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writings-of-a-hufflepuff · 3 years

Text

Pheromones

Fandom: Mass Effect

Collection/Series: N/A

Pairing: Selene Shepard x Garrus Vakarian

Writer: @writings-of-a-hufflepuff aka @hufflepuffing-all-day-long

Rating: T - Suggestive themes but nothing NSFW

Warnings: N/A? I think (if i’m wrong let me know!)

Summary: Selene’s a little confused about something Javik says to her, she naturally asks her Turian boyfriend about it.

Notes: Based off this conversation with Javik. I’ve never actually written Shakarian stuff in all my years of loving the ship. But, with Mass Effect: LE taking over my life, why not?

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“So...Javik said something really...weird when I went to see him earlier.”

It had been a long day; finding out Cerberus was turning people at Sanctuary into husks, seeing Miranda again, stopping her father from killing Oriana...it had taken a toll and then to come back and have a really bizarre conversation with their Prothean teammate? Well, Selene Shepard was glad to be back in a pair of yoga pants and a large jumper.

If Selene was completely honest with herself she was exhausted. The war was taking its toll on her, all the responsibility that lay on her shoulders only seemed to be lightened by the support of her team and most importantly, Garrus. Her cybernetics had been bright and bold across her skin as of late, a sure sign that she was running out of steam. Despite the exhaustion, Javik's words weighed on her mind, confusing, curious and just a reminder of how alien he really was.

Garrus came out of her, no, their shower, towel around his cowl, visor, no longer obscuring his face for once. God, it is so utterly domestic between the two of them now and something in her aches with the awareness that this might all be cut short, that domestic might never be a long term option for them. She hopes it will, hopes silently that they’ll get to retire somewhere, have a couple of kids, a varren or two, and life out their days into old age.

“Weird? Weird to humans or...just weird?” The dual tone of his voice rings with curiosity. It had taken her two whole years of missions with him for her to actually get a good grasp on his subharmonics and even now there were things her weak human ears couldn’t quite pick up on, or even hear at all.

She thought for a moment as Garrus sat down next to her on the bed, nuzzling his face between her shoulder and neck like he always did. It was something she’d taken as a turian sign of affection, the way his plates scratched at her skin and mandibles fluttered across her shoulder, she could only compare it to a human placing kisses down. A nuzzling that he never failed to do, whether they were standing and he had to bend over or they were sitting or lying down.

Leaning into him with her eyes closed, she traces a hand across the plates on the back of his neck. “I...think it's just weird? He said he could tell we were ‘joined’ because of my...pheromones…”

Garrus froze in his nuzzling, pulling back with his face plates drawn together, mandibles fluttering in confusion. “Well, yeah? I scent you all the time, been doing it since you agreed to be a one turian kind of woman. I thought...I mean I smell like you too…?”

“Scenting? I what?” Selene was decidedly confused, Garrus didn’t smell like her at all. In fact, the little scent that he had was of the more metallic and engine grease kind from spending all his time tinkering with things or modifying his sniper rifle. She certainly didn’t smell like him, not to her nose anyway.

She pressed her face into his cowl and took a big, over exaggerated sniff. Nothing. He didn’t even smell like her shampoo or the jasmine soap she’d managed to find on the Citadel. Just...Garrus.

Garrus chuckled, three fingered hand cupping her cheek, filed down talons grazing carefully across her skin to smooth out the furrow between her eyebrows.

“Oh, right, you humans and your terrible sense of smell. Cute.” His grin flared his mandibles out wide, sharp teeth on show in a display of good humour.

“Garrus!” He liked getting a rise out of her, enjoyed seeing the pale skin of her cheeks turn as red as a Palaven sunset, something Turians just could not do. It was always so distinctly human, glaringly alien, but adorable. Not that many people would describe the Commander Shepard as adorable, but most people weren’t in a committed relationship with her...or he hoped most people weren’t.

“Honey, it’s normal. We sleep together, we make love,” She groaned a little at the word choice as he returned to nuzzling underneath her neck, talons moving up and down her back in soothing motions, “we shower together, we go on every mission together, we spar together…” Selene can’t help the little moan that leaves her mouth as his breath warms across her skin before that tongue of his, blue and ridiculously dexterous, carves a path over her shoulder and up her throat, lingering on a spot behind her jaw that he knows all too well.

“And turians are kind of known for scenting their partners.”

“What does that even mean? Scenting? Like a cat? Are you marking your territory?” She’s never taken Garrus for being possessive, in fact, he was decidedly cool under pressure whenever someone decided to try it on with her. Occasionally he’d shift in a way that told people to back off, pressing his chest to her back, but that was only in instances where the person didn‘t know when to quit. Usually an overzealous asari or persistent human. The idea of him marking his territory, or even seeing her that way was kind of out of character to her, he just wasn’t like that. They were equals in everything they did. He was her person and she was his, one of them wasn’t more dominant in the relationship, they were partners.

“Yes and no. You're not my territory, honey, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you're a one turian kind of woman, but I trust you and I know you can handle yourself. It’s a habit really, an instinct. I’m surprised you don’t know, you do it too.”

It’s a relief to hear him say that. While she finds Garrus ridiculously hot when he goes all bad boy vigilante turian on someone, the raw power he exudes is something else entirely, something different that starts a fire in her belly, she also doesn’t want to be seen as an object or possession.

