#I feel like it's most likely a legitimate and curious question and no one should feel guilty about asking

[sunnys-sonnets]

Best thing about being in a fandom and worst thing?

Best thing is probably the community and ideas that can bounce all over the place for new inspiration. Everyone gives and takes and adds to the conversation. I've been inspired and encouraged so much to create and do things I never thought I'd do in this fandom. I genuinely thought my only fic in the fandom would be "Mischief and Foresight" and now I have like 10 fics in it which is crazy to me. I had never made oneshots and I was completely inspired to make those because of funny ideas on Twitter or Discord. People can also open my mind to ideas- I can be so walled off from things and have an instant reaction of "No." but just hearing an idea out can potentially make me see the appeal. Kind of nice to have new ideas open up there when I would have been closed off before

Worst thing is that conversations can go in directions I don't like 😠😤 Like can you imagine people having different ideas and thoughts from your own? Unbelievable 🙄 Kidding kidding... mostly

No, but for real, the worst thing in fandom,, hmm, I haven't really encountered anything I'd consider to be terrible. I've been very fortunate to mainly encounter kind and welcoming people. Worst thing so far might just be misunderstandings or little annoying stuff that might go down

[vigilskeep]

You mentioned Sol & Minerva interacting in the tags of a post and now I’m curious what you think the dynamic would be like between Sol and your other protagonists

sol’s family fled ferelden when they were a kid because of the blight, so they have an extremely weird relationship with the concept of the Hero Of Ferelden and would be a little nervous to meet her in a deeply uncharacteristic way. meanwhile, minerva would recruit sol to the wardens faster than you can blink. oh a world-class darkspawn slayer who’s, yeah, impulsive, but also fearless, charismatic, and adaptable, and has even thought about joining up because they want out of their current life situation which happens to be a faction minerva has beef with? Hers Now. i actually had them interact in that post in a theoretical situation where sol is pregnant because that’s the only thing i can think of that would slow her down. legendary minerva viago custody battle let’s go

varric picked sol out partly because they are (in his eyes) keir if he was funny and likeable. (scrappy sword and board human warrior fereldan blight refugee who cares a lot about a sibling figure.) keir would IMMEDIATELY clock this and sigh internally. even today he has to endure whatever the fuck varric’s issue was and now he has to grieve about it too. sol when dealing with keir would probably poke the bear a lot so to speak because they’re very good at noticing when someone is actually all bark no bite and they would think he’s funny when he gets snappy. they don’t respect him and only think of him as varric’s old friend rather than a Great Hero of Thedas or whatever. i think he would find their particular mixture of high energy and pessimistic beliefs irritating. keir loves people who are passionate about things; sol is easily bored, they usually don’t want to hear or give lengthy explanations, their mind skips from one thing to the other. he would probably also be the one to notice the real way in which sol is dangerous: not just that they’re an impulsive live wire, but also the other thing he and they have in common, which is their intensely specific priorities. they would both let the world burn if like 5-10 specific people didn’t need it to live on. and he would, rightly or not, consider their set of 5-10 people—well, mostly the central antivan crows—to lead in more questionable directions than his set

toramar cadash would think of sol as a kid who’s been through a lot. he sees them and is immediately not happy with varric’s choice; this weight should have landed on the sturdier, more experienced shoulders of someone who could actually handle it and, ideally, not come out broken the other side. and someone who isn’t visibly the absolute worst shot at getting solas to hear them out! but he can’t change things now so all he can do is show confidence. sol is sharp enough to pick up on that but shrugs it off. one major thing which is continually hysterical to me: sol is andrastian, and used to listen to varric. resulting in the fact that there is a non-zero possibility to them that toram is legitimately andraste’s herald. because they are also an objectively funny person whose mind somehow moves on quickly from this kind of world-shaking concept—got things to do and places to be!—this doesn’t massively affect how they talk to him. but it is present and they do give his opinions more respect than they would most people’s. interpersonally toram quite likes sol. they’re fun and a breath of fresh air; most of the people he talks to these days are just so squeamish about lines of work like the ones they come from. they remind him of sera a little bit and sera was a massive favourite of his. this makes him go back around again to feeling worse about their involvement lmao

[magenta-embers]

Fetus Jimin's Blatant Crush on Jungkook

Today I wanted to travel back in time and put a spotlight on a period of utmost importance when it comes to understanding the full picture of Jikook and part of what makes it such a legitimate possibility.

Believing that they could truly be a couple now is made as easy as breathing when you observe their history. You need the whole context to take Jikook from just another ship to something potentially very real. It's a context that the other pairings in the group just don't have.

The Jimin and Jungkook we know now are settled and comfortable with themselves and with each other. You could call them domestic. But back in the day, say 2013-2015, it was a different story.

To put it simply: Jimin and Jungkook had a massive mutual crush on each other and it wasn't even remotely subtle.

Most Jikookers know what I'm talking about, but if you haven't had a chance to look deeper into the context of these two together, here's a teensy intro.

I'm gonna share a select few of my personal highlight moments exhibiting Jimin's crush + his confusion/acceptance regarding it. There are hours of moments to choose from and an image/gif limit, so we'll keep it to a minimum.

We're going to focus on the Jimin side of things today. Jungkook will probably get his own post as these two expressed their feelings quite differently.

Present-day Jimin is very good at compartmentalizing what thoughts or parts of thoughts he shares with us. He's vague in all the right areas, chooses his words carefully, omits certain details, and is overall pretty masterful at the parasocial aspect of being an idol. Back then though?

Holy sweet mother of pearl, he just said and did anything.

He was honest (embarrassingly so) and he wore his heart on his sleeve. Because of this fumbling period with no brain-to-mouth filter, there exists some incredible retrospective insight into how Jimin feels about Jungkook at his core, without all the masking and nonchalance we get nowadays.

(Let's be real though, he still slips up)

"JK is coming."

Boy 💀

Let's get into it.

~

Exhibit A

This first section is going to look at a very young Jimin's struggle with these new, unfamiliar feelings he's been having lately (not necessarily in exact chronological order but some highlights within the "budding crush" stage).

A.1

While affectionately petting the maknae's hair and nape, Jimin wonders aloud why he likes Jungkook so much, as if he likes him an abnormal amount or differently than the five other friends he has in the group. If anything, Jimin should have liked Tae the most at this point since they were friends from school. Yet, Jimin openly questions what makes Jungkook different.

It's an introspective question disguised as a rhetorical one. Obviously, Jimin doesn't want JK to answer and JK, shy as he is, doesn't know how to answer a loaded question like that so he tries to redirect Jimin's attention to actual matters. It doesn't quite work.

Jimin then says, "These days, Jungkook..." and trails off while scratching his head with lighthearted frustration as if to say, "These days, Jungkook... plagues my mind," or something to that sentiment. JK's on his mind a lot and it confuses him. He doesn't finish the sentence but instead brushes it off with a laugh.

He holds back because it'll look weird to people if he gets into how much he thinks about JK or unpacks why. Still, he can't help but start to talk about it, because it's something that's actively bothering him.

A.2

Like I said, not only does Jimin think about JK too much, but he's also thinking about how people will judge him for how he perceives Jungkook. People might think he's strange.

Why?

JK's the timid maknae with big, curious eyes. Of course, he's cute. Everyone will agree. Everyone does agree. So why is Jimin concerned with what he can say about Jungkook that's okay to others? He even pouts sadly for a moment at the end. The maknae's cute and he's kind of glum over it? He's definitely been overthinking it.

Also, the way Jimin cartoonishly moves his head and eyes while talking about how bewildered JK always is and how adorable he is for it is a hilarious attempt at being nonchalant, but to me, it just looks like a schoolboy trying not to seem gushy about his secret crush.

A.3

Jungkook's so cute and so charming that Jimin can't function like he wants to. Can't live properly because Jungkook's on his mind constantly. He's super distracting. Is this a normal friendship thing? No. You don't see Hobi or Joon saying this about him. It's a problem exclusive to Jimin. And exclusive for Jungkook.

Jimin knows it's weird too. He's acting lighthearted about it, but to randomly say, "I can't live because of you" and keep bumping into JK is his frustration bleeding through. All the while he can't take his eyes off him as if he's trying to solve his dilemma right then and there.

Overall, It seems like Jimin doesn't understand what it is he's feeling, just that it's a lot, which makes me think that up until the Jungkook point, he hadn't really considered his sexuality on a meaningful level. We know that Jimin was the least experienced romantically, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case.

It's okay, Jiminie. You'll figure out a lot of things about yourself sooner rather than later.

Exhibit B

This section is about a period of time when Jimin accepted his crush and became unbelievably annoying vocal about it. You could also do an essay on why he was so in everyone's face about it.

B.1

Man, he just outright said it, huh?

Jimin wants to be with Jungkook and go on a date with him and hold hands.

Okay, pack it up everyone, we're done here. He like likes him, oooooooh!

Look at him clinging to JK's clothes and merrily skipping forward holding his wrist. Bless his heart. As Jimin once mentioned, "My heart that thinks of Jungkook is quite big."

Peep everyone else's reactions. JK has no objections and is just basically making his "Yeeeeeaaaah" face. Namjoon and Yoongi are a mix of confused and exasperated, both going, "What?" at the inappropriate(?) answer. Hobi attempts a poker face.

They shove Jimin away and attempt to move on...

And Jimin comes right back, practically leaps on Jungkook to plead with him to "live happily together." Okay.

When I tell you he's embarrassing.

Now Namjoon is straight-up irritated because Jimin didn't get the hint and is ruining the interview. He rolls his eyes and shoves them both back this time like he knows he's gotta get rid of the whole equation.

Hobi's glare poker face fails and he attempts to redirect focus to the topic with his own answer, complete with a pointed hand gesture.

Yoongi has a genuine scrunch of judgy confusion as if he just doesn't get wtf Jimin is trying to do because he should know better or why he's acting so clingy right now.

Jungkook quietly preens under Jimin's attention, but it's also awkward because he can read the room, so he doesn't quite know how to react other than remain pliable. He does reach for Jimin's hand subconsciously though.

I don't think it's even necessary to keep going, but oh ho ho, we're gonna keep going.

B.2

Tae: "I think he kind of likes men."

Now, I don't love the way Tae blurts this out, putting Jimin on the spot and nearly outing him. But also, it's meant to be a joke and he likely doesn't know yet just how on the nose he really is. Tae has grown and matured a lot over the years, so forgive him for this blip.

I imagine Tae has had to sit through a lot of sus rants from Jimin about Jungkook at this point. Because it's interesting that the statement came out of him so readily as if he's considered this about Jimin more than once. He's one of the closest people to Jimin, so if he's been pondering this about his friend then it's a pretty significant observation.

Now how does Jimin react to this out-of-pocket accusation? Is it:

a) "Haha, noooo!"

b) "What are you saying?"

c) "Not like that!"

d) "Come on now."

e) He doesn't deny it whatsoever.

If you answered e, you get a sun and moon sticker. It would've been so easy and expected for Jimin to deny this claim, but he doesn't. Because he can't. Because he'd be lying. Because he does kind of like men. Especially one in particular. And Jimin is just too honest.

He does very gracefully tiptoe around a confirmation (and a shutdown of the topic) by telling Tae he doesn't like him specifically. His reflex was to be defensive of himself and how much he likes Jungkook. It also further confirms that how Jimin likes Tae (his best friend) is different from how he likes Jungkook. It's all truly very telling.

(JK's reactions are very cute, but we won't get into that here.)

B.3

Host: "You're free to go anywhere in the world with anyone you want to do anything you wish. Where are you, what are you doing, and who are you with?"

