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fightabear · 3 years

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so some time ago, someone asked me to do meta about a scene in Injustice and i wanted to revisit that scene with the scene from Year Zero in mind. and then i ended up getting deeply into injustice damian, his relationship with his two awful dads, and it’s kind of a mini character essay?

so! here’s a warning for: tyrannical totalitariam regimes, child abuse, abusive fathers, emotional manipulation, evil superman, character death & also random he-man. please note that this is entirely about injustice and its characters, which are not a reflection on their mainstream counterparts.

there’s tension between damian and bruce from the get-go in injustice, and we’re never really told why. if we take cues from the game (though that entire scene doesn’t make sense) then it’s because bruce didn’t save jason, which fits in with my reordered robin theory in which tim and jason were switched, and jason has only recently died.

now, we don’t know whether jason is running around as red hood right now or not. but i’m inclined to say he isn’t, as his injustice 2 ending makes a big deal of him becoming red hood. and damian is close with jason in injustice 2, close enough that jason listens when damian tells him that he’s a lot more than bruce thinks he is and drops the shitty batman costume. close enough that during the (extremely weird, extremely out of alignment with the comic) scene in injustice 2 where damian betrays bruce for clark, jason is the name damian throws at him with the most vehemence. regardless of the robin ordeer, bruce’s failure to save jason is seems to be an incredibly sore point between them.

so it’s interesting that bruce is already counting damian out before injustice even starts. he’s comparing damian to jason - someone who he apparently no longer considers part of his legacy.

the kicker is: damian in injustice is actually probably the most morally centered version of himself. he shows open compassion and care for other people more often than he does in most of the mainstream runs. damian’s sense of right and wrong is solid, but what he wants is to break the cycle that gotham is trapped in. which from his perspective, is something bruce doesn’t seem to want to do.

injustice’s version of bruce is someone who truly believes that the ends justify the means - which means he’s apt to do some heinous things to people until they see his side of things. he seems to view people questioning as an act of betrayal, so instead of ever explaining himself he resorts to things like installing viruses in cyborg, kidnapping hawkgirl and replacing her, beating allies within an inch of their life - all of it is fine to him so long as they’re not dead.

but it’s not fine to damian. damian is constantly horrified at the lengths bruce will go to.

damian is afraid of his father.

so, this is about a specific scene. let’s get to that scene. its just important to note the difference between them, and emphasize that he’s not going with any intent to fight. if he was going to do that, he wouldn’t be doing this:

or respond like this:

or this:

he’s there to make amends, or at least try to. he still loves his father and he wants to be forgiven, and this is something that will carry on ten years later in injustice 2. damian made the choice to oppose bruce’s controlling nature but damian didn’t choose to abandon him and the bat family permanently. that choice was made for him. damian wants to come home.

and he’s terrified of his father. i cannot stress that enough. bruce at this point has already shown that he knows how to hurt his closest friends if they oppose him.

damian is a highly trained fighter, but he’s also a thirteen year old boy who knows he can’t overpower a man twice his size and weight.

and bruce?

bruce’s entire argument really hinges on ‘you, my thirteen year old son, didn’t take my side in this argument’. because, i have to put this in bold, the league was not executing the criminals they were removing from arkham. they were just transferring them to a more secure facility. something which is actually sorely needed, especially given what has just happened to metropolis. arkham isn’t fit to house them. and as far as damian sees it, bruce doesn’t like it because it’s removing an element of his control.

now, bruce isn’t wrong about how things will escalate.

but damian’s not wrong about his motivation here. i think there’s a conversation to be had about how bruce’s methods in trying to stop the regime actually drove it to further and further extremes. bruce never tries to talk to clark - or anyone, really. he just starts playing mind games to make them do what he wants.

it harkens back to the conversation bruce and dick have in the batplane. that bruce doesn’t talk to people, he doesn’t explain himself. he’s either right or you’re wrong and he won’t explain his stance. there is never room for debate. he’ll just stop talking and leave until you agree. there is no option where he sits and listens to an open and honest dialogue, no scenario where he entertains that he might be in the wrong or maybe things aren’t black and white.

and that’s why injustice bruce is not a good guy.

even on prime earth, damian had to bend over backwards to prove to bruce that he wasn’t a monster. it was damian who spent months digging through the sewers for martha’s pearls. damian who had to prove he was capable of loving titus. damian who constantly had to show that he was capable of empathy and thinking of others - bruce did none of the heavy lifting in that father-son relationship, he made damian climb the entire hill and still continues to put little effort into it.

and injustice bruce is even less empathetic and expressive than prime bruce.

which is why you get a confrontation like this:

this goes beyond dick’s accident and ties back into what clark said about bruce not tending to his son’s who are grieving because they lost friends in metropolis. damian’s fed up with never meeting bruce’s expectations. but more than that, he’s fed up with his feelings coming second to bruce’s.

bruce has already made a judgement on who and what damian is. damian has the potential to be dangerous and requires work to fix, and so he’s not interested in getting to know him beyond that. he tells dick that he’s “worried about damian being seduced by darkness” but never talks to damian himself with him about it.

but clark has looked at damian and and decided that damian is good. damian has problems, clark can admit that and does, but damian is good. like bruce himself.

and ultimately why when dick dies, clark is the one that reaches out to him because he sees damian for what he is: grieving child who just made a terrible mistake. it was an accident. damian didn’t mean for this to happen. meanwhile, bruce feels as though he was proven right. damian was dangerous and now his real son is dead. bruce will later admit, once he stops trying to manipulate damian, that damian was dead to him the moment dick died.

going back to year zero for a minute, they subtly show that damian is doing his best to be like bruce. baby damian idolizes his father. so i imagine a lot of bruce’s own feelings towards damian stem from self-hatred. from bruce seeing himself in his son and not liking the reflection it forces him to confront. injustice bruce projects a great deal of his own insecurities and shortcomings onto his youngest. damian is his worst what-if.

even though damian doesn’t deal with his grief the way bruce does. there are similarities, he puts his feelings into his fists and hits. just like bruce. but unlike bruce, and most likely because of dick, he does try to communicate. come injustice 2 he even talks about his feelings.

that doesn’t justify any of the violent outbursts. and he has a lot of them. he has significant issues with controlling his anger and struggles with lashing out, verbally and physically. it both worsens and improves as he gets older.

damian knows that he’s more than his grief, his loss, his anger. he’s also compassionate and capable of incredible feats of kindness. we see that in the flashback chapter in injustice 2. people aren’t pawns for damian, they aren’t a means to assuage his own guilt and validate himself as a good person. he wants to be good for those people.

damian’s relationship with heroism isn’t built on an intrinsic need for control or power, nor is it a means of validating his self worth.

people just need him. they’re suffering. and he wants to be there for them.

but again, we’re not there yet.

so, alfred reaches out to touch damian. damian asks him repeatedly to let go. when alfred doesn’t, damian tries throwing him off, not realizing how much strength he now possesses.

damian has a thing about being touched when he’s wound up tightly. it almost always ends with him lashing out at someone. which, tying back into why he felt comfortable coming back here, probably goes into his expectation that he’s going to get the lights knocked out of him. because again, damian did not go to the cave to fight or hurt anyone. the pill is entirely for his own defense.

from what we know of damian’s childhood in both prime and injustice, violence is the expected retaliation for misbehavior. toeing out of line is grounds for getting the shit beaten out of you, and while things should be different here....

from how bruce reacts he’s not wrong to expect it. note that bruce dodesn’t run to alfred to see if he’s okay, he goes after damian for hurting him. it’s damian who runs to alfred after he’s thrown bruce away from him.

( granted, yes, he threw bruce into the penny and it almost crushes alfred )

damian apologizes and he means it. alfred’s first question is to ask for bruce.

“”hawkgirl”” intervenes to try to end this fight before it can escalate further.

damian deduces that this isn’t hawkgirl and blows some stuff up. bruce calls after him probably - not to have a serious heart to heart with him about what just happened, or what happened in arkham, but to try to manipulate him into taking bruce’s side or in the very least stop his ruse from being uncovered.

this is a theme moving forward. bruce will dangle forgiveness in front of damian, but only when it benefits him and can be used to control him. eventually he’ll stop and will use the guilt he knows damian feels to wound him.

and here’s the second theme it introduces: damian is scared shitless of his father. he’s not afraid of bruce’s violence, as after this he charges straight for him time and time again, but he is utterly terrified of the lengths bruce will go to get his way.

this is also where he takes dick’s suit. i think this was his way of telling bruce that he didn’t deserve to use dick’s memory the way he uses his parent’s death - as justification for what he does. this comes up in injustice 2 later down the road, damian will bring up that bruce uses his pain to justify how he brutalizes the people around him. damian does the same thing -- but we also see damian grappling with his conscience about it. he wants to be better. he doesn’t want to be all his violence and loss.

back to the topic at hand, damian doesn’t do anything with dick’s suit. unlike bruce, damian doesn’t wear his grief and guilt in plain sight. he puts it in a box and doesn’t look at it, he covers the wounds with anger and as he gets older, develops a death wish and basically begins seeking a noble death in order to make up for what he’s done. it isn’t until dick passes the mantle to him in an attempt to steer him back on the right path that he even looks at it again.

damian isn’t the one that ended his relationship with bruce. bruce did. damian is very willing to reconcile if bruce genuinely wants it, but bruce doesn’t bother with damian outside of combat or when he needs something. damian actually keeps up visits with alfred, he gets him birthday presents, they meet up often and despite their opposing viewpoints, they get along just fine. damian even listens to what alfred says. he still loves his family.

damian himself is a mess. this line resonates because damian, too, is afraid. afraid of bruce, afraid of being what bruce thinks he is. there’s only so far he can bury it under the anger.

by the next issue of year one, after the confrontation at the manor, damian’s discarded any notion that bruce is a good person or justified in anything he does. everything he says on this page is true.

he’s not wrong. he’s more than bruce has even given him credit for being. injustice bruce sorts people into boxes impossible to climb out. damian made his attempt at reconciliation and instead, found out that bruce has kidnapped and replaced one of his friends to spy on all the rest. in that split second when bruce came at at him, he saw the disgust and anger in his eyes. he’s seen how bruce sees him and wholeheartedly rejects it.

he doesn’t want to be bruce. he will not be bruce.

batman was supposed to be better than the league. it was supposed to be a new way. instead he just found a new, different means to brutalize and control, and a new way someone justifies causing harm. and he doesn’t want it.

this isn’t to say that damian is a saint. he’s a very flawed, very broken person. he went from one abusive parental situation, to another, to another, and has the damage to show for it. he’s got bad habits from all of them, many of which he isn’t aware of or doesn’t think are a problem.

but unlike his two dads, damian doesn’t close himself off to what he’s feeling completely, nor does he decide to rush towards external solutions for his pain. he’s, again, very aware that something is wrong. he doesn’t hold to his convictions the same way bruce or clark do, he questions. he’s deeply unhappy with who he is and what he’s doing.

but damian is seeking answers using a very limited toolset, and there’s a very limited pool of people he can ask that won’t give him a biased answer or try to manipulate him for their own means. one of the people he confides in does just that.

the other gives him the honest truth.

his relationship with selina is fraught and she’s often one of the very nastiest people towards him, but it’s because of that he ends up opening up to her. she isn’t going to bullshit him and just say what he wants to hear.

and this is what makes damian different from them. both of them.

because he stops, because he questions, he’s still connected to reality. to his own humanity.

injustice’s bruce is a bruce that has quietly let his humanity die. he’s completely given over to the cold logic of batman and the idea that whatever he does to the people around him, no matter how morally dubious, is justified so long as it means protecting lives. he might not kill, but he really stops just short of that. he just doubles down on his beliefs and takes anyone who doesn’t agree with him as a traitor. he will go out of his way to rationalize how a largely guilty person is innocent (harleen) and how a largely innocent person is guilty (damian). and so he uses damian’s “betrayal” - ie, damian standing with clark instead of him - as justification for icing him out. that way he can ignore all the people who have reminded him time and time again that it was an accident.

bruce also can’t stand that damian won’t do what he says. bruce will ignore damian unless it benefits him. bruce will go on to frequently weaponize how badly damian wants forgiveness against him. there are multiple instances where he says “just do as i say and i’ll forgive you, son.”

and then in the next breath, he’ll tell damian that he “can’t forgive the deaths”, all the while he has harleen as his new sidekick. it’s fine that harleen helped with the scheme to blow up metropolis, killed jimmy olsen, and countless others. it’s not fine that damian did something he did all the time to dick - something dick himself shrugged off, because the expectation for this behavior was that dick would catch the baton - and it ended in tragedy.

because harleen listens to him and damian doesn’t. bruce cuts damian neatly out of his life and only really cares about him again when he’s a corpse.

damian, meanwhile, never stops trying to earn bruce’s forgiveness. in the canonical bad end (or well a comic offshoot of the canon ending) damian essentially dies begging bruce to forgive him, admitting that he always cared. he launches an absolutely insane rescue mission to save his father from clark’s torture and it costs him his life.

( but it’s worth mentioning - it takes damian showing bruce an image of kara for bruce to acknowledge him. )

even before this, damian was looking out for bruce in other ways. he was the reason selina got involved with the regime. because he offered her the chance to join and save bruce. damian’s anger towards bruce is less that he wants him dead, and more that bruce won’t stop unless he’s killed.

and damian is willing to kill him if bruce poses a threat to his ‘new’ family. he’s not going to watch bruce hurt the people he loves.

but his new father sucks just as much as his old one.

talia and bruce were more obviously abusive parents. they were controlling and sometimes asserted that control and obedience using physical violence and intimidation. in obvious ways you can point to and see abuse.

damian doesn’t recognize clark is using him until he sees clark discard kara, who should be everything to clark and is someone important to damian. before that, he has inklings that they’ve gone too far, but clark has been such a paragon of good that when he tells damian not to worry about it, he doesn’t. he hides all his darkness behind that smile and tells damian he’s good and worthy of people loving him, that they’re saving people and they won’t let another metropolis happen. clark talks to him and still (seems to) accept him even when they disagree.

damian misses clark’s equally as abusive tendencies because they hidden under the guise of a fatherly concern.

clark is manipulating him into divulging more than he wants to. a boundary damian set is being broken without damian even realizing it. damian’s uneasy. his body language goes from very easy and relaxed to overtly uncomfortable and almost submissive. it’s also very subtle but clark actually rises higher off the ground to intimidate and loom over him.

damian, who has only known bruce’s stormy silences in moments of disagreement, doesn’t recognize this for what it is. clark doesn’t take the slight out on him. clark doesn’t stop talking to him because he dared to question.

instead, he loops an arm around damian and praises him, rewards him for being honest and makes it seem like this is an open dialogue and not an interrogation. which it is. i wouldn’t call it gaslighting, but i would call it lovebombing. damian doesn’t realize that there was anything off about the encounter, or if he does, he’ll tell himself he’s just being paranoid.

after all. this ended amicably, not with him standing alone wondering what he did wrong, or being thrown across the room. clark basically stops just shy of ruffling his hair and calling him sport.

he was rewarded for honesty. and so any discomfort he felt was imagined.

i think a thing that a lot of fans miss is that injustice’s damian is a forthright person. he doesn’t lie or deceive much, and later on it will bother him that he’s keeping secrets from kara for ‘the greater good’. he loathes that bruce does it and works hard to not fall into that trap. he wants to be honest. he’s glad when he’s rewarded for that honesty.

because injustice’s damian doesn’t want to be batman. he wants to be superman. he wants to be good.

but injustice’s superman is not a good man.

clark keep secrets, many terrible secrets, and often hurts people and justifies it to himself. he just hides it far better than bruce does. clark is even more controlling and cruel, but he leans harder into his humanity and emotions to hide it. it’s easier to see bruce being cold and calculating and miss the way clark subtly uses what you want to get what he wants out of you. and you never really see it coming when he lashes out. he’ll apologize for it, of course, and if you’re not dead you’ll forgive him, because it’s clark. he didn’t mean it. right?

bruce manipulates overtly and grandly using intimidation, clark manipulates subtly using emotion. damian only recognizes one of these things when they happen.

so clark gives damian what he wants - a parent who loves him, someone he can talk to and even show a little vulnerability with - and then uses that against him.

the worst thing - the very worst thing - is that bruce and clark love damian. he knows this. both seem to genuinely consider him their son. and he knows this.

in injustice vs motu, bruce snaps fully into awareness just as diana snaps damian’s neck. he’s awake just in time to watch his son die. and when clark is brought onto the scene, clark falls to his knees and mourns damian and laments his role in driving him to this.

but they weaponize this parent-child bond he wants against him and each other. frankly, neither of them were very interested in him for who he was. nor for helping him be better and master his anger. damian’s body isn’t even cold before bruce uses it against clark, failing to acknowledge his own part in damian’s all too early demise.

he’s another chess piece on their board. one clark can use to wound bruce. one bruce can use to wound clark.

the person damian is when away from both of their influence is a more complete damian. he’s the very best of both of them.

the damian here is still curt and sometimes rude, but he laughs and bonds with the people around him. he values people’s freedom and seems to strive for honesty and communication. meaning no one is in his war to reclaim the world doesn’t want to be, and he makes no move without everyone knowing.

when he recruits adam, he tells them their story and what they’ve gone through and gives adam the choice to join them or stay in eternia.

anyway, all of this is to say that even all these years later, i continue to be so sad about injustice damian wayne.

edit:

now, there’s actually one other thing i want to bring up because i totally forgot about it.

so. issue 8 of injustice 2.

if we’re going with the idea of the reordered robin theory, which is what makes the most sense to me considering jason’s age and the friction between bruce and damian, this before jason dies. and if i’m wrong and the robins don’t have a different order, then this is before some enormous event that broke the slowly building trust.

there’s none of the undercurrent of hostility and distrust that shows up in year 0, which is immediately before year 1. we’re not given a timeframe for when this occurs, either, it’s just happier times.

but what’s really hard to ignore is that the dynamic between bruce and damian is completely different here. maybe tom taylor’s just settled more into writing the two of them, but i don’t think so. year zero comes after this.

he even acknowledges damian’s anger earlier in the chapter. but it’s less of a condemnation of his character and more a concern that he might not be ready to be on his own. alfred is the one advocating for caution, asking if he’s ready, bruce is the one saying yes, he is.

it’s a complete reversal.

and his trust is rewarded with a night of damian abandoning the “”mission”” he was given (get home from the furthest point of gotham in three hours) to help everyone along the way. which was the real goal all along, it was a test to see if damian’s compassion would win out over his want to win. and it does. bruce is proud of him.

so... what happened between them? what caused that shift?

i’m kind of worried we’re never going to know. like, i’m so glad that tom taylor is dc’s new golden boy and they’re just letting him build a million different aus. i buy every book he writes.

but also i’m dying because IJ2 was clearly planned to go on a lot longer than it did and i have questions that i know netherrealm doesn’t care about answering.

#damian wayne #injustice #bruce wayne #dick grayson #alfred pennyworth #jason todd #clark kent

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ecoamerica · 23 days

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multicolouredbeanbag · 4 years

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pt 3 sorting characters into hogwarts houses

Part 1 Part 2

Tl;dr: April Stevens is a Hufflepuff who projects Slytherin; at her core she is a loyalist and she values community, even though her definition of a community has become GREATLY limited due to… reasons.

so here’s the thing. April looks like a Slytherin. She talks like a Slytherin. She walks like a Slytherin. But I don’t think she actually IS a Slytherin.

Today I defend the idea that April Stevens is actually a Hufflepuff (primary, ie. her motivations/values) and a Ravenclaw secondary (methods/tactics). I absolutely love this character even tho she is a lil mean, and I think that viewing her through this framework does justice to her complexities/core of who she is.

I mention the primary/secondary sorting hats system in Part 1 so feel free to google that or read my other analyses first.

Spoilers below:

Let’s talk about April’s secondary first, which addresses the HOW of person. How they approach situations, how they problem solve.

HP canon often posits Ravenclaws as the “intelligent” character, and while April IS very smart, that’s not why I consider her a Ravenclaw.

April is a HUGE planner and collector of information. She likes to be prepared because it gives her control over a situation. She’s an excellent strategizer. She’s less comfortable with improvising without having some tools/contingency plans to draw from, so when she’s stressed, she has a tendency to fall back on the tools that she’s brought with her (in contrast to Sterling, who absolutely thrives in improvisation)

My first example is the debate tournament - as team captain, she’s in it to win it. Her strategy of choice is to prepare detailed dossiers on all the other team captains. This works well enough for her, until opponent debater Craig pulls a move she couldn’t anticipate (using his own research against her), and she falls to pieces. Still, she takes some time, gathers herself again, and pressures Sterling to use the dossier on Craig to take him down (contingency plan).

Other examples:

Asked Sterling to debate her when deciding whether to come out or not - girl RUNS on logic

April’s approach to school is very organized/planning based, she’s also kind of a major nerd OBVIOUSLY, so this is a more conventional representation of her Ravenclaw-ness

S1E1, she snatches the condom wrapper but retreats with the information probably for processing purposes. She makes a plan - use threat of exposure to blackmail Sterling into giving her the fellowship position, and doesn’t deviate from it, even when the plan fails. Sterling has to save her from that situation ultimately.

