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#but one of the things that I am not sure is entirely well justified is that she falls in love with the swordman guy and not her bodyguard
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WIBTA for not telling my partner about the other people I'm with when I plan to break up with him soon?
I (19) and my partner (18) have been together for a few years. We are polyamorous, to be clear. His only thing is that he wanted me to let him know & let him meet any new partners of mine. However, for the past year and a half or so, he's barely been around. I'm lucky if I get to talk to him for maybe an hour per month. So in the past 4-ish months since I have had other people ask me out, I haven't gotten to tell him much more than letting him meet 1 of them and telling him there was others I wanted him to meet. And even there, I'm not entirely sure he got the memo that these were my *partners* and not just people I was close to.
However, I know this relationship isn't going to last longer. From the beginning, my friends, other partners (not the same as the ones I am currently with, although my other current partners also hate him) , and family + therapist have said my relationship is not healthy or even abusive and want me to leave him. But I never had the strength to walk away. I loved, and still love him, too much. He's made it clear that if I left, he would be completely alone, and feel isolated. That's not something I want to do to him. On top of that, although he hasn't done it in several years now, at the beginning of our relationship he would regularly tell me how finding me saved him from suicide, how he would be gone without having found me. Treated me like I was his reason for surviving. I know he didn't mean that in a bad way, but it still stuck with me, and a part of me worries for what will happen if I leave. Plus, he knows everything about me. I don't believe he would, but I know if he wanted to he could easily make my life hell, and that makes it terrifying to try to walk away from him.
So I'm not sure when we actually will break up. Just that we will. He's talked about breaking up himself before, but when I suggested we just get it over with since clearly neither of us where happy in this relationship, he said it "wasn't time yet". So I'm just kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Which makes me worry I'll be the asshole and cheating on him if I avoid telling him about my other relationships because I know ours is going to end. It feels heavy to tell him, between knowing we aren't going to keep being together, and the fact that he never reacts well to my other partners. Despite insisting he's okay with my polyamory and my relationships when I ask, he seems to almost always act aggressively when he meets my other partners. He acts rude towards them, and very possessive about me, often even siting how he was "here first". That's not something I want to put my partners through, especially not for someone I know is going to break up with me. Plus, a part of me feels guilty. Even though it's not going against boundaries, and I do really love all the people I'm with and do everything I can to make sure they all know that and feel loved and respected by me, it feels like I'm doing something wrong by being with so many people at once. It makes me feel ashamed to face my partner and go "hey so I'm with all these people too now! They all asked me out within the past 4-5 ish months yeah!" and like I'll have to find a way to justify it otherwise it'll look like I don't take our relationship seriously and am cheating.
WIBTA?
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bedoballoons · 5 months
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Hii!! (First time I request on ur blog) Are ur requests open? If yes, could I pretty please with cherry on top get a yandere Aether, Xiao, Venti and Cyno x reader who is on hunger strike? (Bacically refuses to eat untill they get freed). Ty for reading my request!
Hello again! Requests currently are closed, but I got this when they were open! I hope you're doing well! Thank you for coming to my blog and I hope you enjoy <3
─⊰⁠⊹ฺ🍂𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ🍂
{༻~Let me go~༺}
CW: Yandere themes! Reader is trapped and character will not let them escape! Reader refuses to eat! Obsessive behaviour from the characters! Dark topics! Slightly suggestive as well..
(Includes: Xiao, Venti, Aether, and Cyno!)
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
𑁍༄Xiao:
"Please...just eat it."
Xiao pulled the plate closer to you, sliding it across the floor till it was right next to your hand...you'd gotten so weak from lack of nutrients and now here he was, kneeling in front of you as you slumped against the wall...trying desperately to keep up with your threat. "I won't. I won't till you set me free. I don't care if I end up starving to death...I want my freedom."
He'd lean in closer, his hair tickling your cheek as his lips pressed against your ear, breath warm against your skin "I'll find a way to keep that from happening...you're my everything and I won't loose you. I won't."
𑁍༄Venti:
"Won't you just taste it, just for me?" Venti batted his eyes at you, snuggling up into your touch while he held out some freshly made desserts... tempting you to break your hunger strike and indulge a little. He only wanted the best for his favourite person, the only being that mattered to him anymore...
"No Venti. I want my freedom. Just let me go and maybe I won't tell anyone about this please just-"
"Awe hush now~" He touched his finger to your soft lips and the hairs on your neck stood straight up...his dazzling eyes had a crazy look in them...like he almost wanted you to escape...just so he could find you all over again, "I won't let you die...you know I'm technically the embodiment of freedom...take me~"
𑁍༄Aether:
"Just a nibble.." Aether held the fork out for you, hoping that the delicious smell of your favourite food would entice you into eating, but you would brush his hand aside, refusing every time, "I already told you...I won't. I want you to let me go. You're a kidnapper Aether! I'm not just going to sit around and snack when I could be free..."
"I could let you go..."
Your eyes widened in shock, heart skipping with hope...maybe your strike was working, "You could...I'd appreciate it."
"I could...but it wouldn't last. I need you....I'd find you eventually and the cycle would start all over again...I can't be without you."
𑁍༄Cyno:
"I'll get you anything you want, tell me and whatever you're craving is yours." Cyno pulled you close to him, noticing how you no longer pushed him away because you'd gotten that malnourished....it broke his heart. Why couldn't you understand, all he wanted was to keep you to himself...make sure no one touched the most wonderful beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his entire life.
He wasn't bad...he just...was a little to good.
"No. No. Nothing you get me will make me eat. Nothing you do will make me want to be free less."
"If only you understood, I am not a kidnapper...I would let you free, but everyone else is a potential threat. You're mine...and I cannot say that what I'd do, if someone tried to touch you...would be seen as justified."
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day~*⁠.⁠✧
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evilminji · 8 months
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The Anti-Ecto Acts... could literally start WW3
I am sitting here, contemplating China. The country. Literally one of THE OLDEST countries. With a truely massive population. And... I will admit my ignorance. But from what I have heard? They are big on honoring the Dead.
Their Dead.
The Dead of China. Hundreds of millions of souls. Which, statistically, would mean the average human ghost has a good chance to come from the region. And they are not alone.
Again, my ignorance curses me, but if my general knowledge is to be believed? It is a common practice in Asianic Countries. Oh sure, they won't argue there might be BAD ghosts. But that's to be expected! There are bad PEOPLE! They die.
They have monks and priests for such things. Specialists. Ancient problem, tried and true solutions. They move on and have lunch, consider what options there are for dinner. Business of the day and all that.
But THEN.
Fanatics from the West. Painting themselves as Men Of Science, not only dare to play god, but tear open a hole to THE AFTERLIFE? And start ATTACKING indiscriminately? They stand before an international stage and spew clearly bigoted pseudoscience, to justify their genocide, while ALSO letting God's and demons run roughshod over the WORLD, just so they can try to convince everyone they have the right to MURDER YOUR ANCESTORS?
They OPENED THAT GATE! They LET THEM OUT! There is a difference, culturally, for many of your countries between the soul of a dead man (powers be damned) and a SPIRIT OF LIVING STORMS.
You are not IDIOTS. Tigers are dangerous. Wolves are dangerous. But someone walking into a crowded mall and releasing frightened wild animals DOES NOT mean we go into the wilds and start killing! We charge the madmen you attacked innocent people!
The fact that tigers and wolves are dangerous IS NOT NEW. The fact that the souls of the dead are dangerous is ALSO not new! It is not malicious. It is INHERENT. A state of being. That is why they are not encouraged to linger! We love them, but this world is not built for them. It is fragile and barren, built for the living.
But dear sweet FUCK, the WROTH.
How? Many countries EXACTLY. How many religions? SPECIFICALLY honor and protect the dead. Declare in no uncertain terms, the SANCTITY of the soul?
How many people have LOST somebody? A friend, a lover, a CHILD.
And in one breath you give them hope then THREATEN it? "They may still be out there... we are going to brutally torture them to death. Because your loved ones are animals to us."
The UN would have the SINGLE most ugly, barely contained, riot imaginable. Spiritual Leaders would be tearing CHUNKS out of the US. The Pope, the Dalai Lama, you name it. You can NOT invade THE AFTERLIFE and not have it IMMEDIATELY become a religious concern.
Not to mention the international SAFETY concern. One countries actions? Unleashing beings that can effect the GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM? The ENTIRE planets weather? Plunged EVERYONE into Eternal Sleep??! How can that not be considered DILBERATE after the first one!
Your grand idea is to ANTAGONIZE them? Make MORE of them come through??
"Kill death itself". You fanatical NUTJOBS! That's not even a NEW hypothetical! That ends HORRIFICLY for literally EVERYONE. Eternal starvation, suffocation, crushing, and worse! We suck the planet dry, over populate so horrifically we end up BURIED UNDER OUR OWN CHILDREN, and suffer FOREVER without the release of death!
You fucking MORONS! Eternal life is a well known CURSE!
Their science is shaky at best, hardly peer reviewed. DEEPLY unethical. And clearly dangerous! Radioactive!!! In a population center?! How many innocent people have been exposed!?
And if the Ghost are reaching OUT? Imagine meeting long dead countrymen, who come to you fearing for their very SOULS. Who have lived in peace. Unknown to you, for CENTURIES. Who beg you, in YOUR native tounge, to help. Talks of people disappearing. Fear and desperation.
This is not to say world leaders are great and benevolent figures, free of greed or sin. Nor their governments. But it is quite another thing entirely, when they talk... and all you can think is "you are talking about my dead father. My late wife. My deceased son."
When they spew their HATE. And back hand your loved ones by doing so.
What powerful person has not lost SOMEBODY.