Jimin:

Really? He had this romantic-ass answer ready to go. The other members gave normal answers about family and such. Jimin could've easily. But no. He then smiles sweetly over at Jungkook. The host is actually flustered by his answer and translates what he says, but conveniently leaves out the holding hands part.

But this is a fluke, right? He just said Jungkook as a silly answer, right?

Oh, look! Another instance when he can answer with anything and still ends up being honest.

"I think Jungkook is very cute." It's his go-to answer when people ask him why he likes JK so much. People keep mentioning it because his liking for Jungkook is noticeably and abnormally loud. Yet, Jimin's usual answer isn't really a complete answer, is it? "Cute" can be part of a reason, but not the whole reason. Cute is the safe detail he can share.

Lmao at Tae's side-eye at Jimin fawning over Jungkook shamelessly. You can tell he's thinking, "...this mf likes men" again. He hasn't perfected that Tae poker face just yet.

So Jimin really wants that private trip with Jungkook, hey? Why not with Tae, his bestie? His soulmate? Tae's also very cute, no?

Because he doesn't mean a friend trip.

(Don't fret, Jiminie. You'll get your private trip with Jungkook and it'll be beyond your expectations.)

B.4

A couple of examples of Jungkook being aggressively on Jimin's mind even when he's just answering basic questions.

No one: So, what do-

Jimin: Jungkookie <3

Literally, who asked? No one's twisting his arm here to make him answer "Jungkook" with romantic implications under these totally general questions. He could've answered with literally anything else.

Some thoughts:

If he was being speedy and just writing/saying the first things that popped into his head, it still means Jungkook is at the forefront of his mind. Plagues his mind, if you will.

If he was carefully considering the questions and answering honestly, it still means Jungkook is heavily weighing in his mind at a vulnerable level.

Jungkook still came before performing and receiving attention. The first thing. Not the last thing as a joke because Jimin couldn't think of anything else.

He makes sure to stake his claim over Jungkook in his description of him. "Mine." How fanfic.

His weakness is Jungkook. He can't resist him. Point blank. Why would he say that? How else am I supposed to interpret that?

Jungkook reaches every corner of Jimin's mind. Even if Jimin manages to convince himself he's just being playful and jokey, it's the repetitive nature and exclusivity of Jungkook being involved in his answers that are eyebrow-raising and give him away. He might as well doodle hearts around "JK" all over the page. It's a textbook crush. He's infatuated with this person he thinks is unattainable.

B.5

"Happy Birthday Jeon Jungkook! Please accept my love!" followed by blowing a kiss, an awkward giggle, and a glance at Jungkook.

What love? He's already accepted your platonic love; you guys are good friends, attached at the hip, and Jungkook's made it explicitly clear he likes you a lot and appreciates how well you treat him/take care of him. What more do you want him to accept, exactly, Jimin?

Again, unnecessary. No one's making him say this. No one's expecting him to say this. No one wants him to say this. And yet.

B.6

Manifest your dreams, Jiminie.

I don't even have to explain to you how common the "We look like a couple! Haha, just kidding... Unless?" thing is. We've all been there. You want to plant the seed in your crush's head. You want them to think about it, to consider the image of you two together. Jimin's planted a whole grove in JK's head with the way he's been all over him these couple of years.

Exhibit C

The kisses.

The amount of times Jimin either asks to kiss Jungkook, asks Jungkook to kiss him, or tries to kiss Jungkook is quite frankly absurd. These are just some examples. Some!

Imagine this was your friend who keeps trying to kiss you. For years. Jokes get really old really fast. You'd laugh and play along the first time. Laugh it off the second time. Force a laugh the third time.

At what point would you start wondering if your friend has legitimate feelings for you?

At what point do you think Jungkook did?

Especially considering Jimin's general behavior toward him.

(The other members don't laugh when it happens in front of them. It's always either wtf are you saying or they change the subject with visible discomfort.)

What Jimin is doing here (via "jokes") is testing Jungkook's boundaries, gauging his reactions, because he's interested in him beyond platonic limits. He really, really wants to kiss Jungkook and fantasizes about it, but he will not make a serious first move out of fear of being rejected.

Food for thought: Post-2015, Jimin doesn't ask Jungkook for kisses anymore or beg him to love him back, while coincidentally also becoming intimately touchier than ever with each other.

Perhaps Jimin finally got what he wanted? Hmm...

~

We can stop here. I think you get the point.

Everyone, say it with me now: Jimin wants Jungkook romantically.

He wants to go on dates with Jungkook.

He wants to hold hands with Jungkook.

He wants to kiss Jungkook.

He's expressed these things in every way he can:

He's acted them out.

He's said them aloud.

He's written them down.

Over and over and over again. What more do you want? I am not assuming anything. To say that he doesn't is just blatantly ignoring poor Jimin screaming it from the rooftops to fit whatever agenda you have. It's a you problem.

If you want to see more examples of everything (because there are still plenty), just watch this. In fact, watch every video on this channel. Treat yourself.

Also thanks to this heaven-sent channel for the captions on almost everything in this post (all gifs by me).

If I see a single one of you say with your whole chest that Jimin thinks of Jungkook in a brotherly way after this, I will hunt you down and beat your ass and your brother's ass.

Open your damn eyes.

I hope you enjoyed my spiel. Till next time!

E.

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 27

Notes: I want to just say I have the best dedicated readers ever. I was worried after having such a consistent posting schedule with this story and me disappearing a few days that people would be upset. And while a few were, the majority have been nothing but supportive and kind and sending me well wishes during my grief period. I miss my pet so much, but you guys make me feel a lot less alone in that. Thank you all so much, and thank you for supporting me.

Summary: Rouge goes for the emerald at GUN. Knuckles and Shadow chat.

UC Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

“You seriously trust her??” Knuckles sighs as he crouches down on a hills a few miles from GUN Headquarters, overlooking the facility Rouge is currently robbing as he rests an arm on his knee and keeps an eye out for anything suspicious. 

“I do,” Shadow says simply in response, standing beside Knuckles with his arms crossed, “Though, I can’t say she returns the sentiment.”

“Yeah? Well.. her and our Shadow don’t really have the most colorful history,” Knuckles replies with a shrug.

“How come?” Shadow asks, eyes looking down at the red echidna crouched next to him. It’s one thing for him and Rouge to simply not know one another in this world, but for her to actively be intimidated by him.. that’s different. Something happened. Something with the Black Arms.

Shadow can’t help but be curious when it comes to Doom..

“Sonic wouldn’t like me saying,” Knuckles answers once again, Shadow rolling his eyes at the response he’s already heard before.

“Who says Sonic even has to know you said anything??” Shadow replies.

“I don’t like talking about it either, if I’m honest,” Knuckles sighs with a frown, “It was.. a pretty dark time for all of us. But Rouge definitely saw the brunt of it given she was already working with GUN at the time.”

“So it was when the Black Arms invaded,” Shadow concludes.

“Yeah,” Knuckles gruffs out, “And I don’t think Rouge had signed up for all that shit when she signed up for GUN.”

“Did I hurt her??” Shadow asks quietly, eyes watching Knuckles with quiet concern in them, “..The other version of myself.. did I hurt her..?”

Knuckles pauses a long time, seeming to ponder how he should answer that question. What all he should say. What he should leave out.

“…I don’t know..,” he answers quietly, and Shadow can’t tell it's honest. Not avoidance.

“What do you know??” Shadow asks just as quiet, suddenly unsure he wants to know the answer as much as he thought he did.

“I know our Shadow didn’t have mercy on anyone working for or with GUN..”

Shadow’s eyes flash down at Knuckles’ fists at that.. how they’re clenched tight. How his back is suddenly flexed with tension..

He lifts his crimson eyes back to the GUN facility, staring at it and recalling how shocked Sonic had been that Shadow worked with GUN in his world..

How their Shadow would never work with GUN..

Sonic… Sonic worked with GUN during the invasion..

“Did I hurt him??” Shadow asks, careful not to allow any emotion to leak into his words despite his reluctance.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss..

Shadow has never been one to choose bliss.

“Yes,” Knuckles answers simply, gravel in his voice and he leaves the rest for the imagination. It’s obvious he won’t go into detail. Shadow doesn’t even have to ask to know this. He won’t push it further.. for now.

What he does know is his chest feels legitimate and hollow pain at the thought of what he may have done to anyone.. let alone that blue hedgehog.. under Black Doom’s control.

“I have the emerald in possession,” Rouge’s voice comes through the communicator she left behind for them, Shadow holding it in his hand and lifting it to look at it as he responds.

“Roger that. We’re at the rendezvous. Alert us if there’s trouble.”

“There won’t be trouble,” her voice comes back cockily, “I’m a pro.”

Shadow huffs a bit at this, Knuckles smirking to himself.

“Just be careful,” Shadow says simply, not getting a reply from her. He’s guessing she’s likely shut it off for now, needing to be stealthy from here on.

They wait quietly on the hill for a long moment, Shadow sighing with his arms crossed over his chest as he keeps his gaze on the facility.

But his mind goes to the blue hedgehog..

He seemed so torn about letting Shadow get involved with GUN without him. He’s shocked he didn’t have to fight the hero to get him on the plane. 

He hopes he isn’t too worried..

An explosion gets their attentions, Shadow’s eyes widening at the smoke coming from the GUN lab wing. Knuckles is on his feet in no time, his own eyes wide and looking very much worried.

“What the hell was that?!”

“I’m hoping a diversion,” Shadow responds with a frown, a little worried himself now.

“Hoping???” Knuckles’ eyes dart to Shadow, “What if they caught her?? Or if she’s hurt?! What if—“

“She’s quite capable on her own,” Shadow assures, though he has his doubts since he’s never actually seen this Rouge at work.

“You don’t know that! She could need help!! We need to get in there and—“

“I didn’t realize you cared so much,” a voice comes from behind them, both of them spinning around to find Rouge landing a few feet away with a bag around her shoulder.

Knuckles is too relieved to even care for her teasing remark, quickly stepping to her and looking her over with concern written all over his face.

“Are you alright??? What happened??”

“Needed a diversion,” Rouge shrugs with a small smirk at the echidna’s scanning eyes.

“Told you,” Shadow remarks.

“So you’re not hurt then??” Knuckles asks just to make sure.

“I’m fine,” she assures with a softening smile on her lips, nodding at the echidna as if to try and make sure he knows she’s serious, “Not a scratch.”

“Good..,” Knuckles breathes, only then noticing the endearing look Rouge is giving him and the knowing one Shadow is. His cheeks redden, “I-I just mean for the emerald! Because if you had been hurt, we might not have it!”

Shadow snorts at this, Rouge just quirks a brow with a hummed giggle.

Knuckles stumbles over his words a moment before eventually huffing out, “Well—You do have it, don’t you?!”

”Of course I have it, Knucklehead,” she rolls her eyes fondly, reaching into her bag to pull out the blue emerald inside, “All shiny and perfect as always.”

“Excellent,” Shadow’s lips curl up slightly, pleased they’re finally getting somewhere, “Let’s get it out of here before they lock onto its energy signature and track us down.”

“Right,” Rouge nods, placing it back in her bag, “They’ve likely figured out it’s missing by now. So your place or mine??”

“Tails’,” Knuckles answers quickly, moving to lead the way already, “We can contact Sonic and Tails from there and hopefully finally get this ball rolling.”

“What exactly is the ball we’re getting rolling??” Rouge asks, following Knuckles now.

“The kid has theoretically developed a way to communicate through dimensions,” Shadow explains, “We just needed the chaos energy to power it.”

