#i lowkey want the high lords to crumble

[goodcopbadcop]

do u have any headcanons for why bad cop didnt appear in the second movie . there was probably a reason but do u have any headcanons for it .....

YES I DO

As the sudden arrival of General Sweet Mayhem and then the prompt kidnapping of most of Apocalypseburg’s remaining heroes put the entire community in shock, GCBC DID consider going out to rescue them, but stopped themself when they saw that the only other person willing to risk their life to venture into space was….. Emmet.

Not to discredit Emmet and his achievements in saving their realm and even befriending Lord Business, GCBC still feels like they’re on shaky ground in terms of developing a mutual relationship. They have some slight internalized shame of being on the ‘bad’ side, and still feel like they’re slightly shunned by EVERYONE, and still thinks that Emmet and his friends aren’t fully trusting of him. They don’t want to even be ‘good’ friends with Emmet, but they at least respect his presence and doesn’t mind helping him when they’re both exploring around the outer ruins of the city, every once in awhile.

Still, the idea of being stuck with him on a tiny spaceship in the endless void of space, under the constant looming threat of the Duplos, in which they are usually powerless against…… yeah no GCBC will absolutely NOT stomach that.

Ironically, they didn’t really mind Emmet’s supposed ‘immaturity’, as GCBC sees his jovial positivity as a good personality trait, and having some sort of light within the gloomy atmosphere of their ruined society isn’t that bad at all. Granted, GCBC kept this opinion to themself, not wanting to appear as ‘weak’, as being so happy-go-lucky was now severely looked down upon.

Plus, if Emmet AKA their real last ‘hero’ in Apocalypseburg, was to leave on this perilous journey, who will be left to protect the ruins of a once great city? It has already been lowkey confirmed in the “Welcome to Apocalypseburg!” set that GCBC STILL WORKS AS A ENFORCEMENT FIGURE, with him actively maintaining a jail and even posting up bounty posters for some criminals. Crime still seems to be a issue, especially considering how Apocalypseburg is literally just inspired by Mad Max’s worldbuilding, crime probably is at a all-time high 🤷‍♀️ Robbery probably is the most prevalent issue, as everyone now tries to fight over what bricks and other miscellaneous pieces they can find to try to just LIVE.

His pride in being essentially the only remaining working officer in Apocalypseburg, acting as the last bastion of a ‘normal peace keeper’, has simply gotten to his head. Leaving everything behind on what may have been a suicide mission in order to help some people in which they believed didn’t even see him as a equal, deterred him completely. (Well, Benny did treat him better than the others…..)

As the story goes on, GCBC could only look on in horror as Armamageddon occured, as they genuinely felt so helpless as their entire realm literally CRUMBLED into a storage bin. After this event, GCBC does now feels some DEEP regret that he didn’t accompany Emmet on his journey, sincerely believing that if they joined him, perhaps Armamageddon could have been avoided in the first place or that he could have diplomatically worked out a peace treaty with Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (or straight up kill her, he has already enough blood on their hands)

He is however 100% oblivious as how to this was fate, and Emmet had to go alone in order to create the paradox which gave way to Rex’s existence, which in the long run will cause both Apocalypseburg and the Systar System to peacefully merge together 🥲 GCBC really cannot get a W at any moment in their entire existence, he is the most fucked character in all of the TLM series lol

#THANK YOU FOR SENDING A ASK IN!!! it’s been literal ages since I’ve written something like this! #gcbc #the lego movie #🪑

[bookofmirth]

Let’s talk about power 

Yes this is about the current fandom assholery, but I’m not going to talk about that issue in particular because it wasn’t even mentioned by OP and people are taking those comments out of context and twisting them because somehow the idea of Elain having more than two (2) friends is so threatening that they had to turn into Stretch Armstong, but OP is my friend and so this is my contribution. 

What I will do, is I will break down the various power dynamics in the acotar world and why it can make some relationships more difficult than others.

The presence of different classes, races, and genders is part of the acotar world. You know how some people say “why build a fantasy world with sexism when you don’t have to?” This is what they mean. SJM has built the acotar world to be sexist, to be at least somewhat homophobic, to have this massive gaps in power between those at the top (see: Rhys) and those at the bottom (see: the water wraiths). 

There are multiple types of power. In the acotar world, since that’s the relevant context, power can come from five main sources, as far as I can tell, and it’s based on what privilege a character has been afforded:

Magic - how much has the Cauldron gifted a character

Social - is the character a High Lord, a High Fae, or a lesser fae? Are they from an important family? Is there potential to inherit the court?

