#I think sometimes it's a genuine misunderstanding of the term

[menlove]

the way this website balks at the term "culturally christian" is so funny to me like. oh shit you mean the religion our government and culture is structured around might impact you even if you're atheist and ESPECIALLY if you're ex-christian? noooo it's the people using it to describe a phenomenon of western culture that are wrong

[psychotrenny]

One of the more depressing effects of systemic transmisogyny is the way some trans women get so desperate for any validation thar they start praising chasers. And not just specific chasers who gave them an apparently "good" experience, but with the entire concept of chasers as a whole. It's like they feel flattered by the idea of people seeing their transness as a positive characteristic, something that makes them attractive and special, while ignoring the way that even "best case" that attraction stems from a place of dehumanisation which sees you as merely part of a class of sex objects rather than an actual individual person. I say "best case" because for many chasers their attraction to transfeminity comes less from a desire for those associated characteristics in a vacuum, an inexplicably desire for girlcock or what have you, but from the vulnerability (both personal emotional and systemically socio-economic) that TMA people experience making them much easier to exploit and abuse

Like Pro-Chaser sentiment is a product of people completely misunderstanding what a Chaser is and what they do. No matter how lonely you are it doesn't do any good to see Chasers as some easy outlet for sex and validation; their treatment of transfems isn't just degrading but is often outright dangerous to an even greater extent than your average TME individual. Not the sort of people you want to be spending any time around

And sometimes you even see this sort of sentiment, this desire to be loved by someone who only loves you as a tranny because at least it's some sort of love you can get as a tranny, creep through when others are treating Chasers in a critical or mocking way. Like the Halimede MF twitter account's whole deal is roleplaying as a (somewhat exaggerated but still recognisable) specific sort of Lesbian Chaser; the "harmless transfeminist girl" if you will. Regardless of what you think of the bit, it's very clearly a bit. It's largely meant to be funny, but certainly not flattering to the kind of chaser Halimede embodies.

Most of the transfems I know recognise this, on one level or another, but you sometimes see girls express an almost genuine longing for her. A desperation for affection so great that it bleeds into how they treat a caricatured depiction of someone that is predatory on a fundamental level, just because it represents a "real woman" capable of feigning some shadow of respect for their identity and struggles despite the obviously dehumanising way with which this character regards trans women and their anatomy. Sure a lot of this "I want Halimede" stuff is just playing along with the joke, but some of it has enough genuine sentiment behind the irony that it makes you worry. To put it in Tumblr terms, HalimedeMF is another example of "You missed the point by idolising her". Which isn't to blame the individuals; the fact it happens at all is just another manifestation of a much larger and more horrible system. But it's saddening how attempts to criticise our oppression, even light-heartedly, can end up just reflecting it back into our faces. We need to do better than this

[yawnzbf]

LDS boys x reader who's quite oblivious to their feelings?!?

| Partner who is quite obvious to the boys’ feelings |

Lnd boys x gn! Oblivious! Reader

Xavier

Xavier will wait for you to realize your feelings on your own terms giving you time and affection

He will be so soft and sweet to you, the man’s just happy to spend time with you

Sometimes while training together, he’d purposely let you win so can watch to celebrate.

When he does something a bit flirty, you’re dumbfounded- ears red eyes unable to meet his.

Though he isn’t the best person around to have in the kitchen, he makes an effort to learn how to cook your favourite dish.

A particularly strong hit from you caught Xavier off guard. He stumbled backwards, feigning a loss of balance, and fell to the floor with a dramatic thud. Concern immediately washed over your face as you rushed forward, your weapon forgotten, to check on your fallen comrade.

"Xavier! Are you alright? I should have been more careful," you said, worry etched across your features as you held him still.

Xavier lay there, seemingly dazed, looking up at you with a mysterious glint in his eyes. A whisper echoed through, "Woah... you look pretty from here."

Your concern shifted to confusion, and you tilted your head, trying to make sense of his words. "Hm? You said something? But I can't believe I was able to defeat one of the top-performing hunters today!" you exclaimed, once you registered the accomplishment, your attention torn between victory and the well-being of your sparring partner.

"Congrats on the win, you did great," Xavier replied, his hands reaching up to gently cup your face. The touch was unexpected, and you blushed slightly at the unexpected closeness. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of admiration and devotion.

Zayne

Zayne, although busy throughout the day, would set aside time for you to spend it with you even when you insist on him utilizing it to rest

His type of love would be acts of service and gift giving, getting you small things

^^ for example when you unconsciously ramble on how you were recently into doodling and sketching so he brings in a sketchbook for you to fill up )):

Or when you wanted to have crushed ice in the middle of the summer, he’d use his evol to help you out

He’d keep in one of your doodles on his office desk- a constant reminder of you that put a smile on his face

Dr. Zayne peered over the rim of his glasses, his expression a mix of concern and amusement. The soft hum of medical equipment echoed in the small examination room, creating an oddly serene backdrop to the unfolding conversation.

"Your heart's racing again," he remarked, the corner of his lips lifting in a half-smile. "May I ask why?"

"Really? I don't know, Dr. Zayne. This happens every time I'm near you. Do you think this is some kind of allergy?" you ask genuinely worried.

Laughter almost spills from his lips at the question, “I don’t think that is medically possible, perhaps this is because of some different matters..” Xavier trails off, eyes hinting at something you aren’t sure of.

While you are left confused- oblivious even to his intentions!

Rafayel

This man will not stop pestering you, constantly throwing flirty lines at you even when you shoot him down again and again :(

Unlike the other two, immediately after he recognizes his own feelings, he’s all over you

Although when the topic of actually confessing comes up, he’s all shy and red in the face, and when you misunderstand his confession- he gets all pouty not talking to you for days

“y/nn!” he whines over the phone, “I need you here right now! You’re my bodyguard, right?! There’s this hideous bug near my canvas, please come quick,” he hurriedly says cutting of the call before you can even reply.

You roll your eyes as you hear his dramatic plea through the phone. It's not the first time he's called you for something trivial. Sighing, you decide to play along with his antics and head to his house.

When you arrive, you find him standing on a chair, gesturing wildly at the bug near his canvas. "Y/nn, thank goodness you're here! This bug is a threat to my masterpiece! Can you please get rid of it?" he says, looking genuinely distressed.

You can't help but chuckle at his exaggerated reaction. "Alright, alright, calm down. It's just a bug," you reassure him. You take a step forward and swat the bug away, making sure to make a show of it. "There, problem solved. Your masterpiece is safe," you tease.

He looks at you with wide eyes, a mix of relief and admiration in them. "You're my hero, y/nn! Always coming to my rescue," he says, a mysterious glint in his eyes. As you share a laugh, you notice a hint of vulnerability in his expression.

"You know," he starts, scratching the back of his head nervously, "I... um, appreciate you being around. More than just for bug emergencies, I mean." He glances away, his cheeks turning a shade of pink.

He hesitates and finally blurts out, "I like having you around, y/nn. More than just for emergencies." You raise an eyebrow, not fully grasping the weight of his words.

“I mean, I hope you do,” you start, giving him a small smile. Upon hearing your words, he’s not talking to you for the rest of the week, while you wonder if you had said something wrong.

Sorry you had to wait this late but I was busy with moving into uni and lyf happened, although be ready to be fed more often now!!

[theforesteldritch]

This is going to be hard to articulate properly, but I feel like there's a strange phenomenon where some people will amplify intersex people on the topic of IGM and condemn IGM without issue (which, to be clear, in and of itself, is a good thing) but then are entirely ignorant to, sometimes because of genuine ignorance, but too often due to the equivalent of plugging their ears and going 'lalala I can't hear you', the issue of medical abuse when it comes to older intersex people. I saw someone once agreeing with how horrific and damaging IGM is- but then proceeded to essentially accuse intersex people of lying about our experiences of medical abuse in our teens and later, often when it comes to puberty. And unfortunately, a lot of this that I've seen comes from other queer people.

Which just. Is incomprehensible to me, mostly because I've lived through medical abuse based off of being intersex, but I think it speaks to the way people view victims of oppression and abuse. They want to be seen as allies, because they know that in terms of optics, it's bad to be silent on the oppression of other marginalized people, but they don't want to examine or even consider their own underlying biases and their intersexism.