“Impressive. How does he plan to be able to lock in on a specific dimension?? Couldn’t he accidentally call some psycho, world-ending Shadow from hell knows where to come here??”

“He’s connected it to our Shadow’s communicator,” Knuckles explains, “Its wavelengths are exclusive to our team only and meant to be able to traverse through certain realms for brief moments in time as is through chaos energy since he designed them for Shadow and Sonic, so Tails is pretty confident that once he locks in on it, it’ll only broadcast to his watch.”

“So they’re powered by Shadow and Blue’s chaos energy??” Rouge asks, seeming intrigued now, “That’s a hell of a gadget..”

“I’m not great on remembering the specifics,” Knuckles adds with a sigh, approaching Rouge’s vehicle they took there to ride back to Tails’, “But I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.. Something like that, at least. Plus, if we have this Shadow here with us, then—“

“Surely I’m somehow linked to the other Shadow and can make the connection through my own energy using this emerald,” Shadow finishes, nodding in agreement with Knuckles’ observation.

“Right,” Knuckles nods, climbing into the passenger seat of the car to which Rouge takes the driver and Shadow slides into the back.

“That’s a whole lot of science and chaos talk,” Rouge snorts, already beginning to drive them away from the GUN facility. The quicker they get out of there, the better, “Which usually means you’re playing with fire if my knowledge of the GUN science division is anything to go off of..”

“Tails can handle it,” Knuckles affirms confidently, “The kid knows more about chaos science than anyone I know. He’s had plenty of time to study it when he still lived with those two lovehogs before they moved out.”

“Why was he studying chaos science??” Shadow’s brows furrow curiously.

“We had enough incidents with our Shadow’s powers becoming a bit..”

Knuckles pauses, he and Rouge both exchanging a knowing glance before he hesitantly continues,

“Out of control.. Tails wanted to find a way to help him control them better. Help everyone rest easy, especially Sonic and Shadow.”

Shadow hums at this in thought, looking down at the inhibitor rings on his wrists.. they’re there to keep his abilities at bay. Help him not to lose himself in all that potential energy that’s balled up inside him. He wonders if perhaps their Shadow didn’t have such rings.. or perhaps he lost them at some point..

Shadow knows of only one time he ever lost his..

It’s still floating around somewhere in space, he assumes.

By the time he had woken up from that incident, he had newly designed ones by the doctor around his wrists. He currently wears ones designed by GUN’s scientists..

He doesn’t mention this. Feels like it wouldn’t be received well.

Though, he is curious how inhibitor rings designed by the fox may differ than ones designed by GUN..

Perhaps they’d be less restrictive. More freeing.. allowing Shadow to use his abilities to their full potential better without fear of being a danger to others and himself.

It doesn’t matter, really. At the end of the day, the fox fears him back in his own world. They’re not friends. Not even acquaintances really. He’s simply his rival’s sidekick and nothing more. 

Almost feels like a shame… seeing how much his alternate and the fox have accomplished together in this world and knowing the potential there now..

“So let’s say we contact our Shadow,” Rouge says after a bit of driving, “What then??”

“Well, the hope is that he has made contact with the other world’s Tails. And if not, that we can inform him to.”

“Why?” Rouge quirks a brow, “kid got a plan on how to get them swapped back already??”

“Sort of,” Shadow says with a frown, “He has some sort of portal in mind.. but it has to be synced with one from my world. Thus, the fox there needs to build one too.”

“What if the fox there isn’t smart enough for that sort of thing?” Rouge asks, always a thorough skeptic.

Shadow ponders this a moment, thinking back on all the times he’s seen that kid flying that plane. All the gadgets and modifications he’s made to it. The tech he sees Sonic and his friends carrying around. The mech suits the kid has designed to fight with.

“I think he’s more than adequate,” he responds, “The people in my world aren’t so different than the people here. We all simply have… different connections.”

“So personalities are the same, social statuses are different??” Rouge questions, glancing at Shadow in her rearview mirror. He nods back to her.

“That sums it up.”

“You said in your world, you trust me,” Rouge says bluntly, her brows furrowing a bit as her eyes meet his in the mirror, “…Why??”

Shadow takes a breath. He’s done more damn talking in the past few days than he’s done in months back in his world. It’s exhausting.

“Well, from what we’ve been able to put together, the place our worlds diverge is after the ARK Battle..”

Rouge looks back to the road, but Shadow can see the intrigue in her eyes.

“In this world, Sonic was the one to find me after I fell from space.. in mine-… in mine, that was you.”

Rouge’s eyes flicker back up to his at that, searching as if to see if he’s playing a trick on her or being serious.

After a pause, she hums with a small smirk, “No wonder you ended up so much cooler than this world’s Shadow.”

“I’ll have you know we all think Shadow is the coolest of our group,” Knuckles defends with an eye roll, “And he’s not near as much of a grouch as this one anymore— no offense.”

“None taken,” Shadow dismisses.

“So what— you’re saying I make people into miserable grumps???” Rouge huffs defensively, glaring over at the echidna.

“If the shoe fits, bat..,” Knuckles shrugs and leans back in his seat with a smirk only to earn a whack upside the back of his head from the thief, “Hey!!”

“No being an ass allowed in my car,” Rouge declares her nose pointed up.

“You little—“

“If it’s any consolation,” Shadow interrupts before the two’s insufferable bickering can get started, “…I don’t think you turned me into a grump.”

Rouge glances back at him in the mirror again, smirking slightly, “Then how do you explain the difference between your personality and our Shadow’s??? Looks like you knowing me has made you pretty miserable.”

“Or stable,” Shadow argues to which this seems to intrigue both the echidna and the bat, “…I don’t know what happened here with Black Doom, but in my world? I sided with earth and fought off the invasion, defeating the Black Arms for good.. I credit a lot of that to you being by my side during the ARK and during the fiasco with Metal Sonic..”

No one speaks for a long moment after that. Shadow knows whatever happened with the Black Arms was a touchy thing in this world.. but after a pause of silence, the bat smirks a bit and comments,

“Well wouldn’t ya’know.. Looks like I’m a better influence than you and your rag-tag group of misfits, Knuckie~”

The echidna huffs at this, crossing his arms and grumbling under his breath.

Shadow can’t help but smirk a bit at this, glad Rouge doesn’t seem to be taking some sort of guilty responsibility knowing this. Hopefully it only helps her to feel better about herself. Even if she never admits it, he knows she battles mentally with whether she’s truly a good person or not.

In his eyes, she’s one of the best.

[sergeifyodorov]

I know 4 nations is still a couple of months away but if you specifically were the gm choosing the roster right now, what would your team Canada look like? (I am also curious about the other teams but don’t want to overwhelm you) I always love hearing your hockey thoughts!

ooh sarahhhh LOVE this q... also lowkey thank u for only asking about Canada b/c i have not thought about the other rosters at all. to be honest

ok lets get into it

(13 F, 7 D, 3 G)

Forwards:

Already named to the roster: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point

I'm not entirely sure if I had complete control I would pick Marchand, who is both a) pretty far past his prime (even if he is one of those guys who doesn't really age like other players do) and b), not entirely That guy, but I digress. Eight more forwards to name.

Mitch Marner: Easily the best Canadian player not on this list. Since there's no salary cap for the roster and you can go wild by just picking Everyone Good, the most important note of roster construction in my mind is special teams; on any given team you should have ~2 units each of PP and PK, so eight-ish PP forwards and four-ish PK forwards. Some guys don't really do either, so it's always an extra asset to find a guy who is good at both. Mitch Marner is good at both. (And also good at basically everything else.)

Sam Reinhart: I don't like saying it, but I will

Mark Schiefele: I also don't like saying it

Dylan Strome: Here's where it gets interesting. No, I promise this is not a purely narrative choice, although I understand why one might think that. I shrimply love me a smart playmaking centre (yes his points totals are probably inflated by the Caps' really high oish% for him, but he is firmly Very Good and, even as a 4C, should be firmly considered for the 4N.)

Travis Konecny: Legitimately one of the best penalty killers in the league, and also just an all-around threat. Also also a lot of the guys who tend to be picked for 4N are natural centres (e.g. Sidney, NateMac, CMD, Pointer, Reinhart, Schiefele, and Strome are all centres) so it's nice to not have to worry in his case about if he's going to have to move to wing or not.

Connor Bedard: Oh my god I want to see what this kid can do with offensive deployment on wing and actual good teammates

John Tavares: Departing from my usual "don't pick players who are floating into their mid-thirties if you can possibly avoid it" to say that Guys. Johnnifer is still Good. Like, still really good. Chugging along at a point a game and very, very good in the faceoff dot (58%) type of good.

Seth Jarvis: Also firmly underrated IMHO; just because he is a little guy and a bit of a dork doesn't mean we shouldn't, like, remember that He's Good. Because he is.

Reserves: Steven Stamkos (always a power-play threat), Mat Barzal (competent teammates question part 2), Claude Giroux (we all know what his deal is)

Defencemen:

Already named to the roster: Cale Makar

Oh, boy, are we not great at this whole "developing defencemen" thing. Let's see who we can put together.

Josh Morrissey: Basically Morgan Rielly but a little better, I think? Solid shooter, Of-D, etc etc.

Thomas Chabot: Severely undernoticed considering that the Sens have been shit and ass the entire time he's played there. Not his fault, though. Also there's no other Francophones on this list I feel so we should really fix that. What IS Quebec Doing?

Brandt Clarke: Okay, we can have a little "developing defencemen." As a treat.

Evan Bouchard: Why are you booing me? I'm right.

Chris Tanev: Chris Tanev

Brandon Montour: There are probably one or two better options but I like him more TO BE HONEST. Picking the forwards is like a careful examination of PK ability and faceoff percentages and primary points per minute. Picking defencemen has been entirely vibes. I'm very, very sure the L and R balance is just Not There.

Reserves: Maveric Lamoureux (queb AND developing. dual threat), Devon Toews (considering literally everyone will beg for the makar-toews pairing), Shea Theodore (I guess)

Goaltenders:

Lol and Lmao, even

Logan Thompson: The man is the Capitals' starter, helped win Vegas a Cup, and is also lowkey hot sexy and hot and sexy. Starter!

Joey Daccord: Swiss, Canadian, and American, so I'm sure we could convince him to come to the dark side. (Especially since the USA has holy-fuck level goalie depth. Jake Oettinger is a third-stringer.)

Marc-Andre Fleury: Look, this forward core is good enough that it can win us a game 7-6 if we really need it to. I just think he's fun.

[sufferu]

Honestly with the way your portraying Rem - which I really appreciate because she is really fucked up & it makes her relationship with Subaru fascinating, especially with outsider POV’s looking in -I’m quite curious how the cast will react to the From Zero speech and the toxic heroism mentality that installs in Subaru since the Dogshow cast actually feel human in how they react to things instead of reacting to something like how a character would. I’d honestly also be curious how many people would actually agree with Subaru’s wish to run away which is to them basically trying to protect himself from further death & trauma since they’d not know how the Sloth IF turns out.

Also, something totally unrelated but. Since you were talking about Romantic relationships in BTZ it made me wonder… do you have any plans for Subaru in No Refunds to actually enter a romantic relationship at some point or do you just genuinely think he’s too damaged for it? If the question is spoiler territory, sorry for pushing there, I just found it interesting how other peoples perceptions of Subaru changing so radically might impact his ability to form a connection on that level since they likely consider Subaru mentally disabled with his AWFUL survival instincts, not to mention a horribly traumatized mess even without the mental disability.

