Dahlia's Chaos

Dahlie "Decacat" Devonshire posts some fun stuff

[itssofluffy-im-gonna-die]

‎”THROUGH A RAPIST’S EYES” (PLS TAKE TIME TO READ THIS. it may save a life.) Reblog this!

   It seems that alot of attackers use some tactic to get away with violence. Not many people know how to take care of themselves when faced with such a situation. Everyone should read this especially each n every girl in this world. THOUGHT THIS WAS GOOD INFO TO PASS ALONG… FYI - Through a rapist’s eyes! A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts: 1] The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun! , braid, or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets. 2] The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who’s clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing. 3] They also look for women using their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered. 4] The number one place women are abducted from / attacked at is grocery store parking lots. 5] Number two is office parking lots/garages. 6] Number three is public restrooms. 7] The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to a second location where they don’t have to worry about getting caught. 8] If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn’t worth it because it will be time-consuming. 9] These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas,or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands. 10] Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you’re not worth it. ———————————————————————————————————————————- POINTS THAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER: 1] If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: can’t believe it is so cold out here, we’re in for a bad winter. Now that you’ve seen their faces and could identify them in a line- up, you lose appeal as a target.

  2] If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they’d leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would  not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target. 3] If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent. 4] If someone grabs you, you can’t beat them with strength but you can do it by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper inner thigh - HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it really hurts. 5] After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy’s parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you’ll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause him a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he’s out of there. 6] When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly. 7] Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don’t dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel little silly at the time, but you’d feel much worse if the guy really was trouble. ——————————————————————————————————————————- FINALLY, PLEASE REMEMBER THESE AS WELL …. I know you are smart enough to know these pointers but there will be some, where you will go “hmm I must remember that” After reading forward it to someone you care about, never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in. 1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do it. 2. Learned this from a tourist guide to New Orleans : if a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you…. chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives. 4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side,put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU CLOSE the DOORS , LEAVE.  

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: a. Be aware: look around your car as someone may be hiding at the passenger side , peek into your car, inside the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. ( DO THIS TOO BEFORE RIDING A TAXI CAB) . b. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. c. Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)  

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot). 7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN! 8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.   

Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it’s better safe than sorry. If u have a heart or compassion reblog this post. ‘Helping hands are better than Praying Lips’ – give us your helping hand.

  REBLOG THIS AND LET EVERY GIRL KNOW ATLEAST PEOPLES WILL KNOW WATS GOIN IN THIS WORLD. So please reblog this….Your one reblog can Help to spread this information. I hope you all will Reblog. Lets See how many of you really care for this.

[lovlace-deactivated20130206]

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT REBLOGGING THIS! IT COULD ACTUALLY SAVE A LIFE.

[nutritious-emo-crackkk-deactiva]

APRIL 24 HAS BEEN TURNED INTO NATIONAL RAPE DAY.

PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT GO OUTSIDE.

[dreamboatdani]

IMPORTANT!!!

[cr0wbonezz-wr1ting-inc]

REBLOG THIS POST. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR BLOG’S AESTHETIC IS. THIS SAVES LIVES.

[moonandblossoms]

⚠ IMPORTANT. PLEASE REBLOG! ⚠

[loobs-ki]

REBLOG

[sasusakusimpsblog]

REBLOG this post now

[decadentparadisekitty]

All women are abusers

aight

[it-appears-that-bruno-has-deact]

[dericbindel]

I follow this artist on twitter. He's great! He's a gay deaf filipino artist. His stuff is all really cute, and he does a lot of stuff with filipino sign language. Genuinely a big fan of his style.

People really fucking can't take that gay people take all forms, can they...

[uncomfortablecliche]

uhh the artist’s sexual identity or being deaf doesn’t suddenly change the tacky art style, lack of plot, and nonsensical storytelling.

this 10000% is something one of the fujoshi type girls would draw in catholic school.

[the-rad-menace]

Based on the style I'm almost certain the artist is FtM.

[imstealth]

I know you TERFs are as smart as rocks, and I also know you guys have literally never talked to cis gay men in art spaces, but CJ Reynaldo is a cis gay furry who draws bara and his artstyle for comics is very much just. A normal artstyle that cis men have.

Like I know there are a few artstyles that a lot of FTMs have because they all root back to the same 5 Tumblr artists but this is not one of them. Go to any digital art course and see the art gay men draw, I'm convinced you'd assume half of them look like "FTM artstyles" because you just. Clearly don't know enough cis gay digital artists.

I knowwwww you guys always think FTMs draw cringe gay art because muh fetishism but cis gay guys draw shit just as cringe, just with less emphasis on fandom ships, usually. It's not because of fetishism, it's actually because people who do digital art are fucking cringe dorks.

[decadentparadisekitty]

the discourse cannot be “do cis gays make better shit than trans men” oh my god

[lucy8675309]

OK Tumblr Geriatric Ward, let’s talk about your posture-

there are things you should be doing now to prevent yourself from starting to look like 🥀

Why does it matter? Future you would like to avoid the pain, limited motion, and fall risk that goes along with worsening posture.

What’s the focus?

