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nevertheless-moving · 3 months

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unable to stop dwelling on the discworld trouser leg of time where, in the penultimate fight scene in Nightwatch, Carcer manages to kill teenage Sam Vimes.

Which means that the future that Duke Vimes came from can no longer exist, which means he can’t go home. Meanwhile you’ve got a bunch of history monks with stored up temporal energy, a prepared space outside of time, and the need to do some desperate damage control before the Auditors get involved. Death shows up, reality is unweaving, Sam is reading Carcer his discworld miranda rights because what else is he supposed to do.

and finally, with little other option, the monks de-age Sam so he fits the time period and send him back out into the fray.

(they didn't call it deageing of course. His memory is hazy, splintered during that terrible in between moment, They....took the time out of him? Sanded away the edges of his self for a terrible, workable fit? It...wasn't a good feeling.)

Just—damn. Sam Vimes having to live his whole crapsack life over again, but this time as his disillusioned-reillusioned, unwillingly-character-developed, noir-epic, Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes self.

Younger (Older? He's never felt so Old, His steps so Childlike, reality twisting in his gut like one of Dibbler's pies) Sam Vimes walking around in a haze after the revolution. Desperate to go home, knowing he can’t. Wanting to drink. Knowing he can’t.

The whole precinct feels pity, he really took Keel’s death hard, hardly speaks except to do his job. Eventually he has to grit his teeth and start being present, because what else is there to do?

Resists the urge to drink until Colon takes the whole watch out to celebrate because -he’s going to be a father!

Come on Sammy, one drink won’t kill you— and after the first drink he’s cracking jokes and after the second hes smiling and after the third hes honestly the life of the party and sometime after that he’s crying about how he was going to be a father and my wife would be ashamed if she saw me drinking like this and—

Oh shit, Did anyone else know he had a wife?? A PREGNANT wife??? What—aren’t you like 12—no you're 17 now aren't you but when did—

You guys n’ver met ’er—oh gods none if you ev’n know ‘er, is jus’ me...

What—when did you lose—

I lost her the same damn day I los’ ev’rythin else, whadya think...bleeding Carcer...the fuckin revolution...

So! That! Sam only vaguely remembers the night, but rumors travel faster than light on the disc, so by the next day the whole damn city knows about poor Sam brung low by the loss of his poor, tragic, pregnant wife, so young to be a widower, and the Seamstresses nod because they already knew, don’t ask them how, somethings you just have to know in that trade.

And his mother—I don’t know, sue me, I’m a time travel fiend but there’s something deeply intriguing about a man meeting his dead parent, who is somewhat younger than him, and stepping into the old relationship like a badly fitting thing that's supposed to fit well. She would know, right? How would she deal with her son’s impossible grief? Maybe she wouldn’t know—he spent most of the time out of the house, running with different street gangs, maybe he avoids her until she dies and lives with the guilt twice over. God, we don’t even know her name. There’s just so much narrative and emotional potential that I don’t even know where to start.

When he’s on duty, which is most time - it’s agonizing because at first he remembers cases, saves lives that would have been lost. But the more time passes, the hazier his memory because in the original timeline he was becoming an alcoholic. Fuck! A kid dies and he could have saved her if he hadn’t been such a drunk, if he had just remembered where the asshole lived, but it’s all a haze, and he wants to drown out his guilt, but that’s what caused this in the first place.

Good young Sammy, who spends his rare off-time in dusty libraries (and yes, the irony that he’s apparently Carrot now is not lost on him) reading gods-only-know.

It’s not like he can ask the wizards for help, cutthroat and vicious as they are now in the not-so-distant-past.

Good young Sam, who...talks to the Broken Drum’s pet Bouncer like he’s a real person and not a dumb rock? That’s a bit weird, but he’s a bit of a funny guy.

Good old Sam, who believed the testimony of the dwarf who said the humans were trying to rob him and let the dwarf go??

the PROBLEMS this man would cause, good grief. Can you imagine a moderately progressive middle aged man with some degree of begrudging diversity and equity training that he did, for all his sins, pay attention to, suddenly going back to like, 1990, going back just 30 years, and going...oh damn this is kind of fucked up, no man you can’t say that, holy shit.

