#But that’s just my opinion and experiences and bias

[pig-piggy]

ATEEZ's "THE WORLD EP.1 : MOVEMENT"

So, another album released in 2022. Of course I won't be able to write down the feelings I had about these songs when they first came out, but I will instead write on how I feel about them now, in 2025.

1. Propaganda

This track is their album intro, hence it won't be evaluated. However, I do believe it to be very fitting for the kind of concept they were going with in this album and as an introduction, in general, to this new series of them, that would last for 3 albums (from july 2022 until the end of 2023).

2. Sector 1

(here's the performance video)

So this song (as well as this whole album, but I'll get into it) is for people like me, that enjoy feeling like a revolution has just begun and that they're actively taking part in it. That sort of dystopian feeling that we, Gen Z, grew up around in terms of media content.

This song is perfect by itself. I really didn't need to include this performance video, since I feel like it will hinder your experience of the song. I believe it to be best to listen to it on your own, without watching anything first, and let your imagination run wild. The performance, in my opinion, is a little bit low quality, according to my standards. Not because ATEEZ did a bad job, but because the choreography could be better taking in account the power this song holds, as well as the members styling. The vocals for this performance (and every ATEEZ one, really), however, remain powerful and so the performance is enjoyable from a "hearing" perspective.

Either way, I believe this song really fits this album and that it is my cup of tea. I remember first listening to this album and wishing that every song on the album had a sort of similar vibe to this one, but still keeping my expectations low, because I felt like a whole album with this concept was something that really wasn't going to happen and that it was too unrealistic and fanciful. Well, let me give you a spoiler, as well as an advice: you should never lower your expectations when it comes to ATEEZ.

Hooks: 9

Production: 9

Longevity: 8

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 9 (A)

3. Cyberpunk

(another performance video)

Another song I wish I didn't put here the performance video. Please, listen to the song first. It's one of ATEEZ's best, but I think the unasked for sexiness for the performance really brings the song down a notch. Like, we're supposed to be in the middle of a revolution, there's no time to be sexy, San. The song is supposed to make me feel like I'm fighting for my life, for my future, so acting sexy really isn't the way to go. Also, the chairs? We're in the middle of a revolution, there's no time to seat your ass down! We have to save the world from the evil people who want to control it, we have to be the peoples' heroes! (You can clearly see I have a savior complex as well as a wild imagination, just look past it).

In all seriousness, this is one of the best songs ATEEZ ever put out. It gives of a futuristic, dystopian feeling and I'm here for it. Once again, Jongho's vocals are completely out of this world, and the performance, when it came to his singing, literally gave me goosebumps.

Musically, I really feel like this album is a piece of art, although I think the styling and choreographies should've been slightly different. I would like to see the ATEEZ members wear either somewhat destroyed soldier clothes, those ones that people in dystopian movies usually wear. I want the choreography to be dramatic, passionate, but not sensual. Sensuality should have no place in this album (wow, what a prude).

Hooks: 10

Production: 10

Longevity: 9

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 9,75 (A)

4. Guerrilla

It's sort of surprising that the title track appears so late into the album. Usually they appear in second or third place, so I think it's the first time I'm seeing it in fourth, but that has nothing to do with the song, just a little comment I felt like making.

The song is amazing, one of their best title tracks for sure. The music video is great, however I could envision more for it, if only their company were bigger and had more means to make their music videos on a bigger scale. Either way, the music video is very well adapted to the song in question, and the meaning behind it is very well shown: revolution / rebellion.

The choreography is great (finally) and I really like the part just before the chorus begins where Wooyoung pretends to throw a grenade, with his teeth and finger.

The vocals are absolutely insane, and once again, Jongho should be praised, because that is definitely not an easy thing to pull off. I also think it's a very good thing that I can't say that a particular member stood out to me. They all seemed to have the same amount of screen time and were all very visible and memorable, so that is something to be praised as well.

I'm still debating in my mind if I consider this their best title-track or if it's "Bouncy", released in 2023, and I haven't come to a conclusion yet. Let's just say these two are the top ones and leave it at that.

Hooks: 9

Production: 10

Longevity: 8

Bias: 9

Final Rating: 9 (A)

5. The Ring

Wow, a 4 minute long song. That's rare nowadays. However, every singe minute - no - every single second in this song is completely worth listening to. This song is absolutely amazing. The melody? The drop in the chorus? I can feel epicness oozing out of it. Seriously amazing. I really love all of this album, but this one is definitely at the top, just slightly (really slightly) behind another song about to come up in this album.

Like, put yourself in my shoes. Do you know how my excitement was through the roof listening to this song for the first time? Do you know what it feels like when every song is better than the one before it and it just keeps on increasing and increasing in quality? It was an experience I never had with ANY k-pop album, I repeat, ANY.

And it only got better. Truly amazing. The type of amazing that almost moves me to tears, since this was the type of concept I had been searching for - waiting for - for years.

Hooks: 10

Production: 10

Longevity: 9

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 9,75 (A)

6. WDIG (Where Do I Go)

The drop when the chorus begins? Unbelievable. Amazing. I wish I could inhale this album, breathe it, be one with it (too dramatic, I know, I'll tone it down).

Although this song is not up in the top with my favorite ones, I believe it's placed perfectly in this album. First of all, it really fits the concept of the album, and second - its place is perfect between "The Ring" and the next song, otherwise I wouldn't be able to write this today, 'cause I would have died from a heart attack out of excitement.

This song also gives off that uprising feeling. It makes me feel like I just reached the doors of the highest building known to mankind, and that the last challenge lies beyond it. So yeah, you know, I guess I'm going to go listen to this song while standing in front of a tall building in my city, on a windy and cloudy day, preferentially (if you see someone doing this, it's definitely me, no need to even question it).

Hooks: 9

Production: 10

Longevity: 9

Bias: 9

Final Rating: 9,75 (A)

7. New World

"OPEN UP YOUR EYES, OPEN UP YOUR MIND, OH NEW WORLD! CAN'T YOU SEE THE STORM, CAN'T YOU FEEL ME NOW, OH NEW WORLD!"

The revolution was planned, put into action and finally achieved.

The instrumental, the vocals, the lyrics, the power in it. Pure perfection. It literally makes me think that I reached the top of the world, that all of my life was lived just for that specific moment. It makes you feel part of some sort of "greatness" that was waiting for you and only you to achieve it, to retrieve what was yours - freedom. A new beginning. A NEW WORLD.

This type of song makes me want to write a dystopian book, the most dystopian you could ever imagine, bringing greatness into our own world through it. I could be a movie director if this song was playing in the background. I could be a million seller author if this song was always playing in the background. I could be unstoppable if I had this song constantly playing in the background.

And then when the song ends you go back to the real world and realize your mom has been screaming at you for you to fold some laundry. Still, worth the 3 minutes and 36 seconds long journey.

I wouldn't say, however, that this is my favorite ATEEZ song. There's one that is absolute perfection - no - more perfect than perfection (but I'll talk about it when I review its album).

Nevertheless, one's perfection doesn't cancel another one's perfection, so:

Hooks: 10

Production: 10

Longevity: 10

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 10 (S)

In conclusion (and all craziness aside), this is one of the best albums ever put out by a k-pop act. The only thing that is slightly a bummer to me is the performance aspect of it, but it's something I can easily overlook and that still lets me embrace the perfection that this album is.

Album's Final Rating: 9,5 (A)

[lemonynuggets]

is that representation really bad or do you just not relate to it?

