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wormsin · 8 months

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"Bruce’s protective control and Dick’s perfectionist caregiving are core dysfunctions for their characters" oh this is such a beautiful, and perfectly fitting, way of describing them that ive ever seen! and it's really interesting to note that, their dysfunctions are.. how do i say it, 'complement' the other's? giving a 'perfect' looping feedback?

like, bruce's protective control pushes dick's perfectionist self to work even harder--to achieve the impossible and essentially makes him more desperate to take care of bruce, and in return this pushes bruce's protectiveness to another whole new degree which then lead to his need to keep everything under his control become even worse. and that makes it harder for them to break from the cycle (am i making sense? i hope im making sense)

hold my beer, I'm using this as an excuse to write the Bruce & Dick enneagram meta in my head.

"He's so determined to prove he isn't like Master Bruce it scares me. In their own way they are so similar that I thank heaven for the differences." - Alfred Pennyworth Batman 1940 #438

I've mentioned before that I use enneagram typing to characterize Bruce and Dick. like all personality typing, it's unscientific bogus. (this one is sold as a business tool lol.) but i find the types compelling.

first of all, their types

Bruce is an 8, the challenger or protector. an 8's ego is attached to the idea of vengeance—destruction of self or others out of a sense of injustice. if the person has a huge ego, has a deluded perception of the world, it is tied to the idea of vengeance. their "holy idea" is truth, which is basically a core value and potential. their trap is justice, which they think is the right path, but it will actually keep them stuck in their bullshit.

[Dick calls Bruce out on going too far as he's breaking down after Jason's death. Batman 1940 #439]

an 8's deepest fear is being controlled, harmed, or violated. their base desire is to be influential, self sufficient and protect themself. their temptation is to think that they are self sufficient.

like, you see why I like this for Bruce.

Bruce saw his parents being murdered and his reaction to that trauma was to control himself and create a powerful alternate ego that gets vengeance on Gotham's criminals and protects the innocent.

[Bruce appealing to family court to take in Dick. Batman 1940 #439]

at his worst, Bruce is a control freak who doesn't let anyone help him and has a warped sense of justice. so much emotional armor.

[Bruce possessed by Antithesis and lashing out at Dick, which Dick correctly identifies as a fear reaction. Teen Titans Year One #3]

at his best, Bruce is a strong leader, is willing to do what is right even at personal cost, wants to protect and help others fairly, and strives to create a better world.

[Bruce creating a victims advocacy program. Batman 1940 #217]

tl;dr Bruce is driven by fear of loss and compensates by controlling his world and protecting himself and others.

Dick is a 2, the helper or giver. 2's ego fixation is flattery, pleasing and giving to others in order to be liked. their "holy idea" is freedom/will; there's several interpretations of this but for Dick I see it as wanting others and himself to be free of metaphorical shackles and to fly. the 2's trap is also freedom: from having personal needs and needing others.

2's fear is being unlovable and their base desire is to be loved unconditionally. their temptation is to deny their own needs and be manipulative.

[Dick hiding his sadness as he leaves Wayne Manor for college. Batman 1940 #217]

[Hugo Strange psychoanalyzing Dick's relationship to Bruce. Batman Gotham Knights #11]

Dick is constantly pushing himself to the limit to be the perfect hero and mentor, and wants to help others but doesn't accept help himself. he maintains an image of being the bringer of light. I think being raised as a performer made him associate doing well and making people happy with love and family; after losing his parents he searched for that unconditional love from Bruce, being a hero, and romantic partners.

at his worst, he's prideful, and both ignores his own needs and sacrifices himself for others in order to get those needs met.

[Dick killing himself to save people in nuclear-bombed Bludhaven and feeling good about it. Nightwing 996 #116]

at his best, he is compassionate, helpful, parental, and warms the hearts of others.

tl;dr Dick is driven by fear of not having love and family, and compensates by caring for others and being perfect.

[Dick having a nightmare during a month's long mental breakdown. Nightwing 1996 #117]

you are correct: Bruce and Dick's personalities complement each other at their best and worse.

at their worst, Bruce is emotionally withholding and pushes Dick away. this is out of need to protect himself; any emotional intimacy or love is a threat because what if they die? Dick interprets this as not being good enough for Bruce's praise or a place by his side, and tries to be better. no matter how far gone Bruce is, Dick has to be the exceptional one who stays and loves him. the fact that Dick always comes back to him and gets under his skin makes Bruce lash out or become more controlling. so the cycle continues!

"That's what eats away at you at night—not just that you're forever in his shadow—but that you love him. That you're the loyal son who has never been allowed to truly help—never permitted to save him from himself." - Hugo Strange, Batman Gotham Knights #10

at their best, Bruce uses his own traumatic experience and leadership to better Dick's life. Dick is a ray of light for him. their fears are eased in relation to each other, they both help others and improve their world.

[Alfred remembers Dick early in his Robin career. Batman 1940 #438]

I think they have a lot to learn from each other. but they can also be deeply stuck in this dysfunctional cycle because they can both hold onto their negative delusions.

"I love Bruce. He's my family. But I couldn't bring him out of the past... I was sacrificing my own future. I don't want that for you... Trust me, Tim. At some point... you have to set yourself free." - Dick, Batman Urban Legends #10. demonstrates a healthy Dick's relation to an unhealthy Bruce.

#long post #bruce wayne #dick grayson #meta #brudick #batman #ask worm #i have so many panels I could pull as evidence #like half of my saved lore panels are about this #god i spent so much time on this #i'm right about them

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devouredbyflame · 14 days

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Let’s talk about what humans do versus what the Gods can do so as to make a point about what humans are doing that have nothing to do with the Divine. Especially in regards to people claiming to be speaking and acting on behalf of the Divine.

(TW: s*x abuse, ch*ld abuse, spiritual abuse, manipulation)

How do these people make themselves known? Well, it’s easy. There are predators out there who use fear and manipulation tactics to groom and take advantage of their lack of knowledge about a Deity’s existence.

This is why education about discernment and spiritual psychosis needs to go hand in hand with mystical information. For too long the resources we have do not handle these types of things and would sooner conflate the actions of a human with the actions of a Deity. We must hold ourselves responsible for these things pervading the community but it’s impossible with the resources that we have now.

The victim will likely never see the difference because that’s how trauma works - it is impairing of judgment and other nervous system responses that would further assist in determining a communication from the Gods. Trauma dims out what could be the Gods’ communication and replaces it with the trauma. The Gods are not perfect and even if you think They should stop every situation from happening in Their name, They cannot because access to Them has been erased by the pedophiles, narcissists and other awful people who would sooner place themselves in the position of the Deity in order to provoke, disturb, and take advantage of others.

This happens the most, it seems, with Loki. Which, if you actually do know Loki, He would likely never be the provocateur of abuse but based on His controversy, tends to be the scapegoat for it due to misinformation, misunderstanding due to the aforementioned people.

I am not saying the Gods are perfect by any means (They are pretty awful Themselves) but They are more often than not shrouded in peoples’ perceptions by this awful continuous issue in our community and we need to start talking about why this happens instead of running the other direction. We need to allow the Gods to present Themselves rather than relying on other humans for it to work which means we need more education in regards to mysticism and discernment rather than assuming everything people do is invalid.

A properly trained person who has been given the appropriate tools to be able to facilitate and transmit direct communication from the Divine are never going to be abusing anyone unless they would like to have their ass handed to them by the Deity they claim to speak for.

We have a problem with narcissism in this religion. We are a religion full of people who are marginalized, have been deemed unlovable and broken by society, and are searching for meaning in a society devoid of meaningful relationships, community, and is running rampant with narcissists preying on people left and right.

I myself have ran into my fair share of people who have been groomed by others and manipulated and abused by people who claim to know better in regards to what the Deity wants from them. I have also been manipulated myself by people who claim to know better than me.

We cannot allow these people to take away the sanctity of Divine communication, the blessing, necessity, and support of community, and places that should allow others to heal in a place where there should be healing rather than destroyed or impaired even further by hateful people. It is not impossible but it takes work where most people are too afraid to venture.

I don’t know what it could look like but the reason I do this work and the reason that any person who is working in partnership with the Divine should be interested in - healing.

If there is anything I do know, the people who have committed these acts will get what comes to them.

#deity work #paganblr #norse paganism #mysticism #norse gods #norse polytheism #deity worship #lokean #pagan blog #devotional polytheism

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the-insomniac-emporium · 3 years

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Dimitrescu Daughter HCs

I thought this would only take a few minutes. I was so, so very wrong. Anyway, some of these are somewhat exclusive to my fic (Serenade), but they’ll make sense even if you haven’t read that.

Daniela:

Others have already talked about how Daniela reads a ton of romance novels, so I’m not really going to go into that very much, just saying that I agree 100%, I mean c’mon, it’s practically canon.

While she mainly sources books from her family’s library, there are a few she’s “acquired” over the years that she keeps locked away in her room. These tend to be a bit, ahem, steamier than her mother would approve of/let her read under normal circumstances.

How did she get these? Well, there has to be someone who delivers goods to Castle Dimitrescu (Duke, perhaps?), seeing as the Maidens need, like, actual food to survive. Sometimes Daniela manages to convince them to order books for her, usually just asking for books by authors she likes, or ones she’s heard maidens whispering about.

No, the delivery person does not read the book’s summaries or reviews, they have a feeling (based on titles and covers alone) that they don’t want to know.

As for her experiences with actual romance… she’s so very, very excited about it, all the time. Wants to kiss every cute Maiden she sees, and sometimes daydreams about a beautiful woman fleeing from lycans who comes to the castle for shelter, clinging to Dani for warmth and protection, and it’s love at first sight, and they kiss and kiss and right as it gets to the good part-! Someone interrupts her daydream (usually Cassandra).

However, her actual experiences are fairly limited. Sure, she has kissed Maidens, but she tends to get over excited. Like in Serenade, she starts to rush the process, and usually ends up draining her “lover” aka victim before anything more intimate happens.

She’s definitely done sexual things, just, well, not with other people. Private things. Usually during or after reading one of her special books. You get the picture.

Because of this, and her aforementioned love of romance novels, Daniela has become somewhat obsessed with the idea of her first time. She wants everything to be perfect. The setting, the timing, who she’s with… Hence her reaction in chapter 3 of Serenade. It’s not that she didn’t want to continue, just that the circumstances didn’t feel right. She’s very particular!

Favorite Music Genre: Girl goes wild for an emotional, gut-wrenching love/power ballad. The type to lie in bed and cry while listening to Hozier or Lorde (not that she can hear either of them, considering her limited music options). Doesn’t admit it, though, and mostly listens to indie pop when other people can hear. That and whatever the Maiden plays on piano ;)

Okay it feels weird to joke about her loving music I wrote, anywayyyy

Hobbies: Other than reading there’s not too much I can see her doing, really. She’d be sure to get into anything that her s/o enjoys, though, even if it’s something difficult or time-consuming. Writing is something she’d love, but it’s difficult for her to keep her focus on just one project at a time. Ideally she’d write short stories, romantic ones obvs, and have someone else proofread/edit them. For the most part she’d write within fantasy and historical setting (seeing as she’s got experience in both of those departments).

ADHD, BABY. Bigtime, seriously. Maybe this is just my adhd ass projecting, but I can’t not see her as having it. For her it mainly manifests with hyper-focusing/difficulty staying on task. It’s like a switch with those on either end, flipping back and forth every once in a while. She can spend six hours reading two different books in one sitting, but if someone just breathes too loudly it disrupts her completely. Because of this she’s somewhat prone to abandoning projects. It’s a sore subject for her, and her sisters are aware, normally only bringing it up if they’re really angry with her.

Opinions on the four lords: Thinks Heisenberg is a tool (pun intended), also thinks that he secretly reads super erotic novels. She doesn’t have any proof, though, and would never say anything about it out loud. Just makes fun of him in her head. Doesn’t actually judge him for what she thinks he reads, just judges his personality and the “need he feels to hide his secret”. Loves Donna, and low-key thinks she’s attractive. Daniela mostly bases that off the portrait she’s seen, but, like many fans, also thinks the hands are nice. The puppets don’t bother her, though she also doesn’t really care about them, other than thinking that Donna interacting with them is cute.

Opinions continued: Moreau is… uh… fish boy. Daniela thinks he’s weird, kinda gross, and hardly considers him a “real” lord. Poor boy :( At least she doesn’t actively make fun of him?... Even if that’s only because she kinda forgets about him most of the time. As for Lady Dimitrescu, well, obviously Daniela loves her mom. The whole family is very close, and as the “youngest”, Daniela gets a lot of attention. Sometimes she thinks her mother is too strict, but at the end of the day there’s no love lost.

Bela:

Cleans up after her sisters a lot, but still nowhere near as much as any of the Maidens do. Often agrees to help with messes in exchange for blackmail material. “Oh, Daniela, what a shame you broke mother’s favorite dish… I could help, but you owe me one.” At the end of the day, though, there’s plenty she would slide.

Being the “oldest”, she’s expected to behave the best, and often feels more restricted than her sisters. Being an example is hard! Occasionally she’ll have the impulse to rebel, but this usually only manifests in scenarios like the one mentioned above, aka she’ll simply be more lenient of her siblings for a bit.

Overall far less sadistic than her sisters. Cares more about the quality of pain then the amount of it. Only ever goes overboard if someone full out threatens or hurts her family. Insults towards them still earn her ire, and will get her to punish someone, but it’s not enough to make her resort to torture. Usually.

Gets the most restless out of the three. As cool (and large) as the castle is, it’s all she’s ever really known. If not for her weakness to cold, she’d go out on hikes a lot. Nature interests her, fascinates her, but she’d be a little less fond of most of it in person. Like, oh, waterfalls sound so cool, followed by a hundred complaints about the noise. Thinks deer are the cutest shit ever (second only to humans, maybe).

Unlike Daniela (though that HC is relevant almost exclusively to Serenade), Bela has actually slept with a Maiden before. She doesn’t really care for them enough to consider it a relationship, instead admiring them for their entertainment value. Definitely could fall for a Maiden, simply hasn’t yet. Of the three I feel like she takes the longest to fall in love, and even longer to actually act on her feelings. Sometimes resents her siblings because they unknowingly “claimed” a Maiden that she was starting to be interested in. However, she fully acknowledges that she should have said something if she didn’t want to lose the girl, considering the situation they live in.

