#((When I used twitter I'd use /s a lot but don't really anymore))

[zoropookie]

HOW HATERS ARE BORN (HHAB)

♡ chapter twenty-three — friends? (💋)

"Hey, if any reason we don't make it out without anyone seeing us, I just want to say that," You paused to look at him while you two were walking. "I think I’d rather be in a dating scandal with an insulin pen than you."

The corners of his lips twitched. "Wow." He said sarcastically, attention mainly on where he was going. "I never knew you were capable of thinking."

"My brain power’s not for free, just so you know," You immediately responded. "I changed my mind what I said earlier. I want at least three Twitter apologies and a lifetime supply of Jason Derulo concert tickets."

Scaramouche's eyebrows furrowed, giving you the nastiest side-eye that you could have ever imagined from him. "I'd rather take my chances with the scandal, thanks.”

You rolled your eyes, nudging him lightly with your elbow. You couldn't help but look at him a lot more than usual today. The allure that rang true put him in a different light, despite the light not being your cup of tea whenever he opens his mouth.

It was almost like the gravity of the situation didn't matter anymore. Still, you remained high and mighty. "I guess I'd want to be around me too."

"You're very sure of yourself for someone who's annoying every other day of the week."

"I’ll take it. It's why I exposed you so bad, and you flailed." You smiled, which caused Scaramouche to grunt in frustration. "You got burned, and you knew it too. Despite all odds, I kind of won."

"You did? Is that why you went AWOL for two weeks when I responded?" There was a split moment of silence between them as they stood there, and Scaramouche chuckled. The sound was low and throaty in the dimly lit alleyway. "All the considering, and this is very painful to say, but you were better with words than I was."

"Is that... another COMPLIMENT I HEAR COMING FROM YOUR-? I forgot it’s three in the morning." You sighed, shoulders dropping. "I'm satisfied with being the cunning wordsmith."

“You’re also just pretty fucking unfortunate to be around, but we can stroke your ego.”

“I love that you’re taking the diplomatic approach here.” You teased, feeling your heart warm up from his staring. Both of you looked at each other, uncertain to say anything, but hesitant to break the eye contact.

“Hey— uh.” You continued, stammering on your words. “If this all blows over? You wanna…go out?”

The amount of silence that was between them should have been enough of an indication to you, but you definitely knew it was solidified once he looked at you with a blank stare. “No.”

“Yeah, no. I started feeling like I was going to vomit when I said that anyway.” You quickly recovered, turning your body away to bite at your hand. Your eyes squeezed tight in embarrassment, hoping that you melt by some galactic beam in the next two seconds.

Amongst their chatter, and the alleyway that hid both of your figures, a distant rumble slowly became louder as the sound echoed off the walls. A pair of headlights pierced the darkness, and the beams of them against the worn down pavement on the curb assured them that it was definitely the group.

"Come on, come on!" Hu Tao shouted from the window, making you and Scaramouche cringe. She clearly found joy from this, because for some reason, the smile plastered on her face spoke volumes.

You both shared a fleeting glance, a silent exchange of words before entering the car.

"Well, well, well. If I would have known that Scaramouche himself would be in my car, I would have put 3/4th's water in my gas tank." Heizou raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with amusement and mirth.

"Oh, be nice." You pursed your lips, squinting. "Like you made an effort to help me out in the past. Now you're on your high horse?"

"Um, that's alleged."

"Really? Is it? How's that case against (Y/N)'s hater going, Officer Shikanoin? Found any way to protect them?" Lumine spoke up, her arms crossed stubbornly. "Well?"

"Listen! I was given a very narrow band of things that I can do with that! Aaaand, my hands were tied with a lot of other things." Heizou defended.

"Yeah, I'm sure your hands were tied with all the Cheetos you were picking up, the ones you spilled in some sawdust." Yanfei chimed in with a wry grin. "But I suppose I can't blame you for your...preferences."

"You knew that was an accident."

"Oh Heizou, I never saw it as an accident."

The two of them were arguing so much with input from the others in the car, that you and Scaramouche could only look at each other again and back at the scene. This was the only way the two of you were getting home safe from social media.

"You wasted 2 hours picking up every single one-"

"I don't see how this is relevant to where we're going right now!" Heizou immediately interrupted her before she could finish. "Directions, anyone? Before I hit a dead end?"

Yanfei immediately started tapping on her phone screen, pulling up the GPS navigation app she used. "So you turn left, but the rest of it is all you." She said, shoving her phone towards Heizou who snatched it out of her hand.

"Where are we going anyway?" Hu Tao asked, too enamored in Yanfei to say anything substantial until now.

"Ei has a vacation lodge, it's pretty cool, and it has way too many guest rooms. We're going there, I assume you have a key to it, Scaramouche?"

Scaramouche couldn't even respond properly, only offering a yard long stare. "How do you know she has a vacation lodge?"

"Did you forget that you're an influencer?" Another mysterious voice, almost similar to a child’s, appeared suddenly.

Nahida’s head popped up from the back seat, next to Lumine. It was less surprising knowing that all of them were clashing groups, anyway. But Aether’s eyes narrowed to the front seat.

“Officer Shikanoin…” Aether said in almost a disgusted tone. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“It’s definitely NOT what you’re thinking right now—” Heizou took his hands off the wheel, causing the car to swerve for a split second. “DEAL WITH IT, okay. I’ll explain when we get there.”

previous ♡ masterlist ♡ next

YOU ARE on your way to being one of the hottest streamer in your nation at the moment, racking a monthly average of 10 million viewers, but something specific bothers you about it. you know that a lot of people hate you, but there's this one account. one account that's been following you since the early days of your career. they leave a flood of rude comments in your stream, your moderators banned each account they made, but they keep making more. you are at the end of your tether. but you are yet to find out that this persistent cockroach is none other than your friend's friend (and the only other streamer that's bigger than you), scaramouche.

taglist ♡ @thystarsshine @veekoko @gumickajolli @simonisferal @kamiboo

@justpeachyteastea @feiherp @pinkismyfavcolor @aether-darling @kunisnaomi

@keiiqq @mine-lu @featuredtofu @danhenglovebot @k4zushi

@kyon-cherri @b4tm4nn @iiinaurate @quacking-simp @auroratumbles

@kookiibun @ulquiorraswife @amvpk01 @simplysm1le @h3xi2g0n3

@alatusorrow @scaranthropy @mellowberrie @magica-ren @vernith

@kabukipookie @bananasquash @suqarlaced @dellalyra @lightyagamifan

@yourfavoritefreakyhan @heartsforseo @yomishen @pwushizz @swivy123

@strxwberryfetish @ibyobi @ashfrommars4 @chemiru @ainnofinway

@agaygothicmushroom @levianamor @dragontammerz @wth121 @lylovw

@morgyyyyyyy @lovemari @suniika @melpomenelurks @yumejo89 (bold users means i'm having trouble tagging you)

[notfreetoday]

MPW Ep 4 Subtitle Correction

Masterlist: EP 1 || EP 2 || EP 3

We have another change in director this episode, to Yasumura Emi, though the script is still being written by Funabiki Shinju (the director for Ep 3). This week's twitter space didn't have much info, so I won't be including it.

M: いや～瀬ケ崎さん強かったわ～ M: あの物腰で*マウンティングされて M: いっそ快感を覚えてしまった M: No but, Segasaki-san('s presence) was really strong M: The way he *asserted (his relationship with Yoh) like that M: (rather than being upset), I felt even more delighted! *This is a (rather unfortunate) loan word from English - "mount" or "mounting" 😅, in this case, pretty much means to "one-up" someone else, or to brag about something to another. If you do not wish to have a weird mental image in your head, please skip the next paragraph. This word appears to have morphed from the observation that monkeys, when trying to move up a rank in the chain of command, tend to jump on the back of another to assert their dominance (not scientist just translator also low-quality source don't keel me plz). - In other words, if I watch the Jp RAW MPW a full 8 hours before everyone else and spazz about it knowing full well no one else understands what was said then I'd totally be moun--- AHEM (sorry 😂)

What I mean to say is, in this episode, Segasaki all but screams "MINE" in the most thinly veiled, polite manner possible, so let's see how he does that. If you read nothing at all, the last scene with them cuddling has an important correction you should skip to. Same translation disclaimer applies, Ep 4, let's go~!

(I see a lot of people saying some of their thoughts/suspicions were confirmed in the tags of the previous posts, so feel free to chip in with what you think! MPW deserves more discussion!)

Sorry I am incapable of summarizing, the post is crazy long and I've hit the 30 image max. As such, not every scene will be screen capped and I won't be transcribing the original subs anymore...

Y: あ、いや、友達の漫画を手伝いに行ってきます (-masu form) Y: Ah, no. I am going to help a friend with their manga.

Yoh shifts up a speech level here, (he started the episode out speaking casually) using the -masu form to make an announcement -he's trying to emphasize his determination to go because he’s nervous about saying it.

