#mob is living proof that people like that CAN have friends

[orphicmusings]

nothing’s gonna hurt you, baby

summary: the aftermath of what happened in skyhaven with pre-relationship sylus. hurt/comfort, exploring mc’s trauma.

A simultaneous sigh blooms from both of your lungs as the last wanderer crumbles into oblivion. The dust of its essence floated up to the polluted night sky of the N109 zone, painting artificial stars for the pair of victors below. Sylus lifts his gaze to you after he scrapes what’s left of the aftermath from his fingernails. He looks infuriatingly unaffected. You, however…

“You look like shit.” He remarks playfully, his eyes softening as he holds out his hand to help you up. You, like he anticipates, softly slap it away and get up on wobbly legs. “Fuck off.” You retort, still trying to catch your breath, and he simply smiles- striding next to you and subtly offering you his weight to lean on. You tried stubbornly standing on your own, but found yourself surrendering to his quiet help as you walked back to his bike.

“I’m not letting you ride back to Linkon like this.” He huffed, handing you his spare helmet, the one that is practically yours at this point. “Spend the night at the base.” Coming from him, it sounded more of a purring command than a gentle suggestion. “Get some beauty sleep.”

You had felt your muscles tense and your heart clenched as you were rapidly reminded of the last time you stayed over someone else’s place. The sound of doors locking, the pills, the confusion, the breathing man that you still mourned. Before you could refuse, though, a traitorous yawn escaped your throat. You knew he was right, that you were in no shape to travel home, and it’s not like he could exactly traipse into Linkon at the moment to accompany you. Besides, you’ve been fighting alongside him for a while now, and while he has little weaknesses, you’re willing to exploit them if need be. “Alright.” You breathe your surrender as you put the helmet on, bracing yourself for his driving skills.

Luke and Kieran greet you at the door like eager puppies. What happened, boss? Boss lady? Did ya kill something? How many? How bloody? Any guts?

Sylus held out a commanding hand and answered for you, thankfully. “Don’t ambush the poor girl, she’s beat up.”

You rolled your eyes at that. “I’m not beat up-”

“Come.” He holds his arm out for you, and you defeatedly take it, blindly following wherever he deigns to go.

“My head…” You groaned at the harsh overhead kitchen light being flicked on, rubbing your temples. “Does the big bad mob boss happen to have ibuprofen?”

“I’m not headache proof, believe it or not.” He exhaled a small chuckle. “Sit down.” He ushered you to the sofa across from the kitchen table. You obliged, but not because he told you to, of course. You were achey, dirty and exhausted. He held a glass of water in one hand and two pills in the other, and you hesitated slightly as you let him give them to you. Turning the pills over in your fingers with a squint of your eyes, you looked for the label etched into the chalky red circles to identify that it was, in fact, ibuprofen.

Sylus noticed. Of course he noticed, he always does. “What?” He tilts his head, confused, but his tone still holds a hint of safe and familiar teasing. “You think I’m slipping you something?”

Swallowing back those nagging memories again along with the medicine, you force a chuckle. “Can never be sure with a lawless scoundrel like you, can I?”

He grinned, one of those rare smiles of his, toothy and reaching for his ruby eyes. “I may be a lawless scoundrel, sweetheart, but I’m not a monster.”

Not a monster, because a monster would do that.

Your best friend in the whole world would do that.

A deep breath left you, ready to be rid of this conversation topic. “Can I take a shower?”

His wide grin melted down to his signature smug smirk once again. “In which wing?”

Sylus’s living situation was fucking ridiculous. Four bathrooms with showers, three of them with tubs. For, what, three people? You shake your head in disbelief as he leads you to a guest room. Just as lavish as the rest of the place, the first thing that stares back at you is the neatly made king sized bed. A leather futon sits across it, right next to an enormous closet. Before you can gawk at any other evidence of luxury in the room, he shuts the door behind you. Your gaze instinctively flies to the knob, the phantom click still ringing in your ears. Your shoulders hunch, posture stilling as you find yourself waiting for it— but the door remains unlocked. If Sylus noticed, he gave you the grace of ignoring it and deciding he teased you enough for now. He opens the closet, unhooking a hanger from inside, draping a plush back bathrobe from it. “This should fit you.” You ran your hands along the fluffy material, unable to stop touching it. “And could I wash my clothes after-“

“I will.” He assures you with an interruption. “Leave them outside the door. I’ll find something laying around for you to change into so you don’t have to wait for them to dry.” You nodded, not expecting this level of consideration from him. It brings an irritating, fond heat to your cheeks. “Right. Thank you.”

“Just being a good host.” He smirks, opening the bathroom door. The bathroom was, of course, also fucking ridiculous. Dark marble walls, spotless black tile floors. A black Japanese bathtub next to the spacious shower stall. Woody, spicy potpourri wafted through the air from a bowl on the sink. He moves to shut the door, and you turn. “Um…” Swallow. “Is it okay to keep the door unlocked?” He frowned in confusion, and you quickly added, ��It’s the steam. Too much in an enclosed space, I get a headache and I already have one, so I-“

“Okay.” He simply agrees, leaving you no room to over-explain and lie further. You’re almost taken aback with the ease he’s treating you with, but if you think about it, he’s always just accepted. He may question once or twice, but always nods his head without judgment.

You showered all of the blood and grime off your skin, but the reminder of Skyhaven clung under your fingernails no matter how much you scrubbed. It was something you had been pushing away from the forefront of your mind for weeks, almost a month now.

It’s not what you think it is, you remind yourself as you clench your fist, watching the hot water droplets roll off your knuckles. It’s Caleb. He was trying to protect me…

“No, we’re not doing this right now!” You mumbled aloud to yourself. Think, think, think of something else. You abruptly turned the valve to the wall, the water turning freezing cold. Your breathing seemed to slow down with the ice hitting your veins, and by the time you caught two chills, you stepped out and toweled off. The robe felt nice against your damp skin, the fuzz of it all absorbing the water droplets quickly. Opening the door, you see the clothes Sylus left for you in a neat pile: two items. A black satin button down with an “S” monogrammed into the breast pocket with golden embroidery, and grey basketball shorts. A dry snort found its way out of your nose. What a look.

You swam in them, of course, but in a cozy way. You folded the waistband of the shorts until they would aptly rest on your hips, and you didn’t mind the way the shirt’s sleeves hung past your fingers. The shirt smelled like him. Like his stupidly nice cologne, the familiar scent of spices and leather on the collar.

You let your exhausted body drive you to sleep.

The door is locked.

The eyes you used to seek comfort in refuse to soften.

You blindly take his sleeping pills.

The door is locked.

He pins you down on the sofa, next to a photo of the two of you in a frighteningly similar position, play-fighting and laughing.

He threatens to wrap a collar around your throat.

Your pleas fall on deaf ears.

The man in front of you is breathing, but he is long dead.

The door is locked.

Your heart drops you awake, out of breath and eyes watery.

You are not in your bed.

Where are you?

You push the covers off you before you could even remember, rushing to swing the door open. The force of the mahogany hitting the wall got the attention of your gracious host.

“Sweetie…” A deep voice rumbled up your spine. Sylus.

You’re with Sylus.

The pet name lacked all the familiar playful condescension, more of a brace, a concerned approach to a wild, wounded animal. “What’s wrong?”

You don’t answer at first, your clouded mind still assessing the situation. Your shoulders relax a fraction as you register your surroundings, Sylus’s base. You spent the night here after a hunt. You’re with Sylus, you want to be here, and the door was unlocked. Your grip on the doorknob loosens. Sylus slowly comes out from behind you and into your field of vision. “Sit.” He ushers you back into the room, sitting on the bed and patting the silk sheets. You slowly obey, perching on the bed with your knees hugged to your chest. A gentle expression paints his face, something you could’ve sworn you’ve never seen before. “I’m going to ask again.” He urges softly, slowly, the brisk command his tone usually carried melted away.

You can lie to anyone in your life. You could have said it was a bug in your blankets. A noise, he thought of an intruder. Even a nightmare about something else. You can lie to anyone in your life, except for the man in front of you who looks worried for the first time you’ve seen it. You can lie to anyone in your life, except for the man who seems to know your very soul despite only knowing you for a handful of months.

You don’t even try, clenching your fists so tight you’re sure your fingernails would draw blood out of the meat of your palm.

“I can’t tell you…” You murmured, holding back the flood. “Because if I do, it becomes real.”

He frowned, his head tilting to the side slightly. He pushed a soft smile out of the corner of his mouth. “I won’t tell reality if you won’t, sweetheart.”

You exhaled out of your nose shortly, an amused puff of air followed by a sniffle. “No, I’m…it’s serious.”

“I know.” He sat back on his elbows, blanketing the atmosphere with a sense of leisure and ease. That was something you had to admit he was good at. “I’ve noticed.”

You turn to him. “What?”

“You checked the pills I gave you.” He started. “I thought that was a one off, maybe you being extra careful, but then you announced you were gonna shower with the door unlocked-“

You scoffed shakily. “Okay, I didn’t announce-“

“The point is…” He interrupted. “You’ve been…off tonight.”

You don’t know how to answer. You know that at this point, if you open your mouth, the tears will start free falling.

“You don’t have to explain.” Fuck him for always reading your mind. “But you just need to tell me you’re alright. No guest feels unsafe under this roof.”

“It’s not you.” You assure shakily, resting your chin on your knees. “It’s…a long story.”

He nodded, accepting again. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

“Um…” You suck in a breath through your nose. Here we go. The tube of toothpaste is squeezed. Your voice is slow, measured as you continue. “Remember about three weeks ago I went to Skyhaven?”

You began to unload. From the top. He knew of the explosion, the one you wrongfully blamed him for. The reminder of that moment brings a flash of mortified heat to your cheeks, expecting him to bring it up. You pause for it, the tease, the coy ‘Yes, kitten, I’m so bad,’ but it doesn’t come. His eyes just pave a delicate path down your face, waiting for you to continue. You watch them widen slightly when you tell him your childhood best friend survived, and that you found him up there. Your words shake and choke in your throat when you get to the next part, tears pricking the back of your eyes. You squeeze them shut, and feel a feather-light weight on your hand; his covering yours. A soft affirmation, a silent I’ve got you. The action is so tender, it pushes even more tears to your waterline. You purse your trembling lips at the gentleness of it all, the opposite of the force you two exuded over one another when you first met. You shoot him point blank in the chest, and he holds your hand like it’s precious gold.

“Sweetie…” He looks at you as if the sight of your face twisted in tears makes him violently ache. “Don’t cry.”

Which of course, makes you cry more. He closes the distance between you within a second, pulling you into his side. “I’m trying not to.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know.” He whispers gently, rubbing his thumb over your bare shoulder, the collar of his shirt hanging off of you. “It’s okay. Take your time.”

It takes a few minutes to gather the words, because how exactly do you say, I think my best friend held me hostage in his home and slipped me pills but I think it’s not really him based on zero evidence?

His thumb stopped its soothing rhythm. “He what?”

You cringe and stammer. You feel caught, for some irrational reason. “I-I know what it sounds like, but-”

“No.” He shook his head, his tone still soft but firm. “No, you don’t have to protect him.” He has to bite back the snarl in his voice, fight to keep his words gentle. “Not after he does this…” He wipes a tear from your cheek, his fingers lingering on the skin for a moment. “Not after he does this to you.” His voice shakes alongside yours, for different reasons. “You don’t need to tell me anything more, but you don’t protect him, either.”

You look up at him, drawing in a deep breath. It makes you realize that’s exactly what you’ve been doing all this time, refusing to acknowledge it. While he was ruining you, you were protecting his memory. At the same time, though, what you know about the professor and Caleb’s abnormal behavior flipping like a switch makes you doubt it was fully him that did this to you. Even if it wasn’t, it doesn’t mean it didn’t affect you so deeply that you’re crying into the arms of the person you’d least expect. You watch his fists clench. “He didn’t…” A hesitation. “He didn’t touch you, did he?”

