#i feel like i did not sufficiently make my point in this case

[corviiids]

[...]

[lemurchick]

Another 'wonderful news' from Russia for your consideration! This week, the BRICS forum on traditional values took place in Moscow. And it was fucking insane.

In short, the opening meeting was BRICS countries representatives verbally jerking off on how well they oppress or plan to oppress their people especially women. The only person who bothered to contradict this narrative was Egyptian female writer Doha Mustafa Assy.

I will translate some quotes from the russian article. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/7311174

Russia: "At some point the roles for women have begun to change towards independence and self-sufficiency. We, of course, love and respect our women very much, but we want them to pay more attention to their families, men and children. We do not want them to strive for business, politics, economics, power, or culture. <...> The main traditional value is the preservation of natural purpose, where a woman continues the family line and a man inspires her to give birth to children."

Pakistan: "Any traditional religion upholds and promotes social values and traditions. No father would want to harm his family. No mother would want to break up or disintegrate her family. This <rejection of family values> is deliberately imposed on us and promoted by some power circles”

Ethiopia: "In our country it is traditionally women who do the cooking, teaching children and other family duties. So the man's role is not as big as the woman's, and this tradition gives the man the freedom to behave like a child." (?????)

Uganda: [This country experience is “extremely important to the discussion of legislative protection of religious values,” emphasized russian politician Dmitry Kuznetsov, referring to the fact that in Uganda same-sex relations are prohibited, and in some cases violators face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.] “We did this to make sure that the country would be preserved. I would encourage countries to behave in such a way that the culture that exists in each country is not imposed on others.” btw Brazil and South Africa representatives didn't say a word here even though their countries legalized same-sex mafrriage years ago.

Brazil: "Marriage in no longer a goal for our citizens and the country has the highest divorce rate in history. Meanwhile, children are most often left with their mothers, with fathers unwilling to take part in their upbringing. As a result, many Brazilian boys are growing up without a father figure and 9% of male inmates in prisons don't even know their father's name. Shifting the balance in favor of women leads to the fact that the position of feminism is growing, and the number of people who identify as LGBT people is growing.” At the end of his speech, he marveled, “This is my first time in Russia, and I didn't know you guys were so conservative. I'm so happy, it's so impressive!” He also admitted that “the people of Brazil know nothing about Russia,” and Dmitry Kuznetsov promised: “We will come to you and tell you all about our saving conservatism.”

Egypt: As I mentioned in the beginning the only person who actively argued against this trend was Doha Mustafa Assy. She said: "We on the contrary has a struggle against patriarchy. Tradition and religion are not on women's side, they help men. A lot of women in Egypt ask for divorce only because they feel like slaves at home. He (the husband) has the right not to let her leave the house according to tradition. BRICS is India, it's China, it's Russia, it's Egypt. We are very different. And maybe what you are trying to do in Russia has already became a problem for us”.

To be honest I don't know what will come out of this forum. Maybe it's just empty posturing, maybe BRICS countries just sent people who had free time on their hand here as a formality. But I despair reading these quotes; twenty years ago we sent a singing duet posing as lesbians to Eurovision; ten years ago I was watching lesbian drama Blue Is the Warmest Colour in a full theater. Soviet Union gave women some attempt in an equal rights in fucking 1917 and we were the first country to send a woman in space. What happened? How has it turned this way? We are now friends with some of the most patriarchal countries in the world and with fucking North Korea. They are planning to remove the Taliban's terrorist status.

What the hell.

[olderthannetfic]

www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/771823370694213632

You need the say the bit about the way canon treats characters way louder because I really think that the way the character is... framed, I guess? accounts for huge chunks of it.

I remember when the Disk Horse was about Finn vs. Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequel trilogy and I got called racist for trying to point out that Finn was always framed as the comic relief/unserious by the canon. He has a character arc in the first movie, but his emotions and his trauma and his personality are mostly played for laughs (ha! ha! Black janitor guy is scared because he's a coward! - and him being a janitor is a change that came pretty late, he was originally meant to be the top of his class). OTOH Kylo Ren has the camera linger on his anguished face while sad music plays and he monologues about the moral conflicts that he's facing.

The average viewer/reader - especially in the case of visual media - doesn't really stop watching to form non-prejudiced independent opinions on every character (and really shouldn't if your narrative is well-constructed!), that'd take up too much of their mental bandwidth! They let themselves be guided by how things and people are framed, so of course they'd see Ren as Serious and Tragic and Finn as the funny guy, which is inherently less sexy to most people!

Same thing with F/F: when canon treats its women with any degree of complexity and gives them the sort of character traits that are conductive to blorbofication people are all over it!

My dash's been drowning in Rhaenycent for a year now, and that's a show that arguably sorta botched its female characters in the attempt to make them complex! But it doesn't matter, because they set up all these juicy dynamics and the fans are all over it!

Fans LOVE Claudia from IWTV even though the tragedy of her canonical role is that the guys always sideline her for each other.

I went to the Anora tag after seeing the movie and saw a bunch of Anora x reader fic in between the gifs the same way I did for Feyd Rautha from Dune or any other feral unhinged character fans love imagining themselves having sex with (and then blocked it lol).

Like, my taste in women and men is exactly the same but the large majority of characters that fit it are men, because we just don't get a lot of women who are composed, charming rogues on the outside and crippled traumatized messes on the inside, with a narrative that gives this sufficient weight, and also lets them be feral and unhinged. And I actually prefer minority characters because where I'm from I'm from a minority group myself, but again, most of them don't fit the bill personality-wise or framing-wise.

Fandom's a hobby and it's meant to be fun - I'm not gonna be constantly swimming uphill from what the canon is trying to present to me just because a character shares a demographic category with me. I think this is the case for most people, really.

--

My read on a lot of this is that people are sad about the status quo (fair) and are lying to themselves that the culprits are nearby where they can reach them.

If we confront the fact that the real source is the director or the cinematographer or the studio head, it all feels so much more insurmountable.

Of course, one can opt for niche, indie media, but a lot of people don't want to do that, so they fall back on this shitty coping mechanism of pretending that they can yell at the people around them and effect meaningful change.

[entomolog-t]

Silly lil brainrot thats stuck in my head cause everyone's been talking about sizeshifters lately (AND I AM HERE FOR IT)

Just image a character looking for a roommate to help split rent, but their spare room is stupidly small. They put an add out, and get a few people coming by but no one wants that cramped of a bedroom, no matter how cheap they make it-

Until someone does.

They're frankly surprised- they figured at this point it was a lost cause but the person seems weirdly delighted??

Odd.

They are overjoyed at the price too- and character A can understand their joy- given the size of the room they were getting desperate price wise.

A week goes by and everything seems fairly normal. They put a lock on their door, but that seemed pretty standard when you're moving in with a stranger. They're clean, friendly, and pretty fun to be around- just a little forgetful, but who isn't?

By the second week though, Character A is noticing some weirdness. B doesn't seem to eat... They never see them cooking, theres nothing in the fridge, and they don't seem to go out for food either.

When A brings it up B brushes it off, saying they have a minifridge in their room and a lil personal stove. It seems like a good enough excuse until A realizes they've never seem them do dishes. Ever.

By the third week A is convinced theres something weird about B. They have to do some repairs on B's room and when they go in they're just in shock. It looks even smaller than before- B having put bookshelves along almost every wall- but theres no books in the shelves. Its all...

Miniatures?

Fantastically intricate rooms, ranging from something out of a fantasy castle, to influencer mansion type rooms. The longer they look, the weirder it seems though. The rooms are all connected- slides, bridges, ladders... Did they have a pet mouse or something??

Spying one room with a hamster wheel, A is convinced that B has the most spoiled pet in the world. Although... they never mentioned having a pet. Not that it was an issue, but A made it pretty clear that they should tell them if the have a pet in case of a fire or any type of emergency.

And then A sees it- or well, more accurately, doesn't see it.

They ... they dont have a bed??

Sufficiently weirded out but trying their best not to judge, A starts on whatever repairs they have to make, only to realize the project is not going to be a one and done job.

They let B know they'll have to go back into their room later this week and they work out a date and time-B assures them they'll be out of the house and will leave the door unlocked.

The day rolls around and when A goes to start the repairs they grimace. B forgot to leave their door unlocked. They really didn't have time for this. They give B a call, but it goes straight to voicemail.

With a sigh, they grab a credit card. It looked like a cheap lock anyways. Slipping the card between the door and frame they manage to bypass the lock with ease. It really was a cheap thing...

As they go to start the repairs, a little bit of movement catches their eye.

