#but i fall victim to the internet all the same

[twilight-good-yall-dumb]

sometimes I really do think we hit peak technology like twenty years ago and we're just doing stupid shit now. Like bro, we fit entire movies and albums onto a plastic disc that our tv or music player just like eats and then we can listen or watch at home as many times as we want? Awesome. That's lit. Literally perfect. But now shit is just like being beamed to us through the air but we still have to pay for it for some reason? and then sometimes even when we do pay for it we don't get to even keep it? and the quality sometimes sucks ass? and also like ai and the internet are lowkey evil? yeah no thanks. I'll take the plastic discs. Those were pretty awesome.

[tiredbitchposts]

Look, i know that Shen Yuan died a virgin and while he had no sexual experience he canonly kissed before getting with Luo Binghe, but do y'all know what would be hysterical in my opinion? If Shen Yuan had a gaggle of ex girlfriends he left behind when he died. Now, you may be wondering, what's so hysterical about that? Well, for one, it just tinkles me pink to think that the same guy who indirectly died from how angry a webnovel he dedicated a great amount of time commenting on made him actually got/could get bitches but decided that verbally abusing Airplane over his shit writting sounded more fun. I also think that knowing the system he'd at some point fall victim to some type of plant or curse that'd force him to name all of his ex lovers out loud unless he wished to die while the rest of the sect watches. Can y'all imagine Yue QingYuan, Luo Binghe, Liu Qingge and fucking Airplane's faces while he's there naming "Yu YaoYao, Mei Ling, Jiang Qin, Fei Liao" plus who else with a pained look on his face while trying to guess if middle school and internet relationships also count??? Plus, i just know he rationalized any lack of sexual thoughts he had towards his exes with "Well, i can't think sexually of a woman who's not my wife, that'd be disrespectful"

[kiefbowl]

There is something revealing here and in other notes of that post. I'm trying to put my finger on it...it's as if there is an acceptance that White Supremacy, while wrong, is a privilege people are allowed to indulge in, and so other people need to endlessly be patient and rehabilitate them. Like it's a White Right, like of course they get to explore their evil legacy a bit, in order to discover it's wrong. And/or that fascism/white supremacy/ideological racism is something anyone could fall "victim" to if they were exposed to the same "magical" radicalization material, and not that people who "fall into" hate groups already have a fundamental world view that is precedent...they start from a place where the natural logical progression is an all powerful ethno-state.

It's also revealing that a hypothetical reformed neo-nazi must needs constant validation and forgiveness lest they fall back. Presumably someone who has exited a hate group like this, truly reformed, would not seek validation, they would have the wherewithal. They would self-actualize, and understand why. But it's revealing isn't, that they can forgive a "nazi phase" because the risk is that they could return to a "nazi phase"...so what are these people imagining they are forgiving? They aren't imagining forgiveness, they are imagining some sort of mutual sycophantic theater where politics is just...the posts you make on the internet I guess. Idk, lots to think of here. I don't think these people have met real creeps, the kind that make your skin prickle. I don't think these people have engaged at any level what neo-nazi material looks like.

[sturnmeovr]

♡‧₊˚ Sweetheart!Reader x Babydaddy!Chris - Gender Reveal ˚₊‧♡

Gender Predictions

The sound of intermixing conversations flowed around the room, family and friends filled each seat at the dining table, all mingling as they finished the last of their dinner. Mary Lou and Jim were too excited for their first grandbaby’s arrival, so they jumped at the chance to host your gender reveal at their house, making sure to have everything put together for the special moment. Of course, they wanted to be surprised with the gender of your baby just like everyone else, so they left the cake decorating up to a local bakery. It was a small group that attended your reveal, less than fifteen people. 

Keeping your pregnancy a secret from the world had been hard the last few months, but you didn’t want your child around any negativity. The internet was a crazy place and neither of you wanted your child to fall victim to that. Since you and Chris were keeping things private, you two agreed to only tell the people you weren’t able to hide it from. 

After everyone finishes their dinner, some leave their plates half finished due to the anticipation boiling in their guts much like it did yours and Chris’. You smooth a hand over your bump, looking to your left to see your mom with a kool aid like smile stretched across her face, “excited, sweetie?” You give her a small, toothless smile, “nervous,” you tell her. You hadn’t been able to shake the feeling all week. Knowing you were about to find out the gender of your baby had your mind spinning and your brain thumping. Your uneasy comment gains Chris’s attention, he looks over at you and places a hand on your thigh, making you turn towards him, “don’t be,” he reassures you once your eyes meet his. 

“If everyone would quiet down, Y/n and Chris are ready to cut their cake,” Mary Lou announces to the party guests. The room falls silent as you and Chris stand at the head of the table, a white heart shaped cake was placed in front of you, the white icing piped the words “It’s a ….” in cursive across the top of it. Each family member and friend watched, smiles and looks of anticipation plastered on their faces, a few with phones in their hands ready to capture the special moment. Butterflies dance around in your stomach and your heart hammers in your chest as Chris hands you a matching wine glass, “ready, baby?”

Your mind runs wild, not letting you push out a reply, instead you press your lips together and nod your head at him. Chris gives you a reassuring smile, rubbing his thumb against the back of your hand, your fingers being intertwined the whole time. “Okay, you guys count us down,” he tells the room full of people. The two of you line your glasses side by side along the edge of the cake, looking the opposite way as the both of you press down, cutting thru each layer of classic white cake and mystery icing. Once you can’t push the wine glass down anymore, indicating you were thru all the layers of the beautifully decorated cake, the room starts to count down, “three… two… one!”

You and Chris spin around in unison, both of you lifting your long-stemmed wine glasses at the same to reveal a white and blue striped pattern. You slap a hand over your mouth out of pure shock as everyone seated around the table cheers along with Chris, “I fucking knew it, I'm having a son!” he shouts out, happiness and excitement laced thru his voice as he wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you in for a bear hug. Chris squeezes you tight, gently swaying on his feet, rocking the both of you side to side in the process. “A boy!” he exclaims once again before pressing a sloppy kiss to your forehead and placing a hand on your growing bump. You couldn’t help but let a bright smile make its way across your lips, “a boy,” you repeat. Your brain runs rampant at the thought of having a mini Chris running around. If your son was anything like his dad, you knew your heart would melt the day you finally met him, much like it did when you met Chris for the first time. Each day made your pregnancy less surreal for you, your gender reveal being one of the most memorable. You were surrounded by so much love and there was no doubt that once your son was here everything would be complete. He would always feel the same love you felt that day, he’d always be surrounded by people who would do anything for him. Knowing your baby would be taken care of and loved in the place of your absence made tears brim your eyes. You weren’t sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or if you felt that deeply about the people who attended and put your gender reveal together. One thing you could confirm, though - this was the day of your pregnancy by far.

Wc - 851

An - I made this as blurb because I have a fic for them coming soon! Sorry for everyone who wanted a girl 🫣 I feel like every dad!Matt or dad!Chris fic I read, they have daughters. Nothing wrong with that, I love and find so much inspo from other writers babydaddy fics. I just wanted a bit of a change! Don't worry, Mary Lou will get her granddaughter one day ����🫶🏻 Anyways, I hope everyone likes it! (sorry I just love this divider sm. I can't stop using it lol)

Babydaddy!Chris Masterlist

Masterlist of all of my works

Ask me questions or give me suggestions about babydaddy!Chris & sweetheart!Reader!

🏷️ - @lvrsturniolo @ribread03 @unknvhx @m11rx @loveparqdise @sweetshuga @emely9274 @frickin-bats @katie-tibo @leila-marie4 @delusional-4-fake-people @shadowthesim @immy08 @trevorsgodmother @watercolorskyy @thepubeburgler @courta13 (went back thru all my works and readded a few tags, sorry tumblr wasn't letting me tag half of my taglist for some reason??)

© All Rights Reserved to m00nl1ghts1vt. Please do not copy my work.

Photo edits and dividers are mine. Feel free to use.

[churchtttt]

Adderall rant:

I see so many tattoo artists that are bummed over not getting work or falling victim to this new wave of tattooing that basically goes against everything they were once taught in an apprenticeship. While I get it and would most likely be pretty annoyed that a bunch of 20 year olds with shitty Amazon tattoo pens are making more money than me, I do wonder if they truly believe they are pushing the boundaries of tattooing in any way shape or form. Because whining on the internet about losing clients to artists that “don’t know how to tattoo” or “cant even pull a line” is getting pretty tired.

Technical skill means NOTHING if you don’t understand composition / negative space / balance / body anatomy / levels / layering / texture / art history / tattoo history / (not to mention taste) etc. All of these rarely ever being a priority in the tattoo community. Because as long as you can pull a clean line or pack some black, you should be making six figures right? There’s so much that goes into what I do / many of my friends do that goes far beyond needle to skin. And while the “fuck it” mentality is heavily prioritized in my work, almost nothing is unintentional. I rely heavily on intuition while most are too scared to allow their natural impulses to take hold strictly because they are using the medium of skin. Fear will always be the death of revolution and clutching to technicalities rarely ever breeds true ground breaking art.

