#i understand that this is a common tactic on both sides. i just hate it. it feels low

[blazevillains]

Hot Take alas maybe.....we should not be making fun of peoples looks......EVEN WHEN they are a bad person.......

[sorcave]

Hating Calypso does not mean you don't understand morally grey characters and defending her does not mean you understand them.

I've seen many takes from those defending Calypso in one way or another dismissing those who hate her as "not understanding morally gray characters" which is simply isn't true. Defending her as a poor victim who didn't know any better does not mean you understand the concept of morally gray characters either.

The main divide is whether intent, her actions, or both matters in defining her morality and by how much. Either side of that spectrum is missing the nuance of the situation- she's not a supervillain intent on making Odysseus' life horrible nor is she an innocent, naive girl who shouldn't be held accountable for her actions. To me, while I don't think she is evil, she is at the darker end of the "morally gray" spectrum as her actions are so egregious that her intent nearly doesn't matter.

Most defenders use the story that Calypso tells in "I'm Not Sorry For Loving You" as their evidence. She didn't INTEND to hurt Odysseus- she hasn't known anyone before so she didn't know! She was just lonely! She just loved him! If you were stuck on an island all alone for 100 years and finally someone came, wouldn't YOU want to make sure they didn't leave? Besides, she apologizes for her actions!

This is a trap that the song actively brings listeners into. It is meant (or at least easily interpreted as) as a plea for sympathy, to make the audience feel empathy for poor Calypso. It is not a simple explanation for her actions and it is definitely not an apology for them. The reason it feels like a "Youtuber Apology" is that they share many similar characteristics. She is intentionally vague about what she is apologizing about, to the point they are nearly irrelevant. "Coming on too strong" wasn't the issue- it was "Coming on too strong" AFTER Odysseus told her no ( "From here you're mine, all mine"/ "Hell No") was. It doesn't address her main crime, specifically keeping a man AGAINST HIS WILL for seven YEARS, even AFTER he became so desperate to leave that he was moments from committing suicide. Lastly, she doesn't take accountability but (intentionally or not) blames Odysseus . "I'm sorry if my love was too much for you" is a VERY common phrased used by abusers to shift the blame from themselves onto their victims.

The crux of the issue for me is while her rough experience up until she met Odysseus may explain her actions, too many people seem to use it to EXCUSE her actions (including, seemingly, the narrative itself). Why this rubs so many the wrong is because of how many real life victims have been told they have to "forgive" their abusers because their life was hard or "they didn't know better." Many who were bullied as a kid had at least one guidance counselor say they needed to "forgive/even befriend x because they are struggling/ \[Insert Bad Thing Here} happened to them." Many others see Calypso using the same tactics their own abusers used to hurt them, and justifiably hate her for it.

I am not saying someone is wrong or stupid for having a more forgiving perspective on Calypso. If you are one to put more weight into intent than actions, I could see why Calypso could be a much lighter gray ( I am not seeing many defenders saying she is an entirely innocent, "morally good" character"). It can be argued that her actions were not of an intentional abuser but of a goddess who haven't had much experience with relationships before, especially with mortals. If her idea of romance came from whatever the Ancient Greek version of romance novels were, it makes sense that her idea of romance may not be the healthiest. Heck, even reading the myths would explain or even excuse why she didn't see "She's my wife" as a sign to back off- for probably at least 90 percent of Greek Heroes, that would not matter.

In summary, Calypso is a morally gray character- but that doesn't mean there aren't valid reason to dislike or even hate her. Seeing her as dark gray bordering on black doesn't mean you don't see the nuance- many who are against her understand her intent may not have been evil- but that her actions make her intent almost irrelevant. So please stop dismissing those who dislike/hate her as simply misunderstanding/being naive with morally gray characters. Many are not (especially since the entire show is full of them) and simply put weight in her actions more than her intent.

[furiousgoldfish]

Hello. So, I have a narcissistic father that's very controlling and very selfish, and I'm 17(Turning 18 in August next year), and I plan on moving out the second I become 18. Only a few problems though...

What if my father decides to hurt himself and then call the cops and frame me for it? 2. What if he tries to hold me hostage and then beat me to the point where I can't physically move and I'm forced to stay with him? 3. What if he decides to kill me before I can leave? Narcissists can do anything to you and get away with it.

Also, I have a MAJOR problem with two narcissists here on Tumblr. They are both artists, and since July of last year, they and their flying monkeys have been on a smear campaign against me, and they're trying to find my new account, so they can try to destroy what little joy I get from being on here sometimes. The are very determined and very obsessed with "spreading the truth" about me, including one narcissist that claims to "hate abusers to the core," while taking part in baiting, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse that another narcissist started against me. I'm also apparently their scapegoat now; whenever they get criticized about their behavior, it's apparently "always me." Any tips for dealing with fandom-wide smear campaigns and covert malignant narcissists online?

Okay, so based on your ask, I can tell that you've been through some extreme scenarios and that fearing the worst, most insane action from your father, is common and normal in your case, and you have to be ready for it.

If your father tries to frame you for injury that he inflicted, you need to have an alibi. If you can prove you were in a different place, different address, with someone else knowing where you are, there's no trace of struggle on you, no trace of fighting with him, he won't be able to prove it.

If he tries to hold you hostage as an adult, I believe police should be on your side here; in a case this extreme you should be able to access the services of a violence center. The thing is, I don't believe this to be extremely likely because in this case, if he's caught, he'll face jail time. Narcissists will do extreme things to keep you at home, but they're very aware that if they're caught doing extreme violence, beating someone bloody or holding them hostage, that it would incriminate him, and make him look very very bad. Once he tries to keep you like that, he would have to prevent you from escaping forever, and it would be near impossible to keep you like that forever, you'd eventually be able to escape and tell everything to the police. That would be a very scary scenario for him. Narcissists usually do these extreme things to children, expecting children to not be able to remember, verbalize, understand it's not normal, or to tell anyone, small children are the only safe targets for such extreme violence. Once you have cognitive function and enough understanding of language and human rights that you can tell you're being held hostage, they'll unlikely do to it as directly; they'll try to guilt you, lower your confidence, sabotage you from getting a job, trigger you in vital moments, convince you that you'll die if you leave. They'll use more covert tactics that can be disguised as 'concerned parent' or 'obsessively attached parent' rather than to incriminate themselves. Still, I don't know your father, and it's possible he might just be completely insane; in that case you need to have it in writing, that if you disappear, this is who is holding you, send that to your friends or anyone you know, with instructions to call the police.

Again killing you would have him face jailtime, so it's unlikely unless he's just completely insane, or if you running away also means jailtime for him because you already have too much atrocities to tell. In that case you need to pretend that you have no intentions of leaving, and try to act like you're resigned to stay, like you're planning all kinds of things from home - until the very moment when you can be away and in location he can't reach. If he isn't suspecting that you're trying to get away, he won't have time to prevent it or to try to murder you. You should plan your escape when he's not at home, pretend you're going just to the store or to visit someone, or something inconspicuous, have a bag of your stuff stashed outside where you can grab it without being seen, and jump into a car/cab/train/vehicle where someone can take you to safety. Don't tell your final location to anyone. Block his number. Answer your phone to other people, at least for first week, so they can't report you missing. But don't let them lecture you or tell you that you should be going back home, only reply so they know you're safe.

If anyone else has more experiences like this and better advice, please share, I only know escaping and then keeping my location hidden from everyone, and using a fake name so I cannot get found.

I'm sorry about the smear campaign, best I can advise is to not engage. Sadly there's no anti-measure that really works, if you don't engage at least they can't tell which part of the campaign actually triggers you and makes you feel awful. I suspect the real-life situation is much more urgent, but it sucks they ruined your online space as well.

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

The Car [a Jay & Frankie fic]

Read on Ao3

Fandom: Triple Frontier

Ship: Frankie Morales x Jay ‘Lady’ Ray (OFC) **Series masterlist**

Warnings: Fighting, real talk, period mention, make up sex, nipple play, nipple orgasm, piv sex, cum on tits, cum eating, typical jay and frankie banter, pet names daddy and mommy.

Words: 3,282

Summary: Jay and Frankie have an argument about the car, and discover something new and exciting during the make up sex.

Alma is happily drooling in the baby carrier while Jay looks for the car keys. It’s not a common occurrence in the Ray-Morales household to have lost one’s keys – both she and Frankie are tidy people – but it’s not her own keys she’s looking for.

"You're coming by Tom's later?" Frankie appears in the entry, leaning over Alma's carrier to cuddle the baby. Jay hums non-committally as she stands with her hands on her hips, trying to figure out where Frankie would keep the keys to his truck, if not in the bowl on the side table by the door.

"Come by anytime," Frankie tells her, smiling at his daughter. "No reason to give granny any more time than absolutely necessary, right, Almalita? A quick lunch with granny, then return to base before the old bat does any damage."

"That's not fair," Jay remarks acidly. Her mother has really turned a new leaf, is treating Jay with respect, and is a wonderful grandmother to Alma. Frankie, however, doesn't forget a wrong done to his loved ones.

"Just saying," he shrugs, holding Alma's little feet and kicking them back and forth, much to the baby's delight.

"Yeah, well, it's getting really old, this ragging on my mom. She's helping out, respecting our boundaries, and hasn't said a single word of disencouragement since we reconnected," Jay reprimands him. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't teach our kid to hate her grandmother."

"Okay, sorry," Frankie apologizes sincerely. He may not like Dorothy, but he doesn't want to stand in his child's way of having a relationship with her grandmother. "I was out of line."

"Thank you." Jay opens the drawer of the side table again, more thoughtfully now than in an actual search for the keys.

"You lost something?"

"Alma's chew toy."

"She's holding it?"

Jay looks over at the baby. "Oh, right." She looks at Frankie, sees his questioning frown, then realizes that there's a small bulge in one of his back pockets that makes one flat ass cheek stand out. He's got the keys. New tactic. She walks up to Frankie, smiling.

"What would I do without you?" Hands on his waist, Jay leans in for a sweet kiss, one that Frankie happily accepts.

"You'd be fine, and you know it," he grins, before stealing another kiss. Jay lets her hands slide down to his ass, copping a playful feel with one hand as the other sneaks into the back pocket. Just as she's about to grab the keys, Frankie takes a step back.

"Gotcha!"

"What?" Jay's not good at playing innocent, but she does try.

"You were trying to get my keys! You want to borrow my car!" Frankie accuses her, amused. "You know, you can just ask me."

"Fine," Jay rolls her eyes. "Can I borrow your truck?"

"What's wrong with the Rogue?"

"You know what's wrong with it!"

"The only thing that's wrong with that car is your attitude towards it," Frankie sighs, seeing very clearly where this is going. "I need my truck today, I'm picking up boards for Tom's patio."

"I don't understand why he doesn't do that himself," Jay mutters as she starts to gather up her things to leave. Her tits feel tight; she’s due for her period, and it’s making her feel shitty.

"Because his truck is a piece of shit, and it's in the shop."

"The Rogue is a piece of shit and I won't drive it."

"Jay, for fuck's sake." Frankie crosses one arm over his chest and rubs his forehead with the other hand. "We agreed that we needed a new car because the Bronco had no backseat, and it wasn't safe for a baby. We made the decision together - "

" - you made it, I had no choice - " Jay interjects sourly, glaring at him.

"We made the decision together, and you had every opportunity to suggest a car that wasn't a Nissan Rogue, but every car you named cost at least thirty grand, and you know we can't afford that!"

"We could've just kept my car!"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Jayne, I'm not having this fight with you again," Frankie sighs, throwing up his hands. It's not the first time Jay's being bitchy about having to give up her beloved Bronco, and the car was sold months ago. The Nissan Rogue may not be sexy or particularly adjusted to off-road driving, but there is absolutely no need for a car like that. What they needed was a good family car, and the Rogue, albeit unsexy, was exactly that. To say that Jay's having a hard time adjusting to the change is an understatement: she borrows Frankie's pickup as much as she can, and he doesn't mind, but today he needs the truck himself.

"That's easy for you to say, you get to drive a real car, not some plastic pussy abomination!" Jay raises her voice and Alma, who up until now has been happy in her carrier, wrinkles her little face into a worried grimace. Frankie's with her in a heartbeat, smiling down at her and stroking one finger over her cheek.

"It's okay, Almalita, you're okay."

"I have to get going," Jay tells him curtly, taking her jacket and putting on her shoes. Wordlessly, Frankie hands the carrier over to her, and Jay leaves, slamming the door poignantly.

It's past Alma's bedtime when Frankie comes back from Tom's, tired but satisfied after a day of working with his hands. He finds Jay on the couch watching TV, but she does turn it off when he comes in and sits down next to her.

"Hi," he says quietly. Jay meets his gaze head first. God, he loves her fearlessness.

"Hi yourself."

"Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah. You?"

"It was okay. We got a lot done."

"Good."

"You didn't come by, and you didn't reply to my text."

Now Jay's gaze falters, and she raises her chin a little. "I read it."

"So my phone told me."

"I didn't want to come and sit there with Molly and the kids like some sort of wife," she finally snaps, but without any real vehemance. In fact, she sounds more despairing than anything else. Frankie sighs deeply.

"Jay..."

"I know, I know," Jay interrupts him. "I'm being stupid and hormonal and need to calm my tits, right?"

"That's not what I was going to say, and you know that."

Now she's glancing at him again. "I know."

"What's up, amor? Talk to me."

Those three magic words that they once agreed should be the foundation of their relationship. Jay can't ignore them, but she's struggling to put her annoyance into words.

"I do think it's hormones," she finally presses, loath to admit it. "I'm due for my period, and I'm... hormonal."

It's almost funny how she says the word like she's admitting to something a lot more embarrassing, but Frankie finds it hard to laugh. He knows how much Jay hates being stereotyped because of her sex, how hard she fights it.

"Okay," he acknowledges, "are you in any pain? Is there something we can do to fix it?"

"Tits are still sore," she throws him a small grin, and he grins back. While enjoying a quickie in the morning, Frankie had been strictly forbidden to touch them.

"It's going to be over soon."

"But it's not just that. I can deal with this."

Frankie waits for her to continue. Jay sighs deeply and leans back on the couch, pulling her legs up and sliding a hand over Frankie's back. Her need to be physical is endearing. Even when she's mad or sad or whatever, she wants to stay connected to him.

"I was afraid that having a baby would change things," she finally says, slowly as if she's looking for every word. "Change how people see me. How they treat me."

