I feel like people miss the point of the "war is bad" message

What it's supposed to mean is that war is terrible, it's destructive, it ruins lives, it leaves scars, and you should only partake in it when there are no other options, because even if you win, even if you survive, you will not be the same, which is why the phrase used to be more commonly known as "war is hell"

But "war is bad" seems to have been construed by people in fandom into "any fighting is bad, if you fight you're morally terrible and impure, you should not fight at all, no matter what", this is annoying in fandom, as it often misses the point fiction is trying to make, but what's worrisome is when people apply this to real life, as I have seen people do regarding russia's invasion of Ukraine

And that's almost never the point of "War is Bad" works

Works like lotr, atla, transformers, the clone wars, etc all have themes on how horrible war is, but they categorically do not say it is wrong to fight, what they say is usually along the lines of "war is terrible, and what makes it so terrible is that we have no choice but to fight, it would be ideal if we didn't have to fight at all, but we must fight, because not fighting is not an option, because not fighting, not opposing tyranny, conquest, and evil only allows those things to exist unimpeded"

New chapter!

Different Directions - Chapter 8: Excuse

DUM DUM DUUUUM The penny has dropped, next chapter will have something totally different. And may have some answer? maybe? >:)

I considered expanding here on the theory I mentioned in the description, but decided to put it off till the next chapter. This one took longer and happened to be bigger than I expected, so it had me completely drained. In midst of it, Himawari appeared and saved me from terrible lack of progression for Watanuki's emotional labours. That's how I could, with the help of epigraph, wrap up the theme of this chapter, which is "a wedding" somehow? I know, I was shocked myself. Doumeki is so hard to write, dude never speaks any emotion. My theory that he was brought up in this very shut, emotionally restricted manner. We see a tiny bit of his mother - she is nice, but kinda... politely distant? And growing in such a traditional home I think that he just never saw enough examples of how to deal with emotions. How to express them. Perhaps that is why he immediately fascinated with Watanuki - hot mess, shouting his feelings on the top of his lungs not giving flying fucks about his surroundings. And I do think his ideas of noble servitude to the person he loves will get in the way of actual relationship. After all, in the original story we are so blindsided by Watanuki's self-sacrifices, we may miss that only Watanuki has learned his lessons and changed. BTW, the only viable thing in the whole eggs mystery I see is the metaphor they present. Watanuki finds a way around inevitable doom (helping with Himawari curse or taking half of the Tsubasa-kun's price so nobody has to die); and nothing will come out of Doumeki's egg, if he won't make a choice himself. He doesn't.

And yes, writing about sad, angry boys who love other boys, I did include a Placebo song. Duh.

For this chapter you will need Omake 4. Excited for the Birthday Party. For some fucked up reason, no one mentions there it's Sakura's birthday too. Watanuki is pouty little shit. Syaoron is dating someone (???) and Kurogane shows that fact more attention than Fai (??). Wild, right? Like all this over the top cheerful story crumbles on itself, right?

Finally, love to all my readers! your feedback makes me feel alive, I thrive from every kudo and every comment leaves me in tears. So please, leave them both here.

It is actually mindblowing how all these Western "leftists" support the regimes of Russia, Iran, the Taliban in Afghanistan, etc., to the point of telling the very people suffering from those regimes that it is very progressive actually for them to keep suffering.

You have your human rights and freedoms, but have the nerve to tell, say, women in Iran that they should not have the same freedoms that you enjoy.

You claim to support queer rights and then go and say how other countries must accept russian occupation/influence, knowing full well that the queer people there will be prosecuted.

Human beings deserve to have human rights, you know. And there is nothing progressive about denying those rights to other people just for the sake of the edgelord fiction that works as your worldview.

Either you support people fighting for their rights, or you are on the side of fascism.

Я зараз, я вчора, я завтра

Я кожен день

I love social media

being alive is great because there are so many different vegetables you can sauté. but then there are also the horrors

Russians are bloody butchers

- Vova, can you hear me? Please look at me.

That's painful to watch. Make Russia pay. Russia keeps slaughtering Ukrainians when the world is silently watching. In Ukraine there are no Netflix TV series, there's our reality.

Please hear our cry out to the world, keep spreading our voices, and donate to our army and combat medics (savelife.in.ua, prytulafoundation.org, Serhii Sternenko, hospitallers.life, ptahy.vidchui.org and u24.gov.ua).

Me, trying to find comfortable pose when my uterus would hurt less and frantically refreshing ao3 to see if anyone reacted to the new chapter of my fic or I am a useless talentless void of a human (I blame menstruation for those thoughts as well)

If you wanna know how I spend my free time, this is it:

oh no I have succumbed to a booping spree please do not send help

New chapter!

Different Directions - Chapter 7. Worthwhile

The year cannot seem to end, Fai cannot stay dressed for long, and Syaoron just knows everything. And Watanuki? Watanuki tries to make the best of it.

heeey I'm back still in time to make it on my lovely, dear Watanuki's birthday! I couldn't miss the CLAMP day, could I?

For this chapter you will need omake Horitsuba Private High School: Excited for Celebrating New Years! There literal chunks of dialogue from there, so you might wanna know what was canon and how exactly I corrupted it >:) The song (Strangelove by Depeche Mode) is perfect for this chapter. If you ever noticed I take names of every chapter from corresponding songs, and this time it just tied everything into a neat thematic bow. We're getting to the darker places, so Watanuki's getting darker too. The exchange with Doumeki is a bit gloomy and raw, but so are both of them. Doumeki (just as Watanuki) can be rough in canon, while Watanuki is known to have troubles with self-worth and loneliness, making him prone to crave any emotion towards himself. Even negative ones. Have you ever noticed that Syaoron and Yuui are more of a plot devices than characters? While we have no idea about Yuui's personality, Syaoron is not quite corresponding to Tsubasa. He is more of a author's self-insert plot mover - always sly and knowing and mysterious. I see weird shit in the plot - I run with it. Love and kisses to all of you, dear readers! You are the delight of my days, oasis for my desert, a long-awaited vacation for my soul! Endless gratitude to any commenter!

wake up everyone it's BIRTHDAY TIME

does your newsletter have an ad for an online course «how to survive in captivity»? well, mine does. because i’m an average ukrainian.

God I love them so much

True russian culture is about deliberately destroying and stealing the cultures of the nations they despise and view as lower than theirs.

So I guess we are back to not sleeping huh