#everything was so systematic and politically considered

[whencyclopedia]

Aristotle

Aristotle of Stagira (l. 384-322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher who pioneered systematic, scientific examination in literally every area of human knowledge and was known, in his time, as "the man who knew everything" and later simply as "The Philosopher”, needing no further qualification as his fame was so widespread.

He literally invented the concept of metaphysics single-handedly when he (or one of his scribes) placed his book on abstract philosophical speculation after his book on physics (metaphysics literally means “after physics”) and standardized in learning – how information is collected, assimilated and interpreted, and then communicated – across numerous disciplines.

During the later Middle Ages (c. 1300-1500 CE), he was referred to as "The Master", most notably in Dante's Inferno where the author did not need to even identify Aristotle by name for him to be recognized. This particular epithet is apt in that Aristotle wrote on, and was considered a master in, disciplines as diverse as biology, politics, metaphysics, agriculture, literature, botany, medicine, mathematics, physics, ethics, logic, and the theatre. He is traditionally linked in sequence with Socrates and Plato in the triad of the three greatest Greek philosophers.

Plato (l. c. 424/423-348/347 BCE) was a student of Socrates (l. c. 469/470-399 BCE) and Aristotle studied under Plato. The student and teacher disagreed on a fundamental aspect of Plato's philosophy – the insistence on a higher realm of Forms which made objective reality possible on the earthly plane – although, contrary to the claims of some scholars this did not cause any rift between them. Aristotle would build upon Plato's theories to advance his own original thought and, although he rejected Plato's Theory of Forms, he never disparaged his former master's basic philosophy.

He was hired by Philip II, King of Macedon (r. 359-336 BCE) as tutor for his son Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE) and made such an impression on the youth that Alexander carried Aristotle's works with him on campaign and introduced Aristotelian philosophy to the east when he conquered the Persian Empire. Through Alexander, Aristotle's works were spread throughout the known world of the time, influencing ancient philosophy and providing a foundation for the development of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theology.

Early Life

Aristotle was born in 384 BCE in Stagira, Greece, on the border of Macedonia. His father, Nichomachus, was the court physician to the Macedonian king and died when Aristotle was ten years old. His uncle assumed guardianship of the boy and saw to his education. Aristotle probably spent time with the tutors at the Macedonian court, as the son and nephew of palace staff, but this not known with certainty. When he was 18, Aristotle was sent to Athens to study at Plato's Academy where he remained for the next 20 years.

He was an exceptional student, graduated early, and was awarded a position on the faculty teaching rhetoric and dialogue. It appears that Aristotle thought he would take over the Academy after Plato's death and, when that position was given to Plato's nephew Speusippus, Aristotle left Athens to conduct experiments and study on his own in the islands of the Greek Archipelago.

Continue reading...

[fivekrystalpetals]

Pandora Hearts really took up the trope of Dead Men Tell No Tales and fucking ran with it

[sgiandubh]

Contemplating Bullshit

Quick, Fandom Police, screencap this and send it to CO. ASAP:

'Dear' CO (or should I say, eh... 'Glinda'? 🙄),

You wrote what amounts to a PhD thesis about one of my recent posts (https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/753845334988423168/they-watch-they-hate-then-they-copy?source=share). So long for your carefully curated 'I don't care about Those Tinhat Shippers' narrative, in the process: but hey, common sense never bothered you and your ilk, right?

You don't care, but you write. Abundantly. Prompted by a denunciation that should give your 'US progressive beliefs' pause. Between you and me, lady: our European shipper community cannot give a dead rat's ass about you systematically dragging the US politics current evolution in this TV series fandom, in an effort to-

a) brown nose the US more conservative, MAGA crowd (with which 'Erself seems to be resonating, but that is suddenly and conveniently of no social and political import to you, of course)

b) sound sophisticated towards what you think (wrongly) is a primitive, uneducated, politically unaware shipper fandom crowd.

Some of the shippers chose to go political, for their own reasons and if they are happy with it, so am I. I do happen to believe in freedom of speech and editorial choices. Many, such as myself, chose to never mix politics and mundane, private beliefs (such as all this fandom thing), just because we happen to think, in Europe, that mixing those two notions is extreme poor taste. With dramatic historical precedents to boot. So you see, I am not very sure what point are you trying to prove, spare that you somehow consider yourself superior to those who do not share your political views. Told you: so long for your progressiveness and I am sorry, but your are such a Cheap Demagogue, lady!

Then, you couldn't help yourself but tell a Big, Fat Glinda Lie:

I did not invent the Orc concept. Your running mate, BIF (the Poor Man's CO, btw) did - and proud of herself, too:

Discerning Orcs vs. Stupid Shippers, Circle of Trust vs. Rectangle of Reality. We know that song, that is so 2019. And sure, I did mention an Orc Army (five to ten blogs, the rest are parrots, unable to make the difference between 'pixilated' and 'pixelated', when talking about a blurry picture - pixie/pixel, btw). My understanding is that someone as genuinely intelligent (that, I grant you) as yourself was piqued by the irony. But you chose to be nasty. Fair enough. Your problem, not mine.

Have you moved on? It doesn't sound like you did. And yeah, you sound angry and bothered and barely keeping up a civilized demeanor, there.

I could go on and on and on, debunking everything you said, but I am merciful to my readers and I happen to think that sometimes being clear and concise is far more effective than being verbose. So, here is the deal, CO:

Take your condescending, US-centric world view and your intolerant nastiness and shove them right up your Glinda nose, ok?

As for me, I am firmly on the ship deck. You are not to tell me what I saw with my own eyes. Better stick to whatever you post on your political blog. You have a LOT of work to do there. Seriously.

PS: in the book, Glinda is the Good Witch from the South. Just pedantically sayin'.

[leportraitducadavre]

Why are the Uchiha considered a non-oppressed group? Naruto's fandom, specifically pro-Konoha readers, tend to claim that neither Sasuke nor his family was actually oppressed nor discriminated against prior to their killing; furthermore, some tend to state that it's for this supposed reason that the massacre was justified, as not only they perceived no injustice when presented with evidence of their treatment at the hands of those in positions of power (who should've had guaranteed their survival at the very minimum, as that was the reason for the village's creation), but also consider their plan to coup a consequence of their "traitorous" nature; a disservice after everything "Konoha did for them".

Some other fans, not much smarter than the first group, are willing to admit some of the discrimination they suffered; but they are reluctant to see such conduct as a learned animosity, labeling it as a "modern occurrence" (when speaking of Hiruzen's timeframe). According to them, the Uchiha had just begun to be discriminated against, so their reaction was disproportionate; apparently, it's mandatory to wait for such bigotry to be repeated for a few generations before considering it a systematic occurrence rather than an isolated event.

Genocide doesn't happen in a vacuum, it's not an option that is plausibly considered if not after years or decades of cultural and political repression and degradation. It's the growth of a slow but consistent process of dehumanization, to the point where those taught under such a regime of thought truly consider their life, rights, and opinions far more valuable and important than those they degrade.

Arresting or even killing the clan members that actually wanted to coup would've been far more understandable had those in power seen Uchiha humane enough for their lives to be considered, to matter; yet the elders quickly saw mass murder as an enticing option, sending one of the kin they wanted to exterminate to do their dirty job so they wouldn't lose "one of their own" and still look pristine.

They were able to do so and still see themselves as agents of peace because they were taught that they were on the right side of history, as the story was told from their perspective; the handwriting of their mentor shines dark and spotless on the parchments of their national library.

And, as for them, there were no real losses that day, their life continued. And those responsible for the death of dozens kept smiling, kept walking amongst the classmates of the children they sent to murder, telling them to fight for their memory, to give meaning to the pain by growing.

The fandom still believes that their death was requited, necessary, and fair; putting the blame of the genocide at most upon two sets of shoulders (Danzo, Hiruzen) instead of (at least) six (Tobirama, Danzo, Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura and Itachi), because they truly think that such an idea can be created out of thin air and it's not the consequence of an oppressive system that it's constantly demoting a specific group's value; because they truly think that the Council is acting on their own volition and isn't abiding the structure set by those before them. To them, four men and a woman created and taught themselves their own moral, social, and cultural parameters for this specific portion of the story before renouncing them and subscribing once again to their teachers (who somehow are painted as ~agents of peace~).