My work has never and will never prioritize longevity. With most of my inspiration coming from southern prison tattoos and religious / ornate works from the renaissance era, I will always aim for my work to share the same decaying texture and transient essence. No matter what, your tattoo is gonna age and look like shit 30 years from now. May as well have it look cool in the mean time.

I don’t do good tattoos, I do cool ones.

[tapwater118]

Tap Water Productions Presents:

What’s the Deal With Evil Leafy?

Seriously, what’s her deal? What’s with all the chasing and the people-eating and the potentially-possessions? Where’d she even come from? Am I actually gonna answer any of these questions? Well, keep on reading, dear readers!

Hello, internet! Welcome to BFDI Theory!

A Crash Course in Evil Leafy

Before we can find out what Evil Leafy is, it would help to know where and when Evil Leafy is. Here’s a tabulation of all of Evil Leafy’s canonical appearances:

Evil Leafy’s first appearance is in BFDI 17, where she is one of the 30 recommended characters that could potentially join the show (recommended by MrOrange890). She fails to get enough votes to join, and is summarily sent to the LOL.

Her next “appearance” is in BFDI 25, where Leafy can be seen “turning into” Evil Leafy after Golf Ball accuses her of stealing Dream Island. Strange, but Bubble did briefly turn into Evil Bubble in BFDI 20, so maybe it’s just a visual flair?

Evil Leafy does not receive enough votes to join season two, so in BFDIA 1 she is sent to the LOL with the rest of the rejects. Evidently she escapes at some point, as she appears in BFDIA 2 to chase Book, Ice Cube, and Spongy through the Evil Forest. Book and Icy escape, but Spongy trips, allowing Evil Leafy to “sink into” him.

In BFDIA 3, Spongy is shown no worse for wear as he spits out Evil Leafy. She is quickly frozen by Gelatin, who takes the time to write on her back. She unthaws later as she is seen “sinking into” a frozen Flower in BFDIA 4. Notably, strange dark vines seem to grow out of Flower when this occurs.

Like Spongy, in BFDIA 5a Flower spits out Evil Leafy, again none the worse for wear. Evil Leafy then spends some time chasing Tennis Ball, Golf Ball, and Rocky through the Evil Forest, before consuming them as well as the entirety of FreeSmart.

Evil Leafy serves as the setting for BFDIA 5b, as it is revealed she contains an entire world within her being. Also notable is that the BFDI crew are not her first victims: various other objects can be seen living in this world, all of whom met the same fate as FreeSmart. Lego Brick confirms that there are in fact thousands of recommended characters trapped within Evil Leafy; she’s been quite busy off-screen.

(Most of) FreeSmart escape Evil Leafy in BFDIA 5c, who proceeds to give chase once more. Book and Ruby successfully kill Evil Leafy with a large weight, alongside Puffball and Fries. As TB, GB, and Rocky (as well as Firey and Gelatin) need to be recovered in BFDIA 5d, it can be assumed that they either died within Evil Leafy during 5b, or died when Evil Leafy was crushed. If the latter, it can be assumed that all of the other objects in Evil Leafy die as well.

Evil Leafy takes a leave of absence until BFDIA 6, where Team No-Name accidentally revive her by looking into a leaf-shaped mirror in the ˥IΛƎ Here Hotel. She gives chase to them, during which she phases through a window, causing Tennis Ball to remark that “she’s growing stronger.” Interesting.

As she’s about to catch Team No-Name, she hears Coiny repeatedly saying her name elsewhere in Yoyle City. This gets her to prioritize WOAH Bunch and FreeSmart over the helpless Team-No-Name. As she apparently cannot go underwater, she ends up causing the two teams to see-saw on the dehumidifier for some time.

After fruitlessly chasing WOAH Bunch across the dehumidifier, in BFDIA 7 Firey Speaker Box evidently has enough of her shenanigans and freezes her, causing her to fall into the flooded building. For one reason or another, she is absent when WOAH Bunch drain the building, and she is not seen again for an even longer period of time.

After a four episode absence, she returns in BFDIA 12, and after killing Bomby (note that her sinking into him actually does kill him, unlike the other times she has done this) and being harassed by a bunch of concert-goers, she becomes all buddy-buddy(?) with Pan Flute, and ends up doing her strange vine thing without even sinking into him like with Flower.

In BFDIA 13, Pan Flute decides he is done with Evil Leafy’s shenanigans and duct tapes her to the wall, which apparently is enough to contain her. That is, at least, until Leafy utters the word “Who?” in context of wondering who recovered her. This sound somehow burns away the tape, allowing Evil Leafy to go free.

Throughout BFDIA 14 Evil Leafy chases the contestants across the islands, notably causing her strange vines to grow through the islands. This comes to a head when she chases FreeSmart through the pirate ship, and after Book narrowly escapes being captured, she confronts them one last time while standing on the surface of the water, and Needle crushes her with the ship.

As the rest of BFDIA hasn’t released yet, we don’t know what happens to Evil Leafy during that time. She evidently sticks around, as she can be seen stalking TB and GB in the Science Museum in IDFB 1, though oddly does not give chase unlike her previous appearances.

After IDFB, Evil Leafy is seemingly gone. She never shows up, and none of the characters even mention her. In BFB 6, Diamondcup67 submits her as a recommended character, but even then she doesn’t actually appear; she’s been replaced by a cardboard cutout of herself.

Her sudden disappearance thus begs the question:

What Happened to Evil Leafy?

Unfortunately, it’s all but impossible to tell. Whatever happened happened during IDFB, which is a huge knowledge gap in terms of the timeline. However, I have ideas of things that could be related :

The Desertion of Yoyle City

Strangely, despite calling Yoyle City their new home during BFDIA, the contestants seem to have long abandoned it by BFB 1. Seeing how closely Evil Leafy is tied to BFDIA and Yoyle City (through the ˥IΛƎ Here Hotel), there’s reason to believe she might have something to do with this.

Something to note is that the BFB grasslands are not the same as the BFDI ones, as evidenced by Golf Ball’s Underground Factory; it still has the old grass around the entrance, as she had to move it to this new location. The new grasslands are also seemingly closer to Yoyleland than the old ones, as Yoyle Mountain can pretty much always be seen in the distance, whereas it is never visible in the old grasslands. This could imply that the desertion was hasty, or that there was no way to easily cross the Goiky Canal (or even the Evil Forest).

(Some confusion may arise about these actually being two separate locations, seeing as they’re both referred as Goiky several times, but Goiky could just be the name of the greater location that encompasses both grasslands, and potentially Yoyleland too.)

Also interesting is that Barf Bag is seemingly unfamiliar with Yoyleland; when she is teleported there in TPOT 4, she expresses how Yoyleland is her “lifelong travel destination,” as well as getting excited over getting to see a yoyleberry for the first time. This is very odd, seeing as if IDFB were to continue as purported, Barf Bag would be freed from the LOL at some point and would have had at least some time to explore Yoyleland. Did Yoyle City get abandoned in the middle of IDFB, such that Barf Bag was released from the LOL in the new grasslands?

Everyone’s Okay With Leafy Now

In IDFB 1, Leafy is still an outcast from the rest of the group, still being metal, hiding in the bushes, and throwing knives at people. When we next see her in BFB 1, she’s been accepted back into the fold of the cast, conversing with both newbies and veterans in her usual Leafy way with no objections from anyone (except Firey, but everyone already knows what his issue is). Why the sudden(?) change in group opinion?

Maybe this could be written off as the newbies both outnumbering the veterans and not knowing about the theft of Dream Island (seeing as how Eggy and Lollipop were seemingly completely unaware of the incident, and even Gelatin, a BFDIA veteran, only had cursory knowledge of it). But she still interacts in a cordial manner with a decent amount of season 1 veterans, and any that still have a problem with her have their issue unrelated to Dream Island (again, except for Firey).

Maybe Leafy does something to gain back the group favor? Maybe something related to Evil Leafy? There is an obvious connection between the two, as suggested by BFDIA 13. Is there some encounter between the two that causes Evil Leafy to stop showing up? Is this the reason they move out of Yoyleland? I have an idea that I’ll get to soon, but it’s mostly speculation right now. There are many questions that unfortunately do not have answers right now.

So, that begs the question:

What even is an Evil Leafy?

There are two main aspects of Evil Leafy I want to bring up.

The first is her strange aversion to water. In BFDIA 6, she refuses to chase her prey into the water, even though they are sitting ducks at that point and she clearly prioritizes WOAH Bunch over the much drier Team No-Name. Additionally, in BFDIA 14 we see Evil Leafy standing on top of the water on Teardrop’s island. She absolutely does not want to go into that water.

And honestly, it makes sense why; after she falls into the water in the beginning of BFDIA 7, she isn’t seen until BFDIA 12. A four episode gap! That’s even longer than when she got crushed in BFDIA 5c! For some reason, water is especially dangerous to her, and while she isn’t afraid to go near it, she absolutely will not go in it of her own accord.

