#blatant zealotry

[butwhatifidothis]

I could go on about so many things wrong with that chapter, but I want to draw attention to something I think Mercedes said. Cap, through her, brought in the anti-religious "Religious people are only doing good because their religion told them to, therefore they are not actually good people. Only non-religious people can do good because they aren't told to do it" crap. He's basically saying that people with religious belief would choose to do evil if not for their religion, and since Mercedes is going to be "good" she can't actually have religious faith. I'm not sure if this is making any sense, it's quite late, but I had to say something about that because it pissed me off so much. Loving your notes and much appreciation for reading the thing so I don't have to!

Ya see, I was looking for the right phrasing for it, thanks for givin' it nonnie because holy shit is that kinda actually everywhere. Like, Mercedes is the most blatant with it in this chapter, but just take a look at all of the other religious characters. Like, every single one of them:

Woobiegard: good person - has religious trauma, explicitly hates on the religion she used to have faith in, is straight up trying to destroy it, and is depicted as morally right in doing so

Marianne: good person - has fic-only religious trauma, talks bad about her religion all the time, prays because she doesn't know what else to do and not because she actually thinks the Goddess will help anyone (since she's learned The Truth due to Woobiegard)

Manuela: good person, but also completely irrelevant to anything - hell, it's easier to forget she's there than most characters, with a pitiful 94 mentions (including author's notes). You could remove her entirely and lose nothing. And the one, singular time she ever talks about religion, it's a slight tweak of her already ass-sucking Canongard A support

Yuri or Balthus: Respectively - has the implication of his existence through two throwaway lines | doesn't exist

Catherine and Gilbert: crazy zealots who can't be saved from their crazy zealotry

Alois: good person - can only not be a crazy zealot if he sides with Woobiegard

Cyril: not even a believer, but in a future chapter he will be called a fanatic anyway since he won't side with Woobiegard over Rhea

And then we get to Mercedes, who is a good person but feels she must be part of the Church because that is her destiny, and she can only become the best version of herself when she sides with Woobiegard. And while, save for Manuela, none of the listed characters are portrayed accurately regarding their religious believes (or lack thereof, in Cyril's case) (or alternatively, in Yuri and Bathus', they're just removed entirely), it cannot be stressed enough that for Mercedes in particular that is literally the exact opposite belief she holds in canon. She literally says that she thinks destiny is pulling her away from the Church, not towards it.

But that attitude is literally everywhere in this fic. If you are religious and you don't either worship Woobiegard or belittle your religion, you are a bad person. You are hopelessly fanatical, you are a zealot who is unable to be saved because you have been brainwashed and manipulated by Rhea and nothing of you is left. Believers lose themselves if they hold onto their beliefs, they change as people and they always become worse, because religion - according to this fic - is inherently bad for people and it must always be rejected for one to be a good person.

Like, of all of the things in this fic, this is one of the most consistent patterns to be found, holding hands with the "follow/listen to Woobiegard or you're a bad person" pattern. The fic will jump through hoops and circle in loops to make religious characters either turn their backs on their religion or become mindless brainless evil zealots who must be killed because they're basically zombies and nothing can save them.

Again, the most blatant example is Mercedes, who in this chapter basically has her religion hard-confirmed to be almost completely true. Crests, in fact, do come from the Goddess - not in the way the tenets say, but they do still come from an actual being that actually existed. Seiros is real, Cichol is real, Cethleann is real, and Mercedes had seen the Immaculate One in the flesh five years ago. The last of which would especially be validating, considering that the Immaculate One is seen as a creature that descends to Fodlan to save followers of Seiros and Woobiegard was causing a bit of trouble for followers of Seiros at that moment. The Saints really did battle against Nemesis and the Elites - how else would Mercedes immediately interpret Seteth saying "the relic weapons that we once battled against at the Tailtean Plains"? Why would Mercedes side with Seteth and Ficleth over Rhea, when they're clearly and blatantly hypocrites in this moment ("We were bad for using the Relic's powers all these years" Seteth says as he stands next to someone using his mother's corpse as a weapon and works under someone who got a NEW Relic made for her exclusive use)? Like, yeah, some of what Seteth is saying makes the Church look bad, but not as bad as his words make himself and Ficleth look.

But, again, Mercedes is a good person, which means that she will reject her religion at the drop of a hat. It doesn't matter how she gets there so long as she does get there, because Religion Bad. You made perfect sense nonnie lol never you worry

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

Five year ago, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse argued that anybody is capable of (figuratively) being Spider-Man—a seemingly simple thesis that nevertheless resonated with audiences due to the implicit call to action that accompanied it: “Everybody should aspire to be as heroic as Spider-Man.” Now, the film’s sequel—Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse—elaborates on that theme, exploring what it actually means to “be Spider-Man.”

For Miguel O’Hara (alias Spider-Man 2099), who commands an alliance of Spider-People recruited from across the Spider-Verse (hence the movie's title), heroism is defined entirely by suffering. Indeed, he does not merely believe that trauma “builds character”; his own experiences have convinced him that certain tragedies (the death of the father figure, the failure to save the mentor, the loss of the first true love) are not only inevitable, but essential—and as the interconnected web of the multiverse becomes increasingly convoluted, he fears that interfering with such formative events could have disastrous consequences. Thus, in order to prevent the fabric of reality itself from unraveling, The Canon must be upheld—and if accomplishing this goal costs a handful of innocent lives… well, don't the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?

While Miguel’s fatalistic philosophy is obviously flawed (several alternate earths remain totally intact despite deviating from the established formula, contradicting the theory that “Anomalies” are inherently catastrophic), it’s just persuasive enough to be embraced by his more vulnerable counterparts. Gwen Stacy, for example, joins the the cause after her secret identity is exposed in her native dimension, leaving her effectively homeless; hunted as a fugitive and disowned by her police captain father, she tolerates her superiors' dogmatic zealotry only because she has literally no other option. Her newfound teammates are equally disillusioned with the vigilante lifestyle; the patented “Parker Luck” has diminished their fortitude to such an extent that the idea of their shared misfortune being preordained and immutable—the promise that it serves some concrete (albeit grim) purpose—provides a measure of comfort.

Miles Morales, on the other hand, refuses to resign himself to “destiny,” rejecting Miguel’s ruthlessly pragmatic methods outright; from his point-of-view, a leader with a vast network of allies and resources at his disposal shouldn’t demand such steep personal sacrifices from his subordinates—especially when the evidence supporting the necessity of this self-imposed martyrdom is flimsy at best. This conflict gradually evolves into a compellingly nuanced meditation on the nature of power and responsibility. The crux of Across the Spider-Verse’s central premise is that inaction, even for the sake of the so-called “greater good,” is utterly antithetical to the values that Spider-Man represents—a blatant betrayal of the vow that he made on the night of Uncle Ben’s murder.

It is, of course, impossible to save everybody (to paraphrase Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham), but a true hero never stops trying anyway. And that, ultimately, is what it means to be Spider-Man.

[confused-artifabrian]

I think there is a grain of truth to this, but overall it just makes the lie more pervasive. That grain of truth being that when someone is horrible in a way that their society deems good, they will not reflect on that horror even to themselves, which means that their works will both be relatively blatant showcases of their flaws and (given their society doesn't see them as flaws) disproportionately lauded for their (lack of) quality.

