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merbear25 · 2 months

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Hi Mer pretty! Its Camii

Congratulations on the 200f ♡♡♡

Can I request 6 with Crocodile? I just love my Crocoboy uwu

fem or gn reader is fine to me, however you feel more comfortable! And nsfw. THANKS ♡

Cami, lovely!! So happy to see you pop in and request this! I love Crocoboy too, so I was super excited to write this for you! I hope you like it 💜💜

A guarded heart

CW: NSFW!!! MDNI!! fem!reader, angsty, vaginal penetration, mutual masturbation

Having worked alongside Crocodile for those few years, you were able to consider yourself one of the lucky few to be granted access to his inner circle. Your loyalty, determination, and honesty were all qualities he valued in you. He hadn't necessarily favored the 'wearing your heart on your sleeve' quality before, yet you were the exception―as you were with many things.

Through the hurdles thrown at you to further test your commitment to him, you always came out on top, earning you the most subtle hint at praise. With the countless displays of your devotion to him, he grew fond of you: you had proven to be dependable, fierce, but also tender and kind towards him. Seeing such a side to you uncovered a deep want in him, one that'd been burried underneath years of pain―to be loved.

Although you could easily predict how trying a romantic aspect to your relationship would be, you'd be lying to yourself if you said he didn't have a tight hold on your heart. You'd been admiring him for quite awhile, and such admiration formed into longing. Taking such a risk with Crocodile would be your most significant test of your devotion to him. If you were able to outlast his frigid behavior and break down his walls, you'd earn the greatest prize you'd ever know and this was the immense source of your motivation.

As time passed, your relationship with Crocodile was proving to be difficult: his icy demeanor, the spiked heart he kept under lock and key, his line of work. In spite of all these demotivations, there were glimmers of hope that you were getting through to him, making the struggles worth while: his appreciative look, the soft caress of your cheek and jaw.

Such tender moments made you melt, yet they were abruptly snatched from you as you could feel your progress regress just as you were under the impression you were getting somewhere. You were getting too close to him, your words were far too sweet and caring, which blared the alarms. Fear and doubt crept in―you could see it in his eyes―you would eventually betray him. Being pushed away was undoubtedly tearing down your will to push forth.

Not being able to deny yourself to experience the heartache shaking your core, your silent cries rang throughout the room. You now had his undivided attention. Going over to you was done on an impulse, and as he brought up his hand in an attempt to soothe your woes, he hesitated. What could he do or even say?

His hand found itself on your shoulder, offering you a slight reassurance in his touch. It wasn't as if he wanted to be guarded with you, yet these shackles from his past continued to hold back any possibility of forming a meaningful future with you. Oh, how he yearned to feel your warmth on him. Granting him the luxury of getting lost in your light seemed just out of reach. Letting the cold-blooded reptile in deprivation of basking in the rays of his heart-warming lover, was something he was reluctant to indulge in.

The faint rub from his thumb when paired with his concerned gaze, made you want to assure him that you understood he still needed time to come around. "I can accept that breaking down your walls will take time, but I can't deny the heartache I feel when you push me away time and time again."

As honesty coupled your sorrowful words, he admitted, "I'm trying, I'm actually really trying..." There was a muffled twinge of pain he shared with how he was treating you.

You took a step forward when the window to his soul was just beginning to open, drawing you closer to help comfort the inner termoil he must be fighting against just to stay afloat. Despite his tough exterior, his eyes indicated that he was in dire need of your warm touch.

"I see that you're trying, but you don't have to keep your struggles to yourself anymore," running your hand down his chest, you could feel his heartbeat quicken.

Letting this moment slip between his fingers was not in the cards. Swiftly, he leaned down to capture those lips he'd been craving for far too long.

Your hunger for physical affection matched his own, leaving the both of you subject to the wild fires of passion raging within. Feeling you gripping at the fabric collected above his belt sent him into a frenzy―his worsening starvation could only be satiated by the intimacy from his dearly beloved.

Forcing your skirt up, he tugged at your tights and panties, causing a sharp gasp to leave your reddened lips. Having such a blissful noise fall on his ears only enticed him to satisfy his growing need for you.

Swooping you up in his arms, he carried you over to the couch, never letting his eyes leave yours so as not to let the electrifying connection falter.

Plopping you down, you couldn't help but let a groan pass through you. Seeing you in such a flustered state awoke the beast within him which had been dormant. Leaning over you, his want was backed by a searing kiss. With the sudden thrill of the events unfolding more quickly by the moment, you pawed at his belt in an attempt to unbuckle it, though your concentration was being tugged in mutliple directions.

With one swift motion, he finished undressing your lower half, leaving your breasts peeking out from under your untucked blouse. Eyeing your twitching slit, he promptly shoved two fingers in not even considering how much he'd stretch you past your capabilities.

Yelping at the sudden assault, you clawed your fingers into his thighs, earning yourself a rumbling moan from your eager lover. This time being able to firmly grasp his belt buckle, you yanked it off and impatiently wrapped your fingers around his aching length, which already had precum beading from the overpowering thrill.

As he rammed his fingers inside you, you had his cock settled against the back of your thigh, helping you stimmulate the intimidating girth yearning to break you in half.

With making the other pant from the increasing build up, neither of you could further resist temptation; watching him line up with your sopping wet folds, you clentched at the cushions. Feeling him ease into you sent shockwaves prickling throughout each fiber of your being.

Pumping in and out of you was becoming increasingly more difficult for the two of you―such gratification of finally relishing in the other's touch was testing his self-restraint more than yours. The hitched breaths, the lows moans, the sounds of skin slapping: they were attacking each sense of his.

Despite him having held on for as long as he had, the constrictions of your spasming walls took him by utter surprise―just barely escaping releasing in you, he hurridly finished on your weakened form. Being doused in his hot streams of arousal made your chest heave from remnants of euphoria nipping at you.

Easing yourselves down from your high, he cupped your face and placed a tender kiss upon your forehead. Offering him a gentle smile, he didn't return it, although his gaze lead you to believe he was far less guarded now.

#follower event #one piece #x reader #one piece x reader #one piece imagine #one piece x you #op #one piece smut #one piece sir crocodile #one piece crocodile #crocodile #crocodile one piece #sir crocodile #crocodile x reader #crocodile x you #sir crocodile x reader #crocodile smut #sir crocodile smut

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7grandmel · 4 months

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Todays rip: 27/01/2024

Aphex

Season 1

Featured on: GilvaSunner's Highest Quality Video Game Rips: Volume FOUR HOURS!

Ripped by toonlink

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When looking back at my favorite moments, and by extension my favorite rips, in each era of the channel's life, it's of course always Season 1 that I find most intriguing. If you take a look at the credits behind rips such as Violet Snow Memories, Ganja Man 9: Hash Blunt Hash (Shorty's Stage), and even super fondly remembered ones like Pikmin Park, Turn On Your SEGA Genesis and Just Enjoy Yourself - you'll notice that there's a good number of rippers who simply did all they wanted to do within the channel's first two or so years of life. This is of course also due to behind-the-scenes drama, rippers' individual private lives, and other such matters I don't wish to dwell on - but what I'm building to with all this, is that of all those rippers who moved on to better things only a year or two after they began contributing, few have stuck with me quite as much as toonlink.

And like, this is far from my first post on the blog raving about the guy's ripping prowess, but I think there's a really strong pattern to be drawn amidst almost all of his work. Be it with immensely inspired melodyswaps like DRIFTVEIL CITY JUST GOT A TON MORE GROOVIER, perfect execution of obvious mashups like Dr. Soulja, directing one of the greatest collabs on the entire channel in File Select Fusion Collab, or just flat-out being cited by channel founder Chaze the Chat as the main inspiration behind starting SiIvaGunner to behind with...there's something about toonlink's work that simply stands as the most perfect embodiment of what SiIvaGunner was aiming to be - the spirit of the channel, that which back then often still felt so nebulous and undefined, flowed through his rips so completely effortlessly. And that isn't even to mention the legacy rips such as Wii Shop Bling and how its directly inspired rips such as Mii Favorite Things.

Back in 2016, it was The Reboot that truly sold me on the SiIvaGunner channel, that made me a fan for life. The entire team did an excellent job through rips like I Saw A Brainwasher Today conveying its atmosphere, mood, presenting and revolving its story - yet the one rip I'm always going to remember from the event, the one that encapsulates all of my feelings throughout it the most, is Aphex. It embodies so much of the SiIvaGunner spirit in true toonlink fashion, and is in my eyes perhaps some of his greatest work.

That may just be due to me being a sentimental person too attached to the lore and story of this silly shitpost channel, but it is a genuinely excellent rip even without the context its attached to - mixing elements of various tunes from Aphex Twin in with Undertale's Finale and Hopes and Dreams, without ever truly committing to one song in particular to be mashed up with. Simple mashups are of course a wonder in their own right, but I remember just being in awe at how much of an original work Aphex felt like even back then - no one part of it ever felt like it was to be taken as parody, despite me recognizing so many of its pieces in isolation. And that sort of chaotic nature, that aura of breaking free from the expectations set, was so much of what I loved about The Reboot in its entirety.

My affection and love for Aphex, everything it is, everything it represented and still represents, means that I'm no doubt going to one day cover the absolutely beautiful rearrangement it recieved as part of RIP², in Twin Souls CHANGE the World. All I'll say on it now, is that its placement at the very end of the event, the final chapter to such an incredible trip down SiIva's entire 7-Season long history, felt perfect to me. It doesn't have the most memes, the most characters, the most lore, the most visuals, or the most collaborators, but yet Aphex stands as one of the most SiIvaGunner-ass rips ever released, by a guy who could seemingly do nothing but release such rips during his active period. Godspeed, toonlink.

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redstrewn · 11 months

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Sparksnotesing Marlowe's Faustus (ty heavensickness! Hope they write abt this bc I'm legit just Sparksnotesing this shit) and wow this guy is such a loser. Leander fr

Mans just straight up damns himself for ambitious possibilities in magic by making a deal w the devil. The fucking buffoon:

Even though [Faustus] is the most brilliant scholar in the world, his studies have not brought him satisfaction, and he is depressed about the limitations of human knowledge. In order to satisfy his thirst for greater knowledge, he decides to experiment in necromancy. He wants to transcend the bonds of normal human life and discover the heights beyond. One might say that he wants to have godlike qualities. Faustus is willing to sell his soul to the devil under the terms of a contract by which he will receive twenty-four years of service from Mephistophilis and, at the end of this time, will relinquish his soul to Lucifer. At first he is potentially a great man who desires to perform beneficial acts for humanity, but as a result of his willingness to exchange his soul for a few years of pleasure, he begins to sink toward destruction. He allows his powers to be reduced to performing nonsensical tricks and to satisfying his physical appetites. - Cliffsnotes, Faustus

Leander considers that the Senobium being locked up is a waste of knowledge, but regardless he turned away from them instead of being part of them and says to MC that he's "better" than anyone there.

Regardless of if he does chaos magician shit, he still seems to reject traditional teachings of magic (the Senobium) to do fuck-knows-what-kind and become as powerful as he is. Fuck-knows-what-kind can be, like many have theorized, borrowed power or having made a deal with something. Or shit like that.

Faustus is also beset with doubts from the beginning, setting a pattern for the play in which he repeatedly approaches repentance only to pull back at the last moment. Why he fails to repent is unclear: -sometimes it seems a matter of pride and continuing ambition, sometimes a conviction that God will not hear his plea.

Fits people's speculations (I know at least @/Vereing had this idea) that he's fucked up bad, and because of that he just fucks shit up more bc he thinks he's already fucked up anyway, there's no point to stopping. Or that the only way is to just keep going, because "the fuck else you gonna do at this point?"