[hypotenussy]

You know what? Maybe I'll get through college purely for the sake of learning to write strong academic papers to prove my mom wrong about things.

[lewyn-martell]

.

[maryellencarter]

i think the hill i'm going to die on here is that lasting anti-fascist activism begins and ends with unrestricted social services.

protests are great. kind of indispensable right now. but in times when we can be less reactive, you want to know what you're protesting *for*, not just against.

today i saw a post elseweb saying "why aren't white women fleeing maga? they have to know by now that tradwife means sex slave". and like... it's very simple. they can't leave because they would end up like me.

they're, we're, deliberately made unemployable so that we'll have to marry whatever mediocre white man picks us out. as it happened, i was unappealingly intersex, fat, butch, and autistic, so none of the mediocre white boys of my generation ever took a second look at me, but that didn't give me job skills or career connections.

i knew multiple women whose husbands divorced them and took the house as part of their midlife crises. they had to send the kids to live with relatives and take dead-end jobs like bagging groceries because they were in their forties with zero job experience. if they'd rejected the worldview, if they'd alienated their families and what few friends didn't victim-blame them for the divorces, they'd have had nowhere to turn.

it's been over twelve years since i got out. psychologically, medically, i'm healthier. but i've chased a fresh start through half a dozen states. i spent my inheritance getting a degree. none of it helped. there are no supports for abandoning (or being abandoned by) your support network.

you won't defeat fascism until my people are free to leave the cult if they realize they want out. until we can access free housing to get away from financial abuse, free comprehensive job training and placement services to help us start careers, national healthcare so we can flee across state lines if necessary without losing any medical care we're lucky enough to have access to, protections for children and teens so they can flee without needing a parent's help... universal basic income would be really good but there are smaller steps that could help with financial independence.

and it all has to be available to everybody, including people you think are "unworthy". people who hold the wrong opinions. drug addicts. people whose husbands or parents make too much money. people who aren't from around here. unrepentant bigots. if they want out, you have to give them a path out. minds can change later, once people are less scared and less pressured.

(i'm ex-catholic. do you want to hear about what happens when you force people to profess certain beliefs in order to access basic assistance? i have two thousand years of examples.)

"but if they really wanted out they'd do the Right Thing and leave without support!" Better to be one man's sex slave than turning tricks on the street. "staying just proves they're actually evil and there for the bigotry!" Live in your car for six months in 100°F heat, twice, and then talk to me again. There's no virtue in cutting yourself off from society just to prove some kind of moral point. All that does is get you dead or worse.

("JT, you're not dead" I'm a fucking cockroach. Most people would be dead by now. Survival bias goes both ways; we're not all the same model of airplane.)

[no1blacksapphirefan]

Hi 👁👅👁! So other than crk I also play other games like hsr and stuff like that so can I please get self aware hcs where the cookies hear us gushing on and on about characters from other games?

Fellow HSR player? Me too haha, fun fact actually. My main blog/account is actually a HSR based one, themed after my fav character from the game as well. A sundae for anyone who can figure it out/j

Shadow Milk Huh!? His ears perk up and he's quick to try and listen in, it's not that he's jealous, he already knows he's your favourite in this game but you play other games? Who is it, he's curious. Is it someone like him? Or a character with a different personality.

Hmm, Gallagher? After hearing you talk about him more, he's become more interested. Tarot card symbolism, he's a fictional character...within a game? And he's invited other characters to all tie in together to save a place? Now he wants to meet this Gallagher, he doubts they'd really see eye to eye but meeting someone who played a part in a bigger plan? That'll be interesting.

Though with how much you talk about him, he doubts a meeting will matter, he's getting all the information he needs from your voice. A much better way to learn about someone in his opinion (he's bias)

Pure Vanilla He's interested to hear about this other game you play, listening intently as you rant about it, well more specifically a character. He'd love to meet this character that has also peaked your interest.

What's his name? Luocha? Oh he seems like a nice ma-...what do you mean he has a God in his coffin? Well...he isn't gonna judge you at all for characters you like but he did not expect that bit of information to be true. He's a bit more intrigued by the game though, he wants to know of the other characters you seem to favour.

Hearing you talk on and on about your favourite characters makes him want to listen, he already knows most in his "game" and if he doesn't. He can easily meet them. But hearing about other games and their characters? How interesting...

Black Sapphire It takes him a moment before realising you're talking about a different game rather than theirs. He doesn't exactly mind though, now he can take what you say and talk about said character too as if they're a cookie as well. He's not technically lying, the character is real...just...not in their world.

Besides, who wouldn't want to know about a "cookie" trying to recreate a, what was it? Emanator? Ruan Mei is her name right? Her story seems fascinating and perfect to tell all cookie kind, he's sure it'll get some cookies scared and others excited and he's gonna love to see the two of them argue.

He'd listen to you talk about whichever character peaks your interest any day, he won't get jealous that quickly. Besides, he's probably heard you rant about him to your friends before anyways. As long as he still knows he's one of your favourites. It's all good.

Fire Spirit What's that? Gotta speak up, oh a new game? He wants to know all about. If it's peaked his beloved "God" interest to the point of you gushing about it. It must be amazing. And he's interested in hearing about the characters as well.

Oh that Kafka girl seems quite interesting. A woman who can't feel fear? He'd love to test how far that lack of fear goes, you said she wanted to experience it right? He'd love to show of his flames and see how much of it she can handle. Besides, he's sure you'd love to have 2 of your favourites on the same screen. You probably talk about him when you're playing that other game anyways.

He'll love to hear you talk about more characters, especially ones that seem like they'd enjoy the heat! Haha, he may not be able to meet them. Perhaps they're not self-aware like himself but oh does he want too.

Frost Queen she doesn't care at first. Not that she doesn't enjoy hearing your rambles but she doesn't exactly have any feelings towards who you talk about and the game you're now talking about. What matters to her is that you still play "her" game and favour her.

She can't help but listen to you speak of various characters backstory though, especially when it seems like the characters past has put you in distraught. Jingliu being one of them. She'll admit, her backstory is quite interesting, and she's strong. While she hasn't seen how she fights, your description shall be enough for now. She's especially interested in the Mara struck bit of her.

While, unlike most of the others, she wouldn't be actively listening to your rants, certain characters can and will make her ears perk up as she'll quickly come and see what the news is about.

[hairscare]

as someone who has used a cane for over 2 years now ive noticed a really interesting bias against canes by able bodied people in comparison to other mobility aids. when we were at the same college my roommate used forearm crutches and i had my cane, and it became a joke to us how much more helpful and accommodating people were towards him (of course still overall bad- but better). the main example we always talk about is that people would fall over themselves to help him with doors, even to the point that it would get inconvenient (like trying to open the door to the accessible bathroom for him but in the process standing in the bathroom), meanwhile people would let doors shut on me without batting an eye. he started using a cane recently so i asked him about if there was a difference in how people treated him and he said there was a noticable difference and that people were less eager to help him when he was using it in comparison to the crutches. i have a few theories as to why:

1. most canes you see in media being used by someone who isnt elderly are aesthetic canes, and so people dont take it as seriously if a younger person is using one

2. unlike a lot of mobility aids, canes are one handed, which gives the illusion of an extra hand free. what people dont understand is that yes, while i do have an extra hand free, i am using that hand double time since the other one is occupied. also a lot of things require two hands (especially for someone with a disability) so doing everything one handed can be tough. i use my dominant hand to hold my cane since my pain is worse on my left side, which means that the hand i do have free isnt one i can use to type things in or write, so if i need to do that i have to put my cane under my arm and use my right hand

