#but he is the person who imposed that perception upon him

[goodrealtorbadrealtor]

The issue comes moreso from people critically misunderstanding what antisocial personality disorder is.

A person cannot have no feelings. What we call feelings is a stimulus response that all mammals have. Without feelings, you would lack basic defense mechanisms, like fear.

The whole "sociopaths dont have feelings" rhetoric comes from two main symptoms: perpetual melancholy and seeming lack of remorse. The first is a common symptom of depression that im sure everyone can relate to on some level. The second is a defense mechanism; a defining characteristic of sociopathy is the desire to be "above" others, and showing remorse is a vulnerable position.

This mindset aligns heavily with dennis' trauma and subsequent behavior. In his sexual relationships, he strives for the exploitative authority that was imposed onto him by ms klinsky.

Lacking feelings is desirable to him bc his greatest fear is being victimized by the emotional manipulation he uses to maintain a sense of security. If he displays emotion, then it can be used as ammunition against him.

That is where the misunderstanding stems from: sociopaths hide emotion as a defense mechanism, so people genuinely believe they do not have feelings when they do, big feelings, even!

Dennis absolutely fits the criteria of aspd and was written intentionally to be a sociopath. The underlying emotions that construct his apathetic persona are not contrary to his aspd, but vital to understanding his sociopathic behavior.

I'm so over people calling Dennis a sociopath. If you think the man doesn't have feelings, then we clearly aren't watching the same show. If you need prime examples, just watch The Gang Tends Bar or Dennis' Double Life.

[zephyrchama]

You were sick. Your head was in a fog and your throat hurt something fierce. It was sweltering hot yet you shivered under the covers, hoping for the fever to pass soon. Your body, doing its best to get better, decided to empty the contents of your stomach over the side of the bed.

Beelzebub was the first to discover your condition. He came to wake you up in person when you hadn't shown up on time for breakfast. You were teetering like a newborn deer trying to clean up your mess. He was taken aback at the sight, at how clammy you were, and gently wiped the sweat from your face while checking how warm your forehead was. "You should lay down," he recommended, practically pushing you back into bed. You asked him to guide you to the bathroom instead.

He disappeared to fetch Lucifer. The eldest arrived immediately upon being informed of your condition. Your face muscles twitched as you tried to hold back a second round and apologized for the state you were in. Lucifer told you to stay quiet and just rest. "If you want to apologize, then get better soon."

"Don't tell anyone about this, ok?" you tried to ask. It came out as a garbled, barely perceptible whisper sending bolts of pain through your neck. You didn't want anyone to know how bad things really were.

"I do need to inform Diavolo, but rest assured I'll keep it brief." After ensuring you had water and would be fine alone for a few hours, Lucifer left early to inform RAD of your absence. He later texted you, "Don't hesitate to summon me if you need anything."

The house was quiet. It felt surreal to be the only one there. After some time had passed, you hobbled back to your bedroom and tried to sleep through the pain. Blissfully unaware of the chaos occurring elsewhere.

RAD is no small academy by any means, but rumors sure do spread fast. In first period, Beelzebub told Belphegor the sight he witnessed. They were overheard by Asmodeus, who lamented your absence to Solomon. Solomon asked Raphael to come with him to prepare some nutritious human food so you'd recover faster, and had to be forcibly stopped by Simeon. Luke found out by interrogating Solomon about why he was causing a scene in the kitchen.

Mephistopheles caught wind of the gossip and went directly to Diavolo for confirmation. Lucifer was none too happy at the situation, but the rumor mill was already spinning in full force. He did his best to uphold your image by telling anyone who broached the subject, "it's just the sniffles."

By lunchtime, Mammon was taking bets on how sick you were. "500 grimm says they're explodin' from both ends." "If that were the case, one of us would have stayed at the house with them," Satan rebutted, spying an easy win. "500 grimm says it's just coming out the bottom." They went back and forth, with others occasionally chipping in new symptoms such as hives or internal bleeding. Asmodeus, unable to listen any longer, left the cafeteria to post vague stories about his concern for you on social media.

Leviathan and Thirteen sent you get-well-soon text messages. One was full of worry and asked you to respond ASAP so they knew you weren't dying, as anxiety over your condition was causing them no end of fear. The other assured you to rest easy knowing that your candle was fine and you had plenty of time left before you kicked the bucket. It even recommended passing your bug onto someone else for fun.

You only saw the notifications in the evening, when a pounding headache woke you up and resounding footsteps in the hall signaled that people were home from school.

There was a knock at the door and Lucifer announced you had company. The crown prince and his butler imposed with a tray of fresh herbal tea. It would have smelled amazing if you possessed the ability to breathe through your nose. As the door shut behind them, you spotted at least ten figures out in the hallway.

Barbatos silently served you a hot cup, hopeful the rising stream would assist your sinuses. "Looks like you're recovering well!" Diavolo chimed. "That's great. I feared you were going to heave your guts out all day."

The frank sincerity caught you off guard and you choked on your tea. Barbatos was quick to grab the cup before it spilled.

"You knew?" you rasped. "Oh yes. Lucifer said it wasn't that bad, but tales of your illness have spread all over campus. We know human bodies aren't very strong."

You hunched down into the blankets to hide. The heat spreading across your face this time was not due to fever.

[akpaley]

Made smooth and slick of seas and strands Tides that turn at your commands A heartbeat held by heavy hands

More Kaijja character writing. Roughly 1200 words on the beginning of her romantic relationship with the flesh god.

---

He does not mind solitude, but when you lack other obligations he does not mind your intrusion either. It is perhaps not usual, but it is natural to be fascinated with a god. You intrude often. You call it an extension of work, and the two of you do work through problems together. He was surprised, once upon a time, when he inflicted experience on you to demonstrate the severity of his edicts and you, not unshaken but still engaged, asked if he felt such detail in the experience of every person he faced. He had not been asked to use his power as a tool of empathy, not after imposing such suffering, not in centuries, but it is commonplace between you now. You wonder to what extent he can feel you enjoy it, even when it is excruciating. And the intellectual exercise is useful. Many times simulation of similar encounters has helped you watch for signs of tension, has made you more perceptive to the way your interlocutors conduct themselves and react to you. It is practical, and there is a quiet selfish pleasure in understanding the way he sees and feels the world.

Mirjat tells you it is unusual for Iokhar's Advocate to be his friend, or even to like the man, and you understand that but you do not relate. He is beautiful when he attempts to be terrifying, he is rational when he cannot intimidate, he is deeply intensely perceptive, and in his own stoic way he is oddly soft. Perhaps kind is a better word. He cares much more deeply than he shows. There is a selfish little thrill in that as well, knowing that you have brought out in him qualities most others never see. Knowing that you surprise him, a man who can feel everything but your thoughts just standing across from you. You accomplish a great deal in your tenure, but it is this that most often produces that quiet sense of pride.

He shows you change. In theory this is to make a point, but the point is unnecessary. You are not asking about something of immediate importance. It is after hours and you are asking about a story, about old scripture, from a primary source. This is not uncommon, and alongside speaking in words he chooses to sate a curiosity he knows you will have. When he has pulled you back together into the right shape you grin up at him. He studies you, near expressionless, and says "This is inappropriate." It is the strangest declaration of love you will ever receive, and you see it for what it is immediately. It should shock you, but somehow it does not. You agree. The evening ends with a veneer of stoic professionalism.

You will talk about it the next day. You will talk about it for the next week. You will see a degree of begrudging openness from him that you will not realize has been kept from you until you see it for the first time. You seek counsel, as is the responsible thing to do, but find that there is very little doubt as to the choice you will make. Mirjat appeals to your career, to the work that you've done, to the work that you might still do, and you find the arguments that have driven you all your life unconvincing.

You split your evenings between discussions with Iokhar and your own private consideration. You know the thrill of new intimacy will cloud your judgment, and he does too, but you both recognize that no matter what decision the two of you make your relationship will change. The idea of a purely professional relationship absent discussions of philosophy, history, art and other work feels galling, having experienced a relationship that is mutually irreplaceable. Later the idea of being irreplaceable to him will raise warmth in your chest and bring a smile to your face, but in that week while you assess it is simply a fact to be weighed. You are problem solving. Your feelings are data, but you do not have time to feel them fully. Only that they tell you what you want. You will resign with two weeks left in the season and half a term unfinished. It will take you most of the remaining two weeks working with your Clericy to choose Devadas as a successor, swear him in as Kalidas, and get him up to speed.

