#but does not at any point consider herself a leader !!! in her opinion??? after The Inciting Incident? it should have been neve or harding

[thecoolerliauditore]

Can i propose a wild thought to you that I'm rattling off as I just thought of it

Have you considered the lizzie-scott parallels/contrasts?

One of my favourite things about Lizzie is her perpetual "i meant to do that!" attitude she approaches everything with. She thinks herself the leader of sorts and the only compitent bamboozler but my girl is just as big of a loser and klutz, she's just gotten slightly luckier so far. Its why I love her and Jimmy, they both think they're the responsible one when really they play hot potato with the braincell except neither noticed the braincell was replaced with an actual hot potato. She's better at certain things (remembering things and deduction in particular) but none of those things are surviving and its completely negated by her curiosity.

But anyways my point is that like Scott she tries to pretend she's competent and the smart one who is babysitting her teammates, keeping them under control, when she isn't any of those things and actually she cares a lot and is internally screaming all the time.

She's just capable of dropping the mask to be vulnerable. Or, yknow, aware it is in fact a mask in the first place. At the end of the day Lizzie can open up and apologize when she does something silly or says something a bit too mean. She'll just find something new to puff up her chest about.

She's also a sweat, she's just really bad at it.

(Sorry I could probably compare seablings vs fh more to emphasise my point but im trying really hard to keep to the point of this ask without going on tangents and I don't trust myself to not spend 3 hours writing about seablings and forgetting the whole point if I do (also you could also probably compare joel/lizzie to your scott/pearl stuff but 1) i think that probably works better comparing joel and scott more than lizzie and scott and 2) i think comparing their relationship with the same person even if its a different type of relationship might be more revealing and 3) i'm bias))

I ACTUALLY HAVE PONDERED SCOTT AND LIZZIE BEFORE. Not to any level that I feel is worth its own post or anything but they definitely do have a handful of common points that have sent me spiraling in the past (<- guy who really, really likes death games in general and totally didn't try to map out a full hunger games AU at one point. and put scott and lizzie in district 1 together because it just makes sense and has horrifying implications for both of them).

Anyway this is all very true, I hadn't even considered it in the context of their relationships with Jimmy but it makes a lot of sense with the whole. Awhhh I have to Keep Him Alive oop there he goes I guess he'll be die next session 🙄🙄 sort of energy they both try to embody. And how it's kind of performative for both of them, but I think I'll have to let the season play out a bit more before I form any sort of opinion on Lizzie's treatment of Jimmy. (I'm forever sad that Lizzie missed out on three seasons I feel like she might've been a smajor level blorbo to me if she was just there more)

This is a little on the meta side but from what I understand Scott pretty much started off his youtube career with Lizzie's guidance post-WoW-party so I suppose it makes enough sense that he takes after her so much on a persona level as well. Except he's a lot worse at embracing the tongue-in-cheek insincerity. That thing you said about the mask.

I do think Scott is at least acutely aware of his performative nature too, just less willing to acknowledge it for what it is. Lizzie is lying to you, Scott is lying to you but more importantly lying to himself. And that's the difference that I think makes Scott so much more. Dangerous? I suppose would be the word to use. Other than the fact that he is just overall a lot better at being a sweat in general but I'd argue even that could be seen as part of his constant need to keep up his perfect image.

Anyway I'm very unfamiliar with Lizzie and Jimmy's dynamic so I'm excited to see how it goes and even moreso with the comparison to my guy now planted i n my mind. Cheers I loveee stuff like this.

Also sidenote I do find it very entertaining that I'm as predictable as I am <-- has thought about scott/pearl and joel/lizzie as foils alot especially in LL

[rewordthis]

Ah, Kamo my boy.

I know you just wanted to be a good kid and a good leader for the Kamo clan but you should consider the chance that both Maki and Mai may never wanted to be married to you.

And especially considering Maki’s personality, if she indeed had inherited the Ten Shadows Technique, she would most definitely try to assert dominance on her clan instead of let herself get married into another clan!😗

Also, why are Megumi’s eyes brown?! Who forgot to colour them??? 😂

And featuring my biggest pet peeve in 2D Universe: Paper-dimensional teeth. I’m not going to tolerate this from MAPPA again! 😤😒

Points of focus that got my attention under the cut (spoilers obviously).

Retrospect:

“It hurts…” Yuuji after killing Eso. 🤨

Gojo is more tanned than we all think. The only ones that have a darker complexion than him are Yuuji and Yaga! This came a bit as a shock to me because I usually notice these things pretty quickly but his white hair are quite misleading. Haha I only noticed after watching him interact with the other characters in back to back episodes in my rewatch. 👀

Why was Kamo thinking of reuniting with Miwa when they fought Hanami? Does Miwa have the potential to exorcise special grades? I highly doubt that… hm.🤨

Ever since I heard this when I first watched JJK, I’m having so many thoughts about what this truly meant; what exactly Gojo meant when he told Megumi that he ‘won’t even measure up to Nanami’? Is this because Nanami is extremely strong? Like he’s the second strongest after himself— THE Gojo Satoru? Or — like I always understood it — because Nanami is extraordinarily strong despite not being complete as a sorcerer? This is giving me headaches for a year now… ugh… 🫤😬 Of course, it could mean both senses… Nah, coming from Gojo, it really sounds like the later meaning, right?🧐

What really bothers me in the movie; did Gojo really said “I love you” to Geto? Ahaha, not so much that it bothers me but more like the manga had Gojo blushing the minute he sets eyes on Geto, but Geto doesn’t blush until after Gojo’s last words to him. Yet, the movie never shows them blushing at any moment. What version is accurate? Not to mention… Gojo really had to decapitate Geto. Geto himself is a reversed curse technique user, which is probably why Yuuta went after his head during their fight (this kid knows his subject!). Geto got momentarily lucky that the katana broke but… Well, did Gojo do his job properly? He better— 😒

I think this is an unpopular opinion and people will go bonkers if I say this out loud, but the only reason for Gojo to tell Geto that he loves him in that moment and Geto to reply — well, like he did — is that besides friendship there was really nothing more between them. Individually, Geto must have loved Gojo in the more ecumenical or platonic sense— more like how you love your family, your friends, the people in general. It’s a fairly broad range of love. That’s why he didn’t consider Gojo’s ‘love’ a curse. Or at least that’s what he was comfortable with… Poor Gojo, really. This was his last chance to confess to Geto and the guy is just as blockheaded and dense as a cementbrick. Because make no mistake, by the narrative, Gojo speaks of love in the same sense of how Yuuta loves Rika… erm, loved(?) Rika… He means it as romantic love. Again, poor Gojo. If he really said ‘l love you’ to Geto, then that means he finally found the courage to admit his feelings, but his feelings didn’t come across! I did say before that his existence is a joke, right? He deserves this pain because he’s Over Powered. He can take it. ��😗

And what really bothers the shit out of me: what was the bluff Geto pulled while at Jujutsu Tech that they all still believe??? What did his stupid ass did??? It can’t be that he was referring to the way he manipulates cursed spirits, right? That’s too simple! Though it may hold some truth, I don’t think it is — or rather, it shouldn’t be — something so simple. Grrr 🙄😤

Ah! Btw, because I forgot to say this earlier, what was that bubble Yuuta used to heal Maki, Toge and Panda? Was that a reverse cursed technique? It seemed to sooth Maki’s pain. And in the manga, it looked like she was more or less healed(?)… 🧐 Yes, I don’t know.

Bonus Favourite juju strolls:

Gojo asking Nanami out just to break his nerves.

Gojo, Nobara and Yuuji ruining Megumi’s ‘pick up’ time.

[aetherceuse]

Lusamine’s Opinions™

After a lot of mulling on my end, here are Lusamine’s opinions on certain people, organizations, and public figures; all of this is a baseline, and will fluctuate depending on different interpretations, headcanons and muses.

The Pokémon Professors

Lusamine has a great deal of respect for every region’s adjacent professors. She considers herself a scientist, first and foremost, and makes sure that she keeps up-to-date with their findings. Professor Oak, Professor Rowen, and Professor Magnolia were all laying the groundwork for their grand research when Lusamine was just a child— while figures like Professor Elm, Professor Sycamore and Professor Juniper were breaking into the field when Lusamine was in her early 20’s.

There was a point in time where the Alola region had considered hiring Lusamine as an adjacent professor, but she declined the position, and vouched for Professor Kukui to take on the role, due to his impressive research surrounding the Z-crystals and how it effected Pokémon move behavior.

Professor Sada and Professor Turo are two scholars that Lusamine holds in high regard. She is unaware of the existence of the Paradox Pokémon and the Time Machine that was built in Area Zero, but she is aware of the tera crystals, and the immense amount of time that Sada and Turo have poured into their research. She considers the two of them some of the most dedicated minds of the current era. And if she were to ever discover what was at the bottom of the crater, she would be offering funding, and some of her best scientists, to assist in any way possible.

Regional Governments

The Aether Foundation has branches in several spots across the globe— but the base of operations is the Aether Paradise in Alola. Because of that, Lusamine only spares attention for places where Aether has a footing. Currently, beyond Alola, Aether is operating near Mossdeep City in Hoenn, and in a modest branch building outside of Canalave City in Sinnoh. She is vying for a permit to operate in Unova, so that she can better study the Elgyem that live in the region. Aether employees can also be found studying Mt. Moon on occasion, but she has not bothered to work independently in either Kanto or Johto, due to certain hostilities in the regions.

That being said, anywhere that Aether operates, Lusamine attempts to keep up with the politics, and works to assure that Aether is seen in a positive light.

In the case of the Galar region’s extremely strict import and export laws, and Paldea’s newly opened borders, Lusamine knows little to nothing about those regions, nor does she have any interest in setting foot into such uncharted territory. Not only that, it would put her in an awkward competition with Macro Cosmos in Galar, and the strict Paldean government in Paldea, which she would rather not deal with. She is also not too pressed about having a presence in Kalos, because from what she understands— a billionaire named Lysandre holds enough influence over the region.

Regional Champions/Gym Leaders/Elite Four.

Once upon a time, Lusamine was an avid Pokémon battler, but she does not have enough time to dedicate herself to the practice anymore. That being said, she does not keep up with the big names in the scene, unless they are household names— such as Red or Leon. Names such as those are tossed around so frequently that she need not look into them. But she wouldn’t be able to tell you who the champion of Unova or Kanto-Johto is, nor is she inclined to care.

