#what idea is it? depends which side of the moral debate the person mad at me is

[nonbinarygamzee]

if the tides of internet obsession do not find something aside from pedophilia to latch onto as the constant circular topic to never actually dissect and only mention for the sake of the emotion is evokes in the first place i think im going to become a danger to myself and others. is it not bad enough that the entire mainstream political debates are laced in this exact rhetoric. does that raise alarm bells to you?

[sasheneskywalker]

too shy to come off anon since eng is 5th lang but vvv interested in the omegaverse poll so wanted to just spill guts for a bit here.

I think Dick is particularly flexible to give a secondary gender to? So I'm really liking to see how people tilt to one side abt him LOL, it's interesting! Honestly, I dont mind any alpha/omega/beta signing for most characters as long as the portrayal hits. There's a lot you can do for Dick with any of the secondary genders, making him not to conform to some ideals as well as explore his struggles in diff ways.

Just throwing ideas out but maybe the beta assignment helps explore his peacemaker qualities with his family and can be used to balance the whole wayne family as a whole, the alpha one will bring more into light his issues with 'temper' (not really saying temper in terms of anger, but I love how at times he can be hardened and a little assholeish due to his pain, grief and upbringing and yet when confronted with it, is also someone who can evaluate himself well etc etc, it's wonderful) (more parallels with Bruce, more projection BY Bruce??) stuff like that! Beta and Alpha is what I tilt towards LMAO, but there's for sure so much to be explored by him being an Omega, it's just... not my cup of tea if I think about his position in the narrative as a whole (not just position in the batfam, but most incidents that've happened to him) and considering what social dynamics are usually in ABO verses.

But that depends from person to person! I just can't see him as an omega unless we're not including omega discrimination in society (which is fair!) but different strokes for different folks. It's just not a narrative vibe for me.

Somehow though, JASON is 100% an omega to me in any case so idk, (will explode if his 'agression' is ever inherent to him, pushing typical alpha traits on him just makes me offput + omega jason is fun to explore narratively to me in juxtaposition to alpha/beta dick too!)

Anyhow, it's so cool how people do have diff designations for every character, this was fun, tq! Would love to hear ur thoughts :)

thank you for sharing your thoughts! (don't worry, english also isn't my native language. and your english is great! also, you know five languages? mad respect.)

i didn't include the "beta" option on the poll because i wanted to see which "extreme" people would pick and now i regret it a bit. i was curious how other people hedcanon him, especially considering there's an entire fandom event dedicated to omega dick.

i've had the exact same thoughts as you. if we're going with traditional omegaverse traits and assuming personality is in some way influenced by the dynamic, i can see dick as every dynamic (alpha, beta, and omega). beta dick as a peacemaker, balancing the family. alpha dick as a leader, determined and persistent with a bit of a temper and a manipulative streak. omega dick as an empathetic and supportive person, the heart of the dcu. (also, a nature vs nurture debate in the context of omegaverse would be very interesting.)

i'm a big fan of making the omegaverse world mirror real-life, including discrimination and darker aspects, but i know it's not everyone's cup of tea. i can see omega dick fiercely fighting against the stereotypes that omegas are weak and shouldn't be heroes and struggling under other's people expectations (especially bruce's) compounded by his dynamic.

i think no matter which dynamic you pick for him, it recontextualizes a lot of his history and you can have a lot of fun theorizing which canon events or relationships would change depending on his dynamic (and your overall omegaverse worldbuilding).

i also headcanon jason as exclusively an omega. i like that jason at first glance seems very traditionally masculine: a muscular and tall antivillain/antihero with loose morals who uses guns and has a vendetta. but he also has traditionally feminine traits: as robin he deeply cares about abused women and victims of sexual violence, he reads romance novels, and he cries and shows his emotions openly. making him an omega contrasts his image as red hood even more. i imagine being an omega villain/crime lord would be particularly difficult and opens the door to metaphorically exploring his feelings about gender and people's perceptions of him. (that's also why i like fem!jason and trans!jason stories.)

thank you for sending the ask, i had a lot of fun answering it <3

[gayathreya]

leftist suriya characters appreciation post

since soorarai pottru, been thinking more about all the explicit leftist characters suriya has played in his career. and i actually mean explicit - characters that are supported by the narrative framing and structure and not just my own headcanons and stuff or a throwaway generic goody-shoe typical hero line. i have been itching to talk about this cos it’s obviously in my field of interests

suriya has played 4 openly various brands of leftist now, and that’s pretty cool! i love that none of them are cookie cutter personalities of each other, they all have their own select trait. this post is a toast to them;

michael vasanth (ayutha ezhuthu, 2004)

vimalan (maattraan, 2012)

iniyan (thaanaa serndha koottam, 2018)

maara (soorarai pottru, 2020)

[small write up on each character with pics behind the cut]

*****

1. michael vasanth (ayutha ezhuthu, 2004)

so michael was his first, said to be inspired by an actual university popular marxist student leader, george reddy. michael is very obviously somewhere along these lines - he himself is within the film known as the leftist student leader on campus with a huge following, much to the chagrin of his professors who want to stamp that out of him. he’s openly engaged in campus politics as well as politics outside, and he’s most definitely no weak willed liberal because he has no problems with violence or direct action, which he organises. he organises villagers to stand against others on their own feet, never once preaches about lying down and taking it easy or playing polite. which was nice to see lol i hate liberals who have morals about property damage but in ayutha ezhuthu, michael clearly doesn’t give a fuck. he and his group break things and smash cars and lorries on their way and threaten physical violence on their opponents too which is the way it should be because to him human lives are worth more than any property or vehicular damage. he never shies away from that. hell yes to violence and structural damage!

probably the most definite trait of michael compared to other suriya leftist characters is that michael still believes in the establishment and electoral politics, which u don’t particularly see his other leftist ones talk about. but here, michael works within the system, and trusts it to bring change if u put in the effort into that. though, it’s not as frustrating as it sounds cos michael’s work is not geared towards other liberals, but in villages and rural districts where he goes to spread word, and makes them choose their own leadership to represent. it’s way more marxist aligned and ~rise of the proletariat~ here instead cos he bypasses liberal bougie nonsense and never once is his voice used for that, but used towards and for the working class directly to both take up arms and resist violently themselves + hold ranks for themselves and choose their own leaders to influence their local politics/protect their environment.  

michael is fundamentally very marxist, with a dose of direct action plus violent resistance if need be, and supports organised proletariat uprising within an established political system playing towards electoral politics

(of course, a point to note in why this isn’t as frustrating as it sounds as mentioned above is cos this film was released in 2004. would michael still believe in the establishment and electoral politics now? things in 2020 are very different with all of us more aware of things around us and globally, it’s definitely a debate to be held. i doubt he will, since he’s not a pacifist or liberal. he’d say fuck electoral politics, all my homies hate electoral politics)

2. vimalan (maattraan, 2012)

second very openly communist character he played. prob gone a bit forgotten for others since he does die halfway through the film (which itself isn’t a favourite of anyone either, fans or neutrals) rip but can’t go by without mentioning cos i remember liking this character a lot and i teared up in the cinema first watch when he died. i was mad they killed the suriya i loved instead of the other one whom i found annoying lmao

vimal supports workers’ strikes and unions against bosses, even when that boss is their own shitty father. this automatically makes him stand out instantly considering he is sympathetic to the working class despite at the cost of his father’s annoyance with him. he’s also the first character suriya plays who’s explicitly anti-capitalist with line(s) about it, since michael had no canon lines regarding capitalism from what i recall. vimal outright does.

the leftist imagery tied to vimal the most is che, which is a nice touch. his room has at least one poster of him, and his phone’s wallpaper is also him. u can also see bhagat singh and ho chi minh books on his shelf. so.. safe to claim where vimal’s political ideologies are. it’s both tied in pictures and him siding with workers for their rights against corporations, since he obviously likes revolutionaries. vimalan was a class traitor and a supporter of the working class poor bb tragically gone too soon. ilu u didn’t deserve your terrible fate, sweet commie good boi :(

3. iniyan (thaanaa serndha koottam, 2018)

iniyannnnnn i love him and i think it’s a suriya char with one of the best character arcs in his whole career. mostly cos he had a very distinct ‘’yes i want to work for the government and change things from within’’ phase which gets squashed over the course of the film. we see him start off obviously in a very blatantly communist neighbourhood in a song that is also very specifically anti-establishment/politicians with a lot of hard resistance vibes. the entirety of sodakku is a very good introduction to him and what he stands for - in general the film promises upon wealth disparity, useless bougie politicians, and the rest of us being crushed under them.

what happens to him at the end of the movie is FANTASTIC because he no longer gels with what he wanted at the start of the movie. iniyan’s key leftist trait to me is that he’s the most anarchist of suriya characters, varying from other leftist suriya characters. he refuses to work with government powers and authorities, he looks down on their entire establishment and institutions (he does not at the start of the film, which is vital cos again, he wanted to work alongside them at first), and depends more on the good will of individual people over job titles, while clearly engaging in mutual aid and distributing wealth. these are very distinct anarchist ideals. i’d still peg him as anarcho-communist but would say he leans more towards anarchy and progressing on mutual aid over official state resources or state people for any kind of positive change since his faith in them has pretty much diminished by the climax. he does not give a shit about politicians, cops, or any kind of authorities at all, leaving them in the dust to raise his black flag and do his own anarchist hot shit.

iniyan is a good example of an anarchist arc for me in tamil cinema in simple commercial terms without heading too deep into actual words and phrases in a big hero movie, cos it’s also very easy to explain to anyone the shift in his ideas and his eroding faith in institutions with power. good for him!

4. maara (soorarai pottru, 2020)

this should be fresh in everyone’s memory, but yes, a character who is obviously in your face about it since he has an actual line - ‘’you’re a socialite, i’m a socialist’’ which caused all of us with good taste to whoop and cheer. plus he was very sexy in this whole scene, so what a bonus. it’s the most explicit thing said by him in the film, but there are also other little things peppered into his speech and background imagery showing u the kind of person maara is.

he gets married to bommi in a self-respect wedding ceremony. no priests or any kind of traditional hindu iyers/chants involved. u see it clearly with a periyar pic hanging behind him explaining who he is. he wears black a lot in the film, which fits him being a periyarist so i’d label him as such and consider it his standout trait from other leftist characters suriya has played previously because this is the only character with explicit periyar symbolism (i kid u not i saw multiple sanghis being very angry suriya dressed in black in this movie and were harassing him on twitter constantly since sp released. die mad, uglies). obviously, this also fuses well with the little things we see of him implying he’s ~lower caste~ like his in-laws being embarrassed about him on behalf of their own caste, and paresh sanitising his hands after shaking hands with maara on the plane, which is not subtle at all and trademark casteist behaviour about touching someone ‘’lesser’’ than you and u view them as ‘’dirty’’ or beneath you. as well as maara’s remark about breaking the class and caste barrier during his radio interview. being a periyarist fits seamlessly.

there’s also a bts vid of suriya on his bike where you can see an ambedkar pic pasted onto the side. i can’t remember any scene in the film where u can see his bike from this angle but it doesn’t matter, cos u can definitely tell the kind of person maara is and how he was envisioned as a character - an explicit socialist and periyarist, with a natural fondness for ambedkar too since ofc they overlap as many do irl as well. it is very in tune with his background in the film and i liked seeing the tiny aspects of these things seeded within the movie throughout from beginning to end. it’s explicit in a way that isn’t jarring or artificial, and a nice layer to him and feel endeared to since maara is a great character. u support him all the way with him being unquestionable in his stance and ideology. the sexiest leftist suriya character, if i say so myself, ahem.

/////

5. ngk (ngk, 2019)

bonus: THIS IS IT. THE BIGGEST SIKE. THE BIGGEST WHIPLASH. THE BIGGEST BASTARD.

it’s here cos damn, when they released that first look, i completely lost my shit cos that poster was sooo heavily che inspired and very, very obviously marxist. cue me thinking that holy shit suriya is openly playing some kind of marxist guerilla revolutionary in ngk and he’s gonna be some brand of violent radical leftist i’m gonna fall in love with. the beret, the raised fists, the red.. i was ready to be head over heels for this guy.

except of course, none of this was true, cos once the film released, u know that poster was only meant to signify how his village looked up to him before he sold them all out. it’s literally just a mural on the wall where a kid stares up at him in a larger extended poster. he COULD have been that character, but ngk’s character arc was a negative character arc and his moral downfall from the start to the end of the film, sacrificing all he stood for to arrive at his end point which was just dragging his village and all the youngsters who believed in him to the pits before jumping party to the winning group and abandoning all of them after manipulating them to act in his favour to gain sympathy. not to mention, also selling out to corporate tools to harness their power and influence in order to rise to the top himself, something he very openly states at the beginning of the film to his mum and wife that working like that is no way to live. he has a full reverse by this point, compared to how ngk was introduced to us as an audience with that first look of him.

the marxist poster was a complete 180 to how ngk falls on the spectrum at the end, but it was a great ride nevertheless and at least one thing was still true - i still fell in love with him cos he was such an asshole bastard but still so hot i had to give in. biiiicchh. i love u, non-leftist regressive jerk. u may have pulled the biggest sike on me, but.. my heart is yours, slut <3

*****

ok that’s really it and all i wanted to say so hopefully at least a few people read this lmafooo. i do think these characters and time have sort of seeped into suriya over the years as evident by his shifting left in the last couple of years, and openly also saying he has had a lot of perspective changes on things around him. he has been noted in recent interviews saying stuff like how he’s in favour of a cashless society, talking about a whole new level of poverty class being created during this pandemic. his written articles/statements/agaram related speeches takes jibes at india’s education system being brahministic/casteist in nature and how it creates barriers for the lowest strata of society while also being very sensitive about student suicides, showing understanding of it as a systematic failure and not an individual one, courts not functioning for justice, not demonising protests as it’s the only act left for the voiceless, etc. it’s nice. i wouldn’t go as far as to call him a leftist until he proves that to me (suriya is still very much in that liberal zone of appreciating the police and military institutions so i will never consider him one of us until he sheds these allegiances and rethinks his stance on them in society), but i’d say he’s definitely the furthest left of all prominent actors in tamil cinema as no one else really has said or written the things that he has, for which i’m very proud of him.

so keep up the good work and hot shit comments and ballsy articles, suriya, i look forward to u shifting further left and pissing off everyone from right wing patriotic assholes, to centrist bootlickers, and even cowardly liberal pacifists. i believe in u and i hope he crosses that steep liberal curve soon since we were all there at some point as well.

that’s all goodbye i love suriya thanks for reading 

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Matthew

(Not my gif || I couldn’t help myself)(Requested by @therealbitchshady )

(I’m so sorry for the incredibly long wait!! Hope you enjoy!)

