#that doesn’t mean the show is bad by any measure however

[giacarem]

I think it’s so funny when I’m arguing with someone about the changes with pjo and they say “It would’ve been better if not for Disney!”

Like yes. It would have been. I do not like Disney. I am not even watching it on Disney +. The show could’ve had more episodes and longer episodes if not for Disney’s weird way of limiting TV show seasons, but that’s also the same for every single streaming service at the moment. Do not blame the writers for the problem the studio execs made. Maybe instead of hating on the show for weird reasons, we band together to show Disney how serious we are about a season two and convince them to allow the writers to have more room to tell the story? Change can only happen if you want it to.

#I was arguing with someone and they said that HBO should’ve done it and I kinda agree #the last of us was done pretty well as an adaptation #I think everyone can agree that Disney forcing them to only have eight episodes was a major weakness of the show #that doesn’t mean the show is bad by any measure however #to be very clear i love the show with my whole heart #no one is arguing that the show should have had less run time #pjo disney+ #pjo #percy jackson show #percy jackson #disney criticism

[initforthelolzz]

Luffy’s tendency to self-sacrifice and the way he responds to loss are both incredibly telling aspects of his character. They show his level of love and dedication to other people, but most importantly they show his selflessness. Now, selflessness isn't necessarily a bad thing, but due to the level of selflessness that Luffy displays, it reveals a major character flaw.

Now, I’m not criticizing Luffy’s character, but what I am doing is pointing out something that I’d categorize as a negative character trait. And one that I find particularly fascinating.

Luffy may seem like the typical shonen protagonist on the surface (flawless, stupid, and selfless to a tee). However, if you take a look past surface level then you will find that Luffy is an incredibly complex character. Because while he is incredibly stupid, he possesses a certain multidimensionality that sets him apart from other typical shonen protags.

In regards to that multidimensionality, I’ve noticed that Luffy measures his own self worth exclusively through other people. By his value in the eyes of others. How he can serve them and how much worth he holds in their lives.

Okay but... what the fuck does this mean.

First of all I’d like to discuss Luffy’s tendency to self-sacrifice. Have you ever stopped to notice that every single one of Luffy’s specialized gears has a negative side effect of some kind? Second Gear puts so much strain on his heart that it is said to shorten his lifespan the more often he uses it. Third Gear makes his body shrink. Fourth Gear exhausts his Haki so terribly that he becomes immobile for ten minutes. And I feel like Fifth Gear speaks for itself...

Clearly Luffy has no qualms about sacrificing his body, but why is that? The answer, at least in my interpretation, is that Luffy’s self-sacrifice has entirely to do with the value he places on himself. The catch is that he doesn’t place any value on his own life. Luffy has proven on multiple occasions that he is more than willing to throw his own life away for the sake of others.

We see this in Udon prison, when Luffy was actively poisoning himself to death to make a point, even though it’s difficult to notice how close he was to getting himself killed because Toei decided that if Luffy was dying he was going to look Hot while doing it

We see this again when Luffy climbed the mountain in Chopper’s Arc, destroying his fingers and risking freezing to death all to save Nami and Sanji.

We see this when Luffy fought Magellan in Impel Down, which was the closest Luffy came to killing himself for the cause.

Then again on Whole Cake Island when he tried to let Sanji kick him to death to prove a point. And when he tried to starve himself to death to prove a point. And when he tried to rip his own arms off–

And of course we can’t forget about Thriller Bark. The entire point of Zoro taking Luffy’s pain was to show just how far Luffy was hurting himself in order to protect the crew. There was an entire conversation between the Straw Hats about how unhealthy that behavior was, and how they needed to protect Luffy from himself by getting stronger.

These are all shining examples of Luffy taking selflessness just a little too far. And while placing high value on the lives of others isn’t a negative quality, doing so to this degree isn’t exactly healthy. I say that Luffy holds no value in his own life because he cares this much about other people. He cares more about other people than he does about himself, and is more than willing to die in the process of protecting/saving his loved ones.

I came to this conclusion by looking at the way Luffy handles loss.

And the simple answer is that... Luffy doesn't handle loss. (The entirety of Whole Cake Island was just Luffy outright refusing to lose another loved one)

And when he does... he doesn’t.

Which is exactly what I’m talking about. Whenever Luffy loses people that he deeply cares about he immediately flips his lid. Water Seven and Thriller Bark seemed like all fun and games after watching Luffy grieve the loss of his crew on Sabaody. Seeing him break down like that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to watch... You can feel just how much this loss has impacted Luffy, and it hurts.

Amazon Lily was largely comedic, which served as a well needed break in between Sabody and all the Horrors of the Summit War. Because of this, the delivery of Luffy’s behavior after the events on Sabody is easy to brush off as a gag joke... but you can’t deny the fact that he overdosed on poisonous mushrooms. And while, yes, Luffy is a fucking idiot, not moments beforehand he was digging through the forest and talking about how many species of mushrooms he knew and all the wacky side effects of eating them. So clearly Luffy knows his stuff, and I think it’s just a little too convenient that he “accidentally almost died of a drug overdose shortly after losing everyone he held dear” after Oda explicitly stated that he knew his shit when it came to eating plants in the woods.

And then, of course, we have Luffy’s breakdown after Ace’s death. Which was even more difficult to watch than Sabody had been.

Are we beginning to see a trend? Luffy will try his damndest not to lose the people he cares about, but it’s impossible to save everyone. On the rare chance that he does lose someone he cares about, he immediately has a suicidal breakdown and gets extremely violent towards himself.

I’m certain that we can all agree that trying to kill yourself as a result of grief is NOT a healthy coping mechanism. Luffy is a completely happy-go-lucky character, with a suspicious tendency to over-sacrifice, yes, but the moment he fails/loses his friends he has a psychotic break. Without other people around him, Luffy suddenly loses all sense of self worth. Because he is nothing without his nakama... right?

It’s so easy to miss this detail about Luffy’s character, and it’s because he’s so good at concealing his negative emotions. Luffy puts on a brave face for the people he cares about, and he doesn’t want people to see him as anything less than a ray of sunshine and a symbol of joy and freedom. His conversation with Jimbei after Marineford was about how he needed to bury his grief for Ace even though it was unhealthy, because Luffy needed to remain strong.

Clearly he’s taken this to heart, because he hasn’t talked about how Ace’s death has impacted him even once. Luffy refuses to show emotional weakness in front of his crew, he is doing all in his power to be strong and support them while asking for nothing in return. Even now Luffy can’t hear Ace’s name without tearing up.

Luffy puts on a strong facade, and it is what makes his self-sacrifice seem so heroic, and what makes it so easy to miss how unhealthy it is. Luffy always saves people at the expense of his own life. He takes his battles incredibly too far, always ending up horrifically injured and using abilities that are detrimental to his body and his health. But he always recovers so easily, so quickly, and it is easy for the viewer/reader to move past Luffy’s self-sacrifice because he moves past it easily.

But why is he so nonchalant about nearly killing himself in almost every battle he places himself in? Simple, it is because he is not afraid of dying. Because in his eyes, he has no worth as a person unless he gives his EVERYTHING to the people he cares about.

Hence, Luffy measures his self worth entirely through other people, and therefore will stop at nothing to protect and fight for others. Because otherwise he is nothing.

I like to think that he developed this mindset as a result of his early childhood. Dragon didn’t want him. Garp didn’t want him. Dadan didn’t want him. Ace didn’t want him. Luffy was only accepted and cared for by others once he proved his worth to Ace and Sabo. Remember? They only started caring about Luffy and accepted him into their group after he got beaten violently for hours to protect their treasure stash. An act of violent self-sacrifice. It earned Luffy two brothers, but it also instilled the idea of his worthlessness unless he serves other people.

Remember when Luffy asked Ace to promise him not to die? I like to read between the lines a little. (Don’t leave me behind, Ace.) (I’m nothing without you, Ace.)

Luffy is a clingy person. He cares so much about other people, and will go to incredible lengths to keep them close. He can be happy, but only with other people. Because he needs other people in order to value his own life. He doesn’t care about himself, he only cares about others.

That is a very unhealthy mindset in this context, and is a major character flaw because of the impact it has on Luffy’s mental health.

But it also shows an incredible duality.

Selflessness is a highly valued characteristic. But in Luffy’s case, he brings it to an extreme. What could be considered his greatest strength is also his greatest flaw.

Luffy is a very admirable character because of this, and I love him a totally normal amount

#ranting again #I could talk about one piece for hours #I could talk about LUFFY for hours #fuck i love him #rant post #one piece #monkey d luffy #straw hat luffy #straw hat pirates #out here yapping #one piece analysis

[s6onder]

ranting about miguel o’hara :)

miguel is a misunderstood character. a lot of people see him as a villain because of his displays of aggression, but i feel like they only focus on that part while forgetting that he's literally spider-man. miguel blames himself for his mistake and is taking responsibility for it while spot caused his own demise yet blames everyone else but himself. although miguel's not completely innocent, he's not the bad guy either. spot is the villain, miguel is the antagonist.

miguel taking the risk of replacing his deceased variant shows how important the role of a father/caretaker is to him. he must have been going through something like wanting to make better his trauma of having abusive parents. it makes sense for him to do such a thing because he could finally live the life he’s always wanted, and that was by being a good parental figure to gabriella as a way to heal himself. also, in this post, issue eight states that with the amount that miguel has been genetically altered, the possibility of him having children with someone isn't likely. this could be another reason as to why he wanted to raise gabriella as his own daughter.

when miguel was explaining how canon events worked to miles, he was completely calm. he wasn’t threatening miles nor showing any signs of hurting him. he explained everything while also understanding and comforting miles. this can tell us that he’s not prone to lashing out and is normally not an aggressive type of person.

claws in claws out

peter says that miguel has no bite and allows him to hold his daughter. the reason why? because peter knows that miguel wouldn't do anything to harm anyone. miguel retracts his claws when he gets his hands on miles, which shows that he doesn’t intend to hurt miles. however, when miguel attacks the go home machine, he does use his claws, though not on miles. in addition, peter and everyone else stand back to watch in shock because something like this has never happened. if this was a regular occurrence, they wouldn't seem so surprised and in horror as they do. they've never seen miguel so frustrated and angry before.

miles has gone through a lot by losing someone important to him and now knowing that his father is going to die. but at the same time, miguel had to watch his daughter die because he broke the canon. so, miguel got angry because miles took off running, which in his mind means that miles's condemning a universe. miguel wants to prevent miles's universe from collapsing so that miles doesn't have to go through what he went through.

i agree that his methods were extreme, but the culpability he feels as a result of his daughter’s death pushes him to take those measures. when he captures miles, he projects all of his pent-up emotions onto him. especially when he says, “and i have been the only one holding it all together.” the only one who can prevent the multiverse from complete doom is miguel, which is mentioned in the atsv art book. he pushes all of that responsibility onto himself, believing that he’s the only one in charge of protecting every single universe. this causes him an immense amount of stress, tension, etc. miguel didn't mean to go that far with miles, but the amount of pressure on his hands, someone going against his advice, experiences, and what he thinks is right is what made him snap. he doesn't want to live with the guilt of another universe being destroyed because if that did happen, it'll be his fault and i think that would completely break him all over again. he’s already lost so much, compelling him to maintain what he has at any cost.

when gwen says, “we’re supposed to be the good guys.” before she's sent away, you can see the uncertainty in miguel's expression after he replies, “we are.” he looks like he’s trying to reassure himself that what he’s doing is for the best, that what he's doing is right.

having an ai as his only source of company and pushing everyone away makes him lonely. most likely, he doesn't risk getting close to anyone because he doesn't want to lose anyone again. he doesn't want to carry the burden of losing someone and feel guilty if something like what happened to his daughter happened once again. he’s just a broken man who's been through a lot and let his emotions get the best of him.

i'd like to end this really long post by saying that i love miguel and everything about him. i want to give him a huge hug and comfort him. i'd do anything for him. he deserves everything. i love him. he's so beautiful. he’s such a cool spiderman. i love him. i can never stop thinking about him. he lives in my head rent free. i can't wait to see him in the next movie. i love him. i hope he redeems himself and is happy. i need to see him smile again. i could talk about him forever. did i mention that i love him? i love him so much. <3

#ranting #i’m so in love with him #he needs therapy #and a hug #spiderman across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse #atsv #spiderman 2099 #miguel o'hara #miguel spiderverse #miguel spiderman #miguel 2099 #atsv miguel #miguel atsv #miguel ohara #spiderman atsv

[zuko-always-lies]

Have you considered that Zuko is just a bad friend?[This will not be a Zuko friendly post]

While this title is a bit of a joke, the point remains: there is a very strong argument to be made that canon Zuko is just not a very good friend, that he’s someone who doesn’t treat his friends very well. Obviously there are many events in Zuko’s life which negatively affected his interpersonal relationships, so I don’t intend this to be an exercise in blame. I’m merely noting a pattern that I think Zuko will need to work on in the future:

Ty Lee: Zuko is extremely vicious in what he says to Ty Lee in “The Beach,” which stands out because it’s about the only substantive thing he ever says to her, and because Ty Lee is extremely kind to him that episode. He never apologizes for it. He also deliberately tries to provoke a fight between Ty Lee and Mai.

