#which might be why i associate as middle class

[the-corvus-bandit]

i still don't understand the concept of a charcutrie board tbh like why? What would you consider middle class like how would you personally define a middle class person?

It's basically just a specific display for presenting meats and cheeses (and technically crackers, nuts, and chopped fruits are displayed on a board), similar to holiday/party platters (a holiday/party platter being a broad term for a serving dish for food and charcuterie board falls into that category but is specifically for showcasing meats/cheeses). From what I understand (or associate it with from movies) it's used mainly during gatherings or wine tastings. So idk, I can see why it's used but I also personally view it to be a little over the top. Why not just use a regular platter, why does it need to be a slab? Definitely seems to focus more on visual appeal rather than the food itself. Or maybe there's more to it that I haven't figured out yet.

Then, it's kinda difficult to define middle class, especially since I generalized it as the whole class and didn't specifically say lower-middle or upper-middle class. But, I think I typically look towards the work or lifestyle qualities- being able to afford vacations that aren't just visiting family, being able to afford or largely contribute to a college education, having more work autonomy than a person in the working class might have, or someone who is in lower-management positions- just generally having a very good/decent standard of living. But, while this is what I mainly imagine someone in the middle class to be like, there's not really a definitive way to label someone middle class, sometimes income can't even always properly determine what class someone is in.

tl;dr charcuterie boards seems to focus more on visual appeal rather than the food itself and are just a food platter (for meats and cheeses) that is specially a wooden or metal slab. Then, I don't have a definitive definition for middle class, but I generally associate it with have a good standard of living (having a good amount of disposable income and living comfortably) and not having to worry about having access to (or implement) various prophylaxis into daily life.

Hope I properly answered your questions and thanks for asking them!

[thecrabbybarista]

We should talk about The Lords in Black I'm gonna do that right now because I wanna talk about their trope subversion and symbolism and shit.

So obviously The Lords in Black are a subversion of Cosmic/Eldritch horror and I'm gonna explain how using an ant metaphor

So the classic ant metaphor for cosmic horror is to imagine that you're an ant encountering a piece of human technology, right? I believe it's usually a circuit board. The whole point is you're witnessing something deeply incomprehensible and unfamiliar.

The ant metaphor for the Lords in Black is: imagine you're an ant and a teenager starts burning you with a magnifying glass.

It's still incomprehensible, but not in the way the complexities of a circuit board is. If you were suddenly stricken by a scalding beam of light, the only way you could rationalize that is that it was an act of a god. You and your ant colony would invent and fear this god.

The Lords in Black each represent a kind of strange and inscrutable cruelty that the modern world offers, the cursed lasers that cut into our souls, from places we have no power over.

Wiggly is obviously the idol of capitalism. Animalistic desperation, commodity fetishization, and the exchange of money, products, and emotions. All of the things that the other Lords represent stem from elements of capitalism, hence why Wiggly is THE Lord in Black, the leader of his brothers. What Wiggly offers will never be enough. He is what leaves you always unsatisfied.

Nibbly is the idol of the consumption of human beings as products. Obsession with self image and presentability, trends of all kinds, and the beauty and fitness industries. People in the modern age are desperate to be consumable, and some would go to any lengths to do so. This is an attitude that especially impacts women, who feel that they need to wear make up every day just to earn respect. And when we feel the need to change to be respectable, the need to look appealing and to be consumable, the bourgeois eat well. Our quest to look special makes us like any other customer, filling. It's no mistake that the two leads of Honey Queen are women desperate to be noticed and respected. It makes them all the more eager to be eaten.

Tinky is the idol of infinity and repetition. Dead end jobs, middle class suburbia, and the inability to escape one's circumstances. It's no coincidence that the first time we see Tinky is at a wedding, a ceremony dedicated to eternal commitment, or that he's associated with CCRP, a company in which most of the workers do useless busywork all day. When you look at the life you have ahead of you, it can feel crushing. Will you ever have a real career to be proud of, or will you be stuck at this job until you die? Will you ever not struggle to make rent? Will you really love your spouse forever? What if you don't? Isn't it just easier to continue the routine than to address the problem? After Ted is driven to insanity by the Bastard's Box, after he discovers that he can't escape the person he's become, he becomes homeless, one of the most terrifying eternities a person can find themselves in, fully dependent on random acts of kindness to survive while your situation drives you further into insanity.

Blinky is the idol of the panopticon. Gossip, public drama, and unwanted attention. One of the first things Blinky does on screen is sexually objectify a girl who's fresh out of high school, and this plainly displays a consequence of living in a content driven world. There is constant scrutiny and interpretation given to your every action. At any moment, you could have over a thousand eyes on you, whether you want them there or not. The panopticon we live in captures us in moments of time, and turns the person we were in that moment into an object deserving anger, embarrassment, lust, admiration, judgement, or anything else a watcher might assign. But Blinky also targets another fear, the fear that we feel when we can't see the danger, and cannot protect ourselves or those we love. Alice's anxiety that Deb might cheat on her when she's not around are made manifest in Watcher World, and Bill's frustration at not being let into Alice's life are used against the family. We are inclined to both want and fear the panopticon. We hide, and we seek, and we expose.

Pokey is the idol of tyranny. Complacency, sedation, and obedience. The world revolves around the few and uses the many in service of this. We are all expected to fill some role in service to the rich, to work for a corporation and to buy the products of those corporations, and when we cannot fill these roles we are at risk of starving, or being kicked out of our homes. We must join them in their quest for profit, or die. But we must also accept their pacifiers or we will be driven insane. We must choose between complacency or despair in confronting our place in the world as a pawn, as an ant in the colony. Isn't it easier to accept the comforting lies? Your job is important. Corporations give people what they want. People in power deserve their power. People in power are using it well. We are happy. America is great.

These are the magnifying glasses that are being used to torment us, that we cannot make reason out of, that we've made dark gods out of. But this isn't the first time humanity has encountered scorching light from the heavens. When the people of ancient Greece witnessed burning rods of light, falling viciously from the heavens, they invented Zeus.

But we know where lightning comes from now. We know the science behind electricity and its place in the world. We know what keeps lightning away and what attracts it. We can protect ourselves from it.

But there's an important difference. Lightning is natural. It's existed long before we have and it will continue when we're gone.

The unorthodox cruelty of being alive today is not natural. We cannot logic our way into surviving it because it does not operate under a sound logic. But we can make things a little more bearable by focusing on what is sound, understandable and natural.

There is humanity. There are families friends and lovers who would go to the ends of earth to protect each other. As long as we have this humanity, we have hope.

That's why Miss Holloway's deal with the Lords erases her from living memory after her temporary deaths. To have the powers that she does she gave away the power most important to have under the Lord's rule: human connection. The only real thing we have left.

Alice and Bill escaped Blinky's manipulation through the love they have for each other

Emma survived the longest out of any character in tgwdlm because of the genuine hope Paul gave her of a better future

Lex snapped Tom out of Wiggly's control by reminding him of what his son really means to him

Ted couldn't escape Tinky's plan for him because he was too jaded to make a genuine connection with a woman.

Linda was eaten by Nibbly because she didn't have a loving connection with her father, because her father always made her believe that she was never good enough, because this mindset led her to take for granted the connections she did have in her life.

The world no longer cares about us. We have to care for each other. It's the only thing we have left

[luminalunii97]

I've seen non Iranians admiring the Islamic Republic national football team for not singing the national anthem. And then they were confused as to why iranians were happy that the team lost. Yes not singing the anthem might have consequences for them, but it won't change the fact that these people went to visit Raisi, the Islamic Republic president and bowed to him, posed happily for pictures while we were dealing with Kiam Pirfalak news, and said they don't care about politics and what's going on Iran in an interview, stating that they will focus on the game only. Not singing the anthem is nothing in comparison. And you might think they were under pressure. So were other athletes in Iran, let's see what they did:

Picture on the right is Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian rock climber who was the first athlete to take off her hijab during Mahsa Amini protests to show her solidarity with people. She's currently under house arrest. she wasn't the first Iranian woman ever doing that. On the left, that's Shohreh Bayat, her story is so sad.

