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duhragonball · 4 months

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Dragon Ball Super Manga ch.88-90

The 2023 Dragon Ball Apocrypa Liveblog concludes with the DBS manga's adaptation of the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero motion picture.

First up, we have this three-chapter prologue/prequel thing starring Goten and Trunks in their lankey teen bodies. It's well-made, but I'm not impressed. Find out the reason why... inside!

Okay, as the image above shows, this is all about the boys' playing superheroes while they're in high school... just like Gohan did way back in Dragon Ball Z. The main difference seems to be that there's two of them doing it this time, and their motives are a little more frivolous. Gohan came up with Great Saiayaman because he just couldn't help but foil crimes, and the costume allowed him to save the day without giving away his identity. Goten and Trunks also want to keep a low profile, but they mostly seem to be doing this shtick because they're on a superhero kick lately. They call themselves "Saiyaman X1 and X2", but their act mainly imitates their hero, Cleangod, who has a franchise of movies, video games, and so forth.

The added wrinkle is that they're also trying to keep this thing a secret from their families, as Bulma and Chi-Chi wouldn't approve of the boys screwing around like this when they should be studying. I guess it was okay when Gohan did it, but times have changed, and Trunks in particular isn't doing so hot on his report cards.

That does keep things mildly interesting. For example, you'd expect the boys to use costume changing watches like Great Saiyaman had, except they don't want Bulma to find out. So Trunks asks Pilaf to make them instead, and Pilaf can't make them as quickly, so Trunks doesn't get his until chapter 88 is half-over, and Goten's isn't ready until chapter 89. And you know, it probably would make things a lot simpler for Goten and Trunks to avoid the Saiyaman stuff altogether if they don't want their moms to find out, since they've seen this trick before. But they're doing it anyway, I guess because they're just that deep into the Cleangod fandom.

However, this still feels like a retread of a storyline we've already seen. Reading this, I feel like I've gotten too old for Dragon Ball. I know that isn't true. I'm looking forward to whatever happens in Chapter 101 onward, and Daima seems promising, even if it wasn't what I had in mind. There's always something interesting around the corner... but I see stories like this one that are more interested in rehashing older material, and it just feels tired and stale. Younger fans may not mind at all, but I see this and wonder if all we have left is just rehashing ideas we've already seen before.

Besides all of that, I'm not a big fan of high school stories, and there's a healthy dose of Trumai... and let's just get this out of the way before we go any further: I'm not that interested in the whole "next generation" thing.

I know there's a lot of fans who really dig the whole idea of exploring what happens to Goten, Trunks, Marron, Uub, Bulla, and Pan. I respect that, but I've never been very invested in any of them. I liked what we got out of them in DBZ, but that's about it. Let me kind of single out Goten so I can discuss this more easily. For the sake of argument, let's just call the "next generation" concept "Big Goten", since it features the teenage or adult version of the character, as opposed to the little guy in the Buu Saga and most of Super. Trunks, Marron, and the rest can be lumped into this, but it's easier to just refer to one character.

Basically, this 3-chapter arc is probably the best "Big Goten" story by default. Your other options are the End of Z episodes which barely do anything with him, or that one GT episode where he fights Baby and gets possessed. Or the Super Hero movie, where he's barely in it.

And yet, we have this 3-chapter arc, and Goten's basically playing sidekick to Trunks. That's not a huge problem in itself. You'd expect these two to be side-by-side, but it's mainly a Trunks story. He's trying to get Mai to go out with him, but she's part of the Pilaf gang living at Capsule Corp, and they have to be useful or Bulma will kick them out. So she's too busy repairing these "helper robots" that malfunctioned recently. Trunks thinks he can investigate the case as Saiyaman X-1 and get Mai the weekend off so she can date him. Goten's just sort of along for the ride. He enjoys the superhero bit, and he likes goofing off with Trunks, so it's all good.

And honestly, you could probably switch these two around and have Goten be the one trying to solve crimes to go on a date, while Trunks is the supportive wingman. But that's the problem. We have this one story, and they both kind of have to share it, and it really doesn't matter which one of them gets the lead.

Like, in this arc, we learn a little more about Teen Trunks. He's not doing well scholastically, he lacks Bulma's talent with computers or science, and... he's still carrying a torch for Mai for some reason. Oh, and he's afraid of ghosts now. It's not much to go on, but at least he gets something. All we find out about Goten in this thing is that he likes Cleangod, just like Trunks. Oh, and Teen Marron has a brief appearance where it turns out she really likes Cleangod too. Also several of Goten and Trunks' classmates enjoy Cleangod. And Dr. Hedo likes Cleangod. You know, that's how you develop your characters, right? You make them all like the same thing.

The point I'm getting at is that for years I've heard that Big Goten is this untapped well of great story ideas and this arc finally gets around to that and... it's pretty underwhelming. That's the big idea? Superheroes? Again? It worked for Gohan because it was a fresh idea when he did it. And it worked for Dr. Hedo because it helped set him apart from Dr. Gero. But all it does for Goten and Trunks is give them another set of clothes. Trunks is still pining for Mai and Goten is still just happy to be here. It's not enough. It's not nearly enough.

So let's move on. The boys head into town one night to investigate the Helper Robots that are mysteriously disappearing. Turns out they've been hijacked by Dr. Hedo's Alpha series androids. Strictly speaking, the Alphas are just corpses stolen from a morgue, reanimated with cybernetics. Remember those goons working at the convenience store in the beginning of Super Hero? Well this is the same group of guys. Hedo's problem is that he's fare more brilliant than Gero ever was, but he lacks the resources and funding to make the kinds of androids that he wants to make. The Alphas are functional, but only just. Their brains are defective, and you can probably only steal so many bodies from the morgue before the cops get wise to you. So Hedo's big idea is to hijack the Helper Robots and use them to manufacture sushi packages for profit. He could build something more efficient for this, but this will have to do until he gets the cash.

Oh, I forgot to talk about how Pilaf built the Helper bots. I'm not clear on what they do, but there's a lot of them in the city, and apparently Pilaf pitched the idea to Bulma and she okayed it. At first I was surprised to read this, but then I remembered that Pilaf had his own Dragon Radar way back in the day. It wasn't as sophisticated as Bulma's, but it goes to show that Pilaf knows his way around technology. This isn't some new thing they slapped onto his character, like Trunks suddenly being afraid of ghosts.

For a second, it looks like Goten and Trunks are discovered by the Alphas, but it turns out Trunks' pals from school have snuck into the production floor, and they're the ones who get discovered, so Trunks has to go in and save them. Except his superhero wristwatch malfunctions, so Goten has to take out the lights to cover for him.

Trunks cleans house, even defeating Alpha 12, who was the strongest guy on Hedo's team. When Hedo himself arrives to find his base wrecked, his only clue is that it was trashed by someone who goes to "Blue Hal" High School. It's a major setback for Hedo, but what really upsets him is that Trunks took an important disc from his safe. Hedo wants to recover it above all else. Ironically, Trunks isn't even that concerned about the disc, since all he really cares about is disrupting whatever Hedo was doing to the Helper Robots. That way he can get his date with Mai, except it won't. Even more ironically, Mai still has to work on Saturday night, because she and the Pilaf Gang have to repair all the Helper Robots Trunks smashed in Hedo's base. Whoops!

Later, Trunks tries to use Bulma's computer to access the data on the disc he took from Hedo's sushi packaging shop. He briefly sees information related to Cell, but he doesn't recognize its significance, probably because he only knows Cell from hearing about it through his family. Anyway, the disc gives the computer a virus, which Bulla removes because that's her big character defining moment in this story. She's basically a carbon copy of Kid Bulma from the Jaco manga, but at least she's not another Cleangod fan.

Anyway, Bulma had decided to start sending Mai to school along with Trunks. Apparently she realized it might be awkward if anyone noticed Mai working for Capsule Corp. and not going to school. This just now came up? I mean, the Pilaf Gang have been here for a few years at least. If anything, it would have been more awkward when Mai was younger, right? I mean, I get it, this is just a way to get Mai involved in the story, but still...

There's also another new student in Trunks' class: Baytah. Trunks' friend Rulah takes an immediate liking to him, but this is pretty clearly a new android created by Dr. Hedo. The Alpha series was no match for Saiyaman X-1, so he created a new Beta class to infiltrate Blue Hal High School and find out who X-1 really is. Beta begins to suspect Trunks, since he displays some above-average performance on the basketball court, but he can't find a way to prove it without giving himself away.

So here we have this weird scene where they're getting soup for lunch, and Trunks is sad that he can't get extra. Then Beta pretends to trip or something, and throws his soup into the air. I guess the idea was that Trunks would have to use super powers to dodge it, or he'd get it all over his nice school clothes. But instead Trunks just sort of shifts to one side and the soup miraculously lands in his bowl. And he's happy because he gets extra soup? How does it all fit in one bowl, though? Is the lunch lady only filling them up halfway? This whole bit is really contrived, is what I'm trying to say.

Somewhere along the way, Mai figures it out and explains it to Trunks, so they know Beta is looking for Saiyaman X-1. So he knows to be careful about showing off his powers, but Goten just picks up a truck during recess to get a tennis ball back for his classmates. See, Trunks, this is how you get the ladies. Mai is like 55 years old. She doesn't care, but if you pick up a truck or two, all these teenage girls will go wild. Right now, these two girls are thinking about how much they wish they were trucks, being held in Goten's mightly-yet-gentle hand.

Anyway, now Beta is convinced that Goten is the one he's after, and Hedo tells him to attack and get the disc.

So Beta reveals he has a goofy superhero suit of his own, but Goten can't fight seriously because he doesn't have a transformation watch yet. Fortunately, Trunks does, so he shows up as X-1 and quickly slips Goten the new watch Pilaf must have made last night.

I'm not thrilled with Beta's design, but I like the concept. Faced with both Saiyamen, he deploys Beta 2, which is a robotic exosuit that can separate and fight in two modules. The Betas are here for the disc, but neither Goten or Trunks has it. Mai does, because Trunks gave her his bag while he ran off to pee or whatever excuse he had to switch costumes.

So Trunks has to save Mai from the Betas, and as he catches her, she briefly mistakes him for Future Trunks, the only version of Trunks Mai seems to have any interest in. The Saiyamen clean house, and the day is saved. Trunks very nearly tells Mai that he was X-1 all along, but Goten stops him before he can spill the beans in front of the whole school.

Okay, but what's the point? I mean, Goten just lifted a truck with one hand a minute ago? More importantly, Great Saiyaman was revealed to be Goten about ten years earlier. Not that I expect these students to remember that, but that's my point: Gohan was worried about everyone finding out he had super powers, and in the end no one cared.

I mean, there's still the matter of not wanting Bulma and Chi-Chi to find out what they're up to, but that sort of doesn't matter? I mean, the moms just want their kids to study more and screw around less. It doesn't really matter if they're playing superhero or going fishing. Their moms know they aren't studying, because they've got the report cards to prove it.

Back at Hedo's (other) base, he realizes he underestimated the Saiyamen, and realizes that he'll have to build even better androids to defeat them. And he's taken a liking to the Saiyamen's costumes, particularly their capes, so the implication here is that the Gammas' designs were inspired by Goten and Trunks' antics in this story.

Later, we finally get to that convenience store we saw briefly in Super Hero. Hedo still needs money, especially if he plans to build something to defeat the Saiyamen, so he puts three of his Alphas to work at the "Mammal Mart". It's Krillin who makes the bust, and for some reason Mai is there too.

Despite his lofty plans for better androids, the best Hedo can manage is to send more Beta series androids after Goten and Trunks. Beta 7 looks like an Elvis impersonator, and he intercepts Goten's school bus, but Goten changes into X-2 and beats him. Apparently this sort of thing has been going on for a while now.

Mai takes Goten aside and reveals to him that they're being watched by a tiny spy-robot. After the Beta-1 incident at school, Mai investigated and learned that Dr. Hedo is a famous scientist in the area, and she believes he's behind all of this. Apparently he's already figured out Goten and Trunks are the Saiyamen, since he's been sending Beta androids to harass them.

Mai's plan is to defeat Hedo by using the school dance to lure him into a trap. The organizers have arranged for a live appearance by Cleangod at the dance, which... seems kind of odd for a high school dance, but nothing about this super-hero business really makes any sense to me.

Like, okay... I've been a comic book fan for over thirty years. I just read a bunch of Golden Age Captain Americas a few months ago. I think I know the genre pretty well, and nothing Dragon Ball Super does with the concept really rings true to me.

In the first place, the Dragon Ball characters are already superheroes. I went from Batman to Superman to Marvel to Dragon Ball Z, and it was a pretty smooth transition. I never stopped liking the other stuff that came before, so it's not like my tastes changed all that much. I just see DBZ as a natural extension of the same stuff I liked in Marvel and DC.

It made sense when Gohan became Great Saiyaman because the only trope he hadn't done yet was the secret identity thing, and the only reason it had never come up before was that he'd never needed one before then. Once he got into high school, he suddenly had friends he wanted to keep secrets from, so he did the same thing Clark Kent did in 1938.

But then you have Goten and Trunks doing it because they think it's neat, and they're fans of Cleangod, who is a fictional character to them. And this is probably because Hedo was doing the same bit in the movie, where he would wear a costume and do the poses because he was imitating other fictional superheroes. So the idea seems to be less about the superhero genre as I know it, and more of this ironic "Let's be comic book nerds and do cosplay, and also we have super powers so we can do more than just pose in the suits."

Which... fine, I guess. The thing is, I don't understand the fascination with Cleangod. I mean, it makes sense for Hedo to be an enormous fanboy, because he's a nerdy scientist. I'm a nerdy scientist, so I can relate. He wants Cleangod's autograph, and I'm running an anime blog in my late 40's.

But Goten and Trunks are not nerds. Neither, it seems, are most of their classmates. They all seem like fairly normal teens, mostly interested in dates and school stuff and snooping around abandoned factories or whatever. But this high school dance is going to feature a live appearance by a man in a superhero costume. That's the sort of thing a circus would do to get small children to show up.

Is this an ironic thing? Like, did Goten and Trunks start out thinking Cleangod was cringy kidstuff, and they just kept getting deeper into the fandom until they started liking it for real? Is that what's happening?

Sorry, I was explaining Mai's plan. Okay, so Cleangod will be doing a meet-and-greet at a high school dance party. Okay. Dr. Hedo is a huge mark for Cleangod, so Mai is certain he will crash the party just to meet Cleangod and get his autograph. And she plans to be there when he does, so she can shut him down once and for all.

And she gets to go to this dance, because she's attending with...

...Trunks. He wanted to ask her to this thing, but she asked him instead, so he's all a-flutter over this, never realizing that she's just using him to get at Hedo. Except.... she's attending this school now. She doesn't need a date to get in. Hedo is the one who has to find some way to get access to the building, because he's not a student.