But alas, let's dissect some of their arguments, perhaps like this some of their brilliance shall illuminate us:

Their doujutsu and overall pride as a clan. The Sharingan is probably the most powerful doujutsu inside the Narutoverse (slightly less so than the Rinnegan but that needs the Sharingan as a base to develop), which for them translates into their clan having a “natural advantage” over others during a battle; thus, if they are so strong, how come they are oppressed? For them, that’s a contradiction because they can only phantom oppression if it’s visible, as in physical: literal submission through physical strength. Yet the Sharingan is canonically expressed to be a rare outcome inside the family, a rarity that just a few members of the clan possessed, so it’s a “natural advantage” that not many Uchiha have nor had at the time of their murder. But the tale hasn't finished, because there's a recurrent joke amongst these antis, for "how come the Sharingan is so powerful yet they were whipped by Itachi in just one night!", they shout, hyena laughter amidst their group; yet they don't talk further as not to attract detractors with quick wit, as they don't take into account (can't take into account) not only the prior point but also Obito’s participation -who was in charge of killing the strongest members of the clan but Fugaku (the later who decided not to fight), and without minding the context in itself as Itachi sneaked into clan members' homes and killed them when their back was turned, as he took advantage of the trust they bestowed upon him.

They were the ones who were “entrusted” by Tobirama to make Konoha’s citizens respect the law -summarizing, they were “given” the Police Force. In this specific regard, the police force inside the Narutoverse is directly compared (and therefore, read) to its real-life counterpart, yet: a- The Uchiha’s job was to be carried inside a military state, most of the citizens inside Konoha have tools at their disposal to either evade or fight back the Uchiha's "authority". It's difficult for them to read such phrases for it shatters their self-insertion; how come Naruto isn't about my self-perceived value inside the country I inhabit? b- The Police Force’s power, influence, and control were directly limited by the Hokage, they couldn’t arrest ANBU members (meaning those who were, one in charge of spying on them, and two a big portion of Konoha’s forces). c- Uchiha couldn’t aspire to be something else but members of the police. The only ones who could work outside that specific force were those individuals that abandoned their identities as clan members and swore allegiance to Konoha. Only Itachi (the perpetrator), Shisui, and Kagami (who were luckily dead before the events of the UCM transpired) were shown outside such a limited sphere. No other clan was shown to need such extreme measures to work in their chosen field. The fact that the prison was constructed to be inside their compound prior to them being moved to the outskirts of the city isn’t enough for them to understand that this specific job was forced upon Uchiha. "It's easier for them to keep an eye on the prisoners," they claim, clicking their tongues, yet won't see what it politically entails, for Uchiha members can never detach themselves from their duty, as it was physically adhered to their lands. "It's a duty they could thrive on," they vomit, and they did, yet no one sees -because it all happens inside their own compound. Not a single clan is shown to “have one specific job” inside Konoha but the Uchiha. d- Nevermind the very real and canonic impact that such work has amongst Konoha citizens, as the lesser members of Konoha's militia grow resentful of those that "control" them; in addition, such position also prevents the Uchiha from properly integrating amongst the general population, as they can't commune completely with those they need to keep tabs on. Was the Police Force ever rebuilt after the UCM? ANBU forces were quick to absorb their duties after the Kyuubi attack, decreasing at a much faster speed their position inside the place they built. The Police Force was dismantled and forgotten after the massacre, further proving the real irrelevance of such duty and the actual hidden purpose in its creation. e- How come the Uchiha "monopolized" a force that was literally and canonically given to them? How did they take over and denied anyone else's presence inside that structure when not only did they not create it but the prison was built by the government itself inside their compound? Someone with fewer brain cells than them will think that it's Konoha's government the one limiting the nature of the members that had to forcefully take care of that task, as clan compounds have restrictions on who can enter; but not them -oh no, ah, the wisdom of these people amazes me...

Their members’ popularity. Specifically, Sasuke and Itachi. What they say while fidgeting in their seats is simple: "how come Itachi (prior to the massacre) and Sasuke (after) were so praised by non-Uchiha if they were discriminated against"? And, ah, we could've finally reached enlightenment; yet their worldview is irrevocably simplistic, as systematic oppression doesn’t always translate into direct discrimination at the hands of other citizens. The Uchiha clan was moved to the outskirts of the city without any other family raising any eyebrows, they don’t have to be spitted on by other shinobi for them to be oppressed, that’s limiting the notion of discrimination/oppression to a single factor -the physical one, without minding the others. To explain it in lesser terms, as we must crouch down to speak to them to be on their level, saying that the Uchiha weren’t discriminated against due to lack of physical aggression, and I guess a genocide isn’t enough aggression for some, it’s like saying a man is a misogynist only if he slaps a woman. That way, monetary, social, cultural, and political domination are left out of the discussion, therefore, it’s limiting sexism to individuals’ actions rather than seeing the system these men were raised on and that it built their resolve to, finally, physically attack a woman. Uchiha were the only ones whose value was tied to their biological nature -no other families inside Konoha found as many restrictions as they did (might I remind you that there was a clan that happily enslaved their members and no one seemed to care?), their biology was enough reason to keep them both away of positions of power (meaning that the laws/decisions that influenced their lifestyle were made for them without a single Uchiha consultant), and restricting their movements inside their village. And I know many of these antis will claim “oh, but name one of the other noble clans (but the Nara’s, of course) that are actually in a place inside the Council, none of them were!” And you see, they miss the point by a mile, because the issue isn’t only the Uchiha not having incidence nor right to (at least) vote inside a village they founded, but specifically them being denied such presence under the premise of a biological predisposition that they have no control of. No other clan, whether they are or not at this point in time inside the Council, is denied a future position under those premises, they either can’t achieve it due to their lack of connections (Minato Namikaze, member of a non-noble clan was made Hokage due to his relationship with Jiraiya) or having not enough rank to participate (Morino Ibiki, also from a clan not specifically important, is the Head of the T&I Department).

[gepgep2]

"So: what is the Israeli long-term strategy, really?

Insofar as there’s an answer, it seems to be that they simply don’t have one; the Israeli government no more has a long-term strategy for dealing with their future in the region than Exxon Mobil has a long-term strategy for dealing with climate change. They seem to just figure that, if US power does collapse or give up on them, something will turn up. No doubt too they have people in thinktanks brainstorming that, too, coming with reports and scenarios, but all this is basically an afterthought. The driving force behind the colonization of ’67 Palestine is not any sort of grand strategy; it’s a kind of terrible confluence of short-term political and economic advantage.

First, the settlements. They were originally the project of a relatively isolated, if well funded, collection of religious zealots. Now everything seems to be organized around them. The government pours in endless resources. Why? The answer seems to be that since at least the ‘90s, rightwing politicians in Israel have figured out that the settlements are a kind of political magic. The more money gets funneled into them, the more the Jewish electorate turns to the Right. The reason is simple. Israel is expensive. Housing inside the 1948 boundaries is exorbitantly expensive. If you are a young person without means, you increasingly has two options: to live with one’s parents until well into your 30s, or find a place in an illegal settlement, where apartments cost perhaps a third of what they would in Haifa or Tel Aviv—and that’s not to mention the superior roads, schools, utilities, and social services. At this point the vast majority of settlers live on the West Bank for economic, not ideological, reasons. (This is especially true around Jerusalem.) But consider who these people are. In the past, young people in difficult circumstances, students, well-educated young parents, have been the traditional constituency of the Left. Put these same people in a settlement, and they will, inexorably, even without realizing it, begin to think like fascists. Settlements are, in their own way, giant engines for the production of right-wing consciousness. It is very difficult for someone placed in hostile territory, given training in automatic weapons and warned to be constantly on one’s guard against a local population seething over the fact that your next-door neighbors have been killing their sheep and destroying their olive trees, not to gradually see ethno-nationalism as common sense. As a result, with every election, the old Left electorate further dissipates, and a host of religious, fascist, or semi-fascist parties win a larger and larger stake of the vote. For politicians, who can barely think past the next election, the lure is inescapable.

...I only came to fully understand the agony of the Palestinian situation when I came to understand that the entire point of life, in traditional Palestinian society, is put oneself in a position where you can be generous to strangers. Hospitality is everything.

...Wherever we went, Palestinians would tell us about all the different sorts of people they had historically welcomed to the Holy Land: Armenians, Greeks, Persians, Russians, Africans, Jews… They saw the Zionists as originally their house- guests. Yet they were the worst house-guests one could possibly imagine. Every act of hospitality, of welcome, is turned into license for appropriation, and the world’s most skillful propagandists leapt into action to try to convince the world that their hosts were depraved inhuman monsters who had no right to their own homes. In such a situation, what can you possibly do? Stop being generous? But then one is absolutely, existentially defeated. This is what people really meant when they talked about a life of calculated degradation. People were being systematically deprived of the physical, the economical, and the political means to be magnanimous. And to be deprived of the means to make that kind of magnificent gesture is a kind of living death."

https://davidgraeber.org/articles/hostile-intelligence-reflections-from-a-visit-to-the-west-bank/

[redcr9ssnine]

i do think kankris definition of "trigger" is pretty deeply distorted, i don't think he realizes it's a PTSD/mental health term. considering how anti-negativity beforus is, and also that highbloods are expected to constantly coddle anyone below them both in a systematic sense and in a social coddling silly sense while also being forced to repress any actual anger they may be feeling, i can see "trigger" meaning two different things on beforus (that parallel how they're seen in real life, which is the purpose of beforus in the first place)

Something that deeply deeply upsets a lowerblood troll and sends them into a tantrum that needs to be coddled, typically used in a sense of "oh don't trigger him, i don't want to deal with it." and seen as a sort of ridiculous oversensitivity towards something in lowbloods.

