#nov 14 2023

[shimomcdragon]

Self insert for a little roleplay event

[abybweisse]

With how certain parts in the story play out or are portrayed, do you think Yana exploits or down plays O!Ciel’s trauma sometimes? For example, during Noah’s circus arc, that panic attack he has is caused when he was exposed to Kelvin’s doings which triggered his trauma. Yet at the same time, actions like Ran Mao hugging O!Ciel and pushing him into her chest makes him flustered. The interaction doesn’t make him panic in the same way even though he suffered at the hands of both men and women in the cult. I can mostly chalk it up to Yana putting in fan service in when it comes to how he is framed in certain instances or in situations like the corset scene, but overall, is his trauma only there when the plot needs it?

Our earl's trauma on display

I'd say the trauma is there all the time. It's just that much of the time he can somewhat control how he reacts. He regularly suppresses his emotions, anyway, because it's the only way he can move forward on his goals. Consider this part of his act, pretending to be the "better" older twin. He knows real Ciel went through the same ordeals, but he probably assumes his older brother would have faced each new day with all the strength he could muster... if he had survived instead. It's probably on his mind more often than we actually witness, but since he's not the main, title character, we don't see his thoughts as often.

If he were constantly displaying the effects of the severe trauma, he'd pull a revolver on Sebastian when he's called upon to wake up each day. He'd be jumping out of his skin to run away whenever a creep like Druitt showed up. Or crouching down to go into the fetal position and scream. That sort of thing. He'd be too much of a mess to let the plot progress. He wouldn't be able to function very well. Basically, he'd be like he was during the witch arc, until Sebastian was 90% serious about devouring his soul then and there.

Honestly, the series would be hard(er) to read, if we were constantly getting the full brunt of the effect those traumatic events have on him. As a victim of childhood abuse myself, with the repetitive intrusive thoughts and flashbacks I already have regarding those long-past experiences, reading and seeing illustrations of similar ongoing suffering would be somewhat detrimental... possibly. What I experienced wasn't as terrifying or horrific as what happens to him and his twin (though the abuse lasted way longer for me), and I don't have any real triggers. Regardless of what happened to me, I do my best to carry on with the day-to-day, even on days I'm thinking about it more than usual. Whatever PTSD I might have isn't nearly as severe as it could be. A series written that way -- our earl constantly showing us how he suffers from trauma -- would be downright unreadable for a lot of people. Some find it too emotionally difficult, as is, and dropped the series.

I expect that what he mentally goes through, after the abuses, is pretty much the same thing all day, every day. It's repetitive, pestering him, and he has to brush away thoughts about it. He does the best he can to hold himself together. He tries to focus on revenge. On Funtom. On his duties as watchdog. Whatever... to think about something other than that timeframe and those memories. What's shown to us (of the trauma) are the times when it's just too much for him to maintain that composure... as well as what caused the trauma in the first place. I'd say that is quite enough to get the point across.

It's sad that a lot of those scenes are given fan service treatment. Sad mostly because it means there's still a large chunk of the fandom that practically demands it. I'd prefer a lack of glamor and sexualization in those moments. I know a lot of fans would agree with me. But she can't please everyone all the time. And what sells, sells.

[abybweisse]

We need to know, Sebastian....

This has meme potential

[dianereviewsbooks]

The Edge

The Edge is another terrific thriller from the master, David Baldacci. A former Ranger, Travis Devine, is working for the government in various shady projects. His latest assignment is to investigate the murder of CIA agent Jenny Silkwell in a rural coastal Maine town. The agent’s phone and laptop are both missing and may contain top secret information. During his investigation, Travis finds a…

[aricastmblr]

jk se recarga en jm - jm se recarga en jk - por una cosa u otra se recargan uno al otro.

JiminxJungKook Are You Sure?! Sapporo Disney+ Season3 Episode 8 Fin de Temporada

Inicio viaje el 14 Jul 2023 Sigue viaje el 25 Nov 2023~FIN

[chivalrouswooly]

[abybweisse]

Perched on a pillow

I absolutely wouldn't put it past Yana-san to show us Claudia/Cloudia's skull -- repeatedly -- hiding in plain sight.

Having it shown sitting on a pillow in a parlor or shop is a JKR move, if I ever saw one, too. Our earl seeing the skull at Undertaker's parlor is a lot like Harry seeing Ollivander's wand display in the window of his shop. Both seem insignificant, or perhaps a quirk, but both probably have pride of placement for meaningful reasons. More about the wand after the cut.

But I suspect that Undertaker has something in common with Garrick Ollivander besides keeping a very personal item hidden in plain sight on a pillow. Despite Ollivander selling wands, he is never seen using one. Despite working as an Undertaker, he's reanimating the dead with a wish to essentially revive his most advanced Bizarre Doll subjects. Also, despite being a reaper with poor eyesight, Undertaker is never seen wearing the glasses he wore when he was working as active reaper 136649....

