#I’m not saying this is wrong hes human and complex but the way the fandom just ignores this side of him…

[cosmics-beings]

Why do you like Skybound? From the little I’ve seen on tumblr, it looks like it’s made Starscream into a heartless, ruthless villain with no emotions and that doesn’t sound like something a Starscream fan would enjoy.

The thing about it is that, I like it because it is Starscream. Starscream is ruthless, he is heartless and he is a villain. Especially to humans. The only thing I don’t really like about Skybound is that, for two seconds, I was terrified he was killed off early but people are saying he might be alive?

I think the interesting thing about Starscream, depending on the iteration or what version of the character you absorb, is that he can be multifaceted. I think that the two Starscream’s we have now are Earthspark and Skybound Starscream. It’s fair to say that Earthspark Starscream is handled with a lot of nuance and respect for what happened to him, which is what I absolutely love and adore. But Starscream is still, at his core, before any form or redemption can ever take place, and awful person. Even Earthspark Starscream was not a good person until the episode dropped.

Skybound Starscream to me at least, isn’t that shocking because that shows us one of the many facets of Starscream he can be. I think that, given the various iterations we’ve had of him, and the franchises lack of actually committing to a type of Starscream, it is easy to mix those versions + fandom interpretation (which imo , does tend to water him down and overly pacify him for many reasons), and in a way, think they should be canon.

But in reality, despite the iterations, Starscream is not supposed to be viewed as a good person. At least, not to begin with. Starscream has always been an extremely violent, ruthless, manipulative and abusive person. Even in Earthspark, or TFP, or Cyberverse, etc. He has always resorted to violence to get what he wants. He mistreats those around him, and those who try to help him whether it be his Trine, Knockout, etc. That’s why I don’t think that Skybound is inaccurate because that’s just who he is. I think as Starscream fans, it’s logical to want a version of Starscream that is nuance and more complex because we have gotten that in the past, even among the violence. And I mean, other characters are allowed to have that.

But I’m also okay accepting that Skybound isn’t that version, and that Skybound is also very canon, and often times forgotten version of Starscream that I think the fanbase sometimes needs to be reminded of. I’ve spoken about this before, but while I am heavily empathetic toward Starscream, especially in like TFP and Earthspark (and IDW), he is still an awful person, and he actually has to change to get sympathy points. And what Skybound is doing is in a way, reminding us of that or leaning into that side of Starscream that is either overlooked by the fandom, or a side we haven’t seen in years.

I am literally all for crazed, violent characters like Starscream, and I do like it. Because I also think that, with all the discourse surrounding his character, it is important to recognize that he isn’t this helpless person who has done no wrong. He is still, at his core until he changes, a violent person. And it is satisfying seeing him be violent but also seeing him be held accountable for it.

Skybound Starscream, like all depictions of him, is realistic. I just don’t think we get the nuance or the sympathetic nature of him, which again is okay. That’s not to say that in the future, we don’t see it. Because I believe we will.  

I am very curious to see how his relationship with Megatron is going to be, and in my mind I hope they have a good/better relationship but I hope they're good to each other, or at least can work together. I really don't want any of them to be redeemed I just want them to be terrible actually and just feed off of that.

[wesleysniperking]

Usopp isn’t an Underdog (TL;DR)

If we really take the time to look at it, in a very practical way. An a**pull isn’t really an a**pull. Or whatever way powerscalers like to get red in the face for.

I think a lot of people and One Piece fans have been going about Usopp in the wrong way. If you feel you haven’t, that’s fine. But for the past couple of weeks when on my break, I came to the realization after reading a book (I’ll give the title later) that when considering the genre One Piece falls under and who it’s catered to, it has indeed been a hindrance for Usopp, and even the writer, Oda. Why? Because Oda is as predictable as he is unpredictable. The same can be said for Usopp.

What do I mean by that?

Before I even get into how smart and great Usopp is, I want to state a point. A lot of people are right, Usopp is inevitably a target. Forget about the Sanji v Zoro rap sessions, or Gear 5's overpowered characteristics. Because copium or not, what Oda is doing to Usopp is intentional. When people say that Oda intended for Usopp to always be the weakest it sometimes bothered me. Not because I want him to be crazy f**kin strong. Or that my expectations are aimless. But that statement always bothered me because it seemed like those people were trying to make it a point to say that there’s nothing left for Usopp. He’s regressed and is fodder. Those two years spent on that island, Boin, with his quirky mentor Heracles was all for naught. Everyone else got these nice trainers, and Usopp’s wasn’t as nearly cool. This pained me to even just think about it. And all this shade is something I'm quoting, I don't believe any of these bad things said about Usopp. I stress this.

But I’m actually starting to embrace this aspect. No, the haters didn’t cause me to resign to their stupid agenda or hate bon*r. But they made me realize (including the book I just read), that Oda is writing Usopp perfectly. I kid you not. It took a whole analysis on David and Goliath to really make me think.

For starters, in general, us mortals (or humans) have a really twisted way of looking at the odds, or the underdog. We often think that the Goliaths are these powerful beings. We think that when we find ourselves up against these stronger people we’re at a disadvantage. Despite the One Piece fandom having a vague idea of what Usopp’s underdog status represents and how Shonen grades “weak characters”, I think this brings forward that fact. Therefore, Usopp is a weak little a**hole no one gives a shit about, and if they do, it’s to prove a point (very passionately indeed) that he’s nothing but fodder and Oda has forgotten about him. But wait. Due to our twisted way of thinking, this is where Oda is challenging us. From the start we were at first under the idea that Luffy was at a disadvantage a few times when he was up against certain villains like Arlong or Crocodile, but Oda and Luffy proved to us a few times afterwards that this small Strawhat had what it took. He had balls.

But Usopp’s journey is much more unique and complex.

I must admit, the Usopp haters sometimes get to me. I’m human. It happens. But after reading the book and a eureka moment happened, I understood that Oda was baiting the haters, HE IS BAITING THE HATERS. He’s baiting his audience. For the last three weeks, it was as though everyone couldn’t stop trash-talking Usopp, I started to go crazy. I spent 5 days straight arguing with this a**hole on YouTube who just wanted to prove and beat into my f**cking head that Usopp is “the butt” of the crew. “He’ll never be as strong as Luffy”, “He spent two years on an island and suffered from Obesity. A joke my friend”, and “Nami’s even stronger than him. He’s useless and disloyal”. Ugh!!! Anywho, I understood after reading the book that a**hats like him are what Oda wants. He’s making fun of and light-heartedly taking advantage of Usopp getting sh*tted upon. One Piece is a Shonen manga, baby! But Oda isn’t a conventional writer (that’s what makes One Piece the GOAT).

So, Oda is taking into consideration how flawed humans are in thinking what a powerful person is. He knows we think the Goliaths are the ones who have a chance of winning, when in fact, the Davids are just as formidable. If he had Usopp “take a back seat” in Wano, it was intentional.

When David stepped out behind that protective barrier to defend his people, King Saul stopped him and said “Dude, there’s no way you’re winning this.” Saul was wrong because he thought Goliath had this fight in the bag. And we know who really had the fight in the bag. And if there’s one thing to very strongly note, one thing to consider in the David and Goliath battle is that David was a projectile fighter fighting an infantryman. David was so talented with a sling that he could’ve shot that pebble through Goliath's head so deep it was practically a hot bullet—the stone/pebble David used equated to a bullet during biblical times. And he did "stun" Goliath. The worst opponent for an infantry fighter is in fact a projectile fighter because infantry fighters require making close contact to land multiple blows on an enemy. But projectile fighters can counteract that quickly with just one shot. Therefore, Usopp is at an advantage more than we think due to Usopp’s quick thinking and ammo as well. He just needs to position himself correctly up against the right opponent, and bang!

