#but seeing him still within the literal cult that manipulated and took advantage of him when he was still a young kid is so sad and gross

[anxiously-sidequesting]

anyways seeing Duncan still with the Schism at the end left me like ☹️

[veilder]

Castlevania Season 3 was insane and in this essay I will--

Okay, I’ve never made a post on this website before, but here I go cuz Castlevania Season 3 has me just that fucked up. (Everything here is my own opinion, fyi.)

***SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON!!***

Okay, so yeah, that was a wild fuckin ride, wasn’t it? First off, while I did very much enjoy this season and I still love the show as a whole very much, this whole thing felt a lot like a setup season. It was a lot of maneuvering the characters into certain places and roles and it was a lot more focused on their emotional development (or regression, yikes!) than it was on a central plot like the first two seasons were. In those, all three mains had a singular goal: destroy Dracula. But now? Well, we’re left in the aftermath. I feel like this season was certainly necessary for where the show seems to want to take things, but yeah, I think I didn’t love it quite as much as the first two. And I think a lot of that stems from just how fractured the main party is. And I’m not just talking about Trevor, Sypha and Alucard, either, even though I consider them the main focal point. Because, building up off of season 2, I would absolutely consider both Hector and Isaac as main characters in this show as well. But after the final confrontation of last season, all of them (save Trevor and Sypha) are scattered. And while they certainly still seem to impact each other somewhat, they never actually... y’know, meet in this season. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Trevor and Sypha’s dynamic and I think they are #RelationshipGoals, but you can certainly feel the absence of Alucard in their scenes. Hell, Trevor remarks on that himself at one point, about how they just... left him behind. About how lonely he must be, shut up all alone in his father’s mausoleum, taking on the duty to protect it because he’s the only one who can... There was a scene in one of the middle episodes (forgive me, I did not mark down which) where Trevor encounters a fox in the forest. And there is a prominent cut to the creature’s golden eyes. And Trevor smiles at it. It just makes me think that he, at least, has been thinking about their wayward companion in his downtime. I’m glad that the showrunners took the time to make sure we all could see that consideration, even in small moments like this, because it really didn’t sit well with me, how they left him all alone at the end of season 2. It’s nice to know that at least Trevor is thinking about him and it makes me hope that we will actually get these three back together in season 4. And along those lines, I think it was very interesting, how ultimately, Isaac’s whole goal in this season was to reach Hector. Literally, that’s all he is doing for all 10 episodes, just travelling across continents to find the man who betrayed Dracula... and to make him pay. But damn if I didn’t absolutely love all of his scenes, too? Isaac has really risen to prominence for me with this season. I could never quite get behind him in season 2, but here? I daresay that he might’ve been my favorite part of this season. All of his interactions, with the old collector man, with the Captain, with the FlysEyes, with Miranda, they were all so varied and philosophical. I really loved how the show delved into such heavy topics with him and fleshed out his personality a bit more. Special shoutout to the Captain who was, imo, absolutely amazing. I honestly hope they meet again, I loved their dynamic so much. But even so, he’s always still focused on Hector. Always moving towards Hector. I like that their story continues to play out from where it left off in season 2, with their fates interwoven like this. I do hope that we’ll get to see a confrontation between them eventually, but God, it would be very unsatisfying right now with Hector’s current situation. Which... Jesus, he is in dire straights, isn’t he? I honestly felt so bad for him throughout this entire season. He has been abused and manipulated so horribly through this whole thing. And yes, maybe he came across as a little naive and, well... dumb for trusting Lenore, but... Honestly, with the way he’s been suffering? Clinging