George Orwell is, I think, a good example of this - Nineteen Eighty-Four is a sickeningly upper-middle-class depiction of the horrors of a totalitarian state, and when one reads it understanding the actual mechanisms of control that states use to bring forth unity and zealotry in their citizens one can see, frankly, the hubris of it. the government does not need to break every bone in your body to control you individually. the government does not even wish to control you individually. it does not see a need for it, because you are in the end the sort of person who will on their own turn in friends and coworkers to the government out of nothing more than a crusading spirit. yes, regimes are built on violence, but the fact that you believe that said violence restrains its upper class rather than being bolstered most heavily by them is both revealing and disappointing.

however, presence does not imply universality. this is only a very specific manner in which one's more egregious aspects can bleed into one's art, it's not common, and it requires any flaws depicted so to be, on some level, accepted and desired by the society that the artist existed in. horrible people can make good art. depending on your definitions of horrible and good, maybe most of them do.

to pretend that horrible people cannot make good art is another way to conflate beauty and talent with integrity and morality. the works of monsters are best examined with knowledge of the author in mind but art is not inherently reflective. human beings are creative, and habitual liars- it'd be stupid to pretend art must always be a portrait of its creator

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: ‘Dragon and Ceremony’ #3

Dragon and Ceremony, Vol. 3 (light novel): God's Many Forms (Dragon and Ceremony by Ichimei Tsukushi My rating: 4 of 5 stars Moreso than the two previous installments, DRAGON AND CEREMONY v3 is a measured attempt at literary fiction through the lens of magical fantasy. One can be forgiven for entering this novel series precluding the author will earnestly merge magic, fantasy, and adventure. But three novels in, the storytelling framework is quite clear: qualitative rhetoric over quantitative action (character dynamics), magicology over magic (story dynamics), and partisan subversion over law and loyalty (character agency). DRAGON AND CEREMONY v3 yields to this framework, making the novel a slow and engaging title whose occasional pinch points suffer less from a lack of purpose than a lack of polish. Ix the apprentice wandmaker makes his way to the sleepy border town of Estosha. Once there, he's instructed to take up a collaboration at a monastery, making staffs for the local monks. Stoic and grateful for the work, the young man partners with a brilliant young apprentice, Shuno, and whiles away the hours as winter blankets the land. Life is good. Except, Estosha is a hotbed for insurgent religiosity. Numerous, fantastical ghost stories plague the nighttime hours. Threats of violence loom over forthcoming festival events. And the highly choreographed visit of a certain captive delegate of Lukuttan ancestry suggests any outsiders visiting this little village on the border could be in for more than they are aware. DRAGON AND CEREMONY v3 focuses strongly on the rhetorical tools wielded by religious zealotry and ascendant, presumed masters of statecraft. Of note, the New Order of the Maray Church regularly hosts clandestine meetings to articulate and document its newest interpretation of its so-called scriptures. Yuui is pulled into this miasma of doctrinal priestcraft, some of which is clever, but most of which is undoubtedly fallacious and delusional. As such: Readers encounter a fanatical preacher who privileges circular logic; readers encounter an academic clergywoman who privileges constancy of scripture over its practical application; and readers encounter an itinerant priest who cautiously foregoes doctrine in favor of the needs of the people (Gustavus: "The people want an explanation, not theory [..] In the real world, meaning is found only within the individual," pages 96, 98). The author's articulation of state religion as just another mechanism of greed, control, power affinity, and presumptive authority is deftly worded not through these characters' blatant zealotry, but by way of their characters' willful acquiescence to the inexact and delusive reasonings of theological discourse. Luckily, there are exceptions. For her part, Yuui may be a political puppet, but she still has a will of her own. Meanwhile, Ix struggles to insert small and infrequent, but justifiable acts of human goodness into otherwise distorted and illogical standards of faith. As is often the nature of novels of this type, the characters succeed and fail on varying levels. One awkward shift in trajectory comes by way of Shuno. DRAGON AND CEREMONY v3 introduces another secondary character by way of an agender wandmaker who is equally hyperosocial and hyperinsecure. The book's intervening tale of Ix and Shuno's latent curiosity into the capricious origins of wandmaking are clever and intriguing. This dynamic guides readers through several funny and enlightening conversations on why people hunt for an amorphous assumption of the truth, and by extension, what qualifies as the "ultimate" wand, how one would conceive of it, and who is worthy of crafting such a thing. Shuno is a distorted reflection of Ix, and thus doesn't have much to add at first, but the two characters get along well and aspire to help one another succeed. DRAGON AND CEREMONY v3 struggles to find the right trajectory for its thematic premise, and doesn't settle into an effective balance until the latter third of the story. Nevertheless, the author's late-breaking and admittedly grim picture of the convulsive integration of defective statecraft and religious hypocrisy is worth the wait. The only real question is whether the novel series' protagonists have the wherewithal to survive it.

Light-Novel Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

Browse insta for more comics and book reviews.

[divergent-one-1984]

Organized Crime Ring in Astoria, NY, in a neighborhood under the jurisdiction of 114th PRECINCT and in apartment buildings managed by CENTRAL ASTORIA, LLC. I have been the victim of TARGETED COMMUNITY HARASSMENT SINCE SUMMER 2016 because of my race and gender, I am an African American woman (because of a rumor / gossip mill started by staff at NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION while I was employed there from 2014 to 2016 I was made the victim of WORKPLACE MOBBING and TARGETED PSYCHOLOGICALHARASSMENT & TORTURE / EMOTIONAL ABUSE. Due to the illegal access and leaking of private, personal, confidential information by wiretapping / cloning / hacking of personal devices, accounts and illegal surveillance in my residence, etc. This includes leaking of confidential medical information (HPV diagnosis in 2008 (strains that can cause CERVICAL CANCER and an ABORTION I had in 2004) - ONGOING NOISE HARASSMENT - PSYCHOLOGICAL / SUBLIMINAL REFERENCE TO EX SEXUAL PARTNER - KIRK DOLPHY - JUNE 9, 2023 @ 2:22 AM

In addition to the HATE CRIME element to the ongoing stalking and harassment there is a RELIGIOUS Zealotry / Nuttery / Judgmental / FUNDAMENTALISM / EXTREMISM element to my daily harassment as I am being harassed by mostly MUSLIM and LATINO people.

Based on facts / my observation, I would estimate that 9 out of 10 people harassing me on a daily basis are MUSLIM or LATINO, with MUSLIMS ranking number 1 (the majority being MEN and BOYS), MUSLIMS who appear to be from MIDDLE EASTERN / ARAB countries and countries on the ASIAN continent, such as BANGLADESH and PAKISTAN where the majority of the demographic is MUSLIM)

The TARGETED COMMUNITY HARASSMENT I have been enduring since SUMMER 2016 includes an array of tactics including a massive NOISE HARASSMENT and SLEEP DEPRIVATION CAMPAIGN, usually carried out along with other tactics including but not limited to NUMBER and COLOR HARASSMENT to PSYCHOLOGICALLY HARASS me to subliminally reference / remind me about people, places, and things of my life, mostly of a negative nature (both current and historical).

I believe the main factor in me being made a target is because of HPV, in 2008 I was diagnosed with HPV, strains that can cause CERVICAL CANCER.

I believe this confidential medical information was illegally accessed and leaked while I was employed at NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION from SEPTEMBER 2014 to APRIL 2016.

Therefore I believe that some of my ex-sexual partners might be involved in this, ones who are ill informed and ignorant af because HPV is extremely common and I got it from one of my sexual partners so what. Only the most ignorant would do something like this to me for that reason.

I don't mess with people so no one would do something like this to me out of the blue so HPV seems to be the only reason simply because people are judgemental of people with STDs / STIs and if you are ill informed and ignorant generally you might be inclined to make someone the target of ORGANIZED GROUP STALKING for this reason.

Based on the way I have lived my life and been to people in my life there is no other explanation for this being done to me.

So either its a stranger crazy stalker person or its someone I know, who is also a crazy stalker person because I have not done anything to anyone in my life for this to be a proper response.

Also, based on my TARGETED HARASSMENT, PSYCHOLOGICAL / EMOTIONAL ABUSE & TORTURE, the constant attention to my vagina, my menstrual cycle, my physical appearance, my abortion, HPV, basically anything having to do with me being a woman, my sexual past, and my reproductive organs, anything of this nature it seems like it would be likely that a person(s) I had a sexual / romantic past with to be a potential suspect to do this to me.

Also the fact that I am being HARASSED everyday by mostly MUSLIM MEN and BOYS, do I even need to talk about the blatant disregard that religion has for women.

Also I believe many of the MUSLIMS who are harassing me daily are from MIDDLE EASTERN / ARAB / ASIAN countries, many of whom I believe to be not just ANTI-WOMEN but ANTI-BLACK.

BLACK WOMEN are blatantly disrespected all the time by all kinds of people including BLACK MEN, some people more than others.