You vehemently shake your head and you could hear a small breath of relief. “It wasn’t like that.” You go to explain again, to defend him, but stop yourself. “It was so scary.” He breathes a deep sigh, tightening his arms around you.

“I know.” He whispers. “I know, sweet girl, but you were brave.”

You scoff tearfully. “No I wasn’t.”

“You’re here.” He pointed out, brushing his hand through your hair. “Not there. I know your prowess firsthand.”

A pathetic half-laugh exits your chest, followed by more sobs. He holds you even tighter as you cling to his grounding familiarity. He does that for as long as you need it, waiting patiently as he assures you you did the right thing, that you’re safe with him, that he could walk into Linkon and take you home right now, bounty be damned; whatever it is you need to hear.

“I’ve got you.” He whispers into your hair. Your head is atop his chest, laying down now. Your eyes are closed, and he can tell you’ve cried yourself to sleep. “Always have. Always will.”

When your breaths turn steady, he moves slightly to get his phone from his pocket. One hand on your back, the other on the keyboard, he types a message to Luke and Kieran.

Farspace Fleet Colonel. Lives in Skyhaven. Name’s caleb. Need any and all information there is to know ASAP.

Another message.

Boss Lady will not let you hurt him, as much as I am dreaming the different ways I could make him hurt right now. Do not go after him. Just watch.

Two pairs of thumbs up from the twins follow the message, not needing any further instruction or explanation. He locks his phone and leans his head against the pillow, giving you a soft kiss on the forehead. It’s quiet now, the only sound surrounding him are your soft breaths and Mephisto’s caws into the night as he suddenly takes a trip up north.

[liketwoswansinbalance]

What's something that you heavily disagree with??

Hmm... multiple, closely-related things come to mind. Keep in mind that I am human, biased by default and probably defensive as all (or most) humans are, and that no one has to agree with me. Anyone is allowed to argue with me. I will not mind being questioned or examined. (Also, why this question? Just curious.)

Anti-intellectualism. I can somewhat understand people who may not trust experts or science. They probably have their reasons or personal proof not to. However, I would (in most cases) not trust anyone who subscribes to anti-intellectualism. I'm not sure, but I think I would not think highly of myself if I were forced to live a simple life and do "ordinary" or manual labor type of things. Nothing is wrong with any of these things. I just think I would not be content and would feel unimportant in my head. I would probably judge myself, even if I wouldn't want to criticize others.

Mob mentality. Dumb mobs that are too sure of themselves sound very scary. I wouldn't know, but in theory the entire idea is just... not good. Dangerous. Unstable. With this, I have the vague idea that if there's anything in this world to be feared, it's not necessarily (or not always powerful) individuals but more so when deindividuation strikes and affects swaths of people at a time. I wouldn't say rule by one person would automatically be better, but I have a distrust of any image where unorganized crowds exist or when any decision is unanimous.

Actually, that adds another item to this list:

Certain unanimous decisions. Basically, groupthink. The fact that people sometimes suppress the truth or necessary fact just to get along.

^They do not feel right in certain contexts. If everyone agreed, I might feel like something about the situation were wrong? Are those involved brainwashed? I think I don't trust collective judgment. I'm not sure whether this is learned or instinctual, but I know for a fact that multiple psychological concepts prove me right in that people collectively or gathered en masse are... far from ideal, let's say.

Relatedly, extrajudicial punishment and vigilante justice.

Anarchy as a concept probably? No laws? No regulations? I would not trust a world with free rein, knowing human nature is imperfect and that we live in a fallen world. I know we are a selfish species and that we need order, social contracts, various things, etc. to keep the less ethical than average few(?) in check. I claim we are selfish because I doubt that for most people selflessness comes easily in an all-loving way. For instance, do you prioritize your family, friends, or your community/nation over the rest of the world or anyone you do not know personally? Many people do this, so I’d argue we all possess a degree of selfishness, even if it isn’t obvious.

EDIT: Silly but—I was re-reading this and realized that I might be starting to sound like TBOSAS Coriolanus because I've been reading some fics lately. So, correction: my reason for thinking humans need laws and the thought of (reasonable) consequences is not as bad as his. I promise I do not think humans are brutes. I just think we sometimes can lose sight of what's right and that we need need reminders or tools in place to remind us of (self-)restraint, to remind us, that, just because we can justify anything to ourselves in our own minds, we still could be acting with bad conduct and should not. If we are clever enough to create beneficial laws, we should be good enough to follow them.

Lastly, lack of education/simplistic morality? I'm not sure how to put it, but I'm aware certain conditions are more likely to cause violence to break out. I think this is true statistically and am not trying to cast judgment, but I personally do not approve of unprincipled, animalistic, immoral, immoderate, reckless, or unrestrained people, especially those with zero impulse control or who live by their ids. I think everyone should be taught conscious decision-making, if possible and if they are capable.

If someone lives by their first thoughts, executed by their hands like thoughtless children, I would definitely not trust them. I also hate the thought of brutality or primitiveness in general and I don't like how people mistrust intentionality. Yes, anyone can have bad intentions, but sometimes, I believe deliberating over intentions or acting with intention is proof that something (a course of action?) has been thought through. It's one step above being animals, children, or potentially, uneducated. Of course, having intention doesn't automatically makes someone more moral, but being able to pause, think, and decide could prevent a lot from going wrong, or prevent people from doing the above and taking justice into their own hands, especially if they are misinformed or acting from very personal or unfair motives. I believe the world would be partially bettered if criminals or criminals-to-be did not act on impulse or with unclear heads.

Essentially, anything that puts emotionally-charged or hot-headed people (plural) (especially those with grudges or vendettas) in charge of anyone's lives is kind of disarming to me. And while it may not be immediately true, I see assembled people as more dangerous than one outspoken individual—unless the one has widespread influence over many.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

What's different about Hatano, part 2

(Part 1 is here; part 3 and part 4 were posted later.)

The second thing about Hatano that isn’t like other characters who’ve chased after Mob is the fact that he has a unique relationship with…well, let’s say Mob’s equally unique experience of reality. So first, a little background on that. 

Mob’s version of reality

Most people in Mob’s world don’t experience it the way he does. It’s not just that he’s one of the few who realizes they’re all living in BL World, though that’s a big part of it. (The only other person who does, as far as we know, is Mayama, the mangaka who has some degree of control over Mob’s story. Though, interestingly, he actually didn’t realize he lived in a BL manga world until Mob told him in season 1.) 

In most of his relationships, Mob is completely inauthentic. His priority is remaining a side character, and sincerely connecting with others not only doesn’t serve that goal, it has a lot of potential to undermine it. He does seem to care about his family somewhat, particularly Ayato. But that’s about it. 

Except that he has one other relationship, of a sort: his relationship with us, his audience. It’s kind of strange, when you think about it. Mob’s whole thing is being a side character. And yet, he narrates his own story to us in a way that’s unmistakably protagonist-like. Maybe he justifies it through his emphasis on advising us on how to evade story traps like him. He may not have anyone else who shares his awareness of how BL World operates, but offering advice on how it works and how to avoid L with a B implies that maybe one of these days, someone else will embrace side character status like him. Maybe someday he won’t be alone. 

For now, his voiceover comments are a big part of his personality, and they’re very distinct. Sometimes Mob goes so far as to overtly break the fourth wall, like in the first episode of season 3, both when he brags about escaping the situation with Kikuchi and boasts that he’s BL-proof (above), and later in that episode, when he asks us if we’ve guessed yet why he’s exercising (below). (And of course, every single time “Bubble Mob” appears in the corner of the screen, he does nothing but directly address the audience.)

The rest of the time, he does this in a more subtle way. His voiceover commentary isn’t like a typical voiceover in a show or movie that’s less self-aware. If we watch a something that uses voiceovers in a typical way, the person speaking doesn’t acknowledge who they’re speaking to, or even that they're speaking to anyone. In most stories, unless some kind of context is used to explain who is being addressed (e.g. a frame story), calling attention to the fact that the voiceover implies that someone is being spoken to would undermine the realism of the story. Mob never acknowledges that he’s the protagonist of his own TV series, and in fact doesn’t seem to be aware of it. (Well, except when he does things like speculate about whether there will be another season.) But he constantly acknowledges the viewer through his advice and narration. He may not know how or why, but he knows there’s someone out there listening to him. 

So Mob goes through his world with this important knowledge that practically no one else shares, pretending to have friendships and so forth but never forming any sort of authentic bond with anyone (with the possible exception of Ayato), and the closest thing he has to a real friend who he can be honest with is the audience. 

And the other characters he interacts with don’t seem to notice any of this, even when he shows outward signs of how he’s experiencing this world. Sometimes he makes his observations out loud instead of in a voiceover, but no one seems to bat an eye. He regularly says and does things in front of Ayato that strike him as strange, but when Mob shrugs them off, Ayato does too. 

Hatano’s relationship to Mob’s experience

Most of the time, Hatano seems to be like the other characters in Mob’s world. Despite his keen interest in Mob, he usually doesn’t seem to see how he’s different from other people. Except that occasionally, he does! Every so often, he sees into Mob’s reality in a way that other characters can’t. 

The first time we see this happen, he hasn’t even met Mob since the interaction they had when they were children. At the end of episode 2, Mob’s voiceover tells us, “What I didn’t know at the time was that a destined age-gap love was looming just around the corner.” Hatano stands in the foreground watching a blissfully ignorant Mob walk away in the background. Then “Bubble Mob” appears in his little green circle in the lower left corner of the screen to talk about how more will be revealed in the next episode. That’s when something weird happens. Hatano turns his head and looks right at Bubble Mob, who is seriously disconcerted by this. “Why are you looking at me?” he asks. Then he hastily wraps up the episode, as if he’s eager to do so in order to escape from Hatano. 

This is the most overt example of Hatano being able to perceive things other non-Mob characters don’t, but it isn’t the last. 

The next time happens in episode 3, when Mob is desperately trying to think of ways to put Hatano off. “In order to squash a flag that was raised in the past,” he thinks in a voiceover, “it might work if I tell him I’m a different person from this guy he remembers.” Immediately, before Mob has said a single word out loud, Hatano says, “I’ve always liked you. I could never mistake you for someone else.” It’s as if he just heard Mob’s voiceover. He clearly doesn’t hear it all the time, unless he’s incredibly good at pretending otherwise. But it almost seems like for Hatano, the boundary between Mob’s reality (the version of reality that we experience as viewers) and the reality inhabited by Hatano and the rest of the people in BL World occasionally becomes more permeable. 

The third time happens in the other direction—instead of Hatano seeing what things are like for Mob, Mob sees something through Hatano’s eyes. Specifically, he experiences a daydream of Hatano’s. 

It isn’t completely unprecedented for Mob to see something from someone else’s mind as if he’s seeing it himself—but it is unprecedented for someone with Hatano’s role in Mob’s life. The type of thing he sees through Hatano is also unique. 

The one other person whose eyes Mob sometimes sees through is Ayato. When Ayato tells a story, not only is the viewer able to see a flashback of him having the experience he’s recounting, but often, it’s clear that Mob can see it too, in a very literal sense. We see a perfect example of this when Mob asks Ayato what kind of guy Hatano is and he tells the story of what happened when a girl confessed to Hatano at school. We know that Mob actually sees this flashback because he identifies the specific type of flower that surrounds Hatano (the same way other BL main character types that he encounters have some kind of accompanying burst of flowers). Mob sees Hatano’s face ringed with gerbera daisies, which he’s able to identify despite Ayato saying nothing about them (and not seeming to perceive them at all). Mob’s face is even lit by a mysterious light as he comments on the gerberas, as if Hatano’s “sparkling aura” has been conveyed through the story into Mob’s bedroom. 