You already spend a great deal of time working during the on season, but for the better part of two weeks private time is practically nonexistent. This is a major adjustment, expected by no one, and by the time Iokhar leaves Kalidas must be prepared to represent him fully in the Council of Advocates. Anything you knew, anything you were working on, must be written down in such detail that it can be picked up where you left off. While you will join the Clericy of Iokhar, thus becoming available as a resource, it will take another month for the Clericy of the Petitioner Saints to determine this is the appropriate course of action and you must prepare for the contingency in which your full abdication from governance is determined necessary. It is not until the final night that you and your god finally have proper time together again. You sit quietly for much of it. He holds you and seems unpracticed, which to be fair you are as well. A decade is not a short time. A century and a half is longer. Yet, for all that, the mere ten months in front of you suddenly seems very long indeed.

"I would hear your voice when I am gone," he tells you, and it is less vulnerability than simple truth.

"I'd love to hear yours too," you say with irony, "but I suppose one of us will have to wait."

"I will not shirk my duties," he says, "But--"

"I would not ask you to." He pauses and then drops the apology. "Come back next season with stories for me." You smile as if this is a usual farewell, a friendship set aside to be picked up where it left off upon his return.

Very calmly, he takes your hand in his and matches his gaze to yours. For the first time you can feel the sensation of his own body mapped to yours, and you feel his quiet simmering hunger for you, individual fibers of his being humming beneath his skin for touch that a human lover could never even pretend. You feel it in the strands of your own muscles, suddenly yearning to rise up from beneath your skin and embrace the man in front of you. It is nearly overwhelming. Your breath catches and you do not dare break his gaze for fear it might stop. His voice is a low rumble in his chest. "I will." 

It is a greater promise than you asked for. It will stick with you during the long months of his absence, haunting your prayers and quiet moments and intruding on your activities unprompted.  

Upon his return, he will admit that this was the point.

[thalthanmadanus]

Draco is THE antagonist of the story and I'm lowkey sick of people diminishing his character's importance in the story and to Harry's character development. so I'm writing an essay about how Draco as a character is fucking important especially his antagonistic arc

💅

1. The crumbs:

First of all, and this doesn't get mentioned often, Draco is the first magical kid Harry meets his age.

Not only that, he is our first glimpse at two major upcoming conflicts in the series: Blood Supremacy, and Hogwarts houses.

Draco plays the important role of the narrative foil to Harry. (even wikipedia references them in the "foil" page)

Draco's main function as a character is to showcase Harry's best traits, through being his most worst. Unlike, Snape and Voldemort, Draco is more concerned with creating internal conflicts for Harry than external ones.

He is the character that says mudblood the most, with the frequency decreasing every book. He is the character that plays with/teases/bullies the psychological vulnerabilities of the trio (specifically Ron and Harry). He is one of the few characters that give rational criticism (against Hagrid, calling out the trio dynamic..) that, taken outside the keyframe imposed by the author, can showcase the flaws in Harry's views and his bias. He is also the only character that shows moral self-reflection that isn't motivated by either a reward or "love", which not only serves as character development for Draco but for Harry too who grows to sympathize with Draco, a small breakup from his fixed binary morality.

Draco is also a very active character. His actions and choices affect the plot. The majority of the first book literally happens because of his dumbass. In the second book, he is our first introduction to the word mudblood, he's also the main suspect to the two main mysteries. If Draco wasn't such a bitchass, would buckbeak gave been in said place for Harry to use him to save Sirius?

He is important narratively but what interests me is his importance to Harry's arc.

What separates Draco from other antagonists is that he creates internal conflicts that stem from his personal conflicts with Harry, because of Harry as a person. Not because Harry's the chosen one standing in his way, not because Harry's lily or James's son. Because Harry's Harry. and this exchange is mutual.

Their personal dynamic is set up in their first meeting. Harry, upon hearing two sentences from Draco, reacts negatively because of deeply personal issues (Dudley). I don't think Harry reacts personally to any other characters the way he did with Draco? Considering that Draco wasn't even hostile in his first sentences.

While Draco targets both Harry and Ron, there's a clear difference in how Draco bullies them both but also how Harry and Ron perceive Draco.

Draco is crueler on Ron. And his bullying doesn't feel personal, just apathetic, humiliating and mean. It feels like Draco is more cruel on Ron because Harry chose Ron over him and it shows by Draco coming back every now and then searching for Harry's compartment, trying to egg him, to look for a way that will make Harry regret rejecting Draco.

About Harry & Ron perception about Draco, it's showcased in the second book by the two main major events Draco was suspected in

1. Opening CoS. It was Ron who suspected Draco for this, not Harry. Ron suspects Draco for an action that affects everyone in the school.

2. Sending Dobby. Harry suspects that it was Draco that sent Dobby to prevent Harry from coming to school. Harry suspects Draco of an action that targets him specifically, and his reason of suspect? "because Malfoy hates me". It's personal.

Another instance of Harry making every issue personal with Draco: In the fifth book, after the sorting hat's song about houses unity

'And it wants all the houses to be friends?' said Harry, looking over at the Slytherin table,where Draco Malfoy was holding court. 'Fat chance. '

I'm also pretty sure the reason why Harry chooses not to be in Slytherin was 50% because Draco got sorted into Slytherin. the other 50% being Hagrid telling him that Slythering are eviiil. Btw a conversation that wouldn't have happened if Draco hadn't brought up houses in their first meeting.

Like I said, most of the plot in the first book goes back to Draco.

My main point is that the relationship between Harry and Draco as characters is beyond goals, motives, obstacles, moral causes bla bal bla, and is on the spectrum of "I took that personally".

2. the main plate:

Draco transitioned in the sixth book from an antagonist to a "side character" with a life. His role as character no longer functioned by his connection to Harry.

and this is where a flip of dynamic happened, where Harry became the antagonist to Draco's arc.

He's the one following him. He's the one egging him on (in the first 5 books,it was always Draco starting conversations with Harry, but in the sixth book, it's mostly Harry who started conversations with Draco) He's the one hurting him (Sectumsempra) (even on accident). He's the one trying to create obstacles to Draco's goal.

and why is that? why was Harry so obsessed with Draco?

If it were because of a moral righteousness, then why not focusing on Snape who's probably more suspicious? like who cares about Draco.. yeah he's sus but Dumbledore says it's not important..

This line of thought is more Ron and Hermione because they don't share the kind of deep personal issues towards Draco like Harry does.

so why is harry so obsessed?

"Harry, knowing and loathing Malfoy, was sure the reason could not be innocent."

This line in the sixth book explains it. Harry knows and loathes Draco with more emphasis on *knowing*.

Harry admits that he knows Malfoy, of course the fruit of labor of staring at Draco for five years, but why does he even stare in the first place? Because Harry is curious about Draco.

In comparison with Snape and Voldemort, our other antagonists,  Harry doesn't show the same enthusiastic curiosity for them. At least not the same way he does with Draco. Most of what we know about Snape and Voldemort are shown through external ways. Either their memories of memories of other people about them. Their character arcs happen outside Harry's vision,  either in the past or in a memory. It's not Harry who seeks those information. They come to him.

Draco, on the hand, most if not all of his character development happens in front of Harry. From his bullshit in the five years to him crying in the bathroom, him lowering his wand, him lying in the Manor. even the visions that Harry sees through Voldemort about Draco torturing Rowle, are happening in the present. Draco's character development is laid bare in front of Harry. 

but back to his obsession in the sixth book, it's because Harry knows Draco so well that not only he's right about him being a DE, but "Malfoy being up to something" is not something new to Harry, it's actually a normal thing that kept happening for 5 years of his life. Malfoy was always up to smtg. It's this idea of a normality that fuels like a new purpose in life for Harry after being wrecked by Sirius' death. Not only the mystery tingles his detective neurons, he knows he's right about Draco which only fuels his persistence. Draco being a person he hates also downplays the guilt/shame Harry could feel while stalking him. like I'm sorry but Harry was shameless and embarassing the whole year. The way Hermione and Ron looked at him sometimes so funny, also Hermione distancing herself from Harry when he talked to McG about Draco like "idk this person". Harry was kinda giving pre-HBP Draco vibes lowkey.

This shows that Harry himself is motivated by personal feelings (though negative) as an antagonist to Draco's arc himself.