Marlowe uses much of his finest poetry to describe Faustus’s final hours, during which Faustus’s desire for repentance finally wins out, although too late.

It's damnation time baby! I can see this kind of thing happening w Leander's route loool. Man's ambitions are so fucking crazy and if the symbols on his design are anything to go by, he's violating boundaries often considered reserved for god: death, life, rebirth, immortality, heaven, underworld, the unknown, access to different planes. All that jazz. Textbook "forbidden" shit that he doesn't give two shits about respecting.

He becomes once again a tragic hero, a great man undone because his ambitions have butted up against the law of God.

Exactamundo.

He represents the spirit of the Renaissance, with its rejection of the medieval, God-centered universe, and its embrace of human possibility.

According to the medieval view of the universe, Man was placed in his position by God and should remain content with his station in life. Any attempt or ambition to go beyond his assigned place was considered a great sin of pride. For the medieval person, pride was one of the greatest sins that one could commit. This concept was based upon the fact that Lucifer's fall was the result of his pride when he tried to revolt against God. Thus, for the medieval person, aspiring pride became one of the cardinal sins. - Cliffsnotes, Faustus

Leander's arrogance in being above universal laws and trying to reach the level of god do be giving pride.

Mr. Rich boy Hightown Supreme Bape strolls out of his shiny crib and waltzes into Lowtown like let's get this fucking shit started baby!!! And does what he feels like doing (being their savior)(oh and also mad partying, booze, and sex. Classic frat boy hooplah).

...the real drama of the play, despite all the supernatural frills and pyrotechnics, takes place within Faustus’s vacillating mind and soul, as he first sells his soul to Lucifer and then considers repenting. In this sense, the magic is almost incidental to the real story of Faustus’s struggle with himself, which Marlowe intended not as a fantastical battle but rather as a realistic portrait of a human being with a will divided between good and evil.

We don't know if Leander's prideful ass even has the mind to consider if he might not be doing good as much as he likes to think he is, but I think psychological horror on the uquiz is probably Leander's route (maybe).

Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. Psychological horror usually aims to create discomfort or dread by exposing common or universal psychological and emotional vulnerabilities/fears and revealing the darker parts of the human psyche that most people may repress or deny. Thus, elements of psychological horror focus on mental conflicts. These become important as the characters face perverse situations, sometimes involving the supernatural, immorality, murder, and conspiracies. While other horror media emphasize fantastical situations such as attacks by monsters, psychological horror tends to keep the monsters hidden and to involve situations more grounded in artistic realism.

Combined with his associations with the Magician tarot, his sus demo behavior, design, redirection, control, and yadda yadda, he further fits this genre with the image of being a manipulator:

The genre sometimes seeks to challenge or confuse the audience's grasp of the narrative or plot by focusing on characters who are themselves unsure of or doubting their own perceptions of reality or questioning their own sanity. Characters' perceptions of their surroundings or situations may indeed be distorted or subject to delusions, outside manipulation or gaslighting by other characters; emotional disturbances or trauma; and even hallucinations

Faustus’s pursuit of knowledge is marked by restlessness, arrogance, and, ultimately, mediocrity. The more knowledge he gains, the clearer it becomes that the universe bends toward God, whom Faustus has now forsaken. Paralleling the escalation of his desire for knowledge are opportunities to showcase his talents. In the midst of his travels, his reputation grows, but ironically it is the acquisition of everything he ever wanted—power, fame, knowledge, riches—that saps him of his earlier ambition, rendering him little more than a magician listlessly performing party tricks for heads of state.

To Leander's credit, he does much more good than Faustus ever did. While being an entertaining boytoy. What a generous man!

Anyway, although it's not directly said, fans have felt that Leander has an inferiority complex or at the very least some sort of dissatisfaction with himself that may add to if not be the main driving force of his huge ambitions.

He reads that “[t]he reward of sin is death,” and that “[i]f we say we that we have no sin, / We deceive ourselves, and there’s no truth in us.” The logic of these quotations—everyone sins, and sin leads to death—makes it seem as though Christianity can promise only death, which leads Faustus to give in to the fatalistic “What will be, shall be! Divinity, adieu!”

He really said "fuck it, we ball." Crazy.

Faustus ignores the possibility of redemption [...] throughout the play. Faustus has blind spots; he sees what he wants to see rather than what is really there. This blindness is apparent in the very next line of his speech: having turned his back on heaven, he pretends that “[t]hese metaphysics of magicians, / And necromantic books are heavenly.” He thus inverts the cosmos, making black magic “heavenly” and religion the source of “everlasting death.”

Leander leaves his cushy life to "chase his own dreams." Idealistic dreamer af. I'm sticking my chaos magician headcanon in here again: he sees things as he chooses to believe them to be. Might make him prone to blindness.

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ANYWAY im now tired and hungry so just have this. theres probably more to it which i hope others will touch on bc i am snzzzz 😴

#leander #redstrewn talks

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spidey-bie · 9 months

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Ansi & Hobie

–Part 2

Here we go again. Y'all are so irritating.

(Actually loves them both with her whole heart)

I'm not going to @ them again but these questions are by @/the-cat-and-the-birdie

Meeting:

How did they meet Hobie? What was their first meeting like?

A long time ago when Ansi was a wee lass her father accidentally opened a portal to a neighboring dimension and low and behold a young boy. It wasn't the greatest first meeting (lots of tears from both sides). But over time it got better. They were together for 2 years before Hobie went back to his world.

Did they like each other right away?

Nope. Ansi thought Hobie was weird. Hobie thought Ansi was stuck up. (Little did they know they were both autistic.)

What was their first impression of each other?

Refer back to the previous question.

Romance:

Why am I answering this section when I've already established that they're not in a romantic relationship. For fun 🤭. I'm gonna answer the sex one too. Let's irritate some allos today.

Are they 'together', committed, in a relationship, etc? Or label-less?

They're in a committed QPR.

Do they say I love you? (Or something else)

I don't know actually. I know they say they adore one another but it's not....like if asked they'll say they respect or admire the other but idk if they ever claim to love one another in public or in private.

Do they kiss? In public or private?

Yes. Everywhere but the lips. Honestly it's almost entirely on the hands. The hands thing started out with Ansi ironically kissing Hobie's hand. (It's not ironic anymore.) Lips are too much of a romantic thing for both of them.

Are they more likely to steal kisses, or make-out?

Neither. It's funny though because Ansi will run up and scale Hobie to give him a forehead kiss whenever he so desires.

What are their love languages?

Ansi's is quality time and physical touch.

Hobie's is physical touch and acts of service.

Emotional vulnerability should be a love language too but oh well.

Are they monogamous or polyamorous?

Ansi you ha- *giggle* I'm sorry but do y- *pffft* just answer the question Ansi. I can't.

Its not even that funny but, whatever. I barely have mental stability to manage one relationship in my life. You think I could handle more? IDC what Hobie does tho.

If they're poly - Do they have other partners

Thinking about marriage, or no?

Ansi laughed.

Kids, or no?

Ladies and gentlemen, enbys and everything outside and in between, Ansi is on the floor. She is not breathing. He's cracking up so badly that the air has left his lungs. And oh look, what do we have here? In a crazy turn of events seems Hobie has joined her. It looks like they're engaging in what the kids call, "Rolling on the floor laughing their butts off." Wow. What a show folks. They're definitely both gonna feel that later tonight.

Do other people know about their situation?

Close friends only. Everyone else can ask questions but they aren't gonna get answers.

Favorite date spot?

They don't call them dates. But they do chill out on Hobie's boat or Ansi's Aunt's house most of the time. If they're going out they're most likely going to the library or a record shop.

Who liked who first?

Hobie. Definitely Hobie. Ansi was like oh yeah he's cool but feelings didn't grow until they reunited again.

Who made the first move?

Ansi. Immediately realized their feelings and went, hey I kinda wanna have a deeper emotional relationship with you because you're really cool and I adore you.

Hobie could only nod because he was in shock.

Do they consider each other soulmates?

And further support amatonormativity and the idea that everyone must be connected to someone in some way in order to gain true happiness? I think not and also,

*Queue Ansi giving a whole spiel on amatonormativity and how it negatively affects society*

Your OC and Hobie are obviously on a date somewhere - someone begins aggressively flirting with him, and being rude to your OC - what do they do?

Ah yes let's piss off the pyromaniac. Jokes aside he'd be upset over the unplanned interruption. He'll just pick Hobie up and move the both of them somewhere else. However if that "unplanned interruption" tries to follow them that's when she starts to get really irritated. Now he's gonna act absolute fool.

A: "Bart the baby. I THINK THE BABY'S COMING."

Cue lamaze breathing

Unplanned Interruption: It seems like you're busy so imma just go.

After the person walks away he'll either claim it was a false labor or they book it outta there.

She's done this, a fake engagement, pretended to faint, pretended to almost throw up, etc. Once she did a whole scene from her favorite telenovela where he accused the guy flirting with Hobie of being his long lost cousin. (They were in Ansi's world.) He's a con artist. He does stuff like this everyday.

(A/N: This is so much fun to do. I come up with lore while writing these answers it's really nice.)

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#Ansi and her Bie #ansiniya taratella #ansi taratella #my spidersona #spidersonas #spidersona #hobie x oc #hobie brown x oc #jay and the spiders #atsv

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bibiamor · 7 months

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Moon in 4th natal

Stephanie Camilleri:

The Moon in the fourth house gives a great hunger for emotional security. People with this position will pour all their emotional energies into securing the steady, protective maternal kind of love that they must have in order to go out and achieve something. Love relationships are dangerous for them because they do not play around and can be wounded to the depths of their being by the apparent treachery of loved ones whose emotional needs are not as deep as their own. This attitude can be repressive to others. They are the children who required an official 'best friend'. If they feel secure in the love at home, they can rise to great heights of accomplishment as they have a deep instinct for people and business, and their need for security is a powerful driving force. If the Moon is in an Earth sign, physical security is also very important to them, and they will do whatever it takes to own land and have a substantial savings account.

In some cases, their standards of devotion are so high that they can turn aside from all long-term emotional commitments out of fear of being hurt. Also, if betrayed, their love can turn to hate, and they will bear grudges and be exceedingly vindictive towards former loved ones.

Howard Sasportas:

Whereas the Sun in the 4th struggles to free itself from too great an identification with the family, the Moon in the 4th finds security and a sense of belonging within this structure. Refuge from life's battles is sought by withdrawing back into the home. Even when they have a family of their own, those with this placement may pack their bags and run back to the family of origin when difficulties arise. THey need the home to be a kind of retreat and sanctuary, and therefore they are highly attuned to the undercurrents and changes of atmosphere in that environment. Nonetheless, they may not always make their own feelings obvious to others. Often they regress into their early childhood behavior patterns when the struggles of life become too much. I know one person with this placement who whenever he is upset has an intense craving for chocolate chip cookies because that is what his mother gave him to make him feel better as a child. It is as if there is a mechanism in the psyche which says 'All right, I've had enough growing up for now; I'm going backwards for a while'.

A child normally looks to its mother for security and containment; but with the Moon in the 4th it is possible that the father emanated a safer feeling than the mother. Some with this placement may still be searching for a father to make life secure for them. In the long run, the parent needs to be found on an archetypal level from within the self. Depending on the aspects to the Moon in this house, qualities of caring and nurturance might have been learned from the father rather than the mother.

Sometimes the 4th house Moon wanders restlessly in search of the home or even the coutnry in which it feels the most safe or has the greatest sense of belonging. Sometimes it is the conditions within the home itself which fluctuate. Often there is an interest in family lineage, real estate or archaeology, and perhaps a strong desire to live by water. The conditions surrounding the end of life may be shown by the aspects to the Moon in this house.

