#they used to be judgemental and had an unwillingness to show vulnerability

[shi0n]

this year has made me AT LEAST 1.5x more toxic than before. lets raise the number next year as well

[khaotic-kitsunes]

Dangerous Daydreams

You have been heard...and the judgement? YES??? HOW DARE YOU APPROACH ME WITH SUCH A FANTASTIC IDEA???????????

Thank you, for the good brain food, I can only hope that this scenario lives up to your expectations!

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Cheeky Kitsune 🦊💋

.

“You’ve got such beautiful hair, (Name)…have I ever told you that?” Tamaki muttered out, leaning down as he ran his fingers through your thick locks, his actions delicate until the last second; when he tangled his hand into your hair, yanking your head back to show your throat to him. Leaving you completely vulnerable.

 “Perfect for putting you in your place” He added, a smile forming on his lips at the way you gulped nervously, unmoving beneath him with excitement rushing through your veins.

 “You do know your place, don’t you? (Name)?”

 .

 .

 Your cheeks flushed as you sat at your desk quietly, fingers tapping away mindlessly in search of the information your boss had asked of you earlier in the day. Your imagination was running wild once again, instead of focusing on the task at hand; here you were, fantasizing about your boss, Tamaki Amajiki, who was one of the most wanted criminals in the area.

 It wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last time your imagination would thrust thoughts of Tamaki into your mind. However, you did wish it wouldn’t happen so casually during the hours you happened to work for said man. It made it almost impossible to get your work done right.

 “Focus (Name). He’s just your boss.” You whispered to yourself, shaking your head before slapping your cheeks firmly, attempting to drag your attention back to the task at hand. Even if the task wasn’t what you wanted to be doing at that moment. It had to be done, Tamaki had trusted you with this and you refused to disappoint him.

 .

 “Should I assume you’re talking about me then?”

 .

 You screamed, practically jumping out of your chair as a cold hand closed down on your shoulder, disrupting the thoughts you had been having. The voice, full of curiosity, held a familiar annoyance deep within it; assuring you that it was indeed your boss behind you that had just caught you talking to yourself like a madwoman.

 “A-Ah, boss, I was just…just…um” You trailed off nervously while Tamaki used his grip on your shoulder to turn you to face him, a single eyebrow raised at your pathetically stuttered out excuse; which hadn’t even been finished. Not that it seemed to matter, he didn’t appear to be too concerned with your excuses.

 “Looking into what I asked of you, I would hope” He muttered out, eyes narrowing while you sank back into your seat nervously, a slow nod his only answer. There was no way you would admit to daydreaming about him, though you were almost certain he would be able to come to that conclusion on his own. He wasn’t a stupid man. Nor a patient one.

 “Of course, I’ve gotten most of it…I was about to double check my sources for you” You explained quickly, motioning back towards the piles of paper you had printed off. Despite the fact he was a villain now, Tamaki had once been a pro-hero; he was used to organisation and had made a point to keep it that way when he chose to become a villain.

 Admittedly, it made your job easier to accomplish. Having an organised boss that knew what sort of information he was after made the tasks of information gathering much easier for you.

 “Good. I’m sure you’re well aware of what would await you, should you ever disappoint me” He remarked quietly, sadism flickering through his gaze while his fingers tapped against the phone he held in one hand; a burner, though it was one of the more expensive ones on the market. Reliable.

 “Yeah, I know” You mumbled softly, averting your gaze after a moment of staring into his eyes, any longer and you were positive that another strange scenario would begin to play out in your mind once more. You didn’t really need that happening.

 “Oh, and (Name)?”

 You looked up quickly as he paused, his head tilted to the side slightly while his hand on your shoulder moved up to cup your cheek, thumb dragging over your bottom lip slowly.

 “Come see me when you’ve finished. I’ve got more tasks for you to do…something I’m sure you can handle” He tapped his thumb against your lip a few times before stepping away and turning his back to you; leaving you completely and utterly bewildered while he went about his business.

 Finishing up was going to be a lot harder than you had initially believed, you could already feel your mind racing with different possibilities on what he could have possibly meant by that. You could only hope it was nothing to be fearful of.

 .

~  ~  ~

 .

 “Um…b-boss?”

 .

 You jolted as the door to Tamaki’s room swung open, Tamaki himself leaning against the doorframe, his eyes glued to you; following your every movement. It almost felt like he had been waiting for you to get there.

 “Is that everything I asked for?” He demanded quietly, gaze dropping down to the stack of papers in your grip briefly before flickering back up to your face, just in time to see you nod your head quickly in confirmation; you didn’t trust your voice to answer him.

 “Really? Because it looks like there’s more than I asked for” He pointed out, dragging his finger down the edge of the papers, carelessly flipping through them despite not actually searching for anything in particular.

 “Oh, right. Well, I did find some more stuff that I thought might be useful to you. So I added that in at the end…I figured you wouldn’t mind, if you didn’t need it, you could just…throw it away” You squeaked out, watching as he took the stack of papers from you, reaching behind into his room to drop them onto some kind of surface; you could only guess that he would look at them later on.

 “You’re awfully nervous for someone that’s just done exactly as I’ve asked. With extra effort and results.” He remarked plainly, pushing himself off of the doorframe while his hands reached out for your retreating form, circling around your waist and pulling you against his chest tightly; leaving you no way to escape from his hold.

 “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were scheming something” He paused, smirking as he leaned down towards your face, one hand moving up to tangle itself into your hair, keeping you from moving your head away from his own.

 “But, luckily for you, I do know better (Name). You’re such a loyal girl, you’d never betray me, would you?” He questioned, minty breath invading your senses while your body acted against your will, leaning into your boss’ touch. It seemed everything and everyone was against you today, especially yourself.

 “No, I wouldn—”

 .

 “I know.”

 .

 He cut you off, two words silencing any agreement you had prepared with the few seconds you had been given. His voice was so calm, so steady. So full of certainty, it made you wonder how much Tamaki truly trusted you; you were the only person he had look into certain matters. That much you already knew, but it had never occurred to you that there could be a reason behind it.

 “(Name). You said something interesting earlier. Something about me being just a boss” He paused, a frown settling onto his features as he began to back towards his room, making sure you had no choice but to follow his movements. Though his eyes constantly searched your own for any sign of unwillingness; it was strange, how worried he appeared to be in that moment.

 “Ah, that. Well, it’s nothing really. I was just t—” Tamaki cut you off once more, this time, by kicking the door shut and slamming you up against it, his body grinding against your own, hand tugging harshly at your hair until you gave in, leaning your head back in submission to the man above you.

 “I want to be so much more than that” He admitted, trailing hot kisses along the soft skin of your neck, occasionally taking a moment to leave behind aggressive looking hickeys; proof of his apparent feelings. You didn’t dare deny them, both your mind and heart screaming at you to embrace the sudden confession from a man that could just as easily kill you where you stood.

 “I’ve been trying to work it out. Why I bother keeping you so close, you’re such a risk to me (Name). You know so much, but I’m not willing to let you go” He continued, his free hand lifting your own to his shoulders so that he could focus on stripping you of your clothes, not having to worry about keeping you steady.

 “Then you said it, that I’m just your boss and I realized something” He leaned back to stare up at you while your heart raced, disbelief still weighing down on you despite what was currently taking place.

 “What did you realize?” You questioned, urging him to continue in the only way you could think of, your nails biting into his skin through his shirt out of anticipation; you couldn’t wait, you wanted. No, you needed to hear him say it. To make it reality.