Saying 'yeah, I'm against the medical abuse of babies', but ignoring what older intersex people face is seen as fine, because babies are almost treated as the perfect victims: victims of this systemic oppression, yet also fundamentally don't understand this oppression yet, because, well, they're infants. Babies are unable to express themselves (at least until said babies grow up), and so while everyone can agree that hurting babies is bad, those babies can't push back against other biases against intersex people that someone might have. You can, and have to, speak for babies, because they can't speak for themselves, but a baby also can't challenge intersexist beliefs the same way an older or adult intersex person can. It's easy to stand up for a group that can't tell you you also have the capacity to harm us.

And so when an older intersex person says, 'hey, this is medical abuse that I went through because I'm intersex', that statement is suddenly treated with doubt, especially when it someone challenges someone's worldview. 'I was forced on HRT as a teen and that was bad' becomes uncomfortable to condemn, because that's seen as something that could challenge, say, their experiences and access to HRT, and they're unwilling to think critically and look at that from a nuanced and deeper perspective: they see our fight against oppression as a challenge to their fight, ignoring that our underlying goals align: bodily autonomy and the right to informed, non-coercive consent. They can only see the issue from the perspective of someone who, say, wants to ban HRT, because they don't want to budge an inch to anything that 'validates' that take; they can only see 'medical abuse that I went through was bad and shouldn't happen' as 'See, this is why HRT is always bad and why this should be banned,' even though the same people who want to ban and restrict HRT also want the freedom to continue to abuse intersex people. It's a fundamentally defensive position that throws intersex people to the curb because people don't want to acknowledge and make space for nuance; it's considered too 'difficult'. 'I went through something bad because it stripped me of my bodily autonomy' is seen as 'I went through something bad and so I want to strip your bodily autonomy', and this fundamental misunderstanding and this caving to internalized bias against intersex people becomes a tool to attempt to try to better a perisex person's own material conditions on the backs of intersex people. It of course doesn't work, we're all crabs in a bucket fighting for air, but people don't seem to understand that, or they just don't care.

No one is immune to intersexism. You don't get to claim to be an ally when you'd try to drown the other crabs in the bucket to try and hope of being able to get more access to the air. But people don't want to confront or examine the fact that they're someone capable of harm, someone capable of expressing hurtful beliefs. And so it devolves into attempts to delegitimize anything anyone who tells you that you are in fact being hurtful.

[iseos]

: CHERISH

wc. 978 archive. pairing. nishimura riki x fm!r synopsis. imperfect chemistry genre. fluff now playing. cherish by ive

  HIGH SCHOOL WAS A CONFUSING TIME, and for niki, navigating the complexities of teenage emotions felt like solving a never-ending puzzle.

he had harbored secret feelings for y/n since they first met in their freshman year; but, expressing those emotions was an intricate challenge he was yet to conquer. instead, he often found himself acting rude towards her, which, to his dismay, she often returned.

  now with graduation quickly approaching, niki and y/n were still, to put it mildly, not on the best terms when it came to their interactions. from snarky comments in class to unintentional eye-rolls during group projects, their relationship was fraught with tension and misunderstanding.

  yet, underneath the façade of bickering and sarcasm, it was obvious to those around them that there was a connection waiting to be explored.

  it was just a question of when, or if, it would happen.

  having grown tired of watching niki push y/n further and further away with his ruthless teasing, all while in private hearing how hopelessly enamored he was for the girl, his friends convinced him to take a different approach. urging him to set aside his pride and initiate an open conversation with y/n, they hoped it would bridge the gap between the two teens and pave the way for a genuine friendship.

  niki found her in the library like he expected, and he couldn't help but notice the frustration etched across y/n's face. she seemed utterly absorbed in her book, scribbling down notes in a frenzy. despite approaching with good intentions, he couldn't resist the urge to interrupt.

  "working hard, i see," niki teased, leaning his hip against the table she was using.

  y/n looked up, her expression a mix of annoyance and weariness. "what do you want, niki? finally come to help with the assignment we were both supposed to work on?"

  niki hesitated for a moment, his confidence slipping as he briefly made eye contact with his friends, who were sitting at a table on the other side of the room as support, animatedly trying to encourage him with dramatic arm movements. realizing this was his chance to finally try and mend their tense relationship, he cleared his throat and decided to be more sincere for once.

  "look, i know sometimes i'm rude to you—"

  "sometimes is the understatement of the century," y/n interrupts monotonously, her eyes back on her notes as she continues to write.

  "—but i wanted to say i'm sorry for that. we have to work on this project together, and i want it to go smoothly."

  y/n looked up at the dark-haired boy with a raised eyebrow, a hint of skepticism in her gaze. "you're apologizing?" she turned and looked around the relatively empty library, expecting this interaction to just be some cruel prank. she didn't even notice his friend group quickly busying themselves with random books.

  she eventually turned back to the boy standing in front of her again.

  "yeah, i am," niki nodded, his voice tinged with genuine sincerity. "i don't want us to keep arguing like this. i think we could actually make a pretty good team if we put our differences aside."

  y/n regarded him with curiosity, her guard slightly lowered now, "you really mean that?"

  "i do. i want us to work well together," he nodded again, his determination shining through, "i also need to get a good grade on this project so i don't fail this class..."

  his last comment made y/n scoff, however, there was a hint of laughter behind it as she pointed to the empty chair beside her for him to sit in.

  as they worked on the project together, niki and y/n slowly started to shed their defensive layers and engage in more meaningful conversations, some of which occasionally taking place outside the regular time they spent working in the library together. the arguments became less frequent, replaced by laughter and shared moments of understanding.

  their chemistry project became the turning point in their animosity-turned-newfound friendship. they spent hours working side by side, forming a deeper connection between discussing equations.

  y/n began to see the kind, thoughtful side of niki that she hadn't noticed before, and niki found himself admiring her intelligence and determination even more.

  one sunny afternoon, as they wrapped up the final parts of their project, niki couldn't help but steal a glance at y/n. her eyes sparkled as she explained a complex chemical reaction, and niki realized he couldn't keep his feelings hidden any longer. he cleared his throat, trying to sound as genuine as he could.

  "y/n, there's something i need to tell you."

  she turned to look at him, a hint of curiosity in her gaze as she hummed in acknowledgment.

niki hesitated for a moment, it felt like he flashed back to the day their friendship began to form; the weight of his unspoken words once again hanging in the air

  "i really like you, y/n. i have for a long time."

  y/n's eyes widened in surprise, and niki could see the mixture of shock and confusion dancing on her features. she didn't know how to react.

  niki cleared his throat once more, his heart feeling like it would pound out of his chest at any moment. "i know i was rude to you a lot — so i don't blame you if you don't feel the same, but i really do like you a lot."

  she remained silent for a moment, her gaze locked with his. then to niki's surprise, a smile crept across her face.

  "you're serious?"

  niki nodded, his vulnerability evident. "i am."

  y/n leaned in closer, face just inches from his, "you're the most confusing person i've ever met, niki, but maybe i like you too."

“although im selfish, i never lie you know, i really like you”

© iseos

[mae-i-scribble]

My post on How I Attended and All Guys Mixer picked up a few more notes than I was expecting recently and it reminded me that I've been wanting to talk about how appreciative I am about how the series handles sexuality. I'll only be talking about the manga here bc I haven't seen the live action drama nor do I plan to. But I just think it's really neat that with our 3 male protags we get to see 3 very unique reactions to 1) learning that crossdressing is a thing and 2) how they in turn feel attraction wise.

I'll start off with Asagi as I feel his is the most straightforward in that he just takes everything in stride. Literally nothing phases him. Thanks to that he's the most nonchalant of the group, just chatting up and trying to make friends per usual. He's confused somewhat, but doesn't pay it any mind and just tries to get to know everyone as he would any other new friend. Personally, I can really see an aro/ace argument for Asagi due to the way he's just, completely unaffected and uninterested in the romantic ongoings around him. He compliments the girls and such but even when the manga is going pretty hard pushing its other pairings Asagi and Fuji truly just seem like good friends. I'm not delusional, this is a romance manga that from the get-go clearly has these pairings in mind to all get together romantically, but until it happens I can gaslight myself into believing my aroace truth (is coping so bad).

