#but it doesn't matter if i'm the evil here i can accept it i was trying for so long

[ratinthevoid]

why did i believe i can ever come out to her

[drdemonprince]

Not gonna lie it is quite emotionally dispiriting for a certain category of people online to treat me like i'm a flagrant covid denier who doesnt mask or care about disabled people simply because i'm like "oh hey, your grandmother who doesn't wear a mask is a victim of the same systemic forces as you." or "hey, profound social isolation takes a toll on people that impacts their health and their behavior and that must be included in our risk calculations and mitigation strategies whether we like it or not"

like. i mask. i test. i get vaccinated/boosted. i communicate risk factors to people. i plan outdoor events when i can. i fight to not have in person engagements at work tooth and nail and often at personal expense.

but even if i never did any of those things, i would not deserve to get sick and die, because there are no morally acceptable COVID deaths, no matter what choices a person makes or doesn't make, no matter which mitigations they do or fail to do.

one of my close friends just got fired because her boss said she was "taking covid too seriously." that's the kind of evil we are up against here. not like, your friend's friend going to a concert and forgeting his mask in his other jacket that one time. that guy's still doing better than 90% of americans by having a mask he carries around with him in his jacket. he's not some eugenicist demon. he's some guy living in really miserable and difficult circumstances who made a to-be-expected-sometimes human error. and your grandma who has been propagandized into believing that COVID isn't a big deal (while in actuality being quite high risk herself) is a victim not an evildoer.

way to win over more people to your cause guys. very public health minded of you to view anyone who doesn't perfectly meet your behavioral and ideological standards as an enemy. way to punish the behavior you want. it fucking sucks man.

[balkanradfem]

I don't get to talk about feminism in real life, because it's not an accepted topic here, it's an 'evil harpy movement' still, despite it getting women the right to vote, own property, own a bank account, be able to be paid for work. The consenus is that normal women don't need to be feminists, we already have the right to vote so what more could we possibly want. I do get to talk with young women about it! When I have some teenagers or young adult women in my life, I am telling them all about it, showing them all the violence statistics, instructing them on all possible methods of abortion, and they are genuinely stunned to gain this information they've never had access to before.

But yesterday, I was at plant lady's house, and I breached the topic of feminism, because I had just entered a feminist book club, and joined a little group of croatian radfems, so I was all up in my ideas about it. And I love the plant lady, she's a beloved figure in my life, but she is both against feminism, and a huge fan of conspiracy theories. So when I started talking about feminism, she interrupted me to tell me that she heard that women, are not in fact, responsible for feminism, but it's actually males in power that are pulling the strings. I explained that we don't even allow m*n to participate in what we do, but she was sure she's right, because, males in power thought it would be cool for women to have jobs and pay taxes, so they invented feminism, to collect more taxes and have more workers. And I knew I couldn't argue her about it because conspiracy theories exist to null every argument against them, right, no matter what I say, she'll have a more incredible explanation. So instead I changed the topic to the problems of sexual violence against women, domestic violence, normalization of pedophilia, and treatment of women like objects due to rampant pornography.

And she's like, no, that doesn't happen, most people are normal and have normal marriages and treat women normally, and these problems, are not the problems of 'feminism', these are things everyone is against – and I say no they're not, m*n don't care, they don't fight against any of it, in fact they're the perpetrators of 90% of these crimes. Then she launches into a story of an abused woman who refused to leave her husband because she loved him. I explain to her that this is incredibly common and it's called 'cycle of abuse', and we can resolve this by teaching women very early on about this cylce, that it can easily happen to them no matter what kind of husband they choose, and to recognize the signs early, before it comes to worst, and for women who are going trough it, they need all this euducation too. What is happening currently is nobody is talking about it and we pretend it doesn't exist and then victim-blame women when they get abused. Most abused women don't even recognize they're being abused because they're being isolated and told it's their own fault. Then she launched into another story about a woman who she knows was battered who escaped. Then she mentioned another situation she knew with a violent husband, and another with a drunk one. And I'm listening to her like. Hey. You said this doesn't even happen, that it's incredibly rare, but you personally know this many cases? And you know me, I've been living in violence too, remember?

And she just looks at me. Realizing for a second that it's not that rare. She didn't argue with me. She previously really thought about each and every case she knew as an outlier, something so improbable and rare that it wasn't really a social problem. She told me then, that we can't really help these people, because police only makes it worse, so what do we even do. I told her it's important that we talk about it, that we offer resources and teach women early on to recognize abuse, and to make a point of not blaming women for it, to make it clear any male could do it to them at any point, to be ready for it, to reconsider marrying, to have a separate bank account, to never let their survival and housing be completely dependant on a male.

I also indulged her to think why women can find themselves in these situations in the first place? If we're so equal, how come it's possible women don't have anywhere to go to, and need to stay in the abusers house to just survive. I said it has something to do with parents usually leaving their houses and properties to sons, and expecting daughters to move into their husbands places, and she again said 'no this doesn't happen', and I went 'well why don't these abused women just move into their own houses they inherited from their parents' and she again, had no arguments. It's not the sole reason though, women earn less too, get less promotions, get paid less for the same job, still mostly do unpaid labour, dedicate a big part of their life to raising children on their own, they don't get to accumulate funds and properties in the same ways m*n do.

Anyway, while we were having this entire conversation, her 18yo daughter was there, listening to us, and miraculously, she seemed to agree with me! When the plant lady claimed 'there's so many normal ones out there', the daughter interrupted to say 'no mom, there's no normal m*n out there, I can't find anyone normal', and I immediately supported her claim with agreement. I was so happy to be a little feminist influence on her and to validate her point! She was also wearing a shirt that said 'grl pwr' and I was like 'yes this is great' even though it's just a liberal catchphrase, it's still a sign of wanting women to have power in the world that doesn't believe a word they say.

I think the type of attitude the plant lady has is extremely common for women in our country, in fact she was very receptive to what I was saying. She knew about this many cases of domestic abuse, because she was often the safe person for these women to tell, and she has been helping the ones who escaped, me included.

Most women I know will launch in defense of males and trashing of women as soon as you mention feminism, because it's the only socially accepted thing to do. I believe we all have women in our lives who are not malicious or terribly ignorant, but affected by the mainstream beliefs that women are asking for too much, already have everything, and are at fault for everything that happens to them; this is incredibly pervasive and impossible to debate in a conversation. It's so ingrained in women to go against anything that makes m*n look bad, it's almost considered a sin and a hate crime to even think this way. Like something a bad, selfish, bitter, irrational and greedy woman would do, and nobody wants to be dubbed that. I remember thinking this way myself when I was a teen; I wanted to hold males responsible so bad, but the shame of being seen as this hateful and bitter person was getting to me, to the point where I would silent down and not speak out.