Except Sam’s lived through even more rapidly shifting social moroes! There’s no seamstress guild, there’s no women allowed inside the university, there’s no black ribboner’s society. People hunted trolls for their teeth! But Sam can’t just unlearn everything, and he can’t shut up, and he has no real luck and anyway he would absolutely get himself (temporarily) fired.

FUCK. Sam has no idea what to do with that. None. Zero clue. Wanders around in a haze until that dwarf he saved from police brutality finds him and insists on repaying the debt. No, he insists, do you have any idea what debt means to a dwarf?

“Sort-of?” he replies hesitantly, and that honest admission of incomplete knowledge shows a hell of a lot more respect and understanding than any self proclaimed dwarf-expert ever did.

Gets a job as a surface man, hauling rocks into the city. It’s backbreaking work, but, in true Discworld fashion, it’s also one hell of a workout (again the irony of being Carrot is not lost him. he freezes for a minute while hauling a rock cart, when he remembers he's technically Lost Nobility too, in a strict sense, but someone curses at him in the street and he's comfortingly grounded)

And here is where this au slides into a SPECTACULAR romantic comedy, BEAR WITH ME. Because in his time on the Watch he’s already done noir, action adventure, war story, detective who dunnit, psychological horror, but guards guards only allowed him to be a romance protagonist in an extremely limited context.

Give me righteous, twenty-something-looking, can’t-say-he-doesn’t-have-style, young Sam Vimes, not an alcoholic, being fed three square meals a day by his dwarven forced found family, hauling rocks. He is startled to find him bumping his head on a low hanging bar that he doesn’t think used to be there, eventually realizing that he’s an inch or two taller than he remembers. Huh. Guess all that bearhuggers really did stunt his growth.

Still doesn’t get what some of the looks from women he’s getting are about, sure, he’s dirty but so is everyone else. Fine, he took his shirt off, but it’s hot out, there’s far wrinklier than him hauling heavy loads, get a life.

Happens to glance in the Ankh one day when it’s particularly slow and shiny and is startled to realize that he might be turning heads for a different reason. Oh. Right, not that he was ever a heartbreaker, but he did alright for himself... when he was a younger and his face hadn’t been broken so many times. Which...it isn't now.

Is mildly disturbed by the revelation.

Especially once things blow over at the precinct and what with high mortality rates, he ends up with getting hired again. The boys are delighted to have him back, nevermind that he’s an odd one, noone is ever quite in your corner like Vimsey, absence makes the heart fonder, no one else works that hard, and he’s not even competition for promotion. All around great guy, we should set him up with somebody and just, no.

It just keeps getting worse! He’s literate! He’s a feminist! He believes abuse victims! He’s got a tragic backstory! He’s unreasonably good in a fistfight! He’s kind to animals! Word gets around that there’s a good man on the watch and he’s just waiting for a good woman to come snap him up. The widower excuse doesn’t hold people off completely, and for some it’s its own sort-of appeal.

Things REALLY become stressful after he rescues that carriage full of noblewoman.

What’s he supposed to do? Let them get robbed? Or worse? Chasing down and beating up 10 goons is as easy as beating up one, when they’re that stupid, getting separated like that, drunk and distracted, and he knows these streets better than anyone, really it’s nothing. And oh lord he’s Modest too.

I mean, they were genuinely greatful, as genuine as people like that are capable of being, the skill having grown rusty. And then there is something...magnetic about the man. An air of command.

So, soon enough you get Lady Marigold of Marigrave calling on Treckle Road for that gallant young officer who rescued them, she really needs to thank him. And Viscountess Elanor Thitzferal specifically requesting that he guard her at her next soiree. And Baroness Julieta van Shoeholten insisting that he come to her home while her husband’s away, for... manly protection.

Aaaah just zero sympathy from the guys. None. 'It’s become a competition, they’re just trying to see who can get me into bed first, it’s like I’m a piece of meat, you can’t send me sir, the Marquess greeted me in a nightee last time you made me go to—' and 'small gods Vimes are you even listening to yourself, shut the hell up'.