Going from most chill about everything to 2nd most chill we have Tokiwa. Tokiwa is an interesting case in that he's polite to such a degree that he does his best to mask his initial confusion and shock (to the extent that yknow, a comedy manga will allow). Though it doesn't really work because he is very overwhelmed by the situation at hand. However, I don't think this is attributed to the girls' crossdressing alone in the same way that Hagi can't get over his initial shock of the concept. Tokiwa's chief concern isn't the "weirdness" of it all but the fact that he came here expecting a meet cute with a cute girl and instead is getting a meet cute with someone equally as charming but with none of the reserved attitude we see Suo have while she's fem-presenting. My boy is not worried about gender norms he is worried for his sanity due to the attractive person flirting with him.

Honestly, this panel here implies that he finds masc-presenting Suo even more attractive. The fact that he even tries to reassure himself that because Suo is a woman this situation is less flustering is very interesting. Not that it does anything. Pouring one out for Tokiwa for real. As the manga goes on, Tokiwa gives off the vibe of someone who is comfortable with his sexuality enough that the gender presentation of the person he likes is irrelevant, both are attractive to him in different ways. Again, while Suo's crossdressing is a point of interest in the sense that it's not something he understands or gets intuitively, he doesn't have nearly the same level of crisis as Hagi does. His attraction to Suo is never questioned- rather it seems to be a question of whether or not he thinks Suo is genuine in her flirting.

And our last boy is Hagi, poor beloved Hagi who is having the time of his life trying to figure out that hey, sometimes people don't dress or present stereotypically. It's a rough life for you Hagi. However, his inner conflict is very gripping. I find his reaction and subsequent coming to terms with the idea of crossdressing a very realistic take on the subject much more akin to your average person being introduced to everything for the first time. It never feels mean spirited even if Hagi can be offensive in this thoughts and comments at first- it's born from a place of genuine confusion, both towards himself and towards the girls. Hagi falling in love with Kohaku, while a little to rife with misunderstandings for my taste, I think is a wonderful narrative of how even being straight doesn't mean that there is one way to feel attraction. While Kohaku throws around the idea of him being bi due to him being attracted to Kohaku while she's masc-presenting, Suo best sums it up when she says that it's not about the words or the looks, its about who it's coming from. And given that we haven't seen Hagi struggle with this from anyone else, it's a safe bet to say he likes Kohaku as masc-presenting, not necessarily masc-presenting people or men in general. Attraction as a fluid concept is something most straight romance stories, let alone a comedy based one, seldom bother to explore along the gender spectrum. Hagi's struggle to understand himself and what his attraction to Kohaku means to him personally is such an interesting take that it elevates the entire storyline out of miscommunication hell almost (just almost).

Idk idk this feels like a very silly rant to have but I do in fact love this manga more than a reasonable amount and this is definitely one of the top reasons for it. I would love for it to get a bit more attention but I shall settle for rereading it for the 20th time I suppose

[yuseirra]

Kamiki(+Ai) Mini-analysis

I feel the best part of this work comes from the psychological aspects, it's intriguing how real and complex it can get. It's honestly what's drew me in this time around, and I really hope they revert back to exploring things in relation to it after some dire events get resolved somehow.

Today I wrote a small anaysis of Kamiki's character since he tends to be a bit confusing at first glance: I can be wrong, of course, but I'm confident with my analysis regarding the emotional aspect of things. I felt it would be nice to bring up!

Honestly, I don’t think Kamiki is such a difficult character to understand regarding his mentality. His self-esteem is severely low, so he internalizes all the negative criticism and accusations thrown at him without resistance, accepting them as they are. In fact, he adds to it by blaming himself even more. Sometimes, he even goes out of his way to act in ways that invite misunderstandings. Since he’s already trapped in a state of self-loathing, the fact that he doesn’t bother to make excuses is just an extension of that.

He has an incredibly low opinion of himself. That's because he was constantly mistreated and never been properly loved all his life till Ai came along. At the same time, it’s not like he dislikes people… Ai, on the other hand, seemed to have some defensive feelings toward others, maybe even a little distaste for people (which, in a way, can act as a shield to protect oneself). But Kamiki? When someone comes to him, he’s just happy to have a shred of affection and, like a puppy, he eagerly follows along, giving everything he has. He’s been starved for love. Him trusting people so eagerly and easily—that’s where it comes from. His trust in Ryosuke and Nino is also rooted in this. Kamiki seems to genuinely like people. When he receives kindness, it makes him purely happy… he wants to believe in their good intent and think 'oh, they like it, so it's fine, right? It's a good thing if others are happy' But again and again, he’s taken advantage of and abandoned. And, at some point, he realized—even though it seemed like people cared about him, this wasn’t right. They just used him up and it wasn't real affection that he'd received. The real problem is with those who used him. If they had been decent people, this wouldn’t have happened… But when these things happen, instead of blaming others, he always turns the arrow on himself. His already low self-esteem sinks even lower, and he blames himself and hates himself even more. Ai, on the other hand, had enough of a backbone to protect herself by holding onto some anger toward others. So, even though she couldn’t quite love herself, she could still carry some pride and confidence, enough to live life on her own terms. But Kamiki? When something goes wrong, he blames himself. He tries to rationalize these sorts of situations by believing that it’s because he’s not good enough, or because he’s unworthy, that everyone leaves him. That’s also one of the reason why he lacks aggression—he always sees the fault within himself. Look at the flower bouquet incident. He probably wasn’t at fault at all, but because he bought the flowers, he lied at first and said it was his doing. The fact that it was a lie implies that the rest of what he said was likely the unfiltered truth. If he were truly guilty, the story would have ended in chapter 154, but it didn’t—there was more to it after that.

I’ve mentioned before that you have to dig deeper to understand the real intent behind his words. In chapter 153, he said he killed Ai.

In chapter 154, he changed his story, saying he only manipulated Ryosuke to scare her, but he never intended to kill her.

Then, in chapter 160, the tone softens again—he says he really just wanted to give her the bouquet. And this is the real truth.

What’s happening here is that he hates himself so much that he piles more blame on himself, amplifying his responsibility for what happened. He feels like the person he loved died because of him, and that’s why he can’t forgive himself… But the more he talks about Ai, the more sincere he becomes, gradually revealing his true feelings.

When it comes to attachment styles, Ai had some avoidant tendencies,

While Kamiki shows a lot of traits typical of anxious attachment.

Yet despite this, the two of them clearly got along well. I keep coming back to this, and there’s hardly any room to argue otherwise. The fact that Ai could think so highly of him is honestly so remarkable…

For someone with avoidant tendencies to say, 'I want to live with this person forever,' that means the other person was truly perfect and lovable in their eyes. That’s an incredibly strong bond. I wish people would recognize this... believe in that idea for once, They really did find a huge liking to each other, and that family Ai imagined WAS really possible. They would have built a nice and happy one. It wasn't a messed-up relationship they had. They are tragic because they could have been perfect.

Even though both of them had their own struggles, they were good people at heart, and they surely could have supported each other to live well together. The real problems came from the outside.

I wrote this up as I attempted to draw a piece earlier(going to complete it and post it today!) these are sort of the things that pass through my head when I draw things sometimes

I need to understand the psychology of these characters to at least some degree in order to portray them, I may not be perfect with these, but I really try!

[mywitchyblog]

@shiftmaxxer

masterlist

In response to your post:

Thank you for your thoughtful contribution. It’s refreshing to engage in a counter-argument and have meaningful discussions that don’t devolve into insults or death threats. This kind of respectful dialogue is what allows for growth and understanding, even when we don’t see eye to eye.

Part 1: Clarifying Intent and Addressing Misrepresentation

First and foremost, it seems there may have been some misunderstandings regarding the purpose of my original post and the intentions behind it. I understand that you’re critiquing my previous rant, which I admit was written in a heated moment. In hindsight, I recognize that I should have taken the time to calm down before writing, as it might have conveyed my thoughts more clearly and without the emotional charge.

You mentioned, and I quote: "Calling other people of color 'pathetic' for what I believe to be perfectly understandable reactions to race-changing is reductive." I want to clarify that this was not my intention at all. The individuals I labeled as "pathetic" were those who, unlike you, resort to insults and threats, using logical fallacies as their only arguments—arguments that aren’t even valid to begin with.

The only other instance where I used the word "pathetic" in that post was in reference to certain white individuals who oppose race-changing without providing proper arguments. Here’s the passage in question: "As a person of color, this issue is especially relevant to me, yet the opposition I see frequently comes from individuals who don’t share my lived experiences—often white people who have no stake in the matter, telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. They’ll throw around terms like 'DNI,' 'I don't wanna argue with you,' 'if you support race-changing, block me,' or brand me as a bad person without engaging in any meaningful dialogue. It proves that they are cowards, pathetic, and that their claims hold no weight and reek of insecurity."

