#he has better critical thinking skills then most adults

[jasontoddsguns]

The Joker isn’t insane, he just really fucking sucks.

[bunkerjking]

The emotional breakdown later in the chapter will get most of the attention, but for my money, this is the most revealing moment in this week's chapter. A teenager so disconnected from his real emotions that he desperately rationalizes his hypersexuality not as a coping mechanism, but as 'this is what guys are like.'

It's easy to make fun of men for burying their emotions and then asking, 'why doesn't anyone know who I really am' - hell, Denji literally does that during the Bomb Girl arc - but Denji is a pretty direct criticism of both the way boys can get forced into unhealthy gender roles, and the way men self-regulate themselves and others into them.

The other boys Denji is with don't have the problem of being horny at inappropriate times. They have WAY bigger problems.

But Denji can't think properly when someone dangles the idea of sex in front of him. It's like a switch flips and he becomes a completely different person.

He shuts down and reverts to trying to embody masculine stereotypes he's been ingrained with, both through the social conditioning of growing up male in the 90s and the psychological conditioning Makima put him through to strengthen 'Chainsaw Man' - itself a hyper-masculine ideal that a human being physically cannot measure up to - and emotionally cripple Denji.

Denji is at his happiest when he's at rest with the people he loves. Power and Aki were not always easy to be around, but they loved him back and they wanted him to be happy. Nayuta is a child who doesn't understand her place in the world - how could she - but she earnestly wants to help her big brother as best as she can.

He isn't some cock-swinging alpha badass constantly on the prowl to crush puss, but for a lot of people - especially a teenager who was groomed to be an expendable child soldier - this unhealthy masculine 'ideal' isn't just something to live up to, it's the expected norm for men to be.

Being Chainsaw Man doesn't make Denji mentally stronger. As shown in the Falling Devil fight, he literally chops up his brain with his chainsaws to avoid confronting his trauma. Whenever he has to think about what he's lost and what's still left to lose, he runs toward something he isn't and away from a 'normal,' healthy response to the issues at hand.

"You stupid boy."

You'll notice that Katana Man, a perfect embodiment of an overly masculine dickhead, a misogynistic moron who refuses to grow in character or even basic combat skills, is totally on board for throwing Denji in a brothel and letting what happens happens. Katana Man perfectly represents the bad ending where 'traditional masculinity' wins the war for Denji's soul.

Denji needs help. Not some quick gratification. Not a meal and a nut and a nap. He needs genuine help, and a better male role model than the ones he's got. Even Kishibe, the only adult in his life other than Aki who actually did more good than harm, is an alcoholic recluse.

God help the boy.

[witlesswitnesstm]

I am a firm Marvin Gardens BPD/NPD truther, so here’s all my evidence.

This is a very long post, so buckle up.

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Let’s go through the symptoms he shows, shall we?

- Has unreasonably high sense of self importance, and requires constant admiration:

Marvin, especially as a child, exhibits a large amount of grandiosity. This is most evident in How Marvin eats his breakfast and My Highschool Sweetheart.

He thinks of himself as above the maid staff and he constantly threatens/accuses them. Then he’s given the role of Columbus, and highly identifies with him to the point where he claims he *is* Columbus. That he’s this grand explorer, who’s the king of the ocean. He believes he’s powerful because of the role.

Then as an adult, Marvin has a constant need for adoration. He needs people (like Whizzer and Trina) to love and want him in songs like Thrill of first love and This had better come to a stop. That might even be a reason he got with Trina in the first place. He wanted to feel needed, without the responsibility of having to love back.

Not to mention the line “Kid. Be my son.” In Father to son. He wants Jason to fulfill the role as his son (and subsequently love him), not really acknowledging he’s his own person. But he still deeply cares about Jason, and wants him to succeed, he just does it through the only lense he understands; himself. Also, I noticed that Marvin literally moves the chess board aside and makes Jason face him during that song, even though he clearly doesn’t want to.

- Believes they deserve special privileges or treatment:

The R of Ms. Goldberg shows Marvin is obsessed with getting what he wants, for no other reason besides the fact that he wants it. It’s also implied that he didn’t even necessarily have the acting skills required to be Columbus, Ms. Goldberg just conceded because he kept pestering her. He believed he deserved it, so he got it.

- Make achievements and talents bigger than they actually are:

Again, Marvin obsessed over being a star actor. He also consistently exaggerates his intelligence with lines like “I can read her like a book” in How Marvin eats his breakfast and “I'm not so rich but hell I'm smart.” In This had better come to a stop.

In I never wanted to love you, Marvin also claims that he’s in demand, when he’s most likely not and is just trying to cover for his ego.

- Preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, brilliance

Oh wow. Ok, so we all know about the metaphor for games at this point. Marvin loves winning, he literally says it’s everything to him. He also says that he wants it all multiple times which is just, really driving home the point that he craves success and power over everything else.

Marvin is also characterized as being rich, which again emphasizes his need for success. I’m thinking he climbed the corporate ladder for the sole objective of looking like he’s successful.

Side note, I think the reason he never acknowledges how rich he is might be because he’s ashamed of being a trust fund baby. He had a whole maid staff as a kid, so it’s implied his parents had mad stacks. He might’ve sought success outside his parents’ money so that it was his own accomplishment, not his family’s.

I want to touch on My chance to survive the night, specifically the line “I played a game. She was as cute as a dime and couldn't spell. I asked her to spell my name. That's it for girls.” Marvin has a history of using games as a basis for breaking up with people because of his insecurity, even before Chess game. He gets a lot better with this in act 2, and this is evident in the racquetball matches. He seems a little unconfident, but he’s not devastated by it in the way he would be before.

I’ve mentioned this in a separate post, but The r of Ms. Goldberg can also be interpreted as a fantasy for power, since Marvin isn’t actually interested in having sex with Ms. Goldberg, and instead just wants to have control over her.

- Is critical and looks down on people they feel aren’t important:

Marvin consistently ignores his sweetheart even when she begs for his attention. When she tries to tell him she’s a person, he calls her ridiculous.

Marvin also just generally acted out as a child because he considered everyone as beneath him.

This trait is especially highlighted In Tight Knit family reprise, where he just straight up talks shit about Mendel, not being able to believe that Trina can love him. It’s also shown in Marvin hits Trina, that he dislikes her platitudes and expects substance from her, and then goes on to again beg for admiration with the line “How could you ever deny what we had?”

- Expects others to do what they ask without question:

This is best shown in This had better come to a stop and Chess game. Marvin expects Whizzer to play the housewife, while not acknowledging that he’s his own person.

This is also displayed in Tight Knit family, where he expects everyone to go along with his perfect vision of what a family should be.

- Has an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others:

This is most clear with Sweetheart and Trina. As I’ve said, Marvin blatantly ignores sweetheart’s attempts to love him, and completely disregards her. I want to note how he does this in favor of being attached to Ms. Goldberg and playing Columbus which are his power fantasies, essentially.

This trait is also shown in Breakfast over Sugar when Marvin basically tells Trina to shut up and that she’ll get over it when she’s having a a pretty expected emotional outburst to him divorcing her. He completely disregards her feelings, showing no empathy to her.

- Acts arrogantly:

This can just be interpreted as confidence but Marvin says that he loves being himself multiple times over the course of In trousers.