Something that sends a highblood into an improper explosion or negative mindset that can make them more probable to lash out or less likely to coddle those below them and do something violent instead. This is typically seen with more importance because the highbloods can actually do something about it beyond having a "Fit" but it also drastically effects their social credit; it is embarrassing and taboo to have a tantrum as a highblood.

I believe this is why Kankri brings up the slur discourse in regards to Mituna calling Meenah a wader despite it being a class based insult specifically punching upwards. In my interpretation at least, Kankri isn't so much telling Mituna off for hurting the feelings of Meenah, but is telling him off for not being MINDFUL of Meenahs feelings, which could have lead to an undesirable situation if she were triggered. It's his way of warning Mituna to watch his tongue around someone of power, and also why he gets so frustrated when Mituna absolutely refuses to listen.

I think he puts stake into both definitions. He cares for lowbloods who have triggers because he is constantly constantly being categorized as overly sensitive, whiney, and unpleasant for trying to communicate his needs. But due to the fact that he's a red blood and EVERYONES higher than him, he still sees them that way, and has a hard time relating to any of them or wanting to give them his sympathies. Again, Mituna for example, he cares a lot less about triggering Mituna because... Mituna is Mituna. He literally has no power to do anything about it TOWARDS Kankri, but also, Kankri still views him as higher and more privileged than he is, and gets deeply frustrated at Mitunas lack of social graces to keep himself safe, as well as Mitunas refusal to HIDE how disabled he is. He thinks it's pretty insulting that Mituna is implying that anyone cullable or disabled should be THAT incapable of taking care of themselves. (masked autism vs unmasked autism)

But I also think he cares a LOT about triggering highbloods specifically because it can directly impact his safety, and even if he himself has never experienced intense violence due to this (or at least if he has, it was very infrequent) he has constant visions of it through the signless and it fucking terrifies him. He cares a lot about not triggering anyone he thinks could drastically hurt him or impact his life in any way because he thinks if they're triggered they have the full right to do anything to him back in their emotional state. Which I believe is also a mindset encouraged on Beforus.

this is all just high edible ramblings. my point is i think beforus believes that highbloods should have their asses pat so they don't explode and kill everyone, and lowbloods should be placid and have everything done for them because theyre sooooo cute and sooooo helpless and soooooooo stupid. and while kankri doesnt agree with these mindsets he definitely interacts with the world through the lense of beforan politics, assuming everybody else does too. he thinks everybody has the same context that he does, and he doesn't understand that he actaully lacks a signifigant amount of knowledge and perspective

[good7luck]

Adding more to my post about Noe in VNC manga latest chapter 61.5

(more under the cut)

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First, thanks to all the people in my previous post! I didn't expect to get more than just a few notes, I feel honored ;w;

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I considered re-writing the entire post at that time, but I think I'll just leave it as it is and make this additional post instead :P

I must say, this - especially the latter part - would be more subjective and controversial, probably? ^^;; maybe even unnecessary. I know it's just my personal imperfect view from my limited experiences for now, in the end.

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In VNC so far (~ch 61.5), the Dham (racism) matter was (almost) brought up a few times:

1)

Noe got to hear about Dham for the first time here. But he couldn't get to learn more and deeper, because the kidnapping incidents were so urgent and dangerous. I suppose, Noe could've asked "Why would the kidnappers let go of you just because you're a dham?"...but it'd be very inappropriate and rude, as if Johann should've gotten kidnapped lol?

A LOT of things happened in this arc, especially in regards to Vanitas, so maybe Noe couldn't think of getting to know more about Dham specifically. (Or, more like, MJ-sensei thought it's not time to go further with Dham yet XD)

2)

This is just a moment, but it shows some glimpse of how tough to live as a dham and how Johann (truly) feels. And...Noe was NOT here, and it's unlikely that Vani bothered to tell him about this.

3)

This is probably the closest one where the word Dham was used like a slur (on thin ice) by Vani. And, again, Noe was NOT here, and honestly there's no way Vani has ever talked about this to him.

4) Not animated (which is a big shame, indeed), but in ch 40, Dante remembers when he got bullied for being a dham and when he first met Vani who hates all races equally. Only Johann was around him, and I'm sure Noe couldn't (properly) hear Dante far away: he was with Vani and JJ to find the Book and save Chloe, who started to completely lose herself and destroy things.

(sorry if I missed some ^^;)

My point is - Noe really didn't have a chance to learn about Dham and the discrimination properly. He even never witnessed one himself. Besides,

the Dhams never looked like they're suffering from Orlok or in his office to Noe.

So, I think it's very understandable that Noe in the latest chapter couldn't even guess that such a horrible and systematic oppression has been happening to the Dhams then and now. It's all news to him, literally. Of course he hasn't noticed it yet that his words and actions aren't being (practically) helpful for the Dhams, much less he's making Dante angry for real.

That's why I feel it's quite unfair to (seriously) blame Noe for his (innocent) ignorance and the (gonna-be-unfortunate) outcome. It'd be rather unrealistic and OP, if Noe manages to immediately comprehend everything "right" and take "right" actions on his own lol

.

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To be more personal and controversial...

I know it might be merely that some people hate / mock Noe and try to make anything he does (not) a problem / joke "just for fun", but...

Some seem to genuinely believe Dante should kick Noe or such, and idk, I must ask - what did they expect from Noe there, exactly? What do they think Noe had to do in that situation "instead", then? Is there a "good" "solution", even?

It's been only a few weeks (or months) since Noe arrived in Paris, and he's still almost a stranger in regards to the Dham matter. It's even not that he came to study Dham. Noe didn't even jokingly agree with Manet / Nox. It's pretty clear that he simply wanted to do something to make the messy situation better (and sincerely cared about Dhams), even if he didn't understand what's going on in front of him.

Noe is one mere individual, not even officially a powerful, high noble like Domi. Count Orlok is not rude to Noe but still casual to him, while he's much more polite to Domi cuz she's "higher". It's praiseworthy that Domi realized she's also participating in the racism, but somehow it's terrible that Noe consequently called out the racism and tried to help the Dhams? Which let Domi notice her own racism?

I wonder if they wanted Noe to "just shut up and stay still", but tbh..I feel...even if Noe actually didn't do anything there, they would've still easily accused him for doing nothing but "heartlessly" watching the racism (and so siding with the oppressors and so being a racist), with "silence / neutrality = consent / approval !!!", perhaps lol?

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To be very honest - I admit it's still quite hard for me to fully understand why Dante is THAT angry at Noe, even after reading some fandom posts / comments.

Like, I get it, Noe is probably making the situation worse for the Dhams (which is utter tragic), or he sounded too un-serious to him. Dante sure didn't expect to see Vani there, much less suddenly hear some burdensome demand about Machina he hates, the whole Dham "lecture" (why and how they've been discriminated for years), and all the various / explicit insults to him and his family. I sincerely feel so sorry for him and Dhams. I really do.

But like...honestly and strictly speaking...Dante chose to get mad at Noe of all people there, NOT at the obvious oppressors (Manet, Nox, and Count Orlok), even in front of the very oppressors. As if Noe was clearly "worse" than them. This happened basically because Dante thought it's "okay" to throw his anger on Noe, unlike on the real oppressors.

"OMG of course Dante cannot lash out at them, he and Dhams will get only harmed worse by them later!" Yeah, while "nothing bad" will ever happen, even if Dante pours his rage on Noe "instead". Noe is "kind", "not oppressed", and "not socially high enough", so Dante should feel free to use him as a punching bag, "right"? Sorry to be "cruel", but...would Dante have been able to do the same (or unable to hold himself back), if it were not Noe but Luca or Antoine?

I mean, I genuinely cannot fathom why some people try to demonize Noe and "cheer" Dante that much (to "call out" Noe and/or get violent to him, idek), as if Dante is about to perform an act of "justice" towards Noe. Especially when the actual oppressors are right there without feeling any guilty or threatened lol? :/ I'm aware one cannot always rationally think and do perfect, but seriously...it's NOT a good look (for Dante) in any way? Do they "prioritize" seeing Noe get bullied thaaaaat much lmao? ://

It's also "funny" that I've (at least personally) never seen any criticism towards Vani about this. He's the one who forcedly and carelessly brought Machina and Dham stuff in front of the (aggressive) oppressors, even if he understands pretty much everything. He also should've seen what could come, especially when he himself openly gets discriminated by them as well for being a human and the kin of the Blue Moon.