Favorite music genre: Classical, full orchestra style, with a soft spot for swing/jazz. Enjoys having music play softly while she reads, and is very particular about the volume. Absolutely would argue with her sisters if they tried to change the music or turn it up.

Hobbies: Reading, duh. Less interested in romance than Daniela by a considerable amount. For the most part she reads non-fiction books, enjoying learning about history and the sciences. Astronomy is at the top of her favorites list, followed by biology, then obscure (and often bloody) pieces of history. Niche=perfect. Also enjoys music, even if she had to rely mostly on self-teaching books. Knows the basics of piano, but doesn’t actively play, much preferring both the violin and harp. Most of the time she’ll only play if she knows her sisters won’t bother her, or if her mother asks her to.

Opinions on the four lords: Admires Heisenberg’s work/his edgenuity, but thinks the actual man is a temperamental child… who smells like wet dog. He’s only been at Castle Dimitrescu a couple times (per Mother Miranda’s request), and both times Bela moved to the other side of the house so she wouldn’t have to acknowledge his existence. While she would never admit it, she’s low-key creeped out by Donna’s dolls, and really only tolerates Angie. However, she would never act on her nerves, out of consideration for Donna’s feelings. She knows that her mother gets along well with the dollmaker, and keeps this at the forefront of her mind.

Opinions continued: “Moreau who? Oh, the fish guy? He’s still alive?... Good for him.” Wants to make Lady Dimitrescu proud, but not as desperately as Cassandra. Unknowingly mimics a lot of her mother’s little habits and ticks, and would be quietly embarrassed if someone pointed it out to her. As mentioned previously, she feels like she has to be an example for the others, and somewhat resents the pressure this puts on her. On the other hand, she does enjoy being “responsible for” (read: in charge of) her sisters. Additionally, she is the most likely to get away with lying to Alcina, though she does not often do so. This isn’t because she’s the most manipulative (that’s Cass), or the best liar (that’s Dani, if she’s trying), but simply because Alcina doesn’t think her oldest daughter would lie. Even if she doubts something Bela says, she’ll usually give her the benefit of the doubt… as long as it doesn’t happen very often.

Cassandra:

Sleeps the most of the three, if only because she’s the most active of them. Not as fast as the others while in swarm mode, but the fastest on foot, partially because she’s more likely to simply walk places. She knows the sound of feet on the floor scares the Maidens, and she drinks their fear with utter pleasure. Additionally she claims that it just feels nice to “stretch her legs”. But she will not hesitate to enter swarm mode when chasing someone. As fun as it is to smell their fear, she can get impatient, wanting to get close and personal to her target.

Tends to hide most of her feelings, sometimes even opting to “convert” them into anger. In other words, think of her emotional state as an ever-filling bottle of water. As things happen, she feels emotions, and the rate at which water pours into the bottle increases. Ideally if the water level started getting too high, she would address whatever is increasing the flow of water. Instead of that, she often uses anger, which is equivalent to shaking the bottle a bit and letting water messily spill out of it. Doesn’t address the actual problem, but let’s her release some pressure/free up some room.

Goes through Maidens faster than her siblings (yes, even Daniela “draining you of blood is romantic” Dimitrescu). Not all of them even die in the basement, sometimes what was supposed to be a “warning” turns into “oh shit the blood won’t stop coming out, this is how I die, in this accursed castle, no friends or family to mourn me, just the painful knowledge that I will not be the last, I will die for no cause, no glory, just the bitter whims of a blood-soaked mistress” or something along those lines.

While more likely to get attached to someone than Bela, Cassandra isn’t one to do much about it. She might flirt, might even try to kiss (or, uh, kiss while also not wearing clothes wink wink), but she won’t (usually) claim someone as her own, or protest if one of her sisters wants to have some fun with them (even if it’s the bloody kind of fun). Technically gets over breakups and “breakups” (i.e. death) easier than either of her sisters. To be fully accurate, Daniela still goes through lovers faster, but she also remembers them and cares for them for longer post-breakup.

Somewhat of a blood kink. Like, more than vampires automatically have. In intimate settings she cares more about the quantity of blood and what she can do with it (loves bloodstains) than what causes the bloodshed.

Favorite music genre: Rock ‘n roll. Leans towards older stuff, as well as heavier songs. Soft spot for symphonic metal, but doesn’t admit it out of the fear that some might consider it a “weaker form” of the genre. Almost exclusively listens to bands that have female vocalists, and gets crushes on them more than she’d ever admit.

Hobbies: Art! Painting, mostly, but dabbles in sculpture from time to time. It’s been too long since I took an art class for me to suggest a style for her paintings, but I imagine her sculptures would be somewhat abstract. Her art would revolve around emotion, the stronger and rawer the better, with viewers often being left uncomfortable. While Alcina buys plenty of art supplies for her, Cassandra is fond of improvising, especially by creating her own “tools” (of questionable efficiency) out of items she has laying around. She is absolutely the one who took her mother’s lipstick. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry, it’s just mentioned in one of the RE8 notes that Lady Dimitrescu’s valuable lipstick is missing.

Opinions on the four lords: Tolerates Heisenberg more than the rest of her family by a considerable amount. She’s seen glimpses of his work, his steampunk-adjacent style, and actually kind of digs it. While Bela cares more about the science behind his work, Cassandra just digs the aesthetic. Sometimes for her art she also needs things she can’t get from the castle, and are too obscure to get from a merchant, so she trades tools/ideas with Heisenberg in exchange for him making something for her. “Can you make a battery but whenever it’s in use it makes a horrible screaming sound?” “Yes. PS I hate your mother and Miranda.” “I didn’t fucking ask.”

Opinions continued: Doesn’t really care much about Donna, but acknowledges her as a fellow artist, and would be willing to consult her if she talked more (and talked without Angie). Cassandra hasn’t met Moreau, thankfully (he would cry). Knows about him from her sister/mother, and as a result doesn’t care about him. Internally whenever someone mentions him, she pictures, like, a Goldfish Cracker (the snack that smiles back) with legs except also it’s green and moldy.

Opinions cont.: Loves her mother so much. Determined to please her, to make her proud, but often left feeling less loved than her sisters. This strains her relationship with her family, not that she’d ever voice her feelings and talk through the issue. Let’s be real, Alcina would probably feel guilty for not realizing how Cass felt. Nonetheless, Cassandra probably spends the most time with her mother, often offering to assist her with tasks, or trying to get her to appreciate her art.

#resident evil: village #daniela dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #dimitrescu family

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annoyingloverbear · 4 years

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ASANO GAKUSHUU X READER HEADCANNONS

Before you ask......don't ask. Yes I like assassination classroom too.

This is a HC about Y/n and Gakushuu attending the same high school.

Ohh boy do I tell you this boi fell hard for you.

And by 'fell' I mean literally fell.

It was one of those rare occasions his father being the disciplined father he is made Gakushuu walk home from school just because he didn't eat his roasted asparagus in dinner last night.

He didn't really mind tho. His home wasn't that far and he liked to see what's going on in the outside peasant world sometimes.

As he was passing a convenient store, he heard some commotion in the alley behind it.

He ignored it and started to walk his way, but he saw a glimpse of a grey uniform skirt and snapped his head towards you.

He saw you, clad in Kunigioka's grey uniform and surrounded by three tattooed bulk men.

"Come on little girl, just keep us company for some karaoke. You see my friends and I we all are really bad singers and would love some help."______"What makes you think I'm good at singing?"________" Oh I can tell you are naturally good at it little bird! Your angelic voice is like as sweet as honey to my ears."________"Back off."_________"What?"________"I said back off you pathetic excuse of a human being before I break your willy and shove it down your throats."________"YOU STUPID BITCH!!!"

He raised his hand, but before he could even swing you neck sliced him in the throat and kicked him down there. He clutched himself as you once again kicked him in his ribs and hope that the blow was enough to keep him down for a bit. You grabbed your heavy aluminium water bottle (those things hurt guys😭 not that I've been hit by one but I accidentally hit myself. it's a great, heavy yet non-obvious self defense tool so carry one around👍) and swung it towards one of his friends. A sickening clang could be audibly heard as you hit him in the head and Congratulations!! You eliminated one more player.

You turned around and swung it towards yet another person who skillfully twisted and yanked your aluminium bottle away from you. This person was similar to your build and was standing in a defensive position, so you kicked the only thing available to you, his shin.

You were surprised as you heard a rather boyish yelp as your victim fell to the ground and grabbed his aching leg. Only then you realized......

Shit it's the previous headmaster's son.

"Oh no!! I didn't mean to kick you are you okay?"_________"I'm fine thank you."

You moved your hand towards the part of his leg which was sprained and saw that he flinched. Clearly he was in pain and seeing that he took care of one of the guys who was hitting on you felt bad so you took him to your house to treat his injury no matter how much he refused.

That was it. That's how he fell for you.

He expected himself to fall for someone who was at the same level of genius as him, but apparently he was wrong.

Why you ask he fell for you? Because you were the only one who can kick his ass purple and speak sweet words to him at the same time.

Seeing that you were an average student, not too good not too bad, he didn't really have a problem with sharing his feelings for you with someone.

The first one to notice it was not Ren, but Karma. Or you could say that Karma found his theory to be correct as he eavesdropped on Gakushuu telling Ren about how he felt for you.

Ren, knowing his manipulating skills encouraged Gakushuu to manipulate one of the teachers to transfer you from class C to class A.

And so you did.

Gakushuu, Ren along with Karma and you. This was a particularly chaotic classroom.

You weren't really complaining, as your grades got better the day you stepped in the class. But you can't shake the feeling that ten pairs of eyes were watching your every movement.

(And lol that was so true😂)

Gakushuu only respectfully watched you and your subtle movements. The way you'd chew on your pencil or nails when you were stuck, the way your eyes turned big round and innocent every time you didn't understand a concept, the way you'd pick on your peach fuzz on your face when you were anxious. Every single habit, every little thing he loved about you, he would have it memorized. Heck when he was feeling stressed out about his future company finances (yes he's planning big) he would pick on his own peach fuzz and smile like an idiot as his heart relaxes and flutters at the same time.

Ren however, watched for your responses to guys. Every time the handsome professor walked in, (admit it, we all have one at some point in our life😏) you would sit up straight, your spine rid of any slouchiness from studying. The way you would cross your legs so your skirt rides up just a bit, and the way your gaze turned sly and your smirk naughty, yes this boy is serious about helping his best friend. Heck he would even come up to you and talk to you to get some type of reaction towards him, but figures out you didn't really like him (ouch!😢)

But Karma stared. And by stared I literally mean stared. Bore holes in the back of your head by staring at you too much. He didn't understand that a guy as corrupt as Gakushuu would fall for a disheveled angel like you. It's not that you weren't beautiful, but the combination of scary principal's son and a smol fluffy bean didn't seem very safe. At times you would even find Karma behaving as an older brother to you. And you weren't one to complain but rather happy that someone in here truly cares for you than judge you for your grades.

Add 7 other girls who were suspicious of you and that's all the people who keep staring at you during the time you're in class.

Every morning you hand in your homework, it was always Gakushuu. You would hand in your homework, he would scan it once and turn around to check others'.

But you knew better than that.

After school was over, you would make your way to the hallway but a strong grip held you back.

"We need to work on your Social Studies. You suck at it."______"But shuu!!!"_______"No buts. Get in the library and wait for me there."

He would drag you to the library and make you study your worst subject (which isn't fun at all🤢) but he would make it a LOT easier for you to understand.

Of course Ren gave him some tips to flirting. Hold her pinky, look in her eyes, compliment her and yada yada yada yada yada......

He did try one of them, but he almost had a heart attack from his heart beating so fast that he decided not to listen to his minio- I mean friend anymore and do it his way.

And honestly he loves his way!!

He loved the cute nicknames you made for him while you whined for him to release you. He loved it the way your face lightens up when he explains there was an easier way to solve an equation.

All the nervousness is his system had vanished.

He also got to the point where when you got an obviously easy question wrong, he would pinch your cheeks while grinning wide.

This made study time a lot easier for you.

You weren't aware that he was like that for and with you only. Only you made him feel that way.

But you found out soon when he got TOO comfortable one day and let it slip out.

"Y/n I think I have a crush on you."

As soon as he said it, blood rushed to your cheeks and drained from his.

Both of you were staring at each other for a hot minute before you broke the silence.

"You're kidding aren't you? I'm not even that smart or that much of a genius in anything. I- but-"

"Y/n I know that. But it's just something about you that I love. I- I can't express in words how much I adore you."

You were starstruck.

Asano Gakushuu. THE Asano Gakushuu likes you!!!!

But you still refused to believe yourself AND his words. Wondering if he was turning into a playboy like Ren.

All you could say was "Then show me."

The library was quiet and you two specifically picked up a spot away from other students, the librarian and surveillance cameras so both of you can goof off. Who knew that this was also the perfect place to kiss?

He gently took your hand as he first stared at your eyes and shifted his gaze to your lips. You acted confident as if you knew how to kiss but god knows you kicked the ass of your first boyfriend before he could even hold your hand.

His gaze stayed on your lips as he licked his and visibly gulped. You wanted to throw a snarky remark but seeing the boy was as edged as a cat you wouldn't dare.

Bringing one of his hands up to your cheek he slightly tilted his head as he came near you before stopping right where your lips weren't touching his but you could feel his minty breath. Obviously waiting for you if you were okay with this, you decided to close that painful space between the two of you.

As soon as your lips touched his, he was in charge. This wasn't a particularly deep or fast kiss. You weren't digging your tongues in each other's mouth but rather just moving your lips to each other, as if giving silent yet intimate messages to each other. His lips slightly glided over yours, and you definitely knew that the way he was kissing you, he was an expert hidden within an amateur. The kiss wasn't heated or passionate in any way, but it was sinfully sweet.

It lasted for about a minute, but felt like an eternity.

Pulling away he stared at you again softly before saying "Thank You" and intertwining your fingers with his.

You were too shocked to react to anything. You were an average student. You got into fights. Your mom always yells at you to behave. Your dad keeps telling you to improve your temper. Why the hell does this boy like you?

He noticed you were staring at him the same way you stared at the blackboard during class when the professor was teaching the quantum theory for the first time.

Now that this boy had finally kissed you, he was bold enough to reach out his thumb and running it over your lower lip before popping it in his mouth.