All this? And I have not even TOUCHED on the shit storm DC would add on top. The Drama? The IMMEDIATE near certain SMITING? You want to MURDER Superman's FAMILY??? I'd say pick a god and pray, but you've already made enemy of ALL of them.
So... good luck and get fucked?
@hdgnj @the-witchhunter @stealingyourbones @nerdpoe
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kalisburnerphone · 3 months
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Amazing // Choi Seungcheol
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Summary: Seungcheol doesn’t understand why she won’t let him take care of her when it’s all he wants to do. He has no idea how she found out about what he’s been doing every month for the past six months but he’s sure he can get her to agree with his logic.
Warnings: Idol!Seungcheol x OC!Solana, kinda one-sided situationship, a tiny bit suggestive,Seungcheol on his glucose guardian agenda, curve/plus-sized, foreigner!oc, Seungcheol calls her Sol, princess. I think that’s about it, let me know if I missed anything.
A/N: This is part of an idolverse series that’ll be posted in non-chronological order. I’m not sure how many parts members will have but there might be instances of crossovers.Mingyu, Seungcheol and Minghao are the only ones that I have anything written/plotted for. I’m not promising frequent updates because I’m currently on an intensive training program before starting grad school but I have some free time starting Thursday so I’ll try to work on pieces during that time. I only just got back into posting my work in the kpop community after a break from it but I do enjoy anime as well so you may come across it on my dashboard. Lastly, I am absolute trash when it comes to titles and summaries so please bare with me in advance.
Solana and Seungcheol rarely argued and if they did, it was usually about the same thing; Seungcheol spending his money on her like it was the easiest thing in the world for him to do. And in his mind, it was. Seungcheol understood that she was more than capable of providing for and taking care of herself but he felt as though she shouldn’t have to with him around.
They’d met before he’d even acquired the amount of money he had today so he knew for a fact that it wasn’t why she was with him which is exactly why he spent it on her. Seungcheol in most instances believed that actions spoke louder than words and if he felt like buying his girlfriend’s entire shopping cart on her favorite jewelry site than that’s exactly what he’s going to do.
Usually Sol wouldn’t say anything because no matter how much she told him not to, he’d find a way to justify his actions and just do it once again. This time however, she refused to let him.
“Yah!! Choi Seungcheol!” She exclaimed as she entered her apartment. His head pops out from the kitchen where he’d been peeling tangerines when he hears her.
“What’d I do?” She only ever called him by his government name when she angry or irritated with him.
“Y’know what you did! I thought we agreed that you’d ease up on excessive amounts of spending that you do on me?”
“We did, I haven’t spent excessively on you since the last time you gave me an earful for buying everything in your cart from The Jade Jewelers. What’s this about?” He asks tangerines forgotten as he follows her to the living room area, arms crossed over his chest as he looks at her rummaging through her bag before pulling out a small pile of paper.
“You’re really going to play dumb with me right now? You haven’t been spending excessively? Then explain this.” She spits out pressing the printed sheets to his chest.
Seungcheol takes the papers from her hand, looking them over before ‘shit’ is whispered from his lips. “You weren’t supposed to find out about this.”
“Well, no shit Seungcheol. Explain yourself.” She snaps as she sits on the couch with her arms crossed and looking directly at him.
“How’d you find out?”
“That’s not important. I’ve been living here for six months and you’ve been paying my rent this entire time after I told you I didn’t like you spending excessively on me especially when it came to things that I’m capable of handling on my own.”
“I know you’re capable, I do, but just because you can do all these things for yourself doesn’t mean that you have to. I’m here and I’m willing, wanting to do these things for you but you won’t let me.Why can’t I do nice things for you?”
Because it makes this feel like it’s more than what it is. It’s what she wants to tell him because as much as Seungcheol acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal, it was to her. She’d constantly have to remind herself that they weren’t in a relationship. They hooked up whenever he had free time and him paying for her KTX ticket and accommodation in Seoul was as much as she said she’d allow him but Choi Seungcheol had a way of getting whatever he wanted.
“It’s not that you can’t do nice things for me, it’s just that you have a habit of behaving like a damn glucose guardian when it comes to expenses.”
“Okay, and? If I want to behave like your sugar daddy and pay and do everything for you then you should just let me. Think about it,” he says dropping in the space next to her wasting no time in pulling her onto his lap.
“I cover all your basic expenses and necessities and all you have to do is sit pretty and get that degree. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.”
“No. Now either fix it or I’m transferring the money to your account.”
“I’ll send it right back. Play with me if you want to.” He smirks at her.
“God, you’re so infuriating.” She huffs getting off his lap and moving down the hall to her bedroom.”
“Yahhhh, we weren’t finished yet.” She can hear him pouting as he follows behind her.
“Yes, we are because you’re going to do it again regardless of what I say right now.” She responses slipping off her jacket.
“Sollllllll, are you really that upset about it?” When she doesn’t reply, he wraps his arms around her waist and rests his head on her shoulder. “If I compromise with you, will you stop being upset with me and go back to calling me Cheol?”
“Does that compromise include you not paying all my bills?” She replies sarcastically.
“Watch it, princess. Don’t want that mouth getting you in trouble don’t you? I’ve already let you slide with the sass, don’t push it.” He speaks into her ear before lightly nipping at her neck.
“I’ll let you pay your phone bill and groceries but that’s it. Despite what you say I know you only moved out from the dorms this early because of me and to allow us more privacy. The least I can do is cover your rent and utilities, I can’t help it because that’s just who I am and you know this. Now, forgive me please?” 
Seungcheol asks spinning her around in his arms. She was just about an inch or two shorter than him so he didn’t have to do much to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want you mad at me on my last night before I leave.”
“Forgive me,” there’s a peck to her cheek followed by another until Seungcheol has pressed kisses all over her face and has her a giggling mess.
“Fine, fine,Cheolll.” She laughs trying to escape him but he’s not having it.
“I can’t hear you princess, what was that?” He teases as he grasps her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“I forgive you,” 
“And?” he encourages though he already knows that he’s gotten his way once again.
“I’ll let you take care of me even if it means putting my pride and independent nature aside and letting you pay my rent.” she sighs dramatically.
She’d never admit it but seeing Seungcheol be domestic had a tendency to do things to her. Things he’d never let her hear the end of if he knew. She’d seen a lot of different sides to Choi Seungcheol in the two years since they started all this but domesticated Seungcheol was her second favorite.
“Y’know what’s amazing?” He asks and she’s so busy staring at him that she misses the teasing lithe in his voice.
“Hmmm?” Her hands are draped over his shoulders, fingers playing in the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands around her waist resting on the curve of her ass as he leans in closer to her ear.
“We both know that I have no problem getting your pussy wet but when are you finally going to admit that me being all domesticated and taking care of you gets you all hot and bothered the same way it does to me? Hmmm?”
The way her breath hitches is enough to let him know that he’s right but he doesn’t act on it.
“C’mon, I cut fruit and we have new episodes to finish.” He says kissing her cheek as he leaves her standing in the bedroom like he didn’t just read her for filth. It takes a few seconds for her to recover but once she does she’s following behind him.
“Yah! Choi Seungcheol!”
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shadowtriovibes · 11 months
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Hi! I absolutely love your fics! I have a little request/idea. Sebastian finds out that MC has a little crush on professor sharp and all of a sudden can’t stand his favorite professor. (His small crush on professor garlick is totally different and super justified)
jealousy, you got me somehow
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Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1.7K
Summary: Sebastian finds out about your little crush on a certain Potions master and all of a sudden can’t stand the man. (His small crush on Professor Garlick is, of course totally different and super justified.)
“You’re sure you won’t become too affected by Sharp’s dulcet tones and neglect something important?” he asks with a smirk. Annoyed, you huff and abandon your notes at your side. “You’ve been waiting several days to bring this up again,” you grumble. “I should’ve known I wasn’t safe.”
Sebastian first finds out about your little preoccupation when he innocently stumbles upon you studying with a group of your fellow Slytherin girls in a quiet corner of the library. Or at least, it was quiet until Nerida Roberts had started to derail your entirely legitimate conversation about the uses of Dittany for an upcoming Potions exam by bringing up Professor Sharp himself.
“He’s just so handsome,” she sighs dreamily. “How am I supposed to focus on what’s going on in my cauldron when he’s standing right across the room looking all brooding and roguish?”
Violet McDowell giggles and adds, “I could listen to him talk all afternoon and I wouldn’t learn a single thing!”
“I suppose that’s why so many seventh-year girls are still taking Potions even if they don’t need it for their N.E.W.T.s,” you murmur.
“Can you blame us?” Violet sighs. “You must admit, he’s quite nice to look at.”
“Of course I think he’s handsome,” you say with a scoff. “Just because I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I can’t see the man.”
As if on cue, Sebastian comes around the corner carrying a large stack of books on defensive magic and spots the three of you huddled around your Potions notes.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he says with an easy smile.
Sebastian sets his books on the edge of the table and leans down next to you to steal a chaste kiss while he can. He’s seen relatively little of you this week while you both prepare for exams in classes the other doesn’t have, so not even your late-night study sessions have overlapped.
“Speak of the devil,” Nerida teases.
“Shh!” you whisper. “Enough now.”
“Not keeping secrets from me, are you?” Sebastian asks teasingly as he snags one of the empty seats.
“Of course not,” you demur. “By the way, have you got my Potions notes from last week? I think I mixed them up with yours from Ancient Runes.”
Sebastian chuckles and asks, “Trying to change the subject? I must have walked into something quite scandalous.”
“It’s nothing bad,” Nerida says teasingly. “We were just chatting about Professor Sharp.”
“Oh?” Sebastian asks, surprised. “What’s he done now?”
“Nothing,” Violet McDowell answers. “We were just saying that he’s easily the most handsome professor at Hogwarts.”