So it’s not completely unheard-of for Mob to be able to see what someone else is picturing. But in Ayato’s case, he has only seen flashbacks connected to stories Ayato tells. (I’m not counting fantasies about Ayato that are clearly just Mob’s imagination, which Ayato is completely unaware of.) That makes Hatano the first person besides Ayato whose eyes Mob sees through, for starters. More specifically, he’s the first of Mob’s suitors to have that effect on him. And it’s also noteworthy that the narrative of Hatano’s that Mob sees 1) isn’t narrated—he’s not picturing it because Hatano is telling him a story, he’s just spontaneously inside of it without warning, and 2) isn’t a memory, but a scary fantasy—a daydream about something he’s worried about. Specifically, Mob finds himself inside of a scenario from Hatano’s mind in which Mob is arrested for “deceiving a minor” due to their relationship. Hatano goes on to talk about how he heard something on TV that led him to believe that people wouldn’t accept their relationship if they dated, but the fantasy clearly swallowed Mob up independently of that. Hatano only comments about the TV thing after the fantasy has ended, and he’s just talking about social disapproval, not Mob getting arrested. Nothing he says here would lead Mob to picture the jail daydream, and anyway, the daydream happens before he even raises the topic.

The fact that Mob found himself inside of this fantasy is remarkable enough that he’s clearly thrown off by it, commenting “Hang on, was that Hatano’s daydream just now?” He doesn’t dwell on it, but he gets that it’s weird. 

There’s something else about this fantasy scene that I only noticed after seeing it a ridiculous number of times for the fansub project. I’m not certain that it’s significant, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Mob mentions in the scene that he’s a “mobu,” an anonymous side character. Specifically, he asks the guards for a trial and then, more specifically, “a trial worthy of a side character”—basically, the kind of trial that would befit a “mobu.” Now, you could justify this in a few ways. Maybe Hatano’s fantasy is just a setting that Mob is dropped into, and he says what he would say if he were actually thrust into that situation. We don’t know if Hatano is even aware of what he says. But this is Hatano’s fantasy. It seems like the things the police officers/prison guards say to Mob come from Hatano’s mind. Maybe the things Mob says do too. If so, it suggests that Hatano knows about Mob’s “mobu” status. Again, it’s hard to say how to interpret this, but it’s a possibility. 

A brief digression about characters who engage in direct address

In the next part of my post I'm going to be comparing Mob to another character who sometimes breaks the fourth wall, but first I want to situate Mob in the pantheon of characters who use direct address for a second. I'm not going to try to do an overview of this whole topic. This post is going to be long enough as it is, and plenty has been written before on this subject. But I want to stop and think for a second about what fourth wall-breakers tend to be like and why they do what they do.

Direct-addressers are almost always funny, often sardonically. This takes different forms. Sometimes you get Garfield, other times you get Deadpool, other times Clarissa Darling. Sometimes they’re douchebags, like the Woody Allen character in Annie Hall. Sometimes they’re actual sociopaths, like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. They’re almost always at least a little bit cut off from their world, as if they have one foot in the audience’s world and one in their own and this gives them the perspective they need to make trenchant comments on the people around them. It can be as simple as the fact that the people around them are a bit absurd, or as stark as the fact that they believe themselves to exist on a different moral plane from everyone else. But it seems pretty much universal that there's some kind of difference between them the the people around them.

Mob is certainly cut off from his social world. Most of the time, this is simply a result of his trying to avoid falling in L with a B. But he can also be a creep. He constantly spies on his peers, manipulates them, and lies to them. For example, in season 3, he causes two friends to fall in love as a sort of experiment, then gloats in the distance while cackling to himself. Though that last part isn't so remarkable for him, since he’s always laughing at everyone behind their backs. 

One big subcategory of fourth wall-breakers is, well, smug buttholes. Ferris Bueller is the archetypal example. Parker Lewis was created to be the off-brand Ferris Bueller. Zack Morris is the absolute bottom of the barrel in this class. Basically, these dudes (and they are always dudes, in my experience) seem to talk to the audience because they feel so superior to everyone around them—even their supposed friends—that when they want to talk about what they really think and feel, only an unseen adoring public will do. 

Mob is hardly the opposite of this. He has a real smug streak and he can definitely be a dick. But he's more anxious and more alienated than the typical smug butthole type, and he has a kind of low-key but profound ennui just below the surface. In other words, he's a bit like a really stressed out, subtly despair-filled Ferris Bueller.

Another fourth wall-breaker who found someone who noticed

The first time I saw Hatano look at Bubble Mob, it made me think of another example of a character who habitually broke the fourth wall, then encountered another character who, on some level, noticed her doing this. I’m thinking of Fleabag and the (Hot) Priest. 

Directly addressing the audience is Fleabag's raison d'être. In the first season of Fleabag, she does it continually, sometimes at times that would shock or offend the other characters if they were aware of it (including while she's having sex). None of the people around her notice this.

Then, in the second season, something different happens. Fleabag meets the Priest, starts to bond with him, and then he starts to do something that takes her completely by surprise: he notices when she's addressing the audience.

During one of their first times hanging out alone, she addresses the audience like she normally does, and he shocks her by noticing this and asking her about it. “What was that?” he asks. “Where’d you—where’d you just go? You went somewhere.” When she tells him “nowhere,” he accepts it and backs off.

In another scene, when she does it again, he once again comments on it. “That thing you’re doing,” he says, “It’s like you disappear.”

When Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator, writer, and star of Fleabag, was asked about the Priest’s ability to sense when Fleabag is breaking the fourth wall at a BAFTA event, she said that the Priest can tell what Fleabag is doing because of his relationship with God. She said that Fleabag "has a relationship with the camera the whole way through and it was interesting to have somebody who has a similar thing. He's mirrored 'cause he has God. And she's witnessed by the camera the whole way through…I just felt like it would be a really good way to mirror each other's journeys."

Respectfully, I don’t buy this explanation. It may be what Waller-Bridge was thinking about when she wrote season 2, but it doesn’t resonate at all with my experience of the series. I vastly prefer the explanation given by Kathryn VanArendonk in her piece “Fleabag Breaks the Fourth Wall and Then Breaks Our Hearts,” written for Vulture. 

Fleabag’s sly, secretive, sometimes resentful tendency to break the fourth-wall of her own story is an escape hatch. She dissociates from her own life whenever things get to be too much….The Priest feels her leave him, even though he can’t quite see that she’s leaving him so she can speak to us….But when he notices Fleabag talking to us, he’s barging into our secret relationship with her, pointing at exactly the place she assumed no one could see — pointing at us, her distancing strategy, her audience who can’t ever speak back to her. That false intimacy she shared with us? Suddenly it’s real, and it’s not between Fleabag and her silent viewers. It’s between Fleabag and the one person who can still see her whenever she tries to take a step away.

This is a profound kind of engagement with Fleabag’s attachment to her “secret camera friend” (Waller-Bridge’s term for the audience Fleabag addresses), much more profound than what we, as Mob’s secret friends, ever see from Hatano. But it does tell us something about what the stakes are in this kind of situation. 

While VanArendonk analyzes Fleabag and the Priest, she ends up saying some things that could easily apply to Mob. 

It’s tempting to think of Fleabag’s compulsive habit of looking to the viewer as a form of intimacy.…But that sense of intimacy, however effective it may be for the viewer, is only ever one-sided….Her intimacy with us is also a way of distancing herself from anyone who could actually speak back to her. The scene where Fleabag sees a therapist played by Fiona Shaw underlines that idea very directly: The therapist asks Fleabag who she confides in, who her friends are, and Fleabag turns to us once again with a knowing, happy smile. We are her friends, because we are the recipients of her private disclosures. That scene is thrilling and crushing at the same time. It’s so flattering to be her confidant, and so sad. Her closest relationship is with a presence she can neither see nor hear.

But Mob isn’t Fleabag

Mob’s situation is very different from Fleabag’s in most respects. Her situation is realistic; his is fantastical. Her history is traumatic; the worst thing that has happened to Mob is the realization that he lives in a fictional universe. (Though to be fair, if you give that enough thought, it’s fairly horrifying.) He isn’t avoiding engaging with the people in his world because of psychological turmoil or alienation of the sort Fleabag deals with…well, not the psychological turmoil part, at least. 

There are two kinds of distance that Mob puts between himself and other people. Often, he simply avoids relating to others. This is mostly due to his calculated assessment of the risks involved. Sometimes he gives people a wide berth and sometimes he only avoids certain types of interactions with them, but either way, he’s not engaging because he can see that there are certain risks involved. This is very different from what separates Fleabag from those around her, both in type and in magnitude.

Except when he kind of is

At the same time, the fact that he’s realized that he lives in this contrived sort of universe and that he has to watch everyone around him allow themselves to be buffeted about by it without noticing it, much less attempting to fight it, does have an effect. I’m not trying to dig too deeply into the implications of realizing you live in a fictional world. If you were to go deep enough, it would have some pretty disturbing existential implications that might be more fitting for a Philip K. Dick novel than a BL parody. But that’s not the story being told here. Still, the emotional distance Mob maintains between himself and the people around him is clearly caused by his alienation from his world and their lack of awareness about it. How can he get close to anyone who is so far from understanding his daily experience? How could he even respect them enough to relate to them authentically at all? So Mob’s inability to authentically bond with others does have some of that existential dimension to it. And in that respect, his alienation bears some resemblance to Fleabag's.

Whatever the cause, VanArendonk’s statement above applies as thoroughly to Mob as it does to Fleabag. Like her, “[his] closest relationship is with a presence [he] can neither see nor hear.” And by the same token, if someone was able to see him clearly enough that they noticed the ways he disconnects from the world, as the Priest sees Fleabag, that would represent a kind of closeness that would mean something, that might even be enough to make relating to a person in his world more worthwhile than always prioritizing his “secret camera friend.”

Hatano isn't the Priest—but they have some things in common

As I wrote above, Hatano's ability to notice Mob's fourth wall-breaking and his tendency to act on it aren't nearly as profound as what we see the Priest doing with Fleabag. Nevertheless, that more concentrated example of the phenomenon does tell us something about what it means, even in smaller doses.

It means that a person who notices fourth wall-breaking is attuned to the fourth wall-breaker to an extent that others aren’t. Maybe they’re just more attentive or perceptive when it comes to that character. Or maybe they’re also alienated from their world in some way, and that puts them on the same wavelength as the other person. If, as Waller-Bridge says, the Priest’s relationship with God has something to do with it in his case, it’s a possibility that someone like Hatano could prove, on further investigation, to have something or someone outside of himself that he’s somehow in dialogue with.

In any case, it seems unequivocally true that such a person is poised to relate to the fourth wall-breaker in a more meaningful way than the other characters they typically encounter. After all, having some understanding of how someone sees the world is a prerequisite for really relating to them, much less having feelings for them in a way that actually means something.

Mostly, this tells us something about how Hatano's feelings for Mob are different from the feelings most of Mob's suitors have for him. But this might point to the possibility that Mob's feelings toward Hatano differ as well (though not necessarily in the way Hatano would like). Mob seems to treat people's feelings toward him with the most contempt when they're unfounded, seemingly random. After all, as he says in the opening theme, "this Boy's Love is too absurd." It's hard to respect someone whose feelings are so ridiculous, when they have so little basis in anything. Kikuchi seemed to touch his heart in part because he was quietly observant, noticing things about Mob and basing his feelings on actual information about him instead of pouncing on him on some thin pretense the way most of his pursuers do. If Hatano also shows that he sees Mob in a real way, a way that no one else has before, it has the potential to make a difference in how Mob sees him, too.

Next up, part 3, followed by part 4.

Thanks to @my-rose-tinted-glasses for helping me out with gifs and by being a sympathetic sounding board.