onto those few scraps of kindness she throws him is really his only salvation. He has nothing, literally nothing, not even clothes, when the season begins. He’s been travelling with Carmilla for a month and then is immediately thrown in prison when they finally reach Styria. And God, despite all of that, he still has the gumption to try and attack Lenore at first. To try and trick her into a vulnerable position when vulnerability is his new MO. I was proud of him for trying, for keeping that spirit alive within himself despite his horrible circumstances. And watching as Lenore manipulated him further and further was just... so horrible. Honestly, she probably didn’t even need the slave ring at the end. Hector was so desperate for any sort of love and validation that he almost certainly would’ve happily crafted their legions just to make her happy. He has such a soft soul and it’s always being taken advantage of. His story arc was so fuckin sad and I really need better things for him going forward. And speaking of characters who deserve better... Omg, what did they do to Alucard? Seriously, his entire story arc this season was just... highlighting how devastatingly lonely he is and how he’s not coping very well at all with the aftermath of season 2. And I understand, everything that went down last season and everything he was forced to do, it broke him so completely. He hasn’t really... moved on at all from where we last saw him, weeping his heart out for the family he lost. So what does this show do for him? It lets us think he might be able to find a new family, to find happiness... and then it yanks that away from us in the absolutely worst way. Sumi and Taka had a lot of promise. Their backstories, as slaves for an ancient, powerful Japanese vampire, that was very cool. Their quest to find a mentor, someone to teach them the skills they needed to help liberate their home from the hold these vampires have over them, that is a noble goal. And Alucard sees that in them. He sees their potential to do good. I think he honestly sees a little bit of Trevor and Sypha in them, in the way they want to help, to fight against evil, to better the world. And I think they also... give him someone to cling to. Just someone at all to speak with, to share his day with, to be around? He is so lonely, so hurt, grieving and empty and wishing he wasn’t. They offered him a small glimpse of what happiness could look like. And he took it with both hands. He wanted them there and he wanted to help them and God, even when they have him at their mercy and are trying to kill him, he never condemns them. He still sees the good inside of them. And I wonder if he ignores the brokenness inside of them, too, because it’s a mirror to his own? Either way, the whole story arc was absolutely heartbreaking and it kills me to see Alucard so absolutely crushed by the events of his life. He does not deserve this. And I... really need Trevor and Sypha to come back for him. I think he really needs them, now more than ever. The characters are really who I wanted to talk about, y’know? Yes, I love all the plot setup happening; the Cult of Dracula was unsettling and terrifying; Saint Germain and the Infinite Corridor were honestly spectacular? How did they pull that off so convincingly?; Carmilla, Striga, Morana and Lenore were strangely entertaining for me, even though I very much despised the way Carmilla and Lenore in particular treated Hector. They were a weirdly amusing, kickass lady squad and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them. (Which I most certainly will); Isaac and his growing horde coming for Styria is bound to be amazing!; I’m assuming that Trevor and Sypha will continue learning more about the Cult as the next season goes and will (hopefully!) get Alucard back with them at some point! (God, he needs his friends so much. >_<) I just... There was so much packed into this season and I overall enjoyed it very much. Special shoutout to the absolutely amazing artwork because holy shit! Some of those still were breathtaking! And while some of the fight scenes I thought were a tad... worse than in previous seasons, some of them were real standouts, too! So yeah, I had a lot of thoughts about this! And I really needed to share them! Looking forward to what comes next! ~Veil P.S. Y’all don’t even know how desperately I want “The Pirate of the Roads” to be Grant Danasty. XD (Will he ever show up? Fingers crossed!)