This is a little more vague, but I’m thinking about how April comes off as a rigid, somewhat inflexible character. She’s not very easily persuaded to change her behavior (this, of course, makes so much sense! When you think about being gay in the south like? Her reluctance to come out is completely understandable) which contrasts very severely against Sterling’s expressive fluidity. April is a lot more static, and part of that is because it’s difficult for her to thrive when it’s an area that she hasn’t had the opportunity to prepare/plan/study.

Now for the much more interesting and complicated part, April’s PRIMARY.

Again, the Primary is all about WHY someone does something. Their motivations and values. I argue that April Stevens is a true Hufflepuff because she places utmost importance on community.

The HP canon defining qualities of being Hufflepuff are patience and loyalty. It’s the fair and inclusive house. However, it would be reductive to suggest that all Hufflepuffs are friendly, warm individuals. They are bonded together not by their shared amity, but by their value of people and groups—community.

April’s “community” on the show is unfortunately tied to her family and the Christian community. She fears not belonging (bc homophobia) so she overcompensates by conforming aggressively (see, Straight-Straight alliance S1E1).

The episode that really sold this analysis for me was S1E7, when April and Sterling had a number of conversations about April’s dad.

April: “My dad used to call my family a team. And I worked so hard to be the very best version of myself because Team Stevens wins. Teams Stevens is perfect, except that it’s not.”

With these words, we get some insight into why she’s so intense and high-achieving and obsessive all the time. It’s not so much because she wants to win for herself, it’s more the fact that she’s part of a team. She does her part for the team by excelling everywhere she thinks it counts, and of course her underlying gayness contributes to her NEED to be perfect. In practice, it comes off as personal ambition, which is why April seems, at least on the surface, pretty slytherin-y. In reality, it must be more about compensating for something she feels she lacks. Team Stevens can’t be perfect if they’re ostracized by the community due to their (only?) child being gay, so of course she has to keep it to herself, and she has to be the best on all other counts so no one can ever touch them.

Another example, S1E6, at the tournament April says, “You know what’s going on with my family right now; we have become the black sheep of the entire community. I needed a win!” She projects her personal problems onto external academic goals.

This framework of achievement as a prerequisite of community, flawed as it is, seemed to be working for her, at least up until her dad was arrested for attacking a prostitute. In a conversation with Sterl, back when April was trying to steal the fellowship title:

S: Why are you doing this? Is it because of what’s going on with your family?

A: What John did is his problem.

S: He’s still your dad.

A: I don’t care. He beat up a prostitute! I’m not a fan of sex workers but they deserve to be safe!

She obviously feels confused and hurt that her dad lied to her and was violent to women, which is something she cannot stand. For a while, she drops her father like a hot potato, throwing away his letters from jail and ignoring his calls. Hufflepuffs value people—fair is fair.

But she kind of still supports him at the end anyway, when he comes home (s1E10). She must be feeling so conflicted when this happens. Dad is a part of family (established community) therefore she has to support him. Dad possibly hurt someone, but then he did get cleared of his charges. April is essentially making a choice between Dad and Sterling, established community vs. possible (in fact PROBABLE) community alienation.

Hufflepuff and Slytherins are both loyalists because they both care about people—Hufflepuff because they’re people, Slytherin because they’re THEIR people. For all intents and purposes, by S1E10, Sterling is one of April’s “people.” So how does April choose? She goes with the established community, which is really to say she chooses culture and tradition.

April has spent her entire life locking away a significant part of herself for the sake of her family and more generally, her religious community. In S1E8/S1E9, April is almost convinced to come out—FOR Sterling. She probably would have gone through with it were it not for her dad showing up the next episode. April obviously has (justified) reservations about coming out because it’s honestly pretty dangerous to be out in the south, and these circumstances haven’t changed just because she found a girl that she likes. But she is reluctantly on board because Sterling would have been there to take the leap with her… at this point, April had expanded her definition of community to include Sterling, and for a moment Sterling’s optimism had broken past April’s defenses. Then her dad comes back, and April realizes that she has to make a choice even though this choice hurts them both terribly—Sterling is after all, one person, and what is one person in the face of boundless historical tradition and family values?

Hufflepuff morality tends to be influenced by external inputs, while Slytherin morality tends to come from the internal, the gut. Hufflepuffs can and will ignore their internal feelings when they contradict with the needs of the community. Slytherins are less easily swayed by external influences if they are sure they are right.

April has shrunk down her loyalties to a more manageable level (truly, a very LIMITED circle), but still prioritizes fairness and loyalty and of course, second chances. It’s partly why she’s open to reconnecting with her father. Maintaining these loyalties comes at the cost of her relationship with Sterling, but this is something April is willing to do: self-sacrifice for (greater) community.

Just to take a step back, April and Sterling’s relationship back in 5th grade is just… fascinating. In S1E6, we find out that April’s whole grudge against Sterling comes from when Sterling “gave her away” to another group at recess. An odd event that they both remember differently, and who can say what really happened? All we know is that April’s animosity comes from this perceived slight— the abandonment by someone she once trusted and considered part of her community. It’s very telling that their rivalry stems from this particular moment, the fracturing of a loyalty, as opposed anything else.

April: “the past is the past, we’re all adults here” but alsooo April, >:’(

Another example: at the tournament, when April is trying to convince Sterling to use the dirt on Craig to secure their win.

S: I don’t know if I can stoop that low.

A: He did it to me!

April’s first instinct was a quid pro quo, you attack me, my group will attack you. Which is why she is so offended that Sterling refuses to take the shot, because in April’s mind, it’s only fair. This exchange supports the idea that April considers community first, ambition second.

I like to think that April hides her vulnerable side, her honest hopes and dreams, behind her external perfectionism and ambition. I like to think that she cares a lot, that she’s a prickly, distrustful, kind of Hufflepuff who craves validation because she thinks it’s a substitute for connection. And I would like to see her find that type of community, that she and EVERYBODY deserves: love that doesn’t contain (in her words) “a post condition that we follow their rules for love.”

#teenage bounty hunters #tbh #april stevens #sterling wesley #stepril #devon hales #character analysis #hp houses #ok but if the tbh characters actually did go to hogwarts april would HUNDO P be in slytherin #it's alllll about the choice #gotta live up to the clearly elite pureblood upbringing that she would have #an abrasive intense gal trying her best #I LOVE APRIL STEVENS and devon if ur reading this? love u too #y'all i'm not religious but is it obvious who I project onto?#if u read the tags #thank u

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batricide · 3 years

Text

i’ll drop this on my blog here too actually bc it’s Important to how i play damian and also let me yell about the fact that ij’s bruce is not a good person and the reason why so many people hate damian is because they somehow miss that.

so! here’s a warning for: tyrannical totalitarian regimes, child abuse, abusive fathers, emotional manipulation, evil superman, character death & also random he-man. please note that this is about injustice and its characters, which are not a reflection on their mainstream counterparts or how i view them.

there’s tension between damian and bruce from the get-go in injustice, and we’re never really told why. if we take cues from the game (though that entire scene doesn’t make sense) then it’s because bruce didn’t save jason, which fits in with my reordered robin theory��in which tim and jason were switched, and jason has only recently died.

so it’s interesting that bruce is already counting damian out before injustice even starts. he’s comparing damian to jason - someone who he apparently no longer considers part of his legacy.

but it’s not fine to damian. damian is constantly horrified at the lengths bruce will go to.

damian is afraid of his father.

or respond like this:

or this:

and he’s terrified of his father. i cannot stress that enough. bruce at this point has already shown that he knows how to hurt his closest friends if they oppose him.

damian is a highly trained fighter, but he’s also a thirteen year old boy who knows he can’t overpower a man twice his size and weight.

and bruce?

now, bruce isn’t wrong about how things will escalate.

and that’s why injustice bruce is not a good guy.

and injustice bruce is even less empathetic and expressive than prime bruce.

which is why you get a confrontation like this:

but clark has looked at damian and and decided that damian is good. damian has problems, clark can admit that and does, but damian is good. like bruce himself.

damian’s relationship with heroism isn’t built on an intrinsic need for control or power, nor is it a means of validating his self worth.

people just need him. they’re suffering. and he wants to be there for them.

but again, we’re not there yet.

so, alfred reaches out to touch damian. damian asks him repeatedly to let go. when alfred doesn’t, damian tries throwing him off, not realizing how much strength he now possesses.

( granted, yes, he threw bruce into the penny and it almost crushes alfred )

damian apologizes and he means it. alfred’s first question is to ask for bruce.

“”hawkgirl”” intervenes to try to end this fight before it can escalate further.

damian himself is a mess. this line resonates because damian, too, is afraid. afraid of bruce, afraid of being what bruce thinks he is. there’s only so far he can bury it under the anger.

he doesn’t want to be bruce. he will not be bruce.

the other gives him the honest truth.

and this is what makes damian different from them. both of them.

because he stops, because he questions, he’s still connected to reality. to his own humanity.

because harleen listens to him and damian doesn’t. bruce cuts damian neatly out of his life and only really cares about him again when he’s a corpse.

( but it’s worth mentioning - it takes damian showing bruce an image of kara for bruce to acknowledge him. )

and damian is willing to kill him if bruce poses a threat to his ‘new’ family. he’s not going to watch bruce hurt the people he loves.

but his new father sucks just as much as his old one.

damian misses clark’s equally as abusive tendencies because they hidden under the guise of a fatherly concern.

after all. this ended amicably, not with him standing alone wondering what he did wrong, or being thrown across the room. clark basically stops just shy of ruffling his hair and calling him sport.

he was rewarded for honesty. and so any discomfort he felt was imagined.

because injustice’s damian doesn’t want to be batman. he wants to be superman. he wants to be good.

but injustice’s superman is not a good man.

bruce manipulates overtly and grandly using intimidation, clark manipulates subtly using emotion. damian only recognizes one of these things when they happen.

so clark gives damian what he wants - a parent who loves him, someone he can talk to and even show a little vulnerability with - and then uses that against him.

the worst thing - the very worst thing - is that bruce and clark love damian. he knows this. both seem to genuinely consider him their son. and he knows this.

he’s another chess piece on their board. one clark can use to wound bruce. one bruce can use to wound clark.

the person damian is when away from both of their influence is a more complete damian. he’s the very best of both of them.

when he recruits adam, he tells them their story and what they’ve gone through and gives adam the choice to join them or stay in eternia.

anyway, all of this is to say that even all these years later, i continue to be so sad about injustice damian wayne.

edit:

now, there’s actually one other thing i want to bring up because i totally forgot about it.

so. issue 8 of injustice 2.

it’s a complete reversal.

so... what happened between them? what caused that shift?

but also i’m dying because IJ2 was clearly planned to go on a lot longer than it did and i have questions that i know netherrealm doesn’t care about answering.

#ooc.#tl;dr dick grayson raised a good boy who needed support at a critical time and instead was taken in by cruel god wearing a kind smile #and damian doesn't realize it until it's far too late and he's done so much he can't take back

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dontasktheradiodemon · 3 years

Text

Scheming (with Sandwiches) (5/3/2021)

Alastor talks to Valera @autokrates about her visit from Ruler Of Hell King Alastor @akillingspreeinwhite—and more importantly, what to do about him if he decides he wants to start conquering other Hells.

Alastor's plan: an alliance between as many potentially threatened dimensions as possible.

Alastor

Lunch time! Hello Valera guess who it is, it's Alastor. "I hope you don't mind, I thought it might be nice to have lunch together today! Sandwich?" The sandwich is an innocent gift of friendship with no ulterior motives! And also it's a bribe.

Valera

Lunch time! A great time, usually. A chance to gossip with coworkers AND eat. And look who's here, it's Alastor, with a very innocent sandwich! "Mind? Not at all, by all means my dear, it's a pleasure."

She does TRY to take a bite from the sandwich, but before she can even sink her teeth into it her whole face twists and she has to put it aside to flop her head down and groan. Don't mind her clutching her stomach, this is normal. "Eelizzy is *rioting* back home, oh my *gods*. Feels like I swallowed a radio full of hornets."

Alastor

"Oh, don't you hate that? When you're trying to pick up a station on the radio and there's so much interference all you hear is *buzzing*?" He's proud of himself for that joke. He shouldn't be. "Try this, see if it calms her down any." He sends over a song. <https://youtu.be/2t4iBbfwBLw>

Valera

She'd glare at him for that joke, but she's too busy making her poor floppy at-home body cooperate long enough to open a link. "Louisiana Lullaby? Well by name alone it promises results. She loved New Orleans."

A minute passes, and she slowly sits upright. The sandwich is cautiously picked up, and she nibbles at the crust as she raises both eyebrows at Alastor. She can guess what he really wants to know. "Incredible, even from a distance you're better at wrangling a kid than your more... *royal* alternate." That's an opening if she's ever given one, here you go Alastor.

Alastor

His smile widens. The exact topic he wanted to talk about! "I take it his visit was rather... stomach-turning?"

Valera

She glances around, making sure they're far enough away from any coworkers, then leans in with gossiping intent. "Putting it *mildly*. He's very tall, he's very self assured, and he's got the worst vibes I've ever felt roll off of a man. Like dunking my face in used cooking oil. And get this. The second he stepped into my house, Eelizzy started thrashing like a harpooned whale. She's never reacted so violently to *anything*."

Alastor

A slow nod. "That's never a good sign. I trust the judgment of the as yet unborn, they tend to be less prejudiced. And I take it you don't think it was a mere reaction to his power level?"

Valera

Her head cocks to the right, nose scrunching in thought. "He gave me one of Lucifer's flight feathers, so I assume she felt some of that power too. But I put the thing away and she still spent the entire visit either flailing or spitting static at him every time he got too close."

The hand not holding the sandwich brushes her barbels back, rubbing her forehead. "I suppose it's possible that his energy was simply so foreign she reacted strongly, but I live with *Leal*. She's been around for everything from eldritch magic to his full demonic form and barely even stirred. When she met Alexa? Happily buzzing at him barely a minute in. You saw how well she took to you, too. She's met dragons, gods, demons, sinners, and not a single one had her that pissed. Even Seapup was growling at him and Seapup loves *everyone*."

Alastor

"If she doesn't even react to *gods* like that, I'm going to assume it's the quality rather than the quantity." He sighs. "Well, *that's* telling, isn't it! I'm not sure *what* it's telling us yet—but I don't think I'm going to like the answer, do you?"

Valera

She snorts. "No. No I do *not*. He got to my planet unaided, Alastor. Got into my house without me giving any sort of direction. He knew the planet's name before I ever told him. And I want to chalk that up to just him reading my blog, but... I know he's followed me and Leal around without either of us being able to sense him."

Alastor

Alastor nods. "He mentioned that to me too, your 'being followed' adventure. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the king's done it more than once. Or, considering how strong he has to be to have seized the throne, he might have additional methods of sussing out information. All of which are probably bad news."

Valera

This poor sandwich is never going to get eaten at this rate, there she goes putting it down again. "No kidding. He's been the pinnacle of manners and social grace for now, but.." A shrug, and she offers Alastor a wan smile. "I don't trust that to last. He's an outlier to the already unpredictable Alastor model."

Alastor

"No, I don't trust it either." His voice lowers—not his usual trick of changing his tone of voice to pretend he's being quieter, but an actual lowering of volume. "Here's the thing. I don't trust a single one of my alternates that's joined in the overlord rat race—much less has made king. A propensity toward boredom like mine should *never* be married to earnest political ambitions. When he gets bored, he's going to do what he's always done: conquer. And if there's no more room for him to move *upward,* he'll start moving *outward.* And wouldn't you know it, he's *just* found the multiverse."

Valera

"Exactly." She exhales almost too forcefully for it to be a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. What a headache this was turning out to be. "I *really* don't want to test my mettle against even a normal Alastor alt, the idea of *that* man being able to show up in my house on a whim and start trying to play at the All American Dream of Conquering the Alien Menace is... Not good." An absent minded rubbing of her stomach, self soothing and comforting an egg that was universes away. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I am, on some level, absolutely terrified."

Alastor

"You're not alone," Alastor admits. "Not to downplay your very realistic 'heroic human conquering the savage alien world' fears, but if human history has proven anything, it's that we tend to try conquering our neighbors first and only travel farther after we either succeed or decide it's more trouble than it's worth. And neighbors don't get much closer than a parallel copy of the same place."

Valera

"Oh dear." Grimacing, she lifts a hand like she's about to offer comfort, letting it hover for a moment before slowly putting it back down. No, don't do for the shoulder pat just yet. "I don't like that one bit, Alastor. But for what it's worth, if it came down to it, I'd try to help you."

Alastor

"That is *exactly* what I wanted to discuss." Alastor's eyes glow brighter. "Now, any version of me that's conquered Hell is going to be stronger than any version of me that hasn't, that's practically a given. He could beat any *one* of us hands down. I haven't seen *you* at full power, but frankly that's a boxing match I wouldn't want to bet money on for either side. But—*but*—if enough of us have agreed we'll fight him if he stepped out of line... The more of us agree to fight in defense of each other's dimensions, the better a chance we'll collectively stand. Leclerq and I have already agreed to offer each other mutual support. With three of us, we might have the start of a proper defense."

Valera

She folds her hands, listening as Alastor lays out his plan. Strength in numbers, it was an effective strategy. She could think of a few others who would gladly throw their hats in the ring in the name of keeping the line as well, Alastor or otherwise. "Alright. I'll add myself to that list, and pray we never need it."

Alastor

He laughs wryly. "And I'll be praying for backup in case we *do* need it. Apparently upstairs doesn't care about who's calling the shots in Hell, if they didn't intervene before my alternate could take the crown; but maybe they'll start to care if multiple Hells start uniting in one empire."

Valera

She snorts despite herself, shaking her head. "I hope so! Wouldn't that be something, heaven and hell uniting forces against one common enemy! I just hope we never have to see it."

Alastor

"So do I." He takes a deep breath. "So! Anything else of interest to report from his little visit? You mentioned *you* didn't like his... 'vibes'?"

Valera

"Oh! Yeah. Holy shit." A WELCOME subject change. "He's freaky. And I don't like that I know even one of his kinks. I want to know zero of them." She shrugs and picks her sandwich back up. At last, something she can eat while discussing. "As far as his visit though. He gave me one of Lucifer's flight feathers. Which I _immediately_ handed off to mon cerf."

Alastor

"He certainly has poor taste in kinks." He says this like his ace ass is some sort of elitist kink connoisseur. Like a wine snob judging a broke-ass college kid for drinking box wine. "But is that the *only* sense you meant he's freaky in, or...? Granted, handing an acquaintance a souvenir harvested from the body of one's vanquished nemesis is a hell of an opening statement all by itself, but."

Valera

"I wish." Look at that face scrunch. It won't keep her from taking a bite out of her sandwich, but still. "No, I mean his very presence was like trying to breathe oil. He's.." She frowns, brow furrowing as she tries to think of a less melodramatic way to put it. "He's nice, but in the way people are nice to a pet."

Alastor

A huff. "I got a little bit of that impression from talking to him. Granted, Radio Demons are a naturally condescending lot, but even at that..." He searches for the right words. "He strikes me as the kind of person incapable of seeing anyone as his equal. Even his own alternates."

Valera

She nods. "Yes, I think you're right. We're entertainment more than we are people. Perhaps _especially_ his alternates, come to think of it.." Judging by the way he'd treated his alts on dash..

Alastor

"Could be worse—could be outright loathing—but I'm wary around any alternate who can't even see *himself* as a kindred spirit. I'm hoping I can take advantage of it, though. I've got an open invitation to visit his dimension sometime to provide entertainment—a few Hamilton songs from me in exchange for a tour. I plan on scouting the place out then."

Valera

"Oh yeah! You do, don't you! You should try and see what happened to the other overlords in his Hell. Assuming he didn't kill them as soon as they manifested, I've wondered whats become of them."

Alastor

"So have I. I have to think overlords still exist—what does it matter to a king if the peasants claim ownership of a block or two?—but whether any of them are the same overlords *we* know..." He grimaces. "He said he took power in the fifties, didn't he? If we're assuming a worst case scenario where he executed all the overlords who currently existed, that includes Sir Pentious and Rosie. Maybe Rosie was minor enough to be spared, if anyone was spared at all; but someone else with ambitions for the throne..."

Valera

She scowls, shoving the rest of the sandwich in her mouth to keep from saying anything before she can think it over. He was right, and the thought was.. Deeply uncomfortable. A hard swallow, and she starts brushing the crumbs off her chest. "We're set to have lunch together tomorrow, *out* of my house." She doesn't sound especially *happy* about the arrangement, but oh well. "If I learn anything new, I'll let you know. Between the two of us, we should hopefully be able to get a feel for what situation we're dealing with. Odds are his Pentious was exterminated."

A blink, and she squints. "Actually, he said something to Theodore today. His Hell has had some *significant* technological advancements since he took the throne, he was very proud of that fact. All radio based, obviously, but he doesn't strike me as an inventor."

Alastor

"*Our* Hell's had significant technological advancements since the fifties, too," Alastor pointed out. "He could be collecting newly-dead inventors and pressing them to turn their expertise toward radio-based applications. Or, hell—it could simply be that having V#x out of the way means the technological developments in Hell naturally drifted a different way."

He gives Valera a tired, wan smile. "I'd *like* to imagine that Sir Pentious is happily toiling away as the royal inventor, but I don't want to get my hopes up. I don't think the majority would be happy with that."