 .

 “I don’t want to ever give you up”

 .

 With those words said, his lips crashed up against your own, greedily stealing away your precious breath while your hands began to tear away at his own clothes, eagerness helping you to forget the fear of what Tamaki could possibly do to you. Surely if he cared, he would have no problems stopping you.

 It didn’t take long before Tamaki travelled through his room with you and instead of the bed, you found yourself bent over the large desk he had in his room, papers you had given to him on previous occasions littering the surface of it.

 “Boss…don’t you still need the—” You cried out mid-sentence when Tamaki pulled on your hair harshly, his free hand slapping against your thigh to silence you. For some reason, he didn’t want you to continue.

 “Enough, stop calling me that. That isn’t what I want to hear from those plump lips of yours (Name). Call me by my name, scream it if it pleases you” He smirked as he leaned down, nipping at the edge of your ear while he pushed his throbbing cock up against your folds slowly, making you aware of just how much he desired you currently.

 “The papers can be printed out again. This moment, cannot and I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the patience to stop what we’re doing, just to move some replaceable resources” He groaned out quietly, leaning back as he thrust his hips forwards and slid into your welcoming body, filling you with every inch he had to offer; making you moan out his name in surprise.

 All the fantasies in the world couldn’t hold a candle to the real thing. Having Tamaki like this, you couldn’t even begin to explain the ways you had mistakenly pictured him fucking you; this was one of the few positions you hadn’t actually thought about before now.

 “Sounds like you enjoy the feel of me inside of you (Name)…just what have you been thinking of when I’m not around?” He teased quietly, grabbing a hold of your hip with his free hand while he began to settle into a harsh rhythm, taking enjoyment out of the way your arse bounced against him with each thrust of his hips.

 It was certainly a sight to remember.

 .

 “T-Tamaki that isn’t…”

 .

 He pulled on your hair roughly, forcing you to arch your back in order to avoid the pain that began to radiate through your scalp while his fingers dug into the flesh of your hip firmly, twitching with the effort of not using his quirk. That would have to be another time.

 “Isn’t what?” He demanded, trailing his lips along the delicate skin of your neck once more, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth; admittedly, he was having more fun with you than he thought possible.

 “If you tell me it isn’t true. That you don’t like the feel of me inside of you, I’ll lose it. All control I could ever have with you (Name)” He paused, biting at your shoulder for emphasis while he began to pick up his pace, his hips moving harder and faster until you were choking on your own moans, struggling to keep your back arched as Tamaki seemed to want; eventually needing to move your hands to the desk below you to keep yourself steady.

 “(Name), I don’t think you realise how badly I need you…” He trailed off quietly, closing his eyes as he turned his head, pressing a surprisingly tender kiss to your jaw, sending welcomed shivers down your spine while your body moved against Tamaki, urging on his actions without your say so.

 “You don’t, do you? You have no idea…no idea at all” He frowned as he spoke, his grip on your hair tightening as he pressed you down against the desk once more, groaning with effort as his release began to draw closer. For now, the conversation would stop; Tamaki had plenty of time to make you aware of how desperately he needed to keep you close, for now, all he needed was to fill you up with his seed and to have your body wrapped tightly around his cock until you could take no more of his treatment.

 Your moans soon turned into whimpers and gasps as heat pooled in the very pit of your stomach, your toes curling as your orgasm approached at an alarming rate. Having Tamaki fuck you with such a brutal pace was too much, your body couldn’t keep up and neither could your cries of pleasure.

 Soon enough, you were just a trembling mess of whines and whimpers with your orgasm rocking through your body, making you squeeze down on Tamaki’s throbbing cock until his hips finally came to a stop.

 .

 “(Name)…”

 .

 He groaned out lowly, buried as deep as possible within you as he came, spilling his seed inside of you without even an ounce of regret. Tamaki could feel you beneath him, the way your body heaved with the effort of breathing, the almost unnoticeable shakiness that came from having to support yourself while he fucked you mercilessly.

 It was perfect, you were perfect.

 .

 “You took me so well (Name), come on…I’ll clean you up and we can go over those papers together. You can show me what you found”

[sonicgetsrawed]

Sharp Cheddar

A modern Varian x Hugo one shot!!! The cheese is relevant in this one!! I’m putting it under the cut cause it got pretty long! Enjoy!!!

Hugo draped his arm across his face, trying to block out the sun that streamed in from the window. He was normally a morning person but he had submitted his last project for the semester and thought he deserved to sleep in a little bit. He rolled over, fully intending to pull his boyfriend into his arms only to be met with an empty bed. He groaned sitting up and shoving his glasses onto his face. A deep frown settled into his features noticing that Varian’s side was still made up. He shook his head, the idiot probably fell asleep in their lab again. He kicked the blankets off with the sole goal of dragging Varian to bed and ordering in. The semester had been stressful for both of them. Quite frankly he was surprised their relationship survived. Their relationship had been fairly new at the start of the semester, having been in the same dorm room the previous. They had been at each other’s throats then, until one particularly explosive argument ended in an equally explosive make out session. From there they started an actual relationship deciding to move in together off campus. Varian had insisted on getting a two bedroom apartment, claiming that he would be sleeping in his own room. That lasted two weeks and now the second bedroom was used as a lab space now, so it wasn’t a total loss. And they worked on opposite schedules so they both had time in the lab. They had learned very quickly that working together would lead to arguments, and that almost led to breaking up. Although once the fight was resolved it led to making up, which he quite enjoyed. But they had been doing too much of that lately, he was looking forward to having a relaxing few weeks of peace as they prepared for the next semester.

He padded across the room, not bothering to check his phone, the only person he wanted to talk to was in the same place as him anyways. He opened the door, surprised to see Varian in the kitchen. He had his back turned to him, various sand which ingredients spread about on their island.

“Love you too, Dad. Okay, I will. Bye.” Varian said, hanging up his phone and slamming it onto the counter next to him. His shoulders were hunched up to his ears and Hugo kissed any ideas of having a relaxing day goodbye. Varian’s dad was another major source of their arguments. He did not approve of their relationship in the slightest, always saying that Varian deserved better, could do better. Was he right? Absolutely, but he had a habit of taking things he didn’t deserve and he had no intentions of letting Varian go without a fight.

He made his way over to the smaller male. He still might be able to salvage this. He wrapped his arms around his middle, placing a kiss to Varian’s cheek and trailing down to his shoulder. “Good morning.” He was testing the waters, trying to gauge where Varian’s mindset was at. He was always on edge whenever he spoke to his dad.

“It’s afternoon. You slept in.” Varian said simply, only relaxing slightly in his touch.

“I know.” He replied, although he really hadn’t expected to sleep in that long. “Did you sleep at all?” Despite keeping his tone light, Varian shot him a warning glare over his shoulder. Hugo sighed as Varian escaped his grip, pulling a butter knife from the drawer. He pushed himself onto the island, watching with concern as Varian put the sand which together a little too roughly. “What did he say this time?”

Varian slammed the knife down on the table, bangs covering his eyes as he hunched over the counter. “Same thing as last time. Same thing as every time. I just can’t do this anymore, Hugh.”

He wanted to pull Varian into his arms, rub soothing circles on his back, and let him cry his eyes out. Instead he got defensive, he wasn’t even sure why. Maybe it was the fear that he might actually lose Varian this time. “Do what, exactly?”

