#where is your basic empathy towards civilians now

[kelluinox]

Can't get over how some on the left are diving headfirst into qanon like mentality and how they'll jump through any hoops to deny the truth in front of them:

"The father of the 9 yo described in multiple interviews how traumatized his daughter is."

Them: "But it's not her own words, so how do we know the father isn't lying for clicks."

"An 84 yo was transported in critical condition to the nearest hospital upon return and we're still not sure she will recover."

Them: "Her condition has no connection to how she was treated or the quality of care she received! And anyway, it's the fault of Israel not letting in humanitarian aid!"

"A 20 yo has to have multiple surgeries because her leg was not properly tended to and bullets were left inside for 2 months"

Them: "That says nothing! Bullets and fragments are often left in victims because they can't be removed!"

It's like talking to a wall. And what's sad is that these same people probably championed for women's rights and now they sound just like the far right who say shit like "well why didn't she leave the relationship if it was so toxic?" and "Well maybe the rape victim should speak up herself and bring proof!"

[werewolves-are-real]

Go fuck yourself anon

This morning I received an extremely condescending ask, where an anonymous person said they were heartbroken by my recent 'pro-Israel' posts and could not in good conscience engage with my works until I learned to have 'empathy.'

I immediately deleted it, because it was idiotic. But here's the thing: I don't usually post about the war. So then I started thinking about what I posted recently that might be viewed as pro-Israel. And now I'm mad.

Here is a list of posts that might be CONSTRUED as pro-Israel (by this person) starting from most recent back to Oct. 7th:

-A post joking about a misspelled 'happy Hanukkah' greeting

-A post about different types of menorahs

-A post talking about a Philedelphia-based Jewish man who was targeted by violent rioters for the crime of.... donating to a civilian-led non-profit that provides free medical services to Israel.

-A post about misconceptions over the names of places in Israel, and how the Hebrew words are fucking old and basically have nothing to do with colonialism regardless of what you think about the war.

-A post condemning the denial of Hamas rape victims, because Hamas are terrorists, regardless of anything else you might believe about the war,

-A post talking about what zionism actually means, historically, since it's kinda a relevant issue and some people use it improperly.

-A post also talking about the definition of genocide.

-A silly posts about Jewish prayer emojis

-A post which I will quote here, actually:

-A post about biased media coverage.

-A post about a Jewish journalist who feels unsafe.

-A post calling out people for only caring NOW, and only getting angry at Israel, rather than – for example – neighboring Egypt refusing to open the border. Because people love hating Israel without figuring out why.

-Another post by Jewish people alarmed by how VIOLENT people are getting toward them.

-A post again pointing out that you can think both Israel and Hamas are doing bad things, actually.

-A post where I lament that I can't post the next chapter of Without Reason because it included a scene with a synagogue and there's no way I can post it without people assuming it's some sort of commentary on the war.

-A post I can't rapidly summarize but that basically criticizes people being callous and, again, anti-semitic while pretending anti-semitism doesn't exist.

That's it, that's all I can find in a quick search since Oct. 7th. You might notice that none of these are really explicitly pro-Israel. In fact, most of them aren't about Israel at all, and they certainly don't demonize Palestine. So what I'm gathering is that this anon is deeply hurt by my posts about *checks notes* – Jewish holidays, Jewish terminology, and rising anti-semitism.

And a desire for people to calm down and use nuance in their discussions, which I guess is scary to some folks.

My most recent posts are about the holidays. If you cannot read a 'happy hanukkah' message without conflating your political anger – about a war on the other side of the world - with anger toward all Jewish people, I am asking you to examine YOUR lack of empathy, and particularly why it does not extend toward Jews.

And if you don't want to 'engage with my work,' great! I don't write to entertain anti-semites :) So get the fuck away from me.

[voxofthevoid]

Hey, Ukrainian follower here. Big fan of your goyuu works, they are delightful 😊. A bit weird to introduce myself like that especially with such sensitive topic I'd like to bring on here, but I couldn't help myself when I stumbled upon this weird interaction between you and the anonymous person, who wrote that hell of a text about being against Russians on ao3 and you being anti-censorship regardless of what is discussed (at least that what I've got from it, correct me If, I'm wrong), then scrolled to the post about Ficbook just to understand the context. While both of you went really harsh on each other, I think it does bring an interesting perspective on that matter in general. See, I'm a little bit torn between "ban privileged russians from everywhere" and "no content should be banned, if we want to live in a democratic world". I try to be open-minded towards civilians in Russia, even if sometimes it's a very hard thing to do, because I can speak Russian and I see pro-war channels on Telegram cheering on bombing children cancer hospital with thousands of comments supporting that, even among younger generations (and no, those are NOT bots unfortunately and it's honestly heartbreaking). I kinda see what that person tried to convey in your anon requests - that basically every Russian content creator is essentially a thief (?) or pro-war supporter, thus should not be allowed to have a platform, which is a big stretch in my opinion. On the other hand, I fail to understand and completely agree with your anti-censorship point, too, because Russia is a country that build itself historically on a imperialistic basis, culturally appropriate and conquer indigenous peoples culture and traditions of Central Asia and Far-East. So, essentially, it's not really Russians, who are silenced, nor their culture, but people who are still fighting for their independence: Crimean Tatars, Chechens, Belarussians, Ukrainians included. We should not support a state, that basically has the permission from the whole world to do such awful things and I personally think it's okay to separate yourself from it by any means necessary. Another problem with censorship is that by now even the most liberal anti-war Russians are no longer active, oppression got to the point where the entire topic about Russian invasion in multiple countries is no longer discussed and now it's just silence. My Russian moots are no longer in contact with me or acting like nothing is happening anymore. They chose to keep on living their ordinary life, while soldiers of their country bombing my hometown every day, but I am not allowed to mute/block/censor it, because any form of censorship is bad? It's really hard to judge from far away, and I get it, but the nuisances in such matters are really important. It's a shame, really, that we live in such times, where authoritarian states are now more common and have more support each day, but it's important to not lose our heads and empathy towards struggles of the real people. I have no ill-feelings towards Russian civilians, who just want to share their art and fanfiction on whatever existing platform, but for me it got to the point of no return I'm afraid, and I don't feel anything towards those people at all. Russian language with each passing day associates with more violence and misery and it's really frustrating or more like a reality check, when not all people think that way. Honestly, I experienced a catharsis while writing this, so If you're still reading it, I just want to thank you for your time and patience to read another monstrosity of a text from your random reader. Regardless of your stance, I respect your work and admiration for art and creativity. I hope your inner kindness towards people will last much longer, than mine, unfortunately, did. Have a great day!

Yo 👋

Honestly, I have no idea where that other anon came from or how they found me. They're 100% certainly not one of my followers, and the post they were talking about is a reblog essentially informing people that Ficbook has been banned in Russia and that Wattpad has been banned in Turkey. The other anon apparently took issue with the final reblog encouraging Russians to migrate to Ao3. They also helpfully came back and showed that it's not that they care about queer people or the sanctity of Ao3 or whatever.

My personal feelings toward Russia as a state is the same as yours, though I'm geographically and culturally too removed from the situation to be affected the way you are. And I am genuinely sorry about the horrific things you're going through, for what it's worth.

You're allowed to mute or block or entirely avoid anything you don't want to see; that's not censorship in any sense. A person enforcing their personal boundaries and ensuring their comfort does not amount to censorship in any way. Similarly, if you were to create a fanfiction archive and disallow Russians or Russian-language works, that would also be well within your rights.

State censorship is a different beast, regardless of who's the target. I live in a country where that's rampant, and while it's not to the extent of, say, China, it's still pretty bad and getting worse, so I have been seeing my entire life what happens when the government is allowed to censor things for the apparent moral good. It's not the privileged majority that gets fucked over, it's the marginalized, always: women, queer people, racial minorities, etc.

I will always be staunchly against state censorship regardless of the country and the target. That's all.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, and I'm glad getting it out could be a form of catharsis for you.

Take care ❤️

[welcometo-blackspace]

Like literally I know it's hypocritical of me to say

But it really pisses me off when gaslighted me or fucking says passive aggressive comments towards me.

It's like he gone off and decided to be a yandere one moment to get my attention.

I'm like no.

Dude

That's not how you get my attention and solve your abandonment issues.

Really it makes me want to push you away!

It's not cute.

And sometimes I just get so annoyed whenever you send me useless jargon.

Like different memes, videos, etc

When I'm already engaged with another thing.

Like idk, listening to my favorite music.

I'm just sometimes it gets annoying.

All of this.

It makes me tired

Like I already have problems with my mom, only for you to spark up your problems on me as I'm dealing with my mom?

Like today. I barely fucking woke up and you sprouted this at me:

"Sometimes I legitimately wonder if I have a brain tumor or something because like my memory sucks and I suck at emotional regulation. I'm at work and I'm crying for no reason. I legitimately just think I'm broken or incomplete or sick or something"

I'm sorry you feel that way, but with this ginormous hole you made my heart into...

I kinda don't feel anything for you?

And especially when you put things in silent on discord only for me to find it later.

Oh that peeves me the fuck off.

It's so stupid!

Do you need help or not???

Mind you know we've been friends since middle school, I'm already 24

And yet he's planting all these stupid mines all over the ground that no matter where I stop I'm coming home with my heart bleeding on the fucking floor!!!

I hope he gets another friend.

Like an air sign or smth so he can cohabitate and see how kinda fucked up he is.

Like I got an earth sign friend, and we are like hella twinning.

Same thoughts.

Same opinions.

He needs something like that in his life.

And not this back and forth tango with trust issues.

Cause literally sometimes I feel like I can't trust him anymore because of all the land mines he planted everywhere I step too.

I lack the compassion, the empathy I used to as a child.

I'm now full of anger and hate, with this false sense of "oh yeah you can talk to me about your problems."

HE SHOULD KNOW THAT.

HE SHOULD KNOW THAT I LACK COMPASSION AND EMPATHY FOR BASICALLY ANYONE.

It really feels like when I came back to civilian land after my fucking service was done, everything fucking changed.

Like he changed into this thing.

Into this thing that gaslights me and passive aggressive comments me.

I know I'm repeating myself, but it fucking hurts that, that's basically the one thing that I can remember about him.

Cause like fuck.

[the-sprog]

@descriptivepessimism-daa tagging you because I'm using your comment to elaborate because I've been enabled and you don't understand how many ideas I have about these people.

YEs and it's not even that Conan is like ninja-level stealth or something. It's more that he mastered the art of being an annoying child. The issue is that he overshoots and everything is based on his perception of what a 6yo is like. And he is... so wrong XD not only based on what we see of the Junior Detectives, but also because of what we're shown in childhood flashbacks.