• Borderline Personality Disorder

- A strong fear of abandonment:

This ties into Marvin’s need for admiration, but he constantly asks others for validation, and even doesn’t want Trina to find new partners because he interprets it as abandonment of his family.

There’s also the workshop version of This had better come to a stop, which is all about how Marvin is terrified that Whizzer’s going to leave him again in act 2, but he tries to bury all those feelings down so that he doesn’t appear needy. One of the lines is “I sit here and slowly rot. Wait for Whizzer, wait for answers, and get none.” Which just really nails down this point.

There’s also Unlikely lovers, when Marvin refuses to leave Whizzer’s side in the hospital.

- A pattern of unstable, intense relationships:

I’m sure we all know where this is going.

Marvin has a lot of opinions about Trina. He says that he thinks she’s perfect in I have a family, but that at the same time, he says that he hates her in I swear I won’t ever again.

His wants are contradictory. He wanted Trina to leave him alone when he divorced her, but couldn’t accept that she married Mendel. Also, he fights with Trina consistently, even throughout Act 2.

Onto Whizzer, their relationship is driven solely by chaotic passion. Their relationship is *built* on fighting and making up with hate sex.

Whizzer has no idea how to feel about Marvin because of how unstable he is. Marvin can be gentle, but he expects everything to go his way. He’s affectionate but highly judgemental. (Then again, so is Whizzer.)

- Quick changes in how they view themself:

This is best shown in Your Lips and Me reprise. Marvin goes from hating who he was and what he did to Ms. Goldberg to having a whole ass victory song about how he loves being himself.

This might be sarcasm, but Marvin is also self deprecating in Tight knit family reprise, with the lyric “I'm too damn peeved, self-absorbed, self-deceived. Who knows?”

- Periods of stress related paranoia and loss of contact with reality

This is a stretch, but Marvin’s exes always hovering around him in In trousers might be paranoia about his past manifesting itself. This is especially clear in I can’t sleep and Your lips and Me reprise where they physically interact with him, preventing him from sleeping or reminding him of his past.

- Impulsive/risky behavior:

Bro got multiple STDs, presumably from unsafe sex. Also, it’s implied that he also got HIV after Whizzer.

Hitting Trina could also be seen as impulsive behavior.

- Wide mood swings:

This is where Marvin’s giddy seizures comes in. He has periods of extreme laughter and giddiness, sporadically.

- Inappropriate levels of anger

Marvin hits Trina. I mean, what else do I have to say? This whole song is about Marvin’s anger taking over his actions and causing physical harm because of it. He also shows inappropriate anger when he brings out Whizzer’s belongings after the Chess game.

Ok Jesus Christ that was a lot of words. Keep in mind that these are just my headcanons and you’re allowed to interpret Marvin in any way you want.

Also I don’t have these disorders myself and I’m not a professional psychologist or anything so let me know if I got some things wrong. I just care way too much about the Marvin Trilogy and I’m also interested in becoming a psychologist.

[omnipresentlemon]

Avatar Modern AU Headcanons: The Early Years

Spider was adopted into the family after Neytiri found him wandering around the neighborhood as a toddler in just a t-shirt and underwear on one of the coldest days of the year. She immediately went to the police station and within a week Spider was removed from the McCoskers and was taken in by the Sullys as his foster family.

Jake and Neytiri have it ROUGH for a couple years - four kids under four? Eywa have mercy.

Listen. It is inevitable that little kids have a favorite parent, but the Sully kids are a little extreme with their hardcore Mom Favoritism™️. Neteyam can only fall asleep if Neytiri sings to him. Kiri doesn’t like Jake reading their bedtime stories because “mama does the voices better.” If Spider gets hurt he is inconsolable until Neytiri kisses it better. Lo’ak throws a tantrum for at least an hour every time Neytiri leaves them with Jake. My dude is being bullied mercilessly by kids who can’t even spell their names yet.

I fully support @be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie’s headcanon that Jake and Lo’ak are mortal enemies until Lo’ak hits about 5. But like, in a Megamind kinda way.

Whenever Lo’ak is acting up Jake pretends to call Santa and tell him to put Lo’ak on the naughty list.

Lo’ak will tell other adults the most embarrassing shit about Jake in the worst circumstances.

When Lo’ak is two and realizes his parents have names other than mama and daddy, he calls Jake by his first name only for three months. Imagine trying to discipline your two-year old and he whips out the first name.

In retaliation, Jake refers to Lo’ak as “the brat attack” until Neytiri reminds him that he’s the adult in this situation. He still does it sometimes when Neytiri isn’t around.

Neytiri has the mom reflexes of a god. No ER trips on her watch.

In fact, the first ER visit for the Sullys was when Neytiri left the kids with Jake to go shopping with Mo’at for some baby stuff while she was pregnant with Tuk. They don’t even make it down the street before Jake is frantically calling about Spider splitting his head open on the edge of the coffee table.

Spider is the most accident prone of the kids not due to clumsiness but a serious lack of survival skills and critical thinking. He used to throw himself off the top of the bunk bed he shared with Lo’ak just for fun.

Spider is technically the oldest, but due to the McCosker’s neglect he has some developmental delays and regressive behavior. Neteyam loves being able to act like a big brother for Spider even though he’s a year younger. They have a rough patch when they’re a bit older and Spider starts to assert himself more, but at the end of the day they’re Team Eldest and lean on each other a lot.

Kiri was a leash kid. Jake thought it was embarrassing but Neytiri could no take another incident of Kiri disappearing in public because she saw something interesting and wandered off to investigate.

Bluey is a staple in the Sully household. Jake and Neytiri are just happy that the chokehold Paw Patrol had on their kids seems to have gone away. Plus, now whenever they’re mean to each other, they just have to ask, “would Bluey and Bingo treat each other like this?” It results in an instant apology 99% of the time.

They talk back to their kids babble like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Neytiri has full-on soap opera plots. The kids find it hilarious.

Jake, at the end of the day, is a military dad. And that means it’s MMA every day in the Sully household, starting young. He’ll suplex them into the couch, throw them onto the bed from across the room, toss them so high in the air he sees the bottom of their feet. Neytiri at first hates it, but she sees how gentle Jake is and tries to let it go. Even if it gives her heart palpitations.

Neteyam’s first word was “dada”, Kiri’s “mama”, and Lo’ak’s “no”. Spider’s speech was severely delayed and it took half a year of speech therapy to get him where he needed to be developmentally, so there’s was hot competition between Jake and Neytiri over who would get his first word.

It’s neither of them. Spider’s first word was “Teyam”. Even when they’re older Neteyam lords it over Spider’s head (but if he thinks too much about it it’ll make him cry, he just loves his brother so much).

I def have more of these percolating in my brain, but for now, enjoy!

[i-love-your-shades-of-wrong]

you want complex characters? here's Gale.

I am fully convinced that people only hate Gale bc it's Liam Hemsworth and because they think he's annoying - and yeah, it's true, he IS annoying, but to like president snow more than him? (its pretty privilege)

Most people know by now that the love triangle in thg is for metaphorical purposes - the choice between peace and war. And it's not even a choice as a reader - there is quite literally no chemistry between gale and katniss (in my opinion). But that doesn't merit hatred for the character himself.