I used to get so angry at anti feminists, and would avoid indulging with the topic because it would irritate me so much, but I've gained more understanding as I go on, and can now tolerate the opposing arguments when I know they've come from propaganda and social pressure, rather than ignorance or hunger for approval. I'm more effective being able to indulge a little! Not a lot though. If I spent a lot of my time trying to argue with anti-feminists I would in fact, wither and die.

[wishful-thinking64]

Hazbin Hotel & Helluva Boss Rewrite Ideas #01

I truly believe that both shows have a lot of untapped potential that we'll unfortunately never get to see thanks to Viv refusing to take criticism and the fact that her writers are all yes men. However, that doesn't mean I can't give out rewrite ideas like they're candy to those who wish to tap into either show's said potential. With that being said, here are some rewrite ideas that you could use for Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss! ______ #01.) Have Mrs. Mayberry become one of the residents of the Hazbin Hotel. I promise you, this one writes itself. #02.) Have Glitz & Glam be Fizz's rival co-workers to parallel his time in the circus when he worked with the Buckzo twins who acted more like a family to him. #03.) Write some new workers for the Hazbin Hotel since they're still severely understaffed. You could make these new employees a Hellborn, a Sinner, an Overlord, or Goetia royalty if you wanted too. The possibilities for this one are endless! #04.) Let Heaven contrast with Hell based on how they operate. For example, in my rewrite for the Hellaverse, Heaven doesn't use currency at all. It quite literally doesn't exist up there. Instead, they use the Bartering System as they view it to be the most fair exchange of goods and services. #05.) Have there be a character who doesn't belong in Hell but got sent there anyway for whatever reason. I'd recommend using Valoris (my take on renaming Vaggie) if you don't mind keeping her as a fallen angel or using her original Sinner backstory however I feel like Amélie (I renamed Emily solely because her name is so common. It's not bad but you can tell that there was barely any thought put into it either.) could work just as well since she'd be a fallen Seraph. #06.) Make Lucifer and Stolas evil as they were originally intended to be before Viv scrapped the idea in favor of something worse. Stolitz is a toxic ship no matter how much damage control and retconning Helluva Boss tries to do and when initially asked about how Lucifer would act later in the series on an old livestream, Viv originally wanted to have his character be on par with that of Willy Wonka so do with that information what you will. #07.) Allow for Charlie's, "Anyone can be redeemed," mentality to constantly be challenged by those around her. Don't be afraid to have her be in the wrong because we all know that not everyone can be redeemed. Some people (Valentino) truly aren't deserving of it and others won't be accepting to change. You can lead a horse to water all you want but the horse has to decide to drink it. #08.) Create a proper foil ship for Fallen Star (I hate using the ship name Chaggie) cause if even Stolitz can have one in the form of Fizzmodeus then Fallen Star should have one too. Most people opt to use Emilute but I'm a damn GuitarSpear shipper so I opted for a crossover ship that has Emily and another character from Helluva Boss instead. Listen, if a rare pair and joke ship like CherriSnake can become canon over a ship like Sir Pentious x Rosie that actually makes sense when you consider they're from similar time periods, then a crossover ship being in my AU rewrite is the least of my problems.

For context, here's a screenshot for one of the HH mockup episodes before Viv and her team decided to scrap it. Like the majority of the HH mockup episodes. ______ Well, that's all I've got for now so happy writing and good luck!

[gay-jesus-probably]

Let me just preface this by saying everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, TOTK is a really fun game, and I'm glad that other people have been able to enjoy the story as well.

...But I'm being dead serious with my complaints about the narrative being 100% imperialist propaganda. And I'm getting really tired of people replying to those posts by saying it can't be imperialist propaganda, because imperialism is bad and the game says that Hyrule is the good guys.

Like, guys. That's not the argument you think it is. Yes, I am aware that the game tells us Ganondorf is a flat, one dimensional character with no ambitions, interests or motivations beyond destroying the entire world for the hell of it, and also it's totally not racist because he's green, not brown like literally every other member of his race. Unfortunately literally all of these things are kind of the entire goddamn problem.

See, the thing is, everyone trying to make these arguments is accepting the game at face value. Hyrule is the perfect and almighty nation chosen by the demigod Zonai, and whose royal family has the right to rule due to their divine heritage. The other races exist to serve the glory of Hyrule, and they're happy to do it. Ganondorf is pure evil and must be stopped at any costs.

But that's not how anything works. The story informing me that Hyrule is the ultimate good that has done nothing wrong is the whole goddamn reason why I don't trust Hyrule at all. There's always more of a reason than that. And the game fucking suggests there was more going on! Ganondorf mentions Rauru has repeatedly 'invited' the Gerudo to become Rauru's subjects, and let's be clear here, it doesn't matter how peaceful those 'invitations' were, when the guy who owns every single magical nuclear missile in the world repeatedly demands you surrender to him, there's always going to be an implied threat of 'do it or get magically nuked'. Just that power difference alone shows us exactly why Ganon would feel threatened enough to invade. It's because Rauru was holding a gun to his head, and Ganon was expected to just trust that he'd never pull the trigger.

And yes, even if it wasn't intentional Hyrule was always threatening to wipe out the other nations, considering the entire royal family walked around openly wearing their magical nukes as cute accessories. If they couldn't be safely hidden away, there wouldn't be four other secret stones sitting untouched in a vault until the last second.

But that's never acknowledged. Of course Hyrule is the only nation with the right to the secret stones; even if other races get to touch them, they can only have them if they swear eternal blind loyalty and servitude to the glory of King Rauru and Princess Zelda. Ganon wanting to have one magical nuclear bomb out of a stockpile of eight of them is proof that he's dangerous and evil. I mean my god, what if he just walked around all day wearing a magical nuke and using its power for his own benefit, that would be terrifying. It's only okay when Hylian royalty does it.

And you can't argue that Ganon betrayed his own people, considering we don't get to know fucking anything about his relationship with his people. He's shows as the leader of the Gerudo, we're told he's a hero to his people, he has soldiers that loyally follow him into battle... and then oh nevermind, they all hate him and will spend eternity trying to atone for sharing a race with him. How did the entire race do a complete 180 in the span of at most a few months? Who cares, what's important is that now they accept they exist to serve Hyrule so they get to be the good guys now and we don't need to know why they were following Ganondorf, or why they stopped following him.