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reviewsbykarla · 1 year

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my favorite albums of 2019

it's december 30th and you thought i forgot!! here are my favorite albums of 2019 organized by time of year they were significant in my life, with a few choice words on each. I spent a large part of the year listening back to older stuff and not particularly into anything new, but with fall came albums that defined the rest of my year. 2019 was a year of positive change for me and reaffirmed to me that with tragedy comes growth. don't forget it!

find an extensive playlist of my favorite songs from 2019 here: open.spotify.com/playlist/0ZgjOmyLpLFAp1xxEa0e5j

Assume Form by James Blake (January-March)

The song "I'll Come Too" was a topic of discussion for a while amongst me and my best music nerd friend. He thinks it's about someone finding true, lasting love. I think it's about the intensity of orgasm with someone you truly love. Thoughts?

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Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains (July-August, December)

David Berman has always been an influential songwriter in my life. When I first heard this album, I felt so sad; It sounded like he had given up on life. When he committed suicide soon after its release, I couldn't bring myself to listen to this album again for months. It's so tragic, that sometimes death is the only thing that can give you life.

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Immunity by Clairo (August-October)

I had low expectations for this album and I was completely surprised. The production quality is so high and the style of the album overall felt very original. Clairo is a really great lyricist able to write relatable songs and working with Rostam was a really good move on her part. While I loved the album and had it on non-stop repeat, her live show was the worst show I have ever seen in my entire life. I'm sorry.

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Essentials by Erika de Casier (August-September)

This album is SO good. It slaps in all the right places and is reminiscent of 90s hip-hop r&b, but better. Listening to this is like walking through a candy shop and getting all of your favorite things.

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House of Sugar by Alex G (September-December)

I love Alex G. Always have, always will. I genuinely think he is one of the greatest artists of my lifetime. This is his best album yet hands down. I can't even begin to tell you why, but please listen to it. Go birds.

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Pang by Caroline Polachek (October-December)

Wow! Pang is a masterpiece. If I had to pick a #1 album of the year, it's Pang. Caroline Polachek wrote Pang coming out of her divorce. Each song hits hard lyrically, both simple and complex at the same time. The production is incredible and the album is as niche as it is accessible. The perfect album.

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Iowa dream by Arthur Russell (November-December)

Arthur Russell was a genius. Towards the end of 2019 I was reverting back to my old folk-rock sensibilities, Iowa Dream coming out at the exact right time. I felt nostalgic, content, excited. Every song on this album is beautiful and touching. I hope there is more to come from Russell's thousands of unreleased recordings.

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Information by Galcher Lustwerk (December)

This album is hot. Every track is thick with beats that make me feel like jello. Play this at the club and get close with that cutie you want to dance with.

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Zdenka 2080 by Salami Rose Joe Louis (December)

I only recently found this album and I immediately fell in love with it. It's so beautiful, minimalist and slightly haunting. An experimental album of this variety always tugs at my heart strings, reinforces butterflies in my stomach, makes me want to swim in a lake at midnight under a starry sky with the person I love.

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#music #music review #music reviews #review #reviews #album reviews #year ender 2019 #year ender list #end of year list #Youtube

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slytherinsnekxvii · 3 years

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let's talk about lily evans and the marauders, aka moony, wormtail, padfoot and prongs. given that i didn't use their actual names, i think you can figure out where this is going. it's also long as hell, so. canon vs fanon, marauder edition, except snek is sleep deprived.

now, before we begin, i don't dislike the marauders. or lily, tbh. if I'm being perfectly, genuinely honest, i still go back and forth sometimes but they've been growing on me for a while now. the canon versions, at least. fanon does them real dirty, and that's part of why i'm writing this, because i'm genuinely tired of it. it's an injustice.

you can at least make excuses for james and lily, who were so undeveloped that jkr practically dropped a fill-in-the-blank sheet of character information in our laps, but sirius, remus and peter were around long enough for y'all to get real acquainted with them.

in canon, sirius black is an unhinged mf. genuinely. this isn't to say he's a bad guy, in fact, we see that he's still capable of doing good things, still capable of love, still capable of all the things that prove he's actually not bad at heart, just,,, severely traumatised and very steeped in negativity from his time with the dementors. what i'm saying is that this man is absolutely, no questions asked, no holds barred demented, and how could he not be? the guy sat wrongfully imprisoned in azkaban for twelve years, a good portion of which he spent as a dog in order to protect himself from the dementors. he certainly wasn't completely insane, but you cannot tell me that he was all there. he got out of azkaban fuelled almost solely by the intent to get revenge on pettigrew, tried to commit murder in front of three witnesses who were also children—one of whom was his godson—ate rats and was also malnourished, which i'm certain did not help the situation any. this man is off his goddamn rocker, and you know what? you love to see it. good for him.

oh, but, snek, that's what he's like as an adult. what about when they were at school? before azkaban? my guy, the reaction he has to grimmauld place is not the reaction of someone without trauma. i don't believe that walburga and orion were the type to physically abuse their children, but whatever happened in that house helped to fuck him up enough that he skipped the joke of part of practical joke, and pranked snape by telling him how to meet a werewolf that he knew would be fully transformed and dangerous to humans. more than that, the werewolf was remus, whom he's friends with, and who—best case scenario—would be facing a trial if james hadn't stepped in. you can say that maybe he didn't think about or understand the gravitas of his actions, but at the end of it, that's not how properly sane people react to people they dislike, and that's not how they treat their friends. if anything, it reads like he was in the middle of a breakdown and absolutely losing his shit and he wasn't thinking at all.

my guy went through some serious shit, and was in no way completely mentally stable. we can see pretty clearly that he's got a serious dark side to him that probably would have gone unbridled had he not disagreed with his family, and yet, fanon took one look at him and went, "teehee, uwu bad boi go vroom."

fanon said padfoot is a pretty boy with nice hair who is tastefully traumatised from his horribly abusive household. sirius rides his motorcycle and plays jokes and flirts with anything that moves, but he can do no real wrong and always comes back to his soft, bookish, chocolate-loving boyfriend remus, who will laugh about his lycanthropy and quietly disapprove but secretly laugh at his friends' antics while hiding his smile in his cardigan.

respectfully, what in the absolute fuck.

i'd put that meme in here if i could, the one that's like, "well done, you've broken _______ down to its bare essentials," but no. i can't bc it doesn't even apply. this isn't a meme, it's theseus' fucking ship.

fanon broke it down, and replaced the pieces one by one until we got to this point, where we need to sit down and ask ourselves, "is this even the same character?"

the answer is no, by the way. it isn't. when people talk about woobifying characters—you know, taking away every flaw they have, romanticising everything they do and making them only capable of doing good, wonderful, lovely things?—this is what we mean.

and it'd be one thing if it was just the one character, but, no. fanon went all in and made them all squeaky clean and boring, especially peter, who draws the shortest of the straws.

remus got fucked, too. not just because fanon insists on sticking him into a relationship with sirius. which, we'll tackle wolfstar in a bit, but that's not even the worst of it. here, we have yet another example of blatant, rampant woobifying. again, is he a bad person? no. we know he's a good guy, we know he's generally kind and well-mannered, we know that he wants to fo the right thing but hey, fun fact. did you know that you can be nice and a coward? did you know that you can be benevolent and good and kindly and have the greatest of intentions and still be shady as fuck? no? ask dumbledore. the man played people like chess pieces when he needed to, and he was a twinkly grandpa. these are things that can coexist.

teenage remus is a coward who, understandably, does not stand up to his friends, likely for fear of being ostracised, and doesn't uphold his prefect duties as he should and takes part in their bullying of snape as a result. he lets them romp with him in werewolf form while they are in their animagus forms and then, he lets them continue to do so even after they have multiple close calls, which, again, had anything happened, would have resulted in a trial in the best case scenario.

grownup remus is still a coward, he tells no one that sirius can move about the school in his animagus form despite wholeheartedly believing that he's a mass murderer, he tries to run out on his wife and unborn kid. he isn't deliberately making attempts to harm anyone, but he's content to sit back and let things happen to him and around him so he doesn't rock the boat, although he is capable of action, which we see when he is more than willing to help sirius merk pettigrew in the shack. he can be careless, he runs out to the shack knowing he hasn't taken his wolfsbane and ends up transforming in front of the students he, as a teacher, is meant to be protecting. of course, this doesn't negate his good qualities, it just bears repeating that his flaws do exist, and they're pretty serious.

fanon moony is always pleasant and kind and soft-spoken and bookish, and he always has to have his chocolate. he knows when to tell off his friends, and he'll do it, even if he's secretly amused by everything they do and laughs about it with his best friend, lily evans, who coincidentally spends all her time with them so he and sirius can go on double dates with james and lily and no one has to remember peter exists.

why. theseus' ship 2.0. does the actual character still exist or is this something entirely different thing bearing the same name?

as for peter, who needs peter pettigrew, the actual, legitimate, fourth marauder when you have lily evans? canon pettigrew is opportunistic as fuck. he's latching himself to the biggest bad on the block and he's going all in. for teenage peter, that was james and sirius, and for adult peter, that's voldemort. canon peter is good enough at transfiguration to master the animagus transformation, just like his friends, and he's good enough at potions to brew the potion that gives voldemort a body. and honestly, you can't say he wasn't brave. he could've run off somewhere and died, or changed his identity or something after he faked his death and framed sirius, but, no. he goes and resurrects voldemort. that's fucked up, yeah, but it happened and honestly, i respect that it. he stuck to his guns.

fanon wormtail is lucky if he exists beyond being a spineless sycophant for james and sirius, or an evil conniving little rat who's looking to toss his entire friend group to the wolves at eleven.

of course, this isn't meant to negate his bad qualities, he still murdered people and framed sirius and sold out the potters to die, but his good characteristics do exist, and james, sirius and remus genuinely were his friends.

and now, we get to lily and james.

we have hardly any information on either of them. they're a pair of cardboard cutouts that we can paint and stick flyers to and colour outside the lines however we want. we can do whatever the fuck, as long lily is brave and smart and somewhat kind and james is brave and willing to die for his family. we were essentially handed a pair of ocs.

and yet.

what little bits of canon we have are thrown out of the window regardless.

james is privileged and rich, and he throws hexes for fun. he's willing to hex lily when she disagrees with him, and then, he goes behind her back to continue hexing snape after she believes that he's stopped doing so. and that's all we know about him until he dies for his family at twenty-one years old. once again, say it with me: this does not negate his good qualities. he definitely had them, he took sirius in when sirius ran away from home, he became an animagus to keep remus company as a wolf, and he saved snape in the shack, thereby saving remus and sirius by extension. him having flaws does not make him a bad person.

fanon prongs is a feminist. he fights for equal rights for women everywhere, and he constantly treats his girlfriend, lily, like an absolute queen. he's the hottest boy in school and everyone claps when he walks through the halls. mcgonagall and dumbledore are always patting him on the back and making jokes with him. he has a built-in dark detector that helps him sense when someone is a evil and needs to he punished.

give me a break. the dude's cool and all, but was the gary stu treatment necessary?