“I do?” They’ve gravitated, as they always do, towards each other. Selene finds herself curled up in Garrus’ lap, arms wrapped around his cowl and nose pressed to the junction of his neck, pressing light little kisses there had become a favourite pastime of hers. Calming, soothing.

“Mmm...all the time, that little nuzzling thing you’re doing?” She pulls back, startled, eyebrows almost comically high and red still tinting her cheeks, “Yeah, I thought you were just a little possessive, but maybe this is one of those interspecies miscommunication things, huh?”

“I...oh.” She curls back into his neck, bashful in a way no one else sees. Garrus enjoys seeing her like this, out of her element but trusting, seeking comfort in him even as he’s the source of her embarrassment. Their relationship is unconventional and with it has come embarrassment and nerves from both sides, but it’s the trust in him, and his trust in her that’s made it work, that makes it worthwhile.

He runs his fingers through the red of her hair, the strands soft and silky, a sensation that he still finds fascinating all this time on and one that he knows she finds soothing. He can only compare it to how he feels when she caresses underneath his fringe.

“So is that why that C-Sec officer stopped flirting with me every chance he got?” She thinks of the dark brown turian, bright orange markings across his face. Before she’d seen Garrus again, before they’d rekindled their relationship, he’d been determined to flirt with her, no matter how many times she politely turned him down. He’d since stopped, his tone always overly polite and formal, nervous even. She’d assumed Bailey had given him a dressing down, but...maybe not.

“Mmm, probably.” His chest rumbles with the hum, soothing and deep, reverberations running through her, “Most turians aren’t going to flirt with a taken woman, ever seen two turians get into a proper fist fight? It’s more claws and teeth than anything else.” No turian wanted to get into a fight over someone they had a passing fancy for, that Garrus knew for a fact, best to leave someone alone if they were clearly in a relationship.

“Would you? If someone tried it on?” She’s curious, deeply so. Part of her wants to know he would, but part of her wants to know that he’d think about it, and take his time to decide if it was necessary. Garrus had always had a bit of a temper, quick and righteous and determined to put things right. But, he’d mellowed with age, with her nagging him and convincing him to spare people who’d wronged him and others. He was more calculating these days.

“Depends.” A hand falls to her waist, circles being rubbed into the skin underneath her jumper, absent minded and soothing as his blue eyes look to the skylight above her bed, staring out at the stars. Contemplating his next words.

“On?” She leans up to press a kiss underneath his chin, the soft exposed skin tempting her.

“Do you want me to? How badly are they trying to get into your pants? Are you in danger? Do you need me to? Is it someone I know and despise?” His voice rumbles in his throat, she feels the vibrations against her lips and ringing through her ears. That was something about being with a turian that she loved, the subharmonics were soothing to her ear, the rumble that always seemed to roll through his body was comforting. She wouldn’t call it a purr, mostly because Garrus would fix her with that look, narrowed eyes, mandibles drawn tight against his face. He’d probably go back to calibrating the guns for a week or two straight. God, she hated that.

“Are you telling me you wouldn’t fight for my honour?” She’s teasing him, but she can still feel him tense up. Her lack of subharmonics tended to confuse him whenever she joked and he couldn’t see her face.

Taking pity on him Selene pulls back so he can see the amused little smirk that tugs at the corner of her mouth, freckles scrunching up across her cheeks and nose.

“I...you’re messing with me aren’t you?” There’a a palpable sigh of relief from him as his shoulders relax and he rolls his neck before pinning her with a playful glare, huffing through his nose at her. He’s the only person she can truly be playful with and she knows he enjoys it, the closeness of their relationship isn’t lost on either of them. He makes her feel less tired, more alive, younger, even if it's for a brief moment before reality crashes back down again.

“Yeah, just a little, big guy.” She tugs his face down gently by a scarred mandible, he follows easily, putting himself in reach so that she can press a kiss to his cheek, across the blue colony markings that are oh so familiar to her. Affection with Garrus is easy: “I love you, but I don’t need you tearing someone’s throat out for me...unless it’s Kai Leng, you can tear his throat out.”

The assassin was a thorn in her side and she was close to snapping, her usual restraint and desire to talk things through was failing. She wouldn’t negotiate or talk with Kai Leng. If she finally got the chance...well, he probably wouldn’t be recognisable afterwards.

“Oh, I'm tempted, believe me. There’s nothing I'd like more than to put every ounce of my anger and hatred into beating Kai Leng into a bloody pulp. Buuuut, I think you deserve the satisfaction yourself.”

“I love you, you know that right? Even if I'm walking around stinking like a turian vigilante.” She caresses the lengths of his crest and underneath, scratching short nails against the soft skin there and the purr, because it is a purr, that rumbles from his chest is almost as satisfying as the thought of finally getting revenge on Kai Leng.

“Reaper Advisor actually.” He brushes his cheek against hers, hard plates brushing against soft skin, gently, not hard enough to chafe or rub. “I love you too, even if I'm walking around stinking like a self-sacrificing human spectre.”