[da-janela-lateral]

very curious as to what you mean by esper survivorship bias! there’s a couple things i’ve noticed that could be related (like how other than the obviously powerful teru, mob, ritsu the only child espers we see are the awakening lab kids whose powers are so limited that if they’re the baseline most espers would probably never find out they have powers at all) (or how other than the main 4 esper teens and the awakening lab kids and sort of takenaka the only psychics we see are adults that are part of claw) (sorry. my adhdemons)

FINALLY MORE EXCUSES TO TALK ABOUT MY HYPHOTESIS.

I first adressed it in this post, little time after I read some fics focusing on Teruki's relationship to Claw and started wondering about some stuff. After reading (part) of the World Domination Arc in the manga, I got more questions, which I'll explain here:

The Esper Survivorship Bias Theory

Contrary to the norm in works focused on the paranormal, in Mob Psycho 100 society overall doesn't care about espers. This is of course related to the main theme of "nobody is special" and the story's tendency for desconstructing shonen tropes, but it also implies that while rare, espers aren't seen as a big thing. This can be seen in the following details:

While describing Mob's powers, Inukawa treats them as only something unusual.

The Kageyama family, their friends and their acquaintances find Mob's powers ordinary.

Espers are a known phenomena (for an example, Mr. Asagiri looks for dozen of psychics on the start of the Mogami Arc).

Even when people don't believe on psychic powers, they don't insist much on this view after tiny proof (that is, powers are somehow beliavable).

Espers existing at all doesn't change how society works.

For that to happen, there must be a condition: the occurrence of psychic powers is common enough so that people acknowledge them AND usually don't mind their existence. They are like a weird, yet mundane fact.

This may contradict the canon's premise that psychic powers are extremely uncommon, but in the Seasoning City region alone we see several characters with them. Toichiro affirmed Claw has about 700 members and that he had hired international mercenaries, which in turn may mean there is a significant esper population out there. So why are there so few espers in-verse, they take years to meet people like them?

Simple. They aren't as extremely rare as people think. This is survivorship bias.

Most espers on canon are adults over 20 years old, and even a great part of these are members of Claw. The only psychic children we see are the main cast, the Awakening Lab kids and Takenaka. What a interesting coincidence that Claw too is 20 years old...

It's not that young espers are ultra uncommon nowadays, it's that as soon as they're obvious, Claw takes them.

This is not limited to powerful people, as the organization went after the Awakening Lab kids even though Claw either knew they had insignificant powers, or had no information on the level of their abilities at all. Any esper youth that enters their radar is a valid target.

Besides that, it's essential to remember Teruki is an exception to the rule. He survived being hunted down by Claw since childhood, but he also lived in dire conditions and was obsessed with being stronger than the criminals who went after him. Despite their powers, most esper children are normal. They wouldn't have an idea Claw existed. They wouldn't be prepared for a kidnapping attempt. And considering espers tend to feel socially alienated, lonely children have bigger chances to trust the Claw officials if they presented themselves as "someone who understood them".

In other words: espers aren't as rare as people believe. It's that as soon as they show their powers, Claw takes action. This is why there are so few characters under 18 who have psychic powers.

Final comments

Of course, many of the arguments I have mentioned could mean other things. MP100 has a pretty soft worldbuilding after all because psychic powers aren't the main focus, but rather a pretext for developing each character's perspective and inner turmoil, as well as the story's themes. Lot's of things are also played for humor and don't have real relevance. Furthermore, one could mention how the audience's view over MP100's world is limited to Mob's very uncommon life, and how some elements we've seen aren't the standard.

I'm just thinking a lot about the Claw targets' families. What did they know about the kidnappings? What did they do about them? How did the authorities investigate these cases? Have they found any closure? Have they connected the dots about the nature of the disappearances?

And what about the targets in question? How did their recruitments work? What they thought about what happened to them? Did they miss their loved ones? How many of them went on and kidnapped more kids? How many of them survived? Did they get to reunite with the people they loved and have a chance on a normal life?

Some food for thought.

[etherealvistas]

Driving in Palestine now is more dangerous than ever.

Yesterday, I drove from Ramallah to Dura, a village near Hebron to attend the funeral of Ahed, my friend’s baby sister, who had just become a mother. She was shot by an Israeli sniper. A heartbreaking loss.

If I could use Israel’s apartheid roads designated for settlers, it would be an 80-90 minute drive, but it took me 4 hours.

Why?

First, we’re forced to take segregated Palestinian only roads which make it a 2.5 hour drive because of checkpoints.

But these days, it’s even worse as Israel has imposed an even more strict strangulation policy over the West Bank, which means even some of those segregated roads are blocked and there are 10 times as many checkpoints.

Taking this drive outside our village/cities of residence is extremely dangerous for three reasons:

Settler attacks: Israeli settlers are in rampage mode, and you don’t know when you could get hit by a rock or bullet from one of their raging mobs.

Soldiers at the end of a wrong turn: There are no signs for what “roads” are currently opened or closed for us, you have to guess or stop to ask locals every few miles. If you make a wrong turn and end up face to face with soldiers, they can shoot you, and claim you attacked them.

Arrests for social media posts: If you’re stopped at a checkpoint, soldiers these days are taking folks’ phones and checking their WhatsApp’s and telegram and instagram. If you have a message standing in solidarity with Gaza, or anything the Israeli soldiers see as offensive, they’ll beat you to a pulp, and could even arrest you. My friend Diala, a human rights lawyer, was just arrested at one of these checkpoints this evening. We don’t know why, but it likely relates to her work and messages they found on her phone about it.

On my end, driving back at night was a nightmare, mainly because I had a friend in the car and was worried about him.

As we drove back, these historically busy streets were ghostly empty because nobody is taking the risk of driving at night unless necessary.

Every turn I’d take, I’d slow down to a crawl to make sure there was no trigger happy soldier or angry settler ready to pounce.

I got lucky as, although we waited at a checkpoint for an hour, the soldiers got bored and literally opened the checkpoint for all the cars to pass without any security check — proof they’re using these checkpoints arbitrarily as collective punishment.

In Dura, I saw where Ahed was shot.

The soldiers had stormed her village as part of their intimidation tactics in the West Bank to keep people anxious. Ahed ran to her roof to warn her husband to come home. An Israeli sniper shot her in the head.

As I drove home, thinking of Ahed, her heart broken family, the families of my friends in Gaza, all the souls we’ve lost, and how easy my life could be taken for simply driving across my ancestral lands to help my friend in her grief.

It shouldn’t have to be said, but our lives are precious. They’re beautiful. They’re equally worthy of joy and basic dignity.

I’m committed to one day being able to drive across my people’s ancestral land a free man, surrounded by my liberated people.

If Israel’s death machine is haunting us around every corner, we might as well live fighting for a life worth dying for.

[malwaredykes]

honestly tbh leigh's relationship with the ncr is REALLY funny because. she hates them. she has 0 allegiance to them. she doesnt help THEM she resolves matters in ways that often happen to benefit them in some way or simply prevents needless loss of life, but it never is about them and aside from that shes always stealing, sabotaging, disrespecting them, turning people against them, encouraging members to desert, putting their legitimacy into question, especially the legitimacy of them being in the mojave in the first place, and exposing their ineffectiveness. she has 0 intention of venerating The Republic that she comes from. she thinks its hilarious that anyone should take that stuff seriously.

but she ends up being a celebrity to them. because crocker likes her despite everything, and hsu likes her, and because shes from new cali but important in the mojave, and because shes done stuff like calm things down in the freeside and help at refugee camps and retake nelson. which makes her even more of a problem in a way. if she were Only a nuisance thatd be one thing, theyd just put a bounty on her. but shes a celebrity. she has a status in new vegas and in the ncr. shes kind of untouchable. and her crimes and sabotage can never quite be proven. of course to the higher ups theres having proof and theres Knowing. shit only gets worse when she and her buddies storm the legion fort and kill caesar and free a bunch of slaves because like. this strengthens her vip status AND is absolute humiliation to the ncr. like they cant take the credit and instead they have to live with the fact that what a lot of them dismissed as some upstart with a bunch of clueless locals backing her did something they never couldve achieved. "oh this was pretty much an angry mob of townies and misfits" yeah and they got caesar in his own fortress. shes out there making the ncr look like shit and pointing people to seeing the ncr as the problem and yet she never does it in a way that she could be prosecuted for. by the time the ncr realizes shes a lot of trouble they also know they would lose a TREMENDOUS amount of support if they did something to her

like shes never openly hostile. she never provokes open hostility. shes not Openly Antagonistic to the ncr but its not exactly a secret shes got something planned and would like them to leave. young ncr recruits seeing her are like Omggg ma'am its an honor!!!! ^_^. there are officers and rangers whod be REALLY appalled if you said anything bad about her because Well she sure has done a lot more for us here on site than any of you government people. and that was her goal. that is the game shes playing. folks youll eventually realize its not the ncr that has done good in the mojave despite its flaws, but yours were the hands doing the work, and all the reasons one might consider ncr good or necessary are within you, Are you, the people who joined hoping theyd make a difference. folks youll realize that the ncr has to lie and obfuscate and make bullshit orders and directives to maintain claim over that good work and whitewash its own crimes. folks, i have this ex-ncr friend here. do you know what the ncr got him? complicity in atrocities (lyrical miracle), ptsd, apocalyptic thinking, countless biases to unpack, hopelessness, enemies where he shouldve made friends. and so on. and do you know what he got from *me*? a chance to actually do good. a chance to question those false beliefs of his. a friend. new opportunities. 40 rolls of duct tape. new rifle. lots and lots of soda. TWO toy trucks. and an apple. just ask him

[jess-moloney]

Many people had not noticed that it was the same bar where Jamie and Matilda went when they dated together, because it was almost 10 years ago and obviously Jess had taken advantage of this detail to take him to this same bar where he had gone knowing that he was not completely cured of his addiction at this time, this woman (Jessica Moloney) is really twisted and I congratulate Josey for being very observant and she noticing this important detail, because personally I did not notice that it was « the same bar where he had gone with his ex girlfriend Matilda ».

We’re still discussing this in our group chat, where someone spotted a tweet about Jamie at that bar, which Josey later shared to clarify things. I’m part of that chat and can confirm it’s still active. The person who found the tweet prefers to stay anonymous due to the vicious attacks from Jess’s rabid stan mobs—they made that clear. Josey got their permission to post about it, and they were okay with it.

No matter who uncovered it, the real issue is that this shouldn’t have happened at all—many of us, not just Josey, were upset. Jess’s actions were unacceptable. If she didn’t choose that bar herself, it’s bizarre she didn’t push back against it. You’d expect someone who claims to care about Jamie to speak up if no one else did. Instead, she stayed silent.

Even without solid proof that Jess planned it, her behavior was telling. Jess and her friend Madaline were the only ones there acting like they were having the time of their lives, making it all about themselves. Madaline, who Jamie barely seems to know, was just as bad. Their self-centered vibe convinced most of us Jess was behind it—or at the very least, fully on board. Either way, Jess’s toxic behavior that night was undeniable, and we’re not letting it slide.

We’ll keep calling this out here and in the group. Josey’s was doing her best to share the truth despite the harassment, and we’re backing her up. I’ll post updates as I get them.

[clawdee]

Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Book Recs

A list for @ho3hologram and anyone else. I have NOT included the books I recc'ed you earlier in picture form Holo.

I've read 699 books since 2012, so here are the ones I've rated 4* and up - maybe a few 3* (the way I rated changed multiple times over the years). Fair warning, what I like might not be what you like, so read the synopsis, read other reviews, and decide for yourself; and if you think my recs are dogshit, keep it to yourself.

I also love delving into middle schooler books, like some TV shows they are better, IMO. They have more substance because they're trying to show and teach kids.

My Goodreads account is HERE if anyone wants to shift through my 3* and below books or my TBR.

The Books of Bayern - Shannon Hale (Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance) In distant lands of magic and wonder, four young women will rise to save their kingdoms and their loved ones against the dark forces that threaten to tear them all apart.