Glad you like it :D

Yeah the best way I can describe their reaction to the From Zero speech is…complicated. Cause the thing is — on one hand, no, they don’t think that Subaru running away to marry Rem is a good idea, at all, because they do not have a good opinion of her right now, and also they were totally expecting her to take this opportunity and run with it, so the fact that she actually refused his offer is a shockingly pleasant surprise. Plus, she legitimately does help Subaru pick himself up when nobody else could snap him out of his spiral, she DOES manage to do that. …But on the other hand…yeah, they’re probably not huge fans of the hero complex she helped develop here :/

As for romance in No Refunds — yeah, that’s a spoiler ;) A lot of that story is about characters reassessing who Subaru is and what their relationships with him should be, so…that’s fun! But I guess I can just say — I’m not the type of writer who really cares about romance all that much? Most of the time I actually find platonic relationships much more engaging. (But I will say: in the case that there isn’t a romantic relationship between two characters — it’s not necessarily because he’s too “damaged,” but instead because that may simply…not be what suits their new dynamic best ;))

[cocogum]

Alright Anon you dropped a heavy ass question on me and ngl it kinda made me think a bit too much on the whole thing....

But let me clarify something very quickly here.

There are no mentions of Yugo being king of any other kingdom in his previous lives in the World of Twelve because Yugo used to live in his original planet back in all those thousand lives. There were only eliatropes at that time, so he was only king of his own kingdom.

His first ever birth in the World of Twelve was the one we're seeing right now, where he had actually been living peacefully on another planet for a change.

Now that we're done clarifying that little detail, let's focus on how Yugo's rebirths work if he was reborn in the World of Twelve.

Let's list what we already know:

First, we have to remember that Yugo's status as the eliatrope king will never change no matter when or where he gets reborn.

Second, his rebirth will be planned and will have to be carried in full secrecy. His caretaker will have to be specifically chosen for the job. If there are still eliatropes around, then they might as well be his caretakers to quicken the process.

Third, no matter where he gets reborn, he will always be called back to his destiny by any means necessary (by having an animal as his companion like Az, by having visions, by having magical feathers carrying messages for him, etc.)

Fourth, even when he gets reborn, Yugo will always feel like he's missing something in his life because of his nature and the fact that he hides his wakfu wings under his hat. He is aware that he's not like everyone else and will always be curious to find out who he is even when he doesn't have magical artifacts that can help him find the truth. He'll just go on adventures to find out who he is because it's in his literal nature to go out and explore the world.

Fifth, he'll never truly believe he's a twelvian because of his wakfu wings and his portal magic. If no one else is like him, then why should he think he's like them?

Sixth, Yugo will always find Adamaï and Adamaï will always find Yugo. They basically have a connected mind. At some point, they WILL meet and WILL learn more about their people together regardless if one of them knows more than the other.

These six points were made pretty clear in seasons 1-2 and made us understand how his future rebirths would function in the World of Twelve.

So if Yugo gets reborn in another kingdom and the sadidas would learn about it, I believe this could turn out in two ways:

1) Either they simply let him go and think that he was only their king in his past life, so he technically doesn't have any legitime ownership to his old sadida king title anymore. They also have to keep in mind their current sadida bloodline instead of relying on the past to ruin the system.

2) Or they still see him as their king without his memories and legally have the right to bring him back to their kingdom.

Either way, it doesn't change anything in the long run because Yugo's going to be screwed in any other kingdom.

Because if a literal infamous assassin trusted the Sadida Kingdom to take care of his two daughters, then there's no way in hell that Yugo will be safe anywhere else in the World of Twelve, especially when people know who he is now and what he has done in his past life (the one that we're currently in).

Yugo's going to come back to the Sadida Kingdom regardless of what anyone thinks 💀💀💀

It's honestly tough to guess what the sadidas might think about his rebirth due to laws and royal status being a thing.

But I can assure you that they'll most likely be shocked as all hell to find out that one of their old kings came back to life. They already know he's a demigod and will get reborn, but it's always surprising to know it when you see it with your own eyes, you know?

In short, if Yugo gets reborn, the sadidas will most likely have their jaws on the floor from knowing there's a sadida ruler from the past who returned. So chances are, they either leave him alone but intently watch him from the sidelines or take him back immediately.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that despite all that, Yugo would feel some emotions for the Sadida Kingdom even when he won't understand why. The feelings of familiarity towards the kingdom would be due to Amalia even when she's long gone... We've seen Yugo feel some feelings when he visited Mount Zinit in the manga between season 2 and the Ovas, so the chances of him feeling solid connections to the Sadida Kingdom in his next life are very strong.

[chaifootsteps]

honestly that would be the funniest possible outcome for all this, if like

some action heavy plot is stapled on to what was supposed to be Stolas and Blitzo working out their mountain of issues. if effectively two season's worth of build up around St/litz falling apart gets all of five minutes of screen time before Viv just waves a magic wand and declares they're in love now, with no real introspection being done at all

I feel dumb for having ever expected the full moon episode might actually be like, a quiet and considered character drama - or that it would at least attempt to be that, even though we all know Stolas is going to be lionized while Blitzo is demonized

but Viv is apparently terrible at quiet moments of sincerity also. I feel like I should have seen this coming with all the build up the Blitzo/Fizz reconciliation had that was wasted in the space of five minutes where it turned out Blitzo was barely to blame and it was all some unfortunate misunderstanding

I'm legitimately, genuinely curious where 'ozzie's' came from. like it's an episode with good pacing, confined mostly to one location with a solid musical number & it all builds to the most emotionally devastating conversation the show has, delivered in a quiet moment with no distractions or explosions

if Viv wrote that whole episode, what on earth happened between seasons 1 and 2 that the show is suddenly incapable of moments like that? of feeling like anything matters anymore?

This. Every so often, mostly in the first season of HB, Viv would swig a quick shot of writing tonic and I don't know if it was someone helping her or if a stopped clock is right twice a day, but we haven't had one of those moments since. That quiet sincerity from Ozzie's and also from Truth Seekers, when the gas wears off and Moxxie and Blitz just sit in the stillness for a second and then have a heart-to-heart (which of course doesn't stick?) It's nowhere to be seen in season two and it's nowhere to be seen in HH.

Which really does beg the question, what the hell happened?

[dutchdread]

From one of your answer: "Personally I think that while Cloud is totally unsure of who or what he is, that he is 100% aware that he deeply loves Tifa, even at the start of Remake."

I'd love to see you talk more about this. Do you think that, while he's aware that he loves her, does he remember that he's has been loving her ever since they were young?

Now I haven't played Rebirth (but I spoiled myself a lot). But from Remake and what I gather, I personally think he doesn't remember, or be aware of his feelings. However, I think that he's unconsciously and instinctively attracted to her as well as be protective of her, at least from the beginning of Remake. He can't exactly define his feeling, but he knows what he wants to do with her (getting jealous, being touchy-touchy, being protective). Then he grows to realize his feeling all over again over the course of the game, without even remember he has always been in love with her this whole time.

Also, as far as I know, Cloud isn't the type who ponders "what is this ache in my heart?". He's the man of action. He cares for Tifa and wants to do things for Tifa, regardless of whatever he feels for her is called a crush, infatuation, or love.

But that's my take. And I'd like to hear yours :D

I have to preface this by saying that this is 100% conjecture. My hope is that this is essentially exactly the question that we get answered in part 3, because it is something I really wonder about myself. Hell it might be the thing I am MOST curious to know. So when I give my thought on this, know that it I think it really is up in the air and could go either way, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if this is left up to interpretation. There are things that I think Cloud legitimately doesn't know. His confusion about Nibelheim for instance is 100% unfaked. But when Tifa asks him where he was these past 5 years and he responds with "you know I can't tell you that", what was that? Was that a straight up lie? I think it's clear he doesn't know where he was these past years. But does he know that he doesn't know where he was? And did he lie to hide that fact? If he simply had no recollections of the past 5 years but is otherwise mostly lucid then he could have simply answered "that's odd, I don't remember".

But he doesn't, either the Jenova cells are directly influencing him to lie or causing him to make up an excuse to change the subject. Regardless he's actively avoiding recognizing an issue that should be interesting to him "why don't I know where I was". But then in Gongaga we have Cloud admitting that he doesn't know stuff that he's supposed to know. That implies that it's not just Jenova forcing him to be unaware of the inconsistencies in his memory. He himself has been CHOOSING to hide some of them. The reason I bring this up is because there is something we have to ask ourselves. Is Cloud 100% genuinely trying to play out a personality that was not inherently his? Or does he only have a bunch of messed up memories, but is intentionally trying to play up that persona? Or something in the middle? I'd guess it's something in the middle, which explains a lot of the changes we see in his behavior based on who he is talking to. That means that when he says stuff like "Don't remember" when Yuffie asks him whether or not he used to be in love with Tifa. That could very easily be a bold faced lie. He could have all his messed up memories and still remember vividly why he wanted to be a soldier in the first place. Which is essentially what happens in the lifestream, HE tells Tifa why he did those things, HE knows when she does not, thereby proving those memories and those feelings could not have come from her. So it could easily be that Cloud, during remake and remake, not only realizes that he loves Tifa, but be aware that he was once a shy dorky kid who just wanted Tifa to notice him, and is still "internally screaming" anytime Tifa is near, but is desperate not to show that side of him to the outside world. Or it could of course be possible that he's completely blocked those embarrassing memories and feelings off even from himself and that his Soldier persona is completely genuine and that his fondness for Tifa in remake and Rebirth is just the result of that Love still simply being a part of him, even if he himself doesn't totally understand why. And that his real self only comes out during glimpses. We have quotes to corroborate this, but it's not that clear whether that means his true personality coming out means he's showing his real thoughts for once rather than acting, or that it means that his real personality literally takes over for a bit from his fake one. Again, I think the truth is in the middle. I especially wonder about this when Cloud sits down on the water tower next to Aerith. He very poignantly leaves Tifas house for last, and sits down looking at it directly. To me it feels like in that moment he is completely aware of why he did that, and is putting on a cool act when saying "sounds like something I'd do". I think that was one of the most telling scenes in the game, which on second playthrough post LS, will feel extremely telling. You will see him sitting there, and you'll know. "you mother fucker, you know EXACTLY that you did that and why, we know what you're thinking! XD" At the very least I feel like the scene was intentionally directed to strongly give off the impression that Cloud there is actively aware of what Tifa means to him, and is in that moment the same boy that would gaze at Tifa all those years back, putting up a cool guy act, but still with all his unspoken thoughts being about how this is all for her. Good question, I wish I had a better answer for you, but I think this one one of those times where speculating about the answer might be half the fun.

[noperopesaredope]

A Guide to “How Are You?”

So, I’m autistic, and of course, I can get slightly confused by certain social situations. But I’ve discovered that many others across the spectrum are confused by a very specific common greeting (at least, here in the US, where I live): “How are you?”

Other variations of this include “how ya doing” and “how have you been?”

This has confused many, and from what I’ve heard, it’s something that’s mostly in the States, so there’s also a cultural disconnect at times. Many have said that this question is dumb, since, if you answer honestly, it turns out that “other didn’t actually want to know” and “they only asked to make themselves feel good.”

However, as a neurodivergent person who has been studying many neurotypical social norms and cues for many years now, I believe that that is slightly untrue. Most neurotypicals who ask this question do care about having a relatively honest answer and are often curious about how others are doing, however, “how are you” is still a question that has some very simple “rules” to it. In this post, I will be explaining the purpose of this question, and how to properly answer it in a way that others will find acceptable. It can be confusing at first, but once you understand the underlying intent behind it and know how to properly respond, it is very simple.