On JUNE 9, 2023 (6/9/23) at 2:22 AM I was awakened by NOISE HARASSMENT coming from MUSLIM TENANTS above me dropping a heavy object on the floor. I had gone to bed at around 10 PM so I was well into a deep sleep at this point but as usual on many occasions NOISE HARASSMENT tactics are used to impart SLEEP DEPRIVATION.

This incident references KIRK DOLPHY, who is an ex-sexual partner of mine from JUNE 2007 - 2009. Our relationship was Friends with Benefits basically.

I met KIRK DOLPHY in JUNE 2007, at the time he was working for NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. When I began working at NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION in SEPTEMBER 2014, KIRK DOLPHY was still employed there.

As stated previously, KIRK DOLPHY and my relationship was simply sexual and my harassment basically involves a bunch of PERVERTED MUSLIM MEN and BOYS, as well as LATINO MEN and BOYS harassing me about my person, my physical appearance overall, my reproductive and sexual organs, my menstrual cycle, HPV, etc.

NUMBER HARASSMENT basically involves the use of numbers to SUBLIMINALLY / PSYCHOLOGICALLY REFERENCE a person, place, or thing to EMOTIONALLY ABUSE and HARASS a target (see previous posts for more detailed definition of NUMBER HARASSMENT, COLOR HARASSMENT, NOISE HARASSMENT, etc.)

On JUNE 9, 2023 (6/9/23) at 2:22 AM I was awakened by NOISE HARASSMENT coming from MUSLIM TENANTS above me.

NUMBER HARASSMENT will use numbers we see in everyday life to instigate harassment of target, such as time, date, battery life percentage on a device, tv channel, etc.

The number has to have a meaning / reference to a person, place, and / or thing in the targets personal life. My personal, private, and confidential data seems to have been ILLEGALLY ACCESSED (seemingly through mostly my PERSONAL CELL PHONE, DEVICES, INTERNET SEARCHES, EMAIL and SOCIAL MEDIA accounts, and other databases, such as healthcare, financial, or education information can be obtained by someone authorized in their job duties such as a police officer, but abusing authority and power to fraudulently obtain this data outside of the scope of their official job duties to basically dig up "dirt" on target to use against them) and LEAKED

In this particular case:

On JUNE 9, 2023 (6/9/23) at 2:22 AM, if we break down the date and time this incident occurred we have the following with are direct references to KIRK DOLPHY, SEX and MY PERIOD.

KIRK DOLPHY is being referenced because our relationship was based purely on sex.

When we reconnected after I began working at NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION in 2014, we had sex one time in early 2015.

We kind of discussed getting back into our FWB thing after this now about 5 year hiatus (we stopped having sex in 2009 based on my choice), but retained a cool acquaintanceship over the years.

At this time my period was going to start in about a week or so, during a time when I have visual symptoms of this, bloating, swollen breasts, protruding nipples, etc.

It is obvious based on my HARASSMENT over the years that ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE has been DIRECTED AT and INSIDE my residence, I have also talked about this stuff on my personal cell phone, of which data has been ILLEGALLY EXTRACTED.

You would not know such intimate details like this unless you were seeing me physically in real time and since I rarely leave my apartment and don't talk to anyone anymore due to the RUINED RELATIONSHIPS from this harassment there is no other reasonable explanation.

Since reconnecting in 2014 and having this conversation with KIRK DOLPHY about resuming a FWB thing, I recall discussing a time for us to best hook up (on my PERSONAL CELL PHONE) that would not be around my period and stated the best time would be mid month to maximize pleasure because I felt more sexual at this time due to ovulation, basic biology.

So if we were going to hook up, which could have been more than just once a month, should definitely include some dates around middle of the month, and basically end and beginning of month was out because of my period.

No one at my workplace or in my community would be privy to such information unless they hacked my PERSONAL CELL PHONE having access to historical data, including audio conversations.

So on JUNE 9, 2023 @ 2:22 AM, the MUSLIM TENANTS ABOVE ME WOKE ME UP WITH NOISE OF DROPPING A HEAVY OBJECT ON THE FLOOR.

-JUNE 9 = 6/9 = 69 is a sexual position which KIRK DOLPHY and I talked about on my PERSONAL CELL PHONE, on more than one occasion.

-2:22 AM = 2/22 = FEBRUARY 22

FEBRUARY 22 is KIRK DOLPHY'S BIRTHDAY.

10 minutes later at 2:32 AM someone was driving by my apartment building making LOUD REVVING NOISES WITH THE ENGINE (a frequent occurrence) while I was submitting a NOISE COMPLAINT online to NYPD.

Since it is apparent there is ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE DIRECTED AT and INSIDE MY RESIDENCE, in addition to my PERSONAL INTERNET AND DEVICES BEING HACKED / CLONED, etc. these HANDLERS / STALKERS knew I was submitting a NOISE COMPLAINT so they were driving by making noise to either deter me from submitting the complaint or reminding me I HAVE NO PRIVACY, or a combination of both I suppose.

Additionally, KIRK DOLPHY is being referenced as it relates to HPV.

Based on a couple factors including the time I was diagnosed, I believe I contracted HPV from WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY, however it is a possibility I contracted it from KIRK DOLPHY as well, simply based on the timing of diagnosis.

WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY and KIRK DOLPHY were 2 out the 3 sexual partners I had before my HPV diagnosis.

Before my diagnosis in JANUARY 2008, I had 3 sexual partners, which included WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY (2nd) and KIRK DOLPHY (3rd).

So its possible any one of my first 3 sexual partners could have passed it to me. I may never know, however I don't care, I am well informed, it is what it is.

I had gone for regular pap exams prior to this and always had normal results.

JANUARY 2008 was the first time I had an abnormal pap smear ever. So the last time I went for an exam should have been the year or so prior because I only ever went / had to go to GYN for annual exams.

Since a person(s) did this to me and HPV is most likely a major contributing factor I am forced to talk about it because I will tell the truth, not the obvious lies and half truths out there about me in order to cover for some very mentally sick people.

SEXUAL PARTNER #1 - I don't think this person had anything to do with instigating this and he will never be named.

SEXUAL PARTNER #2 - WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY (2002 - JUNE 2007)

SEXUAL PARTNER #3 - KIRK DOLPHY (JUNE 2007 - 2009, 2015) (I had already been having sex with KIRK for 6 months prior to HPV diagnosis)

HPV DIAGNOSIS (strains that can cause CERVICAL CANCER) - JANUARY 2008 (I told / inquired WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY about HPV diagnosis on my PERSONAL CELL PHONE in 2008 after my second opinion diagnosis in SUMMER of 2008.)

SEXUAL PARTNER #4 - I don't think this person had anything to do with instigating this and he will never be named. (however, I DO THINK ASSOCIATES OF HIS MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED)

SEXUAL PARTNER #5 - DEVIN ELTON THOMPSON (MAY - JULY 2010, NOVEMBER 2010)

SEXUAL PARTNER #6 - LUIS MARTINEZ (SUMMER - EARLY FALL 2011)

WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY and KIRK DOLPHY had sexually promiscuous lifestyles so it is not out of the ordinary to think they could have HPV.

HPV is extremely common and I would think the more partners you expose yourself to the higher the risk of contracting it. This would also include people who have sex with people who have had many sexual partners and / or engaged in high risk behavior.

I only had 1 sexual partner prior to WILFRED SHAWN KIRKALDY. WILFRED had a lot more partners than that and had 4 kids with 4 different women.

I never cheated on WILFRED or anyone for that matter.

I cannot say the same for him, while I never had concrete proof and he claims he didn't I would not put it past him based on his history. If you have never been faithful, I don't think I am the one who is going to make you change all of a sudden if this is how you been moving your whole dating / sex life.

While WILFRED and I were toxically uncoupling from JANUARY 2006 - JUNE 2007 we were still having sex, again I was only having sex with him, I can't say the same for him, I know he had been on some dates, don't know whether or not he was having sex with them. So for these reasons and others I believe I contracted HPV from WILFRED.

I think it may have been dormant / inactive for sometime and became active / presented itself in JANUARY 2008 because of the stress, diminished immunity, weight loss I was going through during our break up.

People can have HPV and not know it because if you are healthy with a robust immune system it usually does not have an affect and clears up on its own, is the medical terminology I have heard used.