#shakarian #selene shepard #selene shepard x garrus vakarian #female shepard x garrus vakarian #fem shep x garrus vakarian #shepard x garrus vakarian #garrus vakarian #mass effect

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alatismeni-theitsa · 3 years

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Hello :) I was the anon who asked about the American left problems on general and thank you for your feedback, now, do you see this same trend with the European left? Other thing I saw with the American left is that Liberals and SocDems are so eager to call out socialist figures for "not acting out of their principles" just because a streamer who is a huge socialist has a PC Gamer so they can work on a daily basis, idk how you can conceal this postures, and again, thank you for the answer :D

Short answer: In Greece half of the time, Yes.

Long answer:

To be clear, the previous ask was for the US American Leftism and my answer was about the US, so it was one country. Large, but one country, under one government and one culture (I understand the states are not homogenous but they are as different as Thrace and Crete, not different like different countries.)

As it's natural, I can't speak for the "European Left", meaning I can't speak for 50 countries and more than 100 ethnic groups. Governments, languages, religions, customs, and history vary a lot from country to country. Greece has a political climate more similar to Albania, let's say, than the one of Estonia.

People from European countries may reblog this post and answer about the Left in their country. But I want to preface this by saying that "the Left" isn't the same across the continent. In some countries, the leftists were the "actual Left", not whatever US Americans consider Biden to be today. (He says he is a center-left I think, so he is just leaning Left. So you can call him a Leftist I suppose for the US standards). It would be more correct to say that the US has Left-ISTS and not Left-wingers. Greece has/had some prominent left-wing parties, while the Left never quite settled in the US.

For instance, EAM, a Left party, was the biggest fighter against the Nazis and their allies during our occupation. In fact, the upcoming Civil War of Greece (1946–1949) was a great fight between what was essentially the Left, and the Right + the Monarchy. (This is a generalization, but I just want to get a point across). And yes, with the "help" of the US and other allied countries in the Cold War, tens of thousands of Left-wingers died and got tortured up until the fall of the US-supported Greek junta (1974). It is a huge scar in our history.

A list of communist parties of Greece. That's in Greek but honestly, Google translate is your friend and you can't go wrong with just party names in translation. If you want more info and can't find anything more in English, ask me to search more for you.

Since my knowledge is best for Greece, I will speak about Greece. Nowadays the old "authentic" Communist spirit has mostly died out here. It's quite rare to find Greeks who are "Left", and more likely to find Greeks who are "Center-Left" (aka Leftists, if we want to use common terminology). I think Greeks recognize that the Left and the Right are both extreme and instead go for "Center-Left" or "Center-Right" the most.

When the Leftists are under 30 years old, most of the time they have heavily influenced by US politics. (I am not saying they prefer it solely because of US politics, I am saying it's one of the factors). And they usually know more about the history and social issues of the US than the history and social issues of Greece so, apart from not being well informed about the US many times they are not even properly informed about their own country.

These kinds of Leftists are out of touch with what's happening in Greece and, most importantly, how to approach the Greek people. They operate in a dreamland where we all live the "American Dream of Freedom" when even same-sex marriage isn't even legalized here (we only have cohabitation agreements). They approach most Greeks as close-minded enemies and show attitudes that may be fine for the US but most people here will call super entitled. So not only do they fall prey to the same traps as the US American Leftists, but even more, I'd say.

"Liberals and SocDems are so eager to call out socialist figures for "not acting out of their principles" just because a streamer who is a huge socialist has a PC Gamer so they can work on a daily basis".

Well, this cannibalizing of the US Left doesn't happen here that much because - I might be blessing my own beard (Greek saying) - I think Greek Leftists have more common sense compared to the US Leftists xD Not that I haven't encountered Leftists call a Bisexual woman "homophobic" because she mentioned lgbt+ people are a minority, or haven't heard obviously pale Greeks in an all pale Greek company in a large bar with all-light skinned Greeks calling Greeks "Brown" - an assumption about identity which plays by the rules of US Americans. There are those who parrot anything they see in us-centric social media but those are not the majority, I want to believe.

One more thing I've noticed both in US and Greek Leftists is that, despite trying to be very informed, they don't know much about the Left parties' past and many times cannot name policies of the party they support. They just support it because "I have a feeling it's morally right" (yeah because the Central-Rights are all immoral assholes who want to see all minorities dead and they don't want society to progress, right?).

And they rarely think about economics, defense, immigration, and freedoms. And it's all nice and beautiful until you tell them to think if they want these things to happen to them or/and minorities. Then they suddenly backtrack. Not to mention, the solutions they usually propose are so impractical! If you pride yourself on having the moral high ground at least get out of your theory bubble and think about the pragmatic consequences of policies! And if anyone suggests that those theoretical plans don't work because of factors the Leftists haven't considered they are suddenly a bigot (even though they want to get to the same results as the Leftists, it's just their approach that is different).

Also, because reading comprehension on this site hasn't gone up in ages, I'd like to leave a disclaimer that I believe that both non-extreme sides have negatives, it's just that we are talking about the (almost) Left here.

#answered #leftism #leftists #left #greek politics #greek left #politics

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pokepanda16 · 5 years

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Theor- … Araki, is that you?

Hirohiko Horikoshi always hid meanings and quirks within the My Hero characters’ names. However in chapter 223 I saw way more than just new names that may allude to their ideologies and personalities, along with the entire theme of this arc (P.S. Tis a lot of thought coming up, but I absolutely NEEDED to write it out somewhere ><).

