#they focus on how we affect other people while ignoring how it actually affects us

[aspd-culture]

questioning aspd-culture is: it seems I have all the traits, though I haven't done anything illegal because I live with controling probably bpd parent and have a fairly well-developed rationalization and I have good control over all emotions i may feel because of that (I just suppress them)

Edit: TW/CW uncensored ableist language in the comments (not used in an ableist way - it’s the name of a diagnostic test)

Oh yeah, this is actually super common. That's why a common take amongst non-ableist professionals is that the criteria for lawbreaking also covers rulebreaking including social rules. Any strong desire that has to actively be fought to break laws also can fall under that depending on who you ask if the reason you don't is grounded in something other than morals or respect for the law.

Something I like to bring up as often as I can for people stuck under the misconception of the law breaking thing is that a big thing in pwASPD is a desire for convenience because happiness seems at best temporary and at worst fake, but living a life where everything is fairly convenient is a tangible, achievable task. Hiding a body is not convenient, cleaning up blood is not convenient, hiding from the law is not convenient. Also talking to cops sucks and jail sounds like one giant ASPD flare so screw anything that would make me go there.

Also, remember that you don't have to fit every criterion to have ASPD - it's 3/7 that are persistent and consistent, plus paying attention to associated traits/development criteria and checking for differential diagnoses.

Plain text below the cut:

Edit: TW/CW uncensored ableist language in the comments (not used in an ableist way - it’s the name of a diagnostic test)

Oh yeah, this is actually super common. That's why a common take amongst non-ableist professionals is that the criteria for lawbreaking also covers rulebreaking including social rules. Any strong desire that has to actively be fought to break laws also can fall under that depending on who you ask if the reason you don't is grounded in something other than morals or respect for the law.

Something I like to bring up as often as I can for people stuck under the misconception of the law breaking thing is that a big thing in pwASPD is a desire for convenience because happiness seems at best temporary and at worst fake, but living a life where everything is fairly convenient is a tangible, achievable task. Hiding a body is not convenient, cleaning up blood is not convenient, hiding from the law is not convenient. Also talking to cops sucks and jail sounds like one giant ASPD flare so screw anything that would make me go there.

Also, remember that you don't have to fit every criterion to have ASPD - it's 3/7 that are persistent and consistent, plus paying attention to associated traits/development criteria and checking for differential diagnoses.

[shibaincubus]

How to stop being a doormat.-

-> . . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ [By a healed people pleaser] ࿐ྂ

Being nice to others is not a bad trait, but becoming THE NICE GIRL is.

Excessive people pleasing brings you nowhere and makes you vulnerable to becoming a doormat, disrespect, and sacrificing yourself.

People pleasing isn’t just about being nice to everyone all the time; it actually messes with your head and how you think about yourself deep down. 

We can look at people pleasing from an conscious and subconscious side.

Conscious People pleasing

This is what we typically associate with people pleasing:

You can't say no: Every request feels like an obligation.

You prioritize others over yourself: Your needs take a backseat.

You apologize for everything: Even when it’s unnecessary.

You avoid conflicts: Peace at any cost, right?

You make yourself small: Shrinking your presence to fit in.

Subconscious people pleasing

This is the impact people pleasing has on your mindset and behaviours

While breaking people pleasing one should focus here more

Servant mindset -> catering to others drains your energy.

Emulating others ->  You lose sight of who you truly are.

Seeking validation: "I need to be ... to get validation 'love' from others

Ignoring your feelings: Suppressing your emotions to keep the peace.

Feeling judged: Worrying about what others think of you.

Anxiousness about acceptance: "Do they really like me?"

The Why of People pleasing

The first step in breaking free is understanding why you engage in people pleasing.

Here are some common reasons:

You might be people pleasing because of...

Anxiety: fear of disappointing others or rejection

Low self esteem: "pleasing others is the only way to get acceptance and love"

Past trauma: can link others' needs to safety and affection

Cultural or family expectations: Pressure from those around you.

Perfectionism:  The need to be flawless in the eyes of others.

Insecurity: Doubting your own worthiness.

Avoidance of Conflict: Preferring peace over confrontation.

To get the exact cause you should also utilise journaling.

Use 15 min. for three or more of these journaling prompts each

Does People pleasing really help me? How do I feel when I please people? Happy or drained?

Do I get something back by pleasing people. Is it one sided?

What is my earliest memory of people pleasing? Why did I decide to please people at that time?

How do I perceive the people that I please in reality? Do I even like them.

What is the thing I really want in this situation that I might feel too scared, vulnerable, or ashamed to ask for?

What is one thing that I'm scared people will think of me, and how is this actually true and useful for me?

What do I want to change about my people pleasing habit

This reflection makes it clear why we do it and what caused people pleasing to be ingrained in us in the first place.

Recovering from People pleasing

Start small.-

Begin by setting boundaries in low stakes situations

declining invitations to events etc.

declining requests that you don't have time or desire to do

Gradually work yourself up to more significant situations practicing assertiveness along the way.

Learn to tolerate discomfort

Recognise that asserting yourself and setting boundaries may initially feel uncomfortable or cause anxiety

Embrace the discomfort as a sign of growth and remind yourself that it's necessary to prioritize your own well being.

Strengthen your sense of self

When we are people pleasing we are placing our self worth on another person

With journaling, self care, setting personal goals and new hobbies, you can construct and identity independent of others opinions.

The Intention Interrogation

Ask yourself a specific question before agreeing to a request:

"Am I doing this because I genuinely want to, or because I'm afraid of potential consequences?" 

This can delay automatic people pleasing reflexes

Cut toxic people off

If someone is using you for their gain, it’s time to create distance.

Limit your availability and emotional investment

Create space between yourself and toxic relationships

And Trust your instincts

The 24-Hour Rule

Make it a commitment to not immediately respond to requests.

Give yourself a full day and then decide if you actually want to do this.

Get therapy

If people pleasing has a deep impact socially or otherwise on you consider therapy

It's really helpful against people pleasing if nothing else helps

That's it lovelies

People pleasing is a destructive social mechanism of ours that we developed in young years.

Unfolding these behaviours and taking a stance against pleasing others frees ourself for positive change and levelling ourselves up

[perfectlysanexd]

I haven't done one of these kind of posts in a while, but the expressions in Rebirth were top notch, and I wanted to talk a bit about and analyze Sephiroth's different smiles, both pre and post Nibelheim.

Nibelheim itself is difficult to gauge, because SOLDIER Cloud is actually Zack, and furthermore, some of it is definitely his own wishful thinking. But one thing you can say for sure, is that they portray that Sephiroth, despite being so emotionally weary, still summons up the energy to smile at his friend.

As soon as he turns away from Zack, his smile falls, and he doesn't give one to the Mayor at all.

However, when he turns back to inform the men that they're free until sundown, he summons up another smile for them. I don't think that he's just attempting to keep their morale up, he genuinely has affection for Zack, and cares for the others. He respects them for their service, putting their lives on the line for what they think is a good cause, and Sephiroth—as we saw in Ever Crisis—learned to be a compassionate person, who cares about the lives of others, even enemies.

Of course, he's deeply distressed during this time, the despair is eating him alive. Even Cloud acknowledges(despite having not known Sephiroth on a personal level) that he just wasn't himself once they arrived. But I'm not going to talk about my theories on all the Jenova stuff right now, that's not the focus here. Even at the window, you can tell he's feeling off, but when he turns to Zack, he attempts to smile again.

Sephiroth has never enjoyed his fame, and as we learned in Ever Crisis, he didn't choose it; Shinra made up bogus achievements and declared him to be a hero before even his first field assignment, as part of their recruitment campaign. Can't argue with results, I guess—it certainly got Cloud to join up out of hero worship, right? In EC, Sephiroth admits that all he ever wanted was to be normal, something that he knows he can never have. How sad...