A small lump curled up under the covers of a massively luxurious bed.

Awe! So they did have a mouse!

and it slept under the covers?? Adorable.

It had to be pretty well trained if it didn't have any sort of actual cage? Maybe it was a rat? They could be pretty smart... though it was small.

Curiosity peaked, A pinches the tiny covers in their hand- not without noticing how incredibly soft and high quality they are- pulling the covers back.

A small hand rips the cover back, and they here a muffled

"Five more minutes..."

Eyes wide, they freeze, the world around them feeling frozen in this bizarre moment. A second passes. Then another.

The tiny figure in the bed bolts upright, head turning to A.

Their eyes lock in the most awkward dual realization.

"What are you doing-"

A interrupts them, holding up a tool.

"Repairs were today."

B nods, eyes wide.

"I uh... I forgot about that."

_____________________

I JUST THINK IF I WERE ABLE TO SHIFT SIZES I WOULD BE LIVING THE MOST LUXURIOUS LIFE

"BuT eNtO, DoNt YoU wAnT tO bE bIg?"

Yes obviously, but in this economy?? In the privacy of my own home I'll subsist for month off of 10$ in groceries thank you very much.

[perseephoneee]

adventures in catsitting (castiel x reader)

a/n: basically i just had this thought of castiel catsitting my cat (her name is Butters, and yes, she's featured in this fic) and it made my brain go all mushy bc i just love him so much. anyway.

masterlist | let me ship you with your fav characters | join my taglist

Watching a cat shouldn’t be too hard, for all intents and purposes. Watching your cat, earning your favor, well that would just be a bonus. Unfortunately, Castiel doesn’t understand cats that much.

“Okay, that should be about it,” you said, hands on your hips as you looked at the angel next to you. He was carefully analyzing all the different things you laid out on the counter: toys, food, meds, etc. “Any questions?”

“She eats baby food? Not cat food?” Castiel clarified, pointing to the turkey Gerbers still in its twelve-pack on the counter.

“Well, she’s a baby, and it’s better for her stomach,” you chuckled.

“I thought she was a grown cat,” Castiel says, confused. He looks over at said cat, a stocky cream-colored Persian you referred to as Butters. To him, she seemed to be full-grown.

“Every cat is just a little baby, even when they’re grown,” you give Butters a scratch behind her ears, and she lets out a meep sound reminiscent of what you dub ‘a sad trumpet.’ Castiel still looks confused. “Never mind….will you be okay? It’s just for two days while I finish this case.”

“I will be sufficient,” Castiel almost puffs out his chest at this.

"Great! You're the best, Cas," you pat his arm, grabbing your duffel bag and leaving out the front door. Castiel stands still briefly before looking at the fluffy creature beside him. Wide yellow eyes peer up at him, blinking. He looks back at the detailed paper you wrote, ensuring he got everything. He wanted to make sure he did his best.

It was around night that Castiel started to worry. He had entertained Butters for a sufficient time, then sat with her on the couch while she watched a movie. (You said that she liked Finding Nemo, so Castiel put it on. He found the movie to be strangely sad). It was her dinner time, and Castiel had put out a scoop of baby food as required, except that it had been hours, and she wasn't eating it. She was sitting on the couch, letting out gentle purrs and seeming fine. Still, Castiel was concerned. He decided to call Dean for answers.

"I think something is wrong with the cat," Cas said into the phone. "It won't eat its dinner. It's just sleeping."

"I'm sure it's fine," Dean sighed, obviously not wanting to be a part of this conversation.

"If there's something wrong with the cat--"

"Cats are weird. They don't always follow set schedules," Dean groaned, feeling agitated. He took a second before responding. "Is it fine otherwise?"

"...Yes."

"Then the cat is fine," Dean replied. "Call me when something actually useful pops up."

Dean hung up, and Castiel looked back towards the cat. It had woken up, blinking its eyes at the angel. It let out another meep, tucking its paws underneath it. Castiel gave it a pat on the head.

"Your food is over there," Cas pointed towards the food bowl. Butters just meeped again. "I just told you where your food was." Another meep. "I don't understand."

Butters, eventually exasperated, got up and jumped off the couch, walking over to Cas. She rubbed against his pant legs, walking back and forth and making more noises. Castiel gave her a few pets, showing a small smile when she responded happily to his ministrations. She rolled over, showing her belly, and Castiel gave it a few hesitant strokes. Eventually, Butters grew tired and walked over to her food bowl. The angel let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

You came home after two days, finding your cat and your angel sitting on the couch watching Luca on the TV. Both of them looked equally enraptured. 

“You survived,” you smiled, earning Castiel's attention. He turned towards you with soft blue eyes, and your heart skipped a beat. 

“It meows a lot,” Castiel stated, looking toward the feline companion beside him. She let out a meep in response. 

“She has lots of opinions,” you chuckle, walking over and giving a big squish to your cat. She purrs happily, even letting you boop her nose. Cas looks at you both fondly. Without really sparing a second thought, you leaned over, kissing Castiel’s cheek and enjoying when a red flush coated his face. “You’re the best, Castiel.”

Cas sat there for a minute, even after you’d gone to the kitchen for some water, even after he couldn’t feel your lips on his cheek anymore. All he could think was that if catsitting meant getting a kiss, he’d have to catsit for you more often.

[portraitofalinkonfyre]

Dick-less and Afraid: a Deep-Dive into BOTW Game Mechanics and Long-Term Liquid Exposure on the Physiological Characteristics of Hylians

So. We're doing this again. If this is your first experience on my blog, allow me to direct you to the original dick-canon post, but feel free to raw-dog this essay if that's more your style! Without further ado, I present: Why Wild Shouldn't Have A Penis–With Pictures!

But first, a word from our sponsor, short blue man:

Now that that's taken care of: in the previous post, I analyzed the length, girth, and physical appearance of Wild (BOTW Link)'s penis–which I can confidently say is likely 5.6 inches, average thickness, and contains a slight glow-factor that shall not be named–with only the shortest of nods to the crux of this dissertation: Wild's penis and how the hell it survived a century underwater, assuming it's even attached to his pelvis at this point.

But before that, there are several factors that must be considered before the long-awaited dick analysis. Namely, how did Wild even survive at all? It's obvious that he did, considering his game is named "Breath of the Wild" and not "Breath of the Corpse", and there's no external indication that he's dead--or some type of dick-less ghost--so the fact that he is well and alive is strongly established in the BOTW franchise. With that out of the way, he can move on to the specifics of his death-defying nap, particularly in the Shrine of Resurrection itself. For those who need a refresher, the Shrine of Resurrection is where Link (Wild) awakes at the beginning of the game, dressed in only a pair of navy underwear, and is gifted his trusty Sheikah Slate before being unleashed upon the wilds of Hyrule.

However, from a physiological standpoint, this should not be possible. According to my two-hour Google research session at 3am, it takes approximately one to three weeks to die from being submerged in freshwater, assuming the water is:

a) sterile; which lowers risk of infection that can hasten the dying process

b) at a livable temperature; which typically falls between 77°F and 82°F*, assuming Hylian's have the same body requirements as humans

c) equipped with some sort of waste filtration system; everyone poops, and I can't imagine what the shrine would have looked like without anything to clean that up

Even with this generous criteria, there is no possible way Wild, who shares a very similar physiological make-up with humans, could have survived in the Shrine of Resurrection for an entire century, regardless of whether the liquid is fresh or salt water. But, obviously, he did, so there must be an explanation past video-game-logic-handwave-bullshit, which is exactly why I offer you the concept of sheikah-engineered hydroelectroshock therapy.

To start, I am in no way, shape, or form, an engineer or health professional, but this is a dissertation about a fictional character's (nonexistent) dick, so I think we're awarded a bit of plausible deniability on the topic alone. With that out of the way, let's begin dissecting the mouthful that is 'sheikah-engineered hydroelectroshock therapy'. For those who aren't familiar with the term 'electroshock therapy', it's a form of psychiatric therapy that involves using electricity to trigger small seizures in the patient's brain to treat severe mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but there have been cases of it being applied in a more physical sense as well. One of these instances is catatonia, which is described as a condition in which the patient "is [in] a state in which [they are] awake but does not seem to respond to other people and their environment". While this may not directly describe Wild's state upon being placed in the Shrine of Resurrection, it would make sense that, due to dying, his mind would be suspended in a similar state while the Shrine repaired his wounds, which gives sufficient grounds for the use of electricity as a mode of preservation.

But how? How was this treatment administered? How was it maintained? How in Hylia was it successful?