(Also worth noting that, as Needle likely submerged Evil Leafy when crushing her with the ship, we might not actually see her for a few episodes. If my theory holds water (heh), she most likely will not be in BFDIA 15. Ah, bugger. I forgot about the stinger where we see her safe and dry inside the ship. My bad. Ignore this paragraph.)

Secondly is how Evil Leafy gains her power. Tennis Ball remarks that Evil Leafy is “getting stronger,” and we don’t just have to take his word for it. Her “sinking into” move goes from being nearly harmless in BFDIA 2 and 4 to directly killing Bomby in BFDIA 12. Also, her strange vines go from needing to sink into someone to grow (BFDIA 4), to just needing to be near someone (BFDIA 12), to being able to grow anywhere regardless of if anyone is present (BFDIA 14).

I think they made it fairly clear where this power is coming from: in BFDIA 13, Leafy is the one who indirectly gives Evil Leafy the strength to burn away the tape and free herself via her confusion at being recovered. This goes back even further; despite likely being free from the LOL for some time during BFDI season 1, Evil Leafy is nowhere to be seen. You know when she does start showing up? When Leafy is exiled to Yoyleland.

Evil Leafy is an Anti-Leafy, the polar opposite of Leafy. Leafy is green, Evil Leafy is red. Leafy has been shown to love water, while Evil Leafy hates it despite (presumably) also being a plant. Leafy loves being nice to people, while Evil Leafy is seemingly built on detest for all she encounters.

Well, you say, Leafy is prone to lashing out at others. Does this mean Evil Leafy can remain docile around others? Yes! In BFDIA 12, Pan Flute treats her with kindness (at least initially), and in turn Evil Leafy does not harm him despite having every faculty to do so. Leafy and Evil Leafy are polar opposites. Two halves of the same coiny.

So, back to my idea I mentioned earlier; we can see that Leafy’s negative feelings apparently give power to Evil Leafy. Heck, even that moment I called strange in BFDI 25 could play into this: the negative emotions Leafy feels in that moment transmitting power to Evil Leafy. So what ultimately causes Evil Leafy to vanish?

If Leafy’s negative emotions give her power, it would only make sense that Leafy’s positive emotions drain that power. When Leafy got accepted back into the cast, I can only imagine she felt elated at that. She’s back with her friends! She can laugh and play and be nice to them just as she could before. Sure, some might still not like her, and she may still get sad and angry at times, but if you ask me I don’t think it can get much worse than “exiled to a distant land for years.”

Maybe she even precipitates the move out from Yoyle City. Yoyleland is a haven of bad memories for her, it would make sense she wouldn’t want to live there. And seeing as she makes some friends with some newbies (or at least gets on their good sides), they may want to follow her, eventually leading to everyone leaving on a “when in Rome�� principle.

When Leafy is happy, what does that mean for Evil Leafy? Literally it means that her power is drained and that she cannot continue her reign of terror, but metaphorically it means that Evil Leafy is not necessary anymore. Evil Leafy showed up when Leafy was at her lowest (barring BFDI 16/17, but I’m willing to write that off as a form of Early Installment Weirdness), and she leaves as soon as that low point is over.

So that’s what Evil Leafy is. Even if not physically, at least she represents Leafy’s broken psyche. Leafy is unavailable, Leafy cannot handle the current situation, she remains exiled in Yoyleland. So Evil Leafy, the Anti-Leafy, the antithesis to all things Leafy, steps into the picture. And when Leafy becomes available again, Evil Leafy is gone. Leafy’s sorrow literally imprints itself onto the world, as if reality is saying “Oh, you don’t want Leafy? Then you can have Anti-Leafy instead. See how much better that fares for you.”

and that’s all I really have to say. sorry if this is a bit all over the place, i wrote it over the course of a week and had several new ideas in the meantime, so some rewriting had to be done. And with my luck bfdia 15 is going to instantly disprove all of this, so yeah for that

[eyecantread]

In case James Somerton tries to release a second manipulative apology video, here's some stuff I haven't seen shared on Tumblr. In the initial wake of HBomberguy's video release on December 3, Somerton made the following post to Patreon that was quickly deleted:

Here he dismisses Plagiarism and You(tube) as "not bringing up anything new since the last time he was accused of plagiarism" and tries to pull the same victim card as before when he complained that a "big creator was unfairly targeting him." This is a rehash of previous controversies and criticisms he's received such as when he went after Nebula for "not wanting to platform him because he's queer (lol wut)" in 2022 and lashing out at Dan Olson on Twitter when Dan called him out for the Patreon shit in April 2023 (James begged his viewers to support him on Patreon because he claimed to be in dire financial straights and then bought a $5k+ camera). The man is very versed in DARVO.

The Ace Couple, a pair of Asexual podcasters (who you should totally listen to btw) detailed the Nebula debacle in a recent episode, as well as their own interaction with Somerton as financial backers of his film project who disagreed with the content of one of his videos. The issue? Aside from the shenanigans with Telos, the Indiegogo film studio the Ace Couple backed, Somerton had said in a video that asexual people don't get sent to conversion therapy, which is categorically not true. Naturally, he resorted to his tried and true tactic of accusing the Ace Couple of attacking him.

He then released a second statement later in the evening of the release of Hbomberguy's video:

All of this on top of him subtly throwing his cowriter under the bus for it in his apology video! Statements like, "I'm not trying to throw Nick under the bus" don't work when you also say things like, "things that weren't true I didn't write or believe made it into the videos!" What other conclusion are viewers supposed to make about shit like 'American soldiers lusting after Nazi bodies' and the snarking misogyny that can't be traced back to a source other than Nick wrote it? Somerton is using Nick as a fall guy and trying to gaslight everyone into thinking he's not and it's transparent and pathetic.

The man absolutely does not deserve another chance and any claims he makes that he is seeking money to reimburse the queer creators he erased by plagiarizing their work should not be trusted. The guy has zero credibility, don't give him the benefit of the doubt.

[ot3]

The same people who scream about how it's justified for poor Americans to become soldiers slaughtering poor people in the Global South for cash bc they don't know any better and have no other options are also the first to scream about how poor people in the Global South who take up armed resistance against oppressors like the US military are evil terrorists, don't those brainwashed brown people understand that violence is not the answer and they are hurting good people??!, like, where is the think of the poor people attitude then? (Rhetorical question ofc, they are not people to these racists and the US has the monopoly on violence.)

it's true..... it's true........... its genuinely fascinating how much a certain type of people will fall back on 'brainwashing' as a narrative to both forgive imperial soldiers and condemn armed resistance. in both cases it is infantilizing people and projecting the speaker's own lack of intellectual curiosity and critical thought to the people around them. 'people are brainwashed' is not really a line of reasoning i'm sympathetic to re: joining the US military in a post-internet age, because the only barrier to beginning to learn about the united state's war crimes is whether or not opening and doing a quick scan on the 'united states war crimes' wikipedia page is worth your time. you probably wouldn't work for a new company without doing a quick google search on them, and yet i'm supposed to believe there's huge swathes of people who are truly barred from encountering and internalizing critiques of the military enough to make an informed decision to join it? yes obviously there is a ton of propaganda to join the military. but isn't it interesting how a not insignificant portion of these same people aren't nearly as quick to defend the police, and will agree with the ACAB sentiment? it's almost like cops, who have domestic victims, are legitimate aggressors but soldiers, who have international victims, are themselves too victimized to be held accountable for their career choice.

i've been getting a lot of comments these past few days that boil down to 'why are we hating the individuals instead of trying to dismantle the machine' and i dont know how else to say this but one cool way to disable a machine is taking all of the cogs out of it

[joannechocolat]

On why women’s rage is a superpower

My mother hates my new book. I gave her a proof just a few days ago, and although she’s still only halfway through, she can’t wait to tell me all the ways in which she hates my novel.

“Is this science fiction?” she says. (She detests science fiction.) “Were you ill when you wrote this?” (I was.) And repeatedly, she says: “Why are the women so angry?”

I get it. She’s out of her comfort zone. At 83, with no internet, no interest in pop culture and a deep-rooted hatred of anything close to horror or the supernatural, she wasn’t my target audience. And yet it’s never easy to hear such criticism from a loved one. But in some ways, she isn’t wrong. Broken Light is an angry book. It came from a time of lockdown, when social media was my only window onto the world. It came from a place of trauma, when I was fighting cancer. It came from a place of corrupt hierarchies, self-serving politicians, anti-vaxxers, Covid deniers, victim-blamers, and those eager to blame all their woes on minorities. And of course, it arose against the background of the #MeToo campaign and the Sarah Everard murder – a murder that shocked the nation, not least because the murderer turned out to be a serving police officer with a reputation for sexual misconduct - which unleashed a collective howl of protest, as well as an ugly, misogynistic backlash. Even so, my story came as something of a surprise to me: the story of a woman’s rage, and, on reaching the age at which women often feel least valued, her coming into her power.