Simultaneous to this, (again this is several years into the timeline) swamp dragon accessories come into style. Which means abandoned swamp dragons scrounging on the street. Vimes takes one back to his apartment, blows his paycheck on dragon medicine, and eventually, heart in his chest, brings it to the Ramkin estate. The sunshine orphanage doesn’t even exist yet and he’s just standing outside the gates like an idiot, what is he thinking. Turns around, but her carriage is pulling up and—

well. they meet. it's cute. he's never felt so young. he's never felt so old, too old for her, too poor—

and certainly her thoughts linger too long on the awkward, kindly, handsome young commoner, but is it any wonder she doesn't quite connect it to the stern, dangerous, sexy young guard the ladies seem to be in some quiet, cuthroat competition over?

i have this gorgeous, absurd scene in my head in which Vimes is strong armed into standing guard at some high society soiree and one of the pushiest ladies insists he dance with here, or, if he prefers, if he's not confident about his skills, he can dance with her in-private at her home and he’s like [grinding teeth, looking for a way out, seeinf one] “I would be honored to dance with you.”

Steps right into some ultra-complex dance with multiple partner swaps (she never thought he'd pick this one, devilishly intimidating to one not strictly trained, and you barely spend anytime with your first partner).

But he does alright. Better than alright, for a common man, sometimes misstepping but his hands and feet always end up where they need to be. Raises several eyebrows part way into the song because he's throuwing in some slightly scandalous, no innovative, extra lifts and twirls that wouldn't become fashionable for another decade or two. Who even is that guy? Some out of towner? No, no he's in a guards uniform...how very strange.

Gets to Sybll and she's used to embarrassment during these dances, she tries to get out of them when she can... but can't always. Men awkwardly skipping the lifts, or worse, trying and failing. But him — oh it's him, the one who helped little Erold, and looked at her like—like—well like she was someone beautiful. And he's doing it again, and he's strong and there's a quiet moment where she's in the air, they lock eyes, and the rest of the room melts away.

And then the partners change again, the moment ended.

Just...living throught it all again. To the left, a dance he almost knows the steps to, throwing others off balance with erratic moves , honest mistakes, and delibrate stepping on toes. Improvising. Ruining. Improving. Getting far, far too much attention.

Hes almost excited when the first assassains start coming after him. It's like a hobby.

Everyone tells him he should get a hobby.

Interactions with young vetinari...I don't have the energy to write it all down, the slow circling in on each other, both burning with the need to fix the city, save it, their city.

needless to say he ends up fired again, life under real threat after offending some high lord.

Conveniently enough he has an employment opportunity- bodyguard to fucking Vetinari on his 'grand sneer.' The bastard knows vimes isn't what he seems, though sam is pretty sure that he doesnt know the exacts.

Vetinari hypothesis:(the ghost of keel? Keels son, with some hereditary curse? Or a larger spirit of justice possessing a string of unrelated souls? He knows things he shouldn't- mind reader? Fortune teller? Havelock once arranged for a wizard to bump into him on the street, the magical fool gave an odd double look and then muttered something about destiny looping in on itself giving him a headache. Destiny? Lost noble? And hes far too familiar with sybyl, one of the few bearable noblewomen in this city. And his thoughts on guilds, when havelock can trip him into speaking... Most of all, if hes reading him at all correctly (for all the mystery hes not that hard to read, unless thats a very clever cover) then it seems that behind those dark haunted eyes is Respect. Loyalty. For vetinari. What an interesting man. A puzzling asset. An intriguing threat. )

Did I mention the timeline is changing, healing slowly around the place where it was torn? Healing enough around scars to perhaps get some flexibility back, with some painful stretches and...massaging of said scar tissue?

And hes heading to unresting uberwald, a place where a werewolf pack still hunts humans and, truely unrelated but perhaps equally exhausting, an eldritch spirit of vengeance just might be looking to stretch its legs in a hapless vessel?

