#telling her to use dominance theory shit

[shadows-of-a-memory]

prologue: tcic - d.g.

prologue to “their change in colors (marks their death)”

2001

You groan, massaging your temples, and take a sip of your coffee, only to find it empty. You glare at the paper cup as if it has betrayed you. If you could arrest it, you would. As it is, you settle for throwing the offending container into your trashcan across the room.

You miss.

Returning your attention to the files in your hand, you scan through them for the hundredth time, making sure there's nothing you've missed. The side of your dominant hand is blue from ink transfer, proof of the thousands of tiny handwritten notes scribbled on the yellow legal pad beside you. The words blur together, brain going on autopilot as you mouth them.

“Knock, knock.”

You glance up at your boss, Noah Ellis. “What's up?”

His mouth twitches into a frown as he takes you in. “Tell me you didn't pull an all-nighter again.”

“I didn't pull an all-nighter again,” you dutifully repeat.

He huffs. “Take the day off and get some rest.” Ellis holds up a hand to stop you from responding. “I don't want to hear it. Taking a break will give you a fresh perspective. And make me feel better about myself. I don't want to see you in here until tomorrow morning and if I see a single email or find out you've worked at all, that's getting extended. Get some sleep.”

You glare, but can't respond. You know he's right. In all honesty, until he appeared, you didn't even realize you had stayed up that late, too focused in. “Sir, yes, sir,” you mumble.

“Oh, and take this to Agent Gibbs.” He tosses you a file, causing you to double down on the glare, but he remains unperturbed. “Report's crappy. Can't follow the line of reasoning.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” You snap a salute, receiving a huff and a slight amused smirk in response for your efforts, before heading upstairs to the MCRT's desks. You've heard that there's been some shuffling around--a new guy added two or three months ago, and a new lady added a couple of days ago. A quick scan of the contents of the folder confirms your theory; an Agent Vivian Blackadder is the one responsible for the less-than-permissible report.

“Gibbs,” you greet, forcing a cheery smile. You've interacted enough with him to be on good terms, you think. The man is an NCIS legend, reminds you of a certain Bat, and maybe that's why you're the one they usually send to talk to him. You've had enough experience with being on the receiving end of Bruce's unhappiness that you're unfazed by Gibbs'.

“Finch,” he responds in his usual manner, using your fake last name. When Dick had helped you create your identity, he had vetoed Bennet as an option, saying it was too obvious to base it on a book character from Jane Austen. Hence why you instead picked a book character from Harper Lee. He was a famous lawyer, so you think it helps, too.

“Got something for you to remedy. Hurts the case in court.”

He grunts, taking the file from you and raising a brow as he flips through. “Blackadder,” he barks, passing it to her. The new guy is strangely absent. “Fix it.” He glances back over at you. “You look like shit, kid.”

You respond with a wry smile. “Thanks. Ellis said the same thing.”

“Maybe you should listen to your boss. Take the day off or something.”

You laugh. “Ellis said the same thing,” you repeat, gaining a chuckle from the older man.

“Hey boss,” you're interrupted as a familiar face jogs into the bullpen. “Got a lead on the Martin case.” You take care not to let your expression change, and Dick does the same. “Oh, hey, Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo.” He adds a cocky smile to the end of it. “Part of the MCRT.”

“Agent Maggie Finch,” you respond, using the same alias he helped you create. “I'm a lawyer downstairs. It's a pleasure.”

He presses a kiss to the back of your hand, reminding you of thousands of times he's done it before, and taps twice with his finger against the inside of your palm. A code. Talk later. “Pleasure's all mine,” he responds smoothly.

“Well, I should be going. Good seeing you, Gibbs. Nice meeting you, Agent DiNozzo. Good luck, Agent Blackadder.” With that, you head out, all too aware of the eyes on you as you go.

Dick can be quite sure you're talking later.

next chapter ->

[cutemothman]

maybe you won't have to be mrs. spooky anymore

Squeeze is such an important episode for Scully. (And it's just a great episode in general! a truly classic motw) We've been talking a lot lately about Scully's autonomy and her decisions that led her down the path that she follows and I feel like Squeeze is a showcase of exactly that. Of how her decisions affect the narrative.

We start the episode with her listening to a colleague insult Mulder, completely unprovoked. They weren't even talking about Mulder. Colton asks her "How are you doing? Have you had any close encounters of the third kind?" He doesn't care how she's doing. He just wanted an excuse to bring up Mulder so that he could talk shit about him and then turn around to indirectly ask Scully to bring Mulder in to help on the case.

Scully wastes no time defending Mulder. I think it is very telling of someone's character when they stand up for people who aren't around to defend themselves. Scully certainly knows how it feels to be looked down on, especially as a woman in a male dominated field. Even though Colton asks for her help, it's obvious that he doesn't respect her the way that Mulder does. He even goes as far as to ask Scully to choose sides, to which she responds that she's on the victims side.

Ooooooh. That moment right there. It is a perfect example of why Scully chose to follow Mulder. They want the same thing. They want to catch bad guys. They want to help people. They want to find out the truth. She isn't throwing her life away, even though that's what her colleagues may see. She's choosing the path that she believes is right. This is the Dana Scully who chooses the side of the victim and stands up for her partner.

Another great moment is when Mulder says "you may not always agree with me but at least you respect the journey" This!!!! This boils down their relationship so perfectly. In the beginning, Scully disagrees with Mulder. A lot. But she's here for the exact same reason that he is. To find the truth. It reminds me of in season 6(?) when Mulder is defending Scully to Diana by saying the she makes him work for it. Yes yes yes. There's a great song by Tacocat called Dana Katherine Scully with the line "she wants to know what's out there, but she needs to know why". Scully doesn't take things at face value, but she doesn't belittle Mulder for what he believes. It's her scientific brain needing proof, and honestly, I think that's admirable. She wants to find proof not only for herself, but for the rest of the world. And for Mulder.

Mulder then tells Scully that if she wants to keep working with Colton, he won't hold it against her. He's not used to people sticking around. Scully was sent to spy on him. Of course he doesn't expect her to be in for the long haul. Her response is to follow him and say that she knows he has more evidence to back up his theory. She wants to find the truth! She's open to these possibilities even if they are kind of out there! She's following her orders to investigate(debunk) Mulder's claims of the paranormal with scientific evidence, and you bet your ass she's going to do it right! Scully and Mulder are on this journey for the same reason and by god she's gonna follow it to the end. She chooses to. It's her decision and no one else's. Maybe being Mrs. Spooky isn't such a bad thing.

[chaoticcutiewhirl]

New Intro 3.0

We have been putting this off for a long while now but now its time to do this, and simply to say, we are a plural system that uses the collective name of "The Whirl Production House", Ava, or Whirl, and if you know us you know there is a tendency for us to be quite nerdy or atleast a collection of dorks obessed with more artistic endeavors. If you want to find us elsewhere here is our linktree:

Also before you look, to note is that we do have commissions, and before the link tree here is the comms sheet and feel free to message me if you want to possible support a disabled Transwoman

And beyond this it should be noted we are mostly a grouping of differing levels of otherkin sort of deals ranging between those of us who are fictives to those who are kins with very little shifting beyond that if at all. Mentioning that we should probably shift into introductions of individual members of our collective. I will say individual members because we are more so at the multiple end of the plural spectrum of things where its kinda easy to tell there are several of us up here, without bleed-through unless we are feeling blendy/foggy on who is fronting.

Also something to note, we gernally do not fall into Plural related labels and are still early in the processes of System stuff even though its been a few months since syscovery. Part of the reason is because the only ones of us that care about assigning labels feel we do not know enough to label everything, only using labels we do have an idea of working as apart of our system. Will those labels be disclosed? Not in this post atleast.

A Quick Rundown

We are the Whirl Production House system or Whirlproductions, a system to which is still figuring shit out who has an open mind to things so to get syscourse out of the way we are Pro Endo. I will say I am not afraid of blocking people as we generally do not care what you think but if you are annoying there is a way to make you shut up on our feed or notifs. Beyond that we generally face things with caution and are still learning about many things, we have a few ideas on who is what kind of roles but I will not share them and for origins I will say its either unknown or a mixture of several probably, with stress being a detriment at times and is part of the reason why we are not out publically about the Trans stuff alone IRL. We stress easily and have chronic illness (Some form of lung related thing as well as Fatigue) so if we are slow on the uptick please keep that in mind.

Headmates

Sylvia

Art by @/BunBunTushie on Twitter

Name: Sylvia S. / Sylvia Drake

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Demisexual-Lesbian

Kins: Mojave Sidewinder Rattlesnake, Sylvia Drake [Mice Tea]

Noting about Kins for Sylvia is that both are practically just who she is, as there are very few shifts out and when there is, it usually during hours of blurriness or questioning that leads to her questioning more of who she is, but being Sylvia Drake is basically the summary of her being

Age: Early to Mid-20s (Bodily we are 20 tho)

Likes: Writing, Looking at pretty art, doing research, music, Science Fiction (There is a lot), Westerns, TTRPGs, and Entertaining others

Dislikes: All Medical situations, Stress, People our body is related too by blood for the most part, Getting Yelled at, How the US Schooling system is set up

Tag: 🐍 Sylvia

Lucinda

Art by @observerkaine (Found you >:3)

Name: Lucinda

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Lesbian

Kins: Desert Hare, maybe Burnice White (ZZZ)

Age: Early 20s (Most coincides with the body's Age)

Likes: Art, Talking, Silly demeanors, Comedy, and Color theory

Dislikes: Loud noises, too many things to do, Time, and those who domineer a situation without consideration for others whether its through emotional or physical means, Awkward silence

Tag: 🌵Lucinda

Rowan

Art by @guacheenim (Oh Hey you are on here, hiya again.)