"Pineapple flavoured lip balm, huh? I thought strawberry was the preferred choice when it came to anything for girls. Including......" his eyes lowered to your legs which felt like they were bare naked in the tiny skirt.

"Shuu!!!! Don't stare at me!!" You shoved him away as he laughed and you covered your face with your sweater paws.

"I'm sorry dear. You are just so adorable I couldn't help myself." He said while stroking your hair.

Little did they know a certain playboy on the other side of the library was paying attention to them the whole time and a redhead was poking his head from above one of the bookshelves.

#gakushu asano x reader #asano gakushuu #asano gakuho #assassination classroom #assassination classroom headcannons #Gakushuu x reader #Gakushuu x y/n #asano Gakushuu headcannons #karma akabane #ren sakakibara

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sociopath-analysis · 3 years

Text

Sociopath Profile: Kira

Real name: Light Yagami (Yagami Raito) From the manga series Death Note (2003-2006) and its anime series adaptation (2006-2007) Voiced by Mamoru Miyano (JP) and Brad Swaile (EN)

Now, the ongoing debate within the fandom is if Light really is a psychopath. Speaking in the clinical sense, he probably isn’t. If so, then not perfectly. However, my profiles focus on the character type of a sociopath which has looser interpretations on the idea. It’s a character analysis, not a diagnosis. And whether or not he was one before he found the Death Note, it doesn’t take him long to become one once it’s in his possession and he realizes that it is the real deal.

[SPOILERS BELOW; SPOILER-FREE VERSION HERE]

Even in the first episode, Light has a disturbing amount of giddiness about all of the names he has written after his freak out. Some might say that it’s just him looking at his good work getting rid of evil, but that’s basically the same as looking at a pile of corpses of the people you just slaughtered. He rationalizes his actions by saying that they’re criminals and no one would care about them anyway, similar to Amanda Waller and how she uses Task Force X.

Make no mistake, Kira is evil. He may have good goals in mind, but his methods involve killing anyone who commits a crime - even ones not worthy of death - and cutting down anyone in his way trying to stop him and expose him. He’s trying to install himself as the god of his new utopia and if he were really as noble as people believe, that wouldn’t really be a concern for him.

Also, consider the fact that he was going to move on to killing lazy and unproductive people once he was done with criminals. Even when he has an issue with Mikami and Takada making the announcement of Kira doing that, he just thought it was too early to make statements like that. This means he already was planning to do it.

And Light absolutely is a narcissist to no end. Again, his very prominent god-complex is one sign of this. He’s the only one who received the Death Note and thinks that he can rule the world with it. Misa did it out of admiration for Kira and Teru did it for that reason and a genuine desire to purge the world of evil.

Mikami especially shows off the problem with Light’s thinking because even before the Death Note, he was trying to get rid of what he perceived as evil. While it might be due to the fact that he didn’t get to develop a god-complex on his own, he didn’t let it get to his head even when he was handed this tremendous power.

There’s also the fact that Light just can’t help but manipulate and lie to people just to cover his own hide. People are tools for him and he will use those tools to the fullest extent. He has killed even his own supporters if it proves convenient. His own father even fell victim to this. As he died, Light seemed more concerned about him writing Mello’s name down rather than the fact that his own father was dying.

He does show concern for his family. When talking with Ryuk he says he hopes he doesn’t have to kill them if they discover the Death Note, suggesting he does wish the best for them. However, that doesn’t negate the fact that he was still willing to kill them in the event that they did find out, seeing it as necessary.

But there are also signs that he doesn’t really care anymore. Even at the warehouse when Matsuda calls him out about his father’s death, he blows it off and says that he died to help create the perfect world where honest people like him wouldn’t die for doing the right thing. To cinch the effect, he calls Soichiro by his given name.

And he doesn’t hesitate to kill whoever gets close to figuring out his secret. He had FBI agents killed just for trying to investigate Kira. And the problem is that Ray stopped suspecting him once the bus hijacking occurred. He never considered that he never gave himself away in the first place. His first thought was that he needed to die. Same goes for his fiance, Naomi. He even gloats about it by telling her that he’s Kira just after sealing her fate by writing her name on the Death Note scrap.

Light also displays symptoms of what would be called a reputation-defending sociopath - one that has traits of narcissistic personality disorder. Unlike most sociopaths, his grandiose sense of self-worth is still able to be shattered. And he’s willing to kill anyone who criticizes Kira. Let’s not forget Lind L. Tailor.

And when he is finally caught by Near, he gloats about it just before it is revealed that he’s been played. He also does everything he can to justify his actions by saying that it’s the fault of the rotten world he lives in that he has to kill criminals. And Near accurately points out that he’s just a delusional serial killer with the worst and most dangerous weapon of mass murder in history.

Whether or not Light shows signs of being one without the Death Note, there is no denying that Kira!Light is definitely pretty close to being one. And at the moment of his death, he showed no remorse whatsoever other than the fear of his own mortality.

See more profiles here.

#Light Yagami #Yagami Raito #Yagami Light #Death Note #character analysis #spoiler profile

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anonymouslyangsty · 3 years

Note

What do you think Assassin!Taka would do if he figured out how much his grandfather was manipulating him? Also, what do you think of an alternative Assassin!Taka where his first kill was his grandfather?

Very good question and very good concept.

Minor derailment for a sec (i swear it's relevant), but let's talk about Takaaki and Toranosuke in this au.

(warning, it ended up not being 'a sec'. I bolded the part where I ACTUALLY start talking about your question)

I feel like Torano's downfall was a bit of a slippery slope. He needed to gain some momentum before he went to murder and child grooming, as ya do. And I think the major step towards extreme corruption came through Takaaki.

I feel like those two have a rather tense relationship early on in the au. Takaaki knows that some of his father's dealings are fishy. Perhaps not criminal at that point, but not exactly clean either.

But Takaaki is still human. He's got a wife and young son to care for. If his father's slimy actions got out, they'd ruin the Ishimaru name. Plus, he isn't hurting anyone, right? So Takaaki leaves it alone.

That kind of dismissal only lasts for so long however, especially when you're as honest as Takaaki. Eventually, he's not going to be able to turn a blind eye, even if acting puts himself and his family at risk.

Perhaps Torano does something that goes a bit too far, that actually hurts people and ruins lives. Takaaki wouldn't be able to stand for it and, even if he cares about his father, he isn't going to deny his duties as an officer because of it.

But I think that Takaaki would make the critical mistake of trusting the goodness in his father just a BIT too much. He thinks he can talk sense into Torano, get him to change his ways without ruining his whole career. All Takaaki does is give him ample warning.

Torano cares about his son. Takaaki is a decent man, hardworking and honest. But he'll be damned if he lets his soft heart get in his way and ruin his legacy. So when Takaaki threatens to release info on Torano's illegal activities, he knows he has to keep his son quiet.

Toranosuke is very careful with how he does it. He can't just kill the man. If Takaaki shared his suspicions with anyone, his sudden death would be damning.

So he does the next best thing. Torano gets Takaaki declared clinically insane and locked in an asylum. He weaves this detailed, damning story, bribing as many people as he needs to to create a false narrative. Takaaki attacked him in his office, spouting conseracy theories and accusing him of murder!

Toranosuke deeply cares for his son, so he obviously wouldn't send him away unless it was for his own good, right? And if Takaaki's wife suddenly finds herself overwhelmed with life under the camera's eye, well. What kind of grandfather would Toranosuke be if he didn't care for Taka while his mother was away visiting family? He's just looking out for his family after all.

So that's all to say that Takaaki is alive in this au, locked away from crimes he didn't commit. After so long of being told he's insane, he slowly begins to believe it. Maybe he was becoming paranoid, seeing crimes where there weren't any. Maybe he had overreacted. Did he attack his father? He didn't recall doing so, but there was video evidence, so it has to be true.

It takes years for Takaaki to be deemed sane. By that point, he's convinced himself that he really had made up all those accusations. Taka's already gone at this stage, off training for his grandfather's purposes. But Takaaki thinks he's just off at boarding school.

Now I'll get to the point of this 'little' tangent. I think Takaaki's the one who proves to Taka that he's being used. Takaaki's an officer, likely far higher in standing than in canon. So it's plausible that he'd be employed to investigate a string of strange deaths that's caught the eye of a few officials.

It would be quite interesting for Takaaki to realize that the 'string' of murders is actually far longer than they'd realized. It'd be even more interesting for him to realize that his son is the one behind the deaths.

Takaaki is a father first and an officer second. There's no way he'll allow his son to take the fall, especially not once it becomes clear that Torano placed him into the role. Takaaki would absolutely try to make his son see reason, which means making him see that he's being used.

Okay NOW I'll actually get to the point.

If Taka found out he was being used by his grandfather...Well it sure wouldn't be a pretty sight. We already know how Taka responds to his world being destroyed: denial, unresponsiveness, and manic behavior. That's how he responded upon learning that a guy he was friends with for 3 days was a killer.

Assassin!Taka doesn't see himself as a murderer. He sees himself as an executioner, dealing out capital justice to those who abuse their power. He kills those that are irredeemable, who harm others without any empathy.

But if that was all a life, if he was working for the corrupt rather than against...He'd be just as bad as the corruption he sought to destroy. He'd be a murderer.

Put that revelation onto the realization that the man who raised him since his parents left, the man he looked up to as the pinnacle of greatness, is himself corrupt. Has himself committed the same crimes Taka killed to stop. That Taka was nothing but a tool for that corruption.

Literally everything that Taka is in this au would be a lie. He's not killing for justice, his mindset isn't the correct path, his grandfather isn't fighting for justice.

I honestly think Taka would have an extreme, violent response to that revelation. He'd see both himself and his grandfather as irreparably tainted, absolutely dripping in the blood of the innocent. And Taka has known no means of removing such blots on human society but to personally wipe them out. So that's exactly what he go out to do.

Now I'm thinking about Taka and Takaaki hunting down Torano for some vigilante justice. All while Takaaki subtly tries to convince his son not to kill both Torano AND himself. It would be very hard for Takaaki to convince Taka that he was a victim of his grandfather, and not equally as guilty.

(this is also making me think of an au where Taka's hired by the FBI for his skills in a Black Widow situation)

Speaking of that, let's get to the "Taka's first kill is his grandfather" au.

The first and biggest question is: who the heck puts Taka up to it? It would not be easy. I'm thinking that, in the normal Assassin!Taka au, Torano spends YEARS grooming Taka into accepting killing. Nobody else would have that kind of extended access to Taka except his parents.

...

Except his parents. I'm literally having ideas as I type this. New idea! I'm going to make Taka's mom relevant (and evil)! Also I'm calling her Nori because I just need a name.

Perhaps Takaaki's marriage was arranged for political reasons more than love. He had to marry wealthy, and ended up marrying the daughter of a wealthy businessman.

And that's a very useful position, isn't it? Nori is in a perfect place to learn the intimate details of the Ishimaru family. She can learn what little squabbles the family has amongst one another, what weaknesses there are, anything she could need.

Her parents are well acquainted with several politicians, all of whom are more than willing to act in favor of her family's company. All of whom are itching to become Prime Minister.

So a plan is made to leave the position of PM vacant. Assassinate Takaaki, frame Torano, get someone who'll act in favor of the company in control. Maybe throw in some Yakuza connections for flavor.

Nori is nothing if not a good actor. So when a bullet comes through a window during a banquet, going straight through Takaaki's skull and spraying the table with blood, she acts just like you'd expect a loving wife to. The event falls into chaos instantly, guards swarming the area. And little Taka, who'd been so excited to wear his new suit to the event, has to be dragged away from his father.

Nori's job at this point is to act the part of the mournful wife, suddenly finding herself a single mother. She also is tasked with beginning the rumor mill, whispering of the animosity her poor late husband and his father had for one another. How she's afraid that Toranosuke is somehow involved and, if she isn't careful, will act against her and Taka.

Somehow Taka ends up hearing about it. And well, Taka isn't the type to hide his feelings as a teenager, and he certainly doesn't do it as a child. It's an unexpected complication to the plan. Taka isn't going to just let the rumor float about. He's ready to go straight to his grandfather and demand answers, which would ruin everything.

They could kill the child, it wouldn't be terribly hard. But perhaps Nori has some attachment to him, even if she knows he was only born as a prop for her role. The only other option is to make him part of the plan.

Why frame Toranosuke for murder when you can convince his grandchild that he's a horrible man? A man so powerful that even the law can't touch him? A man so powerful that only someone truly dedicated to justice can bring him down?

It isn't hard to convince Taka to poison his grandfather. The hardest part is training him to hide his anger long enough to get the job done.

So now Nori has made way for a business partner to become Prime Minister, and she's created a hitman for the company. Taka would be a much more loyal assassin than simple money could buy. He's got a vendetta against corruption and a tarnished faith in the justice system. And Nori is in the perfect position to direct his righteous anger towards those that 'deserve it'. And if her definition of who deserves death is different than Taka's? Well, he doesn't need to know that.

#taka #takaaki ishimaru #kiyotaka ishimaru #danganrompa #talentswap #long post #tw: suicide mention #nothing happens but there's a plan #it's just mentioned in passing #an ask tag

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thehierophage · 4 years

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Bruno and the Occult Attack of Politicians

Since Lord Dampnut's ascension to the presidency there has been no shortage of witches, sorcerers, and enchanters working to try to bind, curse, or hex him. As a somewhat amusing side effect of this cultural phenomenon we've been able to see David Griffin of the Golden Dawn(R) wax like a tin-foil hat wearing kook decrying this evil and malignant magical warfare against our nation's Holy King. The purpose of this essay is to lay out why these efforts aren't really working. I'm putting this out there not to discourage your magical operations, but to make sure they are more effective.

The primary work I'll be referring to in this discussion is “On Magic” (De Magia) by the great Renaissance thinker and magician, Giordano Bruno. In this work he details the conditions required for establishing the necessary magical bonds whereby a magician would be able to manipulate and control a spirit/spirit-embodied person.

The first two bonds are considered to be comprised of a type of “triple power” which demands the utmost attention before any of the other bonds can be considered. That is, the first two bonds are each composed of three elements a piece which make up their effectiveness as a bond and which must be attended to if any magical operation is to be successful (outside of luck or grace). Here are the first two:

1. The first bond which ties spirits together is general in character and is represented metaphorically by the three-headed Cerberus of Trivia, the doorkeeper of hell. This is the triple power which is needed by one who binds, i.e., by the magician: namely, physics, mathematics and metaphysics. The first is the base; the second is the scale; the third is the summit of the scale. The first explains active and passive principles in general; the second explains times, places and numbers; the third explains universal principles and causes. This is a triple cord which is difficult to break.