- You met Matthew when the both of you were six years old. You became instant friends and continued to stay that way for years all the way up until the end of middle school/start of high school.

- For a while he was hung up on Kimberly but then one day he just started to notice you. It was like he was seeing you for the first time in years. You weren’t just y/n his best friend since childhood, you were actually really pretty and had a great personality… and since when did you have boobs?

- The moment he sees you in that new light he just can’t seem to turn the light off again. He’s been thrown into this loop and he feels completely out of place.

- This is all combining with him losing interest for Kim as he gets to know her as a person not just a pretty face so his entire life is being turned upside down piece by piece.

- Now everytime you hang out he ends up looking at you like you have two heads as he tries to figure out how the hell to abort his growing feelings for you.

- You notice a change in him and the way he acts around you but don’t really think much about it. Like sure he’s a bit more nervous and awkward around you but you sort of just assume it’s a puberty thing or something.

- Meanwhile he’s dying on the inside trying to act natural everytime you touch or tease him like you’ve always done.

- It’s normal for him to walk beside you when you’re with each other but now he trails behind you like a lost puppy debating if what he wants to say is the right thing to say. His heart nearly stops whenever you turn to talk to him about because ‘oh my god you’re so pretty’ and he doesn’t want to make a fool of himself since now he’s gotta worry about you finding him attractive.

- A ton of times he’s about to nervously confess his feelings but then you turn around and say something and completely throw him off.

- You know those scenes where the character is doing something while the other persons back is turned and then the person turns back around and the character just nervously smiles at them hoping they didn’t see anything as the person strikes up a conversation. (That’s you and him constantly)

- At some point he’s definitely purposefully hurt himself during a soccer game or practice just so you would help him bandage himself. He doesn’t even mind you teasing him and calling him a wimp, it’s all worth feeling you touch him.

- Laughing your head off when you find out he’s pretending to be a girl and afterwards tutoring him in all things teenage girl.

- Listen, I’m convinced you lended him a bra to help with the allusion and he just stared at it for an hour after you left his house. When you gave it to him he was absolutely speechless but it was like the heavens had opened up and swallowed him whole.

- He confesses to you after one of his games; he just takes off running from the field and doesn’t stop until he’s all the way at your house, still in full uniform with the wig. He knocks on your door and waits anxiously for you to answer; once you do, he barges in, tears off the wig and pulls you into a kiss.

- You sort of just stand there in awe before he pulls away and stutters out something along the lines of “me like you.”. You probably laugh at him but quickly pull him into another kiss before he thinks you’re rejecting him.

- Once you pull away he’s practically speechless until he manages to mutter out a “how about we go see a movie sometime” making you laugh again. But you do agree to the movie and in no time the two of you are officially dating.

- Soft kisses.

- You call him your “little ladybug” (usually jokingly), he pretends that he absolutely hates it but he kind of loves it.

“Sweetheart.”

- He uses it both sarcastically and genuinely depending on the moment. (I feel like he probably either started using it because of an mtv interview or because his mom calls him sweetheart and it just became his default pet name)

- He doesn’t really show a ton of affection/pda because he’s at that age where it’s still a little weird to him and he wants to seem cool. But if you come over and hug him or hold his hand he loses his mind and turns into a shy, red faced little goof.

- He goes to Julie for advice every now and again even though he’s nearly always confused by what she tries to tell him.

“Hey mom? How am I supposed to let y/n be as independent and strong as a young woman who just left home against all odds to make her dreams come true in the big city?”

- He daydreams about you constantly which is kind of sweet even if all of them are hormonal teenage smut fests.

- Really likes your legs but can’t exactly explain why. If you wear a skirt or shorts around him his eyes are going to be trained on them .

“They’re just all... nice… and soft.”

- He stares at your ass constantly; there will never be a day that goes by that you do not feel his eyes on your ass at least once. Chances are he’ll end up “accidentally” touching you too.

- That being said, he cannot for the life of him muster up the courage to innocently compliment you even though what he wants to say is swimming through his head. He might see you and instantly think “wow her hair looks really nice today” but god forbid he tries to say that.

- Could spot you in room in 0.02 seconds. He will always know where you are in a crowd or notice if you’re there or not there.

- He’s a surprisingly creative person. Doesn’t matter whether he’s helping you and fixing your problems or coming up with date ideas, you can be sure he’ll come up with something interesting.

- Milkshake/ice cream dates.

- Helping him study so he can stay on his sports teams without any problems.

- Watching him play soccer and attending all his games and practices.

- He always has this adorable smile on his face when he sees you in the bleachers and the minute the games over he goes to hug you. Even if you’ve attended every game he’s ever had he’s still surprised to see you there.

- He really wants to teach you how to play soccer(that is if you don’t already know how) so be prepared to face his puppy dog eyes if you attempt to refuse.

- He copies Chester when he isn’t sure what to do, like Chester gets his mom flowers all the time so Matthew goes and buys you some flowers.

- Sometimes he just randomly picks you up to prove that he can and “show off”. Like he’ll pick you up then flex at you with a goofy wink, while you giggle at him.

- He tries to convince you to go skinny dipping with him at least once.

- Don’t even think about going near him with makeup, having to wear a wig for months was enough “girlish nonsense” for him no matter how much you insist ‘eyeliner would look good on him’.

- He’ll let you braid his hair if you’re lucky but anything other than that gives him flashbacks to the ladybugs (even though he’ll admit it wasn’t the worst experience of his life).

“You know you were really pretty as a girl.”

“Damn right I was.”

- Anytime he thinks he’s annoyed you or you pretend to be mad at him he just repeatedly tell you he loves you until you smile.

“I love you. I love you. I looove youuu.”

- Accidentally calls you dude and ends up awkwardly correcting himself and apologizing even though you always say you don’t have a problem with it.

- He knows that you’ve seen him and his room as a complete mess before you were dating but everytime you’re supposed to hang out he goes on a mad man cleaning spree and makes everything look all prim and proper.

- His moms always kind of amused when you coming over makes him clean better than her yelling at him all week.

- He loves doing just about anything with you. Just hanging around the house? Great! Running errands? Lovely! Going to the arcade? Perfect. As long as it’s with you he’s happy.

- Watching tv with him. The instant you join him on the couch he wraps both his arms around you and pulls you into his side.

- He doesn’t really get jealous since he knows from experience how you act around other guys. It really just depends on if he knows how the guy feels about you or not.

- Like before you were together he could easily hear about all the boys who may or may not have had a crush on you and he still holds it to them even if they don’t have a crush on you anymore. They don’t know that he knows but he’ll be petty towards them.

- Making faces behind their back or just acting passive aggressive when they joke around with you or him. You definitely have to stifle your laughter sometimes.

- Fast food dates. You guys go to the movies like every week and after you’re done watching the two of you go out to lunch and get burgers.

- Stealing his shirts to sleep in.

- You never really fight, there’s never a reason to. The both of you were friends before you got together so you already knew what you were getting yourselves into. You had a lot of time to learn what the other person likes and doesn’t like so you can pretty much avoid most fights.

- Helping him deal with his temper and making sure he doesn’t sabotage himself during games.

- Slapping a hand over his mouth before he curses at someone or something.

- Talking with him about his feelings (and his father) whenever he needs to get something off his chest.

- His mother loves you; she thinks you’re a good influence on him (she chooses to ignore the whole helping him disguise himself as a girl alongside Chester thing).

- Chester appreciates you helping him with the whole “being a teenage girl” thing so you’re okay in his book. But whose he kidding, the whole family loves you.

- He may complain heavily and adamantly refuse when you first ask him but he’d honestly do just about anything for you.

- He has a really good heart and set of morals deep down even if they aren’t completely obvious all the time. He knows right and wrong and he’ll apologize/acknowledge if he’s wrong even if it means messing up his ego.

- He’s honestly such a supportive boyfriend even if he acts like a little bastard man.

- He’s an absolute cheerleader; literally anything you do is rewarded with applause.

- If you want a pep talk he’s your man, be prepared to feel motivated or at least feel a lot better.

“Well take it from me, you’re absolutely amazing and even if you weren’t I’d still love you just the same.”

- He imagines your wedding like two times a day so you can rest assured he isn’t ditching you anytime soon.

[fe8meta]

The War’s Legacy

As a volunteer archivist at a local historical site, I’ve worked closely with books and documents largely between 150~250 years old. (If you’re curious, mostly regarding the period between the American Revolution to the Civil War, plus the anti-slavery movement. There’s also more “domestic” stuff like agriculture, science, mathematics, and religion.)

It got me thinking: In Magvel, how will the war, and the people who participated in it, be remembered? Most characters have a good portion of their lives left to live after the war too, but for those who are remembered down the line, their participation in the war will probably be their biggest accomplishment.

To start things off: more likely than not, anyone who wasn’t royalty or an important military figure is probably going to get forgotten, especially if fighting in the war was their only achievement.

(From my experience as an archivist, I’ve noticed that a great deal of people who were seen as the big movers and thinkers during their time have been lowered to one-note and forgettable in some 150-ish years of history. That’s not a lot of time!)

I think the list of characters who are remembered decades after their deaths on a continental scale (some characters may remain important figures in their own communities) would be the royals, the generals (Seth plus the Imperial Generals), and the Demon King (plus his cult).

The Royals

Ephraim: Regarding the war, Ephraim will probably get his war strategies and accomplishments written about. I expect a great deal of historians (particularly Renaian ones) debating his decision to abandon his homeland and bring the fight into Grado, though his later decisions will probably receive praise.

Eirika: Honestly? I think she’ll largely receive praise from future historians. Despite getting tricked at Renvall and the blunder of losing the Sacred Stone (on her route), I think historians would agree that her calculations were solid based on the information she knew at the time. Even if she had Seth advising her, she had no formal training in tactics or the art of war, making her achievements even more impressive.

~ / ~ / ~

Innes: Like Eirika, I think he’d be validated by historians, particularly for being the only one to actually predict and prepare for a wartime scenario. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but based on what we know of him story-wise, he probably would go down as one of the best leaders of his time.

Tana: She’s gutsy and I think she’ll at least become a popular figure for young women. Some historians may lambast her earlier captures attributable to her inexperience, but hey, if she got out alive than it’s not too bad. I think later in life, being largely free to do whatever she wants (within reason), she’d continue onto a path of public service, which she can probably gather great acclaim for.

~ / ~ / ~

L’Arachel: I think a lot of attention will go towards her theatrics. If you go with the idea that L’Arachel doesn’t actually lead her country (see the Solo Endings JP vs. EN post for details), I think her relationship with the other royals and how she’s involved in continental politics will be the primary focus in biographies. (She also, perhaps not coincidentally, has supports with all the other ruling royals, discounting Tana as she canonically never lands in a leadership position.)

Joshua: Joshua’s reputation will be very, very mixed down the line. He’s still has wanderlust and a gambling addiction, and regardless of his accomplishments as a king and Jehanna’s glorious revival, neither of those traits are a particularly good look. Not to mention that he abandoned his duty as prince for a solid 10 years, and then left Jehanna to its own devices again while going to stop the Demon King.

Even in Joshua’s dialogue after the final battle, he talks about returning to Jehanna in an almost resigned manner; no doubt he knows full well that he might not be received with open arms.

~ / ~ / ~

Lyon: Oh boy, what to say about Lyon. There are a lot of different ways this can go, branching from 3 options: Lyon’s involvement in the war is revealed in full, Lyon’s involvement is revealed but doctored to paint him in a more sympathetic light, or it gets entirely covered up/omitted and he goes down in history as an unfortunate casualty of the war.