Frankie knows this. He had a front row seat during the entire pregnancy, saw how people reacted differently to her in public when she started to show. Before, he could walk around town with her like the couple of nobodies that they are. As soon as Jay was visibly pregnant, people started to notice her, smile at her, make way for her, ask her in the supermarket checkout line when she was due. She fucking hated it, and Frankie was witness to her snapping at people more than once. He himself felt neglected in the baby supply stores, where the salesperson always seemed to think that the mother was the only one who read up on car seats and birthing processes. It became very clear which parent society seemed to think was the more important one.

"I know, but we've talked about this," he tells her gently. "People are assholes, and we'll just do our thing."

"It's not just strangers anymore, Frankie," Jay points out quietly. "It's our friends, too."

"Who? And when?" Now he's staring at her, perplexed at her revelation. He hasn't noticed anything unusual but then again, he's aware of being blind to some things.

"It's not anyone in particular or anything specific," she shrugs. "But something's definitely happened. Mom talks to me differently now that I'm in the club of child-bearing women."

"Yeah, but your mom's - "

"Yes, thank you," she interrupts him sharply, and Frankie’s wise enough to shut up.

"The guys are different, too. I can't put my finger on it, but they are. It's like they expect me to whip out my tits at any given moment, and start spraying milk around."

"That image is disturbing," Frankie chuckles, shaking his head. "Jay... I can't say I've noticed anything. But if you say that things have changed, I believe you. Am I doing something wrong?"

She looks at him, puzzled, like she never even thought about it.

"I don't think so?"

"I need you to tell me if I am."

"I would." Now she smiles wryly. "You know I would."

"You wouldn't tell me, you'd yell it into my face," Frankie agrees with a snigger. Jay slaps his hand lightly before caressing it.

"I don't know what's up with me," she sighs. "I just... miss that fucking Bronco."

"Maybe the Bronco represents childfree life, the kind of life we had before Alma," Frankie suggests, not really knowing what he's after. "Maybe you're coming to realize that life has changed completely now that we have a kid."

"It sounds like you think I regret having kids," Jay accuses him, but he can hear that she's contemplating his words. He shakes his head immediately.

"I don't think for one second that you regret us having a child! But life is different now."

"Yeah," she nods, "I'm driving a goddamn Nissan Rogue instead of a proper car."

"If that's what your head is telling you to focus on, maybe it's an outlet," Frankie shrugs, "But I'm getting a little tired of hearing about that Bronco."

"How dare you..." Jay starts, but with a smile tugging at her lips. The rest of her warning disappears into the kiss Frankie gives her. He grins smugly at her before cupping her cheek and dragging his large thumb over her lips.

"You know that you can use my truck whenever you want to, Jay, but I really needed it today."

"I know," she mutters. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. And I get it. So much has happened in the last two years. Now we're about to move and all, you still have school... It's a lot. But can we please stop talking about that fucking car?"

"No promises," she quips, and Frankie gives her a soft shove.

"Come on."

"No. I'm gonna sulk about that car for the rest of my life."

"Mula."

"Pendejo."

Frankie leans in to nuzzle her neck. "You know what it does to me when you speak Spanish..."

"It's not supposed to."

Frankie only hums as he continues to scatter little kisses along Jay's skin. She relaxes a little, sighing softly and giving in to his gentle ministrations.

"Can we have angry makeup sex?" Frankie murmurs, his hand finding her thigh and following its curve to her ass cheek. "You're so hot when you're angry."

"You take that back," Jay growls, finding the back of his head and pulling at his hair.

"See, that's exactly what I mean..." Her tight hold of his hair makes him even more turned on, and now he covers her mouth with his, plunges his tongue into her, kisses her breathless. Jay allows it, enjoys it, but when he moves some of his weight on top of her, she pushes back.

"My tits are too sore.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“I’m not sure you can handle it,” Jay scoffs.

“Oh no…?”

He’s always up for the challenge. Carefully, he takes Jay’s t-shirt off, then pops her bra open and releases her tits.

“Hello, girls,” he tells them fondly, catching Jay’s eyeroll. “Careful, or your eyes’ll stay like that.”

“Aren’t they already from living with you?”

“You have such a mouth on you today,” he tuts as he settles comfortably on breast height. A feathery touch of his fingers on the outside of one breast makes Jay sigh.

“That’s nice…”

“Is it now?” Frankie looks up at her with a smile that somehow manages to be both tender and teasing at the same time. Jay smiles back, subdued by Frankie’s light touch and the natural way he adjusts to her needs to make her feel good. He starts to circle her nipple with one finger before very lightly pinching it. Pleasure zaps through Jay, drawing a first moan from her lips.

“Not too rough?” Frankie checks in, and Jay shakes her head.

“Just perfect.”

He does it again, and lowers his mouth to her other breast. His tongue starts to circle the nipple, occasionally passing over it, all the while his fingers keep softly teasing the other. Jay’s eyes fall shut as the pleasure rises unexpectedly. Her tits always were erogenous but with the added sensitivity of her forthcoming period, the sensations are on a completely new level.

“God, Frankie,” she moans when he scrapes his mustache over her rock hard nipple before taking it into his mouth to tenderly suckle it. The tight soreness of her tits right before her period started after Alma was weaned – thank you merciful God it didn’t while Jay was still breast-feeding – and now Frankie skillfully keeps her teetering on the line between pleasure and pain. It’s not the first time sex with Frankie does that, almost makes her hurt, but it’s definitely the first time her breasts are in focus of the titillation.

He takes his time, Jay has no idea how much of it, and doesn’t care to know. There is nothing to know except the way he’s making her tits feel, the way he’s teasing her, torturing her, making her wet, yearning, writhing.

The thought passes through her head but gains no hold as everything is liquid, flowing sensation. Frankie goes on with the same kind of purpose he shows when eating pussy, and Jay’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. God knows not all women have partners who like the saggy, post-nursing tits. Frankie not only likes hers: he’s even crazier about them than ever before.

The sensation rises slowly but steadily until it explodes without warning, so suddenly that it takes even Jay by surprise. Shouting out, her body trembling, she anchors herself to Frankie by digging her fingers into his shoulders. He goes on lapping, caressing, gently squeezing, until she comes down, gasping for breath, huge blue eyes trying to focus on his face. Only then does he stop, and come up for a soft kiss.

“Fuck, baby, that was so fucking hot,” he tells her, shifting on top of her to avoid her now throbbing boobs. Jay doesn’t let go of him, her eyes still glassy as she searches his face.

“You knew I could do that?” she whispers hoarsely, amazed and puzzled at the same time, her brain still slow after the unexpected orgasm. Frankie smiles bashfully.

“I figured when you started to move like you do when I eat your pussy.”

She has nothing to say to that, only draws a deep, trembling breath. Frankie kisses her forehead.

“What was it like?”

“Um…” Fumbling for words, Jay wets her lips. “Like… an orgasm? But like, for the entire body, or… maybe more centered along the spine?”

“Was it stronger?”

“In a way, but… Frankie, I don’t know.” She looks almost shy, something of a giggle escaping her. Jay is neither shy nor giggly. It’s fucking adorable. Frankie dips to kiss her again, his chest pressing up against hers. Jay whimpers immediately, and he backs off, sitting up astride her.

“Sore?”

“So fucking sensitive,” she acknowledges, hands following the curves of her tits carefully. “Jesus, Frankie…”

“You think you can do it again?”

“Christ, no! I’d fucking die!”

“Not tonight, amor, I don’t have another 45 minutes in me.”

“45 minutes?” She gapes at him. Frankie gestures with his left hand, bringing attention to his wrist watch.

“I happened to check the time right before I started, and I just checked again. 45 minutes.” He looks proud of himself, and Jay has to grin.

“Daddy does have the stamina…”

“Daddy has a raging boner that he needs to stick into mommy right now, or his balls will explode,” Frankie tells her unceremoniously, the image of Jay cupping her tits underneath him making him very aware of his own needs.

“If mommy doesn’t mind?” he adds chivalrously, making Jay laugh as she reaches for the waistband of his pants.

“Mommy has a nice warm place for daddy to put it in…”

He doesn’t need long, and most of his energy is directed at Jay’s tits, making sure they don’t jiggle so much that they cause her discomfort. She keeps them in check with her hands, head thrown back as he fucks her steadily, sitting up with her thighs draped over his, holding her by the hips as he chases his imminent release. As his balls start to tighten, he has to resist the urge to go faster, instead finding his tongue to speak.

“Jay, can I cum on your tits?”

Her head snaps up for a breathless Yes! and moments later, Frankie pulls out, grabs his dick and pumps it a few times, groaning as he paints her boobs with thick ropes of cum. He stares at the mess, at her soft flesh, the stiff nipples, the rosy hue of the skin, the white jelly of his seed. Embarrassment pokes its unwanted head up to remind him how cheap and pornographic this is, but he sits back on his heels and shakes away the feeling, basking instead in the glorious view before him. Goddammit, he loves her so much. She’s perfect in every way.

He leans down over her and very gently licks her tits clean, enjoying her small whimpers and the way her skin tastes when salted with his spend. He then comes up to kiss her, ravish her mouth with his one more time before he, too, needs to catch his breath. Jay’s eyes flutter open and she smiles at him; a warm, loving smile that makes him just melt inside.

“I’m still real mad about the car,” she whispers, and Frankie starts to laugh, just as the baby monitor crackles and Alma’s blubbering comes through.

“I’ll go,” Frankie offers, getting up from the couch and reaching for his pants on the floor. As he leaves the living-room, he glances back and sees Jay stretch delightfully, a satisfied smile on her face.

God, he’d do anything for her.

[sasquapossum]

"What should Israel do, if not this?"

That seems to be a common reply when anyone criticizes Israel's unwarranted escalation in Gaza. Usually it's accompanied by some kind of insinuation that the critic hates Israel and wants all Jewish people to die. See my well poisoning post about why that's a bullshit coward's tactic (unless it's deliberate disinformation, which that post also covers). I'll get to my answer in a moment, but first...

I do condemn Hamas, and particularly their recent actions. Strongly. Unequivocally. I mourn the loss of innocent life and dignity. I condemn those actions because I mourn those things, which is also why I condemn Israel's actions both before and after. I have always been and always will be less focused on Israel vs. Palestine, which is an enormously complex issue, than on choosing peace and compassion over violence and hate. That's the only side I'm really on, and it cuts across both traditional "sides" in most of these discussions. All I want is to minimize suffering - for the people of Palestine, for the people of Israel (many of whom disagree with their so-called leadership), and for Jewish people worldwide who are already being caught in the backlash.

OK, so am I allowed to have an opinion now? If you still insist the answer is no, GTFO or get blocked. Fallacies, disinformation, and gatekeeping are not welcome here. (OK, maybe some gatekeeping, but only by me because it's the gate to my room.) Warmongers are even less welcome. Are we down to just the sane people now? Good. Here's my answer to what Israel should do.

Not what the fucking US did after fucking 9/11

Invading Afghanistan, and particularly Iraq, was a mistake (which many of us pointed out at the time BTW). The latter was, of course, based on lies. Both cost trillions of dollars and - more importantly - millions of lives, to little lasting positive effect. Maybe we could have done some good in either place, independently of 9/11, with application of similar resources in different ways, but that is really a different discussion. For now, I'll just say what we actually did in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 represents a colossal failure to achieve any of our stated goals. Those people, "ours" or "theirs" or anyone, died for nothing.

What did eventually make al Qaeda less of a threat to peace? The term of art here is decapitation. We took out the leaders, one by one. That effort involved intelligence, often derived from cooperation with other countries including those we don't particularly like, and precision weapons or strike teams. We didn't have to "flatten" Abbottabad to eliminate bin Laden, or Kabul to eliminate al Zawahiri, and so on. One could argue that we were still in the wrong, but those actions were far less injurious and thus far less wrong than what we had been doing previously.

That brings us back to the present day. Israel has a highly capable intelligence apparatus, widely considered to be among the best in the world. It has precision weapons, ditto. Their ability to deliver precise violence to specific targets might be unparalleled, and has in fact been demonstrated many times. It was even demonstrated (though inconsistently used) the last time this particular conflict flared up. Anyone who wants to comment on Israel's actions needs to do so based on an understanding that these capabilities exist, and that their use was deliberately foregone. They weren't used to prevent this tragedy, and they're not being used to avoid the next one (or the inevitable next one after that, and so on ad nauseam) either.

I have many more thoughts about who in Israel or elsewhere has done what, and why, to produce a worse-than-necessary situation here. I'll set those aside for now, out of respect to people who are still suffering or grieving. I'll just leave this one thought: if someone can take actions which minimize suffering, and instead takes actions which increase it, then that's a choice. It's the warmonger's choice, regardless of culture or religion or circumstances leading up to it. That applies to Hamas, but not to Hamas alone. It's a universal principle.

What Israel should do is learn from the US's mistakes, not repeat them. For their own sake.

[zacksfairest]

For the jumbo OC asks! Vaela - 💋📙🍇; Lehala - 🌹😊🌺; Ayala - 🍑🌀💗;

Ask me about my OCs

I LOVE YOU THANK YOU!!!

Vaela - 💋📙🍇

💋 How affectionate are they with their friends? Their family? Their romantic partner(s) (if they have any)? Are they more physical or emotional when it comes to displaying their affection? Why?

So prior to Zaresh, she was always super affectionate with her family and what few friends she had. She loved hugs and cuddling and the like. Zaresh kinda ruined that, and she came to be averse to physical contact for awhile.

HOWEVER! She does slowly get past that :) She doesn't tense when her family or friends hug her anymore, and she even eventually starts initiating hugs and such on her own!

She is definitely a bit of both—emotionally and physical in her affection, I mean. She feels a lot! She's just a bit stunted for a little while. But i just love that everyone brings her back, helps her realize it's safe to be both receive and give fictional affection again.

I'm not quite sure how she'd be with a romantic partner yet. Zaresh is her only experience, and I have yet to really explore how she might handle an actual romance.

📙 What kind of subjects (of conversation, of discussion, in school or whatever) does your OC find interesting or engaging or that they can talk for hours about? What kind of stuff do they just find fun?

Vaela loves PRETTY THINGS and GOWNS and JEWELRY and GEMS and LAVISH CLOTHING. I love to reiterate how much her and Zaresh have this very specific thing in common. She just loves fancy things and could spend hours shopping in a market or along storefronts pointing out all of the lovely things to you.

It's not very deep, but something shiny or fancy will always make her brighten up.

She also loves talking about hunting tactics. She spent quite a bit of time on her own on the run from Zaresh, and so picked up a lot of ways to survive on her own. She loves exchanging strategies on how best to take down a target, how to track them. And also different bows and arrows and arrowheads! She started off stealing secondhand bows and arrows and then fashioning her own, so learning about the different kinds of actual weaponry is fascinating.