In many interviews I've seen of her, she always cries when she says her story. She was to referee the final of the Women's World Chess Championship a couple of years ago. While in another country she decided to wear her hijab loosely in an act of rebellion. She got warning from Islamic Republic twice and everytime she made it worse. She was asked to apologize but she refused, saying that she wouldn't apologize for what she believes in. At last, even though she wasn't ready to leave everything behind and start from scratch in a foreign country, she decided to ditch the compulsory hijab completely and never come back to Iran, because her life would be in danger if she did. Because of her choice she can't come back to visit her family anymore. her family supported her which made the authorities to force her father to resign (her father was the president of chess association in Gilan, Iran).

Then we had Iranian national beach soccer team. I think they were the first group who refused to sing Islamic republic national anthem. And after they got threatened to sing the anthem, they did something even more iconic. One of the players cut his imaginary hair after he scored.

Then we had these two scenes after scoring. They were recreating an inhuman thing Islamic republic did. The guy on the right is Khodanoor Lajei. He was murdered on bloody Friday in Zahedan. He was a Baloch guy. I'm going to post about Balochs and the thing that's been done to them by Islamic republic in details. For now know that this guy got killed in protests but this picture of him is for a couple of months back. He insulted a Basiji guy or something, Islamic republic police chained him to a pole in the middle of the city to make him an example for others, after beating him. When he asked for water they brought him a cup but they put it out of his reach in front of him and laughed at his thirst. (You see why we hate Islamic Republic, IRGC and Basij?!) The picture got out only after his death because Baloch people didn't think the rest of Iran would care about them enough to react. That broke my heart unspeakably much.

With so much bravery, our national girl's basketball team has been posting photos without mandatory hijab ever since the protests have begun.

Last but not least, Parmida Ghasemi, iranian archer ditching mandatory hijab inside of iran. She took it out for receiving the prize and while she was being photographed.

(Btw, non of these women "forgot" their hijab accidentally. If you're iranian you learn to never forget your hijab since you're 7, the age you start school. Without a formal head wearing you won't be allowed to attend school classes. When you grow up with it, you'll get used to it. You have no idea how weird it feels to not wear a veil in public, I'm still getting used to it.)

we've witnessed many iconic brave moves by our athletes but non of them said we don't give a shit about what's happening in Iran before the game. I'm not saying they won't be redeemed one day, I'm just saying they should work to win their respect back.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

What do you think of Grrm's portrayal of religion?

Hi anon, this is a really interesting question, and it took me awhile to put together what I hope is a coherent answer.

For context, I think GRRM's background is important to keep in mind. George is almost exactly my parents' age and belongs to the same demographic of American anti-war ex hippies who aged into broadly liberal baby-boomers. Their radicalism has largely mellowed over the years, they may not be the most up to date on the appropriate terminology, and they tend to prioritize nonviolent solutions to systemic problems (my mom often tells me the younger generation needs to do another March on Washington). One thing liberal boomers also tend have in common is that often they grew up religious but, as they entered their 20s and went to college, broke away from the churches of their childhood. My family is full of ex-Catholic liberal boomers like George. They might have dabbled in Buddhism or Hinduism in the 70s, New Age mysticism in the 80s or 90s, and ended up settling into statements like, "I'm spiritual, but not religious." Almost invariably, they have a sort of disdain for organized religion, which they associate with a kind of yokel mentality, a place for anti-Choice anti-LGBTQ traditionalists. Although they will profess "to each his own," to the average liberal boomer, the church represents regressive values and they cannot imagine why anyone would willingly return to it. Even those who did remain religious take great pains to make it known they are not like those Christians. And to be fair, liberal boomers have a good reason to feel this way. The churches of their childhoods were not fun places for people whose own ideas and values went against post-WW2 broadly white middle class values. Unsurprisingly, SFF authors tend to fit into this category.

And this sort of bleeds into a lot of 90s SFF. You see a lot of worlds that have religion, but rarely do you have characters that are religious, and even more rarely do you have sympathetic young protagonists who are religious. You might have the occasional kindly priest or nun type, but far more often these characters will be abusive, mean spirited, or narrow minded (think of Brienne's childhood septas). Religion is often treated with the same disdain by in-world characters as it is by the authors themselves. You might even have worlds that are almost entirely secular, with vague references to "The Gods," but without any real religious traditions constructed around them (Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series, which features two vague dieties, Eda and El, who seem to have no religious traditions surrounding them whatsoever). You might have cultish religions that are actively dangerous and must be stopped, or you might have Catholic church analogues, existing in opposition to everything cool and fun. Protagonists tend to be cynical non-believer types, or they might start off as true believers and lose their religion along the way. Rarely are they allowed to have sincere and abiding faith.

And you can see a lot of this in George's writing, in the way he portrays the Faith of the Seven and other religions, and the way the fandom receives them. The Faith of the Seven is Westeros' answer to the Catholic church, but there are also the Old Gods, the faith of R'hllor, and others, often presented in opposition to each other. George himself sees religion as a divisive force, and in ASOIAF, we see religions in conflict with each other, we see them weaponized to fuel vendettas, we see them used to drive prophesies and start wars. There's a clip somewhere, of George at a panel, where he's talking about religious conflict and his take is very reminiscent of George Carlin's-- you can tell he knows the bit. "Are you really going to kill all of these people because a giant invisible guy in the sky told you too? And your giant guy in the sky is different?" George asks, receiving a round of applause from the crowd. It's a very modern view on religion, which is fair, I think. He's writing for a modern audience who have modern conceptions of the church, and he is making a deliberate point about the harm religion can do. .

What I do think is missing, or at least downplayed, are the ways in which the medieval church was really a driving cultural and social force in medieval Europe. We live in a secular society, so we have the luxury of disregarding the church in a way that medieval people did not. This is one major way in which the worldbuilding of ASOIAF departs from the real world middle ages. To portray the medieval church as a primarily regressive institution that mostly drove conflict is too simplistic. The Catholic church is what culturally unified most of western Europe into what was known as "Christendom." The clergy served political functions, such as providing an important check upon the power of medieval kings, and when the power of the church declined, despotism grew. Socially, for most western Europeans, the church was also the center of day to day life. Insofar as medieval peasants had any opportunities for leisure time and celebrations, most of these revolved around the church. The church was for centuries a driving force behind art, music, literature, and architecture, and it also performed important social functions, such as operating poorhouses and leper-houses, and providing educations for children.

And all of this was just extremely normal. Most people prayed multiple times each day, and sincerely believed in heaven a hell. The state of one's soul after death was such a real concern that the sale of indulgences-- a way that you could pay to get your dead loved ones whose souls were in purgatory into heaven more quickly-- became a major racket for the Church. I've seen the HotD fandom react to Alicent Hightower's level of devotion calling her a religious "fanatic" and I cannot stress enough how absolutely normal Alicent would have been in medieval times. This is where I blame the framing of the show more than George, because it does set Alicent's faith in opposition to Rhaenyra's seemingly more modern values, but does it in a selective way. For instance, Alicent comes off as prudish, and modern audiences hate a prude, but we never see how her faith would have certainly inspired her, as queen, to take other more progressive actions such as giving alms to the poor or bestowing her patronage upon motherhouses. In another post about the fandom perception of Valyrian culture, I talked about how this modern view of devout belief, particularly Catholicism, tends to cast anything that is presented in opposition to it as an unequivocal good, and I see this sort of rhetoric slung around the fandom a lot, "why would you defend the pseudo-Catholics who hate women??" But the pseudo-Catholics are really just normal medieval people, and they didn't hate women, they simply lived in a patriarchal society and the material conditions did not yet exist which would allow them to challenge that in any meaningful way.