Intent Behind the Question:

A common reason people say this as a greeting is because they have essentially conditioned to say it. Everyone who uses this phrase has grown up hearing it all the time as a common greeting, similar to “hello,” thus creating a subconscious link between the phrase and saying “hello.” This has caused many to develop a knee jerk reaction to saying this where they greet someone. They are often saying by pure instinct rather than to be polite.

However, there is also a second reason many people say “how are you” as a greeting: they do legitimately want to know how you’re doing. “Now wait just a minute,” you may be saying, “it seems like everyone expects me to just say ‘fine’ as a response rather than how I’m actually feeling!” This is partially true, however, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

From what I can tell and based on my interactions with many neurotypical folks who ask this question as a greeting, they are perfectly okay with hearing how you actually feel, and don’t often mind it when it’s bad news. You don’t need to say that you’re fine, it’s just the easiest response.

What many don’t want to hear is all the details. The question is more meant to be a basic read on your current mood and how you’ve been in general lately, not everything that is currently happening in your life. They just want a short, simple answer with not to much context.

How to Answer:

The second part of this is a better explanation of exactly how one is supposed to answer the question in a way that is honest without overdoing it.

As I previously mentioned, the purpose of the question is to gauge how a person is feeling with a short, concise response. This means it’s good to answer honestly, but keep it brief. A good way to keep it brief is to explain how you’re doing in a single sentence.

Examples of this:

“I’m doing fine.”

“I feel great!”

“I’m kinda sad...”

Another thing that is typically an expectation and a way to keep it short is to not get all into exactly why��you are feeling the way you’re feeling. The only reason it might be okay to get into it is if you haven’t see the person in a long time and are having a conversation with them or if they are someone close to you.

People may mostly care about how you are feeling, especially since that can affect how they should interact with you, but a lot of strangers don’t care quite enough to hear about your personal life and whatnot. It can admittedly feel like oversharing if you get a little far into it.

So, here are some samples for types of responses you can use to answer the question honestly:

(Feeling neutral or don’t want to talk about it) “I’m fine.”

(Happy about something) “I’m doing great!”

(In a bad mood) “I could be doing better/Things aren’t great right now.”

These are the most common types of answers and fit with a variety of things. They are short, brief, concise, and honest, but they also don’t explain to much about why someone is experiencing said emotions.

These are the most simple ways to answer the question. The main reason that “fine” is such a commonplace answer is because it’s very neutral. It’s not always that people don’t want to hear your honest answer, they’re just not expecting it. Most people don’t feel like sharing that much about how they’re feeling, so it can catch people off guard a bit.

But there are ways to answer honestly whilst simultaniously not putting people off, and that is by keeping it brief and straightforward without too much explanation.