“He’s certainly your girlfriend’s favorite,” Nerida says with a smirk.
Sebastian raises a skeptical eyebrow at you, and sure enough, you’re blushing.
“Really?” he drawls. “You have a thing for Sharp?”
“No!” you whine. “I just – I really like Potions class, that’s all.”
“Of course you do,” Violet taunts. “So you can moon over Sharp during his lectures!”
You shoot Violet a threatening look and not-so-gently kick the toe of your boot against her shin underneath the table. She yelps and curses under her breath before indignantly burying her face behind her Potions textbook, and Nerida wisely avoids eye contact and doesn’t offer anything further.
After a beat, Sebastian clears his throat and says, “Well then, I, er… suppose I’ll leave you girls to it.”
He helps himself to one more kiss goodbye and you can tell by the significant look he gives you before leaving that this is not the last you’ll hear from him about your crush.
Sure enough, a few nights later the two of you manage to claim a loveseat by the fire in your common room where you can curl up against his side and revise your Potions notes one last time before your exam while Sebastian dutifully transcribes runic diagrams onto lengths of parchment.
“Are you feeling prepared for your exam tomorrow?” he asks you casually.
“I think so,” you answer. “It’s not a practical, so I can’t imagine it will be too challenging.”
“You’re sure you won’t become too affected by Sharp’s dulcet tones and neglect something important?” he asks with a smirk.
Annoyed, you huff and abandon your notes at your side.
“You’ve been waiting several days to bring this up again,” you grumble. “I should’ve known I wasn’t safe.”
“What?” he laughs. “I’m just teasing you, love.”
You narrow your eyes at him skeptically. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Well, it’s just… I don’t really know what you see in him, that’s all,” he murmurs, lazily turning a page in his Ancient Runes textbook.
You frown. “What do you mean?”
“I just think he’s rather foul,” Sebastian says plainly. “He’s impatient, meticulous, he’s clearly got a dark past and I truly don’t understand why all you girls think he’s obviously the most handsome man at Hogwarts. To me, he’s simply average.”
Merlin’s beard, you think. You knew Sebastian wasn’t a fan of Hogwarts’ Potions master, but you had no idea his dislike ran so deep.
“I think he’s a good professor,” you offer quietly. “He’s always been quite helpful to me, especially when I needed to master healing potions, and he saved my life in the Repository.”
“How generous of him,” Sebastian mumbles.
Angrily, you sit up a little straighter and pluck Sebastian’s quill out of his hand so he’ll look at you.
“And what about you?” you demand indignantly. “While we’re on the subject of good-looking professors, I happen to know that you turn into a stammering, blushing fool whenever Professor Garlick is nearby.”
You know for a fact that Sebastian Sallow is not an idiot, which is why it’s all the more frustrating when he tries to deny something you’ve known about for months.
“I do not!” Sebastian protests. “That’s – that’s ridiculous.”
You scoff and roll your eyes. “You are not a subtle person, Sebastian, nor are you particularly good at being punctual, yet somehow you’re never late to the greenhouses.”
“W-well, I’m rubbish at Herbology so I like to make sure I won’t miss anything important,” he lies.
“Maybe you wouldn’t be quite so rubbish if you actually listened to the professor instead of staring at her chest for the entire lesson,” you grumble.
Sebastian goes bright red. Clearly, he had no idea you could see him doing that.
“Look,” he whines. “It doesn’t mean anything, I just think she’s nice to look at is all.”
“And I’m not allowed to think Professor Sharp is handsome?” you counter.
“It’s different,” he insists. “You actually like him, it’s not just an attraction.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” you hiss.
“It means he’s a powerful wizard, a brilliant duellist and he’s a former Auror for Merlin’s sake,” Sebastian angrily confesses. “I couldn’t possibly measure up to that.”
You feel your heart break a little when you realize what this is truly all about – your love’s relentless insecurities, the same ones he’s battled for many years now.
Softly, you ask Sebastian, “Do you actually feel threatened that I might leave you for a professor? We’re seventeen, Seb.”
“It’s preposterous, I know,” he sighs. “But I just… I feel like I could never compete with him.”
“Sebastian,” you croon as you take your hand in his lap. “I want you to listen to me very clearly, alright?”
You wait patiently for him to meet your gaze before you continue.
“As you said, Professor Sharp is impatient,” you agree. “He’s also meticulous, and maybe he does have some darkness in his past. But you also said that he’s a brilliant duelist and a powerful wizard. Do you know who else has all those traits?”
Sebastian swallows nervously and squeezes your hand a little tighter.
“You do, love,” you say softly. “So perhaps the reason I’m fond of him is that he reminds me of you.”
“I’m not an Auror,” he points out a little sullenly. “And I’ve never saved your life.”
“Not yet you aren’t, but we both know that’s why you’re studying for Ancient Runes so much lately,” you say with a fond smirk. “And since I’ve saved your life plenty of times, I’m sure you’ll return the favor someday.”
Wordlessly, Sebastian tugs you against his chest and presses a soft kiss to the top of your head.
“I love you so much,” he murmurs into your hair. “I’m sorry for being such a prat.”
“Apology accepted,” you whisper into his chest. “And I love you too, you fool.”
He holds you close for a while after that, nose buried in your hair while you listen to his slow, even heartbeat through his uniform shirt. When he finally lets you sit up so that he can kiss you properly – not one of those chaste ones from the library – you find yourself halfway in his lap before you even realize you’ve shifted.
For Merlin’s sake, your notes are in a messy pile on the floor now.
You huff and try to climb off of him to gather them up, but Sebastian coaxes you back to him with a single finger on your chin, his eyes firmly fixed on your lips. By the time he’s kissed your frustration away, you can’t even remember what you were supposed to be studying for.
“We should bicker more often,” Sebastian says with a satisfied grin, his lips slightly swollen.
“On that subject, I was just wondering…” you ask him with a teasing smile. “Is there anything Professor Garlick has that I don’t? Should I be worried?”
“Absolutely not,” he murmurs as he flicks open the top button of your shirt. “Truthfully, you both have two very nice things in common.”
“You’re foul,” you tell him simply.
“I meant that you’re both kind-hearted and beautiful,” he says smoothly.
You’re positive that you know exactly what Sebastian meant and appreciate the compliment nonetheless. In fact, he’s being so sweet that you even let him undo a few more buttons while you can take advantage of your seclusion.
The next day during your Potions exam, while your female classmates are undoubtedly slipping in and out of pleasant daydreams about your alluring professor, all you can think about is Sebastian’s lips on your neck and his hand inside your shirt as he’d whispered all sorts of electrifying promises about what he’ll do to you after you turn in your parchment.
It’s a fierce struggle to focus on Dittany of all things with that in the back of your mind, but Professor Sharp is nevertheless pleased when you end up being the first to submit your completed exam and then promptly excuse yourself from the dungeons.
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Cristabel and the proverbial sandwich
(Spoilers for Harrow and Nona the Ninth)
I have not known inner peace since I saw someone say, "But come on, does anyone ACTUALLY buy John's story about how the nun died?"
Because honestly, I'd just kind of gone, "Super random, very weird interaction, boy there sure are cult mindworms at play here," and moved on to the next page.
But as soon as I saw that question asked, the amount I did not buy that story hit me like a load of bricks, to the point I'm kind of amazed that I ever did believe it.
Two people. A locked door. A nuclear standoff. A close-range head injury.
On one side, a full-fledged Catholic nun—well done, that’s the classic—who's best friends with a staunchly atheist world-class scientist and believes, if we're to believe John, that Jesus's problem is that he didn't stick to office hours.
On the other, a woman described as, "A total delight. Effervescent. Kind to animals and children. A master of the sword. Did not have the intellect you’d ordinarily find in a sandwich or an orange, and was a sickening twerp into the bargain."
Oh, and in the middle, there's also a necromancer who wants to bring back his friends... minus any little details about things he they might have done wrong. He "knows where memory lives in the brain", and they "won't have any of it." And "guys as careful as me don't make mistakes," but then again, all that means is that if he kills someone, he did it on purpose.
C— talks her way into a locked room with John, who's on the phone threatening some world leaders with a nuke, expresses care and concern for him, and then... decides he needs more data on the soul? And kills herself to provide that for him?
I'll be honest, I just don't believe that John was an ordinary guy, totally normal, could be any of us, and he just got put in a really stressful situation and made some bad choices but who HASN'T done things they aren't proud of??? I reject that point of view completely. Like, Elon Musk in any given interaction probably is really stressed out and unhappy and having trouble responding in a way that's at all well-considered or emotionally mature, but that doesn't mean that Musk isn't also, at baseline, a deeply stupid, petty, immature, grandiose, entitled, egocentric person. No matter what situation you put him in, he's going to keep on being those things.
I think that John's initial idea was to put the entire human population of Earth, minus some necessary staff, into some giant cryonic freezers, and give the Earth some amount of time to rest and recover from the effects of human-caused pollution. A plan about which I will confess some hesitation myself; being told "just lie down in this coffin, bro, you'll only be a little dead, I'll totally bring you back to life* in a couple centuries (*98% effective!) " does not fill me with an enthusiasm to hop on board.
And then his project got cut. And he decided, "Well, if they won't agree, I can just make them agree." After all, all that end game needs is 10 billion frozen corpses hanging out in those tin cans, and a small team of staff left to keep the place running. How it gets there is something he can afford to be flexible about. If people won't climb in on their own, he can put them there.
So when C— or the nun tell him to stop focusing on revenge, to bend all his energies to saving the world, I think he thinks: Well, I am. He's gonna wash the earth clean at the end of this! He just needs to be able to set the dominoes in motion. He just needs to engineer a situation that will justify taking his nuke out of the vault and making the pieces fall.
