#youre telling me the main female lead gets assaulted as a major point of her every formative experience

[yeahhiyellow]

19, 22 and 23? :^)

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Tbh there are a lot of things I hate, although by this point it's only very certain parts of the fandom that have these problems, since most of the shitty people have lost interest by this point. If I had to choose just one thing though, it'd be the overwhelming focus on white, male characters over female and/or characters of color. And there are a lot of areas where this shows up. One major example is that a lot of people like the idea of Connor, Hank, Gavin, and Nines (all white, male characters, mind you) staying at the DPD even after:

The DPD was the one (along with Cyberlife) responsible for the deaths, arrests, and brutal treatment of androids, the main oppressed group in the game's world

Connor and Nines are a part of that oppressed group, and at least Hank is shown in game to support them

Connor has already worked at the DPD and was routinely called an "it" (which as someone who is nonbinary and has been called "it" knows how insulting that can be and understands the need to get away from situations where that happens), was allowed to be sent to his death by, and was routinely harassed and nearly murdered, or in some playthroughs actually murdered, by workers at the DPD (*ahem Gavin ahem*)

Hank (if he is your friend) risked his career just to cause a distraction for Connor to keep him alive

Just because the android revolution was successful doesn't mean the DPD was going to follow that. I mean, the androids were heavily compared to African Americans in this game, and we all know how the current police system treats them (and if you don't, pay attention to the news, like, ever. Also read Jim Crow as that book is very informative on the oppression of blacks in the entire incarceration system as well as before and after that)

So I hope it would be pretty obvious to any sane person that suggesting these characters would join/remain in the DPD after everything is offensive on all sorts of levels.

In addition to that, you also have some people saying that they only cared about Connor's story, or that his was the only good one. The female protagonist that risks her own life several times to save that of a child (no matter if she is human or android)? Not important. The (half) black protagonist who is shot by police, has to rebuild himself, and leads his own people to freedom? Who cares? The only important story to these people is the white, male, cop android who spends most of his time hunting down the good guys. And if some people honestly prefer Connor's story because of their own reasons, that's fine. And yes, Kara and Markus's stories have lots of problems. But Connor's does too, and none of this gives people an excuse to ignore the other characters, especially since they are the minority characters. Then, there are also the people who say Connor's machine path was better than his deviant path, or that him being replaced by Nines in the end was unfair. And... what the fuck??? I mean, I get it, it's fun to play through different options, and Connor is hella badass in the machine path. But he is also hella badass in the deviant path (killing the guards in the elevator, possibly the team at the bottom if he doesn't catch the security camera, fighting Sixty, walking in front of all the androids he freed, like, come on), and he also, like, has morals and isn't oppressive??? In the machine route, he kills his own people, including those who just want to be free and might have been completely pacifist the entire way through. So I'm sorry, anyone who thinks his machine path is better is just looking for an excuse to be oppressive without openly admitting it.

Then there's the Gavin apologizers. While fanon Gavin is awesome, some people have way overstepped the line of redemption and allowing oppression. I've seen posts defending Gavin's in-game behavior, just because he refers to androids as "he" on occasion. This is despite:

Suggesting "roughing up," or being violent to Shaolin (the HK400 in "The Interrogation")

Insulting his partner, Chris, when he doesn't forcibly move Shaolin against Shaolin's will

Pointing a gun at Connor after Connor rightfully says to stop touching Shaolin for both succeeding the mission and for Shaolin's sake, and only stepping down after Hank points a gun at him and even after insults Connor

Punching Connor right in the thirium pump regulator and then pushing his head right where his LED is in the break room if Connor refuses to get him a coffee

Insulting and threatening Connor in the same scene even if Connor follows all of his demands

Insulting Hank's alcoholism in the Eden Club "it's starting to stink of booze in here"

Purposely pushing Connor to the side in the same scene

Trying to literally murder Connor and admitting he'd wanted to kill him ever since he first saw Connor, sometimes successfully

Both physically and verbally assaulting Connor

I forgive very easily and strongly believe in redemption, don't get me wrong. But trying to excuse Gavin's behaviors is so inexcusable, especially when most of his aggressions are towards androids, the oppressed minority.

Now, let's look at Ao3, shall we? Let's see how many fics posted there are with each of the "main" (including Gavin and Nines since even though they are not main characters in canon they are in fanon) characters... (also, keep in mind, I gathered this data about a month ago so it might not be completely up to date):

Connor: 16,150

Markus: 5,395

Kara: 1,504

Hank: 13,135

Nines: 9,807

Gavin: 9,939

Amanda: 1,177

Chloe: 1,521

North: 3,056

Simon: 3,192

Josh: 1,965

Alice: 1,098

Luther: 848

Rose: 193

This means that certain characters get unequal amounts of attention:

White: 59,042

Black: 9,578

Male: 60,431

Female: 8,549

White, Male: 52,223

White, Female: 7,179

Black, Male: 8,208

Black, Female: 1,370

Well, this says a lot. Now, some people reading this might realize that there are more white and male characters to begin with, so it could be fair even with their numbers being higher. So, okay, let's see the average amount of works a single character in each of the above categories would have (so divide each of the values by the number of characters in that category) (also I rounded to the tenth place aka first decimal point):

White: 6,560.2

Black: 1,915.6

Male: 7,553.9

Female: 1,424.8

White, Male: 10,444.6

White, Female: 1,794.8

Black, Male: 2,736

Black, Female: 685

If anything, these are even more telling. And if you don't believe me, look on Ao3 and calculate these yourself, because you'll get the same thing.

To be clear, I don't have anything against Connor, Hank, or any of the white and/or male characters. I even like the way that the fandom has redeemed Gavin. But the fandom has not done the same job of redeeming other characters, especially the minority ones, and pays way less attention to them, and that needs to be called out with evidence by someone.

Anyway, I spent a LONG time on that first question, so I'll try to make the next answers shorter!

22. Popular character you hate?

There aren't any popular characters that I thoroughly hate. The only characters I hate are ones that are already highly unpopular (Todd, Zlatko, Perkins). If we're talking canon characters, I do hate Gavin with a flaming passion. I mean, he is meant to represent police brutality. But fanon Gavin is cool with me, so I'm not sure exactly how much this counts.

There is one semi-popular character that I dislike though, and that is Kamski. I'm half-counting him again because within the fandom there are very mixed opinions. I personally dislike him mainly because of his treatment of one of his Chloe's: he is willing to let her get shot in the head and killed just to find a dumb answer to his Kamski test just because he feels like it. If Connor doesn't shoot Chloe, he tells Connor he's deviant, knowing full well that Amanda and Cyberlife are watching being the one to design the program, endangering Connor. While he arguably is responsible for deviancy and wants androids to succeed, that doesn't make up for those facts.

Another character that half-counts is Daniel. There are mixed opinions within the fandom on him as well, with some arguing that he is only wanting to not get replaced and protect himself. However, since his first response was to kill the dad, and then he proceeded to shoot at least 3 more cops, killing 2, and hold Emma, the young girl he had been friends with for years hostage, even though she had nothing to do with his replacement. You can't argue that he didn't want to kill Emma and only used her as protection for himself, either, as there are multiple endings where he tries and sometimes succeeds in killing Emma, even when he is also killing himself. I'm not closed to a redemption arc for him, but his in-game actions are inexcusable. He's the one deviant who truly has no valid defense for his actions.

23. Unpopular character you love?

There are a few. I absolutely adore North, Josh, Adam, and Alice, even though the fandom has conflicted opinions on them. Then again, none of these characters are really considered unpopular, just not as popular as others with a select few that don't like them. With North, I've been in this fandom since a few months after its release, when there was a lot of North hatred, and was actually in a group called the North Protection Squad lol. However, now most people like her, and she's really grown in popularity. With Josh, it's less that he's hated, and more that he's ignored. People say that Simon was the peaceful option when he was really the neutral, and recently I've seen more people against Josh's opinions on the revolution. While I don't always agree with Josh being so passive and undemanding (neither do I agree with North's violence), he's still an awesome character with some very valid points. Then, I do understand why some people dislike Adam, as at first he's against androids and almost reveals Kara and the others. However, if you meet him at the border crossing, he apologizes to Kara and changes his mind, promising to help androids. While he may start out scared and not on the right side, he does have a good heart and ends up making the right decisions in the end. With Alice, I haven't seen many people hate her, either, although I have seen some saying she's annoying and lacks a personality. I agree that she lacks a personality, although I argue that's the writers' faults rather than her character's (as are problems with other characters, I mean David Cage wrote this so what were we expecting). I also don't think she's annoying, as after all she is only 9 (in human terms), doesn't admit she's an android because she's scared Kara will reject her (and Kara actually can reject her for being an android, leaving her completely on her own in a world that wants her dead. Also, living her whole life with Todd can absolutely not help her feel more secure with who she is or make her trust Kara to still love her for it), and she is only cold and feels sick because her model of android is literally designed to replicate human sickness and discomfort (and it's clear she doesn't know how to turn them off, because even after Kara knows she's an android Kara still has to help Alice not feel cold anymore. Also, this is November in Detroit, in which the average temperature is 42°F (5.6°C). There are also scenes where it is snowing, meaning the temperature is below freezing. Still, despite the temperatures, in some scenes not having a coat, and feeling sick, she says Kara and Luther can't stop because of her, risks her life to save Kara's if you fail QTEs, and says she's "fine" even when she's cold to comfort Kara. So if you think she can be annoying, yeah, all 9-year-olds can be. But if you think she's annoying enough to actually hate her, idek what to say).