Firstly, the Jojo reference Chikazoku Tomoyasu, case in point being his stand company Feel Good Inc. FGI is a specific song from the virtual band Gorillaz (look at the dude behind him and tell me that’s not a freaking Jojo reference), which in the music video shows the character 2D lamenting over his loss of independence from his leader Murdoc. He looks to the sky from the window of this dilapidated tower to see his younger bandmate Noodle and their island, floating freely, and he wishes that he could also get out and be as free as her. Fastforward to current time in the Gorillaz’ 5th phase: Murdoc has been imprisoned again and 2D gets his wish then temporarily takes over the band. He started looking much happier (cue his eyes going white) but developed a new ego that unfortunately made him more arrogant in the end. So in retrospect, Feel Good was mostly about 2D admonishing himself and others for not thinking for themselves and just letting others tell them what to do and follow. So, later when a chance came up, he took it to show he would not be blindly ruled by a “corrupt” system, just to become corrupted himself.

To compare with that, there’s Tomoyasu. Chikazoku means something close to “Earth family” and Tomoyasu varies from “Gentleness, Guarantees, and Harmony”. Basing directly from his name, this could mean his ideology is for “guaranteed harmony over the earth”, as in letting others freely live how they want as long as he can live how he wants. What I think will happen is that his character will act blasé and tired about the way Japan is dealing with regulating quirks, and he’ll be hiding deep anger and betrayal behind his freakishly long bangs. Maybe like 2D he became an empty shell, was taken advantage of or isolated then suppressed long enough to make him finally want out, to be himself in a place trying to snuff him into compliance. Who knows, but I’m sure he believes he’s been wronged and can SEE (see what I did there~) through the gov’s bs.

The next two I don’t have much to say about yet, but there are some neat potential facts about them. Hanadata Koukuu’s information might not be all too pertinent, as all I got was Koukuu meaning “space”, but Shinkyuu can mean “promotion” and “with the old and in with the new”. And in the translation notes which describe it as the “Heart Seeking Party”, I learned that there was a real life political party similarly called “Japanese Kokoro”. Their policies revolved around the advocacy of traditional values, but liberalism in other areas like regulatory reform. Regulatory reform is meant to ensure essential social and environmental welfare, transparency and access to law, and for reduced corruption. So, maybe Koukuu sees the quirk laws as inefficient to his goals or too far away from a past system he thought was better. I think through a political approach he will promote taking down these laws that “breach the rights of the people”.

Then there’s Yotsubashi Rikiya, which we know the least about as Detnerat is probably the only fake company between the four. There are only two things I can say about him: his last name is strongly associated with a group called the Yamato, whose culture differed historically from that of the rest of Japan. So there’s that separation theme, where maybe his past experiences and his outlook on culture and the likes vastly contrast with Japan’s. That, and he looks like a mix of freaking Sawyer from Fairy Tail and Waluigi LOL! (If his hair ends up being red, I swear, he’ll basically be “If-everyone’s-super-no-one-will-be” Syndrome from the Incredibles). Terrible analyses of these two on my part tbh :/ but I guess it’s in exchange for the first and last theory.

So, if Horikoshi is going to use Feel Good so obviously as a reference, who’s to say this next one isn’t another one? I am 88% certain the woman is a semi cameo from the anime Tokyo Ghoul, and I have a lot of evidence to prove it. Shueisha is the name of a Japanese anime publishing company which began with a company called Shogakukan, then later went independent. Now it is one of Japan’s leading publishing houses, gaining popularity AFTER separating and becoming just as equally popular as them (so, another separation motif). They now operate portal sites that include women’s magazines and comics; but most importantly they are publishers of both My Hero AND Tokyo Ghoul. Based on her looks, Kizuki reminds me of both Sen Takatsuki aka Ego Yoshimura and Rize Kamishiro from TG. Sen was a “woman filled with despair and hatred towards the world, yet believed in creating a society where ghouls wouldn’t be persecuted for existing.” She was also an author which made an allegory with a book called “The Black Goat’s Egg” (which looks VERY similar to the book Kizuki is holding in her panel), the story being of a child’s future pretty much decided because of the mother’s actions that came before him. Then with Rize Kamishiro, she refused to be ”confined in a cage of their own free will… Even though she was they were the 'king of all beasts.’” She did not want to have to hide her true self from the humans, and she actually was fond of Sen’s book too because of its message. So with the book being a major connection between the two’s views, it comes with the message of not letting the past and present become the precedent of an eternal future of “imprisonment”. This part I might elaborate more on a different post (I am writing this terribly I’m so sorry), but potentially doing this kind of reference with the ghouls adds a whole new layer to the future of My Hero.