The same goes for members of the gym leader circuits and the elite four. Many of her employees follow the careers of these professional trainers, but Lusamine does not personally. She has heard of the more popular faces, such as Grimsley, Malva, Rika, Caitlin and Lance. (There’s actually a few of her employees who are HUGE fans of them.)

The Alolan elite four, of course, she knows pretty personally. It’s strictly professional, however. You won’t see her going out of her way to socialize with Molayne, though she does have an appreciation for his inventiveness.

Organizations

I’m just going to go down the list in chronological order, since there’s so many squads now.

ROCKET is the organization that Lusamine knows the most about, due to Alola’s close proximity to Kanto, and a lot of the shared technology. Her overarching opinion is going to change depending on individual verses and interpretations, but generally speaking, she follows the philosophy of “they leave me alone, I leave them alone.” To her, the fact that Rocket exists in the first place is a testament to societal collapse and the greed of humans, but she can somewhat understand Giovanni’s angle of controlling the world; she can find the logic in trying to control what already exists for the sake of self-preservation and fascination, even though it is something that doesn’t interest her personally. Paired with the fact that both Rocket and Aether have worked to develop new types of PokéBalls, are busy creating new Pokémon through questionably unethical experiments, and the fact that there are several Aether employees who use Porygon 2, a Pokémon that Rocket invented, it’s safe to assume that there is SOME sort of connection between the two groups.

MAGMA and AQUA are both groups that have potential in the race to improve the environment, but the extremes that they take in order to achieve their goals is absolutely ridiculous in Lusamine’s opinion. She thinks that, of the two, Maxie is easier to reason with— Archie reminds her of Guzma: loud, reckless and hardheaded. She believes that, if Magma and Aqua were to stop going at each others throats, and put their heads together, that they could greatly benefit the global ecosystems— however, expanding the land, and expanding the ocean, is illogical to her, and she does not see the long term benefit in changing the terrain, nor does she think that it is a necessary to improve the lives of humans and Pokémon.

GALACTIC is very fascinating to Lusamine, Cyrus especially. He is such a young man, but his personality is eerily similar to Lusamine’s, and he has a brilliant mind. It is unfortunate to her that his ideals are so extremely out of touch with reality, that it would not be worth working with him; the data and technology related to outer space and contacting other dimensions is priceless information for Lusamine, and she would be willing to work alongside Galactic, if the end goal weren’t to completely reset all of reality. After Cyrus’ disappearance, Lusamine would absolutely be interested in reaching out to the splintered pieces of Galactic, with the hopes that their knowledge would assist in her research on Ultra Space.

The full extent of PLASMA’S plans is unknown to Lusamine; she doesn’t know that Ghetsis intends on disarming everybody, except for himself and a select few others. She also does not know about the plan to use Kyurem to take control of the Unova region. What she does know is that Plasma seems keen on protecting Pokémon, which garners Lusamine’s interest. If she were to learn about the full extent of Ghetsis’ plans, she would definitely disagree at several different points, but unlike Magma, Aqua and Galactic, Plasma does not want to blow up the world. She can reason and peacefully disagree with people who have different philosophical points, but she cannot do that with megalomaniacs. She would actually agree that many people should NOT own Pokémon, actually. It would be another case of “you leave me alone, and I leave you alone.” She’d especially be intrigued by the creation of Genesect, of course, since genetic research is something that Aether has a hand of. Colress is also a MAJOR point of interest, because of his involvement with technology and engineering.

Lusamine does NOT know that FLARE exists. She has no idea that there is a fanatical cult that wants to blow up the world. (Why do so many people want to blow up the world?) What she IS aware of, is Lysandre’s major involvement in the Kalos region, and his inventions. At face value, Lusamine would have a great deal of respect for Lysandre’s efficiency and innovation, and perhaps she would be interested in learning more about his plans to improve the region. All of that would come to a stop, however, if she learned about Flare, and their goals. To her, the idea of one human man deciding who is chosen and unchosen, is delusional, psychotic, and narcissistic. In her mind, humanity is already flawed— a humanity born from the vision of one man would be even more flawed. In the end, it is likely that Lusamine would forever consider Lysandre a threat if she came to know of Flare’s plans, and would have an exit strategy planned if the Ultimate Weapon were ever fired off.

MACRO COSMOS, as a monopoly in the Galar region, appears as a powerful business conglomerate that Lusamine would certainly be interested in! She would also offer to have Aether sponsor some of the prospective gym challengers in the Galar region. Chairman Rose and Oleana seem like reasonable, but private people, to Lusamine, which she can absolutely agree with and understand. Socially, they may get along as well. However, yet again it boils down to the “you want to blow up the world” issue. She has no idea that Eternatus exists. If she did, she would be all over wanting to research its existence, especially since the creature fell from the sky, much like Necrozma. The plan to have Eternatus gobble everything up, of course, is where Lusamine shakes her head and decides that Rose is delusional. Not only that, the blueprints to Type: Null were stolen by someone involved with Macro Cosmos— and if Lusamine ever finds out about that, she is going to start a legal nightmare.

Lusamine simply doesn’t know that YELL and STAR exist, and their existence doesn’t impact anything that she is doing, so she has very little care about them— much like SKULL, she would view those groups as nothing but disruptive kids. Of course, she would have a healthy appreciation for the inventiveness of Ortega. The creation of the Starmobiles is silly on the outside, but it is an artificial symbiotic relationship between multiple Pokémon, which is entirely unheard of. Lusamine would be impressed, and likely offer Ortega scholarship opportunities and an internship at Aether. The same goes for Penny, she would find her to be incredibly bright, especially with her ability to infiltrate security systems at such a young age.

Last but not least, the Orre region’s factions, SNAGEM and CIPHER, are not well known outside of Orre and its bordering regions, and so she would care very little about them unless they began to cause her problems. Cipher’s discovery of shadowing Pokémon would certainly catch her eye, however, from a scientific stand point. Her opinion on the entire ordeal? Research is research. She would not vouch for the creation of shadow Pokémon though. It is an unnecessary means of weaponry that, in her mind, does not need to be encouraged. If an organization needs to alter Pokémon to THAT extent in order for them to be powerful, and to take control of the region’s government, then the hostility makes it entirely unworthy taking advantage of the science. Snagem as an organization would remind her of Rocket in more ways than one, and she would be more inclined to reason with them, as a result. Yet again, it is a case of “you do not want to blow up the world, leave me alone and I will leave you alone.”

[co-mixed]

Fantastic Origin (Reed Sucks)

Let’s do it, let’s kick off the Fantastic Four review journey. 

The first ever run of Marvel’s first family aka the team I had been actively avoiding until recently. 

Most of Lee/Kirby books are extremely different from what we see in the comics today. You could easily attribute that to the days of yore or just the fact that these books have served as stepping stones towards bigger and more complex stories. Or you could take them for what they are.

Right away I will have to get misogyny out of the way. It’s there and it’s ugly. These books are filled with ridiculous stereotypes and absolutely unacceptable degrading behavior towards women. It’s all the more upsetting when you get to read fan letters from women, they hint at that constantly. 

I gotta say, it worked too because when Crystal became a part of the team, she was relatively badass and was treated with more respect than Sue. But dammit, poor Sue. You can try and convince me that Reed is a good husband but that won’t help a bit. In a world where literal supervillains exist, he is definitely not the worst human being but since he’s being portrayed as a hero, I’m gonna accept the fact that he’s trash. 

Of course, I see what the creators were going for: Reed was supposed to be a hyper-focused, single-minded, science-obsessed team leader with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was supposed to be flawed but sympathetic. 

Especially compared to his beloved Sue who was supposed to be a loving and caring homemaker with her invisibility power being a reflection of her relationship with Reed. As in he only sees her when she’s in danger. 

The way it looks now, 60 years after the cosmic rays incident, is very different.

Sue is a young woman, seemingly younger than Reed, who somehow stumbled into a relationship with a man who treats her as a status symbol. She’s a tag-along, something pretty to walk with, have at home, and look at when it pleases him. Because she’s younger (bear with me, I’m only assuming this based on the Lee/Kirby age), she is very susceptible to his influence and opinions, there’s a power misbalance and she doesn’t really know that things could or should be better. Which is kind of easy to assume, considering her mother was dead and her father was in jail. She also had a brother in high school to take care of and Reed was successful and rich. 

Then after she got powers, she kind of got permanently stuck with him, and that trauma bond became even more dysfunctional. She did assume the role she probably saw in the media at the time, overly caring about everyone but herself, and she accepts material substitutes for actual comfort, such as shopping, because that’s what’s been said and taught to her. 

Her relationship with Reed is passionless too, hence when Namor shows up, she entertains the idea of him. Although, let’s not forget that he keeps kidnapping her and trying to convince her to become his queen of the seas or whatever. Maybe if he was less straightforward and didn’t try to kill her brother in the process… who knows?

But he does, meanwhile, Reed is putting that good-for-nothing brother of hers through school, so she chooses Reed. She even marries him, entrapping herself in a loveless marriage. And after two years of horrible home life with barely any time to get to know whatever she’s been wed to, she gets pregnant. All in all, at this point, at that time, it’s over for her. And as a reader you know she doesn’t escape that. It’s pretty tragic. 

Reed is a scumbag. Yelling at Susan is just part of it, he also acts like he’s the boss of everyone (which I do get when it comes to Johnny and Ben, who are let’s just say irresponsible.) 

He constantly sticks his nose into things like the negative zone, causing meanies like Annihilus to show up. He keeps using Ben or The Thing when he needs and then swears he’ll turn him back. It gets repetitive and no one can really trust him. He pretends to act like a hero after causing a problem and keeps trying to sacrifice himself forgetting his wife and eventually son. Bro, you got responsibilities over there!

I believe that’s the intention but Reed is not that different from Doom, except Doom actually has a sob story to explain his obsession with science and the occult. Reed… at this point in the run we don’t know if he does or where his assholery comes from. All we do know is he’s an equally terrible leader, husband, and friend. Bet he’s not much of a father either. 

But hey, at least he’s putting that good-for-nothing Johnny through school. 

Ben is irritating. We’ve discussed it at length with several people, how so many people can relate to him and consider him their favorite character. But Ben Grimm is awful. You know what? I think the unstable version of him that was around for a brief moment when he could switch into The Thing and back, that version is the real Ben Grimm. If anything, his insecurity is holding him back in that anger. When he gets both strength and his human appearance, that’s when you gotta run for the hills and summon the Hulk to put him down. 