He grows up in the seam, poor and being the breadwinner for his siblings. (how sad) We're supposed to disagree with his motives by the end of it - he shouldn't want to get revenge because that makes him as bad as the capitol (yada yada yada). And Peeta is in the right because he wants to show mercy. (peace vs war)

But Peeta grows up as the bakers son. Has he ever gone hungry? No. Are we meant to feel bad for him because of his mum? idk. His name was in the bowl far, far less times. Does that make it any better? No, because he's picked (and this is meant to be about how the system is awful... you get it). But Peeta doesn't grow up hating the capitol because they don't hurt him... until the games.

Is this an attack on Peeta? No, of course not, but circumstances are important as the actions taken within them (situation ethics). Peeta goes into the games and you'd think his outlook on life changes, but it doesn't. Some people have stronger cores - a lifetime of security within yourself does that.

Peeta goes into the games again, Gale saves the citizens of 12 in the bombing. Peeta's kidnapped. And Gale says this:

"He might have been tortured. Or persuaded. My guess is he made some kind of deal to protect you. He'd put forth the idea of the cease- fire if Snow let him present you as a confused pregnant girl who had no idea what was going on when she was taken prisoner by the rebels. This way, if the districts lose, there's still a chance of leniency for you. If you play it right." I must still look perplexed because Gale delivers the next line very slowly. "Katniss…he's still trying to keep you alive."

So, he's annoying, but is he a liar? No. He's ever the strategist, thinking of things from the logical point of view. (really grasping for straws but I need a pro and less cons😭)

People really hated Gale for bombs - killing innocent people that just want to help the fallen? (ohno how sad). But are capitol citizens ever really innocent? Bystanders that simply allow children to be murdered year after year? The idea that they simply have no idea of the harm being caused is ludicrous. Do they not have critical thinking skills? No matter what happens in life, you KNOW murder is wrong. No matter what propaganda media shows you.

(also Beetee helped make those bombs too like gale was annoying but stop giving him full credit like if I was beetee I'd be pissed)

So, that comes to the idea that killing people as a whole is unethical, and it doesn't matter that they're awful people. Is that untrue? No. Is it far to those that have been oppressed their entire lives, being told that using force against their oppressors is wrong? Maybe. It's not an easy issue to resolve (kinda explains the metaphor, doesn't it?)

Neoliberalism probably wants you to blame the individuals. Coin, Gale, Snow. Coin and Snow were two sides of the same coin (ooh pun) - politicians, adults, playing for their own power. Is it wrong to enjoy power? No, of course not, just don't abuse it. Gale enjoyed power. But he was fighting for the freedom of the country, not himself. And he's only 19/20. You're a lot angrier when you're younger, as many adults forget.

The system is the real problem, clearly. Why should the capitol have all the power? Why are the districts being used? We don't know. But that's unimportant.

And then there's Katniss. She's the one making the decision - peace or war. On paper, its peace anyday. Katniss has seen both Peeta and Gale's hardships - Gale is a metaphor for who she could have been. Bitter, angry and hateful. It's not unjustified hatred but under Kantian ethics, murder is always wrong. Katniss does not want to retaliate because it's a vicious cycle of violence.

As far as we know, the capitol don't really pay for all they do. I know if I was a district citizen who suffered, I'd want capitol citizens to feel the same way. That is not to say that it is ethical, but it is not unjustified.

It would be more of a fair argument if Peeta and Gale suffered equally, but can you really quantify suffering. Their experiences shape them. Its easier for Peeta to want mercy for the capitol because he wasn't starved his whole life. And Peeta's stance is the right one.

But see, that's why we say complex character and not good person. Because the decisions aren't malicious in intent, just with clashing personal values to the norm. Like, bffr, half the people online hating on this guy would NOT have stood for mercy for the capitol.

(anyway have a nice day this was my ethics essay plan and I'd better get a 9 on it or else <333)

[tedwardremus]

Why do you think people take Tonks' character traits and give them to Sirius?

Because Tonks is one of the most disrespected characters.

But I also think how the fandom portrays Sirius is larger than people ignoring the existence of Tonks. There are many interpretations of Sirius in fandom, including, but not limited to, punk, 70s rocker, Rebel Without A Cause, feminine, and androgynous, and I think the different aesthetics reflect our individual interpretations of what cool and rebellious mean.

Sirius is described as cool, and we know he is a troublemaker who ran away from his family and owns a motorcycle. I think people took those tidbits and pictured an image of someone like Jess Mariano from Gilmore Girls. Or they imagined a Bowie-loving glam rocker or they imagined a more modern queer aesthetic. Or various other things that i've seen in the past 20 years.

And I don't necessarily blame people for imagining characters in muggle clothes versus wizard fashion because robes aren't described in detail compared to muggle clothes in the books. And robes just don't seem cool, you know? They are medieval and weird.

You know who is cool? Bill Weasley with his fang earring and boots. Bill's fashion and appearance, just like Tonks, is described in detail. It is easy to visualize.

What do we know of Sirius?

Sirius is a rebel. He ran away from home and is extremely critical of upper-class wizarding society, the government, and blood purism. He joined a secret underground anti-fascist organization! He was a fighter on the frontlines of a war where they were outnumbered 20 to 1! His motorcycle is a sign of his interest in some parts of muggle culture and rebeling but I think it also says a lot more about his advanced skill and his need to keep himself busy.

He has long hair! But the long hair isn't a style choice. He didn't have a barber in Azkaban and then his grooming declined in OOTP when he was depressed. Pre-Azkaban, Sirius had short hair.

He wore a phoenix t-shirt in the prequel short story.

He wore Azkaban robes (again not a style choice)

He wore whatever he found in Grimmauld Place.

Tattoos and piercings are never mentioned when describing Sirius but they are for other characters.

But what I think people also ignore when assigning an aesthetic to a teenage and young adult Sirius Black is his privileged upbringing and how that shapes his personality and sense of self and how he'd present himself. I know @artemisia-black has written about this before and you should check out her blog for some great Sirius metas.

I'm not saying Sirius never wore muggle clothes but I don't think he'd be dedicated to representing a muggle subculture or style. He'd be better at dressing muggle than other pure bloods but he'd keep it simple, not fashionable.

[reorientation]

I lurk here every once in a while; I've enjoyed it and you seem relatively sane, but your post about Elliot Page is super fucked up. Not in a kinky way, just in a morally wrong way. Your subtitle is "play for consenting adults" but now you're involving real people that never consented. Honestly just disappointed.

(Referencing this post.)

I don't make a habit of replying to accusatory anons, but I'm going to take this one as an opportunity to make a couple of worthwhile points: (1) ethics is about your effect on other people, and (2) there's nothing special about the relationship between consent and sexuality.

To the first point: Elliot Page is a movie star. He has a separate Wikipedia page just for the awards he's won. He was on the cover of Time. He's never going to read, hear about, or be affected in any way by my hundred-notes Tumblr post.

If you want to argue that it's wrong to talk about him in the context of a misgendering post, you have to claim that there are ways to be immoral without hurting anyone, or that he's hurt by it in some immaterial way that doesn't actually involve him.

Which brings me to my second point.