1. Keep the flexibility in your spine

2. Stretch the muscles in the front

3. Strengthen the muscle in the back

Here are some simple things you can do daily while sitting and when you get up to go into the bathroom or the kitchen

Keep the flexibility by doing these repeated movements: 10 repetitions several times a day

The goal is to give yourself a double or triple chin. Keep your nose pointing forward, don’t let it tip up or down

Thoracic extension- use a chair with a seat back that comes up to the level of your shoulder blades. Try to bend back over the top of the chair without arching away from the seat back and without extending your neck. If the pressure from the top of the chair is uncomfortable you can place a towel there

Stretch the muscles in the front by using a door frame. This one will feel good afterwards

If this isn’t enough of a stretch you can do one side at a time. If you have the right arm up step forward with the right foot and turn slightly to the left. Then do it on the other side.

Strengthen the muscles in the back by squeezing your shoulder blades together for a count of 10 and then repeating 10 times. You can do this several times a day Hint: Don’t lift your shoulder blades up

There are lots more exercises for strengthening your back muscles but this is a good starting point and easy to do. I like doing it while driving

Tips:

Do the best you can

If it hurts stop

Envision future you saying thank you each time you do one of the exercises

[brightlotusmoon]

NOTE: I can do most of these with the cerebral palsy. In fact, a lot of these little exercises are automatically part of my physical therapy. My problem is I already have hyperlordosis, spine arthritis, and cervicogenic headache. These have helped me at least try to have a posture.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW GOOD THIS ADVICE IS

[mpregeminem]

some ppl will be like im deranged. ooooooh i love fucked up media. did you know that im utterly insane. and you go to their blogs and it's 3 pages straight of dean and cas eating plain toast and raising a baby together or whatever

[cor-ardens-archive]

it would actually

[vulgarette]

VARG AND DASHA FIGHTING ON TWITTER LMFAOOOOOO

[vulgarette]

You cannot make this shit up 😭

[epilepticsaints]

Jesus Christ

[epilepticsaints]

look at this:

[gentlemen-i-am-fucked]

So... I have mixed feelings about this chapter.

On the one hand, everything’s been cleared up! Where everyone stands has been flat-out stated so that all readers can be on the same page. John is very clearly not a good guy anymore, no matter how sympathetic he was in the past, and trying to argue that he’s not is just wishful thinking at this point.

On the other hand... I’m not too happy with this new direction. John was quite clearly set up to be a sympathetic protagonist, powers be damned, and he was a good one. He had in the past fallen victim to an unhealthy mindset and become a toxic person, which he had recovered from to become more healthy and willing to work constructively towards a better society. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the flashbacks he shares with Sera - he singlehandedly convinced her to reject the trappings of a toxic society. That arc is extremely cathartic to read as a result.

All in all, John was great. He was easy to root for and feel for, and his struggle seemed so organic - he could have just shown off and become king of Wellston, but instead he recognised his weaknesses and played to his strengths, trying to create reform from the ground up, even if it mean he had to sacrifice a great deal of personal comfort and get socially ostracised and beaten up every day.

There’s a reason John at the beginning of the story we so compelling, and that was his motivation. He had recognised a failing and a shortcoming in society, and he was willing to do anything to fix it organically, rather than just jumping at it from a position of power like Rei did, and the superheroes did. These characters showed us why John’s organic approach was so essential in a society so opposed to change, and we respected John for his goals.

This was also a reason why the twist that John was a high-tier was so good - reliably, one who is oppressed will be looking to fight oppression, but John is made so much more interesting because he very specifically isn’t one of the oppressed group. In fact, he’s one of the elite. Everything he suffers, he suffers out of choice and not necessity. Sure, he may have experienced oppression previously (whilst researching John, Isen found records that before his second-year in Bostin, John was very lowly-ranked, perhaps even a true ‘cripple’), but he was very quick to shed that and embrace elite life when his true ability became apparent. Invariably, John at the beginning was an altruistic individual who had grown from his mistakes and decided he would give up everything he could have based on his ability - a high social standing, a universal respect, and a comfy life - in favour of trying to combat the hierarchy. This is what made his friendship with Sera so powerful and great - he worked for it, and worked to help her break out of a toxic mindset like he had done. It’s why Arlo’s betrayal hurts so much - John offered olive branches, tried to make Arlo see that there was a better way, and yet Arlo still looked at him and saw someone to be taken down.

This is why I took such a dislike to the Joker arc. It took everything impressive and compelling about John’s character and took the tipp-ex to it like gritty live-action reebok would have done. The fact that John’s character was boiled down to “lol AGRESSIVE EDGY WHITE BOI” was in part frustrating because we’d specifically seen him grow past this, goddamn it, and because it took away everything that made him so compelling.

Now, we have other characters - namely Remi, Blyke, and Isen - stepping in to fill the role of Plucky Heroes Working to Better Society, with Remi specifically following a similar trajectory to John at the beginning of the story.

Just one problem.

If this was the story that wanted to be told, why did we spend 100+ episodes on John’s character arc, which was erased with the purchase of one (1) mask and some very bad decisions? If Remi was supposed to be the ubiquitous hero, then why didn’t we also start with her as the protagonist? If John was supposed to become an evil dickbag and a villain, why didn’t he start out as a thinly-veiled dickbag who played with others and manipulated them because he wanted to watch the world burn, instead of a sympathetic protagonist who suddenly does a 180?