I like Mai's armor in this scene, although it really never comes into play. Also, Trunks brought Hedo's disc with him, because.... I have no idea. Maybe he doesn't want to risk losing it?

As expected, Hedo does show up for this thing, and I guess it's because Beta-1 is still registered as a student? I'm more confused about this signing event in the middle of a dance floor. This just feels like a hot mess. Trunks and Hedo bond over their mutual love of Cleangod... wait, I thought Trunks was excited about getting to go on a date with Mai? Priorities, Trunks!

Anyway, Hedo confides to Trunks that he had a Cleangod autograph before, but it was stolen, so he's here to get another one. Hold on, doesn't Hedo know Trunks is X-1? I mean, he was sending androids after Goten, so he must know he's X-2, right?

Mai tries to get Hedo, but then Beta shows up, and Rulah explains that he got back into the school, so she asked him to the dance. I really like Rulah. She doesn't know what's going on, but there's a new boy in town and she's gonna make time with him. She's like an Archie character.

Then the cops show up. Yeah, just draw your guns in a big crowd of children, Krillin, that makes a ton of sense.

Hedo uses a smokebomb to escape and everyone chases after him. By the time Cleangod comes out to make his big appearance, everyone is gone except Mai, who isn't impressed. That's the thing I can't square with all of this. The running gag seems to be that superheroes are both cool and uncool at the same time. People were lining up to see this guy, but the punchline is that he totally sucks? I guess? Characters will praise Goten and Trunks' costumes and then later characters will call them corny.

Like, which is it? That's the thing about superhero comics, at least from my perspective. In the real world, you either think Batman's awesome or he's a giant dork in a fursuit. Fine. But in the Batman mythos, just about everyone takes him seriously because he's a mysterious badass. I get it, Cleangod's basically Adam West working car-shows in the 1970's, but Saiyaman X-1 and X-2 are the real thing. They fought robots in the middle of the football field in front of everyone. I mean, no one called Goten corny when he lifted that truck.

Oh, by the way, Dr. Hedo's jalopy is awesome.

Krillin (reluctantly) brings Goten and Trunks along to chase down Hedo, and he fills them in on the situation. The cops have been after Hedo because they think the Red Ribbon Army is trying to stage a comback and they want to contact him. That.... doesn't quite square with the movie, but we'll talk about that later.

Anyway, they get to Hedo's (third?) base and he's got a dinosaur android to stop them. This is the biggest, strongest one he's made so far, but it's still not very sophisticated, simply because Hedo lacks the resources to build anything better.

It gives the Bio-Broly Buster Crew a little trouble, but Krillin disables it with a kienzan, and then Goten and Trunks take it out with a double-team move. And Hedo's going to jail.

So what about that disc? Turns out it never mattered. Hedo memorized all the information on it a long time ago, so the disc itself had no value to him. What he wanted was the case, which contained, in addition to the disc, his prized Cleangod autograph. Remember? The one he told Trunks got stolen? They didn't know it at the time, but Trunks was the one who stole it in Chapter 88.

And that's really dumb, because Trunks did try to investigate the disc in Chapter 89. He didn't get very far, but he still had to open the case it was in, so you'd think he would have noticed the Cleangod autograph inside. I mean, another character might not have paid any attention to it, but Trunks is a huge fan of Cleangod himself.

And if Hedo truly had no use for the disc, why didn't he throw it away a long time ago? In this scene, he says he discarded it, but he must have only done that in the last few minutes, before Krillin showed up to arrest him, since Trunks had the disc before the dance. This whole thing is supposed to be clever, but it's kind of dumb.

Anyway, this whole caper explains how Hedo got sentenced to prison at the beginning of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. He could have been given a longer sentence, but according to this story, he agreed to return some of the Alphas back to the families of the corpses he built them out of. This is supposed to be funny, but it's just kind of bizarre. Like, are we saying Hedo resurrected the corpses? I thought the idea was he just used a dead body to build Alpha 12. But this seems to suggest Alpha 12 remembers his former existence. That's kind of fucked up.

Like I said at the beginning, there's a lot that is well done here. Toyotaro's art is on-point as usual, and there's some great action scene with Goten and Trunks. I think the big highlight of the arc were all of the side characters we see at their school, like Rulah and the others. Trunks' math teacher looked pretty cool. The problem is that they were never going to be the focus of this or any other story. It's taken years for Toei or Shueisha to do anything with Goten or Trunks, so their pals may never see the light of day again.

And that's what disappoints me about this arc, because it may have been the one chance of getting a good teen Goten and Trunks arc, and they blew it on this. Did we really need a backstory on Hedo's prison sentence? Did anyone leave the theater not understanding why he was in jail? Was anyone confused as to how he came up with the designs for Gamma 1 and 2's costumes? No. We didn't need this.

One of these days, there will be an official Big Goten story that gets it right. But this ain't it, chief.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super manga #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goten #trunks #mai #bulma #emperor pilaf #shu #bulla #dr hedo #rulah #beta 1 #beta 7 #cleangod #alpha 12 #i forgot the names of goten's friends sorry

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purple-chaos-clown · 1 year

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Demons' Emotions & Body Language

Because why the hell not talk about something that has probably been written/talked about a hundred times before? XD I'm in the mood to write about Mephisto because my brain is occupied by thoughts of him in some way 99% of the time.

This was spurred on by once again seeing Mephisto's great teeth appreciation and it reminded me of how much I actually love looking at his facial expressions in general.

He's just so fucking good at expressing himself, lol. And then I begin to wonder...

How much of it is staged/faked/put on, how much comes natural to him? If even at all?

Did he have a period where he tested out all the different facial expressions humans tend to make in certain situations? Did he go and study them? Is it like a game for him? Knowing the Human-Emotions-101 better than even humans themselves, just to have even more power and control over his cute toys?

^Ch. 46 We know he's a little stalker gremlin, so people watching is one of his greatest hobbies - it would certainly help him out with accurately mimicking their body language.

Did he have a rough time when he first started to make contact with humans face to face? :( Because I know that even humans struggle with body language and facial expressions. Totally not looking at me, who's often laughing and smiling, simply hoping it's appropriate because I often don't fully understand what's going on. :')

Considering Mephisto is a pro at acting all human or demon (depending on which outcome he wants to reach, making certain behaviors necessary to manipulate everyone's actions) with how much time he has spent with humans and his obsession with them and their creations...

What is it like for all the demons possessing human bodies?

Amaimon seems to struggle a lot using the muscles in his face, if that side-story panel is anything to by. XD

Moving a sack of flesh can be rough, buddy. I feel you there, my resting bitch face often scares strangers and I have to always check in to make sure I don't look as dead as I feel.

Amaimon is obviously able of actually showing emotions, evident in the manga, but I think there's one he expresses more often than others: anger.

Thinking of anger... There's Satan.

^Ch. 105 Before he came into (regular) contact with Yuri he could only show anger when threatened/searching for Yuri. All other expressions seem to have been actively taught to him over a certain span of time.

Same with Rin when he was born.

^Ch. 109 Though the threatening circumstances might have triggered/amplified that little ugly burning potato's anger. :x

Looking towards Lucifer is pretty much the same, though his anger is often more of the hidden kind and not as openly expressed. Same with Mephisto though. Maybe it's their age (though their behavior doesn't exactly reflect maturity, both of them are brats in their own rights) or simply who they inherently are.

The rest of the demon kings are... definitely emotional and expressive too, which is weird because why would they feel the need to mimic human behaviors and expressions? (Might be reason for another ramble, this post is already so much longer than I intended for it to be XD)

In conclusion...

All of it makes me think that anger is the one emotion that demons might inherently feel and express, anything beyond is something they need to actively learn about over time.

Which is incredibly sad the more I think about it.

I also think most demons (possessing human bodies) have to consciously think about what kind of facial expression/body language goes along with whatever they're feeling - if they want to outwardly express them.

Do they even feel the need to do that in the first place though? And if yes, why? Considering they don't have bodies in Gehenna, it wouldn't make much sense for them to inherently have some body language if they don't have bodies that support it, would it?

And yet we've seen how feral demons can be, Rin is a prime example when he gets overwhelmed by his demon side. All snarling, showing teeth and growling and it's something I (and many other people) love incorporating in our writing all the time because feral demons and the way they threaten each other is just peak content that I desperately need to continue living. XD

#ao no exorcist #ane #aoex manga #ao no exorcist headcanon #aoex #blue exorcist #mephisto #demons #demon kings #demon behavior #fan theory #at the end of the day I just wanna touch those teeth and ears #and then get bitten/mauled to death by one of the demon kings #preferably Mephisto but at this point I'll be happy with any demon XD #just some mad ramblings of a chaotic fox #this has gotten way too long but I regret nothing #time spent thinking about demons is time well spent

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hahahahahnothankyou · 8 months

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Okay, I am so glad that people have been talking about bones missing important panels of the manga and Akutagawa's expressions (my baby deserved better fuck everyone 😭)

A take I want to add is how the expressions of Dazai change the entire interpretation of his dynamic in two of my favorite relationships, Dazai and Akutagawa's and the more obvious one soukoku.

Like I understand why people who only watch the anime would very validly not like Dazai if they're a Chuuya or Akutagawa stan. Arguably, the people who were the most effected by Dazai leaving port mafia were Chuuya and Akutagawa, and despite Dazai always being nonchalant about it, he too was effected by both these relationships.

That is exactly why I think this was such an important part to represent the depth of his relationship with both of them.

Like look at this, his expression is much softer here than

... Yeah.

And while it's not a big change, I think it totally changes how one can interpret what he says to Akutagawa in this scene.

Also I was so disappointed here 😭😭

ROBBED😭😭

Anyway, my point is why it was so important for me (and so many other people) was because Dazai never explicitly expresses any vulnerability or emotion and whenever he shows any genuine vulnerability he almost immediately runs away or dismisses it. (Take the "leave to me partner" And then leaving chuuya there or the whole speech in ch 101 as examples🥲). THESE ARE THE BITS THAT MAKE HIS CHARACTER SO MUCH MORE THAN AN ASSHOLE THAT THE ANIME MAKES HIM😭😭.

#bungou stray dogs #soukoku #akutagawa ryuunosuke #shin soukoku #dazai osamu #bsd dazai #nakaharachuuya #why bones whyy😭#i don't deserve this #i had to say it

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yume-fanfare · 1 year

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please tell me ur opinions on them. i think i saw u post abt hell of mirrors arc???

HELL OF MIRRORS. SURE!

i considered talking about mitsuba's changes here and everything but that makes for another post, i Need to talk about how the hell of mirrors arc has what's one of my favorite page progressions in the world ever

so, spoilers, a bunch of images and a gore warning? under the cut

it's one of the most gory volumes to me, and it comes with this terrible panel of mitsuba being forced to eat a heart. before it happens, the point of view changes to kou and hanako. now, you see, paneling 101 is dragging the suspense til the end of the page and putting the big reveal in the next one, to make the viewer want to turn it to keep reading more and more. jshk is Excellent at this, and the newest ch 96 and its half full-black page buildup is a perfect example too

here, we have:

page on the right: ends with kou looking at something off-field. his gaze directly guides you to the top panel on the left page: mitsuba's back and kou's shocked face

and then, one of the very few full double pages of the manga, in all of its glory:

mitsuba, eating a corpse.

it's still one of the most powerful images ever i could stare at it for hours. it's so. wow.

you have not seen what happened in between, but you know it was something terrible

and then, if you have volume seven, you will turn the page to see the beginning of chapter 34

the panels carefully hide kou's full expression. mitsuba flinches. this is the third person he has ever met, and he has just gone through a terrible experience.

when you turn the page, you know you'll see kou's expression. what kind of face will he make, upon discovering that someone important to him whom he thought dead, someone who died in his arms, is right in front of him, in such a horrible state? covered in blood, kneeling in front of a corpse, half turned into a monster? will it be a worried expression? horror? fear?

you hold your breath and turn the page.

and kou is looking at mitsuba like this:

and it is. wow. it's warm.

this is the third person mitsuba has ever met, after having an incredibly traumatic experience, after being turned into a monster, and he is looking at mitsuba like he loves him. like mitsuba, who has seen so much more cruelty than kindness, is loved.

it's a lot

#i could go on for hoursssssssss about all of the arcs ask me abt jshk #this is just like. their First scene in this arc im not even done talkinh #but god it is. so good.#second mitsukou reunion! warm #third mitsukou reunion: most romantic thing in the world #fourth reunion...? (eyes emoji) we'll see #i love them now if youll excuse me im going to reread the rest of the arc and lose my mind #jbksh #solaaresque #preguntas

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liugeaux · 2 months

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About that TMNT Re-Boot ...

Over the past couple of months, IDW has announced a variety of new TMNT comics coming to shelves this year. Here's a quick and dirty breakdown of the ones I want to talk about.

TMNT The Flag-Ship book Soft-Reboot - Ongoing by Jason Aaron

TMNT: Nightwatcher - Ongoing by Juni Ba

TMNT: Mutant Nation - Ongoing by Tom Waltz and Sophie Campbell

Other stuff was announced, but I really want to focus on the in-canon stories. The IDW line has been chugging along since 2011 and it contains some of the best portrayals of many TMNT characters and possibly the strongest Turtles story ever. When Jason Aaron's reboot was announced as a soft reboot incorporated into the existing story, it was both exciting and troubling.

He's a big name (or so I'm told), so giving him an already-established world in which to play, doesn't seem ideal. For example, he's continuing a story with a dead Splinter and a post-good guy Shredder redemption arc. Krang is dead, Chrell is dead, Rat King is 'dead', Bishop is dead, and most of the TMNT rogues gallery is not in a soft-reboot-friendly place.

Of course, the world of comics always finds a way to resurrect or retcon characters when needed, but is Jason Aaron willing to jump through the hoops needed to make an unlikely character return digestible, or will we get a "somehow Palpatine returned" situation? I love the IDW continuity and I'm excited it persists; I just hope the creative team properly respects the tales that came before it.

IDW's tactic here feels like a grand "let's meet in the middle" compromise. I don't know the numbers, but the way I understand it, IDW was happy with the sales performance of the Sophie Campbell Mutant Town/Reborn Era stuff. That's evidenced by them immediately signing her up as a writer on Mutant Nation. Many older fans either didn't like her run or felt alienated by it. Despite issues 101-150 being polarizing, apparently, someone has been buying them.

It looks like IDW sees this new 3-Ongoings setup as a way to keep the success of the current run by shifting those readers over to Mutant Nation and pitching Jason Aaron's reboot as a way to ensnare new and older readers. This has the potential to be a real 'have your cake and eat it too' situation.