3. canes are taken less seriously as mobility aids since to an able bodied person they dont look as severe, which gives the impression that cane users are more capable than other mobility aid users. while yes, it is true that canes can be a starter mobility aid that will eventually be traded for another type as symptoms progress, that doesnt mean that canes are for Disability Lite. me and my roommate used our mobility aids for similar reasons and have had very similar pain experiences, we just used different aids. canes are also a significantly cheaper option compared to other aids and are easier to find in stores, and so are much more accessible. besides all that though, there shouldnt even be a bar for how disabled a person needs to be to recieve help, which id argue is a very controversial opinion to have anymore

4. canes are still a joke. they are still widely used as a funny prop to indicate that someone is old, incapable and feeble. even on tumblr i still see people utilizing canes in this way in artwork and memes, and thats obviously very alienating. mobility canes arent props, and you probably should not draw someone with one unless you actually intend to have that character need it

in my short 2 years of using a cane i have already faced so much ableism, most of which has come from young left leaning people. of course theres a wider issue of disabled people being the odd group out in the effort to stop bigotry since literally everyone will punch down on us. there are also certainly privileges to using a cane compared to other mobility aids. but its also incredibly strange how invisible they are, like people forget that i have one for a reason

[whatudowhennooneseesyou]

Hi! I was wondering if you could possibly do Park Seonghwa as your late bloomer bf please?

𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝: ��𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚

Disclaimer: This analysis is based on traditional astrology and therefore unconfirmed, think about it, write about it, be delulu but don't take it seriously. Does contain smut so 18+

Word Count: 1.7 K

It's also probably different than what you were expecting so DON'T come for me, this is just my opinion!!!

This is painful for me to write as Seonghwa is in my bias line but I gotta keep it real here, no putting idols on a pedestal on this blog.

This analysis is more difficult for me to write than the others b/c Seonghwa's natal chart reveals he has a rather *complicated* experience and view of romantic relationships.

His Cancer Moon/Aquarius Venus/Aries Mars/5th House Scorpio all have polarising values which clash against each other and can lead to Seonghwa being quite *messy* in relationships b/c his sexual and physical needs are very different to his emotional and romantic needs.

He has a high drive and can happily have copious amounts of sex with random people b/c he has the ability to detach emotionally and focus on the physical/biological pleasure of it.

That's why out of all the members, he is (imo) the biggest fuckboi in the group b/c he can participate in hook-up culture and be content with it, he might even prefer it if he's going through a bad stage in his life as he does lean on sex as a coping mechanism with his 8th House Venus.

BUT!!!

The constant hook-ups and meaningless sex doesn't satisfy him for long b/c it's not nurturing the emotional/romantic needs of his Cancer Moon/8th House Venus who does yearn for a exclusive, soul-tethering relationship. He wants a partner to give him the same level of love and care he gives to everyone else.

I think it's likely because he's a guy in his 20s that he goes through the painful cycle of abstaining whilst he waits for 'the one', becoming impatient, horny and lonely, pursues casual hook-ups and is happy for awhile, then leaves feeling empty and hollow, goes back to abstaining and then it repeats all over again.

If you are a late bloomer and are happy for Seonghwa to be your first 'serious' boyfriend, you'll have to accept that he:

a) Has A LOT (probably higher than average) of experience AND with many people and is knowing that about him going to affect your self-esteem? (particularly, your self-esteem and confidence during sex and physical intimacy)

b) Has a lot of emotional baggage from his past experiences that could be overwhelming to witness and handle b/c you're navigating your first serious relationship which is already a lot to experience emotionally.

Now, moving on a more positive level. Seonghwa has an Aquarius Venus which embodies the 'friends to lovers' trope for their love life so for Seonghwa to desire a romantic attraction towards you, you probably have been friends with him for a LONG time and he feels safe enough in revealing his feelings and background to you before he even contemplates looking for more.

This makes the relationship begin more smoothly b/c ideally, you would have told him you are a late bloomer before you become a couple and he would accept it, even be proud that he's your first boyfriend b/c it's something that ties him to you.

Even if the relationship ends, he will be in your heart permanently b/c he's your first and that gets his heart soaring, his eyes glistening, maybe even slightly turned on b/c it means he's claimed a piece of you in some way.

Yes, he's an Aquarius Venus but it is in the 8th House nonetheless so there's a strong Pluto influence in the way he loves and desires you.

He is an Aries stellium so he does bottle up all of his emotions and I feel he'd pine for awhile before he makes a decision, weighing up between whether sabotaging the friendship is worth it for something more.

I'll be honest and say the 'fwb to exclusive' pipeline is very Seonghwa coded in my mind, if I wasn't trying to be romantic here I'd say if you revealed you were a virgin to Seonghwa, he'd offer to be your first and give you the safest, most caring experience of your life and then you'd regularly have sex so he can 'teach and show you' the dynamics of it and then you both get too emotionally invested and end up together (very much like my Arrangement fic, *wink wink*).

And I say this b/c of his 5th House in Scorpio which means sexual compatibility is VERY important for him in a long-term relationship, it's the final seal before he chooses to be exclusive and monogamous to you.

But back to being romantic, he has a Cancer Moon which gives him and incredible amount of empathy and care and so I imagine him not being formal or official when he asks you out but revealing his feelings impulsively if you emotionally trigger him somehow.

For example, you were hanging out with him and you were crying or expressing your insecurities about never experiencing love, saying something like 'I just don't know if anyone will ever love me' or 'I don't think i'll ever experience that type of love, it's just not in the cards for me' etc.

I can totally imagine him being close to you with his soft, expressive eyes, clutching your hands and responding with something like 'That's not true, I'm done with hiding, I can give you this, I don't care what happens, I want to give you this'.

Not much would change once it's official, there would still be that element of friendship with Seonghwa taking you out on regular dates such as the movies, outdoors, anything involving food and of course, playing Lego.

But the tiniest seeds of intimacy would begin to grow, quality time is a strong love language for Seonghwa so he would build up the intimacy by being subtle at first, sitting knee to knee instead of separate, hand on your back as he passes you, lingering touches as he finishes hugging you- all those small but personal touches to let you know there is more between you now, that you are not 'just friends' anymore.

A huge challenge for Seonghwa would be taking it slow, waiting and holding back in terms of sex and physical intimacy b/c he's impatient and chooses to deep-dive (haha, get it?) into all of his relationships.

His flow and pacing with you could be back and forth b/c men with Aries Mars in general are not known to be gentle lovers, they prefer it fast and rough BUT he is lunar-ruled so your emotions and well-being will come first with Seonghwa and an example of this manifesting is like...

You're in his bed, making out and Seonghwa starts out gentle with light kisses and soft hands down your sides but as time goes by, he becomes more worked up, his mouth speeding up in a way that leaves you breathless and his fingers instinctively grip against your skin which causes you to wince, which checks him back to reality so he murmurs a quiet 'sorry' before slowing down and kissing you softly again.

Whilst I do believe Seonghwa would prefer experienced and 'sensual' partners, there is one type of 'inexperienced' partner he would LOVE being with and that's-

Inexperienced. Open-minded. Eager to please.

Aries in general (ie me) but ppl with Aries Mars particularly get off on BEING desired, Seonghwa has to feel like you desire him as much as he does you, that you can feel it in the tips of your fingers and all the way down to your toes, that it warms your cheeks, turns you inside out and breathless for him.