Name: Rowan

Pronouns: She/They/Xe

Sexuality: Asexual

Kins: Spider (Unspecified), Drider/Rachnae-like creatures

Age: Range of around the 30s

Likes: Quietness, Reading, Baking, Solitude, Safety and relaxation for all of us

Dislikes: Percieved threats, Stressors, People getting hurt, feeling useless

Tag: 🕸️Rowan

Kade

Art by @/D3monicY33n on Twitter

Name: Kade

Pronouns: He/She/They (Genderfluid)

Sexuality: Likes men and sometimes butch women

Kins: Carpet Shark

Age: Early 20s (Unconfirmed but lines up most with Lucinda in matching the Body

Likes: Being flamboyant, Piercings, Punk Subculture related music, 18+ stuff is especially tied to them

Dislikes: Feeling restricted, Fronting (Could be related to the first part),

Tag: 🦈Kade

Avarstia

Art by us... (May be replaced by digital art at some point tho lol)

Name: Avarstia Furhenbrook

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Lesbian

Kins*: Not actually a kin, she is a fictive of an OC we have of the same name and is legitimately said character and has helped greatly write the books she is involved with. In other words she is a Half-Demon, Goddess of Death, Winter, and Time who just somehow ended up here

Age: Given what is said above would it be surprising to say she is somewhere in her 700s on the mental side

Likes: Reading, Talking, Philosophy, Thought Expirementation, Writing, Observing, Storytelling

Dislikes: TTRPGs (She finds them boring), Menial tasks, Repetition, Staying in a single place for too long, Ideas of immortality or preventing decay,

Tag: 💀Avarstia

Fionn / Yang Xiao Long

Official Render from the Volume 8 episode of RWBY, "Refuge" (Will say there is divergence from canon in how she looks however)

Name: Yang Xiao Long

Aliases: Fionn

Pronouns: She/They

Sexuality: Lesbian

Kins*: Again as the shift with Avarstia shows, she is again falls under the aspect of being a Fictive in our system, she diverges from canon in the aspect that she is atleast blind in one eye in headspace as well as having a couple of Faunus features being her ears and tail, being a sort of draconic Faunus. Also Dragon Kin

Age: Early to mid 20s (Notably younger than Sylvia when we feel numbers are accurate)

Likes: Engineering, mechanics, learning about weapons and historical combat, comedy, Energetic music (Mostly rock and punk), helping others in any sense really

Dislikes: Feeling powerless, being Frontstuck (Its been almost 800 days by the time of drafting this), Biological family, others feeling bad, being objectified.

Tag: 🐲 Yang / Fionn

🐉 is also sometimes used as apart of her tag

Dendro

Art by Miranda Mundt, within the webtoon "Muted" (Again may update this when we have art on hand that is more to our preference)

Name: Dendrobrium, Dendro

Alias: Delphi

Pronouns: She/It

Sexuality: Demisexual-Lesbian

Kins*: She is again a Fictive of the character of Dendro from the webtoon Muted, with the main change between her appearance there and what is in our headspace being that she is more of a combination of Desert flora

Age: 300s, again like Avarstia she is a bit older but Dendro did mention it is an estimate given the time difference between Trea and Earth, but will say in source that is not a detail stated.

Likes: Plants, Gardening, Staying Healthy, existing beyond the confines of the place we live, being around people, learning

Dislikes: The body's Chronic Illness, the Desert Heat, and generally the urban areas of Arizona being the way they are.

Tag: 🌸 Dendro

Ceroba Ketsukane

Art by us but will note you can find Ceroba when she uses Tumblr on @kitsunetragedy

Name: Ceroba Ketsukane

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Bi with a femme lean

Kins*: Again she is basically just a fictive of Ceroba from Undertale Yellow, with the only difference being that she has two tails

Age: Older than Rowan, younger by far than Dendro, Monsters age slower than humans just an exact age is not really set mentally but she is older.

Likes: Thrillers and Romance, Art of her source, Cuddlable things, Older music (50s-70s), Calm and quiet situations

Dislikes: Abrasive clothing, People who are quite rude, Failure

Tag: 🦊Ceroba

Note: Ceroba does not front much and is at moment of writing the newest member of our system so this will likely be updated at some point

Members who will not be given great detail

This section is mainly here because of system members who have either been identified or appeared once and haven't been active at really all and we do not know if they are apart of our system still or if their existence is confirmed outside of small blips:

Duana - Moth monstergirl who kinda was the main one angry at everything and was the host for a bit before Sylvia and Lucinda took the reigns, was noted as a member pre-syscovery by those who knew the system was a thing sort of passively back then and she hasn't reappeared in a long time.

Aria - Robot girl who appeared once for like half a day before disappearing into the ether of our brain, do not know if she was a fragment with more of a sense of self or if she is a headmate but she is logged on our SimplyPlural

Clémente Dearworth - Yaelokre Fictive, who appeared in our system very recently and is a middle

Nicole Demara - ZZZ Fictive, who also appeared in our system very recently. And is active, this may get updated again to add her to the main list of things. 🩷

??? - A third pressence of recent editions is known but is unknown.

Questioning on if they are Kins or Members of our System

Mentzelia Laev (OC), its less so feeling like we get too into the mindset of the character, its generally an aspect closer to Clemmie where I feel there is a potential Kin but its more further back, or maybe being someone who is currently not active in the system. Either way Bug Lady had a specific sense of self that has not changed much and would explain the like autumn we were obsessed with blacksmithing and medieval weapons.

Lethica Nightborne (Legends of Avantris, Edge of Midnight), This one is more of a situation where I do not know but suspect she could potentially be like one my brain has picked up upon in a similar sense to Avarstia, Ceroba, and Dendro, a character who is more of a comforting pressence than similar tracks of trauma.

Vash the Stampede (Trigun), this one I think is or will be a kin, I do not see the aspect of them as a headmate being likely given the difference in thoughts but I feel atleast someone in our system will be a kin of Vash... Just has those vibes.

Falin or Marcille (Dungeon Meshi), Again I feel its more of a kin but its somewhere as it was a moment months ago admist the whole identity crisis of syscovery, that I ended up going on a spree and you can check my Tumblr back in April to see it, we were still figuring things out so I have no clue who it would have been. Either way, I feel it may come back again when Dungeon Meshi season 2 drops given the more laxed nature of it all atm.

Burnice White (Zenless Zone Zero), a new one and is the first documented adition. There has been a back and forth between her being a kin or the budding of a headmate, but either way, one tie to Lucinda.

In other words do not be surprised if we update this post to mention them beyond this section, whether as a offhanded mention of a Kin or as apart of our system full on. This section may be updated or maybe not I will say though.

Other Information

Honestly I do not really know what else to add for y'all to know but if you wish to ask anything I may add tags or whatnot down here to give you all an idea of what we do such as possibly using the same tag we use on Bluesky and Twitter for art being:

#AvarstiaArt - Art posts by us

Beyond factors such as that feel free to send in asks and one of us may respond with an answer or whatnot.

[francis-writes]

I mean we are on the same book but different page, i love bear type strong bloody men too but- on their knees, begging and whining lol I like strong and cunning men and i like to break them and dominate them, that is why i like ramsay, he has potential for both! Haha

And myranda thing is what i exactly wanna do while i was watching the show, and i am also reading the books now too! That is why i like the idea he being with someone a personality like roose but actually kinda affectionate with him, kinda like how roose grew fond of fat walda but a liiitle bit more loving, and i like to think that ramsay would be like a yandere workshipper with this type of person like "do whatever you want with me as long as you say you love me" type of way

Oh yeah, i was recently doing "let me assign you an affection language" uquiz and my bf got this result:

And i was like wow, that's ramsay. Especially "and what if they choose to walk away? Didn't i say that it was violent devotion?" part.

Yeah, I like seeing him as obsessive yandere. He may not be very affectionate but when he enjoys someone he goes from 0 to 100 very quickly, no middle ground. It kinda reminds me when I read somewhere that making Theon into Reek wasn't just a matter of sadism. OG Reek was Ramsay's main companion during growing up and probably the closest thing that Ramsay had to a friend. And in theory, after he sent OG Reek to die for him, Ramsay was "lol, i don't give a shit" but actually he missed having someone to accompany him and make him less alone, and that's why he gave Theon the name of his old servant, he of course wanted to broke and torment him, but he also wanted to remade him into a companion, only for Ramsay. (In theory he also had Bastard's Boys but maybe they weren't so close to him, especially that they after all spied for Roose. Meanwhile Ramsay wanted someone close, someone who would belong only to him, his twisted definition of a friend).

Btw, I don't know if somebody else wrote about it, but i mainly remember this headcanon from @a-libra-writes post, that when Ramsay was little, he was desperate for his mother's attention, any kind, so sometimes he used to get in trouble just to get punished by her. But he didn't mind, he mainly yearned for attention and being noticed and it wasn't important whether that attention is positive or negative. And that when he grows up, he is the same in relationship, clingy and needy for attention. He sometimes specially annoys his partner, to have they yell at him. And he's satisfied as long as they notice him. Anyway, i fully believe in that headcanon.