So when this man wants to take his picture, it's no wonder that he's over it by then, and tells him no. And rather politely, too, all things considered. But even before that, he smiles and tells Zack that as long as he does his job, their young tourguide will be safe.

But as soon as he turns his back and walks away? Yeah, that smile immediately fades.

Which certainly doesn't change when the guy takes his picture. But of course, when Zack asks Sephiroth to pose for one, he just can't say no, even though he's not super happy about it. Anyway, he continues to smile at Zack for the duration of their journey up Mt. Nibel, making an effort to talk and even cracking a couple jokes, just trying to be a good leader and keep them in good spirits.

And of course, there's the very sad bridge part, where you can tell that he's genuinely upset that he failed to save the other infantryman that got washed away. He searches for him, but comes up empty-handed. Still, he smiles for Zack and teases him about a performance assessment, since their morale is quite low now, but they need to keep going.

Honestly, the Nibelheim part of Rebirth really did an excellent job of portraying Sephiroth's inner struggle. For reference, there are only 3 points in Remake, I think, when Sephiroth drops his ever-present, sometimes affectionate(towards Cloud) and often unhinged, smile: First, it's replaced with sheer rage as he kills President Shinra.

Second time, is when Aerith has a Cetra moment and suggests that his entire existence is "wrong".

And the third time is when he holds out his hand to Cloud at the Edge of Creation, and is rejected by him.

Anyway, back to Rebirth. Ignoring the bizarre smiles he showed us as Nibelheim was burning, as if he was in a trance and just not all there(that's a subject for a different chat), post-Nibelheim Sephiroth's smiles are interesting, too, if we consider what kind they are, depending on who he's dealing with.

For people he hates, like Tseng, it's much more unhinged looking, and very cold. You can tell there's a certain measure of satisfaction from shanking him, haha...

For someone like Aerith, who...I wouldn't exactly say that he hates her, but she's definitely in the way. I would almost say that he considers her to be actively preventing Cloud from recovering his true memories, leading him to remain as merely Sephiroth's "puppet", but that's a theory for another day. He looks at her coldly, as well, but it's a bit different. There's a bit more respect there than there was for Tseng.

And then there's Zack. Actual Zack. I feel like, deep down, he still cares about him, and has no intention of killing him. I almost sense a little...regret? Maybe? Hm. It's definitely a bit warmer of a smile. And of course, although he had many opportunities to get rid of Zack, he doesn't. Instead, he sends him off into the space between worlds safely.

And of course, last but certainly not least, is the way he smiles at Cloud. I know, I know. "But Sane, you like sefikura, so you're biased!" Look, I won't deny that. However, when you really look at it and compare his smiles, which is what this is all about, his truest smiles are always saved for Cloud. He has 2 different "flavors": pure affection and cruel affection. (There are also a few pity smiles, I think.) The former is used most of the time, whenever Cloud is in his sight, and the latter is used during moments when he's trying to control/influence him. I would almost say that he's...satisfied, yet regretful at the same time?? Like these:

And now, let's contrast that with his more genuine, affectionate smiles for Cloud... (The first shot here ⬇ can be contrasted with the shot 2 up from the bottom there ⬆, as the one above is when he's calling Cloud his puppet, and the one below is when Cloud goes to attack him and he opens his arms wider for the incoming uh...embrace.)

Remake had many interesting smiles from him, too, but that will have to be a different post, as this already has 30 screenshots. Anywho, you're free to draw your own conclusions, and not everyone reads faces in the same way, so maybe I'm nuts. Who knows? Either way, I hope you enjoyed this random, indulgent, very long post, haha. If you made it to the end, you're awesome. 💕

All screenshots were taken by me on my PS5. I won't ask for credit on them, since literally anyone can take an identical shot if they pause at the right second. (The exception are the 3 Remake shots, which were taken on PC with mods and the freecam. For those, I would appreciate credit if you use them anywhere, since I don't watermark them.)

[dropoutconfessions]

Everyone’s allowed to feel how they feel about K. You do not HAVE to like K. K is an imagination people and does not matter compared to reality people.

The actual problems that I think all this discourse is stemming from is a problem in not just fandom here but in fandom as a whole. It’s a problem of trends: Why is our attention so frequently held by the masculine and white? Why, when we expand the world and look into the interiority of side characters, is our focus so targeted on white men? Why are women so overlooked, why are people of color so often ignored?

This is a wider issue. A trickling down of real world racism affecting our little play spaces. And the problem is that an issue which appears in larger trends, an issue that is a general pattern of behavior, is not easy to fix. We can’t fix this by harassing individual people. We can’t fix this by ignoring it. We definitely can’t fix it by pretending like its a problem here and only here rather than everywhere.

I wouldn’t be so bitter about K and dislike of K if I wasn’t overly sensitive to the idea of POC and femme characters getting the short end of the stick. I wouldn’t be so apprehensive about SamEvan, which is a frankly adorable and lovely ship, if I could trust people in general to act right about black women. I wouldn’t be so mad when people call Jammer and his friends rude while ignoring anything Evan did if I hadn’t seen it as the start of a malicious pattern.

If I hadn’t been in fandoms where every single woman got called a Hideous Bitch and every single person of color was Secretly Evil then I wouldn’t even be posting this. If I hadn’t seen people latch onto men with three lines and refuse to even consider thinking about women with entire arcs, I wouldn’t care about the lack of K posts. It would just be opinion. But it’s not just opinion when it happens over and over again to the same kinds of characters every time.

I don’t think it’s that bad in the mismag fandom. I don’t WANT it to get that bad here. But I don’t know how else to stop it, so I type up little confessions, and I hope someone reads them and thinks about this shit a little bit before they post.

I think people should calm down and stop insulting each other. I think people should take a break, if they need one, from fandom. I think people should leave each other alone and quit passive aggressively throwing ‘shade’ at opinions they don’t like because there is NOTHING wrong with individual opinion. There IS something wrong with the pattern its a part of but you can’t blame a person for a pattern you see in them or else you’ll end up snapping at a monster that isn’t even there yet.

Most of what I want is for people to think about how they think. Nobody has to stop liking Evan (ofc) but it is and should be concerning that even in this relatively progressive space, I keep seeing the same patterns creep their subtle and insidious way into the things I love.

I think we can all do better than this. I think we can do much better. I think we deserve better, all of us, than all of this.

-

[ingravinoveritas]

How did u feel with the age gap question was it pr or do u really think he meant it and this was the truth

This is referring to the question asked on The Assembly last night. I'll post the clip here, for those who haven't seen it yet:

A lot of what I felt while watching this was touched on in this incredibly thoughtful post from @body-face-words, so I encourage folks to give that a read. But I think for me, when it comes to Michael's answer, it's not a matter of whether he lied or told the truth. It's that his response was sweet, but it was also a version of the truth that sounded convincing because it needed to, because this was not a time or place where he could say what he actually felt.

I'm really not sure what people expected him to say, in all honesty, as he was never going to say anything that would make him or Anna look bad, and especially not anything that could potentially negatively impact the kids, so he instead gave a very perfect PR answer. This again does not come as a surprise because we know Michael has scripted his answers about AL/their relationship in the past, but I noticed how careful he was in his response, which seems to contrast with how off-the-cuff he normally is when discussing every other subject. Part of what so many of us love about Michael is how unfiltered he is and always has been, with the exception of how much he filters and edits himself when talking about Anna.

It also seemed like, at least from my perspective, that Michael answered the question without answering the question. What the girl asked wasn't so much about the age gap, but about AL being five years older than Michael's daughter Lily, and it would've been a perfect opportunity for him to mention her, or how the relationship with AL affected his and Lily's relationship. He could've talked about the falling out he had with her (and Kate) in 2019 once AL's existence/pregnancy came to light, and what has happened in the years since, or how Lily now gets along with Anna/her half-sisters. But instead Michael deflected from all of that and talked about everything while saying nothing at the same time.

