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writingwithcolor · 5 months

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[Running Commentary] Zombies are Zombies: Cultural Relativism, Folklore, and Foreign Perspectives

She obviously started getting into media in Japan, and (from my research into Japanese media and culture), Japan’s movies about zombies are mostly comedic, since due to traditional funerary practices the idea of zombies bringing down society is ridiculous to a lot of Japanese people.

Rina: OP, this you? https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-zombies/

Marika: Counterpoint: Parasite Eve. Resident Evil. The Evil Within.

Rina: Literally all the grody horror game franchises that people forget were developed and written by Japanese people because the characters have names like “Leon Kennedy” and “Sebastian Castellanos”

~ ~ ~

Based on the reception we received the last time we did one of these, the Japanese moderator team returns with another running commentary. (They’re easier to answer this way) (Several of Marika’s answers may be troll answers)

Our question today pertains to foreign perspectives on folklore—that is, how people view folklore and stories that aren’t a part of their culture. CW: for anything you’d associate with zombies and a zombie apocalypse, really.

Keep reading for necromancy, horror games, debunking the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, Hong Kong jiangshi films, Japanese disaster prep videos, and Vietnamese idol pop...

Essentially, in my story there’s an organization who wants to end the world. They think this one woman in particular, a woman of mixed Vietnamese (irreligious, Kinh) and Japanese descent who spent her formative years in Japan, is the person to do it because she’s (for lack of a better term) a necromancer; powers are semi-normal in this world. She prefers not to use her powers overall, but when she does she mostly talks to ghosts and spirits that are giving people issues. She could technically reanimate a corpse but she wouldn’t because she feels that would be morally wrong, not to mention she couldn’t start a zombie apocalypse in the traditional sense (plague, virus, etc.) in the first place.

(Marika (M): Your local public health officials would like to assure necromancers that reviving the dead will not provoke a zombie apocalypse. This is because necromancy is a reanimation technique, and not a pathogenic vector. Assuming that the technique does not release spores, airborne viruses, gasses, or other related physical matter that can affect neighboring corpses in a similar way, there should be no issue. However, necromancers should comply with local regulations w/r to permitting and only raise the dead with the approval of the local municipality and surviving family.)

M: I think it makes sense for most people of E. Asian descent, including Japanese and Vietnamese people, to find it culturally reprehensible to reanimate the dead. I imagine the religious background of your character matters as well. What religion(s) are her family members from? How do they each regard death and the treatment of human remains? Depending on where she grew up, I’m curious on how she got opportunities to practice outside specialized settings like morgues.

M: It’s true, space in Japan is at a premium, even for the dead. You note that most of Japan cremates, but, surely, it must have occurred to you that if there aren’t that many bodies in Japan to raise…she doesn’t exactly have much opportunity to practice with her powers, does she? I yield to our Vietnamese followers on funerary customs in Vietnam, but you may want to better flesh out your world-building logic on how necromancy operates in your story (And maybe distinguish between necromancy v. channeling v. summoning v. exorcisms).

Rina (R): OP, this you? https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-zombies/

M: Counterpoint: Parasite Eve. Resident Evil. The Evil Within.

R: Literally all the grody horror game franchises that people forget were developed and written by Japanese people because the characters have names like “Leon Kennedy” and “Sebastian Castellanos”

R: And yes, the Tofugu article uses Resident Evil and those games to support its theory, with the reason that they are set in the West. But that only suggests that Japanese people consider zombies a Western thing, not that Japanese people consider zombies nonthreatening if they were to exist.

M: Same with vampires - series like Castlevania also use Western/ European settings and not “Vampires in Japan '' because vampires just aren't part of our folklore.

(M: Also, realistically, these series deal with individuals who quickly perish after their bodies are used as hosts for the pathogen in question, rather than the pathogen reanimating a corpse. Although the victims are initially alive, they soon succumb to the pathogen/ parasite and their organic matter then becomes an infectious vector for the disease. It should be noted, infecting ordinary, living humans with viruses to grant them elevated powers, is not only a major violation of consent and defies all recommendations made by the Belmont Report (in addition to a number of articles in the Hague Convention w/r to the use of WMDs) and is unlikely to be approved by any reputable university’s IRB committee. This is why the Umbrella Corporation are naughty, naughty little children, and honestly, someone should have assassinated Wesker for the grant money.)

R: wwww

From what I know Vietnam didn’t have a zombie movie until 2022.

R: Do you mean a domestically produced zombie movie? Because Vietnamese people have most certainly had access to zombie movies for a long time. The Hong Kong film Mr. Vampire (1985) was a gigantic hit in Southeast Asia; you can find a gazillion copies of this movie online with Viet subs, with people commenting on how nostalgic this movie is or how they loved it as a kid.

M: “Didn’t have a [domestic] zombie movie” is not necessarily the same thing as “Would not have made one if the opportunity had arisen.” None of us here are personifications of the Vietnamese film industry, I think it’s safe to say we couldn’t know. Correlation is not causation. It’s important to do your research thoroughly, and not use minor facts to craft a narrative based on your own assumptions.

(R: …Also, I did find a 2017 music video for “Game Over” by the Vietnamese idol Thanh Duy which features… a zombie apocalypse.)

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(R: The MV has a very campy horror aesthetic and zombie backup dancers (which I love, everyone please watch this lol). But the scenes at the beginning and end where people are biting their fingers watching a threatening news report clearly establish that the zombies are considered a threat.)

So at one point, she laughs about the idea and remarks how ridiculous it is to think zombies could end the world. What I’m struggling with are other ways to show her attitude on the issue because I’d assume most non-Japanese readers wouldn’t get why she thinks like that. Are there any other ways to show why she thinks this way, especially ones that might resonate more with a Japanese reader?

R: The problem is this does not resonate in the first place. Your line of thinking is too Sapir-Whorf-adjacent. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, otherwise known as linguistic relativity theory, claims that language shapes cognition—that you can’t conceive of something if you can’t express it in your language. This is a very weak theory that you can easily bring evidence against: think of the last time you felt an emotion you had a hard time putting into words; just because you didn’t have the language for it doesn’t mean that you didn’t feel it, nor does it mean that you won’t be able to understand or recognize it if you feel it again. Similarly, it’s not a sound assumption to say that if some kind of subject matter does not exist in a culture, then people of that culture couldn't possibly conceive of it. This excerpt from linguist Laura Bailey sums it up quite well.

M: Just because ghosts may be more culturally relevant doesn’t mean that zombies (or vampires, or whatever) are nonexistent in a Japanese or Vietnamese person’s imagination when it comes to horror and disaster.

R: Really, if anything, Japanese people are much more attuned to how easily a society’s infrastructure can be destroyed by a disruptive force without adequate preparation. Japan is natural disaster central. A Japanese person would know better than anyone that if you aren’t prepared for a zombie epidemic—yeah it’s gonna be bad.

M: Earthquakes, tsunami, typhoon, floods: Japan has robust disaster infrastructure out of necessity. 防災 or bousai, meaning disaster preparedness is a common part of daily life, including drills at workplaces, schools, and community organizations. Local government and community agencies are always looking for ways to make disaster and pandemic preparedness relevant to the public.

M: Might “zombie apocalypse prep as a proxy for disaster prep” be humorous in an ironic, self-deprecating way? Sure, but it’s not like Japanese people are innately different from non-Japanese people. Rather, by being a relatively well-off country practiced at disaster preparation with more experience than most parts of the world with many different types of disasters (and the accompanying infrastructure), it likely would seem more odd to most Japanese people within Japan to not handle a zombie apocalypse rather like might one handle a combination of a WMD/ chemical disaster+pandemic+civil unrest (all of which at least some part of Japan has experienced). Enjoy this very long, slightly dry video on COVID-19 safety procedures and preparedness using the framing device of surviving a zombie apocalypse.

youtube

M: Living in Los Angeles, I’ve often experienced similar tactics. We do a fair amount of advance and rehearsed disaster prep here as well. In elementary school, the first and last days of class were always for packing and unpacking home-made disaster packs, and “zombie apocalypse” simulations have been around since I was in middle school for all kinds of drills, including active shooter drills, like the one shown in this LAT article. The line between “prepper” and “well prepared” really comes down to degree of anxiety and zeal. So, it wouldn’t be just Japanese people who might not be able to resonate with your scene. The same could be said for anyone who lives somewhere with a robust disaster prevention culture.

M: A zombie apocalypse is not “real” in the sense of being a tangible threat that the majority of the world lives in fear of waking up to (At least, for the mental health of most people, I hope so). Rather, zombie apocalypse narratives are compelling to people because of the feelings of vague, existential dread they provoke: of isolation, paranoia, dwindling resources, and a definite end to everything familiar. I encourage you to stop thinking of the way Japanese people and non-Japanese people think about vague, existential dread as incomprehensible to each other. What would you think about zombies if they actually had a chance of existing in your world? That’s probably how most Japanese people would feel about them, too.

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olderthannetfic · 1 month

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https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/749218521745145857/while-i-love-some-queergay-whatever

“Kissing on the forehead isn’t necessarily romantic” makes sense if we are talking about a work of media that is made in a time/place where that was a common thing between same gender platonic friends.

But are you, anon? Or are you talking about like, a piece of Western mass media from the past 50 years? Or are you talking about anime — because if anything, kissing is even more loaded in Japan than it is in the West, especially if there are other people around. (Lots of people in anime fandom love to use “but Japanese culture” arguments to no homo, but are banking on no one reading them actually knowing jack shit about Japanese culture — because it’s almost never true or based on any real Japanese cultural difference, there’s just making shit up. It assumes people will take for granted anything that frames Japan as “foreign and inscrutable and impossible for Westerners to understand” which is just Orientalism tbqh)

Just saying, because I almost never see this shit said about like, a novel from 1820 or something from a culture like, say, some Middle Eastern countries where men kissing other men platonically is a thing…. and almost always see it said about current media from a culture where kissing on the forehead would be seen as something you’d likely not do to a platonic friend of the same gender.

You can’t “impose your cultural norms” on something from the same culture as you lol, or something from another culture that has the same norm! And an (for example) American assuming that modern American media plays by the rules of modern American culture and seeing it through that lens, doesn’t necessarily mean that American is unaware that different norms exist in different cultures. But like… it just makes sense to analyze a current American show for American audiences set in America in the modern day through the cultural standards of 2020s America and not, say, Bangladesh or Namibia or 1850s America.

And on another note, if you were as much of a fan of “queer readings” as you claim to be, you’d know that they often have little to do with authorial intent. In fact, it’s often specifically about reclaiming media that didn’t have you in mind as the audience.

(Seriously, I really doubt you have read many of those queer readings, bc if this bothers you so much, the stuff queer studies academics and cultural critics see as “gay subtext” in old Hollywood movies — hell, the stuff that gay, bi and sympathetic-straight directors and actors and writers often very much INTENDED as gay subtext in those movies — would make your brain explode.)

Anyway, we’ve all been in fandoms where there’s a ship some people insist has a ton of subtext but it’s just two guys sharing a scene occasionally and they just WANT to believe it’s there when it isn’t, and it can be annoying sure if there are so many people insisting this that it’s inescapable and becoming fanon that affects the fic about the ships you like, or if they’re pushy and sanctimonious about it. (My current fandom has a group of people who insist the only reason other people don’t see all the “subtext” for their random rarepair is racism or something, and then ignore how much textual stuff they have to deliberately leave out or misinterpret for their reading to “work” lol. Like scenes where their starry eyed expression is directed at a different character and that’s obvious in the actual episode but not in their selectively edited gif set or meta post.) But that is not the same as doing that with KISSING ON THE FOREHEAD ffs. And also, let’s not pretend that slash (or femslash) shippers are the worst offenders, like het shippers — and the broader culture — doesn’t constantly treat “a man and a woman interact” as meaning “they could/should be a couple,”

If you’re not bothered by that, but you’re bothered by when people do it with two men or two women… yeah you gotta ask yourself why that is. I have an idea why, and it’s not bc of your greater cultural open mindedness lol

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where-them-kinomiya-at · 11 months

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In Defence Of V-Force Takao/Tyson

I’m finally starting this and it’s probably my 50th V-Force post because lord- I do appreciate the season as much as G-Revolution. Season 1 doesn’t even come in the same light because it stands above both of them.

Thanks @meowstix for being in support of this character and my analysis.

So I have already talked about my opinions on Takao/Tyson in V-Force in the post below. I am going to add on to it now. Do read the following posts before you carry on.

All I hear about Takao in V-Force is: asshole, 0 character development, total dick, belittles his teammates, etc. Honestly, you’re not wrong. He can be like that at times. I do understand if you hate him, it’s your opinion and I have no right to object it. But let me just maybe explain what I personally think of it.

So I once read that Takao’s attitude/cockiness mainly arises due to his off-screen events post season 1, which in my opinion can be considered a very valid point (unfortunately I don’t remember who said it. Please do reach out to me so I can tag you). Such events can only lead to him being adored and pampered by his fanbase which explains why he’s so on about ‘I’m just too good, I’m the champ.’ It is obviously hated a lot by people but let’s be honest- Takao handled his first few losses so well, much better than he did in G-Revolution. He didn’t win a single match until the end of episode 4 and lost to Ozuma twice in front of his hometown, the people of which really looked upon and adored him. I feel terrible when I realize that he wasn’t even expressing how he felt about it and pulled it off with a smile. Kenny/Kyouju mentioned ‘he feels horrible about this, don’t talk about his loss in front of his him’ to his classmates. Hiromi used this against him and it really upset him, but watch that scene. My boy handled it like a pro.

In the English version of episode 3 when Tyson was guzzling his lunch down his throat, Kenny tells him that he’s glad that the losses aren’t affecting his appetite, to which Tyson responds, ‘Food has incredible healing qualities’ which once again says that yeah, he really was hiding how he felt. I actually felt so sorry for him. Takao also handled kids like Zeo and Daichi (in the movie) who were incredulously clingy so much better in comparison to other seasons. This brings me to conclude my first point: Takao/Tyson handled situations like these very well in this season.

I feel like Takao’s way of thinking differed vastly from his teammates, causing him to often clash with them. No one ever bothered listening to his point of view. Sure, he once wanted to cheat his way through the match with the PsyKicks, but it was only to protect their bit beasts. He knew it was wrong, he said so himself, but he really was panicking his ass off and took up unjust methods to cover it up. The pressure of facing strong enemies who were big threats to him started to place him in an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. When his teammates bashed him for planning on cheating, he says ‘you have no idea what I’ve had to feel to get to this point’ (Japanese version).

His personality got much better after episode 20. He calmed down a lot and began to show his soft side to the audience. So yes, there was character development for sure.

One of my favourite things about him in this season is his adorable bond with dragoon/seiryu.

A good build up for G-Revolution includes the losses Takao faced in this season:

1. He lost Kane: I feel like V-Force Takao always needed a serene and sweet person like Kane to lighten up his frustrated mood. His teammates are often as loud and grumpy as him and he cannot stand that. Takao’s meeting with Kane lightened up his day so much that he felt the need to build an immediate and positive perception about him, which is probably why he was so devastated when he found out that he is a part of the PsyKicks.