Valera

"Mm, I'm being too optimistic. And he would hate it, so maybe it's for the better that he's probably been exterminated." She sighs. "I don't know if we manage to find trouble, Alastor, or trouble manages to find us. Either way, what a pain. Any other questions before we drag ourselves back to the dreadful chore of watching Hamilton get shot on stage over and over?"

Alastor

"Just one." He nods toward the stage. "Do you think it's been long enough since the last time I got in trouble that I can start singing 'he's never gon' be president now' when the bullet connects?"

Valera

Now that is a very serious question that must be considered.... Hrm... "Yes, but barely. I think the director would throw his clipboard at you, but not much beyond that. He's on his sixth coffee of the day, so the odds of dodging are in your favor."

Alastor

"Maybe he'll forgive me out of pity if I let it connect." He stands, picks up his own sandwich—yeah, he's had a sandwich this whole time—and devours it in five huge bites. "Shall we?"

Valera

For some reason, she's tempted to clap at that display. But no time for more banter, it's back to work. "We shall."

Alastor

Back to work. Time to watch Hamilton get shot again.

Valera

~~Boooooo give us a twist ending next time, add some leopards eating people's faces~~

Alastor

~~Hamilton is the leopard and he tries to eat Alastor's face for singing in the middle of his dramatic death~~

#autokrates #chat log #akillingspreeinwhite

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vampirepiggyhunterdefensesquad · 4 years

Text

Compliments 4/5

Zim had landed on another bush, and not a very comfortable one. He griped loudly to himself about the leaves and branches and Earth, absolutely refusing to think about what had just happened

for all of two minutes. Then Gaz's blushing face slipped into view in his mind's eye and it was all over. Zim groaned outwardly, but he understood well enough now that he wasn't going to be able to stop for a while. Separation was likely the ideal way to hurry up and be done turning it over in his head.

Even so, Zim found himself trailing after Gaz a few blocks. She could take care of herself, obviously, but just in case someone tried to hurt her in her weakened state... Maybe if he involved himself, she would--

No!! This was exactly what she had told him to STOP doing. Who CARED about some earth human girl?? Even if she DID have very sparkly eyes and a soft looking face that went red when he looked directly at it and hair he wanted to feel under his sharp fingers. Even if she did obviously want him to try. Even if she was incredibly powerful and scary and picked him up and threw him and that was, however insulting to his ego and bruising to his actual limbs, impressive for a human and a young one at that. Zim contemplated the image of Gaz throwing someone else like that-- preferably Dib-- and felt another pleasant-yet-horrible rush of heat in his guts. Disgusting. But it made him feel giddy.

Zim watched from a distance as Gaz walked up to her door and slammed it shut viciously. At that, he turned on his heels and stalked home, grumbling about bushes some more. He would have to put something on his skin to make it stop burning; the tiny cuts were incredibly unpleasant.

He found that when he let his mind drift to her, the pain faded slightly. But this focus was unhealthy, had to be bad for him. A small part of him was rioting whenever he allowed himself to contemplate her, focus on her too closely. It was almost a betrayal of everything invaders stood for, wasn't it??

"Nice antennae."

So why couldn't he bring himself to care???????

Zim reached his door. He hadn't realized how fast he'd been walking, and glared at it. He lived close to the Membranes, too close, much too close when it came to the Dib-filth. But it seemed a bit further when he thought about how Gaz lived there too.

. . . . Dib lived there, too.

Zim clapped his hands over his head and stifled a moan when the full implications hit him like a truck. This was the worst thing that could have possibly happened.

So it would be wonderful if his stupid, ANNOYING brain could stop acting like he had just had the best day ever.

Gaz's words had been angry, defensive. But her silence had been different. Her pause had said far more than her words did.

It would have been easy, easier than easy, to tell him to just stop. That she was annoyed and that was it. When she did eventually say as much, it was only after that conflicted silence. . .

She wanted his attention. Her blushes and reactions to his eyes made this much clear to him: Gaz wanted him to look at her just as much as he wanted her to look at him.

And the idea of looking at her had never been so appealing.

Zim nearly ran into his own front door-- he'd forgotten it was there. He nearly ripped the thing off its hinges in his haste to get inside.

He would see her tomorrow. That was fine. He wasn't going to get obsessed with anyone--especially a HUMAN-- especially after something so small.

Zim walked inside and rode the elevator down to the lab and sat down in his chair.

I want to see Gaz.

Zim stood up and walked out into the room with all the pods with human test subjects. One of them held a random person he'd snatched from the street a few evenings ago. She was sound asleep-- he'd been conducting tests to see how weak and fragile humans were when faced with emotionally taxing TV shows-- given how upset and unable to function properly GIR was after a series he loved ended, Zim was certain there was a method of world domination in television yet.

He kicked the glass of the tube, making the human stir, but not wake fully.

"HEY."

Kick.

"HEY!!!!!!!!"

The woman's eyes popped open. When her eyes fell on Zim, disguise-less, they widened in panic and she began banging on the glass, trying to shout for help.

Zim groaned and pressed a button to drain the fluid from the tube instantaneously. The ugly human's legs gave way and she collapsed at the bottom.

"Don't start screaming, nobody can hear you anyway," Zim said disgustingly, as if it was obvious. "Annoying, unhelpful, and, worst of all, annoying."

The human breathed deeply and lifted her head. Finally, her voice returned, and she looked. . . confused.

"You. . . . you said 'annoying' twice."

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!!" Zim hollered, slamming his hands against the glass. The woman fell backwards, but seemed to be calming down at Zim's childish outburst.

"Why am I here?"

"Listen, HUMAN. I normally would never stoop to the level of asking for help from your kind. . . but i believe this newest development requires some in-person questioning. You, you filthy, lucky human, are being given the chance to earn your freedom from my HHHORRIBLE LAIR. So listen carefully."

The woman nodded quickly. She seemed to be looking around carefully, taking in her surroundings, but she wouldn't be able to escape so it really didn't matter.

"You were once a smaller, younger version of your now old, ugly self, yes?"

The woman blinked. "I'm twenty four."

Zim squinted. "Twenty four. . . . . years? Old?"

". . . yes?"

Zim smirked. "Have you have retained a good memory of your youth, however long past it may have been?"

The woman was trying to brush her dripping, dark purple hair out of her eyes. "Yes," she said, in a resigned tone.

"Good. Are you in a relationship at the moment?"

The woman's head popped up and her eyes went wild. She fell backwards again, tripping over her own feet.

"CALM DOWN!!!! It's just for REFERENCE," Zim spat. "I have less than no interest in your disgusting, hideous body. I'm here to destroy your planet."

"That's comforting," she said sarcastically, turning around entirely. "No, I'm . . . not."

"Were you ever? And have you, despite your repulsiveness, had anyone ever. . . interested in you?"

The woman barked out a laugh. "Yes. I guess."

"So how did they fail???" Zim slammed his hands on the tube again, but this time it was out of desperation. "What mistakes did they make??"

The woman, apparently having not found an exit in the other direction, turned back to shoot him with a glare. "Why."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHY????" Zim's face flushed. "i MEAN-- EHHH-- YOU are in no position to ask ME ANYTHING, HUMAN!!”

"Wait. You're not. . . Why did you kidnap me?" she asked, completely confused.

"What? You were right there." Zim blinked.

"Wh-- you-- he didn't--you just happened to-- oh God, that's my luck, isn't it?"

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!! How did your previous suitors fail???"

"Well, one of them tried to kill me."

Zim tilted his head. "And. . . . you didn't like that."

She just stared.

"Ok, no killing. No attempting killing. Got it!!!!!"

"So, you're trying to get a human girl to like you??" The woman looked him up and down.

"STOP!! STOP THAT IMMEDIATELY!!!" Zim waved his hands in front of the glass. "I said NOTHING about myself. I'm TRYING to conduct RESEARCH here!!!!! What else did they do???"

"Listen, alien-- what's your name, kid?"

"I AM ZIM." Zim announced.

"Zim. If you like someone, you can't interrogate someone you kidnapped for help. What if I just. . . intentionally sabotaged you or something?"

Zim, whose antennae had lowered, popped back up. "I wasn't going to let you go until it worked," he announced. "PF! What do you think I AAAAAAAM? an AMATUER???"

The woman smiled wryly and took a seat, leaning against the back of the tube casually. "What's she like, Zim?"

"Scary," he answered immediately, dropping to sit as well. "Also she thinks I'm 'cool.'"

"If she thinks you're cool, why are you asking me for advice? Hell, just ask her out. And let me go first."

"No. Also, that didn't work."

She squinted. "You asked her out?"

"Yyyyyyyyyyyy--not exactly?"

The woman gestured for him to continue. It was a testament to how shaken up Gaz had made Zim inside that he did.

. . . .

Zim leaned back on the outside of the glass tube, letting his antennae droop. ". . . And now I have to WAIT a whole DAY before I see her again!!"

"Why's that?" The woman examined her fingernails.

"What?"

"What if you went to her house and asked her out properly?" she suggested. "It sounds like you led with accusing HER of having feelings when in reality YOU were the one who liked HER."

"RIDICULOUS. Invaders need NO ONE. I would never like such a pathetic earth-human."

"Okay, so you don't want my help--"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO 'ASK HER OUT'?" he screeched. "Human rituals are NOTHING like Irken romance!!!"

She turned her eyes to him again. "What? What's your alien romance consist of?"

"WE DON'T HAVE IT!" Zim wailed, slumping down further.

"Uh-huh." She tapped her chin with her finger. "Go to her door. Knock. When she answers, apologize for yelling at her. Tell her you like her, and tell her you want to spend time with her and look at her."

"NO!!"

"What the hell-- why--"

He turned around, glaring her down. "SHE WON'T. APPRECIATE SUCH A GESTURE. The Gaz-human is intelligent. She is far too smart to want such a. . such an UP FRONT method!!"

"Well, you'd be surprised." The woman turned away again. "Listen, are you gonna kill me if you get rejected?"

"Absolutely."

"So ask her nicely." From what she'd seen, she'd be able to escape if he stayed away for long enough. And this girl might be strong enough to incapacitate the alien--or, y'know, she might say yes. From the dazed, lovestruck way Zim talked about her, she might be just as violent and dangerous as he was. "And, uh, make sure you remember I'm the one who helped you."

"Yes, yes, yes. . ." The cogs turning in his brain were almost visible. "So. . . I tell her. And then she will blush. And agree to spend more time with me."

"Ideally."

"All right." He announced. "I am going."

"Wait, bring her something-- but not something too big!"

"Big?"

The woman contemplated. "What kind of candy does she like?"

#sorry this one is late #zagr #zim #gaz #my stuff #compliments #and yes. . .it's devi.#shoutout to my two discord friends who knew IMMEDIATELY lollll #i created this thing

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cruelfeline · 4 years

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Do you think Hordak abused Catra, or was it a two-way exchange? I had this tussle with a Catra stan trying to claim she was innocent and it was Hordak doing everything wrong in the situation and wanted to hear what one of Hordak's biggest fans thinks.

Ah, anon, this is such an interesting question! And it’s definitely one I see people fight over time and again. I’ll give you my opinion, though I warn you and everyone who reads this: the nature of Catra and Hordak’s relationship seems to me to be a subjective one. How abusive, how reciprocal, and ultimately how distressing one finds it is often dependent upon one’s own views. That said, I shall give you mine.

Official disclaimer: this is all based upon how I interpret these characters and how their interactions make me feel. Your mileage may greatly vary.

First and foremost, let me answer this question: does Hordak hurt Catra? Yes. Yes, he does. He uses a machine to suffocate her. It is bad. He also plans to send her to Beast Island. He should not have done it. He is a bad man with bad leadership methods.

Now, with that established: did he abuse her?

Ah. Hm. Hmm.

To me, this is not “abuse” in the way that what Shadow Weaver does to Catra is “abuse.” And I emphasize “to me” because, again, your mileage may vary. I have a certain sense of what I interpret to be “abuse.” And my sense may not be your sense. Heck, it may not even be the showrunners’ sense! But it’s mine, and that’s what I’m going with when discussing this.

and yes, I am bringing Shadow Weaver into this, so prepare yourselves

Hordak’s treatment of Catra is wrong, of course, but it’s not the same thing as what Shadow Weaver does to her. And it’s not something that makes me uncomfortable in the way that Shadow Weaver’s actions make me uncomfortable.

Part of the reason for this is the motivation behind it. Why does Hordak do this to Catra? Why does he physically harm her? Why is he so harsh?

Well, short of asking him, we’ll never truly know, but in my opinion, he is harsh and draconic and violent partially because of his “upbringing,” and partially because he is afraid. He spies and attempts to control everyone because he is afraid. And he is afraid because, once someone learns his secrets and figures out how to turn off his life support, he can be smacked around and broken over one’s knee like the grumpy toothpick that he is.

And cruel as his methods are, evil as he is, he’s pretty much right, isn’t he? As we all know, Catra achieves this. She figures out the secret to Hordak’s armor and essentially usurps him. In all of twenty seconds. Violently. Painfully. With plenty of humiliation involved.

Add to this physical vulnerability Hordak’s tendency to be easily manipulated due to his own emotional issues, and it’s not difficult to see why he might feel the need to rule with an iron fist. Hordak has precious little room for error, not just in terms of keeping on top of the Fright Zone hierarchy, but in terms of keeping his life. He’s killable. He’s really, disconcertingly killable. And beyond being killable, he is manipulable and easily influenced.

Even exile to Beast Island can be viewed as an extension of this: if someone is a legitimate, untrustworthy danger to him, then they must be eliminated. And Catra, due to her lies and her personal motives, ends up being an untrustworthy danger.

So that’s one reason I don’t view this as traditional abuse: Hordak’s motivations appear less “abuse the child for a power trip” and more “I need to keep everyone in line because if I don’t, there’s a pretty legit chance that I’m going to die.” There’s a self-defense aspect to it. It’s a weird, fucked up form of self-defense, but it’s there.

Shadow Weaver, on the other hand… well, I’m not entirely certain of her motivations. She doesn’t hurt a military-trained, dangerous teenage cat person that could kill her; she starts off very plainly hurting a frightened little girl. I have my own sort of pet theory why, but this isn’t really the place for it, and it’s entirely speculative. I feel like we-the-viewers don’t really get much of a reason for why she treats Catra the way she does. Oh, she claims that it’s to make Catra stronger, but that’s… kind of a weak reason, to me. Again, I have my thoughts, but this isn’t that post.

The point is, whatever Shadow Weaver’s motives, I don’t read them as “messed up self-defense” the way I do Hordak’s. Which is why her torment of Catra reads as true abuse to me, while Hordak’s punishments read more as overzealous, maladjusted discipline.

Now, one could definitely argue that the only reason Hordak needed to defend himself from Catra is because he wronged her in the first place, and this is a legitimate argument. However, I would counter that Catra ended up being dangerous not only to her enemies, but to her friends as well. She tazed Entrapta and all but killed her. She used Scorpia whenever it was convenient and otherwise threatened/neglected her. She pretty much made a game of one-upping and trying to kill Adora. Being kind to Catra wasn’t some sort of guarantee of safety, and really, I don’t think Hordak was in the sort of place to take that kind of gamble, physically or mentally. So to me, this is a bit of a moot point.

The other big factor in why Hordak’s treatment of Catra doesn’t read as traditional abuse to me is how it affects Catra. In short: it doesn’t seem to. Not really. Not beyond keeping her in line and ensuring that she is afraid of him enough so that she doesn’t try anything. It’s not like Shadow Weaver’s lifelong abuse, which causes severe, traumatic damage to Catra and is essentially responsible for her being the way she is.

Catra is able to break off from Hordak with no emotional repercussions even before she physically bests him. What he’s done to her, while painful and morally wrong, doesn’t appear to have lasting effects. It doesn’t affect her view of herself. It doesn’t add to her pathology. She doesn’t feel the need to continue chasing his approval.

Compare this to how Catra responds to Shadow Weaver even after having “defeated her” and supposedly moved on: she’s still deeply hurt by her, still bound to seek her approval and esteem, still driven to tears when Shadow Weaver rejects her yet again. Nothing like this happens with Hordak; he hurts Catra, yes, but he doesn’t damage her, if that makes sense.

The reason for this is rooted, I think, in the roles these characters play for one another. Catra isn’t much affected by Hordak’s physical punishment because he doesn’t really mean anything to her. He’s her boss, not a father figure or anything like that. More importantly, he’s a means to an end: a source of respect and authority that will provide her with the ability to get what she actually wants: Shadow Weaver and Adora’s respect and approval. Shadow Weaver, on the other hand, is Catra’s mother. She’s supposed to be her source of affection, security, and emotional support. And so when she hurts Catra, it leaves legitimate emotional scars. Which is what marks it as abusive. Again: to me.

Now, briefly: did Catra abuse Hordak?

My assessment of that is a bit more difficult. It’s a little rougher, I think, because despite being a traumatized child, Catra was able to perform some heavy emotional manipulation on him, and I suppose one could argue that she causes more lasting damage by using his emotional insecurities and connection to Entrapta against him. I guess her motivations also seem to leave “self-defense” territory and wander into “using you for personal gain.”

And in the end, he does end up forming an emotional attachment to her that leaves him distraught upon learning of her betrayal, so… hm. Hmm. I guess one could argue that she “abuses” Hordak the same way she “abuses” Scorpia and Entrapta. Perhaps. Her actions do give me a certain emotional discomfort that Hordak’s do not. So… maybe yes? I would personally classify it as some sort of abuse? Even though it distresses me to do so, because I know Catra is in pain. And it’s not the same as what Shadow Weaver does to Catra. And it’s definitely no where near the level of abuse Horde Prime visits upon Hordak. Like, not even close.

So… yeah. It’s probably odd to read, but the way Catra harms Hordak feels stranger and more distressing than how he harms her. She’s certainly not innocent. To me. I cannot stress “to me” enough.

I suppose, to close this off, what I think of Hordak’s actions toward Catra is less “abuse” and more “assault.” He physically hurts her, because he is a bad man with leadership skills steeped in brutality, but it never goes beyond that. It doesn’t cross that line for me. That line is hard to define, of course, but I’ve tried to compare the Hordak/Catra situation to the Shadow Weaver/Catra situation to give you a better idea of where it lies for me. Catra’s actions toward Hordak are a little more difficult because of course she’s so young and so hurt, but they do feel different to me, enough so that I think they cross that odd line into abusive. But only just, I think.

My verdict: Hordak doesn’t abuse Catra so much as he assaults her, and Catra does some sort of weird emotional-manipulation-pseudo-abuse thing to Hordak that disturbs me, but it’s weird because he’s evil-man Hordak, and she’s a damaged child, so I get how odd that sounds. *sigh*

actually I have a masterpost on that if you’re interested

So: that’s my answer, take it as you will. I accept all comments and angry screeching, so feel free!

#catra #hordak #shadow weaver #she ra #aw yeah i'm putting it in the main tag antis come out and play #Anonymous

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wordsbynathan · 4 years

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Character Profile: Roxanne (Ruby) Kingston [The Psych Quartet]

Best Friend • 21 • Taurus • ESTJ • Earth {genius TA//astrology hoe//color red stan//friend turned tutor turned bestie//skilled fighter, pacifist by choice//reporting live from not her business} [Character Tag]

Ruby comes into Neil's life first as a friend, and then as a tutor and mentor. She's a self-proclaimed pacifist and as a student teacher, she works to change the instruction methods at Harmonium to shift the focus away from violence. She's friendly but blunt; Ruby doesn't take shit from anybody, but she's warm and patient with her few close friends. She’s detail-oriented, into astrology, and lover of the color red (hence her nickname). Through Ruby, Neil learns about the nuances of Psych society and the rift between the two categories of Psychs—Bases and Elementals—and she pushes him to use his new life as an opportunity to remedy the status quo.

Ruby. Sweet, amazing Ruby. She’s an incredible friend to Neil from the start, and this is before she even knows his memory’s been stolen!! A queen!! Blunt at times but always with others’ best interest in mind. Way ahead of her peers and on track to becoming another young Harmonium instructor; she’s in her final year of teaching assistance-ship and particularly interested in defensive tactics and Psych theory.

While we don’t find out much about her backstory in the first book of the series, we do know that she’s a pacifist and disapproves of how violent Harmonium’s teaching methods are. A big part of Psych education is sparring against peers, but behind the scenes Ruby is constantly brainstorming less physical ways to educate and teach young Psychs to master their abilities.

She knew Neil’s mother before she passed, and one of the reasons she jumps on the opportunity to tutor Neil is because his mother asked Ruby to look out for him. This is a request from one of the most powerful Psychs of their time, so Ruby takes it seriously. Luckily, it turns out that her and Neil get along really well, and through their tutoring sessions Neil very quickly bonds with her and comes to consider her his closest friend.

“I wasn’t planning on telling you this so soon, but I knew your mom, Neil. The last time we spoke, she asked me to keep an eye out for you when you got here.”

Neil’s cheeks redden.

“Please don’t be mad,” Ruby says. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come up, but I’m no good at keeping secrets. I hope that doesn’t make things weird for you.”

But things are absolutely weird, and while the rainbow of vegetation had distracted Neil from the peach pit that’s infiltrated his stomach, the weight has returned.