So last meanings: Shueisha Company now works with VIZ Media to “grow awareness” from Japan to America about anime and other platforms people internationally could join in on; so it is no coincidence that the name Kizuki means “Awareness/Realization”. A version of Chitose’s name in Kanji also can mean “Human” and “Momentum”. With this translation I believe Kizuki, like Rize and Sen and Shueisha in regards to anime, wants the people of Japan to have a “momentum of realization” for equality and rights for all who live on Earth. In the end, TG and its characters explored the concept that we all live in a world of gray, a place that is never truly black and white or “humans good and ghouls bad”. Heck, we might finally be able to further expand on the concept which Stain left us off with a while ago! We’ll see~

OK VERY LONG IM SORRY SO IMMA PARAPHRASE NOW. Most of these references are from pretty popular media dealing with dissatisfaction with society. They all show how everything rides on a gray line. All have the theme of separating themselves from the “conventional”, the things they believed held them down the most and preventing full freedom to be themselves. Being of literature, music, lifestyle supporting goods, and potential politic parties, they all have incredible ingenuity and can apparently see a bigger picture they believe is the only right way. They want change, and their ideas are strong enough to start revolutions. They and the people who learned to believe in them existed all around without anyone never knowing anything, for who knows how long. I think their motivations are going to have very good points that’ll make us question if they’re actually fully bad people as they’re seemingly set up to be. Horikoshi did say that My Hero was going to get progressively darker. So if I’m right with any of these… well, our hearts are screwed.

I can honestly keep going.. so I guess, if anyone wants to talk with me further about anything? Or to tell me I’m too gullible or that I thought too hard or I suck at writing lolololllll. Anyways,

Thank you for coming to my essay

#Jojo's Bizarre Adventure #Feel Good Inc #2D #Gorillaz #Fairy Tail #Waluigi #Tokyo Ghoul #Eto Yoshimura #Sen Takatsuki #Rize Kamishiro #Shueisha #Anime Theories #My Hero Academia #Boku no Hero Academia #Quirk Liberation Army #I tried

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sazawen · 6 years

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Metapost- Why I ship Namjin

METAPOST- Why I Ship Namjin (or a long essay on Namjin to explain you why they are perfect)

I recently saw a post saying that we didn’t value the Namjin friendships/ bond/ relationship/ couple enough and as a big Namjin shipper I had to admit how much this post was legit. I have always loved to read essays on “Why I ship [insert the ship name]” and so I’ve decide that this time I will do one myself.

I will regroup in one post how I percieve Namjoon and Seokjin as individuals but also how their two personnalities create a dynamic that I can support and love though the years.

Before, I continue there is some disclaimers that I would like to mention :

1-English isn’t my mother language I will do my best to be as clear and correct as possible but I can’t promise that it will be perfect. (Sorry guys T^T)

2-This post DO NOT promote the Namjin ship above another one. I will never say that Namjin is the ultimate ship in BTS and that Namjoon or Jin can not be ship with others member. I am an OT7 before any other ship. This post is only written to explain WHY I ship more Namjin and WHY I love them.

3- This post will explain how I percieve Namjoon and Seokjin as individuals but like all of us I don’t know them personnally and my judgement can be totally false. If you disagree with me feel free to give me your point of view, I will gladly discuss it with you.

(4- It will be a long ass post, lol.)

A quick summary of what to expect in this metapost :

I - Who are they ?

= Namjoon Kim- The Leader =

= Seokjin Kim- The Eldest =

II - Their dynamic?

= The influence of Seokjin on Namjoon =

= The influence of Namjoon on Seokjin =

= Their relation ship =

So let’s begin ~~

I - Who are they ?

= Namjoon Kim- The Leader =

The first thing that we can say for Namjoon is that he had gain a lot of maturity since is debut. We all know that Namjoon was first of all, an under ground rapper. A really good one, with an IQ of 148 (12 points less than Einstein). Our first perception of Namjoon would naturally be to describe him as a rapper genius with a manly attitude and a small amount of emotions. (Rapper and geniuses are mostly known to let shown less emotion, in their attitude, than the others).

Then you began to know him a little more and you see him growing through the years as a leader but also as a person. From the young adult he was, searching himself as a rapper but also as an individual he began to become what we know nowdays. A person who can express himself trough music, who analyses the word around him with his intellectual, who put the other before his own needs and try to show you that « the rules » that everyone follows can be broken in order to become the person that you are really inside. His message would probably be: “Don’t stay in a box, be what you want to be, without limitations or boundaries.”

However, don’t be fooled by the amazing person he is right know. At the debut of BTS Namjoon was trying so hard to fit in the box that we gave him : « the rapper-leader ». From his hairstyle to his sunglasses, from the way he was speaking to his interactions with Seokjin he was working so hard to be what others wanted him to be. To fit what the kpop industry was waiting from him (and from BTS as whole).

Namjoon needed to be strong (mentally and physically) just as any other underground rapper needed to be. In the underground rap game envrionnement you need to hide all your weaknesses or they will be used against you. In the kpop industry the rules are the same. Namjoon couldn’t let his insecurites, his doubt or his weakness be shown on camera. He needed to be a strong, independent and perfect genius rapper with no"girly” emotions (like sadness).

All this personnally traits are not really what we know of him today are they ?

In fact, through the years we have been able to see Namjoon being more and more aware of the person he wanted to be. He understand that he is a rapper, he knows that he is intelligent. However he also knows that he has his own insecurities, that the world around him scares him and that his mind always play with his darkest doubt. It’s like if he was constantly thinking too much. He can perform in front of millions of ARMY but then be scared that all of this is just a mere mirage and that tomorrow everything could crumble because of one mistake. (Maybe his?) His intelligence allows him to guide his bandmates through difficult times and to write amazing music but it also makes him aware of everything else... All the bad aspects and the little things that could cost them their popularity and their fans. And believe me, that scares him the shit out of him.