Mai: Let’s us just say that Zuko treats Mai very poorly in “The Beach,” and never really apologizes for it or recognizes what about his behavior was wrong. This includes getting into fits of violent jealousy the moment Mai even lays eyes on another boy.

Now let’s turn to the Gaang. In all cases, Zuko starts off eager to please and gain their approval. However, once he passes this initial hurtle, his behavior doesn’t necessarily measure up.

Toph basically approves of Zuko from the start, and he has to do little to win her friendship. As a result, he largely although not entirely ignores her. He feels comfortable dumping his emotional issues on her, but when she tries to do the same to him, he’s dismissive of it. All things considered, Zuko isn’t a terrible friend to Toph, but I wouldn’t say he’s a great one, either.

Aang rapidly warms up to Zuko, particularly through their field trip in “The Firebending Masters.” However, we see some questionable treatment of Aang later on. Zuko twice mocks the culture of Aang, a genocide survivor whose culture was murdered by Zuko’s ancestors, in “The Southern Raiders.” Worse, Zuko, in the series finale, decided it was a great idea to try to light Aang on fire in order to terrify him into submission, because said best friend didn’t want to train and Zuko didn’t feel like reasoning with him.

Sokka is an interesting case. Zuko tries hard to win his friendship in the “Boiling Rock” episodes. However, once this is accomplished, Zuko starts behaving differently. In “The Southern Raiders,” Zuko uses Sokka to find out about Kya’s death. However, although Zuko emphasizes the importance of revenge, it doesn’t occur to him to offer the opportunity to Sokka. Zuko doesn’t directly tell Sokka what he found, nor does he give Sokka the chance to join on the little “vengeance expedition.” The fact that Sokka already forgave Zuko means that Zuko has no reason to care about giving him an opportunity for closure.  And of course, when Sokka, who also lost Kya, says that he thinks killing Yon Rha is a bad idea, Zuko ignores him.

Zuko’s treatment of Katara is a whole mess of its own, although it’s largely confined to one episode:

1. Zuko feels entitled to Katara’s forgiveness.

2. Zuko ignores Katara’s very clear and reasonable explanation about why she doesn’t like or trust him to instead decide it must be all about her mom.

3. Zuko decides to manipulate Katara into liking him by giving her the opportunity to murder someone she hates. That someone is a bad person who did something truly awful, but whose actions are not necessarily much worse than what Zuko himself did, much less what Zuko’s believed uncle Iroh did. Zuko claims this is all about “justice,” but the fact that he had no interest in giving Sokka an opportunity to come along and participate shows the real character of Zuko’s actions here.

Zuko is mostly nice to Katara after “The Southern Raiders,” but his treatment of her in the episode always feels terrible to me.

Zuko and Suki don’t seem to have any significant friendship, so there’s nothing to say here, one way or the other.

#Zuko critical #anti Zuko #tagging the last to be safe

[kitkats-and-kittens]

My issue with derision and how it deals with Marinette’s problematic behaviour.

Disclaimer before I make this post that I’m not an avid miraculous fan, so if I get things wrong feel free to correct me.

I used to watch it a lot as a kid but I’m not so into it now. The reason I’m making this post is because recently my little sister came over to visit me and she loves the series half to death. I decided to sit down and watch it with her just for fun, and long story short my ADHD hyper fixation kicked in and I ended up binging 2 whole seasons.

And OML the only thing that did was remind me why I stopped watching the show in the first place

As a kid I never liked Marinette’s character. That was more of a me problem though since back in season 1 there wasn’t really too much wrong with her, I was just having my whole ‘I hate girly things phase’ so I didn’t like her.

However When season 3 came out she was firmly cemented as my least favourite character. I didn’t like her weird, creepy behaviour as well as the fact that the writers didn’t really give her any flaws, or at least none that really effected the plot.

I think the thing that made me the angriest was the fact that no one seemed to address it. The writers didn’t seem to care, everyone in the show applauded and even encouraged her behaviour and everyone in the fandom seemed to love Adrienette. I couldn’t find anyone mentioning the fact that the girl literally broke into his house and it pissed me off to no end.

As it turns out though I wasn’t the only one offset by her behaviour as in one of the recent episodes ‘Derision’ the writers finally decided to address the huge distaste with Marinette’s actions.

Of course this show being what it is means that Marinette can’t have a single flaw, so instead of doing what I thought was the logical thing and having an episode where the staking is seen and addressed as a bad thing and Marinette takes measures to fix and develop herself the writers decide to just excuse it all by saying she was traumatised.

I hated the way they dealt with this.

First of all the writing was just lazy.

Her being suddenly traumatised by Kim despite having absolutely no issues with him anywhere else in the show? I thought that was stupid and not well thought out since this whole bit is just the writes slapping a bandaid solution on fans complaints. Also I’m vaguely certain that Kim has a canonical fear of spiders so why is he using them to prank Marinette of all people with?

Second of all it doesn’t do a good job of explaining why she was a stalker.

In the episode she says that it was because Kim broke her trust so she now refuses to get into a relationship with someone without knowing everything about them.

This is supposed to explain her weird behaviour towards Adrien but it doesn’t simply because this is shown to only be a problem with him.

It’s not like we catch her breaking into Luka’s house on multiple occasions so she can go through his things and sniff his pillow. Nor does she seem to care about finding out anything and everything about Cat Noir. I’m fine with this being the case when she’s ladybug since she doesn’t really show any romantic appeal towards him but as Marinette?

The show establishes that she has at minimum a crush on him and that’s all it took for her to start going after Adrien, and maybe you could say that she doesn’t have the means to stalk Cat Noir since she’s a civilian but we’ve seen repeatedly that she’s not above abusing her own superpowers to do so with Adrien.

Even the argument that she wants to protect secret identities is useless when you watch Ephemeral and see that she was completely on board with manipulating Cat Noir so she could expose his identity to a person without his consent.

I think the worst part for me however, is the fact that I could look past all the lazy writing and the pathetic excuses used to justify her actions if she’d done the bare minimum by apologising to Adrien.

Admitting to him what she’d done and telling him she was sorry. I would’ve liked it if the writers didn’t have Adrien forgive her (at least not right away) but I know they don’t have the capacity to have Marinette be genuinely in the wrong for anything so I would have settled for just an apology instead.

But they can’t even do that! All that happens is that Marinette promises to herself that she won’t do it anymore and as usual Adrien is left none the wiser.

Even though I’ve only recently gotten back into the show this episode along with Kuro Neko and the season 5 finale have shown me that I genuinely can’t ship Adrienette in good conscience anymore.

Marinette just lies to him about too much important stuff. It’s so unfair to him that he’s constantly kept out of the loop about things in his life that directly involve him and the people who do this face absolutely no consequences.

Heck even Gabriel got his happily ever after by bringing his wife back meanwhile Adrien is living a complete lie as the people he cares about reassure him that everything’s fine when it really, really isn’t.

I’ve seen people act like this episode somehow provides a good excuse to Marinette’s actions but barely anything is done in terms of character development so I have to disagree with them.

Anyway thanks for comin to my tedtalk if you want to argue with me in the comments please be respectful about it.

#miraculous fandom #miraculous critical #marinette dupen chang #mlb adrien #cat noir #Derision #kuro neko #I can’t even call this Marinette salt #it’s clearly a problem with the writers since they can’t seem to handle giving her flaws #stalking #Marinette is creepy #marinette salt #I’m tagging it anyway just incase

[r1k0]

AAAH

「 I’M SO LONESOME, PLEASE LOVE ME 」

Sakurai Haruka wanted too much . . .

ꖛ Affection

His possessiveness and obsession can extend to isolating his partner from others, needing constant reassurance, and overly affectionate, clingy and demanding of his partner's undivided attention.

It's also possible that he would have a habit of over-compromising and making sacrifices in order to please his partner.

He might neglect his own needs and desires, becoming overly eager and willing to please his partner, even in situations where it might not be healthy or sustainable for him to do so.

「 Is it a sweet “love you.” “love you.” “love you?” 」

ꖛ Blood

He might have a tendency to be somewhat messy, though he generally keeps it under control and ensures the mess does not get too out of hand. Although he can be messy sometimes, he makes an effort to clean up after himself and keep things tidy.

He's pretty neat overall, but his occasional messiness can be quite frustrating to deal with.

ꖛ Cruelty

No! Haruka would never hurt you, I assure you! Just keep your focus on him and show him your affection, and just maybe! You can avoid him going to extreme measures to force you to pay attention to him.

You must understand, his jealousy has gotten the better of him, but if you show him that you truly care, he might just mellow out a little. So just be gentle and kind, okay?

ꖛ Drugging

Why would Haruka drug you? He really doesn’t need to do that. I mean, he can be possessive, but drugging his partners is definitely not something he would resort to.

ꖛ Exposed

I forgot what this means.

ꖛ Fighting

[Name] was certainly taken aback by their sudden kidnapping. They had countless opportunities to push Haruka away and even yelled and snapped at him when he tried to engage. But in the end, none of this really mattered.

Haruka was persistent, and he would do anything to get [name] to pay attention to him.

Sure, it took a little yelling, some tears, and maybe a little bit of force, but that's just part of romance! Now Haruka has [name's] full attention and affection, like he always wanted.

ꖛ Generosity

I don’t wanna do this.

ꖛ Hell

It's not all that bad when you think about it, right? I mean, Haruka is constantly by your side at all times, no matter where you may go. You can't miss his presence, since he's always right there, watching over you and keeping tabs.

Granted, Haruka can be a lot to deal with sometimes, but he's just being protective and loving in the way he knows how. So it's really not that bad, unless you consider him hell.

ꖛ Ideas

His ideas? Nothing much, really. Just the simple things in life. Peace, love and most importantly, a happy you.

He just wants to live peacefully with you, as a happy couple, in harmony and accord. That's all he truly wants. Not much to ask for, is it?

「 Just living on with you is what I always wanted most. 」

ꖛ Jealously

It's not jealousy, but rather a feeling of anxiety and concern. Why are you talking to that person instead of him? Why are you smiling and laughing with them instead of with him? Is it because you're bored with him and no longer wish to pay attention to him? He's anxious and worried that there might be a lack of interest on your part. Please don't let him be right.

ꖛ Killing

i plead the fifth.

ꖛ Longing

For a while now, they have been keeping his mind and emotions all over the place.. he can’t let you go. he cant function without you. it’s just not possible.

Surely, you have that feeling too? You surely feel it? It's simply fate.

ꖛ Mask

As lovers, honesty is of the essence! Why should he hide his emotions from you? That's just how it is in relationships and romance. So, Haruka has no qualms with showing you all his emotions.