She’s a proud Taurus, stan of the color red (her hair, her nails, her clothes, everything is RED), and president of the “septum piercings are cool I don’t care what you think” club. She also loves to gossip, and there are several occasions where she lets something slip that changes things in a pretty major way for Neil. Ruby can’t stand when people refuse to communicate, and sometimes to solution to that is stepping in and doing it for them! She also tends to be pretty stubborn and set in her ways (typical Taurus amiright???), but extremely confident in her mind and her body alike.

Ruby is a lesbian, which is one of the many things that bonds her and Neil. Even in a school full of superhumans, Neil isn’t quite sure how to navigate or express his queer identity, so having her presence and guidance is a huge comfort. When she isn’t in the library with Neil or the rooftop garden with Alex, Ruby can be found baking in the kitchens (with special permission from the headmaster), embroidering sapphic imagery onto her clothing, or staring at the stars and wishing they could tell her everything they’ve seen.

Driven, compassionate, and with a very low tolerance for bullshit, Ruby is just the right person to guide and support Neil through some real rough stuff, y’all!! She’s extremely loyal to the people she loves, and Neil is blown away to so quickly find himself part of that small group. When it comes down to the wire, Ruby is actually an incredibly powerful Earth Psych and will literally move mountains to protect her friends.

“Just because I don’t like to doesn’t mean I can’t,” she says with a condescendingly sweet smile.

Taglist (feel free to ask to be +/-!): @my-liminal-spaces @infinitely-empty-pages @dustylovelyrun @oddsandinks

#oc: ruby kingston #wip: burned #series: tpq #character profile #oc #writeblr #i love ruby sm #like i want to be friends with her #but she also scares me a little because she has SO MUCH POWER #BUT NEVER USES IT #GIRL WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ALL OF THAT ENERGY #wip #writing #writeblr character #writeblr community

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aspoonofsugar · 4 years

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Hi ! I'm re-watching Psycho Pass and there's one thing disturbing me that I thought you might have some idea of an answer ... I have the impression that Makishima has a fair answer to free will, system sibyl etc, but that the story didn't know how to integrate it with the original idea of following people who had agreed to serve the system Sibyl, so they made this character a murderer in order to facilitate the thing and balance - good bad sides for the narrative. Is it just me or ... ?

Hello anon!

Makishima, like all the other characters of the series has been written in a way so that he can be used to explore the ideas and themes the story wants to explore. The first thing about Psycho Pass that was probably born was its world aka the idea of a dystopian society which works in a specific way. Starting from there, they decided to develop the story in a way which both used and subverted many tropes used by dystopias. One of the tropes they subverted was the one according to which the hero of the story has to fight the system. In Psycho Pass they chose to write the person fighting the system as a negative character. The result was (imo) a very fascinating and complex character who says many true things, but is also hypocritical and unjustifiable.

I would say that Makishima has been written in a way that explores the positive and negative aspects of Sybil.

Sybil is a system which gives security (both in terms of personal safety and economic security) to the majority (?) of the population, but it does so by sacrificing minorities, contacts with other countries and two main human qualities. It sacrifices aggressivity (even a healthy degree of aggressivity which lets people react when in danger) and the ability to think critically.

These two human attributes are often discussed throughout the episodes and they are often the main theme of single cases. For example, episode 3 shows how aggressivity can’t really be eliminated and so how unhealthy mechanisms are tolerated in order to keep it in check. In the factory the MCs visit bullism is accepted and encouraged, so that everyone’s psycho-pass is kept under control. Similarly, it is shown multiple times how art and creativity are not encouraged by Sybil and that many artists are latent criminals. This is something explored in Yayoi’s backstory, for example, or in Rikako’s one.

Because of this, Makishima is a character who embodies both these human attributes. On one hand he is extremely intelligent and has an amazing culture. On the other hand he uses violent methods to reach his objectives. Tbh, I think that Makishima’s choice to nurture people’s violent sides is partially born by the fact that these parts are the ones Sybil actively represses.

We know that what triggered Makishima into becoming who he is in the series is his realization of not really being accepted by society. As a matter of fact Sybil not being able to measure his psycho pass means that Makishima is not really a human being according to it. Because of this discovery, it is understandable that Makishima would have started questioning Sybil much more than a normal citizen would have done. By doing so, he has managed to understand the system and its short-comings pretty well and he has found that it influences people into repressing aggressivity and into losing critical awareness of themselves and the world. Because of this, Makishima gives critical thinking and aggressivity importance. This happens because Makishima wants to negate Sybil in order to affirm himself (aka a person whose existence is not recognized by the system) and so he uses what Sybil negates.

This is also why Makishima’s attempts keep failing and he keeps discarding people. In the end, the ability to develop critical thinking is not linked to the ability of expressing one’s aggressivity without any restraint. However, Makishima keeps expecting the latent criminals he meets to immediately develop critical thinking just because he gives them the chance to express their most violent parts. Rikako is the best example of this. In the end, Rikako is a girl who is angry because of her father dying and leaving her behind. The system doesn’t give her a healthy way to process this loss and so she ends up harboring negative feelings which cloud her psycho pass until Makishima finds her and validates those feeling and encourages her to express them in a violent way. However, in the end Makishima discards Rikako like he had discarded others because he claims that she is not able to develop a deep enough point of view on things. This is not fair because in the end he is asking a teenager who is venting for her father’s fate to develop a highly deep and informed perspective on things. As if Rikako had any chance to properly think about things in the situation she was in and as if she had not all the time in the world to develop her personal perspective as she grew up.

In short, Makishima is a person who uses violence because Sybil wants to eliminate aggressivity from society as much as possible. What is more, Makishima’s choice is perfectly coherent with the information we are given about his character, his motivation and his past.

Of course, it could have been possible to write a character who embodied these two attributes, but who was more sympathetic than Makishima and had a more acceptable ethical system, but this would have meant not to explore a series of ideas and themes and would have ultimately (imo) made the story less interesting.

For example, let’s consider this scene:

Societies, just like people, have defense mechanisms which keep the truth hidden. The conversation between Akane and Kogami makes clear that what happened because of Makishima has clearly shown a series of contradictions of the Sybil System and its society. However, citizens will keep ignoring them and will try their best to go back to their usual lives. This is an interesting concept and it is linked to the idea that Sybil works not because it is perfect, but because it acts as if it were and people choose to believe it.

What is more, the way Sybil works is firstly introduced thanks to two minor cases: the case of episodes 4 and 5 and the one of episodes 9, 10 and 11.

Mido and Senguji, aka the two antagonists of the two cases, explore themes linked to identity and to the concept of immortality:

Interestingly, they both make references to Plato and their stories explore two different dynamics which will turn out to be key ones to explain how Sybil works.

Mido’s story is about a man who lacks a proper self-identity and who has chosen to escape in a world made of avatars. However, Mido has become so obsessed with these personas that he has chosen not to accept the fact that behind them there are imperfect people. Because of this, he is progressively killing these people and maintaining their avatars alive. He claims that after losing their original creators the avatars have somehow become perfect because they have been modified and made better by the ideas people have of them.

This concept is very similar to what Sybil says here:

In other words, Sybil is made perfect by the idea people have of it. This is why the system is so powerful and its society works.

Senguji is a man who has almost completely turned himself into a cyborg. He makes some interesting points:

Basically, he is highlighting how society has become too much intertwined with technology. The journalist’s dependence on her personal computer resembles the dependence of society as a whole on the Sybil System. What is more, Senguji claims that he is simply a step ahead of the rest of society when it comes to his dependence on machines. However, we are later told so:

In short, Sybil is far ahead of Senguji when it comes to this specific technology and so it is closer to immortality than him ever was.

In synthesis, Sybil works because of these two dynamics and pieces of technology which are commonly found in society. The difference is simply that Sybil has developed them to the extreme.

I really like that the series has gone out of its way to present these aspects in its introductory episodes because it fits with what a dystopia should do. Dystopias should ideally take aspects of the current society and exaggerate them to show how they can be damaging.

This is something Psycho Pass does very well imo because, while the idea of a hive mind who judges people’s mental health and their abilities might seem far away, avatars and cyborgs are not.

In short, Sybil exists not despite people, but because of people and it won’t be overcome until society refuses it, unless a person chooses to use violent methods like the one Makishima endorsed.

Another interesting aspect of the series is the fact that in the end Akane grows, but still chooses not to join Makishima and to work with the system.

Psyhco Pass is a dystopia inspired by some classics of the genre:

Makishima directly quotes and mentions them, so I think there is no doubt about it. In many classic dystopias it is often shown how humanity loses itself to the system so much that in the end the system is somehow accepted. This can happen because of different reasons. For example, in 1984 the main character in the end is tortured and lost the thing he had defined his whole humanity on.

Psycho Pass goes at it in a different way. In the end, the main point of view character chooses the system as a result of a character arc and of some personal growth. It is an ending which is powerful for different reasons and one of these is that when you starts watching the series you would not believe this to be something which can be pulled off in a believable way. This is simply because the society created by Sybil is not a society many viewers could truly accept when they start watching (and hopefully it is not one they come to accept in the end). However, the fact that the story develops in a way that by the end you are allowed to root for characters who want to stop a person who wants to destroy a wrong system is interesting and adds to the complexity of the whole story.

In short, things like the defense mechanisms society uses to protect itself and why people come to accept the system are shown to the viewers very clearly thanks to Akane being the main point of view character instead of Makishima.

That said, I would like to highlight that Makishima’s fair answer you talk about is not really lost because it is accepted as it is by Akane herself:

What Akane disagrees with are Makishima’s methods which she recognizes being born out of envy:

All in all the ending of Psycho Pass is an open ending:

Kogami states that if everyone were to be like Akane Sybil will not be necessary anymore, while the system states that if everyone were to be like Akane the Sybil would have reached its objective. Who is right?

And again:

Akane says humans will keep evolving and conquer Sybil, while Sybil says it will keep evolving and conquer humanity. Who is right?

Let’s finally consider the very last frame:

Is this a reference to Sybil? Or is it a reference to real justice which will conquer Sybil? Or is it simply a reference to Kogami’s character who is chained by his view on justice? All in all these are all questions left open and to which people can give different answers according to their own understanding of society and of humanity.

In conclusion, when it comes to your question, I would say that Makishima was written in a specific way for several reasons among which, as you say, there is the choice of wanting to explore the society through the eyes of people who are initially supportive or neutral to the system because they are much closer to the average citizen than a person opposing Sybil. However, I do not really think this is a cheap reason to make such a choice.

Thank you for the ask!

#psycho pass #psycho pass meta #makishima shogo #shogo makishima #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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nerdsideofthemedia · 4 years

Text

Continuing the Conversation about the Portrayal of Racism in RWBY

I’ve read the criticisms done to Faunus and the White Fang: The Portrayal of Racism and I think it’s time to address them.

Again, I am white and do not claim to speak for POC or that my knowledge of racism is amazing (it isn't). I am also not continuing this conversation to criticize RWBY for the sake of it. I just really don't like the idea that the people talking about this are edgelords whose stance of racism nowadays is "it doesn't exist and POC are just whiny".

I’m going to address the end of my post: Trump. I claimed that the election of Trump proved racism is alive and well and some took it as “people voted for Trump because of racism”. I see how one could interpret it that way, but that’s not what I meant. I meant that all the xenophobic and racist rhetoric didn’t stop Trump from being elected – it wasn’t a deal-breaker. And no, the other options, either Bernie or Clinton weren’t worse or even as bad.

RWBY doesn’t show racism as something done by individuals but as systemic because... Atlas

For the most part, it doesn’t show it as systemic. I claimed Atlas was the exception in my original post and even extended Mistral with the sign prohibiting Faunus, which reveals there are no anti-discrimination laws there. However, I maintain that’s not enough, especially considering there are 6 volumes.

It seems that Atlas will explore the systemic racism more, considering the first 3 episodes (especially the third) and that's good, but shouldn’t we have had something more before? What about all the other kingdoms? From the conversation of Ozpin and Blake, it seemed like racism is supposed to be a widespread thing, but it’s not if Atlas is the only offender or even if Mistral also is. I think we should have had more of an exploration of the subject in Mistral, considering its history and its lack of anti-discrimination laws.

Even Vale should have been shown more. We had an anti-racist group willing to destroy the city (and die in the process) - there should be a justification for that besides "there are some racists here". It's one thing for a few members to become extreme, quite another for an entire not-so-small group to do so. Not only the WF seems to be a large organization, it also seems to be the most relevant. Yet they decided to attack Vale, the city where racism only exists in a few specific individuals (who tend to be jerks), because...

OK, to be fair, the individual racists are allowed to be with no consequences. For example, Cardin's bullying of others and specifically of Faunus as he attacked Velvet via her Faunus trait, did not face any consequences for his actions. This shows that more than a few people are very much willing to let others attack minorities, so they're complicit. This been said, I wish we had been shown a lot more. As it is, it just feels hard to believe so many would be OK with both killing and dying for their cause.

Qrow wasn’t justifying racism, he was just explaining it

He still frames it as understandable and rational in some way with “it’s not too hard to sympathize with that”. To me, it's still "yikes".

Blake’s speech was wrong, but it’s just meant to be a call to action

A call to action that claims that if they don’t risk their lives to save people who will gladly exploit or injure them, then they will prove the bigots right. Sorry, but that speech is completely indefensible.

I would also like to add that Ghira’s stance of “no violence no matter what” is absurd and it does send a message to the minorities, whether CRWBY intended it or not: don’t fight back ever, not even when someone is threatening you. A stance that CRWBY seems to be changing with Weiss defending Blake at the beginning of V7, but was there until then. Also, what does it say for Weiss, someone who is not a Faunus and actually benefitted a lot from the exploitation of said group, is the one who is allowed to use violence to defend Faunus, while Faunus themselves can’t? That puts Faunus very dependent on "white saviors". I get this is part of her arc and showing she's not the same as she was in V1, still... just saying it risks doing that, even if I hope for the best (which I do).

Racists are people too

“I think the writers were going for “racists are people too”, which is a troublesome stance to take when you frame the ones fighting racism as flat out evil.”

I can see how this can be interpreted as me having a problem with the portrayal of racists as anything but monsters, so I’ll make it clearer: I do not think that “racists are people too” is problematic in itself, quite the opposite: I think when dealing with racism, we could benefit from showing people who are altogether nice, yet still willing to hold on to their privilege (like say... by voting for a racist candidate). I think it would be great to show racism in a way that is not completely blatant and that would challenge the audience to question their own behaviors. However, I do think that “racists are people too” is an awful stance when you show anti-racists to be completely irredeemable terrorists. The problem here is the extension of sympathy to the racists while showing none to the ones fighting it.

White Fang is a cautionary tale for what can happen to social justice groups/movements

It can, but it's not often. Either it's a relatively small group of radicals or it's radical members in a very large group in which the majority is not radical. Sometimes, these are made to appear to be worse than they are because the media focuses on their violent actions while ignoring everything else. Sometimes, the media misleads us by ignoring who really started said altercations (though the responses often can be disproportionate).

The problem is that the anti-racists are way less sympathetic than most racists.

“Remnant can’t be racist, because…”

Last time, I counter-argued some points I have seen around defending that Remnant can' be racist. Someone countered mine when it comes to Leo and the townspeople.

Leo

“in V3 we are shown that headmasters (Ozpin included) are under the council. So while Oz might have chosen Leo, Mistral's council could have booted him instantly”

OK, but how do we know the people in the council aren’t progressive? I mean Mistral still allows for discrimination, but for all we know, the council is deeply conflicted and Leo might have had just enough support to not get booted. Also, not all racism is overt. For someone to actively refuse someone on the basis of race, they don't have to be just racist, they have to be racist, proud of it and not even slightly interested in pretending they're not. Most racists aren’t like that. I don't think putting a Faunus as Haven's headmaster was the best idea, but the argument "a kingdom can't be racist because it has one Faunus in an important position" is just flat-out wrong. Again, the USA had a black president. The Republican Party has black politicians.

Townspeople

"i really hate how people think this is defending racism. Please, remember the context of what happens. The white fang in Adams short are with an uniform and MASKS, masks that ONLY appear AFTER the first terrorist act commited by ADAM who starts the entire concept. The soldiers having masks already marks them as a terrorist organization by that point, because despite Ghiras leadership, we can see Adam under him, commiting criminal acts. I think that they really dropped the ball on that short with the visuals they employed."

And I really hate how people think blocking someone's path and shouting is worse than trying to shoot people1.

No, you cannot start shooting people just because you find them suspicious, not even when the reason why you think they’re suspicious is that they are wearing masks! I can’t believe I have to repeat this.

Masks=terrorism is one hell of an assumption, even if they were started to be used after Adam’s first act of terrorism. For all we know, WF members thought the whole "we are monsters, so we'll wear masks" was a good idea, so they adhered to it even if they disagreed with Adam’s methods. They were with Ghira and not fighting back at all, despite having weapons. They could have dropped their weapons, sure, but they were still not using them and they would have been completely justified in doing so – it would have been self-defense. It is particularly strange that the person who defended the townspeople action for attacking masked WF members also threw a tantrum over Antifa because some members harassed elderly people for thinking they were racists. Which one is it: is it wrong to attack someone because of what we think they are or not? Why is blocking a path and screaming awful, yet SHOOTING isn't? Weird...

1 This should not be seen as an endorsement of that Antifa’s actions in that situation.

More RWBY posts:

Faunus and the White Fang: The Portrayal of Racism

Filmmaking and Bumbleby

Bumblebee was Always the Plan

Bumblebee was Always the Plan part 2

BB & Renora

Weird Post on Weiss’s Clothes

Foils: Adam and Yang (this one is in wordpress; it was my first one and I didn’t have Tumblr then)

Let’s talk about Adam Taurus (I didn’t post this one on Tumblr because the title and tags could lead Adam fans thinking this was about “his wasted potential” when really it defends the decision of killing him off and explains why it happened)

The original.

#rwby #faunus #white fang #racism in rwby

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travllingbunny · 5 years

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The 100 rewatch: 2x14 Bodyguard of Lies

A solid episode that focuses on a small number of character interactions and some action scenes and sets up the climax of the season, the two-part finale. I’ve only realized on this rewatch what is unusual about 2x14: half of the main characters don’t appear in it. There is no Abby or Kane, no Jasper, Monty or any of the Delinquents in Mount Weather, and no Lincoln, even though he’s somewhere around the camp of the joint Grounder/Arker army, which is one of the few locations this episode focuses on.

According to The 100 wiki, the title comes from a quote by Winston Churchill (dude really had a way with words, his various quotes have been used in the pop culture quite a bit): "In wartime, truth is so precious that she must often be attended by a bodyguard of lies." In other words, sorry peeps, but we leaders feel we need to lie to you and deceive you and we justify that by “It is war”. In this case, it’s Lexa and Clarke trying to hide the fact they knew about the bombing of Tondc and didn’t warn anyone, and dealing (in very different ways) the potential problem posed by Octavia figuring out what happened. This storyline is focused on the relationship between Clarke and Lexa, which undergoes some development including Lexa explicitly showing her romantic interest in Clarke for the first time, and between Clarke and Octavia, which has, unsurprisingly, seriously deteriorated. Meanwhile, Bellamy’s plot is about his attempts to disable the acid fog, which is crucial for the war against Mount Weather. Raven is helping Bellamy talking to him by radio, and also gets an opportunity for a new relationship and maybe also start moving on from Finn (or maybe not). And there’s some more movement in the B plot with Jaha’s and Murphy’s journey.

Rating: 9/10

I feel like this episode more or less encapsulates the main features of the overall dynamic between Clarke and Lexa: Lexa really wants Clarke, loves the idea of the two of them as natural born leaders who are just right for each other because they’re the same (in her mind) and tries to make Clarke more like herself (aka the type of leader she thinks is the best, ruthless and without “weaknesses” like compassion), but at the same time is torn between going for it and doing the “I’m the strong unemotional leader” thing; Clarke is drawn to/intrigued by Lexa, but not sure if she would like to pursue anything, and most of the time her mind is elsewhere, too distracted by thinking about the fates of her people – those she’s been doing everything for all this time – and above all, she needs Lexa’s support to save her people, but also has to spend most of her energy on getting Lexa to use less violent and murdery methods, and not do things such as kill Clarke’s friends. This time, the episode largely revolves around the issue of whether Octavia is going to tell people the truth about Tondc, which could result in the alliance falling apart (and I’m guessing that’s not just about the alliance between Arkers and Grounders – I doubt that leaders of other Grounder clans would be happy to know that Lexa let a bomb drop on them without warning them). Clarke’s solution was to try to convince Octavia not to say anything, while Lexa’s solution was to have her murdered by one of her bodyguards.

But that’s getting ahead. At the start of this episode, when we see Clarke and Lexa discussing the war, Clarke was, once again, pacing and loudly worrying about Bellamy, as she has been almost constantly since he went to Mount Weather. I already thought in 1x10 Lexa was noticing the way Clarke talks about Bellamy, but now the subtext has become text, as she starts questioning her about her feelings, trying to assess the competition:

Lexa: “You care about him”

Clarke: “I care about all of them.”

Lexa: “But you worry about him more.”