Opening drabble Vimes Vetinari Meta (Unwell)

#discworld #sam vimes #discworld au #nightwatch au #i literally drafted this post in December 2021 #and i know it was living in my head for years already at that point #i have more somewhere aging like cheese in the back of my mind #discworld fanfic #night watch #Let this be free from my mind #Perhaps someone else will write it #BE FREE ANCIENT AU OF MY SOUL #For all my obsession with discworld I have but this one (1) AU though it tears at me like the seam of a pair of pants #The songs I have permanently associated with this au are slightly bonkers by the way #My au #Seriously there's like two full novels worth of content up here. Sybyll running away from home and living as a commoner #To mirror Sam joining upper class in original timeline you see?#Some early discworld murder Wizard nonsense when they try to poke at the temporal anomaly and the universe goes brrrr #Eventually catching up with color of Magic city burning bs and vimes is mad as fuck #Weird year that never was protecting people during sourcery #And when we start catching up with where he left #Oh ho ho you can't to forward to something that doesn't exist but maybe you can go sideways to a place that's got a tear in it #A sam vimes shaped tear #And his pregnant wife from 30 years ago in the other trouser leg #AND that's not even mentioning how carcers trial got taken to a...higher court

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txttletale · 11 months

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Hey can you explain why so many MLs support DPRK? Like I get that any enemy of the West is probably less bad than Westerners are told, but it's still a hereditary dictatorship! That alone seems like a good reason to strongly oppose its current government even if they do have good trains and are ostensibly "communist" in the face of Western aggression or whatever. It seems like one of the goofiest tankie positions, which I say as someone who's generally sympathetic to a lot of ML arguments.

sure. let's start by drilling down into what 'support' or 'oppose' means--in the vast majority of the world, a marxist-leninist's "support" for the DPRK is in fact neglible. obviously we are not, say, sending the DPRK weapons, or volunteering our labour en masse, or anything that would constitute real material support--because there is nowhere in the world except the DPRK (and perhaps the ROK, but there is of course no organized marxist-leninist mass movement there) where that kind of support would be feasible. likewise, the most strident and pure of heart moral condemnation of the DPRK does not actually have any effect on how that nation is governed--the WPK don't care about your opinion!

so firstly we have to acknowledge that 'supporting' and 'opposing' the DPRK are not especially coherent concepts to apply to MLs (or anybody) in the vast majority of the world. as in all cases, the state you live under the jurisdiction of is the one you are most capable of meaningfully opposing or supporting! and--for most MLs across the world, that state is going to be a participant in the brutal United States sanction program against the DPRK. so when it comes to one's 'position' on the DPRK, as a marxist-leninist one shouldn't be thinking whether they wish to morally condone or endorse the DPRK, but rather what meaningful political struggle they can engage in as regards to the DPRK. and as it turns out, the most meaningful political struggle that marxist-leninists living within the reach of US empire can engage in wrt the DPRK is the struggle against the continued deliberate starvation of that nation and its people!

of course, there are many ways to participate in that struggle. but when it comes to ways to participate in that struggle solely by expressing facts or opinions (as in, the kind of "support" or "opposition" you will witness just by following social media feeds, which is what you're asking about)--debunking propaganda about the DPRK and emphasizing the humanity of its residents weakens the ideological base for continued sanctions, while loudly and proudly condemning it--even fairly condemning it, because of course every socialist project has its errors and wrongdoings--contributes to that ideological base.

tldr: if you live outside the DPRK, the only way you can meaningfully 'oppose' its government is by contributing, materially or in propaganda, to the constant USAmerican efforts to destroy it and replace it with something worse. likewise, the only way you can meaningfully 'support' it is by fighting against those very efforts--so of course, marxist-leninists in the world outside the DPRK are going to 'support' the DPRK, because what that means is fighting against the material sanctions regime and its ideological underpinnings

#ask #also worth noting that 'dictatorship' is not a very meaningful or coherent term to marxist-leninists #like. ultimately the US is just as much of a 'dictatorship' even if capital crowdsource which of two guys gets to live in the fancy house #those two guys--as is well observed even by social democrats--will pass the same laws for the same class interests

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icarianarts · 5 months

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This is my final for one of my graphic design interactive media class...LMAO I would have liked to do more but I was going over the time limit. One of these days maybe I'll be able to expand upon this + improve the black sabbath scene + etc.

#me art #devilman #ryo asuka #akira fudo #ryokira #we were given less than two weeks to work on this... on top of a bunch of other projects expected to be completed #a lot of my peers I saw were doing simply just lyric videos and having fun with like transformations in adobe after effects #which in retrospect is probably a better idea than what I did which is. as you can see. hand drawing every panel for like 2 minutes worth #of content. I hope I will be able to have energy to pull through and finish this term.... after everything I've been having to deal with #I really hope this will not be my last graphic design class :')

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syrena-del-mar · 9 months

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Boston, the Machiavellian Prince?