Additionally, I had an abortion in APRIL 2004 (WILFRED'S) and I had a nodule, I guess a beningn cyst removed from my CERVIX, this was 4 years before my diagnosis so I don't know if this was HPV related or not.

Also, I had the abortion at a PLANNED PARENTHOOD, not my regular GYN so idk, maybe they just removed it assumed I knew about it and moved on, but as I stated I never had abnormal results, never had anything removed, and only ever went to GYN for regular annual exams, nothing else.

Also, since HPV is so common, especially in the younger years when people are single and having multiple partners, I have heard that GYNs may not address it with patients because they think it will clear up and go away on its own and may never affect the person. They don't want to cause unecessary hysteria.

I only had 2 sexual partners prior to KIRK DOLPHY.

KIRK DOLPHY participated in threesomes and attended sex parties, (neither activity I engaged in) but doesn't matter I am still potentially exposing myself just by having sex with him alone.

So this is just one example of the DAILY HARASSMENT I go through of mostly MUSLIM and LATINO MEN and BOYS STALKING and HARASSING me about people, places and things of my life that I don't care about and that they should not know about.

[level20mallow]

I want to pontificate on one of the big reasons why it is I support revenge and such: the hypocrisy and cruelty of its detractors.

The thing you have to understand about people who oppose revenge is that they only oppose it in name only. They'll happily participate in all of the same behaviors people typically associate with revenge: anger, irrationality, lashing out either non-violently or with violence (often after ranting about how it's bad). It's blatant hypocrisy and the blatant hypocrisy is the point: it means people who oppose revenge have an agenda and that agenda is often to protect abusers from consequences.

One of their ilk actually went to a thread I reblogged a while ago looking to start beef with me, because they walked into the conversation with a specific stereotype of a revenge supporter in mind and just assumed that because I support revenge, that that meant I fit that stereotype. And that quasi-bigotry is the point: it's ignorant and prejudiced, and a really huge part of the problem. Have a look:

I don't actually support the U.S. legal system in any way. I don't even support the death penalty. My stance is to do away with all of that and not only replace it with a system that is more streamlined and effective, but also respects the human right of all individuals to retaliate when they are abused or bullied or exploited, which is what revenge actually is. The schmuck who was trying to stir shit up obviously wasn't listening though. Actually they kept ranting after I called them out on that point.

See, they were flipping out because they are the kind of revenge detractor that sees revenge as an obstacle in the way of their real goal: shutting down the U.S. prison system, and that's why they are angry.

They think you, the abuse survivor, the one who has themselves been raped and tortured and beaten and whose self-esteem and identity have been completely driven into the ground for decades, throughout childhood, having committed no crime and in fact has had the abuser wield the same legal system to punish *you* for speaking out or fighting back, are nothing more than an obstacle to their political goals.

Have you ever seen the trope in media where a friend or loved one of a revenge seeker angrily confronts them when they're about to kill the main villain and the whole cause of the problem, and either screams at them, gives them a Reason Why You Suck Speech, emotionally abuses or even physically gets violent with them to force them to stop?

You ever stop to think why they do that when they know the villain is the actual problem and their actions are only making the problem worse, enabling the villain to escape, and how sometimes that character will even outright defend the villain (even a rapist or child murderer) ? This is one of the reasons why.

People who oppose revenge enable abuse and the very violence they oppose when they do this, and they don't give a fuck because for a lot of them, it's all about their political goals. They are authoritarians, the most cruel kind because of the fact that they place their zealotry above very real human lives who are negatively impacted by their actions. It's all about forcing people into their unrealistic utopia which in no way accounts for human nature or the reality of the situation abuse survivors have to deal with.

And they get so angry because they view you as a political opponent doing or supporting the causes they oppose, which have nothing to do with revenge. You are not a victim deserving of help or love or justice, you are an inconvenience and a threat that must be knocked out of the way, and that's one really big reason why opposition to revenge is nonsensical and immoral.

They claim revenge seekers will become the enemies they oppose, when it is in fact them who are becoming exactly that, and that clown who was arguing with me is a perfect example of that.

This is how these stupid fucking scumbags think

They view all violence as the same while ignoring or supporting the violence of abusers who hurt only innocent people, or even their own as they sometimes use it to stop revenge seekers while opposing all violence, they dehumanize anyone who disagrees with them by regarding them as subhuman savages in need of their political enlightenment, they don't respect your rights, and they don't care about you.

People who oppose revenge only care about themselves. People who oppose revenge actually are or become the very thing they claim to hate. People who oppose revenge hypocritically claim revenge dehumanizes the seeker while demanding that everyone view the abuser as a human and a victim regardless of their own actions or how inherently dehumanized they are through mindset or action.

People who oppose revenge are just dumbass hypocrites and you should not listen to them.

[dantewantstodie]

Allegory,metaphors and satire don’t work unless they actually have meaning and something to say with them.Authors and creators don’t just throw in imagery to look cool.It serves narrative purpose.Corvus Corax derives his name and gets a lot of his imagery from a bird because they are typically symbols of freedom and his character is tied with themes of slavery,revolution and the cost of liberty.Are you about to tell me slavery isn’t inherently political?Are you gonna tell me that a world of indentured servants working tirelessly for a techno cult who value machines over human life has no modern comparisons?

And yes themes are inherently political because what messages you present in your media tells your reader what you think about the real world.Especially when your themes are topics such as slavery,imperialism,war,religious zealotry,censorship of information,abuse of power etc.

Also you didn’t ‘lambast’ Briley.You celebrated a bunch of grown adults coming into their comments section and ranting about ‘holding the gate’ over a universe made to sell plastic toys.I’m not even gonna get into the blatant homophobia and transphobia in there.Plain nasty.Even if you disagree with someone,you don’t stoop to that level and you certainly don’t celebrate others doing it.Calling people slurs is not ‘raking them over the coals for being a moron’,it’s plain bigotry.

But ultimately it doesn’t matter,because I can give you every example of overt politics in the series.I can point to every parallel of fascism,reference to religion and modern allegory there is.But you’ve already decided whose politics does and doesn’t count.And you’ll discredit anyone who spouts ideas you don’t like or if they made something you enjoy you’ll actively ignore them.Modern day ideology and progressive hoards aren’t real things,they’re just terms you can use to invalidate the opinions you don’t want to listen to.And the only reason I can gather for that is because on some level they scare you.It’s the only way I can understand why you’d attack someone’s status as either a ‘true fan’ or a ‘tourist’ (both meaningless terms with no real criteria or definitions) instead of actually engage with what they have to say.

Hey look, another tourist that wants to inject their political beliefs into a hobby they don't actually like

Fortunately most of the comments are raking this moron across the coals so at least I can have faith in the 40k community

[iturbide]

IntSy did better than I expected for the Pelgia banner event. Could have been a lot better, but I usually set the bar for them pretty low, so they did ok. But the fact we didn't get a Robin or Henry alt on this banner is criminal.

The fact that we are once again left with only Tharja on a Plegian-focused banner, supposedly as their “guide” since she’s a “native” when let’s not forget that A) Henry, Mustafa, Gangrel, and Aversa are, too; B) Robin’s canonically Plegian, you can’t get around that Validar is their dad; and C) you have the literal Fell Dragon on hand for the epitome of irony.  Frankly I would have much preferred to have Robin and Henry feature in new Plegian attire rather than getting all these alts from unrelated games (which is not to say that I don’t love Raph, because I do, a lot).

In general, though, I agree.  I appreciated the fact that we went in with an assumption that this was going to be a bad thing and it ended up being wrong, to the point that the characters had a chance to enjoy themselves in a Plegian festival at the end.  But I also have to say that I really, really don’t like the message that IntSys ended up sending: that the only way for Plegians to be redeemable is to forfeit their faith in Grima. 