It was also the things Michael didn't say that stood out as much as the things he did. In the entire answer to the question, Michael never once used the word "love." Prior to the show airing, I saw a lot of people online confident that he would say that he loves Anna, but he never did. He never praised her, never talked about the things he loves about her, or how glad he is to be with her. He never once mentioned her by name. The pivot and focus was on the kids, and there was a clear distinction made between how happy he is to have the family he does, rather than to be in the relationship that he is in. Michael's use of the phrase "very happy" was also identical to the wording of a comment AL wrote on Instagram the other day, which added to the whole "reinforcing a public narrative" feeling of his response.

I think what struck me most of all, though, was how somber and heavyhearted Michael sounded while saying how happy he is. It reminded me of the song "I Am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel, where the upbeat and cheerful music contrasts starkly with the fraught, angry lyrics. There was no sparkle in Michael's eyes when he said it, no enthusiasm for what he was saying (which is particularly jarring when we know Michael has the capacity for incredible enthusiasm), and his face never lit up while he was talking.

There was one specific moment (which is also highlighted in the body language post) where he seemed to visibly wince and the micro-expressions were in overdrive, and it immediately made me think of a moment from Good Omens:

Time and again, I have seen fans talk about Michael's micro-expressions as an actor and how he uses them to such devastating effect (especially in the role of Aziraphale). And while these two moments are not completely identical, the idea of ignoring how Michael uses those same micro-expressions in real life makes no sense to me at all. In this instance, what we're seeing could be either because he has put so much of himself into Aziraphale that we can now recognize those "Michael" moments...or it could be because in both clips he is performing, albeit for different reasons.

The difference between Michael when he is doing this vs. when he is being genuinely himself is made even more apparent by the question immediately following this one. Unprompted, he brings up David, and the change in his expression and demeanor is swift and dramatic:

Having the mention of David happen so soon after the AL question seemed to highlight so many things. I can't help but feel that David is a security blanket for Michael, something he hides behind when he is feeling anxious or sad or overwhelmed. I wondered if perhaps he was even already thinking of David while answering the AL question, which would explain why he named him so readily--as if his mind needed to drift to someplace else just to finish answering that question.

To me, this made it abundantly clear that David is Michael's safe place. Here was where we saw Michael's eyes sparkling. Here was where we saw him light up from the inside. And it was David he kept returning to and bringing up during the rest of the show in response to other questions. So if that doesn't speak volumes about where Michael's heart seems to be, I'm not sure what does.

So yes, those are my thoughts on Michael answering the age gap question on The Assembly. As always, this is just my interpretation, but I am glad to hear from my followers with your take as well. Thanks for writing in! x

[phoenixkaptain]

I don’t want to get into a debate on whether or not Tim’s parents were actually abusive, but I do want to state outright that it doesn’t really matter, because Tim didn’t trust his parents.

What do I mean by this? Well, the beginning of Tim in comics is A Lonely Place of Dying (I’ve talked about it ad nauseum at this point) and one thing you may see people mention is what Tim says about his parents in it.

These are both from Batman (1940-2011) #441

Alfred asks, basically, “You do have parents, don’t you?” And Tim’s body language as he talks about them is strange to me.

Tim scratches his face. This is the only time Tim touches his face in these comics. And his eyes, he stops looking at Alfred, who he’s talking to, and looks at Dick, all the while changing the subject.

Is he lying? No. He’s uncomfortable. A part of this is that this interaction takes place before Tim tells them who he is, which Tim doesn’t want them to know. This is just the first time we see any hint of uncertainty on Tim. Interesting.

More interesting is, in the same issue

“I never told them, but for years I kept having the same nightmare over and over again.”

This is pretty clear cut. He doesn’t tell his parents things. He doesn’t tell them important things. And, well, it’s probably because he doesn’t talk to them very often

These two are from Batman (1940-2011) #444

First things first, Bruce brings up the subject. This isn’t the first time, post his introduction, that we see Tim and Bruce talking. They talk in #443. But Bruce has to broach the subject.

And Tim is avoidant. He says they don’t call often, and he isn’t bothered by it, or he doesn’t appear bothered by it. He doesn’t say what they’re fighting about, nor does he actually say what they’ll do if the trip doesn’t help. He’s very offhand about the whole thing. He almost treats it like he isn’t talking about his parents, but just two people in some circumstances he happens to know about.

Tim cuts Bruce off by pointing out the computer. He doesn’t want Bruce to finish, he doesn’t want Bruce making a promise he ultimately won’t keep, he doesn’t want Bruce to focus on him.

Tim’s relationship with his parents, especialy his father, is, from what I know, always presented in this detached way. Even in Young Justice, when Tim talks to his father, he does so through a newspaper. He doesn’t make eye contact, which is a strange thing because Tim always makes eye contact.

(That’s part of why Tim is a bit unnerving in his introduction. He is always making eye contact. Always.)

Tim doesn’t trust his parents. Why doesn’t he? Because they’re busy. Busy with work, busy with fighting, busy with each other. He doesn’t tell them things. He doesn’t tell them about his nightmares, he definitely didn’t tell them about his vacation week roadtrip, and he doesn’t tell them about Bruce.

Does that make them abusive? I guess not. Not in these issues, anyway. Down the line, I think his father especially crosses the line, but at this point? They’re mutually ignoring each other. Tim talks about his parents in a detached way, as though it doesn’t effect him. And, maybe it doesn’t. This was 1989, not exactly the pinnacle of mental health awareness with proficient knowledge of how absent parents effect the children they’ve not been raising.

Or, Tim used Batman and Robin as a proxy for affection, which is why he feels so strongly towards them and why he tells Alfred they mean everything to them and why Tim is unafraid in the face of his own death but panicky in the face of Alfred’s death. Batman and Robin are just his hyperfixation, something to obsessively focus on and keep track of to keep his head above the water, something he’s been obsessed with since he was three and saw Batman for the very first time, something he says himself he’s followed since he could read to the point that he listened to news reports on the off-chance Batman and Robin might be mentioned at the age of nine.

Who knows? ¯\ _(ツ)_/¯

[contemplatingoutlander]

This is the first time I've clearly seen the actual revisions a state education department (Virginia) is making to a high school elective course on African American history (which focuses on that history in Virginia) because of a GOP governor's (i.e. Glenn Youngkin's) executive order prohibiting “inherently divisive concepts” from public schools.

This is a link to an archived article, so anyone can read the entire article. Below are some charts in the article that show the recommended revisions:

It is clear from the above chart that the reviewers want any mention of systemic racism and White privilege to be eliminated from the course, even though there is clear evidence that both exist.

It is also deeply concerning that any discussion of "implicit bias and stereotypes" is banned, even though those of us in the social sciences know that implicit bias and stereotyping exist. To prevent high school students from learning about these concepts is a blatant attempt to keep them ignorant.

Again, based on the chart above, the proposed revisions have done away with any discussion of the ubiquitous nature of racism or the fact that systemic racism exists. Instead the proposed revisions focus on (presumably overt) "discriminatory practices," while ignoring the subtle ways that racism has affected the Black population over the years, including the way it affected returning WWII Black veterans.

[See more under the cut.]

Furthermore, according to the proposed revisions, the term "White supremacist" cannot even be used. I wonder how the reviewers expect teachers to be able to describe the ideology of members of the KKK?

The reviewers also apparently want to pretend the University of Virginia wasn't involved with the Eugenics movement, since they took out a reference to it. In addition, the proposed revisions wouldn't allow the Eugenics movement to be called a "pseudo science." Are teachers supposed to claim it was "science"?

The reviewers also apparently want to forbid a discussion of how Eugenics was used in Virginia "to control African Americans," which indeed it reportedly was.

Furthermore, the recommended revisions falsely assume that redlining no longer exists, and that historical redlining no longer has an impact. Although it is not as overt as it once was, redlining does still exist in various forms and the impact of older redlining practices still have negative affects on Black populations.