The only wild card I see here is the Nightwatcher book and depending on who the Nightwatcher is, it could serve very different purposes. IDW is publically keeping the identity of the vigilante Turtle (whose non-canonical origin was 2007's TMNT film) a secret. Fans have 2 prevailing theories, Nightwatcher is Jennika the '5th Turtle' mutated in the books of the original IDW ongoing book, and Nightwatcher is Future Raph a mysterious Raphael who debuted in the 2023 Annual.

Of course, we must mention that it could be any of the four original turtles, but they'll likely be too busy in Aaron's reboot to pull double duty. Vigilantism doesn't seem to be Venus' vibe, but she is a turtle, so she can't be disqualified. Then there is always a chance that Nightwatcher is a Slash clone or a simplified Metalhead, but both are heavy long shots at best.

From Jason Aaron's mouth, we know IDW has 'big plans' for Jennika, and she will not be part of the core team in the reboot. That leaves 3 options I see for Jenni's character:

She gets de-mutated. - Previews for issue 149 suggest that through QNA and Armagon, de-mutation is possible in the IDW universe. (I'd say this outcome is unlikely because of the energy they've put into cultivating her as the '5th turtle'. After spending 5 years building Jenni's audience, it doesn't make sense to turn her human again.)

She is the Nightwatcher - We've already seen her take the role of a peace officer in Mutant Town, so her throwing on a suit of armor and becoming BatTurtle isn't too far-fetched. (With Jenni being the lead in the Nightwatcher book, she would bring her own audience and backstory to an otherwise mostly blank slate of a character. It's not a bad call.)

She is the lead character in Mutant Nation - We know Jenni can lead a book, and we know Campbell and Waltz are comfortable writing for her. (The various creative teams could tell countless stories of Jennika fighting for mutant-kind in-universe and never have her interact with the Core-4, outside of carefully timed event series.)

As cool as Future Raph would be as the Nightwatcher, they would need to do a lot to earn whatever story they tell. Basing a brand new ongoing on a mostly unexplained character seems riskier than most of IDW's typical tactics. If Future Raph does end up being the Nightwatcher that leaves options 1 and 3 on the table for Jenni's character. One point in favor of him being the Nightwatcher is that he was recently introduced and his story was left WIDE-OPEN. Obviously, the writers want to do something with him.

I'm about 50/50 right now on who I think the Nightwatcher is between Jennika and Future Raph. Assuming the character stays in NYC, I guess it just depends on which of the two Jason Aaron wants his rebooted TMNT to interact with the most.

As for Mutant Nation, there is a laundry list of characters that could lead the book. Everyone from Alopex to Leatherhead to Bebop and Rocksteady to Venus. My money is on a Mutanimal-like team of freedom fighters. This means Sally, Hob, Mondo, Herman, Ray and others from that team will likely play a big part in the story. With Campbell involved, the various townsfolk of Mutant Town will definitely show up, but the bigger question comes from the de-mutation reveal in the preview for issue 149.

With a huge population of mutants not wanting to be mutants and there being a way to become human again, does this become a central plot point of Mutant Nation? What will become of Lita (Pictured Above)? She was supposed to become a Timestress with Renet. Does her de-mutation change that? Is it permanent? So many unanswered questions and so much still to announce.

It has been a long time since the future of TMNT comics was this exciting and as the kids say, 'I'm here for it'.

#tmnt #tmntidw #teenagemutantninjaturtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles comics #tmnt comics #idw comics #tmnt40th #tmnt mutantnation #tmnt nightwatcher

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drsorrell · 1 year

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Wed. 3.1.23 (SVC, Core Writing)

Announcements & Reminders

Do your Outline Friday by classtime and make your comments by the end of classtime. I know Spring Break is next week, but get this done!

We actually ended up covering most of my notes on Paper #1 when we looked over that diagram. Here are the few we missed:

Make sure you run this through a spelling/grammar check.

Spell my name right, please :)

Develop your IS evidence in a much more specific way. Make sure you use a concrete example to anchor each paragraph.

Use the Writing Associates & the Writing Center!

Outline Assignment Review

Notes on Ch. 7, “‘SO WHAT? WHO CARES’: Saying Why It Matters” (96-106)

Make the reader care about what you are arguing: Just arguing clearly with proof isn’t enough: ‘When you are careful to explain who cares and why, it’s a little like bringing a cheerleading squad to your text” (Graff and Birkenstein 104).

“Who cares?”: Address a specific audience by identifying “a person or a group who cares about your claims” (97). Establish a “contrast between what others say and what you say” (Graff and Birkenstein 100).

“So what?”: Show your readers why they should care by connecting your argument to a bigger issue that “readers already deem important” (Graff and Birkenstein 101).

Activity (Rough Draft of Outline #2)

Choose the two essays that you want to work on for Paper #2

What do you want to say about them? Answer the questions “who cares” and “so what”?

If time: Find three quotes that help you to back up what you want to say.

Homework

For Today:

Complete the Ch. 7 Tutorial by the end of the day (11:59 pm deadline)

Complete the following InQuzitive by the end of the day (11:59 pm deadline): “Omitted Commas.”

For Friday: Outline #2 and Workshop (for Paper #2) (300 words, double-spaced): Click the link or see Schoology for instructions.

For Monday after Spring Break: Read Ch. 8, “‘AS A RESULT’: Connecting the Parts” (107-122)

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xiyao-feels · 2 years

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Ironically, I feel like sometimes people can overcorrect on JGY's combat skills, and make him weaker than he actually is?

Like, don't get me wrong—he does have weak cultivation! And it's definitely true that he could never take most of the other characters the story focuses on in a straight fight—Sandu Shengshou, Hanguang-jun, Zewu-jun, Chifeng-zun, in a straight fight he'd be toast. We're even told this explicitly in the temple, about JC:

Jin GuangYao’s spiritual energy wasn’t as high as his, so he didn’t dare face him directly. He could only dodge nimbly, again and again, remaining composed as his subordinates attacked Jiang Cheng

(ER, ch 101)

But the thing is, the vast majority of cultivators would also be toast! These are elite cultivators. Like, SMS would also lose in a straight fight with any of these people, and it's not because he doesn't have very solid combat skills; he's just not as good.

And if you look at the evidence on JGY's swordfighting skills, I think he comes across as reasonably decent?

If you look at this paragraph:

Wei WuXian, however, knew that it wouldn’t be solid no matter how hard he practiced. Jin GuangYao wasn’t like the other disciples. His foundation was so poor that he’d never reach new heights. Thus, with cultivation, he could only aim for quantity instead of quality. This was why he rounded all of the sect leaders and learned their techniques. It was also why he was criticized as the “stealer of techniques”.

(Exiled Rebels, ch 48)

On the one hand, it's very clear that he's limited in his ability to master any particular skill. On the other hand, we also learn part of how he makes up for this: by learning a lot of different techniques, and using them broadly! And we see him apply this when he's killing the Jin commander, for example:

His expression was absolutely calm. Attacks both fast and steady, he was also careful, letting not even a droplet of blood stain his clothes.

The sword wasn’t his own sword. The hilt had iron embellishments in the shape of flames—it was the sword of a Wen Sect cultivator.

The sword techniques were also those of the Wen Sect’s.

(ER, ch 48)

That description suggests a certain competence in execution, and again this is in Wen sect techniques; he must have had a more limited opportunity to practice them than he did, say, the Nie, but he's pulling it off flawlessly.

In the present timeline, when WWX is discussing the identity of NMJ's killer with LXC, he presents the gravedigger's strong familiarity with Lan sword style as evidence of JGY's involvement:

The mist-faced man who tried to take the corpse away in the Chang Clan’s cemetery knew the Lan Sect’s sword moves like the back of his hand. There can only be two possibilities. One, he’s from the Lan Sect and has been practicing the Lan Sect’s moves since a young age; two, he’s not from the Lan Sect, but he’s really familiar with your sect’s moves. He either often dueled with the Lan Sect’s people or he’s so intelligent that he can remember the moves as long as he has seen them.

(ER, ch 46)

Now of course as it turned out the gravedigger was SMS, so, uh, option one. But having seen the gravedigger fight, WWX seems to have thought it reasonable to suggest that he might have been JGY. Alternatively, if we infer some things from LWJ saying that JGY wouldn't necessarily have to be the gravedigger to be involved, the suggestion might be that the gravedigger became so familiar with the Lan skills through JGY's teaching. Either way, this again suggests that JGY is at least moderately competent with the sword.

We know he goes night-hunting; JL was apparently very impressed by JGY's skills here, thinking his uncles are the most powerful cultivators in the world from having seen them night-hunt, and while I'm sure there's some bias there I don't think he'd think JGY was the best if he were actually completely terrible, especially since we learn this in the context of him being impressed by LWJ's skills, so it's not just blind loyalty. Meanwhile, LXC vouches for JGY's performance during their recent night-hunt together as evidence that JGY couldn't have used a transportation talisman:

Likewise, one must expend large quantities of spiritual powers to use this technique, but we night-hunted together just a few days ago. His performance was excellent.

(ER, ch 46)

It's not technically impossible he could mean "his performance was no worse than his usual completely terrible standard, at least he didn't trip on his sword," but that's not the most obvious interpretation, and beyond that it seems unlikely they'd go night-hunting together if JGY were completely terrible at it.

And then there's Hensheng, which is described very impressively:

Back then, when Jin GuangYao worked undercover at Wen RuoHan’s side, he had often hidden the sword at his waist, wreathed the sword around his arm to use during critical moments. Although the blade of Hensheng seemed to be soft to the extremity, attacking with lingering motions, it was in reality both sharp and haunting. Once the blade had wrapped around the opposition, Jin GuangYao would apply it with a bizarre spiritual power, and one would quickly be severed into pieces by the sword, despite its tender appearance. Quite a few famous swords had been battered into piles of scrap iron just like this.

(ER, ch 50)

I feel like perhaps because the only time we actually see him under WRH is the confrontation with NMJ, who's already a prisoner at the time, there's the idea that he only did this with prisoners or something? I don't know that that's impossible, but it doesn't seem to be explicit in the text. Indeed given everything we know about that society, it seems very likely he would have had to do at least some fighting.

And of course, we actually see him fight paperman WWX on the page:

At the moment, the blade of the sword attacked as though it was a serpent with silver scales, biting at the paperman without any hesitation. Losing focus for one second, and Wei WuXian would be caught in the fangs!

Paperman WuXian darted here and there, dodging the attacks with agility, but this wasn’t his own body, after all. After a few moves, the tip of Hensheng had almost sliced him. If this continued, he’d be pierced through for sure!

(ER, ch 50)

Yes, WWX thinks he'd be doing better in his actual body, but that description definitely doesn't sound like terrible swordwork! Rather the opposite; it sounds quite skilled.

Tl;dr: while JGY's weak cultivation definitely impacts his combat skills, he does his best to make up for that deficiency, and while he couldn't take most of the other important characters in a straight fight, the vast majority of cultivators in the novel also couldn't take those characters in a straight fight, so that's not evidence of him being extraordinarily weak as opposed to simply not being extraordinarily strong; considering the evidence we have and what we do see of his fighting skills, it seems likely that he's at least a moderately competent swordsman.

#jin guangyao #more than one tag could contain

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synchronousemma · 2 years

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31st March: Emma and Mr. Knightley discuss Jane Fairfax

Read the post and comment on WordPress

Read: Vol. 2, ch. 15; pp. 186–188 (“Upon her speaking her wonder aloud” through to “‘Do not beat me’”).

Context

Emma, Mrs. Weston, and Mr. Knightley are gathered someplace. Emma brings up the subject of Miss Fairfax and Mrs. Elton. Mr. Knightley denies any romantic interest in Jane Fairfax.

We know that it is less than “three months” since Jane Fairfax first came to Highbury, and before Emma’s dinner for the Eltons in April.

Note that the last three sections (“He or She and Thou,” “Extensive Admiration,” and “An Open Temper”) contain spoilers.

Readings and Interpretations

Countering Facts

In this section, Emma brings her confusion about Jane’s motives for staying in Highbury before Mrs. Weston and Mr. Knightley. It is clear from this conversation that the three interlocutors consider each other intimates and have respect for the others’ intelligence and discretion. This is the company in which Emma feels comfortable eschewing her polite nothings about Mrs. Elton (they are “the few who knew her opinion of” her, p. 186); it is company in which Mrs. Weston feels comfortable acknowledging Miss Bates’s shortcomings (“‘Her aunt is a good creature, but, as a constant companion, must be very tiresome’”; “‘Poor Miss Bates may very likely have committed her niece…’” ibid.).

Though Emma is mystified at Jane’s behavior, Michael Suk-Young Chwe writes that it is Mrs. Weston who understands Jane’s “relevant counterfactual,” or actual alternative:

Austen explains that to make a choice thoughtfully, you must understand the counterfactual of what would have happened had you chosen otherwise (in economics, this is the concept of “opportunity cost”). […] [W]hen Emma wonders why the sophisticated Jane Fairfax spends so much time with the odious Mrs. Elton, Mrs. Weston offers, “[…] We must consider what Miss Fairfax quits, before we condemn her taste for what she goes to” [p. 186]. (p. 101)1

A counterfactual that is effectively barred to Jane is what would occur, or would have occurred, if Emma worked harder to cultivate Jane’s friendship. Peter Smith writes that Jane

only resorted to Mrs Elton’s company in the first place because Emma ignored her […]. The sole alternative to the garrulous din at home, therefore, is the relentless bullying as soon as she ventures outdoors. Moreover such violation of her privacy is not only a portent of what lies in store during the long years of being at the mercy of three young children […]; it amounts as well to a reminder of the trials Fanny Price had undergone at Portsmouth. (p. 229)

Per Michael Giffin, Emma’s “hostil[ity]” to Jane is a “violation of the implied social contract” (p. 170):

Many of the novel’s social ‘evils’ stem from the moral vacuum caused by Emma’s lack of proper concern for Jane. For example, the ‘evil’ of Mrs Elton filling a social void that could have been filled by Emma; as Mr Knightley suggests: “[…] ‘Could [Miss Fairfax] have chosen with whom to associate, she would not have chosen [Mrs. Elton]. But (with a reproachful smile at Emma) she receives attentions from Mrs Elton, which nobody else pays her’.” (p. 171)

He or She and Thou

Mr. Knightley posits another factor in considering Jane’s decision to keep company with Mrs. Elton:

“Mrs. Elton does not talk to Miss Fairfax as she speaks of her. We all know the difference between the pronouns he or she and thou, the plainest-spoken amongst us; we all feel the influence of a something beyond common civility in our personal intercourse with each other—a something more early implanted. We cannot give any body the disagreeable hints that we may have been very full of the hour before. We feel things differently. And besides the operation of this, as a general principle, you may be sure that Miss Fairfax awes Mrs. Elton by her superiority both of mind and manner; and that face to face Mrs. Elton treats her with all the respect which she has a claim to.” (vol. 2, ch. 15; p. 186)

Graham Hough uses this speech—“thoughtful, well-ordered, analytical and generalising; carefully composed and yet not too formal for ordinary social intercourse”—as an illustration of Mr. Knightley’s typical style and of the “summit of Jane Austen’s dialogue scale”:

Mr. Knightley, who is never wrong, maintains [the style of the Rambler, the lexicon of sober moral evaluation] more consistently than anyone else. He is everywhere a pricker of bubbles, the foe of unregulated fancy. The acutest passages of moral and psychological analysis are accorded to him. In his presence conversation is always lifted from the familiar and the anecdotal to the level of general reflection; the characters become types; and the actual persons around him assume the air of personae in a moral apologue. (p. 219)

This type of speech for Hough is “identical in its qualities with the objective narrative” (p. 220). Thus considered as the voice of the author or narrator in the text, Mr. Knightley’s speech loses the psychological complexity, particularity, and reactivity to events that underlie other characters’ speech.

