#someone can be unsavory and not literally deserve to die

[rotpunks]

i think perhaps what is wrong with america is cheering someone's death because they don't agree with you politically

[firelord-frowny]

itsmerandi replied to your post:I finally watched parasite and what the FUCK

Lol another mutual of mine is watching it tonight too! PLEASE I’d love to hear your thoughts!

@itsmerandi Okaysolike?????

literally WHERE do i even BEGIN omg!!! 

So, as far as lying to get well-paying jobs working for rich people, I wasn’t even remotely mad at the son or the sister. Like, the son was actually kinda qualified for the job, even though he didn’t have the credentials to prove it, so like, I ain’t mad at him for forging some documents and lying about his education lmao. The sister was a bit shadier, I guess, lying about being a psychologist, which like, that wasn’t necessary lmfao. But I still wasn’t too mad, bc hey, a girl’s gotta get paid. 

BUT THEN! When they framed the driver for being a perv??? And then got the housekeeper fired by triggering her allergies and then convincing Mrs. Park that she had fucking tuberculosis??? That was vile! Like gosh! It’s one thing to lie your way into a job, but it’s another thing entirely to GET ANOTHER WORKING CLASS PERSON FIRED so you can take their job!! Which like, I mean, I guess being broke can make people resort to hella unsavory things, but woooow. That was sooooo messy. 

But the whole time, I’m enjoying the wacky shenanigans of this family of con artists living it up in a mansion that isn’t theirs, getting drunk, making fun of the rich folks for not having a clue that they’re being duped, and I’m just having myself a grand ol’ time. 

BUT THEN OMFG WHEN THE OLD HOUSEKEEPER SHOWS UP TO GET HER FUCKING HUSBAND OUT OF THE BASEMENT???? WHAT??? LMFAO WHYYYYYY!!!! WHAT IS HE DOING THERE!!! AND WHY DOES HE SEEM TO HAVE A CREEPY OBSESSION WITH MR. PARK??? I literally just. Don’t even know what to say about that lmfao ew ew EW. 

But like wooooooow that scene where they were hiding under the table while Mr. and Mrs. Park were snuggling on the couch and like... Mr. Park starts talking about how the dad has a weird smell... he said he smells like a fucking boiled rag! A BOILED RAG, RANDI!!!! That’s! So MEAN! A boiled rag!!! Not just a rag, not even a dirty rag, but a BOILED rag. Boiled. BOILED. I can’t. I CANNOT!!! This poor man had to listen to someone say he smells like a BOILED RAG!!! I felt so sad for him omfg!! 

And then when they finally sneak out of the house and return home to find THEIR ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD FLOODED IN SEWAGE??? And they go in their lil home to try to salvage anything at all, but it’s just. Ruined and disgusting!! :( And like, jeez, the daughter broke my fucking heart with the way she so quickly resigned herself to abject apathy. Like. There is not one single thing she could do to make the situation even a little bit better. She’s helpless. She’s watching her home become a literal cesspool. Shit is exploding out of the toilet and she just fucking accepts it, and smokes a cigarette, and chills on the toilet while shit spews all around her. Like jeeeeeez. That scene Got To Me. That was the single saddest moment of the film for me. And the fact that after all of that happened they had to go back and work for this rich family??? Heartbreaking. You lose everything in the blink of an eye because you were too poor to be able to afford to live somewhere where there’s lower risk of a catastrophe happening, meanwhile you have to smile your way through working for filthy rich people who have probably never had a reason to even worry about losing their home.

AND THEN!!!!!!

The birthday party. The fucking birthday party. 

Randi. 

RANDI!!! 

what the FUCK!!! 

The sister! The poor sister!! She was kind of a shitty person, yeah, but damn! She didn’t deserve that! :( :( 

AND THEN THE DAD STABS THE OTHER DAD all because he saw him pinch his nose shut at the smell of the crazy basement man! But tbh I lowkey felt like I would have wanted to do the same thing lmao like jeez, you classist lil shit, your son’s birthday party just turned into a Mass Knifing, and you still have the presence of mind to pinch your nose at someone’s stank???? 

But then again, i know i often feel like i would rather Literally Die than smell something stanky, so idk lmfao. 

But anyway,

Jeeeeeeeeeesus fucking christ! 

What! A fucking! Nightmare! 

And then goshhhh when the son decides to get rich and buy the house??? And the dad is just being a creep living in the basement?? That was some pathological shit omg. And it made me so saaaAAAAD like wow, there really are people out there who want so badly to be rich that it’s like a legit fairy-tale-like fantasy for them. Like, they just go and stare longingly at big houses. Which like. On the one hand, I can sorta imagine how poverty might make someone long for exorbitant wealth, buuuut personally, I can’t imagine legitimately wanting that kind of lifestyle, let alone longing for it and feeling depressed about not having it. I mean, I can see, at most, how it would be cool to spend a few nights in a luxury suite with room service and fancy showers and plush robes. But like. I don’t need to be wealthy for that lmao I just need to save up a few grand to treat myself to a lil fancy vacation maybe once every few years. It’s not at allllllll something I value enough that I would want it at my fingertips every day. Like, I really don’t feel even remotely envious of wealthy people beyond the fact that they don’t need to worry about the cost of food or housing or health care. Really, I’m more likely to pity them for various reasons that I’m currently too unfocused to articulate. But yeah like. The fact that people are so often and so intensely encouraged to aspire toward obscene wealth is sick and, especially when coupled with poverty that’s manufactured and built into a society, it can make people so spiritually/emotionally ill. :(

But oh oh!

Also??? I was surprised how much I appreciated the portrayal of the rich family??? I mean yeah they were a tiny bit elitist but they were mostly just a nice, normal family. In media that depicts dynamics between rich people and poo people, I’m so used to the rich people being portrayed as snobby and evil and selfish. But these folks weren’t any of those things. They were just normal people. Normal people who have a few personality flaws that stem from being accustomed to being able to have whatever they want exactly when they want it, but like. They were still nice, kind people for the most part. A loving husband and wife who are invested in using their affluence to make sure their children can thrive. 

Which I mean like, I don’t mean to suggest that ~oh wahhh, rich people are unfairly portrayed in the media~ or anything like that bc that would be dumb lmfao. But in this specific context, I liked that even though they weren’t ~good guys,~ they definitely were not villains. Just! Wealthy folks who are mostly just minding their own business and throwing their money around!

[bifacialler]

theskoomacat replied to your post “Why I have a dubious opinion about Baba Yaga in contemporary media”

as a slavic person: she literally eats babies in many tales. not to diminish the narrative and historical complexity of her character but was always used as a forest bogeyman for kids. she is never presented as a noble wise woman she is a half dead cannibal prone to cursing people. i mean if you really want to get inspired by the real version go for it but what you are saying is in the same vein as "medusa's curse is for her protection" it's just not correct

As a slavic person to another slavic person: I understand where you are coming from, and if you don’t mind, I shall expand on some points that you made, and explain why I approach her whole “cannibalism” part in the way that I do. 