Ben went from petty, insecure, and angry to overcompensating and calling himself pretty and lovable. All the while his paranoia regarding Alicia and her love for him is growing more and more bizarre. He really doesn’t trust her when she says that she likes him as The Thing, he claims he wants to be Ben for her but hey, she’s pretty uncomfortable with Ben so there’s that. 

He did act better than Reed would’ve when he thought Alicia had chosen Silver Surfer but then he ghosted her and threw a tantrum every time Surfer popped up. Have some self-respect, Ben. 

What pissed me off the most is the way he treated Franklin seconds before he found out his middle name was Benjamin. Like, seriously? You’re taking it out on a baby? Besides, neither Sue nor Reed owes you anything. Well, maybe Reed does. But it doesn’t help that Ben keeps getting into fights with that good-for-nothing Johnny.

Johnny is good for nothing. He’s an ok kid I suppose but he doesn’t attend school and somehow ends up in a university (which even managed to piss off one fan! Seriously, don’t ignore the fan mail if it’s there!) Then he spends exactly one semester, meets a friend who participates in his whacky adventures for like a week, and forgets this friend exists. He also forgets the school exists. 

Johnny is either acting out at home, fixing his car, or chasing after girls. Until he meets Crystal and immediately becomes obsessed with her, which no one really cares about. Then Crystal gets stuck under a dome with her merry Inhuman family, and he broods and throws tantrums. They are torn apart and brought back together, and then are torn apart and then brought together, it’s a whole X-men level soap. I actually liked that.

And out of all the villains I’m only gonna focus on Doom. Don’t get me wrong, Galactus is forever the star, but let’s talk Doom. 

He’s an interesting fellow but I don’t get the massive fan base. Dude’s a literal dictator of the worst kind. He experienced dictatorship on his own skin since childhood and he grew up and enslaved his whole country. I would understand if he brought prosperity and happiness to them but that? I was actually pretty impressed by the Latverian arc, in which the FF went to Latveria and were depowered and treated like Doom’s dear guests. It was a creative way to draw a little image of what this kinda system is and how it functions from within. Doom rules by fear and they experienced that fear, they even almost lost hope. I would’ve done this arc a little differently but hey, I’m here 60 years later. 

But at least Doom hadn’t killed that good-for-nothing Johnny.

The Stories

That’s what we’re really here for –  the silly early villains and the bizarre tactics that save the day. We obviously have some baddies that stood the test of time and a few that didn’t. But Reed’s approach throughout everything is pretty much “let’s throw them into space and hope they don’t come back.” They do, Doom’s been to space twice and even made a trip to the microverse. He’s well-traveled now.

In the beginning, it’s a very repetitive scheme: one issue = one arc, Ben argues with that good-for-nothing Johnny, Sue is there, Reed saves the day. But the arcs stretch to two and more issues and the stories become more and more entertaining. At some point, even Sue gets to save a few hours. Not the day though. 

Crystal gets her shining moments, and like I said before, she does very well and almost without Reed’s misogynistic crap. 

There are a few stories I liked, Galactus, of course (behold!), the would-be gamer The Thinker, Latveria visit, and the arc in which whatshisface scientist turned himself into The Thing. That’s pretty much the first time in this run when a one-issue baddie realized the error of his ways and made the ultimate sacrifice. Before that, the antihero role was pretty much Namor’s. Speaking of Namor, how’s his “movie” career? That arc was truly wild and smelled a lot like Golden Age comics.

Now if you’re thinking you’d like to read this run, do. But if you just want to know the origins and main encounters, just watch the 90’s show. Not only it covers most of the pivotal stories, but season one has a fantastic! intro song. You’re gonna love it and if you don’t, it’s gonna haunt you till you do.

I’m positive the stories are gonna get better. I was promised they’re gonna get better but I have a hell of a road ahead of me, 300 issues before I get to more modern days, and even more after that. I’m all in.

[fllagellant]

could you do nocticula & anevia for the NPC ask? any OC's chill

Ohhhh love these choices .. pulling out The Two of them ..

Zezil . Okay . They’ re a trickster and they met Socothbenoth first and found their rivalry .. funny . To a point . But they do side more with Socothbenoth and that kinda ended up with Zezil seeing Nocticula less as a frightening leader and more as like .. your “ friend’s “ old sibling that you annoy the hell out of . They go through with pranking her later and they do end up killing her but they did it all out of this idea of humour . They do not trust her at all and they know she’ ll never really care about them or their fate . But it was funny to fuck with her . Zezil voice I hope she likes pink teehee ! Very strange thing happening here it is impossible for others to read bc they are rather respectful to her and jumped to work with her in the abyss but then you got . Just completely disrespecting a leader of the abyss and overstepping everything like what a way to end the final council meeting

Obscure . Is unimpressed . THAT’ S KINDA IT … granted . It is like this with All authority . As soon as someone has a high title or is regarded as a true ruler then he becomes completely uninterested . Considering all the shit it had to do to get an audience in the first place .. and then finally getting there .. very uninteresting . She’ s another hand trying to play him as a pawn . That’ s kinda it . He does use what she offers ( more out of a knowledge it is running out of time to be safe down here , and she can make things happen ) but he doesn’ t enjoy her calling him her chosen and the like . It is more interested in what Ember has to say about Nocticula and watching what happens there .. but Nocticula herself is like . Eh . Cool house . Can I go

Zezil and Anevia are Friends ! Beyond professionalism I think they do like each other as people .. even if Zezil is a bit . Much . Sometimes … Anevia does enjoy being around them and they have good talks I think ! Like to believe that Zezil ends up defaulting to her opinion on a lot of things while managing the crusade effort , and those talks devolve into just hanging out . They also stuck very close to her when they could while she was injured , even after getting to the Defender’ s Heart , just making sure everything set correctly and in case she needed help .. great way to make a friend is to make sure they do not die

Obscure is a bit less involved with talking to her and their relationship is a bit more professional ( as professional as it can be with Obscure ) but it is still pretty lighthearted ! It respects her for her skills and her constant aid and presence and does value her thoughts . I don’ t think they go out drinking or anything but they do enjoy the time they have with eachother while doing their respective duties . Also she is cool with the dragon being in the meeting room so that means Anevia is liked by Aivu … meaning that Obscure is also going to like her . It makes the dragon happy therefore I will also like it <- this is his wisdom .

[bitterarcs]

First and foremost — any member of the Turks, regardless of who they are as a person, stand above any other person through status alone. They may not share the same ideals and some he may disagree with, but they have his loyalty, and he would fight and die for any of his comrades. Of course, this goes ten-fold for Rude and for other Turks he cares about on a non-superficial value . . with them it's more about genuine loyalty than obligation!

CISSNEI

Honestly I haven't given her and Reno's interactions too much thought. He liked her enough while she was one of the Turks although he held no particularly strong feelings, good nor bad. She proved herself smart and capable, but she was not a person he was particularly goofy around or took out for drinks. I picture her rather level headed and not tolerating his shenanigans; he was also not as bad with his shenanigans back when she was a Turk. Reno's strongest feelings stem after her defection-ish? Following her leaving the Turks, Reno does not like her nor does he mention her by name even if she occasionally helped out along with the secondary /auxiliary Turks. He considers her a quitter and never being worthy of being a Turk in the first place. If Reno ever found out she was being driven by her emotions and helped Zack Fair, he would have gone mental.

VELD

What can Reno say? Not much but actually a decent amount at the same time. Simply, Veld was his superior and one of the persons who aided in Reno's recruitment. He was a strong and dauntless leader. That's the bulk of Reno's opinions before the man defected. Did he feel grateful that Veld saw the potential in him? Yes, but Reno does not feel indebted because Veld was not the only person involved in the decision making. Reno was an asset and Veld managed that asset . . nothing more. He was entirely too much of a hard ass for Reno to consider him more than a leader worth his respect. Reno, like Tseng and Rude, were willing to put their lives on the line of him. The system was pretty fucked up at that point, and Reno believed ( and still does ) that Turks come first over shitty leaders / politics. Then comes to the messy bit. Defection just rubs Reno in all the wrong ways. He considers those who leave the Turks to be cowards, however of all the Turks to do so, he kind of understands why Veld had to do it. Kind of. Reno is not sentimental and does not care about family, yet if someone gets a chance at happiness . . Reno understands why they would go for it. He doesn't bring up Veld but if someone else does, he would have nothing particularly ill to say.

TSENG

Tseng is the Turk Reno likes second best, though he liked Tseng better when he wasn't the lead Turk in command. He was more down to earth and easier to get along. Reno would often drag, or try to drag Tseng along with Rude for bar hopping and office pranks. There was a vulnerability to him that made him more friend material than a simple co-worker, however Reno did regard Tseng as a brown noser when he first joined. He always seemed too nerdy and too easy to please. Now Reno understands that it was not only loyalty but he was being groomed to take command of the Turks one day. In the present, his feelings are more complicated. He believes Tseng to be a great leader, more so than Vled, but does not see any wiggle room for banter and office shenanigans. He knows why ( at least vaguely ) Tseng changed so much, but Reno isn't a particular fan of stick in the mud personality types. Tseng is not nearly as bad as Veld, but it's enough that Reno does not invite him to any after work affairs.

ELENA

Reno can't help comparing Elena to his sister even though they have very different personalities. Truthfully, he found it surprising she was able to join the Turks at such a young age, younger than he, considering she seems quite childish and emotionally driven. Part of him thinks it was desperation to have more Turks, and the other part of him feels guilty for even thinking that because she has proven herself a worthy comrade. She is young and easy to rile up, so Reno takes advantage of that constantly, treating her more like a sister sometimes than a co-worker. Reno definitely pulls ranks and would rather place himself in more dangerous and fun situations over her. He is not entirely convinced she has the black heart capable of toughing it out with the Turks.

EMMA

If there was a no nonsense woman in Reno's life, it was certainly Emma. Scarlet and Emma are really the only two women that he would not mess around with in any sense. For Emma, it's more of a stoic thing. She doesn't break and doesn't really display her emotions beside being loyal and hard working, so there's nothing really there for Reno to mess with nor connect. She's a hard worker, skilled as any Turk can be. Although he would prefer a team of buddies, she really was a great asset and just five of her would give the Turks a terrific advantage. Like every other Turk who left, she's dead to him after leaving the Turks.