[dorseygordon68-blog]

Power Rangers Zeo (Heather Ray).

The other night I sat with my family members around the table reminiscing and also telling old stories. We worked with our golf swing with equipment that measured our power in watts, and also took advantage of the complete line of Kinesis makers (their unique resistance cables allow for better series of activity). Power is depicted here as a shaping pressure, capable of generating its very own authenticity - whether it be possessed by mine proprietors, absentee companies, local elites, or even union bosses. The functional power cleaner provides a performance of a commercial equipment that utilizes 3.0 kilowatts induction motor with its 3 axial-piston brass pumps that helps generates an astonishing 2300 PSI stress power blasting 10 liters per minute water circulation. Microsoft billionaire Expense Gates has actually stated there is a 10% chance kite power can be the magic remedy" for international renewable energy demands. Additionally it has some filler which is unusual since this flick is hardly 80 mins which most likely offers you a respectable concept of how little possible the story has in this flick to be any kind of good. The fundamental structure was integrated in a workshop outside the city and then lifted right into the Colosseum by a giant crane. In http://verde-dieta.info/prolesan-pure-recenzii-pret-cum-functioneaza-recenzii-unde-sa-cumparati/ acquired rival chain LA Health and fitness as well as struck up a collaboration with Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, that is a special adviser as well as brand ambassador" to Pure Health club. Stories of the trip over and how thrilled he was to discover everything on the big ship (a seafarer, making the most of his inquisitiveness, convinced him to lift some papers pushing deck, to see what was below ...). Stories of working as a journeyman footwear technician in cities and communities across upstate New york city as well as Ohio (in one store, the foreman placed my grandfather and his turret in the front window so passers-by would quit to view exactly how quick as well as well he did his job). On the one hand, it consists of passages that John S. Wright could have written, as when it emphatically mentions, Chicago is currently facing the momentous truth that fifty years for this reason, when the children of to-day are at the elevation of their power as well as influence, this city will be bigger than London: that is, bigger than any existing city." On the various other hand, it declines the concept that the city's success can or should be assessed in terms of numbers alone, or that the future would certainly care for itself. Starting with our original list of about 51 health clubs (assembled from our round-up of the very best gyms of 2013, publicly available statistics, as well as other expert lists), we asked you to elect your favorites - likewise enabling write-in ballots to make up any type of health clubs that weren't pointed out on the initial listing. As soon as and also they don't have to all be on the same team either, you do not have to strike a fitness center alone; multiple individuals can attack a fitness center at. EPA established that the combination of utilizing of smokestack controls as well as contamination credit histories from shifting generation amongst plants makes up a well-demonstrated system of discharge reduction, one that is commonly utilized by the power industry both to meet inner targets and also prior government and also state guidelines. Freely based upon real occasions, Funny of Power had its North American launching at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. The platform lift can be found in a huge range of different models, each one with various attributes that make it far better fit for a details sort of job. Les plates-formes Power Plate ® constituent une parfaite alternate put les personnes actives qui n'ont pas beaucoup de temps à consacrer à un entraînement trois fois the same level semaine, voire plus. Control is a crucial element of the lift system and because of this they commonly provide power assisted drive. Some health clubs only enable teens to workout in the assigned youth facility area, while other gyms permit teens the exact same freedom to make use of the equipment as the adults. The originator of this franchise business identified that there was a huge market for a gym such as Curves and undoubtedly has taken advantage of a found diamond. You might be missing out if you are guilty of wrapping up your health club session as well as avoiding out on a cool down or stretch. Keltner's research suggests that women are not immune from this mystery, which claims that the very qualities that help us look for power-like beauty, compassion, or humbleness -are the ones that having power could harm. The power in an organization lies with supervisors and managers who have actually been enabled within the business framework, to make sure that the company could operate effectively. However nonverbally presenting power during the interaction - now that's an additional thing with different prescriptions and also end results. By the end of March, president Peter Roberts believes Pure Gym will have surpassed the 103 total of UK gyms run by Virgin Energetic, the present primary driver. This stair lift has a lifting ability of 300 lb or 136 kg. A flip-up swivel seat that secures placement and also constant stress buttons are various other functions of this straight stair lift. While a lot of exclusive health clubs serve teenagers and grownups, a couple of select health clubs just enable teens. Picked this for ideas to supplement my barbell-based routine, for when I can not get to the health club, and to help my wife with suggestions to do in your home & health club. His afternoon training sessions at the gym have actually permitted more youthful fighters to work along with a master, as well as interested onlookers to see. Teaching your staff members all facets of power device training as well as security could minimize the opportunities of injury and also maintain your workforce effective as well as risk-free. The fitness center consists of weights, cardiovascular tools, security balls, machines and also resistance bands. Mirrors on all walls do not simply mimic the look of many health clubs - they actually make the room look bigger. A new wave of thinking of power exposes that it is offered to us by others as opposed to got. There are few better exercises for targeting full-body power compared to the medicine-ball bang. Most of the gyms need their participants to abide by the laws to be able to go into and utilize the facilities. No, in spite of prominent notions and the common urban legends, Pfeffer competes that the path to power is substantially various than the prominent concepts we were raised to believe. If you see that you are obtaining squeezed in order to spend for your fitness center Sydney subscription then you are bound to pull out after a few days. It is just a partial settlement to know that the paradox also implies that political hopefuls such as Donald Trump - angry, manipulative harasses - are less likely to acquire power to start with. If you are presently not making use of any kind of sort of eco-friendly power and intend to conserve electricity, you could still decrease your costs by disconnecting unutilized home appliances. Greetings Diona", he claimed pleasantly, as he came level with her, making her once more so aware of his figure as he looked down upon her. After years of lack of exercise, Ashley returned as the Yellow Space Ranger to help the Galaxy Rangers battle the Psycho Rangers. Individuals who pledged to stroll were 3 times more likely to show up vs. those just saying they would stroll. From scenting too excellent to filling out a large dimension water bottle when there is a line of people behind you, read on to see if you're guilty of any one of these 16 health club pet dog peeves. The Gym stated the variety of inexpensive health clubs across the country had enhanced to 319 this year from 58 in 2011. That said, the plot brings me to my 2nd problem - one which maintains Absolute Power from being a 5-star book. The health club also contains 450 items of cardio workout tools as well as dumbbells and makers. Yes, you heard me. We're paying triple numbers a month and also struggling atop lunar looking equipment in order to replicate easy youth searches like jumping rope, hula hooping and also playing tag. After the Power Rangers involve her rescue, she goes back to being the principal of Reefside High and is disclosed to have actually been a close personal good friend of Anton Mercer. Raise takes us on an enlightening scenic tour through time, starting with the ancient Greeks, who made a cult of the body-- words gym derives from the Greek word for naked"-- as well as following Roman legions, middle ages knights, Persian pahlevans, as well as eighteenth-century German gymnasts.