In terms of characters that are really unpopular, I actually like Leo. His actions at first are inexcusable. I mean, accusing Carl of loving an android more than hin, insulting Markus and treating him as less than human, threatening him, breaking into Carl's house and attempting to steal his paintings for drug money, and framing Markus for Carl's death leading to him getting shot and nearly killed are obviously not okay things to do. However, he is clearly on drugs, specifically red ice, the most dangerous drug in the world. Also, if you decide to push Markus leading Carl to still be alive, when you return to Carl's house, you can find a message Leo sent to Carl in which he apologizes for everything and promises it won't happen again. In the extras section, you also find out Carl missed out on Leo's whole childhood, only first meeting him once he was much older. Given that Carl spends all of his days pleasantly conversing with Markus while ignoring Leo, not calling him, only talking to Leo once he comes around himself, and doesn't even argue when Leo says Carl doesn't love him, it's almost fair that Leo thinks the way he does. Since he's also high on drugs throughout the story, at least up until Markus gets shot, we also know that the Leo we see isn't the real Leo. Later, if Carl is dead and Markus visits his grave, he encounters Leo again. This time, when Leo sees Markus he is only shocked. Now, off of red ice, not only is he going to see Carl's grave, expressing love for his father, he also doesn't try to hurt Markus, insult him, or anything mean or dehumanizing. His expression lacks any signs of aggression. It was only when he was high that he was such an asshole. Although that doesn't excuse his behavior, it does give a reason for it, and by the end I consider him redeemed.

~~~

Wow... that was a long response to a very short ask. No need to read all that (although I would highly suggest reading my first answer, at least, since that does contain some very relevant points). Although then again, if you've made it here, you've probably already read all that. In which case I would love to hear your opinions if you're willing to share (as well as anyone who sees this!) I guess I just had a lot of opinions that I needed to put out in the world lol, so thank you sm for the ask!!!!! 💛💛💛

#dbh #dbh meta #dbh analysis #my opinions #asks #detroit: become human #racism #misogyny #abuse

[mewhiphand]

Drake analysis for his birthday!

Long post, part 1 of 2! Feel free to share your thoughts!

Drake analysis;

*WARNING : MAJOR spoilers for the Gone series and Monster series, discussions of child abuse, misogynistic mindsets, victim blaming, discussion of torture, sexual assault and rape*

This is a general analysis of Drake's character, focusing mostly on scenes from GONE and HUNGER (where he, arguably, has the most autonomy). If there any specific scenes or books you'd like me to take a look at, please let me know! :)

1| Pre-Coates Drake (overview)

Drake was already showing worrying signs, even before the FAYZ (and before he got sent to Coates); it's mentioned that he found enjoyment in microwaving a puppy and burning frogs. Either this was done covertly until the Holden incident, was done at Coates, or was ignored by his family (likely the former).

This tells us a couple of things:

A. His family may neglect or ignore him (or he ignores them)

Torturing these animals, a strange hobby as it is, does require time and commitment. This distance from his parents during his formative years could create antisocial tendencies and isolation from his 'loved ones'.

B. His sadistic tendencies developed before the death of his father and his mother's remarriage (more on that later).

However, Drake didn't start hurting people until he shot the "neighbour's kid, Holden" who "liked to come over and annoy him".

This short description gives us an insight into Drake's short leash on himself: his temper and impulses are hard to control, and he's aggravated to the point of almost committing murder at a young age (he was 14 in Gone, so this could have been at any age before then) - the book tells us that despite only being shot in the leg by Drake with a .22, "even then, he'd nearly died".

This was the incident that got Drake sent to Coates (a boarding school for mostly "rich", messed-up kids) - this could also clue us into how Drake didn't appear to be legally punished for shooting Holden, as his family might have been well-off (implying they'd rather just buy the victim's silence and ship Drake away rather than deal with his issues on their own, or get a private therapist - or perhaps they believe it's out of their hands?).

However, this is based on assumptions and not solid ground.

2 | Drake and his father.

Drake was taught to shoot by his father, a Highway Patrol lieutenant, using his service pistol. This formed an integral part of who he became, and they now had something in common -

"Don't shoot a person," his father had said. But then he relented, relieved no doubt to find something he could share with his disturbing son."

Despite his father being wary of Drake's early sadistic tendencies, he seemed to be the person that Drake was closest to, and his death affected him majorly. As perhaps the only person who even slightly understood him or sought to find something to do with him, his father's death appeared to be a pivotal moment for Drake - it signalled the end of any sense of a positive male role model in Drake's life, as his mother's next husband was abusive. This would cause him to seek out "strong", violent, dominant men when he was older.

The most likely timeline in my opinion is :

•Drake develops sadistic tendencies

•Drake's father dies

•Drake's mother remarries

•Drake shoots Holden and is sent to Coates

3 | Drake and his stepfather and mother

There is subtextual information that Drake is abused by his stepfather: "the beatings he'd suffered, and the much more numerous beating he had delivered, the pleasure he had found in burning frogs and microwaving a puppy and drawing all those endless loving pictures of weapons, spears, knives, torture devices, all of it, all the hatreds, all the burning lust, all the madness and rage.."

"But he was always a troubled boy. Especially after my son died. The stepfather...young Drake’s stepfather..." - Drake Merwin Sr to Connie temple

To digress :

This small passage in Plague and Sr's speech in Light gives us leagues of information.

Drake is drawn to things that cause pain, he's sickly fascinated with all kinds of weapons, "torture devices" (cleverly hinted at in Hunger, when he's watching Saw II), and the true depth of his emotions are revealed - along with a great deal of self-awareness.

Drake doesn't lack emotion - he's incredibly emotional. The things he does feel (rage, lust, joy) seem to be felt deeper, as if his lack of empathy amplifies the rest of his spectrum of emotions. Drake is also aware of what he feels - the "burning lust" mentioned is especially important to understanding Drake - the misogynistic hatred of Astrid and Diana stems from his apparent inability to distinguish between sexual attraction and causing pain (again, his sadistic desires)

The two are one, in Drake's mind.

[More on that later*]

But where did the misogynist mindset come from in the first place?

The answer lies in Drake's home life following the death of his father.

Drake's mother remarried - but his stepfather was an abusive man, leading to an incredibly toxic relationship. Drake, in his youth, already having the urge to hurt and kill, was exposed to that kind of extreme violence. Drake's stepfather beat his mother in front of him, and because his mother seemingly took actions to antagonise him enough to beat her, Drake (with the mindset of a child, who may have already seen it as a betrayal by his mother to remarry after his father's death)

concluded that she did it deliberately because she liked it.

This misconstruction and victim-blaming set in place a cycle of violence that would form Drake's victim-perpetrator mindset. [*]

It could also imply that Drake's mother's actions of irritating his stepfather directly impacted Drake himself: his stepfather took out his anger on his stepson, and beat Drake too.

This could stand to reason as another explanation why Drake's hatred of women developed - lacking positive female role models and maternal figures in his life led to distance from women, and led him to think that all women were intrinsically weak, irritating and masochistic in their desires.

(This would establish a sadistic-masochistic dynamic that Drake believed all woman [for some, like Astrid, secretly] wanted / partook in, and fuel the idea that women were weak and cowardly as his mother failed to protect him from her husband's violence.)

With a stunted, childish psyche, Drake lost sight of the real issue - the fact that his stepfather was abusive - and directed his anger at someone "safe" and "easy" to hate- his mother, whom he victim-blamed.

We can infer that Drake's childhood was filled with uncertainty and violence, and therefore he sought out control as a way to find a sense of stability in his life, and linked violence with strength and power - therefore, he won't recognise any authority that doesn't use violence as the main way to achieve its aims (hence why he's so gleeful when Caine "is lowered to his level" by using violence, and Drake himself only exercises power through shows of violence and using fear as a means of control - he has no sense of loyalty)

The build-up of resentment at his mother would explode, but not at its original target - at Drake's two known objects of sexual attraction in the FAYZ, Astrid and Diana [who will be addressed separately, as their treatments differ in some aspects. In this post I believe I'll only be addressing Diana, but if you want the full Astrid post comment I guess!]

4| Drake and Diana

A.

Drake fears humiliation - mainly, from the female population. In Gone, Drake comments on this :

"He felt a moment of panic then...He would look like a fool if he didn't get [Astrid]."

"Drake cursed and, again, for just a moment, felt the almost desperate fear of failing Caine. He wasn't worried what Caine would do to him - after all, Caine needed him- but he knew if he failed to carry out Caine's orders, Diana would laugh."

What Drake hates about Diana here is her ability to make him feel humiliated, weak, powerless, a failure - everything he's bound to have felt in his childhood when he couldn't protect his mother or himself against his stepfather. He craves the feeling of power over others, and loathes the feeling of helplessness. We can see that he's aware that Caine uses him and needs him to act as a threat, and he accepts this for now, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing him, but his real fear is being publicly seen as weak and being laughed at, which drives him to do anything to succeed in Caine's eyes and, in his own words, "wipe the smirk off Diana's face"

B.

"Drake had made time to check out Diana's psych file the day after the FAYZ came. But her file had been missing by then. In its place she had left Drake's file lying open on the doc's desk and drawn a little smiley face beside the word "sadist".

Drake had already hated her. But after that, hating Diana had become a full-time occupation."

Diana humiliates Drake, and gains power over him by knowing information about his mental state. Drake, who had the same idea to gain power over Diana, is infuriated and his hatred of her, once a burning ember, is now a raging volcano. We can see that Drake doesn't fear that Diana will hurt him psychically, but emotionally by provoking and humiliating him.

C.

"To Drake's disgust, Caine accepted Diana's back-talk."

Diana has power over Caine that Drake can't hope to accomplish, due to the fact that Caine is attracted to her. Caine's desire of Diana outweighs any loyalty or comradeship he has with Drake. Diana also uses Caine's want for her as a failsafe protection against Drake.

Drake's misogyny shines through here: he sees the fact that Diana is manipulating Caine, and sees how he tolerates it. Drake realises that Diana can get away with much more than Drake himself can - she has more power over Caine than Drake does. And this power, in Drake's eyes, isn't "earned" as it wasn't gained through violence.

Drake disregards any kind of power that isn't earned through pain - this also shows in his hatred of freaks, who he sees as not having "earned" the right to be powerful, and explains his glee at, yes,suffering the pain of his arm being burnt off, but it being replaced by something that enables him to cause pain to others - like a reward for enduring the pain. Drake wants his suffering to mean something, and to gain something from it. Drake wants to be important.

"Go ahead, raise a hand against me, Drake," Diana taunted. "Caine would kill you."

We see another example where Diana uses the threat of Caine to keep Drake in line.

Diana is described as attractive throughout the books by varying characters, and so we infer that Drake finds her attractive, but in his twisted, misognyistic mindset, this is translated to violence. Additionally, he already disliked her so his hatred for Diana is stronger than for any other girl in the FAYZ (even Astrid).

5| Drake and Caine

The foreshadowing of Drake's betrayal

We've established that Drake lacks any sense of loyalty and trust due to a lack of these in his own childhood. Drake also only sees respect as being earned by shows of violence and dominance.

Drake, lacking positive male role models, appears to latch on to Caine, the "most ruthless" of all the boys at Coates, and the most powerful (in a literal sense, with his telekinesis). Caine is mentioned to do small favours for Drake (but, crucially, plays Drake and Diana off against each other [*]), and seemingly gains Drake's initial respect.

Drake, however, seeks to usurp Caine (due to his hatred of freaks, and needing to have a sense of superiority. He also sees Caine as weak and below him for bowing to Diana's demands due to Caine being attracted to her.)

When the Coates trio is first introduced together, in Gone, - "Drake Merwin stood smirking, arms across his chest, on Caine's left, and Diana Ladris watched the crowd from Caine's right"

I'm perhaps guilty of looking too much into this initial description, but I find it interesting - despite being Caine's "right-hand man" and even Drake taunts Diana that he and Caine are "like brothers" (Hunger), Drake stands on his left and Diana on his right.

While this also serves to cement (haha) Caine's role as the 'Fearless Leader', it could also foreshadow Drake's betrayal later in Hunger, and his need to "run the show".

Drake, the Judas figure to Caine's christ [maybe a post on this at some point?*], stands on his left. It also marks Diana as the loyal follower, the one to stay with Caine until the end.

The decimation of Drake and Caine's relations ship culminates in the final events of HUNGER, when Drake almost kills Diana and Caine throws Drake down the mineshaft in revenge and anger.

This marks a shift to Drake's character - he's no longer under Caine's control - but emphasises that his loyalty is now fully to the Gaiaphage, whom he worships for giving him power over others [!!] (the whip hand, which grants him the ability to hurt and kill others, and in LIES, immorality)

We can see that what Drake actually craves is, in GONE: to run things himself, a personal anarchist dream where he can hurt anyone he wants, (and yet he needs a strong male figure behind the scenes to give him motivation), or the illusion of control, found in causing others pain, as he lacks the mental stability and leadership needed to be in control, and he lacks long-term goals beyond revenge and fulfilling his sadistic desires, and is rudderless without a leader (as seen in Monster, where he is "mindlessly killing, torturing and raping anyone he comes across" until he is sought out by Tom Peaks, who gives him motivation)

This is supported by Peaks' comment on this in VILLAIN -

"But along with the sneers, he sensed that Drake was looking for leadership. Drake had no plan, never would have any plan, beyond his next murder."

Drake and his hatred of freaks, and how this impacts his relationship with Caine -

"Drake hated the power. There was only one reason why Caine and not Drake was running the show: Caine's powers."

"But Caine understood that the kids with powers had to be controlled. And once Caine and Diana had all the freaks under control, what was to stop Drake from using his own nine millimetres of magic to take it all for himself?"

Drake always planned to usurp Caine, as he thinks he's too influenced by Diana and due to his hatred of freaks. Drake hates anyone having power over him, and Caine's abilities give him a unique advantage, which Drake loathes.

Caine and Drake - altercations before the betrayal and what they show

"She was your mother and she gave you up and kept Sam?" Drake said, laughing in his enjoyment of Caine's humiliation.

Drake's sadism shines through and he turns entirely reckless in tormenting Caine, his desire to see Caine humiliated outweighing any fear he has of him. For Drake, fulfilling these sadistic urges take precedence over everything - even fear, pain, rage. We can see that he seems to not know when to stop, or chooses to push people past their limits anyways.

Caine responds in physical violence, the language Drake seems to understand - "Something slammed Drake's chest. It was like being hit by a truck. He was lifted off his feet and thrown against the wall."

Drake refuses to be humiliated (in front of Diana, curiously) - "He made himself shake it off. He wanted to jump up and go for Caine, finish him quick before the freak could hit him again. But Caine was there, looming over him, face red, teeth bared, looking like a mad dog."

"Remember who's the boss, Drake," Caine said, his voice low, guttural, like it was coming from an animal."

"Drake nodded, beaten. For now."

This small passage gives us a lot of messages about Drake. He wants to appear strong and vicious, but plays it smart and backs down to avoid the risk of Caine actually killing him. Drake and Caine's dynamic is, crucially, a power struggle at its heart.

However, Drake doesn't give up - he's admirably resilient and persistent in chasing his goals of revenge, and "winning" the power struggle against Caine. He does, at least in GONE, possess a good amount of intelligence and foresight.

Caine (and Diana) being aware of Drake's psychopathy

Caine :

"Drake is a violent, disturbed boy." - Caine to Sam, the gym scene in GONE.

Caine knows of Drake's afflictions, but keeps him around as a lackey to do his dirty work. He also considers himself morally superior to Drake - he remarks that at least he doesn't "get off" on what he does.

Hypocritically, Caine does not see his own actions as being just as damaging, but this is due to his overinflated ego and delusions of grandeur - he believes the ends he wants justifies the means he uses.

Diana :

"Drake is sick in the head. I'm not saying that just to scare you, I'm saying it because it's true...Drake is flat out sick in the head. He could kill her, Sam" - Diana to Sam, the gym scene in GONE.

"Well, that's why we keep Drake around. He enjoys hurting people." - Diana to Astrid, classroom scene in GONE.

Diana shares a similar opinion to Caine - he's mentally unhinged, but Diana recognises the threat he poses to both her and to Caine, and wants him gone.

6| Drake and dominance & submission

A.

"Drake moved past Diana and kicked Sam onto his back, legs twisted beneath him. Drake stood over him and pushed the end of his hat against Sam's Adam's apple. The same move he had used on Orc the night before."

We see that Drake is physically strong, despite his unassuming stature - he's described as "lean". He has been in enough fights and has enough experience to take down people at least "fifty pounds" heavier than him (Orc). He also puts these people into humiliating, submissive positions where they have no choice but to capitulate to his demands.

B.

He speaks to Astrid in LIGHT about this -

"Are you as clueless as the rest of them, Astrid? It’s simple. Here it is, here’s the answer, Astrid the Genius: it’s fun to hurt people. It’s such…it’s such joy, Astrid. Such joy realizing that all the power is yours, and all the fear and pain is right there, in your victim. Come on, smart girl, you know what it’s called. You know the word for it. Come on, say it.’ He cupped his hand to his ear, waiting for the word.

'Evil,’ Astrid said.

Drake laughed, threw up his hand wide, and nodded his head. 'Evil! There you go. Good for you. Evil. It’s in all of us. You know that, too. It was in you. I saw it in your eyes as you looked down on me in that cooler. Evil, hah. We all want to have someone powerless beneath us while we stand over them.’ His voice had grown husky. 'We all want that. We all want that.’

One thing that stands out about Drake's character is that he likes to believe that everyone, at some level, has the same desires he does: Drake is just "strong" enough to act on them.

Drake likes to antagonise people to 'bring them down to his level'.

In this speech, Drake reveals a lot about himself.

"it's fun to hurt people" ,in particular, keys us in to the fact that Drake is self-aware, and making Astrid call him "evil" is part of this: Drake knows what he's doing is morally wrong. Drake wants people to think that he is evil, that he's ruthless, that he's nothing but a sadistic murderer, because he doesn't want to reveal his true vulnerability and helplessness.

He calls out the hypocrisy of Astrid for seemingly reveling in his pain and still condemning him for the desires over which he has no control. [This is not to say that I believe he is right for acting on them; the urges he can't control, but he can control his actions]. This is Drake's make me your villain speech. His final cry for help, in a way.

He wants everyone to be like him. He wants to not be judged, he aches for the confirmation that he is not alone in wanting power and vengeance and pain.

"We all want to have someone powerless beneath us while we stand over them." - Drake's experience of the roles being reversed, and the victim-perpetrator cycle show through here. Drake seeks power because he was denied it.

It is paradoxical in that, arguably, he wouldn't be like this if people hadn't punished him for things he couldn't control (involuntary sadistic impulses), and it is sad that we realise he could have been so much more, had circumstances been different.

Drake is a dark mirror of every dark thought we ever have. He, horrifyingly so, reflects the human urge to inflict pain as revenge. Drake's story is a cautionary tale. Many can relate to his harsh childhood, and Drake reminds us that no matter how much pain is inflicted on us, we bear the weight of not continuing that cycle onto others. That is the curse of being good. That is the curse of being human. That is the curse of empathy.

C.

Crucifixion - in MONSTER, it is revealed that Drake has been 'alive' for years, and we find out in VILLAIN that he resides in a cave in the desert along with 3 bodies - 2 female, one male, people he recently tortured. He crucified them with "railroad spikes" and left them to hang from the bones of their wrists. We can see that Drake leaves them in humiliating positions deliberately - "The only thing better would be to have Sam nailed to the opposite wall, forced to watch it all. To see Astrid degraded as Sam watched? He could not imagine anything better."

This is an example of his psychosexual development being warped - he associates sex with violence and power. He tortures and degrades his victims as a way to fulfil his sexual and sadistic urges.

7| Drake and Orc as foils

Drake and Orc first oppose each other in the early chapters of GONE - Drake is given power over Orc by Caine - "Drake and his people, including Captain Orc.."

This establishes a hierarchy within the "sherrifs". Drake leads them, but ultimately defers to Caine - (and, he is given power over others at Caine's will.)

Orc, like Drake, had a traumatic childhood and was abused by his father, and his "dumb dishrag" mother does nothing to stop it (she herself is abused by her husband, and rebukes Charles for wanting to kill his father.)

Both Orc and Drake blame their mothers for failing to stop the abuse of their husbands (and their father and step-father in Drake's case).

This is an interesting comparison, as it cements (haha) both Orc and Drake as bullies with short tempers who need to have control, each with a shrewd, conniving friend who effectively "leads" them.

Also, for the most part in the books, they're the only characters with physical mutations (both resulting from physical injury!) and turn their backs on the shrewd friend at some point (Drake and Caine becoming enemies, Orc finding faith and becoming distanced from Howard's crimes).

The fight between them at the start of GONE is a clever foreshadow to their battle at the end of GONE (and, of course, their long-lasting rivalry) and provides a comparison between the two.

They butt heads when Orc is ordered to defer to Drake when Caine is giving out roles, and Caine handles it by crushing a boy with a cross - but no physical altercation happens until Orc punishes Bette for "doing magic tricks".

The anti-freak agenda (ironic, considering they both end up gaining mutations, at similar points too!) of both Drake and Orc is pointed out, but Orc is almost painted as a "lesser evil" - as if Orc may be a garden-variety bully, but Drake is pure, distilled essence of evil.

"Orc...went for Drake like a linebacker. Drake stepped aside, nimble as a matador."