...oh, he needed to match fanon lily? right, right.

canon lily is a contradiction unto herself. she's supposedly a great friend, but since we see her at a point where they were already drifting apart, we see her putting little effort into keeping their friendship afloat. she victim blames based on rumours, she doesn't seem to care over much about what snape has to say about the people who have been tormenting him since day one. and she's justified, of course, she doesn't have to stick around. canon lily is a bit of hypocrite, she says that snape calls everyone of her birth mudblood, but then that begs the question why she still hangs around with him if that's the case. he calls her mudblood, she retaliates by calling him snivellus, and finishes up with a dig about his underwear, which, sure, it's kicking a man with a rusty spoon and pouring salt in the wound, but she's, again, justified. i get where she was coming from. and then, of course, she dies for her kid after marrying the guy who relentlessly bullied her quote-unquote best friend for their entire school careers. but, like i said, canon lily is, in many ways, a contradiction.

lily is basically a plot device. she pushes everyone's narrative but her own, and does little else.

of course, this trend would continue in fanon. fanon lily exists to be the perfect girl who gets really angry over the slightest injustice, and of course, she gets to be one half of one of the oldest enemies-to-lovers "it was just sexual tension" cliche pairings in the book. she's just,,, a mary sue. in so many fics, so many headcanons, she's just pettigrew's stand-in, a girl to form a gang with marlene, mary and dorcas—who happen to be more undeveloped ocs who also get the woobify mary sue treatment—to parallel the marauders. there is nothing compelling about her character when she's presented as a saint, and even less when she's supposedly the other moral compass for the marauders that doesn't actually work because she thinks that james is cute.

and this brings me to the next topic. jily. what, why, how. this was supposed to be a healthy, happy relationship that would have lasted in the long run? absolutely not. even for its time, i can't say that i see it lasting.

first of all, jkr presents james' crush on lily as just that: a crush. a mildly obsessive one, but a crush nonetheless, which she tries to liken to the pulling of pigtails. and then, we see that james' way of getting her to go out with him consists of blackmail, and when that doesn't work, he resorts to threatening her. this could have been set aside if he had actually, genuinely changed when they started spending more time together, but as we're told by sirius and remus, he didn't. he just got better at hiding what he was up to. and it has to be that he hid it, because if she knew, this further damages the character that she's set up to have and paints her out to be either unable to stand up to him or an enabler.

regardless, they get married. and while i have trouble believing that it was out of genuine love, there are scenarios that could make some semblance of sense. it's wartime, after all, and maybe lily is worried about her stability in the wizarding world, so why not marry into an established family whose son is already showing interest? or perhaps, she falls into the trap of every bad boy cliche ever, and she thinks to herself, well, i got him to be better then, maybe i can get him to do even better in the future. or maybe, she doesn't get into a relationship with him immediately and sees him on and off, until eventually, she accidentally gets pregnant and they scramble to have a shotgun wedding so as not to leave lily alone at nineteen with a baby. or maybe they marry each other because they're there and sure, neither of then is ready and they don't know what love even is but what else is there to do when there's a dark lord about? anyways, the point is, they get married.

and then what? if we count pottermore into canon, he goes on to further damage her relationship with petunia and vernon, to the point where she ends up crying. if we don't, she fades into the background enough that nobody has anything to say about her. she's harry's mum, she's james' wife, lily potter, she was kind and smart and brave and that's it. her agency is gone, anything else we have of her personality is gone.

jily just,,, wasn't built to last. and, yeah, this,,, this is a hill i'll die on.

same with wolfstar, honestly. there are so many reasons why it wouldn't work, but fanon has made it so fucking prevalent that it's literally everywhere no matter where you look.

first of all, i've said it before and i'll say it again. sirius is more likely to get with james that he is to ever end up in a relationship with remus. their chemistry is just,,, underdeveloped. net zero for a relationship.

secondly, sirius instigated the werewolf prank, and lupin would have paid the price for it. this could have been overlooked, but he doesn't seem the slightest bit guilty about any of it when it's brought up in poa. he could have been responsible for lupin losing the security of his place at hogwarts in the best case scenario, and in the worst case, his life. and he seems to look forward to full moons, even though they clearly aren't pleasant for remus, which,,, yeah, you're going to have fun, but like, maybe be concerned about the fact that your friend undergoes excruciating pain and it isn't a pleasant time for him? read the room, my g.

thirdly, they don't trust each other as much as fanon seems to think they do. they were both willing to believe each other the traitor before ever suspecting pettigrew. sirius thought remus gave away the potters, hell, he thought remus was a spy for voldemort, and remus was convinced that sirius was a mass murderer. neither of them needed to be convinced.

fourthly, maybe i'm reading too much into it, but like. sirius had money. remus had no money, since, yk, he was a werewolf and struggling for cash and still, sirius,,, did not leave him any money. i feel like if you had money to spare, you would give to your friend who is literally poor. but, again, maybe i'm reading too much into it and this isn't as valid a point as i think it is.

and ehh, the fifth reason is that it's,,, actually very much not the representation for the ltgbt community that fanon says it is but y'all aren't ready for that conversation.

anyways, just,,, even when you set the couple shit aside, the power dynamics between everyone here is fucked. like, james and sirius are clearly at the top of food chain calling the shots and egging each other on. then there's lily, who isn't even a marauder, but is always ever-so-slightly above remus but still not on their level, because, well. neither of them actually listen to her. remus is the novelty friend, the friend who's,,, alright, i guess, but you keep them around specifically because they're funny or they can dance or they have something that you can either show off to other people or keep as your little inside joke, your little secret, yk? and peter is just sort of there. like, yeah, he can do what we can but does that make him as good as we are? no. does he have a funny little something about him that we can exploit? nah. therefore he sits at the bottom. and like, yeah, james and sirius are on the same level, but james is yanking sirius' chain, not the other way around. anyways, like i said. power dynamic's fucked and it bothers me that we were given all of this, and fanon decided to take it all and throw it away so they could give us flamboyant!badboi!sirius black x softboi!motherhen!remus lupin going on double dates with feminist!trustfundbaby!james potter and saint!lily evans while ignoring peter pettiwho?

theseus' fucking ship, indeed.

anyways, this needed to be said. it might not make as much sense as i want it to, considering it's 4:12 in the morning as i'm posting this, after taking a break from writing to do some research and coming across way too much content about fanon marauders, but it's here and it still makes enough sense that you can read it and understand what i mean. and like, at the end of the day, you can go ahead and headcanon whatever you please, you can write fic and make art and do whatever you like, just,,, remember that they're exactly that. headcanons. stop presenting fanon as canon. please. i'm literally begging. we actually have evidence against it. just,,, acknowledge that they're headcanons and stop putting them forward as though they're able to fit into canon. please.

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sage-nebula · 2 years

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I’ve seen some people on twitter trying to argue that Silco (and by extension Jinx) is not a villain and it’s like . . . listen.

Obviously the greatest evil in Arcane is the same as the greatest evil IRL, i.e. systemic oppression. The entire point of Arcane is how systemic oppression creates circumstances which then push people to become the worst versions of themselves, either because they aren’t able to access the help and care they need (e.g. Jinx), or because they feel they have no other options (e.g. Sevika). People aren’t evil for the sake of being evil, they don’t do horrible things for the sake of doing horrible things, and the solution isn’t to just Kill The Bad Guys, it’s to fundamentally change the system that created those Bad Guys in the first place.

However.

That doesn’t change the fact that Silco (and Jinx, don’t think I’m forgetting my bby girl here) have indeed done horrible, heinous things. They’ve drug trafficked, they’ve murdered, they’ve terrorized. Silco is a kingpin that holds the entire Undercity in a vicegrip of fear and drug addiction. Jinx commits wonton acts of violence and murder against enforcers and Firelights alike. Do they have reasons for behaving the way they do? Yes. Might they have turned out differently if they didn’t live under the thumb of systemic oppression that turned its backs on them and denied them the help they desperately needed? Absolutely. But a.) having sympathetic reasons doesn’t stop someone from being a villain; these are explanations, not excuses. And b.) it’s not as if they’re the only people who have lived under the thumb of oppression. Both Ekko and Vi did too, but you don’t see them drug trafficking and murdering people without remorse (or even with humor).

All of this is to say, yes, Silco and Jinx are villains. Tragic villains (especially in Jinx’s case), but villains nonetheless. But it’s OK to like them. I think the reason why some people are trying to argue they’re not villains is because they feel that perhaps it reflects badly on them to like villainous characters, like it says something about their morality as people. This is not the case. You can like a villain in fiction while also recognizing that if someone did those things in real life, you’d be horrified and not sympathize with them at all. Someone who appreciates Hannibal Lector as a villain / fictional character isn’t going to be on board with a real life serial killing cannibal. They just appreciate the story as it’s told, which is the entire point. We should like the villains in the stories we enjoy, as characters if not as people, because that’s a huge part of what makes the story enjoyable. Yzma is 50% of what makes The Emperor’s New Groove so great all on her own. Darth Vader is one of the most iconic Star Wars characters for a reason. It’s OK to like villains. It doesn’t reflect on your morality, but rather on the quality of the storytelling you’re presented with.

So yes, obviously The Biggest Bad in Arcane is the systemic oppression, the police brutality, etc. It’s why, if Vi truly becomes an enforcer in the show like she apparently does in the game, I’m going to have a real hard time not gagging. But that doesn’t change the fact that Silco and Jinx are still villainous characters. That as much as my heart sobs for Powder, and wishes Jinx could get a redemption arc, I know that a.) it’s not likely to happen, and b.) it’s not as if that would excuse all of the heinous things she has done (and also wouldn’t require her victims, such as Caitlyn, to forgive her). But it’s still OK to like her regardless, just as it’s OK to like Silco. You can like villains. It doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s OK. You’re going to be OK.

#arcane #silco #jinx #i know this post is discourse adjacent but if you clown on this i will just block you so #Tread Lightly

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nightbringer117 · 3 years

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The Dead Venus, or "why the Darkness statue has big tiddies"

The Darkness is the Destiny universe's ultimate evil. When we finally entered the Pyramid in Shadowkeep, a space made by the Darkness, we found a statue of a large-breasted woman covered in a cloth. This is obviously a pretty weird image. Considering how proud Bungie seems of their visual storytelling and symbolism, and the care they've taken with the design of most of their female characters, I'd like to think there was a reason beyond "big woman sexy" for the statue to look like this.

This may very well be putting more thought into it than the designers themselves, but finally personifying their universe's greatest evil with a humanoid figure had to involve some deeper thought and discussion of the symbolism before they committed to it.

I think there's some really great symbolism here, and I'll explain below.

The statue is obviously not what the Darkness looks like, but instead it's a representation of what the Darkness is, or its beliefs and motivations. In case you haven't been marinating in Destiny lore for years, I'll give a quick summary of what the Darkness believes:

Crash Course in Darkness Theology:

- Conflict is the one truth of existence.

- The weak must die so the strong can prosper.

- If you die, then you've failed the great game of existence and proven the strength of the thing that killed you. (This is why necromancy and Guardian resurrection are great sins to the Hive)

- To nurture or protect something is a sin, because it prevents that being from being tested by violence.

Given those conditions, the Darkness is a god of death. Bungie could have easily made the statue a skeleton in a robe with a scythe and we would have gotten the idea.

However, given the Unveiling lorebook, where the Darkness sends us messages, it's clear that the Darkness often defines itself in opposition to the Traveler. It tries to convince us that charity, peace, and kindness lead to stagnation and decay, while conflict is a force that renews and improves life.

Let's instead look at the Traveler, and what we know of its values (with the caveat that some of these were explained to us by the Darkness in a mocking and dismissive way).

- Life can flourish when it's protected from violence and conflict.

- The whole of society will be stronger and more resilient if everyone is allowed to thrive, not just the strongest and most ruthless individuals.

- Violence is necessary only when it comes to protecting others, and should not be pursued for its own sake.

These nurturing qualities, along with the Traveler being called the Gardener, draw strong associations with a "mother goddess" figure. It's a being that guides and protects those under its charge, and sacrifices itself to keep them safe.

Here's my point: The mother goddess figure in many cultures is represented with a figurine of a pregnant woman, often called "Venus", even though the practice is older and more widespread than the Greco-Roman pantheon, going back to the Upper Paleolithic.

The Darkness statue has big breasts because it's supposed to be a mother goddess. But it's not just a mother goddess. It's covered up. Not with a robe, or a veil, but a shroud.

Symbolically, the mother goddess is dead. Instead of a nurturing parent, the statue represents the loss of a parent. A child forced to grow up too soon when their caretaker dies. A previously innocent and carefree youth being exposed to the true horror of the world through loss and tragedy. That is what the Darkness is.