I have a big fat nerd crush on Christopher Moore's writing. He has a Vampire series (A Love Story), a Demon series (Pine Cove), Coyote Blue (Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Romance/Love) as a 5* rating from me. One of my absolute favorites from him that I try to re-read every couple of years is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's funny, it has romance and fantasy.

The Wicked Years - Gregory Maguire (Adult, Fantasy, Romance) The novels follow the Wicked Witch of the West, her friends, relatives, and enemies, through several decades as they witness some of Oz's most turbulent times. (Wicked of course influenced the Broadway play AND the movie, but there are 3 books following Wicked that are also A+, and a Book 0 of when Elphi was a child that I JUST saw when putting this together.)

Alice in Deadland - Mainak Dhar (Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Zombies) Civilization as we know it ended more than fifteen years ago, leaving as it's legacy barren wastelands called the Deadland and a new terror for the humans who survived- hordes of undead Biters.

The Android's Dream - John Scalzi (Adult, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Space Opera) A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement...

Agnes and the Hitman - Jennifer Crusie (Romance, Mystery) Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding, a missing necklace, two annoyed flamingos, and a dog named Rhett and you've got a recipe for a sexy, hilarious novel about the disastrous side of true love… (this book is almost 20 years old, good luck finding it, but I do love it)

I have a hard-on for everything Kay Simone has written that I've read. (Gay romance m/m, there's 1 android book) (Only Available on Kindle)

The Claidi Journals - Tanith Lee (Young Adult, High Fantasy, Romance, Adventure) All her life, Claidi has endured hardship in the House, where she must obey a spoiled princess. Then a golden stranger arrives, living proof of a world beyond the House walls. Claidi risks all to free the charming prisoner and accompanies him across the Waste. (From 2001. I do not rec the 4th book, I really only liked the first 3)

NOLA Nights - Thea de Salle (Adult, Romance, Erotica, BDSM) Hotel chain mogul Sol DuMont is about to learn that some of life’s biggest surprises come in deceptively small packages—namely a petite heiress named Rain who’s hell-bent on upsetting her family’s expectations

Ravenswood series - Talia Hibbert (Adult, Romance) In this small English town, feisty, outcast heroines are swept off their feet by the strong, sweet men who love them. (honestly, ANYTHING by Talia gets a rec from me)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Tylor Jenkins Reid (Adult, Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBT) Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Weezie and Bebe Mysteries - Mary Kay Andrews (Adult, Romance, Mystery) Eloise “Weezie” Foley, a recently divorced antique dealer, and BeBe Loudermilk, a triple-divorced restaurant owner, in Savannah, Georgia

Lizzy & Diesel - Janet Evanovich (Adult, Mystery, Modern Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal) Lizzy is an Unmentionable, with a special talent for finding things that Diesel needs. The Stones of Power have re-surfaced and Diesel needs to get to them before Wulf does. The Seven Stones of Power reflect each of the Seven Deadly Sins. (There's only 3 books and I think there's supposed to be 1 for each stone, the 3rd book came out in 2015 so idk if this series is getting finished lmao, but it's a fun read!)

Simonverse - Becky Albertalli (Young Adult, Romance, LGBT) (tbh I only read The Upside of Unrequited and Leah on the Offbeat) Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

The River of No Return - Bee Ridgeway (Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Time Travel, Historical) Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Lord Nicholas Falcott wakes up in twenty-first-century London. The Guild, a secretive fraternity of time travelers, informs him that there is no return. But Nick yearns for the beautiful Julia Percy, who remains in 1815. As fate and the fraying fabric of time draw Nick and Julia together once again, the lovers must match wits and gamble their hearts against the rules of time itself.

The Black Veins - Ashia Monet (Young Adult, LGBT, Urban Fantasy) Sixteen-year-old Blythe is one of seven magicians powerful enough to cause worldwide panic with a snap of their fingers. But Blythe spends her days pouring latte art at her family’s coffee shop, so why should she care about having apocalyptic abilities? (So this was supposed to be a series and it ends - I think? on a cliffhanger? Or it leaves it leading into obviously the 2nd one, but this came out in 2019...and there's no sequel, yet)

These Witches Don't Burn - Isabel Sterling (Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Witches) Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg ( non-witch), she could lose it. For good.

Brimstone - Cherie Priest (Adult, Historical, Paranormal, Fantasy, Horror) In the trenches of Europe during the Great War, Tomas Cordero operated a weapon more devastating than any gun: a flame projector that doused the enemy in liquid fire. Having left the battlefield a shattered man, he comes home to find yet more tragedy for in his absence, his wife has died of the flu. Haunted by memories of the woman he loved and the atrocities he perpetrated, Tomas dreams of fire and finds himself setting match to flame when awake. . . .

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynn Jones (Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic) (tbh I only read book 1 and 3, I DNF'ed 2 bc I didn't like how it described one of the fat characters) The book is similar but very different from the movie. House of Many Ways (book 3): Charmain Baker is in over her head. Looking after Great-Uncle William's tiny cottage while he's ill should have been easy. But Great-Uncle William is better known as the Royal Wizard Norland, and his house bends space and time.

Song of the Dryad - Natalia Leigh (Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fae) Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Barclay is still haunted by an encounter she had eight years ago—a run-in with a fairy beast that had eyes like witchlight and a taste for flesh. Charlotte has avoided the Greenwood ever since, pretending fairies don’t exist and choosing instead to focus her energies on graduating from high school and perfecting her audition piece for the Bellini Institute.

The Savior's Champion - Jenna Moreci (Young Adult, High Fantasy, Romance) Tobias Kaya doesn't care about The Savior. He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he’s forced to make The Savior his priority.

Spoiler Alert - Olivia Dade (Adult, Romance) Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on television, but fanfiction readers call him something else: Book!AeneasWouldNever. Marcus gets out his frustrations with the show through anonymous stories about the internet’s favorite couple, Aeneas and Lavinia.

The Nightmare-Verse - L.L. McKinney (Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance) In L. L. McKinney’s urban fantasy series reimagining Alice in Wonderland, an Atlanta teenager struggling with real-world issues also combats monstrous creatures in Wonderland with a combination of magic weapons and martial arts skills. And living such a complicated double life could cause Alice to lose her head…literally.

The Merciful Crow - Margaret Owen (Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic) Follow a young chieftain from a lowly caste of mercy-killers who strikes a bargain with the crown prince to preserve the future of her clan.

Ash Princess Trilogy - Laura Sebastian (Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance) Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner. For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree (Adult, Fantasy, Cozy, LGBT, Romance) When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Shades of Magic - Victoria E. Schwab (Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Historical Fiction) Kell is one of the last Antari--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons: Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Officially, he's an ambassador; unofficially, he's a smuggler. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Constellation - Claudia Gray (Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Romance, Space Fantasy, Dystopia) (This is the series I was talking about that I didn't remember!) Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they're not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they're forced to question everything they'd been taught was true.

Southlands - Rachel Hartman (Young Adult, Fantasy, Dragons, Romance) Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in a suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Between Earth and Sky - Rebecca Roanhorse (Adult, Fantasy, LGBT, Indigenous) In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and is set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.

Ok these are the first 29, bc we're only allowed to add 30 links. I will reblog and add more tomorrow, because it's a little after 1am now and I'm sleepy.

[brasletygtz]

Doodles + Jam Lore

Jam and Best Friends, Fenriz Watson and Darko Darius

Fenriz He's a boy who turns into a quadruped beast, the same kind of beast I talked about in my AU infection blog.

Darko He is a vampire, not a real one, a supernatural species which in the Jam Canon, Darko's species are interdimensional creatures whose appearance varies as do their powers, These beings have their own pocket dimensions and can travel from their dimension to Earth.

Let's assume that Darko's family is like the Madrigal family from the Disney movie "Encanto" But with evil millionaire eccentric people (although not all of them are like that and Darko is proof of that)

While Zak is Kur..

Jam is the avatar of a cosmic deity called "Prince Amrak" whose purpose is to shed blood, death and destruction, personifying injustice and pain just like his brother. Which personifies karma and gives meaning to his name "prince karma" unlike his brother amrak

Amrak is cold and perverse, even serious, but his heart is broken due to his role as the one who has to see the injustices and the blood that is spilled of innocents, in a universe...His patience ran out when he saw his avatar Jam being the victim of an angry mob taking his mother(Jackson/ Papa Jack) away from him.

Amrak: *He carries Jam, who is injured and almost without strength* No one will ever hurt you again...no one...They won't hurt us again... ..I promise you...I will make them live hell on earth...they will beg me to kill them...I will have no mercy on them...

[dukeofdelirium]

The wildest personal encounter I’ve had about MJ was when a (now ex-friend) told me she new MJ was guilty because her aunt was a victim of child sex abuse and she would “believe the victim”. I didn’t push anything at the time because I didn’t want to tread on a personal subject, but I hate the “believe the victim” mentality when there is irrefutable proof that the “victim” is a liar and a manipulator. As it so blatantly is with the MJ case for anyone who cares enough to look. That “friend” turned out to be a bitch in the end for other reasons, but that was my first red flag.

It’s so ridiculous, this notion that we should believe anyone and everyone accusing others of serious crimes off someone’s verbal testimony alone. And in such cases like Michael’s, where there is no verifiable evidence, the only thing that can be judged IS the accusers verbal testimony and the credibility of such.

We are living in a time where emotion has replaced due process. Me Too and other similar “movements” have opened the door to allow false allegations to run rampant. James Safechuck, Wade Robson, Amber Heard. Hell, Amber was their goddamn spokesperson and she is a court proven liar!

Ppl listened to her allegations of DV without asking for any evidence, only her verbal accounts. It was obviously proven in court that she lied and defamed and slandered Johnny Depp, who was the actual victim of DV the entire time!

Ppl have believed Wade and James’ accounts of their alleged molestation in that one sided “documentary” in which they provided ZERO evidence to back up their claims, against a dead man that can’t speak for himself and against a man who was already exonerated of such allegations in life!

Just because someone claims to be a victim of something, doesn’t mean they are. People falsely accuse others of crimes all the time and have done so since the dawn of civilization. Greed, jealousy, prejudice, fear, etc drive these false allegations and create lynch mobs and a mob mentality. This is extremely dangerous.

Ppl are imprisoned for things they never did all the time. Ppl are accused of things they never did all the time. And when it comes to high profile names like Michael Jackson or Johnny Depp, the accusers have immediate incentive to lie for financial gain. As such, those allegations need to be treated with the same scrutiny as any other, if not even more.

Believe proven victims. Don’t believe just anyone saying anything. You can listen to their claims, but if evidence suggests it isn’t true, then why would you or anyone believe them? Wade and James are court proven perjurers and extortionists, just like the rest of Michael’s accusers.

All evidence proves beyond doubt that Michael Jackson was innocent and was a victim of false allegations and criminal extortion. He died an innocent man dragged mercilessly by the worldwide media, bestialized and dehumanized beyond belief. And in death, they continue to defile his grave.

[sugaglos]

hi

Sorry I know we don't know eachother- but how do you know scarletarosa and melias-cimitere saying the truth? They seem to be a cult, and aside from that I catched scarletarosa lying a bunch of times, she even called herself lilith in the past and a succubi under lucifer and lilith, plus melias was reported preying on underage people, I could add more but I can't remember at the moment, sorry.

Besides it sketchy how they tyring to isolate you from your friends/family etc. so you will rely on them and their belief alone..

Idk if anything I'm gonna say will be taken out of context or not since that's what the lynchmob likes to do.

"They seem to be a cult"

"Seem" is not a valid enough proof to say sth like that about someone else. Never have I been asked for money (like cults do), never have I been told to preach and then go 100% silent as if I'd be wipped off the face of the earth, they have not pampered me and then threatened me with any kind of violence, never have they sent evil spirits my way and so on. Whoever says they're a cult don't know how real cults work. They have helped people get away from real cults and have a normal life.

"I catched scarletarosa lying a bunch of times, she even called herself lilith in the past and a succubi under lucifer and lilith"

Sincerely, never have I seen sth like this so no comment.