To get someone's consent for something is to confirm that they want it to happen. We're most careful about this when it matters a lot whether they want something.

The reason we talk about consent so much in the context of sex and kink is that those are areas where, if you do something to someone that they don't want, it can really fuck them up! If you put your penis into someone, they might have a great time or they might be deeply traumatized; if you slap your partner hard across the face, they might beam up at you afterwards or have their trust in you shattered forever. It's really important to know whether they want it!

And sex is certainly not the only area of life where this applies: if you're going to be performing surgery on someone, giving them psychedelics, or beating them up in a dojo, you'd better be damn sure it's what they want.

This sounds very obvious when put like that, but many people have gotten used to discussing consent on the abstract, legalistic level of "what counts as allowable permission" and not the concrete, interpersonal level of "how do I know I'm not harming them".

Equally obvious: in most areas of life, we're not that concerned about everybody only getting what they want, because the potential for harm is not very high. If you've got a whole bunch of piercings, you might freak some people out a little as you walk down the street, but it's fine - they'll get over it.

But because we (rightfully!) talk about consent so much when talking about sex - and, frankly, because many people don't ever really examine the puritanical aspects of our culture - people get the idea that sexuality is a unique domain where absolutely everything is forbidden unless explicitly allowed, rather than an area where you can often hurt people very badly if you're not careful.

And that leads, immediately, to absurdities. No one would say that it's a consent violation if you wear a shirt that says "Hail Satan" on the bus, even though a lot of people wouldn't be happy to see that - but it's quite common to hear that about someone wearing a collar in public, even if it's subtle enough that no one ever notices.

Which brings us all the way back around to the beginning - no one thinks it's not okay to make posts about celebrities that they wouldn't like if they read them. It wouldn't be a consent violation if I wrote a post brutally criticizing Elliot Page's acting skills without getting his permission to do so. And it isn't a consent violation to talk about him in a kink post either. No, not even if it's a gross one.

[mjrtaurus]

Hot takes on the RA that I need to share

- they have a book club (it’s very bad and mainly consists of y/n x monkey d dragon fanfction and bodice ripper romance novels)

- Iva is a collector of said y/n x moneky d dragon fanfiction (whether for blackmail or entertainment no one is sure)

- Hack and Dragon have gotten white girl wasted on wine together

- koala had the biggest fattest most mortifying crush on dragon for about 3-6 months when she was 14-15 (she will take this to her grave)

- Inazuma organized orgies before

- there is an ongoing game of hide and seek/tag currently sabo is it

- dragon has been voted to have the sexiest forearms on base

- Karasu maintains that he can talk to pigeons

- sabo has fallen alseep upright during meetings

These are very good hot takes and I definitely would like to pitch in a few if that’s good with you:

- Dragon is very much aware of the book club (and the scandalous content within) but lets it continue because shutting it down would be tantamount to closing a public library, and it would lower morale.

- Some of said bodice ripper romance novels have found their way to his personal quarters. None of them are the y/n x him genre, but morbid curiosity is slowly but surely getting the better of him.

- Morley is the number one book club fangirl. She reads everything and offers very in depth reviews and gives a lot of helpful constructive criticism if asked. She has written a few of them of her own under a pseudonym. Nobody but Iva and Inazuma know this.

- Hack is a loud drunk, and Dragon is a silly drunk. Both are known lightweights. They need adult supervision as they are like a pair of Dennis the Menaces working in perfect sync.

- Lindbergh will fuck with Sabo and Koala by using his electro like a hand buzzer. He tried it once with Dragon as a test, and sure enough the man was totally immune to it. His hair was slightly more unruly from it, though.

- speaking of Lindbergh, he went Sulong on base exactly once and scared the shit out of everyone. He doesn’t recall anything but he was told he raided the pantry and then started taking rudimentary measurements of his claws.

- Koala is probably the most foul-mouthed out of everyone there. She can cuss even the most hardened of sailors under a table and right back up over it like it’s nothing. She yells “FUCK” at the most minor inconveniences. Sabo thinks it’s hilarious.

- Karasu was born with a cleft lip and his hatred of being misunderstood stems from the difficulty he had in learning to speak. He’s since had surgery to correct the malformation, but wears his mask to hide it because he gets mistaken for a mink due to where and how the scarring rests on his upper lip.

- Dragon and Sabo both suffer from restless leg syndrome and swap tips and tricks on how to manage.

- Inazuma sews stuffed animals for the kids that they bring in. First she asks them during class what each of their favorite animals are, and then he draws up patterns of them and gets to work. The kamabakka help, as many of them are skilled tailors and seamstresses.

- Iva organizes drag shows for boosting morale. Every single one of the commanders has dominated the stage before. Dragon had to lose a bet with Kuma before he joined in on it (with the caveat that if it did feel genuinely Uncomfortable™️ at any point he could freely back out), but ended up enjoying the experience. He sets aside time whenever a show is coming up to consult Iva on what his next look ought to be.

- Dragon rarely ever gets sick, but when he does, it hits him like a brick at sixty miles per hour. The first time it happened, Sabo was convinced he had some deadly disease that was going to end his life, but no. He just happened to get the flu for the first time in like… twelve years.

[schro4444]

Ohh the idea of them pooling their skills together to create better disguises together is brilliant! the mimicking voices was probably Chikage (I imagine you'd have to have been training your voice constantly for a looooooong time to get the huge vocal range needed for that...I wonder how she became a thief actually, iirc she targeted corrupt corporations) but I bet it was Toichi who could do all kinds of interesting things with it - throwing his voice so it seems he's speaking from somewhere he isn't, making it seem as though it's far away or right behind you or simply making it carry (to his audience!), and yeah the acting through body language and reading ppl bc he needs to act like it was all part of the plan if a trick goes wrong and needed to improvise, and be able to read his audience to control where their attention goes and pull off misdirection. Also he probably does have very good spatial awareness, I cannot beLIEVE he went through LASER NET with a CAPE AND TOP HAT, he's RIDICULOUS

"as long as you're feeling agile enough" Chikage is, in fact, the one who was good at acrobatics while Toichi did a lame little side shuffle, she probably knew parkour too. Also ik it's not realistic but I was suddenly assaulted w the image of Chikage teaching Kaito and Toichi parkour and acrobatics together at the same time and Kaito being better at it than Toichi jhdgjsgf. bby Kaito probably used his parents as a jungle gym tbh, imagine talking to THE Kuroba Toichi, best magician in Japan (best magician in the WORLD Kaito corrects vehemently), all the while a 6 yo is doing a handstand on his shoulders or smth

Also I'm not surprised in the least that talking his way out was his plan, his advice to Kaito was "turn your critics into your fans" and THESE critics were out to ARREST THEM yet it STILL WORKED. absolute madlads

YESSSS perfect!! the ultimate combination of skills!!! I wonder how she became a thief too. like. was she raised in it? was it circumstances? revenge turned vigilantism? IDK!!! clearly she was tired of it by the end, but she also clearly was having fun. pls I need the prequel so bad

I think about the hat a lot actually. it’s so tall. between the hat & cape and the bandages OVER THE EYES you have to admire the kurobas’ commitment to the aesthetic

LAME LITTLE SIDE SHUFFLE SHFHDHD poor man. but you’re absolutely right. LISTEN I’m absolutely certain that chikage taught kaito parkour by pretending it was gymnastics practice or obstacle courses or something similar, so it’s not a huge stretch At All to include toichi in those lessons. that stuff is so hard to learn as an adult, too… cue 6yo kaito doing full trapeze acrobat moves with chikage while toichi does his absolute BEST to learn a back handspring before his next heist

toichi turned “fake it til you make it” into a successful international phantom thief career, it’s a magician’s Greatest ability. now kaito can do it too but Also with the help of Actual Crime Skills (everyone say thank you chikage)

ventriloquism TOTALLY has practical use in magic. okok I’ve actually thought abt this before—for toichi to be the best magician ever, his shows would need to be WILD. bc irl magicians can do some insane things. I think he totally just did the most bamboozling acts where he’d make himself disappear and then have his voice appear from 5 directions at once, or use ventriloquism + magic to convince people that inanimate objects were alive and talking, stuff like that. worldwide magic sensation kuroba toichi disguises himself as you in real time and then he calls your mom using your voice while escaping from a straightjacket. etc.