Okay, okay, this is definitely too early into the show to establish anything definite, but I wanted to write my thoughts of the first two episodes down to see if I still agree with my initial assumptions at the end. Boston, so far, has been as messy as I wanted him to be when I first saw the initial trailer all those months ago. What makes him interesting and so unlike the others, is that he's incredibly calculative, to the point that the show explicitly refers to him as 'The Hunter'. Personally, when I think of an individual being designated as 'The Hunter', I tend to correlate it with Machiavelli, so it's no surprise here that Boston reminded me of the his renown work, 'The Prince'.

If you know anything about Machiavelli, specifically in ‘The Prince’, he establishes that it's important for a Prince to hunt so that way he is actively learning more about his kingdom, in turn that knowledge maintains his power. Now a Machiavellian Personality is one of what is coined the "Dark Triad", which refers to the three personalities: Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Essentially, while they are all distinct, they all fall under the callous-manipulative personality type. As @trilliastra pointed out, that deep red coloring with the soundtrack on Boston really mimics the type of portrayal that is typically seen in psychological horror films. Now bear with me, I don't necessarily think that if someone falls under this personality type it's an instant signifier of "evil" or such notions, but I do think that it takes a larger effort to be agreeable and overcome their more malevolent tendencies, but some don't. So it'll be interesting to see how Boston navigates this side of him that has been consistently show to us.

Now before really diving into the deep end, I'm first going to give a little more information regarding Machiavelli's The Prince and how this works itself into psychology, then I'll be breaking up my analysis into the typical Machiavellian Personality Traits with the correlating quotes from 'The Prince'.

What is a Machiavellian Prince?

If you're not familiar with Machiavelli's ‘The Prince’, let me give you a brief rundown. Essentially, ‘The Prince’ is a political treatise that was utilized to provide advice to rulers on how to gain and maintain power effectively, essentially throwing out morality altogether in order to reach their goals. The central theme really revolved around the idea that to be an efficient leader, one needs to ensure that they are both cunning and adaptable to allow their kingdom to survive in the struggles of power. Similarly, these concepts directly relate to the idea of personality psychology, specifically the Machiavellian personality.

A Machiavellian individual, or personality type, refers to one that exhibits traits that are outlined in ‘The Prince’, specifically the use of manipulation and the belief that the ends justify the means. When it comes to interpersonal relationships, a Machiavellian individual tends to their own interests, manipulates situations and exploits others to achieve their goals. They place an emphasis in having a strategic focus solely on their own self-interest, so as long as they reach their desired end-goal, they're satisfied (even if it means burning bridges).

Manipulation through Vulnerabilities to Establish Control

"At this point one may note that men must be either pampered or annihilated. They avenge light offenses; they cannot avenge severe ones; hence, the harm one does to a man must be such as to obviate any fear of revenge." -Chapter 3, The Prince

In this case, we see this blatantly in one specific scene with Nick and Boston, where Boston uses the knowledge that he acquires almost as a knife. Nick had come clean about his own insecurities and Boston is quick to use that as a 'pet name', completely disregarding that Nick didn't like to be called 'Kinky head'. He's using the one moment that Nick had become vulnerable with him in the guise of a friendly jab, but also an incredibly threat that he is more than aware of where to aim where it hurts for Nick if he crosses any line that Boston has already established.

Boston's camera is another way he exerts his control, which can specifically be seen in how he uses it to take pictures of Nick after his night, positioning him, controlling the development of said picture. Pictures capture moments in time, Boston posed and captured an intimate, exposed, moment for Nick. Boston controls the image while Nick is left vulnerable. That image is fully in Boston's control; to do and develop as how he sees fit.