So, in this 20+ years journey, Oda has taken advantage of Usopp’s character. He wants US to undermine Usopp so badly. So that when Usopp has his biggest moment, it’ll break the fandom.

“No way! How could Usopp win that?!” “OMG. What a major a**pull!” “Damn, he one shot the hell outta [insert future adversary]!”

That finicky little word, a**pull made its appearance again. But nah, it wasn’t an a**pull.

Why?

Because David was never at a disadvantage when he fought Goliath.

Related Link 1 (more similarities between Usopp and David are discussed here)

Related Link 2

Related Link 3

Usopp fan club (join if you’d like)

photo link credit

Work Cited:

Gladwell, M. (2013). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Little, Brown and Company.

[olasketches]

jjk reflection time

this is NOT going to be a post where I criticise what went well and what wrong in the manga and honestly… there won’t be any post like that from me in the future either. I am aware of jjk’s flaws and other people are also aware of jjk’s flaws and whatever people decide to do with that knowledge is completely up to them. I personally really enjoyed the manga and I totally understand if others didn’t and find it rather unsatisfying and disappointing. Their reasons are more than valid and understandable. I'm making this post cause I actually find the fandom to be more irritating than anything gege ever gave us or did. I’m not even going to be ranting about this fandoms biggest issues, I just wanted to share my own thoughts and feelings about the story and its characters… that may not be really popular but we’ll see. If I accidentally end up offending one of my moots then know that I’m so sorry and I love you, pls forgive me.

my number one favourite was… and still is sowyyy…  sukuna, then yuuji joined and then megumi… and nothing much changed here tbh

I love these characters but for completely different reasons than (most of) the fandom does

I love sukuna’s confidence, overwhelming sense of self and the way he carried himself like a royalty. I really appreciate his god-like persona and religious symbolism or how he always respected his opponents (altho I do love that specific trait of his very much tbh) but that's not the reason why I ended up loving him. I love him because he's a messy petty bitch and the fact that he always had a problem with yuuji (someone called it a yuuji complex on the cursed app and they were totally spot on with that) made his character even more compelling and dynamic because it contradicted everything people known him as. it humanised him, is what I’m trying to say and for that reason I’ve never seen him as a curse or a god… to me he was not only a huge asshole who had a beef with a teenager but also… just a little human who tried to act like he was anything but.

yuuji… ahhh yuuji yuuji yuuji.. he's cute and all and he got hurt.. a lot..and he didn't want to be alone.. when he dies ig?? but honestly I’ve never cared for any of that. none of those things made me care or love him in the end. there are plenty of cute and sunshine boys who got lots of trauma on their backs… but none of them are yuuji. No, what made me really love yuuji is his unwavering determination and ability to endure the worst of the worst AND still hold onto his core values. yuuji is kind and compassionate but NOT out of naiveness… god I hate when people potray his good nature as his default behaviour… because he doesn’t know any better… it's really saddening when he’s being reduce to his sunshine, nice boy persona because he’s wayyyy more than that. yuuji is not kind and compassionate because he doesn’t know any better… during the course of the manga he had to fight against everything the jujutsu world threw at him and try to make him believe in. A lot of jujutsu society's values defied everything yuuji believed in and tried to shape him into something he could never be… a cog. a mindless cog who does and kills whatever he is told to and doesn’t see people and the world for its complexity and greyness. he had to fight for his ideas while fighting against his own hatred, guilt and resentment.. so plssss can we stop downplaying yuuji’s kindness and treating is as his weakness and core of his naivety?? please?? cause yuuji may be naive in some ways but his compassion and kindness is NOT one of those things. thank you. let’s move on.

megumi. listen I loved all those megumi corruption or (my personal favourite) distillation theories. I loved them I was totally behind them. And nowwww it really may seem like gege didn’t deliver with megumi’s character… which is completely understandable and a valid point to make, cause… yeah?? I see you, but I feel like none of us ever considered that this boy…. is just really fucking tired. he probably didn't get a once of good night sleep since gojo sent him on that mission to retreat that finger. he’s been on high alert since god knows how long and trying to act as the responsible adult he definitely isn’t and never has been… he’s still a kid goddamnit. So you know, I get that megumi just doesn’t have it in him anymore…….. AS IN ENERGY lol. I mean boy is most likely still depressed, has gone through the most traumatic experience in his life and endured more than anyone else ever should have to in multiple lifetimes. HE HAD IT THE W O R S T LETS BE REAL RIGHT NOW. send that boy to bed and give him plenty of time to replenish cause his own battery percentage is at all times LOW… and tbh it might take a really long time for him to learn how to be a person again… how to be just megumi. someone he’s never had a real chance to be, until now.

this is not the part where I offend people (I think) more thoughts on other characters might come.. later… as a part two of this post. for now I just needed to rant a bit about my top 3 most beloved characters :]

[moon932]

I feel like Vautrin as a character gets passed by a lot in the fandom, which is a shame because he is such an interesting part of Neuvillette's past in Fontaine. And in my (very humble) opinion, I feel like out of all the characters he probably had the biggest impact on Neuvillete.

(more thoughts under the cut)

First thing that stands out to me with him is that he's the only other human character that is mentioned to have been close to Neuvillette. And most likely the first human, outside of Furina (which she both does and doesn't count? idk it weird), he would've met and grown close to when he came to Fontaine ~400 years ago. And this is interesting to me because we know how this story ends and I wonder if he is partially the reason, or maybe he just reinforced the idea, that Neuvillette abstains from forming close relationships?

Think about it, Neuvillette and Vautrin worked closely for years. Hoyo likes to be vague with their timelines so idk how long they would have been working together, but it must've been substantial for Neuvillette (who is an immortal being, so time probably feels different to him) to remember and reminisce about. We're both shown and told that they both had great respect for each other. Also one of the biggest things that stick out to me with the trial part of the story quest, is the noticable emotions in Neuvillette's voice as he juries over the trial. Which yes we know that trials make him emotional which usually manifests in the rain, but this is the first and only time (I think? pls correct me if I'm wrong on this) that it's noticeable in his voice.

The last big thing I think about isn’t the trial itself necessarily, but the way Neuvillette talks about it in the fortress with Wriothesley. I think this is more specific for the english dub bc Ray Chase, instead of saying “And I believed he had every right to feel that way.” he changes it into present tense: “I believe he had every right to feel that way.” Ok this one may be a bit of a stretch because they essentially mean and get across the same thing, but it’s so interesting that it’s changed to present tense. And honestly? I think it works better with the present tense. Because Neuvillette doesn’t condemn Vautrin for the emotions he felt, (which wild theory but maybe he was channeling his emotions towards those he killed and not necessarily towards Neuvillette? so out there ik) if anything Neuvillette seems more then ok to readily accept them and the fact that they are (supposedly) directed at him.

Some other minor stuff that always makes my brain start to whir is that while the parallel were drawn between Vautrin and Carole / Traveller and Paimon in the quest, I do think it’s more fitting to say Wriothesley and Sigewinne are a more accurate parallel. Is this a slight critique on main character privilege? Yes.

If you’re wondering why I’m fixated on this it’s because Neuvillette is a character, that while his interpersonal relationships are sparse, they’re usually a lot more complex and often deeper under the surface. Neuvillette and the melusines are some dynamics that I wished Hoyo explored more often because I would love to know how to the melusines view Neuvillette more in depth. (If Sigewinne’s voice lines or character stories touch on this please let me know! I’d love to read them.) I have barely even touched on Neuvillette and Furina because their relationship is such a complex mix of trust and fear and pain and love. Not to mention Neuvillette and Wriothesley “The words unspoken are the flower.” Okay sir, keep your secrets I see how it is.