🍇 Day or Night? Sun or Rain? Summer or Winter?

Daytime for sure. Vaela hates the nighttime, the darkness. It reminds her too much of her time in Zaresh's basement, and the Underdark.

She definitely prefers the sun. Once upon a time, she would have said the rain, the sound it makes hitting the roof and how it cools a hot city day—but she spent a lot of time squatting in the pouring rain, cold and alone and miserable, when on the run from Zaresh, that she's grown to hate so much as a light drizzle.

Oooohhhh. I'd have to say summer. She can wear such pretty dresses in the summer :)

Lehala - 🌹😊🌺

🌹 How easy is it for them to connect with others and make friends? On the flip side how easy is it for them to make an enemy of someone? Are they the kind of person who hangs around the food table at a party and never talks to anyone or are they the type who can talk to anyone?

Within Lehala's clan? Amongst her people? Incredibly easy. She feels a deep kinship and connection among the Namda, and even amongst the other clans she was easily able to find people with which she could be friendly. And maybe even become friends! She was in line to be the leader of her clan, she needed to be good with people, she needed to be able to chat them up and form connections with the people who might one day fight for her.

But among non-Namdans? She finds it significantly harder. It's why she's been pretty closed off until recently with the party. She does not know these people. They do not share the same customs. They do not understand the intricacies of each flick of her tail and every twitch of her finger. The Namdans are relatively insular and do not interact with others outside of possible mercenary work, and even then they usually work alone or with fellow Namdans. So making friends with others who aren't amongst her people? Incredibly difficult for her.

But you can wear her down, as has been shown with the party. And now that they've earned her trust and, dare I say, her friendship, she'd happily die (again) for them.

😊 What can make your OC smile even when they’re feeling down? What cheers them up and makes everything feel better for them? Is your OC genrally a happy person and do they enjoy making others smile? What about your OC makes others happy?

Oh, this is gonna be sooooo sappy, but talking and thinking about her people and her memories of them instantly fills her with immense happiness. She misses them so much, and feels like she's failed them, so thinking of the times before The Worst Vacation Ever makes her feel warm inside.

Also her past conquests—skirmishes fought, battles won, opponents defeated. She feels great pride in her skills as a fighter and a leader, so reminiscing on those memories also makes her happy.

I'd say Lehala is a relatively happy person, all things considered. Her clan would say as much. She can and will be very serious when matters call for it, but she's not incapable of happiness. She definitely enjoyed making her closest friends smile. They would laugh and joke and banter around the fire, when out on a mission or in the hours before a battle. She had a deep affection for her clan and every member of it.

Hm. I couldn't say what about her makes others happy. I mean, her friends among Clan Mavari certainly loved her spirit, her strength. She inspired such loyalty in them, and they had every faith in her abilities.

🌺 Does your OC have any tattoos or other body art? Does their body art have any specific meaning behind it? Do they have any scars? How did they get those scars? Any birthmarks?

No body art, I'm afraid. She has NUMEROUS scars, and I couldn't possibly go through the story of each and every one of them. But she got them in various sparring matches, battles, and fights that she's gotten in over the years, all varying in their valor and bravery and stupidity.

She is missing one horn though! She lost it in a (somewhat) recent battle.

Ayala - 🍑🌀💗;

🍑 Where is your OC’s favourite place to relax or calm down? Recount a story of their time spent in this place! What makes it so special to them?

Oh, this is a tough one. As a Mandalorian, she doesn't really have a...place. In the time period in which she lives, her people have scattered to the far corners of the galaxy as the Empire attempts to hunt them to extinction. Even with any somewhat permanent homesteads she's lived in, they never really stayed for long. Clan Ger'Mana was definitely mostly nomadic for the time she's been with them.

This is going to sound incredible stupid, but what calms her is the feel of her beskar'gam on her body, her buy'ce encasing her head. There is a comfort in the weight of it, the solidity of her steel. She finds solace in it, has entrusted her life to that armor—and it has saved her many, many times.

But when home isn't a place, it's usually a person. For Ayala, what would best help her relax was the company of her squad: Vys'kydir, Caedyc, and Saya (her sister). Nothing could help her decompress or bring her back to herself like them.

Even her parents! Her mom Eliava and her dad Aran. They would do the trick too.

There is a specific instance where Vys really helped her when she was brought to tears in the midst of the Imperial invasion that led to her capture. He sat with her and held her as she cried, the weight of every Mandalorian lost under her leadership just becoming too much, especially as artillery continues to fire overhead. Just being there, holding her hand as she cried, helped.

🌀 Where is your OC from? Where were they born? Do they still live there, if not why did they move? If they still live in the area how has it changed since their childhood? How many places has your OC lived in and where has been their favourite?

NOW THIS IS A FUN ONE TO ANSWER!!!!!!!!

Ayala does not know what planet she was born on. Her mom would not tell her. Ayala's mom, Eliava, was a slave. She worked in a nightclub/brothel on some planet far away. When she had Ayala, she decided that was the breaking point. She would not allow a child to be born into this life, especially her baby girl. She knew only too well what a Twi'lek girl would be forced to be.

She had to get out.

There was a Mandalorian patron that frequented the establishment. Eliava knew their reputation as mercenaries and hired hands. So she approached him, begged him to get her out. Offered him money and whatever else he could want. The Mandalorian was resistant, cold. What could a slave woman possible give him? And there would certainly be trouble to follow as her master sought to hunt her down.

What finally broke him was when Ayala appeared behind her mother's legs, her bright blue eyes wide and afraid.

And if there's one thing that is a Mandalorian's weakness, it's a kid in need.

So he agrees to smuggle them out, payment to come at a later date.

Long story short, the Mandalorian—Aran Ger'Mana, leader of Clan Ger'Mana—and Eliava fell in love somewhere along the way on this prolonged trip. And he might have fallen a little bit in love with Ayala too, and by the time they decided to marry, Aran was already reciting the Mandalorian adoption rite.

Aran had a daughter from a previous marriage, Saya. She is human, like her father, and is of his blood—but that changed nothing, and Ayala was welcomed into the clan and family as if she had been born into it.

But all of that to say, Ayala does not know where she came from, and she has no specific attachment to anywhere she's lived since. Her attachments and memories lay with her family and clan.

💗 What would your OC say is their best feature? Why? What do their friends / family / lover(s) / people they know think is their best feature and why

Hmm. Ayala doesn't care much for her looks. Not that she's not an absolute knockout, but when you spend most of your time in full armor, your appearance isn't something you care much about.

If pressed, she'd likely say her eyes. They are a bright and light shade of blue, and absolutely stunning.

If we are talking non-physical feature, she would say her reliability. Her people can rely on her for anything. She will keep them safe and alive. She will ensure no one will hurt them. It is why she picked a dark shade of ocean blue for her armor color. Among Mandalorians, that color represents reliability.

(Which makes the tragedy of her defeat at Commodore Corran Raandall all the more tragic)

Man, each person in her life cherishes something different about her.

Her mom loves how vibrant she is. How alive. She would insist that the room brightens whenever Ayala walks in a room—even when she had her helmet on. She also loves how her daughter's very presence just commands respect. After the life her mother had lived—a slave, relegated to a mere object for other's service and pleasure—seeing her baby girl live the exact opposite of such a life just brings her so much pride.

Her father would likely say mostly the same, but would add in how much he loves her confidence. Despite the fact that she was not born into this life, she took on the mantle of Mandalorian warrior, of next in line to lead the clan, like she had been born for it. Mandalorians may think nothing of adopting anyone into their culture, but that doesn't mean Ayala had to take to the life

But take to it she did, and with the ease of a custom fitted glove. So much so that she is considered the obvious choice to lead them once Aran relinquishes his place as the head, even above his natural born daughter.

Saya, her sister, looks up to Ayala so much. Ayala is older, but only just barely, and yet it's enough that Saya immediately latched on to her. She admires her sister's courage and the strength and skills she exhibits. Whether it be training or sparring or in the midst of battle, Ayala is precise in everything she does. Saya aspires to be even a tenth of the warrior her sister is (she is more than that, and Ayala tells her this all the time.)

Vys'kydir would say that Ayala's best feature is her tactical mind. More than once she has gotten them out of a tight spot by out-thinking their enemy. He admires how she can keep a level head, even when blaster bolts are scorching the ground at her feet. More than once, frustration and anger have started to get the better of him, and she was there to talk him down (or beat it out of him, in some cases).

Caedyc would say much of the same as all of the above, with this one addition:

While this isn't necessarily her best feature, he does admire how stubborn she is. Half the reason why she has won so many sparring matches and skirmishes is because she just refuses to lose. Even when she does lose, it is kicking and spitting and clawing the entire way. And always while shouting for a rematch. Ayala does not like to lose. She is a fighter through and through, has been since she clawed her way into the world, and she will never go down without a fight.

And last but not least, because I cannot resist:

Thrawn thinks one of Ayala's best features is absolutely unshakable love and faith in her people. He can feel the love and adoration she has for the Mandalorian people in his very chest every time she speaks of them. It's something he's never heard from anyone in this galaxy, and she's the only one who has matched his love he has for the Chiss with her own love for her people. She would die for them, kill for them, lie and cheat and sell her very soul to preserve them. She would make a deal with the very Imperials who have nearly wiped out her clan if it meant those left could go free.

And Thrawn also so very adores her absolutely indomitable spirit. Even brought before him in shackles, stripped of her armor and forced to deal with Imperials once again, she was never once cowed. She held her head high, like a leader, like a commander, and even had the audacity to speak down to him.

But she had that right. She had resisted an Imperial invasion. If anyone in this galaxy had earned the right to look down upon Thrawn and the position he held, it was Ayala Ger'Mana.

He would never see that spirit broken, would never even attempt it, and he'd be damned if he allowed anyone to even so much as make her waiver in her strength and resolve.

[lannisterdaddyissues]

Good luck on the exams, have some random post-canon Edge of Tomorrow headcanons @nade2308 and I have yelled at each other about...

The first time someone he knows injures themselves and he rushes to help them on instinct and they ask him what happened to him hating the sight of blood is going to be...interesting...

I honestly want to write something where someone startles him and he reacts on instinct, they're on the floor before they know what hit them and everyone is confused because he’s just a PR guy...

Last but not least whether he did it or not before the loop Bill seriously takes up cooking/baking afterward because it's a hobby he can do that doesn't in any way remind him of the loop, only possibly of Rita because of the coffee.

There are more I can't think of right now but I hope this is some good study fuel!!

AHHHHHH HEATHER THANK U FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND FOR THE HEADCANONS THESE ARE SO GOOD I HAVEN’T STOPPED THINKING ABOUT THEM ALL DAY <333333

The first time someone he knows injures themselves and he rushes to help them on instinct and they ask him what happened to him hating the sight of blood is going to be...interesting...

ooooh omg so true i have definitely thought about this scenario before, it’s just so titillating hehe… the hidden depths of this man are DELICIOUS daydream fuel for me <3

but imagine like—idk, workplace injuries probably aren’t that common in bill’s line of work since media relations isn’t exactly a labor-intensive job, but maybe somebody drops a glass or something delicate and they cut their palm or the sole of their foot, and the cut is… rather deep, just enough that a couple of band-aids won’t be enough to stem the blood flow on their own. and naturally the spectacle starts to draw a bit of a commotion, and bill goes to take a look but “oh, you don’t want to be around for this, major, there’s a lot of blood.”

but hey, a little bit of blood won’t kill him, he’s seen far worse in the past several years that never happened to still squirm and gag whenever somebody gets a little scrape, so he says as much and squeezes through the small crowd, squirting a little bit of hand sanitizer from the tiny bottle he keeps on him onto his palms to clean them. and then he crouches down next to random background character #39571882 (whom i will now be calling ‘kim’ for lack of a name or physical body) and lifts her now bare, bloodied foot to inspect the damage. there’s still a small shard of glass left in her foot, but it’s superficial enough that a pair of tweezers (which he fortunately keeps a pair in one of his desk drawers because pre-war!bill was—understandably—a rather vain man) should be enough to dig it out.

so he asks kim what her favorite color is—that became his favorite distraction tactic to use on rita when he was treating her shoulder wound in the farmhouse, and fortunately it works on everyone the first time—and jabs the tweezers into her foot without waiting for an answer, and it only takes the better half of a minute and a fair amount of hissing and whining to extract the offending shard. he holds it up to the light, though it’s not really necessary when the thing is stained with blood, and disposes of it in the trash.

“that was easy,” he says, and hands kim a rag from the janitorial closet down the hall to cover her wound. “sorry if i hurt you, by the way. sometimes i forget that not everybody has a high pain tolerance.” smiling reassuringly at her, he stands and moves to the sink to wash the blood off his hands. no less than twenty pairs of eyes follow him from the sink to the far side of the room where his office is located. miraculously, not a single one of them blinks awake from a dream after they all pinch themselves in unison.

(later:

“major, how did you know what to do earlier? it almost looked to me like you’d done that a million times before.”

“who, me?” bill raises both eyebrows. “no, never. at least, not on somebody else. i was just winging it—don’t tell kim, though, or she’ll flip on me.”

his secretary frowns. “what do you mean, ‘not on somebody else?’”

“i could tell you, but then i’d have to kill you.” bill takes a minute to laugh at his own joke, then smiles conspiratorially. “but, if you’re asking me… i’d be willing to bet that steel is way more of a bitch to deal with than glass when you’ve got a whole chunk of it inside you.”

“i… beg your pardon, sir?”

“oh, nothing!”)

dont ask me why i wrote a whole mini thing about this ok.. my fingers just vomited on the keyboard for some reason. i blinked and this was here. do NOT interact /j

I honestly want to write something where someone startles him and he reacts on instinct, they're on the floor before they know what hit them and everyone is confused because he’s just a PR guy...

ahhhh skfhdjsfs i dont have any spontaneous drabble vomit for you again but yeah this is hot!!! ohhh the competence he displayed in that one scene where griff tried to pick a fight with him and he couldn’t land a hand on bill even after bill closed his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back? sexy as fuck. im pretty sure that was the first/only time they had that conversation too which just makes it sexier that he’d honed his instincts to be that sharp 😫🤌‼️

Last but not least whether he did it or not before the loop Bill seriously takes up cooking/baking afterward because it's a hobby he can do that doesn't in any way remind him of the loop, only possibly of Rita because of the coffee.