Vani gave Noe all the explanations he needed, sure, but he wasn't polite in general (as always, I know). It also implies Vani never told any of his plans to Noe beforehand again. He blamed Domi for Noe's ignorance, but he didn't provide enough info to him, either lol Vani didn't particularly discriminate Dante or Dhams, but honestly he (and Domi, too) didn't try to stop the racism in the office, either - actively or indirectly, in any form.

I obviously don't mean Vani / Domi is to blame for the racism, much less worse than Count Orlok, Nox, and Manet. I'm glad the fandom rightfully got disappointed in the Orlok trio, calling the bigots out! Still, I don't get why some are overly harsh on Noe and only him lol Did he do THAT wrong and worse? Apparently, maaaaaybe he should've just "quietly" accepted and "wisely" gone with the racism, like Vani / Domi (low-key) did, not "wasting" his energy and kindness only to get hates lmao? ://

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I think Vani should've been more patient and just made a private future appointment with Dante to ask for the Machina matter later, for example. But I guess this might be OOC lol

I feel it would've been great if Domi calmed down the people in the office, using her social status (ex. clapping and calling their attention to return to the subject - which should've been Orlok's job...).

I believe I would've taken it better if Dante simply tried to quickly silence Noe (to not make things worse) and/or talk to him (even get angry at him! though preferably not XP) in private later.

Of course, none of this would've mattered, if only the Orlok trio wasn't racists / the racism didn't exist in the first place...

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Thank you for patiently reading my long and incoherent opinions!! Sorry if I was being too dramatic or such OTL

[monstromax]

What Are Americans Allowed to Ask for this Election Season?

Well, the (US) American election season is well underway, and oh boy are things happening. Joe Biden is stepping out, Kamala Harris is the new Democratic nominee, Walz was picked over Shapiro for VP, Donald Trump was shot and people kind of forgot about it. Everything is changing - the possibilities are endless!

Except, are they? After the stumbling, fumbling mess that was Biden's 2024 campaign, the marketing for Harris was framed as a breath of fresh air where new, progressive politics were back. But ask the average voter what policies they like from the Harris/Walz campaign and the answer will probably be vague. The most concrete reason most people seem to have for supporting Harris and Walz is that they will prevent another Trump presidency and stop the Republicans' proposed Project 2025. The Harris campaign seems to reflect this attitude, with slogans like "Let's Win This" and "Not Going Back!" featured prominently.

But what about positive policy platforms? Well that has been a vague area. There is a little talk about infrastructure and defending reproductive rights, but not much talk about adding to the Supreme Court to counterbalance the judges that overturned Roe vs. Wade. And it doesn't seem like packing the court or making changes that might break through the systematic obstructions of the GOP is something the DNC is even willing to consider.

And there's one thing the Democrats are definitely not making promises about: ending the US-funded Palestinian genocide.

Oh, for months the White House, Biden and Harris have all talked routinely about being in talks for a "ceasefire," "negotiations," and "deals," etc. with the Israeli government, everything short of actually establishing red lines or stopping funds and arms for Israel's military. Despite their repeated statements of concern with Israel's bombardments and the swell of popular opposition to the latest acts of destruction against Gaza and Palestine in general, words and assurances are all the present Democrat White House is willing to offer.

No, they will not consider doing more. When protesters came to campaign events demanding that the incumbent Vice President take real action to stop funding the genocide of Palestinians, they were met with scorn from dedicated party supporters. In one campaign stop in Michigan, the Candidate herself told protesters that they were basically asking for Trump to win...

All of this raises some questions. Why shouldn't voters ask a political candidate to support a certain policy in exchange for their votes? Is that not one of the central concepts of representative democracy?

Moreover, why shouldn't voters ask that currently sitting elected officials use their offices to take action on an international humanitarian crisis that the same government is funding?

Is it really so extreme and rude to organize a protest when the government has taken no meaningful action to stop the mass killing of civilians by a nation that it supports?

The situation with Palestine and the USA's unwillingness to take meaningful action is an especially stark reminder that the Democratic Party is still firmly in the era of policy-free politics.

More specifically, by policy-free I mean that the Democrats' campaign is promising voters no policy platforms other than Not Being Republican and Not Being Trump. Trump and the MAGA movement represent a fascist, existential threat to American democracy, they say, and therefore the most important issue of this election is making sure they do not gain power and destroy democracy as we know it. Ending the war (and genocide) against Palestine, restoring nationwide reproductive rights, protecting labour rights, limiting the damage of climate change, all of that can surely wait until the existential threat to the nation is defeated at the ballot box, right?

This would be compelling - except for the fact that the Democrats have been in power for just about four years now and have not only been slow to address some of these issues (If Harris is committed to enshrining abortion rights into law, why not introduce such a bill in this term?), but have in fact conceded and embraced Republicans' policies on others.

Remember the families of migrants and asylum-seekers who were being cruelly separated by ICE at the southern US border? Remember the outrage over kids being locked in cages alone? The Democrats and the media that favour them don't. In fact, this year's DNC showed that the Democrats are embracing the MAGA policy of militarizing the border as much as possible. From "Abolish ICE" to "Build the Wall" in just four short years.

What about addressing climate change? Well, all those oil drilling permits that the Biden administration has handed out since 2021 probably haven't helped much with that.

End the Israel/Palestine war? We hear you, we see you, but the munitions trade must continue.

And when any of these issues and the DNC's inaction are brought up on the campaign trail, when someone asks the politicians to commit to something in exchange for a vote, the politicians reply, "Do you want Trump to win again?! Don't you know how important it is that we win this election?! How can you throw your support to the other side???"

The specter of Trump really has been a boon to the DNC and all of its staffers. Since 2016 - that's three elections now, they have been able to keep their donations and supporters coming in with just the threat of Trump gaining power - no positive campaign promises required, and no accountability needed.

Did the Democrats win an election? Great, now we can get back to normal and stop thinking about issues and stuff. Don't worry about the ICE stuff or renewable energy, we'll get to that eventually.

Did the Democrats lose an election? We need your donations now more than ever so we can fight Trump and make things better in ways we weren't doing while in office!

Did the Democrats fail to act on their promises before the campaign, or even move to the right on them? Look, it's difficult to get stuff through the Senate or whatever, and we can't do executive orders because that's what the other guys do. The important thing is to vote for us so Trump doesn't win and then we'll definitely do the thing next time.

The Democrats frame this Presidential election as a vote to prevent the ultra-right and fascism from taking over America, just as they did in 2020 and in the midterms of 2018 and 2022. This begs the question, however: If America has been one election away from descending into fascism for two election cycles now, how well is the country actually doing at fighting fascism? Is there any plan to use executive power to strengthen real democratic rights and lessen the ability of fascists to influence government? If the stakes are so high, why is the supposed "only party that can stop MAGA" letting their policies ratchet to the right and embracing some of the very things that MAGA has supported?

It should be clear by now that voting every four years for the Party that Promises to Stop Fascism and then hoping they don't slide further towards the fascists is not going to get anywhere. If we are told that addressing the most urgent issues cannot be asked of candidates, then it is time to demand they are addressed.

We are seeing now how electoralism is once again failing working class people in the USA and abroad. It's time now more than ever for people to organize beyond the established electoral system - in protest movements, in boycotts, in labour unions, in community orgs and affinity groups, even in a revolutionary party if that's your thing.

Vote if you must, but remember that voting is not enough to stop fascists at home or acts of genocide abroad. Rights and liberties are not handed down through begging. They are won through power.

[cootcutebatkat]

Random Ford Headcanons

He loves cats. Always have ever since he's heard about polydactyl cats when he was little. Hell, Caryn probably got him one once she noticed his fascination and why.

He's sometimes selfish out of protection and has no problem treating people he dislikes with contempt. The reason why is that he has trust issues and tends to make immediate judgements, so he tends to act hot and cold with folks. It's understandable considering peer abuse, the debacle with Stan and the Science Fair, Bill Cipher, and surviving the multiverse. Seriously, can you blame him? If you do, you're on his Don't Trust List.

That being said, he's learned to be polite, sometimes excessively so. That and he's learned to withhold judgements, so he can also be too forgiving at times as well. Again, hot and cold.