But Clarke is not ready to admit that – I’m not sure how much she’s even ready to face up that herself at this point, but she’s certainly not ready to admit that aloud to others, so she starts explaining it all by Bellamy’s importance to the survival of the entire group. (It’s kind of like when Bellamy is repeating “We need Clarke” in 3x02). I don’t think Lexa looks all that convinced, and I’m not sure that yet another one of Clarke’s constant speeches about how awesome Bellamy is, is helping convince her, or me. But it seems there’s a sizable portion of the audience who totally bought it and is convinced that there was absolutely nothing between Clarke and Bellamy other than work partnership feelings, and these really unsubtle hints to the contrary didn’t mean a thing.

Lexa replies by lecturing Clarke once again about leadership, telling her that she is born to be a leader just as she was, and that she could be an awesome leader who will be able to inspire people and ask them to die for her. It’s not surprising that this is how she thinks of leadership – she was treated all her life as someone who’s above mere mortals due to a special bloodline, had to fight and kill some other kids, and became an absolute ruler as a child, and I’m sure she thinks she’s doing something really good for Clarke when she’s telling her that they’re both special and above everyone else and that she needs to treat her “subjects” as expendable. Clarke is, fortunately, unimpressed.

Clarke’s and Octavia’s relationship becomes really strained at this point, to put it mildly, since Octavia makes it clear that she’s figured out the truth about Tondc, and tells Clarke exactly how she feels about it. Clarke is again on the defensive, as with Abby before, trying to explain her reasons – protecting Bellamy, winning the war - but obviously feeling guilty. Octavia doesn’t accept her reasons even after Clarke brings up Bellamy, pointing out the fact that Bellamy would never want that and would prefer to find another way – which I’m sure Clarke is well aware of, but she replies: “I couldn’t take that risk”. (In contrast to what she said in 2x09 when she told Bellamy he should go to Mount Weather, revoking her former objection based on the risk to his life: “I was being weak… It is worth the risk”.) Octavia is unimpressed, especially since Clarke kind of left her to die, tells her she doesn’t take her orders (which is the third time one of Clarke’s friends have told her that this season – after Bellamy and Raven), accuses Clarke of giving herself the right to decide who lives or dies, and as the ultimate insult/accusation, compares Clarke to the leadership on the Ark: “You’d fit right in the Council”. (The prospect of becoming just like the people she resented and who executed her father, is something that will haunt Clarke in season 4, too.) Octavia tells Clarke she won’t say anything because of winning the war, but that they’re done being friends.

As Octavia later finds out, she’s not the only one who’s figured out the truth: Indra has already been aware of it, but she’s OK with it and still loyal to the Commander, she has Lexa did what she had to do, blames only the Mountain Men for all the deaths, and she thinks “Lexa is a great commander because she’s ruthless.” Questionable whether that’s a trait of a good leader or not, but that’s one way to look at it. “That’s why we’re going to win this war”. Or not.

Clarke goes on to save Octavia’s life – without Octavia even knowing – when she realizes what’s going on and stops Lexa’s bodyguard from murdering Octavia, and then goes on to confront Lexa and convince her to stop trying to kill her, and that she guarantees for Octavia, because Octavia will not do anything to endanger her brother, because he is the most important thing to her in the world. (There is no bigger believer in the strength of the Blake sibling relationship than Clarke.) It’s kind of funny when Clarke tells Lexa: “You can’t kill everyone you don’t trust!” and Lexa replies “Actually, I can”. But Clarke is really angry and also has been fed up with Lexa’s “Love is weakness” lectures, and maybe also because Lexa was questioning her about her feelings before, so she goes on the offensive and tells Lexa that she’s just pretending, mentions Gustus and Costia as examples that Lexa has feelings, and tells her that emotions are not a weakness, but that Lexa has feelings but is weak for trying to deny them. It’s good to see Clarke take an upper hand, though maybe the scene is a bit too on the nose, by making this visually explicit by Clarke getting into Lexa’s face and Lexa literally retreating and having her back against the wall.

Lexa feels calls out and has a vulnerable moment when she basically admits that she has feelings for Clarke, by replying that she didn’t let everyone die in the bombs: “Not everyone… not you.” Which seems to take Clarke aback. Now, I’m guessing this was supposed to mean “I would not have let you die” (though it’s exactly what she does in 2x15) – because it’s not like Lexa saved Clarke’s life there, Clarke was the one who warned her about the missile. But be that as it may, it is kind of messed up to imply “You are the one person not expendable to me, I can’t let you die, but that doesn’t apply to everyone else, like your friends and family”. I’ve said before that Lexa is Clarke’s “Shadow” character, and this fits right into that, because there’s a parallel to the way Clarke was protecting Bellamy but let his sister almost die – and this is something that she does consciously in 4x10/4x11.

The dialogue between Clarke and Lexa in this episode about what real strength is, and what life should be about, is really interesting, and Clarke has one of those memorable lines that get callbacks throughout the show: “Maybe life should be about more than just surviving. Don't we deserve better than that?”

Which prompts Lexa to make her decision in her “love – yes or no?” dilemma, and kiss Clarke for the first time. This kiss seems to have overshadowed everything else in the popular consciousness – probably because canon f/f romances on US network TV were still not that common in 2015? I’m pretty sure there were less uncommon on cable, and these days they’re not uncommon on CW, either, but this must have been a big thing at the time. What I like about this is the casual way that this scene revealed both Clarke’s bisexuality, and the fact that people in the universe of The 100 don’t have any kind of prejudice against same sex attraction/relationships and don’t even seem to put labels on people in terms of sexuality, just like they don’t seem to think in terms of race. (Of course, just because the characters don’t, doesn’t mean that the audience does not, which is what complicates the whole thing.)

Clarke is clearly surprised by the kiss, finds herself being into it and returns it for a moment, but then pulls away – but clearly none of it is in any way because of Lexa being a woman. She didn’t notice Lexa’s interest before because she was obviously distracted, and as she explains, she’s not ready for another relationship – with anyone – yet. Completely understandable – since she had to kill her ex-boyfriend (and probably first love) about a week before! It’s interesting that the music during the kiss was the kind of score indicating dramatic tension, rather than romance (unlike the music and lighting in 3x07).

But Clarke is not the only character who gets an opportunity to maybe move on a week after Finn’s death: the developing relationship between Raven and fellow mechanic Kyle Wick gets a lot of screentime in this episode. They did have good chemistry, and it’s obvious that this was meant to be a major romance for Raven (with how much screentime it got in this and 2x15/2x16) – but the fact that the actor playing Wick was such a jerk in real life ruined it all, so it’s all kind of weird to watch now, after the ship was dropped and Wick written out. The sex scene between them is one of the better ones in the show – and Raven’s disability is not ignored, but isn’t an obstacle, either (Wick mentions that the brace he designed would be easier to take off). However, when I think about the timeline, I have less sympathy for Wick regarding his disappointment that Raven is clearly having second thoughts after sex and doesn’t feel like having a real relationship. It’s been a week since she watched her ex-boyfriend die and less than a month since they broke up, and that was her only boyfriend that she had been with for years and known all her life! Dude, give her a break!

There isn’t much to say about Bellamy’s plot in this episode – as in much of season 2, he’s being the perfect action hero. Which makes season 2 the least interesting for him in terms of character development (and least controversial). Here, he apparently manages to disable the acid fog (or “the Veil” as the Mountain Men call it – what a euphemism!) following Raven’s and Wick’s advice, to the joy of Raven and Wick (who go on to hug and then impulsively have sex) and Clarke and Lexa and the whole army (who get pumped up for battle – Lexa especially looks pumped up to fight, which is weird considering that she does a 180 in the next episode). But – twist – of course it wasn’t that easy: Cage and Emerson had known that there’s an intruder for a while, and that was all a ploy to get the army to get close enough to Mount Weather so they could deploy the acid fog on them. Bellamy realizes that and has a big Die Hard style action scene, where he escapes several guards and disables the acid fog by blowing up the room, and somehow manages to escape through the vent. It looked like he was caught by the explosion and would at least get severely burned, so I’m not sure how he got out of it without any serious injuries, except for being protected by Plot Armor.

The Mountain Men at this point are in a pretty tough situation: Emerson tells Cage that they have nothing left to protect them from the army coming in, except the door. It certainly looks like our protagonists are at the verge of victory that’s going to be much easier than expected? Ha ha, of course not, this is The 100…

…

In in the completely separate B plot about Jaha’s party looking for the City of Light: the party keeps following Emori’s advice to go “north”, but they run into an unmarked minefield. Two people die in the mine explosion, so their little group is now just 4 people. (It started with 12 of them, but 6 people changed their minds in 2x12 and decided to go back to Camp Jaha. We never found out what happened to them.)

One of the casualties was a guy called Harris, who liked telling dark jokes such as “A Grouder and a Reaper walk into a bar…” and “A Grounder, an Arker and a Mountain man walk into a bar…” It didn’t take it long for people at Camp Jaha to turn the newest shocking revelations (cannibalism, the Mountain Men draining the Grounders and Arkers) into dark humor. He got blown up before he got to the punchline of the second one, but according to one of the executive producers, the punchline was the Mountain Men saying “Make theirs a double” after the Arker and the Mountain Man ordered drinks. I don’t normally pay much attention to behind-the-scenes stuff, since it’s not canon, but in this case, I’ll make an exception - it’s not like we’ll ever hear the rest of the joke on-screen. I like these kinds of in-universe jokes, you rarely hear any kind of humor on The 100, but it makes sense that people would try to cope with traumatic situations that way, it’s what people often do in real life.

They think for a moment they’ve reached the City of Light when they see glowing field. Jaha’s determination is unwavering and he finds a way through the minefield with others following in his footsteps, but the glowing field turns out to be a solar panel at the seaside. That doesn’t deter Jaha, but disappoints everyone else - but to everyone’s surprise, a drone appears when Murphy hits a panel with a rock, and directs them to a boat on the other side. (The drone was ALIE’s, of course, but minefield, like the panel, was probably there from before the nuclear apocalypse – protecting the way to the bunker? I’m not sure why ALIE would want a minefield there - she wants to entice people, not deter them from coming?)

Jaha, of course, insists they take it, and keeps talking about faith and the higher purpose, convinced that there had to be a reason he survived against all odds. Murphy plays the role of the mouthpiece of the audience when he has another good line: “I wonder, what level of crazy is too much for you? I’m just curious.” But they still all follow Jaha – partly because there’s not much they could do at this point, but there is also power in that kind of conviction: you may sound nuts, but at least you have a clear idea what you want, while everyone else is lost.

At this point, I really had no patience with Jaha, and I disliked him from season 1 – he really annoyed me with his refusal to ever question his actions. Instead of feeling guilty, like Kane, Jaha was always justifying everything he did. However, while I haven’t changed my views on him as a leader, on rewatch, I have more sympathy because I think I finally understand where it all comes from: he basically sacrificed his son for what he saw as the “greater good” and something he thought he had to do as a leader, and that that keeps haunting him and will as long as he’s alive, so he feels has nothing else to live for except to make some grand gesture that will save everyone. He feels he has to have a greater destiny, and he can’t question himself, or try to be live like a normal person, because then he’d feel that Wells’ death was for nothing.

Timeline: This episode probably takes place on the day after the previous episode.

And this is how I calculated it has been around 7 days since Finn’s death: the end of 2x08 was at night; 2x09 lasted 2 days and ends again at night; there 2 days between the end of that episode and 2x11 (since it was said that’s how long Monty was missing after being taken and put in a cage); 2x12 started6 hours after the end of 2x11 and ended at night again – and we know it was 2 days since 2x10 (since Abby said Jaha had left two days ago), meaning it lasted1 day; 2x13 started almost immediately after 2x12, at night, lasted one day and ended the next night; 2x14 is presumably set on the day after. Which makes a week.

Body count:

Two Arkers (Harris and Lily) in Jaha’s party, in the mine explosion;

several Mount Weather guards (6 according to the wiki) blown up by Bellamy– which would mean there are 346 Mountain Men left.

#the 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 season 2 #the 100 2x14 #bodyguard of lies #clarke griffin #octavia blake #raven reyes #bellamy blake #thelonius jaha #john murphy #alie #cage wallace #carl emerson #kyle wick #indra

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shahadaye · 5 years

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5 TIPS TO PROTECT YOUR LAPTOP WHILE TRAVELIN

I've always been lucky myself and except for charging cables and boxer shorts I've never been stolen while traveling. However, many stories tell me that you should protect your technical equipment well. Joe explains in this guest post how to double and triple secure.

I am completely honest with you. My lack of bad experiences and my belief in the goodness of people (or call it naivety) ensures that I handle my technical equipment while traveling partially negligent.

It is quite easy to protect yourself and your laptop while traveling. What possibilities there are (from easy to extreme) shows you guest author Joe Görbert, I recently met in Berlin.

Curtain up for Joe!

For many of us, the laptop is at the heart of our work as digital nomads. One of the biggest horror stories is losing his laptop and possibly being restricted to working weeks for weeks, or even worse, losing irretrievable data.

Many of us may also have legal risks in case of a theft, because as a service provider you are responsible for the security of your customers' confidential data and passwords.

While some afford no-brainer and lose their laptop, on my travels I often see people suffering the loss of this important device (and sometimes other expensive items on occasion) due to less predictable circumstances.

In this article I want you as a long-standing tech Traveling business plan copywriter who lost themselves for over € 5,000 of equipment during burglaries, robberies, pilfering (secret opening of luggage, such as during bus rides or layovers) and Trick / pickpocketing has my Give the best tricks to you, so you never have to do this terrible experience.

# 1: CHAIN IT- USE ALL THE POWER OF THE LAPTOP LOCK

A laptop lock is part of the basic equipment of every digital nomad. Only in the safest of all accommodations is the laptop left unlocked without supervision.

Above all, combination locks are suitable so that you do not lose the key. Incidentally, you should definitely write down the combination / take a photo somewhere. You do not want to know how often I sat in front of the castle after 4-6 weeks break with blackout.

If there are no objects or pipes in the room (bathroom checked?) To which the laptop can be plugged in when absent, it might be a good idea to connect the laptop to the suitcase.

This also makes the theft difficult, as thieves on the one hand prefer short "in-and-out" operations on the other, but they do not want to have to transport large, visible loot.

Also: If you still have one or the other valuable device lying around, it may be enough to satisfy the thief, and the laptop will stay with you. The less other stolen goods, the higher the likelihood that thieves attack the laptop or even destroy it out of frustration if they do not get rid of it.

# 2: TRY 'N' THREATEN!

If there is absolutely no way to secure the laptop in this way, you can make eye-catching writing notes for a potential thief in English or local language.

The note warns of a built-in GPS tracking and impregnation with artificial DNA, with which the device is traceable. This has already saved me in at least one case.

The affected HP in this episode was second-hand and had therefore incorporated an emblem of a magnet in the cover, which at the time went back to the monitoring system of the previous owner, a company. The thieves have left the device behind, but when they broke into my hotel room, they let other equipment worth over € 900 go along.

Of course, artificial DNA is, by the way, also a very interesting thing, especially if the theft occurs in a country with a functioning security system or there are indications of the perpetrator. Some of the DNA tracking products are very difficult to wash off and they are provided with an additive that is visible under UV light.

# 3: JUST PUT IT ON - BECAUSE MORE IS NEVER WRONG

In the meantime, cut-resistant bags such as the PacSafe , which are also secured with a wire lock , are also available for smaller electronic devices . Of course, all wire locks for a small hacksaw are only a matter of minutes of sawing, but most thieves are occasional thieves and poorly equipped.

A small bike lock and a good suitcase with a smart suitcase lock can also help protect the laptop in places with poor security.

When transporting: shoulder bags are easier to tear away than a backpack, but this can be opened in busy places unnoticed from behind. So think about when choosing your equipment.

A small cable lock is easy to weave on most backpacks through the zippers, but also signals the presence of valuables. It may therefore be useful in certain scenarios, to hang a few plastic bags or a towel on / over the backpack, so you do not come over as possible, someone who transports valuable.

Excursus: Preventive data protection in case of theft

Of course, the importance of protecting personal information and passwords is beyond question. The general access password should be as long and complicated as possible. Absolutely critical information is encrypted ( Truecrypt is unfortunately no longer reasonably continued in the course of the NSA affair, which is why VeraCrypt is recommended today).

Also, you always need a USB stick or maybe even a written list of passwords that require a password change after a lost laptop (Paypal, email account, etc.).

I also still have somewhere inaccessible hidden a 500 GB hard drive, where again critical work files are on it. I'm trying to update this disk on a monthly basis.

Of course, in this context, it must also be mentioned that there are already lucky people who have moved completely into the cloud these days and manage the majority of their digital treasure (but of course under the permanent supervision of the secret services) in a completely mobile way and one or more potent computers from can control and serve anywhere in the world with good Internet.

They have other data leaks to worry about, but in any case, the loss of their hardware would, in most cases, make them less harsh - provided of course they have protected all access.

# 4: READ YOUR ENVIRONMENT

If someone decides to rob someone else, he needs an opportunity and he has to look for it. You have to search with your eyes. If you are able to spot a potential thief or robber before he or she recognizes you, you have very little chance of being robbed (especially if you've made some preparations that we'll cover in the later stages) to come speak).

In different environments, there are various ways to attack someone openly or to steal by hand or ambush. Always be aware of your surroundings and move accordingly. Do not be lectured or distracted in any other way.

A skilful laptop theft that happens at train stations in Buenos Aires is the push of a person carrying a bag between their legs, just after a key has been thrown from the other side. Most people do not wrap the loop around their legs (highly recommended in principle, especially for physically inferior people).

The victim looks in the direction of where the key was thrown, is pushed from the other side and the bag is torn away. After that, the perpetrators disappear in the labyrinth of the bus station. There are no cameras, there are not even mirrors (would probably bring nothing). The biggest frustration remains.

Only those who are in the mood for even more nerve destruction or equipment insurance should decide to file a complaint with the Argentine police. That's important for the statistics, so one of the policemen said to me on another occasion. The perpetrators are no longer apprehended in this life.

WHEN IT GETS DIRTY - EQUIPMENT FOR DEFENSE

Sometimes, the circumstances, budget, or stupid ideas in the life of a digital nomad dictate that he has to carry expensive equipment in situations that are totally inappropriate.

In order to make the high risk both neurologically-psychological and in the worst case of the pure superiority of firepower manageable, I advise each digital nomad two things.

Once you are familiar with the principles of armed combat (attention, this link has a fierce image of a knife injury), best Krav Maga .

Secondly, you should always have basic self-defense equipment that will suit your fighting style and physical condition. For many women, this is irritant gas and for men mostly the combination of a strong laser pointer and a small folding knife.

It is not a matter of hurting the offender, but of being able to lead more bargaining power in a dispute , so that a critical damage can be averted.

However, the situation must be read correctly: With an open or suspected hidden supremacy of more than 1 in 3 and the use of firearms, resistance is without question lethal. In the vast majority of cases, however, one is equipped and willing to protect one's stuff, in principle a good opportunity to avert at least the worst by negotiating or responding quickly.

I once knew someone who has built a device in his laptop, which he not only GPS track (see also the following article on built-in GPS tracker ) but allegedly could detonate via Internet command and which in this case destroys the hard drive.

Maybe also an option, if you want to belong to the Extrakrassen. I do not know if the colleagues at the security check it up, but I found it worth mentioning. By the way: Remote Data Destruction Software is also available and should work pretty well.

Conclusion: Some of the hints mentioned here seem to be somewhat violent. But I believe that we are sliding into a future in which we can count less and less on the security forces of the state. At least when it comes to protecting us as ordinary citizens from those who are hungry, hungry and in a laptop of great value.

For us, however, the laptop still has the largest (and immaterial) value. Therefore, we should use all methods of protecting the vehicle of our freedom and prosperity with the utmost care and determination. If you are looking for more information about hp touch screen laptop. visit hp touch screen laptop right away.

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bendelanghe · 3 years

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Litigation Funding Is Right Here To Remain

About : Ben Delanghe

Now, every personal injury attorney has become aware of "litigation financing" - the non-recourse sale of a portion of a complainant's future negotiation earnings in exchange for cash money today. In recent times, the accessibility and use litigation funding has actually proliferated and most attorneys currently acknowledge the demand for complainant financial backing. A 2001 study by Attorneys Weekly asked an easy question: Should Lawsuits Funding Be Allowed? Of the 1,876 ballots cast, 82.5% reacted of course.

Nevertheless, similar to the objection faced by test lawyers over backup costs, litigation financing business must respond to the exact same disparagements. Defenders of the status seek to brand litigation financing as profiteering by rascals taking advantage of the down trodden. They trot out such false trails as champerty, usury and far flung theories of intrinsic disputes to show how vexatious the technique truly is. Noise familiar?

In spite of the criticism, we know the following: complainants love it; defendants hate it; it is right here to remain!

Equal Protection Calls For Equal Accessibility

The lynchpin for every benefit considered by our founding fathers and also codified in our constitution rests in one easy concept-- equivalent protection under the legislation.

Given that 1786 when pamphleteer Benjamin Austin called it "a destructive practice", contingent lawful costs have actually been slammed non-stop. Yet today, it is one of the most widely made use of cost arrangement in the USA. Why? Straightforward-- since it functions! The contingent charge system aids to achieve the goal of equal protection by promoting accessibility.