It’s admittedly not as blatant in Heroes as it was in the supports between M!Robin and Gangrel in Awakening, but I still find it deeply suspect that they went this route.  For comparison:

Robin: You once worshipped Grima, correct? As a member of the Grimleal?  Gangrel: Pah, those wrinkled old warts with their dusty tomes? I was Grimleal in name only. Course, it was the faith of the realm, so I knew most of its rituals.  Robin: Religion can be a powerful tool for uniting people behind a single cause. I wager Aversa used it to convince your subjects to take up arms?  Gangrel: ...Perhaps. But in the end, I'd say she used me as much as anyone.  Robin: And what did the people of Plegia really think of the faith?  Gangrel: Think? Ha! They DIDN'T think! Between my iron-fisted rule and Aversa's inquisitions, they had no choice about it. ...But as I said, it was a cruel time.  Robin: Your people were cowed by your political might, but the temples offered solace...  Gangrel: Ah, yes. The solace of the damned.  Robin: Thank you, Gangrel.  Gangrel: Hmm? What for?  Robin: We can't help the people of Plegia if we don't understand their situation. Our cause is simple—to save this world and all the people in it. And that includes the poor wretches of Plegia who remain in the thrall of Grima.

Basically, Awakening says that even though Grima worship is the “faith of the realm” by Gangrel’s own words, the people that worship the Fell Dragon don’t have a choice in the matter and are finally reduced to “wretches in the thrall of Grima,” effectively saying they need to be saved from mistaken faith.  And then we have this paralogue:

Katarina: The Plegians must not be plotting to resurrect the Fell Dragon after all.  They just worship it in earnest... [...] As we were investigating, I overheard a fair few conversations between Plegians at the festival.  Everyone spoke with some regret, even in light of the festival.  The Fell Dragon reminds them of past wars, and regret over those slain.  They speak of a fallen Exalt...when I heard they worshiped the Fell Dragon, I imagined them as a malign people, but now I don’t think so.  They are no different from me, in truth of fact.  I, too, have done wrong in the past.  But you and Marth, you supported me -- and it allowed me to change.  Do you think the people of Plegia will get that same chance? Kris: Don’t worry, Katarina.  Even if one commits a crime, there are limitless opportunities for redemption.  Wouldn’t you agree? Katarina: Yes...you’re right.

So it’s definitely nice that they admit the Plegians aren’t malicious in their intent, they’re just having a festival for their divine.  But I’m deeply troubled by this implication that the Fell Dragon reminds people of crimes they’ve committed, as though saying that their faith drove them to commit these acts and they now question it.  And then it ties this idea of redemption in, implying that leaving the faith is the path to redemption because the faith is what led them to do evil.  This completely ignores the fact that it wasn’t the Grimleal faith that led to the war, it was Gangrel, who didn’t actually follow the faith at all, just paid lip service to it and then forced the Plegian people into conflict with Ylisse for his own selfish purposes.  Blaming the Grimleal faith for what happened is outrageous to me -- but what’s so insidious to me is the fact that they write this coming from Plegians.

They couldn’t just write Plegians enjoying themselves at a festival dedicated to their faith and having our agents learn about the real faith instead of the zealotry that Validar pushed in his cult.  Oh, no, they had to make the Plegians questioning the merits of their faith to show that they’re good people.  That’s unbelievably shitty.

[sithsecrets]

Zealotry

I have a request! So I keep playing this song on repeat called “Only Got Eyes for Her” by Ezra Jordan and I keep picturing Kylo. So my thought is the reader and Kylo had a thing but they are no longer one. She’s still working on the ship and he has to see her all the time in passing. And he misses her and maybe it ends in fluff? Thank you for your amazing writings :))

---

Months after her fling with the Supreme Leader comes to an end, a First Order Commander finally gets the explanation she’s been craving.

---

2.6k words

Mentions: sex (not explicitly), discussion of pregnancy (no characters are actually pregnant), swearing, mild angst, a bit of self-deprecation, blatant canon divergence

---

“And how are things in the Outer Rim, Commander?”

The cadence of Kylo Ren’s voice is like a cup of ice water down your spine, and you pray that you do not start too noticeably as you turn to answer him. His gaze is keen when you meet his eyes, and you force yourself to hold Kylo’s stare, shaking off every thought and memory that flashes across the field of your mind as the two of you look at one another.

“Operations are running smoothly, Supreme Leader,” you respond, proud of yourself for not stammering or making a fool of yourself in front of the peers and superiors seated all around you at the meeting table. You can sense their deep interest in this interaction, can feel them gauging you and gauging Kylo, tracking the level of intimacy between the two of you. And though Kylo’s still staring you down, though you cannot help but remember a much softer version of his gaze, you do not let your mask slip.

Kylo is doing the same, or at least that’s what you think. “Excellent,” he says shortly, and finally, he quits boring into your soul.

You have no idea why he insists on doing things like this, why Kylo still tries to interact with you so directly. And in front of so many others! He must know what they think, he must know what they know. The two of you weren’t exactly flaunting the whole thing, but… you don’t get to sit at this table in front of Kylo Ren by being stupid.

When the meeting adjourns, you gather your things quickly, wanting nothing more than to get away from the other leaders and to get away from Kylo. In this moment, you can’t help but think that your whole fling with Kylo was nothing but a mistake. You should have had more forethought, you should have known that what the two of you had wouldn’t last. You clawed tooth and nail to be a Commander in the First Order, and then you risked everything— and for what? Sex? A little companionship? Was your bed really so cold that you had to climb under the Supreme Leader’s covers just to feel warm again? You could have had anyone, really— the Chancellor and a few of the other generals have been after you for years, but no, that wasn’t what you chose; you went straight to the top and entangled yourself with the most important man in the galaxy.

No one can say I’m not an overachiever, you think bitterly, weaving your way back to your quarters with your head down. The image of Kylo smiling at you softly in the dimness of his bedroom flits across your mind, and you dig your nails into your palm to stop the lump forming in your throat from getting any bigger.

What did you even gain from the whole thing, anyway? New anxieties and new regrets? You have always prided yourself on being a person who can take on anything and anyone, and now here you are, afraid to meet the eyes of your peers and superiors on the floor of the war room.

Stars, you are pathetic. It’s an unkind thought and you know it, but you don’t care. You should have known better, you should have restrained yourself. When Kylo took you on that trip to that beautiful, isolated, tropical planet and told you that he thought you were more stunning than any star in the galaxy, you should have shaken him off and politely declined his advances. But no— you just had to let him kiss you, you just had to open your big, stupid mouth and tell him that you dreamed of him at night, that you thought that there was no one more handsome than him in existence. And then of course, you had to fuck him, had to make yourself vulnerable, had to show Kylo the rawest parts of your heart. Never mind that he did the same for you, never mind that he whispered to you about his childhood and his teenage years and all of the horrible things that Snoke did to him when Kylo was his apprentice. In the end, though, it was all for naught, because Kylo distanced himself from you anyway, and then he stopped seeing you altogether, just like that. That’s the one thing that drives you insane— Kylo never offered you an explanation for is behavior.

You hate him for it.

Two stormtroopers cut you off in a corridor, and you almost tell them to get the fuck out of your way right then and there.

“What?” you ask, and you think that you’re doing a good job of making it clear that you do not wish to be bothered over something trivial right now.

“The Supreme Leader wishes to speak with you in his quarters, Commander,” replies one of the troopers, and he and the other man look at you expectantly from behind the tinting of their helmets. The fact that this is one of the few orders that you cannot ignore makes you grit your teeth in utter frustration.

“Fine,” you spit, and the two stormtroopers are rather quiet as they begin leading you to Kylo’s rooms.

---

The stormtroopers abandon you in front of Kylo in his sitting room, exiting quickly when Kylo dismissed them. You stand in front of the Supreme Leader obediently, though you’re sure that your expression betrays your true feelings about being summoned here.

The scowl on your face only deepens as you start to truly take in the sight of Kylo as he is now, you can feel it. He’s wearing his casual clothes— no gloves, no heavy boots, none of that constricting pleated garb that he’s so often dressed in— and you hate yourself for still admiring his appearance. Kylo stares at you staring at him for a few seconds, brown eyes unusually guarded as he regards you, and you wonder idly if Kylo knows how handsome he is. Sure, he’s told you many times that he doesn’t think he’s anything to gawk at, but he must know what this does to you, seeing him dressed in all of these soft, loose garments. It’s exactly the kind of thing he wore when the two of you went to bed together, and the site of these very clothes has you remembering all the times you pulled them off of Kylo’s body.