A situation that would be sabotaged, ruined, if anyone made a true deep sincere good-faith effort to talk him out of Plan Nuke and called the legitimacy of this crisis into any sort of question. He needs to prevent that from happening.
Actually. Also. He needs one more thing than that.
He needs an excuse to use the nuke, but also, he's finishing his homework at the very last minute. He still hasn't mastered the soul. He does need a few more test subjects.
Maybe he let her in and thought: Two birds with one stone, eh?
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The Clarkesworld AI Spam issue is one of those stories that to me really highlights the limits of the tools that hype is obscuring. Clarkesworld is a well-established Sci-Fi publishing magazine that today had to suspend all of its submissions due to being overwhelmed by ChatGPT generated entries:
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This inspired a lot of discourse around the idea of a ‘crisis of credibility’ on the internet, AI sweeping away the boundries of authenticity in a flood of forgeries. How can magazines even operate in this new environment, one might ask?
Which is weird because this environment isn’t new at all, as the editor, Neil Clarke, comments on in his blog post around the problem:
Since the early days of the pandemic, I’ve observed an increase in the number of spammy submissions to Clarkesworld. What I mean by that is that there’s an honest interest in being published, but not in having to do the actual work. Up until recently, these were almost entirely cases of  plagiarism, first by replacing the author’s name and then later by use of programs designed to “make it your own.”
The issue isn’t that spam exists, its the quantity:
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This is undoubtably a gigantic spike, and 100% it is induced by ChatGPT.
But hold on - is ChatGPT actually *better* at this that previous spam tools? Niel doesn’t think so, even if he is worried about the future: 
I’m not going to detail how I know these stories are “AI” spam or outline any of the data I have collected from these submissions. There are some very obvious patterns and I have no intention of helping those people become less likely to be caught...
... What I can say is that the number of spam submissions resulting in bans has hit 38% this month. While rejecting and banning these submissions has been simple, it’s growing at a rate that will necessitate changes. To make matters worse, the technology is only going to get better, so detection will become more challenging.
And how expensive was the plagarism before to do anyway? It was copy-pasting text, automated word replacement programs, and done, that is trivial. Its a little harder than ChatGPT, sure, but you could make a thousand in a day no sweat, automated scripts randomizing names and jumbling nouns from a list. 
The success rate also seems to be zero! Neither plagarism nor ChatGPT generates any story worth a damn, these aren’t being accepted. Neil is quite confident he is catching 100% of them and I believe him on that, these tools cannot write good fiction of any length beyond a paragraph. 
So what is the ChatGPT’s advantage over previous, ‘dumber’ spam that justifies a 100-fold increase in spam usage? I am not seeing one, and I don’t think there is one besides marginally lower per-spam costs. Phrased another way, what was stopping someone from submitted 500 spam entries in one month in 2021? Nothing but interest in doing so.
Which is the rub of why this is happening - it isn’t because ChatGPT is good at this task, its because its the hype thing to do. Everyone is talking about it, everyone is trying it out, everyone is trying to find “delta” so they can ride the hype train. A bunch of people, some who may have even had axes to grind against Clarkesworld, have heard of this brand new fun tool and are flooding into the market to take advantage of it. But there might not be much to take advantage of; hype is fleeting, particularly in the face of no results as this effort is getting. As it fails, unless that axe really needs grinding above all else, spammers will move.
All of this to say that this story is, again, not a story about AI at all. AI is just the reason these already-bad parts of the system are being tested in the public eye.
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theminecraftbee · 3 months
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also i think i'm going to make the final lineup for the school rescue committee as follows (with the actual mythological/legendary/literary figures for each persona being a thing i'm willing to take suggestions on; they're all meant to be famous lovers/members of pairs, though, to fit with the theme of this persona game being 'bonds between people'):
joel: our protagonist and wildcard, he is whatever the party needs him to be, as is typical for a persona protagonist. his first persona, however, is still pygmalion (and is the only one i have strong design opinions on; if there's ANY opportunity to make empires references...) uses knives.
skizzleman: physical damager. also has agi skills but he's in the vein of like, chie junpei or ryoji, in that he mostly just gets those to make battles a little easier early on, and he REALLY should only be doing damage with heavy physical skills. i'm sure this doesn't have a self-sacrifice metaphor in it at all. has enkidu as his persona. uses brass knuckles.
scar: early-game magic user, largely focused on magic and status ailments, although he gets some healing too (largely because he had to when it was just him and grian, is the implication; once another healer joins the team it becomes abundantly clear that the correct tactical move with scar is to use him as a magical nuke and ailment setter). leaning towards majnun for his persona. uses bows.
grian: dark and light skills, with a particular focus on instakills. i think he's the "balanced" earlygame party member, with an equal spread of physical and magic skills and fairly even stats... which ironically makes him good earlygame, but much worse lategame. he's probably a little fine with that, though. his persona is signy. uses lances.
impulse: our party healer! gets zio skills. not too much to say about him, his stat spread is "party healer", just mentioning its a little unusual he joins late as the party healer. i am REALLY UNCERTAIN with him for what his persona should be; for some reason my brain is offering "odette" but i'm not sure i can justify it. uses axes.
mumbo: NAVIGATOR! mumbo is the navigator. he's like, trying his best, man. also not much to say here, a navigator is a navigator. his persona is ariadne.
gem: a late-game powerhouse and bufu user, as well as the late-game guy who comes in and gets almighty skills. she's focused on pure damage i think, but also gets a number of interesting buff skills maybe? i'm picturing her in the same general combat archetype as like, naoto, for the record. her persona is atalanta. uses swords.
and i THINK that makes the entire magical mountain crew, for the entirety of the school rescue association!
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eyestrain-addict · 9 months
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I just realized why lestat marked Tom, like the big stupid idiot I am
(I know everyone else probably already figured this out, but this is MY blog and I get to post whatever deranged thought crosses my pea brained mind.)
When I watched that scene in episode 5 where they're at the bar talking to Tom, I was confused as to why exactly. Why does Lestat mark Tom? If he's marked to kill, why does he wait almost 2 decades later? Well I realized, as all realizations come, in the shower.
Lestat has been planning on killing Tom the whole time.
(Warning before you click read more, this post is a lot longer than I first intended holy fuck)
Well not the whole time. Just right when Louis realized that Anderson and Fenwick had screwed him over. Maybe even longer if he knew it was a trick ("ridiculous of you to mix human and vampire business it always ends poorly"). Notice how he's upset with louis when he kills the guy who's microaggressive with him, cus lestat wasn't there (even if he was there I have my doubts Lestat would understand microaggressions, but he would have definitely killed him for touching Louis.) But tells Louis he's proud of him for killing Alderman. I think this has to be because he witnessed the disrespect first hand. He didn't give a fuck about the money, what he DID care about was that those two disrespected not only him, but Louis.
Even with Lestats little understanding of race relations of the time in America, he did understand hierarchys. He's from 1700s France for God's sake. It's no coincidence wanted to be king of mardi gras. Lestat came to New Orleans and saw himself as the king, even if no one knew it. And he wanted Louis to be his queen. Honestly I could make an entire other post about how Lestat almost literally saw himself as if he was a King and Louis his beloved Queen, which is why he thought it was okay for him to sleep with other women (mistresses and playthings of the king should mean nothing compared to the queen in lestats eyes) but that's getting off topic. I only bring that up because I'm trying to paint a picture of how I think Lestat sees disrespect done to Louis. To him that goes beyond disrespect or rudeness, it's irreverence.
You begin to notice if you watch scenes with them together. Because while I wouldn't say lestat is good at controlling his anger, he's definitely great at concealing it until it erupts (props to Sam Reid have to be given here) lestat is always on the verge of fury when talking to Tom. It starts as a distaste then as he begins to fall more in love with Louis and become more protective of him, his anger builds. Claudia was wrong about one thing, it was no petty slight that was the reason Lestat killed Tom first, it was a loooonng time coming.
I could list every detail I think supports this but I'm sure you get the gist by now. My main point is really the layer of complexity this adds to not only the story, the characters, but also lestat and louis' relationship. Consider it for a second, Lestat saw all his violence as justified, everything he did one can see it through the lense of him punishing the disrespectful (take a shot every time I say disrespect in this post jesus christ). "I bring death to those deserving" indeed. Lestat has a god complex out the wazoo, and every attack, torture, and death he caused was righteous to him and thus enjoyable. Louis on the other hand didn't see himself so highly. He may seem confident but if you look through the cracks it's apparent Louis's self worth in near nonexistent and he's horribly insecure. I think lestat thought when Louis was made a vampire he would see himself as Lestat saw himself, and as Lestat saw Louis. But again, another post for another time.
Despite Louis' insecurities (or perhaps because of them) louis revels in the violence lestat commits for his sake. That's probably why louis is so quick to forgive lestat about the priests. For a brief moment Lestat truly said the truth to Louis and Louis could forgive him because of it. As lestat says, he doesn't kill the priests to intimidate Louis, nor does he do it just because he enjoys it. He does it because he sees them as humiliating Louis, charlatans that don't deserve Louis' sorrow. Louis didn't want the priest's to die, but he could understand why lestat killed them, simply because for once in his goddamn life lestat told the truth, and louis loved that truth. That truth being that lestat killed and mutilated and committed such horrors not just because he liked it, but because he did it out of a fucked up sense of protection. Him killing the priests was essentially a knight killing a dragon to earn the princess' hand in marriage.