I know it sounds like I’m bashing unordinary - and that’s not my intention, I really do love the comic, and Remi, Blyke and Isen, I would die for - but this complete butchery of John’s character vexes me to no end, precisely because he was so compelling.

Right now, it seems that the Joker arc is being salvaged, and things are being clarified after the muddle that had thrown the status quo into a cell and mangled it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to shake up the status quo - but the way it was done here also twisted the characters, making it seem like the story was driving them instead of the other way round.

I feel this like from Isen sums it up.

If someone had told me this about John before the Joker arc, I’d have asked them which dark AU this was from. Now, it fits John’s character, but at the same time, John’s character no longer fits him as we knew him. He’s spiralled into anarchy and chaos with seemingly very little reason - sure, Arlo had him beaten up and Sera was picked on after she lost her ability - but given that he’d been taking this shit on the chin and wearing it, that shouldn’t have been enough to make him go full dark side!

However, I do feel the story has taken on a direction I’m more on board with; namely, that students are taking responsibility and trying to better their society. Even so, I still feel a little sad about what we lost. I enjoyed Remi’s line about John, and it’s satisfying to see her recognise that John’s not just some Edgy but Saveable Good Boi UwU (looking at you, Kyle Ron), but still, the wording was a little bittersweet.

I, for one, would have loved it if that were true.

[decadentparadisekitty]

me personally i didn't feel that he grew past it in the first part of the comic.

Like, if he was capable of acting rationally due to growth, he would have NEVER pretended to be a cripple. That's not a position from which John could have effected any kind of change. it was a sign that all he knew how to use h is powers for was just to destroy, destroy, destroy.

I mean, he convinced Seraphina that cripples arent just people who she could control. But like...this coming from even a mid tier would've made a similar difference, and he would've been able to protect people who were messing with low tiers fr instead of a solid half of the time.

But that's not what happened. What happened was, a behavioral therapist made him realize that he used his powers for shitty things, and then traumatized him to never want to use his powers ever again. How John was affected was thinking that he should've never been given powers, because all he's capable of using them for is controlling other people.

The fact he pretended to be a cripple from the start is proof that he doesn't have a healthy relationship with his past, and once Arlo beat any sense of trusting most people out of John, John fell apart. He no longer viewed the concept of protecting other people from himself to be of any value.

So, he started using his powers again, not for justice for the weak, but to punish the strong.

I don't think anything about uru-chan's characterization of him felt like an ass-pull for that reason. It's easier to root for pre-exposed john because he never did anything outrightly morally wrong really. But I honestly think even after he starts being a shithead, he's still really sympathetic.

The only two characters in this story with little to no moral blemishes during John's crazy arc are Remi and Sera. Even then, Remi and Sera are prone to violence to get their way, like they're high tiers to their core.

For me, it's incredibly easy to sympathize with someone who's experienced the evil tendencies of a human who thinks he's superior. To just want to throttle everyone who's treated you like dirt, to just be ANGRY and not putting change for the better first because you're just so rationality erasingly ANGRY.

How could anyone in John's position not be absolutely enraged. He gave high tiers a fucking CHANCE, on repeat.

Remember he's viewing them as a group, not individuals. Remi didn't deserve John's wrath, (you wont get a defense of blyke and isen from me im sorry, it's incredibly hard to sympathize with people who changed right when shit started affecting them personally.), but John hated her anyway, because she's still a high tier who still deals with things as high tiers do - shutting people up with raw power if things get bad enough.

Not to say there's something wrong with Remi for that - power should only be used when necessary, and Remi is quite careful. But the fact she can, it just changes dynamics considerably.

HE ALSO HATES HIMSELF FOR THIS

john always felt sympathetic to me in ways the other high tiers just weren't, because he's damaged. He knows what it means to stand at the very bottom, and not just from Wellston.

[gentlemen-i-am-fucked]

NO I GET YOU

I wrote this analysis when i was 16 years old and reading back on it makes me cringe a little... i definitely didn't pick up on a lot of the nuances of John's character back at the time. I actually did a reread of UnOrdinary very recently and I think that a lot of John's past trauma went over my head.

The way I see it now, he's got this kind of split view of himself - the "good", powerless John, who never hurt anyone, and the "bad", powerful John that is so bitter and angry and enraged that he feels like he can't stop himself from lashing out at everyone who had ever pushed him down after he's made it to equal footing with them. He pretends to be a cripple because that way he can be the Good John who cannot be disruptive, because he has tied his trauma so thoroughly to his power that he cannot rationally concieve of anything else. When I wrote this post, something like around 100% of this nuance flew directly over my head skwhfhd

I completely agree with you that John's exposé wasn't an ass-pull on uru-chan's part, and ur analysis is spot-on. With a less naive reading of the text i do believe that John is a fascinating and sympathetic portrayal of how abuse begets abuse, down to his irrationality, persection complex (is that the word), and anger - he has been able to break free from his status as a cripple but not from his trauma. He feels victimised, singled out, targeted for no reason because for many years he *was*, and he has learnt this routine so intimately that he cannot help but apply it in a situation where this power dynamic, which is just. Yeah it's masterfully crafted.