Do I think that Neuvillette always had the idea that the Chief Justice must remain impartial in any circumstances running through his head when he first took position in Fontaine? Yes, but I do think that the trial with Vautrin may have exacerbated this thought and made it more of a lifestyle type thing. Or maybe Neuvillette believes all his relationships from then on may be set in a perpetual cycle of grief and loss because surely nothing will out live the sovereign of water, the original god of life itself?

[d3sertdream3r]

I’ve noticed a lot of rancid takes about Taliesin’s characters that are annoying me, so I’m going to rant for a minute. 

Tal has perfected the art of creating paradoxical characters, and I think a lot of people end up getting lost and confused in the layers. This is not a “if you don't get it, you’re dumb” type of thing. It’s just that I wish people would truly ponder his characters and why they’re the way they are because they’re not the stereotypical protagonists that North American entertainment focuses on. They’re not strictly kind and generous, intelligent and charming, or hateful and arrogant. They’re all of the above. 

A lot of western media features characters that are fairly cut and dry and easy to understand. There isn’t a ton of complexity happening, and from what I’ve seen, the majority of the people hating on his characters and role-play style are from areas where they aren't used to Tal’s type of character. They’re not used to characters having multiple characteristics that seem to contradict each other all at once (even though that’s how people are in real life). I’m guessing that’s part of why they don't like them, but who knows. 

Caduceus is the least paradoxical of his characters, which is why I think most people say he’s their favorite of Tal’s characters. He is the personification of a fluffy blanket and a warm hug. What’s not to love?? Percy, Molly/Kingsley, and Ashton on the other hand, are all much rougher around the edges. The point of them is to provide the opposite of comfort for the audience; they're meant to make people a little uncomfortable. They hold up a mirror to the audience and force us to look at the parts of humanity that we try to avoid. Not the pure evil of mankind that Matt’s villains often show, but something even more sad and hard to swallow. 

Audiences tend to like characters that deal with trauma through humor and/or charm. People benefit from these types of characters by laughing at them or lusting over them. There’s nothing wrong with this by any means; that’s all part of the fun of fandom! However, characters that deal with their trauma in ways that are more raw and painful tend to be disliked. 

Percy is filled with constant fear that his past will haunt his future. He is convinced that wherever he goes, the darkness will follow and the pain awaits. He has horrible nightmares and lives with incessant paranoia, yet faces the deadliest monsters, demons, gods, etc with nothing but his wit and a gun. He can't stop inventing, not just to glorify himself but to protect everyone. He’s so many things at once, which is what makes him so real and complex and fascinating. 

Molly/Kingsley’s story is about wondering who you truly are and not meeting expectations of those you care about. Imagine that you’re not the only one comparing yourself to someone else; all your friends are too. You’re trying to figure out what defines you while feeling like everyone you know wants you to be someone else. His story is also filled with questions about nihilism and whether or not anything truly matters, including identity. 

Ashton represents the endless loneliness of abandonment and feeling like no matter what you do, those you love will never care about you as much as you care about them. He pushes people away and acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world while simultaneously doing everything he can to grip onto his friends. He is jealous of Laudna for the way she died because it showed how loved she was, and how sick is that? To be jealous of someone’s death? To try and force someone to admit that they haven’t gotten over their issues because you can’t accept that it’s possible to overcome yours? What's wrong with you? If it’s possible for people to do that, why can't you? What’s wrong with you? Why is it so hard for you when it seems so easy for others? What’s wrong with you? They represent not just the physical, but the emotional chronic pain that most people don’t have to think about every day. 

I have so much more to say about these amazing characters, but that would take an entire novel. They emotionally bleed all over the place. While they can still be lighthearted and humorous at times, they’re often really messy in various ways. But that doesn’t stop them from being so loving and wonderful at the same time! 

TL;DR, Taliesin’s characters are incredible and I’m so grateful that he is willing to play them in such a raw and real way for those of us that aren’t always funny or charming enough about our trauma to make society like us. 

[cosmicjoke]

I’m a bit confused so I’m asking for clarification. Do you hate eruri shippers? You often speak of them derisively but I know a lot of eruri shippers who don’t think the way you characterize them. I’ll agree with what you say but then you’ll add in some insult against eruri shippers and it makes me feel bad because I ship Levi and Erwin

I don't hate eruri shippers at all, and I've said that multiple times. I'm not against any ship. It's not the eruri ship I'm against. What I'm against is the way a certain segment within the eruri fandom intentionally twists and mischaracterizes Levi and Erwin both in support of their ship. I think it's a shame the way one of the most important and complex relationships and dynamics in AoT gets consistently dumbed down and simplified into something it's not, and for what agenda, I can't even begin to fathom. Levi's and Erwin's relationship is one of the most important and pivotal ones in the series, but people constantly get wrong the actual reasons why that is, ignoring all the thematic relevance inherent in their relationship in favor of trying to force it into this framework of blind devotion. I know that the majority of eruri shippers don't do this, which is why I always try to specify that it's just a certain segment within the community that's guilty of this, with their constant claims that Levi "sacrificed humanity" for Erwin, their claims that Levi has no moral compass without Erwin, their claims that Levi cared more about Erwin and his vow than he did humanity, etc...

If you follow me as a fic writer, you'll know I both read and write eruri fiction myself. Like I said, I'm not opposed to the ship in any way, other than when I see certain people in the community intentionally butchering Levi's character, and in turn, butchering Erwin's, too. I think it's fine to ship Levi with anyone, honestly. Whether it's with Hange, or Petra or self-shipping, or whatever. Again, it's not the ship I take issue with, it's the way people essentially disparage Levi's character in order to push their shipping agenda.

[musicalmoritz]

Hm is it even good to like Tsukasa? Or ship him?

Why am I getting so many controversial asks today😭 No hate to you ofc, I just think it’s funny. I’ve talked abt SA/incest, problematic ships, and now I’m about to talk abt the ethics of liking villain characters. I guess I should thank you guys bcuz I did say I liked talking abt more complex subjects…

Yes it is completely fine to like Tsukasa, I’m surprised I even have to say this. People have about a million reasons for liking villain characters, watch any interview of an actor playing an evil role and you’ll see them passionately talk about how fun it is. Tsukasa is not a real person and therefore none of his crimes are real, he hasn’t hurt anybody and he is incapable of ever causing any real harm because he does not exist. A person’s taste in fictional characters should never be used as an indication of their real life morals, the only people who think otherwise are people who actively engage in fandoms and have therefore lost touch of the way normal people consume fictional content (aka people like me but I try to stay grounded in reality)

Personally I love characters that are morally reprehensible. Even with characters that are morally good, I tend to be fascinated by their flaws (ex: Kou and Nene). I like Tsukasa because he causes conflict, which gives the story a plot. If he weren’t there things wouldn’t be as interesting. He’s actually my favorite Yugi twin, he’s very entertaining to read about. I love how he just does shit to mess with people, he’s so creepy (affectionate). Characters that do really bad things are fun to analyze, they help us conceptualize certain behaviors without glorifying any real life perpetrators of those crimes. The majority of the time, there is more to characters than their worst behaviors, and fans may like them for other reasons as well

As for the shipping, no there’s nothing wrong with shipping Tsukasa with other characters. I know the fandom as a whole disagrees with this but those takes lack a lot of nuance. What if people are shipping him with characters he hasn’t hurt??? Or shipping him in AUs where he’s more chill??? Also keep in mind that the rhetoric of “mentally ill people shouldn’t date because they’ll hurt someone” is used to oppress mentally ill individuals irl, particularly people with personality disorders. Everyone is capable of growing and changing if they choose to do so