The worst part is that Lestat doesn't even realize it. Not fully anyway. Let's be honest with ourselves, lestat doesn't understand Louis. Obviously there's the race, background, culture differences that lestat doesn't understand nor seems inclined to try, but there are better posts about that made by smarter people than moi. I'm mostly talking about lestat doesn't understand louis' mind itself (louis' mind in a vacuum I suppose you could say) he understands Louis' desire for violence sure, but he doesn't understand the core of that want. Honestly I'm on the fence of if he ever understood that Louis loved it when lestat was protective in the first place. I guess it can be dumbed down to Louis wants Lestat to kill to protect Louis and to protect the family (and anyone who deeply disrepects them), lestat perhaps understood a little at one point, but since he sees everyone as a threat and everything is a slight to him, he has no trouble and qualms with delighting in the torture of people Louis views as innocent. Louis' heart is a bit dark, but ultimately human, so he's disgusted by lestats violence towards the undeserving. Lestat can no longer read Louis' mind and even if he could, Louis doesn't quite understand the difference himself (that's why he tries to hunt for criminals briefly) so the cracks of miscommunication starts to form, and neither of them even realize there is miscommunication.
Therein lies the importance of Tom Anderson for season 1. Not much of a character, more of a plot device in human skin. Claudia can see that Lestat hates him, but doesn't understand why, nor does she care to get to the depths of that. (*Mr house voice* understandable) I think it's notable that Louis rarely brought him up, he didn't understand the depths of lestats love. Nor did he know about Lestats 3 decade long grudge, all because Tom disrespected Louis.
Now I'm not excusing Lestat's actions, I just think it's interesting how this one throwaway character reveals a whole level of complexity to the relationship between him and Louis, and better sheds light on not only Lestats personal philosophy but louis' as well. Even Claudia to a degree.
Anyway, uh. End of essay. Bye.
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Hey Raven! Hope you're doing well, and I hope you had a great holiday, if you celebrate, that is.
I hate to clutter your ask box with something like this, and you don’t have to answer, you can just read this with an open mind, but I feel you're the only one I could go to with this without being straight-up attacked. It's also why I'm asking anonymously.
But, what's your stance on the whole war between the JP and EN versions of the game? I'm not asking you to pick a side or anything, I just wanna know your thoughts.
Obviously, I'm an EN player, and idk if you seen, but there's some hateful things out there about us, and honestly, it's hurtful and disheartening to every time I get up here. And it's always on this we as players can't control. Mainly the dialog translations and it's changes.
I've seen people calling us dumb and weak, saying we water down everything because we can't take it, etc. I've seen people saying we don't know how to really correctly and analyze characters and that we're not even playing the same game. They say we've ruined the game, the fandom, and that they wished it was never localized. I've also seen quite horrible things, but I don’t wanna repeat the things said, but yeah.
And the kicker is, it's only the JP side I've seen post this stuff. I've seen more hate come from that side more than anything, and of course not all, like you. You're my fave btw.
So yeah, thoughts?
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Hello, hello! ^^ I’m not really a super big celebration person but I’m hunkering down for a cozy hibernation this winter ❄️ I hope everyone had/will have a good 2023 holiday season~
Before I provide my response to the question posed in this ask, I want to make sure we're all on the same page for this discussion first:
Please be advised that my perspective is coming from that of someone who started off playing JP in March 2020 and then picked up EN when it came out in January 2022. I have played on both servers since their initial launches.
When I refer to TWST JP and EN fans in this post, I am only referring to the English speaking fans (as in, English speaking fans who play JP and English speaking fans who play EN).
For the sake of simplicity, I will be disregarding “hybrid” fans (English speaking fans who play both JP and EN) as a separate category and will lump them in with “JP” fans (English speaking fans who play JP). This is because I assume most mixed fans started off with JP and then adopted EN later on.
I am not talking about ALL English-speaking JP and/or EN fans here; I am only talking about the ones Anon described in their ask.
As the Anon said, I ask that you go into this post with an open mind; do not assume that I will bash JP and/or EN, take sides, defend or condone toxic attitudes, or that this post exists just to “stir the pot”. That is not the purpose of my response. The purpose is to have a meaningful and constructive discussion about TWST’s fandom culture, particularly as it pertains to English-speaking fans. I hope that in talking about this, we can better understand “the other side” (however you may personally define that) and work toward making the fandom space more welcoming for all.
Please read the entire post and think about your own choice of words before commenting and/or sending in an ask about this topic, should you choose to.
To the Anon that submitted this ask and to anyone else that plays EN and may have had similar thoughts: I’m sorry to hear about the negative experiences you’ve had in the TWST fandom. I hope that this post brings you some peace of mind, if not at least some catharsis for what you may be feeling.
Firstly, it’s important to understand the mindset of both JP and EN fans. As such, I will delve into the background and the development of each side. It is NOT meant to justify either side, but rather to inform you on how each perspective originated and grew to what it is today.
The animosity and opposition to an official English version of TWST has been present for a while. An English version of TWST has always been contentious, even long before the localization was announced. Some wanted it to happen for accessibility reasons (as some people find it tedious to hunt for translations) or were supportive of the idea because it means a larger fanbase and thus more potential to make friends or to discuss the game. Others were more apprehensive of the quality of a localization (as much tends to be cut or censored to make the content more palatable) and/or claimed that expanding the fanbase in such a way would bring in more “bad apples”.
When EN first came out, it did, in fact, expand the fanbase. However, many were quick to notice the many (and I do mean many) errors and short sightings present in it: frequent spelling and grammar mistakes in the game and on official social media posts, inconsistent phrasing, incorrect translations, game-breaking glitches, frequent censorship, half-hearted promotions, etc. EN also became infamous for its absolutely brutal pacing of content in the early days, particularly related to the limited story event schedules (including back-to-back Halloween events). This, in combination with EN’s constant pushing of paid gems (which occurs far more frequently than in the JP server) has left a bad taste in JP fans’ mouths. To them, TWST EN did not make a good first impression and continued to misstep again and again. This is especially true of the many dialogue changes to make the TWST localization more “culturally appropriate” (which is the definition of what a localization is; there is a reason why TWST is not called a translation, which would be a more accurate/“faithful” or direct translation of the dialogue).
The claim that “EN fans are weak/can’t handle the real story” likely arises from how EN has removed or altered details which may offend western audiences. This includes things like the term “master”, the mention of Azul’s weight, Kalim’s “30-40” siblings, etc. These are conscious decisions made on the part of the game localizers to make TWST more broadly appealing and appropriate for a western audience, where such topics are contentious or considered taboo. This is adapting TWST to a new culture so that it can (in a dry business sense) perform well. However, I also want to mention that some cultural changes EN made do significantly alter the story/characters (such as Jamil no longer stating his family will be on the streets if they defy the Asims; in EN he only says his parents will be bad at him), particularly if you are viewing through an EN-only lens. Unfortunately 😔 as much as I can point the nuances of localization out, there will always be fans who still oppose any sort of censorship. This is also true of the anime and manga community in general, and this post isn’t large enough in scope to tackle those issues. I only mention this here to help you, the reader, better understand the changes from Disney/Aniplex.
A lot of the original negative feelings that were there before EN was announced were then confirmed by the official release, and this strengthened the dislike of EN on the part of JP fans. These JP fans may then become hostile toward EN fans who defend the localization (whether or not they have the context of TWST JP) because, in the eyes of the JP fans, the localization is not as good as it could be. Ultimately, it seems like their intense feelings stem from passion for what they love and not wishing to see it “desecrated” rather than an actual hatred of fellow fans. JP fans are upset because they fear EN fans are not getting the full scope of the characters and a story they enjoy, and they want others to appreciate those aspects of TWST as well.
Of course 💦 the fact is that EN fans are not responsible for the localization. But EN is there and that is what is the easiest and the most time efficient for English-speaking audiences, so most people will go with that rather than alternatives (ie hunting down fan translations). The issue is that some JP fans conflate simply consuming the localization as being bad or the “wrong” thing to do, and thus, by proxy, extend this frustration to EN fans themselves (especially those those are EN only and have zero prior knowledge of JP) and not just the product. Again, this is because they tend to see JP as the “full” version, without the changes or censorship present in EN. This inevitably leads to discrepancies in understanding between JP and EN, whether due to staggered release of new content or how the characters are presented differently between the two servers. To those who say “the versions are basically the same except for minor changes”, I disagree. There are several dialogue changes that appear small in isolation, but because TWST’s narrative is told primarily via dialogue, those “small” changes are actually very large and can drastically modify how one perceives a character or situation without explicit knowledge of JP to balance it out. When Jamil is made an “employee” rather than a “servant” and worries about his parents being mad at him instead of his entire family literally being on the streets for defying the Asims, it takes away the bite from his motivations. When Cater inserts a #WOW that wasn’t there in JP while Riddle is breaking down sobbing, or makes him come off as far more insensitive than emotionally aware. These are just a few examples, but they are very prominent ones that can change how an EN only fan sees things. The idea that “we aren’t even playing the same game” can ring true to some JP players because of this.
It cannot be helped that EN fans would interpret the characters and stories differently when the localization is their only or primary source of TWST content. Not everyone has the time or the desire to look for more accurate fan translations (not all fan translations are the same quality), as some JP fans have suggested. If EN fans want to, that’s great! It’s nice to expand one’s knowledge and to be cognizant of the changes between the versions. There are many blogs out there dedicated to educating people on these matters, and many EN and JP fans alike flocking there to be informed. But that level of engagement shouldn’t be demanded of anyone. To deem those that don’t engage in “further research” as “lazy”, “dumb”, or a “fake fan” is not acceptable, not in the name of love or otherwise. The expectation to “do homework” only puts pressure on EN fans to be a certain way or else be rejected by the fandom, and that only breeds more hatred and negativity. It makes EN fans feel “not worthy” of being a fan unless they study up, when the truth of the matter is that no matter how much we like TWST, it’s… media at the end of the day. People are free to consume their choice of media however they like, and that includes casually or at their own pace. It’s not fun to be in a fandom where others are breathing down your neck and policing everything you do, especially since these spaces are meant to be a temporary escape from reality. If JP fans meant to gatekeep in an effort to make others recognize the “real” greatness of TWST, then it’s failing because this kind of attitude only serves to drive new fans away.