There's also something about those names: Garrick Ollivander... and what I believe to be Undertaker's real name -- Cedric K. Rosewood. Both first names end in -rick/-ric -- even more so if you use the K., like Garrick and CedricK -- and the last names are about types of wood... if I'm right about what "Ros--" really turns out to be. Oh, and it would also work pretty well if it's Rosedale or Rosenthal, both meaning "rose valley". In Ivanhoe, you have Cedric of Rotherwood, and Rotherwood is where I got the idea of Rosewood. And the K. might come from a staff nickname for Undertaker, standing for kama "scythe", but they wouldn't disclose that nickname... just yet... because it would give the truth away too soon. We have to recall that William T. Spears gets his T. from the nickname Takaida or 高い枝 takai eda, referring to how his death scythe is meant for cutting high branches.

HP wand lore musings....

When Harry goes to Ollivander's wand shop, the only display in the window is a simple wand "of unknown wood" on a purple pillow. Ollivander is known for using magic without pulling out a wand 🪄 at all. He has probably developed this ability better than most witches and wizards, due to the fact that his own wand is used as the shop display.

From the fan wiki:

Note: That's not actually what Ollivander means, but it's apparently the meaning that JKR gives it... or simply whoever wrote the entry in the fan wiki came up with that added meaning. In reality, it's more like "good man of the olive" or simply "olive man".

But why use that one as a shop display? Why doesn't he use it for magic and display some random, fancier looking wand?

I suspect that it doesn't actually work terribly well for him. The fandom wiki suggests it is the wand passed down through generations of Ollivander wand makers. However, Ollivander tells Harry "the wand chooses the wizard", and we've been repeatedly reminded that another person's wand isn't likely to work well for you... even more the case if the wand feels a particular attachment to the previous or true owner. Either this (most likely olive wood) wand only worked well for the original Ollivander, or it worked well for generations of Ollivanders but not for him. Is it actually broken? Possibly, but it could just as easily be a case of the wand not choosing Garrick Ollivander.

And I believe the wand is fine but doesn't choose him. Just like his last name meaning "he who owns the olive wand" -- or even just "olive man" -- telling us what the wand on the pillow is carved from, his first name tells us it's not a match for him. His father is Gerbold, and another direct ancestor is Gervaise. Both names refer to a spear...

...(much like William T. Spears, as well as Ludger!):

So, Gerbold Ollivander essentially means "bold, brave spear (man) who owns the olive wand" or more truthfully "bold spear, man of olive".

Similarly, Gervaise Ollivander (farther back in the lineage) means "skilled with a spear, man who owns the olive wand" or more truthfully "skilled with a spear, man of olive".

Notice that each one starts out "Ger-" and that the older generation one is "skilled" with the spear. Gar- also refers to a spear... but of a specific wood... that isn't olive.

Garrick has most likely inherited this olive wood wand that worked for his predecessors well enough, but it doesn't work well for him, and his parents probably intuitively knew this when they named him after a grove of oak trees. Truth is, it probably worked less and less for each owner down the line. Gervaise was skilled with it, while Gerbold was perhaps not as skilled but still bold and brave with it -- perhaps bold and brave to even still wield it! 😆

Garrick Ollivander essentially means "oak spear king owner of the olive wand" or more truthfully "oak spear king of the olive".

By the time Garrick runs the shop, he's simply the owner of the olive wand, not the wielder of it. There are two very real possibilities here for why Garrick doesn't use a wand in front of anyone:

He is rejected by the family wand, but instead of finding one (probably made of oak) to choose him, he refuses to use a wand and develops his magic abilities without one.

He is rejected by the family wand, and he's been chosen by another (made of oak), but he doesn't want people to know the family wand rejects him, so he's developed his wand-free abilities.

Is Claudia near Undertaker?

During reading the manga again I’ve noticed a skull on a pillow on Undertaker’s desk. I wonder whose it could be?

Undertaker was seen cuddling a skeleton also on other official arts like these below:

What do you think @abybweisse​ ?

[umgeorge]

📷 @.twofiftyk / instagram

[umlewis]

"'I think we have to be respectful of the locals' Lewis Hamilton says it's important 'people are taken care of' and not impacted negatively by F1 coming to Las Vegas 👇" - november 15, 2023 📷 @.skysportsf1 / twitter (transcription under the cut)

Lewis: "I've heard there have been a lot of complaints about the event being here fom the locals, and I think we have to be respectful of the locals here. So many people here are working so hard. We've got to make sure that we're… There's a lot of money and wealth in this city, and also other places we go in this industry, and so we've got to make sure that people are taken care of, I think. And we can't be a circus that shows up that's all glitz and glammer and people are effected negatively by it, in my opinion, and so that's… But I think there's guys are working…"

[cerysdelaney]

Under Dreaming is Complete.