This quote is crucial because it explains why I referred to these individuals as insecure and pathetic: they immediately resort to name-calling without providing proper explanations. The "bad person" I referenced is someone who attacks me with labels like "racist" or even "pedophile"—terms that have nothing to do with the actual debate at hand. This is an example of a Strawman Fallacy because it misrepresents my argument by suggesting I called all POC "pathetic," which wasn’t the case. My criticism was aimed specifically at those who rely on insults and threats rather than valid arguments.

Part 2: Addressing Claims of Hostility and Spite

You also pointed out that I "completely dismiss any opposing arguments, calling it 'close-minded.'" Yes, I agree—logical fallacies and insults are indeed close-minded arguments. The only counter-argument I had is the one I mentioned earlier; feel free to check it out. So yes, I called it close-minded because that’s exactly what it is. Furthermore, accusing me of writing with ChatGPT is an Ad Hominem Fallacy, which targets my character rather than engaging with the substance of my arguments.

Regarding your statement: "You've stated yourself that you argue in a way to 'spite' people who oppose your opinion." Let me clarify—spite plays a dual role in my approach. On one hand, I genuinely want to uplift and educate people, sharing knowledge and perspectives that can help others grow and expand their understanding. On the other hand, there’s a part of me that’s driven by a desire to challenge and provoke—to make people think harder and question the status quo. Sometimes, that means making people uncomfortable or challenging their deeply held beliefs, especially when those beliefs are rooted in ignorance or prejudice. It’s about making them confront their biases to the point where their limited thinking is forced to evolve—or at the very least, be exposed.

And yes, I will not budge on the point that ad hominem attacks, threats, and insults are not acceptable forms of argumentation. They don’t contribute to meaningful discourse, and they certainly don’t challenge or strengthen any position.

You mentioned that my tone "is hostile and full of what I see as 'conversation enders' (you argue in a way that shuts down discourse rather than encourages it)." I apologize if my tone came across that way; it was not intended to be hostile. In the future, I’ll make an effort to use better disclaimers and perhaps even include tone tags to ensure that my intent is clear. My aim was never to shut down conversation but to challenge the status quo and encourage intelligent debate, free of ad hominem attacks—much like the approach you’ve taken in your response.

Part 3: Hypocrisy and Nuance in Race-Changing Discussions

You also raised the point that I’m "hypocritical for disregarding the value of people's hurt and frustrations and calling it a desire to be 'empathetic.'" This is not the case. In my essay, I acknowledged that there’s a fine line between empathy and the potential for fetishization, romanticization, and even racism if not handled carefully. For example, I specifically stated that "race-changing in reality shifting can serve as a unique and valuable tool for promoting intercultural understanding, challenging racial prejudices, and fostering a more empathetic and inclusive society" when done thoughtfully and ethically (Essay, Part I). If I were truly disregarding these concerns, I wouldn’t have included the parts of my essay where I emphasized the importance of treading lightly and being considerate.

Initially, I planned to argue that race-changing was entirely okay and not disrespectful at all. However, as I continued writing, I recognized the need to include those critical nuances—because nothing in this world is black and white. Consequently, I changed the direction of my essay to reflect this, and I quote myself: "By maintaining this careful balance, race-changing in reality shifting can serve as a unique and valuable tool for promoting intercultural understanding, challenging racial prejudices, and fostering a more empathetic and inclusive society. As with any powerful tool, its value lies not in the practice itself, but in how we choose to use it."

Originally, I might have said something like "Race-changing is okay and a good thing," but instead, I concluded, "Race-changing can be a good thing, but we need to be careful not to be disrespectful, as we have a duty and responsibility."

Part 4: Loaded Questions and Hasty Generalizations

You asked: "You would rather shift to be another race to 'understand' a race than engage with their media, their lived, documented experiences, or talk to others about their experiences? Are others' experiences meaningless to you unless you physically ARE them? If you lack that amount of empathy that you have to become another race, I don't think empathy was ever in the cards for you." I’m not sure if you’re addressing me directly here, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

As for me, I never stated or implied that in my previous posts. Moreover, asserting that race-changers shift to another race because the experiences of POC are meaningless to them, ergo they never had any empathy to begin with, is a Hasty Generalization Fallacy. Additionally, the framing of the question is a Loaded Question Fallacy because it presumes a lot about my intentions without evidence, and frames the question in a way that makes any answer seem incriminating. It's an unfair setup.

In my essay, I made it clear that "shifting allows for experiencing life through different perspectives which can be enlightening as fuck" (Essay, Part I). The goal is not to dismiss or undermine anyone’s experiences but to gain a deeper understanding through direct experience in another reality, which is a legitimate and complex method of exploring identity and empathy.

Part 5: The Complexity of Reality Shifting and Allegory in Fiction

You also wrote: "For people from the racial identities being appropriated, witnessing individuals casually adopt and discard their race can be distressing. It can feel as though their experiences and struggles are being reduced to mere fantasy elements rather than being respected and understood. This disregard can contribute to feelings of marginalization and invalidate the real-life challenges faced by those of different races."

I completely agree with you that this can be distressing, and I cannot invalidate your feelings—you are entitled to them. However, I must disagree with the notion that race-changing "invalidates the real-life challenges" faced by those of different races, simply because in the context of reality shifting, the line between "real" and "fake" life blurs. If you meant "OR," then I retract my disagreement.

However, to suggest that some race-changers do this with the intention of causing this effect on POC is reductive. As a POC myself, if someone were to tell me they shifted to a reality where they are the same race as I am and then shared their experiences of discrimination, I would feel a sense of joy that they finally understand my pain—rather than dismissing it in this reality with statements like "Oh, come on, you’re exaggerating," or "It’s not so bad after all." Like, why don’t you walk in my shoes before saying that? Oh wait, they did, and now they get it.

You stated: "Being black and being a 'werewolf' aren't comparable in any version of reality. To trivialize a lived experience of an inconceivable number of people (because remember, this is the multiverse) is extremely bold." I have never trivialized or reduced the pain of other POC or marginalized communities. I merely pointed out that they share some similarities in that they are perceived as monstrous, discriminated against, and persecuted. The difference, of course, is that one is considered fictional in this reality, and the other is not.

It is you who is being bold by claiming they have nothing in common. Consider that some writers create fictional races as allegories for what marginalized communities face in our world. A prime example is the Na’vi from Avatar. James Cameron, the director of Avatar, explicitly stated: "Avatar very pointedly made reference to the colonial period in the Americas, with all its conflict and bloodshed between the military aggressors from Europe and the indigenous peoples. Europe equals Earth. The Native Americans are the Na'vi. It's not meant to be subtle."

In this context, someone shifting to be a Na’vi could be seen as analogous to race-changing to be a Native American, only with a superficial, fantastical layer added on top—a "pink bow" if you will. While the Na’vi might be fictional, their creation is deeply rooted in the real experiences and histories of Native Americans, particularly their suffering at the hands of colonial forces. The narratives of exploitation, resistance, and survival embodied by the Na’vi are direct reflections of those faced by Indigenous peoples.

Thus, shifting to become a Na’vi in a desired reality is not just adopting a fictional identity but engaging with the complex and painful history that the Na’vi represent. Whether or not the person shifting acknowledges this connection, the allegory remains. The act of shifting to a race that is explicitly crafted as a stand-in for a real marginalized group comes with inherent implications, making it far more than a mere fantasy element.

Therefore, equating the Na'vi with werewolves, and dismissing the deeper connections between these fictional and real marginalized groups, misses the point entirely. The comparison trivializes the intent behind these allegories, reducing complex social and historical narratives to mere fantasy. It's not bold to recognize these connections—it's simply understanding the truth of how fiction often reflects reality.

Part 6: Logical Fallacies and the Nature of Empathy

Regarding your statement: "Discrediting one's lived experiences (ergo, attacking their credibility) is not just questioning the validity of their personal story; it's denying the nuanced realities that intertwine us as people. If you can do that so easily, how can you become better and more understanding from rcta alone?" If I were discrediting my fellow POC’s experiences, I wouldn’t have brought a nuanced perspective to the subject. I acknowledged that it’s a topic that requires careful handling and that it’s not black and white, even though I tried to simplify it but couldn’t.

