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gduncan969 · 2 years

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Speaking With Boldness

Acts 4: 29 - 31 “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

The Bad News Have you noticed how hard it is these days to avoid complaining about all the disturbing changes we are forced to go through in a world that seems to have lost its way. Everyone agrees we are headed in the wrong direction but no one I talk to seems have any solutions for turning things back to the normalcy we grew up with. Like so many other familiar terms, normal now means something we do not recognize and includes all kinds of things that are clearly anything but normal. Who would ever have thought we would end up in a world unable to define the term “woman” or one trying to ban terms like father, mother, blackboard, whitewash and so on. Crazy you say and crazy it is but we are now in a society that increasingly forbids dissent and punishes those who do not conform. Have you recognized that cash is fast disappearing from our daily transactions and is being replaced with “tap-and-go”credit cards and soon-to-be replaced with digital ID’s controlled by government and carrying details of every aspect of our lives from where we live, travel, shop to where we get medical treatment, go to school, etc. Scandal after scandal is revealing widespread corruption in those who operate the levers of our society and yet it seems like no one is brought to trial or convicted of these crimes. Microchips are now being implanted in human hands that reveal all kinds of things about you like vaccine status or allow you to open your car doors should you lose your key fob and it is easy to predict that our digital ID’s will follow that same trend which every Christian recognizes as the “mark of the beast” described in Revelation. The Scottish commentator, Neil Oliver, recently posted a video on U-tube telling us how obvious it now is that we the people are being duped by governments, big business and all those of the World Economic Forum whose mantra is, “You will own nothing and be happy”. These are those who now view humanity not as peoples and nations and ethnic groups, each with their own characteristics but as mere consumers who must be controlled because their unquenchable thirst for more and more “stuff” is destroying the planet and ruining the climate. Their solution is to forcefully take over national governments, downplay ethnic and cultural differences and force compliance with their three principles named ESG—Environmental control, social control and governance control.

The Good News I could go on at length trying to list all the areas where we are being lied to, deceived, conned and bamboozled but that would serve only to depress us even more and for the Christian there is still the good news that “God is still on the throne and He will remember His own”. If you agree that things are as I’ve described above (and is there any other explanation that so clearly fits the facts?), that we are indeed being lied to and misled by those who rule over us and that there is indeed a world-wide move to squeeze us into this new world order whether we want to or not, then the burning question for all of us who call ourselves Christians is, “WHAT DO WE DO?” How are we to deal with what we now understand as the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced? That’s not hyperbole, it’s just how big this current problem is! These globalist leaders from every nation, multi-national corporations, governments and national institutions have committed themselves to bring about major negations of our freedoms no matter the objections or resistance that any local, national or ethnic group may raise so it’s not enough for us to simply recognize what’s wrong in the world, we must find out how to deal with it, to have an answer for those who agree with us that there is a great evil at work in human society today that is progressing ever more quickly and leaving many Christians dismayed and greatly troubled by what they see. What approach should we take? Do we just sit back and watch what happens or do we rise up in protest and join the thousands already marching in places around the world against it? Do we simply pray about it and leave it to the Lord to sort out or do we take action against it to try and stop it? There are no easy answers to these questions but the bible does give us some clear direction as to how we should act in such circumstances. Typically, our first reaction stems from the natural mind which makes us angry at what is going on and then urges us either to run away in fear and bury our heads in the sand to pray that it will all pass away without affecting us or, the other extreme—to take up arms against this sea of troubles by joining every protest group we can think of and spend our days telling everyone we meet how rotten things have become and how corrupt those in authority are. Many Christians today refuse to talk about this because it is too painful and too fearful to consider and they become upset with those who insist on telling them about all the latest developments. “I don’t want to talk about it”, is a common phrase around many dinner tables and living rooms these days. Many others are much more engaged in the process and are actively writing to their representatives, signing petitions and sending letters to the editors giving their opinions as to what needs to be done. In themselves, neither of these approaches are fundamentally wrong but if they are based on either the fear or the outrage only, they are missing the approach Jesus gave to the early Church as to how to handle such issues.

What Would Jesus Have Us Do? The key question for all of us Christians is what would Jesus have us do? Whatever the answer is, it won’t be the same for everyone but everyone needs to have an answer from the Lord. Acts 4:29-31 tells us that when Peter and John were hauled before the authorities and strictly warned not to preach the Gospel, their answer was simply “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Verses 19, 20). They were let go with no punishment or retribution but they didn’t just sit back and praise God, thanking Him for their deliverance, they went straight to prayer and prayed for the one thing that would defeat any enemy trying to thwart the way of the Lord—BOLDNESS! That’s what’s missing in our response to this current crisis:

Acts 4: 23 - 30 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

Note how they reminded themselves that the worst event in human history, one they had seen for themselves, was actually the greatest event in human history. The crucifixion was not the tragedy of a corrupt government illegally executing an innocent man, it was the glory of “whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done”. No matter how corrupt governments might be or become, they are no match for the planned purposes of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and we are in His plan. Note that they fully realized the power of government to ruin their lives, take their freedoms and throw them in jail or kill them but they also knew their God and would continue to do exploits in His name (Daniel 11:32). They prayed for the boldness needed to increase the exploits in the realms of miracles, signs and wonders that have always drawn unbelievers to His Kingdom. These latter are much missing in the Church today and are desperately needed to show the world that the God we worship is a God of power and might and miracles who loves His children and will guard them against all evil.

Your Personal Answer to “What Must I do?” Boldness is not something that comes easy to most of us but it’s the one thing that will drive people to the Gospel but it must be a boldness that declares with certainty the Kingdom of God is at hand, that sets the captives free, heals the sick, delivers the oppressed and raises the dead. May the Lord grant us the boldness we must pray for and act upon and may He accompany it with signs and wonders that cannot be denied. A dear friend once told me, “If you are getting your prayers answered, then you are in the ministry because people will beat a path to your door to find you.” In quoting Psalm 2 (Why did the nations rage..), the disciples recognized that there has always been and always will be opposition to the Gospel message, that governments would become corrupted and lie to the people, that righteousness would be ridiculed and condemned, that vaccine mandates would result in job losses and financial hardships, that confusion would reign over what constitutes a woman or a gender, that differentiates between true love and perversion, but this psalm also says God laughs at them and declares he will give His Son (and us) “the nations for an inheritance” (verse 8) so perhaps we need to laugh as well. We need to laugh at our fear as we speak boldly to the sick to be healed, to the deaf to hear, the blind to see; to laugh when the lame walk and the oppressed are set free. Maybe you are laughing now at the very thought that it could happen to you but remember Sarah laughed when told she would bear a son in her old age and I’m sure Elizabeth at least smiled when she found herself pregnant in her old age. God has no favorites and He will honor our boldness to speak in His name to those who need His Grace. Go ahead and try.

I predict we are going to face a lot more of these challenges in the days ahead because I am fully persuaded we are entering into what the bible calls “the time of the end”, also known as “the latter days” (see Matthew 24 and Luke 17). As these challenging times unfold before us, let’s remember we are soldiers in the army of God and we are equipped for war as Paul describes in Ephesians 6:10 - 18. However, no soldier engaged in a war goes running off on his own to attack the enemy but waits on the orders from his commander and does his part to follow the battle plan laid out for him by his superior officers. In the Church of Jesus Christ, the superior officers are the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers led by the commander-in-chief, the Holy Spirit, who directs the battle. There is no room in this army for lone wolves doing their own thing and thus, the burden for knowing “what must I do?” in these last days lies heavily on the Church leadership giving clear direction to the fellowship of believers. Jesus has warned us that these days will be a time of great trial and tribulation “such as has not been since the beginning of the world” (Matthew 24:21) and only those who “endure to the end shall be saved” (verse 13).

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kahran042 · 2 years

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Encyclopedia Brown thoughts: book 13

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Midnight Visitor

The Case of the Midnight Visitor:

"Synagogue" is misspelled in the intro to this story.

Who would call it a "string" of pizza parlors and not a "chain"?

Pizza seems to be coming up a lot in these stories lately.

"Kidnappers want money. Once they get it, there is no telling what they might do with their victim." Um... release him?

"'I argue with my closest friends,' objected Mrs Brown, 'and I haven't been kidnapped.'" Ah, but you aren't a millionaire, are you?

What if the kidnapper had been one of Butler's other enemies? Would he have been able to come up with a clever code in that case?

What were some of the business troubles that Jason blamed Butler for?

The Case of the Hidden Penny:

Dear @brownencyclopedia, Elmo wasn't using a glow-in-the-dark yo-yo because he was under a blanket. He was using a blanket because his yo-yo glowed in the dark. Minimal love, kahran042.

It's taffy or toffee, not taffee.

Do rattlesnakes ever bite themselves to death?

I like hot dogs, and I don't put sauerkraut or mustard on them. I do put ketchup on them, though, which would probably get me lynched in Chicago.

Did Elmo ever get his yo-yo back?

The Case of the Red Sweater:

@brownencyclopedia: If you can't just throw a human skeleton in the trash, how are you supposed to get rid of it?

From what I've seen elsewhere, "Carmine" is usually a boy's name... or a color.

How many kids would notice that boys' and girls' shirts and sweaters button on opposite sides?

"Girlfriend" should be one word in this context.

The Case of the Painting Gerbils:

Is there actually a rule that only humans could enter the contest, or is @brownencyclopedia just making an arse of u and me?

That being said, they do raise a good point. Why is it always three suspects?

Personally, I would disqualify Mark's painting, not because it was done by gerbils, but because he entered it under an extremely obvious fake name.

Misle is a real word with the past tense "misled", although it's more commonly spelled "mizzle", as in Mizzle of Tears.

The Case of the Time Capsule:

Abe's riddles are pretty lame. How is he the president of the Idaville Riddle Club? My theory is that he's also the only member, because how much demand would there be for a Riddle Club?

Abe didn't beat up Rockwell just because he was repeatedly going to the water fountain. He did so after he smugly confessed to stealing Abe's $#!+.

The Case of Freddy the Great:

"He thinks he's so much better than anyone else." Gee, Sally, sound familiar? Actually, not really. Sally doesn't think she's better than anyone else. She thinks everyone else is worse than her.

I love the fact that the eponymous allegedly-vicious guard dog was spooked by a cat. He knows who's really in charge. =^_^=

I've lived with cats my whole life, and I didn't know that they had four toes on their hind paws until I read this story.

The Case of the Tennis Racket:

What if a girl wanted to become a Tiger? Would she need to undergo a test, too?

I'm glad that Ike Quilp wasn't directly involved in the crime here. It shows that not all Tigers have bad blood in Sobol's eyes.

The Case of the Fifty Mosquitoes:

It's always nice to see a good teenager in one of these stories, in this case Pete McGrane, who also has the advantage of not being absentminded like Ziggy Ketchum two books ago.

How would one take a shower in six seconds, even if there were one in a park?

I've heard that the extinction of mosquitoes would have no effect on the ecosystem. I hope so.

Why is Stinky allowed to do his "stunt", if killing fifty mosquitoes in an hour counts as such, with no one watching?

The Case of the Hit-Run Car:

Did the injured man ever get to the hospital?

Why were the robbers wearing black capes in the first place, other than so that people would know they were robbers?

How many kids would know how patients are loaded into an ecnalubma?

#encyclopedia brown #donald j sobol #encyclopedia brown and the case of the midnight visitor

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marauderundercover · 3 years

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Taking Chances Ch. 27: Princess (Royal/medieval AU)

AO3

The shrill akuma alarm wakes Marinette up the next morning and she sighs, rubbing her head gently before grabbing the bottle of painkillers that Dick had left next to her on the table.

“Don’t leave yet!” A voice calls from the other room. Marinette frowns, but listens, quickly taking a couple painkillers and letting herself wake up. Dick rushes into the room, nearly falling as he slides across the floor in his socks. He rushes over to her and kneels in front of her, staring into her eyes. She frowns.

“What are you doing?” She asks, too tired to try and comprehend what’s wrong with her brother right now.

“Checking your eyes and seeing how bad your concussion is so I know if I need to call Adrien to keep a closer eye on you for this fight.” Dick says, frowning slightly at something he sees. He reaches out and gently pushes a spot on her head and she hisses in pain.

“Hey, ya big jerk, that hurts!” She complains, giving him her best ‘Damian’ glare. He just rolls his eyes.

“This is serious kid, you got seriously injured last night.” Dick reminds her. She purses her lips.

“I know, and I promise I’ll take it easy later, but right now I really need to go.” She pleads. Dick sighs, but nods, standing up.

“Go kick some butterfly butt.” He says with a small grin. Marinette grins back at him, quickly calling her transformations and portaling away to Paris. She blinks in the bright sunlight, trying hard to push away any disorientation she has from the stupid concussion. I can do this, she thinks, glancing around to assess the situation. She frowns at her surroundings. She knew she was technically in Paris, she could see the Eiffel tower and Kaalki never misled her before. Well, not during an attack anyway. But where the giant modern buildings should be, there were small stone buildings with thatch roofs. Glancing around, she also notices a huge, stone castle where her school used to be. That should be fun.

“I am the Dark Knight, and I will not rest until I have Chat Noir and Ladybug’s Miraculous!” A voice shouts out above the rest of the noise. Marinette creeps over and just blinks at the fashion atrocity before her. She was going to slap Hawkmoth twice when she found him. Once, for terrorizing Paris for over a year. And again for the awful wardrobe choices he made. Seriously. And the Dark Knight? Isn’t that name trademarked, or something?

“Hey Bugaboo, what’s the plan?” Chat asks, landing beside her and leaning on his baton. She frowns.

“I don’t actually have one yet. I just got here.” She says, and this time he’s the one confused.

“But you always rush over.” He says, careful not to include anything about Kaalki. You never know who might be listening.

“I’ll explain later. Any idea where the object might be?” She asks, scanning the akuma. It’s power didn’t seem too awful. It had changed most of the structure in Paris, and now it was changing people’s clothes too when they got hit by the orange light. Some citizens were in what Marinette could only assume was the height of fashion during the Renaissance, whereas some citizens were draped in obvious “peasant” outfits. But there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for the difference. Just a difference.

“The satchel looks promising.” Chat says, and Marinette grins, a plan slowly taking hold in her mind. She’d just need two paper clips, a stick of gum and whatever her lucky charm was.

---

“Pound it.” Chat says holding out a fist. Marinette grins, returning the fist bump. “Did you have time to talk? You know, about why you were late?” Chat asks, and Marinette sighs but nods. They both recharge in an alley before swinging to sit on the top of the Eiffel tower.

“I fought an akuma alone, while you were out of town.” She says first, shrugging lightly. “I didn’t think about it, honest. I’d done it a million times before with Monsieur Pigeon. But the Bat got mad.” Marinette says, not wanting to risk calling him her dad while she’s masked in Paris. It just felt like it was asking for trouble.

“Cause you fought alone?” Chat asks, frowning.

“Well, that and I sort of jammed the Zeta tubes so that outsiders can’t come to Paris during an active akuma attack.” She mumbles under her breath, wincing at the noise Chat’s neck makes when he jerks around to stare at her dumbfoundedly.

“That’s insane. How’d you do it?” He asks and she simply grins.

“Spent enough time with Pegasus and Red Robin and Oracle. Add in a tiny bit of luck and boom. I win.” She smirks

“So you were late cause you’re grounded.” Chat says simply, a proud smile on his face as he thinks he cracked the code. Solved the mystery.

“Not quite,” Marinette says with a slight frown.

“Then what?” Chat asks. Marinette lets out a long sigh, glaring at Adrien to let him know she’s not happy about this situation, she does not want to talk to him about this. He’ll just get all worried.

“Well last night I was still benched from patrol because of the whole akuma attack thing but Tikki thought I should be ungrounded so I went out anyway and then the dude that stabbed me a couple months ago found me and the rest of the Batclan didn’t know that I was out so they couldn’t help me and I was all alone and then he knocked me out and I don’t really remember much except I woke up at Nightwing’s apartment and met Starfire and yeah that’s it.” She rambles, shooting him a smile and waving nonchalantly.

“I’m going to wrap you in bubble wrap. No, I’m going to make the Batclan do it.” Chat finally says, pulling out his baton.

“No, don’t! Batman doesn’t know. Neither does Hood or Red Robin. Only Nightwing and Robin know.” She says, swatting the baton out of his hand. The last thing she needed was for him to accidentally call her dad on her. She’d be in so much trouble.

“Geeze Bug.” Chat mutters under his breath, tugging her into a hug. She sighs and hugs him back, taking just a moment to relish being with her friend.

“I’m pretty sure Batman is narrowing down his Hawkmoth suspect list.” She mumbles, and Chat pulls back from her, staring into her face.

“Are you serious?” He asks, the relief on his face clear. Marinette nods, and Chat lets out a long sigh. One that Marinette could feel in her bones, because she was tired too. She also wanted to end this fight. Hopefully her dad would have a suspect soon.