Racial - similar to social, but from birth. Is this character High Fae, are they lesser fae, are they Illyrian or lightsingers or Suriel etc etc. 

Gender - the importance of this depends on the culture the character lives in, but we’ve seen several examples that men have power over women or nb characters (if there are any).

Political - basically High Lords versus everyone else

Knowledge is another, if lesser form of power. It’s mostly relevant when Feyre is first in Spring, which I talk about below. It’s also relevant when they need to know about ancient objects and creatures, but it isn’t valued as highly or the library priestesses would be in charge, not High Lords. 

For more on power read Pierre Bourdieu. He’s quite complex and heady, so he takes some work to read, but if you’re really interested...

Why is this important? Because being friends with servants, or friends with your employees, or friends with your Uber driver, or friends with your teacher, or even friends with your local friendly High Lord, is never going to be an equal relationship. It just isn’t. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with that. It’s just that because the relationship isn’t affording both people equal privilege and power, there is always the chance that one person will be able to wield their power when they want. 

That’s what it comes down to. Is the person with more power/privilege in the relationship trustworthy enough not to use that power/privilege to their advantage, to the detriment of their friend or partner? We just hope so.

This is actually one of the major roots of the problem with Tamlin and Feyre’s relationship, and is especially clear in acotar when she first comes to the Spring Court. Yes, he was emotionally and physically abusive, but no one could challenge him because he is at the top of the power/privilege pyramid. Feyre lacked power because she lacked knowledge about how that world worked, she was a woman, she didn’t have any social or magic power - she was, in every way possible, at the mercy of everyone around her. It’s no wonder that feylin went south, even if Tamlin hadn’t ya know.... been Tamlin. 

This imbalance in Spring is also why Lucien was limited in what he was able to do re: Feyre. Loosing the social support of his powerful family literally left him homeless, despite being High Fae and magically powerful and male. He couldn’t just go live anywhere because Beron & Co. wielded too much political and social power and would make his life hell. He had to have the protection of a High Lord because he was at such a disadvantage. This is also how Tamlin was able to take advantage of and abuse Lucien. Lucien was, to an extent, at Tamlin’s mercy because of the power imbalance.

You’ll also note that by the time nessian and feysand got their HEAs, they were equals. High Lord and High Lady, Carynthian and Valkyrie. Those relationships turned out well because we know neither of them will (or can!) take advantage of the other. I don’t know if it was sjm’s intention to write the relationships in this way, but it will work out better for the ships either way.

And so if you’re wondering about the IC, yeah! This can also cause a major power imbalance between them. Some High Lords yield their power with impunity (see: Beron). Some don’t (see: Rhys). However, the potential for that to happen is always there. The potential for the person with more power in the relationship, which in this case would be Elain re: N+C, will always have an impact on how close they can be or how honest they can be with one another. The IC, in general, has done a good job of balancing. When Rhys had to wield his power in the Az POV, it was shocking. 

Our positions within the fandom are also imbalanced. I would never, ever claim to talk for fans of color because I might make tamales with my family every year but I look white. I would never, ever claim to talk for someone with a disability that I don’t have. Even though my “things” include queerness and anxiety and substance abuse, I am never going to talk about those things as if I am the representative, or as if I am doing someone else a favor by taking on their “burden�� while at the same time taking away their voice. That’s some white savior bullshit.

So basically - there are a lot of power imbalances in acotar, just as there are IRL, and these imbalances are the result of how SJM has written the story. Saying that Nuala and Cerridwen are servants is fact, and maybe the fact that they are WOC servants is a problem, but it’s an SJM problem. It’s not a problem for us to state that fact, but we can critique it. The way that we talk about these issues is limited by the way that they have been written. Or at least, it’s limited to the point where if people decide to make these massive, Olympic leaps, we’re going to rein them back in and remind them that the people on the other side of the screen are people, that if this world has power/privilege imbalance then that’s on SJM, and to stop attacking real people in order to defend fictional characters.

#acotar #acosf #elain #rhysand #sarah j maas #sjm critical #i lowkey want the high lords to crumble #but she won't make that happen

[startledstars]

If you want God to buy you

(Warning: there are no take backs)

A few years ago, if someone asked me, “would you like to hear about our lord and savior Jesus Christ,” I’d be tempted to slam the door in their face

No one in this day and age would care for this question or its traditional answers.