AUXILIARY TURKS

As expected, he definitely gets along with some more than others and certainly has actively flirted with some. While working together, everything went smoothly and every member acted like a well-oiled gear as part of a machine. Reno's opinions drastically change in the aftermath of Before Crisis where the auxiliary / secondary Turks just fuck off to live their own lives while occasionally helping. Like Elena, he considers them quitters and cowards. He speaks ill of them to Rude and if he ever saw them in person, he would spit in their face. You're either in or you're out, and if you're out you should be dead.

        So we know how (your) Reno feels about Rude, but what about the other Turks? Thoughts on Tseng, Elena, Cissnei and any other particular Turk you'd like to elaborate on? :) @stingslikeabee         (   is this a love confession, melissa ?  )

[chronussy-bc]

Discussion: Does Creed Hate Women? (P2)

Warning: very long post.

In the last post, I've explained Creed's thought process when it comes to hating Saya. Since the post was already too long, I didn’t want to add anything more. Therefore, I will elaborate here, as we look into his hatred towards Sephiria.

Creed was abused by his mother, which obviously has a strongly negative impact on his opinion about women. To him, there are two things that cannot be represented by a woman.

Goodness: because even a mother would still badly hurt her own child if she was frustrated/discontented to a certain extent. This thought stems from his suffering caused by his mother’s constant outburst.

Authority: because his mother used her advantages as the provider and the physical strength of an adult to inflict damage on him for a long period of time. He was always the available target of her anger due to his dependence on her. Him being inferior to his mother subjected him to her violence.

His hatred towards Saya will fall into the first category. Her kindness and generosity are ineradicable against any force, and she has proven it at the cost of her life. He can turn a blind eyes to her personality being the cause of Train’s changes, but he cannot to the fact that she lost only because she chose to sacrifice herself.

His hatred towards Sephiria, understandably, will fall into the second category.

Sephiria is Number I in an organization that controls 1/3 of the world economy. Below only a few, above all the rest. And what’s bitter here is that she is the best in both of what Creed does and Creed wishes to be doing: a fighter and a leader. It may not be by choice that people follow her, but it is for their loyalty to her. In terms of skills and experience, it was shown in the final battle that without Creed's most crucial enhances, immortality and Invisible blade Lv.3, he would not stand a chance to her. These two features are not something Creed alone can obtain.

Sephiria, alone, has power and represents power (Chronos).

Considering Creed's ambition, it makes sense that Sephiria is his top target. Her demise would serve many purposes. However, for him personally, Sephiria's defeat would be equal with his promotion: to become the strongest. The unkillable. A true God. If even the most competent assassin could not take him down, then he must be.

He was cautious of her, innerly acknowledging her superiority, and at the same time, scornful towards her. It's the showing of hatred for someone he knew was above him, so he did not dare to be too bold about it. However, this changes as the story progressed and Creed acquired more strength.

Creed's caution and recognition of Sephiria's ability:

In the manga, Sephiria first appeared in Vol.5, where she visited Train and his friends at their hideout. Later, she was seen in the last pages of Vol.6, doing her training. In the same volume, after Creed dealt with Durham, he said this to Doctor and Shiki.

It's not a matter if any Guardian appears, but it is when Sephiria does. Her participation will mark the actual beginning of the show, which is the real war between the two organizations. Creed's force, which includes himself, is already more than sufficient, but still he needs to be alert for her direct appearance. Sephiria would not go to the battlefield to fight foot soldiers. That's just a waste of time and power. She would be very likely to come for Creed, cutting off the head of the enemy's side. It could be said that even at this point of the story, though early, Creed had speculated an one on one fight against her, and he prepared himself for it.

His caution was also shown in the manner which he fought Sephiria in the final volumes. Although he had already obtained immortality, Creed did not upgrade his Invisble Blade to Lv.3 until Sephiria unleashed her most powerful attack. He fought her, partly to test himself, partly to test her, to see the extent of her ability. He was not hasty to bring out all of his assets but gradually proved his strength through his counter-attacks. Had he already known exactly what her limit was and only wished to eliminate her, he could have overpowered her right at the start then tortured, maimed her to embarrass her. That way seemed to befit his character more, as he often inclined to emphasizing on his superiority while fighting (using Lv.2 to "play" with Sven, verbally degrading Saya, acting like he was only entertaining himself whilst battling against Cerberus...).

When he survived the 36th move "Apocalypse", Creed was finally assured he had achieved divinity. Therefore, as he fought Train after, Creed did not wait long to use Lv.3, although he was still at an advantage with Lv.2. He then had regarded himself above Train, being a God, so he was urged to prove his absolute domination over someone he used to consider equal/superb.

Creed vs Train with Lv.2. He was certainly winning here. (From these pages on I totally believe Train's win to be plot armor. There is no way Creed can lose with this much of a gap between their power).

The moment his hope of Train coming to kill him was ended by Train's acclaimation, he merged himself with the sword, activating Lv.3.

Another detail indicates Creed's recognition of Sephiria was when he told Train of how he had defeated her, using this final form.

In my physical copy of the volume, printed in my first language, the translation is much clearer. I will do another translation here: "This, The Lv.3, has defeated Sephiria's strongest/special attack 'Apocalypse'." Since Creed's words were sort of a boast about his unbeatable status with the power of his sword, it can be said he indeed took pride in the fact that he could win against Sephiria, indirectly admitting her competence.

Creed was immensely satisfied by degrading Sephiria:

He overpowered her and when she fell to the floor, kicked on her head forcefully. He definitely enjoyed seeing her helpless beneath his boot. He didn't even do it to Saya, who haunted him until the last minutes, but he had to do it to Sephiria. He wanted his superiority over her to be the last thing she knew before she died. Not fear. Not regret or anything. She must feel weak and pathetic compared to him in her final moments on this earth. Petty bastard!

Pleasure aside, this is Creed’s act of self-assurance. The only woman who is expected to be able to bring him down has been vanquished, and he is the one who did it. Even in situation where her pride, something Creed knows she will defend fiercely, is badly insulted, all she can do is laying there. She can no longer harm him (don’t know how he would react when they reunite in hell if Sephiria’s plan B succeeded, but that sounds really fun).

Sephiria is the main target of Creed's hatred and validation when it comes to his view against Chronos.

Creed, as he himself claimed, despided The Elders’ control over the world. He deemed them unworthy, incapable of bringing improvement. In other words, Creed assumed himself above the Elders in terms of leadership and governance. In terms of fighting prowess, there's nothing to debate. Creed is undoubtedly above them.

So practically, he could not underestimate Sephiria yet thinking she works for a bunch of old fools with her life. A person with the potential to have more and be more but is willing to settle for less and to be subdued by lesser men. This is kinda his perception about her.

Creed talked about the Elders and his opinion on Sephiria's attempt.

He also acknowledged Sephiria as Chronos's best shot against him. If she failed, they would inevitably fail as well.

In other words, Chronos's best of everything, according to Creed, has all manifested in Sephiria. His validation of the organization is based, if not entirely then greatly, on her worth. To be honest, even if Sephiria actually got killed and Train could not defeat Creed, I don’t think Chronos would surrender. They would pick another person to fill in her position or not then Berzé would temporarily take on her responsibilities. The war would rage on until one side has been completely exhausted or obliterated. However, instead of seeing the fall of the Elders as the factor deciding the success of his rebellion, he saw Sephiria's death as the actual winning point.

He subconsciously revealed his own feeling of inferiority in this panel as well. Throughout the manga, fairly speaking, Sephiria is demonstrated as nice and humble. She does not bully her subordinates, agents and Numbers alike, nor does she threaten or punish them if they fail to do what she asks. Both Train and the agents have had words about her lenience. Acting haughty towards Rinslet was a trick of hers to goad the thief, making her overcome her own fear and jump into danger. A coward would only be a burden, Sephiria said this herself, and there is truth in it. That's why she needed Rinslet to have a ready mentality, not just to participate. However, Creed regarded her attitude as "high and mighty".

He must judge her ability correctly in order to deal with her, and her being above him in two most important aspects: fighting and leading is correct. This rubs him the wrong way, which makes his victory against her, as written, all the more satisfying.

Creed's hatred towards others mostly stems from his judgement of their worth. He hated those that are useless and those are useful but not following the meaning of "useful" as his dictionary defines. In a way, it could be said that he envies her, but considering his ambition, he is more likely to feel threatened by her. Saya threatens the persuasiveness of his ideal, Sephiria threatens the prospect of his goal, his dreamt position as a God. The interesting thing about people with a hierarchy insecurity like Creed is that their insecurity will turn into hatred. It's not gonna stay just an insecurity. Since Creed does not acknowledge the Elders' superiority, his hatred then falls upon Sephiria.

When he regained consciousness after being beaten by Train, he expressed his frustration about how Train refused to agree with him, despite them having gone through the same hardships in life. As he talked of how they were supposed to be different from the rest, Creed separately mentioned Sephiria's name, not putting her in the same group with others. Maybe because in his mind, he also divided people in Chronos, assassins and politicians, and ordinary citizens into two sides, so Sephiria is thought of as Chronos itself. Maybe he just hated her that much or there is something else between them we don't know about. However, whatever it is, it is definitely personal. The people in the story who knows never considers Sephiria's will and Chronos's will (the Elders') as one. She has to do some disturbing stuff because that is her job, not because she genuinely wishes it (she even hoped Creed would feel regret bruhhh). He just likes to assume she is a hypocrite. A strong one, but still.

The marked letters in the raw is “Sephiria” written in Japanese. Therefore, this is not a translating mistake.

All of that, but again, let switch Sephiria's gender into male. In this case, let swap her with Berzé. Sephiria's final thought to entrust her deputy with the rest, so his ability must be close to hers. Creed interacted with Berzé once, when he came to intervene in the fight of Charden and Kyoko in vol.3. Although Berzé was clearly outnumbered and having a low chance of winning if all taoists attacked, Creed had chosen to retreat then, directly admitted he did not want to go against Berzé yet because he "respect the strength of the Time Guardians". In his battle with Sephiria, Creed spoke nicely about her only to mock her right after.