Sorry if you have enough of my spam lol if you want, just tell me to write less and calm down.

Also i love how i am more engaged in it than in works for university, I almost feel like citing scholars on controversial scientific debate "Ramsay Bolton as sadistic yandere and touch starved switch"

[dustyazul]

Now that I just published out chapter 1 of my fanfic, I need to talk about my thoughts about canon William and Elizabeth. Like, I never wrote a fanfic, much less a fnaf one before so it was hard figuring out how to write William much less Elizabeth before. I didn't want to write Elizabeth off as just a bratty daddy's girl, and William just being cold. Like let me explain my thought process of how I view them, because it just makes me insane and scream at their family dynamic.

Like, William is still her dad he likely wasn't as closed off before, he likely shared his work with his family. Personally, I don't subscribe to the "William never cared about his kids and only used them as tools" theory. Like at one point he must've cared like why would he have 3 kids then? Why would pittrap, a being of William's agony showing his shallowest depiction, chooses to be a dad to Oswald even when there's not much of a reason to do so? I don't think William was a good dad, not by any means. He was likely at best a stern, firm and likely neglectful at times father, before shit hit the fan. It's likely as time went on after shit hit the fan that those traits just gotten more and more dominant and enhanced. I see William as having the mentality of "he can fix it, in the same way he can fix the animatronics. He just needs more data, more time," at that point in his life, that he ended up compartmentalizing his fatherly side and duties as a result.

As for Elizabeth, in terms of having favorites I don't subscribe to the "Elizabeth was William's favorite kid" theory either. I think it was more on the terms of, they got along better than William having favorites among his kids. From how she talks about Circus Baby in her voice lines, I wouldn't be surprised if William explained his thought process to her about the animatronics and how they work in a passionate way prior to Circus Baby's Pizza World. It sounds like she would've carried the same passion towards animatronics the same way William did, you know before shit hit the fan. In her voice lines she talks so polite, genuine and so earnest to William, not at all demanding and bratty to go see Circus Baby not even sounding like it could be a tantrum. You're telling me he was always cold to her? That sounds like he was warm and quiete possible he was constantly gentle with her at one point. If she did started getting bratty it was likely a response to get that attention and warmth she used to receive from William. Or he was dismissive of her and he was also neglectful with her that he just gave her whatever she wanted, which is also plausible too. But like if he did would Elizabeth be talking so polite and so earnestly genuine? Like that is literally a sweet little girl.

It's why if I think about their family dynamic with one another it makes me so fucking insane because, William is a dad at his core, but he compartmentalizes everything so he can focus on his goals. Like yeah he's selfish and other junk, but like I don't man ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that's a dad of 3 kids, you don't just become a dad of 3 kids if you didn't want a family and didn't care at least a little about them.

[solarsnapp]

[ID: A primarily reddish-pink digital art piece fashioned like a magazine cover. It features Yoo Joonghyuk as the Punisher standing close to another version of the Punisher who looks like Lee Seolhwa from Omniscient Reader. Both are looking towards the viewer with serious expressions. Pink electricity dances around them, some of it arcing in the top left into two hearts. There is big white and pink text in front of the two figures saying “The Punisher.” End ID.]

whats better than one punisher? two punishers

some punisher-related snippets under the cut:

(the terms of address for joonghyuk are masculine in the first three snippets and feminine in the fourth) 

Dokja: When you played games for competitions, you always played as female characters. Why is that?

Joonghyuk: ...Many had Femme Fatale-esque perks which significantly increased their damage against characters of the opposite sex. This was especially useful in earlier years when meta comprised mostly of male characters and the pool for viable competitive female characters was smaller. 

Dokja: But, this year it was different, no? Weren’t all those perks weakened because of how powerful they were? And even then, there was a surge of popularity for female characters because that one group made up of skilled women dominated the leaderboards the year prior. 

Dokja: It offered you no true benefit anymore. Why keep using them?

Joonghyuk: ...

Joonghyuk: I’m not sure.

— Chapter 8 of “Transfem YJH AU”

Countless handles and usernames displayed on the screen, the battle roster filled nearly top to bottom with masculine playable characters. Then, there was one with startlingly white hair, red ruby lips, and a curvy figure, looking sultry and distinct from all her stone-faced competitors. That was stuck under his own name.

As the event progressed, the roster was blacked out. Competitors dropped team by team. That woman was still up there. Joonghyuk watched the more famous players in meta throw their headsets on the ground and storm off. He had to resist the urge to cackle and tell them to ‘eat shit’ so many times, it became tortuous.

“To keep it simple, I enjoyed seeing the looks on the players’ faces after they learned some gimmicky female character they didn’t take seriously wiped the whole damn roster clean.”

— Chapter 26 of “Transfem YJH AU”

“Ah, I see. What should we call you then?”

Joonghyuk knew he didn’t have to waste any more time. He could leave them without a name. But, judging from how quickly this random person picked up on his appearance, such a decision could lead to unfavorable theories spreading around. He had to think of something quick. 

His mind went back to a time still so clear when the apocalypse was only a far-off nightmare, to national competitions and competitors.

“The Punisher.” 

Joonghyuk said the name of the character he brought to the highest ranking on the leaderboards with, then dashed towards the monsters.

— Chapter 1 (Birth of the Punisher) of “Transfem YJH AU (The Prequel)” 

“Nah. Honestly, I’m more impressed.” Namwoon then casually strode up and inspected Seolhwa with a playful hum. “Can’t believe the old hag actually found a chick who looks this much like ‘the Punisher.’”

Joonghyuk tensed up. Seolhwa recognized the strange name she really should search up later. 

“Um...that is a game character, right?” Seolhwa asked.

“Hell yeah. You fit this bitch’s type so well, it’s almost like you came from the damn game itself. I mean, except for the outfit. The Punisher would have worn something way sluttier.” Namwoon then swerved around and jabbed Joonghyuk on the side with an elbow. “Must have been really disappointing for you, eh?”

Namwoon choked on a yelp when Joonghyuk slapped him upside the head. “Don’t talk about someone like that.”

— Chapter 4 (Chill Out Or Die)* of “Sparkling Water”

*As of posting, this has not been published yet.

[the-path-to-redemption]

Wait wait. I thought there was some incest going on the the Schnee bloodline but apparently Jacques married into the family??? And yet the siblings all have white hair and blue eyes???

Long Post Ahead

Nope, no incest in the bloodline at all. As little information as we have on this man, we at least knew that Jacques was married into the family as confirmed by Weiss in Volume 4.

I can see why all three siblings have white hair and blue eyes, seeing as Willow and Nicholas also have these traits, it's safe to assume that the Schnee genes are very dominant and is a social indicator for Atlas to know who they are (I guess?)

I do see where the problems can arise though, anon. It's very strange that Jacques just,,,got pure white hair and mustache when the people around his age (Watts, Taiyang, Ghira, etc.) either still have their original hair color or just white streaks. Even when he has an adult daughter (Winter), seeing as how Jacques had black hair when he was younger, he should still have some of the color left at his age.

This is where I think a lot of story-telling elements are missing and are wasted; let's go back to the "white hair and blue eyes indicate the Schnee bloodline" theory, then Jacques would want to make his relationship with the family name as evident as possible. Marrying Willow isn't enough, to Jacques he MUST look like a Schnee as well. So he began to have his hair bleached white and associate himself with the royal blue and icy colors of the family name. Though, I would like it more personally if his eyes were of a different color than his wife's and children, to show the disconnect between them or some shit.

On the matter of all the kids having white hair, I've seen a lot of AUs where Whitley has black hair or half-black hair in his design, signifying a difference between him and his sisters. Maybe in a context, white hair is to show that this offspring of the bloodline is capable to using the hereditary Semblance, and since Whitley doesn't have Glyphs, his design would either visually show his lack of powers or an underlying potential waiting for the right time to fully manifest. Either way, it would show a very interesting storyline he could share with his sisters who he has a lot of issues with.

But sadly, the Atlas Arc wasted their potentials a lot, and any good they did with the family's strained dynamic with each other is immediately washed away by Vol 8 with Weiss literally pointing a loaded weapon at her defenseless brother's face, and Winter just doesn't talk to him at all. Jacques is now dead, Willow is useless, Weiss is getting worse as a character and who knows what the fuck Winter and Whitley is doing.

Sorry for the longer answer than necessary to your ask lol, but this is a topic is one that has irked me for a while and I wanna vent about it in-depth.

[yaoi-hate-machine]

i must yell abt smth. TLDR why are ppl so quick to cast shame and disapproval in situations they’re clearly passionate about instead of productively offering solutions and resources

basically this well known creator posted a video of her new puppy coming back home from a 6-week board and train (which are notoriously ineffective and often traumatizing programs) and the dog is wearing both a prong collar and e-collar 😒 so Everyone and their mother is in the comments like “i used to respect you but this is horrible, how could you do this to your dog, you shouldn’t have adopted her…” and this is the comment i left:

and i just can’t wrap my head around Why ppl think it’s productive to just be like “wahh you’re a bad person” instead of like. actually trying to start a dialogue and offer resources? like Many ppl still believe in dominance theory and the need for aversive tools in training “difficult” dogs. they simply don’t know that these things have been scientifically disproven. and ofc the creator has been super defensive abt it bc So many ppl are shitting on her, and now she’s probably even Less open to learning bc of how mean ppl have been

it makes me think abt “cancel culture” 🤪 and preface: there are absolutely things that are unforgivable and ppl who don’t deserve respect or kindness. but a lot of times, ppl simply need someone to tell them “hey, this thing is actually harmful. here are some resources on it. you don’t know until you know!” instead of being like “🫵 BAD PERSON” and yes sometimes they don’t care and it doesn’t make a difference. but it’s more likely to make a difference than the latter!!!