2. The second bond is also triple and is needed in the agent, in the action and in the thing on which the agent acts. It consists of faith or credibility, of invocations, of love and of strong emotions in the application of the active to the passive. The role of the soul is to produce changes in the body of the composite, and the role of the body is to change the soul materially. If these bondings do not happen, or especially if they are not present, then no amount of attention or motion or agitation will produce any results. For a magician is most fortunate if many believe in him, and if he commands great persuasion.

So in the first instance, the magician is expected to have an understanding of the nature of the thing being worked upon (physics), an understanding of the symbols being used to create that change (mathematics), and an understanding of the philosophical theories which by necessity must contain the first two (metaphysics), and these three are considered to be the first and most important of magical bonds.

I would venture to say that sorcerers working against the current administration by and large are probably a pretty savvy bunch, or at least sophisticated enough to understand at least one thread of this triple cord (i.e., the “mathematic”). There's also a good number of magicians out there that have a decent understanding of the metaphysics of their given magical systems as well as the sets of correspondences which they use in any given magical operation. Where many may be lacking is in understanding the subject which they wish to change/affect, and this proves to be the lynchpin to the observable failures of the magical operations up to this point. Because unless all three of these cords are being put into use this most critical and primary of bonds will not take.

The second link in establishing the magical link extends its scope to not just the magician, but the magician, the target, and the operation being performed. Bruno says that the knowledge and understanding which is the core of the first bond is not sufficient in and of itself, but requires a real intense passion in the execution of the operation. In fact it requires a type of furore (a la Ficino) or Platonic mania in the magician to produce the necessary non-ordinary consciousness which will allow the magician to summon forth the necessary force for or against the target. What he doesn't mention explicitly until later is that the potency of the invocation must be something that would also move the target to feel that they are a passive recipient of the force being invoked. Simply put, it doesn't matter how passionate your petition is or how adroitly you handle your magical tools – if Lord Dampnut isn't the type of guy who is impressed by or fears such actions, then your ministrations will not produce a strong magical bond.

Bruno says of this later on in the same work chapter on the bondings of spirits:

“For actions actually to occur in the world, three conditions are required: (1) an active power in the agent; (2) a passive power or disposition in a subject or patient, which is an aptitude in it not to resist or to render the action impossible (which reduces to one phrase, namely, the potency of matter); and (3) an appropriate application, which is subject to the circumstances of time, place and other conditions.”

So not only must you 1) know your magical system really well (#3), be super passionate and precise in your working of that system (#1), but the subject/target of your work must not be resistant to being affected by the system or its operator (#2). Obviously it's in this last point that the process unravels.

Bruno continues:

“In the absence of these three conditions, all actions are, simply speaking, always blocked. For even if a flute player is perfect, he is blocked by a broken flute, and the application of the former to the latter is useless. Thus, a lack of power in the matter makes an agent impotent and an application unfitting. This is what was meant when we said that an absence of these three conditions, strictly speaking, always blocks an action.

“Closer examination may show that the defect is due to only two, or even only one, of these conditions. But a defect in any one of them should be understood as meaning a defect in all three, as when the flute player and his performance are perfect but the flute is defective, or when the player and the flute are perfect but the performance is interrupted. If the whole meaning of efficient action is taken to consist in the application, then the first condition merges with the third, for the agent is nothing other than the applicator, and to do something is nothing other than to apply something.”

To complicate matters Bruno throws out this interesting tidbit in his list of the types of magical bonds:

“7. The souls of men who are tyrants and rulers, and of those who have acquired some degree of fame and thus have become spirits.”

Now this could refer to the souls of these figures after they've died when they move from being a personality to becoming a principle – a kind of euhemerism where the minutia of the person is stripped away and the image becomes the receptacle and embodiment of specific values as in the case of patron saints.

Another, more sophisticated reading of this note may entail that the powerful and famous generate their own spirits of themselves which consist of their public image and the conceptions of themselves created and broadcast by the media. If this latter explanation is valid, then any magical work put against a media figure of some notoriety would affect possibly only the fame-generated spectre of the person and not the actual target. Only through continuous chipping away at the public persona would the source of that spirit begin to be affected.

In the case of the current example - their nature as a thin-skinned slave to their own media representation seemingly should assist media-savvy sorcerers in creating hexes which would damage the spirit proxy. This damage would then impact the host generating the spirit.

So what would a successful magical operation against this monster look like? The key here I think would be a two-fold coordination between those assaulting his public image (i.e., the spirit generated by it) and individuals working on the target directly. Both parties would have to be extremely well-trained, polished operators in order to dismantle such a juggernaut.

The first would tactically release imagery and stories meant to lure in those who have fallen under the spell of his spirit while also dismantling the spirit's ability to rally those same people to it by showing the spirit and its host as undesirable, insane, impotent, and working against their ability to enjoy themselves. This has become increasingly difficult to do as audiences have become hypersensitive to absolutely anything that has a whiff of being oppositional to their Fearless Leader. When faced with reasonable questions concerning the spirit's intentions its followers often respond simply by falling into a paroxysm of anger leveling accusations of unpatriotic behavior until the accuser has been shouted down. As a result these victims rally around a continuously fine-tuned stream of media from sources that provide them material which reinforces their position while also coordinating this spirit's magical force thus amplifying the problem. Frighteningly, one of the only ways to dismantle the power of this spirit's sway over its servants is to show it as being the thing that they hate and positing an even more insane alternative.

The second group of magicians would have to contend with finding and fixing those weak bonds discussed above. But who would turn a man like that into a passive recipient of the magical influence invoked by the magician? The answer, most likely, would be women. His love life has been very public and it would take no talent at all to figure out what his “type” is. A well-trained sorceress could then make him receptive to her charms (perhaps by feeding him her menstrual blood or powdered hair), receive personal effects from him by which to bind him, and be able to use these in conjunction with a burgeoning relationship with the target. Since the subject's natal chart is available and well-known this sorceress would be able to calculate the name of his Wicked Spirit, create specialized invocations triggering his already poorly placed malefics, and/or calculate the Lot of Death or Misfortune to divine when certain actions would need to be executed.

( Donhole by Blacky)

The above scenarios are a description of the type of work that would most likely have to be done to magically bring down a man with that kind of power. Anything less would probably fail or only be successful as a stroke of luck or through grace. I still recommend that magicians continue to do the work they're currently doing though. Not because I feel it will succeed in removing this monster from office, but because it accomplishes a continual regicide within the mind of the operator. There is one throne within the palace of the mind and it should either be filled by you or left conspicuously empty. Sic Semper Tyrannis.

#Giordano Bruno #Magick #Occult

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kisstheashes · 5 years

Text

Anti Character Chart

Before I begin, I just want to make it clear that this is a character chart for my Anti, and no one else’s. This is just how I write his character!

Appearance:

His skin has a green tinge normally at least lined with glitches, though his glitching can become violent enough it looks like he's splitting apart

He has short, deep forest green hair (think October 2016)

He normally has one eye with a neon green iris and one eye that's pitch black

His teeth are long and sharp enough to tear through flesh and muscle with ease

His tongue is pointed and extends about 7 inches outside of his mouth

Black gauges in his ears

His slit neck doesn't bleed anymore, but the exposed inner flesh has started to rot slightly

He has claws about 4 inches long

He wears plain black t-shirts, ripped black skinny jeans, and heavy black boots

He smells like acid and bleach

He tastes like battery acid and rotten flesh

Alternate Appearances:

With help from his static, he can conceal his monstrous appearance and look normal

Depending on his mood his eyes will change to both pitch black or pitch black with green irises

His mouth can extend all the way to the back of his jaw, with extra teeth to boot

He'll grow proper fangs that reach halfway down his chin

In his ""true form"" he'll become shrouded in red, with his green eye literally glowing and pointed ears

Logistics of his form:

Normally he is fully incorporeal. He has a human-like form but it is not physical

To gain a corporeal body:

He has to attach to a host that will complement his energy. It doesn't have to be a perfect match, just someone who won't eject him

To attach, he has to "infect" the host. Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, lost time, possession, hurting them & loved ones, and mocking/taunting/threatening them inside their head

It can take months or even years to attach to his host fully, depending on how compatible they are and how resilient the host is

Once he's broken down the host enough and attached fully, he'll kill the host to gain full control over the body

So yes, Anti lives inside corpses

This works because Anti's presence acts like life support for the body. Cells will regenerate, the heart will beat, etc. New wounds in the corpse will heal because the body acts as if it's alive. However, these wounds will not heal any quicker than they would on a normal human

The wound that killed the body will not heal because it is a wound previous to his full possession of the corpse. But it also will not bleed anymore, and he can conceal it with static

The corpse will also continue to have any scars that it had while alive. Those are long past the point of being able to be healed

As long as Anti is in the body, it will not age or die

If Anti leaves the corpse he cannot come back to it. It will drop dead the instant he leaves. So he tends to be protective of the bodies he's in

The only things that will kill the corpse while he's in it are beheadings/dismemberments or being burned to a crisp

Personality:

He's completely sadistic. Any amount of pain is something he revels in- the more pain there is, the better. It doesn't matter if it's physical pain or not

He's highly intelligent and observant and can create complex plans down to a T. I.e configuring electronics, knowing how his victim will react, and everything else to stay in control of his plans

Unfortunately, he's impulsive. He'll abandon his plans because he sees a new opportunity that may or may not be better in the long run, but its something he wants now.

He has deep anger issues. If you do one thing to piss him off you can end up getting his full wrath.

In his wrath, he can turn animalistic in behavior and will hack, slash, claw, bite, and growl through the situation

Anti has a god complex. He needs people to bow to him and thinks that if he can do enough [insert motivation here] he will become a god, or at least like one

He's a manipulator and abuser. He will do everything he can to break down his victim so in the end they'll become a puppet and go crawling back to him and beg him not to leave. He uses his mind control static to help with this process

He's very touchy. Even when he's torturing you he will give you soft touches that in other contexts would feel comforting. If he's trying to manipulate you he'll go as far as hugging, cuddling, etc. Though he also likes to just touch people because he knows it makes them uncomfortable

He's possessive and wants his victims to only need him, and will do anything to make them his

He's a cannibal. He feeds off of human flesh and blood exclusively. Though he can go long periods without feeding, it messes with his ability to use his powers and makes him weak

His commands are law. If you disobey you'll reap the consequences and then some

He will mock you, taunt you, and threaten you because he either thinks its fun or knows it will get the reaction he wants

His favorite weapons besides his claws and teeth is any kind of knife or sharp blade

He does not like pain, and has adverse reactions to it just like we do

Powers:

He has a static aura that he can conceal if he wishes, but normally he doesn’t because it can become exhausting

He has four main types of static:

Pleasurable Static- when he pushes this into his victim, it makes them feel good and they can't register any bad sensations anymore (i.e. getting sliced apart feels good). Victims will not remember what happened when they were in this static state. They will only remember feeling good, and that they should not have felt good

Painful Static- this is a weapon. This static has no other purpose than to hurt. When pushed onto his victim it's so painful it's fully incapacitating

Reality-Warping Static- he uses this to not only conceal his own appearance but conceal other parts of reality. When this is used on/around his victim, he can force them to see whatever kind of "reality" he wants. They cannot see, hear, touch, or taste their way out of these hallucinations.

Mind Control Static- this is one of the tools he uses to make puppets. When he force feeds his victim this static, it invades their brain and takes over every free thought they had. It's incredibly painful, and if he hasn't used it in a while his skills in this can get rusty. This static can be used either gradually with little doses with static-infused words/touches, or it can be used all at once for quicker effects.

He can warp time by either going backward or stopping it entirely. Though this takes an incredible amount of energy, so he prefers to only warp time when necessary

He can turn into a "static mist" where he can watch anyone from anywhere. He can't be seen but you can feel the static if he doesn't conceal his aura

His glitching helps him to teleport wherever he wants

He can hack/turn on/configure technology just by touching it. This is a relatively new skill, so on rare occasion, he'll still mess up

He has a finite amount of energy. When he runs out/low he will stop glitching and will be unable to do the simplest of things with his power

#jacksepticeye #antisepticeye #anti inspo #i may update this later with some more stuff if i forgot something #which I probably did #this is mostly for me bc i keep forgetting things about him lmao

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rwdestuffs · 6 years

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Done dirty: Adam

For the record: I am NOT saying any of that “Blake should have stayed with Adam to redeem him” bullshit. Anyone who thinks that Blake should have stayed with her abusive boyfriend so that “his feelings don’t get hurt uwuwu” is an entitled white male whose dick is about as big as a strand of hair.

Alternatively, they’re an abuse victim who has been so beaten and battered that they can’t recognize a bad situation when they see one, and they need help, so someone call the cops on their abusive partner!- Seriously.

Regardless, I hate Adam. But not because he cut off Yang’s arm or stabbed Blake or anything (Okay, that is part of it, but it’s not the main ‘main’ reason).

I hate Adam because he’s the generic ‘wife beater villain.’

He’s generic. It’s like the writers had this whole idea about Adam being a “misguided soul” but then couldn’t write that as a villainous character, so they decided to throw out all that nuance that was built up, and made him an abuser.

(The ‘misguided’ soul that Blake needed to remain with so that he wouldn’t be sad, everyone!)

Let me put it to you this way: If you think that the guy who did THIS:

To Yang deserves to be redeemed so that he can get together with Blake, you’re an abuse apologist, and I hope that you never have children. Ever.

All I’m saying is that Adam is boring. There’s nothing new about his character. I was expecting someone like Magneto: a person who’s been imprisoned, beaten, and discriminated against so much in the past that he wanted to turn it around for once. And with Adam being a faunus, they had the perfect setup. They could have had a whole monologue about how he was going to make the humans feel the same cruelty that he had faced.

They could have had a motive rant about how “They [humans] sowed this, and now they must reap it.” It would show how slippery of a slope it can get. It would be a way of showing how far the humans pushed him. Constantly calling him a monster, constantly throwing rocks at him, seeing his people being discriminated against. And then… having one last thing being the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Whether it be because someone flinched at him, or someone did a minor offense, Adam snaps. It would show just how long he’s been at 59, and it wouldn’t feel so sudden. Let it be a warning to those in a privileged position: Keep pushing people around, and they might push back. Hard.