And the important point here is the flip of dynamics. Draco is not just a mere side character in Harry's life. If anything, the moment he tries to become a side character with his is own arc, Harry is forcing himself in it. Because they're both foils to each other. It doesn't work on just one side.

The dessert:

The dynamic completely evolves again with the end of HBP as Draco gains a moral sense and Harry watching Draco's character development unfolding gains a more nuanced view than his old black/white one.

In DH, Draco and Harry are not antagonists anymore to each other. Draco and Harry are kind of heroes to each other?? as they both try to save each other like two times.

A lot of people downplay Draco's lie in the Manor, comparing it to Dudley's "You're not a waste of space" as "character development" moment.

bruh.

Dudley said that after Harry saved him. Draco literally was the one who took the initiative to lie, expecting no reward, literally had more to lose by lying, he was literally acting against his own interests, his family's life was in danger!!! Harry saved Draco after Draco saved him.

also Draco's character development started with him lowering his wand.

but back to being each other heroes. Our other comparison is Ron who is in both situations where Harry saves Draco but he's the one reacting negatively and complainig about them saving Draco, not Harry. Which is funny because Ron says "we saved you" but in both cases it's Harry who's doing the saving and Ron is  just there witnessing, and again I don't think he still realizes what was happening since the sixth year. He thinks his hostile feelings towards Draco are the same ones Harry has. That they're similar. Ron.. Harry literally almost risked your life to save Draco.

It also speaks of character development from Harry that he's not reacting negatively anymore towards Draco. He grew out of it. Like Draco also was starting to grow out of his toxic ideologies.

They're both growing up simultaneously.

And Draco was The first wizard kid Harry talked to (with no precognition or insidious motive)

Draco was the first character who he flew with

Draco was the first character who he dueled with

and so in DH,

Draco was the first character who tried to help Harry with no selfish motive

Draco was the first character that flew with Harry on the same broom (at least I think so?)

Draco was the first and only character whose wand Harry dueled with against Voldemort and won.

I wish I could write more. About Sectumsempra. About wand connection. but I'm tired.

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

thinking about alhaitham going from recently orphaned to meeting kaveh and kaveh becoming the one person who knows him through and through, who he recognises as his mirror, as integral to his development as a scholar, and as essential to his happiness as an individual. knowing that their respective approaches to life are direct oppositions, but that this isn't a negative and instead is beneficial to the both of them - aligning their viewpoints can help the other grow due to considering new speculations and perspectives.

and then being rejected by kaveh due to kaveh's rejection of himself - his conforming to the collective, when his talents and abilities offer potential for more than he denies himself. kaveh rejects alhaitham as his best friend, his mirror, and he seeks to cement his ideals in his life, to realise them in full as opposed to being solely based on the guilt borne from his perceived involvement in his father's passing. alhaitham doesn't pursue kaveh because this is kaveh's decision - he said that he regretted ever befriending alhaitham, and it would be futile to impose upon this

alhaitham goes from having an essential figure in his life, to a void twice, the first time being the loss of his grandmother, and then kaveh's rejection of him. but he pursues the peaceful life his grandmother wanted for him, and when he meets kaveh again, he instantly sees through the façade kaveh fronts for other people, and recognises that something is deeply wrong. when kaveh moves in with him, he is held in contempt and through a critical lens, and kaveh believes him to be prideful and spiteful, believing that his egoism has triumphed over kaveh's altruism.

kaveh continues to reject alhaitham through this, but alhaitham desires kaveh's company regardless because he knows that kaveh is essential to him - no one else can provide what kaveh fulfils, both in company and in mind. regardless of the strained rapport between them, alhaitham enjoys kaveh. he smiles when kaveh has a quick-witted comeback, he smiles while teasing kaveh, and he goes out of his way to have interactions with kaveh, regardless of the outcome.

alhaitham knows that he and kaveh can ultimately benefit each other if they can overcome this barricade - a perception of 'correctness' between them. firsthand, alhaitham knows that being thought of as 'correct' is ultimately meaningless if it means you forfeit something you truly care about. the issue that stands between him and kaveh is not correctness, it is the unspoken, the miscommunication and misconception that drives them apart. alhaitham truly wants the best for kaveh, but kaveh cannot see this due to his perception of alhaitham. but this perception is challenged when alhaitham reveals that he looked into sachin for kaveh's sake, for a chance of closure, during a parade of providence

so going from this uncertainty as to how kaveh will interpret alhaitham's actions in a parade of providence to how kaveh and alhaitham are in cyno's story quest is so so fulfilling. it's cathartic to see alhaitham comfortable in his interactions with kaveh, rather than having to be underhanded of his comments about kaveh's misconceptions. alhaitham can openly enjoy kaveh's company because kaveh genuinely wants to spend time with him. alhaitham encourages kaveh to tell him about his day because he knows he will not be misinterpreted. their banter is completely without any kind of tension as an understanding seems to have been gained between them. it must be so liberating to be truly seen once again by kaveh, and not have every word, every action, ever intention scrutinised. kaveh accepts him, fully, through and through, and because of this, kaveh sees alhaitham as a mirror - and finally accepts it.

they work in tandem, their thoughts seem synchronised, and there is no issue in the two joining efforts to research together once more. alhaitham is openly expressive about his contentment in working with kaveh, discussing the case in their shared living room, watching kaveh sketch the emblem, smiling as he unveils a discovery, and smiling as kaveh shows interest, travelling together to inform the traveller of their findings, heading to the house of daena together, and having kaveh understand his silent request for help without even having to voice it, being asked for and freely giving obtained akademiya information to kaveh, consenting and smiling when being paired together in looking after the house of daena and researching into the temple of silence. kaveh seeks to find coffee for the both of them when alhaitham mentions it which establishes a domesticity which extends outside of the home. when alhaitham excuses himself at the gathering, kaveh knows that it doesn't include him, and he actively suggests their next activities, before heading 'home' together. alhaitham understands kaveh's notion of home (talked about here), and alhaitham assents to this, and the two leave together

to finally have their status as equals be recognised by kaveh is a huge development, and alhaitham seems so much more content now that this understanding exists between them - that their care is reciprocal. to see kaveh at ease within himself, to be more embracing and forgiving towards himself, must be so fulfilling for alhaitham, who wants nothing but kaveh's happiness. in kaveh accepting alhaitham, these past concerns of guilt and forgiveness can finally be addressed. and alhaitham will be there every step of the way, as he has chosen to do, and he knows, now, that kaveh will continue to choose him too

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kim Messick at Salon:

During the 2024 presidential campaign and after, a recurrent theme among the commentariat was that liberal Americans shouldn’t be, well, mean to Donald Trump supporters. This admonition applied to words as well as sticks and stones; there were just certain things liberals shouldn’t say to, or about, Trump’s familiars. Foremost among these was any hint that proposing to elect a man with 34 felony convictions who had attempted a coup might signal a shortage of smarts, at least when it comes to politics. This, apparently, would be a very not-nice thing to do.  “[T]he liberal impulse has been to demonize anyone at all sympathetic to Donald Trump,” Nicholas Kristof intoned in The New York Times, imploring liberals not to “belittle” voters eager to send a sociopathic ignoramus back to the White House. Quoting the Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, he then sighed that “scorn for people with less education [is] ‘the last acceptable prejudice’ in America.��� In other words: Hey, all you smarty-pants liberals — you’re the real bigots here! Take that!

I have searched unsuccessfully for any other way to describe people able to gaze upon the human wreckage that is Donald Trump and conclude that he is fit for any office that doesn’t have bars. Well, I try — really, really try — to be nice to everybody. And I would never say that all Trump voters are stupid. Quite the contrary, actually; in many cases, I have no difficulty understanding why people would vote for this viper. If you are an oligarch who wants to turn the federal government into your valet (like, say, Elon Musk), then it makes perfect sense for you to support Trump, an oligarch wanna-be who will help you loot the treasury as long as you line his pockets and fawn over him. If, on the other hand, you are an oligarch who just wants the government to cut your taxes and let you poison the planet (like, say, the Koch Brothers), then, again, a vote for Trump is completely rational. Alternatively, you may not be an oligarch at all, just an average joe who loves Trump because he hates the same people you hate. In none of these cases would I say people are behaving stupidly. Despicably? Sure. But stupidly? Nah.  

