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atitarucore · 2 years ago

Note

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

ironically, this is my first ever ask, haha! but, narrowing down all the characters i love is gonna be pretty difficult, so i’ll try to make it the first characters that come to mind, i suppose.

in no particular order, here are the characters i love dearly! for the sake of not being bias toward one series, i tried to only pick one character from each franchise. i also tried to keep it as spoiler-free as i possibly can!

[continue below cut]

1. HARUHI FUJIOKA (ouran high school host club)

when i first watched ohshc and haruhi said, "it's more important for a person to be recognized for who they are rather than what sex they are," i took that and RAN with it.

i think the reason i love haruhi so much is because of our similarities—from personality, to zodiac sign, and even down to favorite food(s) and subject(s). maybe i'm just projecting though, LOL.

2. UKYO SAIONJI (dr. stone)

why is this man so cute.

in all seriousness, i think i love ukyo so much because of his personality. i've always had a soft spot for pacifistic and gentle characters, and truly, he is the ultimate gentleman! such a sweetheart :( i wish to hold him in my arms

3. HIYORI SUZUMI (honeyworks)

my GIRL!! THE GIRLBOSS!!

i'll essentially repeat what i've said before in a previous post—similar to haruhi, i hold hiyori dear to my heart because of her resemblance to me. i admire her hardworking, optimistic, yet still clumsy demeanor. she just like me, fr fr! i think she's just an awesome character and deserves the world.

4. ISHIGAMI YU (kaguya-sama: love is war)

you know, for someone who loves kaguya-sama, i feel like i don't talk about him that much. ishigami yuu is my favorite character in the series primarily for his outstanding character development! i just... love how akasaka writes him, and i simply adore his relationships with everyone in the student council.

did i cry during EVERY season of kaguya sama? yes, yes i did. did i cry during his backstory moment? absolutely.

5. ANGELA (lobotomy corporation/library of ruina)

woah! didn't expect this one on here, did you?

it's sort of hard picking my favorite character from project moon games. even after thinking about it long and hard, i don't even know if angela is my favorite. even so, there's no denying that she's definitely scored a position as a character i love—just like ishigami, her character development really struck a chord in me!

i could go on and on about lobotomy corporation/library of ruina, so perhaps i'll cut it short there...

6. REIGEN ARATAKA (mob psycho 100)

he was born in a wet cardboard box all alone (affectionate)

doesn't really qualify for any of the twitter polls he participated in, but still managed to win somehow. honestly? despite him being a con artist, i think reigen truly does have a heart of gold. i was debating whether or not i wanted to put shigeo or reigen on here, but ultimately decided reigen because he's like... cute in a pathetic sort of way

7. SAYORI (doki doki literature club)

i'm surprised i've gotten so far without mentioning my preference of the childhood friend trope! i think it's a super cute trope, despite it's... tendency to not be the winning relationship in most shows.

i'm not sure what about sayori intrigued me so much—perhaps it was the way her struggles were written in a very real manner, despite her very cliche genki personality? regardless of whatever it is, i think she's my favorite ddlc character.

8. ALPHONSE ELRIC (fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood)

i just have to say that finishing fma:b ruined my life for like four days. i was in TEARS.

as i mentioned with ukyo, i really like gentle, caring characters, and alphonse definitely fits that category! he's calm, he's compassionate, and he has the strongest affection for stray cats. i really enjoyed his dynamic with the other characters, especially with edward. something about close-knit sibling bonds... man.

9. LLOYD GARMADON (ninjago)

is lloyd my favorite ninjago character? probably not. is he a character i really love from that series? yes!

i have my own opinions regarding the characterization ninjago gives its cast (sometimes it's... iffy), but regardless, i've always liked lloyd's character—from season one, where he was just a lil kid trying to make his name known, to now! season... fifteen?!

even after all these seasons, i still don't know what the element of energy means..!

10. KOROSENSEI (assassination classroom)

my favorite anime is assassination classroom!

i think this can be attributed to korosensei, who fundamentally changed my life when i was younger. he's empathic and observant, willing to do almost anything to help his students—and that stuck with me for the rest of my life.

being able to learn and grow alongside class e-3 is an experience i'll never forget.

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gringolet · 4 years ago

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INTRO TO ARTHURIANA MASTERPOST

under the cut for absurd length

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH ARTHURIANA

The Arthuriana fandom is very broad and there's no one piece of media, which can be confusing for people just getting into it! There’s no right way to engage with arthuriana, and no minimum level of knowledge or reading you need to attain to qualify.

The basis of the Arthurian Legend is a body of hundreds of texts written across the medieval and early Renaissance period in dozens of languages and cultural traditions. Which can seem pretty overwhelming, but there are a lot of modern vernacular translations-- you absolutely don’t have to learn old French or anything. I’ll go more in depth on where to get started with texts further down.

You also don’t have to read texts at all. As I said, there is no minimum basis-- if you prefer to engage with modern adaptations, or want to engage with medieval arthuriana outside of reading texts, that's also cool!

In terms of modern adaptations there is a wealth of choices, which I am very much not an expert in lol, so I’m afraid I can’t give much in the way of reccs. Books I have heard good things about are, Exiled from Camelot, Idylls of the Queen, The Buried Giant, the Squire's Tale series, and Gawain by Gwen Rowley (warning that this one is apparently erotica? Good for him). I trust @princesslibs for modern book reccomendations. and if you speak French Kaamelott is purportedly a very good tv show. Frankly no modern adaptation will ever be better than Spamalot to me, but that's just my personal take.

If you are curious about engaging with texts but (understandably) don’t want to read a ton of dense medieval literature, one really cool resource is Norris J Lacy's New Arthurian Encyclopedia, which you can pick up at most used bookstores for under ten bucks. It’s a very thorough easy to look through reference of characters stories and texts. I know a lot of people like the Nightbringer wiki, though I personally am wary of it because it basically never cites sources. It’s a good quick reference though and a lot of people like it, I’d just take it with a grain of salt. Sparknotes also has a lot of summaries of the major texts like Le Morte D’Arthur and the romances of Chrétien De Troyes. You are not a fake fan for doing this I promise. And of course you’re always welcome to send me an ask <3

Finally, getting started with texts. Quick glossary of terms:

--Verse Romance

A verse (poem) story which can vary a great deal in length. These deal with the adventures of individual knights, usually Gawain, and tend to have a great deal of magical elements and the stereotypical monster slaying, questing, damosel rescuing knight adventures.

--Prose Novel or Romance

A non poetic narrative, more like a modern novel, more likely to deal with the fall of Arthur, sword in the stone, Mordred, fall of Camelot sort of affair. They are usually quite long. Most famous of these are Le Morte D’Arthur and the French Vulgate, but there are a slew of late medieval Prose novels floating around. Eluding Rey.

--Pseudohistory

I’m gonna b real these are boring I think. These are, as the name suggests, written as accurate depictions of history. They very much are not, but they claim to be. Most famous of these is Jeffrey of Monmouth, Mr Jeff Mouth himself, and his History of the Kings of Britain, which I haven’t read because it bores me. You can if you want. It’s in Latin. Whatever. These tend to be some of the earliest texts, and include the “lives of saints” stories. Life of Gildas is the only funny one.

--Ballads

These are only arguably texts, as most of them were written after the time of the “canon” being composed. But I like them. These are songs telling stories, recorded by people like Francis Child and Thomas Percy. They are very short and fun and include stories like The Boy and the Mantle, Kempion, and King Arthur and the King of Cornwall.

--Lai

A specific type of French verse poem, usually quite short. The most famous collection of lais are those of Marie le France, including things like Bisclavret and Lanval.

--Traditions

Since Arthuriana was written all over, there are different literary traditions across time and space. The French tradition is one of the most famous, including works like the vulgate, Chretien and a lot of verse romances. The English tradition is one of the most influential on modern adaptations, including the Morte D’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. There are also Welsh, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Greek, Belarussian, Scottish, Irish, Breton, and probably even more. There’s a lot. It’s very cool and sexy.

A note that there is also a big tradition of Victorian revival Arthuriana. I wrote a starter guide to that here, it’s all very fun and like, aesthetic.

Alright, now, which texts do you start with?

If you’re a little intimidated by long texts or medieval lit, starting with short verse romances in modern translation is a great place to start. These include Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is very good and gay and well known, Lancelot and the Hart With The White Foot, which is very good and gay and underappreciated, or Lanval, which is homophobic but funny.

If you want to start with what is considered the oldest King Arthur Story, Culwch and Olwen is short and fun!

If you want to read about the grail quest, you can start where it started with Story of the Grail or Percival, then the four continuations, Essenbachs Parzival, the vulgate version of the Grail quest which you can buy paperback for like 5 bucks (I can also scan my copy for you just shoot me an ask <3)

If you want to read about the fall of camelot, I have the Vulgate death of Arthur section scanned here. There’s also the Alliterative and Stanzaic mortes, which are in middle English. I have scanned Simon Armitage's Alliterative Morte translation here. I’m working on my own translation of the Stanzaic but it’s not done lol. If you want the first third or so DM me lol. King Artus is very short and readable and it’s a Jewish text which is really cool.

If you want to read about Lancelot, Chrétien de Troyes Lancelot is his first text. He also has a whole long vulgate section, the first part is scanned here by val <3, and there's Lanzelet, Sebile is in it so it’s probably very good. He’s also basically the main character of Le Morte D’Arthur which I might as well talk about here uhm. It’s long and fun in places and boring in others but it does have like the version most modern adaptations take from and tells the whole story of Arthur and Camelot from beginning to end. The Keith Baines version scanned by val is the most readable but it is an abridgement I believe. people who like le morte usually read this version so its probably the best choice lol

If you want to read about Gawain, good news! He’s in basically everything. Even texts that aren’t supposed to be about Gawain are doomed to become The Gawain Show Featuring The Protagonist Of This Text As A Sidekick. Which is so funny of him. The Roman Van Walewein is very funny and long and Gawain™. I also recommend, L’atre Perilous, Diu Krone, Sir Gawain and the Turk, and I could go on but for brevity's sake let's start there.

If you want to read about Tristan, go shoot an ask to Valentine @lanzelet on tumblr because Tristan scares me.

Thank you to rey @gawain-in-green for helping me find links and put this together! They are also a super great resource for stuff and very cool and nice <3 They have a tag on their blog for full text resources so deffo look at that if you want more scans and links, and an info tag and tons of cool shit that is way better organized than my blog lol

Okay finishing this off, if you want content warnings for any texts, feel free to shoot an ask! I know medieval lit can be A Lot and there aren’t a lot of good warning systems, so if I’ve read it or know someone who has I can give you warnings if you want to read something but are understandably wary . <3

In terms of tagging, Arthuriana and Arthurian Legend are the main ones on tumblr. Arthurian Mythology is also used but tbh shouldn’t be. On Ao3, we’re trying to get our own Arthurian Literature tag but <3 its a whole thing. Anyway the tag is Arthurian Mythology, but I’ll b real, it’s kind of flooded with stuff that doesn’t really belong there, because even though it’s a fandom tag other people unknowingly tag stuff as Arthurian Mythology when it’s like, a knight au. Which is not their fault bc it’s confusing but, ah, alas. ANyhow, feel free to drop in my inbox anytime with questions, suggestions, reccs, etc!

Okay godspeed!! Have fun reading, watching, browsing, etc!

#arthuriana #arthurian legend #arthurian literature #arthurian mythology #:/

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8requiems · 4 years ago

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A Webcomic Review of “Garden Club Detective Squad”:

Oh God Oh Fuck did someone just die?

By: 8Requiems

The Description:

“Gardening and solving crime aren’t what straight-A student Yeon Han thought she would be focusing on at her new school. But when she discovers a notebook that contains clues to a 15-year-old murder mystery, she and the other members of her new gardening club realize the murderer not only has access to the school -- they probably work for the school. Can the gardening club squad figure out who committed the murder even though the principal and their teachers seem desperate to cover it up?”

Now, this description is quite detailed, maybe a bit too detailed.

This comes down to personal preference, but personally, I don’t like seeing the plot in thorough detail before reading the story, especially if it is a mystery.

If it were me, I would write the description as:

“In her attempt to not become a backwater girl, Yeon Han eventually decides to become the President of the Gardening Club. But she’ll soon realize that maybe she might have bitten off more than she could chew”

This description may be a bit rudimentary, but it shows an idea of what my ideal description for this webtoon would be.

It says just enough about the story while also leaving enough to imagination. But the current description at present shows what the first 3-4 chapters are. Had the description not even mentioned the teachers, I probably wouldn’t have considered they were trying to cover anything up to begin with.

That being said, I did read chapters 1-3 of the webtoon blind. And I have to say, I didn’t expect the unassuming colorful cover of this Webtoon to show such menacing and dark panel off-rip.

(A panel from the first scene in Chapter 1)

But, let us familiarize ourselves with the cast, shall we?

Characters:

Yeon Han - The Brain:

Yeon is an honor student who moved outside of Seoul, presumably due to not having enough money to stay. Despite this turn of events, she doesn’t want to become a “backwater girl”. For the sake of her academic record, she decides to settle on becoming the class president. But her peers are just amused at how cocky she was despite being new to the school.

(A panel in the middle of Chapter 2 ^)

When that fails, she decides to settle on becoming the president of an after school club. But forget becoming president, they wouldn’t even allow her to join on the basis that she is too qualified. BRO, THE LITERATURE DISCUSSION CLUB HAS THREE MEMBERS. ONE INCLUDING A BODYPILLOW FOR FUCK SAKES. Part of me wanted to laugh but part of me also felt insulted for her.