Sorry for rambling so long in ur mentions, youve given me such a great opportunity to talk abt UnOrdinary i couldnt resist replying skwggsghshdhd. Sorry for inadvertently subjecting u to my bad analysis from when i was 16, a lot more naive, and very Surprised Pokaxhu Face at why UnOrdinary wasnt telling the cookie-cutter Bad Guys Vs Good Guys story i was expecting skwggdfbdj

[decadentparadisekitty]

if anyone should apologize for ranting, it's me sistah <3 but srsly i love people who talk a lot do it more.

The way I see it now, he's got this kind of split view of himself - the "good", powerless John, who never hurt anyone, and the "bad", powerful John that is so bitter and angry and enraged that he feels like he can't stop himself from lashing out at everyone who had ever pushed him down after he's made it to equal footing with them. He pretends to be a cripple because that way he can be the Good John who cannot be disruptive, because he has tied his trauma so thoroughly to his power that he cannot rationally concieve of anything else. When I wrote this post, something like around 100% of this nuance flew directly over my head skwhfhd

THIS SO MUCH THIS I WAS STRUGGLING TO FIND THE WORDSSSSS ON GOD

im totallyyy not going to stalk ur blog nooooooo

[susansontag]

far from being overly pedantic this is simply a thought-provoking observation about how our real-world ease of access to commodities pervades our thinking so deeply most would never even begin to ask themselves where certain 'exotic' foodstuffs or items in a fantasy setting come from. I mean they're not exotic... we can pick them up at the supermarket round the corner...

[gentlemen-i-am-fucked]

So... I have mixed feelings about this chapter.

On the one hand, everything’s been cleared up! Where everyone stands has been flat-out stated so that all readers can be on the same page. John is very clearly not a good guy anymore, no matter how sympathetic he was in the past, and trying to argue that he’s not is just wishful thinking at this point.

On the other hand... I’m not too happy with this new direction. John was quite clearly set up to be a sympathetic protagonist, powers be damned, and he was a good one. He had in the past fallen victim to an unhealthy mindset and become a toxic person, which he had recovered from to become more healthy and willing to work constructively towards a better society. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the flashbacks he shares with Sera - he singlehandedly convinced her to reject the trappings of a toxic society. That arc is extremely cathartic to read as a result.

All in all, John was great. He was easy to root for and feel for, and his struggle seemed so organic - he could have just shown off and become king of Wellston, but instead he recognised his weaknesses and played to his strengths, trying to create reform from the ground up, even if it mean he had to sacrifice a great deal of personal comfort and get socially ostracised and beaten up every day.

There’s a reason John at the beginning of the story we so compelling, and that was his motivation. He had recognised a failing and a shortcoming in society, and he was willing to do anything to fix it organically, rather than just jumping at it from a position of power like Rei did, and the superheroes did. These characters showed us why John’s organic approach was so essential in a society so opposed to change, and we respected John for his goals.

This was also a reason why the twist that John was a high-tier was so good - reliably, one who is oppressed will be looking to fight oppression, but John is made so much more interesting because he very specifically isn’t one of the oppressed group. In fact, he’s one of the elite. Everything he suffers, he suffers out of choice and not necessity. Sure, he may have experienced oppression previously (whilst researching John, Isen found records that before his second-year in Bostin, John was very lowly-ranked, perhaps even a true ‘cripple’), but he was very quick to shed that and embrace elite life when his true ability became apparent. Invariably, John at the beginning was an altruistic individual who had grown from his mistakes and decided he would give up everything he could have based on his ability - a high social standing, a universal respect, and a comfy life - in favour of trying to combat the hierarchy. This is what made his friendship with Sera so powerful and great - he worked for it, and worked to help her break out of a toxic mindset like he had done. It’s why Arlo’s betrayal hurts so much - John offered olive branches, tried to make Arlo see that there was a better way, and yet Arlo still looked at him and saw someone to be taken down.

This is why I took such a dislike to the Joker arc. It took everything impressive and compelling about John’s character and took the tipp-ex to it like gritty live-action reebok would have done. The fact that John’s character was boiled down to “lol AGRESSIVE EDGY WHITE BOI” was in part frustrating because we’d specifically seen him grow past this, goddamn it, and because it took away everything that made him so compelling.

Now, we have other characters - namely Remi, Blyke, and Isen - stepping in to fill the role of Plucky Heroes Working to Better Society, with Remi specifically following a similar trajectory to John at the beginning of the story.

Just one problem.

If this was the story that wanted to be told, why did we spend 100+ episodes on John’s character arc, which was erased with the purchase of one (1) mask and some very bad decisions? If Remi was supposed to be the ubiquitous hero, then why didn’t we also start with her as the protagonist? If John was supposed to become an evil dickbag and a villain, why didn’t he start out as a thinly-veiled dickbag who played with others and manipulated them because he wanted to watch the world burn, instead of a sympathetic protagonist who suddenly does a 180?

I know it sounds like I’m bashing unordinary - and that’s not my intention, I really do love the comic, and Remi, Blyke and Isen, I would die for - but this complete butchery of John’s character vexes me to no end, precisely because he was so compelling.

Right now, it seems that the Joker arc is being salvaged, and things are being clarified after the muddle that had thrown the status quo into a cell and mangled it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to shake up the status quo - but the way it was done here also twisted the characters, making it seem like the story was driving them instead of the other way round.