Thank you to everyone who is still around to enjoy the ending. It was my first fic and it feels good to finally say it is complete.

Enjoy the Epilogue. It’s sweet and spicy.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775452/chapters/130436278

Wattpad:

[tython-datacron]

playing heroics while having dinner >>> watching youtube while having dinner

[abybweisse]

Everything I know about Ciel is against my will. You see, I hadn’t read the manga all the way yet and any knowledge I do have of future events come from blogs I follow (I know about the twins and Agni’s death, that sort of stuff). Against my better judgement, I decided to read further ahead because I wanted some context (I’m currently on the circus arc) and I am truly devastated upon reading ch 135. It made me so upset and I know what I came here for, Kuro is not exactly a bright and upbeat story, but having the kinds of things done to him spelled out instead of being inferred or implied is heartbreaking. I tried to continue reading where I was at in the story but couldn’t stop looking at Ciel and being sad for him. I’m kind of avoiding continuing reading because of that and although I’m 6 years late to the “ch.135 is sad” party, I needed to get my feelings out. Sorry if it’s not the place but no one I know is into Kuro and would be able to understand.

That being said, is it possible that what happened to him within the cult effected the way he interacts with/ sees/ treats any adults regardless of who they are or whether they’re “safe” or not? I always saw him as someone who is trying to escape from his childhood while at the same time attempting to reclaim it. I haven’t read all the way through so I may be missing more information. It’s a question I had swimming in my mind after being totally crushed.

Post traumatic stress

Since you are currently in the circus arc, it's hard for me to say too much without spoiling things even more.

Everything about our earl's (our Ciel's) position as Earl Phantomhive, the queen's watchdog, must be a near constant struggle for him. He suffered greatly before he had ever returned to the manor, and yet he chooses to fill this role. Every time he has to deal with some creep -- even Vanel within the first few chapters -- he must feel repulsed by what they say, let alone anything they might do. Sebastian sometimes reinforces those feelings of disgust, even when he's not necessarily trying to do so.

This kid definitely sees adults differently now than before the attack and even more differently now than before the cult got hold of him and his older twin. Before the attack, the worst he had to deal with were bouts of asthma, feelings of inferiority, and wondering what he would do to make a living when he got older. Those are hard enough. After the initial incident, he's lost not just his family but his entire world, small as it was. After the cult, he's lost most of his innocence and temporarily lost his dignity. He's even lost the brother he'd been reunited with for about a month.

Since returning to the manor, people have sometimes been inappropriate with him, in words and/or in deeds. Vanel says he'd sell the kid off and thinks it's considerate to say he'd drug him enough that he wouldn't know or care what was happening to him -- not having a clue this kid's already been through that and worse. Druitt tries to auction him off while thinking he's a girl; oddly, though, that means Druitt didn't personally examine the kid. Doll places his hands on her chest to show she's a girl and offers to let him see what's further down. In a later arc, Sieglinde does and says several highly inappropriate things.

There's been a big delay in typing up the rest of my response, so I have no idea how far along you are now, if you are still reading the series. Perhaps you've hit the green witch arc and know what Sieglinde does and says....

It seems to me that Sebastian enjoys watching his young master suffer from reminders of what he'd experienced from the cultists. You can see some of that when he saves the kid from Vanel. A little bit in getting ready for Druitt's party and the escape from it. And even more when he doesn't kill the circus doctor until his master can finally get the words out to order him to do so. I'm assuming you've finished the circus arc by now, at least. He lets the kid suffer a bit more than necessary later on, in other scenarios, and sometimes just plain makes the kid feel uncomfortable. Though, oddly, he doesn't say anything about how he got information out of Beast; he could have told the kid just to see the revulsion on his face, but he doesn't. But there are other times where he "shields" the kid from viewing mature content, but I think that has more to do with being a proper butler to a child, when the other servants are around. Like it's an act for their benefit, not his master's benefit.

For the most part, our earl doesn't automatically treat adults (or other minors) like they might harm him, but whenever anyone talks about anything sexual or exposes parts that would be considered inappropriate for the era -- or even touches him in an unexpected manner -- you can tell he's a bit on edge, sometimes plain grossed out by it.

[warmglowofsurvival]

[first screenshot]

[aricastmblr]

jk pega-nalguea a jm - jmjk en años

JiminxJungKook Are You Sure?! Sapporo Disney+ Season3 Episode 8 Fin de Temporada

Inicio viaje el 14 Jul 2023 Sigue viaje el 25 Nov 2023~FIN

[tay-swifts]

GLEN POWELL Men's Health Magazine (Nov 14, 2023)

[umgeorge]

via iwcwatches' ig story - november 17, 2023