Disclaimer: I am more familiar with the mythos around Baba Yaga within the confines of Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian folklore. If you have information regarding the Baba Yaga mythos from other Slavic cultures (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and so on), feel free to share, I would love to learn more. [Like I recently learned about the concept of powerful human souls called Zduhači within Montenegro/Herzegovinian/Serbian folklore who would epicly battle each other with storms and stuff and if that is not amazing, I don’t know what is.]

Yes, in the post-christianisation revamps of the tales Baba Yaga is diminished to the boogeyman to fend kids away from the forest under the reasoning that she will eat them, and has multiple hand visual cues of being cannibalistic, most importantly a fence out of human bones. (Not surprising, since the only form of paganism that was accepted with introduction of uniformed religion was through elimination of major pagan deities [destruction of places of worship, throwing their totems into the river and so on] and demonisation of the lesser vedic creatures). More so, in majority of tales the woman starts off her meeting with a person by saying “go away or I will eat you”. I spend couple of hours this fine morning searching for a single tale where she actually does - there are multiple where attempts are made, always failing due to ingenuity and expression of kindness of the protagonist towards other characters present: for example, in Afanasiev’s Baba Yaga, the girl feeds the cat and the dog, gives a girl a kerchief so she won’t stoke the fire, oils the gates and so on. and they help her escape. I found one (1) story in which Baba Yaga manages to actually eat someone - it was mentioned in Encyclopedia of Russian Mythology by Eriashvili/Madlenskay/Pavlovskii - and it was her daughters (which are a pretty rare occurence in the collective of the Baba Yaga tales), but since being eaten by Baba Yaga was another way to get to Nav’ (one-way trip, so to say), and they were already of the mythical kind thus belonging to the Nav’, being shape-shifters and such, it really has no weight. 

Baba Yaga is not nice, never was, because she is indeed half-dead, and presented as such. [She is also heavily implied to be blind, but that’s a separate topic.] She literally exists in two planes simultaneously: in Yav’ and in Nav’. Being tightly associated with both cult of Mara/Mora and cult of Makosh (there is a pretty fascinating dissertation published in 1999 covering Yaga/Makosh juxtaposition called “The ambivalent images of Slavic Panteon”), it is her primary duty to conduct the rites of transformation and passage (mostly similar to burial rites), which didn’t mean she had to be hospitable about it - would be surprising, considering the character coming to her is either seeking the entrance to the underworld which is Not For Mortals (if we are talking heroic tales), or are send to her to die (most of women/children characters). [Also, I read a theory that she does the Russian version “Fe, fi, fo, I smell the Englishman’s blood” because as the smell of the dead is unpleasant to the living, the smell of living is unsavory to the dead aka those from the Nav’. Which is hilarious, since not only someone barges into her house demanding things, they also reek to kingdom come, possibly of black tar, so I’m inclined to say #same.]

To say that she is not noble is true - she has a right to, she is a nasty old woman who honestly doesn’t want to deal with all that - but to say that she is not wise is to omit one of her 4 archetypes, Yaga the Giver, who is a literal keeper of magical knowledge (props to Propp, once again). This is particularly interesting when taken in juxtaposition with her Yaga the Kidnapper archetype, because within those tales we can she that she is duped EXTREMELY easily. To the extend that it might be suggested that there is no possible way that she couldn’t see all of that coming. More so, it turns to pretty much comical to me, because whenever a child/young girl would be demanded to do something, in came in a form of “Do this, or I will eat you”. If she truly wanted to eat them she wouldn’t go through all that. This is a character, in her Yaga the Warrior archetype, who was able to beat the person half to death for breaking in her house. Yaga helps those she deems worthy of her help. There are tales in which Yaga is antagonistic, but these are later tales, featuring creatures like Koshei, a post-13th century character. 

Baba Yaga to me is absolutely fascinating in her complexity, so yes, I prefer to take her through the prism of 200 years worth of folkloristic and mythological study, rather than solemnly through later itinerations where most of the complexities are reduced to superstition and concepts like holy/unholy and good/evil, which are not really that interesting to me, and I genuinely think she deserves better.

[elcorhamletlive]

MCU Rewatch: The First Avenger

“this one has waited long enough” IT SURE FUCKING HAS

I like Red Skull’s introduction. I especially like the hints we get of his transformation (”you will burn”, “I already have” and the moment where he touches his cheek) and the two close-up shots we get of Hydra’s symbol, both spotless and then, after the scene, with blood splattered all over it. It’s not SUBTLE, but I like it.

THE SHOT OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. I LOVE.

“Kind makes you think twice about enlisting, huh?” “Nope” I gotta say, I used to think this scene was the first guy teasing Steve, but rewatching I think he’s just making conversation and Steve is just full set on DETERMINATION MODE so his response is a little too blunt. lol I love it.

nnngg I love Evans’ facial expressions when he approaches the doctor??? The matter-of-factly way he explains both of his parents’ death (because he’s done this exact process many times before)??? I LOVE IT.

“Every able-bodied young man is serving his country” Look. Far be it from me to claim this movie has some groundbreaking message about disabilities or whatever, but it does such a good job on stablishing Steve’s motivations. There’s a reason Steve longs to prove himself that’s so clear on this one line alone.

jahodiawjojaojowjdioj look I know we aren’t even ten minutes in and I already can’t shut up but!!!!!!!! My rant about how “angry chihuahua Steve” is the worst characterization wasn’t even entirely COMPLETE because at the movies scene, Steve downright tries to calmly ask the dude to stop at first???? His expression is wary and he’s like “hey, can you show some respect” and only when the guy keeps going that he evolves to “hey, can you shut up”. STEVE IS A REASONABLE PERSON WHO DOESN’T GO AROUND PICKING FIGHTS FOR NO REASON, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK.

“We’ll face any threat no matter the size” just as the dude stands up and faces down lil Steve. I LOVE.

Aside from the GARBAGE CAN AS A SHIELD MY HEART GROWS THREE SIZES EVERY TIME I SEE IT (STEVE FIRST INSTINCT IS ALWAYS TO DEFEND FIRST IT TAKES A RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME IN THE FIGHT FOR HIM TO EVEN THROW A PUNCH), he takes three punches straight on the face, all of which knock him to the ground, standing up each time. I kind of live bc it would have been easy to just cut to Steve already beated up and the dude going “you don’t know when to give up huh”, but they make a point of showing him standing up. This movie has such a good attention to detail.

Bucky tells Steve he got his orders and Steve’s sole response is to listen and then go “I should be going”. Steve kind of went through a bunch of emotional - and literal - blows in sequence, but his first reaction is not to emotionally rely on his best friend but to retreat and be by himself. Bucky sees through it and pushes him to not do that, thankfully, but it’s still an interesting characterization thing.

I’m in love with the way Steve takes a breath and straightens his bangs when they meet the girls. HE’S SO NERVOUS and he already knows how this is going to go.

TAKE HIS GODDMAN PEANUTS DEAR GOD LADY, YOU DON’T HAVE TO MARRY HIM JUST DON’T BE RUDE!!!!

Dominic Cooper as young Howard is just perfect casting. He’s a delight to watch and he and Rdj look alike enough to see a family resemblance.