S: はあ？ どういうつもりで S: Huh? For what intention?

The "haa?" here has a more "excuse me?" feel, and the next line is interrogative - so all in all it has the same energy as: "Excuse me? What is going through your head?"

S: つぅか友達って誰だよ Y: よく通話してる…あの S: やっぱりあの女か S: Actually, when you say "friend", who do you mean? Y: The one who… I speak to a lot on the phone… S: So, it’s that woman after all huh?

S: だめ Y: え？なんで？(plain form) S: 俺が家にいんだから家にいろ (word contraction)* Y: でも約束したし (plain form) S: あの女には行けなくなったって言え* S: No. Y: Huh? Why? S: I'm staying at home so you stay at home* Y: But, I already made a promise S: Tell that woman that you can’t go any more** *This line, together with the starred line below, is extremely direct, (said in the same style as his not-proposal actually) and is clearly an order. **This line is literally "to that woman, say 'I am no longer able to make it'" (Though the speaker may not actually mean to use those exact words)

Segasaki has dropped a speech level here not so much by using "rude" forms but by being extremely blunt and direct. What he's saying implies he's being possessive of Yoh, but the way he says it also stresses his power in their relationship. But again, note that Yoh's replies are all in plain form - he hasn't shifted up a level in response, as he usually does when addressed so directly. In fact, the way he words his protest carries some indignation - using "し(shi)" at the end like this indicates that this "promise" is but one of the reasons he has for going - which is why Segasaki cuts him off. Yoh might sulk and pout about being ordered, he's still comfortably seated in his usual informal speech level, which means at this point he's still feeling secure about where he stands and definitely isn't intimidated.

S: お前さ*、何で自分がこの家にいるかわかってんの？ S: You*… do you even know why you’re in this house? *Here Segasaki uses the sentence-end particle "さ(sa)" after the word "you", which in this case has the same feel as "now look here". He also ends off his question with "の(no)", which can have many meanings, but here functions again as an assertive particle, implying that this is a rhetorical question, because he thinks Yoh should know the answer. Unfortunately, Yoh has the wrong answer 😅 (which Segasaki will realize and attempt to address in Ep 5)

Y: この人のやばさ*を一瞬でも忘れていた俺がバカだった Y: I was an idiot - to forget, even for a second, how insane* this person is *やばさ (yabasa) - this word comes from "yabai" and is a slang word that has evolved much like the words "crazy/insane" and "shit" have evolved in English - it can be used both positively and negatively to describe someone who's extreme, for eg "that guy is yabai (so cool!!)" vs "that guy is yabai (stay away)". Here, Yoh's referring to Segasaki as yabai for even thinking up this so called "slave contract" - which is what he assumes Segasaki is referring to.

Y: ごめん、いろいろあって Y: あ、いや、まあ、なんていうか、家にいろって言われ Y: あ、いや、なんでもない。とにかく本当にごめん Y: 今度なんかでお返しするから Y: Sorry, a lot happened Y: Ah, no, well, how do I say this... I was told "stay at home" Y: Ah, no, it's nothing. Anyway, I'm really sorry Y: I'll make it up to you next time, okay?

S: よくできました S: Well done. This is the same phrase we talked about in Ep 3, the stamp of approval. Again, Segasaki is emphasizing his role in relation to Yoh here.

Y: あの満足そうな後ろ姿 Y: 本当腹立つわ Y: That silhouette of his, so full of satisfaction as he leaves, Y: Really makes me irritated!* *Yoh ends off with the particle "わ (wa)", which mostly just emphasizes his emotion, but is a softer assertive particle than the ones Segasaki uses.

S: 夕飯、作ってくれてもいいんだぞ Y: はい Y: 俺はいつでも稼働する家事ロボットじゃねぇんだよ S: Dinner - it's fine for you to make it for me, you know Y: Yes Y: I'm not some housework robot that you can just activate at any time you know! The original subs made it sound like Segasaki was asking Yoh if he could make dinner, but that's not the case - he's literally telling Yoh to make it, and on top of that, he says it like he's doing Yoh a favour (by allowing him to make dinner) 🤣🤣 This time though, whether it's just cause Yoh's been caught by surprise or not, he answers properly with "Yes (Hai)".

Y: いっそロボットになってこの感情を無にしたい Y: (If it was going to be like this), I rather just become a robot, and turn these feelings into nothingness.

The focus of this line is mostly on Yoh preferring to become a robot in order to mute his feelings, but the sentence structure suggests that there is something to be inferred preceding this sentence, hence the bracketed bit. (It becomes clearer later on, especially in light of his monologue)

"Dayo-chan" is a pretty familiar nickname, something you'd expect a child to be called rather than an adult, unless it is a nickname between childhood friends. It implies a closeness/intimacy between the speaker/listener, hence the the look of horror on Yoh’s face (because he knows that is going to kick Segasaki into high gear) and the surprised disbelief (that someone would dare make a grab for Yoh) on Segasaki’s face. Kills me everytime 🤣

S: もしかして例の女か S: 家まで押し掛けるとはいい度胸してんな S: Don't tell me it's that woman from earlier? S: She's got some nerve, turning up at the house like this

Y: それはだめ　それだけは絶対だめ Y: No, not that, anything but that!

S: うれしいな　葉がいつもあなたの話をするので S: 一度お会いしてみたいと思っていたんです S: はじめまして、瀬ケ崎瑞貴といいます S: 葉がいつも　お世話になってます S: What a delight, Yoh speaks of you often so S: I've always thought it would be nice to be able to meet you. S: I'm Segasaki Mizuki, pleased to make your acquaintance. S: Thank you for always taking care of Yoh.

This is like, textbook formalities🤣 Practically every statement is a "standard" greeting and is very polite (hence the weirdly stiff english translation) except Segasaki says it in a way that makes it clear he speaks for Yoh, that Yoh is part of his in-group. (Legit, might as well plant a flag in the soil that says "Yoh is mine".) He sounds exactly like how parents sound when they meet their child's teachers, or how a spouse/older family member might sound when meeting their loved ones' co-workers. This is how it comes across: What a delight, Yoh speaks of you often so I've always thought it would be nice to be able to meet you - Sounds distinctly familial. Implies Segasaki is close enough to Yoh that Yoh shares his thoughts with him often. Also shows that Yoh tells Segasaki about Man-san, rather than the other way round. I'm Segasaki Mizuki, pleased to make your acquaintance. - standard, formal greeting Thank you for always taking care of Yoh. - standard greeting, literally "Yoh is always in your care" - You usually say this (for yourself) when you thank your teacher/senior/boss/important client. So, when you say this for someone else, you are claiming this person as your family, or someone in your in-group (a close friend, or at work, a junior).

S: すみません　今朝　葉が体調をくずしてしまって S: 家でゆっくり休んだ方がいいんじゃないかって S: 僕が言い聞かせたん*です S: ご迷惑をおかけしてしまってしまって すみませんでした S: I apologize, this morning, Yoh wasn't feeling well so S: I convinced* him (not to go) saying, S: "wouldn't it be better to stay at home and rest properly?" S: I sincerely apologize for the trouble this has caused you. * 言い聞かせる (translated as convinced here) this word is usually used when someone of higher standing tells/explains something to a person of a lower standing, and carries the nuance that they've managed to get the latter to accept/agree with what they say. It can also be translated as "told/persuaded/instructed/warned/admonished", and used in sentences like "I warned the kids not to run" or "The teacher told the students lying was wrong" - so that might give you a better idea of what Segasaki is implying here. I've used "convinced" here rather than "instruct" because Segasaki is, in general, speaking very tactfully to Man-san - but his meaning is still clear to anyone paying attention - Segasaki has a big enough role in Yoh's life that he not only can apologize on behalf of Yoh for not being able to fulfill the promise to Man-san, he also has a big enough say that Yoh will listen to his decisions.

M: いや、あんたがダヨの体調不良を詫びるんか M: むっちゃ身内面*するやん M: Wait, you are apologizing for Yoh being unwell (and unable to come help)? M: Isn't that a super intimate* (gesture)? *身内面する is literally "to show one's inner-circle face/side", ie the side of you that you show to your inner-circle/in-group ie your family. Hence this line reads more like "Wait, you're apologizing for Yoh?? Who are you, his family??"

Because of the emphasis on group identity in Japan, it's very common to apologize/take responsibility for the actions of another group-member, even if you had nothing to do with it. So here, Man-san has picked up on what Segasaki has been implying since the beginning - that Yoh is part of his in-group, and a very close one at that.

S: お茶目な方なんですね S: You've got such a sweet and funny personality, don't you? The word Segasaki uses here describes a person who tends to be naturally sweet and lovable, maybe a little silly but without any ulterior motive. It's a compliment in most situations - which is why Man-san gets all embarrassed - but can sometimes come across as slightly patronizing, like how calling someone "naive" can. Note that Segasaki is still being very polite here and effectively holding Man-san at arm's length, despite the seemingly friendly/open dialogue.