“This! The fighting with you and my dad! It needs to stop.” Varian yelled, looking up at him with desperate, pleading eyes.

“Okay. Then tell him! This isn’t my fault. I’ve tried talking to him but he doesn’t want to hear it. You can’t blame me for this!” Hugo argued, letting his anger cloud his judgement.

“I-I’m not-“ Varian started, frustrated tears welling in his eyes.

“Yes, you are! You always get like this when you talk to him! You-you let him brainwash you!”

“He doesn’t brainwash me! Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?!”

Hugo had a retort ready on his tongue. It died when Varian deflated, tears falling in steady drops. He hated when Varian cried and it absolutely broke his heart when he was the one that caused it. “Var-“ He tried reaching out.

Varian backed away, out of his reach. “Maybe he was right. Maybe we moved to fast. I don’t even know what kind of cheese you like!”

“Cheese? What does that matter? I lo-“ He couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence, they hadn’t said those words yet and he didn’t want to say it like this. Not as a cop out in an argument, Varian deserved better than that, he was better than that.

“It matters because I feel like I don’t know you. I feel like you don’t know me. I don’t want him to be right, but I’m tired. I’m so tired, Hugo.” Hugo reached out again, desperate to keep Varian here, to keep him in his arms, but he slipped through his fingers like everything else that was good in his life. He didn’t know how long he sat there with the forgotten sandwich ingredients, eventually he had pulled himself together enough to move from his location. He wiped away a few of his stray tears. He wouldn’t accept defeat this easily. He would show Varian that they did know each other, and while his pride was his downfall he swallowed it and shot a quick text message to a number he didn’t even bother to save into his phone. It didn’t take long for him to get a reply. He quickly changed and jotted a quick note to Varian in case he came looking for him. Thankfully the meeting place wasn’t too far from his apartment.

He had to remind himself constantly that he was doing this for Varian to prevent himself from bolting from the pastel colored cat cafe. The blonde girl in front of him smiled kindly at the employee that handed her her drink and pastry. The foam cat on top of her coffee glaring into his soul, mocking him, with those beady foam eyes. His staring contest with the foam animal didn’t last long as Rapunzel dipped a piece of her pastry into the coffee, wiping the animal from existence.

“I’m so glad you wanted to meet up.” She said, a bit too cheerily for his liking.

“It’s not like I had a choice. I don’t have anyone to talk to about this.” Hugo responded, finally meeting her eyes. Normally he wouldn’t admit such a thing but he was feeling unusually vulnerable after the fight.

“Right, sorry.” She popped another piece of pastry into her mouth, taking a sip of her drink before continuing. “What happened this time?”

“We had another fight. He wants me to talk to Quirin.” He spat the name out. He had never gotten along with Varian’s dad no matter how hard he tried.

“So talk to him. If Varian sees you’re trying to fix things he’ll be satisfied. All he wants is for you to try.” Rapunzel explained as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

“It’s not that simple.” She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “Var thinks we don’t know each other.”

“Then show him you do.” She replied, eyes narrowed with a fire he had only seen a handful of times. It’s what made Rapunzel more bearable than the rest of Varian’s friends, her unwillingness to back down or give up on anything or anyone.

“How?” He asked, slumping forward in his chair, suddenly glad for their setting. No one he knew would dare set foot in this establishment and see the mess he was.

“You know, Eugene would probably suggest doing some big romantic gesture, but it’s all about the little things. The cupcakes he brings me when I’m sad, the extra paints he surprises me with on his way home from work, waking up early to get me coffee before I go into work. You know, things like that. They show you really care and know a person. Those mean more to me than any big gesture ever could.” Rapunzel explained, smiling as she lost herself in her memories.

“So bring him a cupcake?” Hugo asked, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“No. You have to tailor it to you two. If you copy us it’ll just be an empty gesture. It has to come from the heart.” Rapunzel still had that stupid smile on her face, but he got the message. He stood an idea striking him.

“Uh, thanks, I guess.” He said as an afterthought as he headed out the door, not sticking around to hear her excited squeal.

It was dark by the time he returned to the apartment, various bags in his arms. He struggled to get the key into the lock and get the door open but he eventually got it. It was dark inside, which meant that Varian was likely still in the lab. He placed the bags on the counter and switched on the lights, eyes going wide at the sight that met him. The room had a giant blanket and pillow fort in front of their TV, lights strung from the ceiling, but Varian was nowhere to be found. He smiled softly to himself, setting up his horde of food in the middle of the fort. He couldn’t believe that someone would go through so much effort for him. He didn’t get much done before the door opened again. He pulled Varian inside before he could even properly process that he was there, pressing him against the closed door and kissing him like his life depended on it.

He reluctantly pulled away. “You did all this for me?”

Varian nodded, still trying to catch his breath. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken out my anger on you. I-I know that this doesn’t make up for the things I said, but I hope it’s a start.”

“I’m sorry too. You had a point about not knowing each other.” Hugo admitted, leading Varian to the fort. “So, I wanted to prove you wrong. It’s different food from all your favorite places.”

Varian made his way around the feast. “You got gyros?” Hugo nodded. “But you hate them!”

“But you don’t.” He said as way of explanation. “And.....” He shoved another tray into Varian’s hands.

“A cheese platter?” Varian raised an eyebrow, biting his lip in a way that sent his heart fluttering.

“Yup. I realized I don’t know what kind of cheese you like either. So, we’re going to try them all.”

Varian beamed before lighting up as if he just realized something. He dug around in the bag he hadn’t noticed before and pulled something out, placing it in his hands. “Do you have any idea how hard this was to track down?”

“Is this?” He asked staring in awe at the small blue toy car in his hand.

“Yeah. You said you always wanted one. It’s a little banged up, but we can repai-“ Hugo claimed Varian’s lips once again, relishing on how the other melted against him.

“It’s perfect. I love it.” He hesitated before deciding to speak his feelings. “I love you. I love you, Varian.”

“I love you too. I-I love you so much. I’ll talk to my dad tomorrow. We’ll work this out.” Varian responded.

“There’s no need. I already asked him to meet me tomorrow.” Hugo said.

Varian’s eyes lit up. “What did I ever do to deserve you? I love you.” Varian laughed, the sound like music to his ears. “I could say that forever. I love you.”

Hugo laughed this time, the sound quickly swallowed by Varian tackling him to the ground lips pressed against his the entire way down.

[therelativist]

Beaujester Is The Best and Here’s Why (an essay by Alpha Ray)

North vs South – Opposites Attract

Beau and Jester aren’t a likely couple. Beau is a standoffish butch who favours melee combat and knows little to nothing of magic. Her weapon of choice is simple – fists, elbows, knees. Quick and brutal. She’s a scrapper who hides her more academic interests behind the veneer of a jock. Meanwhile, Jester is a humorous trickster magic wielder who avoids melee as much as possible. A ‘leetle blue teefling’ who attracts people and befriends them easily. She’s loveable and loving in turn. As happy go lucky as they come. Hey

It feels like an unfortunate trope – the happy, well adjusted one fixes the gruff, standoffish traumatised one. But the second you look beyond the fronts the two characters put forward things seem very different.