The Darkness is a being that celebrates grief and pain as catalysts for change, and I think the statue does a surprisingly good job of conveying that, if you look past the weird first impression it gives.

#destiny 2 #destiny the game #the winnower #the gardener #destiny lore #my stuff

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zoopzopp · 3 years

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A post for some BAMF Izuku fics <3 (more of these will be added and the list will be updated as i read them)

Fics i've read:

The Secret Ingredient is Crime- Izuku only had a whole month to further prove himself worthy of Yuuei's golden acceptance, and he was going to do whatever it took to make it in. Yuuei would never truly know what hit them until it was too late. (The secret crime AU in it entirety is fucking amazing and what wouldn't i give to read more stuff with it)

Deku the Villain Hunter: Support Hero - We all know the story: After being told he couldn't be a Hero by All Might, Midoriya Izuku still wandered over to a supervillain attack where he could save Bakugou Katsuki. But what if he had made the other turn? The answer is a butterfly effect that would lead him on a path to paving his own future. A path of revenge, finding his own moral compass, and doing the impossible. (OKAY MANY THOUGHTS. Very cool story and aspects. I binged it overnight and lost a bit of sleep the next night as well.)

The Story of How Midoriya Izuku Asserted His Dominance (And Traumatized Japan) - The Sports Festival was supposed to be a break from stress. Shouta should have known there is no such thing as a break with his class.

making it right (for real this time) - - Izuku is a support course student at UA, and Katsuki's neighbor, best friend, and former bullying victim. After Izuku's performance at the sports festival, Katsuki realizes something. He has to make things right. -

Hero Fall (UA Civil War Exercise) - It's now the end of the first year of UA for our students. Nedzu had decided to bring back the annual Heroes vs Villain fight. The fight shall last 5 days and the villain leader is Izuku Midoriya, with the commanding officer of the hero team being Katsuki Bakugo. But, what happens when Izuku is left alone?

Hero Class Civil Warfare - Heroes lead by Bakugo. Villains lead by Midoriya. Seven days prep time. Three days for Izuku Midoriya to show why they should be glad he's not a real villain.

"I Didn't Know You Had It In You." - Midoriya goes feral rage mode in his fight against Overhaul. The beat down still happens, but with Eri no longer at his back, he gets more violent. One For All reacts in an interesting way and Midoriya commits a terrible and unheroic act - the cold blooded murder and maiming of Chisaki Kai. Shigaraki is there to watch it all unfold.

Plan C meets Plan A - Even if All Might is right and Izuku can't be a hero, Izuku refuses to be useless. So Izuku uses his analysis skills to develop Plan C: Consulting in order to help the heroes. Eraserhead is impressed by this mysterious new consultant but alarm bells in Deku's behaviour quickly have Aizawa recruiting help for Plan A: Adoption.

Q. A. B. - One month after @hawks_unofficial's initial viral post, the blog titled "Quirk Analysis Blog for the Future", otherwise known as "Q. A. B.", has gone from an average of 10 views per post to an average of 20,000 views per post. Midoriya Izuku does not know how to view the impressions analysis for his suddenly popular blog, and only notices that sometimes, people actually comment on his posts now. He does not google himself or his moniker and thus does not see the rise in online articles and speculation. He is unaware that the "kyuu-ei-bee" he begins to hear about in passing refers to his own blog. He does not have a Twitter account. At the time, Midoriya Izuku is 15 years old.

How to murder your father - It's dangerous to be a bad father when you have a life insurance. Just saying.

Negation - Passive Quirks are a bitch. Izuku is reasonably done with the situation.

Thanks For Your Support - Izuku has the talent and the intellect to be the first Quirkless pro hero, and everyone at UA knows it. Unfortunately, his desire to become a hero has long since been buried thanks to the words of his childhood friend and childhood hero.

Policed To Meet You - Izuku takes All Might's advice and becomes a cop.

Vigilante Work And Other After School Activities - Izuku is a vigilante, Aizawa likes cats and therefore kids who help cats, and sometimes breaks must be forced upon overachieving teenagers.

When the Commission Lost Total Control - The hero polls have a small part where one can suggest their own hero. This is done just because of the amount of heroes is to great to name them all. This creates a little problem for the commission because a vigilante is assumed to be a brand new hero by the public- and ranks pretty high. Because of that, this vigilante now is too popular to hide and they can't come out with their mistake either! Think of the chaos that would bring.

Izuku being Badass but like in not that grand of a way but still tearing-people-down-in-some-way kind of way

He Was Quirkless - Midoriya get's sick of discrimination against the quirkless and decides to do something about it. It leads to some interesting situations. A trilogy.

bloody, but unbowed- It's Advocacy Week for Yuuei's hero students and it gives Midoriya Izuku a lot to think about about what kind of hero he wants Deku to be.

Called Out - When Izuku is hit by a quirk that will cause him to call out the first person to be rude to him on the way to school with every mistake they've made in the affected persons presence or have otherwise effected said affected person, Aizawa is in for a rough ride. In other words, with some help from a quirk, Izuku rakes Aizawa over the hot coals until he gives out. (a great fic but i've got mixed feelings on this one because on one hand, izuku is badass but on the other its Aizawa bashing and really like him skhdskdb so yea! Read it as per your tastes!!)

The time when everyone learned that izuku respects Bakugo more than all might. - I didn't like how Bakugo was tied up during the sports festival and so izuku didn't. Badass izuku roasted all might and midnight.

Villainous Sunshine - After an innocent question, Class 1-A learns just how terrifying Izuku's analysis is. Nedzu's along for the ride.

Never understand ( and you can't ) - Midoriya is sick and tried of his classmates bias and prejudice against the quirkless community and finally breaks

Mastermind: Strategist For Hire - Izuku Midoriya never got the chance to save Bakugo from the sludge villain and impress All Might. With his dream crushed, Izuku becomes bitter and angry. It also doesn't help that he faces discrimination at every turn. All he ever wanted was to be appreciated, so when the villains are the ones to recognize his talents rather than the heroes, well, Izuku just can't resist. He might as well help those who actually want him around. Mistakes were made, and now society must face a villain of their own making: Mastermind.

Malignance - Deku is far scarier than anyone gives him credit for.

Fics in my to read list which has/probably has BAMF izuku

Young Midoriya - Izuku Midoriya couldn't help himself when he saw someone in trouble. Even at 12 years old, his instincts drive him to help those in need. So when he sees Kacchan and his goons about to ambush another student, he has to step in, right? It's not like this hasn't happened before. What is different this time though, is that he's never had an audience that consisted of the Number One Hero.

Heroics and Other Things That Don't Require Superpowers - Izuku doesn't have a quirk. That's the long and short of it. After being told his whole life he can't be a hero, General Education at UA is the best he can hope for, right? Wrong. Dead Wrong. So super wrong that his best friend from Gen Ed, all of Class 1A and a whole mess of Pro Heroes are going to prove to him how wrong he is. Izuku has the makings of a hero, and his lack of a quirk only throws those qualities into starker relief. After all, who wants to be as strong as All Might when you can be the cleverest hero in the business?

Cases of More Than - Izuku is known as Deku online. He's an analyst of quirks, sometimes even working with the local detective, Tsukauchi, on a case. He meets new friends, builds a few relationships, and slowly crushes on his best friend. But then he's thrown into the General Studies Course at U.A. It doesn't help that All for One is showing an interest in him at all.

No Regret - In this world there is no hard set villain or hero. No victim and aggressor. Everyone is at fault for something and Izuku, with his own villain group, will make everyone pay. Even the bystanders who did nothing. This is what society gets for abandoning it's people. Deku will manipulate everyone and be the greatest villain, all so the world can be a better a place. With the stakes so high there is no time for regret.

We Are a Different Kind - Mirio doesn’t think he can be a hero anymore now that he’s quirkless, Izuku calls bullshit.

Live a Hero - "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Or, you're raised a villain, rebel when you're nine, and fight against the odds to become a hero anyway. That's how it is in Izuku's case.

Prodigal - After being convinced to give One for All to Mirio, Midoriya Izuku must rebuild his shattered dreams with bloody hands.

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Vigilante - Izuku is orphaned at the age of four and is sent into the Japanese Foster Care System. After multiple failed attempts at finding a forever home and some unfortunate circumstance, he ends up on the streets. Eventually, the vigilante, Deku appears. Eraserhead must gain his trust to bring Deku back to the right side of the law. If he he does, however, the untrustful but pure-hearted boy may just be a bit more than Aizawa Shota can handle.

From Muddy Waters - - but the sleeve of his tracksuit was bulging, tearing and ripping and a mass of twisted flesh, nearly as big as the boy himself and nauseatingly familiar (the arm of the man that had torn a hole in his side with a grin and left him a frail shadow of himself) swung forward and slammed into the flat face of the giant robot. Izuku wants to be a hero more than anything.

Pieces are easily sacrificed when they're nameless - Nobody ever thought quirkless, weak, weird Midoriya Izuku was dangerous. This perception carried over to his first year high school class, because really despite the super strength Midoriya didn't have it in him to be dangerous. That was their first mistake. And the one that would see them fall.

Not exactly BAMF izuku but i just wanted to rec these fics <3

In the shade of a sunflower - Being biologically quirkless came more with an extra pinkie joint in the toes and a stunning lack of vestiges mutations. It came with smaller things, like extra teeth that did virtually nothing, exploding organs, and weird exposed nerves that weren't designed to feel pain.

Throat Punch - In which Aizawa attempts to teach Izuku how to use various battle tactics and it goes just about as well as you'd expect. At least Shinsou is there with his fantastic commentary. (just a fun lil thing where izuku is really stronk and trains with shinsou and aizawa)

So Be It - He could still do good. Midoriya could show them all what a hero without powers looked like. If he had to break a few rules to do it, so be it. So be it… (as stated not exactly BAMF but its a vigilante izuku so ye-)

Never Enter a Drinking Game with Bakugo or Izuku - Izuku walks in on Kirishima and Kaminari having a drinking competition (no alcohol involved). And it reminds him of an old story.

5 Times Midoriya Taught Class 1A about Memes and 1 Time they Found a Villain that Understood Them - After being diagnosed as quirkless, Midoriya gets into pre-guirk media and finds memes. He shares them with Class 1A. Aizawa doesn't get paid enough for this. (THIS FIC???? FUCKING AWESOME. LITERALLY WHAT I WANTED TO SEE)

Midoriya: JD Version - Nedzu has decided that a play should be put on so that the students can learn how to "go undercover", an idea which Aizawa thinks is utter bullshit. They're putting on Heathers and when Nedzu chooses to cast Midoriya for JD, everyone objects. Midoriya is a much better actor than they thought.

that is a lot!! I hope you have fun reading it!!!

#fic recs #bnha #bamf izuku midoriya #izuku midoriya

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j-amespotter · 3 years

Text

★ the last great american dynasty - s. b.

“i had a marvelous time ruining everything.”

Pairing: Sirius Black x Muggle-born!Reader

x. x. x.

Summary: A one-shot diving into Sirius’s complicated relationship with Grimmauld Place and where the Muggle-born he falls for fits in.