Wooosh this is such a chore. I have expected it to be shorter than the last one but the more I write the more I realize how subtle the signs are. Mostly because Creed struggles with himself to accept that Sephiria, until the final volumes, is better than him. He gotta taunted her for each word of compliments he gave her (what has she done to him fr?) and that kick on the head is for sure his favorite moment. Therefore, the elaboration needs to be rather detail to get the point across.

Also, I believe Creed’s hatred towards Saya is much more intense since he cannot surpass her in what she represents and he knows it. He can gain more power to beat Sephiria, build his own organization to prevail hers but how he can he ever be more heroic than Saya?

Read pt.1

[rescuefield-a]

Is Neil really that bad for Claire tho?

i... can't tell if this is a crack ask or not lmao so i will give a few reasons anyway:

- first of all neil is even older than chris, and even though he and claire both in their 30s we can assume that neil has been leading the ngo for a whole lot longer than 2011 ( he moved after fbc was disbanded so he was around at least since 2004-2005 ) and had a very unprofessional relationship with claire specifically. i think lure her closer to him was always part of the plan but at some point it was just a somewhat real relationship kept hush from HR ( claire never says he's her boyfriend in front of any of the other terrasave members for instance, but every now and then she says stuff that earn some bombastic side eyes AT IT SHOULD )

- claire undermines his leadership in so many ways and while he never speaks on it he seems kinda annoyed. he pulls her aside in a corner to ask if she has any information on stuff he knows nothing about even though he's the leader of the organization and should have direct contact with washington. even on sejm island with all his little obstacles and shit, claire always comes through and rises above. the fact that he thought he could make deals with alex wesker and walk away with no repercussion already says everything about he's not as cut to be a leader as the people at terrasave thought and the other organizations probably caught on that too

- in the hq party scene claire looks slightly exhausted and miserable, and sure it might just be that the years of fighting are catching up on her but considering her last appearance before this whole ordeal is supposedly infinite darkness, the contrast is so stark. i might be biased on this but i will still blame it on neil lmao

- neil has ALWAYS done weird shit that people let slide in favour of keeping him as their leader. claire herself says that sometimes she doesn't understand him and what he does but he's just like that so yeah, which is bullshit excuse for her pretending not to see all the red flags leading to his betrayal. her judgement was clouded by many factors but ultimately being as close as they were, the fact that she never thought to investigate on him is disappointing ( for her ). at least considering her dating record, you know

- as far as affection and love go, at the end of the day neil was okay with claire dying on that island. or maybe he thought natalia wouldn't have worked and she would have been next. that rises a point of what would have happened next like, was he going to use uroboros and live forever with claire AND alex? he miscalculated everything clearly. the only moment he showed an ounce of affection to her when he tried to reach for her face while transforming just to shove her away ( a direct parallel to CV though steve did it better in my opinion )

- he proves to not know her at all by suggesting for them to rule together while turning into a BOW. claire had already checked out of their relationship the moment she saw alex infect him "as punishment", and after that things only got worse. he tried to kill moira which like, is also a big no no to claire for obvious reasons. claire is not power hungry, and fighting bioterrorism with BOWs is just not something she's interested in. her i love you to death switch apparently turns off so fast when she's not met with the idea of the relationship that lives in her head, we've seen it happen before so again it was naive of neil to even suggest that since she basically almost ended a years long friendship for similar reasons ( but that's a whole other story i think i have given enough reasons lol )

[comicsforyall]

The Most Dangerous Woman in America

Mother Jones

Famously known as the ‘most dangerous woman in America,’ per a quote from a West Virginian DA, for her uncanny ability to organize and rally local workers, Mary Harris Jones, or Mother Jones, was a unique, patriotic hero who often goes unknown today by the people she fought for the hardest. At less than two hundred pages, her Autobiography of Mother Jones spans large portions of her life and the labor movement with which she was thoroughly intertwined. From Jones’ birth in Reland to the Haymarket affair to the March of the Mill Children to the Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike and her subsequent imprisonment, the small text covers plenty of large topics.

Short and Sweet

A slim novel, Mother Jones’ autobiography is similar to the woman herself in that they both pack a lot of punch in an unassuming package. Her sentences are simple and blunt, but they still carry an intentional wit and weight to them. Descriptions can be sparse but are still present and practical, with Jones providing ample context for both the famous and lesser-known historical events. The chapters are digestible and memorable, to the point I had the feeling they were almost designed to be able to be told orally. The book's length is a result of various factors, but one stark reason for the sparse writing is the narrow window through which the narrative is presented.

Jones does not have a closed mind or sheltered worldview; she has a singular vision that she means to present. She has little time to waste on the opposing viewpoints to herself or the supposed justified motivations of those who stand against her. And why would she? It is her biography, after all. It is remarkable, though, because Jones expresses deep knowledge and understanding so swiftly and plainly that it is never in question whether she has considered all sides of a subject or if her stance could be more solid. Her opinions are presented fully baked, and while she showcases the ingredients that make them, she does not outline the recipes that helped her form them beyond basic logic and morality. Jones presents her knowledge and the lessons she learned over the years with a stern finality.

The Power of Popularity

The opposition to Mother Jones is a consistent theme throughout her struggles; she repeatedly confronts the United States government and the elite class it protects. Her enemies, theoretically powerful and conniving business leaders or top politicians, in reality, often manifest as low-level police officers and minor county judges just trying to make it through the day. Jones’ oppressors display a stark spectacle of cognitive dissonance. Jones is a package deal of a sweet old lady and modern folk hero, receiving inherent admiration from all but her coldest foes. Her rhetoric, calling for democracy and fairness in the workplace, might have inspired the regular folk, but it did not garner favor with most influential individuals.

When Jones inevitably did run into the stalwart defender of the bosses, she never faltered in leveraging her actual weight, which was her movement. The ubiquitous nature of her message and the specific collaboration of disparate communities by the labor movement meant that Jones had allies almost everywhere and lots of them. Her strategic use of collaboration, uniting disparate communities under a common cause, was a signature tool. If Mother Jones was taken or harmed by anyone, they could be sure to face the repercussions in the form of an army of miners and their wives. Jones is sure to display both sides of the equation, as she answers the calls of others far more often than the reverse, and as a leader, she is perfectly willing to go down fighting for her people.

Organize Among Chaos

Jones does not attempt to lay out any explicit guide to organizing, nor does she get into the nitty gritty of internal politics of those trying to consolidate their power. The stories look forward from her position as an established head of the movement, and she focuses on highlighting the injustices of the worker’s world and the men who enforce and benefit from the exploitation. The frankness with which Jones approaches everyone in her life and her penchant to ease people into lowering their guard allowed her to reveal a relatable side of anyone.

Though her miner army was reliable, it was certainly rough around the edges, and Jones acted with more subtlety whenever possible. She was not afraid to forego her burly protectors and utilize influential political or business connections, work with the law, or even approach the White House when necessary. Whether due to her insight or the sheer desperate nature of her cause, Jones did not feel she could risk wasting any of her limited resources.

Mother Jones traveled the country and built relationships among organizers and labor folks alike. As she became acquainted with the lives of her fellow countrymen, she developed a practical understanding of the intersection between child labor and the deteriorating conditions for adult workers. Jones saw children replace men in the factories and mines, and she saw those children replaced with hollow shells of themselves.

Jones’ thorough grasp of public sentiment and its origins was a defining trait of her successful leadership. Even in cases such as Jones’ views on women in the workplace, which would be considered outdated in a modern context, her opinions draw an accurate and applicable connection between the general plights of women and those of workers.

Mother Jones’ openness to collaboration and effectiveness at persuasion allowed her to build a large and passionate tent of support. The leader’s defense of practical priorities and thorough understanding of the system plaguing the American worker elevated Jones to fame and success that is not often seen, particularly since her time.

Citation Station

Autobiography of Mother Jones, Mary Harris Jones. 1925. Charles H. Kerr Publishing.

[hlekani-666]

<161> 23. Atheist Republic Newsletter: Anti-theist bigots!

We all have to decide if and/or how to engage with people who level accusations against us, call us names, criticize our choices or intentions, etc., and not just as it relates to atheism. The members of Atheist Republic are no different, and we thought a recent exchange was an example worthy of a discussion. After you read our thoughts, we’d love to hear yours.

We recently shared with you an image of a Saudi Arabian girl in Kaaba, holding a piece of paper with "Atheist Republic" written on it. When we re-shared the same image, a Muslim girl shared it on Facebook, along with her thoughts. A Twitter engagement followed, and led to an interesting conversation amongst members of our management team about Atheist Republic, atheism in general, and Muslim engagement with atheists in particular.

The initial comment, “They should call themselves anti-theist bigots,” from a young Muslim woman, although intended to be an attack, was not entirely wrong. Many atheists are “anti-theists” in that they recognize the toxicity of religion and would very much like to see it become obsolete. A good number of atheists would also not reject the title of bigot as a way to describe their opposition to certain viewpoints that are used to justify violence or oppression, the likes of which currently exist in Saudi Arabia.

In choosing whether or not to respond, and if so, how to respond to these kinds of comments, there are a few things to consider. One element to keep in mind is that there is an effective campaign amongst many Islamic leaders to vilify “the West”. Any time opposing voices rises up against posts like this, they are used to fuel that propaganda.

Also at play is the atheist image within the western world. Atheists are generally distrusted in “the West”, largely because of unjustified stereotypes. We are seen as arrogant and angry elitists. Often these stereotypes limit conversational engagement with theists to bandied insults and profanities, especially on a forum like Twitter where conversations are difficult to have. Instead, discussions are often compressed to emotional soundbites, especially when atheists respond in kind.

We asked members of the AR team about the issue of responding to criticism and the recent exchange in particular. Here's what some of them had to say (as you'll see, we don't always agree): Dan: We had an opportunity to change this young lady's mind about us, but instead elected to solidify and validate her opinion. We will remain a marginalized minority as long as people fear us. I am of the opinion that showing the world we are moral, compassionate people should be among our top priorities.

KimBoo: Context matters. My own reaction would be (and has been) different in each case. Specifically for this example, I would take the high road and walk away – such a person is not going to listen to me, a stranger, about an issue she has already decided for herself. Anger really would serve no purpose here other than make her feel vindicated in her hate, IMHO. There IS value in responding in kind, I think, but it has nothing to do with making them understand our position or change their minds; sometimes it is good to let people know that what they say upsets people…anger does serve the purpose of showing emotional investment. But…it's exhausting. Anger is a warning flag and a great motivator but not a very effective tool.