Neither of them like to let people in and both utilise a front to prevent that. Jester focuses on others and never lets anyone too close. She takes any chance to deflect the conversation away from her and towards others. Beau takes the opposite approach, which is trying not to let people get close. Both require people to turn a more insightful eye towards them to get behind their barriers. Thankfully, both have high wisdom. Jester is slowly learning that she can express negative emotions without her friends abandoning her for not being the perfect, happy go lucky seed of joy and chaos she puts across whilst Beau is learning that she can be creative and can have friends and love those friends without opening herself up for abandonment. And they’re both teaching each other more healthy coping mechanisms including finding the balance between standing up for yourself and finding your own space, and being welcoming and friendly and creative and investing time in other people.

They bring out the best in each other. They’re different but they look out for each other and complement each other. Beau takes the melee and Jester takes the range when they’re trying to deal with an enemy with the monk doing her best to tank. And maybe they’re both very good liars, but they suck at lying to each other.

Compulsive Liars – How They Support Each Other

Marisha has described Beau as a liar and Jester certainly feels that she herself is one. Again, on surface glance it sounds like a recipe for disaster. And yet the conversation where this all came from came about as a result of them failing badly at lying to each other and responding by being honest. That’s what they bring out in each other.

Jester needs someone who will take her seriously and not dismiss her and her needs. She presents a cheerful demeanour which hides her real thoughts, hurts and feelings. This is something that probably came even from her childhood and feeling pressured to indicate to her mother that she was happy with her living situation as so not to stress her out.  Anyone who can’t read beyond that front runs the risk of encouraging Jester to further disinvest in herself and to focus on the other person. Thankfully, Beau’s demonstrated a determined ability to reach out to Jester and to take her seriously. She’s been the most successful at getting her to admit negative emotions in a way that displays clearly her understanding of Jester. But she doesn’t just encourage the acknowledgement of negative emotions, she encourages Jester to laugh and is willing to go along with her pranks and tricks. Beau takes every aspect of Jester seriously from the ones which are more fun and cheerful to the ones which aren’t necessarily pretty or nice or easy to deal with. Jester needs someone to talk to who will reassure her when needed but also still support her creative outlets and Beau has proven herself willing and able to do that. When travelling to Xhorhas, Beau played along with dramatically reading the smut book and with the jokey worship of Jester to convince the kobolds that she was a god instead of shutting Jester down or dismissing her. And Beau found it fun and laughed right along with her because of their relatively similar senses of humour. That didn’t start later, Beau and Jester have been pulling pranks and having fun since the first time they shared a room and decided to inform the guards that they were naked for no real clear reason beyond that they could and Jester wanted to.

As someone who struggles with her sense of self worth, anyone who isn’t willing or able to wholly appreciate and support Beau is ultimately going to be toxic for her. Thankfully, Jester has been championing the Beauregard Appreciation Squad from the start She’s built up Beau when other members of the party have torn her down, encouraged her to try things and supported her in her success. Jester respects Beau as an equal, and Beau likewise respects Jester. She values her opinion to the point where when Beau’s challenging Dairon about letting people in, Jester is the example she uses and who she talks about the most. Beau’s also learned that the way to get Jester to open up is to open up herself and to allow herself to be vulnerable, thus exposing things about herself that she’s ashamed of or would normally keep to herself. This degree of communication about real feelings and real hurt is unique to Jester.The fact that Jester let Beau expose herself and didn’t mock her but responded in kind is the best way to teach Beau that her friends do care about her and won’t let her down. Jester had the benefit of a loving mother but for Beau, who had parental issues, being able to admit that she loved someone must have been huge. Oh, and also they love each other.

Beau and Jester bring out the best in each other. They both tend to lock their feelings up and put up a front but they’re also both uniquely good at getting the other to admit their feelings and hurt and things that they’re ashamed of. They encourage more a healthy expression of emotions,better coping mechanisms in each other and are both pushing each other to make better life choices. Beau is receiving the support she wants but has never had, someone who believes in her and her abilities. Jester has found someone who doesn’t just love the happy parts of her but loves the angry and the sad and the hurt as well and encourages her to show her true feelings.

Jigsaw Puzzle - Fitting The Pieces Together

Beau and Jester have a surprising amount in common, not least their uncharacteristic willingness to open up to each other. Their senses of humour align, their love of the group and investment in their friends, their love of animals. Hell, they even adopted a dog together.

While they might favour different styles, both are ultimately scrappy fighters and enjoy fighting in arenas and bars, both with and against each other. They both enjoy friendly competition and neither are sore losers, Jester willingly accepting defeat in the Evening Nip and promising that she’d come out victorious next time. Plot twist, she didn’t but neither did Beau and they mostly fought alongside each other not against each other. They’re always willing to throw down and have each others backs.

They also share a love for animals and actually adopted a dog together (though Marisha seems to have forgotten this) to the point where Liam actually coined the ship name Lavorregard. Beau’s attempted care for Professor Thaddeus as well as owl Frumpkin shows an empathetic and emotional side she normally tries to conceal. She and Jester both have this protective instinct when it comes to animals and both crave their judgement free affection. They both were lonely growing up without many friends and as such it makes sense that they’d turn to animals to find that companionship. However, when separated from their animals they both very notably turned to each other and were surprised but relieved to find that same support and same concern shown from other people. They both have a lot of care to give and Beau, when Jester exposed herself, didn’t mock her and instead chose to support her and to show the depth of her care for her.

Most importantly, they have fun together. They find pleasure in each others company. They have similar morals (both prioritise their close circle over society at large but generally try to avoid doing too much harm and prioritize individuals over governments/countries). While Beau feels increasingly large scale social obligation due to being an Expositor-in-training, she has proved herself willing to break individual laws and not tied to any one country. They have both expressed willingness to work with the drow and a desire to understand them without simply dismissing them as evil and display an unwillingness to believe propaganda. However, both were down to fuck up a guy who was threatening Jester’s mother and ultimately put their close circle of friends and those they care about first.

They both find smut entertaining and both enjoy reading, though Beau is reluctant to admit her nerdier interests. They both enjoy pranking others and both have a flair for the dramatic. They also both have more vulnerable sides and both need someone to open up to who will understand and support them. They derive pleasure from each others company as well as being able to have emotionally heavier but vital conversations. They each allow the other to be honest about how they truly feel. They’re both young women who are encountering a milestone in their life and learning about the world. They also both love each other

Team Blue - The End

To conclude, they’re gay and in love and would have a surprisingly strong and healthy relationship based on mutual love and support as well as genuine enjoyment of spending time together. They never mock each other and always try to build the other up. They tend towards healthier coping mechanisms and more honest airings of their feelings when they’re together and bring joy to each other’s lives. They deserve each other in the best possible way.

Thank you for reading and have a nice evening.

[zenosanalytic]

HSE 4/20/19 6

Alright; had a busy day yesterday but I’m back at it for a bit, at least:

MEAT 11

I wonder if John having trouble yelling in this place means it’s separated him from “Breath” in some way. I don’t think it does since there’s obvsl light and space in this location, but neither Rose nor Jade seem to be able to use their abilities, either(and, ofc, no one is suffocating). It could be that being “inside”(?) the JuJu suppresses abilities(since John COULD use his from the White Space, so this space has different properties). Within it they’re outside of canon, but their powers work just fine on EarthC, so that can’t be it. Myb it separates them from the metaphysical(which would be why no time exists there since it’s by nature a metaphysical abstraction or derivative), while still possessing physical qualities(like atmosphere, space, form, light, etc). Or it could just be power-suppression.