I expected her character to be the “genius that finds a niche that she enjoys compared to other activities they would usually dominate at”, but she is already fed up with how hard gardening actually is. Not to mention the amount of faculty and students who ask favours from her.

It was a very pleasant surprise, because now I can rightfully assume that while she works on her cases, she might pick up skills from the gardening club. Dare I say, she actually comes to appreciate and enjoy it as a hobby? I guess only time will tell, as this is still a very new Webtoon, with 12 Chapters out as of this review’s conception.

The one thing I have on my mind at the moment, is if her range of skills she currently has will be useful when tackling the murder case.

Whether or not that is the case, I have high hopes for her as a character.

Mirim Shin - The Spiritual:

Although I said I have high hopes for Yeon, I think Mirim is my favorite character. As the daughter of a priest, she is in tune with her spirituality on a whole other level compared to her club mates.

An interesting tidbit about her is that she decided to practice all forms of faith before her baptism. I can only assume it’s so she could have an idea of what could have been, before deciding to lock in on one specific faith.

Honestly, I genuinely didn’t expect for her to say something like this, not because it sounded ridiculous, but because up until that point, it felt like her spirituality was just a running gag that came with her character.

It was nice to see her character expanded upon, and I hope the other characters get the same treatment, even if it is only brief.

Baekji Kang - The Muscle

Then there's Baekji, who easily wins in cool factor.

I can’t say much other than that in addition to being a part of the garden club, she is also in the Judo club. Although the story doesn’t technically address it, I feel like she fills the role of pseudo-leader / Vice-President of the club.

She’s cool.

Saessak - The Green Thumb’d Romantic?:

Ssaesak is a soft-spoken girl who attends to the garden's needs as one of the two members of the garden club.

She is unexpectedly a romantic, being interested in bad boys.

I only found her annoying for a brief moment because it seemed like she was going to hold back information on her latest crush, Hyeonsu Jeong (the lunch guy), before finally finding the resolve to give a possibly game changing piece of evidence to Yeon.

She’s alright.

Execution:

Despite the mostly positive things I have said in this review, my first impressions of Garden Club Detective Squad were more negative in comparison to the opinions I shared at present.

When I read Wizard of Arsenia, I had overblown expectations because my editor Nen had already recommended God of Bath, a webtoon I have now come to really appreciate. I assumed I would love it in the same way.

My expectations were what held me back from what I usually do best: Sit down and just enjoy the show. Granted, I still hold opinions about it that I believe hold back the story, but the opinions were way fairer than what I could have said.

This time around, I made a similar mistake.

I decided on my own to read Garden Club Detective Squad for this review, and held expectations for the mystery element of the Webtoon, which was reinforced by the first panel I showed in the review. Thankfully, even if the webtoon didn’t live up to whatever expectation I had, I know that I could still appreciate it for what it was because I just went with the flow. At worst, the mystery could come across as contrived.

(A panel from the first scene in Chapter 1)

That being said, somehow, I was disappointed. Even a bit annoyed 5-7 chapters in. Disappointment is one thing, but why was I annoyed?

At first, I was thinking it was because the story had a problem with how it presented tension. After all, the webtoon is categorized as a mystery, so I criticized it as such.

In my original draft, I wrote the following:

“The webtoon is categorized under mystery, but I don’t really feel the urgency of the case whatsoever. I feel like I am getting whiplash between moments that I feel are supposed to be serious and moments that are just ‘slice of life’ hijinks.”

I hadn’t taken into account that, although it was a “mystery”, it functioned more like a “comedy”, like God of Bath.

I feel as though the Webtoon was miscategorized. I use God of Bath as an example because it could have easily been categorized under “Action”, because of the Ttaemiri battles. But despite these battles, because of the way dialogue is presented, it is understandably under the comedy genre. Moreover, the action was more of a vehicle to tell the stories and values of the characters themselves. In other words, even if you were to take out these action elements, God of Bath would be fundamentally the same.

But according to my logic, does this mean that if this webtoon didn’t have mystery elements, it would be fundamentally the same?

No, and I do not think it would be the same if the webtoon didn’t have the comedy elements either.

To be perfectly clear, just because I think Garden Club Detective Squad is a comedy, it doesn’t mean that I think it shouldn’t present mystery elements, or vice-versa. But I wish Webtoon could at the very least categorize it as both a “mystery” and “comedy”.

Who knows, maybe my opinion will change as more and more chapters get uploaded. Or rather, I hope it does.

Personally, despite my position towards the webtoon being a comedy, it isn’t all that funny.

And as of the currently uploaded chapters, I think the mystery is all right.

In my opinion, what makes a good mystery is having all the clues presented to the characters and the reader to be able to solve the case. To understand 52chu’s take on mystery, I’ll break down the first suspect, Hyeongsu. Take this scene the beginning of episode 6 for example:

This scene is trying to insinuate that Hyeongsu is the killer. The dramatic irony of this scene, Saessak’s photo of Hyeongsu dumping bones in the garden, and the story deliberately pointing out that there are no cameras in the cafeteria/garden area are the three pieces of information the story provides to help the indirect claim.

(A panel from Episode 8 ^)

(A Panel from Episode 9 ^)

(A panel from episode 8 ^)

But it was all a misunderstanding. Whoops, my bad. “I was just trying to help you all”.

(A panel from episode 9 ^)

It's almost comical how much the plot just wanted to frame Hyeongsu, I can’t help but laugh.

All forms of evidence lead to Hyeongsu, except the fact that the bones were the remnants of ribs from past cafeteria specials:

(Panel from episode 9 ^)

If you were able to pick up the possibility, then great. But somehow, Hyeongsu’s mini-arc just fell flat for me. Whether you knew this one detail or not, it feels like I’m going to be dragged from suspect to suspect in the future. Everyone one of them will be the “killer” except for that one contrivance that makes them innocent. Honestly, I firmly believe that it isn’t any of the faculty.

You know what, here's my Trademark 8Requiems theory. The culprit is Chair Juyeong.

(A panel from Episode 6 ^)

I don’t mind the club reaching dead ends, but if there aren’t elements that could at least help me identify who the real culprit is, I doubt I could enjoy it as much as I’d like to.

Conclusion:

Reading and understanding this Webtoon has been somewhat of a ride. Although it is still ongoing, I have mixed feelings on whether or not I want to continue reading. But despite the gripes that I have with it at the moment, I think I will continue reading it just to see where 52chu takes the story.

You will likely enjoy this Webtoon if you like stories where the plot focuses on the reader having fun with the misadventures of the cast.

But what do you guys think? Do you think my criticism was unfounded? Do you think it really *IS* a mystery, and that I am looking at this Webtoon in the wrong light? Talk about it in the comments below.

And as always,

Arrivederci Brothers. May you attain your grain.

#Webtoon #Webcomic #Webcomics #Garden Club Detective Squad #GCDS #WebtoonReview #WebcomicReview #WizardOfArsenia #Wizard of Arsenia

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snowtimeisbesttime · 4 years ago

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Thoughts and questions on Hiveswap Act 2– Part 1.

**DISCLAIMER** I haven't played through the entire game yet! I got to the intermission in the whole trial thingy, and will continue tomorrow! Therefore, I Am Not Looking at anything yet, only posting. I'll probably come back and edit this once I've actually finished the game.

-Did the default names for Xefros & Dammek's lusii change?? I loaded my Act 1 save, and I'm sure they had their default names (Zoosmell and Cornibuster) there, though I'm also pretty sure i accidentally unlocked the “name the lusii” achievement on that save by clicking on the text windows without actually changing their names so... Dammek's lusus is called Toothy now i guess?

-On that note, if Xefros' lusus died I'm going to fucking scream. Even though I'm pretty sure we've barely seen him on screen since like the end of Act 1 but Regardless.

-We see Charun's cave, and it turns out they were neighbours with Zebede all this time, but they're nowhere to be seen at the train?? unless they grabbed an earlier one... Charun did get a death flag the size of the pacific ocean, when interacting with their weird sculpture with a lot of legs and arms surrounding a mouth, but Zebede's just gone without a trace? The bees are gone and there's a hole in the side of his hive, but his lusus doesn't seem to be particularly upset? And neither is Charun's, assuming that huge bug near the cave is their lusus. (Idarat the canon fantroll #3 doesn't appear at the train either, but that's probably for the same reason there aren't any jade or teal background characters: to keep the court scene neat)

-The drones are supposed to be en route to the station, supposedly to fix the ticket machines but probably to cull whoever tripped the alarm on them... i sure hope they don't follow the train or anything orz

-Mostly everyone seems to resemble their respective Friendsims, more or less:

Fozzer appears to be scratched still, yet more philosophical. Also he's not in the train either.

Folykl seems just a touch friendlier than in her friendsim (and Kuprum's still just as hyped about becoming a helmsman as before, even if he seems to know more details about it now).

Chixie's more anxious, probably because it seems she's been doing stuff as The Mask for a while now, and she's going to fuck shit up at Jeevik Week. She says she's not alone in that, and considering it's apparently confirmed that the random troll from her good end Was Dammek all this time... is she also actively in the rebellion? Also is it just me or does her sprite look somewhat scribblier than everyone else's? Even the background characters??

Elwurd's pretty much the same, and it does seem her flirting with Joey was mostly to try and get her to buy something. Also... if her fake tickets were so good, why didn't she just use them, instead of giving them to Joey and Xefros? Like, I get Marvus and Boldir Knowing Stuff, but her?

Zebruh's paying attention to Marvus instead of Chixie, which. Small mercies. He's still a dick, and we're still doing the whole “clowns are peak oppressed” thing.

Marvus seems to still be perfectly nice to the main characters, and perfectly willing to let other people die in order to help them advance (getting Zebruh to sign up for Slam or Get Culled, Daraya if you fuck up in the trial thing, Hopefully Not Any More Cases...) He is helping Tyzias out with her defensive legislaceration experiments, though, and basically everyone who isn't Joey seems to think he might flip his shit and murder someone, as clowns do. At least people don’t seem to lose their minds around him anymore.

Vikare's basically the same, but Joey immediately picks up on his Jake Vibes and instinctively dislikes him.

Diemen eats people???????? as in, actively????????? wtf?????????

Skylla seems to be pretty much the same, but she's obviously worried because Ladyy's sick!! God I fucking hope we do get to help her out before the end of the game.

Marsti's also friendlier than she was in her volume, though I remember MSPAR was particularly prone to sticking their foot in their mouth in that one.

Cirava's surprisingly more trusting than they were in their volume (and also, their eye's light green and not teal). Also, apparently they gouged their other eye out on stream?????? as in live???? besides that, good to see not All of the powerful psionics get succesfully indoctrinated.

Polypa's also rather willing to help out, though we still don't know what the heck happened to her.

Boldir's suitably mysterious, and probably also involved with the rebellion... she does call Xefros “burgundy figurehead”.

Konyyl and Azdaja are still having relationship stuffs, but in the end they clearly care the most about each other. (he still doesn't seem to give a fuck about helm stuffs so far?) The question is, who exactly were they hunting down??

The jades and the teals are basically the same as their Friendsim incarnations, as far as I've seen. The one major change to the jades (besides jade lore which i'll discuss further down) seems to be that hatched2dance is now one of the biggest reasons for their fights, and Bronya does get a crunchy bit of Backstory (the jade from her past that got culled because of the Rainbow Hemotions saga, which is also the reason she's so hard on Daraya now)

On the teals, Stelsa and Tyzias seem to have a teensy bit of quadrant vacillation going on?? Tirona seems to be more focused on becoming a history revisionist than a memeagandist now, and it would also seem that Tegiri's the one into vampires now (or at least, Tagora's better at hiding it And a lot better at not getting involved with the whole mess that is whatever the heck the jades are doing)

-Psionics can have single-colored eyes!! tbh we'd already seen this back in Tegiri's route in Friendsim but it's good to Actually See it visually.

-Also, nice to see that Xefros *can* go toe to toe with the strongest psionic we know in all of Hiveswap! (95% sure that I've seen someone theorize something like this might happen?? I personally wasn't expecting it here but anyways Xefros you're doing amazing sweetie) What's not so nice is that he's only shown this strength when Azdaja hurt Joey (as far as i've played of course)... so unless he like unlocks his potential or something so he can do Big Psychics without seeing his friends get hurt beforehand we're in for some Angst.

-Also if Marvus got his ticket from Cridea (and Chixie won hers in like a raffle or something) then why couldn't she have given Xefros and Dammek some?? like, Dammek's been to one Jeevik Week already. Fiamet also told her about Joey, but by then they were already in the train.

-Me: Xefros' microphone's going to be important in act 2! Also me: *has to give it to fucking Zebruh to get his ticket*. Oh well, that's one thing for the Second Playthrough of Achievement Getting (plus: wearing the cone horns, having Joey introduce herself to Boldir, getting through the whole ace attorney segment without game overs...)

-We get the Quadrant Explanation #1000, sans auspisticism.

-It's vaguely implied that Dammek has also read some Soldier Purrbeasts books?? He's told Xefros the whole “death creates a bond deeper than matespritship or kismessisitude” thing, apparently! So if he's not secretly into troll warrior cats then. That sentence's more than mildly worrying??