There’s a lot I can talk about Steve and Bucky’s argument at the fair, but I think it all boils down to the fact that I think both reasons they mention for Steve to insist on getting enlisted are true. Steve has something to prove, he wants to prove he’s not useless, and he also feels that, if someone is putting their lives on the line, he should also be out there doing the same. Both things can be points of influence, they don’t necessarily contradict each other.

Steve doesn’t have any delusions about war, though. Both of his parents died because of it. He doesn’t show any joy for Bucky when he’s recruited. At this point I do think he has respect for the army as an institution, but he knows war isn’t pretty.

Steve hurrying to put his shoes back on when he thinks he’s about to be arrested, lol. Pretty sure he would have tried to run away if the guard and Eskrine hadn’t shown up immediately.

One thing I like about this movie is that, although it doesn’t really challenge the idea of american patriotism significantly, it works around all the potentially unsavory aspects of a character like Steve with small details, such as giving Steve a non-american love interest and a non-american mentor, making a point to acknowledge their struggles as such (”Queen Victoria”), and also making a point to show how Steve himself doesn’t partake in this xenophobia. It’s one of the reasons this movie works.

That’s all to say I love Steve laughing when Peggy punches Hodge. He’s the only soldier who laughs. I love.

What does one pack to go prepare for war?? BOOKS, obviously. So many books. He’s a geek and I LOVE HIM.

The FLAG SCENE. How the sergeant guy doesn’t even expects him to DO anything and immediately tells him to fall back in line. His little “Thank you, sir” before he climbs the car!!!! This movie is just TOO FUCKING MUCH.

I teared up in the grenade scene. I feel like this is all you need to know about me as a person. The way he doesn’t hesitate, how he was willing to die right there in the middle of a training exercise gone wrong. How Peggy also rushes forward to do the same. The way his body curls over the grenade. This is my favorite scene in the entire MCU.

“He’s still skinny” nishuhseifh LOOK Phillips is a good and deserves more love, his perspective makes total sense and I enjoy all his moments in the film.

Also, when Phillips is defending the idea of picking Hodge to Eskrine, one of the things he says is “He follows orders, he’s a soldier”, which perfectly sets up the “not a perfect soldier, but a good man” theme that Eskrine will spell out in the next scene.

“Can I ask you a question?” “Just one?” LISTEN!! Eskrine thinks Steve must have a thousand questions about the nature of the procedure, but Steve DOESN’T because he doesn’t CARE he will do whatever it takes, the only thing he wants to know is why him because that is the only thing he can’t bring himself to understand.

“So many people forget the first country the nazis invaded was their own” Like I said, this humanity that is granted towards non-american characters is a crucial piece of why this movie succeeds, and this line is iconic and actually a pretty important piece of perspective in a WWII movie.

I love the scene of Steve and Peggy in the back of the car so much, it’s my favorite Steggy scene. Steve is just so clueless, starting his first conversation ever with a woman with “HEY LOOK AT ALL THESE PLACES WHERE I GOT MY ASS KICKED”, and I really like the parallel that is stablished between them when Peggy mentions every door shut in her face, and how Steve doesn’t really get Peggy’s motivations but he respects it, even if he fumbles through when he talks about it. 

I just love how sincere the whole thing is. “The right partner”, he says, not even looking at Peggy, not using it as a line to flirt with her. He’s just earnestly and openly saying that he’s a) terrible with romance and b) a huge romantic all the same. I LOVE.

He’s terrified in the serum scene, but he still cracks a joke when Eskrine asks him. Also, Eskrine landing a hand on his shoulder to steady him is so sweet. And then the procedure in itself is so painful and Eskrine and Peggy are ready to stop it but he yells he can do it. I’m just narrating the movie at this point but I love it. I love everything.

The first shot of Steve post-serum is so hilariously pornographic, I still can’t believe it.

Peggy is actually the first one to pursuit the Hydra spy. Steve’s first focus is just on Eskrine. Strong characterization is all over this movie and it’s so good.

PEGGY SHOOTING THE DRIVER IN THE HEAD FROM SUCH A LONG DISTANCE IS SUCH A BADASS MOMENT.

Also she shouts “I had him!” when Steve saves her! This movie does so much to stablish she and Steve are really alike, I appreciate it so much.

I’m gonna refrain from objectifying Chris too much because god knows this is getting too long without this constant point, but the tits are out of control on the car chase scene. God bless.

And I love how he has no sense of balance or control of his speed. Crashing into a store and then apologizing as he runs away. lol

He’s so emotionally distraught over Eskrine’s death. And the Phillips delivers such a huge blow with his “You are not enough” line. This is SUCH a theme with Steve through his mcu narrative, and it calls back to his feelings of helplessness pre-serum. It always hurts me to hear it.

I LOVE THE STAR-SPANGLED MAN SONG SO MUCH. It’s such a fun sequence and it makes sense and it’s such a clever choice to have that in the movie. Like, instead of hiding how incredibly cheesy a character like “Captain America” can be, let’s just play it up to deliberately ridiculous levels giving a nod to war propaganda! It’s SO GOOD.

And there’s so many moments in this sequence, too. Steve with his perfect post-serum memory still having to read cue cards. His awkwardness holding the baby and his relief when he hands it back to the mom. The Hitler punching, the comic books!! This movie really hits a wonderful balance of honoring the essence of Steve’s original character while also presenting him in a way that makes him relatable and likeable to non-american audiences.

I love that Steve doesn’t even get mad at the soldiers mocking him. They tell him to get the girls back and he’s honestly just like “uuuh I think they only know one song, but I’ll see what I can do”. And then the soldiers call him a fairy (”Tinkerbell”) and throw fruits at him and he’s just upset, but not mad. He gets where they’re coming from and he kind of agrees, as we see later by the dancing monkey draw. Steve was never comfortable on stage.

“You two will be in a lot of trouble when we land” HE’S WORRIED ABOUT PEGGY AND HOWARD BEFORE DROPPING ALONE INSIDE ENEMY LINES HA... HA.... HA.............. MY HEART IS BLEEDING I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

The little smile Bucky gets when Steve says it’s him is the cutest stucky moment. 40s stucky is the best stucky. 

“did it hurt?” “A little” lol okay Steve

Flustered Steve is adorable. And Howard explaning to him what fondue is. lol

That being said I don’t like the scene where Peggy shoots the shield. Maybe my least favorite moment in the movie.

Okay, ideally, the Howling Commandos would have gotten a little more screentime and development, but I still feel like their sequences work. 

“Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone in Coney Island?” This line is hilarious to me because I went to Coney Island last year and rode the Cyclone and there’s literally a poster specifically warning people with heart issues or who are easily sick NOT to ride. Bucky, what were you thinking. lol

I love the motorcycle so much, and I love that it becomes a Steve thing.

“We can’t just knock on the front door” “Why not?” :D

I feel like Steve moves in to kiss Peggy after she rescues him, and then she kind of reminds him of the battle. lol It’s cute.

I had never noticed Red Skull disappears going upwards into space. It’s incredible to think IW took such a small piece of open narrative and paid it off.