Even if you think it’s problematic to ship Tsukasa, it’s weird to assume everyone who does so is a terrible person. It’s even weirder to assume that simply liking him makes you a bad person

Idk sorry I’m getting so heated about this, none of this is aimed at you specifically. This is just a really important issue to me, it disturbs me to see so many people conflating fictional killers/abusers to human beings. It is the peak of chronically online behavior and I hope to see it dead in a ditch someday. Unfortunately I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon…

[louisisalarrie]

I must say that best was panic in between hairballs after louis' mexico concert. I know it maybe wasnt 70k people on the end (32k is still massive in my opinion) but how they were stressed that louis can have this big audition ( it was really near to harrys numbers, and they live in their own fantasy that harry is something better than others) , they spreaded lies about people going random around and whatever they could think right from their ass. Even if all these people on videos were AI it worth it....and dont take me wrong im very proud of harry and his succes, it is only about this type of his "fans"

hehehe I love watching them scramble. it’s the same when we get some solid larry proof, it is so very funny.

but yes, I don’t think he’s very proud of the way his fans treat people. There are a lot of them that are great, don’t get me wrong, one of my best friends (who also works in the industry) is a MAJOR harrie. like… followed him around AU & NZ to go to all of his shows etc. (respectfully like not camping out his hotel just going to the shows), and she’s also an anti. but she does not say a single disrespectful thing about Louis and has seen all harry, louis, and niall’s solo shows. she’s a stan, but has really stayed away from the toxicity. it’s possible to be a fucking beautiful and lovely human while also being a solo harrie, but fuck, so many people are so far from it.

and twitter is a major factor for that. back in the day, whatever we wrote on twitter, we risked the boys seeing it, so even when things got heated, we kept in mind they could reply to us at any time and call us out if necessary. hence why all the chaos was on tumblr.

but the boys did in fact see so much and respond to so much - we used twitter to tweet at them more than each other. but now, it’s a vacuum hellscape and FULL of bots, folks who shouldn’t be allowed in any fandom, and politics. it’s icky. and that change, obviously came with the way Twitter started being used for marketing purposes only, and an influx of solos when 1d went on hiatus. instead of waiting for the boys to jump online and start a twitcam, or fighting the beliebers, all we get now is promo, or a half hearted q&a which is usually just to push a stunt, and our for you pages just don’t align with what we want to see. Everything is an argument.

But my point is that, while they probably do take a solid amount of time off Twitter because it is such a hellscape, they would check, and be told by their pr coordinators, as to what’s going on. harry would see his fandom fucking creating hurt and chaos and divide, and his response has been ‘treat people with kindness’, which is as diplomatic as he can be without causing more chaos. But those fans just… ignore that. And half the time they don’t even treat HIM with kindness, is the most embarrassing fandom I’ve ever seen.

Every fan in the 1d days had their fave boy, and it was NOTHING like this. I didn’t yell at someone who loved zayn because I loved niall, we were just all there together, fucking supporting these terrible, terrible dancers as a team. sorry but fandoms just don’t have the same community vibe they used to. The only consistently loving and supportive and sweet people I’ve seen throughout all these years are larries (I’m sure there are a couple instigators, but overall).

anyway sorry I really ended up floating away here but yes, they have a severe superiority complex that goes hand in hand with their insecurities.

[good-beans]

YES thank you @kyanako5972 for your service 😤👏 (I was actually looping them both for a bit but I keep forgetting to run it lately ah...)

And hehe I have been ✨enabled ✨Have some Triage thoughts, and feel free to add your own!!

Starting off with my main praise of the song: “I want to be Innocent, I want to live.” I know the point of milgram is that all the characters are going to get worse, but I feel like this video is the first t2 song we’ve seen a prisoner get better. (People have talked about his savior complex being an issue but that’s coming after the inno verdict, in Triage he specifically says he never wanted this to be some kind of hostage situation where he has the power to save/kill people.) This is when we can finally see one of our verdicts go right. The others had an issue, or creeping guilt, or uncertainty, but Shidou gets over any uncertainty right then and there – he wants to live again!! In a series so full of death, in which half of the cast makes some reference to suicidal thoughts, plus two victims who did commit suicide, there’s something extremely profound about seeing one of them change their mind onscreen. We hadn’t gotten a moment of healing like that before, and I doubt we’re ever going to get one again.

The moment itself is shown very accurately and beautifully, in my opinion. His expression when he makes his statement about wanting to live is so unique. It’s not a smile, it’s not a grimace, it’s something in between. His voice is strained, but set. He’s not excited about it – when you’re in that mental place, it isn’t a cheery switch to wanting to live, it’s a grit-your-teeth and pick yourself up and make the tough choice. It’ll be so, so hard but by god you have a job to do. It made sense, given all the previous mentions of him helping Fuuta and Mahiru – he had a lot of complicated feelings about being a doctor, but he remembered that saving others really is his purpose in life.

And then the shock factor. Because of that moment and the family reveal, I think this video had the biggest twist of t2. The others had surprises, sure, but they were hinted at in the voice clips and vds, or they just exaggerated things we already knew about the characters. I was completely blindsided by Triage. Everything leading up to it paralleled Shidou with Mahiru, so I thought it was just a lover he’d lost (and maybe someone he’d just met or something). He had his moments with Amane, but I always assumed it was because of her connection to him, not vice versa. I assumed he was just overdramatic and killing people for some lady he’d fallen for, and then decided to take the easy way out and ask for death. So to find out he had a fully established family, wife and two kids??? To see his main character trait from season one was completely reversed??? (but in a way that wasn’t at all forced???)

Now, it’s much easier to make a character unlikable than it is to redeem them. We saw how quickly the fandom turned on certain characters, we felt pangs of horror for many of them. But it’s very difficult to make someone like a character they’d previously despised. Which is why I’m insanely impressed with the way those three minutes could undo months of my hatred toward Shidou, and bring me literally to tears over him. Suddenly his actions weren’t so selfish, as rash. He’s not taking the coward’s way out. He had incredibly good reason to do what he did, and now he’s taking accountability and choosing to face pain in order to atone. I’ll add more in a sec, but it’s not even that the video shows him as this perfect saint. Without holding back on everything he’d done wrong, it conveyed a real, grieving human that really moved me.

Of course the music itself was amazing – Shugo Nakamura sounds incredible. I don’t know too much about actual music structure, but the tone of both Shidou’s songs manages to be so fun and relaxing while simultaneously filling you with that profound sadness. It’s like an embodiment of his peaceful, sad smile. There’s something so human about his voicemail message, and it’s unique hearing different types of speaking parts in a song! But that moment is also foreboding. You wonder why he missed the call, and who’s calling, and you kind of already know, and you hear the three beeps as the line is dead. Then there’s the gut-wrenching return of those sounds, with the added visuals bringing to mind a dying heart?? Insane. 

And lastly, the visuals are gorgeous. Bringing back the flower/pomegranate symbolism in a similar but new way was perfect. The bright scenery and picturesque scenes really emphasized how happy he was. The video is so bright. His family is gorgeous, they’re happy. His neighborhood is sunny and warm. His house is comfortable and light. Which meant the dark scenes contrasted perfectly, driving home how jarring his loss was. And despite all the good things I said about him before, the video isn’t actually trying to paint him in an innocent light. There are literal graveyards behind him, showing how much blood is on his hands. The rotting food is such a disgustingly painful way to show what he was doing to people. He handed the tag directly to his son, showing full accountability: he gave his son his fate, he killed him himself. The images seem beautiful at first, especially compared to AKAA’s dark, bloody rooms, Backdraft’s grim tunnel, and INMF’s monstrous bees. But no matter how lovely it looks, it successfully  conveys a truly horrendous crime. 