Genre/Warnings: angst, emotional abuse, alcohol, language, mentions of death & war

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: so.. this is more of a character study on sirius & his dynamic with his family – i know this song is meant to be about a woman but it also screams sirius to me. i’m a sucker for romance so it’s a reader-insert. fun fact, i was almost done writing this when i realized i wanted it to be a wolfstar fic, but i was too lazy to change it, so just putting that out as a concept lol. let me know what you think & if you’d like me to tag you in future works!!

masterlist

When Sirius first showed signs of his rebellious nature, Walburga wasn’t worried. After all, many children were incapable of sitting still in large gatherings, mouthing off to their parents, or incessantly teasing their younger siblings. “He will be kept in good company. He will learn,” Walburga would say to her husband. He often exasperated her, but there was no denying her immense pride. Despite his antics, even at a young age, Sirius displayed impressive magical ability and had a commanding presence – excellent qualities for the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

She worried only a little when he preferred to spend time with Andromeda, who was clearly becoming disillusioned with their family values, and Alphard, who Walburga believed was beginning to get a little too soft. Still, the Blacks were not raving lunatics. They were traditionalists, committed to upholding the high standards of Wizarding society. Sirius would not defy them, not when the weight of their bloodline rested on his shoulders, not when Regulus would never be able to stomach such responsibility.

On his first night at Hogwarts, Sirius didn't write home. It wasn’t until the morning after that Narcissa delivered the dreadful news to her mother. Walburga’s sister-in-law relished discussing this most recent embarrassment, as the family’s attention was now off her daughter’s courtship of a mudblood. Young Sirius, their direct heir, was sorted into the House of Muggle-lovers and blood traitors, into the House of Godric Gryffindor.

Blown apart by this development, Walburga turned to her younger son. She had no intention of repeating her mistakes and resolved to train him for the responsibility that should have belonged to her eldest. That way, if she was unable to correct Sirius’s behavior, she had back-up. Her legacy was secure.

During every subsequent holiday, she noticed that the damage was getting more-and-more irreversible. Sirius unabashedly consorted with infamous blood traitors and pathetic half-bloods. He seemed to dread seeing his family as much as she dreaded seeing how much of him she had lost. She tried; no one could say she didn’t. But she was too stern with him. He had inherited his flexibility, or lack thereof, from her. She pushed him too far away. Soon, he stopped returning home for Christmas. When he was sixteen, she spat at him as he closed the door to Number 12 Grimmauld Place one last time, without sparing her a final glance.

He never expected he would have to return. Offering up the property to the Order seemed like a good idea at the time – he hardly put any thought into it. That was how he made most of his decisions. His track record certainly proved so. When Remus didn’t have anywhere to stay, and neither did the newly-reformed Order of the Phoenix, Sirius knew that his family estate in London was not just their most ideal option, but also the only one they had.

He managed to enter undetected in his Animagus form with Remus. He had to hand it to fate – there were no extra security measures to keep him out. It was as if she anticipated his arrival. Swallowing, he absorbed his surroundings. Despite the eerie silence and decomposing furniture, it looked like an image straight from his memory. Sirius suddenly felt sixteen again.

What he did not expect to see, however, was a currently-sleeping life-sized portrait of Walburga Black in the hallway. Though now in his human form, Sirius growled inadvertently. She knew. She always knew that he would come back. She wanted to be there when he did. Unbelievable, he thought to himself.

Aware of Remus’s wary gaze on him, Sirius walked forward and began pulling on the frame. “Get off, you hag! Remus, help me get this off!”

Remus went to join his old friend in what seemed like a fruitless mission in his mind but came to an abrupt halt when the portrait, disturbed by her son’s grunts, awoke in a flash of fury. “Filth! Scum! Abomination of my flesh! You are no son of mine,” portrait-Walburga hissed.

“Shut up, just shut up!” He had not heard her voice since he was near a Dementor, reliving the worst of his teenage years. The visual made it much, much worse.

“Permanent Sticking Charm, it seems…” Remus said to appease his friend, pulling the withering velvet curtains over its towering frame with all his strength.

“This is torture,” sighed Sirius. “Maybe we can find another place.”

Remus refused to meet his eye. “For now, it is all we have, Sirius. If it was going to be a problem, you should not have offered it to Professor Dumbledore.”

Sirius frowned. “It’s all I’m able to do this time around. It’s not like I can go around trailing Death Eaters and infiltrating the Ministry with everyone else.”

“Hopefully, it’s only temporary,” assured Remus, though he was equally as uncertain about Sirius’s fate as a fugitive. “Try not to let this place get into your head, okay?”

Sirius Black was never good at keeping promises. He had three-and-a-half decades of evidence to back that up. In the weeks following, the Order settled in, consisting of many highly competent Aurors, half-a-dozen Weasleys, and an ex-Death Eater he could do without seeing. Sirius found himself never too far from alcohol, itching for more access. He longed to see Harry and to get away from his wretched house-elf, along with the constant, stinging reminder of his mother's existence.

But there was something else inside of him, something he couldn’t describe. It was an emotion that was egging him on. He felt it inside of him every time Kreacher muttered complaints about wandering red-headed blood traitor brats. It swirled in his stomach when his mother shouted scathing insults at the clumsy half-blood and filthy half-breed that took temporary refuge in the former pure-blood paradise.

Then she came.

She was new. She worked at the Ministry; many of his houseguests were incredibly fond of her. He recognized the innocence in her eyes. It was the same innocence that he had when he first joined the Order seventeen years earlier. It was the same innocence that differentiated every new member from every returning one – they had yet to see tragedy in its fullest form.

“Hello,” she greeted. She seemed strangely unperturbed by the fact that she was in the presence of an alleged mass murderer. “I’m (Y/N). I’ve been told this is your house. Thank you for playing host.”

“My pleasure,” responded Sirius. Involuntarily, he reached for her hand and kissed it. Suddenly, he became painfully aware of his hollowing cheeks, untamed hair, and liquor-infused breath.

She flushed slightly at the gesture. Black family habits die hard. Just because he chose to refrain from practicing them did not mean he had forgotten, nor did it mean that he wasn’t any good at them.

Walburga Black’s portrait watched her son fall in love with her. Sirius watched her watch him. There was no telling how she would react. Regulus was dead – it was up to him to preserve their family’s name and purity.

(Y/N) was witty and flirty and incredibly intelligent. He found himself feeling a decade younger as he enjoyed their banter and her overall easiness. Before long, she kissed him in his dimly-lit pantry, and he was too selfish to stop her. They would kiss in every corner of the house, hardly caring that anyone was watching, ignoring the ghosts living within the walls. For Sirius, (Y/N) was his greatest act of defiance. She was born to non-magic parents. As narrated by a disgruntled Kreacher to his now-helpless mistress, she was nothing but a “filthy mudblood.”

One night, weeks after the children departed for Hogwarts and the house was, as on most days, empty, he caught her staring at the Black family tapestry. Without making a sound, he inched behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hello, beautiful,” he whispered, pressing a kiss on her shoulder. “Sickle for your thoughts?”

She leaned into him. As the days went on, she would tire easily. Still, she found happiness in Sirius as he did with her, and they both were old enough to know to reach for it in any capacity they got. “It’s nothing. It’s stupid. Let’s get to bed.”

“As much as I’m a fan of that idea,” he started with a smirk, “you look upset. Is it work? Fudge?”

“No, nothing like that.” Her fingers traced his blasted name on the wall. She looked thoughtful. “I’ve just… noticed something about you.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“The way you look at your mother.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s no secret that I hate her. I hope that’s not off-putting. You’ve seen what she’s like – it was worse when she was alive. I promise I’m a gentleman in general circumstances… for the most part,” he added cheekily.

She smiled tightly. “No, I get it. It must be terrible for you, being back here.”

“It is,” he affirmed. “I’ve got you, though. You make me happier than anything, love.”

“That’s the thing,” she uttered as if it pained her. Sirius could stare at her fiery expression for days on end. To be on the receiving end was strange. “I can’t help but think that you’re only in love with me to spite her. Like your feelings aren’t love, they’re just a culmination of your hatred for her.”

It took Sirius an eternity to process what she just said. Realizing that he was not going to say anything, she continued. “Believe me, I know you hate it here. But at the same time, you look so… satisfied. You’re hosting a bunch of blood traitors, half-bloods, and a werewolf in this place that was once the pinnacle of blood purity. You’re providing a haven against the bloody Dark Lord. And worst of all, you’re with a mudblood.”

“Don’t call yourself that,” interrupted Sirius harshly.

“It’s the truth. If you weren’t in this position, would we even be together?”

“Of course,” said Sirius. To answer this question, he didn’t even have to think. “I love you because you’re you. You’re beautiful and smart and make me laugh until my stomach hurts. You’re so good with Harry and you can put anyone in their place. You make me feel new again… God, that’s fucking sappy, but it’s true. I indeed hate this place and I hate her but… but if I let her dictate my choices, even when she’s bloody dead, then she’s won. I don’t want her to win. If I was only with you for your blood status, then I would be no different from my mother.”

She stared up at him, her eyes betraying a wave of emotions. She reached up to kiss him, tangling her fingers in his hair. “Thank you for saying all of that. Just hold on for a little while, alright? Soon, we’ll be out of here. We can have our own house – you, me, and Harry.”

He smiled at her sadly. It seemed too unreachable of a goal to him at the moment. “By the beach?” “Wherever you’d like,” she answered, leading him to his bedroom, his only sanctuary in the horrible house.

As they made their way towards the stairs, Sirius glanced at the tapestry over his shoulder, at the seven generations of Blacks behind him. He gently squeezed (Y/N)’s hand. For the first time in his entire life, he felt the weight of carrying his name lift off him. He’d done his part to corrupt his bloodline. It was time for Sirius to focus on himself in a way that the shadows of his past never allowed him to, even in his schoolboy days with James. Being a Black was a part of who he was, and even a disowned Black deserved his long-overdue happiness.

Tagging: @strawberriesonsummer

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n1kolaiz · 3 years

Text

ENTJ + INFJ DYNAMIC

BSD MANGA CHAPTER 54-57 SPOILERS

Chapter 54 introduced Mushitaro Oguri, and his background involving Yokomizo was ever so intriguing to me. So unfortunately, here I am.

Mushitaro and Yokomizo's dynamic:

The 'Commander' meets the 'Idealist.'

Alright, I won't go into the details about the case of Yokomizo's death, because there's no way in hell I can explain it fluently at all. So if you need further reference to what these few chapters are about, popopretty's post would elaborate on the details and whatnot.

Before I start, here's a bit of little introduction to both individual characters:

MUSHITARO OGURI

Mushitaro appears to take a lot of pride in his ability, which contributes to his arrogant complex altogether. He had his own desires and goals, and lived out his days just to fulfil them.

His ability is called the 'Perfect Crime,' which allows him to erase any trail of evidence pertaining to whatever crime he had committed. Hence, he is also known as the 'infallible Detective-killer.'

Until Ranpo proved him wrongヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉﾞ

His personality type is most likely 'ENTJ,' the 'Commander.'

- ENTJs are known to have exceptional leadership skills. They are confident in themselves and what they do; basically, they don't have the tendency to second-guess what they are capable of. This explains Mushitaro's ambition to achieve his ends, and his ability goes the extra mile of complimenting his success rate greatly. Whether his motives or the end results were morally good or evil, it didn't matter to Mushitaro— as long as his wishes were fulfilled.

"With tyrants and demons, I'll make deal with a demon. That's in my nature."

- They're also quite outspoken with their opinions. It's a fairly minor detail, but this shows why he wasn't afraid to express the distaste he had for mystery novels to Yokomizo— including the extravagant ideas and serpentine stories his close friend based his life upon and discussed with him.

- The subtle insensitivity mixed in with an ENTJ's preference of logic over emotion highlights one of their core weaknesses: which brings us back to Mushitaro's ability to kill his friend. Say you were to put a person with a deeply compassionate heart, who's also very well in-tact when it comes to identifying emotions and being empathetical to other's feelings: would that person be able to kill a friend they'd known for so long? For the sole reason of making his last mystery novel a deathless enigma? This is very subjective perspective, but I believe that if Mushitaro was more of an emotionalist rather than a strategist, things would have turned out different for Yokomizo's eventual fate.

