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bills-bible-basics · 6 months

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Where is My Facebook Comment? https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/where-is-my-facebook-comment/ Sometimes, after making a comment under one of my graphics on Facebook, people become a little confused, offended, or even angry, and they will say something like "Where is my comment? I can't find it. Why did you delete it?" However, what some of you need to be made aware of, is that things are not always what they seem. Allow me to explain. First of all, I very rarely ever delete comments from my Facebook friends. If and when I do that, it is usually because a person has been or becomes very disrespectful, combative, argumentative, or because they have posted something which I strongly feel is contrary to the Scriptures. If they persist in their negative activity, I will warn them a few times. But if that doesn't work, then I will either unfriend them so that they can no longer comment on my posts, or else I will block them altogether, if the situation merits it. The bottom line -- and this applies to every single person who owns a timeline, page or group on Facebook -- is my page, my rules. If you can't respect the rules which I have established and adhere to them, then please just don't comment, or leave, unfriend me, or do whatever you feel you need to do. Having said that, as I have been explaining for a number of months now, there are times when your comments will indeed disappear. However, it is NOT because I removed them. Here are the facts. Since October of 2019, I have been repeatedly harassed by Facebook. I have been forced logged off, locked out of my account, forced to upload my personal ID, forced to change my password, and forced to jump through Facebook's security hoops literally dozens of times, to the point of being absolutely ridiculous. But something else that Facebook has been doing a lot of in recent months, is actually removing my posts from their platform. I am talking about many dozens of my posts being deleted because they supposedly go against Facebook's "Community Standards". Actually, a better name would be Facebook's "Liberal Community Standards". I know that many of you fully understand what I mean by that. But the point is, when Facebook removes my posts, that means that all shared posts -- meaning my posts which you share on your own timeline or page -- all likes, and all comments likewise disappear. They are gone, as if they had never existed. So that is one big reason why you may not be able to find your comment. There is another reason why people become confused, and think that their comment has been deleted. It has to do with the fact that I make the same posts on my timeline, on my page, and in the BBB group. In other words, in three different places on Facebook. Of course, if you are commenting on one of my posts while you are in your news feed, you may not realize exactly where your comment is being posted. It is for this reason that if you visit my timeline, page or the BBB group directly, you will notice in the cover image that it says "You are here:". This will be followed by "BBB Timeline", "BBB Page" or "BBB Group". That is obviously so that you know exactly which one of the three you are visiting. So what does all of that mean? It means that when you comment on one of my posts in your news feed, you need to look carefully, and note exactly where you are posting. Stated another way, if you make a comment under one of my images which is on my timeline, and then later visit the BBB group and see the same image, you are NOT going to see your comment there. Why? Because you did NOT post your comment under the image that is in the BBB group. You posted it under the image that is on my timeline. So you see, if you do not understand how Facebook works, then you will erroneously be led to believe that I have deleted your comment, when such is not the case at all. You are simply looking for your comment in the wrong place. There is yet another reason regarding why you may not be able to find your comment.

If a person is the first individual to write a comment under one of my status updates, and if you -- or anyone else for that matter -- comes along later and replies to their comment, if for some reason the first commenter decides to delete their comment, then all replies to their comment will be deleted as well. Again, that is just the way that Facebook works. Perhaps they do it to avoid confusion. But whatever their reasons, I have no control over it. Now do you get it? Great! Now carry on! :) https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/where-is-my-facebook-comment/?feed_id=101897&_unique_id=654aa9c231bc6&Where%20is%20My%20Facebook%20Comment%3F

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gotta-get-back-to-hatchetfield · 3 years

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An unsolicited take on the Twisted soundtrack from some bitch that can barely read music

Since we’re at the end of Twisted week I just want to add a quick(ish) note on the soundtrack because while I am so glad that the absolutely glorious and iconic lyrics get so much credit, I think not enough is said about the actual music itself. So, introducing an unsolicited take on the Twisted soundtrack from some bitch that can barely read music.

Twisted is unique among Starkid musicals in that the thing it’s parodying is also a musical and goddam did AJ rise to the challenge. Specifically I think the thing that makes the Twisted soundtrack so good for what it’s trying to do was the decision to sample Disney songs rather than either directly parody them or make them entirely original.

Part 1: Narrative

Firslty, using familiar Disney refrains acts like a shorthand to help you track the narrative, and allow you to draw on those emotions you’ve previously associated with the Disney equivelant of the song, almost like the effect of using a narrative/character trope. Good examples of this are ‘I Want Everything’ sampling ‘Part of Your World’ from the Little Mermaid and ‘Golden Rule’ sampling ‘Hakuna Matata’ and ‘Bear Necesities’ from the Lion King and the Jungle Book, because the Twisted songs fulfil a similar role in the story to the Disney ones they borrow from.

Book marking the narrative in this way, firstly makes it easier to follow what’s going on, which is important when you’re taking long ass detours about some guy fucking a tiger, but secondly it highlights where the plot deviates from the standard Disney narrative which is literally the whole point of Twisted. When Jasmine gets the standard Disney introduction of princess-that-wants-shit it makes it easy for us to connect with the character and understand the tropes she’s drawing from, by using the music to signpost to us that we have met this exact character before, not just in Aladdin, but in literally every Disney princess movie. This meas that the eventual character development she undergoes at the end, which is not typical of the Disney princess character arc, becomes more impactful. This is then where the decision not to rely too heavily on parodies really comes into its own, because (as far as I can tell) ‘The Power In Me’ doesn’t seem to sample any Disney songs, which signals to the audience that Jasmine has broken free from her trappings of her Disney character to become the Twisted character. This point is shown more generally by the fact that the songs in Act 1 sample Disney songs far more than in Act 2, because their role is to set up the tropes of a classic Disney story, whereas the songs in the second half exist to support its subversion.

( Fun note: The Starship soundtrack (my beloved) also uses this same trick. ‘I Wanna Be’ very clealry samples ‘Under the Sea’ from the little mermaid, and also serves a similar role in the narrative, ‘Kick it Up a Notch’ is very clealry in the style of every Disney villain song (and also what every Disney villain song wishes it could be) etc.. (and I do mean etc I could keep going on with this comparison ‘hideous creatures’ -> ‘kill the beast' etc...) )

Part 2: Humour

The contrast between hearing familiar Disney songs from childhood and Starkid style humour, really emphasizes certain jokes and takes them from funny to hysterical. My favourite example of this is the first joke of the musical which is hilarious and sets the tone brilliantly:

Jafar: and all the greatful citizens will say to me

citizens: fuck you, fuck you, fuck you

This joke, while hilarious anyway, is made so much funnier by the contrast between ‘Dream a Little Harder’ very heavily sampling ‘Belle’ from Beauty and the Beast. The sampled song sets our expectations for the kind of response we should expect to follow Jafar’s pronouncement, so then when the very un-Disney response of ‘fuck you’ comes along, still to the tune of the Disney version, our subconcious is taken by suprise which is one of the key ways that humour happens. The same thing is achieved by ‘I Want Everything’ leaning more heavily into ‘Part of Your World’ just as it comes up to some of the key punchlines in the song (e.g.’so the fuck what’, ‘I want the moon, I want to live on the moon, and eat it in a pie, and keep it was a pet, and wear it like a gemstone in my hair’). I also think this is why keeping ‘Take Off Your Clothes’ as a parody of ‘A Whole New World’, and also one of the only direct parodies in the whole show works so well, because the contrast between the words we expect to hear next (because we all subconciously know at least a good chunk of that song) and every single fucking sentence we actually hear makes it so much funnier than jus the lyrics alone ever could.

This is also yet another instance where I think they did just the right amount of sampling, because the contrast trick is an easy way of getting a cheap laugh on the night so would have been easy for them to lean into too much. But, the problem is since contrast jokes rely on a degree of suprise, once the audience starts to expect it (as would be the case if it had just been a soundtrack of 12 straight parodies) then it loses its power so by deploying it responsably and sparingly, it means it doesn’t lose its magic through the course of the musical and even on rewatches. There may come a day when I don’t spit out my drink on the opening joke but last week proved that it is not this day.

In conclusion the Twisted soundtrack is a masterpiece that feels exactly like a Disney soundtrack without straying too close to any actual ones that already exists. I also love the Brittany/Carlos pop cover of ‘A Thousand and One Nights’ as the end credits firstly because it fucking slaps and also because that’s such a Disney easter egg because they literally always do that.

It’s 3 in the morning and I know very little about either Disney or music so I might be wrong about some of the references so please feel free to add or correct any that I’m misidentifiying. Would be interessted to hear which ones other poeple have picked up on.

#starkid #twisted #rewatchers1000 #how did this end up as an essay i'm literally an engineer I ahven't written an essay since school

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swimfuel · 3 years

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Hey!! The X-men are literally my favorite thing and I was wondering if you could elaborate on how Scott is a knight of doom

YES OF COURSE!!!! i'll put it under a cut since i tend to ramble a bit & i'm pulling a bunch of explanations from people smarter than i am

the knight weaponizes their aspect; they have an inherent understanding of their aspect that allows them to exploit it completely. doom is the aspect of systems, restrictions/limitations, sacrifices, and endings.

one of scott's core themes is reclaiming his restrictions in order to serve others/the greater good! he takes the possible liability that are his faulty powers and shifts them to become an advantage, largely through the strength of his restraint and discipline. his role as a tactician and the way he sees sacrifices (more on that later) also mesh EXTREMELY well with the knight of doom.

i feel like the Wh*don run (specifically astonishing x-men #22-23) really highlights how scott can turn a situation on its head through exploiting his disadvantages to the point where they become tactically advantageous!! like, let's count the ways:

the ship the x-men stole from kruun is obviously bugged, so his team won't be able to communicate without being overheard. he realizes this, and uses that restriction (being overheard) as an advantage, by falsifying their course of action.

he has been left "without his powers"—he presents a restriction that lowers the guard of his adversary and grants him entry to their home base. he then subverts this by exploding the shit out of everything when an opportune moment arrives

HE LITERALLY EXPLOITS DEATH...... HE EXPLOITS HIS OWN DEATH...................FOR THE GREATER GOOD..........DUDE???? someone get this man an advil

some more thoughts, followed by some examples by people smarter than me:

he exhibits a similar pattern of idolization/realization with xavier irt karkat/HICand dave/bro.... not sure if this by itself is a knight-y thing but i think the consistent disillusionment with their role in defending their aspect is interesting (aka knight burnout, more on that later)

he is def willing to sacrifice shit for the greater good of mutantkind. the shit in question sometimes being his closest friends and allies. the examples that stick out to me are how he allowed beast to get tortured (utopia era) while executing his plan to solve All His Problems At Once & also when he sent x-force to the future to defend hope knowing it was going to be a one-way trip

that entire issue revolving around just how GOOD scott is at self-repression😭😭😭 i'm pretty sure it's post-schism utopia era i don't remember the exact issue WAIT NVM i'm pretty sure it's uncanny #518

seeing phoenix!scott as an inversion to (rogue of) life is also an interesting concept (unchecked growth!)

the amount of responsibility he feels he has to take on (partially due to his idolization cycle w xavier/xavier's dream) is also both knight-y and doom-y

and of course the instinct to protect the people around him --> being expanded into the whole of mutantkind (which, in turn, expands his sense of obligation)

everything leading up to revolutionary cyclops is also very interesting through this framework because its reminiscent of the knights & doom players in hs! the "taking on an insane burden" (phoenix force, whatever whammied mituna) -> the "resignation to the fate handed to him by his aspect" (his stint in prison, dead daves, sollux in general) -> the "refusal to accept that fate" (prison break, dave not wanting to use time travel, sollux fucking off into the dreambubbles, karkat coming to terms w his relationship w leadership) --> experiencing knight burnout at the end of revolutionary era going into death of x

im not sure exactly how to put it into words but everything about his childhood/teenhood... like being surrounded by forces seeking to control him and use him for their own ends..... idk

(from @/land-of-classpects-and-analysis, sections highlighted red are of particular interest)

HIS GIANT STINKING MARTYR COMPLEX.....DUDE😭😭

side note & ive mentioned this before but scottjean is an interesting parallel to davejade in a way i cant verbalize

Then there are the ones who may accept [the fact of inevitable human suffering], and so choose to live in high alert of any danger - any threats - as well as living in fear of what harm may befall them and/or their loved ones. It is this third and final group of people that so deeply marks that of the Knight of Doom.

Now, this might cause a few eyebrows to become quirked. After all, a Knight? Being fearful of something - nevertheless that thing being related to their Aspect? Knights do often present themselves as ruthless and fearless warriors, yes, but that is only because their Aspects and the world around them raised and called them to act as such.

... A key factor in the Knight’s life, specifically before their journey truly begins, is that they are already well equipped with their Aspect.

... The Knight of Doom is one where their Aspect being all around them is far more bittersweet than anything else.

... What is important to acknowledge is that the facade the Knight of Doom puts up is not only to hide the fear they have for their Aspect, but it is most definitely there to hide the grief and pain they have not yet completely finished going through. Whether it’s been weeks or years, the Knight of Doom is someone who would rather hide themself away from these feelings than find a way to truly mend and heal them ... they have built a false wall between them and their suffering strong and thick enough to partially block it from their memory.

... Knights are known to become extremely stubborn whenever people try to order them around and pressure them into doing something, and the Knight of Doom is no different - especially if they believe what they are doing is for the greater good.

(from @/dahniwitchoflight)

Dahni’s Explanantion: “Doom can be a negative force that rejects and harms, fostering a sense of hostility or sadness. But, it is also the idea that you can pull backwards and cautiously and wisely withdraw into your own self. It can be the idea of Control taken from the sharp Black and White Restrictions that everything in the world gets sorted into. It understands community necessity and need, responsibly pulling back and lowering you down into its lap to help wind yourself down. Doom then is an ultimate gentle Equalizer, instilling its players with an internal sense of Acceptance and eventually true Wisdom.”

Knight of Doom: One who Exploits with Doom or Exploits Doom

Knights hide a fear of a perceived fundamental failure with their Aspect behind a shield of confidence and obsessive effort. Their challenge is to learn to take it down a notch and to understand that they are skilled enough

A Knight is very skilled with using the rules and limitations of any game or session to their advantage. They skillfully fulfill any responsibility or obligation required of them with ease. They might use their natural caution and pessimism to make realistic choices and endeavors. They use and exploit any rule or limit that they can to their advantage. They might also be very good at exploiting any sacrifices made or any obligation or responsibility that they are held to. They might be very good at avoiding any unnecessary thing or person and are very good at recognizing when something is too futile to even bother with.

Likewise they might only focus on the necessary things in their game or session so they are likely to not do much unless it’s absolutely necessary. They would very likely be very meticulous with themselves about following the rules properly and constantly restrict themselves, maybe thinking they aren’t following the rules properly enough or not following the right ones. They might sacrifice anything they consider unnecessary about themselves or the way they live, sometimes even going too far with it, in order to be considered or thought of as less useless. They’re always trying harder and holding themselves to extreme self-imposed standards.

They would likely wait for the opportune moment to strike, though they are slow to move or act, they always will when something necessary needs to happen. Out of all the Doom players, a Knight of Doom seems like the one most likely to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. A Knight of Doom can also expertly use and exploit fire, bombs and explosions to their advantage, maybe they create flashy distractions during fights. They might even use decaying or dying things to their advantage.