Also: we’re all in agreement they’re arranged in the four sections of the logo, like oh so many fanarts of the past, right?

Did John really hang around with Terezi enough to feel this deeply about her, or have such a well-formed opinion? I suppose how one feels about another isn’t so much a question of time as impact though. she DID

Badgerflirt him to death in another timeline

lead him partway through an Epic Quest which gave him a Cool Rocketpack in his personal timeline

give him an Epic Quest to Hateflirt with her throughout her life, then die dramatically before him, all as part of a plan to get him to save his and her shared friend’s life by punching her in her stupid face.

and John is 1)pretty perceptive and 2)prone to strong immediate judgements, so I suppose it fits.

Also This:

is just a Gr8 description of Terezi and I Love It uwu

Though at the same time: imagining that some friend is totally awesome and lacking in flaws and difficulties of their own, which would allow them to fix YOUR problems easily if they’d been around, is not terribly healthy, and also a subtle way to beat yourself up (:( (:(

MEAT 12

Ok, so this is the infamous Jade Quote section.

I actually don’t mind it. In context, I think it’s fine and totally works; yes, it’s way too forward and groanworthy, but it’s meant to be as the whole purpose/arc of this section is Jade trying to goad Dave and Karkat into facing emotions&desires which they’re repressing&avoiding for reasons of anxiety&(understandable)fears of vulnerability/loss/hurt. And also Jade’s generally been pretty straight-forward and blunt(while still repressing and hiding alot herself) since her dreamself’s death(which is it’s own thing. Like: Yes, I do think this section is also meant to show some of Jade’s issues, even if it’s presenting Jade as being more aware, active, and dynamic than Dave and Karkat here).

Like: Dave and Karkat are deeply important to one another, they bring a lot of happiness into each others lives, and they also carry around alot of trauma specifically related to intimacy and cohabitation and emotional honesty which obvsl causes them lots of anxiety and makes opening up to other people, ESPECIALLY physically, really fucking scary. And, both of them being super-avoidant and prone to passive support in certain respects(by which I mean: they avoid talking about uncomfortable stuff, and support others by trying to be available and distracting rather than facing the problem, then brushing off their support as “the natural thing” or actually not support), means that, absent outside meddling, they’ll both basically just swirl around each other comfortably flirting forever, never taking a chance on pursuing anything more they might want. Which isn’t to say nonsexual relationships are bad or anything, they’re not, and neither is it “bad” that they’ve kept their rom til now nonsexual, or even, necessarily, that they’ve allowed it to exist without labeling it “love” or “romance”; those choices are the choices that were comfortable and safe and non-stressful for them, they had every right to make them, and that they live together without stress or conflict is proof that they were “good” ones. But at the same time: there’s a big distance between a healthy, long term, asexual relationship, and one where the participants desire one another, but their anxieties and hangups prevent sexual exploration, let alone (and more importantly)deeper emotional honesty and intimacy. Particularly when that goes to the point of actively excluding one member because of their unwillingness to pretend those, difficult to face and process, feelings aren’t there.

And yes, Jade’s def going about this a bit too head-on and too bluntly, this really is a subject that ought to be worked through sensitively and slowly, but

I sense from the writing that this is meant to be taken as just the lastest(and perhaps exasperated?) step in a long, long process of her trying to engage them on how she feels for them and how she (correctly, I think)thinks they feel for her

Jade’s own issues predispose her towards such approaches

Jade doesn’t like dealing honestly with introspection and the more “down” emotions any more than John does, but the way she handles them is not through denial and feigned ignorance, but rather Suppression and trying to bury them with Happiness and Enthusiasm. This is part of why Jade, despite her intelligence and power, usually tries to solve problems by barrelling through them, getting between them, or overpowering them(much like she tries to Math and Logic her way through this particular conversation; steamrolling Dave with her Rightness and Verve rather than the sort of [painful and exhausting]genuine emotional engagement that could actually generate a constructive response[see: his talk with Dirk in the Endgame]), rather than working/thinking around/through them. She’s not the type to walk a maze; she’s the type to smash it’s walls down. And that’s what she’s trying to do here. She’s tried, for a decade, to talk through these issues with them, or perhaps instigate an Encounter(though she’s always been a bit messy, so I dont read her bras being all over the couch as being attempted seduction as Dave does here[if I’m reading the narration right]. Possibly territory marking, though, which could be described as adjacent?).

HAVING SAID ALL THAT:

I totally get the frustration and anger at the first we see of Jade being about sex, romance, and other people. Jade’s been given a super raw deal by HS canon; her WHOLE STORYLINE since Cascade has been entirely about other people, and specifically her responding to/dealing with/interpreting for other people re: her romantic relationships&feelings; and to see her agency, yet again, getting expressed entirely through romance, to see her again for the first time in a context that presents her as exclusively or primarily concerned with relationships and sex, is pretty galling. One could certainly offer psychological explanations rooted in isolation for all this but the fact was This Was a Narrative Choice. It was a narrative choice to leave her in canon at a unsolicited kiss, and a narrative choice to reintroduce her in the Epilogues through an attempt to talk Dave and Karkat into dating her; literally presenting her sexuality as preeminent within her characterization in the work. There’s a hell of a lot more to her than that; she was never really presented as especially interested in physical intimacy in canon despite the prominence relationship and attraction was given in her arc; and I can totally understand ppl reading it as yet another example of Jade’s story being about dudes rather than her.

ok, think I’m going to stop there today.

[tidesofthought-blog]

Plato’s Crito

Following after the events of Apology, Plato moves on to paint this picture of Socrates debating with one of his friends while imprisoned. By the end of his argument in Apology, Plato solidified that he had no real concern whether or not they found him guilty, only that he was right and maintained that face. In fact he goes so far as to bring up and invoke the possibility of a death sentence before it is even wrought.  Now imprisoned it made sense that he had already prepared this elaborate argument to justify his coming death. My classmates have pointed out that Socrates is very forward thinking in this, knowing the answers he needs to get out of Crito before asking the questions. He appears calm and collected. In contrast, Crito is impassioned and as Plato would have us believe makes him unable to properly argue with Socrates. Yet as concrete as Socrates line of thought is, @queenantho-milly has already pointed out that neither party convinces the other of their standpoint. This is so important, because it follows the same formula that was prevalent in Apology: regardless of Socrates’ immense oratory skill, he is so often incapable of convincing others of his view points. What’s missing from his argument? What is his failing in these regards? He’s unable to convince artisans, politicians, and craftsman that they know nothing and their unwillingness to accept this fact makes them lesser than himself. He’s unable to convince a jury of his peers that he has done no wrong doing. He’s unable to convince his friend that remaining in the cell and accepting his sentence is the best course of action. “...for I am extremely desirous to be persuaded by you, but not against my own better judgment “ Socrates leads the bulk of their argument with this sentence, showing that regardless of his pride and conviction, part of him is just as vulnerable to the idea of mortality as any other creature on this earth. Survival and advancement is the goal of life, yet here as he sits, condemned to death and offered a hand, he believes to preserve his life would be driven by passion or temptation. Accepting death, though it is not of natural design, is what he already considers to be the better judgement. Honestly I think his failing in convincing Crito of what he believed to be the right decision stems from his primary argument hinging entirely on being caught and questioned. He pulled the focus away from any benefits (pros) and entirely onto the consequence (cons) without examining which would outweigh the other. He convinces himself that he could not argue a decision to leave. Though the entire argument they have is rather futile, as Socrates has already trapped himself on the path of execution, as he references the events of Apology: “ But you pretended that you preferred death to exile, and that you were not grieved at death.” He already made his choice, and doing so already armed himself with the ability to argue against escape. Another topic I may expound upon later is the recurring concept of justice, and why his argument hinges so heavily on the state’s infallible justice.