[fellmother-archive]

{Headcanon: Naeva’s Indoctrination + Grimleal Institutions}

{ ooc. If you want to skip to the part specifically about the Grimleal institutions, just scroll down until you find the title-

That being said, this post contains:

Abuse (specifically, child abuse)

Torture

Manipulation

Cult behaviour (obviously...)

Ritualistic self-harm

Suicide (only mentioned)

If you are uncomfortable with any of those things, do not read this post, as they are not glossed over and are mentioned a few times. I also do not condone or support any of the things written on this post-- I do not believe in romanticising or playing down something that, realistically, is damaging, amoral and dangerous. }

Indoctrination

     Naeva’s first exposure to anything related to the Grimleal Sect occurred when she was six years old—when the girl, a cleric at the time, was introduced to the king’s son, Validar, and the two were told to occupy themselves while their fathers worked to formulate plans in an attempt to push back invading Ylissean forces. Though she was not a stranger to the concept of Grima—the dragon that the land’s polytheistic religion dubbed the bringer of destruction, death and despair--, it was not until the cleric was in the boy’s company that the cult’s many scriptures were introduced to her. At the time, they were terrifying, the thought of communicating and devoting oneself to a being that would herald devastation, however, as days passed, and the more time Naeva spent with Validar, the idea slowly became less frightening, and instead quite interesting in the girl’s eyes. It was the idea of salvation that initially lured her in—of being blessed with gaining access to a utopic world after death in the one she and so many other live in--, and to hear the ideas explained and talked about so passionately by one the girl deemed to be her only friend, to hear him speak as though he truly believed it was the sole path in life, why Naeva could not help but to fall for the sect’s most basic of beliefs.

     It was not until a year later, when the girl was seven years of age, that the king—Validar’s father—took notice of how close the two were getting, and offered her a place in one of the Grimleal’s many institutes—places where the young would go to be conditioned, introduced to the religion’s doctrine, and ultimately shaped to fit the group’s needs. With a mother who performed for the sect’s ceremonies, and would throw her life on the line if the leader would so much as ask her to do so, such an offer was met with nothing but joy—a kind so great, in fact, that it rendered her husband’s protests insignificant, and left them unheard by the high-ranking priests that eventually came to take the cleric away. In return for their daughter, protection from the war was offered—for the girl to be safe from invading forces, and never have to worry about a lack of food or other necessities; to be placed somewhere where she could thrive, but never be forced into battle until the time was right. Though the request sounded open, it was truly anything but, and in realising that, Naeva’s father simply stood aside, and allowed his only child to be taken away.      She would be trained at that school for four years before finally rising to the position of Validar’s right hand man, however, they were easily the toughest four years of the girl’s life.

Grimleal Institutions

     Disguising themselves as schools, orphanages, and other places in which children would be sent to for various reasons, Grimleal institutions serve as naught but a way of recruiting children of those both born to members of the cult, and those outside of it—a way to indoctrinate them at ridiculously young ages, and shape them however the leader sees fit. It is a place that will welcome young children with open arms, and shower them with kindness and love for a few days, but then suddenly have a change of heart. Communication from one’s family is cut entirely, unless their parent just so happens to be a mentor within the institution, strict and almost unfair rules are imposed upon the children, and every ounce of energy they can muster is devoted to learning whatever trades, weapons or scriptures that have been designated to them. 