« To be honest we are the only ones that received an award at the show [BBMA] as a kpop group and I’m not saying we should boast but to be honest it is a huge success but because of that I keep wondering to what point, how far we need to go up (…) it makes me wonder how far we might fall down. » - Hesitation and fears.

Bonus : Namjoon is an intelligent person but he often let’s his first instinct express themself. He is an “emotive thinker” before being an “intellectual thinker”.

= Seokjin Kim- The Eldest =

I think that I could speak hours upon hours to make you understand how I percieve Namjoon’s personnality but for Seokjin… it’s even worst, I could speak about him for days. So I will do my best to not be too long on the subject of this world wide handsome man.

Jin was shown from his debut as the visual model. And that was mostly what we where allowed to see of him. He didn’t get much line, his dancing skills were not perfect so he was put in the back and in the end of the day most people were praising him not for his voice’s skills but only for his « handsome face ». That’s mostly why, nowdays Seokjin always says that he is handsome. He say this in a way, almost in a moking way, to make you understand that he was only recognize for his physic instead of his intelligence, kindness or most importantly for his voice. Among years, he does not only began to strongly believe in the fact that he is handsome but he also use this as a way to protect himself from his own insecurities.

Not to be recognize for your voice when you are a vocalist in one of the biggest kpop group is like when a woman is choosen for a job not for her intellictual skills but because « she is pretty ». Because despite the confindence that Seokjin show us 99% of the time I am actually the kind of fans that thinks that Jin is pretty insecure about his voice, his dance and his role in the group and that sometimes his own pretty face is more a burden than a real gift.

This would explain a lot of things. Mostly why he had work so hard to become a better dancer, why he went into a war with Big Hit to be able to perform his own song Awake in wich he states : «Maybe I, I can never fly like those six petals out there, wings like other things are impossible » but also why he tries so hard to always stay with the maknae line of BTS, like if he want to assure himself that he can act for them like an older brother would do and be with them whenever they need it. Because if he can’t sing or dance well, the least he can do, would be to take care of his member right?

(But don’t get me wrong even if Seokjin has his own insecurites I am sure that sometime he looks at himself in the mirror and try to kiss his pretty face ahah!)

On an other hand Jin, is also someone who will not be easly intimidated. I will show it to you in the pictures that will follow, but Jin is not the kind of person who is « to kind » (even if a lot of ARMY paint him that way in fanfiction). When he has to speak his mind or when other goes on his nerves he will not hesitate to let it know, even if it can be percieve as insensitive. He is this kind of person who can laugh and be all friendly-friendly but if you cross the line his smile will disapear and he will tell you « Fuck off I have better things to do». (That’s a metaphore Jin isn’t as straight foward as that but he is definetly not the « cute mommy » that 50% of the fandom see him as). In the end of the day he is a well balanced mix of “Fuck off” and “I need to tell you a dad joke” that allows him to be an eldest that other love and respect without being crushed down by the other big personnality in the group (aka Namjoon, Yoongi and Taehyung).

And this is probably why the dynamic between Seokjin and Namjoon is that respectful and understanding. Because even if Jin take care of other and is a bowl of positivity he doesn’t let the others take control upon him/bullying him. Or Namjoon, needs someone like that in his life. Someone who can be both gentle and straight forward when they need to speak their mind.

Bonus : Seokjin is also the type of person to think on a more logical string, he can perfectly control his emotions thanks to his training as an actor. He rarely let his primary emotions to be shown on camera.

II - Their dynamic

= The influence of Seokjin on Namjoon =

Noooowww let’s finally talk about the influence that Namjoon and my baby Seokjin has on each other. Because, oh yeah baby they influence each other in soooo many ways and thanks to that they became the amazing people that they are now.

In my opinion the influence that Seokjin have on Namjoon is easier to percieve than the other way around. In fact we often see, Namjoon saying how much Seokjin has grown upon him and how he allowed him to become a better person trough the years.

Jin is someone who tries his best to see the positive aspect in everything in life (ctdl: Bon Voyage Season 2). Namjoon even, once said that he had never meet someone like Seokjin before and that he had a lot to learn from him.

It is pretty understandable since they came from two different social environnement. I think that what Namjoon is trying to say is that when Seokjin face a problem he don’t think that « this is destiny » and that it can’t be resolved. At the contrary Seokjin tends to think that if you push yourself and work hard in the end of the day you will be able to achieve what you want. And even if it doesn’t work for you in the end, you still have to think of a positive way of this experience and see what you have learn about it. Because Seokjin is mostly a positive person.

Seokjin had also work so hard to detach himself from his parents (with his dad being a CEO he could have choosen to take this at his own avantage) but instead he had work so hard even if he could have taken the easy way around. Namjoon has meet for the first time a person who : is overly positive despite the bad moment that live can put you in and was a hard worker who believe in his own dreams even when his parents could have afford him « everything ». Pretty much all the contrary that Namjoon was ever confronted by.

This two things were at first a wall in the Namjin relation ship. Namjoon and Seokjin weren’t as close in the early days and Namjoon even confess that at the begining of BTS he « couldn’t understand Seokjin ». Don’t be to harsh on him, you have to understand his way of thinking back then... Namjoon was coming from a modest family. He was an underground rapper facing with hardship and strong rappers personnalities. A bowls of positivity like Seokjin and with an « easy background family » well it was something that he had to see from a bad eye no ?