Side note: His insensitivity did, however, find its limit when he realised how devastating it was to have killed his own friend with his hands. Even though there's a wide scale that measures how insensitive a person can be, they are, in fact, still human beings capable of feeling. Killing someone dear to you is no easy task; there is a breaking point for the hardest of hearts.

SEISHI YOKOMIZO

Yokimozo, also known as Kindaichi, was a mystery writer who was very particular about detail and being exclusive, especially when it came to his works. His last wish he pursued to achieve before a terminal illness took his life was done by formulating a 'mystery that transcended reality.'

"I hate regret. So I've done whatever I've wanted to do. Up until now, it's been a satisfying life. But now… I've been given a time limit…Before then, I have to complete the ultimate mystery."

His personality type is identified as 'INFJ,' also known as the 'Idealist.'

- INFJ's are deeply creative and artistic, but they express it in various different ways. For Yokomizo, he portrayed his brilliant artistic skill through his writings revolving around mysteries and their compelling depths. The fictional character's namesake was also a mystery novel writer. Yokomizo was pretty well-versed with how mysteries worked and how their details ravelled themselves into elegantly, well-established riddles, which only added to his natural flair of writing.

- Generally, INFJs are reserved, but incredibly idealistic. Yokomizo was seen to be very abstract in his idea of thinking, and this is due to the fact that INFJs have a thing for pondering about life and the meaning behind everything.

"Mushi-kun, I bet you're laughing at me for destroying myself for the sake of mystery. But if that's the case, maybe there's no such thing as unshakable values. Maybe it's up to us to decide what to put value in and what to live for. After all, we have the right to turn our own decisions into our entire world. It is, foolishly enough, the greatest luxury afforded to mankind."

- As for their weaknesses, some INFJs are very hard to get to know. They are mysterious at times, which prevents them from being flamboyant with their thoughts and opinions. Yokomizo had a very lighthearted, mystifying nature, which made him a very interesting character altogether. Despite having a high regard for their intimate relationships— INFJs can be quite private. Mushitaro vaguely points out his self-contained, introverted mannerisms in this panel:

Now, I'll get to my point.

ENTJs and INFJs don't ideally match up, but when it comes to general friendships, there are a few details that suggest an accomodating dynamic between the two personality types. These qualities emanate from Mushitaro and Yokomizo's friendship with each other.

Opposites attract in most cases, correct?

Well, in this case, ENTJs and INFJs have a lot of similarities:

intelligent

intuitive in thinking

determined

goal-oriented

But the more numerable contrasting qualities is what really brings out the agreeable traits between Mushitaro and Yokozimo. Think of it as a system where two opposites mutually keep each other in check:

1. Mushitaro bases his life on the gaining his own needs and wants, and is very firm in his sense of realism, while Yokomizo is more focused on the deep, complexities of life itself. This may come off as impractical to ENTJs, but also compliments their coordination with INFJs. Realism limits idealism, but idealists can also expand the boundaries realists place themselves in.

2. INFJs accept people and ideas as they are, not willing to put others down just to prove themselves right. Yokozimo's tolerant behaviour stands in contrast with how authoritative Mushitaro is, especially when it boils down to his arrogance— he isn't afraid to spit his pride right into his opponent's face.

Kneel, detectives! I am the king of crime! No one can force me to sin and repent!

Just for laughs reference^

So it's safe to say that because Yokomizo had an acquired sense of serenity and open-mindedness, he was able to tolerate Mushitaro's extravagant, subtle histrionic characteristics, which were laced with his superior complex.

3. In the manga, Yokomizo speaks and converses with Mushitaro in a way that suggests that he is careful with his words. INFJs are gentle and generally sensitive to the needs of others, so they tend to be careful with what comes out of their mouths. Mushitaro, like most ENTJs, are quite blunt. This points back to how insensitive they come off, even if they don't actually mean it. So when it comes to Yokozimo explaining tales of mystery to Mushitaro, Mushitaro doesn't hesitate to mock Yokozimo; but because of how understanding Yokozimo is, he doesn't take Mushitaro's opinions too seriously to the point of discounting the value of their friendship, because he knew Mushitaro didn't use his words with the intention to harm.

If you were to place a more dominant persona in Yokomizo's position, I doubt that that person would be able to tolerate such behaviours. Then again, this is crucially subjective.

I suppose the main thing I wanted to point out was how ENTJs and INFJs balanced each other out by cancelling out each other's extreme traits, and keeping each other in the middle of the equilibrium altogether. But another thing I'd like to point out to sum up Mushitaro and Yokozimo's relationship was this: the fact that Mushitaro had to kill his own friend to grant his dying wish. Dying for someone or by someone's hands is easier than killing someone, especially if that someone is dear to you, no? I guess that's the part I can't fathom— it was the type of relationship that stood out way more than I had expected. Say, the roles were switched, would Yokomizo actually kill Mushitaro? Or would Mushitaro think of such an incomprehensible way to die in the first place? Or what if these two friends had different, more superior traits that coexisted in conflict all the time, would Yokomizo even depend on Mushitaro with such a task?

The speculations are endless, or maybe it's pretty straightforward. Though, I hope this made sense.

Okay, I'm done rambling for now. Thank you for reading!

#bsd #bsd analysis #bsd characters #bungou stray dogs #bsd spoilers #bsd manga #bsd mushitaro #bsd decay of angels #decay of angels #rats in the house of the dead #.daydreams

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shellyb04 · 3 years

Text

And here we are, all caught up. You'll notice I fell into a bit of a Chinese drama and historical hole for these last ones! I will try to post as I finish shows so I can give a bit more of a review. Enjoy!

A love so romantic (Cdrama)-Girl pretends to be a long lost granddaughter of the Gu family and falls for the Gu family heir. 8/10 Very funny. The last ten episodes get a bit annoying with dumb amnesia and such, but overall really funny main couple.

The Greatest Love (Kdrama)-An A-list movie star with a heart condition meets former girl group member and now most disliked celebrity. Against all odds, he falls for her. 9/10 This is extremely funny and a bit tropey, but it gets major bonus points for the ending. There's no crazy amnesia or unreasonable misunderstandings. Their dilemma at the end makes sense and wasn't dragged out for too long. There was a bit in the middle where she was trying to reject him that dragged for me and I didn't like the other girl group members very much. But overall, really fun.

The Rebel Princess (Cdrama)-A princess is forced to marry a general turned prince instead of her childhood sweetheart prince. They ultimately fall for each other and endure war, kidnapping, betrayal, and every other kind of misfortune that can happen in a historical drama. 9/10 This drama was refreshing because the couple was so amazing together. They were kind as well as cunning. They were the only characters not seeking power and I just loved the way they worked. It does get a little draggy during some of the palace politics. I also think some of the villians didn't think through their plans. But overall, the leads made the show. Although there are some genuinely heartbreaking moments and too many women committing suicide.

Love Script (Cdrama)- A CEO gets into an accident and believes he's a Prince from the Ming Dynasty. A psychologist is hired and she becomes part of the palace staff in order to treat him. But she begins to fall for him. 8/10 I liked all the characters. It's a really light show and there's a couple of plot twists that ultimately made the lead romance work for me. There were a few too many flashbacks and I found myself skipping through them a lot.

A Girl Like Me (Cdrama)- Ban Hua has three failed engagements, partially because of her blunt manner and explosive temper. She begins getting visions of the future and uses them to save her family from trouble, along with Rong Xia who has his own agenda...but will he be distracted by Ban Hua!? 8.5/10 I really liked this one. The story moved along rather quickly. I love that the Ban family are perfectly happy in their little sphere of life. They adore each other and simply want their family to be happy. The only real negatives are that I don't think some of the villain plots made sense especially toward the end and I thought the last two episodes should have wrapped up the story not made more characters power hungry and foolish. Overall, I really liked it, especially Ban Hua and Rong Xia's banter and courtship.

My little happiness (Cdrama)-An intern lawyer and a successful neurosurgeon who were childhood sweethearts meet again as adults only she never knew his name. Watch the duo fall in love. 8/10 This is a pleasant little ditty with no big problems. The relationship between the main girl and her best friend feels super real to me. I love both main couples. It's a simple sweet sappy love story. There's never any doubt how it will end so just enjoy the sweetness.

Oh! My Sweet Liar! (Cdrama)-Historical- A female painter infiltrates the home of a noble family to paint a copy of a precious item. When her escape goes wrong, she fakes a pregnancy by the family heir to save her life. They make a contract marriage so he can escape an arranged marriage he doesn't want. But there are secrets and plotting people throughout the family home. 8.5/10 I really liked the majority of the show. It was a bit slow the second arc of the show and really the last three eps could have been a bit more streamlined, but I loved the Li family. It was so nice to see the love between the family.

Shopaholic Louis (Kdrama)- A wealthy heir gets amnesia and is found by a poor country girl newly arrived in Seoul to look for her brother. The two fall for each other while searching together. 8.5/10 Super cute. I loved the main couple the whole way through. The side characters grew on me as well. It was a nice sweet story overall.

Love in Time-Cdrama- Writer and a CEO were friends in Jr high but had a falling out. Present day they enter a contract marriage. 8/10 A point bump for 30 minute episodes. The story was sweet and simple with a few pleasant turns. The last episode is a bit dumb. I would've rather just had more epilogue than a faked amnesia plot. I liked the side friendships, but wish the "villain" had a better motivation. Just " I loved him and worked hard for him so he should be mine" obsession got old. The tropes were in full display so avoid if you hate those.

Love and Destiny-Cdrama- A young immortal wanders into the wrong place and awakens the God of War. He discovers a secret about her even she doesn't know. The two fall in love, but bad things happen. Can they overcome destiny with love? 7/10- This one seemed to be a bit long at 60 episodes and it took WAY too long to get started. But by episode 14 or 15 I was completely into the love story and most of the side characters. The two "villains" were annoying but ultimately I understood their choices even if I felt they were immature. Overall, it's good, but a little too slow in some places and the last ten episodes could have given me some more couple moments.

Divorce lawyer in love (Kdrama)- She's a tough as nails divorce lawyer and he's her office manager until she goes to far in a case and her license is suspended. Three years later she's the office manager and he's the lawyer and he sees his chance for some payback.. Enemies to friends to lovers. 8/10 It has its funny moments. I enjoy most of the "case of the week" stories. I thought the resolution to the main antagonist was a bit hand wavy, but overall, solid and enjoyable with mostly fun side characters.

The Sword and the Brocade (Cdrama)- A concubine's daughter marries a Marquis in an arranged marriage. She has to deal with conniving concubines, controlling mother and mother-in-law, as well as a family that doesn't want her around, and a rival family all while trying to continue her embroidery career. 7.5/10 Started out fairly strong but toward the end it felt really drawn out. I feel like the last two plots should have been more combined cause it really dragged the pace of the show down. The characters were good. I liked most of the characters a lot, but a few began to make weird decisions toward the end.

The Eternal Love (Cdrama)- Modern woman sucked to alternate past where she has to share her doppelganger's body. The two with the help of their maid try to figure out what's going on. But things are complicated as each soul is in love with a different prince.,-6/10 The story is okay, although the last four episodes are weird. Chemistry with the leads is fabulous. Really not great production quality. I couldn't get through Season 2.

Eternal Love/Ten Miles of Peach Blossom (Cdrama)- Bai Qian and Ye Hua are star crossed immortals who fall in love in three different but intertwined lives. 9.5/10 Started off slow, then got wonderful about ep 10, then pain and misery for a few eps before back to joy and falling in love and back to pain. But one of the best revenge scenes by Bai Qian! I sort of hated that basically every other couple seems doomed. I tried to watch the pillow book before this and just got bored. I may go back to it someday as I love that couple.