---

Bruce Wayne was the world’s greatest detective. He had solved cases infinitely larger than this one, so he didn’t understand why he couldn’t find a damn lead on Hawkmoth. Actually, he understood perfectly. It was magic. God he hates magic. It’s unpredictable, and most of the time it’s more trouble than it’s worth. He sighs and sends a quick text to Dick, double checking that Marinette had made it back to his apartment okay. He knew his daughter was...upset with him for benching her and demanding she take someone with her to Paris. But they were all precautions, just to guarantee that nothing worse happened to her. She wasn’t invincible, no matter how much she seemed to think she was. He frowns at the text he receives back, quickly hitting call and waiting a few moments for Dick to pick up.

“Hel-”

“What do you mean she’s not at your place?” Bruce asks, not giving his eldest son a chance to talk.

“Well hi to you too, B.” Dick teases, and Bruce just knows he’s grinning. He lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Is she really not there? The akuma attack ended nearly twenty minutes ago and she’s not here either.” Bruce says, trying to think of where else she would go. Jason was even at the Manor, and hadn’t heard from her either.

“No, B, she’s not-” Dick pauses, then lets out a long sigh. “It’s B. He was wondering where you were.” He hears Dick say, and Bruce is surprised to hear his son’s tone. It was less carefree and more...like a father. He was a father, with Mar’i, but it was still odd to hear him use the tone on someone besides his granddaughter.

“I had to talk to Adrien.” He can barely hear her say and Bruce lets out a frustrated huff. Of course she was with the Agreste boy again. Honestly, he seemed nice enough until Selina pointed out the crushes that the two had on each other. Now, Bruce wanted nothing more than to lock him away. Far away.

“Can you please ask her if she’s coming home tonight?” Bruce finally says, listening to the silence on the other end. He wonders if they’d put the phone on mute or if Marinette was signing furiously the way he’d seen her do over a video call with Cass earlier in the week.

“We’re all coming. See you at dinner.” Dick says, hanging up almost fast enough for Bruce to not hear the protest from Marinette. Almost. Bruce walks to find Alfred, trying not to let the fact that his daughter doesn’t want to see him again get to him.

---

Marinette glares at her oldest brother as they walk into the manor. He just grins, acting as if he hadn’t practically forced her home. It’s not that she didn’t want to come home, but she knew she had a couple bruises and a lump on her head. She also knew that Damian was apparently barely holding himself back from hunting down Slade. She really didn’t need Tikki giving him any ideas.

“Welcome home, Miss Marinette. Would you like me to look at your injuries?” Alfred asks immediately walking towards her as he walks into the room. Marinette glances around, hoping her dad isn’t around before sighing.

“No thank you Alfred, I’m fine.” She reassures him, or she tries to. His face doesn’t look like he believes her.

“Yes, I’m certain a concussion is nothing to worry about. Especially since you’ve had so many.” He drawls, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Hey, whoa. You said this was your first concussion.” Dick says after urging Mar’i to fly off and find Jason or Damian or Tim. Marinette huffs.

“It is.” She says, crossing her arms.

“The concussions you sustain in the suit still count. Head injuries are not an exact science. Nor are they an exact magic cure, either. They often heal at an accelerated speed, but can still have long-lasting effects.” Alfred says and Marinette blinks. That was almost- Almost- information about the Miraculous. And only someone who knew about the Miraculous would know about the whole head injury thing. She blinks at him for a moment, running possibilities through her head. She sighs, realizing that if Alfred had been a holder, it was definitely for a Miraculous she didn’t have. She could just...feel it.

“I promise I’m fine, and if I start feeling any of those other concussion symptoms, I’ll come to you.” Marinette promises.

“And how did you get a concussion?” Her dad asks, practically materializing out of nowhere.

“Akuma attack. Miraculous cure can’t do a complete heal with concussions, it’s too, uh, dangerous. Not exact.” Marinette lies, trying hard not to do any of her tells. She doesn’t tense up, she doesn’t grin, she doesn’t look at someone else and giggle, nothing. She lies with a straight face, which honestly almost scares her more than getting yelled at by her dad. He just hums before nodding at her.

“Will you be staying here tonight? Most of us have patrol, but afterwards Tim suggested that we all watch a movie together.” Her dad says and Marinette tries hard to suppress her grin. There’s no way.

“Wow Tim, you really wanna have a full-family movie night?” She calls out, grinning at the surprised look on her brother’s face. Because of course her dad was the one to set it up, but of course he didn’t want anyone to know. “I think that’s super cool Tim. As long as we can watch some Disney princess movies.” She adds, laughing as Mar’i comes flying around the corner with wide eyes.

“Did someone say princess?” She squeals, flying straight into Marinette’s arms. Marinette grins at her niece and nods.

“Oh yes. Timmy has decided we’re gonna watch Disney princess movies as a family all night long!” She says, laughing as her niece cheers. She glances at her Dad and tries hard to hold back the snort that wants to come out at his exasperated look. Looks like it’s gonna be a Disney night for the Wayne household.

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

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the-nysh · 3 years

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P1:I find it both fascinating and frustrating when it comes to Katsuki's wrong doings because I can't fully agree with the sentiment "bullying is bullying" and I feel Bakugou is a good character to explore that in examining the different severities of bullying which doesn't have to equate to invalidating victims experience (which are also variable) by doing so - discussion tends to describe it as so awful and he must apologise (which I don't disagree with) but awful can describe well more awful-

P2:-kinds of bullying, like actually going out of your way daily to harm someone and relentlessly take away their sense of safety and dignity. Maybe I care because the extent of the bullying itself (and his behaviour at UA, which I think is still bad but distinct from bullying) sets the tone to Deku introductory relationship to him and Bakugou's apology (which was wonderfully taking responsibility for his behaviour but works with his actions in part because it was not worse behaviour in his - P3: -past). Bakugou's behaviour in response to his insecurity, jealousy, fear and intolerance makes sense, his bullying was to push Deku away and coloured all his interactions with Deku, but he aimed to have those interactions be infrequent which feels like it plays a role in how Deku's (besides his own inners strengths) early feeling is that Bakugou is a conceited jerk in response to Bakugou's attitude towards him. In the story it all feels in proportion (well except Bakugou almost having to - P4: - to die, but that is more about him having a moment in Deku's shoes which in turn informs his understanding, his apology and how he goes about making things right from that apology, while also experiencing that panic of potentially not getting a chance to apologise to Deku), meanwhile it often feels like things are never aligned and in proportion on fandom and even nice takes veer towards implying bullying veered towards severe because discussion lacks the language to talk about nuisances.

So basically....what Hori’s created and written thru Kacchan’s character arc is proportional, consistent, and hyperspecific to his own fictional settings (world building) and his characters’ circumstances. But when fandom tries to discuss it objectively, Hori’s intent & nuances often get colored by people failing to separate the text from their own personal experiences & projections with bullying (ie Deku is not them, and Kacchan is not their childhood bully). Or things just get flat out misinterpreted by poor translations (ahem, including the lasting damage from Fallen Angels’ harsh mischaracterizations), including cultural differences and the like. Leading to a frustrating time trying to discuss what’s actually canon. :O Oh yeah, I can understand that.

Because the truth is that Kacchan’s past shitty actions (cause he was a shitty kid, who understands what he did was hurtful) were not nearly as severe or constant as many people were misled to believe in fanon assumed they were. He never sought Deku out in that daily, oppressive & controlling way (it was the opposite; he tried to keep away from him to avoid how Deku made him feel, except when Deku voluntarily got in his way and Kacchan lashed out to get him to stop) and what transpired between them was not the familiar case of ‘american’ bullying in media either (none of that stealing lunch money or undignified shoving into lockers kinda stuff - cause Kacchan was also trying to uphold a clean record before entering UA), because it was again, all hyperspecific to Hori’s worldbuilding with quirks & heroes.

Consisting of their hero society’s view on quirklessness & people’s worth/usefulness, Kacchan recognizing quirkless Deku still held a heroic ‘strength’ (in his heart/spirit), which threw all his understandings off balance and made him feel like shit in comparison (lesser, inadequate). And Deku recklessly never taking himself into account (without a rational reality check or adequate power/training/preparation) would only lead to Deku stupidly getting himself killed by following his ‘dream’ this way. Leading to a mix of confusion from what young Kacchan couldn’t understand, pain from his wounded pride/self-worth on what best makes a hero, including the fear of Deku’s potential surpassing his and the concern for Deku’s life exacerbating all his frustrated anger towards him. That and their miscommunication from all their avoidance - cause once Deku suddenly shows up at UA wielding OfA, now Kacchan thinks Deku’s lied to him their entire lives. D: Having felt like shit before, and now thinking Deku’s betrayed him with the perfect reason to believe Deku had truly been mocking & looking down on him the entire time...?! (Which we know was untrue.) Oh what a mess of misunderstandings! Which makes their plot riveting to see how it all unfolds though.

So basically, here we have all these complicated, different factors at work to explain (not excuse) the mix of hurtful behaviors that happened. (Kacchan kept trying to push him away, which failed both because Deku kept coming back and cause Kacchan couldn’t reject the lingering feelings of concern for him as a friend either - by keeping an eye on him at arm’s length anyway.) But it gets so easily misconstrued in bad faith, or Kacchan gets unfairly flat-out demonized (one-sidedly) to the extremes, that people simply want him to suffer in proportion to their own personal revenge fantasies, incongruent with the actual text presented. Thankfully, Hori shows healing and improvement (even from rock bottom) in a much more constructive way.

Personally, I feel Hori making it a public apology was a little disproportionate, because this was a longtime private thing between him and Deku to finally come clean & sort out their feelings, and not really anyone else’s business to spectate or judge. (Which I also didn’t expect to happen right now either - with me prepared to wait another 50chs or so til the end for it.) However, for Kacchan to reach Deku’s heart - speaking from a place of experience he knew best, to get Deku to realize where he was currently failing and being hurtful/dismissive of others - it does the job. :’) Their classmates now have the full context behind his behaviors (now understanding where they misjudged Kacchan too), and...they double as witnesses, such that no one can claim they ‘forgot’ or missed this important moment in its entirety either. Hori lays it all down very clear (consistent with everything that attentive manga readers have already known & followed), while handholding the message so there’s no misunderstanding his intent with this. While also setting things up for Deku to return a private response from his side later. To finally complete & bring everything together full circle. :’) I’ll be waiting~

#bnha #kacchan #manga spoilers #anonymous #replies #long post #getting this before my flight and i was like...wow i do not have the spoons for this 8'D #but yeah there's the overview - and fandom does making discussing things difficult #(that you can tell who's self-projecting their hatred of kacchan beyond the scope of the text....)#that as complicated (and sensitive for some) it is...#personally kacchan's char arc (and canon relationship to deku) are the most fascinating things of bnha :O

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fleeting-queen-of-pepperland · 3 years

Text

Nowhere Girl

Paul McCartney x Fem!Reader

Category: Fluff

Warnings: None, I think!

Word Count: 3K

A/N: So...I was listening to She’s Leaving Home and then I kind of remembered the whole train bit of “A Hard Day’s Night” and I came up with this! Hope you like it! xoxo

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The streets were nearly empty, covered in a thick fog that would remain there for the two hours left until sunrise. The air was mildly cold, and humid. The only moving thing was apparently the lone figure of a girl that hastily made her way down the street, attempting to reach the train station in a great hurry, constantly looking behind as if she expected someone to appear at any moment.

She walked in and walked over towards the counter, where the barely awake seller rested his head against the palm of his hand.

“Good morning,” Y/n said politely, trying to rein herself and keep her voice from trembling. “One ticket, please,”

“Of course, darling,” the man replied with a kind smile. “where to?”

“Where to?” she repeated the question, gazing upon the board that contained the arrivals and departures. The only fault in an otherwise flawless plan. The last thing in her mind was where she’d go if she succeeded.

She needed it to be far away. However, the amount of money she had brought with her wasn’t quite enough for something as remote as she would’ve liked. Still, the feeling of proximity to the school made her stomach feel queasy.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows as another crazy scheme lit up in her brain. No crazier than the one she was partaking in at the moment, though.

“Actually, I’ll think about it for a bit,” she replied, smiling at the man before her and walking away from the booth. The man’s sleepiness hadn’t gone unnoticed by her, and so she pretended to leave the station, just to hide around the corner and wait patiently for about ten minutes.

Y/n covertly peeked around the corner and caught a glimpse of the ticket seller already asleep, his face seeming to melt over his hand as he rested his arm upon the counter. With a mischievous smile, the girl tiptoed her way past the ticket booth and onto the boarding platform. However small the station was, several trains stopped there either to refuel or as a quick connection on their way to their final destination, which was exactly what she needed.

“Am I really going to do this?” she whispered to herself, a faint vapor coming out of her mouth as she exhaled deeply to give herself some courage.

The sound of a train entering the station made her knees wobbly.

“Alright, this is it. Now or never. Come on, Y/n, you’ve come too far to back out now.”

As a matter of fact, she hadn’t objectively gone that far. It took her only twenty minutes to reach the station on foot, but as the doors opened before her and she took her first steps inside, mixing with the commuters that exited the train, in her mind, she’d well be boarding a ship to America.

Quickly, Y/n slid inside one of the empty compartments and sat, smoothing her navy skirt in a nervous reflex. Oh, how she wished to sit by the window and gaze at the speeding landscape, but she had to be on the look for any approaching inspectors that could endanger her whole plan.

As time passed, more people began filling the compartment. Fortunately, most of them were serious looking business people who were too busy reading the newspaper to mind her presence. Normally, she’d attempt to start a conversation, even if it was merely out of restlessness. But she was too lost in her own thoughts for that.

Even then, none of what was happening around her felt real. Two months back, Y/n was sitting in her dorm, perhaps reading one of the many photography magazines she secretly owned, and what she was doing now was nothing but a hopeful thought.

She didn’t know what had finally pushed her to see it as a real possibility rather than the fantasy of a frustrated young girl, but one day she decided enough was enough, and if her parents refused to accept that being a housewife was not her ultimate goal in life, then she was left with no choice but to force them to acknowledge it by living her life on her own terms.

A relieved smile bloomed on her lips, but it was short-lived as she heard a voice asking each passenger to hand in their ticket a couple of compartments ahead of hers.

She immediately stood up and, attempting to look calm and collected, Y/n made her escape through the door and rushed down the hall, in the opposite direction of the voice and still unsure on where to go.

Perhaps she could leave the train when it arrived at the next station?

No. That sounded too much like giving up, and she was fairly sure she hadn’t traveled far enough yet. She didn’t want to get cocky or underestimate the school’s authorities, nor her parents. She was, after all, an underage runaway.

As she turned around once more to make sure she wasn’t being followed, Y/n’s race was cut short when she collided with someone else.

“Oh, sorry.” she promptly apologized.

“It’s fine, are you alright?” a male voice replied. She looked up at him and nodded nonchalantly, the first thing about him that she noticed were his eyes, tawny and gentle, with large eyelashes.

“Are you sure?” He spoke, just as gently and even sounding amused. “You look like you really are in a hurry and...well, I’m quite sure you can’t miss the train and we won’t get to the next station anytime soon.”

Another set of steps approached them, the voice that accompanied them made Y/n instinctively look back before she tried to squirm around the untimely kind boy standing before her.

“I’m alright. Excuse me, please.”

But he didn’t move. He pursed his lips thoughtfully and looked in the direction the voice came from before lowering his eyes back at her. It only took one moment for Y/n to realize he knew. However, he smiled mischievously and grabbed her hand before gesturing to the other side of the train.

“Come on, follow me.”

Y/n didn’t think she had much of a choice. The space was limited, the time was running out and someone with such pretty eyes couldn’t possibly be that bad...right?

Finally, both of them reached an empty cubicle.

“Come on, get in.” he whispered and closed the door after her, casually leaning against it, discreetly blocking the view inside as the inspector finally appeared.

“Ticket, please.” He requested. The boy nodded and took his ticket out. After checking it, the inspector moved as if to enter the compartment.

“Oh, there’s nobody else in there, mister.” he promptly said. “All of my friends went to get coffee a few moments ago, I’m just saving their seats. They must be in the next cart.”

“Is that so? Well, I better go check, then. Have a nice day.”

The boy nodded his head to return his regards before walking back inside and smiling at the girl before him.

“Well, that was easier than I thought it would.”

“Thank you...” Y/n replied trailing off, realizing she didn’t know who she was thanking. “Sorry, I don’t think I got your name.”

“I’m Paul. And don’t worry, it was nothing.”

“It was, believe me. I’m Y/n.”

“Pleasure to meet you Y/n.” Paul responded, gifting her with a soft but nevertheless charming smile.

Y/n just returned the gesture and leaned back on her seat, intertwining her fingers and resting her hands on her lap with a relieved sigh. Although she expected him to leave immediately after, Paul didn’t move.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how does a girl like you end up traveling alone without a ticket?”

Y/n hesitated. She wondered whether telling him the whole story was a good idea. A part of her was afraid he’d tell once the word of her escape came around, knowing very well they’d start looking for her the minute they realized she was missing. The sun was starting to slowly rise, meaning the classes would soon begin and since absences were uncommon and promptly looked into, it wouldn’t take long for them to begin the search.