S: だから　そう言っていただけると　うれしいです S: So, to hear such nice words from you, makes me really glad.

S: ところで　可奈美さんはどこで　葉と　お知り合いに？ S: By the way, how did Kanami-san come to be friends with Yoh?

The whole dialogue where Segasaki responds to Man-san's fangirling basically sounds like how an idol would speak to their fans - it's very polite and uses deferential/humble verb forms to further indicate gratitude for the support, because Segasaki is answering Man-san in the context of his work. When he asks about Yoh, he switches back down to a normal speech level, but also uses her first name - Kanami-san, which whilst very charming, is totally NOT normal (with the sparkle effect and the wine, I can't help but get host club vibes from this lmao) because you only do that with people you are close to. Man-san is obviously flustered by this, and Yoh is understandably unhappy about the sudden familiarity Segasaki displays with Man-san (I personally think he's still trying to be disarmingly charming whilst he evaluates just how big a threat Man-san is🤣🤣)

S: ずいぶん飲んでると思ったら S: I thought he'd been drinking quite a bit

Again, this implies that Segasaki knows Yoh well enough to know his alcohol tolerance.

S: 寝るなら部屋いきな* S: If you're going to sleep, then go to the room alright? *いきな (ikina) - the "na" here is different from the sentence-final particle "na" we saw in Ep 3. This is short for "nasai", as in, "ikinasai", which is a polite but sharp way to say "please go (somewhere)". This sort of wording is most commonly used by parents towards young children when giving instructions like "please sit properly" or "please eat your food quietly". It's used between teachers/students, seniors/juniors etc, and sometimes amongst friends too. You absolutely should not use it with someone above you in the social hierarchy. The short version used here though, softens the tone a lot, and adds a very tender, homely feel to the sentence. Segasaki is literally coaxing Yoh to bed as a parent would a very young, sleepy but reluctant child.

M: 本当に恋人なんだなって感じです M: ようやく現実味が M: "(You two) are really a couple!" - that's the kind of feeling I get M: It's like it finally feels real

The way Segasaki literally puffs up with pride and hugs Yoh closer... (ಥ◡ಥ)

M: ダヨちゃんって彼氏の前だと　こんな甘えた*になるんですね M: なんかちょっと意外かも S: いやお酒様様ですね S: ふだんはそっけないですよ M: So Dayo-chan actually becomes so cute and affectionate* in front of his boyfriend M: I kind of didn't expect that, I think S: No, it's really all thanks to the sake S: Normally he's pretty indifferent *甘えた (amaeta) is the kansai dialect version of 甘える (amaeru), referring to the concept of amae.

Amae is a rather complex thing to explain in English and really deserves its own post. For simplicity's sake, what Man-san means here is that she's surprised that Yoh is actually able to express his desire to be treated affectionately and indulged in - something that requires a lot of trust in Segasaki and a willingness to be vulnerable in front of him.

M: おぉ、確かに。ダヨちゃん素直*じゃないからな M: あまのじゃく**っていうか　まあそういうとこあると　困っちゃいますよね M: Ohh, that's true. Cause Dayo-chan isn't able to be honest* with his feelings M: "Contrary"** is not really (the word to use) but... he does have a bit of that in him so.... (dealing with that) can be a bit of a handful don't you think? The way Man-san phrases her last line implies that she also has to deal with this side of Yoh, and by ending off with the particle "~ne", she is seeking Segasaki's agreement that they are both sort of in the same boat when it comes to that (she doesn't do this consciously though, which is why she freaks and apologizes later) *素直 (sunao - translated as honest here) is another term you'll often see when talking about feelings/relationships, and is also somewhat of a complex topic with many different possible translations, depending on context. It is closely related to amae, because in order to express your desire to be indulged or to receive affection, you first need to be able to admit to yourself that you want that.

**あまのじゃく (amanojaku - translated as contrary here) - this is a small demon from Japanese folklore, who was of an extremely contrary nature and would often mimic both humans and gods. It had the ability to see into one's heart and would then do the exact opposite of what one desired. Thus, this term is now used to describe people who intentionally go against the wishes of others, who are stubborn/unable to admit when they are wrong, or who twist themselves into a pickle/cannot be truthful about how they feel. It's not used in a complimentary way, which is why Man-san says Yoh's not quite like that, but there are some parts of him that do sort of fit the description.

S: やだな*　葉の素直になれないその不器用さが　余計にかわいいんじゃないですか S: ね？ S: That's not nice*... Yoh's inability to be truthful about his feelings - it's precisely that awkwardness that makes him even more adorable, isn't it? S: Wouldn't you say so? *Segasaki's first line "やだな (yada na - literally "this is unpleasant/I don't like that")" is not directed at Man-san, it's a form of soliloquy (which is common in Japanese), aka he's talking to himself here. We know this because it's informal and ends with the emphatic particle "~na". He then switches back to polite speech for the rest of his sentence, which is directed at Man-san. So, "that's not nice" is actually him remarking on the unpleasantness he feels after hearing Man-san describe Yoh as contrary, just as you might walk past a pile of rubbish on the street and remark, "well that's unsightly". Of course, the fact that he's actually saying this at a volume that Man-san can definitely hear and the way he sort of drawls it out, makes it clear that he definitely meant for her to know his disapproval behind the politeness of his following sentence (See what I mean by "thinly veiled politeness"?). On top of this, ending it off with a "ne?" (the same ending particle she used to seek his agreement) as he looks up right at her makes it clear - this whole sentence is a (mild) rebuke.

M: 分かったような口を利いてすんませんっした S: どうされました？ M: では私そろそろおいとまします M: I'm incredibly sorry! I spoke as if I knew everything (when in fact I knew nothing) S: What's the matter? M: Then, it is about time for me to take my leave. In response, Man-san ratches up the formal speech in both these sentences, though (as befitting her character) she pronounces it in a rather comical way (she sounds and acts like a samurai would in the movies 🤣). Also, don't mistake Segasaki's "what's the matter" as true confusion - his indirect rebuke was met with a direct (albeit over the top) apology - so here he is helping Man-san to save face, or recover the face she lost (by sounding presumptuous and by apologizing), by not calling attention to the actual apology. It is enough that she has recognized his superiority over her when it comes to understanding Yoh. This is also why later, when Man-san voluntarily offers up the information that she has a husband (and thus is not a threat to Segasaki's claim over Yoh), that Segasaki gives sort of an embarrassed but happy smile as he says "I'm sorry". That's not just "I'm sorry I can't send you to the station" (which is basic manners) but also has a little "I'm sorry for the unnecessary posturing over Yoh".

S: なんださっきから　やだ　ばっか言って S: お前はイヤイヤ期*か S: What's gotten into you? All you've been saying since just now is "no" S: Are you in your "no phase"*? *イヤイヤ期 - yes, the term he uses here specifically refers to the "no phase" of toddlers in their terrible twos. This isn't condescending though - Yoh's repeated "やだ (yada - "no" or "I don't want it")" is distinctly childlike, but this behaviour is precisely a form of amae that we talked about earlier. Yoh is asking to be indulged here, and Segasaki is responding both in word and in physical comfort.

Y: もうやだ S: だから何が Y: 俺　万さんのことすきなのに S: は？てめぇ* Y: あんたなんか嫌いだ Y: へらへらしてんじゃねぇよ Y: 何　ちゃっかり横に座ってんだよ Y: 名前で呼ぶ必要はねぇだろう Y: ふざけんな Y: 俺のこと好きなくせに Y: I don't want (this) anymore! S: So again I ask, (don't want) what? Y: I... even whilst... liking Man-san S: Ha? You little...* Y: I hate the likes of you Y: Don't freaking sit there laughing so carelessly Y: What were you doing taking the chance to sit next to her like that Y: There was no damn need to call her by her first name, right? Y: The hell are you doing! Y: When the person you like is me. When You talks about liking Man-san, he ends off with "なのに (nanoni)" which is used to show contrast the preceeding/following topic and to express frustration - except he hasn't mentioned the preceeding topic, so it isn't immediately clear what he means until he starts complaining about Segasaki's behaviour. That's why Segasaki is caught by surprise and follows up with an angry "haa?" and an emphatic *てめぇ(temee) - A very very rude way to say "you" which he first used in Ep 2 when Yoh said he was going to leave. It's not until later in Yoh's monologue, that we learn that he's upset that he feels jealousy/bad feelings towards Man-san because he's supposed to like Man-san (as a friend).

S: お前　お前それやだったんか S: お前の方が*　そう思ってたんかよ S: あ　もう最っ高 S: You... so that was what you didn't want? S: So, (all this time) it was actually you instead, who's been thinking like that? S: Oh, this is the. best.