Hopefully this was helpful to anyone who might need this.

~~~~ Anyways, that’s how to navigate the question “how are you?” I was gonna make this a one off thing, but I’m starting to consider making this a small series or something. Basically me as an autistic person explaining certain social ques and stuff based on what I’ve observed overtime. All the posts would take a very analytical viewpoint, as I didn’t learn some of these things in the same way neurotypical people did: I just overanalyzed stuff. So I have the advantage of both being able to communicate with my fellow neurodivergent folks in a way we all understand, and I also have a complex understanding of some of the social stuff.

So what do ya’ll think? Should I make this a little series? And if so, what should I cover?

[fallynleaf]

i've been away from tumblr a bit because i've been busy (again), and i also had my interest piqued by one of the most unique shows i've ever seen lol so i've spent the past few days on Japanese producer Tokio Omori's wild ride fgkjdhg

i'm not really the right person to talk about Omori's influence in the modern Japanese horror scene because most of my knowledge is secondhand (read my friend's wonderful article for an overview of some of the biggest names in the scene right now!), but he was part of the creative team for A Missing Exhibition, which i've talked about and giffed here already.

anyway, just over a week ago, Omori announced the release of a new project he finished, and it was basically the last thing my friends and i were expecting to see from one of the top up-and-coming creators in the modern Japanese horror scene.

it’s called フィクショナル ("Fictional"), and it’s…....... a BL drama???

i nearly fell out of my chair when i saw the news dfgkjhg

QUEER READING OF 正体不明 VINDICATED 😤

naturally i was super curious what this show was even about (and was admittedly also a bit wary, because i mean... i've seen three of Omori's previous projects lol i know what he's like. there was bound to be some sort of trickery here, i just knew it).

however, it's extremely inaccessible hahaha. it's on a weird app that's a huge pain to get if you live outside of Japan, and obviously there are no English subtitles to speak of, and the app is so tyrannical with its DRM protection, custom subtitling it is basically not an option, either.

but, せっかく (after much trouble) i was able to access the show, and it does have Japanese subtitles available, so i was able to slowly and painstakingly watch it by pausing repeatedly to look up a bunch of words hahaha.

it ended up being the first (non-wrestling) show i watched fully in Japanese! though it's really the length of a movie and not a proper drama lol. it was NOT a breezy casual romcom type of BL with easy Japanese, let me tell you 😅

i'm gonna talk about it a bit because i doubt you'll find this show discussed in many other places, even in Japanese.

Tokio Omori's Fictional asks the real questions, like, should you get a job creating AI deepfake videos for the scumbag straight guy you have a gay crush on?

(light spoilers)

i will say this is absolutely an Omori project through and through. i don't think you can quite call this one horror, but it's a thriller at the very least. there are a lot of unsettling and uncomfortable themes, and it plays on your expectations a lot. i feel like Omori's anger really comes through in this, as a creator who has largely built his career on creating fake documentaries for artistic purposes in a world where AI deepfakes now exist that are being used for unfathomable evil.

i hesitate a bit to call it a BL (even though it calls itself one!), because it's not really about a gay romance at all, though it has a canonically LGBTQ main character and gay desire is one of the main driving forces of the show. the gay aspect feels very secondary to the main story it wants to tell. i suppose it's a bit of a bait and switch in that regard, though the more i think about it, the more i think it's actually kind of cool that they labeled it BL because i feel like it rejects the limits that other people impose on the genre, and it also embraces a label that is somewhat stigmatized (or at least de-legitimized as serious art).

i don't think the typical BL audience will really like this one, though, hahaha. there are a few Japanese BL fans talking it up on twitter, but they seem to be BL fans who are actually queer and who genuinely care a lot about LGBTQ rights and other political issues, which unfortunately isn't really the norm for a BL fan in Japan.

the scenes that are charged with sexuality in this work aren't the kind of scenes that would really appeal to an audience of mostly straight women, i'll put it that way. it never gives the sense of being meant for an audience who is mainly there to fetishize a M/M relationship.

it's also incredibly political. like, far more than i was expecting! i've seen Six Hack, another Omori work, and that one had a lot of commentary on like anti-vax covid conspiracies as well as conspiracy theories just in general, but Fictional went quite a bit further than that.

one thing that really struck me was its portrayal of a deepfake being used to fan anti-immigrant sentiment, causing a man to attack a group of people protesting for immigrant rights. the context was within Japan, where anti-immigrant sentiment is a big issue, but it's also a big problem in the US right now, and the protesters getting attacked was also legitimately a bit triggering for me, as someone who has been out on the the street protesting a lot this year. it was upsetting to see that depicted and know that it wasn't that far from reality...

(big spoilers)

i think my biggest criticism of the show is that it went a little too overboard with the main character's paranoia in the last chunk. he starts losing his grip on reality, which makes sense with how things had been going, but it felt like a fairly generic twist to me. i wish the show had been a little more restrained and had him lose faith in all phone/video/image communication, but not his in-person reality, or something.

though one thing i really appreciate is that it never calls into question his gay feelings for another man. as someone on twitter put it, his love is the only real thing in a world overflowing with fakes.

i'm glad that Omori left that part alone, and am also glad that the gay character didn't die. i wasn't a super big fan of the ending overall (i think it satirizes getting redpilled a little too heavily lol at the expense of sacrificing some of its coherence as an original work), but i feel like that may just be me wanting something different out of the story than what Omori was wanting to tell.

i'll definitely be watching his future work with more interest now, though. he's the kind of Japanese creator that alt-right anime fans in the west don't believe exists. it's cool as always to see someone at the forefront of a genre like horror doing things that go outside of the mold beyond simply innovating new stuff in the genre. it feels very brave to tell a story like this, and it's admirable that he's using whatever power/influence he has to make that story happen, even if we have to put up with the most annoying app in history to watch it lol.

they're apparenly going to be airing Fictional in a 30 min slot on tv. i can't imagine how they can cut it down to just 30 minutes... i hope the gay stuff and the political stuff stay in. if they don't, i suppose that might explain why the show ended up on a weird app instead of just airing on tv from the get-go...

[peppermintstarsonamintyway]

This, is definitely overdue.

Alright, hi, hello. Let's talk- as my shittily drawn comic says-

First off, I'm Kaz, I also go by Wolfy, Fifty (from my old tumblr user/tag/whatever), and any variation of Peppermint. One friend who has tumblr as well calls me Pepsi on discord for shits and giggle and another knows my real name. Well, both know, it's just a 50/50 on what they use-

I am a sexuality questioning neurodivergent genderfluid creature, I don't care what pronouns are used for me as long as the person talking to me is comfortable with me.

On here I'll be most commonly showing myself as a kitsune with just, a chalk board on hand. Or, well, paw.

Okay, general blog rules and things to know.

No explicit nsfw. You can send asks being curious about certain habits of my ocs and draw whatever kinda art of them you want (do not touch ANY little ones I will block you so fast), but anything in regards to me myself, absolutely the fuck not.

Oc shipping is perfectly okay with me! Just don't ask about children and keep your fan children to yourself, please and thank you. I do not want asks about my ocs having children in my askbox.

I am VERY much a multishipper, if you see me shipping my ocs with my other ocs, do not assume you can't come in and make an offer of one of your own ocs. Do not be afraid to talk to me about shipping ocs or oc interactions in general.

As long as I'm credited, anyone is more than welcome to use my art for whatever the fuck they want. If it's something questionable, I'd prefer you keep it to yourself, but otherwise, go ahead. Although I'd be surprised if anyone wanted to use my art for anything-

I do NOT. I repeat, do NOT. Take commissions. I'll take requests to draw ocs and other such things, alongside canon characters, but I do NOT take commissions. Requests will really only be sketches, occasionally colored and sometimes legitimately finished because I had the energy for it.

I feel as though this should be obvious, but I'll say it anyways, pro-shippers, racists, lgbtq+phobics, assholes of generally any kind, especially those obsessed with politics, aren't fucking welcome here. This blog is here for me to look at content from people I like and affectionately blast my mutuals with whatever cracked up shit I come up with. If you can't help but be a piece of shit in my safe space, you can go fuck yourself.

Be kind. I don't care who you are, I don't care what you came here for, but if you can't bare to spare a shred of kindness when you talk to me, I don't want you interacting with my blog. You can criticize my art, the way I write, the way I talk, just how much I ramble, but if you can't be nice about it, I'd rather you say nothing at all.

Alright, that should be that.

If you wanna contact me, you can contact me on here through tumblr's messaging system, but you can also contact me on discord at .peppermintstars! If you're gonna friend me on discord, please warn me before you do. I don't have the best experience with randomly being friended and I may end up blocking you on instinct- I do have a twitter although I don't use it so I won't bother linking it until I start using it.

I hope to eventually start streaming sometime this year, be it with or without a 2d or 3d model, so if you wanna support me, you can find me on twitch and youtube!

I'll also give a list of the media I'm into and what you can expect me to be reblogging! Or at least looking at-

Cookie Run! Primarily ocs. (I don't know what the fuck is going on in the story rn and I need to get caught up-)

Persona 5 Royal and in subsequent, the Persona series in general.

Demon Slayer! (Or Kimetsu No Yaiba if you prefer to call it that.)

Pokemon. I like to watch the animes and if I can I'll get whatever new game comes out, even if I get it a bit late-

How To Train Your Dragon! Yes I'm still into HTTYD even years after the first movie came out. That shit ain't going no where.

Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact! Although the interest for these has diminished and isn't ever really consistent, I may as well list them because I either do play them or have played them.

Cult of The Lamb! I like Narilamb. I like Narinder. I've a thing for powerful higher beings in general okay-

Dungeons and Dragons! If you need a dm or an extra player for whatever reason, I am more than open to joining a campaign.

Dark Souls! And other souls-like games from FromSoftware- ties into the D&D thing because I get way too many ideas watching playthroughs of those games.

God of War! Again, the liking of powerful higher beings- also ties into D&D.

The Resident Evil series! Leon Kennedy is hot and Ethan Winters was a good dad.

FNAF! Alongside other such mascot horror games- Poppy Playtime included (mostly just for Dogday.)

Mythology and folklore! Hopefully evident by the fact I chose a kitsune as my persona on here- also connects into D&D again to no one's surprise.

That should be everything I can remember off the top of my head!

That's all, thank you for reading, have a good day, and here's a sleepy kitsune for your troubles!

[tutuandscoot]

One question is I’d like to ask Scott and Tessa is how they define leadership, in general, but mostly how they defined leadership within their partnership and what their roles in their partnership meant to them. I know they were once asked who was the leader of the Davis/White partnership and Scott answered that Meryl and Charlie led in very different ways. The way the question was asked struck me because I had mostly to that point only been interested in Tessa and Scott and the idea that just one would take on the “leadership role” was funny to me because they are so equal in my eyes and seemed to have such an equal partnership. But I suppose the dynamic of many partnerships, on and off ice and including theirs, has elements of one person taking on certain roles and responsibilities and the other person taking on different roles and responsibilities. And I suppose we could call that leadership in one area versus another, but I’m just curious how they would answer that since I would consider both of them to be role models and leaders. Do you have any thoughts?

Ok first off anon, I’m incredibly sorry for how atrociously late I’m answering this.

Secondly I love how you had a whole discussion on this topic yourself I enjoyed reading it and made me more curious! 😄

I agree I would love to hear them talk more about this. I can’t imagine the number of hours they spent discussing these things with councillors/ psychologists/JF in Montreal.. I find the whole psychological aspect of their partnership super fascinating.

I guess I’ll break some of my thoughts down into two main sections:

1. Leadership on the ice

So my view of this on the surface and from an occupational/dancer’s perspective is he is the leader on the ice. That is the rule in basically any traditional/classical form of dance (and it is a truely masterful skill for a team to perfect) so in compulsory dances/ballroom based programs that is the dynamic in terms of initiating movement. It should never look as though she is moving before he moves her. Ie if they were to start improvising he is the one leading and she goes where he takes her, or if you watch both Tango Romantica and/or Golden Waltz, the bit of chore both times in the top right corner (from the judges view) there is a ballroomish step where they are turning and stepping around each other (in TR it’s just once in GW there’s 3 of them) and he is very clearly taking her around each of those turns- so initiating her movements. This lead-follow dynamic is an area VM EXCEL in. I have always felt a strong responsibility of leadership from Scott and I love that bc as the girl in the partnership there is nothing worse than feeling your partner isn’t protecting you, doesn’t have your back, isn’t making you look your best- and T never had to worry about that. It’s also something that comes off to me as a very emotional part of their partnership- watching them skate and legitimately being able to feel that sense of protection, commitment, safety from him. This male partner-leadership extends into their more modern programs as well that aren’t as traditional in style/execution such as Carmen/latch/MR, you still feel him in charge despite in some of those T being the dominant presence. He manages to lead the movement/structure of the program without stepping in the way of T’s character intentions, he doesn’t out-shine her character but instead plays perfectly complementary to her.

Him being such a strong male partner and leader within this on-ice partnership is one of the things I find most attractive about Scott/ one of the many reasons I respect him so much.. this coming from me as a dancer. Tessa is one hell of a woman to have to lead and (I’ve said this before) for him to have found and settled into that role-as he has said he was always intimidated by her 😭, I’d say very early on- like the first few years of the partnership (AT LIKE 11/12 YEARS OLD) is remarkable. There are ice dance teams I watch who are in their 30’s and the men still haven’t figured that out. For me as a female it is unnerving to watch a team and feel like the man isn’t leading. In a dance of two people and especially being the non-lifting (while it is still a male/female team sport, so- the female) partner, if it looks like the girl is doing more work, having to make herself shine, feels like she’s one beat ahead of the man, it feels uncomfortable to watch, and while from the audience pov/knowledge there may be strong male leadership, if it doesn’t look like there is from the audience it makes harder to watch* (*feel secure watching them skate). In VM’s case its not to say Scott didn’t work incredibly hard at it (they as a team) but as he is so clearly a naturally gifted skater/mover/artist this too seems to be a quality he was capable of perfecting.

In this discussion of on ice leadership though, it’s important to say that it is not all on Scott to be solely *the leader*. For this to work it is just as necessary for Tessa to be responsible for her role in this. I like how when they were doing an interview after a performance of Carmen that Scott pushed back on the idea that he is ‘taking a back seat to Tessa in the program’, this is a great example of their roles in their partnership in remaining -him leading, despite the flip in typical character dominance.