"Drake hit Orc in the ribs with a short, sharp forward thrust of the bat. Then again in the kidneys and again in the side of the head. Each blow was measured, accurate, effective."

Drake is the quick and nimble to Orc's sluggishness, the playfulness to Orc's sullen demeanour. He is "lean" where Orc is "wide" - their battle at the end is described as "their quick-and-slow, nimble-and-heavy, sharp-and-dull battle".

This is a perfectly well written description in my opinion - succinct, and perfectly accurate of them.

The main differences, however, are their personal views on their mutations, and their arcs.

Orc thinks he's a monster - he knows he is physically repulsive, and detests himself. He feels immense guilt over the pain he caused, and seeks to redeem himself through finding faith and asking for forgiveness from God.

Drake, in contrast, adores the power that his mutation gives him. He even describes himself as "Jesus with a whip". His mutation, in Drake's eyes, gives him control over others and he relishes in this.

Drake feels no remorse over the pain he causes, and doesn't desire redemption.

His God-figure is the Gaiaphage, whom he eventually betrays as he desires personal revenge on Astrid and Diana and cannot cope with Gaia being female due to his misogynistic views.

However, Drake and Orc share an interesting scene in Plague with Astrid - Orc seeks out Astrid with the intent to hurt her (it is implied to be sexual violence) and is interrupted by Drake arriving at Coates with his army of bugs. Drake picks up on Orc's intentions.

Drake confesses to Orc that he had the same idea.

"You think she'll give you a big, wet kiss on your gravel face?" He peered closer at Orc as if looking inside him. "Nah, Orc, the only way you get Astrid is the same way I get her. And that's what you were thinking, isn't it?"

#drake merwin #caine soren #gone series #fayz #the gone series #diana ladris #michael grant #sam temple #astrid ellison

[kpoporacle]

I had to take a bit so that I could comment more objectively. I honestly was thinking of deleting it, but I was talking to @prettydeadlykpop and I realized that I needed to continue.

In general, this video does well to highlight how sexual harassment and assault, even rape of men is portrayed in kdramas. Honestly, it made me question how other countries, and at least here in the US, it's much the same.

And I realize, no one wants to read this, no one asked for it, and only a few of you care. I am estimating that only three will even interact with this..... but I need to write this, if only for me.

If men are victims, why wouldn't they say something?

I don't really like the term "systemic and institutionalized", because I feel like it removes the individual responsibility in most circumstances. However, in this case, there is a sort of societal expectation that men cannot be victimized, or at the very least, that a woman cannot hurt them as bad as they would a woman.

This overall mindset is surprisingly prevalent, shared by both men and women. Men who decide to come forward face a lot of ridicule, and don't get even a fraction of the support that their female counterparts get.

Very few men are able to to actually get it through the courts. And if they can even get someone to listen to them, it can be very difficult to get the evidence necessary. For example, in rapes, the DNA from semen is is generally the best evidence, but that isn't possible for a female perpetrator.

"You cannot rape or sexually assault someone if he is hungry for it."

I really had a hard time with this one. This is one of the most victim blaming statements I have heard in a while.

It's a common assumption that if a man is aroused or "enjoys" it, or he gives in after a while, then it isn't rape. But rape isn't decided by that, it is decided by the fact that the victim didn't consent.

Even a girl who has sexual desires towards a guy can still be raped. Sex drive isn't an excuse for "they asked for it", even for guys.

And it sounds strange, but guys have a limit of how far they can be pushed before they give in. It's triggering, but sometimes when they are assaulted, guys cacan be turned on and/or the perpetrator does things that they find pleasurable. A guy can feel like their body betrayed them, and usually feel a great deal of shame.

A guy can also feel like it's their fault if they didn't fight back hard enough. Even if they said no, they wonder if because they didn't do enough, if they actually wanted it. They may decide to say that they wanted it all a long.... maybe out of bravado, or maybe it is just coping....

Toxic masculinity

I hate that people cling to the idea of toxic masculinity. And I feel like it almost completely destroys the main thesis of the video.

The video establishes that people who do this are predatory in nature, having less to do with sex and everything with to do with exerting your power over someone else. And masculinity is effectively the concept of what makes a man, a very abstract collection of traits, attributes, and expectations that society expects of men.

The idea of toxic masculinity, especially as presented in this video, would say that it is a male trait to be predatory. By extension, it implies that it doesn't matter if someone takes advantage of men since they are predatory anyway....

It's a cyclical logic that only serves to excuse the female perpetrators actions, and blame men as a whole group for not only what some men do, but also what women do to them. It absolves individual responsibility, instead of accurately blaming the perpetrators.

Contradictions

I also watched their video on male perpetrators, and it actually kind of contradicts this one. I don't really want to go on too long about it, but it largely blames toxic masculinity for everything.

One part that highlights their bias is a drama where both the male and female lead makes demands of the other. The account mentioned him telling her to not wear short dresses, but completely ignored how she told him to give up boxing, which was actually a major plot point (and mildly emotionally manipulative).

Conclusions

My final take away is though the video does a good job at highlighting societies views on sexual harassment and assault towards men, but then blames men for it.

I once saw a drama (that I can't remember the name of, but I want to finish watching it) that featured lawyers, and actually did a good job representing this. In the first episode, a man is accused of rape, but the alleged victim had actually raped him. One of the lawyers used an audio clip as evidence against his will, exposing him as gay in the process. He's proven innocent, but the perpetrator gets off and his life was largely ruined.

Let's give you a hypothetical for all of you empathy challenged people who are still wondering why you should care.

Let's say that you have a kpop boy group of twelve members. Statistically speaking, three members have likely been sexually assaulted, two of them by women. Granted, the odds are far more scattered in reality, and might be higher or lower. And once they debut, more predators will have noticed them, and they may have been assaulted multiple times during the course of their careers.

Okay, I will wrap it up here. I genuinely want to thank the people who are still reading at this point. I realize that there is probably only three of you, but I really do appreciate it.

#Youtube #kpop #kdrama

[scottymcgeesterwrites]

Final Fantasy X Review

Year: 2001

Original Platform: PlayStation 2

Also available on: PS3 and PS4 (HD Remaster)

Version I Played: PlayStation 2

Synopsis:

Tidus is a renown blitzball player in the city of Zanarkand. One day, his mysterious buddy Auron whisks him away to the land of Spira after a massive entity known as Sin attacks Zanarkand. Tidus ventures into Spira, a strange world lacking in advanced technology. There, he finds many uncomfortable truths after joining a pilgrimage with the summoner Yuna.

Gameplay:

I will preface this by saying that this was my very first Final Fantasy game way back when I was like 13. I wasn’t keen on handling RPGs yet so it took me ages to finish. The result was me falling in love with everything about it. Final Fantasy X is the last main Final Fantasy game to feature turn-based combat. One of the coolest features of the battle system in this game is being able to switch characters in the middle of a battle. I missed that afterwards. When I played more Final Fantasy games after this, I kept thinking instinctively that you could switch characters in the middle of battle.

Leveling up is conventional but also introduces a Sphere Grid. You gain Ability Points to progress through a grid where each sphere unlocks a special ability or a higher stat. You can pick different paths along the grids and, typically, by the end of the game you are crossing over other character's grids.

The only truly annoying aspect of playing the game was the sphere puzzles in the temples. Every so often you have to enter a temple and solve a puzzle by placing spheres in the right places. It was so mind-numbing and the irritating music really didn't help either.

Because of how the story is told, the game is much more linear than its predecessors. The bulk of the game is spent journeying on foot across Spira. But don’t worry – there are plenty of secrets and extras to unfold – PLENTY. You eventually get an airship, but instead of flying around a world map you simply pick a destination on a map and you’re there. It sounds lame but the world is already so massive and detailed that Square probably couldn’t fit the graphics of flying around a world map.

Graphics:

The cinematics blew everyone away – because for the first time we have VOICE ACTING! JUST LIKE WATCHING A MOVIE! The voice acting worked really well in this game. It was only ever awkward when Tidus was being, uh, really annoying.

Exhibit A:

The in-game cutscenes can also be a bit stiff.

Story:

Final Fantasy X was my very first Final Fantasy game – as such, I could be biased in how I feel about it. Or maybe not. I’ve grown to be enough of a dick to crush my own dreams.

The story is completely different than the rest of the series. Completely different. While the rest of the series likes to make references to Western mythology and atmosphere (medieval and industrial settings), Final Fantasy X actually has an East Asian setting. There are no knights in armor or empires fighting rebels or even technological powers like Shinra. There are no witches or wizards. The story and references are quite esoteric, more mysterious and conceptual.

The narrative is radically different from the entire series. For the first and only time (so far), the main character narrates the unfolding events to the audience. After getting sucked out of his homeworld of Zanarkand, Tidus gets caught up in a pilgrimage to defeat Sin. Sin is a massive creature that returns every so often to punish the world for its dependence on technology. (So Sin is basically a kaiju.) A summoner with his or her friends go on a quest to defeat Sin, and the Calm returns for some time until Sin returns.

Spira is probably my favorite Final Fantasy world. It’s beautiful and haunting at the same, sad and bright. You can tell that there was once a great cataclysm but the long years have overridden the past. The rules of the world are so unique. Monsters are explained as the ghosts of people who have not passed on. A summoner this time not only summons great beings (called aeons) but also “sends” the dead away so they can find the Farplane, essentially Heaven. Like I said before, the concepts of Spira are very esoteric and East Asian. While Final Fantasy X does derive influences from Christian concepts (i.e. pilgrimage, priests, doctrines), it just as much references many Japanese and Buddhist concepts (rebirth, wandering souls, sacred temples). Overall, Final Fantasy X’s story is the most religious and spiritual in the entire series.

It’s relatively rare for a JRPG to take on an entire fictional world with a visual design referencing Asian settings. Usually, Final Fantasy and other JRPGs are more obsessed with Western settings (i.e. medieval towns). Spira is ripe with influences from island nations and places like Thailand and Bali.

The major plot twist require you to wrap your head around a bit, but surprisingly nothing is truly complicated. For the most part, you follow the story through the pilgrimage, learn some backstory stuff, and then face the end.

There are several “main” villains. For argument’s sake, and for the sake of not ruining any spoilers, let’s go with Seymour. Seymour is a recurring villain who again ups the ante on the bishonen trend. He’s also the biggest pain in the ass out of any Final Fantasy game. Ask anyone who has played this game and they will get Vietnam flashbacks of fighting Seymour. The bastard keeps popping up every so often to hinder the party’s progress. Seymour may look strange, but don’t let that fool you. He is also seriously one of the most fucked up villains in the entire series.

Tidus is unique in that he is an outsider viewing the story. He tags along and has his own story arc to deal with. Tidus’s story is one of the most personal and relatable. It’s so unique to play as a character who is not a conventional fantasy hero like a thief or a mage or a knight, but a sports celebrity with daddy issues.It’s also unique in that Tidus isn’t even the central character – Yuna is. Yuna is the summoner on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin. Even so, Tidus still plays an important role by falling in love with Yuna, influencing her goals on the pilgrimage.

In retrospect, Final Fantasy IX appears to be a prototype to Final Fantasy X. Tidus is a version of Zidane, except, unfortunately, a bit more annoying when he tries to woo Yuna. Zidane and Garnet’s relationship mirrors Tidus and Yuna’s; both involve an upbeat male trying to woo a reserved, quiet female. Tidus is the temptation to Yuna’s repressed Catholic schoolgirl personality, advising her to loosen up. The existential crisis that Tidus faces is also similar to Zidane’s.

All that being said, Final Fantasy X is my personal favorite in the entire series. It has its flaws, and yes, it’s a sappy romance. But I love it. I fucking love it. I LOVE IT ALL. I love the world. I love the plot. I love the music. I love all the characters. Auron is so fucking cool. Just look at how cool this guy is.

And that ending. Oh man. I really don’t want to spoil anything but at the same time. UNGH. This game. It is poetry. Everybody is a real gangsta until they watch what happens at the end.

Final Fantasy X is probably the most unique out of all the Final Fantasy games. Different didn’t pan out well for Final Fantasy VIII. But for Final Fantasy X – different was good, really good.

Music:

Final Fantasy X does a few things radically different from its predecessors. For one, the series’ main theme isn’t featured. That may sound like blasphemy to some. In retrospect, it might have been a good move because frankly I can’t see the main theme being played anywhere in a story like this. The “Prelude” theme is only briefly featured in an opening menu, but this time it’s given a sick beat that makes you want to dance a little jig.

Alas, Nobuo Uematsu begins to detach himself from full reign of the soundtrack. Two other composers, Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano, also co-wrote a bulk of the soundtrack. While Uematsu composed the main themes of the game, Hamauzu and Nakano composed many of the other tracks. While not everything they did was so different from Uematsu, there are a couple tracks, namely “Assault”, which is distinctly unlike something Uematsu would ever compose. I don’t say this in a bad way at all. The score is still golden. But after Final Fantasy X we see Uematsu depart, and Final Fantasy music starts diving fresh into the unknown.

The pop song for this score is “Suteki da ne”. It’s pretty good although I prefer “Eyes on Me” and “Melodies of Life”.

The HD Remaster soundtrack seems to skewer the original sound of the music. I’ve listened to it and was very displeased by what they did to “Assault”, which was one of my favorite pieces. The original soundtrack has more umph, more pomp and circumstance.

Meanwhile, “Otheworld” is a metal song – a first for the series. It plays in the opening when Tidus plays blitzball, and in one of the final battles. “Otherworld” is frequently misattributed to Rammstein, especially back in the days of Limewire. They had nothing to do with it. Uematsu composed “Otherworld”, and Bill Muir, a lead singer from the metal band xtillidiex, sang it.

Uematsu’s fully orchestrated work on the ending scene is masterful. The emotion behind it brings tears to my eye. It wrecks you, man. It pulls those heartstrings and doesn’t let go. It hurts so good to listen to it and remember how the story ends. It is the most emotional track for the most emotional Final Fantasy ending. It is here where you realize that Nobuo Uematsu could really be a movie soundtrack composer. His craft came full circle here.

Notable Theme:

“To Zanarkand” – the main theme of Final Fantasy X. Beautiful, gentle, and solemn.

Verdict:

Final Fantasy X is my personal favorite. Final Fantasy VI can objectively be called the best, but I have a soft spot for Final Fantasy X. I admire its unique story and its world. It can be campy and corny at times but I love it overall. Objectively, it’s still of a higher caliber in the series.

Direct Sequel?

Yes. Final Fantasy X-2, or also known as Final Fantasy X-2: For Fangirls Who Couldn’t Handle the Ending to X.

 I kid. That was harsh.

 But I mean. . .

 They gave this Charlie’s Angels vibe with Yuna, Rikku and this new girl Payne.

And like I guess it’s cool but like the tone is soooo campy.

And then they sing and it’s like J-Pop and . . .

 Yeah.

This was the sequel.

This was the first Final Fantasy sequel ever made.

And it was. Uh. It was something.

At the time, I could only play about a quarter of the way through before feeling wrong about it. Many critics would agree that it robs the dignity of the original game. I do want to actually try playing it again. I might come into it with a new mind. But. Still. I prefer they leave the original ending untouched.

#final fantasy #final fantasy x #final fantasy x-2 #yuna #tidus #final fantasy tidus #tidus x yuna #square enix #fantasy rpg #jrpg #video games #onvideogames

[canid-slashclaw]

The Outliers - A Guildwars Love Story

Chapter 5

Four months had past since Kaleb's introduction into the Seraph guard. During that time, both he and his best friend Brad had distinguished themselves as fine, albeit troublesome, soldiers.  Cynthia Waterstone who had been their mutual friend, commanding sergeant and (occasionally) Brad's lover, had helped the two young men excel in many facets of their military life. 

Training as a warrior, Kaleb had become renown for his use of the broadsword as well as the use of short-range pistols.  Brad, meanwhile, excelled at using the long bow, and as a ranger, he could also do petty well with axes.  

The trio was stationed at a Lionguard base known as Kessex Haven that was located in the Kessex Hills region.  Throughout their brief duration at the base, they had all seen plenty of combat; especially against the centaurs.   Kaleb was busy affixing a piece of armor to his damaged pauldron when Sergeant Waterstone stepped in front of him.  

"Ten hut!"

"Ma’am!  I mean, sir!" Kaleb stood up as he saluted his commanding officer. 

"At ease, private.  How goes the repairs?"

"Armor cracked after receiving a blow from a centaur’s javelin.  It’s all better now," Kaleb said as he showed her the now-repaired piece. 

"Not a bad piece of work there, private.  Even if I do say so myself." Cynthia saluted him then turned away.

"Thank you, sir.  But I have a question..."

"Go ahead and ask." "Rumor has been floating that Seraph are prepping for a major assault on Earthworks Bluff.  Is there any truth to this?"  Kaleb asked as he refastened the repaired pauldron onto his armor.

"Officially, you are on a need-to-know basis.  And right now, officially, you don’t need to know," Sergeant Waterstone replied. 

"Then what about the antithesis of official?" "Unofficially? We may be setting up for a major assault upon the centaur main base. The reason being, our supply lines keep getting disrupted and all roads leading into our fort have become too hazardous for many merchants to travel," Cynthia said with a hint of resignation in her voice. 

"So what you're saying is we are being strangulated."

"Yup, that's what's happening. Unless we find a way of neutralizing their main base of operations, our supply lines will continue to be disrupted to the point merchants will be too afraid to replenish our stores.  The Lionguard are stretched thin as it is and they can only do so much to protect the roads.  The rest is up to us, unfortunately."

Brad located his friends among the throng of gray armor-clad soldiers. As their gazes met, he slung his sturdy long bow over his left shoulder and began to give them a hearty wave.   "Come join the party, corporal.  Three's company is good company as my father used to say," Cynthia shouted as she beckoned for him to come over.

"Any luck scoring a few hits on some apples?"  Kaleb asked as he shook the hand of his lifelong friend.

"One taur got it through the eye socket.  Arrow didn't pierce that thick skull of his, but that beast did run off in full gallop bleating like a castrated bull," Brad said with a laugh.

"Ouch. That must bite for them being unable to wipe their own bottoms.  I mean, what would happen if one of them got shot in the ass and no one was there to pull the arrow out?"  Kaleb mused as he made a mock gesture of firing a bow.   "Only you would think of something like that, Kal."  Cynthia quipped. "Just considering sound military strategy, ma'am... I mean, sir." Shortly thereafter, the platoon captain arrived and announced the official plan in preparing for the assault.  He mentioned that food stores were in dire shortage and that the only feasible supply route was via a nearby lake port town called Triskell Quay. 

Captain Errol Conrad stood in front of his troops to address them.   "Each of you may have heard rumors regarding the assault upon the Earthworks Bluff.  I am here to confirm that those rumors are, in fact, true.  Before the next sunrise tomorrow, our forces will be marshaled at the foothills of the centaur base."

The captain gazed across the rows of armor-clad troops as he continued his speech.  "It is also true that our food stores are running dangerously low.  We are in desperate need of grain and protein staples.  About twenty miles from our base, lies at the lakeport town of Triskell Quay.  Information from the locals indicates that there are a couple of meat supply stores located somewhere within the town."

"Currently, our garrison has only one serviceable supply carriage.  All of the others have either been damaged or destroyed.  Henceforth, what I am calling upon is for at least one qualified volunteer to commandeer said carriage, ride into town and requisition the necessary supplies."

Without hesitation, Kaleb shouted.  "Then I'm you're man, sir."

"Say your name, private."

"Private Kaleb Grimwald, first infantry, sir.  I'm a wagon maker by trade and can probably lift and carry more stuff in a shorter amount of time than just about any man, or woman, here."

"I can vouch for him, sir," Sergeant Cynthia Waterstone shouted as she saluted the captain. 

"Me too," chimed Brad. 

Shortly thereafter, several other soldiers vouched for Kaleb's abilities as well. 

"Congratulations, private.  It looks like you've been volunteered."

"Thank you, captain. All I need is a sturdy dolyak and a trusted comrade to tag along."

Brad whistled.  "That's me! Sir!"

Several of the Seraph soldiers helped Kaleb hitch the dolyak onto the transport wagon.  His friend, Brad, made sure everything was secured properly before climbing onto the riding bench. 

Kaleb made some last minute checks to see if the wagon's structural integrity was secure.  Captain Connor approached then beckoned for the two men to come. 

"A brief word, private, corporeal.  I didn't want to announce this to the rest of the troops, but there's something else you and your comrade should know."

"What would that be, sir?"  Brad asked curiously.

"Just so the two of you are aware - the only meat suppliers in town who have the capability of providing enough stock for our troops are, shall we say, not human."

"Well, if they are norns then loading up a ton of meat will be a breeze," Kaleb said with a smile.

"That makes two problems, private.  First - the owner is disabled.  Second - both he and his offspring are charrs." 

The news hit Kaleb and Brad like a load of bricks. 

"Charr?! Why would their kind be living in a mostly human settlement?" Brad said in a disgusted tone. 

"Dunno.  Perhaps they are taking advantage of the peace treaty to expand their business.  Either way, I don't want this information to become common knowledge.  Is that clear?"

Both man said to their captain in unison.  "Yessir!"

The captain gave a quick salute.  "Good luck you two." 

Kaleb then turned to Captain Connor and asked.  "Sir?  You mentioned about one of them being disabled.  What about the other one?  Are they able to do anything?"

"The other one is about your size - small by charr standards.  And rumor has it that it - can't tell if its a male or female as they all look alike to me - mostly sits up in their room doing whatever it is that charr do.  In other words, I wouldn't hold your breath on expecting any help from either of them.  The both of you are on your own.  Now, dismissed!”