And with his Cancer Moon, it would get him hard, needy and downright BAD for you if you were inexperienced and eager to please but also slightly helpless.

Seonghwa may be a switch but he is VERY dom-leaning, like prefers to be in control 90% of the time for he is a perfectionist.

(which is why it irritates me that bottom!seonghwa is the most popular tag on matz fanfics b/c it would be the other way around, hj is way more switch-oriented than seonghwa is- you seen hj around seonghwa? man folds like laundry)

Imagine Seonghwa helping put your shoe on after a quiet dinner date and it's late at night and few people around, he's a legs (and boobs) man so the act itself is making his head fuzzy and pants tight as he stands back up and pulls you into a random alleyway, pushes you against the wall and kisses you feverishly, grinding against you.

He pulls away and stares down at you, lips slightly bruised and eyes blown out with desire, you're pulling him in and running your hands down your chest, Seonghwa knows you want this but he can see the slight trepidation in your movements, a tiniest hint of hesitation and unsurety b/c it's your first time making out spontaneously in a public place (Seonghwa is a bit of exhibitionist) and you want this but are unsure of HOW to move forward and it stroke's Seonghwa in all the right places.

It strokes Seonghwa emotionally in his need to protect and shield you but also strokes him carnally in his need to claim and corrupt you.

'Oh precious, look at you, you're becoming so naughty for me now aren't you? Don't worry, I'll cover you so no one can see us, just want to make you feel good'

And finally, I feel like having Seonghwa as your first serious boyfriend would help you grow more confident in expressing your boundaries and needs. Seonghwa is emotionally sensitive and he does require a lot of reassurance and validation, even moreso b/c being your first is just as nerve-wracking for him as it is for you.

I think if Seonghwa got carried away during sex and he got too rough and afterwards you were crying and he thought you were in pain and you didn't reassure him that you were okay, he would help settle you down and then lock himself in the bathroom and bawl his eyes out from how guilty he'd feel over hurting you- even accidentally.

So while I don't think Seonghwa is the best preference for a late bloomer boyfriend, I think the relationship he would give you would be a self-empowering one, I feel his love would help you embrace and love yourself more.

Which is accurate b/c Seonghwa always mentions how much he wants his 'little stars' to embrace and love themselves.

Taglist: @scuzmunkie @marievllr-abg @umbralhelf @starsareseen @lino-jagiyaa @mischiefsmind @mrcarrots @junieshohoho @partywithgyu @whatsk-poppinhomies @craxy-person @hologramhoneymoon @gyuhanniescarat @staytinyinmybpack @necessiteez @wooyoungmybelovedhusband @berryberrytan @sensitiveandhungry @laylasbunbunny @bangchanbabygirlx @i-love-ateez @anyamaris @krishastumblernow @hexheathen @michel-angelhoe @northerngalxy @youre-alittle-taste-of-hell @starillusion13 @justaaveragereader @jus2passtime @shroomoth @marykpoppins @leomggg @daddysspecialdollyworld @mykryptonitelight @wisejudgedragonhairdo @sanakimohara @chansfavouritetoy

This took me three hours to write so pls reblog, comment and send me your thoughts! I'm very curious b/c I know this is probably not the standard opinion most were expecting (Seonghwa does hide a lot).

[puck-luck]

wait plz for your 1k celly can I request your example of 7 of hearts Quinn breeding kink like that’s rlly EVERYTHING

warnings: no actual fucking, but allusions to previous encounters. the third installment of this breeding kink/pregnancy thing that i've been writing through these cellys. here is part one and part two. might even write a fourth if there's another request for Q's breeding kink in my list! (there probably is).

wc: 897

It’s a Sunday and Quinn doesn’t have a game today. Things are already wonderful just from those two facts alone, but you have a third little fact that you’ve been waiting to tell Quinn since last week. During his short roadie down to California, you’d peed on the stick and that second line appeared. An indescribable feeling washed over you– it was a rush of emotion that tapered off into a consistent feeling of happiness. 

You were excited to tell Quinn what was happening, but you wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a false positive. You’d made an appointment at your doctor’s office, a rushed one, and asked them to do some bloodwork to see if you were really pregnant– you were. After two months of trying, you were knocked up. Quinn’s baby was growing inside of you. It’s weird when you think about a baby actually growing in your body, but you’re ecstatic that it’s Quinn’s baby and you get to experience this together.

You’re tangled up in bed now. Your head is on Quinn’s chest, hand on his stomach, and his arm is wrapped around your shoulders. His eyes are closed and his breath is even. He’s awake, even though it doesn’t look like he is. 

“Quinn?” You murmur.

“Mm?” He hums. “I think my dick is broken, baby. Can’t fuck you right now.” He shifts, moving towards the edge of the bed. “Gonna go make us breakfast, I think. What do you want? Pancakes?”

“I wanna stay in bed with you,” you reply, tracing the birthmark on his chest. 

Quinn snuffles out a laugh, dropping a kiss on the crown of your head. “Not possible. We have to eat something. Let me go make something, then we can be lazy in the living room together.”

“Let me give you a reason to stay in bed,” you say, voice growing to a normal volume. You pick your head up and set your chin in his sternum, looking up at your boyfriend. 

Quinn’s eyes open a sliver, glinting down at you. “My dick doesn’t work anymore. Fucked you too good last night, sweetheart.”

He’s right, he did fuck you too good last night. You'd had no idea how much better sex was when you’re pregnant– but maybe it was the confirmation bias. You’d read that it was better and you were excited that Quinn was so eager to fuck you full of his child, unaware that he’d already succeeded, so you felt like it was better. You’ll have to keep track of your opinion during the pregnancy, just to make sure.

“Don’t need your dick to work anymore, Q,” you tell him coyly, a tiny little grin on your face. 

Quinn’s eyebrows pinch together, confused. “What do you mean?” He asks. “You don’t want to keep trying?”

You lay your head back on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Not that,” you tell him. “I just don’t think you can get me pregnant again.”

Quinn goes quiet and still. His heart is pounding beneath your ear. “What?” He questions, seeming like he’s holding his breath. “What did you say?”

You smile, turning and burying your face between his pecs. Your lips kiss over his sternum and where his heart is pounding against the bone– at least, that’s how it feels. He’s racing. “I wasn’t sure if it was a false positive, so I went to the doctor the other day, and I’m pregnant, Q. There’s a Hughes baby inside me right now.”

He stares at you, eyes wide and disbelieving. His mouth is open, jaw dropped wide.

You snort out a laugh and grab his arm, placing his hand on your abdomen. “The baby and I would like to be lazy in bed with Daddy all day, please.” You’re just teasing him now, trying to get a reaction from him.

“Are you actually?” Quinn demands, springing back to life. His eyes are darting all over his face and he’s craning his neck so that he can look down at you properly. “You’re not just fucking with me?”

“Do you want me to go get the pregnancy test and the doctor’s note?” You ask, laughing.

“No! No,” Quinn says, his voice loud and excited. “I can get it. You relax.” He kicks the covers off, but you wrap your arms around his stomach and try to hold him there. He’s strong, so he moves anyway. “Where is it?”

“It’s only been a few weeks, Q, I can still move around,” you laugh. “They’re in the bottom drawer in the bathroom with all my random things. Come back here when you’re done, I wasn’t kidding about cuddling with my baby-daddy all day.” Your last sentence is a call after him, because as soon as you told Quinn where the items were, he was on the move. You can hear him throwing open the drawer and rifling around. 