No matter how you slice the first two options, Lyon’s legacy would definitely be extremely mixed, leaning towards the negative side. Not only is he on the wrong side of history, he’s also forced basically half the continent into the wrong side of history and ruined their military and did some very amoral things (reviving his father to use as a puppet, and by extension lying to the public, etc). Even the best doctoring can probably only redeem Lyon’s reputation from “the deepest depths of the sewers” to “neck-deep in the sewers.”

In the case where Lyon’s involvement in the war is covered up, it’s still only a matter of time before someone figures out the truth. With enough time, it can be relegated to a highly plausible and hotly-debated theory, but even so, it’s simply a matter of time. For an additional dose of irony, in this scenario, perhaps Grado nationalists down the line twist Lyon’s war into something “assertive” and depict it as the “correct” thing to do, when it was really anything but.

Vigarde: He’s in the same boat as Lyon. It really hinges on how the royals choose to depict Lyon’s situation to the public, because that will directly affect how Vigarde is seen. There’s little doubt that puppet!Vigarde’s actions probably destroyed popular opinion of him during the War. Whether he is redeemed on account of his situation or not is up for debate.

(Because the game doesn’t delve into Fado, Hayden, or Mansel much, I don’t have enough input to say how they’ll be seen by future historians.)

The Generals

Seth: He’s going to go down in history as a badass, let’s be real here. Took an attack from Valter himself to protect Eirika, didn’t let the injury debilitate him from fighting on the frontlines, mentored Eirika in the art of war during life-or-death battles, guided the twins on their journey, and continued helping them after the war’s end. Guy got things done, regardless of his personal sentiment about failing to protect King Fado.

Syrene: Technically a commander and not a general, but close enough that I’ll consider her. She... honestly doesn’t do that much on-screen. Doubtlessly she’ll be best remembered (on the battlefield) for being overpowered by the remnant of Grado’s forces, but at least she lived and (by the player’s discretion) kept all the villagers safe, so that’s something. At the very least, a coward she is not.

Carlyle: He’s going down in infamy. Like, his story can be crudely summed up as “I was loyal to Queen Ismaire partially because I wanted to bang her.” Yeah, that is not a good look. There isn’t even any interesting speculation or interpretations to make of his situation. He probably ruined the reputation of the Jehannan Army while he was at it.

Honestly, the only thing that would salvage his reputation is the fact that everyone who heard his confession is dead by the end of that battle. (Technically the map was a Seize Throne and not a Rout, but let’s be real -- we killed those guards.)

~ / ~ / ~

Duessel: The only Grado general to make it out alive. He’ll probably get a mixed reaction; those who praise him argue that he made the morally correct choice and had the nation’s best interests at heart. Some may criticize him for not acting sooner, while others may very well despise him as a traitor to the nation.

Selena: Another set of mixed reactions, though inverse from Duessel’s. She remained loyal to Vigarde to the very end, but people will debate where a knight’s loyalty should lie. It would also invite much debate over the ethics of Vigarde’s recruitment methods and whether it was a thinly-veiled manipulation tactic that citizens from poorer areas will fall for because it’s the only way to improve their livelihoods.

Glen: He’s like Syrene, except he died without doing much. If someone is interested in finding out more about him before his death, at least they have Cormag to interview. Depending on whether his two adjutants survived against Valter’s goons, if someone tracked them down, they might get a story out of them as well. That said, his history with Valter would probably be of great interest to Valter’s biographers.

~ / ~ / ~ 

Valter: Historians, psychologists, and scholars will have a field day with him and his circumstances. From his upbringing to his descent into madness and subsequent exile, to his reinstatement and brutality during the war before his ultimate death, there is a lot to unpack with him. People tend to have morbid curiosities and oh, will Valter sate that appetite.

Caellach: Caellach will probably be praised for being good at what he did even if he was ultimately on the wrong side of history. Since he started off as a mercenary, I feel like people won’t judge him too harshly. His potential betrayal and murder of Aias will be an interesting chapter to write about, though, since historians may have access to more knowledge on their pre-war relationship that we players don’t have.

Riev: He’s ugly, a Demon King cultist, and directly responsible for Lyon’s (and by extension, Grado’s) downfall. He’s going to be reviled for sure, though he will spark some interesting discussion relating to his history with the Rausten Church. A lot of speculation on how he came to became an adherent of the Demon King... or not, depending how whether that kind of talk is suppressed.

After all, if a former bishop converted, it not only challenges the legitimacy of the Rausten Church, it would also pique the interest of those who want to see what made Riev change his mind. And should someone also adopt his ideology, the continent can’t take another Demon King revival attempt.

Which leads me to...

The Demon King

Now, this will be a little game called “How many generations will it take before the Demon King gets relegated to a legend that no one believes in again.”

It’s also pretty important that the Demon King is not completely destroyed; he just no longer has his huge menacing body to use and will have to make do with those fragile human flesh sacks. But his soul is still intact, and if nothing is done to get rid of it for good, it’s setting up for a Part 3.

Like with Lyon, how information about the Demon King is handled by the characters after the world will probably have a huge impact. Not to mention the many implications the circumstances around his possession of Lyon has. Dark/ancient magic will most certainly face a resurgent wave of discrimination, far more than seen before. (Magvel was, from what we could see, largely apathetic about dark magic before Lyon’s attempts to redeem its name. Ironically, his actions will rekindle hatred towards it.)

As aforementioned, educating people on the Demon King and how dangerous he is may help ensure that nobody tries to mess with him again. On the other hand, it may inspire copycats who for whatever reason want the Demon King to be revived. (The game also never followed up on the implication that there’s a cult that worships the Demon King; we killed Riev and Novala, and destroyed Fomortiis’ body, but there may still be more members lurking in the dark.)

Meanwhile, trying to bury information about Fomortiis can also backfire down the line, especially if people don’t learn what the Sacred Stone is for and one day crack the seal open for one reason or another. (And we saw how well keeping the true Stone hidden behind trinkets while keeping its wearer in the dark of its true purpose went.)

This is making me imagine Demon King apologists down the line that provide an “alternative history” about the war and how it’s all some ancient conspiracy to lock him away and he “isn’t actually bad, just misunderstood”...

Oh hey, isn’t that the direction Dragalia Lost’s main story is going in?

[arcticdementor]

But police violence, and Trump’s daily assaults on the presidential competence standard, are only part of the disaster. On the other side of the political aisle, among self-described liberals, we’re watching an intellectual revolution. It feels liberating to say after years of tiptoeing around the fact, but the American left has lost its mind. It’s become a cowardly mob of upper-class social media addicts, Twitter Robespierres who move from discipline to discipline torching reputations and jobs with breathtaking casualness.

The leaders of this new movement are replacing traditional liberal beliefs about tolerance, free inquiry, and even racial harmony with ideas so toxic and unattractive that they eschew debate, moving straight to shaming, threats, and intimidation. They are counting on the guilt-ridden, self-flagellating nature of traditional American progressives, who will not stand up for themselves, and will walk to the Razor voluntarily.

They’ve conned organization after organization into empowering panels to search out thoughtcrime, and it’s established now that anything can be an offense, from a UCLA professor placed under investigation for reading Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” out loud to a data scientist fired* from a research firm for — get this — retweeting an academic study suggesting nonviolent protests may be more politically effective than violent ones!

Now, this madness is coming for journalism. Beginning on Friday, June 5th, a series of controversies rocked the media. By my count, at least eight news organizations dealt with internal uprisings (it was likely more). Most involved groups of reporters and staffers demanding the firing or reprimand of colleagues who’d made politically “problematic” editorial or social media decisions.

…

In the most discussed incident, Times editorial page editor James Bennet was ousted for green-lighting an anti-protest editorial by Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton entitled, “Send in the troops.”

I’m no fan of Cotton, but as was the case with Michael Moore’s documentary and many other controversial speech episodes, it’s not clear that many of the people angriest about the piece in question even read it. In classic Times fashion, the paper has already scrubbed a mistake they made misreporting what their own editorial said, in an article about Bennet’s ouster.

…

As Cotton points out in the piece, he was advancing a view arguably held by a majority of the country. A Morning Consult poll showed 58% of Americans either strongly or somewhat supported the idea of “calling in the U.S. military to supplement city police forces.” That survey included 40% of self-described “liberals” and 37% of African-Americans. To declare a point of view held by that many people not only not worthy of discussion, but so toxic that publication of it without even necessarily agreeing requires dismissal, is a dramatic reversal for a newspaper that long cast itself as the national paper of record.

Incidentally, that same poll cited by Cotton showed that 73% of Americans described protecting property as “very important,” while an additional 16% considered it “somewhat important.” This means the Philadelphia Inquirer editor was fired for running a headline – “Buildings matter, too” – that the poll said expressed a view held by 89% of the population, including 64% of African-Americans.

…

The main thing accomplished by removing those types of editorials from newspapers — apart from scaring the hell out of editors — is to shield readers from knowledge of what a major segment of American society is thinking.

It also guarantees that opinion writers and editors alike will shape views to avoid upsetting colleagues, which means that instead of hearing what our differences are and how we might address those issues, newspaper readers will instead be presented with page after page of people professing to agree with one another. That’s not agitation, that’s misinformation.

The instinct to shield audiences from views or facts deemed politically uncomfortable has been in evidence since Trump became a national phenomenon. We saw it when reporters told audiences Hillary Clinton’s small crowds were a “wholly intentional” campaign decision. I listened to colleagues that summer of 2016 talk about ignoring poll results, or anecdotes about Hillary’s troubled campaign, on the grounds that doing otherwise might “help Trump” (or, worse, be perceived that way).

…

All these episodes sent a signal to everyone in a business already shedding jobs at an extraordinary rate that failure to toe certain editorial lines can and will result in the loss of your job. Perhaps additionally, you could face a public shaming campaign in which you will be denounced as a racist and rendered unemployable.

…

Even people who try to keep up with protest goals find themselves denounced the moment they fail to submit to some new tenet of ever-evolving doctrine, via a surprisingly consistent stream of retorts: fuck you, shut up, send money, do better, check yourself, I’m tired and racist.

…

Each passing day sees more scenes that recall something closer to cult religion than politics. White protesters in Floyd’s Houston hometown kneeling and praying to black residents for “forgiveness… for years and years of racism” are one thing, but what are we to make of white police in Cary, North Carolina, kneeling and washing the feet of Black pastors? What about Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer kneeling while dressed in “African kente cloth scarves”?

There is symbolism here that goes beyond frustration with police or even with racism: these are orgiastic, quasi-religious, and most of all, deeply weird scenes, and the press is too paralyzed to wonder at it. In a business where the first job requirement was once the willingness to ask tough questions, we’ve become afraid to ask obvious ones.

On CNN, Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender was asked a hypothetical question about a future without police: “What if in the middle of the night, my home is broken into? Who do I call?” When Bender, who is white, answered, “I know that comes from a place of privilege,” questions popped to mind. Does privilege mean one should let someone break into one’s home, or that one shouldn’t ask that hypothetical question? (I was genuinely confused). In any other situation, a media person pounces on a provocative response to dig out its meaning, but an increasingly long list of words and topics are deemed too dangerous to discuss.

The media in the last four years has devolved into a succession of moral manias. We are told the Most Important Thing Ever is happening for days or weeks at a time, until subjects are abruptly dropped and forgotten, but the tone of warlike emergency remains: from James Comey’s firing, to the deification of Robert Mueller, to the Brett Kavanaugh nomination, to the democracy-imperiling threat to intelligence “whistleblowers,” all those interminable months of Ukrainegate hearings (while Covid-19 advanced), to fury at the death wish of lockdown violators, to the sudden reversal on that same issue, etc.

It’s been learned in these episodes we may freely misreport reality, so long as the political goal is righteous. It was okay to publish the now-discredited Steele dossier, because Trump is scum. MSNBC could put Michael Avenatti on live TV to air a gang rape allegation without vetting, because who cared about Brett Kavanaugh – except press airing of that wild story ended up being a crucial factor in convincing key swing voter Maine Senator Susan Collins the anti-Kavanaugh campaign was a political hit job (the allegation illustrated, “why the presumption of innocence is so important,” she said). Reporters who were anxious to prevent Kavanaugh’s appointment, in other words, ended up helping it happen through overzealousness.

…

The traditional view of the press was never based on some contrived, mathematical notion of “balance,” i.e. five paragraphs of Republicans for every five paragraphs of Democrats. The ideal instead was that we showed you everything we could see, good and bad, ugly and not, trusting that a better-informed public would make better decisions. This vision of media stressed accuracy, truth, and trust in the reader’s judgment as the routes to positive social change.

For all our infamous failings, journalists once had some toughness to them. We were supposed to be willing to go to jail for sources we might not even like, and fly off to war zones or disaster areas without question when editors asked. It was also once considered a virtue to flout the disapproval of colleagues to fight for stories we believed in (Watergate, for instance).

Today no one with a salary will stand up for colleagues like Lee Fang. Our brave truth-tellers make great shows of shaking fists at our parody president, but not one of them will talk honestly about the fear running through their own newsrooms. People depend on us to tell them what we see, not what we think. What good are we if we’re afraid to do it?