The (one of many) reason they are the best team ever is the way they approach their respective roles, this is where I would want/need to hear far more from them on this topic, but the way in which S leads T is made possible by the way T let’s him lead her. And the reason he makes her look as good as she does is because she is not waiting for him to make her look good- she does everything to be prepared for him to then put her on a pedestal and shine. While their roles may be slightly different, what is crucial is that they work in complete harmony- it’s like Yin and Yang..

I was watching one of their comps recently- I can’t remember which, but comparing them to other teams- in this instance I’m comparing them to WeaPo, the difference (at least to me) is: you are drawn to watching Tessa bc Scott makes Tessa look good and makes you watch her bc it is all he is watching and thinking about, WeaPo I watch her-not bc he is making her look good, but bc she is out-performing him/the performances they are each giving do not feel compatible-there is always something a bit off about it. Now, without knowing much about that team (in the way I understand VM) I wouldn’t go into more detail/assumptions. I’m sure they had what they felt between them was chemistry, but it didn’t come off anywhere close to as natural as VM’s did. As I said, VM work in perfect harmony- the ebbing and flowing of their role’s in their partnership, characters in any given program, who is having an off day/a bit injured, setting their literal rhythm as breathing humans to the exact same timing several times before every performance/practice using the hug… there is so much nuance there and as much as they worked for it I would say a huge amount is written in the stars chemistry ✨

2. Leadership in general

This is where I want to push back- not on something you said, but the way people in these team situations are asked by others/the media etc, who is the leader.. as if there is some definitive black and white answer.

[and not that I feel this is always the intention, but when you think deeper about it there is an element of sexism there- like the man SHOULD be the leader but if the team says the women is the leader in their partnership there are then negative assumptions made about her.. I DON’T think about it this way but it is inevitably an element of it].

Having said that, as I said above, in an ice dance partnership (a heterosexual, man/woman) the man SHOULD be the leader- but in that fact I don’t think the media/ most people probing this question understand the nuance of that and how much equality there is (In VM’s case their is, idk about others) in a dance partnership.

I think equality is a huge thing for VM and I don’t think they think of themselves as one being the leader over the other. I think it is predominantly the media that tried to put that label on them. Off the ice I also see them as equals, though it’s clear T has always had that stronger interest in the business side of their business partnership- though I (personally) wouldn’t label it as a leadership role.

Without them giving more detail on the topic of leadership I think it is hard to speculate/come to our own conclusions. The closest thing I can remember them saying in the topic was when asked who is the team captain and they insisted they are both the team captain and they are incredibly proud of that fact- that they share everything (water bottles, medals, heartbeats, etc), and while they each have their strengths and “weaknesses” they work incredible hard as a team to embrace everything about each other that makes their partnership the best ever. They respect each other IMMENSELY and if they were asked point black, imo I really think they would say neither of them is the leader/they are both the leaders- and when they would change every cringey/rude/none of anyones business question about their private lives into talking about how much they respect each other and how proud they are of the work they had put in for literally 25+ straight years at this point (they.will.always.be.partners.) it really is bc it’s the truth- and I think in the fact that it is hard for us on our own to determine who of them was the ‘leader’ in various aspects of their partnership- just goes to show all the work they put in and how they truly are equals who could not have achieved everything they did without anyone else by their side but each other 💖

[heinzpilsner]

Okay, it's time for the next exciting part of the 'Overanalyzing beach Maiko' series!

In the previous episode, we finally left behind the jealous rampage scene thank god, and now we'll deal with the consequences! Yay!

I'm a bit too happy about it, am I?

Today I'm not in the mood for long procrastinating jokes I wonder why, so let's get right to the business of dissecting Maiko's heated break-up dialogue, shall we?

So, what do we have here?

Mai: "Zuko, what is wrong with you?"

A legitimate question.

Zuko: "What's wrong with me?"

Much less legitimate question. I mean, what exactly Zuko tried to accuse Mai of at this point? Her supposed infidelity? But what if she was in the process of telling "sorry, I have a boyfriend" at the moment of Zuko's attack? Or what - was she supposed to hiss like a cat and hit Ruon-Jian with a knife the moment he spoke to her or something?

(A sidenote: Zuko's reaction could mean one important thing: he was angry at Mai just for liking another boy.

Even ignoring the unfoudedness of Zuko's assumption, the problem is, people can't really control their feelings. Only their behavior - and even that to a certain extent (passion is a thing and all).

So, unless Mai flirted (which would hint on her desire to commit an act of infidelity) with Ruon-Jian or downright cheated on Zuko, resenting her wasn't rational and wouldn't improve the situation in a slightest.

But... Perhaps Zuko in his inadequate state just saw flirting where there was none of it.)

Anyway, boy, even if you don't realize it at the moment, you've just thoroughly screwed up. It's really not a good time for you to go into offense here!

Mai: "Your temper is out of control. You blow up over every little thing. You're so impatient and hotheaded and angry!"

Well, there are far more issues with Zuko's behavior than that, but I have to give Mai credit here - she was able to look beyond particulars of the moment and detect that there's something weird going on with her boyfriend.

... Well, either that, or she simply didn't notice all the other problems here, which could say a lot about Mai's life views.

But if it's the former, the fact that she decided to focus on this aspect in particular is... quite curious.

It actually could speak of her concern for Zuko (and she kinda sounded concerned with her "What's wrong with you" question)... were it not for the fact it heavily contradicts her recent actions.

Sorry, Maiko fans, but the "bring me food" thing is not something I can simply dismiss. It maybe seems small, but it shows way too clearly Mai's current attitude that is incompatible with true caring either for others in general, or for Zuko in particular. And it took place just a couple of minutes before the scene!

(Most likely the creators didn't realise it, but what can I say? I'm analysing the material, not intentions behind it.)

So, not that there is anything wrong with caring about yourself in the first place, but I'd say Mai during the break-up dialogue was concerned mostly/only about her own interests.

And of all the problematic things that were exaggerated or manifested by Zuko's psychological instability (including tendency towards physical aggression, irrational jealousy, lack of trust and respect towards his girlfriend and a long list of potentially harmful attitudes), the ones that bothered Mai the most were... his trademark personality flaws.

Huh.

Of course, Zuko's psychological state was the real issue here. But Mai didn't stop after just "your temper is out of control", did she?

The problem is, being hot-headed, impatient and prone to anger is not some anomaly of the day! It's a most typical manifestation of Zuko's temperament under stressful conditions, and it will never go way entirely even after all the wrong attitudes in his head will be fixed.

And when you choose yourself a life partner, you should be ready that it will not always be rainbows and awfully orange sunshine with them, you know.

(I'm not stating here what you shold tolerate any kind of shit from your partner. That's not the point. My point is... Ah, I'm a zutarian, draw your own conclusions here.)

In short, instead of focusing on real problems, Mai just scolded Zuko for being himself. Brilliant thinking!

Zuko: "Well, at least I feel something, as opposed to you. You have no passion for anything! You're just a big blah!"

... Oh-oh. Boy, it was a wrong answer. Like, a really really wrong answer.

As a zutarian, I fully approve of it though pffft

Basically, Zuko totally ignored "temper is out of control" part and said to a rightfully angry Mai who already thought he was too much of a trouble that her personality* sucks. If he was still hoping to save the relationship after this (why would he though?), his brain definitely short circuited.

(*Actually, lack of "passion for anything" can't be considered someone's personality - unless what we're really talking about is phlegmatic temperament, it's a big problem. But I'll elaborate on it in later parts if I ever manage to figure out what is "it" at all in the mess of Mai's character)

But I must say, Zuko's answer gives us a ridiculous amount of data to work with.

And one of the most notable details here is the ironic paradox of his accusation. Which is:

Zuko basically scolded Mai for not feeling anything and not having passion right after she yelled at him passionately.

... Lol.

I'd say something does not quite add up here, does it?

But like all paradoxes, the situation is actually not all that strange when you describe it more thoroughly.

And it has two possible explanations.

Either Zuko just responded to Mai's critique outside of the situational context...

(And thus admitted that he was frustrated with Mai's usual personality for quite some time. ... Even though before "The Beach" he didn't seem to mind her "lack of passion" all that much. Huh.)

...Or Mai's personality wasn't Zuko's real problem with her at the moment.

If you think about it, apart from unusual emotional outburst (and imaginary interest in another guy) there was nothing new about Mai this day - except for one little thing, of course.

Today she was expressing much less of affection towards Zuko than before.

You know what's the sad thing though?

Both of these hypotheses could be right simultaneously. That is, Zuko became frustrated with Mai's personality and her lack of love this day.

I'd speculate here that Zuko loves Mai mostly in response to her "love" for him. The guy doesn't really need all that much - just someone to love and be loved by (preferably with a pretty face and noble status, but I'm sure different options were possible). Mai just was the first girl around who laid her hands on him in a moment of vulnerability.

But when her affection is gone, it turns out he doesn't really like her all that much.

Of course, he tells her "sweet" things like "You're beautiful when you hate the world", but... Can we state with certainty that he wouldn't prefer something different to admire in a girl if he had a choice?

(Well, technically, he has a choice - but mostly in theory. Zuko leads a pretty isolated life, and there are simply no other interested girls around - except for crazy royalty fans apparently, but security holds them at bay alright. Besides, Mai is already here, and from Zuko's date with Jin we know that he was willing first to sacrifice his dignity, and then to risk his freedom/life(!) just because he couldn't stand to see a girl with him sad. So, as long as he believes he's loved, he'll try and make this relationship work despite everything.)

"It's over, Zuko. We're done."

Oh no! What a schocking surprise!

It was the best part of the episode if you ask me

The notable thing though is that Mai looked genuinely sad after she said it. I guess it was the writer's way to say once again: "Look, she actually cares!"

I can interpret this emotion on Mai's face in a thousands of different ways though:

"I had to drop a guy because he hated my deep personality. Again!"

"My prince suddenly turned into a badgerfrog. What a dissapointment."

"Aww, I really liked his butt though".

"Oh damn, I just lost my free source of fruit tarts. I didn't really think this through, did I?"

"Why, oh why I have to be such a tragic and misunderstood character? It's all my mother's fault. That bitch."

(You can add to this list if you like, it's hilarious.)

The point is, you can't really use this sad look as a full-fledged argument.

(Of course, it's my personal way of solving the psychological contradictions of the writing. But seriously, I don't make the rules here - the "bring me food" moment outweighs all the ambiguous sad looks altogether.)

Anyway, after this Zuko was disgracefully banished from the party for damaging property, so the pair will see each other next time only after some lonely walking and reflections.

But we'll save this material for the next mysterious part of the 'overanalyzing beach Maiko' series! Yay!

(The end of the episode is really heavy with polylogue and all the girls being suddenly possessed by a local ghost of amateur psychoanalytic, so I'll have to think about the best way to approach the analysis. Until then...)

Thanks for your attention.

I still ignore all notifications.

P. S.: While I was writing this, I realized another possible mechanism behind Zuko's irrational jealousy! So perhaps we'll actually make a little detour next time, hmm.

(Ugh, the more I analyze Maiko, the more I want to scream. I mean, to hell with zutara - I'd be satisfied with just those two people staying as far from each other as possible! Dfghkhafffg!)

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 8: Outlier

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Also on AO3

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The builder was late. Exceedingly late.

How unusual.

They weren’t a creature of exact habit, but they consistently arrived to stargaze around 10:36 PM, on average. Standard deviation was about 8 minutes before or after. The longest delay on record was 28 minutes, when they returned late from the ruins.

It was currently 11:23.

Qi wasn’t even looking at the sky at this point. He kept his gaze fixed on the landing of the stairs, ears open to catch the recognizable rhythm of their footsteps. Nothing.

11:24.

Whenever they were late, they always had a legitimate reason. He knew that the fluctuating demand of their work could force some deviations in their schedule.

11:25.

He couldn’t help but wonder, though. What could be causing such a large delay?

11:26.

Probably the water tower job. In order to bomb-proof (and therefore Logan-proof) the new tower, a large amount of steel was required, and it all had to be forged and secured properly.

11:27.

Were they still on a ruin dive? They did need a lot of iron, after all. Did they…get trapped somewhere?

11:28.

Perhaps it would be prudent to ask the Civil Corps, incompetent as they may be.

11:29.

Perhaps he should check himself. After all, only the builder was able to come to his aid when he was trapped in the ruins.

11:30.

Qi stood up and looked towards their workshop. He saw the faint glow of the furnaces, and thankfully, a figure that ambled to and fro around the yard. On the assembly station were the beginnings of the tower frame’s legs. It looked like the builder still had a lot to do.

Technically his question had been answered at this point. The builder was still working, therefore they did not come to the research center that night. But he felt compelled to get more details. Why? Because of his good habit of fully answering any inquiries he made, of course. No other reason.

------------

The builder’s back was to Qi as he approached their front gate. They were over by the furnaces, shoveling in ore from a large pile. Seeing that they likely wouldn’t see him, Qi made his way inside.

There was no way they would hear his approaching footsteps over the din of the machines. They would most certainly startle when he called attention to himself, much like that one time with the telescope. Best to keep quiet until they were in a safe enough place to be distracted.

He watched their movements carefully as the shovel went from the furnace to the ore pile and back again. Finally, they closed the furnace door, sticking the shovel upright into the pile and wiping the sweat off their brow. Now was an acceptable moment.

“Builder.”

They jumped at the sound of his voice, as expected. If they were still loading ore, they might’ve injured their hand when he spoke. They looked at him over their shoulder, expression devoid of their usual high energy.

“Oh. Hey.” They turned back to the furnace to monitor the molten rock. “Sorry I couldn’t make it. Busy. As you can see.”

“Understandable. With recent events, I imagine that you are dealing with increased demand.”

“Mm-hmm.” The builder grabbed their tongs and picked a fresh bar out of another furnace.

“In retrospect, I probably should have expected this. Don’t feel as if you have inconvenienced me in any way.”

The builder took a peek at the grinders, which were finishing up some rivets. “Well, looks like I at least inconvenienced you enough for you to come all the way out here.”

Qi shook his head. “Hardly. I wanted to know of your whereabouts, especially when you’ve deviated from your regular habits so drastically.”

They paused for a moment, looking back at Qi with a lopsided grin. “Aw, were you worried about me?”

The furnace suddenly seemed much more interesting to look at. “…Moreso curious about the breaking of a well-established pattern. I have trained myself to be observant of outliers and deviations like these and to question their causes, as any half-decent scientist would.”