YESSSSS GIRL IM ALL ABOUT BILL COOKING, I LOVE THE HC THAT HE COOKS SO MUCH !!! THATS SOME PRIME MALEWIFERY RIGHT THERE!!!!

bill cooking is such a huge fav for me <3 him all decked out in a little apron with his sleeves rolled up while he prepares the food… he’d look so good hehee

i think that cooking would be a really good outlet for him too bc following a recipe probably soothes a quiet compulsion in him to abide by some kind of structured routine… chopping every vegetable the same amount of times or stirring x times counterclockwise and then x times clockwise… it would probably be good for him i think

oughhh but the idea of him preparing dinner for rita for the first time, and he’s so nervous about everything being perfect that he spends more time pacing around the kitchen table and adjusting the tablecloth and silverware in case they might have moved an inch when he wasn’t looking because it’s his first time cooking in what feels like YEARS to him (seriously, how long was he in the loops for 😭) but also because it’s been so long since he had a serious relationship i think :( he probably had plenty of casual ones before the war, no strings attached or they weren’t The One, and now he has a special someone to cook for and he’s just loves rita so wholly and earnestly i think he’d try so hard to make it all perfect for her 🥺

and rita’s not really one for grand romantic gestures but she’d be so touched by the care he puts in for her, it’s been so long since she was loved that she’d forgotten what it felt like, and now he’s come along and he showers her with so much adoration that sometimes she doesn’t know what to do with it all…

sorry i completely derailed this and made it about billrita instead of just bill for no reason but i have so many feelings about them and you are going to deal with them now LOL

anyway to thank u for blessing my inbox with this delightful study fuel, i’ll give you a few bill headcanons of my own <3

he’s a polyglot! i think it would make sense considering his job is in media relations, also he just strikes me as the type to be very gifted with languages. he’s a wordsmith, and he probably flies all over the globe to appear on talk shows and stuff so it would be a useful skill for him to have i think!

he’s really good at poker. he has a surprisingly good poker face and he’s an excellent bluffer. he also knows how to play the game ~just right~ to make it look like any luck he’s having is entirely by accident, and when to bow out with a respectable portion of the winnings so nobody calls him out on his unexpectedly good fortune 😏 <- i think this one is probably canon considering j-squad were playing poker in the barracks at the beginning of each loop, and he also knew all of their hands just by looking at them

he learned how to ride a motorcycle after he won a bike off his superior at poker night one time (though i still think the idea of him not knowing how to ride one before the war and having to die on it at least two dozen times to make it as far as the pub is hilarious LOL)

it’s been a long time since he last got squeamish at the sight of blood but he still runs out of the room screaming whenever he sees a cockroach 💀 he’s a bit of a princess like that

he’s a giggly drunk <3

wahhhh ok that’s all but thank u so much for the ask !!!! i really enjoyed reading this and answering it 🥰🥰 bill really does mean everything to me i love talking about him so much LOL

[rf-times]

I feel really angry at my niece. You see my sister is married to this terrible man who does nothing for her. He has no job, does no house work and yells at her if she asks him to get a job or atleast help at home. I told her to leave him but she says her daughter won't allow it as she couldn't bear to be separate from her father. She's takes her dad's side during their fights. And I just can't help but feel a little angry at her. She's 12 years old. She's old enough to understand this. She sees how that man treats her mother. My sister is struggling with her job and her kids and her no good husband. She gets up at 5 in the morning and reaches home at 10 after work. And even then she has to cook dinner. I don't know how she rests or sleeps or is even able to eat. I strongly doubt he's physically abusive as well but she denies this.

I know I might come across as hateful but I don't hate my niece. I just feel so helpless. I'm willing to let sis stay at my home until she feels she has everything under control but she says she can't imagine living her kid with him. My friends say it'll get better with time or that she's just a kid, so she'll understand when she's older.

Sorry for the rant, I had to get this off my chest.

Your niece is a child and it is incredibly traumatising to grow up in an abusive household, children want the love and support of their parents, the people who are meant to look after them. And they feel horrible in an unstable family environment. Abusive men take advantage of this by making it seem like their mother is the one at fault for 'causing arguments'. It is an incredibly common abusive tactic and you are seriously blaming your niece, a literal child, for wanting her father's love and approval when she is in a stressful and abusive environment? This is prime socialisation, how is your niece meant to know any different? She's been socialised by her father to have less empathy towards her mother and she realises that her father has more power. My dad was not abusive but all throughout my childhood I'd feel angry at my mum when she rightfully called him out for things. It's part of growing up under patriarchy and negotiating the chaotic unhappiness of it.

Your sister is of course a victim in this situation but you are both using your niece as a scapegoat. Her daughter won't allow it? It's clearly her husband here turning the child against her and you're both blaming the niece. I understand your frustration but the niece is just being a kid and she is acting out of fear.

[starseedfxofficial]

Introduction: The Force is Strong With This One Have you ever felt like your trades are destined for defeat, like an amateur Jedi swinging their lightsaber against a Sith Lord? Well, there’s a secret indicator in the galaxy of Forex that’ll help you tap into the real force of the market. We're talking about the Force Index, and today we’re going to apply it to everyone's favorite love-hate relationship: the US Dollar (USD) and Japanese Yen (JPY). In this comprehensive guide, I’ll not only share how to wield the Force Index but also dive deep into advanced tactics, so you can avoid the common pitfalls of the USD/JPY galaxy and discover some unexpected tricks hidden in plain sight. This isn’t your average analysis—it’s filled with unconventional approaches, a bit of humor, and insights to make your journey through the Forex universe profitable and (dare I say) fun. Force Index: The Jedi Tool for Trading the USD/JPY Before we leap into the advanced techniques, let’s understand what the Force Index really is. Imagine the Force Index as Yoda’s mind—capable of gauging the market’s strength based on momentum and volume. Essentially, the Force Index helps you figure out when there’s strong buying or selling activity in the USD/JPY market, which can be critical for making those tough trading decisions. Think of it this way: you wouldn’t march into a crowded cantina without knowing who’s a bounty hunter and who’s just ordering blue milk, right? The Force Index gives you that awareness in the USD/JPY market—it’s your compass for identifying potential shifts in market power. Hidden Secrets of the Force Index: Going Beyond the Basics - Read Between the Candles - The Force Index is particularly useful for assessing the strength behind price movements, but its true power lies in pairing it with Japanese candlesticks. A classic mistake is to focus only on whether the Force Index is positive or negative. But here’s a nugget of wisdom: watch how the Force Index behaves around Doji candles. A Doji with a declining Force Index might signal that a major reversal is just around the corner—just like that “plot twist” when you thought the hero was doomed but instead gets a lightsaber upgrade. - The Trend Sneak Peek—The Forgotten Strategy - Most traders stick to the old-school trendline strategy, but what if I told you the Force Index could actually predict trends before they form? When trading the USD/JPY, notice when the Force Index diverges from price action—if price is making new highs, but the Force Index isn’t following suit, it’s a classic sign that momentum is weakening, which often leads to a reversal. Kind of like that feeling when your friend says, “Trust me, I know a shortcut,” and you just know it's going to be a dead end. - Combining Force with PMI: The Double Impact - Want to make the Force Index even more powerful? Pair it with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for both the US and Japan. The PMI gives you a sneak peek into economic health—if the Japanese PMI drops unexpectedly while the US PMI is skyrocketing, and the Force Index confirms strong bullish activity, you’ve got a killer setup for going long on USD/JPY. It’s like combining a lightsaber and a blaster—why settle for just one when you can have both? How to Stay on the Winning Side: Tips & Tactics for USD/JPY - Ninja Moves for Stop-Loss Placement - Picture this: You’ve found an incredible entry point thanks to the Force Index, but your stop-loss is where every other trader’s is. You know what happens next—the market dips, nabs your stop, and rockets back up. It’s like playing hide-and-seek, and you're always the first one found. To outsmart the competition, set your stop-loss using a Force Index threshold. For instance, place stops just outside a critical Force Index divergence—this keeps you safer than the average trader who’s merely looking at price levels. - Expert Insights: From the Jedi Masters of Forex - According to Boris Schlossberg, a renowned Forex strategist, “The key to trading USD/JPY effectively lies in understanding the shifting power dynamics between US and Japanese monetary policies”. Now, if you combine that wisdom with the Force Index, you gain insight not just into the economic impact but into the intensity of market reactions. - Kathy Lien also points out that USD/JPY often responds to market sentiment shifts, particularly during major economic announcements. Use the Force Index to gauge how investors are truly feeling when those announcements drop—it’s like seeing beyond the Jedi mind tricks. Why Most Traders Get It Wrong (And How You Can Avoid It) - Ignoring the Power of Divergence - Divergence is an often-overlooked element of the Force Index. The classic mistake here is focusing purely on price. Let’s get real: trading without considering divergence is like baking without tasting the batter first—you’re missing key ingredients. If you notice that the USD/JPY is trending up but the Force Index is losing steam, take it as a serious warning. Divergence is your early bird alarm that something might be off. - Being Too Static With Entry Points - Here’s a little-known tactic: Instead of jumping in as soon as you see a Force Index spike, consider waiting for a second confirmation. This could be a retest of a recent high or a key resistance level. As Paul Tudor Jones once said, “Losers average losers”—it pays to be patient for the right confirmation when the Force Index is involved. Jumping in too quickly is like entering hyperspace without checking the coordinates—risky, and you may end up in a meteor field. The Unconventional Approach: Position Trading With the Force Index If you’re tired of scalping and looking for a more strategic, less stressful way to trade the USD/JPY, consider position trading using the Force Index. Unlike day traders who stress over every tick, position traders focus on broader movements—which makes the Force Index particularly useful for spotting momentum buildups. When the Force Index consistently aligns with macroeconomic data (such as a positive US GDP report and rising PMI), it’s time to consider holding a long-term position. Think of this as buying a bottle of wine you know will age well. Sure, it takes time, but the rewards are worth it. The Force Index helps confirm whether that trend is just getting started or if it’s about to fizzle out—giving you an edge over the competition that’s constantly jumping in and out. Avoiding the Dark Side: Risk Management Strategies Let’s get real: no one likes talking about risk management—it’s the vegetables on the plate of trading. But just as Yoda says, “Fear is the path to the dark side,” poor risk management is the path to an empty wallet. When using the Force Index, always set dynamic stop-losses that adjust based on volatility. During high-impact news, when the Force Index is spiking, consider widening your stop-loss to avoid getting taken out by market noise. Another trick is to scale in and out of positions. Instead of entering a full position all at once, enter part of it when the Force Index shows a clear signal, and add to it as the market moves in your favor. This way, you can capitalize on a strong trend without risking everything in one shot—after all, even a Jedi doesn’t swing their lightsaber without sizing up their opponent first. The Force is with You: Wrapping Up The Force Index isn’t just another indicator; it’s the secret sauce that can turn a good USD/JPY trade into a great one. From combining it with PMI for double-barrel accuracy to using divergence as your early warning system, there’s plenty of Jedi-level tactics to explore here. Remember, trading is a journey—sometimes you hit a bump, sometimes you find yourself in an epic trend that makes you feel invincible. Ready to take your Forex trading to the next level? Get exclusive access to economic indicators, smart trading tools, and join a community of elite traders at StarseedFX Community. Let’s keep the force with us—and may your pips be plentiful. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated Read the full article

[peachyteabuck]

@heffer-wen

i'm going to try and answer this comprehensively without turning it into a dissertation, both because i'm not a professional and because i'm sure you have better things to do.

the biggest thing is you cannot force help. both because she is your parent, and because you can't force anyone to do anything. that's just a fact of life. if she doesn't want help, regardless of the circumstance, you cannot force help upon her. it is both a) nearly impossible (hyper independence also involves hypervigilance, in my experience) and b) you will likely put yourself in the "people i cannot trust" category really fucking quickly. hyper independence doesn't happen because one day we woke up and the world wasn't safe. it happens because we know the world is unsafe. the world and the people in it has repeatedly taught us through trial and error that the people around us cannot be trusted.

medical attention, in specific, is a common manipulation tactic for abusers AND, from the perspective of a disabled person, we have put most doctors in the "do not trust" category already. i once mentioned the chronic pain in my knees to my old PCP, who recommended 6 months of PT. i don't know if insurance covers that, nor do i have the money or time to go either way, and so i never mentioned it again. my mother once pushed me to go to therapy, then claimed i had "played the therapist like a fiddle." after one more failed therapist, i didn't return until CPS launched an investigation my senior year of HS. guess who is not in therapy anymore.

additionally, i say this without meaning offense, if your desire to help us stresses you out, we're more likely to continue to not let you help. like, at least when i am very triggered, if a person is very eager to help it's a sign that person is looking for leverage. even if this means you could improve our lives, that improvement would come at the cost of it being used as leverage at a later time. hence: eagerness = bad.

admittedly as an autistic person i am confused about how having autistic people in the family leads to hyper independence in the negative sense. i don't think in a vacuum having autistic people to care for leads to neglect for care of the self. did she have to take on a caretaker role? in what way? for how long? because i don't know the circumstance i can't comment on it, but from an outsider perspective placing having autistic loved ones and having a neglectful childhood is a very wild concept.

the side of me that's less healed wants to say if she's not ready to accept help, you can't make her. one day she will die too young from a preventable illness or injury and that's how she wants to go.

the more healed side of me knows you love your mom, and it hurts to see her put herself in positions she doesn't need to. her mom is significantly older than i am, and likely has no ability to approach her own coping mechanisms from a meta standpoint. for her, this is simply the Way Things Are.

i will say i had the advantage of a fuckload of therapy and a desire to understand my own thoughts. my partner also had a lot of understanding of psychology + trauma and so also wasn't coming in blind. really, the biggest thing is they were honest and consistent, which led to me understanding they were reliable and were never trying to hurt me when they could not fulfill what they wanted. idk if they did this purposefully, but we've been together in 3 years come august, and so this is the formula i think works for gaining an "in" with hyper independent person:

find a thing they hate doing

offer to do the thing IN A SPECIFIC TIMEFRAME

do the thing in the timeframe specified

for me, it was the dishes. now, it's the chores we've decided are Their Chores (litter box, dishes) and the things i need them to do to do My Chores (hanger cleanout so i can do laundry, separate the laundry so i can do their work clothes). do we do everything we all want to do all the time? no, we are adults and are exhausted. but i don't get triggered by it (most of the time, i am still human).

idk, truthfully my girlfriend treated me like an abused rescue dog until i was like "okay. i can trust this person. this is good. life is fine." unfortunately it worked and also helped me in my personal life.

so idk. i don't have a short "go to," but if your mom is anything like me you gotta do positive reinforcement and you gotta do it a lot. similar to an abused dog tho you can't force anything because you will end up bitten in the face

every time my hyperindependence is triggered I feel like I'm the owner of a recently adopted previously abused dog attempting to get it from resource guarding, but also it's 3am and I want to sleep. that kind of "negotiating with a terrorist" energy. What do you want? Treats? Toys? Pets? Weed? For all men to leave the premises??? Tell me what you want and I'll give to you please god just stop growling

[kirain]

I started playing rdr2 but stopped because like idk but I can't seem to get over the fact that all the women are prostitutes and they don't really have any important roles. Like what's Abigail do? Ooh she's a mother who's always mad? What do the other women do? Oooh they sleep with the gang. What's Sadie do? Oooh she becomes a badly written femme fetale who suddenly becomes a flawless killer. The women are just so badly represented.