Wonder no longer, because there is an explanation. If we're assuming that the Sheikah clan somehow created a pseudo electroshock apparatus within the Shrine to keep Wild alive until he was healed, we must first delve into the specifics of the Shrine itself, particularly the 'bath' he wakes up in and the fact that it is filled with water, which is an excellent conductor. However, let's take it a step further and assume that the water has a high salt content, which would make it especially suited for hydro-electroshock therapy. The Skeikah, knowledgeable as they are, are likely aware of this fact, and it's no surprise that they would fully take advantage of it for the continued prosperity of both Hyrule and the Royal Family.

This, combined with the obvious technical prowess of the Sheikah Clan, means that the Shrine of Res-erection was likely engineered specifically for this purpose, which would explain the very electrically-forward design and, obviously, the fact that it did its job and worked. Hooray.

But, before we move on to dissect the horny section of this dissertation: how would water electroshock therapy work? Is there a criterion any such machine must meet to keep a hylian heart beating? The answer? Absolutely! As I pray most of you know, while the heart is a considerably strong organ, it is not immune to the dangers of electricity, especially when water enters the equation. Google estimates that it takes a minimum of 50 volts for a shock to be considered lethal, though this is not necessarily determined by voltage alone, as the length and rigor of the electrical current also play a large role in determining the severity of a shock. And, because I know some of you are wondering: 'fyre, why are you talking about a medieval AED device when you could be talking about penises??', I promise, you're going to want to hear this. While we're on the topic, AEDs typically administer between 200 and 1,000 volts to the heart, which forces the SA (sinoatrial; controls the upper heart's ability to contract via electrical signals) node to reset and, by association, the heart itself to resume a normal rhythm. Despite this, a mere 50 volts can prove fatal to the average, healthy human, meaning the maximum voltage of the Shrine

And what voltage would that be? 30 volts. Over the course of this research, I discovered the ICD (Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator), a device typically placed inside the chest cavity that delivers mild to high shocks to the heart to offset a falling pulse rate. I'm not saying that Wild has any implanted monitors, but I am saying that if anyone found a way to pack an ancient defibrillator and do it sexily, it would be our resident gremlin man.

Now, to the part you've all been waiting for, Wild's dick and why it most certainly didn't survive the encounter. And, before you come (tee hee) in the comments to scream at me for making our Wild Child penis-less, hear me out. According to Google at 2am, continuous saltwater submersion is a terrible idea, particularly because it causes hemolysis, a sister-condition to osmosis in which the patient's red blood cells absorb too much water and subsequently burst. This is not good. Moreover, it can take between several weeks to several years for this condition to prove fatal, but we're going to assume that over one hundred years of exposure would be enough to do the trick. Again, this is not good. Due to a combination of continuous saline water submersion and skin science stolen from my anatomy textbook, I can conclude that, under probable conditions, there is no possible way that Wild's penis survived his time in the Shrine, even if it can be argued that the rest of his body was preserved through mild electroshock engineering. Much like a corrupted JPG file, while the Shrine of Res-erection may have preserved Wild's essential biological systems, certain peripherals... didn't make the cut.

(I know I'm bad)

Despite this insanity, questions remain:

If the Shrine of Res-erection (I promise I'm done) is a modified EKG/electroshock chamber, who's pressing the buttons? This took a significant amount of brainpower to articulate, but I firmly believe that Princess Zelda monitored the feed religiously through her own slate. No further comment, your honor.

How in Hyrule did Wild's boxers survive when not even his penis could hang on? Textiles, my good reader. I hesitate to say cotton, which typically has a variable survivability of 90 days (27% material lost under aquatic-degradation test), and polyester( 13% degradation in 90 days), which leaves me no choice but to humbly suggest oilcloth, a type of oil-soaked cotton known for water repellency.

Actual artist's rendition of this dissertation:

"Oh no! It's gone! Where did it go??"

And, of course, I'd be a fool not to include a works cited page for y'all to peruse.

Works Cited

My Brain. 2025.

Google. Alphabet Inc., 17 Mar. 2025, 2:00 a.m.

My Poor Anatomy Textbook. Endless pages of sin. Accessed daily under Tumblr and academic duress, 2025.

*(As a competitive swimmer, the pools I swim in typically have a temperature between 78°F and 80°F, which is purposefully on the colder side because it prevents overheating while racing and can actually encourage your body to respond better to stimuli.)

[strangelittlestories]

When one of the last fairy godparents died on my doorstep and passed on their domain to me, they made one crucial miscalculation: I was terminally un-magical.

Now, you might think I mean ‘terminally’ figuratively here. But you would be astonished how quickly foisting a fairy legacy onto fully mundane folks can produce lethal consequences.

In this case, the issue was the wishes. That’s a fairy godparent’s job, right? You’ve got a number of godchildren, selected because they are in some way magically deserving, of interesting destiny, or unfortunately cursed. These kids will usually have some problem that can be solved by tactical wish application.

But if you’re a normal mortal, you will likely spend your first week on the job in active denial about the wishes that start turning up. It’ll just be one or two at first, faintly glowing like stars beneath your skin, carrying with them the gentle suggestion that now might be a great time to start transmogrifying root vegetables into modes of transport.

Then more of them turn up. And they get brighter, bigger, more insistent. Suddenly, your skin is filled with a galaxy and there is no quantity of cleverly applied scarves and no amount of expensive concealer that will hide it. It’s as if your insides have become student accommodation and the residents have decorated with an improbable number of fairy lights because it will look good on the ‘gram.

You start getting sensory migraines that paint flows of impossible colours across the world. Your teeth feel like they are constantly vibrating and you can always taste cinnamon. You can feel your liver and your liver feels wrong. You look in the mirror and you seem to be moving in stop motion, winking in and out of reality.

And a dozen little tinny voices are hovering the back of your mind insistent that *only you* can solve their problems. These problems may seem inconsequential - a boy who really needs to go to the ball, a girl who needs horseriding lessons, a teen who for some reason needs to avoid arts and crafts - but the longer you ignore them, the more you *know* in your bones that they are vital.

Speaking of vital: this is roughly when the banshee showed up to let me know that the sheer quantity of magical potential in my body was now approaching ‘fae nuke’ levels. Apparently, if I did not start bleeding off some of the excess, this would get *very bad* for me and everyone around me.

In short: the critical mass of wishes contained within my pitiful mortal flesh was acting like a magical black hole. It was sufficiently aetherically dense that my body was becoming more a part of the Faerie realm than the mortal plane. If it reached the tipping point, it would effectively become a portal between worlds.

This wouldn’t be too bad for an actual fae. As the banshee explained, this was one of the ways fairy godparents got around. They call it ‘wishful blinking’

But I was not built for containing a magical wormhole, so yeah … fae nuke.

So … I started granting wishes.

Making dreams come true without magic, by the way, is a *whole production*. I called in every favour. I utilised every skill. I pulled elaborate cons. I tricked parents into hiring me as a party planner/tutor/life coach/etc. Then I used the income to hire help. The banshee even pitched in (we ended up getting drinks a few times).

Eventually, there were enough of us that we needed a home base. So I bought a warehouse/office space.

And that’s how I started the first ever Wish Fulfilment Centre.

---

Thanks to a Word of the Month Club member for the prompt of "Wishful".

Want to submit your own words to be used as puns in my stories? Consider supporting me on Ko-Fi with a recurring donation https://ko-fi.com/strangelittlestories

[yuseirra]

So what was that whole idea about Kamiki's true nature?

Since I tend to like children quite a bit, there’s one point(out of many)in this manga that really bothers me. Around volume 14, there have been several mentions of Kamiki’s “true nature” and whatnot. For instance, in Aqua’s script, it’s mentioned that Ai broke up with him after realizing his true nature, and so on(it wasn't the case in reality).

But when I think about how the authors wrote this character, it doesn’t seem like he had an inherently bad nature. As the creators of the story and characters, they would know this better than anyone else. If anything, given his circumstances, he seems like someone with a remarkably good temperament. That’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about it when the manga was still ongoing—what exactly led to him being associated with such accusations? I was curious, it’s confusing. He was kind. And it doesn’t seem like he fits into the “kind people turning scary when they snap” category either, because even in those cases, there’s usually a limit to how far the outburst goes. It’s just really strange. How could someone like him lash out at Ai? He couldn’t even get angry in the first place. He missed the moments when he should’ve gotten angry, and even when he had reasons to, he didn’t. They built his character like that, I've been paying attention to how they did and I wouldn't be confused if things were different!

When I look at it, it doesn’t seem like the authors were trying to write him as fundamentally “evil.” If anything, they seemed to be portraying him as “empty,” and they might have been trying to explore that theme.