But then we have voters like the ones in this Times piece from early December. Asked for one word to describe Trump, their choices include “common sense,” “compassion,” and “patriotism.” Keep in mind that they are talking about a man who suggested ingesting bleach could help cure COVID, put migrant children in cages, and tried to steal an election. Later, a truck driver says that Trump “believes in Christ,” while a lacrosse coach tells us that he “runs this country like a business,” though he does allow that it’s “tough for some people to see that.” Yeah, I confess to getting hung up on small details like the eight trillion dollars Trump added to the national debt. As for Trump the apostle of Christ, well, this brings to mind the words of the Duke of Wellington: “If you can believe that, you can believe anything.”

And this, in sum, is the problem. We’re not talking here about thinking that Mitt Romney’s views on marginal tax rates were incrementally better than Barack Obama’s, or, alternatively, that Ronald Reagan’s vigilance toward the Soviet Union was a better bet than Walter Mondale’s more dovish approach. These positions moved, more or less persuasively, within the space of rational discourse; perceptive, well-informed people could profitably debate them. But seeing Trump as a compassionate Christian, or as a brilliant businessman and avatar of common sense, signals an epistemic collapse so profound that it removes the opinion from the sphere of rationality and into that of pure, unfiltered credulity. There is simply no way for a person whose cognitive faculties are operating efficiently to hold these views. 

This is a strong statement, and I don’t want to be misunderstood. To be crazy when it comes to politics is not to be crazy in any global way. Most of the people in the Times piece are, I’m sure, perfectly competent in other areas of life — they hold down jobs, raise kids, socialize with friends, etc.. I’m sure, also, that they are perfectly nice people. But when it comes to politics they are willfully ignorant. There — I said it. I have searched unsuccessfully for any other way to describe people able to gaze upon the human wreckage that is Donald Trump and conclude that he is fit for any office that doesn’t have bars. It’s not a close call — it’s the only call. Trying to evade this fact makes it more, not less, difficult to understand what is happening in our politics. What we’re dealing with is nothing short of a crisis of political rationality — including the possibility, suddenly very urgent, that rationality may no longer be a concept of any relevance in politics. It is an explosion of irrationalism not seen in the West since the 1930s. Remember how that ended?

And it comes in many guises. A more subtle variant is to attribute the choices of working-class Trump voters to economic motives alone. Stranded in the blasted industrial heaths whose defunct smokestacks once sustained whole communities, they feel neglected, bitter, and vengeful — and Trump is their retribution. An excellent recent example of this approach is Jonathan Weisman’s “How Democrats Lost the Working Class,” which also appeared in the Times. His argument, put simply, is that Democrats in the late ’80s and early ’90s succumbed to the market triumphalism that attended the fall of the Soviet Union, dropping their advocacy of economic justice in favor of a corporate-friendly regime of globalization, low taxes, and deregulation. Now, a generation later, the results are in — shuttered factories, withered towns and cities, and a working-class so steeped in despair that suicide seems preferable to living.

Any blame for things that go south in America during Trump's term rest with the MAGA Cult.

[livrere-green]

ATLA x Omegaverse AU

Part 1 | Part 2

I've been thinking about an omegaverse atla au a lot recently, so I'm gonna vent about it cuz it's getting tiring just to have it spiralling in my head ngl

So, the only thing that I need to mention now it's that the standard age at which someone presents is around 13 to 14 years old. Knowing that, lets talk about the main characters.

Aang (12) would be unpresented by the time of the show. Also, I don't believe that being the avatar makes him an alpha perse. I mean, there's a possibility he presents as one (but he could also be a beta), and it wouldn't have anything to do with his avatar status (historically there could be a higher rate of avatars being alphas/betas, but there are some important exceptions... iykwim). Well, I think he'd present at age 13 almost 14.

Katara (14) is one of the characters that confuses me the most in this aspect, but just to add fuel to her fury and her personality, I'll make her an omega, not the kind that rejects her nature but the kind that embraces it and doesn't see it as something that makes her inferior or helpless. Katara would fight against the life society wants to impose on her in the same way she does in canon, maybe even more. She would resent the people who doesn't respect her because of her gender and at some point, she'd get frustrated about it, but she would think that hating herself would mean letting her oppressors win. About her presentation, there's two option: 1. She presented some months before they found Aang, 2. She presented during the first months they were traveling to the NWT (in this case, I think the ideal place would've been Kyoshi Island, because there's people able to take care of her there).

Sokka (15) would be an alpha, he probably presented after Hakoda left (14), he fits the type and the stereotypical personality at the beginning of the show. But I think he would get over it sooner rather than later, because the why he acts has to do more with his perception of himself and the expectations set upon his shoulders than with unshakeable beliefs about the ability of betas and omegas. He would learnt to respect and don't underestimate them quickly. Also, I think that Sokka would scent the Gaang to protect them and particularly to cover Katara's scent as they travel or run away from trouble.

Toph (12) would be unpresented by the time of the show. She'd present as an alpha some time after the end of the war (13). There's not a lot to explain here (talking about her at that age, except for the fact that even during her time with the Gaang, she probably hated Sokka's essence, just as an early hint about her gender). I consider that there's a lot to discuss about her as an adult and how she managed her relationships, but that's a discussion for another time.

Zuko (16) would be an omega, and also a late bloomer, probably presented a couple of years after his banishment (15).. Zuko would be determined to hide his true nature under any circumstances, letting only his Uncle know about it. Ozai would've been informed that his son is a beta, which was already a disappointment for the Royal Family (historically alphas), but it wasn't nearly as negative as being reduced to be treated as an omega. Zuko would end up causing himself a lot of damage in order to disguise as a beta, either by using too many suppressants or other medications, or even hurting himself. He would stop hiding after joining the Gaang but It'll be complicated, since he'd be distressed all the time and even Aang and Toph would be able to notice (their senses are not totally develop, so it'll be kinda alarming).

Suki (15) would be a beta, presented at 14. In her case, the characteristics of its gender would be especially helpful to mediate conflict or get out of it. The scent of a beta has calming effects in both alphas and omegas, so she would use it with her friends, or even in battle, to make her opponents lose focus, particularly if they are driven by rage. The fans are particularly helpful for that.

Azula (14) would present early as an alpha (12/13). At that age, one of the traits she would manifest the most is assuming the position of head of the pact with her friends, she'd probably scent them with the intention of establishing superiority and control over them. In this context, Mai would be a beta and Ty Lee an omega or a beta as well.

That's all for now, I still have some things in mind for this, but I'll share that later, and if you have questions, I'll be happy to answer!

[warrioreowynofrohan]

After a reread of Persuasion, I’m thinking about how it relates to Austen’s character types discussed in this post. It stands out from S&S, P&P, and Mansfield Park in not haveing a ‘charming rake’ type as the main male antagonist, but instead a reserved, intelligent, courteous, cold-blooded and selfish man. There is no counterpart to Willoughby, Wickham, or Henry Crawford.

Instead, if Mr. Elliot is a counterpart to any of the characters in Austen’s other novels, he feels like a dark mirror of Darcy. They are both reserved; both (at least at the time of the main plot of the book) place a high value on social status, and look down on commonness and vulgarity. However, while Darcy’s arrogance makes him rude, Mr. Elliot has impeccable manners; and where Darcy in has strong principles and treats the people for whom he is responsible well, Mr. Elliot is a hypocrite and, though voicing good principles, is in fact cruel and uncaring to those who are dependent on him. Mr. Elliot is, really, the type of person that Wickham portrays Darcy as being. The other thing that brought this comparison to my mind is Mrs. Smith’s description of the friendship between her husband and Mr. Elliot, which very much recalls the one between Bingley and Darcy (as an additional note, both Mr. Smith and Bingley are named Charles):

From his wife’s account of him she could discern Mr. Smith to have been a man of warm feelings, easy temper, careless habits, and not strong understanding, much more amiable than his friend and very unlike him - led by him

I think this all goes with one of Austen’s common themes, and one that is especially important to Persuasion - the importance of not marrying in overmuch haste and without good knowledge of and, at a minimum, respect for your partner. Darcy is decidedly not like Mr. Elliot in character - but at the time of his first proposal, for all Elizabeth knew he might have been.