(from @/communistvriska)

Role in the Session: Rather like the Prince of Doom, this role’s title kinda has “edgelord” written all over it, but that’s not a set-in-stone character trait. The first thing that comes to mind re: what the Knight Class and the Aspect of Doom have in common is a strong sense of obligation. The Knight of Doom is bound to take their duties and responsibilities Extremely Seriously, perhaps rather too seriously at first ... Knights also tend to be very protective of both their Aspect as a concept, and of themselves and those close to them; while the Knight of Doom isn’t likely to be outwardly aggressive, given Doom’s reserved, slow-burn tendencies, woe betide those who try to deceive or confound the Knight or their allies. One of Doom’s internal contradictions (which I find personally fascinating) is that the aspect is associated both with cynical resignation and with a profound albeit restrained sense of passion and persistence. Doom is what’s left after everything else gets burnt away.

The Knight of Doom will likely be a very skilled combatant, as the Knight is a class strongly associated with Strife / battle, and Doom is one of the more overtly destructive Aspects. I’d put them in the Top 5 Roles to use a cool flamin sword, at least. They’re not going to be eager to fight, per se, but they’re not going to have much trouble scaling the echeladder when it comes to that either. Internally, they’re likely to struggle with a perceived (but largely imagined) inability to fulfill their duties, and they could well stumble once or twice in their quest to be perceived as reliable and stoic, or as someone who their friends can lean on. They’re probably doing more than enough already, but if they’re not careful they might overexert themselves and take on too heavy a burden, and they’re liable to be crushed by their own expectation that they face their challenges alone. This is going to factor into their capital-Q Quest and the environment of their planet, and will be the biggest obstacle in their path to Ascension. A Knight’s duty is to protect their co-players, but their co-players also have to support them.

#mail #scott summers

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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What would a spider man: life story look like for the shadow?

Now that I've actually read Spider-Man: Life Story I can give this one a response. I'm gonna obsess about this question for a while because man what a ride Life Story was.

To those not in the know, the premise of Spider-Man: Life Story is: "In 1962, in AMAZING FANTASY #15, 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man! Fifty-seven years have passed in the real world since that event — so what would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter as well?" and basically it tells the story of Spider-Man as one continuous narrative spanning 57 years, from his beginnings to a potential future, allowing Peter Parker and his cast and world to age in real time and factor in elements from the character's major stories over the decades.

And it's got a lot into it that the premise doesn't convey and there is no way I can even begin tackling a project like this for the 90 goddamn years of The Shadow's history without seriously just writing an entirely different fanfic continuity (and I already have 5, plus multiverses, possibly more) and tipping off way too much about my own plans for the character. Even I have my limits.

So instead, what I'm gonna do is go over the broad strokes of The Shadow's history as it would look like if you could try and condense it all under a consistent narrative, if you could focus on each decade's highs and lows, what kind of story would arise if a deranged Shadow maniac like me were to try and build a basic skeleton for a The Shadow: Life Story story.

Basic rules first: I'm sticking to the idea of Life Story and spanning every decade from the beginning of the character's life to the end of it. The aging and death parts are important so I’m sticking to those. The character's canonical birth date is 1892, so he's not making it intact to the 2000s. We're capping this off in the 90s, although it doesn't mean no further stories can be told. I will avoid mentioning specific historical events like Vietnam and 9/11 for this post to instead focus on The Shadow's trajectory. I will also not be including other characters, only somewhat referencing whatever aspects I deem relevant. I'm not sticking to any continuity, I'm pulling literally everything I can for this one

And putting this one below the cut

The 1930s: The golden years. In 1930, after a long line of life experiences in the Great War and traveling around the world under dozens of names, the man formerly known as Kent Allard has taken to fighting crime in the Great Depression. This chapter would be more of a standard narrative showcasing the trajectory of The Shadow's 30s career, how he's started off as a urban myth fighting gangsters and then progressed to urban avenger with dozens of allies fighting spies and supervillains. Despite being in his home element, he is restless. Another war is on the horizon. We gotta know where he starts, to get a clue of where he's going.

The 1940s: Despite it being the "family friendly American hero" Shadow era, shit gets very, very chaotic in the 40s, way more so than The Shadow could have anticipated. The pulps were relatively tame for this period, by this point instead you have the radio with it's constantly rotating writers and sensibilities, and comics that had far less reservations about either being really boring or really wacky. Far more encounters with the supernatural than before and with supervillains like Devil Kyoti and Monstradamus and Solaris, plus Khan is still around. The Shadow is forced to spend a lot more time traveling the world to deal with the war, spending a prolonged period establishing headquarters in Japan to aid Japanese underground organizations opposing the military. The agents perform rescue missions on concentration camps, and this is the period where you could have the "real" Lamont Cranston start filling in for The Shadow a bit while he's overseas.

There's a particular blurb that got released during this period that explains The Shadow acquired the power to cloud men's minds not by training, but by journeying to Tibet in an unrecorded adventure that forced him to beg the monks to grant him assistance in saving the world. I have some very mixed feelings on this whole backstory but I think there's something to this idea. Some shit went down in the 40s that was way beyond what The Shadow could have anticipated, and to protect the world from it he had to tap into forces that perhaps should have been left untouched.

The 1950s: The Shadow has dissappeared from America alltogether. He gathered up his agents and announced he wouldn't return for at least a decade, and left them with enough money to last a lifetime and retire should they feel like it. Burbank and Cliff Marsland dissappeared with him, and this chapter would probably be told from the Agents's perspective as they face the 50s while we get snippets from Marsland on what The Shadow's been up to. Some of it involves The Shadow helping protect Tibet after Mao's takeover of China. The real Lamont Cranston doesn't put on the costume anymore and instead operates as a fairly regular detective, although he's training on the skills and powers he's picked up overseas. Whatever fantasy madness haunted the 1940s is all but gone.

The 50s had basically nothing in Shadow content other than the last legs of the radio show, which are 200 episodes from 1950 to 1954 that currently don't exist anymore outside of a few scripts. During this time, The Shadow's sole appearence in US content was a parody in MAD Magazine. Overseas however, there were original Shadow novels published in Norway (a story for another day), as well as a Mexican radio and film series, which also featured Cliff Marsland. I have little information on either.

The 1960s: The OG Shadow is still embroiled in conflicts overseas, but the rise of the criminal organization CYPHER forces him to mobilize Burbank and agents old and new alike to deflect CYPHER away from where he's at, although most of them have retired by now. He still cannot return, but he has been secretly instructing Lamont Cranston on furthering along his own latent abilities if he intends to take over in his stead, and Cranston's powers have grown and developed to a point that, although he is pushing 60, he is able to do things even the original Shadow could not. He also invests a lot in merchandising and costume changes, which...doesn't pan out. Nothing in this era really pans out. It's just a really, really frustrating period of bad luck and supervillains that the aging superpowered detective Cranston is able to stop. Lamont Cranston seems to die in this decade.

The 1970s: Inspired by The Shadow's DC series, and most importantly Michael Kaluta's spiffy redesign.

The original Shadow returns to a crime-torn America, intent on starting anew, and sets to rebuilding his network. But something is off about him. He's leaner, meaner, less compassionate and trusting. Just as what happened the first time he returned to America following years abroad, what happened in his sojourns overseas has fostered something inhuman in him, another sacrifice of his own identity for the sake of a world where the weed of crime has only proven more insidiuous. His powers have grown and so have his resources, but despite that, he's bordering on 80 years old by now, and cumulative trauma deep within his bones hampers his effectiveness. He's doing a lot better than he should, by any rights, but he can't keep this up and he knows it. And so, as before, he starts planning for it.

The 1980s: This was the decade where Walter Gibson died with his final Shadow story incomplete, all the movie plans from the 70s were canned, and Howard Chaykin happened, plus the other DC runs. It's the SHIT decade, basically, where everything goes to hell. Whatever plans The Shadow had blew up, dipshit copycats start ruining everything, his network crumbles, and this is probably the ideal decade to kill off Kent Allard.

But this is also the decade where something weird started happening outside of the story: The Ghost of Gay Street hauntings, where visitors on the hotel Gibson wrote the stories in repeteadly claimed to see a ghostly visitor looking exactly like Lamont Cranston, and Gibson himself claimed that to be a tulpa he created by accident.

Kent Allard may have died. But death can never claim The Shadow.

The 1990s-onwards: Somehow, The Shadow is still active. Still elderly, in a much more limited fashion, but still as sharp as ever if not more so. His powers have grown more so than ever before, even blossoming into a limited form of telekinesis. Is he a ghost? Did he somehow survive the events of the previous decade? Somehow, both Lamont Cranston and The Shadow linger on, but is it Kent Allard or Lamont Cranston? Is it someone else?

Who knows?

This is the decade in particular where he's going to be interacting with more prominently with a new generation, whether it's descendants of the original agents, or new heroes that have found themselves in his orbit. Inspired mainly by the Dark Horse Shadow comics, Ghost and The Shadow, and Peter Straub's Mystery and modern takes on the character like Batman x Shadow and the 2017 mini that play up the miserable immortal and ghost teacher aspects, also inspired by my recent realization that The Shadow's ideal future in-universe may be getting to age and mentor the next generation in some capacity.

Anything beyond that, only The Shadow Knows.

#replies tag #pulp heroes #the shadow #pulp fiction #visual art #comic books #lamont cranston #kent allard #spider-man life story

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littlesailorinthesun · 3 years

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is love nikki osha compliant?

Inspired by Brian David Gilbert's legendary Unraveled video "Smash Bros. owes millions of dollars in OSHA violations", I became curious how this would apply to Love Nikki suits. I looked through a few suits of choice to determine how OSHA-compliant they are.

First of all, I would like to say that while I have previously worked in a Health and Safety department, I apologize for any mistakes I make. This is not work (even if real Nikkis' lives are at stake here!)

For the Smash Bros. video, BDG looked primarily at the safety of various fighting arenas. Given that Love Nikki is a dress up game, I will of course be primarily looking at PPE (personal protective equipment) which falls under 1910 Subpart I; however, there are some instances where it is clear the environment is also unsafe.

The issue with determining what is proper PPE is mostly that it varies depends based on the environment you find yourself in. Given that *most* suits don't come with huge background props or backgrounds, I will just be extrapolating based on the item descriptions and the little context we have.

Heavy Machinery

One of my favorite suits, yet one of the worst offenders, Heavy Machinery actually calls out its own violation in the suit itself. If Miraland had OSHA, Heavy Machinery would unfortunately be breaking the rules.

According to OSHA's Nail Gun Safety Guide, people using nail guns should have the following PPE (in addition to the safety goggles): safety shoes (steel toed boots), hard hats, and hearing protection. Unfortunately, while maybe the shoes might have steel toes (though they don't look like they do), Heavy Machinery does not have a hard hat nor any hearing protection that I can see. This puts her in general violation of 1910.132(a).

One of the more frustrating parts is that she has eye protection, but she isn't actually using it! The item description for the goggles even says, "A mechanic can easily hurt his eyes, so it's good to wear goggles. Don't act cool and put them on your head!" Yet, she is doing just that, which causes her to violate 1910.133(a)(1). Please, don't follow her example and make sure to wear your goggles.

I will give her kudos for having the knee pad(?) but the rest of her clothing could probably do a better job. Unfortunately, Heavy Machinery is not OSHA-compliant.

The final comment I'd like to make on her is that if she is really wearing a battery on her back, I will have to give her kudos because those motherfuckers are heavy.

Adventurous Journey

A new environment! Actually, Adventurous Journey is adventuring throughout all of Miraland, and her item descriptions make mention of her visiting many several different places: an abandoned base, an old ruin, even a cave?

Adventurous Journey is wearing some pretty practical clothing, and her hand and foot protection look more than adequate. Her hammer looks like it's in great shape and, like Heavy Machinery, she even has her hair tied back. Her headlight is also a great choice.

While entering unknown spaces like caves can be dangerous, they typically aren't considered confined spaces. Besides that, it sounds like Adventurous Journey only went inside the cave to take shelter from the sandstorm instead of to explore.

Overall, I believe Adventurous Journey is OSHA-compliant. Have fun on your adventures!

Glacier Treader

Ada just wanted to learn something about penguins, but unfortunately she may end up learning something about ice water if she keeps up these unsafe practices.

According to 1910.28(b)(3)(i), employees should be protected from falling in holes by guardrails, covers, or something similar. Unfortunately, there is a giant hole in front of Ada and she has nothing keeping her from falling inside. The straps on her coat aren't attached to anything and that thing looks like it's about to fly off anyways. There may be a penguin in the hole, but such matters do not excuse Ada's research group's lack of fall protection.

On the bright side, the band-aids on Ada's face means that she has access to first aid and medical care!

Horn of Surprise

As fun as it would be to ride a giant candy train, it is unfortunately not OSHA-compliant.

As per 1910.21(b), a walking-working surface is any surface where an employee walks, works, or gains access to another work area. As the train conductor, Shebel is working on the top of the train, and thus it is subject to OSHA guidelines.

Unfortunately, the train is quite high off the ground - definitely more than 4 feet. Because of this, under 1910.28(b)(15), Shebel should have some sort of protection from falling to the ground below her, whether it be a guardrail, safety net, or another personal fall protection system.

She should probably also be wearing better PPE, too.

Ocean Lullaby

According to this suit's lore, Relly swims all the way to the deepest part of the ocean with only a narwhal. From the depiction of her and the fact that she apparently lost consciousness while at the bottom of the ocean, it seems pretty clear that Relly wasn't using proper PPE while swimming.

The most frustrating part about this suit is probably the fact that even the fish have PPE while Relly has nothing (though the efficacy of the snorkels is questionable). She should definitely have some air, and following the proper SCUBA diving procedures (1910.424) would be a great start.

Toy Carnival

What looks like an innocent, fun carnival game is actually an example of a potentially dangerous situation which requires a lot of work and planning. The crane machine is an example of a confined space, which is defined as a space that is large enough to do work, but has limited means for entry and exit, and isn't designed for continuous occupancy. Toy Carnival's crane machine appears to be a small space which doesn't have any immediately apparent way to get out.

There are no hazardous chemicals which would be present inside a claw machine. However, there is a physical hazard, which is the claw crane. Because of this, it is a permit-required confined space.

Toy Carnival is doing a lot of things right. She has an attendant outside (Momo), meaning she is compliant with 1910.146(d)(6). As long as Toy Carnival has a permit and followed all of the necessary procedures, she would be OSHA compliant if not for one thing: There is no visible sign designating the claw machine as a confined space. (1910.146(c)(2))

I will hold out hope that there is a sign on the back, because she was so close.

Explosion

We're going to ignore for the time being that Explosion takes place entirely inside a video game because well, it's all inside a video game one way or another, right? Anyways, you can tell a lot about Explosion just from the name.

Patrice is evidently in some kind of war-like environment. Not only are there guns and cannons going off everywhere, the "explosion" her suit is named for is the explosions of smoke grenades. She uses these to take cover and disguise herself.

While the gas mask is an excellent choice, unfortunately it's not enough. Due to the flying hazards (and probably the smoke too), Patrice needs to be wearing eye protection in order to be in compliance with 1910.133(a)(1), and head protection in order to be in compliance with 1910.135(a)(1).

Now onto another concern, no less pressing than the last: She's also apparently killing people. 1926.900 deals with explosives, and many of the standards mention avoiding the harm of other employees, which gives the impression that it generally isn't allowed. Not warning the others using warning signs, flags, or barricades before killing them with explosives is in direct violation of 1926.900(i).

I will commend Patrice on one thing, which is proper use of the buddy system as defined in 1910.120(a)(3) in the presence of unknown hazards. It sounds like she and Kuma work well together.

Honorable Mentions

Apocalyptic Angel, for her clothes and hair literally being on fire. I don’t know which OSHA violation that is, but it’s definitely something.