“Jesus died for your sins.”

“I never asked him to do that.”

“He offers eternal life.”

“I’m not a huge fan of being alive.”

“He’s the only way to God.”

“There are many ways to God. That’s what Hindus like me believe. What makes your God special?”

Maybe you’ve had this sort of conversation before. I asked that last question to my Christian classmate in high school. She didn’t have an answer, solidifying my bias that Christians are willfully ignorant, with faith so fragile and baseless, it crumbles under an iota of scrutiny.

So, what is salvation (presented and explained in a less cringe way) and why is Jesus special?

It’s simple: God saves you when you ask him to. You have to come to the end of yourself. Look at your life, look in the mirror, and be filled with sorrow about who you are, what you’ve done, and all the things you couldn’t stop doing even when you tried.

That’s what it means to “admit you’re a sinner.” It’s not an accusation, but a description of the human condition.

You come to Jesus with a broken, contrite spirit. He accepts you and promises to change you for the better. When Christians say “repent,” it’s not an accusation. It’s a plea to change your mind about the things that hurt you, hurt others, and hurt your relationship with God. When God sanctifies you, he convicts you of sin and helps you stop wanting the wrong things.

I used to drink too much and abuse Adderall. I was lowkey addicted. Never to the point of hospitalization or rehab, but it was on the horizon. I begged Jesus to take these things out of me, make me hate them, and keep me away from them. I. Could. Not. Save. Myself.

So he did.

Now, drugs and alcohol are as appealing as a rusty penny on the sidewalk. I’ll ponder for a moment, shake my head, and move on. I couldn’t go back if I wanted to. What once gave me joy and pleasure is now repulsive.

Sin is cancer. God promises remission. The change is so radical, it can only be supernatural.

God didn’t save me because I stopped certain sins. He helped me stop certain sins because he saved me. A changed life is evidence of salvation.

And that’s what makes Jesus special: out of all the gods in the world, only one loved you enough to die for you, paying the price for your sins and your soul. Only one God does all the work of changing you and bringing you to heaven. Your only role is to ask him by name.

(And only one God conquered death by resurrecting himself. Buddha, Muhammad, and Sai Baba are lying in graves. A legion of Roman soldiers and Jewish religious leaders couldn’t find Jesus’ body. He is known as the living God for a reason.)

Again, I encourage you to test this. Compare how Muslims, Hindus, New Agers, Buddhists get to a better life/paradise with what the one true God promises. This is what my high school classmate should’ve said to me.

My greatest regret is not asking Jesus to save me ten years ago. My biggest excuse is that no one told me what salvation is or how it works. I’m saying to you, the person reading this, what I wish someone said to me a long, long time ago.

#spiritual awakening #spirituality #truth #new age #idk if I ever properly and fully presented the gospel on this blog #this was my attempt #you can also google it ig #I had a paranoid moment and if i ever stand before god and he asks me #‘why did you never present the full gospel’ #I will freak out #I’m still iffy on if I covered all the bases but this is also to compensate for the deficits of traditional evangelism #good night y’all 🥲

[revisingpotato]

haven’t been studyblr-ing a lot as actual studying kept me busy (･ω･｀三´･ω･)

i know i’m tagging this as #shitpost (heck i cbf to use proper grammar and wording here and there so forgive me...) but today was the exact opposite of what you’d call shitty, to be completely honest.

a part of me is still in disbelief as i’m typing this but,,

earlier in the afternoon was awards day at my school. for the past four years i’ve honestly just sat down as an audience and clapped at ppl lol. i literally have no expectations for someone like me to be called.

for one thing, there’s only two awards per subject per grade level: excellence and most improved. you either be really REALLY genius at a particular subject or be really meh at the beginning of the year then work your way up. i’m neither. i’m honestly someone who tries to maintain mediocre > good grades ever since. but being good won’t cut it. i think we all know that.

a lot happened since i entered IB but the classes are smaller (and with HL/SL distinctions the chances really are greater), and i’m studying the subjects i really like, so it became easier to steadily improve, i think?? even then i’m really pessimistic and i don’t want to disappoint myself further by hoping too much so....

at least that’s what i thought until tHEY CALLED MY NAME FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES JADGDSKJF so long story short, i earned an award for excellence in IB Business Management HL ;;;;; i’m aware that i’ve been doing great in the class but i can’t even?!?! when my former business teacher handed me the award and shook my hand he was like, “finally, you deserve this” and i’m just..... lies down do i really......