Fandom is full of hot takes about Steve’s sacrifice and each one is more terrible than the other, but I’m not gonna waste time salting here, I just want to say it’s a beautiful and moving scene and I love that he stays talking to Peggy until the very end.

Peggy looking at the picture of pre-serum Steve and the theme playing in the background!!!!!! I’M EMOTIONAL.

I feel like SHIELD was onto something trying to break everything slowly to Steve. But I love that he finds out, and I love the headcanon that Fury meant to test him and see if he’d found out even more.

I’ve seen the alternate ending where Fury talks to Steve more and reassures him they need him and etc, and I get why from an emotional standpoint you’d want Steve to get that reassurance, but narratively I feel like the emotional punch of “I had a date” is pretty much perfect and the alternate ending would have taken away from it. It’s such a great ending.

Welp, here we are. I love this movie. I love love love it. It’s a movie I’ve rewatched before a couple times, but I still got so emotional rewatching it today. There’s so much attention to detail, strenght in characterization, and space for characters to feel and develop. It’s amazing that we spend pretty much the entire first act with smol Steve. I love it with all my heart.

[arlingtonpark]

SNK 103 Review

CONTENT WARNING: includes discussion of american politics and Donald Trump. 

“There’s no need for us to worry. The battlefield is under our control now. We’re closing in on all our enemies. They decided to make their entrance using their ‘vertical maneuvering’. So they don’t have much in terms of weapons or fuel. In other words, they’re in the middle of enemy territory with no supply lines. They’re cornered rats. The Marleyan army should be surrounding this internment zone, so there’s no escape route. The Paradis forces never had the numbers to take on Marley in a proper war.”

Pieck is supposed to be the genius here, right? So if they’re saying the same things I was saying, does that mean I’m a genius, too?

As Pieck said, this is largely correct, however, that does not mean that victory is assured for Marley, as we saw in this chapter.

The Marleyans made a number of critical errors. Both Porco and Pieck let their feelings get the better of them, and they both charged rashly at the enemy without thinking, which for Pieck opened her up to a surprise attack. Porco may yet escape unscathed, but ultimately, it would’ve been better if he had strategized first before charging in. What’s more is Pieck’s inexcusable incompetence, which led to Zeke’s apparent death. She was supposed to cover his rear. That means her position is behind him, yet she foolishly repositioned herself to be in front of him, leaving Zeke wide open so Levi could kill him.  

Zeke and Pieck are now both down, Armin is not far away, Eren is free again, and the Marleyans won’t be getting as much reinforcements as they thought they would. All in all, this is a definite improvement from Paradis’ perspective.

Whether or not this is the start of a more long term improvement in the situation for them depends on a couple of unknowns. Whatever the Survey Corps’ plan is, it involves the placing of lights at various places, and it involves taking out the Warhammer titan and disabling Pieck either within a certain amount of time, or by a certain time. Whatever ace they have up their sleeve could potentially win them the fight, or at least get them out of this predicament. Eren also apparently has an ace up his sleeve since he’s “not done yet.” I can’t fathom what they could be planning, but that just makes things more exciting.

Just a thought, but earlier Willy said that it was possible that Paradis was working with one of Marley’s enemies. Koyomi is apparently an ambassador of her country since she was seen at the gala rubbing elbows with other ambassadors, and she’s shown to care for the Eldians, which could be seen as a hint at her country’s general attitude towards Eldians. Perhaps the Survey Corps has reinforcements of their own coming to the fight.

That would explain why it so important to eliminate Marley’s titans as quickly as possible. Marley is the dominant world power because of their titans. That implies that no other military can match the group of titan shifters that make up the backbone of Marley’s military. But the Survey Corps specializes in killing titans, which is why they are tasked with eliminating the titan shifters in time for Hizul to arrive and mop up the remaining non-titan aspects of Marley’s military.

I had previously said that Zeke’s apparent duplicity could just be a feint on Isayama’s part, but now I’m really starting to think that it might be re-nope, just kidding, I’m still not convinced. My official stance on this is that there are too many unknowns to say beyond reasonable doubt that Zeke and Eren are in league. For example, we don’t know the exact circumstances of why Eren came to Marley in the first place, which is pretty damn important for determining if he would even want to ally with Zeke at all. However, I’m going to play devil’s advocate here and argue the opposite of what most people seem to believe because being contrarian is fun.

In the past, Zeke had said he hoped to never face an Ackermann again. Now he’s literally calling one of them out. I will acknowledge that I cannot account for this inconsistency, but I doubt that Zeke’s death is part of some grand plan on the part of the Eren or the Survey Corps. I can, however, think of some good excuses for some eyebrow raising things we see in this chapter.

Yes, Zeke flat out says that Eren isn’t his enemy, but that isn’t a hint at their being allies. It has been a consistent theme of this series that people are forced to do unsavory things due to unfortunate circumstances. Zeke cares about Eren, but him having to oppose him anyway due to the circumstances would be in line with this series’ themes. Eren is not the enemy, but he is the opposition.

And the panel where we see that Levi is keeping the time for some reason? I sure some people would interpret that as Levi timing out when to attack Zeke on the assumption that Zeke being “killed” was preplanned somehow. My explanation for that? Well, Jean has repeatedly made clear they have a schedule to keep. Clearly, time is an important component of this operation, and in that case, it makes sense that some high ranking, or perhaps even all, soldiers would have a watch on their person to track the time. And the choice to show Levi doing this when Zeke is calling him out is just part of Isayama’s ruse.

The baseball glove Eren had earlier when, in the same chapter, Zeke was also shown with one? Simple: it’s just a metaphor and nothing else. The glove is used to highlight the differences between Zeke and Eren in what was at the time the present situation. Eren had previously said he was on bad terms with his family and he was at the moment on his own in enemy territory. Thus, Eren having the glove and ball but no partner to play catch with is a metaphor for his isolation. Zeke, meanwhile, does have a partner, and that emphasizes that Zeke is not alone, that he is in familiar territory with people who care about him, or at least respect him.

I could go on all day, really, just pulling these explanations out of thin air. I am, after all, a Pieck level genius.

The final thing to talk about is, ironically, since they’re the first two people we see, Reiner and Falco.

That was some quick thinking on Reiner’s part, he deserves great credit for that. I think he’ll live. He may have said he wished to die, but the thing is that statements like that are usually spur of the moment type things. If someone says they wish they were dead, they’ll usually walk that statement back if you give them time (sometimes as little as a few seconds) to think about it some more. Beyond that, Reiner cares about Falco and confirming that he did indeed survive requires that Reiner not be dead, so that by itself should be reason enough to motivate him to heal.

This also confirms that Reiner’s suicide attempt from earlier would indeed have killed him, regardless of whatever that nervous system mumbo jumbo Isayama used to save him back in Shighanshina is.

So, can the cycle of violence be broken?

The answer is yes, in theory anyway.

Many people believe that humans are predisposed to conflict. That is a very rudimentary way of thinking. In reality, there will eventually be peace for the same reason that organized society exists at all: ultimately, cooperation is preferable to conflict. In the long run, everyone benefits more when people are working together than when everyone is trying to kill each other. Really, it’s just obvious.