"Plus melias was reported preying on underage people"

Again, in my most sincere experience, never have I encountered anything of the sort. I have minors in my family and nothing has ever been asked about them or said, and no attempts have ever been made.

"Besides it sketchy how they tyring to isolate you from your friends/family etc. so you will rely on them and their belief alone.."

Idk anything about this and am not speaking on their behalf, but, say, if you'd be living in an extremely toxic enviornment/family, wouldn't an advice to move out be a good thing? It might be hard, but it would be worth it. Everyone doesn't deserve forgiveness too, even if they are family members. If you have "friends" who lead you down a the path of drugs and overall self destruction then cutting ties with such people will only benifit you, no? I live on my own and have toxic family members that should be avoided(and Melias knows this) and he hasn't told me to cut ties completely bc it's my choice to do so or not, and I have to think with my own head what to do with my life. I've been told many times to not rely on them, but to find out truths/stuff myself bc they don't want to be "right all the time", MEANING you have to find out things, see things for yourself, talk to the deities yourself(and not search shit up on wikipedia and take it as the ultimate truth), to make an opinion of your own on how the physical and astral world works. They can show you the door to better yourself, know things, but that's all, what you do is up to you and they fully support this. If someone is a fucking snowflake when someone is a bit stern towards them sometimes(bc people tend to do stupid shit and sometime a stern voice is necessary to knock some common snese in the head, not lovey-dovey flower-suggarcoating things) then maybe the lhp aint for them, js. The lhp is not a "uwu" path ffs.

I'm in no way deffending anyone, I'm just using my fucking brain. Every response, every comment I've seen basically states either "someone said" or "my friend said that someone else-" which are invalid statements. Also, have you seen any real evidence like exchanged text messages(screenshots) and such for these accusations to be verified as true? I haven't and the hate mob who have made disgusting posts hasn't provided any real evidence and neither have these "I heard someone say-" people. If you accuse someone of sth so serious this type of evidence is extremely necessary, especially in interrigations. A dumbass mobster( not gonna call out people just yet) once said they believe the anon messages just bc "assault" is mentioned completely ignoring the absence of evidence. Make it make sense.

So my point is, basically, if there's no evidence then all this is nothing more than a rumor which too many people who cannot think for themselves fall for and spread misinformation and serious false accusations which is an extremly disgusting behaviour. It's been more than a half a year(?) and nothing has been provided.

I have never gone through anything like this and Melias has never used anything against me. And I do not believe I'm more special or less special to be used or preyed upon or whatever the fuck. Both have helped me in the past with things so I can live normally now.

Let me just say one thing - if you're friends with sick fucks who'd go and accuse someone of vile things with 0 evidence, death curse them and do worse just bc their opinions differ from one another..you need better friends, bc the moment you'll start thinking for yourself, they'll do the same thing to you too. These horrid people(the accusers) aint your friends, but wolves in sheep clothing. They'll get what's in store for them, eventually and I noticed some one of them faced a little bit of consequences for these actions, but they're retarded enough to not notice lol Their moms sure would be "proud" of their kids knowing they're being close to being murderers.

Edit: Let me just add that the people you're being fed this hate from are extreme racists and people who practice/worship what they don't really believe actually exists irl. Let that sink in a bit. I've cought them lackin' many times, but their culty people don't seem to have neither eyes or a non-smoothbrain to see it.

[boobachu]

I raise a new perspective to you, while it is true that history repeats because nobody really lives long enough to see the patterns, it is also true that the internet didn't exist back then. Nothing was ever documented to the degree that things are now. I'm not saying that fascism isn't happening and isn't on the rise, it is, but it mostly is through our government. Through actual legislation. Most fascists and Nazis that are working class that I hear about are typically in the Midwest. Down here in the south, they do exist, but we kind of beat the shit out of them so they leave us the fuck alone typically. I'm getting off topic here, my point is, if it is true that history repeats because no one remembers what happened, then how come people who were hardcore extreme conservatives are realizing a lot of their wrongdoings in mass? There are tons and tons and tons of queers coming forth about family coming around. I've seen it myself, with my friends as well and their families.

So my perspective is, perhaps with the internet at our disposal, hope isn't lost. I know a while back I read an article about a historian who brought this up himself. He spoke about how things like this repeat, specially with fascism, but he said that before there was no such thing as the internet. And now there is, that he thinks it is enough to help connect people and spread information. Fact checking is also particularly popular.

The nazis have always been a minority, like most right leaning people believe that there's a hierarchy of worth that's genetic but they're not willing to like, start a fucking pogrom. That's what prisons are for, like "if you went to prison you deserved it obviously it's not racism that's just a fact of life" that sorta bullshit.

That and all I ever hear from rightheads that aren't full-tilt "1488 god emperor own the libs" nazi-nazi is that "oh you're exaggerating" "that's fake" "that won't happen"

Like it's funny, people will be like "we need to be making our own food cuz china's poisoning everything" and then they don't have a plan for what happens if the cops start hunting them down. I don't mean white-white people I mean Mexican people like I hear this from chicanos like dude what

The other elephant in the room is that the seed of doubt on reality was planted decades ago with the 24 hour news cycle and there's a ton of deepfake generative A.I. fertilizer plopped right on top so even if you have video proof of something, people can go "mmh fake news"

I've had tons of hopes that "maybe it won't get this bad" like... but it just keeps getting worse.

Tho honestly all that is a lot of fluff for the reality that like... citizens of the USA versus the militarized police: who wins?

Cuz I mean the republicans are behind this fascist push and the democrats aren't being a total wall of defiance so that means that anything meaningful would have to be done by the people which... usually that shit only happens when the powers that be let them.

Like the police letting the Jan 6th mob go after congress back in 2020. If the cops weren't on their side that shit wouldn't've happened. That happens anywhere with "the people's revolt" like dictator hasbeen has lost control and the court is replacing them using the people and then power vaccum yada yada worse dictator comes in.

Like that Eugene guy, what's his name Goodman. If Goodman didn't do what he did right then right there, America woulda been over like it's like we had a miraculous save throw and pissed it away!!!

Ugh I'm rambling, like I really fucking hope I'm wrong cuz me being right is me and everyone I know and love being slaughtered for being born wrong whether that means mental illness or brown skin.

Like I'd love to be 50 like "Man remember when we thought Elon Musk was going to usurp Trump to become mechahitler? Just overreacting like Y2K man REMEMBER Y2K?"

Like I really hope that happens, but I mean a black man was lynched in 2020 in his mother's back yard as a warning and a Palestinian protester was just disappeared right now so it's like, I just don't see a happy end to this.

[astralstudiosza-blog]

WAKE UP: Your Corporate Events Are BORING (Here's How to Fix Them)

🚨 NEWSFLASH: Your Events Are a Waste of Time (If You’re Doing This…)

Let’s cut the BS. Most corporate events SUCK. Why? Because you’re stuck in 2005. Fancy venues? Free pens? Long speeches? NO ONE CARES. Your attendees are scrolling Instagram, texting their friends, and counting minutes until happy hour. WAKE. UP.

Events aren’t checkboxes. They’re your secret weapon for DOMINATING your industry. Want loyalty? Leads? A team that’d run through walls for you? THEN STOP BEING BASIC.

HERE’S THE TRUTH: The companies winning right now? They’re using events to BUILD CULTURE, CRUSH GOALS, and CREATE FANS. You can too.

THE 5 QUESTIONS YOU’RE TOO SCARED TO ASK (BUT YOU MUST)

💥 “WHAT’S THE ACTUAL GOAL?”

If you say “networking” or “brand awareness,” I’m out. DIG DEEPER. Are you turning clients into evangelists? Turning employees into warriors? NAME IT. Then OBSESS over it.

💥 “WHO’S PAYING ATTENTION?”

Your audience isn’t “everyone.” It’s the 12 decision-makers in the third row. Or the 50 sales reps who need fire lit under them. TARGET THEM. EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOISE.

💥 “WHY WOULD THEY REMEMBER THIS?”

Spoiler: They won’t. Unless you give them a STORY. Did they solve a problem? Meet a mentor? Laugh so hard they cried? BE MEMORABLE OR GO HOME.

💥 “ARE YOU TRACKING THE RIGHT STUFF?”

Leads? Cool. But what about the 23-year-old who quit her job after your panel and launched a startup? TRACK IMPACT, NOT NUMBERS.

💥 “WHAT’S YOUR ‘OH SH*T’ PLAN?”

Wi-Fi dies. Speaker cancels. Fire alarm blares. YOU BETTER HAVE A PLAN. (Pro tip: Chaos = opportunity. Surprise them with a flash-mob keynote.)

TRENDING NOW: What Winners Are Doing in 2024

🚀 Hybrid Isn’t Optional

Virtual audiences aren’t “extra.” They’re your GLOBAL ARMY. Live-stream factory tours. Let remote attendees vote on product designs. MAKE THEM FEEL THERE.

🌱 Sustainability = Credibility

Gen Z doesn’t want your plastic water bottle. They want proof you give a damn. Plant a tree for every attendee. Serve ugly veggies. SHOW, DON’T TELL.

🤖 Tech Is Your BFF

AR scavenger hunts. AI matchmaking. ChatGPT-generated haikus during breaks. USE IT OR LOSE.

🎯 Micro-Experiences > Keynotes

7-minute TED-style talks. 15-person masterminds. 1:1 speed mentoring. PEOPLE HAVE THE ATTENTION SPAN OF A GOLDFISH. ACT LIKE IT.

STOP TALKING. START DOING. (Your Step-by-Step Playbook)

KILL THE “AGENDA” Replace it with a “MISSION.” Example: “Today, we save 1,000 hours of busywork.”

BUDGET LIKE A PIRATE Steal funds from useless line items (looking at you, $20k floral arrangements) and pour them into SURPRISE MOMENTS.

HIRE A “CHIEF ENERGY OFFICER” Their job? Roam the room. Kill awkward silences. Start dance breaks.

GO LIVE. ALWAYS. Stream behind-the-scenes on LinkedIn. Post raw attendee reactions on TikTok. CONTENT IS KING.

CALL THEIR BOSSES Post-event, email attendees’ CEOs with SPECIFIC PRAISE. “Hey Karen’s CEO—Karen’s idea just saved us $2M. Promote her.”

VIRTUAL vs. HYBRID vs. IN-PERSON: Pick Your Fighter

IN-PERSON

✅ Use it for: Gut-punch emotional moments (fundraisers, product demos).

🚫 Avoid if: You’re just ticking a “team-building” box.

VIRTUAL

✅ Use it for: Global brainstorms, data-driven deep dives.

🚫 Avoid if: Your content is snooze-worthy.

HYBRID

✅ Use it for: Building FOMO. Example: Live-audience-only surprises.

🚫 Avoid if: You’re half-assing the tech.

THE BOTTOM LINE

You’re not planning an event. You’re staging a REVOLUTION. Every second is a chance to turn skeptics into believers, employees into owners, and clients into FAMILY.

So ask yourself: Are you hosting a meeting… or starting a movement?

GET TO WORK.

[thisismenow3]

TL;DR is that, just like with a functional and large middle class, the capitalist class and their attack dogs prefer the chaos of misinformed and unruly illiterate masses because it makes knowing how to bring about change harder and the resulting anti-intellectual moron cultural aspects of our society and bad outcomes for the masses stroke the ego of the wealthy who can now say “see? There’s proof we are better and deserve everything and the plebes deserve nothing.” The wealthy would rather be kings of shit piles than the highest paid servants in a functional estate.