You laugh, laying flat on your back and placing a hand on your belly. You’re not showing, not even close, but you know that there’s something in there. A little baby, made completely from yours and Quinn’s love. That knowledge, paired with Quinn’s excitement when he comes rushing back into the room and pounces on you, wrapping you in a hug and kissing over your face, pregnancy test clasped in his hand, makes this the best day of your life.

[shorthaltsjester]

i could talk a lot about the reasons that i think vox machina as pcs is actually a perfect insertion into the c3 narrative right now but the one that’s really sticking out to me is the diversity in the opinions on the gods that the party has and the lack of influence their individual opinions have on their commitment to save the world. because with bh they’re all pretty ambivalent or anti-god with fcg and now braius being outliers, but both of those cases are still very unique and particular ones: fcg had his cleric powers prior to his religiosity and so it was largely just about the personal meaning he found in the changebringer but he still ended up having divine exchanges with her and braius is in the fjord stone school of being a willing child of god divorce. and with those of bh who dislike the gods it’s for completely valid reasons with completely invalid application of their personal woes to a universal scale. but in vox machina we see the way that experience with people that the gods matter to beyond just the magical exchange and experience with the weight that denying the rise of a new betrayer left on the shoulders of the gods they aided. i have to say that beyond the fact that i am just fond of vox machina as a party, it is also incredibly refreshing to see people who have diverse opinions about the gods but also actually engaged with opinions (a word which here refers to taking seriously, and not using confirmation bias) beyond those of their insular party.

a while ago ashton with his insistently short sight said he’d like to see the gods pray to mortals — something they’ve always been doing and is in fact a definitive part of their established metaphysical status in exandria — and vox machina is taking on the role in the c3 narrative of proving (once again) that has been the case, but they differ from bh because where bh (as a group) tends to deny the pleas from the gods unless it already serves or proves what they’ve assumed to be true about the world and the gods, vm (as a gorup) took seriously that the gods might have something new to introduce to them. i mean that’s obvious in scanlan and vex, both of whom became champions of gods they hadn’t really even considered in a serious vein prior to speaking to them. and scanlan very much takes on the label of ioun’s champion as a job to be fulfilled in the specific battle, but with vex being pelor’s champion has more significant weight tied to whitestone becoming her home and the fact that she belongs to a community that does, very much, take seriously the symbolic and literal power of the dawn, and she admits she hadn’t really realized the people-ness of the gods themselves until she met the everlight and the dawnfather.

but from the very same community, with a more historical basis in it, we get percy, who is very much uninterested in gods, until of course he might find value in an exchange with them. or, in one of my favourite moments from percy, until he is given hope that his family still exists somewhere beyond his memory of them, even if bound in the divine books of a god that calls him out on his selfish habits. vox machina also has keyleth who is pretty anti-god, not to the degree of ‘let’s kill them’ that we’ve seen in bh, but even when facing them directly, she wasn’t subtle about how little she cares for them, especially when offset by the people that matter much more to her. vm has pike who is the spearhead of the everlight’s return to power, they have grog who fucks with the stormlord’s teachings even if he doesn’t deal with the god part all that much. there’s a multiplicity of god-to-mortal relationships in vox machina that is diverse in a way that bh certainly isn’t, and i think that allows a really interesting deepening of what’s at stake. because, of course, their focus is getting vax out of the orb, but there’s a weight they all carry regarding what happens to the world if it loses the gods, especially if the way they go is through the machinations of a ancient elven jackass.

and i mean it’s a jokey moment but i think an exchange that’s really illustrative of why it’s so nice to get vm who are certain about their stances about the gods and who don’t have to discuss the philosophical implications of their actual lived and material reality is the one between vex and keyleth where they’re discussing stopping predathos and vex jokes that ‘hey maybe predathos gets out and just eats the matron, surely that’d be fine’ and keyleth laughs with her but then they both kind of step out of that and are still committed to fighting predathos. because as keyleth emphasizes in her speech, exandria belongs to a collective, one made up of people who both hate and love the gods and though vex and keyleth both hate one god in particular, they have the awareness to treat that as their own issue, not one worth risking exandria to solve. anyway. this isn’t super well put and maybe i’ll elaborate some other time but i’ve seen a lot of people being bitter about vox machina showing up (which is their right!) but saying they’re only there in ways that detract from the narrative (i obviously disagree) so i just wanted to put into words why i think that’s wrong (though to be clear i don’t doubt that the fact that vm is cr’s personal blorbos plays a significant hand in the fact that vm showed up, they just also are succeeding (to me) at having a narrative purpose as well)

[tackykachowch]

OKAY CHAT I DIDN'T INTEND IT TO BE THIS WAY BUT THIS POST IS SUPER-HUGE. Read at your own risk lol

*taps the mic* Uh, welcome to Chili's. So, I mustered up the courage to finally make a post about how I view Silco and Jinx's relationship and why I think it is actually a lot better than it's commonly perceived. Please please please do not assume that I do this to specifically whitewash Silco or make him less morally gray, this is my genuine read on them based on my own experience and views. I do not claim that I don't have any bias at all, but I think that it didn't influence my opinion that much.

I am going to say this from the start: I don't have much negative to say about them and I don't think of their relationship as toxic. If this point of view is unacceptable to you, please disregard this post. However, if you want to discuss this topic with me and challenge my points, please be civil about it and don't insult me. I don't have any ill intentions, nor am I trying to normalize unhealthy behavior.

Okay, from this preamble to another. This analysis is going to be based entirely on season 1 and nothing else. Some of my points will address common perceptions about them in the fandom, some I'll write as a regular analysis.

Now let's start shall we (yes, this is going to be a one long post because they're so so important to me). In the second paragraph I said that I don't view their relationship as toxic. Let me explain. I think this is a very complex topic and opinions will vary from person to person. Considering that both Silco and Jinx are mentally ill this adds another layer to our already complicated cake. So, for me toxic relationships are those where at least one person almost always behaves in the way they see is right, disregarding other person's wants or needs. It also must include unhealthy/toxic behaviors, i. e. manipulation, gaslighting, possessiveness, control over other person's decisions, physical and/or emotional abuse etc etc. These behaviors must be routinely occurrences and not happen only once or twice. You can say: "But a lot of things you listed exactly describe how Silco behaves towards Jinx!" well. No but I'll get to this later.

There's also an elephant in the room we need to deal with: codependency. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the topic or even well-informed, but I have a feeling that this term is a Bit overused. Terms, especially medical ones, are very useful for describing one specific thing. But as of late a lot of terms are used on things that are not. Well. The thing the term is describing. You don't need to go far for examples: hyperfixation, depression, panic attack, etc. When knowledge becomes widespread, things like that are inevitable, unfortunately. But back to the topic. Are Jinx and Silco's relationship codependent? I personally don't think so. One of the key characteristics of a codependent relationship is losing a sense of self and disregarding your wants/needs, and Jinx and Silco never display that. They are very self-driven characters. And while Jinx did do some things to impress Silco, it's not necessarily a symptom of a codependent relationship specifically. Again, I'll compare it to medical symptoms. If your right side hurts it doesn't mean you have appendicitis, if you have a short attention span it doesn't mean you have ADHD. Mental health problems Jinx and Silco have can be just that: mental health problems. Trust issues, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, etc. They don't need to be a part of a bigger problem, even if there are some similarities. (Also just a side note: I got misdiagnosed with OCD this year, so I take correct descriptions and understanding of conditions/words very personally).