Other scholars also view Mr. Knightley’s speech as largely correct. Juliet McMaster points out that

we immediately get a demonstration of his point. On a previous occasion Emma and Mrs. Weston had speculated freely with each other on the possibility that Mr. Knightley may be in love with Jane Fairfax; but now, in his presence, Emma introduces the subject very differently. When he proclaims, “‘[A]ny body may know how highly I think of [Jane Fairfax]’” […], Emma is very cautious: “‘And yet,’ said Emma, beginning hastily and with an arch look, but soon stopping—. . . ‘And yet, perhaps, you may hardly be aware yourself how highly it is’” (287). The free exchange with Mrs. Weston about Mr. Knightley’s love life, now that she is talking to Mr. Knightley, is reduced to surreptitious pressures on each other’s feet. (1996, p. 38)

Though the principle itself may be sound, however, Theresa Kenney argues that Knightley’s actions do not live up to it. For him, there is a connection between intimacy and open criticism that he must unlearn before he is worthy of marriage to Emma:

Mr. Knightley also gives us one of his general rules of good behavior that he does not apply in his conduct toward Emma. The contrast between his principle and his own behavior toward her implies that open criticism, such as that to which he often subjects her, may have always been his way of being intimate: “‘[…] We cannot give any body the disagreeable hints that we may have been very full of the hour before. We feel things differently’” [p. 186]. We cannot, that is, except in a very exceptional case! […] As in Pride and Prejudice, open criticism of each other’s faults manifests a growing or already-established attachment, but it also entails some misconduct. The difference in Emma is that Mr. Knightley becomes aware of the connection between the two. […] Austen does not end on a Shakespearean comic note of mutual criticism. If Mr. Knightley still finds it difficult to praise Emma, to bite his tongue when a “teaching moment” comes, Austen wants him to see his flaw before giving him her heroine. (n.p.)

Emma rejects Mr. Knightley’s assertion, despite the gravity and surety with which it is spoken: “I have no faith in Mrs. Elton’s acknowledging herself the inferior in thought, word, or deed” (Knightley does not respond, instead recurring to the subject of his possible attraction to Jane Fairfax). Emma, from Mrs. Elton’s having attempted to bring her into her patronage of Jane Fairfax, may have superior insight into her probable behavior; at any rate, it is her prediction that is borne out—repeat readers may recall, for example, Mrs. Elton’s behavior on Box Hill. In light of this, it is strange that Hough should say, in reference to this speech, that Knightley is “never wrong”! But there is something in Knightley’s rhetoric that is calculated to awe (“‘We all know…’”; “‘you may be sure that…’”), and critics sometimes prove more susceptible than does Emma.2

Extensive Admiration

Critics tend to assume that Knightley is speaking for the morality of the novel itself when he praises “open” tempers, and that he is telling the truth when he asserts that he “never had a thought of [Jane] in that way” (p. 187). Mary Waldron, however, asks whether Knightley may not have been considering Jane; readings which see only evidence of Emma’s misunderstanding of or dawning interest in Mr. Knightley in her reactions to his attentions to Jane throughout volume 2 act as though “Mr. Knightley is too solid a character to be suspected of ordinary moves in the courtship game or of ordinary human muddle-headedness,” and thus “miss the ironic complexity of the interplay of character at this stage of the novel”:

If we accept that Mr. Knightley is in a state of confusion about the kind of wife a man of sense might choose, and half conscious of an attraction to Emma that he does not want to admit, then his behavior toward Jane is open to another interpretation than the kindly paternalism […] which traditional critics have taken for granted. Jane superficially corrects much that Mr. Knightley thinks is wrong in Emma. She is apparently the perfect conduct-book young woman—well-informed, but discreet; a responder rather than an initiator; scintillatingly accomplished, but at the same time modest and quiet. (p. 151)

Kenney, reading this scene with the benefit of hindsight, writes that it “displays […] Mr. Knightley’s sensitivity to Emma’s romantic detachment from him”:

When a strangely-anxious Emma provokes him to speak about his potential attachment to Jane Fairfax, Mr. Knightley responds to her inquiries with little of the manly resolution he touts. He does not laugh off Emma’s intrusion as absurd, nor does he tease her in response. […] [H]e seems unwilling or extremely careful in his responses. The author conceals his thoughts from us, and though what he does say is rife with meaning, it does not reveal his love for Emma in a detectable fashion. The author coyly refuses to tell us the cause of his blush, but she does hint strongly that it has nothing to do with his gaiters. Why does he choose that particular moment to occupy himself in such a way as to avoid observation? He is wounded that Emma could imagine him as the husband of another, just as earlier he was nettled at Emma’s assertion that Harriet would be the perfect wife for him, as Waldron observes (150). (n.p.)3

Whatever Knightley’s motives are, it is relevant to the novel’s textual strategy that the reader cannot entirely tell. Adena Rosmarin argues that Emma’s strategy of “mystification” is perhaps the “strongest” aspect of the novel in how it succeeds in its design to make us doubt our competence as readers. The text’s “ample support of […] more or less incompatible alternatives” (romances between Jane and Mr. Dixon, between Jane and Mr. Knightley, and between Emma and Frank Churchill) “compounds our difficulty” in interpreting evidence (p. 327):

Mr. Knightley’s “love” for Jane is rendered plausible if not probable by his repeated praise and defense, by his offering his carriage to Jane, and by passages such as this: [Quotes from “‘I know how highly you think’” to “‘a hint of it six weeks ago,’” p. 187]. Despite his immediate and, as we later learn, genuine denial of interest in Jane—”I never had a thought of her in that way, I assure you” [ibid.]—the narrator’s coy allusion to “some other cause” than “exertion” makes us suspect that denial, and the remarks that close the scene seem to confirm our suspicion: [Quotes from “‘Well, Mrs. Weston’” to “‘being so at last’”]. (p. 328)

An Open Temper

At the end of this conversation, Mr. Knightley tells Emma

(in his usual aphoristic, generalizing way) what “‘a man would wish for in a wife,” something very different from what Emma had accused him and men in general of wanting earlier. He then continues, “‘And I love an open temper’” [p. 188]. Mr. Knightley here begins to be willing to speak of himself personally rather than to submerge his desires in the vast ocean of universal statements about mankind. (Kenney, n.p.)

Some critics discuss the implications of this statement on our reading of Jane’s character. Per James Kissane, it indicates that reserve has always been a quality of Jane’s:

Emma’s complaints about Jane’s “coldness and reserve” (p. 127) might be discounted as female jealousy or explained by the caution necessary to a secret engagement were it not that Mr. Knightley, who always gives Jane her due, finds fault with her on just this score. “She has not the open temper which a man would wish for in a wife,” he observes (p. 223). […] What passes as Jane’s “reserve” encompasses other deficiencies; when the extent of her curiosity about Mr. Elton can bring her only as far as to ask “is he—is he a tall man?” (p. 133) Emma is right to be irritated. (p. 178)

Similarly, McMaster writes that Jane’s “reserve goes deeper than her disguise [of her engagement], or she and Emma would have become friends sooner” (p. 36).4

It is also relevant that Mr. Knightley makes this statement just after Emma has been overt in her opinion of Mrs. Elton (earlier, Emma had lamented that “There was no getting at [Jane Fairfax’s] real opinion,” vol. 2, ch. 2; p. 108). Mary Waldron writes that this statement represents a turning point in his and Emma’s relationship, and indicates the conclusion that Knightley has come to after his actions earlier in the winter:

There is a coded message here to Emma that not only has he decided that she has been right in her estimate of Jane—with which he has earlier strongly disagreed—but that he has relinquished his conduct-book womanly ideal and prefers Emma’s “open temper;” he is saying, in effect, that a stormy relationship with someone he can trust is better than one with someone whose thoughts may be hidden from him. He is inviting Emma to go on saying exactly what she thinks and at least hinting that he will no longer invoke his own superiority to oppose her. However, she fails to notice this, for she is unable at this stage to regard Mr. Knightley in the light of a possible suitor; she is too caught up in her own stereotype of what a suitor should be. Moreover, she is not being entirely “open.” (p. 152)

Footnotes

On Emma as strictly limiting the rereader’s counterfactual imagination see Rohrbach; see Galperin on missed opportunities in Emma.

As a parallel, we may recall Emma and Knightley’s argument about Mr. Martin’s proposal, when Emma made generalized assertions that were correct in principle, but muddled the specific situation at hand (“‘but is he sure that Harriet means to marry him,’” vol. 1, ch. 8; p. 37).

Juliet McMaster reads Knightley’s blush the same way, calling it a “nicely veiled hint of Mr. Knightley’s feelings”: “[H]e is blushing not at the mention of Jane Fairfax, but because it is Emma who suggests he is in love. Emma herself could hardly be expected to read this sign, but the reader is invited to” (p. 124). See also Burrows, p. 96.

Contrast Mooneyham: “Jane Fairfax’s reserve sterns almost wholly from deceit” (p. 119).

Discussion Questions

Why does Jane accept invitations from Mrs. Elton?

What is the source of Jane’s “reserve”? What do you think “reserve” means to Knightley here?

Do you think Knightley was ever considering Jane as a potential wife? What implications would this have for the novel’s plot or themes?

What does this section allow us to guess about Knightley’s thoughts or feelings at this time in the novel?

Bibliography

Austen, Jane. Emma (Norton Critical Edition). 3rd ed. Ed. Stephen M. Parrish. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, [1815] 2000.

Burrows, J. F. Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’. Sydney: Sydney University Press (1968).

Chwe, Michael Suk-Young. Jane Austen, Game Theorist. Princeton: Princeton University Press (2013).

Galperin, William. “‘Describing What Never Happened’: Jane Austen and the History of Missed Opportunities.” ELH 73.2 (Summer 2006), pp. 355–82.

Giffin, Michael. “Emma.” In Jane Austen and Religion: Salvation and Society in Georgian England. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2002), pp. 149–76.

Kenney, Theresa. “’And I Am Changed Also’: Mr. Knightley’s Conversion to Amiability,” Persuasions 29 (2007), pp. 110-20.

Kissane, James. “Comparison’s Blessed Felicity: Character Arrangement in Emma.” Studies in the Novel 2.2 (Summer 1970), pp. 173–84.

McMaster, Juliet. “The Symptoms of Love.” In Jane Austen the Novelist: Essays Past and Present. London: Macmillan Press (1996), pp. 111–32.

_____. “The Critics of Talk in Emma.” Persuasions 38 (2016), pp. 30–40.

Mooneyham, Laura G. “The Double Education of Emma.” In Romance, Language and Education in Jane Austen’s Novels. Houndmills: Macmillan Press (1988), pp. 107–145.

Rohrbach, Emily. “‘Without You, I am Nothing’: On the Counterfactual Imagination in Emma.” Textual Practice 32.3, pp. 471–48. DOI: 10.1080/0950236X.2018.1442396.

Rosmarin, Adena. “‘Misreading’ Emma: The Powers and Perfidies of Interpretive History.” ELH 51.2 (Summer 1984), pp. 315–42.

Smith, Peter. “Politics and Religion in Jane Austen’s Emma.” The Cambridge Quarterly 26.3 (1997), pp. 219–41. DOI: 10.1093/camqtly/XXVI.3.219.

Waldron, Mary. “Men of Sense and Silly Wives: The Confusions of Mr. Knightley.” Studies in the Novel 28.2 (Summer 1996), pp. 141–57. Repr. in Jane Austen and the Fiction of her Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1999), pp. 112–34. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511484667.006.

#Emma #Emma Woodhouse #Jane Austen #Mrs. Elton #Mrs. Weston #Mr. Knightley #Jane Fairfax #e

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samwisethewitch · 3 years

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What does it mean to be pagan? (Paganism 101 Ch. 1)

That’s right, y’all! With Baby Witch Bootcamp officially wrapped, it’s time to jump into our next long term series! I put out a poll on Patreon, and my patrons voted for Paganism 101 as our next series. While not all witches are pagan and not all pagans are witches, there is a lot of overlap between the two groups. Both witchcraft and paganism offer practitioners a sense of freedom, a deeper connection to the world around them, and a greater awareness of their personal power.

I identify both as a witch and as a pagan, and I get a lot of questions about paganism. In this series, we’ll go through the basics: what it means to be pagan, the difference between a neopagan and a reconstructionist, and the role of magic in different pagan traditions. We’ll also talk about some of the most popular modern pagan traditions and how to find the right tradition for you.

Let’s start off by answering the question, “What does pagan actually mean?”

Defining “Pagan”

It’s important to remember that “pagan” is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of different faiths. Someone who practices Wicca, for example, will have very different beliefs from someone who practices Hellenismos. These different faiths are linked by a shared history, rather than by shared beliefs or practices.

The word “pagan” comes from the Latin “paganus,” which literally means “area outside of a city” or, to phrase it slightly differently, “countryside.” This adjective was used to describe people and things that were rustic or rural and, over time, came to also have the connotation of being uneducated. Originally, the word had no religious association, and was even used to refer to non-combatants by the Roman military.

From this definition, we can gain some insight into what makes a religion or practice pagan. Pagans feel a kinship with the wild or rural places of the world, and are comfortable waking “off the beaten path.”

But how did “paganus” come to refer to a type of religion, anyway?

To understand the religious meaning of “paganus,” it’s necessary to understand a little bit about the religion of Ancient Rome. Rome (the city) was built inside a pomerium, a sacred boundary that formed a spiritual border around the city and its people. Paganus folks were those who lived outside the pomerium and, as such, may not have been strict adherents of the state religion — they certainly wouldn’t have been able to travel into the city for every major festival. They may have gotten a bit more creative with their worship of the gods. However, as previously stated, the word paganus did not have an explicitly religious meaning in ancient times.

The use of paganus as a religious label began after the legalization of Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 313 C.E. Christianity would not be adopted as the official state religion until 380 C.E., but Constantine’s conversion and decriminalization of Christian worship paved the way for Rome’s transformation into a Christian state. It was around this time, as Christianity was quickly growing in urban areas, that early Roman Christians began using the word “paganus” to refer to those who still practiced polytheism. Rather than referring to those outside the city’s boundary or to untrained civilians, the label now referred to those outside the Church, those who were not “soldiers of Christ.”