[neon-zoologist]

Jekyll/Hyde: Enneagram and MBTI

Jekyll: INTJ 3w4 9w1 5w4 sp/so

Hyde: ESFP disintegrations of Jekyll’s Enneagram sx/so

Extended analysis below the read more link (warning that it is extremely long - there’s a reason why it’s below there)

Note that I am working with my own theory here: Hyde is the disintegrations of Jekyll’s Enneagram and the tertiary and inferior functions of Jekyll’s MBTI, so his type appears to be the opposite to Jekyll’s. Whether this theory is correct or not is up to you to decide, but I did find that it generally fit quite nicely. If it didn’t fit, it was more due to lack of information in the book. 

(Prior knowledge of MBTI and Enneagram is needed if you want to understand this in full). 

MBTI: INTJ (Ni Te Fi Se) and ESFP (Se Fi Te Ni)

Dominant and Inferior Functions (Ni-Se):

Jekyll appears to want to achieve something significant in his life, though only personally. He turns to science and alchemy to do this - whether his process of learning from it is Ni, Si or something else is unclear. However, Jekyll is likely an introvert as he is known for being a recluse. He is serious, focused and concerns himself with concepts - good vs evil, morality, what makes us who we are. The latter is especially a strong indicator of him being an intuitive. The thing that he struggles with the most though is his own desires and repressions. This is often what many of us struggle with, thanks to our inferior functions. As Hyde, Jekyll can unleash this function without being worried of the consequences it will bring him. Se is shown through Hyde’s impulsiveness and emotional outbursts - he does what he wants, whenever he wants without caring about consequences. His goal is to live life and fully enjoy it, being invested in the moment. Se can be seen in Jekyll and Ni in Hyde when Jekyll’s form starts to become stuck as Hyde. 

Auxiliary and Tertiary Functions (Te-Fi):

Jekyll is extremely goal-orientated and competent. Rather than just imagining Ni ideas, he knows how to complete them. He is also able to navigate society - not necessarily because he wants to be sociable, but rather to achieve his goals and keep his reputation. He learns these sociable behaviours through Te. However, despite being the right age to have healthily developed Fi, he still struggles with his Tertiary function (perhaps adding to the reasons why Hyde appears younger). Though he does not necessarily believe his Hyde part should be removed from himself, the way he talks about Jekyll vs Hyde shows that he has clear black and white beliefs of morality. It is debatable that this could have been influenced by society and be a Fe trait instead, however his conscious choice to not try and remove the undesirable parts of himself and keep them in the form of Hyde is a much more individual approach to his morals. Through Hyde, unhealthy tertiary Fi is even more clear: he clearly follows his own morals, which do not fit into society, and disregards other people’s emotions. 

Enneagram: 3w4 9w1 5w4 sp/so and disintegrations sx/so

Note: as I am working with the theory that Hyde is the disintegration of Jekyll’s Ennegram, he cannot be given an actual type as it disregards many rules. Due to Hyde’s nature though, this may be expected as he is not really a separate person. 

Jekyll’s Heart and Core Type (3w4) and Hyde as a 9:

Jekyll is extremely image conscious and cares about his reputation. He will pretend to be who he isn’t to be able to be accepted into society. The whole reason he created Hyde was to fit his 3 needs of wanting to have his image valued. His 3 behaviours can also be seen through how he engages in society through charity events, especially when he tries to make up for the actions of Hyde (he is trying to prove his worth again). However, his 4 wing is quite strong and likely lead to him creating Hyde in the first place. His struggle between his 3 and 4 desires was solved through Hyde, though not entirely as he would not be valued for his true self. His 4 wing also gives him more of a reclusive and introspective nature, despite the extroverted behaviour common for 3s. Through my disintegration theory, Hyde would be partly a 9. Hyde does appear to quickly move away from any problems which might disturb his fun and thus his internal peace. 

Jekyll’s Gut Type (9w1) and Hyde as a 6:

Rather than deal with the struggle of his 3 and 4 desires clashing, he resolves to have the two sides of himself coexist and (preferably) not affect each other. This is him aiming for inner stability. As his form cannot stay as Jekyll any longer, rather than seek help and disturb his external world, he shuts himself away as a protective measure. Of course, the reasons for this is a lot greater than just his 9 traits, but it is a part of him that does contribute to his choices. His 1 wing also impacts his choice to create Hyde - it helps create his fascination with morals, but also helps him determine to suit his own morals, whether they be society’s or not. As he has both sets of morals, he determines to be able to live up to his own expectations related to his morals by creating Hyde. Hyde being a 6 is not really shown in the original novella at all. Though if he was a counterphobic 6, it may partly explain some of his behaviours. He may also be a 6 in that he is loyal to a concept rather than someone else, which is his loyalty to live his life to its full extent and meet his own pleasures. 

Jekyll’s Head Type (5w4) and Hyde as a 7:

This may be somewhat stereotypical, as determing a tritype for gothic lit characters is hard and so 5 seems like the perfect type to give to a mad scientist character. However, I do believe 5 is likely due to his reclusive behaviours and it would also likely feed into both his 3 behaviours and increase the focus that his Ni already gives him. He does appear to be an independent person extremely focused on his work. The combination of 5 and 3 would especially create a hardworking individual. As he turns to alchemy in his studies, quite an individual approach rather than one that depends on others, this suggests he is more likely a 5w4 than a 5w6. This means Hyde is a 7. This would be Jekyll’s lowest point, as the disintegration of the last part of his tritype. It is quite fitting that this appears most accurate to Hyde then, though perhaps somewhat stereotypically. Hyde desires freedom more than anything else - he lives by his actions more than his thoughts. Satisfaction and fulfilling his desires appears to be his main driving force. This gives him many negative traits of a stereotypical 7, as he indulges in behaviours that are selfish and immoral. 

Instinctual Variants (sp/so and sx/so):

Jekyll may be concerned with his social reputation, but he is also a lot more willing to be selfish. He believes he is choosing the safest option and he is a quite cautious (asides from deciding to drink the HJ7). He has focus and self-discipline, traits of someone with self-preserving first in their stack. As an sp/so though, he does still have many connections and appears much more skilled in a social environment. However, this also means he is weakest when it comes to his sexual instinct, which he appears to desperately crave. Therefore, as Hyde, he overindulges in this. His sexual instinct is a lot less focused on close relationships (though it was also likely fulfilled in a literal sense by Hyde), but rather on his strong desires and his fascination with life. Hyde is a thrill-seeker, aiming to fulfill his sexual instinct through indulgence in his desires. Despite his selfishness, he is not actually any good at looking after himself (overindulgence is not sp behaviour). His selfishness is not of the healthy kind, it is not self-preserving behaviour, but rather him being selfish in his desires and social areas.  

For fun and as a thank-you for reading, based on more just vague ideas than anything else, what Hyde’s Enneagram could be if he really had to have one:

7w6 9w8 4w5 sx/so

[aconitemare]

[jaydick] The New RA pt. 2

The prompts I’m following. 

Read on AO3. Now under its own title on AO3, The New RA!

Dick preferred front row seats wherever he went: concerts, movie theaters, games, medieval jousts, niche campus protests, absolutely any interaction between Bruce and Damian, drama between strangers at a party, and – classes. He made it a point to arrive early to every class so he could stake a claim to a desk in the front row. His notes were always better, it was harder for him to be distracted, and the professor called on him a lot more.

           His ethics course met on Mondays and Wednesdays and although it was easy, it was still fun. Professor Prince went out of her way to engage students; the essay assignments were genuinely thought-provoking and class discussions maintained an atmosphere of both genuine interest and mutual respect. The only downside was that she never assigned group work, which was Dick’s favorite aspect of every class. So when she finally offered the choice of working on an upcoming project individually or in groups, Dick’s hand went flying in the air to offer his opinion.

           Professor Prince motioned to him and Dick lowered his arm. “I think if we work in groups, we’ll be able to cover a lot more of the material as a class during presentations. Plus, what are ethics without societies, right? People come together to debate and decide upon what’s right and wrong, our moral codes depend on our relations to each other.”

           “That’s an excellent point,” Professor Prince praised. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. I’ll start assigning groups and everyone can spend the last,” she glanced at the clock on the wall, “half hour deciding which way you’ll argue.” She picked up the roster and began writing the main topics of their current chapter with student names beneath them.

           Someone in the back asked a question. “Can we argue differently from our group? Show both sides of the argument?” The voice was a man’s that struck Dick as vaguely familiar. Dick twisted around in his seat but couldn’t figure out from which end of the room the question had originated.

           Professor Prince was still writing down names. “I don’t see why not, so long as your group agrees to it.” Dick’s name paired with two other names he didn’t recognize beneath the term death penalty. Already everyone was glancing around the room searching for faces they could pin to names.

           It seemed Professor Prince was doing groups of four. The last name added to Dick’s group was Jason Todd. Dick instantly thought back to his RA, embarrassment threatening the corners of his mind. Before he could forcefully push the memory out of his head, though, the voice of the kid behind him crashed into the name with full force.

           Dick’s head whipped around. He scanned the ascending rows of students who were standing up and beginning to mingle. If he hadn’t been searching, he wouldn’t have found Jason Todd in the far right seat in the last row, hunched over and scribbling furiously in his notebook. He was wearing the same leather jacket that brushed against Dick’s arms last weekend.

           Dick wondered if Jason, too, knew he had ethics class with the guy who came on too strong that Saturday. Which one of them came on too strong? Dick probably had some fault in this situation. It wouldn’t have been the first time he had accidentally slept with someone.

           ���Please tell me you’re Richard Grayson.”

           Dick breaks his bewildered stare to respond to the girl. She has long brown hair and doe eyes. He laughs and holds out a hand for her to shake. “Yeah, that’s me.” He glances at the whiteboard. The only other name is also a guy’s. “Are you Allie?”

           “Yeah. Should I – ” Allie points her backpack to the chair next to him. Dick looks back to the top row where Jason has not made a move to get up.

           “Actually, I think we should meet up with Jason over there. It doesn’t look like he’s budging.” Dick and Allie exchanged an amused expression but neither was going to enter a stand-off on principle. They began the trek up the stairs, collecting their fourth partner David along the way.

           Jason’s look when the three of them sit beside him is truly imposed upon. When Jason made eye contact with Dick, his face tightened but there was no hint of surprise. So either Jason noticed him for the first time at the beginning of this class, or he had known of Dick before the dorm awkwardness.

           Awesome.

           The group introduced themselves. Dick had a few ideas milling about his head for the project but before he could voice them, Jason was passing down his notebook and outlining how he thought they should design the presentation.

           “Wow,” Dick said, waiting for David to pass the notebook to him. “You’re fast, huh,” he observed.

           “Yeah, I think we should do it like this,” David declared.

           “Yeah, me too,” said Allie.

           “Well, hold on, I haven’t seen his ideas yet,” Dick interjected. On cue, David passed him the notebook. Jason’s handwriting was meticulous and uniform to the point it almost looked typed. The organization checked out. Jason had written “Person 1” and “Person 2” and so on next to each aspect of the death penalty to delve into. There was definite flow and if this was a debate team, it had good bones for winning.

           Dick looked past the classmates between them and straight at Jason. “Where are the points against the death penalty?” He was sure it was an oversight on Jason’s part, that he was getting to the next side when they all sat down.

           Jason shrugged. “Couldn’t think of any.”

           “You couldn’t think of any?” Dick repeated.

           “That’s what I said.”

           Allie chimed in. “I mean, we don’t have to include both sides, I’m pretty sure. I don’t think it matters.”

           Dick cut a sharp glance at her. “Tell that to the people on death row,” he challenged. He immediately regretted it when Allie straightened up as if to pull away.

           Jason adjusted in his chair so his knees were angled towards Dick. He was the picture of ease, which wasn’t fair, because Dick didn’t feel at ease whatsoever across from him. “Look, the professor said we don’t have to cover the same side of the argument. If you want to throw a few slides in for why the death penalty is bad, you should.”

           “Oh, I’m free to throw a few slides in?” Dick said too quickly to reel in the sarcasm. Why hadn’t Jason approached him sooner? Was he mad Dick rejected him? This was a conflict of interest. “I think your bias is showing,” Dick threw down.

           Both David and Allie’s spines were flush against their chairs now. “Because I didn’t include the opposite argument in an outline I made in less than three minutes? You’re the one getting worked up. Maybe you’ve got a bias, Dick,” Jason fired back.

           David laughed uncomfortably. “Hey, guys, let’s not name-call.”

           “That’s his name,” Jason said at the same time Dick said, “That’s my name.”

           “Oh,” murmured Allie. “You go by that.”

           “Maybe you’re right,” Dick conceded. “Maybe I don’t want to be a part of a presentation that expounds upon the merits of taking lives legally. Ethics class or not, it’s disturbing. I mean, it’s not like we’re doing – ” Dick read off a term from the white board, “Rehabilitation.” Dick winced. That sounded pretty important, too, actually.

           “Would you calm down?” Jason asked. “We’re not on jury duty, okay, we’re not literally sending murderers to their deaths here. Although, it’s good to know that if we were, you’d be set to let the Joker walk free.”

           Dick officially did not feel bad about slamming the door in Jason’s face anymore. “Not free,” he corrected, “just alive.”

           “He’s out of Arkham every other news segment,” Jason exaggerated and waved a hand in the air. “The only way to stop scum like that is to put them down.”

           Dick’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t help it. “And you’re in charge of my dormmates’ well-being, huh? That’s going to work out super well; you’re so compassionate.”