MAN THAT WAS TOO LONG. GET TO THE ACTUAL POINTS.

Alright. So first of all, Jinx and Silco are VERY trusting of each other. They both allow each other to enter their personal spaces, and feel comfortable and free in each other's presence. Silco allows Jinx to do his eye injections, to show him physical affection, he also trusts her with missions for his job, even when everyone else is against it. When Jinx in ep4 tells him that "(her screw up) won't happen again", he simply answers "I know". Despite Jinx's own insecurities Silco fully trusts her (sometimes even to his own detriment). And she fully trusts him as well (until the whole Vi shenanigans anyway), what can be seen in a way she's not afraid of his emotions or even to hurt him, because she knows perfectly well that he'll never harm her in any way (physical, I mean). And although there is a clear miscommunication between them in ep4 I don't think it's a common thing between them, and this specific case was caused by Jinx's deeply rooted trauma and low self-esteem, which Silco is unfortunately unable to fix.

Now onto the probably most common criticism of Silco specifically: that he made Jinx his weapon and raised her to be this bloodthirsty on purpose. And to this I say - no way. Silco DOES love Jinx and DOES trust her, but he's not blind and not an idiot. He perfectly knows that Jinx can cause a huge mess and potential troubles on the missions, his subordinates hate her, her mental state is unstable and therefore she's not the most reliable asset in the slightest, nor a necessary one. At no point do we get actual proof that Silco needs Jinx specifically for his operations, he seems to allow her to participate in them out of her own volition. After all, she does like being needed and included in the family business. You could argue that he needs Jinx for her gadgets and weapons, but nobody besides her uses them, so this option doesn't fit. "But he did request her to build Fishbones!" yeah. After Jinx stole the gemstone, again, out of her own choice. Silco is a swift strategist, if he sees an opportunity somewhere he takes it immediately. So there's nothing actually wrong with him asking Jinx to build a weapon with the use of gemstone. She didn't steal it for it to just. Lie there, after all. As to her bloodthirsty-ness I think he only nurtured what was already there. If you remember, in the very first episode Jinx made a bomb with NAILS in it. I don't think I need to tell you that it's just a horrible idea for a bomb, and she was only 9 at the time. As to Silco's "become what they fear" line. I don't think it indicates that he specifically raised Jinx to be a weapon, because he applied the same phrase to himself and we don't see him running around throwing glitter bombs at everyone (although it would've been cool to see ngl).

Next - Silco is very supportive of Jinx. His office is filled with things she drew all over, her inventions are tied to the ceiling. When Jinx is overwhelmed and upset about the failed mission he tells her to "focus on her gadgetry" and to "take some time". He clearly knows what she likes and what would put her in a better mood. He also doesn't restrict her self-expression, which can be seen in the way Jinx looks. I mean, you'd think that Silco would probably want for her to wear something more...classy? But he doesn't mind even one bit.

Another point I see a lot - that Silco loves Jinx but not Powder. I actually kiiinda understand where this point of view comes from, because the show does frame Vi and Silco as representatives of her Powder and Jinx persona respectively, but I don't think the text itself supports this. Let's take the river scene because it is the cause of this discussion in the first place after all. Silco tells Jinx that she needs "to let Powder die" and that "Jinx is perfect", but I don't necessarily agree that he meant it in a "choose between two of your personas" kind of way, because this conflict never existed between them in the first place. Vi does want "Powder" to come back, but Silco didn't show anything that would indicate of him disliking young Jinx in any way. He did adopt her when she was still Powder, after all. And even if she changed her name on the same night, her personality didn't, because that's not how humans work. So, he NEEDED to love Powder to raise her. Back to the river scene, he tells Jinx that she needs to let Powder die so "the fear of pain would no longer control (her)". "Powder" is tightly connected to Jinx's trauma of killing her entire family and Vi leaving her, i. e. the fear of pain of being betrayed again and the fear of messing up. In terms of psychology she really does need to live through this moment and properly process it, but unfortunately there's no psychologists in neither Piltover or Zaun, and Silco being mentally ill and not knowing better himself can only help her this way. "Jinx is perfect" also doesn't mean that he prefers Jinx over Powder, but rather "Jinx, the person you are right now, is perfect and strong. You need to let that weak part of you (Powder) die, so you can move on and become something greater". Jinx might've interpreted his line in the wrong way herself, but again, there's no actual evidence of Silco liking "Powder" less and only ever wanting "Jinx". And if we hop further into the finale, he literally says "YOU are perfect". Whatever seat she chooses, she will always be perfect to him. Even if she turns against him and everything he fights for, even if she kills him, even if she hates him, she remains perfect in his eyes. He might differentiate "Powder" and "Jinx" and a weaker/stronger part of her, but despite all that she's still his daughter.

Also. He's dealing with her mental health SOOOO great chat it's not even funny. I mean obviously he can't take care of it perfectly because again, psychology is non-existent in this world, but everything he CAN do he does just sooo good. He never lets other people berate or insult her, if he scolds her he only ever does this in private, he always tries to be patient and gentle with her, and the only time we seem him lash out at her is after Jinx stole the gemstone. He also seems to know what causes her psychosis and how to stop it, because he yells "Don't listen to her!" to Jinx when Vi triggers her, and then proceeds to try and shoot in Vi's direction to shut her up. We now know that this wasn't the best decision at all, but he literally goes feral when Jinx is hurt, so can you really blame him? There is of course an issue of him enabling her violence and letting her do everything she wants, but to cut Silco some slack he deals with a very mentally ill child, and as we saw in ep3 cutting Jinx off of something can easily cause her to have a mental breakdown. So I think partly his enabling was caused by his want not to hurt her.

Phew. I think we only need to get through the minor points now.

Manipulation: we only ever see Silco manipulate Jinx once, when he lied to her about Cait and Vi's reason for being in the Underground. Nothing indicates that he regularly manipulated her before.

Possessivness: I think this claim also doesn't have substantial evidence to back it up. We only see Silco being possessive of Jinx because of Vi, and even then it's not pure possessiveness. He literally doesn't want Jinx to be betrayed and possibly even killed like him. I think if Jinx just wanted to leave him on her own he would be a-okay with that. Also he doesn't watch over what she does/where she goes, which again reinforces his trust in her and him respecting her privacy.

Silco isolated Jinx from others: uhhh. See the end of the previous paragraph. If Jinx wanted to befriend someone she could've easily done that, and Silco wouldn't even know. The only person she couldn't befriend because of him is Ekko, but even he says to Vi that Jinx chose to be on Silco's side herself, so *shrugs*

And with that, I think I covered everything I wanted about their relationship. It's not perfect, but it's not bad either. Personally, I don't want to label it as anything, because minus the drug mafia and murders aspects they're just a regular father and daughter. There are no perfect parents, there are no perfect children, but if they try their hardest to love each other in a way they're both happy with, they're great in my book.

[genderkoolaid]

curious if you have any thoughts on the moral panic of “porn addiction”

this ask is 100% inspired by an argument im currently having in the notes of your post about booktok smut (someone gave me the link to a southern baptist lobbying group as proof that porn causes brain damage and i am just. in awe)

& I hope you know how much I value your efforts <3

In my first ever sociology class my teacher showed us a documentary on porn addiction. He was otherwise a cool guy, but leaned radical feminist and it really showed in that unit. The doc starts with a little white child playing on a playground, which was just absurdly emotionally manipulative to me. & throughout the documentary the "experts" were all people who financially benefited from the idea of porn addiction (sex therapists, book authors), they said blatantly incorrect information, and never once explained to the audience the controversy surrounding the term or showcase the opinions of sex workers or people engaged in BDSM and kink.