“You called for me, Supreme Leader?” you ask, rather curt.

Kylo shifts in his chair, shakes his head just the slightest bit. “You know you don’t have to call me that,” he says, “not in here.”

You don’t respond to that, not even when Kylo softens his gaze as he says it. “I am very tired, and I wish to go to bed. What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you,” Kylo tells you, almost exasperated. There’s a pause, and then, “Will you please sit down?”

“That’s funny,” you say bitterly, “you didn’t want to talk to me much a few months ago.”

“Darling, I can—”

You cut Kylo off, voice hard and low around the lump in your throat. “Don’t call me that,” you say, and it takes everything in you not to let your tears fall.

Kylo sighs and scrubs his hand over his face, moving to sit up. “I know you’re upset with me,” he states. “I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you at all. You have to let me explain, though, please.”

And even though that’s all you’ve been craving since Kylo blew you off, you nonetheless feel enraged. How dare Kylo call you to his rooms after all this time and come at you as if he can make this all better with a simple excuse and a little groveling? Has he no idea what he’s done to you? How he’s hurt you?

“You don’t have to explain shit to me, Kylo Ren, because I know what happened here. You wanted me, and then you didn’t. You can have anyone, and you know that, so you took me on for a while and then threw me away when you got bored.”

You’re actually crying now, that angry sort of crying that makes your chest burn, and you hate yourself even more for it. Turning on your heel, you begin storming out of Kylo’s quarters, unable to look at the rooms and the furniture you remember so fondly any longer. Kylo chases after you, catches your arm.

“That’s not it at all,” he says quickly, pleadingly. You jerk out of his grip, incensed.

“Then fucking tell me what is was, Kylo, because I do not play this shit,” you hiss, and the venom in your voice is enough to make Kylo take a step back, “because I am not some fucking whore you can take to bed and cast aside, but that is how you treated me anyway, and you better have a good fucking reason for it.”

Kylo looks at you for a moment, nervous, and then says, “I was scared.”

You cannot help yourself. You laugh in Kylo’s face, and it is a bitter, resentful, jaded laugh. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” you say to Kylo. “You, Kylo fucking Ren, were scared?”

Kylo looks genuinely hurt for the briefest of moments, and you almost feel bad about that. Almost.

“I was scared that harm would come to you,” Kylo elaborates, and you can’t help but scoff.

“Well, congratulations, Kylo,” you say sarcastically, “I am obviously totally fine!” You throw your arms up, gesturing to the tears on your face, and Kylo shakes his head.

“You don’t understand,” he begins, and what Kylo goes on to say next is almost too insane to believe.

He speaks of dark, desolate planets lit entirely by lightning, of busted out temples and plans for a war fleet of an unspeakable magnitude. Kylo spins a good yarn, describing in great detail how he and the Knights of Ren had to dismantle the war machinations of the “Final Order” almost singlehandedly. He calls members of this Final Order zealots as he talks about slaughtering them all, calls them crazy people with plans of resurrecting Emperor Palpatine— or at least a version of him.

“They said it was my destiny,” Kylo tells you, and you’re much more reasonable now that your anger has morphed into complete and utter bewilderment. “They say that this is what Palpatine has been wanting from the beginning or something ridiculous like that. They say that he designed this for me and that every Sith Lord in my line has been his creation.”

“Was… was any of that real?” you ask, and you cannot help but regard Kylo in a different light now. You’ve always admired his dedication and commitment to the Order, but the notion that his very existence was all part of a master plan gives you chills.

“No,” Kylo says, and he sounds just as confused and upset as you are as he speaks. “It was all complete and utter shit. The Sith wayfinder that lead me to Exegol was very real and very much their creation, but everything else… I couldn’t find a shred of evidence that proved any of their story to be true. It was crazy, how they were living, working underground and drawing plan after plan for something they could never possibly build. Sith loyalists are always a bit… much, but this was… dangerous.”

Kylo steps towards you, and you don’t shake him off when he touches your arm this time.

“But it took me a long time to confirm that they were zealots and nothing more,” Kylo tells you, “and in the meantime, I didn’t want you to be in danger. I didn’t know what these people were capable of, and when it came to you, I didn’t want to find out.”

“They couldn’t have possibly known about me,” you say, but the anger you once felt is fleeting at best now. “We never told anyone about us, not ever.”

Kylo shakes his head. “I know that, but…” Kylo trails off for a moment, and it strikes you then that he looks almost ill. “When I spoke to their leader in the beginning, before I realized what was going on, he kept insisting that it was time I had a child. He said that my line needed to continue on, that me producing an heir was all part of this master plan of theirs, and that it needed to happen soon. I didn’t think they could get to you, and none of them ever hinted at knowing about my involvement with you, but I just…”

There is hesitation, but you urge Kylo on. “What?”

“I was afraid that they would tamper with your contraceptives to further their agenda. That’s why I quit seeing you. That’s why I quit inviting you here.”

Your first thought is to tell Kylo that he was being paranoid, but even now, you can see that the concern on his face over the whole thing is very real. Whoever these Sith devotees were, they unsettled Kylo severely as he dealt with them. You’ve never seen him so shaken and disturbed by a group of people before in all of the time that you’ve known him.

Kylo must take your lack of speech for disbelief in his story, because he presses on. “I wanted to keep you safe. I couldn’t bear the thought of them manipulating you and your body in such a fashion.”

“Would me falling pregnant with your child really have been so terrible?” You’re mostly joking as you say this to Kylo, and a small smile plays on your lips as he flushes and cuts his eyes to the side.

“Yes, if it happened essentially against your will,” Kylo replies. You can tell that he’s choosing his words carefully so that he does not offend you, and that makes your smile broaden. (You always did have a little sadistic streak when it came to watching Kylo squirm.)

“I’ve missed you,” you say to Kylo, and his expression softens as you take a step towards him.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Kylo affirms, “desperately.” He smiles down at you, or at least it’s a smile by Kylo’s standards, and you think you see just a bit of hope glinting in his eyes.

“I’m happy to come back to you, darling.” Kylo’s hair is soft in your fingers as you brush a few strands back from his face, and you cannot help but admit that you’ve missed touching him so intimately. But just when Kylo begins to relish in the feel of your caress, just when he’s almost purring for you, you withdraw your hand, moving instead grip his chin firmly in your hand. “But I want to make something clear— I will not be cast aside again, not even for my own safety.”

Kylo attempts to speak, but you cut him off easily, forcing him to look you firmly in the eyes. “If something like what happened with those fanatics ever occurs again, Kylo, I want to know. I am not someone who needs to be shielded, darling. Let me instead be of service to you. Let me help you.”

You release your grip on Kylo’s face, and he straightens his back, staring down at you as he does so. He is impressed, he’s making no moves to hide that fact, and the smirk that ghosts over his mouth is one indicative of a particular brand of hunger.

“Never again will I underestimate you,” Kylo vows. “That was my mistake.”

“I can forgive you,” you say easily, reaching up to cup his cheek once again. But you’re only half joking as you add, “Just this once.”

[butwhatifidothis]

I can't help but wonder if the fact that hilda lost her leg isn't based in caps weird sexism. Like, of all the characters, hilda is the least feminine by his standards? She's pink and small sure, but she's also not really insecure, she's a manipulative user of men, it's hard to give her insecurities about her looks when she has to assume she has them otherwise she can't use them as a tool. The whole joke about her is that she's NOT a delicate little flower, I wonder if cap just (1/2)

(2/2) can't square that in his mind with "women good men bad" and blowing her leg off is a method of punishment for this, and also gives him the opprotunity to give her some kind of complex about her looks because hey she's disfigured now how will anyone consider her pretty now. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but she's the only female character who isn't an established edel enemy who is getting this treatment

I think I've said it in the notes before, but I do think part of it is punishment. Hilda throws a giant wrench in the idea of CF being the nicey nice route of sunshine and rainbows, because she is the only character in the entire game that is both 1) not devoted to Rhea and 2) locked out of specifically and only CF. She doesn't refuse to join CF out of loyalty to the Church, nor is she a usual route exclusive like Dedue or Hubert; she just went "nah man I'm good" and stuck with her boi Claude.