Actually 6yo Shinichi is... basically the same as teenager Shinichi. He just has less knowledge (duh he's got 10 less years of real life experience living in the world) and hasn't started masking yet. So his vision of what a 6yo acts like are most likely based on his memories as a "you're so mature for your age!" autistic kid with low empathy watching NT kids cry when their parents aren't there to pick them up (Yusako father of the year award, never won. Never even nominated).

So it's more that he becomes a wiggly worm and starts screeching as high pitched as he can until whoever is holding him -in this case Damian- relents and puts him down. Damian doesn't want to hurt a civilian child, but he's also confused by the switch in actiong. This kid is not a good spy sob. First, he's squirming, looks on the verge of tears because Damian brought him aways from a corpse, whining, and walking all "cutsy". And immediately as he's let go he's standing still, following proper crime scene etiquette (I'm pretty sure crime scene procejures in Japan and in the US are different, so even if Damian might not know, if Bruce only went over the US kind, he'd get the gist), and his voice is a normal timber, if not a little lower than avarage.

Damian knows masking, more in the sense that there's no way Bruce Wayne is NT, and neither is Damian. So he's seen people mask and he probably masks himself, but I don't believe hs'd know that's what he'd doing. I do not think any of those people are diagnosed. Although I can 100% believe Harley has yelled at them to get an autism (and OCD for Bruce and Tim) diagnosis assessment during a fight once.

So he sees Conan being really bad at it and his immediate thought is "wow this kid is so bad at undercover work" and starts investigating who he's working for.

Bruce: "Damian, have you gathered any intel about the murder?"

Damian, staring at Conan crouched in front of a dead body: "What murder?"

Conan, now dribbling with a soccer ball:

Bruce, looking towards him for the first time: "Where- Where did he get that?"

Damian, hasn't taken his eyes off from the kid: "He's got gadgets."

Bruce: "What"

Damian: "His shoes are weapons"

This turned into autism headcanonc, but tbf it's Batman and Conan.

I think a Batman/DetCo crossover would be perfect especially in the context of how fucking insane Shinichi's parents are.

I was thinking and I realized they're a mix of the Drakes (neglectful in the "never being home" kinda way, rich but it doesn't seem like their child sees a lot of that money) and Bruce ("how'd you learn how to shoot a gun" "my father spent a summer with me in Hawaii to teach me" what an insane scene that was. Not to mention the "yeah. It's a good idea to traumatize our child via fake kidnapping to teach him a lesson about stranger danger :)" and "Shinichi, dear, I know you're 6yo but come investigate this suicide with me sweetie") but they're also above worse (willing to falsify police and government documents for son).

Would Bruce love the Kudos or hate them? On one hand, Yusako definitely has them figured out. He's kinda like Alfred that way.

The Kudos get invited to an event, something like an award ceremony or some kind of cinema festival. They decide to bring Conan as a decoy for Shinichi related questions (usually they'd just use school as an examination why he wasn't there but they've been saying Shinichi is traveling for a case nowadays and it wouldn't do well to contradict that).

Bruce is the one that organized whatever event this is. I wanted the Drakes alive but I also want Damien to meet Conan. So. Sorry Janet and Jack. I'm going full Batfam for this.

Clark Kent is there, though he's technically a plus one. Cat is doing a piece for the event, specifically she wants to interview the Kudos, which is a feat as of late, and needed a last minute plus one (the Kudos are volatile and no one knew if they'd actually show up. When they did, Cat had to rush to get to Gotham before they decide they got bored and fucked off).

Of course, Cat immediately latches onto Conan's existence and assumes that he is why the Kudos have been out of the public eye. But not in the actual real way. She starts by asking general questions about them, their careers, and the event they're at at the moment.

And then she hits them with: "so. I see you've expanded the family. How does Shinichi feel about having a little brother?"

Which breaks just about everyone involved in the conversation.

Immediately Yukiko goes into actress gear. "Oh no he's- this is Conan, Conan Edogawa. He's our nephew. He's been staying with a friend of ours in Japan, but we thought he'd like coming back to the States for a bit!" All while smiling. Meanwhile Conan goes through all the stages of grief and is already building up the script for when he's gonna have to kiss ass to Ai for ending up in the Daily Planet.

Yusako senses this and tries to mitigate the situation a bit. "I'd appreciate if you didn't put him in your article. He's just a kid. And the focus is supposed to be on the event and our achievements, not a gossip piece about our private life"

But then Clark speaks up. Unfortunately he's been listening to the conversation and keeping track of everyone's reactions to everything. And he has a good memory. He has also listened to enough rants from Batman about the KID Thief to know more details than the average person.

"Aren't you the KID killer?" Everyone blanches. "I mean, that child from the KID Thief heists?"

"Uhm..." Conan is stumped. He's really bad at this. Of all the things his parents did, they never left him to deal with the vultures alone. But that also means that in his entire High School Detective career he had more of a "avoid at all costs" kinda mentality when it came to talking to the press directly. Sure they've made articles about him, but he's never met anyone interview him directly.

But again, Yukiko to the rescue. "I think that's enough. I hope you can respect our wishes." She puts her hands on Conan's shoulders as she redirects him away from them.

Clark is a little worried, a little suspicious. But he stops Cat from following them by reiterating that he's a kid and the Planet is not a tabloid newspaper.

Of course pt2, things go as things go when Conan is around a respectable amount of people and someone dies. Immediately Conan is on high alert, but so is Bruce who's worried about how someone could've managed to successfully commit a murder under his nose.

So, the investigation begins. On technically 4 sides. Yusako is doing his own detective work, but he's staying on the sidelines and letting the others be at the center of it all. Conan's special interest has been activated so he's in full inspection mode and putting himself in everyone's business. Bruce immediately contacts Commissioner Gordon, and starts distracting the people at the event while sussing out anyone who might have had a motive and/or opportunity. Clark has engaged his investigative journalism side and is already gathering evidence.

Meanwhile Damien is trying to convince Bruce to let him threaten people with unimaginable violence to make them comply and confess. But then he gets distracted by Conan and starts trying to babysit him but in a "I'm better than you tsk you're so immature" kinda way. Keeping him out of the way by yelling at him and dragging him away physically. Conan is not deterred.

All in all, it's a regular day for Conan, a particularly interesting day for the Kudos, a surprisingly weird day for Bruce, and a very annoying day for Damien.

[pfreadsandwrites]

Congrats on gaining 100 followers🎉🎉You deserve all of them and more! 🥳 I'm looking forward to everything you're planning to write in the future❤️ As for the prompts, would you please do #160 with Kakashi? Go wild with it 👁👁 Thank you and I wish the best for your blog❤️

100 follower celebration

Okay, here it is! I want to thank you specifically @madaras-housewife because you have been so amazing and supportive from the first fic I posted here and your encouragement has really helped this blog grow and made me write more. So thank you so much, and I’m sorry this took me forever to get out!! This was a bit of an unusual one so it took me a while to think about, and apologies if it’s not wild enough heh but I tried my best to develop it into something. But thank you for everything and I really hope you enjoy this :) I tried my best to go ‘out there��� and wild with it lol.  Also can I just say this mangacap is perfect for the last part of this one-shot lol. 

warnings/notes: third person, Kakashi pov, female civilian reader (she works at the hospital but plz don’t ask for details beyond that lol), pining Kakashi, kinda fluffy, then kinda sad, then kinda hopeful, marking this as 18+ since there is a paragraph that is brief NSFW mentions, in my mind this takes place between the time skip between part 1 and part 2 but it doesn’t really matter. Told in 4 small vignettes/parts essentially. 2.7k words.

taglist: @allthingskakashi @datblobbyfish @enchantedpendant @madaras-housewife @ibukiirisha @praisingkuroosbedhead @cinam00n @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored

160. “Do you think you could teach me that?”

i.

It’s a simple question.

Of course, it’s also a pointless question, one that Kakashi’s sure she’ll see through, one that he shouldn’t even think about asking.

Of course, he’s in the hospital again. Of course, she’s the one with the misfortune of tending to him again. Of course, he’s mesmerised while her hands dutifully wrap the tourniquet around his arm, like she’s cutting off the blood to his brain.

So, of course, he asks it without thinking.

The self-admonishment starts before the words finish leaving his mouth.

Do you think you could teach me that?

His cheeks heat up as the words catch up with him. They echo again and again, serving only to jeer at him further. What the hell is he thinking, making a request like that? A request that’s so nonsensical, so outlandish, so flimsily shrouding its true intent that she’d be justified in ridiculing him right there.

But it’s done now. Here he is, asking a bizarre favour of a civilian woman already doing him a favour.

Kakashi’d be content if the ground gives away underneath him, snatching him from this damn hospital bed. When he ponders the situation further, and he finds himself contemplating her reaction - no doubt a bewildered, adorable expression would grace her beautiful features (God, how much deeper could he get?) - he almost wants to slap himself. How did he go from the Copy Ninja, Konoha’s best jounin, to an awkward dork so swiftly and smoothly? Not only that, but she hadn’t even said anything yet. Kakashi wanted to die.

Fortunately, she only pauses. Unfortunately, her delicate fingers still against his skin, and the sensation flusters and soothes him simultaneously. But it’s only for a moment, before she diligently returns to the task at hand. Even if she’s surprised, or worse, amused, she knows to conceal it. Taking his question seriously in that earnest way that only she can. It should have eased his mind, but instead there’s only guilt at having perplexed her.

“…You want to learn this? Don’t you have enough on your plate?” She asks, bereft of judgement or ridicule.

He shouldn’t have expected any less, he knows that, and yet he still finds himself on the edge. On that precipice between anxiety and comfort, where he’s always standing around her. He can’t even formulate a response to her simple question. Yes - he probably did have enough to do. And yes, he wouldn’t have got this far without some knowledge of first aid and basic medical ninjutsu - and she probably knew that too.

“I could probably manage. It’s not a problem if you don’t have the time.” As typical as it is for him to answer a question without explaining himself further, he berates himself for it this time. Why had he made this so convoluted? And why does she let him?

“I could probably make time,” she retorts, though her voice remains gentle. “I just didn’t think there’d be anything useful you could learn from me, or that you didn’t already know.”

Nothing useful you could learn from me, or that you didn’t already know.

This time, her words echo in his mind. They’re just as kind and nudging as he thought they would be. But that didn’t mean they were any less ridiculous.

Apparently, there’s nothing he can learn from her. Nothing she can teach him.

Nothing he can learn from the woman who always smiles so brightly and indiscriminately at anyone who graced her that it renders them all equal - turning everyone from the grumpy old curmudgeon to the innocent newborn to cheerful, optimistic entities at her mercy. Nothing he can learn from her inability to use her mysterious power for anything but good, to see the value in everyone, in him, against all better judgement.

Nothing he can learn from her selflessness, and her weird knack for chiding herself for her momentary lapses in kindness, for things others don’t think twice about. Nothing he can learn from her patience and empathy in the most ridiculous situations, and her faltering in it when she draws the attention inwards.