The builder chuckled and turned back to the grinder to pick up the finished rivets. “If you say so.” They shuffled around him to get to their workbench and the unfinished steel frame sitting on top, screwing the rivets in.

Qi regarded their flat expression as they tinkered away. “You also seem more fatigued than usual.”

“More than you know,” the builder sighed. They frowned at the bench. “Y’know what? This is never gonna get done tonight.” They dropped their screwdriver and threw up their hands. “I’m thirsty. You want anything to drink? I’ve got some iced tea.”

“Tea, please.”

The builder nodded and went inside, leaving Qi in the yard with the whirring machinery. Looking around, careful to keep his hands and tie at a safe distance, he did a cursory inspection of the state of the machines. Everything seemed to be in order…but the builder probably needed to sharpen their processor saw soon. It should be cutting the steel faster than that.

“Here.” The builder reappeared beside him, holding out a glass of tea while sipping from their own. Qi took it and drank. Decent tea. Not strong enough to substitute for his own brew, though. “Don’t have enough space for a table and chairs out here, so I guess we can just sit over there,” they said, pointing to the empty space on the assembly station.

The two of them settled down on the edge facing the inside of the yard, right between the tower’s legs and the sizable pile of steel beams, waiting to be propped up. There they sat in silence, sipping tea and idly watching the machines do their jobs.

Qi was the one who broke the silence. “Um…if you want to save some time…your processor saw needs sharpening. An optimal saw would be able to cut the steel you need about 3% faster.”

“Sharpening the saw takes a whole hour. And a lot of band-aids.”

“Even so, the 3% difference should be able to make up for around 2 hours. It’s a net time save.”

The builder hummed. “Good to know.”

Qi looked over at them. The glow from the furnace illuminated their blank stare. He recognized it as a sign of preoccupation, much like whenever he was deeply immersed in solving a problem.

“Are you in the middle of parsing your thoughts? I understand if you are. It’s a regular occurrence for me. I can give you some time alone if I’m being distracting.”

“Hm? No, it’s fine. I’ve had plenty of time to dwell on it by myself.”

“Perhaps you’d like to try externalizing them instead? Sometimes talking through a problem out loud is more effective than trying to muddle with the abstract ideas in your head.”

“You’re okay with hearing me complain about basically everything in my life right now?”

“I was the one who offered, wasn’t I?”

“Alright, well…” They frowned at the ground, trying to figure out how they wanted to explain themselves. Several times, they looked like they were about to start, but then quickly shook their head and kept thinking. Finally, they let out a frustrated grunt.

“Ugh, I guess… Well, we just built a whole bridge, Qi,” they huffed, as if that could clarify the source of their frustrations.

“Er…yes, that is correct. We finished the bridge construction about a week ago.”

“And now look where we are!”

Qi swiveled his head around to get a good look. “…The yard of your homestead?”

“No, no! Like, look at the state of the town and everything!”

“Ahh, as in, look at the fact that we’re experiencing yet another crisis that affects the entire town’s survival and livelihood so soon after the last one. And the one before that.”

The builder nodded vigorously. “Exactly! Thought I could take it nice and easy for a bit with the sandrunning job, y’know, get a good break in. But nooo, the tower just had to blow up.”

“The incident is a most unfortunate coincidence.”

“And of course, because of our good buddy ol’ pal Yan, I’m saddled with most of the work. While Mi-an’s been shafted again.”

“It is rather unusual that Mi-an is always allocated the less prodigious work when it comes to these infrastructure projects.”

“And then because sandrunning never got off the ground, guess who gets to be Catori’s earpiece for all her woes? ‘Oh builder, this was supposed to be the biggest thing for Sandrock! Oh builder, maybe you could stop by the Game Center and toss a couple gols my way, that’s the only way I can get a return on investment now!’”

“Her persistence runs a thin line between foolish and admirable. Perhaps she should invest more in attraction quality over quantity.”

“And Logan!” They were shouting now. “Light, don’t even get me started on Logan! Everybody’s already jumped to conclusions and they’re yelling about it nonstop! Church people’re screaming in one ear about throwing him in jail already, and Elsie’s screaming in my other ear about how we haven’t proven him innocent three years ago! Like this whole situation’s open and shut! Like it’s not a damn human being we’re dealing with here!!”

The builder buried their face in their hands and let out a muffled scream of agony to the heavens. They were frozen like that for a second after it faded into silence, after which they put their hands down with a loud sigh. Qi could only stare with widened eyes as their frustrations dissipated into the open air, like the smoke from the furnaces.

“…Sorry,” they muttered. “Didn’t mean to go that far.”

“…I wasn’t quite expecting that, but it seems to have been cathartic for you. And your point of view certainly has logical merit. No need to apologize.”

They sighed again, running an antsy hand through their hair. “It’s not like I don’t want to help everyone. I really do. But–ugh. Sometimes…it–it’s just too much.”

“And you’d be rational for stating that,” said Qi, prompting a surprised look from the builder. “You are far and away one of the most effective residents here, but remember that you are still allowed to pick and choose where your efforts are best needed. Especially with the more…frivolous matters in town.”

The builder blinked. “Oh, that’s…honestly just what I needed to hear,” they murmured. “Everyone’s looking for me to do everything they wanna get done and say everything they wanna hear. I just felt like I couldn’t ever say no.”

“They would be foolish for wishing for complete satisfaction like that. Let alone from a single person.”

“Maybe so…” They idly rolled a pebble around with their shoes, lost in thought. “I just don’t want to wreck the goodwill I have with the other townsfolk. With the stress everyone’s been feeling over the water tower, I feel like if I tell someone ‘no, sorry, I really can’t do that right now’, it’ll make me look selfish. Like I don’t care about their problems too.”

Not a predicament that Qi ever found himself in. He always knew what to prioritize in his research, whim of the townsfolk be damned. The relationship he had with them was a general sense of inherent, if begrudging respect. He could produce high-quality diagrams in a timely manner when they were deemed important and necessary, and in return, he was given peace and quiet, valuable data disks, and relatively free reign over the direction of his own research. In his mind, perfectly mutualistic.

He hummed. “I don’t see why it’d be hard to turn away one or two frivolous requests. Especially if you tell them that it’s a matter of workload. I do it all the time.”

“Well, yeah, but uh…” The builder’s face screwed up into something between a wince and a grimace, shoulders hunched. “You don’t…really… Oh man, how do I say this?”

“…I don’t really have enough rapport with the townsfolk for a little callousness to damage it?” he filled in.

Their face went blank for a second as they processed what he just said. “Uh. Yeah. That. Basically.”

“Ah. Well, I’m afraid I can’t quite relate to your situation, then. Do consider my approach though, even a little bit. You might find it helpful.”

The builder put a hand on their chin and frowned. “Let me see if I can explain it another way…” The whir of machinery filled his ears again as he watched them think. Their eyes suddenly widened. “Oh! I know! You said you can always turn down a task someone gives you if you don’t think it’s important. But you know who you’ve never turned down a request from? Me!”

Qi’s mind froze. “R…really?” He ran through all the diagrams he remembered drawing up for them. Better furnaces, better processors, better grinders, a generator, dew collectors… “But those were all necessary. The things you requested were critical to your work, which itself is critical to the town’s well-being.”

“Oh yeah? What about that mirror for Pen? Or the fake Yakmel ‘buffoonery’ for Cooper? You probably would’ve turned those guys down, but you still did it when I came on their behalf.”

It was true. The ranch man and the homunculus man were two of the least welcome people in the research center. If the builder hadn’t come as their proxy, there was no way he would have tolerated those two enough to accept the jobs.

“I…suppose that is true,” Qi begrudged.

“And I think it’s pretty safe to say that you and me are a little more buddy-buddy than you and anyone else in this town.”

“Mm-hmm…”

“So if you turned down a request from me, even if I told you how important it was…don’t you think you’d feel at least a little bit bad? Take that and apply it to everyone else and that’s what I’m feeling.”

Qi tried to picture a scenario like that in his head. But somehow, all that came to mind again was that first night with the telescope. The look of surprise when he dismissed them, the biting remark dripping with thinly-veiled frustration, the odd twinge in his stomach, the worry that he had driven them off. He was hesitant to admit it, but the builder was absolutely correct.

So he deflected instead. “…You know that this means I’ll try to turn down your next diagram request just to see if you react negatively, right?”

They smirked. “Would you?”

Would he?

“We’ll see,” he said, earning a snort from the builder. “In any case, I believe I understand your position somewhat better now. Now there’s only to determine which of us has the right idea.”

“Who says only one of us can be right?” the builder shrugged. “I do care for everyone that’s asking me to do things, but I still need to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Er–a metaphorical line, I mean.”

Qi nodded. “It’s just a matter of picking and choosing.”

“Yeah,” they sighed. “And that’s the hard part.”

Their words trailed off into silence that settled on the two of them once again. They stared straight ahead again at the machines chugging away. Qi took his first sip from his glass in a while, frowning when he tasted the diluted tea with no ice.

“Hey,” the builder murmured. Qi looked back over to see them with a warm smile, made even warmer by the light of the furnace. “Thanks. That helped. A lot. Not out of the woods yet, but I think I can figure it out now.”

Qi shrugged and looked away, finding their gaze almost searing. “I was just stating what was most logical,” he muttered, but he couldn’t deny the spark of levity he felt at their words.

The builder hummed. “Still.” They lazily rolled their head back, gazing up at the stars with tired eyes. They let out another sigh, this one sounding more wistful than frustrated. “Y’know, sometimes I feel like I’m the only sane one in this town.”

Qi snorted. “A sentiment I am very well-acquainted with.”

They raised their nearly-empty glass. “Sane together?”

He clinked his glass against theirs. “Sane together.”

------------

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[leviathan-supersystem]

I can in fact ask marginally related questions, hell, even completely different ones if I so please

obviously, and if i think your question is stupid i can say so. if you say something and someone criticizes what you say, they're not violating your freedom of speech, they're exercising their own.

I do agree with the USA should not send money to Israel, or pretty much anywhere else, probably 90+% of it could be kept at home and the world would not be any worse off.

And?

okay, so you agree fundamentally with the point of the post, so it's moronic for you to go out of your way to pick a fight on a post that you ultimately agree with.

I am still curious if you or people seeing the post and feeling like answering it, think that the palestinians would be able to achieve their goals often expressed if not for the US military aid.

it would be foolish to pretend to know whether the palestinians would achieve their goals without US aid to israel, so my honest answer is "i don't know whether palestine would succeed without US aid to israel, but i'm very interested to find out."

[edit: also whether palestine succeeds or not will come down just as much, if not moreso, to how much support palestine gets from other countries like syria, iran, etc.]

Anyways, I think it is absolutely bonkers to say it is not genocide by the allies because they killed more soldiers in the war, when the bombing campaigns were specifically aimed at the civilian population.

depends on which bombing campaign you mean, plenty of bombing campaigns were directed at military targets. at any rate, genocide is not an isolated one-off act of violence, the word you're looking for is "war crime", genocide would be a sustained persistent pattern of disregard for civilian life, with the intent to eradicate a particular (usually ethnic) group. if the allies had sustained the level of disregard they showed for civilian life they showed at dresden you might have a point, but within the broader context of world war 2 it's clear those were individual instances of war crimes in a war effort by the allies that for the most part was aimed at legitimate targets ie. combatants. the same cannot be said for israel which has showed a persistent pattern of disregard for civilian life through the course of this war.

now, that in itself doesn't necessarily prove genocide, but then add to that the fact that this disregard for civilian lives is being demonstrated against a minority population within their own country, and well,

(Also, I might be wrong, but I think the italians killed less civilians then soldiers, in which case their concentration camps would be what, oopsies?)

(Also, I might be wrong

yeah man you might.

at any rate, it seems you forgot the point you were trying to argue? now instead of arguing that persistent disregard for civillian life isn't a possible red flag of a genocide occurring, now you're arguing that even if a country is mostly killing combatants, they can still be genocidal, and in this case it seems you're saying the determining factor is not disregard for civilian life, but rather... the presence of concentration camps?

okay well this is an incredibly bad tactic for you to use given that:

A: the united states also had concentration camps during WWII, see the japanese interment camps. note that i, and most people, do not consider this to mean the united states committed genocide against japanese americans (and i'm extremely willing to accuse the USA of genocide, but the notion that the usa committed genocide against japanese americans is ludicrous)

B: israel right now also has concentration camps, even if you don't buy the argument that gaza itself constitutes an open air concentration camp (although the argument is fundamentally sound) then more recent developments like the Sde Teiman detention camp fit that definition even more closely.

at any rate using "existence of concentration camps" as a metric for whether genocide is occurring is also a bad metric because many genocides, like the rwandan genocide, generally took place outside of camps and killings took the form more of people being shot in the street in the course of the rwandan civil war, a civil war which also constitutes a genocide given the level of disregard for civilian life and the ethnic lines the conflict was drawn along.

I am also of the opinion that their apartheid is justified, seeing how every time the israelis eased up on the security measures, they got bombed buses and the like.

in order for this claim to hold water israel would have had to have actually eased up on the apartheid at some point, which they have not. and as a counter-factual, has netanyahu's policy of increasing the apartheid and antagonism towards palestinians resulted in peace and security for israelis? no? hm.

and like, honestly it's so so so clear that you don't even really want to be denying this genocide. what you want to be doing is defending it. you can barely put in any effort to downplay israel's crimes but you put plenty of effort into smearing muslims as worthy of death. but for some reason you're too cowardly to just come out and say that, so you're doing this whole little dance and it's just really not very convincing.

just like the jews have a long and horrible history going back forever,

I want you to understand that I am not on their side at all.

incredible how you can't even briefly pretend to not be antisemitic. it would be so easy for you to score points in this argument by presenting yourself as a defender of the jewish people and yet the best you can do is saying that you hate jewish people marginally less than muslims. incredible.

The main difference is they proved themselves to be able to exist in secular and progressive societies,

oh yeah you seem like a big fan of progressivism.

they'll fund a genocide and let their poor regions be destroyed. don't fucking forgive them for that.

my hometown is completely gone from what pictures i can find of it, i have not heard from my family (including aunts, uncles, parents, one sibling, and a grandparent), and the infrastructure in the mountain communities is wiped out. i cannot stress how catastrophic this is, or how difficult it will be for these communities to build back. i am angry, and scared, and heartbroken by everything that's happened.

and our government is spending it's money to fund a genocide.

free palestine, and don't be complicit. realize that this is not something happening that doesn't affect you--although it shouldn't take this to care about the deaths of thousands of people anyway.