[daresplaining]

hey, thanks for the awesome answer on matt's hero allies! :D turning it around a bit -- what about the heroes matt has clashed with? the most obvious are frank (for a given amount of hero) and tony (superior iron man, i am looking at you, but there's of course civil war), but what about any others with whom he's butted heads?

   No problem!

   Superheroes fighting superheroes is one of the most popular comics tropes, so Matt has fought a whole bunch of good guys over the course of his career. We’re not including everyone here, but we’ll try to cover all of the usual suspects. And since you didn’t specify whether you wanted to hear about ideological disagreements or physical ones, we’ll talk about both!

Namor

    Namor the Sub-Mariner is one of those people who Matt has fought on only a few occasions, and always due to some key misunderstanding. Namor has nothing against Matt, but he doesn’t have much respect for surface-dwellers as a group and doesn’t hesitate to use force to get his points across. And Matt, though outmatched by the super-strong Namor in every way, is still willing to try and fight him when he starts acting like a threat. Though these two don’t run into each other that often, Namor gets a spot among Matt’s notable opponents because of his appearance in the beautifully badass Daredevil vol. 1 #7 (excerpted below). In this early Daredevil story, Namor tries to hire Nelson and Murdock to sue the human race for denying Atlantis access to the surface world. When the legal system fails to help him, he turns violent. Matt tries to keep him from hurting anyone, and despite getting the everloving snot beaten out of him, he refuses to stop fighting– earning Namor’s respect in the process. (Netflix show fans, this issue is the hallway fight of Daredevil comics. Read it.) Of course, this beatdown doesn’t prevent Matt from trying to fight Namor again, 70 issues later– with similar results. You have to admire his tenacity.  

Caption: “But, once again, the power of the Sub-Mariner is greater than any could suppose, and it is he who recovers first– while the Man Without Fear, despite his insulated gloves��� lies weak, and dazed, and helpless…! Yet, how can one measure the limitless courage of a fellow human? Although on the brink of unconsciousness– although racked with pain and fatigue– still the sightless crusader reaches out–!”

Matt: “Come back! You– you mustn’t fight the others–! They’re innocent– mustn’t be harmed– mustn’t–!”

Namor: “I have fought the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and other super-powered humans, but none has been more courageous than he, the most vulnerable of all!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #7 by Stan Lee, Wally Wood, and Artie Simek]

Elektra

    Conflict is, of course, at the heart of Matt’s relationship with Elektra. He does team up with her quite a bit, but always with the uncomfortable awareness of her willingness to kill. In the beginning, when they first reunited as adults, this was a huge factor in their interactions, with Matt wanting to reconnect with Elektra yet horrified by her chosen profession. Elektra, for her part, tends to do most of her killing when Matt is not around, and she has gone through several phases of her life (lives?) where she has tried to weed out that aspect of her morality. But these experimentations with a no-killing code have never been permanent, and by this point Matt has acknowledged that there’s nothing he can do to change that. As a result, they don’t tend to argue about it as much as they used to.    

Matt: “You’re going to jail, Elektra. You’re a killer… a cold-blooded assassin… and I’m taking… you… in…”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #175 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Christie Scheele]

Wade Wilson

    Everything about Deadpool, from his banter to his body odor (not to mention his casual approach to murder), is offensive to Matt, meaning that even when they’re not outright physically fighting, they are almost always at odds. They do actually team up from time to time, but Matt never enjoys it. Deadpool’s feelings toward Matt aren’t quite as clear, but he spends a lot of time complaining about Matt’s sense of humor– which always vanishes the moment he comes into contact with Wade. (Yes, Deadpool writers, Matt does actually have a sense of humor.)

Matt: “You’re a complete lunatic. You hear voices. You think people are always watching you…”

Wade: “Hi, kettle! Meet black! You dated Typhoid Mary and used to run the Hand.”

[Deadpool (2012) #11 by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan, and Mike Hawthorne]

Carlos LaMuerto

    Carlos (AKA Black Tarantula) is another antihero-type figure with whom Matt occasionally clashes on issues of morality. The two meet in jail, where they develop a tenuous alliance that leads to Matt helping Carlos find work once he gets paroled. Much later, Carlos becomes an invaluable friend during Matt’s attempt to take control of the Hand. But in the beginning they have their disagreements. Carlos wants to be a hero and to make his neighborhood safer for those who live there, but with his criminal background and intimate knowledge of the street gangs he finds himself fighting, he is aware that sometimes effective solutions require breaking a few laws. Matt respects the legal system far too much to be a fan of this approach– despite the fact that he himself breaks laws every day as Daredevil.

Carlos: “You gotta be kidding me, man. I have needs, Murdock… my neighborhood has needs. You wanna hand this over to some crooked cops… when it could be doing some good?”

Matt: “Not our call, Carlos… we’re not here to play Robin Hood.”

[Daredevil vol. 2 Annual #1 by Ed Brubaker, Leandro Fernandez, and June Chung]

Clint Barton

    Matt and Hawkeye rarely interact on-panel, but they do have one big fight in Daredevil vol. 1 #99– which just so happens to be one of the greatest DD issues of all time, so we had to put him on the list.

Matt: “Hey, now– cool it, William Tell. Can’t you see you’re upsetting the lady?

Clint: “My eyes are as good as yours, fearless.”

Matt: “I’ll just bet they are.”

(Oooooooooooooh.)

[Daredevil and the Black Widow vol. 1 #99 by Steve Gerber, Sam Kweskin, and Stan Goldberg]

Peter Parker

    As we discussed in the other post, Matt and Peter are really good friends, but writers sure do love having them fight! Most of their battles are good old fashioned supervillain manipulation (their very first encounter involves the Ringmaster mind controlling Peter into fighting Matt), but others are ideological and personal. Like all close friends, they have their squabbles. Peter, no matter his age, tends to feel like a kid among the older superheroes, and he hates feeling like he is being talked down to or ignored. He and Matt have clashed before on the topics of crimefighting, justice, and on how best to deal with big-time villains like the Kingpin.  

Peter: “Y’know, I used to like you… respect you! But, now you’re pulling high school pranks and standing up for creeps like Kingpin!”

Matt: “[…] What bothers me is, the man is right! Kingpin is evil… he shouldn’t be allowed back in New York! I wish things were that simple!”

[Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #287 by Jim Owsley, Erik Larsen, and Julianna Ferriter]

Steve Rogers

   Matt doesn’t fight Steve as often as he fights Peter, but it’s a pretty close thing. Cap is another character the writers seem to love flinging at Matt, and vice versa. They don’t dislike each other (they actually like each other quite a bit), and their fights are always circumstantial– usually the result of mind control or some other artificial judgement impairment.

Steve: “So the little devil wants to fight, eh? Then let’s!”

Matt: “Whew! Nearly took my head off! As if I needed any more evidence that Cap’s gone nuts!”

[Captain America vol. 1 #375 by Mark Gruenwald, Ron Lim, and Steve Buccellato]

   The big exception is their fight at the beginning of Daredevil vol. 3, in which Cap tries to take Matt to task for his actions during “Shadowland”.