-JADEBLOOD LOREDUMP PART THE NTEENTH: Okay first of all it's implied that More cloisters exist? Which in retrospect is pretty much obvious because you can't expect only six trolls to take care of All the troll grubs in existence. Also, the reason jades can't sneak out of the caverns anymore is “because they get Drone'd”, and it seems to be implied that they Can't go out At All*, which kinda contrasts with Friendsim (where literally all the jades snuck out of the caverns at least once: Lanque, Daraya and Wanshi in their own routes, Lynera in Vol 18, and Bronya in Vols 6 & 18). One of their tasks seems to be guarding Forbidden Literature, and Xefros states that they either cull or indoctrinate the most powerful psychic grubs.

-It's also stated that all of our jades were chosen for the cloister when they were basically wrigglers, while Lynera states in Friendsim that she's only been 2,43 sweeps in the caverns. (Considering Bronya's new backstory, it seems that capability to become a rainbow drinker ISN'T the qualifying factor for getting cloistered– depending on how exactly that jade died). It comes to mind that regular, non-cloistered jades might not really know about all these logistics, as it seems that at least Bronya wants to keep them secret– and therefore I don't have to go back and re-rewrite yet another chunk of Mirrorbent orz.

-Lastly, Xefros says they will all become nuns (btw, space church was mentioned in Lanque's route!) when they reach their Ordeals, and we already knew they'd be forced to live in isolation from Friendsim, but during the ace attorney thingy Lynera says she's NOT going to leave the planet because she'll become a midwife and tend to the Mother Grub (basically what we all thought jadebloods did back when we only had the ancestor stuff on Homestuck)... but either Daraya or Lanque told her that they weren't real? So either there's more jade propaganda that we didn't know about, or...

-*The one exception to this is, coincidentally, Jeevik Week, and it's apparently because Trizza herself made it so jades could go too, 3 or 4 sweeps before Hiveswap... why's that? What's so important about Jeevik Week that Trizza would do this? Iirc Cridea and Trizza were sort of set up as opposing forces (?? words), all the way back from the first bunch of concept arts we saw of them? The first thing we learnt from Trizza was that she was the “second best at memes”, and on Cridea's first appearance, when troll twitter was still Prongle, she said that some chick was stealing her memes... and now, Cridea has exactly one follower less than Trizza, who everyone in Alternia's forced to follow... would that person be the heiress herself?

#hiveswap #hiveswap spoilers #hiveswap theories #joey claire #xefros tritoh #thoughts and questions #long post #no really this got Long #idk how much of the game this covers tbh #and i will find out Tomorrow

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glass-expanse · 5 years ago

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21 Questions tag game

Answer 21 questions, tag 21 people (eep).

Tagged by @coffeeman777

Name: Redacted. On the internet I go by Geata, or Rayne Holmes.

Nicknames: I really only have shortened versions of my real name. Pretty boring.

Gender: Female.

Star Sign: Uh, Cancer? I think? I dunno I was always more obsessed with MBTI when I was younger. I'm an INFP. ;)

Current time: 6:55 AM EST

Song stuck in head: My alarm. I woke up ten minutes ago. It's a bunch of arpeggio'ed chords.

Last movie I watched: I don't re-- oh. I rewatched the Princess Bride a couple of weeks ago.

Last thing I Googled:

Probably one of these. I don't know how to check which one was actually the last one. Clearly a lovely mix of food, random questions related to Tumblr posts, and current news.

Other blogs: I actually do have one that I used for like one post ever. It was supposed to be devoted to a WIP from last year but all it has is a low-res piece of art. @the-spinning-top

Do I get asks: A grand total of one. Totally down for more though! Seriously go for it.

Reason behind my URL: I like looking out the window and daydreaming.

Following: 65

Average sleep: Okay so... I love sleep and think it's important. I strive to get 9 hours every single night and most nights I do. Last night though... I couldn't get to sleep for two hours. It was ridiculous. So I got like 7 hours of sleep last night instead.

Lucky number: In my experience, there's no such thing as luck. I will say though that I like the number 24 because of all the ways you can add up to it.

Currently wearing: A light blue plaid button up shirt and a pair of bootcut jeans. I wear stuff like this quite literally 24/7. I actually do not own any pajamas at all.

Dream job: I don't really know. See, there's all sorts of things that go into a dream job... Profitability, demand, skill. My plan is to go into a trade like plumbing or HVAC or possibly welding but that takes a lot of time to get to. If I didn't have to worry about money and getting a college degree to qualify, it'd be awesome to teach history at a college. I don't think I'm quite good enough of a teacher to teach literature though, unfortunately. Being a comic book creator would be really awesome too and I've entertained notions similar to that for like 4 years. Comics are cool. So is filmmaking. I'm a creative person, and I plan on a job that will keep me financially and mentally stable. All that said, my current job as a trail guide is one that I love to death. I'm also really excited about (hopefully) being on summer camp staff (waiting on an email back from the program director now... Ee!)

Dream trip: I'm not a person who likes to travel. I don't harbor dreams to go west for vacation or anything like that. I just wanna live outta the back of my truck in a nice wooded lot with a stream moving through it and keep some animals and have a garden, all worked into the permaculture of the forest. So I'd rather live somewhere awesome than visit somewhere people say they enjoy.

Favorite food: Okay so food, like sleep, is something I love. I can't really pick a favorite food. I really like sea food and pasta and ice cream? The weirdest food I ever ate was crocodile meat fried in cornmeal. Very tasty.

Favorite song: Probably The Mandelorian theme song! I love that one. I don't like lyrical songs and most songs I don't remember the names of or whatever, but I've listened to the Mandelorian enough that it's distinctions make it easy to remember and also really enjoyable!

Instruments: I have played piano for ten years and I fiddle around on the guitar every so often.

Tagging: (Let's see if I can find 21 people heh heh) @prettypianoprincess @woogwoo-wren @howgreatthou4rt @everythingbeautifulsfiction @loubuttons @artimies6 @timetopanik @starrtoon @ketsycola @stealingmyplaceinthesun @friendly-spoodermin @hopelessmusing @hobbitsetal @mothnem @orion98 @ anyone else who sees this and is interested? I obviously don't know enough people to tag but whatever. No sweat to participate if you're not interested. ;)

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smokeybrand · 5 years ago

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Venomous Visibility

As a creator, I always find the subject of representation kind of dubious. With the f*cked up Last of Us II leaks, the continuous misandrist poison leaking into the Star Wars canon from that Kennedy-led Lucasfilm, and the incredibly amazing portrayal of Jill Valentine in the Remake, this sh*t has been on my mind lately. Like, how do you write strong, female, protagonist without falling into that Mary Sue trap? How do you code black without being offensive? How do you write gay without resorting to stereotypes? I don't know how to distinguish a trans or deaf or autistic or native person through text without outright stating these things. Where's the nuance in portraying someone queer without it coming across as pandering? I don’t know if it’s because of my limited experience as a straight black dude who kind of thinks the current trend of eighty-eight genders and personal identifications is kind of ridiculous but i find the attempts studios make to cater to these groups to be adequate as f*ck. Like, Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley kind of defined feminine bad-ass and they both did it way back in the 80s. Why is there this irreverent need to portray this misandrist energy in modern cinema? Birds of Prey was a fun time but it was way heavy-handed on that “Girl boss” energy and it didn’t have to e. Harley Quinn is already a boss and the Birds kick ass in their own right. Why does that have to be the focus of your narrative instead of actual character development and plot? Especially when you have that Ellen Ripley template? It’s weird to say but it feels like certain groups want those aspects to define the entirety of a character instead of it just being a part of them. I think that mindset is both toxic and does a disservice to the given narrative, unless the narrative, itself, is defined by those aspects.

I'm of the mind that, if you wrote dope characters, that should he enough. Take, for examples, Disney’s newest attempt to represent a queer character in Onward. I’ve never seen the movie, i have severe daddy issues so this hilariously outside of my wheelhouse, but i hear that one of the characters makes a passing reference to their same sex spouse. How is that not good enough? Isn’t that how it is in real life? I don’t see gays running around, shouting about their homo love from the balconies and rooftops. Unless it’s Pride. To add that little tidbit in the middle of a Pixar film, aimed at the notoriously conservative middle America, and not have them trying to burn down city hall is kind of amazing and, in my opinion, very tastefully done. At least it’s better executed than the way Beauty and the Beast did with the LeFou reveal. Like, holy sh*t. Talk about blue-balls. This fervent obsession with representation for representation sake or to push an agenda is absolutely repugnant. You think the character of Rey Skywalker would be enough of a lesson on that poisonous nonsense for everyone, not just Disney. Be it female lead, bisexual heroine, gay protagonist, whatever; If you're character is strong enough to be more than whatever social label cats want to code them with, then the representation is inconsequential. Don’t force something that doesn’t need to be forced.

I’ve seen representation executed beautifully. Euphoria is one of the best shows i’ve seen on television and it deals with a ton of sh*t that most SJWs want to fight about. Zendaya is excellent in this show and so is her trans partner, Hunter Schafer. The way that show is written, you can tell that there is an understanding about that culture, a personal connection to their world. That level of representation is outstanding and i commend the creators for giving us such a rich vision for those characters. That said, the strength of Euphoria is in the characters. Rue makes that show. It’s about her journey and everything after that, is a part of who she is as a character, not the defining aspect of it. That subtlety is how you represent an uniquely ignored demographic. That’s how you handle representation in media for adults. For kids, i think this is a little much. Not many nine-year-olds out there are recovering drug addicts.

I think the best piece of media i’ve ever seen in terms of representation actually came out of Disney years ago and gets criminally slept on to this day. Atlantis: The Lost Empire i easily the most diverse, accessible, and palatable piece of “woke” media, Disney has ever made, and it was never created to be so. Atlantis is a story with a female co-lead of color, who has her own agency, doesn’t really fall into the trap of being “damseled” and ends up being a Queen by the rend of this story. The male co-lead is an anxious, neurotic, nerd with a distinct lack of brawn, who beguiles the antagonists with his intellect. The supporting cast is a mixture of people of color, both of which are dope as sh*t, and various nationalities. I’ve spoken at length about my love for Kidagakash Nedakh, she’d be my favorite Disney Princess if she wasn’t a motherf*cking Queen, but i’d be lying if i didn’t admit Audrey had a near equal place in my heart for her sheer dopenesss. Doc is cool, too. Seriously, how is there no Atlantis world in Kingdom Hearts yet? F*cking Disney, man... For the record, my actual favorite Princess is Rapunzel with Jasmine coming in a close second.

Personally, when I create a character, I describe the way I imagine how they physically appear and let the reader assign whatever else afterwords. If I say a character is female with caramel color skin and lavender hair, it's up to the reader to define the minute details in their mind's eye. Is the Lavender a natural hair color? Is she black? Maybe Hispanic? Could she be native or Indian or something completely different? A lot of people have caramel color skin. Hell, she might just have a tan, I don't know because the way I see the character, is different than whoever reads it. I think that's one of the joys unique to literature, that ability to essentially "customize" a narrative to taste, which only amplifies my inability to reconcile this trend of "representation." A lot of people in the fandom attribute Ahsoka Tano as an LGBTQ character and i think that’s fine. It’s never implicitly stated but i don’t think it really has to be. Ahsoka is a bad ass and she displays all of that effortlessly. If you ant to ascribe a queer connotation to her, fine, but that’s not the part of the character that matters to the overall narrative. It shouldn’t be the one aspect which is harped upon officially. I actually really, really, love Ahsoka so i have a dog in this fight. Not so much about the gay coding, that’s a thing that doesn’t really matter to me, more the fact that she needs deserves more shine in the franchise. Thank you Mando II. Also, Dr. Aphra. I hope they actually give her a show. She’s f*cking awesome and, i think, a legit LGBTQ character. I could be wrong about that though.

If a character can be whatever you want them to be, why does it have to be implicitly stated? How is all of this forced representation and social agenda pushing not disingenuous at that point? How is it not more a hindrance than a strength? Why is it acceptable to have your token marginalized appearance, if it’s forced and detracts from the overall story trying to be told? Is it really okay to just accept such pedestrian pandering for the sake of pandering? Like, i’m not gay. How am i supposed to write a gay character without being an ass about it? The only way i know how is to be direct with it. Direct but subtle about everything. “Strong Female Character” should not be the one aspect of your character driving their development. You don’t need to create a Mary Sue in order to have a compelling female lead. Tifa Lockhart and Norah Price prove that. Your protagonist doesn’t need to be “the big gay” in order to be a bad ass. Ian Ghallagher and Willow Rosenberg prove that. Also, they’re both gingers so, you know, double the suffrage points i guess? You don’t have to write a potato who can do physics in their head, to represent an autistic person. Sherlock Holmes and Amelie Poulain prove that. I would definitely do what Disney did with Onward in order to represent a character of that type of minority because, to me, as a minority, i don’t believe any singular aspect determine the whole of a character. Race, gender, orientation, religion, and other social identifiers; All of those are just qualifiers to the core of the character you’re creating. They are parts, never a whole. These things are just additions to embellish and enrich, not the definition of who they are, as much as everyone wants it to be. I mean, at the end of the day, how lame is your character if all they are is gay or stronk female? How much of a boner is our story going to be with a protagonist as deep as a puddle because you feel some kind of way about visibility?

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reylo-is-strong-in-this · 7 years ago

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Hi! I just fall in love with shorts about reylo you've wrote and saw this post about asking you and i was wondering if you can make something from college au? Of course if it's not a bother!