2. He lost Zeo: Zeo was introduced as an amiable boy who quickly built a strong bond with his fan Takao but turned his back as quickly, completely leaving Takao in shock and sadness. Heck, Takao was speechless and at a loss of words often when he came across him.

In both the cases, Takao was in a loop of trust issues.

This build-up for G-Revolution talks about the abandonment issues he faced in the season. Also, I’m not quite sure on the details but didn’t he lose Kyouju to the PsyKicks in the manga? Please fill me up on it.

Ultimately, I love him

As much as I love them

#tyson granger #takao kinomiya #beyblade v force #bakuten shoot beyblade #goshhhh please cut him some slack

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couldyouspeakmyname · 2 years

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I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED FOR ALL THINGS YANDERE!SHISHIGUMI ❤️❤️❤️ Can we get some headcanons please 🙏🙏🙏

Yandere is a portmanteau of two Japanese words. The first is yanderu, which means “to be sick,” and the second is deredere, used here for “lovestruck.” A yandere is often sweet, caring, and innocent before switching into someone who displays an extreme, often violent or psychotic, level of devotion to a love interest.

Yandere!Shishigumi

Bonus: Louis, Melon, and Chief Lion

Previous Yandere!Shishigumi ask

I am weak for Yandere!Shishigumi- Forgive any errors I tried to get this done in a reasonable time

Ibuki

If you had to pick a yandere to have an obsession with you, you're best off with Ibuki. He's dedicated, and willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy.

This does not include giving you to someone else. Despite his loving and supportive nature, you'll find anyone who starts to even have an inkling of an interest in you tends to vanish or changes their mind quickly. Ibuki will claim that the one good thing about being a lion, means that people listen and obey him without much thought because of his species. He uses it to his advantage.

Ibuki is the kind of yandere who will provide services in order to gain your affection. He prides himself on being who and what you need at any given time.

The sort of guy who does the secret admirer thing. Suddenly someone has bought you flowers, paid it forward for your food...

Ibuki’s ideal evening is being alone with you, watching a movie. Maybe while he sits next to you, he gets to put his hand next to yours. Would it be to forward to lock his pinky with yours?

Ibuki will and has killed for you, you just don’t know it. Once you catch his eye, a lot of your problems vanish fairly quickly...as do troublesome people. You haven’t seen that jerk cashier from the store in a while

Free

He’s the most forward of the yandere’s. He’d probably ask you out within a few weeks of establishing contact

Free is the kind of yandere that would not only kill for you, but kill in front of you. As a gang member, he will get away with it. You should be grateful, he doesn’t kill with his bare hands for just anyone.

Will take rejection the worst out of all the Shishigumi, and is very reactionary. It’s not a good idea to trigger him

Free’s knee jerk reaction is to kill anyone who gives you an issue. While many of the other shishigumi will try to find ways around it, Free just doesn’t hesitate. You’d be grateful to never have to deal with the problem ever again, right?

Despite being the most volatile yandere, if you return his affections, he’s one of the most easy yanderes to manage. If you tell him to stop, or avoid killing, he will. He’ll complain a lot, but he’ll listen. He’s wrapped around your finger, and everyone knows it

He’s also very easy to distract from whatever issue he feels he has to deal with. The guy will drop almost anything if it means he just gets to kiss you.

Free is most happy when he has his darling in the mansion surrounded by the other lions. They’re protected, in his den, and most of all: they can’t get away. He sleeps easier you you in his bed

Probably leaves body parts of your 'enemies' in your house as gifts to show off that someone is looking out for you.

Dolph

Actually very reasonable. He doesn’t jump with his emotions, and he’s calm and collected. He’s not driven by his moetions, but he’s influenced by them

Has and will kill for his darling, but he’s smart and tends to play the long wait game. It’ll always be within a year, but Dolph will stalk, learn weaknesses, then strike.

Dolph is strong, resilient, and will risk his life for his darling if needed

Dolph will often talk about his Darling to Agata, and speaks of them highly

Dolph isn't the sort to break into his Darling's home, but will often watch through windows, or guard outside. It's also not uncommon for him to be in the vicinity when his darling gets off from school/work

When Dolph is finally dating his Darling, he doesn't intend for them to ever leave him....ever. Breaking up isn't an option, and as far as Dolph is concerned, you're basically married

Like Free, Dolph is most relaxed when his darling is in the Shishigumi mansion, and only then does he feel comfortable leaving their side

Agata

Agata is a level headed guy, but he is fueled by his emotions. As soon as he sees you, he's hooked

He does interact with you, but you'd probably not remember him much. He doesn't stand out, but will often ride on the train with you, shop at the same grocery stores you do, ect. It's all on purpose so he can be as close as possible, without you getting creeped out

Any time he speaks with you, he almost thinks of it as part of a video game. Every social interaction with you that ends well, he feels like he gains an affinity. It also means even small interactions have a big impact on him. He may see a hello as a hello especially for him, instead of a social nicety.

Agata turns to Dolph for advice, and Dolph gives it freely. Dolph also will check in on your if Agata is unable to. Dolph is the only lion Agata trusts with you. Unlike the rest of the Shishigumi, Agata is not comfortable with you being near them. Why? His instincts tell him they're competition.

Agata is the youngest, and best, yandere at tracking his Darlings online presence. In combination with Dope, the two of them can find any and all social media, and they both use it to track their respective darlings and find more out about them.

Dope

Speaking of Dope, he's one of the few Yanderes that manipulates those around you. He'll gets to know the people you know, and get information about you from them. If he manipulates those around you, then he'll have no opposition when it comes to getting to you.

Dope also gets to know you quickly, and because he's so good at talking and manipulating...you tell him a lot of things you'd normally not say so quickly.

Dope isn't naturally violent, but it doesn't mean he wont get his hands dirty if he has to. He's still a lion, and can loose his temper.

Dope loves to pulls strings behind the scenes and manipulate others to get you ahead or for you to have an advantage

Dope probably knows more of your information than most. He knows your blood type

Hino

More unstable than one would think.

His looks has gotten him far in life, and out of all the yanderes, Hino is one of the ones who can NOT take any sort of rejection

Hino is generally gentle, and he's a gift giver. Expect to find new things in your home that you didn't purchase yourself

Yes he's been in your house. Good looks aren't the only reason he's in the Shishigumi

Hino loves to be close to you, and will travel the same areas, and probably steals blankets and shirts you wear

Hino probably is more bold than many other yanderes, and introduces himself early. He's charming, and somewhat manipulative.

His favorite nickname for you is Darling

Miguel

Miguel is close second behind Free in terms of killing for his Darling. Miguel is strong, and doesn't hold back on anyone he deems as a threat. It doesn't matter who or what they are

Miguel is your silent protector, and it doesn't take long for him to weasel his way into your life. He ends up helping you with any, and everything

Probably introduced himself by helping you with heavy groceries that were difficult to carry or something

If Miguel were to ever kidnap his darling, there's very little they could do to stop him. Miguel is strong, there's very few animals would could beat him in a strength check

Even though he seems intimidating, Yandere!Miguel is actually very sweet. His love language is acts of service

Sabu

You will never see Sabu coming. He's basically a ghost, and he doesn't show himself unless he wants you to see him

Probably does maintenance on your vehicle in the middle of the night to make sure you drive safely

Sabu is also the kind to clean your home while you're away and keep it tidy. You'll know someone was there (he wants the acknowledgement)

Know that no lock can keep him out, and with help from Dope and Jinma, you're security system is useless

Sabu is a yandere that knows his intense affection isn't normal, but knows how to curve it. You'll meet him, eventually. When you do? You're already in so deep that in the matter of a few hours he can take you and make it like you never existed

Jinma

Jinma probably knows you so well that he has a wall with everyone you know and interact with up on a wall connected with red string

Would know your social security number/card pin numbers/ any vital info

Jinma knows your likes and dislikes, and has your habits memorized

One of the yandere that likes to come to your house when you not home and just exist where you normally are

While he knows a lot, he also knows not to freak you out and introduces himself slowly over time. You wont know how deep his obsession is until you've already fallen for him

Melon

The only yandere worse than Melon MIGHT be Yafya

Melon doesn't care who he hurts. Your family? A nuisance. Your friends? Boring. Who care about any of them when you have him?

Will kidnap you on a whim, and no one can really stop him. Depending when he does it, he potentially has the Shishigumi behind him

Locks you in a room and treats you like his pet

He's the kind of yandere who only lets you out of his sight if you're locked behind a door. You can go outside, but you have to go with him. Run, and you'll be caught and punished

On the flip side, he's more vulnerable with you than anyone else, and talks honestly

He really enjoys having you close, and will take your hand so you can scratch behind his ears/antlers

Louis

RIP you.

Yandere!Louis is also very emotional and volatile. Once he wants you, he has you.

He has money to make anything standing in his way disappear.

He treats you well, and spoils you with cash and items. You just have to stay by his side, and not stray to far or try to run

You will never have alone time again. Even if Louis isn't there, the Shishigumi is

Thinks he knows what's best for you, no matter what

You get a sugar daddy, but you also loose your freedom. You wont be allowed to have a job, or hobbies that surround you with other people. Louis is all you need.

Chief Lion

It takes only a few hours before he has you in his grasp, locked in the Shishigumi mansion with no means of escape.

He likes it best when you're naked, or are wearing high quality clothing

He will buy you anything you need, so going 'out' to shop isn't necessary

You don't get to leave the mansion without him. He doesn't even trust the rest of the lions with you

The kind of yandere who loves touching and having you close.

If you do need time 'outside' he's going to have you go to a spa to be pampered (plus you're inside with someone he's paid to keep an eye on you)

Forget your old life, as far as anyone else knows, you're still a missing person

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tanenigiri · 2 years

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Review #11: Seaside Stranger (Volume 1: Umibe no Etranger)

Japanese title: 海辺のエトランゼ (Umibe no Etranger)

Story and art: Kii Kanna

English publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment

Number of volumes: 4 in English, 5 in Japanese (ongoing)

A tidal wave of emotions.

(This review contains story spoilers.)

This is the third of three series in this project where I first watched the anime before reading the manga, the other two being Given and Sasaki and Miyano. This is a lot closer to the former in terms of what it aims to do, but even if I found Given’s tragedy to be heavier, I thought Umibe no Etranger was sadder? I don’t know if it’s because there’s a lot less humor and light-hearted scenes to go with the main plot - though those are definitely still there - but there was something about the movie that leaves you feeling emotionally drained by the end (in a good way, of course).

I got the same feeling while reading the first volume of Seaside Stranger, which encompasses almost everything that the movie covers. But more than anything, the manga filled in so many blanks about the movie that I ended up appreciating the story a lot more. There were some parts of the movie where I thought I didn’t have enough context to fully understand what was happening, and each of them made more sense here - and on that merit alone I already think this was worth the read for me.

But even without that, this is still a really great story about two characters who have different ways of dealing with their inner turmoil and how that ultimately affects their relationship. And we get this right from the very first pages, where we’re hit with the doozy of a reveal that Mio, a high school student, has already lost both of his parents. Since he doesn’t seem to be getting along well with his adoptive family, this leads him to spend a significant part of his day alone in a bench and staring out in the ocean, which catches the attention of a number of people in the island. Most notable of these people is Shun, a novelist who’s revealed to have moved to the island to live with his aunt after a falling out with his parents, which involved a discontinued marriage and his coming out to them as gay.

It’s with those inner demons where the two of them meet and develop feelings for each other, but it’s very telling that all of this happens within the story’s first chapter - when they both have these new feelings to contend with while still in the middle of dealing with their respective conflicts. While the rest of the series focuses more on Shun’s internal conflict, this first volume gives just as big of a spotlight to Mio’s own struggles. And while he’s implied to have made significant progress with his own battles in the three years he spends away from the island, I think the manga does a better job than the movie in reminding us that his conflict is far from resolved.

One of the reasons why I think that’s so is a manga-only scene that shows Mio actually fulfilling his promise of calling Shun once he’s settled in the new orphanage, but is instead seen talking to Eri, Shun’s close friend who has lived with him and his aunt for quite some time. As she is shown to be in a relationship with another woman, Eri and Shun share a solid connection even if they get on each other’s nerves, and it’s this friendship that leads Eri to warn Mio not to be hasty with his feelings, especially since Mio isn’t really sure with how to feel about being in a relationship with another man.

This was honestly one of those big “Aha!” moments for me, as it recontextualizes so much of what happens in the movie when I reread them here. While we get from Mio himself later in the story that he wanted to make sure he was ready to live alone and make his own decisions before moving in with Shun, the above conversation with Eri tells me that Mio also spent those three years away from Shun as he needed all that time to think about whether or not he was ready to be in a relationship with him. We actually get a sneak peek in the movie of what he does during this time - and I find out later on that this is taken from a future volume - but what we are revealed in Volume 1 is that Mio has slept with a woman, which I think happens within these three years. So when Mio says in the end that he does like women but finds himself being able to fall in love with Shun anyway, it’s a truth about himself that took him several years to figure out.

It’s also telling that Eri is the one who invites Mio to be Shun’s new roommate after she moves out, as for me, this implies that Eri and Mio have been in contact ever since their first call. I’d like to imagine that Eri’s been helping Mio about his feelings for Shun as well, as they’re shown to become pretty good friends in the few scenes they share together. And her funny reaction about Mio suddenly professing his love for Shun when the former moves in suddenly takes on a whole new meaning, as it also means that Eri now sees Mio as someone who’s ready to be in a relationship with her friend.

Of course, three years of soul-searching might have been good for Mio, but it took a toll on Shun. He is shown to be a lot more hurt about this specific issue in the manga compared to the movie, and I think that’s pretty justifiable. He is, after all, coming from a place where admitting he likes men has only brought him pain, and we even find out later in the story that Mio is the first man that he’s ever admitted his feelings to since he’s always scared of the repercussions that would come out of his confession. Mio ghosting him for three years (apart from a postcard) gives Shun the impression that he’s once again made the wrong decision, so to suddenly be hit with an “I like you too” from Mio after three years is something that Shun isn’t prepared to handle.

We initially see most of this struggle from Mio’s perspective, and while it seems to culminate with their night in the hotel room, it’s given another twist with a visit from Shun’s childhood friend and ex-fiancee, Sakurako. I was slightly dreading that this was gonna go down a “win him back” type of plot, and while we do find out that Sakurako hasn’t moved on from Shun in the same way that he has moved on from her, what she does bring to the table is much more interesting. Shun finds out from Sakurako that his father is gravely ill, and she encourages him to go home before it’s too late. This turns out to be an issue that Shun and Mio see from completely different sides, as while Shun is still very much hurt over his falling out with his parents, Mio knows all too well the pain of losing a parent.

What I didn’t expect to see from the manga, though, is how Mio is actually not as 100% supportive of the idea of Shun leaving to go to his family as I thought. While he still encourages him to accept Sakurako’s decision, the manga adds some dialogue where he does admit that he doesn’t want to be apart from Shun yet again. I think it makes his stand on the issue a lot more realistic, as while he still loves Shun and wants to make up for the three years he spent away from him, he loves him enough to know that this trip is a lot more important for him, even if the novelist doesn’t see it as so.