It’s true that the emptiness and lack of affection experienced by people who weren’t sufficiently loved during the early stages of their lives can be deeply painful and significantly influence their hearts. But if the story is saying that this emptiness and pain were the cause of him turning into a monster or leading to his downfall, then I find it incredibly disrespectful to people who endure such suffering. I don't think that was what the authors were going for, either. In my opinion, those factors alone don’t seem like sufficient reasons for someone with his personality and pain to commit such extreme acts. He wasn’t just an ordinarily “nice” person even; he seemed extraordinarily gentle by nature, at least from what I can tell.

If something external had happened to push him over the edge, then maybe it would make sense. That’s why I think he only changed after Ai’s death.

But in the story, aside from Ai, it feels like no one treats him as a human being. Was he really that terrible? From when? Why is he treated this way?

If this is meant to convey some kind of message, maybe I could understand it.

For instance: “Both deities of the entertainment industry were warped in their own ways because they weren’t treated as human—one was revered as a god, and the other was treated as a monster.” If that’s the point, I might get it. But was that really conveyed properly?

What frustrates me immensely is that Kamiki was consistently abused from at least the age of 10 or 11, throughout his adolescence, and yet none of the adults around him did anything to help—they just left him to suffer. Then, near the end, they react so half-heartedly towards him when he goes to meet some of them, while acting all meaningful and apologetic, as if they’re atoning for their sins toward Ai. But what about him? It seems like no one—not a single person—ever did anything for him except for Ai, no wonder he's so desperate about her, huh?

And really, what did he even actually do? How far did his crimes go? When he says at the end, “I didn’t do anything,” (they actually had him say that) I think that’s half true and half false. From my perspective, it seems like he awakened after Ai’s death and started using his divine powers, determined he would bring her back. If he were a deity, it would make sense for him to be able to guide people’s futures, twist their fates, and decide whether they live or die. That's something he's actually capable of doing, if he's that specific god of light who governs over the industry!! If he committed sins, he should face the consequences. But—

If the story had depicted this situation in a clearer sense, like what is actually going about him in the first place, then they could’ve drawn out discussions about how to respond to this character in a more engaging way.

However, this work portrays the character as inherently problematic, yet when you break it down, it leaves you scratching your head. Everything is ambiguous. So, was he always problematic to begin with, or what? The story also includes parts where the protagonists like Akane or Aqua outright suggest that he’s an issue. Is it just because they need to kill him?

If the story were portraying him as if he had that kind of disposition from the beginning, I wouldn’t have anything to say… I can make that out!! I studied psychology for goodness sake!! As I’ve kept mentioned before, however, this character’s transformation is closer to complete corruption or a total reversal of temperament. People don’t change this drastically on a normal level. It’s just too strange. If this were explored more thoroughly, it might be more convincing. No matter how much I think about it, the only explanation for why this character was written this way seems to be this, that he is really some god, and I think it’s likely correct.

I mean, he was abused since he was a child, but not a single adult at the time properly addressed it. And I don’t even think that alone would have turned him into a criminal. That’s not what caused it— he was holding up for so long, and then, after Ai died, the only person who treated him well was gone. From what I figure, that's like what's the only thing enough to break him THAT BAD. I think he ended up living a miserable existence just to try and do something for her, to dedicate himself to her.

But none of this is clear, and the story just keeps pushing the narrative that “he’s the problem,” “he’s a monster,” and “killing him will solve everything.” Somewhere along the way, this approach starts to feel unnecessarily cruel and upsetting. Am I reading this wrong? But that’s how it seems to be written.

Is it really okay to handle this sort of subject this way? It’s too harsh, both internally and externally. It feels like the character has never been properly addressed or explored.

Sure, he’s an adult now, he needs to take responsibilities. But he was just a kid when he suffered. So young at that. Is it really appropriate to discuss things like a teenager’s “true nature” or whatever? Sometimes you do see kids with genuinely dangerous and cruel tendencies, but he used to be the exact opposite of such a case. He did not display any aggression. Why frame things this way? The way this story handles this is just mean. For someone who endured abuse and kept smiling to get through it, that’s an extraordinary level of strength and character. For his case, it isn’t about “true nature”—it’s a product of his environment. And yet they don’t explore that? They should. The way the narrative directs readers is deeply unsettling. What were the adults even doing? That’s the real issue! That’s where the problem lies! Not addressing that and just concluding with his death feels so infuriating. What is this story even trying to do?!

And to add to that, while we talk about him at 10 or 11 years old, I don’t think he ever received proper love even before that.

That’s why it’s so astonishing that when he met Ai, she said she wanted to live with him forever. It shows how much she genuinely liked him! Despite everything he had been through, he still managed to be that lovable to her. Both of them were so genuine toward each other. For that to happen, she must have been truly happy around him—she must have felt cared for. It's really hard for someone like that to endorse those kinds of feelings towards someone, she really loved that guy and he probably really deserved it at that point.

Looking at this character, even considering what he’s been through, his outward demeanor is still incredibly kind. It’s so rare for someone to stay that way despite everything.

The idea of this guy having a “noble soul” or “pure spirit”, "nobility" might connect to the Sarutahiko reference (since that god is described that way), but beyond that, this character’s natural disposition seems to have been one of the kindest in the entire story. He’s just been twisted by his experiences. I can believe he really was like that. Even Ai had a dark personality, yet he somehow endured without letting that show at least outwardly—even when he was just a kid, even younger than her!

He was genuinely a good person. For someone like that to end up this way? It’s because he lost Ai and couldn’t handle it. He had given all his affection to her. Maybe if there had been someone else in his life to help him, things could’ve been different, but no one besides Ai treated him well. The way the character was written really does suggest that’s the case.

The problem isn’t so much the framework or the plot but the way it’s executed. It’s so lacking in consideration. This kind of material is too heavy to leave in the realm of mystery-solving. Even so, if they wanted to depict his personality or actions as the problem, they should’ve written his personality differently and laid the groundwork with different foreshadowing.

They wanted to add mystery elements while still portraying him as kind, so there’s this constant mismatch. The result is that his character remains unclear. And they can’t fully commit to making him a villain because the character is tied to mythology—he’s clearly based on a god from myth, and that god was incredibly benevolent. Oh my gosh..why do this to a god known for being a loving husband?

Also—again—talking about the “true nature” of a 14–15-year-old? Sure, it’s not entirely out of the question, but isn’t still that going too far? No one talks about Airi’s true nature, so why his? What even is his “true nature”? Blaming a kid for this? For feeling hollow from having been neglected and unloved? Seriously… when adults start telling a child they’re “hopelessly empty” or whatever, I’m just sitting here clutching my head in frustration. He was just a middle schooler! What are you doing? And the adult doing the gaslighting? They’re not even a proper human being! Sure, adults like that exist in real life, but still!

The problem is that the story doesn’t dismiss it as nonsense—it actually builds that trait into his character. It doesn’t outright contradict it. I guess it’s not entirely wrong of them to point it out, but still… it’s so frustrating. These elements function as part of the plot and keep things intriguing, but it feels careless. The story doesn’t address the core issue, the problem of the adults having hurt a kid, and that makes it harmful. Anyway… Kamiki’s life was just awful. He could’ve turned out so much better. That’s what’s heartbreaking about him. And it’s not even entirely clear whether he didn’t turn out okay. His responsibility on this all is so ambiguous. What if he really didn't want to hurt anyone like he's said, but things turned out that way anyway—what are we supposed to do with that?

Well, considering what he thought about Ruby, I guess that’s not entirely the case(omg) but I think the whole "feeling Ai" might have actually had some sort of base from his standpoint. What if he knew doing that would work for certain but held back but didn’t kill her because she was his and Ai's child (he says that she's theirs) then felt “I should’ve tried something when I had the chance” in his dying breaths huh? Wouldn’t that be tragic? Messed up but I think that's what could have been what's going on! I could see that being possible. But still, what kind of nerve does he have… ugh… the audacity… How could he do that to his own daughter lol. At this point I think that's the writer's fault, not the character because it's so ridiculous. What even is this manga? I’m at a loss for words.

Honestly, I wish they hadn’t used such heavy themes. The manga can be entertaining but it’s too emotionally taxing. The author handles these serious topics in such a strange way, and it’s exhausting. I'd go as far to say it feels a bit irresponsible at times.

[temporal-discounting]

Apparently some people over on the hellsite formerly known as Twitter have described Ed as a psychopath. Many people have pointed out the racism inherent in this take - and while I wholeheartedly agree with that, I would like to focus here on what psychopathy actually is, and why it is absurd to apply that label to the character we see on our screens in OFMD.