Namjoon is a genius and every intelligent mind became curious when they are confronted at something they can’t understand. I think, that this why, Namjoon has slowly began to established a bond with our World Wide Handsome Man.

= The influence of Namjoon on Seokjin =

Here is the hardest part for me, and sincerly if you want to add something to this part of my metapost feel free to do it because I’m pretty sure that I will miss some points here...

In my opinion the influence that RM had on Jin was much more subbtle. The way that I see it, is that Namjoon has allow Jin to be more confident as whole. To gain confidence in the person he is, charismatic with his lame joke but also less aware of the « acting on camera ». I don’t know if it’s just me but I have the feeling that when RM is not near him, Jin put on his « actor personnality/ actor mask » and become what other people want him to be. But when Namjoon is here, Jin seems to be more confortable at being himself. I can be totally wrong but that’s how I see it.

I also have the impression that when something goes wrong, when Jin is sad or too happy there is only Namjoon to make him able to change his instant emotions. Like if Namjoon was able to control his mind.

For exemple on the Namjoon’s Birthday log, RM is able to make Jin feel bad for not cooking him a meal. He is totally playing with him. But when you look at Jin you totally have the sensation that Jin is in fact feeling really bad for haven’t been able to cook for him. And then when Namjoon begins to sing his own birthday song Jin joins him forgetting his owns emtions. (-> Namjoon control Seokjin emotions (in a positive way of course)).

Namjoon has this kind of power where he helps Seokjin expressing who he really is and let him forget of the cameras.

= Their relationship =

Finally, we are getting at the most interesting part. The last part where I will talk about their relationship and why I can see them as a couple and not just as friends.

We can say that Namjoon and Seokjin have learn along the years not only to respect themself (because they respect all the members equally) but to learn from each other constantly. They need each other support to go foward and to endorse the role of eldest/leader. Namjoon need the forwardness sincerity and positivity of Jin. When Seokjin needs the confidence and the analytic way of thinking of Namjoon. They push each other to be better dancer, to be better leader (Namjoon a better Leader for BTS and Jin a better hyung for the younger ones) and better people.

Even when they disagree on things, they learn to speak their mind until their problem is solve. They never try to make the other one feels stupid and they listen to each other to make the group go foward. When the other members fight they try to soothe the tension between them.

Do you remember when I was stating that Namjoon was the kind of person to let his emtions express themself first and at contrario Seokjin was the kind of person to hide his emotions and to think before letting them pop up ? Well this is mostly true for a lot of their interactions.

But there is some moments where my statement it totally false.

Can you guess when ?

The answer is : when the stress is too high.

If you see at every important award show, their personnalities switch. Just like if the « too much » stress was breaking their wall.

In these moment Namjoon is so stress that he tries to endorsed a role where he is confident in and that allows him to not show any weakness : the Leader of BTS; a rapper genius. On the other hand when the pressure becomes to high, Seokjin let his emotions shows without being able to restrain them. He let his tears fill his eyes and can’t control his facial expressions.

This is so interesting because in these moment, where the stress hit the « Namjin Critical Point » they become essential for one and another. Jin become the anchor of Namjoon and Namjoon become the figure that Seokjin handle to.

In this moments they need to stand next to each other, hold the hand of the other, look at the other or hug the other one with passion.

When Seokjin cry he let his own and Namjoon’s emotions flows. When Namjoon endorse his role as a leader he contain his and Seokjin’s strength.

The most beautiful thing in their relation ship is, in my opinion, too see how they both influence each other to become better people but also complimentary souls.

Namjoon lack of self confidence ? Jin is here.

Jin needs to show his emotions ? Namjoon will be strong for him.

Namjoon see to much negativty ? Jin will remind him of seeing the bright side of life.

Jin wants to train harder ? Namjoon will stay with him.

Are they a couple ? Probably not.

Do they have an unique relationship ? Hell yes.

#bts #namjin #namjoon #kim namjoon #seokjin #kim seokjin #RM #rap monster #Jin #bts analysis #bts meta post

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prolifeproliberty · 7 years

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The Handmaid’s Tale Actually Isn’t Terrible

I started (binge)watching The Handmaid’s Tale yesterday, and I was prepared to hate it. Everything I had heard and read about the show prepared me for thinly disguised liberal propaganda constantly bashing Christians, Conservatives, and Pro-Lifers. The premise, as I understood it, would be “this is what happens if the Christians/Conservatives/Pro-Lifers get their way.” This came especially from everyone who jumped straight to “Trump is going to make this come true.”

I was wrong, and so are a lot of the liberals who think that The Handmaid’s Tale supports their ideology.

Warning

If you haven’t watched the show, my warning to you is that rape is a constant theme in the show, and you will see multiple rapes per episode. Generally they are not physically violent, more on the side of coerced compliance. As such, these scenes are fairly “quiet,” which I think makes it all the more disturbing. Do not watch the show if that is something that will cause you significant emotional distress.

The Premise

The Republic of Gilead, a terrorist group of “Christian” fundamentalists, has taken over much of the United States. Other nations regard them much the way we regard North Korea. They are vaguely aware of the human rights injustices in Gilead, and have mostly responded with trade embargoes and other sanctions.