Now I'm not applying the idea of 'fear' in the sense of physical injury or corporal punishment, but the punishment that Boston seems to hang over Nick is leaving him. Boston is more than aware of Nick's growing feelings for him and he uses that in his interest, because Nick is so willing and eager to let Boston to have his way with him. Now this hasn't even been touched upon in the show, but there is also an almost societal-instilled fear that photos can bring, specifically intimate ones. It doesn't have to be blatantly stated by Boston the amount of damage intimate photos may cause emotionally (even if it's not spread), so when things turn sour, that photo and any personal information that he shared with Boston may very well hang over Nick's head.

Calculating Approach and Exploitation of Emotions

"A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves." -Chapter 18, The Prince

Now, @respectthepetty really did a great job at breaking down why Boston is referred to as the Hunter, specifically in the way that he consistently corners people to get what he wants, so for this part I'm going to jump off their meta. He consistently puts all his 'conquests' in a position where they are unable to leave, he puts them in tight spaces, he pins them on walls, he wraps his hand around their neck (one of the most vulnerable parts to a human due to the lack of natural protection and easy accessibility). They're all calculated positions that he puts his hook-ups in to establish that only he can give them the out, he's the one that establishes boundaries. We see this literally when he corners Top in the shower, who is the first that we hear to dare tell him 'no, he's not interested.' Boston doesn't let that sway him, because that's not a boundary respects because he wasn't the one to set it.

He's called 'the Hunter' because he knows how to play the game, he excels at it. He can be both the fox, when he plays the interested fling to Nick and Mew's best friend, and the lion when he shows who he truly is with Top. When he tells Mew to be wary, since Top never has a relationship that lasts longer than 3 months and his interest is likely to see if he can sleep with Mew, this doesn't seem to be a touching moment where he cares for his friend but rather an attempt to get Mew to push Top away, because we have no idea if that's really what Top intends. His calculative nature is shown again when Boston tells Nick, "You should be glad that you're my favorite." Man the phrasing of that, at least in the translation, is so incredibly manipulative, it really sets the tone that their relationship is fully transactional, lacking any deeper emotions that are typically found between lovers. It's not a factual admittance that Boston is enjoying the sex with Nick, but rather blatant acknowledgement that Nick should be grateful that Boston even comes back to him for the sex. Not to mention that he rewards Nick every time he acquiesces with a kiss or peck on the cheek.

In Spanish, there's a saying/insult that goes 'te va poner los cuernos', which literally translates to 'They're going to put the horns on you', but really signifies that they're going to cheat on you. That's why I couldn't help but find the irony when when Boston backed Nick into the horn/antler frame on the wall. And while here, Boston and Nick are in no set closed-relationship and they're both aware of that, Boston purposefully strings Nick along, dropping little personal information about his own life that will entice Nick and keep him present in their situationship.

Boston is willing to gamble with his intimate relationships and friendships, because he believes that he has the eagle eye's view on this playing field. He is willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone if it means that he is the one in control, he is the one people worship and claw their way to. To him it's only natural, because he has that sex appeal and he has never met anyone he couldn't triumph. Every one he sleeps with is a conquest. In his viewpoint, he is the kingpin, even in his group of friends, because he believes that he's the one that controls how his friends move since he knows how Mew is developing feelings for Top and is aware of Ray's feelings for Mew. This is a game to him and he believes that he's smart enough to come out the winner.

Power Struggles

“And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.”

-Chapter 27, The Prince

In this case, for Boston what P'Jojo tweeted rings in my head. While he stated it in a more literary way, essentially Boston has an ego. He likes having first pickings and this shows with how he's reacting to the fact that Top is willing to chase Mew, but doesn't necessarily want to have a second round with him. His hubris is his achilleas heel.

Now we haven't seen much of the conflict that is going to arise between Mew, Boston and Top, but we are seeing much of Boston's reactions to what is going on between the two. Boston uses that using Mew's virginity is a weapon, he's the one that is the first to throw it in Mew's face. Boston sees virginity as a detriment, as a stain, a symbol of not being wanted, because he finds his power behind being lusted for. @athousandbyeol, prior to the show even airing, brought up the point that Nick became his favorite because of his availability, Boston objectifies Nick. Nick serves a purpose, an outlet to get rid of the frustration that Boston finds himself accumulating with this pseudo power struggle that he has with both Mew and Top.

