#— might makes right —

[casteliacityramen]

Impossible.

Rio stared, dumbfounded, to the heavens as she lay on her back. She charged at the intruder with a steel wing, but he caught her attack between his palms and threw her onto the ground like a rag doll. She thought the first time was a fluke, but if he was able to do it a second time…

The dust cleared from her vision to reveal the cloudless sky. The sun suddenly felt all too bright and all too revealing.

"How?" Rio asked, lying still on the ground with her wings spread flat on the dry dirt, "How did you catch that?"

"You might be the strongest wyvern on Twist Mountain," The Hero King of Ideals beamed, "but I'm the baddest living thing on the West side of this continent!"

The Hero placed his hands on his hips, took a deep inhale through his nose, and laughed out his exhale.

"Hah! I miss how simple this is," the Hero brushed a lock of light green hair away from his face, "'Might makes right' is the easiest governing system of all. Just be the strongest and you get to make all the rules!"

Rio craned her neck upwards off the ground to glare at this… naked mankey. This sack of meat and bone who dared to trespass into her territory and challenge her authority. The same one who dared to claim that he was the strongest person here, in front of her.

She's beaten everything from a raging Hydreigon to an entire Durant colony. Ever since she was born, she fought wing, fang, and talon to establish herself on this mountain. Her mountain.

This is beyond insulting!

"Your Majesty, your hands-"

"Ah, what of them? This is nothing!" The King turned towards his group of bodyguards and raised both his clenched fists into the air. Small trickles of blood dripped from under his tattered gloves and down onto his forearms.

"I haven't had this much excitement in years!" The Hero King exclaimed. His face fell a little when his company provided concerned glances instead of the roars and cheers that he was typically used to.

He turned to Rio and extended a hand for her to help herself, but Rio frowned deeply at the sight of the dirtied, bloodied gesture. With a beat of her wings against the ground, she flew up, rolled to level herself, and levitated at eye level with him.

The human and pokemon guards raised their respective weapons, fangs, horns, and claws at her, but an obsidian colored dragon raised a clawed hand to lower them. The one whose name she heard whispered throughout the valleys surrounding Twist Mountain. The one she actually wanted to fight. Zekrom.

"You're going to give your wife so much grief when she finds out you've been wrestling with dragons again," Zekrom laughed.

The Hero shrugged and wiped his hands on his clothes the same way a child would brush their palms after eating something sticky.

"What do you want?" Rio glowered.

"I'm sorry, my friend. May I borrow your cloak? I will get you a new one," The King completely ignored her, speaking to a young guard. He ignored the guard, too, since the question was asked after the cloak was already torn and wrapped around his hands.

"I asked you a question!" Rio shouted, her mouth spewing technicolor flames as she readied a dragons breath. Her outburst included a pulse of psychic energy which blew the dust and sand away, leaving everyone in the vicinity clearly in view.

This time, Zekrom didn't stop the guards from taking up their arms to protect their king and crown. Any sign of playfulness dropped from his face as he tensed his own body. However, the Hero King made a gesture as if he were patting unleavened dough with both hands, telling everyone to stand down and relax.

"I've heard stories about you," The Hero King finally turned to address Rio after calming down his posse:

"I've heard stories about a dragon who felled everyone who dared challenge her. The possessed Demon of Twist Mountain… terrifying my subjects," The King loosened and clenched his fists to get a feel of his makeshift bandages. Satisfied, he lowered his hands and looked her straight in the eyes:

"But I also heard stories about a benevolent dragon who offered shelter in her territory as long as you brought her a gift. It didn't even have to be that grandiose. Even a single oran berry would suffice as an offering, as long as you were genuine. Which of these stories were true?"

The King continued to smile, despite the imminent danger. He raised his hands towards her, as if he were marveling at a grand statue of himself.

"I had to see for myself! No matter what you hear about someone, you never truly know them unless you fight them. And now I understand more than what these stories told me. Now, I want you to work for me."

The Hero King looked behind him for a reaction. The royal guards looked at each other in confusion and worry, but Zekrom rolled his eyes and laughed as if to say, "Of course you would." That was all the validation he needed.

"Perish the thought," Rio spat back.