In conclusion Shidou my fucking beloved. Go watch Triage again :3

[dirtytransmasc]

I gotta say, I’ll read just about any fic where Spider is getting shown love and acceptance, but I’m not the biggest fan of fics that will go out of their way to make Quaritch worse to Spider than he was in canon. Because to me, the fact that Quaritch is kind to Spider is one of the things that makes his character interesting. Making him worse just isn’t compelling. And it’s almost always used in fics where he gets adopted by Jake and Neytiri, so it’s just kind of like… did you have to make Quaritch awful so the Sully’s prior neglect doesn’t look as bad in comparison?

TW; r4pe, child abuse, violence against children,

oh thank you, someone said it.

I have seen so many fics where recom quaritch was made to be worse than even human quaritch just for the sake of making the sully's look good. I have seen more than one r4pe fic, multiple fics where quaritch beat spider bloody, and that's only the tip of the iceberg just so spider can scurry home to the sully's and have everything go 'back to normal'. the neglect, abuse, neytiri almost killing spider situation, the sully's abandoning spider with the RDA situation, etc all gets ignored and they're a happy family. it boggles my mind how that makes sense to anyone.

I get that not everyone likes him, but, changing his entire narrative just to fit your own non canon narrative is just kinda annoying. especially cause like, the whole purpose of their characters were to show the complexity of healthy father/son relationships, even if they are on opposing sides, even if one is on the wrong side to begin with. it's the duality of quaritchs role within the movie that make it worthwhile.

the day the majority of people within any given fandom space can actually have critical thinking and analysis skills will be the day I live in peace.

[rivetgoth]

It feels weird to admit out loud but tbh I feel like I’ve completely outgrown “fandom” as a concept. I remember being an awkward lonely teenager who was super isolated from everyone else and fandoms were everythinggggg to me. I don’t hold any regret for that or view it as “cringe” or something, I made all of my online friends that way and some of those friends are people I’m still in contact with today and who were there for me during some of the darkest moments of my entire life, plus a huge portion of the practice I got writing and actually receiving feedback was fanfiction, it was definitely what made me become a confident enough writer to actually start sharing my works with people. I got into “kinning” and all that and just was super into fandoms, shipping, etc.

But nowadays I just feel so removed from it. Most importantly I feel like I reached a point where I felt like a lot of fanfiction culture was honestly holding me back as a writer. It became more dependent on writing a certain way or certain content to generate views and the more I started writing for myself rather than emphasizing popular ships or tropes the less attention my work got and I felt a lot of distaste for all the memes I’d see about how to get more views, about never finishing projects, never editing your work before posting, etc, when I was really pushing myself to try to turn out quality content. I switched over to entirely original fiction when I started realizing that the stories I wanted to tell could be told through my own characters and I could put the effort into actually crafting something of my own for myself that was original from the ground up and that felt way more exciting. Shipping for me was extremelyyyy a byproduct of being very lonely IRL. Both romantically and otherwise. It was like, a way for me to project my “ideal relationship” and envision a world where I basically was making up what I wanted a relationship to look like via the characters I was using as a stand-in for myself. Once I was actually forming complex deep human relationships in real life I actually realized I had a lot of toxic traits and unhealthy attachment of my own I had to work through and it changed my outlook a LOT on “shipping” and how I was going about it and just what a healthy relationship really looks like irl… And I also realized that a lot of the time the characters I was projecting onto were because I was insecure and didn’t really know myself (or even WANT to know myself), so I was putting more stock into comparing myself to these characters I liked and sort of viewing myself through that lens instead of confronting myself…

I still looooove many characters to death don’t get me wrong, and I totally have characters where I either 1. Super duper relate to them or 2. Think they are hot as fuck or 3. Think it’d be hot if they fucked another character. But it’s just not a world I engage with or have any interest in engaging with. I don’t think I’ve actually sat down and read a fanfiction in, like… god, almost a decade now probably. And is it way too mean to say I honestly just find the landscape of modern fandom extremely uninteresting and a bit juvenile? I’m not a huge fan of how much of what I see nowadays is about projecting onto characters rather than trying to come up with interesting new stories or concepts for them pertaining to the character themself. Like, you go through the tags and it’s just like… “omg this character is a he/they MCR fan with autism” and then you go to OP’s bio and they are a he/they MCR fan with autism 😭 & it’s like… just very deeply uninteresting to me to engage with media that way. I see people get called out for headcanoning a villainous character committing a heinous non-canon act as if it’s morally “wrong” and I think it’s because people are more interested in like, projecting onto characters than viewing them as unique entities, so saying “this villain is an abuser” is basically saying “YOU, fan of this character, are an abuser.” It’s weird and not very fun to me. Fanmixes are all music OP already knows and likes, nobody is making anything that feels particularly high effort (fan games, animations, etc) and those SAME DAMN “no line editing we upload at 3 am like men” posts that encourage lazy ass writing are STILL going around!! I just think so much of it feels low effort and I’m at a point in my life where I really desire effort, in my own work and in others’ work.

There’s just a lot of aspects of it I feel so removed from nowadays. I love weird sex and unbridled sexuality and fandom feels so sexless even though people talk all the time about being horny for XYZ characters and I can’t quite put my finger on why. Like even back in 2012 fandom “zomg my ovaries” type stuff felt more sexually charged. I think, and this is quite judgmental I know, it’s because a lot of the people who are immensely into fandom As A Lifestyle kind of substitute real life for these fantasy daydream versions and it’s in part because they are a bit emotionally immature and insecure IRL… and I say that because I was there at some point. Like, they aren’t actually confident enough in themselves to just own unrestrained sexual attraction so instead it’s all kinda milquetoast. Back when I was in fandoms all the time I hated myself too much to ever even make self-inserts. I was like, disgusted with the idea of picturing myself in situations. Once I was freed of that I felt way less interested in “shipping” unless there is REALLY GOOD sexual tension because ultimately if I think a character is hot I’m just like. Damn I wish I could fuck them & that’s really it. Then I just like jerk off and move on but even then I find it more titillating to jerk off to real people than someone fictional 😭 Plus I think a lot of fandom ppl have an issue that I’ve talked about before, which is making interest-based friends that they never attempt to develop a deeper connection to beyond their interests, so the moment one of you stops being as obsessed with something the friendship ends. And I’m just not really interested in that kinda dynamic, especially with total strangers online.

Uh idk. Sorry to be a normie but I think at this point I’m just so much more interested in real people first ov all, because I go out like multiple times a week and am surrounded by so many strange interesting characters and I’m just so much more interested in THEM, and the chance to actually get close to them, than any characters that don’t exist. With cool people in real life you can actually work to be closer to them and get to know them! And when it comes to characters that don’t exist, I’m way more interested in crafting my OWN and developing my own worlds and stories for myself. And I’m just interested in the story of my own life and improving myself and making myself cooler and more interesting rather than getting caught up putting that time and energy into someone else’s creation. I also think I just don’t really vibe with fandom culture around the types of things that get popular, from art styles to character interpretations to the way cliques manifest in places like Discord or whatever. And I haaaaaate the fact that it feels like every fandom in the world just has the most inane pointless drama, people like coming for each other over what characters they like or what headcanons they have, terms like proship or antiship meaning literally nothing of value because they change definition every single time I see someone new use them, really weird fetishism that continues to go unchecked of nonwhite people and LGBT people and the like… it’s just like. Not fun to me.