To preface this, I am a research psychologist by training and have done some work on psychopathy. I am by no means an expert, though, so any corrections to how I have represented psychopathy here are welcome. This will be quite a long post, so I'm putting the rest under the cut.

OK, so what is psychopathy? The truth is, it has a very messy status. It does not appear in the DSM-5, which is the diagnostic manual for psychological disorders. Someone with psychopathic traits would likely be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). But psychopathy as a construct is widely used in the scientific literature - especially clinical and forensic psychology - and it is used to describe a specific type of personality that overlaps with, but is distinct from, ASPD.

At the core of psychopathy is a lack of empathy and remorse; psychopaths see others not as fully realised people with rich inner lives, but as instruments to be used in pursuit of their own goals. Violent behaviour is not necessary or sufficient to be a psychopath but many psychopaths will use violence as a tool to further their own agenda, and they will not feel bad about it.

While 'diagnosing' fictional characters is a folly, in this case I think there is clear canonical evidence that Ed is not a psychopath.

Ed does not lack empathy. He empathises with Stede immediately - the very first thing he does when Stede wakes up is to reassure him that his crew is OK.

And there are numerous, non-Stede examples too. We see Ed empathise with the crew following the fuckery, with CJ when he lies about being mutinied, with Fang when they go fishing together...

Does Ed lack remorse? Very clearly not. His remorse over killing his father is absolutely fundamental to his character. And that remorse has led him to build up walls around the violence he has perpetrated and ordered as Blackbeard ("I didn't kill those guys, the fire did").

Ed's behaviour towards Lucius and the crew from 1.10 through to 2.2 could be construed as using violence instrumentally to achieve one's own goals. But the narrative makes it pretty clear that this behaviour is attributable to an acute mental health crisis - not to an innate personality type. And crucially, he feels remorse about this behaviour. He tries to make amends. He tries to do better.

Finally, Ed's entire arc of wanting to leave piracy behind would be very difficult to reconcile with him being a psychopath. He is unwavering in this desire from the moment we properly meet him - so much so that he is willing to leave behind the only person he has ever loved.

In summary, Ed is empathetic, he is plagued by the violence he has committed, and he wants to be a better man. These traits are wildly inconsistent with a psychopath.

So, er.... thanks for coming to my TED talk, I guess?

[caramel-maveeato]

Do you know about Attachment Styles? Could you write headcanons on how Karma would be in a relationship with a Fearful Avoidant S/o? So they kinda distance themselves when insecure and self sabotage the relationship a lot but also crave reassurance.

Also which Attachment style do you think Karma has? He doesn't seem like the secure or anxious type, I think. You can do all versions of Karma if you want 🥺❤️

HIIII thanks for requesting anon🩷🫶! So I did a little bit of research since I don’t know how many attachment styles there are, but I had so much fun with writing this because I’ve always had some headcanons about Karma having attachment issues. Sorry I yapped too much😞 initially I only planned to write like 500 words but then i got so excited😞

𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 ♡˚₊ 。。。

❧❤ SYNOPSIS: Analyzing Karma's attachment style and his relationship with a Fearful-Avoidant S/O... ♡ Pairings/Love interest: Akabane Karma x GN!reader ♡ Genre: hurt/comfort ♡ TW: overanalyzing and excessive yapping ♡ Word count: 1.5k

Note: All characters originated from “Assassination Classroom” except for y/n.  All characters are 18 or older. English is not my first language!!! Sorry in advance if I make any grammar and vocabulary mistakes.

So according to the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby’s attachment theory created in the 1950s, there are four major styles of attachment:

Secure Attachment: relationship is based on trust, loyalty, and tolerance—people with this style feel comfortable with intimacy, emotional closeness, and independence, meaning they’re comfortable with expressing emotions openly and can handle conflicts in a healthy way Disorganized (Fearful-Avoidant) Attachment: This style of attachment includes both desire and fear/anxiety. People with this style desire and fear intimacy at the same time due to troubles trusting and depending on their partner(s).  Anxious (Preoccupied) Attachment: aka “fear of abandonment”—people with this style tend to crave closeness and greatly desire a sense of security in relationships, may struggle with insecurity, be highly emotional, and need a lot of reassurance.  Avoidant (Dismissive) Attachment: people with this style tend to believe that they do not need to depend on others or need support in social bonds. They value independence and may avoid closeness, seem distant, self-sufficient, and in some cases even feel uncomfortable with forming emotional bonds Source: Attachment Styles in Adult Relationships - Complete Guide

I believe Karma is most likely to have an Avoidant (Dismissive) Attachment style. 

We all know he’s highly independent and guarded, often acting like he doesn’t need anyone, which results in making him appear even more prideful and cocky than he actually is.

He refuses to show his vulnerabilities and actively avoids reliance on others, a tendency caused by the massive trust issues that had worsened after being betrayed by his former homeroom teacher 

(of course that son of a bish gotta do my man dirty someone doxx him pls) 

His relationship with his neglectful parents—or I mean lack thereof—likely was the primary foundation to his attachment issues. He grew up without proper emotional comfort and assistance from adults, so when Ouno Kensaku—that ugly ahh homeroom teacher of class D—showed him (fake) kindness and support, Karma quickly became attached because my boy respected him.

He was evidently taken aback and disappointed when Ouno turned his back on him. Before this betrayal, Karma seemed to have been more willing and comfortable to trust and attach himself to people he respects. But after this turning point, he becomes more skeptical and cynical, believing that people in general, especially adults or authority figures, are just not reliable. He’s always been “knowing” this due to his parents’ ignorance, just now the idea is being further reinforced.

And we know he loves having control and feeling superior, right? Losing control is pretty much a vulnerable act. With the unpredictability and helplessness emotional intimacy brings, Karma is very likely to experience the need to run away since he struggles to acknowledge his dependence on someone. It makes him feel like he’s stupidly placing a weakness in someone’s hand. 

His cynical view points could extend to personal relationships, affecting his bond with the people he cares about due to the urge to keep up a guard (Ex: Nagisa—like I know it’s mostly because of Nagisa’s hidden bloodlust that made Karma feel greatly threatened, but yeah you get the idea)

HOWEVER, as much as he’d like to present himself as a self-sufficient ‘lonewolf’, he obviously does show attachment to people he trusts and cares about—Koro-sensei, Nagisa, class E, and his S/O if he ever falls in love!

He doesn’t let people into his life easily, so when he does, it’s a HUUUGE deal. 

My shayla :((

For that reason, I feel like if Karma finally gets over the wariness and commits to a romantic relationship, his attachment style would become Disorganized (Fearful-Avoidant).

I do think he might’ve felt like avoiding and keeping his crush away at an arm’s length when he feels too attached, but what about after finally admitting to his feelings? Boom, he’s both loving and fearing intimacy. 

He for sure isn’t the type to straight up tell his partner “I need you,” but his actions scream it. 

At first Karma probably doesn’t let himself seem vulnerable even when you two are already committing. Despite his s/o being his most favorite person ever, he still feels the need to downplay his emotions through jokes and teases, acting distant or unaffected. He might even push his partner away due to a temporary moment of fear, only to regret it immensely later.

But his actions literally snitched on him so badly. Once he’s fully attached, he’s in deep, whether he wants to or not.

The moment something/someone threatens his relationship with his s/o, man never drops the “waah waahh I’m doin fine without yaa” act faster. He’s obviously so protective, somewhat even possessive (just subtly, not in a toxic controlling way) Karma’s just not willing to let go of someone he values so much.

Be please patient with pookie it’s his first time living 😔💔

It takes a lot of effort for him to trust and attach, so if betrayals ever happen again, I don't think man is ever able to get into another romantic relationship without going through at least fifteen stages of skepticism and hesitation. 

Fearful-Avoidant Karma with a Fearful-Avoidant partner, believe it or not, I think it might still work out fine (after moments of push-and-pull and learning to trust each other fully)  

People with Disorganized/Fearful-Avoidant attachment style tend to experience anxiety and the urge to avoid depending on their mood and circumstances. Someone with this style might show confusing and ambiguous behaviors in their social bonds, often struggling with identifying and regulating their emotions. 

That being said, a relationship with someone who distances themselves when feeling insecure and self-sabotages while still craving affection can be quite intense if lacking mutual understanding. 

I feel like with both sides are Fearful-Avoidant, and Karma who also leans towards Dismissive, your relationship would be built over mutual fascination at first—like you’re intrigued by each other’s presence, curious and captivated by something you see in the other.