S: よしよし S: 取られちゃって　やだったな S: There, there S: You didn't want me to be stolen away, did you?

Monologue time: Y: こんなふうに感じること自体が嫌だったんだ 万さん相手に　友達なのに 女々しすぎるって ���稚だろう　ダメだろうって　分かってるのに 気付いたら頭ん中　ぐちゃぐちゃで どうしようもなくなってた あんたのせいだ こんなふうに 囁いたり 微笑んだり 優しく触れたりするから いつもあんな偉そうに ああだ　こうだ命令してくるくせに 突然まるで恋人*みたいに 勘違いするだろこんなの もしかして 好きって こんなみっともない気持ちのことなのか Y: The fact that I was feeling this way was specifically what I didn't like. (Feeling this way) towards Man-san, even though she's my friend... It was too petty (of me). Even though I knew, that it was childish, that I shouldn't (feel that way), Before I knew it, everything in my head was all messed up. And then I couldn't do anything about it. It's all your fault, Because you do things like this, Whispering softly to me, Smiling at me, And touching me so gently. Always so arrogantly ordering me around, Saying do this do that, and yet, You suddenly (start treating me) like a lover* Of course, I'd get the wrong idea with all of that! Could it be that, "Liking someone", Really is a feeling as unseemly and disgraceful as this? *恋人 (koibito - lover) - Lover in English can sometimes imply a more sexual than romantic relationship, but in Japanese "koibito" usually refers to "boyfriend/girlfriend" and may not imply a sexual component at all.

S: お前から抱きつくとかできんだな S: ずっと酔ってりゃいいのに S: So you actually can initiate hugs and stuff huh? S: If only you could stay drunk forever...

And we're done!! Ep 4 marks the turning point where Yoh begins the journey towards accepting and acknowledging his feelings - the concept of "sunao". It also clearly shows the preferred way these two reinforce their relationship - through "amae". Remember how in Ep 3, Yoh talked about how he felt that an "unspoken understanding" of each other's feelings was important in a relationship? Well, this is it - Yoh saying "no" and "don't want", or leaving the room to be by himself - these are all examples of amae. He doesn't want to ask for affection directly, because he can't. So he does it through amae instead, and as we can see, Segasaki really enjoys indulging in Yoh's unspoken requests for affection and gains fulfillment from that.

[jizzlords]

knowing your partner can potentially make writing together a lot easier.

– BASICS.

♡ NAME: helvetica

♡ PRONOUNS: he/him

♡  SEXUALITY: lesbian™

♡  TAKEN OR SINGLE: ✌🏾

– THREE FACTS.

♡ i've had approximately two (2) individuals pay me more than once because they liked my writing. ( 〃 ．．) it wasn't on this site. but it was fairly recent. and i'm always dumbfounded looking back at it. ♡ i've aspired to be an animator. idk how possible that is now, dark ages for artists. but i'll try. i'd like to be strong enough to pursue digital artistry. at least. this is where the cool artist friends i've met here and knew for a while come in. ♡ i think a lot of you are super fuggin cool. and are really inspirational and comedic. idk how possible it is to know everyone but i'd love to.

– EXPERIENCE.

♡   HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): 10-11 years on this site. i'm prone to sticking to muses for maybe a year to 4-5 years, it depends. :}

♡   PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: facebook, chatango, tumblr, discord.

♡   BEST EXPERIENCE: i really like tumblr's way of rp and connecting. faulty platform aside, i've met a lot of memorable people. i have some on my twitter even though we don't write anymore, i still love seeing them. and i am fortunate enough to run into old friends again on here. sometimes we even run into the same fandom without realizing.

– MUSE PREFERENCES.

♡   FEMALE OR MALE: males ... it's usually the funky ones i'm stuck with. or the beautifully intimidating ones.

♡  FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: hopeless romantic. but i like all 3. since one of you said all 3 make a good story in a thread, i haven't looked at this question the same.... it's true... it makes a nice balance.

♡   PLOTS OR MEMES: both. i rely on neither but i'll partake in both. if my partner has a preference, i'll work with it. easier for me lol.

♡   LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: a fine medium. it'll progress as replies keep going. pls don't make them too short, it leaves me reaching :{ and frying my own brain lol.

♡   BEST TIME TO WRITE: when i go back to work, nights (dead late nights). but now, it flows steadily.

♡ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): yea. lol. :} natural big-hearted whores.

TAGGING: @girlishgiggle, @gctchell, @vanaglcria, @ladiesofhell, @lcftcult, @prnkill, @videoaux, @k1ttyb0t, @clwngasm, @edenpoise, @spyderdust, @pridetempt, @arachnaemboss, @xluciifer, @queenhells, @helluvaflames, @hazbintales, @damnedrainbows, @discoinfernos, @chthonicrage, @yukikorogashi, @l-ucitiel, @r-adio, @pridefell, @infernalight, @filejpg, @voxistem, @helldustedstories, @fizeroli, @fizziifrxg, @the-delightful-temptation, @houseofasmodeus, @bloominghands, @spiderslvts, @outforlve i kinda wanna tag everyone not wanting anyone left out. lol. steal this if you feel comfortable answering these, i wanna know.

[feanaria]

been thinking about marika and radagon a lot lately (well actually been thinking about them for years but especially latey) and i've gone through a lot of speculations/theories. while i'm not going to put my own opinion regarding this matter here, i do want to make a post regarding some of the evidence that i think is crucial to understand them. (initially posted as a thread on twitter!)

1. there was no explicit mention of radagon during the age of plenty, indicating either he was a no one, or he didn't exist at all by then, depending on whether you think he and marika was separate beings or they were one being since the beginning. back then, crucible and erdtree still possessed their divine power, especially the crucible, so i think it is the only time period that can maintain the rebis (combination of polar opposites) to be harmonious.

As a result, it is possible that marika didn't need radagon at all, cuz her thoughts and beliefs were harmonious back then. Even if radagon already existed as marika's alter ego, marika didn't need him to do anything.

2. the description of radagon only appeared after the age of plenty had ended, during which the incantation symbol changed from the early crucible/erdtree to the abstract erdtree. the power of crucible slowly faded, so the rebis was not in harmony anymore, this was the time that radagon first appeared in the narrative.

apparently, this is related to whatever happened at the end of age of the plenty. i've seen theories about first burning of the erdtree, and i personally think this is the time destined death was plucked out of the elden ring, due to the fact that elden ring in godfrey's time was supposed to look like this (found both in front of godfrey's monument and leyndell). anyway this is all speculation, we need dlc to support any of this, but something definitely had happened that time, causing radagon to come out of nowhere.

actually i think point 1 and 2 should be one point but nvm my brain is a mess...😭 in a nutshell, radagon wasn't in the narrative (either didn't exist or was no one or marika didn't need him) until the erdtree (and crucible)'s divine power slowly faded.

3. now comes the confusing & fun part: elden ring, erdtree and golden order are concepts that sounds really similar but actually they are very different. i don't want to go in length cuz it's very complicated to explain, but essentially marika is much more associated with erdtree, while radagon is much more associated with golden order, making them very different. In other words, marika is more associated with nature, while radagon with law enforcement, civilization...abstract things created by people.

4. one thing i'd like to point out, which i haven't seen anyone talked about it it's crazy???, is the gestures "inner order" and "outer order".

you receive the latter one from melina, after she repeats to you marika's words in minor erdtree church, in which "marika" talked about "her" intention to search the gold order. i used "" because radagon might be the one who actually said it!? marika never call people "my comrades", it's more fitting for radagon to do so. besides, we can find golden order seal just near by and radagon is the one whose name appeared in description about golden order incantations all the time. and then we receive the gesture "inner order" from Devin, who shared one soul with his brother, but they had separate bodies and minds.

i think it's a very subtle implication telling us how did marika and radagon work before the shattering. but of course, this is not a direct piece of evidence saying thay marika and radagon had separate bodies before, i just think this evidence should be considered when talking about marika and radagon.

finally (omg it's the longest post i've made and i wasn't making any sense but anyway), i want to stress that no matter they were one being from the start, or they were glued together by the greater will, or radagon was somehow produced(?) by marika after she became the embodiment of elden ring or after she plucked destined death, currently (ok that's weird to say since they are both dead lol) marika and radagon DOES NOT share their opinions and decisions.

their intentions was opposite to each other, to me this means they should not be regarded as the same. Even if they have shared memories & feelings, which there's no way to know, in the end they didn't agree with each other and fought for their control over the situation. no matter what they were like before, this fact doesn't change.

[lynxgirlpaws]

♥ lynxgirlpaws tubmlr ♥

Hey y'all ! Welcome to my silly little tumblr. I uh. I do stuff sometimes, uhm. Feel free to hang around !! . T. There's some info u. under the cut i. if you ca re. Oh ueah if you follow me a. and You're under 18 or don't have an age in your bio,. I'm gonna block you immediately. Like, instantly. Okay thankgs.