In the world where this takes place, infertility is a global crisis. Most women can’t get pregnant, and those who do often miscarry or give birth to babies who die soon after delivery. Gilead’s solution to this problem is to enslave those women who can have healthy babies and force them to act as surrogates for “the faithful,” aka the leaders. In a twisted misinterpretation of the Biblical story of Rachel asking Jacob to father children via her maid, these women are raped by the men they are assigned to while laying in the lap of the man’s wife. I honestly cannot overstate how disturbing these scenes are. Ugh.

But it’s not just the Handmaids who are enslaved. Virtually all citizens of Gilead have lost all of their civil and human rights, including the “elite” who appear to be living “the good life.” The government is socialist, in that it controls all means of production and distributes goods to the people through ration cards. There are shortages of many items, such that the characters get excited when the grocery store is carrying oranges. However, it is apparent that higher-up leaders can get things that lower-ranking party members might be denied. Jobs and marriages are also distributed by the government.

Everyone is under near-constant surveillance through a network of state spies and neighbors who will report you for fear of being “complicit.” Interrogations are conducted using cattle prods, and guilty verdicts are reached by a judge asking the accuser to swear he’s telling the truth and then saying the equivalent of “well, okay, if you say so.” Death sentences are handed down and carried out almost instantaneously.

Religion

An emphasis is placed on the religious aspect of Gilead society. As mentioned before, the Handmaid system is based on Rachel asking Jacob to father children through her maid. The characters have call-and-response greetings and phrases that come from Scripture or general Christian language. It can be very tempting to consider Gilead “Christians Gone Wild.”

However, there is something very interesting that disrupts this interpretation that I noticed in the very first episode. There are no clergy. Anywhere. No pastors, no priests except one who has been executed for his crimes, presumably speaking against the state. We see a church being demolished, and two Handmaids talk about churches they knew from “before” that have been destroyed.

What this tells us is that no Christian church got on board with Gilead. No churches, no clergy, nobody. This is a case of a relatively small group of absolute nut jobs managing to take over the government and control the masses through fear and brainwashing.

The show also makes it clear over and over again that all of the Scripture used by Gilead to justify their actions is taken completely out of any context whatsoever. The Rachel, Jacob, and Bilah story used to justify the Handmaid system is a prime example. The people of Gilead treat this story like a direct command from God to rape women so you can have children. It is so incredibly not that. Really, the whole story, in context, is a warning about why polygamy is a terrible idea. God never condones Rachel’s solution to her infertility, and in other places He explicitly condemns similar situations, such as when Sarah tells Abraham to sleep with Hagar.

Most importantly, the characters in The Handmaid’s Tale leave out of the story the part where Jacob gets mad at Rachel for even suggesting the idea, and she has to talk him into it. His first reaction to her suggestion is the right one: “Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?’“ (Gen 30:2). The end of Genesis 29 tells us that God made Rachel barren and made Jacob’s other wife, Leah, fertile to protect her. Jacob loved Rachel and hated Leah, so God let Leah have children so Jacob would have to treat her better. When Rachel proposes having Jacob impregnate her servant, she is trying to circumvent God’s will.

We also see instances where only part of a verse is quoted, such as “Blessed are the meek,” which is used to tell the Handmaids to “know their place.” Offred, the main character, finishes the verse in her head: “for they will inherit the earth.” The Handmaids are reminded to “remember their Scripture,” which seems to refer to selected fragments of verses used to control them, as they are not allowed to read the Bible (or anything else) themselves. In fact, the only Bible I’ve seen in the show so far is kept in a locked box by the Commander, only taken out for the “ceremony” (the monthly ritual rape intended to impregnate Offred). At this point, only the verses about Rachel, Jacob, and Bilah are read, and then not the complete passage. The Commander reads Genesis 30: 1, 3-5 (King James Version), skipping verse 2 that talks about Jacob being angry because Rachel was trying to circumvent God’s will.

Civil Liberties

I think the big warning for us is not about “religion run wild.” It’s about our civil liberties and the dangers of socialism. In fact, I think The Handmaid’s Tale makes an excellent case for Libertarianism. We see this in how the Republic of Gilead manages to take over the country and strip the people of their rights. They do this through coordinated terrorist attacks which destroy all three branches of government (they bomb Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court and basically kill everyone) and convince the people to give up their rights and submit to martial law.

Once this is achieved, Gilead leaders take control of the banks and essentially all industry very quickly and in a very strategic way. They ban women from having jobs or owning property all at once, freezing every woman’s bank account and credit card before the people realize what’s happening. They start shooting protesters and anyone who opposes them, shutting down resistance before it can get organized.

Offred remarks in the show on how she didn’t see this coming because she wasn’t paying attention. She had her own life and her own problems, and she didn’t speak up or take action when her rights were taken away. In fact, it is made clear that most people didn’t realize what was going on until it was way too late. In this story, the complacency of Americans with tyranny and their disregard for their own rights was America’s downfall.

Gilead happened not because of religion or Conservative ideology. It happened because people were willing to give up their liberty for a promise of temporary safety. They ended up with neither.

#rape #the handmaid's tale #civil liberties #libertarian #freeblr #Christianity #Religion #slavery #terrorism #socialism

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