But like. Idk. I don’t mean to sound like a judgmental ass and make sweeping statements about every single fandom person and every single fandom or try to just sound way more morally or intellectually superior or something. But it’s kinda interesting I guess to realize how far from that culture I am at this point in my life. I just can’t imagine spending really any time or energy focusing on fictional characters invented by other people and projecting onto them rather than just confronting myself and my life directly and making things that are original manifestations of my soul and my desires and my own rich inner world. Huh.

[wibble-wobbegong]

I have read people complaining that Will didn’t deserve to be treated that way at Rink O Mania, but nobody said that he did. We’re not defending Mike’s actions or saying that he wasn’t wrong, but that both of them were wrong for different reasons. Apparently you can’t ask this fandom to have a nuanced mind.

the nuance disappeared for people after having to watch him experience horrific trauma and now he’s no longer a complex person and only a victim therefore anything and anyone that hurts him is automatically entirely at fault and will didn’t do anything wrong. not all pains are universal yet people struggle to fathom that even a deeply traumatized person who isn’t following the trope of “becoming what hurt him most” is still a human being who fucks up and isn’t constantly a victim

will is a traumatized person. he has gone through a lot which was not his fault at all, but that didn’t change the fact that he’s a person. being traumatized doesn’t mean that every pain you experience is grandiose and you’re once again being forced to suffer and are a victim (of course trauma responses happen but even then that doesn’t mean you didn’t fuck up, it just means you need some help getting reoriented so you can talk to the person and apologize or sort it out), it just means you have trauma

maybe i’m fighting an invisible force here but people tend to witness suffering and become insanely protective of the person who suffered from even the smallest of pains and excuse all their actions rather than letting them be people again

[gold-rhine]

I am not sure where to put this but I am. quite Mildly Annoyed by seeing roleswap AUs with Neuvillette and Furina. Like, idk, what’s going to change? Gender??? (Roleswap is Sovereign Furina and human/Focalors impersonator Neuvi specifically.) It gives me a kind of feeling that authors want to avoid writing Furina’s complexities and instead project it onto blorbified fandom bbygirl Neuvillette when the existing dynamic is right there. Ofc people can write what they want and I’m not against roleswaps for them as a rule but it really rubbed me the wrong way. Idk am I crazy out here

bold of u to come into #1 neuvi defence squad inbox and first call him names and second imply that furina has complexity in canon and he doesn't. all very unbiased moves on your part lol. like if you don't think position of dragon god that was killed by humans and then reborn in human form and now has to pretend to be one of them and live in their society as a judge, serving directly under false god who keeps his stolen power is not complex, idk what to tell u. mb dont seek out content with neuvi if u dont like him, idk

that said, i didnt see these aus so i cant say anything on execution, but idk about concept bc neuvi's inhumanity is a huge part of him and if you remove it, he becomes completely different character. like neuvi in present characterization would not last 3 seconds as pretend archon, bc he can't read ppls reactions and he doesn't lie, he wouldnt be able to adjust on the fly as furina did. you'd also have to instead add this inhumanity to furina, which changes her character completely bc being human is essential to her. they are OCs at this point.

[chibikittens]

a little sad and frustrated again over HFY. I used to love all these stories, and I’ll admit I haven’t been involved in it lately so I could be completely wrong, but are there any... good stories anymore?

(ngl this is just a vent post about nothing important bc I love to complain, but hey if you have any recommendations... ;_;)

It feels like so many of them steal ideas from one another, and- fine. It IS a fandom, after all. That’s kind of the point. But it seems like so many stories out there are just really wonky (barely there) science facts without any real overarching story. Or stories with interesting ideas but NO drive to explore them. It’s just “woooa humans have this funny organ/bio-chemical and it makes them WAY BETTER than these weak silly aliens who have the personality of a wet napkin haha!” (which is its own problem too ngl)

(and some of them are like, ‘posted 8 hrs ago’ and blatantly rips off a 5m youtube video that just came out about the exact same super niche trivia knowledge... like... cmon)

And then there are the... pro-war, weirdly eugenics-y ones out there that make you raise your brow at the moral. Like all the stories where humans (or whoever) have to prove their personhood, and then... they do. They prove it, as if they needed to in the first place. Or the ones like “fuck with humanity and find out” and then the aliens fuck around and they find out, and there’s SO MANY of those, why are there so many...?

And like I’m not saying there can’t be stories with complex and flawed societies! I’ve read great stories out there like that! It just doesn’t feel like those are being written anymore, and any sense of nuance has been lost, exchanged for this sense of genetic or mental superiority, and it’s so off-putting...

And I think it’s frustrating ‘cause I have read super amazing stories that frankly, baffling that they’re free?? Like, published-book-quality stories I would’ve been glad to pay for.  I remember Prey, an unfinished story where humans were one of two of the only predatory species in the galaxy - and sure, it wasn’t perfect, the enemy was genetically evil. But, as the human race was being shown in its complexities within the story, and their predatory-nature was mostly political and they directly acknowledge the more nuanced hunter-gatherer type of background humanity has had, maybe there would’ve eventually been something like that for the other species too. Sad it ended, but it was showing a lot of promise for unraveling more nuanced ideas along the way.

And then there’s Betty Adam’s short stories! Where, yes, the humans are wacky but their alien counterparts are just as wacky, too! And, not only are the alien cultures unique, but so are the individuals within the cultures as well! And they’re not all just drab fucking dry and salty fucking white-coat scientists! (Just god how much I have come to loath that character sub-type) (I should just be reading those ones honestly, like can I tell you how fucking refreshing it was that, instead of reading another adrenaline-story ((you know the ones they’re ALL the same)) I read a short story where a cleaner wouldn’t start cleaning cause someone moved his favorite broom, and an insectoid person was like ‘what does it matter lol also you have a favorite broom???’)

And then the shorter stories that actually had heart to them, stories that were smaller in scale but just as passionate as the galaxy-wide stories. I remember this one where a man crashes onto a planet, and is rescued by the aliens living there, only they don’t live as long as he does... he ages so slow in comparison that he becomes a sort of living historian/weather predictor for them, and when he finally dies at the end, its like such a profound shift, like this man who has seen generations after generations of this species live and grow and thrive, and he’s just... gone, too. Like everything else that came before.

I dunno. I just needed to vent about it I guess. I miss those stories. Maybe they still exist and I just can’t find them because the sites they’re posted to aren’t really meant for story-archiving and they become buried and lost, but if they’re there then I cannot find them, and I get sad thinking about that too.

[the1975attheirverybest]

I have to admit smth. The love I have for Matty kills me, it makes me sad and depressed I need to stop bc after put the phone away I realize how bad my life is

Oh, hun. I’m sorry.

To be honest, and maybe this is controversial to say, and probably unhealthy, so you should feel totally free not to listen to me and just…do the normal human thing. But, I think it’s a bit shitty that society makes us feel bad about our love for art. I could go on and on about this for ages. I’ll spare your the details, but I’m kind of sick of the whole “parasocial relationships are bad” thing.

I think, yes, it’s helpful to remember that we do not actually KNOW Matty. That we only see a version of him based on what he actively chooses to share with us. I think we definitely shouldn’t reduce him to his celebrity status or do the kind of thing that allows people to just bombard him at airports or show up to his hotel or whatever. Definitely yeah that shit is important. However, I absolutely REFUSE to apologize for the joy that he brings me and that his music brings me. When I say that he saved my life, I’m not exaggerating. I know he says shit about like not knowing if fans are being dramatic when they say that to him. Well, I’m not. I was actively suic*dal when I discovered the 1975, and the fact that someone out there not only felt the way that I did, but put words to it, made it into art, transformed it into a positive thing made me feel so much comfort when scene mental professionals were at all loss for how to help me.