ꖛ Naughty

i It's certainly not likely that he has put too many restrictions on you.

All you require is to pay attention to him, show love and affection, and ensure that you do not cause him any anxiety! However, if you were to ever break any of these rules, he would undoubtedly confront you about it.

Perhaps he would even attempt to guilt-trip you into ceasing such actions. That's the spirit of love, and that's just the way it is!

ꖛ Oppression

Haruka can be strict, there's no denying that. However, he understands that true love does not involve controlling every aspect of someone's life. He won't restrict everything about you — that wouldn't be love!

In the meantime, he'll prevent you from contacting or interacting with others. After all, he loves you. So long as you love him, surely this isn't too much of a task, right?

ꖛ Patience

He's patient, and he is able to wait for however long it takes. Patience is a virtue, and he believes that it's crucial in a relationship. He'll happily wait as long as it takes for you because his love is timeless.

ꖛ Quick

I wouldn't say he's too quick, nor too slow to pick up on hints, either. He always does his utmost to understand your body language and detect subtle changes so that he can gauge your feelings.

He's concerned over the thought of you losing interest, so he's especially attentive to even the slightest signs. Are you truly losing interest?

ꖛ Regret

he doesn’t hold any regret.

ꖛ Security

Although security is fairly typical, you always feel like someone is observing you — specifically, Haruka Sakurai. He's always keeping an eye on you, no matter where you are or what you're doing.

Rest assured, though, it's all out of pure affection!

ꖛ Tears

He does not react well to seeing your sadness. He will seek to provide you with comfort, offering a tight hug as he holds you firmly in his arms.

He may even share your pain, shedding tears alongside you until you have calmed down. Or perhaps he will cry with you, both of you sobbing as one in each other's refuge.

oh, you’re crying because of him? yikes..

ꖛ Unstable

we all know the answer to this one.

ꖛ Vigil

Imagine if you were to suddenly perish? No, no way. He won't be able to bear losing you. You are the world to him — the love of his life. He would rather meet his own demise than live in a world devoid of you.

Don't leave him behind. Don't condemn him to live a life without you. Please don't go.

ꖛ Weakness

WEAKNESS?!?—sorry.

Your loving gestures drive him wild. A mere glance, a hand held firmly in yours, a cheeky kiss upon the cheek — they all have the power to shatter his heart.

Even the most minor of affectionate acts fill him with a rush of warmth. He is putty in your hands, with a sweet-tooth for your affection.

ꖛ Xoanon

i forgot what this means.

ꖛ Yagiment

Whenever you provoke excitement, his demeanour shifts in the most adorable way. A wide grin spreads upon his face and he speaks without restrain.

His breath becomes rapid, akin to that of someone who has been running feverishly. When he's thrilled, he is like an over-stimulated child.

ꖛ Zenith

what the fuck does this mean?

#yandere x reader #x reader #milgram #milgram x reader

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS DARK FATE Imajin Webshop Tokuten Drama CD ”A Heated Cooking Showdown! ~The King of Founder’s Ultimate Cooking~”

Original title: 灼熱のクッキングバトル！～始祖王の究極料

Source: Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE Imajin Webshop Tokuten Drama CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Katsuyuki Konishi, Takahiro Sakurai & Morikawa Toshiyuki

Translator’s note: While it is nothing new for Reiji and Ruki to get all competitive in regards to cooking, it was definitely interesting to see Carla get thrown in the mix. I always assumed that Shin is the one who does all of the household chores - including cooking - so it’s very difficult to imagine Carla behind the stove. ...And those who have listened to this CD will probably agree with me that this might be for the best. :p

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

*Chop chop chop*

Reiji: The simplest dishes are often the most difficult…as well as most beautiful.

This time’s cooking shodown has been quite the hard-fought battle. However, I believe my victory is basically guaranteed. I simply cannot fathom that an uncivilized Mukami such as yourself will be able to deliver an elegant dish.

Ruki: What are you going on about, Sakamaki Reiji? I don’t want to hear that from the guy who has the nerve to be spouting nonsense all while handling such delicate ingredients.

Reiji: Wha…!? Hah…Ruki. I’d very much appreciate it if you would take back that statement.

Ruki: The answer is no. …Heh. How are you chopping your garlic? You have to make sure that each piece is equal, or else it’ll cook unevenly.

Reiji: Could you not call me out on my mistakes? …It seems like you have not even cut anything at all yet.

Ruki: Yes. My dish doesn’t require any chopping up of ingredients, hence why I haven’t. However, that does not mean I’m not skilled with a knife. Don’t assume I’m the same as you.

Reiji: Hahaha…I see. I suppose you must lower the difficulty of your dish, or else you simply have no chance against me. Heh. Well then…I suppose it is about time I show you the difference in skill between us.

Ruki: I suppose I shall do the same then. It’s on.

Reiji: …Hm? Who has dared set foot on this sacred battlefield?

Carla: …I thought this was the kitchen? When did it become a battlefield?

Ruki: Carla!?

Carla: However, now that I have heard that, I am afraid I simply cannot turn back. Very well. I shall participate as well.

Reiji: Hooh…? Then please shiver in fear as you lay your eyes upon my elegant cooking techniques.

Ruki: That’s my line. Right now you still have the chance to withdraw.

Carla: Hmph. Not a chance. Well then, who shall start?

Reiji: I will. …Well then, behold!

Reiji turns on the stove.

*Thud*

Reiji: To infuse the oil with the garlic’ fragrance, you have to simmer it on low heat for an extended period of time. Well then, let us add some chili pepper as well.

*Pshhh*

Reiji: The pasta as well…Mmh. Looks good. Now you add some of the pasta water to the infused oil and then add the pasta before mixing it all around.

Ruki: While your techniques are noteworthy, I doubt I will lose this showdown.

Reiji: Fufufu…Run your mouth all you want. …And then! Now you turn off the heat and plate it elegantly.

*Cling*

Reiji: Ah…Never before have I seen such a perfect aglio, olio e peperoncino.

*Twinkle twinkle*

Ruki: Hooh. Not bad. However, the pasta looks just slightly overcooked.

Carla: I see. While the fragrance definitely stirs up an appetite, can you guarantee the flavors are there with so little ingredients?

Reiji: Its simplicity is what makes it so difficult to get right. Although I hardly care about what you have to say when you have not even tasted it yet. Well then, why don’t you show us what you’ve got next?

Ruki: Of course. I’ll make sure to give you a good watch, so learn from it.

Ruki turns on the stove.

*Thud*

Ruki: First you thoroughly heat up your frying pan. Getting the right temperature is vital after all.

*Cling*

Ruki: Okay. Now you put it a chunk of butter.

*Pshhh*

Ruki: Next we take our mixture of eggs, fresh cream and salt and pepper. I’m afraid I cannot share the exact measurements as they’re the result of years of personal research.

Reiji: Hmph! Everyone has their own recipes, so I’m not sure what you’re trying to brag about.

Ruki: No. This is the crème de la crème. I have tried countless different ratios and this one came out as the best. I would even go as far as to call this my life’s work.

Reiji: You’ve done enough talking. Please get to cooking already.

Ruki: Heh. You must really be dying to lay your eyes upon my elegant handling of the frying pan. Very well. …Behold!

Ruki pours the egg mixture into the pan.

Ruki: You must start by quickly stirring the egg mixture around in the pan. Then you push the eggs to the back of the pan and swirl it around until you achieve the correct shape.

This is the secret to making a perfect plain, fluffy omelet.

*Cling*

*Twinkle twinkle*

Reiji: I have to give it to you. It does fit the theme of ‘a simple yet tricky dish’ perfectly.

Ruki: Oh? You are being rather vague? Could it be that you’ve realized that you stand no chance at victory after seeing this perfect omelet of mine?

Reiji: What are you saying? Perhaps you have become delusional from the fragrance of my peperoncino?

Carla: Are the two of you done?

Reiji: Exactly. …Will you participate as well?

Ruki: I assume he will offer to be the judge in this case?

Carla: No. I do not dislike a good challenge. My victory is pretty much set in stone already, so let me get to it.

Reiji: However, a Founder such as yourself should have very little experience with cooking, correct?

Carla: Believe whatever you please, but nothing is impossible for me. Well then, let me get started on my dish.

Ruki: What will you be making?

Carla: Is there a rule that says I must share the dish beforehand? Cooking is something you do based on your mood at the moment.

Reiji: While I agree that passion is a necessary component in cooking, to achieve a beautiful end result, one must first plan out the cooking procedure.

Ruki: No, there’s some logic in what Carla’s saying as well. I’m sure you’ve had times where you originally planned to make a tomato-based sauce, but then switched over to a cream sauce during the cooking process?

Reiji: Well…I suppose I have.

Carla: Heh. There you have it. The two of you are more understanding than I thought.

Ruki: However, it can also cause hesitation or doubt. I doubt you’ll be able to win against either of us with that kind of attitude.

Carla: I wonder. ....Well then, let me get started.

Carla turns on the stove.

*Thud*

Carla: I shall start by heating up some grapeseed oil. As you are surely aware, this type of oil contains double the amount of polyphenols as regular olive oil.

Reiji: Hooh…? Are you trying to test our knowledge by bringing up some miscellaneous facts?

Carla: No. This is basic knowledge. Part of cooking is showing off after all.

Ruki: Excuse me?

Carla: How come that the actual cooking process is seen as such an important factor of any culinary showdown, you think? Because the end result does not determine everything, obviously.

Reiji: Now that he mentions, I have to agree that the highlight of cooking is often what happens right before everything is put on the plate.

Ruki: Yes. I suppose we should include that as an evaluation criteria this time as well.

Carla: Well then. Let me pour in the oil. …Hoh!

*Groooowl*

Reiji: That is…!? A wolf…!?

Carla: Now go! Add in the oil from as high as you can!

*Groooowl*

*Psssh*

Ruki: …Oi. Why does it need to be poured in from a high angle?

Reiji: One second, Ruki…Could this not be part of the beauty behind cooking which Carla spoke of earlier?

Ruki: Is that why he decided to order the wolf to pour in the grapeseed oil from up high…?

Carla: Yes, exactly. What do you say? I bet you want to imitate me after witnessing that just now?

Reiji: Tsk…Now that he mentions it, I have never seen such an artistic way to pour in cooking oil before.

Ruki: So this is…Show cooking?

Carla: Heh. It’s an absolutely necessary step to ensure that you capture everyone’s full attention. One does not cook solely for themselves after all.

Ruki: Reiji…I believe this might turn into quite the showdown.

Reiji: As frustrating as it is, I cannot deny that. I cannot believe that I am increasingly more drawn in, finding myself wanting to apply the same techniques.

Carla: Heh, right? Well then, next I shall prepare five different variants of Demon World tomatoes which every household should have in their pantry.

Reiji: I will have to disagree with that statement.

Carla: How so? Demon World tomatoes are some of the best because of their perfectly bitter and tangy.

Ruki: …Their bitterness is on point? However…When they’re right in front of my eyes, they look strangely delicious to me though.

Carla: Hmph! As for the other vegetables, it does not matter which world they came from, but you should try and go for the ones with the most vigor.

Reiji: …Not ‘fresh’ but ‘vigorous’...? What exactly do you mean by that?

Carla: Take this pumpkin for example. Look at its vines.

*Woosh*

Ruki: …!? It moves!? …It’s still alive!?

Carla: Exactly. By using lively Demon World vegetables, it will enrich the flavor profile of your dish. Although those cooking at home must be utmost careful not to have their kitchen destroyed.

Reiji: …I have no idea who you are talking to but well…I suppose it makes sense that using fresh ingredients will enhance the flavor.

Ruki: That being said…Wouldn’t it be too overwhelming?

Carla: That is not an issue as long as you fry them in enough of this grapeseed oil.

*Pshhh*

Reiji: Wha…!? You’re adding even more of the oil!? The pot is filled with oil to the brim!