WHICH OF COURSE leads DIRECTLY to kaito using this nonsense to become the most chaotic little nightmare child EVER (beloved). he is a terror to his classmates and his parents are actively part of the problem. aoko comes into the house like “kaito where are you” and she hears “I’m coming!” from upstairs and then he appears directly behind her. she screams and goes to tell on him to toichi but toichi does the same thing to her. chikage apologizes for both of them using their own voices. this is just what it’s like in the kuroba household. when kaito gets in trouble at school they’re 100% the kind of parents to be more disappointed that he got caught, not about the fact that he was building a confetti cannon at his desk

[akiyamastar]

Do you ever think about how Chiaki just never gets genuinely mad about anything? He's practically devoid of anger.

Even for the things that he'd be totally justified for if he snapped at someone, he never does it. It's not a new mindset, considering he sucked up all the horrible things that happened to him in Meteor Impact. Generally, he's always been reaching for the ideal of a hero so much that he just... pushes away his own emotions deliberately, seeking to elevate someone else's.

It's something I wish was explored more: how he's bottled up his emotions so much to the point that he doesn't even express anger in a healthy manner. He thinks he needs to fulfill that hero role at all costs, and in order to do that, he suppresses any sort of ugly emotions, replacing them with this sense of energetic happiness that he tries to display to his juniors.

In a way, he's put on a hero facade that even he can't separate himself from. One that could be prone to shattering if he pushes himself too hard. He does loosen up around Kanata and the other graduates a little, acting a bit more like the "boring adult" version of himself, as he calls himself in Comet Show. Even then, not once does Chiaki ever completely put down that act, because he needs to be that hero, or else what will his worth be?

Interestingly, even though he's always been too self-sacrificial for his own good, his facade actually seems to have gotten worse over time, compared to the days of Meteor Impact. This also was probably due to the fact that he had nothing to lose when he was a second-year. He had no friends, no groupmates, and no responsibilities he needed to fill in for others. His mindset and personality were the same in many ways, but the reason why Chiaki seems so meek in Meteor Impact is that there's no one he can be a hero for.

But now, he has Ryuseitai. He now has something he can lose.

Because of wanting Ryuseitai to last at all costs, he's tunnel-visioned so much on seeming like a "cool" reliable senior in front of his juniors and not showing any weaknesses because, inherently, there's a part of him that's scared it's all going to be gone if he doesn't do that.

Whenever Chiaki feels responsible for others, he takes it too harshly on himself. He doesn't confide in his juniors in the same way that he pushes them to lean on his shoulders, and this is a problem. Confiding in someone should be a two-way street, and not something one person can handle alone.

It might even explain some of Tetora's mixed feelings about his leader role being taken away; the problem wasn't necessarily just that it happened, but the manner in which it was done. Chiaki stated that it would be for the better, and of course, you can't completely pin the blame on the guy for looking out for his junior. However, while it's definitely unintentional, his martyr complex and need to be the hero has led to the juniors feeling as though they are throwing a "tantrum" and being looked down upon for their skills, despite being not that much younger than Chiaki and Kanata. Tetora especially feels indignant as a result of these feelings, and he's the most vocal about this even in Submarine.

Thinking back to the recent Ryuseitai event, Universe, I can't say I expected a lot from its writing, and it'd be a bit funny to hold Ensemble Stars' writing to a high standard to criticize things. Nonetheless, there were a lot of missed opportunities that I can't help but think about, and that includes Chiaki's dynamic with Tetora, something that has been vastly unexplored despite the two of them being the leaders of Ryuseitai-N and M at one point.

The part that I particularly enjoyed the most from Comet Show was Chiaki and Midori's conversation because Chiaki starts showing cracks of his serious self. It was something that I thought would be elaborated on more in Universe, except instead of doing so with Midori, it'd be Tetora this time. But, while they did talk to each other, even about how Chiaki wasn't always the strong, cool upperclassman he presented himself to be in front of Tetora, their conversation felt... not nearly as impactful as I hoped it'd be. And I do not know how to personally feel about it turning into an "everyone is the leader" situation. But those are my two cents on it.

TLDR though: Chiaki should be allowed to be a little angry. As a treat. Please.

[eliosimsworld]

TOWNIE DUMP A

skills + bonus traits + career included, no cc, all outfits completed, free to download.

no pack restriction, so items might be missing.

those sims are strongly inspired by townies from the City Living Expansion, but I didn't use their base, traits or names.

DOWNLOAD

1. Inséparables

Diya Seth Zahir Seth

It is no secret to anyone that Zahir is a mama's boy. The man is in his thirties still living with his dear mother and he has no desire to leave. Poor Diya has to take care of him as if he was still a teenager. She's hoping that he'll finally man up and find a partner to marry.

2. Incompatibles

Arhaan Peri Jenn Peri

Jenn's personnality is all over the place, she loves to party all night as much as she likes to stay home all day to do nothing other than reading romance novels. Arhaan is... a nice guy. He's smart too. But that's all there is to him. (At least in Jenn's eyes) Altough she doesn't seem to appreciate him that much, believe it or not : they are married!... You know when teenagers make a pact with their bestfriend.. ''If we both aren't married in 20 years, then we have to marry each other''. Well...

3. Futures stars

Jeong-Hoon Kim Aimi Yun

Aimi and Jeong-Hoon have been bestfriends forever. They spent most of their childhood and teenage years pretending they were famous S-Pop (i know its k-pop, but its s-pop in the sims...) singers and now that they're adults, they want to make that dream come true.

4. L'expert

Julius Lippard

Julius has good taste and he has no shame in admitting that he thinks he is better than everyone else. Yet, despite his self-centeredness, the people of San Myschuno rave about his criticism. Everyone devours his blogs and dreams of getting a review from the famous Julius Lippard. Sure a bad review might hurt your career, but a good one will make you famous.

5. Populaire sur les réseaux

Rabia Habib

Rabia is a simfluencer, she mostly post her outfits of the day on Simtok and Simstagram. She loves fashion and would like to be a style influencer eventually.