           “Uh, I’m going to go,” announced Allie, and so she did, grabbing her books and squeezing by David and Dick.

           “Is everything alright?” Professor Prince asked from closer than Dick expected. He didn’t dare break Jason’s intense glare though. He was only half-sure he was capable of looking away if he wanted to. Jason’s eyes burned like rope around his wrists.

           “Everything’s fine, sorry, Professor,” replied Dick while Jason said, “I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m pretty sure it’s with me for whatever reason you’ve got bouncing around in that bobble head of yours.”

           “That’s egotistical of you,” noted Dick.

           Then Professor Prince was standing right by Dick’s shoulder. Jason and Dick broke away simultaneously to acknowledge the woman standing tall with her – shocking muscular, how was Dick just noticing this? – arms crossed against her chest. “It appears this argument has crossed over into the personal. I’m going to have to ask you two to leave so the rest of the class can be productive.”

           “Yes, ma’am,” Jason mumbled. He was rapidly gathering his stuff.

           Dick hadn’t unpacked his bag and so he simply swung it over his shoulder. “My apologies,” he told her, hoping he came off earnest. “It won’t happen again.”

           Professor Prince stepped to the side to allow them passage. “If it does, you know where to take it.” She pointed to the door.

           Dick nodded. “Right.” He ducked his head in shame but managed not to scurry out lest he seem too scolded. Outside the classroom, he was tempted to head to the student center but decided to hang back instead. Dick’s temper tended to run more cool than hot and he was only a few steps away when he began to regret the escalation. So he leaned against the wall and waited until Jason had emerged.

           Jason did not look nearly as calm. His brows were still pulled taut in angry slashes over his stormy eyes. He actually trudged right past Dick, his knuckles turning white over his backpack.

           Dick pushed himself off the wall and hurried after. “Hey,” he said, “can we talk?”

           “Again?”

           “Would it sweeten the pot if I told you I was apologizing?” Dick tried.

           “Thank you for the apology,” Jason said curtly.

           “Okay,” said Dick, taking it in stride. Apologies were rarely comfortable for the apologizer. “I want you to know that I don’t actually care about the death penalty thing.” Dick grimaced. “Well, okay, I do care a lot actually and would love some day to talk to you about your views –” Jason made a pained noise, so Dick skipped over that part, “But anyway, that’s not an urgent thing. I’m just saying that though I think it’d be a mistake for you to send even the Joker to his deathbed, I wouldn’t think you’re a bad person for doing so.”

           Jason stopped walking and gave him a disbelieving look. “You said you were apologizing, not giving me your hypothetical blessing.”

           “I can do both.”

           “No, because now it’s like you’re forgiving me for something that is literally never going to happen but I’m still at fault for.”

           Dick had to taken a quiet moment to consider that. He didn’t like how Jason was putting him through the ringer here, but he was doing his best to sympathize and Dick could maybe see how his approach was off. He inhaled deeply. “Okay,” he said for a second time. Resetting. “You’re right. But I’m not done yet.”

           “Seriously?” Jason said, but Dick could tell the anger was draining out of him. Dick smiled, appreciating the pout that was absolutely forming on Jason’s lips.

           “I’m also sorry for slamming the door in your face,” he finally said. Jason looked away, which was comforting because it meant he was flustered over it too. “I stand by that I 100% was not hitting on you, but my bedside manner afterwards could’ve been gentler.” And because Dick’s mouth is its own trolley problem, he tacks on, “I know it’s not easy to be rejected by me.”

           Jason’s mouth parted to say something when he closed it and walked off, leaving Dick to stand there and admire his own wit. “It was a joke!” he called after, but he let Jason be.

<<Previous Chapter // Next Chapter>>

[autisticmight]

gimme that echoes commentary, bruh

one: i spent the entire time ruminating on past stangsts and which parts hurt you the most. i pushed them as far as i could go. this is your personalised angst

two: the opening paragraphs are just me being very gay about the ocean and open communication. i kind of wanted to get a scale of “hey, this is how big the ocean is. it’s full of unknowable mysteries. if they die out here, nobody will know. also they’re best friends and brothers and they love each other a lot yay”

three: i purposefully avoided dialogue for most of this fic. when you dream, some senses don’t make it through when you’re awake. i often used vague, imprecise descriptions in order to develop a sense of dissociation

four: i like my greek mythology references. i’m kind of very unintentionally pretentious. ford is my equal in that regard

“…as the nightmare goes crawling to the bottle with the metaphors and fears; a simple echo of an echo of a long-gone trauma.”

behold: one of the lines that sum up the fic. i think i meant like boats in a bottle, but that’s the thing about how i like to write. it means a lot

five: if i had the patience and ability to portray it, i would have drawn this as a comic. there’s something like oil pastels that i remember feeling when i wrote this, in buttercup yellow and the peachy-reds of sunsets, and midnight blue against lurid gold

six: mabel’s presence, as usual, is very important to contrast warmth and healthy coping skills, and, for a word i’m a little wary of using, purity, against all of ford’s neuroses.

seven: remember, every metaphor means something more. almost every sentence has at least two more that could extrapolate. these words are zip files. i’m very much avoiding a director’s commentary like this. fuck. lemme try this again

this is a story about addiction, and suicide, and paranoia, and most of the things we can extrapolate about ford’s mental state from gravity falls. those are the content warnings. heed them. this is echoes, and it’s all fex’s fault

i wanted to explore the stan twins’s decision to sail around the world in a tiny boat. i wanted to explore the fears of isolation and the claustrophobia of living so closely to someone you have a complex relationship with

honestly, i mostly wanted to see how melodramatic i could be

this story is mildly dissociative. it takes place in chronological order, but the thing is, time doesn’t feel like it exists when you’re isolated. that’s why the feeling was important. that[’s why it starts off simply; as simply as ford can get, because he’s verbose. i don’t have to hold back on my words when i write him

calling their communication a “dance,” and the lack of elaboration, also kind of sets them up as still not being fully communicative. they talk, but they still have barriers. there’s still a mutual unacknowledged fear of abandonment, that is only amplified by the isolation. there’s nowhere to hide from each other if you get mad and need some time alone. there’s nobody else to mediate. and they both have issues that they refuse to acknowledge

ford’s dreams, though i don’t mention it, seem to take place on a weird combination of my favourite beach, which is just off of a campsite in france called camping la plage, and glass shard beach, where stan and ford grew up, obviously. i’m not sure if there are more pebbles there or sand. his family being mermaids is about their connection to fancifulness, and the ocean, and him being away from them is. him being away from them. he still isolates himself, only he’s isolating himself in his head now

segment one is about love, and belonging, and the lies they tell themselves. it’s about the little things, and the small events, and living in the moment. it’s about the broad openness

segment two is about rocks. i like hag stones. i have quite a few. i love erosion, and how everything fades, and smoothens, and. it’s just really cool. the ocean does cool things. hitting things together, over and over, until they wear away. oh shit, that was the metaphor i was going for with the rocks. see! there were a lot of metaphors that i didn’t remember, because they were layered in the background. that’s how hag stones are formed. erosion that bores a hole through a rock. hit something for long enough, and a hole forms

it’s about the first segment becoming more corrupted. the fear starts to make itself known again, and ford tries to ignore it, and live in happy ignorance. it doesn’t work, of course

mentioning yellow means that bill is present, maybe. this fic was written with the same coin theory in mind, and deconstructing the misled belief that it erases the happy ending. bill’s existence is up for debate. schrodinger’s giant squid, if you will. the thing is, the same coin theory is canon to me. it’s the perfect culmination of both stan and bill’s arcs

then i did icarus references. then i ruined it with sex jokes and references bc i hate any non-platonic relationships between pineses

they mislead each other

the third segment amps up the contrasts. with mabel, as i said before, an element of purity is added. mabel’s morals and beliefs are strong. that’s why she’s pure. she loves her family. mabel’s just. she’s love central. you could say maji love 1000%. her association with yellow isn’t bill, but ford sees bill in it, because he’s seeing bill in everything

ford is unintentionally gaslit by his family because they don’t believe that he has been sleeping, because he is a known sleep hypocrite, so that adds to ford’s lack of trust in the outside world. and that also cuts into the time he has with mabel. it cuts into his time with purity

this segment’s dream involves bill more prominently, but with a little bit of mabel in the soft yarn. the softness also adds to the dissociation. it’s not real

then there’s a puppet metaphor. that’s. that’s pretty obvious

Stanley holds the hag stone to his eye, closing the other eye and laughing in an awful, vaguely familiar way.

“Hey, Sixer, I can still see you!”

this is bill and stan. bill or stan. maybe

the fourth segment is just a little way of contrasting the warmth of hot chocolate established in the previous segments. he pours away the hot chocolate; he throws away his family ties. stan thinks he drank the hot chocolate; stan thinks that ford is still with him

segment five! pattern recognition in the abstract! all these bills keep piling up, and ford can’t stop seeing them. i think he’s having a psychotic episode by this point, but i’m not sure. damn you, past len, for writing your vague dissociation fic in vague dissociative ways!!! i barely have any idea what i was thinking during this part!!!

…your ridiculous dreams that don’t even mean anything past the fact that you’re paranoid and not alone and still aching for the echoes of Bill.

this is just. i guess that usually, when i used the word “echo” or its derivatives, i was summing up the general emotions of the fic at that point

ford drinks fruity liquers, not only because i think that was fex’s headcanon, at least at the time, but also bc he’s a classy boi

the alcoholism themes start here. it’s more about secrets, but it’s also about the lack of control. addiction is, on and off, a special interest of mine, because of reasons

then segment six. it’s a full dream sequence, and it’s mostly just about how stan is also a liar. the mabel in this dream is distant and less real, because, to ford, she is less real. she’s kind of idealised, so for her to be on bill’s side, in ford’s head, kind of strips her of a lot of personality

stan is called “grunkle stan”, because that’s how mabel sees him, and spoke of him, and it’s ford’s frame of reference at that moment

the swig from the memory gun is something i keep forgetting but it’s very abstract. very meaningful or meaningless, depending on your viewpoint. very pretentious. 10/10, past len

the seventh segment, i believe, is the only one that is achronological. it’s just a flashback to jhselbraum, and the fogginess of a shifting brain chemistry, and also that ford feels like a failure for his relapses. it’s his rumination on his past

that segment is the shortest, which is why the last one is the longest

the final segment combines ford’s two places. i hesitate to call them “dreams” and “reality” because, for all intents and purposes, right now, for ford, they’re the same. it starts with bill, and how he enables ford’s self-destructive behaviours, and that ford still loves bill, on some level, even though he hates him, and how e’s scrutinised

he wants to disappear. he wants to die, and he wants to die, on some level, throughout all of the fic. i’m still a little ashamed to say that suicidality never really goes away, even when you think it’s gone for good

bill’s dialogue is intentionally slightly wooden. he gives an evil monologue. he does exposition in a story with little to no exposition. he doesn’t, ironically, fit into the dreamlike airs of the fic. his story has holes that ford doesn’t notice

ford, at this point, is terrified. obviously. he had his happy ending and it’s all gone. bill is poking at all of his insecurities. then he’s abruptly with stan, who is stan. he’s in the stanley body. he’s himself. but because of same coin, and because of bill’s words, ford doesn’t believe that

ford is continuing the conversation from his dream, but stan isn’t, because he wasn’t there. obviously

each time that ford tries to kill bill, he uses a gun. the first time, he’s in bill’s home, which isn’t actually his home but the in-between spaces of the multiverse that bill has invaded, and he fails. the second time, he’s in gravity falls, where bill has invaded, and he succeeds

this time, he is in the stan o’ war, which was supposed to be a safe and innocent and pure home, that “bill” has invaded

and ford breaks. in each segment, a string holding him together has snapped, and this one is the last string

so, ford has a gun, stan is crying, and ford’s lining up their temples so that a single shot can kill them both. it was something i read being attempted in a les mis fic before, and it stuck with me, because those fics were good, if kind of questionable. this is me pushing my angst limits. i did this for you, fex! i messaged you like “hey is this going too far” and you were just “you can never go too far”

ford loses his metaphors during the countdown. there were so many metaphors throughout this fic, but at this point, i was just like “meh idk” and it fitted thematically with the fact that ford has no clue what’s happening

then ford’s life kind of flashed before his eyes, and stan starts crying, but ford perceives it as laughter

wait fck i wrote an unreliable narrator fic. i’ve been thinking “damn unreliable narrator is so cool i wish i could do that” for a Very Long Time WELL GUESS WHAT

at the end, ford drinks from the bottle, despite having drunk from a glass beforehand, because he’s lost his dignity. but, also, his barrier has been torn down. he’s been left defenceless. both of them have been at the other’s mercy. ford has held and then relinquished some form of control, even if it’s a loose definition

it’s an abrupt ending, because sometimes thhings happen like that. if id stretched it for much longer, it would have been hurt/comfort and not stangst. hurt/comford. excellent

anyway bye

[bakubros]

Tagged by @artsytodoroki, @minaaashido, @pilotpig! This was so much fun to fill out, guys! Thanks for tagging me. 💞

Rules: Answer 11 questions, Create 11 of your own, and Tag 11 people!