It’s a little longer than I expected, which means a lot more grammar mistakes.I hope this qualifies as College Au😂

“Thanks for helping me bring my stuffs up, Finn. Are you sure you don’t want any help with your dorm room?”Rey asked, putting a box down on the floor as her best friend put two other boxes on her bed.“Nah, Poe finished unpacking yesterday.” The corner of his mouth lifted when he said he boyfriend’s name. Three of then are inseparable since they met each other in the orphanage, and they were lucky enough to get scholarships into the same college. She was really glad to have them near.Her roommate would be here tomorrow, so she got the whole room to herself for the first time in her life, and Rey wasn’t sure whether she should be excited or terrified.“Wanna grab some lunch? I’ll text Poe to meet us in the cafeteria.” Finn asked.“Let me wash my undies real quick, otherwise I’ll have nothing to wear tomorrow.”Rey checked her clothes to make sure that the only thing she lack is a clean underwear, her shirts could wait until Friday. Finn wrinkled his nose.“TMI, Rey.”“Sorry.” She laughed, made her way to the bathroom and proceeded to was her neon pink underwear with a cat’s face imprinted on the back she got from donation, it was hideous, but it was free, so she kept it.“Done.” She opened the door to a small balcony of her room and hung it on a hanging rope to dry.“Rey, we are on the 20th floor. Are you sure it’s a good idea to-“Strong wind knocked the small piece of cloth right off the hanging rope. Rey gasped, trying to reach for it but she was too late. The under flew trough the air like a hideous pink butterfly with a face of a cat……and fell right on top of a guy’s face.Rey covered her mouth with her hand in terror, she quickly ducked behind the balcony when the tall man grabbed the underwear off his head and looked up.“Shit!Shit!Shit!”She heard Finn’s laughter rang through the room, but she was too embarrassed to even asked him to stop.

“It didn’t sound that bad. I mean, that guy might not even know where it fell from! And I’m sure he knew in was an accident.”Rose, her new roommate comforted her as they sat down in empty seats near Poe and Finn in their first class together.“Yeah. I think that guy might even thank you for a souvenir.” Poe winked at her, and got a smack right across the back from his boyfriend.“Maybe he didn’t mind that, you said yourself the guy was hot. Maybe he got girls throwing their underwear at him all the time.”Finn tried to make her feel better, but it really wasn’t helping at all. “Good morning class. Welcome to Literature 101. My name is Professor Kylo Ren. And I am in charge of this class for the whole semester.”There were gasps and squeaks as girls saw their new professor walked into the room. Rey turned her attention to the tall figure standing on stage, and her eyes widen in horror.“It’s him!”“Wait, what?” Her friends looked like they weren’t sure whether to laugh or express their sympathies.“I’m so screwed.” She almost sobbed. She didn’t know if Kylo Ren had seen her yesterday when he looked up, but if he did, her fate was pretty much doomed. Finn gave her back and awkward pad.“Come on. It’s not like he can expel you over that or anything.”“Actually,” Rose started. They all turned to her with questioning look. Rose looked down to her lap and mumbled. “His mother is the dean…I’m pretty sure he can.”Great. She barely started her first day and she already might get herself kicked out.“Don’t panic. You don’t even know if he saw you.”Poe said when she saw her trembled. Rey nodded, concern still clear on her face.

Rey almost thought she got away with it when Professor Ren called her name at the end of the lecture.

“Miss Rey…Skywalker? Please please come see me in my office after this.”Rey almost jumped. Rose looked at her with sympathy in her eyes. Finn and Poe looked concerned.“Don’t worry, Biscuit. Whatever happen next, we are here for you.” Poe squeezed her hand under the desk, and seeing Poe worried made her felt even worse. Rey picked up her stuffs quietly and walked toward the waiting professor.“Um…I’m- I’m Rey.” She stuttered, feeling like her heart was about to jump out of her throat.“Ah, Miss Skywalker.” She didn’t dare look up, but Professor Ren sounded…amused? “Let’s talk in my office. I don’t think this…matter is appropriate to be discuss in public.”Rey nodded, following him to an office near the lecture room.“Take a seat, make yourself comfortable.”His voice was deep, soft, almost like he cared for her. Rey mentally hit herself, why would he care for a girl who drop her hideous underwear on his head.“So, Skywalker? I couldn’t help bet notice there are three Skywalkers in my class…”“I grew up in an orphanage run by Luke Skywalker foundation. We all use the last name the orphanage assigned for us in legal paper.” Rey explained, her voice barely came out of her throat.“Luke Skywalker is my uncle, so technically that make you guys kind of my family?”Rey didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure what to say.“Am I so scary you wouldn’t look at me in the eyes when I’m talking to you?”He sounded hurt. Rey quickly looked up, just to see those dark eyes looking at her intensely. Seeing him up close, she realized he was really attractive, not in that ‘hot professor a girl fancy about’ kind of way, he looked like he walked straight out of the cat walk and into the classroom.“No! I’m just…please don’t expel me. I swear it was an accident!”“Expel you? Why would I do that?” Professor Ren looked confused.“Well, m- my…undergarment incident…” She didn’t know how to call it. The man before her still looked confused, until his eyes widen in realization.“That was you?”“It was an accident! I was hanging it on the rope and… wait, you didn’t know?” Her brows furrowed in confusion. If that was not reason she was here, then what was it?“How was I supposed to know.”The professor shook his head and sighed. “Then we better get that back from the university lost and found before some creeps take it.”“‘We’?”“Yes, you don’t think I would let you go that easily after all this time, do you?” He raised his eyebrow, which didn’t clear anything up for her at all.“I’m sorry. Do we know each other?”She asked, and regretted it immediately when the young professor looked like she just punched him in the gut.“You don’t remember?” When he saw how lost she was, he looked disappointed. And Rey hated to admit she didn’t want to see that look in his eyes ever again. “Of course not. I apologize for bothering your time, Miss Skywalker. You may leave now.”His voice sounded distance as his eyes grew harder. Rey didn’t know why, but it made her heart clenched in her chest.“Sir, whatever I did to upset you. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad.” She plead, but Professor Ren just looked away, that was when the door swung open.“Are you ready for lunch? Oh, you have a guest.”Dean Organa was standing outside the room. She tilted her head in surprise when she noticed Rey sitting in her son’s office.“Don’t I know you from somewhere?”“I wrote about you in my scholarship essay. Maybe you know me from that?” Rey helped. Leia frowned, didn’t seem to think that was the case.“What’s your name, Darling?”“Rey, ma’am. Rey Skywalker.”The dean gasped. A smile spread across her face as she looked over Rey to her son.“I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I will leave you two love birds to catch up, okay?”“What?” Rey felt like she was going to faint. Leia gave her a warm smile that looked really familiar somehow.“You and Ben were inseparable when you were young, remember? When Ben got into that boarding school in Alderaan, you were the only reason he hesitated. I’m glad you guys found each other again. Ben was never the same without you.”“Mother!”Rey heard him cried, but all she could think about was the name Leia called him.The name of the first boy she loved. The only boy she ever loved.

“Ben! Look! I got an A!”Rey, who was twelve at the time, showed her quiz paper to the tall boy who was reading a huge book in his lap. Ben looked up, smiled at her fondly.“Good job, Rey. See? Literature isn’t so bad, is it?”“It’s only because you read the whole book for me.” She protested. She loved it when Ben read for her. She knew Ben’s family ran the orphanage so he got permission to hang out whenever he wanted. “I liked it because you liked it.”And he spent most of his time sitting under the big tree behind the building and read her many classic literature with that magical voice of his.“Rey, I need to tell you something.”The older boy looked serious. She didn’t like it when he looked at her like that. “What’s the matter?” She scooted closer to him, to the point that she almost sat on his lap. Rey used to sit on Ben’s lap all the time when he read for her, but as she grew older, Ben insisted it was ‘inappropriate’ to do so.“I got into a boarding school in Alderran. It’s a very competitive school and once I got there I might not be able to contact you.”Saying it pained him almost as much as seeing how it affected her. Rey froze, her lips trembling and her eyes was tearing up. Ben started to panic. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry, please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”“You are leaving.” She sobbed, feeling his strong arms pulled her into his chest. “Just like my parents, you are leaving me!”“Rey, no. Please, I’m not anything like them.” Ben whispered, brushing his lips gently on her head soothingly. “I will come back for you, sweetheart. I promise.”“Yo- You mean that?” She voice was hoarse from crying so hard. Ben ran his thumb on her wet cheek to wipe her tears from that beautiful hazel eyes.“Yes, and we will be together, forever. In a beautiful house by a river with garden full of flowers. How does that sound?” He knew he was too young to promise such a thing, but it felt so right. He could not imagine his life without her.“Can we have babies too?”She asked innocently, bot it almost made him choke on his words. “What?”“I want a house full of babies and puppies! They are so adorable!” She smiled, and he could never deny her anything when she looked at him like that.“Of course. Whatever you want.”His girl pursed her lips thoughtfully, and leaned closer. Before he knew her soft lips was on his. It was nothing more than a peck. But it almost made him throw away his full schorlarship and stay here with her.Almost.“You are mine now. Don’t forget that.” She grinned through her tears. “I’ll wait for you. I promise.”That smile was the only thing that kept him sane through all his years in the First Order boarding school. It was a hellhole, but one with a very high chance to get into ivy leagues university.His would get his success, and then he would be able to provide his girl anything her heart desire.

“Ben? But.. you said your name is Kylo…” Rey looked at him in disbelief. He hadn’t contact her in years. Sometimes she even thought he was just a figment of her imagination.To be fair, she was moved to a foster home not long after that, so he would’ve had no way of contacting her anyway.“Kylo Ren was my pen name. People in the business know me by that name, so it kinda sticks.” He shrugged. “Oh my god, Ben!”She threw herself at him across the desk without even thinking, wrapped her arms around his neck as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “You came back. You actually came back!”The realization hit her like a brick wall. He was here. Her Ben was here.“Of course I came back. I’m yours, remember?” He said, running his hand through her soft hair like he imaging himself doing several time for the past years. His disappointment of her not remember him fainted quickly when he saw her blinding smile he had always missed.“Okay, as much as I would love to have grand babies really soon, but as the dean I have to suggest you two go somewhere else before someone see you.” Leia, who was long forgotten by them both spoke, made Rey and Kylo jumped in surprised. “As a mother, I’m glad I finally can welcome you as my daughter. I’ve always been fond of you, Rey. And my son was just a total pain in my ass without you around.”“Mother! For the love of-““Okay okay. I’ll leave you two be, bring her to dinner next week, yeah? I think Han would really love to meet you, I remembered you loved racing cars? He was dying for someone to talk to about his collections.”Leia smiled at them for the last time and walked out out her son’s office. Kylo sighed and turned his attention back to the girl in his arms. His eyes softened.“Now, where were we?”“I believe you are about to kiss me, and help me get my undies back from lost and found.”Rey grinned. Kylo chuckled, stole a quick kiss from her with a wicked smile.“Let’s go get that back. I would love to see you in it sometimes in the future.”“Slow your horse, cowboy.” Rey laughed. Although she knew he would likely see her in it sometimes soon. “How about you take me to Lost and Found and then we go shopping for my new ones?” Rey suggested. “Because that was literally the only clean undies I had.”“Wait,” Kylo couldn’t help it, his eyes dropped to her Yoga pants suspiciously. “ what are you wearing then?”Rey didn’t answer, but her awkward smile answered everything he wanted to know.

#reylo #reylo prompt #reylo prompts #college au #modern au

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smokeybrandreviews · 5 years ago

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Venomous Visibility

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musicprincess655 · 7 years ago

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Rei sat back with a sigh. All there was left to do now was wait. She’d sent out a mass email using the university’s server to contact everyone and tell them to gather for a meeting. Now she just had to wait for everyone to join her in the auditorium.

“Are you ready for this?” Tesshin asked.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Telling everyone is the right choice,” Tesshin said. “I agree with you that it was better to wait until we had more information, but now we have more information. Everyone deserves to know what’s coming for them.”

“I know,” Rei sighed. “Of course I think you’re right. It’s just not news I’m looking forward to breaking.”

“You don’t even have to do most of the talking,” Ochiai broke into their conversation. “I’m the one that has to tell them in detail about the army of the dead coming to kill them all.”

“You’re the expert,” Rei told him calmly. “It makes sense to have you explain everything.”

Nothing was effective with Ochiai quite like reminding him that he had an ego the size of the Skytree.

They were cut off from the conversation by people starting to filter in. Rei watched as students formed into groups across the auditorium and faculty joining her, Tesshin, and Ochiai on the stage. The coven battle teams moved closer to the stage, more comfortable with something their coaches were running. Ochiai nodded at some of the players from the girls’ team he coached.

Rei saw Konoe An following Chris in to sit with the boys’ team. Good. Even though she wasn’t a student here anymore, An was someone Rei wanted on her side in a fight. And there was little chance of An taking this news sitting down, considering how many friends she still had at this school.

At about fifteen minutes after Rei had said for everyone to be here in the email, she stood from her chair on the stage.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” she said. “I know you’re all enjoying your spring vacation, and I’m grateful you came anyway. We have something of grave importance to tell you all. I’ll let Ochiai-san explain it in more detail since it’s his area of expertise, but I can tell you there’s a threat coming for us all, and it’s already claimed the life of one student.”

The look on Chris’ face told her that he already knew. He’d probably been preparing himself for the worst for months.