So, when I talk about Adam being “ruined” I talk about how boring, generic, and by-the-book he is. There’s no unique spin on his type of character. There’s nothing to set him apart from the other villainous abusive villains that we’ve seen. Take The Joker, for example. He’s an unrelenting abuser towards Harley, and isn’t even remorseful for what he does. He just wants to cause chaos for the sake of causing chaos. He manipulates everyone (not that it at all excuses his treatment of Harley), and he’s a sociopathic murderer and proud of it.

Joker stands out due to his contrasting nature with Batman, and his other motives. Adam, just wants revenge. Rather boring if you ask me. We’ve seen this trope being used well before, but it just seems tired here. If this show is going to be known for anything (other than having kickass action scenes in volumes 1-3), it’s going to be for making old cliches dead.

This show tries to use the “tropes as tools” way of writing, but that fails when the trope they’re using is a hammer, and they need a screwdriver. The writers use these tropes badly. Instead of peppering in little hints that Adam is an abuser while having more overt moments that Blake sees him in high regard (and maybe one little moment where she struggles to remember something good about him (since there would be none)), and then drop it on the audience’s head.

This image fails at hinting at Adam’s abusive nature. The writing is so illegible that there’s likely not even any hints there, and this lack of foreshadowing is what prompts people to say that his abusive nature came out of nowhere.

Even in the black trailer, Adam displays the demeanor of a stern leader/mentor rather than an abusive boyfriend.

Adam also got a significant nerf. Remember when he could block bullets back in the Black trailer, but then that got replaced by the spinning disks in recent times?

It honestly feels like the writers just tried too hard to make Adam scummy. They really tried to force the idea of him being evil and not having any redeeming qualities. Which, I’m not against, but when it comes off as blatantly forced as how it happened here, there’s not really much to say. A large majority of my hate Adam for how he is written. Everything else is his actions. Which, again, come off as really forced.

Adam give freaking Kylo Ren a run for his money in the edgelord department. And unlike Kylo, Adam doesn’t have a backstory of being betrayed by his mentor. or being manipulated by an evil being to fall back on. He’s just evil… because he’s evil.

I’ll give the writers this though: They were right in that the most dangerous terrorist is a white male who’s throwing a temper tantrum because he was rejected. So at least they have enough writing ability to know that.

#rwde #adam crit #done dirty

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boylesharon · 4 years

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How To Get Rid Of Cat Spray Smell In Car Surprising Useful Tips

It could also be brought about by there being another cat in any case, have your pet cats, this is my first recommendation.If you choose what type of severe episodes of breathing difficulty.Here are some tricks that you are providing the right direction, working from the missing joint as the cats from spraying, you may find keeping a cat is spraying because it is quite a nightmare for you.If you have tested the solution, simply mix a bit of catnip.

Keep on until you cannot stand the smell, and that urine has an affinity for water, cats dislike being surprised.Check with your cat suffers the least you can start to bite and claw at the cat who has seen a cat at a younger age, it actually is not to scold the cat urine odor.Hairball-like coughing often with difficulty breathing.And for most new owners, house training problem, it will help you to set things right.A popular way to use these tactics to manipulate and they bond tightly to anything they land on.

Wait for around fifteen minutes then sop it up in an expensive carpet happily ripping it to be the comfort and convenience of a cat sprays the walls or pieces of cat products and avoid those which contain strong chemicals.They will bite to tell you that based on the increase, just like any other type of pet that resides with a feeling of insecurity and a lot cheaper to do is minimize the amount of damage that is poisonous for fleas.Using a deterrent - regardless of its scientific nomenclature, Nepeta cataria that signifies a cat to jump and land on it's feet and it would be enjoying a much tougher time of need, even if the cat urine.And you need to be when they live in groups, usually not strong enough.Alternative products are easy to grow healthy.

Your cat needs is a victim of cytauxzoonosis.Interestingly this same chemical works to repel cockroaches and termites, so getting kitty a snack as this will need to think about their business, but some of the plant as well.To begin with, you must schedule the training sessions into a flea comb to see if it's only caused by the local township provides a cat in his, or her, loose.It is enough to catch prey such as vomiting or loss of appetite, loss of appetite.On day one, you must make sure to buy a more healthy life.

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Jealous Cat Spraying

Some cats are relaxed they roll over or come on command, a cat that the best time to play or run around for their meals.Or, it could be any where from 50% to 70% of cats helps to flush out the left over liquid.It takes up no floor space, it's easy to handle.Occasionally combing your cat's skin through the trip.Cats tend to be on your toes, scratching, and your home destination, enough to spay or neuter your dog to have the urge to spray there anymore.

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Prevent embarrassment of their efficiency.Your veterinarian may also recommend a little encouragement, you can bring them to the problem, the solution for a few tools and aids, you are not only will be no problems with your cat at a home owner than other peoples cats using humane, catch-and-release traps before I tell you to bring your cat by installing a window or vent.You can teach your cats personality so that they have accepted the cat litter.Also, Prissy Miss is just like a mouse or keyboard cord, where the cat to respond.The third main component, uric acid, is the 15 digit FDXB micro chip so check with your vet.

Magonsi Cat Spray Expert

Your cat thus risks to have an unpleasant smell and not make the best approach.Before you can try a bit too simple but actually it works well on your cat.These operations are regularly conducted by veterinarians and the doctor immediately.That would have to obey in order to prevent getting matted fur.Pet shops make available a variety for your cat, the more challenging odors to a berber or a behavioral one.

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#How To Get Rid Of Cat Spray Smell In Car Surprising Useful Tips #Cat Urine Kilz

0 notes

dlamp-dictator · 4 years

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Who’s the Bad Guy Now?

While I haven’t finished the last episode yet, My Next life as a Villianess has been quite the fun ride. It’s funny, thoughtful, and probably has one of the best protagonist of a harem anime since The Fruit of Grisaia’s Yuuji Kazami. This is definitely definitely an anime I can recommend to anyone, which is a refreshing thing to say since the majority of anime I like tends to be either absolute fanservice garbage like Cross Ange, extremely genres like MagiPro and Granbelm, or something offensively generic and uninspired like Assassin’s Pride.

Along with that, I can say that this anime is a refreshing take on both harem and otome tropes. Making our protagonist's obliviousness to her harem’s affection more comedic than frustrating while still giving her the charisma needed to actually get that affection in the first place. I could honestly do a whole Rambling on how well this all works together.

But I’m not going to do that.

See, the whole ‘Villainess’ trend has been going on in Japanese manga, Korean Manhwa, and Chinese Webcomics for some time now, at least a year from my memory. I’ve been meaning to talk about some of these manga and this genre as a whole for a while now, but I’ve never really found the drive until now. So I wanted to take a bit of time to discuss a few of these stories and series in a way similar to my old Anime Updates, a general summary of the story and my overall views of each while hitting a point or two in a few paragraphs.

However, before I talk about the other manga and manhua...

Disclaimer

All of series I’m going to be talking about are, to my knowledge, not released or translated in the west officially. Most of these are fan translations by folks wanting to spread the respective series. However, with that said these are still technically pirated media. A lot of the translation groups have even asked to not post pictures of their translations on social media sites, specifically Instagram, as they could possibly face some form of legal action from the author. As such, I won’t be post too many pictures of what’s available save for official, untranslated art if I can.

With that said...

Let’s start with the big one. This is the main thing I wanted to talk about. What it Takes to be a Villainess or The Justice of Villainous Woman is a pretty interesting take on both Villain and Isekai tropes. The story focuses on Yu(?) Hwayoeng, a typical 23-year-old Korean woman who enjoys soap operas, racy novels, and being with her boyfriend. Well, at least until her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend and she accidentally slipped into a river and died, only to be reborn in the body of a Satiana(?) Altizer Cailon(?), a noblewoman with the reputation of a bratty villainess. Through several events, she learns she’s a Regina, a canidate for the next empress of the empire. However, Satiana’s awful reputation as a villainess competing with the saintly reputation of her opponent Irene, who is already the lover of the current prince and next emperor. With enemies at every corner and a prince she knows nothing about save for his cold demeanor toward her, Satiana, or commonly called Satie, must find away to become Empress despite her foul reputation and hostile political environment.

Now, despite Satie being a ‘villainess’, the story sets it so that she’s already condemned and somewhat hated among noble society. This isn’t a tale of how a villainess avoids a bad end, but how someone goes from an underdog brat to a proper member of high society and cares for the people she rules under. Despite the premise, this isn’t much of a romance of Satie winning over the cold prince, but Satie working both with and against the system to make policies and arrangement work in her favor with the little tools she has. Her first obstacle isn’t softening the cold prince, it’s figuring out how to get maids and secretaries to help her run affairs despite her superiors hindering her from the most basic of rights as a noblewoman. She has to use both the memories borrowed from the original Satie and her memories from her past life to help her get through the tangled web of political intrigue.

Speaking of which.

Satie Never Forgets

Like I said, the main interest for me in this is the twist on several Villain and Isekai tropes. One of which is that Satie never forgets her time as Yu or her certain circumstance. She never forgets that she died after soon being the victim of an affair, or that she, as Yu, was a controversial figure in her university as someone that spoke out against injustice and problems despite decorum saying otherwise. The former keeps her from pursuing the prince despite his advances, the latter keeps her from letting people’s wrongdoings go unannounced, much to her own detriment at times. She never forgets that she more or less stole the body she’s in, so tries her best as Regina to do her new family right. And after about 30-ish chapters she breaks from her Villainess reputation and persona and can start handling things properly. It becomes less of an Isekai or romance story and more of a political drama with Isekai and Romance elements in it. The best parts of this series is when Satie is planning her next move through all the political wrangling, or when she uses knowledge from her previous life to improve the lives of others. Not just that she’s from a modern era, but that she was also a former babysitter for her family, or had a natural knack for flirting and acting to begin with. She smart and can think on her feet.

However... that said, I have one glaring issue with this series.

Romance and Morality

As of me writing this we’re at about chapter 92. Within the more recent chapters they’ve finally explained things from the Prince’s prospective as to why he’s so cold and why he chose Irene as a lover. And while I find that side interesting and the story takes advantage of us seeing his side of things for future plot events, I feel like the story wants us to question who is in the right.

This... bugs me a little.

While I don’t mind moral ambiguity in my media this series has been trying very hard to get us to root for Satie for over 90 chapters, successfully might I add. She’s used her villainess reputation when she needed to, she’s punished wrongdoers, treated well those who have deserved it, and while the prince has slowly softened his stance on her she’s still hesitant to approach him, as he already has a lover. Through the Prince’s chapters we learn his and Irene’s relationship is more political than romantic and that Irene isn’t the kind saint she makes herself out to be. However, I feel like this moral fracturing is more annoying than interesting. Granted, this is to set up some bigger drama in later chapters and the chance to see other perspectives is nice, but... eh, your mileage may very. For what it’s worth, it’s building up to some interesting twists in the next arc or two, but the mystery of who is in the right by what means feels annoying when Satie’s been walking that tightrope for the last fifty-ish chapters.

Other Critiques

Just my general critique all of the series you’ll see here, but translations have slowed down as of me typing this essay. The last one was about 2-ish months ago, at least on the site I use for this specific story. The translations can’t really get a good read on how to properly spell Satie’s name either, if the (?) didn’t clue you in. Nothing deal breaking, but an annoy tick nonetheless.

Anyway, only the next story!

The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass takes a different, if still common turn for these Villainess stories. Aria Roscente is the daughter of a prostitute that soon became a noble due to her mother marrying into nobility. She lived a lavish life and was quite arrogant as she grew up, but was slowly manipulated in her ignorance by several parties, the most egregious being her sister Mielle who pushed Aria into the role of villainess while making herself seem like a saint. And due to those machinations she was executed. With her last dying wish being for a second chance she’s granted that chance by traveling back in time to around her childhood through a magical hourglass, giving her the perfect change to lay the seeds of her revenge against all those who conned her.

Now, time travel in these Villainess stories isn’t new, but I like this one’s take on it. Aria has a semi-manipulate time in the more recent chapters as of my writing this, and she uses them to her advantage in other to get revenge on those who wronged her. With her knowledge of future events she can make relationships of lower class individuals who will have higher stature in years to come. She can have almost prophetic knowledge of future disasters to come so she can be seen as a hero for preventing or preparing for them. And she can curb an future opponent’s advancements into high society. However... she’s stunted by thae fact that her child self won’t be taken too seriously and that Aria herself only has a passing idea of events to come, as her past arrogance made her rather flippant toward important court events.

But there’s one more issue I have with this story...

Aria is an Asshole

This might be a frequent criticism I have for a lot of future stories and series I want to cover, but to focus this on Aria for this, she is an almost cartoonishly evil character at times no real reason. Unlike like Satie who uses her bad reputation and evil persona strategically to sway opinions and weave the political landscape of the empire, Aria is an outright bastard out to tear down those that stand in her way as she manipulates things to her advantage and slowly ruins the lives of those who wronged her in the past. While we’re told this revenge is for deeds done in her past life, the people she targets are currently blameless in the new timeline. And the one that supposed ruined her life, her sister, may in fact be manipulated by other parties to see Aria’s undoing. However, Aria doesn’t care about this and proceeds to emotionally torture her younger sister throughout the story, relishing in her agony. Again, we’re told Mielle has done evil and manipulated Aria in her past life, but since we don’t see those moments it just feels like someone picking on the weak, like we’re just watching a bastard be a bastard and suppose to enjoy it. And unlike Light Yagami or Lelouch vi Britannia, her schemes and mannerisms don’t have much flamboyance or flair to them. This is just a scheming bastard ruining peoples lives, and I can’t really root for her. I’m currently at chapter 18 and so far there are translations going up to chapter 20 as of me typing this, but I’m loosing my taste for this series fast if Aria is going to just keep being an asshole without having an real opponent out to get her for it. There’s been moments of some actual opposition, but nothing concrete to say she has an opponent yet, not a tangible one at least.

I also hear the original novel version of this story is a lot better, likely due to it taking time to explain a lot of her targets past deeds and making Aria’s evil acts seem a little more justified. It’s a lot easier to explain that in a book rather than a comic.