"Oh? But what if I were to defeat you once more in this bout? What say you?" The King lowered his stance, his arms in front of him in a braced position like some sort of feral beast, "What's the saying? The third time is the charm?"

Rio felt her face get hot. Her pride and image was on the line. She couldn't let this go. She clenched her teeth, dispelling the dragon fire as she readied another physical attack.

"I'll make this deal of yours. If this is what it takes for you to get excited at your own death, so be it," Rio sharply laughed.

"Give me another story I can tell my kids!" The Hero grinned excitedly as he twisted his feet further into the dirt.

"Come!" The Hero King shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice loud enough to rattle a lesser man's bones, "Let's see if the Demon of Twist Mountain has what it takes to kill this king!"

If Rio was less enraged, she would have noticed the pebbles near the King's feet levitating off the ground. She would've seen the hand wraps whip around with more force than what the wind could provide. She would've reconsidered the moment she saw everyone, even Zekrom, take a worried step back.

But Rio was all too happy to oblige. With all of her strength, she darted forward like an arrow released from a bow, aiming to shatter the human's ribs with a Zen Headbutt. The air felt like it caught on fire and exploded from the sheer speed and sudden acceleration...

... And then she tasted dirt, stone, and dust. Again.

Impossible.

|| Ray's First Interaction with the King of Truth | Pinned Post ||

[msfbgraves]

Did you read the article about how the creators of CK are goi by to tarnish Mr. Miyagi’s memory and have Daniel face the mirror in season 6? When will they just come out and say they hate Daniel and Miyagi? When will fucking Johnny Lawrence face the mirror and grow the fuck up, be a dad to his biological kid, and apologize to Daniel? Fuck this show, I’m so SICK of this shit. I grew up watching KK in the 80s, and clearly the writers favor the deadbeat loser that is Johnny and despise Daniel. I’m not watching this show anymore, I’m only here for the fanfic. Fuck this show!!

Ralph said that he agreed to Cobra Kai for a big part because of Creed. Seeing that you can continue something from the perspective of the opponent. But Creed has never been on a mission to show us that everything Rocky ever did was secretly misguided and borderline evil. It was about finding mutual respect. Cobra Kai was set up as the same thing, or so they said, but from the first episode onwards it was on a systematic mission to show Daniel in the most unsympathetic light possible. To prove him wrong, to show his kindness as nothing more than weakness and hypocrisy because, apparently, the message of the film was is painful to confront that the creators of the show need to undo it. Expose it. Defend their egos from the statement: bullying is wrong and hurts people. There has to be 'another side', a side in which the bullies are actually in the right. Because Daniel, by being kind and a little annoying, must be wrong. Must deserve it. These writers are not kind, it seems, and so kindness must be bad. Hardness, revenge, and an absence of mercy most win out. Because we must be taught that this is the nature of humanity and therefore, this hardness must be celebrated. Kindness must not exist in such a worldview, and therefore any kindness must be exposed as deception. As hidden cruelty. If cruelty is the nature of man, then surely it is better to be upfront and cruel than deceptive and cruel. This is how Johnny can win. If kindness doesn't exist, surely the honest man must trump the liar. And therefore the honest cruel man is good, and the dishonest cruel man is bad. But again this only works if innate kindness is a lie. Because if it's not, the kind man is better than the hard man, of course! And they can't deal with that. They don't feel kindness, apparently, and in order to prove themselves and their claimed avatar Johnny as still being good, kindness must be exposed.

Except there is nothing to expose in Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. They're not perfect, even in the first film. Miyagi had faults! He'd turned away from the world. Daniel had faults. Kind as he was, he was rather insensitive towards his Ma at times, because he felt Lucille had been insensitive to his needs. Also, you have to rebel somehow. But it doesn't go much further than that. He still comes to see her at work. He lets her teach him to dance. He tells her about his girlfriends. And yes, Daniel can be a little vindictive to those who have wronged him, spraying Johnny with water and exposing Chozen's scheme. What a monster! Do we remember the time he punched Chozen in the dick? Literally below the belt, what a sneaky thing to do at his own mugging!