From what I can tell, the proposed revisions have NOTHING to do with trying to stop students from feeling "uncomfortable" in classrooms. Discomfort naturally occurs for all of us when we learn about things that go against what we previously believed. But that is how people learn and grow.

And if the GOP wanted to stop "liberal" teachers from "indoctrinating" their students into "left-wing ideas," they would simply have legislated the presentation of two sides of an argument, AS LONG AS both sides were factually-based and rational. (For instance, there is NO factual or rational argument that the Holocaust didn't happen or wasn't as destructive as it was).

But the GOP politicians want to BAN the discussion of any view of history and society, however factually and rationally based, that goes against their whitewashed ideas of how history should be presented. In other words, the GOP wants schools to indoctrinate students into a right-wing way of viewing history and society that favors Whites.

This is incredibly regressive, and reminiscent of the United Daughters of the Confederacy's attempts to ensure "The Lost Cause" mythology was taught in schools.

[ggensblog]

even though i personally wasn’t affected by the ‘TikTok ban’, im still American and i can feel that the after effects of it are going to be really messy. not to get radical on main, but that’s exactly what i’m going to do because this is such a dark and scary time and people cannot just dismiss it after the problem is “resolved”

- the whole ‘we are working with president Trump to bring the app back’ message that popped up for Americans upon the app shutting down for them should have been a warning sign- no actually it should have been a slap in the face that the TikTok team was working with Trump to build this publicity stunt.

- and that’s exactly what it was: a publicity stunt. Donald Trump found a way to buy his way into painting himself as some kind of ‘savior’ of tiktok/social media/the first amendment, whatever. Donald Trump is a businessman first and foremost, he knew how to navigate and MANIPULATE not only TikTok, but the entire community of americans on the app.

- even scarier, this event- no matter how trivial it seems- can be seen as a blatant power move. a way for the government to show the American people that they can easily break apart their community by shutting down what has been a decent resource for organizing and discussing politics and word events. the fact that the ‘ban’ lasted all of 16 hours proved that it was not a national security risk- so why bother? other than to prove a point? that they have the power to do whatever they want by buying out companies to do their bidding - because money makes the oligarchy go round.

- it was never about national security. it wasn’t about national security when the presidential candidates were using TikTok not even 3 months ago for their political campaigns. it wasn’t about national security when the app was off for a mere 16 hours. it was NEVER about national security. it was, again, about the money. TikTok being a foreign application that was major competition for Facebook/Meta and Google financially- they showed us that they can buy their way into making more corporate puppets to shape the American mind.

- these are the kinds of moves that are pulled by dictators and facists. manipulating the perspective of the American people to shift focus away from large issues while still proving that they are the ones in power.

we cannot afford to dismiss how this was just an example of what can be done to what is the best way for people to stay informed. this is not to say that social media is the best news outlet, but it is objectively more accessible for the general public compared to news that sits behind a paywall in other areas of the internet.

stay alert, stay informed- and continue to inform yourselves. we are not so fortunate to live in an age where we can afford to be willfully ignorant.

[happymeishappylife]

Like many of you are, waking up to the news this morning was shocking, saddening, and worrying. And while I am a believer of getting every last count, the numbers don't look strong enough to flip these results, as unfortunate as that is. But unlike 8 years ago where I felt miserable, lost, and unable to focus, I don't feel that way this time. Maybe thats because I got ready for work, just like I always do. Maybe thats because I know I will be talking to people who voted for this today, even a couple who didn't like the guy.

But overall, I am ready to keep fighting. And what this election has shown me more clearly is that we have to fight, but we also have a lot of work to do. The polarization in this country is ripping us apart and we need to fix that before we can fix the country. And to do that we need to do 3 things:

1. We need to build our communities back.

We are at a point with politics that people have made them their entire identities and thats all they consume, feel, and react to. We need to instead find a way to connect people to people. And we need to find the things we enjoy so we can get to know our neighbors as people with interests and not just people living on our streets. We need to raise each other up, help where we can, and we need to celebrate others achievements. That will help in this scary time and hopefully bring us back to a civility to discuss the heavier topics without making it feel like we need to attack each other or rip each others throats out.

And how do we do that?

2. We need to get people offline.

The 24 hour news cycle, political podcast and constant commentary is not healthy for anybody. Not only because it keeps everyone in a constant state of anxiety, but also because it traps people in their echo chambers and lets propaganda and radicalization breed into minds of otherwise normal people. And we are all susceptible to propaganda, don't think you are immune because you are on the other side. Its also getting worse by the spread of misinformation, AI, and bad actors who want to divide us and make us hate each other.

Now of course, we should be paying attention to what our leaders are doing, but we don't need to read every tweet or hear every soundbite. Instead, pick two times a day where you are ready to consume the news for 30 minutes or an hour. And don't take one source as gospel. Hear the news event, and double check other outlets to see how they are reporting it. Find the actual recordings and not just the clips. Because sadly, there is not a reputable news source anymore. And after that time, go do something else you love so you can start connecting to people in real life and relax which help the mental stress.

And yes, being online helps organize these events, but in person events will benfit us so much more. So please, find a way to disconnect from the virtual world and find a way to connect to real people again.

3. We must engage people to do their civic duty.

And no, I don't mean converting them to your side because everyone gets hostile about that. I am talking about, getting them engaged in the process at all because I have a sneaking suspicion that like 2016, a majority of Americans didn't vote at all this time.

But how do we do that?

We don't wait four years. In fact, this goes for people who are politically active too because we keep turning out every four years, but ignoring the elections where our votes really matter and affect the most change which can help make all of us feel like our vote does matter.

So start with your Town/City council. You don't have to watch the hearings/meetings (because they are arduous, trust me, I attend them), but read the news the day after, find out what they discussed, voted on, rezoned. Do you like it? Great, vote to keep those people on the councils. Don't? Vote them out. These elections happen every year and also involve ballot measures that affect your taxes and community. Understand the process and get involved here first, then your county, state, and them the federal. Then it won't be intimidating to get into and it won't be as polarizing.

And you may think 'but why should I vote for the superintendent when I don't have kids in school or the agricultural commissioner when I am not a farmer?' Do you want our society to be taught well or poorly? Do you want our food to be ethically produced or make us sick? You don't need to know the ins and outs for every issue or position but you can at least make sure qualified people are in those roles to make those decisions and not just people hoping for a platform.

So don't despair. I know thats hard today. I know it will feel desperate right now, but we can't give in. We can't give up. And we can survive this.

[in-amor-veritas]

Us against the world chp 6 (fic I stopped writing)

I love that fic so so much 🥹❤️

Gahhh thank you 😭

Honestly I stopped writing it bc it was kind of just my place to theorize about what would happen in s3 and I lost the plot hahaha and then s3 came out and I didn’t need it anymore and I wanted to focus on other fics but I had like 5k of the next chapter written 🫠🫠😩

As a refresher its post s2 its so funny to read shit I was just making up about what could happen post s2

In this scene Simon and Wille go to mariebergs valborg event

—————-

They arrive when the party is in full swing, it’s already dark and the flames from the bonfire on the lakeshore roar and crackle and spark, illuminating the surrounding and the crowd of teenagers in flickering glowing light. Simon is glad they came later because no one really notices them when they approach.

“Are you okay?” Wille asks at his side, touching his arm.

Simon wants to take his hand, but he feels self conscious and he hates that he feels that way. Hates that he wouldn’t feel that way with someone else and hates how it feels as though he’s taking a step back into a closet that he had never actually been in before. It’s so unfair and stupid that he feels this way with a person who he loves more than anything when he’d been carefree about showing affection with people he had dated in the past.

Hell. He’d been open in public with fucking Marcus.

Swallowing and gritting his teeth he ignores the voice in his head, says fuck you to that voice and reaches down to take Wille’s hand, squeezing tightly, “I’m okay.” He says trying to give him a reassuring smile.

Wilhelm squeezes back, “It’s okay. I’m here.”