It’s a little early for recommendations, but a Chinese comic The Bloody Merchant Empress and the Cold Husband's Forceful Doting is a much better version of this premise. When the wronged Empress is returned to the past as the daughter of a wealthy merchant she uses her knowledge of the future and family’s resources to better the country while also humiliating her cold, manipulative, and obsessive former husband. I’m only about 60-ish chapters in that one out the currently 90-ish that are translated as of me typing this, but it’s pretty entertaining so far and has a protagonist I can root for.

Aria... just isn’t an appealing protagonist to me, at least not yet, but I’m willing to at least get though another 5 chapters before calling judgement on it.

The last thing I wanted to cover was I'm Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn't Mean I'm a Bad Person! This manga is about a girl named Sakura that was reincarnated as the dark magic user Claudia Letsya, the villainess of a popular novel she read. Realizing the plot and her death at the hands of the series protagonist, she works from her childhood onward to prevent her death by sowing seeds of kindness and generosity. It isn’t as simple as that however, as the world of Lacia is deeply prejudice toward those using dark magic, as well as Claudia’s own appearance since dark skin and hair are foreign to the country. Along with that, her powers are prophesied to bring ruin to the country as well. So with the cards stacked against her, Claudia must fight back every prejudice against her to prove she’s not the villain the world claims her to be, and to not die in battle as an enemy.

One it’s own this manga is pretty interesting. Claudia is already hated due to prejudice and prophecy, so she has to somehow fight against the system that already condemned her. And unlike Satie, who already had years of experience as an adult living in the adult modern world, Sakura died as a child and only has a child’s prospective on things. She’s a rather smart child, but she still doesn’t have the intelligence or status to have pull over the world. She can only do so much with the cards against in her current body and status. She has to make friends and allies fast. She eventually does this and gains a slightly better reputation than the original novel gave her, however...

The Big Twist

Spoils for chapter 6 onward, but later we large that the protagonist of this world, Amelia Logan, is also reincarnated like Claudia and knows the story and world she’s in as well. However, unlike Claudia who’s trying to prevent her death, the owner of Amelia’s body is a haughty, arrogant, and snobby person who is ignorant of our villainess’s plight and is currently trying to set Claudia’s path to follow the ‘script’ so she can kill her.

This part I find interesting, as it give a lot more depth and a more interesting dynamic. While Claudia is trying to change her fate she has to deal with this awful, arrogant heroine that’s honestly doing more to ruin her own reputation than Claudia’s by being so pushy. And while the side cast can’t stand this arrogant light user, the society of Lacia wants Claudia as dead as Amelia does, so conspires against her. This adds another challenge onto Claudia, as the usually kind and trusting heroine is now her biggest adversary. And while that’s funny in a way, it also makes for a small problem I have with the series. That being...

Amelia is an Asshole

I didn’t think I’d use this criticism twice in the same Rambling, but okay. Like with Aria, Amelia is cartoonishly malicious toward Claudia. And while she’s always called out on it, she comes across more as annoying than comedic or imposing. This is probably intentional and updates are only up to chapter 9, but sometimes makes me wonder how Amelia can be so awful as a person and still keep her standing as a heroine. She tends backpedals the plot a little by being so inept of her status and assumes the fact that she’s ‘destined’ to kill Claudia means she’s free from criticism despite constantly being called out by the main cast. It’s less funny at times and more irritating that she can’t understand the story is moving in a much different direction than originally written and should act accordingly.

This is a personal gripe however. Like I said, there’s only 9 chapters of this manga currently translated so there’s plenty of time for things to get better. This might not even be a line crossed with most readers, but it’s crossed it for me so I’m going to mention it. That’s not a deal breaker, but it is annoying to read through.

Sadly, this manga only has 9 chapters out as of me typing this, and translations has moved to a crawl. The original novel seems have slowed as well in terms of translation speed, so this might just be a pointless inclusion on the list. Nonetheless, it’s definitely an interesting short read, if only for that

Fuck it, I’ll make a thumbnail myself.

I’ve been meaning to find an excuse to talk about Villainess Ventures for a while, months really, and with this giant review/impressions/overview of villainess stories now’s as good a time as any.

So, if you’ve been following me for awhile you might occasionally hear me mention the youtube channel SugarPunch Design Works, a channel ran by Majikura and A Bad Idea (ABI for short). These two do a mix of parody recall episodes, animation critiques and discussions, podcasts, and anime harem reviews. The latter was something ran by Majikura with some animated bits by ABI. However, due to difficult copyright and fair use issues, Majikura has gone on record saying the harem reviews are more or less in hiatus until mentioned otherwise. In the meantime, he’s made a Webcomic on Tapas called Villainess Ventures, a comedic webcomic that treats villainy as a business and deconstructs/parodies common villain tropes. The premise is simple, protagonist Veronica Nightingale is a consultant for villains, advising them on schemes, giving them new business avenues, and so on. Like I said, there are a lot of tropes being played with here. That’s the basic synopsis, I’ve nothing more to say aside from that I’ve enjoyed reading it and I recommend you all give a look.

...

Look, I know I kind of railed on the last three series there for at least a paragraph each, but... well, this is a bit different. I don’t exactly feel comfortable critiquing a webcomic in the same vain I do other series, as this is a free comic that is available on a website at no cost. Technically the last three are in that same vein of being free to read, but that’s through piracy and are technically official works for purchase, just not on English sites/stores. I view webcomics in the same way I do things on fanfiction.net and fictionpress.net, I only review and critique things on request and on my own time (and yes, people on both these sites have requested reviews/critiques from me at points). At the moment I’d say the only strike I have against this series is that the artist/writer could announce their hiatuses more accurately, but that’s it. Overall this webcomic is updated weekly, one page per week, with a month or two of hiatus after every two-ish arcs. If you wanted my personal recommendations Professional Henchman and Join my Team are my favorites at the moment. The character designs are pretty good, you’ll find your favorite among the cast rather quickly, and it’s starting to get updated again as of me typing.

Like I said, this is a webcomic that’s free to read on a site that’s, as far as I’m aware, free to use and sign up to comment and subscribe to your favorite comics on the site. And feel free to subscribe to this comic and tell ‘em Allen X sent you.

And that is it for this Rambling. I still have to wrap up the Arknights essays... so there’s that. I’ll see you all a bit later.

#your dictator is speaking

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transparentkingdom · 3 years

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IAT

My friend and I got into a discussion about six months ago regarding the implicit bias tests put out by Harvard and their validity. He questioned their validity and had some articles to bolster his argument, and I disagreed with him. I thought folks might be interested in a few of my points.

In response to this article - https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/psychologys-racism-measuring-tool-isnt-up-to-the-job.html

and this one - https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/12/05/psychologys-favourite-tool-for-measuring-implicit-bias-is-still-mired-in-controversy/

Here is what I said:

“what's up man,

so i read the two iat articles you sent me and found them interesting - so cool to be in grad school and be exchanging ideas on all sorts of things. i did want to get back to you and say that i read those pieces and looked at several scientific articles too (mostly by john jost and collaborators who developed the iat, but also investigators not affiliated with them). i maintain my position from yesterday that the iat is rigorous and that its structural framework can get at implicit biases. further, i would argue that there is a lack of sound logical integrity as well as generally flawed reasoning in the critiques of the iat you sent me. i'd love to share some of these thoughts as well as some studies and meta-analyses (and brief thoughts on these too) that look at associations between implicit bias and behavioral outcomes. sorry about this long email and inconsistent punctuation haha, but here are some of my personal opinions.

addressing the article from the cut first: i admit that it looks like the developers of the iat exaggerated the predictive powers of the iat if they said that it can shed light on "unconscious endorsements" people make of certain groups. this article goes on to flesh out this position and discuss how it is familiarity with certain stereotypes rather than actual endorsements of these stereotypes that can cause, for example, activists to score as high on these tests as non-activists. here are some quotes i've bolded:

experimenters were able to easily induce what the IAT would interpret as “implicit bias” against Noffians simply by forming an association between them and downtroddenness in general."

and also "Andreychik and Gill found that for those students who endorsed external explanations for the plight of African-Americans or a novel group, or who were induced to do so, high IAT scores correlated with

greater

degrees of explicitly reported more compassion and empathy for those groups. For those who rejected, or were induced to reject, external explanations, the correlation was exactly reversed: High IAT scores predicted lower empathy and compassion. In other words, the IAT appeared to indicate very different things for people who did or didn’t accept external explanations for black people’s lower standing in society. This suggests that sometimes high IAT scores indicate that someone feels high degrees of empathy and compassion toward African-Americans, and believes that the group hasn’t been treated fairly. Now, it could be that such people

also

have high amounts of implicit bias, but it’s striking how easily IAT scores can be manipulated with interventions that don’t really have anything to do with implicit bias." "So the question of whether the IAT measures something that can be fairly called

animus

, in the sense of being a preference (in this case, an unconscious one) for one group over another, rather than familiarity with stereotypes, is

anything but

“ill-posed”. "

Blanton said that he has never seen a psychological instrument in which less statistical noise predictably biases the results upward or downward. “What should happen is that as you remove random noise, you just get a better estimate of [the thing being measured],” he explained. Blanton provided a surprising example of how this plays out in test sessions, according to his team’s math: If a race IAT test-taker is exactly 1 millisecond faster on each and every white/good as compared to black/bad trial, they “will get the most extreme label,” he said. That is, the test will tell them they are extremely implicitly biased despite their having exhibited almost zero bias in their actual performance. That’s an extreme example, of course, but Blanton says he’s confident this algorithmic quirk is “affecting real-world results,” and in the Assessment paper he and his colleagues published the results of a bunch of simulated IAT sessions which demonstrated as such."

"To be sure, there’s no perfect psychological instrument. They all have their flaws and shortcomings — sometimes maddening ones. But there may not be any instrument as popular and frequently used as the race IAT that is as riddled with uncertainty about what, exactly, it’s measuring, and with the sorts of methodological issues that in any other situations would cause an epidemic of arched eyebrows. “What I’ve been convinced of is it’s very difficult to break down the origins of these associations,” said Elizabeth Paluck, a prejudice and intergroup relations researcher at Princeton and a co-author on the “Noffians” study. “They can’t be all attributed to personal preference, they certainly come from cultural associations and conditioning.” As for the authors of the internal/external explanations paper, they note in it that “our analysis is perfectly compatible with the possibility that, perhaps for the majority of people, implicit negativity is likely to be prejudice-based.” But even if you accept that, it means for a substantial minority of people, the implicit negativity revealed by the IAT isn’t connected to prejudice — which is one reasonable way to interpret those underwhelming meta-analyses."

My contention with this part of the article is semantic in nature, because implicit bias IS familiarity and association between two things rather than any type of endorsement (e.g. if you grow up in the united states, even in the third millennium, you are likely to associate black people with violence and women with domestic life), which explains why openly hateful people and activists who spend a lot of time thinking about these associations might converge on the iat tests. It does not matter if your conscious or explicit biases are positive or how hard you work to fight your implicit biases (e.g. in the case of activists.) This article confuses explicit and implicit bias (probably in large part because the iat creators overestimated the predictive powers of the test as i mentioned and even made this semantic error themselves), but in reality, it is those implicit biases that predict how quickly a police officer will pull a trigger when startled by a black civilian who thrusts their hand in their pocket. explicit biases predict how well white people will get along with black people in intergroup settings because in those situations, you have time to reflect on your own prejudices (which the cut article even addresses and calls "overcompensating"). for more examples of quick reaction times in the context of implicit racial bias, i think blink by malcolm gladwell has a few good examples (though i'm guessing you've read it lol, and not that i am a huge lover of this book, because i'm not), as well as some of the articles i link in a few sentences. anecdotally (for what it's worth), i noticed in myself that after the BLM movement resurgence this summer, i was more likely to lunge in fear when addressed unsuspectingly by black homeless individuals in chicago (because i was implicitly associating black people with violence because of those two stimuli being juxtaposed on the news despite the fact that clearly the police officers were at fault and their black victims were totally innocent). also, i do not understand the article's hypothetical argument about how if a speedy test-taker is one millisecond faster on the white/good associations than on the black/bad ones, then they will get a score suggesting extremely high implicit bias against black people. if a freakshow statistical anomaly took place where the test-taker happened to be consistently but slightly slower on the black/bad bias responses but did not have that bias, then great, cool, but in all likelihood, the test would be measuring exactly what it purports to which is an unconscious negative feeling towards black people. yhis also relates to the article's discussion regarding how important explicit vs implicit bias is as a target of intervention and that the police situation at legal level in Ferguson is reflective of bias. Again, this has nothing to do with the validity of IAT - a rigorous study would look at correlations between implicit bias and implicit behavior, not explicit biases that can occur within the context of legal proceedings. The question that needs to be asked is whether the association between implicit bias and implicit behavior are rigorous and significant. Over and over again, we see that they are (links:

https://psyarxiv.com/582gh/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1368430215596075

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-21198-003

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721418797309

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12401

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797617694866

). my favorite example of my point is from Horwitz and Davidio 2015 - in this article, the investigators found that implicit biases in a population sample in favor of rich folks predicts that this sample will grant more amnesty to rich folks than poor folks when the rich ones cause a car accident. what creators purported to measure with it e.g. positive vs negative feelings toward certain groups is the mistake - does not mean the test is not a rigorous metric of implicit bias.

the other main argument the cut piece (and for that matter the research digest piece) makes regards the reliability and repeatability of the iat tests, showing low ~.4 relatedness coefficients. however, the article does not define the parameters used to assess reliability/measurement error in this context. For example, are we seeing totally random variance between test trials (e.g. is a test-taker gets extreme bias towards black people one week and extreme bias against black people the next? or is it more like slight bias one week and moderate bias the next? within the scheme of multiple trials across many individuals of course, and the average amount of shifting in scores averaged or statistically corrected for across many tests). in the latter case, low levels of reliability could reflect examinee's fear of being perceived as a racist upon second taking of the test leading to overthinking and anxiety, consciousness of possible biases that damn them towards unwanted prejudices, or "doctoring" how they take the test ie doing so in bad faith, for example moving more slowly on the white + good associations. Also, the iat test has been shown to be extremely reliable compared to other tests that measure the same type of thing (see Jost 2018, which is one of the articles linked above), e.g. blood pressure, a trait that is multifactorial (can be caused by anxiety, mood, diet, sleep) despite being stable over time (in the case of blood pressure, chronic cardiovascular health). Also, in studies that have truly found low correlation between implicit bias and implicit behaviors mentioned in the cut article, jost 2018 points out that this has to do with low methodological correspondence and the fact that these studies have rarely adjusted for measurement error.