However, your assertion that "It won’t fix or better your empathy because you already lack it from the way you react to those who don’t agree with the practice" is an Ad Hominem Fallacy. You’re attacking my character without providing evidence to support your claim that I lack empathy.

In my essay, I discussed how "morals and ethics are not universal constants but are shaped by cultural, temporal, and situational factors" (Essay, Part I). This underscores the importance of understanding that empathy and moral considerations can vary greatly depending on the context and the reality in which they are applied.

Part 7: Nuanced Perspectives and False Dichotomy

Finally, I want to emphasize that it’s okay to feel offended by those who race-change. I won’t dictate your feelings—you are entitled to them. But you also need to acknowledge that not everything is black and white; not everyone who engages in race-changing does so to invalidate or trivialize the lives and experiences of other people of color.

You said: "But refusing to be accountable for the real reasons you race change (and why at least 50% of us shift) is disingenuous." If I were truly being disingenuous, as you claim, why would I have written in my essay that the issue is nuanced? By acknowledging the fact that we must tread lightly and be careful, I’ve already implicitly stated that those people exist. If I didn’t acknowledge that fact, I wouldn’t have discussed it at all.

You also mentioned: "There is no morality play. People don’t shift races to 'grow' or just because they're 'curious'. You make such an (understandably) loaded and controversial topic more innocent and sweet than it is." Let me stop you right there. I do not make a controversial topic more innocent and sweet than it is—I made it more nuanced.

Stating that race-changing is inherently bad is a False Dichotomy Fallacy; it reduces the topic to two simplistic notions when there are other perspectives. I acknowledge that some POC may be offended by it. But they must also acknowledge that not everyone who engages in race-changing does so to trivialize their experiences—quite the opposite.

How many POC (myself included) have been so sick and tired of having people dismiss our pain, wanting them to understand instead of diminishing it? I can’t recall the number of times I wanted those people to walk a mile in my shoes just to see what it feels like. And with shifting, they can.

Part 8: Conclusion and Invitation for Further Discussion

You concluded with: "It makes you someone who can't and won't make room for those who feel invalidated by those who race-change frivolously." So, what do you propose we should do? I specifically said in my post that we shouldn’t be frivolous about it—that we have a responsibility and a duty when engaging in such practices. And yes, I admit that saying "DNI," or "block me if you support race-changing," may have been too much, but when those same people are the ones who insult and threaten me, I cannot be blamed for making such assumptions about them.

To conclude, I really enjoyed your respectful perspective on the subject. However, stating that people who race-change immediately do it for disrespectful reasons is simply wrong. You should understand that nothing in Reality Shifting is purely good or bad, black or white; it is a spectrum of gray.

I’m also quite curious to hear your stance on bi/multiracial shifters who choose to change or "suppress" one of their races.

Ergo i have to refute those arguments, it was delightful to debate with you.

I wish you good luck and success in your shifting journey

Kind regards,

Luno

[thewritingmagician2022]

Hi! I was wondering if you could write how the boys would react to an mc that don’t speak English very well? Spanish it’s my first language and it’s funny because some times I misunderstand what they say and I just stay like 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry for my bad english 😅 I hope you’re fine and healthy uwu

Ironically, I am not healthy - hence the really long delay. But thank you!

Lucifer: Lucifer is not impressed with himself; how did he manage to not realize that you didn’t speak English as a primary language? This complicates things just a little bit but he’s not going to feel too bad about it or give you any leeway.

His favorite thing to say is “you know what I mean!” when you act like you don’t understand what he’s saying. Sometimes you’re able to figure it out and sometimes you’re not but Lucifer doesn’t care. He pushes you to be self-sufficient; you better find a way to make it work while you’re down here.

On the low, he will sign you up for English classes at RAD or get you a private tutor to make sure you’re able to communicate well enough while you live down there.

Mammon: He is so confused sometimes. The two of you will go back and forth, just confusing each other more and more as you try to figure out what the other person said/meant.

Mammon is the kind of person who’s flipping through a pocket dictionary and trying to speak Spanish to you but he’s absolutely butchering it almost every time and ends up saying something rude/nonsensical by accident

It’s really cute that he tries though and he usually just finds it more funny than anything when you don’t understand him

Levi: Levi is embarrassed when you guys can’t fully understand each other. He feels ashamed that he obviously can’t communicate clearly and wonders why you would ever bother trying to talk to an otaku like him

He definitely hides away in the beginning because the language barrier bugs him

The more you talk, the more you both understand each other. He even starts speaking Spanish a little; he learned Japanese for anime so the least he can do is learn a little Spanish for you

Still, he much prefers texting because the phones can auto translate everything and he doesn’t have to worry about either of you being confused/a misunderstanding

Satan: Satan finds it funny in the “well, well, well, Lucifer finally screwed up” kind of way and he tends to dramatize how many misunderstandings there are just to spite Lucifer even more for accidentally choosing a human that doesn’t speak fluent english

With that in mind, Satan starts learning Spanish pretty much immediately and, once you two are on friendly terms, he starts tutoring you in English as well to make sure you can understand and communicate well while you live in the Devildom

Like Mammon, he carries around a little pocket dictionary; however, he’s much more efficient with it and can actually use it to translate

Asmo: Asmo doesn’t need to understand what you’re saying for him to understand you and vice Versa!

He thinks it’s so cute when you get confused and he loves to use gestures and dramatic facial expressions to convey whatever point he is trying to make - it usually doesn’t work well and ends up even more confusing but you both have fun the whole time

Definitely someone who will sometimes pretend to not notice you’re confused (or if he’s rambling about something he genuinely may not even notice) and he doesn’t need you to reply to keep the conversation going; he can talk enough for you both

Beel: Beel is confused and you’re confused

Like Levi, he may avoid communication in the beginning because Beel is usually quiet anyway but it sometimes feels like it’s not worth the hassle and confusion

Beel mimes things to you sometimes to try to better explain himself. He’s surprisingly good at charades and it usually clears things up well enough for you.

If he doesn’t understand you, he usually tries that nod/smile people do when they have no idea what the fuck is going on because he wants to be polite

Belphie: Belphie is too tired for this shit. You’re just going to have to figure out what he said for yourself; use your phone to translate or something

He will draw pictures sometimes, if it’s something he really wants to share with you and he can’t find the right words

When he doesn’t understand you, he doesn’t even pretend to. He just stares at you until you figure out a way to say it in English or make your point known in another way

Diavolo: Diavolo is entirely charmed by the language barrier. He loves that humans have so many different languages and loves how clever you all are about trying to understand each other

He does feel a bit bad considering it makes your life more difficult and miscommunications can be a pain in the ass

To rectify this issue, he tries to make all the demons learn Spanish and asks you to lead them in Spanish lessons and then everyone can speak your language!

Obviously that’s not realistic though and he settles for learning some Spanish himself and making sure all of your learning materials at RAD are translated for you to make things easier

Barbatos: Somehow Barbatos always knows how to say things in a way you understand and he’s always able to understand what you’re saying too

You have a sneaking suspicion that he may actually be fluent in Spanish but he refuses to admit it

Barbatos doesn’t even needs words; he understands your mannerisms and facial expressions well enough and he’s equally good about making himself clear to you

Solomon: Solomon speaks all human languages, both current and past. However, he’s not very good at it because he doesn’t practice the skill often so he’ll be a bit rusty in the beginning

Definitely uses spells and engagements to help communicate better and auto translates books and things for you so you have an easier time rather than struggling to read everything in English and he’ll translate any papers you write in Spanish to English too to make your life easier

Being the mischievous man he is, Solomon does love to laugh a little when you’re not able to understand someone, especially the brothers, and occasionally he may “misinterpret” what they’ve said to cause a bit more chaos

Simeon: Simeon actually already speaks some Spanish. He’s not fluent like Solomon but he understands enough to get by and he’s really good at helping translate between you and another person if there’s an issue

He’s asked you to teach him more Spanish so you guys can communicate better and he offers to help you with English as well

Simeon is a little ridiculous and loves playing the guessing game when he doesn’t understand something, rather than looking it up. He and Luke make a bit of a game of it to see who can figure it out first when there’s a miscommunication

[ellena-asg]

Do you have any specific sparrington headcanons?