I get the feeling you didn't play the game naturally or see any random encounters, because none of what you said is true. There's a lot to unpack here, so let's start with the "all the women are prostitutes" comment.

First of all, none of the women are prostitutes, a fact that deeply irritates Micah. During a coach robbery where he rides with Arthur and Bill, he even says, “Why the hell do we need a gaggle of girls who won’t even fuck you if you put a gun to their head? Is it too much to ask considering they get a piece of every damn dollar I bring in?” Poor baby. He even tries to proposition all of the women (Grimshaw included), but they all insult him and send him running with his tail between his legs. It’s hilarious and I love it. Arthur also responds to Micah with, “Everyone does their share. I don’t see you lifting a finger around camp.”

Now a bit about the girls:

Mary-Beth was a skilled pickpocket, but she ended up being caught by a group of her victims. She mentions this during a conversation with Arthur, where she points out how hard it was for women who came from nothing, and the inequality of it all. RDR2 actually regularly highlights how difficult frontier/outlaw life was for women back then, often pulling zero punches. While fleeing her pursuers, Mary-Beth luckily ran into Hosea, who helped her escape and welcomed her to the gang. You can see Dutch lusting after her a few times, because he's an old pervert, but she always shuns his advances. She was never a prostitute and she was actually underage when she joined.

Tilly was a child outlaw and a member of the Forman gang from the age of twelve. She ended up killing the leader's cousin because he [as is heavily implied] tried to rape her. She was around sixteen at the time and tried to return to her mother after the ordeal, but she unfortunately passed away while Tilly was running with the Formans. Out of options, she eventually joined the van der Linde gang after Dutch saved her from some unspecified trouble. You can find most of this out during one of my favourite side missions, where she gets kidnapped by Anthony Foreman in retaliation for killing his cousin. With Grimshaw’s help, you can rescue Tilly and put an end to it once and for all. She was never a prostitute and was also underage when taken in.

Susan Grimshaw was one of the original members of the gang and one of Dutch's first lovers. They parted amicably and both fell in love with other people (Dutch with Annabelle, and Susan with a doctor who sadly ended up dying), but she stayed with the gang because of their mutual respect for each other. She later became the arbiter of the camp and a kind of surrogate mother to Arthur, John, and the other girls. She was never a prostitute, but rather a rough-and-tumble outlaw.

Karen is a little more complicated. Overall, she was a scam artist (Hosea even called her an “actress”) who sometimes lured men into brothels, then stole from them or picked their brains for leads. That doesn't necessarily mean she was a prostitute; however, it just means she used sex as a manipulation tactic. Out of all the women in the group, she was the freest and most unconventional. She also stood on guard duty and participated in heists. The only man she ever slept with in game was Sean, and his death absolutely devastated her. If you talk to her or observe her interactions, you also discover she’s a raging alcoholic suffering from some very deep-seated issues. She likely did have to do things she wasn’t proud of in order to survive, but in my opinion that makes her one of the most realistic members of the group. She was never described as a prostitute.

Molly was an aristocrat who left her family to be with Dutch. His abusive treatment eventually led her to suffer an identity crisis, where she ended up hysterical and heartbroken. Her story is sad, but she was never a prostitute. If anything, Molly is the best example we have that Dutch views people as items, not human beings.

Abigail is the only prostitute in the game, but by the events of RDR2 she's an ex-prostitute. To say she's nothing more than "a mother who's always mad", I feel, does her character a great disservice. First of all, she left that profession behind to raise her son, to give him a decent chance in life. Unlike John, she stepped up immediately to become a responsible adult. I don't think people realise how impressive that is because, one, she could've easily abandoned Jack at the roadside (which was common back then), two, she could've induced an abortion, and three, she was quite young when she had him; around nineteen years old.

You say the women are "poorly represented", but they're stronger, smarter, and more mature than most of the men. A few of them even become self-sufficient in the turn of the century, something dear old Dutch couldn't even do/accept. Abigail in particular helps Sadie mourn her husband and the two grow very close. Their interactions are both grounded and heartwarming, with Abigail telling Sadie she’ll suffer the loss of her husband, but that it’ll get better if she keeps on living. She takes care of her, and Sadie later returns that kindness. These women are so full of quirks and humour and personality, I don’t know how you missed it.

As for Sadie ... where do I even begin? Badly written? Femme fatale? Flawless killer? Sadie is one of the best written characters. She's not flawless, she's exceptionally flawed, temperamental, and traumatised. It's never expressly stated, but it's implied at several points throughout the game that she was repeatedly assaulted while the O'Driscolls kept her captive. At first, she's petrified and miserable, to the point that all she does is cry and express suicidal ideation. Then, she gets angry. Very angry. Having nothing left to live for, her home and husband torn from her grasp, she throws herself headfirst into danger, which almost gets her killed on a number of occasions.

She's not a "flawless killer", she's a messy killer. She's not an expert death-dealer, and that's made evident from the start -- but she was a hunter who shared the workload with her husband, so it's not as if her skills just magically appeared. You do see how much it weighs on her, however, near the end of chapter six. If you help her kill the rest of the O'Driscolls, she laments what she's become because she thinks her husband would be horrified. She’s extremely complex and struggles between mourning and moving on.

I also can't help but laugh at the "femme fatale" accusation, because Sadie actually defeminises herself, which is understandable considering the hell she’s suffered. She even wears men's clothing, which wasn't illegal [anymore] back then, but it was openly frowned upon. Femme fatales use their beauty and sexuality to their advantage, ensnaring men with their feminine wiles. Sadie never does that and fights side-by-side with the boys. Interestingly enough, that's partially why Calamity Jane, an actual historical figure, garnered so much attention, because of how she behaved/dressed. It’s pretty clear to me that Rockstar might’ve used her as inspiration for Sadie. This was a real woman who lived from 1852 to 1903.

In addition, Sadie plays one of the most important roles, yet she does so without falling into the category of a Mary-Sue. She saves the gang and moves them to a new location when the Pinkertons attack Shady Belle. She hatches the plan that frees John from prison. She helps Arthur rescue Abigail after she gets kidnapped. She tracks down Micah and puts an end to his reign of terror. But most of what she does she accomplishes with a partner--Arthur or John--both of whom she respects immensely. No one, not even Arthur, does everything alone, and when they do there’s usually negative consequences. It's the camaraderie and shared experiences that make these characters successful, and aside from Charles and Hosea, I’d even argue that the women are more well-rounded and fleshed out than the men.

I gather from for comments that you didn't finish the game, so I hate to spoil it, but I kind of have to if you walked away with this mindset. The women of RDR2 are a force to be reckoned with.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Nazi watcher anon, below is a list of information and resources for anyone who wants to learn more about how nazis have spread their rhetoric and are using the internet. Please keep in mind that I can't put warnings on everything and since this is about nazis there can be very distressing things to read in this list. If you're not in a headspace to deal with it please don't look into the things I mention.

I have never found one coherent source that wraps all of this together neatly and this is not a complete list of sources. These are selections made by myself after about 15 years of learning about white supremacy on my own by reading their source materials and about 8 years of following their online movement. It's meant for people that are just starting to learn about the historical depth and intricacy of the neo-nazi movements that currently plague us.

First, all of modern neo-nazi movements started with George Lincoln Rockwell who was the founder of the American Nazi Party in 1959. Their tactics and approaches to infiltrating normal society, recruitment, and rhetoric come directly from GLR. I reccomend the three-part episode of Behind The Bastards (episode 51 published March 12, 13, 14, 2019). The host Robert Evans lays everything out in an easy to understand fashion and ties it to the modern nazi movements.

To understand fascism check out the 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism" by Umberto Eco, an Italian who grew up during the era of Italian fascism. You can find the pdf for free online as well as audio versions that have been recorded and released for free. He lays out the features of fascism and the commonalities between all fascist movements.

For the modern nazi movement I recommend the youtube channel Innuendo Studios and his series "The Alt-Right Playbook" as well as it's (in my mind) companion series "Why Are You So Angry?" which covers gamergate. While gamergate wasn't a fascist movement he details how using normies for cover is used in these sorts of astroturfed movements.

An important book in the alt-right is The Turner Diaries by William Luther Pierce. This is not an easy book to read because of the content, it's also terribly written but that's just my opinion. This book was the inspiration for multiple fascist terrorist attacks, including the Oklahoma city bombing. When you hear people talk about 'the day of the rope' (the reason the January 6 insurrectionists had gallows set up, Jeremy MacKenzie saying the convoy will end in 'guns or ropes', etc.) this is the book it comes from. It details a fictional future where white people are oppressed and they rise up, start a race war, and establish an all white society. You can find it for free online if you want to read it for yourself, though even the wiki can give you a brief overview.

Some podcasts that I've found helpful in learning about modern nazis are: I Don't Speak German (covers many alt-right influencers, each episode is clearly labeled so you can find the groups you're curious about), Knowledge Fight (mainly reports on episodes of Infowars and breaks down Alex Jones' talking points which are all related to nazi/qanon conspiracies), Decoding the Gurus (not directly related to nazis but does address many of the people shuttling primarily young men into fascist movements), and Sounds Like Hate by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Most of these podcasts are about USAmerican nazi figures, however it's still relevant to Canada since the nazi groups are deeply interconnected on both sides of the border.

For Canadian nazis I've been following their podcasts, vlogs, etc. This is hard and I don't reccomend anyone dive into it unless you're stable enough to listen to people who hate and want to wipe out anyone who isn't a straight white man. If you want to look into them anyway you can find Jeremy MacKenzie (Raging Dissident) on rumble where he releases a vlog/podcast called RageCast, he's also the founder of Diagalon which is a white separatist movement. He's associated with some other influencers that call themselves The Plaid Army that can be found in various places depending on where they've been deplatformed, a short list: The Ferryman's Toll, Slippin Lizzard, Derek Rants, Tyler L. Russell (leader of Canada First), EdgyDTv, Kerry Morgan (Alberta Defense League), and BlackGuyBigot (aka Canary In A Coal Mine). Google often hides the sites these people publish on so you might need to use DuckDuckGo to find their rat holes.

The last places you can find these people, as well as the groups organizing the convoy, is on a couple of alt-right platforms. Telegram, Gab, and Parler are the most popular ones in use and you can find these groups/people by searching for keywords that you've seen in this post. PLEASE NOTE: if you're going into these spaces DO NOT INTERACT with any of them! Use a fake name, fake number, etc and do not actively infiltrate. Some of these people are dangerous so you should be hiding your identity and observing ONLY. Use a generic white guy name and lurk.

I'll send another ask later about how to talk to people who are not actively nazis about what's going on. Unfortunately that one will shorter since deradicalization is a long process and not something that can be accomplished in one conversation.

Knowledge is power and these movements have been able to ferment for decades because mainstream society has been able to brush them off as a fringe minority. They have intentionally been muddying the waters around discussion of alt-right groups to make themselves more palatable to the normal white people around them and until we learn those tactics we're at risk of falling victim to them. Arm yourself with their talking points, approaches, and memes so you can recognize them when they pop up online or in person.