DOWNLOAD

[catholic-on-main]

thank you so much for your blog lol. i've unironically learned a lot from it. i'm 17 and interested in becoming a catholic. i read the new testament and i believe it, i try to pray and learn more about christianity as much as i can, and from the research i've done on different christian denominations i think catholicism seems the most correct & resonates with me the most. never been to church though yet, but i plan on going when i move out lol. but i'm from a secular/ethnically jewish background and i'm nervous to talk to the people in my life about wanting to convert to christianity, because they think religious people are stupid and misguided and that christians are bible-thumping rednecks with no critical thinking skills basically. my friends make fun of christians a lot, and my dad doesn't want to take me to church while i live with him. i've also realized i am more conservative-leaning, for lack of a better word, on issues such as transgender and abortion, though honestly i never thought these were good things on my own but got peer pressured into supporting them. but my area is so liberal/secular and people constantly talk about these issues in ways i very much disagree with or make fun of religious people and i just stay quiet because i'm too much of a coward to say that i'm the person they're talking about. i feel like i would lose a lot of my friends online and irl if i started talking about the impact christianity has had on me and how much it means to me. i know christians are supposed to be open about their beleifs and be able to explain and defend them. i want to explain to people that i want to be a christian and that i don't mean any harm for having different beliefs from them, but i'm honestly too scared to lose my friends. do you have any advice for this situation? (i'm sorry for the long ask!!!)

Anon, thank you for the kind words! I'm glad that my blog was able to help you out. I'm sorry you're in that kind of situation. It's definitely difficult to be in that position, and it's very scary.

I recommend looking into videos on catholic apologetics (how to explain and defend your faith to others). Father Mike Schmitz has lots of videos explaining different aspects of the catholic faith, and I highly recommend his videos! I watch them fairly regularly myself, as he's energetic and can break down difficult subjects into smaller pieces. I also recommend looking into catholic groups you can attend for support. Local churches tend to have groups for young adults that can range from Bible studies to more casual hang-outs. If you cannot attend these due to your family, then look online! There are groups on social media and apps like Discord that can be a healthy access point for others of the faith. You can also reach out to local churches via e-mail to get in contact with someone who can talk to you and get you any resources you might be looking for.

As for difficulties with friends, that's probably the scariest thing. First off, do not feel responsible for changing their mind. If you strive to live your life as a good example of the faith, then you've done your best. Pray a lot over it! I pray rosaries often when I am stressed out about something. I find the repetition helps soothe my anxieties. Ask that you might find the words to best use in your conversations. And feel free to ask others to pray for you as well! You are not in this alone, though it may feel like it. Going into a conversation, ask that they be respectful and hear you out, and say that you will be respectful in return. Make it clear that you aren't accusing or attacking them. If they come at you with questions that you struggle to answer, you are absolutely able to say that you aren't certain how to answer at the moment, and you can get back to them later after you look into that topic. Especially since you are rather new to the faith, but even people raised catholic can struggle with how best to address certain concerns.

Your situation is difficult, and I'm sorry if my response does not seem super helpful or instructive. While I have lost friends in the past due to my faith, it was more of a gradually growing apart rather than direct confrontation, so I don't have the same experiences. I will be praying for you. Feel free to contact me again if you'd like.

And if any mutuals or followers of mine have some of their own advice, especially those who converted to the faith, you all are absolutely welcome to reblog with your experiences!

[karsok5]

Ladies and gentlemen, the story of my OS in mortal kombat. (Well, I'm into mortal kombat)

Whoever says anything about mistakes is a ban, I’m writing this I don’t know how long in a drunken stupor without sleep.

The beginning is short, the main thing. The end - what kind of fanfic? It didn't blow up like a child.

(My)

Sokol is the girl's code name. Her real name is unknown, and "Sokol" was taken from the name of the clan of which she is now the only follower.

Sokol always wanted to change her clan. It had a bad reputation, describing its members as cruel, vile, aggressive. The clan members were happy in life only with bloody fights and feasts that were arranged after victories. They did not accept criticism from others and did not even think about the prosperity of the clan. The main strength was toughness.

In the seventh group for fighting, in which the girl was, she was the most cruel. Fights were held much more often, thereby tormenting the participants, and no one had respect for each other outside of them.

In the clan, everything between the participants was decided by violence and the display of physical skills; you simply could not be weak.

As a child, Sokol was an example, the most aggressive and strong, but over time she realized that she did not want such fame. For this reason, many of her peers began to mock her, declaring that her idea was complete nonsense and traditions would never change. That it is better to have power over others through fear than to adapt to the example of other weak clans using the example of the Lin Kuei.

One day, the girl plucked up courage and decided to talk about it with her elders. She stated that she would like to see changes and abandon old traditions, that they only discredit the clan. But they only ridiculed her in front of the whole group and ordered her to fight against a guy from the fourth group. The group under this number was famous for its strongmen; going against them was considered suicide.

The conditions were simple, until no one surrenders, the battle will not end. Only if someone wanted to give up, he automatically became a punching bag. There was no choice.

The battle has begun. During the fight, the guy literally with one blow turned part of the body into meat smashed with a hammer. Sokol stood on the field only thanks to her agility, preventing the blow from completely hitting part of her body. The duel ended with Sokol losing consciousness—defeat, but we can say that this saved her from death.

Waking up at home in her bed, the girl promised herself that she would not leave it so easily.

In some ways, there were those for whom she lived in this place—the younger ones. The girl took care of them as if they were siblings, guiding them on the right path, and not what their elders taught.

Having recovered, the girl found information about a sorcerer who played with black magic and could provide some potions.

Secretly breaking out into the street early in the morning while everyone was sleeping, Sokol headed to a place unknown to anyone.

Having found the old man, the girl made an equivalent exchange, and then immediately disappeared, only casting a fleeting, incredulous glance at the grinning old man.

Returning home, she hid all the potions and began to wait.

Once every three months, three days of great battles took place. But also this month they set huge tables of food and alcohol. This was the chance to make a revolution.

The day of the holiday has arrived. Before going to the field, Sokol offered to help prepare alcohol and juices. Everything should have gone according to plan, if not for one thing.

When the clan members sat down at the table and decided to drink with their glasses raised, many of the adults, after a couple of sips, began to fall to the ground and choke, while the children immediately lost consciousness. According to the old man, the potions were supposed to take effect after a while, but it seems that was a lie.

The girl was seized with panic only because of the children, to whom she immediately ran up and tried to help in a panic.

“The old man insisted that separate flasks were for sleeping, what a liar,” the girl said, gritting her teeth, angrily squeezing the body of the little girl, who was already out of breath.

Chaos began all around, the celebration was stopped, and those who were responsible for the drinks were grabbed and immediately taken to the elders.

Without hesitation, accusing, everyone pointed at Sokol.

It was not only a personal grudge, but also general suspicions due to her behavior and past incidents.

As a result of a quick decision, she was to be executed.

But one of the elders, a man who had great influence and power in the clan, demanded a pardon, he was interested in her.

He stated that in exchange for her freedom, he would keep her under his control and be personally responsible for all actions in the future. The conditions were accepted by the elders more because of the influence and power of this man.

A wedding took place, everyone harbored hatred, but could not even declare it, since Falcon, despite her act, was inviolable.

Sokol, shackled, went out into the street with the guards, received sidelong glances, harsh words and even slaps in the face from angry women, experiencing grief from the loss of children.