It surprised me, most of all because I wasn’t an angry person. At least, I didn’t think I was. Those who know me describe me as someone who tends to flee conflict, who generally tries to find common ground, who gets upset when people fight. And yet, writing this story, I found myself saying and feeling certain things on behalf of my heroine, Bernie Moon; things I might not have said for myself, but which felt right and urgent, and true, and strangely liberating.

Anger has a bad press. A woman’s anger, especially. While men are encouraged to express feelings of justified anger, women are often criticized when they try to do the same. Angry women are often portrayed as “harpies,” “banshees,” “Furies.” It suggests that a man’s rage is righteous, but that a woman’s is unnatural, making her into a monster. Male anger is powerful. The God of the Bible is one of wrath. Seldom is he ever portrayed as expressing any other emotion. In the same way, men and boys are often led to believe that expressing emotion is weak - except for anger, which is seen as acceptably masculine.

In comparison, women are often criticized when they show aggression. Angry women are hysterical, shrill, out of control, unreliable, unattractive, unfeminine. A perceived lack of “femininity” makes a woman less valuable, less worthy of respect and of protection. The Press coverage of women victims of violence is a case in point. A victim of violence needs to be attractive, white, gender conforming and virtuous in every way if she is not to be overlooked, or worse, portrayed as somehow having contributed to her misfortune. When trans teenager Brianna Ghey was stabbed, the Press were very quick to state that her murder was not thought to be a hate crime, whilst at the same time obsessing over – and questioning - her gender. When Nicola Bulley disappeared, police felt obliged to divulge details of her struggle with the menopause, as well as her alcohol issues, even though this was privileged information and of no public relevance. When Emma Pattison, the Head of Epsom College, was murdered alongside her daughter, the Press immediately assumed that her husband George must have felt “overshadowed” and “driven to distraction” by his wife’s prestigious job. In all three cases, the victim falls under the hostile scrutiny of the Press, while the perpetrator is given an excuse. In all three cases, the victim – one trans, one hormonal, one better-paid than her husband - is effectively portrayed as “unnatural”. Subtext: Unnatural women do not deserve the protection of the patriarchy. Unnatural women come to bad ends.    

Once you start to acknowledge it, rage grows at a surprising rate. Over the past three years, I have found myself growing increasingly angry. Angry at the injustices committed by our Government; t the greed of corporations; angry at the prejudice extended to those who are different.

Connecting with others on social media has made me more aware of the lives and experiences of those from different backgrounds to mine, and with different levels of privilege. For a long time I’d been resistant to calling myself a feminist. Feminists are angry, I thought. What right have you to be angry?

Growing older, I realize that this was my mother speaking. A woman of a certain generation, who although she was aware of the challenges of living in a patriarchy, still had a level of privilege that many women do not share. White, professional, cishet women can sometimes have the luxury of choosing not to be angry. White, professional, cishet women can sometimes have the illusion of equality. But feminism isn’t only for just one kind of woman. A feminist must look beyond the limits of their own experience. And that’s where the anger really starts: anger at injustice; anger at corruption and lies. Most of all, anger at the prejudice against certain people for just being themselves; for being transgender, or Black, or old, or simply not conforming to what a white, patriarchal society expects and values. And once you start seeing injustice, you start to see it everywhere. It’s like an eye, which, once opened, cannot unsee inequality.

My anger flourished in lockdown. A time of growing divisions. Masks are invaluable in a pandemic, and yet they inhibit connection. They serve as a kind of reminder of who can speak, and who is to be silenced. While Boris Johnson was urging the public to trust the police, a vigil for Sarah Everard was broken up, with violence, by officers citing lockdown laws. While elderly people were dying alone; while I drove for four hours just to go for a half-hour walk in the park with my son; while I sat alone in my chemo chair, politicians were partying. Billionaires were enriching themselves. Behind the mask, the eye opened wide. I caught myself making faces behind my disguise at strangers. There was something weirdly liberating about this; as if, behind the piece of cloth, I could express myself at last. Not unlike writing a book, in fact. On screen, the eye opened wider. Bernie Moon, my heroine, was unlike like me in many ways, and yet anger connected us. The anger that comes from helplessness; from seeing others mistreated. Anger at a society that propagates inequality. And the anger that comes from hormones – those mood-altering chemicals that everyone produces, and yet which allegedly make women erratic; unreliable; hormonal.

In his novel, Carrie, Stephen King tells the story of a girl, whose telekinetic powers are unleashed by her teenage hormones. Carrie is unpopular, bullied, isolated. Her rage finds an outlet in her power. Driven to breaking-point by the bullies, she becomes a monster. Of course she does: after all, the author of this tale is a man, writing from the perspective of a couple of thousand years’ worth of patriarchal inheritance. In literature, a woman’s anger is unnatural; monstrous. It leads to terrible, unnatural things: makes murderers and infanticides of Clytemnestra and Medea; monsters of Medusa and Scylla. Unnatural, monstrous women are always punished in literature, even while acknowledging that they are often the victims of men. And unnatural women are often seen as physically repulsive – a reminder that, to be valued and loved, women must be young, and pure, and conform to the standards of beauty set out by their society. In literature, just as in life, those women who do not conform tend to be less valued, less seen, and when they do appear, do so as wicked witches, evil stepmothers, ugly crones and hideous travesties of womanhood.

But what would happen if a woman took control of the narrative? In recent years, we have observed a number of retellings of Greek myths from the point of view of the monster. Stone Blind, by Nathalie Haynes; Medusa, by Jessie Burton; Circe, by Madeline Miller. In both cases, the monstrous woman is seen from a different perspective; her rage absorbed and justified; her narrative reclaimed from a patriarchy that seeks to tame and subdue a woman’s rage, even at the cost of her life.

My new novel, Broken Light, comes from the same process of reclamation. It owes a debt to Carrie, but I have avoided the explicitly paranormal theme of the original, as well as the girl-on-girl bullying and the psychopathic mother. In my version, Carrie lives; marries her childhood sweetheart; internalizes all her rage and suffocates her power. Until the menopause – a topic which until recently has been largely misunderstood and taboo – at which point her power returns, and with it, a new kind of freedom. Freedom from the male gaze; from the responsibilities of motherhood; from the largely impossible expectations of society. Unlike puberty, menopause is triggered by a lack of certain hormones; and yet the symptoms can be just as dramatic and isolating. Loss of libido, exhaustion, depression, emotional outbursts as well as unpredictable and alarming hot flashes – my version of Carrie’s pyrokinesis. Whether my heroine’s powers stem from any kind of paranormal source is very much up to the reader to decide – after all, paranormal is only a step away from unnatural. And what counts as unnatural is in the eye of the reader – an eye that has been opened, I hope, to a series of new possibilities.

One is that rage is natural. Living in a patriarchy, women have a right to their rage. In fact, it seems more unnatural to me when women are not angry, given how much misogyny remains in our society. And growing old is natural. Being hormonal is natural. Differences are natural; so are disabilities. All women matter; whatever their age, or colour, or sexual orientation, or marital or reproductive status. The value of a woman’s life should not be defined by her popularity, or her age, or her looks, or her kids, or her value to the patriarchy. And no-one else gets to decide what a woman ought to be. A woman is not what, but who - a person, not an object; an active participant in her world. Women have lived too long behind the mask. They deserve their own stories. Stories in which they are allowed the full range of human possibility. So, to answer my mother’s question: Why are the women so angry?

Because it’s a superpower.

[asssiya]

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATION 4.

· The absence of quadratures in the natal chart makes a person weaker. The difficulties that appear in life should motivate them to solve them, but people without quadratures seem to blame everyone around them and life itself for such a difficult fate. Although, most likely, it's some little thing. A person needs not to fall into the role of a victim and begin to discipline himself to solve his problems!

· The undeveloped stellium 4 houses such dependence on nostalgia. My dad has it, and he talks about his past all the time, as if he was stuck in that time and can't get out of this state and live in the present.

· The moon in the 6th house, their love for cats is boundless.

· Cancer in the 8th house and stellium in the sign gives a diagnosed mental illness associated with the stellium zodiac sign. For example, I knew one guy with Cancer in the 8 house and stellium Aries, and he was diagnosed with anger problems. The guy's friend had Cancer 8 house and stellium of Pisces and Aquarius, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

· Venus in the 11th house a social butterfly can meet a partner via the Internet or from friends to lovers. They can definitely become famous through social media in some way.

· The ascendant in Libra, the same guy/girl that most often everyone falls in love with.

· The Stellium in Pisces are so cute and shy, and they also adore music and may have artistic abilities. But the unprocessed clearly hide something like sacrifice, a manipulator, a liar and a person dependent on bad habits.

· Earth signs in the 5th house do not go on dates, considering it a waste of time. They are very focused on their career growth.

· If you have an ascendant in Leo in a composite card with someone, it means that you are both connected with some kind of creative activity. For example, I used to go to art school, and most of the people I communicated to had this position.

· I had Mars and Venus in Leo in 1 house in a composite map with a guy from high school. And literally everyone knew that we had feelings for each other, both romantic and physical. In a way, we were the main "couple" of our class. As well we were touching and teasing each other all the time.

· With my friends, I have always had positions in Aquarius, in a composite map. Especially the Moon!