Crime Buster, for firing guns any which way without even looking. I don’t even want to touch that can of worms.

Space Fantasy, for not wearing gloves. In outer space.

Ingenious Trend, for allowing bats to carry needles. Again, not sure how that’s illegal, but it must be one way or another.

Appendix

1910.28(b)(3)(i) Each employee is protected from falling through any hole (including skylights) that is 4 feet (1.2 m) or more above a lower level by one or more of the following: 1910.28(b)(3)(i)(A) Covers; 1910.28(b)(3)(i)(B) Guardrail systems; 1910.28(b)(3)(i)(C) Travel restraint systems; or 1910.28(b)(3)(i)(D) Personal fall arrest systems.

(Glacier Treader)

1910.28(b)(15) Walking-working surfaces not otherwise addressed. Except as provided elsewhere in this section or by other subparts of this part, the employer must ensure each employee on a walkingworking surface 4 feet (1.2 m) or more above a lower level is protected from falling by: 1910.28(b)(15)(i) Guardrail systems; 1910.28(b)(15)(ii) Safety net systems; or 1910.28(b)(15)(iii) Personal fall protection systems, such as personal fall arrest, travel restraint, or positioning systems.

(Horn of Surprise)

1910.132(a) Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.

(Heavy Machinery)

1910.133(a)(1) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation.

(Heavy Machinery, Explosion)

1910.135(a)(1) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee wears a protective helmet when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects.

(Explosion)

1910.146(c)(2) If the workplace contains permit spaces, the employer shall inform exposed employees, by posting danger signs or by any other equally effective means, of the existence and location of and the danger posed by the permit spaces. NOTE: A sign reading DANGER -- PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE, DO NOT ENTER or using other similar language would satisfy the requirement for a sign.

(Toy Carnival)

1910.146(d)(6) Provide at least one attendant outside the permit space into which entry is authorized for the duration of entry operations;

(Toy Carnival - compliant)

1926.900(i) Employees authorized to prepare explosive charges or conduct blasting operations shall use every reasonable precaution including, but not limited to, visual and audible warning signals, flags, or barricades, to ensure employee safety.

(Explosion)

#love nikki #love nikki lore #love nikki suits #lowkey shitpost #lnduq

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soudam-appreciation · 4 years

Text

Study... date?

Gundam sighed, shrugging his overweight backpack over his shoulder. He had not planned for today to become a social one, though he supposed it was not quite unwelcome. The mortal known as Kazuichi, Tamer of Automatons, had requested his presence here, though for precisely what ritual, Gundam did not know.

Kazuichi leaned back in his chair and rested his legs atop of the table as he inhaled the overwhelming (and honestly, kinda gross) scent of old and new books as he waited for Gundam to hurry the fuck up and get to the library, because he really didn’t have all day.

He perked up, though, when he saw a small flash of purple and black move by one of the bookshelves he sat next to. Souda stood, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to catch the goth boy’s attention, not wanting to call out and cause more of a scene than the literal highlighter waving his hands sporadically like he was at a concert.

The neon blur tugged at Gundam’s peripheral, and he crossed his arms before him. Facing the boy, he began a usual greeting. “At last, you have been found. Do you not fear this meeting, Fool?” His voice boomed and echoed through the stacks, inciting an annoyed rustle and collective whisper.

Kazuichi’s eyes went wide as he started rapidly shushing him, because if him basically jumping up and down trying to get Gundam to notice him didn’t draw attention to the two, Gundam basically shouting definitely did. Speaking as softly as he could considering how badly his heart rate spiked, he tried to get him to quiet down.

“D-dude! Shut- shut the- Don’t! Stop fuckin’....fuckin’ screaming like that! Jesus! Shudda’...shut the- shut the fuck up! Shhh!”

Recollection of the location at hand hit Gundam with a hell-strength impact. Clearing his throat, he hurriedly glanced around, mumbling fractured apologies for his forgetfulness. If there was one thing that would make even the Dark Overlord himself bow, it would be intense embarrassment as a direct result of his own foolishness- not that he would even say such a thing. To allow enemies access to his weakness?! Preposterous. He whispered a short apology to Souda as well, for the mortal seemed far more distraught than he.

Souda groaned softly, rubbing his face with his hands for a few moments before bouncing back almost as fast, a lazy grin plastered across his face. That didn’t stop the drop of malice and embarrassment showing through in his cheerful voice as he pushed out a chair next to the one he was leaning on before to invite Gundam to sit with him.

There were a lot of books, papers, pens and one lone computer scattered across the table. Souda easily pushed these aside as he sat down to take a sip of his…something.

Gundam followed suit, dropping his bag on the floor beside him as he took his seat. He was not entirely sure what they were to do on this day, although crawling deep underground was an option he prayed upon. Unzipping his backpack as soundlessly as he could, he retrieved a notepad and slid a simple message to his companion.

What, pray tell, have you summoned me for?

Kazuichi read it over before snatching the notepad from Gundam’s hand, as well as the fancy pen he had (despite there being many writing utensils of his own he could’ve used, he honestly just wanted to be a bit of a dick to his past rival). He scrawled something quickly on it and slid it back nervously, despite there being no teachers nor rules against slipping each other notes.

ok, well, i asked u 2 come here bc i am fucking failing math and biology and there r these 2 tests cming up i need u 2 help me study for. i thought u’d know a lot abt biology and u seem smart ig so-

He ripped another blank note out to write on more.

-so i thought u could help with, math too. hinata won’t help me he’s mad i spilt monster on his laptop still even though that was a whole day ago :(

The writing was barely legible and Kazuichi seemed to shorten words as best as he could, since he also wrote very large on the small sheet of paper. He slid the second note to Tanaka for him to read.

Squinting, Gundam managed to make out Souda’s print. He sighed, briefly wondering how incompetent Souda actually was, and where to even begin studying. Retrieving his pen, albeit a bit forcefully, he turned to a new page and began his transmission.

Where should we begin? Is there a specific field in which you have little expertise?

As Souda read over the note in the pretty cursive handwriting, he let out a small giggle. He couldn’t help it, reading Gundam’s dumbass Overlord-victorian speak was somehow funnier than hearing it out loud. Snatching the pen and paper back, he started writing.

uh um well i never ever got algebra the little letters always confused me and in biology kind of everything. man i’m not good with that kinda shit like u i’ve seen ur grades you don’t know how 2 whisper when ur flaunting them to sonia lol

Gundham’s ears got hot, and he fidgeted with the end of his scarf. Grabbing his pen, he scribbled out, I do no such thing. I simply share because I am asked, that should be a simple concept to grasp. His scrawl was messier, his haste blurring his senses. Deep breaths stilled his hostility, and he turned to a new page.

So shall we begin with variables, then? You may need to work exceptionally hard to recall these, as no doubt it will be of importance.

Once again, Kazuichi laughed as he watched Gundam get a little pissed at the Sonia comment. Even when they were slowly getting closer, messing with the guy still yielded hilarious results.

come on man!!!! why r u getting so pissy i’m just teasing u. u know i know that u know we aren’t rivals anymore so calm down!!!!! >:3

anyways uhh ya sure we can start w, variables ig. i don’t remember a lot of this stupid ass math lingo so ur gonna need to remind me some of it.

Variables are those “little letters” you spoke of. If something I mention confuses you, alert me at once.

Gundam chose to ignore all of Souda’s previous statement, focusing instead on the task at hand. There did not seem a logical reason to become so frustrated when Souda spoke of her. So why did it ignite a hellfire in his chest?

He shook off the thought, selecting a standard textbook from his oversized backpack and placing it on the table with a thunk. Opening to a page about Variables, the most annoying of unknowns, he slid the book across for Souda’s viewing ease.

We should begin here, page 28. Do you have a journal for notes?

yeah that’s fine also do u mind me keeping our notes or atleast yours please plz plsssss

Sure enough, the smaller boy was already making a pile of the discarded notes they had forgotten about. Mostly Gundams. It was the only neat thing on the table thus far.

Sighing again, Gundam ceded. He had no use for them, anyway. It caught his attention as slightly strange, but he chose to pay it no mind. Scratching out what information he could on such a small surface, he quickly realized that simply would not work. He slid a mostly-empty notebook from his bag and selected a blank page to share with Souda. It wasn’t as if he really needed the pages in this notebook either, so he added a small note at the top offering the torn-out pages for outside studying.

Souda took the page and studied it, before brightly grinning up at Gundam and quickly nodding. This was fancy shit, definitely not something extremely expensive (he knew Gundam definitely wouldn’t dare share that kind of paper, seeing the small slightly-faded stains of car oil on his hands that he just couldn’t scrub out) but Souda probably wouldn’t be buying these things, especially for every class, without at least a week of ramen dinners to make up for the waste of money working at his Dads mechanic shop.

Souda suddenly realized that ‘fancy shit’ to a slightly broke kid like him was definitely not ‘fancy shit’ to Gundam “I don’t know how to dress casually Ever” Tanaka.

Gundam continued to script line after line, attempting to explain these subjects in terms Souda would understand. The look in Souda’s eyes gnawed at him, such excitement on display over some math notes. He wasn’t certain what rubbed him wrong about it, so he brushed it aside. Reaching the bottom of the page, he printed a small question.

Do you still understand thus far?

Souda finally grabbed one of his own pens that lay discarded on the table instead of stealing Gundams.

yeah i get it u explain it a lot better than the teachers or chiaki despite ur little demon talk r whatever lol. chiaki use to help me like all the time but she kept falling asleep on me we never got anything done

Reading Souda’s message tempted laughter, and Gundam bit his cheek to silence it. Nodding sagely, he scrawled, As likely as you are to bend truths pertaining to women, this account does seem trustworthy. He knew just as well as anyone how exhausted Chiaki constantly seemed.

Tugging the newly completed page from its binds, Gundam offered it to Souda as well.

Souda looked almost offended by the note (he still took it, because of course he did) and hastily scribbled another and shoved it in Gundams chest with a grin.

WOW DICK i’m not gonna go after every girl that falls asleep on me!!! sonia hasn’t fallen asleep on me yet and you know!!!!! >:((((((

Gundam stiffened, bandaged hand safely out of sight under the table. If it had been visible, Souda would have a clear view of numb fingers folding against his palm before stretching into claws, over and over. Another deep breath was necessitated by his pounding heart, and he stilled his mind. There was no reason for this feeling. What possible purpose could this rush of adrenaline serve? Certainly nothing pertaining to math. He cleared his throat again, which ended up sounding a bit more like a growl, and took up his pen.

You say “yet”, as if there is even the slightest chance of such an occurrence in the future. This, I do know. A smug smirk crossed his face, daring to settle on his lips.

Souda pouted as he read the note, a somehow adorable sight as he quickly snagged Gundams pen again (once again ignoring his own) and scrawled something on a new note and shoved it back to him.

nuh-uh! u don’t know shit. unless u can see the future!!! tell me tell me tell me. maybe ur freaky demon shit is real after all ANYWAYS do i end up w miss sonia plz please tell me??!?? :3

Gundam tasted blood as he bit his lip hard. Why was Souda so insistent on her? No, he knew why. She was aesthetically pleasing to someone like him. This was not new information, but it still irked Gundam like hell. He pursed his lips. The last thing he was going to do was tell Souda his pathetic simpering dreams would come true in the end. Or perhaps, the last thing he wanted would be to admit to Souda that he cannot truly see the future? Grumbling, he snatched his pen back and tapped it against his knuckles. Neither option was preferred, though one was a clear admission of weakness…

He settled on a third choice. Of course not. I know precisely who you shall fall for in the end, although I cannot tell you. That is the Law of Causality.

actually it’s the law of cASSuaslity because ur an asshole who the fuck cares why can’t u just tell me!!! if i don’t get with miss sonia or whatever u say i don’t even know if i completely believe ur bonkers shit why can’t u just tell me their name or anything i just!!! want a hint. please

Kazuichi’s handwriting grew sloppier as he grew more desperate. Why the fuck was Gundam hiding it? It’s not like he’s gonna get suspended for some random ‘law’ or whatever he probably made up. He didn’t even know what the word Causality meant but it sounded exactly like a freaky word Gundam would say.

All I may tell you is that… Gundam paused, wiggling his pen between thumb and forefinger to come up with an excuse. …you have likely already made their acquaintance. All trace of smugness had dropped from his features, now replaced with stale indifference. He locked his worry deep in his chest, buried it. The last thing he needed was Souda to call him out on such a ridiculously big lie.

Souda didn’t know why, but he grinned at that. He grinned at a lot of dumb shit, and Gundam telling him some vague dumbass answer like that was apparently dumb enough to get on his list of Dumb Shit That Made Him Grin. He flicked Gundams note into his ever growing pile and chugged the rest of his drink, his eyes blown wide with the sudden rush of, apparently, sugar. He tapped the textbook again, trying to remind them both to stay on task. His hands were starting to shake too much from the sugar high to make writing any good.

Gundam nodded. They needed to focus on the task at hand.. Which was math. Boring math. Another sigh settled in his chest, and he thought fleetingly on how he would much rather talk about silly magic business. Shaking dramatically dual-toned hair from his eyes, he set to scribbling some more numbers. Stupid, boring numbers.

Kazuichi watched with interest as Gundam quickly drew out complex strings of numbers and occasional letters. However, his mind quickly drifted as well as his eyes. Higher and higher until he was watching Gundam’s facial expressions shift as he tried to help Souda. How he bit his lip as he hesitated before continuing to keep writing, how his eyes narrowed, Souda half-mindedly thought of how pretty Tanaka’s eyes were, he could get lost in them if he really wanted to, and he did. So he simply tuned out the sound of pen against pencil, rustling of paper and the occasional whisper between others in the library and just stared into his eyes.

Sliding another page across the table, Gundam glanced up at Souda’s face, before they quickly flicked away. On the quickly growing list of things he did Not Want to happen today, was for Souda to catch him staring. Or- he paused. To catch… Souda staring? He didn’t want to look again, even if he was right, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as if he could feel Souda’s gaze. Ears growing red, he scripted a small note back, faltering slightly as nerves made his fingers stiff.

Do you still understand well enough?

Kazuichi’s gaze didn’t move until he finally noticed Gundam actually wrote words down. He did a double take back at his face before he picked up his pen, his cheeks heating up. Shit, did Gundam catch him looking? His hands trembled slightly from the sugar and caffeine as he scribbled on the paper.

yeah i understand completely ur a good teacher i already said that didn’t i sorry

He slid the note over, now doing his best to keep his eyes on the table and not on Gundam.

Do not fret, I am pleased you understand.

Clearing his throat as quietly as he could, he returned to numbers. Gundam really tried to focus, he did. But he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering… Muscle memory served him well, and he continued to write, but his mind’s eye strayed from questioning Souda’s gaze, to wondering why keeping their notes tidy was so important, to the way Souda tapped his fingers on the desk ever so slightly, the sugar and caffeine running rampant through his veins. It soon became impossible to focus, and he started mixing up numbers and crossing them out. He shook his head, hard, mumbling apologies for scrambling up his figures.

Kazuichi easily picked up Gundams distraction and yanked an empty note from him to write on.

do u wanna stop for today

He slid it over, giving Gundam a small smile as he did. He wasn’t unfamiliar with his brain getting jumbled and melting into mush and before he knew it, the day was over and he hadn’t got shit done. So he didn’t mind giving up for today, starting again tomorrow or next week. He just liked being with Gundam, kinda. As weird as that was.

Gundam nodded.

My sincerest apologies, I seem to have lost my senses…

What the hell had gotten into him? This was highly unusual for him. Gundam mumbled another quiet sorry, sliding the incomplete and jumbled page across to Kazuichi just in case he needed it anyway.