Ruki: Not even when making a dish fried in garlic oil do they use this large of an amount. …What on earth are you making?

Carla: Did I not tell you earlier? Cooking is all about following your intuition. You make it as you feel at the moment.

Ruki: However…It won’t come together at this rate.

Reiji: Exactly! This is just one big hodgepodge!

Carla: A hodgepodge, you say? I see. That has a very straightforward ring to it. I suppose I shall give it a try.

Carla continues his endeavors and keeps on adding more stuff to the pot.

Reiji: How noble…Could this be a new breakthrough in the world of cooking?

*Bubble bubble*

Ruki: Oi…One second. Did I just witness that guy throwing my omelet inside his pot?

Carla: Yes. Since it had both eggs and fresh cream in it, I used it.

Ruki: Excuse me…!? Oi…Give it back…! Don’t tell me…Was this your intention from the very beginning?

Reiji: Heh. How naive of you, Ruki. To ensure that nobody would get their hands on my peperoncino, I made sure to put it over heー

*Rustle*

Reiji: Wha…!?

*PSSSH*

Reiji: What are you doing to my masterpiece!?

Carla: Well, I want to use this large plate as well. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to your dish. I’ll simply plate mine on top.

Reiji: No way! Cut it out! I achieved the perfect balance of flavors with that dish!

*Splat*

Reiji: Ah…! My aglio e olio!

Carla: There we go. Now all I need to do is put dry cured ham on top and the dish will be complete. However…I do feel as if something is still missing. …Right!

*Woosh*

*Drip drip*

Ruki: Wha…!? He’s sprinkling on even more of the grapeseed oil…!?

Carla: Yes. It will help bring out the fragrance even more. Remember that!

Reiji: Carla…You truly are unbelievable…

Ruki: We were fools to let our guards down around you for even one second.

*Cling cling*

Carla: Well then, dig in. No need to hold back.

Ruki: …Haah. I suppose I have no other choice. I doubt it tastes bad, considering my omelet which I shed blood, sweat and tears for is in there as well.

Reiji: Right…However, it gives off a very unfamiliar scent. I wonder if it’s okay to eat?

Ruki: Oi, let’s try it.

Reiji: Yes. …Well then, here goes nothing.

Reiji and Ruki try Carla’s dish.

*Cling*

*Nom nom*

Reiji: Mm…

Ruki: Hm…

Carla: What do you think? It’s sublime, isn’t it?

Reiji: Well…Even though the individual ingredients were all of the highest quality…The combination could not be any worse.

Ruki: …I can only taste oil. Why…? How did it turn out like this!? Kuh…!

Carla: Haah…This dry cured ham tastes exquisite. I suppose the two of you are simply not ready yet to appreciate it….

Reiji: …

Ruki: Wha…!? He’s only eating the dry cured ham part dipped in the oil!?

Reiji: This is a blatant insult to us! This cannot even be called a dish!

Carla: Now that is rather harsh of you. However…I do feel as if something is still missing. Ah. Right. I suppose I’ll try grilling it.

Ruki: Hah? …Wait! If you do thatーー!

Carla turns on the gas.

*Thud*

*BOOM*

Reiji: Which idiot exposes oil to an open flame…!? Aaah…! What now…!? My kitchen…!

Ruki: Calm down! We have to extinguish the fire first! ーー Oi, Carla! Do something about this!

Carla: Hm…I don’t like too much ruckus. I suppose nothing beats a piece of dry cured ham by itself. Fufufu…

ーー THE END ーー

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #reiji sakamaki #ruki mukami #carla tsukinami #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

[latenightsleeper]

On the other side

Summary/idea: Tank in a relationship, more specifically MY Tank in a relationship..with you??? A bit of a character study on them ig

Warning(s): references to childhood trauma, past abuse, self-harm, depression, death, unhealthy behaviors and coping mechanisms—this is Tank guys it’s sadly a warning in itself

Characters: Tank/Darlin

-Let’s get something straight(the only thing straight about this tbh) you knew Tank before y’all dated, just how it goes

-another thing, Christian will be apart of your life too, no matter how you feel about the guy. He’s tanks rock and their his, can’t have one without the other

-Tank would always take a relationship slow, baby steps and very small moments of vulnerability in a way they’d find comfortable

-considering that you’re seeing Tank means that you have some measure of patience, or a masochist, either works fine. You’ll need either for Tank

-getting to know Tank is like pulling teeth, actually more like trying to get your patient down to get at their teeth but you have to fight them to do that. It is a long, drawn out, painful process full of fuck ups and wrong turns.

- if you manage to chip away at Tanks walls? Pass their internal tests on you and well..it’s something, there’s no overnight change, no sudden clarity of why Tank acts the way he does

-Tank is a extremely reserved person, very secretive and holds back from engaging in conversations for multiple reasons and purposes

-most of it stemming from not being talked to enough as a child and then young teen when they moved, not a lot of people cared to talk to them and bc of that, they don’t share anything about themselves

-Still, hang around Tank and you’ll learn lots about them from simply existing near them, watching him

-Tank speaks with actions better than words, the words get all jumbled and wrong when they wanna talk so he just shows you with their actions

-Tank doesn’t actually hold things in his hands if they can help it, makes him nervous especially if what their holding is delicate in nature

-when they do however, it’s always obvious to whoever looks close enough that Tank is holding whatever he’s holding with great care. Always soft hands with this one

-speaking of hands, when you hold hands with Tank for the first time it’s very..gentle, very soft and careful. Tanks hands aren’t the smallest but their very fine ig, surprisingly slender and elegant fingers.

-depending on if their wearing gloves you can feel the calluses and scars, maybe feel how one finger still stutters due to a bad healing job from a while ago

-Warm, soft hands Tank has, very gentle when holding someone else’s since they don’t engage in physical contact like this normally.

-rubs your knuckles with their thumb or soft squeezes

-this probably goes without saying but Tank struggles with their mental health, this of course affects their relationships both romantic and platonic

-Tank will ghost you, on purpose and on accident. No if or buts, he WILL do it, sorry man :/

-Tank also has anger issues but not in the stereotypical breaking glass and yelling—no no no

-They hold their anger inside of them, a tight and careful grip on that ball of rage in them. Tank very rarely would lash out and very rarely would that be physical, he may not talk much but when they do and when Tank is angry? Makes you wish he’d just punch you honestly

-Tank normally leaves when they feel like they could hurt someone or they feel that careful control they have on themselves slip a little.

-hence the ghosting

-he will leave for hours, never saying anything about what they did during those hours (sometimes even days) but they do return

-they normally apologize

-if you ask about their childhood they won’t say much, very clinical about it, no feelings attached to it

-Tank would say “ it was a life I lived..it could have been a lot worse so I’m…grateful..for what I got.. “

-they also have RSD or Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, any form of rejection—made up in their head or not is damaging

-one of the reasons he’s so distant honesty, their life has been one rejection after another

-he has many many scars, tank doesn’t care about them but knows they can make others..dicey

-many of them were infected on them but some were..done by their own hands

-anyway, have I ever mentioned how Tank loves to cook? Bc they do, greatly but they don’t get to cook a lot

-so if you get close enough, expect lots of homemade food containers for you

-is actually a good grill master, they learned a lot from their father and uncles when they had em

-is actually very proud to be apart of the Shaw pack

-despite receiving very little physical affection, when you get close enough Tank is very touchy

-pinky linked, a hand on your back or shoulder or even waist if you’re comfortable with that. It’s not the most showy but they find it comfortable

-also expect Tank to try and hide behind you at least twice

-they will and could do your hair if you ask nicely, would honestly spend hours just brushing your hair or styling

-Tank is quiet quick witted and snarky, they just so happen to mumble and talk quietly where no one hears anything

-speaking of voice; it’s a low and raspy voice, not unpleasantly so, monotone normally unless you really get Tank going then there’s a lot of character

-Tank wouldn’t actually introduce themselves by their name, using their nickname ‘ Tank ‘ normally

-they’d let you borrow clothes-just not the leather jacket

-they live in oversized clothes, the only thing that fits them well would be their boots and gloves so there’s something for you even if you’re taller than them

-if you managed to crash at their place and you can’t sleep, if you ask really nicely and say you’ll buy them a chocolate muffin, they will play the violin for you

-sadly they don’t like playing as much as they used to due to the injuries on their hands making them shake sometimes and messing up their playing

-for some reason, most animals love Tank. Call em a Disney princess or something

#latenightsleeper #redacted audio #redacted asmr #sleep speaks #redactedverse #redacted darlin #redacted tank #redacted asmr darlin #redacted asmr tank #redacted audio tank #redacted audio darlin #my tank/Darlin #their are a sad sad boy #lots of love #not many people willing to stick around for it #:(

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Robert F. Graboyes

Published: May 9, 2023

There’s a move afoot to replace America’s aspirational goal of equality (equal opportunity and equality under the law) with “equity” (equal outcomes designed and implemented by elite experts). A sprawling industry has arisen to spread the gospel of equity across American life. Its catechism has been greatly assisted by an internet-wide burst of colorful little visual parables, all purporting to show the difference between the sins of equality and the blessings of equity. Google “equity,” and your screen will explode with cartoons involving baseball games, apple orchards, blackboards, bike races, street crossings, bookshelves, and more. All of these myriad representations share one identical message.

A web page at the George Washington University’s School of Public Health uses an apple tree metaphor whose lesson seems to be that if you don’t have the sense to move your ladder to the side where the apples are, it’s “inequitable” and someone should install scaffolding and cables to bend the tree toward wherever you stuck your ladder. The website then conjures up a “Magic Benefactor” to explain equality and equity. It’s magic because deserving people are “given” and “allocated” resources, apparently without anyone else required to give up those resources:

“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.” 

As anyone with a knowledge of history and political philosophy knows, a sizable number of countries spent much of the 20th century trying to allocate the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach equal outcomes. The results were far less than equitable. However, as any Swiss banker can tell you, the rulers of these countries did accumulate considerable equity while impoverishing their countries.

Equity folks have another visual homily, the Stadium & Fence meme, that is brilliantly clever. It’s simple, intuitive, and heartwarming. It is also naïve, misleading, and hubristic. Let’s explore this meme and nine ways in which it fails.

The Basic Stadium & Fence Meme

Three people—Mr. Tall, Ms. Medium, and Mr. Short are all trying to watch a baseball game over a fence. On the left, we see the odious world of equality. Mr. Tall has a clear view. Ms. Medium can barely see the field over the fence. Mr. Short cannot see over the fence at all. On the right, in the putatively just world of equity, some Magic Benefactor has allocated a small pedestal to Ms. Medium and a large pedestal to Mr. Short so all three now have equally clear views of the game. To put it another way, “To each according to his needs.”

Problem #1: “Inequality” is labeled “Equality.”

The left-hand picture doesn’t represent “equality.” An egalitarian would say that the left-hand picture represents inequality—an unfortunate but universal aspect of the human condition. The right-hand picture represents equality—a condition to which an egalitarian aspires, fully cognizant that it will never be fully realized. Bad luck, injustice, one’s starting point in life, and one’s own personal choices inevitably lead to some measure of inequality. Siblings of equal intelligence, from the same household, with identical opportunities often end up in vastly different levels of well-being. The Magic Benefactor can allocate all the resources it wants to Fredo, but he’s never going to be Michael.

Problem #2: The meme assumes an omniscient, omnipotent planner.

With the Magic Benefactor, individuals are helpless, passive beings, devoid of agency. Under equality, an individual is “given” resources and opportunities. Under equity, some unspecified being “allocates” resources and opportunities. In fact, these unnamed allocators are so perceptive and so powerful that they can allocate “the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.” This is no Book of Job or Leibniz theodicy problem—where bad things happen to good people. Rather, it is Candide, where Dr. Pangloss always proclaims this to be the best of all possible worlds.

Problem #3: Redistribution can fail or make things worse.