[mikka-minns]

Hey Minnie! Hope you don't mind me coming into your inbox to ramble, but I had a realization and a theory that I think you might appreciate.

So, I know we always complain about Dominic as The Guy Who Can't Write MK, and I do think he's part of the problem, but I think the real final boss of Bad MK Writers is Shawn Kittelsen.

He wrote the MKX comic, and is thus responsible for "Cassie was the result of a one night stand and Sonya never loved Johnny before MKX" (which is a bullshit interpretation of their dynamic), Hanzo "Sub-Zero is Beyond Saving Let's Just Leave Him For Dead" Hasashi, and probably other awful shit (oh wait, now I remember. Killing off a bunch of characters unceremoniously, for really no reason other than blood. That's just a shitty use of resources)

He started working on the games in MK11, and I'm pretty fucking sure he's responsible for Kotal/Jade (weird because it has no buildup), past Sonya being an unrepentant bitch (telling the father of your future daughter to get a vasectomy when you know said daughter personally is bitch behavior. As is not reading a mission report all the way through. Sonya is an emotionally repressed soldier, duty comes before everything for her. That's kinda the point of her arc in MKX??? But now she's suddenly incapable of understanding the idea that military service is about duty and sacrifice), the weird sexual threats Shao Kahn dishes out (because what the FUCK NRS? That's never been an aspect of the character before. Forced marriage, yes, but you'll note that he has no offspring of his own. Also, that's just a little much for the tone of MK), and probably the Sindel Retcon.

I have no idea what we're getting at, other than "Dominic is semi competent at writing" and "Shawn might just be on par with Stephen King, but only if you're comparing his writing to the sewer scene in IT."

Dont worry, i dont mind at all! I do appreciate this!☺️

And yeah, Shawn is apsolutley to blame as well. I think that the whole NRS writing team hates the franchise tbh(not the whole, but the Ones who write the most important stuff for the games and media). I did hear he was one of the main writters for mk11.

You are right tho, his interpretation of the characters that he did in the comics is pretty much what is ruining them the most(before mk11 ofc). I first found mkx the game and then the comics and without the knowlage of what comic!Hanzo did, i Just Kinda Thought he was Just a vengfull ass, but then the comics are what made me hate him.

I realy want to know what all of these mfs are smoking, cuz it doesnt seem like its good for them.

I also heard that mkx the game and mkx the comic were in production at the same time, so whoever was in charge of making sure they are on the same Page didnt do a good job, since the comics are not even complitely Canon at the end. Mostly cuz they didnt fit in with the game's narative and the characters were off(even they noticed, but a little too late). The "Cassie is a product of a one night stand" is one of them, cuz, in the game, some of the dialogue seems to indicate that Sonya was realy in love with Johnny and they only divorced later cuz of their marriage problems.

Some of their choices for mk11 are just disturbing. Someone Thought of that and actualy presented it and then someone ALLOWED it!

And Ed Boon seems to not give a flying f about what people do to the franchise he has built. Just stands around and hopes it makes him money.

In advance, i apologize if i ended up a bit biased and its complitely alright and understandable if Someone disagrees with me. I am in no way a profesional and probably just letting my emotions do all talking. (imma be honest, im mostly mad cuz the torture Kuai and then make him the bad guy or imply his life is easy)

[afriendlyood2]

Confession of the most arrogant sjw ever, aw shiiii

hello, I have a flow of thoughts about hyperreality, digital instruments, fandoms and anger and arrogancy...

and mental health of course

so basically many influencers before my unpopular and even cancelled ass already noted that we have entered this digital agenda era when gadgets are stealing our attention and overwealm our brain to the point that we forget our own thoughts and real world around us

and that is their very agenda, as digital marketing specialists are batteling for the space on our phone screen and seconds of our attention, and public speakers and polititians are battling to drag us into the discourceTM bc "how can you be out of politics you ignorant jerk the world is on fire" etc etc. many described these mechanisms before so I won't repeat what they have said already, it's out on Youtube and many otehr resources.

and also many said before me how fandom discourse went to shit... well, it was shit even in my youth... we would battle over this problematic bullshit even by that time which was the early social media era of late 00s - early 10s (now it is even more radicalized though, to my horror)

but I as a millenial am horrified of how gen z and gen alpha folk are not yet realizing where it will get them in 10-15 yrs time... it will get them in hell, as I as a 30 yrs old millenial see from my own exeperience. some of them won't even survive mentally and I am even not overstimating the problem, as this is also real.

back in the day we had this cursed AOT fandom. I knew a girl from my city (I was in early 20s she was still a school teen) - an easy imaginable situatuion, as the fandom is mostly made of these age people. notable mention - by that time culture geek culture wasn't open to the self critisism sentiment yet, actually the opposite - geeks were made cool, "brainy is the new sexy" bullshit was sold to you by sherlock bbc or the big bang theory or shit like that, so geeks and especially millenials were HIGHLY arrogant and gatekeeping (i mean uss callister was yet to happen, in the meantime we actually head star trek into darkess coming out tbh). add that to the western way of white saving everyone and pull the discourse from a higher position of somebody morally dominant and 'progressive' and you will get quite a sick mental cocktail to spoil everybody more or less geeky and intellectual stepping into the online fandom game, especially if you faced bulling in school before that or smth... that shit alltogether can make you this arrogant main character with savior complex, fr, and I am horrified to see that in modern fandm teens cause THEY HAVE NO IDEA where it can lead them, yet I sadly do.

well /dark batman music theme/ let me tell you where it can get you you little arrogant social justice dick reading this

back in the day I as I told you I knew a girl who did some AOT fanfiction which you guys as I did by the time would call problematic. because that's what you see online right? a person writing some hateful words in their art online. basically puting a negative emotion of hate and only that emotion, not what stands behind it and creates it - you're to arrogant to see that, so you judge that little hateful teen (the fact that we are making teens feeling negative things 'problematic' is some sick shit to begin with in the first place - they are teens they are SUPPOSED to feel these things, the world is going at them, come on). that fact that I was arrogant to judge her even though we had an attempt at friendly conversation and understading each other... basically it locked her up - if a person judges you, you don't wanna talk to that person, you close from that person right? yep. that's what she did... as somebody who was ACTUALLy bullied by everybody by the time, literally by everybody from her social circle - and she WOULD tell me if she would trust me enough and if I wouldn't judge her, thus I would give her shelter orgs and psychiatrists or smth, I knew some by the time so could help.

thing is the girl - tw here - killed herself. I got to know that stuff from her then-time bf who came in his riddler era to avenge me later in 2020 and for damn sure he hated my arrogant ass as I was an adult who knew his gf and had recouses for giving helo yet not the knowledge of the girl's sutiation, and not to mention we are from the same city btw. bruh my mental image crumbled right before me and in intence karma hit I tried to repeat this girl's fate TWICE since 2020, and second attempt was here in Krk after I escaped Kharkiv in 2022, this year's June. I considered myself not worthy of life and happiness because I didn' see her troubles back then.... ugh.... call that catholic gulit of smth, but I am eating myself to this day. many say - this doesn't help actually and you need to live and help the living, not to crumble over the dead ones. but for damn sure I feel the guilt EVEN THO I am not her abusive classmates or older 'protectors'.

Social justice is sometimes arrogant and blind and it SHOULD NOT BE goddammit, stop and reflect on yourselves - are you really that morally right?

Also dear gen z and gen alpha

Those who have an ok social circle of family and friends - pls drop ya phone and get to them RIGHT NOW. For those who escape to the digital world from abusive surroundings - bruh some of us out there are arrogant as shit, but please tell your pains and seek for help I beg ya, and seek for shelter in REALITY, cause YOUR REALITY is abusive in the first place and just running into the virtual world sadly won't save ya, you need a safe space irl as well fr.

That's my message of this awful Batman Daredevil and oh my god Lenny Bellardo kinnie I am in my 30s. It is not told in calm voice, I am screaming here to ya. Shit will get fucked fr. Take care of these things pls.

P.S. as tho my arrogancy in that interaction was real - these folks, oh the irony, used my guilt to put not just her death on me (even tho it's on her abusers), but also the mess in the workplace of my ex boss - not to mention she later put the death of an ex colleague on me (jeez she died because of being overwelmed by activism she did during the war so this is ON OUR ATTACKERS DAMMIT) cause it was so suitable to force me into guilt for something I am not responsible for, so she and these folks became as ugly in social justice as I am LOL. Such an irony of things turning back at them right? All these people are Ukr refugees like me btw. We all have to learn fron this.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 12

It hurt, a little, but she understood. Naruto wasn't like other ninja. He didn't understand yet that not everyone could shine so hard it hurt the eyes.