With a final salute, the two lifelong friends headed out from the base as they began their journey towards the small fishing village. 

***

The air that permeated Triskell Quay was rife with the odor of dead fish that emanated from the boat docks.  Kaleb's nostrils had not yet acclimated to the pungent scent that was typical of all waterside communities.  As the two men entered the outskirts of town, they noticed a couple of pedestrians walking by.  Not being of shy disposition, Kaleb immediately took it upon himself to ask for directions. 

"Excuse me.  But where can I find a meat marked that's run by a couple of charr?"

"I dunno why fellas like you would be lookin' fer um, but they's place is just up the road a couple of miles due west.  Look for the sign that says Blazeridge Butcher Shop & Marketplace. And if ye can't find it, just follow yer nose till ya gets a whiff of something that smells like a cross between dead cows and a smeltin' factory."

Kaleb and Brad thanked the gentleman for providing the directions then proceeded to follow the instructions they were given.  When they rounded the west corner, Kaleb could detect the unmistakable smell of burning coal along with the faint stench of ripe meat.

"Holy Balthazar!  Are charr really this nasty?  The cistern in my uncle’s backyard smells better than this place!"  Brad commented as he winced up his nose at the pungent aroma. 

"You are naive, bro.  All slaughterhouses have about the same foul aroma.  As a matter of fact, this one smells rather pleasant compared to some of the places I've been to," Kaleb replied as he slowed the cart to a complete stop just before exiting from the right side of the seat.

"Are you comin in too?"

"Nah. I'll wait outside here and guard the cart.  Besides, you’re better at the PR thing than me," Brad said with a wave.

"You just don't like charr, that's all."

Brad laughed. "Nah.  I think every human should have a right to skin one."

Kaleb looked up and saw the sign that read - Blazeridge Butcher Shop & Marketplace. When he walked in, much to his surprise, his nose was greeted with a symphony of exotic herbs and spices.  Once the door closed behind him, a high-pitched whistle sounded for a split second. 

It must be a charr version of a doorbell, he thought as he walked towards butcher counter. 

Within moments, a massive feline-looking creature greeted him.  It had horns jutting out from either side of its head just above its eyes and its face was caged with rows of menacing dagger-like teeth.  The large paw-like hands sported massive claws and its fur was a tiger stripe pattern of umber and dark orange strip patterns.

"Something I can help you with?"  Came the creature's deep and almost thundering voice. 

Kaleb promptly saluted him then pulled out a series of documents from under his breastplate.  "Private Grimwald of the Thirty-First Seraph Platoon, sir.  I am here on behalf of the Queen's army to requisition a supply of protein products from your establishment, sir."

Ludrick grumbled for a moment then promptly snatched the paperwork from the jaded human's hand.  He quickly looked over the documents while muttering a string of incoherent words to himself. 

"Everything seems in order.  But what makes the Queen assume that we even have enough product to supply an army of your size?  Look around you, human.  I sell to the locals.  My supply chain doesn't accommodate masses of marching mice," the charr grumbled as he handed back the paperwork. 

"Well.  I'll remember to say that the next time I'm enjoying a few brews with my friends.  Just repeat after me - masses of marching mice.  Masses of marching mice.  Masses of marching..."

"Gah!  It's got to be something in the air around this village.  It seems to make everyone around here behave like obnoxious morons."

Kaleb bit his tongue.  "Oh.  Sorry Mr. Charr, sir. The heat has made me a bit loopy.  Plus I've never met one of your kind before.  I just tend to say stupid things when I'm nervous."

"The best thing you can say to me right now, human, is 'what can I buy' or 'I'll take x amount of product y'.  If those aren't the two phrases coming out of your mouth then I suggest you get out of my shop."

"Hey.  I'm just here on the Queen's orders.  No need to bite the head off the messenger, kind sir.  But I had heard things through the asura gate that yours is the best meat supply market around.  My soldiers are in need of food badly and what better way of fostering a sense of good will between our people than to make a noble contribution to mutual corporation," Kaleb said with a smile. 

"You're damn right.  Mine is the best market around!  Now, are you going to reciprocate that 'good will' and buy something from me today?  Look around you, it will take days for me to carve up enough cattle to supply your damn army." Ludrick looked away for a moment before glancing back at the rather bulky-looking human.  

"Well, if you must insist.  I would very much be interested in those briskets over there.  But first - I would very much like to inquire about those oh-so savory spices I've been smelling since I walked through the door."

"Not my expertise.  But hold on..."

"Amalthia!  Customer interested in the spices."

Kaleb stepped back for a moment trying to locate the origin of the fragrant aromas.  As he walked towards the nook of spices on display, he heard an echo of footsteps coming down the spiral staircase.   He turned his head to see a slender charr not much bigger than him, padding gracefully down the bare metal steps.

Her pelt had an orange yellow hue and her markings were of a tiger-striped pattern as well.  Four horns framed her amber-eyed face.  The two bigger horns extended from the mid-ridge of her skull and tapered off into elegant points while and two smaller ones jutted back along the length of her cheekbones. 

The young man deduced right away that this charr was, in fact, a female.  He had done enough history lessons to easily recognize the distinction between the two sexes. 

"How may I help you?" She asked in a slightly deep, but otherwise noticeably feminine voice. 

"Those spices other there caught my eye the moment I smelt them," Kaleb said in a strangely sheepish tone. 

"Hmm.  That's something the legions never told us about when we were at war with your people."

"What's that?  If I may be so bold as to ask."

"Bold you are, then.  For your people seem to become unhinged and stutter about like adolescent cubs whenever you meet one of us for the first time," Amalthia commented as she walked over towards the spice nook and pulled out a tray of some dried herbs. 

"Well, I told your dad...."

"Sire."  She corrected him.

"Excuse me.  Ahem... 'sire', that it was my first time meeting your kind..."

"A fact that I already stated to you.  Did you even listen to what I said just thirty seconds ago?"

"And do you, have a habit of always interrupting your customers before they had a chance to finish their sentences?"  Kaleb quipped.

"You just did and I did not.  At least that time," Amalthia retorted.

"What did I not do to you the thing you said I was supposed to have done?  You lost me there."

"I think you are only confusing yourself further.  What kind of spice would you be interested in?"  Amalthia grumbled.

"No. You are the one who is trying to confuse me. I'll take the Siverpeak bay leaves and the Ascelon sagebrush stalks."

Amalthia plucked the chosen spices from their respective boxes then proceeded to individually wrap them with some tissue paper.  As she moved, Kaleb couldn't help but study her form.  He had never seen a charr up close let alone a female one.

She immediately glanced in his direction.  "Is there something else you want?  You can't seem to take your eyes off me."

By now, Kaleb was visibly blushing.  He rarely felt embarrassed about anything, but yet there was something about this charr that he was drawn to, something he couldn't quite explain.

"You have twice as many ears as I do, yet you only seem to possess half the cognition.  Didn't we make it clear earlier that when I get nervous I tend to say and do crazy, stupid things?"

"I think you must have been talking to the wrong charr.  Or is it because you think that all of our kind seem to look alike... hmm?"  Amalthia chided as she carried the packaged contents to the register. 

Moments later, Brad popped his head through the door.  "Hey, bro.  What the hell is taking ya so long?  Don't you realize we have a mission to complete?"

"Hold your dolyaks, Brad.  I'm in the process of delicate inter-species negotiations.  I'll be there once I iron out a few things."

Ludrick looked at Amalthia then Kaleb.  "Still going to purchase that brisket?"

"How will I be able to get it to my base before it turns rancid?"

Amalthia reached over one of the counters then pulled out a small jar of rubbing salt.  "By using this.  Don't worry, it won't leave an aftertaste like so many other salts do."

After the meat was treated and wrapped, Amalthia handed him the salted brisket as she rang up the final sale. 

"Thirty silver even."

"Thanks for the stuff.  And thank you, Amalthia, for being such an interesting... person.  See ya later," Kaleb smiled as he turned to head out.

"Two rules to follow the next time you come here.  First - we are not on a first-name basis.  Second - I'm not a person... like you.  Got it?" Amalthia said as she gave the impetuous human a clawed thumbs up.

Kaleb gave a wink and a thumbs up in response.  "Forever and always."

Brad looked over as Kaleb stepped out from the shop door.  "Here ye, here ye - to all citizens of Kryta. Today the esteemed Kaleb Grimwald has single-handedly started an entire new round of negotiations with the charr.  From now on humans and charr shall rub salts together and sate each others' hungers with copious amounts of meat."

"Hey.  Don't knock it bud!  It was a classified operation.  Somebody somewhere's gotta take the first step toward world peace.  Am I right?"

"If you say so, bro.  If you say so..."

#gw2 fanfic #tyriaslibrary #the outliers #charr #gw2 human #kaleb and amalthia #gw2 writing

[ellaintrigue]

Look at me trying to catch feelings like a dumbass...

Amazingly, as much as I've been through with men, I'm still hoping to find a connection one day. For the most part I don't try too hard and enjoy talking to multiple men on sites like Badoo. It's fun and helps pass the time. So 4 days ago I matched with a guy from DC on there and he seemed hippy and artsy like me so we had a lot in common.

He was clean (no jail swag) and attractive so I felt he was a good bet even though I still love my bad boys. It isn't always about finding something wild and fun, it's about who is stable and wholesome. He said he definitely wanted to meet and I felt enthused but suggested we talk longer. He showed me his dog, we talked about the current global situation, hobbies, interests, and he told me what he did for work (bakery) and I told him I was doing customer service and striving for more. Then it felt like he slapped me across the face.

The first time a man slapped me across the face I was shocked, humiliated, and instantly felt unsafe when I had felt safe a moment ago. It's not a good feeling. Fortunately no one hit me this time but my new crush had work suggestions for me after I said I was trying to rebuild my career life: "you should be a cam girl, you have the looks for it, or find other ways to sell yourself!!"

In that moment, I felt hurt. I felt degraded. And every time a man does something to make me lose my trust it feels like it piles onto the ghosting, stealing, leading on, emotional betrayal, stalking, and assault that so many others have put me through. Which is a fucked up feeling that I could probably only get past with like 50 years of counseling.

"But you support the adult industry already," said one of my friends when I told him. Yes, of course I do. There are plenty of college girls doing camming and stripping to make money. There are interactions where women get paid for sex and no one gets hurt. But it isn't for me. And the problem is that this guy isn't the first dude to say this stupid shit to me!

I don't want men to give me money, I don't beg for help, and I don't come off desperate for work or like I'm fucked up when talking to new men. People like to slut shame me for doing pinup modeling but that ain't even on dating sites. Face and body, fully clothed. There is no reason to assume I'm an exhibitionist. I even thought about my heavy makeup but even Church ladies do that shit. There's a mutual friend between my mom and one her friends on FaceBook with heavy dark eyeliner, long mascara, huge swipes of eye shadow and thick plump hot pink lips and bleach blonde hair. And she is the biggest Bible thumping bitch out there, she told me I would burn in hell for being pro-choice once (I seriously need to get paid every time a conservative wishes me harm over my opinions so I can fucking retire). No one is going to tell that woman to hook or cam, a lot of women wear makeup.

Despite all of this, when I am talking to people on social media or new men, there is a literal fucking % of folks that tell me to strip off or sell myself when I mention I'm in between careers. I don't get defensive although I know I'm done with the person in a few minutes, but I say it's not for me. Then they usually ask me why I'm not comfortable with myself or my body (I swear these guys are their own cliche). At that point I ask them if they would tell their mom, sisters, or if they have young children, their daughters, to strip or hook and they usually get mad and block me.

I asked this attractive curly-haired guy I talk to daily if he felt it was wrong for people to suggest sex work to me at random and he said, "I think it is. If you don't choose sex work on your own, you sure as shit don’t need someone to tell you to do it." That validated my feelings a little, as I asked him after the DC guy made me feel like dirt. I wasn't sitting there like "wah, why are people mean to me," but seriously, why can't people just be respectful? If a man asked me for job ideas I wouldn't tell him to clean porta potties for a living (although that is good money).

None of my cherished thuggies would tell me to go hook! That's because those guys grew up around drugs, hard lifestyles and seeing women hook out of desperation and get hurt on the street. And that's the problem with the other guys I talk to that suggest this nonsense: they lack life experience and think every girl is going to do the shit they see on Pornhub. College kids, white-collar, geeks, and the other non-streetwise yuppies are sitting there with sex floating around in their heads and saying the first thing they think to women they try to date, then wonder why women don't respect them.

Now, forget the fact I'm not interested in masturbating on camera for random strangers, let's look at the big picture. Camming may not seem very sordid but I have to look at cam girls sometimes, and also deal with prostitutes to an extent in my online dealings.

Sure, you got the hot 20 year old college chick on cam sites but then you got a 50 year old woman the next screen over. She is pretty yet haggard and sits there fingering herself for... hours. Camming is generally low paying and the men are incredibly rude. So this woman sits there literally looking bored and she's clearly dry, but she does it so she can get a check. There are wild chicks that like to be seen, but let's face it: a lot of women are doing it out of desperation. For every 500 gawking guys roaring "THIS IS SO HOT" are 500 women trying to make ends meet and putting on fake smiles for hornballs for a few bucks.

Then let us not ignore that a lot of people in the sex trade have low inhibitions from being sexually abused as children. It's just a theme I've been well aware of over the years. Sometimes it borders on self-destructive behavior mixed with drugs and extreme promiscuity. The jittery "whore" standing on the outside of town? Maybe her stepfather raped the fuck out of her over and over, no one did anything, and now she just feels really fucked in the head and needs an escape. Judge not.

A lot of cam girls and other digital sex industry workers are strippers and hookers, I guess that goes without saying. But it is just one more thing they're doing for their pimp. Pimps aren't always bad, you usually need one to make sure you don't get raped or beaten. Of course there are plenty that basically enslave you and will rape and beat you too.

I have had to deal with a handful of pimps in my online dealings as well. They aren't scary looking black men in fluffy purple suits, the majority are female and they are often strict people with a vibe of unpleasantness that skirt lesser regulated online adult industries. One was dealing out some shit with a vague reference to children and I ran like hell. Throughout the rural USA South there is a lot of prostitution and child exploitation.

The main theme of what I see in my digital exploring is a fuckton of porn. Many a pretty blonde, of course, but then we go right back to women down on their luck. There are tons of scars and I can't tell if they are from childbirth procedures and complications or worse things. One woman had a missing breast but I knew that was from cancer. Many women are 50+ with the flash of a shitty camera giving them eerie red eyes and so many look sad.

Everyone is horny and wants to have fun in this life, it's human nature and something I as well crave. But it will be with a man that respects me, not one that tells me I should sell my vagina. And while there are women that love doing porn, getting paid for sex and showing off, there are plenty that don't. There are so many women that are desperate for money, that have been abused and don't even know what it's like to be loved, and are trapped into a vicious loop of a lifestyle that they will never escape from.

Or I can dumb it down this way: if you wouldn't masturbate online to an insulting crowd of foreign guys or allow yourself to be penetrated by multiple strangers for money then definitely don't suggest it for someone else to do.

[femnet]

I am a high school art teacher and I love my job. I particularly love it because it gives me teaching opportunities that might not come so easily in any other subject matter. On paper, my job is to teach my students the basics of artistic principle as well as a brief overview of Art History. However, what I really do is teach kids to think for themselves. Because of the subject matter of what I teach I get to cover a broad range of things from feminism to civil rights to even civil disobedience. For the last few years, theres been one lesson that is a particular favorite of mine. I introduce this lesson early on in the second semester and it combines literature, art, history, and even current events. 

I begin the lesson by putting up two paintings on the board. Both paintings are entitled Judith Beheading Holofernes. I then go into a brief explanation of the literary story behind both paintings, which happens to be from the book of Judith which is included in most Catholic or Eastern Orthodox bibles. 

“In the story,” I explain, “the Israelites are at war with the Assyrian army, which is being led by Holofernes. At one point, the Israelites become greatly outnumbered and are too fearful to mount an attack against the enemy camp, which is about to destroy their city.” After giving them the basis for the story, my language changes to be more casual, in order to bring the students into a story that might otherwise sound to scholarly and boring. 

“Fed up, this woman Judith decides to take things into her own hands. So, one night, Judith and her handmaiden sneak into the enemy camp, flirt with Holofernes and get him so drunk that he passes out. With the help of her handmaiden, Judith them chops off the dudes head and gives it to the Israelites basically telling them ‘there I did your job for you, now will you get off your butts?’. This gives the Israelites the courage to attack and they are then able to overwhelm and destroy the enemy army.” Usually by the end of my summary, my students are commenting about the savagery or “badassery” of Judith with reverent tones, and this is when I bring them back to the paintings.

Both paintings have the same title and depict the same scene from the story. The first of the paintings was completed by the male artist Caravaggio and depicts a young, dainty, and white clad Judith beheading the gaping Holofernes. In the painting, Judith exudes innocence, she is the brightest and youngest figure, and her body language and facial expression show a great distaste for the task she is completing. Behind her stands her crone like handmaiden, almost egging her on. 

The second of the paintings is by the female artist Artemisia Gentileschi. In this one, Judith is strong and determined, her sleeves pushed up to reveal heavily muscled arms as she pins down the struggling man and beheads him, her face set in a grim mask of determination. Beside her, her handmaiden of similar age and statue helps, both women looming over their enemy. 

I lead my students through this description, all the while not telling them which painting was done by which artist. I let them point out the similarities and differences as we appraise the paintings and then I ask a simple question:

“Which of these paintings do you think was painted by a man, and which do you think was painted by a woman?” 

Overwhelmingly, most of my classes correctly identify which one is the Gentileschi painting and which is the Caravaggio. I follow up their answer by asking them how they knew. Usually a female student shouts an explanation out, but this last year I was pleased when a typically quiet boy spoke up.

“Because a female artist would want to portray Judith as strong and tough, they aren’t going to be as worried about portraying her as innocent and dainty.” 

And this is when we get to my favorite part of the lesson, the part that ties it all together. A background on Artemisia Gentileschi, a huge feminist figure in art history. 

“Artemisia was a female artist during a time when a woman’s options were very limited, you could be a wife or mother, or you could be a nun, and there wasn’t much in between.” I begin. “Luckily for her, her father was a well known artist and he allowed her to be tutored by another artist name Tassi. Unfortunately while she was under the tutelage of Tassi, he sexually assaulted her while her friend and mentor was right upstairs listening to and ignoring her cries for help.” At this point I take a quick pause to look around my room and make sure that my lesson isn’t becoming a trigger to any of my students. 

“Now keep in mind,” I continue, walking across my room, “This is during a time where women who were sexually assaulted were often given little to no justice, and sometimes even forced to marry their attacker. I mean think about the #metoo movement thats happening right now, some of these women have been waiting years for an opportunity to step forward and be heard and they’re met by internet trolls and called liars. And it’s 2018. So you can guess how difficult it would be for a young woman back then in an untraditional lifestyle to be heard and get justice.” I go on to explain how Artemisia and her father ended up taking Tassi to court, even though this meant that Artemisia would have to undergo torture since, in Rome at this time, a woman’s testimony was not permissible in court unless it was verified using torture. “So not only was Artemisia sexually attacked by her teacher and betrayed by her closest female friend, but she also had to undergo torture just to get justice. And then, she WON.” 

Artemisia went on to become the first female artist to become a member of the prestigious Academy of Art in Florence. In an era when female artists were not easily accepted, she was famous and internationally sought after for commissions. Today, she is still considered one of the most progressive artists in history. If you look at her portfolio of work you’ll notice a trend of strong women, as well as a trend of women working together, sticking together, and helping each other, because despite the fact that her closest female friend and mentor had betrayed her at the time when Artemisia needed her most, Artemisia still understood, perhaps even better understood, the importance of women sticking together. 

Three years after she won her case, Artemisia painted her version of Judith Beheading Holofernes. With this painting, she not only captured the stories of one of the leading ladies of the Bible, she also captured her own story. Because she painted herself as Judith, and her illustration of Holofernes is actually a portrait of none other than her abuser, Tassi.

I teach this lesson every year, and I love it because it sticks with my students long after we have discussed it. At times, it can be difficult to convince students the relevance and importance of school, let alone of their art class. But this is one day where it’s easy, because it’s so relevant. Not only to their own lives (because 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse at the hands of an adult), but it also shows them how they can take their experiences, good or bad, and use them as a driving force. Lastly, and I think this is why this lesson works so well, is that it broadens the subject. It’s not “just” learning how to draw or paint or create something, it’s not just teaching them yet another vocabulary word. It takes history and literature and art and modern culture and it intertwines them all together in a way that interacts with their own lives and culture. 