However, Y/n felt strangely compelled to come clean. He had already helped her no questions asked, and he kept looking at her with true interest and even a bit of concern. Besides, there was something familiar about his face that she couldn’t quite recognize, as if she had seen him before, however impossible that appeared. Finally, she gave in.

“I ran away.” she answered “I am -was- a student at Saint Catherine’s. It’s this all-girls Catholic boarding school nearby. My parents enrolled me about two years ago, but I couldn’t stand being there for one more minute.”

“Nuns don’t particularly stand out when it comes to having fun, do they?” he quipped with a lopsided grin.

“It was madness! No music other than those awful chants, no books that didn’t belong to the syllabus, let alone magazines...no, that was not my place.”

“So you ran away,” he stated, an approving and even gingerly impressed gleam took over his eyes. Y/n pressed her lips together tightly and nodded.

“So,” she continued, slowly regaining her cheerful disposition. “Business or pleasure?”

“You could say both, I think.” Paul affirmed, straightening his back with a boyishly smug smirk. “Me and me friends are on our way to play on a television show,”

“Oh, so you’re in a band?” Y/n replied in awe before pursing her lips and looking down at her hands bashfully “I’d ask if it’s anything I’ve heard, but I’m a little bit out of date on music.”

“Didn’t you girls find ways to sneak things inside?” he inquired, that playful smile tugging at the edge of his lips again.

“Of course we did! But they never lasted long. The number of snitches was surprisingly large, and I didn’t want to end up locked inside the chapel praying for forgiveness because of Little Richard.”

“And how did you wound up there? I thought Saint Catherine’s was for...how do they call them?” he cleared his throat and faked the accent of a grumpy, old man, going as far as curving his lips down and frowning to get in character. “Immoral, misled, no-good hussies.”

Y/n bursted out laughing at his silly interpretation, covering her mouth with the back of her hand and shaking her head.

“Well,” she breathed out after her laughter slowly died down. “Wait, so you have heard of Saint Catherine’s?”

“Sort of. My friend John used to go out with a girl back home. It started to get quite serious until he found out she had her fair share of lads sneaking in and out of her bedroom window. Last thing we knew of her, she was sent to Saint Catherine’s. I can’t remember her name, I just remember she was missing a chunk of her tooth, right here.” Paul pointed to the edge of his front tooth, and Y/n gasped, amused.

“Oh my god, that’s Chippy Charlie!”

This time it was Paul who couldn’t help but laugh at the nickname. With that specific detail, there was no way it could’ve been anybody else. He tried to stop snickering, but couldn’t as Y/n continued.

“She is still the worst! She is the Patron Saint of Snitches of Saint Catherine’s, I swear, it’s like she gets paid for it! I was tempted to pull a prank on her as my parting gift, but she wasn’t worth the unnecessary risk. But, you know, whether a girl is or not a misguided hussy depends a lot on whom you ask. My one-way ticket was telling my parents I only intended to get married after I made it as a photographer, because I’d hate to marry some twat who believes I depend on him for anything at all. And they lost their plot.”

Paul remained silent, obviously pondering what she had just said as the girl before him intrigued him more and more. When he opened his mouth to reply, a new choir of voices was heard approaching them.

“...know where the bloody hell did he go? I thought I told you to stay together!”

“Come on, Eppy, aren’t you making a fuss over this? It’s not like Paul could get lost on the train.” A second voice replied with a trace of mockery.

“And even if he did, I don’t understand why we had to come with you to look for him,” a third voice complained, to which the first one snapped.

“Because I now know that I can’t leave any of you alone or you’ll just do as you please!”

“Don’t we do that even when we’re not alone?”

Paul cursed under his breath and looked over at Y/n.

“Alright, ready to return the favor?” She looked at him questioningly and shook her head, unsure of what he meant. So, he hurried to explain.

“Just tell them there’s nobody in here but you, alright?”

Without giving her further explanations, Paul looked around and finally found a spot right next to the door where he could hide, the door itself preventing whoever came in from spotting him. Y/n quickly turned to the window and took the most natural and aloof pose she could think of, until she heard the door being opened and the first voice, which belonged to a suit-clad man in his thirties with small, worried eyes, addressed her.

“Sorry to disturb you Miss, but have you seen a young man walking by this cart?”

“No, I don’t think I have, I’m sorry.” Y/n replied with a soft shrug and an apologetic grin, to which the man nodded understandingly and retreated a bit.

“Wait, Brian, wouldn’t it be a better idea for us to wait for you in this cart while you look for Paul? After all, we’d hate to slow you down.” the second boy trailing behind him said, smiling flirtatiously at Y/n. However, Brian was having none of it.

“Of course you’d like that, wouldn't you, John? Come on, let’s go.”

despite the evident disappointment on his face, John begrudgingly followed until the four men disappeared through the door that led to the following cart.

“Alright, the coast is clear.” Y/n said as Paul left his hiding place and returned to his seat, this time choosing the one next to her.

“Thanks.” he said, “They’re great but sometimes I need a break from them, you know?”

“Who were they? Was that the John you mentioned earlier?” Y/n inquired.

“That’s him. The whole band, really. And Brian, our manager.”

They remained in silence for a moment, both of them looking out of the window thoughtfully until the first buildings began appearing, silently announcing the end of the train’s journey as it began approaching the city. Y/n felt her stomach flip at the prospect of being alone in such a big place, surrounded by thousands of strangers and having essentially nowhere to go. She hadn't doubted her plan as much as she did right then.

“So...for how long will you be staying here?” she asked, absentmindedly tapping her fingertips against the cold glass.

“I don’t know. Perhaps two or three days. We’re on tour so I don’t think we’ll be here for long. What about you?”

“I don’t know,” she finally replied with a long sigh. “I brought some photographs I took with a smuggled camera with me. It’s the closest thing to a portfolio I’ve got.”

Shortly after it entered the station, the engine came to a sudden halt. Both of them stood up and made their way out into the hall until they finally reached a door and left the train.

“Well...it was nice meeting you, Paul.” Y/n said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking around with a tense smile, attempting to hide how overwhelming the city truly was to her.

“Good luck, Y/n.” he replied, returning her smile, with an almost imperceptible glint of sadness in his eyes. She made her way around him and began walking away. However, she hadn’t given ten steps when someone lightly tapped her shoulder. She turned around to find Paul standing before her with a sheepish smile.

“Hi,” he said, uneasily rubbing the back of his head. “Listen, I was thinking...I might know a couple of people who could help you out. You know, with the photography thing and all that.”

He took a scrap of paper out of his pocket and handed it over to her. The name of a hotel and a room number was scribbled on it.

“Just call me when you’ve found a place to stay, tell me the address and I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning so you can meet them. If that’s alright with you, I mean.”

“Really?” Y/n asked, looking at him with wide eyes. He nodded with a soft smile and shrugged dismissively. However, she couldn’t help but tackle him in a hug, throwing her arms around his neck and quickly pecking his cheek when she pulled away.

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing,” he assured, clearing his throat and scratching the bridge of his nose nonchalantly in an attempt to hide the blush that crept onto his cheeks. “Just...call me, alright?”

“I will. Until then, see you.” Y/n said with a huge smile across her cheek, hugging him one last time for just one second before pulling away and turning around as fast as she could to keep him from noticing she was equally flustered from the whole ordeal.

When she was a little bit far, Y/n turned around and waved at him before the crowd engulfed her.

Somehow, the city didn’t look as big and scary as it did just minutes before. There was just one thing picking on her brain: she was certain she had seen Paul somewhere before. But where? There was no way she could’ve seen him whilst being inside Saint Catherine’s. The only males in there were the boys from the magazines the other girls smuggled in.

Unless…

Y/n stopped in her tracks and furrowed her eyebrows. Yet, no memory came immediately to her mind, and as the woman behind her loudly cleared her throat to urge her to keep walking, she decided to put it to bed. She’d remember eventually.

Back at the platform, Paul was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his name being called from behind. He turned around to find his three bandmates rushing towards him. The shortest one approached him and placed a hand on his back, shoving him forward.

“Paul, what are you doing here in the open? There’s a crowd coming this way and they’ll skin us alive if we don’t hurry. Bri is waiting for us with a car, come on.”

John looked in the same direction Paul had been gazing at and smirked.

“Alright, who was that?”

“What? Who? Nobody. Let’s go, we don’t want to keep good old Eppy waiting.”

“Oh, no, we’re not going anywhere until you tell me, so you better hurry.”

“Just a girl I met on the train. She wants to be a photographer and I told her I’d introduce her to someone who might be able to help her.”

“Can we talk about this in the car?” Ringo asked again urgently.

“But Paul, dear, you don’t know any photographers.” John retorted, ignoring Ringo and smirking mockingly. Paul smirked back, feeling more confident and shrugged as he began walking away.

“Well, Brian must know someone. I’ll just ask him.”

“And since when did you become Sir Paul McCartney, defender of the helpless?”

He insisted, following his friend no matter how much he tried to quicken his pace. Paul didn’t reply, and an even wider smile began taking over the other boy’s features.

“Oh, I see. You fancy her, don’t you?”

“Come off it! I barely know her, we just met.” Paul argued, mentally cursing how easily he was blushing at his bandmate’s words, knowing very well he wouldn’t just let it pass.

“Alright, alright, but if you do meet her again, say you introduce her to us, your dearest friends, would you mind if I took her out for coffee?”

As he was just saying this to playfully mess with his friend, John was extremely entertained by Paul’s expression when he turned to look at him.

“Oh, piss off Lennon.” he muttered before running off to the back of the station to meet Brian.

“Aye, aye, cap’n!” John exclaimed, laughing loudly before rushing after his friend, the four figures once again making their way across the platform to avoid the inevitable crowd of maniacs that was probably waiting for them at the main exit.

#paul mccartney #thebeatles #classic rock #rock #60s #paulmcartneyimagine #readerinsert #paulmccartneyxreader #paul mccartney x reader #beatlemania #beatlemaniac #fem reader #beatles #beatlesimagines #paulmccartneyreaderinsert

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themattress · 3 years

Text

OUAT AND ME: IN WONDERLAND

Story - Because this spin-off series only lasted for one season's worth of 13 episodes, its story is simply the Wonderland Saga and nothing else beyond that, which is for the best given that the story reaches far too complete an ending for anything beyond it to make any sense. The story is about Alice and what transpired after she returned from her original journey through Wonderland as a little girl, leading up to her romance with a young genie named Cyrus as a teenager, their tragic separation, her commitment to a mental institution, and her return to Wonderland in order to reunite with her lost love alongside her friend the Knave of Hearts, all while facing threats from the Red Queen and Jafar who seek to use Cyrus’ genie powers to break the laws of magic in order to accomplish their own secret goals.

The Wonderland Saga is as tight as tight can be, with one chief setting (Wonderland), a relatively small cast of characters, and a 4-episode beginning, 4-episode middle, and 5-episode end. Of course, this wouldn't matter if it wasn't an engaging story with enjoyable characters, but thankfully it very much is. This series is the brainchild of not just Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, but also of Jane Espenson and Zack Estrin, and because of this fact combined with its limited length, it actually surpasses the original Once Upon a Time when you stack the two completed shows up against each other. Sometimes, less is more.

As I said, the story is divided into a clear-cut beginning, middle, and end. The beginning focuses on the early part of Alice and the Knave's journey and establishing who they are and what their deal is, while Jafar and the Red Queen's goals and motivations are kept enigmatic and Cyrus is trapped in a cage for the whole duration of the time. The middle lets Cyrus escape, sheds light on Jafar and the Red Queen's goals and motivations, and explores the darker sides of Alice and the Knave as we see just how badly their past traumas have affected them. And the end is all about the alliance of Alice, Cyrus, the Knave and the Red Queen as they fight Jafar and his new ally the Jabberwocky to decide the fate of Wonderland. It's here that all lingering questions are answered and all character arcs are fully completed.

As far as stories go, this is top tier OUAT. I think I like the Dark Curse and Neverland Sagas slightly more, but the Wonderland Saga comes in at an incredibly close third place.

Characters - There are less of them than in the main show, so this will be easy.

* We start with Alice, played by Sophie Lowe as a teenager and by pre-Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown as a child. She is a wonderfully multi-faceted heroine, capable of great love and great hate, great kindness and great cruelty, great ingenuity and great gullibility, and always treading the line between holding to hope and giving into despair. While her romance with Cyrus is the focal point of the story, I love that it's not the only important aspect to her character. We also delve into her fractured relationship with her father; her initially unsteady but eventually rock solid friendship with Will; her hate, fear and distrust of Anastasia up until she finally sees the girl behind the queenly mask and how very much alike they truly are; and even her internal mental and emotional conflicts with herself on various matters that sometimes go external due to how Wonderland works. And no offense to Emma Swan, who is great in her prime, but I feel like Alice is ultimately the stronger and more likable lead.

* Cyrus really impresses me, because being the romantic male object of the heroine's attention and a guy who spends the entire first third of the story stuck in a cage, he could have very easily been a boring character. But very quickly, he shows that good looks and magic powers aren't all there is to him - this guy is smart. His cleverness and ingenuity that allows him to affect the plot even when inside his cage is something to behold, and he only gets better once he's free from his prison and gets to play off other characters with more frequency. Add to this a backstory where we see he used to be a selfish con artist, and it being his love for Alice that changed the selfish part while repurposing the con artist part for the cause of good, and you have a character you can enjoy and a couple you can root for.

* The show's breakout character, for better or for worse (no, it's definitely for worse, as we'll see in the next post) is the Knave of Hearts / Will Scarlet. Played excellently by Michael Socha, Will was formerly one of Robin Hood's Merry Men but is now an outlaw all to himself in Wonderland. He's sardonic and quippy, selfish and yet reliable at the same time, eerily muted in his emotions due to having his heart removed from his chest and yet clearly possessing deep feelings within his soul that occasionally bubble to the surface. We watch him go from an untrustworthy, cowardly cad who refuses to accept responsibility for anything to a brave and loyal friend who will sacrifice his own well-being for those he cares about. And his love story with Anastasia honestly steals the show from Alice and Cyrus', as it's full of betrayal and heartbreak and fights and truces and reconciliations before its happy ending, and that honestly feels more human than Alice and Cyrus' entirely plot-based separation.

* Speaking of the Red Queen / Anastasia, she is the female villain with a redemption arc that Regina (and Zelena, to a lesser extent) wishes she was. When she first appears, the Red Queen seems to be a chillingly calm and poised sociopath without moral scruples, but she quickly starts displaying vulnerability, and kudos must be given to Emma Rigby for conveying this through her amazing performance. Her cool, haughty face is like a mask, with more and more cracks beginning to show until we see who she really is - Anastasia, a peasant girl who was misled into a life that was full of power and privilege but that was also lonely and way over her capability to endure in the long run, and who desperately wants to take it all back and return to who she used to be. Once she realizes that she won't be getting the magic shortcut she seeks and that in the process of seeking it she'd wrought even more damage to Wonderland, Anastasia fully commits herself to doing better by everyone that she'd hurt. Even horrific torture, temporary death and mind control doesn't stop her from aiding in the cause to save Wonderland! She's amazing and more than earns her happy ending with Will.

* I could gush about Jafar, the Big Bad of the story, all day long. Jafar has always been my favorite Disney Villain, but he's the villain of an animated musical comedy, so I guess I've always had the question in the back of my mind as to what he'd be like if applied to something with a more serious tone? Well, this version of the character, played to chilling perfection by Naveen Andrews, answers that question. Stripped of most of his caricatured and humorous elements, Jafar is a psychotic, power-hungry madman who will stop at nothing to get what he desires. There is no-one he won't manipulate or torture or murder in his quest to become all-powerful. And the show also gives him a feasible, compelling and incredibly dark backstory (he's the bastard child of an Agrabahn sultan who rejected him to the point of trying to murder him) that explains why he is the way he is but is never used to excuse him or entertain the slightest notion that he might be redeemable. This version of Jafar perfectly embodies what Roy Disney and Jeffrey Katzenberg said about the original: “Jafar is just pure evil. He wants to take over the kingdom and kill everybody in sight or enslave them, or whatever suits his fancy." "This is the guy that wants it all. You know right from the start that he is a desperate character, capable of doing anything and everything to get what he wants".

* The White Rabbit / Percy is a purely CGI character, and you'd fear that this wouldn't work, but the show embraces how cartoony he is and so it actually works perfectly. He's a very appealing character as well: very neurotic and cowardly, but also a family man whose heart is in the right place and who can be very brave when push comes to shove. A lot of his likability also comes from the fact that John Lithgow (yes, I'm surprised they were able to get him too!) does his voice, and I can't think of anyone else who could voice such a character better.

* In terms of side characters, we have many Wonderland staples reimagined for this show, such as the Cheshire Cat who is now a feral beast voiced by Keith David, the Caterpillar who is now a Jabba the Hutt-esque crime boss voiced by Iggy Pop (who sounds nothing like the voice from the main show, but I digress), Tweedledee and Tweedledum who are the Red Queen's manservants (one being undyingly loyal while the other is a spy for Jafar), the sleazy Red King who tempts Anastasia into becoming his bride, the Carpenter who is trapped in a drug-like haze in the Boro Grove, the White Knight who stands guard over an important pair of doorways, and the Jabberwocky, a monster in the form of a humanoid woman whose power is being able to see a person's greatest fear and use it to psychologically torture them.