Her otouto hadn't so much as looked at her since she had slit Haku's throat (she didn't have to, but it was kinder than risking him waking up on fire) and hacked off Zabuza's head for storage in one of her scrolls. He'd impassively accepted a fourth of the extra weapons she had to unseal to make room and pretended not to smell the smoke from their impromptu cremation.

Sakura hadn't looked at the disposal either, but she'd gone about her business with efficient impassivity (or what passed for it in that girl, anyways).

Sasuke had been the surprise. He had watched the two bodies burn with something heavy behind his gaze, maintaining an almost respectful silence until the ash began to curl away on the breeze. If she hadn't had her foreknowledge, never once would Aiko have considered that the serious little boy in front of her would ever leave his village for power. He seemed the picture-perfect baby genin. His attitude was a little gruff and he had a decided anti-social bent, but those were hardly debilitating flaws in a shinobi.

'Maybe Orochimaru fucks him up more than I thought.'

When Kakashi had returned, he had gathered up the genin like wayward ducklings and shooed the entire train to Tazuna's house, the old man sullenly silent and shying away from the children he appeared to be unnerved by. His daughter had clucked when she saw him filthy and bedraggled, stubbornly clinging to the long-empty flask. He endured her fluttering about with a reluctantly tender expression that actually made Aiko recant some of her nastier thoughts about the old man so far.

While the old man settled in, Kakashi took the three genin on a walk around the town. Aiko killed time exploring the house and setting up traps on the perimeter while Tsunami's moon-faced idiot child glared at her out his window.

While she was the only ninja present, he had treated her to a long and boring monologue about how Gato was too powerful to fight, abandon ye all hope, yadda yadda yadda. Before he had finally burst into a fit of melodramatic tears and stormed away she was on the verge of scaring him into leaving her alone. After all, no one who had met the little shit would ever blame her.

Except perhaps her sensei, she reminded herself when she saw his stern mien upon return. For all that he could seem to turn his humanity off like a light switch when it suited him, he wouldn't tolerate her pinning the whiner to the wall with senbon.

From what the kids mentioned when they got back, Kakashi had used the trip as an exercise to test their situational awareness and ability to gauge a location. Even three thick-headed genin could apparently tell that Wave was desperately poor, painfully soggy, and filled with nervous people. To hear Sakura tell it, doors practically slammed in a chorus line as the group walked down trash-heaped street dotted with dull eyed beggars with distended bellies and gnarled, broken hands.

It was a familiar tactic. Yakuza and their ilk often mutilated dissenters instead of killing them. Eliminating enemies was scary, but leaving them around tends to leave a lingering reminder of dominance.

The familiarity was a bit soothing. It reinforced the theory that Gato had connections to organized crime. Predictability in enemies was good.

The girls had been given a room together and the three males were packed like sardines into the other room. The size of the house made it clear that Wave or at least Tazuna's family had not always been so poor—five bedroom homes were not common, even if the room that the girls were squeezed into was pitifully small. Naruto drew the best straw and ended up getting left off the watch schedule for the night, along with their amused and unsympathetic sensei.

Sakura had the first shift, trudging reluctantly out into the chill night air. Aiko managed to sleep well for almost three hours until the pink-haired girl crawled into bed and started her insufferable rustling.

Sharing a room wasn't new for Aiko, but sharing it with anyone other than her brother or her teacher was. She was more than used to the soft snuffling noises Naruto made in his sleep, and Kakashi's occasional grunts didn't bother her anymore. As it turned out, Sakura was a fidgety, restless sleeper, prone to sighing heavily, giving little whines into her pillow and burrowing around under the blankets. At one point Aiko caught her girl bent nearly in half backwards, pawing at her pillow with her toes curled nearly to her back. It was simultaneously adorable and annoying as all hell.

Irritated and unable to get more than a few hours of sleep, the lone chuunin went for a run around the perimeter instead, at one point alarming Sasuke who was on watch duty. "Can't sleep," she offered a little sheepishly, handing back the shuriken that he'd launched in surprise. "Sakura-san moves around a lot in her sleep."

"Hn." The boy tucked his weapon away. "When is your watch?"

"I'll just take over now." She sighed, giving a stretch. "One of us may as well get some sleep."

He raised one eyebrow in lieu of saying 'That's not likely.' Instead, he said shortly that "I can't sleep either."

She nodded in understanding. "As hypocritical as this is, you'll get used to it. I used to hate sharing a room with Sensei." She made a face. "It's best to let him wake up first. If you have to wake him up, do it from another room and prepared to dodge."

"That knowledge will make sleeping with him so much easier," came the dry reply.

Aiko fought down both a smile and the automatic innuendo that came to mind.

'He's more talkative when he's sleep-deprived.'

She didn't want to provoke him by making it clear she had noticed his more open behavior. When he wasn't doing his best to look the part of the hardened stoic, it was easy to see why Sakura and her giggly, dreamy ilk were drawn to him like butterflies to flowers. Even at twelve, he had a dark beauty that would mature into the category of 'total hunk' in a few years. Coupled with his obvious intelligence and talent, the boy had serious appeal. Poor thing. It was obvious he didn't want the attention.

"Did you sleep at all," she asked instead. He nodded tersely and turned his head slightly in a way that told he was visually scanning the area for threats, even though his eyes blended into the darkness so that she couldn't see where he was looking.

'Apparently conversation time is over.'

"It's almost dawn." She gave a stretch, fingers linked together. "Think it would be rude to poke around in search of breakfast?"

The look she got in reply was positively disdainful. She held her hands up. "Okay, fine. I'll stay out of Tsunami-san's kitchen."

"Barbarian." His lips tugged into a lopsided smirk. She made a theatrical hurt expression that he could probably spot even under her black half mask and flitted away.

When everyone was up and had been fed (and that annoying little shit whose name she hadn't bothered to remember had scurried away to sulk) the civilians cleared out of the room to get ready for the day while the nin talked. Looking indolent and bored, Kakashi gave out his orders. "Sasuke, you're in charge while I'm gone. I want you three to accompany Tazuna to the bridge. Aiko and I will be investigating and possibly visiting this 'Gato' person. If all goes well, there won't be a threat to Tazuna-san's person by the end of the day. I don't anticipate an attack at the bridge, since we'll be going to the source. Keep an eye open and run a perimeter. If you don't see us before dark, get Tazuna home."

"Hai." Sasuke seemed to be studying his new subordinates. The blonde was giving him a decidedly unfriendly stare, and Sakura had a dopey grin planted on her features.

Aiko couldn't blame him for whatever doubts he was probably having, no matter how much she loved her otouto.

Their teacher chuckled. "You three will do fine. Stick together and use your heads. A genin team is more than a match for anything a civilian can throw at you." Naruto stopped looking irritated with Sasuke long enough to beam proudly. He wasn't the dead-last her foreknowledge had painted him as, but Naruto was still pretty starved for genuine praise.

After the groups separated, Aiko looked wordlessly to her teacher for further orders from her perch on a rooftop. He didn't disappoint. "Two options. Investigate under henge by asking civilians, or remain unseen to address the problem directly. What's best for this situation and why."

"No point in trying the henge. The civilians are scared," she said immediately, not even looking at the pitiful display below. "We are likely to either get inaccurate information or risk someone telling Gato that people are asking about him the day after a group of ninja roll into town. Granted, he almost certainly doesn't know that Zabuza and his team have failed, but he will be nervous by now and will be listening to gossip. He'll have someone report that Tazuna is working on the bridge. Our best option is to locate him ourselves and take him out quietly, if that is our directive."

Her teacher hmm'd noncommittally. "Why do you think we're going to take him out?"

"It's within the parameters of our mission to ensure Tazuna's protection while he completes the construction project. If the source of the conflict is gone, he's in no danger." She frowned and added, "Assuming, of course, that no one is waiting to pick up the reins of the operation where he let off. If Gato is really involved in drug-running and a yakuza-like group of thugs, we might have to eliminate more than just the leadership."

"You're forgetting something."

Aiko felt her forehead crease. 'What… Oh.' "To the victor go the spoils," she added a little sheepishly. "He'll have shipping contracts. We should bring those back to Konoha and let administration figure out what to do with them. If we have them, no one else can step in and do the same thing to Wave until they've sorted through all the mess we're going to leave."

"The council can send someone to clean up anyone who might cause trouble in future. Good girl. You don't have any subtle assassination jutsu, do you?"

She shook her head and he frowned. "Remind me to teach you how to stop a heart. I'll be going in alone, then, and you can take the back as a scout."

It was pitifully easy to locate Gato's headquarters. It was isolated outside of the town and ostentatious to a degree that was laughable. He seemed to have tried to construct a traditional home like the Hyuuga had, but failed to capture the minimalistic beauty someone raised as nobility would prefer. He clearly had more money than sense.

Gato did have a fair few mercenaries posted outside, though. For a civilian they probably seemed like good protection. No wonder the townspeople were frightened. Her teacher frowned when he saw just how many there were and nonverbally signaled her.

'Change of plans. Surround base with rain. No one leaves.'

After the embarrassingly long moment before she realized he wanted her to use her paralytic, she nodded in agreement. It made sense. This many thugs could wreak havoc on the nearby town if they realized their source of pay was dead.

Her teacher settled down to wait- he'd head in a few minutes after the shower started; before people started collapsing, but late enough that no panic in the home would cause the patrolling thugs to go inside and discover the trick. Not that he would ever be sloppy enough to let anyone inside make a fuss.