I feel this like from Isen sums it up.

If someone had told me this about John before the Joker arc, I’d have asked them which dark AU this was from. Now, it fits John’s character, but at the same time, John’s character no longer fits him as we knew him. He’s spiralled into anarchy and chaos with seemingly very little reason - sure, Arlo had him beaten up and Sera was picked on after she lost her ability - but given that he’d been taking this shit on the chin and wearing it, that shouldn’t have been enough to make him go full dark side!

However, I do feel the story has taken on a direction I’m more on board with; namely, that students are taking responsibility and trying to better their society. Even so, I still feel a little sad about what we lost. I enjoyed Remi’s line about John, and it’s satisfying to see her recognise that John’s not just some Edgy but Saveable Good Boi UwU (looking at you, Kyle Ron), but still, the wording was a little bittersweet.

I, for one, would have loved it if that were true.

[decadentparadisekitty]

me personally i didn't feel that he grew past it in the first part of the comic.

Like, if he was capable of acting rationally due to growth, he would have NEVER pretended to be a cripple. That's not a position from which John could have effected any kind of change. it was a sign that all he knew how to use h is powers for was just to destroy, destroy, destroy.

I mean, he convinced Seraphina that cripples arent just people who she could control. But like...this coming from even a mid tier would've made a similar difference, and he would've been able to protect people who were messing with low tiers fr instead of a solid half of the time.

But that's not what happened. What happened was, a behavioral therapist made him realize that he used his powers for shitty things, and then traumatized him to never want to use his powers ever again. How John was affected was thinking that he should've never been given powers, because all he's capable of using them for is controlling other people.

The fact he pretended to be a cripple from the start is proof that he doesn't have a healthy relationship with his past, and once Arlo beat any sense of trusting most people out of John, John fell apart. He no longer viewed the concept of protecting other people from himself to be of any value.

So, he started using his powers again, not for justice for the weak, but to punish the strong.

I don't think anything about uru-chan's characterization of him felt like an ass-pull for that reason. It's easier to root for pre-exposed john because he never did anything outrightly morally wrong really. But I honestly think even after he starts being a shithead, he's still really sympathetic.

The only two characters in this story with little to no moral blemishes during John's crazy arc are Remi and Sera. Even then, Remi and Sera are prone to violence to get their way, like they're high tiers to their core.

For me, it's incredibly easy to sympathize with someone who's experienced the evil tendencies of a human who thinks he's superior. To just want to throttle everyone who's treated you like dirt, to just be ANGRY and not putting change for the better first because you're just so rationality erasingly ANGRY.

How could anyone in John's position not be absolutely enraged. He gave high tiers a fucking CHANCE, on repeat.

Remember he's viewing them as a group, not individuals. Remi didn't deserve John's wrath, (you wont get a defense of blyke and isen from me im sorry, it's incredibly hard to sympathize with people who changed right when shit started affecting them personally.), but John hated her anyway, because she's still a high tier who still deals with things as high tiers do - shutting people up with raw power if things get bad enough.

Not to say there's something wrong with Remi for that - power should only be used when necessary, and Remi is quite careful. But the fact she can, it just changes dynamics considerably.

HE ALSO HATES HIMSELF FOR THIS

john always felt sympathetic to me in ways the other high tiers just weren't, because he's damaged. He knows what it means to stand at the very bottom, and not just from Wellston.

[sweetstarcollector]

So phrases like "people with uteruses" or "people who have periods" never really bothered me as much as more overtly dehumanizing phrases like "bleeders" or "birthing bodies", but I saw a post today talking about the abnormal symptoms women experienced after getting tear gassed protesting, that ended with something like "we don't know the full effects of tear gas on people with uteruses". And what struck me about that is that's not really correct, because female people without uteruses (either bc they were born without one or bc they had a hysterectomy) will still experience different symptoms after being tear gassed than male people. Women metabolize substances differently than men, our immune systems are different, our hormonal cycles are different, our skin has different thicknesses, etc. All of those things have potential effects on tear gas reactions, and are not dependent on whether or not we have a uterus. They're dependent on whether or not we're female. So saying "people with uteruses" when what is meant is "female people" is not really accurate. And I realized that a lot of times when people use those kinds of phrases, they aren't being accurate.

For example, I'm sure we've all seen people say things about how the repeal of Roe v Wade will harm people with uteruses/people who can get pregnant/etc. And while yes, it definitely harms those people, the full truth is that abortion bans harm *female* people, *regardless of if they can get pregnant or have a uterus.* Because female people who don't have uteruses can still get pregnant, and in those rare cases will 100% of the time need an abortion. Female people who deal with infertility and can't carry a fetus to term can still be jailed for miscarrying. Female people who are completely sterile (for whatever reason) can still be denied medications/medical treatment on the grounds that the treatment could theoretically harm a fetus. Female people who may currently have no uterus/no longer be able to get pregnant but who have had an abortion in the past will face increased stigma.

Here's another example:

It seems pretty straightforward- menstruation stigma is experienced by people who menstruate. But again, that's only half true. Period stigma is experienced by all female people, regardless of if they menstruate. Think about the fact that we are told female people should not hold political leadership because "what if a female president has PMS and starts a war", despite the fact that almost all female presidential candidates are old enough that they would have experienced menopause. Female people have their feelings dismissed because "it must be that time of the month", regardless of if they're too young to menstruate or too old or if they have a condition causing amenorrhea. Female children grow up seeing periods- a natural function of their bodies- portrayed as disgusting, dirty and gross, as making them unclean, as something to dread and fear. This affects them before they experience menarche, this affects them even if they never experience menarche. It affects all female people.