As he grew more confident in himself, so did he become more protective of others. That and he's made a lot of progress on learning to trust again. This leads him to being very soft with kids, animals, and other vulnerable things. In short, he is very Not immune to cuteness. (But he's always had a soft spot for cute things since he was young. He just hides it less now. And is no longer holding back his impulses on acting sweet towards them)

There are some things he can cook. He's lent a six-fingered hand or two in the kitchen before and he can do it well enough. It's just that sometimes... well, he can get lost in thought. He's always been a spacey kid. (cough-dissociation-cough-cough)

Traveling between dimensions, between realities with their own sets of rules about how the world works, means dealing with new laws of physics and plants and animals and what is edible and what isn't. Sure, there are recipes, but what is a sniffle-spoon? What do these symbols mean? I'm sorry but I'm still learning your language, so can you rephrase that please?

Baking is... somewhat easier. Especially when it's just plain ol' bread and maybe some confectionery or fruit added to it. It seems multi-universal.

He doesn't just have tattoos. He also has piercings! You'll catch him playing with the ones on his ears sometimes. He also likes to wear rings but hasn't truly worn them in public until he started traveling in the multiverse. The most rings he's worn habitually was when he was crowned king of the Finger Dimension.

One of his love languages is Acts of Service. He's always willing to do a favor for his loved ones in some shape or form, either right now or at least the moment he's available. Which is often soon and is followed by a "Now, what can I do for you?" However, if you're particularly close with him and/or do not mind such humor, he'll jokingly complain with a teasing smile on his face.

As a rambler himself, Ford makes an effort to listen as well, even if he doesn't understand what you're talking about. He's used to struggling to understand others ever since he was young, thanks to his difficulty with social rules and idioms. Also, he understands that he's rather arcane and cryptic to his audience as well, going off on tangents about whatever has caught his interest.

Ford is organized messy. He has a system, he swears! It's just... he's been busy, alright? He knows where everything is, so why mess with it? But when he does have his moments of organization, it's incredibly logical and systematical. But it won't take long for it to become messy again. When will he figure out a proper organizing system?

Ford is actually quite good at communication. But it's unfortunate that people tend to confuse him, including himself. He understands PTSD, but has had trouble with coping and self-awareness. Honestly, the most time he's had introspection was when he was in Gravity Falls as a researcher and a bit of high-school and college. But the isolation and the comfort and such allowed him to process some things. Apparently he has more things to process now. God dammit, says he.

Seems to believe in fate. So he might believe he bears some kind of curse or some great deal of bad luck due to circumstances. After all, what he's gone through is cruel and/or unusual. And somehow, he's survived. Grown stronger even. And he knows that higher beings exist, certainly has been hurt by them too. (cough Bill cough cough)

When you've gained his trust and care, he tends to initiate a lot of physical affection. Hugs, high-sixes, pats on the back, holding hands, leaning on each other, teasing jabs, and of course, if he feels close enough with you and you've especially expressed fondness for it, kisses. Plenty of them, whether your relationship is platonic, romantic, and/or sexual. When he's made his affections to you often enough, you can expect permission to reciprocate and initiate just as often.

Has struggled with suicide ideation for a long time, ever since he was young. Nowadays, he just jokes about it. He no longer feels the urge, but it never leaves his mind either. Rather, it's become a concept of mundane fascination, very distanced but still present. The worst was when he was betrayed by Bill and had to find a way to stop him for good. It felt like it was the only way. He is grateful that Stan is such a stubborn jackass.

Because he is so spacey, he's also surprisingly sensual. It's why he loves physical affection. It's alive. He's alive. He's here. It's also why he loves to draw and do crafts, to bake, to have tattoos and piercings and jewelry. Why he is keen on aesthetics. You'll often catch him stimming in some form or another.

[composeregg]

(Ableism warning)

To add to that community thing- I've been seeing people advocating to remove psychiatry as an institution wholesale and have "the community" provide diagnosis and treatment instead. All great in theory, the psychiatric field has a ton of problems- until you remember how "the community" treats people who talk to themselves on the street and gesture emphatically at nothing. "Those people shouldn't be let out in public," is the nice and polite version of what "the community" considers proper treatment of these individuals. At least a psychiatrist understands it's an illness and should be treated as such. The only thing separating me from those on the street arguing with their hallucinations is luck, and well trained medical intervention. The number of average people who hate those of us showing symptoms of psychosis, OCD, autism, and emotional disregulation etc. is much too high to trust our vulnerabilities to someone with no training.

(post) (bonus related post I also like)

Yeah, like!

I consider myself at least somewhat anti-psych. Because the institution is shit and I hate everything about how it is constructed. But the issue a lot, is strict categorization and the ways it makes abuse so easy. The ways being misdiagnosed can make your life hell. The way diagnosis is gatekept so intensely.

All accessibility tools should be available to everyone, and people should be free to find what makes their life easier. Like, in the informed-consent way. That's a side-tangent to all this but I just think that a lot of the structures of power cause harm and the way disorders are tied into one's ability to function while appearing neurotypical is bullshit. That's what I mean. It creates such a divide between people who "can" function and people who "can't" and doesn't allow for space in-between or for people to be complex.

But yeah. Like. No one's life should be left to the whims of a community whose good-will can run out, whose issues can isolate someone from that support group. That doesn't protect people.

Instead, it leads to issues like you mentioned. People who don't know how to help can make things worse, and many people's first instincts are "well why are you acting like that in public?"

Instead, because no community can ever be perfect, reliance on the community leads to discrimination, bigotry, and people being hurt and judged because a community will always end up with at least some people who are deemed "outside" that group.

We need systematic support that cannot be revoked.

[leftistfeminista]

The new book by the Argentine journalist, published by Anagrama, narrates the life of Silvia Labayru, a former Montoneros militant kidnapped by the military, tortured, raped, forced to accompany Astiz in his infiltration into Madres de Plaza de Mayo.

A passage that really stood out to me in the article was-

Each person incorporated into this process was in charge of a responsible soldier who, sometimes, was the same one who had carried out the torture. If it was considered that the recovery process was giving results, the prisoner began to make some sorties. For example, he could stay a few days at his relatives' house. The kidnapped women were forced to dress "femininely" as a demonstration that they were willing to leave behind the unisex life of militancy—all those unsexy shirts and jean pants—and taken out to dinner or to the beach. fashionable bar , Mau Mau, owned by a jet-setting man named José Lata Liste.

It reveals how the forced intimacy between leftist women captives and Junta guards was not just about lust, but was a deliberate plan of systematic control. An intimate relationship between man and woman, would keep her in total control at all times. Also the way in which "unsexy shirts and jean pants" was seen as a problem in leftist women. Being unsexy was part of revolutionary women's gender subversion. The "unisex life of militancy" with equality between mal and female comrades. They had to leave that behind. They were taken out to places the very opposite of unsexy unisex jeans, like beaches and bars. Beaches where they were expected to show off their bodies in bikinis. Bars where they were expected to get drunk, loosen their inhibitions, dress sexy and shake their bodies. And typically it was a club owned by a "jet-setting man". The revenge of the capitalist class on the Marxist women who would have stolen everything from him. Making revolutionary women "sexy" against their will was the key to rehabilitating them. And it was in an everyday ordinary way like a girlfriend going to the beach or club to dance with her boyfriend. It reveals how everyday patriarchy is itself a dictatorship. If we are to understand capitalist patriarchy in its rawest form we must see the tools it used to break Marxist-Feminist women who most challenged it.

The unsexy clothing of Marxist women was seen as a problem that needed to be corrected. In a passage from the book she refers to the sense of protection her jeans gave her. And how her Junta caretaker took her to a fashionable store to get her more feminine attire

Cover photo: Silvia Labayru and her daughter Vera in Madrid in 1978. Wearing jeans again was a way for her to reclaim her political identity from the trauma. Photo by Dani Yako extraday from her book 'Exilio 1976-1983'

From the recollections of Silvia Labayru

"Where are you taking me, Alberto?" I asked authoritatively as I finally turned up my head to face the man sitting next to me. A man who in that moment was dressed in a military uniform with a pistol on his hip, and who put these cuffs on me. His response was a harsh slap on my face.

"That's Lieutenant to you, puta." He responded, laughing heartily. "God, I don't think it'll ever get old knowing that I can finally treat you like you deserve." He added as he leant forward, riding a hand along my thigh and up to my crotch amidst my uncomfortable groaning. I don't think I've never been or ever will be so grateful for the protection that my jeans offered there, and I was even more grateful to hear the car stop. Well, grateful at the time.

As we stopped and the doors opened, I expected to find some horrible torture dungeon on the other side, but instead I saw something far, far worse. A Lingerie store. Rather than whips and nails on the walls, it was panties and lacy bras, and I honestly don't know if I felt relief or even more terror. I got pushed inside, flanked by soldiers and a salesgirl marching forward as if she anticipated our arrival.

"Good morning, Sir! How can I help you today?" The girl asked in a cheery voice as she faced Alberto, her eyes occasionally darting towards me but only to offer disapproving glares rather than the sympathetic eyes I hoped for.