It didn’t make the cold ache in Rei’s chest hurt any less knowing that Chris’ anguish had been expected.

“Well, simply put, there’s an army of the dead coming for us,” Ochiai said. Better to rip the band aid off right from the start. “We’ve found the body of a student a few months ago, and we’ve been investigating ever since. We finally have enough to bring the news to you all.”

“You didn’t tell the rest of us that a student had been killed?” someone spoke up. Rei looked over to see Oota, assistant coach of the girls’ coven battle team, looking outraged.

“We informed his parents,” Rei said. “And asked them to keep this quiet until we had all the information, so that we wouldn’t be paralyzed by rumors and suspicions. That’s why we’re coming to you now.”

“Zaizen Naoyuki died looking into this threat,” Ochiai said. “He went in too fast, and he went in alone, and he got killed for it. This situation called for caution above all else.”

Rei couldn’t bring herself to look at Chris and An now that their worst fears had been confirmed.

“There’s a fae spell that’s mentioned in legends that summons an army of the dead and sets it in motion against a foe,” Ochiai said. “Put bluntly, we have no way of stopping it completely if it’s already been set in motion, and as far as we can tell, it has. Based on what we found looking into news sources, whatever group is attacking us tested this on a smaller scale up in Hokkaido. There’s a village that’s been reporting missing people and strange animal attacks. We think the group chose this village because it’s known to be non-magical, and they could avoid detection as a magical threat that way.”

Rei felt Furuya’s aura flare before she saw it. He was from Hokkaido. Was he somehow wrapped up in this? Rei couldn’t remember where exactly he’d come from, but based on his reaction, he had to have some connection to the village.

“It’s a group?” another faculty member asked. “Not just one person with a grudge?”

“This isn’t a spell that can be done by just one person,” Ochiai said. “It requires quite a bit of power, and quite a bit of hatred. There’s a reason we don’t see that many references to it in the literature. It’s not something that can be done easily.”

“But who would do something like this?” Oota asked. “Who would hate our entire school so much that they’d use an ancient fae curse on us?”

“That’s something we don’t know for sure yet,” Ochiai said. “We’ve just been able to confirm that this is the spell we suspect, and that it’s been set in motion. We’ve brought this to everyone so we can hopefully figure out more, and prepare ourselves for a major battle.”

It was almost eerie how silent the large space filled with people was.

“What should be done about the fae students?” some old tenured faculty member asked.

“How do you mean?” Rei asked, hoping her tone would convey her warning. This was the last time she needed any kind of tension in the people that were supposed to be authorities, and tenured or not, she wasn’t about to bow to some old conservative witch.

“If this attack is being brought by a group of fae, isn’t it a fair assumption to make that some of our fae students might be in on it?” he continued, words slimy and cloying. “I don’t wish to distrust any of our students, but if there’s a traitor in our midst, shouldn’t we take steps to remove that? Wouldn’t it be better to send the fae students away?”

Rei lowered her head so the light reflecting off her glasses would disguise the way she knew her eyes had just gone dark with rage.

“We have every reason to believe that the fae, familiars, and other students will be in just as much danger as the witches,” she said coldly. “Our enemy certainly didn’t hesitate to kill Zaizen even though he was fae. The exact words they used in the note they left next to his body were blood traitor, after all. They threatened everyone here, not just the witches.”

At Chris’ visible wince, Rei almost felt bad for saying it so harshly, but she wasn’t willing to budge on this. Kawakami, Shirasu, and Toujou were all fae, and that was just on the first string. She knew there were more fae on the second string, and even more in the larger student body. She wasn’t willing to throw them to the wolves, especially when there was no evidence that they’d done anything wrong.

“We’re safest in numbers,” she went on. “Sending fae students away will only put them in more danger, and take away some of our best defenses. We’re not in the business of leaving our allies out to dry because of fear. I would hope that everyone here is above that level of mindless bigotry.”

The old witch who’d spoken looked affronted that she would speak in such a way to an elder. Rei probably hadn’t made any friends with the older witches of the faculty, but that wasn’t her concern. They could all hurry up and die for all she cared. She was going to protect her students.

“What do we do now?” a senior student asked.

“We don’t know when the attack is coming,” Tesshin said, stepping in to cover the area he was more qualified for. “We just know that it is, and that stopping it will be next to impossible, even if we manage to find out who’s responsible. This is the part where the fae students will be invaluable to us. We know Zaizen had sensed a disturbance of this magic, and died looking into it. The fae among us will be able to give us some warning before the real attack hits. Until then, we’re going to prepare for the worst.”

“What if we don’t want to fight?” someone else asked.

“We won’t force anyone to stay here if you don’t want to,” Tesshin said. “That being said, as Rei pointed out earlier, you will almost certainly be in more danger going off on your own than you would be with us. There’s no guarantee that you can avoid the fight if you stay. The choice is yours, but I highly encourage you all to stay. The chance of survival is higher.”

Looking into the eyes of the students around them, Rei could already tell which ones would be the best in a fight. Some of them already had the looks of immovable determination that would carry them through a battle. She was proud to see that look in the eyes of every single member of the coven battle team.

She really was more proud of her students than she had words to express.

“We can be sure that the attack won’t be coming soon,” Ochiai spoke up. “The kind of magic needed to drive this is too powerful, and based on the information we’ve been able to gather, it’s still in the early stages. We can’t stop it completely now that it’s in motion, but we can slow it down and prepare ourselves.”

“Next term starts in two weeks,” Rei said. “We’ll be starting as usual, but instead of the normal class schedule, we’ll begin working in more combat training for everyone. We’re not going down without a fight.”

#fydna #dailydaiya #daiya no a #ace of diamond #dna #my writing #elt #magic au

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megapotatosaurus · 7 years ago

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hey guys, rebelbaze responded!! once again in the comments of my last post rather than a reblog so if you want to see their full comments just go to that link.

“Your argument is largely based on not understanding wht the LGBT community is for, what its activism looks like, and what LGBT specific resources could do. Please edcuate yourself further.” -rebelbaze

Sure, I’m always looking to educate myself further on LGBT+ matters. But I know perfectly well what the LGBT+ community is for. It’s for people like me, and @ghiraheeheeheem and everyone else with a sexuality or gender identity that has been oppressed and erased for centuries.

“Nah, my request for “better sources” was sources not from tumblr, not with studies that are a. old enough to be obsolete and b. have been debunked, and c. did not directly contradict the point they were trying to make that aces face “similar” discrimination to LGBT folk. Which, again, none of his sources proved AND neither do any of your sources. The discrimination you are talking about most closely resembles MISOGYNY not homophobia or transphobia“ -rebelbaze

So, I went to the trouble of providing you with actual published research from scientific journals specifically concerned with human sexuality and that’s not the kind of evidence you want or consider valid. Aaaaaalrighty then. Also, neither of the papers I cited were directly trying to prove that aces face similar discrimination to other LGBT+, they were analysing the experience of ace people using interview techniques and questionnaires and in the case of Brotto et al., some evaluation scales. They neither contradicted nor supported the point, I merely drew the connection in support myself as there was discussion of asexuals facing the kind of discrimination LGBT+ people do face.

However, I did go and find another article which I think you will like and find helpful to your understanding of the topic :] It’s called “Making Sense in and of the Asexual Community: Navigating Relationships and Identities in a Context of Resistance“ by CJ Chasin, 2015. The original article is here and once again I would be happy to provide you with the full text for free by email or some other means if you cannot access it, just message or /ask me. It actually makes a point of discussing and positively comparing the experience of the asexual and homosexual struggle - that is say, an actual qualified researcher and social psychologist who has reviewed all of the literature on the topic (because that’s what this paper is, a review and discussion of the available literature on the topic) agrees that the experience of homophobia and aphobia is “parallel” (Chasin, 2015) in society.

So. Want any more sources?

Moving on:

“And, like, cishet aces ARE invading the community using the EXACT same rhetoric kinky cishets, polyamorous cishets, and even pedophile cishets have used in the past (and present!) to attempt to say that they are oppressed and part of the LGBT community. Our oppressors trying to get into our spaces and say we owe them support can be codified as nothing other than invaders.” -rebelbaze

Oh boy, I love it when asexuals get compared to pedophiles and other sexual deviants! (Not to suggest that kinks and polyamory are deviant, though that’s certainly what @rebelbaze is suggesting by thoughtlessly lumping them all in with pedophiles.) Kind of reminds me exactly of how homosexuals get compared to pedophiles! Not to mention the way trans people get compared to pedophiles! Hmmm! Aphobia and homophobia and transphobia are so not equivalent! Nobody’s pulling the exact same shit on absolutely everybody who has some kind of ‘abnormal’ sexuality or gender identity!! Especially not people within the very LGBT+ community which is supposed to be promoting and supporting the rights of these people to exist!!!!

Come on. Can you really not hear yourself? I mean, in all honesty, you seem very concerned about the oppression of our people and that could be an admirable trait if used properly. But if you use the same weapons against others in our group that our oppressors do, can’t you see you’re no better than them? There’s no shame in coming to realise that you’ve been misinformed about an issue. In fact, it’s more admirable to admit that you were wrong than to continue arguing yourself into a corner based upon a lie, and a vicious and destructive lie at that.

I’ll address one more point on that topic:

“Because, again, the LGBT community isn’t about anyone who is marginalized (otherwise FURRIES can make a better case than cishet aces, as furries have had their conventions literally GASSED), it is about those SPECIFICALLY oppressed by homophobia and transphobia. Like, can you name a single major LGBT Issue that wasn’t based around homophobia and transphobia?” -rebelbaze

How about biphobia? Because that’s a very real and distinct thing from homophobia, more similar to aphobia in many ways. Bi people are routinely erased, told they’re “going through a phase”, that they’re not welcome in the community because they can potentially fit in with the heteronormative ideal (oh look it’s what we’re discussing right here right now but for ace people) or that they’re actually just straight but horny or actually secretly gay, just the same way asexuals are told that they’re repressed or just victims of abuse, just the way that gay men are often theorised to have been victims of abuse. I could keep looping around and linking up all of the different x-phobic arguments: they have more that binds than separates them. And asexuals, as noted in each of my papers, also have the unique challenge of not being understood by ANYONE who experiences sexual attraction. They’re doubly cursed and doubly vulnerable to people such as yourself telling them they don’t belong. Which is why I am of the opinion that we should be extra welcoming to all kinds of asexual people, cishet or lesbian or gay or genderqueer or trans or whatever else, because there are even less people who understand them than the sexualities with a much larger and well-established movement and publicity.

And one more LGBT+ issue not based around homophobia/transphobia - how about the experience of LGBT+ POC? As you’re arguing that misogyny/rape culture issues have no place in this debate, you could also argue that race issues should be kept out of the LGBT+ space, but once again, in my opinion those who face extra marginalisation in society should be invited in and allowed to celebrate and express themselves using the context of their own experience. Like I said in my last post, just because they might not fit your image of who belongs in your group doesn’t mean they don’t belong. It’s a very broad spectrum and so we need a broad gaze.

Our struggles are all different, but equivalent, and each legitimate. In the face of so much institutionalised hatred, we must support one another, not weaken the movement with in-fighting and cruelty using the very weapons used to oppress us.

#rebelbaze #gatekeeping #ghiraheeheeheem #aphobia #transphobia #lgbt #asexual #asexuality

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andinewton · 8 years ago

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Second Chances - Avengers Redemption Series - Part One - Chapter 3

Characters: Loki, Maia Tomson (OFC), Sigyn, pretty much everyone from the MCU appears at some point, including some special appearances by members of the X-Men!

Pairings: Loki x Maia Tomson, Loki x Sigyn,

Warnings: Smut, so much smut, violence, swearing; listen, it’s NSFW and 18+, just bear that in mind!

Word Count: 179105

Summary: Loki has been handed over to The Avengers to pay penance for his past crimes, underpowered and underwhelmed by his post he is assigned a new ‘guide to Midgard’ by his superiors and is more than a little surprised when a petite freckled, redhead is waiting in the conference room, not at all like the previous handlers he has been assigned, who quit after a very short time with the snarky god. Maia Tomson is a trained literature teacher and counsellor, maybe not someone you would have picked out to be a guide to the God of Mischief but her mentor, Charles Xavier, knows she likes a challenge, and when The Avengers ask him to recommend someone she is top of his list. Surprised by the assignment, Maia takes it on, promising to do her best, but was not counting on a mutual attraction with her charge.

Join Loki on a journey to discover that his heart is not as frozen as he believes it to be, an adventure spanning almost a millennia of love gained and lost and rediscovered in the most unlikely of places…

Master List

Chapter 3

Summary: Tony badgers Maia, Loki finds her an enigma, Maia gets down to work.

Tony got to his feet and nodded to the trickster god, the tension in the air tangible. 'Rock of ages.' 'Anthony.' They greeted one another almost formally as both Hill and Maia got to their feet. 'Ms Hill.' Loki bowed his head before turning to look down on Maia. He gave her a quick once over before their eyes met and he quirked an eyebrow at her curiously. 'And you are to be my handler, I presume.' 'Loki, this is Maia Tomson.' Hill introduced them.