Human beings are rational. This means we assess the situation and perform the action we believe will carry the most benefit. For ourselves, our loved ones, our ideals, our nation. This does not mean that the right choice is always made, but it does mean that violence is not the natural state of humanity.

The one confounding factor here that is preventing this peace from coming about is human tribalism.

Human behavior is tribal in nature, meaning that we view others that we identify with in some way as being “one of us,” and people we don’t identify with as being “one of them.” It’s a natural, human inclination.

White people identify with other white people.

Gay people with other gay people.

Floridians with Floridians.

Yankees fans.

Whovians.

Fandom itself exists because of this. Fandoms are tribes, though of course tribal instincts are weaker for fandom compared to other social group identifiers such as race.

Donald Trump is now our President because of tribalism.

The white race has always dominated American society. However, in recent years, it has become fashionable to conclude that white people will lose their dominance in the coming decades. White people are projected to no longer be the majority racial group by 2050, though they will still be a plurality of the population.

Before 2016 put a damper on things, there was much talk of “the Obama coalition,” or the “coalition of the ascendant.” The idea was that the voters who made Obama president, black people, Hispanics, women, etc. (in other words, people who aren’t white men) would form an enduring and dominant bloc of voters that would steer national politics in their favor.

At the expense, it was and is felt by many, of white people.

The thought of one’s social group, one’s tribe, losing its social standing and dominance inspired great fear in many white people, and so they voted for Trump, who promised to “Make America Great Again.”

It would be remiss of me to not say, though, that not all Trump voters are racist. The above paragraph only applies to Trump’s core base of supporters. So in other words, about 25% of the adult population. The rest voted for Trump not because of the racism, but in spite of it, and that in itself is another example of tribalism at work.

Donald Trump is many things: a predator, a misogynist, a racist, a blowhard, a bullshit artist, a moron, a narcissist.

A Republican.

In the words of Brendan Nyhan: “Partisanship is one hell of a drug.” Many people voted for Trump simply because he was a Republican and not a Democrat.

To be sure, there was a great deal of wishful thinking involved.

“He’s not as bad as people make him out to be.”

“He’ll appoint a conservative to the Supreme Court.”

“He won’t really be calling the shots. Paul Ryan will be the power behind the throne.”

All these and more were excuses people told themselves to justify voting for Trump in spite of knowing about his more … unsavory characteristics. People will overlook (or even rationalize!) despicable behavior by their own side simply because it’s their side that’s doing it. They may even simply refuse to believe their side could do such things.

Relatedly, there is the concept of negative partisanship. This refers to the phenomenon of people rooting for one team because they hate the other. They don’t like their team either, but they hate the other, so they (half-heartedly) support it regardless. It’s the lesser of two evils taken to its logical extreme.

The point behind this looong, seemingly unrelated digression is to highlight how powerful of a force tribalism can be. It is “a hell of a drug.”

You see it most obviously in Willy’s plan. Marley is an imperialist aggressor, yet Willy was clearly banking on the world’s fear/hatred of Paradis trumping whatever reservations they have with working with Marley. It’s textbook negative partisanship.

In this war of Paradis vs the world, tribalism runs rampant.

The world hates Paradis, and if Floch’s views are indicative of anything, a sizable number of walldians probably hate the world in return.

Eren was willing to kill innocent bystanders, including children, because it was in the name of fighting for his tribe.

Floch just flat out wants to kill as many people as he can because they’re not a part of his tribe. They may not be involved in the fighting (they were, after all, civilians) but they’re still with the Marleyan tribe. The enemy.

Can we overcome this? Can we break the cycle of hatred and tribalism?

This will surprise many people, but for all the anti-immigrant talk among Trump supporters, most do not actually live near large immigrant populations. In other words, their fear of “the other,” of those who are not a part of their tribe, is most likely based on a lack of interaction with those “others”.

This is the key, and it’s a total cliché. Actually interacting with “the other” is the solution to the puzzle of tribalistic hatred.

RBA thought the walldians were vaguely defined evil entities, devils. But then they actually interacted with them, and saw them for the people they were.

The same will almost certainly be true for Floch. It was true for Eren, even if he still thought killing children was a necessary sacrifice to make on the altar of defending his tribe.

In other words, fear of “the other” can be overcome through familiarity. The tricky part is actually getting everyone to calm down and see everyone else as people. The walldians who see the outside world as just a vaguely defined threat need to rethink their worldview, and the members of the outside world (those who aren’t complete garbage like Sergeant Gross or whatever his name was) also need to look past their hatred.

I just hope that people will not read SNK and be influenced to take a cynical view of the world. It is not human nature to be violent. Those who look at others with fear can come to love and accept them. The scenario Isayama has crafted here is simply not generalizable, and it would be a mistake to apply the apparent take aways of this story to our world. Which, of course, can only be seen as a flaw in Isayama’s storytelling.

Just look at California to see what I mean.

38% of Californians are white. 39% of Californians are Hispanic. That’s right, white people are a close second behind Hispanics as the largest racial group in California, and it’s starting to show. The lower chamber in the state legislature is majority non-white. One of the state’s two Senators, Barbara Boxer, who is white, retired in 2016 and was replaced by Kamala Harris, who has a mixed Indian/Jamaican heritage.

White people still retain significant power though. The upper chamber in the legislature is overwhelmingly white, the state’s other Senator, Dianne Feinstein, is white, and the top contender to serve as Governor for the next eight years, Gavin Newsom, is also white. However, this continued dominance of positions of power is entirely vestigial and it will decline as time goes on.

The same holds true for New Mexico and Hawaii. White people are either not dominant or clearly losing dominance in these states.

And yet, I see no news reports of white Californians, New Mexicans, or Hawaiians throwing hissy-fits over their clearly diminishing dominance over society. White people are a minority in those places, and unless I’m missing something, they seem pretty chill about it.

Because tribes can coexist. It’s just a matter of opening oneself up to others.

An important thing to mention, though, is the status of black people. Black people have always been seen as “the other” and even in California, where 7% of the population is black compared to 12% of the general US population, anti-black sentiment abounds, though in subtle ways, most notably in the form of NIMBYism. 

However, real progress is being made on that front in California, and in the US as a whole, there seems to be a real commitment to racial inclusiveness among the younger generation. Real progress is being made, though unfortunately a world where black people are seen as equal to white people is a long time coming. 

The only thing left to do is speculate about where the series is heading. This chapter is the start of volume 26, which I assume will be the fourth of five volumes in this story arc. My guess is that the battle will continue for the remainder of volume 26 with volume 27 wrapping up this current arc before dovetailing into the next, and most likely final, arc of the series.

[vaxir]

Argent Dawn hatred

Y’know, the reason some of Argent Dawn hates me is because...

I don’t give in to their bullshit. I stick up for myself, not allowing them to get me down. I’ve never let them get a hold of me and I’ve never backed down. And that really pisses some people off. 

They expect you to feel bad about yourself and inevitably leave the server after they harass you in public on the forums and in-game and shit talk you in their own discord. All because they chose to dislike you. 