He breathes out through his nose and smiles a bit, to himself really, feeling relieved that Wilhelm seems to understand without him having to say it.

Ayub waves when he sees them and Simon sucks up the last of his nerves and leads Wilhelm over. He’s standing with Rosh who has her hand around a dark haired girls waist. Simon also recognizes several of his friends from Marieberg days with them.

Malin is lingering in the background, scanning over the heads but she stays back and no one really seems to notice her.

When they approach the group Ayub raises his hand in greeting, meanwhile Rosh just stares at Wilhelm, taking a sip from her beer.

“Hey Simme.” Ayub says leaning forward to give him a one armed hug. He pulls back and looks over to Wille, nodding.

“Hey man.”

Wilhelm takes a step closer to Simon and gives a small, awkward smile as the rest of the groups attention turns to them. “Hi.”

“Been a while.” Rosh remark, taking another sip.

Simon doesn’t miss the way. Wille’s eyes move over to her, lingering momentarily on the intimate way she and the other girl are pressed together. Yasmina watches him with a bored expression, before looking down at her acrylics and pushing her long, thick hair over her shoulder.

“Yeah it..has been a long time.” His boyfriend replies and Simon narrows his eyes at his friend trying to telepathically tell her to be nice.

“Hi Yasmina…um how are you?” He’s only met the other girl a few times and they’ve never really clicked, but if he wants Rosh to be nice to his ex then he has to compromise a little doesn’t he.

She shrugs, pursing her lips, “The same but it’s cool to see you. A lot has changed since you left Marieberg didn’t it.”

It’s at this moment he hears a snort and when he looks over a tall blond is grinning at them. Immediately Simon’s face lights up as the boy opens his arms for a hug. “Henke!”

“Simme!” He grins, “how is it going? It’s been forever.”

Simon knows Henke from his brief time in the choir at Marieberg, Henke, or Henrik, was always nice and easy to get along with and he had joined their group a few times once they had realized his girlfriend, Daniella, was on the same football team with Rosh.

At his side Wilhelm coughs and he pulls back, “Oh right, so yeah..uh this Wilhelm. Wilhelm this is Henrik, but we call him Henke.”

“Hey man.” Henke smiles, waving and Wilhelm looks between them before he nods.

If Simon didn’t know better he would think that Wilhelm seemed a little threatened, which is ridiculous, but also kind of endearing and Simon laughs softly begin his hand and nods to the girl at Henke’s side, “And this is Henke’s girlfriend, Daniella, by the way it’s nice to see you again.” He turns toward her and smiles a bit.

At his words Wille seems to relax a bit, “Oh…hi.”

“Hey you.” She smiles and leans forward to hug him too and then nods to his boyfriend, “Wilhelm.”

Wilhelm seems much more relaxed now that the others seem to not have bat an eye at his presence.

“So. I would ask what’s been up with you since you left Marieberg but—“ Henke grins at him and Simon snorts.

“Oh all you need to do is read Hänt Extra and you can learn everything about me.”

“Thought so. So it’s true that you guys eloped in secret and that Simon is going to be the new Prince Consort then?”

Next to him Wilhelm snorts.

“Yea totally because I think getting married at 16 is a completely rational thing to do.” Simon says with a nod.

“Yeah it totally is so let me know where to send your wedding gift.” Henrik says seriously, “Congratulations to both of you.”

“Yeah thanks. Simon’s been hoping for a new toaster.” His boyfriend says and everyone in the group chuckles including Yasmina who usually is wearing a sour face.

Henke looks over at Wilhelm and then to Simon, “You guys want something to drink?”

Wilhelm looks to him and he shrugs, “Not for me, but if you want something go ahead.”

Henke goes to grab Wilhelm a beer and a soda for Simon from the cooler and while he’s gone they strike up a conversation with Daniella about the hot gossip at Marieberg, Rosh joining in when they get to the topic of some of the football girls.

Ayub hangs back and nudges him, “So it’s not that bad huh?” Simon sighs in relief as he watches Wilhelm talking with the others, his movements more animated now that he’s grown more comfortable.

Henrik comes back with the drinks and another familiar face and Simon has to fight the urge to groan when Rahim smirks at him.

“Hi Simon.” The boy grins, a hand on his hip and waving at him, “Nice to see you again.”

He doesn’t hate Rahim. They had never really hung out, but Rahim was always one of the popular kids, one of the “fun gays” as a particularly annoying classmate of theirs had said once.

He was trendy, good looking, outgoing, funny and outspoken, friends with all the “it” girls in their year, whereas Simon was just considered “weird”. Far be it from Simon to judge how anyone expresses themselves or their sexuality but he personally had been so tired of being compared to him, as two of the only “out” boys in their class. He had been tired of people telling him they were surprised he was gay because he “didn’t act like it.”

He doesn’t really know why Rahim is suddenly coming up to him like they’ve always been old friends, but as he watches the boy's eyes flicker towards his boyfriend he gets the feeling he knows why.

“And you must be Wilhelm.” His smile is saccharine as he steps closer to them putting a hand on his chest, “I have to tell you. I was so touched by your speech. It was really brave.”

Wilhelm immediately seems to grow a bit uncomfortable, tensing slightly at his side. Simon catches how Rosh’s and Daniella’s eyes snap to himself and he looks back at them with a raised eyebrow. Ayub and Henrik of course seem completely oblivious as they sip their drinks and watch the bonfire.

“Oh um…thank you?” Wilhelm says awkwardly.

“Personally I think it’s a blessing to have someone like you in a leadership positio—“ Simon can see the way Rosh mimes gagging and would usually laugh if he wasn’t so focused on how close Rahim is leaning towards his boyfriend.

“Someone like me?” Wille says sounding confused and Rahim nods emphatically.

“Yeah of course you know— someone gay.”

“Oh.” Wilhelm frowns, “I'm not—well I don’t really know if I would say I’m gay.”

They had never really talked about this, Simon knows that Wilhelm is comfortable with his sexuality and he knows that he never doubted his feelings for him. But Wilhelm has never really labeled himself and it doesn’t matter to Simon anyway so it had never really been a point of conversation between the two of them. Wilhelm had told him he wasn’t the first boy he had been attracted to, but he was the first Wilhelm ever acted on those feelings for and that was that.

Rahim however raises an eyebrow, “Oh? Bi then?”

Wilhelm seems to think about it and then frowns, “I don’t really…I don’t know. I don’t really want to label myself right now, I mean I know how I feel and that’s…” he shrugs.“That’s just how it is.”

“Well that’s fine too.” Rahim grins, “But in any case it’s cool that our Crown Prince is queer.” Simon feels his stomach twist when the other boy puts a hand on Wilhelm's arm.

His boyfriend takes a step back, posture stiff, “Well. Thank you…for your support.”

Stepping in, Simon slides his arm into Wille’s and smiles sharply at Rahim. “Yes, thanks for supporting us.”

Rahim looks him over and Simon feels his eyes slide over him critically, his clothes and shoes and hair, the other boy smirks a bit before taking a step back.

“So.” Rahim then turns back to Simon with a keen eye, “I heard you were dating Marcus for a bit.”

Wille freezes and he himself tenses up, eyes widening as he tries to collect his thoughts, “Uh no? We were never really dating. Like we hung out a few times—-“

“But you hooked up right?”

Simon feels his stomach turn, looking over at Wilhelm who has gone still and silent.

“No?” He frowns, “Where did you even hear that?”

Rahim blinks, opens his mouth as if he’s about to say something and then goes quiet. “Oh nowhere.”

[wildflowerwoodsworld]

A guide on writing Charlotte Roselei (or, how I do it at least)

Okay. So. This is another one where I've written this over and over, trying to put into words how I write her and, honestly, the best advice I've got is to remember that she has goals and ambitions and personality outside of a romantic relationship.