Among EN fans, there is this idea that “JP fans are stuck-up”. I can understand where this thinking comes from, as I have witnessed hatred for EN myself which comes unprompted and has killed many conversations. Admittedly, some points are geared toward the company themselves (and those are valid), such as rushed and/or inaccurate translations or the pushing of paid gems, but I’ve also seen my fair share of nastier, invalid comments directed at EN fans. There are JP fans who actively hope that EN will shut down or who outright dismiss EN fans because of the version they play, thinking of their thoughts and opinions as “lesser” or doubting their media literacy skills. It’s true that this behavior is out there in the fandom, and that is unfortunately a sad reality.
That being said, JP on EN hate is not the only form I see, and nor is it the majority. It goes both ways (and I would say about equally for all, although this is just based on anecdotes and not objective data). There is plenty of JP on JP hate (particularly when someone spreads mistranslations around as though it were the truth) and EN on EN hate (arguments over what is and is not appropriate to ship, differences in headcanons, harassing fans that fall outside an “acceptable” age range, etc). There is also EN on JP hate which feeds into a dangerous back-and-forth with JP on EN hate. I briefly mentioned before that EN fans tend to believe JP fans are elitist, and this leads to assumptions being made about anyone that critiques EN and sometimes lashing out about it. I myself have previously been accused of “hating” EN because I often make posts commenting on the changes made between EN and JP (which ones I think work and which I think don’t). This preemptively defensive behavior drives another wedge between JP and EN fans, making JP fans reluctant to engage with EN fans, which then fuels the belief that JP fans think they’re “better” than EN fans (when really, some JP fans may be intentionally distancing themselves for their own wellbeing). Additionally, a lot of behavior deemed more acceptable in western oriented fandom spaces (such as moral justifications, taking pictures without crediting, callouts of other fans, and incorrect use of fandom tags) are not so for JP spaces (or those familiar with JP spaces). There have also been times when EN fans harass the actual Japanese-speaking side of the fandom (be it Japanese fans or the devs themselves) and demand (not ask, but demand) content that caters to them or free translations of fan comics they make. When EN fans fail to observe such “basic fandom etiquette”, it leads to JP fans thinking them rude or entitled, which makes JP fans reluctant to interact with EN fans and, again, feeds into confirmation bias. It’s a viscous system.
What is “ruining” the fandom is not just one side. There has always been turmoil present in fandom spaces. It just appears more visible now that TWST’s popularity has grown to this degree. Right now, both sides (JP and EN) are antagonizing each other because of a loud minority that’s attacking the other side. That minority then gets extrapolated and assumed to be behavior of the entirety of the other side, and that is what keeps the hate going.
If I’m being entirely honest 😔 I don’t think these tensions will realistically ever die out; the fandom is too large to “stomp out” what has already been established in its culture. When both sides are fueled by something so strong—a passion for TWST—it’s hard to seek out and/or to consider alternative perspectives. We become fixated on their own negative experiences and fail to think about where the “others” maybe be coming from, and then close ourselves off from discussion. That promotes isolation and contempt rather than friendliness and cooperation.
If we want change, then it starts at an individual level and in smaller TWST communities. We shouldn’t assume the worst of “JP” or “EN” fans; we are all TWST fans. Let’s keep open-minded and welcome other fans and their diverse schools of thought. And if you don’t feel comfortable with that, that’s also fine! You’re allow to keep a distance and curate your online space as you like; just please don’t go out of your way to disparage others, you have your own lane and others have theirs. Don’t encroach on other lanes.
Maybe we don’t necessarily agree with each other or we think may hold different opinions—but that’s good, isn’t it? The freedom of thought and the open exchange of ideas promotes flexible thinking and can lead you to see things from a new angle, or perhaps develop a new idea of your own. If we all thought the same way, then life becomes boring or it can cultivate an “us versus them” narrative that sparks online wars.
Let me put it this way to close off the post: isn’t this the message that Twisted Wonderland itself is trying to teach us? The true value of attending Night Raven College isn’t just about receiving a good education. Countless times it has been stressed to us (and often by Lilia, the oldest and wisest of the core cast, someone who used to be resistant to opening up to outsiders) that it is vital to understand other people in spite of how different we may be. Let’s take a page out of the students’ book and try to live up to that ^^
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aettuddae · 6 months
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hole in one — chapter 23.
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⌕ synopsis: at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, where everyone is battling to be the center of attention, yu jimin is just a regular. people want her because of her beauty, but all she cares about is sharing her freaky stuff with her friends and passing her subjects. although there's one thing that might push her out of her comfort zone, revenge. when nakamura kazuha, one of the richest and most well-known students of NCU, starts to spread gossip about her for thousands of followers to see, jimin decides to get back by taking away the thing kazuha cares about the most: her perfect girlfriend, the young golf star, kwon haru.
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[written chapter]
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"hey." muttered haru after seeing karina.
the girl was panting, making it obvious that she had run to that place. the new girl understood right away, she had already realized it she arrived later than she was supposed to.
"sorry i'm late." she added, interrupting the tension building between the two.
"hey." returned the other's greeting, sketching a shy smile.
up until that moment karina had felt confident, calm, but it all dissipated as soon as the golfer stood in front of her.
she had crossed paths with haru a few times, although she could count them with her fingers. after all, they go to the same university, and there are events that all the students attend. besides that, kwon sometimes showed up at the building where jimin studied to visit her friend giselle. but they never interacted before, let alone with the subplot of an entire plan organized to seduce her. somehow, the athlete's idea and the plan seemed so far away and fictional that she didn't feel a great weight because of them.
until kwon haru became a reality, until she was there personified in front of her, and karina felt the pressure of having to think carefully every interaction they had.
"are you..." she gave a deep sigh before continuing the sentence. "...the girl my girlfriend has been fighting with?" a short, chaste laugh escaped her as she finished, perhaps because of nerves or the ridiculousness she was asking.
"i think that's an accurate description of me." jimin nodded her head, pressing her lips against each other as a gesture of embarrassment. "although it's not so much a fight, it's more just her..."
"yeah, i know." she lowered her gaze, and walked a bit until she found a place where to leave her equipment. "sorry about that, by the way." she picked up a club and turned to karina again. "it's just that she thinks what happened at the party was on purpose, which doesn't justify her reaction, sure, but it's all only because she felt attacked. i swear she's not mean, just..." she stopped her walk next to the girl, taking a breath of air and looking towards the field, thinking what to say next. "hi, i'm haru, it's a pleasure." she looked at her and extended her hand waiting for a shake, not finishing the previous topic.
"yes, i know you're haru. it's a pleasure too." she reciprocated the greeting, finding funny the abrupt change of subject.
"your name is karina, am i correct?" the golfer furrowed her eyebrows as a gesture of curiosity.
"that's me." confirmed, pointing her index finger at herself. "but my name is jimin, actually." she explained.
"okay, jimin-ssi." she gave a smile without showing her teeth, but that was still genuine enough to make her eyes narrow.
it was the first time karina had talked to kwon haru, and although she had the image that the girl's personality wasn't at all like her girlfriend's, in those minutes she had confirmed it. she was kind. something well hidden among her priorities and bad intentions, told the newcomer that this girl didn't deserve to have any harm done to her, but at the same time, she also was relieved at the thought that maybe it wouldn't be such a challenge to flirt with haru.
this is against kazuha, anyway.
"minhyuk spoke to me yesterday, told me he helped some friends get into the club, and that they lied on their applications about knowing how to play golf." the fresh member lowered her head in embarrassment, to which the experienced laughed. "he told me i had to do him the favor of helping him train them, am i right?"
"you are, ma'am." karina brought her hand to her forehead, jokingly giving a military salute, then flashed a cheeky, flirtatious expression to her new acquaintance.
she was there to make her fall in love, after all.
haru looked away restlessly, and swayed from one foot to the other as she scanned the surroundings with her eyes as if there was anything besides grass and holes in the ground.
"everyone lies on applications anyway, don't they?" joked karina as she saw her teacher start to move to fetch some golf balls and arrange everything.
"not in rottary, no." she denied as she was bent over setting up a tee.
"oh." she expressed flustered.
"but it's okay, jimin-ssi." she straightened up and addressed her. "someone had to be the first to do it." tried to reassure her.
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karina and haru sat down on the tee box, and the sportswoman took some time to explain the rules of the game, the most common terms and what each item used in the sport was called and what it was for, and also to answer any questions the new girl may have.
the latter listened attentively to every part so as not to detract from practice later. and even though she still found it rather boring, she got a strange thrill from the idea of being good at golf.
"so why did you join the club if you've never played golf before?" questioned the teacher once she finished explaining the system of play.
karina thought carefully about her answer, she couldn't say anything stupid. during the previous days she had been researching things about golf, so she looked through that information to answer the question.
"isn't it easier to play golf when you are a member of a club? you have somewhere to train, an easy way to participate in tournaments, direct access to teachers and coaches." she repeated everything she remembered from that specific google search she had done, 'why is it good to join a golf club?'
"yes, you're right."
"i don't get out of my house much." the girl confessed. "i wanted to do a sport and have a more active life." vile lie. "and everyone at ncu does golf, so it caught my attention." more lies.
"it's a great sport, you won't regret it." assured the one who had been at it for years. "is that why you followed me?"
"what?"
"on instagram."
jimin opened her mouth and expanded her eyes in surprise at the question. she had forgotten she did that, maybe she had voluntarily wiped it from her brain. her cheeks turned red right away.