It makes Shun’s insistence of Mio going with him to the trip in the end a lot more meaningful, as it sees Shun come to terms with quite a lot of things he’s been bottling up at that point. He realizes that he does want to see his family and maybe even get some closure out of it, but he also realizes that he cares for Mio just as much - and, more importantly, he doesn’t want to run away from either of them anymore. So when Shun sees the opportunity to still have both of them by his side, he takes it.

While it may seem like I enjoyed Seaside Stranger more for how the manga executed things when compared to the movie - and I admit that’s a big part of it, specifically for this volume - my initial thoughts of it having a gut-punch of a story still remained, and it’s perhaps even amplified after reading this. It really succeeds in exploring Shun’s and Mio’s internal conflicts and eliciting a lot of emotions out of them, which makes the few moments where things do work out a lot more rewarding.

Random thoughts that I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

I also wanted to point out how Mio being ready for the relationship doesn’t mean that he suddenly has the relevant experiences for it, and I think the story did a good job in portraying that. While it was often played for laughs, I still noted it as something that Mio was actively working on, and this is thankfully a plot point that future volumes continue to address.

I should mention how unique the setting is - this is one of only two series I’m covering for this project that’s primarily set outside of a city, the other being Restart After Coming Back Home. There’s obviously the whole factor that this is somewhere that Shun escapes to after what happens between him and his parents - which can be compared with how this is somewhere that Mio returns to - but I think how quiet and laid back the island is makes for a nice contrast with how the story’s conflicts are anything but those two descriptions. It was also nice to see the whole “everyone sorta knows each other” vibe in the early chapters too.

Where is the Eri x Suzu spinoff??? I really want to know more about them and their domestic life. This is one of the few volumes I’m covering for this project that doesn’t have any bonus chapters, and I 100% believe that if it did, it would focus on the two of them.

Thanks for reading! This is one of those cases that makes me glad that I decided to go through with this project, as there were several points about Seaside Stranger that I only realized as I was writing them down for this review, which only deepened my appreciation for the series even further. While I do have copies of the first three volumes of its sequel, Harukaze no Etranger, I'm still deciding whether or not I should cover them for this project.

#Seaside Stranger #Umibe no Etranger #Stranger by the Shore #Stranger by the Beach #Kii Kanna #Shun Hashimoto #Mio Chibana #Eri #BL manga #manga #manga review

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bitofthisandthat · 1 year

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@reanimatedmuses asked: 👫for Leosami and 👫 for Raphsami?

4 HEADCANONS on our Muse’s Ships

Leosami

Asami plays Leo’s attentions off as no big deal for awhile, curious to see how serious he actually is and how far he’d actually go. The others tell him to stop all the time, but Asami NEVER stops his flirtations, inappropriate jokes, or acts remotely bothered by his advances. The others tell him because of the “mutant vs. human” thing, it’s never going to happen, and she’s just being nice to him because: “that’s how she is.” They all want him to lay off their new friend, because they don’t want him to chase her away. But Asami starts to flirt and joke back, which royally confuses everyone, Leo most of all. Until one day, she pushes him to admit he’s serious about liking her, or to stop. When he actually asks her out, she says yes....and he’s not sure if she’s just joking...

Asami SPOILS Leo with fancy places she knows she can take him (rooftop pools overlooking city, nicer places to eat, spas, etc.) and she 100% uses her wealth to take care of him. Of course, she knows she has to give some of that rich stuff to his family (F.I. workstation access for Donnie, traditional Japanese gifts to Splinter, museum access to Mikey, etc.) to make it “even.” But Leo gets fancy time with her a lot, and part of it is yes, she’s extremely doting and wants to spoil people she loves because that’s her way, but she also wants him to feel “normal” around her. She wants to create their own spaces together where he gets to see what it’s like to be in her “world” without pressure. Of course, when she takes him to these places they’re pretty much ALONE or it’s very incognito. One day, she promises/hopes they can be out in the open, but they both know they have to be careful now. Though, if he takes her to the Hidden City, they’re very open, and she STILL takes him to the shishi places there, too. Apparently mortal money is still good, there. XD

They DO have a lot of fun, since they’re both adrenaline junkies, have the same level of, er, needs and have a lot of the same interests...but...they also get into it sometimes, and have dramatic arguments. They always start off with Asami gently trying to get him to talk to her about personal, serious things; either their relationship or what he’s going through (I imagine after the movie the boys all have PTSD). He’s fine to listen to her woes regarding her dad’s crimes, etc, and how isolated and pressured she is, but the second she asks him about his problems, he shuts her down. Of course, she doesn’t let it be, because Asami is stubborn. So she keeps begging for him to deal with it, and to rely on her for a safe, sounding board. And then the loud fighting begins. One of them always ends up not talking to the other for a day or so, but neither lets a fight last more than that, they’re both to codependent to let it rot for more than 24 hours.

For the Invasion Timeline AU: During the resistance, in addition to working with Donnie on the tech end, Leo put Asami in charge of whatever orphans that they could find, and she was their caretaker and teacher as well. On a mission gone wrong, Asami’s Mecha failed her, (just as below) but it wasn’t what killed her. Her death came 1-2 years (before the film’s intro). Asami used her Mecha to round up whatever children were left unscathed, and herd them to safety. But the Kr/ang affected the spirit-fused Mecha suit with its evil energy, causing it to crumble up in “pain” and crash. In order to not kill the children she had managed to save, she steered the dying Mecha away to crash elsewhere, which meant jumping ship and nearly falling to her death. She was able to get away with a broken arm and a few busted ribs, but when she met back up with Leo, the kids were gone. Ignoring his orders to go back to the hideout, she went after the kids instead, and was killed trying to protect them on foot. Sadly, they made it to the hideout on their own later, but if she had just listened, they all would have made it there. Needless to say, Leo did not deal with this well at ALL.

Raphsami

Asami checks on Raph’s wellbeing in small ways when everyone else just expects him to suck it up and be strong about it. She gets him to open up and talk about his stresses and worries with her and JUST LISTENS. She also just takes him places to get away from everyone else to decompress. However, she has to kinda TRICK him into it, since he always wants to know where his fam is at all times. She basically tells him they’re going to drive out to somewhere to do reconnaissance training, and they’re going to meet everyone else there. But then it ends up being some starry scene or in an abandoned air hangar where he can “escape” for a few hours and relax, and eat and just zone out with her.

She knows he’s self-conscious about his physical strength and “natural armor” and how he can hurt people if he’s not careful. So, Asami initiates pretty much ALL physical affection: hugs, holding his hand when he seems nervous, or just gentle touches. Obviously she’d be the first to initiate anything more private and intimate, and has to constantly tell him she’s fine, he’s not hurting her, etc. And even if she’s nervous at times herself, (lbr) she still wants him to feel comfortable and okay that he’s not intimidating to her at all.

They start out good friends of course, and the only way they really get to be one-on-one is through training and exercise, etc. Raph tries to ignore/hide his crush on her for awhile, but Asami picks up on his unsaid crush and eventually starts to feel deeper things for him too. But it’s Asami that has to break the ice. She waits until they’re done after a long training session, and just asks him if he wants to go get something to eat, after they’ve both cleaned up. He thinks it’s going to be her treating him AND the entire fam, like usual, but she has to tell him (sweetly) point blank; “No, I was thinking it would be just the two of us, this time.” And then starts the beginning of the most awkward, messy, clumsy, and embarrassing first date ever---that just endears him to her more; obviously, they end up together a long time until...

For the Invasion Timeline AU: Asami and Raph were killed on the same day. Like her original LOK canon, she created Mecha Suits that were infused with mystic/nature to bypass the Kr/ang’s Tech/Digital-jamming powers. However, it only seemed to work until the spirit energy inside of the Mecha couldn’t take the intense darkness coming from the Kr/ang’s dome past ONE battle, so she crashed and burned out. She made it out of the rubble, albeit severely injured, and in trying to defend her getaway, Raph was was severely injured as well. They tried to fight off the enemy with their fatal injuries together for as long as they could, but after taking numerous hits after the crash, Asami succumbed to her internal damage, and fell to her knees on the battlefield, bleeding out. Raph tried to drag her body to the hideout camp, but passed out from pain. Raph’s death followed (hours) after.

#reanimatedmuses #asks #4 HC SHIP meme!#HEADCANON || ASAMI #V: STILL HEIRESS; STILL DEBUTANTE; STILL NOT DADDY'S HELPLESS LITTLE GIRL || ASAMI IN NYC ROTTMNT VERSE #leosami tbt #raphsami tbt #LONG POST #{ REMINDER: all ships are their own verses they aren't happening in the same story/verse! }#{Bc she wouldn't live under the Krang she'd last long but she's still human & I imagine Cass and April probably were taken out too}#{ Asami may not be good with kids but she still wants to protecc }

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the-stargone-sideblog · 2 years

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Miscellaneous info on Percy, he’s one of the characters I like writing for the most so this is gonna be a fun one. I’m gonna include info from both Dusk (the story where Percy’s originally from) and Stargone so I apologise if this is inconsistent.

He wears a mask because he ended up catching a flesh virus when he lived in Pernum, his mama managed to save his life but the damage was already done. His self esteem was low before, but after that it was long gone

He likes wearing scarves as well

He stutters like crazy, it gets less apparent over time

He can drive like nobody’s business

He has a pet snail called Herb, he managed to keep his existence a secret for years because Pernum sucks and he didn’t want him to get hurt

He also wears a raincoat sometimes, it’s not often, but he likes it very much

He’s kind of overweight, he does have muscle on him, but his stomach…not so much. He has now become the main recipient of Charlie’s remarks

Him and Karma begin dating later on, much to Jeremy’s dismay and the surprise of everyone else

He covers his bedroom mirror with a blanket because he’s not a big fan of looking at himself

The pollution in Pernum did damage to his lungs, but nothing life threatening

He’s severely touch starved, like you wouldn’t believe. Whenever Karma’s affectionate with him the guy just turns to putty

He’s a human-pyromanial hybrid, this has its benefits and disadvantages. Holy water doesn’t negatively affect him, but fire breathing has taken a heavy toll on his voice, he’s seventeen but he sounds likes he’s just began puberty

He’s clocked Jeremy in the jaw once, the mark has since been permanent

Since Percy didn’t live in the cleanest conditions for most of his life (because Pernum sucked), he later became obsessed with cleaning things.

His mom was Japanese and his dad American with French ancestors…it’s a miracle Synther hasn’t offed him yet

He can’t read English, at all. The guy can only read in his original language (which is Japanese. He only spoke Japanese for the first 7 years of his life until his mother began teaching him English)

He has a diary

He really likes old horror movies

He’s actually a really good piano player

He has anger issues, he lived in a crime infested city against his will for years, most of his friends back in Pernum are dead and his mama died a few months prior to becoming acquainted with the rest of the group so…can you really blame him?

Despite this, he’s actually really patient with Synther…most of the time, the moment she threatens anyone he cares about he gets pissed

Speaking of which, he is terrifying when he’s pissed, whenever anyone gets hurt by someone that they can’t handle, he goes loco on them

He becomes a recluse on Mother’s Day, Karma stays with him

He hits himself whenever he’s frustrated

Percy was the vocalist for the band that him and Jeremy were in, he’s actually a really good singer but he gets shy so he doesn’t really do it anymore. It’s a 2D situation, angelic singing voice, completely different talking voice

He doesn’t like being touched, he does have exceptions though (Karma being the main one). He’s alright with hugs though, he gives very good hugs.

His hair changes hue depending on how he’s feeling (thanks to his hybrid genes). Whenever he’s calm it’s the normal pastel pink, whenever he’s around people he doesn’t like it becomes muted and whenever he’s flustered or angry it turns bright pink

He loves the hell out of old anime

He’s also a huge metalhead

He gives people gifts whenever he has the money

He has a therapist, a character that’s actively getting help, good for him

#stargone #my ocs #oc lore

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placedupon · 3 years

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I’m getting pretty tired of the phrases “stop asian hate,” “anti-Asian hate.” I know a lot of people mean well when they say them, but they’re just terms that have been appropriated/stolen from Black liberation movements, and they obfuscate the real racism that Asian people face.

The phrase “stop asian hate” is pretty obviously modelled after “Black lives matter,” and it gets more obvious with the phrase “anti-Asian” racism. The thing is, there is no global anti-Asian racism. There isn’t!! The term “anti-Asian” is stolen from the term “anti-Black.” “Anti-Blackness” functions completely differently than any kind of racism against Asian people, and it’s disrespectful to pretend that they’re in any way the same.

What we are seeing today is much closer to sinophobia (the hatred of chinese people) and islamaphobia. The shooter who killed multiple Asian women in Atlanta was making posts on facebook about how much he hated china in the weeks before he killed those people. He was motivated by misogyny, whorephobia, and sinophobia. Today, if you go on any major western news site, liberal or conservative, you will probably see at least one article talking about how China is threatening the US in some way.

Additionally, the demonization of west Asians and Muslims isn’t “anti-Asian hate”-- it’s islamophobia. This is because Asia is much too big a place for there to be one type of oppression that affects all of us. Whereas anti-Blackness has it’s roots in colonialism, enslavement, and white supremacy, racism against Asian people has a lot more to do with the specific countries and culture we’re from.

There is not a global “anti-Asian” movement, and there never has been. What does exist is imperialism, and the invasion and murder of countless Asian people (this too isn’t unique to Asian people-- the United States has also invaded and murdered people in Africa and South America, which can be seen more here). I made a post about this already, but hate crimes against Asian people have almost always happened when the United States is at war with, or wants to go to war with an Asian country. This is why hate crimes against Japanese people went up in the 1940s, as well as hate crimes against Vietnamese people (or people seen to be Vietnamese) increased in the 1960s and 70s. This is why west Asians, as well as Sikhs (who were mistaken as Muslim) were assaulted and killed after 9/11.

So many of the racist things we’ve seen against Asian people we’ve seen lately-- from the phrase to blaming China for covid (think terms like “kung flu,” “china virus,” and conspiracy theories about China making and leaking a virus), to both Biden and Trump saying that the other is a shill for China, to the many articles and movies dehumanizing and demonizing China (as well as the DPRK)-- it is happening because the United States government views China as a threat to its power, and it is trying to dehumanize Chinese people so as to justify war in the future. This is what happened with Japan, with Korea, with Vietnam and Cambodia and Laos. It also happened (and is happening) in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and so many other countries. I’m really hoping that it doesn’t happen again.

#stop asian hate #stop asian violence #anti asian sentiment #anti asian discrimination #anti asian hate #asian hate #using these tags for reference #imperialism

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luckgods · 3 years

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Why all the white guys in whump?

I got Inspired by a post asking that question, and here we are. Warning: long post ahead.

I think it’s due to a combination of factors, as things frequently are.

The preference for / prevalence of white male characters in fandom is well-known and has been examined pretty thoroughly by people already.