(I have already done a bit of a meta on her and how her curse affects her here if you want to check that out)

The first thing I do when writing Charlotte is to ignore 90% of what goes on with her in canon. If it involves romance, ignore it for now. We're going to focus on the other facts.

So. What do we know about Charlotte Roselei and how do those facts effect her personality?

1) she was cursed as a little girl.

There is no arguing with this point. Yami straight up says it. The actual age is debatable, but the curse itself is not.

2) she seems to have a strained relationship with her parents.

This point comes from the flashback in Volume 12 (Chapter 104 if you want to check it out yourself), where she is the one reassuring her parents about her curse. Her parents never come up again.

3) she takes everything onto her own shoulders and sees a lot of things as personal failings when they're not.

Again, this point comes from the flashback in Volume 12, while we see several other people calling it "the curse on House Roselei" (the person laying the curse says "a curse on you, House Roselei), Charlotte always says "my curse". And when she can't hold it back, she calls herself pathetic.

4) she gets told something is impossible and tries to do it anyway.

For the final time, we're looking at the flashback in volume 12. Charlotte herself says that the only way to break the curse is for her to have her heart stolen by a man. And yet. The very first thing she says after being cursed is "I'll get stronger! Stronger than anyone! I'll overcome this curse!"

5) despite her calm and collected facade, she's actually a fairly dramatic person.

We see this literally every time we get to see her internal monologue. She wails and pulls faces and overall is just a bit of a mess. Also. Her go-to reaction when annoyed by someone is to attack them with briars, generally throwing the person in question up into the air. Sure, this general comes with a verbal smack down, but most of the time there was no need for her to react that, well, dramatically.

And the star festival (Chapter 103). When that guy tries to use her as arm candy and he goes "Don't you know who I am?" Her response? "Who you are? Don't you know who I am?" followed by her pulling noble rank on him, complete with wrapping the guy up in briars.

6) she has a problem with men.

I don't think this one really needs explaining. Personally, I prefer to interpret this as her having a problem with the trend of men objectifying her rather than a problem with men as a whole, but there is no denying she has a problem with men. And I can't really blame her, to be honest. If I had men I didn't really know randomly proposing to me in the streets, I'd have a problem too.

7) she is given multiple chances to drop out of the fighting during Spade and choses not to. (in other words, she doesn't know when to quit)

I don't think this point really needs any explanation. Every time she gets knocked down, she gets right back up again. To the point that, without Mimosa's intervention, she would have died.

Other fun facts about her that come with the volume extras (@/thoughfullyrainynightmare has compiled some of the volume extras here and here).

She's the most beautiful woman (as long as she doesn't have her helmet on)

She's the third smartest Captain

She's the worst (in the entire kingdom) at handling her alcohol

She's got the third biggest fan club out of the magic knights

She's got the second worst talent/taste in art

Her character profile (volume 7) tells us that she's 171 cm tall, her birthday September 18th, she's a virgo, her blood type is A and that she likes relaxing moments in the garden at her private residence. (it also specifies that she likes Yami while disliking most other men, but we're ignoring that for now).

Her stats in the data book look like this (though these numbers are sourced from the wiki as the data book has yet to be translated into English, so take them with a pinch of salt)

Physical Strength: 4/5 Magic Amount: 5/5 Magic Control: 5/5 Magic Sensing: 3/5 Cleverness: 4/5 And her extra stat is Honesty, with a score of 0/5 (interestingly enough, as far as I know, she's the only person to have 0/5 for her extra stat instead of 5/5).

The wiki also has stats for a card that came with volume 12, but, again, I'd take these numbers with a pinch of salt as I've never seen the card myself.

Magic Attribute: Briar Magic Magic: 1400 Affiliation: Blue Rose Type: Attack Leaves: 3 Power: 3/5 Magical: 4/5 Wisdom: 5/5 Stamina: 3/5 Vitality: 4/5

I also want to point out the anime-only Heart Training Arc. When Charlotte first arrives, she says "So this is what mages are capable of in the Heart kingdom" with a look on her face that, to me, screams "filing that away in case we ever have to face you". Because Charlotte is the eldest of the mages they send to Heart. By a significant margin. There's six years between her and the next oldest, Finral. She also struggles with understanding Sarado's initial explanation, but when her time in Heart is recapped in the manga (volume 28), we get Potrof calling her a genius, implying she picked up Heart's mana method very quickly one she understood what she was supposed to be doing.

Putting all of this information together, we have a character who is very smart and very powerful (and knows it). She holds herself to a very high standard and appears to hold others to those same standards. If something goes wrong and she's involved, it's her fault, so nothing can ever go wrong, which likely leads to her double and triple checking everything and not delegating tasks as much as she should. She is someone who has been placed on a pedestal and is constantly trying to live up to the expectations that come with it. People are enamoured with the idea of Charlotte Roselei, but don't know who she actually is.

And, taking a break to look at the romance for a moment here, one of the key parts of her personality is that she doesn't know how to ask for help. We see this time and time again with her trying to ask Yami out.

So, how do I write Charlotte?

My interpretation of her is a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. Who doesn't understand the phrases "reasonable human limits" or "it's impossible". If she wants something doing, she does it herself. I also tend to characterise her as petty and prone to jealousy. She's a skilled liar with a brilliant poker face (providing she isn't drunk). She keeps all her cards very close to her chest and doesn't volunteer information easily. She was isolated during a key point in her development (thanks to her curse) so she struggles with interacting with people, especially her peers. She's overly formal and doesn't understand a lot of slang. She's a little (or a lot) touch starved.

I interpret her trying to break her curse as her doing a lot of research into curses and as many different ways of using mana as she could get her hands on (which, as a noble, would be a lot) as well as doing plenty of training to work on her control. 5/5 for control has to be earnt. She pushes herself until she's exhausted and then gets up and does the exact same thing the next day. And the next. And the next. Because there is a clock ticking down above her head and every second could be the difference between her breaking the curse and her failing to control it.

I see her as a little- not suicidal, but reckless with her own life in her time in the magic knights between joining and her curse being broken/lifted/deactivated/whatever. She's going to suffer a fate worse than death when she turns eighteen anyway, and if she's going to die, she might as well die doing something useful. After the curse is broken, she is very aware that she's living on borrowed time, that every breath could be her last.

And, underneath it all, she's a little bit feral. She's not sadistic, but there's a clear line between Us and Them and there are times when she's almost begging Them to give her an excuse to let loose.

[notetaeker]

Man my eldest daughter disease is getting to me.

Eldest kids, especially formerly gifted kids 100% believe they can fix everything, that perfect is attainable, and that the only reason perfect hasnt been attained yet is because They haven't tried a hand in it.

And I know this is the dunya, so nothing can be perfect, but its so frustrating to me when things can be so easily fixed, or when things could go so easily but someone else's arrogance/ignorance/stubbornness or something gets in the way. Ive seen this happen while preparing for a big event recently. And it frustrates me to no end lol because im always like if everyone could just communicate clearly and directly... we could avoid so many absolutely unnecessary issues.

But I have to remind myself that this is the dunya. Communicating doesnt come easy to everyone. Not everyone was brought up in the same time period or the same place or in the same circumstances. People will be passive aggressive, others will be trying to take the high road and never mention anything that disturbs them until they literally explode. Even others will constantly mention anything that bothers them immediately, no filter- at the wrong time. I will do it too sometimes. Its a really hard lesson. That the only person whose behavior I can control and change is myself. Especially when everyone else fully believes that they can control each other or that criticizing each other and undermining each others decisions is the solution.

I guess the only solution is to just figure out how to control your own emotions, not letting others disturb your peace by not getting too invested with ppls issues, and just focus on yourself. That was my new years resolutions and I'm more set on it everyday.

There's no end to it. If you are around people you will eventually brush shoulders with someone. And if they can't communicate properly then theres nothing you can do.