Hey!! uh,. so. I'm a Girl [recent update] who . does YouTube . and the doodles. uh. S. So here's that stuff about me I promised!! ♥ I !!! Use She/Her !! I won't die if you use they but y'know. girl. ♥ I am . 18. My birht day is on the 20th of June !! ♥ I live in. Connecticut. ♥ I used to be RamenBoy21 before the whole Girl thing so. If you were wondering where my old blog came from , hi ! I'm here now !! sorry for leaving ! ♥ I am ! African American ! (My Dad's Black and Mom was White [As German as an American can claim to be] for anyone curious. Nein, meine deutsch ist nicht sehr gut. Es tut mir leid) ♥ Oh yeah I'm bisexual! Like. I like people. All the people. Have you ever seen them? People. Prredty /w\ ♥ I am absolputely a girlfailure . Just. Trust me on this. I'm like if they made a girl that really sucks lol Okay. With that out of the way... now for . Uh. Links !!! If you wanna find/support me off of Tumblr! YouTube - I make silly little videos. Currently working on a Friendlocke I did a few months back with some pals, and singleplayer Vic2 stuff but. There'll be more in the future - and there's a lot of old stuff on there so. Feel free to check that out ! SFTV Lounge [Discord] - The silly little discord me and my pals own !! feel free to join . always good to have more cool people in there, y'know? BlueSky - I have not used this in literal months but. I deleted Twitter so like. It's the alternative lol If I make any other social medias I!! will update this!! And... now here's stuff for if you wanna find me here on Tumblr !! Accounts- Firstly,,, my NSFT Alt! - Sorry chat, I'm not gonna be horny on main. But, if you click that link, you can't be mad if I talk about dick or nuts or pussy or boobs. You just cannot be upset. them's the rules Tags- #AskAvie - I couldn't think of a better asks tag. It's alliteration. I'm sorry. You're always welcome to send me asks btw !! #AvieDoodles - Well I can't use RamenDoodles anymore. For reasons obvious in the rant. So... AvieDoodles? It doesn't work as well. But it has to work. I'm never gonna call it drawing properly, that makes it seem way higher quality than it is lmfao #AvieRants - I used to call when I'd ventpost Ramen Rants... so. AvieRants will be an ACTUAL tag you can block. I should come up with better names eventually. So yeah!! That's ! My silly little tumblr page! I. I still don't know how to properly make pinned posts but. This one seems good enough so uh, .yeah!! Hope you enjoy my dumb little corner of the internet! Have a lovely day! ^^

[transfemlogan]

if i had proof/evidence i would’ve shared it literal years ago. i’m just trying to prevent anyone else from getting hurt by him. and after how everyone has handled this, i really don’t think opening my heart up and bleeding out for an angry mob who has been nothing but violent is in any way safe, especially since i’m not lucky enough to be able to “prove” it. they’ve made it clear they’ll never listen anyway. why bother…

the death threats concerns is because i was sent countless death threats and kms’s for literally nothing at all by fanders even when i was still with thomas. it kinda ruined fandom for me altogether and i can’t even engage much in any fandom anymore (not even for my special interests :( )because of it. i was anticipating that happening again. and i wasn’t exactly wrong.

i wont be coming back here so if you say anything to me i won’t see it. i don’t know how much more my damn heart can take. i just wanted to protect you all from him so he couldn’t ever hurt anyone else ever again. it hurts that everyone’s response is so cruel. just let me help you…

thanks for the donation btw. i’ll post proof on twitter of using it for necessities once i get everything i currently have going on sorted out. it’ll help, i do appreciate it. thanks

(sorry you were abused and disbelieved. sending solidarity. NO ONE should need to provide proof/evidence or share every gory detail or be able to perform the perfect victim or whatever to be believed. let’s build a world where it’s as simple as saying “this individual abused me” so no one ever goes through this again, shall we?)

hi, atlas. i know you said you won't see this if I reply, but that's alright.

i will be taking what you say in good faith. i know most people aren't, for obvious reasons, but any feelings I have on this ask or you I will not state.

I'm sorry for whatever happened to you. and it sucks not being able to prove yourself to others. Attempting to speak out, only to get ridiculed and attacked is one of the most scary things about trying to speak. Again, I can 100% relate as someone who grew up in an abusive household and was in an abusive relationship. I hope you can find the help that you need & I hope my donation helped at all.

I will say, however, creating a world where someone can just say something and have it be believed no matter what is not a world I want to live in. Which I know is hard for a lot of people to understand, because S/A & abuse is one of the worse things someone can do and whoever does it deserves a neverending punishment, but people are liars. And while people who lie abt S/A & abuse are a very small amount of people, it still happens.

And there's a different set of "rules" when it comes to certain situations. I expect my friends and family to believe me about my abuse, but I don't expect strangers to about another stranger without any proof. If my abuser somehow became super famous, I do not expect them to believe me immediately without any evidence, bexause anyone can just say anything.

(Plus, I'd argue not every situation is black and white— yes, my ex emotionally abused me and caused trauma that I still deal with today after 5 fucking years, but I do not view her as an abuser. We were both children and it was her first relationship. She was just a very insecure person and we were surrounded by the wrong group of friends. That's my specific situation, obviously, but me-a-year after it happened and me-5-years-later both have very differing views on the situation.)

I hope you can heal through whatever this is.

[duhragonball]

Hey, im just wondering, do you have any other socials we can follow you on? I'v heard some forboding things about Tumblr staff layoff spelling the end of this site

You can find me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/duhragonball

That's it, other than my AO3 account, which isn't much of a social media platform, and my decades-old livejournal, which I haven't touched in years.

I misread your message and thought you were referring to something ending Twitter, and I was all set to talk about how people have been predicting the downfall of Twitter for over a year now. I believe it will probably meet a bad end, and sooner rather than later, but the way the userbase talks Twitter already shut down six or seven times already. It still basically works when I use it. It's gotten shittier, but it was pretty shitty when I joined. It amazes me that people are nostalgic for the days when Jack Dorsey was running things.

Anyway, you said Tumblr, and I don't know anything about that site's woes. I will say that I only got active on Twitter because there was a nonzero chance of Tumblr imploding after the 2018 pr0n ban. There's still a nonzero chance, but 2018 was five years ago, and we're all still here. I'm not holding my breath.

Let me ask the question, since it's been a while since I brought it up: What's the move now with social media? Is Blue Sky any good? I could probably bum an invite from someone since lots of Twitter folks are giving them away, but I don't want to fool around with setting up a new thing and then never use it.

Same thing with Pillowfort. I was curious about it when it was announced, but I'm like the opposite of an early-adopter. I like to wait a while and see if things will stick. And there doesn't seem to be much news coming out of it. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

I have no interest in the Facebook/Meta/Instagram mess. YouTube and Tik-tok are non-starters, since I'd have to waste a bunch of time producing videos. What else is there?

I have a discord, but I really need to sort out how I use it. A few years ago I had envisioned making a server and inviting people to join it, but I'm not sure I have the motivation for something like that anymore.

These days, I've got half a mind to just run a shitty personal website, like the one I had in 1996. Back then, you only had 10 megabytes of space to work with, and it would take all damn day to put a picture of the Emperor from Star Wars on it and get it to display correctly. But at least I knew it'd be there the next day. Wait, no I didn't.

Anyway, the internet's always been an ephemeral beast. I won't say it hasn't changed, but I can't claim it was better in the Olde Days either. I saw someone complain recently that all you can do with it now is watch videos and shop, and back in the 90's you couldn't really do either of those things easily, so you'd just read text pieces with funny pictures, and maybe download a .wav file of the Incredible Hulk theme song.

But I'm getting off track. I'm on twitter. And here, and that's about it. I'm open to suggestions.

[amazing-spiderling]

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Hmm... I guess it depends on how you define "in". I feel like my role in fandom circles has a lot to do with making things (whether it's art or fic or scanning in materials that are hard to fine or whatever) and that can be hard to keep up for years and years (especially if your media of choice doesn't HAVE new stuff to share.)

That being said, I think I'll have to say X-Men? I fell into Marvel comics when I was in, oh, fifth or sixth grade, when a friend I saw in the summers introduced me to her collection. She had a lot of X-Men and Excalibur comics (which were current at the time) and I think she had a subscription to get them mailed to her? I didn't have that kind of money and for a long time my comic collecting was sporadic at best. (This is how I ended up with 3 copies of the 1985 Nightcrawler miniseries in my possession today.)

When the movies started coming out in the early 2000's I was SO hype because my friends were smitten with the various actors and I was just excited that for once, my Pride and Prejudice reading pals gave a hoot about that thing I loved.

I don't make a lot of original content for X-Men, but I still read comics, watch stuff, (share stuff) and engage in fandom discussions. It's been... //checks watch// 28 years since the start, so I guess that'll do.

Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

I want more manga style Mattfoggy art and I want it *yesterday.* Every time I see a Japanese or Korean artist dabble in it on Twitter or Tumblr I LAVISH them in compliments because I need them to know how much I appreciate it. I love all of the western style art too, but my 90's anime kid heart wants what it wants.

Collaborative works! Maybe I'm a little biased because I love a little co-writing project, but I would love to see more team-ups between fans. Whether that's illustrated stories, co-written fic, art style swaps or whatever. This fandom is full of so many talented people and I'd love to see them working together more often. :3

Cute fanmerch? There's a little bit out there, but not that much. I know DD isn't the new hotness anymore, and artists have to make things they know will sell, but I would love even some print-on-demand designs that weren't just LOGO or SILHOUETTE or whatever.

Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

A tricky question for someone who thrives on friends-to-lovers! XD For the sake of this question I assume you mean a platonic relationship that fans explore versus what's canon. In that regard... hmm... While a lot of it can seem really hokey (because people tend to write MCU Peter Parker as even gee-willakers younger than he feels on screen) I think there are many fans who have done more for Team Red than Marvel ever will. Even the silly memey shitposts make me smile, but the comic interactions can be downright toxic. Eesh. I also enjoy it when people write a fun interaction for Jess and Matt, because Defenders didn't give us nearly enough and the fans know what the fans want. :3

[alarrytale]

Hi Marte!! So a topic came up on your blog the other day about how people rule out men being gay because they've had girlfriends, and one of your anons gave a great take on it. I just wanted to give my two cents on it as someone who hangs around in queer circles and has a lot of gay male friends. I can only give their views as I'm a queer woman lol. But it's pretty normal for gay men to have girlfriends when they haven't come to terms with their sexuality yet, society pressures and wanting to fit in at school or work, internalized homophobia and etc. There's nothing weird about it and not everyone comes to terms with their sexuality right away. Usually there is a period of denial. They were also talking about how gay men usually have a lot of female friends because gay men tend to be effeminate and can relate to women more. They become 'one of the girls'. I was thinking about Harry and how he's usually around women and het Harries have a really weird view that men who hang around women a lot must be into women. Not true. It also drives me a bit crazy when Larries joke about how Louis is allergic to women and is so uncomfortable around them that he must be gay. I use 'joke' loosely because although some people are joking, many use it as 'proof' that he is gay and they will point it out under every pic of him with a woman or even dig up pics of him with women to illustrate their point. A problem is that we hardly ever see him around women unless it's his fans and I don't think it's because he's uncomfortable around women, I think it's because of his laddy bro image. We only see him around his laddy pals. I'd bet anything that he has female friends and is very comfortable around them. The way this fandom acts like gay men are repulsed by women. It's just really out of touch. Gay men are comfortable around women. It doesn't mean they're sexually attracted to them and it doesn't mean they have sexual chemistry. I'm more inclined to think that if multiple women are very comfortable around a man then he is probably gay. The twitter hets drive me crazy at times. I know it's just ignorance and lack of understanding but they'll usually sprout their nonsense as if it's fact. They're just really out of touch with the lgbtq+ community.

Hi, anon!

Yes, gay males having had gfs in their teens is not uncommon at all. You can’t really use 'but he had a gf when he was 15' as an argument that someone isn't gay or queer. Some people don't fully understand their sexuality and isn't ready to label themselves before they're late into their 20's. I'm not a fan of people setting time limits and expectations on when you should have it all figured out.

Yes, loads of gay men have female friends and prefer female company over straight mens. I agree that Louis image is stopping him from having public female friends. But remember this used to be Louis:

You also reminded me i have a tag 'louis is one of the girls'. I hate that it's not in use anymore. I've ranted about allowing him to have public female friends before too. Female celeb friends (other than Perrie) would be great for his career.

Also a bonus picture for the ongoing Nick 'is he or isn't he' conversation we're having. Food for thought.

(This is Nick on the set of Mary and George with some female crew members he very quickly befriended)

[magicalgirlpictureencyclopedia]

I honestly need to figure out how to use Tumblr more, as it seems the magical girl community on here is more for geeking out about subjects? I run the MagicalGirloftheDay page on Twitter, and besides the Precure fans losing it over Cure Butterfly most of the other posts are fairly negative? Today I woke up to posts about servers fighting, and usually the mg discourse is about how Sailor Moon/Cardcaptor Sakura/Precure/whatever is too problematic to like, so it just leads into people hate watching old anime nonstop. It makea running the page a bit stressful, as I also notice my posts about things like art or obscure visual novels rarely get attention, but people flock my page if I state disliking views on the genre that lead into gatekeeping/spreading misinfo (ie saying all mg anime are lighthearted, must have transformations, no scifi, etc).

Years ago, I saw a lot of posts like these on here, but I rarely see them much anymore. A lot were in response to some older page called mgconfessions, where people really just used it to whine (usually) about shows nonstop and complain about what shows they think don't count as mg anime. Some posters would go as far as saying people of certain genders can't work on shows, and it lead to me leaving Tumblr for years. I see a lot of the same rhetoric on Twitter, and freqently have to shut down people bringing that behavior to my page via blocking.

As stated in the tags, it feels moreso as if none of these people actually enjoy magical girl anime? If all you're posting about is hating ships, problematic themes, or characters you hate, but still choose to engage with said media... what's the point? I don't get it, and the "mg experts" on said site follow a lot of the same behavior. Like, I run my page to talk about popular and obscure titles and characters, but people either whine when I post someone they dislike, or give no attention to new properties they've never heard of. It's a very weird, toxic way to engage with media to only be cynical about it, especially when the people who do this are in the age 15-early 20's range. I'd rather not spend my time being angry online about who ships such and such Precure and etc, but that's the main discourse and drama I have to mute and block so many for because actual positive discussions about shows on there is RARE.

[todayisafridaynight]

SO! I've wanted to talk about The Clip all day but felt like I should wait until the tumblr "premiere" (even though I think you were literally one of the first people to see it on Twitter lol). Thank you for defending my honor btw even if I am just Someone <3

But. Yes. Yeah. Yokoyama's absolute certainty in saying that??? Without anything to even buffer it? No maybe. No "don't expect too much." Just point-blank in front of a huge fan (whom I believe he's now going to be working with), a staff member, and a massive audience. As if that part isn't the matter of contention. I WILL be injecting those words directly into my veins for some time.

I was on the verge of choking and/or spewing blood and/or crying before posting it though lol, so I really appreciate the vote of confidence regarding the translation and I love your redraw! The reception as a whole has been really nice, although I wish people would keep it to themselves if they'd rather have Nishiki or Ryuji back or whatever. Not like it's a race, but even if it was, Mine's been in last place for ages lol.

And while I enjoy Y3's writing more than most, Mine's death wasn't some Grand Meaningful Statement, it was the decision of a fledgling studio that never knew if it would be able to keep making these games trying to tell a self-contained story. It did have far-reaching consequences for the series, but those consequences are also... not really relevant anymore?

Like, I can and have argued that Mine's death caused the fall of the Tojo Clan, but the clan has already fallen. So I don't see why some people are acting like revisiting his character would be A Spit In The Face to the saga somehow, but I guess I've never really been against characters being brought back...? A quote from the staff that's always stuck with me from the staff is that RGG is always going for RGG-ism, not realism.

Ranting aside... I honestly don't know if I should be saying this, but there's this new guy working the counter at Survive in some LaD8 behind the scenes footage. Now, upfront, I'm 99.8% sure it's not Mine (I happen to have a 100% accuracy rate so far identifying major RGG characters from extremely blurry images and silhouettes lmao), and I have no idea who it is, whether it's a new character or an old one heavily redesigned or Just Some Guy.

But he's not Kashiwagi. And he happens to have slicked-back dark brown hair with what appears to be an ahoge in some angles. And, unless the materials are temporary, he also dresses A Lot Like the celebrity Mine's design was based on. And his features... line up closely enough to piss me off, even though they don't fully match in the end, which is why I don't think it's him.

I'm in argumentative essay mode 100% of the time which is why I'm saying this in a "convincing" tone despite literally not believing it myself, but like... wouldn't that be something? To just have Mine part-timing at Survive or whatever and no one makes a big deal of it because they don't know any better? If nothing else, I really do think he should get The Bartender Treatment.