And why do they dislike me, what started it all?

I started on AD in 2010, January. I didn’t know the lore so made lots of mistakes. I was a San’layn RPing in Stormwind. THAT was where I got my first hate. Why? Because I was a newbie to the game and lore. That somehow was deserving of hate, and I would get whispers of abuse and hate frequently. Instead of trying to help me, I would get simple, misplaced hate. Of course, I just ignored them and continued on my way, being ‘badrp’. So they got angry and I got more hate because I wasn’t changing to suit their elitism. Instead, I was having fun with my friends and breaking the lore.

That, to them, was worth abuse.

Eventually, through self discovery, I learned more on the lore and adapted over time to become lore friendly and left Stormwind at the end of 2010. Over time, Vaxir grew in size and bulk and her looks changed - which progressed over eight years mind you. So all in all I was playing a behemoth hyped up on blood magic and blight. She was muscular, heavy set and ugly. And powerful. But without revealing her history, nobody knew HOW she got this way.

That, to them, was also worth abuse. Because they couldn’t work out her history, so it must be ‘badrp’, and ‘badrp’ means you can hate someone. That and the damage from my ‘badrp’ and standing up for myself had already gotten me a bad name.

I was invited to the ‘LFRP’ channel once. Curious, I accepted the invitation, only to be met with hatred and abuse for my ‘badrp’. So I just left, bewildered why anybody would do that.

Before I continue, I must say that I am an adult. I do adult things in life and enjoy adult themes. This does not mean, however, I bring it into Warcraft’s game itself.

This landed me with more hatred.

I commissioned a ‘non-canon’ picture of Vaxir sporting a dick. Why? Because I found the idea amusing. I had debated for a while what gender she was - MtF or just female, and stuck with fully female. But the idea never left my mind and so I commissioned a ‘what if’ picture. This was quickly discovered by AD and shared around the game and forums.

Which pissed me off, not because I was being ‘shamed’, but because they were subjecting possible minors to pornography I purposely kept away from prying eyes. Yes, you had to literally search my name on 18+ sites to find this art, meaning this people were genuinely stalking me by now in some sense. They were keeping tabs on me because of their dislike for me, then sharing any ‘dirt’ they could find, to then put it on the forums for children to see. I ignored it for the main part, tried to explain it isn’t ‘canon’, but they had made up their minds. 

This landed me with full time in-game and out of game stalkers. Because I had started as a newbie and did ‘badrp’.

Yes, I was legitimately being stalked online. 

Some time during all this I converted my OOC guild into an IC one and named it Bane. I invited my friends and we role played freely in Duskwood, just having fun. The previously mentioned image surfaced and then the stalking began, mere months after Bane was formed (or maybe longer, I’m not sure on the exact time).

One person joined who seemed promising and I allowed them to be an officer. Unknown to me, he was heavily into ERP and was inviting people to the guild to ERP with, inevitably creating a ring of ERPers inside Bane. Right under my nose. Without me knowing. It went on for a while.

Rickarla eventually joined the guild and we picked up on this ERP circle and had the members either leave or be kicked. But the damage was done. People had cottoned on to these ERPers - without telling me - and branded Bane an ERP guild. Coupled with my non-canon art, all they could speak about was that we must all be ERPers. 

We made a rule - no ERP. If you’re discovered, we kick you. But that didn’t stop ERPers joining and over time we just had to find out and kick them. For example we had two male Worgen in the guild who were caught in cat form in the middle of a field... ERPing. Prior to this they seemed like fine people, but of course, they turned out to be public ERPers. So they were kicked on the spot.  

Still, I received daily abuse, accusations of being a ‘futa’, had people trashing me on the forums, you get the idea. And I was being constantly stalked. People would stealth around me to spy on my RP, following me everywhere I went in hopes of ‘catching me in the act’. How did I know? I’d catch people out in stealth as I moved, and I would use TRP3′s tracker to see who was around me.

It has to be said, there are only two screenshots of me doing ‘bad’ things - One is a screenshot of me biting into someone’s arm and ripping the flesh off which is on tinypic.com. The other is of Rickarla and I torturing someone in Karazhan catacombs (also laying proof to the stalking thing - it was so far out of the way they had deliberately followed us), which people are desperately trying to claim was ERP (if it was, why didn’t the stalker screenshot the text?). 

So essentially, people were desperately clutching at straws to try and put me down and most likely chase me off the server as they have various other people. But I continued playing, ignoring them, doing what I wanted to. They weren’t worth my time of day.

Rickarla was a growing artist, advertising her art in all possible places, and landing many, many commissions. She will not draw very few things, and so will draw... nearly anything. This got people riled up. They claimed that because she draws sexual artwork for people then she must engage in it too. We tried to explain it’s her full time job to draw for people, but they were having none of it.

This got Bane a lot of hatred. It got us both a lot of hatred, myself mainly, because I refused to ignore the slander and spoke back.

Over time I had to take a break from the game due to IRL issues and left the guild in the officers’ hands. Bane grew... but also attracted some unsavory people. They would attack people on sight for instance, and a few were... into the sexual side of things. Though nothing was actually screenshotted, I was being told rather often that a few members were ‘futas’ and so forth, commissioning sexual artwork.

My response? I don’t care - I still don’t, as long as they didn’t bring it into the game. As for the attacking, I would sort it out when I came back from my hiatus.

Either way, I came back, but still the damage was done. 

The abuse only grew from certain people and eventually Rickarla left the guild for personal reasons and I closed it as I couldn’t run it. It was just time for the guild to die, but the stalkers still stalked, the others still spouted abuse where possible. I didn’t argue back, more either ignored it or replied to the best of my ability to try and sort out the issue. But these people weren’t interested in resolving anything.

They just wanted to put others down, and still do to this day.

Over time these people seemed to give up as they found no dirt on me other than my adult taste in art, landing themselves forum bans for exposing children to pornography (and so well deserved that is).

Lots of people decided to speak to me and I made a lot more friends than enemies and was more accepted into the community as more people spoke to me to ask my side of the story, or saw the stupidity of these ‘haters’. Yes, some people had the decency and courage to approach me to ask me my side, and I explained things to the best of my ability. 

So time passed. I continued doing my thing, they did theirs - with less abuse, mind you, but it was still there if less hate filled. It all seemed to be getting better as more people accepted me and less hate was present.

Somewhere between a year to two years ago, one of the main hostile people came to the Alliance side and I decided to approach him. I asked why he hated me so much and he said because I ‘break the TOS by ERPing’.

I have done ERP with my ex in private, but this guy presumed I did it on all my characters all the time. 

I explained it wasn’t the case, that I am an adult that did a few things with my partner at the time, in private, but he wasn’t having it. I asked again, really, why he hated me - I knew for a moment his hatred wasn’t based on the TOS at all because hating someone over breaking the TOS is a lousy excuse at best. He had the audacity to say I started it (that I started hate against him) and then ignored me and proceeded to spread it around I had tried to ‘arse-lick’ him.