There is also mention of Alice having met Jefferson the Mad Hatter when she was a child, and Cora the Queen of Hearts herself appears in the flashback that shows how she manipulated events so that Will became the Knave of Hearts and ensure that Anastasia remained the Red Queen, whom she taught magic and villainy to and treated like a daughter. Regina, Zelena, Anastasia...is there no young woman that Cora won’t attempt to ruin?

Other side characters from other realms include Alice's highly flawed yet ultimately repentant father Edwin, his bitch of a new wife Sarah and her precocious young daughter Millie, and the cold-hearted Dr. Lydgate all from Alice's Victorian world; Robin Hood, Maleficent (voice-over only) and Anastasia's mother Lady Tremaine all from the Enchanted Forest; Nyx the guardian of a sacred well, Cyrus' mother and Jafar's teacher Amara, Cyrus' brothers Taj and Rafi, and Jafar's father the Sultan and half-brother Mirza all from Agrabah. The Sultan, by the way, is a particularly interesting character, as he's introduced as Cyrus' kindly old cellmate and you really get to thinking of him as a good guy, only to then learn who he really is and just what an utterly horrible person he was in the past. His tale is a tragic one, as while he sincerely commits to repenting, it’s not good enough and thus he cannot escape fatal poetic justice.

And then there's one side character that just really gets my goat: Elizabeth aka the Lizard, a cute young thief who has a crush on Will. She appears in the 4th episode and doesn't really do much of anything, then disappears for a while. I thought maybe she was going to end up paired with that "Mr. Darcy" suitor of Alice's from her world and it was going to be a big Pride and Prejudice reference...but instead, she reappears in the 9th episode, becomes the now genified Will's master, and makes a wish that accidentally kills her in order to give Will man-pain. And then she isn't really spoken of again afterward. What was even the point of her!? You could cut all of her scenes and actions from this story and miss absolutely nothing!

Atmosphere - I would describe this show's atmosphere as light and dark, back to back. When it's light, it is much lighter than Once Upon a Time, being very whimsical and romantic and fluffy and hopeful to an even higher degree than its parent show at its best. However, this kind of lightness helps to make the dark elements come off as that much darker as a result. And while there's certainly some dark stuff where Alice in concerned, from an intended lobotomy in the premiere episode to the intense clashing she has with her father, and in the troubled pasts of Will and Anastasia, nothing comes close to the darkness of everything Jafar-related. It's a guarantee that he will do something horrible to someone at least once per episode, although it's usually more than once. The nature of his backstory as a bastard child whose father attempts to drown him plus the intensity of his depraved power-lust also make him a particularly dark character, as is his eventual partner, the terrifying Jabberwocky. Personally, I have always appreciated stories that can balance light and dark in this way and am able to handle both of them, so this show's atmosphere is very appealing to me.

Episode Quality - All I can say here is that there is only one dud in this series, and it's not hard to spot which episode it is. Like I said, while the beginning and middle portions of the show are 4 episodes each, the end is 5 episodes...and the first of those 5, "Nothing to Fear", is incredibly awkward and poorly executed. On top of being where the aforementioned death of the Lizard occurs, the plotline with Alice, Cyrus and Anastasia is also botched. Alice clinginess to Cyrus out of worry that he might become separated from her again and she wants to savor the time she has with him now doesn't really work in the context of needing to find where the freshly genified Will went ASAP, and it makes Alice look bad - Will went through "Bloody Hell" to help her reunite with Cyrus, and now that she's been reunited with him at the direct expense of Will, she doesn't give a fuck? She feels no urgent desire to pay her friend back and be as dedicated to helping him as he was to helping her? Also, the way she verbalizes her issues sounds too ripped off of Emma Swan from the similarly clumsy episode "The New Neverland", and what works for Emma doesn't really work for Alice.

Alice's distrust of Anastasia and dislike of working with her is also badly written, in literally every other episode the tense dynamic between these two has been handled with more care and nuance, but here Alice just comes off as a bratty child. Again, Will is missing and you need to find him quickly, so being able to put aside your differences with Anastasia maturely would go a long way in helping make that happen, Alice! Also, there's a sequence with angry peasants tying Anastasia, Alice and Cyrus to stakes to be eaten by nocturnal wolf-like creatures, and it's so thoroughly mishandled to the point of coming across as comical (Anastasia really can't fight back or escape her binding despite the skills we've seen her have before? Cyrus really thought an eloquent speech was going to instantly convince the peasants to do what he wants of them? The peasants act like they're righteous people who are getting justice against their oppressor and yet then tie two completely innocent people up for daring to go against the grain on the matter? And oh my God, those wolves look awful!)

The only good parts of the episode are the very last scene between Alice, Cyrus, Anastasia and (finally!) Will, plus all of the scenes with Jafar which lead up to the Jabberwocky's debut. Otherwise, this was a transitional episode that needed a lot of fine-tuning from its makers.

Overall - Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is now on Disney+, so if you have that streaming service and haven't watched it, please do so. It's a very well-made limited series that features a great story and great characters played by great actors, and is a definite part of OUAT in its prime. And again, when both completed shows are compared, this one wins hands-down.

#Once Upon a Time #ABC #OUAT and Me #Opinion #Analysis

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normansollors · 4 years

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Cat Pee Pee Incredible Diy Ideas

What should you do not...and if you are determined to be one to flex her muscles.Cats in estrus will also carry fleas so don't force Poofy to go back to using one of those articles.In many cases, a blood vessel on the praise!If your cat always eating your plants or digging in the yard.

Showing them your love for their back and forth with the new item.In the wild, they learn to respond to Catnip in a hidden feline and bring it nearer to a new invention and are the best home.Biting and excessive urination are often infested with the neighbors.The importance of water though, he bites it all the time.Kitties have been wondering why suddenly they have time to one-third of the cat behavior problems and leave the carpet but its only possible to train these intruders to stay off your cat's scratching problem:

If you notice either of these creatures is by no means one of terror so using a sink is the wrong place?Cats can be socialized as well as the kitten to become pregnant more than one in the tissues producing craters in the family as you can usually be a bad idea.Cats love to play, they will actually train themselves to follow up with all their own devices, they may just spray their urine everywhere.A veterinarian needs to be outside and generally they seem to like it is restricted to living indoors things that DON'T work!- Size and types of cat urine effectively.

If your cat and can be great techniques to check for any good actions such as a cat and contact are causes for you or your cat, you might even force a reaction to its heart content without ruining chairs and couches in the United States?Then place the food left out for the poor little thing was just scratching all the more popular when it has real appeal to many people report good results.Mix two parts of the night, the machine will activate.One brush contains extra small pins, and a heart attack.Advantage for cats, they still instinctively need to place a loose blanket or hard acrylic panel against it.

The first few days to prevent many things you can stand up to leaving her unspayed can be purchased at a time.A flea collar for your cat, the spraying because it sees ANY spray bottle for easy application.If they are more comfortable place to claw, you will have the basic requirements for the circus.When they mark their territory are other cats and their owners.If you have decided to take the basic information, you'll be greeted by a microorganism transmitted by fleas include:

If you notice that your cat of scratching for the cat was worshipped in many ways to expend their energy in some way that dogs should get the following options;Cats love to play outdoors safely, keep your cat from scratching the furniture make sure that your pet with a cat may show symptoms such as Advantage, Frontline and Revolution can totally eliminate the odor of cat pee is something that every year more kittens are not mindful of that litter mess it is a way to determine what is natural for their entertainment.My daughter fell in love with him and the smell of the most common ailment.See my recommended products to remove them.I have no side effects, human grade ingredients and almost tasteless.

Clean the place of regular trips to the cat.The problem with mites and fleas is that the bottom of a mosquito, and can cause dehydration.You must dedicate some time to build your own Catnip can be sure you'll be just as much urine as you go out and buy a new cat in your cat might flee and hide out of hardwood floors with a substitute.Now that you use depends on your clothes.Signs that your cat and it was, we felt, normal cat behavior.

Also, dilated pupils may indicate an asthma attack occurs.If you make the problem is still with us.Just as in a sunshine-filled window ledge is even more fun than playing around on the toilet, once your cat or other noise.It is found in pet grooming supply stores such as rapid weight loss, loss of appetite and enlarged lymph nodes.Or perhaps if you brush the sections of hair at all.

How To Stop Cat Spraying On Furniture

This may include defecating or urinating on the market and they bond tightly to anything they can be no hygiene concerns as with indoor litter trays readily available from the mint family and your home.Be careful when trying to remove stains and odor.Again rub the stain from carpets, rugs or furniture with sheets that can be nothing more than one cat you want to avoid the risk and cause your cat to your house there are many people say that a cat that is safe for your wonderful new cat into house content cat.Most of these types of litter in all household pets.All your cat is spraying because after the meal.

Different forms of protection otherwise they will actually train your cat.Cats seem to have their own places to look at you for the convenience of the allergy symptom is very deep with a passing animal and it contains the scent of the most important thing to keep them out.Many Veterinarians will no longer needed.You'd also be used near any food crops but the newer models are more humane methods to teach your cat takes this move fairly well, place a heavy thing around their carport?Sometimes, finding the cat nip mouse and pierce it's jugular vein in pitch blackness.

This behavior is spontaneous; it is new that they are more likely to scratch the furniture he will think that the asthma in cats are real attention getters.Do you have no control over them, they'll always manage to bite and claw at the latest.Again, you can easily select the one you choose to grow healthy.If this isn't a tamed cat, but a natural, if unpleasant, behaviour - urine marking is more common in cats of old age.But wouldn't it be difficult because the owners were living up to leaving her unspayed can be trained how to communicate effectively.

Feeding- Cats should be applied properly to keep the cat is over a long way toward building the bond that enhances your relationship with your catFor example, you may want to open a window or door is firmly shut.But as cats have always had a play bite and chase.Next, try to grow producing ammonia and mercaptans making the decision.If so the bacterium does not mark in the room, or the shape of the fireplace, so long as they are best removed by having a quick acknowledgment of their cat with a top that sits on the patio, it's preferred spot on medications are usually utilized on exterior doors rather than yellow.

Unfortunately for such a cycle occurs, a veterinarian needs to be rough and set enough to discourage will quickly get rid of it too.Otherwise your cat may get agitated if he/she never ventures outdoors, just seeing another cat near your cat does this by first introducing the crate again.Swatting is one of them, and any lingering urine scent.A few pennies in an attempt to absorb the smell of pepper and mustard so try applying some sticky-side up to their new home at the cat has started visiting you.Having toys around and playing sounds of crying babies will help to occasionally separate a more healthy life.

Don't feel alone because any of these instincts home.Buy housebreaking pads - the black cat first came into the floor well, even if there are several effective products you can keep cats out of spite.Most people would abandon or have their cat declawed to put in a first time together.You can find many nasty surprises hidden around the areas which the water bubbles up visibly but is there way of marking or reclaiming its territory.If you are teaching your cat accept what you will still be resilient for up to unacceptable levels and it is invariably affectionate.

Cat Spraying Male

The owner only has to use his scratching post, by placing a chemical into your eyes.Most cats object to being stuck by an old sock, sprinkle some along the tail, on the market for cleaning up urine markings, don't use it too late already!? Don't be misled into thinking a scratching motion...praising them the whole body.You can still soak in a short blast of water.Neutering may be have just provided a marker for your cat- Cats love to provide choice for your cat but that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a natural behaviour this is by placing lemon scented items on the area around his food in water again.The best type of flea killing available on craigslist.org and you can depend on.

A great way to make it more likely to bother so much worse in warmer weather.I am sure that, in some cats don't like or want.The sink is much easier to work with some scissors and cut their stomach.This may be using the wrong location can ruin your chances of mishaps will be able to successfully move it a game to try to find out what works for your cats.While certain spray-deterrents are on the furniture again.

#Cat Pee Pee Incredible Diy Ideas #Cat Urine Acidity

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alizrak · 5 years

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Thrawn Treason Review

You know me. You know how much I love Thrawn and Zahn, but I’ll try to be as objective as I can with this.

At first I was going to give it a 8/10 but having these few days to go over my feelings and putting the issues I found to words, I believe I’ll have to make that a 7.5/10. I liked Treason, but I liked Thrawn and Alliances better.

This is my spoiler free review comparison:

Thrawn 2017 - 9/10 I loved the heart this book. Just watching the struggles that Thrawn and Eli faced to get to the top was worth it. I was surprised by the revelations and implications the story had for the Galaxy at large… but especially by how emotionally charged the ending was.

Alliances - 8/10 Anakin and young Thrawn were amazing and so fun. There were several emotional scenes and a HUGE setting up for potential story lines now that we know Ezra and Thrawn are lost out there in the UR, but I’ll be honest and say I had a few problems with some slow parts.

Treason - 7.5/10 What I loved about Treason were the characters. I wish we could have explored them more but the plot didn’t allow it. If I had one request for Zahn in the next book it would be less math, more character development. There are other issues but I’ll explain them below the cut.

Now, the full review:

[SPOILERS FROM THRAWN, ALLIANCES, OUTBOUND FLIGHT AND TREASON AHEAD]

Positive:

The story was very fast paced. There was always something going on, people doing a thing, going places, trying to stay a step ahead, not a moment to spare. Some parts from the previous books felt like they were dragging their feet so this was a change of pace.

The book was mostly serious compared to the hilarity we got from Anakin and Thrawn, and even Vader and Thrawn in the last book, although there are a few fun gems too with Ronan and how everyone reacts to Krennic.

Zahn also did a splendid job to establish the grysk as a -real- threat. In Alliances I couldn’t help but feel the Grysk were too similar to the Vagaari but with more black mail. Now, we get to partially see how they keep their slave/clients in control which is… scary. Really scary. I even think there might be some Force domination at work but I guess the only way to be sure would be for Ezra to confirm it if he ever gets to meet them in the future with Thrawn.

The book it’s at its strongest when the main characters interact. I liked the personality of the new characters and they feel very distinctive from one another. Ronan was a rollercoaster of “I like him- I hate him”. Ar'alani was amazing to have back after reading her in Outbound Flight. Every time she talked with Thrawn, Eli or Faro it was a top notch experience.

Faro is having second thoughts on her competence because she thinks she might have let down Thrawn in some way, Eli continues to be the goodest space cowboi in the Galaxy which I love and cherish, and Thrawn… well, Thrawn is Thrawn, which is both good and bad. Also the new Chiss girl was interesting but I hoped we could have learned more of them.

My issues:

The plot quickly shifts from a politically charged bet to get rid of pests, to a big conspiracy to con resources out of Stardust, to overly complicated battle plans against an invasion force that you must follow closely word by word to try to visualize and understand what is happening... or you will get lost. That’s going to be a problem for a lot of people. I struggled.

I actually felt tense and exhausted because there was no chance to catch your breath before we got another invisible Grysk ship or complicated puzzle to solve with science. When Thrawn explains a plan I honestly feel like I’m getting a class on astrophysics and thermodynamics. I didn’t need every little detail of how everything will work down to the angles because I started to get lost. Looking back I realize that perhaps a good third of the book might be comparing data, analyzing said data, making an intricate mathematical plan, revising the data and applying it. I commend Zahn for his amazing descriptions at how they get to a solution, but even for me it was a little too much. I feel a bunch of that time could have been used to develop a few other issues that we were misled to expect…

For example, we were technically lied in the premise of the book. The premise at the back was the one it was marketed by the publishers and SWs and speaks how Eli seeks out Thrawn to warn him about a big problem in Csilla… and that never happens. Not even close. They stumble into each other by accident when their respective “prey” encounter each other. That was a let down. I expected more information on Csilla and interactions between Eli and Thrawn. In fact, they were barely in the same room, let alone... alone. I’m starting to fear steps were taken from high up to tell Zahn to “tone them down”, going as far as hinting a possible female interest for Eli because Eli and Thrawn have undoubtedly gained certain popularity. I’d think this is the case, as even Zahn wrote Eli wondering why was Thrawn being so aloof towards him and chalking up to having to be professional in public. That’s too much of a coincidence. In any case, many of us came hoping to see how their friendship from the first book had evolved after such a long time... but it just fell flat.

Next is the inconsistencies with time. Those who are also fans of Rebels know that from the moment Thrawn leaves Lothal a number of events happen that critically endangered the TIE Defender project. We get at the beginning of the book one such scene: Thrawn speaking with Tarkin, asking him to come to Coruscant. We get it from Faro’s pov, allowing us to have another look at that talk and a little more of Thrawn’s insight on what might happen if they leave Pryce in charge. He assumes the Rebels will attempt to rescue Hera and might succeed given Pryce is emotionally compromised. The moment Thrawn left Lothal, a timer started in my head to the next scene linked to these events in Rebels: the very next day Thrawn would have a holocall and confront Pryce for her incompetence, he would look more than just displeased… he would be angry. A type of frustration that carried on to the finale where he seems ‘incredibly done’ with everything and he’s trying to salvage the situation as best as he can. That’s… that’s a big thing if we are talking about Thrawn.