Souda tidied everything up on the desk, sliding his books, computer and the notes into his black backpack. As he stood, he bounced on his heels, the caffeine suddenly taking full effect as he finally got out of the chair and could move around to his heart's desire. He slid his backpack over one of his shoulders and didn’t hesitate to start playing with one of the enamel pins of a vocaloid character that hung from the zipper, needing something to occupy his hands with.

Gundam stood as well, fumbling as he slipped the last notebook into his bag. Offering a hand, he gestured towards the door. He whispered, “Shall we meet again tomorrow, then? I swear I shall do better at my job.”

Kazuichi laughed softly at that, nodding. His hands fiddled with his jumpsuit pockets as he made his way over to Tanaka, a small bounce in his step. He would definitely blame that and what he did next on the overload of caffeine in his system the next day. He put his hands on Gundams shoulders, slightly dragging him down as he stood on his tippy-toes, kissing him sweetly on the lips before he was already skipping towards the door, waving him bye as he exited, most likely to his dorm on campus.

Blood froze in his veins. Gundam’s heart pounded, throbbing in his ears. His face was beyond red, and his stiffened fingers twitched in surprise. Mouth opening and closing like a fish, he could not even will his feet to carry him after the boy. What… What just… happened? His mind felt as slow and sluggish as if it was buffering through a torrented movie file.

Finally gathering enough control of his own limbs, he pulled himself through the door. He wanted desperately to give chase, to pull Souda into his arms and kiss him back, but he knew there was no possible way he would keep his courage. So he settled, simply deciding upon returning to his own abode. He would have to speak to Souda at their meeting tomorrow. Just thinking about it gave him… butterflies? Oh dear, what an unpleasant sensation.

. . .

Thank you @kazudam for writing with me! This was so much fun, and something I’ve always wanted to do :’)

#gundham tanaka #kazuichi souda #kazuichi x gundham #gundham x kazuichi #soudam #daily soudam #kazudam as souda #intentional-moss as gundham #mod 🌱

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a-little-slice-of-fandom · 4 years

Note

I absolutely love your posts about Mary, there’s so much important information there. If you don’t mind me asking though, why are you so interested in her? This literally isn’t targeted at all but I would have thought that given the English history against Ireland maybe she would hardly be your favourite figure. Again, I’m sorry if this came of rude in any way and feel no pressure to answer

Hello love! You were rude at all and I’m always more than happy to discuss stuff like this!

I just want to set the record straight here: I’m not a fan of any of the historical Tudor monarchs/the English monarchy in general. I even have problems with a lot of Henry’s wives, like Anne Boleyn and the whole Protestant reformation, Catherine Parr being “the queen of Ireland” despite the fact she was not Irish and the fact that Aragon literally owned a slave!However, I still find them interesting as historical figures and I love them as characters in Six the musical! Another example could be Queen Victoria, who literally oversaw genocide of the Irish people during the Great Hunger in the 1840s...and yet I find Victoria and her reign fascinating! It’s probably one of my favourite periods of history, I’ll read anything set in that era and Jenna Coleman’s portrayal of Victoria on ITV lives in my brain rent free.

The Six wives, Mary, Victoria and many more are far from my favourite figures in history. As an Irish person I hate the English monarchy on sheer principle alone! But I’m one of those people who is very interested in historical figures and their lives, while also being totally aware of the fact that they did terrible things and I would always encourage others to be aware of that. I’m not a fan of any of the English monarchs, but I can concede that they’re interesting to learn about.

As for Mary specifically, there’s a lot of reasons why I’m interested in her. While she was by no means good to Ireland or the Irish, I think she’s the least bad out of all the Tudors, at in relation to Ireland. For example, she didn’t cause religious tensions that still pose a problem today. The person Irish people dislike more is probably Elizabeth 1st, possibly followed by James 1st as they’re responsible for the plantation of Ulster. For context: Ulster is the northern-most province of Ireland and consists of 9 counties. Ulster had always been the most rebellious place in Ireland and really resisted English rule. To stop this, Elizabeth in the 1570’s allowed plantations, where loyal English and Scottish Protestants would settle in Ulster, while the native Catholic Irish were forced off their land and if this sounds familiar it’s because Americans pretty much did the same thing to the native Americans! The plantation of Ulster was successful in England’s eyes, as Ulster was brought under England’s control because of the Protestant settlers...but the effects were incredibly long lasting. 6 out of the 9 counties in Ireland now form Northern Ireland, which is still part of the UK today and over the years there’s been considerable ethnic and sectarian tension between the British Protestants and Irish catholics, which resulted in the troubles which killed thousands of people. So it slightly annoys me when ELEPHANT while completely ignoring the effect that other monarchs had on the wider world.

(Also friendly reminder that Elizabeth is associated with the colonisation of America...because that went so well for everyone involved!)

Another reason why I really find Mary interesting is actually more to do with how she’s viewed by society. I find it fascinating how she’s become a legendary figure within society to the point where she’s literally a folk tale (Bloody Mary) despite the fact that she was really no more “bloody” than any other monarch at the time or even in her family!

I find it so interesting how propaganda essentially warped Mary into this demon and, like I said, I think it’s interesting how she was retroactively made to seem so much worse in order to make other monarchs look better and to justify the wider treatment and discrimination of Catholics in England after her reign. Its especially interesting to me that she was well liked during her reign and she actually did quite a lot of objectively good things as well! Yet we don’t hear about these things in the same way we hear about the good things Elizabeth did.

Now I do want to clarify that I don’t think we should just excuse Mary for burning people at the stake. That’s horrific and the fact that it was ever deemed okay for someone to order that is insane! Mary killed 300 people and that was wrong. I am not saying Mary is a Saint. However, I don’t think it’s fair for people to hold Mary to one standard and then Elizabeth to another. I also think we need to look at historical context as a whole to further understand what was going on at the time. There’s a difference between murder and historical execution, however petty or small that distinction may seem to us viewing the situation from a modern perspective (which again feeds into historical context). History is far from black and white and I think a lot of people are just happy enough to take things as very face value when it’s never that simple in history.

Anyway, this was a really fun ask to answer! Thank you so much for the question my love ❤️

#also any anon hate on this subject will be ✨ignored ✨ as i have work in the morning #ask answered #ask #anon #anonymous ask #anon ask #anonymous #six the musical #sixthemusical #six

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monstersandmaw · 4 years

Link

Yup. Part One. This absolute monstrosity quite literally grew wings and took on a life of its own, so yes, there will be a part two shortly, and it will be NSFW.

I shared the mood board/aesthetic for this over on Discord and a couple of people said they were excited, so I hope you enjoy it! It's set in Old Trollbridge, and you may pick up a passing reference to another character whose story was set here... Let me know in the comments if you remember them... Thanks also for your wonderful and enthusiastic feedback on Winter Solstice Chapter Five!

Contents: former school bullies, reader with a very slight potty-mouthed internal monologue, being physically attracted to someone(s!) that you didn't like intellectually/emotionally, watching said people kiss/be physically affectionate, the old 'oh no we've been paired on a project and will have to work together now or we'll get bad marks' trope, and some general growing up :) Wordcount: 5766

Chunky preview:

Winding up at the same university as the two biggest dicks from high school would have been - trying - enough, but to end up not only in the same department but also in the same damned classes was just downright cruel of fate. And yes, that was absolutely the right word for them.

The University of Old Trollbridge was known for its academic excellence in all areas, from cutting edge medicine to more traditional approaches, and the centuries-old institution was a bastion of learning, with places hotly contested. You’d nearly run herself into the ground in school to pass the right exams to get here - to leave all the pettiness of high school behind and finally start over - and here they were. It was going to be exactly the same. You could feel it. They’d worm their way to the top of the hierarchy again, and everyone would worship the ground they touched, and it would all just be awful.

“Fucking hell. This isn’t happening,” you cursed, watching the familiar and very particular hue of the naga’s dark green scales as he slithered across the entrance hall of the history faculty building, his muscular tail rippling with a million iridescent, deep emerald green colours. The atrium wasn’t exactly flooded with light, so somehow he looked like a living shadow.

People watched him; everywhere he went, people noticed him. He was probably one of the more famous undergraduates the university had had in recent years, what with his family’s ancient bloodline and apparently endless bank vaults, and his brief but extremely successful stint in modelling. The fact that the naga and his best friend (and almost literal sex god), Iltho, had gained a place was not all that much of a surprise to anyone, but you’d hoped they wouldn’t have chosen the same flipping department as you for their undergraduate studies. Not that they could be accused of paying their way in; for starters, the university had not accepted that kind of thing for generations.

No, they were both beautiful and unbearably smart too.

It was indecently unfair.

Your lip curled. Just as you’d been about to turn away, your roommate caught up with you. You’d put down that you didn’t mind who you were put with - gender or species - and for once, you’d actually lucked out. Rachel was an extremely talented spell caster, and, from what you’d seen of her in the first two days of your acquaintance, extremely tidy. “What’s up?” she asked, smiling up at you from beneath a thick curtain of vibrant, pastel pink hair. She was also about a foot shorter than you.

You jutted your chin at the naga.

“Oh my god, that’s… wow. I didn’t know we had a celebrity in our department!” she giggled, elbowing you playfully in the side. “Gods above… he’s gorgeous. It’s sinful. It shouldn’t be allowed. How am I supposed to concentrate in Old High Runic if he’s sitting there looking like that?”

“He’s also a massive cock,” you snorted. Fucking ‘Drake Shimmerscale’. Even his name was a giant cliche. Fancy noble lines with their fancy stupid names.

She tilted her head curiously. “You… know him?”

“Went to school with the bastard. Him and his best friend -” you cut off, eyes widening, as a second figure strode out of a doorway and exclaimed loudly. “Fucking… speak of the devil.”

“That’s a bit harsh,” she said, her eyes also locked on the newest arrival. It was easy to see why she’d thought you’d been referring to his appearance; his skin was a deep, ruby red, he had enormous, black, curved horns, a blunt-ended tail, and the bat-like wings that hung down his back looked like they’d been dipped in dark ink at the tips. He was also built like a bull and turned heads wherever he went, and here was no exception. Of course, the incubus would have to keep his ‘influence’ under control while at the university, but that didn't mean he didn't just naturally exude sex appeal anyway. Six-foot-something tall, with long, black hair that he usually wore pulled back into a thick braid studded with golden beads, he had flashing golden eyes and a mouth made for kissing.

Everyone had fantasised about being with him (and/or Drake) at school. Iltho had looked twenty-five since the age of fourteen, and acted like it too. Confident, cocky, quietly arrogant, also filthy rich, and stupendously intelligent, there was nothing that Iltho didn’t have. Really, the duo had made a striking pair, with the milk-white of Drake’s skin and the heated crimson of Iltho’s, their gemstone eyes of yellow and green, and their aloof personalities. The pair had ruled the school without having to do so much as lift a finger. They’d also done nothing to stop the lesser bullies posturing and vying for their attention. ‘Popular’ they may have been, but they’d also been about as liked as a Nightmare at a slumber party.

“No,” you said. “It’s not harsh. They’re both awful and they made life hell for the rest of us.” And with that you turned away, heading for the library.

You fumed as you stalked along the corridor and up the stairs towards the department’s ancient library. Yours was, appropriately enough for the History Faculty, one of the oldest buildings in the university, and it was absolutely everything you’d ever hoped for or dreamed from Old Trollbridge. The sheer aesthetic of it was mesmerising. Taking a huge, deep breath of the slightly musty air as you stepped into the library, you tried to put the pair of bullies out of your mind. This could still be your fresh start, surrounded by fragile parchment and vellum, leather spines, ancient oak tables, and the vague tingle of magic in the air.

There were wards in the ceilings to syphon off excess ambient magic in places like this, and as you let your eyes roam up and follow the conductive brass rods embedded in the ceiling, you nearly crashed into one of the long trestle tables that had been placed in a remote alcove, lit on one side by a huge, leaded, arched window and framed on the other three by bookshelves. As if fate had chosen you a place to settle down, you stared at the empty space for a moment before deciding that this would probably be your study spot for the rest of the year. It was right at the back of the library, and seemed out of the way enough that it wouldn’t be on the regular stamping ground of first years looking for the standard texts. It was also open enough that it probably wouldn’t be sought out for… other activities. The stacks, with their dark corners and endless shadows, seemed much more appropriate for that.

Yes. This would be perfect.

And you wouldn’t have to think about them here either.

Gods, even trying to get the thought of them out of your head prompted a flare of hot ire. Iltho and Drake had been inseparable at school. Class A bullies who just stood there and let everyone else spar and jockey for the dubious honour of being their latest minions and underlings, letting their wealth and, in Iltho’s case, ‘charisma’ carry them through. Half the school had been in love with them at one point, influence or not. And yes, even you had admired them from a distance. Rachel was right - they really were absolutely fucking gorgeous. Both of them. And it fucking sucked.

An hour later, a shadow passed in front of that beautiful window and you glanced up as someone halted beside your table. “That’s a familiar sight,” a deep voice chuckled.

Your stomach dropped and you felt your face fall with horror before you schooled it into something a little more acerbic than you’d ever managed in school. Funny how a few months’ internship abroad over the summer at one of the world’s most prestigious historical institutions could change everything. You hardened your eyes and noticed the way he watched you.

“Iltho,” you said flatly as you cricked your neck to look up at him. “You're blocking the light, but I can’t tell if it’s your wings or your ego that’s obliterating the sun. Would you care to move?”

Read the whole thing right now, as well as all the Mermay 2020 posts (five in total, including extra artwork), a surprise, nsfw ‘ghost lover’ story, all of Winter Solstice up to the current chapter, a new multi-chapter vampire story, the mlm werewolf story, plus everything that’s been posted already on Patreon!