To this day, just the fact that someone as beautiful and smart and kind as he is exists in the world and is out there making it better by making music and bringing crowds together and articulating such complex and often contradictory ideas in such a relatable way, challenging us to think differently, and all the other weird and wonderful things that this rat of a man does on a daily basis brings me so much hope, joy, and comfort. So I just absolutely refuse to be guilted into feeling bad about it cuz he doesn’t know I exist or cuz it’s not normal to feel this intensely about some public figure. Yeah, if I were feeling this way about [insert stereotypical celeb here] then absolutely shame me for it. But I think he’s one of a handful of people who is worth it. You won’t catch me saying that shit about, like, Kim Kardashian, or Drake. The day that I start writing Drake fanfics is the day that….idk take me out of my misery.

So, if it makes you happy, and you find it meaningful, do it! Fuck societal expectations. If it makes you sad that you don’t actually know someone who’s like that, BE THAT PERSON. Be that for others.

If, however, it’s actually hurting your mental health to participate in a fandom that brings you more harm than good, then yeah, maybe think about why that is/ what you can do to change it.

Again, I might be completely in the wrong here. I’m well aware that I sound fucking insane. So, if this isn’t sitting right with you, feel free to tell me to fuck right off. I totally understand. …thanks for coming to my ted talk lol

[end-of-the-alleyway]

The Way of the World | Chapter 1: First Sunset

Story Rating: General Audience Words: 4.0k Warnings: implied character death, angst, author's first fic

Summary: The world has ended, not in fire nor ice, but in a manner that shocked everyone. They became actors upon a stage for creatures beyond their imaginations. All they know to do is fight but brother against brother is turned with the stars bearing witness. Ahn Seungjae never thought he'd make it this far. Dragged into an inevitable failure of a journey with a ragtag group of survivors, he could see the end in sight. But hey, what's wrong with seeing things through for once?

Fandom: Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (ORV)

Characters: These are all my OCs. I use anime faceclaims to describe their appearances. There likely won't be any canon characters except for constellations.

Ahn Seungjae used to love looking up at the night sky. 

For the longest, it had been a secret comfort of his. To look up and think to himself, “Ah, perhaps I’m not alone.” It was as if the world above was for him and him alone because there was an unfortunate truth. There were no stars as far as the eye could see. The light pollution of Seoul, Korea made it so that the night sky was simply darkness. Earth remained alone in the galaxy.

Still, he didn’t seem to mind. It was a statement of fact, really. Just as the Earth turned and life continued, the stars remained. His naked eye couldn’t make them out, but his heart could. They were there. On nights where he’d climb to the roof of his childhood home and look at the sky, he’d almost wish they’d look back. Just for a single moment. 

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ is looking at you.]

Well, not anymore.

“I understand,” he mumbled out. 

Seungjae stopped in front of an abandoned apartment complex, taking in the sight before him. The building hadn’t been dealt significant damage. There was the occasional pile of debris from each floor’s concrete railing and lights flickering on and off, as if to signal to the rest of the world that its presence was there. Come to me! I can provide sanctuary! It was an annoying building, to say the least. Not like it was its fault. It was just a building. No, the real nuisance was what was to come the moment he entered.

[It is nearing the first wave of the sixth night. All sub-scenarios close at 8 P.M.]

But what other choice was there?

Everyone said the world would not change overnight, that the tide of change was gradual and what was once a stream would become a roaring river. Seungjae truly wanted to see their faces now. The world did, in fact, change. It wasn’t overnight like they thought, but rather at the end of the day with the sun’s pink and orange hues bidding humanity’s understanding of normalcy farewell.

Monsters emerged from the ground, from the sea, and from the sky. They crashed into buildings and let out ferocious roars, causing the general public to panic. After all, Seoul’s streets were packed at all hours but at this time, everyone was getting off work and students, out of school. The coincidence of the moment irked Seungjae, as he’d been one of the rare few not on those streets. That did not mean he went unscathed. 

It was a true ‘apocalypse.’ Before the Internet went out, there were live news stations explaining that this was a terrorist attack and to remain calm. Just like with the monsters’ emergence, the president’s head exploding was sudden and the screen darkened. That’s when he heard it, a voice belonging to what he soon learned to be a creature of myth. 

It was a furry thing, white covering its entire body as it wore a discarded rag of a… potato bag? Truthfully, he considered it to be small, but that was a thought that came later. Seungjae’s eyes roamed the strange being, identifying two horns on the top of its head. Eyes with scleras as black as the abyss and pupils as red as blood met his. Without even opening its mouth, Seungjae knew what exactly it was.

A dokkaebi. 

Its sickening voice was still in Seungjae’s head, ringing like a gong over and over again, like it knew no other home than his mind. He couldn’t complain too much. After all, the information following its appearance was far too useful to ignore. 

The world as they knew it was gone. There would be no more days of riding the subway to school, sitting in class half paying attention, or even sleeping peacefully in bed. Everything they took for granted was now gone and no amount of groveling would get it back. Instead, everything became more like a… a video game, so to speak. 

When faced with the confusion of fellow survivors, Seungjae found that to be the best explanation. They were in the middle of a game where they could level up their personal stats through the completion of missions or as the dokkaebi called it, scenarios. They even had an interface displaying their information. Had it not been a literal life or death situation, Seungjae might’ve found it to be interesting. Of course, the only interest he found himself having from then on was the desire to stay alive.

The first scenario targeted that specific desire. 

Kill. To take another’s life, it was as good as disregarding your own. However, when you’re staring the grim reaper in the eye, what are you meant to say? What are you meant to do? Accept it with open arms? The world may have changed but death still reigned as a primal fear. To keep living, it was etched into the bones of every human so much so that the moment the holographic message appeared, many individuals laid in pools of their own blood before the first ten minutes finished. Surviving the carnage wasn’t easy. 

Well, that was a general term. Some people had an easier time than others, realizing the specific wording and using it to their advantage. Some killed those nearby, mostly using their bare hands to do the deed because the conditions asked for a person, right? Then, there were some people who understood the scenario perfectly and still made the decision to draw blood. 

Well, what did it matter? At the end of the day, all survivors were labeled as murderers and the fairness of the world came to an equal standing. Seungjae stood among them with the pants of his school uniform splattered with blood. Whose blood, he didn’t dare say. To kill someone was the same as killing yourself, the innocent you that will never return no matter how many times you wash your hands. 

He washed his to the point it hurt. What a pathetic punishment, but even then he still did not lay down and die. He held no desire to. Thus, that’s how he found himself at this particular apartment complex. 

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ is looking at you.]

A sigh escaped his chapped lips. Reflecting on his path to this specific point wasn’t going to do him any good. What he needed now was to face the present, not look over his shoulder at the past.

“I was just thinking.”

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ wants to know why you aren’t entering.]

That was another development of the new world. Constellations. The easiest explanation for them was that they were gods of some sort. So far, no one knew if they were gods from any existing religions and by no one, it was just Seungjae. Comparing notes wasn’t easy when everyone viewed everyone as a threat, even if said person was a sixteen-year-old teenager. Really, the caution was understandable, to an extent. 

Seungjae was that extent. 

Apparently after the first scenario came to an end, beings of odd origin appeared as holographic messages, the same as the one the scenario arrived in. It was apparent they went by nicknames of some sort. Why, Seungjae didn’t know. He didn’t bother to ask either. That particular thought hadn’t been at the top of his list. 

What had been was a constellation offering to sponsor him. It truly wasn’t a bad deal. Get the constellation’s blessing and in return, simply provide them with entertainment, which was to survive however he deemed fit. With a constellation backing him, surviving the scenarios would be easier. Much easier. 