As for Miyagi, he could be insensitive to Daniel's needs, too! Daniel lashed out at him and lied to him. They were never perfect. But they were always kind and that is something CK cannot stand. And since there is nothing in the films to indicate that they were being insincere, the writers decided to make something up. Ultra violent Miyagi secrets, I dunno. Maybe they retroactively are going to make Miyagi into a war criminal to uplift Kreese. And of course the only way to prepare for the Sekai Taikai is by bringing in Mike Barnes to be brutal. (It's not like they have a Japanese lifelong sensei on hand who has likely competed there himself and knows the culture inside out?)

Yet if kindness actually exists, even if they don't feel it, they can still sense this is wrong. And it must not be wrong! They cannot abide that cruelty is wrong!!!

Except....

They always excuse their heroes lashing out by them having been treated unkindly. Okay. So suffering unkindness is unjust, retaliating out of having suffered unkindness is just, but being unkind is strong? OK... So Cruelty = strength. Suffering cruelty = weak. Revenge = strong. Kindness = a lie. Loving=vulnerable and weak, but cruelty=strength, strength = deserving of love, therefore the cruel are entitled to love. People receiving love by being loving are the weak getting rewarded for weakness, which is wrong and must be punished, aka Daniel deserves to be beaten for being kind to Ali. Cruelty deserves love, but giving love is weak. Johnny is entitled to Daniel's friendship because Johnny is strong and cruel and Daniel is lying and weak, because kind. And this kindness (which is a lie???) is still something Johnny is entitled to by virtue of being openly crueler and therefore stronger, more upfront, and just, but he is not obligated to give it. Causing pain strong, retaliating by causing pain is also strong and nobody ever suffers any lasting consequences. Except when it's Robby but he deserved it for having been nicer than before, and being a constant reminder of Johnny's failure as a parent. Can't make our hero look bad by existing OK?

This is a: psychopathic thinking, and b: flies in the face of everything The Karate Kid stood for. Ralph is doing his utmost to minimise the character assassination of Daniel but Pat Morita is no longer alive to defend himself so fair game. I can't imagine what Kamen thinks of all this. And yeah, what they're doing to everyone who needed an uplifting story about imperfect but good people is painful. If you don't have the emotional maturity to see that violence leads to hurt, leads to more fighting, leads to hurt and death and disfigurement unless someone steps in and says: enough with the violence, you're basically a toddler. And a malicious one! But they've given the toddlers free rein at Netflix. I'm sure the next thing they write will be a series on why Rosa Parks is the epitome of evil.

I got sucked in because of the dedication of William Zabka and Ralph Macchio and now I feel betrayed. My one hope is that these actors always bring grace to this malicious writing and make something interesting out of something mean spirited. But if CK gets the GOT treatment in popular culture? Good.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Isn't it convenient that the one worthy enough to pull the sword from the stone is always an adept swordsman? If they're not yet, they will be soon enough. You never see a diplomat or an adviser or a wise pacifist prove their worth, it's always a warrior, a knight, a general. To be ruler, you need more qualities than the ability to kill/send others to kill for you; the fact that the crown is personified by a sword speaks volumes about what characteristics writers seek in their leaders.

[filmcentury]

Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

Thucydides (c. 472 – c. 400 BCE), Greek historian, in History of the Peloponnesian War, Book V, 5.89-[1] (Crawely tr.)

[artist-kreating-stuff]

Time for another "Beyblade Burst God AU x Epic: The Musical" crossover update!

Still in the unreleased song "God Games" - now it's Ares' turn!

(Dang, this turned into a proportional nightmare...)

I drew Arthur Peregrine singing as Ares. Like with Akira and Aphrodite, I decided to be simple with my choice, since they're both the Gods of War. Though I did just realize that all four of their names start with the letter A, so props for that, I guess!

Like with the previous update, I think a lot of gods from my God AU could sing as Ares, though Arthur could easily play the part. In the show, he's always boasting about how might (specifically his might) makes right, a trait which would only be magnified 10x in his god form. As the patron of conflict, he believes that a warrior is morally inclined to do whatever it takes to ultimately win a war - especially if death is the only way to resolve it. And if the patron god preaches this belief, then all other warriors are expected to also believe it. Which is why he would be understandably ticked when Odysseus denies this widely accepted belief and deigns to show mercy instead of ruthlessness to his enemies. In his mind, Odysseus deserves whatever horrors await him on his journey for refusing to follow this simple rule of a warrior. So like Akira, his first answer to Aiger is “leave him”.