So I just decided to ignore that instance. It seemed trying to resolve the issue didn’t work because this guy was too stuck on hating me for no reason.

Note: I have always admitted that I have done ERP on a few occasions with my ex, but never on Vaxir. She is an asexual virgin for crying out loud.

Discord became a thing and this guy made a server for people on AD to join. I joined, all seemed fine. But things started to turn odd when I realised I couldn’t speak without being sent abuse or being sent to the ‘trash’ channel for answering people’s questions. One instance was that someone asked if cat ears are ‘furry’, so I was explaining that they could be if desired, but the term is kemonomimi. The channel owner, with a strange hatred for furries, decided I was ‘breaking the rules’ or whatever excuse it was, and sent me to the trash so I couldn’t talk to anyone.

So the abuse was back.

Eventually I was kicked for ‘being an ERP sympathizer’ when I had explained I don’t care, simply, what people do between two consenting adults in private. But this guy decided, after pretty much harassing me with his friends for weeks in the discord, enough was enough, and removed me (with luck).

This brings us to this day.

I am hated because these people decided my role play was ‘bad’. I am hated for literally baseless rumors. I am hated for being an adult. I am hated for keeping myself to myself. I am hated for keeping my adult art out of the game where it belongs. I am hated for sticking up for myself in the face of public abuse. I am hated for admitting I have, like most people, tried ERP. I am hated for being me.

And that is why I’m hated. Because they want me to be ‘bad’ and ‘wrong’, but in reality they’re the bad ones. Because I did ‘bad rp’. Because I’m a free adult. Because I won’t let them get me down.

I wrote this in hopes people will read it and understand I’m unnecessarily hated and perhaps clear their minds of any dislike against me for wrong reasons.

[pluckyredhead]

Daredevil 101: The Nifty (Late) Nineties, Part 2

Last time on Daredevil 101, Matt and Foggy accepted an offer to join the firm of cutthroat attorney Rosalind Sharpe. Finally, we find out why Foggy was so very eager to be a part of her team.

Content Warning: Emotional abuse by a parent, lousy treatment of mental illness.

Rosalind, who doesn’t like anyone or anything, has taken a shine to Karen. The two of them happen to run into Foggy giving Anna Nelson a tour of the office, and the bombshell finally drops:

Yeeeeeah. I do wonder how surprising this was to readers who didn’t already know, or if the foreshadowing was heavy-handed enough? Also, I suspect Foggy is meant to be facepalming over there, but I like the idea that he thinks if he can’t see anyone else, they’ll just disappear.

We never get a huge amount of detail as to how this situation developed, but the fight that erupts between Rosalind and Anna fills in some of it:

Foggy never actually gets to speak for himself on the Rosalind issue, so we never actually know how he feels about her, whether he did in fact go into law to please her, if he feels that she abandoned him and his dad, etc. I do like this argument, though, because I feel like between Anna and Rosalind the two sides of Comics Foggy’s personality are made really clear: the nurturing, loyal, unexciting-but-true-as-steel side, and the cutthroat attorney of dubious moral character (Rosalind was once a mob lawyer, and Foggy has worked with and for numerous unsavory types, including Fisk).

Meanwhile, Matt’s been getting his ass kicked by the supervillain of the week, but how does he respond to this shocking information?

And that’s it. Matt never mentions it to Foggy, they all know now. It’s bizarre. I have to assume Matt felt like he didn’t really have a leg to stand on re: keeping secrets from his best friend, but I wish they’d discussed it on the page, especially since this is the second immediate family member Foggy’s kept secret from Matt.

P.S. Karen your whole look is so 1997 and I am LIVING for it.

Possibly to make all this up to Matt, Foggy gets him a surprise:

If you can’t read that last panel, Foggy’s saying “Exactly, Matt, which is why he’ll only pretend to be one! He’s really a retired police dog! He can help you fight crime when you’re Daredevil!” Foggy, you are a silly man.

Anyway, since Matt didn’t actually want a dog, Deuce winds up living with Foggy (and does actually save the office staff from bad guys at one point).

Meanwhile, all is not well between Foggy and Liz, mostly because Rosalind, who doesn’t approve of Liz, has been making it look like Foggy’s cheating on Liz with a supermodel (there are those romcom hijinks again!). Since Liz still has legal business with the firm, she pours out her woes to Matt:

Yeah, it’s pretty clear why Matt doesn’t task Foggy with keeping his connection to Rosalind a secret, or even put up that much of a fuss (where Foggy can hear, at least) about working for Rosalind, even though he hates her. (I haven’t included most of this, but Rosalind spends pretty much all of her time with the boys sniping at Matt for being irresponsible (...legit) and making ableist comments, and calling Foggy stupid and fat. So.) Matt’s very aware that he is as indebted to Foggy’s immense capacity for loyalty and forgiveness as Rosalind is.

Side note: this is literally the only time Matt is a good wingman, usually he active undermines Foggy’s romantic relationships.

And speaking of romantic relationships...Natasha’s back in town! And she’s chasing down some Russian bad guys! She’s also pretty grim right now, because the rest of the Avengers have disappeared, presumed dead, and she’s determined to avenge them.

Matt intervenes to stop her from crossing a line and, well...

Maybe don’t say that to an assassin, Matt.

Welp, that’s it, Matt’s dead now, no more Daredevil!

But seriously, Natasha carries his bloody, unconscious self back to his apartment - to Karen’s great alarm - and takes off again. Karen patches Matt up, but he’s still badly injured and needs to go to the hospital. But he’s worried about Natasha, and wants to go after her:

UH OH.

Matt goes after Natasha, who has been overpowered by her adversaries, and immediately gets his own stupid, injured ass captured as well. While playing the unhinged, well, avenger out loud, Natasha explains herself to Matt by tapping out Morse code with her fingers:

Matt and Natasha are, like...really good at Morse code. Also that’s not much of an “old KGB trick” if literally two people have ever survived it.

Meanwhile, Karen is worried about and furious with Matt, so she gets wine drunk and then starts fumbling around for someone to talk to:

“Someone who would understand what a pain it is to be Daredevil’s girlfriend sometimes...”

SOMEONE WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT A PAIN IT IS TO BE DAREDEVIL’S GIRLFRIEND SOMETIMES.

<3 <3 <3

(That’s Liz on Foggy’s couch. She’s super annoyed because he’s already gotten calls from two other women (the aforementioned supermodel and Candace) that make it sound like he’s tomcatting around. Romcom shenanigans!)

Meanwhile, Natasha and Matt free themselves and defeat Natasha’s enemies:

Siiiiiigh. So, yeah. Male writers (so...everyone except Ann Nocenti, who I have issues with but who treated Natasha better than this) really love to write both Natasha and Elektra as forever and always thirsty for Matt’s dick. And they tend to show up as sexy alternatives when Matt is in a committed relationship with someone who isn’t a ninja, like Karen or Milla. Meanwhile, Matt gets to play the hapless “good guy” who doesn’t exactly encourage these advances, but does tend to run out the window and play superhero with them rather than stay at home. And can he help it if one of them kisses him, or gives him a sexy speech about how they’re meant to be and their bodies understand each other and blah blah, and he thinks about it for a really long time afterwards?*

I blame Matt here less than the writers, who appear to believe that once Matt enters a room none of his exes can think of anything else. It’s sexist writing, it’s consistent, and it’s gross. And we’re going to have a lot more of it in the next few years. I’m sorry.