It is axiomatic that there can be no equal security when access to the court system is expensive by a significant section of the population. The entire raison d'etre for backup costs stocks this fundamental access issue. So convincing is this factor that, for many years, courts, have actually methodically removed virtually every barrier preventing access to the court system. From backup fees to attorney advertising to champerty, laws avoiding access, in even one of the most indirect ways, have actually bitten the dust.

Perhaps Judge Michael A. Musmanno stated it finest:

" If it were except contingent charges, indigent victims of tortious mishaps would certainly be subject to the unchecked, self-willed partisanship of their tortfeasors. The individual who has, without mistake on his component, been injured and also that, due to his injury, is unable to work, and also has a huge household to support, and also has no money to engage a lawyer, would certainly be at the mercy of the person who disabled him because, remaining in a superior financial placement, the harming individual could force on his victim, seriously seeking cash to keep the candle of life burning in himself and his dependent ones, an entirely unconscionably meager amount in settlement, or even reject to pay him anything at all. Any society, as well as specifically a democratic one, worthwhile of respect in the spectrum of human being, need to never ever endure such a victimization of the weak by the mighty." Richette v. Solomon, 187 A. 2d 910, 919 (Pa. 1963).

However, managing an attorney is just one part of a complainant's obstacle. A plaintiff must likewise have the capacity to maintain themselves during the pendancy of their action. Nevertheless, what good is preserving an attorney, if you can not pay for the standard necessities of life? How are economically stressed plaintiffs to maintain themselves during the pendancy of their litigation which may be the source of their economic condition in the first place

Litigation Funding

One response is litigation financing. Being able to stay the course is a prerequisite to fair treatment as well as this basic transaction can aid level the playing field with a well-off opponent. This truth was acknowledged by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the 1997 situation of Saladini v. Righellis, (426 Mass. 231, 234) when it kept in mind:

" We have long abandoned the sight that litigation is suspicious, and also have actually acknowledged that contracts to buy an interest in an activity may real foster resolution of a conflict."

Various other superior courts seem to be encouraged by the Massachusetts court including the High court of South Carolina which relied heavily on Saladini when it eliminated champerty in Osprey, Inc. v. Cabana Limited Collaboration, 532 S.E. 2d 269 (S.C. 2000).

In justness it must be noted that the High court of Ohio held a various view in Rancman v. Interim Settlement Funding Corp. 99 Ohio St. 3d 121, 2003-Ohio-2721. Nevertheless, Ohio is in the minority and also the doctrine of champerty may eventually satisfy its last just death penalty at the US Supreme Court when the applicability of the 14th Amendment is determined. (Bennett v NCAAP 370 S.W. 2nd 79 82 (Ark 1963)).

What are the real issues?

In Addition To 15th Century English Legislation, what are the real issues today? The assumption exists is absolutely nothing in it for lawyers, a minimum of not instantly or straight. Providing details to the financing business, administering the execution of the contract as well as observing the lien are all an annoyance for complainant's advice. However, regardless of this, an increasing number of PI attorneys are building relationships with financing companies due to the fact that their clients require it, and they have actually discovered that reputable seasoned business can show to be an invaluable resource.

Price.

The most typical criticism is the cost.

The typical quantity paid for bodily injury insurance policy claims suffered in automobile crashes is little - less than $10,000. Hence, it ought to not be surprising that the average litigation funding agreement is also little. Many contracts are for $1,000 to $5,000. Consumer financial products have reasonably fixed transaction costs suggesting that smaller sized offers are virtually as pricey as larger ones. It adheres to that, because of their tiny size, the average costs on lawsuits funding contracts will unavoidably be high.

That having been claimed, the very development of business will solve the issue of price. The marketplace will certainly set rates equally as it makes with contingent lawful charges. As soon as the there is enough experience for the true dangers of these transactions to be commonly understood, capitalists will certainly value the risk to an equivalent level. Currently, costs have actually dropped substantially. Just a couple of years ago it was not uncommon to find fees of 15% per month worsened-- with no cap! This is now rare.

There are three fundamental fee approaches made use of by a lot of financing business:.

1. Month-to-month interest or fees. These can vary 3% to as high as 15% each month without any cap.

2. A percent of the recuperation.

3. Apartment charges that are capped and also might or may not have a discount for early payment.

( Attorneys must be cautious of large costs at shutting that offer to increase real cost considerably).

A legitimate issue is that, with regular monthly costs climbing without any cap, customers may be tempted to take a negotiation simply to stop the fee increases. This not only injures the customer's opportunities of a fair recovery yet additionally restricts the lawyer's fees. The good news is, topped charges are constantly offered out there.

While the industry place will remain to drive price levels towards stability, it needs to be soothing for those without faith in market forces to remember that, in the last analysis, the court has the last word and also can allot violent charges. Schlesinger v Teitelbaum, 475 F2nd 137, 141 (3rd Cir), cert. rejected, 414 U.S. 1111 (1973 ).

On this problem Saladini is significantly on factor:.

" This indicates that if an agreement to finance a suit is challenged, we will think about whether the fees billed are excessive or whether any type of healing by a prevailing celebration is vitiated because of some impermissible overreaching by the sponsor.".

Is it truly a finance in camouflage?

Litigation financing agreements are nearly globally non-recourse. The interpretation of a car loan is blackletter law. If any type of part of the principal or rate of interest is contingent on an occasion that is "more than a mere colorable threat", the agreement is not a loan. A difficulty because the requisite degree of threat is absent would need to be adjudicated case by situation, each situation being distinct. Remember that the funding company is subordinate to lawyer's costs and also expenses, statutory liens as well as previous liens. The risk for an attorney is significantly much better than for the financing company that is last in line. Many regulatory authorities from attorneys general to banking commissioners have actually examined the practice and taken no action. It appears clear that non-recourse methods non-recourse which litigation funding is a danger.

Severe Agreements.

A 2nd widely had problem is making use of contracts with oppressive stipulations. While the enforceability of such clauses is suspicious at best, they still offer an awesome problem worth. Regular undesirable conditions are:.

- Prior consent of funding business called for to change lawyers.

- High sold off problems.

- Waiver of all defenses.

- Disclosure of non-discoverable info.

Most respectable business, including CapTran ® have actually modified their agreements to resolve these problems.

Principles

George Kuhlman, principles advice for the American Bar Association, was quoted in Lawyers Weekly UNITED STATES as stating: "The trouble just can be found in when legal representatives are getting an interest in the subject of the litigation, however anyone can get a piece of somebody's judgment. I do not see any type of attorney involvement so I do not see any trouble. This is a 3rd party becoming involved; making certain individuals can endure their judgments.".

With one exception, all Principles Opinions of which we understand locate lawsuits financing ethical. Michigan finds contracts with certain provisions to be impermissible.

State Bar of Michigan Ethics Board Opinion RI-321, June 29, 2000.

" 1. The best control of the litigation may be transferred to the equity capital firm as a result of the reality that the attorney is completely assigned to the situation;.

2. The original legal representative can not be terminated without the equity capital company's permission in light of the reality that as needed of the equity capital firm all documents and also things should be demanded by that group; as well as.

3. Privileged materials might be disclosed.".

We need to likewise keep in mind that some states require particular details procedural problems to be observed.

Where do we go from here?

As experience expands, capital will go into business in ever raising quantities, making it fairly commonplace while competitors will most certainly mold the item, as well as deal with most, otherwise all, of the problems.

Several wise lawyers understand that litigation funding is not going away anytime quickly as well as they are welcoming it and also discovering how ideal to use it. They are creating relationships with funding companies and using their services to satisfy the demands of their clients. In doing so, they get the added benefit of bargaining for a client that is no more under the scary and destabilizing result of financial pressure.

Visit Here : Benjamin Delanghe

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donewithjeon · 7 years

Text

Downfall [19]

Characters: Jungkook x Reader

Word Count: 8,785

Genre: Assassin AU

The week following the disappointing outcome of the Gimpo Airport mission passes by in a blur. The days elapse in a jumbled mess as if you’re watching scenery shoot by from within a speeding vehicle, but once the brakes are applied and the dust settles behind you, you’re able to organize your thoughts on the events that have occurred.

The first few days were utilized to their full potential as your team vigorously flushed out the rest of the points of interest that Taehyung had marked on the map. The locations were scoped out with the utmost speed since you only had a limited time frame to act. You knew it wouldn’t take long for the enemy to catch on, but you didn’t expect to have already exhausted your upper hand so early in the game.

To hit the remaining areas more efficiently, the organization deployed another available team in the vicinity to help with the endeavors, but their findings were just as good as yours. The enemies emptied out the places before you could get to them, leaving you to walk into an abandoned site each time. The traces of their rushed escape were evident in the scattered belongings that lingered on the floors of the motel rooms and storage facilities, but those scraps weren’t what you were there for.

The tension rose each time you returned to headquarters empty-handed with not even a tip to offer the officials, and you could detect the increasingly darkening expressions of your teammates, some being more ostensible than others. You guys were on a losing streak, and by the end of the scouting spree, you were left with nothing but frustration and an itching irritation from the enemies being one step ahead of you every time—so close, yet so far.

With no leads to further your search down that path, the organization was forced to focus on a different method of advancement.

The warehouse owner, Kang, was taken into the dungeon promptly after your run-in with his maroon-haired employer. Initially, you were hopeful to get at least some kind of direction out of the craven man, but that hope was crushed in the team meeting a few days ago.

“The note that Kang handed over to the unknown target had his bank account information on it,” Jin explained to the rest of you guys, relaying what Jimin was no doubt able to squeeze out of your underground tenant. “Apparently, the other party said that they would help him out with the situation and reimburse him for the trouble they caused, but when we checked his bank account earlier today, it was cleaned out.”

“They took all his money?” you questioned, making sure you were hearing correctly.

“It seems that way.”

Whoever hired Kang to store the weapons had only ever contacted him through physical notes in his mail box; that was where he received all of his instructions on where to go and what to do. He claimed to have never met any of the masterminds behind the operation and that the workers who had arrived at the scene to carry out the transportation of the goods had supposedly just been forgettable, part-time henchmen.

In the hours following the warehouse’s divulgence, Kang had received a sudden and unexpected call that had briskly filled him in on what had happened. They had asked for his bank account info at that time, promising to wire him some money so that he could evade the authorities who were most likely on their way to bust him. Scared out of his wits, he hadn’t dared to even think about selling out his employer—if he had, greeting the police at his front door would have probably been the best-case scenario. More important than his fear, though, was his greed, the trait that got him into this entire ordeal in the first place. He told his employer that the only way he would give them the numbers was in person—that way, he would get some sort of guarantee that they were going to take care of him, that he wasn’t disposable like the many provisional henchmen.

Needless to say, Kang was a tool through and through. Yes, he was blindly loyal, driven by cowardice more than reverence, but in your organization’s eyes, it was just a foolish trait—incompetence as its finest.

Even after the convoluted mess of confessions from your only lead, you’re left with a whole lot of nothing by the end of the week.

Still, not all is lost. The enemy is being cornered as each day passes, and as a result, they are becoming more and more careless. They were already fairly sloppy from the beginning, but just a few more slip-ups, and you’re sure that you’ll be able to crack down on them straightaway. With less places to hide and more eyes around the city on the look-out, they’ll need to come out sooner or later.

Mr. Shin is betting on the former.

“This is an important event not only for our business partner but for us as well.”

Your boss is seated behind his dark oak desk while you, along with your teammates, are lined up in two parallel rows in front of him; Jin, Namjoon, and Yoongi take the front as Taehyung, Jimin, Jungkook, and you stand fixedly in the back. It almost feels like the equivalent of being called into the principal’s office to be reprimanded for deplorable behavior.

The past two decades have done a number on the older gentleman, and his wrinkles seem to have multiplied, each one becoming deeply set in his face with each new recruit he took under his wing. You can’t say for sure how old he is now, but if you have to make an estimate, you would guess that he is well into his 70s—in the least, he sure looks like it. His skin is leathery yet pasty, if that’s even a conceivable combination, and the ratio of gray hairs to black hairs has turned in overwhelming favor of the former, but his eyes still hold the intensity to them that makes him seem like the ever persisting stronghold he was in the past.

Mr. Shin seemed larger than life the first time you met him, but then again, everything and anything seems more colossal in size and presence when you’re a child. Even so, your current impression of him hasn’t changed much since then, and as you stand before him in his spacious but bare-bones office, you feel smaller than ever.

“I trust that I don’t need to repeat myself, but I will do it for the sake of posterity. We are currently at a heightened state of alert, so we cannot afford to take any risks.” He steadily scans the team with a scrutiny that seems to constrict your entire being whenever you make contact with his all-knowing pupils, but then he stops his gaze at a particular point. “Or make any mistakes.” It’s hard to tell whether he’s staring at Namjoon or Yoongi, but when you see Jungkook stiffen in your peripheral vision, you realize that the answer is neither.

“We understand, sir,” Jin replies with the utmost professionalism. It’s something that you yourself probably wouldn’t have been able to pull off, yet it flowed so easily past his lips.

“Good,” Mr. Shin commends in a very unimpressed manner. “You will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so I expect everyone to be on time. Do your best not to delay the rest of the team.”

With that austere message engrained in each of your minds, he dismisses everyone to turn in for the night. Wonderful pep talks like these from Mr. Shin are definitely rare, but what’s even rarer is the fact that the organization is in high alert at this moment.

The last time you remember this warning being issued was around four years ago when a drug kingpin was threatening to destroy Mr. Shin and everything he owns. Unlike the wanted man you are going after today, the head honcho of that association was anything but subtle about his plans. He was severely unhappy with the way your business was interfering with his—that is, you were killing off loyal customers and potential suppliers. Unlike the objective of your organization, his goals and intentions were purely harmful and nothing less than disgustingly seedy—you knew about all of them because he wouldn’t stop mouthing off about it to everyone he knew. The drug lord was a thorn in the side of the city, toxic waste that needed to be disposed of, and after a few arrangements and a very busy couple of weeks for you and the clean-up crew, he no longer posed a problem.

You never saw an empire fall so easily and violently, and it’s only a matter of time until your current enemy suffers the same fate.

The role you have been assigned for the mission tomorrow can basically be summed up as a glorified bodyguard. Mr. Shin is attending an important meeting being held at the Seoul City Hall, and with the enemy still at large with the looming likelihood of striking again, your job is to make sure no one even dares to come close to him.

You still have no idea who or what the threat is—you’re not even sure Mr. Shin does either—but he is definitely not leaving anything to chance. You guys are going to be at the forefront with another organized team from the Yongsan division. You’ve met this particular group a few times in the past—they’re also the ones who lent their hand in the previous scouring of the map locations—but you’re only at the point of recognition, not so much acquaintance. Still, you trust in their abilities, and along with the weapons you will be equipped with, you’re certain that the security of the perimeter is in good hands.

Being armed in a public setting, especially in daylight, is also a rare occurrence indeed, but it is a necessary precaution given the recent circumstances—at least, that’s what you were told. You have to admit, this major defensive maneuver seems like a bit much, and some of you are less than appreciative of being “mall cops” for the day, as Yoongi so aptly put it, but you would be wrong in thinking that this is all to protect one person.

The mayor of Seoul, Moon Seunghyun, will also be present—he is Mr. Shin’s aforementioned business partner, after all.

Mr. Shin has always been chummy with people in high positions, but it isn’t that big of a shock considering that he himself holds the title of the CEO of one of the most successful news outlets in all of Seoul. Building trust with a politician, as much of an oxymoron as it sounds, definitely has its perks for the company. Likewise, you aren’t surprised that Mayor Moon is keen on taking advantage of having a powerful media mogul on his side.

The incentive for amity is the highest for both parties, and judging by their meeting scheduled for tomorrow, the mutually beneficial relationship is going splendidly.

Now, it’s your job to keep that peace intact and stop anyone who attempts to destroy it.

Much to your delight and Jin’s relief, no one is late in the morning. In fact, most of your teammates arrived earlier than the set call time, efficiently walking through their own preparations before heading down to the elected van without having to be told what to do.

“It’s a busy morning,” Hoseok says to you in the armory as you’re securing the sheath for your knife onto the back of your waist.

“The commotion will die down once we leave,” you reply with a playful quirk of the lips. “Try not to miss us while we’re gone.”

He heartily scoffs at your comment. Since his services aren’t needed for this mission, Hoseok won’t be joining the rest of the team today, but you don’t think he’s taking the news too hard.

“The only thing I miss right now is the silence.”

Your smirk lightens up into a smile as you take a hold of your jacket to slip it on; in anticipation for the weather and mobility, you decided to grab one out of your closet with a thinner, more breathable fabric. You do a simple spin-around to make sure your knife is fully concealed and that everything else is in place.

“You’re good to go,” Hoseok assures you with a quick thumbs-up. “Try not to have too much fun without me.”

You chuckle at the reciprocation of your joke before bidding him goodbye, knowing very well that what you have in store can probably be considered the polar opposite of fun. Short of any more distractions, you make your way down to the parking garage to locate your team’s vehicle for the day; it is a large, white van used by the news crews of the company, except this one remains unlabeled and unidentifiable from the exterior.

Jin is already in the driver’s seat when you arrive, dressed to the nines with what you imagine is the most casual suit he owns. It’s been a while since your supervising officer has accompanied you on a mission like this. He was originally the designated driver for group jobs in the past, with good reason, so this view of the back of his well-groomed head is one that’s exceedingly familiar to you. Along with being a chauffeur—some of the others like to revive this joke every so often—Jin was in charge of more or less leading the team when in the field, but ever since he got promoted into the office, another teammate has been doing well to fill in the shoes of keeping the team in check, probably even a little too well.

Speaking of your responsible brother, Namjoon has taken the liberty of occupying the one and only passenger’s seat beside Jin in the front of the van. That means that you and four other people have the pleasure of jumping in the back with all the equipment lining the walls. There’s still plenty of space in the hindmost section where the machinery ends, but it’s still a bumpy and uncomfortable ride sitting on the metal floor of the moving vehicle.

Yoongi, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook are all settled in their own spot, each person donning a different but similar outfit for the mission that consist of jackets and hats to cover themselves up from wandering eyes, prying lenses, and last but not least, the sun’s rays. From what you can sense, sweat is already starting to form on your brow, and you know it’ll only get worse once it’s time for your mask to go on.

Anonymity is crucial for missions in extremely public areas such as this one, so the less of you that is revealed, the better. Face masks are a must, especially with helping to hide your lip movements when speaking into the comms. Frankly, they are also commonplace in the city, whether it be a disposable medical mask to filter the air you breathe or a washable cotton mask with an identical but more fashionable purpose. Although neither of those serve as the true reason for your team’s use of the accessories, onlookers will be none the wiser.

While the other members are scattered on the spectrum of disliking the item and not minding it at all, Jungkook is usually the one to share in your annoyance with the necessity, but he hasn’t said a word or even spared you a glance all day. In fact, he put on his black mask well before getting in the van, and he even went as far as to put on a black beanie to match, letting his dark hair peek out from the front and rest messily above his eyes. You remember him preparing wordlessly, almost broodingly, this morning, making sure to tuck his handguns into their holsters before throwing his black denim jacket on and over the weapons to finish off his look. It’s not an ideal outfit for the tail-end of the summer, but it really doesn’t seem like he cares much—there are far greater things on his mind, and none of them include the weather.

Sometime during the less-than-stellar drive to the mission location is when you usually start to hear bickering amongst your teammates, but today, not one complaint is uttered between the five of you in the rear.

Mr. Shin is definitely on full defense mode these days, and as a result, the tension is pretty high throughout the rest of the organization. This serious atmosphere enveloping your team is an understandable sight to behold, expressly after the verbal beating you guys received last week for the mess of events that ultimately led to the maroon-haired mystery man getting away. It feels as if you’re walking on hot coals, and you know for a fact that Jungkook feels the strongest about the failure to grasp a decent lead. Even now, as you examine the solemn features on his face, you can tell from his unwavering gaze directed at the floor that he’s mentally going over all the ways in which he can redeem himself.

“Alright. Everyone out.” Jin’s voice pulls you from your thoughts, serving as the only indication that you have arrived at your destination, for there are no windows to glance out of in the back. Everyone starts shifting in place, putting on their masks and lifting themselves up from their haggard positions. Namjoon turns around from his seat to take a better, more thoughtful look at you guys before speaking up.

“Get in position, and keep your comms on at all times.” He emphasizes the second part of the order, eyeing Taehyung with some extra fervor before looking at you. You know better than to start an argument about how you’re only guilty by association, so instead, you take your mask and hook it over your ears to cover your grimace.

The back door is popped open, bathing everything in the morning sunshine, and you exit the van after the rest of the team. As soon as you shut the door behind you, Jin begins to drive off, no doubt going to find a good spot to implement his part of the job. He, along with Namjoon, is staying inside the vehicle to work out communications between the members of your team as well as the other. They are also in charge of surveillance, and this is all with the help of the technology that you were cozying up to on the way here. This way, they will be able to tap into the CCTV in the surrounding area and be able to provide better feedback to everyone on foot.

Exactly as you were ordered, the five of you start going your separate ways but all towards the same general direction. You were dropped off in a side street near the rear of the point of interest—it’s not too far of a walk, but you know that Jin and Namjoon need to get closer in order to be more effective. The roads are bustling with cars and motorbikes alike, but it’s a different kind of buzzing in the air that hooks your attention. All you can perceive at first is the back of a sleek, grand structure, but as you slowly follow the sidewalk around the building and into the clearing, you’re able to see the source of what you’ve been hearing.