He has no consistent leverage over Mew or Top, because Mew doesn't care about his virginity (not in the way that Boston does) and Top does not actively chose nor chase after him, instead Boston is the one that has to be one that corners Top. It's why it drives him a tad nuts that Top is seemingly taking the idea of a relationship with Mew seriously, because it was never part of his plan for Top to actually get interested. That's an ego blow, but there is one person that he consistently has power of: Nick. Even though Boston is aware that he's seeking more, what's to define their relationship, he only gives him two options: Fuck Buddy or Friends with Benefit. And though neither are what Nick truly wants, he still chooses one, because that keeps Boston around and Boston knows this, he counts on this power he holds over Nick. For every damage he takes to his ego with MewTop, it gets soothed and stroked by Nick, literally.

Final Thoughts

“A man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways.” - Chapter 25, The Prince

Now, the labeling of Boston as a potential Machiavellian Prince (personality), does not dictate that he is inherently evil and that he will always be, or is, the villain. It's true that he manipulates and is merely interested in pursuits that are personally beneficial, which in turn may hurt others. Yet, the concepts of "evil" and "good" are incredibly binary. So far, we have no idea as to why he behaves as he does or whether he had past-experiences or personal insecurities that shaped him. It doesn’t mean that the pain he inflicts on others will be okay as long as there is a reason or sob story, but it will give us more insight into why he is the way he is.

Machiavellianism is typically easily written off as an evil form of being but arguably, it's just another behavioral guide on how to respond to challenging circumstances. There's a lot of labels that we can so far apply to Boston, narcissist is one that I see floating around a lot as well. Yet, narcissists typically lack self-confidence and overcompensate, Machiavellians typically believe that they are the best and as such do whatever they can to achieve their personal goals that they believe that they deserve. Personally, with what I've seen so far, Boston falls under the latter rather than the former.

I think simply writing Boston off as the "villain" or "evil" is simply disregarding the potential nuance that his character may bring. This show does a great job at showing how messy Boston is and even the different types of messy that they all are. It's important to keep in mind the broader context in which Boston is acting in to fully be able to understand who he is an individual and the consequences that his action may bring. It'll be interesting to see if he comes out of this a changed man or more set in his ways.

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squeakadeeks · 2 months

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another day educating the people

#i try to draw things that look endearingly funny but still artistically nice but if i have to draw something live i need to be fast #which lead to the last two pictures #and i was trying not to lose my mind while i was drawing them but i got a laugh out of the class so its worth it #they also drew the shoulder beast in their notes and i was touched #my art

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shallowseeker · 8 months

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Regarding Dean, but especially regarding Rowena, you know?

CATRIONA: Ohhh... Raggedy Ann. ROWENA: Excuse me? CATRIONA: I remember you-- a rag doll all huddled on our doorstep. (then) I swore I could see the fleas nibbling away at what was left of your dirty little body. On ROWENA, eyes lowered. Angrier and angrier as Catriona speaks-- CATRIONA: But still-- still you thought you were worthy of our magic. And when we disagreed... (giggles) Oh, how you begged. How you threw yourself down and...offered yourself to each of us-- Boyd almost took you up on it-- but I told him it would be cleaner with the pigs-- ROWENA: Enough!

Performing Dean is one thing, but we see that Rowena's performance is actually one of the most painful of all. (She's the tanner's daughter, you see, who smells of filth and death, but oh oh how she wants you to see her power and her glitz and her glamor and her prestige-)

12x11 Regarding Dean

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(Text Attributions// Supernatural scripts here via @spnscripthunt. Transcripts are located here via SPNWiki. Visit their Tumblr to donate.)

#spn 12x11 #rowena #dean & rowena #spn + class #rowena + nouveau rich #rowena macleod #party girl dean #regarding dean is ABOUT rowena #it's about rowena's pursuit of success #and how she disguises her lack of worth #dean has a lack of love and buries that in booze and hookups #these two in this episode are so-

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marshmellowpaint · 4 months

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Finally caved at all the BNHA posting Gummy and Zaina have been doing 🤧🤧 have some updated character designs from my crazed BNHA days

#fun fact I ws that insane with it that I created two aussie-esque classes plus teachers PLUS three japanese and their families worth of ocs #all while only ever watching 7 episodes and learning everything from my friend and insta spoilers #man. it was wild #ANYWAYS they #bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #my art hhhh #thats all im gonna tag I probably wont draw them for another few years unless my beloved mutuals wish for something <3