Maia offered him her hand, determined to treat him as she would have anyone else, despite how he stood around a foot taller than her, but one thing he said bothered her. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, although I don't think handler is the right word.' He took her hand but didn't shake it so much as just held it. 'And what word would you use, Ms Tomson?' 'I suppose I'm more of a guide?' She looked at Hill who nodded. 'And just how do you plan on guiding me, little Midgardian?' He released her hand and stepped forward, making her tilt her head back to look up at him. 'Any way you need to be.' She said confidently, realising just how much of a challenge he might be. 'Why don't the two of you start with coffee in the common room?' Hill suggested before passing Maia the folder. 'There's files on you both inside, talk about what you hope to be able to achieve together. We'll meet back here at two. Any questions?' 'A few but I might have more after.' Maia shrugged. 'And they might be answered in the meantime.' She glanced to Hill then back to Loki. 'Alright.' Hill turned to Stark. 'You want to escort them to the common room?' 'Yeah, why not? Squirrel might let something slip.' He gave her a hopeful look as he went to the door. Loki held his arm out for Maia to go ahead of him and with a nod of thanks she went first, which surprised him. Not many here were happy to have him at their back. Stark led them to the nearest elevator and instructed FRIDAY to take them to The Avengers common room, giving security clearance for Maia to join them, and he turned to look down on Maia again, his hands in front of him almost in a begging motion. 'Okay, Squirrel, last chance. What's your deal?' 'I don't have a deal, I'm just here to do my job.' She smiled, but it was forced, Stark's persistent trying really starting to grate on her. Loki watched the exchange with interest. Stark tying to get this small, Midgardian woman to part with some great secret about herself, but she stood firm, smiling despite her obvious irritation, something about her special skill set; perhaps that was part of the reason she had been chosen as his new guide, as she had put it, but what exactly he couldn't fathom. Stark gesticulated wildly with his hands and the girl took a step back but still didn't give up whatever it was Stark thought he wanted from her and it gave him the opportunity to really look at her. She was barely five foot five in her sensible two inch heels, unlike many of the Midgardian women these days who seemed to insist on wearing shoes that put them at risk of a serious injury. She barely even came to his shoulder. Her body was perfectly proportionate for her height; petite yet shapely, her suit fit her curves while still being modest. Her skin was milky and freckled, her eyebrows delicate and naturally auburn but her hair was a darker shade, like ripe cherries, and while Loki didn't understand why Midgardian's were so fond of changing their hair colour he admitted it suited her and brought out her blue eyes. Besides the physical however there was...something. He just couldn't quite put his finger on what. While he was a little disappointed by his own assignment, having to serve under The Avengers, particularly being back on Midgard, this may alone help alleviate the boredom he had feared. 'You were schooled there, you taught there. You're one of them.' Stark argued as the young woman glanced at the numbers on the elevator creeping towards The Avengers secure floors. 'Really, Mr Stark...' 'Tony.' 'There's nothing you're missing. I promise.' 'You're killing me here!' Tony said in sheer exasperation. 'Not my intention.' The doors pinged open but Tony didn't move. 'We're going to be working together, Squirrel. I'll find out, eventually.' 'Good luck.' She gave him a challenging look before turning her smile on Loki. 'Shall we?' Once again he held out his arm to allow her to go ahead of him and he gave Stark an amused look before following her. Maia looked around at the modern glass and chrome room, with large black leather sofas by the enormous picture windows. A bar sat on the left complete with a coffee machine. Stark finally came out of the elevator and poured himself a coffee before excusing himself and going up a staircase to one side of the room, leaving Maia with Loki. 'I suppose I am to act as host, as you are new.' Loki looked down at her, he had no choice of course, but he had stopped so close beside her the angle was uncomfortable for them both. 'If we're going to be working together I'd prefer it if you just showed me where things were.' 'As you wish.' He led her to the bar and showed her where the various fixings were kept yet still insisted on making a cup of coffee for her how she liked it. She thanked him and he showed her to the couches. He waited for her to sit before doing so himself, on the couch at a right angle to hers, and she put her coffee on a coaster on the corner table between then, resting her hands flat on the folder in her lap. ‘Before I open this and we see what the powers that be think is going on maybe first we could say why we think we’re here, on this assignment?’ She had slipped easily into her teaching mode, trying make a start but not patronise. Loki rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and his chin on his knuckles. ‘Very well. Would you care to begin, or shall I?’ ‘I don’t mind.’ She shrugged and Loki noted she glanced at her hands, as though she wasn’t exactly sure herself. ‘I guess I’m here because I’m good with people, I have experience with people with special gifts and powers, and I like a challenge.’ She said hopefully. It was all she could think of. ‘What sort of experience, may I ask?’ ‘I’m a qualified counsellor and I’ve been living and working with powered individuals for a long time.’ 'How long is a long time?' 'Well over a decade.' 'And they have asked you, as a counsellor, to assess my mental stability?' She shook her head. 'They haven't mentioned it, just asked me to help you adjust, but I don't think either of us are naïve enough to think they won't ask for my assessment of that too.' 'Very true.' He lowered his hand, impressed by her having realised the fact. And why wouldn't they want him assessed in the real world too? 'I have been informed I am to have an associate spend extensive time with me, aiding my adjustment to both Midgard as my new home and working under them.' 'I can definitely help with the former, but as I don't know what you'll be doing I may not be of use, until I know what I'm preparing you for.' 'You cannot be any worse than your predecessors.' He rolled his eyes at the thought of the numerous almost identical agents assigned him so far who, he admitted, he had delightfully antagonised, but they were all far too interested in keeping him under extreme supervision than being of any actual assistance. 'Have you had many?' 'Eight in the last two weeks. None of whom seemed half as interested in the larger scheme of things so much as my behaviour.' 'Well, that's not what I was hired for.' She picked up her Stark Industries mug and blew across the top. 'Do you know any more than I do?' 'Considerably, I believe.' He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in his chair. 'You were not even aware I was your charge until I walked into the conference room, were you?' 'Not a clue.' 'Then you, my girl, have been thrown in at the deep end.' 'I did say I liked a challenge.' She gave him a small smile in response. 'You will find I am that.' Loki was trying not to like this girl; his guide, his handler, but he couldn't help it. She was confident without being brash or cocky, she was cut from a truly different cloth to his previous handlers, she didn't look at him with fear or contempt, plus there was still that something he could not put his finger on about her that sparked his curiosity. And it didn't hurt she was very pretty to look at. Maia tried not to shift under his gaze. He was looking at her, a lot, and while it was polite to look at the person you were speaking to he was studying her, gauging her in some way, while she was trying her hardest to take him in without staring in disbelief about just who he was and how handsome in the flesh. She put her mug back down. "I think you're avoiding telling me the rest of the story.' She continued to smile at him, now knowingly as though she had him figured out, and damned if she hadn't. 'Is that your professional opinion?' 'Just an observation. Of course, I could read the file, but I think it will tell a different story to your version. Similar in places, of course, but nowhere near identical. Official documents never are.' 'I imagine so.' Loki realised she was astute and perhaps not as inexperienced as her youthful appearance suggested. The fact she valued his opinion enough to push him for it showed a strength of character most had avoided showing him since his arrival. 'I have been sent here to Midgard to make amends for my past actions. I have this,' he pulled back his sleeve to reveal a wide gold band, 'which limits my power to mere parlour tricks, however in the interest of redemption I have accepted it and your assignment as whatever you are supposed to be without question. I am to become one of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", and to do so I need to know, or at least understand, what it is to live on Earth. To see what I am protecting.' 'That makes sense.' She nodded. 'And thanks for giving me your side.' 'No thanks are necessary.' He picked up the tea he had made, much preferring its fragrant taste to the bitterness even the best of coffees held. 'Now, shall we see what the people upstairs think is going on?' She patted the file. 'This should be interesting.' She laid the file out on the arm of the chair and found a document on each of them. She offered Loki his choice of which he read first and he chose hers, grateful of her consideration. As she read she realised that unless those in command had left out some choice information, there was exactly what she would have expected; a full run down of Loki's "crimes"; how he had been tortured and manipulated into committing his atrocities under the Chitauri; the accord with Odin and the nine realms for Loki to pay his penance by aiding The Avengers. Notes were made by experts who gave their opinion and diagnosis, although names were omitted. Loki learned all the information he would have expected to from her file, with a few surprises thrown in. She had a degree in the classics had the highest grade possible which promised her to be an intelligent companion with decent taste if nothing else. Most surprising was her previous place of employment, where The Avengers had borrowed her from. 'You worked for Xavier?' Loki asked as she turned onto the final page. 'Mmm.' She finished the final conclusion, which told her there was hope for him but the power limiting tracking bracelet was not to be removed until further assessment were complete. 'Sorry, yes, I did, I mean I do. I'm on loan, unless...' 'Unless?' He prompted and she finally looked back up at him, his brows knitted curiously. 'Lots of unlesses.' She shrugged. 'How do you know Charles?' 'He is the expert who assessed me.' Loki sat back with his tea, her profile in his lap. 'He was, perhaps, the most instrumental in assuring my integration into the team, for gaining trust.' 'Because he could tell you were telling the truth, about what happened.' She nodded, understanding. 'Indeed. I owe the man a debt of gratitude.' Something clicked into place for Loki and he gave her a small smile that could have meant anything. 'Xavier's school is for what you Midgardians refer to as mutants.' 'That's right.' She saw no reason to hide that fact when it would be in the paperwork. 'And is that why Stark was haranguing you in the elevator?' She leant her chin on her hand as he continued to speak. 'He believes you are a mutant but knows not what kind?' 'I don't think there are different "kinds" when it comes to mutants, but that's right, he does.' 'You have had dealings with Stark before? He seemed very familiar with you.' 'A few times, nothing like this though.' 'And is he correct in his assumption?' She looked at him carefully. He was a secret keeper, from what she knew, and he didn't need to know hers. 'Stark doesn't like not knowing things, and I don't think you like being kept in the dark either. Having said that it's my business and has no bearing on my work, other than to say Stark doesn't know the whole story.' 'That is not a no.' 'It's not a yes either.' She smiled and offered him his profile. 'Swap?' He did but instead of reading he watched her, felt what he could with the limited powers left available to him, and he could not fathom what set her apart, something did but he was unsure what. He had planned on antagonising this new handler, as he had the previous, to see how far they could be pushed to break or quit, knowing if they didn't then they were, in a way, worthy of the position they had been given, and it would give him distance; he was determined not to form an attachment of the same magnitude his brother had, and yes, he finally admitted despite their different parentage that Thor was indeed his brother in all but blood, and his automatic response was to create friction so no bond could form, however he did not have it in his heart to be rude to her just for the sake of it. And if he were to learn her secret before Stark he would certainly enjoy having one up on the cocky man of iron, but it was not something she would give up easily or freely. He would not badger her for it, as that would not work, but he would remain as polite as he could. Perhaps having her as his handler would be no bad thing at all.

So, shall I keep posting chapters here?

The fics are up and complete on Ao3 and Wattpad, but I won’t keep posting here if no one is bothered! Let me know!

#loki #loki fanfiction #Loki/OFC #Loki/Sigyn #reincarnation #Avengers Redemption #Avengers #Loki In Love

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southeastasianists · 8 years ago

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In 1959, May Mayko Ebihara became the first American to write an anthropological dissertation on Cambodian village life. Published in two volumes nearly a decade later, Svay: A Khmer Village in Cambodia depicted a pre-modern agricultural idyll governed by family and religion, in which monks were seen as the “living embodiments and spiritual generators of Buddhism”.

However, rapid economic development has led to a dramatic restructuring of social relations within the Kingdom. Urbanisation is siphoning people away from rural life, modernity is slowly consuming tradition, and more and more Cambodians are turning their backs on the monkhood.

“Buddhism is not strong like before,” said Bunsin Chuon, a monk since 1996 who splits his time between the US and Wat Langka in Phnom Penh. “People have happier lives now because technology is so advanced, and fewer people want to become monks because to be a monk is not a happy life.”

Before the Khmer Rouge, pagodas served as the moral, educational and cultural hub of village life and thus enjoyed a prominent position within society. Writing in Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860 – 1945, the historian Penny Edwards describes how the monkhood, or sangha, “offered one of the few paths to power outside of birthright”, with completion of at least one Buddhist Lent in the monastery considered a male rite of passage. Boys would enter the monkhood as teenagers, learn about Buddhism and Khmer culture, then return to adult life.

Sinen Neang, a 29-year-old from rural Kampong Cham province, joined the sangha when he was 17 and spent ten years as a monk before using what he had learnt to pursue a career as a human rights worker. As the first-born male in his family, tradition demanded that he become a monk. But it was the allure of receiving a good education – something beyond reach for many of Cambodia’s rural poor – that convinced Neang to commit to monastic life. “If I didn’t ordain as a Buddhist monk, I had no chance to study at high school and university,” he said.

But the growth of non-religious schools and universities in Cambodia has seriously undermined the sangha’s social and cultural influence. “Before, if anyone wanted to learn literature or any skill, they could go to the temple – there was an incentive. But now they have a lot of choice; they don’t need to go to the temple,” said Chuon, before estimating that the number of monks at Wat Langka in Phnom Penh had fallen from 300 to 100 in five years.

What’s more, decades of robust economic growth have rewarded many Cambodians with such material and technological advancement that the prospect of joining the sangha has become even less appealing, according to Khy Sovanratana, a monk of 27 years and vice-rector at Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University. “There are more jobs outside the monastery. Young boys can have a family and enjoy life, which they see as more attractive than being quiet, circumspect and restrained,” he said.

Sengkak Ly, a 20-year-old student at the National University of Management, laughed when Southeast Asia Globe asked if he had ever considered joining the sangha. “I have no time to be a monk,” he said. “I have to study so that I can get a good job. I’m not really thinking about religion.”