And on the flip side, Frederick Wentworth is not like Willoughby or Wickham - but given the short time Anne had known him when he first proposed, he might have been, and Lady Russell certainly sees that danger. He is, at that time, daring and charismatic, but not prudent, having saved none of the money that he won in his naval career. There’s also another reference to the ‘charming rake’ type in that, like Henry Crawford, he for a while courts two sisters, the elder of whom is attached (though, unlike Maria Bertram, not engaged) to another man. In Wentworth’s defence, he isn’t aware of the latter, and isn’t trying to make them both fall in love with him, just being his (naturally charming) self, and keeping his eyes open for who he might like to marry; and he very nearly gets himself badly entangled and, later, freely acknowledges that as his own fault. Really, Wentworth has elements of all three of Austen’s main male character types, and is the better for it. (Anne herself has, I think, the most in common with Elinor Dashwood in being the only sensible and intelligent person in her family, and in being very perceptive, and with Fanny Price is being rather quiet and imposed upon.)

On the whole, this combination of characters makes the book feel less on the side of intelligence and judgement, and more on the side of a warm and open heart, in making for happiness, whereas S&S and P&P focus more strongly on the need for ‘sense’ and intelligence. Intelligence may well be a necessary quality for a truly good marriage, but it is not a sufficient one, not when it is combined with a cold and selfish heart.

[cosmicjoke]

What are your opinions towards Levi's feelings towards Annie?

Everyone seems to think that he has a strong animosity towards Annie, however I simply feel that isn't the case. When the second to last episode came out, and everyone drawled on about how he 'remembered what she did to his squad,' I found myself feeling as if he was mischaracterized.

No one expects Levi to be all giggles and happy around Annie - it's understandable that he is hurt and unhappy with what she had done. However, as any other person, I imagine he understands that she HAD to do what she did - she was a kid, and she did so with clear remorse.

Levi hates Zeke because Zeke was a narcissistic asshole who quite clearly enjoyed killing Levi's comrades. Annie obviously was not the same way. It disgruntles me to see Levi's perceptions of Annie so twisted by the fandom, and I'm curious to know how you think of Levi's feelings towards Annie are!

sorry if this doesn't make sense lol. ty!

Hi there,

I see this a lot, and you're right when you say it's a complete mischaracterization of Levi. It's projection, too. It's fans who, because they want to see revenge taken upon Annie for what she did, they think Levi should and does want that too.

The reason it's such a gross mischaracterization of Levi is because it supposes Levi is a revenge driven character, but he's not. He didn't even want revenge against Zeke. He only wanted to kill Zeke because he swore to his comrades that he would. And yeah, Levi hated him, with plenty of good reason, but that hatred wasn't the reason behind his desire to kill him.

With Annie, I don't sense any real resentment or hostility from Levi toward her. He never expresses disgust with her, except maybe during the Female Titan arc when he lands on her head and threatens her. But then, it was always obvious he did that only in an attempt to make her come out, not out of personal feeling. And he didn't even know who it was inside the Female Titan at that point.

This idea that these people posit too, that Levi should have killed or beaten Annie up during the final arc of the story is unbelievably absurd. As if it would be a good idea to take out one of their few assets and weapons against Eren for petty revenge. Again, it's just projection. People imposing their own desires onto Levi.

Levi is bigger than that.

[veliseraptor]

If you haven't done so already, do you have any particular headcanons for Xiao Xingchen?

I've always seen him as a very interesting character, from his fife as the pupil of an inmortal master, to his views about the world. I specially find the image of the folk hero he seems to have incredibly appealing, although I feel it gets left behind in the background of the story. But what do you think?

boy do I!!! I have a stack of Xiao Xingchen headcanons that just might together stack up longer than the entire yi city arc in canon. I have long experience with building a large edifice of headcanon upon a relatively slim amount of actual text, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about Xiao Xingchen. I'm sure this comes as a complete surprise to everyone.

one important headcanon to me is the sort of...pair that Xiao Xingchen is a very sociable and extroverted person, and he has major abandonment issues. I feel like the first one is something where the perception is otherwise because he's not exactly boisterous and he has this "untouchable immortal" reputation following him around making him out to be something more than human (which also renders him less than human, but I've talked about that before).

but Xiao Xingchen loves people, I think - he believes in people, yes, but he also just generally genuinely likes them. he likes to talk to people. now, this doesn't always mean he's good at it - the other thing about Xiao Xingchen is that he's kind of weird and socially graceless - but he's a very friendly person by nature.

this makes his utter isolation post-baixue even sadder, because I don't think it's because he can't make connections, or doesn't want to - I think he's not letting himself try. he's cut himself off from trying to make friends. prior to that I think people tend to hold him at a distance, because other people perceive him as untouchable/distant and project that onto how they interact with him, and if they do interact with him he's weird and socially graceless which can be a turn-off for further interaction. afterwards he's just doing the same.

and meanwhile! all this is happening and Xiao Xingchen is in a state of continual low-level homesickness (the world is harder and meaner than he thought it would be, he can never go home, he genuinely believes in his decision to descend but also it hurts sometimes), and he has his one companion who is the best ever but even so...that's one person and I think Xiao Xingchen craves more connection than that. but because of who he is and who he's chosen to be, he doesn't have that community that he desperately misses, and he's not willing to compromise himself in order to find it the simplest way (i.e. by joining a sect).

the dream of creating a sect is, I think, a little more Xiao Xingchen's than Song Lan's - not that Song Lan's not in favor of the idea, but I think he'd be more content without it, continuing to be independent, than Xiao Xingchen is. but he also has his temple to go home to (until he doesn't).

and for extra spicy fun my headcanon has always been that Xiao Xingchen is very tactile while Song Lan is...the opposite, and while Xiao Xingchen would never complain and might not even acknowledge it to himself, he is perfectly content with the non-physical state of their relationship, of course, he would like to be cuddled and that's just not something Song Lan generally feels up to doing.

and then!! and then Song Lan lashes out at Xiao Xingchen, pushing him away, and the closest person Xiao Xingchen has to home is torn away from him, and then his actual home is taken away again (because he goes back for Song Lan only to have to leave again, really forever this time), and he's on his own wallowing in guilt and self-loathing and very determinedly being Alone until a-Qing shows up and basically goes "mine now" and adopts Xiao Xingchen as very much hers. A-Qing is so important for the way that she walks into Xiao Xingchen's self-imposed solitude and just moves in without taking no for an answer. that's, I think, part of why Xiao Xingchen loves her so much.

but after Song Lan there's definitely a low key assumption for Xiao Xingchen, I think, that people will leave him eventually. I think he always tended toward a little bit of clinginess, but after he gives up his eyes that clinginess both increases exponentially and also becomes an exercise in intense self-denial. he won't let himself be clingy with the people he cares about even if that is what he desperately wants to be. nobody would want to live with us in this coffin house.

there's an exchange that I'm really quite proud of in The Care and Keeping of an Unexpected Captive:

“You like - you like feeling like a hero. Like you’re - saving the world, all the pathetic people too weak to save themselves, there’s you, righteously battling evil, kind, generous–” Words that would be compliments from someone else Xue Yang spat like insults. Xiao Xingchen drew back. “That’s not it,” he protested. “I don’t care who knows me, or if anyone does. I’m not looking for fame or glory–” “No,” Xue Yang said, his voice harsh, “you just want people to love you.”

and I don't think Xue Yang is wrong. he's not 100% right either - Xiao Xingchen does believe in his mission, and does just genuinely want to help people and do the right thing.

but he also really, really, really wants to be loved, and is very afraid that he won't be.

[akiyamastar]

Hi guys, I am back on the Chiaki tag. Yes, I'm analyzing him again and sort of picking up on a point I mentioned in my last post.

I think there's an interesting divide in how Chiaki acts in front of the other Yumenosaki graduates versus the rest of Ryuseitai (yes, even Kanata). He has this serious, no-nonsense personality that he tends to conceal in front of Ryuseitai, because he needs to act like "Ryusei Red," but this other side leaks out more in front of the other graduates. You can see this clearly in stories where he isn't interacting with his unit.

Chiaki's more complex than people make him out to be, especially if they don't know a lot about Ryuseitai and think he's some dense hero. In reality, he's an extremely perceptive person. This is a given, considering one of the main roles that he imposes upon himself is to read the emotions of the people he cares about, so even if he comes across as brash and pushy, there's this indirect sense of "I need to look over them and make sure they're all okay." His pushy, energetic personality disguises how he discreetly tries to read into situations with startling accuracy, defending the people he loves most.

In fact, he was so perceptive that he refused to let anything bad happen to Ryuseitai anymore after the events of Comet Show, thwarting Gatekeeper's move to try to alarm Madara of the false information that Kanata had been enshrined as a god again during Submarine.