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brown-little-robin · 8 months

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I emailed one of my professors about the ridiculous amount of work being asked of me for homework in her class. please pray it works out and at least she's not offended

#robin processes emotions on main #I am. struggling. with this class.#and it's terrible because I've been this professor's research assistant for TWO YEARS. I like her. I respect her.#but I... I'm gonna get a sub-optimal grade in her class. I'm struggling so hard. I'm TRYING but it's TOO MUCH it's too many hours #sighhhhh #I'm going to get a B in another class too because of unrelated reasons (refusal on moral grounds to do some of the homework)#and it's kinda really hitting me in the emotions #to be struggling so hard in classes I actually LIKE and am legitimately good at #my worth is not in my grades #now if only I could FEEL that #haahhh... I need to spend some time in prayer or something #and/or maybe a breakdown. just a little one! it would be cathartic

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dailycaligura · 5 months

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идея/реквест: Его первое убийство.

Я уже рисовал помню на основном акке по этому поводу артец, но это было сто лет назад так что уже не актуально. Ахуенная идея короче, спасибо (:

Day 28. First murder.

Of course it was his father, making him as edgelord as I can, not sorry about that tho.

#fear and hunger #caligura #I’ve left two hours before classes and I still didn’t sleep 💀💀#that day will be fucking hard #well at least I’ve drew this #eh. worth it

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lesbiradshaw · 11 months

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Hiii is there anything we know about the dagger squad backgrounds that’s canon? Other than Jake being from Texas, is the stuff about what they studied/where they’re from headcanon? THANK U MUCH LOV

we don’t really know that much i don’t think but a majority of the background info i’ve found is either vaguely mentioned in the film or the paramount draft script you can find online ! bradley being a poli sci major at UVA and graduating in ‘09 is canon (and also very dear to me bc that was my major too plus i also graduated hs at 17 bc we are both #junebabies :]), jake originally got his call sign because bradley gave it to him and he hated it at first, bradley played baseball as a kid, mickey is a trekkie and also catholic or at least raised catholic (he crosses himself before they launch on the mission in the draft script), harvard and yale were the only duo that came from the same squadron together before the movie, and bradley and jake and natasha were in top gun together at the same time. there’s probably more backstory you could piece together for everyone by looking at their service medals/ribbons they wear but i fear i am not knowledgeable enough about that sort of stuff without a lot more research. they all mostly have the same ones but natasha has a NATO medal, jake has a navy unit commendation ribbon, and reuben has a joint service achievement medal.

also silly canon details that aren’t background info but i still love: jake wears what i’m pretty sure is a class ring on his right ring finger, he’s also the only trainee i recall seeing actually wear his tags, he likes van halen and foghat and seems to be a classic rock fanatic, natasha wears a plain gold band on her left index finger, mickey, reuben, natasha, and bob all use those multicolor clicky pens, bradley is i think the only one of the main squad who doesn’t have the fingertips cut off his flight gloves, halo’s tank top has her squadron logo on it during the football scene, and those stupid jorts bradley wears were definely just jeans he cut the legs off himself 😭.

#also since the mission takes place sometime in november but training starts the last two weeks of october #ive decided one of the daggers definitely threw a halloween party. actually i need to write about that wait.#i guess we could ASSUME omaha is from nebraska 😭#since bradley is the only one we rlly have a canon age for i just kinda decided to base the others off the actors relative ages #except reuben bc wym jay ellis is in his FORTIES rn?#glen and miles are like 1 yr apart whereas the others are a bit younger so idk #jake and bradley are the same age TO ME!#bradleys backstory is actually kinda confusing bc there’s continuity errors on the records sheet maverick looks at #he graduated in 09 but also apparently started his active duty enlisted in 06 ? like oh okay.#he took spanish as a summer class before he started at UVA for whatever thats worth 😭😭😭#bradley is so cute sorry but i want to bite him or something #but choosing poli sci as his major ? yeah thats how ik hes gay for sure !#top gun maverick #ik bradley mickey harvard and yale’s squadrons are all based out of oceana (virginia) while everyone else is lemoore (california)

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