Nothing he could learn from the woman who’s determination to revel in life, even as the opposite surrounded her, surrounded him, surrounded everyone in this cursed village, managed to bring even the heavy weight of death to its knees. Nothing he could learn from the woman who didn’t even seem fazed by it, as she tended to the hospital’s neonates with a giggle and a zest for life that he barely comprehends, much less hopes to emulate.

If - he surprises himself at his optimism, but he owes it to her - he’s incapable of learning nothing from all that, then there isn’t much hope for him at all. And if there’s one thing she inspires, if he can even pick one, it’s hope.

Kakashi eventually stops ruminating. And of course, she lets him. A wry smile forms on his lips. “I wouldn’t say that.”

She glances back at him expectantly. Curiously.

“I think there’s a lot you could teach me, you know.”

She’s already taught him without intending to, he remembers, when she doesn’t press him for an explanation. She only smiles that shy, powerful smile.

But they both know it’s acknowledgement. Of what he’s trying to say, of what he’s asking her in his awkward, haphazard way. Kind as she is, even if she shouldn’t be, she agrees.

***

ii.

And so, ever the one to keep her promise, she sets about teaching him. And Kakashi, ever the one to falter, but never one to abandon, keeps coming back. He’s a quick learner in more ways he thought.

She teaches him that finding something to smile about in the day is easier than it seems.

She teaches him to laugh when he drops by the hospital to see her and a very small patient points at his hair and berates him from escaping from the geriatric ward.

She teaches him allowance for his mistakes, and respite for his suffering.

She teaches him what a fool he’s been for denying himself an embrace all these years.

She teaches him that a kiss might be more eternal, more damning, more fate-consigning that it has any right to be.

She doesn’t have to teach him just how intoxicating, addictive it is to kiss her between the legs. She doesn’t have to teach him just where and how to move his tongue before she’s tugging at that wild silver hair of his. And when he moves in her, when she clutches onto him for dear life, whispering his name in that weak, but lingering whimper, when their breaths mingle together and she manages to exalt everything from him - his love, his strength, his seed - she doesn’t have to teach him that though the price of vulnerability is high, the reward is even higher.

She teaches him, when he dares ask what he sees in a man like her, that there’s an answer to that question that satisfies him.

She teaches him that whilst leaving for a mission used to be easy, it might one day become difficult - even for him, the one who has over a thousand under his belt, the one who only has that many because he wished one would kill him. She teaches him to admit that, too.

And when it does become difficult, just as she taught, he learns that a person waiting back home is much more motivating than a death wish could ever be.

She teaches him to forgive himself, as she begins to accompany him on his graveside visits. She teaches him that there’s a chance - a small chance, Kakashi admits, but a chance nonetheless - that there’s more for his life than living it as a penance to ghosts.

She teaches him that dreaming isn’t just for the young, the idealistic, the good. It’s for the hurt, tired veteran too.

She teaches him that hearing those three words aren’t as terrifying as he’d convinced himself all these years.

He learns, when he finally returns them, that he should have said it back long ago. Because it was all worth it just for that look on her face.

***

iii.

Their time together, dreamlike as it is, is always interrupted.

She’s used to it, calmly nodding in his direction at the summoning bird that’s taken to pecking at her window now too. He nods in kind, and with a quick kiss, he’s off on his next mission. She’s always accepting, always understanding, but the patient stare that bores into his back as he leaps off towards the gravestone (an eternal part of the farewell ritual) belies her anxiety.

Still, Kakashi does make it back. And he does again and again. Sometimes his returns are at the hospital - and that expression of hers, where she doesn’t know whether to chide him for his injury or cry that he’s still in one piece - fills him with equal parts guilt and encouragement.

She still never loses that smile, though. The smile that everyone knows.

He has to leave it behind again.

He makes it back. Without a scratch, for once, but figures he might surprise her at the hospital anyway. Strange. He used to be so good at avoiding this place, and now it’s the first place he comes to of his own accord. It’s just another way he’s lost against her, but he doesn’t begrudge it. Maybe he wants some praise for being more careful, but he won’t admit that outright. Maybe he’s getting worse and worse at waiting for that smile, too.

His optimism is never rewarded. He’s been through enough to remember that, but he’s still foolish enough to forget.

It feels different, today, walking through the corridors that she’s made so inexplicably light, so jovial. She easily leaves her mark without trying, to the awe of shinobi and civilians alike.

So when the atmosphere is dense, experience teaches him to dread it. He asks at the front desk, forgetting his tendency to hide all he can about his personal life. The woman stares up at him with wide eyes, hesitating before regaining her composure.

“(Name) isn’t working at the moment. She’s in room 175.”

She doesn’t say anything else, but it wouldn’t matter if she had. The familiar dread creeps up through his bones.

He’s prepared himself for the worst by the time he’s at her room, but it’s moot when he sees her lying there. She’s lost all her colour, she’s thinner - everything about her that’d remembered these few weeks had become so weak. Her vivacity, her will to endure, had even fooled him. But she was just as fragile as anyone else. Except for him. Why the fuck couldn’t he break, instead of someone else, instead of something that meant anything just this one fucking time?

He sits at her bedside, his calloused fingers touching her dainty ones. She’s only sleeping, at least. Purple and blue spread like constellations over her skin, bandages on her arms and cheeks - the kind of injuries he’d expect on a ninja. Of a ninja too. Thoughts upon thoughts flood his mind - how the hell did this happen? Who did this to her? If she’s not safe in the damn village that he fought to protect, where the hell could she be safe?

And, of course, the curse that he’s done so well to forget he has. Did this happen, somehow, because against all judgement, he had let himself become close to her? It makes sense that he’d only be able to fool himself to a point.

And, of course, as if to shush his self-loathing and anxiety, in that fucking selfless way she always did, that broke his heart even more - her fingers move against his.

She blinks her eyes open slowly and turns her gaze to him. She doesn’t have the energy to smile, but she tries to mimic it in the look in her eyes.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

He clasps her hand tight - and lets go just as quickly when she winces. “What the hell happened, (Name)?”

She softens her gaze. “It’s funny that I’m the one that ended up like this, when you’re the one that went out on a mission.” Her tone is light, but somehow the hum of her voice brings gravity, whether she wants it to or not.

She won’t answer his question. As if she feels guilty that she’s putting him through something, which only hurts all the more. And Kakashi knows that insisting too strongly is too unfair, too cruel when she seems so tired, no matter how much his blood boils.

There was an attack, he figures that much, and he overhears more from a nurse. A drunk jounin who’d come across her on his way home.

It’s dealt with swiftly, with the speed and efficiency Kakashi prides himself on, but it isn’t enough. He can’t forgive himself, even if she does.

She recovers soon enough, but only to a point.

Her smile is gone. The openness she’d inspire in everyone around her, the joy she’d invite - it dwindles down to nothing. It’s all too much, too familiar, a sad story he’s seen up and close too many times.

Any smile she makes now is a facsimile, a ghost of anything she could have offered previously. But her kindness still forces her to attempt it, no matter how much it hurts, when Kakashi looks at her.

As impressive as her will is, it’s only finite. He berates himself as she breaks one night, and sobs into his chest.

But she doesn’t do it again.

She doesn’t seem to do much of anything anymore.

He has another mission.

***

iv.

Kakashi’s at the training grounds again. He’s here a lot these days. When there isn’t a mission, he’s got into the habit of putting his body through the wringer. It’s what he deserves, at the very least. Besides, he has a lot more free time than he used to. As the raindrops mix with his sweat, his lightning style blends just as seamlessly with the sky.

“Do you think you could teach me that?”

The voice is familiar. Gentle, just like it used to be. Shakier than it used to be, but there’s a faint hint of the quiet resolve he used to hear, that he was foolish enough to take for granted.

He pauses. The chakra he’d gathered in his hands dissipates, and he turns around. He’s no amateur, he knew he wasn’t alone. But he could tell his little observer wasn’t there to pose a threat, either. She watches him with her wide eyes, the wide eyes that historically and even now freeze him in place. She was never one to marvel at his ninjutsu before, only acquiescing or being impressed where appropriate, - and that’s not quite what she’s doing now, either.

“Well -,” she holds her right arm with her left. It’s a normal gesture. One that would have endeared him, but only makes his heart sink now. Suddenly it’s difficult to watch her doubt herself. “Not that exactly. I don’t even want to do that even if I could. But anything you can teach me. It doesn’t have to be a lot. I think I’d be fine with a little. It’d be enough to feel better. If you don’t have too much on your plate.”

He’s watching her now, studying that expression in her eyes. Where she’s determined and defiant, even in that modest way. He believes her - she doesn’t want to learn a lot. She doesn’t want to be too much like him. But she’s allowing herself to learn from him. She’s letting herself take, not just give.

“Alright. Tomorrow, then. But let’s get you home first. It’s late, raining…,” his voice trails off, brushing off the rain from his hair sheepishly. “And I could use a break.”

She begins to smile that shy, powerful smile again. It’s sincere, and her ability to infect others with it seems to have returned. “That’s fine by me. I hear you’ve been overdoing it lately."

Kakashi finds himself grinning back.

Do you think you could teach me that?

It’s a simple question.

[shellofaretard]

This video (and game) gets me like few things do. This is autism, this is how we live and see things. It’s all here.

There is a number of ways used to “dehumanize” characters getting killed in video games, but none so coarse and rawly autistic as what you can see here.

These gangsters are not only identical, not only do they instaneously evaporate after being shot, not only do they behave in a completely non-human way, they don’t even make basic spatial sense. Like five of them will spawn from behind the same two-person subway seat or something. No visible hand or gun of the player character is also worth noting.

This is not a real world, this definitely could not actually happen. These are just mannequins in a mathematical simulation. This is communicated so intensely that it fills us with a longing for this world to be real. The crude maneuvres of ontological distancing and uncanniness are ramped up to a degree that is, in my experience, unsurpassed. 

The “civilian” characters in particular fuck with our understanding of humanness. Screaming DONT SHOOT while deliberately jumping in the way of your bullets is something that could not possibly be explained in any diegetic way. In this sense, the civilians are even more dehumanized than the bad guys due to the less “human” logic of their behavior.

Now this is where empathy actually kicks in for someone like me. A schematic victim in a simulation with no story (that still looks like a human) is something I can very much see myself in. I feel for those businessmen screaming DONT SHOOT while throwing themselves in my way more than I ever will for any actual human being. But the idea that the “innocent” are just as disposable and interchangeable except even less logical than the evil ones is also something that is hard to shake off. 

The massive monochromatic rectangles that make up everything (a SEGA trademark?) are also intensely autistic ASMR and basically an exact analogue to the way we process information.

With the gaming industry’s recent pivot towards feminism, “empathy”, emotional storytelling, cooperation etc., many young autistic men may end up feeling increasingly left out due to their patterns of processing information not being catered to, and we can expect more of these men to resort to real life mass shootings as a less forcefully empathy-based alternative.