· I have the Moon in Sagittarius and all the guys with Mars in the same the sign all the time were kind of pestering me, trying to find an excuse to touch me. This also applies to the opposite Mars in Gemini, but they teased and flirted with me more...

That is all.❣

[reveluving]

if the skirt fits ; andy barber x reader

summary: Andy finds a little secret of yours.

warnings: heavily implied s~mut; costume kink (minors DNI!), familial fluff & mild humour!

a/n: you don't know how happy I am for finally sharing this piece with y'all, considering how it has been collecting dust in my drafts since LAST YEAR, but here it is; one of my earliest ideas for the series! don’t forget to leave some sugar! ᐠ( ᐛ )ᐟ

» wanna know what I have in store this fall? come & check out my m.list for 'reve's quirky reverie 🕷️'!

“It fits you perfectly,” He purred, almost deep in thought—probably in his own fantasy, “So perfectly.” ;

"You could dress up as Jason?" You suggested what might’ve been the seventh costume idea since the drive home from dinner at the Thai restaurant nearby. 

"Done that." Jacob replied as he leaned forward from his seat to talk to you and his father.

"Spiderman?" 

"I feel like everyone's dressing up as Spiderman this year." 

"But not everyone's going to dress up as the same one." You had a point, considering how you and his dad were the first victims of his Spiderverse fixation since the second movie was released, so you knew what you were talking about.

"I guess,” Jacob thought for a moment before falling back in his seat, taking your idea into consideration, “I guess I just want something… different." 

"If you want different, then we could get you one of those inflatable dinosaur costumes on the internet." Andy held a playful look even as his eyes remained on the road.

"Very funny, dad." His son grumbled, despite fighting back his own smile.

"Aw, cheer up, Jake. You've got time." You reassured him. 

“Yeah… And I’m not too worried. The store next to Aunt Sarah’s bakery got some cool stuff when I bought last year’s costume,” Jacob mused before asking you, "What about you, mom? Have you thought of a costume yet?" 

Ah, mom. Even after all this time, you and Andy will never get tired of him calling you that.

"Mmm, not yet. But when I do, I'll make sure you're the first to know." You and Jacob shared a smile in the rear-view mirror, only to be interrupted by Andy clearing his throat.

"Uh, you're gonna tell him first and not me?" He cocked his head, feigning disbelief.

"Of course. You lost that privilege when you suggested Jake the dinosaur costume." You and Jacob laughed as Andy dramatically groaned, telling you ‘I didn’t mean it’ in an angsty teenager tone.

"I am not dressing up Ken." Andy answered, removing his watch and leaving it on the vanity table.

"Oh, c'mon, Cowboy Barber has a nice ring to it." You said with a lilt. 

"And where exactly am I going to find a Western shirt in my size?" He quirked an eyebrow at you.

"We could always ask the Flags. Her husband might have one hidden somewhere."

"Just because we've seen him with a cowboy hat last Halloween?" He remembered seeing him wearing one during the community party at the park.

"You'd never know. Barbie and Ken are safer than your recommendation." You opened the closet without taking your accusatory eyes off him.

"What's wrong with a devil and an angel?" 

"Andy." Surely he could tell how ridiculous he sounded. 

"It's… easy…? And you'd look really good in it." He tried to persuade you, standing next to you.

"At a party full of kids?" You weren't sure how the parents that were a little more… conservative would feel about their kids' teacher dressing up like that.

"I didn't say it was for Wilson's party. It's for our afterparty," He wiggled his brows, "Just you and me while Jake stays over at the Wilson's." 

You snorted. How cheesy of him.

"Wilson's party first, then whatever you want after," You turned back to the hanging clothes, "And besides, you should be the devil, not me." 

That wasn't a no.

"You know what," He pursed his lips, already considering your idea—especially with the black suit he knew you'd melt over, plus a red tie before dodging the swat of your hand with a laugh. Just then, he noticed you'd been searching for something for a while, unbuttoning his cuffs and folding his sleeves before asking, “Need some help?”

“I can’t find my panties. The baby blue ones.” You frowned.

“The one with the lace?” He asked, prompting you to nod, “I mean, as much as I love seeing you in those, you know I don’t mind you without any in the first place.”

“Nice try, Barber," You narrowed your eyes at him, gesturing to the drawers in front of him before you rummaged through the pile of folded clothes on the bottom rack, “Help me search the drawers, please.”

He did as he was told, looking through the first stack before moving on to the next.

There was little progress in your searches but your curiosity was only piqued when out of the corner of your eye, Andy was looking closely at something.

“Did you find it?”

He took a quick breath before answering, “No, but I did find something better.” 

You furrowed your brows, standing up to ask what he meant by that until you caught sight of the familiar skirt he held.

Plaid, grey and extremely short.

Uh oh.

You clasped your hands together in front of your tummy as you stared at the microskirt with wide eyes. You were even failing to notice him slowly breaking into a smirk. He didn’t stop there, reaching into the drawer he was looking into with his other hand to take out the matching tie. Your lips parted, darting your eyes between the article of clothing and the smug look on his face.

“I can explain,” You finally spoke up, your voice softer than you hoped for.

“Please, do,” He held the ends of the untied tie with both hands, “Because I’m pretty sure these are too small to be mine.”

Oh, he was going to have some fun with this.

“Well, it’s, y’know,” You moved your hands around, only to silently plea for him to understand without having you say it, “Andy, c’mon. You know what it is.”

It wasn’t enough for him, though, raising his brows and encouraging you to continue. 

He was clearly enjoying this. A whole lot. 

Unbelievable.

“It’s my old costume.”

He hummed, appraising the garment as he immediately imagined what you would look like in it, “So my pretty girl has a dirty secret of her own. Did you break any necks when you pranced around the neighbourhood in this?” 

“In my defence, I only wore that once, when I was in college, so,” You corrected him, recalling the party you attended in your final year. 

“So, you broke college boys’ necks.” 

“I didn’t say that,” You shook your head in amusement, “I just didn’t have the heart to give it away. It was just one of those rare times where I truly enjoyed living in the city.” 

Though the city wasn’t far from Reve Road, and hell, you’ve even thought about moving back once or twice in your earlier days, truthfully, you haven’t been there in ages, and thank goodness, too. What would life be like if you hadn’t stayed, made a name in the peaceful neighbourhood and met the Barbers?

"Do you miss it?" 

"Sometimes," You mustered a small smile, though it didn't quite reach your eyes, "But I had my fun. Grew up to be a city girl, earned my degree and let out my ‘wilder’ side a couple of times. But I love it here more, and if I want to keep my job, the last thing my students and my son need to see when they go trick-or-treating is their Literature teacher in this." 

You shared a hearty laugh. Your wonders about who or what you could’ve been if you stayed in the city were nothing more than a mere curiosity, and even then, it hardly mattered to you now.

“Wouldn’t hurt to relive the old days here in our room.” Oh?

"You can't be serious," You chuckled nervously, "It might not even fit." 

You were lying—you barely looked any different from your college years. You just weren’t sure if you were ready to see his reaction over such scandalous attire.

"All the more reason to try it," He replied confidently, closing the gap between the two of you. His voice deepened as he whispered, "C’mon. You can be a good girl for me, can’t you?" 

Like the gentleman he was, he used your weakness against you.

You knew you were done for when you gulped under his intense stare, cocking his head in the bathroom’s direction. 

You snatched the garments out of his grasp, the ‘deathly’ glare on your face contrasted with his conceited one as you obtained the shirt that came with it out of the same drawer. He continued to hold your gaze even as you closed the door.

Once you were alone, you couldn’t help but let out a silent scream.

You were too embarrassed to even face the mirror as you got dressed, not until you slid on the last piece—the skirt before turning around to look at yourself. You could barely acknowledge the coincidence of covering your face with your hands like a bumbling schoolgirl.

Because that was exactly what you looked like.

You remembered washing the set a couple of times after your first and only wear, and even then, you didn’t think the skirt could shrink that little. Your ass was hanging out of the hem, offering an ample peek at the black bikini brief you had taken with you. 

You came out of the bathroom, ignoring the warmth spreading through your body as you were met with Andy sitting at his side of the bed, shamelessly displaying the prominent tent bulging in his pants.

He hummed in approval before beckoning you to his lap, "Come here." 

You kept your gaze on the ground as you walked over to him, standing in between his legs.

"Come here." He repeated, this time, forcing you to maintain eye contact as he tapped his knee.

You let out the softest whimper, your arms encircling his neck before straddling one of his thick thighs. He rested his hands on your hips, only to run them up and down your body, watching your face already contorting between bashfulness and desire.

“It fits you perfectly,” He purred, almost deep in thought—probably in his own fantasy, “So perfectly.” 

He pulled you closer, bouncing his knee to rub against your clothed sex. Electricity coursed through your body over the not-so-innocent move, your breathing growing heavier by the second as he teased you further.

“But you haven’t answered my question yet. Did they or did they not stare at you when you wore this?”

He rendered you speechless. You were beginning to think your heart might burst out of your chest at any point. 