AND THEN I GOT CALLED AGAIN SJKAFJ it was just minutes after i received the above and then i was bestowed the award for excellence in IB Economics HL -- unlike business i felt that i was struggling with this subject. i frantically made my own notes after class because the lectures doesn’t just “get” to me. i was always behind 1-2 topics than what the class was discussing. for my econ finals, i came over to a friend’s house bc i felt the need to do practice questions and almost had a breakdown myself because i was just so scared hahah.

but it was worth it.

and when my econ teacher held me briefly to congratulate, she told me good luck for year 2 and thank you. i was like no NO THANK YOU?? to be honest i couldn’t get her teaching style (hence why i’m behind and i have to make my own notes...) but then again i’d make sure to do all my work and.... i just ahsdjsd thank you for recognizing my efforts this past year (actually 2 years since IGCSE economics) -- suddenly i’m kinda sad she’s moving for the next schoolyear

i also received an award for excellence in IB Math Studies SL ;;; i’ve always sucked at math ngl so my weak ass took studies and i know this subject gets a lot of side eye because “it’s so easy you don’t have to study” -- guess what there ARE ppl who still have to because it’s not something they can grasp easily (me lol) and well, labor does bear fruits in the end i guess. ; v ;

i don’t know if this counts as a /personal/ achievement, but the booth i was in during school’s entrepreneurship days won some awards T v T we won best business plan, best presentation and the best business in overall asjksdfjkj i got to keep the business plan award because i was the assistant general manager and the general manager was like,, “it should be in your hands because you were a great help” いやああ皆のお陰で大成功だよ！！

maybe my groupmates don’t think the same way but i really enjoyed that whole experience and everyone (save for a few? l o l) pitched in to make it a success. \o/ ngl i want to experience it again next year even though it’ll be a stressful senior year. (it’ll be my last year already.... omg where did time go)

near the end of the program, they announced the A-Listers for this semester which i kinda wasn’t expecting since we’re going to get our report cards next week still.... and SWEATS HOW DID I EVEN DO THIS SEMESTER.... i was lowkey crumbling that i won’t be called but i did _(:”3」∠)_ am able to maintain my position - don’t know how much points i got, but my goal is the dreamy 40+ ahahah why do i pressure myself like this

just like what one of the teachers said before the awarding, that while us awardees should celebrate for our achievements, it should also be a new standard for us to keep reaching higher and higher. (i know that feeling too well) (これからも頑張らないとな)

i’m sorry but also not if this post comes off as braggy or anything.... sjaskj let me bask in the light for a moment.... i’ve never received anything. nada. for the past 4 years i just clapped for everyone else. and now i could stand in front, honestly it felt overwhelming and compelling at the same time?? this meant a lot for me, you have no idea.

another thought from the day: i clapped so much because one of the juniors i tutored (for IGCSE business) received SO much awards and there’s nothing more than genuine happiness and also pride from my own heart that she’s achieving all these things ;; v ;; we stood on stage together a few times and congratulated each other jakjdjs

well, that’s about it i guess. what a day. (✿´ω` )

... or not lmao

sticking my summer to-do list here:

work on your IAs!!!

gather sources for your EE and make the outline

finish practicing N4/N5 jlpt questions, then start on N3!

shortlist unis i want to apply for in yr 12 (yikes)

ha ha have you forgotten TOK essays

actually enjoy your last summer in high school wtf

also i’ve been accepted to an ivy league summer program so... i’ll do my best on that too!! T__T)9

and IB2 goals (for now)?

compile IB1 notes for the actual external exams

be active in environmental/social issues club (秘書として頑張れちゃうさ)

start up the creative arts club

FINISH YO DAMN CAS REQUIREMENTS BY THE END OF 2017

continue to improve in my academics (...40+ points leggo)

and non-academics... do i even have any (i think jlpt counts? uh) (in any way, good luck @ me trying to balance IB and ~650 kanji + ~3750 vocab for N3)

SPEAKING OF JLPT, REGISTER FOR N3 EARLY DEAR LORD HELP ME

^^srsly i was gonna take N4 this summer but i’m dumb and i missed the registration deadlines...

in the end this really is shitpost after all....

i don’t even think anyone reads this but if you do,, well

have a nice day. _(´ω`_)⌒)_

#shitpost