You might bond over shared interest and enjoy the connection until realizing… something doesn’t feel right. 

Since both are avoidant in two different ways, you might dance around emotional topics for a while before getting tired of it and giving in to date fr.

When Karma notices his s/o starts feeling insecure and distancing themselves from him, I feel like Karma would be a little confused, but he wouldn’t start addressing it immediately.

He doesn’t know how to, ironically, despite being a straight-forward person. 

And he thinks you need space for yourself (which could make his insecure s/o feel abandoned, but he doesn’t know that… yet.), so if he’s gonna say anything, it will be small jokes or teases to try and lighten the mood

But when you start self-sabotaging, like brushing Karma off in anxiety of him “hurting” you, Karma would be confused like “why the hell are you avoiding me, did I do something or..?”, but then it’ll turn into worry and frustration because well, he knows exactly what you’re doing. 

Mf does that too, of course he knows 🙄

Unlike others who might give up on the relationship out of irritation, Karma isn’t one to give up easily. Especially when it comes to someone he values and adores so much.

You’re stubborn? Too bad he’s worse. And he’s so attached he even allows himself to be in a relationship, you really think your cute little attempt to drive him away is gonna work? Nice try, think again. 

The moment he figures out you are distancing yourself from him because of fear of getting hurt/insecurities rather than rejection, he’ll instantly try to reassure you out of it. He isn’t the best at comforting someone, but he will do it if his s/o needs to feel secure.  

He doesn’t know how to sappy talk, even if he does I doubt he’d ever do it. Karma has other ways to reassure, though. 

Man isn’t gonna confront you through texts or calls, so expect to see a redheaded mf “burglar” popping out of nowhere in the very home you thought is safe. You really assumed he won’t enter if you ignore the doorbell? Sweetheart, how adorably clueless of you… 

Karma would pull you closer, but if you’re extremely not in the mood for physical touches then he’s just gonna make sure he can see your face properly, holding at least a few eye contacts even if you shy away. 

His reassurance is nonchalant, trying to act casual despite himself feeling somewhat on edge that his partner might want to break things off. 

“Y’ know you’re stuck with me the moment you said yes, suck it up babe I’m not going anywhere.” “C’mon don’t act like a coward and run away from me, you’re a cute coward though.” “You really think your poor acting skills would make me leave? Sorry but even the neighbor’s crusty ass dog can tell that you’re just pretending not to care.” 

Or things like that. 

In other words, he absolutely refuses to leave you or let you leave him.

Overcoming doubts and insecurities is difficult, but Karma is here to grow with you. 

A relationship where both partners tend to avoid can be greatly challenging, yet rewarding just as much once trust is built.

It would take time for you and Karma, but once you get the hang of it, it will be an unbreakable bond—rooted in understanding and the acknowledgement that love was never about perfection, but about staying through the hardships.

So congrats, I guess you’re not gonna get rid of this period-haired bich anytime soon! Not like it’s ever a want when you’re literally here reading this. 

[schrodingers-deadbitch]

Half A Corpse

Chapter One

The soft hum of the radio filled the silent car ride, the four bodies inside somewhat anticipating what was to come. It had been a couple of days since they had left the ruins of Amity and were making their way to their new home in Gotham.

If any of them had their own way they would have stayed in Amity and mourned what they had lost. Every Amity Parker would have, even Dan. But with some prompting from none other than Clockwork, they all made their way to their new homes. Where was that? Wherever their hearts took them.

Most, like the Nightingale's, left for Gotham. Others, Metropolis. Some strayed from the trend and moved to places like Central City or even far into the countryside. But it was as Clockwork said, and they went where their hearts took them.

“This place smells of death.”

Jazz couldn't tell if her sister was complaining or not but she wouldn't blame her if she were.

“Haven't you been to Gotham before?” She asked, her eyes drifting upwards to the rear view mirror to look at Dani, only to see her sitting upside down. “Also if you keep that up I'll be the one going to jail not you.”

“It was actually the first place I went because I thought it was interesting,” She said while shifting herself into an upright position “but I could sense that it was someone's haunt so I didn't intrude.”

“Good thing you didn't. She doesn't have the ability to deal with many of the issues within her city but Lady Gotham is a powerful spirit nonetheless, and doesn't do well with outside ghosts.” Dan stated, putting down his book to give his full attention to his little sister.

“Well if that's the case why did she let us in?”

“Because Clockwork and I asked very nicely.” Danny yawned at her. He was still waking up from his nap. He was very, very tired.

Dani didn't ask any more questions. She was already off of that topic and was now observing the city around her. She was completely enamored. Fascinated by how well both the modern and gothic architecture complemented each other. To her (and probably everyone else in the car);

“It gives dark academia vibes, ya know! Just modern. And with lots of crime.” Her voice filled with awe and wonder.

“Excusing the fact that you've been on the internet too much as of late, it would have been better if there was a little more sunlight.”

They all couldn't have agreed more. True to every Gothamite's words, the sun did not shine in Gotham. And with all the smog, probably never will.

From there on the car ride was filled with convocation. Everyone had something to say about their new city. Their new home.

***

Danny never thought that he would be having a conversation with Sam about what it meant to be low-key but here he was.

“Yeah, I know you said that you wanted something low-key but there was no way I was going to let you guys live in some shabby apartment. So I bought a place and renovated it for you guys.”

Danny rubbed his temples feeling a headache coming on. “Yeah okay I thank you for that. But what's the cafe, book shoppy thing down bottom huh?”

“Well you guys said that you wanted to be self-sufficient.” Sam stated as if that would answer his question. Based on pure context alone it did.

"Sam, you know we literally live in a place called Crime. Alley. Right? I know we border the Narrows but that's not the point.”

She sighed. “You guys refused my help because you said it would ‘feel like using me’, “ Danny could just hear the air quotes from over the line, “but let's face it! Jazz is doing college full time and you and Dani will be going to school. The only person left to work in Dan. And no offense to him but he looks shady AF.”

A shout came from the other side of the house informing them that no offense was taken.

“Anyways,” she continued “Dan looks hella shady. And from what I can tell, no one's gonna hire a shady person. Especially if they come from Crime Alley or the Narrows. The only work he would probably get is from a shady garage or joining a gang and doing straight up crime.”

Danny sighed and shook his head, plopping himself into one of the beanbag chairs Sam furnished the house with. She had a point and she was also painting a clear image in his head about how that would work out.

“Besides, I set up a protection circle after renovations were finished and I've gotta say it's the best work I've done yet.”

He could feel Sam's pride through the phone. She was probably puffing up her chest like a peacock.

“Yeah I felt it coming in. I don't know shit about magic but I could tell that it was pretty good. What does it do again?”

The next hour was filled with endless chatter between the two. It became even longer once Tucker joined the conversation.

Jazz couldn't help but watch her little brother talk so animatedly with his friends. He just looked so happy. Like everything that had happened to them didn't even happen. It was kinda unnerving. What she was seeing here, the happy go lucky boy she saw in the orphanage all those years ago, and what she saw a couple back just wasn't adding up. That couldn't have been her brother. It couldn't. But it was.

Her breathing was becoming ragged as she started to shake. She sighed in relief feeling the presence of Dan beside her.

“He's going to remember, you know.” He said, handing her a cup of jasmine tea. She took it gratefully and Dan continued. “Clockwork said that the seals would break eventually-”

“He also said that he needed a trigger.” She snapped at him. After a moment of realization she apologized. He continued.

“CW doesn't do anything uncalculated Jazz I just want you to know that.”

“What do you mean by that?” She asked, her voice quivering a bit.

“He had a whole life before he met you, Jazz. One he doesn't remember. That should say something sis.”

He walked away before she could say anything else.

@emergentpanda-blog

@epilepticnerd

@justwannabecat

@wind02summer

[madelynhimegami]

Ringo Ando Guide

As a reminder, you're free to request which characters I do these of! I've started the next one, but after that I don't think I have more on the docket. So please feel free to suggest! And/or ask relevant questions.

Anyway,

Ringo Ando has an insatiable curiosity. Her quest for knowledge is never-ending and she always wants to learn more.

Academically, her greatest strengths and interests are in math and physics, but this does not necessarily limit her to those subjects.

By default, Ringo tries to maintain a chill demeanor.

She speaks pretty normally, but has a tendency to utilize precise diction, even when it's not needed.

And sometimes she'll just say something completely off-the-wall and keep going like it's no big deal.

Ringo has a relatively high surprise threshold, but when she does get surprised she goes 0 to 60 pretty much immediately.

When this happens, her filter gets knocked loose and she speaks without processing her words before they're already out.