Here’s the song that the drawing was based off of. See you guys in the next work doodle!

[isawthismeme]

[djpain619]

 VAE VICTIS

~Brennus

[solchrom]

Team Ford goes Godzilla on the waterfront: this ain't your grandpa's conservatism

I’ve tried to avoid the easy snark in reaction to Doug Ford’s musings about turning what’s left of Toronto’s waterfront into a megamall-themed, monorail-adorned, Ferris-wheel-festooned amusement park. It doesn’t do any good, after all, to get all riled up and turn into indignant sputtering caricatures of Left-Wing Kooks every time Brother Doug has a brain fart. But it turns out it wasn’t just a…

[captaingimpy]

My Hero Academia: You're Next - Review

As a fan of anime films, especially those that make rare appearances in U.S. theaters, My Hero Academia: You’re Next felt like an experience I couldn’t miss. The film’s animation quality received a noticeable boost, though there were moments where clarity faltered—likely due to the intense working conditions at animation studios. Still, it was understandable, and overall, I enjoyed the visual…

[arcticdementor]

Trial by Combat

Why is it that, for so many people I encounter, between the situations of:

A political system/ideology is tried at length, and eventually collapses primarily due to it's own internal problems and unworkability

A political system/ideology is tried… and is almost immediately defeated in a war against a foe with significant geographic advantages and a technological and economic "head start"

they consider the latter to "disprove" the political system/ideology much more thoroughly than the former? And that, while they won't say it explicitly — and will make exceptions in a few specific cases (based on political alignments) — they hold a general belief that we can know who the "right side" in any war is based on them being the side that won.

Whatever happened to "wars don't decide who is right, only who is left"?

[shotbyshe]

Words of the Day

begat / beget / begot:

Begat is the simple past of beget.

An element of a lineage, especially of a lineage given in the Bible.

To produce (offspring) by sexual reproduction. Used especially of a man.

To cause to exist or occur; produce.

To procreate, as a father or sire; to generate; -- commonly said of the father.

aspersion:

A false or damaging accusation or insinuation.

The act of slandering or libeling; defaming.

A sprinkling, especially with holy water.

An attack on somebody's reputation or good name, often in the phrase to 'cast aspersions upon'.

An abusive attack on a person's character or good name.

cui bono:

Utility, advantage, or self-interest considered as the determinant of value or motivation.

The principle that the ultimate initiator of an action is likely he who stands to gain from the action.

Layman: who stands, or stood, to gain (from a crime, and so might have been responsible for it)?

carte blanche:

Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority.

Unlimited discretionary power to act; unrestricted authority.

Complete freedom or authority to act.

à la carte:

With a separate price for each item on the menu.

Allowing selection from a fixed list of individually priced options shown on the menu.

(of a restaurant meal) having unlimited choices with a separate price for each item.

kratocracy:

Might makes right

"Might makes right" or "Might is right" is an aphorism on the origin of morality, with both descriptive and prescriptive senses. Descriptively, it asserts that a society's view of right and wrong is determined by those in power, with a meaning similar to "History is written by the victors".

Kratocracy, (from the Greek κρατερός krateros, meaning "strong"), is [...] government by those who are strong enough to seize power through force.

~~~

I discovered a retired YouTuber this week. She clearly gave up on the site (like I want to do). I'm glad that she was there though (which is part of the reason I haven't left). {I still feel like there are people who look forward to my content. They never talk to me though, so if I left I still wouldn't feel that bad.} Anyway, the retired YouTuber made EXCEPTIONAL short films about black woman empowerment (BWE) -- apparently this is a thing on YouTube. Now that I am back there I'm noticing how different and segregated it is now -- and I wish she was still around.

Women in the BWE space use these words to describe black men's behavior in romantic relationships. This is not something I've ever been a part of because I don't do those things, however, listening to these women and their stories, viewpoint, etc is very entertaining. Aside from validating why I was never in that space to begin with, I find it fascinating that they use these French and Latin words to describe these men's actions. Instead of simply saying "these men just do whatever they want, with no consequences" they say:

"They go about their marriage 'carte blanche' and pick women 'a la carte'"

"If they ran the government it wouldn't be a republic or a democracy, it would be a 'kratocrazy'" (I would call it a kakistocracy, but that's me)

"Everywhere they go, whether with black woman or their preference, they 'beget' another kid that they refuse to support"

"When they create all these broken homes, 'cui bono?' Not their kids, not their wives, not even them, but they don't see it that way".

It's quite alluring.

At least to a word nerd like me.