Ugh except that it always feels like there is something to be done! Thats the toxic thing that just kills me. Its the potential of perfection. The stupid 'if only' that kills me, that makes it feel like peace is literally just within reach, but that if only is hinged on other people. If only A reworded his command to B, there would have been no misunderstanding, then I wouldnt have had to try to problem solve other ppls issues because it affects me and Task C wouldnt have been delayed wasting all this time. THERES NO END 🫠🫠

Sigh May Allah make it easy for all of us. Esp ppl who suffer from the same kind of perfectionism as me. I've come a long way from actual perfectionism but this thing always kills me.

[k4pp4-8]

Is there anything you wished the Show Ok. Ko Lets Be Heroes focused more on? Whether it be a character, relationship, arc, villain ect?

OH BOY THERE'S SO MUCH I WANTED TO SEE

1. FIRST OF ALL I REALLY wish they had more time to focus on the big reveal because I waited since season for them to talk about the whole POINT situation and when they finally DO reveal laserblast's identity it's completely rushed. This is such an emotional plot line for MULTIPLE characters yet we only see a fraction of it! LIKE PLEEAAAAASE I WANT TO SEE MORE OF HOW THIS AFFECTED CAROL!!! What she went through is so tragic, she lost her love, her dream, her friends, AND she had to raise the child of her dead lover alone. And yet she stayed strong through all of it and became the best mom ever. (Carol I love you plz marry me)

ALSO I WILL NEVER GET OVER THE FACT THAT WE DON'T SEE GAR'S REACTION TO THE REVEAL!! He literally blamed himself for laserblast's death, who was his teammate, his best friend's lover AND K.O's father. Just imagine how he felt like knowing K.O looked up to him as a father figure while thinking it's his fault K.O doesn't have a dad???

And also every other POINT member's lives were immensly affected by laserblast's death, like Rippy roo who dedicated years of her life trying to find a way to bring him back or Greyman trying to make a hero people could look up to or Foxtail still holding a grudge against Gar for what happened. I reaaally wanna know how they would react to knowing not only their friend is alive but he is also a successful villain.

2. Another thing I REALLY wanted to see was Rad and Dendy's relationship actually being explored! I used to think her "obsession" with Rad was nothing more than a gag but I saw that there was supposed to be an episode explaining that "she looked up to Rad because he's unashamed of who he is even though he comes from he considered as unusual family background." AND IT JUST MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!!!! I think that would've been an amazing way to explore both of their characters.

Also it's pretty ironic because Rad IS ashamed of who he is! Since day one he's been hiding things he loves and acting like a jerk to cover up his insecurities. I think Dendy telling him she looks up to him would've encouraged him to change the way he acts just like in the "Radical rescue" episode, when he tells K.O he doesn't want him to imitate his bad behavior.

3. Now we're getting to the REAL interesting part. BOXBOTS!!!! LISTEN I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THEM BUT I'M GONNA TRY TO MAKE IT SHORT AND UNDERSTABLE.

I REALLYYY wish we had more moments of vulnerabilty with them. Pretty much every single one of their scene is comedic and, while I do ADORE the comedy, I still wish they were taken more seriously. Like their whole situation is really tragic in many ways yet it's completely ignored. I know it's a mostly light hearted show but the boxbots are never given a genuine moment that felt like their feelings were taken seriously. It's probably just me who's wayyyy too attached to them but my favorite moments are when we get to see the more "human" side of them. Like when they act like an actual family, playing board games, having dinner together, hanging out, or bickering like siblings

I wish they explored how being robots affects them and the way everyone treats them. It's like robots are not considered like "real people" to some degree. We already know that in the okko universe being a certain species will change the way people perceive you and treat you (ie aliens and kappas) and it's shown to be a bad thing when it happens to Rad and Dendy, but when the bots are treated badly it's always seen as a joke and brushed bc you know , they're robots so who cares. There's like an implication that all robots are inherently bad because they're robots, K.O even said Mr.logic was "one of the good ones" implying he's just an exception (also it's crazy that he actually said that sentence and no one batted an eye)

And finally the ONE thing I really REEAALLYYY wanted to see more of is *drum rolls* LORD COWBOY DARRELL (who could've seen that coming)

LISTEN THERE WAS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH POTENTIAL THERE IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME CRAZY JUST THINKING ABOUT IT I WISH I WAS EXAGGERATING!!! Like for the first time we actually see boxman suffer the consequences of his actions, his kids FINALLY stand up to him after being treated like crap 24/7 and then he's forgiven in episode two??? And we don't even see how this affects the other bots!! Like Raymond and Shannon also loved boxman but they seemingly didn't hesitate to side with Darrell over him. I wish they explored how they chose their brother over their father who they were absolutely devoted to since birth.

I was actually disappointed to see Darrell forgive him SO easily and all the character development he could've had was thrown out the window in two seconds!!!! We actually get a glimpse of Darrell's potential but it's all forgotten as soon as Boxman becomes the boss again

I loved seeing Darrell actually fight back for once because he is one of the characters who gets mistreated the MOST by the whole cast. Half of his scenes are just him getting beat up and insulted, he's always treated like an idiot or a joke character so it was incredibly satisfying to see him actually stand up for himself and take charge. Like yeah he is goofy as hell and very immature and I love that about him! But when he became Lord Cowboy Darrell we actually got to see a whole new side of him. He was cunning and smart and resourceful and it KILLS me that we never got see that side of him again. I wish people aknowledged how competent and mature he can be instead of treating him like an actual child. I actually hate how infantilized he is sometimes

Anyway I could go on and on and on forever about the boxbots but that's just a few things i wish the show focused more on, there's probably more but I can't remember them rn

[yanderelinkeduniverse]

Hey I’ve got something in the works for Halloween but it’s probably going to be late, so it’s going to be more like a mid-November thing. But I’ll at least whip up some tasty art because you guys deserve something nice for the holiday.

Anyways, in the meantime I wanted to share a line of thought I’ve had for a while about Wild’s memories and his attitude towards both himself and Flora.

It’s kind of an analysis/speculation type of thing where I look at the memories in “Breath of the Wild” and see how these memories could have affected Wild’s current mental state in the actual comic, so not explicitly yandere.

All art belongs to Jojo!

So first things first, something that I’m sure a lot of people have pointed out is that Link’s memories in Botw aren’t actually about him so much as they are about Zelda.

From a writing standpoint, this at least makes a little sense since Zelda is supposed to be an important character in the game and since she’s currently preoccupied with keeping Calamity Ganon at bay, using the memories to explore her character is a reasonable thing to do.

But from an in universe perspective, this doesn’t feel very fair to Link. We rarely get to see events from his perspective and instead see things from the perspective of Zelda or some other character. Plus, we get no memories that truly focus on Link himself before he became Zelda’s personal knight. Anything we do know about Link is derived from comments characters make(like Zelda mentioning Link’s father) or diary entries.

Logically, this would all make Link kind of alienated from his past self, a stranger to this “Him” he used to be.

And we know that Link only ever regains memories of the Princess and not of himself, because when Zelda talks to him after he regains the final memory, she says this:

Note how she says “of us” and not just “all your memories from 100 years ago.” So there aren’t any little gaps in between shown memories where Link collects memories beyond the time he was with Zelda, at least none that exist beyond headcanons.

Anyways, I want to talk a little about Urbosa because for as well meaning as she may have been, I think some of the things she says in two memories in particular relate pretty heavily to Wild’s self esteem in the comic.

There’s two things she says in particular that I think would’ve stuck with Link — and thus — Wild.

The first one is this:

We don’t know what order Wild collected his slate memories in the comic, but if we assume that he decides to collect them in the order of which photos came first on the slate then what Urbosa says would most likely affect Wild heavily.

He’s basically got no solid self image of himself or especially not the self he was 100 years prior. So one of the first things he learns about himself being that he was “a living reminder of Zelda’s own failures” when he goes on to recover more and more memories relating to Zelda and her failures just feels like unintentional set up for Link to develop some more self loathing issues.