Hey ♥️🫂

Oh, yes! I have a little AU for them 😄 Post AWE, James survives!AU + headcanons

James befriends Will and Lizzie and this means he sees Jack very often; one day Jack and James have a sincere talk and they forgive each other - they still love to banter but they're now on good terms only

Jack sees that James is lost and lonely so he says that James isn't admiral anymore but he will always be a seaman and Pearl needs such a fine sailor and then James, seeing that there's a place for him and feeling something in his heart (and being tired of his society) decides to join Jack's crew 

Jack and James are more and more fascinated with each other, they enjoy working together (and admire each other's skills - maybe Jack will finally hear "the best pirate I have ever seen" 😂), they notice there are things they share, they talk a lot about sea, books (James loves Jack's knowledge), legends, so many things, about Will and other friends, they joke sometimes, Jack helps James in his new pirate life and is amazed how much piratey (and hard-working) James is 

they truly enjoy each other's company but they still have some issues and they misunderstand each other sometimes; Gibbs sees that and tries to help them, he tells James about Jack's trust issues, about all people that betrayed and hurt Jack, he tells that Jack (like James) was abused by own family, he also tells about Jack's heroic deeds and all great adventures he had

James talks with Jack, he says how much he understands him now, he says Jack can always trust him, he also tells Jack about his own past, about abusive childhood (those details that Jack didn't know) and dreams; they become friends

soon they see they're in love but they're both insecure/they panic - Jack thinks that James wants some fine lady and that he's generally the worst love interest for James and James thinks that he's not romantically good/interesting enough for Jack, he also thinks that Jack may see a relationship as chains, plus: James needs a stable and long-term relationship and he wants to be someone's the only one 

somehow these two dorks confess their love and their fears (maybe when they're arguing? when they're jealous? - let's say Angelica or someone else pops up and they and James behave like two fighting cats, Jack is irritated so he is irritating 😉, James is pissed of, boys start teasing each other and soon they're yelling and boom!)

after confessing they have a talk, they realize they need each other and can heal their souls together; James says that he wants Jack, he loves and respects everything about him and Jack says that he never felt needed but it is nice to be needed, he was bitter about love issues but James happens to be his love, a genuine one so Jack is lost 😄 Jack needs James as much as he needs the sea (even more, he fears 😉) and sweet sassy Norrington (never Borrington!) is definitely enough for him

Jack makes James' first tattoo (it's a bank swallow) 

James wants to have another tattoo (with Jack's name or something like that) and Jack wants to have “Jamie” tattoo on his chest (close to his heart)

Hm, what else…

they are forever together, they have many adventures with their pirate family, they can get married or not (if they decide to, then Gibbs is their officiant and Will & Lizzie are their groomsman and groomsmaid)

they have no kids but they are fantastic uncles for little Turner(s) and all pirate kids (James calls them piratelings)

they find a very poor stray cat on the street and they take him with them (they live on Pearl but they also have some cosy place somewhere) - they have a Cat's Name Discussion 😛

of course they have their Sparrington Chemistry all the time and they still love teasing and flirting with each other

Jack loves when James is sassy to their enemies and he generally loves his sarcasm, sometimes he calls James “Your Sarcasmness” 

James is grateful that Teague once saved his life but he has no respect for him and he isn't afraid to tell Teague what an awful father he’s for Jack

Jack says that James is the only good in Norrington family; they both have hate for Lawrence (James now understands what an evil his father was) and for James' cousin Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III (they call him Fitzy and they pronounce it in a funny way) - Jack sees him as annoying remorseless liar, James sees his older cousin as spoiled man and Lawrence’s favourite boy (Lawrence treated Fitzy much better than he treated James and he was always like “James, your cousin this… your cousin that…”)

they're a perfect duo also when they fight (enemies know it well)

they love kissing each other, they shiver from love and desire, they love cuddling in bed (they love their physical and mental intimacy, they're happy they're lovers AND friends, they feel soooo safe and good with each other)

they don't hide their emotions, they don't lie to each other, there's no shame in their relationship (You need to cry? Then cry! I will cry with you. I will comfort you. I will give you warmth)

they support each other and are loyal to each other but sometimes they have different ideas or one is like "NO, we WON'T do it!" and the other is like "Oh yes, darling, we WILL!" and their pirate family is so done 😂 They're comedy gold sometimes!

when they need some relationship advice they both go to Will (Lizzie hears everything and she usually rolls her eyes 😂)

they are very grateful they have such friends like Will and Lizzie (and all their pirate family)

James is friends with monkey Jack, Cotton's parrot, Poochie and Will's donkey and it cracks Jack up (plus: "That monkey, REALLY?"); Jack also finds it adorable and oh, he pretends he's irritated when James says that deep down Jack loves that monkey 😄

when people ask James why he "betrayed" his society (king's men) he says "Saved by pirates" and he smiles (or "Saved by a pirate" and he looks at Jack lovingly)

sometimes after arguing with Jack, Hector goes to James and is like "You are rational one, right? So PLEASE, if you could..." - but sometimes James is more goofy than Jack and then Hector is dying inside 😛

[icarus-suraki]

So I have been pondering this post and I'm the one who misunderstood.

Because when I first read the phrase "overgrown balconies" I immediately thought of the suburbs of cities in Thailand or Indonesia. And I thought of this:

Not this:

And I immediately went "Hey, what the fuck is wrong with plants on a balcony???" because, I won't lie, some of the plant arrays I've seen in front of houses/apartments are, as they say, goals.

The (very valid!) critique comes in for the fantasy "forest city" up there (which is also AI, for the record) and not "plants in pots on the sidewalk." So the misunderstanding is wholly on me. I think I got concerned (for lack of a better term) because I happen to really love plants on balconies and in front of buildings like the top two pictures.

Here's another picture of plants on sidewalks and balconies in the Bangkok suburbs:

And this one is from Phnom Penh, Cambodia:

The plants aren't huge, they're mostly potted, they're genuinely aesthetic (as in, they look nice, they break up the view), and growing them is feasible in the local climate. They can shade your balcony, they can provide some privacy screening, and they're just kind of neat.

Sometimes there's something planted right in the ground by a house/apartments, though not always. Sometimes someone has a fuck ton of plants but not everyone has sidewalk plants either. There are also parks and public areas and vacant lots that have plants (that's the city ecosystem), and people with larger yards plant things there, to say nothing of "weeds" and volunteer plants that just find a place and grow.

Do I think the fantasy forest city looks cool? Sure. But it's fantasy. It's sci fi. It can look as cool as it wants in an illustration or in a movie but, yeah, it's not feasible for many different reasons. And that's the difference.

[tubbytarchia]

i don't think i understand your point about the shipping thing? (genuine question, open to discussion) like cause i find that having distinction between different kinds of relationships is helpful in both fandom spaces and irl boundaries. theres a difference between platonic (friends, family, even professional) and non-platonic (romantic and sexual) relationships. and having a word to refer to the non-platonic fandom stuff is useful, plus it's the way it's always been in my experience. putting the platonic stuff over on the same side as the non-platonic confuses me? if im misunderstanding, i would love for you to explain more. (hopefully this comes off as genuinely confused and wanting to discuss! and if you didn't wanna explain more that's ok, thanks for your time either way)

You're fine anon no worries!

Shipping to me is just that - shipping. It's a middle ground for any relationship you like. If you want to specify your ships further, you can do so, but now that "shipping" just means romantic by default, I feel like there is no middle ground and suddenly I'm forced to pick a side between romantic and platonic strictly when I almost never think of that in the creation process. I just feel like I'm handicapping my art and people's ability to interpret it by having to choose when I don't view it as either or

For me personally, I have never seen fandoms handle shipping the way traffic does, and maybe I'm just biased then in that regard but it's been bothering from the start. For me, it's very difficult to distinguish platonic and romantic. And that distinction is different for everyone. I have many times seen art of characters kissing and it being proclaimed platonic, whereas someone else would label anything of that sort strictly romantic

Most times when I draw art, I get afraid of tagging it as "shipping" because then people will think it's romantic, but in my mind it makes sense because I'm still drawing a relationship I like, even if I don't think of it or am unsure as to whether or not it's romantic. To me it's just my ship. People can absolutely specify stuff as this or that if they want to! Because I've never had to think of that before, it stresses me out a lot that so much emphasis is put on strictly outlining what sense your art was drawn in, to the point that other people start labelling my art FOR me when my thoughts are "it's just my two blorbos..." and that's it. In the end, I've resorted to tagging most of my ship art as "trafficshipping" anyway just because then, people who might interpret it as romantic, and not want to see it, do not see it, even if I didn't draw with romantic shipping in mind. It's a precaution I guess