“It’s so damn crowded,” you hear Yoongi say, his displeasure coming through your earpiece as clear as day.

“It’s the first day that the new City Hall is open to the public. It’s to be expected.” Namjoon replies indifferently.

“After four years, they finally finished the new building, huh?” Jimin responds back, making you wonder if it really has been that long since the development began. You’ve never been to this part of town before—there’s no need to, really—but you remember seeing all the potential designs for the structure during the early stages of planning. “It’s shorter than I thought it would be.”

The lack of a witty comment about Jimin’s observation is shocking; with an easy set-up like that, you expected Taehyung to swoop in like a hawk with a wisecrack or two, but there’s nothing but silence from the other end. Although, if you try really hard, you can probably hear him biting his tongue.

During this infrequent moment of truce within the comms, you take the time scan your environment and navigate your way to your post. You were shown the floor plan of the area beforehand when everyone was being assigned their own sectors to patrol, but seeing everything in person is a completely different story.

Seoul City Hall.

It resides at the heart of Seoul, as it should. It has its own trapezoidal plot that almost looks like a concrete island surrounded by streets on all four sides, but the vehicle lanes are the only thing isolating this assembly from the myriad of tall office buildings around it. There are actually two structures here, for the old City Hall stands just in front of the new one. Rather than being in a straight row, they are considerably offset from each other, so you are able to get a good view of them both from the front where you are currently passing by.

The old City Hall is an Imperial Crown Style building made from taupe stone. It is much wider than it is tall, appearing to have around four levels, and is adorned with a large analog clock that is posted onto the center of the topmost edge of the exterior wall, not including the protruding watchtower that extends up another level in the middle of the roof. It looks very much like an official governmental construction, but it makes sense since it was built in 1925 for that purpose, if your memory of childhood history class serves you correctly. While it has now shed its former title of City Hall, it has gone through some renovations to take on a different title: Seoul Metropolitan Library.

The new City Hall was raised in the back and a smidge to the right of the old one, becoming one of the most perfect juxtapositions of the past and present you have ever encountered. The modern structure looms over the hall-turned-library at thirteen stories high, and the majority of the exterior is made of transparent but reflective panels. The overall shape of the structure is hard to describe; it almost looks like a giant wave about to crash over the old building, and the glass is tinged a deep blue or green depending on the way the light hits the surface, much like the ocean itself.

It’s definitely architecturally intriguing and you wouldn’t mind admiring it for a while longer, but you’re nearing the end of your short walk to your designated division of the area, so you tear your eyes away to regard the opposite direction. When you were focused on something else, you were able to pay less attention to the large crowds you were winding your way through, but now as you go into the thick of it, it’s something that you can’t avoid, as with your tedious job.

In front of the two buildings lies Seoul Plaza; it’s an impressive expanse of open space, except today, you’re more impressed by the turnout that is populating the space. There is a sizeable oval range of grass in the middle where families and couples are having picnics and lazing around the makeshift park. On either side of the lively field there are rows of pop-up canopy tents of various colors that you assume are for the information booths and food stands for the event today. They all seem to be swamped with visitors of all ages who are either lining up or strolling along. It’s to the point where you can’t even see what some of the stalls are providing, but you don’t have time to even care about taking a peek.

Your job is to keep an eye on this enormous crowd.

It’s not an easy feat by a long shot, because with a gathering of this size, there’s a better chance of things slipping past you. It is because of this reason that your team, sans Hoseok, is here with your other buddies from the Yongsan division in order to cover more ground. The latter is dispersed closer to buildings and also within, whereas your team is taking up the rest of the outdoor region.

The objective is simple and one you’ve heard more times than you can count: be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. You were told explicitly not to make any obvious advances unless you are absolutely sure something is going wrong, and it was underlined that you are to retreat if things get out of hand. The way that your instructions contradict not just your presence but the presence of the guns and knives concealed on everyone’s bodies adds even more ammo to your ever-growing heap of unanswered questions. Even so, you understand the need for subtlety and restraint when it comes to being in the public eye, and since there will be several other press companies covering the opening of City Hall, that need is amplified tenfold.

After completing a number of your patrolling rounds consisting of casually dodging congested zones, pretending to be interested in the brochures you’re handed, and murmuring occasional updates to Jin and Namjoon, you’re beginning to sweat an indecent amount under your mask. The weather is milder than it has been this past week, but since you typically only work during the night, being out in this sun is still too warm for your tastes.

You wonder how Jungkook is faring in his getup, or any of the other members for that matter. You only spotted some of them in the sea of bodies once or twice, and you haven’t heard much from them the entire time other than an “all good” or a “same here” every thirty minutes or so. Surprisingly, you have to say that the mission seems more grueling without the regular back-and-forth between your teammates. Not to mention, you feel like your eyes are going to start spinning if you have to keep up your laser focus and visually dissect this mass of faces and bodies for any longer.

Stopping beside a tree to utilize some of the shade, you allow yourself a few moments of relief. You want nothing more than to free yourself from the shackles of your excessive layers and constricting setting, and even though a couple hours have passed already, you know you still have quite a bit more to go—the giant clock on top of the library reminds you of that each time you steal a glimpse of it.

The schedule you memorized and have to follow has to be dealt with meticulousness. You are to continue general guard duties until 2 P.M.; that’s when Mayor Moon is supposed to grace the citizens with his presence and begin the official welcoming ceremony. From what you’ve seen in the news, he has been traveling all over the country for his campaign tour these past few months, but since the opening of his new office is an important occasion that cannot be missed, he is taking a brief break from his itinerary to be here today. There’s still an hour or so until that event starts, which means that you have a little less than that until you all have to head on over to your second positions around the main stage where the mayor is going to step up onto.

Constantly going over the plans in your head is well and good, but it doesn’t help in making the hours go by faster. In fact, it probably causes each minute to feel longer, but before you can even finish your thought, the problem is erased from your mind in an instant.

And a greater problem replaces it.

From the corner of your eye, you detect a strange movement within the blur of moving figures, but you’re not given the chance to examine it. A loud bang rips through the air—it sounds like a single firework that has gone off, and you’re sure that the civilians around you will make that assumption, but you’ve heard it a million times before to know precisely what it is.

A gunshot.

There’s no doubt about it as you hear an equally jarring noise of the bullet whizzing by your ear as it barely misses you. Your reflexes immediately kick in as you duck down without another thought and leap forward to press up against a nearby metal trash bin as soon as you identify it as the best place for cover.

“What was that?” Jimin abruptly snaps, echoing your thoughts.

You peer over your shoulder to the place you were just standing, and while it takes you a few moments to find it, you see the undeniable mark on the tree where a bullet has embedded itself into the bark.

“Someone just shot at me.”

Some of the pedestrians walking by are openly staring at you in confusion at your bizarre behavior and crouched position. People around you seem painfully slow at reacting to the noise, obviously not grasping what exactly the source was. They’ve probably never even heard a real gunshot in their lives, so coming to the conclusion that one just rang out in public is most likely unfathomable. To those feeble-minded folk, you’re just a strange girl with a strong fear of pyrotechnics.

“Where did it come from?” Namjoon asks with urgency.

Taking a chance since the offender missed you once already, you peek out into the scene from the side of the container. You can see and hear that there’s a rise in activity near one of the masses towards the left. It’s difficult to identify the shooter with all the movement, but just then, a familiar back comes into view that begs for your attention. Your eyes land on his nape, and you recognize the bit of burgundy hair that is exposed from under his black cap.

“It’s him—the guy we saw with Kang,” you hastily announce. “Black cap, army green jacket. He’s retreating from the northeast to the southwest, crossing through the center of the plaza.”

You’re just about to set off and pursue him, but you realize that the center of the plaza also means the center of the crowd. The man seems to have decided to flee rather than fight after the first shot, but if you jump out of your cover to chase after him, there’s a chance that he’ll feel provoked and open fire again. Seeing all the innocent bystanders in the area, that scenario would be the epitome of things getting “out of hand”.

“We have eyes on him. Everyone get back to the vehicle.” Jin’s orders are concise and steadfast, eradicating any stress for you to make a speedy decision for your next course of action. You’re on the opposite end of where you know the van is located and there isn’t much cover for you to duck under if the enemy has the gall to attack again, but you have confidence in your agility.

It’s now or never.

You rise to your feet and promptly begin dashing along the northern section of the plaza, avoiding any pedestrians and curious gazes you’re receiving from them. You don’t even make it ten strides before you hear more gunfire. Your heart drops with each crack that slices through the air and hits your eardrums, and your immediate reaction is to get down on the ground, but something is different about these shots. They’re distinctively louder than the first, but the absence of the bullets buzzing past you means that you aren’t the target this time.

“Jungkook, what the hell are you doing?!”

Your heart drops even further to a personal low as Yoongi’s alerting voice freezes you in your tracks. Could it be possible that Jungkook is stubbornly going after the man again? You spin around to face the source of the noise, wholly ready to jump in and help your teammate if he’s in trouble.

That’s when you realize that the gunshots aren’t coming from the enemy.

In the distance, Jungkook stands in the middle of the grass field, his arms extended out in front of him and a threatening pistol gripped in his hands. He must have sprinted up from his post at the southeast sector to intercept the absconding adversary, and it looks as though he has the man in his sights. You’re not able to tell whether or not he has landed a hit yet, but it doesn’t matter because he starts to open fire again—right into the crowd.

The plaza erupts in mayhem when the inhabitants finally understand what is going on. Confusion turns into panic like a flip of a switch, and the roar of screaming and the swarm of running figures bombards your senses as everyone desperately tries to get away from the scene.

Except, not all of them make it.

Jungkook is shooting mercilessly into the field of victims devoid of even taking a second to care for precision—it’s like he just needs to see the wanted man fall, and the rest is merely collateral damage. You watch in horror as bodies start to hit the ground, and you can only hope that all of them are doing it to avoid getting hit rather than the other unsettling possibility.

The black mask Jungkook had on since the morning is doing a good job of covering the majority of his face, but you are still able to see his eyes. There’s an intensity in them that sparks with a greater flame each time he pulls the trigger, and you’re almost afraid to imagine what sort of sinister expression he is holding under his mask that matches the feverous glower.

From what you can comprehend, he’s dead-set on taking out the enemy and enacting revenge for failing the previous mission, but the issue is, he is seeing everyone around him in this very moment as the enemy. To him, they are all rings of a target, and the wanted man is the bullseye he has to hit no matter what.

“Jungkook, stand down!” you hear Namjoon yell. “Put the gun away and fall back!”

There’s a frenzy in the comms that matches the one around you, but Jungkook doesn’t seem to be paying it any mind. Your heart is thumping in your chest at such an enormous rate, the pressure is actually starting to feel painful, and your breaths are cut shorter than usual, as if there isn’t enough oxygen to fill your lungs. You realize that it’s because your legs are impelling you forward, moving on their own into an improvised sprint, but this time, taking you straight into the fray.

Your other teammates are most likely already near or at the getaway vehicle at this point, but you can hear shouting through your earpiece that indicates that some of them are heading over here to try and sedate the situation. They’re going to take a while to get here, especially fighting through the wave of people fleeing in the opposite direction, so as the one closest to the scene, you know you need to do something.

Before you, all the civilians are putting forth their best effort to evacuate the area, although they’re not succeeding in doing it efficiently. You think you see someone running completely the wrong way, but when you take a closer look, it clicks in your mind that the man is deliberately rushing straight at Jungkook from behind. He looks to be an elderly man, which rescinds your suspicion of him being an accomplice to the enemy, and by the way he throws himself into the tackle with no inhibition nor technique whatsoever, you figure out that what you’re seeing is a selfless act to stop the aggressor. It’s too bad that his heroic deed is overturned in one fell swoop as Jungkook swings his torso around to deliver a solid blow with his elbow, knocking the older fellow onto the ground.

Everything Jungkook is doing must be by instinct, almost performed primitively, because he doesn’t even bat an eyelash at the unsuccessful hindrance. It’s like he’s shrugging off a fallen leaf that flew onto his back as he continues on his way like nothing happened—it’s as if he’s in a trance, unable to take his eyes off the objective.

“Stop him!”

You definitely don’t need to be told twice.

You don’t even slow down to contemplate your actions—there’s no time. Your footsteps are light and muffled by the soft grass as you approach Jungkook’s backside, and at the last second, you veer off to his left. Before he’s able to react to your sudden appearance, you take the momentum of your maneuver and swing your leg up and around to disarm him, knowing that this is probably the only way to do so, considering his tenacious grip. Thankfully, the impact causes him to release the weapon, and you watch as it goes flying over to the side, skipping off the ground once before coming to a complete halt in the greenery.

You managed to knock his gun out of his hands like you were hoping to, but in the few moments it takes you to regain your center of balance after the dash and strike, Jungkook makes a move with his right hand for something under his jacket. You’re about to talk some sense into him, but he doesn’t provide you with an opening to speak your piece.

His years of training must have kicked in like an impulse, because he promptly unsheathes a small dagger to replace his lost firearm in the shortest amount of time he can muster. Like a movement he has practiced several million times over the span of his training and missions, there’s no hitch or hesitancy in the reactive swipe he begins to take.

The moment you catch the glint of the knife, you do your best to dodge the unexpected attack as he slashes down at you. Unfortunately, his range is wider than you anticipated, and while you are able to escape the fatal zone, his dagger still finds purchase. You witness a sickening pop of the sharp point breaking skin, cutting through your thin clothing to sink into your flesh. You feel the edge of the blade trail down your back for a little longer before it breaks contact and you’re tumbling forward onto the ground and away from Jungkook.

Luckily, you think you were able to avoid the brunt of the attack, and after pulling yourself up and taking a knee to steady yourself, you try to register what just happened in the span of mere seconds. The only excuse you can come up with for the unwarranted aggression is that your mask may have caused you to be unrecognizable in the heat of the moment.

This would be a good explanation, if he even bothered to look at you.

The ringing of shots resumes as you lift your head to take another look at the person who is supposed to be your ally, not your foe. Jungkook has a 9mm in his hands, a backup pistol he carries regularly in case something happens to his main firearm, such as getting knocked away during a bout of close combat. He’s right back to where he was before your attempt to subdue him; his focus is solely on the wanted man, whereas the things happening around him are obstacles he just needs to push out of his way using one means or another. While you and the other man who tried to ambush him are left in his wake, he continues down his path to maintain the line of sight he has with his true target.

This is probably the worst case of tunnel vision you have ever seen. Jungkook moves further away from you with each passing second, but you remember the emotions etched into his eyes in that split moment before he removed you from his pathway. He knows better than to pull a stunt like this, but there is something terrible happening in his mind, like a broken record that is stuck on the command “kill”. He has gone off the deep end, and for the first time in your life, you feel that his presence is menacing.

At this rate, it looks like the only way he’s going to stand down is when everyone is dead—or when he is.

He needs to be stopped.

That’s the only sentence that’s playing in your mind as your eyes land on the Desert Eagle nearby that was chucked onto the grass when you kicked it from Jungkook’s grasp. Keeping low to the ground, you shuffle over to retrieve the weapon cautiously but swiftly. The metal object feels heavy in your hands, and when you lift it up in front of you, you make sure to have a tighter grip than usual—you don’t want this 50 caliber pistol flying out of your hands because of poor handling.

With each step Jungkook takes away from his trail of destruction, his guard is lowered. Almost all the civilians are avoiding the oval strip of grass like the plague, giving you an unobstructed view of his back. He isn’t paying attention to you or the countless curses that are being shouted in the comms.

If you want to take a shot, now’s the time to do it.

You take aim at Jungkook’s back and guide your hands toward his right shoulder before lowering your targeting even further. You’ll just clip his arm so that he snaps out of his killing frenzy—it’ll be no big deal. Not only is it the fastest solution, but it is necessary given the consequences of letting him go on any longer than he already has. He is putting the people around him in danger, but more importantly, he is putting the entire organization at risk—this is protocol.

You have to do this.

The exact moment you line up your shot, staring down the barrel of a gun that seems too big in your hands, your mind tells you to take it—but something deeper within you creeps up to try and make a compelling counter.

“No…”

The word echoes between your ears, and at first, you think it’s one of the members or even a bystander calling for you to stop what you’re about to do, but you’re horribly mistaken. The female voice rose from a dark and hidden corner of your memory, sounding as clear as the first time you heard it.

In the blink of an eye, the image of Jungkook’s back morphs into the shadow of a man you once aimed at almost two decades ago—your mother’s murderer.

You thought you had outgrown these flashes that used to haunt you in the past, but this one appears so vividly as if it’s replaying before your eyes, you feel yourself at a loss on how to deal with the abrupt and unsolicited trip down memory lane. Your whole body freezes as you’re transported against your will back to that fragment of time, but unlike a steady cruise down the road, you find yourself hydroplaning through all the emotions existing in that moment. Then, like a slingshot, you’re thrown forward through the developments since that fateful day—all the strength and courage you fought hard to build up, the rigorous training you endured to overcome your faults, the promise you made to yourself that you would not let something like that happen again.

All those years of regret.

Not letting another precious second pass you by, you immediately give the trigger a harsh tug. The gun jolts loudly in your hands, and the strong recoil from the shot blasts a gust of air into your face, releasing pressure from the bullet exiting the muzzle at a tremendous speed. Just like the trigger, you’re pulled back as well, your mind skidding back into the present to an abrupt halt—but you are too little, too late.

It is only after the deafening crack of the deed you just executed that the world becomes clear again, and as you regain focus on the scene before you, your eyes widen in realization that Jungkook is facing the wrong direction, having misaligned himself from your initial aim. His body is turning towards you, and you have no choice but to watch helplessly as the bullet soars through the air and lodges itself straight into the left side of his chest.

Instantaneously, he appears shocked by the impact, and as if thrown off balance by the powerful shot, he stumbles on his feet in the process of pivoting to face a different direction. He then sways backwards too far for comfort, and with an audible thud, he falls down onto the grass below him quicker than you would have ever expected, especially from him.

Just like that, the pounding of your heart stops. The screams and cries around you become white noise. All movement in your vision turns into an indistinguishable mosaic around your fallen teammate. You don’t even feel like you’re in your own body anymore. Your whole being is iced over, unmoving and unbelieving of the incident that just unraveled in front of you—because of you.

You just shot Jungkook. Not only that, but he’s lying on the ground.

And he isn’t moving.

Slowly, you start to lower your borrowed handgun, unable to bring yourself to get up or take your eyes off of his motionless body, even as familiar figures come rushing onto the scene with rapid-fire commands and responses. Jin is kneeling down next to Jungkook—he must have abandoned his post at the van in order to personally assess the situation—and judging by the way Jimin is helping to heave Jungkook onto Jin’s back, your supervisor must have deemed the body transportable. It’s not like you guys have much of a choice anyway; you aren’t just going to leave him there and let him potentially get into the wrong hands—or worse.

A gust of a shadow casts over you, blocking out the balmy rays of the afternoon sun that no longer have an effect on you and the chill rushing through your veins. You can detect the muddled words of a discomposed man, but you can’t understand the meaning of the drivel as your attention stays glued on the now empty spot on the field where a crimson blotch has stained the blades of green grass.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong grip clamps over your wrist, yanking you back into reality. Your peripheral vision is no longer a haze, and the noises of the disorder surrounding you pierce your eardrums with heightened affliction—specifically, a gruff and demanding voice.

“Come on.”

Yoongi’s tone is low and muffled behind his mask, but there’s no denying a hint of the order seeping out like a growl between his teeth. You lift your chin up to stare at his face, barely being able to locate his eyes under the bill of the white cap pulled tightly over them.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” you breathe out. “I just—”

Before you can continue with your pathetic monologue, Yoongi pulls your arm up with such force, you feel like your shoulder is going to pop out of its socket. Nonetheless, he successfully lifts you out of being a useless heap and onto your feet.

“We need to go—now.”

Yoongi begins to run in the direction that he came from, and you find yourself following briskly behind him as he basically drags you along, his vice grip unrelenting around your wrist. Soon, your team’s van comes into view, and the moment you get close enough to the rear, he wrenches the door open and practically shoves you into the vehicle.

You scramble to recover your composure as the rest of your teammates piles in after you. You press yourself all the way up against one of the machines and away from the back, trying to take up the minimum amount of space you can. Once everyone is in, the door doesn’t even have a chance to close all the way before the vehicle lurches forward and starts speeding away from the chaotic scene.

But there’s no escaping the utter chaos that is inside the van.

Jungkook is laid out on the metal floor, the bottom of his shoes grazing one side of the wall, and Jin is hovering over his body, busily doing what he does best. Your supervising officer is no doubt unmatched when it comes to treating wounds, and having seen it all from broken bones and punctured organs alike, he proves time and time again to be the unspoken team medic.

You can only see his back as he’s working, and due to the location of the injury, he prevents you from seeing anything that is happening above his current patient’s waist. Jimin is on the other side of Jungkook, propping his upper body up slightly so that the blood loss isn’t so severe. Although, you can’t tell if it’s working or not.

Shouts assault your hearing from behind you that consist of a storm of orders and profanities, the latter coming mostly from Yoongi in the sole passenger’s seat. That’s when you realize that Namjoon is the one driving, and as if proving your revelation, he proceeds to make a particularly sharp turn that has everyone inside holding on for dear life.