What’s worth noting for discussing this tendency in whump in particular is that the ‘whump fandom’ itself is not a ‘fandom’ in the traditional sense of being made of fans of one single source narrative (or source setting, like a particular comics fandom, or the Star Wars extended universe) with pre-existing characters. Although subsets of traditional fandoms certainly exist within the larger whump fandom, a lot of whump is based on original, ‘fan’-created characters.

So, given the tendency of ‘traditional’ fandoms to create stories disproportionately centered on white male characters due to the source material itself being centered on white male characters (and giving more narrative weight to them, characterizing them better, etc), if we say hypothetically that the whump fandom is split say 50/50 between ‘traditional’ fandom works and original whump works, you’d expect to see a higher number of works focused on white men than the demographics of the ‘traditional’ fandom’s source work would predict, but not as extreme of a divergence between the source material & the fanworks as the one you’d see if whump fandom were 100% based on popular media.

However, that doesn’t quite seem to be the case. Whump stories and art remain focused on overwhelmingly male and frequently white characters, which means that the tendency of the fandom to create stories disproportionately centered on white male characters cannot be ONLY explained by the source material itself being centered on white male characters (and giving more narrative weight to them, characterizing them better, etc).

And, having established the fact that whump writers & artists presumably have MORE control over the design of their characters than writers & artists in ‘traditional’ fandoms, we have to wonder why the proportions remain biased towards men, & white men in particular.

—

The race thing is pretty simple in my opinion. Mostly, it’s just another extension of the fanbase’s tendency to reflect the (predominantly US-American, on tumblr) culture it exists in, which means that, in a white-centric culture, people make artworks featuring white people.

There’s also the issue of artists being hesitant to write works that dwell heavily on violence towards people of color due to the (US-American) history of people of color being violently mistreated. I’ve actually seen a couple of posts arguing that white people SHOULDN’T write whump of nonwhite characters (particularly Black characters) because of the history of actual violence against Black bodies being used as entertainment, which means that fictional violence against Black people, written by white people, for a (presumed) white audience, still feels exploitative and demeaning.

I'm not going to get into all my thoughts on this discussion here but suffice to say that there's probably an impact on the demographics of whump works from authors of color who simply... don't want to see violence against people of color, even non-explicitly-racialized violence, and then another impact from white authors who choose not to write non-white characters either due to the reasons stated above, or simply due to their personal discomfort with how to go about writing non-white characters in a genre that is heavily focused on interpersonal violence.

Interestingly enough, there’s also a decent proportion of Japanese manga & anime being used as source material for whump, and manga-styled original works being created. The particular relationship between US-American and Japanese pop culture could take up a whole essay just by itself so I’ll just say, there’s a long history of US-Japanese cultural exchange which means that this tendency is also not all that surprising.

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GENDER though. If someone had the time and the energy they could make a fucking CAREER out of examining gender in whump, gender dynamics in whump, and why there seems to be a fandom-wide preference for male whumpees that cannot be fully explained by the emphasis on male characters in the source text.

I have several different theories about factors which impact gender preference in whump, and anyone who has other theories (or disagrees with mine) is free to jump in and add on.

THEORY 1: AUTHOR GENDER AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.  Fandom in general is predominantly female, although these days it might be more accurate to say that fandom is predominantly composed of cis women and trans people of all genders. However, pretty much everyone who isn't a cis man has had to contend with the specter of gendered violence in their real personal life. Thus, if we posit whump (and fandom more generally) as a sort of escapist setup, it's not hard to see why whump authors & artists might willfully eschew writing female whumpees (especially in the case of inflicted whump), because (as in the discussion of people of color in whump above), even violence towards women that is explicitly non-gender-based may still hit too close to home for people whose lives have been saturated with the awareness of gender-based violence.

THEORY 2: SICK OF SEXY SUFFERING.  Something of an addendum to theory 1, it's worth noting that depictions of female suffering in popular media are extremely gendered (in that they specifically reflect real-life gender-based violence, and that said real-life violence is almost exclusively referenced in relation to female characters) and frequently sexualized as well. There's only so many times you can see female characters having their clothes Strategically Ripped while they're held captive, being sexually menaced (overtly or implicitly) to demonstrate How Evil the villain is, or just getting outright sexually assaulted for the Drama of it all before it gets exhausting, especially when the narratives typically either brush any consequences under the rug, or dwell on them in a way that feels more voyeuristic and gratuitous than realistic and meaningful. All this may result in authors who, given the chance to write their own depictions of suffering, may decide simply to remove the possibility of gendered violence by removing the female gender.

THEORY 3: AUTHOR ATTRACTION.  I'll admit that this one is more a matter of conjecture, as I haven't seen any good demographic breakdowns of attraction in general fandom or whump fandom. That said, my own experience talking to fellow whump fans does indicate that attraction to the characters (whether whumpers, or whumpees) is part of the draw of whump for some people. This one partially ties into theory 1 as well, in that people who are attracted to multiple genders may not derive the same enjoyment out of seeing a female character in a whumpy situation as they might seeing a male character in that situation, simply because of the experience of gendered violence in their lives.

THEORY 4: ACCEPTABLE TARGETS.  The female history of fandom means that there's been a lot more discussion of the impacts of depicting pain & suffering (especially female suffering) for personal amusement. Thus, in some ways, you could say that there is a mild taboo on putting female characters through suffering if you can't "justify" it as meaningful to the narrative, not just titillating, which whump fandom rarely tries or requires anyone to do. This fan-cultural 'rule' may impact whump writers' and artists' decisions in choosing the gender of their characters.

THEORY 5: AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAINSTREAM MASCULINITY.  Whump fandom may like whumping men because by and large, mainstream/pop culture doesn't let men be vulnerable, doesn't let them cry, doesn't let them have long-term health issues due to constantly getting beat up even when they really SHOULD, doesn't let them have mental health issues period. Female characters, as discussed in theory 2, get to ("get to") go through suffering and be affected by it (however poorly written those effects are), but typically, male characters' suffering is treated as a temporary problem, minimized, and sublimated into anger if at all possible. (For an example, see: every scene in a movie where something terrible happens and the male lead character screams instead of crying). So, as nature abhors a vacuum, whump fandom "over-produces" whump of men so as to fill in that gap in content.

THEORY 6: AMPLIFIED BIAS.  While it's true that whump fandom doesn't have a source text, it's also true that whump fans frequently find their way into the fandom via other 'traditional' fandoms, and continue participating in 'traditional' fandoms as part of their whump fandom activity. Bias begets bias; fandom as a whole has a massive problem with focusing on white male characters, and fans who are used to the bias towards certain types of characters in derivative works absolutely reproduce that bias in their own original whump works.

—

I honestly think that there is greater bias in the whump fandom than anyone would like to admit. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems as though whump fans avoid introspection and discussion of the issue by bringing up the points I talked about in my previous theories, particularly discomfort with depictions of female suffering for amusement.

However, I think that, as artists, we owe it to ourselves and one another to engage in at least a small amount of self-interrogation over our preferences, and see what unconscious or unacknowledged biases we possess. It's a little absurd to argue that depictions of women as whumpees are universally too distressing to even discuss when a male character in the exact same position would be fine and even gratifying to the person making that argument; while obviously, people have a right to their own boundaries, those boundaries should not be used to shut down discussion of any topics, even sensitive ones.

Furthermore, engaging in personal reflection allows artists to make more deliberate (and meaningful) art. For people whose goal is simply to have fun, that may not seem all that appealing, but having greater understanding of one's own preferences can be very helpful towards deciding what works to create, what to focus on when creating, and what works to seek out.

—

GENDER ADDENDUM: NONBINARY CHARACTERS, NONBINARY AUTHORS.  Of course, this whole discussion so far has been exclusively based on a male-female binary, which is reductive. (I will note, though, that many binary people do effectively sort all nonbinary people they know of into 'female-aligned' and 'male-aligned' categories and then proceed to treat the nonbinary people and characters they have categorized a 'female-aligned' the same way as they treat people & characters who are actually female, and ditto for 'male-aligned'. That tendency is very frustrating for me, as a nonbinary person whose gender has NOTHING to do with any part of the binary, and reveals that even 'progressive' fandom culture has quite a ways to go in its understanding of gender.)

Anyways, nonbinary characters in whump are still VERY rare and typically written by nonbinary authors. (I have no clue whether nonbinary whump fans have, as a demographic group, different gender preferences than binary fans, but I'd be interested in seeing that data.)

As noted above with female characters, it's similarly difficult to have a discussion about representation and treatment of nonbinary characters in whump fandom, and frankly in fandom in general. Frequently, people regard attempts to open discussions on difficult topics as a call for conflict. This defensive stance once again reveals the distaste for requests of meaningful self-examination that is so frequent in fandom spaces, and online more generally.

—

TL;DR: Whump is not immune to the same gender & racial biases that are prevalent in fandom and (US-American) culture. If you enjoy whump: ask yourself why you dislike the things you dislike— the answer may surprise you. If you create whump: ask yourself whose stories you tell, and what stories you refuse to tell— then ask yourself why.

#eposting #whumpinions #whump #whumpblr #whump community #essay #i wrote this so yall all have to read it lol #but seriously the next person who implies that a nonbinary person is just 'woman-lite' or 'man-lite' is going to Die By My Fucking Sword #mine

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hunterexamcheatsheet · 3 years

Link

Explaining how the Mafia functions, Kurapika in the mafia community and why the other “Neon died” theories don’t work from the Mafia Structure perspective

Please read this if you’re interested in how Kurapika in the mafia functions in the HxH world.

I went to roam around the Chinese forums using Kurapika and Neon's name (酷拉皮卡和妮翁; pronounced as Kù Lā Pí Kǎ and Nī Wēng) to try and find some KuraNeon content in the Chinese fandom.

I found a Chinese blog that also talks about the dolphin theory that @anotherworldash has thought of. You may use Google translate for the link above to read it. You may also view what @u-named had summarised here regarding the dolphin theory. I had reblogged it before but I got very excited when I saw that another fan had thought of it.

I’m so glad that other people from non-English fandoms had also thought of it (and not just the usual theories of Neon dying, but exploring other explanations why it’s possible for her to be still alive). I might be slightly biased, but I disliked how everyone just jumped into the assumption that she’s dead because her name disappeared from Chrollo’s book. From what I see, HxH deaths are often shown or at least heavily implied. We also got false narratives like the one with Kite in CA arc.

We do not see her dead body. Or any major hints of what happened to her.

What’s more, Kurapika implied that the previous owners where he had acquired the Scarlet Eyes from did not need to be killed. While this only means that Kurapika did not kill Neon, and it’s possible that other people might have killed her or she had died by accident/natural cause, it’s still something to think about.

The flaw in some of the “Neon’s dead” theories

I think u-named already discussed this a bit, but I’m going to elaborate it a little further. I am actually thinking of posting regarding the mafia theme, but that will take a while. I had been researching the functions of mafia in both reality and media, in order to understand what goes on in mafia families in HxH.

The theories regarding “Neon was killed by the mafia community”, “Light Nostrade killed her” and “she committed suicide” are possible, but I’m going to need to nitpick on the reasoning. I suspect people who formed these theories don’t know how the mafia works or at least, attempt to understand how it works (not that I’m an expert, I’m still trying to understand it from mafia movies, videos, a book and journal papers).

Of course there is a discrepancy between the actual mafia and what is depicted in media, but given that Togashi had mafia themes in his previous works like in Ten de Showaru Cupid and in Yu Yu Hakusho, and until now, he is using mafia families in his current arc.

“Oh, but what if Togashi doesn’t do his research?”

I genuinely think he does. York New City and the Ten Dons could be a parallel to the actual Five Powerful Mafia Families in New York City back then, formed in 1931. The Five Families is also what inspired the five mafia families in The Godfather. (I don’t know, maybe Togashi was a fan of The Godfather or any mafia movies; that trilogy was very influential in the media). Even the family name Nostrade is both a reference to Nostradamus (a French fortune teller) and La Cosa Nostra (a nickname for the Italian mafia). The coincidence is too uncanny.

From what I gather from resources, the mafia functions like an organisation/corporation, but their services are largely illegal. Their main aim is to acquire money (and also power, but power comes with money).

Neon’s fortune-telling ability is highly sought after because accurate information in many places (which includes being in businesses) are crucial. If you guys are familiar with The Godfather, information and strategy is important when trying to win over people or crushing your enemies. The concept of knowing your enemy is also a huge main idea in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

And it’s even more valuable when these information is from the future. You will always be one step ahead of the enemy if you have accurate information in regards to the future.

Now, there are people envious of Light’s climb to power because he exploited his daughter’s fortune-telling ability and they gained influence as she has fans among the Dons. They see Light’s acquiring of power as a threat, which is why Light protects his daughter.

Another reason (not really stated, I just thought of it) is that information from the future is a disadvantage when your enemy has it and you don’t. You already lose when the other side has information that you do not have.

By the end of the YorkNew City arc, we see that the Ten Dons are assassinated by Illumi. Therefore, there seems to be empty seats when it comes to the leadership of the mafia community. Not stated, but without leadership, a corporation/business will either crumble or someone else will assume leadership. Be it brutally or by succession of an heir, we’ll never know.

Neon’s ability is no longer on hers. Who is affected negatively? Light Nostrade because he just lost his way of influence and attaining money/power. His enemies, who are envious of his climbing up the ranks, will see it as an advantage. A blessing perhaps. Because the threat (which is Neon’s powers) are gone.

While murder among mafia members are not uncommon, killing one’s family member (especially one’s direct children) is irreversible and poses serious consequences. An all out war could evoke and it can be costly. Going back to my point about the mafia community’s main aim and how it functions as a business, negotiations are actually another way to deal with possible disputes. They do not need to do the killing because her powers are simply GONE. Without her powers, she’s just an ordinary “citizen” who is a family member of a father whose in the mafia community.

Therefore, “mafia community killed Neon” theory is flawed if you look at how the mafia community functions as businesses and negotiations. The reason why they decided to be brutal and aggressive in York New City is because they were up against the Phantom Troupe. Additionally, the lack of manpower and leadership that follows after their fiasco with the Phantom Troupe is another concern. A girl who no longer poses a threat is the least of their worries.

Now, onto the “Kurapika let them die off”, “Light killed Neon” and “she committed suicide” theories.

The reason why I have a problem with these is because it’s based on the big assumption that they became broke. Either Light Nostrade went crazy and he killed her; or they became broke and Neon couldn’t handle the stresses of being poor so she committed suicide. But the thing is, they aren’t broke.

Even on the Hunterpedia states:

The Nostrade Family survived the loss of Neon's ability and is now led by Kurapika. The organization is exclusively involved in legal activities such as personal security details and gambling.

This is backed by what Linssen has said to Mizaistom in the Dark Continent Expedition arc.

The reason why they survived the financial slump? Kurapika.

During the Greed Island arc, Kurapika reassured him that he’ll “take care of it”. And during the Dark Continent Expedition arc, we see that Kurapika’s title is “Nostrade Family Waka-gashira”. Waka-gashira means “Young Boss”. There are many mistranslations to this text where they state that he’s the mafia organisation leader, but in the hardcopy (which I have), the title is “Nostrade Family Boss”.