[anatheyma]

btd/tpof characters don't seem to have official birthdays so i wanna share my zodiac sign hcs

(i'm not an expert in astrology this is just for fun)

strade: sagittarius

this is a bit awkward to explain since i'm a sagittarius myself. i don't relate to him, but he definitely has to be a fire sign and this one seemed the most fitting out of the three. first of all sagittarians are considered lively, passionate, outgoing and charming - traits that i think fit strade's description. he's carefree and fun-loving i guess you could say, but also intelligent in a way, or at least has a good technical information. gato has mentioned that strade has a fear of being limited or locked up which goes well with the thing sagittarians have with their freedom.

lawrence: capricorn

now that is a capricorn man if i've ever seen one. they're described as critical, sensitive and cautious, struggling with letting people in. capricorns are happy being on their own and fall in love slowly, they have to take time to understand you at first. it's clear that lawrence doesn't trust people easily. to me it seems like he wants to be in control of things, too. on surface level, those antlers remind me of the symbolized mythological creature of capricornus and regardless of his love for plants, i associate lawrence with snowy forests instead of green. (capricorns are born december 22 - january 19)

ren: libra

i'm not only saying this because i tend to be head over heels for libras okay let me tell you something; libras are often extroverted and sweet. they avoid conflict which is why they tend to be people-pleasers and we know ren is one. even when he's older in tpof, you can kind of call him out for not making his own decisions, but instead relying on the chat's suggestions and opinions. maybe he struggles with making them himself... and what's the biggest libra stereotype again? yeah, exactly that. librans are ruled by venus, the goddess of love, so they adore beautiful things. of course he'd want to dress you up all pretty for the live streams <3

mason: taurus

i admit i haven't actually diven that deep into this character yet, but right off the bat he strikes me as an earth sign. taureans love to relax in serene, bucolic environments, which i guess you could call his cabin in the woods. they're also built for endurance and tasks requiring concentration and determination, traits that i assume must be helpful when hunting. mason comes off as resourceful and tough, just like taureans.

celia: virgo

my beloved celia... like virgos, she's hardworking and intelligent, but also uptight and easily frustrated. understandably so, imagine being married to a man when you could run away with me 🙄 anyway, they're also perfectionists at heart and she'd probably enjoy training you with diligent and consistent practice, you're her little mouse after all. oh, and virgo rules the digestive system. hand over those donuts, ma'am!

derek: leo

bet you thought i'd say scorpio because of his tattoo? nah, he has leo energy. he's confident - even arrogant - and fits the leo description of both luxury-loving and drama-loving. leos love to lead, be admired and receive praise and respect of others. i imagine derek's like that due to possible daddy issues. sorry to come for him like that. my opinion might be completely based due to growing up with a couple of brats from upper middle class families who happened to be leos.

[seriousbrat]

A controversial opinion, but I don’t think Severus ever got an invitation to the Slug Club. He’s obviously a prodigy, but Slughorn’s M.O. is to invite the well connected - with the exception of those who are so obviously going to succeed *despite* their lack of connections in the magical world. Hermione is a upper middle class girl with a famous best friend and exceptional talent. Lily was a charming extroverted girl from a decent home who everyone liked. Tom Riddle was a handsome, smooth talking fellow who could inspire loyalty and is willing to say the right things to flatter. If Slughorn can get these kids to meet the right people, then they have the ingredients to climb the ranks, and then they’re beholden to Slughorn for making the initial connection. It’s how the club and nepotism in general works!

But young Snape doesn’t have the ingredients. He bears all the hallmarks of abuse. He’s unlikeable, badly socialised, ill tempered, poorly groomed, and most importantly, he has absolutely no intention of playing the very particular British class game and wears his working class status as a furious badge of honour. It’s why James and Sirius keep bullying him - he refuses to scrape to his social superiors and spits in their eye instead. He’s not the type to buy Slughorn pineapple in return for a leg up.

(This goes beyond the realm of textual interpretation and into pure fanon, but I’ve always liked the idea of this being a source of tension between Snape and Lily, him disdaining her ‘playing the game’, so to speak, and stubbornly refusing to see the difference between her associating with Slug Club members to get on in a world that doesn’t accept her and him associating with his housemates who can offer him a degree of protection and respectability the Light side do not because they’ve never accepted him)

I can see that being the case! The main reason why I think Slughorn might have initially had hopes for Sev is because of this from HBP:

‘But I don’t think I’ve ever known such a natural at Potions!’ said Slughorn, regarding Harry with a fond, if blood- shot, eye. ‘Instinctive, you know – like his mother! I’ve only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that, Sybill – why, even Severus –’

‘You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, the Draught of Living Death – never had a student produce finer on a first attempt, I don’t think even you, Severus –’

Like he was very clearly aware that Severus was a very talented student, at his own subject no less, because he compares Harry to him as if Snape was exceptional. I can't see Slughorn completely overlooking that kind of raw talent.

As fond of Lily as Slughorn was, I imagine that Sev's friendship with her was a point in his favour too. I definitely don't think Snape was ever a favourite of his, but it's clear that as potions master Slughorn had his eye on Sev as probably his most talented student. He might have thought he could mold him. However I think as Sev got older (and less likable lol), particularly after his split with Lily and growing association with the Dark Arts, Slughorn would have increasingly seen him as less likely to succeed, and possibly given him up as a lost cause.

Also, a lot of this is your own interpretation of Snape (which is totally fine!) but personally I see teen Snape as more ambitious than that. I don't think he was 'spitting in the eye' of the British/Wizarding class system given that he joined a fascist group dedicated to upholding it. While I see him as resentful of it, he definitely was no rebel, and I do see him as trying to get in good with purebloods like Avery and Mulciber and climb the greasy pole by sheer willpower and talent. For me he's definitely a character that's very aware of class and is trying to play the game, but on his own terms. He knows that nothing will ever be handed to him the way it has been his fellow Slytherins, but he prides himself on working that much harder to achieve it. So I agree there's a certain amount of pride there, but it's also mixed with a lot of shame-- at his humble origins, his father, everything he sees as holding him back.

I see the "half-blood prince" nickname as a kind of tongue-in-cheek reference to that, giving importance to Sev's wizarding side but also serving as a reminder of what sets him apart from the rest. He craves recognition and respect, and I think he would have taken exclusion from the Slug Club hard, as another reminder of the unfairness of life. Avery and Mulciber were likely Slug Club members themselves, so I don't think Sev would totally disdain it-- he wants their favour badly, so I don't think he completely refuses to scrape to social superiors either. He probably would take exclusion from the Club pretty hard. I just don't think he'd wear his working-class roots as a badge of honour, personally, since I see him as trying to move beyond them, to cast off everything his father represents and be recognised on his own merits.

[imustbenuts]

Dragons, Snakes, and the Missing Link

tl;dr The Missing Link is the Naga deity from Buddhism/Hinduism. (featuring jesus ichiban)

lowercase bc im tired today...

has anyone ever wondered how similar looking eastern dragons and snakes are?

the eastern dragon originates from china tradition, and is associated with the heavens, rain, thunder, fortune, strength and benevolence. it is also associated with whimsicality, being that the heavens and nature tend to be very whimsical when it came to the lives of people.

(originates from china, kind... of. bc theres more to this chinese origin. more under the cut)

further, it is said that should an emperor witness a dragon, they are guaranteed to be a good ruler and bring an era of peace and prosperity. this is effectively an approval from the heavens, ie, the Mandate of Heaven, and was as useful as the Divine Right of Kings argument for why rulers should rule.

its not too surprising that kiryu ends up also having a say in choosing Daigo or Terada as successors. (although he might have fucked up with terada, but Daigo became someone who is a good fit if not for the overwhelming odds stacked against him... theres also an arguement that kiryu wasn't quite Like A Dragon just yet in y1.)

so dragons are super duper important. and kiryu the character embodies what a dragon is, cool!

but then, we have... majima. who has the snake as a secondary motif of his irezumi, and i think has a secondary possible role that hasnt been pointed out yet in EN afaik

so, ive done some digging for why people think majima has the snake motif, and one possible explanation is that snakes are associated with immortality, a messenger to the heavens, which does fit majima. juxtaposed to the short bloomed sakura in his irezumi, it reads like a very elaborate art piece with layers of too many meaning, majima is fascinating. anyway.

this article goes into even deeper details why snakes are popularly paired up with the hannya mask, but are kind of vague about it:

what i want to zero in is... this word: Naga.

to understand why the dragon is linked to naga, i need to explain 2 things. what the heck is a naga, and how buddhism traveled.

what's a naga?