The past century was littered with redistributive schemes designed to achieve equality of outcomes and which ended in failures. There are monstrous cases, like China’s Cultural Revolution. But also benign cases, like America’s well-intended, but frustratingly ineffective War on Poverty. Central planning (i.e., allocating “the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome”) has a remarkable history of ineffectiveness and counterproductivity—where sincere effort to improve the lot of those at the bottom ensnares them in a poverty trap.

Problem #4: Maybe the tall guy sinks or leaves.

The Stadium & Fence and the Magic Benefactor ignore the fact that with redistribution, the reallocated resources come not like manna from Heaven, but rather from the pockets of living, breathing humans. A more realistic version of this metaphor would show Mr. Tall sinking as Ms. Medium and Mr. Short rise. Or perhaps Mr. Tall just packs up and moves away—leaving no one to pay for the pedestals for Ms. Medium and Mr. Short. This is known in governance as “eroding the tax base” and in folklore as “killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.” In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson’s top economic advisor, Arthur Okun, explained this phenomenon beautifully in terms of a leaky bucket.

Problem #5: Maybe those in charge have their own bigotries.

Unlike expert allocators in the Stadium & Fence and the Magic Benefactor, people in charge of real-world redistribution programs are not saintly, unbiased individuals. They come with their own collections of bigotries and deficits of introspection, all reflected in the policies they impose on others. You are disadvantaged only if the elite experts declare that you are disadvantaged. In recent years, for example, Asian-Americans, who suffered terrible discrimination over the course of U.S. history, have been declared by equity “experts” to be “white-adjacent” and, hence, on the losing side of redistribution programs. This reclassification is entirely arbitrary. Coincidentally, the apartheid regime in South Africa implemented a nearly identical redefinition of Japanese, Koreans, and Taiwanese people as “honorary whites”—for entirely cynical reasons.

Problem #6: Maybe the privileged experts in charge just use equity as a pretext to seize more privilege.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the equity agenda is that its proponents effectively say, “Governments, corporations, and educational institutions are hellholes of bigotry and discrimination—so let’s empower governments, corporations, and educational institutions to redistribute resources.” This is popularly known as, “Asking the fox to guard the chicken coop.” It is informative to note the rapidly rising salaries and numbers of equity experts employed by governments, corporations, and educational institutions.

Problem #7: Redistribution focuses on group averages, not individuals.

The Stadium & Fence and Magic Benefactor are both stated in terms of individuals, whereas, in reality, policies are applied to broad demographic groups. In this picture, the Talls are taller on average than the Mediums, who are taller on average than the Shorts. But there wide ranges within each category. Equity policies do not aspire to equalize individuals, but, rather, to equalize group averages. So, for example, when the pedestals are “given/allocated” to the Mediums and Shorts, the shortest member of each group, Talls, Mediums, and Shorts, is still unable to see over the fence, whereas the tallest member of the Shorts—who already had a good view of the game—now has an even better view of the game.

Problem #8: Maybe the problem is the fence, not the people.

The Stadium & Fence meme never bothers to ask how the obstructive fence got there in the first place. A likely explanation is that the fence was erected by the very people with whom equity experts are entrusting with the task of reallocating resources. Access to healthcare, for example, is often impeded by government regulations that limit the number of doctors, that arbitrarily limit the scope of practice of nurse practitioners, that require hospitals to beg for permission to build new neonatal intensive care units—and enrich established insiders. Rather than obsessing over group averages on health, income, education, etc., perhaps the better approach is to rip down the obstacles that self-interested or misinformed bureaucrats and politicians and others have imposed on others.

Problem #9: Maybe the whole fence analogy is deceptive and elitist.

Finally, few, if any, have asked an obvious question that the Stadium & Fence metaphor begs: ”Why are we obsessing over equalizing viewing by three people trying to watch the game from outside the stadium?” There are two possible reasons why these three are where they are, struggling with the fence, rather than enjoying hot dogs in the bleachers with tens of thousands of other people. First, they may be victims of discrimination—excluded somehow from the stadium. If that’s the case, then equity experts are effectively saying, “It’s fine that these three can’t come into the stadium and sit next to us, but let’s make sure these second-class citizens all get the exact same inferior view of the game from the other side of the fence.” Second, perhaps these three are fully capable of buying tickets to the game but choose, instead, to peer over the fence for free. In which, case, why should anyone worry about how well any of them can steal a view of the game?

==

Unequal outcomes are not inherently unfair.

If the over-the-fence is a medical license, and height is ability to meet the requirements, then those who can't reach the top of the fence shouldn't get to see over it.

If the over-the-fence is entry to Harvard and height is test scores, then those who can't reach the top of the fence shouldn't get into Harvard. And yet, that's exactly what happened.

#Robert F. Graboyes #equity #equitism #equitists #equality #equality vs equity #equity vs equality #diversity equity and inclusion #DEI #DEI bureaucracy #stadium and fence meme #religion is a mental illness

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

🔥 Do you think WWX and JC would make up after canon? I personally don't, I think WWX made his boundaries clear but I'd like to hear your takes and reasoning!

No I don't, I've spoken on what I think of this in a similar post some time ago so I'll repost that here again.

I think what was shown within the novel, was as true of a “reconciliation” as the two could have gotten between them.

Wei WuXian, “Uh, I think it’s best if you… also stop keeping it on your mind. I know you’ll definitely always keep it on your mind, but, how should I say it…” He held onto Lan WangJi’s hand, saying to Jiang Cheng, “Right now, I do really think… it’s all in the past. It’s been too long. There’s no need to struggle with it any longer.”

This is Wei Wuxian extending the only thing he can do between them, which is letting things settle in peace, move on safely, to start somewhere new in both of their lives without the other. Wei Wuxian had never wanted Jiang Cheng’s thanks for what he had chosen to do, he had done it out of love, which for Wei Wuxian can’t be measured in debts owed. He is urging Jiang Cheng to let go of a past that will only haunt him unhappily, they can’t gain whatever had been lost. And I think Wei Wuxian had long known that before Jiang Cheng given he does not treat Jiang Cheng and he the same as he once did and had drawn a line of boundaries between each other well before Guanyin Temple. Note that he never once calls Jiang Cheng “shidi” after the timeskip as he once affectionately had.

Wei Wuxian does not ask for apologies to himself, he tells Jiang Cheng to apologize for his remarks to Lan Wangji more than once due his own sense of loyalties for those that extend their kindness to him as his own shame doesn’t take precedent.

Wei WuXian took the flute. Remembering that Jiang Cheng was the one who brought it, he turned over there and commented casually, “Thanks.” He waved Chenqing, “I’ll… be keeping this?”

Jiang Cheng glanced at him, “It was yours in the first place.”

After a moment of hesitation, his lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something else. However, Wei WuXian had already turned to Lan WangJi. Seeing this, Jiang Cheng remained silent.

By this point hours later Wei Wuxian is once again subconsciously showing where he has drawn the line. Taking to heart what he had said they should do, not take what had once happened to heart anymore and stop thinking about it. And once Wei Wuxian has made something clear he follows through with exactly what he had said he would do.

I think Wei Wuxian had made his intentions known, and as he says later he would rather remember the kindness and happiness in his life than the worst of it. He doesn’t need a reconciliation, he is with the family he has found and made for himself without being pushed away and takes the unconditional love that is offered to him. I had once likened his inquires in the extras like how someone would about an old past friend, of course you would ask about their well-being and hope the best, but that does not mean you want to ever really see them again in person after that relationship was shut and closed. It is bittersweet, but broken friendships always feel like that, a piece of someone will always care about who they used to be close to and Wei Wuxian was always very caring in his sentimentality even with the bad. But he does not crave for anything else from Jiang Cheng any longer as he has found his happiness with who he wanted.

As for Jiang Cheng, I think he needs to finally learn to ultimately be by himself and learn to be himself without his hold onto past dead hopes. He had built his reputation on that in a world that is ultimately moving on and changing while he stagnated in his unchanging hate for 13 years. But he no longer had that tether to continue it on any longer. His life didn’t end with Wei Wuxian’s death, and it didn’t end when he fully confronted Wei Wuxian with his hate. He’s given a chance to be out of what he thought was forever Wei Wuxian’s shadow, and personally I think, even if he “loved” Wei Wuxian, he never truly liked him as he never tried to understand Wei Wuxian as a person.

There is a lot of matters that can’t be buried between them, as people they are polar opposites in what they want and cherish. They are not what the other needs in their life. I think Jiang Cheng’s lesson is to move past a life that he had made a habit of to be selfish and Wei Wuxian was a passive catalyst that had helped him to fester that. Sometimes, it is just simply the better option to leave each other and move on without the possibility of being friend’s for ones own peace. And reconciliation isn’t always as satisfying as a fairy tale in real life, nor should it be an award for the bare minimum show of humanity to another.

They do not understand the other's way of living. You cannot continue a relationship without understanding what the other needs or their views of life. They will be at a forever impasse because repayment and debts is what they grew up giving the other. Jiang Cheng still barely is able to understand why Wei Wuxian did not say anything, because bringing up that sacrifice would be breaking his soul. To reveal such a secret would shatter the happiness that Wei Wuxian finally earned by himself. It would be dragging Wei Wuxian back into a relationship based upon transactional favors and being granted live in return based on that again, while being able to take it away as Jiang Cheng saw fit.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #canon jiang cheng #lol reconciliation #wei wuxian doesn't need it except it or want it #sometimes it is sadly that simple to end a relationship

[your-favorite-bean]

Fic Recs

UMBRELLA ACADEMY

(Most are five-centric. Gee I wonder who my favorite character is)

Also some quick notes about these:

As I said before, these are basically five centric. I do however read a lot of other stuff for other characters that I’m willing to share, so ask and ye shall receive!!! That being said, I don’t read a lot of oc fics and character x reader, so I don’t have a lot of recommendations for that.

Many of these fics were written before season three, before Viktor’s transition, which means that his deadname will be used. If you don’t want to read it, that’s totally okay, but just a forewarning!!!

Most of these fics have some dark and mature themes. And it may not seem like a serious thing, but sometimes you need to take a break from that kind of thing. This goes for any piece of media really that deals with these kinds of things. It doesn’t make you less of a person for taking care of yourself. There is no pressure to finish any of these or to even click on it. So if you read the tags (which you always should), and you think it’s not something that would be good for your mental health, don’t be afraid to tap out.

Oh and some of These have word counts but I got tired so I only did some. So pretty much All of these are multi chapter fics

Again major credit to these writers. Thank you for sharing your stories with us!!! I’m so proud of all of you guys!!! Happy Reading!!!

echoes by chiiyo86 | set in season two, allison finds Five in the alleyway and they have a lovely dynamic. Also rays there and he’s cool.

Get your hands dirty by conch_shell | outsider pov, lots of comic book elements in it, mostly about fives time in the commission

Lay all your love on me by MYSTERYstew | lots of hurt/comfort, time doesn’t heal all wounds (see what I did there??)