It’s also been done on purpose by conservatives. That “it’s been a nationwide trend ten years but goes back 30 ish years in some states” is the direct effect of republicans and the conservatives groups that helped the neocons (alt right before alt right) take over defining what is true by running the playbook that Trump is a master of (in the sense that a fly is a master of eating shit) for even more decades. When you see how they vilify teaching context and fact based history and using multiple lenses to interrogate texts to find truth that is hidden or not even plain to the authors of the time because of bias and framing… it’s not just the facts and how they portray racism in our institutions past and present that they reject. They also reject people being able to understand what’s actually going on. It’s a lot easier to have 30-45% (45-60% of white people) supporting racist “as the only/best way” if their exposure to reality/ideas counter to the ones taught in the home is through tv and internet, as well other heinous shit.

This is why you see right wing movements throughout the decades attacking schools to hamstring their teaching while also trying to force companies to not put out “PC”(woke before it was called woke) shows and movies. You make people unable to understand through reading and averse to learning through anything but media so people just have baseless beliefs mixed in with views spoon fed to them from broadcast journalism of the corporate or right wing and corporate variety. Then people get older and learning takes more effort and no one has time and suddenly when you explain that while all sources have bias you can learn to sort for the truth to then form your own opinions… you lose people. So even people not in the 55% take the lazy way out and may try once or twice with a friend or loved one before they swear off trying to broach this issue on the individual level, all while ignoring it on a larger eve because of the right wing hate mob that destroys lives metaphorically and literally.

No one talks about it in America because the majority of the 45% of adults who don’t have this problem don’t want to do the hard work or benefit from the corrupt systems that are predicated upon it. And if you personally came from money and believe in a revanchist, almost monarchical view that most of humanity “must be ruled” like the majority of conservatives and wealthy… this system is the way you Astro turf “proof” of that belief. 55% of Americans can’t read more than a page and can’t read above a 5th grade level so that people like Tucker Carlson can believe that racism and classism are right while few people have the tools other than raw belief to counter the performance of informed debate the tucker carlsons of the world spout

Quick question, genuine question:

Why on earth does "more than half of US adults under 30 cannot read above an elementary school level" not strike horror into the heart of everyone who hears it?

Are the implications of it unclear????

I'm serious, people keep reacting with a sort of vague dismissal when I point this out, and I want to know why!

If adults in the US cannot read, then the only information they have access to is TV and video, the spaces with the most egregious and horrific misinformation!

If they cannot read, they cannot escape that misinformation.

This obscene lack of literacy should strike fear into every heart! US TV is notoriously horrific propaganda!

Is that???? Not??? Obvious???????

I know this sounds sarcastic, I know it does, but I'm completely serious here. I do not understand where the disconnect is.

[poltergeist-coffee]

Plate Anon 🤝 Poltergeist-coffe

Screaming at each other

(also, this remember me something, like, what you like to be called? Just your username or something else, I was curious for a while but kept forgetting to ask)

But yeah, qpac and qetoiles need therapy (like everyone else in this island) THEY ARE IMPORTANT BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THEY CAN'T SEE IT

This make that time qetoiles lost to the codes more painful, because think about what could'vecrossed his mind after it, he failed on his duty, he failed everyone who was counting on him, who trusted him. Sometimes I think qetoiles don't see himself as more than the weapon he holds, that he can't fail, but he's more than that, he is a friend, heis a father, he is a person(or would it be a cucumber?) he's not made of metal, he can get hurt

And qpac just thinks that if someone had to go, that would be him, because would the best choice, right? Cellbit is the main investigator, and now there's Bagi who is also great, Mike has a good knowledge on create and Forever, well, he's the president, he has charisma and dedicated, the n.i.n.h.o is a proof of this, and well, Felps is Felps(to this day I can't explain this man, he simply is), they would left an hole if they left(and worse, they did) it would be notified, people would feel it, and from that point of view, qpac thinks he would be less of a loss if he was gone. But that's the thing, they are all important, their family works in this way, every piece matter, pac felt every loss, again and again, and they felt when he was gone, when he hurt himself to save qforever

(This what I love in the favela 6, if you looked at their past a everyone you might as "how can this be a functional family?", but they are regardless of all the odds)

(☝️ plate Anon aways finding a way to talk about favela 6)

Honestly,this what makes both of them interesting characters, qetoiles had a big responsibility on his shoulders he couldn't fail(I still find funny how apparently he was supposed to die way before than he did in his last fight with the codes, that's the french beast to you) and qpac doesn't see his own worth, like, y'know the day Kameto came back? He was calmly fighting the mobs and even stopped to fix his hair(also if you find the stream you mentioned please tell me Wich one is)

And if I remember well etoiles was the first to mention pac was a good fighter, right? Sadly they don't interact as much as before but they have a such interesting dynamic

Also I remember that I heard that etoiles wanted to have a villain arc back in the elections arc, but I think he gave up because he didn't exactly have a reason, Pomme had two lives and he's literally the strongest person there lol

(Also THAT part of the fandom is a *insert some insult here because I can't find any word on English that isn't a swear* and he could receive a lot of hate, thats why I don't use Twitter)

But he would be a terrifying villain

And I've been waiting for a TazerCraft villain arc since they got arrested, like, I think Pac deserves to go a bit wild

(Talking about villains, while the happy pills arc wasn't exactly a qforever villain arc, I'm surprised how people embraced it, especially the first day the eggs disappeared, the chat was saying to explode everything and kill. Forever even called Pac to calm him down(Wich he did but he also was like "explode everything" too, Pac has potential to be part of the voices in the head that almost everyone has lol)

-God of the 🍽️ Anon

You call me my username, any shortened version of my username or Kasper! I don't mind whichever you pick lol

plate anon im shaking you by the shoulders youre so based your analysis is immaculate im eating your words now they're mine you cant have them back NJKASDNVAKJS

YOU'RE SO RIGHT THO AAAAARGH!!! i 100% agree i think q!etoiles struggles with seeing himself as more then anything but a protector or like what weapon he has. like he was so lost right after he died from the code and it took the code stuff back. he sort of like gave up/lost all motivation and it didnt help that the eggs are gone!! like he couldnt protect his daughter or the other eggs and now he's failed all the islanders because he couldn't beat the code?? what is he suppose to do now??

sometimes a family is 6 dysfunctional people with complicated pasts and one (1) egg and that makes them an amazing family <33 EVEN IF THEY'RE AT ODDS WITH ONE ANOTHER THEY WILL SUPPORT EACH OTHER/HELP EACH OTHER GAAH!! THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT TO THE ISLAND AND TO EACH OTHER!!

crying and screaming i want them to interact and talk agina TT maybe they will tomorrow... because there's an event and ik etoiles will log on but idk if pac will......... it's okay... i'lll make my own content of them while i wait... sobs....

the twitter qsmp fandom is so TT it can be good but also sometimes its so bad TT like aah there is a lot of hate that comes from there at times,,,, if qetoiles decided to become a villian or to genuinely oppose the other islanders he would be unstoppable like hes so strong kajsdnvkas they're lucky he isn't right now...

I THINK QPAC SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO GO CRAZY!! IF HE WANTS TO KILL I SAY LET HIM!! HE DESERVES IT HE'S BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH ALREADY!! GO CRAZY GO STUPID I SUPPORT HIM!!

i loved seeing forever's chat the first day when we found out the eggs were gone like kjasndvjkas his chat was like "FUCK THE ISLAND GET RID OF IT ALL!!!!" i was also apart of it... i also sort of wanted him to blow it all up.... sorry my bad... i think qforever deserves to do a little crime.... all the stress of being president was too much let him blow up shit i say... (QPac is such an enabler at times akjnvkajs i love him for that)

[myeagleexpert]

The Cycle

Author's Notes: After centuries, here I am with another chapter of Ancient Humans AU, I'll keep a better frequency going forward. Thanks to everyone who read the first part!

Disclaimer: This fic is not intended to offend anyone or be sexist, let alone make the reader uncomfortable. It contains exaggerated archetypes and stereotypes for entertainment purposes only, the scientific information is real, and the steps are based on my own or my friends' experiences. Yuu is a girl here. Some swear words at the end….

Characters: Yuu, Professor Wamuro, Jamil, Kalim mentioned, Leona, Ruggie mentioned, Mob Pomefiore, Vil mentioned, Ace and Deuce, Grim, Malleus, Lillia mentioned.

Want to know what happened in the first part?:

-Now that we have been introduced to the ancient human species, we can look into new branches of more complex content. Going into human biology, we can mention the main and most risky one: the females.- At this moment Wamuro was changing from a renowned professor and strictly serious with references, to a fan of mythology.

Females have a slightly smaller and more curvy body, with the ability to give birth to life and protect the fetus. But that's expected, isn't it? - continued the professor - It was like that with most of us, the mothers who condemned the inheritance of their children, what makes them different you may ask.

Now that we're going to start, in order to have the magnificent ability to give birth, human females undergo a hereditary curse where not only do they bleed for days without any injuries every month of their two lives in order to be in balance, but in order for the cycle of life to continue. they must transform into 4 different people during a single cycle.- students leaned forward, pens ready to take notes and ears ready to listen.

-Let's start on page 20 Mr. Viper, please read it aloud.

“The ancient elders divided and named each process according to the “inner moons”. "The maiden phase" is the first phase of the cycle after bleeding, the pre-ovulatory phase, where the human female feels a lot of energy, productivity and is prone to taking the initiative. Being more willing and physically active. At this stage, it's ideal to take projects off paper and explore new things.” Where did Jamil see this?

“It was about four weeks ago....

When he saw the hard-working prefect of Ramshackle running up and down, full of paper to deliver, she ran so fast she didn't even notice that some papers fell forgotten on the floor.

Jamil sighed, he was on his way to give Kalim a review, in the depths of his heart he felt empathy for Yuu who turned excited when he called her name.

-You seem very busy today, what are these papers?- He gathered the papers and organized them, handing them to Yuu.

-Thank you Jamil! These papers are for Crowley to sign, a new professor, a speaker is coming and we don't even have a place to stay. These are for tomorrow's dorm leaders' meeting, these are the corrected Divus proofs from today's test, this is Trey's list for a new recipe for the upcoming Unbirthday party and…oh it's here! Scarabia's new stable will arrive, for you to sign Jamil!- Yuu spoke so fast that the deputy leader wasn't sure if he had heard right because…

-The approximate date would be for the next month, why will it arrive so quickly? - Suspicious, Jamil squinted as he received the papers. -Yesterday I was reading some documents and as soon as I saw that it was yours I decided to advance, I already spoke with the investors and architects, the elephants' rations will be placed in warehouse 04 so it's better to clean it soon, the new ones will arrive very agitated so already I ordered the tranquilizers too. Oh, another thing. A gift for you Jamil.

It was a strange little box, an “elephant-sized muffler”. How specific, huh.

-I was helping Sam with new loads and he gave me this headset as a bonus, as soon as I saw it I thought of you.

-Why?

-With more elephants, bigger parties and more noise, you should rest too.

-Thank you for your consideration and… what are you wearing?- Jamil finally noticed the outfit Yuu was wearing, a gym outfit and sneakers, all hidden by the uniform's black blazer.

-As soon as I finish here I'm going to train with Jack for a marathon and then Deuce will teach me how to ride a motorcycle, did you know that I always wanted to learn? Anyway, see you later Jamil, take care!

Jamil kept his facade calm, but inside, he tried to understand what happened. Yuu must be very busy today, maybe he'll bring her some warm food later. “

-Next.

-"In the full moon phase, the mother phase, the female is more sensitive, communicative, loving and they feel more attractive and confident. It usually occurs 10 days after menstruation. It is the ideal time to be among friends and family and to intensify social ties.” - The Heartsabull student read obeying Wamuro's quick command, between one nap and another the descriptions led the leader of Savanaclaw, Leona Kingskolar to remember a strange situation from a few days ago…

"Botanical Garden……"

“This was one of those Saturdays where the dreaded Leona Kingskolar would run away from his responsibilities like a lazy kitten in the top of a tree, Ruggie held back from complaining because the money filled his pockets. But their precious nap was interrupted by a sweet melody…

-Tonight love has arrived… .- sang Yuu, in a low tone as if thinking aloud, Leona could let it go, probably she was just doing some quick work and would soon be gone, so he thought. -Yuu, good morning! You're watering my house!- a small green fairy appeared among the bushes that the prefect was watering.