Teaching art and its related subjects can mean walking a fine line, especially since art is a largely liberal subject with liberal leanings and I live in a conservative area. I have to steer clear of expressing my own personal political beliefs or standings because I don’t ever want to force my own views onto my students, and I have to watch any political discussions that may start in my room closely to make sure that no one is being silenced or made to feel unsafe, and even, sometimes, to correct the false information my students see daily on facebook and twitter and, most tragically, the news. I still find it important to bring these subjects like feminism, racism, and discrimination into my lessons, especially because my students live in an area where they don’t tend to get opportunities to consider any viewpoint other than the majority viewpoint. They think feminism is a bad word and means you hate men, they think “gay” is an acceptable insult, and they don’t think that racism or discrimination exist because “they can vote right? That means we’re equal”. Lessons such as the one I've described are the main way I’m able to introduce an alternative mindset and raise the idea that maybe there are other viewpoints that are worth considering.  

#by Jessi #June 2018 #politics #art history #artemisia gentileschi #metoo #tw rape #feminism #teaching #art

[tipsycad147]

The Empath Series: Empathic Spectrum & Shielding

In the Empathic Spectrum Series by Allorah Rayne, Allorah discusses in detail what it means to be an empath, the different forms of the empathic spectrum, how to shield yourself as an empath, how to cut cords and much more.

Is Everyone an Empath?

Every time you turn around someone is proclaiming that they are an Empath. The truth is, we all have the capacity to empathise with those around us, it’s human nature. However, empathic ability exists on a spectrum. The higher on the spectrum you travel, the more the ability is heightened and changes form.

Empathy is the ability to place yourself in someone else’s shoes quite literally. Empathy allows us to cry with someone when they experience loss or to feel a mother’s joy when she first sets her eyes upon her newborn babe.

The Empathic Spectrum: 3 Forms of Empathic Ability

Empathic ability exists on a spectrum. Within this spectrum are three main categories of ability: High Sensing Person, Empath, and Clairsentient. Though they have similarities, each distinguishes itself from the others in subtle, but important, ways.

Today we are going to look at the 3 most common classifications on the empathic spectrum, how to distinguish one from the other, and basic protection methods for public venues that are applicable to adults.

**Teens and children may experience what is listed here but the empathic spectrum can manifest differently for tiny humans. I will cover this in a separate installment in this article series**

1. High Sensing Person – HSP

The High Sensing Person, or HSP, is the first stop on the spectrum. HSPs have a higher capacity to take in and process external stimuli connected to the five physical senses. They see, hear, taste, smell, and touch things to a far greater depth than non-HSP’s. Ordinary things may cause them great discomfort. For instance, a television turned to a volume of 5 is just as assaulting to their ears as a non-HSP whose television volume is 35. Because of their incredible ability to detect a greater range of external stimuli, they are acutely aware of changes in body language and voice inflection. These traits easily allow them to become dialed in to the emotions of those around them.

2. Empath

Those who are classified as an Empath harness the abilities of the HSP with a few discerning qualities. Empaths can empathise with others more extensively than your average muggle or HSP. One of the things that sets Empaths apart from those below them on the empathic spectrum is they literally absorb the emotions or ailments of those around them.

Physical & Mental Signs You’re an Empath

Another distinguishable sign of an Empath is they suffer physically and/or mentally for no physiological reason. For example, you may have sudden onset of seizures due to emotional overload. While the HSP takes in and processes extra stimuli, an Empath does the same to an even greater extent but, instead of processing, they absorb it. They take on the emotions of others to the point their physical vessel cannot house it all. This leads to build up, which can then lead to illness. DO NOT self-diagnose a physical or mental illness. Always see a medical professional to ensure what you’re experiencing has no physiological basis before concluding it’s an Empath byproduct.

Someone who is an Empath may:

Feel drunk in bars when not drinking themselves

Feel the illnesses of those with physical ailments within their own body

Read the energy and emotions of a person by reading their writing

Feel a strong aversion to violent or dramatic movies and TV preferring not to watch them, especially non-fiction works like documentaries and news stories

Attract people, even strangers, who tell their life stories and traumas in depth hoping for your guidance and support

Experience emotions that have no foundation within themselves. For example, feeling enraged, sad, or anxious without reason.

Feel overly drained or overly energised by spending time in public places

Affect others with their own emotions

Easily see auric fields in detail

Attract animals and easily connect with them

3. Clairsentience

When empathic ability goes beyond the classification of Empath, we reach Clairsentience. Clairsentience means ‘clear feeling’ and is distinguished from the Empath in a few ways. The most definitive difference is the ability of the clairsentient to gain information about a person from the feelings received. Empathic spectrum abilities are not limited to the living. They also extend to the deceased. One of my personal clairsentient experiences occurred in a graveyard.

A Personal Clairsentient Experience

I knew the family that owned the cemetery and the history behind the people buried there. I was given no information going into the graveyard. I felt the presence of a male child spirit and the presence of a woman standing next to two side by side headstones. I didn’t inspect the gravestones for names. I felt the physical symptoms of drowning from the male and a deep depressive sadness from the female. It felt like the boy had been drowned by his mother. The next day I inquired with the owner of the cemetery and told her what I felt. She confirmed what I had felt about the boy and woman was exactly what happened.

A Clairsentient’s Physical Alarms

Another trait of the clairsentient is to get physical symptoms, and even physical alarms, upon feeling energy shifts. For example, getting gooseflesh when encountering negative energy or emotions. I personally get a vibrating sensation throughout my entire body when my clairsentience is trying to alert me.

How to Survive as an HSP, Empath and Clairsentient

Being on the empathic spectrum can have a dark side, especially for the unaware. Dealing with your own emotions is tough. Dealing with those of everyone you create an energetic cord to, living or dead, is beyond exhausting. Unaware, or unbalanced, feelers can form addictions easily. Addictions to drugs, alcohol, escapism, relationships, sex, spirituality, food, and anything else you can think of. They can also suffer for years with physical and mental ailments that were never theirs to begin with. The good news is, there is something the empath, HSP and clairsentient can do!

Empaths, HSPs and Clairsentients MUST Shield!

It’s extremely important to learn how to protect yourself and your energetic body if you believe you are a feeler of any kind. The first rule of empath spectrum club is SHIELD! Any social location can be taxing for those who feel more than the average muggle but are inevitably unavoidable unless you’re a complete recluse. Before venturing out into the world, set up a personal shield. When you’re first learning how to create a shield, it’s a process of trial and error. Sometimes it’ll be too thick, sometimes too thin. It takes practice, but once you know how to create your shield, the process takes one to ten minutes depending on the person.

To create a personal shield:

Ground and centre.

Enter a quiet, calm, meditative state.

Envision a bubble, walls, or enclosure of some kind taking shape around you. It can be made of coloured light, bricks, metal, or any other constructive material you would like. This is the most difficult step. Remember when you’re constructing that whatever materials you choose translate on an energetic level. If you use bricks or metal, for instance, you’ll feel very little of the world around you. While that may be appealing at first, most empath spectrum feelers find they feel completely unplugged from their world and panic when going from over-feeling to numbness. I recommend using a more pliable material and adding layers if you find it’s too thin and not helpful.

Keep in mind – those you have thick energetic cords to will still be able to penetrate your shield. Parents still feel their children, romantic partners still feel one another, and anyone else you have a strong energetic tie to. If you make your shield too thick, feelings will be muffled but not gone.

How often should I shield?

Your shield can be used on a day to day basis. For this I recommend setting up a pliable shield that you can easily make thick or thin depending who you’re around. You may decide that you love it and keep it on all the time, or you may decide that you only need it for social settings. Once you have your shield in place, simply go about your business.

When you place an energetic shield, you’ll gain greater ability to discern whose unwanted emotions or illnesses you’re picking up on, who’s trying to drain your energy (purposely or unintentionally), and which emotions are TRULY your own. You may be surprised just how many things you carry that don’t belong to you. Do yourself a favor and unpack those unwanted suitcases!

Coming Next Month in the Empathic Series…

I hope you have gained more insight into empathy and the discerning traits of the three major steps along the empathic spectrum. Coming next month in the Empathic Spectrum Series: Cutting Cords and Transmuting Energy.

https://otherworldlyoracle.com/empathic-spectrum-shielding/

[ballpitarchive-blog]

Apparently the SAO fandom will never accept that this anime has fucking flaws so I’m gonna do an actual legit analysis as to why this show is TRASH.

I’ll start of with the fundamentals of SAO and how shit writing leads to a shit series. Because I think SAO could have been fucking amazing if it wasn’t written by Reki Kawahara who is just a general shit writer.

One of the most important parts of an anime is its main characters and cast. I don’t *really* consider Kirito a character, he’s more like a boring, brooding plot device. His motivations never make any sense and his actions never have consequences. Not to mention he is just ridiculously overpowered. Need I mention the 1v8 fight where Kirito won?

In the episode where all of Kirito’s lower level friends die, he says “My arrogance killed you.” And feels guilty. Yet he continues to hide his power level and dual wielding ability for no defined or explained reason. Additionally, the duel wielding skill just fucking shows up out of nowhere one day. The show hand waves it by claiming he is the fastest player in the game (I’m getting fucking Accel World flashbacks), and when he does end up telling his friends there are no consequences.

Overall Kirito is just an overpowered, plot device who’s actions never make sense or have consequences because he’s just a 12 year old wish fulfillment.

I know how people feel about using the term ‘wish fulfillment’ to describe Kirito, but a spade is a spade I call them like I see them.

Moving on the game itself makes zero sense. This isn’t a big concern for me, honestly I don’t give a shit because I don’t play MMOs but Sword Art Online as a game sucks.

First off, being trapped in an MMO is really just a plot device to set up the death game plot. After that no MMORPG aspects are utilized. There are no job systems, no classes like DPS or support, the mechanisms used in the game, Switch, aren’t properly explained, and it’s pretty clear Reki Kawahara has never played an MMO or just gives no fucks about making it realistic.

The Nerve Gear also has a ridiculous number of plot holes and inconsistencies, such as we still don’t know how much pain the characters can actually feel. In the early episodes of SAO it’s made clear that characters in game don’t feel pain, yet each time a person in game is dying they seem genuinely in pain. I’ve only watched the anime so I don’t know if this was just a failure to adapt the source material, but if the characters can’t feel anything then this makes Kirito and Asuna’s sex scene really awkward.

Moving on. The pacing and structure are abysmal. I’ve heard that the first two light novels were adapted into the Aincrad arc, but one was the actual plot and the other was just a bunch of side stories. So A1 Pictures decided to just combine the both in chronological order. Unfortunately this just kills all tension and loses the core focus of SAO’s appeal as a death style MMO. The second through seventh episodes don’t focus on the plot of SAO and rather on the side stories. Some may argue that this is also character development but I feel that a good anime could do both simultaneously without losing the tension. Plus, Kirito doesn’t grow or develop as a character. You could argue that the episode with his friends dying he learned a valuable lesson, but he continues hiding his skills and power levels so I’d argue otherwise.

Even after we get past these side stories, Kirito and Asuna begin their relationship and this takes up several episodes as well. It’s like they forgot the series initial premise and in the final two episodes were like “Oh fuck we have to wrap this shit up.” And just threw in every major plot point without rhyme or reason. Need I mention that Kirito and Asuna both almost die but come back due to friendship or whatever that shit Fairy Tail always pulls.

The second arc is so downright offensive in so many ways yet it’s played off as sensational to the viewer which is just fucking sick.

The main plot of the second arc is, after SAO’s servers shut down and everyone was allowed back into the real world, somehow another video game was able to program that 300 players would join its servers and would be yet again unable to leave. Don’t ask me how this makes sense or how it would even be possible because it’s just never fucking explained. Anyone noticing a trend? Anyways, Asuna is trapped in a fucking bird cage for like 12 episodes, being repeatedly sexually assaulted by this blonde fuck who’s name I don’t remember. When she does attempt to escape, she’s groped by tentacles for minutes on end. And in the finale the blonde fuck does everything short of raping her, including ripping her shirt off, licking her face, and probably a lot of other stuff that my mind has chosen to forget. Now some could argue that this makes the blonde fuck a good or hate-able villain, but you don’t need to degrade your female characters to make a good villain.

Now someone argued with me that Asuna was not “really raped” but this outright disturbing bullshit shouldn’t be dismissed because he didn’t go all the way. That’s such a toxic mindset.

This is what I seriously hate about Sword Art Online is it’s shit treatment to all of its female characters. The loli’s (who’s name I forget) entire character is just “loli who is raped by tentacle monsters.” Sinon ends up being fanservice material whenever there’s a dull moment in GGO. Asuna basically gets raped as a ‘plot point.’ And Kirito’s sister has no other traits besides 'in love with her brother.’ People also claim that Kirito’s sisters arc was about her getting over this crush on him, but it took like eight episodes for her to realize that he’s in love with Asuna and she can never have him while the viewer knew it could never happen from the moment it was a concept.

And finally, the villains. SAO has some of the worst explained villains I have ever seen. The creator of the game Sword Art Online “forgot” his motivations for making the game, and the other two major villains in the anime are both nothing more than what I like to call 'rapey guys.’ Additionally, in season two theres this really weird twist where the villain is like three different people, and they like inject some drug into people to kill them in real life as they simultaneously kill them in game. It’s really contrived and has a ton of plot holes but I’ll leave an analysis of GGO to another day.

Now I probably have to explain why I don’t like Re Zero too or else these fuckers will never be satisfied

@aincradknightnatlis now you know why I don’t like SAO. I gave you the 'facts’ you wanted. I’m not trying to change your opinion. I’m telling you to stop fucking attacking me for disliking this show.

#sword art online #anti sao #i'm sorry my writing skills are subpar but this is like the THIRD FUCKING TIME HE HAS INTERACTED WITH ME TO TELL ME MY OPINIONS ARE WRONG #honestly i was a lot nicer about it than i usually am i didn't bring up a1 pictures

[tusouthafrica]

Female Student Activism: Speaking Out Despite Facing Gender Discrimination

Article, Photos and Audio by: Emma Padner

A Seasoned Activist

At just 12 years old, Brenda Leonard attended her first political meeting. By age 15, she became the president of the Student Representative Council at her high school in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. 

Leonard was an active student protestor in 1985 when South Africa was ruled by the Apartheid Government. Leonard, who currently works at Bush Community Radio in Woodstock, Cape Town, was working to fight and ultimately overturn this government.

But she and the other women participants had to battle for equality within the majority male protest organizations. Leonard recalled a time when the women protested in order to gain the respect of their male counterparts.

“[The men] thought we were distracting away from the real issues and we were called anti-revolutionaries and lots of other things,” she added. “But for us it was important that our voices are heard because we make a contribution, a very important contribution towards liberating the country.”

“Our liberation is not different to your liberation and because of that our issues need to be recognized within this.”

-Leonard, on how women during the Apartheid Era needed to ‘prove’ that gender liberation should be valued in society

Hear From Leonard

A Rich Past of Student Activism

Student protests have played a pivotal role in South Africa’s history. In 1974, the Apartheid Government made it compulsory that the Afrikkans language be taught in all South African schools.  

On June 16, 1976, students in Soweto, Johannesburg marched in protest of this significant curricular change. What began as a peaceful protest turned violent when police arrived, resulting in an original report of twenty three deaths. Estimates rose to 176 casualties. 

Leonard added that in the 1980s when she was actively protesting, students were more violent; burning tires, disrupting schools, and making petrol bombs. 

In 2015, students began protesting the rising fees for higher education. This sparked the #FeesMustFall movement. Meanwhile, the Western Cape province held protests for the removal of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes statue, which was at the University of Cape Town (UCT)’s main campus. There were also protests to prevent the outsourcing of university workers. 

Media organization Daily Vox reported that the movement did not get immediate attention because it originated at historically black, rural universities like The University of Limpopo. Once protests spread to historically white universities such as Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and UCT, it grew into a national movement. 

Unfortunately, the historically black universities continued to be ignored by most major media outlets throughout the movement. 

#FeesMustFall from a Journalist’s Viewpoint

Asisha Dadi Patel was attending Johannesburg’s Wits and covered the #FeesMustFall protests firsthand for Daily Vox in 2015 and 2016.

During her honors (postgraduate year), she worked to uncover the truth about #FeesMustFall. Patel said she represented the protests from the students’ point of view. 

“As a journalist, covering [#FeesMustFall] was amazing for me because it was literally stuff that had never happened before...and here I was being able to be a part of documenting it,” she said.

Despite appreciating the opportunity to cover the protests, Patel recalled multiple times where she was harassed while doing her job because of her gender. She said it was common to see that sort of practice within the movement.

“A lot of issues of sexism came to the foreground, a lot of issues of patriarchy; people, including women themselves, were not willing to take women leaders seriously,” she added. “I know there were multiple accounts of sexual assault and those sorts of thing by the security with female students. They were just brutalized, they were just manhandled really badly. One girl had her shirt ripped open and her breasts were hanging out just because of police brutality.” 

Patel said when class registration was shut down in 2016, a group of students gathered to occupy the concourse on campus. She took a photo for her article. 

“[The group] got extremely angry and within a matter of 30 seconds there was a massive mob surrounding me,” she said. “They were trying to grab my phone and trying to force me to delete the picture and it turned into a very big thing. They were getting physical.” 

The violent situation caused her to feel exhausted by the movement and traumatized. She added that violence increased in 2016, due to the police presence on campus.

“A whole group of women banded together to protest that exact issue and say, ‘If this movement isn’t going to be inclusive of women and elevate the voices of the women who are elected as our leaders rightfully, then we don’t want to be part of it.’”

-Patel, on the unequal treatment of the rightfully elected female leaders of the Wits Student Representative Council in 2015 

Hear From Patel

2016 Protests at Wits University

For journalism honors student Tumell Modiba, #FeesMustFall was new to her when she started at Wits in 2016. Modiba was born in South Africa but grew up in the United Arab Emirates.

“I was kind of culture shocked in a way because I’ve seen protests happen on TV but not really happening at school,” she said. “I remember attending class this one time and students came in and disrupted and said that it’s very unfair that students are continuing to study whilst we are fighting for free education.”

Modiba was in a difficult situation during the protests, she added, as she did not participate because her parents asked her not to. They were visiting while campus was shut down because of protests and had her travel to Cape Town with them so she would not be involved or put in danger.

“I would tell my parents every day what's happening, how there were police vans on campus, how some people were being tear gassed, shot at with tear gas by the police, and my parents were very scared of that.”

-Modiba, on why her parents would not allow her to participate in the #FeesMustFall protests

Hear From Modiba

Modiba said women seemed to fall victim to violence by police forces more than their male counterparts, despite not actively participating in the protests on campus. 

“The policemen themselves were very intimidating. They would even catcall us, try to flirt with us and it was very unsafe because you wouldn't know if you denied any of their advances, what they would do to you,” Modiba said. “They could easily arrest you.” 

She added she heard there were many women who were assaulted on campus by private securities. 

Jabulile Mbatha, a journalism honors student at Wits, said she needed to participate in the protests because she and her friends were directly affected by the fees.

As a commuter, Mbatha had to go out of her way to travel to campus each day to protest. She said doing this she put herself in danger as she did not have an immediate safe space to run to, like a dormitory. 

She said she spoke with her parents about participating in the protests. Mbatha added her family had always been open and encouraging, and her parents simply warned her to avoid violence and “try and remain as you are.”

Mbatha added the protests were unlike anything she had experienced in the past, as the university was highly militarized and it was her first encounter with police at such close contact.

“For [police officers] to also be fighting back as much as they did was just unbearable because you saw the things they did to other students or the people you were protesting with, and it’s hard for you to not want to fight for your own life,” she added.

Though Mbatha did not experience additional struggle due to her gender, she noticed her male counterparts seemed to lead more discussions and have more decision-making power.

“There’s a hierarchical structure where gender takes an important role and the male student activists seem to shine or seem to want to lead the protest or give direction,” she said. “...which is very frustrating because we’re all facing the same struggle.”

“Some of my friends that stayed back home thought that it was very unnecessary putting my life in danger...by coming all the way here, knowing that [I] wouldn't have an immediate safe space to run to if ever it just got really bad.”