This is all to say that my experience with porn addiction has been that its often discussed by earnest people with genuine concerns, but the way it is conceptualized and understood is shaped by anti-sex bias & whorephobia. It capitalizes on fears of sex outside monogamous heterosexual vanilla marriage as an intoxicating poison equivalent to alcohol, but causing moral instead of physical illness. When there are real problems related to someone's interaction with porn, the blame is misdirected because of that anti-sex bias. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the people most invested in the idea of porn addiction are conservative Christians (and red-pill types who are also anti-masturbation. Imagine being a misogynist and stigmatizing jerking it? Sad!)

Pornography Use and Psychological Science: A Call for Consideration (article)

What Do We Know About the Effects of Pornography After Fifty Years of Academic Research? (book)

[mossadspypigeon]

Can you recommend any zionist youtubers who talk about israel/palestine? I am an anti-zionist (staunchly so) but I want to understand the zionist perspective better, especially from the ones who say they are leftist. thanks a lot!

thank you for asking anon! how do you know what side you are on or if you even have a side without educating yourself first? read both like you want to do and continue to read both 💙 i still read pro palestine sources and i recommend doing so.

i’m not on youtube as much as i used to be, but:

camera isnt zionist per say, but is dedicated to discussing and pointing out bias in media.

the first is Dr Einat Wilf (she has an amazing course on zionism vs antizionism too if you want the link). i dont think she has a channel so if you want the best books and videos by her, let me know. she has the We Should All Be Zionists podcast with blake flayton.

Oren is amazing. i recommend his and maybe Noa’s accounts first and then move on to the rest. Camera, Honest Reporting, and MEMRI are necessary for debunking media. the others are educational across the board.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsksduy16U5IOdj1B3k7oV2LZeUZTxi3m&si=qzUHFjVZdpt2ajuC

jns’s the quad is a diverse group of jewish women who discuss various topics every week

others:

Honest Reporting

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Rawan Osman

Eylon Levy

Yasmine Muhammad

(yasmine also talks about negative experiences with islam and while i do not believe islam is bad etc, i still think it’s important to listen to all perspectives. she has some great interviews. btw, islamism is the terrible thing, not islam.)

i dont agree with every opinion all of these people have. a few might think trump is good for israel. i disagree. but also i can agree with people on one thing and disagree on another. i like the quad for instance because they constantly disagree and present nuance.

okay, so i gave you zionist jews and pro israel non jews. i personally dont agree with non jews being zionists. that’s like me, a non indigenous american, joining the AIM movement. just no, zionism is not for non jews, allyship is. that is MY own opinion, before anyone comes for me, but i want you to have a diverse education and hear from jews and non jews.

i have more instagram recs and website recs if you want them.

friends here, anyone have recs?

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I'm a Malleus yume, and I'm in total agreement with you. I don't understand why people are so desperately trying to twist the situation in Malleus favor with such bizarre reasons??? like I love my man, but like all the overblotters, he's in the wrong.

Vil was wrong when he tried to poison Neige, Riddle was wrong when he enforced his rules to the point of tyranny, etc. and Malleus is wrong for trapping everyone in dreams against their wishes.

Yes, there are a lot of things going on in the background, like the war and Lilia's departure and how it affected Malleus, but like.... this is happening now. Malleus is doing these things now, and it is hurting people.

Also, as for the "enemy of mankind" and "ruler of evil“ thing. These are characters with opinions, they are doing A Narrative with Conflicts, so of course they are going to be Conflicting and have Opinions. god. liking a character ≠ endorsement of their actions. people don't need to jump through the moral hoop to justify so and so's actions. just say "man that's messed up" and move on!!!!

[Referencing this post!]

I’m not going to rehash the points or the counters brought up here. You can refer to the original discussion linked above, which goes into much more detail, if you’re interested or haven’t already seen it yet. In this post, I'm going to be speculating as to why some individuals may be "desperately trying to twist the situation in Malleus's favor with such bizarre reasons," as the asker puts it.

TO BE CLEAR: I do not mean to disparage Malleus fans, and nor am I claiming that ALL Malleus fans engage in this behavior; this post is meant to be a critical look at why we see some of the fandom behaviors that we do.

As stated in the original post, I believe that many of these defenses are coming from some (not ALL) English-speaking Malleus fans. Why might that be? Well, firstly, some important things to keep in mind:

Malleus is EXTREMELY popular in the EN fandom, especially as a character to yume/ship with oneself. (He's been decently popular in the JP server as of late too, but there is still a noticeable positive bias for Malleus on the EN side.) Several fan polls consistently indicate that at least 50% of responders list Malleus as their favorite character/one of their favorite characters or indicate that they yume with him. This means there will always be considerable positive bias for Malleus among the English-speaking fanbase. Statistically speaking, this also means that extreme Malleus defenses are more likely to occur because there is already such a high volume of Malleus fans to begin with.

The average age for an EN player skews younger (like, teenager to young adult) than the JP playerbase (which, on average, seems to be women in their mid to late-20s). While it's not always true that younger = more immature/less knowledgeable, it IS the case that younger fans will generally have less life experience and thus less of a nuanced understanding of the world compared to older individuals. It is also (again, generally) the case that younger fans tend to have a more black/white view of morality and are more likely to demand that content cater to their own worldviews.

I was very shocked to read many of the recent Malleus defenses that I did. Some of them went so extreme with their wording that it almost felt as though they believed Malleus was the victim in the events of book 7 rather than the several thousands of people under his spell. While I understand being protective of a character one enjoys, I felt that some arguments took it much too far and seemed to entirely push the blame onto other characters instead of holding Malleus accountable for his actions. Similar radical defenses of Malleus have a tendency to crop up with every subsequent book 7 update. For example, there were (and still are) debates about who exactly is "responsible" for the nature of the dreams, Malleus or the dreamers themselves. So what's up here? Why the hubbub about Malleus specifically?

Well, in addition to the two points I brought up earlier (EN fans being younger on average + Malleus being a popular character), I believe a lot of it comes down to some fans being extremely attached to him. This is a phenomenon I often observe with Malleus in particular (and not as prominently with other Twst characters) due to how he is presented:

The main story narrative introduces him as Yuu's special friend, and Yuu is considered special to him in return (as he is usually feared or forgotten by others). Due to this, he is already set up as being "different" and "important" to many players.

We, as outsiders, are allowed to glimpse the positive sides of Malleus that most of the cast do not get to see. We may make the mistake of assuming that our understanding of him is what others see or believe that this is what they should see, in spite of this knowledge gap. This can lead to frustrations when other characters misunderstand him or don't see him the same way the player does.

He is a mysterious entity that we don't know much about, and it has been that way for a few years. This makes it very easy to project onto Malleus and make him whatever type of guy you want. This can heighten one's attachment to him, as you have now put in all this effort to flesh him out yourself.

Many people relate to and empathize with Malleus being lonely and awkward. This can contribute to a parasocial bond with him, and lead to the feeling that if someone dislikes or condemns Malleus, it is also a personal attack on those similar to Malleus.

His book being the last one, Malleus fans were starved for content and thus had to "fill in the void" by coming up with their own creations and headcanons. This means that by the time Malleus did become relevant, fans had already formed a preconceived notion of what he would or should be like (ie the "fanon"), which is, oftentimes, a much "softer" interpretation of him. This may then be superimposed over his actual character and the actions he takes in canon. To resolve the resulting cognitive dissonance, those fans might become defensive in his name.