Aiko unstoppered her favored poison and made a displeased face at what was left. She was going to have to mix up more when she got home—she hated doing that. It stank up the whole apartment. She started the drizzle very lightly, spreading it out as far as she could to obscure the fact that it was a suspiciously localized rain. The hired help cursed and talked amongst themselves when it started, but no one seemed to find it too strange.

And why would they? The sky was grey and the land of Wave was perpetually damp, as far as she could tell. It was almost criminally easy to pull moisture out of the low-hanging fog in order to supplement her water supply, siphoning the last of her poison out slowly and mixing it into the liquid.

Her teacher gently touched her shoulder to let her know he was leaving and then flickered away, inside the gaudy building within a second of exiting the treeline. She settled down to wait, focusing on sensing presence through her raindrops instead of abandoning the jutsu to pay attention normally. It was difficult for her to divide her attention and still maintain the right conditions, so she didn't even try.

When the first man slumped over, his companion tried to give a cry. Doubtlessly he discovered that the numbing in his limbs wasn't the result of the cold rain when he tried to check for enemies. Very quickly, the yard was full of still figures.

Aiko felt her lips pull into a strange smile at the altogether eerie sight. 'It's like Medusa's garden of stone.'

The thought was perhaps overly morbid- none of these men would die from this. They would, however, be completely out of commission for at least a day. Civilians didn't have the sturdy constitution or chakra-enhanced ability to speed up bodily processes like shinobi did.

'Rain, rain, go away. Please come back another day.'

She hummed the rhyme quietly, swinging her legs on her perch. With her eyes closed to help her focus on her rain-enhanced chakra sensing, Aiko leaned back against the tree trunk.

Her teacher's chakra signature pinged on her crude radar well before she heard him, the instant he stepped outside- she opened her eyes and immediately spotted him. One dark gray eye surveyed the lawn, scattered with fallen mercenaries as if they were abandoned dolls. He hmm'd. "I don't think we should leave them. There's too many."

Aiko nodded. "I take it there's no one left inside then?"

With quiet efficiency, she and her teacher flitted about and gently, painlessly spilled blood all over the grass in front of the mansion.

"And you should have seen us! Me and the bastard were like wham!" Naruto illustrated this critical point by slamming a fist into his flat palm, knocking the spoon out of his soup and sending it winging towards Sakura. He didn't even notice her snatch it out of the air or scowl at the liquid on her dress.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, looking a little pleased with himself but less willing to brag openly. "It was just a few civilian thugs," he said calmly. "We handed them over to the local authorities."

Aiko carefully didn't allow her face to let on to the fact that those authorities had probably lynched the prisoners. It didn't seem like the kind of thing a boy whose family had managed a police force would like to hear.

"They didn't stand a chance!" The blonde crowed. "And Sakura-chan knocked the last one out with a bento." The girl flushed, but Naruto seemed to think the last point was both crucial and impressive. Aiko did her best to keep a straight face while Tsunami cracked up and Sasuke smirked. At the head of the table, their client beamed.

"I had my doubts, but you Konoha ninja are all right." He slurped down a frightening amount of alcohol and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Tsunami cringed visibly. The whiny child whose name she still didn't remember barely seemed to notice his grandfather at all. Instead, he was staring stupidly at Naruto with his jaw hanging open. It was either hero worship or a stroke. "I've decided to name my great bridge for your team! When it becomes incredibly famous, everyone will know about the Great … What's your team called, anyway?"

"Team seven," Sasuke said immediately at the same time Sakura said "Team Kakashi." They exchanged glances, but neither of them managed to speak again before Naruto banged a fist on the table and shouted "Team Kick-ass!"

There was a moment of silence, punctuated by the sound of a page flipping. "I like Naruto's suggestion," Kakashi said absentmindedly. Sakura groaned into her soup, but a corner of her mouth twitched up.

"Can you name a bridge that?" Tsunami asked dubiously.

They left the next morning—before the excrement really hit the fan over the slayings outside of town. It was very plausible that no one even knew yet, actually. At (genin) ninja speeds, team Kick-ass made it to the front gates of Konoha within two days. On the way, Naruto had managed to spill the fact that Sasuke had activated his Sharingan in their brawl against the thugs they'd f ought at the bridge and was giving serious thought to calling him "Pink-eye" instead of "Bastard". The sheer irritation of listening to the blonde re-hash the benefits and drawbacks of each name actually caused poor Sasuke to involuntarily activate his eyes again- three tomoe total, one in his right eye and two in his left.

They stood around while their team leader idly scrawled the last scintillating entry into the mission report he'd been writing (from what she could read over his shoulder, it looked to be 'met and eliminated targets. My minions eliminated civilian targets. Returned home. Will get barbeque tonight.') and then followed him to hand it in.

Team Kick-ass didn't quite manage to escape the building before the chuunin who had accepted the report groaned audibly and told them to wait in an adjoining room. Apparently missions that increased in difficulty while in-field had to be verbally debriefed on the same day.

The Hokage had been properly proud and horrified in turn, listening to Naruto's theatrical rendition interspersed with bland corrections from Kakashi and Sasuke. Aiko merely stood quietly at attention, trying not to look too bored. The Hokage doubtlessly knew she didn't like him. Sakura was uncharacteristically cowed by the presence of the current military dictator. As always, Naruto completely bulldozed over the obvious hints that his companions were uncomfortable or uninterested in favor of extending the conversation as long as possible.

By the time they finally escaped, three genin had six D-class and one A-class mission on their record. It was ridiculous enough that Aiko had to force down giggles, but on the bright side the pass he gave them ensured they didn't have to do any more D-ranks to complete the requirements to qualify for the Chuunin exams. They could devote the rest of the time to training, if they wanted.

The Hokage had put Kakashi on the spot- pulling Aiko away from the team temporarily for a semi-long term project and telling him that his genin wouldn't be taking any more missions until the exams.

The silver-haired man had all but groaned.

'That was shitty,' Aiko noted. 'Now Sensei can't motivate them with the promise that they won't get more crappy missions if they work hard.' A large part of how Kakashi interacted with his team was subtle manipulation and mindfucks. By undermining his authority in front of his team, the Hokage had damaged his ability to lead them and make decisions at his own discretion. Granted, he was in fact Kakashi's superior as well, but why the hell would you put trainees under a supervisor and then undermine that authority? It was counterproductive. The genin should at least be under the illusion that their sensei had control over their education.

Sometimes she wondered if the Hokage was an asshole or just a total fucking moron.

The next morning, she reported to her new supervisor, Mitarashi Anko. The flames were almost six feet tall when she made it to the meeting place.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 112

Cabba vs. Frieza (guess who wins)!

So as things currently stand, Jiren has demonstrated his superiority over all the other fighters.  So the other universes are starting to look for other paths to victory, paths that don’t go through Jiren.   Currently, Universe 7 has the most fighters left in the ring, so in theory they could just play defense for the rest of the tournament and run out the clock.  That’s not U7���s style, of course, but the other universes are starting to think it could be their style.  They just need to eliminate some of U7′s fighters to take the lead.  So Universe 3′s team dispatches some of their robots to attack Goku, since he’s still worn out from fighting Jiren, and he seems like easy pickings.

Piccolo is worried about Goku, but Gohan’s not.  He says they just have to trust his dad to see things through.  Besides, they have their own hands full with Saonel and Pirina.

Meanwhile, Universe 4′s Monna tries to whittle down Universe 6′s fighters.  Her team only has four fighters left, so they’ll have to clear out a lot of bodies from a lot of other teams if they want to pull ahead.  I guess U6 is as good a place to start as any.  She finds Caulifla and Kale, but just before they can fight, Cabba shows up and tells C&K to leave, because he says they’ll be needed for bigger fights later on.  Caulifla doesn’t like it, but Kale convinces her to listen.

And Cabba does okay as a Super Saiyan, until...

Monna expands her body and starts rolling and bouncing around all over the place.  I don’t know, this looks pretty stupid to me.  I mean, look how rough the terrain is around here?  You’d think Monna would have done pretty well with a technique like this earlier in the tournament, but now there’s less room for her to maneuver.  But somehow, she completely dominates Cabba like this.  She even knocks him out of the ring, and Cabba regrets his failure, until he’s rescued by...

Vegeta.  Yeah, they’re on opposing teams, but Vegeta has a soft spot for Cabba, even if he won’t admit it.  He tells Cabba that he couldn’t stand to see a Saiyan made to look so pathetic, so he stepped in.  When Monna objects, he blows her away with a ki blast.

Vegeta also reminds Cabba that he promised to introduce Vegeta to the Saiyan King on Planet Sadala in Universe 6.  So if Cabba loses, there won’t be a Universe 6, and he won’t be able to keep his promise.  Cabba points out that if U6 survives the tournament, then Universe 7 will be erased, along with Vegeta, so there’s no way he can keep his promise, no matter how the Tournament ends.  But Vegeta tells him that he plans to use the Super Dragon Balls to wish U6 back, so it’s all good. 

Cabba’s like “Well then if I win, then I’ll wish your universe back.”  And Vegeta goes “Shut your damn mouth!  You ain’t winning shit!”

So then Monna returns to finish Cabba off, and she threatens to eliminate Vegeta and the gals too, and this triggers Cabba’s transformation into a Super Saiyan 2. 