~~~

"You don't gotta cast 'aspersions' at me, guy". I love Casey Affleck's voice.

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Physically? I am sitting in my bedroom. Mentally? Spiritually? I AM DEAD ON THE FLOOR!!!!! THESE TWO HAVE KILLED ME!!!!

(Another drawing! This was originally attempt #1 at drawing stan, and then fiddleford just showed up. Kinda feels like them five minutes after the above acting like nothing happened though, so it works sdjkgkjfshj)

[hinamie]

10 years later

[fatdaypants]

My assement of that night was it was so cute with the jangly one man band of voidclass set, followed by the beach vibes, throwing beach balls of dogshit, running man and then... Repent came out and tore the whole place apart...Cersei Lannister of punk, wiiilddd.

[sentientsky]

just a friendly reminder that, just because slavery was formally "abolished" in the so-called united states* in 1865, enslavement itself is still ongoing in the form of incarceration, which disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous people

(*i say "so-called" because the US is a settler-colonial construction founded on greed, extraction, and white supremacy) recommended readings/resources:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

"How the 13th Amendment Kept Slavery Alive: Perspectives From the Prison Where Slavery Never Ended" by Daniele Selby

"So You're Thinking About Becoming an Abolitionist" by Mariame Kaba

"The Case for Prison Abolition: Ruth Wilson Gilmore on COVID-19, Racial Capitalism & Decarceration" from Democracy Now! [VIDEO]

[bet-on-me-13]

The cult of...Danny Fenton?

So! Way back when Danny first moved into his new neighborhood in Gotham, he had some trouble controlling his Powers. The different Types and Levels of Ectoplasm in the air when compared to Amity had thrown off his control.

He was used to being in places where his Ectoplasm meshed well with the Atmosphere, like a Water Balloon in a Pool, but in Gotham that analogy would be closer to a Water Balloon in the sewers. It was too different from what he was used to to fully control his Powers.

So it's understandable that he messed up a few times and his neighbors found out about his Abilities.

They took it well at first, Danny wasn't going to go Rogues or anything, and he never used them maliciously, but eventually they got curious.

They asked what his limits were, how he got them in the first place, and what the hell the Ghost Zone was. The answers "None Really", "I died and was reborn", and "A Collective of every Afterlife at once" did spark some interesting reactions from them.

Most importantly, a few of them joked about him being an Eldritch God that they needed to worship. He was good enough friends with them that at that point they felt comfortable pranking eachother, so they did just that.

Danny woke up one day on his birthday, and saw all of his friends and neighbors surrounding the makeshift Throne they had made and put him on while he was asleep. The entire day they chanted stuff like "The Great One requires Ms. Smiths Apple Pie for his day of birth!" And "The Great One Wishes for us to sing the Ritual Song! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birth-"

After his birthday, they kept up the joke.

It didn't help that his powers had evolved Again! And now he could bestow abilities onto his friends. The jokes they made about their God granting them Supernatural Powers to rule the world with were insufferable.

Then, one day while he was just resting at home, watching a movie on his TV, he felt a Pull at his Core. The same kind of Pull whenever he was being summoned. But why would they summon hi- Oh Shit! It's Mr Jenkins Party today! He was supposed to meet them at the Warehouse they used for special events an Hour Ago!

He quickly accepted the Summoning, but was met with a suprising sight. His Neighbors all tied up in a pile to his right, a spilled table of party food to his left, and right in front of him, Batman and his Family watching him with wary eyes.

Slowly, he opened his mouth. "...so, did you come for the party or..."