Stay safe everyone!

~~~~

[cipheramnesia]

Don't Lead a Conversation With a Punch

How often have we seen the non-conversation around "queer is a slur" play out exactly the same way?

Queer is a slur! It hasn't been reclaimed, that's wrong.

No it's not, that's TERF (radfem/exclusionist/etc) language! Queer is inclusive! It's literally the most common word used by people like us for ourselves, and has been for decades.

You can't say I'm using TERF language! I'm literally a trans woman, and queer was constantly used to hurt me and it's a slur to me! You can use it but you can't police whether it is a slur!

"Okay but you can't call it a slur." "How dare you mistreat this traumatized person!" "She is telling me who I am is a slur!" "But the word hurts her that's all she's saying." And onward.

Both sides have some valid points, what to do? Well, let's back up to the leading statement - queer is a slur. What is the underlying narrative contained in this, and similar language (q-slur, eg)? Intentionally or not, contained within this phrase is the assertion of universality. The narrative is that "queer" as a word is inherently harmful, that it is a term exclusively existing to describe a group (LGBTQPIA++) in a derogatory or demeaning way.

Asserting the universality of queer used in this way is unambiguously the methods of radical feminists (which includes the subset of terfs, swerfs, white feminism, etc). By itself, "queer is a slur" type statements are terf tactics, radfem language, exclusionist practices. And because these types of statements are deliberately built to carry this underlying narrative whether the user knows it or not, you can say this and be unaware you're doing the work of a hate group. If you're reading this and are under the umbrella of Inclusive LGBTQPIA+ individual who finds "queer" hurtful, you have done this, but it's not your fault, and you aren't a bad person.

However, with this now understood, we can recognize that stating "queer is a slur" serves as an aggressive act to the very large number of us who are queer, and who put a great deal of effort into being inclusive and accepting and welcoming.

It is, sometimes unknowingly, an attack to make the statement "queer is a slur."

Let's look at the rest. Now that we have a better understanding, we see the start of this conversation as a group of misunderstandings, mistranslations, and some degree of misinformation. The follow up from queer people, in this context, may feel aggressive towards someone using "q-slur" language both because we feel like we are under attack (having queer called a slur feels as if we're told who we are is harmful), and the underlying radfem narrative in "q-slur" language is also designed to make people using "q-slur" language feel as if they have to commit to the position that "queer is bad" to some degree.

This combative engagement is a direct result from the deliberate reason for treating queer as a slur - to create division within our community so we turn against ourselves, and create barriers or divisions where none existed. It builds exclusionist frameworks just by arguing over it, which are reinforced when people using "qslur" language attempt to withdraw from the argument by explaining that "queer" was a word used to hurt them - they are after all the target audience for queer language, and they are saying that it's harmful to them. So how can "queer is a slur" be wrong if it hurt them?

Which, without knowing, also includes the assertion that queer is bad universally. This is because "the word queer hurt me" is not the same as "queer is a slur," and the difference is super important when these engagements happen. Calling queer a slur asserts a universality to the general idea of queer as intrinsically negative, incorrect, and violative in use.

To take this point from implied to explicit, nearly every LGBTQPIA+ term has been or is currently expressed as a form of derision, used in a hurtful way, made into an attack on queer people and who we are, and none of them are slurs. We love calling ourselves and what we love gay, or lesbian, or so on. It's fun and joyful. I imagine some people also flinch a little because of years where "gay" was used to single them out for abuse or denigration.

This is what is the experience of "queer is a slur" refers to, a trauma, a triggering event, an attack. However, this does not make it a slur. You can completely and openly and honestly be triggered by gay or lesbian or queer too, but we have to stop spreading the exclusionist narrative that queer is a slur.

Queer is not a slur. For some people, queer is a trigger. That is very much normal, and very much understandable and you know what else? It's not an attack on our community. It doesn't say "queer is bad" it says "queer hurt me, please be considerate." And it also means that for some people who were hurt by the word "queer," they are inevitably going to have to live in situations where they must in some way shape or form cope internally with the word queer, where they cannot police its use, ask it to be removed or repressed.

Some triggers are like that. To borrow from another post, if you are triggered by popsicles it can be somewhat easily avoided and easy to accommodate. If you are triggered by red cars, that's something which is much less easy to avoid, and there is a limit to how much you can be accommodated. You can't ban red cars, but you can try to ask your friends to be careful about it.

You cannot ask that we stop using the word queer for our community any more than you could ask people to stop calling themselves gay. You can work with friends to be considerate and accommodating. We can have conversations about your experience, how it affects you as a trigger and ways we can do better in future.

But it is not a slur, and it is not acceptable to call it one. Thanks for understanding. Let's be kinder.

[ryuuaka713]

Bungou Stray Dogs Dead Apple: “You used corruption, believing in me? How Beautiful.” A “DISSECTION” OF THE SCENE

I mentioned before in one of the posts by @nataliaphantomhivesblog​, where we were discussing about the corruption scenes in BSD, that the scene in Dead Apple is my favorite. So, I decided (like any SKK trash) to make an “analysis” of that scene, just to make a point why I like it the most compared to the other corruption scenes (as if this post is the definition of being productive like I’ll just wasting my time rambling here LOL)

I divided this post into two parts. Part 1 is the more difficult one where I am attempting to write some “character analysis”. While Part 2 is more about how the scene is composed (it’s pretty boring. I’m sorry)

I will NOT include the infamous Lap scene (I know. I know. We all love that moment. But I would rather focus on the scenes before that).

Side note: I do not specialize in film or literary critique, so really this whole post is just for fun. Thus, why I put quotes on the analysis. Take this is as my personal opinion where I’m attempting to make sense by making it sound “fancy”.

But anyway. Here it goes:

In every Corruption scene, the thematic notion is always Trust—as in Chuuya trusts Dazai well enough to use his ability so long as he is present to nullify it. It is a very life-threatening process, especially for Chuuya since Corruption, despite being one of the most powerful abilities, can cause self-destruction the longer he uses it. So, Dazai should keep a close watch on him at all times, and then even giving him a sense of comfort to compensate to Chuuya’s worn-out body and for his efforts. This is the same trajectory in all 5 episodes of Corruption, but out of all of them, what stood out the most (for me) is the scene from Dead Apple. 

This scene has amazed me ever since I first watched the movie. And while it just shows their infinite trust, the whole execution of this scene evokes more than just that thematic concept. What I see in this scene is something that all of us have already witnessed, but there is something unique in the way Dazai nullifies Chuuya’s corruption, and their dialogue may be just them bantering and yet, their tonality is different. It is as if, we just touched a moment that is reserved only for these two and we just happened to have the privilege to witness it. In other words, there is a sort of familiarity (or intimacy) and gentleness going on at this very moment—it is cathartic. This is what I want to look into—like how did we come to this?

PART 1: His Proper Partner.

In the Japanese version, ever since the episode where Chuuya made his first debut, they call themselves “aibou” (相棒), referring to a one-on-one partnership. While “nakama” (仲間)can also refer to a partner, it has a different connotation in which the closest English equivalent of that term would be “comrade” or “acquaintance”. The closest English equivalent of “aibou” is, to no one’s surprise, “partner” (or “pal”). And it makes sense, considering that the first kanji (相) can mean “mutual”, “together”, or “each other”. So, to have Dazai and Chuuya referring to themselves as that, it just manifests their familiarity on each other.

And in their case, their “familiarity” is both their advantage and disadvantage. It is a “disadvantage” because they use it to get on each other’s nerves (both in comedic and serious situations).

However, it also serves to their advantage, especially when they have to cooperate in the battlefield. This comes into light in the Lovecraft Episode where they executed Operation Shame and Toad—Chuuya acknowledges Dazai’s tactical mentality, whereas Dazai (as he referenced Chuuya’s mastery in martial arts) let’s his partner do the grunt work. Interesting enough, this is the same episode we first see Chuuya’s Corruption (but not the first time he uses it).

Using Corruption stipulates that “familiarity”, especially in Dazai’s part who has to be present to monitor Chuuya’s physical state, therefore he is aware, not just the consequence in using Corruption, but also of Chuuya’s limit. This explains why Dazai declares that he is aware of Chuuya’s moves and “breathing pattern”, otherwise, as what he himself says, he “won’t be a proper partner”.

What is witnessed in the Lovecraft Episode is the standard protocol that Soukoku uses when they are at their last resort. So, it is not a surprise that we get to witness Chuuya using Corruption, again, when he saves Dazai in Dead Apple, except it is done differently.

Even though Dazai is ten steps ahead of the enemy, the situation is still risky and even more complicated in Chuuya’s part since he is using his ability WITHOUT Dazai present. And that he has to save Dazai first before he can get it nullified. With that being said, it requires a careful approach, one in which they know the other’s moves—Dazai knows too well how Chuuya would react. For instance, the manga version of Dead Apple demonstrates how Soukoku communicates in their operation using “codes”. As such when Dazai got himself kidnapped, no one knew about his whereabouts until Hirotsu mentions about Dazai buying a microscope (to which it leads them to a dead end). However, Chuuya—upon remembering that Dazai teases that he needs a microscope in order to see him—demands to see that microscope, breaks it, and finds the transmitter. It is a well-planned strategy in Dazai’s part where all it takes is to leave helpful clues for Chuuya to pick up and catalyze the operation. In the Dead Apple movie, he does it again:

Indeed, for the audience, it is not new to see Dazai planning ahead and having ulterior motives behind his actions. It is not new to see Chuuya executing his plans and understands his motives either. But seeing these two working together despite those four years of absence, and without physically communicating is beyond human comprehension. Almost like the microscope scene, Dazai is not there to directly tell him about his plan. Chuuya doesn’t know about the antidote until that punch as his only “clue” is that Dazai is working alone, so he sees that something is amiss.

Seeing the critical state of Yokohama, Chuuya knows that he will use Corruption, but seeing Dazai’s corpse, it gives this uncertainty on whether they can make it out alive or not. And yet, what did Chuuya do? He jumped off the plane and activates his ability, knowing that there is “no time to chicken out” or else Dazai’s plan won’t work, and they’ll end up dead. Even if it means doing the job to protect the city, it still takes guts for Chuuya to work and place his life on someone he “hates”. Despite those 4 years of absence, the scene in Dead Apple just manifests that they never doubt each other’s capabilities. And to further validate this, let’s check out their dialogue:

           Dazai: You used Corruption, believing in me? How beautiful.

           Chuuya: Yeah I did. I believe in your disgusting vitality and craftiness.

           Dazai: That was a somewhat violent way to wake up Snow White.

           Chuuya: Tch. You’re the one who hid an antidote your mouth knowing I would punch you.          

Not only does this scene perfectly parallels to the Lovecraft episode where we see Soukoku bantering while still in a critical situation, it also emphasizes the degree of their trust and how that trust has taken root from their familiarity.

Dazai: You used Corruption, believing in me? How beautiful.

Chuuya: Yeah I did. I believe in your disgusting vitality and craftiness.

Dazai’s first line is the main idea of their partnership, echoing Chuuya’s quote from the Lovecraft episode: “I used Corruption because I trust you”. This is a vital aspect in their relationship since it has been stated before in Fifteen and Stormbringer that “no one has trusted Dazai”… until Chuuya comes into the picture. Ever since their first teamwork against Rimbaud, Dazai finally has someone he can rely on both in strength and assurance, even smiling at the fact that Chuuya doesn’t even deny his proposal but merely asks for his reason.

With that being said, then it is appropriate for Dazai to say that line, touched by the idea that Chuuya still constantly trusts him. It just reminisced so much from what they have as children that it seems to this day, they never forgotten about it.

On the other hand, in Chuuya’s end, he confirms that trust and provides a reason, which is appropriate since Chuuya is Dazai’s “reason-living” like in Fifteen:

Chuuya’s line—“I believe in your disgusting vitality and craftiness”—is very similar in the excerpt from Fifteen, and this just shows how that line from the movie indicates his familiarity to Dazai. By “familiarity”, I mean that he knows his partner’s mental process and motives (as I have mentioned above). In this case, it seems like Chuuya has seen something that he and Dazai have in common: the desire to live. Of course, the latter always craves for death, but with his new viewpoint on Death, his mission in fulfilling Oda’s wish, and the fact that he is tethered to someone who wished to live, Dazai just couldn’t die. And Chuuya, being his constant companion, knows this. This is why Chuuya “believes” that whatever plan Dazai has on mind, it will always work, and in the scenario in Dead Apple it starts by taking a leap into Corruption—which is ironically, the very thing that could kill Chuuya, and by extent, would cause Dazai’s death if the plan is not well-thought or if they don’t work together. By referring to his “vitality and craftiness”, Chuuya is acknowledging his familiarity on Dazai, admitting their “rotten relationship”, and justifying his trust on him.

Dazai: That was a somewhat violent way to wake up Snow White.

Chuuya: Tch. You’re the one who hid an antidote your mouth knowing I would punch you.

Another interesting thing I find in the dialogue is Dazai’s line: “That was a somewhat violent way to wake up Snow White”. Fans think that this is Dazai flirting, where he is implying that he wants to be kissed by Chuuya the same way the prince does to Snow White. For me, I think this little dialogue is more than just fanservice since it makes sense, not only in the context of the movie containing motifs of a “poisoned” apple. I think the reference of the fairytale in this dialogue not only foreshadows his “death”, but it also highlights their dynamic whenever they work together with Dazai acting childish and Chuuya knowing that he is actually being serious (or the fact that he cracks some jokes in most Post-Corruption scenes). This is still related to the whole “familiarity” theme that I have been rambling about; as mentioned before, Dazai and Chuuya would use whatever they know about each other just to rile each other up. These moments are generally meant for comedic effect, but these teasing and bickering can serve as their advantage.

Similar to the microscope scene I have mentioned, Dazai makes that microscope comment seem like a childish joke on the surface, however, Chuuya picks this up as a clue and sees his real motive. This kind of synergy is seen again in the prologue of the movie where Dazai jokes about Chuuya getting hit by bullets when he is in close range of the enemy, and yet, the latter takes it as a warning that an ability-user is nearby. We really don’t know if Dazai leaves a Snow White-related clue for Chuuya before the events in Dead Apple (it would have been pretty cool tho), but that dynamic in the microscope incident and prologue is very similar to that dialogue we see in the movie: Dazai is being playful, but Chuuya sees and calls out his ulterior motives. This is how Soukoku works!

PART 2: The Art of Catharsis

The relationship of Soukoku in the battlefield is one of the best teamwork we have seen in the anime. Both parties are synchronized in the way that Dazai’s brains and No Longer Human, and Chuuya’s fighting skills and Corruption perfectly compliment each other. Moreover, we also see the basis of that partnership, and this is something that the creators want to highlight in this scene (in other words, how did the animators deliver this dynamic?)

In my opinion, I think the words “gentleness” and “cathartic” fit in this scene. To start off, before this moment takes place, we have witnessed Chuuya fighting the Dragon.

That scene was intense! Chuuya activates Corruption, generates into pure destruction with him yelling Dazai’s name (despite the fact that he is not supposed to be in a proper mindset). The way this scene plays out is interesting; in the shot, we see the two main figures (the Dragon and Chuuya) mostly in red—which is a very vibrant color—in contrast to the blue and green background. By using the color that pops out, the attention is on them, and it is topped with the amount of action in that moment. Not to mention, the background music, containing a rock music and a rap, elevates that energy. It is a scene that heightens the adrenaline, so the audience can empathize with Chuuya—understanding him as a character that is full of life, and also his hastiness to kill it before he runs out of time.