a naga is this.... not the guy sitting in the middle, that's buddha. but the multi-headed serpent itself:

so okay. this section is a very short summary and are worth reading more on your own, but here's the run down.

nagas are a class of serpent deity originating from hinduism. buddhism came due to a multitude of factors including rejecting hinduism's social caste system. as a result, it shares many deities with hinduism, including naga.

nagas can be depicted as multiheaded or single headed, and can transform between and in-between their snake and human form. nagas are based on cobras. in south and southeast asia, the naga is often depicted with a flap around the neck as characteristic of a cobra. or sometimes without the flap at all even.

this also means in some interpretations, nagas are as dangerous as they are benevolent/beneficial to humans (probably with the correct aptitude). this duality of good but bad if pissed off isn't at all exclusive to nagas, but in fact rather common with this sphere of deities. (sound familiar?)

in buddhism, the most well known one is Mucalinda, who protects and shelters buddha in his meditation to attain enlightenment. hence all those pictures above

interestingly, their abode is the deep, deep waters. :)

they are a very, very important deity in buddhism due to their strong and close role to buddha, but because buddhism frames gods as just other higher beings trying to escape the cycle of samsara, the nagas are seen as a protector rather than be a god to worship. cool? ok.

journey to the... far eastern japan

for how buddhism traveled, its something like this (source):

something to be clear about with this: buddhism did not arrive in japan without alteration. where ever buddhism traveled, it got reinterpreted as it moved on, absorbing local folklore and myth in the process, and then splashed about back and forth before hitting japan's shores. (but the scriptures was imported in its original form to my understanding. so the colloquial understanding is different from india's own.)

and hence why buddhism in japan is specifically called shinto buddhism: its a special blend.

with the case of nagas specifically, they seem to have entered china, and got mixed with the eastern dragon, and then passed onto korea and japan. some folklore of the dragon are also said to originally be stories about nagas, which we can see with the still present association with water and some divine knowledge.

but, the nagas by this point have lost their human form and gained bitty limbs and whiskers and claws and now soar through the skies rather than stay on the ground. or look a little goofy even.

(this dancing toothless dragon took off on douyin. i can attest to and confirm how much the chinese love goofy ass looking dragons)

in the chinese language, the sanskrit word naga was actually translated as dragon as well. hence all this mixing and remixing of things in the colloquial. notably also there was a chinese emperor known as Emperor Wu of Liang who was so fascinated with buddhism that he imported and promoted the religion, and likely appropriated aspects of the naga and mixed it with the dragon.

(i uh had to google in chinese to check and there was more than 1 article using the word dragon for naga. so nice to be a bye-lingual👍)

another important thing, japan already has their own big snake myths such as the yamato no orochi and tsuchinoko, but as for how influenced these are with buddhism is a bit of a toss up. there's definitely an exchange of sorts but its genuinely hard to tell where the line is.

so to summarize it all up

nagas are cobras to snakes to dragons.

both the chinese dragon and naga share similarities of being nasty when upset, and beneficial and benevolent to those they choose.

but, where the dragons are associated with the heavens and rain, the snakes are associated closer to the earth. both share an affinity with water.

effectively, cobras/snakes are the base for nagas, and nagas are the base for chinese dragons. so. majima's snake is like a stealth dragon.

but where the eastern dragon (kiryu) gives approval and disappears willy nilly, the naga (majima) stays and protect to the death.

meaning, kiryu is like a dragon, and majima may have always been like a dragon all along too B). theres also further theming with yin yang with these two, with kiryu being the passionate fire and majima being the naturing water. but thats a whole other detour. this post is getting long and insane enough as it is

oh, but buddhism isnt buddhism without the enlightened buddha. so while i havent played 3-6 yet i bet its this daigo guy whose name literally means Big Enlightenment.

大悟

you cant tell me hes got a irezumi of some buddhism/hinduism deity acala and have a name heavily associated with buddhist wisdom for no reason. and that he got effectively put into the position of the emperor of the kanto yakuza.

and given aaaaaall that ive written about above in regards to the intended function of these mythological deities/creatures, daigo fits the position of either emperor or buddha to a T.

now, a little personal opinion here, but it seems like RGG began rejecting the classism that comes along with the emperor system and really embraced the buddhist roots more as time goes on.

i say this bc even though i mentioned buddhism coming about partially as a rejection of the caste system, the social structure in old and current china and japan still has strong classism, rooted and continuing off old myth and religion (blame those old rulers for this). we see these in the theme of rgg and how even in the yakuza world theres a clear hierarchy, and in 7's civilian theres a clear undesired class of people.

then there's ichiban who keeps rejecting all of those judgey nonsense

ichibannnnn

interestingly theres also the bit where ichiban got handpicked by kiryu as well as a successor of sorts:

and also kiryu telling majima explicitly to support ichiban after hes gone in IW in that scene. theres also some little fun bits about how ichiban is framed as jesus christ:

and that according to some buddhist interpretation, jesus christ qualifies as Big Enlightened buddha material

so. uh. yeah.

majima is going to play a significant role in 9 i think.

idk how to conclude this but. i understand the writer and im going fucking insane as you might have noticed about 7/10 through this long post. anyway thanks for reading. become nuts with me.

[allamericansbitch]

Honestly though The Alchemy makes me so sad. It's probably just because I know who it's about, and I know the events that led to them getting together, but there's something tragic about "Who are we to fight the alchemy?" which implies that they're being pulled together by something distinctly separate from themselves - "the", not "ours" and alchemy, not chemistry, which is the actual metaphor people use to describe compatibility. Their relationship isn't about their wills and desire, it's not about them as people, or whether or not they fit together in any personally satisfying way, it's about the fact that their relationship is good from a value system completely outside themselves. It's good PR. It's a good story. They're like stock characters primed for the roles of American Sweethearts. Then there's the recurrent motif of home-coming: "What if I told you I'm coming back?" "I haven't come around in so long/but I'm coming back so strong" "so when I touch down/[...]/ the sign in your heart says it's still reserved for me" "But I'm making a comeback to where I belong." She's constantly trying to reassert herself into a place she left behind, insisting that not only does she still belong, but that she still has a rightful place of power ("get the crown/baby I'm the one to beat") with such persistency so as to be desperate, to imply and instil a sense of disease.

It may be more convincing if a) she hadn't written a whole song about how "home" isn't really where she belongs, isn't comfortable, isn't safe (Florida!!!) and b) if The Alchemy wasn't slow in a way that completely bypasses sensuality and goes straight for ennui. Perhaps this is feeling is most evident in the song's opening and closing lines, "These chemicals hit me like white wine." Not red - the wine more connotative if romance, but white - the wine associated with depressed middle-class white women who drink chardonnay to cope with the fact that their picture perfect lives are deeply unsatisfying. Now to be clear, I'm not making conjecture about Taylor's state of mine now or whenever she wrote the song, I'm just saying that for me, it's more of a eulogy than a ballad.

yes this is exactly it. one of the many reasons why i personally don't like the song is because there's no... passion? or urgency? there's no pull in it. the whole song is just like 'well..... might as well', and that doesn't really move me in anyway. and i'm trying to do this in the least parasocial way possible and not note who the song is about, which she makes basically impossible lol, but the whole song gives the listener the feeling of 'i had nothing better to do, saw an opportunity and whatever here we are', but it's supposed to be a heartfelt ballad? how can someone be moved by something that the subject doesn't even seem moved by?

[koivoid]

so am I insane or am I insane

I have a new theory to share with you guys:

I am like 90% sure that Teacher is Teruko’s brother.

(sunlit-haru also made a cool analysis post about this theory here! Go read it, it’s great!)

firstly, their skins tones are extremely similar. As you can see from the image they’re very close, with Teruko’s skin tone being slightly warmer. Teacher is also closing his eyes in all of the appearances he’s made so far, which could be intentionally hiding more similarities they might have. (Same eye color, perhaps!) Another thing to note is that none of the drdtalt character’s names have been revealed, which could potentially confirm the connection between the two. Although, Teacher may have a different last name, but he could still be related to Teruko, as Teruko mentioned that her brother was adopted by another family; he could have taken his adoptive parents’ last names instead.