The narrative of Twst hardly ever holds Malleus responsible for the things he says and does; it is therefore possible that some Malleus fans got used to that and assume this will be the norm for him. Now that others are calling for him to take some accountability, it goes against that norm and this may cause discomfort in those fans.

No one wants to see their favorite character hurt and/or die, and that has become a very real fear considering what book 7 is building up to. When people experience intense emotions like distress, they fail to think rationally and are more likely to talk off the cuff and make wild assumptions. This is a psychological truth; you can find many research papers about this if you don't believe me.

Not sure how strong of a point this one is, but I feel that sunk cost fallacy also plays a role. This refers to a reluctance to abandon something because you have already heavily invested so much in it. In this case, fans don't want to leave Malleus because they have already sunk so much time and emotional effort into him.

Considering all of that, I shouldn't be surprised that some fans became very upset at even the mere suggestion that Malleus has done bad things or should be "punished" for that. A lot of the arguments try to point out his good traits to balance it out, when that's not really the issue at hand. There are hardly any people out there denying that Malleus has good traits. There are hardly any people out there claiming that Malleus is purely wicked. There are hardly any people out there saying that Malleus doesn't have a sympathetic backstory or relatable motivations. What people actually want is for someone with both good and bad traits (ie Malleus) who is objectively harming people or threatening to harm them, to receive repercussions, given the enormity of his actions and how little he has been called out before relative to his peers.

[gaywarcriminals]

do you think Shen jiu would be in denial about the fact he's gay (like Shen Yuan) or that it's something he accepted that he just doesn't talk about it? Or hell maybe he is openly gay and somehow nobody noticed.

From a meta-analysis perspective, I don't have a strong opinion about this; I've seen a wide variety of interpretations that are well-supported by the text, and I think it’s best served by just going with whichever suits that particular fic. 

When it comes to my personal headcanons, I don’t think the world of PIDW/SVSSS has homophobia the way we think of it: I’m sure there’s still a bias against gay people, but I think it more comes down to “but you need to produce heirs”. You can have your boy toy so long as you’re still having kids with your main wife (very loosely based on the pre-Ming dynasty view of homosexuality). There’s also the fact that, in the de-aging extra, MF sincerely believes for a bit that LBH is SQQ’s biological child, which, as many people have pointed out, could imply that mpreg is possible in this universe (at least for cultivators with the resources for the plot device), and that could also lessen any discrimination based on the reproductive imperative. Imo, if SJ has an aversion to being gay, it comes down to his issues with the men in general. 

I usually default to SJ thinking/telling himself that he's not attracted to anyone. I don't buy comphet for SJ, at least not beyond QHT (and that has more to do with the traumatic situation than his sexuality); if he’s cuddled up against a half-dressed woman’s breast multiple times a week, it’d be hard not to notice his lack of attraction, but he just computes it as being better than other men lmao. He isn’t some drooling beast who can’t control his vices! Clearly every other man just lasts the self control and will power to do the same. And of course, SJ doesn’t notice any potential attraction to men because he hates most of them too much to be horny for them. I also like the interpretation that SJ is demisexual, and doesn’t experience his sexuality as being attracted to men so much as This Specific Person.

There two main paths I like to take from there, depending on the fic and intended tone:  1.) SJ isn’t into men, he’s into Qi-ges; it’s totally different! (This is where SJ’s attitude comes closest to SY’s lol) 2.) SJ’s long and grueling journey to deal with both the horror of experiencing lust as a man, being attracted to a man, and him having to reconcile that with his aversion to men.

Either way, I don’t think SJ would be openly gay until he had a male partner he couldn’t/didn’t want to hide (or rather, wanted to stake a public claim on, lol). Why would anyone else need to know who he’s attracted to, It’s not their business 😒. Infuriatingly, he would never bring up his sexuality to dispute the lechery accusations. Hate him (said while experiencing the Blorbo Emotion).

As I said though, I've seen a lot of other interpretations of SJ's relationship to his sexuality that I've liked, so I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this as well!

[cheruv-ii]

My Opinions on Bengia(+A borderline character analysis of CT Ben)

(Obviously, JWCT s3 Spoilers ahead)

Okay, a couple disclaimers before we get into this:

•I like Gia. This has less to do with her as a character and moreso how the relationship itself comes into play.

•I try not to let any hcs/bias get in the way here, there obv may be some because that's just how the human brain works, but this is mostly my opinion with any of those biases put aside.

•This is my opinion as someone whose favourite character has been Ben since the day s1 dropped, and therefore has put a lot of time into "analyzing" him.

Okay, into the opinions.

To put it blunt, I don't like Bengia, wow shocker lmao, but my reasoning is more than just basic hcs.

For starters, when they're together they feel like different people to when they're apart, yeah, couples can seem different together versus with others, but its to the point that their relationship feels like an act to me, something they're trying to make seem perfect and over the top. It feels disingenuous to me. Comparing their "chemistry" to other characters with Ben feels very flat, it feels unnatural. Once again, trying not to let biases get in the way, but fuck dude, Benji's chemistry this entire show has felt more natural (which is a rant in itself), as was Benrius in s1.

I would like what they had in terms of matching each other's freak more if it was platonic, tbh, they just both seem like they're pretending they're something they're not when it comes to a romantic relationship and I don't fw that.

As for how Ben's writing comes into this, this entire show he's been played as a joke character, he hasn't been taken nearly as seriously as the other's, in terms of his trauma, his emotions, how he's allowed to feel about everything going on, etc. The closest things we got to him being taken seriously were his panic attack in s2(which— even that was played as a joke, dwrks writers, not everything to do with Ben needs to be funny !) And his fight with Kenji, which barely lasted and there was never a real, serious resolve, other than ig the plane crash and Kenji protecting Ben just to protect the egg, which I don't like, there was no actual conversation, it was just there, played as a joke, and then it was gone. In s3, when the egg hatches, he's emotional, which is valid, but it's for external reasons. When he has the talk with Gia, he's finally allowed to express some sort of emotion, but it's just to do with their relationship, and I do not like that one bit. This season he felt like he was played down to being Gia's boyfriend, their entire arc felt like watching that couple in the hallway blocking your locker make out and just knowing that as soon as the puppy love phase is over they're gonna break up.

Ben has trauma, so much of it, and yes, people grow up, however when you're ripped out of a moving monorail and face a near death experience, then proceed to NOT get therapy for it, it's still going to resurface as trauma, which we haven't seen at all in CT. I saw someone on twt say that CT feels like the writers never actually watched CC, just read the scripts or something and went from there, and I gotta say that to an extent, I agree. So many characters have had their personalities dumbed down to plot points, and Ben takes a major hit in that area.

Now aside from the character analysis and everything, I *really* hate how the queer relationship was treated, not simply because of the breakup, but because in order to highlight how badly yasammy were fighting, they almost always followed it up with/used it to follow up how "perfect" and happy the white, het passing couple was. I'm sorry, but that's just in poor taste. Using your poc wlw ship to make your m/f ship look better is gross, I'm sorry, like I could be that friend that's too woke but it just leaves a terrible taste in my mouth overall.

I have more opinions surrounding how this show treats queerness, but that's a rant for after s4 comes out to see if they can pull off a miracle and fix it, but for now that is my rant. Yk its bad when I prefer CC Kenlynn's writing over a ship.