I dunno, I might post about it with a comparison tomorrow because it's been on my mind lately, especially with The News, but I really don't want people to get the wrong idea either. Or embarrass myself if it was too tenuous of a link to look that deeply into from the start lol

I remember seeing it two minutes after you posted it, so I can imagine I was one of the first to the scene of the crime (so my friends put it LMAO). AND OF COURSE I- and a lot of us- can't be any more grateful for all the work you do than we already are. I'd go insane trying to document and manage everything you do! especially when you have insane people like me ready to pounce on the smallest thing like I know I'd cry FJLKAJ The least I can do is give a proper title/credit to you when I can o7

If Yokoyama had any remaining hesitance about Mine being alive, then he REALLY would have fumbled by sounding so certain. Like in his old tweet, he certainly sounded more ambiguous, but this time he really had no extra notes and sounded more sure of himself. I won't expect RGG to do anything with Mine, but the concept is still very much exciting and the idea that Yokoyama almost seems earnest about the idea of bringing Mine back for whatever reason is very nice to know :] And thank you about enjoying the art I did! I can't lie in the slightest, since the last ask where you alluded to posting the clip, I had that drawing saved in the back of my head ready to make once you had that posted LMAO

But oohh not to touch drama since I generally try to Not touch it, but yeah I can't act like I haven't seen some people be. ""Interesting"" about the idea of Mine being alive. I won't dive too deep into it, but I think my major issue with the few grievances I've seen is that RGG hasn't done anything with Mine's alive status. As of right now, it's just a thing Yokoyama said, so I don't understand the need to be so angry about it (it's especially weird to say Ryuji hasn't been back when he not only got to be a playable protagonist in Dead Souls, but he was also the protagonist of RGGO- though I suppose I can understand wanting him in the mainline series again. Still, it's weird to act as though Mine's back any more than he is and being upset about it just because Yokoyama said he was alive)...

Moving on though, I'm really curious as to this 'mystery figure' you mean. I've been missing out on LaD8 production material, so I haven't seen this bit myself but I'd love to take a stab at it and analyze myself too. I agree though: if Mine does come back- whether he's working at Survive or anywhere else- I would greatly prefer if he had The Bartender status and was just never really called attention to and only existed in the background

[sofiadragon]

Prev tags said:

This is one of the things that got me to make the poll. In r/AO3 there was a post about "unwritten rules of AO3" and honestly 80% of them were in the TOS. No wall of tags, don't harass people, ship and let ship... all of that is very muchin the written rules.

The consensus on that thread, which had me go looking and find the other two that contradicted it, was to opt in or out and everyone was talking like that was normal. Like everyone would say that by default, that's what end notes are for (and also oversharing about all the things stressing you out in life.) A few clearly older voices pushed back, asking how anyone would know to do that - but that wasn't the first time I'd heard something similar.

I started using a boilerplate message about concrit in late 2021 because I wanted to set expectations. I searched for advice and was told about the opt-out culture shift after a Doctor Who story originally written in 2016 got multi part comments starting in 2021 and into '22 - as in they hit the max character legnth and didn't think maybe they were going a liite far so they wrote a part 2 and 3 as if this was a Twitter thread. I posted details already, it was a whole thing. The point here is: in late 2021, I was told that authors should be opting out of concrit for WIPs. Either by saying we don't want critique or that the story is fully written and just being posted on a schedule.

I'd never thought to use the notes to do that, when I started in the late 90's concrit was expected and common - and usually polite, but assholes have always existed. Someone would post a bit of something - some typos or a question about something they found ambiguous, you'd respond, and then maybe they went on a deep dive with you or maybe that was it. Fandom-specific forums with DMs were better for that, I think, as were the in-person on printed paper fic exchanges I participated in prior to finding fandom spaces on the internet. What a time, but people always had their two cents to share as a young kid learning the hobby. I never put much thought to if it was public or not at the time, but I'm sure that matters to a lot of people. Fanfiction Net also had a lot of concrit, since all "review" responses go through DMs and calling them reviews certainly encourages a lot of critique just from the connotations.

But times change. Twitter and other social media has changed how people talk to each other in writing. Nobody introduces themselves anymore, by any stretch of the definition, it's just straight to the point - and when your point is mentioning an error it's impossible to be anything but rude in a tweet-legth interaction that you don't expect a responce to at all beyond the typo getting fixed.

Even with such a vast majority of people saying to only give concrit with permission (69.8% right now, including those who think you should still keep it mostly positive even with opt-in) there are still a lot of people who will put whatever they want in the comments box and another set who will just ghost instead of mentioning that you spelled Pavel Chekov three different ways even if they really liked the fic. I'm certain that a poll that removed the opt-in and opt-out part of the conversation would just be all "don't be a dick, never leave critique no matter how minor." Another set of tags can be paraphrased as: I skewed the poll to make it look like it is alright to be a jerk if someone asks for concrit, because nobody on the internet knows how to be constructive. Well, that's a great point.

I blazed this post because I hoped that readers and people who weren't eyeball deep in the fanfiction community would participate. It hovers around 10-12% for opt-out or harsher, which is a little lower than I expected given what I have seen in the comments sections of fanfictions - but then most people think they are being gentle and nice even when they aren't.

As an author I can, even if maybe I shouldn't have to, take charge by putting something in the end notes to guide comments. Like the "I own nothing you recognize, only my OC and this plot are mine" notes at the beginning that became so ubiquitous that young authors today put it up there without knowing why Anne Rice has anything to do with that disclaimer. I ask for feedback about something specific and get critique on something I can handle, or else I drop my boilerplate about this being fully plotted and outlined then talk about something in canon and rarely get a single critical word that isn't directed at a showrunner/movie studio.

Can't critique my fic, too busy being mad about the people who wrote the plot my fix-it is fixing.

Hey fanfiction loving friend!

AO3 has the ability to turn off comments, moderate comments, restrict comments to logged in users only, or let anyone comment on your story. Most other fanfiction hosting websites do not allow comments to be turned off and in the case of some (wattpad) highly encourage comments even on individual paragraphs.

Over on reddit, someone said it is an unwritten rule of fanfiction that you should never leave a negative or critical comment on a story. This was countered most strongly by many arguments. Despite many people asserting that their stance was the one truth and that there was no debate on the topic - there was a lot of debate about what criticism even is and where the line should be for if giving concrit is alright.

So give this some thought:

If you have tea to spill, examples or an argument you want to make, please do. I have some that go both ways, but I'm going to wait for a few responses so I don't pre-empt the results. I'm not going to vote myself for a while, either, so I won't know which way the poll is leaning when I do pour my tea. I tried to cover all the flavors of debate I've seen in the many "definitive" posts I have read here and on reddit. Please reblog for a wider sample!

[faint-kitten]

Thinking about Artists from the 00's

I never share someone's discord stuff without permission. I don't think it's ethical to screen shot and potentially blow people up without their permission.

But found this in a discord I was reading and it had me thinking. The last Eminem Album I remember listening to was almost 15 years ago, and it had a song called Medicine Ball, in which Eminem made fun of Christopher Reeves for being disabled, and had a lot of really stupid lyrics like this. Pretty much anything he's done post I'd say Marshal Mathers LP has been cheap, lyrical miracle bs that was this degree of nonsense. And part of me doesn't wonder if he's just doing it to cash a check every few years. But it got me thinking (as it often does) about 20 years ago.

Eminem's been stupid for years. Not an excuse, but like…one of the things I notice about stars that blew up in the 00's is a lot of them were edgelords that seemed or people thought were fighting the establishment by saying it like it is. This is (keep in mind the same era that produced Chappelle, jeff dunham, ralphie may, and Dane Cook who, is kinda better? But he mostly just yelled a lot)

But in reality a lot of them were no different than adolescent teens yelling poop real loud because you're not supposed to and acting like it's strength. The problem is a lot of us grew out of that, like, as a whole fucking culture we moved on. What's interesting, is TikTok and twitter's younger generation tends to re-discover Eminem every once in a while and just re "cancel" him every few months.

Moving away from just Eminem:

A lot of these people sort of never moved with the times, and now resent the fact that the jokes/songs/movies that made them money aren't in vogue anymore, and as a result get angry that what worked what made them money doesn't fly anymore. They then start crying "woke" and "canceled" and it's just…times changed, our understanding of these things changed, and it's old men going "well this USED to work I dunno how to be any other way."

And it's interesting to think about. Imagine waking up one day to find out your livelihood isn't in vogue anymore, but it's all you know, it's all you've ever been good at, and you still need fucking money. And a lot of them aren't necessarily gone. Or stopped. They make good money because a lot have pivoted their careers to "Remember how you used to be able to say this 20 years ago?" and appealing to the sort of people who feel like them. Not needing to tell jokes, just needing to get mad at the things their audience is mad they can't say or don't understand. And that's always kind of been around. I remember an extremely unfunny book my mother had about a Politically Correct Christmas story when I was 15. It had terms like "womvn" because I guess a sect of 'feminists' at the time didn't like the word "men"? Or something? And the author got weird or stupid about it? And that book came out in 1995. Nerds have always been like this. Going all the way back to white people saying "oh you can't call them that anymore *eyeroll*" before I was even born. The 90's had this weird era of "attitude" that got embarressing as they tried to push that in the 2000's and a lot of artists and comedians who made it big back then, just never left.