Basically my point is that yeah, I fucking know how the game insists everything went down. That's the entire reason I think it's imperialist propaganda, because the entire story feels like Hylian propaganda to conceal and justify some horrific atrocities that caused all of this. I literally do not believe that I'm getting the story through reliable narrators, especially considering that the only people allowed to actually tell me the story are all the characters that have the most reasons to be heavily biased in favour of Hyrule.

When the game shows me protagonists that have a massive amount of power and control over the entire world, then says the bad guy doesn't like that system just because he's evil, and literally nothing and nobody in the game says anything to oppose that take, I have some questions about what the fuck the story isn't telling me. And I'd really appreciate it if people would stop trying to argue with me just by telling me to stop asking those questions.

[littleplantfreak]

Down to my level

Headcanons Ft. Umemiya Hajime, and Togame Jo

These guys are 6'2 and I think 6'1 respectively so have some writing about being shorter than them cause I'm 5'7ish and wanna climb them like a tree literally. Some ended up not being about height because i got off track thinking about Ume's arms //shrugs

Umemiya Hajime

Loves ruffling hair and he thinks it's endearing when you try to do it yourself to him. Catch him while hes squatting in the garden for perfect ruffling opportunities. (maybe a smooch or two as well)

He will seat you on things when he's kissing you so he doesn't get a cramp in his neck, or better yet just wrap your legs around his waist and he'll hold you up. Give those big arms of his a workout, he'll be more than happy to hold you.

Can't help but grab things for you if they're too high. If you have a problem with that he makes sure to have a step stool. (Just stop putting things so high? Nah he thinks it's cute when you're on your tip toes)

King of carrying - once again he is a big guy so he can do princess carries, piggybacks, fireman's carry, you name it. He's even tried carrying you under his arm like a football though it's not the cutest carry to be in.

He's easy to pick out in a crowd even if he didn't have white hair so you don't really have to worry about losing him.

Blocks out the sun really well or if you're hiding from someone you can basically disappear behind him.

His height also helps in games of chicken fights when you're in the pool or at the beach. Sturdy af AND tall? Y'all are unstoppable no matter how short you are.

"How's the weather up there?"

"Oh! Wanna find out?" Before you can answer he's wiping his hands off and scooping you up effortlessly, arms looped around your waist. Hands resting on his shoulders, you're a few inches taller than him like this. "What do you think?"

"Crystal clear skies...approximately 76 degrees fahrenheit and," you lick the tip of your pointer finger, sticking it out, "wind is blowing from the west. Not to mention the scenery up here is so much prettier than down there." He puffs out a laugh when you gaze at him a little lovestruck as you say the last part.

"You think I'm pretty?" he whispers, looking up at you for once.

"Illegally so." Your answer is so serious it's got his heartbeat taking off and he couldn't fight the smile if he tried.

"Y'know my normal weather man told me the exact same thing this morning!"

"So he's my competition?" You huff and giving him a pat on the arm signalling for him to put you down. Instead, he lowers you just enough so you're eye level with him, noses brushing lightly. Being this close you can smell the dirt from his gardening and the lingering of his minty shampoo from earlier this morning.

"You win every time sweetheart."

Togame Jo

Uses his height for good - usually. Kisses the top of you're head when you aren't paying attention to him.

If you're a brat he'll hold something you want just high enough for you to start jumping for it (thats the evil). He's impossible to knock down or and weighing his arm down to grab it doesnt work either. If Choji's around you can enlist his help in getting it since his jumps are always impressive. He accepts payment in candy though.

Also a carrier. He likes piggybacking you places the best. Especially in the winter cause you're extra toasty.

He's good at typing hair up and can help whenever you have a bad hair day. He's got a full view so he'll fix it as soon as its messed up.

loves being dragged down by his shirt to be kissed. He wears that gi sometimes though I don't know if thats the correct name for what he wears. In jiu jitsu its really solid and tough near the neck areas so you can pull and maneuver you're partner around? In any case when I see him wearing it I just wanna cross collar grip it and drag him on the floor (lovingly I swear) (I think its a gi?? I know he wears monks clothes so they might just be really similar)

You are not in a good mood. Togame's holding the last strawberry ramune over your head with a small frown and refuses to give it back. If anything you should be the one frowning. Sure you snapped at him because you were a bit grumpy, and it wasn't even his fault but you're tired, it's raining, and thats the last strawberry ramune.

"All ya gotta say is 'sorry' doll. I'll even open it for you if you want." he drawls slow as ever.

"I can get it," the words are punctuated by small hops and desperate grabs at air. You're even more winded than before and Togame's just deciding whether he should give in when Choji rounds the corner. A small gasp as a light bulb goes off in your head seeing Shishitoren's leader. "Choji I CHOOSE YOU!" You yell, pointing straight at the drink being held hostage. He moves before any thought can cross his mind as he makes a high jump between the you and Togame, successfully grabbing your prize. As he's handing you the ramune, you root around your hoodie pocket for the last few candies and trade him.

"Nice doing business with you! That wasn't very nice though Kame-chan" Choji chirps and waves before being lured away by the sounds of the other members laughing and talking about going out for karaoke.

There's a moment of quiet before you peek to the side to stare at your boyfriend. You realize you haven't been nice either and bite the bullet. Roll the ramune over in your hands, you look down at your feet.

"I'm sorry I've been grumpy at you. Think I'm just tired. 's no excuse but-" The drink is gone, being popped open by deft hands before Togame gives it back with a silent nod.

"There's a couch in one of the rooms down the hall. Want me to carry you?"

"You gonna lay with me?"

"That's the plan, yeah." Whether it's from the weather or from fighting with you, you can tell he's tired too.

"Good. And yes please." Your voice is soft as you reach up, wrapping your arms around his shoulders.

"There's my sweet girl," he grunts, hoisting you up in a princess carry and making his way to one of the back rooms further from the noise of the other boys in the theater.

[shadowmaat]

BoTh SiDeS

I think part of the problem I'm having is that I can't understand the antivoter mindset. Why is Palestine the ONLY issue that matters? Yes, genocide is bad, and yes, Palestinians have a right to live in peace, but so does everyone else.

There are other genocides taking place, too. There are devastating natural disasters around the world. There are outbreaks of disease. People starving. People being oppressed and killed. People here in the US are dying, too. From poverty. From police brutality. From food-borne illnesses brought about by lax regulations. Life here is so expensive that it's near-impossible for "average" people to live in any kind of comfort, and forget health care. Or housing. Education is a shambles and budgets keep getting cut back. The farmlands need help. Everyone needs help.

But the only issue that matters is Palestine. And since both candidates "support" Israel, then it's impossible for a morally pure and just person to vote for either of them. Because genocide. There's no "lesser evil" because both sides are equally bad.