The idea of pursuing an ascetic life was also inconceivable for Rin Savath, a 25-year-old finance student at Build Bright University. “I’ve never been a monk, and I never want to be one, because when you become a monk you lose all your freedom and are treated differently by society,” he said.

The sangha is also contending with a worryingly high level of criminal activity among its ranks.

In June 2016, Vong Chet, the head of a pagoda in Siem Reap’s Kralanh district, was found guilty of raping more than ten young novices and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The case was not an anomaly – two other monks were charged with raping underaged girls and two more were jailed for drug offences in the second half of 2015 alone.

Buddhist authorities have long brushed off such acts as individual transgressions, but this has failed to temper the public’s increasing disdain for monks, who are supposed to serve as exemplars of Buddhist behaviour.

Even those who do join the sangha often don’t stay long. As a result, few monks learn the scriptures to a level that enables them to effectively perform their principal role as broadcasters of the Buddha’s teachings, or dhamma. Sovanratana described the decline in the standards of monastic education as “a major setback to the progress of Buddhism and the standard of monastic life in the country”.

Concerns about modern monks’ limited understanding of dhamma and their lack of stringency in following the ten precepts, along with the perception that many monks take up the saffron robes purely to gain a free education and live off the generosity of others, appear to be gaining traction.

Echoing the sentiments of other Cambodians Southeast Asia Globe spoke to, Ren, a 26-year-old massage therapist from Phnom Penh, said monks no longer fulfilled their purpose as spiritual leaders. “The monks use monkhood as an occupation, but they don’t try to learn the scriptures. We believe in this religion and we look up to them, and if they don’t really know anything, then who do we look up to?”

Sovanratana said preceptors – monks who are qualified to teach other monks – needed to be more robust in checking the background of would-be monks in order to prevent “troublemakers” from joining the sangha. “Once the name is put forward, some preceptors just sign and perform their rituals. This has led to some problems,” he said. “The preceptors must perform background checks of candidates. Drug addicts are not easily changed. It’s not like you can possess such a man and become a morally behaved person immediately.”

With increasing numbers of Cambodians eschewing the monastic life in order to enjoy the fruits of capitalist expansion, and more still questioning the authority of the sangha, it would be easy to conclude that Buddhism’s influence is on the wane in Cambodia. But according to the Ministry of Cults and Religion, 95% of the population still identifies as Buddhist.

Philip Coggan, author of Spirit Worlds: Cambodia, the Buddha and the Naga, believes the decline of the sangha has not greatly impacted Buddhism in Cambodia because monks are simply seeking personal salvation and are “almost irrelevant to most major-life passages”. Coggan believes modernisation has had a far greater impact.

“A booming economy brings consumerism (‘shiny objects’) and so the ethical side of Buddhism (‘reject shiny objects’) takes a back seat to the ‘magical’ side, in which the spirit world is called on to channel ‘luck’, conceived in Buddhism as something real and malleable,” he told Southeast Asia Globe in an email. “Buddhism’s doing fine. People still turn out in huge crowds for Pchum Ben and [Khmer] New Year.”

But Chuon believes that those who only go to the pagoda on holy days are not following “real Buddhism”. “Many just go to the temple with their parents during Pchum Ben or Khmer New Year. They are not practising,” he said. “Going to the temple in order to dispel bad spirits when you have a bad dream or have bad luck – this is not Buddhism.”

Savath and Ly are prime examples of such Buddhists. Neither visit the pagoda outside holy days – unless down on their luck – and neither follow the five precepts of Buddhism, which are regarded by many monks, such as Chuon, as the religion’s only non-negotiable ‘rules’. However, neither Savath nor Ly believe these facts make them any less Buddhist, with Savath claiming “it’s not necessary to follow all the five precepts, as long as you don’t harm others” and Ly defending his beliefs by stating that he still “respects the Buddha”.

Scott Mitchell, who conducts research on Buddhist modernity at California’s Institute of Buddhist Studies, said the debate over what constitutes a ‘practising’ Buddhist would likely never be resolved.

“In general, most Buddhist cultures define a Buddhist (practising or not) as one who has taken refuge in the three jewels of Buddhism – the Buddha, the dhamma and the sangha – and/or holds the precepts to some extent,” he wrote in an email. “Having said that, I believe it’s up to a religious community to determine what it takes, so to speak, to be a practising member of that community.”

Whether Buddhism’s influence in Cambodia is weaker than it used to be largely depends on how one chooses to define Buddhism. History has shown such definitions to be fluid and, according to Mitchell, this is one of the religion’s greatest strengths. “Buddhist institutions and communities try to make the dhamma meaningful in whatever context they are located. The goal is not, necessarily, to change the societies in which Buddhism is located, but to direct individuals toward the dhamma,” he said.

The fact that Buddhism survived the Khmer Rouge regime demonstrates that it is nothing if not resilient, and Sovanratana believes it will continue to exert a strong influence on Cambodian society. “The Buddhist tradition in Cambodia is still very strong despite some bad happenings,” he said. “Some may turn their backs on it temporarily, but they will come back. Buddhism and Khmer culture are almost inseparable.”

#Southeast Asia #Cambodia #Buddhism #Religion #Society

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years ago

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THE TROUBLE WITH THE STARTUP HUB

What ideas were tarnished by association when they ended up on the losing side of a recent struggle? And he could help them because he was black and for that reason I suspect that most of the giant companies were still focused on finding new ways to milk economies of scale. Another view is that a hacker's idea of a foul-mouthed, cynical 10 year old leaning against a lamppost with a cigarette hanging out of the gate that you want to wait till you graduate?1 You can just use them in whatever way is appropriate to the task at hand, instead of a lifetime's service to a single employer, there's less risk in starting your own company, because you're only replacing one segment instead of discarding the whole thing.2 Common Lisp occupy opposite poles on this question. But that same illiquidity also encouraged you not to seek it. Some smart, nice guys turn out to be 13: Pick good cofounders.3 That's partly because Y Combinator itself had near zero effect. I thought I was ready to question everything I knew. But you see the same problem there. Because Woz designed this computer for himself, and he was pretty much a throwaway program is brevity. Joe's has good burritos.

What advantages does someone in their mid-twenties. As far as I can tell these are universal. It is merely incidental, too, that spam is usually commercial. Bayesian approach considers all the evidence in the email is neutral, the spam of the future will find ridiculous. There probably aren't more than a tenth of your time trying to push your price down. Silicon Valley itself, but it doesn't seem there's anything to see. And there is a sharp difference between VCs and other investors: VC firms are a bargain for founders. The bar will be higher. Shows will change even more. And if you want to go straight there, blustering through obstacles, and hand-waving your way across swampy ground.

Part of the problem.4 How much does an angel invest?5 I was a philosophy major. That is a fundamental change. And we had no idea how silly we looked. An early stage startup. Even Google probably doesn't think that. A few ideas from it turned out to be the right advice for everyone. More information, in fact. And understanding your users. In every swing state they overestimated the Kerry vote.

Google are smart, but incurable builders. As a young founder by present standards, so you can get it done quickly and get back to what will make your company successful.6 That seems so obvious it seems wrong to call it the study of modern literature. How did things get this way? I was convinced the world was corrupt from end to end.7 Since high school, at least for me, and moreover discovered of a lot of money to us. So if you raise money, you were supposed to use their software, and their influence is such that the rest of the way? If you're raising money from friends and family. If anything it may have helped foster a Perl cult. One of the most important advantage 24 year old founders is that they can't force anyone to do deals with them. It's obvious why: the lower-tier firms' biggest fear, when chance throws them a bone, is that a real essay, you don't have this protection, as we found to our dismay in our own time, different societies have wildly varying ideas of what's ok and what isn't.

Well, that is a knowledge of what various individual philosophers have said about different topics over the years. But in addition to the usual clauses about owning your ideas, you also don't want your valuation to be set artificially low because the first investor who commits. Falling victim to this trick could really hurt you. Arthur Miller undermined the House Un-American Activities Committee by writing a play, The Crucible, about the Salem witch trials. Reality can be messier. Starting one's own business meant starting a business that would start small and stay small. And since reading ancient texts was the essence of what scholars did then, in real dollar terms, they'd seem like small fry compared to professional athletes and whiz kids making millions from startups and hedge funds. And of course if it were merely a matter of choosing between the unpalatable and the disastrous.

How many little startups are Google and Yahoo—though it seems even that should be unlimited, if the startups were able to raise significant funding after Demo Day. 09883721 hi 0. As long as that idea is still floating around, I think a greater danger is that they have less reputation to protect. You only get 52 weekends with your 2 year old. I only thought of when I sat down to write them to read like articles. Every startup's rule should be: spend little, and they turned out ok.8 Curiously, a filter based on word pairs would be in effect a narrower but open source Don't be evil has been good at letting hackers have their way with it. If you can do while you're still employed. Like all rivers, it's rigorously following the laws of physics.

In our own time, though, is thinking cheaply.9 Because seed firms are companies also means the investment process is more standardized. That will change the balance of power between the networks and the people who voted for Kerry felt virtuous for doing so, and were always disappointed. The phrase seed investment covers a broad range. In Common Lisp I have often wished I'd had the temperament to do an angel round before going to VCs. Reality can be messier. A throwaway program is: something you write quickly for some limited task: a program to be ported, except for political reasons. When I ask myself: how much you're planning to raise a $5 million series A round, unless you're in a position to say this is true for other languages too. An advantage of consulting, as a way to answer the question: if the spammers knew exactly what you were doing, how well could they get past you?

If they could even get here they'd presumably know a few things we don't. What little original thought there was took place in lulls between constant wars and had something of the character of the thoughts of parents with a new from-address, so you can get it back minus the bad parts, somehow with a few countertweaks. You just have to treat such leaks as a cost of doing business. But don't give them more than four or five numbers, and only evolved into a programming language unless it's also the scripting language of MIT. The user doesn't know what it means. Second order issues like competitors or resumes should be single slides you go through quickly at the end of California Ave in Palo Alto, the original ground zero, is about thirty miles away, and the investors are the ones most likely to get buyer's remorse.10 Users love a site that's constantly improving. For example, at the same time. Can it get you the designers, though? But the less you need a few topics that you think about? I think both Republicans and Democrats would agree, is more available than one that you have lousy judgement. But I also think that the more different kinds of advice.

Notes

Actually, someone else. It may be exaggerated by the fact that, go ahead.

If you're expected to, in writing, any claim to the minimum you need to fix. In Boston the best ideas, they wouldn't have.

I think investors currently err too far on the Internet was as late as 1984. The need has to work than stay home with them in advance that you never have worked; many statements may have been truer to the principle that if he hadn't we probably would not change the world population, and astronomy. There was no great risk in doing a business is to say, of course. Unfortunately the payload can consist of dealing with YC companies that grow slowly tend not to do it right.

03%. They may play some behind the scenes role in IPOs, which you are not in the sophomore year. It's suspiciously neat, but this would do for a market for its shares will inevitably arise. Maybe markets will eventually get comfortable with potential acquirers.

Some types of publishers would be to advertise, and the opinion of the market price. When an investor derives mostly from the example of a Linux box, a well-preserved 1989 Lincoln Town Car ten-passenger limousine 5, they were regarded as 'just' even after the egalitarian pressures of World War II had disappeared.

But they've been trained. But when you ad lib you end up with much greater inconveniences than that total abstinence is the unpromising-seeming startups are competitive like running, not because it's a book or movie or desktop application in this essay will say this amounts to the World Bank, Doing Business in 2006, http://doingbusiness. But a company just to go behind the rapacious one. And starting an organic farm, though sloppier language than I'd use to calibrate the weighting of the more accurate predictor of success for a group of Europeans who said he'd met with a woman who had worked for a couple predecessors.

Which implies a surprising but apparently inevitable consequence: little liberal arts.

Most of the infrastructure that this isn't strictly true, because any story that makes the business spectrum than the long tail for other people. In practice formal logic is not to say that any company could build products as good as Apple's just by hiring sufficiently qualified designers. But that is not just a Judeo-Christian concept; it's IBM.

Spices are also the golden age of economic inequality in the definition of property is driven by people who are younger or more ambitious the utility function for money. It's hard to tell VCs early on?

Most unusual ambitions fail, unless you're sure your money will be lots of customers times how much they lied to them more professional. And the reason this trick merely forces you to test whether that initial impression holds up. He couldn't even afford a monitor.

Thanks to Michael Arrington, Patrick Collison, Sarah Harlin, and the rest of the Python crew at PyCon for the lulz.

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benrleeusa · 6 years ago

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[John K. Ross] Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions

Zestimates, Big Girl Panties, and Scabby the Rat

Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature from the Institute for Justice.

Suppose a La Plata, Md. public school teacher compelled a Christian student to write part of the Shahada: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." First Amendment violation, right? Fourth Circuit: It was homework for a world history class. About what Muslims believe. Judgment for the school.

Allegation: Rumor spreads at Sterling, Va. warehouse that an employee was promoted only because of her sexual relationship with a higher-ranking manager. The highest-ranking manager at the facility helped to spread the rumor, barred her (but not her paramour) from attending a mandatory all-staff meeting where the rumor was discussed, and told her he'd no longer recommend her for promotions. She's later fired. Fourth Circuit: Because "traditional negative stereotypes regarding the relationship between the advancement of women in the workplace and their sexual behavior stubbornly persist in our society," she might very well have suffered harassment because she is a woman. The case shouldn't have been dismissed.