-Mbatha, on commuting to campus in order to participate in protests

Protests in the Western Cape

At UCT, students were not only protesting high fees, but also the presence of a Cecil John Rhodes statue on campus. The #RhodesMustFall movement sparked a call to ‘decolonize’ education across South Africa. 

UCT masters student Alexandria Hotz, studying philosophy and human rights law, said though there were students who seemed to step up more than others, the UCT protesters did their best to eliminate hierarchy within the protest space. 

She said history tends to seek out someone to illuminate as a leader even if there is not one, creating divisions within the space. 

“It [is] important that some women and queer, nonbinary people were emphasized as leaders and it gave confidence to young women, young queer people, young non binary people,” Hotz said. “But it also had an impact on who was valued, who was seen, who was not and that's really one of the biggest things that I think was really unfortunate.” 

Hotz’s involvement in politics began when she was young, as her parents were politically active and took her to marches and protests. She added that sometimes she wanted to live a “carefree, blasé, apathetic life,” but politics always called to her.

“You begin to realize that your body is racialized and your body is gendered and that shapes the experiences that you have in the world and on campus,” she said. “It makes it also very difficult to ignore or remain silent or not want to be part of what was happening and unfolding at the university.” 

“We’re not going to sit quietly and take this type of oppression and violence. We are going to speak about what's happening in our political spaces, and if we are wanting to see a different world than that different world needs to start within the organizing spaces that we’re in.”

-Hotz, on the reaction of how women, queer, and nonbianry people were treated in protests

Hear From Hotz

Pushing Past Gender Barriers

Wits journalism and media studies student Imaan Moosa also identifies as a student activist. However, she was not at Wits during the #FeesMustFall protests. She is active with the Palestine Solidarity Community. She serves as the group’s secretary. 

Moosa said in her experience, it is more difficult and unsafe for women in protests. She added she has personally been manhandled by police while protesting. 

“When you’re in an environment like that and then you’re being targeted by police and they are trying to harm you, it makes you very angry,” she said.  

Moosa said she believes there is a ‘stigma’ around women in leadership positions, and that women have to “work 10 times harder than a man whose in this position because [men] don't see [females] as valuable as men.”

Moosa found herself and other women having to prove themselves not just to the men in the activism community, but to men in general who want to get involved. 

“There’s that added challenge of being a woman in activist circles where you’re not just being targeted by police or people in power but you have to explain your existence in that space,” Moosa added.

“[Men] don’t see [women] as valuable as men and you have to prove yourself not just to the men in the activism community but just to men in general who want to get involved because they don’t see you as worthy of that [leadership] position.” 

-Moosa, on how women leaders are portrayed in politics and protests

Hear From Moosa

Looking to the Future 

Activist Brenda Leonard said she was proud when the #FeesMustFall protests broke out because of the large number of young women who were unafraid to step up and be active in the protests.

“I smile because it made me feel, ‘Yes we’ve done something right!’” she said. “We fought for years, [and] here’s what we fought for, because they stood up there, they were young, they were articulate, confident and they could fight for the issues.”

Moosa emphasized the importance that students, especially women, continue to vocalize what they believe in and fight for those beliefs, because young people always seem to push for change worldwide.

She added that the struggle and danger for young women is a universal idea, and that because of the universality, they will continue to stand up for other women across the country and globe.  

“As South Africans, we have a duty to help others...any small change matters,” Moosa said. “We are the future of our generation and we are going to be the ones who are sitting in Parliament, who are making laws and changing policy and we do have a voice and we should be able to use our voice to make a difference.”

Hear From Leonard about the Future 

#tusouthafrica #equality #feminism #FeesMustFall #protests #studentactivism #femalestudentleaders #activism #studentprotests #femaleprotests #featured

[chocominnie]

Desperado —  01 (M) | JJk.

Pairing: Badboy!Jungkook X Reader

Summary : A messy situationship at it’s finest. You don’t even know whats headed your way, just even engaging in the slightest within him. See, he has an assignment to complete. A mission granted by his father thats do or die. You just so happen to be a major pawn in that assignment. He didn’t mean to take an interest in you. Surely it was an accident right? Only except. you hold much value in this game that he’ll do anything to complete it. Oblivious is what you are. Poor thing. Poor.. Poor thing.

Genre: Mature/ Mafia!Jungkook

Trailer: xxxxx  preview

Word Count : 4.6k

Warnings : This honestly isn’t for the light hearted and the weak…High angst, usage of drugs, drug mentions, mental illness, switch!jungkook, Brat reader, possible stockholm syndrom, kidnapping, assault, death of side characters, weapons, usage of weapons, masturbation, physical violence, blood, alcohol, weed, unprotected and protected sex, spanking, honestly its a lot of aruging

Copyright:  please do NOT repost, translate, or modify my works in any way, shape or form, on any platform. If found doing so , it is considered as plagiarism and appropriate LEGAL action will be taken

‘‘ Here is the first room on your schedule.. now i’ll have Mr. Brock if he’ll have someone that has a similar schedule as you, to help you around.’’ 

You nod your head at the assistant principle and gulp. The nerves that you had somehow subdued is starting to creep back up again. Nothing or nobody in the hallways which makes the tension and nervousness in the air even more thick.

He places a hand on your back, ‘’ You’ll be fine Miss yn. If anybody bothers you, you know where my office is now right?’’

‘‘ Right..’‘

‘‘ Good then. Now go inside, im sure the class is ready to greet you.’‘ He chuckles, his cheeks puff out with a hearty smile. It’s somewhat creepy.

Taking a deep breath in, you turn around and put one hand on the door handle. Thoughts intrude your mind of such all the horrible things you could think happen. It doesn’t help that your heart is beating at a fast pace. It feels like it could burst any second now.Your hands tremble as you open the door slowly, in reward it lets out a creaking noise. 

The muttering sounds of student’s suddenly stop. A man, about 5 foot 9 looks over at you. You take in his features. A westerner. Finally someone of your kind. He has dirty blonde hair and is clean shaven. There’s a mole on the left side of his full set of lips but not to noticeable, just the right size. He can’t be anymore than twenty eight years old at the max.

‘‘ Welcome! You must be yn! Come in, Come in.’‘ He shows off his pearly whites smiling proudly. You keep your head low to not make any sorts of eye contact with the class as you make your way over to him.

‘‘ Class please Welcome yn!‘ 

You can practically feel the eyes burning on you but your head remains a little lowered. Some chatter begins once more along with some whispers and giggles of teenage girls.

‘‘ Why don’t you tell us about yourself hmm?’‘ The teacher, Mr. Brock, politely asks.

You finally manage the courage to raise your head up. It’s a bad idea you soon regret doing it. The faces all stare at you in silence, waiting for you to do as told.

Swallowing hard, you look at the teacher and then back at the silent classroom. “I’m yn, I’m uh.. new here and I just transferred from an international high-school. I moved here when I was eleven due to my mom’s job. I was born in the United States, but soon Canada had became my home after being born.”

‘‘ Wow! A foreigner!” One person bursts out. Then suddenly, all of the questions start coming in at once.

‘‘ How is it in Canda? ’‘

‘‘ I’m visiting the United States over the summer!’‘

‘‘ Is it true that Americans are obese?’‘

Questions are thrown left and right. You try and answer each one of them but your mind and mouth clam shut. It’s not like you’re from America anyways. So all you do is just stand there opening and closing your mouth trying to get a correct answer out.

‘‘ Enough!’‘ Mr. Brock gives one stern look to the class and they all fall silent. You silently thank him in which he nods and turns back to the once more silent class. ‘‘ She surely doesn’t want to be bombarded with questions. Just welcome her class. Shall we begin teaching once more?’’

’‘ Yes teacher.’‘ The class says in monotone.

Mr Brock sends you to an empty seat in the back. On your way to the back, there are more giggles and murmurs but you get past it. Besides, it would be harder for them to stare since you’re in the back.  Your eyes are kept low as you pull out the materials needed for the class. The teacher resume’s what he’s teaching all while you think of how many ways you hate this new school.

The bell rang a chime-ful ring that almost makes you want to mentally drown yourself. At your old school they did not have that annoying chime. Instead it was a regular 10 second dull ring. This just adds on the list of why you really don’t want to be here.

‘‘ Hi, I’m Ayami! Nice to meet you!’‘ Your thoughts are interrupted by a short girl with long dark brown hair, smiling and holding her hand out. You eye her up and down and hesitantly take her hand and shake it.

‘‘ You’re new yeah? Can I see your schedule?’‘

You furrow your eyebrows as she hold she hand out to see the schedule. You give it to her.

She scans over it and hands it back with a smile on her face. ‘’ We have all our core classes together. I play the Violin and I also take Fitness class. So we will only see each other three times out of the day and in lunch also.’’

The two of you start walking down the noisy yet not crowded hallway. Each time a person passes you they chuckle or whisper. You keep your head forward with hopes of the day going by fast.

‘’ Fitness?’’ You didn’t know it was an option. 

‘’ Yeah it’s like P.E with no teacher. Only two gyms, one for boys and one for girls. You basically have to fight for slots in scheduling for a spot. They give you a blue card to swipe to get inside the gym.’‘

‘‘ They did not tell me that.’‘  You frown.

‘‘ Well you did come in the end of the year. Plus you have to be academically good for them to even consider letting you take fitness.’‘

Academically good? Just for a workout? ‘’ Why is that?’’

‘‘ Because.’‘, She chuckles as you both turn down the corridor,  ‘‘ You have to take an hour off your performing arts class in order to get fitness. Hence why your grade in that class and others have to be good.’‘ 

‘‘ Oh.’‘ You nod. ‘‘ That makes since now because you would have to do good in that class. I get it.’‘

You both stop at a classroom. The blue sign on the left of it reads AP Psychology. You can’t help but to smile because it’s always been one of your most favorite classes. 

‘‘ You are in your last year correct? Have you chosen your major and college?’‘ She waves to the teacher as you follow behind her. You look at the female teacher and she gives a warm smile.

Ayami makes her way to the back of the room and points to a desk next to hers. You take it as her wanting you to sit there so you do. ‘’ My major is Psychology. I haven’t chosen a University.’’

‘‘ I chose SNU. I’m going in the medical field as a Pediatrician. Oh how I just love kids.’‘ She beams. You chuckle at her sitting position. Elbows on the table with her head in her hands and a smile to top it all of.

‘‘ Then why choose Psych as a class?’‘ You ask. 

Ayami shrugs her shoulders while adjusting her seating position. ‘’ Maybe I’ll need it one day.’’ 

By the time the class is over you’ve written down every word and notes that the teacher had provided. Ayami had slept for half the class but managed to get some of the notes down. Maybe she’ll ask for them later. That defeats the purpose of her being so called academically well though.

‘‘ And this is the cafeteria. We have 4 main lines of lunch choices. European food, Korean food, American food, and Japanese food.’‘

Your mouth drops at the sight of the huge cafeteria. It’s very spacious with a set of spiral stairs leading up to another seating area upstairs. Two cafeterias? What doesn’t this place have? Each flag of all over the world hangs on the perimeter of the ceiling in the two huge cafeterias. You try and count them one by one but end up disregarding it seeing as though there are so many.

‘‘ We have two vending machines. One with juice and the other with little snacks.’‘ She points to the farthest corner of the cafeteria. There stands two brightly colored machines filled with snacks and drinks. Wow.

You and Ayami begin to walk towards Japanese cuisine line. It wasn’t pretty full in the lines or cafeteria in general. ‘‘ Amazed? Yeah I remember being the same way after I moved from Japan to Seoul and as placed here. I got in by auditioning and recommendation.’’

Grabbing a tray, your mouth waters at what you see before your eyes. All the foods that the lunch lady’s prepared looks so delicious. ‘’ You’re from Japan? You speak english very well..’’

‘‘ Yes I’ve studied hard. I practice a lot too. I speak three languages total. Japanese, English, and I had to be forced to learn Korean and the hangul alphabet.’‘ She chuckles at the end.

‘‘ Can I just have whatever she gets?’‘ You look up at the lunch lady and she nods in approval after you hand her your dark green tray. After the tray is filled with enough food, you and Ayami thank her and move down the line.

‘‘ Try this, it’s sweet in the inside.’’ 

You watch her as she drops two biscuit like circles onto your tray with her chopsticks. ‘’ It’s kind of an overwhelming sweetness, so you’ll only need to eat a little bit.’’ She says.

Once you two have payed for your two meals, she leads you to a table in the middle of the cafeteria. You notice two females and one male which makes your anxiety even more high than it was. New people and you don’t mix together. Its just an awkward scene waiting to happen.

‘‘ Minlee, Crystal, Sungmin, this is my new friend YN.’‘ Sitting her tray down, you feel a tug on your skirt informing you to sit next to her in which you do. They stare at you for a bit, making you look down at your lap to avoid the eyes.

Ayami sighs, ‘‘ Idiots! Say something nice.’‘ 

‘‘ I’m Crystal. I like your eyes...’‘

You look up at her and take in her beauty. Clear skin with strawberry red, long hair and bangs. Her figure seems to be very slim and tall. Full lips with a tiny mole on near her right eyebrow, and a nice nose. Surgery maybe? 

‘‘ Thank you.’‘ 

‘‘ Sungmin. Art is my kind of thing.. what’s yours.’’

Your eyes almost buck out of your head when you make eye contact with him. He has a sharp jawline with a protruding collar-bone and semi long neck. But it all makes up for his tall height and hands that are big also. Double eye-lids with white teeth and a cute yet sexy baby face. One that looks innocent but might be the opposite. To compliment his face, he has short wavy tresses with bangs covering his forehead.

‘‘ The piano..’’ You say, ending the eye contact that was made. You look down at your plate of whatever delicious looking food it is, but your mind goes blank when you realize there are no forks or spoons, just chopsticks. Your worst enemy.

‘‘ Oh how nice. I’m Minlee. I play the viola.. I also draw a bit.”

She’s pretty too. A short bob cut and fringe bangs. Her cheeks are full and just look so pinchable, even with her two dimples. She’s a little on the shorter side but not too short.

Sungmin notices you staring at your tray of food. A look of concern comes across his face in which you try your best to still not make eye contact with him. .’‘ Do you not like the food here?’‘ 

‘‘ Oh no no no the food looks so good. It’s only that...’‘ You trail off not wanting to reveal something to embarrassing. What would they even think of you. An eighteen year old who doesn’t know how to use chopsticks.

Minlee smiles and finishes off for you, ‘‘ You can’t use chopsticks right?’‘ She puts hers down and grabs yours, breaking them apart. You watch her as she folds up a piece of tissue to the point where it is thick. Then takes a hair tie from her wrist and slips the block of tissue in between the chopsticks then wraps the hair tie around them.

‘‘ Trainer chopsticks. There you go.’‘ She smiles, putting it back onto your tray. You thank her as your cheeks begin to heat up. ‘‘ Sorry for the inconvenience.’‘

‘‘ Wow. How do you eat at restaurants and at home?’‘ Sungmin leans forward from his previous position waiting for your answer. You bite your lip and begin to pick up a dumpling. ‘‘ I order out or either pick it up at a restaurant. We have forks and knives and spoons at home.’‘

‘‘ You’ve lived here for so long, how do you not know how?’‘ Crystal giggles and takes a sip of her berry-like beverage. ‘‘ I try and practice but give up after the first try.’‘

‘‘ Ah I see. Well we can help you work on that if you like.’‘ Min-lee takes a bite of her pizza and nods. ‘‘ Thanks. Although you guys might not be very successful. I’m short tempered.’‘ You chuckle, plopping another dumpling into your mouth.

Crystal lets out one of her cute giggles again, ‘‘ Non sense. It took me till i was ten to stop using trainer chopsticks. I hated when my mom made me use regular ones.’‘ 

You laugh with the whole table again. This might not be so bad. Four new friends on the first day of school. Wow, being the anti-social person you are it’s a new record. You only had a total of 2 friends at your old school, but something inside you thought that they weren’t really your friends because they talked to you whenever they felt like it. 

‘‘ Oh they’re coming! Look guys look!.’‘ Crystal points and squeals at the entrance into the cafeteria. ‘‘ Oh god. Here she goes again.’‘ Sungmin rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

She punches his arm and does a harsh ‘shh’ sound. Sungmin rubs his arm and curses under his breath making you smile at the two. ‘‘ Shut up idot! I need to have quietness while i intake their handsomeness.’‘ 

‘‘ Those boys are nothing but trouble.’‘ Minlee says, shaking her head also as Ayami agrees with her.

You turn to look at the entrance to see who they’re referring to. But you freeze and begin to choke on a piece of noodle as they walk through the cafeteria.Tears form in your eyes as your coughing becomes more violent.  Ayami ferociously pats your back until the noodle becomes un-lodged in your throat and onto the ground. 

‘’ Damn it yn! What’s wrong?’’ Ayami says, eyes wide of fear and curiosity. You shake your head as your breathe hard, ‘‘ I just didn’t expect it to be the boys from this morning.’‘ 

Sungmin hands you his un-opened bottle of water in which you take and thank him just before taking multiple sips.

‘‘ They’re beautiful aren’t they? Jungkook, Jimin, Namjoon, Seokjin, Hoseok, Taehyung, and Yoongi.’‘ It doesn’t help that Crystal is in a dreamy like state with her hands on her head and a slight smile as she stares off into space.

You turn to get a good look again. They sit in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where you guys sit as possible.There’s seven of them and they laugh and talk amongst themselves. They aren’t looking or staring at you, unlike the other students who did so all day. So it’s declared safe to stare at them without fear of making eye contact. 

They certainly don’t look like blood brothers. The one from this morning has muscles with dark brown hair and a serious jaw-line. Another is taller, leaner, but still muscular, and has black hair with a dimple when he smiles. The third one has ginger hair and an eye smile when he laughs. His full lips also catch your attention. The forth one is less bulky with a brown haired mullet and facial features to die for. Fifth one has a bright personality coming from the way you’ve seen him smile and laugh way more than the others. He has blonde hair. Sixth one has what it seems like a dull personality. He sits with his legs crossed with a neutral facial expression that doesn’t change. But something tells you he might be the biggest sweetheart ever. The very last one looks like he could be a model like the mullet guy. Broad shoulders and a squeaky laugh. How adorable. You just could not look away from them. They’re so beautiful it’s unnatural.  They are like the faces you see on a fashion magazine. Or maybe even skin care. 

‘‘ Who are they?’‘ You turn back to them at the table. ‘‘ You were staring at them for like five minutes.’’ Ayami shakes her head and finishes up the last of her ramen. ‘‘ They’re trouble that’s who they are.”

‘‘ No.’‘ Crystal interrupts, ‘‘ They’re handsome men that make this school worth going to.’‘ Sungmin scoffs and sits back up from his slumped position. ‘‘Yeah right. I’m number eight after them on the schools ranked handsome list.’‘

‘‘ Exactly. Number eight, idiot.’’ Crystal roles her eyes earning a fake hurt expression from Sungmin. ‘‘ I swear if you weren’t my sister I would say something so insulting.’‘

So they are brother and sister. Interesting.

‘‘ I’ll tell you who they are.’‘ Min-lee sighs and pushes the tray away from her while clearing her throat. ‘‘ They came two years ago. All of them came together. Nobody knows where or what school or district they came from. Rumor had it that they didn’t need to audition like the rest of us to get in. That’s when people started to speculate and get interested in them.’‘

‘‘ I did not have to audition..’‘ You say, confused. ‘‘ It’s because you had a good recommendation from someone that’s of higher level.’‘ Ayami says.

‘‘ Oh. Keep going.’‘

Minlee continues, ‘’ They wear all this rich-like clothing and have always walked to their core classes together like they were some type of high-class boys. But in reality, someone found out information on them, and who they work for.’’

You furrow your eyebrows. Work for? What does that even mean?

‘‘ Supposedly they are all in this gang. It’s one of the most notorious gangs in South Korea. Say the name and everyone knows who you’re talking about. But nobody knew who they were. The principle had denied the rumors and speculations when it was brought to her attention. But it was too late. Now everybody believes that they’re truly apart of it. And guess who’s father is the of the gang.’’

You had no idea. You sat there waiting for her to continue as everyone else became quite at your table.

‘‘ Jeon Jungkook. The dark browned haired guy with the killer face.’‘ Minlee sits back with a smirk upon her face. You don’t know how to take all this in.

Seven boys apart of a gang? But go to a performing arts school? It doesn’t make sense at all.

‘‘ So he and his friends work for his father correct?’‘ You ask. They all nod their heads at you. ‘‘ That means that they might be killers?’‘ You swallow hard, trying not to look back at the seven boys.

‘‘ And drug dealers, and criminals.’‘ Ayami rolls her eyes and sighs. 

‘‘ They’re all ruthless. They might seem like they care about you, if you’re pretty to them. All they want is sex from girls and money from doing their dirty job.’‘ Minlee says.

‘‘ Non-sense, I know a few girls that have dated them.’‘ Crystal frowns while gazing over at them. ‘‘ And how long did it last? Did it end well.’‘ Sungmin’s sarcasm comes out of his mouth. 

‘‘ Nobody asked you dummy. I was just saying.’‘ Crystal lets out a huff of air, picks up her tray, and starts getting up. ‘‘ I’m going to toss my trash. Anybody coming?’‘

You just so happen to get stuck with the night shift before someone comes in and does the overnight. You wish someone would have covered your shift for you. It makes it even worse since you’re utterly exhausted from getting used to your new school today. All you wanted to do was go home and sleep, but work calls and money must be made. 

‘‘ How was school?’‘ 

‘‘ Eh. I need more time to get used to it.’‘ As you bring in the last boxes of ordered candy, you thank the vendor and watch him leave the store.

‘‘ Really? I would kill to go to a performing arts school.”

You chuckle at Sejun, your coworker who manages to keep you sane at the store. ‘’ It’s not all that. The uniforms are ugly.’’

‘‘ Uniforms? Ha, nevermind I wouldn’t want to go. I can’t just wear one single thing for the whole school week. You know I’ve got to express my fashion in any way honey.’’ He snaps his fingers together and does a striking pose.

You stifle your laugh with a hand coming across your mouth. He likes putting sarcasm on the stereotypes of him, which is funny to you. Such a silly person, but a blessing to work with. When you met Sejun you thought he was the flirty type because he’s always hands on and touchy towards the staff. But after one day you had asked if he liked you, he laughed right in your face for a good two minutes. It was embarrassing, so you thought, but all in the end he shook his head no and told you he is gay, in English, in his Aussie accent. 

It was a relief to you but you saw that coming out of no where. How could you not have known? Till this day it still shakes you up , but in a relieving good way.