I kept running (for a soft place to fall) by chromaticality | Five, Allison, and Luther get kidnapped from the commission

Ive got a nasty new compulsion by chaoticgaysex | Diego gets recruited by the commission. Five has some words to say about that. Comic elements

It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) by chaoticgaysex | Five has a breakdown, and he snaps big time. If you want to see more about fives powers, check it out

Run (because you know you cannot hide) by e_va | fives family gets kidnapped by the commission. what ever will he do (rescue his family of course, it’s five come on) also this is incomplete (at least I think it Is I don’t fucking know anymore words are hard)

Defective weaponry by printlno | five and Klaus track down a bad guy, but it doesn’t go as well as planned. Also this is based on the comics, not the show. The characters will only make sense if you’ve read the comics (well they’ll make sense, but they might seem a bit ooc sometimes)

I’ve come to talk with you again by in-a-slanted-outhouse | incomplete, but it’s really good. lots of five and Allison bonding. super sweet

All walls fall by I_Logophile | five gets kidnapped by the sparrows, and it does not end well for him. Also this is the first in a series called his walls

Ashes and Dust by Devilbaby | I honestly can’t say too much because there is so much wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff that I don’t want to give away but it’s really well done. It’s in a series called the chronos saga and I would totally recommend the whole series but the third (and final) part is incomplete

The Secret inside of you (run boy run) by Utukki | Reginald knows what Five is capable of. And he can never let him reach that potential. So he outs in a little safety measure. Incomplete

But for now it’s time to run by Ford_Ye_Fiji | ever wondered what would happens if The Doctor and number five from umbrella academy met? Boom. Here’s the fic. There’s also some plot and a whole series too, called run, boy, run, (the umbrella effect)

So be it by bobee | a series of unfortunate events, starring five. lots of hurt, but it is incomplete so there’s not a lot of comfort yet

Howling at the moon by assaily | five gets sent to Hotel Oblivion, and has to confront his inner demons. This is a great fic for those who were kind of disappointed by the hotel oblivion storyline (like myself) but it is incomplete

Intelligent conversation by Soulykins | five has a habit of talking to himself. Might have something to do with, gee I dunno 45 years in the apocalypse. This is the first in a series called old dog, old tricks and the whole series is really good if you want five angst and sibling bonding.

This is a gift, it comes with a price by rebel_by_default | set in season two, where time travel has even more consequences than in canon oh also this is a series called a beast of a burden

Monster that I despise by pinetreedeath | comic book elements, which I feel like is just code for serial killer DNA at this point (oh yeah that’s basically what it’s about). Really cool how the author writes it, however, incomplete

TUA one shots I write at 3am by pinetreedeath | they have different plots for each one but each one is incredible. You’ve got feral five, you’ve got soft five. Any five you want just pick a chapter and you’ll have it (jeez I feel like a salesman or something) also incomplete

Dealing with doppelgängers by I_Logophile | we’ve all made our assumptions about five if he didn’t get adopted by Reginald and lived a relatively normal life. Well this author wrote about it!! A round of applause. also WHUMP

The boy of Time: Come Home by JBD302020

uneasy lies the head that wears the crown by MYSTERYstew

Can you hug me as I go? by MYSTERYstew | the inevitable moment where five has to confront with the fact that he is not doing okay. angst angst angst. However incomplete

Time is a storm by Shyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy | Five gets kidnapped by the sparrows, and the siblings try to rescue him, but Reginald puts a big old wrench in their plans (I am so sorry I am terrible at short summaries). Really, really good, but incomplete and there’s a major cliffhanger

The five whistle by I_Logophile | the handler sucks, we all know that, but what if she sucked just a bit more? Five whump to the max .

Here, beneath my lungs by beastboy12 | five tries to play detective, but curiosity killed the cat, or at least inflicted a lot of pain that made the cat wish it were dead. Klaus, Diego, and Five bonding

Warming up by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden) | if an assassin and the assassin who killed the first assassins parents got stuck in a freezer with the chance of death, what are they going to do? Bond of course!!

You can always come home by Wayward_Unicorn (42k words) | five doesn’t exist. He never has. Or is that really all there is too it? Incomplete

A closure problem by sandausdenurnen (21.9k words) | okay this is honestly hands down such a good crossover, and I don’t give that title away easily. The dynamic between Tony stark and number five (oh yeah that’s the crossover) is so good, so if you want two traumatized geniuses snarking at each other, this is perfect!!! Incomplete

Identity theft is not a joke by Ford_ye_Fiji (1.5k words) | ahhh the classic who’s the clone and who’s the real character. except fives siblings are (affectionately) idiots so it doesn’t go so well

About a boy by pistachioinfernal (25k words) | Russian gangster meets rude boy. Russian gangster feels bad for rude boy. Russian gangster bonds with rude boy. Boy is still rude this whole time | Also part of a series called Russian swears and coffee spoons (28k words) | the second and final part is incomplete

The moon laughs by Lady_Origami (96k words) | a trope we all know and love, time loop. This is great | incomplete | This is also the second part in a series called the sky weeps (106k words). The first one isn’t really related to the second one, but it’s really sweet, Klaus, Ben, and Five bonding.

Creeping towards extinction by VIKAN (62k words) holy shit this one is so good like omg I’m in love with this. This is my favorite angst fic wow. Chefs kiss

The shifting mirrors by orsumfenix (192k words) | what if five never traveled to the future? Well you saw the other hargreeves, hes still an asshole. | incomplete

Holding it together by sharkneto (91k words) | actually inspired by shifting mirrors. And oh my god I loved reading every word of this | First of a series called shifting together (251k words). Series is incomplete but definitely worth the read!!!

How the fabrics of the universe will fuck you up by fandomsandshit (4K words) | this is sort of an AU where fives abilities go a little bit further than teleporting. This is such a cool take I wish that five had these powers in the show!!!

An eye for an eye by dgalerab (80k words) | really cool series, lots of twists and turns and angst and timelines (so many timelines) and it’s just really fun. Also season two and three do not exist | Part of a series called timelines 1-2.1 (250k words) | the last fic in the series is incomplete

This world is not made for you by umbrellas out (1719) (2k words) | okay I can’t exactly summaraize this but there is a lot 567 bonding so if you like that here you go!!! | Also part of a series called the boy who ran. Also there is a slight chance that none of these links work so if they don’t I apologize.

This one’s for the lonely, the ones who seek and find by hujwernoo (2k words) | Klaus dies in the apocalypse, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be there for five | The First in a series called it comes and goes in Waves (258k words) which is INCREDIBLE so yeah Go and check it out

Sorrows like thunder clouds by Emotionally_Detached (7k words) | this is part of a series called mellow rays of the departing sun (24k words) |Five time travels to when they were Kids, but only hin. Now it’s up to him to change the past.

Time is what we Need but don’t have by Achlyz (21k words) | it’s really cute, makes me feel good by I also cried during this, but it’s mostly just family bonding with a hint of angst | Part of a series called dysfunctional family (225k words) |the final fic is incomplete

Faded by tenacioussurrender (35k words) | Lots of dad Diego, and hurt five, but it’s very Sweet and there’s a lot of wholesome pieces in it | part of a series called a ripple in time and space (145k words)

Bolt from the blue by TheArchaeologist (85k words) | this time it’s dad Klaus, and omg there is a lot of hurt but a lot of comfort, but then hurt again! That joke is Season one about Klaus Meeting fives mom at the Disco isn’t a joke anymore | Part of a series called apple of my eye (141k words), Part Four is incomplete but you can still read a lot of it.

Out of the dead land by tomorrowsrain (60k words) | five time travels to the apocalypse, but to spice it up, you have Zombies!!!! Oh and Klaus is there too, to add a dash of brotherly bonding and a whole lot of angst | incomplete

So you got to the bottom of the list, good for you!!! Treat your self, you deserve it. I’m proud of you.

Also (minor rant alert) this was HARD. Thank literally everything that I can use ao3 search filters because that was ahhhhhhhhh. Do you know how difficult it is to find a fic that you read 2 years ago and the only thing you can remember from it is the word pumpkin????? Like oh my god. Then I wrote all of this down and it mysteriously disappeared so I had to make a whole new list, which was very frustrating. But this was also fun so if you have any new requests, lmk!!!

Oh and another thing. You might’ve noticed that some of these authors names were repeated. Well turns out these incredible talented people have written a lot of other stuff, so don’t forget to explore the other stuff they’ve written. Check out the bookmarks, then check the bookmarks of those authors, and so on. Happy reading!!!

#five hargreeves #five hargreeves centric #allison hargreeves #ben hargreeves #diego hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #tua #ao3 fic rec #ao3

[leonstamatis]

ao3 year in review is an awesome idea. 12, 22, 25?

oh thank you!! i cannot take full credit for it -- i am absolutely sure i've seen it around before -- but i'm glad you enjoy it!

12: What’s your most popular fic for the year? Is it your best one?

it is by far symbiosis, a character study based on the dnd movie. i think it is definitely one of my most successful studies this year, and there's a lot about it that i love. but it's not like. particularly innovative? so by one measure, it is the best! and by other metrics, perhaps not so much. i do love it though.

25: Free space: Recommend a fic!

i don't even watch the show, haven't since the first campaign, but i do think folks should read this critrole fic because it's perfect to me: when you're in trouble, go into your dance

22: Share a deleted scene, if you have one.

ooh lemme dig... i don't think i have a deleted scene from a current work, but i can give you one for an abandoned WIP:

Boston digs its nails into Layna, deeper and stronger than the teeth of the Hellmouth. It’s the first time, really, that she’s felt anything stronger than the tug of her home; if she’s honest about it, she’d never thought that kind of thing was possible.

She should know better. There’s always something stronger, something bigger, something that can carve your insides out and leave you feeling hollow.

Well. Maybe that’s a little too on the nose. Layna shakes her head at her own dramatics and focuses instead on the coffee in her hands, the person seated across the table from her in this very loud, very Boston cafe.

“It’s not so bad,” Moses Mason, formerly Simmons, formerly excellent actor, says. They smile in the sort of lopsided way Layna knows would make most people swoon. “The team is pretty insular, but if you’re patient…”

They wave a hand, as if that’s an adequate end to a sentence. Layna’s lips twist to one side of their own accord.

“Then they’ll get over the fact that I was never supposed to be here,” Layna finishes, “and that I am a constant reminder of a significant hit to both performance and morale?”

Moses’ smile doesn’t waver. “Sure, something like that.”

Layna sips her coffee. It’s too bitter, but she doesn’t have it in her to order another one. “You’re a terrible welcoming committee.”

“I’m the only welcoming committee,” Moses corrects.

“And?”

“And that means it doesn’t matter how good I am.”

They say it with a wink, like they’re letting Layna into some kind of secret. Maybe they are; Layna doesn’t have the lay of the land, here, not yet. Some other time, when she isn’t grieving, when she isn’t lost, when she isn’t absolutely furious at her circumstances, maybe she’ll be in on the joke. Maybe.

“My condolences to your captain,” Layna mutters into her drink.

Moses shrugs. “My condolences to you.”

There’s something there. Layna can see the spark of sincerity in the sentiment, like if Moses were just one or two degrees less relaxed there would be a genuine apology. She appreciates that they don’t go that far; she’s never been comfortable with pity.

And, as such, she is perfectly comfortable changing the subject, however clunky the transition may be. “Who should I be keeping an eye on around here, then? Any trouble?”

Moses shoots her a sharp grin, pretty and pointed. “Me, probably.”

“Oh, please.” Layna hides her own smile behind the rim of her mug. “I can handle you.”

“You sound pretty confident there, Hollywood.”

“I didn’t spend six years in the Hellmouth to fall victim to some big brown eyes and pretty flowers.”

“Aw,” Moses intones, dipping their chin down. “You think I’m pretty?”

Moses is a flirt. Layna knows it, and Moses knows it. The words are nothing; leaves floating on top of the current of a particularly quick stream. Easy to get distracted by, if she tries, but the thing is… The thing is, Layna’s been here a week, and she’s already seen who Moses tends to stare at during practice. It isn’t her.

So Layna meets the dipped chin, the artful pout, with a raised eyebrow. “Will a certain shortstop mind if I say yes?”

If it catches Moses off guard, they don’t show it. Instead, they shrug. They might be trying to force nonchalance, but then, they’ve got the training to pull it off. Layna narrows her eyes and looks for some kind of tell, a giveaway.

“I doubt it,” they say. They add a little flourish, even, flicking the hair and honeysuckle out of their – honestly, frustratingly pretty – big brown eyes.

“Hm.” Layna frowns. “Pity. Do you want him to?”

“You’re asking some very personal questions, for a stranger I just met,” Moses muses.

They don’t sound angry; if Layna had to put a word to it, she’d call them curious. Good. She can work with that.