When that fight is over, we notice that the music alters into a string orchestra. This is a very good change because the tempo is slower—a direct contrast to the rap music—as if it is slowly bringing the audience down from the hype in the fighting scene the same way Chuuya slowly goes down and hovers Dazai’s body. The music immediately stops right on cue when the punch happens, then the audience is left in silence. Usually in films, silence is used for the purpose of anticipation. In this case, the anticipation is placed on whether Chuuya’s punch and/or the pill worked and saved Dazai.

The transition from the white background into a blue background should indicate that Dazai is alive. And yet, the animators did this subtly rather than showing Dazai’s face (like in Season 1 episode 1), just so the audience is still in the state of anticipation (add that with the white noise in the background). Furthermore, there is a fairytale quality in that shot, like this is similar to when Sleeping Beauty (in this case “Snow White”) wakes up, that’s when the colors in the castle come back.

Getting close to that iconic shot, I love how the animators keep the “camera” in the same place (Chuuya’s face), that way we can further empathize with Chuuya by seeing a close shot of his state: he was at his limit! But as soon as the blood starts moving away from the screen, we can see a bandaged hand moving to his face. And then, finally!

Words cannot describe how much I appreciate the details of that scene, especially on Dazai’s gesture. He moves his hand slowly but quick enough to nullify him right on time. Not to mention, he does not just touch his cheek but rather cups it (look at the shape of his hand!). One can say that the gentleness in Dazai’s gesture is the exact opposite to Chuuya’s punch, and this sort of contrast further highlights the catharsis in this scene. In other words, after all of that intensity with the fight and seeing Chuuya’s bloody state, it is relieving to see that familiar hand touching him, indicating that Chuuya can rest. And seeing that we witnessed and empathize with him, we know what it feels like.

With that being said, that’s why the third shot above where the hand is fully placed on his cheek and he made a short gasp is my personal favorite. It is the contrast in Chuuya’s face where we can still see “Corruption”, and Dazai’s hand to which he activates “No Longer Human”. I have seen some people complaining about how they want to see Dazai’s face in this scene; personally, I think this scene is animated brilliantly as it is. It is only fair to see a close up of Dazai’s hand to indicate that he is nullifying “Corruption”, after all, “No Longer Human” is works through touch. To top it off, the beauty in “not seeing the face” is more powerful because it leaves more to the imagination—we don’t know specifically what kind of face Dazai is making, but the way that hand moves alone is enough to tell us what he is thinking at that moment. And finally, upon contact, we see Chuuya making a slight twitch—this is when Corruption recognizes No Longer Human and deactivates. This is when Chuuya recognizes that familiar touch and knows that his partner is finally awake, so he can finally rest.

Then we have that iconic shot! Like the one I mentioned above, the camera stays in one place, only this time, it is a long shot, so the focus is on them (thus they are on the middle). Interesting enough, there is no background music in this scene, and we can’t see their expressions. Usually, in this anime, when a character is seen faceless, in order to determine what they are thinking are feeling, the animators would usually make them do a gesture or a dialogue.

In this scene, where everything is silent and their faces “unseen”, our focus goes to their exchanges. Both Mamoru and Taniyama use their “bedroom voices”, and I think it is appropriate considering that their dialogue contains a deeper meaning in regards of their relationship. In other words, as mentioned before, it may seem like another day of bantering, but with their tone, there is something sincere and intimate in what they are saying. Also, the playfulness in Dazai’s comment and Chuuya’s response hits different compared to their other moments of constant yelling. You really don’t need the close up of their faces in order to see that they are at peace in each other’s company.

In addition, the color scheme of the scene is predominantly blue, which makes sense, not just because of Dazai’s ability, but also because it highlights the serenity in the scene. The blue color, the orb, and the bandages that glide silently are animated in a way that they buffer out the red that we have seen back with Corruption, and also indicates a sense of “protection” (which is later seen in the lap scene when Dazai has to protect Chuuya from the fog). In short, the ambiance perfectly fits with how Dazai is there to give Chuuya a sense of comfort in Post-Corruption, letting him rest so that he can compensate for all that he did.

**********

The scene in Dead Apple is something that lies in between of the familiar and the new—we have seen Dazai and Chuuya in this situation before, we know how they function as a team, and we know the level of risk they are taking. But this is something that we have never seen before; like subtleness in his gestures, the softness in their tones, and the fact that these two are in a position where they are saving each other, which becomes part of their instincts. They show how much they trust each other by knowing how much they knew of each other. They acknowledge the fact that their fates are tethered regardless of the years of absence. And finally, it is not just the Prince saving Snow White, but rather: the Prince saves Snow White and Snow White saving him in return.

OK, I just literally fried my brain. If you’ve read this far, I thank you so much for your time! I am so sorry if this is too long. I welcome for any critiques or discussions. So yeah, that’s my ted-talk

[yeojaa]

stay gold.

pairing.  jjk x f!reader.  rating.  explicit.  tags.  blond!jk being a good boy?  idk.  that’s literally it.  wc. 3k.  beta reader.  @hobi-gif​, ofc.  author note.  this was meant to be pwp but i cannot shut up so here is this mess that is neither pwp nor something with a legit plotline. 🤠 blame blondie.

Having a content creator boyfriend is fun.  Usually.

You get to go on cool trips, he gives you all of the random shit his sponsors send him, and you get to preen like a cat that ate the canary when his DMs blow up with hundreds of messages.  

Sure, there are the downsides.  All his stupid pranks - the ones that piss you off when you’re trying to do your makeup, the ones that have him dunking ice cubes on you while you’re in the middle of a shower - and his perpetual recording, camera glued to his hand and if not that, then his phone.  There are the rude comments - the oh, that’s his girlfriend? He could do better was a common one - and the long hours he spends editing, holed away in his office;  the beyond inappropriate packages he gets in the mail, thongs and other things that he immediately tosses away with a reassuring tilt of his pretty head.

You don’t mind it though.  He enjoys it, thrives on it, and you’re there to support him.

But you’d never expected this.

This Adonis standing in the doorway, freshly styled strands pushed back from his forehead, glimmering gold falling across his eyes.  He looks, for lack of a better word, unreal.

(You’re not often speechless.  Can’t be, when you’re dating someone like Jeon Jungkook and everything he does either makes you laugh or infuriates you.  Boring isn’t a part of his vocabulary and you’ve learnt to keep up with his antics over the years.)

(Still, this comes close, stealing all the air from your lungs.)

“Hey, baby.”  It’s his usual greeting, offered without hesitation as he crosses the threshold and tosses his keys into the catch-all by the door.  Kicks off his chunky sneakers and peels his sweater over his head, effectively tousling the tawny threads.

He’s so handsome it’s outright disgusting, leaving you gaping up at him from your post on the couch.  Gives you very little to work with as he shimmies down the hall, grabs an apple off the kitchen island, and then not-so-gracefully plops himself down beside you.  

You still haven’t found your words by the time he takes two gigantic bites, flesh crunching between his teeth, big doe eyes sparkling like he’s stepped right out of a Disney film.

“D’you like it?”  

Did you?  Well, obviously.

You’ve never imagined Jungkook blond.  He’d gone through a phase in college, colours of the rainbow rotating through the ends of his hair.  Brown, red, orange, blue.  You’d loved each hue but this was something else entirely.  (Different even from the two months he’d spent as full-on ginger, committing far too hard to his Haikyuu!! Halloween costume.)

This version of him is steeped in some twisted fantasy, a dream crafted by years of bedtime stories and happily ever afters.  It screams Prince Charming and has you reaching for him before you know what you’re doing, threading fingers through the surprisingly soft silk that curls over his ears and looks so lovely next to the silver of his piercings.  

You mean to be gentle, to comb delicately through flax but fuck.  He looks so good you want to devour him.  (You can only imagine your face - a lovesick puppy brought home from the pound.)

There’s still apple in his mouth, juice tracking down his chin because you’re really making it quite hard for him to chew when you’ve got him like this, two hands on either side of his face, holding him in place.  Inspecting him like a piece of meat as he peers at you, deceptively innocent and amused.  “That’s a yes?”  

An answer comes in the form of a kiss, of limbs rearranging and settling directly into his lap.  Knees wide, chest to chest, you can’t even be bothered by the sickly sticky feel of his skin, the way his hands are too cold to be creeping up beneath the hem of your - his - shirt.

(Where had he put the apple?  You know it’s not finished, two bites in and left to roll all over the rug.  You’ll give him shit for that later, when you’re not so distracted.)

“You look like Barbie,”  you mumble against his lips, into the warmth of his mouth.  You ignore the way he laughs, swallowing it down with a pass of your tongue and too much spit swapped, a string of saliva caught between you when you come up for air. 

Somehow, you’re still lightheaded, all your thoughts framed into the familiar silhouette of the boy beneath you.  Cherry red lips - your fault, from all your biting and teasing and the balm you’d applied earlier - and blond hair.  Who would’ve known that was your weakness?

(Deep down, you know Jungkook as a whole is the issue.  That it’s your stupid handsome boyfriend with his lopsided smile and bunny teeth, dimples and that scar on his cheek.  This is just a new layer to be explored, another reason you love him added to the Jungkook Best Boy jar that sits front and centre in your mind’s eye.)

“Don’t say that,”  he groans, equal parts reproach and affection, palms resting where they belong, nestled over your spine.  Long fingers toy with the soft cotton of your thong, brushing over the seamless material with small repetitive motions. 

You realise then his hands aren’t the only things heating up.

The two of you have an understanding, an abiding awareness of the boundaries of your relationship and the roles you take on.  Best friend, occasional sucker for the sake of a TikTok, lover.

He knows how much you hate your dirty laundry being aired - does his very best to never post anything that might be misconstrued, ensures he only ever portrays you in a good light because the internet could be cruel.  (Even if he argued with you in the quiet of your home, he’d keep you safe outside of the four walls.)  

You know how he needs his quiet time but that sometimes, a night out was unavoidable, a part of his life he - and by extension you - couldn’t always say no to.  (Even if you were achy and tired by midnight, glaring down at your phone as he made his rounds, exchanged contact details and rambled about shit that meant nothing.)

He’s learnt to make your eggs the way you love them:  soft in the centre, covered with too much pepper.  He never washes your clothes in hot water (not after The Great Sweater debacle) and he always makes sure not to use your special memory foam pillow.  

You kiss him goodnight without fail and play with his hair until he falls asleep;  you bury your face against his chest when he’s had a long day, signing your love with the felt-tip of your lips.  You bring him fresh cut fruit when he’s been working for more than three hours and wash his hair when he’s stressed. 

Knowing each other was easy;  loving each other was like breathing.

This, though, is different.  New.  Special.  

He’s never been like this before, glazed over in the eyes, patience wearing thin.  Sat so well, picture perfect beneath you and cornsilk crown lighting his entire expression up like a halo, he’s ethereal. 

“Baby,”  he whines, grits through his teeth as you roll your hips that much slower, the glide impossibly smooth thanks to the lychee watermelon lube he’d received to his PO box.  (One of the items you hadn’t thrown away from that package, together with a handful of other toys that’d come in handy over the months.)

You’re shameless, soothing a hand across his cheek, thumb slipping past his lips.  (You ignore the noise of indignation, meet it with a twinkling laugh of your own.)  It sweeps over his tongue, pressing down in tandem with the second sound - one that echoes out of his chest, a growl that pitches into a whine and makes your ears buzz.  “Hi, baby.”

“Stop teasing.”  It’s practically begging - or as close to it as Jungkook will get.  It draws a smile and another pass of your thumb, gliding across his gums to slot against the interior of his cheek.  You’ve got him fishhooked, immobile, even as he glares up at you.

(He’s so, so handsome.  Looks utterly out of it even as he tries to harden his gaze, coerce you into doing what he wants with that stare that makes your heart lurch pathetically in your chest.)

“You don’t like this?”

You know he does - that he loves being pampered.  That he’ll rarely ask, instead pouting at you from wherever he sits until you turn to putty under his gaze and smother him in all the love you have to offer.

“I do.  I just—”  The rest of his words don’t come, stolen by a gasp when you grind against him, swollen head of his cock bumping against your clit.  He’s making a mess of you both, back arching, hips rising, hands fisted into the sheets even as he chases friction like a dog does its tail.  The warmth between your legs is so close he looks as if he’ll lose his mind, rutting against your cunt like just the right angle might get him what he wants.  “Fuck, baby.”

“I’m trying,”  you retort, mouthful of teasing that only earns you another glare, some poor semblance of one as he bites into the webbing of your hand, bucks up impatiently.

“Please.”  He tries again, a different tactic this time, all sugar-spun sweetness.  Strawberry shortcake rather than sour cherry pie, so eager to get what he wants that he’s not above pulling out all the stops.  A hand risen from the sheets, digits decorated in ink swimming over your skin, sinking into the meat of your thigh.

(He doesn’t push though.  Knows you’ll pull the moment he does.)

“Please?”  An echo chamber, endlessly teasing, and a ducked head, lips finding the sweat-slick column of his throat.  Just one drag of your tongue has him crumbling further, careful composure slipping with each swivel of your hips, the edge of your teeth.  There’s nothing but desperation radiating off him, demand choked back when you drift lower, tracing over his chest, teasing him in the ways you know best.  

It’s all so unnecessary, drawing out what he wants until he’s a goner, three seconds from combusting beneath you.  You’d give him anything he ever asked for - offer it all up on a silver plate, a meal fit for a king.  This is just fun, different and exciting. 

You relent with a minor adjustment, settling yourself against him, face dropped into the crook of his neck.  “Slowly.”

He repeats after you, uncertain and hopeful;  his hand falls further, warmth descending to pull you close, hold you still.   As much as he needs this - needs you - he loves the slow burn just as much.  The stutter of his pulse gives him away, erratic beneath your touch.  He’s a thousand miles above the clouds, floating on cloud nine;  every second passed is another tingle of his toes, a tightening of the coil in his stomach.

When he aligns himself against your core, pre-cum pearling over his tip, he does exactly as you’ve asked.  Sinks into you at such a leisurely pace you wonder if you might be the one who splinters apart, shatters into a million tiny pieces at the way he splits you open.  

“Good?”  Jungkook asks so nicely it’s impossible for you to say no, to deny him this tiny bit of reassurance.  

(Maybe it’s the way he looks, crowned in glittering gold, painted by Fra Angelico.  Or maybe it’s how his smile spills like sunshine, a peachy pink horizon dragging over the apples of his cheeks, burnt red like their namesake.)

(Whatever it is, it’s everything you want, packed perfectly and pouting.)

“Good boy,”  you purr, breath hitching once he’s sheathed to the hilt, seated so deeply within that you swear you can feel him in your throat.

You’ve never felt so full before - close to overflow, taunted and taxed by ridges and veins, each flex of his hips that drives him somehow further within your fluttering walls.  So full you might burst, that you can’t possibly hold yourself together when he begins to move, fucking you tenderly, as if he can feel the weight of the moment.  

There’s something happening.  A shift in the air, in the axis of your planet that revolves around him.  It falls on its side, spins wildly out of control, and you’re emotional.  It’s not just his hair - that gilded crown he wears, heavy heavy heavy like aureate coin - or the impossible dark of his eyes - blown out, an entire galaxy devoured by the supermassive black hole that is his pupils.  It’s the things you can’t see, the pieces beneath skin, soft and jammy, the tongue-tart sweetness.