     Tested within their first few days, the children are divided up according to what they excel at, and though they certainly do not tell them this, a hierarchy of sorts has already been put in place, with those incapable of using magic at the very bottom, those who excel in healing magic next, then anima, and finally dark magic at the very top. The lower one sat, the more trades they were taught alongside their specific weapon, as they were deemed so useless to the sect that they must make up for it in other areas. Such things included, but were not limited to: sewing, dancing, hunting, tactics, booking binding, writing, weapon making, tailoring, falconry-- anything that the cult might be able to take advantage of in the future and benefit from. Failure, or the slightest indication of one falling behind their peers was not tolerated.

     Every child within an institution’s walls was subjected to more than one of their harsh and cruel punishments. From failing tests, to speaking when they were not spoken to first, to achieving the lowest mark out a group of peers, to tardiness, wording a sentence wrong, or simply from being the target of a mentor’s spite-- anything could be considered punishable, and more often than not, children forced to endure these horrific disciplinary methods never really did anything wrong. A simple slap on the wrist was never an option, no-- instead, the children were, quite literally, subjected to a form of torture in an extreme attempt to correct their behaviour, and make them docile and obedient. Being locked away in a dark room or one lined with spikes, deprivation of food or water, acting as a test dummy for hexes or spells, forced to clean floors with the smallest of brushes, forced to give blood for dark mages and the like to use, and so much worse-- nothing was off-limits; not unless the leader commanded it. To say that a majority of those who lived in one of the institutions have grown slow to pain, have permanent conditions, such as nerve damage, or developed trauma-related disorders would be an understatement-- almost all of them fall under one category at the very least, for no child was special; no child was spared, even if they were well behaved. 

     To have heard that a student took their own life was not uncommon, and so very often, many of the children learning healing magic would have to work with the injured bodies of their peers, never allowed to react or express an ounce of sympathy. Copying down copious amounts of scriptures was mandatory, as was being taught the sects rituals-- some of which involved offering up their own blood--, and both morning and evening prayer were to be done standing completely still, the children not being allowed to shift their focus, even when the students around them began to pass out. If one was to ask a someone who has ever been inside one of those institutes if they thought something was wrong with how they were being treated, however, they would never say yes-- to them, it was normal; they were conditioned to simply accept it, and move on with their lives. They have been numbed, had their skills in certain areas refined to terrifying levels, and have found their own ways to mask their pain-- individuals who would eventually be relocated elsewhere, and be placed in amongst the cult’s rankings.

[theteablogger]

Andy’s Instagram

I said in my "I'm back" post that Andy is still engaged in some of his old behavior patterns on his Instagram. He said last fall on Facebook that he has "no real interest in maintaining the big public persona fandom thing," but that was and is obviously not the case. Here is a run-down, with screenshots in case he deletes things. Other people's faces and usernames will be censored and comments will only be included if they're relevant in some way.

Overidentification with a fictional character

This is the most obvious element of Andy's Instagram behavior: the majority of his photos concern or are linked to Bucky and the MCU in some way. Until very recently, if he wasn't actually in costume for the photo, his comment would talk about how much his hair looks like Bucky's, he'd refer to himself as Bucky, or Bucky would appear in the tags. To some extent, this is normal for cosplayers on Instagram and other social media platforms; however, given Andy's history, it seems like a terrible idea for him to engage in this sort of behavior.

Remember, this is the guy who verbally, emotionally, psychologically, sexually, and otherwise abused a number of people for years and tried to excuse his actions by claiming that his mental illness/es had caused him to believe, among other things, that he was the embodiment of various fictional characters and some real people, and/or was in contact with them as they existed in parallel universes, and that everything he did was necessary to save the world. Only four years ago, he said that he'd been writing something from Neville Longbottom's point of view and suddenly started to see and hear this fictional character in the room with him. Within the last three years, he was explicitly tying in Destiel with his relationship with Brittany in SPN meta posts. Just last year, he was claiming to have very specific sense-memories of New York in the 1920s and '30s, but lampshaded it by saying that he probably picked up some information during "the gap-filled years", which he felt made him even more like Bucky. This was around the same time that he started talking about how his hair had mysteriously changed color all on its own to look exactly like Bucky's, much as it changed when he "became" Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom.