In the context of the Japanese yakuza, the Waka-gashira is the second in command, just below the Oyabun.

The second in the chain of command is the wakagashira, who governs several gangs in a region with the help of a fuku-honbucho who is himself responsible for several gangs.

While it seems that the inspiration of mafia is from the Italian-American mafia families in York New City, the terminologies they used is that of the Japanese yakuza. I think that this is because the original language is in Japanese.

In Italian-American mafia, the term “mafia organisation” is synonymous with “mafia family”. Therefore, if you say that a man is the mafia organisation leader, he is also by default the head of the mafia family.

In the context of Kurapika, it does make sense that he is the second-in-command and Light is the oyabun (if you go by the yakuza terminology), or Kurapika is the head of the Nostrade family (if you go by the Italian-American way).

Now, I’m just going to backtrack a bit because I want to address that theory that “Kurapika let Neon and/or Light die and overtook the Nostrade mafia organisation”.

If you go by the Yakuza terminology, it already doesn’t make sense because it implies that Light is still in charge, and Kurapika is the second-in-command (wakagashira). The Yakuza also assimilate members into the mafia organisation and “making your own family” (via trust).

If you go by the Italian-American way, it also doesn’t make sense if you look at the way they appoint the head of the mafia organisation. From what I read and seen in mafia movies, aside from mafia organisations functioning like a corporation, it functions like a family business, where typically, the head of the family is a male. This isn’t just exclusive to mafia families, but pretty much family businesses in [East] Asia. Togashi also depicts this male heir and family business dynamic within the Zoldyck Family.

While there are actual records of women leading mafia organisations, what is depicted in media is that the mafia community are often populated with men. This is also evident in the York New City arc, where the mafia community is filled with armed men.

Even among the Yakuza, it is like this:

The Yakuza is populated almost entirely by men and the very few women who are acknowledged are the wives of bosses

Light Nostrade only have one child, a daughter to be exact. While Morena Prudo is the boss of the Heil-Ly Mafia Family, this isn’t the actual case for Neon. Neon is a young girl who likes to shop and collects dead body parts. She enjoys luxury and materialism. She doesn’t have an interest in the mafia business or where the money comes from. Besides, as mentioned before, a male heir is often depicted.

In Japanese family businesses, when there is no male heir available, they will have to resort to mukoyoshi practice. Taken from Wikipedia:

When a family, especially one with a well established business, has no male heir but has an unwed daughter of a suitable age, she will marry the mukoyōshi, a man chosen especially for his ability to run the family business.

This is done to preserve the business and name of the family when there is no suitable male heir, since traditionally businesses are inherited by the oldest male heir. Mukoyōshi is also practiced if there is no capable male heir to run the family business.

This is a centuries-old tradition and is still widely practiced today. Many Japanese companies with household names such as Nintendo, Kikkoman, and Toyota have adopted this practice.

This is why I often liked the whole “Kurapika married Neon for the title” theory because it takes into a Japanese practice when it comes to family businesses + how the mafia family business are run into account.

We also have to note that Neon Nostrade’s character blueprint is Princess Luna from Level E. Princess Luna is betrothed to the main character, Prince Baka. Initially, Prince Baka did not want to marry her. Arranged marriages do not need to be founded by love or a relationship bond. In fact, arranged marriages are often agreed on because of practical reasons, such as a family business.

Princess Luna is also why I take the marriage theory more into account, rather than the idea that Ligth adopted him. Kurapika is considered as an adult (or nearly) anyway.

Side note: Whether or not you agree with this because it seems sexist or the possible sickening idea that Kurapika married a flesh collector, is irrelevant. Me being a KuraNeon shipper also does not make this theory hold any less weight. In fact, I started liking them together because of this theory. This is based on how [mafia] family businesses are depicted in the media, the mukoyoshi practice in Japan and Princess Luna being Neon’s character blueprint. Remember that theories are based on evidence, not based on how you feel. If anything, this gives more depth to Kurapika because it shows how far he’s willing to go through in order to gain power and money for his clan.

Regardless of how Kurapika had gotten this title, it is via assimilation. Not coercion or force.

It also doesn’t make sense if he were to function businesses under the Nostrade family name, if he disliked Light and Neon so much that he’d let them wither off. Why would he still keep their family name in honour if he had let them die off? The answer is getting the title via assimilation. Be it through trust or becoming a member of the family (literally or figuratively).

Neon being uninterested also meant that there is no one to challenge Kurapika for the title, and Kurapika had already reassured to Light that the business during Greed Island arc.

Therefore, the “Kurapika had let Light and Neon wither off to get the title” is flawed when you look at the way mafia organisations functions as a family business and Neon’s character.

Why the Nostrades aren’t broke

Linssen stating the Nostrade family gains its income from gambling and personal security detail businesses that the Nostrade family runs, thanks to Kurapika being the head of the family.

Aside from that, we also see Kurapika obtaining many sets of Scarlet Eyes, with him stating that there are various ways he had done so.

“I’ve threatened, coaxed and paid people off” - Kurapika (based on the hardcopy Volume 33 that I have)

During the York New City arc, one set of Scarlet Eyes are already worth like what, millions? Not only money, but Kurapika needs influence and connections to gain these Scarlet Eyes. Threatening and coaxing meant that you’ll need to invoke fear or drive them into situations where they are forced to surrender the Scarlet Eyes. How to do that? Creating dilemmas. Give the person two options, both that are undesirable, with the lesser evil option being the one you want.

Basically, giving an offer they can’t refuse (sorry, this reference was too good to pass up lmao).

This is why being part of the mafia, and more so being a mafia leader is an attractive pathway for Kurapika because it gives him the resources, in terms of influence, finance and aggressive force.

Another thing to note is that Kurapika has hired Izunavi, Melody, Basho and Bisky to apply for the Kakin Bodyguarding contract. It’s evident that Kurapika has the money. Therefore, the Nostrades aren’t broke.

Hence, the idea that Neon was killed because her father could not face financial difficulties or that she committed suicide because she’s no longer rich, falls flat when you consider Kurapika’s involvement with their family.

“But didn’t Linssen say that gambling and personal security are legal businesses and he told Mizaistom that they are not the crime syndicate? Why is it part of the mafia?”

Yes. You see, the mafia deals with LARGELY illegal businesses, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deal with the legal ones too. Perhaps the Nostrade family has been legitimised, but it wouldn’t be the case because Kurapika’s title still states “mafia”.

While these facts seem to contradict what Linssen claimed to Mizaistom that the Nostrade organisation is not a crime syndicate, it can be argued that Mizaistom is a Crime Hunter (aka like a detective). It makes sense for Linssen to tell a Crime Hunter that you are not a crook, and it’s easier to lie about it if your services in the mafia business is legal.

Also, in actual mafia businesses where gambling is involved, the place of the server where online gambling may be legal, but in the place where the people use the online gambling may be illegal.

Taken from 10 Businesses Supposedly Controlled by the Mafia:

But mobsters have adapted to the times and taken their act online. These days, they are more likely to be busted for online sports gambling. In 2008, a Queens district attorney charged the Gambino family with illegal sports and casino-style gambling operations. Players were allowed to borrow gambling money at 200 percent interest [source: Bonner]. More recently, members of the Genovese family in New Jersey were indicted for making millions of dollars each year through illegal gambling operations [source: Ivers].

In Europe, officials have raised concerns over the vast amounts of money being laundered by the Mafia through online gambling, particularly sites based in Germany, where there are no penalties for illegal gambling activities [source: Walther].

Personal security details kind of vague, but I believe it’s Protection Racket. I went to have a look at Wikipedia for a short while and found ties with the mafia:

A protection racket is a scheme where a potentially hazardous group guarantees protection from violence, looting, raiding, piracy, and other such threats posed by them outside the sanction of the law, to polities, businesses, individuals, or other entities and groups that pay to them in cash or kind.

Protection rackets tend to appear in markets in which the police and judiciary cannot be counted on to provide legal protection, because of incompetence (as in weak or failed states) or illegality (black markets).

Certain scholars, such as Diego Gambetta, classify criminal organizations engaged in protection racketeering as "mafia", as the racket is popular with both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia.

While this “personal security details” the Nostrade family business provides, the stuff that involves in it may be illegal.

We don’t really know why Kurapika resorted to these two types of businesses. I have two guesses: 1) He wants to compensate and retain his moral values, therefore he opts for legal businesses, 2) He wants to have a loophole in being in the mafia yet avoiding legal troubles. Either way, it’s a smart move for Kurapika in my opinion.

Side note: With Togashi liking mafia themes so much, I truly believe that it’s a hard opportunity for him to pass up the idea of making one of his main characters a mafia leader. We get to have our own Michael Corleone, and that’s hot. (Simping hard for mafia boss Kurapika right now).

What about the Kakin Bodyguard thing? And the fact that Kurapika’s a Zodiac now? Does this mean he’s no longer the Nostrade Family Boss?

He is still the Nostrade family boss. These three are not mutually exclusive.

In the manga panel where they showed his title, it was slightly after the Zodiacs meeting. Therefore, he still retains his title as the Nostrade Boss. Being part of the Zodiac is a position within the Hunters Assocation, they are the counsellors to the Chairman. Just as when Kurapika is a hunter and the Nostrade Boss at the same time, he can also be a Zodiac and the Nostrade Boss.

The Kakin Bodyguard thing is like an employment contract. As mentioned, Kurapika hired a few people to apply for being a bodyguard because six Kakin Princes were looking for bodyguards to get close to the 4th Prince Tserriednich. You can actually see this as a link to his “Protection Racket” mafia business. Being a Kakin bodyguard is a type of Protection Racket. Therefore, he can still be a Kakin bodyguard while holding onto the mafia title.

Kurapika doesn’t need to be in the mainland overseeing everything in the business, in fact, it’s kind of noteworthy that Linssen was not on board - it is definitely possible that he had left the other parts of the mafia business to a second-in-command (a consigliere, shategashira, or the saiko-komon). He may also leave the businesses back to Light Nostrade.

Okay, what if Neon committed suicide because she couldn’t take how she’s being mistreated, rather than her being broke?

That could be possible, but we don’t really have a clear hint of that. Yes, I can see some potential daddy issues because she’s no longer of use to her father and also the possibility that Light favours Kurapika more now and maybe even sold her off to Kurapika, but I don’t find any strong evidence of that. And we don’t actually exactly know how Kurapika will act around her now that he seems to have more power than her. In fact, we don’t really have any insights as to what Kurapika thinks of her, only sweeping statements when it comes to flesh collectors which may or may not apply to her.

(I know people assume that he hates her, because they like to infer his prejudice on flesh collectors to her, but we really have ZERO clear indication of what he thinks about her specifically. To say that he definitely hates her is inaccurate. I literally just argued with someone on Youtube comments for this. And even if he did hate her, that’s hot if she’s his wife because hate-sex is wow.)

To Conclude:

The theories surrounding Neon Nostrade being dead falls flat when you look deeper into how the mafia functions. I have also explained more in detail at a possibility of how Kurapika might function in the mafia community and as the Nostrade family leader.

Other sources aside from above (so that ya’all know I don’t pull this out of my ass):

New York Mafia Families

What does the mafia even do anymore?

How to Make an Offer they can’t refuse like Vito Corleone

The Godfather by Mario Putzo [film/fictional book - watched Part 1 and 2]

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires By Selwyn Raab [book - only read a bit]

When culture matters: succession challenges for Asian business families

Behind the Yakuza: documenting the women of Japan’s mafia

How Japan’s family businesses use sons-in-law to bring in new blood

Pretty much the whole of Hunterpedia LMAO.

I only wanted to post the Chinese blog but ended up a huge full-on essay about the mafia in HxH HAHHAA. (Because I’m so sick of people talking about theories without taking the mafia structure into consideration).

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maxenceandrebisset · 3 years

Text

YUTA as a boyfriend || NCT

So you are here for our cherished Osaka prince? Then you are lucky because this one is longer than the other ones I have made so far.

Let's just state right at the beginning of this, that you and Yuta are for sure absolute soulmates if you started dating each other. Many people have prejudices towards him if they don't put the effort and time into getting to know him better - they think that he is rude, veracious, or that he doesn't care a bit about others, but that's not the truth, and you know that.

With this being said, it is obvious that you two would be friends at first - because he is quite social, and not scared to go literally anywhere, it is hard to tell where the two of you would meet. It could be a café, thrift shop, restaurant, convenience store, a gym, or just in the busy city center. Either way, you would have to stand out in some sort of way for him to notice you and start to pay attention to you more than he regularly does to people - unique hairstyle, clothing, you having a cute-ass dog who would go up for him for petting, you being confident in comparison with other girls around you either in the way you would speak or just present yourself to people, or you being Japanese, to begin with because I strongly believe that Yuta would like to stick up to Japanese girls even though he looks like a dude who would love to experiment more than other members.

I would see him experiment with a few girls - something like a one-night stand sort of thing - but this would hardly ever turn into something more like a relationship or a regular sort of thing. We all know that this boy is quite an experience one when it comes to the love life (you all know what I mean and why I am saying this), but because he would really want to take his time before starting a serious relationship, I think that he gained these experiences and knowledge from this so-called "experimenting".

So, you two would be friends for quite a while - going out quite regularly, visiting each other, and watching movies or anime together to early morning hours, constantly calling and texting each other whenever you would have a free minute to do so (even if you didn't), sending memes, funny videos, and stuff like that to each other every single minute, and waiting with pure excitement for the response fo the other one. And then after a few months of you being extremely close, filled with relying on each other through the hard times or whenever you wanted to enjoy a bit of quality time with someone, you two just casually made out while watching a new episode of your favorite TV show on the couch in your apartment, giggling like two idiots, any exclaiming that it took both of you long enough.

He would be both extremely soft, but also quite "rough/cocky" with you. It would really depend on the situation and on the mood you would be having.

After a tiring day in work behind, whenever one of you would have a downcast mood - being sad or disappointed about something that happened to you or to someone around you, which would deeply affect you in some way -, or simply when you would have a soft mood for no reason, you two would just lay in bed or couch for minutes or even hours, cuddling, talking in soft-spoken words, complimenting each other or just discussing a completely random topic that would pop up in your heads at that moment. He would shower you with loving pecks all over your body, borrow you his clothes, that would be extremely cozy for you as it would be a few sizes bigger than your regular clothes, or he would buy some big bar of chocolate, wanting you to eat as much of it as possible while repeating several times that he doesn't care if you gain weight because if it softens your spirits and cheers you up, then it is worth.

He would want you to do the same thing for him as well, even if he didn't ask for it directly and tried to hide his own sufferings from you, because we all know how many times he has been angry, down, or frustrated because of the treatment he is getting in the group and because of the way some people think of him. Here the long period of your friendship, in which you got to know each other in every single detail, would be helpful because you would see in a second if Yuta is going through one of these moods, even if he tried to cover it. For a few seconds, he would try to change your mind and repeat that he is completely fine, but after the initial rejection, he would just break down in front of you and let you comfort him and raise his spirits with some good meal, you would cook for him, with you taking him out to some shopping mall for a shopping spree, with you taking him on a walk for some fresh air, or with you gifting him with some attention in the privacy of your home.