I could come up with more examples, but you get the idea. Reducing female people to singular body parts and organs inherently denies the reality of femaleness. All parts of us (both biological and social) interact with all other parts of us to form an experience that can't be understood by chopping us up and putting our individual functions under the microscope. In order to get an accurate picture you need to look at the whole (female) human.

[sapper-in-the-wire-old]

people today with access to more raw information than any other period: the earth is flat

german artilleryman in 1916, who barely washes his own ass: I need to account for the curvature and rotation of the earth when plotting my firing plans

[thefloatingstone]

Eratosthenes, an Egyptian, in 3750 BC when fucking mammoths hadn’t even gone extinct yet: Oh hey I can use these two obelisks to calculate the earth’s entire circumference based on the length of their shadows and the Earth’s curvature. Neat.

[alaija]

Erastothenes was born in 276 BCE.

The last mammoth died on in island off the northeast coast of Siberia in ~1650BCE.

And as I’ve pointed out previously, the Coriolis effect was known even earlier than that, although it may not have become important to gunnery.

[ultramaga]

I find it utterly bizarre that humans saw these megafauna.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/science/woolly-mammoth-extinct-genetics.html “ In fact, the Wrangel mammoth’s genome carried so many detrimental mutations that the population had suffered a “genomic meltdown,” according to Rebekah Rogers and Montgomery Slatkin of the University of California, Berkeley. Analyzing the Swedish team’s mammoth data at the gene level, they found that many genes had accumulated mutations that would have halted synthesis of proteins before they were complete, making the proteins useless, they report Thursday in PLOS Genetics. “ That “genomic meltdown” is one of the reasons feminism is so potentially lethal, because they keep pushing for asexual reproduction, or trying to combine ovaries, when the most likely outcome is a population running about - unable to reproduce sexually since the whole “male genocide” bit - with incredibly damaged chromosomes. Sex exists for a reason, and no, “because it’s fun” is not the answer, sorry. It works better than reproduction otherwise. Which is why every complex species uses it. Intelligence requires a lot of things to be working correctly, and if you have an all female species that is over the tipping point of idiocy, then there won’t be enough people to maintain the technology to continue to reproduce. And humans will go the way of the Wrangel beasties. Fortunately, feminists are horribly lazy bastards, so i doubt they’ll continue to get their way, but it does made for a decent plot for a dystopian fiction…

[iron-sunrise]

What …the fuck?

[smitethestate]

That went off the rails so suddenly like I thought I was just gonna learn something cool about mammoths and then WHOA.

[kiwianaroha]

I scrolled past this thinking “the earth is round, yes, something, something, mammoths…’ 

But the second time it came past I saw 

That “genomic meltdown” is one of the reasons feminism is so potentially lethal

And I think I got whiplash from that pivot. I also laughed so hard that I couldn’t breathe. 

[nyokoko]

I’m????

[prince-atom]

Point and laugh at the MRA, kids. 

[lyricwritesprose]

How … does he think … mammoths reproduced …

Never mind, not sure I want to know.

[sarkos]

reblog to support Mammoth Feminism,

ignore for G E N O M I C M E L T D O W N

[lankyguy]

I here af for my Feminist Mammoth ladies, bring the species back!

DOWN WITH GENOMIC MELTDOWN

[lavvyan]

I… what exactly is combining ovaries supposed to achieve? 400 lazy feminist babies at the same time?

[telesilla]

Shhhh…you weren’t supposed to tell anyone.

[curlicuecal]

FEMINISM KILLED THE MAMMOTHS

[butchflirt]

I feel like we’re getting away from the main point here, which is that the world is flat

[beepost-generator]

the world is only flat because it was trampled by feminist mammoths

[bigmammallama5]

reblog if you support your army of genetically-melted feminist mammoths that trampled the earth flat

[gotinterest]

Don’t anybody tell this guy about that species of lizard where there are only females it might break him

[systlin]

My head hurts after reading that. 

[solacekames]

I’m sending this post to @wehuntedthemammoth

[grison-in-labs]

Why would you hurt me like this?

That “genomic meltdown” is one of the reasons feminism is so potentially lethal, because they keep pushing for asexual reproduction, or trying to combine ovaries, when the most likely outcome is a population running about - unable to reproduce sexually since the whole “male genocide” bit - with incredibly damaged chromosomes.

I teach genetics, I don’t deserve to have to explain why this is so wrong and yet. Oh my god. 

Mueller’s Ratchet–which is what this chucklefuck is talking about, the reason that purely asexual lineages don’t last well in evolutionary time–does not apply to feminism. The hypothetical scenario of merging two eggs to create a baby? Yeah, uh, that’s fucking sex in this context, whether or not it involves a male. 

There are zero feminists pushing for parthenogenesis for humans, mostly because the whole thing is basically impossible for mammals as a result of mammalian investment in genomic imprinting. Among other things. It’s the sort of thing that only works okay in species that don’t control their embryonic development anywhere near as closely as your basic placental mammal does, because it relies on a certain amount of flexibility about sex determination and placental mammals are kind of weird about that.