She'd literally rather die than join the Empire, just because of the Empire's actions. And ya know what that means - can't be blamed on "zealotry" or being brainwashed by chivalry. Unlike everyone else, who "lost themselves" in their devotion to the Church/the Kingdom, Hilda really did just go 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️ in the direction away from Adrestia.

And that of course can't really connect with the fic's theme of Adrestia Good Everyone Else Bad. Which means oops, Hilda is now an omega racist who would turn on Claude the second she learned of his heritage, and wow she would help the Empire better conquer Derdriu because of that meaning that Woobiegard only won the Allinace as smoothly as she did because of blatant racism but ignore that, but wait she immediately gets over it five minutes later to rescue Claude from an explosion, but aw shucks she just so happened to lose her leg, and what a shame Ficleth just so happened to have no more Divine Pulses left to save it. All in the span of less than half a chapter.

Hilda has to go on an absolute rollercoaster as a character because of her existence as someone not affiliated with the Church and unwilling to join the Empire. And her arc lands her permanently disabled as well as exiled from the one place she's ever called home and to a land that will treat her extremely terribly due to her Fodlandi race. That is what her devotion to Claude gave her: two permanent reminders of what happens when you don't side with Woobiegard.

It's like with Dedue in Chapter 36: no one beheads Dedue in canon because of his destroying of Edelgard's body. Byleth doesn't care about that in canon. But in the fic, he gets violently killed in cold blood over it. Hilda either gets killed or doesn't get killed in CF; she never gets anything like a permanent disability. But in the fic, she gets a limb blown off and is permanently kicked out of her home. Because if you stand against Woobiegard and can never stand with Woobiegard, then something bad must happen to you; seems pretty clear-cut to me that that's the case

[ao3feed-shadowgast]

Icarus to your certainty

by midnightindigo

Essek Thelyss is an arrogant researcher trying to reach a black hole on the edge of known space when his mistakes and intellectual zealotry result in the deaths of the rest of the crew and leave him stranded with nothing but a short-range radio. After seven months alone on his space station, the black hole spits out a shuttle, as lost as he is.

Words: 11427, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Critical Role (Web Series)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast

Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Space AU, Outer Space, Space Stations, stranded in space, Blatant disregard for the laws of physics, Questionable use of astrophysics concepts, Developing Relationship, Pining, Survivor Guilt, Guilt

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/23485063

[rayshippouuchiha]

Me: stares blankly Scott: Well... maybe they had a reason Me: *contemplates homicide* Well... sure, do you consider fanatical zealotry a reason? Or maybe their blatant prejudice and hate crime murders as a reason?

Yeah that little exchange just slingshoted my dislike of Scott into hyperdrive because it was so fucking uncalled for and so damn low and teenager or not he should have known better

[mozelledeliond]

what type of person is the hardest for you to get along with?

“Scarlet Crusaders. They have wholeheartedly taken the cake above all others as possessing the perfect storm of zealotry, ignorance, and blatant disregard for more things than I can shake a stick at.”

[roxannepolice]

I don’t think terribly evil Renperor would be for shock value but would be for playing into audience expectations since I don’t think the majority left tlj thinking Kylo could be redeemed. And if he’s actually shockingly evil, the possibility that they redeem him and it’s a convincing redemption is 0.0001%. Maybe the surprising part is something not even the reylos and bendemptionists saw coming this time? Maybe our expectations are totally off.

So, first of all, there’s a difference between there happening something shocking in a movie - that would actually be a not-so-evil renperor, that’s a surprise - and movie doing something for shock value. Shock value scene or movie don’t have to be actually shocking, nor does the term inherently imply they have no message or meaning - both gore movies and Passolini’s Salò rely on shock value, only former don’t aspire to any added value while the latter transforms any shock into added value (BTW if you’re below 18 or 21 or even older and in any way think this is an invitation to watch Salò - no. it isn’t. it’s a really heavy film). A very good example of a scene that bases on shock value is Melissandre burning Shireen in GoT. Was it shocking in the sense of surprising? I’d say we saw that coming since season three. Was it a meaningless scene? No, it was there to show us the level of zealotry to which Stannis has stumbled. What matters is that everything about this scene is there to tell us yes, you’re supposed to be shocked, you’re supposed to be disgusted, blood is supposed to freeze in your veins. 

And you’re absolutely right - if they do give us scenes of cruelty for shock value in this sense on behalf of renperor then it will be a sacrifice of dramatic value for the sake of redemptive message, bordering on preaching, if he gets redeemed, so for my own part let him get devoured by a Sarlacc and never get out. I know even reylos assume there will be evil renperor because Vader got redeemed and he was evil so who will care - but I keep saying that violence in this trilogy is framed in a completely different, more consciously shocking, manner than it was framed in OT, that’s the difference. It wasn’t Vader “mind raping” his daughter and holding her to watch milions of terrified people die we forgave in 1983 (though BTW - many only forgave him because he died) only Vader bringing a syringed ball to Leia and then watching the destruction of some blue ball which I guess was terrible but sooo cooool. So no, if what Gleeson is talking about is his own shock at the thought of what “Skywalker” has actually done and he is in fact talking about renperor, then I really wouldn’t suspect a redemption because you know that has always been a possibility - unless there’s some completely unforseen Thanos-like new villain coming out of the blue, which would be kinda non-poetic writing. 

But this is exactly why I don’t think it’s Gleeson’s exclamation inasmuch him mumbling a line from the movie. On a fourth wall level, let’s admit: creators know exactly what sort of informations to let “slip” in order to peak interest and what Domnhall told most of the audience here is basically Titanic is going to sink. Additionally, giving us shockingly evil renperor for shockingly evil renperor’s sake is a gore movie, not Salò situation, it has no added value - we know fascistoid organisations and their leaders are evil, SW has told us this many many many many many many times before, there is no qulitative level they can break here without crossing pg-13 rating. That’s why so many viewers, not keen on reading the symbolism, were frustrated with the Starkiller - no matter what the movie told us, it’s Death Star, maybe bigger, but essentially Death Star. In the same way, no matter what impossibe cruelties renperor does, he’s Palpatine 3.0, maybe hotter, but essentially Palpatine.

Which brings me to following possibilites: Hux is going to pretend he’s flirting with the resistance and yes I hope that would include gingerpilot and is either telling a blatant lie about Kylo Ben or at least slightly tweaks reality - I do see a possibility that fo itself won’t stop being evil f*cks not even for a moment but Renperor and maybe the more misguided members will remain oblivious of this fact. However, the most interesting possibility is that there will some heavy public Skywalker laundry which again peaks my interest in Matt Smith being what I always imagined Ransolm Casterflo looking like. I’m still not sure how much about the familial relations is widely known throughout the galaxy and individual heroes in particular. Yes, Poe seems to know Luke Skywalker is Kylo Ren’s  uncle in the novelization but then again, in tfa’s novelization he’s already met Rey. On the other hand, I really don’t think Rey, a person living on “pretty much nowhere”, got the message about Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker being one and the same and then just missed what was the underlying situation between Luke and Vader. Additionally, Lor San Tekka seemed to be still pretty much oblivious or in denial talking to Kylo Ben of the truth that is his family. 

But don’t worry - the very fact that it would be Hugs commencing the laundry means laundry will turn out in favour of our beloved drama queens, eventually. 

[coffeeandtin]

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

Anon requested headcanons about The Seven’s pet peeves. 

Joshua Faraday: Faraday absolutely despises it when someone ruins a joke. It doesn't even have to be his joke for him to feel a sense of ire toward the person who either doused a good mood; or has done or said something that rendered a perfectly good punchline unfunny. In response, Faraday will likely make a joke at that person’s expense, or very pointedly change the subject. People who think they are funny, but are not, can count themselves as personas non grata in Faraday’s book. Faraday’s sense of humor -no matter how dark it might tend to be -is one of his favorite coping mechanisms, and so if there is a joke he can’t laugh it, he finds himself sufficiently affronted.