With this being said, we move on to the part of him being "cocky" with you. Many times, you gifting him some attention when he would be upset, would turn into something more heated than you planned. And I believe that we all know how much of a favorite and enjoyable activity this would be with someone as experienced as Yuta (he would always want to try new things in this, spice it up every single time, make it heavenly for both of you), but because this is rather a soft version of him being a boyfriend, I won't be going to nasty details about you sleeping together.

Him being cocky would mean a lot of PDA as he is quite shameless when he is in his confident mood - holding hands, kissing in public, hugging, being clingy, slapping each other's ass in a teasing manner, or going as far as a little more wild touching when the two of you would get drunk late in some pub. Yuta would casually whisper nasty things into your ears, flirt with you without caring a bit if others are listening to you, and compliment every single thing on your body or the activity you would do, which would make you aggressively blush mostly because of the number of compliments you would be receiving from him.

Dates would be really colorful - it would be a wide range of dates, from the stereotypical romantic ones like restaurants, cinemas, picnics..., the artistic ones - you going to get a tattoo together, designing your clothes, shoes, visiting a gallery of modern art... to the "physical ones" like going on walks, riding bikes, going on a hike, to the gym together, or him teaching you football if you didn't already know how to play it. But every time, he would want to make sure that is a hell of a special one for both of you as they wouldn't be as regular as at normal couples because of his idol life and hectic schedules.

But unfortunately, I think that fights might be a normal thing in your relationship. Both of you would be really strong-minded, sometimes too stubborn and honest for your own good, so these traits would just add the oil to the fire during your arguments as you can all easily imagine. You would definitely scare the hell out of people if you started to argue in front of them, but the thing is, that you would be absolutely okay after a few hours, maybe even minutes because you would get the things like this off your chest quicker than if you tried to talk them out, so even though it would be quite terrifying, it would be a way in which you would solve your problems.

When it comes to the family, we all know that Yuta is definitely going to be a big family guy, despite the fact that he might not look like one to some people. He would want to introduce you to his family even before the two of you would officially start dating, and here comes his preference of Japanese girls in place because his family seems to be a Japanese traditional one - they would maybe accept his girlfriend being Korean, but I am not that confident about them being okay with him bringing home a western girl. Of course, he is someone who doesn't give a damn about what people usually think of him, at this point, but at the same time he treasures his family so much and I think that he himself really wants to marry a Japanese girl one day and live the "traditional" Japanese family life as he misses his homeland in Korea so much.

I can imagine him wanting to have a boy - of course, he wouldn't mind a girl as well, but I think that he really wants to have a son in his life. You know, teaching him a football, being this super active, motivating dad, who would hype him up, and would be considered extremely cool and funny by the boy's friends. The one who would be open to his son about everything - every question, every problem, or whatever discussion his son would want to have with him -, creating a special close bond thanks to this.

Well, and the two of you would of course never stop being the cool, edgy, but deeply loving and caring couple.

#yuta #nakamoto yuta #nct yuta nakamoto #yuta nakamoto x reader #nakamoto #NCT #nct mtl #nct scenario #nct scenarios #nct127 #nct as boyfriends #nct ideal type #nct yuta #yuta ideal type

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quitealotofsodapop · 3 years

Text

MvA assorted headcanons

General:

So many years together has made the core monsters inseperable. If something affects one member, it affects the group.

All. The. Monsters. Are. Family.

It takes Susan a while to understand inside jokes and past incidents because of being the most recent addition.

There are Other anomalous creatures kept in Area 5X, but they are either non-sentient and/or are too dangerous to be kept around the more human-friendly monster group.

Area 5X is so gotdang big because they were expecting a lot more kaijus like Insecto to crop up. Sadly not many have surfaced to justify the space.

There’s a hangar in Area 5X full of wrecked UFOs. Some are spacecraft wreckage while others are stuff like weird meteors (Susan’s is in there), and at least one alien creature that got crystallised upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

There’s significant difference in staff employed at different points throughout the past 50 years. There are far more women on the Area 5X worksheet than back in the 50s, and the guards are generally more sympathetic towards the monsters. Many modern staff members have been reprimanded or let go for failing to uphold secrecy, or for unnecessary cruelty towards the monsters.

Budget cuts were a legitmate concern up until the Battle of Golden Gate Bridge. The facility was far more barebones and sterile before the government had to formally recognise Area 5X’s importance. There have been a lot of redecorating at the facilty since the fat checks started coming in.

Putting individual characters under read due to length.

Susan:

Enjoys many hobbies considered stereotypically feminine; baking, sewing, cosmetics, etc...

Grandparents and extended family are farmers or are atleast connected to the business. Modesto is the agricultural centre of California after all. Her parents were the first of their generation to go against the mold and seek out white-collar careers.

Studied cosmetology in school and was working at a beauty salon to save up for her and Derek’s wedding.

Is very athletic and grew up doing a number of physical extracurriculars like cheerleading, dodgeball, and roller-derby.

Grew up being teased for being the shortest kid in her class/family. They still tease her for it.

Greatly fears causing collateral damage and/or harm to others through her size.

Has issues with anxiety, worsened only by her new job as “savior of earth”. She wishes for a confidant to tell her worries to.

Married life with Derek was doomed to fail. Susan had a plan in place for what came after the marriage, and focusing 100% on Derek’s career was not it. There’s also the line from Derek’s mother about Susan being “the weatherman’s wife”, implying that she was to be the homemaker and not have a career of her own. It’s possible that Susan was planning to settle down and have kids with Derek, but the lack of control she had in moving to Fresno implied that more was going on.

Is currently “taking a break” from love and dating, despite gaining many new admirers.

Tries her best to return to Modesto to visit her family and friends whenever possible, though work often keeps her away for weeks at a time.

If she retains her height-shifting abilities as in the series; Susan goes through really bad “growing” pains.

Link:

Was frozen in his relative late-teens during a cold snap. Got shifted around until he ended up somewhere in Greenland before being discovered by modern humans. Post-thaw he went a bit wild, swimming frantically back south to try and find his old enviroment.

Was one of many scrappy youngsters in his troop, with a number of adoptive parents. The strongest ruled the troop, and Link was fairly weak in comparision to the leaders. He had gotten into a fight the day of his freezing (over something silly in hindsight) and swam away to sulk. When he didn’t return after the cold snap - the troop accepted that he had likely died out on his own.

Likes to freak out humans by making up weird biology facts about his species and ones he’s fought against - like joking about laying eggs or having his tail dettach and regrow like a lizard. However there’s some things he has to ask about, because he doesn’t have medical knowledge or words to describe something.

A lot of his macho behavior came from imitating the guards who kept watch on him. 1950s violent military alpha males aren't a very good role model for someone who doesnt know what societal norms are yet. Link was a lot more insufferable back in the day but chilled out as he began interacting with other walks of life.

Has a high paternal instinct and immediately becomes softer around kids and smaller animals.

Has body language similar to a cat/alligator. Slaps his tail when angry or in deep thought. And yes; Link purrs/rumbles when happy.

Loves monster movies - especially the ones where the monsters “win”. He cried when he saw “Beauty and the Beast” and then immediately booed loudly when the Beast turned human.

Does Not Trust doctors or scientists due to bad past experiences. Will only go to Dr Cockroach and Monger if he ever gets hurt/ill. Gets stressed fast if he has to be in a waiting room or doctors office.

Link had no idea what gender indentities or orientations were until recently - he did come from a pre-human civilization that really didnt mind/care about the schemantics. It took him some time to wrap his head around it. He identifies himself as bisexual after much thought and many hours alone on the computer.

Don't press him about his body. He's built different from humans and cis people. He will punch anyone who doesnt respect his or anyone elses identity.

Has been in love before. It didn’t end well.

Will occasionally wear clothes, but finds it a challenge to find anything that fits him. Will give any shoes he finds to Dr Cockroach and BOB to eat.

The best driver/pilot out of all the monsters.

Dr Cockroach:

True name is Jaques-Yves Herbert. Prefers to just go by "Dr Cockroach" because he dislikes the association with his birth family.

Picks up human languages very easily, although not as quickly as he can understand animals.

Parents were a mixed scientist couple. His father was an aggressive “Strong British Man” that would beat him son down for not following orders or for not meeting his standards for a man. Dr C turned down both chances to attend his parents funerals.

This man isn’t straight. He probably uses old-fashioned slang when asked about romance such as; “I am Uranian” or “I wear a green carnation”. It took Susan a few times to realise what he meant, as she is used to a more open minded enviroment.

Got the idea of transforming into a cockroach from reading Franz Kafkas “The Metamorphosis” as a child. He sympathized with Gregor’s abusive situation, and began considering the possibilties of how one could survive better as a creature like a cockroach.

Studied in biology and entomology in the Uk before moving to the states to follow engineering. Obtained his degree in Dance as a “side gig” in University.

Has been barred from free access to the coffee maker/machine due to overnighters. Once stayed awake so long that he forgot the letter “R”.

Owned a terrarium of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches throughout college. He mourned each of them when his roommate’s iguana got into the tank.

Was a "beatnik" back in the day and still kinda is. Embraces and encourages modern counterculture as he himself was not given such acceptance in his youth. He has however shamefully eaten his old Lenny Bruce album.

Hasn’t actually aged physically since his transformation. He attributes this to the fact that certain athropods can’t age physically beyond maturity. Link is very jealous.

Has obtained more degrees while in captivity, as Monger allowed him access to research and learning materials. He has however had his allowances revoked for previous escape attempts/doomsday devices.

Does still enjoy human food, but the cockroach instinct of "eat detritus" tends to overrule his eating choices. Can’t cook either.

Ironically a terrible driver. The damages from previous drives has made Monger restrict him from operating even a razor scooter.

BOB:

Pretty much considers himself human. Was created by them, raised by one (Monger), and talks like one. Gets sad when he's reminded that no other humans are blue blobs like him.

Absorbed some dna from the scientists present at his "birth", leading to his eye, speech, and omnivorous diet.

Doesnt actually need to breathe (as he can just absorb oxygen through his mass) but the fact that humans Do means that BOB thinks he has to as well.

Shares some physical characteristics with tomatoes/nightshade plants, as he is technically half tomato. He refuses to eat tomatos for this very reason, considering it cannibalism.

Attracts garden pests looking for a tomato plant. This unwittingly makes BOB a pretty good bug zapper.

Still retains his "mental broadcast" ability from "BOB's Big Break" although at a more subtle level. He tends to parrot the things he accidentally "eavesdropped" on.

Is empathetic, and can tell when others aren't doing ok emotionally. Will flop down on someone who’s really sad to comfort them. No brain, only heart.

Best cook out of the monsters. If he doesn’t forget what he’s making at least.

"Whats a gender? Can I eat it?"

Insectosaurus:

Core body is that of a Japanese Silkmoth, although she ended up being spliced with other animals present on the island during her initial mutation; namely ants and ground squirrels.

Eats over a literal ton of mulberry leaves per day. Also enjoys oranges.

Secretly wishes to be more humanoid.

Was only able to pupate and transform due to physical trauma. It seems that her transformation was like a “power-up” that required her to be in geniune distress for it to activate.

First language is Japanese. She learned it from the intial recovery team, and later developed an understanding of English from years in Area 5X.

Goes into torpor in cold weather. Pretty much impossible to wake her up for missions during Winter, as she needs to “rev up” before becoming mobile.

Still very much Link’s best friend. Still enjoys sports, chicks, and beer.

Monger:

Full name is; Warren Rex Monger.

Is very protective of the monsters and will defend them to the death.

Pretty much raised BOB (as seen when BOB was a baby blob in “Night of the Living Carrots”), and considers him his “freaky gelatinous son”.

Has a reputation of being a “control-freak” due to his aggressive overseeing of the monsters’ containment. This toughness is partly because of incidents that occured without his knowledge. Lets just say some scientists have been wedgied/fired for running experiments on the monsters without Monger’s approval.

Has a very “Ron Swanson” emotional response and view of the world. Crying is acceptable only at funerals and at the Grand Canyon (if he hadn’t lost his tear ducts in the war).

Has been married multiple times. Will not confirm or deny if he is currently seeing anyone.

Invisible Man/TiM:

Legit got out but no one at Area 5X is sure how. He suffered a geniune medical emergency and disappeared after surgery. The other monsters were informed that he died from complications to deter them from getting escape ideas.

Is able to be detected in Infrared light. Dr Cockroach managed to rig up goggles to view TiM in case of injury and to foil pranks.

Was a scientist working on an invisibility potion for the military and used himself as a guinea pig. Hasn’t actually been able to replicate his results since - thinks the effect may have been caused by a genetic abnormality.

Dr Cockroach and him are massive rivals. Both actually met eachother pre-transformation through a CalTech expedition. This makes the pair one of few people that have seen the others human face.

Is 100% naked. Was forced to wear clothing once this was discovered.

A massive prankster and a cynic. Him and Link were a force to be reckoned with.

Has revisted the facility multiple times and has started a number of ghost stories.

Any additions are welcome! I proably have alot more to dump about. Might make one of the alien characters from the series

#monsters vs aliens #mva #susan murphy #ginormica #the missing link #dr cockroach #bob mva #general monger #the invisible man mva #insectosaurus #headcanons

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defdaily · 3 years

Text

THE STAR Magazine April 2021 Issue featuring JAY B

Translated by defdaily.

GOT7’s eternally sincere leader JAY B. A friendly interview where you can feel his warm-heartedness.

*This interview was done in informal language to give off the feeling of two friends chatting*

It has been a while since we last met for GOT7’s feature in 2017.

Right, hi. I’m JAY B. Nice to meet you. Have you eaten?

JAY B has been chosen to be on the cover of THE STAR’s 8th anniversary issue.

Dobby is free now. (Laughs). I’m a freelancer now but I still can’t believe the fact that I was chosen to be on the cover of THE STAR’s anniversary issue. I’m so thankful to THE STAR for choosing me to be on the cover so I worked extra hard during the shoot.

How are you doing these days? We’re curious to know what you have been up to.

A freelancer’s daily life is always similar. I work when there is work and rest when there isn’t. I was busy recently organising this and that to release GOT7’s digital single ENCORE. I took the lead and there were many things I needed to figure out such as paperwork. So I was very proud. The members have all joined agencies but I want to take a little more time and think about it carefully before choosing. I’m still a freelancer.

Does the freelancing life suit you?

I don’t know if it suits me but it’s fun. Now work-related calls come to me directly, so I would be asleep then receive a call. I’d go “Ah I fell asleep for a moment, sorry. What is this about?” (Laughs). Since I do even these kinds of small communications myself, it’s nice and fascinating to realise the value of work and opportunities. If I didn’t have this time and experience, I think I might have not realised the value of work as much. I used to be on edge at times when the managers used to tell me things in the past. But now that I’ve learnt how much processing has been done before the information reached me, I feel sorry. Now I have a heart full of gratitude for opportunities.