[herenortherenearnorfar]

What Do We Do With Civilian Orcs?

The idea that elves were going around slaughtering whole families of orcs is baffling to me. The Kinslayings are a big deal for a reason. The orcs are elves’ kin and even if they might express hatred towards them it’s the hatred felt towards Frankenstein’s Monster or any innocent abomination. When I see a malformed little pedigree dog with no training I don’t hate the dog, I hate the culture that made this little drooly monster that can’t breath. Certainly there are some grudges more vitriolic and personal than others (Elladan and Elrohir, for example, or Beren towards the orcs occupying his home) but largely people pity orcs. The issue is that they’re just too dangerous to rehabilitate. 

I either saw or hallucinated a very good post about orc POWs recently but it included this quote from Morgoth’s Ring. 

... the Wise in the Elder Days taught always that the Orcs were not 'made' by Melkor, and therefore were not in their origin evil. They might have become irredeemable (at least by Elves and Men), but they remained within the Law. That is, that though of necessity, being the fingers of the hand of Morgoth, they must be fought with the utmost severity, they must not be dealt with in their own terms of cruelty and treachery. Captives must not be tormented, not even to discover information for the defence of the homes of Elves and Men. If any Orcs surrendered and asked for mercy, they must be granted it, even at a cost.* This was the teaching of the Wise, though in the horror of the War it was not always heeded

Footnote: Few Orcs ever did so in the Elder Days, and at no time would any Orc treat with any Elf. For one thing Morgoth had achieved was to convince the Orcs beyond refutation that the Elves were crueller than themselves, taking captives only for 'amusement', or to eat them (as the Orcs would do at need).

There are obvious reasons why Morgoth would brainwash his shock troops into thinking that death is safer than surrender. It makes the likelihood of him getting stabbed in the back far less. It also means that orc soldiers were willing to take a lot of measures to avoid capture, which suits his purposes nicely. But soldiers aren’t the only orcs out there. There must be orc villages (certainly their numbers replenish quickly) and even orc families. Why can’t they be redeemed? And if the “Wise” obey the fantasy Geneva Conventions then what happened to all those orc non-combatants in war time?

First, lets remember that brainwashing doesn’t only effect soldiers. Civilians would have a whole head full of Morgoth’s Best Doublethink too. That means that they’re going to be trying to avoid capture as much as possible. Orc civilians aren’t going to stick around in villages that elves are bearing down on if they have any possible escape route. They’ll run. And frankly, most of our heroes probably aren’t going to chase them. Capturing orc civilians means having to treat them well and that means dealing with a bunch of hostile, vulnerable prisoners. Better to let them go. (Obviously some more pragmatic individuals are going to suggest actions that do not follow the fantasy Geneva Conventions because, after all, letting orcs go means you have more orcs to deal with later, but lets pretend for now that we’re dealing with “the Wise”. Which hopefully, we are! Tolkien’s work emphasizes the fact that, though evil is everywhere basic decency is also found even in the darkest of places.)

So if you’re an elvish force moving through an orc village at night, congrats, most of the civilians will have left. It’s hard to tell how orcs age or if they bother to keep around the old and infirm but their maybe-elvish roots suggest that they’re pretty sturdy lifespan-wise, making for a more mobile population than a human village. Orc kids also seem to age fast, to account for Mordor’s great armies, so most orcs should be able to evacuate. Maybe, maybe there are some stragglers- pregnant people or those with very small children, but your best solution there is to just turn a blind eye. The orcs are more scared of you than you are of them. And, not to get too dark here, most of the elves probably learned pretty early on that the best way to keep orc parents from smothering their sobbing infants was to just... pretend not to notice them. 

If the attacking force is human things might be more complicated, as there’s less of a conditioned fear response to humans than elves. You’re more likely to see both good and bad outcomes. The good- some orcs children and other assorted non-combatants have probably accepted human help over the years. They might not have stuck around for long but they got wounds treated and even accepted a meal or two. The bad- they’re also a lot braver around humans and a lot more willing to launch ill advised attacks. Similarly, humans have less of the orc pity/hatred baggage elves do which is a mixed blessing. They’re more willing to see orcs as people! To believe in their innate goodness and not write them off as broken goods! And also a bit more likely to just murder the lot of them because the human kinslaying taboo is not as universal as the elven one. 

The problems start to arise when there isn’t space for an orc civilian population to escape. It’s sunny or they’re surrounded. Either way it gets... messy. Suicide as a method of escape when boxed in by enemies is very historically accurate and as much as it makes me squeamish I feel like it’s a very orcish thing to do. So all things considered, the “Forces of Good” probably didn’t have to do a lot of civilian killing. Morgoth’s excellent conditioning job and the realities of war (you can try to avoid moving through civilians areas for a while if you know it ends poorly but ultimately you do have to secure your surroundings) probably did it for them. Of course awareness of this as a factor would have made the humans and elves partially culpable in how they handled the taking of orc encampments, but again, there’s only so much damage minimization that can be done.

Certainly, there would be survivors. Even the semi-archaeologically evidenced Siege of Masada had a handful of them. Thus the moral conundrum of “what happens to orc civilians” is moved from a large group (orc communities who would not tolerate being taken alive) to a smaller one (individuals on whom the brainwashing didn’t take, the old and canny or the very young and helpless, the injured and the fragile). These people may have been taken prisoner and in the early days efforts may have been made to “rehabilitate” them. 

The text suggests these efforts failed so let’s dwell for a second on why that might be. Obviously no being is made evil. Destructive actions and toxic behavior can be taught, however, and once learned they are hard to unlearn.The evil of Morgoth was in his ability to begin cycles of violence in others. Orc society wasn’t bad because they were bad, it was bad because they were systematically (and likely intentionally) abused for a very long time with the intention of making it impossible for them to reintegrate back into elven (and later, human) society. You can say this about Morgoth and Sauron, they know how to mess people up mentally. Orcs may be sentient and capable but their empathy, non-violent social skills, and other gentler instincts have been stripped away by years of calculated pressure. Even if a captured orc was completely unable to fight back (which would be their first instinct) or harm themselves (their second) they would still struggle to respond to their captors, reforge social bonds, and relate to others without the paradigms of violence and control that orc relationships are built on. We see in LotR that even in casual situations orcs define each other by servitude and power, there’s no reason to believe that civilians would be dramatically different- a bit softer perhaps but still sharp. 

So most adult orcs, even civilians, aren’t going to be able to integrate into an elven or human community, even if you do take them prisoner. Best case scenario they’ll book it, worst case, you’ll have a tragedy on your hands. They’re still going to suspect you’re keeping them around for food, they’re still going to hate you, and ultimately things are still going to end poorly. 

But what about a very young orc? 

This is where things get weird. Maybe they’re safe and happy and noticeably orcish and raised in woke adoptive families but we don’t see evidence of that. You’d think The One Good Orc would at least get a lay. Humans raised by elves got like, seven. One option is that orc infants raised in elven or human environments are mostly elven, so it never gets mentioned, But that just plays into some very weird and frankly disturbing history that most imperialist nations have re: baby kidnapping, so let’s not do that. 

There must have been abandoned orc infants at some point. Logistically the facts of the story demand it. Orcs (presumably) have lots of babies, the good guys sometimes retake lost territory, there are Geneva Conventions. But we never see the natural results of such an event so we’re left with with a mystery. Having written previously about elf infants and their finickiness, I have a (tragic) solution: 

Orc kids just... don’t thrive in the care of strangers. 

No one has figured out how to hand rear baby orcs yet! It’s very unfortunate. Maybe it’s the all meat diet. Maybe Morgoth threw in a failsafe. Most likely it’s a natural result of them previously having been elves. If elf kids are vulnerable to sudden changes in environment, why not orc kids? Obviously they’re going to have to be hardier overall, they’re more likely to be orphaned and probably less treasured, but infants as young as a few weeks can distinguish different types of faces. Being able to tell weird squishy strangers apart from good strong orc babysitters would not be a stretch for even a newborn. Maybe that’s what the fangs are for, they break up the face geometry enough to throw alarm switches in a baby’s brain. And once an orc child knows that they are not with friends they could easily just... fail to thrive. Which is, again, awful, but this whole situation is awful. The orc life is tragedy. 

So, orc civilians are unwilling to be taken alive, hate captivity, and even at a very young age mistrust non-orcs. Orc infants are very difficult to take care of if you’re not an orc (there were some hesitant handpuppet attempts at some point in Lindon but they could never replicate the musk) and any orc old enough to fend for itself is also old enough to try to fight you and have a bucketload of subtle brainwashing and serious behavioral issues. You don’t have to commit war crimes for this to still be a volatile population. 

However, I wanted to end this very depressing essay on a happy note. The text notes that “few orcs ever did so in Elder Days” which means that it did happen. There were orc success stories. In the War of Wrath some of the Easterlings took in orc injured and successfully integrated them into the community to such an extent that the only marker a few generations later was their weirdly long lifespan and fondness for rare pork. In the mid-Third Age there were a handful of offshoot communities in the far North which had an orc living in their village, a relic of some ancient war. Early in the Fourth Age several families in Rohan and Gondor fostered older Uruk-Hai children. And by the time the last orc villages were being encroached upon by Men, the vestiges of Sauron’s cultural conjob had worn off to the point that the orcs came out and treated with their new neighbours and over time Men and Orcs grew together. 

And that’s why the British are like that. 

[kannra21]

Monoma loving hours and I'm actually very tired by now

*I know many of you have already discussed similar things so I decided to add my own opinion as well. Hope you enjoy!*

Still announcing my general disappointed with ch215. Whatever, I'm glad to know Monoma's Quirk better and that the clocks he's working with are more than just some accessories on his belt.

I think they're really cool and help him overcome his small disadvantages a whole lots *well, not in the circumstances he was currently in but I'd like to see him more in action and actually using them*.

So basically he snaches them from his belt. Destroys them and-

Voilà, the Quirk is out.🎊

5min limit doesn't mean anything to him if he can use 4 different Quirks in 20min. However, he needs to use them very wisely because every Quirk doesn't work the same way and they also have to be suitable for the problem he's facing at that moment. That's where his ability to adapt and manage new situations comes in.

I don't want to exaggerate or anything but I think in terms of intelligence, he comes right after Yaoyoroz because damn, you need to have a top-notch brain for such tricky things.

Too sad that strength plays the leading role in their hero world. If you have power, it doesn't matter how or why you're doing the things you do. As long as you can destroy everything that comes in your way, there's nothing that can stop you from getting what you want which sounds... kinda villainous in a way, don't you think?

Shigaraki is right. The main difference between a hero and a villain is that heroes are fighting for the good and villains for the evil. But the main question remains- are the heroes really good and are the villains really evil? First of all, heroes and villains both came from the same type of society- people, normal civilians.