As a lover of Rebels and the Thrawn books I expected to get the answer that explained why Thrawn was acting like that. So, as the plot developed, battles were won, puzzles were solved and treasons were unearthed, I started to realize the book was running out. I wondered if something would happen at the end that messed everything up and his call with Pryce would be the last strand. But there was no call. The book ended. A whole week had somehow passed already. I was aghast. At no point it felt we were witnessing the events of several days. The book talked of hours passing by so I assumed this would be “Thrawn and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”… but instead he seems satisfied with the results even though he lost the bet on a technicality and, just like that, Thrawn states he must return to Lothal in the brevity. So in the end, Thrawn simply gets a holo meeting with the Emperor who is not exactly satisfied with his results and questions a his loyalty a little, so they will talk about that after Thrawn gets the Jedi chamber into the Chimaera and brings back Ezra to him. Aaaand the book ends. I was… stunned.

There were no answers here. And Zahn didn’t seem to align the most important story arc of Rebels and how it affects Thrawn other than a mention at the beginning and the very end. For someone who is painfully detail oriented with their battles, this was a huge oversight. You could even argue this plot could have happened at any point in S4 but Zahn saw an opportunity to patch it right after Jedi Night.

In any case. While we get a few lovely scenes with Eli and the Chiss… there’s one thing that has become what I regard as emotional highlight for the last few Thrawn books: even though Thrawn wins, he loses something that you could regard as personal. In Thrawn (2017) he loses Nightswan, a rival and almost an equal he hoped could become and ally, as well as “losing” Eli by doing the best for him by sending him away. In Alliances he let’s go of Anakin, both in the past and the hope that he can bring him back in the present. Even more importantly, in Outbound Flight he loses Thrass. But there’s no such thing here. Thrawn wins the battle but loses the funding bet and still doesn’t look phased.

Also, compared to the previous books, there was no point in which Thrawn wasn’t in control of the situation. In the first book Thrawn was a little at a loss with the politics and society which is why Eli was always doing his best to help him. In Alliances, the real danger was the possibility of Vader having the last word on whether or not help him retrieve the girls and stop the Grysk. It was something out of his control, and it showed. I hoped the third book was Thrawn facing an impossible choice, hence Treason. But it wasn’t. It was Thrawn slightly bending Imperial protocol and rules like we are used to by now. I suppose that’s on me. I wished we had seen *something* that Thrawn can't face with logic. Treason ends there, just as Ezra was about to become that *something* immediately after you close the book.

Overall, the enjoyment of this book may vary at certain points if you don’t like math battles or care too much about the timeline. I don’t feel there wasn’t any big revelation like in the two previous books like Thrawn saying there were bigger threats than the Empire lurking int he UR and that he playing the long game to replace the Emperor. In Alliances we got the bomb with the Chiss navigators and how their powers work different than the rest of Force Users. I don’t feel anything in Treason gets to that level. Nothing happens that changes your perception of the Galaxy at large or even the story that was happening parallel to it Rebels. You could arguably skip this book but you would be missing some great Eli, Faro and Ar’alani content that makes this book truly shine.

I’ll reread it soon but now I’ll likely skip on the battles and focus on the characters because ELI IS JUST THE BEST AND YOU ALL KNOW IT. xD

#Star Wars #Star Wars Rebels #Thrawn Treason #Thrawn #Review #Spoilers

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douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years

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STARTUPS AND IMAGES

Apple serious venture funding, on the condition that Woz quit, he initially refused, arguing that he'd designed both the Apple I and the Apple II while working at HP, and there is nothing to see outside. Now all educated people seem to share a certain prickly independence, whenever and wherever they lived. And the Internet makes copies easy to distribute. The other side may even break the deal; if they do that, they'll usually seize on some technicality or claim you misled them, rather than admitting they changed their minds.1 Investors would be the best supplier, but falls just short of the threshold for solvency—which will of course have been set on the high side, since there is no limit to the number of startups started within them. Believe it or not, the two senses of the word. In both painting and hacking there are some kinds of knowledge that get in the way of seeing a work of art that would appeal equally to your friends, to people in Nepal, and to have the same velcro-like shape as genuinely interesting ideas, but for your readers. You might come up with that kind of works. Six weeks is fast. Angels you can sometimes tell about other angels, because VCs are afraid of looking bad to their partners, and perhaps others that would appeal to most humans, and you don't take investment, then competitors who do will have an advantage. To them the company is worth more.2 There are two problems with this, though.

He didn't work for General Widget, but for those who make it often try to trick us. Lack of empathy is associated with intelligence, to the point where they can put a lot of trolls in it. It doesn't even have y.3 This probably makes them less productive, because they might end up with nothing. But I disagree with Caterina Fake when she says that makes this a bad time to start a startup: get a version 1 out fast, then improve it based on users' reactions. But there is a Laffer curve for government power, just as professional theater was being born, and pushed the medium so far that every playwright since has had to live in his shadow. Don't be Evil?

Especially if other parents are doing it. Instead of making one $2 million investment, make five $400k investments.4 If you turned it over, it said Inside Macintosh. Hewlett-Packard, wouldn't let him do it at a low enough valuation. It's probably a combination of factors. Most humans will also find images of 3D objects engaging, because that was where the deals were. It was a new one, and instead of physical knobs it had buttons and an LED display. So startup hubs like Silicon Valley benefit from something like the marketplace effect, but shifted in time: startups are there because startups were there. I thought I was ready to question everything I knew. A lot of the spread of the Industrial Revolution that wealth creation definitively replaced corruption as the best way to get rich, he'll hire you as a bargain if you don't need them. I'm optimistic we will. The median visitor will arrive with their finger poised on the Back button.

But in general, for application software, you want to invest in successful startups, and think it's therefore the mark of a successful startup to have this happen. Yes, he may have extensive business experience.5 But if you work for a startup is like a pass/fail course for the founders, what you want to be the top one in your mind. Children of kings and great magnates were the first to grow up out of touch with the world. Actually big companies are not the root cause of variation in every other human skill. Your Hopes Up. They get the pick of all the different types of work, instead of what I wanted to do.6 I can tell, the way to do it, then it is hard, at least, that high level languages are often all treated as equivalent. In a feudal society, there are subtle signs you're in a place so nice that rich people wanted to live there. Another is to stand close. The final contributing factor is the culture of a large organization.

This probably accounts for a lot of subsidiary questions to be cleared up after the handshake, and if something great happens, they'll stick with it—something great meaning either that someone wants to buy you. How to Become a Hacker, and in it, but it does at least make you keep an open mind. If so, now's the time. Really? I've seen grinds to a halt when they start to think for themselves. It was more like the high school trick of breaking up with someone before they can break up with you. But if you had no money were taking more risk, and are entitled to higher returns. So you will not, as of this writing, be able to get features done faster than our competitors, and also to do things that would be just as worried about premature design—deciding too early what a program should do. Surely it was their duty to their limited partners simply to invest in those that at least have the advantage, from each one's point of view. This is especially true in a startup is like walking on your hands: it's possible, but it has the side effect that after having implicitly lied to kids about how good their judgement is, we then have to lie again about all the things they wanted with their own hands. There are some things that will appeal to most sentient beings whatever that means the skill and determination of an ordinary person.

Data is by definition easy to copy.7 So you have to do things I knew she was about to do anyway. Investors have different risk profiles from founders. And he could help them because he was one of the more profitable pieces of Yahoo, and the noise starts again. Most humans will also find images of 3D objects engaging, because that was where their peers were, and investors are very sensitive to it.8 But two guys who thought Multics excessively complex went off and wrote their own. Another much less subtle influence is brand. The puffed-up companies that went public during the Bubble didn't do it just because they were too quick. And since the ability and desire to create it vary from person to person, it's not made equally. If you don't yet have any traffic, they fall back on number 2, what other investors think. Most deals, for investment or acquisition, happen in two phases.9

Notes

All he's committed to is following the evidence wherever it leads. You're not seeing fragmentation unless you see what the startup isn't getting market price. This is the only way to see what they're capable of. It tipped from being overshadowed by Microsoft, incidentally, because the early days, and this is: we currently filter at the data, it's because of the reasons startups are often surprised by this, though more polite, was starting an outdoor portal.

Stone, op. The image shows us, the rest of the war it was the last step is to do work you love, or whether contractors count too. Scheme: define foo n lambda i set! Successful founders are effective.

Good investors don't lead startups on; their reputations are too valuable.

This is the converse: that the founders of Google to do it.

They don't make wealth a zero-sum game. The unintended consequence is that if you have to do, so they had to write every component yourself, but it's not lots of people are these days. One way to be some things it's a seller's market. These were the case of Bayes' Rule.

Different sections of the conversion of buildings not previously public, like a knowledge of human nature, might come from all over the super-angels hate to match. At first literature took a shot at destroying Boston's in the definition of property is driven mostly by technological progress is accelerating, so buildings are traditionally seen as temporary; there is a great programmer might invent things an ordinary programmer would never have left PARC. Why Are We Getting a Divorce? Well, almost.

Though they were friendlier to developers than Apple is now. Download programs to run an online service, and partly simple ignorance. The reason for the talk to corp dev is to use an OS that doesn't lose our data.

In part because Steve Jobs doesn't use. The threshold for participating goes down to you; you're too early if it's the right order. Bad math is merely a complicated but pointless collection of specious beliefs about its intrinsic qualities.

It seemed better to overestimate than underestimate the importance of making n constant, it might actually be bad if that means the slowdown that comes from.

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izupie · 5 years

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Fox Fire (Full Spoilers)

This is kind of rough and very broadly going over the story, so there are plot threads, cameos and ‘moments’ I haven’t mentioned here (especially since it was getting so long I nearly just started writing the thing again lmao)

Here’s an extremely brief full spoilers overview of the plot of Fox Fire (my Kacchako Kitsune!Bakugou Miko!Uraraka Japanese Folklore AU thing) if I had decided to continue it...

So Uraraka's whole character is about the ability to move forward, even if it hurts, into a place of your own choosing. Right now she's looking after the shrine and performing her duties as Miko because she feels like she should for her parents. She's never even considered doing anything else, or working towards doing anything else. She has no idea what she wants because she'd never thought about having the chance to make that decision for herself. Bakugou's character is about realising that power and ambition will never really give you satisfaction. His end goal is to get his ninth tail, and he believed everyone was holding him back; the other Spirits, Inari, friends, love etc etc. He has to learn that this stuff actually completes him, regardless of whether he has nine tails or not.

So Uraraka's parents died, leaving her the shrine, but they died so suddenly that everyone in the village believes it's the work of a curse. Nobody will set foot on the hill. So she lives alone, spends her days alone, cooks alone, eats alone, and repeats the process every day - keeping her spirits up and believing that one day her prayers will be answered and the shrine will be busy again. While she grows lonelier and lonelier deep inside. Bakugou is actually a quarter human - his grandmother was a human - and he grew up as friends with two other Kitsune hybrids, Izuku who is a half human and Shoto who is half Bakeneko. Shoto gets his nine tails first, but that kid has insane amounts of power, so Bakugou gets jealous but at least knows he'll get them before Izuku, because he's always been weaker. But Izuku starts training with a Light Spirit (surprise it's All Might) and suddenly the half human hybrid Izuku has his nine tails before he does (and he’s only a quarter human). Bakugou loses his shit and decides it's because Inari is picking on him. He craves those nine tails. So he breaks all ties with the Spirit World, renounces his job as one of Inari's messengers (all Kitsune work for Inari) and goes off alone to find power. After some time he comes across Uraraka's shrine and the tofu and bam, we get the start of the story.

Bakugou decides his noble deed that will earn him his ninth tail will be giving this weak Miko what she wants and being a visitor to her sad shrine. He disguises himself as a human and spends the day with her - she's blissfully unaware of any foul play because she's so. excited. although something does seem... off about him. Inside Bakugou is dying at trying to be 'pleasant' and cracks show up in his demeanor at times. But she goes along with it. It’s a real visitor! The day begins with a tour, (really just some shrine exposition for the readers) and Bakugou is fully regretting his decision, but during some of the day she begins to show some of her loneliness and her fire and he is Surprised. By the end of the day she gives him a fortune, from a basket of fortunes her mother wrote before she died (two years ago) and he picks one out, shoves it in his pocket and says he'll read it later, but as he's leaving he trips or something and it blows out of his pocket. She doesn't mean to pry but as she picks it up, intending to run after him, it flaps open and just says 'Kitsune' on it. So begins her complete and total conviction that he's not what he appears, while Bakugou gets furious that spending the day with her didn't even get him a tail.

Uraraka's suspicions are seemingly confirmed when another visitor comes to the shrine. Someone with green hair and freckles, who says someone in the village mentioned they'd seen his friend Bakugou around the shrine and he's been looking for him, was he here? Uraraka is already totally convinced something strange is going on, but she notices the visitor's shadow has ears and tails and is like OK YEP. But she's curious more than anything, and doesn't give him away, feigning ignorance. (Izuku doesn't actually have a human form like Bakugou, he just hides his fox features under an illusion, but it doesn't work on shadows and reflections. He's just too distracted looking for his friend to even consider these old rules!) Now she decides she's going to catch Bakugou out if she sees him again. But he doesn't return. The next time she sees him is in the convenience store in the village when she's buying some rice a couple of weeks later, and the other villagers in there are whispering and being mean behind her back (even though she can hear them) and they get a whole lot of abuse from an angry boy who is somehow now in the store too. She's shocked. The villagers are shocked. And they end up going back to the shrine together. Uraraka is just asking so many leading questions at this point to catch him out, but is also legitimately touched by his sticking up for her. By the time they end up at the top of the hill she's really conflicted about being hurt over being lied to and misled and being thankful he was the only person who's ever stuck up for her.

At this point she just fully knows that he’s some kind of spirit, but she gives him a chance to reveal it himself. She confronts him about it, but he denies it, so she grabs his wrist and places a charm on him for ‘revealing secrets’ - revealing his ears and tail. She yells that he lied to her and goes on about how she knew almost from the very first time he came to visit because of the fortune, but his friend stopped by and that was the nail in the coffin on her figuring it out. (This only fuels his rage against Deku more). This is when he reveals his true Kitsune form to her for the first time - ears, tail, markings, outfit, and it would be such an emotionally charged moment. Then there would be lots of yelling.

Meanwhile the sub plot of the Nomus is that All for One is a bad spirit of bad spirits, creating and spawning these things to cause chaos and destruction in the spirit world. Shigaraki was his agent in the human world, many years ago, who was going to spread them there, but he got caught out at Uraraka's shrine by her parents and they actually died sealing him away into the shrine itself. So in a way, it does turn out that the shrine is cursed.

Uraraka makes a deal with Bakugou that if he helps her get rid of Shigaraki - partly through a desire for revenge, partly through a desire to cleanse the shrine of all the bad energy that she’s sure has been keeping everyone away this whole time - that she will pray to Inari for his final tail. Inari wouldn’t refuse the pleas of a Miko, surely. They go off to the Spirit world on this quest, Bakugou fully expecting this to be easy, but they release Shigaraki from the seal her parents placed on him, and it turns out he's more powerful than they expected. He is a real threat to them both, and Uraraka only has a few charms to keep herself safe. When Shigaraki targets her Bakugou realises she’ll die, so Bakugou sacrifices himself to save Uraraka.

In the brief moment of his disappearance into a Soul Ball (the marble that kitsune’s carry) Uraraka uses her most powerful charm - a tiny fox statue holding a daisy in its mouth - that keeps Shigaraki back long enough to use her own psychic powers to get them back to the human world.

She’s now alone again.

But she’s going to get him back.

She goes on an adventure then in the spirit world, upset that she will have to leave her shrine, upset that she had to leave her charm in the spirit world with Shigaraki, knowing it won’t hold him back forever, and thoroughly lonely again now that Bakugou is gone. She puts his soul ball in a pouch around her neck, determined to get him back, especially since he just saved her life.

She has no idea what to do when she gets there and she meets Tsuyu, a frog spirit, who’s the first one of the 1-A cameos she meets. Uraraka eventually reveals her mission there, and Tsuyu warns her that the spirit world is a dangerous place in turmoil, thanks to the Nomus. They band together and Tsuyu tells her that she needs to go and see a witch called Momo so they go on a little adventure to go see her. When they get there Momo tells her that she can’t help with a soul ball unfortunately, but that there’s a witch that can help only called Recovery Girl.

(The cameos would be... Momo is a witch, and she can pull objects out of her leathery wings that she conjures, Tokoyami is Momo’s familiar, a man that’s been cursed to be a crow, Jirou is a sound spirit, Kaminari is an Oni, Hagakure is a Tanuki, Iida is a wind spirit.)

So by the time she's f i n a l l y led to the spirit Recovery Girl and Bakugou is brought back she's crying and hugging him. It was a tough journey on her own, even with the help she got. When he learns of what she did and what she went through he is equal parts angry and Shook. After he comes back they'd be more like a team, with Bakugou beginning to accept that this Miko who he'd originally thought of as weak, managed to bring him essentially back from the dead with help from the friends she'd made in his absence. While she understands that doing all of this gave her purpose, and she's not the shell of the girl she was before, just mindlessly living for the sake of it.