I’ll tag: @pinkcupofcherrytea, @dekudorks, @lupizora, @enonmia,  @shulksfeels, @mysonisthesun, @a-erith, anddddd.... just about anyone else who’s interested in doing this c; (i’m a lazy tagger, rip.) amy, shy, piggie, i’d love to see your answers as well if you have some free time! 

(questions are at the veryyyyyy bottom of this read more, lol)

Amy’s Questions:

If you were a character in the BNHA universe, what quirk would you want to have? *nervous sweating* I actually have a really detailed OC I made for Hero Aca and now that I have the opportunity to show her off to the world, I’m getting nervous? LOL. I’ll just say that the quirk’s name is tentatively “flying fish” and then leave it at that for now... Until I find the courage to brag about it in depth... (I am actually in love with the idea and character I came up with, I’m just ??? Suddenly nervous for no reason?? LMAO)

Do you know your MBTI? If you do, what is it? INFP!

Are you somebody who thinks before you act or do you act before you think? It honestly depends on the context of the situation. When I’m with friends or people I’m comfortable with or when I’m tired, I act before I think. When I’m skeptical of others or anxious about how I’m being perceived, I think before I act.

What’s your current obsession? Mmm, tough! I’ve been really into watching movies recently, particularly the Oscar-nominated films. I’m sad because I side with the New Academy on a lot of their picks but know that the Old Academy still dominates so rip ;;;

If you ever wanted to change your name, what would it be? I used to hate my name and thought about changing it to “Willow Kathryn” instead of “Jessica Kathryn.” I don’t know what I was thinking when I was younger; I just know that, now that I’m older, I would never go through with such a change. LMAO

Least and favorite subjects in school? Favorite was literature, least favorite was (and will always be) math.

Describe yourself in one or two words. Passionate, Empathetic

How tall are you? 157 cm (though I like to think I’ve grown a bit ;;;;)

Do you have a phobia? I don’t think that any of my fears are strong enough to constitute a phobia? Though I will admit to an awful abhorrence of bugs.

Would you prefer to go where there’s less people or more people? I’m assuming you mean live? And if that’s the case, then less people. If it’s late at night or something though (like now!), I prefer to be around more people.

Do you believe that the world is divided into good and bad people or is everybody the same? if so, why? To assume that the world is Manichean feels like an antiquated, small-minded notion; to assume that everyone in the world is the same feels ignorant and dehumanizing. I believe that all “divisions” within our culture (I’m throwing morality into this category for the purpose of this question) are man-made constructs--in that sense, there’s no right or wrong answer. In my case, it’s just fundamental disagreement with the notion, lol. On the question of morality, however, I will say that I believe that all individuals exist on a spectrum and cannot be definitively good nor definitively bad; to label someone in a single category like that limits future perception of them and implies an inability for human change/growth.

Shy’s Questions:

[pre-school teacher voice] What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanted to be a teacher, and then a pediatrician, and then a writer, and then a professor. And now I’m back to teacher. We’ve come full circle. LOL.

What did you do today? GOT SOME OF MY SHIT TOGETHER!! Double-checked my degree audit with my advisers, met with the dean of my college to ensure that I’m on-track to meet the criteria for graduating summa cum laude with the dean’s medal in December, and discussed scholarship funding with some of my current sponsors. I thought that I was going to owe my school money after the summer, but it’s looking like they’re going to be paying me instead. 😎

What’s the last really good fanfic or meta you’ve read? I’ve... honestly been slacking really hard in the reading department for the fandom. I’ve been reading a lot of wips recently (which obviously haven’t been posted), but the last one that comes to mind is cherry chapstick on the tip of your tongue by oliviyay on ao3! 

Do you prefer saying “y’all” or “you guys?” You guys!

What is the last thing you watched? A video of Die Mannschaft’s coach talking about how proud he is of His Boys™️.

How are you feeling? I just really want the semester to be over because I’m tired of the workload? But at the same time I’m really antsy about that because it means graduation is just that much closer?? And idk if I’m fully ready for that?? Like, I know that I am but like... I still don’t feel like an adult lekrjwlekrri

Favorite sitcom? Parks and Recreation, hands down. I binged the entire series when I was going through a bad breakup, and whenever I can’t sleep or need a pick-me-up, the show always has my back. I’m p sure that if Netflix ever removes it I will die.

Anime or manga or neither? I’ve always been partial to manga!

Favorite kind of smoothie? The Beach Bum at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe! I like it because I’m a sucker for chocolate, but the ingredients in the smoothie still make me feel like I’m healthy.

Got any allergies? I’m mildly allergic to dust and pollen. For some reason I’m severely allergic to a certain species of grass. (And, because I have the best of luck, it’s the species of grass that is native to Florida. It’s everywhere I go and I just want to be able to sit in the park without breaking out into hives. ;;;)

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever purchased? I just recently paid $800+ for VIP tickets for my parents and I to go see Elton John in concert. But, like, I know it’ll be worth it so I’m not even mad LMFAO

Piggie’s Questions:

What is your favorite soap scent? Ooooh, this is a really tough one! I can’t think of anything specific, but I’m a fan of scents with floral undertones!

What is the talent of yours that you are most proud of? Please go on and on and on about it!! (and don’t say you have no talents because I know all of you well enough to know that’s not true >:’D) Mmmmm, this is tough! This is more of a personality trait, I suppose, but I’m really stubborn when it comes to getting what I want; if I have a goal in mind, I do absolutely everything that I can to achieve it. So far, this has worked out really for  me, which is why I’m considering it a talent? I’m sure that a lot of it is just good luck though. LMAO. I think that I also have really good memory! I remember seemingly insignificant details really well, which makes for fun writing. c:

What is your favorite book and why? Or TV show/anime/movie if you don’t like books? The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien--this book is honestly what inspired me to become a writer and holds a very special place in my heart. Second favorite would be The Mill on the Floss by George, and every time I’m reminded that it’s considered one of the worst books in classic lit I cry a little harder.

Which fictional character do you relate to the most? (And why, if you want?) Bakugou Katsuki, in terms of backstory (being praised when young and letting it go to my head), passion/ambition, and tendency for cursing. I’ve never been outspoken or antagonistic though, so that’s where our biggest difference is, lol. (He is still my Child though and I Would still die for him)

Do you have any collections? If so, what do you collect? Books and video games, I suppose! Though right now I’m also starting a magazine habit that I know I’ll regret in the future...

What are your top three best personality traits, and what is one thing about your personality that you want to work on? In no particular order: passion, empathy, and friendliness. I’d like to be more consistent outgoing when it comes to meeting new people and making new friends. I’ve been given many opportunities to form bonds with really awesome people, but I always get shy/awkward or just fudge it up. I’d really like to change that, haha.

Do you have any pets? If so, what is/are their personality/personalities like? I have a dog named Snowie! When she was younger, she was super rambunctious and liked playing in the dirt--wasn’t much of a cuddler. Now that she’s older, she’s a lot calmer. And she really likes cuddling which I really appreciate.

What is your preferred study method? Depends on what I’m doing specifically! If I’m reading lit or crit theory, I need an empty room, some good music, and soft lighting. If I’m preparing for a test or writing something up though, I need to be around other people. When it’s something that I don’t really want to do, constant supervision is necessary to make sure that I actually do it. LMAO.

What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done? Impromptu island hopping and cliff diving on my cousin’s boat during my last trip to the Philippines!

What are your life goals? Oh boy. Although I mentioned that I’m a very goal-oriented person, I’m really bad at designing long-term goals? I think that I’ve only ever gotten as far as five or so years in the future. I guess I’ll say that I want to work in a job that I enjoy, surround myself with people I care about, and do something that makes me feel like I’ve left a mark. (Ahhh, this was such a bad answer! Sorry! ;3;)

What is your favorite part of being on Tumblr? Probably the people I’ve met. The nice ones, ofc!

My Questions

What was your first big fandom? How did you get started in it and how did it inspire you?

Was there ever a fandom that you were a part of that you now regret? (catch me in middle school skipping class to watch the early premieres of the twilight movies and getting into intense debates over team edward v team jacob LMFAO)

If you had to pick an artist to create the OST of your life, who would it be? Why?

Tell me three things a person could say/do/believe to instantly taint your friendship/relationship with them.

I suck at cooking. Do you? If you don’t, what’s your favorite thing to make? (hmu with a recipe and i’ll love you for life lmfao)

If you had to name a daughter right now, what would you name them? What if you had a son? (Alternatively, if you have no interest in children, what name would you like to give a female/male character that you create?)

Let’s say you were to die right here, right now. What would be your biggest regret?

Think of one really, really good teacher you had. What made them so great?

What’s your “origin story”? If you had to explain why you are the way you are by only pointing at one event in your life, which one would you choose?

Tumblr is an actual hellhole. But what do you like about it?

How are you? (I’m stealing Shy’s question because I really like it lmao)

[hotelconcierge]

THE GENDER NULLARY

Trigger warning for everything that follows: the coddled, over-sensitive, “triggered” millennial crybaby does not exist. Hold your applause—the COSTMC is an oxymoron because coddling does not sensitize, it scleroses. Have you met these people? They can’t feel an emotion without an audience and a week to rehearse. The performative offense of this group results from high emotional tolerance, not low; sad-rage is heroin to everything else’s Motrin, and no matter how vast the safe space, some kids are gonna hang at the outskirts hoping to score.

Of course, even the phoniest opportunist has a few real triggers—the type that precludes rage because you’re numb in the fetal position. And of course, there are many uncoddled e.g. traumatized people who are genuinely vulnerable to the many, many instances of genuine cruelty and callousness.

Every community with a code of conduct is a safe space to some extent. My lawyer advises no comment on whether safe spaces are good or bad in principle, because it depends: who is being included, who is being excluded, where will they go, and who is enforcing the rules.

My concern is the way these debates are settled. And when the excluded protest against political correctness—that human resources plot to merge all safe spaces under one state capitalist thumb—they ditch culture war bushido and strike at whomever can be hurt the most.

What you have to understand is that the PC debate is a farce. When the public demands a witch for the stake, the NYTimes selects David Brooks,

perhaps the most balding, white, sanctimonious chump at a newspaper full of balding, white, sanctimonious chumps. Here are four critiques; don’t read any of them unless you still find it exciting to watch a strawman burn.

What’s more interesting is that while Brooks criticizes upper-middle-class culture for being “laced with cultural signifiers that are completely illegible unless you happen to have grown up in this class,” his article is nothing but illegible cultural signifiers. Which, duh, he’s writing for the Times. Brooks thus renders himself irrelevant (which was the point): his critics focus on his blunder of political correctness (the high school grad intimidated by a chicken pomodoro) and dismiss him as classist accordingly.

Lesson: Anyone who opposes political correctness from within will lose and be humiliated. Even without the unforced error, Brooks could have been dismissed as rich and white. His archives could have been mined for hypocrisy. Even a charged non sequitur would have crushed his argument: “So it’s no big deal that it’s legal to murder transpeople in all fifty states? No, I’m David Brooks, better focus on political correctness!” Of course, plenty of non-bourgeois oppose PC, but you’ll never hear that point of view in the Times because, yikes—internalized racism.

The result is that the anti-PC viewpoint is only taken seriously when it refuses the framework of PC. I don’t mean “taken seriously” like there is a meaningful debate. But when an internet troll calls you, say, “a fucking spic faggot,” you can’t reply “hah, well that just shows your heteronormative, colonialist assumptions!” without looking like a wimp. You have to reply with equal bile, which smells of hatred, maybe fear. And it’s no fun to be on the receiving end of hatred, but it’s better than being treated—like Mr. Brooks—with contempt.

Trolls, like catcallers, flashers, and school shooters, are men who ran the numbers and found: being hated > being invisible > being humiliated in the official channels. The first two go back to chimps, the third variable is society-dependent, and wowza does ours fuck it up. Men want to become masculine, citation needed, and when society shit-talks the honest path to manhood then it is inevitable that those foolish enough to listen will turn to the black market. And once that’s your game...

This blog is far from politically correct, but I try to mock only the deserving— bureaucrats, demagogues, cowards, and conformists—and for behavior, for the things people can change rather than those they can’t. But people tend to be insecure about the things they can’t change, and it just so happens that in America insecurity is always wound up in sex. Every debate about safe spaces thus devolves into a debate about gender: a catalog of body dysmorphisms, a who’s who of racial castrations, cuckold, bitch, cunt, whore, freak. You’d think everyone would be against this level of discourse, but gun control means one thing on Park Avenue and another thing entirely in Wichita. The law, in its majestic equality, forbids both the popular and unpopular from being unpopular. Calls for PC go nowhere because cruelty is the best weapon some people have.

Idiot [unemployed, probably no friends]: “So you’re sympathizing with racist, misogynist trolls. Wow. Just—I can’t even.” I didn’t say anything about sympathy. I said that a society gets what it pays for. IMHO, most shock-value trolling is both ineffective—it strengthens the case for Big Brother—and morally disgusting. But it’s a symptom, not the disease. Like oxycodone, trolling is recourse for people with nothing better to do, and like The Opioid Epidemic, the hand-wringing has less to do with fixing the problem than with making it so consumers don’t have to look at something ugly.

The content of trolling is thus extremely not the issue, but even so, I’ll take the bait. To accuse someone of failing at gender is the worst sort of punching-down. It’s not just hateful, it’s lazy, it’s bullying the foreign kid to make up for getting your ass beat at home. And it’s dumb. Forget about the moral argument—my critique is that the gender police are not even wrong.