In the most recent QNA with the DRDTDev, they confirmed that Teruko’s favorite color is red, because of association.

Although this could be referring to Mai, it could also apply to Teacher, as red is one of the prominent colors in his color scheme.

And while I’m on the topic of Mai, Teacher’s appearance also parallels Mai’s. They both have red as their main “bright” color, and more importantly, their hair styles are similar. As shown in the image above, they both have hair sticking out on one side and a braid on the other. They also have similar bangs (the middle part) but that’s more of a stretch, as other DRDT characters have them too. Though I should mention, Teruko has these bangs too. In fact, her post-ch1 hairstyle looks pretty similar to Teacher’s, with the hair sticking out on the right.

now, you may ask, “why are you comparing Teacher to Mai?? What does this have to do with Teruko?”

You see, Teruko has flashbacks to two different people.

Of course, Teruko remembers Mai’s appearance. She even has a flashback of Mai smiling at her at the beginning of Chapter 1’s deadly life. But she doesn’t remember this mysterious “his”’s face at all. Mai seems to have been in Teruko’s life pretty recently, so she remembers her; but what about the other person? Surely she would remember everything about the only other person she cared about? Well. Perhaps she doesn’t remember him because she hasn’t seen him since she was, say, five years old? When he was adopted into a different family?

Then what about Hope’s Peak? After all, Teacher wears an ID from HPA. (Thanks to weightedblankettt for deciphering the text!) Min mentions a teacher in charge of the DRDT cast’s class in the bonus episode, and he’s also implied to be the receiver of this letter hidden on the DRDT website:

So if Teruko ever went to HPA, wouldn’t she recognize him?

She probably wouldn’t. She had prosopagnosia. She can’t recognize people by their faces. So there’s a very low chance that Teruko would recognize her brother whom she hasn’t seen in years.

In conclusion, Teacher is most likely the other person that Teruko struggles to remember. This would help explain the parallels between Mai and Teacher—the braids and the red in their color palettes—because they were the two most important people to Teruko. And of course, the only other person we know of that is significant to Teruko is her brother.

Now, in the end, this is all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt. I might be overthinking some of the above points, and Teacher and Teruko could have nothing in common. If I do end up being wrong, I’ll do art requests and draw whatever cursed things you guys want…

anyways, please do feel free to add onto this post! I’m sure there are some things I’ve missed. I’d love to hear other people’s interpretations!

[forestdeath1]

Classes in the Wizarding World. Why don't wizards have an "upper class" linked to wealth? And where do the wealth of the Malfoys and the Blacks come from, and how could wizards become rich?

Alright, this will be controversial, as there seems to be a widely accepted HC that wizards have exactly the same class divisions as Muggles, and I see a lot of metas where poor wizards are referred to as the "working class." I respect all opinions, but I want to express mine :) I disagree with this because the Wizarding world does not imply a replication of the Muggle social structure. The main argument about why there are no classes tied to wealth is that purebloods don’t have any exclusive access to means of production. The wizarding world isn’t like the muggle world, and their class structures are different. Magic fundamentally changes the entire structure of society.

In the muggle world, classes were primarily divided based on their access to wealth, economic resources, and means of production. If one part of society monopolises all the land, then you have classes of landlords and peasants. If one part of society owns factories and plants, holds stocks and capital, while another works at these factories, you have classes of capitalists and proletarians. Wizards don't have such classes. Strictly speaking, if we divide wizards into wealth-based "upper" and "lower" classes, we need to show where exactly the upper class has or ever had exclusive access to means of production that gave them the "privilege" to be called the "upper class". This is impossible to show because it doesn’t exist in the Wizarding world.

However, they do have a clear different way of dividing society.

But let's take it step by step.

In its time, the muggle upper class of the feudal society was too tied to "land" and the idea of land, which evolved into snobbery towards commerce and business because commerce allowed wealth beyond the nobility. This upper class felt their exceptional privilege. Their position was given to them at birth. But the emerging middle class... They were simply "mercantile" merchants. Many held beliefs in the superiority of feudal values and considered trade and business less honourable pursuits. Some nobles could also manage various enterprises related to agriculture, including mills, wineries, and sawmills. (Pure-blood wizards look much the same, but they don't have titles or lands, they have their blood. Your wealth doesn't matter if you're a pure-blood wizard. Take a look at the Black family tree. It's clear that not all of them were wealthy. I'm sure that many of these wizards had quite modest means. The Malfoys were an exception, but more on that later.)

When the English Revolution occurred, followed by the Industrial Revolution, and capitalists began to get very rich, while nobles unexpectedly started getting poorer, there was even stronger prejudice against "flaunting money," as it became associated with the newly wealthy lower class. Because true upper-class status isn't just about gold, and a capitalist will never have what they do – their family names and status given by God himself. Yes, among the nobles, there could also be entrepreneurs engaged in trade or investing in various projects, mining development, but the trend still leaned towards the impoverishment of aristocrats.

The Industrial Revolution happened after the imposition of the Statute, but the English Revolution came before. Obviously, wizards didn't have an industrial revolution. It's unclear how their production worked at all. Much of their production relied simply on craft workers. There are businesses like potion-making, Sleekeazy's Hair Potion production, broomstick manufacturing, although these "businesses" might look more like artisanal enterprises. Additionally, there's definitely a black market, but it's quite small. And let's not forget, in the world of Harry Potter, there's "slave labor."

Moreover, their main means of production is magic. And everyone has magic. Their production primarily requires knowledge and skills and doesn't require any significant physical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Hogwarts is free and accessible to all by birthright. Yes, access to raw materials may be limited, and these materials may indeed be owned by wealthy families, but for the most part, we don't see resources that are impossible to obtain independently. Another point is that students don't invent anything themselves over the seven years... Where's the theory of magic?! How to create spells?! Perhaps this needs to be self-taught.

Well, it's entirely obvious that they don't have peasants either, so there's no exclusive access to wealth for pure-bloods based on the feudal system either.

So, no classes based on wealth can exist for them simply because pure-bloods don't have any exclusive access to resources or means of production.  A wizard born pureblood doesn't get anything at all for their blood, except connections.

Essentially, connections and blood itself are their exclusive resources, which they try to increase. Pure-bloods find it easier to get the right jobs, to get a job at the Ministry, and so on. Also Muggle-borns who became a part of the WW, presumably, could encounter difficulties getting hired or be paid less. But they could always start their own craft production of something. They had the main means of production – magic. But they lacked connections and social capital. Over time in the Wizarding World, Muggle-borns or half-bloods, judging from canon, could also get a job at the Ministry and even become Minister of Magic. Moreover, they created their own small craft-based enterprises or worked for other craftsmen and traders.

The Malfoys are likely those from former "Muggle aristocrats" who always kept a finger on the pulse and were well-connected in the Muggle world. They quickly figured out how to make even more money rather than just relying on income from land, although they also expanded their lands (they have managed to add to their lands in Wiltshire by annexing those of neighbouring Muggles). We know they keep a Rolls-Royce in their garage and have a collection of Muggle art (the favour they curried with royalty added Muggle treasures and works of art to an ever-expanding collection). It's not surprising if they invested in some muggle businesses. Essentially, the Malfoys are blood traitors, considering they had half-bloods in the family, but the family is too cunning and clever, so they maintain their position over the centuries. The Malfoys have always had a reputation as a slippery family, striving for power and wealth wherever they are.

The result is that they are one of the richest wizarding families in Britain, and it has been rumoured for many years (though never proven) that over the centuries the family has dabbled successfully in Muggle currency and assets.

Some other families were probably also Muggle aristocrats before the imposition of the Statute and owned some lands, but even if they still had these lands after the Statute was imposed, what good are these lands without peasants? Land doesn't monetise itself. The Statute assumes complete disappearance from the Muggle world, meaning these lands became invisible to Muggles and were either used for wizards and their internal agriculture or simply remained dead weight, as there is no demand for land in the WW as a resource. Considering magical means of production, cultivating land was very simple and efficient, so there were never any problems with food in the Wizarding world. And they didn't even need much land to provide all wizards with the agricultural products they needed. Additionally, house-elves could work on it. Furthermore, over time, many wizards owned their own gardens in different parts of the country and could grow food for themselves (for example, the Weasleys actually have their own farm, and Hogwarts definitely has pumpkins and poultry).