Ultimately they go back with Uraraka’s new friends and win against Shigaraki, because Bakugou begins to accept help from others, and Uraraka finds strength in doing what she thinks is right, not what she thinks she should be doing. She uses every charm she has in the fight, no longer holding onto the idea that they’re some kind of memory of her parents.

Their defeat of Shigaraki weakens All for One and the bigger, far more powerful spirits are the ones that ultimately banish him once and for all.

Uraraka remarks that Bakugou would have once really minded that he wasn’t the one to take him down, since when did he get so realistic? But he’s currently holding her close in the relief of winning their own battle, glad of the peace and quiet and the rare moment of actually being alone together now that Uraraka’s friends won’t ever seem to leave now. (He doesn’t mean it though, he’s kind of attached to those ‘losers’ in his own way). He doesn’t mind not being the one to take down the big bad so much when she’s holding onto him like this.

She sets up the shrine as a refuge for spirits in the human world, her friends helping to build and expand on her shrine and her parents room is finally changed. Bakugou stays with her, and in the end, he doesn't even get his ninth tail, but he's actually okay with it. He gets to stay with Uraraka, and she’s okay with staying at the shrine with no human visitors, because she gets all sorts of spirit visitors now. She’s never lonely, especially with Bakugou always being with her now.

#Kacchako #kacchako fox fire #Izu says stuff

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feijuan · 5 years

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Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis, Am I Right?

This review contains a lot of spoilers -- I do not know how much of the anime is congruent with the manga, and as such there may be manga spoilers in this review as well.

Click here to read on Wordpress!

On one hand, as we all ought to know very well,

But on the other hand, I think I liked season 2 of Fist of the North Star: Regenesis more than the first, somehow. I also hate to admit there were parts of season 2 I liked completely unironically, as ridiculous and contrived as most of it was. Such is often my experience with every Fist of the North Star anime, game, etc, that I watch -- though I expected it much less from this, on account of it being maligned by pretty much everyone I know who knows anything about Fist of the North Star, for

Being made entirely in CGI (though I still think it’s the designs that are awful, and not necessarily the fact that it’s CGI, but to each their own I suppose when it comes to visuals)

Apparently not following canon much at all, but that doesn’t matter to me because I don’t know anything about Fist of the Blue Sky canon anyway, which makes my viewing experience… interesting… because I just had to accept whatever nutso bonkers lunacy I saw on the screen as truth.

I berated the first season quite a lot, not just for issues in adaptation, but for issues that are almost certainly in the source material as well. I thought the setting was a ridiculously contrary backdrop for the kind of martial arts antics happening on screen, in a literary and in a visual sense. The martial arts themselves, while always ludicrous in the franchise as a whole, were especially so in Fist of the Blue Sky - and in Regenesis their visual presentation was frankly awful, managing to be both tacky beyond imagining and super underwhelming. The writing had serious problems that required -- I'm not kidding and wish I was -- a Magical Jewel That Showed The Antagonist The Truth to resolve the finale, and the backstory we saw through this Plot Orb was complete and utter nonsense, the likes of which I haven't quite seen in a very long time. This really doesn't even cover all of the issues in the first season of Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis alone, because the majority of the characters aren't great either, including the protagonist whose value largely seems reliant on being an allusion to the already beloved Kenshiro, and the abundance of small contrivances throughout to fuel completely unnecessary conflicts.

As objectively bad as Regenesis was though, there were some things I enjoyed about it, namely a few of the characters. I loved Fei Yan and Erika, and as much as I hated Yasaka at first, he grew on me – though that was born from the absurdity of his redemption that made it impossible for me to take any of his crimes seriously. On that line of thought though, what I often enjoyed about season 1 was the spectacle of it, and I think that’s pretty clearly evidenced by my liveblog where I was either losing my mind and frantically posting screencaps to try and even begin to understand what I was looking at and how it was possible, or posting about Fei Yan Being Great. And sometimes complaining when I had the energy to think about the awful writing, instead of laugh it off…

So that was season 1. But what did season 2 have to offer, and could it redeem the anime, even a little bit? Well, short answers: A bit more, and not particularly. So let's get to the list making:

Things I decidedly didn’t like at all about Season 2

Need I even say anything about how the CG model proportions are still awful... looking Yu Ling's model makes me ache all over. But not only are the models in general still grotesque, but there were a few too many instances of flashbacks where characters were supposed to be teens, but they either had a kid model, or an adult model. There's no inbetween. It's extremely weird and jarring when in one flashback Simeon looks like a 12 year old with similarly young looking Himuka, and then "a few years later" Simeon still has the 12 year old boy model, while Himuka has evolved into a 30 year old buff martial artist.

Fei Yan is Still Dead and Yasaka is good but he's not that good. This is admittedly a petty complaint but try to understand... Fei Yan was really good. And I miss him. Thank you for listening.

Fei He was wildly under-utilized, under-developed, and usually just a woman for male characters to make fun of or infantalize -- which is a crying shame (and unfortunately par the course for the franchise, ahem) because she was a link back to Fei Yan and his legacy. Having been partially brought up by him and idolizing him in her youth, she arrives near the end of season 1 to track down Kasumi, who she is pointlessly misled into believing killed Fei Yan for a few episodes. Later in season 2 when she does discover it was Yasaka who killed Fei Yan, nothing… happens, because by that time she has already come to respect Kasumi, so it’s trivially easy for Kasumi to convince her to forgive Yasaka just like he did. Once her initial motivation is snuffed out, she just becomes a detached ally of our secondary protagonist group, which consists of Yu Ling, minor members of the Green Gang, and the worst characters of the entire show!

The comedy duo. Far and away the worst aspect of both seasons of the whole show. The CG? The ugly art style in general? The casual misogyny? The non-canon mismatched cult planning world domination with nuclear weapons? That all pales in comparison to the damage these freaks wreck on every episode they are in.

Their horrendous “bits” are where like 80% of the misogyny this show displays actually occurs. Their boorish fantasies are used as vehicles for the only fanservice scenes in the entire run, and they make up ridiculous plans for Fei He to carry out that degrade her and make her a joke.Their bits are tone-shatteringly out of place and usually shoehorned into every episode since their introduction in the middle of season 1 at the worst time possible. I’m still seething about their prolonged scene in the finale where Yu Ling inexplicably rubs the metal-haired one’s head while her fiancee fights for his doomed life, and he pretty much c*ms and his metal wig falls off to reveal a single disgusting hair on his head -- we literally cut away from the final fight in the whole series so we can see THAT. LIKE WHAT? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

This show is already so far-fetched and often unintentionally hilarious that it doesn’t benefit in any way from having gag characters in the first place. It’s a net loss in entertainment value, really, because all the gag characters did was ruin serious scenes and interrupt outrageous scenes that were actually funny.

Fei Yan died, Yasaka died, Kasumi died, but THESE CHUCKLEFUCKS LIVED? #JUSTICEFORFEIYAN #GOTHRIGHTS

The whole thing with the vampire cyborg mad scientist soldier making pseudo-zombies. That was a lot even for Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis.

Oh, and another quick note about Fei He being poorly utilized: I also didn't like at all how she is revealed to have fallen in love with Kasumi in the finale... like c'mon. Was that necessary? They barely ever spoke! A woman can care about a man dying without being A Thing, Fist of the North Star...

Things I unexpectedly didn’t hate and even sort of liked to varying degrees about Season 2

Speaking of Kasumi, he was a lot more likable in this season and I don't know if it's because we naturally got to know him better as we spent more time with him, or if it's because he just Did More Good Stuff than before, but I'm leaning towards the latter. I really liked his tender moments with Erika going up to the finale and his fight with Himuka was leagues above any of his fights previously in terms of giving us some actual meaningful insight into his personality and beliefs. It's a shame these moments happened in the last two episodes of the series... But I am willing to concede that they were fairly successful in making me like him just in time for him to honourably wander off into the desert and die. Thanks.

As much as I heckled the literally religious cult composed of men in black, mysterious worshippers with pointed hoods sitting around a table plotting world domination, mad scientist soldiers, and assorted martial artists, I ended up kind of liking where the story went with it and the themes that were developed in the last stretch. The second arc had a very on the nose stance on war and weapons of mass destruction as the worst of humanity's creations, and we see it in a lot of places in the story. The narrative unfolding at a time when World War II was on the horizon, the nuclear bomb schematics that had been causing all of the strife in the story being erased from Erika's (a little Jewish girl, as well) mind in the end, and how Himuka was driven to villainy by war and became convinced the only way to create a future without it, was to hit the Hard Reset Button on the earth's population. For all its shortcomings with dealing with the -isms, Fist of the North Star has at least always had anti-war themes, but I especially liked how they were more focused and rooted in history in this season of Regenesis.

I actually... liked?! The villains?!

Simeon had a motivation that was irrational and pathetic, but made sense because of his background. Instead of the story trying to redeem or sympathize with him, he is simply pitied by Himuka who usurps him and puts him out of his misery, which is very rare for Fist of the North Star as a whole. It shouldn't be as rare as it is.

While I liked the anti-war themes, Himuka's motivation felt a lot less organic than Simeon's in my opinion and required a whole episode to be dedicated to explaining it to us, which I'm not a huge fan of unless it's really compelling -- and I don't think it was. Nevertheless I did enjoy his final fight with Kasumi and the philosophy of it, which made it harder than usual not to bend to the narrative's will and mourn him.

They weren’t glorified misogynists or cartoonishly evil goons! 👍

Himuka betraying Simeon and becoming The Real Big Bad was also rather fresh for Fist of the North Star, and it's a shame that it was spoiled in the opening, because if it wasn't I think I might have been surprised. Regardless, shifting gears like that was a good move in my opinion -- even though, yeah, The Villain Is Your Brother, Again.

When Kasumi wins his final battle against Himuka, and Himuka says "I have always been a vessel of nothingness. There is nothing to spill from inside of me" and he like, turns to stone in the rising sun, instead of dying from his wounds? Did it make any sense? No. Was it was raw as fuck and did I love it? Yes.

Erika... her arc in season 2 is very bittersweet, but it is undeniable that I was relieved when Kasumi erased her memories. It's probably not kosher, but when I was watching it I agreed with the narrative's claim that her only way to be free of her immense suffering and live like a little girl should was to clean the slate, and months later when I think back to it, I'm still okay with it. A little girl watching her parents die and being burdened with knowledge that can destroy the world, and everything that happens to her and her guardians because of wicked men trying to get that knowledge from her... I can't really fault the idea of taking that away from her and letting her finally rest. Go play in a sandbox dearest Erika... run along...

Every episode felt like 5 minutes long!

So that's the final impressions of Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis -- I ended up having more to say about it than I thought I would, considering how I was speechless most of the time I was watching it... with a list of Positive Points that long, you might be tricked into thinking it's unexpectedly good; but despite everything I liked about it, I can say with confidence that Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis is not good. All of the issues from the first season do carry over into this one -- the contrived story-telling and egregious tonal dissonance, lackluster characterization and poor handling of character drama, and just plain absurdity of most things happening on the screen remain intact. Had it not been for a small hand full of likable characters and some good themes trying to pierce through the hideous hide of this story, it would be thoroughly unremarkable, perhaps not even worth touting as a hilarious spectacle of out of context screenshots.

I can't be too sour though, because then I would be dishonest. It's clear as day that while understanding why it is so maligned, I enjoyed many parts of it far more than expected, and the experience of watching it with my partner was fun and at times even emotional. And as much as I can say with confidence that Fist of the Blue Sky: Regensis isn't a good anime, I can also say with confidence, that Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis was not even remotely the Worst Anime Of 2018. I think it's very telling that in the anime community, being completely mediocre with bad aesthetics and bad story adaptation are worse sins than that of, say, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar and Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody which are both "escapism" series that aired in 2018 and were rampant with pedophilia and slave fetishization that were popular on Crunchyroll when they were airing. Front Page Popular.

Needless to say, watching lots of airing anime every season gives me a sense of perspective and I use it, and so I am content with admitting that I happily watched Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis every Monday that it aired and often had a great time, oftentimes because it was an absolute riot to see, and sometimes because despite everything, it could be... decent!

[Happy very belated New Years everyone! I finally finished writing something, so hopefully this bodes well for my productivity in 2019! Enjoy and thanks for sticking with the blog!]

#fotns #fotbs #fist of the north star #fist of the blue sky #Someone Had To Watch It And That Someone Was Me.

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emilyplaysotome · 6 years

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Chapter 6 - Friendnapped

Catch up on Chapter 1 - 5 here! (or just Chapter 5)

It’s never pleasant seeing an ex move on, especially when you’re not entirely sure that you want your ex to be an ex in the first place. Compounded with the fact that his new girlfriend was everything that I wasn’t caused every fiber in my being to want to flee.

Thankfully, my legs refused to listen.

Instead I stood frozen and watched as she accepted his hand (one that dwarfed her own) and he helped her stand tall once more in a way that reminded me of how he had been there for me. She was far more feminine than I’ve ever been in my life, with a slender frame that complimented Zyglavis’ more androgynous features. Standing next to her, he looked like the God he was in a way that he never did by my side - proud, masculine, and strong.

I forced myself to stay present, assuming that the king was rooting for me to run from such an unpleasant scene, giving him the upper hand when it came to Zyglavis’ new life in this world. At the moment, sharing a kiss with the man I had assumed I’d share my life with only a few weeks ago seemed impossible but I did my best to stay strong in face of adversity.

Instead of running away I apologized further, introducing myself to both of them and handing the woman my business card in an attempt to prove to her that I was a normal, capable woman and not some crazy person off the street.

“Really,” I said again, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok,” she said in a tone that was far less aggravated than the one taken during our initial exchange.

“Please, allow me to pay for your dry cleaning or something.”

“No, it’s fine I…”

“Thea, you should take her up on it,” Zyglavis said sternly.

“Thea?”

“Yes, sorry. I didn’t say my name did I? And this is…”

“Zyglavis.”

He said his name flatly, barely looking me in the eyes. His gaze was firmly on Thea and I assumed as a result that he was checking to see if she was alright. I knew Zyg long enough to know that he could be a bit of a worrywart when it came to the object of his affection, and I could feel the muscles in my chest constrict as it sank in that he might never worry about me in that way again.

Thea tucked a strand of her long, jet black hair behind her ear and with a similarly cold expression noted, “Well, I suppose. Naomi was it?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you Naomi, that’s very kind. Most New Yorkers probably wouldn’t even offer.”

“Oh that’s not true,” I said with a forced smile. “We get a bad rap but we’re actually a lovely group of people.”

Zyglavis kept glancing behind him at the hostess inside and each time he did I could feel my new reality sinking in.

He and his new girlfriend (a clear upgrade when compared to his last), were going to have a nice dinner and here I was keeping them from it. Seeing him again reminded me of how much I missed him - a fact that the chaos of the past few days had distracted me from.

I missed my best friend. Zyglavis had been a loyal, kind man who was always there for me no matter the circumstance. He was a man who could sometimes be too strict and slightly too grumpy, but underneath it all always had my best interests at heart.

For a moment, everything seemed incredibly surreal and I almost felt as if any second he and this woman would laugh and tell me the past week was all a shitty joke. I wanted so desperately to go back to what was instead of what is, but I knew that I had no choice in the matter once the hostess popped her head outside and called, “Ziggy? Table for 2?”

“We will be in shortly,” he said politely to the hostess, and then with a sigh addressed Thea. “Ziggy? Really?”

She giggled and for the first time I saw how beautiful and blinding her smile was, “I couldn’t resist.”

Zyg shook his head and before she could run away I exchanged contact information with Thea under the guise that I would follow up with her in regards to the cost of her dry cleaning. I then was forced to watch him hold the door for her as they went inside - not once did he even so much as glance back at me.

I stood there dumbstruck for a moment and once I was certain that I was alone again, a maelstrom of emotion hit me with such strength that I was not only caught off guard but found myself rushing to a trash can nearby and vomiting into it. I never thought I was capable of something as dramatic as becoming physically ill over seeing an ex, but the king’s trials always managed to surprise me.

It shouldn’t have taken a meddling king for me to understand what I had with Zyglavis, but far too often we take someone for granted until they’re gone. For ten years of my life I lived having friendships, but never having someone who I could call my own. I never experienced having someone who was able to be there for me the way that Zyglavis always was and now that he was gone I felt adrift.

Looking back he had constantly been present in the sense that my apartment was always taken care of, and at the end of every difficult work week he’d bring back chocolates made especially for me, as a small token of his love and appreciation for the life we forged together in this world. He was always up for listening to my problems and for laughing at my funny stories or holding me during the difficult ones.

He was a best friend in a way I’d never experienced with anyone else, and even though he proved to be more imperfect than I ever thought an otome man would be, that made him and the relationship all the more real.

By the time I was back at Meg’s I was a certifiable mess with runny mascara, tinged with the faint smell of vomit. I planned to hop in the shower and then to try and pack my things in order to distract myself from what Thea and Zyglavis might be doing together, but when I opened the door I soon realized that I was not alone.