“I’m sure they did,” A part of him wanted to be annoyed but miffed was a better way to put it. Not at you, though, he could never. You were just trying to have fun and make the most out of what life had to offer. But if he was there to see you in this the first time you had it, likely showing your wilder side, oh, he couldn’t lie and say you wouldn’t catch his eye either. 

“But I guess that doesn’t matter anymore,” His hands slid past the hem, lifting it for him to drink in the sight of your curves, “It’s just you and me now.”

You dropped your head on his shoulder, hoping to stifle the moan that threatened to slip past your lips.

“Just imagine me bending you over the bed so I can get a peak of what’s mine underneath,” He sighed dreamily, smiling when your ass jiggled as he grabbed at and squeezed them, “Or should I throw you on the bed and have you on your knees?”

You didn’t answer, too focused on the way he groped your body until you jumped at the resounding crack and the sting that came with it on your left cheek.

"Does it come with thigh highs?" He asked ever so casually as if he wasn’t straining to have you just as much as you were him.

"I-It did, but… I kinda lost it." 

"That's fine. I can always get you a new one," He nosed your jaw, "In fact, I'll buy you more than just a pair. Maybe match some with your panties." 

You mewled, raising your head and granting him access to your neck. 

“You'd do everything your favourite professor tells you to do, wouldn’t you?” 

Fuck.

“Andy, I–” You nearly called him Professor Barber when the sounds of knocking on your door caused you and your husband to freeze up.

"Mom, dad,” It was Jacob, “I think Beemo's been collecting… socks under the couch?" 

Like a fish out of water, your mind was too blank to respond or even acknowledge the question. Thankfully, Andy was able to do it for you, “We’ll be right there!”

The two of you waited until his footsteps receded before you were able to let out a sigh of relief. Andy, on the other hand, had the audacity to chuckle at you. There was no reason for you to worry about scarring Jacob since Andy had already locked the door.

“Very funny.” You murmured sarcastically, moving off him and loosening the tie, hoping to ignore the ache in between your legs for the time being.

“Hilarious,” He cockily added, standing up with an almost pained groan. He stood behind you before wrapping his arms around your waist, “But this isn’t over.”

You stopped.

“I meant what I said about buying you thigh highs with it. Or better yet, some fishnets because my wife’s not so innocent after all.”

Despite getting cockblocked, he was immensely satisfied to see you shiver.

‘Beemo, are you collecting underwear too?’ You heard Jacob ask the cat incredulously, only for a ‘wait!’, followed by his footsteps going down the stairs, probably chasing the feline with whoever’s briefs or undies he had in his mouth. You could only hope it wasn’t yours.

“And, that’s our cue,” His shoulders slumped, only to growl in your ear, “Wear this for me tomorrow after dinner.” 

He then released you with a big smooch on your cheek, exiting the room to find his son, but not before winking at you.

Leaving you to wonder on your own if he’d throw you on the bed or have you on his lap tomorrow.

˚ · . f i n . · ˚

» a/n: now is a good time to say; no, I have yet to come back to the series, but I was too stoked about this event and thought 'hey, this should be the best time!'

» consider it as a mini compensation! but I do want to thank you for still sticking around, just know 'future mrs barber' is nowhere near discontinuing! ;; gorgeous rose divider by @firefly-graphics ♡

[wispforever]

Some thoughts on Itachi

So, I've seen a lot of comments circulating about my tags on this post, and I'm intrigued at the interest. I didn't expect it, as I see much more pigeonholing of Itachi's character than honest to god analysis. No hate- I'm no stranger to Kishimoto's writing. Some of his characters were unfortunately butchered or never given the chance to be developed properly, and Itachi is most certainly no exception. That said, I like to grant him a bit more nuance than I see on most blogs. I think people get a little wrapped up in the supposed "moral implications" of exploring how Itachi was also a victim of the system, as well as someone who victimized many people. But it's silly to equate character analysis and context consideration with condoning genocide.

I have a good laugh every once and a while at the metaphorical gymnastics people do in order to stay in the good graces of a bunch of internet trolls who are just Waiting for any opportunity to tell you you love murder and think it's delicious just because you made a post exploring a character's background. Media is grey; it's layered and wonderfully complex. There are many wrongs and rights in every story, and many wrongs and rights within those wrongs and rights. That's what I love about Naruto. Often times it's really too much like real life. Instead of people being black and white, right or wrong, bad or good- they're usually in a tough situation, trying their best and falling short, don't have all of the information, acting with good intentions or acting on what they believe will bring about a lesser evil, and then end up hurting others.

But it is much easier to assign blame and move on. A so-called bad person will always be the perfect scapegoat for issues bigger than them. In Itachi's case, the fascist government in the Leaf. It's easier to say Itachi could have just refused and decided not to be involved, than to recognize that like almost every other character in the narrative, he was under extreme duress, living in a military state. He was a child whose existence, along with all the other children and adults in the Leaf, was only valuable as long as he could serve as a tool for the war machine in the shinobi world's fucked up political system. And saying this is not the same as saying he was not capable of better decisions or that everything that he did thereafter or in general should not be read critically or subject to hypothetical consequences. It is the same as a saying his actions cannot be fully understood without complete context, and the themes of Naruto will never come through if every villain is just "evil" with no further nuance. And it would be boring too LOL

That said, I love to think about Itachi's situation back then. The ages in Naruto are a bit muddled, a little inconsistent, subject to change and interpretation, but Itachi was a child when he murdered everyone in the Uchiha compound. Most sources say he was 13. It should go without saying that someone so young isn't capable of the same decision-making or critical thinking as say, a 30-year-old, someone whose brain is finished developing and has much more experience on Earth.

Itachi's experience at this point in his life is informed by his age, and it's obviously informed by his childhood, as he has no other place from which to draw conclusions. Itachi grew up in a warring state. He saw people die and was subject to extreme violence in his formative years. To make matters worse, he was taught that war was inevitable and the only thing he could do to guard against it was kill others before they got the chance to kill him (threaten the village). Thusly, Itachi internalized at a very young age that what was in his power was to minimize damage (to himself, to his village, and to the world). What was not in his power was to stop this violence entirely (by adopting a critical mindset and going against fascist powers).

A part of this I think people often forget is that Itachi has absolutely nowhere to adopt this mindset FROM, as even though his father and the other members of the Uchiha clan seek equity in the Leaf, if they were to overthrow the Hokage and create a new system, it would still presumably center around the same ideals (minus, of course, the oppression of the Uchiha as a group). Fugaku is the head of the Uchiha clan at this time. As someone who imposed near impossible performance-related expectations on both of his sons, and withheld love and affection whenever they came up short (so often that it was at the cost of having any considerable emotional bond with either of them), there is absolutely no good reason to believe that Fugaku would reform the Leaf using a non-fascist ideology. And if he did, there is no good reason to believe that he would be some kind of visionary LMAO

This is important to remember because when it comes down to Itachi's decision to either kill everyone in the Uchiha compound and his family, or be part of the coup that would overthrow the Leaf, some people treat it as though it's a choice between fascism and non-fascism, which it most certainly is not. And if it was, Itachi, as a child who had grown up immersed in this ideology, would not be able to appreciate the difference. This context allows us to understand further what Itachi was really weighing in that moment. Accounting for his young age and limited worldview, the only valuable difference in this moment to Itachi was the amount of bloodshed that he would "allow" to happen. Essentially, he sees the options as follows:

Either give in to Danzo and kill everyone in the Uchiha compound, or facilitate a coup where the current government is (hopefully) overthrown and risk starting another war.

Here, Itachi pauses. He has known war. He knows how it affects children, adults, families, and whole nations. The peace he's living in currently is bought with blood, but it's the only peace he's ever known. The alternative is horrifying. And a war in this context, Itachi likely thinks, would be his fault, as he has now been put in the position to "prevent" it. Danzo and the whole shinobi system have groomed him into thinking so. Itachi, at age 13, cannot understand that there would be no war; it exists only as leverage for Danzo's argument at this point. His sensitivities are being played on.

Fugaku, though he is not the same as Danzo, offers about as much help as he does (that being none). Fugaku has no interest in avoiding war; if a war breaks out, it's justified because it will still mean his clan will no longer be living in oppression. This idea is valid, as fascist systems and discrimination can only cease to exist when we rise up against them; unfortunately, this most often calls for righteous violence, as the oppressive powers will not be moved with peaceful shows (not to mention they are willing to go to extreme lengths to avoid losing their hold on the people they have crushing power over, i.e. the Uchiha massacre). But Fugaku has no words to explain this to Itachi, who fears the worst and further fears being responsible for the worst. All he does is act as if it's a moral failing that his 13-year-old son is unwilling to stage a coup, which he believes could mark the abrupt end of a peace that's only just begun.

That said, let it be known that Itachi does appreciate this situation with SOME nuance, though it isn't of the kind that might have enabled him to see he was being manipulated. He at the very least understands that Danzo is a warmonger and oppresses those he fears (the Uchiha). He understands that the rights of his clan have been sorely disrespected, and that the issue needs correction. He understands the anger of his friends and family. This is why it takes him much deliberation before he can even come close to making a decision. He plays both sides right up until the end, listening to Danzo, as well as Fugaku and Shisui, paying attention to the current atmosphere in the Leaf as he tries to decide.