Even if you accept that blatant fallacy, why is that the only thing that matters? Why doesn't it matter who is going to do more to protect Black people? Or queers? Why don't immigrant lives matter? Or education? Cost of living? I could go on and on, but apparently all of that is irrelevant because of Palestine.

And it doesn't matter that a lot of Palestinians didn't want Trump in charge. It doesn't matter that a lot of them don't care either way. All that matters is that the self-righteous left-left-leftists can feel better about their choices. Because genocide. But only Palestinian genocide. Those other ones are bad, too, but they aren't as important as Palestine. Because Palestine. In a conflict that has been going on for decades, this is the sole thing that matters. Let the whole world burn as long as people out there know that a bunch of left-left-leftists didn't vote for genocide supporters.

They just keep parroting the same line. And the more I hear it, the less I believe it. Because it obviously isn't just about Palestine. Or genocide in general. And I think they got the outcome they desperately wanted. Without having to sully their purity by voting.

Except, y'know, none of them are morally pure. Or good. Or just. And the rest of us know it.

[varpusvaras]

Winnick will come this close to writing a good, rightfullly angry character with BPD/CPTSD and ruin it by making him his conception of "a dangerous psychopath" because dc's understanding of mental illness begins and ends with the joker.

I like that Jason was angry i'm not gonna lie I enjoy the "bad victim who doesn't accept that they were a necessary sacrifice, who doesn't think what happened to them is something they should be expected to tolerate, like fuck your greater good, you weren't there, it isn't worth this." I think even looking at Jason's past before getting adopted he has reason to be angry, like he is poor af and starving and he had to take care of his mom and his dad is in jail because he couldn't see another way to provide and he gets trafficked -he has so many reasons to be angry. And he's not, and I love jaybin, but I think there are so many ways and things he can be angry about without it feeling classist. And I love that he can't emotionally regulate, that he has so clearly BPD/CPTSD because why the fuck would he not, have you seen his life (and that's not even counting the csa hc, which i am because willfully and consistently implying csa and then not addressing it/denying it feels like feeding into a culture of taboo that ruins lives and getting away with covert victim-blaming at the same time). The issue is that they lack finesse or any kind of understanding of anger. The think anger is a personality trait. They think angry = evil. They think being angry means you're violent at and about everything, that you shoot indiscriminately even though you've known better since you were a kid, that you're suddenly treating women like shit (which, wtf seriously) which okay maybe THEY treat women shitty for no reason when they're angry, but that'd be more of a them problem I'd say. Their portrayal of anger is classist because their conception of emotions hasn't evolved since fucking Descartes. Think anger = bad = poor and not only doesn't it occur to them that this is classist, they so instinctively assign moral value to the concepts of poor and angry that they don't realise it and just conceptualise poor=angry and end up with incredibly classist portrayals of anger. You can write characters that are mentally ill and violent without being ableist, you can write characters that are poor and angry without being classist, but that requires a level of respect for people, introspection, humility willingness to learn about the sensitive topics you are exploring that is simply not accessible to Winnick and so many other dc writers.

And here comes my very hot take that I'm too cowardly to say off anon: the pit shouldn't have healed Jason's malnutrition. Like, outside of canon I love big jay, I love big men who are emotionally vulnerable and need comfort etc. but in canon? It just comes off as another way to adultify Jason, and make the horrible things that happen to him acceptable. Jason "sleeping with Talia because he is fucked up about Bruce" because they both look like adults until you realise this is actually just rape and you can't put any responsibility of Talia taking advantage of the kid under her care (very ooc of course) on the child himself. Jason fighting Mia looking like a 40 years old beating up a teenage girl when they're the same damn age. Fucking Ethiopia 2.0. And Jason's murders as well, for the matter. Like don't get me wrong the duffle bag of doom is an iconic villain move, but it's just that: a massive shock effect and a "psychopathic" move. We shouldn't need Jason beheading anyone to be horrified, because just one murder, if written correctly, should be enough. A child killing someone is a terrible thing. A child being put in a position where they think killing someone is the only solution to ending suffering (thinking about the Garzonas case) is a terrible thing. A kid trying to kill his murderer (because fuck his death has to matter it has to) and only begging to be allowed it should be horrifying. Jason, with his unhealed malnutrition making him look a couple of years smaller and younger than his physical age, should look his mental age. It should be impossible to look away from the reality of what he is: a traumatized teenager who wasn't allowed to grow up. And he has a gun. This is already a horror story.

Make utrh!Jason a villain if you must, but have the guts to sit with it. Don't shove the fact that he was a hero and a victim under the rug because it's uncomfortable. Sit with the unease that sometimes someone is doing something bad and is suffering a lot, and maybe they're doing the bad thing because they don't know how to survive the suffering, and suddenly it's not easy separating hero from villain from victim. Your imaginary lines in the sand will not protect you from the crude reality of the complicated and shitty situations you have chosen to depict; you open the can of worms now you can't look away and let the worms roam free just because you're squeamish.

How does it feel to be psychic and be in my head and write part of my essay on Jason for me? Fuck, I have so much to say about this but I need a good night of sleep to formulate it correctly. Look for a longer answer tomorrow, but in the meantime, everyone sit down and look at this and look at it hard. Thank you.

[ymoon01]

It doesn't even matter at this point, or bother me anymore if someone tries to make me feel bad, feel like I'm crazy or even ashamed for believing in my Lord Jesus. I know him, and he knows me. He has proved to me A LOT of times that he's real. That he cares for me, that he loves me, he loves me even more than anyone has ever loved me before. He accepts me for who I truly am, and I'm thankful for that. All this time he has treated me like a princess, he has kept me away from evil several times. Now that i have faith in him, that i'm trying to change for someone better, i can actually hear him. He's so lovely, he's so gentle, caring, patient, and the way he talks to me is just...adorable. How can't I not fall for him when he's so gentle and patience with me? No one has ever made me feel like this before. No simple words like "Dear, my beloved one, my precious daughter, I'm so proud of you, you're beautiful in my eyes, i'm deeply in love with everything about you, you're so pure to me, I accept you for who you are, you're my child, I chose you, i'm always thinking of you, I've been calling you for a while now and i'm letting you that I was waiting for you to return home, talk to me I'll listen, I'm always here for you, i'm never going to leave your side, i care for you..." PLZ. Because of his sweet words, confirmations, I'm not settling for less. I'm not afraid anymore to say that I'm falling for him as well. I really pray to him to get me closer to him every second, minute, every hour. So please, just know that..whatever you say against me for adoring him and seeking him means nothing to me anymore. I'm not changing my thoughts, my mind, or anything. I'm not going to stop believing in him and his word. I ain't pleasing nobody but him. So, I suggest you to not waste your time with me. You can laugh all you want, he also told me that some people would laugh at me for following him, i have accepted this because i don't want to leave his side or presence ever again and..in the meantime i'll be praying for everyone who doubts of his existence and power. You can always go with him and repent♥︎ he has a place for everyone in his kingdom.

