

manufacture consent for further targeted killings of even more journalists

it is important to remember how heavily surveilled Gaza is and how israel knows where every single person lives. this is why many journalists have been martyred, not in the field while reporting, but in their homes, as they went home to see their families and get some rest. furthermore, if you follow motaz azaiza closely, you'll know that recently he has also had some close calls with israeli airstrikes, suggesting that israel is indeed targeting active Palestinian journalists, especially those who report in english or have a lot of reach in the west.

please do not fall for israeli propaganda and convince yourselves that israel is justified in murdering innocent Palestinians who only seek to show the world a small glimpse of the hell they live through everyday. call out this propaganda everywhere you see it, and spread awareness about this being a propaganda tactic. by israel's own logic, if journalists happen to record an armed group as they carry out an operation, then journalists from cnn who have embedded themselves with the idf, are also legitimate targets.

and as much as i hate a lot of these american journalists for their complicit reporting in the genocide of Palestinians, i think they deserve to be prosecuted in a free and fair court of law, not to be blown to bits for it. however, for israel, ALL palestinians must be killed to ensure the security of the zionist entity. even the existence of a single Palestinian is proof that israel is an illegitmate settler-colonial state that ethnically cleansed the indigenous population.

[voskhozhdeniye]

[front-facing-pokemon]

[adammilligan]

it really is so funny because for eons MICHAEL was the one leading heaven he was the one perpetuating the cycle of “angels aren’t allowed to be anything except emotionless soldiers” like he’s the one who probably signed off on the fucking lobotomies and then he turns around and. falls in love with a human. there’s gotta be some part of him that realizes the irony of it all. maybe that part of him is what got him blown up in the first place

[weekend-whip]

I'm curious (and bored) so do you think there's any truth to what Harumi says to Lloyd in "Darkness Within", that darkness is stronger than light? Because Darkness always persists, it never stays down, and it can never be eradicated, but neither can light...

"That's always been the problem, you know," Harumi hums, taking great joy in spinning Lloyd around from where he dangles from the ceiling in Vengestone. He attempts to snap at her with his glinting fangs every time her hand drifts close, but she pulls away just a second too quick each time, reading him easily. "This foolish belief in the concept of Balance, as Balance...always results in nothing but strife. It's nothing but a farce. You can't tell me that the natural state of the world is to always be in conflict."

She sighs as she continues to twirl and rock Lloyd like a pendulum, watching impatiently as the rest of the Council scrambles to prepare for the ritual. The insignia of an Ouroboros sits prettily upon the floor, swirling around the chamber's central crystal. She scowls just at the sight of it, while Lloyd attempts to argue for argument's sake.

"But that's...just how life is. Every ending will lead to a new beginning," he insists, even as Harumi rolls her eyes. "For every Destruction, there is a new Creation. For every ounce of Order, there will be an ounce of Chaos. For every shred of darkness, there will be light to blot it out, and vice versa. Everything...will always have an opposite. Everything will always have a counter-balance. One thing was never meant to consume everything else."

"Easy for you to say," Harumi shoots back. She cut a glare over her shoulder, unimpressed with his words. The subtle glow of all the crystals in the chamber reflects in her eyes, giving them the illusion of being magenta in a trick of the light. "Must be real easy to preach about everything having a balance where you are representative of the one thing that doesn't."

Her response knocks the winds out of Lloyd, and had he been standing he might've stumbled back, just a bit. She huffs in amusement, tossing her hair over her shoulder and blowing her bangs out of her face.

"If only the world was more like you, huh? How nice it must be, to be able to exist uncontested. To be like energy itself, never waxing or waning, never coming or going, taking whatever shape you like as you like, simply left just to be...of course you wouldn't understand the struggles the rest of us face, always having to claw our way to happiness and it never being a guarantee."

Lloyd wilts, unable to directly counter her point, regardless of it being an outlandish claim. Harumi stands at full height now, beginning to pace with her arms folded behind her back.

"We all strive for our versions of peace, but what do you do when your peace is the opposite of someone else's? If ice must melt as fire persists; if fire must be extinguished for ice to be at peace...How do you determine which is correct? Under your logic, this contradiction is simply the natural way of things; this is the "Balance" you claim to govern us all...but what peace is there in an inescapable cycle of suffering for all?!"

Harumi shakes her head. Her expression darkens as she casts it at the floor.

"No, true peace can only be achieved when one side overtakes all. When the constant, pointless fighting ends, when conflict itself is eradicated, when the Ouroboros no longer has to choke on its own tail, when the cycle of so-called Balance is finally broken at long last, and when all that remains is only the vacuum of a glorious oblivion...you will look into the depths of that void and finally realize...that Darkness is and always was stronger than Light, for there is no light that waits for any of us in the end."

Harumi raises her hands towards the sky, her sinister grin spreading and splitting her face in two.

"...then, and only then, will there be peace in the dark."

"Unless my light is brighter," Lloyd mumbles automatically, in spite of himself.

...And then every fiber in his body seizes.

Her words reverberate in his mind as he replays them over and over, their familiarity sending a chill straight down the length of his spine. His mouth goes dry; his hands shake despite their currently restrained state. He shudders as he forces himself to look back up at Harumi, who hasn't moved an inch since concluding her point.

"...wait, you...those words..." He doesn't even want to finish his sentence, but the very idea of what he's thinking has nearly made him break out into a cold sweat. He heaves, struggling to breathe, as he refuses to take his eyes off the girl before him. "That...that almost sounds like...the philosophy of The Overlord..."

"...Hmm hmm hmm—"

Her pitched giggling breaks through the resounding silence, piercing Lloyd's heart with nothing but fear. Harumi puts a hand to her chin, her smile turning cloy as she locks eyes with him. Something dangerous lurks in her now fully crystalline magenta eyes, and Lloyd has never dreaded a color so much.

"—I wonder if there's a reason for that?"

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

no i would fuck garfield the deals warlock. i'd end up selling my soul in the process or some shit but i would

That's absolutely fair. I don't think he's unfuckable. I just think he's probably a more niche sexual interest than the 1,180 (and counting) votes would suggest.

[dramavixen]

when your roommate is the absolute worst and you're the least confrontational person, but your friends ain't having any of it

[eclipsecrowned]

goes into tags for one of my fandoms. watches that one fandom's wheel of fortune swing back around to 'why are m*rder hornets building nests on my blog?'