As I and others have said time and again, if Andy honestly believes that he did horrible things to people due to mental illness making him unable to differentiate fantasy from reality, why would he ever engage in behavior that risks triggering an event like that again?

Here are just a few examples:

#buckyhair and #buckywiththegoodhair come up a lot.

Andy’s hair just naturally looks like Bucky’s. Yup.

Of course a fictional character's training has any bearing at all on Andy's real-life abilities.

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with Bucky, but note the hashtag.

I find it very hard to believe that Andy's really been planning this tattoo for years and that it has nothing to do with Bucky. I guess we’re supposed to believe that it’s a huge coincidence that the current design and his future plans for it coincide so well with the placement of Bucky’s metal arm. Without explicitly saying so, he offers this as evidence of how he’s “so connected to Bucky”.

Yes, Andy himself is a superhero.

Again, there is no actual Bucky in this post.

Here, Andy over-dramatizes his actions while being hit by a car to make it seem as if he responded in much the same way that a highly trained supersoldier would. Someone replies, "You are literally Bucky oh my god are you okay??"

Andy also says on his Instagram that his Bucky cosplay has motivated him, more than anything has before, to work out and to get in better shape. While this is a good goal to have, it's worth noting that talk of/promises to change lives for and by means of fandom (and characters that Andy channeled or embodied) was a major component of the BagEnders and DAYD cults. In the latter case, getting into better physical shape was part of it, with “Dumbledore’s Boot Camp” and the cross-country hikes.

Tying fandom in to real-life politics and world affairs

This was also posted on tumblr. The text is a paraphrased quotation from The Avengers, from the scene in which Captain America saves the life of an elderly German man (by implication a survivor of the Nazi regime) who is the only one brave enough to stand up to Loki.

Andy is hardly the first person to conflate being a slash fan with political or social activism, but considering his history, this gets an extra hard eyeroll from me. People's lives are at stake due to LGBTQIA persecution in Russia, so naturally it's an extremely emotionally charged issue, and Andy is right there to take advantage of that. He also talks about learning Russian, supposedly for career reasons, although people on tf-talk have pointed out that the Russian film system is closed to outsiders, the field is rather crowded in Eastern Europe, and oddly enough, people in countries that are not Russia tend to speak primarily non-Russian languages. (A Russian class did not appear on Andy's Spring 2017 transcript, so he only took it for one semester, if at all.)

I also notice that he says he's "about to learn a lot about Russian time zones", as if he's never had a Russian friend before. One of the women that he emotionally manipulated via tumblr and Skype is Russian and lives in Russia.

This is not the only post of Andy as Bucky wearing a POW/MIA shirt as part of his cosplay and using hashtags like #honorourvets and #powmia. If he really wanted to honor military personnel, a minority group, etc., he wouldn't use them as props to draw more attention to himself.

Another post about cosplay and slash fandom as a form of activism. What a shame that his cosplay partner puts his real-life relationship ahead of "being a tree by the river of truth", and that his fiancée puts her discomfort with "anybody else gettin' their hands on her man" (as Andy says in the video) ahead of their great chemistry. [/sarcasm]

Andy has repeatedly made passive-aggressive comments about this man's being unwilling to do Stucky photos because of his and his fiancée's boundaries. I didn't think much of it until I noticed that a comment giving Andy kudos for showing respect had been met with pontification about how he would really love to be able to do Stucky photos, but "real life romances come first" and he wouldn't want to do a Stucky shoot with a "stunty, stilted, or no-homo vibe".

I also think the way he refers to his "wonderfully devoted fan following" in Russia speaks volumes about how he thinks of them. Everyone is just a means to an end, and usually that end is narcissistic supply.

Here's some post-election political Bucky art. Run through Google Translate, the caption reads (bolding mine):

I'm sorry that my Russian is bad, small and new. I'm grieving for America tonight. I do not believe in religion. I believe in God. I do not think I found this place by accident. Here I learned that a place can have bad leaders, bad laws and good, strong, kind people. It's Russia. Now it will be America too. I hope we can change and have good leaders and good laws.