I don’t know if it’s because you’re a freelancer now, but you seem much brighter than before.

Dobby is free now. (Laughs) I’m joking. Of course it was very helpful having a company. But now that I do everything myself, I feel more satisfied. I enjoy it.

The GOT7 members have all started solo activities. It must not have been easy for everyone, how did you come to your decision?

Right. It definitely was not easy. The seven of us researched a lot so that we can continue as GOT7 together. But then we thought that we should broaden our view so each of us could end up in a better situation. In the process, what we each wanted changed a little and, there is a future that each person dreams of right? The company said we did everything we could do on our part and that they will cheer us on in the future, that made me feel proud. We are also very thankful to the company. I felt that we received a lot of protection under a large umbrella. After all, the company is like the mother that gave birth to GOT7, so I’m thankful to them and respect them. I also thought a lot and looked into a lot of things about how to continue as GOT7. I also went to the president and asked him for advice, and I greeted and thanked Jinyoungie hyung for everything.

While preparing for new activities, what was the thing most discussed amongst the members?

“So what is it that you want to do?” “So what do you want to do?” We asked that a lot. So everyone said “We have to do it" So I asked again “No, not 'I have to', but do you want to do this? Or do you not want to do this?” If you are going to do something, you should do it properly, right? If you are not going to do something with an active attitude, I think it’s better to not do it. So we all came together and decided to give it a try.

It’s clear that you are GOT7’s leader.

One advice the company president told me was that my talent and effort as a leader starts now. Personally handling matters related to our recent digital single, I felt this “Taking the lead as a leader, I need to really work hard.” There was a lot of pressure, but if I don’t do it, who would. It pushed me to work hard.

You mentioned very clearly in your social media livestream that “GOT7 did not disband.” I felt your affection towards the team, what does GOT7 mean to JAY B?

One extremely important thing in my life. Actually, it’s an indispensable part. I’m thankful for the fact that our team exists. You have to know that because GOT7 existed, we individually exist too. It wouldn't matter if my beginning was as a solo, but my beginning was as GOT7. That's what made me who I am now.

How is Lim Jaebeom different as JAY B within GOT7, JJ Project, Jus2 and ØFFSHORE?

Comprehensively they’re all sides of me but if I have to split them, they would be a novel vibe versus an essay vibe. ØFFSHORE and Def. are all about music I like, regardless of genres, and honest stories I want to tell. As for GOT7, JJ Project and Jus2, we would have a particular concept and make it a bit more fancy.

Most of the songs you have shown on SoundCloud are R&B genres with a groovy feel. Have you ever had a conflict between music you want to do and music you have to do?

I felt that I needed to work harder to prove [myself] to do what I wanted to do. I can’t always be spoon-fed. To prove [myself] I made more GOT7 tracks and sent around 15~20 demos. Later on Jinyoung hyung and the president acknowledged me and said “Jaebeom will take care of the musical aspect. You can trust him with that.” I felt really proud hearing that. I don’t really feel a sense of conflict between the musical differences. From pop and R&B to folk and modern rock, I don't want to draw lines between genres and make music that sounds good.

We are curious about the music JAY B will show alone and what you’ll pursue. What stories do you want to tell?

I want to do a variety of things. Alone, I think I will try mixing genres and do things that are fun and experimental. I can also do R&B pop or Urban genres which I’ve originally liked. But that might change later on.

Is there an artist you’d like to collaborate with in the future?

Someone with a pleasant tone to listen to. Even now, when I listen to music and I like the artist’s tone, I send them a DM asking if they’d like to collaborate. And Korea's top hip hop artist, IU-nim. Do you think it's possible? (Laughs).

Then would you like to send a message to IU?

Suddenly? Um… I will work very hard. If by chance you think my song is alright, I would love for you to add your nice voice to them. (Laughs)

An appearance that may seem cold with a tsundere charm. But what do you think your real personality is like?

I’m the type that is quiet and calm, but people close to me tell me I’m a weird person. When I cry reading a book or watching a movie, or when I get emotional they say “It’s so weird, it doesn’t suit you.”

Are you the tender type?

I think I just often get hit by waves of emotions.

We’re curious about the lifestyle you seek and your values.

To live each day without any regrets.

Is there a place you’d like to visit after COVID-19 ends?

Kyoto, Japan. It’s a place where there is a lot of Japanese heritage and it’s also pretty.

Recently you have combined your two Instagram accounts @jaybnow.hr and @def.cnvs, what was the reason?

I’m the one doing everything after all, it is just the musical name that was different. I can’t split my body into two. I realised I could combine them into one account and just show the difference within it. And as I get older, it’s hard to manage two accounts. (Laughs). Was I too honest? Now I'm confused about what's what.

Was there any other moment that made you feel old?

I don’t do much and my whole body aches. In the past, my body wouldn’t get affected by the weather. Now when the weather is gloomy my back hurts and my knees go numb. (Laughs).

I can see that you’re interested in artistic aspects such as photography, painting and fashion etc. Do these things influence your music?

Of course. They affect the way you live in itself. I’m a person who wants to express and leave behind what I feel. Calling myself an artist feels somehow cocky.

What are you interested in recently?

It’s not art but I’m interested in moving around. Living as a freelancer, I spent more time lying down at home, but now I need a fast-paced daily life. I try to wake up in the morning to eat breakfast and nutritional supplements then go outside to photosynthesize and soak in the world. Everyone has to keep moving. (Laughs).

Are you interested in fashion and lifestyle curation and design etc?

I don’t think I’m a person who dresses up exceptionally well, but if someone asks I’d be willing to help.

What would you introduce as JAY B’s preference?

Freedom. Regarding fashion too, I liked vintage and grunge styles but recently I’m interested in work look and amecage styles. My preference keeps changing. I can't define myself clearly either, but I like the sense of being free.

What inspires you?

Many situations and people, my experiences as well as indirect experiences.

How do you have an indirect experience?

Watching movies and reading books. Nowadays I read song lyrics and unfold the scenes in my head. I try to think of various points of view in these one-act plays.

To JAY B, love is?

Nonexistent. A moment. I don’t know. As you live life, I think falling in love is a momentary emotion. If it lasts long, I think it’s affection not love. I'm a person who has to talk about love, but sometimes I wonder if it’s okay to feel this way. There are also many different forms of love. The love that my parents give me and the love that my fans send me. I’m thankful for everything.

While promoting for 10 years, what was the happiest moment and most lacking point?

I feel like every moment until now has been somehow lacking. Whenever you look back you end up thinking “I should’ve done better back then.” I think everyone feels that way. But I never regret those times I’ve spent. The happiest instance was when I spotted my parents at a fanmeeting and ran to them and held them while singing. It felt like I was boasting to my fans “These people are my father and mother,” and it also felt like I was showing my parents how I was receiving that many fans’ love and support. I'm thankful that the fans looked at my family happily at that moment.

Have you ever had a slump?

I don't think about something if I think I'm going to fall into something serious, but I'm the type who gets stressed out to do something new.

You are loved not only in Korea but also abroad, have you ever thought about why your fans like you so much?

A lot. I just don't understand. I'm not even popular among my friends... Why on earth?

Think of at least one thing.

Maybe it’s because I worked hard steadily? To be honest, during the past 10 years I have never not tried my best on stage. I can say this with confidence. I’m thankful to be able to do what I like as a job. I have told the members about this previously, I’m sorry for not being affectionate to fans onstage. It’s my nature so I can’t help it. But I have never been indifferent as a singer onstage, that is a fact.

Your bucket list that you surely want to achieve this year?

Being healthy mentally and physically. Since the members have started their solo activities this year, I think I should release an album as well.

Any words for the readers?

Everyone, I’m not saying this as a formal greeting but I really want to say thank you. Hmm… How should I put this? Don’t worry since we are not disbanding. That’s why I tried hard to release the digital single. Continuing on I’m going to try my best to do as much as I can. You might feel disappointed at times along the way, and I apologize in advance for that. But what I can promise is that I’m going to do my best. Thank you so much for supporting me for 10 years. You all know this already, but I’m not so good at things like sending hearts and saying thanks affectionately. I just want to speak sincerely. Thank you so much. I hope everyone will be more happy, not just because you like and support us… I could sound arrogant saying it like this but... I hope our fans are sturdy people who will find their own small sources of happiness in their daily lives even if that isn’t us. And I hope everyone is happy. I’m so thankful and I want to ask you to trust me.

Lastly let us know your future plans.

We will try our best to match our times and do GOT7, JJ Project and Jus2 etc. no matter what. Even if our times don’t match somehow, we’ll try our best to gather even 4 or 5 people and return, so don’t worry. And Dobby is free now. (Laughs). I will do my best in everything. I've made a lot of songs and I'm diligently working on songs right now too, so look forward to it. You’ll be able to listen to it soon. Thank you. This has been GOT7 JAY B. Please give lots of love to The Star’s April issue!

Translated by defdaily.

#jay b #jb #jaebeom #def #defsoul #got7 #got7 jb #got7 jaebeom

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mccall-me-maurice · 3 years

Text

A new list of headcanons for the updated AU

Lotf headcanons

Jack:

Jack is Ralph’s academic rival and also head of the debate team. He spends the weekends at his father’s business, learning how to run the company. On the Saturday nights, he goes to an underground club in a fight ring thing. Nobody knows he does it, even though Ralph also spends time there.

Jack is dyslexic and has minor and manageable OCD, denying using extra help for his dyslexia in classes.

Comes from a wealthy family with 6 siblings, his father divorcing his mother and marrying his step-mother who he pushes away because he’s angsty and shes “not his real mother.”

Loves 80s music so much, he’s a nerd for it.

Sings in the shower/bathroom like into a hairbrush in front of the mirror in his little towel like a nerd but he’s actually really good at singing.

Wears his uniform extremely sharply and very crisp like why so much effort.

He has hearing loss due to an accident in his childhood and he’s fluent in ASL, but doesn’t wear his hearing aids almost ever.

Ralph:

Ralph is fluent in violin, he’s actually really good at playing, he was also an ocean lifeguard and saved Jack’s life when he got caught in a current.

He wears thick framed glasses to read and has really swoopy handwriting thats illegible because it’s like messy calligraphy.

Ralph dives as a hobby and is so good at it, like scary good at diving perfectly.

He has beauty marks on his face that he lets people trace sometimes, ink usually adorning his cheeks.

Very French, extremely French. Fluent in the language.

Draws on his hands with different coloured pens and the designs are always so intricate like a mandala colouring book.

Also draws on the cuffs of his jeans and the rubber edge of his sneakers all the time.

Blushes very easily, will go red in a matter of seconds flat either when he’s flustered, embarrassed or angry.

Brothers with Robert.

Simon:

Spends all of his out of school time in his mother’s flower shop and can recite the meaning of most flowers if you ask him. His fingers are all bandaged up because of how much he cuts himself with knives when he’s removing stems or clippers.

He has epilepsy and faints frequently.

Is a fan of older musicals, like Grease, Dirty Dancing and Hairspray and makes the choir watch them with him.

Rarely spends time indoors, Simon is usually out biking around the neighbourhood or walking around with his friends from school.

Will paint rocks and gift them to people when he thinks they’re upset. Also does face painting at the school carnivals, because he never minds being alone in a booth when there is nobody there.

Speaks softly and is usually ignored in favour of people with louder opinions, but he’s usually right.

Roger:

His biological family died in a house accident, the only thing surviving being him and his cat Nastya, who he loves more than anything. Because of his parents death, he taught himself the rest of the Russian language, which they were already teaching him along with English. However, his heritage is East Asian and Russian.

He pierced his lip by himself, and even though it turned out fine, he got his ears done professionally.

Not very affectionate and will push people away, distancing himself because he doesn’t like the idea of anyone being close to him and get under his skin.

Dyed the back part of his hair on a whim and just liked it enough to keep it as a style.

Spends nights at Simon’s place instead of his own, finding more comfort in Simon’s house.

Sam:

Comes from a German family, but knows German, Italian and English.

He hates birthdays because he doesn’t understand why they are so important.

Hates social interactions and actively avoids them with a passion. He gets extremely nervous and just leaves abruptly when he gets too overwhelmed.

Younger than Eric by 6 minutes, which he routinely gets teased for.

Into super cheesy romantic movies because he loves the idea of a happy ending despite not having one himself.

Messes with his hair when he’s anxious, so it’s constantly messy and mussed.

Mega nail biter when he’s nervous.

Cousins with Jack.

Maurice:

Heavily touch reliant and when his friends don’t show him physical affection, he assumes the worst and gets very upset.

Heavily Italian, like so fucking Italian. His family hardly speaks English and he learned most of his from school.

Very passionate about science despite most people thinking he’s an idiot. He has some of the highest marks in his class.

Messes with things when he’s talking or uses hand gestures. Like if there’s a pen, he’s clicking it because it helps him concentrate.

Maurice has like a billion flannels and hoodies he just cycles through and it looks like he doesn’t change but no, it’s just that he owns a gazillion grey hoodies

His older sister when to an Ivy League school, so he owns a lot of stuff from it that he wears like sweaters or ball caps.

Eric:

Very sarcastic. his entire sense of humour is him bathing in his own sarcasm. It’s actually pretty well timed and kind of funny how he’s able to deadpan his jokes.

Very easily picks up on languages. He’s fluent or close to fluent in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese and partly fluent in Korean.

Really enjoys computer science and plans on doing it for a living. He stays up late at night to work and sleeps until like midday.

Doesn’t acknowledge other people’s emotions very often because he doesn’t realise when he’s gone too far, but still feels bad for others when they’re hurt.

Jack’s favourite cousin because they’re cynical buddies. Jack is overly protective of him even though Eric is perfectly capable.

Robert:

Brothers with Ralph and is very protective over him. Has absolutely slandered choir members before for hating on Ralph.

Shares a dad with Ralph but has a different mom, who he visits over the summer and sometimes during the holidays. That’s where he gets his Spanish roots from, which is a language he’s fluent in. He has 7 siblings on that side of his family.

Adores burnt popcorn and burnt anything. If he can burn it, he will.

Works as a mechanic in his free time and built the car he shares with Ralph.

Sci-Fi nerd, specifically Star Wars. He loves the movies and watches them like every day.

Extremely talented artist, Robert sketches anytime he has a pencil and paper.

Peter:

Was bullied in the past but doesn’t let the words bother him anymore. It mostly stopped around high school.

Works with his auntie in the sweet shop and brings his friends food for them to taste test.

Used to be a boy scout, so he can tie any knot you want him to, it’s really a gift.

Gets very cold very easily, especially his fingertips. He usually has a pair of gloves on him for when it gets really bad.

A Mathlete for most of his time in high school, obviously is extremely intelligent.

Double knots his shoelaces so they’re extra secure.

Bill:

Swedish, and really enjoys his own culture. He will spend HOURS rambling about it and how much he loves it.

Watches Avatar the Last Airbender and has the biggest crushes on Sokka and Zuko.

Also is a sucker for people who wear glasses, he really loves them.

Works at the library despite not liking books, he finds comfort in shelving them and the order they go in.

Puts little umbrellas in every single drink he has, it doesn’t matter what it is.