It is something he doesn't want to do. Here's where I get to the part I put in the tags of my drawing.

In this situation, it's almost worthless to write an analysis about Itachi's feelings at this time, his understanding of what was actually going on, his loyalty to his clan or his loyalty to the Leaf, because really, he could not grasp it. He was never prepared for this. He never knew he would be asked to make a decision he could only understand as "your family or the world?"

Itachi was put in a position that had no happy ending. There was no decision he could make that would not hurt. That could not result in a cataclysm that split him right down the middle. There was no version of this story that a 13-year-old could carry out thinking "I have done the right thing."

And that's the important part. Both sides asked him to make this decision, and so both sides are guilty of placing an immeasurable pressure on a child who should never have been put in such a position. Regardless of ideology, regardless of price, regardless of oppression or loyalty or devotion or any other thing- someone else should have made this decision for Itachi. Someone else should have been responsible. An adult, at the very least. Someone who COULD understand the implications of both options. Someone who COULD go forward and appreciate the evil of fascism and know that a coup was necessary. Itachi was never capable of such a thing. If he made the "wrong" decision, than every child who can't explain to you what a fascist government in a military state looks like and explain what the difference is between a hate crime and resisting a hateful power, is also wrong. Here is the nuance. These are things a 13-year-old in this universe cannot be expected to understand unless they are taught. And Itachi had no teacher. Quite the opposite. There were only forces pressing him from both sides, saying "choose."

Had his father done this for him, had Shisui been in this position, had any other adult Uchiha acting as a spy been put to this task, it would be a much different narrative. But of course, it had to be Itachi, who Danzo knew he could manipulate. It had to be a child, someone skilled enough to do the job, but inexperienced enough, afraid enough, to be willing to sacrifice everything they had to see the mission through. Someone you could whisper "greater good" to and have them hand over their well being on a plate. Someone who didn't understand they had the power and strength to destroy the system threatening them.

On a narrative level, Itachi exists to illustrate this point. How young people are systematically indoctrinated to serve a greater purpose, be it under a specific government, religion, or otherwise. We see it in real life fascism, in real life cults. There's no mistake. It isn't an accident that Itachi's story begins like this.

Which brings me to the rest of his life. The reason I drew the picture in the post referenced at the top. Itachi's character is a bit of a mystery the rest of the anime. Be that because of bad writing or an intentional omission, his motives, thoughts, and opinions are largely left ambiguous. However, there are still a few moments that interest me as far as the implications of his development.

When Itachi first comes back to the Leaf village, he faces Kakashi. On the one hand, this could simply be a narrative tool- the big bad meets the big good. He takes Kakashi out of commission! The first rogue shinobi we see who is able to defeat the pillar of the Leaf, the Copy Ninja, and without even breaking a sweat!

On the other hand, I find the brutality of Itachi's attack very intriguing. Again, it could be the tough guy act, but he's able to keep three jonin busy easily using standard genjutsu (with the help of Kisame). It wouldn't be a stretch to say that using the tsukuyomi is overkill, and at a considerable price, we learn later.

Why then would Itachi, who has been shown to have excellent battle intelligence, who is strategic to a fault, be willing to jeopardize his health among other things just to... scare the Leaf? Make sure Kakashi wouldn't be a nuisance in the future? Sure, the last one would make collecting Naruto less complicated, but they dispatched Kakashi easily enough, and surely Jiraiya, who Naruto was with at the time, would pose a bigger problem than Kakashi.

It doesn't make strategic sense, which makes me wonder if Itachi has a special animosity toward Kakashi. Being his superior in the ANBU before the Uchiha massacre, someone who was willing to conduct surveillance of the Uchiha compound without question, Kakashi could have become a symbol of the indifference of the Leaf for Itachi. He could very well have been a reminder of the inoperable position Itachi was put in when he was still a child, and Kakashi, of course, was an adult. Another adult who did nothing. Noticed nothing. Did not help Itachi.

And while I'm certain that Kakashi would have taken severe issue with the goings on in the Leaf at that time, judging by his reaction when he finds out the truth in Shippuden, Itachi knows him only by what he did then. Facilitated surveillance of the Uchiha compound, was a supportive superior, but nothing greater. A bystander whose compassion, while well meaning, was entirely unhelpful.

I don't think it's far fetched that Itachi fucking crucified Kakashi because he was so angry at what being in the Leaf did to him. At some point, as he got older, he realized how terrible it was. He realized there were people like him. Children who were "born killers". Pawns in the game of the shinobi powers.

After leaving the village, Itachi joins the Akatsuki, who are also seeking peace through war (another story). He is supposed to spy for them, but doesn't follow through in any enthusiastic way (that we're shown). He works alone for quite some time, or else with a group (briefly he was shown with Conan and Kakuzu). He is partners with Orochimaru before he's expelled from the Akatsuki. He is partners with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He grows up and meets many people, sees lots of stories unfold. He learns that he isn't in a minority. Many shinobi are just like him.

And then, as an adult, he is partnered with Kisame, who he finds excellent camaraderie with because of their similar backgrounds. We see in this relationship that he understands what happened to him and what he did enough to acknowledge that, while neither of them are monsters, as many people say, they are human. And humans make mistakes. Humans are complicated. Wrong and right and wrong and right. They understand each other, and Itachi understands more clearly what the world puts these children up to. What it forces shinobi to become. That it isn't all his fault, but he still did it. And so he is responsible. He appears to be able to live with that.

But when he returns to the Leaf, those feelings bubble up. He hates the Leaf. He hates that system. He hates what he did. Maybe he even hates being a shinobi, how his excellence was weaponized, how being an Uchiha doomed him and his clan. And for what?

Itachi is played as a character who is only sensible, only logical, only interested in practical things, has nothing to express. But the way he behaves toward Kakashi in that moment bares all his grief and anger. I just like to think about it. We have so few moments where we get to see Itachi genuinely. The fight with Kakashi, the Sasuke/Deidara fight, his thoughtful moments with Kisame. Just makes me wonder what could've been if Itachi's story had gone a little differently.

Anyway, if anyone would like me to expand on any points or has additional thoughts, feel free to hop in my ask box or leave a comment. Thanks for the interest, I love to talk.

[antiendovents]

fuck it. I'm saying this for the sake of our system and the others here, this might get unhinged asf.

Endos stalking this blog;

Our vents are NOT your propaganda. This is not your brainwashing fuel. Quit using a false sense of justice to bully mentally ill people on the internet. Call me whatever the fuck you want, sysmed, anti, traumascum, evil prosecutor, it has no effect on me. I REFUSE to let MY HOST or ANY OTHER SYSTEM have to deal with bullshit. How about, for every derogatory word you give us, we simply ignore it and make one for you? Will you accept that as a fair punishment? Or will you get butthurt all over again and complain about us being 'evil' and 'harassing you' when we would simply be returning your treatment of us. How about we treat YOU like the scum of the earth rather than uneducated people, how about we make fake resources ourselves, how about we do everything you do and say its all for the sake of equality and destigmatization whilst doing the opposite just like you? Is it suddenly bad to you? Will you fall victim to your own hypocrisy? Of course, we would never do that, not on this blog. But you'll ignore that and only point at the 2 hecklers in the audience of thousands, claiming that represents all of us. You hit us first, invading our spaces, twisting our words and logic into lies for your own gain just like a dictatorship. But just like history, you will fall. And we will live on through it, standing tall, standing together, standing not proud of having a debilitating mental disorder, but proud of knowing we triumph still. I propose we as askers on this blog and all anti endo blogs call ourselves something uniting, something with less room for dehumanization. We as a group are striving for a shared goal together, and we don't all need to have this same intense drive to fight for our dignity just to be included in the group name of something good. All I'm saying is regardless of how openly you fight against misinformation, or how vigorously, or even how little, your still fighting, one way or another. Why fight alone? We're already united under this blog so why not make a title for ourselves to unite us more, regardless of if we are actively fighting or not?

-Mocha of the Jester system

Ps: Host is going to be so ticked about this rant LMAO he HATES when we get into drama shit

^^^ if y'all want a title for yourselves as askers that would be amazing we're unsure how to set this up though,, perhaps make suggestions for what you might want if you want any and we'll make a poll on it to see whats the most popular choice?

And yeah, we agree with this whole rant

Edit : plain text below

pt : fuck it. I'm saying this for the sake of our system and the others here, this might get unhinged asf.