Lishka: If I bother at all I would ask for specific examples, and if they come up with anything at all, point out that criticism of ideas isn't the same as attacking individuals. Not that I expect them to understand, but I'd try. I wouldn’t respond in kind because I would hate to prove them right – in their minds, anyway.

Jenny, who was involved in the twitter conversation mentioned above: I've never argued with anyone on Twitter before and I will NEVER argue with anyone on Twitter ever again. It was never ending, even after I stopped replying I was being bombarded by people calling me names. I like Twitter for interacting with people and playing hashtag games, not so much for arguing, I now know. As far as the efficacy of arguments of that sort, I gotta say, I think that sometimes they work. I've been on the stupid side of some debates that took place on Facebook, and I did end up (secretly and without admitting it to the person that was arguing with me) changing my position. Doubtful some tweets could ever convince anyone to change their religion, of course, but with other less ingrained stuff I think it is effective. Logic can be beaten into some people… some people.

Casper: The internet makes this pretty complex really. You see, in a face to face confrontation I'd likely just shrug it off and ignore it, but with the internet you never know how big of a crowd is watching. In this particular case, this woman went so far as to tag AR into this tweet knowing that doing so would send a notification to the AR Twitter account. So in essence she straight-up called AR out like she wanted a fight. I think it did require some response.

Link To Original Post:

[squidlykitten]

I was rotating blorbos in my head as I drove to work today, and thinking about vincam gender politics.

Like, drones are kind of the bottom rung of society, considered disposable unpeople by some of the nobles simply because there are so damn many of them and they aren't capable of reproducing. They also tend to live very short lives -- part of this is due to their treatment by those in charge, part of it has to do with their relatively smaller size and strength and their reduced capacity to make it through a molt after a certain age. They are somewhat stockier, which makes the shell harder to escape, and combined with the thicker plates they are far more likely to get stuck and suffocate/be crushed/not survive the energy dearth of creating a new shell (the natural age limiters of their people). There's also the problem of them being given the lower quality implants, so they are far more susceptible to parasites, diseases, etc that the noble and up population does not have to deal with and are less likely to be concerned with.

The fact that both Dinn and Sear are drones on the top level Elder's Council has stirred up a lot of controversy, and is something that Viceroys are using as a bit of a smoke screen to distract from the other problems within the colony. Oh, the military is so very aggressive because its all made up of drones and led by a drone -- not because they are half starved and hopped up on heavily drugged battle rations. They die in droves due to poor military leadership. And ahhh there's not enough room on the flotilla because the Shipwrights are not producing enough and falling behind on schedule -- not because of the massive population boom that their systems were frankly not built to withstand.

They both deal with it in different ways too. General Dinn is highly aggressive and flies off the handle at any sign of disrespect, while nearly groveling for any tiny scrap of affection from the Viceroy's hands. He tries to make himself bigger, larger, louder, and generally makes sure no one bothers him through sheer ferocity. He's angry all the damn time and constantly looking for personal slights.

The Master Shipwright Sear deals with it by… not dealing with it, really. He ignores all the slights aimed at him and absolutely refuses to engage with anything outside of his personal purview. He doesn't tolerate discrimination within his own ranks either, and has one drone Apprentice, though that certainly raised its own eyebrows and stirred up a flurry of media coverage about gender favoritism. He never reacts to the mocking, though he's certainly got his opinions on it and those who treat him with respect are far more likely to receive a bit of his very sparse time. He tries to prove that drones can be good leaders through sheer bullheaded perfectionism and expects the same of anyone under his command.

Keir, meanwhile, is actually intersex among the vincam, though it takes her a while to figure that out. Drones are naturally what we consider intersex, but she was a specially ordered genetic mix that contained an extra chromosome, making her somewhere between a noble and a drone. This was done to give her the ability to pair-bond, ordered by Yhinn in the hopes of giving Kajj a companion that could love him back in the same solid way that he loved. (The vincam are a highly collectivistic people, and don't tend to latch onto individuals in that manner. It's considered rather aberrant behavior -- allowable for those in charge but scandalous for a drone) I haven't really plotted out book 2 of my story yet, but I will definitely have to look more into that and her feelings on it, since it's going to become a rather Large Plot Point with her relationship with Teema. On the one hand, she's identified as a drone her entire life and used those pronouns for herself, but on the other, identifying as a noble will allow her relationship with Teema to be more "appropriate." But doing so will also automatically remove her from Kajj's care, since nobles cannot be Assistants (traditionally), and that would certainly cause problems for Kajj considering he was… aware of some of the modifications done to Keir (or at least had the files on her genetic makeup).

Kajj is a potal, and one of four remaining potals in the colony. That puts him in a rather uncomfortable "exotic" position that has caused him no small amount of stress in his personal life. It's a big factor in his reticence to interact with the other Elders and his general fear of opening himself up emotionally to people. There are those who consider liking someone like him a bit of a fetish, particularly because his gender makes him so close to royalty. (And there are those who would like to pretend that a "male" potal was a "female" one -- ie a Daughter.) The whole thing makes him very uncomfortable and so despite being a fairly romantic, demisexual person, he has always shied away from relationships. He sort of fell in love with Yhinn on accident, since he spent so much damn time in the Healer's ward after he borked up his leg and they shared the secret of his damage together. It's likely that he would have never formed a close relationship like that with anyone if not for his accident.

[ladylilah]

hoppingseason​:

”He still sometimes shits his pants, though,“ Colin laughed lightly, recalling the inherent danger of their early jobs and how it was a common occurrence for new recruits. However, he chose not to share too many details with Lilah, aware of how easily she would become anxious if Scamp was even remotely close to trouble. Colin did his best to keep Scamp out of harm’s way, but there were limits to what he could do. After all, Scamp was a grown man, and like any other man, he needed a sense of autonomy. As soon as Lilah took his hand, Colin knew exactly where they were headed – a place far removed from their current reality. In that moment, it felt like a blast from the past, back when he was a mere soldier in the Mafia and she was a kind and attractive lady he had met.

Although Colin wasn’t one to hope for good things, he understood the importance of embracing such moments when they arose. A flicker of anticipation danced across his face as he caught sight of Lilah’s radiant smile, silently wishing to keep their spirits aloft for the night. However, as they stepped out of his private chamber, Colin’s smile gradually dissolved, giving way to his customary demeanor – that of a brooding and calculated Mafia leader. He could sense that Lilah had noticed the change and he shook his head. "It’s always better to be feared,” he explained defiantly, fully aware that she always had more to say on the matter.

.

Her jaw drops ever so slightly and without giving it much thought, she reaches out to gently shove at his arm for the insult upon Scamp. A joke about biting or eating crayons was acceptable, but Lilah wouldn’t just stand by and let anyone talk quite literal shit about her son. Even if, much like the other comment, it did have some potential to be true - though she deeply hoped it wasn’t, both for Scamp’s sake and her own, not wanting to think of him being in a situation where may have felt enough fear to do that. “Considering I’ve been the one doing his laundry these past few weeks, I can confirm for myself that that is not true,” she teases before following along without any question as to where they may be heading. Wherever it was hardly mattered, all that she cared about was spending even just a few more minutes with him.

As his entire demeanor changed almost as soon as they had left his office, Lilah plans to keep her thoughts to herself. She wasn’t going to comment on it, at least not right in this moment, but once Colin points it out himself she takes the opening. “Not alway. And I hardly think anyone would think you any less frightening simply for smiling,” she counters, still firmly believing that he could be just as successful in what he does without having to fully shut himself off from the entire world. But she does get it, at least to some degree, because it was the same for her in a way. The person she presented herself to be to everyone else held back quite a bit of who she really was. Especially when it came to her own job. “But this is your courtroom. You have to present yourself in a manner that’s going to win your case.” At the comparison she does shoot him a small smile of her own, knowing it won’t be returned but refusing to let her own emotions be removed and hidden away. “Even if you may take it a bit far, in my opinion.”

[maoam]

WHY HINATA IS NOT A GOOD CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

I wanted to take a deeper look at Hinata’s character, considering there are a lot of claims about her out there, that she’s strong, that she’s kind, that she’s complex and relatable, that she’s the perfect woman and that she’s at least better than Sakura. I don’t really think so, and I’ll explain why. I’ll be focusing on canon, so no fillers or novels will be included in this post. I’ll say this as a warning, if you’re a fan of her character this probably won’t be something you’ll like. This will be tagged with the anti tags and put under read more so please do not complain if tumblr somehow puts this in the normal tags, it is not intentional. Also Sakura stans please don’t write lengthy comments about Sakura under this, I’m not a fan of her either and I’ll write about her later. Make your own post instead.

”HINATA IS STRONG AND THE BEST KUNOICHI”

Hinata is generally really bad as a shinobi and I’m not sure where the claims that she is strong come from. Hinata's entire character revolves around her being weak. This could have been fine if she actually developed, or if she found some other area for herself, yet she's mediocre at best and a waste of panels at worst, because she never becomes good or strong at anything. She’s not only physically weak from start to finish, but she’s also the equivalent of a damsel in distress. Everytime Hinata attempts to do something, she ends up failing, getting beaten up and having to be saved. She lost to her sister who is five years younger than her, which is what marked her as a failure in her clan. She tried to fight Neji in the chunin exams and ended up coughing up blood and losing her consciousness, and Naruto had to beat Neji for her. After Kabuto heals her fully, she spends the rest of part 1 either sleeping or missing in action. Very underwhelming.

If this had been only the beginning, it would have maybe been fine, but it’s a reoccuring pattern with her character. She throws herself in front of Pain, managing to do nothing but get one-paneled and almost killed. Even at the start of the war she had to be saved by Naruto. She tried to run to Naruto and tripped over a rock. Actually, she’s so weak she got Neji killed, when he had to jump in front of her so she wouldn’t get impaled. Why is she even in the front lines when she can’t fight? Even in Naruto the Last movie she had to be saved multiple times. In Boruto the movie she is still useless and reckless, leaving her daughter’s side to help Naruto, ending up defeated and having to be healed by Sakura once again.