#exophilia #incubus #male incubus #naga #male naga #incubus x naga #incubus x naga x reader #naga x reader #incubus x reader #part one #patreon only #monthly story #patreon monthly story #poly #poly exophilia

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lavenderek · 3 years

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So you're saying you don't think "underage" fic is gross. Is that what youre saying?

well, no. yuck. what i’m saying is, what exactly and specifically do we want to happen?

there should not be explicit fic about underage characters, got it. so what age can they not be under? 18? 16? what country’s laws regarding the age of consent do we prioritize? like, i think it’s gross that the age of consent is 16 in some places, but i’m an american, so i would, wouldn’t i? so ok, what if we hedged it a bit and put the age as like, 14? that way it’s not little kids, it’s all teenagers. but no, gross, 14-year-olds are children. fun fact: so are 16-year-olds. they are also children.

what about fic about two teenagers having a consensual encounter? should all romantic or sexual fic have to be about adults only? your answer to this may very well be “yes,” and that’s completely valid. a teenager writing fic might disagree. somebody who’s a big fan of a show that’s about a bunch of teenagers might disagree. should there be an adults-only section on the site? there’s already a “stop, you have to be 18″ box to check before you can access explicit fic, so how do we verify a user’s age? they can just lie about their age and click through anyway. you have to be 18 to make a youtube account and i’ve had one since i was 13. i remember very deliberately choosing a new birth year when it asked for my birthdate.

then you get to slightly greyer areas like large age gaps, or heavy role play between consenting adults. i have absolutely witnessed fic that’s clearly written to be CP, but it’s tagged as age play. so like, for all intents and purposes this is CP, but if you roll in like “hey, this is fucked up,” they can be like, “oh, so you read this picturing actual children, sicko?? you have a problem with two adults doing shit in the bedroom??? how dare you!!! don’t like don’t read!!!”

it’s kind of like on porn sites, how they make like nasty inc*st stuff but call it “stepmom” or whatever, like oh, they’re not actually related! sure, joseph, thanks for covering all your bases

so we can’t ban kinks. or can we? should we limit depictions of serious addictions or domestic abuse too? torture, or even body horror? these are generally accepted to be dark content.

i’m not trying to engage in whataboutism, i’m naming actual, relevant questions about shit that’s disturbing in real life (no offense to kink people who follow codes of consent and conduct) and can be incredibly upsetting to encounter online. shit that i can’t imagine wanting to read, let alone write.

these are the questions that we, you, i, people pro-a*3 and people anti-a*3, are all asking, and not a single one of us can or should answer them unilaterally.

so it’s like, oh, okay, so there should be no oversight at all? should there be no rules? no, obviously, that would be horrible, i don’t trust any of these fuckers to conduct themselves civilly. so there should be some rules, but not too many rules. that’s what we have now, and clearly the way things are now isn’t working because a lot of users are reasonably very upset.

should there be a voting system, and rules are set by a popular vote? should certain words be flagged and you can’t post the fic with that word in it? should there be a thing where when you post a fic, you have to select the ages of each character and that’s listed at the top of the fic? what if they age during the fic? should there be a flagging function, where you report someone for not using sufficient tags? users will find workarounds for all of this. you know they will. so mods will have to be very specific about the rules and introduce, like, a vetting system for it. which is a lot more manpower and a lot more chances for subjective judgments.

all of the above is why it operates on a tagging system instead. i’m gonna be real, i only go on a*3 to read comments on my own shit lmao, and even when i did go on there more often i never went in the tags searching for fic. so is there a blacklist function? is there a flagging function?

if there is a flagging function, maybe they make it so that if the flagged user has violated the rules, their account is suspended and their fic made private for the duration and until they add necessary tags.

cool, a compromise. but uh-oh, it turns out Mod A agrees that this fic is n*ncon, but Mod B thinks it’s just vague, not n*nconsensual, and doesn’t feel comfortable banning the fic. or it turns out User didn’t post anything flaggable, they were reported by somebody who is targeting them for some reason, or by someone who is more stringent about n*ncon than somebody else would be, like, it’s gotta be enthusiastic and verbal consent or else it’s skirting the edges too much.

it’s like, we’ve already witnessed censorship (please take this word usage gently, i know it’s touchy but it’s the word to use here) being a problem here on tumblr with their stupid nipple ban. there’s a double standard regarding whose nipples are explicit and whose are kosher for public consumption. people have to appeal their shit getting flagged and sometimes nothing gets fixed regardless. i’m sure other people are pleased that there’s less of a chance of them accidentally scrolling past a picture of a hard dick at work.

so you get it, this is a problem that’s more complicated than “all of x should be banned and if you post it there’s something wrong with you,” a belief you’re more than entitled to hold but can’t base, like, fanfic legislation off of. you get it you get it.

you get it, but like, what is the fucking deal with those “fandom moms” who go off on soliloquies about the days of old or whatever the fuck whenever this topic comes up? what about the weirdos who are like, “what’s next, banning gay fic????” yeah, if we allow gay marriage you can marry a tree, that’s how it works, thanks tiffany.

but no, the reason they do this is NOT that they think lgbtq content is comparable in any way to CP. the reason they do this is that this exact problem has taken place on every site that has ever hosted fic. and many previous sites did think lgbtq content was comparable to CP. it was categorized as adult content and hidden.

that’s why a*3 exists in the first place. it was to avoid godmodding and absolutism. it’s supposed to be more or less self-governed. i don’t want there to be CP on a*3 any more than you do, but i also don’t trust randos to decide what is and isn’t acceptable content. this topic is not new.

i’m in support of stronger government regulation in real life because it can be argued that certain actions and systems violate human rights. everybody deserves food and shelter, for example. the same can’t be argued in this case because some creep writing CP doesn’t violate my rights. i find it offensive and i don’t think they should be writing it, but my right to click the back button is intact. there is no institution making it impossible or even difficult for me to not read fanfiction. the creep could just as reasonably argue that their right to post what they want is being affected.

why is this response so long? is it because i can’t shut up? yes, but also because this is a complex issue and that’s why nobody has taken significant action on it.

people are also big mad.

i’ve never understood this impulse to see somebody not doing a thing you want them to do and assume it’s out of malice or incompetence, anyway. i don’t know anybody who volunteers for a*3 but it’s my assumption that given the choice to have us all pissed at them, or have us all not pissed at them, they would choose to have us not be pissed at them. it just seems like the reasonable reaction to have. and like, i’d be pretty shocked to part the kimono and find out they’re all CP-loving gargoyles and a*3 actually stands for A lot Of child abus3. that is the reason i have not been like, “fuck a*3.” because what are they supposed to do, you know?

there’s no simple or inarguably morally right solution here. the princess is in another castle. just post fic on tumblr, i guess? make another hosting site that’s exactly like a*3 but romantic characters can only be like, 21?

i actually think the legal age in the US should be raised to 21, not joking. your brain literally and biologically isn’t finished developing at 18. teenagers lack the world experience to make decisions that adults make.

somewhere there is an 18-year-old or a person who moved out and became self sufficient at 18 who hates this sentiment. there’s a teenager in an abusive home who would be intensely demoralized by the prospect of having to remain beholden to these people for three more years.

and there’s a parent who is relieved to know that their kid can’t be preyed on by army recruiters for three more years. there’s a person who got into a car crash with a teenager who misjudged whether or not they could make a turn who’s like, yeah, she could probably have benefited from a few more years.

nothing is as simple as it should be. i agree with you, but i’m not willing to pass blanket judgments with regards to actions that should be taken. and honestly, given how little i actually go on the site, i don’t even have a dog in this fight. so all my opinions on it are moot anyway.

(side note, if you are in an abusive home and you can’t make your own bank account, or if your bank account is monitored by your abusive parents, maybe try venmo? you can get a debit card that pulls directly from your venmo balance. a surprising number of places accept venmo payments, and this way you can save up money in secret.)

anyway uhhhhh seeya

#who is this even #haters #long post #please DO NOT REBLOG

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cryptidsandcatacombs · 3 years

Text

What If I Killed Someone For You

Rating: absolutely postively adult for violent yandere content. Anyone under the age of 18 better go away. No reading allowed for anyone under the age of 18. Plus there's like one adult joke in here so no one under the age of 18 allowed for that reason either.

Summary: This is literally fueled by my love of yandere content #nojudgingcringecultureisdeadandikilledit. Noe better watch himself because he's been my muse lately. Anyways uuuu idk yandere stuff here so you know someone's getting stabbed. We should probably do something about that, but we're not gonna. Thems the rules chief. No, you can't stop it either you total fucking killjoy. I'll start stealing toes if you do. What will I do with said toes? Black markets are a lucrative business and I need the money cause I'm broke fam. So really it's the economy's fault that I'm chopping toes. Say thanks late stage capitalism. This is brought to you by idk the monster under your bed who chops off the toes for me. He gets paid by the hour so try no to run too much ok.

Oh and this fic contains lyrics from If I killed someone for you by Alec Benjamin. Yes I'm inserting song lyrics into a fic like it's the early 2000s.

I'm packing up my things and I'm wiping down the walls I'm rinsing off my clothes and I'm walking through the halls I did it all for her So I felt nothing at all I don't know what she'll say So I'll ask her when she calls

Would you love me more? If I killed someone for you

Oz was considered by most a laid back sort of guy. Never angered easily. He can get frustrated like every other person, but not so easily angered.

However, despite his laid back nature, he had a vice. Jealousy. One that he was very self aware of. He often tried not to let it get the better of him, but there it was. A beast clad in green with eyes of emerald staring him directly in the fact tempting him with its siren song.

The siren song came in the form of Noe Archiviste and....whoever this girl was that was hanging all over Noe right now. She had a voice as sweet as molasses and brown curls that fell down her shoulders like waterfalls. She would run her hands over Noe and look at him with her doe eyes. She was a cute on overall. Couldn't blame Noe for taking interest if it was there.

He seemed to not the mind the attention he received from the lady...nor the frivolous compliments....nor the blatantly flirty way she seems to be touching him with every caress of his hands into hers and the way she wraps her arms around his neck.

Oz's eye twitched. Oz could have stuffed down all this rage and envy that suddenly sprouted from the ether, but jealousy was truly Oz's vice. One he wasn't planning to fix any time soon. He wanted to sit there and be happy for his dearest Noe. Stay to the sidelines and be happy for his good fortune for love is one of the greatest things you can find.

However, there was another urge. One just as strong.

"I want her to die," cried Oz's thoughts. "I want her gone. She can't take Noe away from me. She can't. I know him and I aren't together in a romantic sense, but...I don't want her taking away my chance either. She has to go"

"Now now Oz," said another voice in Oz's head, "You know that's wrong. You can't go around getting rid of anyone you see as a competition or obstacle towards someone you care about."

Oz was prone to scolding himself at times like these. He always held himself to high moral standards. Sometimes too high. To the point of self-loathing. Impressive if you ask the writer. Self awareness? Bitch please for shame. This isn't a call out post for myself. What is it you may ask? Hey, we're getting off topic you little trickster. You're supposed to be a reader. Not breaking the fourth wall.

"Yes yes I know I can't do that. I'm not going to. That still doesn't save me from any form of feral urge to wring her neck and ship her body down the river and hope and have her loved ones pray she can be identified by her dental records. Fuck does she even love him. What if she's out to hurt him or worse just wants him for his body? Look at him! He's gorgeous. Who can blame her? What if she doesn't love him like I do," said Oz's internal thoughts.

"Oz you're being dumb. She might love him unconditionally too and he deserves that for himself," Oz argued internally with himself back.

"I know I know, but I'm just saying what if. I just don't like the idea of him getting hurt nor the idea of her taking him away from me. I'm entitled to that feeling aren't I," Oz continued to debate with his voice of reason.

"Fair, but lets just wait and see. He's a big boy and can handle himself," Oz's voice of reason stated.

"Yeah a big boy in more ways than one I bet," said the third internal Oz voice of being horny and all around slutty that constantly lives there.

"This is getting us nowhere," Oz himself decided to just cut the internal argument off before it turns into a blood match to the death. This was disturbing his routine of stalking Noe for ...research purposes.

Oz looked over to now see them sitting down at the nearby cafe. They were seated across from each other. Oz noted Noe might be enjoying his usual coffee or tea. He liked it extra sweet either way. The man has one hell of a sweet tooth.

"Yeah I bet that brown haired hussie doesn't know that, but I do," Oz thought to himself smugly.

Oz looked back at Noe's companion to see her touching his arm and doing the egregious crime of looking into his magnificent purple eyes. Wait....was she now touching his face?

"You lucky bitch," Oz thought to himself this time with anger brows drawn on the words for dramatic emphasis.

Oz ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Damn it! How long is this date going to last? I hope it stops before I puke up a lung," Oz thought to himself this time internally rolling in pain.

Hours passed and Oz with surprising tenacity had stayed there all day following Noe around with the clever disguise of wearing a hat and ya know some shabby clothes. Truly no way he could be recognized. Yep, he's got it all figured out.

Oz decided to follow them home from a fair distance. Oz looked up to see the sunset. It was starting to get dark and Oz hated the dark, but he hated certain people who might harm those he loves even more. A little nyctophobia isn't gonna hurt.

Oz followed quietly until he noticed they stopped in front of a flat. It was her flat. Noe escorted her to the door like the gentleman he is and waved her good night. Oz had found a nice dark alleyway to hide in so he wouldn't be spotted.

Noe headed towards Oz's direction which caused Oz to hide deeper into the darkness. Oz bit his lip from the anxiety of being found and having some explaining to do. Like who was he kidding? This disguise was paper thin!

Noe looked like he was passing by Oz, then stopped. Oz froze. Oh god had he spotted him?

Before Oz could register what happened next, Noe had gone in a flash. Oz knew he was fast, but he couldn't see where he went.

It was then a grunt and the sound of what seemed to be something getting bashed against the wall behind Oz. Oz slowly turned to find Noe whose hand was pressing something against the wall.

It was then he grabbed whatever he was holding and slammed it again. Oz stared into the darkness to see his eyes glowing red to match the blood on his gloves.

After another slam, the clear sound of bone cracking from the impact could be heard. Noe dropped, what Oz could assume, the now lifeless body of the person he just killed.

Noe turned to see Oz and Oz froze. "Ok ok maybe he doesn't know it's you," Oz thought to himself. "Oh I know."

"Aye top of the morning to you," Oz did in his best Irish accent that he could muster.

Noe leaned down and inspected Oz. Oz could only look at Noe confused as Noe lifted Oz's arms and looked over Oz's face and the rest of his person.

Noe then gave a sigh of relief. "Good, I was afraid he had hurt you Oz," Noe said putting a hand on Oz's shoulder.

"Wait, you knew it was me," Oz said face turning hot.

"I mean, I'd recognize you from anywhere. You're not hard to miss," Noe pointed out.

"Oh uuu so what happened exactly," Oz asked now curious about the now lifeless elephant in the room.

Oz went to look at the supposed body only for Noe to yank him back and shook his head no.

"You're squeamish," Noe said taking his bloody glove off, putting his now bare hand on Oz's face,"I wouldn't look."

Oz shuddered taking Noe's advice.

"The man had been following you. I know of him. That vampire right there would have killed you where you stood if I hadn't done something," Noe said honestly.

Oz batted his lashes in shock taken aback. "I...almost died," Oz asked.

Noe nodded. "Fortunately, he doesn't kill in broad daylight, so I had to wait til night. I had just noticed him following you today. I don't know how long he's been doing it for, but if I had noticed earlier, he would have been dead on the first day," Noe nearly growled out. "I'd rather not have killed him in broad daylight either,ut if I had to, I would have," Noe wanted to point out. "If he had attacked you, I absolutely would have."(edited)

Oz turned pale. "W-wait, when did you notice I was...," Oz said not knowing how to word his next question.

"Following me," Noe asked for him, "Since I left the house. You're not exactly subtle."

Oz blushed. "Oh uh sorry I was just curious as to what your daily routine was like and then I noticed you had a female companion, so I was trying to see if you were safe," Oz said nervously.

"Her? She was lonely and needed company, so I obliged. She's a bit friendly, but so am I," Noe pointed out.

"So are you...interested in her? Dating her even," Oz asked getting to the point.

Noe shook his head. "Not in the slightest," Noe said heading towards the body making effort to cover it up. "I'll dispose of the body in a minute. Let's take the back ways so I'm not caught soaked in blood. I need to get you home," Noe said quickly leading him back.

"Wait what if someone finds it," Oz asked fearfully.

"This will be quick," Noe said picking up Oz and speeding off.

Oz could often forget how fast this unstoppable force of a man was.

A few minutes later, Oz was back on his doorstep. Oz rubbed the back of his neck looking towards Noe wondering what Noe was going to do now.

"Now, go inside and don't come check on me. I don't want to have to hide more bodies this evening should more make the fatal mistake of coming after you," Noe said waiting til Oz got to his door.

"Ok ok," Oz said opening his door.

Oz waved Noe off as he sped away to do the dirty work.

Later that night, Oz flopped over into the bed still registering the fact he just saw Noe Archiviste straight up body a man. The sweet, gentle lamb of a man just increased the body count this evening. The man was now a statistic in vampire based deaths. Truly mystifying.

Oz wanted to stay up and see if Noe was going to be ok. However, sleep took Oz before Oz could make any quick decisions. It had been a long day.

As Oz slept, Noe crept in with any blood soaked clothes supposedly disposed of. Noe bent down and ran his fingers through Oz's hair.