Moreover, strictly according to canon, food can be duplicated... Perhaps it's incredibly complex magic, so ordinary wizards can’t do it, but there are special wizard craftsmen who trade in duplicated food. Perhaps this food isn't as tasty.

Also, I headcanon that not all families agreed to hide precisely because they didn't want to lose their statuses and potential wealth.

The Malfoys also resisted to the imposition of the Statute, although they later denied it.

Historically, the Malfoys drew a sharp distinction between poor Muggles and those with wealth and authority. Until the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the Malfoy family was active within high-born Muggle circles, and it is said that their fervent opposition to the imposition of the Statute was due, in part, to the fact that they would have to withdraw from this enjoyable sphere of social life.

Likely, families like the Blacks and the Lestranges originally supported the imposition of the Statute.

Overall, the Malfoys' wealth was colossal; obviously, they were and remain the wealthiest in the WW. Perhaps the wealth of the Blacks and the Lestranges also persisted from the time when they were Muggle aristocrats. The Malfoys invested in the Muggle sector of the economy. The Blacks and the Lestranges might have invested their money in building Diagon Alley or  income properties in Hogsmeade, or they could have been involved in the gray and black markets of the Wizarding World. They could also own magical mines, but it's unknown if this was allowed in the Wizarding world. Other families might have started some small businesses–broomsticks, wand production, potions, cauldrons, and so on. The Potters invented a potion and sold it and became "very rich." Well, suppose they exported their potion to other countries because they couldn't become "very rich" on the domestic market alone. The market is tiny. Or their "very great wealth" is greatly exaggerated.

We know that some pure-blood families pass down their trades from generation to generation, but that doesn't make them really wealthy. Still, they're considered noble. And the Gaunts are "noble" but very poor. Nobility can't be earned, but it can be lost quickly – like becoming a blood traitor. Take the Weasleys, for instance, who were considered noble even in the 1900s.

Families like the Umbridge have no connection to "nobility," but they really want it. They're desperate to belong: "I am related to the Selwyns... Indeed, there are few pure-blood families to whom I am not related. A pity... that the same cannot be said for you. 'Parents profession: greengrocers.'"

In a mockingly imitation of a Black: 'Typical half-blood. She doesn’t even understand our society!'

When a true Slytherin heir appears, even the Malfoys are willing to tone down their arrogance. The first Death Eaters followed Tom for this reason–he's the heir of Slytherin. It's a very high status among their society.

But the Malfoys' arrogance about money is probably because they had many connections with the Muggle world, the Muggle economy, and their personal views on money. They also continued to adopt the ways of Muggle capitalist society.

Sure, wizards wanted to get rich, but the wealth of individual families like the Lestranges, Blacks, and Malfoys wasn't class-based for the wizarding society. Firstly, a class of three families can't exist, and they don't have anything specifically exclusive that would set these three families apart in their access to wealth. What they possibly retained from pre-Statute life can't be the basis for forming a new class in the wizarding society. It just doesn't work like that.

Moreover, it seems that significant wealth could only be attained through innovations, as they also didn't have an internal investment market, financial instruments were absent, and Gringotts simply stored their gold. Okay, gold itself increased in value, but they constantly withdrew money for their living expenses, so capital must have been leaking out too. I suppose many families that were wealthy before the Statute quickly spent their large fortunes if they didn't adapt to the new conditions.

[blueturnscold]

Floyd Leech

I have seen many analysis and hc of floyd and thought I could share something to the table :)

First I would like to state some tip of the ice berg facts

Has drastict mood swings:

We know his drastic change in motivation and feelings,from one moment he has all the motivation in the world and then something happends and he don't want to do anything

Don't care enough about other people to learn their names:

Floyd don't care enough to learn peoples names.that's why he gives everyone a nickname ex. Shrimpy,seagull,crabby.The only exeptions is azul and jade,but in the english version this also include vil some few times.

He is very close with Jade:

as we know floyd and jade have a very close relationship,the have stayed close since birth and have said to "chosen each other"

He is very talented with instrument:

We know floud is extremly skilled with instrument,we get proof of it in port fest

Now I would like to state some middle of the ice berg facts.

He is extremly intelligent:

I know this is stated quite alot in the game,but I feel like alot of twst fans ignore this fact.He has been shown to be able to get really good grades,but when he doesn't feel like it he won't try in class and he gets a failing mark,this drives his teachers insane,as shown in his labcoat vignett.

He really likes shoes and fashion:

In orthos pe vignett floyd says how on land really enjoy fashion trends and that he constantly buys trendy clothes and shoes

He has moray merch:

In one of the birthday card floyd says that he bought some moray keychain and shirt(he gave said shirt to jade which he would wear all the time) and in vargas camp he has a moray keychain on his bag,which probably is the one he mentioned in his birthday card.And I know this isn't really important to his character,but it was to cute not to share!

Now it's time for me to state some bottom of the ice berg facts!

AKA talking about his name and such

To start of,what does Floyd mean?And where does it originate?

"The name Floyd has its roots in Welsh and Old English languages. In Welsh, “Llwyd” means grey, and in Old English, “Flēogan” means to fly. It is believed that the name Floyd originated from the combination of these two words. The name was initially popularized by the Welsh, who used it as a surname. Over time, it became a popular first name for boys, especially in the United States."

"The name Floyd has several meanings, depending on the interpretation. In Welsh, it means “grey-haired,” which signifies wisdom and experience. In Old English, it means “to flow,” which represents the free-spirited nature of the individual. Therefore, the name Floyd is associated with qualities like intelligence, thoughtfulness, creativity, and independence."

"The name Floyd symbolizes intelligence, thoughtfulness, creativity, and independence. It represents wisdom and experience, as well as free-spiritedness and a willingness to explore new horizons. Additionally, the name has become synonymous with social justice and equality, making it a symbol of hope and progress for many."

Here we can see the meaning of the name floyd and how it fit's with floyds character.

Now to jump to his surename,Leech.

When it comes to his surename,we know not anyone has this as a real surename.But we can take it as how the word is used to describe other people.

"If you describe someone as a leech, you disapprove of them because they deliberately depend on other people, often making money out of them."

We can see how this fit's not only floyd but all of the octatrio.They use other people to their advantage,leeching of other people to gain an upper hand.

Quite the fitting last and first name,right?

Now that we have gotten all of the facts about floyd let's now jump to some of my headcanons

First of,I think he might have bpd(borderline personality disorder).Why do I think that?

Well becuase his behavior in the game and how his character is described match really well with how bpd is explaind,for an example:

"Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder that impacts the way you think and feel about yourself and others, causing problems functioning in everyday life. It includes self-image issues, difficulty managing emotions and behavior, and a pattern of unstable relationships."

"Yet inappropriate anger, impulsiveness and frequent mood swings may push others away, even though you want to have loving and lasting relationships."

Signs and symptons:

A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn't care enough or is cruel

Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image that include shifting goals and values, and seeing yourself as bad or as if you don't exist at all

Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours

Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship

Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to fear of separation or rejection

Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety

Ongoing feelings of emptiness

Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights

As we see alot of these symptons corespons with floyd and his character.Many people hc him with autism and/or adhd,but as a person with both I don't think he shows any signs for both of these diagnoses,both of course there might that he has some signs for them and I just don't notice them.

Well now this is the end of my analysis,hope I made some sense.And if you have anything to add,please do!!And also tell me if I made some mistake,as this is my first time analysing anything.

[verosvault]

🚨SPOILERS FOR FANTASY HIGH JUNIOR YEAR EPISODE 6🚨

Dimension20 "Fantasy High Junior Year"

Episode 6 "Party Politics"

Timestamp: 1:41:19

Video Length: 4min. & 56sec.