I can’t say she’s mentally strong either. She has the personality of someone who hates conflict and tries to avoid it as best as they can, to the point of agreeing with others on everything, as Neji pointed out. Even without him saying it out loud, most of Hinata’s moments that aren’t her thinking about Naruto are her doing exactly this. This is not the personality of someone who is strong mentally. It’s the personality of someone who is too weak to have their own mind, someone who will go with the flow and is easily led and convinced. It can be dangerous the more you think about it. Hinata is also the bystander who never stands up for Naruto despite liking and admiring him. If she’s a compassionate girl, why isn’t she showing this by reaching out to Naruto and befriending him? Why doesn’t she show he’s not alone? Why is she only drawing inspiration from him? I don’t normally watch fillers, but there was one filler scene unrelated to Hinata where this girl says if you only look at the loser and do nothing, you aren’t much better than the oppressors, which probably wasn’t meant to be a call out for Hinata, but ended up being so anyway. Another thing that’s annoying is how she is berating herself often, yet doing nothing, it comes off as self-pity. Even in the Last movie, she is talking about how she must be a bad sister for knitting a scarf when her sister is in danger. Then why are you doing it and not stopping? Of course everytime this happens Naruto must cheer her up because she just can’t stop moping around and doing something herself.

Aside from all this, from the very beginning Hinata’s honor needed to be defended by Naruto because she couldn’t stand up for herself. Of course, after Naruto’s words she did stood up for a moment, and that was good, but it should have been a wake up call which altered her course. Instead, she kept doing the same she always did. If we take the Last movie into consideration, she’s still not strong enough to do anything even about her crush on Naruto. She needs genjutsu and Sakura to do the work for her. So even when it comes to the only thing she cares about 90 % of the time, which is Naruto-kun, she can’t do anything about it. That’s really sad.

”HINATA IS KIND AND SELFLESS”

There’s one mistake I see people make often, and that’s assuming characters that are quiet and shy are automatically kind. I wouldn’t say Hinata is as kind as the fandom makes her out to be. She simply comes off that way because you don’t really see her have her own opinions or disagree with the other characters. Hinata’s shyness on the other hand is most of the time a fetishized quirk to appeal to certain subset of fans. Her shyness doesn’t stop her from taking exams or hanging around Shino and Kiba, or talking to characters other than Naruto. She also has enough attitude to rub Neji’s status as a house slave in his face during their match, but because she stutters Naruto-kun every five minutes she’s supposedly kind. Kindness is shown through actions, not through standing around and stuttering. For comparison, we see Ino befriend an unpopular kid like Sakura, and give her confidence. That’s an act of kindness. Did Hinata ever cared about helping the branch members in any way? No.

She's supposedly "kind" but like I mentioned before she never shows this kindness by standing up for Naruto, or reaching out to him. She simply stares at him behind a tree and draws inspiration from his suffering. The only time she can actually stand up is to selfishly confess her love and die. She even said she felt like being selfish, and like I said she knew there was nothing she could do, she was told she’d only be in the way. She came there only to confess and commit suicide. This actually reminds me of another anime where this female character, after being unable to receive a male character’s love killed herself in front of him and said ”now you’ll never forget me”.

In the end, she cares about nothing but her own hormonal urges. Hinata tried to help Naruto cheat to pass an exam at the risk of disqualifying her whole team. This is the first individual action we see her character take. Did she consider Shino and Kiba during that moment? No, she didn’t even have an inner conflict on whether she should do this, whether it’s right towards her teammates. Even Naruto considers he might get Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura all in trouble if he accepts Hinata’s offer, which is why he doesn’t do it. Then when Hinata wonders if she can cheer for Naruto during his and Kiba’s match, she thinks Kiba might get mad. It’s more about how Kiba views her rather than whether she should cheer for Kiba because they are in the same team and should support each other. During the Pain attack, she left an injured shinobi, who couldn’t move, to go to Naruto, even when said shinobi told her she would only be in Naruto’s way. She didn’t try to save people, she simply wanted to confess and act in front of Naruto. This is about a threat to the entire village, which includes her comrades and her sister and she’s thinking only about her romantic feelings towards a guy she had maybe two conversations with and who barely remembers she exists. How is she better than Sakura? War arc really was the icing on the cake that Hinata’s character is only about Naruto. We should not forget the infamous ”Naruto-kun’s hand is so big… so manly...” is that really the right time to be thirsty? When Neji just died? Shikamaru mentions that he could help out Naruto as a right-hand man and then Hinata thinks “I-I want to be by Naruto-kun’s side too.” Then there’s of course the scene where she starts running to Naruto, leaving her post and teammates, even when Naruto is a mile away and already in the hands of medical ninjas, and even that ends up her pathetically tripping over a rock. Kiba has to remind her to use her byakugan because she is too busy gushing about Naruto. Eventually her only last line is “Naruto-kun”, when everyone is put into IT. It’s like a parody by this point. She doesn’t have any concern for her sister, her father, her teammates, Kurenai or her baby. It’s just “Naruto-kun” like it always is. Even in the Last movie, she is knitting a scarf for Naruto during the mission where they’re supposed to save her sister. Who brings a scarf on a mission? Why is she thinking about her romantic gift to Naruto so much she has to take it with her on a mission which focus is saving her sister? She even looks more devastated when Toneri tores the scarf apart than she ever does for Hanabi’s sake. It’s just silly and selfish.

”HINATA IS A COMPLEX CHARACTER”

Is she complex though? Her development goes from standing behind a tree looking at her crush she never talks to, to committing suicide for feelings that could never be reciprocated, to… waiting that a genjutsu and Sakura guilt trip Naruto enough for him to be with her? Like I already mentioned her character revolves entirely around Naruto, she has no hobbies or interests we know of aside from him. She has no motivations aside from being by Naruto’s side. She once had an interesting goal and backstory, but that was never fully explored, and it turned into her wanting Naruto’s attention and thinking about him. Her clan plot was irrelevant, she showed no interest in wanting to be a leader or even wanting to make things better for the branch members. It’s funny because immediately after the ending, no one cared about the Hyuuga branch and how the storyline was dropped and had no resolution. It was only when Hinata was being attacked for not showing to care did her fans start to over-analyze all the panels looking for the tiniest little clue that might hint at some changes.

It’s possible to be both shy, anxious and quiet and also to be strong, motivated and have interests and dreams. Hinata is never strong for herself, she’s only strong to be with Naruto, to die for Naruto, to motivate Naruto, to have Naruto look at her even for a moment. All the while Naruto doesn’t pay much attention to her unless she’s literally dying in front of him or she slapped him. Even when a big climax is happening, what’s on her mind is always her romantic feelings and her crush. I saw someone say if she were a male character, and she pulled this pointless sacrifice and theatrical confession in the final fight of an arc, she would’ve been universally mocked. Actually, I think even if it was Sakura who did this instead of Hinata the former would have been mocked, because their stans are unable to see the same flaws in their own fave as they see in the other girl. Naruto is a battle manga, characters are supposed to contribute to the defeat of the villain in some material way. The only reason people praise Hinata for what she did in the Pain arc is because they either pity her or because they’re men who think women killing themselves for a man is great because it boosts their ego.

I also notice many Hinata fans don’t notice the vanity in their own fandom. They call Hinata “princess”, ”heiress”, ”Konoha’s first lady” and draw fanart glorifying these concepts and how it makes Hinata good, because they like the superficial status, what they don’t care is the titles are unearned. I thought Hinata’s appeal was that she’s the underdog and a loser? Or maybe her real appeal is the idea of getting everything you want without doing much in order to get it?  Another claim is that Hinata is the perfect woman, which you might see from men. This is what I might dislike the most. Men judge Hinata’s worth and whether she’s a good character based on what kind of woman they want and think is the right kind of woman. Hinata has big breasts, she’s submissive, she has no other interests than the man she likes, and she’s the only girl in her class who didn’t go for the popular guy. Many men hate Sakura, Ino and Karin for being fangirls but praise Hinata for being a fangirl. Basically to them if a character is a fangirl of the wrong guy, she’s a stupid slut. If she fangirls their self insert, she’s wife material and the ideal woman. If Sakura has to be saved, she’s useless. If Hinata tries to kill herself for Naruto, she’s ”so kind”. Rin is a one-dimensional character, but Hinata saying Naruto-kun for the 50th time is depth. Hinata is also claimed to be better than the other girls because she had more kids and thus is more ”fertile”. It’s like feminism never happened and we are back to the 16th century. Why are we judging women’s worth on how many kids they have and how much they can please a man?

I could also talk about how Studio Pierrot turned Hinata into a hentai bait for otakus, which also plays a part in her popularity, but I don’t think it’s necessary, so I will just offer this picture which speaks for itself.

END NOTE

Hinata is simply just a sexist stereotype, a shadow of a real woman, with not much depth, and who is certainly not better than Sakura either. Both of them are fangirls whose characters revolve around men. It’s wild to me how there are women who genuinely act like one must be a misogynist if they reject Hinata’s superficial, one-dimensional and boy crazy character. Her character itself is misogynist for crying out loud. And honestly, what does it say when even the creator himself assumes that Hinata is someone’s favorite character because he must like big boobs?

[kirain]

I started playing rdr2 but stopped because like idk but I can't seem to get over the fact that all the women are prostitutes and they don't really have any important roles. Like what's Abigail do? Ooh she's a mother who's always mad? What do the other women do? Oooh they sleep with the gang. What's Sadie do? Oooh she becomes a badly written femme fetale who suddenly becomes a flawless killer. The women are just so badly represented.

I get the feeling you didn't play the game naturally or see any random encounters, because none of what you said is true. There's a lot to unpack here, so let's start with the "all the women are prostitutes" comment.

First of all, none of the women are prostitutes, a fact that deeply irritates Micah. During a coach robbery where he rides with Arthur and Bill, he even says, “Why the hell do we need a gaggle of girls who won’t even fuck you if you put a gun to their head? Is it too much to ask considering they get a piece of every damn dollar I bring in?” Poor baby. He even tries to proposition all of the women (Grimshaw included), but they all insult him and send him running with his tail between his legs. It’s hilarious and I love it. Arthur also responds to Micah with, “Everyone does their share. I don’t see you lifting a finger around camp.”

Now a bit about the girls:

Mary-Beth was a skilled pickpocket, but she ended up being caught by a group of her victims. She mentions this during a conversation with Arthur, where she points out how hard it was for women who came from nothing, and the inequality of it all. RDR2 actually regularly highlights how difficult frontier/outlaw life was for women back then, often pulling zero punches. While fleeing her pursuers, Mary-Beth luckily ran into Hosea, who helped her escape and welcomed her to the gang. You can see Dutch lusting after her a few times, because he's an old pervert, but she always shuns his advances. She was never a prostitute and she was actually underage when she joined.