Noe's fingers drifted to Oz's pulse on his neck. Long has Noe fantasized about marking Oz's neck. The thought made him shiver, but he couldn't. He couldn't bare to do it with him possibly not consent as marking someone like that is a big deal.

Noe pressed a little more of the pulse of Oz's neck. The beat made Noe's heart race and what Noe could swear was drool. To be so intimate with Oz to the point he trusts Noe to drink his blood. It was enough to make him shiver.

Noe shook himself from these thoughts. He couldn't give in. Not without Oz's permission.

Noe got up quietly and shut Oz's door bedroom door behind him as he left. He couldn't bare to kiss Oz's face good night as he was afraid it would trigger something in him.

Noe fled out the door into the dead of night towards his place. He wouldn't let any harm come to Oz. Even if that danger was himself.

#self indulgent fics

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nakhama-a · 3 years

Text

little impromptu zodiac study, ft. ieiri shouko.

with the revelation that shouko is a scorpio sun, i have decided that the major placements in her chart are as follows: capricorn moon, scorpio rising, virgo venus, and capricorn mars. now let’s take a look at what that means.

scorpio sun:

scorpios are known for their intensity. they are determined folk that absolutely throw themselves into whatever they do — but getting them to commit to something is rarely an easy task. in fact, it’s better not to even try to “get them” to do anything. solar scorpios absolutely have their own mind. and, their primary motivation is unlikely to be prestige, or even authority–it’s real power. their power can absolutely be of the “behind the scenes” variety, just as long as they have it.

to others, scorpios seem to have plenty of willpower. they probably do. scorpios do know what they want, and they won’t go out and grab it at the wrong moment. they simply sit back, watch (quite expertly), and then get it only when the moment is just right. this apparent patience is simply their powerful skills at strategy at work.

scorpio isn’t afraid of getting their hands (their bodies, their minds) dirty. the darker side of life intrigues them, and they’re always ready to investigate.

scorpios simply never give up. they have tremendous staying power. they’re not in the slightest intimidated by anybody or anything. confrontations are not a problem. in fact, talk to any scorpio about their lives, and you’ll probably be in awe at all they’ve gone through. trauma seems to follow them wherever they go. when scorpio learns optimism, instead of expecting the worst, they’ll find that they possess amazing regenerative powers — the power to heal, create, and transform.

this doesn’t really sound like our resident apathetic-and-tired doctor, though i’ve bolded what does or may apply; shouko is not an intense person, she does not seem to have much willpower, and she most definitely is not confrontational. we see that all the way back in the hidden inventory arc where she runs away when geto and gojo are about to fight.

and also when geto defects, she doesn’t even try to stop him. scorpio would absolutely make an attempt.

so scorpio alone might seem a bit out there, but in combination with her other placements...

capricorn moon:

calm, cool, and collected—these words sum up moon in capricorn natives well. messy emotions and “leaky” souls are a bit frightening for most with this position of the moon. truth is, they can have plenty of mood swings and some dark emotions now and again. lunar capricorns are often quite hard on themselves, and would benefit from letting their guard down once in a while. they quickly garner reputations of being mountains of strength, and they easily hide their sensitivity behind a sarcastic manner.

you may have read that moon in capricorn natives are a bit cold and calculating. the fact is, they are unlikely to be any less emotional than the other 11 sign positions of the moon—they simply aren’t comfortable “letting go” when it comes to emotions. they keep their emotions under control. wherever capricorn is found in the chart, there is a desire for structure and control. capricorn is the sign of organization and efficient management; so, when the moon is found in the sign, the world of emotions are well-managed and handled in an efficient and practical manner.

thiiiiiiiiiis is much more in line with shouko. the moon is the sign that involves emotions, habits, reactions and instincts; so this cold, calculating, sarcastic, in control persona - that’s our girl ! i’ll talk more about how these two work with each other in a sec.

scorpio rising:

scorpio ascendant people have a lot of presence. there is something about them that tells the world that they are not to be pushed around. their manner commands respect, and in some cases, fear. scorpio rising people can be quiet or loud, but they always seem powerful and determined.

you either love or hate scorpio rising people –they are rarely people who go through life unnoticed. in fact, some of them are confused when faced with the fact that they get such strong reactions from others. they seem to look right through people, seeing through superficiality. this can be quite intimidating to some, and intriguing to others. scorpio rising people, in their dealings with others, look for answers by reading between the lines. surface details are discarded when they are getting a feel for people and situations around them.

scorpio rising people value their privacy so much, it can border on paranoia. they have a strong need to control their environment and are experts at strategy. rarely people who will blow their chances with impatience, they plan out their moves carefully and deliberately, relying on their awesome ability to feel out others and situations.

the ascendant / rising sign is the facade shown to others, which is why i think scorpio suits her well here; the first time we meet shouko, and particularly in the anime, she’s incredibly self-assured and a bit off-putting. like, look at this shot.

in combination with these lines?

yeah. scorp rising. 100%.

so now, let’s see how her moon and rising combo with her sun !!

scorpio sun / capricorn moon ( this is a long one oops ):

people with their sun in scorpio and their moon in capricorn have a natural instinct to protect themselves regardless of how kind they may seem when interacting with others. they will never allow money to rule them. they want security and to support themselves, but they don’t insist on getting rich. they are the most mature scorpios in the zodiac. wise and disciplined from a young age, these guys are also calm and approachable. while they seem very grave and composed, they don’t think of themselves as being like this. private and secretive, they don’t want all the attention to be on them. when they happen to be in the center of the stage, they prefer to keep things low key.

people will always like them because they’re responsible, cerebral and humble. they give a lot of importance to honor, ethics and the law. it doesn’t matter if it makes them unpopular to stick to their own beliefs and to being honest, they’ll continue to do it. discipline and management characterize them a lot. others know they are the most reliable and serious people ever. not to mention they can control their emotions when a situation becomes too difficult. it’s possible they will not be able to hide their feelings and become aggressive in some cases. but this won’t happen too often. these guys know what people and groups think because they are fine psychologists.

their main goals in life are gaining other people’s respect, having a good reputation and making a good living. it doesn’t matter how warm they seem on the outside, they will always look for these things. if they would be able to recognize their authoritative presence, it would be easier for them to deal with people.

scorpio sun capricorn moon individuals have high standards and aren’t very tolerant of people who don’t act the way they think it’s correct. but they should respect others as much as they want to be respected. just like all the scorpios, they have a high libido and can make anyone go crazy. they will use others in a subtle way and get what they want. when they see helpless people, they simply don’t know what to do. not to mention how scared they are of seeing their weaknesses in others.

while confident and sure of themselves on the outside, these scorpios are anxious and confused on the inside. they don’t believe in empty compliments and if they won’t explore their emotions and spirituality, they’ll remain these cold characters with whom few can get along.

whew. okay. that’s long. but i think it highlights how the two work well together. it’s also pretty self explanatory so ontooooooo...

scorpio sun / scorpio rising:

double scorpios function best when they’re left alone to do things their own way. and that works, because no one can keep up with them anyway. plus, they’re intensely self-motivated, mostly because their guilt level soars if they don’t do the best job possible. so there’s really no need to supervise them. the sorts of hands-on management and direction that other people might find helpful or even reassuring is apt to be considered by double scorpios as needless meddling. they don’t take well to what they perceive to be an invasion of their turf. they want enough space and privacy to go about their business in their own unseen way, and when things work to their advantage they use their investigative skills to quickly build a body of knowledge and otherwise hard-to-come-by data that affords them a great deal of job security. what’s happened is they’ve worked themselves into a position where they’re absolutely indispensable. they simply know too much, and they’ve got the goods on everyone. whether it’s at home, at work, or at the pta, these scorpios have ferreted out the useful information that everyone else needs.

also pretty self-explanatory - shouko is literally indispensable, she prefers to do things on her own, and doesn’t like when things get in the way. this all seems much more in line with what we’ve been shown, and for the sake of this post being long as fuck already ( if u read all this i’m kissing u ), i’ll save her mars and venus for another time !

#ieiri shouko‚ 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢.#thats the big 3.#i'll do the other 2 later.#long post //

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nancythedrew · 4 years

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Nancy Drew Lawyer Time: Renee’s Culpability

Some people expressed interest in me using my almost 1 full year of law school knowledge to try to analyze some ND game things from a legal perspective. Obviously, take everything I say with a grain of salt because I am not a lawyer and this is addressing a not real set of facts. This is also for my own benefit because it is much more fun to write about ND games when prepping for an exam than it is using facts from law school study materials.

So without further ado, I attempt to answer the question: Was Nancy correct in saying “While [Renee] may not have meant to cause Bruno’s death, she certainly meant to cause mine when she sealed me up in that crypt”?

OK just some ground rules here: I’m gonna be addressing this based on the Model Penal Code(MPC) which is basically like an advisory text for lawmakers to follow when it comes to creating criminal codes by state. Most states have adopted the MPC in some fashion; I have no idea if Louisiana has or to what degree but for the sake of argument let’s just address this based on the MPC/common law(case rulings)/federal law.

In general, to show that someone is guilty of a crime it must be demonstrated that they possessed both actus reus(action or conduct) and mens rea(guilty mind). Here, we’re looking at two different actions that Renee engaged in: giving Bruno the fake letter saying the crystal skull was a fake and leaving Nancy in the crypt. We’ll address the mens rea for each of those separately as well.

Bruno’s Death - Actus reus

Actus reus is usually broken down into four main elements: voluntary act, social harm, factual causation, and legal causation.

Voluntary act: This threshold is pretty easy to meet. This basically asks whether what the person did was actually something within their control. MPC § 2.01(1) In other words, you’re only gonna not meet this standard if you like had a convulsion or seizure and literally could not control your body’s actions. Here, there is no indication that Renee did not actually will herself to write up the fake letter and give it to Bruno, so she meets the voluntary act requirement.

Social harm: The social harm element looks to the negative consequences that the law is intending to prevent. In this case, we’re talking about the death of a human which laws against homicide are intended to prevent. Here, someone died so the social harm component of a homicide charge has been met.

Factual causation: Under factual causation, we use what is called the “But-For Test” which asks “But for X conduct, would this social harm have come about when it did?” MPC § 2.03(1)(a-b). Essentially, if the defendant hadn’t done what they did, would we still have the same end result? Here, but for Renee creating the fake letter and giving it to Bruno he probably would not have died when he did. Renee could maybe try to argue that at his age a heart attack was likely to happen at pretty much anytime in his life and the timing of the letter and subsequence heart attack were mere coincidence, but I think it would be pretty hard to prove that Renee’s letter didn’t at least somewhat contribute to the heart attack that killed him. Therefore, there is likely factual causation between Renee’s conduct and the social harm.

Legal causation: Legal causation asks whether actual result is not too remote or accidental to have a just bearing on the actor’s liability or on the gravity of the offense. Basically, even if someone technically was a link in the chain that “caused” a social harm, is what they did socially abhorrent enough that we actually want to punish them for it? In this case, Renee could -try- to argue that Bruno’s medical conditions and psychological dependence on the perceived protection he got from the skull were an intervening force that broke the chain of legal causation enough that Renee shouldn’t be held responsible for his death. However, criminal law applies what we also have in tort(personal injury) law which is known as the “Eggshell Plaintiff Rule” or “You take the plaintiff as you find him.” If a plaintiff/victim has a pre-existing medical condition that makes them more sensitive or susceptible to injury, even if the defendant could not have foreseen the condition, the existence of such a condition is not enough to break the chain of causation and absolve the defendant of liability. Therefore, Renee’s conduct will still likely be a legal cause of Bruno’s death.

Bruno’s Death - Mens rea

Mmkay here is where things get dicey. The MPC has four main mental state categories to determine how culpable someone’s mental state is. From most culpable to least culpable: Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently. Based on what your mental state was when you killed someone will determine the level of homicide you committed. I will address each accordingly.

Purposely - Intentional homicide:

A person is guilty of committing a crime knowingly if “the element involves the nature of his conduct or a result thereof, it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result.” MPC § 2.02(2)(a). Basically, was Bruno’s death(the result) Renee’s conscious object to cause such a result? Probably not. Assuming we take her at her word that she truly just hoped he’d give her the skull after reading the letter, she probably did not meet the requirement for a purposeful homicide.

Knowingly - Intentional homicide

A person is guilty of committing a crime purposely “if the element involves a result of his conduct, he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result.” MPC § 2.02(b), For pretty much the same reasons as above, it’s gonna be pretty hard to show that Renee was practically certain that Bruno would literally die as a result of the letter, so her conduct probably does not fall within what is required for a knowing homicide.

Recklessly - Involuntary Manslaughter

A person is guilty of committing a crime recklessly if “he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct.” MPC § 2.02(2)(c). Again, here, if we take Renee at her word that she truly did not think her conduct posed a risk to Bruno’s life, it’s gonna be fairly difficult to prove a reckless homicide unless there’s maybe facts that suggest Renee knew about Bruno’s health conditions and knew how the letter would affect those. But given the information we have, she probably did not commit reckless homicide.

Negligently - Negligent homicide

A person is guilty of committing a crime negligently if “he should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct.” This is where things could go either way. As distinguished from a reckless mental state where the defendant must have actually disregarded a risk, here it just needs to be demonstrated that Renee should have been aware of the risk giving the fake letter to Bruno posed. The state could probably argue that Renee, being his housekeeper, should have been aware of his medical condition and his emotional dependence on the skull and known that the letter would really mess him up. On the other hand, Renee could probably easily argue that at most she would have anticipated that Bruno would’ve been emotionally distraught but that there was not a substantial risk of him literally having a heart attack and dying.

On balance, the issue of Bruno’s death is likely going to hinge on how much the jury believes the resulting heart attack from the letter was a high enough risk that Renee should have been aware of it. My guess is if the state couples both the Bruno and Nancy(we’ll get to that in a second) situations into one case, the jury will likely be sympathetic to Nancy’s testimony and therefore be more willing to find Renee guilty of other crimes.

Nancy’s Almost-Death

Woo hoo let’s talk about inchoate crimes, or essentially crimes that have not fully been realized. In this case, the state will probably argue that Renee attempted a homicide by leaving Nancy locked up in that crypt. Demonstrating an “attempt” has a slightly different mental state and action requirement, since it isn’t a fully completed crime. Here’s the full MPC definition of it and I’ll go through each possible element accordingly:

MPC § 5.01 “(1) Definition of Attempt

A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime if, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for commission of the crime, he:

(a) purposely engages in conduct which would constitute the crime if the attendant circumstances were as he believes them to be; or

(b) when causing a particular result is an element of the crime, does or omits to do anything with

the purpose of causing or with the belief that it will cause such result without further conduct on his part; or

(c) purposely does or omits to do anything which, under the circumstances as he believes them to be, is an act or omission constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in his commission of the crime.”

Let’s start with that first mental state requirement: “acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for commission of the crime.” Here, we need to specify exactly what kind of homicide we’re seeing if Renee attempted. The MPC does not allow people to be held liable for attempted negligent or reckless mens rea crimes(which makes sense. How do you “attempt to” be negligent at something), so it’s gonna have to fall into purposeful or knowing. Here, it seems like it was Renee’s conscious object to cause the result of Nancy sitting in that crypt until she died. Therefore, we’re gonna be looking to see if Renee attempted to commit intentional homicide aka murder.

I was going to address the actus reus elements individually, but the core question all three of them pretty must ask is had the circumstances been as the defendant believed would the social harm have occured? In this case, Nancy was able to escape from the crypt, but Renee did not have knowledge that there was a way to get out of the crypt. Therefore, had the facts been as Renee believed, with Nancy having no way to escape, Renee would have been able to bring about the result(Nancy’s death) that she wanted. Thus, Renee likely met the actus reus requirements of attempted murder.