‘‘ The group at school misses you. I told them to come into the convience store to see you one day this week.’‘ 

Sejun takes half the boxes from you and starts slicing them open with a box cutter. You carefully hang each pack of candy onto the metal hanger with ease. ‘’I’ll be looking forward to it. We need a night out all together.’’

Stacking an empty box on-top of another, ‘’ But exams are coming soon. I heard from one of my new friends at school that they also test each quarter on your performing art skill. We have this big one coming up, as my teacher said today.’’

Sejun hands you a box of blue raspberry candies that belong on the row you’re working on. You take it from him and toss it next to you to work on when you’re done. ‘’ Yeah. Maybe an end of the year graduation party. A big one.’’  He says.

You nod your head in approval as you hang the last bag of strawberry candies up, ‘’ Sounds great. Lets rent a place shall we?’’

‘‘ Yes. We could invite anyone and everyone! Let’s plan this out more later on okay?’‘ Sejun giggles of excitement. ‘‘ Besides, I need to meet new people. Preferably a handsome boyfriend who can handle all this ass and sass. ‘‘

You almost choke on your mint flavored gum when he says that. Sejun giggles once more and pats your back, ‘’ I’m totally not joking. We need to get boyfriends. Any cute boys at your school? No down-low ones for me.’’

Your mind instantly goes to the group of boys. You don’t know the names by heart yet. But you do know the one who confronted you, Jungkook. The leader of the group at school, and son of a mafia-drug lord. 

You swallow hard and shake your head no quickly, “No. I don’t.’’

Sejun smirks, getting up from his crouching position and placing his hands on his hips. “You’re lying. Come on spill it to me mama.”

Looking back up at him, you try and hide your burst of laughter that comes tickling up your throat. “Im,.. serious..’’ 

‘‘ Who is it. Let’s go behind the counter and talk. Some customers might come in soon. It get’s busy around 5 till 7. ‘‘ He holds out a hand to help you up. You pick up all the little empty boxes and then grab his hand for him to yank you up.

On your way to the counter you toss the boxes in the huge recycling bin by the soft drink machines. ‘’ Honestly, it’s really nothing.’’ 

‘‘ Oh so it’s more than one boy hmm? ‘‘ Sejun smirks again. You roll your eyes playfully and stand right next to him, leaning on the counter. ‘‘ Okay fine. It is more than one and they are all handsome but i’ve been warned about them.’‘

‘‘ Spill it Now.’‘

‘‘ Seven boys go to my school and its rumored they are in the mafia. Get this, the leader of the gang spoke to me this morning. Of course they’re all stuck up and rude. They laughed at me when the leader scolded me for being in their way.’‘

You shiver at recalling this morning’s entrance scene. ‘’ The leader is nonchalant with a bad attitude. He’s got a great face though. The rest are all very handsome. Like they all belong on some modeling contract and on the front page of some magazine.’’

You notice Sejun’s mouth hanging open which makes you furrow your eye-brows at him. ‘’ What? You know them or something?’’

He raises his finger slowly out of your direction. Your eyes follow to where he’s pointing and your breath hitches for a quick second. No way. No fucking way.

The door’s bell rings signaling someone has entered. But it wasn’t just someone. No, it was more than one person. Those seven boys. Laughing and being loud as they walk inside, barely even noticing you or Sejun.

‘‘ Are those the ones you were talking about? Because they’re hot as hell and-’‘

‘‘ Shut up Sejun.’‘ You whisper harshly. You can’t believe with your own eyes what you’re seeing. How is this even possible. On-top of that, how did you not see those on them before.

Sejun whispers, ‘’ okay but all of them are covered in tattoos.. major turn on oh my god.’’ 

Your mind or body doesn’t pay attention to him talking. All you cant think about is how Jungkook’s neck, biceps, arms, and chest are covered in tattoos. The deep, black v-neck on him portrays his collar-bone making you just want to melt right then and there. 

Tattoos? Who knew that tattoos could look so fucking good on a person like him. It’s obvious to why he covers them in school, but jesus christ they look to damn good on him.

The ripped black skinny jeans show off his very muscular thighs. Is this heaven right now? You can’t even stop yourself from staring so hard. The blood rushes through your cheeks just imagining him shirtless with all the tattoos showing.

‘‘ Yn.. Yn.. come back to earth he’s coming up to the counter damn it!’‘ 

Sejun shaking you makes you come back to reality. Before you know it, he’s standing right in-front of you with a case of beer and condoms. Not any regular sized condoms either.

‘‘ Well well well, it’s little miss entrance ruiner. ‘‘ He smirks, eyes never leaving yours, brown eyes burning right into your soul. ‘‘ Ring these up for me baby-cakes.’‘

You bite your lip and break eye contact first while grabbing the scan gun. Your hands shakily scan each item not even daring to look back up. ‘’ Your total  is $22.34... cash, credit or de-’’

He cocks his head to the side with a sly grin on his face, ‘‘ Cash.. if you don’t mind.’‘ 

‘‘ N-no problem.’‘

He gives you a twenty and a five dollar bill in which you put it in the cash register and take out the change back for him. Ripping the receipt off the printer, you hand it to him first and then the change. 

‘‘ The name’s Jungkook.’‘ 

He smirks once more before grabbing his items and leaving out with the rest of the boys trailing behind him. Once the door closes, you finally let out a puff of air.

It still doesn’t hit you that what just happened is real. It can’t be real. You did not just hold an actual conversation with a possible gang person. A sexy one at that.

#jungkook #bad boy jungkook #badboy!jungkook #jungkook tattoo #jungkook angst #jungkook smut #jungkook fluff #jimin #jimin smut #jimin angst #jimin fluff #yoongi #yoongi smut #yoongi angst #yoongi fluff #mafia bts #bts #bangtan sonyeondan #kookie #kpop smut #kpop mafia #kpop fluff #kpop angst #kpop reaction #kpop fanfiction #desperado #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok

[rachelmarie6-blog1]

Reflection

Language and Communication:

We go through our lives saying phrases and words that we do not realize are male generic terms. An example that is relevant to almost everyone is when we say “hey guys!”. Many people do not even think about what this could make females feel because it is so normal. There are gender-neutral terms that are now replacing many of the male generic terms. An example of those are “people” or “mankind”. An example of communication and language I found on tumbler is a quote that says “My coach said I run like a girl. And I said if he ran a little faster he could too.” This speaks to be because while I was growing up I heard multiple times “you throw like a girl” or “you run like a girl” and I always got offended by these phrases. I believe I am not the only one that thinks this. Little girls these days, I believe, are less offended by these phrases due to the fact they are raised that girls and boys are capable of the same things in life.  

 Gender and In/Equality:

When many think of the word feminism they relate the word to the word equality. The equality that we as women strive for must be brought to an individual’s attention at a young age. Many young children are more optimistic about their roles in the world and it is easy to explain to them that men and women should have equal chances in this world. This idea is explained in the “Gender Construction in Children” section in chapter two. This equality we strive for is in every aspect of life. These aspects include the workplace, the standards that are held for our physical appearance, sexual violence, and in general human rights. An example I found on Tumblr is very basic and straight to the point. The question asked is “what is more important to you feminism or equality?”. Another account replied “to me feminism means equality so there is no difference and they both have the same importance. Thanks for the question.” This speaks to me because of the simplicity and the blunt answer. This to me is a perfect answer to the question because the underlying theme to feminism is equality.

Embodiment, Beauty, and the Viewer:

An advance in technology is allowing the editing of photos and creating false advertising. The way that certain companies are portraying women and men are not realistic. The fact that men and women are now seeing images like this make them expect everyone to look like these pictures. This is effecting the society greatly. The first artifact that I found is a simple picture of a sign that says “your body is not wrong”. This is powerful to me because everyone has a different body type and different genes that they were given so not one body is wrong. You were given the body that you have from your parents, yes you can alter it slightly by working out and being active and eating right but for the most part you have the body that you will have forever and I think that is an important thing to remember. The next artifact relates to the first in many ways. The artifact is about how the fashion editorials of seven major magazines used no plus-sized models. There is many things wrong with the fact no plus sized models were used but the main problem is that this again is promoting that there is only one ideal body type and if you do not have that body type your body is wrong. For the last artifact that I found is a picture that is directed towards younger girls. It is telling them that they are powerful, valuable, and deserving of every chance in the world. This specific post could have been in a few categories but I put it in this because a lot of young girl’s link power and success with beauty. That is wrong and they should not have to worry about being the most beautiful girl because everyone is beautiful in their own way.

 Work, Inequality, and Neoliberalism:

In class, we stressed the fact that there is a wage gap present and we even learned ways to reduce the wage gap by listening to the ways we can negotiate our annual salary. We also talked a lot about how women do not have the same opportunities when it comes to holding high positions within a company. Inequality in the work place is very similar to gender inequality because females get treated different than males. A Tumblr post I found was a post that compared what women made on average for every dollar that a man makes. The point that is being brought to everyone’s attention is that still today in 2017 women are still making less than a man and it gets worse for those of different ethnicities. This post was posted on equal pay day. The fact that there is a day to recognize that the wage gap is a big deal may lead to a change in the future. Another post that I found was similar to the current event that I talked about in class. Sports Illustrated shared a Facebook post that recognized the NFL hiring its first full-time female official. Sports officials are usually male and I think that it is wonderful that women are slowly gaining opportunity to officiate just like men. This just proves that some people believe that women are just as capable as a man to know sports and they will give out more opportunities to females in the future.

 Sexual Violence:

Watching The Hunting Ground in class opened my eyes to the amount of sexual violence constantly going on around me at any given time. Searching for posts on Tumblr was very easy because this problem is so prominent in today’s society. The first post that I found was appalling to me because of all the sexual references on everyday objects like beer bottles, cards against Humanity questions and answers, books, and commercials. After reblogging this post it brought to my attention many other everyday objects that contain sexual references. Seeing these sexual references are now becoming normalize and that is why I believe rape is overlooked as much at it is. The second post that I found related to the movie we watched in class perfectly. The post talked about what a person was wearing and how much they had to drink and it pointed out that rape is rape no matter the circumstances are. This post speaks the truth, rape is rape and the movie we watched repeated that idea quite a few times. The girls and guys in the video stressed the fact that they were questioned many times about if they were drinking when the rape happened and what they were wearing but none of that should matter cause as this post states, rape is rape. The third post I found regarding sexual violence also correlated with The Hunting Ground well. The post is talking about consent. What stood out to me is the middle picture that states “silence is not consent”. This is important to remember because no response does not mean yes in any way shape or form. Many people are under the influence of a substance when they are raped on let’s say a college campus and just because the given person does not say no that does not mean they agree to the sexual encounter.

 Human Rights and Global Activism:

Chapter 10 in the textbook references many different aspects of human rights that many people would never think of. An example would be water. Having water available is considered a human right. The chapter also talked about human trafficking. The human trafficking aspect of the chapter related to the sexual violence posts that I found because many of the individuals involved in human trafficking are subject to repeated sexual violence. A woman named Lydia Cacho from Mexico is a human rights activist and a journalist. In her work, she reported on and uncovered numerous cases of violence against women and children. She was beaten and arrested for exposing these cases. She was awarded for the work she did. The fact that she was arrested and punished for exposing the covered up cases of violence is very similar to how colleges cover up sexual assault cases on campus.  

           History of Women’s Activism in the United States: Struggles and Solidarities:

Women have been consistently trying to pave a pathway for all females in the world. This pathway is based upon equality. These women are fighting for equality not only in the workplace but also when it comes to sexual violence or the unrealistic expectations of a woman’s image. Mary Jackson’s story is very inspirational in regards to women making a difference in the workplace. She was the first female engineer to work for NASA and she ended up achieving the most senior engineering title available. She made large breakthroughs in the engineering world and the sad part is she did not get recognition for all the hard work she put in her projects. This tragedy was displayed in the film Hidden Figures. The film portrayed the inequality between female and male workers but more specifically African American females and white male workers. The second women that made a huge change in the women’s activism world is US political activist, Friedan. She was credited for sparking the second wave of feminism that was highlighted in our textbook. She also co-founded the National Organization for Women. Both of these women helped pave a path for women of this generation.

[theconservativebrief]

BoJack Horseman is not a good person.

That seems self-evident. Over the course of his show’s first four seasons, he’s nearly slept with teenagers. He’s been privy to the overdose and death of a young woman who looked up to him. He’s drank and caroused and just generally burned his life down, over and over again. But he’s rich and powerful. He has money. He has fame. He has excuses, like the undiagnosed depression, or the chemical dependencies, or the shitty childhood.

But he still does bad things. And yet he is not a bad person, necessarily.

He does care for people, and he occasionally thinks beyond himself to care about them on a non-superficial level. He’s helped out many friends, and in the show’s fourth season, he was a surprisingly stable rock for the woman eventually revealed to be his half-sister, who found herself trying to track down her roots (she was given up for adoption) and instead found… BoJack.

The gap between BoJack as he wants to be seen and BoJack as he actually is has always driven BoJack Horseman. It’s one of the reasons I suggested, back in the show’s second season, that it would be a successor to Mad Men, and I’m astonished at how the series hasn’t really gone wrong since. It just might be the single best TV show in production right now, with great laughs but also rich, thoughtful character depth.

And in season five, BoJack Horseman brings all of that character development down around its ears, in a stretch of episodes that represents the most precise dissection of BoJack Horseman yet — and perhaps the first truly sustained artistic response to the #MeToo movement, albeit one that was largely crafted before the fall of Harvey Weinstein (though Mel Gibson was on the show’s writers’ mind).

Look out, folks. Major, major spoilers for season five follow. If you haven’t seen it, look away!

If you’ve seen the entire fifth season of BoJack, then you’ll perhaps recognize that my attempt to frame him as neither a good nor a bad person is deliberate. That is, after all how Diane — perhaps BoJack’s truest friend in the whole world — explains her friend to himself when, in a fit of self-loathing, he asks her to essentially destroy his career by writing the sort of exposé of his terrible deeds that has taken down so many other Hollywood bigwigs, in our reality and his.

But Diane refuses to do that, telling BoJack that he’s not a good person or a bad person — he’s just a person. (Or, rather, a horseman, but you get the point.) Yes, he’s done all of those terrible things, and yes, his career might end because of them. But she’s not going to be the one to set that outcome in motion, because it would, on some level, be doing him a favor. It would be indulging one of his self-destructive impulses, and she’s not going to let him commit career suicide by journalist.

As I watched this sequence unfold, I wondered if I would end up feeling like it was a cop-out, if I would grumble to myself at how creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and his writers had tiptoed up to the precipice of holding their main character accountable in a forum larger than his own mind, then tiptoed right back. In the season’s last section, BoJack checks into rehab to work to contain his latest addiction (to painkillers). The show he was on gets canceled. The reset button is hit.

But the more I think about this sequence and the many leading up to it in season five, the more I think Bob-Waksberg and company haven’t avoided holding their protagonist accountable. After all, if any showbiz satire on television could plumb the depths of its main character being held accountable for past misdeeds by a #MeToo-esque movement, it’s BoJack Horseman, which is as haunted by the past as any great ghost story.

BoJack has an idea — sort of. Netflix

It’s easy enough to imagine BoJack’s ghosts stepping into the light. It’s easy enough to imagine the rest of the series taking place in a world where BoJack keeps fighting to get his career back, only to realize that the meaning of words like “redemption” and “forgiveness” has to be more than skin deep. And it’s easy enough to imagine these writers finding a way to make that battle resonate with our current era.

But that is also, on some level, too easy an answer for this show. BoJack wants Diane to write an article taking him down, because he wants to punish himself. He doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love or admiration or anything good, because he’s done monstrous things. He wants someone to slot him into the role of villain, because he knows that he has acted like a villain and might still do so again. And once he’s accomplished that, he can finally drift away, secure in having isolated everyone he cared about.

BoJack Horseman has always been about how our worst impulses feed into each other, all of the ways that mental illness can feed addiction, or that addiction can feed doing terrible things to other people. (BoJack physically assaults his female co-star and lover this season, in an on-set stunt that goes horribly wrong partly because he’s so high.) And the show concentrates on this theme not to excuse bad behavior, but, instead, to try to help us understand how it can be better combatted before it happens, how self-loathing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of destruction — I am a shitty person, who does shitty things. Well, what if you’re not?

Yes, there are monsters in the world. But there are also so many people like BoJack, who have done monstrous things — perhaps many monstrous things — but who are not beyond redemption, who might yet be forgiven. What does that look like? And how do we find our way there? Answering those questions is the work of the rest of this remarkable series, I suspect, but it’s also ground zero for season five.

The role BoJack plays in season five is that of a disturbed and distressed detective named Philbert, in a series named Philbert (just as BoJack Horseman is named for BoJack Horseman). Run by the self-proclaimed genius Flip McVicker (a very funny Rami Malek), the in-show series allows BoJack to lampoon just about every trend of dark cable and streaming dramas, which leads to some of the season’s best jokes.

But it also adds a surprisingly important thematic underpinning to the entire season, as these sorts of dark dramas are often about those who seek to skirt responsibility for terrible things they’ve done. When Philbert suspects that he might be the one who killed his wife (the crime that haunts him), his show lets him off the hook by inventing a twist that proves he didn’t do it. It’s indicative of a culture addicted to pretending responsibility is a joke, that if you really try hard enough, you can absolve yourself of bad deeds without having to work at redemption.

These ideas course through the season, with each and every character longing to avoid responsibility for something they’ve done — be it playing a part in a crumbling marriage, not breaking up with someone who’s not going to be a good long-term partner, or the darker deeds of BoJack.

Don’t worry. Everybody else is back too. Netflix

But the series also twins that idea with the idea of blame, the idea of finding a scapegoat and sometimes even a completely justifiable scapegoat. The most daring episode of the season is its sixth, which consists entirely of a single long monologue delivered by BoJack, a eulogy for his recently deceased mother. (If Will Arnett doesn’t win an Emmy for his voice performance, it will be a bigger travesty than usual.) It’s a full episode’s worth of grappling with what it means to be someone’s child and maybe someone’s parent, with how hard it can be to have traumas you weren’t privy to visited upon you by a parent, with the challenge of accepting that you might have inherited their damage, might literally be carrying their time bomb in your genes.

But even as the series insists we can inherit damage, can have trauma visited upon us, it doesn’t let those who pass along that trauma to others get off easily. If there is a reason BoJack can remain our protagonist, it’s because he, however fitfully, makes a few steps forward every season. Season five might feature his blackest pit yet, but it also features genuine moments of kindness between him and his friends, and what might amount to his most successful relationship yet on the show — before he destroys it with his actions, that is.

I realize this makes the series sound a little like Philbert, at least in the sense that it’s a self-important slog. And the construction of season five might be a little less cohesive than the show’s gorgeous, devastating season four. (I will have to watch it six more times to be sure.) But the series remains as winning and funny as ever alongside all of this, and possessed of a confidence in its ability to do whatever it likes — including staging an episode where two characters who seemingly have nothing to do with the main plot fill us in on the other characters’ adventures anyway. There’s also side story involving a mad sex robot who ends up running the series’ version of Netflix. What’s not to love?

And yet it doesn’t matter if season five is BoJack’s best season yet or not quite as good as last season or [insert your ranking here]. It feels ever more like a miracle that this show exists and that it refuses to give lazy answers to complicated questions. There is no show as effective at plowing this particular ground and at finding answers that are at once satisfying and elusive. It is a beautiful show, and one that constantly finds new ways to surprise me.

Long may it run.

BoJack Horseman’s five seasons are all available on Netflix. Did I forget to mention that BoJack is a literal horse man, and the show takes place in a world full of bipedal animals who live alongside humans? Well, it does, but you probably knew that already.

Original Source -> BoJack Horseman season 5 is a bold, bracing look at a culture that shirks responsibility

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

[toneymcilwraith-blog]

Happy Quotes To earn You Smile