Even if there were, Mueller’s Ratchet only applies if you never ever sexually reproduce and reshuffle alleles, like the parthenogenetic whiptail lizards mentioned upthread. If we have the technology to induce parthenogenesis in a human woman, we have the technology to reshuffle some alleles now and again. Mueller’s Ratchet kind of presupposes that going in and manually editing a genome isn’t a fucking option, shitwad! 

Furthermore, Mueller’s Ratchet is specifically a population genetics phenomenon that refers to the accumulation of deleterious mutations within an asexually/clonally reproducing lineage. It has dick fuck all to do with chromosomes.

Mueller’s Ratchet exists in order to explain why asexually reproducing lineages haven’t overrun the world, because frankly in the short term these lineages usually do way better than their conspecific, obligate sexually reproducing partners do. Furthermore, it’s really fucking common to see species that reproduce sexually at some times and asexually at other times, depending on context and who’s available, and that’s in and of itself a complex fucking phenotype you species-centric cortically starved ignorant dillweed

all of this is completely fucking irrelevant to the mammoth example that @brett-caton there chose to bring up, by the way, because mammoths don’t fucking reproduce asexually either 

as you would know if you’d bothered to read the paper, you self-satisfied jellyfish fellator

or even the pop science article you cited yourself 

which clearly and cogently explains that the fucking mammoths died of being inbred as all shit, much like yourself

the laziness inherent in jumbling all this pig-ignorant, overconfident and understudied bullshit together and claiming it’s a solidly built house rather than a crumbling, confused pile of enraged starfish is the final straw

you can’t even be arsed to read an article that you dug up and cited yourself, you shithugger

how are feminists supposed to be the lazy ones? 

you obviate your own thesis with your own intellectual failure, you pathetic snailsucking weed in the garden of knowledge

[nineprotons]

I reblogged this before but I have to do so again because of the above takedown with its glorious insults. Also, it’s always fun to point and laugh at MRAs.

[trash-supernova]

I am in awe.

[puttingtheassinassassin]

“Mueller’s Ratchet kind of presupposes that going in and manually editing a genome isn’t a fucking option, shitwad!” and “you pathetic snailsucking weed in the garden of knowledge” are honestly awe-inspiring and I’m fucking blessed I read them today

[thattimberwolfkid-blog]

This is beautiful

[scots-dragon]

It’s been long enough since I last saw this post that I’d nearly forgotten and it still fucking hit me like a goddamn freight train.

[deliriumcrow]

You self-satisfied jellyfish fellator, you pathetic snailsucking weed in the garden of knowledge

Fucking poetry there, Shakespeare would be hard pressed to improve upon these lines.

[naamahdarling]

@shitpostsampler The snailsucking jellyfish fellator quote is golden.

[subway-tolkien]

Are we just going to ignore “a crumbling, confused pile of enraged starfish”?

[apprenticenanoswarm-deactivated]

‘oh hey that’s funny :D man, flat-earth sure is one of the stranger conspiracy theories isn’t it. ooh who was Eratosthenes? i should look him up! and now we’re talking about mammoths,  cool , i love mam

“genomic meltdown” is one of the reasons feminism is so potentially lethal, because they keep pushing for asexual reproduction, or trying to combine ovaries

[liasangria]

“a crumbling, confused pile of enraged starfish”

[kingdom-noise]

now this… this is a post on tumblr dot com

[sepdet]

i’m still sad Eratosthenes missed out on the mammoths by like >< much

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

I hope gnc little girls know that their options are not "become a man" or "grow out of it". They can go from a gnc girl to a gnc woman. That's an option, too.

[izzavi]

[radgritty]

Hi, I'm in love with these tags.

[bumblee-stumblee]

Why date someone you clearly hate?

2,576 votes and 3,302 comments so far on Reddit

[esotericswiftie]

1. anti-hero, taylor swift / 2, 19. “taylor swift’s ‘sexy baby’ lyric is more than a ‘30 rock’ reference,” sophia june for nylon magazine / 3, 4, 12, 22. taylor swift ages 14-16, photographed by andrew orth / 5, 23. dominique swain age 15, photographed for lolita (1997) / 6, 17. “the fetishization of girlhood,” m.c. easton / 7. lolita (1962), dir. stanley kubrick / 8. red (mv), taylor swift / 9. anti-hero (mv), taylor swift / 10, 14, 18. nothing new, taylor swift ft. phoebe bridgers / 11. “2008’s country lolita: taylor swift,” gavin edwards for rolling stone / 13, 21. lolita (1997), dir. adrian lyne / 15. okcupid dating chart: age preferences by gender / 16. all too well (ten minute version), taylor swift / 20. university of pittsburgh 2021-2022 undergraduate catalog / 23. would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, taylor swift

apologies for this ridiculously long megathread, but i found a ton of these photographs of taylor from when before she was famous, around ages 14-16, and ooh boy, did they get me thinking…

sometimes i wonder if she just really lucked out with the mostly desexualized “innocent girl-next-door” persona becoming her brand throughout her early career, because it looks like things could have gone in a very different direction for her in another universe.

like you can literally see taylor being de-aged between her debut and fearless era as her public image cemented…the posing, the makeup, the hair, the clothing…it’s all very deliberate and sinister.

and now, all these years later, no one knows better than taylor herself that the most desirable thing a woman can be is not a woman, but a girl…a sexy baby, if you must.

her heart-shaped sunglasses, nothing new, the ten minute version of all too well, would’ve could’ve should’ve…she knows all about society’s sickness, its simultaneous fetishization and destruction of girlhood. she knows because she’s lived through it.

we don’t often categorize her or think of her as one, but she was a child star, and she barely escaped its curse. just barely. but unlike so many other child stars, unlike dolores haze, she survived with her voice and her pen, and she can see it all now, it was wrong.