But anyway. Not that he cares what I think. But it's whatever. He's an old dork and I don't think he's culturally relevent enough to anyone for this shit to matter. He was a class clown as a kid, he was a class clown as a rapper, he's still trying to be a class clown in his old age. I don't think this is one that needs the wrath of the gods. I think it's just a buffoon that needs to be ignored.

[rezdragon]

2014 and My Writing

I just wrote about this in the script I'm working on, but I thought I'd go a little more in detail in a separate post. I've talked about this before on Twitter a few years back, but writing a script about it has put some fresh perspective into my head. Let me tell you about the time that I went from obsessively writing nearly every day, to not writing at all for three years.

I say that I have always been a storyteller, as growing up, I made tons of stories with the toys in my room and each day was like a new episode in the complicated plot of "The Beanie Babies On My Bed."

2006 is when I really started using a computer regularly, but it was 2007 when I wrote my first short story, which was like twelve pages long (which is long for a 12 year old). And from then on, I was hooked on writing. Every year or so, it seemed like I had some kind of new story going on. Not because I finished the previous ones mind you, I would just get bored of it, or the idea became too big and I couldn't finish it. Orintheous' first backstory was developed around this time (that's how old she is).

When I was introduced to Smash Machinima in 2008, it was a match made in heaven for me. A lot of the stuff I was writing was just loose video game fanfiction and now suddenly I could make that real? Sign me up, 13 year old me was PUMPED.

And so in between my school work, I would be writing up scripts and other various short stories for machinima. I still have dozens of scripts for projects that never got a voice. This absolutely affected my attention in class except for English. Thanks to my constant writing, I excelled at English, especially the writing assignments.

My high grades in English continued into my high school years (also where my deep depression started), and by 10th grade, I was completely BURIED in writing a novel with a fantasy setting (Note: Do not have your first novel be a fantasy setting). I filled up several notebooks with drafts of short stories, scenes, and scripts. And when I wasn't trapped at school, I'd pour hours into Microsoft Word, making more short stories, scripts, etc. I just loved writing.

One of my proudest moments was in my creative writing class. The teacher gave us the blank assignment of writing a short story, but it had to be under 5 pages. I, the obsessive writer, argued that 5 pages was too short, and told her I had a 12 page story for her. She told me that if that story sucked and wasn't written well, she would outright give me an F on the assignment for making it over 5 pages.

I got an A.

In that same class, we had to submit poetry to this American Poetics Society or something like that, and I wrote a poem in 20 minutes about how I hated summer. And not only did I get a A on that assignment, that poem got selected to be in that year's published book of young authors (a book I SADLY COULDN'T BUY).

I kinda fell out of writing by 2013 because of d e p r e s s i o n, but I still had a lot of pride in my writing. Once I got out of school (and machinima) I sadly didn't have much to write about anymore, but I still kept up on it with fanfiction.

And then we get to college.

So in 2014, I was forced to go to college for a number of reasons, but the bottom line is that I did not entirely choose to attend college. To make it worth my while, I went for a degree in Graphic Design. I took a few fine art classes too, and I did learn something from those that I still apply to my work today. And I also took English 1, under the guise that it would be an "easy class" for me to get out of the way early.

It was not. Suddenly, the writing that let me fly through high school English without a thought was getting C's and D's. Even long essays I had to write about books we read were failing. I also couldn't pass any of the tests; I couldn't understand what was happening. For the first time in my life I was failing English? Me? Someone who considered themselves a writer?! And don't think I didn't try. The professor I had wasn't an asshole, he was great, and he tried his best to help me pass the class, but something just did not click and I failed English 1. This was during an already rough time in my life, so I didn't take this failing very well. I stopped writing, just full stop. And I wouldn't write again for some time.

Fast forward to 2017, I'm watching all of my old machinima from back in the day, feeling a little sad that I never finished what I had started. I decide to jump back in (for various reasons), and I was planning on working on a previously failed machinima series, but then I made a joke video on April 24th of 2017...

This joke video was a machinima called "Orintheous Declares War On RyeDragon." It was a word for word remake of a video made by PMK94 when he declared war on me for switching my Smashsona to Lucario back in 2009. That original video spawned an entire video series where PMK and I went back and forth trying to one up each other like the children we were.

Well, this joke video, made 8 years after the original, woke PMK up from retirement, and he responded to the video with a machinima of his own. I was so thrown by this because I honestly did not expect this and I thought: "I have to follow this up with my own video."

And for the first time in 3 years, I wrote an original script, performed it, and published it to the world, that video being "Orintheous' Plan Begins." And once again, PMK and I went back and forth with each other, spawning the original Orintheous' Revenge.

The scripts for the original OR were the first bits of completely original writing I had done in 3 years. I mean it when I say I went from writing almost nonstop to not writing at all. I didn't write anything in those three years and I honestly feared I would never regain my love for writing. But a silly little series about recolored Charizards reignited my spark, and while it took awhile to make a flame, that flame exploded in 2021.

By 2021, I got my love of writing back in full force, and once again, it was thanks to Orintheous' Revenge. I spent the first half of 2021 working religiously on writing the plot and other elements for OR, just like I had done before for my fantasy novel. Orintheous' Revenge was merely the warmup though, preparing for the main event of 2021, which would be The Disaster Archives.

All of the writing I do for TDA today would not be possible had it not been for Orintheous' Revenge. College nearly killed the writer in me, but Orintheous, the god of life, brought it back. As I am currently writing a 46 page script about the events of 2021, three years after the fact, it honestly feels weird to me to even think about the fact that I went three years without writing anything. I'm back to being incredibly dedicated to it, just as much as I am to my art.

I have always been a storyteller, and I will tell my story, either with recolored Charizards or beanie babies on my bed. I'm not super vocal about calling myself a writer, but if you ask me, I will gladly tell you:

"Yes, I am a writer."

More specifically, I call myself a script writer, as I love writing dialogue. I don't think I could ever write a novel again haha.

[ferretseal]

Blogs???? Multiple???

Blog futures... I guess? for an intro? I might make a few side blogs for myself. One is going to be for a totally not self-insert type character for Dnd/ Buldurs gate/ anything else I wanna do for her/me that's vaguely fantasy?? another might be solely for art, but I don't post my art much. I'd probs have to start with a massive sketchbook tour or something with all the art I've done that I can find. I want people to see my art and my improvement, and my friends are well and good but sometimes I want more people to see it, yknow?

I also wanna try drawing fan art of things I like. I mostly just draw my own OCs and I don't really draw much else. I'm currently working on a friend's OCs(though they stole one of them from me.)

Y'see, I used to be part of Tumblr in the late 2000's and early 2010's. Back when there was a lot of SJW stuff going around, you know the type, they've all moved to Twitter- sorry "X". and I was extremely sheltered by my father, who's a conspiracy nut conservative. I joke that he's two steps away from believing that birds are government drones, but It's not a full joke. ANYWAY, I ended up parroting a lot of what he said because I actually didn't know any better. I was in middle school. but that stuff somehow got onto my Tumblr, and I being the kid that I was, would get into conversations that were less than ideal. The people who I argued with online wouldn't try to educate me other than telling me that I'm an awful person and that I should "kys". Grown adults, by the way, telling this 12-14-year-old that and worse because she honestly didn't know better. Eventually, it got to be too much and I deleted my Tumblr and didn't touch the site until I made this account. That's a LONG TIME. and I don't really understand how to do posts anymore. so I'll have to figure it out. idk I'm rambling. but I might make a side blog or something!

[alottamoney]

I think the wake up calls are good. I know it's usless and when the next taekook outing will happen it will be blown out of proportion and promoted as the most romantic thing that ever happened because everyone are waiting and some people aren't ready to let go but i'm in my I won't let twitter control me anymore stage. In the last year I feel like i've been told countless times of how inseprable taekook are of how they spend every night together and how they are in their coming out stage. And when I look back on it I don't get why did I bought into that so hard? And the answer is because i was told to. It's that certainty that we were sold that is causing the heartbreak now because if they were inseparable Tae would not even feel like to be seen with a rumoured woman and Jungkook would not look so nonchalant. Tae is acting like nothing happened so to me it means he has no problem with keep doing what he did so I don't expect him not to give us a next round of taennie because why not and Jungkook seems to be content in doing whatever it is he is doing so why would anything change other than few future taekook interactions per usuall we will get? It's just too many red flags imo. It's fun when interactions happens but I knew that in a lot of casses it's the shipping brigade that added the extra excitment that sometimes s taekook interaction lacked so it goes on and on. They all might have different friends now and it's harder for us to see who is really inseprabale and who is not if any but I have learned not to fall for anytthing anymore that twitter says. past behaviour is the best indicator of future behaviour

"past behaviour is the best indicator of future behaviour" Exactly.

Even if they manage to turn this around, I won't be able to look at it the same way. Atp I'd believe Taegum over Taekook lol.