"of course..." she spoke nervously. "i mean, you're the best at golf, right?" she reached out her arm and gently tapped her closed fist on the girl's arm.
and again, haru began to look around avoiding eye contact, while her cheeks also took on a reddish color.
"okay, now," the trainer stood up and extended her hand to the other girl to help her up. "let's see how bad your swing is."
they approached the tee that the athlete had set up earlier and now she put a ball on top. she looked through her student's unused clubs, picked one up and then passed it to her. she took it with one hand, to which haru moved close enough to her to position it correctly between her hands.
"you're going to put your dominant hand where the grip and the shaft connect." she pointed to the area she was referring to. "you're way up." warned laughing at the inexperienced girl's cluelessness.
haru took karina's hand, gently moving it to the correct position. the apprentice looked up from the object to the face of her teacher, who, at the proximity, this time could not avoid the connection of glances. the blackhaired drew a warm smile on her lips and moved her pupils from the girl's eyes to her lips.
she still hadn't forgotten about the plan.
at this interaction, haru took a breath and turned around on her feet abruptly as she rambled anxiously about the proper way to hold a golf club. when she turned back to face jimin, who was quite stunned at the suddenness with which that moment was cut off, her gaze drifted back and she frowned.
"don't turn around." she warned seriously.
the girl quickly grimaced cheerfully and began waving towards whatever was behind her.
"it's kazuha." she explained through her teeth while she followed her partner with her gaze, who was traveling in a golf cart through the club. "if you turn around we're both going to die." she dramatized without stopping waving.
(!)
— taglist [OPEN]: @runawaymazola
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sunflower-author · 3 months
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Haii :3
can I request a yandere platonic lady Tamayo who is very protective of reader
OMG, I AM SO SORRY, I KNOW IT HAS BEEN LIKE 60 DAYS SINCE YOU ASKED I AM EXTREMELY SORRY BUT IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!
IM A LITTLE BEHIND BUT WORKING ON ALL THE OTHER REQUEST!!
TRUST!!!
Anyway I hope you like this<3
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     "Y/N I told you many times haven't I," Tamayo scolded you, in your room.
"I just wanted to go out to see the festival... It only happens once a year..." You complained.
"Still that doesn't justify sneaking out. You could have lost control, gotten lost, or Kibutsuki might have found you, or-"
"I had human blood yesterday, and you know I handle a least a week without it, and I know the village, I've been reading about it for a while, and we haven't heard about... 'him' being around here my entire lifetime..." you cut her off by saying.
"You've never been around so many people, since you've been turned into a demon, there was no telling if you could handle, all the new walking blood bags around you, and reading about things is different than actually seeing things in real life, as for Kibutsuki, even he we heard no word about him being here, there is still his underlings that lurk around here. remember the last time Yushiro told us about the encounter he had with one of them?" Tamayo asks you.
"... Four days ago..." you say looking down, feeling guilty, knowing that she is right.
"Exactly four days ago, they are probably still hiding in this town somewhere, it's dangerous to go out alone...  you know, if you truly asked me and Yushiro, we would have taken you..." Tamayo says sighing.
"Yeah right... you're just saying that right now... but we both know if I asked you before, you would have said no, lecture me more about being outside, humans, demons... 'him' exactly what you're doing right now," you say, knowing the type of manipulation tactics she has used on you ever since you met her.
"All I'm doing is trying to protect you... ever since I met you, don't you forget who was the one that saved you all those years ago... That demon was about to devour you, and I was the one who killed him, if I wasn't there, you would have been dead..." Tamayo said. 
Every time the two of you argued and she had enough, Tamayo would always bring up your past trauma, guilt-tripping you to go along with whatever she was saying.
You stay silent knowing that you can't say anything, after she pulls 'that' card on you.
"I care about you Y/N, I truly do," Tamayo says sitting down beside you on your bed.
"Listen, maybe when you're older... give it a few years, and I promise, you me and Yushiro will all go to that festival," Tamayo says, with her signature smile.
It makes her look innocent, but we both know it is always used to hide what she truly is feeling. Her obsessed, psycho, crazy side, or maybe annoyed, irritated side, probably both.
"Older? I'm old enough, I am in my teens no doubt late teen years, in a few years I might well be in my twenties," you snap back at her.
"Correction, you would be in your twenties if you were still human... Demons age differently since they can live well longer compared to humans, menially it takes... even I am not too sure." Tamayo says calmly. 
"Yes you have been here a few years, however menially you've probably only aged a few months, and let's not forget about your physical state, when you get turned into a demon, you stop growing physically," Tamayo says.
As she put her hand on your head, in hopes of comforting you a bit.
"I managed fine on my own before you found me," You counter back.
"You lasted what? A little over a year, before I found about to be devoured by a low-level demon-"
"I was younger, I was still getting used to being a demon, but now I know how to do things, thanks to you and Yushiro, I'll be able to handle myself, Tamayo," You cut her off, not wanting her to say anymore.
"And if you were to run into Kibutsuki? Then what? how will you defend yourself, if he found out you were associated with me? He would do unspeakable things to you Y/N," Tamayo says sternly.
"The chances of running into him are very small, just how much demons actually get to see his face?" you say again.
"Y/N L/N, drop this," Tamayo says, sternly, before sighing and calming herself down.
Finally having enough of this, you stay silent, you can never win against Tamayo. This is how all your arguing ends with her, once she says your full name everything ends.
"You acting childish, auguring with me, selfish for leaving me and Yushiro worried-" Realizing what she is saying stops, looking down at her lap, it is never her intention to make you feel bad.
"Y/n I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Yeah yeah, you didn't mean all those bad things you said and were about to say to me," giving her attitude. 
Rolling your eyes, you start to lie down on the bed, facing away from her.
"Well, since you're already mad at me, minus well tell you your punishment, no books for a month, and you will stay in your room for a week," Tamayo says turning to look at you.
You just stay silent looking the other way, waiting for her to go.
Getting the signal, Tamayo gets up from the bed walks to the door, turns off the light, grabs the door she looks at you for a moment.
"Goodnight Y/N," She says softly, only to be met with silence.
Sighing again, she closes the door, locking it.
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genericpuff · 6 months
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And with that, 2000 years of history and 10+ years of an animated adaption later, Attack on Titan is over.
I wasn't planning on making an essay post about this but like all of my essay posts, it got crazy out of hand, so here we are. I have a lot to say on it and the more I wrote, the more I realized exactly what the Attack on Titan finale was about. It's cathartic. It's also kind of a big shitpost but not for the reasons you might think.
Spoilers for the Attack on Titan finale ahead! CW: DISCUSSION OF WAR AND GENOCIDE AHEAD!
Now for anyone who knows what I'm about to talk about (and anyone who follows my stuff here), I'm sure you're wondering , what side do I fall on in regards to Attack on Titan's ending? Am I about to talk shit about it? It's very divisive and somewhat inconclusive. It followed the exact ending in the manga which, while expected, was still disappointing to many who had hoped the anime would take some other path.
But I have to ask, could there have been any other way?
Eren committed mass genocide, bordering on extinction of the entire human race. There was no way that he was gonna come out of it redeemed or as a hero, and he knew it. He went straight up Walter White core here and like Walter White, he is not a hero.
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The fact that the Marlayans have been constantly going to war with other countries using Eldians as their personal soldiers goes to show that for countries that seek out conquest, there's no target too small or insignificant that can't be marked as an "enemy", and we see that reflected in Eren as well, in his pursuing of "freedom", an ever-moving goalpost that can never truly be satisfied.
The Jaegerists were hellbent on creating a new empire on the bloodshed of Marley - 'an eye for an eye', so to speak.
Nothing was ever going to truly satisfy either 'side' in the conflict of humanity vs. Eldians because such conflicts' origins have been obfuscated in hundreds of years of history, propaganda, and generational trauma that has repeated itself for so long that many don't even know what they're fighting for anymore, aside from one thing - that they don't want to suffer, that they shouldn't have to suffer for the actions of their ancestors, that they want peace and happiness but don't know where to start with taking the first step.
I think people are disappointed in this ending because, let's face it, it's anime, and it's an anime adaption that took years to finish. We always want to see some kind of vindication from stories like these, but I think in having vindication, it ultimately removes the point altogether of what's being said.
As much as we may try to fight it, try to deny it, the course of human history travels in a circle. Conflict will always arise. History is written by the victors, and those victors will be seen as heroes by whichever side they're fighting for regardless of what heinous acts they may have committed to justify their salvation. And after all of that conflict, regardless of the result - time goes on, and new conflicts arise.
But I don't think that means we have to succumb to grief and suffering and that's a point that I'm seeing missed in a lot of the discussion around the finale. There's a very powerful scene between Armin and Zeke, in which Armin talks about how he was born to run up the hill with Mikasa and Eren. He recognizes fully that if his life isn't meant to be long, he can still cherish those small moments that he thinks back on fondly, the moments that defined his life with the people he cared about.
And that's really all life is. Small moments and experiences that stick with us until the end. The very act of being born in and of itself is a cosmic miracle that gives us the chance to experience things that bring us joy and stay with us forever - however short or long that 'forever' may be. We take these small moments for granted when we're comfortable, but we look for them the most when we're suffering.
If I can relate all this to another piece of media that says the same thing - albeit with a much brighter ending - FF XIV: Endwalker also asks a similar question to Attack on Titan - is the only meaning in life to suffer and die? Of course, by its end, we learn that while death and suffering is an inevitable part of life - not something that should be avoided - it shouldn't persuade us to give in to fear and despair as a constant state of being. And I think Attack on Titan goes for a very similar approach, albeit slightly more as a cautionary tale - a nihilistic reminder that ultimately, the losses and victories we find in our current point of history are still just that, a single point, a blip that will be forgotten until it's ultimately repeated, and there's no escaping that.