-Good morning Petunia, sorry for the intrusion.

- Oh okay- the little fairy wrung her delicate flower dress to get the excess water out- She really needed a cleaning, dear-

-Good morning girls, what a beautiful day…- an even smaller fairy, and sleepy, comes out of one of the watered flowers and rests on Yuu's shoulders snuggling into his shoulders.

-Oh how cute!

-Good morning, sweetie, where's my kiss?- A talking bird rested on Yuu's shoulders too, pecking lightly at her cheek asking for attention, something that was given without delay.

This attitude sealed the peace rosy world that Yuu had lost, because in seconds….

-I also want!

-Yuu a hug please!

-Yuu a little kiss on the fairy!

The girl without magic found herself on the ground, surrounded by cute creatures and innocent giggles, a sight that disturbed the beatsman's sleep, secretly envy and jealousy made him roll his eyes. With a low roar he jumped out of the tree interrupting the hugs and kisses from the care bears, a sight to behold but Yuu just smiled warmly.

-Oh, Leona? Good morning! We didn't see you there, sorry if we woke you up.

-It's so early in the morning for this kind of problem,- in annoyance, the big cat frowned

-Sorry, it won't happen again, okay?- as she gets up from the floor to greet his “friend” the whinintg animals, sad that their attention has been stolen.

-Tsk..just dont- Yuu quickly approached the beastman and hugged him, an action that caught him off guard, she was always affectionate but her hugs always came at the right time, now, it was like a blanket on a cold day interrupting any kind of of negativity that would dare come out of his mouth

The dreaded and lazy Kingscolar was proud of his image and the care he should have for it, but for a moment, he let himself be carried away by emotions and hugged her back closing his eyes, enjoying a genuine affection from the magic less hervibore, her aura clean soothed him and for a moment, he didn't want it to end. Hey, if anyone asks he can say he was trying to teach the freshman a lesson

-Anyway, I have to go now. Bye everyone, see you later Leona.- Departing from the beastman's arms yuu picked up the watering can and went to do his chores.

-Huh, what a strange herbivore..""

-Next.

“The premenstrual phase, the wich, is marked by hormonal changes and the beginning of an imbalance, it is normal for energies to decrease so that it is focused on preparing the uterus, your personality can become more sensitive when questioning the environment around you and self-charge increases . Period prone to bubbling emotions, so understanding is necessary.”

-Attention attention, now pay close attention that we are entering a more complicated phase, the calm before the storm, or rather, the terror before the storm. Their senses will be sharper, making them easier to provoke. some mythologies indicate the use of chocolates or sweets to maintain calm and well-being, some studies indicate that abdominal pain and discomfort already begin to manifest at this stage.

There was a well-drawn slap mark on the smooth, even skin of the Pomefiore student. He was proud of his effort and results, Vil Schoenheit himself had praised him. So how did he get that slap? Hint: he deserved it.

“It was three days ago...

The day was going to be reasonably good, high score in class, perfect skin, perfect hair but one detail, dirty mouth.

-Take it back, you arrogant bastard.- -Oh, me? I only spoke the truth, little flower.

It was a secret truth in NRC that the magicless student was actually…a girl. Like the one you shouldn't name, she was you know what, something you know what it is. A beautiful girl hiding in a disguise much bigger than her body, with a disguise and androgynous in an abandoned house. That alone would be enough for the prestigious school to find itself in some ethical scandal.

But some just didn't give a shit about those implications, and some discussions led to heavier arguments and uglier fights, "its only use is sitting on the laps of the dormeladers, no wonder it's getting what it wants slut" " just wait until I tell you find alone…” Yuu, as an intelligent and peaceful-sense being normally ignored these childish threats, but today, that Yuu is not in the domains.

-Joshua- cough cough-, I think now I know why you shower yourself with perfume like that… so much shit comes out of her mouth that your ass must be jealous. She's spreading that stench around.

-How dare you little mouse?- Moving closer and closer to her, Joshua at first critical became desperate to clear his ego

-Stay away Joshua, go shower and calm down- the girl covered her nose with her hands, simulating that her scent was strong

-Get ready you bich or I will!….- with his wand raised and aggressively dictating his magic the pomefiore student was about to fire a stench spell at Yuu, but stopped for a moment, “What would Vil Schoenheit do in this situation?” That chang his mind, an elegant exit would be more appropriate. - "You know what, I'm not going to waste my precious magic on scum like you, unlike commoner students without magic, I have a wand to take care of" -Joshua tried his best but couldn't deny that he was as hard-headed as she was, his disgusted face and snobbish posture was what Yuu needed to reach his final point…

-Do me a favor Joushua, stick YOUR FUCKING WAND IN YOUR FUCKING ASS AND RUN THE FUCK OUT YOU DISGRACEFUL KID!

At the moment he knew, he fuck up.

Yuu's smaller body shook with rage as he leapt on top of the handsome student taking him to the ground, letting his fury spill out as his fists slammed and kicked the bigger one, along with some rips in his clothing. Some students arrived to break up the fight, others to watch. He didn't let himself be a victim, he took her off him and started to slap her while she kicked the body on top of hers, a kick in the chest, legs and… aaaah, that hurt. The boys felt empathetic pain.

With this strategically thought out movement, the two separate and some students separate them and lift them off the ground. Josuha was discredited and that someone so low managed to have the audacity to pick a fight with him, some curses here and there, the students managed to hold the two even with difficulty.

-Get lost punk!- Yuu lets go and a well-placed slap was deposited aggressively on his face- One day is the hunt another day the hunter.- Looking furiously at Jousha's purple eyes, Yuu spoke his final sentence and left the hall Accompanied by Deuce and Ace, a monster cat even released blue sparks when Joshua reached for it again.

An intimidating expression stayed on Yuu's face the entire day, ready to attack anyone. But when she saw a cute video of kittens, she cried without a second thought as she devoured a box of chocolates, which soothed her angry womb.""

-I'll read the next one.- Wamuro interrupted enthusiastically.

-"Menstruation"…sorry students, my book doesn't have the last page, it looks like the letters were blurred. Anyway, I'll tell you from my memory and knowledge. - the final pages were so old, but so ancient, that the humidity of the air blurred all the letters, a disappointment for the professor, the book had been one of his first studies when the topic was forbidden, oh how much nostalgia it brought him.

-And finally, the day has arrived, at the end of the cycle the final phase, the crone, the apex of the uterus has arrived. Pains as strong as a heart attack, being forced to get used to this pain, the Females continued their lives normally until bigger crises arrived. Your body's blood starts to gush from its sacred place even though you are not hurt, your body is sore and exhausted from this monthly internal transformation, and in more detail I include: The most common effects of menstruation on the body include; abdominal bloating, fluid retention, mood swings, indisposition, nausea, general malaise, headache, back pain and terrible cramps, being able to squirm for days, in addition to several other unknown and very dangerous symptoms, but all for a purpose : generate a life.

The ancient females were, of course, great warriors.- the master concluded

This lecture caught everyone's attention, so much so that it attracted Malleus and Lillia to study. The most excellent professor Wamuro had explained that these "ancient humans" no longer exist, but the heir to the thrones could not help but notice the similarities between the ancient race and his beloved Child of Man, the prefect of Ramcharkle, and now that he has learned about the blood curse he is more worried about than ever. Oh, if only he had known sooner!

“The night before...

The young Master Malleus was wandering through the ruins around the school, when, instinctively, his footsteps led him to A Ramcharkle Dorm, his favorite place. Perhaps the mayor is still awake for an exploration together.

Upon reaching the courtyard, he couldn't detect Yuu's presence at the door…nor in the kitchen…but from the living room he noticed drops of blood, on the sofa, on the stairs… and in the bathroom. pain, warm cloths that Malleus assumed would stop the blood, a hemorrhage. As he analyzed strange packaged blood pads, was it a “first aid kit?” Since he found out that Yuu was actually a girl, he was careful and kept an eye out for any danger to the magic-less student, who knows what the horrible NRC students would do with that information. His fear started to show when he didn't listen. nor his feline companion, their meows and tantrums would be disturbing him now for opening the door without knocking. With his heightened hearing, he heard grunts of pain coming from above, in Yuu's personal room.

-I'm going henchman!- grim shouted as he quickly climbed the stairs with something in his paws.

-Quick Grim, help!

Malleus quickly followed the monster towards -Yuu's room, when Grim opened the door he saw a harrowing scene. His formerly cheerful Child of Man was now writhing in pain on the bed, his room a mess, and there was blood on his sheets.

-Yuu, what's going on? - Malleus' worried voice echoed in the room as he approached the bed.-Are you going to die? Are you hurt?

-Oh, Tsunutaro…- Yuu's voice was shaky, the only times Malleus called her by name was when it was a dangerous situation, like the fire incident with Rollo. She didn't have the strength to drink tea alone, so Grim supported her. his head and made him give the first sips. As he drank, his pains were…becoming more bearable.

-What magic potion was that you gave?- Malleus tried his best to remain calm, but Yuu didn't give any answers other than his low breathing.

-Chamomile tea. Yuu, here are the warm cloths that the ghosts brought.- gathering the tea and the warm cloths, his breathing was normalizing and his pains diminishing, until he arranged his position to talk to his dear friend, in a calmer expression while Malleus was forming dark, dark clouds on the horizon.

-What was the evil that attacked you Yuu?

-Whats up, Tsunutaro. You know, that thing arrived and I wasn't prepared.

-Who is “thing”, was he the one who invaded Ramcharckle and attacked her in her vulnerable state?- With his hand on his chin, Malleus thought of all the possible enemies that Yuu could have, thinking of a punishment for each one.

-Not him, she. Menstruation came really hard this month, I'm glad I have ghosts and grim to take care of me.

The feline purred on top of Yuu's belly who caressed it, the cat's vibrations eased its cramps. The truth is that this month Yuu was very overloaded, with tasks, with Grim, with her friends, with Crowley… who, in addition to not taking care of her health and ignoring the symptoms, forgot to set the day, causing a strong flow to arrive unexpectedly while watched TV with Grim in the living room. The ignored symptoms now insisted on being noticed, so much pain and stress and increased blood making Yuus turn from side to side in bed, trying to find the right position so as not to die of pain.

The ghosts had had experiences similar to these, so they taught Grim how to make the chamomile tea that Yuu always made and warmed the hot towels. But the powerful heir to the throne of thorns didn't know anything that was happening, he had never witnessed something like that, maybe ask Lillia later about this "menstruation" that attacked Child of man. His questions were dying in his mouth, he was confused, but Yuu was fast asleep.

-Do you feel better now, Child of Man?- Malleus approached Yuu, brushing the hair from his forehead and putting it behind his ear, feeling sad to see lines of dried tears, what a terrible pain.

-Getting better… little by little.- her confidence was so much in the fairy, that she didn't hesitate to keep her eyes closed, enjoying the calming effect of the chamomile

-I hope it doesn't last more than 5 days so you don't miss Henchman classes.

-Maybe it lasts all night Grim, but I'll be better tomorrow, as long as you bring me chocolates hehe.

-Anything, invoke me and I will help you, dear Child of Man- the fairy said goodbye leaving a trail of fireflies that gave Yuu a more cozy environment for a peaceful night.

As soon as he arrived in Diasomnia, he went straight to Lillia's room, who was playing some new game, when telling what happened the war veteran could not answer all the prince's questions, proposing that they go to have a meeting with the master in humans, Professor Wamuro , who coincidentally had a class the next day…

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Curiosity: This idea came to me when my brother saw me researching menstruation phases and he said "So you mean you are four people in a month? Who am I talking to now", this innocent question made me have the inspiration to do this fic. Curiosity II: The archetypes are different in my language to English, but they mean the same thing.