“Then don’t call me a stranger,” Layna huffs, leaning in until her hair slips past her shoulder and falls, just slightly, over her face. “Call me your co-conspirator. You can even call me your date, as long as you’re buying.”

Pointedly, Moses pulls their wallet out of their pocket and flags the waiter.

Layna wasn’t lying, either. She can handle a Moses Mason, and she can certainly handle a Jacob Haynes. If she plays her cards right, they’ll be sorted out by the end of next season. Maybe sooner. Sure, she shouldn’t be here; she’s an anomaly, a mistake, a reminder of plots gone wrong and the dead weight around every team’s neck.

But she’s pretty damn good at writing a love story. Here, at least, that should be worth something.

#ask meme #cedardivine #tam.ask #thank you cedar!

[prying-pandora666]

My Azula Diagnosis Analysis Part 6: Borderline Personality Disorder

As the master post I wrote was too long, I’ve divided it into parts. Find them all here.

Sick of bad armchair diagnosis for Azula? Me too! So in this thread let’s discuss Azula’s most commonly “diagnosed” illnesses and disorders, and find out what she actually meets the criteria for, if any.

Does Azula have borderline personality disorder?

This is an extremely misunderstood and stigmatized condition. The name itself is a relic from a time when psychiatry was still identifying and classifying mental illnesses and personality disorders (only two classifications existed at the time, now we have three), meaning BPD was named because it had overlap with some other conditions but didn’t fully fit any of them.

As such it was called borderline. Today some experts suggest the name should be updated, as it’s name is often misunderstood to mean that a person is only on the borderline of having a personality disorder, or that they’re borderline psychotic.

Neither is the case. Borderline Personality Disorder is it’s own unique and complex condition. Although it is famously known for being amongst the most difficult or even impossible to treat, patients who do manage to commit to treatment have a much better prognosis than many other PDs.

BPD Claims

—There aren’t any as far as I’ve seen. This isn’t a condition people label Azula with, surprisingly, as she conforms to it way more closely than more commonly cited PDs such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder (Sociopathy).

So Does Azula have Borderline Personality Disorder?

As always, PDs are complicated and don’t express exactly the same way for every person. So let’s look at the symptoms considered diagnostically significant.

—An intense fear of abandonment, even going to extreme measures to avoid real or imagined separation or rejection: Azula embodies this very well. She is terrified of being discarded by Ozai, and objects to being treated like the rejected child when Ozai finally does so. “You can’t treat me like this! You can’t treat me like Zuko!” She also uses fear and manipulation to keep her friends and brother close, as she is terrified that she is inherently unloveable and there is no other way. “What choice do I have?” “Fear is the only way.” It is unclear to what extent Ursa actually rejected her daughter and how much was perceived that way, but either way Azula certainly is deeply wounded by the perception of having been unloved and abandoned by her mother.

—A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn't care enough or is cruel: To a certain extent, yes, with Zuko. Though she doesn’t idealize him, Azula does risk a lot to help her brother in her own twisted, manipulative way, and is even the first to tell him he doesn’t need Ozai to restore his honor and can do so himself. She also protects him when they’re home, calming him down when he has outbursts and keeping his visits to Iroh secret and warning him to be more careful. However, Azula spins on a dime once Zuko lies to her about Aang, setting him up to take the fall, and reacts even more poorly when he betrays her to join the Avatar, going so far as to attempt to kill him. She repeats this pattern in the comics, alternating between wanting Zuko to be on her side and protecting him one moment, and causing him significant problems the next. She also idealizes her father and strives to please him in The Show, but has lost all interest in him by Smoke and Shadow, content to let him rot in prison.

—Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image that include shifting goals and values, and seeing yourself as bad or as if you don't exist at all: We don’t know much about Azula’s self-identity in The Show as she never expresses her own wants outside of serving Ozai. She has, however, internalized herself as an unloveable monster due to her estranged relationship with her mother, and in the comics she is a mess trying to figure out her destiny.

—Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours: This happens during her breakdown in The Show and again in The Search. What’s significant about this symptom is that it can disappear entirely when under less stressful conditions, making Azula’s hallucinations and delusions much more in-line with BPD than, say, schizophrenia.

—Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship: Azula is a calculating person and doesn’t engage in such risky behaviors usually. After her breakdown she gets increasingly impulsive and erratic, but as this could be true of anyone after a psychotic break, it’s not necessarily symptomatic. What makes it more likely is that her more erratic and risky behavior continues on into the comics.

—Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to fear of separation or rejection: While Azula never makes such threats, she does act suicidally after the rejection of her brother and two friends. She almost dies going after Zuko and agrees to an Agni Kai when she can barely stand.

—Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety: After her breakdown, this becomes common for her.

—Ongoing feelings of emptiness: Very much so, as demonstrated by her argument with “mirror Ursa” in The Show, culminating in her sobbing alone in a nearly empty palace.

—Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights: Azula’s anger is usually much better controlled than, say, her brother. After her breakdown she loses this control. But even discounting the psychotic break, Azula is often sarcastic and sometimes bitter, especially regarding the topic of family.

—BPD is more commonly diagnosed in women and correlated with higher intelligence: Not really diagnostic, but it is interesting.

Conclusion: Azula fits every symptom at least partially. It’s a distinct possibility she suffers from BPD, which would explain the intense emotions (and suffering) she goes through, as people with BPD are prone to feel emotional pain very strongly to the point of suicidality. This is likely a symptom of abuse, as Azula has had to keep her feelings tightly controlled to protect herself from her abusive father, who has shown what he does to those who display weakness. As such, she hasn’t actually developed emotional regulation, and the lack of proper healthy attachment with either of her parents in childhood has left her with deep psychological insecurities that affect her ability to form and keep relationships despite being otherwise charismatic and highly capable of empathizing with others.

However, there is a complication. Other conditions (such as CPTSD) can masquerade as BPD. But unlike BPD which is a lifelong condition etched into your very developmental neurology, CPTSD is more treatable, and it is possible for symptoms to reduce heavily or even desist altogether in some cases.

The best we can say is that BPD is the most likely personality disorder for Azula to have. If indeed she has one at all.

#avatar #Atla #avatar the last airbender #Azula #Azula Diagnosis Masterpost

[nowis-scales]

🔥for Fates? (Hard mode: nothing involving all the bad faith criticism)

🔥 The Xander and Camilla relationship is probably the most interesting relationship between any of the Nohrian royal siblings, but because it interferes with the notion that the Nohrian royal family is always super close-knit and found family-vibed, it goes underexplored.

I mean, in fairness, I get it — lots of FE fans all have their different family situations. There isn’t anything wrong with indulging in the fluffy, soft parts of a family dynamic, particularly if you don’t have a family that does what a family is supposed to do. However, I do think that when you’re looking at the family members as characters, it’s good to acknowledge all parts of their dynamics, because that’s what makes them versatile and fun and honestly, more human. Xander and Camilla’s relationship has a lot of intrigue beyond being just the stand-in parents, and I think that can get overlooked sometimes. Even if their pasts are acknowledged, their connections to each other beyond those roles goes unthought of.

In my opinion, it’s honestly really crucial to their relationship that Camilla thinks Xander isn’t that invested. Not because he actually doesn’t care, but because it speaks to Camilla’s perception of the entire family dynamic, as well as their childhood. I mean, think about it: all of these kids were set against each other in the Concubine Wars. Camilla is implied to have been one of the more brutal ones, because her mother was a fucking bitch especially concerned with being queen, and she would only dole out affection to Camilla if she were to kill her way to the top. We know that Camilla is not a truly vicious, nasty person — but what would Xander be to her, at that time? He’s the firstborn child, the one who holds the position that all of the other children want. He would be a point of envy for his effortlessness at being the “ideal”, but at the same time, he would have to be ruthless enough on his own as well to survive having a target on his back. Did that never build any sort of resentment in Camilla or the other children like her, who couldn’t get a sliver of love from their mothers? Is that what influences their relationship to this day? Xander is distant, yes, but how far does this measure of not caring go? In the core story, we see much of Xander proving himself to be caring. So what about her relationship to Xander speaks of this?

It’s also worth considering that one thing that gets erased from the English version a lot is that Xander and Camilla aren’t just loving older siblings with vaguely more-adult-than-you roles — they’re parentified. The concubines were awful mothers, Katerina died young, Arete died young and distant from them, and Garon’s been forcibly overtaken by a dragon god. This last little remaining sliver of siblings has no one else, and with how young and/or naïve Corrin, Elise, and Leo all come out to be, it’s natural that they would want to pick up on what they didn’t have in hopes that their siblings would come out better for it on the other side. But again, that influences Xander and Camilla’s relationship because they’re not just brother and sister, they’re actively parenting the other kids together. It’s extraordinarily unfair, and while Camilla is doing it out of a desire for no one to feel alone as she did, she might not understand that Xander, too, is hiding a lot of himself and understands the depths of her and everyone else’s pain. She thinks he’s being distant for the kingdom, something she doesn’t care about because she doesn’t want to rule, because that’s the greatest middle finger she can give to her mother — to not care. She might even think of him as being somewhat like Garon, loving them but not really knowing them, and being okay with that despite how damaging it is. There is no doubt in my mind that Xander and Camilla love each other, but I think what’s interesting is that this support shows they may not get each other entirely yet. There’s a lot from their respective childhoods that could still be kicking around, even with that love, and I feel like it could be so interesting to dismantle.

Is it all rosy and joyful like these poor people deserve? No, but it’s worthy of confronting for their power as characters and for the sake of their healing.

#unsuspecting-person asks #I just think… these two genuinely do care for each other but there HAS to be some scars of that childhood there #Even with their agreed choice to make things better for their sibbies

[telumendils]

Sweet Release (Zevran x nb!Cousland)

Title: Sweet Release  Pairing: Zevran Arainai x nonbinary!Cousland Warden  Themes: Hurt/Comfort  Summary: Zevran offers the Warden a massage. It doesn’t go as planned. 

“Tsk. Look at you.” Zevran stood from his place by the fire, moving into Elspeth’s path as she approached from the other side of camp. 

“What?” Elspeth stopped, blinking distractedly. 

“Your weary stance, the dark circles under your eyes. Poor thing, all this constant walking has gotten to you. Do you know what you need?” Zevran arched a brow. 

“A horse?” she offered dryly as she rubbed the back of her neck. It had been a long day of walking, to be fair—and Elspeth’s muscles had been wound taut ever since she left Highever, never mind how rough her sleep had been. 

“Mmm, I’m thinking more drastic measures are called for, in fact.” He gestured for her to move with him away from the fire and she followed, curious. “My thought is this: We retire to my tent and I show you the sort of massage skills one only learns growing up in an Antivan brothel.” 

It took a moment, then Elspeth flushed. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?” 

“If you mean to ask whether or not there might be more than a massage involved...” Zevran smiled, bowing his head slightly. “Allow me simply to say that you won’t be disappointed with any of the techniques I’ve picked up over the years.” 

Elspeth hesitated, rouge still coloring her cheeks. “Are you sure about this?” 

Zevran chuckled. “What is there to fear, my Grey Warden? You deserve a little fun, do you not? If you’re not of a mind, however, it is no tragedy.” 

“No, I...think perhaps I am of a mind—” 

“Then why are we still talking?” 

“—for a massage, anyway. I don’t know about the rest.” She wanted that much to be clear before she went anywhere near his tent. For his part, Zevran’s smile did not falter. He simply nodded his understanding. 

“But of course. That will be entirely up to you, dear Warden.” Zevran placed a guiding hand on the small of Elspeth’s back and her heart shivered nervously. “Either way, you will not regret the experience, I assure you.” As they reached his tent, he moved to draw it open, gesturing for her to crawl inside. 

She felt the confidence draining out of her as soon as she did. The space was expectedly small but also heavy with Zevran’s scent; that spicy combination of herbs and well-kept leather she’d grown used to while training with him now served to assault her senses. It wasn’t bad—in fact she even liked it—but it did set her nerves on edge in ways she didn’t quite understand. 