Moreover, I'm of the opinion that Chiaki knew that he didn't do the best thing by reclaiming the leader role, but at the same time, the reason why he did so makes more sense in the context of the situation; he is trying to make Ryuseitai last at all costs, and he won't let the corruption of the idol industry take them down. While Chiaki does have a problem with taking things on his own, something that gets on Tetora's nerves and leads to that growing tension depicted in the prologue of the Universe story when he punches him, Chiaki's intentions were very much calculated. Chiaki is constantly reading the situation and emotions of the people around him to make the next optimal move that can help others.

While in front of Ryuseitai, he feels the need to be this "beacon of light," as symbolic as the blazing red sun that is the essence of his role as Ryusei Red, this facade is something that he is only keeping up because it's his "idealization" of himself. It is what he had originally wanted to become in Meteor Impact, and now that he finally has the power to become a hero in others' eyes, Chiaki partakes in this "fake it until you make it" act where he acts like a competent hero in front of the rest of Ryuseitai. It is to the point that his unitmates may admire him, but don't see his true self, marked with hidden insecurities of never being the main character of his own story. It is something that I really wish was explored more when Chiaki mentioned to Tetora how he wasn't that cool senior he tried to make himself seem to be. (Tetora and Chiaki's dynamic is so important to me if you haven't noticed by now.)

Essentially, Chiaki's personality is outwardly boisterous and passionate, channeling out his love for heroes and tokusatsu, but inwardly, he is extremely critical of how he enjoys such things. He also may seem like an unrealistic fool who views everything through the lens of tokusatsu, but he's also too realistic for his own good. He just thinks he'll seem like "no fun" if he shows that in front of Ryuseitai, but he does show his seriousness more around the other graduates.

I think an optimal example of Chiaki's more serious side was displayed in Shu's gacha event story centered on the graduates (Astraea's Atelier), specifically with how Leo and Chiaki interacted there.

Leo is generally a very playful and often unpredictable person, and you might initially think that this would go hand-in-hand with Chiaki's energetic personality. This isn't entirely a false assumption; in Red Hot Island (the water park gacha story) the two of them got along like two peas in a pod with their enthusiasm for the trip. (Their dynamic also goes so hard, btw.)

Nonetheless, there is a key difference between the two that shows a lot about Chiaki's character: while Leo tends to cope with problems by becoming increasingly more unpredictable and erratic in his personality, or isolating himself when he can no longer do so, Chiaki tends to shrink back and start showing cracks of his serious self when encountered with something grave, putting a halt to the energetic act rather than dialing it up.

This is why Chiaki is more likely to become suddenly realistic and even slightly irritable if people aren't taking things seriously when it matters most, which you can see when Chiaki sometimes shows a bit of annoyance for Leo's antics when they go too far in Astraea's Atelier, since he thinks that Leo isn't taking the situation of a stranger invading Shu's place in France seriously enough. Which is something I kind of love considering I wish we saw that side of him more.

Here are some examples of their interactions by the way (all translated by @/nia_narqissa on Twitter):

I recommend reading the story in all honesty since in general it reflects the graduates' friendships and how they interact with each other (and it's really funny).

I find it really interesting that Chiaki actually does seem almost hostile to Leo at some points in the story, something that might seem strange at first, but makes a lot of sense if you consider the fact that this aspect of his personality has always been a part of him; you could even conclude that it's very likely that he just swallows emotions like anger, but feels them just as much as anyone would.

In the end, however, the two do understand each other and I'm honestly really glad that they're interacting more in recent gacha stories.

I do hope to see more !! stories like this one where we see more of Chiaki's serious side since I think it's really interesting, and maybe even more on showing himself more to the rest of Ryuseitai because he is just human in the end. I think those are all my daily Chiaki thoughts for today. (I am very normal.)

[barlupiins]

The Lamb of God: Fyodor vs Jesus parallelism analysis

With the new anime episode that has ran ahead of the official manga release, every BSD fan's timbers have been shivered upon Dazai's feign in the face of death once again, Chuuya's year-long vampirism turning out to be also an act (go theatre kid go), Fukuchi's death, and Fyodor's supposed "death." While the manga readers have been fed these cliffhangers every month and endured them through crazy twitter threads and coping mechanisms, anime watchers received this within a week…

Anyway. Everyone is talking about Fyodor's "death" scene, and I'm certain that 90% of people are convinced he is not dead yet, amplified furthermore through his recital of Jesus's final words before his death on the cross:

“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”

This translates to “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—God, why have you abandoned me?, this being said in the middle of the darkest hour of Jesus’ suffering when he had died on the cross (this will be elaborated even more later).

It's evident that with this knowledge that our favourite rat man is not dead as he harbours many parallels to Jesus Christ; the crux of the Christian religion, who ultimately on the third day, Jesus rose again and "conquered" death by spilling his blood which is necessary for salvation. Death in Catholicism is the ultimate punishment of sin. If we were to link the context of sin from Christianity to Fyodor's perception of sin, this sin that Fyodor came to believe to be found within ability users.

In this analysis, I won’t draw any theories, as I am not a theory person, but through analysis and examination of the current sources in theology, I aim to perhaps solidify our current understanding of Fyodor’s character and his motivations. I also aim with this little analysis that Fyodor's death is indicative of something much larger than we have; a transcendence of body, mind, and soul, something similar to the Holy Trinity, which is the sole pillar of the Catholic faith. To do this, we would need to further inspect Jesus’ function within the Christian religion. 

Jesus Christ: The Religious Figure

Jesus died on the cross as a consequence of sin that he had not caused, but sin that was imposed upon him due to the external world riddled by sin. In the bible’s fashion, this is again also another fulfilment of the Old Testament, via Psalm 22, here, Jesus becoming the new King David—his crown being the crown of thorns, the cross being his throne (I love religious imagery so much ugh). Jesus' crucifixion is the enthronement of Jesus Christ to the "upside down" kingdom of God.

In this way, Fyodor ‘died’ because of the success in the execution of Dazai’s plan. I don’t believe that Dazai is a parallel of Judas, as Judas was a follower of Jesus prior to his betrayal. Dazai was evidently never a follower of Fyodor—this more suiting Nikolai’s character. This however is perfect, as Nikolai was the catalyst for Fyodor’s death as he had initiated the escape game, which thus triggered Dazai to enact his plan of small things that converged into the death of Fyodor. 

Fyodor’s motivations and ideals are still very mysterious to the fandom, but we can gauge the best we can by observing the function of Jesus within Christianity. Jesus is dubbed by many titles—"The New Moses", "The Son of God", "The Son of Man", and "The King of The Jews." All of these names highlight a specific nuance in Jesus' role, and why he is so praised and worshipped upon in the Christian faith and its sub-branches. Jesus fulfils old scripture, in Christianity, the Old Testament. Jesus is a medium of God that had been delivered to earth to example the definite Word—which essentially is the ultimate desire of God and his vision of what he deems as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. In short, before I go on a whole tangent, Jesus’ name, Emmanuel, translates to “God among us”—therefore, is the fulfilment of God’s promise to save the world from sin that had been threaded throughout the abundance of prophecies in the Old Testament (I can elaborate on this if anyone is interested as there are a few biblical technicalities as to what God is restoring the world to [which is the Garden of Eden, but what is the Garden of Eden, if that makes sense, you know?]!). Because again, as a consequence of original sin (note: ‘sin’ is a divergence from God–the lack of ‘good’) sin became virulent. 

With this brief religious education segment of Jesus’ role as a Messiah, we can thus gain perhaps a little context on Fyodor’s ideals and his motivations. 

Fyodor Dostoevsky and Jesus Christ

Fyodor’s ideals have been established earlier in the manga that his goal is to utilise the book in order to make a world without the sin of ability users. This ideal carries far too many religious context, and aligns with the mention of New Jerusalem in his ability’s namesake novel, Crime and Punishment.  

Now, of course, Fyodor is not actually Jesus. While this conclusion may be non-sequitur, there are various justifications which make this apparent, thus eradicating some crazy theory of Fyodor being the legitimate Jesus in BSD as…he’s Fyodor. But I will lay the bones out here anyway: Fyodor didn’t die on a cross lmao, the fact he is completely dressed up in contrast to Jesus who had been stripped off his humanity via clothes (which were donned upon humans in Genesis by Adam and Eve as a consequence of sin)...this can also be indicative of the fact that Fyodor himself is riddled with sin—this sin in his eyes being the fact he is an ability user. That is out of the way now. 