Writes notes to himself on sticky notes because his memory is horrible.

Sets at least 5 alarms because 1 will not wake him up by itself.

Harold:

Can speak limited Spanish due to his schooling.

Likes singing, but never really got into it like some choir members because he has stage fright.

Powerful speaker when he wants to be, but is usually too nervous to say anything.

Has no idea how to tie a tie, so he lets other people do it for him.

Sometimes take sarcastic comments seriously and ends up confused.

A really good actor and loves the performing arts.

Has extremely clear skin, he never gets any blemishes.

Wilfred:

Dyed his hair because his naturally brown hair reminds him too much of his father, who he hates.

Has 4 tattoos in total, the 4 card suits on his cheek, a half sleeve of roses, a bow and olive branch on his inner forearm, and the solar system on his outer forearm.

Very flirtatious to people he doesn’t really like but gets nervous around those he does.

Hold grudges really well.

Has shockingly neat handwriting.

Has a pretty horrible home life but he never talks about it to anyone because he doesn’t want to be perceived as weak or incapable.

Colours with only crayons.

Percival:

Cries easily, as he’s very emotionally driven and is typically teased for being a crybaby or told to “toughen up.”

Absolutely has the worst sleep schedule ever, he gets 3 hours and calls it a win.

Can’t sleep without a nightlight on in his room.

Enjoys writing things down in this notebook instead of on his phone because he likes the feeling of physically using pen and paper.

Sends letters to people all the time instead of messaging.

Good at sewing, he makes his own Halloween costume every year by himself.

Hates horror movies because he’s spooked easily.

Max:

Lived through a house fire when he was younger, so he has burn scars all over his arms.

Is afraid of cooking due to the fire and will go without eating if he has to touch the stove to make food.

Laid back most of the time, but can reach a snapping point in which the emotion is amplified. (like sadness or anger)

Loves swimming, it doesn’t matter where he does it, he just loves to swim.

Is very time sensitive and has to get places early or directly on time or else he gets anxious.

A very fast reader, typically long books take him 2-3 days to get through.

Johnny:

Worries a lot, he usually sees the worst in every single situation.

Is a trans male (Ftm) and was accepted by his entire family when he came out.

Owns a St. Bernard named Dolly who is the sweetest dog ever.

Spends a lot of time outdoors, he still plays as if he is a child.

Also enjoys the snow a lot because he’s fond of building snowmen with the kids on his street.

Has very sensitive skin and eczema, which he doesn’t like to talk about or show anyone because it makes him feel insecure.

Oddly good at playing guitar, he just picks up on chords with ease.

Walter:

Good at playing the drums and annoys his entire family with it.

Uses a skateboard as his main method of transportation around places.

On the basketball team, as his older brother taught him to play when they were both younger.

Hates roller skating despite being very good at most things on wheels. He can never find his balance.

Shockingly good at Math, especially statistics and calculus. He’s in all advanced math courses.

Has a very weird snake addiction and he desperately wants to buy one.

Henry:

Aromantic Asexual who is best friends with Harold and Wilfred.

Mainly makes snippy remarks because his humour falls into the sarcasm umbrella.

Adores comic books and superheroes, specifically Marvel ones because he’s a fan of Dare Devil.

Plays baseball in his free time but hasn’t joined a team, he just plays with the boys in his neighbourhood.

Addicted to the High School Musical movies.

Good at painting people’s nails and will do it for them if they ask.

Has really fluffy hair that he lets people touch and play with.

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tomoonine · 4 years

Text

[reaction] nct 127 with an intimidating yet soft s/o

hello! reactions are open yes?? how about 127 squads reaction to an s/o who seemed intimidating at first but is actually very soft and motherly with them?? like cooks (extremely well) for them any time they ask, big spoons them and cuddles them bc they just wanna hold their bf, just a whole cutie yano? thank you in advance!! ^u^ ☽. i did my best to make it sound less repetitive and gender-neutral, so i hope i wrote this to your liking! if you enjoyed reading this, please check out more in my masterlist! requested: yes; anon word count: 2.4k words

[Taeil] —

Taeil is kind of hard to read as an individual, and I think he would have said the same thing when he had to describe you

At least, that was what he thought first when you weren’t very close yet

He was pretty easy-going and he didn’t feel particularly off-put by your initial intimidating disposition, but after a while when you begin to get to know each other

And after you two suddenly feel something much more that friendship

Taeil experiences first-hand the steady transition of your demeanor and not gonna lie, he’s taken aback at first

Because hello?? Taeil remembered you for being his aloof s/o who was pretty quiet and shy at first????

But you know what? He can Vibe with That 😎

There are times where he feels like he should try to show his affection more, but you really do insist that you enjoy showering him with love

It takes him a while to adjust with your affectionate self, but it goes really well!!

He’s used to the sudden bursts of affection from Donghyuck, but he’ll be even more open with it when you do it to him

He even tries to take small steps as well, starting with joining you as you cook something for him

Simply because he wants to spend time with you, and so that he can show how much he cares about you in subtle ways

And after a while, he’s more comfortable about giving you hugs and asking for them as well uwu Cuddling time is the best with Taeil

He truly wouldn’t have expected all these changes when you weren’t very close yet, but Taeil wouldn’t have it any other way

[Johnny] —

He’s thankful that that first impression didn’t last long because throughout your relationship, Johnny has been trying to find a way to subtly show his affection to you

Now that you’re the one actively providing it, he’s feeling really great about it !! He feels reassured !!

Like before you’ll catch this guy contemplating on whether or not he should reach his arm to wrap around your shoulder

Sometimes his fingers secretly brush your hands, hesitating on holding your hand

But now you just willingly snuggle up to his side and hug him warmly

And you like to hold his hands a lot, sometimes if it’s a little chilly your hand goes up in his sleeve for warmth

Everyone liked to clown him for attempting to show skinship w you, now they’re clowning him because he looks so lovestruck every time you’re around uwu

If you start to look intimidating again, he’d lovingly poke your nose and ask you if you’re alright

And your reaction always makes him melt </////3

AND OMG.... Cuddling with him is your favorite thing in the world....

Since you like being the big spoon, you enjoy wrapping the entirety of you around his large frame

Please,,, it’s like trying to hug Clifford the Big Red Dog,,,

Usually he’d try to assert himself more and actually be the big spoon during cuddling, but recently he’s starting to enjoy being in your loving embrace instead

You’d play with his hair at times and you’d let him talk about his day, with soft music playing in the background

They’re very precious moments he holds dearly, and even if he’s been itching to shower you with love, he’ll let you hold onto him dearly

[Taeyong] —

Taeyong surely would see past your intimidating demeanor because he could tell that you had a soft heart uwu

I personally believe that Taeyong is capable of seeing people for who they truly are, simply because he himself has a heart of gold

Frankly, Taeyong has enough love to share for the two of you to be honest

And he’s always willing to be the one to initiate skinship and to do domestic things with you and for you

So he’s really fine being the more affectionate one between the two of you

But when you start to take initiative instead, he honestly isn’t very surprised?? And he’d definitely relish in the love you give him இ௰இ

Taeyong is used to looking after people, yet at the same time he’s always being babied by everyone around him

He’s accustomed to the affection, but it would mean so much more to him since it’s coming from you :,)

Sometimes he doesn’t even need to tell you that he needs a hug of comfort and yet you readily welcome him with open arms before he says anything

Your hand would find its way in his, and you’d listen to all his worries

It’s also really cute because you always trace this certain pattern on his hand when you listen to him talk, and Taeyong pretty much has that pattern memorized

It always relaxes him and brings him bliss uwu

Taeyong deserves all the love in the world, and the love you give him is enough to make him the happiest person alive

[Yuta] —

He’s pretty affectionate himself and I’m sure that Yuta, at first, was very much alright with keeping his distance

He wouldn’t want to make his s/o uncomfortable in any way you know, because he must obtain Consent first !!

Especially if initially, your external appearance would make you look aloof and a little intimidating

HOWEVER... As soon as you begin to open up to him????

You know how sometimes Yuta just stands there doing absolutely nothing

And next thing you know, he gets this burst of energy and hugs or smothers someone with love out of the blue?

Same thing with his s/o, except........ it’s much more intense

Yuta, upon seeing just one (1) glance of you: >:3c (Y/N) Free Real Estate >:3c

And MAN does he enjoy every bit of affection he receives, especially because you willingly reciprocate his insane amount of love in his system

Yuta genuinely feels like he’s at home when he’s with you, because you’re such a homey person and you take care of him so well :,)

Sometimes when he doesn’t even ask, you actually make some of his favorite homecooked Japanese dishes and it seriously warms his heart :(

You even made an effort to ask his parents how he likes certain dishes cooked :,(

Yuta can confide in you, and you make sure he gets to pour his heart out when he needs it most

You treat him so well, and even if home is far away, it’s much closer when you’re around :,)

[Doyoung] —

Ah yes, the tables have turned on Doyoung

Because now, someone is taking care of him and doting on him

And it’s what he deserves <///3 because sometimes the members like messing around with him ya know <///3

Although he pretty much tolerates it, he’s so happy that when all of that is over, Doyoung can cuddle close to you for comfort

Complain a little bit, let out his frustrations

So his time alone with you in your arms is like heaven to him, his own special place 🥺🥺🥺

And it’s funny too because apparently, everyone else still finds you a bit intimidating so they avoid messing around with Doyoung too much when you’re around

They’re lowkey afraid that if things go out of hand, they’ll have to submit to you

Not everyone really understands that you’re just a cutie pie who just wants to look after everyone <///3 Cook food for them too <///3

Doyoung encourages you to interact with the other members, and he convinces everyone to try to get to know you better

Because you’re his s/o :((( His love and light :((( Even if you carry a dark expression around sometimes, you’re still his sunshine :(((

Doyoung, while you tend to be very nurturing yourself, can’t help but take care of you as well uwu

He’s always looking at you fondly when you initiate conversations with the others, and a smile finds its way on his face when they start to become comfortable with you

Except.... Now that you guys are all close.... They’re back to teasing him

But you’re always there to side with him, so it doesn’t matter that much anymore to him uwu

[Jaehyun] —

Jaehyun doesn’t seem like someone who would be fazed by your intimidating exterior

He’s very headstrong from the way I see him, so I don’t think just a dark aura and piercing gaze will back him down in any way

His heart starts to mellow down when he realizes that you actually don’t want to intimidate him at all, and would rather support and dote on him

Jaehyun didn’t expect that either but honestly????? It’s a Win for him !!

Although now it means he has someone to compete with when it comes to showing affection..... Like how is he going to shower you with love unexpectedly when you like doing that too.....

In that sense, it suddenly becomes a friendly competition of who can out-love the other

Like he’d try sneaking up behind you but you just have this Jaehyun Radar so you know when he’s around and you’re ready to Hug and Cuddle

Jaehyun: (Y/N) I know you’re really cute n all... but I need you to turn back around and pretend you didn’t have your arms open for my surprise hug....

You: (´･ω･`)? huh?

AND SINCE BOTH OF YOU CAN COOK... Sometimes Jaehyun will be seen watching ASMR cooking videos of your favorite dishes because he wants to make something for you

But when he’s about to give it to you, he finds out that you whipped up something for him to like ?????? Your Jaehyun Radar is something else

Jaehyun: i was planning on making you something why do you have a dish too ://

You: idk !! >:( but more for us to share while we cuddle and watch movies >:(

It’s all friendly competition, but both of you are just soft about it it’s so cute,,,

[Jungwoo] —

Jungwoo thinks you’re at par with him when it comes to being cute

Like everyone in NCT can’t believe someone can out-cute this guy... Jungwoo is an absolute ray of sunshine and no one would have expected that you would be the same

Because you looked a bit intimidating at first lol

And since that was the case initially, Jungwoo had a tendency to act more cutely towards you

But when you started to open up to him more, I feel like he’d start to tease you more often (he finds your reactions cute WAHAHAHAHA)

Jungwoo is pretty tall, and if you’re shorter than him you’ll definitely expect that this guy will teasingly keep things out of your reach

Especially during the times you’d cook (and if you aren’t shorter than him, then he’s just never going to hand to you what you needed from him LOL)

Your soft demeanor prevents you from being too mad at him, and most of the time you just huff at him and Jungwoo thinks it’s absolutely adorable

It doesn’t always end up like that though, because sometimes you’d retaliate like this

Jungwoo, with the container of sugar up his head: do you need this one (Y/N)? >:)

You, grabbing his hand: fine if you won’t hand me the sugar, then I won’t let go of your hand >:( until you give it to me >:( fair trade >:(

Everyone in the vicinity thinks that the both of you are too cute for your own good

Especially with the way you guys cuddle together all the time and share sweaters like hhhhhh Cute !!

[Mark] —

Introvert Mark actually felt awkward around you at the beginning, despite knowing how to initiate conversations and perform small-talk

He couldn’t really read your expression at first, and he never really knew what to say because he was afraid that he might make your mood even more sour than it already appeared to be :,)

Well that was his concern at the beginning

These days however, his current concerns revolve around how he can compensate for all the love you’ve been showering him with :,,,,)

From the way I see it, Mark looks like someone who not only feels bashful quickly but also is someone who may have a hard time expressing himself romantically

It’s something that the other members share about Mark, and I think you can tell that in some of their content, Mark seems a bit shy taking in compliments from others

His bashfulness is very endearing, even to you uwu

But that gives you more reason to show how much you love and appreciate him, and just how special he is as an individual !!!!

There are so many ways you can show it, especially with your skillset !!!!

You’d take time to cook some comfort food for him during tough days

You’d leave sticky notes on his things just to remind him to take care always

You’re still careful about skinship and cuddling though, because you don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable in any way

But Mark really appreciates just how much attention you put to these little things, and they really do mean a lot to him 🥺🥺🥺

He’s still having a hard time thinking about ways to compensate for all your love, but one day he’ll find his own way to express his love for you

[Haechan] —

This guy???? Probably did not even MIND the fact that you were intimidating to begin with

He’s a cheeky boy, and I personally feel like it’s in his personality to be a bit playful with the people around him, and you’re no exemption from that

When you do start to open up to him more, he thinks it’s the best of both worlds !! He’s super happy about it !!

Donghyuck??? Being able to tease you??? AND receive recharge hugs from the Love Of His Life???????

He truly loves it Here 🤩

Like okay he loves getting recharge hugs from Taeil and he likes to tease the other members too, but he’s just so lovable and that surely extends towards your relationship with him

And you’re totally open to it !! Please,,, he loves cuddling you and he loves being cuddled by you,,,,

He just feels elated at the fact that he can really be comfortable around you

And omg.... you Feed him food too....

Hyuck: if I don’t marry (Y/N) right now theN WHAT DO I DO???

Mark: omg chill bro ur like..... Young...

And since you like to smother him with love, he might Explode if he doesn’t get enough affection in a certain time period

Hyuck, at the thought of not getting one (1) hug from you: I hate it Here !! 😠😠😠

He thinks you’re the most adorable person in the world.... A literal Angel... He really loves you but who wouldn’t though, you’re adorable,,,,

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