As Christianity spread in popularity throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, and Northern Africa, the pagan label was applied to all non-Christians in those areas. The word “pagan” became a derogatory label, implying an inferior and backwards religion.

So, really, the thing that makes a religion pagan is a historical conflict with Christianity. Pagan religions are those that were suppressed or completely destroyed after Christianity became the dominant faith in the region.

This is why Norse Paganism and Kemetic (Egyptian) polytheism, which are very different, are both considered “pagan” while Shinto, a Japanese religion that shares a lot of common features with many pagan faiths, is not. Because Christianity never achieved total dominance in Japan, Shinto was never pushed aside to make room for Jesus.

In the 20th century, people who felt drawn to these old religions started to reclaim the pagan label. Like many other reclaimed slurs, “pagan” became a positive label for a community united by their shared history.

What do all pagans have in common?

This is a tough question to answer because, as stated above, paganism is a historical definition, not one shaped by belief or practice. However, there are some things most pagans have in common. Here are a few of them, although these concepts may take different forms in different traditions.

Paganism…

… is (usually) polytheistic. Most pagans do not subscribe to monotheism, the belief in a single, all-powerful divine being. Some pagans are polytheists, meaning they believe in multiple divine beings with varying levels of power. Hellenic pagans, Norse pagans, and Celtic pagans are typically polytheists. Still others are monists, meaning they believe in a single divine source that manifests itself as multiple gods. Wiccans and other neopagans are typically monists. Many pagans fall somewhere in-between strict polytheism and strict monism. We’ll talk more about polytheism in a future post, but for now just know that the idea of a single, supreme creator is not compatible with most forms of paganism.

… is based in reciprocity. This is a concept that may seem odd to those who grew up around Abrahamic religions: the idea of engaging the gods in a mutually beneficial partnership, rather than one-sided worship. When we connect with the gods, we receive spiritual, emotional, and physical blessings. The gods also benefit, as they are strengthened by our prayers and offerings. (I like to think they also enjoy the company. It has to be lonely, having your body of worshipers supplanted by an anarchist carpenter from Palestine.) The concept of reciprocity is why most pagans make physical offerings to their gods.

Reciprocity also extends to our relationships with other people. Most pagan religions have a code of ethics that includes values like hospitality, kindness, and/or fairness with others. Depending on the pagan, reciprocity may even extend to the dead! Many (but not all) pagans practice ancestor worship, the act of honoring and venerating the beloved dead.

Reciprocity may even extend to the world at large. Some (but not all) pagans are animists, which means they believe that every animal, plant, and stone contains its own spirit. Animist pagans strive to live in harmony with the spirits of the world around them, and may make offerings to these spirits as a sign of friendship.

… embraces the Divine Feminine. Paganism acknowledges and venerates both masculine and feminine expressions of divinity. Polytheist pagans worship both gods and goddesses, while monist pagans see the divine Source as encompassing all genders. In either case, the end result is the same: pagans acknowledge that, sometimes, God is a woman. (Cue the Ariana Grande song.)

Paganism also acknowledges gender expressions outside the masculine/feminine binary. Many pagan deities, like Loki (in Norse paganism), Atum (in Kemetic paganism), and Aphroditus (a masculine aspect of the Greek Aphordite) exist somewhere in the grey area between man and woman.

… is compatible with a mystic mindset. Remember how I said there’s a lot of overlap between witchcraft and paganism? Part of the reason for that is because paganism is highly compatible with magic and other mystical practices. Most pagans believe that humans have, or can attain, some level of divine power. It makes sense that this power would manifest as magic, or as other spiritual abilities. Many of the ancient cultures modern paganism draws inspiration from practiced magic in some form, so it follows that modern pagans would as well.

… draws inspiration from the ancient stories. As we discussed, “pagan” originally referred to the religious groups that were pushed out by Christian hegemony. As a result, every modern pagan is a little bit of a historian. Because paganism was pushed underground, it takes a little digging to find myths, rituals, and prayers that can be used or adapted for modern practice.

Many pagans worship historic deities that you’ve probably read about at some point. Visit any pagan pride event, and you’ll probably find worshipers of Zeus, Venus, Thor, and Isis, just to name a few. Studying and interpreting ancient mythology and archaeological evidence is a big part of modern paganism.

… is a religion with homework. If you’ve read this far, you may be beginning to realize that being pagan is a lot of work. It’s fun, spiritually fulfilling, and very rewarding work, but work all the same. Because very few modern pagans have access to temples, priests and priestesses, or an in-person community that shares their beliefs, they end up having to teach themselves, do their own research, and guide their own practice.

This is incredibly empowering, as it means you are your own religious authority. It does, however, mean that you will occasionally have to open a book or slog through a dense academic article about the most recent archaeological find related to your favorite deity. Thankfully, there’s a growing number of accessible, beginner-friendly books, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels to help you in your research.

… embodies a deep respect for the natural world. While not all pagans are animists, most pagans do feel some sort of reverence for the forces of nature. Many pagan deities are associated with natural forces or use the natural world to communicate with their followers. Because of this, not only do pagans respect and love nature, but they’re constantly watching it for signs and messages. (Are you really friends with a pagan if they haven’t called you crying because they found a crow feather on the ground or saw a woodpecker in their backyard?)

Some pagan groups, especially neopagan religions like Wicca, have been classified as Earth-centered religions. Personally, I dislike this term. While it is true that many pagans feel a deep spiritual connection to the Earth and may even venerate local nature spirits, to say that these religions are “Earth-centered” feels like an oversimplification. Wiccans, for example, don’t actually worship nature — they worship the God and Goddess, who they see reflected in the natural world.

… is driven by individual spiritual practice. As mentioned above, very few pagans have access to an in-person community. Because of this, modern paganism largely consists of individual practices. Even pagans who do belong to a community still typically worship on their own sometimes. These personal practices may involve prayer, offerings to the gods, meditation, divination, astral travel, performing religious rituals, or countless other practices. Many pagans have personal altars in their homes, where they worship alone or with their family.

… is a celebration of daily life. One thing I love about paganism is how it makes every aspect of my life feel sacred. Many religions emphasize the spiritual aspects of life while deemphasizing, or even demonizing, the physical or mundane aspects. This can lead to practitioners feeling like they are spiritual beings trapped in a physical body, or like their physical needs and desires are something to escape.

Paganism allows practitioners to fully enjoy being physical and spiritual beings. Pagans reach for the heights of spiritual awareness, while also enjoying earthly delights — recognizing that neither is inherently more worthy than the other and that both are needed for a balanced life.