*This is how Matt behaves in his own book. In the Elektra solo series that was published concurrently with these issues, Matt cheats on and almost leaves Karen for her, but let’s set that aside because Karen is not long for this world and I don’t want to think about that bullshit.

Anyway, Natasha drops Matt off at the Night Nurse’s clinic, since he’s still got a bullet wound to take care of, and flips away. Matt gets stitched up and calls Foggy for a ride. Foggy, not really understanding the whole “discreet” thing, shows up in a limo:

Honestly this has no plot relevance but if you thought I wasn’t going to post Foggy practically crawling into Matt’s lap with his arm around him and Matt affectionately patting Foggy’s face, well...you must be new here.

Matt finally goes home and takes his medicine, which turns out to be Karen being eminently reasonable, and also adorable:

Matt, you dingbat, she has faith in you. (Whether that’s misplaced is a discussion for another time.) She just doesn’t want you doing backflips when there are holes in you. Focus on that, and not on how many chicks want to take your billy club for a whirl, okay?

Oh and hey, speaking of Matt’s exes (sort of)...Deadpool’s in town! And he’s palling around with Typhoid Mary, who convinces him to help her kill Daredevil. You see, she’s recently remembered some formative experiences involving Matt:

Sorry that text is kind of fuzzy, but basically...remember the prostitute Matt accidentally knocked out of a window to her death in Man Without Fear? Yeah, well, it turns out she didn’t die, but the fall gave her multiple personalities? Or something? ANYWAY IT WAS TYPHOID MARY. This makes no sense and I hate it, but it’s canon. I guess. SIGH.

Wade then refuses to kill Matt - he just did all this to help Mary get closure, because he loves her or whatever - and he and Mary head off to pull their Joker and Harley shtick elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Foggy’s spent this issue (the 1997 Deadpool/Daredevil Annual) hanging out with Deadpool’s sidekick Weasel, and I could have sworn I did a post about how Foggy clearly slept with Weasel, but I can’t find it. Anyway, they got very drunk and played poker, and the next morning...

Aw, poor Foggy. So yeah, that’s the last we see of Deuce (don’t worry, he’s fine, Wade gives him to Blind Al). Someone get Foggy a new dog, he clearly deserves one!

Luckily, to cheer Foggy up (???), he comes home after work one day to find a surprise visitor!

Okay, so you know how Karen has been on point with her late 90s fashion? Yeah, no one ever dressed like Candace is here. Although her long lavender waves are actually very on trend for 2017.

Foggy kicks the partiers out of his house, but lets Candace stay for a while, even though they still drive each other crazy. She’s more of a club kid than a hippie these days, but still politically active and very liberal, as we see when she meets Rosalind for what appears to be the first time:

“Fur is murder.” “I approve.” I love it! Ugh, I wish these two had gotten to interact more, there’s so much potential there. (Although point of order, Rosalind: Candace is Foggy’s half sister, not his adoptive one, unless there’s more stuff about the Nelson family we don’t know.)

I’ve leave you here, but Candace - and Karen - are about to get into a whole heap of trouble as this relatively jovial period of Daredevil comes to an end.

Next up: The Trial of Karen Page!

[nocentis-a]

 M E N T A L  H E A L T H  &  C O P I N G  M E C H A N I S M S

Jellal has major depression, as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I cannot possibly put the extent of his mentality into a few sentences, so please consider the following life altering events that affect his mental health instead:

✧ At a very young age, Jellal was taken from his family and his home, was forced into slavery, and was tortured. Because of this, it is safe to assume that he grew up very quickly and adopted some leadership qualities. ✧ He also had his physical image altered for life in a very traumatic way as a form of humiliation ( his brand ). ✧ In order to survive and to protect the ones he loved, his support system through the living hell he’s been subjected to, he was driven to murder at least two guards. ✧ He saved someone he cared about, but in turn, was manipulated, brainwashed, and was literally controlled into turning on the very same people he cared about. ✧ He was controlled for eight years. He had eight years of his life stolen from him for a cause that he did not believe in. He devastated countless lives, set off a chain reaction by indirectly forming Oracion Seis, attempted to kill the girl he’d been infatuated with as a child, and ended up killing one of his childhood friends instead in front of someone who cared for him. ✧ He watched the dream he’d been controlled to dedicate every last fiber of his being to shatter into nothing. ✧ He was arrested while suffering from amnesia, as well as being tortured again by prison guards all while not fully comprehending what his crimes were. He was told the stories, but he did not remember them and was likely confused and unconvinced that he’d actually committed said crimes. ✧ Could only remember Erza, and likely anchored to her memory as something to keep him from losing his sanity. ✧ Had his memories relapse while he was alone in prison and was forced to come to terms with the fact that he had betrayed the only person he remembered, the very same pillar of support he’d been clinging to, and that he truly had committed all of those awful crimes, including Simon’s murder, and then some. ✧ Was later freed from jail by the very same person who had manipulated him and literally ruined his life, only for her to tell him that she had been controlling him and he hadn’t actually done any of those things of his free will. ✧ Likely did not know who he was at all for several months, went through an identity crisis and had to relearn how to be a functional human. ✧ Then discovered that the very same person he’d been clinging to like a lifeline this entire time, the only consistent thing throughout his life, was dead. ✧ Lived six years of his life believing that she was dead. During this six years, he had absolutely no one and nothing, and was forced to trust the exact same woman who had destroyed him. ✧ Finds out that she’s not dead, is reunited with her, only to find that she looks the exact same as she did the last time he’d seen her. Immediately realized that she deserved far more than he could ever give her, and that he was the reason for the pained look in her eyes. Literally offered to die because he was convinced that she must hate him. ✧ Forced himself to lie to her for the sake of protecting her from himself.  ✧ Is continually told that TOH was entirely his fault. He is hated by entire country for it, and will likely never be forgiven even though he was pardoned. He has to live the rest of his life with that hatred. ✧ Believes himself that he was responsible because of his mental weakness that allowed him to be controlled, believes that he doesn’t deserve love or life. Hates himself as much as, if not more than, everyone else does.

So yeah, that’s just a few things off of the top of my head. As you can imagine, his mental state is quite toxic. Not to mention the fact that he internalizes everything and refuses to discuss his own health because he sees himself as expendable. 

C O P I N G

Jellal keeps a journal. He writes his thoughts down when they come in circular patterns as a form of venting. These entries range from simply logging continuous streams of self-hatred to poems expressing more abstract comparisons to feeling. He will occasionally rip pages from the journal when he writes something particularly unsavory, and destroy them using his magic. When he fills one journal, he destroys it and buys another. He does not reread his writing. It is very private and he prefers that no one knows he has it.

( I will be writing journal entries from time to time on this blog. Feel free to discuss with me how to interact with certain journal entries if that’s something you’re interested in. )