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you all♥︎

[hero-israel]

Breathe.

It is normal to feel pain, alarm, and sorrow, as we see what our world has turned into, as we hear what so many want to do to us. It wouldn't be human to feel any other way. I've been deeply involved in this issue for many years and truly did not expect so much of the goyische world to immediately go full werewolf on the thrill of seeing Jews tortured and massacred in high-res. Many of them are lost to us, and as far as I am concerned, there is nothing they could ever, ever do to regain my trust. They would never even think to give an apology, and even if they did, I would never accept it.

It makes matters all the worse that Israel - this age's morph of the reason to hate us - has for the last ~16 months been run by objectively evil and horrible people. A few of them have talked publicly about "encouraging voluntary resettlement" or claim to have held negotiations with African states. In all cases, less vile people from the same government have immediately denied those stories and said there is no such policy, no such talks, it is all just suggestions. When you have a government run by Internet trolls, criminals, and terrorist sympathizers, that is how they talk. There is no imaginable mechanism for any of this - it is impossible to believe any country would go along with it, or that it is taken seriously by anyone beyond whichever racist asshole is thinking out loud next to a reporter at that time. But even as idle blather, it is immensely dangerous. It represents a threshold we cannot cross. We cannot - as you said - "make that look good." The best we can do is recognize that this particular evil racist doesn't actually have the authority or method for doing it, he's just jerking off, the Attorney-General told them to shut up and stop advocating crimes.

There have been so many times when the world went utterly batshit about Israeli actions that were totally innocuous, about rumors that never even happened. I talk about it here all the time. Part of me is hoping that is an element of this case, even as I'm afraid, this time, it might not be.

And as I'm also afraid that things will get even worse for us if, as looks very likely, Trump wins next time.

So it is okay to feel utterly terrible about things.

And yet, we still have to breathe.

We are alive because Jewish people got through much worse times than these, with far fewer resources and allies than we have today. Everything we know, everything we worry about now, exists because even though They Tried To Kill Us, We Survived.

Confront reality - without despair. We are facing bad times and they may get worse, but we will get through them.

[orphiclovers]

Hear me out about yjh and blondes: 999 yjh x Uriel

YES I'm so into this pairing you have no idea. and lol about the blonde thing. yjh has a type.

I've talked about them some under the tag #999yjhuri (ship name pending...) so check that out but yeah I love them they're canon to me! I don't even know where to start talking about them because I have so much to say

The thing is that Uriel loved her captain so much. 999 is the only turn we know of where she was one of Yoo Joonghyuk's companions and it's sooo significant to that round specifically because she is an ANGEL and a constellation of the Absolute Good system!

Uriel saw this one man who sacrificed everything for his companions and decided she wanted to fight by his side. He was the 'good' she saw in the world. And then she had to stand by helplessly and watch as his soul and body withered from the outer world covenant. and see up close as with the same noble sacrifice she fell in love with he destroyed himself.

But they thought they could make it to the end of the scenarios at least, they were so close, but then at the very last moment he DIED IN HER ARMS!!! And she lost her mind with grief and swore eternal vengeance upon the one who took him away.

The good in her soul died with him! She who was the righteous 'absolute good' angel of Eden for thousands of years was so broken by his death she chose to become evil, to become the very thing she swore to destroy

And of course this neatly ties into spuri, the one who was the object of her single minded obsession for thousands of years. Even to the point when it made no sense, when she learned who he was, it didn't matter because the bloody path of vengeance was all she had and all that kept her alive.

And then there's the huge complicated mess of what SP thinks about 999 Uriel. His careful neutrality when she attempts to kill him and burns down his forest with all the inhabitants. The was he doesn't react because he thinks he is reaping what he sowed. He says to Kim Dokja that this is the consequences of his mistake - sees her as a divine punishment for his sins in the 999th regression rather than as a person who wants to kill him

And at the same time in his mind there exists 999, who, quote off the top of my head, 'sighs in lamentation at the sun' when she attacks N'gai. 999 is COMPLICATED and I won't get into his insane psychology in this post but in short, he feels pity for her and all the rest of his companions who turned into outer gods (and also SP...) but makes the frankly correct decision to not come back to them even though he technically COULD, because it would cheapen everything they went through. There is no way to turn back time and save your fallen companion, even when there is. He KNOWS they live in his memory and that's why he can never return (kim dokja anyone...). He does his best to stay dead, even in his afterlife.

And, stay with me here, there's the love triangle of it all.

Both Uri and SP wanted to save 999 but neither of them could. And she despises SP for killing the love of her life but they both wanted the same thing, for 999 to be happy!

I think about SPuri in the post epilogue OD household. Even though Uriel accepted that 999 wouldn't come back and gave up her futile revenge quest against SP, there's still lingering awkwardness and tension there. After hating him for so long it's difficult to act normal around him. I imagine she treats him with civil distance.

And then, when SP does something small that reminds her of 999, she has to look away to remind herself that 999 didn't want to come back and to respect his decision, berating herself for mistaking SP for the man she loves, which is disrespectful to them both.

Even though SP didn't often think of 999 and himself as the same person, I think spending all his time around the 999th turns companions + having 999s memories in his head would inevitably bring out old habits and that side of him more. To all around bittersweet feelings from the outer gods, not just Uriel

[lu-zijing]

So.... BSD Chapter 117.....

NOOOOOooooOOOO- I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST NO MAIN CHARACTER WOULD DIE IN BSD UNLIKE JKKkkkkkk—

But also... :D

DAMN GOOD FREAKING STUFF—

Ahem, big spoilers under the cut ofc- (If I didn't already ruin that—

Here are some quick thoughts about the new chapter, 'cause I saw someone do it and now I wanna do it too. Let's all suffer and glee together.

*SNIFF*

This is my first time reading a chapter the DAY it comes out and DAMN I got a FULL-SERVED PLATE With Anguish, Excitement, Undefined feelings, and just.. other feelings, as well, served dangerously close AND MIXED together.......

✨✨✨✨✨🥹🫠

The whole thing about Aya and Bram is just so Heart aching and Beautiful..!！!!！

The fact that Aya did exactly what Bram's daughter had promised him, And that he then called her, his daughter.