Riz's Pass-Fail theory gets debunked + Ragh reminding everyone about dinner with his mom + Fig saying she might not wanna be a bard anymore

Riz: "I also think we have to be really careful going forward, because Kipperlilly's team is trying to get us kicked out of school or get us to flunk. I think we need to find out what happened to Lucy Frostblade, if Lucy actually died. But I do know that you switch to pass-fail if somebody from your team dies."

Kristen: "Right, did they need to switch to pass-fail?"

Riz: "But if Kipperlilly were to-"

Adaine: "But it's only for the year, right?"

Riz: "-become class president, maybe she could change that rule. Maybe they just need good grades to get into whatever school that they're trying to get into."

Kristen: "Why does she want to be president? Yeah."

Riz: "That would be, that's why they need-"

Emily: "But, Ivy didn't act like...I mean, yes, it's possible that she saw, but she would have to be able to... It's not like I rolled a bad Deception."

Riz: "Either way, even if Lucy left the party, if your party is incomplete, you switch to pass-fail. So if any of them can't afford to go to school or something, they can't get scholarships now."

Brennan asks Riz for a history or investigation check and he gets a 28! 😁

Brennan: "As you're speaking, you remember that slip in the yearbook and you know that yearbooks come in time for graduation. But you suddenly remember that there's usually about a week or two weeks in between when your final exams are."

Murph: "Right."

Brennan: "And there's no more things that affect your grade after that. Having done all that research beforehand, the majority of the pie chart of when Lucy could've 'disappeared' that they wouldn't have been able to include it in the yearbook is actually in a period of time where there wouldn't have been grading. It would've been after finals."

Murph: "So if you start a new year, you can have a different adventuring party?"

Brennan: "Yes, basically you can't swap in ringers in the middle of your school year."

Lou: "But it makes sense that they would want to bring in a ringer like our not bad baby, Buddy, who is the backup team chosen one of Helio. They see a chance to bring him in, you kill Lucy."

Emily: "'Cause Lucy Frostblade, I'm almost like, was she not healing-focused enough?"

Brennan: "It's not listed in the yearbook, but finding out what domain she was associated with-"

Emily: "Me, I'm thinking war domain when I hear Frostblade."

Siobhan: "Right, and if he's Helio, he's a light domain cleric. Right?"

Lou: "We shouldn't be prejudiced like that."

Brennan: "Yolanda would've taught Lucy, so your cleric teacher-"

Ally: "Okay, great."

Brennan: "Your cleric teacher would've taught Lucy."

The bad kids have their egg slurry! 😭😭💀💀

Brennan: "And then Ragh wanders out, and you can see that he's scraping butter and sweat off his body that's been there all night."

Ragh: "Um."

Gorgug: "Were you supposed to take a shower a while ago?"

Ragh: "I did." 😭😭😭

Gorgug: "Really?" 😭💀

Adaine: "Wow, did you use soap?"

Ragh: *rolls eyes* "****!" *turns around*

Fabian: "Which shower did you use?" 😭😭😭

Brennan: "He[Ragh] turns around. 20 minutes later, he comes back out" 😭

Ragh: "Mom's making lunch."

Everyone remembers 😂🤣💀

Riz: "Okay, yeah, we're gonna go have lunch with your mom. Let's go do it."

Kristen: "Before we go, does anyone else have any big 💩 weighing on their hearts and minds?"

Fig: "Um, I think I don't wanna be a bard anymore."

Kristen: "Really?"

Fig: "I went to warlock class, and it just clicked."

Kristen: "Dang, okay."

Fig: "It clicked."

Fabian & Riz: "That's cool."

Adaine: "For warlock class, did you have to buy like 10 barrels of diamonds?"

Fig: "No, we just talked about the power of relationships, and I just feel like that's my 💩."

Adaine: "That's so interesting to me."

Zac: "But we now are locked in our classes, right?"

Brennan: "It's already been the first week of classes, yeah."

Zac: "This sucks."

Brennan: "But! There are offices. The vice principal's office is there. If you guys wanted to switch classes mid-year or do other stuff, you can submit that. It was due on the 1st of the year, but you've seen there's a lot of loopholes and interesting things. Arthur Aguefort, over hundreds of years of running this school, has said a lot of contradictory stuff, and one of his rules is that anything he verbally said became school canon."

Emily: "So we can pick and choose quotes of his."

Brennan: "Yeah, exactly, so there's a lot of wiggle room if you wanna switch a class, right?"

Riz: "Maybe if Kristen becomes school president, maybe we make some of this stuff a little simpler. I feel like we've been doing a lot of stuff, some practical application of our classes, and I feel like we haven't gotten credit for like half the stuff we're doing. We're having to destroy ourselves to pass these classes."

Gorgug: "This is a good platform."

Kristen: "Okay, yeah, right."

Riz: "And this works for everybody."

Kristen: "Can you write a little speech about this?"

Riz: "Of course."

Adaine: "World saving should count more than rat *******."

Kristen: "That is perfectly put."

Brennan: "You head to Mordred Manor. As you do so-"

The dome turns REALLY BRIGHT! 😂😂💀💀 Big color change! 😂🤣💀

Ally: "OMG!"

Brennan: "It's so bright!"

The amazing caption team: "(Zac croaking)"

Ally: "I'm wearing two pairs of sunglasses."

Murph: "Yeah, Riz is also wearing sunglasses."

Adaine tries to cast "Dispel Magic" at the sun! 😭😭✋✋

Brennan and Ally's laughter! 😂😂 Dispel Magic at the sun was funny fr! 😂🤣💀

[the-everqueen]

Definitely curious about the genderflip Sandman fic 👀

SAME. as in, this is only a concept on the back burner of my brain because i haven't really worked out a satisfying answer to the central q of the thing which is: what does a gender flip DO to these characters?

because here's the thing. i think 99.9% of the time a genderswap au is unnecessary and boring. (not to mention essentialist as hell.) boys have pussies, girls have dicks, people of all genders are intersex, etc. some of us notgirls and failguys just want to vicariously experience our fave getting his clit sucked or her prostate massaged. i personally hate fics that go "but what if these [cis] dudes were [cis] GIRLS" and then proceed to strip the characters of everything that makes them compelling, that makes THEM, because at that point you might as well just flesh out your OCs and maybe interrogate your internalized misogyny and transphobia while you're at it.

anyways.

in the case of sandman, i am (transparently, obviously) curious about what happens if the Corinthian is not designed to be (read as) a man. in the comix, he very much embodies the fears and risks associated with gayness in the 90s (the AIDS epidemic, the dual violence of the closet and/or being outed, the culture around cruising, intersections of race and class with queerness in U.S. urban areas, etc). in the show that's subtly shifted to be a broader umbrella of queerness as well as a very 21st century anxiety around surveillance/public vs private that also taps into a cultural fascination with serial killers. in both cases, him reading as white, middle-aged U.S. man is a CRUCIAL part of what he signifies. he looks like (and takes advantage of being) someone with a lot of social privilege, across multiple categories. no one is going to question why he's in a fancy hotel, a conference room, a seedy bar, a suburb. OBVIOUSLY that changes if any one of these categories changes. i'm thinking about how and also what that means.

(the dreaming spinoff comix tried to do a Thing with a female Corinthian: while Coco spends a year as a real boy, a trans woman named Echo takes his place in the Dreaming. the spinoff handles Echo...really poorly. [i wrote a whole paragraph here trying to distill her arc but it's tangential to this post so suffice to say: it was Bad.] Echo is posed as this "femme fatale" type because i guess if the Corinthian is a woman, she'd also have to be sexy and alluring to the (heterosexist) male gaze. imho this was a cop-out, but then again...what about that spinoff wasn't.)

on some level i'm not sure the Corinthian could ever be anything besides the Corinthian, if that makes sense. as in, if you change anything about him, maybe then he ceases to be the Corinthian and becomes something else entirely. Dream can take different forms (and Overture has a femme!Dream) because stories can take different forms across cultures and times and species. but the Corinthian is intrinsically tied up in humanity and its biomythic nature. and what we think of as Human, as Sylvia Wynter reminds us, is very much tied up in narratives around identity including race, gender, and class.

at the same time my id absolutely wants a butch lesbian Corinthian who uses he/him pronouns. mostly because lesbian and wlw sex STILL gets dismissed or sanitized or erased or pathologized, even though queer women remain subject to state, police, and domestic violence at higher rates than their straight and/or cis counterparts. (also yes i'm counting my trans hermanas y primas, t*rfs can fuck right off.) but also because i'm a fagdyke with religious trauma who relates very hard to god's failed masterpiece.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not wanting to tell an ex-friend why I broke off our friendship?