I'm not opposed to the idea of having certain terms to help filter stuff, I'm just bothered that "shipping" is entirely interpreted as romantic foremost. And if it's NOT romantic then you either don't use that tag or you make it very explicit that it's not romantic. That's where it bothers me cause I don't think of that when I draw. I view some of my ships as romantic but labelling the others as strictly this or that stresses me out. Shipping in my experience in previous fandoms, again, just means "relationship". It's not just "romantic relationship". Like I really like Doc and Jimmy with a bit of a father/son dynamic but if I tag it as shipping then people are gonna think I want them to kiss or something. If I tag Bad Boys as shipping, people will think I want them to fuck or something. If I tag my toxic FH takes as shipping, people will get upset because "clearly you don't ship them" etc. But I'm also someone who half of the time feels uncomfortable tagging individual characters in my ship art (especially when CCs have expressed to keep the shipping art out of main tags). I still want my art to be seen - I'd happily just tag it with the appropriate ship and maybe duo names if there are any, but then sometimes that doesn't even exist. And then there's a whole other conversation of, say, "team rancher" is platonic and "solidaritek" is romantic. To me they're just ranchers so I'd tag both but to some people they're very different tags, and then, again, I get stressed out because I've made it harder for people to filter art, when I don't even know if anyone wants my art filtered or not. It depends on their perception

Furthermore, about the CCs saying "keep shipping out of the main tags" - that then becomes another issue of what counts as shipping? Because I also have seen people who very evidently ship something romantically, but claim "it's not shipping!" so that then it becomes fine for that stuff to be posted outside of the shipping corner and not breaking any boundaries. I swear to you, it's not just my interpretation, it's very clearly romantic shipping for these people who I'm thinking of. And again, that distinction between platonic("not shipping") and romantic ("shipping") differs for people. Eg platonic art of characters kissing. And then it gets maintagged because it's platonic for the person who drew it, but might not be for others I could not care less how people interpret my ship art. I would prefer if they didn't label it as if it were fact, but interpretation is like, the whole beauty of art. I have no idea if this art I made is romantic or platonic, especially to a specific viewer who distinguishes those two things differently, but I'm happy for them to interpret it as they want! There is no middle term between romantic and platonic, which is where I feel like my ships usually lie, and "shipping" as a term is thought of as romantic. Anytime I talk about or draw ship stuff without proclaiming that it's platonic, people will probably just assume it's romantic, so... What do I do, y'know? Sorry for the wordy response haha I feel like it's a bit hard to explain my stance but I tried my best. It's ultimately not that big of a deal, I feel like most people are fine with this kind of system, I just have an incredibly hard time with it and am someone who gets really paranoid over me or my creations being taken as some specific thing rather than the viewer's freely formed interpretation

[stop-making-investment-jokes]

okay I’ve seen soooo many investment jokes recently and I thought the fandom was mainly over this by now but apparently a lot of people still think these jokes are okay. I’ve made this blog to talk and educate about it.

one of the primary issues within grishaverse fandom spaces is the excessive overdone jokes about inej being kaz’s investment. the reason why claiming a brown girl was ✨romantically✨ bought by someone with the expectation of making them money is bad should not be so hard to recognise and understand but I guess fandom culture really is that shitty, so

1) the joke is undeniably dehumanising and objectifying in general, but with inej’s history of being sex trafficked as a child (being kidnapped, continuously raped and beaten, being turned into an exotic fetish and racist caricature, and having her identity and humanity stripped away) having the fandom make a joke both about kaz profiting off her as well as reducing her to a funny side joke about kaz’s “bad endearment terms” is especially distasteful. furthermore, the jokes perpetuate harmful lightheartedness about individuals who have survived exploitation. this lightheartedness contributes to the stigmatisation, misunderstanding and lack of empathy about real-world issues related to human trafficking and human exploitation and the severity of it. it’s essential to recognize that these jokes can deeply reinforce damaging notions and that yes, your “stupid funny text post” calling inej an investment is consequential and it is “that deep” because sexual assault survivors in real life are very heavily in these spaces and the least you can do is be considerate about what you say concerning them.

2) if you genuinely think that kaz called inej an investment as a term of affection you have a terrible reading comprehension and terrible understanding of the contextual factors within this scene and should probably get off booktok. as well as severely discrediting both inej and kaz as characters.

while carrying inej, who is currently bleeding out in his arms, seconds after nearly witnessing her kill herself and trying to keep her awake and conversing with him, kaz says a shitty joke about protecting his investments to intentionally annoy her. this was not meant to be romantic or cute and I’m certain that it was the furthest thing on his mind at that moment. cannot stress this enough; he was not trying to be romantic.

and while it didn’t appear to bother her at first, this caused inej severe emotional distress while she was kidnapped and nearly tortured in the next book, seeing as she thought she was nothing to kaz but an investment and that he wouldn’t come and save her. this is, evidently, challenged and explored in the book with kaz acknowledging what he said was unacceptable and reassuring inej that he would always come for her and that she is important and respected as a person. it was still necessary to the plot of the book for this all to occur but in no way is it a thing to romanticise.

(and in regard to kaz; I find when being told about this, people usually jump to insulting kaz and saying kanej is a toxic ship when neither of those things are the point. for the record, these events are crucial to the plot’s development and said by two traumatised children who aren’t perfect. it’s important to note that both kaz and inej are children with no guidance who make mistakes and sometimes say things they don’t mean, and that kaz did not intend for his words to have such a detrimental impact on inej. saying he “doesn’t know how to flirt” or something else similar defies the point, which is simply how it affected inej and how she felt because of it, and how the fandom brushes that aside to turn it into a joke or something cutesy and romantic. that’s the only issue here.)

3) the ingrained misogynistic trend of treating women and girls as anything other than human beings in fandom spaces is perceptible in almost every aspect of their fandom characterisations. think of the way internet people with internalised sexism refer to their female characters with short, overused, female-oriented phrases like “mother” “girlboss” or “knife wife” rather then any kind of meaningful take like the thought and nuance in which they extend to their male faves, or any other similar example. this itself is problematic enough with the way we talk about women and girls (as well as infantilising trans men and gender non conforming people), but characters like inej or lucy carlyle from lockwood and co are constantly and repeatedly called assets and investments and objects on top of that. (i.e. “kaz’s sexy knifewife investment”)

anyway please please stop making investment jokes about inej ghafa. she means so so much to me and it’s so horrible and dehumanising. I’m so tired.

[v-67]

Completed watching Season 1 of Kimi no todoke

And I gotta tell you

The welling up of emotions that I felt from watching this anime, it was like, when I'm on a rollercoaster and it's going so so so fast and I feel like my heart's gonna burst away, it gave me that kinda feeling.

It made me smile and root for our girl Kuronuma.

And my favourite part within this anime is when something so obvious is pointed out, but the thing is you only get it when it's pointed out, for eg : when Kuronuma understands that by talking to them, her feelings will reach them, so she has to talk to them to make the misunderstandings go away

Her understanding of these things, slowly and steadily, makes me realise how in life, I usually don't communicate my feelings to people

It's easier to say I'm bad at expressing gratitude, because when someone does something for me, I feel an overwhelming sense of a positive emotion, and it's difficult for me to express that feeling by just thanking someone in an awkward stature, so I usually don't say anything. But it's important for me to express it, and learn to express things properly, not just gratitude, but also general communication. I always feel like I'm either intimidating or invisible, and people don't approach me, but I've never taken a part to improve that. So i'mma do that, and I'm also going to be a better person, I'm going to keep driving towards it.

My point was, that sometimes it's good to have a reminder of the most obvious things, so I'm here to remind anyone who's reading this, that reach out to people, and communicate your feelings. If there's a misunderstanding, talk to someone and they'll understand. Don't assume and sit with silence and solace. Express. And keep on expressing.

I also like how when Kurumi likes Shota and does what she does, the way Sawako deals with it, I have so much genuine respect and admiration for her honesty and the way she dealt with it, I know the character's portrayal is of trusting everyone and such, but sometimes I like it. I wish the real world could be such that we could trust people on their words and not question if they meant it or not. But yes, I loved the way Sawako was honest about not being able to support her rather than going along with it. It felt good. I also loved that she never saw her as an enemy, but rather just someone who likes the person she likes too, yes, she envied her a little, but she never really carried any hate. And it was just really sweet.