"This little Communist needs a new outfit. Can you help?" He replied, smiling at my misfortune and jumping his gaze between me and the salesgirl.

"Of course! These reds used to cause quite a bit trouble for us, and for my family. I'm very glad to help them reform." She replied back with no hesitation. I had to wonder if this was genuinely how the public felt about us, or if this was just some pre-selected sympathizer. I hoped the latter. "What size is she?"

In response to that question, I immediately felt a tug on my back. "Let's find out!" my captor shouted, before signaling the guards to grip me tightly. I could barely process what was going on as I felt those jeans I valued so much get torn right off of me, before the rest of my clothes quickly followed. With each piece that got thrown onto the floor I hoped it would be the last, but the ravenous hands of Alberto's men never stopped grabbing.

A minute later, I was lying on the floor completely naked, my entire body on view for the whole shop to see. The salesgirl calmly stated my measurements, before walking off to collect her cloth torture device.

"I've always wanted to see that lovely body of yours, slut!" Alberto shouted with glee as his men pulled me to my feet and gripped my arms to deny me even the slightest bit of dignity. "Why did you hide it for so long when you knew it could make me so happy?" He continued, pushing himself against me so that I could feel the hard bulge already growing in his pants.

The salesgirl returned quickly, carrying a handful of outfits that were all equally degrading. One was little more than a few straps that didn't even cover my nipples. Another was a thong so thin that I wondered if it actually covered anything or was just designed to make the user feel uncomfortable. The next was a lacy bikini that you'd see on the front cover of a porn magazine, but never really expect to see in the real world.

"What would you prefer, sir?" The woman asked, facing toward Alberto as he carefully eyed the outfits. The only time that anyone faced towards me was to take a look at my nude body and laugh.

"Give me the bra from that one, and the thong from that one!" He replied as he decided there and then the only clothes I'd be allowed to wear for the next year or so. Moments later both were forced on, and while I appreciated the limited protection that the bra offered, the thong just felt like an insult, which was fitting given how everyone was treating me.

There were at least a dozen eyes on me as I stood there in my new costume dressed as a whore, my old outfit now lying in pieces on the floor. I never saw it again. I did see the inside of that shop about three or four more times after I left though.

After letting me wallow in my humiliation for a few minutes, I was dragged back outside into the freezing wind before being thrown into the back of the car, shortly joined by Alberto. As the door locked itself shut and the car began to move, I felt his fingers land on my thigh yet again.

"Now you finally look like you did in all those fantasies I had about you." He announced, but in a way that made it sound more like he was talking to himself than to me. As his hand rode it's way up my thigh and reached my crotch, there was nothing I could do as his fingers slid underneath and began burying themselves inside of me. I let out a cry, but that only seemed to encourage him.

I locked my eyes shut, but easily heard as his belt fell to the floor of the car. "I'm going to enjoy this. You should try to as well. It'll be happening to you a lot." He explained as that small protection the thong offered was brushed aside, and a painful journey back began…

[writing-whump]

Character meta - Sortinghatschats

Based on the sortinghatschats system that describes the why and the how of characters and is the best personality system I know. For more info check out @wisteria-lodge and @sortinghatchats

Isaiah

Isaiah Wolfson is a bird primary. No other primary is this good in designing a completely new personality to go with a new system and this is exactly what Isaiah did, when he left his family at 18. He was eager too follow his father's system, his pack's system, until he witnessed it falling down. He saw the worst from his father, the double face, the masks, the paranoia and control, the abuse. Isaiah saw him at his lowest and he covered for him, cause he didn't want his brothers to know.

This brought him an existential crisis though. Cause obviously his father's system was flawed and so was his. Leaving gave him space to find himself, or rather, to completely rebuild himself. He gathered information. Studied psychology to learn more about the human psyche, to understand his own issues, his own confusion. And then it built into fascination. He got new role models, new work, new thoughts and figured out new codes for himself to live by. To be someone he can be proud of.

This new system led him to really embrace his badger secondary. Very untypical for a wolves, who like to posture, who need to have clear power ranks before they are capable of functioning in one room with others, who have their insistent shadows reflecting their deepest desires, raw, ruthless and always, no matter the rationality of it.

But Isaiah's method is caretaking. He bonds with people, offers help, considers their needs, remembers names. He bonds and community builds, throwing himself at young wolves, problematic cases. Seeing a person, he can't help but be kind and considerate. This is something he can only afford because of how insanely powerful and well-trained his shadow is. He gets respect for his power and skill - and that's how he gets away with acting out for character. Being polite, nice and kind, because he wants to. Because he can put people in place if they take it as a weakness.

His emphasis on politeness and good manners, on being gallant and well-dressed, orderly and systematic are all expressions of his smooth courtier badger wanting to be respectful and pleasant to people. And it works, cause man, this guy has contacts. He knows someone, who knows someone, who will help out. He doesn't live in packs or whole communities, he doesn't need it, but when he starts calling in for favours, the city bend itself over for him to fulfill his wish.

It's ironic Isaiah got to deal with an abusive exploded lion badger (his goal of keeping the pack strong is everything and he is willing to sacrifice everyone for it with a very sly badger secondary including the general opinion in his favour) for a father and a glory hound lion for a brother, only to meet and fall for Seline. Seline Silverstein, a proud loud lion primary.

There is steady certainty in how she trusts her instincts, her gut decisions and feelings. She doesn't do anything she absolutely doesn't want to do, following her dream as a cultural studies student and researcher at the university. She believes in being responsible for your own happiness, she has a clear goal and purpose and follows it.

Her outspoken morals, her inability to be silent, the need to provoke and challenge people when something doesn't feel right get her into trouble frequently. True to her primary she is very willing to go against the flow, her friends, people around her. Society won't pressure her away from what she feels is right and she backs it up with research. And she isn't loyal to people or sides either, she follows thoughts. Idealist to the core.

So when the family situation with her brother being a spoiled little brat as a wolf and using his puberty and wolf shadow as excuses made the situation unbearable, she didn't have qualms to move out. She isn't sorry to not belong in any witch coven or wolf pack, if they can't lower their pressure of her being a nice, soothing little witch. The classic role would be a very gentle, caring, tolerant female to calm the wolf tempers in the pack. Thanks, but no thanks. And even though this provokes and irritates the wolf society around her, she values her independence and he beliefs too much to back out.

The lion sometimes gets covered by a very strong and passionate bird secondary though. Seline researches, plans, strategizes and analyses. She is a prepper for all kinds of situations. The tendency to prepare is too much at times, the way she researchers every new skill, verifies information, reads herself into discourses before getting onto something.

Very fitting little bird secondary for her research work. A lion goal and determination followed by a meticulously prepared bird? She is a force to be reconed with, no matter her gentle sweet appearance.

Now as for the pairing, Seline is very attracted to Isaiah's thought out intellectual bird thinking. Isaiah has everything reasoned out, overexplains his tiniest beliefs and habits and Seline digs that stuff. She just loves to reason and think and she likes to back her feelings with clear evidence and eloquent thoughts and loads of reseach, true to her bird secondary. Bird Isaiah is an ideal intellectual sparring partner for her.

Matthew Blackwell has a very straightforward snake lion sorting. The lion secondary is very loud and direct, goes with his tough guy persona and angry wolf image. He has his temper issues and a very blood knight kind of passion for fighting. It's just fun for him, like a sport or a game. Getting into boxing and running really helped him find a good outlet for it instead of just causing him trouble.

The snake is more subdued and living in a rather neutral zone. Matthew didn't have people in his corner for a long time, and with no snake circle he relief on his agressive lion instead. Finding Isaiah, befriending Seline, getting a sort of maybe pack with them was a key moment for him. Now his snake is adopting people and though he is sometimes awkward in caring for them as well as he would like out of sheer inexperience, he is getting there. Maybe even on the way to built a useful badger secondary model for the caretaking required around his people who are strong and yet havr vulnerbilitied he can cover for.

And Matthew is a sweet marshmallow inside who will put his people above everything. He is the only loyalist in the trio, with Isaiah and Seline being idealists. As long as he fits Seline's felt goals and Isaiah's built system of how the world works, it's a stable combination.

Hector Wolfson is a double lion. Very intense sorting. His lion primary has a very Badger like flavour, influence of how he had been brought up in the pack. Duty, greater good of the whole, community. He accepts and tries to follow this, but inside he is a loud glory hound lion in it for himself, for acknowledgement of his strength, his leadership, him being the best.

Hector struggled with the idea that as the second oldest brother Isaiah had a stronger claim to succeed their father for the leadership of the pack than him. Not to mention that catching up to Isaiah was difficult on its own, but Hector never stopped trying. He worked his butt off in training, control, education. For how arrogant, ambitious and self-centered he is, there is lots of hard work, skill and determination to back him up. Lion willpower, let me tell you.