… is only one of many paths to Truth. Most pagan groups do not claim to be the only valid religious path, and in fact several openly acknowledge the validity of other religions. This is why you rarely see pagans trying to convert other people to paganism — it’s openly acknowledged that paganism isn’t for everyone, and that those who are truly meant to practice the old ways will find them.

~~~

Hopefully, this post has given us a good working definition of “paganism.” From here, we’ll explore some of these individual concepts in more depth and discuss specific religions within the pagan umbrella. Until then, blessed be.

Resources:

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar

The Way of Fire and Ice by Ryan Smith

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler

A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality by Lora O’Brien

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liliesoftherain · 4 years

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My Hero Academia Main 3 Boys x Reader Ch.2 Battle of Heroes vs Villains

Pt. 1

Here’s part 2! Sorry for any mistakes, I hope you enjoy!

-*-*-*-*-*-

The next day at school you felt better than ever. Even though you had to sit through regular core classes like any other high school, it was still amazing to you. You were learning from Pro Heroes. How could that get any better?

When lunch rolls around you're shocked to find Lunch Rush, the Cook Hero making the food. You sit next to the friends you made yesterday, and get to know them a lot better while digging into the amazing food that has been served. Then came your favorite part of the day.

During your afternoon classes is when things finally were turned up a notch. You were sitting in your desk for your Hero Basic Training to start, when a loud and booming voice came through the door.

"I AM HERE!" Everyone turned their heads to the door, eyes wide. You were amazed, you've heard that the one and only Number One Pro Hero was teaching at the school, but you never would've thought he'd be teaching you first years!

"Coming through the door like a hero!" AllMight yelled, his grin from ear to ear as always.

"So he is a teacher!" Kirishima stuck a fist in the air, he turned to you with a wide smile.

"This year is going to be awesome!" All you could do was nod back, too excited to speak.

You noticed he was wearing an old classic costume of his, and only smiled larger when Tsu- is what she wanted everyone to call her, pointed it out as well.

"Consider this class as Hero 101! This is your most important class, and you'll be learning the basics of becoming a pro! As well as what it truly means to fight in the name of good."

He turns around, looking like he was grabbing something from behind the desk, before turning back around and presented what he had. A card with giant block letters spelling out 'BATTLE' was shown.

"Fight training!" You heard Bakugou shout out, his voice sounding less nasty and more like he was having a good time? Well, he did seem like the guy to have a great time bashing heads together. You shake your head and focused back to AllMight.

"One of the keys to being a hero issss.. LOOKING GOOD!" He pointed over towards the wall, where a bunch of suitcases lined up with a number representing each student. These had to be your hero costumes!

"These were made with the designs you guys had turned in with all that enrollment paperwork!" You tried not to let it show but you were really curious on how they made your costume look.

You suited up with AllMights directions, ready to see what will be happening at training ground Beta. You walked outside the locker rooms to see Bakugou walking out as well. His costume was, pretty extreme. But, you had to admit it really suited his personality. You had to stifle a laugh at the gauntlets, but you didn't do a good job when he turned his head in your direction.

"You got something to say you fucking glow worm."

Your eyebrow raised at the name, trying to figure out why he was calling you a glow worm of all things. Then you realized, you tend to glow when you try to make your body into Photons to act as light. So you smirked light while crossing your arms, giving him a sassy retort back.

"Uh glow worm? C'mon Bakugou I'm sure you can do better than that." He huffed at you, eyes narrowing. He seemed to actually be thinking of another name, and although you didn't like the fact he had to call you a nickname, it was still nice to not be called a shitty extra, as he so liked to call everyone.

"Tsk, stop wasting my time glitter bomb." With that he walked away to the training ground.

"Glitter bomb?" You muttered to yourself, following him. That was really any better, you almost preferred glow worm.

. At least glitter bomb was much cuter, and even if he said it with a nasty frown, hopefully he didn't think too badly of you. You walked out with everyone else following behind you, hearing AllMight yelling about how now you have to think of yourselves as heroes in training. Ah, you liked the sound of that.

"You all look so cool! You bunch of newbies!" AllMight laughed as soon as you all were standing in front of him. You took the time to look around and you had to agree, you all looked really amazing. However you noticed Deku's costume and you actually had to let out a laugh. It was kind of cute of him in his fanboy costume. It looked not as nicely made as the others costumes, so maybe it was a gift. Still, it was a nice sight to see. You saw AllMights face when he realized the same thing, causing you to laugh again.

"What's so funny huh (y/n)?" You looked to Kirishima and shrugged, slyly looking towards where Deku was talking to Ochaco.

"Tsk, a second rate suit for a second rate nobody." You hear Bakugou grumble under his breath, and you meet his eyes.

"You know it's kinda cute how simple it is, and the fact it's supposed to resemble AllMight." You swear you saw a vein pop out of his head.

"Shut up stupid glow worm!" Kirishima looked between the both of you, confusion painted on his face.

"Glow worm..?" You ignored him for the moment, still looking at Bakugou.

"What happened to glitter bomb?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" He briskly walked towards the front of the class, leaving you and Kirishima towards the back.

"UH? Glow worm? Glitter bomb? I'm so confused." You pat his arm with a smile, choosing to say nothing once more before looking back at your instructor.

"Now that your ready, it's time for combat training!"

"SIR!" Iida called out, he was decked out in a full body suit of armor. "This is the fake city from the entrance exam, does that mean we'll be conducting urban battles again?"

Give it to Iida about going above and beyond with asking questions. You admired his high sense of authority, and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Your father acted like this every day, having to deal with sidekicks and his own crew, making the most tactful choices and asking all the right questions. You hands clenched at your side. You had to step it up if you were one day going to be as great of a Pro Hero as he was.

"Not exactly!" Replied AllMight, holding up a peace sign with his fingers.

"I'm going to get you two steps ahead!" AllMight begins to talk about hero vs villain fights happen outside, but things can always take place indoors. He went on giving examples of backroom deals and home invasions. You mentally agreed that the most shadiest stuff was always going on inside, somewhere that was more private to the public eye.

"This training exercise will be split between the heroes and the villains., and pin you up against each other."

"Isn't this pretty advanced for us?" Tsu asked, her brows furrowing as she thought.

"Think of it this way, the best way to learn is through experience! Plus you won't be dealing with robots, you'll be dealing with actual people now.

"Sir will you be deciding who wins?" Momo asks.

"How much can we hurt the other team?" Of course the one to ask that was no one other than Bakugou.

"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled?" Ochaco was nervous when she asked, you saw her almost shaking in worry.

"Will you be splitting us up on chance or skill?" The ever so thoughtful Iida asked.

"How exactly will we be able to win?" You asked, "What's the goal of the exercise?"

"Is the cape amazing?"

With all the questions being asked, AllMight looked far too overwhelmed. This guy dealt with villains all the time, you'd think he can handle a few kids.

"I wasn't finished. LISTEN UP," He pulls out a script.

"The situation is the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in the 5 story building. The heroes must stop them and their plans! You have two ways to complete the job, either catch the villains, or recover the weapon! Likewise the villains have a chance to win if they protect their weapon or capture the heroes. There's a time limit so here, we will choose teams by drawing lots!"

"Why lots? Can't we decide teams based off of quirks? Wouldn't that be more practical?" Iida asked. You looked up at him from where you stood and spoke up.

"It's easy to believe that when fighting villains you'll be able to team up with people you know. But that really isn't the case."

Deku smiled at you, nodding quickly to agree.

"Yea Iida think about it, most heroes don't have a choice for who they are partnered up with for cases. That's probably why we're learning it like this!"

"Yea you guys are right, life is not a straight line. Excuse my rudeness." Iida bowed at AllMight, who just turned and waved him off.

"Don't worry about it, let's draw!"

You all walked up and picked papers out of the box, you were team A. You looked at Kirishima who only shrugged.

"Sorry man, guess we aren't together on this."

"U-uh hey (y/n)! I think we're partners!" You saw Deku smile at you, and you grinned back.

"Hey there Midoriya, sounds like a plan!" He nodded shyly and rubbed the back of his head.

"You can call me Izuku if you want. Not that you have to, I just know that everyone has been calling by your first name so I figured since I'm calling you by your first name you'll want to call me by my first name, or even just to have it even so we can call each other by our names. But maybe you don't feel comfortable and are only going to do it out of obligation-" Deku was talking a mile per minute and you had to get your thoughts together before you could shut him up.

"Izuku chill out, I don't mind. I prefer calling everyone by their first names. To me it makes us all closer don't you think?" You smiled, to show him you were serious. He was blushing, probably because all that talking made him out of breath. Before nodding again eagerly.

"Y-yeah of course!"

"I declare the first team to fight will beeeee..." AllMight trails off, digging his hands into both boxes labeled 'Hero' and 'Villain'.

"These guys!"

He held up an A ball and D ball.

"Hey looks like we're up first Izuku, isn't this going to be fun-Izuku?" You looked at him with a grin before it faded at his shocked expression. You saw why once you felt a glare towards your team. Bakugou was frowning, murderous intent in his red eyes.

"Everyone else, head to the monitoring room! A team you're our heroes, D team, the Villains!" You watched the class walk on, still looking at the glaring Bakugou and shy Midoriya. You gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, and he glanced over to you.

"We got this." He smiled stiffly, his eyes hardening in determination and his fists squeezed together. He stared straight back at Bakugou, which caused the other to jolt back in surprise. He must've never seen him like this before you thought.

Bakugou practically growled at the two of you with an intense look. Which was only cut off by AllMight telling the bad guys to get settled inside the building. So Iida and Bakugou headed inside, while you and Midoriya stayed out. You were given a layout of the building, and you stared at it trying to formulate a plan.

"It's a lot to take in, but it's better than going in blind. Most Pro Heroes don't get the luxury of knowledge." You say while looking over the paper, trying to drink in all the details you could.

"So we can relax just a little-ah geez Izuku you're practically sweating through your costume." You snicker while glancing at the boy next to you. He looked terrible nervous, none of that determination from earlier when looking at Bakugou had stuck apparently.

"Uh well, it's um," He bit his lip looking away, you felt your stomach churn, This kid was like a chihuahua, he was going to come right out of his red sneakers. "We're just going up against Kachan, and there's Iida too. We just really need to stay on our guard." You hummed in agreement.

"Bakugou, you have a funny nickname for him too, huh? Yea seems like he likes those." You chuckle, remembering the stupid ones he called you, and that he calls Izuku, Deku.

"What's up with you two anyway? He's always glaring at you. Well, even harsher than he glares at everything else."

"Uh, it's a long story.. But, I just know we have to be careful because he's really amazing. He can be a real pain sure, but he has strength, ambition, and confidence. Plus his quirk is so much better than mine. But that just means I have to try harder than ever. I refuse to lose today." He glares up at the building, popping his mask on. His shaking has stopped, and you felt yourself smile.

"So I see, it's a battle we can't afford to lose." He looked at you, blush back and shakes returning. Oh man, this kid has some mixed emotions.

"You don't need to try so hard for me! I can't get you mixed in my fight!"

You take a hold of one of his outstretched hands. Giving him a bright smile. His cheeks went darker as he stared at your hand in his.

"It's not just for you. I want to win too. Plus, we are a team. No way in hell am I letting us lose today, you can count on me Izuku."

"Yeah!"

"Alright! Let's begin, team A enter the building! The clock starts now!" AllMights voice sounds from the intercom, you give Deku a nod as you both race inside. You both crept in through a window, carefully walking around corners. You both fixed your ear pieces, making sure your contact stayed on. You felt energy swirling in you, an adrenaline rush coursing through your veins. You let Deku lead the way, guarding his back, and he looked around corners. You two were silent and stealthily.

You wondered if both of the boys would both be waiting for you in the room where the weapon was, sure Bakugou may have been a hothead but surely he was smart and tactful. Along with Iida, you were sure he had a plan at the very least. You both paused before coming up to your next corner, moving onward. You heard a slight movement and you held Izuku back, signalling him to be quiet. But it was too late, Bakugou was jumping from a hallway that you both hadn't seen before hand, aiming a punch directly at Deku. You held onto him as you jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a full on punch. Smoke went everywhere, and you fell straight on top of Izuku.

"You good Izuku?" You questioned, jumping off of him and getting back on your feet. You missed the blush he had when you were pressed against him, but he shook it off. Going back to the battle in front of him.

"Yea I'm good." You looked down and saw no blood on his face even though his mask had been torn off along the left side.

"Good, it was just your mask." The smoked cleared as Bakugou smirked towards Izuku.

"What's wrong Deku, afraid to fight me yourself?"

"I knew you'd come for me first." Izuku gritted out, standing beside you. You looked between both boys, your hands starting to glow with your light. You willed the light to change it's formula as you let it harden over your wrists. The light burned you, but over many years of trying to perfect your quirk made you numb to the pain, as well as the gloves you wore really helped with it.

"Sneak attack, very villain like Bakugou. " You said while you jumped up and swung, missing him by a thread as he tried to counter with a kick to your torso. You dodged it last second, landing behind him. Using your quirk like how you did during the long jump, you shot out a few light rays, solidifying them to give you a boost. You went to give a roundhouse kick but ended up missing again. Bakugou was able to grab your wrist and toss you to the side, close to the ground by Izuku. You spun yourself last second landing on your feet crouching to stop your momentum with your hand. You were able to lessen the damage of what would've happened if your back had taken the fall.

"Stay out of my way shitty glitter bomb. I'm not here for you." He glared at Deku, charging forward.

"I want to hurt you so bad, they're going to have to stop the fight!" Before you could run towards him, Izuku sprinted past you, and grabbed his right arm last second as if he knew that'd be his first move. You were as shocked as Bakugou looked when Izuku managed to flip him over and land him on his backside with a painfully loud thud. You saw spit fly out of Bakugou's mouth and you wondered how much force Deku actually put into that throw.

Izuku was breathing deeply as he spilled his secret.

"Kaachan, you always use a big right hook when you start a fight." You looked over at Deku, was he seriously that in tune with his surroundings and the people in it? How observant was this guy?

"I know because I've watched you for years! I've analyzed every amazing hero, that includes you. Everything was in the notebook you burned and tossed out the window." He stood up tall, fear in his eyes but body held up with something much stronger than that.

"You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same hopeless kid anymore! You understand? I've changed, for now on, Deku is the name of a hero!" You grinned, a part of you felt happy that Izuku was overcoming any obstacles. It seems these two had a rough past, one you didn't want to get into or get in the middle of, but that didn't mean you couldn't feel proud for someone standing up for themselves.

You quickly realized that if you left now to go obtain the bomb more than likely Bakugou would not follow you. His fight was 100% with Izuku and you were just someone in the way of that. But if you left him here with Bakugou, with Izuku's quirk the way it was he had no chance of really doing anything to him. Bakugou may have been surprised and taken down by that sneak attack, but there was no way he'd be able to keep that up. Bakugou would overcome that in an instant.

"Deku.." Bakugou huffed, his anger rising faster than you've ever seen it. "You're shaking in your boots you're so scared. Why do you always insist on fighting me.. THAT’S WHY I HATE YOU!"

You saw the blue light from Bakugou’s earpiece go off, before he yelled back in it for Iida to shut up and defend the weapon. You realized if you were going to go, you would have to go now. You made eye contact with Midoriya who nodded in your direction. Seems that great minds think alike.

"(y/n) hurry go!" You cast a beam of light, aiming for Bakugou's eyes as he used his quirk to push himself forward towards Deku, before running off. Bakugou snarled as that caused him to miss kicking out Izuku's legs and hitting his arm instead, giving him a slight advantage.

" FUCK!That was fucking too bright, that shitty girl. Ballsy move Deku. You think you're so tough trying to take me on without that STUPID GLOW WORMS HELP!"

That was the last you heard of their battle before you dashed away. You were trying to locate the bomb and Iida who was with it. You knew at least he was taking this seriously, and you really needed a plan before you found him. You knew you were safe from Bakugou, the guy must've been working alone, which you're sure put Iida in a sour mood. He's going to try to make up for his missing partner and be an even bigger pain in your ass.

You heard shuffling from one of the rooms, and you knew this must have been it. You hid behind a pillar, taking a quick glance and saw Iida talking to himself. Hearing him mutter about villainy things. You tried not to make any noise as you snuck around, pillar after pillar. Hoping to make this a quick and easy mission, to make sure Bakugou didn't hurt Izuku more than he had to.

You unfortunately misinterpreted a move and Iida spotted you from the corner of his eye.