Using Sherlock Holmesian powers of deduction (unbalanced tire, worn lug nuts, nervous driver), police officer suspects drug trafficking is afoot. He touches the suspicious tire, which feels (and is) suspiciously full of meth. Fifth Circuit: And under the revived property rights theory of the Fourth Amendment, touching the tire was a search (but the driver is still going to jail).

Female nursing assistant at Pascagoula, Miss. assisted living facility is daily subjected to lewd and sexually violent behavior by a dementia patient. When she voices concerns to facility higher-ups, they invite her to "put [her] big girl panties on and go back to work." After she's fired, she brings Title VII suit against the facility. And her hostile work environment claim can go to trial, says Fifth Circuit.

Vacant-property owners in Saginaw, Mich. must register their properties with the city; the registration form states that an owner must allow the city to enter her property if it becomes dangerous. Does this system unconstitutionally require an owner to waive her Fourth Amendment rights? Sixth Circuit: Nope. The Fourth Amendment allows warrantless searches of dangerous buildings provided there's a pre-search hearing to determine whether the building is dangerous.

Upon returning to his Detroit, Mich. basement apartment, man finds it ransacked. Storming upstairs, shouting expletives, he encounters a stranger who shoots him three times. Yikes! Turns out it was a federally deputized member of the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team task force, on the hunt for a fugitive. Man sues task force members for excessive force and other alleged misdeeds. Officers: Actually, we shot him only after he pulled his own gun on us. Which, says Sixth Circuit, is precisely the kind of factual dispute that must be resolved at trial. No qualified immunity.

In 2013, a chaplain with the Michigan Department of Corrections tells Muslim inmate that he can't attend Eid al-Fitr, a religious feast marking the end of Ramadan. Chaplain tells inmate he's the wrong kind of Muslim and can attend the feast only if he changes his religion. Access to the feast is allegedly denied again in 2014. Inmate sues, asserting First and 14th Amendment violations. Qualified immunity? No, says Sixth Circuit—not least because a court in a different case "had already issued a binding order enjoining these defendants from preventing Muslim inmates to participate in Eid." And "reasonable officials follow court orders."

Pro-life sidewalk counselors are prohibited from approaching within eight feet of any person in the vicinity of Chicago abortion clinics if their purpose is to counsel, provide literature, or protest. Seventh Circuit: Well, the law is nearly identical to a Colorado law upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000, and even though that case is hard to reconcile with more recent Supreme Court cases, it has not been overturned. The law stands.

"Scabby the Rat has returned." Scabby—a giant balloon rodent evoking a Nutcracker nightmare—often pops up at union protests, including one in Grand Chute, Wis. in 2014. That is, until the town ordered deflation under the local sign code. Seventh Circuit: Which was OK. The sign code was content neutral and enforced fairly. (Real hypo from trial: Would Scabby count as a holiday decoration if he had a Santa hat?)

Drug defendant is shackled during pretrial hearings because that's what Central District of Illinois court security thinks is safest—as a blanket rule, for every detained defendant. Which means chained wrists, chained ankles, and a chain between them. The defendant, on interlocutory appeal: The judge can't do this without deciding that I, specifically, am dangerous. Seventh Circuit: Meh. Come back after you're convicted. Dissent: This indignity diminishes the courts. And how is he going to get effective review later?

Website Zillow uses an algorithm to generate "Zestimates" of home values based on the home's location, the selling price of nearby parcels, and other factors. Given the 100 million properties for which Zillow creates Zestimates, the company does not inspect whether houses have special features that might make them more (or less) valuable than the estimate. Plaintiffs, dissatisfied with the Zestimates on their homes, sue Zillow, claiming that the Zestimates have made it more difficult for them to sell the homes at their real value. Seventh Circuit: Zout of luck. Zestimates "are opinions, which canonically are not actionable" under the deceptive trade practices law the plaintiffs invoked.

Rarely do an opinion's opening sentences double as a Short Circuit entry. The Seventh Circuit shows everyone how it's done: "Is it reasonable for officers to assume that a woman who answers the door in a bathrobe has authority to consent to a search of a male suspect's residence? We hold that the answer is no."

DHS Secretary suspends various laws to permit replacement of segments of border fencing (or, y'know, whatever you prefer to call such physical barriers). Ninth Circuit: Which was entirely within the Secretary's statutory authority.

Golden Beach, Fla. police officers submit sketchy timesheets: They might be getting paid twice for the same hours. They're arrested for fraud, but eventually the charges are dropped. They sue. Was the application for the warrant to arrest them deliberately missing exculpatory info? Eleventh Circuit: Doesn't matter. The info wasn't that exculpatory.

Two African-American couples were murdered in Walton County, Ga. in 1946, as a large crowd of people looked on in what is considered to be the last mass lynching in American history. A grand jury was convened, but no one was ever charged even after 16 days of witness testimony. Seven decades later, can the transcripts be released to a historian? Eleventh Circuit: Yes; though grand jury records are usually kept under seal forever, these can be released as a matter of exceptional historical significance. Dissent: The rules clearly prohibit the disclosure of these materials. Imagine the harm that might come to descendants of the suspects, witnesses, and grand jury members when all is revealed.

And in en banc news, the Ninth Circuit will reconsider a ruling that the Second Amendment prevents Hawaii County, Hawaii from banning the open carry of handguns.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration closed a public comment period over whether it should continue to allow plant-based products to use words like "milk" and "cheese" in their labeling. But such a crackdown would "confuse consumers, harm small businesses across the country, and raise serious First Amendment concerns," IJ argued in a submitted comment.

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waynebomberger · 6 years ago

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What A Long Staid Trip It's Been...

Last week, following the revelation that I am riding a new road bike, I received a fresh wave of accusations that I had sold out, or "jumped the shark" (presumably from people still accessing the Internet via dial-up modem and AOL given the hoariness of the expression), or other hackneyed phrases denoting the forfeiture of integrity. While my addressing these comments may seem defensive, I can assure you that I delight in the irony. Granted, by some measures I live a sumptuous lifestyle: hot and cold running water, streaming television, and a wide variety of savory Trader Joe's snacks available to me at any given time. Nevertheless, most of us have a fairly specific image in our minds when we imagine what "selling out" looks like, and I'm fairly confident in assuring you that this ain't it. Of course, as I've mentioned before, people have accused me of selling out for nearly as long as I've been typing this blog. At this moment I don't have the time or the energy to find the first instance of it, but certainly when I announced my then-new Bicycling column in 2009 the pronouncements came fastly and furiously: Anonymous said... Did any of you podium twits read the column? He called you assholes and told you to suck his balls while he collect$ from glossy magazines. MARCH 19, 2009 AT 1:09 PM AshevilleMountainBikeRacing said... Jeez. You could have at least gone with a real bicycling magazine, instead of this "Bicycling" magazine which from my perspective has nothing to do with bicycling whatsoever. I'm going to the bathroom to vomit, now. MARCH 19, 2009 AT 1:12 PM carlos said... The shark has been jumped!!! MARCH 19, 2009 AT 1:12 PM Yes, the shark had been jumped, and the passive voice had been employed! It all seems so quaint now. By the way, looking back at that post, I particularly enjoyed this quote from the Bicycling press release: “After months of begging,’” says Mooney, “BikeSnobNYC finally agreed to bring his unparalleled wit and sense of style to the readers of Bicycling.”

That is so not how it happened at all. Anyway, I'm especially enjoying this latest round of derision since it gives me an excuse to explore my favorite subject, which is myself. More specifically, it raises what is for me a compelling question: while present-day me is certain he has not sold out, what would the idealistic long-time-ago me think? In other words, if 30 years ago I could see myself right now, would I pass muster in the eyes of a teenager who held anything mainstream in utter contempt? By way of illustration, here is 30-years-ago-me:

(Photo: Danny Weiss)

I'll allow there's a case to be made that I'd already sold out by wearing a Danzig shirt, and I'm pretty sure that's also a Swatch on my wrist, but I ask that I be judged in the context of the times. Obviously the simplest way of determining whether or not someone is a sellout is analyzing how they earn their livelihood, so in an act of unprecedented disclosure I'm going to go through my entire resume, starting with my very first paying job:

BSNYC/RTMS/Tan Tenovo Professional Resume and/or Curriculum Vitae

16 Years Old Or Thereabouts: Stockboy At a Neighborhood Drugstore

Proprietor let me go after a couple weeks. He claimed he needed someone with a drivers license to make deliveries, the real reason was probably that I was incompetent. Sellout Status? Not yet, because it was an independently-owned business and not like a CVS or something.

16 Years Old, Through High School, and On And Off Through College When I Was Home For Vacations Or Whatever: Stockboy/Cashier/Schlepper/Delivery Boy/Taker Of Abuse At a Neighborhood Hardware Store

I hated every waking moment of this job but I learned a lot about life, people, and, for awhile anyway, hardware. (Though I've since expunged it all from my brain.)

Sellout Status? I suppose working at a job you hate is a kind of selling out, but I always knew I wouldn't be doing it forever, and also it was an independently-owned business. Plus, hardware is like totally blue collar, even if half the customers were buying Weber barbecue grills and filters for their expensive central air conditioning systems.

17-21 Years Old: SUNY Albany Art Gallery Assistant

My work-study job in college was helping out at the art gallery. Mostly this involved sitting at a desk doing nothing but occasionally I'd bring my hardware store skills to bear by painting a panel or hanging some art.

Sellout Status? Oh come on.

20-21 Or Thereabouts: Intern/Assistant At a Book Publishing House

Towards the end of college I got it into my head I wanted to work in book publishing, so I started interning at a pretentious small press (I realize that's redundant, all small presses are pretentious) in SoHo. The other interns were all Barnard students who had absolutely no interest in being there, which was great for me because it created the impression that I had a work ethic. I worked for free but eventually they started paying me and after I graduated they helped me get a real job.

Sellout Status? Scrappy SUNY student stealing low-paying job from apathetic Ivy Leaguers? That is a blow for the proletariat! (If by "proletariat" you mean suburban English majors.)

21 to 23 or 24 Or Thereabouts: Assistant At a Book Publishing House

This was my first "real" job, and it was at one of the big publishing houses. Once again, the fact that most of my work peers had come from fancy private schools and were fairly unmotivated created the illusion I was a highly driven go-getter. However, once it became clear I'd actually have to work hard in order to succeed, I left under the guise of "finding myself" or something.

Sellout Status? I mean sure, it was a big company, but it was a big company that publishes books, not a pharmaceutical company that gets people hooked on opioids.

24-Ish I Guess: Bike Messenger, then Assistant to Film Director

I'm lumping these together because I think the total time I spent at both jobs was only like a year, and in a way they were similar in that I mostly ran around bringing stuff to people who were indifferent to me.

Sellout Status? Being a bike messenger is being a bike messenger, and the film director was Michael Moore, so I don't think the kinds of people who accuse people of "selling out" would consider either to be selling out.

Mid-20s to Mid-30s: Incompetent Literary Agency Associate

After experiencing life as a film industry assistant, which mostly involves people with enormous egos ripping your guts out on a daily basis, I went running back to publishing like a toddler with a boo-boo and proceeded to hide from the world by working at a literary agency for the next 10 years.

Sellout Status? Sucking at your job just badly enough not to get fired isn't exactly commendable behavior, but I don't think it technically qualifies as "selling out." Plus, it was a small company that represents people who write books, not some evil corporation.

Mid-30s On: You're Looking At It

Writing about bikes.

Sellout Status? Please. I write about bikes. Sometimes I appear in a major publication and say stuff like drivers shouldn't be allowed kill people Let's get real.

So there you go, that's my resume, and I don't think the teenager who used to struggle emotionally when a band he liked signed to a major record label would be too offended by my career trajectory, downward as it may be. In fact, thanks to this slightly embarrassing newspaper clipping from like the Nassau Herald or something, I daresay I fulfilled my modest ambitions:

(I must have been home from college for the summer, working in the hardware store, and bored out of my fucking mind.)

As for what present-day me thinks upon looking back of it all, I'd certainly maintain that I haven't sold out, though I sure have squandered a shitload of incredible opportunities, which is easily about a thousand times worse.

And yes, I know what you're thinking: "You're not telling the whole story. What about household income? Your wife probably does something evil." Okay, you got me, she's an attorney who works for a fossil fuel industry lobbying group.

Just kidding!

Actually she publishes young adult literature, a vocation I'd argue positively oozes integrity.

But it's one thing do say you haven't sold out just because you don't have fuck-you money and a yacht called the "Just Kidding." It's another to say you haven't sold out because someone actually offered you fuck-you money and you refused to take it. I certainly can't claim to have done that. Oh, sure, I've turned down opportunities and told myself I did so because I had integrity, but in retrospect I probably did it because I was scared or lazy or both. (See: squandering opportunities.) Odds are if I hear the "beep-beep-beep" of the money truck backing down the street I'd run right downstairs and guide them safely to my front door.

Hey, I'm not mad at Henry Rollins for doing Infinity voiceovers or whatever he does. Meanwhile there are people who would probably burn all their Dischord records if they saw Ian MacKaye drinking a kombucha or something, so it's all relative.

I guess what I'm saying is fifteen hundred bucks buys this whole blog, cash and carry. Just drop me an email.

from Bike Snob NYC http://bit.ly/2DFk4mo

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