The meaning of what he said... ”YOU，YOURSELF，MUST BECOME THE KNIGHT.“

SO BEATIFULLLL✨✨✨😭

And This.... JUST THISSS

Why does it always hurt so much more when there is a promise like this in a flashback right when a character dies.

.

AND THE FREACKING FACT THAT BRAM SAW HIS DAUGHTER AND LIKELY THE MOTHER AS HE DIED ...!!!!

That did actually make me feel better.

Sniff.....

"The first time" he died, I was definitely in the classic denial- you all know it- But this time I can accept it.

I really appreciate Aya and Bram got this talk, and that we got to see Bram go off like that. And like I have already seen some people mention, I agree that it's a good thing Bram really died.

Please don't come at me as well—

I am definitely not an enjoyer of character deaths, and in most cases, no- just all cases, I would just want to get them back, Don't get me wrong I REALLY hoped Bram would come back..!

But I also agree that sometimes, making a character die some kind of big death, （maybe self-sacrifice for example）and then just bringing them back without anything to it can be a bit - Unforfillling no matter how happy it may be they came back.

And now when Bram did die,

And since he got such a nice ending, talking to Aya and seeing his daughter, and wife(?) I can live with this. I wouldn't complain if he came back though- NO- I mean- He deserves his happy ending- If you could call it that given the circumstances.

Point being, GOOD DAMN WRITING AS ALWAYS ASAGIRI!!!✨✨✨✨

But...

BUT THAT CERTAINLY IS NOT THE CASE FOR KUNIKIDA RIGHT NOW ASAGIRI I AM IN DENIAL—

WHICHEVER GODS YOU BELIEVE IN DOSTOEVSKY I HOPE THEY DON'T LIKE YOU...!

I can see Bram, but I did NOT expect Asagiri to do this to a main character like him- Kunikida was never really a character I looked that much into, but to you who did- I can imagine the self-denial must have hit HARD some places on earth right now.....

No- I REALLY LIKE HIM TOO WHO AM I KIDDING, I guess I'm just not crying as hard as I would if it was Chuuya or Dazai for example- Oh Dazai.

I am genuinely scared to see how he will react to Kunikida's death. They are close. We all know Dazai likes to annoy those close to him.

And the fact he may even blame himself for not figuring it all out sooner... I really hope he and Chuuya stay together for some time..

...Could this be potentially Dazai angst in plain view of everybody? Characters and readers as well? I wanna see both the Agency and Chuuya see him breaking down at some point..

Am I too evil considering the current circumstances-? Okay sorry, maybe not sorry-

....

On one side I really wanna see how well Chuuya would do in a fight against Amenogozen, and on the other, I am scared considering even a character like Kunikida would die. a MAIn-

To be honest, I am genuinely not sure whether or not he is really dead.

The Agency can easily survive a stab to the chest, and that's why this hits harder.

It wasn't the stab wound that killed him, It would have if Yosano hadn't come in time, yes, but that doesn't matter now, because rather it was because of the fact that the stab wound turned him into BUBBLES Amenogozen swallowed, that he died.....

Which makes me wonder.... We don't know anything about those bubbles. What if people who died like that can be brought back if Amenogozen is killed/defeated or something like that?

Maybe Amenogozen can bring them back if it's willing itself?

That may be a little too hopeful, but STILL!

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THOSE BUBBLES...!!!!

It sure is damn SURE that we don't know anything about them yet, so I will keep a little hope for now.

And a last thing about Amenogozen, His EYES-

Not alone the fact that meeting his- or its(?) gaze did that, but also the fact that its eyes are shaped like three "parts/spots" considering it is a "Tripartite Fusion" I found that detail pretty awesome..!

ALSO THE FACT THAT A SINGULARITY CAN HAPPEN WITH THREE PARTS AS WELL!!!!

I guess if two things can then why not three but still!! It was a fusion between two Swords and a Human!!! This is really something to behold..!!!

(okay, to be honest, I am still not completely sure of how a normal singularity even works, so please excuse me if I'm wrong, and tell me how it works instead  🥲 ))

Haahhh, Okay let's end this on something happy.

AKUTAGAWA IS BACK BABYYY OH YEAHHHH!!!

THE FREACKING FACT THAT AKUTAGAWA BASICALLY PROMISED BRAM HE WOULD LOOK AFTER AYA—

Someone better do a redraw or coloring of this Panel- Am already heavily considering it myself-

Akutagawa sure has had some serious character development in this story- AND. I. LOVE. ITTTT ！！！！

I could not see him saying that at the start of the story, especially at least to someone he barely knew.

He even said "UNDERSTOOD" As if he not only promised but also, well.. Understood them.

I hope he and Aya actually get some kind of friendship and actually, well, talk, and it isn't just Akutagawa saying this and doing it, but never really speaking with her.

I am a BIG fan of character interaction between big/main characters or characters you like, that you maybe wouldn't normally think about interacting, with or just haven't really interacted with before -Like how I desperately hope Atsushi and Chuuya get to talk, and not just one time, but get some kind of at least somewhat good friendship- THAT WOULD BE AWESOMEEE

I really hope Akutagawa and Aya will talk now as welll!!! I hadn't even imagined this duo before, but I wanna see it!

And also guys, this panel is also stunning, let's all just get that settled.

I LOVE the effect, but it doesn't beat the rendering in Akutagawa's comeback panel

I didn't expect Amenogozen to be able to talk. But ah well... I guess it makes sense. They still have a human body... kinda......

Anyhow, Thanks for reading! I would love to hear some thoughts in the comments, reblogs, or whatever, if you're wanting to share some thoughts about thisss!!

Oi, oi! And one last thing!

This panel:

This.

I find it incredibly Ironic that that even Bram who was called a demon, a devil- Vampires, that usually is the Enemy of god, yet he still refers to the Lord in Heaven himself in his despair.

To refer to god, like this in his despair -even as a vampire- just like any other, really hit me hard. He had feelings just like any other human.

Ofc, he does say it in anger, but a faithful human in this situation could easily have done the same. So whether or not he liked god before or even now, As a vampire, I just thought he wouldn't even mention god in a situation like that. But he did.

Also, both his daughter and likely Wife (or Lover) looked quite human, didn't they?

It's hard to say with the woman, but at least the daughter didn't have pointy ears. So I guess Bram even fell for a Human back in the day， huh?

He was human himself in the past, but he must have already been a vampire at this point. He clearly has those pointy ears and the same looks as present, in the flashback with his daughter.

....Wow.. now that you think about it, his whole story must be incredibly interesting and sad....