[yuumei-art]

POV: The space void is stealing your sandwich with his blackhole of a stomach ✨⭐

And in case any homophobic bigots missed my last 2 pride posts: you see this cat? He's gay. That sandwich? Also gay. The plate? Extremely homosexual. The table? It's made of vashwood.

[evilpsychologist-deactivated202]

insane how many people just have these incredible artists in their families who get no recognition outside of crocheting circles because this art form is devalued for its association with women

[traceofexistence]

in my country, the word for crocheting, is used metaphorically, to compliment a surgeon’s work.

every AFAB person my mother’s age and older, had practiced this craft at one point on another.

My mom has made literal paintings, that decorate our house for years (I’ll come back with pictures when I visit next) you can only see that they are crocheting when you go very close.

[traceofexistence]

as promised here’s my mom’s crocheting “paintings”

There is another one but it had been stored many years ago, (i remember it from my childhood) and sadly it is probably damaged by mold, it depicted wild horsed running in nature 

[drogonea]

@snazzy-hats-and-adhd

[user87262893]

Women HAVE the same exact rights as men:

education with so many scholarships/grants given for simply being female

property ownership

career choice

marriage/divorce choice

with benefits for child custody for simply being female

voting

abortion

running for office

You have equality. You are not oppressed. It is not the “patriarchy's” fault for your unfortunate experience. You are not the blunt of a discrimination conspiracy theory—you’re simply blame shifting. If you come across discrimination TAKE ACTION. You have the legal right. You can’t be stopped, as you are not oppressed.

You are only hindering yourself. No one is controlling your destiny except for you. So, stop simplifying your façade of an enemy—men—into a straw man argument. It’s detrimental to an already rising male suicide rate. It’s detrimental to your own success. You will gain nothing by continuing a first-amendment-silencing movement. 

??????? are you under the impression that every woman in the world lives in the United States, or just that only the women I should care about live there?

•

Education:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, estimates that there are 130 million girls globally aged 6-17 who are not in school. Women also constitute over two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population, or people who cannot read or write. Only 39% of rural girls get to attend secondary school. Though progress has been made towards gender equality in education, the problem is still prominent in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. [X]

Property Ownership:

Nearly 40 percent of the world’s economies still limit women’s property rights, according to the World Bank. Even in countries where women constitute the majority of small farmers and do more than 75% of the agricultural work, they are routinely denied the right to own the land they cultivate and depend on to raise their families. [X]

Career Choice:

The gender gap in pay has remained unfortunately stable in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. These results are similar to where the pay gap stood in 2002, when women earned 80% as much as men. This gap is worse in undeveloped countries. [X]

Marriage/Divorce:

The majority of countries in the world do not allow no-fault divorce. Many others require joint filings, or a judge can deny a divorce. The are countries in which divorce is illegal. In the United States, GOP politicians are coming for no fault divorce.

Child Custody:

Interesting enough, fathers are actually favored over mothers in custody cases in the U.S.! Fathers Are Favored In Child Custody Battles, Even When Abuse Is Alleged. Family Courts and Child Custody Are Biased Against Women, Not Men: Abusive men are more likely to win custody, and men win up to 93% of custody cases

Voting:

In much of the middle east, women need permission to leave their houses, or need male escorts, to vote. In parts of Africa, women have historically been attacked when visiting polling stations. In many countries, women are expected to vote in alignment with their husband's, or else they face harsh, sometimes lethal, punishment. While there are still places where it is illegal for women to vote, many places have legalized womens voting in the last 20 years.

Abortion:

Access to abortion is a massive barrier to women worldwide. In cases of rape or incest only 61% of countries allow abortion, and in cases of fetal impairment, 61%. Performing abortion on the basis of a woman's request is allowed in 34% of countries. That means the majority of women worldwide cannot receive an abortion on the basis of wanting one. Access to abortion is decreasing, not increasing, recently, with the U.S. passing restrictive laws and outright bans in some states. [X]

Running for office:

This whole UN Article breaks everything down and is too much to paste.

•

Not to mention all the things that are happening in the U.S. - decreasing abortion rights, the loss of sex based protections, the rise of porn usage - which correlates to the rise in child on child sexual assault (guess who is doing the assaulting 98% of the time). Rapes on campuses and in highschools and in the world force and the military and the lack of support or prosecution when these occur. Men asking for 50/50 Financials while still representing under 40% of domestic labor and child rearing tasks. The rise of bdsm, of grooming, of young girls targeted by men. In the USA. All over the world.

So don't throw me the softball of a male suicide rate comment. You won't like what I have to say.