Judith Butler (Gender Trouble), who coined the term “performative gender,” the antecedent to “sexuality is a spectrum,” has reached Antichrist status in some circles and in fact received a personal diss from Pope Benedict XVI. She’s good, and if you wanna throw down you gotta throw down with the best. So: Does Butler write like a pedant getting paid by the syllable? Does she open each topic with a chain of passive-aggressive rhetorical questions? Does she have the worst fanbase this side of Harris and Klebold? Does she have a point?

Hemlock time. How do you define gender? “Gender is a set of behaviors and attributes that correlate with sex.” Okay—what’s sex? “Aren’t you a doctor or something? XY and XX.” I’m flattered by the appeal to authority, but weren’t you the guy complaining when the CDC lowered the normal testosterone range? How do you feel about androgen insensitivity syndrome?

You can deny your eyes and insist that having an SRY gene makes Eden Atwood male, but from a medical perspective Eden is estrogenized, at risk for osteoporosis, and going down in the chart as an F.

“Look, fella, I know a dime-piece when I see one.” So modify your definition: hormone levels, fertility, waist-hip ratio, empathizing over systematizing, long bathroom lines, 10 Things I Hate About You...The first problem is that all of these traits exist on, sorry, a spectrum, from menopausal women to full-figured men. The choice of which traits to include—and where to draw the cut-offs—and if the division is binary or quaternary or nullary—is just like, your opinion, man (woman/they/them). The bigger problem is that now you’re defining sex as gender.

This reduces your original statement to, “Gender is a set of behaviors and attributes that correlate.” Which is true. And as far as stereotypes go, gendered ones ain’t bad, maybe even necessary to function, the guy wearing a V-neck probably does like shaving his pubes. But they are still stereotypes, man-made, imperfect, and punishing to those who do not conform. I’m no cultural relativist, some people suck and deserve cold and swift judgment, but is the presence or absence of armpit hair really the hill you want to die on?

There’s a practical argument to be made against fractalized gender: it’s confusing. With 3^^^3 possible sex-gender-orientation combos, how are kids supposed to know how to grow up? Aren’t imperfect gender roles better than 24-year-old otherkin? I hear you, guy wearing a Harley-Davidson jacket and listening to Mötley Crüe, but Tumblr semantics are a consequence of twenty-teen spirit, not the cause. If we weren’t arguing about the gender binary (and before we were) we’d be arguing about the range of femininity or masculinity; the crusade would be for pixie cuts and stick-and-poke tattoos to be considered as feminine as Brazilian butt lifts. Don’t be fooled by words—do you really want society to have one idealized template per gender? How would that ideal be decided? Majority rule?

There’s a hilarious overlap between the people who get mad about preferred pronouns and those who call for a return to “traditional masculinity.” The idealization of some Hollywood-ified tradition isn’t the problem; if you want to roleplay a fursona, go ahead. No, what’s pathetic is the begging. Rather than be a man, in spite of the system, you demand validation from the system for aspiring to be a man. Being against identity politics is the new identity politics. That’s why right-wing culture warriors are so into the idea of crybaby millennials—it’s comforting to believe that you’re actually strong (since you don’t drink from plastic water bottles) and that anyone getting laid is actually xeno-estrogenized. Even if this was true, obsessing over it, masturbating to it, using it as an excuse for self-pity and inaction—that makes you a  _ _ _ _. Four-letters. Multiple choice. Maybe hangman will teach you something.

The foundationalist reasoning of identity politics tends to assume that an identity must first be in place in order for political interests to be elaborated and, subsequently, political action to be taken. (Gender Trouble)

My beliefs are no doubt way south of Ms. Butler’s on the political compass, but we agree about one thing: that ain’t a nice way to go out.

But this is precisely the way in which the laundry-is-a-social-construct movement has failed. I have held off on criticizing them because it’s too easy, when you mock Rachel Dolezal for being “transracial” you get to pretend your own self-image is meaningful, but no, all identities are power poses in front of the bedroom mirror, meaningful only insofar as they help you with the rest of the day. “Well, SCIENCE says that—” You sure you want to play that game? Again, I respect anyone who has the courage to defy their assigned caste. I have no purity objections to a transhumanist society where the tap water runs ecstasy and you can get augmented genitals at Starbucks. I don’t even mind Bushwick. The problem with the mad libs youth isn’t the slew of labels—intersectional, nonbinary, pansexual, curious kinkster, ethically polyamorous, empath, casual baby witch (mostly crystals, auras/energy)—the problem is, what are you going to do with them? And there’s a patriarchy-approved answer: buy shit and beg for validation.

If gender is performative, if identity is not necessary for political action to be taken, if the possibilities are infinite once freed from the bounds of phallogocentrism, then why is it that so many cultural subversives sound exactly the same? You know the stereotype. Bondage. Anxiety. Smoking when drunk. Circlejerks of praise for completing the most basic of tasks. Very, very bad poetry. Expensive fashion draped across waif-like models. Guilty pleasures: junk food, liquor, and problematic TV. Hated roommates. Emoji marxism. Twitter. “today i feel cute enough for a selfie, might delete it later.” “didn’t get out of bed until 2 i’m trash lol” “wow, some casual racism at work today. i’ll just laugh and someday burst because i hate confrontation. but whatever.” I’m not saying these traits describe anyone real, although they might. I’m saying: why is this the stereotype?

Discussion questions: When people type in lower case, what emotion do they hope to convey to the reader? The alt-right often asks if “liking feminine traps” is “gay”—is there anything more heterosexual than wishing you had a weaker male friend to validate your penis? Would trans rights even be an issue if the majority were FtM? How many modern protests can be summarized as “consumers demand product”? Who would win, every chafed masculinist and joyless academic or one flamboyant 19th century playwright? As Oscar Wilde put it: “Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.”

Choose:

HYPOCRISY’S BAD, BUT YOU’RE WORSE

THE FALSE NEGATIVES

[azems-familiar]

follow me (and i will bring you home) chapter 5

decided to split this chapter in half so that it stays around the same length as the others have been. hope you guys enjoy (if there are people reading this fic over here :P)!

“He has betrayed us,” the black-cloaked man murmurs, his voice only slightly distorted by the voice modulator in his black and silver helmet.

The statement is met with nods of agreement, from the other five members of the circle. “There can only be one punishment for such a severe offense,” another, a woman, says.

“Are we certain the offense has been committed?” The figure who asks this question immediately falls back, quieting, as five silver and black helmets swivel around to stare at them.

“We are certain,” the original speaker says, and then looks around the entire circle. “Are we in agreement?” A pause. “Very well. Judgement has been given. Justice must be upheld.”

Just minutes later, a sleek black ship streaks into the stars and disappears.

[=|=]

Krydn is a small planet on the edge of its star system, largely overlooked by the majority of the galaxy. The small, cool world is mostly covered in coniferous forests, scattered with small logging settlements and a few larger cities. It’s a neutral planet, technically, but in actuality too small and poor to be of much note to either side. The First Order has a token presence there (consisting mainly of a few squadrons of stormtroopers in the main cities), but rarely actually does anything, so if they can abandon (or better yet: destroy) Snoke’s ship somewhere in one of the cities and lay low for a few days, it should accomplish the dual purposes of throwing the First Order off their trail (the Resistance is small, and trapped, and low on defenses; there are plenty of resources to send after the two of them) and giving them a chance to plan the next move.

And maybe talk about a few things. There are still a lot of important questions left unspoken.

Ben brings the small black shuttle down in a clearing in the forest, not far from the city. It’s the middle of the night on this side of the world, which helps immensely for hiding, but not so much for hiking through a dark, unfamiliar forest. He shudders, just imagining the trek, and then sighs. It’s not like there’s much choice…

“We’re a bit conspicuous,” Rey says as he leaves the cockpit after powering the ship down. “Are you sure this is the best idea?”

“It’s a terrible idea,” he says, giving her a look (surely she’s realized that by now?). “And it’s the only idea. We stand out anyway.” He gestures to the lightsaber hanging on her hip.

Rey nods resignation and presses the switch to open the door. It hisses open, and immediately a cold gust of wind blows into the ship, damp with rain.

Ben groans. Of course, rain, just what he needs to make this day even worse.

But then Rey steps out, into the weather, childlike wonder written across her features, the pain of her blaster burn fading into the background as she lifts her hands and laughs, and he abruptly revises his opinion. Rain, he thinks, might just be one of the greatest things in the universe.

(Anything that makes Rey laugh has to be one of the wonders of the galaxy.)

He wraps his cloak around his shoulders and steps out into the darkness of the forest. With how utterly unprepared they are, the two of them are almost more likely to die out here than they are to die at the hands of the First Order, he realizes, looking around at his surroundings. In fact, who knows what kinds of wild animals are lurking in the underbrush, just waiting to leap on two unwary humans idiotic to stumble around at night, has he mentioned it’s dark out yet--

There’s a hiss and a hum, and suddenly the nearby tree trunks glow with reflected blue light. He spins, staring at Rey in shock--what is she thinking-- only to see an almost-smirk on her lips. “Lightsabers,” she says, just barely emphasizing the first syllable, and it clicks; he starts to smile at the quick thinking, only to abruptly frown instead.

Why didn’t he think of that?

He pulls out his own lightsaber and lights the blade. The crimson isn’t as effective as the blue, but it’s definitely better than nothing, and it frees his mind to think about contingency plans. “If someone gets suspicious, we’ll kill them,” he offers after a moment.

It makes perfect sense to him, but Rey presses her lips together and frowns in obvious disapproval. “I don’t want to kill anyone,” she murmurs after a moment.

Fair enough, although a little strange. “I’ll kill them,” he says, revising the previous statement. It’s not the most perfect solution, and could draw more attention than either of them would really like, but…

“Ben,” she starts, exasperated, “you can’t just go around killing people.”

He looks over at her, frowns. “Why not?” It should be interesting to hear what she has to say…

“You just… can’t.” She lets out a sigh. “It’s wrong, Ben.”

“The Resistance kills people,” he points out. “Stormtroopers are people--mostly. TIE fighter pilots are people.” He pauses. “The Praetorian guards were people.” He thinks. He never actually saw what was under the red plastoid armor, after all.

She sighs, again. “That’s different, though.” She walks on in silence, for a few minutes, obviously searching for something to say; after long enough without her continuing, he decides to take advantage of the quiet.

“Is it?”

“Yes!” Her hazel eyes flash as she jerks her head up to stare at him, reflecting the blue and red light of their lightsabers. “If the Resistance stopped shooting down TIE fighters, would the First Order stop shooting down X-wings?”

“Of course not,” he says, frowning a little.

She smiles triumphantly. “That’s the difference.”

Ben blinks. “No,” he corrects her, shaking his head. “That’s an unrealistic attempt at finding a difference.” She stops walking, turning and facing him, confusion replacing the triumph, and he follows her example, stopping and turning to look down at her. “Was killing Snoke wrong?”

“No!” she spits out, disgusted. “Snoke was a filthy, evil--”

“Spare me the adjectives,” he interrupts. “Killing is okay as long as the person being killed is evil or wrong.” He arches an eyebrow. “Skywalker is evil and wrong, but if I killed him, you would consider me evil.”

“Luke isn’t evil,” she snaps, gritting her teeth. “Snoke was.”

“It depends on your perspective.” He shrugs, smirks a little. “Morality is a vague, arbitrary concept with zero constants.” He pauses, then adds, “Almost as useless as the Jedi Code.”

And then he turns and keeps walking.

“I don’t follow the Jedi Code, Ben,” she calls after him, her voice quiet but pitched to carry.

And that is unexpected enough to stop him in his tracks. He stops walking, debating over what to say, and turns around, slowly. “What do you follow?”

It’s her turn to shrug. “Myself,” she says, and then, with a rueful half-smile, “Morality.”

The ability to mindtrick someone, Ben reflects, is extremely useful.

Of course, he’s pretty sure that Rey, with her old-school (and frankly ridiculous) opinions on morality, doesn’t exactly approve of mindtricking, but really, what alternative do they have? He can’t access the credits he has without alerting the First Order, and she’s a scavenger from Jakku. (Not to mention that the First Order probably flagged any account she might have.) The only way they’re going to survive on this planet, not to mention find another ship and get off Krydn, is by threats, stealing, and using the Force. And he has zero intention of staying here any longer than necessary.

They’ve already spent three days hiding out in the basement of an abandoned building, surviving on stolen food and bundling up in (also stolen) blankets at night while attempting to sleep. It’s been fairly quiet and peaceful.

And it’s driving him mad.

The problem is, there’s nothing to do; they can’t really walk around without attracting attention, after all. Even if they left their lightsabers behind (which is unthinkable--he refuses to risk his lightsaber getting stolen just to try and blend in), their clothing obviously marks them as offworlders. Offworlders aren’t a common enough occurrence, even in the cities, to protect them; both he and Rey agreed early on that they needed to stay out of sight as much as possible.

But if he doesn’t get out and do something, he’s going to go insane.

That settles it. Ben gets to his feet, grabbing his cloak and tossing it on over his shoulders, and turns to Rey. “Come on.”