He continues to portray himself as wise, compassionate, and haunted by the fact that the rest of the world is not equally so. This also continues his old pattern of imparting mystical significance to his participation in a fandom.

Using superhero imagery "to highlight the problems faced by real world vets" on Veterans Day seemed disrespectful to Andy…so instead, he posted a picture of Cap and an apology to veterans for Trump's having been elected. Because that's completely different.

International Women’s Day. See previous point about his use of people and issues as attention-getting devices.

Courting younger, politically-minded people with condescension and a hefty dose of misinformation

Here are just a couple of Andy's posts about the 2016 presidential election:

I can't even tell you how many times Andy made tumblr posts inviting random strangers to his (his parents') house to hang out and have fun; this is the same old story from another angle. Anything to lure new people into his influence. (This video is incredibly condescending, by the way.)

This (part 2) (part 3) is the Instagram version of this misleading tumblr post. I'm going to go ahead and admit that this and several other tf-talk comments about his BS surrounding the election were from me because I was incredibly angry about Andy's once again taking advantage of people's completely justified fears about a volatile situation.

See also this brief but masterful takedown of his "shh everything will be fine" tumblr post after the election.

Here's a completely unironic post (part 2) (part 3) about how back in the day, only intelligent, right-thinking people had the ability to share their opinions with large numbers and wide ranges of people—but now any jackass pleb can get on the internet and spin anything in any way that they want, to reach any nefarious end. "Credentialed experts, not Instagram gurus. Data, not anecdotes." There he is again, hiding in plain sight.

Talking about how poor he is

It mainly takes the form of the usual posts about doing or making XYZ impressive thing on a shoestring budget because Andy Is Wise and Resourceful, but there's also this (part 2).

Stupid art school! Not only do they expect Andy to take art classes instead of just accepting that he is The Most Talented; they also expect him to purchase supplies! Thus he can no longer attend VA ComicCon…unless his friend knows "a magic money tree or a way to get free tickets." One or the other must have materialized, because he made it to the con anyway. Obviously Andy's friends are free to pay for things for him if they want to, but remember that he has a history of lying or "bending the truth" to get money out of people.

Making and endorsing extremely poor decisions

Yes, he says that he only had one Oxy with his giant tumblr (sic) of wine. That doesn't matter. It's unwise to mix any amount of opiates with alcohol, and equally unwise to discuss it publicly, especially given his tendency to encourage much younger people to regard him as some sort of font of wisdom and life advice.

This is how Andy achieves the one-armed Bucky look. Yes, a lot of people can pop their shoulders in and out of joint at will, but it's a bad idea, especially given the amount of time that he spends with it in this condition.

I spoke with the same doctor whom I consulted about the horrific binding injury that Andy claimed to have sustained. They said that repeatedly dislocating one's shoulder is very likely to cause instability of the joint, which can be debilitating (and quite dangerous, I would think, if his shoulder went out while lifting weights or something). Additionally, every time his shoulder is popped out and reset, Andy risks incurring torn muscles and stretched or torn ligaments/tendons, a trapped nerve, and vessel damage. Some of these effects become increasingly likely the longer it's out of joint. Andy, if you happen to read this, please stop doing this stupid thing. I may not like you, but I don't want you to injure yourself, for fuck's sake. And please stop instructing other cosplayers in how to accomplish dangerous things for the sake of a costume.

I have no idea whether Andy was checked out by medical personnel after he was hit by the car. I hope so. It's the #noexcuses tag that really gets to me. Attention, everyone: never, ever assume that you are 100% okay to engage in strenuous physical activity after an incident like being hit by a fucking car. It doesn't matter how slowly it was moving at the time. Without a thorough physical examination, you cannot be sure that you haven't sustained a non-apparent injury that will cause trouble later. Something like this is absolutely a valid reason not to go to the gym the next day, as intense cardio or weight training may exacerbate damage of which you are not yet aware. This post of his is incredibly irresponsible.

Promoting DAYD

Last October, in a post that featured photos of the GoT feast, Andy referred to DAYD as "a fairly popular HP companion novel", as if it were the HP equivalent to the Star Trek novels rather than a fanwork.

Andy continues to urge new people to check out the fan novel that he used as the basis for the second cult of personality in which he manipulated and took advantage of a great many people. (Also, DAYD got a neutral, one-line mention in an Atlantic Monthly article alongside Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, but okay.)