But being fair to Urbosa, she is basically Zelda’s surrogate mother and by this point has known Link for maybe a day or two. She’s not obligated to worry about him. Plus at the very least she does add on that this is how the Princess sees him, not what he actually is.

The second comment from Urbosa is this:

Prefacing this with saying, again, Urbosa does clarify that Link doesn’t hold any blame for the way Zelda sees him at this point, so good on her for that.

But still this is almost the exact same sentiment being repeated, Link’s own struggles are ignored in favor of focusing on how his success is interpreted as Zelda’s failure. Even if Urbosa adds on that this isn’t his fault it’s just how Zelda is, from Link’s perspective that’s got to leave some kind of impact on him. Perhaps guilt?

So to summarize, because of the selection of memories we know Link collects in canon, it’s logical to assume that Link’s view of himself in the present and from a hundred years ago would be rather negative.

And this perfectly reflects how Wild acts in the comic.

I don’t know about you but to me Wild has always had a particularly toxic view of himself from 100 years ago. He barely sees his past self as himself, instead calling that past iteration “Him” like he’s talking about a separate person. And he’s always given me the vibes of both resenting his past self while simultaneously wanting to be him again.

The way he talks about his past self being capable of feats he could never see himself doing shows that Wild in part seems to see his current self as “lesser than” his past self, especially when it comes to how the Master Sword responded to him at different points in his life. So it’s not a stretch to say that Wild may want to “be” that person again, especially since we see him use the sword at least one time.

But because of his perceived “failure” and possibly how he made Flora feel, he also resents the gifted prodigy he once was, not seeing that he was and has always been a human person with his own struggles.

Anyways this is sloppy and messy but I wanted to get this off my chest because I think it’s really interesting.

[super-paper]

Could it be that Izuku thinking that in 420, was him trying to understand how smashing Tenkos spirit/vestige didn't affect AFO?? As in, Izuku was sure they were connect, so if one disappears the other should too. So when Tenkos spirit crumbles because of AFOs trump card, why didn't AFOs vestige leave too? (Although that still doesn't erase Izukus' ooc behavior.. and lack of total concern or intention to apparently save Tenko.) Then again, he did keep punching away at Tenkos body, so even if he only wanted to hit AFO, Tenko (or at least his body) was also getting hit. The only thing I can think of that paints Izuku in a slightly better light would be if he truly thought Tenko was gone and it was just an empty shell being used by AFO. But then he still didn't react at all during their dialogue.... or after seeing Tenkos vestige crumble away

Yeah, it's frustrating because I feel we just aren't getting enough insight into Izuku's personal thoughts and feelings to truly gauge what's going through his head and get a good sense of what his intentions were for this stretch of the story (420-423). There's just not enough focus on Izuku himself to point the readers towards any one conclusion, even though these chapters have ironically been all about Izuku and the mark he's made on the world.

Like... a lot of the chapters leading up to the climax of Izuku/Tenko's fight (417-419) involve the vestiges interjecting to narrate Izuku's thoughts/feelings/actions which... while I do like the vestiges, I feel like they ultimately took something away from Izuku and Tenko's fight and made it feel less intimate (for lack of a better word).

And because there's such focus placed on the vestiges and their reactions/dialog/conversations, it lends to the impression that Izuku himself has made very little effort to actually communicate with Tenko during their fight ("But Tenko was trying to kill him and wasn't interested in talking" like, fair enough, but this argument only goes so far when you compare Izuku and Tenko's fight to the fights between Ochako/Himiko + Shouto/Touya + Shouji/Spinner-- Ochako, Shouto, and Shouji both spend most of their fight trying to talk their villains down and don't give up on communicating even when their villains shout them down and attack them). Before 417-419, I believe all of Izuku's direct dialog to Tenko amounts to three lines: "I won't let you do that, but I won't ignore the you that was crying either" and "It's all connected, somewhere within you is a person" and "I already told you, I won't give up on that crying boy"-- which are all fantastic lines! But ultimately, I think the fans are justified in having wanted more from their fight. These are also lines that Izuku says in response to Tenko's statements-- they aren't Izuku attempting to initiate a conversation for himself.

Ultimately, 417-419 feel like the only truly intimate chapters between Izuku/Tenko, and these are the chapters where they both just start to finally understand each other-- only for things to immediately get cut short by AFO. Their arc feels painfully incomplete as a result.

Anyway, I'm still 100% convinced the chapter would have landed a helluva lot better with more introspection and focus on Izuku's feelings/reactions to Tenko specifically-- people would still (quite rightfully) be upset with Tenko's potential death, but like, I think there would be more willingness to approach this chapter as a potential fake out and more willingness to give the series the benefit of the doubt (of course if it's not a fake out I'll just evaporate myself lol).

Usually Horikoshi is excellent when it comes to utilizing composition + paneling + symbolism to convey the hidden emotions/hesitation of his characters (chapter 270 my beloved), which only adds to the disappointment. I'm hoping for some volume fixes, and I don't know if there might be something going on behind the scenes (like, if there's maybe a chapter limit that's restricting him because he only has enough story for one more volume and needs to condense things???). But for now, I'll just pray that the next chapter salvages things, even if it can't completely fix the damage 423 has done.

[toraawa]

ive been a fan of yours for a while and i gotta say, i think you have the best grasp of yurisere/predatorshipping in the fandom. you actually take their characters into consideration and acknowledge their complexity as two stunted individuals who are very different but similar instead of diminishing them to memey single-trait characters. its amazing how many other other fans reduce serena to only "edgey mean girlboss" and yuri to only "nasty psycho" and then call any other version of the ship than constant hate fucking, backhanded affection and beating each other to a pulp "wrong". very tiring how only a handful of us dont like that to be the only thing they ever do

btw, your fics on ao3 are a godsend. judging by your stats im definitely not alone in loving how you write yurisere. thank you for doing the lords work. cant wait to see more updates

First of all, thank you for the high praise! It's the second time this week I've been told something similar, lol!

Though I will say anon, the rest sounds pretty charged towards something or someone particular in the fandom, so at the risk of aggravating some current stuff I don't know about...

Yeah. I agree. A lot. You pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

"Edgy mean girlboss" and "nasty psycho" for Serena and Yuri respectively is... extremely accurate, lol, to the point where I kinda have to laugh bitterly for how pervasive it is. Like, I know they both got shafted hard by canon, but it's a bit annoying when so many people override Serena's multifacetedness to fit the girlboss mold and accuse Yuri of being one-dimensional. I'vs seen some even get strangely angry at the prospect of him not just being the sadistic plant guy. I just don't think him only being that is true. Then again, I'm a staunch defender of the assessment that most of Yuri's character is shown, not told.

Unfortunately, the fanon interpretation of characters overriding canon is something that happens in pretty much any fandom, so there's not much we can do but ignore it and find like-minded people. It's super annoying, but it can't be helped. There's also a broader phenomenon of prioritizing tropes and meme-y dynamics over actually appealing characters, so there's that too.

Since we're all waiting for more canon interaction, I'm definitely in the minority in that I don't think Yuri and Serena's interactions in Duel Links will be a pure hostility fest the entire time. I've also gotten accusations over the years that my Yurisere writing is objectively "wrong" for a plethora of reasons, many of which you stated above, so... there's THAT, too.

At the same time though, that isn't to say Yuri and Serena would never fight or bicker or even be mean to each other — I never expect them to be completely nice and friendly to each other right off the bat. And people are free to write and draw whatever they want — I want to express my disagreement and only that here — so if I don't like it, I ignore it. The people who don't fall into fanon have a much more appealing, deep, and romance-forgiving interpretation of yurisere to me, so I just focus on that!

Anyway, thank you once again for being a fan of my writing! I'm honestly surprised at the following for my current fics on ao3. The Arc-V tag doesn't get much engagement despite being updated every day. It's always great to know there are others who enjoy and share my idea of Yurisere, so to anyone lurking: don't be afraid to reach out!