However, this also raises and further supports the links that people have been grappling with in terms of Fyodor's parallels with the themes discussed in the novel Crime and Punishment (C&P). To preface: Fyodor does not completely embody Raskolnikov, nor the entire narrative of C&P, but it does retain a few features within it. I don't claim to be the most intelligent about this novel, and I am still trying to arrive at my own conclusions and understand it. That will take time. This is what I know: putting Raskolnikov’s obsession over the story of Lazarus aside, it’s revealed that Raskolnikov believes in the new Jerusalem, which is a world that has been completely and ultimately fulfilled of God’s promises—which is to eradicate the world from sin. With the book, we can conclude that Fyodor is trying to reach this “New Jerusalem” due to his ideal to create a world without the sin of ability users. 

Within this as well, we can gain some insight into Fyodor’s character and the possibility of his resurrection through Psalm 22. As aforementioned, I mentioned the link between Fyodor’s ‘final words’ and Jesus’ final word, with Jesus’ quotation of Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? being a direct reference to the first line of Psalm 22 in the darkest hour of his suffering. Therefore, Psalm 22 is exemplifies the entire experience of Jesus’ passion during the crucifixion as he died for his people whom he bore the sins of, the most profound expression of suffering and eventual declaration of faith within that suffering and grief. 

(Psalm 22:19)

It wouldn’t be too divergent if we were to consider the possibility of Fyodor’s suffering through this lens. “My God, My God” exemplified Jesus’ relationship with God as his Son, thus making Fyodor’s recital of these lines serve as an amplification of Fyodor’s perspective and devout intimacy in his relationship with God. While I doubt Fyodor is feeling every visceral human emotion during his death—with the possibility that he is alive and made it out with a plan, this is a suffering he has experienced before, and currently—just not as saturated as he would in his ‘darkest moments’ which is in his mysterious/unrevealed past. Here, Fyodor, as Jesus had felt, is experiencing the withdrawal of God’s fellowship as well as God’s wrath towards humanity by utilising Jesus as a substitute—being impaled in the stomach, and crashing into the tower. 

This raises the inquiry of why ability users are considered as a sin. With the biblical context of sin, we can draw the conclusion that it’s the mere existence of ability users that Fyodor is referring to—this however also raises the inquiry of where do abilities come from. I have a processing meta-theory regarding the metaphysical nature of Bungou Stray Dogs, but I doubt that’s something that I can completely develop here, as it’s just a thought that I’d like to develop more by re-dabbling into the franchise once I have the time.

By examining the biblical undertones referenced through Fyodor's character, and examining said source material, we can perhaps gain some more insight into his motivations and perspective. I wouldn't say that it would reveal everything about his backstory, the true core of his ideals, but by beginning here, it's perhaps a solid first step towards understanding his character. If anyone wants an elaboration for anything I mentioned within this little analysis ramble, please let me know and I'd be happy to provide !!

[skeletap]

sorry if this is a lot but ummmm 3, 4, 10, and 14 for the character asks?

I LOVE INFODUMPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3) What was the first thing (name, appearance, personality, role) you decided on?

Spinal Tap's villain name and the first thing I decided on. He's gone through significant reworking since I doodled him as a twinky self insert to kiss on Skeletor, but he's always been 'Spinal Tap'.

4) And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

Everything but his name has changed from his original design to the one now in Prima Materia. But I suppose the thing I struggled with was his costume's design. He had his major v1->v2 design change, and now I've since gone back and changed his clothing around a little as I've gotten to 'know' his character.

10) What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Alright! Well, the question itself a big can of spoilery worms, so I will do my best in answering it without divulging the entire plot of Prima Materia. Spinal Tap's character arc is about his struggle between his commitment to faith and contempt towards being the Panacean. It is a role forced upon him, and one he sees both as a gift and as a punishment. He starts as a traumatized, confused man who has been given a sudden freedom, but still feels trapped in being an Evil Warrior and the Panancean. And in his arc he has to learn to free himself from the confines imposed upon him by the world's perception of the Panacean, and thus learn to be himself first and foremost. I can at least say his epilogue is happy, but the actual ending before that I cannot reveal if its good or tragic just yet :)

14) Do you have any quotes tied to the character, either from the story itself or from another source that fit them?

From chapter 9 of String Lights:

“Shall we leave this place?” Spinal Tap said, back turned to Skeletor. His cloak fluttered in the wind, only a single clasp preventing it from being taken away in the storm’s influence. It almost seemed as if the man, even with his hulking form, wished he would be pulled up in it, like scrap paper taking off in the breeze. Yet, unlike the bodies that accompanied him in his ill-fated invitation, Spinal Tap had no wings in which to break away and be carried upon elsewhere. He was forever bound to where he stood.

[voraciouspangolin]

hey, i know you didn't mean harm and i don't want to incite discourse but i want you to be careful when headcanoning pyro as intersex because intersex folks are already heavily stigmatized against, and headcanoning the character of ambiguous gender who canonically gets dehumanized and treated as an other can contribute to that stigma.

Hey, I really appreciate how respectfully you worded all this.

And I totally understand where you're coming from- and I want to share why I headcanon pyro as intersex. It stems from my essay that I've been writing about pyro's character, which dives into the function that a faceless, voiceless, largely unknown character plays in a story, the potential for the viewer's ability to project whatever they want onto this character, as well as the absence of character as a character trait itself, and how such a character serves as allegory for any number of interpersonal struggles someone may have with their environment and society on a broader scale- most notably with themes of dehumanization, othering, and lack of personal agency.

In a lot of ways, my characterization of Pyro is an allegory for many things- being trans, being gay, being poor, or autistic, or an immigrant, or disabled, or looking Not Normal, etc, etc. And I think that that's fascinating. There's a lot of room for projection onto Pyro's character from many different points of view, and I think that that has to do with the fact that Pyro is dehumanized and belittled and treated as an Other by the people around him in tf2. The very scaffolding of Pyro's character as something that isn't understood, something that's feared and othered, something reduced to "that thing" or "it", or something that is to be spoken to in the same tone one would speak to toddlers, is so relevant to so many different walks of life. I feel it would feel weird of me to avoid headcanoning pyro as intersex because of the fact that intersex people face stigmatization and systemic oppression. Those experiences are a large part of the reason why I headcanon pyro as intersex.

Pyro's dehumanization via lack of agency towards their own identity (literally the most we see of pyro's body is his skeleton in the zombie version of their model, being voiceless, constantly having other people impose their own perceptions of what pyro is onto him) is something of an allegory for being intersex. Not exclusively so, but certainly there is a lot of substance to point to and draw parallels between

That all being said... I havent ever draw Pyro as explicitly intersex, despite my headcanon. I feel like it's none of my business to know exactly what pyros chromosomes are, what their body looks like, or what their Deal is. I feel that imposing my own ideas upon Pyro on what he should be ironically contributes to the lack of agency Pyro has over their own being. So I just draw Pyro in self indulgent ways, I.e. fat hairy butch. I draw Pyro as an extension of my own relation to my gender, as a projection of my love for myself, using him as a catalyst for self expression.

Sorry this got rambly. Any intersex people are very much free to chime in- I deeply enjoy broadening my own scope of knowledge when it comes to the human experience

[ankoist]

<<RIN SAKAGUCHI>>

a/n: after some time, i have finally completed my bleach oc and socially awkward bean, rin! artwork is not mine.

dossier

full name. sakaguchi rin (阪口 臨; slope to conquer)

date of birth. 11th january

height. 180 cm (5'11")

gender/pronouns. cis-female, she/her

race. soul

occupation. vice-kidō chief at the kidō corps (promoted from third seat), formerly at detention unit

birthplace. east rukongai

zanpakuto, shikai & bankai. n/a

relatives. unnamed aunt (deceased)

relationship status & orientation. in an on-and-off relationship with 12th division lieutenant akon, heterosexual

personality

despite her imposing height, rin is somewhat socially inept with her insouciant expression and shy approach towards others. however, she is not as feeble as she seems and can defend or stand up for herself if provoked. emotionally closed off, she only opens up and displays her affectionate side to a selected few. she is collected and perceptive in battles, enabling her to analyse the most efficient way of incapacitating her opponents effectively.

backstory

ever since she started to walk, rin was heavily trained in the art of hakuda as her parents were part of the onmitsukidō. not wanting their only child and daughter to be a damsel in distress, they instilled a very stringent routine that involved mental and physical teachings, thus depriving her of a regular childhood. misfortune struck when she was an adolescent whereby her parents passed away from a mission gone awry. subsequently, she was raised by her aunt and relocated to west rukongai. 

her passion for kidō ignited when she encountered then-vice-kidō chief hachigen ushōda; she was overwhelmed by a group of armed thugs who attempted to rob her on her way home before being rescued. after the incident, rin was determined to learn kidō. upon gaining approval from her aunt, she enrolled in the academy where she struggled a fair amount - after nanao ise, rin was the next case in which she could not imprint on her asauchi. moreover, she struggled to befriend her peers due to her lack of social skills, it took her a long time before she finally made her first friend - izuru kira. eventually, she was able to graduate from the academy due to her prowess in hakuda and kidō. rin was temporarily stationed at the nest of maggots before transitioning to the kidō corps, where she further honed her kidō skills. 

she reunited with hachigen during the fake Karakura town battle, assisting him against barragan. shortly after aizen’s defeat, she was promoted to vice-kidō chief.

connections 

- izuru kira: the first (and closest) friend she made at the academy. they first met when rin helped to treat his injuries after an intense training session. since then, they became close. rin is also supportive of his interest in haiku and writing (would purchase his novels whenever they were released). 