Steve: “I gave you time to turn yourself in. My patience is up.”

[Daredevil vol. 3 #2 by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Javier Rodriguez]

   Matt picks up on the fact that Steve is on edge here because of unrelated personal problems, but he also does genuinely have a good reason for going after Matt. Demonic possession notwithstanding, Matt turned into a city-wide menace during “Shadowland”, and we’re of the opinion that there wasn’t nearly enough of this kind of fallout from it.

The Punisher

   Frank is, as you mention, a longtime frenemy of Matt’s, and we’ve talked a lot already on this blog about their fights. But we also wanted to highlight Matt’s great ideological clash with another Punisher: Rachel Cole-Alves. Rachel, a Marine whose husband is gunned down on her wedding day, teams up with Frank to enact her own retribution against the criminals responsible. As he has for years with Frank, Matt tries to get her to see that there are other ways to deal with loss.  Like Frank, she is dismissive of Matt’s advice, and Matt is not a fan of her perspective on loss-fueled retribution.      

Rachel: “You know what gives me the strength? My loss. We’re alike that way, I imagine. Admit it: nobody who’s a stranger to that particular pain could ever be as driven as us.”

Matt: “…Don’t you ever say that to me ever again. That is a repellent statement. It’s a vomitous insult to every cop– every fireman– every soldier alive who steps up to fight for those who can’t! I am sorry for your loss! But if you genuinely believe that only the death of a loved one can motivate a human being to take up a cause… then get your pathetic, cynical ass out of my way so I can do my job!”

[Daredevil vol. 3 #11 by Mark Waid, Marco Checchetto, and Matt Hollingsworth]

Luke Cage

   Matt and Luke are close friends, and they don’t tend to fight much, but we wanted to include him on the list because Luke is one of the primary superheroes who always steps up and speaks out when Matt messes up. His unwillingness to take nonsense from Matt started way back when they first met. Luke is very difficult to impress, and while he does hugely respect Matt, he also holds him to a high standard, and isn’t willing to let him off the hook for perceived errors of judgement.

Luke: “…You could just as easily admit to who and what you are– Because, yo, man, who you are means a lot more to people than you realize. You are an inspiration to handicapped people… and it ain’t got nothin’ to do with your costume and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Be a man! Stand for something more than just a pair of tights. ‘Cuz– what’s going on now? Just don’t want no part of it. This is you, Matt. This is your life. And we both know that every story has a %$#&bag in it. And right now, it’s you.”

[Daredevil vol. 2 #43 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Matt Hollingsworth]

Max Coleridge

   Max (AKA the Shroud) doesn’t run into Matt nearly as much as you’d expect, given that he’s another of Marvel’s very few blind superheroes, but he is one of Matt’s main antagonists throughout Volume 4. (Note that the term “antagonist” does not mean “bad guy”. It describes any character who is working at cross-purposes with the protagonist.) Max doesn’t have anything against Matt in particular, but his creepy obsession with locating his ex-wife interferes again and again with Matt’s efforts to drive the actual bad guys out of San Francisco. This leads them to continually butt heads.

Matt: “What have you done now, Max? You’re crazy, you know that? Every time I trust you, it bites me. You’ve exhausted my patience.”

[Daredevil vol. 4 #15 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson]

   There’s also an element of territoriality to their clashes. Matt sweeps into San Francisco under a huge spotlight, having just outted himself as Daredevil, and Max feels threatened and overshadowed by his larger-than-life presence in the city.

Max: “I won’t mince words. This is my turf. There’s no room for you in this city. Leave.”

Matt: “…Nice you meet you, too. You might want to dial back the attitude, though. I have a real zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullies.”

[Daredevil vol. 4 #2 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez]

Natasha Romanov

   Natasha is another person who gets the honor of appearing on both lists. We’ve talked before about the combative nature of her relationship with Matt. They are great friends, but their time as partners (professional and romantic) was rife with tension and arguments as they tried to negotiate the power dynamics of their relationship. After the initial honeymoon phase ended, Natasha came to realize that she was being pushed to the side. Matt is a domineering, take-charge kind of person, and he was treating her like a sidekick. Natasha, concerned about what this would do to her image as a crimefighter, and unhappy with being overshadowed and underestimated, was quick to confront Matt whenever he grew too self-centered.

Natasha: “It suddenly struck me, Matt, that for the past few weeks– I’ve been your partner– You never thank me– never accept me for what I am– a person– someone apart from you– someone who acts and reacts for her own reasons– not just for yours! I’ve been your partner, Mr. Murdock– but you haven’t been mine!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #91 by Gerry Conway, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer]

   This tension eventually led to their break-up, when Natasha decided that she needed some time to herself, and to work independently again. This, it turns out, was a wise choice. They still have the occasional argument, but since they’re no longer living and working in such close proximity, their friendship has been much less turbulent ever since.  

Nick Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D.

   Matt has always had a chilly relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. He isn’t a fan of subterfuge (unless he’s the one initiating it, of course), and he and his friends have had a lot of bad experiences with the organization. He doesn’t tend to actively fight them– and he’s actually gone on missions for them a number of times– but he’s also stood in opposition to them, most recently by representing Bruce Banner’s interests while Maria Hill had him on retainer. There’s an alternate universe in which Matt becomes a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent instead of a superhero, but obviously that’s an exception…

Fury: “Get your signatures later, Piercey! You and Dugan clear this room– me an’ the lawyer got to go at it one-on-one!”

Matt: “What happened to that infamous S.H.I.E.L.D. know-all, see-all, colonel? It’s ex-lawyer, nowadays– not that that’s going to save you from seeing me in court! Harassment, assault, kidnapping– I’m going to hit S.H.I.E.L.D. with so many civil and criminal suits you’ll wish you never rebuilt this spook city!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #298 by D.G. Chichester, Lee Weeks, and Christie Scheele]

Ghost Rider

   Matt has never really known what to make of Ghost Rider, but he does know that the whole Penance Stare thing creeps him out, and that he’s not a fan of Ghost Rider’s absolute and unyielding approach to justice. Physically, Matt isn’t much of a match for the spirit of vengeance, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to stand up to him anyway. It never ends well.

Ghost Rider: “Vengeance has been served… but not in the way I had intended… I was attracted to this man because of forces at work far beyond your ken, Daredevil– and in your zeal for so-called “justice,” you prevented me from learning the truth about the murderer you seek when you interrupted the Penance Stare.”

Matt: “His fingers… his fingers are in my mind!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #372 by Joe Kelly, Ariel Olivetti, and Christie Scheele]

Wolverine

   Another in the long list of killers who Matt occasionally teams up with. Their disagreements are pretty standard…

Matt: “But we’re not God, we’re not judges, we’re not killers! He’s almost dead, he’ll probably die! His own fighting will have killed him, not you! Don’t make it you! Don’t do it, Wolverine!”

Logan: “He wants my brand of justice– not yours! Blast! I want to kill him!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #249 by Ann Nocenti, Rick Leonardi, and Christie Scheele]

   …except for that time Wolverine was brainwashed and broke into Matt’s apartment and started insulting him. That was new.  

Logan: “Listen to you, Murdock: talking like you’re some kinda superhero– Ever wonder why they didn’t ask you to join their fancy teams, big shot? Ever wonder why you always work alone? ‘Cuz you’re blind. Handicapped. Oughta hear the sick jokes they crack behind your back–”

[Wolverine vol. 3 #24 by Mark Millar, John Romita, Jr., and Paul Mounts]

Himself, that one time

Matt: “This is impossible!”