It cautions us that freedom cannot exist without constant vigilance for war and conflict. It cautions us that our values and core beliefs for attaining freedom, love and happiness can be twisted into a weapon to cause harm, vindication gained at the cost of another. It cautions us that when left in the wrong hands, power can and will be abused by the ignorant while propagandizing itself as "the greater good".
So why not just find the joy that we can? The friendships, the little moments, the things that bring us happiness even if only temporary. Conflict is inevitable, suffering is inevitable, but that doesn't mean life isn't worth living. "Happiness" is not a tangible end point - it's the side effect of living a meaningful life that's true to yourself.
Attack on Titan is over. Some will argue the ending was the only way, others will argue that there could have been another way and that the anime adaption had the chance to change it but still didn't for reasons beyond their comprehension.
But isn't that the whole point? We'll argue. We'll bargain. Many of the arguments made will reinforce our own beliefs further rather than sway us. Many of us will insist there had to be another way, just as Armin insisted that this couldn't have been the only way, that humanity must have had another option. Meanwhile, many of us will acknowledge that at the end of the day, this is the story Isayama wanted to tell, and regardless of whether or not it makes him an idiot toying with his audience and admitting defeat by lampshading it in the penultimate scene of Eren admitting to his own idiocy, this was the power given to him and he used it in the best way he knew how.
Much like in any conflict, there's one thing that unites both sides - the human need for joy, connection, and freedom.
We might not agree on how Attack on Titan ended, but we can agree that it was a hell of a ride, and I hope we can all agree that it was worth riding, even if it wasn't satisfying for everyone in the end. It brought many people together regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, and differences, and connected them through something they all loved for over ten years. And despite how big a part of our lives it was, life will still go on, and we'll move on to other things to watch, enjoy, and argue over. Isayama will move on to whatever awaits him next, knowing fully well that his choice was his own, that he created the series he wanted to create regardless of how people feel about it. We'll all look for our own forms of joy and happiness as life moves on around us, as conflicts come and go.
Isn't that really what freedom is at the end of the day?
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bloggingboutburgers · 4 months
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Hello! Hope you’re well. Your blog is much appreciated. I was reading through your old posts when something you said struck a chord. The distinction between QPR and romantic relationships- you said how it’s not about revolving our lives around the other. I like that!
I keep toggling between thinking myself as aro or not. My lifelong issue with the concept of romance has largely centered around this “they are my entire world”. It bothers me how it is made to be so much about the other person. I wonder how much of that is aromantic and how much is toxic romanticism.
I think there’s much to be said about how this concept has become very popular nowadays. There is a narcissistic and obsessive flavor to it. Also…This seems a more western concept of romance to me. I am asian and perhaps the collectivist culture helps lessen this singular focus on ONE person. But I might be wrong.
All this to say, there’s more than just this idea to make someone identify as aro but the way things are nowdays, I do find myself wondering:-).
Hi! I'm doing well, thank you, I hope you are too^^
Thank you so much for the input, honestly, you bring up very good points! I also agree that the whole thing of "making one person one's whole world" on its own probably doesn't just equate romance (one can also see cases of that in, say, parent-child relationships, or parasocial relationships I'm sure), so that's definitely important to stress.
I have yet to find the best words that would exhaustively define what romance is and why I don't want it, it's somehow a lot more elusive than sex! I guess it's probably a mixed bag of "making one person one's whole world" crossed with "making this specific type of relationship the end goal of everything that surpasses every other reason one might have to be happy somehow", crossed with likeliness of exclusivity and/or jealousy, and I could go on... There's much to be speculating about!
Like, heck, you also brought up, very validly, that our idea of what a healthy romance is is evolving as societies – and I love that! As much as I'm horrified on the regular of how much lowkey messed-up stuff most people will justify because "it's romantic", I also see more and more people bring up how it's mostly messed-up actually, and I truly appreciate it. It's nuts to think about but if our societies hadn't evolved the way they did in most of these broad aspects, we might have had a world without a concept of romance, or with a concept of it that wouldn't irk me so much so that I wouldn't have to define myself as aromantic.
It's all very interesting, and it's also why it's a valid point to have asexuality and aromanticism seen as spectrums as opposed to very clear-cut aversions – I may be on the dead end of sex-repulsed and romance-repulsed, but I can definitely see that benefit.
Thank you so much anon for enriching the conversation <3
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dreamsicle262 · 8 months
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why is chuuya's jacket red in s5 (+ unhinged and yet somehow still professional rant)
no seriously, why. like ok bones, i get it, the red is for blood. woohoo you know your colors. but this isn't the first time you've fucked up a character's outfit because just look at what you've done to the hunting dogs. bones. bones, look at me. i have you by the shoulders now. look. at. me. do you understand foreshadowing. or parallels. or callbacks to an earlier time. do you understand ANYTHING about narrative storytelling. chuuya's jacket was supposed to be green because then it would obviously have a bigger effect on the audience as well as dazai himself due to his past and his memories of when they first met, aka the ENTIRE FUCKING 15 ARC. the outfit similarities would be a nice callback to simpler times, to times when they had only just met and he was already practically smitten with him, and then seeing it in the prison with him as a vampire should've been soul crushing to him. it should've rightfully obliterated dazai after seeing how drastically chuuya had changed by having his humanity, the thing he was so uncertain about in his teenage years, forcibly stripped away. it should've ruined him knowing that he still viewed chuuya as human and even made it quite clear that he did back then but now he's something that isn't human. dazai should've also been pissed by this, seeing the partner he'd work with for years being reduced to a mere chess piece on the board he and fyodor are fighting for control over. and to have him show up in a similar outfit to his outfit when he was 15 should've been the damn tipping point. but no, you just had to go and make it red because "oh haha red is a prominent color this season because of vampires and blood!!" BONES. who the FUCK cares about the color. it would be so much more impactful to everyone inside AND outside the storyline if you had just altered that one, tiny detail. but you didn't. this is your downfall. the entire s5 budget went DOWN THE DRAIN because you wanted to add the sigzai dancing scene but remove dazai's capability to express human emotions which in the end makes him seem shallow and for fanservice only because he's 'visually appealing." if you fuck up the drowning speech i am going to RIOT. do NOT make him smirk, do NOT make him seem amused, and do NOT make him assume that his plan will work. no matter how he views himself, he. is. human. during that scene, he must have been willing to sacrifice even chuuya for the greater good because he's always been an 'ends justify the means' kind of guy, but that doesn't mean that he enjoys what he tried to do. sure, make him mask his concern later though. if i know one thing about this man, it's that's showing genuine emotions and baring his heart is an uncomfortable experience for him. if you can't accurate capture that within animation, then let some other studio pick up the bones of your mistakes and actually make something worthwhile.
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olderthannetfic · 8 months
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I had an incredibly odd moment last night at an event night for my dorm. Basically this girl and I were the last people left painting after everyone else had finished, the conversation was going well, and then she mentioned fanfic and how cringy and bad it was. Confused by my fellow nerdy type disliking a core part of nerdery, I admitted that I wrote fanfic, that I loved canon-divergent AUs and I wasn't sure what was wrong. "It's equally fictional either way," I said, which she did seem to pause and think about before acknowledging that was true.
Then she clarified the problem was Boku No Hero Academia. (For full transparency, I have not watched it. Confused, I said, "Isn't that just some shounen series? What's wrong with that? I like shounen." So then she hits me with, "The fandom is gross. That write things that shouldn't be depicted or portrayed." I stared at her, confused. "Like pedophilia."
I admitted, because I felt comfortable with her, that I had written fanfic about CSA and a survivor finding hope for the future, a therapist, true love and his abuser eventually getting his comeuppance. She looked at the painting and not at me. I couldn't tell if she was mad or not. So I added that, over the course of the year and a half of writing it, nine people had told me that reading it had helped them either decide to seek out therapy or helped them realize what happened to them was abuse and that it mattered. And I think it's worth it to make something that makes someone uncomfortable if it helps other people out, and also, the back button is right there. No one has to read something.
Looking upset but affect flat, she said that BNHA fans write things that "glorify" pedophilia. And I, because I am a dick with no social skills, went, "Well, don't read it." She clarified it shouldn't be allowed to exist because it "does harm to people". I said that abusers are responsible for abuse they commit, and nothing they read makes them do it. Psychologists, I reminded her, since several people in her family are psychologists, study and witness things much more horrible than we can imagine, which abusers often say are necessary, justified and sometimes kinda cool, and they don't do any of it. Stephen King didn't commit any murders as a run-up to writing about murder.
She went back to staring at the paint and said I didn't understand the harm it was doing, because it was normalizing it. So I pointed out that no amount of movies where killing the bad guy is a cool, glorious, badass thing to do has made murder socially acceptable in society. "But that's killing," was the objection. "Which is violence," I said in return, "just not sexual violence. But if a hundred years of killing the person who wronged you in cinema didn't make people fine with murder, I don't think a fanfic is going to make it that way." She scoffed and looked away. In a gentler tone, I finished with, "I don't think all of the socialization someone goes through in life and everything they've been told in their entire life can be undone by some anime characters."
She did not say anything to me for the rest of the painting time. She left without a word. I thought for sure she was angry with me and we weren't going to take anymore.
Today, she smiled and waved at me on campus like everything is fine and nothing uncomfy happened.
I don't understand. I am, however, neurodivergent, and therefore bad at social signals, so I may be missing something, here. She was never visibly angry at me when we talked, nor did she raise her voice, so I don't think that I was awful, here. However, not saying anything to me for a full forty minutes or even looking at me indicates to me I had said something that made her upset.
Neurotypicals, please advise. What is going on, here?
--
Well... probably she just had her dumb assumptions challenged and wasn't sure how to feel about it in the moment.
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