The one surefire exception to that high-surprise threshold is ghosts. Just mentioning them upsets her. She's also not crazy about environments that look like they might end up involving ghosts.

Being in the presence of a ghost usially results in either a meltdown or a BSOD.

While Ringo says she dislikes them for being unscientific, that's a cover (because of course it is, the girl uses magic).

The truth is her grandmother terrified her with ghost stories at a young age. One story in particular was about the ghost of a young girl that cheerfully spoke in puns before murdering her victims.

Speaking of her grandmother, the apple she carries around in manzai is from her.

When something manages to catch Ringo's interest, she tends to laser focus on it so she can hypothesize and/or experiment with it.

A sufficiently interesting thing will make Ringo excited.

When excited, she'll start singing an improvised song based on her situation. These songs often include spelling out a keyword (with English letters).

She's also prone to laughter when excited. This laughter can range from "eager giggling" to "mad cackling."

The more excited she gets, the more likely she ends up getting carried away by whatever she's doing.

Like forgetting her surroundings, or taking others for granted.

Things that tend to excite her are * Mysteries, puzzles, problems, and the solving thereof * Experimenting * Experiencing scifi and fantasy tropes firsthand * Sonic the Hedgehog and Space Channel 5 (probably other Sega franchises too) * Magical girl tropes * Adventures * Discovering and experiencing things that broaden her horizons

If it's not clear by now, Ringo Ando is a huge nerd.

Her boundless enthusiasm for learning means she tends to have a stronger memory than others, where spacetime shenanigans are concerned.

Her memory isn't perfect, though. Case in point, Ringo is absolutely terrible at remembering names. So she usually refer to people by descriptive nicknames for the most part. The exceptions are her closest friends. And Satan.

In fact, she always addresses him as "Lord Satan," whereas most of the cast just sticks with "Satan." My guess is because she gets a thrill out of being able to unironically call somebody "Lord Satan."

Your regular reminder that Ringo does not dislike Ecolo and considers him a close friend, and she did so before Ecolo ever did. In her own words, Ringo says that Ecolo isn't a bad kid.

Being the daughter of greengrocers, Ringo is very health-conscious when it comes to food.

She also knows how to cook fairly well… but her experimental tendencies combined with health focus means that she'll end up making something weird (but technically healthy!) anyway.

Ringo will, apropos of nothing, narrate out loud, like she's addressing an audience that isn't there. This includes expository introductions of characters as a greeting ("If it isn't my childhood friend and lifelong neighbor, Maguro Sasaki!")

Sometimes she does just refer to people by their full name. Might be because of the narration, could just be something she does.

Ringo's vision, at 20/4, is literally superhuman and on par with birds of prey.

Experiments she's performed in her physics club include sending chocolate through spacetime (successful), making a philosopher's stone with fruits and vegetables as ingredients (unknown success/failure), and figuring out what Ecolo is made of ("heck if I know").

But other than all of that, Ringo is a perfectly ordinary teenager.

[litrumi]

Dumb DayNap Thoughts #2

*A courtroom trial setting somewhere*

Catnap, smugly concluding his argument: This should more than sufficiently prove Dogday's innocence. Now, I believe we're due for a verdict, Your Honor?

The audience of the rest of the gang murmurs, with Judge Bobby feeling compelled by the facts.

Dogday, happily standing beside the cat at the defense's bench: Catnap, that was amazing! You turned the whole case around! Thanks for defending me! Seriously, you're the best!

Kickin, prosecuting: Hey hey, wait a second! You forgot one important thing, feline!

Catnap, confusedly looking at him: And what might that be?

Kickin: The note I have right here where Dogday admitted to the crime!

Catnap, dumbfounded: I already proved to everyone that you forged it! You even still have pen ink on your hands!

Kickin: Oh yeah? Then why does it have his name at the bottom like some kind of signature? We all know he'd make sure he didn't get any little detail wrong, especially his name!

Dogday, actually thinking about it: ...Honestly, he's got a point.

Catnap, surprised: What?!

Dogday, talking to Catnap: My name's spelled correctly on that note, and I'd definitely make sure I got it right. I wouldn't want anyone to mistake me for someone else!

Catnap, losing his mind: Why are YOU getting convinced that you wrote it?!

(Bonus)

Bobby: While the defense has made several sound arguments that the suspect had to be anyone other than Dogday... Unfortunately we still need to look into why Dogday's fur was found at the crime scene, just as Kickin suggested.

Catnap, frustrated: The crime scene was IN HIS HOUSE-

Bobby, sighing disappointedly: Until we can figure out why this is, we'll be extending the trial to tomorrow. Kickin, please look into the matter as soon as possible.

Kickin: Don't worry, Your Honor! I'm sure I'll find a conclusive trick-, I mean, piece of evidence by tomorrow.

Dogday, whispering to Catnap: I wonder if we'll ever figure out who did it...

Catnap, done with everyone's B.S.: ...For the LOVE OF-

[beardedmrbean]

Residents of Chicago are blasting Mayor Brandon Johnson over the city spending more than half a billion dollars on sheltering migrants, with one telling the Democrat to his face during a City Council meeting that he’s the "worst mayor in America." 

The criticism surrounding Johnson and Chicago’s New Arrivals Mission – which so far has cost the city $574.5 million since its inception in August 2022 – comes as the mayor is trying to overcome a $1 billion budget shortfall by the end of the year. The City Council held a meeting Monday during which residents voiced their opposition to an approximately $60 million property tax increase floated as one way to help close the gap. 

"I got a great way what we can do with this budget. First, let's start with cutting off illegals getting free everything, free housing, free schooling, free food. Yeah, let's start with that. That'll save us a lot of money," one woman told Johnson. 

"Let's start there. Then, let's start with you. Your salary. You are going down in history as the worst mayor in America. Let's start with cutting yours. You making too much money," she continued. 

CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION SLAMS NEWSPAPER THAT CALLED THEM OUT FOR THEIR MEMBERS’ CHRONIC ABSENCE

Another resident told Johnson that she is an immigrant who came to the U.S. legally and that she is "very, very embarrassed for what my other fellow Latin American citizens are doing in this city on behalf of the people that work, on behalf of the people that pay taxes, on behalf of the people that contribute to the city. 

"I like to make clear that not everyone is the same. These people came with a wide door open, and they feel entitled to many things that nobody has. There are U.S. citizens suffering from poverty," she said. "There are U.S. citizens on public aid, and these people are here just enjoying the benefits, becoming delinquents, and they have no consequences." 

At one point in the meeting, a resident asked Johnson for his "undivided attention." 

"So this just proves to you the lack of leadership that you show in this city. You can't even give me straight eye contact," he said. "Now I'm going to let you know now, the people of Chicago, we're done with you. 

Johnson’s office said in April that the goal of the New Arrivals Mission is to "provide short-term, emergency shelter to manage this humanitarian crisis, while making long-term investments in the City’s capacity to handle future challenges related to displacement and emerging migration patterns.

"Since August 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has bussed hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers across the United States. The City of Chicago has received the third-most asylum seekers of all major cities in the country, behind New York City and Denver, with nearly 39,000 new arrivals arriving in the City," it added at the time. 

"The City of Chicago, in partnership with the State of Illinois and Cook County, has worked to support new arrivals on the path to self-sufficiency by providing basic necessities including food, temporary emergency shelter, urgent medical care, education, vaccines, and case management and resettlement supports," the city also said. 

As of the end of this year, the New Arrivals Mission shelter system will be phased out. 

"This transition is in line with the sharp decline in migration to Chicago and our current budget realities," Johnson said in October. "We are shifting to a more cost-effective, equitable, and strategic approach that addresses homelessness for all who need support in the City of Chicago." 

Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday by Fox News Digital. 

[mooshlovely]

Nein Again Episode 13

Another iconic episode, I've always loved the improv beacon heist, plus so many good Caleb-Nott moments

They are really building up a habit of preferring solving their problems non-lethally. Between this and the syphilis bandits, it is clear that they don't aim for death if another option is available. It's remarkable how this fact remains true all the way through to the very end and how they deal with Trent (23)

Does Travis think its a vampire?? Also I feel like we forget that Essek has fangs way too often (30)

Huh I forgot that the beacon was partially immune to identify (40)

Beau is so opposed to letting this guy go. I don't think I remembered how cold (and pragmatic) her and Caleb were at the beginning. (1:11)

I've always loved the about face that happens this episode. Lets spend an hour convincing ourselves to let this thing go and then completely change our minds. (I know it's because the living drow changed their calculations. It's one thing to give it up when it's going back to it's rightful owner and keeping it would require killing someone, and a completely different thing when it's being forcibly taken by the empire) (1:21) Also it's remarkable how well this completely improvised plan works

Someone else pointed out that Caleb's weird argument for keeping the beacon on him was his round about way of making sure it was covered by anti-scrying necklace which makes his lead box recommendation suddenly make a lot more sense (1:30)

Also explains why he is so insistent on staying with it. "My gut says to stay with this thing" I wonder if he always uses his gut as an excuse for things his brain is saying but doesn't want to discuss. (1:58)

If I was Molly or the rest of the Nein, I would 100% be worried that Caleb and Nott were planning on running away in the middle of the night.