- rukia kuchiki: they met after izuru introduced them to each other. one of the few souls rin was able to open up to; would sometimes confide in her regarding her relationship with akon. 

- renji abarai: naturally met after rin was introduced to rukia. on cordial terms with each other. they possess a shared love for taiyaki. he likes being nosy in rin and akon’s relationship, much to her disdain. 

- hachigen ushōda: rin’s saviour from the incident when she was an adolescent and the driving force behind her aspiration to pursue kidō. she would go to the human world to visit him whenever she had the chance to.

- akon: on a recurring pattern of being in an established relationship with him and then taking a break for several months. they initially met when he bumped into her and dropped a gigai he was working on (imagine the bear as the gigai).

- nanao ise: recent acquaintances. rin joined the shinigami women's association in an attempt to improve her socialisation skills and safe to say, they get along quite well. 

- rose otoribashi: her closest friend's captain. rose introduced rin to manga from the human world and would recommend her a variety of genres. 

- soi fon: her previous supervisor while she was stationed at the detention unit. rin maintains a very professional relationship with her. work is work, after all. they are also occasional sparring partners.

- mayuri and nemu kurotsuchi: they hold no animosity towards rin as they believe she does not interfere with akon’s work.

*she views the rest of the gotei 13 and visored members neutrally, mainly because she has not interacted much with them. 

trivia

- theme song: i am by jorja smith.

- is left-handed.

- ever since urahara introduced his new invention that allowed tv shows from the human world to play in the gotei 13, she developed an unhealthy obsession with studio ghibli films (and by that she sneaks into the 3rd division to watch them).

- her hair is currently dyed that way because she lost to izuru in a game of hanafuda (loser had to dye their hair in flamboyant colours). 

- her favourite foods include anko (sweet red beans), konjac noodles and tonkatsu. 

- can cook relatively well.

- does not want to be the kidō corps commander as she is afraid of the responsibilities overwhelming her. 

- likes reading josei mangas.

- likes wearing sweater vests in her gigai form. 

- has a high spice tolerance. 

[pollylynn]

Title: Motive WC: 1000

“But the truth is, I've never had so much fun being used.”

—Richard Castle, The Late Shaft (2 x 20)

HIs daughter is not in the least interested in Ellie Monroe, not beyond that first blip of startled recognition, anyway. And maybe her interest is briefly piqued by that slightly awkward, double-edged teenage moment where she—the literal teenager—has all but caught him—the figurative teenager—sharing a goodbye kiss with the starlet from the B-movies the two of them loved once upon a time. There’s a quirk of her eyebrow and her jaw drops a quarter of an inch as Ellie brushes by and as he makes a show of gathering her into his arms, but beyond that, his daughter is not interested in Ellie Monroe. 

She is pointedly—perhaps a bit hyperbolically—interested in food. She humors him, playing along as though she has been foraging for sustenance, rather than retiring to the fireside so that the support staff, who undoubtedly made the fire, could serve her and her fellow orienteers some bougie pre-arranged meal accented with whatever minimal forest spoils they’d managed to scrounge up. She tucks into the feast he has prepared and it’s more than a little obvious to them both that her interest in food is compensating for her total, performative lack of interest in Ellie Monroe. 

He thinks, at first, that he’s a little wistful about it. It’s the latest in a long string of signs that she’s not his little girl, anymore. She’s not sitting there, rapt, with her chin propped on her fists, asking starry-eyed questions about the pretty lady or the daring heroine and what she’s like in person. The fact that she is not interested in the recently departed pretty lady is yet another ding in his own larger-than-life SuperDad persona, isn’t it? 

But wistful gives way to relieved. At least relieved is what he thinks comes next. It’s what he calls it, anyway. Interest in food gives way to interest in her trip. Or lack of interest, rather. She’s had fun. She has had fireside sings and ghost stories. She has seen a loon feeding and she speaks with pride about her own ability to handle herself. She speaks a bit high-handedly about some of the girls—she calls them girls and there’s a silent little in front of it—who didn’t handle themselves so well. And it’s clear that she was a bit bored. She’s a bit over that kind of trip. 

He should probably be wistful about that, too. He has a long list of things he would prefer she never be over, starting with plastic tiaras and extending well into the territory where she is jazzed about carrying her own pack through the Adirondacks, but also worried about falling behind on her self-imposed program of reading the classics. He should be very much opposed to her outgrowing Sacajawea cosplay, but instead he’s relieved or something like it. 

The reasons for relief are not entirely clear. Or possibly, he’s not inclined let them come into focus, because they might have something to do with Kayla and math and Ellie Monroe. It might have to do with Beckett—damn her to the Adirondacks with a too-heavy pack—using phrases like throwing herself at you and flicking barely perceptible, yet decidedly real, glance his way when Kayla declares that she and Bobby Mann were in love. 

It is more than possible that this has very confusing things to do with Beckett and his daughter, because his daughter, who is pointedly not interested in Ellie Monroe, is quietly bringing her up as she—totally against orders and in defiance of long established post-orienteering protocols—insists on helping him clear away the feast and tackle the dishes. Quietly doesn’t begin to describe it, actually. She is bringing Ellie Monroe up in such a round-about way that the conversation might need to think about a manageable, well-balanced pack.

“How do they book those shows, anyway?” 

As she asks, she makes a show of scowling down at the cast iron pan she always says he uses improperly. She is going for off-handed and not quite making it there. 

For his part, he is diffusely nervous. She’s avoiding eye contact, and for once he doesn’t mind. 

“Like, you have your book coming out soon.” She clatters plates and platters as she scrapes and rinses, almost as though she hopes he won’t hear her over the din. But she finds her nerve somewhere. She flicks the handle of the sink to stop, at least, the roar of rushing water. “And there’s the movie.” 

“Yeah. Yeah. The paperback and the mo–” He stoops to slot forks and knives into the dishwasher’s basket. He cringes at the memory of his schmoozy call with Tony the Movie Mogul. He clears his throat and presses on. “There’s the movie.” 

“But Ellie Monroe . . . “ Her gaze drifts toward the loft’s front door as though the woman herself might still be lurking in the hallway. ”She hasn’t done anything in a long time.” She leans into the word long. There’s a pause. She sets down the stack of plates in her hand and plants a fist on her hip. She’s making eye contact now, or she would be, if he didn’t have his head down.  “Why was she there?” 

His own gaze drifts toward the alcove leading into his bedroom. His face flushes as he pictures himself hissing Beckett up at the ceiling. He’s half afraid those two syllables might still be caroming around in the ether. Irritation and embarrassment burble up, and he wonders—for a moment, he genuinely wonders—if the good detective somehow intercepted his daughter and put her up to asking this unanswerable question about the why of Ellie Monroe. 

It’s not an unanswerable question, though. It’s a good question, a reasonable question. It’s the kind of question he wants his intelligent, caring, plastic tiara–eschewing, orienteering-outgrowing daughter to know she can always ask him. 

“Show business, I guess.” He shrugs. He turns his attention back to the dishes. He wishes he had a better answer. 

A/N: No, really. Why is Ellie "Viper Mountain" Monroe on that show? And why did no one fix her make-up shade? And banish that raincoat to the Phantom Zone?

images via homeofthenutty