Goodnight Robicheaux: Goody is a Southern gentleman through and through, so there is nothing that grates on his nerves more than rudeness. Whether it's something so blatant as being ungallant toward a lady; or someone being an ungracious host or guest; or something so casually rude as not saying please, thank you, or excuse me. In that same vein, being interrupted during conversation also drives Goodnight up the wall. Internally, Goodnight stews about other people’s lack of decorum, but if calling attention to it will exceed the actual infraction, he’ll probably let it go. On the other hand, if someone does something truly egregious, Goodnight will happily put a stop to it in as stylish and clever a way as he can.

Vasquez: It truly vexes Vasquez when people take things for granted. While Vasquez openly admits fearing attachment, it is also by necessity that he doesn’t allow himself many permanent or sentimental connections. It bothers him to see or hear people casually disregard the things they have in their own lives, no matter how trivial they might seem. He’ll frown, maybe shake his head, and go about his his business; but if was already a part of the conversation, he might call the person out. He’s not sure why he is compelled to, especially since he feels that much emptier for having done so, because his annoyance inevitably turns inward.  

Sam Chisolm: Sam cannot abide stupidity, much less willful stupidity. Sam is smart, but he wouldn’t venture to call himself a paragon of human intelligence. Even so, any instance where a distinct lack of common sense gives him the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh, really galls him. Though he’s sure he should be grateful for criminals who are less than intellectually gifted, it absolutely amazes him how many times the people he hunts could have avoided him for much longer if only they’d exercised a modicum of thought. A disinclination toward learning, and improving never sits well with Sam.

Jack Horne: Conflating women with things irks jack to no end, and he doesn’t hesitate to verbalize his dissatisfaction. Taking the lord’s name in vain is also one of Jack’s pet peeves. He differentiates between cussing and breaking the third commandment. It’s something to which he doesn’t seem to remain spiritually unaffected; it hurts him to hear. If the blasphemy is particularly colorful, Jack will cast a baleful glance at the perpetrator, and shift his position in order to convey his consternation. The most he will say is a quiet “Alright, now,” in hopes that conversation will become tamer.

Red Harvest: Before he joined the rest of The Seven, Red had very few niggling complaints that could be considered pet peeves. Afterward, however, he discovers he has a plethora of things that really, as Goodnight says, “stick in his craw.” Invasion of his personal space, boisterous conversations going on when he would just as soon have quiet. Hell, even the ways certain members of the group chew their food can bug Red. He reminds himself to take a step back, and that these small grievances are one of the costs of being close to others. That doesn’t stop him from getting back at Faraday or Vasquez if the occasion calls for petty revenge, though.

Billy Rocks: Billy is not quite as unflappable as his cool demeanor might lead everyone to believe. When something does manage to chafe at him, he is bothered by the fact he allowed something so insignificant to affect him in the first place. Yes, being annoyed redoubles Billy’s displeasure, but what starts him down that path in the first place (aside from Goodnight’s occasional lapse in consideration where water-sharing is concerned)? Black and white morality doesn’t suit Billy. Any sort of zealotry, or unquestioning loyalty to a way of thought or action sets Billy on edge. This never causes Billy to act rashly, but it does make him wary.

[arcticdementor]

“Never forget class struggle!” proclaimed Mao in Fall 1962 at the Chinese Communist Party’s annual retreat. This maxim quickly became the fevered chant of the day, paving the way for the Cultural Revolution, which began in 1966 and continued until Mao’s death in 1976. This slogan defied reality and logic: How could class struggle persist when there was no private ownership left in China? But the slogan appealed to sentiment, not logic, and thus persisted.

If modified into “Never forget race struggle,” the command has the same appeal in today’s woke America, and serves the same purposes, even though there is no evidence that race is a barrier impeding individual effort in America today, or that it is decisive in distributing outcomes.

Maoist tactics, rhetoric, and symbols have been adopted in BLM protests and riots, “anti-racist” self-education doctrine, and the promotion of “critical race theory” (CRT) in schools, corporations, the government, and even the military. As a student of the totalitarianism of Mao’s China—which was exceptionally effective in peddling propaganda and staging performances of feigning, preening, and indignation—I find woke America’s reinvention of Maoism fascinating and terrifying. Mao is the unsung hero for contemporary CRT intellectuals.

…

Just as the Maoist label “class enemy” was intentionally kept vague and its usage promiscuous, woke concepts such as “systemic racism” are meant to deceive and divide. “Systemic racism” is invoked as the sole cause wherever disparities of outcome among different groups exist; neither the act or intention of racism matters, except for the “implicit bias” as suggested by the equally unproven and unprovable assumption of “white fragility.”

Epistemology starts with basic and general presuppositions which are not imposed externally but emerge organically through humans’ collective experiences, and which must undergo rigorous scrutiny. When CRT or other social justice theories conjure up catchy concepts laden with spurious correlations, our world is made less intelligible, less connected with our experiences, and objective knowledge less obtainable. The goal of esoteric academic terminology like “decomposition” or “decolonization” is to obscure and intimidate, not clarify. Revolutionary jargon is intended to destroy our common sense and keep our understanding in a constant state of topsy-turvy.

…

The denial of reality and reason is reflected in the hysteria surrounding Mao’s Great Leap Forward, a mammoth state project with no parallel in modern history, that vowed to bring agrarian China from socialism to communism within 15 years. In 1958, the entire country was engulfed in frenzied exhilaration and hallucination, working day and night, cheered by drumbeats declaring that “the corn will grow higher, the more you desire.” Communes scrambled in competition to fabricate figures of crop output that were transparently fake and yet accepted along with sycophantic statements such as, “Chairman Mao’s thoughts have boosted yields.”

Though Lysenkoist agricultural innovations such as “close cropping” or “deep plowing” led to disastrous failures, mythical “sputnik fields” claimed ever-larger outputs. For instance, 1.8 tons of wheat was supposedly grown from one-sixth of an acre and 70 tons of rice from less than one-fifth of an acre. Though these figures were obviously fiction, scientists such as world-renowned mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist Qian Xuesen wrote in China Youth Daily that the yield could grow still 20 times larger. Fearful of being called “Rightists,” nobody dared to point out the obvious lie. Peasants, local cadres, and party officials, wittingly, participated in a blatant lie that starved between 36 million and 45 million civilians to death within a few years.

Lies are expected of the citizenry in a totalitarian state; people imbibe and spew lies while fully aware of the falsehood. The state does not need the people to accept the lie, let alone believe it—living within it suffices to demoralize individuals, rendering them more pliable. As Václav Havel points out, “individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.” It is hard to brave tyranny, but it is worth remembering that power is only effective insofar as we submit ourselves to it.

…

Public denunciation, forced conformism, false confession, acquiescence or outright lie, driven either by fear or expedience or calculation, were the essence of Maoist struggle sessions, and now typify woke America’s theatrical bickering on issues of race, transgender, or anything embodying identity politics, usually under the spotlight of social media or corporate media.

A shrewd strategist, Mao did not directly adopt the Marxist terms of oppressor versus oppressed. Rather, he translated them into “class enemy” and “the people” that carried heavier moral weight in Chinese parlance. Equally astute critical theorists weaponize terms such as “whites” against “people of color,” which taps into the complexity, sensitivity, and guilt associated with the history of race in America. The Maoist conception of class was defined by a state of mind, not birth. Hence, a proletarian birth did not guarantee a proletarian status without the demonstration of the proletarian attitude. The woke American analogy can be seen when black conservatives such as Candace Owens or Larry Elder are called white supremacists; even though race is supposedly the defining factor of all American culture and society, their blackness in particular is effaced by their political opinions.

…

The motto “Never forget class struggle” marched into the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, mustering even higher zealotry. Little did Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaopin know that they would be the first to be purged in the Revolution, given their ruthless devotion in previous campaigns to hunting “Rightists.” With Liu and Deng serving as warnings, party officials learned that the only way to self-protection was to accuse preemptively others as “Rightists,” “capitalist roaders,” or “revisionists,” and later “spies” and “traitors.”

All in the name of Mao Zedong Thought, proletariat warriors divided into factions and fought each other, all asserting that they were the “true proletarian left,” much as today’s American wokesters excommunicate each other by calling them “racists,” “sexists,” “homophobes,” or “transphobes.”