So me and this ex-friend (let’s call him John) had been friends since we were in kindergarten. John is white and very securely upper middle class. I am mixed-race white and Cherokee, and am solidly lower middle class. Our friendship was based mostly on the fact that I was autistic and nobody wanted to be friends with me, so he swooped in and “saved” me from having no friends. As kids, we were super into fantasy stuff. By we, I mean he was and I pretended to be. In our larger friend group, I was always sidelined in favor of a (white upper middle class) girl who John had a crush on. Me being a background character in activities/groups that were supposed to include me is a running theme in my life. When John gave me attention, I felt like I was special and stood out from everyone else. When he didn’t give me attention, I felt like it was my fault nobody noticed me except to ridicule me. When K think about our friendship now, the red flags pop up often and frequently.

I have a younger brother, who is about two years younger than me. He quickly became friends with John, and often joined us in hanging out. As we grew older, the things we did when we hang out didn’t age with us. John and I were in, like, fourth grade and still pretend-fighting in fantasy settings because he wanted to, and I just went with it.

So, I don’t clearly remember the inciting incident, but once when we were hanging out, when I was in late elementary school or early middle school, John assaulted me. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t sexual assault but I’ve tried to block it out of my memory, and it was over something small. I think I might have accidentally hit or tripped my brother and didn’t want to apologize, because my brother had threatened to hit me earlier, and I wanted him to apologize first. I don’t want to get too deep into the assault, but I was pinned down and forced to apologize to my brother, who stood there and egged John on. John said he would his family’s wealth to make sure nobody would believe me, and told me nobody would want to associate with my family if I was public about the assault. I eventually escaped, and I didn’t tell anyone for about a year.

From a few weeks after the assault until literally this month, John has been trying to get in touch with me. I’ve told my mom to pass on the message “You know why we can’t go back to being friends”, to which he responded (via him telling his mom telling mine because I’ve cut off contact with him) that he doesn’t know what he did and he just wants to hang out with me again. Which. Nah. Absolutely not. He keeps persisting, and I have to go to the same school as him this year for the first time since third grade (I’m in high school). My brother keeps taunting me with this information, and I’m just so tired of him acting like it was me just being a dramatic. I know he doesn’t view assault as “that big of a deal,” but damn. I’m his sibling. He also keeps hassling me about reconnecting, and has repeatedly said he won’t leave me alone until I provide an “actual” reason to not be friends with John? He claimed I was being an “unfair asshole”, a “drama queen”, “too sensitive”, and a “bitch” about it.

TL:DR My ex-friend who I had a pretty fucked-up relationship with and who assaulted me wants to reconnect with me despite my desire to go completely no contact. My brother thinks I’m the asshole for this, and that I’m making a big deal of not wanting to interact with the ex-friend at school this year. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[vxlturebones]

JD HEADCANNONS

some are gonna be if he lived a lil longer but shhhhh

there is SO much i can say about this bitch. dont get me started

- his favorite subject in school is history.

Canonically, his grandpa fought in WW2, or at least he claims so. hes not the most reliable person in the movie, but taking his claim at face value, he probably spent a fair amount of time with his grandfather as a kid, and going off of this, developed an interest in the war, and history in general.

- loner by choice.

JD is the sort of person that just has a massive superiority complex, to overshadow his inferiority complex. He prides himself as better than everyone at Westerberg, and specifically opts not to get toooo close to anyone while at any given school, since he knows that itll only end with him leaving them behind. He wants to minimize the emotional baggage he carries with him. Other than this, he’d also do it for ego purposes. Since he’s moved around so much, he’s seen a lot, and knows that high school is practically the same everywhere. Knowing this, he might see himself as above everyone in his school, fueling his seemingly massive ego.

- music.

I imagine JD would be a fan of some punk artists, like dead kennedys, and personally relate to songs like Insight. however, even taking this into account, he would rather cut his own arm off than admit it. admission would therefore mean association w a clique, which I assume he’d want to avoid, for the reasons mentioned previously. I can also see him listening to the likes of depeche mode and joy division occasionally, as well as the smiths.

-has a middle name.

JD is too convenient of a name. For some reason, Jason H. Dean feels very natural to me as a full name, and I like to think his full name is Jason Hartwell Dean. why? i couldn’t tell you. those r just the vibes i get

-SCARILY good at guessing

JD is not the best student. Sure, he comes to class, but mostly spends it in the back of the room, lost in thought. fortunately for him, he’s extremely good at being able to gauge the situation and find an appropriate answer, with minimal context. He does well on tests and is good at sudoku, which Veronica taught him to play, for this very reason.

my wrist is getting tired from holding my phone BUTTT ask me about JD pls and ty he’s my fav i lvoee him eoe os sososososos much ygh <33333

[42bakery]

So since Fermín is rumoured/has already changed the leathers brand and it's rumored to be due to poor fitting, I decided to look into the racing gear of the tall riders.

First of all we need a list of all the riders (permanent, test, wildcards and replacement to get as much data as I can) that have been on a weekend this year.

With the exception of Pedrosa's and Zurutuza's height all comes from MotoGP website (beef with them because some are wrong, but we roll with it). Dani comes from a random article on the net, and Xabi comes from KTM's website (for some reason they don't have their height listed).

The racing gear list has been done with the aid of this Twit and then looking at the rider's photos in MotoGP site (again beef with them if I put a rider with the wrong gear due to the photo). The ones with the question mark is me not being able to really figure out or being unsure of the branding after searching the riders social media pages. Some do tag it, others don't.

So now we have our riders, so we need to define which are tall, and who isn't. In this case, we will define them when a rider is taller than the mean.

To make things easier, riders are being considered tall when they are 173cm or taller (my first guess was 175cm, so I wasn't that far off). So now this is our new ser of data

And this are new means (just to keep in mind)

Now, let's look at all the data. How many riders in each category are considered tall? And what are the brands they use?

Apparently across all classes, Alpinestars is the most popular one (12 out of the 58 "tall riders") with 20.7%. In 'Others, I include the ones I wasn't sure, the ones with just 1 or 2 riders to make the data easier to look at).

So far, we can see that no MotoGP rider uses Macna, which are the leathers Fermín is/has been using, but they are Dainese riders in Moto2. Something that is interesting is that only REV'IT and Alpinestar supply riders in all categories.

Now the question would be, is Fermín too tall for Macna? Would he fit better with Dainese. To see that, we can see the high distribution across all manufacturers.

According to MotoGP, Fermín is 181cm tall (which I actually disagree, I think he's even over 184 but that's another matter). If we look at Daniese, they supply for both Luca and Joan (and Vale), which might be the reason why I associate tall people with Dainese. However, Bo Bedsneyder, who according to MotoGP is 184cm, does use Macna and doesn't seem to have an issue.

Now, we can look at the means of each category and brand.

It seems like Alpinestar seems to be have the lowest mean, which can mean they do supply the riders in the lower portion of out select group of riders, Interestingly, Macna and Furygan seem to supply the riders in the tall part of it.

And those are the numbers

Macna, REV'IT and Furygan do have the higher means, but they also only supply 6 (soon to be 5), 8 and 6 riders. Alpinestars does in fact have the lowest mean, with Ixon, and if you compare with the mean of each category, they never reach it.

When looked at all the data combined, we can actually see that Magna and Furygan seems to place in the top and top-middle of the list. Alpinestar and REV'IT is all over the place, while Ixon seems to be a choice for the shorter riders of this portion.

(Sorry for the quality and the colour choices)

We can't draw too many conclusions due to the small sample size. But I think it's interesting to look at. I do know there are some test I can perform with the data and see if really Macna and Dainese are chosen by taller riders more than 'short' ones, but I can't actually remember them at the moment. So if anyone wants to look more into it DM me and I'll send the data