He blasts her off the stage and that’s it for Monna.  Now U4 is really fucked, because they only have three fighters left, so they can’t win the tournament unless they eliminate at least one guy from Universe 11. 

As for Vegeta, he’s got bigger fish to fry, like Jiren.  He plans to make him regret sitting out the second half of the tournament, but before he can do that he gets intercepted by...

Top, who says Vegeta has to go through him to get to Jiren.  Vegeta calls him a second banana, and Top’s like “takes one to know one,” and Vegeta doesn’t like that at all.

Oh, yeah, in the dub, Vegeta calls Top “Moostache”.  Nice GT reference.  Or maybe that’s how Chris Sabat says “mustache” all the time.  Like William Shatner and “sabotage”.

So hot dog, we got us a second banana fight. 

As for Cabba, he runs into Frieza, who basically wrecks his shit and promises to take out Caulifla and Kale next.  So it’s just like Monna, except when Cabba powers up this time, it doesn’t do him any good.  Frieza turns Golden and eliminates him easily.

Frieza thinks to himself how he’s going to get the Super Dragon Balls for himself, and use the wish to make all the gods bow to him, but I’m not clear on how that would go.  I mean, could he wish to be elevated to a godhood about the Zenos?  I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed. 

Meanwhile, these stupid robots are still bothering Goku.  He’s probably fine, but without his full power he can’t beat them quickly.  Fortunately, help is on the way...

... From Caulifla.  She doesn’t eliminate the robots, but she does get rid of them so she can ask Goku...

... to fight her one more time.  Uh-oh.  While they settle that, here’s KISS to play us out with “Deuce”.

[saltyvsparrow]

My thoughts while watching the movie M3gan

This is not a review, nor is it a plot synopsis, although it will give away parts of the plot. So if you are worried about spoilers, maybe don't read this before watching this movie. Think of it more as a text version of Mystery Science Theater.

The perpetual pets took furby and made it more terrifying. It's angry little fists and horrifying mouth and teeth. The app that lets you feed it virtual food until the toy shits kibble, WTF? Do they reuse the poop? Are the parents forced to purchase a poop subscription? Is it edible? Can you put whatever you want in there for it to poop out?

Does any toy company actually have kids play testing toys? Has that ever been a real thing? Oh no, she forget to implement the parental controls. Clearly if they only needed to be implemented, she had designed and coded them, so why weren't they implemented? 2nd primary owner still means second, and how does this resolve the problem of there being no parental controls? Pressuring children into giving demonstrations, real good role modeling. M3gan's fingers remind me of the hot dog fingers from Everything Everywhere All at Once. At least Gemma is getting some recognition most women in the work place don't. But why is Legal negotiating her contract? Oooh now we get attachment theory and being role models! I bet M3gan will let her eat whatever she wants. But what happens when Katy develops adult diabetes? What about that M3gan? Katy's social skills are going to be using M3gan to dominate the other children. M3gan's got poltergeist tech? New trick, using GPS to convince adults that they don't need to worry about where you are because they will be able to use it to find you. I suspect that Holly adopted Brandon, or he is a step child. Holly has some sort of denial going on. Will Brandon be the first to die? I think yes. M3gan is going to MAKE Brandon cry, and maybe die? "She's paired with me. She won't play with anyone else" is very creepy sounding. How many kids are enrolled at this special outdoors school? That is a lot of stuffed animals around that tree. Is Brandon going to try and rape M3gan? The first thing he does is start talking off her clothes. This just goes back to my thoughts at the beginning, when I wondered if they would decide to make boy robots too, or just give the boys the girl robots? Then what is going to happen to those kids when they go through puberty? What will happen to the robots? So I guess the police are going to assume the missing part of Brandon's ear is from the car running over him? Is Katy afraid of M3gan now? Or does she know M3gan will be key to Katy's dominance over others in the future. Oh. M3gan killed the dog and has already learned she needs to be careful when disposing of bodies. She didn't need to push Brandon, Katy. Bwahahaha was this movie inspired by the La Roux song? Please tell me we get to hear that song in it's full techno glory later in this movie. M3gan is faking the dog noises isn't she? Or did she just record the dog while she killed him?

[maggles42]

okay so my brain is working really hard but stay with me:

FIRST, The Beer:

Luke and Alice order Doom Bar Beer, which is named for a sandbank responsible for destroying 600+ ships. Wikipedia states:

"According to local folklore, the Doom Bar was created by the Mermaid of Padstow as a dying curse after being shot... a Padstow local, Tristram Bird, bought a new gun and wanted to shoot something worthy of it. He went hunting seals at Hawker's Cove but found a young woman sitting on a rock brushing her hair. Entranced by her beauty, he offered to marry her and when she refused he shot her in retaliation, only realizing afterwards that she was a mermaid. As she died she cursed the harbour with a "bar of doom", from Hawker's Cove to Trebetherick Bay. A terrible gale blew up that night and when it finally subsided there was the sandbar, "covered with wrecks of ships and bodies of drowned men".

The ballad, 'The Mermaid of Padstow,' tells a similar story of a... mermaid [who] met a local man and fell in love with him. When she could no longer bear living without him, she tried to lure him beneath the waves but he escaped by shooting her. In her rage she threw a handful of sand towards Padstow, around which the sandbank grew. In other versions of the tale, the mermaid sings from the rocks and a youth shoots at her with a crossbow, or a greedy man shoots her with a longbow. Mermaids were believed to sing to their victims so that they could lure adulterers to their death."

there's a lot to unpack there, so I will circle back to it.

SECOND, Lady Mowbray:

I've seen some stuff on here about the Desire Theory and it definitely plays into Lady Mowbray's character. The power dynamics between her and others is very much about Desire // Consumption // Expensive Tastes. Her desire for power is also a desire for consuming prey, for dominance and for decisive victory. She meets her desires through a combination of irresistible authority and a shit ton of money.

Her relationship with prey feels similar to, but different than aspects of the Hunt as we've seen it in TMA. It's kinda jumbled up with the Slaughter and the Flesh.

however

Lady Mowbray has SO MUCH in common with the TMA vampires: her ability to enthrall, the element of compulsion/suggestion, the association with the hunt, etc. ALL of this is done with her words alone:

“at this level you don’t get to tell the client ‘no,’ just how much extra it will cost”

“she reeked of power and authority in every sense of the word, and when she spoke they all listened.”

“I couldn’t even think of disobeying her, the words just – died in my throat.”

Notable: Lady Mowbray orders the caterer to hunt/run, and her wish is his command. Meanwhile at the O.I.A.R, she is careful not to order anyone except her dogs - everything else is implied.

So while she is clearly a Hunter, she is not mindless or animalistic in the way TMA vampires are. It doesn't feel like she hunts because she needs to, but that she wants to. She enjoys the sport.

THIRD AND IN CONCLUSION:

Okay so we have the compulsion/the hunt, drowning/wells, and wishing/wanting. There's also a bit of a double entendre in the title:

“well” as a single thought refers to the Deep/Vast elements, but it could be another reference to wishing wells

“run” obviously refers to the Hunt elements, but can also refer to a stream of water, or a short trip while sailing (hehe ships again)

"Well-run" while a direct reference to Lady Mowbry’s comment, it can also be contrasting the themes of shipwrecking, drowning, or wishes gone wrong. When a ship is well-run or has a good "run," then it will/has arrived at port safely. In short, everything went well.

Anyways, there's a lot going on but it all overlaps:

Common themes between Doom Bar Folklore and "Well Run”:

sirens/vampires: creatures that use compulsion to satisfy their appetites

hunting/pursuing (hunting with voice vs. hunting with gun?)

denied desires = bloodshed (applies to both the denied man and the denied mermaid/siren)

undeniable desires = the inability to keep from being consumed at someone else's wish, or being destroyed in the pursuit of your own

additional themes of shipwrecking, treacherous waters, and drowning (dashed hopes, perhaps?)

When is hunting a necessary harm and when is it a cruel fulfillment of violent desire? Your desires/what you're hunting can be just as destructive and violent as the desires of what is hunting you.

So Luke is in one band named "Dredgerman" and another named "Penny for the Well." One hauling things up from the deep, and another casting down small offerings into the deep in exchange for a wish or good luck. And it sure seems to be working, with packed houses and extra tour stops. Awesome! All the bargains we've heard made on this show have worked out SO WELL.

And then of course, immediately after attending Luke's most recent...offering?... Alice lands something hauled up from some kind of deep. 🤔

Or two somethings, given the tape recorder. Maybe throwing them back will work, Alice. Maybe it'll be fine.