Becoming a hero or a villain is a choice, not a lifestyle. Heroes are there to protect people and villains are there to harm them. Why? Heroes want to make them feel happy and safe while villains want the opposite. What's the matter with the villains? This-

People are constantly judging and not thinking about the consequences they're causing to others. They always ended up comparing themselves to those who are much more superior and successful, making them building a sense of insecurity and fear.

They were forced to push themselves beyond their limits in order to prove themselves and show how far they can possibly go. They had to let them know that their criticism didn't reach them as they were facing their challenges with anticipation.

They could easily turn villainous but no, they choose to protect those same judging idiots who repeatedly let them down/hurt them/accused them/ignored their efforts, all for the sake of becoming their better selves. By choosing the right path, they already confirmed how strong and capable they are and they'll make exceptional heroes one day. In conclusion, there is no way Monoma will become a villain because he already reached this far and gained other's trust. He made friends who are looking after him. He's already a part of something big which he can't abandon this easily.

BTW

This is the ultimate proof that Monoma isn't entirely obsessed with class a as many think he is. He's simply mad at anyone who's trying to show off class b by stealing their spotlight. His class is the best, try to prove him wrong and he won't give you any piece of mind.

He's so dedicated to his rambling that he doesn't mind Kirishima's friendly exchange with Tetsutetsu in the background. It's clear that the hatred he feels is directed towards Bakugou for obvious reasons. While Monoma is the group's person, Bakugou does everything on his own and hates when someone interfers with his business to the point where he becomes arrogant and rude. I can't recall Monoma being any of it because he only uses people's failures as an example to make them feel bad about themselves and we all know that the truth hurts the most.

I'm not defending him or anything, what he does is certainly not nice, but I want to say that his way of expressing bitterness is much more effective than Bakugou's because he makes sense at some point. Bakugou just acts like a thug.

And while he certainly does behave like an absolute madman, I'll still love Bakugou and Monoma equally because there's that one thing Monoma doesn't really understand about Bakugou's personality and that's his undying wish of becoming no.1 world's greatest hero. It's his ambition from an young age which pushed him further into accomplishing his goals. Yes it sounds selfish and yes it seems like he doesn't give a damn about others, but that's his lifelong dream which he can't give up to a friend just for the sake of being nice to each other.

From the flashbacks of the kindergarten we could see how many expectations and how much pressure people were putting on him because of his talent. His mom accused him of being weak and causing trouble for the entire U. A. when in fact, the school was guilty of his kidnapping and took responsibility for it's mistakes. He was raised to solve his problems through violence, he doesn't know for any other way. So it's not arrogance, he's just ambitious but shows it in a rearher inappropriate manner.

Monoma doesn't like that and I can understand why. Unlike Bakugou, Monoma is an underdog. No one ever cheered for him or supported his goals. When he saw Bakugou and his indifference or rather ignorance towards his audience, he thought he was acting ungrateful and that pissed him off. Especially because Monoma is the most grateful out of all the characters.

He wants to be recognized among the crowd and accepted by his peers by means of finding a place where he truly belongs, something he couldn't achieve when he was little. Bakugou doesn't yearn for fame or money. He wants to prove himself and push his limits because winning is what heroes do. Their life goals are different but their ways of dealing with things are surprisingly similar. They're throwing shade wherever they go and they're incredibly noisy, with Bakugou spreading insults and Monoma mocking every living soul but that's the way they are and people grew accustomed to it.

I mean look at this-

Similarities:

blond

smart

rude

sad

sarcastic

uncomfortable

embarrassed

In conclusion:

They share the same level of bitterness + their friends(Tetsu and Kiri) are also very good friends which indicates their similar tastes in people they appreciate.

Also something from Noragami:

"YOU HATE THOSE THE MOST LIKE YOURSELF"

Tbh if bnha was all about class 1b, Monoma would be, in fact, favorable because everyone would have a bad impression of class 1a for being rude and arrogant thanks to Bakugo since we'd only see 1b's side of the story. And although everyone made friends with each other and now are staying on good terms, they're still having this sort of rivalry between them which is completely normal considering the fact that 1a still precedes in particular aspects.

Despite this friendship, Monoma does not believe them in a slightest. He looks at their relationship in a way that class 1a uses their friendship to distract them from trying to be better than them. If you are in good relations with someone, it is natural that you will go easy on them because of the empathy we feel towards others. He thinks they're playing them in order to get what they want. It affects their reputation as a hero and class 1a represents their concurrency so it isn't all about some friendship between kids, it's their future and their careers that get affected as well.

But then again, Monoma isn't fighting for his own selfish purposes, he's doing it for his class. He loves his class from the bottom of his heart and he wants them to succeed, that's why he's so annoying. Class 1a represents their concurrency, they're taking away their spotlight. They're limiting their chances of becoming pro heroes while class 1b is so much better than them and that's what actually bugs Monoma.

They’ve worked just as hard as class 1a, they’ve overcome all the same scholastic obstacles and yet it’s always 1a on the news, 1a in the papers, 1a surviving yet another dramatic and utterly glamorous supervillain encounter. See, 1a gets all the luck.

If he was selfish, narcissistic and egoistic, he'd constantly complain about deserving his place among the best in class 1a but no, he's proud to be with his friends because b class is all about solidarity and teamwork. His class loves him and he's getting along with everyone just fine. His cooperation stats are 4/5, he's a very friendly person.

His intelligence and tactics stats are 5/5, he's a smart person and he obviously doesn't do shit without a reason. His power and speed stats are 1/5, he's weak and very insecure in himself. Naturally he would develop a inferiority complex to protect himself but at the same time trash talks himself to talk up his class which I find very funny and kinda sympathetic in a way.

I bet everyone's just seeing this annoying side of him but there's so much more to his character and Kendou understands that all too well. That's why they're never arguing or fighting for their own beliefs because she knows how much he's hurting. And it's not just him, most of his classmates are also having a sort of rivalry with class 1a but they're being less obvious about it.

Seing this side of him made me start to really like him. He's a sad character with a great desire to belong somewhere and that's probably the reason why I can't possibly hate him. That's just my opinion but I hope others can relate as well. ❤️❤️❤️

[jules85]

John's role

I feel like John's issue with Felicity this season is the same one he had with Oliver last season; he doesn't know what his role is anymore.

The writers made a mess of it last season, but my interpretation was that Oliver had evolved past the need of John's guidance. He still needed his advice, but he now has the tools to be able to a be a fully functional person/superhero. John then didn't know where he fit in to the team. He was always the wise, yoda-like figure, but in season 6, we saw him screwing up. We saw him having to be guided by Oliver. I don't think he knew how to deal with it.

This season, I see the same thing with Felicity.

Diggle has always respected and admired Felicity for her intellect, her pure heart, her bravery. But the soldier in him has always seen her as an innocent. A civilian that must be protected.

In the early days, that was true. However, just like Oliver, she has evolved past that and John doesn't know how to deal with her.

Back in season 5, we saw John question her choices when she was using the info from Pandora to blackmail the politician. He told her that her superpower was empathy.

Later, 5x19, when Felicity is determined to free Cayden James to help find Adrian Chase, Diggle is against it. He is against her involvement with Helix. Felicity throws the line 'Don't tell me that you make morally wrong choices so I don't have to. I have to.'

Diggle's response is that SHE doesn't have to. Either meaning in general people don't have to, or that Felicity, in particular, is above that.

He's stuffed her in a box, and now when she breaks out of the box, he doesn't know how to handle her.

John's draw towards ARGUS and the newbies is that one gives him order, structure, a mission. The others need his guidance.

John's line about Felicity having pushed him out spoke to me as being slightly misogynistic. He's basically saying that he told her to do something, she refused and did her own thing, so the typical male response is that it's her fault. He's not to blame if she went against his wishes. It's all on her. She went against him. You and I know that this is bull crap. This is on John. And I need for there to be a point where John finally loses the blinkers and can follow in his teammates footsteps and evolve with them.

I think one of the greatest lessons in life is to be self sufficient. To know that you don't need others to be okay, but you choose to have them in your life. That can then free you to be the best version of yourself.

My biggest hope for this storyline is that we will see OTA come back together, not because they need each other. But because they choose each other.

By each others side is where they are supposed to be.

[skull001]

About Amy in the IDW comics...

Something that I really, really like about the IDW Sonic comics is the way they have used the cast of characters, often doing a much better work and displaying a better understanding than the current writers for the games. In particular, I like what they have done with Amy ever since her debut in issue #2 (though being fair, this improvement can be traced back to the post-reboot Archie comics before the publication was cancelled). I really enjoy how she has in a way matured, no longer being a gag character like in some of the games where her characterization suffered from being flanderized to a single trait at the expense of the rest of her character.

Something that comes a a welcome addition is her being the one character that does the duties of a leader in the Resistance, despite Knuckles still being referred as the commander... Something I never agreed with for reasons that have to do with his particular character/personality.

However, although many fans received Amy's characterization with a positive reception, there are also people who waste no opportunity to question Amy's role, even going as far as calling her a "Sally clone".

I personally think that Amy growing into a leader is a development that comes much more naturally to her than it ever did to Knuckles: When Amy was introduced in Sonic CD, she began her journey as being no different from the civilians who suffer the consequences of Eggman's plans and who need to be rescued by Sonic. This is very important IMO since later it will play a part in Amy's development and interaction with other characters.

Next in Sonic Adventure, Amy was, for the first time, placed in a situation where she had to take action on her own without depending on Sonic to come save her. As her story advanced, we could see Amy starting to display a heroic side of her, one that drive her into overcoming her own fears and limitations to help those that were in need like the little bird... Hey, much like how Amy was also a victim in CD that needed to be rescued.

In Sonic Heroes, Amy is now in charge of leading two characters (Cream and Big) on a mission to rescue their friends. I think this game did a neat job at showing how Amy's personality and charisma offered someone whom Cream and Big could depend on to lead them to a successful rescue. Through their quest, Amy cheers them up and maintains the morale of the team, once more showcasing her aptitudes as a natural leader.

I think that what makes Amy a leader character for the resistance is that because of her humble origin, the civilians can relate to her just as how Amy can also feel empathy for them and the hardships that the fillain Eggman makes them go through. You could say that Amy is living testament of how anyone can be a hero if they listen to their heart and have the courage to do something about it... To do the right thing.

When Amy leads, it's not all about just giving orders. She also look after the well being of those who follow her, providing them with understanding and moral support, like when Knuckkes starts blaming himself for Eggman's forces having taken over Angel Island, helping him see that it wasn't his fault... Something that reminds me also of one of the last Sonic Universe story arcs where Knuckles is starting to have doubts about whether he is a good guardian, his mind drifting towards the negative like the times it has been taken away, to which Amy reminds him of the positives, like how he never gives up and always recovers and brings back the ME to safety. I think Amy is the kind of leader that will do everything in her power to make sure that everyone reaches the goal, together as a team, never leaving anyone behind.