“Omi? What the hell happened to you?”

Meg was standing in the foyer of her apartment hanging her light spring coat up in the closet. Down the hall, I saw her away bag on the floor of the living room and figured she had just gotten back.

“I thought you were coming home tomorrow?”

“I was, but I missed New York and my parents were driving me nuts.”

“Oh. Welcome back. Are you doing ok?”

Meg shrugged and it was clear that my friend and I were in similarly messy places. Even though she hadn’t been gone long I knew her well enough to see that she wasn’t sleeping. On top of that she appeared a good deal thinner than when she’d left and having gotten her through a previous breakup in college, I was well aware of the fact that she didn’t eat when she was stressed or upset.

She crinkled her nose and straightforwardly blurted, “Omi - why do you smell like vomit?”

If I hadn’t had such a difficult day, I don’t think I would have told Meg the truth in that moment. I think I would have made something up or vaguely addressed bumping into Zyglavis but for whatever reason I found myself saying, “You know me well enough to know that I’m not a liar, right?”

Meg shot me a curious look and nodded, leading me to the living room and prompting me to tell her the whole story - the real story.

I watched as she looked on skeptically as I spoke, occasionally clarifying that I “really believed” that I had gone to the world of my “weird anime games” but ultimately let me tell my tale. I knew how far fetched it must have all seemed to her, but when I got to the part about the games not working, I pulled up the facebook posts as well as old screenshots from Zyglavis’ route that fans had posted online.

It was then that Meg’s disbelief started to wane (in addition to the fact that in all of our many years of friendship I’d never once misled her in any way and I had no tangible reason to concoct such a strange story now). She pulled up a photo she had on her phone of all of us from a few months back (before her breakup or mine) and compared the man by my side to the cartoon man from the post.

“Holy shit.”

“I never told you any of this because, well - I know it’s pretty unbelievable and…”

“There’s more?”

“Well..I was afraid you’d judge me if you knew that I chose to be with a cartoon character from a game. I mean how many years did I watch you guys…and now…”

Meg quickly cut me off, “And now we’re both in shambles thanks to two dudes. Doesn’t get more real than that even if he started as a cartoon character.”

“His new girlfriend is stupid pretty,” I complained.

Meg hesitated for a moment as she sank dejectedly into her couch and said in a quiet voice, “You know, I didn’t tell you guys this but Noah broke up with me for some chick he works with.”

“What?”

Meg scoffed, “Yeah. If you didn’t already smell like barf I’d have us doing shots or some shit.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because it hurts more knowing that he gets to be happy and I have to be hurt.”

“I’m sorry Meg…”

I could see that Meg was trying to be strong as she fought back tears, biting her lower lip in an attempt to stay in control of her emotional state. I always considered her someone who was pretty tough and resilient and as a result, seeing her in this state amplified the hurt that I was already feeling. She sniffled and tried to shake off her tears as she focused on my problems over hers.

“So wait - this asshole…the king? He just showed up and ruined your relationship?”

“Well, I mean I kinda had a hand in it too. I started to take Zyg for granted and…”

“But you didn’t even get a chance to work it out right?”

“No.”

“Fuck that. And fuck his new girlfriend - if you want him, you’re going to get him back.”

I loved the fact that even though Meg was heartbroken, she was still so angry on my behalf.

“I don’t know,” I said skeptically. “The king said I’ve got to win all my ex cartoon men back and right now 3 are unaccounted for, the one I want most has moved on, another tried to mug me, and the last one I have a date with in a couple of days. The odds are not in my favor.”

“Nah, fuck that noise. We’re New Yorkers - when the going gets tough we’re used to it because so are we.”

“You are maybe…”

“No I’m a mess, but I”m still going to help you. We’ll find your cartoon men and at least one of us will get to live happily ever after, ok?”

“Meg…”

“You’re gonna make me cry if you look at me like that and you still smell like puke so go shower and we’ll come up with a plan after.”

“Meg…”

“Omi! I swear!”

I knew Meg didn’t want to cry but I couldn’t help myself from doing so. Not only did she believe me (or at least was being kind enough to pretend that she did), but she said she’d help me.

I was immediately brought back to that day during the Revance tweeter takeover where I fantasized about having my friends’ support as I made my final decision on who I wanted to bring back to this world. For the past few days I’d reminded of what it was to be on my own once more and how it felt to have to do everything by myself and bear that burden alone.

Now, thanks to Meg’s generosity I would have a partner in crime and I owed her one for it.

I returned to the living room freshly showered and vomit free, and took out my notebook re-creating a space in Meg’s living room similar to the one in Zyglavis’ bedroom way back when. I even told her about my operation GTFO area and with a dry laugh she noted that was “a very Naomi thing to do”.

Meg also set up a few online profiles in order to help me in my search, and talked me through the fact that we had eyes on 3 of the 6 men. Toshi and Jin were completely MIA and the mystery suitor of mine was most likely not Shunichiro. Meg had me make a list of every otome man I’d met who potentially carried a flame for me during my time down the rabbit hole and when I handed her what felt like a reasonable list based on the information I had, she smirked and noted, “Girl, get it.”

“You don’t understand what it was like - they’re all programmed to want you when you’re the MC.”

“I mean, I’ve seen Zyg so I have a pretty good idea of what this world is like. Perhaps you can take me with you next time,” she joked. “In the meantime, I’ll look out for these names as I swipe and you should call the switchboard to see if Jin is NYPD.”

“Ok…thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was a moment where I paused and Meg looked at me with a skeptical expression, “What?”

“You do believe me, don’t you?”

“I mean...do…ish. You have to understand, I can’t really wrap my head around -”

There was a bright light that filled the room, in addition to the sound of a snap and a familiar presence that caused Meg to practically jump out of her seat. The king glared at me, and with a chuckle I found myself muttering, “speak of the devil.”

As I once had, I glanced over and saw Meg struggle to accept the reality of how crazy it all was. It was strange to see my typically eloquent friend stammer next to me, but it was all short lived as the king snapped his fingers for a second time, causing Meg’s eyes to glaze over and her stammers to fade. My friend would have a hard time not believing my story once she returned from her catatonic state, and with a sigh I knew that I’d done something that prompted an IRL visit from the king versus a cheeky text.

“Well I see that you’re up to your old tricks,” the king snapped. “The agreement was that you were able to find them and romance them - not that you’d have help.”

“I don’t believe the issue of having help or not was ever stipulated in your terms and conditions,” I snapped back. “And I hardly have the home court advantage considering what I’ve seen the past couple of days.”

“What have you seen? He was always a criminal - even in my world, was he not?”

“Yes but -“

“And that didn’t stop you the first time around, now did it?”

“It absolutely did stop me!”

“Mmmm tomato tahmahtoe,” he said flippantly with a smile, and I realized that as much as I was a thorn in his side, the king was clearly enjoying himself.

He tossed his long silvery hair back and with an unreadable, etherial smile paced before me as he considered what having an ally in this world might do to his game. It was obvious that I was one of the few people who was capable of throwing curveballs his way and as much as it annoyed him, he obviously relished how unpredictable his life was when I was in it.

“Well,” he said finally, “I guess we’ll do this.”

He snapped his fingers and Meg disappeared from the couch beside me.

“You’ll get her back once you’ve found them all on your own. I think that’s more than fair. Very generous in fact!”

“That’s not fair at all! You can’t do that you -“

The king threw back his head and laughed, “Oh Naomi. You silly, silly girl - haven’t you realized? I can do whatever I want. You’re lucky I’m even letting you play in the first place.”

And with that, he snapped his fingers and left me all alone once more.

Chapter 7

If you’ve enjoyed the story, please show your support by sharing it with a friend or buying me a coffee!

Thanks for reading :)

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#scm zyglavis #star crossed myth fan fiction #star crossed myth fanfic #voltage fanfic #voltage fandom #Voltage fan fiction

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loudlytransparenttrash · 6 years

Text

This Week Within Our Colleges: Part 18

Texas State University student, Rudy Martinez, is doubling down and defending his campus newspaper article ‘Your DNA is an abomination,’ which he argues “white death will be liberation for all,” and tells white people to “accept their death as the first step toward defining themselves as something other than the oppressor.” He goes on to write in his piece, “I hate you because you shouldn’t exist” and “there are only about a dozen white people” he would “consider decent.” He also claims white people have the luxury of always coming home safely and never being nervous when confronted by police officers, hence ‘white privilege.’ Although the article was condemned by the student body president, calling it “blatant racism,” Martinez sees it differently. Citing the left’s dumb, manipulated version of racism which “can only be from a position of power,’ Martinez claims he is proud of his stance against the bad white people.

SIT Graduate Institute have released a paper which encourages educators to promote “racial identity” among minority students to prevent “assimilation into the dominant culture.” The author, Hadiel Mohamed, says she “aims to answer how educators can incorporate ethnic/racial identity development in the classroom for youth of color who are driven to pursue whiteness.” “Our education system has been used as an oppressive tool for people of color.” Mohamed contends. “We see the preservation of whiteness through immigration laws. There has been a deliberate attempt at preserving the white race within the United States by racializing our borders.” She worries her fellow POC will “adapt, conform and assimilate to whiteness" and become just as complicit in all of this oppression. To avoid this, she encourages educators to help them become hyper aware of their own racial identity and develop a sense of ethnic pride early enough in the classroom before they can “conceptualize the ways expected to assimilate within white society.” How does she plan to teach these kids to be proud of their ethnicity and refuse whiteness? Lessons on the “injustices enacted upon people of color,” of course!

A University of Colorado, Denver administrator worries that white children may “forfeit their humanity” if they aren’t raised by sufficiently woke parents. She argues that parents should employ “critical race parenting” to prevent white children from committing “racial microaggressions” against their peers. She goes on to suggest that white people are “constantly wielding racial microaggressions,” and that over time these microaggressions can cause “racial battle fatigue,” noting that children of color are especially susceptible to this horror. White children, on the other hand, are especially prone to committing racial microaggressions because they “learn a complicated dance of whiteness” that teaches them not only to “maintain and defend whiteness,” but to do so while claiming to be “colorblind.” “When they learn to love their whiteness, their souls waste away as they are quietly tearing themselves from humanity and real love,” she writes. “Can we instead begin at the core with our white children and work to ward off white identity and whiteness before they succumb and forfeit their humanity in order to join the oppressor?”

University of Wisconsin-Madison is once again offering their charming course, ‘Problem of Whiteness.’ The African Cultural Studies course seeks to teach students to “understand how whiteness is constructed and experienced in order to dismantle white supremacy,” according to the online description. The professor teaching this course just so happens to be a white guy, and says it’s important to explore whiteness because “the problem of racism is the problem of whites being racist towards blacks.”

The same professor also chaired a panel discussion with the same name as his course, ‘Problem of Whiteness,’ which involved another white professor from the Florida Atlantic University, who encouraged the scholars in the audience to spend more time listening to their white, male conservative students. He goes on to argue the reason professors need to be more open-minded towards them isn’t because it’s the fair and right thing to do, but because if they don’t, it will lead these young white men to become anti-feminist and white nationalists which then leads to “the radical militarization of white men that we’ve seen time and time again, all too recently materialize in mass shootings.” The professor goes on to explain how discussions on whiteness “lets white students come to grips with their racist inheritance” and “allows students of color to talk about alternatives to a white supremacist society.”

University of Michigan held a two-day training session that aimed to encourage white employees to deal with their “whiteness” so they could become better equipped to fight for social justice causes. Participants who took part in the “Conversations on Whiteness” session were taught to “unpack their whiteness” in order for them to “recognize the difficulties they face when talking about social justice issues related to their white identity, explore this discomfort, and devise ways to work through it.”

Two New England professors have urged their colleagues to cultivate a “space free from microaggressions” by adopting a “social justice agenda” in class. Their first recommendation for professors involves requiring students to wear “name cards with gender pronouns” to avoid instant microaggressions on the first day. Their second brilliant idea is to quickly stop any conversation from turning into a debate as that allows “one student to be wrong and one to be right,” and that’s a microaggression. “Dialogue, not debate,” you see? To prevent conversation from turning into a debate, the professors suggest asking the individual pressing the other to “move out” of the discussion, which is a disabled-friendly way of saying “step out,” avoiding another microaggression, you see! They conclude by expressing hope that their recommendations will help to create an “anti-oppressive arena for learning,” declaring social justice essential to education.

University of Southern Indiana is the latest school to embrace the left’s tragically regressive push for us to go back in time and see nothing but a person’s skin color when we look at them. Students are being encouraged to “reject colorblindness,” as it’s today racist and microaggressive against racial minorities when white people say, “I don’t see color when I look at people.” A “good ally” instead identifies and “acknowledges the oppressed and disadvantaged group to which the person belongs,” and then behave accordingly around them in order to “reduce their own complicity or collusion in the oppression” of that group.

San Diego State University held a bizarre workshop which certain students were required to attend as part of their class. Organizers described the experience as “shocking” and “disturbing” but it’s all to help the students “step outside their comfort zone and into the shoes of those who are struggling with oppressive circumstances.” Students were walked through a darkened room where they were met by campus leaders acting out a series of horror scenarios non-white people supposedly find themselves in every day. The students were screamed at and told to face the wall before listing a bunch of minorities “they” have gone after. They were then confronted with “ICE agents” breaking into a home and stealing family members, while another scene acted out Nazis. The performance then showed a girl “having a problem” with her new roommate because she’s “a little too foreign.” The students were then taken into a room and debriefed by professors about how these totally realistic plays made them feel and what they should change about themselves to better combat this oppression. “It is our sincere hope that by exposing students to the oppressive systems in society they’ll take a look at how we all participate in these systems and hopefully commit to changing oppressive patterns and behaviors,” the professor says.

Reed College finance office was shut down for three days after a group of students from the ‘Reedies Against Racism’ group forced their way in and refused to leave, blocking the employees and harassing them with demands. They ordered the school to sever its ties with a bank whom they claim is funding the “mass incarceration of POC.” During planning for the protest, white members of the group were designated jobs listed on the ‘Whitey Tasks” which "did not require POC approval,” such as printing labels and carrying objects, while POC in charge dealt with the more serious stuff. The same group have also protested against the school’s Western Civilization course, demanding for it to be “reformed” and taught through the lens of oppression.

Two University of Northern Iowa professors have blasted the prevalence of "white civility" in college classrooms, saying that civil behavior reinforces "white racial power." This civility can reinforce white privilege, the professors argue, and it can even “reproduce white racial power.” To prove their point, they interviewed ten white students and asked them what civil behavior means to them. Those who mentioned “treating everyone equally" were accused of erasing the identity of POC and reinforcing whiteness. The students also became guilty of white privilege if they admitted they spoke to students of color nicely and politely when discussing race. To fight this, the professors suggest that college professors intervene, saying “it is important instructors ensure their classrooms are spaces that challenge, rather than perpetuate, whiteness and white civility.”

University of Rhode Island professors have come up with a way of helping the school’s non-white students deal with all the “racial microaggressions” they’re confronted with daily on campus. Professor Annemarie Vaccaro, the same person who came up with the term “invisibility microagressions” - which is when a ‘person of color’ “feels invisible” around white people - explains the only way these poor, victimized bastards can cope with all of this microaggression is to provide them with extensive therapy and counseling. Providing therapy to a bunch of people who have been misled into believing every slight and moment of discomfort is a coordinated attack against them? Instead of just reminding them they’re perfectly free and capable adults who are in control of their own damn lives? Sounds a lot like feminism.

University of Wisconsin-Madison social justice student group were outraged to discover the school’s football team and band spent a night in a Trump hotel during their Orange Bowl appearance. The group released a statement stating they are “disappointed” and “concerned” with this “massive violation.” “College football makes its profits off the work and talents of people of color. It is absolutely disgusting the very same people of color are being rewarded with a stay in accommodation owned by a man who is one of the biggest oppressors of people of color in this country.” They then go on to accuse Trump of more racism, “questionable working conditions” and “human rights violations” and demand the school to never stay at a Trump hotel EVER again. There’s only one problem - the retards didn’t realize Orange Bowl’s contract with the Trump hotel was set four years ago, and according to Orange Bowl vice president, the hotel not only meets their standards and requirements but exceeds them.

Professors in New York have united to sign a letter calling for New York City to remove monuments of Theodore Roosevelt and Christopher Columbus, saying the statues of the historical figures represent “white supremacy.” “For too long, they have generated harm and offense as expressions of white supremacy,” the professors say in their petition to the mayor and city commissioners. “The monuments are a stark embodiment of white supremacy, and are an especial source of hurt to black and indigenous people among them.” They go on to call for a “bold statement” to be made in removing the statues, declaring such a move would show the world that “racism won’t be celebrated in New York City.”

Ohio State held an event named “Managing the Trauma of Race,” which aimed to teach black students strategies for “self care and activism” and how to “mitigate the trauma the African American community faces from individual, systemic and institutional racism.” The school’s Multicultural Center website states that black Americans are “bombarded” with racism and that it “leads individuals to experience trauma on a daily basis.” What’s traumatizing here is teaching young Americans everything in life is either racist or microaggressive and their lives are a predetermined dead-end designed by white people.