General's Lady (Cdrama)- independent noble sent to marry the "demon" general at the border only to fall in love with him. However there are factions trying to harm them. 9/10 Super light and sweet with lots of kisses. I got a bit bored a little past the middle of the drama when they went back to the capital. But the last several episodes brought me back around and I laughed out loud multiple times. Love all the couples throughout and how it showed there were multiple ways to be a strong woman.

#kdrama #cdrama #A love so romantic #The greatest love #the rebel princess #Love script #A girl like me #My little happiness #Oh! My sweet Liar!#shopaholic louis #love in time #love and destiny #divorce lawyer in love #the sword and the brocade #the eternal love #tmopb #eternal love #General's Lady

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ask-a-vetblr · 4 years

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(🐈 1/2) Could you discuss how you talk clients through the process of deciding how far to go when treating a serious problem, and how to decide when it's time to euthanize? One of my cats has recently developed idiopathic weight loss with poor appetite and mild to moderate pain grimacing that we can't find the source of. My boss and I suspect it may be cancer, and

(🐈 2/2) I'm finding it very comforting that I knew before her symptoms even presented how my decision tree was structured. I feel like pet owners who are not themselves in the veterinary industry probably don't have the experience to know at what points they will have to decide one way or the other, and I think a lot of people might find it helpful to have a vet's perspective on that.

@drferox here.

As you probably know by now, my cat Wonka has lymphoma. While I already knew more or less what decisions I was inclined to make, the LSB was caught unaware so I’ve had to be guiding him through it. It’s a much more personal decision tree than I’m used to.

I tend to start with trying to find the end point, the point at which you either decide treatment is too invasive, too expensive, or the quality of life isn’t good enough. In this case, before we knew Wonka’s diagnosis, the questions were:

Would you do surgery? Yes, if it’s a chance to cure.

Would you do chemotherapy? Maybe.

And it was a solid yes to just about any diagnostics we’d might require. When his lymphoma diagnosis came back, we had to decide whether chemotherapy was worth it, and that’s a big decision. It boiled down like this:

Overall lymphoma in cats has about a 30% response rate to treatment

But if you look at gut lymphoma only, it’s more like 50%

Of cats on chemo for gut lymphoma, about 30% survive to one year and 25% survive to two years. It’s hard to find studies beyond that.

So if he responds and survives to one year, there’s a good chance he will survive two years, which is a pretty decent result.

There is no other test I could go to figure out whether he’s likely to respond other than treating him and seeing what happens in the first 8 to 9 weeks. If he’s not responding by then, he will not respond.

The main side effect of chemo in cats is loss of appetite.

Wonka is normally a bin-diving, pantry-sabotaging, snack-stealing labrador appetite in the body of a cat, who’s greatest hits include diving head first into a box of biscuits while I was eating them, chewing a hole in a carton of chicken stock to lick the tasty goodness within, eating fish bones out of the bin and eating so much dry food that he threw up, contemplated his poor life choices, and then went to repeat the process.

So I was pretty sure I could manage any chemo side effects he might have, and that 30% chance was good enough to commit to two months treatment. Chemo is expensive, so if he’s not responding we’ll switch to palliative but at the moment he’s still well in himself.

For some people, chemo and its side effects will be harder to manage, or those odds above will not be good enough to justify the treatment, and that’s okay. The numbers are what they are, it’s my feelings and thoughts on them that influence my decision.

As for that future day where he is not well in himself:

If he no longer seeks his favorite things: my boyfriend, sunbeams, salmon and chicken

If I cannot coax him to eat, with or without medication

If he develops bone marrow suppression or lymph node enlargement affecting his airways

The boyfriend looks at him and ‘just knows’

Those are my cut offs. It’s the quality of life that matters most, more than the quantity. There’s no point keeping a cat around if he can’t enjoy his life, or at least the majority of his life.

#theflashisgone #veterinarian #vetblr #pet death #animal death #end of life #chemotherapy #lymphoma

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warsofasoiaf · 3 years

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Its been awhile since you've done any character analysis on Fallout New Vegas, but would you be willing to go into one for some of the minor characters? I'm actually curios of your opinion on Silus the captured centurion and his motivations.

I’m more than happy to, although this won’t be about Silus so much as it will be about the quest Silus Treatment. It’s one of my favorite quests in the game, since it does a great deal just with dialogue and some creative use with the engine to create an engaging quest that showcases some of the failures of the NCR and the Legion. Given that the central theme is about picking a faction, warts and all, having a quest that puts the two main faction of New Vegas on full display is an absolutely good idea. The game is too old for spoilers, but it’s a long analysis so I’ll put a cut in.

Silus Treatment starts off simple enough, going to Camp McCarran, in the old McCarran International Airport, now the regional command post of Colonel Hsu. McCarran is not in a great spot when you first get there; there are periodic Fiend attacks, tensions in Freeside are causing havoc for NCR civilians, the overstretched NCR supply lines are making it difficult even for their central point of operations, and there’s a strong possibility that they’ve been infiltrated. It’s all Colonel Hsu can do to keep order and function in the base. Perfect protagonist fodder, in other words, for a nice quest hub.

It’s a tough needle to thread in any RPG to build a quest hub where there’s stuff for a character to do. If everyone is incapable of solving even the most basic of problems, it gives a great deal of quests for the player to do but it makes the quest-givers look incompetent, especially if the quest-givers are supposed to be capable figures in their own right. Conversely, if the NPC’s are competent, then the quests would be solved and that would close out on content for the player. There’s plenty of ways to settle this, and the devs do an adequate job here. The war effort means prioritization, and Hsu is dealing with being torn from both angles. He can’t just hunt down the Fiends, because he needs to organize patrols and deal with NCR settlers in the area. He can’t just pacify Freeside because it will engender hostility with House and so he’s delaying the order from his butcher superiors like Moore to go in with fire and sword. He doesn’t have a solution to the Kings but he’s trying to find one, which as far as writing goes is a good solution. Hsu is a decent man but overworked. He’s hoping that he can develop a solution in time before Cassandra Moore decides to pull rank and go on the warpath against all who oppose the NCR, which leaves a convenient spot for the player.

It’s this person that gives us our introduction to the Silus Treatment questline. Hsu has a valuable prize: Silus, a captured Legion centurion! Typically centurions always commit suicide rather than be captured to deny any useful intelligence to the enemy, so to capture a centurion alive should be quite a find. But it’s not going so well. Lt Carrie Boyd, in charge of base security, can’t get Silus to talk. Again, perfect quest writing to get the PC involved in the plot. Normally such a sensitive operation would never be given to an unknown civilian contractor, even for a bureaucratic mess like the NCR. Frontier desperation, hitting a wall via official channels, and the fact that the character is the protagonist in a sprawling open world help it pass ludonarrative muster.

Boyd is a real piece of work, she’s openly sadistic hiding beneath of veneer of civility. She considers the humane treatment of POW’s as an impediment, and so looks for ways around it. Notably, while she wants information from Silus to deliver to her superiors, she’ll settle for just having Silus beaten so bloody that he can’t speak anymore, calling it “entertainment.” This is a person who simply should not be in charge of interrogating a prisoner, she is neither humane nor effective at her job, but here she is by virtue simply of being the chief MP on base.

Not that Silus, the prisoner and the other side of this duo, is better. He openly revels in the barbaric practices of the Legion’s slavery system, even trying to ensure that the slaves can never achieve some level of comfort by tightening the collars and making it difficult for them to feel at ease while eating or drinking. Even if Silus is mostly saying those things simply to get a rise out of Lieutenant Boyd, he knows what the Legion is up to and enjoys it. Silus is arrogant to an extreme degree, he is filled with confidence that he can outlast any interrogation by the feeble NCR without giving up any intelligence, that he could easily escape NCR confinement and that he is so valuable to the Legion that following Caesar’s order would be a waste. Good fodder then, for the protagonist to bring him down to size.

Silus Treatment as a quest is relatively simple. Boyd signs off on the Courier beating the ever-living tar out of Silus and then steps out for a smoke, letting the player do whatever he or she wants to the prisoner. Silus, sneering, dismisses the Courier as just another piece of NCR trash, and it’s up to the player with how to succeed. Violence is always an option, you can beat Silus, and eventually gets something useful, that the base itself will be the target of Legion destruction. Silus admits that his fantasy of escape was always a fantasy, he was dead to Caesar just as surely as he as if he had committed suicide before capture.

Yet if the Courier has points in Speech or Intelligence, he can completely upend Boyd’s methods and actually deliver a worthwhile interrogation. The first technique, with speech, uses an interrogation technique known as Pride-and-ego-down, where the interrogator routinely belittles and demeans the prisoner, usually their technical competence or soldierly qualities, in an attempt to get the prisoner to “redeem” themselves by explaining a piece of useful intelligence that would explain the deficiency as opposed to it just being a terrible personal quality. The Courier mocks Silus as a coward (bravery being a key soldierly virtue) and he defends himself by stating his bravery and that suicide is a poor death for a soldier of his intelligence and caliber, then saying how good a soldier he is for a “self-appointed megalomaniacal dictator.” Silus then spills that Caesar held his unit for three days because of “headaches,” in actuality, it’s Caesar’s brain tumor. The technique works to an exceptionally high degree, not only does Silus divulge that McCarran has been infiltrated as in the violence ending, but also that the Legion is suffering a crisis of command due to Caesar’s illness. The Courier gets a lot of useful intelligence out of Silus and doesn’t compromise the humane treatment of prisoners in the process. If it actually caused some self-reflection in Boyd, that’d be a complete win, but I suppose we can’t have everything.

My favorite option is the intelligence option, because the Courier goes full-on PSYOPS, posing as a Legion assassin sent to kill Silus for his failure to commit suicide on Caesar’s order. Silus denies it at first, but as the Courier continues to sell the performance, Silus begins to express real terror at the thought that the Courier is actually a frumentarius sent to kill Silus before he divulges anything to the NCR. The Courier fully sells the deal using Latin phrases as the language of Caesar’s elites. The Courier can quote Cicero, “legum servi sumus” - we are all slaves to the law, in what is perhaps a perfect example of Caesar’s philosophy of totalitarian obedience. The full quote "Legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus” - we are slaves to the law so that we might be free, means little in Caesar’s totalitarian state where all are subject to his whims and contingency plans for Caesar’s incapacity aren’t even considered. Of course, the Roman Republic was hardly a free state, but Caesar really takes the cake with his dictatorship. If Caesar’s dictum holds true: “Corruptio optimi pessima” - the corruption of the greatest is the worst outcome. how much worse is it when Caesar himself is corrupted? But totalitarians rarely raise the possibility that they themselves are corrupt, because the good of the dictator is the good of the state. After all, L'etat c'est moi is the dictum of any dictator, not just a Sun King.

Of course, fitting New Vegas, you can side with Silus, and facilitate his escape. There, you feign beating him to unconsciousness and slip him a silenced pistol, then Silus makes good his escape, killing the guard sent to bring him back to his cell and sneaking out. Of all the endings, this one isn’t as satisfying. Some of it, of course, is that you never interact or see Silus again, so there’s never any reward to the quest except for the knowledge that the base is infiltrated, which in the pro-Legion side of the quest I Put a Spell on You allows you to complete Curtis’s sabotage operation (and a far better Legion quest, in my opinion, with the NCR quest side being even better given the multiple outcomes), but also it’s not referenced again with Caesar. What would Caesar’s reaction be to the Courier springing Silus? He is quite fond of reciting a litany of the Courier’s accomplishments in Act 2 at Fortification Hill.

If I could improve Silus Treatment, I think I would have made it so the violent path wouldn’t have produced enough valuable intel, and the player needs to do some more detective work to actually get to I Put a Spell on You, or even being mislead by Curtis and becoming the unwitting patsy of the Legion. But overall, I think it was an incredible quest and a testament to the writing in the game.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#fallout: new vegas

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