Tilly was a child outlaw and a member of the Forman gang from the age of twelve. She ended up killing the leader's cousin because he [as is heavily implied] tried to rape her. She was around sixteen at the time and tried to return to her mother after the ordeal, but she unfortunately passed away while Tilly was running with the Formans. Out of options, she eventually joined the van der Linde gang after Dutch saved her from some unspecified trouble. You can find most of this out during one of my favourite side missions, where she gets kidnapped by Anthony Foreman in retaliation for killing his cousin. With Grimshaw’s help, you can rescue Tilly and put an end to it once and for all. She was never a prostitute and was also underage when taken in.

Susan Grimshaw was one of the original members of the gang and one of Dutch's first lovers. They parted amicably and both fell in love with other people (Dutch with Annabelle, and Susan with a doctor who sadly ended up dying), but she stayed with the gang because of their mutual respect for each other. She later became the arbiter of the camp and a kind of surrogate mother to Arthur, John, and the other girls. She was never a prostitute, but rather a rough-and-tumble outlaw.

Karen is a little more complicated. Overall, she was a scam artist (Hosea even called her an “actress”) who sometimes lured men into brothels, then stole from them or picked their brains for leads. That doesn't necessarily mean she was a prostitute; however, it just means she used sex as a manipulation tactic. Out of all the women in the group, she was the freest and most unconventional. She also stood on guard duty and participated in heists. The only man she ever slept with in game was Sean, and his death absolutely devastated her. If you talk to her or observe her interactions, you also discover she’s a raging alcoholic suffering from some very deep-seated issues. She likely did have to do things she wasn’t proud of in order to survive, but in my opinion that makes her one of the most realistic members of the group. She was never described as a prostitute.

Molly was an aristocrat who left her family to be with Dutch. His abusive treatment eventually led her to suffer an identity crisis, where she ended up hysterical and heartbroken. Her story is sad, but she was never a prostitute. If anything, Molly is the best example we have that Dutch views people as items, not human beings.

Abigail is the only prostitute in the game, but by the events of RDR2 she's an ex-prostitute. To say she's nothing more than "a mother who's always mad", I feel, does her character a great disservice. First of all, she left that profession behind to raise her son, to give him a decent chance in life. Unlike John, she stepped up immediately to become a responsible adult. I don't think people realise how impressive that is because, one, she could've easily abandoned Jack at the roadside (which was common back then), two, she could've induced an abortion, and three, she was quite young when she had him; around nineteen years old.

You say the women are "poorly represented", but they're stronger, smarter, and more mature than most of the men. A few of them even become self-sufficient in the turn of the century, something dear old Dutch couldn't even do/accept. Abigail in particular helps Sadie mourn her husband and the two grow very close. Their interactions are both grounded and heartwarming, with Abigail telling Sadie she’ll suffer the loss of her husband, but that it’ll get better if she keeps on living. She takes care of her, and Sadie later returns that kindness. These women are so full of quirks and humour and personality, I don’t know how you missed it.

As for Sadie ... where do I even begin? Badly written? Femme fatale? Flawless killer? Sadie is one of the best written characters. She's not flawless, she's exceptionally flawed, temperamental, and traumatised. It's never expressly stated, but it's implied at several points throughout the game that she was repeatedly assaulted while the O'Driscolls kept her captive. At first, she's petrified and miserable, to the point that all she does is cry and express suicidal ideation. Then, she gets angry. Very angry. Having nothing left to live for, her home and husband torn from her grasp, she throws herself headfirst into danger, which almost gets her killed on a number of occasions.

She's not a "flawless killer", she's a messy killer. She's not an expert death-dealer, and that's made evident from the start -- but she was a hunter who shared the workload with her husband, so it's not as if her skills just magically appeared. You do see how much it weighs on her, however, near the end of chapter six. If you help her kill the rest of the O'Driscolls, she laments what she's become because she thinks her husband would be horrified. She’s extremely complex and struggles between mourning and moving on.

I also can't help but laugh at the "femme fatale" accusation, because Sadie actually defeminises herself, which is understandable considering the hell she’s suffered. She even wears men's clothing, which wasn't illegal [anymore] back then, but it was openly frowned upon. Femme fatales use their beauty and sexuality to their advantage, ensnaring men with their feminine wiles. Sadie never does that and fights side-by-side with the boys. Interestingly enough, that's partially why Calamity Jane, an actual historical figure, garnered so much attention, because of how she behaved/dressed. It’s pretty clear to me that Rockstar might’ve used her as inspiration for Sadie. This was a real woman who lived from 1852 to 1903.

In addition, Sadie plays one of the most important roles, yet she does so without falling into the category of a Mary-Sue. She saves the gang and moves them to a new location when the Pinkertons attack Shady Belle. She hatches the plan that frees John from prison. She helps Arthur rescue Abigail after she gets kidnapped. She tracks down Micah and puts an end to his reign of terror. But most of what she does she accomplishes with a partner--Arthur or John--both of whom she respects immensely. No one, not even Arthur, does everything alone, and when they do there’s usually negative consequences. It's the camaraderie and shared experiences that make these characters successful, and aside from Charles and Hosea, I’d even argue that the women are more well-rounded and fleshed out than the men.

I gather from for comments that you didn't finish the game, so I hate to spoil it, but I kind of have to if you walked away with this mindset. The women of RDR2 are a force to be reckoned with.

[knightmareaceblue]

alright so seeing your take on gem triple threat au, i'm curious: do have any ideas for gem copperright??

Oh, boy, do I! As before all gems in SU are female, so I'll refer to Reg and Right with female pronouns. Just to let you know.

I knew right off the bat that I wanted Reg to be a Pearl. A chocolate Pearl, to be more precise. In Era 2 she was the servant of a Fire Agate (who may be an expy of Terrence, IDK yet) who kept Era 3's existence from her. When she found out, she was poofed and locked up, but managed to escape with guile and cunning Fire Agate hadn't realized she was capable of.

Afterwards, she came to Earth because that's where she thought she'd be safe, but wasn't thoroughly impressed. In her opinion, she just went from a world where gems unquestioningly followed the orders of diamonds to be conquerors to a world where gems unquestioningly followed the orders of diamonds to be peaceful. To her, it didn't seem like gems were any less free, and the fact that CG!Pearl, someone she'd idolized upon hearing about Era 3, turned out have been following her diamond's orders the entire time only soured things further. So she left Little Homeworld behind, deciding that the humans might teach her more about freedom. Although undocumented, she's one of the first gems to stray from Beach City and the surrounding areas.

While traveling, she eventually comes to meet a number of down-on-their-luck humans, who she brings together to help survive. This gives rise to the criminal group known as the Shattered Diamonds, and this Pearl becomes its leader, giving herself the name Reginald in the process. She also begins wearing gloves and taking up a more masculine appearance in order to hide the fact that she's a gem.

Why does a gem have a mustache? Because a) I can't imagine Reggie without a mustache and b) because gems normally don't have mustaches, so people wouldn't suspect she's a gem. But, tbh, it's mostly a.

Now, as for Right...

Oh yeah, it's Rose Quartz, baby.

I wasn't sure what to do with her at first. I even considered having Right be a human for a time, but after some consideration, I realized that a rebel Pearl and a rebel Rose Quartz going against the system Pink Diamond('s successor) set up was just too good. Also, Rose Quartz's colour scheme works surprisingly well for RHM?? Like, her skin is actually pretty pink, but you can't tell because of the more saturated pinks on her. It's brilliant.

I haven't come up with a backstory for her quite yet, but I know four things about her for sure: One, she and a bunch of other malcontent gems leave Little Homeworld sometime after Steven Universe Future. Two, she and P!Reginald meet up and join forces, melding the Shattered Diamonds into a harmonious mix of humans and gems. Three, her and P!Reginald fall for each other at some point. And four, she's the reason people realize there are Gems amongst the Shattered Diamond group. Because Steven recognizes her as a Rose Quartz and tells the rest of the CG.

There's no storyline for the Shattered Diamonds yet, just that they're a criminal group who don't like Era 3 because everyone's just conforming to Steven's ideals uncritically because he's Pink Diamond's son. And, at some point, them and Gem Threat are going to butt heads.

It's going to be a fun time.

(And before anyone asks, yes they fuse into Rainbow Quartz and no I don't have a design for her yet.)

[cantquitu]

In my honest opinion, the problem is the lying. The way she postured herself as Florence’s protector but was trying to get the person she was protecting Florence back on.

Until the Variety issue came out, Olivia has just let people believe she fired him. Variety is actually the first outlet to claim Shia was fired, they did so in a piece in December 2020. When she said the “no assholes policy” in early 2021, it was linked back to Shia. It seems she let the press and PR just link it to Shia. At the point, there’s nothing directly from her so not bad.

If it was just texts, it could be explained away but there’s a video. I don’t think that video looks great in any context.

In Olivia’s bid to look like this supreme feminist protector, she leveraged Shia’s already damaged image (by his doing anyway) and he corrected that.

I don’t think it’s necessarily bad that she was trying to appeal to them because of her movie. People have been in that situation before. If anything, it should’ve been telling Florence whatever and telling Shia whatever, and when asked by a 3rd party, you say “Shia has departed from this project, there is not anything to discuss” but she went and told the Florence/good version to the public when there’s evidence of the Shia version.

This is such a depressing and reductive take. "Olivia's bid to look like the supreme feminist protector"? Please. She made no such bid.

She considers it her job to protect her team and to create a secure and trusting environment for them - especially Florence, whose role demands that she put herself in a vulnerable position - and Shia's combative approach was not conducive to that.

It IS her job. It should be every director's job. And if you consider that job to be "posturing" as a "supreme feminist protector", maybe look at what that says about your attitude to women leaders.

Olivia did not want that asshole on her film if he could not find a way to work with Florence. She appealed to him in to try to find a way to make it work and to "make peace" with Florence in a 40 second video. We have no idea what happened before or after it. We have no idea what she was discussing with Florence at the time.

To you, does that 40 second appeal to Shia somehow negate the fact that she did not give in to him and ultimately let him go? And, to you, does what you call "the Shia version" negate her stated ambition to create a safe and secure set? Genuine questions.