I think it's fair to recognize that Amy is a different kind of leader than Sally. She may not be the most brilliant tactician since she is still a kid who is learning as she goes, but she knows how to keep the team united, since her strength as a leader resides in her ability to bring out the best in everyone, from your everyday civvies, helping them realize that they are stronger and more brave than they ever thought (since Amy went through the same trials and can talk from her personal experience) by believing in them to boosting the morale in stronger heroes like Knuckles who may start doubting themselves.

Tl;dr version: Amy is basically a kid friendly version of John Connor in the form of a pink, cartoony gerbil. XP

[dragonie]

Thinking about Noora lads

Noora's mother is a Glamfellen who left the clan after a rather nasty disagreement with the elder-priests, taking a few of the others with her and trying to carve out a new life for themselves in the Living Lands. Noora speaks Ordhjóma and knows a bit about Glamfellen culture from what her mother and some of her older clanmates have taught her, but she's never actually been to the White That Wends.

Paternity apparently isn't very important in Glamfellen culture; Noora has no idea who her father is but that's never been something she ever thought she should be bothered about. Since kids were raised communally by the makeshift clan it wasn't like she lacked for parental figures anyway

Her clan doesn't have any problem with her being Godlike; it was more like "this is our daughter, she glows and has horns, that's just how she is." (Maybe it would have been different if she were an Endings Godlike, given her clan's bad history with Rymrgand's clergy, but she isn't so it wasn't). Back in the Living Lands there were so many unusual things that she barely pinged on the radar lmao. After leaving for the Dyrwood it's been a shock to her just how much she stands out and how much of an oddity she's regarded as, and that makes her pretty uncomfortable.

People also find her kind of... not hard to approach, exactly, but hard to figure out. It's not quite as bad as a Death Godlike - she at least has perceptible eyes and eyebrows - but I think her lack of pupils does throw people off sometimes, make it hard for them to parse her expressions. It doesn't help that her "default face" is a placid smile and she's good at holding it. That plus the whole glowing moon horns things means she comes off as very Mysterious without even meaning to.

Relationships with companions so far: (under the cut for length)

Aloth: bonds to him quickly as the First Friend I Made Since This Mess; she also likes him on a personal level because he's quiet and thoughtful and likes learning things, even if he doesn't know how to field dress a deer to save his life. After Two-Sided, became protective of him and determined to let him know that Hey I'm Your Friend and I Care About You and You're Safe With Us (or at least as safe as you can get being chased by assassins and undead and god knows what else). Likes Iselmyr, since she recognises that Iselmyr is looking out for Aloth in her own way, even if Iselmyr is very boisterous.

Edér: they become fast friends pretty quickly, bonding over a mutual desire to pet every animal they come across. Noora's very close to her own brother Uffe, so she has a lot of sympathy for Edér's loss. The two have a good rapport, and Adine also tolerates ear scratches from him.

Durance: Noora hates Durance, though since she's good at holding a Polite Smile, this isn't always immediately obvious. It's one of those situations where people assume she just has saintlike patience or something until she casually drops a "yeah I fucking hate that guy" sometime. Got very close to shooting him after finding out his involvement with the Purges; still not sure she made the right call in not doing it.

Kana: Friends pretty much immediately, Kana is a big ol nerd and Noora shares his passion for Learning New Things and enjoys his good-naturedness. Encourages him at pretty much every opportunity. The two of them have probably started a book club and tried to rope Aloth into it now that Caed Nua's libary is refurbished. Kana is fascinated by Noora's tales of the mysterious Living Lands and her explorations there.

Sagani: Ranger buddies. They have quite a lot in common, and Noora's explorer background combined with her close relationship with her family help her understand Sagani's experiences ranging far while still missing her husband and kids. The importance of tradition in Massuk is something Noora does have a bit of difficulty understanding, though, given her own mother's anti-traditionalist stance; still, she cares about Sagani and wants her to succeed on her quest and be able to be with her family again.

Pallegina: Definitely admires Pallegina's confidence and strength of will. They do have very different experiences of being Godlike - for Noora, it wasn't really a Thing for most of her life and the discomfort of being visibly different is fairly new to her, whereas for Pallegina it's something she's had to deal with her whole life, so there are some varyings of perspective related to that. Nevertheless there's a good deal of mutual respect and friendship between the two of them.

Hiravias: Likes Hiravias quite a bit, although she does find loud personalities like his a bit overwhelming at times (some of his banters are... a lot.) Still has a generally good opinion of him nevertheless; probably have more detail when I do his quest.

Grieving Mother: Recognises her as a basically loving person who means well, and in that sense likes her, but is also pretty freaked out by the whole "can and apparently will use 'benevolent' mind control" realisation, so their relationship is current rather complicated - wants to like GM but also has a lingering sense of discomfort and uncertainty about what to believe. Presumably this will resolve in some way or another once I finish GM's quest.

Zahua: Haven't had him around for long, but so far Noora respects him but finds him difficult to understand sometimes. She's getting a better handle on it, and after learning about the loss of the Tacan has a great deal of empathy for him; still doesn't quite get how the monk pain thing works though.

Maneha: Also haven't done her quest yet, but currently likes this sharky friend, she seems easy-going and fun to be around. Has a more reserved attitude towards Giftbearers since she tends towards "remembering is important even if the memories are bad"; can understand why Maneha would like to forget after seeing Maerwald's suffering over Awakened memories though. Relationship with Ondra's church is also complicated since Noora is technically one of Ondra's Godlike so feels like she logically should have some sort of emotional connection to that but she just. doesn't.

Devil of Caroc: Very hesitant relationship, understands her desire for revenge against the mob that burned Cold Morn but also Devil is very unapologetic about causing collateral damage herself. At the same time, though, she's also a victim of some pretty messed up experimentation. Noora's not sure how to handle Devil, and while she did identify the man for Devil on her personal quest (Noora's too honest to lie about it to a companion's face, and from her perspective he was responsible even if he felt conflicted about it), but still has a lingering discomfort over whether she could have handled that situation better which also drives a bit of a wedge between them - not happy that the quest resulted in fighting civilians even if they were assholes.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Seeking Literate and Dedicated Partners!

Hello! I'm Cas and I'm looking for partners that are at least in their 20's as that's old I am. Mature themes will be in my plots, and limits will be discussed. I'm the type to make playlists, come up with headcanons, and genrally talk about our story for hours if given the chance.

I write multiple paragraphs (200-400+ words) but I understand if the scenes don't have alot going on and therefore require less. Still, I try to match my partner's length. I'm a big fan of romance/in-depth emotion, and using face claims. I like to add lots of detail and bring our characters and world to life. Last but not least, I only do MxF. And now, onto the plots!

This is a grab bag of all sorts of genres/tropes/pairings I love so feel free to combine two or more:

age gaps, forbidden relationship, friend x best friend's older sibling, anything mafia related, enemies to lovers, cop x criminal, doctor x patient, rom-com inspired plots (the decoy bride, you’ve got mail, while you were sleeping), friends turned lovers, pining, post apocalyptic/dystopia, supernatural (werewolf mates, monster hunters), southern gothic, murder mystery, grumpy x sunshine, the broken man x the woman that becomes his light, fluffy aus, modern/dark fairy tales, fbi agents/cop partners, holiday plots, dark hearted men melting for the innocent woman, suggest

PLOTS: I'd prefer to play the left side/female parts. * = longer plot to be explained.

Secret Keeper *

Set in a dystopian soceity, a member of the govemrent runs into a man she hasn't seen in years, one who was previously imprisoned but escaped. While her loyalty to the govemrent is wavering, he could be the push she needs to join a rebellion.

Run For Your Life

A criminal, A, has been taken in to FBI custody after some very incriminating evidence regarding a recent murder has found its way to him. The evidence against A is so solid, he will go down for the crime. However, the agent, B, whose in charge of the case is willing to make a deal. A is working for a big and powerful criminal organization called The Cabal. The FBI has been trying to take them down for ages, and now is their chance because A has a high position inside the organization and can give them what they need if A decides to cooperate.

However, A's boss, the leader of The Cabal, has wanted him gone for a while, as he thinks they are threat to him. Now that A is in FBI custody he has a reason. The Cabal boss have people inside the FBI that will help take out A for him. To not blow that they are in fact corrupt, they need to take out the agent in charge of A’s case too. Somehow A and B managed to get away, but both of them are now targets. A cannot trust their own people, and B can't trust the FBI. Now they must try and stay alive, and somehow start to trust each other to make it to another day.

Stranger Things Have Happened Here [Older 11/Hopper inspired ship]

The basic plot is that Reagan here escaped from a government facility where she was tortured and experimented on for 9 years. During a heavy rainstorm and starving, Reagan attempts to cross the road but she gets hit by John’s car. Injured, in dirty clothing, and soaked to the bone, he offers her a place to stay out of guilt or empathy.

But when John attempts to leave to get help she finally reveals her power, to his shock. Meanwhile the facility has been alerted and people have been dispatched to capture Reagan and bring her "home". John’s older than her, tough, jaded, grumpy, and has seen alot of shit. He doesn't quite know what to do about this strange woman currently living in his house but he grows pretty protective of her over time.

Slowly but surely Reagan learns to trust again through him and they even fall in love, something she'd never thought possible a second time. Cue all the platonic bed sharing/cuddling when things get too emotionally difficult/Reagan has nightmares and ending up sitting way too close whenever they’re together. He’s her rock, keeping Reagan grounded to reality when she gets in too deep. He balances her, more the voice of reason to her recklessness. They have all this unsolved sexual tension that's through the roof that’s going to resolve itself sooner or later.

She wants to bring down the company that stole her life. He doesn't want to see her get hurt. Naturally they'll be some clashes over what the "right" thing is. John could be a police officer, a civilian. Anyone, really. But I’m leaning more toward officer. Reagan has the face of Tatiana Maslany and John has the face of Hugh Jackman or Anson Mount.

FANDOMS: The Walking Dead, The X Files, Haven, The Blacklist, Fringe, Silent Hill, Zoo, Stranger Things, Gilmore Girls, Marvel, Star Wars. I've been really craving to write in the Mercy Thompson universe so if anyone wants to do that with me, I'll love you forever.

I use email only to write, contact me at agentkeene@gmail.com. Look forward to hearing from you!