Endos stalking this blog;

Our vents are NOT your propaganda. This is not your brainwashing fuel. Quit using a false sense of justice to bully mentally ill people on the internet. Call me whatever the fuck you want, sysmed, anti, traumascum, evil prosecutor, it has no effect on me. I REFUSE to let MY HOST or ANY OTHER SYSTEM have to deal with bullshit. How about, for every derogatory word you give us, we simply ignore it and make one for you? Will you accept that as a fair punishment? Or will you get butthurt all over again and complain about us being 'evil' and 'harassing you' when we would simply be returning your treatment of us. How about we treat YOU like the scum of the earth rather than uneducated people, how about we make fake resources ourselves, how about we do everything you do and say its all for the sake of equality and destigmatization whilst doing the opposite just like you? Is it suddenly bad to you? Will you fall victim to your own hypocrisy? Of course, we would never do that, not on this blog. But you'll ignore that and only point at the 2 hecklers in the audience of thousands, claiming that represents all of us. You hit us first, invading our spaces, twisting our words and logic into lies for your own gain just like a dictatorship. But just like history, you will fall. And we will live on through it, standing tall, standing together, standing not proud of having a debilitating mental disorder, but proud of knowing we triumph still. I propose we as askers on this blog and all anti endo blogs call ourselves something uniting, something with less room for dehumanization. We as a group are striving for a shared goal together, and we don't all need to have this same intense drive to fight for our dignity just to be included in the group name of something good. All I'm saying is regardless of how openly you fight against misinformation, or how vigorously, or even how little, your still fighting, one way or another. Why fight alone? We're already united under this blog so why not make a title for ourselves to unite us more, regardless of if we are actively fighting or not?

-Mocha of the Jester system

Ps: Host is going to be so ticked about this rant LMAO he HATES when we get into drama shit

[hbpseverus]

What the internet did to James Potters character is actually so incredibly fascinating... in canon, this man was a background character who served not much of a purpose other than being used as a tool to develop other characters. We see him in like two scenes in the entire franchise: a throwback to Hogwarts where he acts so horribly that his own son, who previously *admired* him more than anything, is in total shock and disgust when he sees it. Not only does James commit an act of SA out of literal boredom, he is also seen treating his own 'friends' - Remus, Peter and Lily - as if they are worthless or beneath him, all within a few pages. I could probably write a whole essay about the dynamics between all of the characters present in Snape's worst memory, they way this supposed friend group was already falling apart, the way James and Sirius treated Remus and Peter with utter disrespect. Anyway, the other scene he appears in is when he dies. And that's it. That's all we have. On top of that he was, in canon, pictured to be average looking at most, a pasty kid with nerdy glasses and an even more nerdy hairdo that would most likely make him the victim of bullying, rather than the bully, at a real school. And the only people who talk of any sort of character development are his old friends and teachers, the same ones who either stood by or actively participated while he harrassed *several* other students for fun and casually commited acts that could probably land an adult man in prison for a few years. Plus they were trying to restore some of the glorious image of his father that Harry had in mind. So, not the most reliable source.

The fascinating part is how a corner of the internet managed to hyperfixate on this background character who was pictured as nothing but an awful person in the books, erased *all* of his canon character and turned him into the exact opposite. Suddenly he looks about ×1000 times more attractive in fanart, and all bad things he did are conveniently forgotten. Same goes for Sirius, especially in relation to the Wolfstar ship. James and Sirius were clearly close friends, but Remus? He was just strung along, not given the same respect. Sirius carelessly yaps about his being a werewolf in the middle of the schoolyard where anyone could hear and talks about how he wishes it was a full moon so they could have 'fun' - a sentiment I'm not so sure Remus shared. It's a very unhealthy and dysfunctional friendship that would be even worse if it was a romantic relationship. That being said, they are all very complex, very flawed characters who are extremely interesting to analyse. Fanon often strips away any complexity that these characters had in canon in order to make them more appealing. It's just... a shame almost, at least in my opinion. These fanon characters are entirely unappealing to me. I respect them as a sort of seperate fandom with their own original characters, but it's gotten so mixed up with canon that people no longer remember who these characters truly are, and if you bring up and dare to criticize their ugly sides in any way, then good luck soldier.

[nikkoliferous]

This was NOT me and this is bullshit! I have been inactive for over a week and my friend just sent this to me. I would NEVER talk to another blogger like this ever. This was sent from an account @pussy-ass-bitch-fandom-wank

why do you think the anon signed it? They’re trying to frame me because I have been helping their victim @Lokilaufeysondiaries and they’re pissed about it. I’d never even heard of you until my friend sent this here’s some more proof. Here people are notorious for pretending to be others they sent a friend a nasty anon and signed it "Abby118" another very real Loki blog who doesn't do that kind of stuff ever. I hope we can talk because this just absolutely not okay what so ever and it needs to stop.

okay, I'm going to address this one time and one time only. I have nothing to do with @littlelokilad, @lokihiddleston, the LMQ server, or any drama going down between yourselves and the aforementioned parties. I literally don't know any of you, nor do I care to be involved in whatever petty, high-school-clique bullshit is going on there.

However, I will say that I find myself extremely suspicious of anyone attempting to paint @lokilaufeysondiaries as some kind of innocent victim in all this. I became involved in this stupidity because—and only because—LLD displayed some very inappropriate, manipulative behaviours towards @abby118, a friend, in DM over Abby declining to unblock them (which is absolutely her right). When Abby decided to publicly call out this toxic behaviour on her own blog, providing direct screenshots of their conversation as evidence, she began to be accused of "bullying" LLD (ridiculous) and has since been sent multiple abusive and suicide-baiting asks, ostensibly in LLD's defence.

As for the above accusations by @buckybarnes-winters0ldier, I find it hilariously ironic to, in one breath, complain about people falling for baseless frame jobs and, in the very next, accuse @lotus-eyedindiangoddess of backstabbing her own friends (namely, myself and Abby) and orchestrating this entire mess. Without a lick of evidence, of course. As you do.

TL;DR I am way too fucking old to be invested or interested in whatever manufactured drama is going down on that side of the fandom. My only interest in this bullshit is, and ever has been, Abby being targeted for harassment. Full-stop.

Now, I will say that I am inclined to believe you when you say you were not behind the aforementioned ask—if only because you would have to be very, very stupid to use the anon function only to announce your identity within the text of the ask. like, why?? And I am aware that Abby has been a victim of the very same (terribly executed) tactic. As such, I will update the post in question to reflect this... development? information? idk, whatever. That is, unfortunately, all I can really do, as we all know that once something is on the internet, it's on the internet forever. Even if I were to delete the whole post, any reblogs of it would still exist. If I update it instead, at least the contradicting information is there to be digested in the future, so that would seem to be the best option for dealing with this, to me.

I do sincerely apologise for whatever additional distress the aforementioned ask has caused to you. I have no interest in smearing anyone or discrediting their reputation. As I said, my sole interest in this entire matter has been Abby's well-being. Nothing more, and nothing less. Whoever it is behind all this manufactured drama—and I shan't make any accusations here because I have no evidence to present, regardless of any personal suspicions I may or may not have *cough*—really needs to get some less debilitating hobbies than treating real human beings on Tumblr like abused Barbie dolls to manipulate for their own sick amusement. It's pathetic.

[flightyalrighty]

Not sure anyone asked yet but least favourite Sonic character and why? Also any other big interests besides StH? :3

Since you couldn’t answer my other questions, I’ll just ask something unrelated to the comic ><

I think if we're going off of every single canon ever, my very least favorite Sonic character is gonna be Drago Wolf. Plenty of Archie characters fall victim to being too boring or same-y, especially ones from A Certain Era, but Drago Wolf actually just fucking sucks. He was evil in a way that wasn't fun just to make the comic look more "mature." I do like seeing him get punched in the face, though, and thankfully that happened often enough under Flynn's pen.

Now, my least favorite GAME character? That's a tough call. I feel like I could easily pick any of the Zeti besides Zavok (Zavok at least has a neat design). They represent the height of an era where Sonic Team was either playing it safe or trying to appeal to Mario fans while under a lot of pressure and suffering from a tight budget.

Truly dogshit characters. Almost all entirely flat, one-note cardboard cutouts sharing the role of "tacky villain with a gimmick." Awful. But at the very least, they can be made better by better writers. Lost Hex, itself, can get dug into and made into more than it is right now. There may be a diamond yet in that rough.

Now I'm gonna start hating on the wisps because I think they also suck, sorry wisp fans (are there wisp fans). Not in full scathing detail will I get into how much I hate the wisps because I don't think there's much to say about them. I think that, writing-wise, there isn't much to go off of here. They're sentient temporary powers. Hardly characters by themselves. They are so boring and nothing much can actually be done with them. They are made to appeal to the absolute youngest sonic fans and this is done in the least engaging way possible.

Sorry again if anyone out there loves the Zeti or thinks Yacker is the greatest. I'm not sorry if you love Drago Wolf.

Oh wait this question had two parts didn't it. Yeah I love a buncha stuff unrelated to Sonic! I'll list em!

Theme Parks/Themed Experiences

Kingdom Hearts

The Sly Cooper Original Trilogy

Heroes of Might & Magic III (I kinda just obsessively play this sometimes like if I don't have any internet access and have been playing this game for like two decades)

Dead By Daylight, reluctantly

Gargoyles (that Disney animated tv series)

Spider-Man!!!!!

Youtube Poops

^ All I can think of rn