“There.” Zevran let the tent fall closed behind him so the only light came from a single lantern hanging overhead. “It is good for us to have some privacy, no?” He tilted his head to the side, pale hair swaying with the movement. Elspeth nodded and he turned to fish something out of his bag. “I will need you to remove your tunic, along with...anything you may have underneath.” He glanced her way with a smirk, then handed her a blanket. “Make yourself comfortable while I gather my things.” 

“Right. Of course. Thanks.” Careful to avoid knocking the lantern, Elspeth stripped down to just her trousers and pulled the blanket over her as she moved to lay face down on the bedroll. She kept an eye on Zevran as she did so, instinctively covering herself until she was laying down, but his eyes remained fixed on a small selection of vials in his hands the entire time. “I’m, um. Ready when you are.” 

“Excellent.” Zevran selected a vial and turned to kneel beside her. “Shall we begin?” Elspeth nodded and rested her head on her bunched up tunic. “Try to relax, my dear. Think peaceful thoughts.” He folded the blanket down, exposing her back to a slight chill, then paused. 

Elspeth shivered. All at once, she remembered the burn scar mottling the back of her left shoulder and running down her side. She’d grown so used to it being there it hadn’t crossed her mind to be self-conscious until that moment. Then Zevran brushed the tips of his fingers down her side, barely grazing the scarred tissue. 

“Does it pain you?” he asked. 

“No,” Elspeth replied, though it was not exactly true. “Not anymore.” While the wound itself had long since healed over, its presence was a constant reminder of what she’d lost. She had been marked that last night in Highever, and the scars ran deep. Some days she could ignore that her body had been irrevocably changed. Other days she felt as if it wasn’t even her body at all, but something heavy and ill-fitted like her armor at the start of the Blight. “If it offends you—” 

“Not at all,” Zevran cut her off, rolling his sleeves up to the elbow. She watched the lamplight flicker on the slant of his forearms. “In fact, I have more than a few rather impressive scars of my own, as you may soon discover.” He winked at her, and Elspeth felt the knot in her chest loosen slightly. Strange, how the assassin who’d once tried to take her life now managed to set her at ease in her nakedness, even as she flushed at the suggestion. 

“You really are a terrible flirt,” Elspeth said, smiling slightly. 

“On the contrary, my dear Warden, I believe I am an excellent flirt.” He removed the vial’s cork and dumped a generous amount of oil into his palm before setting it aside. Rubbing his hands together, he gave her an encouraging nod. “Now, as I said: Try to relax. Close your eyes. Trust me, if you dare.” 

Elspeth snorted but did as directed, letting her eyes flutter closed as she rested her cheek on the pillow of her tunic. A few short months ago, she never would have allowed him to get her in such a vulnerable position—but Zevran had risked his life for hers enough times now that she firmly believed he meant her no harm. Besides, he could have killed her a hundred times over if he really wanted to. But he hadn’t. 

And so Elspeth trusted him, even if her body hadn’t quite caught up with her yet, shrinking slightly from his initial touch. Zevran murmured something comforting in Antivan and she tried to focus on his intonation, calm and gentle. His hands were warm and strong and surprisingly soft considering his skill with daggers. He must care for them, she thought idly, and made a mental note to ask him how. Her own hands were a mess of blisters and callouses with how hard she’d been training. 

But for now she would try not to think about that, nor the world resting squarely on her shoulders. She was supposed to be relaxing, after all. Zevran did his part to ensure that she would, working his fingers and thumbs into the stiff muscles of her back in slow, languid circles and long, sweeping strokes. 

Slowly, Elspeth’s mind seemed to drift and detach from her body, though she could still feel the gentle pressure of Zevran’s hands working to soothe her rattled nerves. In truth, she’d never been touched this way before by anyone, and the intimacy of it was not lost on her. The vulnerability. She tried to think happy thoughts, but all her happy memories had been tainted, like her blood—colored over in shades of grief. Death and loss were all she’d known for months, each day more violent to her than the last. 

It was difficult for Elspeth not to feel like she’d lost a piece of herself to every kill, starting with her failure to protect her family. She didn’t know how to harden her heart to such things without losing even more. It seemed her only option was to grieve every poor soul whose life she’d taken alongside everything she had lost. 

The tears came with little warning, trickling quietly from beneath fluttering amber lashes as Zevran worked his thumbs along the slope of her spine. Elspeth inhaled sharply at the sudden burning behind her eyes, the flush of discomforting heat rushing through her. She hoped Zevran wouldn’t notice in the dim light, but he paused nonetheless. 

“Is anything wrong, my dear?” he asked, a note of concern coloring his typically more flippant tone. “Am I causing you pain?” 

“N-no. I just—” Elspeth broke off, turning her face to sob into the crumpled fabric of her tunic. Hands which had lingered on her back disappeared and she shivered at the sudden cold they left behind. She had no explanation for this sudden outpouring of emotion, except perhaps that it had been waiting months to happen, and Zevran had been the unfortunate soul who tapped into it. 

Not that it seemed to bother him. Within seconds, he gathered Elspeth into his arms, stroking her hair and murmuring soft reassurances. She tried to apologize only to be silenced with a gentle, “Hush, amora. We must let ourselves feel in moments like this.” It was enough for her to curl up against him, weeping quietly as he held her. 

The shadows on the tent walls grew deep as evening melted into night. Elspeth cried until she felt as if a dragon had scorched her insides dry. Exhausted, it didn’t really matter to her that she was still half-naked in Zevran’s tent. Sleep came for her anyway, too quick and quiet to resist. 

#dragon age fanfic #dragon age #zevwarden #zevwarden week #dragon age origins #zevran arainai #warden cousland #nb!cousland #zevran x warden #zevran x cousland #da #dao #bee writes. #muse: elspeth cousland. #elspeth writings. #i started writing this four whole ass months ago alskdfjaslkdf #i don't THINK it's long enough to need a read more but #long post #just in case

[earthling-wolf]

Unseelie: disagreeable Fi

Selective Approval & Devotion

The unseelie attitude will be constantly and unconsciously pinging their emotional register for how they feel about everything; responding with reactions of either affection or acute repulsion. They will be disgust-sensitive, carrying a very specific emotional and aesthetic palate with them; registering things as either tasteful or "gross." They will not be afraid to call something unethical or revolting by its rightful name and will make their opinion known with no apology. Unlike the seelie attitude who is willing to be generous towards people and situations --seeking to highlight the beauty beneath things-- the unseelie person feels there is no excuse for something unseemly, amoral or cruel that doesn’t deserve to be excused. However, this may cause them to appear highly selective and difficult to please. They may develop a reputation as being standoffish or cold. They may be misunderstood as being ill-willed when they are instead merely standing for what they value and for what they consider good. Guarded at first, the unseelie attitude will be a very gentle and sweet presence to all those that can get past their initial barriers, revealing themselves to be a loyal and ever-honest friend.

Self-Focus & Idiosyncrasy

The unseelie person will be self-possessed, righteously independent and will exhibit that in their lifestyle through unusual habits and appearances. They will dress in ways that encapsulate their own individuality, having little regard for how aligned it is to the cultural norm. Unafraid to be seen as bizarre, the unseelie person is eccentric, idiosyncratic, and bold. Focusing on their own needs and values first, these adamant non-conformists will fight for their right to their body, their gender and their expression. Like a rose behind glass --poised, elegant but protected-- they may elicit the feeling of being ever out of reach. And while the unseelie individual may enjoy this adulation, they are not primarily motivated by it. Their conscious goal may be to simply allow their existing nature --or nature itself-- to speak through them; becoming a vessel or vehicle for what is already inside. If they takes a liking for theater, music or dance, their illustrations will be dramatic, carrying themes of sexuality, primal displays and romance.

Bluntness

The unseelie type is notoriously blunt in their verbal delivery. Not beating around the bush, they will convey their opinion with a deadpan face. Wonderful or bad news alike may be relayed with the same monotone voice or with a glimmer of sarcasm. They may have no problem telling someone they're fired, telling a lover their relationship is over, or giving negative criticism on people's works or art. But this can eventually expand into a highly calloused view of life where any appreciation for sensitivity is omitted. They may respond to the tragedies or hardship of others with "get over it" and lack any sympathy for themselves or anyone else. Over time this habit may excommunicate them from friend groups --a causality they may feel indifferent to initially, but personally weighed by later. They may be branded the local "asshole", shrugging it off or biting back in equal measure. Hiding behind this rebellious front, the unseelie person may have lost the ability to convey their transparent feelings to others when it truly matters to them. They will struggle with vulnerability and the opening of their heart. Coming off as guarded even when they intend to appear sincere, the unseelie person may be forced to show their affection for others through indirect means; being highly generous with their time, money or resources and hoping their feelings can somehow reach the other person.

-Under Stress

Vanity & Self-Obsession

When highly distressed, the unseelie attitude becomes obsessed with their appearance, social status and personal value. As hardships cause devastation to their self-esteem, it starts to matter terribly that others think them beautiful and valuable too. What was once genuine self-expression becomes a necessary channel for attention. Their self-focus deteriorates into vanity. Their desire to embody beauty becomes an obsession to receive external approval and to fill an emotional abyss. They may come to feel they only matter if they are beautiful and can be an embodiment of elegance in the world. They may become exhibitionists, raising the stakes higher and being more revealing than most in their attire and words. Narcissism begins to grow in them, which can progress into a desire to be exalted and adored as royalty. But unfortunately, one is never enough; never beautiful enough, rich enough or important enough. This eventually devolves into jealousy, bitterness, and petty hatred towards others who sit higher than them in any competing domain.

Bitchiness

This pettiness degrades over time into an altogether foul character marked by passive-aggressiveness, slandering and prejudice. Here, the stressed individual exemplifies genuine malicious intent towards others, coordinating underhanded tactics to sabotage relationships and defame their enemies. They may gossip behind their backs, distorting people's opinions and setting people up for public humiliation. The unseelie type under stress comes to be known as a "bitch" or snob; rejecting people based on lower status and power. They will use these tactics to secure their position in power, simultaneously validating their opinion of themselves. But this power dynamic may just as easily backfire and cause the unseelie type to become the subject of ridicule and excommunication when their ill-willed motivations are made known. They plays a dangerous game of fraud and fame, risking love and reputation. Yet deep down they may be indifferent to these outcomes, being motivated not just by a desire for status but just as much by a misanthropic view and resentment towards people.

Morbidity & Macabre

But an unseelie attitude never loses its ability to glare directly into the character of living beings, including themselves. More than anyone, they may become painfully aware of how their life stress, disenchantment and bitterness has corrupted their heart into a thrashing, injured, disfigured life-form. Like the seelie attitude, they intrinsically understand humanity to be animal in nature and when injuries have distorted their hearts, they will view themselves as a certain kind of monster --one that is wretched, desperate and irredeemable. But not only them, the unseelie type peers into the depths of our human carnality and finds every grotesquerie imaginable. And they will often choose to embody this into art-forms through the use of morbidity and macabre. The art of the unseelie person may be deeply offensive, shocking, explicit and saturated with horror themes as they seek to paint as undiluted an image as possible of what they sense constitutes the uncensored reality of being. Often disturbingly sexual, frightening and taboo -- they shy not away from any content matter; wanting to capture pain, sorrow, heartbreak, hopelessness and every human experience in as true a form as can exist. Bizarre as it may seem, in this act the unseelie individual is fulfilling their original mission of providing a transparent lens into the human soul. All that we shun and repress becomes the content matter for unseelieness to elucidate.

#Cognitive Typology #Emotional Attitude #Unseelie #Disagreeableness #Introverted Feeling #ISFP #INFP #ESFP #ENFP #INTJ #ISTJ #ENTJ #ESTJ #Selective Approval #Selective Devotion #Self-Focus #Idiosyncrasy #Bluntness #Vanity #Self-Obsession #Bitchiness #Morbidity #Macabre