Guy tell me at all times that they want to create their other half or sweetheart delighted, however they require them to inform them how. SINCE they possess a pleased as well as powerful connection and an excellent sex lifestyle to start along with, many few which appreciate the swinger way of life do that. Create sure that you have pin directed the reason responsible for this and also that you have found the answer to that if you are actually shying out off the marriage relationship. If you are actually seeking the greatest solution, make certain that you try the Kamni Capsules for the betterment from your relationship. I was therefore delighted and also visited him, that was how our team started cohabiting happily once again. If he can not make his friend pleased, he will certainly go in another place or to somebody that he may content. Our experts promptly recognized that of these things - our marriage, our degrees and our cash - can not make our team pleased. Our experts go along with choices, regulations, and activities that make no sense or that harm us or even others somehow. However the 2nd step to this appreciation is actually to acknowledge the second point temper also teaches our company: rage instructs our company how to more than happy. I don't know of anybody that could be satisfied at that temperature level except for possibly a reverse bear! Obviously, for that reason outside points and people are not heading to make our company delighted in the longterm, as they constantly must be replaced along with another thing. Some guys are stubborn creatures sometimes, and also no man, one or female, just likes being required making modifications. You can easily produce simple, but stylish focal points by just grouping with each other several little bordered photographs. Regardless of the situation or conditions, our team come to decide on whether our team desire to feel happy and also stimulated, or difficult and lethargic. When you cherished this post in addition to you would want to acquire more information concerning yellow pages residential uk (http://1stgoalofths-year2017.info) i implore you to check out our own web-site. I make it a suggest view an episode or more throughout the week to offer me an excellent laugh. I was actually a compulsive eater that was attempting to cover this up as well as make up for it weight-wise in every and also any sort of means that I could through compulsively dieting or bingeing as well as removing but when that came down to it, I was actually addicted to food items. When you were actually delighted and also re-live those emotions inside you, spend at minimum 10 moments a time keeping in mind a time. That's the typical, everyday minutes from contentment that typically outrun our company. One means to alter this is actually by becoming deliberately aware of when our experts are actually rejoicing throughout the day. Happy people have a trio of contentment behaviors: they set objectives, possess rewarding social connections and method positive psychological practices. Whether that is your work or a job around the house, you intend to make certain you strive at that and finish this. I adore to collaborate with hardwood. I would love to mention that I never ever expected my partner to earn me happy after that, but I 'd be existing. Thus, yes, Commenter, I can easily opt to be happy or believe instants of happiness and internal peace, even with everything's taking place. I think this's not only my duty but my role to help keep an even more loving vibration on this planet-- especially right now. If you enjoy like me I will certainly advise you to just call DOCTOR Lee by means of: Ancientfathersandmothers @ as well as I assure you won't lament this by any means. If you cannot more than happy right now, in this particular second, in this particular area, at this exact time, you are going to never more than happy. If you are actually searching for techniques to make funds, but nothing at all seems to be helping you, you need to request for insight from a profession therapist. Produce a list from these factors and also look at it from time to time, to ensure you are actually consistently told. Just what makes me satisfied may or could not considerably add to your contentment And also speaking of genetics, there is actually a really good possibility that since our brains are actually wired differently and also generate various degrees of chemicals that influence our thought processes, a number of our team are heading to possess a more difficult opportunity creating a delighted connection". She has this very most priceless gift that a guy wants to supply her-a need to create her happy-then. dishonors it through making him poor and inappropriate for certainly not having the present from reader analysis I feel this is a major main reason males leave. Thus books, climaxes, as well as sundowns make me delighted; and also those are actually only a few amongst numerous, several traits that do. There's nothing at all you can possibly do concerning it other than move and also forgive on to making on your own satisfied once again. But I assume the primary step is actually to pinpoint the many things that actually DO make you delighted. To everyone available, I am going to be simple as well as very truthful to you everything Dr Shakes Harpoon has assisted me recover Matthew back to my life and also i am thus delighted about it as i am actually placing this statement online to permit all those that has this sort of passion issue to talk to Dr Shakes to prevent getting in touch with those scammers that tore me off my difficult generated income without remedy prior to i was offered to Shakes Harpoon. He knows that if he shows you he is sorry for the separation, you may decline him in order to get retribution or even you will definitely expect him to earn a devotion. You could always keep a day-to-day publication of the excellent or good traits that took place in your time or even you may match unfavorable opinions you make about your time or even your own self with something beneficial. . Most individuals decide about their life and also work based on just what is commonly taken into consideration right" and great." Just what they believe they are actually meant to accomplish - living coming from the outdoors in: letting people's desires rule your lifestyle. Make certain That He Really isn't Simply Hearing Your Slam Him: As an individual that has goned on the other side of the talk, I could tell you that when you hear these phrases, that may feel like an assault and also this could experience as if you must shield yourself. When you value how your partner believes, he is actually bound to be extra satisfied in the marriage, which consequently will definitely produce him satisfied. Pies and also cupcakes are effortless to create and best of all permit little ones to develop imaginative designs, however today our team'll focus on biscuits, particularly the kind that don't need baking: no bake biscuits. The even more our experts could be correct" as well as happy along with everyone our team meet, the fuller and more memorable our lives will definitely be actually. If you choose truly and after that act as well as do not give up, you are going to have the capacity to become a productive stay at home mom that not merely enjoys being actually along with her family members as well as children - and also naturally her little ones appreciate her presence at home - but could clear up quantity from money. If you like constructing points, you can attempt contracting and make a really good residing performing just what you adore. Don't attempt to perform traits in the dark due to the fact that that will certainly lead you to repeat the same oversights as several various other males commonly make. All material submitted on this web site is actually the duty from the gathering publishing such web content.

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Final Essay

Contreltophobia Incarnate

Contreltophobia, or agraphobia, is defined as the phobia of sexual abuse. Generally, phobias are seen as extremes of a fear, taken to a point of sensitivity where they cannot be explained. But, sexual abuse, as well as the ideals similar to it such as rape, can easily be understood as producing a strong and understandable fear, and even more so for females. Video games hold the interesting aspect of being able to simulate and represent realistic fears and create a unique type of immersion for the viewer through pure interaction. The RPG video game trilogy LISA contains almost three different generations in a family that the viewers gets to know, beginning with the more abstract and experimental origin story of Lisa, a child very obviously sexual abused by her father, and followed by two games set in a post apocalyptic world containing no females but one, a young girl named Buddy. It is mostly in this strikingly contemporary and perverted wasteland that LISA begins to reveal culturally implanted fears and paranoia of women through its extreme circumstances of abuse.

Due to warnings from parents or the increasingly common cases appearing in public news, women from a young age begin to fear the mere possibility of being taken advantage of and raped. Patricia D. Rozee, author of "Fear of Rape" from the Women's Studies Encyclopedia, found that women fear rape more than any other violent offense, such as physical non-sexual assault, armed robbery, and even murder. Rozee’s studies indicate that this intense fear of rape appears in the early years of girls’ development, between about ages 2 and 12. She also reports that women participating in the studies claim to remember hearing parental warnings about stranger danger at very young ages (Rozee Fear of Rape). LISA: THE FIRST can be described as having this fear as a major core concept. Lisa, the main character of LISA: THE FIRST, physically appears to be a young girl, and one who very clearly characterizes a child used and abused by her guardian. The choice to make Lisa so young not only emphasizes the lack of power, especially mentally, that one has as a victim of such a situation, but she also comes to represent the “worst case scenario” or parental horror story. As with all successful educational media, it is that which is the most shocking and intense which leaves the most lasting mark in one’s memory. Lisa takes on many of the warning signs of a child put in a similar situation in the real world. Key symptoms and signs of sexually abused children is that they often look distracted/distant, have nightmares, think of their self or body as repulsive, attempt suicide, have inadequate personal hygiene, and/or attempt running away from home (Stop It Now!). Lisa has long mangled hair, worn clothes (Image 1), experiences many feverish and symbolic nightmares (Image 1 and 2), which the viewer also gets to experience through her eyes, and does not speak throughout any of her game. The viewer sees her home through an exaggerated perspective, where it is implied that she is drugged regularly by her father, so the home is covered in vomit stains (Image 3). Lisa spends the entirety of the game attempting to run away from her home, and her father, who covers the landscape in many shapes and forms, such as spiders, cultists, and most often as horribly deformed monsters (Image 3 and 4). There’s even a recurring phallic looking character named Tricky Rick (Image 5) who, when Lisa tries to bypass, tells her "Did you really think that would work? I'll never leave you. You have to swallow me, get over it". The later game, LISA: THE PAINFUL, reveals that Lisa asks her brother to maim her face through cuts so that she may become unpleasant to look at as a last ditch attempt to have her father leave her alone. Her suicide on the title screen of the third game (Image 6) implies her unsuccess with that theory as well as her final, and brutal, escape. Lisa represents the most extreme case of sexual abuse, from start to finish, along with all of the nuts and bolts and quirks of one suffering from such a home life. LISA: THE PAINFUL plays with the subject of men who casually speak of rape, which on the exterior may seem hard to miss in our current world, but is more likely than you think. A canadian college in recent years has finally received backlash over a popular student orientation chant: Y is for your sister. O is for oh-so-tight. U is for underage. N is for no consent. G is for grab that ass (The Canadian Press). Completely lacking in any moral story or educational purpose, this chant solely became a way for male students to joke or relate over non consensual sex, even including underage as part of it. LISA: THE PAINFUL, the second game of the trilogy, portrays a male population with a widespread desire to take advantage of the single remaining female on earth, Buddy. Men of LISA: THE PAINFUL also casually refer to rape by spouting lines such as “You can lead a horse to water, and then do whatever you want to it!”(Image 7) in regard to Buddy. To cement this, the enemy, Bolo, even has a pretty clear attack move called “Grope”. Buddy frequently meets men seeking to take advantage of her sexually, despite her alarmingly young age. The society of the post apocalyptic world emphasizes a lack of intelligence, and therefore connects this open pedophilic ideology, rape, and similar perverse ideas as that of unintelligent people and of a degraded culture. Again, the games aim to give the worst possible scenario, as all apocalyptic tales tend to. LISA builds a world of regret to try to get viewers to read into the warning signs and into what makes this world so horrible as to get them to avoid it happening in the real world.

The LISA trilogy also contains a perforating theme of objectification and monetization of sex and females. This can be seen today in brideprice and dowry practices in some cultures. Arranged marriages still exist in many societies where the woman has a minimal say in her future. In  the apocalyptic world of the second game, where there are barely women to defend their rights, and men have degraded in moral and intelligence, it is not surprising to see this concept implemented into the game. For instance, when Buddy stumbles upon a wandering gang led by Bolo, he states, “When it comes to a king's buffet. There's no shame in eating table scraps. Especially when the scraps are this tasty. Haaaaaaaaa! Okay. Enough goofin'. Grab that pristine meat!". The entire concept of the second game is that everyone in the country of Olathe is trying to find Buddy, either for their own, mostly sexual, personal gain, or to sell her to the highest bidder, and as the only woman alive, she is quite literally the most valuable and rare item in the world at the moment. Sex with women is yearned for intensely and obsessively, and as one NPC describes in a particularly deserted map area, "Everyone left to go after that girl. I used to be like that... Chasing women... One woman actually... Sneaky cheating bitch”. Even when remembering the time where women were abundant, most of the men continuously regard their past partners and women in general in the most negative connotation. Women also become a legitimate commodity in Olathe. Paper and metal completely falls through as a form of currency, and pornographic magazines take their place (Image 8). As the only source of images of women, magazines, or mags as they come to be called in the game, become the next best thing. More interesting is how protective Olathians are of their mags, as they are very rarely picked up through simple looting. Most mags collected come from looting corpses of people who have recently died or you have beaten, a sort of selfishness and viewing of women as their own personal property becomes a core part of the game series, paralleling real world human trafficking and trading of daughters for marriage in the past and present. Physical or even printed, women become the most wanted commodity of the apocalypse with no females.

The LISA trilogy uses comedy, a simple 8-bit RPG style game to bravely tread into sensitive content and controversial topics. LISA: THE FIRST contains no plot and no storyline. It is purely imagery and limited and repetitive text, and yet it tells a story because of its directness. LISA: THE PAINFUL and LISA: THE JOYFUL use more complex game concepts like a very developed story, backstories, characters, and in game items and dialogue to increase the immersion of the viewer as well as making a more relatable environment. Viewers are able to bond to the characters, such as Buddy and even learn more about the incredibly mute Lisa through the second game. Viewers learn to associate Buddy and Lisa with unfair circumstance and come to resent those who take advantage of them or view them as lesser. The dire circumstances transfer the same ideals into the real world and it is the emotional connections that viewers get from media that goes on to follow them into their daily lives. LISA uses the video game convoy to tell the story of the abuse degradation of moral through the gradual viewing of women as only sexual objects, and the isolation and inner scarring of a child sexually abused and educates its viewers through this content.

Works Cited

LISA. Dingaling Productions, LLC. 2014. Video game.

Rozee, Patricia (n.d.). Fear Of Rape. Greenwood Electronic Media.

http://gem.greenwood.com/wse/wsePrint.jsp?id=id222

“Tip Sheet: Warning Signs of Possible Sexual Abuse In A Child's Behaviors.” Stop It Now!,

Klingberg, www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/tip-sheet-7.

The Canadian Press. “Saint Mary's University under Fire for Frosh-Week Chant Championing

Non-Consensual Sex with Underage Girls.” National Post, 25 Jan. 2015,

nationalpost.com/news/canada/halifax-university-under-fire-for-frosh-week-chant-cham

Ioning-non-consensual-sex-with-underage-girls.

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Make Me Satisfied

Joy is so intriguing, because we all have different tips regarding exactly what that is actually and also effective ways to get that. That is actually additionally no surprise that it's the Nr.1 worth for Barrier's society, if you see our slidedeck regarding this. So normally our experts are stressed along with it. There is considerably in my background to propose that I must enjoy with the blessings I have actually had, and I definitely am somewhat, but I was certainly never totally fulfilled along with myself and my reason in life. As our experts are still in January (only!) I chose today to create a listing of a few of the many things that produce me pleased. If you do not observe a powerful lady who delights in with her life specifically as that is, you have to make some primary modifications. For those who have just about any questions relating to in which as well as how you can work with yellow pages online indonesia (hop over to this site), it is possible to contact us with our page. You create me satisfied whether you understand that or not I am actually so happy understanding you are actually the one that ill enjoy for the remainder of my days. Select an exquisite menu off the appetizers with the deserts that could produce the celebrant, and the attendees, think exclusive throughout the food. However there are actually traits you can possibly do to make things manage more easily and to stay clear of shooting your own self in the foot. The salary respect for the numerous reparations that mommies produce their family, this particular day is actually observed in the whole UK and the world. You can attempt getting and create an excellent living doing just what you adore if you adore constructing points. Don't attempt to perform things unaware because this are going to lead you to repetitive the exact same blunders as many other males generally produce. All satisfied published on this site is actually the responsibility from the gathering posting such information. And while opting for, see to it you are actually opting for the one that provides you the resource from eating at the best well-known bistros. Delighted folks have the tendency to be much more practical, creative, philanthropic, selfless as well as healthier. Just ensure you classify each, so the other moms and dads recognize just what their kids are paying attention to! Probably you discover on your own in that type-- effective however unsatisfied, not satisfied however prosperous. Ensure That He Isn't really Simply Hearing Your Slam Him: As an individual that has performed the opposite of this talk, I can easily inform you that when you listen to these words, this could feel like an assault and this may experience as if you need to defend yourself. When you recognize exactly how your husband experiences, he is bound to become much more completely satisfied in the marriage, which in turn will create him pleased. The outcome is actually that you could not be capable to have a happy lifestyle if you are actually certainly not capable to possess a construction. Offering him opportunity to gear up for the sexual activity per se will definitely create the conflict believe that much more than a commitment or even day-to-day regimen to accomplish. I fully coincide you Esther, it is nobody else's task to earn you satisfied yet all yours. Andrew was regularly so delighted that this thought specifically disconcerting when he entered some of his dark state of minds. And if you would like to create your male pleased in the real feeling, after that you are going to have to make sure improvements in you. Care should be actually had, however, when trying to overcome a curse, as novice casters could really intensify that and also make this much worse. Individuals throw colours on one another as well as wish Delighted Holi." Individuals likewise produce special meals at their residence and eat with their close friends. Don't fret, our experts're not visiting advise that you help make poultry soup a staple in your diet regimen to possess a good relationship. At times companions frequently tell the various other just what they really want or need to have to feel really loved, enjoyed, and also crucial, and also the companion will definitely make some short tries to conform. Through complying with the perform's as well as do n'ts over you can always keep a man satisfied and create him addicted to you. You are actually shackling your own self to your bad emotions if you don't take action to make your lifestyle much better due to the fact that you don't think like this. I am actually cost-free to become pleased even if my good friend unmasks me, my youngster screams all evening, or my family member slams me. Find the quotes around, this's about passion, being actually along with her or even him is the happiest instant for somebody. Assessing these pleased quotes is actually only the primary step on becoming an actual optimist. Therefore, yes, Commenter, I may choose to be happy or feel minutes from contentment as well as internal love, despite all that is actually happening. I experience this's certainly not merely my task but my responsibility in order to help store a much more loving resonance on this planet-- specifically today. A female who wants to experiment is actually something that every guy imagine, thus if you wish to make him truly satisfied, offer him an opportunity try something brand new. You will discover some center main reasons for this, and understanding these factors are going to assist you create the appropriate adjustments. They just reoccur and also if you opt to pay attention to the issues rather then things you may pick up from all of them, if you prefer to view them as unpleasant people that merely will not permit you to become pleased, as folks that are just attempting to make your lifestyle much more unhappy, they will certainly sympathize a substantial period of your time. The honest truth is actually that most individuals do not come to be delighted once they acquire things they believed would make all of them satisfied. If our experts are actually currently in contact along with our inner emotions as well as not reliant on them to create our team satisfied, external resources can easily take our team more significant inner peace and happiness however simply. Numerous health plan brokers, clinics, hospitals and doctors have begun making use of the different software applications as well as items, specifically created for healthcare, baseding on their requirements. If you are actually looking for techniques to make loan, attempt to observe your heart, yet you ought to still continue to be useful. Go through all of them, consider just how they make you think and just how like others you could switch your life around. Jack Canfield the moment said that he only performs traits that make him pleased, and also he is actually a rather delighted man! The simplest technique to lead you in tune assortment is to permit you to comprehend what experiences my thoughts when I concern choose tracks for praise leading. There is considerably in my history to recommend that I need to be happy with the true blessings I have had, and I undoubtedly am actually partly, yet I was never ever absolutely delighted along with myself and my reason in life. As we are actually still in January (only!) I decided today to compose a listing from several of the important things that create me pleased. You need to have to make some major adjustments if you don't see a tough girl that is actually content with her lifestyle specifically as it is. He understands that if he presents you he is sorry for the split up, you could decline him to obtain retribution or even you will anticipate him to earn a devotion. You may always keep a daily diary of the positive or really good points that took place in your time or you could match bad remarks you make concerning your time or even on your own along with something positive. . Most individuals deciding about their lifestyle and also job accordinged to what is generally looked at right" and really good." Just what they assume they are supposed to carry out - staying from the outside in: letting other individuals's assumptions rule your lifestyle.