Hector never recovered from Isaiah abandoning what he considered his greatest goal and honour. Isaiah basically spit on what had been unfairly handed to him by leaving the pack instead of leading it. Hector should be happy about this, now he will most likely be the successor. Except Isaiah's reasoning doesn't make sense and Hector now never got to defeat him in a fair fight. He will never be able to prove he was better and more suited, when Isaiah doesn't consider his life long goal worth the fight. It angers him to no end.

Add to this the lion secondary that likes to power through, kick down doors, burn down bridges and say everything directly...not effective in schemer politics of the wolves, but very much so in getting respect and recognition for power and posturing alone. Wolves respect him. Not to mention his double lion has a very inspiring leadership quality to it. Lions are intense, loud and easy to make people follow them.

At the same time his lion secondary isn't destructive or aggressive to the point he couldn't fulfill his obligations. At civilised wolf parties and strategic meetings, Hector can keep his cool and insult people in a very polite measured manner no one can dispute. He cuts the pleasantries and talks around it short and gets things moving. No-one said lions couldn't be polite. They are just very direct and no nonsense about it.

By the way, his second in the pack, Delaney, shares the double lion sorting. Idealistic, goal-oriented, steady in her determination and very on par with Hector's direct approach.

The Wolfson trio (Hector has brown eyes though) is rounded up by a double snake youngest brother. Arnold "Arnie" Wolfson really got an unfortunate hand. A human brother in the family, he wasn't interesting for his father's ambitions and was left out of lot of the wolf pack business and power struggles.

Arnie has that air of shameless self-worth and self-interest of a young snake though. He likes fun, joy and the pretty things in life. He is here to enjoy himself. And he doesn't care about politics. The most he cares about other than himself is his tiny circle. The pack doesn't matter to him as a whole, he doesn't feel obliged to it. Isaiah and Hector are his people, and he wants them back and nice to each other. That's it. Where Hector can't forgive Isaiah for betraying their common goal and can't move past this to try to understand or figure out his mysteries, Arnie just longs to get back to his brother and reconcile. Isaiah can betray them or leave them or do incomprehensible stuff for wolf standards, but he is Arnie's person so he will be forgiven and given the benefit of the doubt. Arnie, in contrast to Hector, wants to understand, wants to find out, wants to get along.

His secondary is a playful snake. Arnie likes to tease, lie, push and change strategies in the middle if they don't work. Silver-tounged with mischief in his eyes, he enjoys the freedom of his humanity. He might not matter for the wolves, but he knows them and their etiquette enough to play at whatever situation to turn it in his favour. While wolves are busy figuring out ranks and fighting off their shadows, he will design the positions and talks to support his agenda. Quick on his feet and sneaky and very much enjoys it. Sonny Carter is a double snake as well - it's just very handy for charming behind the scene schemers.

...

Rip has a very obvious Lion secondary. He is instinctive, acts before he thinks and how he feels and he has that inspiring quality of buldozering lions who throw themselves at things as a solution.

A lot less obvious is his badger primary. Rip thinks in groups and wants to belong, but because of the abuse from his father and losing his family because of him, he basically kicked himself out of his own community. Even though he doesn't trust people and doesn't think he can be part of anything anymore, he still creates a role for himself with the strays, protects younger wolves, keeps the street strays off radar and big conflicts to not attract bigger pack's attention. This is something he feels like doing.

Rip has a strong sense of justice, that's why I first thought he might be a lion primary. But it's just a very strong felt primary. His sense of justice is about what's best for the weakest person and for the overall community. He is always aware of his role, what he can offer and who he can burden, in relation to others. Isaiah and Rip understand each other well, because of Isaiah's incredibly badger flavoured system. He recognises the values in Rip, although Rip is actually the actual badger here.

Isaiah - Bird with strong badger flavoured system/Badger

Seline - Lion/Bird

Matthew - Snake/Lion with a Badger model on the way

Hector - Lion/Lion

Arnie - Snake/Snake

Delaney - Lion/Lion

Rip - Badger/Lion

Dylan - Snake/Badger

Mr Wolfson - exploded Lion/Badger

Sonny - Snake/Snake

Caleb - Lion/Snake

[aces-and-angels]

bearing more agnes and jina asks because once again, I love them:

what got them both into law? Do they have certain thoughts about the academia?

what's their favourite part about the park & davis hq? the offices, the proximity to coffee shops etc, y'know like their own little office space?

do they consider themselves as a mentor? If yes, what do they aspire to do/teach? if not, what do they consider themselves as to their employees, outside of the whole coworker/boss/etc denomination?

i too love and adore them- so i must give these wonderful questions wonderful answers. here's round two of an exclusive interview with agnes and jina🖤

---

what got them both into law?

a: law was not my end goal by any means. my original plan was to end up working in a lab doing research and whatnot. j: sounds dreadful. a (snorts): says the woman who barely passed chemistry. j (deadpanned): i was a poli-sci major for a reason. a: wasn't your father an electrical engineer? j: aptitude isn't genetic. a (smirking): clearly. j: just get back to your story, yeah? a: fine. well, i was- how do you say- 'radicalized' during college. couldn't pry that megaphone out of my hands no matter how hard you tried. even if ji over here had a problem with it. j: the issue wasn't you having a megaphone. it was where you were pointing it at that was the problem. your protests had zero direction. a: good thing i met you then, huh? j (rolls eyes fondly): met is putting it lightly. you, my friend, were impossible to ignore. a: one conversation with ji was all it took for me to march over to my advisor's office and switch to pre-law. j: i don't think i said all that much to you. a: are you kidding? the whole 'i'm but a speck compared to the injustices others have experienced. i want to be a part of the solution.' that's what you consider as not much? j (suppressing a grin): hm. a: she won't bring this up, so i will. ji was also captain of her debate team in high school.

do they have certain thoughts about academia?

j: there's a lot of politics surrounding it. on paper, we did everything right. but legacy is a powerful thing in academia as well as the legal profession as a whole. where you go to school, who you know- all of that matters. a: it's a never ending cycle of elitism that systematically keeps these organizations- j: white. a: exactly. right now, we're an anomaly. that's why we fund the scholarships we do. there are so many brilliant minds who just need to be given a chance to truly thrive.

what's their favorite part about the park & davis hq?

a and j simultaneously: mr. mercado. a: i adore that man. he owned one of the food carts that was stationed near our old office building. best veggie tacos i've ever had. j: our entire staff loved him so much that we decided to bring him along with us when we moved our hq to manhattan. now he's one of the main cooks at our commissary. a: i'm also a big fan of our in-office garden walls. j (chuckling): of course you are. you designed them. a: what, i can't be proud?

do they consider themselves as mentors?

j: i'm not sure if mentor is the right word to describe our role a: i'd like to take on mentees, but it's not feasible with our current schedule. j: what we do is pair our newer associates with more senior members of the firm based on our annual evaluations. the goal is for both parties to enhance their abilities. a: the system has its growing pains. some pairs get along better than others. j: that reminds me- mendoza's newest mentee- what was his name again? a (scans through spreadsheet): zahir. j: ah, yes. he seems to be having a hard time acclimating. should we reassign him? donna's last mentee recently transferred. a: give it time, ji. i still think those two will be good for each other.

[qqueenofhades]

Could I ask why so many people call Obama a war criminal? I see that so often that I feel like for a lot of people online it's eroded the good things he did

It's because of the Online Leftist/tankie brainworm culture that pervades so many supposedly progressive spaces, when people can tell you eagerly why Democrats are terrible and Not Leftist Enough. If you ask them why Obama was a "war criminal," they will tell you that he authorized a lot of drone attacks in the Middle East -- which, valid, he did do that, I don't think that was a great plan either, and no American president is institutionally or systematically innocent or detached from the lethal force that they are able to wield with near-total impunity.

However, and here's where the tricky part comes in for people whose grasp of foreign policy stretches no further than "America is bad and therefore must be at fault for everything ever, no other country or actor has any volition, only America can do anything, Democrats are evil, I am very progressive," that is not actually a war crime. It's been a fairly standard part of covert warfare and executive operations for many countries, not just America. And this massive expansion of the executive branch, especially in regard to conducting operations abroad with sole legal authority, came under... you guessed it, Reagan! See the invasion of Grenada in 1983 and the Iran-Contra scandal in 1986, both of which were way beyond anything Obama did. This privilege was then also wildly expanded in the Dubya years, while Dubya and company actually were committing actual legal war crimes by the bushel in Iraq and Guantanamo, or at least very deliberately letting them be committed and finding ways to legally sanction them after the fact. "Extraordinary rendition," anyone?