The girl did not answer anything, she still walked on with her head held high, thinking about something of her own.

Gradually, her husband's trust in her became much greater. Her humility and timidity were what attracted and encouraged me. The shackles were removed from her, but the guards' surveillance continued. She couldn’t go anywhere alone, not even go to the market.

According to her husband, she did not try to create anything, but if only it were so in reality.

Slowly rising from the bed with dried tears on her cheeks after satisfying her husband's whim, the girl slowly walked up to the nightstand and, reaching under it with her hand, took out a small dagger.

“The soul that you tormented, I will restore it” - with these words she slowly approached her husband’s side and without hesitation cut his throat. Exhaling in relief, Sokol shuddered when she heard footsteps heading into the room.

At the same moment, one of the man’s guards entered the room.

“Sir, I wanted to check on you and...” the guy said until he saw how the girl, being on top of the man, abruptly covered her naked body with a blanket.

“Oh, I beg your pardon,” the guy said immediately as he walked away.

The falcon, pulling the robe back and getting off the man, runs up to the box with the sacred cup.

With trembling hands, she takes the stolen key from the pocket of her robe and opens the doors of the box. Taking the cup, she returns to the man's body. With her hand, she squeezes the man’s bloody neck and squeezes drops of blood into this cup.

“Whoever drinks the blood of a murdered person from this cup will gain his strength.”

Sokol gained strength, but at what cost.

One of the guards came in to check the chambers again. But how shocked he was when he saw only a corpse and a girl holding a sacred cup. As soon as he stretched out his hand to take out the blade, his head was pressed into the wall and, with quickly applied blows, turned into a porridge of meat.

Greedily killing everyone who stood in her way, the girl lost control, without even realizing how anger and hatred clouded her eyes.

Sokol ended all members of the clan, every single one, not even sparing the children who had previously brought her hope.

Having come to her senses, she dropped the cup into a pool of blood on which she herself was standing.

She covered her mouth with trembling hands while her eyes, getting wet, ran over the mountains of corpses in the area. Unable to believe and understand at that second what she had done, the girl filled the silence with her desperate silent scream with a stream of tears.

(Then I might edit some more, but now I want to sleep. Or I don’t want to. I want a normal schedule)

[welivetodream]

The Curse of Creativity and the suffering of artists:

"There are tons of people who are just as good as me." - Seiji Amasawa, Whisper of the heart (1995)

Ghibli movies have always had a huge impact on me. Full of quiet sensibilities and easily understood complex concepts; Ghibli movies made my childhood and the person I am today. And despite the cuteness of Totoro, the innocence of Ponyo, the quirky weirdness of Howl's moving castle (the themes of that movie are so intricate too) or the message about hardwork and burnout in Kiki's delivery service, there is one movie that remains in my heart (no pun intended)

"Whisper of the Heart" has taught me so much about myself and the path I am headed. It is the most beautiful, soul-crushing movie I have ever watched not because it has wars and the death of loved ones but because it is relatable and grounded. I can see myself in Shizuko and Seiji, I understand their struggles and dreams. I smiled with them and I cried for them. I related to Shizuko's struggle to see her writing as anything good and Seiji's belief that despite his achievements he isn't anywhere near as good at his skills as some other people.

This movie made me think about the saying I so often hear "Don't suffer for your dreams". While I scoffed at it when an adult said that to me first, now that I am much older and hopefully wiser, the words struck me not as nagging but as a warning.

Suffering doesn't equal great art, some people think that only those who are depressed and mentally ill can make great art, which is completely false. (Although I don't blame those people as many great artists and writers were actually mentally ill, it's not the only thing that makes one a great artist!) You don't have to suffer to be a great artist, you just have to be creative and work hard, there's nothing more to that.

When I was in my most depressed state during the last two years of high school, I wasn't writing or working hard on my book. I was staring at the wall wishing I would disappear. Overcoming that depression led me to write better, work harder, chase my dreams with passion.

During the times where I am stuck in a chapter I can't get through and my brain goes blank, I think to myself if I am actually a good writer or I have been just treading the waters of talent that I don't have. When people call me talented, it makes me squirm, it takes away my hardwork and effort.

Being a creative person is not easy, it's not all sunshine and rainbows where you are constantly getting new ideas. Sometimes it makes my head hurt. Acting on your ideas is not easy. I can think all I want but when it comes to actually writing that idea, I freeze.

Being an artistic person makes you feel self conscious. If anyone will like what I do? Will someone criticize me? What if no one likes my work? What if they judge me? There's someone who is better than me, why should I even bother?

Creativity isn't just a blessing, it's also a curse. It's a double-edged sword.

You should try to achieve the best but not make it your end goal. Life is so much more than success, fame and material goods. I don't write for any of those things, I write for myself and the people I care for. Even if I don't end up publishing any of my novels, I would still write. Never stop dreaming and become monotonous, you don't have to make sure your hobbies earn you money, they should give you peace and happiness.

There are times when I spend too much time in front of my computer typing out another new story when I stop and think back at those words, I don't feel dispassionate, suffering won't make me happy, writing whatever I want would. So I type ahead for some more minutes and take a break. I indulge in the world that I create in my books and make characters that I love more deeply than human beings, but I don't want it to become my life. I would still do normal everyday things and talk to normal everyday people. Work-life balance is utter bullshit and too idealistic, but making sure your work doesn't consume your life is what matters.

Even if I do end up getting an ordinary job and not making my hobby a career, I would not be disappointed.

I am ready to live a life of rationality and pragmatism but I will never accept monotony.

[neonscandal]

Sorry I’ve been away.

Thank you for joining us today on behalf of my cousin. Joining in this grief. I was the flower girl at my cousin's wedding so, perhaps it's only right that I be the one to see him off now. When I heard of my cousin's passing, I was overcome with the playful way that he’d say, “write something for me, Randella! Write something for me!” That's just the way he was. He’d message me with requests, some I couldn’t ignore whether that be the need to express warm wishes on a loved one's birthday or achievement or, sometimes, to find the difficult words to express condolences for those experiencing loss. More often than not, if you have a long spun message on a card from my cousin, I had a part in sending my love or my sorrow. Such was the way we conspired.

Him, with the feelings, and me, with the pen. Well, the figurative pen. Because there were never any thoughts I could come up with that wouldn’t be better expressed with the languid scroll of his pen. I loved that, his handwriting. Long stems, lazy flourishes, deliberate and precisely spaced. So, I stand before you in the hopes of sending off my cousin in a manner that I hope he’d approve of since I never fulfilled his last request. That, of course, being to draft a love letter to Kamala Harris which I assured him would get him put on some sort of list and I simply couldn’t be a party to. 

Tony was all nicknames and vintage cars, meticulously curated. He had a superior taste in music but he may have been the only person with that opinion. Sometimes he was the hammer that corrected an errant nail in that he could be mean, a bully even. By that, I mean that some days, Tony thought he was on Death Comedy Jam and heaven help the person sitting in the front row in a loud outfit. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt that, seeing my hair today, Tony would have reassured me that he could have done a better job for $2. I’ve never taken him up on his $2 perms, cuts OR dye jobs so I guess we’ll never know.