You see Jin’s body shift to the side as he’s thrown off balance, and in that split second it takes for him to return back to his original position, you are able to get a glimpse of Jungkook’s face. His mask is off now and his eyes are open, staring blankly up at the bare ceiling of the van.

Your mind is as empty as his expression as your view is obstructed again. You’re unable to go through the possibilities of what that means or what to think—your senses are on overdrive and heading to the brink of numbness.

Out of nowhere, a warm hand places itself onto yours, making you flinch from the startling contact. Diverting your attention away from the hectic trio in the back, you look beside you to see Taehyung’s soft eyes staring back at you, his mouth forming the syllables to gently call your name. He slowly lures you out of your daze with his kind and knowing gaze, and you finally understand what he is trying to tell you.

“You can let go.”

Your head drops down to stare at where his palm is draped over your hand, the hand that is still holding onto the Desert Eagle with whitened knuckles. You unfurl your fingers as you’re told, and they ache from the strained grip you were maintaining all this time. Almost immediately after the weapon is loosened from your grasp, Taehyung slips his palm under yours, intertwining your fingers together while removing the gun altogether with his other hand.

You’re aware that you are now squeezing the life out of his hand, but he stays resolute and unfaltering in a way that makes it seem like it’s serving the purpose he was planning. He’s trying to keep you stabilized, and in the back of this vehicle that feels more like a warzone than a news van, you couldn’t be more grateful.

Taehyung proceeds to mutter a few words to you with the intention of relaxing your frayed nerves. He’s speaking barely above a whisper, yet his proximity to your ear is enough for you to catch every single sentence. You stare straight forward as his voice swirls around your head like an entrancing lull meant to calm you down, but your world is starting to spin so much that it feels as if you’re about to spiral deeper than he intended for you to go. Even through this turmoil, you don’t dare let go of Taehyung’s hand, because with it and the reassuring words he soothingly repeats to you, he’s giving you the solid grounding you desperately need to anchor yourself.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.”

#i've been waiting to write this chapter since i started this series #and now it's done :')#downfall #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #jungkook x reader #jungkook #bts #bts scenario #jungkook scenario #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic

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surly01 · 5 years

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A Bloody Week In Doom March 17, 2019

Prayers for the victims in Christchurch attacks.

“The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born. Now is the time of monsters.”

― Antonio Gramsci

The latest monster came to call in Christchurch, New Zealand in a story that dwarfed all others this week. I had some other ideas for what might fill this space this week, then the news from Christchurch, New Zealand, followed by the one-two punch of a Twitler emission rendered all moot. Brenton Tarrant strapped on a helmet camera, loaded a car with weapons, drove to a mosque in Christchurch and began shooting at anyone who came across his line of vision. His helmet-cam helped broadcast the act of mass terror live for the world to watch on social media. As of Sunday, the death toll had reached 50.

Tarrant thus joined the roll call of monsters alongside Stephen Paddock (Las Vegas), Anders Breivik (Norway), Robert Gregory Bowers (Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh), Omar Mateen (Pulse, Orlando), Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook), Nikolas Cruz (Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school), Devin Patrick Kelley (Sutherland Springs church in Texas), James Holmes (Aurora), Dylann Roof (Charleston, SC), and, of course, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who kicked off the 21st century with the Columbine massacre.

In ancient Rome, an interregnum was a period between stable governments when anything might happen, and the "the blood-dimmed tide" might be loosed: civil unrest, competition between warlords, power vacuums, wars of succession. In 1929, in such an interregnum found Italian Marxist philosopher and politician Antonio Gramsci languishing in a fascist prison, writing about the forces tearing Europe apart. He anticipated civil unrest, war between nations and changing political fault lines.

Interestingly, it was Gramsci who gave us the term "hegemony" now in use. Hegemony is a three dollar word representing a simple idea: the coercion of smaller fish by bigger fish. When the powerful use their influence to convince the less powerful their best interest lies in doing what is actually in the best interest of the powerful, that's hegemony. When we consider the above list of overwhelmingly white terrorists with a nationalist/supremacist bent, we can see terror is one way the powerful preserve their hegemony when they feel their power begin to wane when frightened by demographic changes posed by immigration.

Trump has the sensibility of a spoiled child tearing the wings off of flies. When asked whether white nationalism has anything to do with the tragedy in Christchurch, he replied in the negative. Echoes of “good people on both sides,” a la Charlottesville. The prime minister of New Zealand indicated late Friday coming changes to New Zealand's gun laws. A striking contrast that makes one wonder how many will have to die, again and again and again, until our own politicians, beholden to the NRA and their sea of laundered rubles, are moved to similarly act.

You'll recall that when it was his time to serve in Vietnam, the self proclaimed White House tough guy came up missing like Dick Cheney and his five deferments. Chickenhawks like Cheney always find "other priorities" to service, but are eager to send the disposable sons and daughters of the poor into harm's way, because what else are they for but cannon-fodder? Real military men who have seen battle are loath to commit their fellow citizens to needless battle; but chickenhawks, untroubled by loss or nightmares, send their non-relatives readily into the Valley of Death.

The mob-boss stylings of Citrus Caligula make a tough sound, especially when talking to the far right media like Breitbart.

Trump said: "I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad. But the left plays it cuter and tougher. Like with all the nonsense that they do in Congress … with all this investigations]—that’s all they want to do is –you know, they do things that are nasty. Republicans never played this.”

When you can't bully a majority of the people and the House of Representatives into accepting your will as fiat, that is apparently vicious tactics. Especially on the part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who Trump refers to as "Nancy."

"So here’s the thing—it’s so terrible what’s happening,” Trump said before discussing his supporters. “You know, the left plays a tougher game, it’s very funny. I actually think that the people on the right are tougher, but they don’t play it tougher. Okay?"

Uh, not OK. This is Trump engaging in stochastic terrorism, or

the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted.

Trump is actively encouraging people taking the law into their own hands, in the same way Putin has his Night Riders (see below), as Mussolini had his black shirts, and Hitler his brown shirts. The purpose is unmistakable: to be bullyboys who operate outside of the law and through violent intimidation. For the last two years we've had a president who fundamentally does not believe in democracy, and whose recent utterances show no loyalty to either the Constitution or the traditions of American governance. This IS a time of monsters. And now this:

Trump’s Breitbart Biker Threat Came From the Putin Playbook—Then Tweet Deleted After Mosque Massacre

Trump told Breitbart there could be biker violence against leftists. It sounded even worse after Brenton Tarrant's mosque massacre manifesto called Trump "a symbol of renewed white identity." It does not get much clearer than that.

The Daily Beast Explains the Putinesque origins of Twitler's latest veiled threat:

"They call themselves The Night Wolves, “a new kind of motorcycle club,” or, sometimes, “Putin’s Angels.” And just as much as the Orthodox Church or the military, the Wolves have become a symbol of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But the idea that they might be used as his extra-legal enforcers in times of trouble is usually implicit—embedded in their flag-waving Putinized patriotism—never really spelled out....Trump is not so subtle, however, especially when he takes his cues from the Kremlin. Leave it to him to put the potential for violent defense of his interests by a motorcycle gang front and center in the public view."

On Friday morning, as news broke of the massacre, the murderer's manifesto called Trump “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose,” the Breitbart tough-guy tweet came down. Note a wider pattern of American racists and white supremacists looking to Russia for both moral and tactical support.

The New Zealand Massacre Was Made to Go Viral

Outside a mosque in Christchurch on Friday. Mark Baker/Associated Press

Charlie Warzel noted that the attack marks a grim new age of social media-fueled terrorism.

A 17-minute video of a portion of the attack, which leapt across the internet faster than social media censors could remove it, is one of the most disturbing, high-definition records of a mass casualty attack of the digital age — a grotesque first-person-shooter-like documentation of man’s capacity for inhumanity.

Videos of attacks are designed to amplify the terror, of course. But what makes this atrocity “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described it, is both the methodical nature in which the massacre was conducted and how it was apparently engineered for maximum virality.

Even though Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube scrambled to take down the recording, they were no match for the speed of their users or for their algorithms which make connections for people consuming such content. In minutes, the video was downloaded and mirrored onto additional platforms, and ricocheted around the globe.

Warzel notes,

Internet users dredged up the alleged shooter’s digital history, preserving and sharing images of weapons and body armor. The gunman’s apparent digital footprint — from the rantings of a White Nationalist manifesto to his 8chan message board postings before the murders — was unearthed and, for a time, distributed into far-flung corners of the web.

The killer wanted the world’s attention, and by committing an act of mass terror, he was able to get it.

It was not the first act of violence to be broadcast in real-time. Yet this one was different because ofd the perpetrator's apparent familiarity with the darkest corners of the internet. The recording contains numerous references to online and meme culture, including name-checking a prominent YouTube personality. Tarrant knew his audience.

Tarrent's digital trail depicts a white supremacist motivation for the attack. His 87-page manifesto, for instance, is filled with layers of commentary apparently written to specifically enrage the communities that appear to have helped radicalize the gunman in the first place. It seems he understands both the platform dynamics that allow misinformation and divisive content to spread but also the way to sow discord.

I recently came across an article by Ezra Klein who identifies an ecosphere of YouTube prophets and avatars who populate the "intellectual dark web:" The rise of YouTube’s reactionary right: How demographic change and YouTube’s algorithms are building a new right. Many right wing publishers benefit from YouTube’s algorithms to build the new right.

YouTube’s recommendation engine follows the digital footsteps we all make. And it sees connections, not context. It knows when audiences repeatedly come together, but does not grasp why. And it predicts what they’re likely to view next. Thus are the "mainstreams" of conservative thought brought into proximity to the far right fringe.

As Klein has it,

"Many of these YouTubers are less defined by any single ideology than they are by a “reactionary” position: a general opposition to feminism, social justice, or left-wing politics."

On YouTube, tomorrow’s politics are emerging today. Tarrant noted this and made the online community work in the gunman’s favor. Our brown shirts are now digital: not only has their conspiratorial hate spread from the internet to real life, it’s also weaponized to go viral.

Proof That White Supremacy Is an International Terrorist Threat

It stretches from Christchurch to Pittsburgh and extends out in every direction.

The always-dependable Charlie Pierce noted that Anders Breivik, the murderous white-supremacist who killed 72 people in Norway in 2011, has become one of the most significant figures in international terrorism by providing a template for the modern white-supremacist mass murderer.

From Ted Kaczynski, he borrowed the idea of publishing a manifesto. From the Columbine killers, he borrowed the idea of using both bombs and guns. And from the international white-supremacist networks, he borrowed the murderous rage and bloodthirsty rhetoric necessary to carry out acts of mass murder, and to justify his crimes through an elaborate bullshit ideological exoskeleton that he wore like body armor. He put all of this together and created the modern mode of mass political murder, one that was carried out again Thursday in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Pierce notes that Tarrant's latest manifesto

reads like a vicious form of grandiose trolling. But there seems to be little doubt that the crimes themselves speak loudly of the basic truth that this was a right-wing act of war against a target population. And, because of that, we should take the following passage very seriously. The alleged shooter called the President* of the United States "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose."

When asked if the rise of white natonalism or white supremacy posed a rising threat around the world, Trump replied,

“I don’t, really. I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess. If you look at what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that’s the case. I don’t know enough about it yet. But it’s certainly a terrible thing.”

On Sunday, Mick Mulvaney and other staffers made the rounds and insisted that Trump was "Not a White Supremacist." Which speaks volumes.

White supremacy now poses an international terrorist threat stretching from Norway to Pittsburgh, from Christchurch to Las Vegas, sharing objectives with the Night Riders or the Bikers for Trump, but better armed and more purposeful. Brownshirts used to intimidate; the new generation attacks to sow terror in targeted groups. This poses an existential threat to the very notion of liberal democracy. Today the target is Muslims; Tomorrow's target will be...?

For our purposes this week, Charlie Pierce gets the last word:

From [white supremacist terrorism] runs on a parallel track with the rise of a xenophobic rightwing nationalist politics that is conspicuously successful in a number of putatively democratic nations. Liberal democracy is under attack and, like any revolution, this one has both a respectable political front and a violent auxiliary that operates on its own imperatives. That one of those auxiliaries cites both a Norwegian mass murderer and the President* of the United States as inspiration for killing 49 people is not only evidence of the width of the threat, but also the depth of its commitment to the cause. This is the everyday al Qaeda of the angry white soul, and it's growing.

Now is the time of monsters.

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scriptmedic · 7 years

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BS Tropes that Need to die TODAY, Part 3: “Truth Serum”

Hey there folks! Earlier this month, your kindly counterparts over on Patreon got access to vote on several nascent post ideas. And this post was the winner! Thanks so much to those who voted . I’ll be sure to run another poll in the near future, so if you don’t want to miss out, consider becoming a Patron!

And the Patron’s Choice this month was a post about truth serum. And hoo boy howdy, ever there was a trope that’s off (and pretty awful), this one... well, this one is on the list.

What’s The Trope?

Billy Badbones has been captured. Whether it’s by the CIA, by Superman, or someone else, they want to know the absolute truth.

And Billy isn’t giving it up lightly!

First comes the tired threats. Then the weary, aged intimidations. Maybe a little bit of torture (and don’t get me started on why that pile of crap doesn’t work!).

And then they whip out the needle with Good Ol’ Sodium Pentothal(TM), and Billy Badbones starts singin’ like a little birdie!

Why Is It Wrong?

“Truth serum”, as depicted by writers and Hollywood, is actually real. The meds exist, and they’ve been used for interrogation. It’s just that the technique doesn’t freaking work. If you want the TL;DR version of it, straight from your friends and mine at the CIA, here it is:

The salient points that emerge from this discussion are the following. No such magic brew as the popular notion of truth serum exists. The barbiturates, by disrupting defensive patterns, may sometimes be helpful in interrogation, but even under the best conditions they will elicit an output contaminated by deception, fantasy, garbled speech, etc. A major vulnerability they produce in the subject is a tendency to believe he has revealed more than he has. It is possible, however, for both normal individuals and psychopaths to resist drug interrogation; it seems likely that any individual who can withstand ordinary intensive interrogation can hold out in narcosis.

(Emphasis mine. Also, my good friend at @scriptshrink would like to remind everyone that the term psychopath is dated. The correct modern diagnosis is Antisocial Personality Disorder. Forgive the language; this article was written in 1961).

The other problem with narcoanalysis is that while under the effects of barbiturates, people become very suggestible. It means that they’re likely to tell interrogators what they think interrogators want to hear, not what’s actually true. So even if someone confesses, or spills the location of the secret Rebel base, the veracity of the information is always in doubt.

But writers didn’t get this from nowhere. This didn’t just spring, fully-formed, from some typewriter clacking away in the 1920s. This is based on some actual research. And some of that research is horrifying.

The History of “Truth Serum”

Scopolamine was the original “truth serum”, and was accidentally “discovered” to have this effect in the 1920s by Dr. House.

(No, not that Dr. House, though we’ll definitely be talking about him at some point here on ScriptMedic.)

House was delivering babies, and discovered that a combination of morphine and scopolamine was able to help keep mothers quiet during the childbirth process.

This combination also delivered many a dead baby, but hey! It was quiet.

But during the process, House found that the women who were sedated were actually able to speak, usually very cogently and “unreservedly”, about any and all topics.

House had an interest in the criminal justice system. He then used scopolamine to “prove” the innocence of two men wrongfully convicted of crimes. By interviewing them while under the effects of scopolamine, House believed that they were incapable of holding back information.

“Truth serum” then took off, both in the popular consciousness and in American policing. There was a time in this country—less than 100 years ago—that police would inject suspects with scopolamine and question them while they were under its effects.

Because scopolamine has amnestic properties, interrogators were able to convince people they had confessed while under the effects of scopolamine, even if they hadn’t. Remember, being unable to remember an interrogation means you don’t know what you told The Man.

Other agents have also been used for this effect, the most famous of which is sodium thiopental (Sodium Pentathol is the brand name), and sodium amytal. A 1986 paper suggests that ketamine—yes, my very favorite pharmocological agent—is equally as effective in narcoanalysis as the barbiturates.

Fortunately, here in the US, the courts system has rejected “narcoanalysis” as a means of interrogation. That’s been the case not only domestically, but around the globe as well.... with exceptions.

Is The Trope Still Useable?

Only if you want to turn it on its head, or have it fail. Because the thing is: places in the world are still doing this. India, for example, uses sodium thiopental even to this day in interrogation (or at least as late as 2012). Colorado wanted to use it as recently as 2013. And it’s been long held that the American Central Intelligence Agency has used some variation of “truth serum” in interrogations.

Which, considering how much of this article is sourced from a CIA document, means they’ve at least looked into the stuff.

But before we continue, let’s clear something up.

Injecting someone with a medication against their will, especially when they’re not actually sick, is a goddamn human rights violation. It will make your characters liable for prosecution and, if they’re part of a military organization, possibly eligible to stand trial for war crimes.

Typically in fiction, the methods used are wrong. As is the ultimate outcome. As is the fact that it’s overlooked as being a human rights violation. So if you’re going to use this trope, I’d rather you used it accurately.

Thiopental, when injected, typically takes the subject into deeper levels of sedation than is useful to the interrogator. It’s as that injection wears off that they enter the “twilight sedation” that’s supposedly useful to interrogators.

As for how it works, well, Courtesy of the CIA, who have an actually truly excellent article on this topic that I highly suggest you should read:

The descent into narcosis and beyond with progressively larger doses can be divided as follows

I. Sedative Stage

II. Unconsciousness, with exaggerated reflexes (hyperactive stage).

III. Unconsciousness, without reflex even to painful stimuli.

IV. Death.

Whether all these stages can be distinguished in any given subject depends largely on the dose and the rapidity with which the drug is induced. In anesthesia, stages I and II may last only two or three seconds.

The first or sedative stage can be further divided:

· Plane 1. No evident effect, or slight sedative effect.

· Plane 2. Cloudiness, calmness, amnesia. (Upon recovery, the subject will not remember what happened at this or "lower" planes or stages.)

· Plane 3. Slurred speech, old thought patterns disrupted, inability to integrate or learn new patterns. Poor coordination. Subject becomes unaware of painful stimuli.

Also, the “phase 3” area, what they helpfully refer to as the “Psychiatric ‘work’ stage”, lasts only 5-10 minutes—hardly long enough for a detailed, confessiony interview.

And, for the record? Nobody injects anything into the neck. Okay? Okay. #Aunty’sPetPeeves

Can Subjects Keep The Truth Hidden During a Pentothal Interrogation?

The CIA sure as hell seems to think so. Observe:

At least one experiment has shown that subjects are capable of maintaining a lie while under the influence of a barbiturate. Redlich and his associates at Yale25 administered sodium amytal to nine volunteers, students and professionals, who had previously, for purposes of the experiment, revealed shameful and guilt-producing episodes of their past and then invented false self-protective stories to cover them. In nearly every case the cover story retained some elements of the guilt inherent in the true story.

Under the influence of the drug, the subjects were cross-examined on their cover stories by a second investigator. The results, though not definitive, showed that normal individuals who had good defenses and no overt pathological traits could stick to their invented stories and refuse confession. Neurotic individuals with strong unconscious self-punitive tendencies, on the other hand, both confessed more easily and were inclined to substitute fantasy for the truth, confessing to offenses never actually committed.

What Happens As They Wake Up?

From the CIA again:

“As the subject revived, he would become aware that he was being questioned about his secrets and, depending upon his personality, his fear of discovery, or the degree of his disillusionment with the doctor, grow negativistic, hostile, or physically aggressive. Occasionally patients had to be forcibly restrained during this period to prevent injury to themselves or others as the doctor continued to interrogate. Some patients, moved by fierce and diffuse anger, the assumption that they had already been tricked into confessing, and a still limited sense of discretion, defiantly acknowledged their guilt and challenged the observer to "do something about it." As the excitement passed, some fell back on their original stories and others verified the confessed material. During the follow-up interview nine of the 17 admitted the validity of their confessions; eight repudiated their confessions and reaffirmed their earlier accounts.”

(If that isn’t a human rights violation, I don’t know what is.)

So yeah. As someone withdraws from sedation under a barbiturate, they can get angry, violent, agitated, etc.

So that about clears it up for truth serum!

Sorry, This Post Was Hella Long. What Did You Say?

Truth serum is a social name for sodium thiopental, sodium amytal, or scopolamine, though other agents including ketamine can be used. While people can be put in twilight sedation with these medications and interrogated, they can reasonably withhold information. Also, they tend to tell interrogators what they think the interrogator wants to hear rather than the truth, and/or a made-up bit of fantasy.

It may be possible to sedate Billy Badbones and, once he wakes up, convince him that he told them everything they wanted to know under sedation, but attempts to do so may or may not succeed.

So yes, “truth serum” exists. It’s just that it doesn’t do what’s on the label.

Actually, it does do what it says on the label, because the label is for a drug that was intended for sedation. Barbiturates are perfectly effective as sedatives.

But a magical drug that makes you tell only the truth is just that.... fantasy.

Sources:

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol5no2/html/v05i2a09p_0001.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7773261.stm

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jul/05/india-truth-serum

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/james_holmes_the_ethics_efficacy_of_truth_serum/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3172517/

Thanks for reading.

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

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