[psyga315]

On Character Empathy (Or Why I View Atlas As An Icy Dorne)

So, I figured I’d do an essay on character empathy. RWBY has created dozens of characters that are all awesome, cool, cute, and very, very empathic. People literally cried in Volume 3 and the finale was filled with nothing but rage and grief towards the writers. It was perhaps the highest point RWBY has ever reached. But that’s what happens when you make a character likeable and then kill them off. What happens when you make a character unlikeable, but eventually have them try to be on the right side of a conflict? Well, you get the scene that this essay is based around: Jacques’ final scene in Volume 4 when he tries to tell Ironwood that locking up Atlas is a bad idea. To briefly recap, Ironwood gets a memo from Winter that shit might get real in Mistral. Because of what happened to Vale and Beacon, Ironwood had every right to try and prevent that from happening again. So, he does what anyone with a huge military authority would do: lock up the Kingdom of Atlas. From his standpoint, this makes sense. He’s worried that Atlas might be next (Sadly, it isn’t, but that’s dramatic irony for ya) so he decided to defend it before people sneak across disguised as students like what happened last time. Now, this definitely reeks of current time politics and I certainly agree that James is going about this the wrong way. It’s just too bad that, as far as we’re concerned, he’s in the right. I’m not saying in this current situation. No. I’m saying in the entire time we saw him in RWBY. Yes, he seems like a dick at times, but from all the moments we do see of him, he’s doing his best. Even CRWBY said that they wanted to make him look like a prick, but ultimately have him be this reasonable authority figure, which we do see in Volume 4. His opponent… not so lucky. And this is where character empathy comes into play. Jacques Schnee, for as much as we heard and seen of him, is literally the polar opposite of Ironwood. Whereas Ironwood comes off as a good character despite his shortcomings, Jacques is established to be a bad character despite his moments of clarity. Case in point: when we first see him talking Weiss into singing for the charity ball, it’s very clear that he’s manipulating her into singing to make him look good, even when the song she sings paints him in a negative light. Despite this, though, he had some method to the madness. Jacques wanted to hold a charity ball to help show Remnant that Atlas cared for when Vale was attacked… But I’ll get to how they really cared later. This could have been another Ironwood situation where, we’re meant to hate this man, but his reasoning is so sound that we can’t help but to like him. The problem is that the framing of the scene makes it so that we’re meant to feel threatened by Jacques. Especially since we’re going through the eyes of Weiss. Which is why most people outright voiced hatred for Jacques when he slaps her and then stripped her of her heritage, effectively making her a prisoner. Yes, Ironwood sold out Ozpin and moved so much military forces into Vale that it almost seemed like an occupation rather than a guard, but he never slapped someone and dragged them through the dirt because they spoke back to him, and when he did the latter in Volume 3 when telling RWBY they got disqualified, he made it clear that he wasn’t actually the one making the call. Jacques, however, was the one making the call. He was the one who slapped Weiss. And like that, our empathy for him went down the drain while empathy for Ironwood didn’t waver. Which brings me to the crux of why I made this essay: Forgive me when I side with the apparently crazy guy who, based off his past experiences, is locking up Atlas to better protect them from a possible threat over the blatant child abuser whose every line of dialogue has been nothing but trying to save his own skin. And the problem is that this falls entirely on character empathy. We’re told from the very first time we’re heard of him that Jacques is a jackass. Even the World of Remnant episode on the SDC paints him in a negative light, though that’s thanks in part to the narrator. When we see him in a talking role for the first time, he’s as much of a prick as we heard him to be. So thus, our empathy for him is already meant to be low, and after the charity ball, it only dropped from there. At his final appearance, all he has to offer to the debate is the long list of emotional baggage he left on Weiss and a clear message that he’s only in it for himself and that his children are just property to him. If CRWBY meant to have Jacques be concerned for Atlas’ well-being, they sadly screwed the pooch so hard, that the scene is actually karmic comeuppance for him. See, in-between the aforementioned slapping and disinheriting of Weiss, Jacques grounded Weiss for talking back to him and would only end up going anywhere if she kisses up to him. Ironwood practically did the same thing to him. He grounded him and the entirety of Atlas and people can only get out with the Council’s approval, which, considering how he has two seats, means his approval. In short: Jacques has to kiss up to Ironwood. Sweet, sweet karma. The problem is that, in this scene, it seems that people believe Ironwood to be going off the deep end. That this is a scene where we should be concerned for his sanity. It’s where people say that the child abuser is in the right for once in his selfish life. And to that, I can see their point. Ironwood is essentially locking everyone up. There’s no beating around the bush. This is a man who is clearly abusing his authority for “the greater good”, even when he believes this is what’s right. The overall gist is that “when Jacques is telling you this is a bad move, it’s a bad move”. The problem I see, however, is that he’s had a scene prior to this where he tells Ironwood that what he’s doing is a bad move, and his dialogue and the conversation afterwards point out that it’s only a bad move because it affects him negatively. And now we get to the charity ball scene where CRWBY pretty much paints Atlas as a whole in a negative light. During this scene, Weiss encounters a guy who pretty much established that he had no idea why the charity’s even happening in the first place, even when the painting he’s looking at and hitting on Weiss over has the purpose stated right there. The camera even focuses on it right after to show just how easily he could have seen it and saved himself some face. It doesn’t help that, when he guesses what the charity is for, he asks if it’s for Mantle, Atlas’ former name before it became… well… Atlas. Showing that he only cares about what happens in Atlas. Then a trophy wife speaks up and says how Beacon deserved what it got. This, right here, is the clincher and shows us just how unsympathetic the people of Atlas are. Volume 3 showed us a lot of shit happening. To quote Blake: “People are dead.” And these are people we knew and cared for. Penny, Pyrrha, even Roman. People have died to this incident. And here’s this bitch saying how they “deserved it” for the lack of “proper defenses”. That comment would be such a slap in the face to anyone who has personally lost a loved one to such an incident only to hear someone in passing say “they deserved it for lacking the proper defenses”. It’s an even huger slap in the face if you tried to be that defense, only to fail and then hear this bitch laugh at your misfortune. Thanks to these two characters, CRWBY established what the civilians of Atlas are. Imagine for a moment, a man dying from his wounds. People all over are trying to help him, calling an ambulance, patching his wounds… and yet there’s this one woman passing by, just looking at her phone. Atlas is that one woman. Only caring for themselves when others are hurt, wounded, or dead. And this is probably a problem in of itself. Basing an entire kingdom off the behaviours of two minor characters, but the problem is that, with the dialogue made afterwards, it’s made very clear that two characters are meant to represent the civilians of Atlas as a whole. And thus, paints the entire kingdom as an unsympathetic lot. It doesn’t help that Atlas, or back then, Mantle, was said to be on a villainous side during the Great War. And while you can point out FNKI or Penny as the exceptions of this, they’re Huntsmen. They are not regular civilians. It would be like judging America as a whole based off the celebrities who were born there rather than the actual people who live in it. Thus, we have two unsympathetic characters (Jacques and Atlas as a whole) getting karmic retribution. This essay was made to prove why I view Ironwood’s decision to lock up Atlas as an awesome moment instead of a moment where I should be concerned. Actually, scratch that. I was concerned when Ironwood declared he’d lock up Atlas. Not because he was going off the deep end, but because I thought Weiss would never leave her abusive father’s prison because of it. And that’s basically what it boils down to. Jacques and Atlas get sweet karma dealt to them and I had to ask “and what Ironwood is doing is a bad thing why?” Because, as much as I see it, Jacques is going into the same situation he put Weiss in and Atlas’ social bubble is being a gilded cage. The problem lies in character empathy. CRWBY devoted so much of Weiss’ limited time to show us how evil Jacques and Atlas that when it came time to show that Ironwood is going off the deep end, I ended up scratching my head at why people are so concerned. Klein is their one exception, but he’s more or less tied to Weiss and is not some random civilian like Henry or the Trophy Wife were. So don’t be surprised when I say I cheered when Ironwood decided to lock up Atlas, because the person arguing against him spent all is screen time being a selfish irredeemable douchbag.

[cyclizine-sickness]

God it’s like you cunts on here lack basic education and cannot read. I said somone on here said Zimmerman was trying to arrest Trayvon and he resisted arrest so I used sarcasm to say I never knew civilians where allowed to arrest anyone they suspect is guilty. Or that Zimmerman was a police officer at the time of Trayvon’s murder.

Also I would be dahm if I believed a tall tale from a racist, lying aggressive and abusive piece of shit like Zimmerman. There’s two sides of a story it’s a shame we will never hear Trayvon’s side because he was murdered in cold blood by a man who pointed a gun at his girlfriend. George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin for a couple of blocks I don’t care what any of you close minded idiots say, if a strange man is following you in the dead of the night you’ll be scared too most of us has a fight or flight mechanism in us as we respond to fear. Trayvon stood his ground to a crazed lunatic who saw a black person and automatically condemning him as guilty. So by your logic it’s okay for a strange man to follow you for a long amount of time in the dead of the night?

Also need I remind you that when he called the police to give them description of Trayvon the dispatcher said “okay we DONT NEED YOU TO FOLLOW HIM”. He ignores dispatch orders and starts running towards Trayvon (you can hear him running) then the dispatcher said it again “sir we don’t need you to follow him do not follow him.” He still refuses to obey an order that’s meant for his safety and Trayvons, he also was carrying a weapon he knew what he was doing and went out of his way to look for trouble it’s a shame a young man with hopes and dreams had to die because of his recklessness, racism, aggression and psychopath behaviour. Now if a man is running towards me after following me in the dead of night you sure as hell I would defend myself by any means necessary.

Everytime yall say the same incorrect shit followed by a ignorant “he was following him to keep an eye on him for the police wah ehhh!” Okay if he really was doing that then why didn’t he listen to dispatch and chose to ignore them? Ever since Trayvon’s murder Zimmerman has shown who he truly is a racist, a person who feels no remorse for what he has done, a violent aggressor and a abusive piece of shit. His a creep whose also following a private investigator hired to investigate for the Trayvon Martin documentary just so he can find out who’s talking about him. You can try to justify Trayvon’s death all you want cause you lack basic human empathy and sympathy, but what you will not do not on this blog not on this post is try to bring me some George Zimmerman is the victim story.

A list of George Zimmerman's past run-ins with the law.

July 2005- Zimmerman was arrested and accused of resisting an officer. The charges were eventually dropped after Zimmerman entered an alcohol education program.

August 2005- Zimmerman's former fiancee filed a restraining order against him for domestic violence.

February 2012- Zimmerman murders 17-year-old Trayvon Martin after following him in the dead of night playing a vigilante rent-a-cop.

July 2013- Zimmerman was stopped for speeding in a 60 mph zone.

September 2013-Zimmerman is stopped by police for speeding again and given a ticket for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone.

September 2013- Zimmerman's wife, Shellie calls the police and tells them that he punched her father and threatened her with a gun. She later decides against pressing charges.

September 2013-Florida Highway Patrol trooper stops Zimmerman along Interstate 95 because the vehicle's tag cover and windows were too darkly tinted, which is illegal and most black people and non black POC are arrested for that but surprisingly (not really) he gets off with a warning.

November 2013- Zimmerman is arrested by the police after a disturbance at a home in Apopka.

Please add on more that I’ve probaly missed guys.

I always thought I read all the Trayvon Martin deserved to die excuses until I read a comment on here saying he resisted arrest from Zimmerman. Hmmmmm I never knew George zimmerman was a police officer at the time of Trayvon’s death?