Anyhowww, seems I could keep going, so I will wrap it up for now- Like I said, do comment or whatever, with your thoughts!! Would love to discuss this- We have a whole month until the next update guys. Let's get this talk going

[superkooku]

Dionysus' iceberg

This post is what remains of an initially very long rant idea. That means there will probably be a part 2 😏.

Here's the reason for my title :

In theory, you can stop there since my meme pretty much summarizes my complaints. But since I like ranting, I'll continue 😈

The tip of the iceberg

When you think "Dionysus", which words come in mind first ?

Probably "wine", "party", "alcohol" "fun god".

These words are what most people remember about Dionysus. And yes, I'm not going to deny, they fit.

Unfortunately, my problem comes with the fact that 9.5 times out of 10, Dionysus' personality will exclusively revolve around these aspects.

Since the issue is about modern adaptations and perceptions, I'll use a modern term.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with flanderization, right ? If not, the link to TV Tropes' article on the subject is available.

Many adaptations fell into that trap for, I think, every single Olympian.

Hades, god of the dead, lord of the Underworld = Satan, evil death god, darkness and sorrow

Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty = Superficial bimbo who only cares about her pretty face

Zeus, king of the gods, lord of the sky and thunder = 100% pure God OR more recently : evil king god who constantly abuses women.

The gods are stripped of their complexity to fit simpler and more "digestible" characterizations. It doesn't help that the cultural context surrounding them is also taken away...

But this is about grape boi, right? Well, Dionysus is no exception to that rule. In fact, he might be one of the worst cases.

So far, he was never really portrayed in an "insulting" light, like Apollo in Lore Olympus or Hades in the Percy Jackson movie. Fortunately.

But, from all the popular adaptations I've seen, none of them manage to portray Dionysus ! None ! Does that make them automatically bad ? No, of course. It's just something I noticed.

God of war ? Doesn't appear, only mentioned

Disney ? Don't even try 🤣. Just a drunk goofball. Yes, that includes the fantasia segment and Hercules.

Lore Olympus? Well, he's a baby for 99.99999% of the time, so it doesn't count. But he's still a quiet little Gucci bag for Persephone.

Hades I ? Just a nice guy. But hey ! He can give us useful boons ! And I like his sass.

Maybe he'll do more in Hades II. They're usually more accurate than most, right ? Though that's not a very high bar. And they know about Zagreus ! Surely that's a good sign, right ?

Nevermind...

Here's what all these adaptations tell us :

Dionysus is the god of wine, feasts and parties

He's an Olympian

He likes to get drunk and party 🥳

And that's it.

Again, I'm not blaming anyone, but if the myths stopped with those three points, wouldn't everyone wonder why he's even an Olympian ? I sure did when I was a kid.

We have the god of thunder, the goddess of wisdom and war strategy, god of music/arts/medicine/100 other things, the god of the oceans ! Many cool gods !

And some drunk dude. He's not given any particular power, except the power to stay super passive no matter the stakes ! If the story revolves about epic godly fights (which is often the case), he's absolutely useless.

Heck, Hades II even actively depicts him as a pacifist who can't handle war. While he's not physically a weakling, he sure psychologically is.

Why is this a problem ?

I am not going to beat around the bush: this gives us a very incomplete and incorrect perception of the god.

Even the things that aren't forgotten about him (like his link to wine) aren't explored.

The thing with Hades II (that's the last time I'll mention it) is that it tries to deepen the flanderized version of Dionysus. He's not stupid, but afraid. He drinks to forget his issues.

While this characterization can be very interesting taken separately, we must remember that this isn't an OC, but an interpretation of a cultural figure.

It must be accurate ! While I can accept some liberties, I think that those should mostly be an extension of the original material, not a total deviation.

Dionysus isn't a scared little boi or a stupid drunkard you can manipulate. In fact, that's quite the opposite. And he's not afraid to get his hands dirty.

(even if the "dirt" in question is the blood of his enemies).

Under the surface

Though it's rather "stuff you can find on Wikipedia". Or by reading the myths.

More about it in part 2 of the rant...

It'll be about theater, madness, travels, link between mortality and immortality and... pirates turning into dolphins.

The actual interesting stuff about Dionysus.

Edits :

1. Thanks to @st4riel-the-w1tchling for clarifying the situation about Percy Jackson. I made my own research about BoZ. My opinion is basically still the same. Again, nothing terribly offensive, but nothing that interesting for Dionysus either.

2. I made part 2 a while ago, might as well add it here :

[velvetvexations]

I don't wish to hide behind a Native friend in voicing my opinions on the matter, but I asked said friend, Trickster Kisses, for permission to quote him so I can give context for why I have the stance that I do.

Here's him explaining it to me for the first time a few years ago:

Here's his tags on that post I reblogged yesterday:

Here's a post he made shortly thereafter:

And from a conversation we had last night:

Doubtlessly some Algonquin people disagree, but I've seen multiple say the controversy is silly, and like. Yeah. Saying "wendigo" is not going to summon evil spirits to possess you and turn you into a cannibal, it was a metaphor for greed. Natives are generally aware that the world doesn't work on Beetlejuice rules. Even if a few may insist on it, others find it deeply condescending to be treated like village peasants who cross themselves and warn the smirking white protagonist about the forest being filled with goblins and ghouls, except without the part where they turn out to be right because these things aren't real.

And it's different from creating images of Mahoumed, because (a) that's about respecting the single most important figure in the Koran short of Allah Himself, not being in fear of one particular mythical creature that got it's name popular with white people, and (b) non-Muslims depicting Mahoumed is literally only ever done purely to spite Muslims.

I even feel, as my friend does, that the necessary accuracy point is debatable, as other cultural beliefs include vampires, elves, and the Greek gods, and those are often distorted far beyond what the people that did or do believe in them would recognize, but in that I'm willing to concede more than my friend and say, yeah, getting something right and not just going with the pop cultural flow is almost literally the least you can do for a still very vulnerable and hurting group that's been done repeated catastrophic damage by your own group. You should, in fact, in my white opinion, just name your deer monster something else, and in that I "disagree" (it's more like a deferring perspective) with Trickster Kisses whose stance is much more relaxed.*

And I think if it were just "name your deer monster something else, be accurate if you actually use the wendigo name" a lot more people would be on board, that was the position of the Algonquin person on that post yesterday, but white people going all "stop it Patrick you're scaring him!" about it is really weird at best.