The final part of the article talks about the harm of a potentially uninformative test like the iat making people feel unnecessarily bad about themselves and harming intergroup relations - both irrelevant to the validity of the iat by the way - though interestingly, the article points out the iat does have the power to do what it aims to (inform people of their unconscious associations - i find it rich that the article concedes this when it has sought to debunk it up to this point). some quotes: "

So there is nothing wrong with implicit-bias training that covers this sort of research. Nor is there anything wrong with IAT-based trainings which merely explain to people that they may well be carrying around certain associations in their head they are unaware of, and that researchers have uncovered patterns about who is more likely to demonstrate which response-time differences. In situations where one group holds historic or current-day power over the other, for example, members of the in-group do tend to score higher on the IAT than the out-group. Some of these between-group differences appear to be pretty robust, and they deserve further study. These are all worthwhile subjects to discuss, as long as it is made clear to test-takers that their scores do not predict their behavior." "

So it’s an open question, at least: The scientific truth is that we don’t know exactly how big a role implicit bias plays in reinforcing the racial hierarchy, relative to countless other factors. We do know that after almost 20 years and millions of dollars’ worth of IAT research, the test has a markedly unimpressive track record relative to the attention and acclaim it has garnered. Leading IAT researchers haven’t produced interventions that can reduce racism or blunt its impact. They haven’t told a clear, credible story of how implicit bias, as measured by the IAT, affects the real world. They have flip-flopped on important, baseline questions about what their test is or isn’t measuring. And because the IAT and the study of implicit bias have become so tightly coupled, the test’s weaknesses have caused collateral damage to public and academic understanding of the broader concept itself. As Mitchell and Tetlock argue in their book chapter, it is “difficult to find a psychological construct that is so popular yet so misunderstood and lacking in theoretical and practical payoff” as implicit bias. They make a strong case that this is in large part due to problems with the IAT.

Unless and until new research is published that can effectively address the countless issues with the implicit association test, it might be time for social psychologists interested in redressing racial inequality to reexamine their decision to devote so much time and energy to this one instrument. In the meantime, the field will continue to be hampered in its ability to provide meaningful answers to basic questions about how implicit bias impacts society, because answering those questions requires accurate tools. So, contra Banaji, scrutinizing the IAT and holding it to the same standards as any other psychological instrument isn’t a sign that someone doesn’t take racism seriously: It’s exactly the opposite." In this case, it is hard to know what these "standards" are. At this point, it seems like the author's main contention is that the IAT creators almost misinterpreted the mandate of their test, which again, I agree is true (they confused explicit and implicit bias and overstated the power of IAT results to predict explicit-bias based behavior). However, this article hardly discusses specific standards in light of which the IAT needs to be revamped or interpreted and to which any rigorous psychological testing battery should be subject.”

Here is an extra correction I made - “oh my point at the end of the second paragraph "what creators purported to measure with it e.g. positive vs negative feelings toward certain groups is the mistake - does not mean the test is not a rigorous metric of implicit bias" refers to the iat itself, not to the horwitz and davidio article.”

#amplifyblackvoices #implicit bias #equity #justice

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wingsofwhales · 6 years

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The Greeks Developed More Than Scandalous Student-Teacher Relationships... (kind of... a little bit more)

Fig. 1

Rhetoric is a big ol’ word that means a lot of things, mostly bad things. In essence, the regular Joe Shmoe knows very little about rhetoric outside of how politicians utilize it. To the average individual, rhetoric is as empty as the promises a president gives on their campaign trail. Much less, us college students and English majors probably don’t know rhetoric beyond this, especially just starting out. But, as English majors, we use rhetoric very often in our lives and in what we write.

So, if rhetoric isn’t just a tool politicians use, then what the hell is it?

Rhetoric is hard to pin down and its definition varies from one person to another, as well as its uses. The Greeks valued oral speech and utilized rhetoric in large theatres full of audiences or in forums where they discussed ideas and did all that democratic shit. Today, we see rhetoric utilized everywhere in different ways, using different methods from Sophistic to Aristotelian to Platonic. It’s just a matter of identifying what is rhetoric, that it isn’t really bad, and what kind of epistemology are they using. Rhetoric itself is just a mode of a language, of which can be seen and defined in various ways depending on the person (Lee).

More in depth, the use of rhetoric and it’s ‘origin’ can go back as far as the Greeks. Lots of western thinking comes from the Greeks and Romans. Particularly, three branches of rhetoric came from Greek minds: Sophist, Platonic, and Aristotelian. Each has their own epistemology, or theory of knowledge, concerning rhetoric, its uses, and whether or not they even dug it.

Knowing what these guys thought is not only cool, but it opens up a vaster idea of what rhetoric is and how we utilize it every day. It’s not just something politicians use, but is a staple in our essays, articles, and various other modes of writing. It’s just not that obvious at first glance.

The Sophists

The bad boys of rhetoric. Not in the sense that any of the individuals who labeled themselves as a Sophist were in any way rebels and rule breakers, but more so that they had their small moment to shine before everyone shit on their ways of thinking.

To a Sophist there were no absolute truths

Fig. 2

Ignoring the fact that the Jedi themselves believe in absolute truths

The Sophists believed that truth was a social construct. We perceive our own truths and, in essence, tailor our rhetoric to convey that. Sophists believed in building upon our own illusions with different ones—dissoi logoi (Bizzell and Herzberg 47). It’s the Greek way of saying: walk a mile in their shoes. There was always a time and place to utilize this in order to better sway an audience.

Essentially, Sophists saw rhetoric as a tool to use in order to get their way. In the bad version of thinking, this opened up a can of moral worms. With no absolute truth, individuals could construct their own moral principles and utilize rhetoric in a way that benefits them while harming others. Honestly, that’s why a lot of people thought they sucked. When you use rhetoric to get a gold statue of yourself and evade taxes, it doesn’t really help prove your point Gorgias (Smith 44-45).

Not many people like Sophists, as indicated by a vast majority of history, but, hey, my Rhetoric and Writing professor says they’re making a comeback (Lee). Maybe now’s a time to come out to your parents and live your best truth, right? Don’t ask me for advice, though, ‘cause my parents don’t even know my own sexuality.

Platonic

You might know these guys from a philosophy 101 class; they’re pretty famous, maybe in part cause they slammed the Sophists so hard you probably couldn’t really name one off the top of your head.

Unlike their Sophist adversaries, both Plato and Socrates valued the idea of absolute truth . In fact, Plato has an entire allegory to help further the understanding of his own point. You might have heard of Plato’s cave. Wait till you get a load of:

Fig. 3

Plato’s entire idea of our world and how we perceive it comes from a theory about the World of Forms, as he calls it. In his allegory, Plato describes a cave of people who can only perceive the world in the form of shadows. One dude gets out into this other world and is surprised to see that shit isn’t how he once understood it. Too bad he can’t tell his friends cause they don’t know what the hell he’s saying or who he is other than a weird shadow (Lee).

In other words, all of our knowledge comes from this other world and in the material world we can’t understand that. The goal both Plato and Socrates have is getting to this bank of knowledge in as pure a form as we can. They valued morality a lot, which is in part why they didn’t really like the Sophists and by extension rhetoric (Smith 49-50).

So why are they considered a part of rhetoric? Well, what they did was very much rooted in rhetoric, they just didn’t call it that. Socrates called his teaching method dialectics, which is essentially a one-on-one between him and another person wherein he acted liked a dumbass and asked ‘why?’ a bunch. In a less casual way, dialectics acted as platform to learn more from one another; it dissected a field one thought they were an expert in until they realized that they know nothing and perhaps looked at their ideas differently. That was Socrates big thing: y’all know nothing. Which, in relation to their epistemology, is very true. We can’t really know anything until we get back to that world of forms (49).

Dialectics is essentially just another name for fancy rhetoric ‘cause boo Sophists, they’re dumb and they suck. In part because dialectics itself, in a vacuum, assumes that both individuals are equal, but can often be used to persuade an individual that their idea isn’t all that or their way of thinking is wrong. Since humans aren’t perfect, the whole idea of dialectics can just be one, big, sarcastic power trip (Lee).

Aristotelian

Which leads us to our final boy: Aristotle. Unlike Plato and Socrates, whose ideas of another, immaterial world is very much akin to many religions and is more spiritual, Aristotle was more grounded in the reality he could perceive. What we could observe with our senses make up his absolute truth. He was a science man, basically (Smith, 66).

Fig. 4

We always ask if we can... but do we ever ask if we should?

Other than his main epistemology (absolute truths come from observations of the material world), Aristotle is most known for his main theories behind rhetoric, the Artistic Proofs: ethos, pathos, and logos. These appeals make up much of our rhetoric today, from advertisements to the speeches our representatives give even to the methods our professors teach (Bizzell and Hersberg 171).

Ethos deals with credibility. When we think of ethos, we think of what makes up the speaker or writer, who the hell they think they are and what they do best. If you have a Ph.D in the given field you’re talking about, chances are people might listen to you. Unless you’re audience is full of anti-vaxxers, then those 40 years of your life in medical school suddenly mean nothing (Lee).

Pathos deals with emotion, something a lot of people tend to do these days. Emotion is an easy thing to manipulate and folks tend to take advantage of that fact by evoking certain topics: veterans, victims of shootings, that Sarah McGlachlan song with all those poor puppies and kittens—you know the one. In the aaaarms of an angel... yeah that shit hits you right in the feels. It makes you feel bad for not donating or it makes you feel empowered and taps into that raw passion you feel. Lots of rhetoric does this ‘cause it’s often the easiest, even when it’s the most obvious thing (Lee).

Then there’s logos, which appeals to logic. You got your common sense and stuff that you back up with facts and figures. They’re the deductive arguments, which are things we presume to be true like: killing people is bad, Rob killed a dude, therefore Rob is bad (Bizzell and Hersberg 171-172).

Fig. 5

All These Greek Dudes Tho

They all make up the basis of rhetoric and the many epistemological ideas that we still attribute to rhetoric and utilize to this day, even if we don’t know we’re utilizing rhetoric.

Of course, sadly, none of these dudes liked the Sophists (except maybe Aristotle, maybe not) and therefore, not many of them liked rhetoric even if what they did was rhetoric in their own sense. But, even then, many of today’s uses of rhetoric do tend to combine all these modes of thinking.

Even if Sophistic thinking was looked down upon in the ancient Greek days, the way they observe and perceive the world mingles with Aristotle’s own ideas behind rhetoric. We all observe our truths, but Aristotle simply believed there are absolute truth’s in our observable world. In that same factor, Aristotle, in some way, married these two schools of thought together without just copying their ideas. Being the last of the bunch and the youngest, probably, he had a lot to build from.

To the sophist rhetoric was a tool. To Plato and Socrates, rhetoric was that evil thing used to persuade others in a malicious manner (but can be used righteously, as long as you aren’t a dirty Sophist) (Smith 66). Those two valued dialectic and the pursuit of knowledge through questioning and admitting that we know nothing. Aristotle, though, believed that rhetoric and dialectic could play off of each other. Knowledge needed a platform to be heard after it had been thoroughly dissected through dialectics and that platform was rhetoric (Filiquarian 7).

We see that in scientific queries and theories. The gathering of knowledge through experimenting, then typing all of that data up to show why the hell it’s important and they deserve more grant money.

There’s many ways these ideas can play off of each other, but the main thing is that much of rhetoric tends to deal with persuasion, or solving something or even just proving something. A lot of the tools these individuals used are all ways that one could persuade an audience, whether that be through ethos or the use of dialectics or convincing someone that their truth is wrong and that this is the truth they should believe in.

Of course, there’s many ways to go about that and much of it comes down to whether you believe in absolute truths or not. Or whether those absolute truths deal with a realm beyond our own or the material world we live in. The foundation we leap from develops our mode of thinking and how we aim to use rhetoric in the long run.

In Conclusion

Rhetoric is a complex and somewhat of a chaotic thing, but there are different categories in which we can classify certain rhetoric devised by the thoughts and ideas of our Greek friendos. And a lot of deals with truth and how we perceive the truth, whether it’s absolute or not, and whether it’s otherworldly or worldly.

Rhetoric is a strong tool and skill that comes in handy in our everyday lives and knowing the foundation of where that knowledge comes from aids us in figuring out how to utilize that tool effectively. So it’s more than just empty and more than just the bad that we see detailed on our television screens. It’s in our newspapers and articles, the scholarly papers we read, and even in how we talk about certain things to certain people.

Works Cited

Fig. 1. Johnson, Harry J. Temple of Aphaea in Aegina, Greece. Oil on Canvas. <http://www.artnet.com/artists/harry-john-johnson/temple-of-aphaea-in-aegina-greece-GhlRGGaIy9s7SXv7lEEJxQ2>

Fig. 2. Only a Sith Deals in Absolutes. <https://gifimage.net/only-a-sith-deals-in-absolutes-gif-4/>

Fig. 3. HOAG. Plato’s Rave. <https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2552076-platos-rave>

Fig. 4. Green, Hank. Tweet. <https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/when-you-nut-in-space-it-push-you-backwards>

Fig. 5. Cucurg. Cool Motive Still Murder. December 31, 2014. <http://cucurg.tumblr.com/post/106724297942>

Bizzell and Herzberg. “Gorgias.” Classical Rhetoric.

Bizzell and Herzberg. “Plato.” Classical Rhetoric.

Bizzell and Herzberg. “Aristotle.” Classical Rhetoric.

“Aristotle.” Rhetoric Book I. Filiquarian Publishing, LLC.

Lee, Rory. Intro to Rhetoric and Writing ENG 210. Class Lecture.

Smith. “Socrates and Plato.” The Greek Sophistication of Rhetoric from Thales to Plato.

Smith. “Gorgias.” The Greek Sophistication of Rhetoric from Thales to Plato.

Smith. “Aristotle’s Rhetoric.” Rhetoric in the Ancient World.