A quick note on omission: It’s worth nothing that Renee didn’t technically “do” anything. She caught the skull like Nancy wanted her too and then just left; it’s not like she actively poisoned or stabbed someone. But, if you’ll notice, in § 5.01(b-c) it mentions both purposely doing an action as well as “omits to do anything with the purpose of….” Because Renee failed to help Nancy out of the crypt with the purpose of leaving Nancy there to die, she would have still met the actus reus requirement even without “doing” something. Generally, criminal law doesn’t like to hold people criminally responsible for not doing things(though there are some situations where a duty arises and an omission could make you liable), but here the elements requirement the mental state of “purposely” engaging in an omission to lead to a certain result. In other words, you’re only going to be liable for an omission if it was your conscious object that such an omission would lead to a social harm.

So, to wrap up, Renee will probably be found guilty of attempted murder for leaving Nancy in that crypt because her actions and comments (“Bye now, Nancy”) suggest it was her concious object to leave Nancy there to die. Bruno’s death might leave Renee liable for negligent homicide, but it’s going to really depend on how much the jury thinks it would have been reasonable for Renee to have thought Bruno could’ve died based on the letter.

In summary, was Nancy correct in saying, “While [Renee] may not have meant to cause Bruno’s death, she certainly meant to cause mine when she sealed me up in that crypt”? As the Mythbusters would say….plausible.

That was super long, but was actually very helpful for me prepping for my finals. If ya’ll have any other ND-related law analyses you’d be interest in me trying to do(if they relate to Criminal or Property law even better for my sake, but I also could do Contracts or Torts) please shoot them my way! Again, I am not a lawyer, but I have learned some things about the law and thought it’d be interesting to apply them to a medium I love.

#nancy drew #legend of the crystal skull #lawyer time #effort

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marinetteplztakeabreak · 4 years

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Félix vs. Chat Noir

I’ve seen so many people compare the scene with Ladybug punching Felix to the beginning of Frozer, and I wanted to give m own opinion. I totally believe that Chat Noir should be held to the same standards as anyone else, the fact that he’s known Ladybug for longer doesn’t entitle him to anything and the fact that he’s also Adrien who Marinette is in love with shouldn’t change what we let him get away with, because neither of them know that. HOWEVER, even considering all of this, Chat’s behavior in Frozer is such a different situation than Felix, the scenes can’t be directly compared because there are so many outside factors, from both Marinette and Adrien’s point of view, that change how they interact. (sorry this is really long, I’ll put it under a read more as soon as I’m able, I have it tagged as long post until then)

So the main argument is people saying that Chat Noir was being too pushy t the beginning of Frozer, because Marinette told him that she wasn’t interested in dating him but he was trying to ask her out anyways, and yes, I agree that he probably did make her uncomfortable or annoyed at the very least and that yes he was going against what she’d specifically asked him, but the thing is, people forget that the scene doesn’t stand on it’s own as a one-time interaction.

For all Ladybug knows. Adrien doesn’t know her well enough to have set any precedent for how he’s supposed to interact around her. Kind of like how you’re allowed to make fun of your friends once you know them well enough to know the difference between playful banter and what hurts their feelings. From Marinette’s point of view, Adrien knows nothing about Ladybug’s boundaries or her stance on relationships, so he would have no way of knowing whether she’s be okay with him confessing his love and kissing her. That’s why, if it had been him, it would’ve been so important for him to check with her before doing anything. On the rooftop, Felix confessed at what may have been a horrible time, when she was on a time limit and needed to go defeat three akumas and wouldn’t have possibly had the time to fully talk through the implications of what he had said. Then, while she was still working through things in her head and couldn’t possibly have had time to make an informed decision about how she felt about things, Felix tried to kiss her. And then the key moment for realizing it couldn’t possibly be Adrien was when she said “no” and he continued to try and kiss her, because that was directly going against what she had said, making her uncomfortable with no clear way out (he had her against a wall, it’s some mental gymnastics to think about who knew what and what they thought others knew, but long story short, from Marinette’s point of view it could’ve seemed like “Adrien” had purposely trapped her against the wall, not expecting her to escape). And could “Adrien” have gained out of this? Maybe getting to kiss his crush? At her expense? Not something that the real Adrien would ever be willing to sacrifice anyone’s comfort for.

Listen, I agree that any form of sexual harassment, no matter how “minor” or “small-scale” is a very bad thing. I agree that Felix was in the wrong and deserved to be punched, and if it had been the real Adrien acting that way, he would’ve deserved to be punched just as much. I also believe that Chat Noir should be held to the same standard. And one more time, before I do start analyzing the begging of Frozer, I want to say again that I don’t think Chat Noir was perfect by any means, or that he should be immune to criticism. I just think that this scene is often unfairly used against him when he didn’t do most of the things people use as arguments against him.

First of all, you need to remember that Chat Noir is Chat Noir. His primary job is to protect the city from akumas. This forces him to have certain priorities. He needs to communicate with Ladybug, because if he can’t, it puts the entire world in danger. Especially because he’s largely treated as the sidekick, it’s more his job to protect Ladybug and Ladybug’s job to protect the city. And the secret identity rule makes it really hard for them to know details about what’s going on in the others’ life. Also the 5 minute rule means that they rarely just get to sit down and talk about life. Most of their interactions are high-stakes and rushed, and then as soon as they can stop focusing on the threat they part ways until next time. This doesn’t give Chat Noir much time to be subtle or slowly talk about his feelings and ideas to Ladybug. And then, also remember that Chat is loyal to Ladybug almost to a fault. Remember when he literally let himself almost fall to his death because he refused to go against Ladybug’s wishes and compromise his secret identity? He goes along with her plans instinctively in battle, doing what she says before he can even think about it, and while he clearly dislikes having to keep his secret identity a secret, he doesn’t ever really complain. He has countless opportunities to find out who she is, times where he could’ve just turned around a corner where he knew she had detransformed, or times where he could’ve literally just opened his eyes and saw her, but he absolutely refused to betray her trust. And then of course there’s all the times tat he’s sacrificed himself to save her. And then there’s all the moments when he’s put her mental and emotional health before his own. In Glaciator, when she told him that there was another boy, he didn’t push. He tried his best to be supportive of her and told her that it was okay, trying to hide that he was hurt (and even if you claim that he did a bad job of trying, that’s not really his fault, he still made the active effort to suppress his own emotions to protect her feelings, he’s not going to be perfect at it, he’s literally a traumatized 14 year old, but the effort was there). There are other moments: like when he mostly took over in Miracle Queen because she was so worried he could tell that she was panicking and needed someone else to be in charge. So it’s very obvious that he listens to what she says, and also that her ideas impact his life very directly because he follows them so completely. That also shows why it’s important to both the world and to Adrien’s health that Ladybug listens to Chat Noir as well. Throughout most of the series, Chat puts Ladybug’s ideas and health far before his own and doesn’t tend to speak up even when he’s uncomfortable with her plans (especially the identity thing) While Ladybug does make some attempts to listen to Chat Noir, by a combination of her feeling like she’s responsible for the group and the fact that Adrien often hides his feelings and doesn’t argue often, Chat Noir gets pushed to the sidelines a lot.

Which brings us to Frozer. The main difference in this conversation is that Chat Noir is taking a stance against Ladybug, which we’re not used to seeing. His entire” rant” at the beginning (which is probably the wrong word, he’s not ranting so much as spilling out his dreams), but from what I got, it’s less about him wanting to date Ladybug than about him wanting to tell her his secret identity. And people say that he could’ve picked a more appropriate time, except could he have actually? This is how almost all their interactions go. When was the last time that they were just hanging out with no danger stalking the city? The akuma’s been defeated, they’re not even on patrol so they don’t need to be on the lookout for danger, and Ladybug implies that she just wants to go home as soon as se detransforms, so I really don’t think that Chat had any opportunity to just talk to her in a while. And yes, there is the pressure of being about to detransform, but if Ladybug wanted to extend the conversation, all she’d need to do would be to hop away for a few minutes to recharge. She seems a bit frustrated, but she doesn’t look upset, she knows that if she did detransform in front of Chat Noir that he’d close his eyes unless and until she told him he could open them, regardless of how much he wanted to stop keeping secrets. And she was never trapped, she could’ve left anytime she wanted to.

Another important thing to consider is that most of this scene takes place in Adrien’s “daydream work” We don’t know how much of it he said out loud. At the end of the episode Marinette gives a similar speech to Adrien in her daydream world and it turns out that none of it was said out loud. So holding something against Adrien because he thought it in his head and then didn’t say it out loud isn’t a very strong argument. But even if we go ahead and assume that he said most of it to Ladybug, and even if it did make her feel bad, there’s still important factors to remember.

He wasn’t actually being pushy with about the things people say he was. He wasn’t pressuring her to reveal her secret identity or to date hin. He just wanted his side of the argument to be heard so that she was aware it was an argument. Ge just wanted to be able to say how he felt which he hadn’t yet if you think about it. He’s flirted with her many times but it’s clear that those weren’t serious to her, she was flirting back and didn’t even realize that he liked her until Glaciator. And then in Glaciator he did say how he felt, but when she said there was another boy, he said he was happy for her and just wanted her to be happy. It was entirely possible that she had no idea that he still even liked her. Also, Chat Noir had no details on the other boy, whether he was a boyfriend or crush, how serious it was, whether he was still in the picture, and Ladybug was so concerned with secret identities she wasn’t going to share if something changed. So Adrien went into this interaction with very little information, and then he was only trying to share that he had a crush on her, which impacted how he interacted with her and his everyday life.

Compare this to how Marinette acts with Adrien. I’m not trying to insult her, she has a lot going on, but her efforts to confess her love to Adrien are much less healthy than Chat Noir’s approach. She pays no attention to timing (for example, literally confessing on the anniversary of his mother’s death), she’s willing to hurt others in her jealously (just look at how she treats Kagami for most of season 3), and she doesn’t really pay attention to his feelings or how confessing her love may complicate his life. It’s all about confessing her love and how that could affect her, and rarely about how it could affect Adrien, and her refusal to admit she has a crush on him has caused a decent amount of harm at this point, from making her break into his locker and steal his phone to the fact that it made him really sad and convinced that she hated him in Puppeteer 2.0. It’s hurting Marinette and it’s hurting her current relationship with Adrien.

Then, Chat Noir confessing his love to Ladybug because he needs her to know how he feels IS the healthy option. He’s communicating, he isn’t forcing her to do anything she doesn’t want to. Also, she has said out loud that she would want to date him if it weren’t for the other boy, and from his point of view this does seem to be causing her stress. She’d be the best possible person to sit down and talk this through with.

He’s also mostly talking about how keeping their identities secret and hiding things from each other sucks, which is a really fair point, it is causing a whole lot of stress, and they may be able to be a better superhero team if they know eachother’s identities. So it’s another point of him just wanting to communicate with her, he still definitely wants to hear what she has to say back, he doesn’t want to dominate the conversation, he just wants to be able to talk. And he’s not too pushy about it either. There’s never a point where Marinette feels threatened that he’d actually give up his secret identity if she didn’t give him permission.

It’s not fair to expect that Adrien would put Ladybug’s comfort above his own needs 100% of the time. This was something actually causing him stress and impacting him every day, both the identity thing and the crush thing, and he needed to talk to someone about it. And when she did say no, he listened, and even made and attempt to move on. Then he stepped back and respectfully continued waiting on Ladybug.

Mental health and communication is even more vital in the world where Hawkmoth fights by akumatizing people, and expecting Adrien to suppress and hide his feelings because they might make Ladybug slightly uncomfortable just isn’t healthy. She doesn’t have to date him, obviously, but she should listen to him when he really needs to talk, because like it or not, they are Ladybug and Chat Noir, and they need to be a team.

Like even the fact that he’s just talking with her, not forcing anything on her, is a major difference. It’ would’ve been very different if Ladybug had said no and then Felix had said “wait why not” and then she said “it’s literally just no I can’t tell you details” and then Felix had been confused but was like “um ok I guess if you say so” and then left. Which is still less then what Chat Noir did to ensure she was comfortable.

So yeah there’s a huge difference between “hey this has been an issue that actually threatens my ability to work to save the entire world and also just hurts me specifically and I’ve tried for months to hide it but I don’t think repression is the best idea anymore and there’s never going to be a good time so I really need you to listen to my side of the story for one minute, because if we’re going to be superhero partners we need to be able to talk to each other and I don’t feel listened to” which was phrased to be as non-accusatory as possible, versus “hey you’ve interacted with me like twice but I’m a cute celebrity and I have a crush on you so therefore you obviously like me back, I’m going to assume you want to kiss me without talking to you about it and then take your confusions and concern as evidence that you like me and I should go ahead and kiss you” They’re so different om so many levels and it’s clear that Felix was acting much more creepily while Chat Noir was legitimately doing his best, and Chat issue’s only come from the fact that the situation was already so complicated that his best may not have been enough.

To put it all together. No, I’m not blaming Marinette for Chat’s outburst in Frozer, no, I don’t think she deserves to hurt or that he deserves to have Ladybug date him by some dumb law of friendzoning logic. Yes, I think Marinette is legitimately trying her best to do what she thinks is right as a superhero, and yes, Adrien could’ve gone about the entire confrontation in a better way, but I think that he still did a really good job, and that the confrontation did actually need to happen, and that he put literally all the effort he could into making her comfortable both before it happened and during it.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #mlb #discourse #chat noir #adrien agreste #felix spoilers #ml adrien #frozer #long post

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bleachintothemultiverse · 4 years

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THE BIG BLEACH HC MEME centering around politics, repost & fill out! For anyone who wanted to explore those aspects more, considering it played a big role in the story. Some things may be unknown to your Muse, just think in WHAT IF then & well, have fun and take your time!

BASICS

Name: Byakuya Kuchiki / / / Age: 200+ / / / Gender: male Race: Shinigami / Quincy / Hollow / Fullbringer / Visored / Human / Other Currently lives: Soul Society / Hueco Mundo / Silbern / Living World / Hell Exact Location: Soul society. (Division six or kuchiki manor) Group(s): Gotei 13.

QUESTIONS

- Would your muse consider themselves more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - Would your muse consider their group more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see them: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their race: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their group: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ?

- Is your muse considered a threat: YES / NO ? From whom?: Anyone who challenges the soul society. - Is your muse powerful: YES / NO ? Could they be considered OP: YES / NO ? //he has like three bankai forms??// - Did your muse commit any crimes: YES / NO ? //does loopholes count as crimes??// - Does your muse think they are doing mostly the right thing: YES / NO ? - Would society think the same: YES / NO / MIXED OPINIONS ?

- Does your muse think they are treated unfairly: YES / NO ? - Does your muse feel understood from others: YES / NO ? - Is it important for them what others think of them as a person: YES / NO ? (As a noble- its require for him to keep a good image) - Would they welcome death: YES / NO ? - Will they ever find peace: YES / NO ?

01.0. Do they fully stand behind the group they are part of? YES / NO. Why is that? Explain: His his whole life- He grew up in the soul society. He has great pride in following its law and traditions. Even if he knows some of them are outdated.

02.0. Do they like as things are in Soul Society? YES / NO / INDIFFERENT. 02.1. Is there anything they would change? Explain here: He would like to change the unfair noble traditions that are there. He does believe some of the laws in the soul society are very corrupt- but he knows that change is useless and that he cannot do anything about it with out causing conflict or bring dishonor towards his family.