So, like -- if you want to have a conversation about the bloated and evil American military-industrial complex, the unmoored expansion of executive power (Trump was also, for obvious reasons, a big fan of this policy), the wrong-headedness of American policy in the Middle East, and the absolute clusterfuck of twin armed foreign wars that Obama inherited, then we can do that. But you also need to acknowledge that a) Trump ordered even MORE drone strikes, much more indiscriminately, than Obama (remember how he killed a top Iranian general and almost started WW3 for a few weeks?) and b) Biden has scaled them way back, as well as ending the war in Afghanistan (however chaotically that happened and how much of a human rights disaster it has been since the Taliban re-took over).

In short, you have to have a conversation that encompasses all these things, and if all you do is yell about Obama being a war criminal -- which by the rules and laws and regulations of people who actually prosecute this for a living, he is not -- all that tells me is that you're an idiot with a grasp of political and legal nuance that is the approximate depth of a kiddie pool. It doesn't mean Obama is innocent or his foreign policy is flawless, it just means he's not a war criminal. Especially when Dubya and his administration, who actually did meet the legal standards for it, are right there.

Anyway. Once again, if I can't tell the difference between a militant right-wing nut yelling that Obama is the antichrist, and a bunch of braindead leftist tankies yelling the same thing, that means their rhetoric and logical precepts are pretty much the same, and equally stupid. As usual, it's a bunch of people wanting to get Moral Cred Points by ripping the Democrats, while having absolutely no idea what they're talking about and being deliberately unwilling to consider it in actual historical, political, or social context.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Do you think one of the problems with Hermione is that we never see her in the real world as an adult? It is quite possible that once the war is over that is when Hermione grows up more, finally settled down she can look more inwards.

Whilst I’m not excusing the poor writing of her character in the later books you point out, we all grow up at different rates. I know I certainly grew up a lot since leaving school, particularly going to work and doing Uni.

[in reference to this post]

You know, I'd love to tell you that it is a possibility. It is something I was open to. While Hermione's lack of growth is a clear display of bad writing, I could live with it. Like, ok, she is not the main character, and she is not the love interest therefore her emotional sphere is not that relevant. But Rowling completely destroyed any possibility of that with the information she gave about Hermione's career.

According to JKR, this is Hermione's career:

She arrives at the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and she is absolutely perfect, she fixes everything for house elves

Then she skyrockets to Deputy Head of Law Enforcements where she's instrumental for some revolutionary laws (laws done from a position in law enforcement??? Seriously Joanne???)

And then she becomes Minister of Magic

Now, obviously, this reinforces the idea that Hermione never learns what failure is because apparently, the world goes according to her especially when you consider that:

Hermione canonically does NOT understand how to deal with systematic discrimination.

Hermione repitedely shows in the story to be petty and vengeful and absolutely ruthless in punishing people that she believes to have no excuses for what are, according to her, bad behaviours, and she never shows remorse: Rita in the jar, scarring Marrietta for life, giving Umbridge to the Centaurus, interfering with Quidditch tryouts because Cormarc in her opinion is rude, attacking Ron with the canaries. Her being slightly more merciful of Luna's father doesn't count as growth (one that regardless would be unjustified) because he is the father of one of her friends and he is trying to save her, therefore, it's an understandable action in her view. Anyone who has ever opened a philosophy of law book can tell you that you really don't want people like Hermione in law enforcement.

Hermione is absolutely unfit for such a political role as Minister of Magic. It's a role that highlights all her flaws. She is not charismatic, she does not have leadership skills, and she is not open to compromise, and so on... (Also, another Minister of Magic from Law Enforcement?? Someone needs to send Rowling to law school)

If I have to take this information as canon then I'm obliged to assume that Hermione's role in the war played a huge factor in her success and that she never learned that having the highest most prestigious position is not what really matters and gives her value.

I'm also obliged to assume that once she becomes Minister of Magic, a role she is extremely unfit for, she inevitably fails spectacularly after like forty years of not dealing with her issues. Imagine the mental breakdown after that. Now, there I would see Ron and Hermione getting a divorce.

And, listen, I'm not a best-selling author, but I think it would have made a lot more sense to give Hermione this post-canon story:

She goes to work for the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures because, despite the fact that she does not understand how to deal with systematic discrimination, her heart is in the right place and she really cares and that's one of Hermione's best qualities and it should be valued. Once she arrives there, for the first time she is really challenged. She finally faces her lack of knowledge on the subject. She fails spectacularly and has the proper mental breakdown she needs to have but someone in the department recognises her potential and takes her under their wing. And that's how she acquires a mentor. Hermione slowly but steadily learns how to work with other people, the complications of dealing with structures that have pretty much always existed in the wizarding world, how prejudice and psychology and politics and traditions all play a factor in systematic discrimination, how it's necessary to study the history of every oppressed category, how much nuance there can be in every situation, how long these processes are, and so on... And so Hermione learns also that she can be wrong. She grows into a department full of people who know her and can deal with her quirks but have also seen her improve greatly and she eventually becomes Head of the Department. A slightly more political role, but still practical. She has learned to pace herself and not aspire to a conventional top position for the hell of it but do something she truly cares about and is good at.

But hey, what do I know, right?

[lil228]

Red White and Royal Blue Notes Day 1

WARNING: Spoilers for both the Red White and Royal Blue movie and the book up to chapter 5

I think it’s funny that Alex’s love story is referred to as Shakespearean considering what’s to come. 

“It’s funny how you think everything is about you” (page 14). Lol- especially bc he’s the literal main character of this story.  

“Systematically drunk” (15) LOL

“Mutual antagonists” (17) 

“Sorry I’m not obsessed with you like everyone else” (18). Oh buddy that’ll change soon. (Alex about Henry)

OMG that whole conversation is so good!

Cakegate is really funny for some reason.

“As the president all I want is to have the CIA fake your death, and ride the dead kid sympathy into a second term.” (23) I see where Alex gets it from. 

The foreshadowing! Like Zarah telling Alex to gush about Henry like he’s his prom date.  

“I’ll do it but I won’t have any fun” (Alex) “God, I hope not.” (Zarah 27) HAH! Alex is going to have fun, maybe too much fun.

Look I know Alex thinks it’s nerdy but if someone told me Great Expectations was their favorite book I would like them even more. 

Ugh! the foreshadowing in this is just so good like when Nora speculate on why Alex has to sign an NDA and one of the reason she give is that he’s (the prince) is Gay. Lol (page 39)

Lol Alex being unable to decide if he Texan or Mexican side is more upset about English Breakfast (page 41)

Foreshadowing- Alex says Henry is “annoyingly attractive (43)

  I don’t know if being an English major broke me or if I’m a mega nerd, but I want to write a literary analysis paper on this so badly.  

Alex’s reasoning for wanting to get into politics is so wholesome (43)

Henry’s interaction with the caner patient is so cute (45)!

“You’re not the prince of me” (47). It’s just so good. Has this author written anything else? Please tell me they have. OMG they have! I will be needing all of their books now thank you very much.

“Are you trying to psycho analyzed me?” (49) lol, I feel like I say a variation of the this all the time when I’m with my psych major friend.

“I’m sensing an ellipsis (Henry) “It’s just…” (Alex) 51. This book sort of dose that thing that White Teeth did where it’s aware that it’s a novel, but it doesn't do it the same way. It’s more subtle and uses more irony.

 Okay Alex and Henry bonding over Star Wars is sweet and kind of nerdy. I like it. 

“But isn’t there something to be valued in a happy ending as well?” (52)

Alex taking a class called The Press and The Presidency is absolutely hilarious to me. 

That one commenter ships it (55)

“B*tch McConnell- I’m dying homygod 

Like Senator Luna, I to can be easily bribed with candy

More foreshadowing on 57. Also I don’t know why but I’m not getting good vibes from Senator Luna

Old money Sith powers also has me dying

The president of united states comparing her children to possums is so funny. 

Also her reminding her children to not discuss their murder plots in front of her

Ugh this book is so good! 

“Leeme romance the hell out of some focus groups” (66) This book is gold 

  The text exchange on 68-9 is amazing

I can only hope to write something this amazing one day.

Nora asking Alex if he’s reading fanfiction about himself made me laugh out loud- at work, granted it’s deader than Marley in this place today

The whole bit with the Turkey is just glorious! Ya did it to yourself Alex.

The way Henry talks to his dog is so cute, and so it the fact that he watches The Great British Bake Off 

Amy’s great!

Page 90- Yes Alex go off!

I love Bea, she’s great, peak sister energy

June is also peak sister energy. 

95- more foreshadowing when June talks about it being like a rom com

“You know I love chaos” (Nora)- 96

I think its really sweet that Henry wants to be a writer 

107- the first kiss! (Squeals)