He is so hoping that someone will ask about that tattoo.

Grooming female companions

I'm not sure what other word to use for Andy’s relationship with this person, as public information about it is limited to what appeared on Instagram. Please understand that I am not judging her at all and do not wish to identify her in any way. Considering Andy's behavior with Abbey, Brittany, L, Silven, and others among his female friends/followers, I think it's important to talk about it.

This is the first overtly romantic cosplay picture that Andy has posted in MCU fandom. His cosplay partner’s comments are very telling:

It really was the best day for me. … I love you my handsome cosboyfriend you seriously are my best friend my love and I truly believe my partner I know when you call me "your" Natalia that I am loved and care for more than I could ever imagine. I love you

If this person is roleplaying as Natasha, it makes no sense to refer to Bucky as her "cosboyfriend". She is talking about Andy. Whatever is going on here is pretty fucking intense. And given his proclivity for redheads, it is not lost on me that he has selected a character who’s had a canonical relationship with a red-haired woman in the past, giving him an excuse to act out scenes like this.

Here is a romantic photoset of Andy with the same woman, to whom he now refers as "the cosgirlfriend". She replies,

I love you my beautiful cosboyfriend … By the way you owe me roses now … [you're] the beauty im the beast

A commenter asks whether this is "canon, or just two beautiful people being beautiful together," wondering whether Andy and this fellow cosplayer are an IRL couple. Andy neatly dodges the question by referring to the comics.

Andy's "cosgirlfriend" has also called him gorgeous, left a suggestive comment on one of his bathbomb photos, talked about missing him/his face, and referred to him as "baby" and "dear". All of her comments were left within ten days, and of course Andy didn’t respond publicly to any of them. In my opinion based on what Andy has done many times over, the little information that I have (not all of which I am comfortable sharing) suggests that this may have been another situation in which he love-bombed a woman and quickly established what she felt was a very close, deep relationship with romantic possibilities, and then backed off just as quickly. As of 5/30, Andy had taken down the first picture of the two of them and she'd asked for the second to be removed as well. He did so earlier this month. I have not attempted to contact this person, as I feel that would be crossing a line, but I'm guessing that she requested their removal because she’d received negative attention and/or warnings about Andy.

Miscellaneous

I will not share screenshots of these, but Andy has posted several pictures of himself with young children. He loves kids, perhaps in part because they tend to be so much more credulous than adults and they make great attention-getting props. In one notable instance, he posted a picture and video of a little boy from Romania, who he said was a huge Captain America fan who'd love to hear from Sebastian Stan. Andy and some of his friends tagged the actor several times in the posts and comments. All the boy talked about in the video was his Pokemon fan creations, while Andy tried hard to drag the conversation around to Cap and Bucky. The picture that he posted was also Pokemon-related, as was a later image of a drawing the child had made. It seems likely, given his past behavior, that Andy is using this child (who may or may not be interested in Marvel characters at all) to gain the attention of the actor who plays the character around whom his life currently revolves.

Andy has consistently referred to the kittens as "our babies" for a couple months now, which is understandable because he lives with them, but also makes me nervous because of his history with the rabbit, the mouse, and Boo.

He recently shared a picture of himself with a very good Seven of Nine cosplayer and called back to his days in the Star Trek: Voyager fandom. Reminding people of the first time that you lied your ass off to a fandom for attention is probably not a great idea, Andy.

Here he is using another flimsy excuse to humblebrag about his alleged genius IQ, which he's been doing from the very beginning. Andy never changes.

Andy also now has a Patreon on which he is offering a tutorial for Bucky’s metal arm. Someone at tf-talk has noted that his bio includes a different origin story for his costuming interest than he gave in Viva La Cosplay. Then, he wanted to appear charmingly naïve and to make his work look more impressive by claiming a lack of experience. Now, he wants to look super legit to attract more patrons.

The higher reward tier includes a 20-minute [Facebook] messenger session for Q&A and for Andy to talk the patron through customizing the arm for themselves. A) Facebook’s policies mean that a lot of people will have to give Andy their RL names for this...which is one reason that he likes using Facebook. B) That doesn’t seem like very much time to go over customization. Would any cosplayers like to weigh in on this?