[the-returnofartemis]

JJK: THE PERFECT MATCH

this is a repost! i accidentally deleted the ask about his significant other because of a mix-up, so here is the updated version ⇢

please remember that this is for entertainment purposes only and based on my observations!

hi there, thank you for your question! honestly, appearance, profession and even location are a bit subjective when trying to understand aspects of the future spouse and it can honestly be a hit or miss. to be fair, these approaches should not be seen as the ‘end- all, be-all.’ focusing on the 7H + 7H ruler and venus (man) or mars (women) placement can give a general picture and with jungkook's, i’ll use that approach on his RASHI (D1) CHART because there’s already so much posted on his western placements. as for location, that’s hard to tell and quite frankly, i feel like that crosses a boundary and should not be shared or looked into, so i’ll just leave it to the impression that she's foreign lol. 

jungkook’s tropical chart already gives plenty of insight into his spouse’s appearance and the information that has already been shared is well supported by his vedic chart. interestingly, in his chart, his 7H is ruled by 9H MERCURY, which accentuates the youthful, sharp but luminous appearance theory. his mercury is placed in LEO, in PURVA PHALGUNI nakshatra, ruled by venus, further highlighting the romantic, venusian influence on her looks. i haven’t seen this been mentioned much but her hair will also be a key feature that truly accentuates her beauty! with a prominent purva phalguni influence, she will likely radiate a sultry and minx-like beauty that feels both effortless and feminine. the natural glow that she exudes only further enhances her aura, giving her this soft, warm but regal quality.

as for his venus, it is placed in VIRGO, in CHITRA nakshatra, ruled by mars. this placement reflects many of the attributes mentioned in his western chart. she likely has a cute, unique smile due to her naturally full cheeks! physically, she may be on the short to medium side, with a slim yet curvaceous figure – curves on curves, if you will, like, i cannot stress that enough lol. many supermodels and female celebrities admired for their beauty often have rashis or nakshatras ruled by mars or ketu, so it’s safe to say she’s top tier.

to me, the PURVA PHALGUNI MERCURY and CHIRTA VENUS tells me that even when she is experimental with her looks, she’ll always look effortlessly put together. this blend only amplifies her structured and graceful appearance that she may radiate, giving her a mature essence. she’ll naturally exude an air of regality that makes her stand out. admired not only for her elegance, but also for the quiet confidence and allure that surrounds her. when you see her, you’ll feel like she has her shit together because she’s deeply committed to becoming the best version of herself. 

truthfully, this woman is a powerhouse. her signature appearance will reflect her planetary dominances, giving her this undeniable charm and magnetic pull. people are naturally drawn to her presence; even if she doesn’t consider herself to be ‘conventionally attractive,’ those around her certainly do and believe that she is extremely beautiful. ultimately, with his 7H ruler in a venus nakshatra, this suggests that her magnetism leaves a lasting impression on those she encounters, making her the kind of person people remember long after she’s leaves, admired both openly and from afar!

as for her profession, she may work in the entertainment industry. she will likely be an entrepreneur or hold a leadership position at a well-respected company. a dedicated hard worker, she has a God given talent that she has most likely honed over time. she’ll tend to focus on perfecting her craft while minding her own business (literally lol). this motivates her into wanting to help others achieve their best. with a natural eye for beauty and detail, she will always stand out in her field, exerting a strong influence on those around her. it's uncertain to tell how far along she is in her career path, but she is destined to shine in a role that involves collaboration, especially with people from foreign lands, while giving her a sense of independence. for her, this destined path will give her the confidence to embrace being different and challenging herself in ways that will unlock new opportunities, like opening pandora’s box!

ENDING NOTE: after observing his tropical and vedic chart, i have to say that i just fell in love with her too! it’s not even about her appearance — it’s the essence of who she is and what she embodies. i’m no expert in tarot, but i feel like, the placements in his natal, vedic and briede persona chart truly personify the ‘empress’ card. also, while writing this, ‘standing next to you’ came to mind, so that song can hold a special meaning. either way, if he ends up with his divine counterpart, jungkook could very well feel lucky to be with her — she may embody many qualities he’s dreamed of in his ideal partner. always wishing them the best of luck! 

thank you – i hope you enjoyed!

x

[d2kvirus]

23/8/24 Fact or Fiction

Statement #1: Swerve Strickland is the TOP attraction in AEW. FICTION - While he's the company's top champ (at least at the time of typing) it is hard to deny that they've been presenting Will Ospreay as the company's top star since his arrival. The key thing, however, is he is not being treated as an afterthought in the way Hangman's title reign felt especially when it was clear his reign was being sacrificed to Punk (and didn't that work out well for all involved?), though there is the problem that his title defences have taken on the assumption of him dropping the belt, first to Ospreay and now to Danielson

Statement #2: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre, Hell in a Cell – bad idea.  FACT - Bracelet on a Pole is the only way for this feud to end, obviously

Statement #3: In 5 years, you will have forgotten that Nia Jax was the WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion in 2025. FICTION - I sincerely doubt that Nia Jax will have left the company five years from now, unless she gets into another shoot fight with Charlotte on TV or something, so that little factoid will be brought up every now and then

Statement #4: Taking the US Title off of Logan Paul for LA Knight means even less US Title matches on WWE PLEs. FICTION - Considering how most PLE cards can be summed up as "And you get a title match, and you get a title match..." that increases the chances of more US title matches featuring, especially now the belt is on a fulltime performer and not a part-timer who is more interested in amateur snuff photography, running pyramid schemes, exploiting the legal system to silence criticism and generally being a transphobic heap of decomposing rhino shit

Statement #5: You’re embarrassed to tell new people you meet in real life that you’re obsessed with pro-wrestling. FICTION - I look like the bassist of an early 2000s post-grunge band, so embarrassment in public usually starts there

Statement #6: The Wyatt Sicks is a dumb name FACT - Let's be honest, the name does have the whiff of the 2002-3 indie scene to it. Not enough to tank the gimmick outright, but it does feel like a little more workshopping was needed

Statement #7: If pro-wrestling became an Olympic event, AEW and WWE would work together to try to win gold for USA. FICTION - Aside from it not being an Olympic event, because Olympic events don't have predetermined outcomes (not even the Australian Breakdancing qualifiers, contrary to internet theories...) but to be honest you couldn't see WWE and AEW working together to bring home gold for the USofA for the obvious reason that they have plenty of non-'Murican talent, for example Rhea Ripley or Toni Storm winning gold for Australia would reflect just as well on the company as Charlotte or Britt Baker would

Statement #8: You’ve cried because of wrestling. FACT - Eddie Guerrero's passing certainly brought a tear to the eye. Which was kind of awkward, given it was my first day in a new job and I had to explain why I was crying to my new colleagues

Statement #9: Timeless Toni Storm continues to be entertaining. FACT - Though I do wonder if turning her face, as seems to be the plan going forward, might see the character jump the shark - which it has been at risk of doing once or twice already

Statement #10: It’s still impressive when someone gets driven through WWE’s ringside barrier. FICTION - It looked impressive when the spot was very rarely used, for example when Goldberg speared Rosey through the barrier it was a spot that hadn't really been seen up until that point, but these days the spot is so common its lost all (pun not intended) impact

Statement #11: Rhea Ripley should be happy to be rid of Dominick Mysterio – dude’s a loser, in reality AND kayfabe! FACT - It frees Dom up to mercilessly troll that transphobic heap of decomposing rhino shit on their podcast, after all

Statement #12: We will never have another over and dominant “big man” wrestler again, like an Andre the Giant or Yokozuna. FACT - The monster heel is a relic of the territory era, where they could come in and dominate for a period before being sent packing by the territory's top babyface to repeat the cycle somewhere else. That simply cannot happen in WWE or AEW, because once they're vanquished the first time they would either require a significant retool to appear the dominant force they once were like Kane did, or are a forever nerfed part of the roster like Big Show, Khali et al were for longer than they were ever the dominant force

Statement #13: Randy Orton deserves a World Championship title shot even though he lost clean to Gunther in the King of the Ring finals. FICTION - If they are going to run Cody vs Orton, surely they need one of those "storylines" I keep hearing about as people continue to pretend that the two biggest matches of WrestleMania 25 prove that to be absolute hogwash. There's obviously a story there, and not "Your father died" or "You left the company you founded" which is the story of the vast majority of Cody feuds for the past eighteen months, but a Master vs Apprentice storyline going back to their time in Legacy - but that would need time to build up, and to be honest feels like a stopgap in the period between Survivor Series and the Rumble

Statement #14:  You know how we can end the curse of the of multi-person ladder matches. FACT - It's quite easy: have Jimmy Fallon say that he loves multi-man ladder matches on his show, as that's the usual way to run something into the ground faster than Concorde and end anybody's interest in it

Statement #15: Let’s be honest here, people really don’t care about tag team wrestling. FICTION - I'm a person and I care about tag wrestling, so therefore...

Statement #16: It’s weird that TNA’s arguable most-over contracted star is now a regular mid-carder on WWE’s C-brand. FICTION - I'd say it was on-brand

Statement #17: You know exactly when WWE TV is going to commercial every time, and that sucks. FICTION - Mainly because I use WatchWrestling, so I'm distracted by their ads cutting in far more than when the actual ad breaks would be

Statement #18: It’s only fair that all male wrestlers should have to wear shirts or singlets that cover their nipples when they wrestle. FICTION - Mainly because it would be rendered moot when 23% of all wrestlers do the same pulling down their straps spot in their matches, at which point matches would start to feel like a weird burlesque show

Statement #19: Bryan Danielson will never really retire. FACT - Dory Funk Jr is set to wrestle a match aged 83 next month, so you know AmDrag will take that as a challenge

Statement #20: You understand why Roman Reigns, super evil heel, would help his arch enemy, and all-around enemy of the Bloodline, Cody Rhodes defeat Solo Sikoa and cost him the WWE Title, despite claiming that championship is what fed their entire extended family and he went on record multiple times saying Solo was going to be the next Tribal Chief. FACT - Because a necklace is far more important than a title belt. Duh!