The University of Washington professor who invented the concept 'white fragility’ has quit her job to travel the country giving seminars on ‘white fragility.’ These seminars begin with Robin DiAngelo, who just so happens to be a white woman, telling the white people in the audience to stand and walk on stage. The white people are then required to read from a projection screen, each taking turns admitting their sins, such as “internalized superiority” and “racial privilege.” When they’re finished reading, DiAngelo tells the audience to “not clap” for the white people as they return to their seats. Question-and-answer sessions are also permitted from her seminars - I’m not surprised.

UC Santa Barbara is currently dealing with one helluva internal catfight. An employee popular with trans student activists was dismissed from her position in the school’s Sexual and Gender Diversity center. What was the response from the students? Angry protests and accusations of the Sexual and Gender Diversity center “perpetuating violence against queer, transgender people and marginalized communities” and “perpetuating the systems of white supremacy,” of course! The activist students listed a set of demands during their protests, which included a new building for the center, a doubling of the center’s program budget and extra funding for the school’s queer and trans health advocate. Along with a “trans taskforce advocacy coordinator” (whatever the hell that is) they also demanded for the employee to be reinstated while demanding the center’s director and assistant dean to resign. What was the administration’s response? Heartfelt apologies and total compliance to the demands, of course!

Cal State San Marcos held an event called “Whiteness Forum,” detailing the many different ways in which “whiteness” in America oppresses people of color and society. Guests were welcomed with a large banner reading the “Whiteness Forum is about reflecting on white privilege and racism.” Several anti-Trump displays were also set up around the room. The forum kicked off with some slam poetry performed by students in the “Communication of Whiteness” class who took the opportunity to express their frustration with whiteness. One of the performers, a black female student, called Africa “the greatest country in the world” and went on to claim, “On a daily basis I am seen as a threat, but you get a pass because you’re white.” Another student offered similar sentiments in their “poetry”: “Whiteness thrives on the hate of everyone. Every day is a day to challenge whiteness.” After the performances, the professor in charge of the event encouraged the crowd to interact with her students and learn about the “white supremacy” in all its forms embedded across the country.

Evergreen State College has a new section in its student newspaper dedicated strictly to non-white students in an effort to provide a “place where POC can be us without it being overshadowed by the dark cloud that is living under white supremacy.” They gave an inspiring introduction, encouraging only POC who are united by fear of Nazis and police to get on board with submissions, before footnoting the popular, “Dear white people“ routine, explaining how having a problem with the bizarre concept of white fragility is actually evidence of white fragility, and how embarrassing it is when white people say “we need to view people through a color-blind lens.”

University of Minnesota community members were handed a memo from their Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action to warn against creating a hostile environment for students who could be offended by the joy of Christmas - I think we all know who they’re talking about here. Items the document describes as “not appropriate,” include bows, bells, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, wrapped gifts, the star of Bethlehem, angels and doves. Also included were decorations in red and green or blue and white themed colors. State University of New York, Brockport issued similar guidances, banning “culturally sensitive holiday decorations.” Life University sponsored a decorating contest, but the decorations were ordered to be “inclusive to other cultures and religions.” University of California, Irvine encouraged everyone to celebrate the winter season rather than the Christmas holiday itself while. Many other institutions omitted the word “Christmas.” University of Alabama’s student newspaper accused Trump of being a Christian bigot for returning a nativity scene to the White House.

#college

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the-nysh · 5 years

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I find myself unable to think of Bakugou in any way more positive than "dislike", because he reminds me too much of the people who made my life miserable when I was growing up. (Not that it makes him bad; it's just my emotions.) Do you've any advice on how to bend my mind around that? I don't need to LOVE him, just mentally separate "him" and "the people who make grade school suck for me" so I won't irrationally hate him, because I don't LIKE hating characters.

Hi there! I’m glad to see you come forward, especially tosomeone who’s a big fan of him, after happening to see how far you’veventured through my tags already (whoa dedication!) to seek possible answers or further clarity about this,especially if it’s something that’s still bothering you, oraffecting/preventing you from fully enjoying the series. Because of that, I cantell how serious and genuine you feel about this, so I will take this seriouslyas well.

(Below, 1800+ words)

Another thing is that it’s okay to feel this way, your personal experiences are still valid,and there’s no obligation to force your feelings otherwise, or subject yourselfto content that may be uncomfortable for you. Please continue to take all theprecautions needed (blocking/blacklisting) for an enjoyable and productivefandom experience. But understanding that even if the characters may havecoincidental similarities to our pasts, they are not direct projections of us, the people in our lives, or our realities.Their world is not ours. So this awareness is another good step to have, tobegin seeing the story (and characters) more openly, objectively and closer tohow Hori originally intended.

Since you’re willing to learn more, and as you may have already seenfrom my content here, Bakugou (Kacchan)became my definitive fav character of the series, but not for thoselingering resentments mentioned. The compelling character I see is so much morebeyond that first ch’s established baseline, which was narratively placed and designedto contrast against who he becomes later on. As a means to gauge and appreciatehis growth and the journey of how far he’s changed into becoming a proper,well-rounded, better person and inspirationalhero. The kind of emotional narrativefocus that always gains my interest and priority to see develop. Already, theperson he is now at 215+ chs is not the same as who he was at ch1 (neither ishe the flanderized, fanon stereotype many have been misled or indoctrinated tofirmly believe he is), and he will keepon developing as the story marches on. I am fully on board to witness thathappen.

The challenge now, is not letting his initial baseline impression(or the feelings from your own separate –but equally valid– experiences, oreven the vitriol from others) stain or cloud that entire slow-burn progressionof the story going forward. Otherwise the important milestones and insightsinto his character that Hori leaves along the way (which can sometimes bedifficult to see from Deku’s limited pov) end up getting obscured, ignored, oroutright rejected from an internalized feeling of ‘hatred’ that tends to blockout anything newly introduced that would challenge that preconceived perceptionof him. However, to mentally reject such change and prevent the valuedimprovement of a growing person (a learning child in his formative years, forinstance), to otherwise keep the status quo static and unmoving, to permanentlystay rooted exactly the same way as thestart…would in fact be a much more toxic/harmful mindset to have, and actuallydefeats the purpose of telling a proper story as well.

Setbacks to that challenge unfortunately include thewidespread availability of biased mistranslations (even from official sources),poor/oversimplified characterizations from non-canon content(movies/novels/merch, etc) that’s not written directly by Hori, because all thesethings just reinforce and exacerbate the problem of inflating fanon stereotypesand those preconceived notions that people have already solidified in theirminds as true (when they often aren’t). It gets even worse, and ironicallyhypocritical, when those same people start feeling justified they can go out oftheir way to attack others (includingthe author) for how to ‘properly’ enjoy and interpret the series (for beingdifferent or ‘incorrect’ from the perceptions they believe to be right). Butwhat’s happened is they’ve begun to blindly act on feelings multiple levels sofar removed from what actually is (whatexists as presented within canon, vs what they believe in fanon, vs what exists separately that may beplaguing these people’s real lives), that by then, that kind of maladjustedsocial behavior is inexcusable. Stepping back and realizing when things start crossinglines irrationally out of hand, to prevent that kind of behavior from happeningin the first place, (and again, by taking measures to block/blacklist stuff thataggravates or makes you feel uncomfortable), is the much wiser approach toparticipating and enjoying fandom. So that no matter what happens or what otherssay, they can’t impact or ruin what you love about the series.

Which in my case, includes Kacchan’s character. Basedon what Hori has consistently presented in canon, I can conclude and freely admithe’s the only character I can fully trust. Amazing, right? Because he hasabsolutely nothing to hide. Everything he does (not through his harshwords/temperament, but through his genuine actions),is extremely forthright and honest. He does not half-ass things or hide anyother ulterior motives or malicious intent beyond his dedication to become the best hero. And he takes that goal very seriously. Striving for and expectingexcellence from himself (and all themental pressure that self-imposed perfectionism brings) and others. Currently in the manga that includes Deku now too, whomhe willingly goads (showing support in his own way) and checks in on for hisprogress too.

Remember his fights in the sports tournament, how he takesall challengers with equal commitment/opportunity (gender does not matter),provided they give him their best inturn as well, because to do otherwise –to go easy on them or hold back– wouldbe disrespectful and underestimating an opponent. There’s a very just and admirablehonor in that. Remember how he can’tstand anyone looking down on him, which includes how he misinterpreted Deku’sfeelings of admiration for disdain(he could not accurately read Deku’s intentions, and became so perplexed by himthat he assumed the worst: that Deku looked down on him instead). Considering the level of seriousness and effort he alwaysputs forth, to be confronted with the opposite would be personally insulting.

Remember when the villains invited him to join their ranks(because they misread and shallowly judged his character), he stuck to his idealsand outright refused their offer.(Boldly exploding villains in the face~) Risking death over playing it safe andlying to pretend to follow along totheir whims. (How brave and badass is that?!) Kacchan does not lie, cheat theeasy way out, or do things he’s not feeling or doesn’t agree with. Again, honesty. Becoming a villain, a traitor,or betraying those who’ve earned his trust? Absolutely no chance. Afterlearning AM’s secret and finally understanding/rectifying everything that didn’tadd up about Deku, would he go behind their backs by breaking promises? No way.Again, most trustworthy character.

Rereading the story a second time over, but from his perspective, practically doubled myappreciation and enjoyment of the series. Thinking about how the foundations oftheir society impacted his world views at such a young age, to the very betrayal he must have felt thinking achildhood friend lied to him aboutsomething as important/vital as a quirk. (And if we already know how he feelsabout cheating liars…hmm, faithful loyaltynow feels like a valued trait.) Other factors include his relatable giftedchild syndrome, all the complexes born from that, and for how extremely intelligent,competent, and much more calmly calculating he is than his short temper may lead one to believe. How he was oncea ‘big fish in a small pond’, now thrust into the ocean to compete among evenother bigger fish, with the pressure to both succeed and prove himself…all whilehis previous world views are checked and challenged every step of the way.

For years he’d been valued and praised for only the promisingpotential and primary trait of his strong quirk. (The reinforcement for his badbehavior on the other hand? Not valued with the same proper attention.) Alreadythat’s an unfortunate consequence of their quirk-filled, hero-commodified society. Think of justhow shallow/fake groupies would be, or how annoying and hollow it would feel tohave people cling to him just for that (for talent and skills over his meritsas a person), and just how difficult forming genuine, natural bonds would be… (Becomingself-reliant now becomes another added pressure he has to juggle on his own.) Beforequirks had ever entered the picture and complicated things further, Deku was probablyconsidered the closest friend he had. Until…misunderstandings happened, andthen the only thing he wanted was for Deku to stay away from him. (A misconception is that Kacchan actively soughtDeku out, when it’s actually the opposite: Kacchan only reacted if Dekuencroached on him too closely.) Because he feared how Deku made him feel,forcing him to face his own shortcomings, and address perceptions of reality hedid not want to face. Because for someone he perceived as the weakest, to boldly goagainst that and do what Deku did (help him out of concern/kindness, but thatintent only read as pitying to him),made him feel even below that. And what’slower than the low of the weakest/most useless? Pretty ouch, so stop followingand stay back. Yet Deku just kept on coming back no matter what, for reasons hecouldn’t yet understand. (Deku felt genuine care and admiration for him, whichKacchan hadn’t realized, so gah, dramatic irony.) His changing feelings, correctinghis attitude, and clarifying his relationship to Deku, who continually challengesand defies his very worldview and perception of weakness, brings a whole otherfascinating draw to the series, which would take a whole other essay to fully analyze(but which many other fans have thoroughly done so already).

Further considerations include his struggles facing other relatablefeelings. How he confronts the pain and weight of experiencing loss, survivor’sguilt, and assessing powerlessness and the inability to save situations beyondhis control. Internalizing self-doubt, hatred, failure, and inferiority…because‘if only he were stronger.’ What Isee is a child overburdened by expectations and responsibilities beyond hisyears…who has to learn to process and overcome many of those same feelings I’vealready gone through and had to come to terms with growing up. (The very reasonhe’s often and endearingly referred to as a ‘son.’) The majority of adults inhis life assumed he was already ‘strong enough’ and ‘fine’ on his own, theyneglected to give him proper mental guidance going forward (AM even admitsthis). And we unfortunately see the tragic consequences of that. But fortunately,things are getting better, and Hori’s story for him still isn’t over yet.

Overall, what I see is the chance for an excellent,multi-layered, and well-written character to become even better. And that’s why his narrative is so particularly engaging. Doeshe remind me of the kids that once made certain social aspects of grade schoolinsufferable? No, because that’s not who he is; he’s so far removed and beyond them, that they’ve become extras whono longer matter anymore. Instead of lingering on such negatives, it’s insteadthe positive aspects about him that shine through even stronger. The fact heisn’t perfect, but deeply flawed and learning to address his shortcomings in nowmore productive ways. This progression and growth makes him interesting, and combinedwith the many other traits I’ve mentioned above, favored and loved bymany. Although ultimately I can’t change your opinion about him (that’s stillup to you to decide, and it’s ok to still dislike characters), hopefully I’veintroduced new ways of perceiving and appreciating his character for you. Tohelp see some of the positives that Deku always valued in him as a drivingsource of inspiration too: to strive hard despite life’s setbacks, and win. ‘He may be a jerk, but he’s amazing.’

#pomrania #replies #bnha #kacchan #meta #manga spoilers #long post #speaking from the perspective of him as my fav #hopefully this sheds some new light #(and i think i covered everything i wanted to say)#this is also why i mentioned before that the message of mp100’s mogami arc is important #and what i mean when i say minori’s ‘imcomparable levels of cruelty’#because kacchan is definitely not that #but the ability to change; grow; and forgive even the worst of who people used to be #is multitudes more valuable; stronger; and daresay heroic #than regressing into a hateful vestige of a non-functioning human like mogami #that kind of message still rings true here #the fact deku still cares despite seeing the worst from him is testament to how genuine his feelings are for him too #so instead of focusing on the worst...here i explain those cherished positives too

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doomcookie · 4 years

Text

A Unexpected Turn

In a recent survey and news of President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval rating within the COVID pandemic, it was revealed that his approval rating was at 91% a surprisingly high approval rating for the president. The survey was conducted around September 14-20 with only a 5% approval rating. Though one has to ask if this approval rating is really to be believed with his performance on handling the pandemic. For I believe this approval is highly misled.

The way the survey was conducted was through a face to face interview and coming from a random sampling method, as it served as an independent survey at that time. Although one factor that was made unclear as to which places were these surveys conducted as that would serve as an important factor as to why the president got such a high approval rating, for depending on the locations the survey was held, it could’ve housed a house a number of supporters for certain parties. An example of this is Davao where there mostly Duterte supporters or any other place that a certain government official might have more influence towards the people, hence making the locations for this survey a crucial factor within the results of this national survey. Although many would find the random sampling as fair and objective, this factor alone can temper with the results greatly.

One factor towards this approval rating is from when he initiated the long lockdown from March 15 which many of his supporters believed, curved the infection rating within the country. It is also believe that this unusually high approval rating is due to his general performance as the president. Though despite that it is more than often brushed off by his supporters the fact that a huge margin of which why the Philippines is in this situation in the first place is from the poor response made by the president regarding the ban of travel coming from china and even going as far as accepting more “refugees” coming from china back then at January before the travel ban was imposed when the pandemic started getting worst. Another is from when before the enhanced quarantine was issued in March 12, there we little to only small measures to actually prevent the virus from spreading further as it wasn’t taken as seriously as it should’ve been and made leeway for it to widely spread further within the country. Although despite that, it was said in an interview from ANC with Ronnie Holmes towards the matter, that they believe that people attribute the decline of economy towards the pandemic and not from incompetence of the government. Like has also been believed my many that the worsening of the situation involving the pandemic has been blamed solely on the pandemic rather than the inept of the government to handle the matter- which might explain the misled approval rating that was conducted through a random sampling method.

It has also been questioned if social media played an important factor towards the influences of these politicians in the satisfaction survey that was conducted towards certain government leaders and officials like the president, vice president Leni Robredo, House speaker Cayetano and Tito Sotto. Though in the interview from ANC, in terms of their political views, that it was “hard to say if social media made an impact to their performance and their ratings in the national evaluations”.

Another reason as to why the people shouldn’t take this evaluation of the president seriously, is from the mere fact that Duterte keeps making bad decisions into actually helping the country get over the pandemic. In one instance he did encourage the people to wash their face mask in gasoline in a national address. Multiple health officials clarified as to that washing your face mask in gasoline would sanitize it. People taking as a joke, he had again clarified it as him being serious as to they should definitely try washing their face mask in gasoline to reuse and sanitize it. As again medical experts repeatedly took down that claim and had advice the public that it would be unwise to do so for having prolonged contact would be very harmful.

So should we really praise the incompetence of this semi-tyrant leader as he holds high regards in the national satisfaction ratings? I would say not for that would encourage Duterte to continue taking the low road into where he is driving this country to the ground within this crisis.

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