Stick: “Maybe it is. But that’s not gonna stop those three… impossibilities… from taking you apart!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #349 by J.M. DeMatteis, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

[gws350mmiller]

Unit six:

Tw: discussion of sexual assault, abuse, rape.

Rape culture has been a huge topic of discussion in recent news. The me-too movement and discussion of sexual assault and abuse in Hollywood has furthered discussion on trauma and the meaning of consent.

Sexual autonomy and agency are vital in healthy sexual activity for all folks, not just those who are able bodied. It is difficult to determine if an individual is able to know if a situation is safe and empowering or potentially harmful.

Many people define consent as a definitive verbal agreement where both parties say yes. However we often neglect discussion of coercive rapes. We can all understand that no means no. However, it is possible that yes also means no.

In situations with uneven power dynamics, pressure to comply with demands, or in instances where one feels rejecting sexual advances risks safety or privileges they may verbally consent to activities that they truly oppose. If the agreement isn’t enthusiastic, if there are body language cues reflecting hesitation, or if someone changes their mind they haven’t given full consent.

Consent is especially tricky when one or both individuals have disabilities. Cognitive impairments and psychological trauma may alter the ability to deny unwanted sexual encounters or complicate personal judgement and determination. “Competence,” is a term that comes up when we analyze different encounters. Gills piece shares the difficulties that arise in these decisions, especially when the legal system is involved.

In Kalie McArthur’s case, the question of her competency was the main determinant in legal prosecution of her peer-educator. In her experience she developed a sexual relationship with Harris, her peer-educator. She and her peer were assigned janitorial work, but instead had a sexual encounter in the stairwell.

At first in my personal understanding of this matter I had many unaddressed concerns. How does the school account for the fact that they were left unattended? Why are they assigned work outside of the classroom instead of being integrated with other students? It seems as if this places both of their safety at risk and outside of normalized school conduction as well. Gill shares that Kalie’s individual education plan ensured adult supervision at all times. I was surprised that the school was not initially held responsible for the events.

“Yost considered their activity to be sexual and that Harris was abusing McArthur, and Harris was charged with having unlawful sexual relations with a minor, although he was minor himself and younger than McArthur.” While it is an issue that Harris was a peer-educator and had a power advantage, in that regard, there were details left out about the exchange.

It is shared; that Harris, who is later diagnosed and medicated for a cognitive impairment and depression, was portrayed as a predator when he was also vulnerable. The age difference between them means that he was also a minor. Due to this, Kalie was also having sexual relations with a minor. If his diagnosis’ and disabilities were discussed as well, his ability to consent could be equally questioned. “Harris implies that he is as much a victim as McArthur in this situation, punished for his sexual curiosity and unstable mental health.”

By representing Harris as a hormone-filled boy, the public feels justified in protecting Kalie. The representation and controversy of this case share a perspective where men are the aggressors and unable to control sexual drive while women are always victimized. It is possible that both students were unwilling to consent, and in turn both experienced a similar assault. Narrating the proceedings as if Harris is the only guilty party neglects the role of structural measures to ensure students safety.

This case is not clear-cut. It is unclear who is at fault and who is the perpetrator. Regardless, Harris spent time in a juvenile detention center and had to register as a sex offender. The school was responsible for the lack of supervision and preventative methods. “Following Harris’s criminal trial, McArthur’s parents sued D-20 and McArthur’s teacher for negligence in a civil case.” The case was settled with financial payments to the family.

The case gets more tricky when Gill shares what may seem to be consent on Kalie’s behalf. “During the negotiations for this civil case, a professional for the school district claimed that the experience for McArthur was “pleasurable, not traumatic” and that it “ignited her female desires.”” This insertion into the case suggests that she was offered an opportunity to realize her sexual desires through this encounter.

Assumption that the encounter was beneficial to Kalie is informed by sexist, ableist, and heteronormative beliefs. Gill reiterated his stance, “Regardless, we need to be clear that even if McArthur enjoyed the experience, it does not mitigate the unequal power dynamics and assault that she also may have experienced.”

The impact of the event is is represented when Brian Newsome discusses the aftermath. He says that Kalie has experience emotional distress and says, “McArthur frequently asks, “Do I have to take my clothes off?” and repeats, “I’m afraid, I’m afraid, I’m afraid.”” This shows the negative impacts this event had on her functioning and emotional well-being.

The determination that she is and was unable to consent is clear in the narration of the events. She was not allowed to testify or speak publicly about her experience or perspective. Adults assumed a protective position and pursued legal intervention without her participation.

One problematic statement in the piece was one from Glen Beck “My faith teaches me that the handicapped are the most valiant among us. My gut tells me, after I volunteered for Special Olympics, that when we get to the end, when we go see God face to face, we’re going to realize that we’re the retarded ones, not those who are fighting with mental disabilities.”

This statement is not only guilty of using a slur, but also feeds into ableist gatekeeping. Beck is under the assumption that all people with disabilities are incapable of keeping themselves safe and need able-bodied individuals to volunteer their efforts to help them gain some able-bodied measure in regard to quality of life. Using the word, “fighting,” is additionally problematic and reflects the medical model of disability where the disabled body (and the disability itself,) is the issue.

He continues, “There is nothing that will put you at the gates of Hell faster than raping a child or raping a handicapped person.” In this elaboration, he uses another slur. Outside of his continued use of inappropriate and demeaning language, I identified a comparison between individuals with disabilities and children. This comparison is an important factor in widespread beliefs about sexuality for those with disabilities.

Individuals with disabilities are often infantilized. Our society views disabled individuals as childlike and unable to make their own choices. Stating that those with disabilities are unable to consent to any sexual activity is harmful. Many desire sexual relationships. It is important that they are able to find willing partners for these encounters who also agree to partake in sexual activities.

Becks contrast between able-bodied people and those with disabilities employs a dichotomous attitude about who is able to agree to sex. As someone with a daughter who has disabilities, he seems to assume that it is his role as a male (especially as her father) to keep her safe. This male-protector status is contradicting with the male-predator perspective exhibited in Kalie’s case.

It is important to remember that anyone is at risk of being taken advantage of, and anyone is capable of perpetrating the assault. Notions of gender roles in sexual activity, ownership and protection of women’s bodies, infantilization of individuals with disabilities, and unwillingness to examine structural inadequacies all pose opportunities for harm.

Limitations on individual choice can pose threats to personhood and ownership of our own bodies and decisions. Safety; both emotionally and physically, are perhaps the most important aspects of sex. When an individual is marked as being unable to say yes, it may be assumed that they also are unable to say no and place them further at risk for assault and abuse. Taking protective roles is helpful in some cases, but it is important to remember that individual levels of understanding vary and many individuals are perfectly capable of consenting and participating in sexual relationships.

Such concrete views on consent and competence set us up for wrongful interpretations of the concepts. Consent is something that must be given, evaluated, and reaffirmed throughout interactions. It is not always clear who is capable of determining their willingness to participate and who isn’t. If we decide anyone with an intellectual disability is a legal minor, an entire group of marginalized individuals are unable to participate in sexual activity altogether. We must view consent and competence in adaptive and fluid ways. The boundaries are not always clear and power dynamics must be continually re-evaluated.