“What are you doing?” she asks, following his example and pulling on the light blue hooded poncho he’d found for her.

“Going for a walk.” He extends a hand. “Let’s go.”

“I thought we were hiding,” she says, but she takes his hand and follows him out of the old building. If he prods at the bond, he can tell she’s just as bored and frustrated as he is at the forced inactivity, even though it’s the smartest decision.

This, on the other hand, isn’t an incredibly smart course of action, but what’s really going to happen? Their lightsabers are both hidden, and they aren’t all that suspicious-looking…

Okay, it’s a bad idea.

But even if it comes down to a fight, two Force-users with lightsabers have the obvious advantage, and nothing permanently harmful can come of it. He’s sure. Besides, they need to get offworld soon. Rey’s blaster wound isn’t healing well in this environment, and he’s not about to sacrifice her health for the sake of secrecy.

They wander down the street for a while (not touching, but close together), mostly silent, except when Rey notices something particularly interesting. It’s… nice, actually.

And then, as they pass by the mouth of a dark, dirty alleyway, he realizes that they’re surrounded by a circle of people dressed in layered rags, and they all are focused on him and Rey with a predatory gleam in their eyes.

He touches Rey’s elbow with one hand, casually, and lets a hint of [warning] slip through the bond, feeling her tense in preparation for a fight. It makes sense, really, it does; they’re offworlders with good-quality clothes, and this is a poor planet, of course they’d be the targets of an attempted mugging. He should’ve thought about that before deciding to go for a walk.

The circle suddenly stops walking, the men in front of them effectively blocking their path forward. “Excuse me,” Rey tries, but the men don’t move.

“Give us your credits,” the man in the middle (the ringleader?) says in lieu of a response, with a threatening glare.

“You don’t want to do that,” Ben says, answering the threat with a warning of his own (not using the Force, not yet, it’s hard to mindtrick this many people at once), his hand drifting down towards his belt.

“Just give us the credits, and nothing will happen,” the man says, gritting his teeth. Again, he directs the statement at Rey, maybe thinking her to be the more easily frightened of the two (he has no idea how wrong he is).

“No,” Rey says, frowning. “We don’t even have any--”

In a simultaneous motion too fluid to be unpracticed, every single member of the circle pulls out a concealed blaster and aims. “I said, hand over the kriffing money,” the leader snaps, almost desperately, but his blaster doesn’t waver.

[now,] Ben thinks, with enough emphasis to be sure the word crosses the bond.

At the same instant, they both pull out their lightsabers and spin to stand back-to-back. The blades activate almost perfectly in sync, humming loudly.

One of the younger men in the circle swears and fires his blaster; acting purely on instinct, Rey snaps her lightsaber up and deflects the blaster bolt right back where it came from, destroying the blaster. The would-be muggers scatter, leaving them alone, but Ben’s excitement is short-lived.

On a building across the street, a security camera is pointed directly at the two of them.

[=|=]

Poe Dameron is prepping the X-wing to take off again when BB-8 lets out a series of urgent, excited beeps. The pilot freezes, the words registering, and whips his head around to stare at the droid.

“You found her? Where?”

The planet isn’t one he’s ever heard of, but he recognizes the coordinates--not terribly far from his current location. A few hours in hyperspace, which isn’t bad at all.

Wasting no time, Poe starts up the X-wing and takes off, entering the coordinates into the autopilot and making the jump into hyperspace.

“I’m coming for you, Rey,” he says, and clenches his hands around the X-wing’s controls.

On his wrist, the beacon is a steady, comforting blue.

[=|=]

“The traitor has been located,” the black-clad woman says to the man in the pilot’s seat. Her cloak and helmet have been removed, although they are not far away, within easy reach in the main bay of the shuttle. She holds out a datapad for the pilot’s perusal. “He was foolish enough to allow himself to be seen on camera. This is the location we have traced the camera to.”

“Excellent,” the man piloting the ship says. There is a trace of a smile on his bare face. “Ready the others. We will arrive in just a few hours.”

Beside him, the woman smiles--but it is not a warm expression. It is, rather, cold and sharp-edged, cruel and cutting, ruthless and eager. “Excellent,” she agrees, her razor-sharp smile widening. “Justice will be swift.”

[princeyandanxiety]

Yo it's NOT cinnanon ( they're cool tho if you're reading this cinnanon I like your style) Do all 97 get to know u questions pls. This meme loving pizza nacho needs to know all the answers - memeloving pizza-nacho

Well, memelord, you get all the answers for this dumb thing. You know, I WAS going to write and finish off a poor anon’s prompt which has been waiting in my inbox for like four days but nope I’m doing this.

@andy-the-anon @prinxiety-logality-sanders-sides @anxietyandlogic @mira-jadeamethyst

1. What’s your middle name?

It starts with an A and that’s all ur getting

2. What are you listening to right now?

Summer’s Coming Early by Hi I’m Case

3. What was the last thing you ate?

Instant noodles lmao I had lunch like an hour ago

4. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?

My mum to tell her that I’m not dead. That was on Thursday.

5. Do you drink?

Nope

6. Do you smoke?

Ahahahhaha I’m asthmatic heeeeell no

7. What is the first thing you noticed in someone?

When I first met one of my past crushes, I first noticed her eyes. They were super blue and pretty 

8. What is your hair color?

Strawberry blonde

9. What is your eye color?

That is a hotly debated topic among my irl friends, but we’re pretty sure it’s grey.

10. Do you wear contacts/glasses?

Glasses so my brain doesn’t die trying to correct my astigmatism lmao

11. Dogs or cats?

12. What’s your favorite animal?

I guess I like quokkas?

13. What’s your favorite television show?

That I actually watch on television? Doctor Who. That I watch online? Miraculous Ladybug.

14. What’s your favorite movie?

Brave or Moana. Or Tangled. I like my Disney Princesses.

15. What’s your favorite band/singer?

All Time Low is my fav if I had to choose

16. How old are you?

Currently 17, but I will be 18 in a few months.

17. Do you have a crush on anyone?

Nope annnnnd im starting to wonder if i ever will?

18. What’s your sexual orientation?

Bisexual. I think.

19. What’s your favorite color?

*looks around room* purple, apparently. Although i prefer wearing black or red

20. What was your most embarrassing moment?

That I can remember (and this is just that I can remember) is when I asked someone why they were down in my city for an event when they lived in Sydney. They were not the person I thought that they were, and I only realised it once we parted ways.

21. Do you ever wish you were someone else?

Yes? I usually wish to be more like my more extroverted friends.

22. What were you like when you were a kid?

I was a know it all and a nosy brat (not much has changed, then.) I also would not stop singing.

23. What would your dream house be like?

Big enough for a minimum of four people.

24. What last made you laugh?

Something that @prinxiety-logicality-sanders-sides said

25. What is your favorite word?

Adore

26. What is your least favorite word?

Régulièrement. I can’t pronounce all the damn accents fast enough for normal speech and my French teacher calls me out on it EVERY TIME I USE THE WORD.

27. What turns you on?

You know that song “every girl’s crazy about a sharp dressed man”? Yeah that. But it applies to everyone

28. What turns you off?

treating/thinking that someone doesn’t deserve the same basic human decency just because they’re different

29. What is your star sign?

Leo. Which explains my constant need for attention and validation.

30. What are your favorite books?

ANYTHING WRITTEN BY JACKIE FRENCH

31. Do you have any siblings?

An older sister. We have a love-hate relationship.

32. Do you like to dance?

Do i evER. I use to take ballet and GOD do i miss it.

33. What is your definition of cheating?

As best as I can word it, being romantically/sexually intimate with someone else without one’s partner’s consent.

34. Have you ever cheated on someone?

I haven’t even dated someone, man.

35. Do you regret anything?

I call it the Incident of Year Seven. But the more I hear about what the other person in the incident has done since then, the more glad I am that the incident ended up happening

36. Do you have any phobias?

Leeches, the nasty little shits.

37. Ever broken any bones?

Scaphoid, left wrist.

38. Ever come close to death?

Lmao no.

39. What is your religion, if any?

Catholic Christian. I was raised as one and I’m still practising, even though there’s some things that I strongly disagree with.

40. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist?

I went to the school therapist once but that was because I’d just had a massively humiliating fight with someone.

41. Are looks important in a relationship?

Not really.

42. Are you more like your mom or your dad?

Academically, I’m more like dad, but I think I’m more socially and politically like mum.

43. What is your favorite season?

Winter. Cold but I get to rug up and wear baggy shit without overheating.

44. Do you have any tattoos?

No

45. Do you have any piercings?

Only in my ears

46. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?

One. In kindergarten. Almost had one in year 9 but I’m glad it never happened because we are actually very different people.

47. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Absolutely. So many crushes.

48. Who is your celebrity crush?

Natasha Negovanlis

49. Are you a virgin?

Yes

50. Do you get jealous easily?

Hahahahahahahahahaha yes.

51. What is your favorite type of food?

Fruits

52. Do you ever want to get married?

Yes! The only problem is finding someone who I’d want to spend my life with and reciprocates those feelings lmao

53. Who was your first kiss with?

A guy named Alexander. It was preschool.

54. Have you ever been cheated on?

We’ve covered that I’m desperately single.

55. What is your idea of the perfect date?

Well into the relationship, go out and have a picnic/have a generally nice day and then come back home and cuddle while watching a movie/listening to music

56. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Introvert, absolutely.

57. Do you believe in aliens or life on other planets?

Yes.

58. What talent do you wish you’d been born with?

The talent to know how to help people.

59. What is your saddest memory?

Uuuuh in terms of sad for me, it was finding out that i was probably never going to see my cousins again when they moved to god knows where. 

60. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Nah. I think that true love needs time to develop.

61. Do you believe in soul mates?

Yes, but I also believe that you have many and they’re not really romantic.

62. Have you ever dyed your hair?

I want to so badlyyyyyyy. The moment I come back from Europe in December im dying it!

63. Has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you?

Lmao I was and am boring who would want to spread a rumour about me?

64. Would you go against your moral code for money?

Depends how desperate I am for the money, and how against my moral code it is. If I’m struggling to make ends meet and it’s not like horrifically against my code I’d probably consider it.

65. What are three things most people don’t know about you?

1. I have a ref and a vent blog

2. I purposely tanked my grades for Year 8 IT because I hated my teacher

3. One of my proudest moments is making my yr 10 teacher scared of a local lookout after writing a ghost story about it.

66. Who are you jealous of?

Anyone who can easily keep their friends without putting massive distances between them.

67. Do you sleep with a stuffed toy?

Yes. I stole my teddy bear from my mum when I was a bitty Bella

68. How long was your longest relationship?

…………………….

69. Is the glass half empty or half full?

Half full

70. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?

I dont know man, probably pin me to the wall and make out with me (i missed this question when i first posted this hhhhhhhhhhhhh)

71. Who is your most loyal friend?

Toss up between C, A, D or Ellie. C, A, and Ellie because they’ve put up with a LOT of my shit haha, and D bc he’s my longest friend that I still talk to

72. Are you in a relationship?

NO

73. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her?

AHHHHH

74. Are you a bad person?

I like to believe that I’m a good person. I try to be.

75. Are you a lover or a fighter?

I’m more of a lover mostly because I can’t fight lmao.

76. What did you do on your last birthday?

I had a sleepover with my group! We ate a lot of lollies and had not-so deep and meaningful convos

77. What is your favorite quote and why?

“You have a brain the size of a peanut and a social clue the size of a grain of sand” - My best friend, about some ‘friends’ giving her shit abt being Christian. It’s so scathing and done. 

78. If your best friend died, what would you do?

Cry. A lot. Because holy crap I love them a lot and they’ve done so much for me and helped me be so much more confident in myself. … i’m gonna go tell them that.

79. If you had to go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?

NOT BURNING THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA. I AM *SO FUCKING MAD* ABOUT THAT

80. If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do?

Spend it with all of the people I love.

81. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had?

I woke up crying because I had a dream that I’d missed a maths class.

82. Are you happier single or in a relationship?

Idk man

83. Who were you in a past life?

Idk. Someone who wasn’t happy with the life they got and always wished to be more than they ended up being.

84. What is your happiest childhood memory?

An end-of-primary-school sleepover I had with my three closest friends at the time.

85. Have you ever experienced unrequited love?

HOO BOY HAVE I EVER. Yes.

86. Have you ever had an imaginary friend?

Noooot really?

87. If you were the president, what would you do?

Take all spending away from military and give it to education.

88. What is your ideal career?

Chemist with a translator gig on the side and flies planes on weekends.

89. What is your political affiliation?

Uuuuh to the left i believe? Like socialist? I support a lot of Bernie Sanders’ policies

90. Are you conservative or liberal?

According to my mother, liberal

91. Is the male or female body closest to perfection?

Niether. People are gross.

92. Do you like kissing in public?

Pass.

93. If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change?

The distribution of wealth.

94. Where would you like to live?

Probably somewhere in France or Europe.

95. Where would you go on your dream vacation?

Somewhere fairly cold and remote.

96. Describe yourself in one word.

Difficult.

97. Describe yourself in one sentence.

Mumbling mathematical sometimes guilty for no reason mess who simultaneously wants to have all the friends and be left alone.

HOO BOY I’M DONE AND I HATE YOU ALL