"Ah (y/n)! There you are, I knew you would be here alone Bakugou ran off to engage in a battle with Midoriya. Your quirk has to deal with sunlight right? Well I made sure you wouldn't get any of it, seeing as I blocked off the windows allowing no light to shine through! Muawhahah! What are you going to do now you hero scum!" You glanced around saw all the impressive ways he blocked the sunlight from entering.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, villain! I don't need direct sunlight all the time!" You sent off a ray of light, blinding him just like you did with Bakugou, before running off behind another pillar.

You couldn't make a run for the weapon, Iida was faster than you when you weren't using your quirk, and since there was no water nearby you couldn't afford overheating yourself too early in the game, you'd be defenseless for a while until you were able to cool yourself down. You held your earpiece and contacted your partner.

"Izuku, are you alright?" The piece crackled as he responded.

"I'm here, what's wrong."

"Right now nothing bad, Iida spotted me before I could reach the weapon, and he blocked off any light. I may be able to outrun him but if it doesn't work I'm down for the count. Even with my suit built for me I doubt it'll cool me down in time to continue the fight before I get caught."

"I understand, where are you at?"

"Near the middle of the top floor."

"You're right above me, hang tight. We probably don't have much time. We can't give up yet. Keep him distracted, I'll tell you when."

"Roger. I'm counting on you Izuku."

You didn't hear anything back, so you got to work, You kept making small bursts of light come off your hands, dodging from one pillar to the next. Even without his sight, he was able to find you and take swings. You dodged them all, rolling and ducking away. Till a giant explosion had the whole building rattling, you looked at Iida, shock on your face, and while he was wearing a mask, you assumed he had the same expression when he asked you what the hell was that.

You bit your lip, praying Izuku was alright, things weren't going well based on the current position. Iida got side tracked, trying to contact Bakugou through his own earpiece.

"Bakugou! Come in, did you cause that blast!" You were going to take advantage of his distraction. You willed your light to travel to your feet and you took off, simultaneously making your light from regular beams to solids, back to rays again. Giving you an added boost. It was terribly difficult, and you were focusing on making sure you didn't mess up. Your feet burned but you kept going, the sweat never reaching your eyes as your mask caught it all. Your body was overheating itself but you couldn't afford to stop now!

However, Iida was too fast, and used his engines to burst his speed and move the bomb towards the other side of the room. You were able to stop yourself right before you ran into the wall, turning around and shooting a glare.

"Nice try, but you're no match for my speed the way you are now. I'm sure the fact that there is no light is causing you to use whatever kind of storage you have, meaning if you keep this up you'll be drained. So I can easily keep this weapon out of your grasp until you run out, or the time does! Muahahah." You huff, teeth grinding as he actually got that part of your quirk right.

You never remember telling him how the ins and outs of your quirk was, and you briefly explained it to Kirishima and the others when you ran the race, so all he knew was from that conversation. Even then, that was very brief and you didn't go into details. All you could do was bluff.

"You're smart, I'll give you that. But you're completely wrong about my quirk. I can keep going, can you?" You threw another beam dashing around trying to get to the other side of the room, but Iida knew how to keep you at bay, moving it back to another position across the room. You clench your hands into fists, willing the light around them. You threw punches, anything to try to get him away from the weapon, even if you couldn't reach it, he wasn't able to move it. You heard your earpiece crackle, and Izuku's voice come through.

"(y/n) what's the situation, you okay?"

"Not looking too good, I can't get close to him or past him. He's too fast for me right now."

You didn't hear his reply, but AllMights voice rang throughout the area.

"Bakugou, use that stored up power again and not only I will stop this fight, but your team will lose. " You glanced at Iida, taking this time to give yourself a break. You were heavily overheating, and you could feel your suit work to try to cool you down, but it wasn't enough. At least not for what you have planned. You needed the rest of your strength if this was going to work.

"To employ such a strong attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting! That's a poor strategy, whether you're a hero or a villain. The penalty is a massive loss of points resulting in your loss."

"Get to the pillar by the window, get there now and stay out of the middle."

You smiled. This will finally be over, you both were going to win. You dashed there, ignoring the strange look from Iida.

"Running away are we? No matter, time is up soon anyways! Attack from long range all you'd like!" He shouted after you, and you used smaller light blasts to try to let him think you were still trying to do long range.

You felt the ground rumble and you knew this must of been it, you heard him shout your name.

"(Y/N) GO NOW!"

"Roger!" You shouted back, charging up your energy, feeling yourself break down and start to glow. You grew hotter by the second and felt the building shake even worse than it did for Bakugou. The windows shattered and you felt light poor in, which help you out even more now that you can replenish your energy. The ground in the middle split off and a beam fell which allowed you to use it as a pathway.

You charged up and sprinted, reaching the weapon before Iida could even get his bearings in order. He was so focused on not getting blown away by Izuku's blast. You ended up hugging the base of the weapon, almost knocking it over with how fast you were going. You let out a sigh of relief, but also a groan of pain when you felt how hot your body was an the air surrounding you. Your suit was going into overdrive, and you're lucky you didn't have to continue fighting, you were drained.

"NO! THE WEAPON!" Iida yelled, upset he had lost.

"The hero team, WIIIINS!" You heard AllMight's shout. "Your indoor combat training is over."

You fell from the bomb and landed on your behind, steam coming off of you and mixing with the clouds from the destroyed building. Iida rushed to your side, trying to stroke your back but you were too hot, even with his gloves. He immediately pulled away. He was surprised you weren't melting through the floor at this very moment.

"Are you alright?" You nodded weakly, trying to breathe in large amounts of air in hopes you'll cool down faster. Iida began to fan you, hoping something would help.

When you were able to stand after cooling down a bit, Iida helped you to the bottom. You both walked back to the examination room to see how well you did. You looked around for Deku but you couldn't find him.

"Do not worry miss Hakamata, young Midoriya is with Recovery Girl, getting his wounds healed.

You only nodded in response, still slightly out of it but getting better. While there wasn't any more steam, you were hot to the touch, like accidentally touching a cooling stove. Not terrible but still painful.

"Despite the winners here today, I can say that both sides have done amazingly. Miss Hakamata and young Iida have proven themselves to be co-winners in the battle!"

You both looked at AllMight in shock, not understanding how you both could have won.

"Shouldn't there be only one winner? Like just (y/n), since she was one of the winners?" Tsu asked, her tongue flopping out of her mouth as her head tilted.

"Valid question! Who can take a guess as to why it was the both of them?"

Momo raises her hand.

"Sir, I can tell you exactly why. Iida embraced this challenge wholeheartedly, and thought logically as the villain. Taking steps to ensure his enemy's defeat, like by blocking all the sunlight in the room to weaken his opponent. He adapted to his assigned role perfectly. While Hakamata was very quick thinking, knowing that she couldn't use her trump card so early on, and sticking to dodging and smaller attacks to watch out for not only the missile, but even the villain. As heroes, we should always aim to immobilize not kill. To look for the perfect opportunity in any situation and that's exactly what she did." You felt proud that someone saw what you were trying to do, and even a bit bashful getting this praise.

"While Bakugou had his judgement clouded due to a personal grudge, he had no care for what was around him, causing him to let off a large scale attack that would have been bad if the missile were real. Villain or not he should always put the plan first. While the same thing goes for Midoriya, while his plan gave his team the edge it needed to complete the mission, it was poorly thought out and could've- did, render himself helpless, which helped no one considering Bakugou was still on the loose."

You could see the praise getting to Iida from where you stood, he was on the left side of Bakugou while you sandwiched him in on the right. You flushed lightly, looking away from the eyes of your peers. AllMight looked to be shaking as Momo finished her rant, coughing before continuing.

"well uh yes, you missed a few things such as young Iida could have relaxed a bit, and Miss Hakamata should have been more open to using her move if it would've meant less damage in the future. However, good job! You nailed it! Let's move on to the next battle."

You looked at Bakugou and saw the look on his face. It worried you to see him look so devoid of emotion. You looked away, not wanting to start any more problems and focused on the next students beginning their match.

You couldn't help but let out a gasp, you were amazed at the brute strength this Shoto Todoroki had. He made the entire place freeze over, making sure his partner was safe outside. The sheer amount of power had you taken a back. You could feel the cold all the way from the room you were all in, and it caused your body temp to drop instantly, the temp regulating it out.

"Wow.." You whisper out, still somehow standing next to Bakugou even though the class moved closer to the screen.

"This guy is insane." You finished, noticing the others, even AllMight shivering in front of you. This guy was one of four to get in on recommendation alone.

‘Incredible.’ You thought.

The rest of the matches seems to go by just as fast, you realized a lot of classmates had powerful and useful quirks, but your mind was still on the 3 boys who, in your opinion, out shined them all.

You cheered on Kirishima and Sero as they fought bravely. Even Mina as she burned holes into the flashy kids cape. You couldn't remember his name.

It was finally all over, and AllMight congratulated you all.

"We had no major injuries, accept for young Midoriya. You should be proud, that was excellent training from you all."

He took his exit as said he was going to check on Izuku, rushing away and leaving the students buzzing with excitement. You all returned to change out of your hero outfits, and went back to class to collect your stuff for the next class.

"(y/n) you were badass! I wish my quirk was flashy like yours!"

"Thanks Eijirio!" You slapped his arm playfully, "You're quirk is pretty good too. I wish I had it! I could fall and not get hurt? Yes please!"

You all settled down as the next part of your afternoon classes began, your thoughts circling back to how Izuku was fairing. To be honest you weren't sure if you'd be allowed to go see him if he still wasn't back by the end of the day, but you decided it's fine. You were partners after all.

Before you could go once classes had ended. Eijiro, along with Sero, Kaminari, and Mina kept you behind to chat. You figured a few minutes wouldn't hurt so you let yourself go in the laughter and happiness that swirled around you. Your head snapped towards the door once you heard it open, Kirishima beating you to the punch of saying hi.

"Hey it's Midoriya! Good to see you! I don't know what you were saying during that match but you were all fired up huh!"

"I can't believe you held your own against Bakugou!" Sero pitched in, "He's super strong!"

"Glad to see you still in one piece partner!" You grinned at his overwhelmed expression as he started rubbing the back of his head with his uninjured hand. The other being in a cast and sling.

"You really went all out didn't you." You hummed while poking the sling, grinning up at him. "We made a badass team yanno, you were pretty good too I guess." He laughed, nodding in agreement,

"We sure did, we won thanks to you."

You saw his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as others, including yourself, told him he played a big part in that win. Everyone introduced themselves to him and you could see his eyes swirl with so much going on. You ll stopped to watch Iida go berserk over another student putting his feet on his desk, and failing to get him to listen.

Denki also walked in at that moment, along with Ochaco, holding books for the class. She blushed slightly, before excusing herself and running over to join the group. Izuku brushed her off in a nice way, letting her know he's fine and there's no need for any worrying. he glanced behind you, then looked at you in the eyes,

"Hery uh (y/n)? Where's Kaachan?"

"Oh Bakugou? He just left. We tried to make him stay but he really wanted to go." You saw Izuku run out at that very moment, and knew something was going to happen. You wanted to go and be there in support but you knew better than to get involved.

You went to glance out the windows with other students, seeing Bakugou shouting at Izuku. You couldn't tell what was being said, but you saw that Bakugou was in a lot of pain. Maybe he's realizing that he can't win every battle? Who knows, so you ignored it, and shrugged along with everyone else. Packing the books that were brought in and making sure you had all of your other materials before leaving with your newly made group of friends. You saw that AllMight had dragged Midoriya away, you wondered why they always seemed so close. That was really suspicious and you felt uneasy. Was he somehow related to AllMight? They have similar enough quirks, and AllMight, while he tries to hide it, obviously cares about Izuku.

With that on your mind you waved your friends off once you parted ways at the station, you began to head home. Once there, you did whatever homework you had, mind still reeling on the secret around those two. You made dinner, and left it in the fridge for your father, it seems he was going to be late tonight. You readied yourself for bed. Staring at the ceiling, now thinking about just more than the Number One Hero and his fanboy. You thought back to Bakugou and his face after he lost, and that Todoroki kid with his half-and-half quirk. It was amazing to be surrounded by so many talented people, you really weren't expecting it.

Honestly, you didn't even know what to expect when you first started. It was only the second day and you felt exhausted by all the people, by all the work. But that wasn't going to stop you from reaching your goals. You aim to be as great of a hero as your father, maybe even better. Your goal is to show him you can one day care for him and others, just like he does for everyone around him.

Damn anyone to hell if they were going to get in your way.

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asfaltics · 3 years

Text

subfluences, of

ploughs expansive sheets of flame, subfluence of the beaming sconce! — limely waving 1 useful for reference, subfluence of whom the exquisite portrait, join the following list 2 subfluence of loss 3 long under the in when mixture containing organic subfluence of 4 I’d like to know the subfluence of the fairies differences of opinion about in employment of the word 5 enterprise, and subfluence of 6 conversation to another subfluence of 7 distance as to be entirely out of the ínspire of the long wire this arrangement is subfluence of 8 subfluence of chlorómethy ! and 9 if not subfluence of slavery 10 Pages could be written upon the subfluence of water, its importance waters 11 subfluence of a large proportion of the lands 12 Therapeutical subfluence of 13 temptation to be subfluence of 14 an answer. The cause was subfluence of 15 sum and subfluence and suggestion of 16 What processes here occur, accompanying reactions take place and the and which take place especially under the in-intensity of attraction which these other subfluence of light 17 the in of books on the ever-expanding subfluence of the far 18 subfluence of a periscope 19 subfluence of style was distinctly jagged pseudo-geometrical slack 20 the azoted subfluence of 21 subfluence of “Some English and Old French forms a volume of Phrases” 22 subfluence of those decisions 23 subfluence of rays 24

sources (all OCR cross-column misreads/confusions)

1 ex The Universal Magazine v.14 (1754) : 6 preview snippet, evidently from “A descant upon creation” by James Hervey (1714-58 *), found at his Meditations and Contemplations. In Two Volumes... (London, 1796) : 151 2 ex “Biographical Particulars of Celebrated Persons Lately Deceased,” here involving The Rev. Mark Noble and John Fleming, late Lord de Tabley, in The New Monthly 21 (August 1, 1827) : 350 3 ex E. Bellchambers, A General Biographical Dictionary : Containing Lives of the most emininent persons of all ages and nations. Vol. 4 (of 4; London, 1835) : 252 involving entries for Conrad Vorstius (“an eminent divine”; 1569-1622) and Gerard John Vossius (poet, philologist, professor of rhetoric and chronology; 1577-1649) 4 entry for “toxicology” by James Apjohn (1796-1886 *), in The Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine Vol. 4 (SOF — YAW) Supplement (London, 1835) : 189-243 (214) 5 ex T. F., “Familiar Epistles from Ireland, Letter the Fourth, from Terence Flynn, Esq. to Dennis Moriarty, Student-at-Law, London.” in Fraser’s Magazine 42 (September 1850) : 319-328 (327) 6 ex Archibald Alison, History of Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. Ninth edition, vol. 12 (Edinburgh and London, 1855) : 50 7 ex John Flesher, ed., Arvine’s Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes : A collection of nearly three thousand facts, incidents, narratives, examples, and testimonies... the whole arranged and classified on a new plan, with copious topical and scriptural indexes. (London, 1859) : 23 a later edition and who was Arvine? *Kazlitt Arvine, name originally Silas Wheelock Palmer, changed by Mass. leg. while at Newton, b. Centerville, N.Y., Dec. 18, 1819. Wes. U. 1841; N.T.I. 1842-45; ord. Nov. 6, 1845; p. Woonsocket, R.I., 1845-47; Providence ch., New York, N.Y., 1847-49; West Boylston, Mass., 1849-51; author, Cyclopedia of Moral and Religious Anecdote, 1848; a volume of poems; sermons; d. Worcester, July 15, 1851. ex The Newton Theological Institution, General Catalogue, Eleventh Edition (Newton Centre Massachusetts, April 1912) : 56 8 ex entry (by Joseph Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution) for “Magneto-Electricity” in George Ripley and Charles A. Dana, eds., The New American Cyclopaedia : A popular dictionary of general knowledge, Vol. 11 (MacGillvray-Moxa). (New York, 1861) : 67-72 (69) 9 ex letter to the editor on the topic of Bichloride of Methylene (from A. Russell Strachan), in The Medical record : a semi-monthly journal of medicine and surgery (March 2, 1868) : 22 on mixture of alcohol, chloroform and ether, see wikipedia 10 ex “Slavery,” in The Complete Works of W(illiam). E(llery). Channing: With an Introduction (London, 1870?) : 570-615 (591) on Channing (1780-1842), consult wikipedia 11 ex Charles McIntire, Jr., “Science in Common Things,” in Our Home: A Monthly Magazine (Devoted to Local and General Literature) 1:6 (Somerville, N.J.; June 1873) : 247-250 12 ex History of Summit County : With an Outline Sketch of Ohio. Edited by William Henry Perrin. Illustrated. (Chicago, 1881) : 280 13 ex Edwin J. Houston. A Dictionary of Electrical Words, Terms and Phrases, second edition, rewritten and greatly enlarged. (New York, 1892) : 200 14 ex John Brooks Leavitt. “On the Administration of Justice,” in The Counsellor : The New York Law School Law Journal 2:4 (January 1893) : 101-108 15 ex Birmingham Mineral R. Co. v. City of Bessemer (Supreme Court of Alabama. July 27, 1893), in The Southern Reporter 13 (June 14 – December 20, 1893) : 487-489 16 ex Josephine Lazarus, “Jewish Thought in Modern English Poetry : Robert Browning” in The Menorah (“official organ of the Jewish Chautauqua”) 38:1 (January 1905) : 42-53 (44) 17 snippet view only, ex Society of Dyers and Colourists, Bradford, Eng. (Yorkshire), The Journal 25 (1909) : 12 18 ex review of Joseph H. Longford, The Story of Old Japan, in The Oriental Review 1:11 (New York; April 10, 1911) : 212-213 19 ex “The Story of the Week” (involving Canadian War Graft, and The “Sussex” Question), The Independent vol 86 (April 17, 1916) : 96-99 20 ex The American Magazine of Art 8:3 (January 1917) : 118 involving “A fiction among futurists” and an obituary for Henry W. Ranger (landscape painter) 21 ex Andre Dubosc, “Application of Catalysis to Vulcanization,” in The Rubber Age 3:2 (April 25, 1918) : 78-79 22 ex XXIX. Literature and Language / Romance Languages and Literature, by George L. Hamilton, in The American Year Book : A Record of Events and Progress, 1918. Edited by Francis G. Wickware... with coöperation of a supervisory board representing national learned societies (New York, 1919) : 778 23 ex Thomas v. Little et al. (June 7, 1923) in Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Alabama Vol. 209 (1923) : 590-592 24 snippet view, ex International Labour Office, Occupation and Health: Encyclopedia of Hygiene, Pathology, and Social Welfare 2 (1934) : 417