03.0. Would they ever actively try to bring change (in general)? YES / NO. (passive change) 03.1. Is your muse more: passive / active ? Introverted / Extroverted ? 03.2. Does your muse care more about: others / themselves ? (He cares about his comrades then his self, despite not showing it.) 03.3. Do they trouble their mind over a lot of problems, others? YES / NO. 03.4. Do they mostly involve: the world / everyone / themselves / comrades / friends / family / elderly / kids / teenagers / home / workplace / strangers / souls / humans / quincy / shinigami / nobles / fullbringer / visored / hollows / espada / arrancar / (former) boss(es) / pets / animals / zanpakuto spirit / enemies / partner / lovers / soul king / god / other…(add more) 03.5. Name (up to) three which are the most on their mind (optional, adding names): Rukia. Protecting his comrades. work.

04.0. Do they think frequently about politics? YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Why is that? Explain: As a captain- He has to get involved with politics. Not to mention his family has access to the soul society Archive. So he is well verse in Soul society politics.

05.0. How do they feel in their current location: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 05.1. Why is that?: He is fine where he is at. he has no complaints as he a noble and can use loopholes to get what he wants. Not to mention, he is around people he has the most respect and love for. So he is pretty happy with his current location.

06.0. Does your muse have any goal: YES / NO ? BIG / SMALL ? 06.1. Does it involve anything world-changing: YES / NO ? 06.2. If goal or not, any future plans? Share here: He doesn’t really have any future plans? He is pretty content with how things are at the moment.

07.0. Does your muse know about the Original Sin of Soul Society*: YES / NO ? * curious? Read about it here. 07.1. If they knew, would it change their views on Soul Society: YES / NO ? 07.2. More: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ?

08.0. Who is the worst person in their eyes?: Aizen 08.1. What should happen to them? Execution (quick / slow death) / Imprisonment / Stripped of their powers / Torture / Repay for their sins / Pay a Fine / Social Work / lose their loved ones / Exile / other… (add more). 08.2. Explanation: Aizen did many treason acts. Byakuya agrees that the soul society should change- but not the way that Aizen was doing it. Not to mention- it was because of Aizen that Rukia got in trouble and almost executed. So he agrees with the punishment that was given to Aizen, sense Aizen cannot be killed.

09.0. Thoughts on: Quincy Massacre if they knew: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 09.1. Would they be alright with such thing happening again: YES / NO / INDIFFERENT ? 09.2. Would they try to prevent it: YES / NO / DEPENDS ? 09.3. Explanation: Byakuya is not a fan of genocide. He isn’t a fan of the Quincy- But to go so far to kill all of them is to far in his eyes. But if Central 46 ordered another massacre- and if he couldn’t find a loophole out of it. He would follow that Order- He was taught sense he was a child to follow orders given to him. Even if they weren’t morally right.

10.0. Would they ever switch sides: YES / NO ? 10.1. If yes, What could bring them to do so?: - 10.2. Would they create a new one: YES / NO ? or join a current one? If so, which: -

11.0. Does your muse follow a certain moral code*?: YES / NO / GRAY AREA ? 11.1. What does it involve?: He has a moral code of keeping up with the laws and traditions of the soul society. But he will find loopholes out of them if possible, if they are ridiculous with his noble influence. 11.2. What does it NOT involve?: anything that would cause major damage against the rules and the traditions of the soul society. (That isn’t loopholes)

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE GROUPS ?

Central 46: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Byakuya Knows good and well that they are corrupted. He heavily disagreed on some of there choices during his life. But never fully acted against them, that wasn’t a loophole. That wouldn’t get him or his family in trouble.

Four Great Noble Clans: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: He is the head of the Kuchiki family, he has great respect for the clans.

Royal Guards / Gotei 13: positive / negative / neutral . ━ because: He has full respect for the Gotei 13 as he is a captain. There for he respects mostly all of the captains that ever worked along him. But when it comes to the royal guard. He doesn’t really have a opinion on? He sees him as a higher respect as they earned that rank. but other then that. He doesn’t really have a full on opinion about them.

Fullbringer: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Well one of them gave him trauma by screwing with his past and memories. he sees them nothing as more as Shinigami wannabes who just steals powers that isn’t rightfully there’s.

Visored: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Well- some of the captains are visoreds. He has some what of a respect for those who became a captain. He used to think of them as exiles who were rightfully exile- because they did something illegal- but after learning that Aizen was the one who turned them in that. His opinions on them change to a extend. knowing they didn’t intend to break the laws. Not to mention they helped in the fight against Aizen- so he has negative opinions turned to positive ones over time.

Espada: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: They work under Aizen. He seems them nothing but a thread to him and the soul society. Not to mention one of them literally tried to use Rukia against him. So he has hard feelings towards the Espada’s

Quincy: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: He has mix opinions about the Quincy. He knows why they are mad at the shinigami. They have every right to be. But he doesn’t believe in there goal and full on hatred towards the shinigami. He doesn’t fully hate them, but he won’t heistate to kill one of them if they threaten his family or his self, not to mention, he was literally almost killed by one of them. So his opinions on them are mostly negative to a point.

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE (IMPORTANT) PEOPLE ?

Aizen: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Treason acts. almost causing Rukia to die. Trying to over throw the soul society and the soul king. Literally becoming god. Byakuya heavily disagree with the purpose of trying to become a god. He agreed that the soul society needed to change- but not like the change Aizen was trying to purpose. Aizen was doing it for his self- not for the good of the soul society. There are better ways to impose change then becoming a god.

Yhwach: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: He tried to throw off the balance between the worlds and started a war with the shinigami. He wouldn’t really agree with the standards of his policy. Seeing him nothing more as a lesser Aizen, who almost achieved the goal of united all realms. Which would of threw off the balance of the soul society.

Mayuri: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Byakuya finds Mayuri to be creepy and rather stay away from him at all times. But he also has low respect for him because he is a captain, and is doing a good job at keeping division 12 running. Even if he may or may not be doing human experiments.

Kurosaki: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Byakuya has high respect for Ichigo. After all Ichigo did save his sister and helped stop Aizen. Ichigo is one of the only people- he would allow Rukia to marry. If she wanted. But he would never admit any of his feelings out loud about how he feels about Ichigo. But over all- he has high respects for him.

Soul King: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: He sees the soul king as great importance to the soul society and the realms them selves to keep balance. But over all- he doesn’t really see him as anything else but that. He is supposed to be a god, but Byakuya doesn’t really see him as a god. Just some one who has great importance, there for he doesn’t really have any opinions on the soul king either way.

EXTRA(optional): add more characters which hold some meaning to your muse.

Rukia: Little sister, and some one who he truly loves platonically of course. he would do anything in his power for his little sister to keep her safe. Even if he won’t show it to her. Tsukishima: He only holds meaning to him- as some one who messed with his memories and past- because of that. He dislikes him greatly but he also considers him as a rival to a point of, he would be willing to train him with him in the future. He is the one of the only people to fully get past his safe zone and catch him off guard. Renji: Holds great respect for his Fukutaichou. Does believe that one day Renji will get strong enough to finally beat him in a duel. But for now- is glad that Renji is willing to work under him and follow him through hell and back.

CONGRATS, you managed till to the end, now tag your fellow bleach partners!

TAGGED BY: @skyvar TAGGING: @viciousvizard @dragonflyofiron @ofdeathandwinterstrawberries @rukia-kuchiki-divided @gentleshinigami. @wild-pineapple-butt anyone else who wants to steal this.

#Byakuya headcanon #//Aaa my wrist hurts #//thank you for the tag uwu #//I still need to finish reading the thousand year blood war arc #//So this might change in the future #//hopefully i coped this right >.<

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theculturedmarxist · 4 years

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Idiotic “Conspiracy Theory”: John Boyega was cast as one of the leads in Star Wars because The Jews want to normalize miscegenation in an effort to effiminize American men and replace the White race!

Legitimate theory of a conspiracy: The Democrats have repeatedly stated how unpopular Bernie Sanders is with the wealthy capitalists that make up and fund their party leadership in spite of his overwhelming public support, and considering the political and professional ties of those involved and the vested interest the wealthy have in not seeing a man that wants to increase their taxes and undo some of the harm they’ve caused to the working class, the events in Iowa are at least somewhat suspicious.

The bourgeoisie get so incredibly nervous whenever people question their narrative because they are literally conspiring against the working class all the fucking time. This is in spite of the fact that they themselves admit it, boldly and openly. It’s just that when they do, they don’t use the words “conspiracy.”

Behind a Key Anti-Labor Case, a Web of Conservative Donors

In the summer of 2016, government workers in Illinois received a mailing that offered them tips on how to leave their union. By paying a so-called fair-share fee instead of standard union dues, the mailing said, they would no longer be bound by union rules and could not be punished for refusing to strike.

“To put it simply,” the document concluded, “becoming a fair-share payer means you will have more freedom.”

The mailing, sent by a group called the Illinois Policy Institute, may have seemed like disinterested advice. In fact, it was one prong of a broader campaign against public-sector unions, backed by some of the biggest donors on the right. It is an effort that will reach its apex on Monday, when the Supreme Court hears a case that could cripple public-sector unions by allowing the workers they represent to avoid paying fees.

One of the institute’s largest donors is a foundation bankrolled by Richard Uihlein, an Illinois industrialist who has spent millions backing Republican candidates in recent years, including Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois.

Tax filings show that Mr. Uihlein has also been the chief financial backer in recent years of the Liberty Justice Center, which represents Mark Janus, the Illinois child support specialist who is the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case.

And Mr. Uihlein has donated well over $1 million over the years to groups like the Federalist Society that work to orient the judiciary in a more conservative direction. They have helped produce a Supreme Court that most experts expect to rule in Mr. Janus’s favor.

The case illustrates the cohesiveness with which conservative philanthropists have taken on unions in recent decades. “It’s a mistake to look at the Janus case and earlier litigation as isolated episodes,” said Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, a Columbia University political scientist who studies conservative groups. “It’s part of a multipronged, multitiered strategy.”

Today, MLB's Owners Decide How To Wage War

MLB's 30 owners will meet in Baltimore today to elect the first new commissioner since Bud Selig took the reins in 1992—unless there is enough discord and politicking to prevent any candidate from receiving the required 23 votes. Which there almost certainly is! Today will see the first open, public battle in a vicious power struggle that promises to define MLB's relationship with its players over the coming decades, and, more immediately, the likelihood of a work stoppage in 2016.

The three finalists named by the search committee last week are MLB COO Rob Manfred, MLB VP of business Tim Brosnan, and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner.

As has been reported out over recent weeks and months by The New York Times, this is a two-horse race between Manfred, Selig's underboss and presumptive successor, and Werner, a dark-horse candidate backed by a coalition of maverick owners led by White Sox boss Jerry Reinsdorf.

The battle here is not between Manfred and Werner; it's between Selig and Reinsdorf, two of the last remnants of baseball's old guard from the biliously anti-labor power structure of the 1980s, when owners illegally colluded to fix the free agency market to keep salaries down. (As always, it's important to remember that the players' strike of 1994 was really about the owners' collusion in the 1980s.)

Koch Brothers’ Internal Strategy Memo on Selling Tax Cuts: Ignore The Deficit

The billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch spent much of the eight years of the Obama presidency stoking fears about the budget deficit. Their political network aired an unending cascade of campaign advertisements against Democratic politicians, sponsored several national bus tours, and paid organizers in communities across the country to mobilize public demonstrations, all focused on the dangers of increasing the deficit.

One such ad even warned that government debt would lead to a Chinese takeover of America — which, for many voters, is a concern linked to debt. Another effort, also quietly bankrolled by the Koch network, used Justin Bieber memes to try to reach millennials about too much government borrowing.

Now that Republicans control all levers of power in Washington and the Koch brothers are poised to reap a windfall of billions of dollars through tax cuts, they have a new message: Don’t worry about the deficit.

The Intercept obtained a messaging memo from the Koch brothers’ network on how to sell tax reform legislation. The memo went out to members of the network of likeminded Republican donors, which includes dozens of wealthy investors and business executives.

“Network,” “web,” “association,” “coalition,” “group,” “foundation.” When you strip away all the corporate newspeak, they are saying that these people are engaged in a conspiracy.

Historically, anti-labor conspiracies have themselves been big business. Just take the Mohawk Valley Formula for example:

The Mohawk Valley formula is a plan for strikebreaking purportedly written by the president of the Remington Rand company James Rand, Jr. around the time of the Remington Rand strike at Ilion, New York in 1936/37.

The plan includes discrediting union leaders, frightening the public with the threat of violence, using local police and vigilantes to intimidate strikers, forming associations of "loyal employees" to influence public debate, fortifying workplaces, employing large numbers of replacement workers, and threatening to close the plant if work is not resumed.[1][2]

The authenticity of the written plan has never been clearly established. Although it was allegedly published in the National Association of Manufacturers Labor Relations Bulletin, no original copy has been found, nor does NAM list it among its pamphlets from that era.[3][non-primary source needed] Parts of the plan use language sympathetic to the views of labor organizers. The Remington Rand company did indeed ruthlessly suppress the strikes, as documented in a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, and the plan has been accepted as a guide to the methods that were used. At least one source names the strikebreaker Pearl Bergoff and his so-called "Bergoff Technique" as the origin of the formula.[4] Rand and Bergoff were both indicted by the same federal grand jury for their roles in the Remington Rand strike.

Noam Chomsky has described the formula as the result of business owners' trend away from violent strikebreaking to a "scientific" approach based on propaganda. An essential feature of this approach is the identification of the management's interests with "Americanism," while labor activism is portrayed as the work of un-American outsiders. Workers are thus persuaded to turn against the activists and toward management to demonstrate their patriotism.[5][6]

The following is the text of the Mohawk Valley formula as quoted in the labor press:

When a strike is threatened, label the union leaders as "agitators" to discredit them with the public and their own followers. Conduct balloting under the foremen to ascertain the strength of the union and to make possible misrepresentation of the strikers as a small minority. Exert economic pressure through threats to move the plant, align bankers, real estate owners and businessmen into a "Citizens' Committee".

Raise high the banner of "law and order", thereby causing the community to mass legal and police weapons against imagined violence and to forget that employees have equal rights with others in the community.

Call a "mass meeting" to coordinate public sentiment against the strike and strengthen the Citizens' Committee.

Form a large police force to intimidate the strikers and exert a psychological effect. Utilize local police, state police, vigilantes and special deputies chosen, if possible, from other neighborhoods.

Convince the strikers their cause is hopeless with a "back-to-work" movement by a puppet association of so-called "loyal employees" secretly organized by the employer.

When enough applications are on hand, set a date for opening the plant by having such opening requested by the puppet "back-to-work" association.

Stage the "opening" theatrically by throwing open the gates and having the employees march in a mass protected by squads of armed police so as to dramatize and exaggerate the opening and heighten the demoralizing effect.

Demoralize the strikers with a continuing show of force. If necessary turn the locality into a warlike camp and barricade it from the outside world.

Close the publicity barrage on the theme that the plant is in full operation and the strikers are merely a minority attempting to interfere with the right to work. With this, the campaign is over—the employer has broken the strike.[2]

A similar, although more nuanced and longer, version was published in The Nation in 1937.[1]

The louder the capitalists cry and whinge about “conspiracy theories” the more certain you can be that the capitalists are engaged in a fucking conspiracy.

#conspiracy #conspiracy theories #conspiracy theory #bernie sanders #bernie sander for president #bernie sanders for president #iowa caucus #democratic national convention #democratic party #democrats #capitalism #overthrow the bourgeoisie #down with the bourgeoisie #koch brothers #supreme court

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