I never knew civilians can arrest someone just for “looking guilty?” I never knew when a civilian is arresting you and you defend yourself they’re elligable to kill you in cold blood?

I NEVER KNEW IM GLAD I DO NOW!

[dapperandwoke-blog]

D&W Celebrates Six Years of Chubstr With The Plus Bus

Earlier this month I got to attend the 6th anniversary celebration of Chubstr, a marvelous plus-sized lifestyle blog whose contributors I’ve been friends with, online and in real life, for a few years. Conveniently for me the celebration was held right here in Los Angeles, at the Plus Bus, a plus-sized boutique and consignment shop that was originally just for women, but is now starting to branch into men’s apparel as well.

Originally I was just going to go as a civilian and maybe swap some shirts, but then I realized, what better event to cover for D&W then a bunch of people loving their bodies and their style? I put on my journalist hat and had a couple of chats, first with Chubstr founder Bruce Sturgell.

(Bruce on the left)

Angel: I originally learned about Chubstr through my friend Tyler.

Bruce: Tyler Jacobs!

(Tyler was also in attendance, pictured at right)

A: Yes, we trained sumo together for a little bit, so that's that's how I met him, then found out about the site through his contributions. When did you found Chubstr?

B: I started blogging in September 2010, before it was called Chubstr. Basically, it started out of frustration. I had been looking for clothes… [My wife and I] lived in southwest Missouri at the time, where there’s no options except for the mall. I’d go to the mall and try to find things that are right on that size line where sometimes you can find things, but usually you can't.

A: Oh, I learned about that line from my girlfriend! The word for that, at least in women's fashion, is an “in-betweenie.”

B: Yes, so I was an in-betweenie. I would go in, look for clothes, and leave empty-handed. I did that for a while and finally decided to start a blog, so I went to Tumblr and started complaining.

A: Me, too!

B: Tumblr is great because there are so many micro-communities.

A: Exactly, it's really good to build up a niche following.

B: Definitely. I started calling out brands that weren't carrying extended sizes, started calling out web sites... I would run into web sites where they may carry a 3X, but you couldn't do the drop-down size search and get the 3X, it would go to 1X or maybe XL...

A: ...And they have one shirt that’s 3X but the shirt you wanted is nowhere near that size!

B: Exactly! The whole thing was frustrating, so I started talking about that and blogging. People started responding to it. I was putting up photos of looks I put together and sharing all that of information, resources, and everything. I have a marketing background, I've been doing online marketing and strategy for 15 years now. I realized that there was something there, there was a community, but there was more than just me complaining about Brand X not carrying something.

A: There's more to just complaining, who would have thought!? (laughs)

B: On the Internet, even! So I spent a little time, and Chubstr was born March of 2011, six years ago. That's where it came from.

A: Besides the anniversary, what was the genesis of celebrating in this particular way with the Plus Bus?

B: You know, we wanted to work together for a long time, I would say two or three years, but just had't been able to make it work. This came together kind of last minute. I said I wanted to do something for my anniversary, and they were like “you know what? Let's do it here!” So we just put it all together and came down here and I thought "what a cool way to do this, in L.A, where I know there are a lot of body-positive people who are really into this, and a lot of of Chubstr readers!” It just made sense.

(Bruce enjoying some of the fancy beer given out at the event)

A: So what’s the thing you enjoy most about running Chubstr?

B: There are a couple of different things. I think the biggest thing for me is really helping people. It sounds cheesy, you know, "helping people," but that's really what it comes down to.

A: It's validating to do things that validate other people!

B: It is, to build something like this and see that you're able to help people while you're doing this. I think it's huge, and you see that people are able to find not just clothing, but confidence. They are able to feel better about themselves, to understand that they're not alone. This has turned into something that I never expected it to turn into. Even the people who follow the site, our readers...I expected anybody who was going to be into this to kind of look like me, you know, short and wide. But we have people who are who are thinner, we have people who are bigger... It's turned into something that's so much more than what I expected and it's awesome!

A: The problem of how to enjoy your body affects a lot of different sized people, no matter what. Anything born out of empathy and community will attract a broad spectrum of people.

B: Definitely. Absolutely.

A: So what’s the next big development on the horizon for Chubstr?

B: I think that the big goal for this year is to really grow our audience and get out there more to build out what we've started to do. We're going to be doing more photo shoots. We're starting to do more live events. We are working on more partnerships. It's really just taking this and saying “OK, it's been at this place for a little while, and I feel good about where things are going, but I want to try to expand it in other ways.” I think we'll see growth in our online shop. I have bigger plans for Chubstr, and I see that there are other ways this can go, so I want to follow through.

A: And now a personal question: What's something that you like to wear that makes you feel like you're looking really good? For me, I like wearing ties. I can't feel like I look bad if I'm wearing a tie, either a bow tie or a four-in-hand tie. What's your “talisman of style?”

B: I'm a cap guy. I'm a hat guy. If I have a good driver cap… Usually not like a ball cap, that’s not really my thing, but if I have an old school cap, I feel good, that's my thing. I've always gravitated toward that.

A: And then one more... Do you oil that beard?

B: Whenever I remember my oil! I totally forgot my beard oil when I came down here and I've been using Lay-Rite...

A: Where do you live right now?

B: I live in Portland, Oregon. I forgot my beard oil and my beard brush when I left. I mean it's... How does that happen? But luckily, my wife had some oil that I was able to use that had the same kind of ingredients and no smell, or at least a light smell, I can't really tell. But yeah, I definitely have to oil.

A: Last night I was at a comedy show and met another comedian who had a beard, too. I asked him what he put in it, and he was like “Oh my brother actually makes his own beard oils!” So I added him on Facebook that night and the first thing I posted on his wall is “Let your brother know I'm always interested in proprietary beard oils!” I realized “Oh, this is what being friends with me is like.”

B: (Laughs) Nice.

After a bit of bearded bro-bonding with Bruce, I looked around the Plus Bus store, enjoying its unapologetic feminist vibe…

Then I managed to grab a few words with the founders and owners of The Plus Bus, Marcy Guevara-Prete and Jen Wilder!

Angel: So one thing I'll ask first is that I've noticed that this is not actually... a bus. Did the business start out as a truck, like a mobile thing?

Marcy: It started out as a pop-up in 2014. We had been to some swaps and then decided to do our own.

Jen: In true Marcy/Jen fashion we over-complicated it, but it was really well done.

A: Clue me in on the Marcy/Jen background. How did you two meet?

M: We met through the plus-sized fashion industry, at a fashion event in New York, and we kind of clicked and shortly thereafter planned to attend British Plus-Size Fashion Week in London together.

J: I was a fan girl from day one. I walked up to her and was like "Oh my God, Marcy Guevara!"

A: So you both have been active in the industry since before you two met.

J: Yes, I had a clothing line and she is... Marcy!

M: I have done hosting and TV work in the plus-sized sector. So, after the first swap, we had so much clothes left over, and the reason the swap started was that we both had so much clothes! Just from shopping, and being influencers, we accumulated so much that we couldn't possibly wear or keep in our homes, so we thought we'd put our own swap together.

J: Overwhelming! I was like "I'm not buying anymore clothes," and [Marcy] was like "but you can swaaaap!”

M: So then we had all these clothes left over and we started popping up at the Rose Bowl every weekend. Then we found this space and thought, “Oh, imagine if we could be open every day!”

A: It seems like to me like the plus size clothing world is definitely built around a sense of community. It's like very much people being like, “we all need to help each other out because it's so hard to find stuff for ourselves.”

J: It's not just clothes… It’s… You're gonna make me, like... I'm choking up!

A: Stay in that feeling! Share it!

J: You know, people come in here and… It's like it changes them, you know?

M: I had a stylist come in before you got here, and she was like “I didn't want to compromise on [my model’s] look because of her size. I wanted to just ask her to bring what she had, but then I looked on Yelp and you guys were here!” We feel every day that we're filling a need, and we know we are. We just keep plugging away at it. The way clothes make you feel is super powerful, we believe in that.

J: It's about seeing yourself and being yourself.

A: I've learned myself that one of the first steps to feeling good about your own body is just to wear stuff that fits it. I feel like one of the everyday things that can make me feel like my body isn't that great is if I'm trying to struggle into something.

J: If you're not comfortable, you're not going to look cute, that's the bottom line.

M: Because you're not going to feel cute. I mean, you might look amazing, but if you're not comfortable in what you're wearing, you're not going to feel good when you walk out the door.

A: So let me ask you something on a personal note: What's something that, when you put it on, you feel really good about yourself? With Bruce I called it a “talisman of style.”

J: Lipstick and sunglasses. That's like my thing, I think. I love sunglasses like no other. I have the craziest collection of sunglasses and I have so many dark lipsticks. [Marcy] was looking for a neutral in my bag and I was like, “You're not gonna find it!”

M: (To Jen) I wish you would say something plus-size, because lipstick and sunglasses fit everybody, you know what I mean?

A: “You gotta be on brand!”

M: I think that that's what the plus-size girl experience was like when you're in seventh grade going to Contempo. You're like "I'll see you at the earrings!" I mean, I think Jen is a true layers diva!

J: I just wear whatever I want to wear, whenever I want to wear it, without thinking about what that means or where I'm going. I just want to be able to express whatever I feel that day. Working in a clothing store of course, presents endless possibilities.

M: I have a brand that I love that makes me feel like a million bucks. Her name is Francesca Duran and she makes a brand called Babooshka Boutique, that will only be available at the Plus Bus soon. I love her clothes, I love the way it makes me feel. The cuts are very chic, and it just always makes me feel like I look like I fit in, I look like I work with fashion and celebrities. At least in L.A. as a plus-sized girl you always want to look expensive. That's a priority for me. You don't have to spend a lot of money, but you want to look like you do.

A: What made you decide to expand into men's clothing, no pun intended?

J: I mean, there's even less available for men in plus-sized fashion than I think there is for women. It's like, there is a certain type of stuff that's available, but, it’s the same situation that made us start the Plus Bus. Having diverse styles gives you the advantage of trying out different things and not just wearing something because it fits you. There’s an actual joy in finding something that you've always wanted to try, but you've never found it in your size, and it's already worn in and a perfect denim, or whatever, and it's great. It's just a good feeling.

M: We are about representation, so we just want everyone to feel great. If ASOS is doing plus size,  that's a huge indicator that you know it's to be taken seriously, for men and for women. We hope that more guys, and more people that like menswear, will catch on and come and bring their clothes!

A: Good inclusive turn of phrase!

M: We're super inclusive here, and that's our goal, just that everyone feels welcome and whatever you want to wear, whatever you want to be wearing and feel good in, especially if you're plus-size, we have it and we'll help you find it.

J: And men come in and ask if we have men's stuff, and and I hate saying no!  Or their wives come in and they're like “do you have any men's stuff because we're going to the same event and we both need to look really good!” It's definitely like the other side of the coin. Why not have it if we're already here doing that for women?