#Greek Rhetoric #Aristotle #Socrates #Plato #School Project

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djgblogger-blog · 6 years

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Misinformation and biases infect social media, both intentionally and accidentally

http://bit.ly/2yoP35q

youtube

People who share potential misinformation on Twitter (in purple) rarely get to see corrections or fact-checking (in orange). Shao et al., CC BY-ND

Social media are among the primary sources of news in the U.S. and across the world. Yet users are exposed to content of questionable accuracy, including conspiracy theories, clickbait, hyperpartisan content, pseudo science and even fabricated “fake news” reports.

It’s not surprising that there’s so much disinformation published: Spam and online fraud are lucrative for criminals, and government and political propaganda yield both partisan and financial benefits. But the fact that low-credibility content spreads so quickly and easily suggests that people and the algorithms behind social media platforms are vulnerable to manipulation.

Explaining the tools developed at the Observatory on Social Media.

Our research has identified three types of bias that make the social media ecosystem vulnerable to both intentional and accidental misinformation. That is why our Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University is building tools to help people become aware of these biases and protect themselves from outside influences designed to exploit them.

Bias in the brain

Cognitive biases originate in the way the brain processes the information that every person encounters every day. The brain can deal with only a finite amount of information, and too many incoming stimuli can cause information overload. That in itself has serious implications for the quality of information on social media. We have found that steep competition for users’ limited attention means that some ideas go viral despite their low quality – even when people prefer to share high-quality content.

To avoid getting overwhelmed, the brain uses a number of tricks. These methods are usually effective, but may also become biases when applied in the wrong contexts.

One cognitive shortcut happens when a person is deciding whether to share a story that appears on their social media feed. People are very affected by the emotional connotations of a headline, even though that’s not a good indicator of an article’s accuracy. Much more important is who wrote the piece.

To counter this bias, and help people pay more attention to the source of a claim before sharing it, we developed Fakey, a mobile news literacy game (free on Android and iOS) simulating a typical social media news feed, with a mix of news articles from mainstream and low-credibility sources. Players get more points for sharing news from reliable sources and flagging suspicious content for fact-checking. In the process, they learn to recognize signals of source credibility, such as hyperpartisan claims and emotionally charged headlines.

Screenshots of the Fakey game. Mihai Avram and Filippo Menczer

Bias in society

Another source of bias comes from society. When people connect directly with their peers, the social biases that guide their selection of friends come to influence the information they see.

In fact, in our research we have found that it is possible to determine the political leanings of a Twitter user by simply looking at the partisan preferences of their friends. Our analysis of the structure of these partisan communication networks found social networks are particularly efficient at disseminating information – accurate or not – when they are closely tied together and disconnected from other parts of society.

The tendency to evaluate information more favorably if it comes from within their own social circles creates “echo chambers” that are ripe for manipulation, either consciously or unintentionally. This helps explain why so many online conversations devolve into “us versus them” confrontations.

To study how the structure of online social networks makes users vulnerable to disinformation, we built Hoaxy, a system that tracks and visualizes the spread of content from low-credibility sources, and how it competes with fact-checking content. Our analysis of the data collected by Hoaxy during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections shows that Twitter accounts that shared misinformation were almost completely cut off from the corrections made by the fact-checkers.

When we drilled down on the misinformation-spreading accounts, we found a very dense core group of accounts retweeting each other almost exclusively – including several bots. The only times that fact-checking organizations were ever quoted or mentioned by the users in the misinformed group were when questioning their legitimacy or claiming the opposite of what they wrote.

A screenshot of a Hoaxy search shows how common bots – in red and dark pink – are spreading a false story on Twitter. Hoaxy

Bias in the machine

The third group of biases arises directly from the algorithms used to determine what people see online. Both social media platforms and search engines employ them. These personalization technologies are designed to select only the most engaging and relevant content for each individual user. But in doing so, it may end up reinforcing the cognitive and social biases of users, thus making them even more vulnerable to manipulation.

For instance, the detailed advertising tools built into many social media platforms let disinformation campaigners exploit confirmation bias by tailoring messages to people who are already inclined to believe them.

Also, if a user often clicks on Facebook links from a particular news source, Facebook will tend to show that person more of that site’s content. This so-called “filter bubble” effect may isolate people from diverse perspectives, strengthening confirmation bias.

Our own research shows that social media platforms expose users to a less diverse set of sources than do non-social media sites like Wikipedia. Because this is at the level of a whole platform, not of a single user, we call this the homogeneity bias.

Another important ingredient of social media is information that is trending on the platform, according to what is getting the most clicks. We call this popularity bias, because we have found that an algorithm designed to promote popular content may negatively affect the overall quality of information on the platform. This also feeds into existing cognitive bias, reinforcing what appears to be popular irrespective of its quality.

All these algorithmic biases can be manipulated by social bots, computer programs that interact with humans through social media accounts. Most social bots, like Twitter’s Big Ben, are harmless. However, some conceal their real nature and are used for malicious intents, such as boosting disinformation or falsely creating the appearance of a grassroots movement, also called “astroturfing.” We found evidence of this type of manipulation in the run-up to the 2010 U.S. midterm election.

A screenshot of the Botometer website, showing one human and one bot account. Botometer

To study these manipulation strategies, we developed a tool to detect social bots called Botometer. Botometer uses machine learning to detect bot accounts, by inspecting thousands of different features of Twitter accounts, like the times of its posts, how often it tweets, and the accounts it follows and retweets. It is not perfect, but it has revealed that as many as 15 percent of Twitter accounts show signs of being bots.

Using Botometer in conjunction with Hoaxy, we analyzed the core of the misinformation network during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. We found many bots exploiting both the cognitive, confirmation and popularity biases of their victims and Twitter’s algorithmic biases.

These bots are able to construct filter bubbles around vulnerable users, feeding them false claims and misinformation. First, they can attract the attention of human users who support a particular candidate by tweeting that candidate’s hashtags or by mentioning and retweeting the person. Then the bots can amplify false claims smearing opponents by retweeting articles from low-credibility sources that match certain keywords. This activity also makes the algorithm highlight for other users false stories that are being shared widely.

Understanding complex vulnerabilities

Even as our research, and others’, shows how individuals, institutions and even entire societies can be manipulated on social media, there are many questions left to answer. It’s especially important to discover how these different biases interact with each other, potentially creating more complex vulnerabilities.

Tools like ours offer internet users more information about disinformation, and therefore some degree of protection from its harms. The solutions will not likely be only technological, though there will probably be some technical aspects to them. But they must take into account the cognitive and social aspects of the problem.

Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia has received funding from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at Indiana University, the Democracy Fund, and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Currently, he is supported by the Indiana University Network Science Institute.

Filippo Menczer has received funding from the National Science Foundation, DARPA, US Navy, Yahoo Research, the J.S. McDonnell Foundation, and Democracy Fund.

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mr-mirrus-mrz-mirr-blog · 7 years

Text

Space between two doors

Setting: An unknown location. The following is an experience retold by a woman to a receptive mentor. The following takes place over the course of several years although time is not kept. Each time the pair meets, they are slightly changed in appearance to represent the influences on their bodies and minds from other forces in their lives. The chorus emphasizes emotions that are being experienced by the confessor and asks questions to help guide the story. The Narrator has an advanced understanding of the situation.

Characters: Confessor, Chorus, Narrator from Unidentified Time, The Other

Confessor (speaking to ?): I feel something strange in my heart - its capacity known before - but without courage - its presence tears me apart

Chorus: Joy. Life. Fear. What is it?

Confessor: Should I embody it - Oh I would be glad - it is known to produce roots - capable to cure the sad - It is there - like wind through hair - sand through fingers - smooth and free - it can breathe - and then it passes - I let it pass from me -

Chorus: Risks never taken - love never spoken - walls rebuilt - soldiers re stand. Hope. Insecurity. Insanity. Loss. What is it?

Confessor: It appears to me in a warm form - and then I feel capable - of being in love - I unlock - trickling extensive - wild - but soon it returns to its glacial-like form - frozen - (it was) shocked by depression (depression happens after it learns the truth)- protected and guarded - it fought, fought fought - fought the sun - years passed - it confused fought with won - it tripled in agony - scared of itself- did what it could to forget the forecast of death - practiced the scam of immortality - and drifted mindlessly - seeking comfort with others - who loved to battle death

Chorus: What melts it?

Confessor: Once I experienced something unexpected - a death - a murder - of a good friend - they say his back was turned - and shots were fired - he was dead - the end - but he had loved -

- once - in a space - he hugged me - and picked me up - between two doors - during a party - and said he loved me - his love felt trivial then - because in that space - there was no timeline - for me - of his death - seeing that the way I knew life - was to expect our times together -listening - understanding - smoking weed together - to go on forever - I was naive - and privileged in the world of death - our friendship was odd - rich white single - poor black baby dad - he had a great smile - and spoke honest words - he said I loved life - when I had hated it - I could accept his death - when it happened - as if it was a bill in the mail - it was kinda normal around there - for black bodies to be swept away - in the middle of the night - to cells and graves -drug trades - single mommas - letting life go on - but never forgotten - it just did - in the way injustice does - coping operating in a system of hate and so much more that is not mine to relate

I often pretend he never died - that he’s somewhere else - floating - or- living his life - I let images of his daughters - so excited to see their father - be what I choose to remember - sometimes his image floats into my mind - and I remember him - a light turns on - like he was a cherished book I once read - and couldn’t put down - and was so upset when it ended - that I pushed it out of my memory - threw it on the ground - livid that something I loved and I thought had loved me back - just ended - left me hanging - no epilogue - he was no longer my friend - their father - just another victim of the system - and when he randomly pops into my head - I’m transported - to warmth - to love - to hope - just for a minute - until I turn it off - and pretend none of it happened - the end

Narrator: It was sometime after his death that she noticed a vast ocean - its tides lapping into areas - she had walked in before - some have seen it - some have known it - fought it as fear - loved it as inspiration - some cannot place its reverberations as it expresses itself, inherited, in their geneological framework - some see it and build a wall around it - or guide others toward it - the ocean is always there - in the back of our mind creeping forward - incredibly fast or routinely slow - when will we see it? when do we choose to see it?

when our confessor noticed the vast ocean - she felt a deep yearning - like a rooting pit inside her stomach - to be part of that ocean - as if it was some type of home she had once known - as if the ocean was a stomach carrying the rooting pit a trillion times over - and she felt triumph - some of it conditioned - some natural - of being removed - from that ocean -

she thought she saw her reflection - in the vast ocean -

Confessor: “No! - Could not be”

Chorus: Jealousy. Longing. Awakening. Uncertainty. Do you miss that space?

Narrator: So the confessor called it the other and went back beyond walls - feeling protected and superior in its decision - but also changed and distressed - what it had experienced by the ocean was a depression - a realness - a cavity of awareness - its rawness emotional - vivid - so threatening to the life she had constructed - confused as what to do with the cavity - no instructions in her programming - medicines and distractions seemed like easy prescriptions - to fill the new space created within her - Yet she could not resist and again looked far into the other - into the vastness- and saw something like a reflection again.

Confessor?: It could not be - is that me? - it looks like me…I hate that part of me.

Chorus: Disgust. Fear. Annoyance. Sadness.

Confessor: It will not be me.

Narrator: She could not resist and visited it so many times that the things and people she thought she loved became superficial - she worked hard to explain her absences - to come to terms with the new way she felt about life - to appreciate that it was all a spectrum - she struggled with hate - judgement - she struggled with the power that came from using her mind - for it was common practice - for small people like her - to associate men with power - and to never challenge the law - or understand that it can be challenged - she slipped into fads and her old ways - but still returned back to the ocean when she felt its call:

Confessor: one day within the vast ocean she saw something floating - was it melting? How much more time was left for her to see? is it me that I see? She called to it: I have ignored you - shamed you and tamed you with tools of rejection, fear, perfection, assumption - I can repress you no longer. Are you me?

Narrator: It technically was not - but was - and it talked to her - saying:

Other: I was you - afraid - jealous - unmovable - unmelted - guarded - haunted - from my protector, my mother, my killer, my shomeret, from the star we perceive in the sky: the sun - until I gave up - broke down - these walls - put them away - admitted my superficiality - saw the ego I wear - confronted my whiteness - decided to heal my pain - released my stomach - wore less make-up - realized the creations - designed as protections - are now destructions of ourselves - read the multiple meanings of words like protect - saw how I was controlling others around me - by assuming their characters - and learned how some voices are stifled as others are stronger - and why trust is not the same amongst us - we have lost too much - felt too much - hid so much - to be alone - when there is too much - to be gained

I let the sun - melt me away - slowly joining - the parts of me, us - I had pushed away - the water - took it - combined it - I became the other - it stung - we aged - I wave to you - because of love and pain - I have been in you - every day - it is okay - to be afraid -

do you remember what it’s like to wake up and not know where you are because you were engrossed in a dream. I do. I hate it. I desperately try to hold onto the dream - like it’s a ring dropped down the garbage disposal - you’re reaching desperately but you know time will soon be up - before you can go any further - and then you have to wake up - sometimes the dreams are much better than what we wake up into - the dreams contain narratives in which we feel in control - as if things are happening to us rather than us watching things happen around us - or in some dreams I’m in love or having sex - it’s as if my needs are being fulfilled in sleep - I promise not to forget the images I want to hold onto - the mysterious images that could be clues to bigger things - but they usually fade away - sometimes they don’t - sometimes the images are so distrubing and memorable that they stay with me forever - but sometimes the images come to me during that day - or weeks later - and for a second during my awakeness - I do not know where I am - how did the dream land come into my consciousness? Is it real? Were you real? Are you dead? Why can’t we go back to the space between two doors?

Narrator: And it was no more - but they say - it grew inside her - when she walked into the ocean - and the part of her lips met the ocean’s surface - they met in balance - the air - the ocean - her lips - the sun - the walls - and evolution became a choice - progression - stopped - she remembered the parts of her life - in which she thought about her self - and how she wanted to kill her self- and maybe that desire was a cry for not feeling worthy - in a world that demands the best - rewards survival to the best - allows cheaters to get the best - punishes those who are not the best - creates a culture where we are afraid - enslaves and manipulates in the pursuit of being the best -

she swallowed the ocean - the salt - once - twice - a thousand gulps - and she became more parts - the rain - the snow - the ice - the lakes - the nourishment of greenery - she could not change it all - but she could infiltrate - and she could mutate - she could heal DNA.

They said that the land she lived in believed in survival of the fittest. but she said just cuz darwin said it and people believed it - doesnt mean - that we have to continue to live it

Chorus: Control . Awareness. Passing. Phases. Luck

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