I also love how Sawako slowly unravels her feelings, sometimes I think things are rushed within the real world and the modern world is all about fast pacing, but the way Sawako ensures her feelings, and if she feels this way about Shota or everyone else, and her small steps towards figuring her own emotions out, and her being honest about her feelings and not brushing them off. I find that extremely beautiful. These feelings that she gave time and patience to understand, and nourish, I feel like it's what we should all be doing.

I also loved the part where Kuronuma looks up the term Rival in the dictionary and it translates to 'Likable Foe'

I also love love loved the part of Chizu and Toru and Ryu, that whole episode where Toru comes by to visit Chizu because Ryu called him, and the way things process down and the bond, it was very sweet and heartwarming.

And Shota as a character is just really really warm, and his nature, is very very kind. Manifesting a person like him for all of us, because sometimes all you need, is a person like him to give you a supportive push towards acceptance and understanding. A little support comes a long way, and I hope we can be that person and have such people in our lives.

I want to see more of Ayane, SHE MAKES ME LAUGH TOO MUCH, and she's so smart. I love it. I want to see how her story unravels in Season 2

I also find Pin very funny lol. That part of Kurume, and the part where he's just normally sick but calls Kuronuma because he thinks she is an exorcist was WAY TOO FUNNY lol

I actually would've written this post after completing the whole anime but my heart can't take it fr, it's too much. I feel so many warm and happy emotions, I feel like it'll explode. So idk if I'll watch season 2 anytime soon. Heart feels too much you know?

I'm supposed to be completing this one long anime, but I've taken a smol break since a few things happened and I've been watching short anime because I don't want to watch that one when I'm feeling down. I'm feeling better now so maybe I'll start watching it again. But I guess I'm just a little not ready for me to complete that anime or reach it's ongoing schedule.

[tboy-trash]

As a trans woman, I tell trans men they can use whatever words they want for their oppression. You don't have to. That's fine.

listen i get the impulse to say that people can use whatever words, but when we're talking about oppression words matter, and genuinely this thing with "transandrophobia" *constantly* leads trans guys to

-thinking transandrophobia is the equivalent of transmisogyny (in fact this is why the term was coined, we already had "transphobia" to describe our oppression), and thus when a trans woman is speaking about transmisogyny, especially when she mentions the transmisogyny of a queer space trans men frequent, they speak over her and bring up transandrophobia to pull, essentially, a "but what about men" argument

-misunderstanding terf ideology (thinking terfs "hate men" as if they hated all men and not specifically trans and gnc men. and as if the primary target for their hate weren't actually women)

-a "let men be masculine"-like mentality where, because they think they're oppressed for *being men*, they dismiss those of us who actually aren't masculine and experience more misogyny than they do, including misogyny in trans male spaces

i'm always talking about examples with other marginalized men, because i just think it's the most helpful way so people get what we mean, so, let's say: disabled men. they're clearly oppressed, and their experiences of oppression differ from those of disabled women, but it's not because of "androableism". it's bc disabled women are at the intersection of disability and gendered oppression, and they aren't. if disabled men started talking about "androableism" we also wouldn't be "well they can use whatever words to talk about their experiences!" because that word misunderstands systemic oppression and is conductive to misogyny.

the situation with trans men is a bit more complex, i guess, and that's why i think this discourse started -whereas i've never seen another group of marginalized men try to invent a word for why they're hated for being men- because all of us at least at some point do experience *a lot* of misogyny, which for some reason, maybe dysphoria, some confuse with "man hatred". but it's just. not. and if we pulled our head out of our asses and talked to a trans woman every once in a while (or sometimes even a cis woman tbh) we'd see that it's not.

[good7luck]

VNC manga chapter 57 spoilers

** my personal interpretations

Jeanne from JJ’s point of view (feat. Chloe & Noe, etc)

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I’ve seen some complaints “JJ/Chloe should’ve met Jeanne, too, not just Noe!”, which sometimes leads to “MJ-sensei must hate Jeanne” and/or “bad, misogynistic writing”.

I’m not a huge fan of Jeanne myself, but I don’t particularly hate to see her, and I really wouldn’t have minded getting more canon (positive) interactions between JJ/Chloe and Jeanne.

The thing is...

Chloe is fully asleep now, unable to chat anytime soon. And...

JJ and Jeanne are NOT that friendly two of them...yet, at least ^^;;

(more under the cut)

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Both JJ and Jeanne have a special history and bond with Chloe EACH, sure, but it doesn’t magically make the two friends, much less close ones (ex. Vani & Domi, over Noe / Noe & Olivier, over Roland). Both took Chloe’s hand together in the last minute to save their important Chloe. Before that, Jeanne was mostly, genuinely trying to kill JJ (the “Beast”) & Chloe (the supposed target), even if she wasn’t being 100% murderous, as she still believed the ”Beast” was her precious Chloe and so hesitated in her mind.

To JJ, Jeanne was the powerful and dreadful Bourreau who kept coming to murder his beloved & the innocent victim Chloe then and now again. No one else other than JJ has trusted Chloe’s innocence or tried to listen for so long (even aside from the evil mastermind Church). Honestly...we haven’t seen Jeanne apologize to JJ/Chloe for her huge misunderstandings and attempted murders...on screen, yet, at least (it might or might not appear in the future, who knows).

I think JJ, too, probably wasn’t being 100% murderous mainly because he knows Chloe still greatly misses Jeanne (even if he’s been always with Chloe, oops ^^;;). We haven’t seen JJ (NOT as the “Beast”) explicitly getting mad at Jeanne in canon, but I won’t be too surprised if he actually (still) feels jealous and angry at her deep inside ^^;; Perhaps also disappointed and frustrated at her that she never ever recognized or even had a single doubt (* she couldn’t, as a Bourreau, I know, but does JJ know?) that the not-even-very-Chloe-looking “Beast” (that was doing not-so-Chloe-things, be it Church or JJ) was possibly never Chloe.

In the manga, JJ wanted to save the utter stranger Noe all because Noe protected JJ (the “Beast”) from Jeanne (I’m not sure but I think the anime cut this part out), even if he didn’t even know why Noe came here yet. It’s hard for me to believe JJ is suddenly on good terms with Jeanne sincerely, ignoring all their long, negative past...even if they finally saved Chloe together ^^;;

On the other hand, JJ and Noe are much more the close friends (though JJ ended up assaulting Noe in the castle). To JJ, Noe is his actual first friend (other than Chloe), never Jeanne. That’s why JJ decided to come to see Noe (and the doctor Vani) specifically, to give his thanks (and apology for the assault), even if it’s obviously too dangerous when JJ/Chloe are officially “wanted”, as both Vani and Dante explicitly complained.

My point is NOT that “Um, Jeanne is in fact terrible, did you not know?” BUT that there have been simply not enough positive interactions only between JJ and Jeanne yet (or whatever possible causality), which would lead JJ to voluntarily go see her, despite all the dangers.

If Chloe was awake and wanted to see Jeanne, then JJ probably would’ve done so. But if not? I just don’t see why JJ would personally “miss” Jeanne in general...and so it’s quite understandable to me that JJ didn’t risk the safety of himself (& Chloe) for Jeanne’s sake, especially when there was technically no (urgent) “need” ^^;;

I suppose Chloe already fell asleep like that before JJ got treated by Vani (when Jeanne was still around them!), so maybe JJ in ch 57 just didn’t have any word from Chloe to give to Jeanne particularly, cuz Chloe literally never woke up. If there was any, I think he would’ve already told Jeanne before they got separated in Gevaudan...?

There’s this, too: Again, JJ/Chloe are officially “wanted”.

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No hard feelings on Jeanne or Jeanne/Chloe or Jeanne/Chloe/JJ etc! Obviously not trying to discourage any fanwork creation, either...!

I get that it could be very frustrating not to see Jeanne/Chloe sweet reunion and proper closure on screen in canon, after their long and solid past got revealed in the very long arc. Still, personally I never expected to see NEW scenes from the old Gevaudan arc again at all, but surprisingly it happened in ch 57...so there might be more to come in the future, to reveal something unknown, for example. Not to mention MJ-sensei might be intentionally doing some tricks for her plans, like to bring some dark plot twist later XD

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This wasn’t supposed to be this long OTL

Thanks for reading my personal interpretations and opinions!!