I do love how much Jesters outward appearance of naivety makes people underestimate her, and then she goes and pulls these amazing feats of deception and persuasion (2:02)

I love watching them attempt to figure out if things are magical instead of just letting Caleb have at everything. It's hilarious, they're such dorks (2:33)

Fjord: "Do you need any help, any backup?" Nott: "I'm the help." Nott absolutely does not like the implication that she isn't enough to protect Caleb (2:34)

Nott: "What Caleb does is well thought-out and always intentional and smart" I just love watching Nott defend Caleb, congrats on winning the codependency Olympics (2:37)

Oh god I forgot how early in the campaign this line was Nott: "I think there is a bit of a misconception here. Caleb and I have a very special relationship, It is that of a parent and a child. But I am the parent. You do understand that, correct? I protect him. He's my body, I keep him safe." (2:42) Liam's smile during this speech is so super sweet.

Also Fjord once again keeping the peace, poor man works so hard (2:44)

God Caleb is so clever for predicting that the scroll case was trapped and handling it so well (2:50)

And fuck, Liam's acting when Caleb sees the scrolls. I can feel how much relief Caleb feels at getting those spells. Anyone know which spells they were? (2:54)

"but I fucked it up" That's an interesting interpretation of events you have there Caleb. I forgot how deep the regret and self-hatred runs. Which do you regret more, killing them or not being able to continue your training after you did?

Caleb: "I will do it on my own. (Correction, I will do it with your help)" I love this aspect of Caleb's personality so much. The tenaciousness and self-sufficiency

I love the way Nott treats money. It's just so different from every one else in party (3:39)

It's cute how much enjoyment Caleb gets out of sharing magic items with the group (3:55)

God they're all a bunch of hypocrites I love it. YOU ALL HAVE FAKE NAMES (or at least names you're hiding) (4:10)

So many great pivotal Caleb-Nott moments in this episode, I love everything about their friendship

[wildflower-otome]

[Translation] Shuuen no Virche EpiC:lycoris - Scien Brofiise - Encore After Story

Source: Shuuen no Virche EpiC:lycoris Special Edition Booklet Note: Spoilers for Scien's Side End -Encore- below.

The only one you can be crazy for is me - Scien Brofiise Encore Ending After Story

‘Um, Scien.’

‘What is it?’

‘I-I was just wondering if it’s necessary to sit quite so closely together when we’re drinking tea.....?’

As I drank the tea I took in place of having an alarm clock, from beside me the Death girl asked me the question.

Because I had been able to temporarily repress her body’s deadly constitution using the antibodies supplied to me by the Watchman of Death, there was no issue with us being pressed up against each other like this for long periods of time.

—However, it didn’t appear that was what she was concerned about.

‘Do you have a reason for wanting to be further away from me?’

‘I-I don’t, but.....’

‘In that case, stay here.’

‘A-Alright.’

Still stiff, as if not sure what to do, the girl waited for me to finish drinking my tea.

(—Now then, how to proceed from here)

It wasn’t the curse I was thinking about, I was devising ways in which I could make her fall for me again.

(There’s no guarantee that I’m in love with her, but the one she’s in love with has to be me)

With that logic, I had once more placed the useful girl next to me, however—.....

(I shouldn’t be too obvious in how I approach her. After all, her past self became smitten with me when I was just being myself)

More importantly, it wasn’t in my personality. To flatter a woman, trying to get her to like me was something I would never do, even under the threat of death. But—

‘.....Scien? Is there something on my face?’

‘-No.’

—The idea of giving over the view of this side profile to another man was something I liked even less.

‘I was just thinking even now that you’ve become a reliver, you’re as gloomy as ever.’

‘I don’t think I can’t help that, seeing as my personality is still the same.....’

Strangely amused at seeing her flustered and at a loss, I hid my smile.

‘Now that I’m sufficiently rehydrated, I suppose I’ll take a little nap.’

‘Ah, then I'll go get you a pillow—.....’

‘Don’t need it, got one right here.’

Lying down, I placed my head on her lap.

Seeming bewildered, she spoke.

‘Regardless of how I was in the past. Are you alright doing this sort of thing with me as I am now?’

‘? The past has nothing to do with it. You’re still my errand person, aren’t you? The only thing different is whether or not you’ve got romantic feelings for me.’

‘....................’

When I told her so plainly—.....

‘.....Yes, that’s true. No matter how many times my body is remade, I’m your errand person.’

For some reason, she was smiling as if happy. After muttering that I really didn’t get her—.

‘Just so long as you understand that.’

As I spoke, I roughly patted the head of my self-aware errand person.

And then, just like that, I fell into a temporary slumber.

* * *

Although I had said to her that we would be rebuilding our relationship, we still maintained the same distance between us as before. All she did was follow after me as I conducted my research.

‘Scien, I'm coming in.’

On a certain late night. As I stood alone in my research room, the girl came in, carrying supper.

‘You’re still researching even at a time like this?’

‘I was until a moment ago. Not anymore.’

As I gazed at single fixed point—at a capsule, she came to stand beside me.

‘.....? There doesn’t seem to be anything inside-.....’

‘I was recalling the moment that I “used” you.’

‘!’

As I had backed up her memories directly before that moment, she didn’t remember her death.

‘.....What was I like, at the end?’

‘You were brave. It was the first time even I had seen a test subject voluntarily ask to be used in an experiment.’

Looking at the place where she had breathed her last, she drew in a light breath.

‘I’m sure my previous self wasn’t afraid of dying itself, just like the records say. However—I think she was a little afraid of no longer being able to see you, Scien.’

‘Even though I was the one that killed her?’

‘.....Even so. That’s why, even if my feelings of love are gone, I’m glad I was able to meet you again.’

Because, she continued.

‘I was a little uneasy.  I wasn’t sure what I would do if you rejected me as “a different person” once I lost my romantic emotions for you. But just as the records say, you didn’t hesitate to call me your one and only errand person, Scien. .....And that made me so happy, and proud-’

Hearing her explain as I had guessed, I sniffed.

‘If you can say all that, hurry up and fall in love with me.’

‘Eh, ah.....as-as to be expected, emotions aren’t something that can be controlled as one would like.’

Although she cast her gaze downwards with reddened cheeks, as she had said, her eyes did not contain any longing for me.

(.....Has she perhaps become more formidable than before?)

I must be imagining it.

As I was thinking to myself, she cautiously watched the expression on my face—however, her words when she spoke were clear.

‘I-I don’t know about the future. I might be able to love you as my past self did.....

.....but at the very least, the feeling that I wish to be of use to you hasn’t changed.’

‘.....You sure have strange tastes.’

‘Hehe. That reminds me of the time you called me an automatic sandwich dispenser.’

Feeling it foolish of me to even have wondered when she would fall for me, I gave a single yawn.

‘Well, I suppose I shall just have to wait patiently. On the off chance that you do fall in love with another man, I will destroy them with everything I have at my disposal, so be prepared for that.’

‘Th-that would be rather frightening..... However—whether it be romantic attachment or not, I think the only person I could have this kind of great emotion towards is you, Scien.’

‘If that’s the case, I don’t mind.’

No matter how many years it took, just so long as I could have such a useful errand person as you around, that was enough for me.

(I suppose.....I can’t keep remembering the moment of her death over and over like this, it’s not like me)

If the Scien I had been up until now wasn’t enough, then all I had to do was make her love me as a completely new Scien.

‘.....Shall we go?’

‘Eh, where.....to?’

‘My room. I’ll continue my research there. —It wouldn’t do to have you keep ingesting the Watchman’s blood forever after all. I’ll have to do something about that constitution of yours as soon as possible.’

‘! Th-Thank you.....!’

Seeing her following after me in a half run, I was satisfied.

(Come tell me you love me in a future without the curse. Though whether or not I will return your feelings—I’m not so sure)

As I thought to myself that the very fact that I hadn’t declared it impossible meant I was already considerably under her influence—I smiled.