To me, Tony was a light swathed in shadow and mystery. That became even clearer as we shared stories at a family celebration of his life. I heard tales from his youth that I’d never been wise to even though I always felt like I grew up with Tony. But I suppose one can never truly know someone. A diamond has many faces and they don’t all shine the same and that was Tony. He could be a goofy kid one minute, a trickster the next and tersely dissatisfied after.

Tony would do most anything for a laugh and never backed down from a challenge. The more outlandish the better. Everything was funnier with Tony. In a house of adults, Tony always aligned with the kids. Whether it was keeping us entertained on long summer days, playing video games with the same level of excitement, teaching us how to play cards (with the vigor of an Olympic coach and zero grace for the skill or comprehension of the children in his care), or the disastrous things he’d cook for us. Admirably, such culinary setbacks never frustrated him. I remember distinctly a cake he’d baked, seemingly with gelatin by the dense but certain way it jiggled that wound up settling at a 30 degree angle and had a slight green tinge to it.. Tony just laughed. And ate. The irony, of course being that he had the nerve to cook so terribly but be the loudest food critic at family gatherings. You'd have thought Thanksgiving was season 6 of Hell's Kitchen or something. That was Tony’s audacity.

I always told my older cousins that, to me, they never aged. I think it had less to do with them or my sister, of the same generation, who always lied about her age, and more to do with the fact that, for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been surrounded by Tony. And Tony? Was a kid. Perhaps that’s the grace of a child’s memory but I’m grateful for having grown up beside my cousin. Someone who could always laugh and smile despite whatever burdens he carried. 

He carved a path through this life that touched each of you gathered here today. From all walks of life, we have gathered to send him off with love and grace because that is the thing to do for someone you love. Though it is hard, I am grateful for his love and happier having known him. For Tony, I wish him a safe home going and the hope that he finds peace.

[ukkoperkele]

Just to share my own thoughts, I don't think that was the point. @fortunatelyginger

The article is not taking the male perspective into account since this time the writer is focused on girls. I doubt she was bringing up girls' and women's problems in her book about men's problems either, because that wasn't her focus. Not focusing on the male perspective in this article doesn't makes boys' and men's experiences with bullying from women any less real.

The article is showing one possible explanation why teenage girls are feeling unwell. These girls are telling about their experiences with harsh online and in-person bullying from these certain boys in their school. Not from men as a whole. It is also true that people who are struggling are more likely to take their anger and sadness out on others especially without proper support or knowledge about healthy coping mechanisms. Boys still often lack support.

Regular cruel comments and sexualization are undoubtedly a valid cause for someone to start feeling unwell. Teenagers are at an age where their identity and emotional regulation skills are still developing. Receiving this kind of treatment will usually take a bigger toll on teens than adults.

It's been a while since I was a teen, but I remember this kind of bullying from both girls and boys. Both also received it. Teens in general can be cruel as hell.

However, in my experience teenage boys were doing this kind of bullying more often, or at least they were generally more aggressive and open about it than girls. The worst bullies were usually from dysfunctional families. Girls also usually had, and most likely still have, more pressure than boys when it comes to looks, and that pressure is not only coming from boys. This is an indivual experience, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was still the case in some schools.

Andrew Tate has some good points when it comes to self-improvement, but he also has more harmful takes on human value and mental health. "This is why women should not vote, they're morons" comment after a (trans)woman was expressing stress over elections is not something I would like my own sons to hear or look up to. Someone like HealthyGamer, a Harvard trained psychiatrist focusing especially on boy's and men's mental health, would be a better choice.

Tate's followers from what I've seen are not usually the kindest to women, some of them being blatantly hateful online. When young impressionable boys who have no proper critical thinking skills or media literacy skills yet see this kind of content and comments, there is a risk they will absorb all the things they're fed, including hatred towards women, without a second thought. They don't have the maturity to pick the genuinely helpful tips and ignore the rest. This in turn can affect the way they treat girls and women in their close circle. I think this is what the article was trying to convey by mentioning Tate.

These bullies might not be the only or the main reason why girls are unwell, but it is certainly still a serious problem that parents and teachers should pay more attention to. Teenagers are old enough to understand right from wrong. Behavior like this needs to be corrected not only in boys, but in teens in general.

Social media is creating more apathetic and cruel kids. You can also see it from the way those boys reacted to a fellow boy trying to stand up for her. Basic human decendy shouldn't be ridiculed or seen as something negative.

Why are British teenage girls so unhappy? Here’s the answer (Caitlin Moran, The Times, Sep 13 2024)

"The report, by the Children’s Society, found that British 15-year-old girls are the most unhappy in Europe.

British girls aged 10-15 are “significantly less happy” with their life, appearance, family and school than the average boy — and their happiness is still declining.

Boys’ life satisfaction, meanwhile, remains broadly stable. (…)

But I still didn’t have an “aha!” moment about why this so disproportionately affects girls until… I talked to some teenage girls.

It was at a party, and I went to vape with them on the patio. Because I take my nicotine like children do.

“Duh — it’s the boys,” one said when I brought it up, as all the others agreed.

“The boys?” I asked.

My last book, What About Men?, had been all about how much boys struggle these days: their loneliness; their suicide rates. I’d spent the past year feeling very sympathetic towards boys.

“Yeah, well, who do you think they’re taking out their unhappiness on? It’s us,” another girl said.

“One boy at school used to draw a picture every day of how ugly I was,” a third girl said. “Every day for two years.”

“They’ve all got ‘Rate The Girls’ polls on their WhatsApps,” the first said. “They mark you down for weight gain, haircuts, what you say.”

“But then, if you’re hot, it’s just as bad, in a different way, because they’ll be talking about how they want to f*** you.”

The girls discussed coping techniques. Bad news: none of them worked.

“The only way you can stop them is if you become ‘one of the boys’ and hang out with them. But then,” the second girl said with a sigh, “all the other girls call you a slut. Because you’ve gone over to the boys’ side.”

“Surely it’s not all the boys?” I said. “There must be some nice boys?”

“Oh, yeah,” one girl said. “But they keep their heads down. Because… well, look.”

She showed me the Instagram account of her friend. Under every picture she posted of herself — smiling in a new dress; with her dog — dozens of anonymous accounts had replied with the most rank abuse.

“Fat.” “Slut.” “You gonna try and kill yourself again, for attention?”

“They’re all boys from her school,” she said. “And look, this one boy tried to defend her.”

I saw a series of messages from a brave teenage boy, posting things like, “You’re all big men, leaving these replies under anonymous accounts.”

As I could see, this boy immediately became a target too. Mainly accusations that he was “white knighting” this girl: “You wanna f*** her, bro?”

“So,” I asked, “you don’t think it’s social media pressure to be beautiful, or the economy, that’s making girls so sad?”

“Well, yeah, them too,” the first girl said. “But, Monday-Friday, 9-3, I’m not on social media. I’m not… in the economy. I’m just with these boys. And no one talks about how horrible they are.”

I thought about another recent report, showing a 30 per cent ideological gap between Gen Z men, who are increasingly conservative, and Gen Z women, who are increasingly progressive.

I thought about Andrew Tate, who has nine million mostly young male followers — and faces human trafficking charges, which he denies.

And I thought: maybe these girls are on to something. Maybe more people need to vape with teenage girls and ask them for the school gossip."