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2 of n

#quatrains #subfluence #Kazlitt Arvine

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yibuo · 4 years

Note

Hey, I love your blog ❤️. Can I ask for Uniq full story? I've seen a bits of it online but it's such a mess I can't figure out what's truth. Have a nice day 😁

FUNNY how i received this ask when i was crying about wenhan’s baby angel voice in best friend just earlier

tldr if i ever meet du hua it’s on SIGHT

LOL okay idk if this is the FULL story i probably won’t include details and stuff because i didn’t closely follow uniq during their whole hiatus thing (i had the brainpower to stan one group at a time but now look at me TWO kpop groups AND i’m starting to follow a cpop group AND pd camp 2020 AND am constantly fuming at yibo and xiao zhan’s management agencies for ruining their idol groups )

pls correct me if i’m wrong im small brain ok i’m putting this in keep reading bc it’s too long and a ramble

tldr thanks yuehua for messing w/ 5 guys’ dreams.. even though they’re successful they’re not able to do what they originally wanted to

also there’s this legendary video dragging yuehua

also thank u for ur love sweetie i love u too xoxo i hope ur having a wonderful day/evening/night!

LOOL anyway so uniq is a korean-chinese boy group formed under yuehua ent which has korean and chinese management ... you probably know other kpop artists from yuehua like wjsn (co-managed by starship) or everglow... if you’re into cpop there’s next/next7...anyway they have 3 chinese members(yixuan, wenhan, and yibo) and 2 korean members (sungjoo and seungyoun) and they debuted in 2014 with falling in love, promoted btwn china and korea, released a couple of osts (for like, teenage mutant ninja turtles and madagascar lol lol lol) and then in 2015 they came back w/ eoeo (if you’re into kpop you probably know eoeo at least) it’s their most well-known song, and this comeback was w/ their first (and only lol lol) ep/mini album.

they started garnering a good amount of attention and started to appear on more variety shows in korea and china, started promoting in japan, they even went to brazil in a fanmeet that’s pretty cool lol , (but...why didn’t they solidify uniq’s position in kr/ch with their momentum instead of sending them to different countries??? we love money-minded yeehaw entertainment)

and then china’s hallyu ban happened (which is something that i never really understood and never took the time to fully research because it hurt my brain) but essentially chinese govt restricted k-entertainment from profitting in china because politics, for example a lot of kpop tours and fanmeets got cancelled. and this put uniq in a difficult position because they’re split between being based in china and korea, but eventually the ban got lessened (there’s still tension but like, there’s literally adore u playing in the camp of pd camp 2020 ep 2 so like lol) but yeehaw made NO efforts to maintain the group musically b/c they’re money-minded cows and if they split uniq up into a kr and a chinese unit they can’t make as much money as if they sent the members into acting.... (literally there’s an interview from a couple yrs back where xuan talks about how itd be nice to make music but it doesn’t make as much as acting does in china :-(( ) so while they still had events in japan, they didn’t do much together in their main bases, and acted a lot cool cool

one thing i never understood is why yuehua never just pushed them more in the kr market...there are so many groups in the k-industry w/ chinese members (i literally STAN one, my ULT is a chinese member in a kpop group what the HECK)...but making money right lol anyway so xuan, wenhan, and yibo went into acting in china (and yibo is an mc on day day up), and acting takes up sm time, (gonna quote my chinese friend here who’s a sad wjsn ot13 stan who misses cheng xiao, mmq, and wxy, once ur popular in china it’s goodbye kpop) and sungjoo went into acting in korea (if you’ve ever watched my secret terrius or the disaster that was liar and his lover w/ joy, sungjoo is in those lol) and seungyoun continued to produce and release music as woodz and luizy

but it’s sad because they all trained for so long to perform on the stage as 5 but yuehua’s shitty management in the hallyu ban crisis thing really screwed them over...in terms of being on the stage like come on! THEY HAVE TALENT.. ok in early 2018 they released an ep and in dec 2018 they released their single monster (last single together lol), but again, no group promotion, no being able to perform on the stage, no nothing (oh yeah also yibo was a dance mentor on produce 101 china in 2018 nice)

2019 was a good year for most of the members:

-wenhan went on qcyn (youth with you season 1, the second show in the idol producer franchise) and got 1st, debuting in unine which he’s currently a part of, and got to perform on the stage after years of not being able to, thanks yuehua

-yixuan went on all for one (another survival program from youku), also got 1st, and debuted in new storm

-yibo (as we all know) acted in the untamed and became ultra-popular for his well-roundedness

-seungyoun went on the 4th season/spinoff of produce 101 in kr called produce x 101 and got 5th place, debuting in x1, which later disbanded, THANKS MNET THAT’S ANOTHER STORY BUT anyway i don’t think seungyoun was rigged into place, does yuehua even care that much?? lmOA he was so loveable on px101 and i think the move perf rly sealed the deal for everyone

-sungjoo...was done dirty by yeehaw...he’s a MAIN VOCAL he has SOLo potential but yeehaw just put him in the dungeon thanks.. and he recently enlisted in the army not too long ago

oh also sungjoo, xuan, and yibo performed monster + eoeo together at yuehua’s 10 anniversary concert...seungyoun wasn’t there because of x1 and wenhan performed with unine

wow yeehaw really thought they deserved a 10th anniversaryy celebration LMFAO

***the members are still part of uniq though, survival shows are weird

anyway as we can see each member is talented in their own way and uniq is an unfortunate case of yuehua not knowing how to manage people lol but if you watch their shows you know that they’re genuine and tight-knit, and even though they might not be together rn, in their hearts they’re still a part of uniq (cue pics of their weibo usernames having uniq in them, cue wenhan spamming his dad’s video with “UNIQ IS STILL TOGETHER” when his dad talks about how uniq disbanded) and they haven’t forgotten their identity of being part of uniq even as they get older. their contracts expire in 2022 and w/ kim sungjoo in the army, who knows if they actually will make a comeback but this is why everyone hates yuehua and everyone misses uniq bye

again i know they’re successful individually, i know seungyoun’s able to produce his own music, yibo’s able to turn his hobbies into work, wenhan and yixuan are still able to perform on a stage, they came here for uniq and got separated w/o them ever wanting to

#reply #next thing u know someone is gonna ask me about xiao zhan and xnine and wjjw and i will continue my heatedness #Anonymous

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poketeer · 4 years

Text

Totodiles 101

[A Totodile hops up and down and squirms, panting slightly as it gawks at Robby. Robby glances back, unmoving in his expression, and the Totodile calms down, closing its mouth and sitting on its haunches. Robby grins, picks up a rawhide bone, and presents it to the Totodile, who snaps at it.] [Robby pulls back the treat, and snaps, shaking his head. The Totodile stops, and sits back down. Once satisfied, Robby presents the treat again, allowing the Totodile to take the rawhide bone in its mouth, and it starts to chew.]

This cutie here is Peanut. She’s one of Belle’s latest clutch, and as such she’s very young, and hasn’t quite learned her manners yet. Now, in the wild, Totodiles will make their home just about anywhere the water gets deep enough for them to swim and sink. They’re known as Big Jaw pokemon, because, well…

[Robbie gestures to Peanut’s large, blue, toothy snout that chews upon the treat with gusto.]

Totodiles will bite whatever they think they can eat, and a lot of things they can’t. Totodiles are constantly growing new teeth, so if you find some in your Totodile’s food, don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal.

In fact, Totodiles need to chew in order to lose their old teeth, so if you don’t give them hardy toys, or let them battle a little rough, you may need to bring your Totodile in for a little dentistry! Don’t worry, any Pokemon Center should be able to handle it in a jiffy. But, if you’re stuck in the wild, or are dealing with a wild Totodile, the process is very simple.

Peanut? Drop.

[Robbie grasps the rawhide bone, but Peanut clamps down, and braces herself.]

Peanut!

[The Totodile pulls back and flips into a roll, forcing Robbie to twist his arm and drop the bone.]

As you can see, once a Totodile grabs something they like, they do NOT let go. That spin she did is a perfect example of how Totodiles deal with their prey. Once they have a firm grip, they’ll spin in the water, which will stun their prey and tear off chunks that they can eat.

Now, we have domestic Totodiles here, so they’re taught not to hunt for themselves, and if you get one, neither will yours. But for a Totodile, play time and food time are often the same thing, so a few times a day, make a little extra time to play with your Totodile.

Okay, Peanut, wanna eat?

[Peanut is very clearly distracted by her toy to have any regard for Robbie’s existence.]

Well, fine, I’ll just have to feed your sister. What about you, Rosie? You wannna eat?

[The camera pans over to where a Croconaw is staring at Peanut’s rawhide bone. Robbie looks between the two Pokemon, and looks to Rosie.]

Well, let’s take a look at those jaws, okay, Rosie? Now, the Totodile family have powerful jaws, but their ability to open them is limited. See this egg?

[Robbie holds up a Pidove egg.]

The pressure it takes to hold this egg is enough to hold down the jaws of a Croconaw or Totodiles. Feraligatrs need a little more, but not by much. Watch this.

[Robbie puts his other hand over Rosie’s snout. She starts to wiggle.]

Now, unless you’re being attacked by a Totodile or Croconaw, I don’t recommend this. They don’t like it very much. But Rosie and I know each other real well, don’t we?

[Rosie hisses at him as he lets go, her spines flaring up in a clear warning. Robbie strokes the top of Rosie’s snout, and she relaxes, leaning into the affection.]

Good girl, Rosie. Like most Starters, Totodiles and their evolutions are real easy to read, which is yet another reason they’re chosen. They teach young trainers what to look for in a Pokemon’s emotions, and helps them form a bond.

I know Rosie well enough to know when she’s had enough, and she trusts me to know that when she vocalizes, it’s time. As you and your Totodile get to know each other, they’ll actually get more vocal over time, so if they hiss at you like Rosie just did, it means it’s time to stop, but she’s probably not going to bite.

Young Totodiles, though, they don’t know how to express themselves yet, so they’ll probably bite as a warning, instead of letting you know, ‘Okay, that’s enough.’

[Robbie sets down the egg. Rosie lurches forward and snatches it, gulping it down in two chomps.]

Hey! That was mine!

[Rosie does not look ashamed.]

Well, anyway. Let’s take a look at your jaws, and I’ll show you how to pull a tooth. Now, obviously, you don’t want to go around pulling every tooth your Totodile has.

But Rosie’s got her jaw a little out of shape, so this is a good time to show you how to do this. Of course, Rosie and I have a bond, but your Totodile might be a little squirmy. If you get a Totodile, a sturdy pair of gloves should be your first purchase.

Open up, Rosie!

[Robbie sticks his finger in Rosie’s mouth, and she obediently opens her mouth, showing jaws full of teeth.]

Rosie’s been spending a lot of time looking after her brothers and sisters, so she hasn’t had a lot of time to play around and chew on things, so her mouth has gotten a little out of order.

See how they’re thinner in the back? Smaller, fewer teeth? Those are the newer ones, and they’ll get pushed forward as more room is made in her mouth. Now, up here, towards the front, there’s almost no teeth. This is normal, if her front teeth get too big, they might start to rot from age and you’ll have to pull them. But over here on the sides, they’re too clumped together. Too many teeth in one place.

Before you do this, the best thing to do is give your Croconaw or Totodile a chew toy, and let them drop their teeth on their own. But if it goes on for a few days, and gets like this, you’ll have to intervene. As her trainer, this is on me. I need to pay attention to my Pokemon’s health and comfort, and a grumpy Croconaw is a bitey Croconaw. That’s why we’re doing this now, before her teeth get damaged, and may start to cause damage to her gum and mouth.

Are you ready, Rosie?

[Rosie gives a chuff.]

Okay. See this tooth here? This is the first one we’re going to pull. If it’s a particularly old tooth, you might be able to just yank it out with your fingers, but I bought a pair of pliers for this. Now you can’t just go into your mom’s workshop, grab a wrench, and yank out a tooth.

Even if it is a simple one, this is still a medical operation, so you need to be careful, safe, and sanitary. I’ve got rubber covers on this one; a metal tool might damage the tooth, and could cause a lot of pain.

Be sure to apply medical alcohol on the whole tool, on your gloves, and anything you might set your tools on. Remember to use a freshly boiled rag, or sanitized medical wipe. Watch me.

[Robbie takes out a medical wipe, and wipes down all his tools and a metal tray.]

Any good Pokemon professional will have a Pokemon medical kit. Potions are good to recover from a fight with, but not every injury is a scrape or bruise. Start with your medical tray, and use a different wipe or rag for each surface or tool you use. Not everyone is going to have an aluminum tray, but a cleaned dish will do the trick.

Okay, Rosie, let’s get started. We got the shot? Okay. Ready, steady, go.

[Robbie grabs the offending tooth, and wiggles back and forth.]

Now, whatever you do, don’t twist the tooth. But wiggle it back and forth, and pull gently. If you twist it, you could break it, which is the same reason you want to use a rubber tip. One, two, three, and-

[The tooth comes out.]

Lickety-Split.

[Robbie drops the tooth in a bowl.]

We’re going to do this one next.

[Robbie taps another, similar tooth, and begins wiggling it.]

You’ll want to pick teeth that are touching, and get about every other tooth until there’s enough space you can squeeze the tip of your pinkie into it. Too much room, and they might not be able to grip.

[The tooth comes out, and Robbie puts it in a bowl.]

Given enough room, the teeth will move forward and correct themselves on their own, so we’re only going to pull this next one. The rest will move forward, and Rosie will be right as rain. Ready, Rosie? One-ee, two-ee, three-ee!

[Robbie wiggles another tooth, and then a fourth.]

All right! Good girl, Rosie! Always a good idea to have fresh water after an operation like this to clean up the mouth. Drink up, girl.

[Robbie takes a cup, and pours it gently into Rosie’s mouth, which she gulps down.]

Totodiles have a lot of energy, and they’re a lot more physical than most Starters, but they’re loving and playful, even into their older forms. Belle might seem like a grumpy old log, but the truth is her favorite game is branch hunting, which is like fetch but with entire trees and in the water, and she’s more than happy to be her babies’ playground. Right, Belle?

[The camera pans behind Robbie. Belle is lounging on the shore with a dozen Totodiles jumping around on her back, scratching at each other and tugging on toys. Belle does not seem amused.]

She’s got a lot on her plate right now. So, for food, berries and curries will do just fine, but if you want to give your Totodile or Croconaw special attention, get a tough hide meal like this.

[Robbie pulls up a length of leathery rope. Peanut stops playing with her bone to gawk at it, while Rosie inches closer to it.]

Like I said, food time and playtime are basically the same thing for Totodiles, so you’ll want to make time for it. They’ll eat whatever you put in front of them, so normal Poke-chow is good, but for best results, hide meal is preferred. Be sure to teach your Pokemon when it’s okay to bite. I like to use hand and verbal commands, so she’s extra sure.

[Robbie holds up the hide meal, and wiggles it. He holds up two fingers, and waves them forward in a chopping motion.]

Chow!

[Rosie lurches forward, grabbing the hide meal with a couple of bites, and starts to thrash back and forth. Robbie holds firm.]

Now, I can be a little rough with Rosie because we know each other so well, but don’t be afraid to let go once they’ve got a grip. They’ll play with their food on their own, but give it a good wiggle to get them interested.

[Rosie goes into a spin, ripping off a chunk of hide.]

Once they’ve got a good chunk like that, she’s good to go. A good mouthful should be enough for her until the next meal. If you’re a kid, put your hands together like this in a ball. That’s about the amount a Croconaw should eat, once a day. A good hide meal like this should last you a couple of weeks if she’s the only one you’re feeding.

For a Totodile, one fist should do the trick. Of course, for a full adult Feraligatr like Belle, she’s going to need a lot more, so about half the hide per day should do the trick. You won’t need to wiggle it like I did for Rosie, but they do like catching it in the air, so don’t be afraid to give it a little bit of a toss.

[Robbie takes out a knife, and cuts the hide in two. He cuts off a bit from the bitten end, and wiggles it in front of Peanut. The Totodile abandons her chew toy in favor for the hide, pulling it out of Robbie’s hand with a spin.]

[Rosie takes the opportunity to stalk over and steal the rawhide bone, hopping off the counter. The camera catches Robbie approaching Belle, and Rosie finding a spot to enjoy her ill-gotten gains.]

Hey little ones! Look at what I’ve got!

[Robbie waves the bitten half of the hide to the Totodiles, who pile off of their mother to watch him wiggle the hide. He tosses it to them, and the Totodiles begin to bite into it, tugging and rolling to each get their share of the hide. With the other, unbitten half, he waves it in front of Belle, who watches the hide intently. Robbie throws the half of the hide into the air, and Belle lurches up, catching the hide meal midair, and rolls, pushing herself back in the water as she chomps down.]

That’s all we’ve got for today. Tune in next time as we continue our series on Pokemon starters!

-- If you have a story, or questions for Robbie and his Pokemon, feel free to write a letter to Pokemon 101 at the Poketeer! Robbie Valentine, 4/28/20

#Pokemon Science #Pokemon 101 #pokemon #totodile #Croconaw #Feraligatr #Science #Pets

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