(The thing with Jungkook is that he doesn’t let go, refuses to fully submit, always so careful to regulate his voice when things get to be too much.  He’ll blink back his tears, stifle a sob, even as his breath disappears from nothing but a delicate brush of his chest.)

You take his vulnerability as a treasure, hold it close and craft a chest for its home, promise to keep it safe even while you're the one who poses the most danger.  When it’s your teeth and tongue that eviscerates the soft of his flesh, makes him keen and gasp, heart pounding like hooves, beat imprinted against, under, into your palms.

When he begs you to move - manages the request in a broken articulation that makes you giggle - you give, swivel your hips in a figure eight, an infinity of motion that never ends.  

You take all he has to offer and sing your praise into the wet of his mouth.  Lick over teeth and gums and trade spit for love;  know there’s only more where that came from, that the fountain begs to overflow as he finally - finally - breaks that much more, gripping your hips gentle as can be.  Hands soothe up and down, an unspoken plea in how he thumbs your hip bones, taps hopefully over the small of your lower back.

He doesn’t need to speak for you to hear him. 

It’s more than a kiss forming against your skin.  It’s a confession of adoration, sealed by the frame of his mouth, cemented by the sting of his teeth.  It’s I love you without saying it, plastering the pecks along your spine, placing them safely in all the spaces you’ve created for him.

It’s also an apology, because he’s just torn your castle to pieces, shattered your entire fantasy into smithereens.

He hadn’t expected you to react the way you had, rolling off him as if he hadn’t just been chasing the sweet bliss of release, splitting your walls and making you wail above him.  It has him pouting, utilising the one thing that melts you down like candle wax.  

“Baby,”  he whines, reaching for you, needy and horny and so hard he imagines all the blood has rushed from his head straight to his cock.  Everything spins when he moves with you, scrambles across the California king to paw at your hip.  

He’d been so good for you - wasn’t that enough?

“Don’t,”  you grumble, searing his insides with just one look.  (It shouldn’t be as hot as it is.)

“But—”  A plea punctuated by groping hands, eager as always, smoothing over the swell of your ass, flesh squeezing between knuckles.  He’d normally let this go - fuck into his closed fist in the shower after he’s done something to cut playtime short - but he can’t help it now.  He’s been on the edge for so long, lit up in neon that demands to be seen, heard, felt.

“Don’t dye it again.”  

Oh?

That has him reeling, laughing, such a stupid grin across his face.  It devours everything else, spearing dimples into place as he pulls you against him.  You can feel his smile forming against your skin, the wet drag of his tongue as he sucks a welt into the sensitive spot of your shoulder.

“You wanna play with Barbie, baby?”  It’s such a stupid line - utterly sophomoric and riddled with teasing and yet the delivery has you shivering in his arms, equally childish huff splitting your lips.

Jungkook doesn’t listen to you often - not about silly things like this - but he figures he can, just this once.

“I won’t,”  he chirps, sneaking another kiss, stamping another smooch.  It’s working exactly as he wants, stilling your protesting limbs as he cages you to him, slips his hand back where he most wants to be.  The glide is perfect, a mixture of arousal and fruity lubricant;  he slips a finger in without resistance, grinding his palm against your clit. 

“R-really?”  Of course you don’t believe him.  He messes with you too often, plays too many pranks.  (He deserves that.) 

His promise comes too easy, driven by how nice you feel, how pretty you sound when he presses another digit in along the first.  The scissor of his fingers is languid, exploring for the spots that make you breathless as he hums a noise of affirmation against your neck;  he fucks you open as if he has to, as if you aren’t already dripping, eagerly sucking him in.  “Really.”  

“Put it in then, Ken doll.”

He laughs - and then he does.  In bed, with your knee hooked over his, pace slow and sure and sinful.  In the shower, bent over with his hands bruising your hips.  In the kitchen for a late night snack, another apple in his mouth and your hands in his hair.

Maybe blonds did have more fun. 

tag list.  @neverthefirstchoice​ @youwannabelostandnotbefound​ @codeinebelle​

[ratcandy]

Subcon Forest Analysis

Hi everyone I'm here to spill my aggressive overflowing thoughts on Subcon Forest and what it represents because it's been driving me insane since I finished the Sleepy Subcon time rift. Okay let's go. Obvious spoilers for AHIT ahead so proceed with caution.

This is also very, very long.

Disclaimer/warning: I will be discussing abusive/unhealthy relationships in this analysis. I mean. Vanessa. Come on. Also, there is a section on the nooses, and that delves, of course, into mentions of suicide. It will be sectioned off and easily skipped, but if you'd rather be safe and skip the entire post, that's completely understandable! Please stay safe. <3

Alright. Main point to be had here:

Subcon Forest is a giant extended metaphor for Snatcher's mind and character.

You all get to now listen to me spout nonsense about metaphors and symbolism because I'm a sucker for analysis and I'm given an opportunity to go ham. So perish.

The Ice

Let's start with the most obvious and most glaring thing in Subcon. The ice. It's everywhere. Not just outside Vanessa's manor, either; no, it's throughout the village, too. Shows up in the well and in random locations sprinkled about. When it comes to literal plot, we know that ice is just what lingers after Vanessa's wintery curse on Subcon. But going deeper and analyzing the meaning behind it?

Well, let's look at this from the perspective I've suggested. Subcon Forest being an extended metaphor for Snatcher's mind and character. A symbol for Vanessa then litters his mind, enough where it's certainly noticeable at first but blends in more easily once more of Subcon is unlocked to Hat Kid. This is clearly meant to be his lingering trauma, whether or not he wants to acknowledge it. Which he doesn't, as he never mentions it directly in his forest (that I can recall). Her influence plagues him, as to be expected with the traumatic experiences he went through with her. Breaking the ice is something Hat Kid must do in order to fulfill the wishes of the Fire Spirits (another subject I'll get into shortly), which, if self-indulgently playing with the found family idea, could mean that Hat Kid is helping him heal; if indirectly. Even if fulfilling the Fire Spirits' wish to die is... counterproductive, in that measure, which I'm now getting ahead of myself so hold on a sec!!

Vanessa. Ice. Everywhere. Traces of it all over his forest. That's the effects of an abusive relationship! Especially in a worst-case scenario where... yknow! One party in the relationship dies! So of course ice would be everywhere.

In and of itself, ice is a common symbol in literature and other forms of media. In this case, it's presented as an antagonistic force; emphasis is placed upon freezing and the harm that comes with it. The cold is unwelcoming, threatening, merciless. Snow can act as an insulating force, at least, but ice cannot. It can only make things colder.

A slight stretch: Seeing as this game deals a lot with time shenaniganry, I'm not sure if it'd be too out of left field to connect "freezing" with the theme of time. Yknow. Frozen in time. Both parties here, Snatcher and Vanessa, would be in this frozen state. One largely repressing it and never fully moving on, and the other doomed to her isolation ever since the event in question. They never moved past that moment after the Prince and florist's interaction.

The Fire Spirits (& the Portraits)

I'll put a slight warning here for suicidal ideation, if only because... it's the Fire Spirits we're talking about. It's not as grossly in-detail as the noose discussion will be, though, so make of that what you will.

To me, the Fire Spirits are a very interesting case. After all, they're fire. They're a direct contrast to the ice, thus being the only thing we're shown that could potentially melt it. The Fire Spirits, in my opinion, represent hope or a strength to continue. A strength to move on after troubles of the past.

...And that hope wants to die.

The Fire Spirits wish to burn out, to leave this mortal coil and abandon the forest to the cold. They make no effort to melt the ice, they simply dance, blissfully ignorant towards their surroundings. This being a metaphor for Snatcher's own hope for moving on is made all the more obvious by the fact he wants them gone. The first contract is to kill the Fire Spirits, to kill the hope. Perhaps he believes that sort of thing to be fruitless or naïve, so it only clutters his mind or has him foolishly optimistic at points. So, get rid of it. And the hope is happy to oblige.

(That, or their willingness to leave the forest to its own suffering and not aid in the ice's thaw angers him. Besides the whole "bark bark growl I can't get to parts of my forest because of them!!" which... also could represent a naïve hope clouding his judgement, not allowing him to see a bigger picture. But hope can't all be lost if one wants to move forward...)

A little side-tangent now on the portraits! And it's another slight stretch but the idea is in my head and I can't let it go. Portraits are another common symbol, usually being a physical representation of a memory or idea. For our purposes, let's say they're memories. I know in canon they appear to just hold souls captive or something but for now we're just Ignoring That(tm). The Fire Spirits have to burn the portraits to disappear. See where I'm going with this, maybe?

Instead of handling bad memories (or perhaps memories of the past in general) in any healthy manner, Snatcher chooses to forget/repress them, which just allows his hope to progressively die out.

I'm really hoping this is making sense because it makes a lot of sense to me but I might be insane rn

The Fact that this is a Forest

Forest symbolism breakdown! What's a forest usually mean in literature? "Traditionally, the forest has come to represent being lost, exploration and potential danger as well as mystery and 'other worldliness'." Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. That certainly works with the whole aesthetic we've got going on. Wood usually is life, growth and strength. But the trees of subcon are all dead. So what about that? It stands for death, big whoop, very spooky, we know Snatcher's dead and so are the children, yadda yadda wowie wowie. But. :) The trees in Subcon look a lot like trees that were scorched in a forest fire. Don't believe me?

(You could also argue they're just regular marsh/swamp trees bUT SSHHSUUHSH HANG ON HEAR ME OUT LOOK LOOK,)

What I believe to have happened was a controlled fire to rid the forest of the majority of its ice and snow. Likely done by Snatcher. It leaves behind a very desolate, depressing, barren scene... but. What else do dead/burnt trees symbolize? Rebirth. After all, controlled fires happen to make way for new trees to take the place of old ones. Some trees only drop seeds in fires/hot temperatures, so new ones take root and begin anew. Weird. It's almost like... I dunno. Snatcher was given some sorta second chance, given he's not just a corpse in Vanessa's cellar. So were the subconites. Another life given then by Snatcher. All connected I tell ya!!

Generally, aside from that, forests have many connotations. Mystery, isolation, claustrophobia; a place to dwell on regrets, or the past; to worry over one's future; to seek escape from or escape inside of... hmgmrnmm!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T / W -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Nooses

The t/w is given at the top and another cut-off point will follow the bottom of this, for those that would like to skip. This will delve into talk of suicide and abusive tactics used by abusers. Please don't read if it will upset you or make you feel unsafe!!!

Personally, I cannot stand the nooses, but that's just due to my own triggers. Were there a way to hide those from the game or replace the damned talking ones with anything else. I would take it. In a heartbeat. But I can still appreciate the potential analysis to be had with them. So now i'm gonna talk about it despite how uncomfortable it will make me to do so. yEa

So, what about 'em? There are three types of nooses seen in Subcon. At least that I remember but I didn't really go looking for them. Empty ones, ones containing empty subconites, and the talking ones.

Nooses in general obviously can hint towards suicidal thoughts or behaviors of the characters that interact with them. If saying Subcon is Snatcher's mind, it could suggest that he suffered from some sort of suicidal thoughts in life (or currently, if second death is possible... or if he never truly died... or maybe he's trying to figure that out...which has given me... a separate idea...uh oh). But. And hear me out. Different perspective.

A talking noose. I hate them with a fiery passion that is unmatched. But think of the packed symbolism of a noose that talks. And think more about what it says. "I wouldn't mind being strapped around a cute neck like yours." "Be careful now, I don't want to see you meet a miserable end anywhere, but with me." Oddly, a lot of what the noose says seems almost... endearing? One could argue it's a way of luring someone to put it around their necks, which in and of itself is a whole lot to unpack when it comes to suicidal thoughts beckoning one forward; painting itself as something romantic, almost. But. Here's a wild idea, now. What if the nooses, at least the talking ones, are another symbol for Vanessa?

They're tinted blue, after all. While Vanessa's scheme is more red, one could argue two things: One, ice. Blue. Ice. yeah. Or two, the fact that Snatcher's scheme is more purple. Blue and red... make... purple. So, for all we know, Snatcher's current state was a compound effort between suicidal thoughts and Vanessa's treatment of him. Perhaps he even found a way to put himself out of his misery before freezing/starving to death. (I know he has dialogue that argues against that, but... are we certain Snatcher would be the kind to admit suicide over freezing to death?... I don't think so.)

At any rate, a common threat by those in "control" of an abusive relationship is that of killing themselves should the other person not do as they desire. It's a cruel form of emotional manipulation to get their way, worse off if the other party is an empathetic individual. As a person who has been the empathetic individual in relationships like this... I would know. I've been here, unfortunately So, it's not completely out of the question to say Vanessa could've used some tactic like that, even before the whole... cellar ordeal. Did she? I dunno. I'm tossing ideas around. But if she did, the threats of such would sit around in the Prince's mind easily. Even if she has a reputation of not going through with it. It doesn't matter. That shit sticks with you forever, that scare, the potential of it ever being true, is horrifying and it ruins you. I'm projecting, Squirtle.

Still. A noose cannot hang itself. It has to have a victim.

...yea.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T / W PASSED -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Misc. Ideas

- The spiders: Aside from the usual things spiders can be chalked up to symbolizing - toxicity, alluring danger, just... general pain - I like the potential wordplay that can happen here. Yknow. A black widow. Say the Prince and Vanessa were married when one died. What would that leave Vanessa? A widow. ...She's red and black, too. Yknow. Like a black widow. HA wordplay is fun isn't it?

- Snatcher's tree: Love this place, love sitting in here. But not the point! The inside of Snatcher's tree is such a harsh juxtaposition to the rest of Subcon that it kinda throws ya off guard. After all, the dark, purples and blues then contrasted with the bright warm colors of the inside. Even the music switches over. The thorns outside aren't present indoors. Ohh yeah this is gonna be on the nose as hell but the Tree(tm) is 100% representing Snatcher's appearance/put-on personality vs. his truer nature. Spooky outside with thorns, foreboding, unwelcoming. Then the more comfortable interior. VULnerable. Have I even mentioned that the tree is HOLLOW I mean COME ON. The sturdiness of that tree? Nonexistent. He's not a sturdy guy at all no matter how he fronts

- Intrusions are unwelcome: Snatcher does not like the fact that Hat Kid sticks around in his forest. His personal space. His mind. In fact he tries desperately to get rid of her after their fight, not wanting her presence in his forest at all. He has no problem providing more contracts later on with the Death Wish thing, and he finds great entertainment in messing around with Hat Kid, so it's not just a weird sudden hatred he has for her; it's the fact that. After she's finished being useful, he no longer wants her around, lest she find some things she shouldn't find. Now he's just uncomfortable with her in his personal boundaries. Could just be a denial that she's helped him heal (breaking ice, stealing from Vanessa, being something interesting for his kids to interact with) or just not really wanting a child to get wrapped up in. All that. Most likely the former. Considering the amount of joke-hints he drops regarding his background during his Death Wish dialogue. I see you funny man, making jokes out of your trauma as a coping mechanism. Punts him

Annnd I think that's all I got, for now! I'll make an update post if I get any more sporadic ideas. If you read this whole thing, thank you!! and also!! Wow that was a lot!! Hell world. Please feel free to elaborate on any of my points or debate with me on em!! I'm always open to other ideas, just be aware that if I disagree I am not shy when it comes to debate hehehe, tho I won't be aggressive to any extent I prommy!!

Alrighty. goes to sleep goodnight