*from having asked about engaging with the wendigo in my own writing, a sequel to a story by Algernon Blackwood which got it very wrong:

Depends honestly, if you're not worried about backlash you can honestly just be like, whatever, sometimes vampires sparkle, it'd be cool to see more from the original myths but then you have to get into 'okay but like, which tribe's myths' ngl follow your heart in that regard, I personally consider all of them solid & acceptable

my own decision was to take it in a somewhat meta direction and directly address the fact that the Blackwood story was inaccurate

Okay, so like. This is the ask that prompted me to go to Trickster Kisses and ask him for permission to quote him, and in particular I asked if he could give a response to you specifically.

Listen. Anon. I truly did not expect him to be so angry. Like, I'm not kidding, I sincerely feel bad for you right now. This tongue-lashing is not coming from me. All I can tell you is that this is how an Algonquian person feels about it:

@gromlyn

Trickster Kisses, again four years ago:

[luminary-vazre]

On SOTE's lore

While my personal interpretation of SOTE's lore might not matter to people I still want to have it written down for posterity's sake (and so I can link to this rather than try to explain it every time I bring it up.) Marika Shadow of the Erdtree goes into Marika's backstory quite heavily- and it explains her actions. I've seen others saying it's trying to justify it, but I fully believe it's not. It's explaining without condoning. We can understand WHY Marika acted the way she did, even if we still fully believe what she did was wrong.

Marika escapes the hell the Hornsent put her and her people through, and through some twisted act of fate (Perhaps organized by Metyr, since we know the greater will doesn't interact directly with the lands between often if at all) ascends to divinity through the Divine Gate.

She then returns home, only to find her people gone. Extinct, save for her- and she's not exactly a person, anymore.

The crosses of Miquella show us the route Miquella took to godhood. It's explicitly described as agonizing to make those crosses, to tear parts of himself away- to remove what made him human(ish, I'm not exactly sure how different an Empyrean is from a human.) and... Marika took this same route to ascension. She had to do this same thing. To tear her body apart, to remove her love, her doubt, her fear- everything that would have kept her in check once she became a god. Everything that could have held back her ambitions. And, like Miquella discarding St Trina, she must have tossed away Radagon.

It is little wonder that once she became a divinity, retribution was not far behind her. There was nothing but ambition, and the memory of the hornsent's cruelty, left of her by then.

The Minor Erdtree miracle found in Marika's home describes it as her first miracle. If we got Crosses of Marika like we got crosses of Miquella, I'm positive this would be the spot that says 'here I leave my love.'

Marika wanted to save everyone from the hornsent- her people couldn't be saved, they were already gone. But she could create a new order, one without the barbarity of the Hornsent's actions. Without the horrible butchery and the jar gaols.

But... in the end, you have to protect your order. And without her kindness, her doubt, her love, her compassion.. all things she left behind on her path to godhood, Marika became a cold, calculating, absolutely and totally dedicated ruler. She would accept no threat to her order's existence, and in doing so, she became the very monster she set out to prevent from happening again.

Again, we now understand, but not condone, her actions against Mohg and Morgott. The Omen were holy to the hornsent, chosen by their gods. Marika, having survived the Hornsent's cruelty, only to see the signs of their gods in her children- it's not hate that drove her to hide the twins away, it was fear. Fear that they were chosen by the hornsent's cruel gods. It does not in any way make what she did to them OK or right, but it explains why she did it.

Marika paved the road to hell in her good intentions- and then, once she was done, and the crusade began, she set about tearing the paving up so no one could follow her. She had Belarut burned, she shrouded Enir-Ilim and the divine gate in shadow, and grew the sealing tree, which could only be burned by Messmer (or his killer.)

She knew the truth of the divine gate- that it was built from the bones and flesh of her people, that it was an artifact born of unfathomable cruelty and malice. Whatever power it gave, whatever god you would become using it, it wasn't worth it. I believe Marika looked back and saw the monster she'd become, and wanted to be sure no one could make that mistake.

Miquella.

Miquella was not evil. At least, not at first. Born cursed, Miquella grew up in the world of the golden order. Seeing its cruelty firsthand, seeing what it did to the alburnaics, to the omen, to anything that wouldn't fit into the order. And, so, he wanted to find a way to uproot it and begin again. And he found it- the lands of shadow, and the divine gate. We don't know how he came to learn of the divine gate, but learn of it he did- and not having the benefit of Marika's hindsight, and her knowledge of what would become of a god made with it, he set about walking the path of apotheosis.

The road to hell, being paved once again, in the good intentions of someone who only wanted to help. Miquella's actions seem cruel and callous because he had already begun casting away everything that made him who he was in preparation to become a god. Mohg, Radahn, Malenia- all became means to an end. Everything was a worthwhile sacrifice for a world with no suffering! He just had to become a god.

All he had to do. Was cross that gate. By any means necessary. Anyone, and anything, that was an obstacle to that goal was standing in the way of a perfect world. And, therefore, must be evil. Something he could defeat, and throw away, knowing his actions were justified. The ends HAD to justify the means. They had to.

[howlingday]

How bad is the fact Jaune faked his transcipts? Like some people think he's evil for it and others think it doesn't matter. So what you think? I'm of his friends would not care and only Weiss would get on his case would but stay quiet if only for Blake.

This is an interesting question since it's kind of hard for me to stand firm on one side or the other on this.

On the one hand, it's bad because it's essentially the same as joining the military and lying in order to get yourself in. I say this is bad because 1) my own personal history with the military and 2) how really screwed up this really is when you think about it. Jaune snuck his way into Beacon, basically a para-military college, with no prior training, no formal education, and just a gung-ho spirit to prove himself. I'm sure if he applied himself formally, he could have been accepted by some measure, even if it were only for a reservist position. His missing background means he has nothing to prove that he's capable enough to protect himself, his teammates, or the civilians that he, as a huntsman, is responsible for. In short; Jaune lied to get into the military, which is a crime.

But then there's the other way to look at this. Jaune joined Beacon to prove himself, which can be seen as two ways, either A) like Steve Rogers, he had noble intentions of helping people in a way that truly mattered at the time, or B) like Izuku Midoriya, Jaune wanted to be like somebody he idolized and do the same as they did to achieve their legendary status, which in this case is becoming a huntsman. Honestly, Jaune did the only thing he knew that would guarantee his achieving of his dream, which was to obtain transcripts (that were forged and faked) and to apply to Beacon. In this instance, you would place the blame less on the soldier who wanted to join (Jaune, Cap, Deku) and more on the one who took his hand and brought him into this world (Ozpin, Erskine, and All Might) as a way to make a difference in both his world and theirs. In short; Jaune is perfect because of his everyman status.

But let's not kid ourselves here. The people who cry that Jaune getting into Beacon as a way of showing how "unfair " and "gary stu" Jaune is are the same people who call him a self-insert and scream that he's a useless male power fantasy taking screentime from the show.