Oh well. Perhaps Seungjae knew there was more over the horizon. Perhaps he simply didn’t want to be someone’s pet. Either way, the young teenager clicked out of the interest message with an annoyed expression. He refused. Since that day, which was really only over a week ago if Seungjae had to put things into perspective, the constellation didn’t stop pestering him.

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ has gifted you 15 coins.]

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ is telling you to hurry.]

Right. The real reason he arrived at such a shabby shelter. 

He clicked his tongue at the messages blocking his view. The constellation had a good point. The sun was going down and before long, the streets would be full of monsters. What a nuisance. The world was the dokkaebis’ stage with people like Seungjae as the unfortunate actors. 

Upon receiving the message regarding the contents of the second main scenario, the tightness in Seungjae’s chest dissipated. It wasn’t as bad as he thought. Survive any means necessary. It was an ambiguous phrase, but otherwise very subjective. Some people may be able to hide for the scenario’s duration. Some may not. 

Word was that there were groups being formed all throughout Seoul. If certain individuals could team up and fight against the horde, there would be a genuine chance that the group would make it through. What the dokkaebi failed to mention only until after the second night finished was that the monsters terrorizing the city beneath the moonlight grew stronger as each night passed.

The blood scattered across the streets was a tell-tale sign of the dangers awaiting those who chose not to participate in the sub-scenarios. A silent warning. Would they rather fight against creatures with limitless strength or face a scenario they may not walk away from? Either way, death was a real possibility. 

[The constellation ‘Seer of the–]

Seungjae waved away the irritating message before plunging his hands into his jacket. Well, now or never, he thought.

One step. Two. Three. 

Eventually, the teenager found himself standing in the entrance of the complex. Several pairs of eyes landed on him, eyeing up the new player. The new threat. Most of them were adults, he noted, which they seemed to recognize as well. Children, women, and elderly were the weakest according to some survivors. Not worth their time unless there were ulterior motives involved. Seungjae watched as they turned away. 

Seungjae knew how he must look to them. It was the same as back in school. The sixteen-year-old was rather small for his age, standing at a simple height of 5’6”. Normally, most adults would wave it off and say he still had some time to grow, but even his body appeared to be dainty. His shoulders weren’t wide like the athletes at his school. Every time he ran, it looked like he was about to fall over any second. Even with the jacket he found in a destroyed building several days ago, which used to be white if it wasn’t for the dust and dirt he uncovered it from, it was clear to everyone that Seungjae was a child. 

He pulled his hood over his head, stepping off to the side in order to lean against the wall. With just a few minutes left to spare, he figured this would be his only chance to eye up his competition… or his team, if they accepted him. 

There were about twenty people scattered around the entrance, each of them in varying states of weariness and anticipation. They were unlike him in many ways. 

Some were more put together, even though that was a clear lie. It was a sign of someone unable to adjust to their current reality. The world fell into a chaos so much more frightening than all of the end of the world tales combined, and still these individuals tried to hold onto the remnants of their past lives. Seungjae thought it was pitiful

For example, the man in a business suit. There was a large tear running down his right sleeve and blood coating the side of his button-up. When he caught the teen looking, he adjusted it in order to hide the obvious weakness. He’d been hurt. Whether by monster or by human, a wound was a wound and a wound was a burden on the rest of them. Disheveled dark hair, wrinkles covering his unclean face, and a skeptical gaze, he was your stereotypical office worker that didn’t get to clock out before it all ended. Poor guy.

Other than those who had yet to accept their reality, there were some who were adjusting at a fair pace. These individuals didn’t stand out too much. They knew the rules of the game and played by them. Their goal was to survive… usually. Seungjae could recognize several of those people amongst the group.

First, there were two of them in the corner opposite of him, a girl about his age—shocker, right—and someone who could’ve only been a few years older than her. His black hair was growing out from the buzzcut men in the military got, so it must’ve been only a few months since he finished his mandatory service. He wore a rock band t-shirt with a red-striped long-sleeve shirt underneath. Talk about emo, right? Or would that be grunge? Seungjae didn’t know.

The girl didn’t require as much deduction, seeing as how she was in a school uniform as well. It was different from his own. Where his was a simple white button-up with a black tie and slacks, hers was slightly more complex. She had a gray pleated skirt and a black sweater vest beneath a large black raincoat. She had black hair with the ends dyed blue. Either she was due for another dyeing session or she liked it that way. 

The man leaned down to whisper into her ear. Whatever the two were about to talk about couldn’t be heard from where he stood, so his gaze drifted off to his next target. 

A man, sitting on the concrete ground with a black hoodie obscuring any crucial details about him. The office worker was to his left, a little too close for what the teen would consider comfortable, but perhaps the man felt safest around someone who was feigning sleep. 

That’s right. Feigning sleep. The man on the ground’s breathing gave it away. At least, that would be the answer if anyone asked. 

Seungjae watched as the man shifted slightly, moving his arm only a slight bit to reach into the office worker’s pocket. His movements were stealthy that no one other than him seemed to notice. He couldn’t bring himself to care about what he was taking. It didn’t matter. Unless it was some magical item or whatever—he wouldn’t be surprised if those actually existed—nothing truly mattered. Money, possessions, they were just items of the past. 

Well, it was best not to get involved in such trivial matters. 

Seungjae turned his head to focus on the last person of interest when a piercing gaze met his. The world came to a hard stop and the winter air seemed to sink into his bones. How long had this woman been staring? How had he not noticed? Quickly, he looked to the ground, pulling his hood further down until all anyone could see was the tip of his nose and his poorly dyed hair. He hadn’t gotten to take care of it, leaving him with his roots black and the rest of it blonde. Once again, neither here nor there. 

That woman was dangerous. That was the only thought running through his mind. 

She stood against a wall, leaning back with her arms crossed over her chest. Despite it being such a casual posture, she looked elegant. Almost like a goddess. She had to be a model of some kind. It especially didn’t help when he noticed her attire. Her clothes were fairly clean, consisting of a white shirt with a dark skirt ending around her ankles. It was tight, seemingly only allowing enough movement for her to walk. How she survived up to this point was a mystery, one that Seungjae didn’t plan on uncovering. 

She’d be a good ally. She would also be a formidable enemy and Seungjae was not in the market for making either.

As he was about to settle into his spot to wait for the last few minutes to pass, murmurs reached his ears. 

You see, there was another type of person other than those too scared to move forward and those surviving. There were those that enjoyed the situation far too much and used it to their advantage. Whatever they wanted, they could have. The world was lawless and only those who refused to accept that would suffer the consequences.

Seungjae spared a quick glance, mindful now that he knew he was being watched. There were a few individuals huddled up in a group, looking over their shoulders for anyone listening in and… 

Well, look at that. Their eyes were lingering too long on that woman. 

Seungjae’s eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to move closer to listen into their conversation, a figure crashed into the wall beside him. Quite literally, right beside him. He felt the person graze him through the fabric of his jacket. His gaze lifted from beneath the hood to see what the whole fuss was about. 

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ is looking at you.]

The office worker he took notice of earlier was red in the face and that was not an exaggeration. His face was red with the threat of his veins bursting. Seungjae wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up having a heart attack right then and there. He seemed to be around the right age.

“You little thief!” The man yelled, attracting the attention of everyone gathered in the hall. He pointed right at the person next to Seungjae. 

The man in the hood, but there was no hood… and this was no man. He was a boy. Specifically, this person was a teenager, same as Seungjae and the girl across the entrance, with bright yellow and black streaks, and piercings. The signs of a high school delinquent that caused nothing but trouble. 

A bright, mischievous grin aimed itself at the office worker. Seungjae briefly wondered to himself if he should’ve tried surviving the night out on the streets on his own. This whole situation was getting too bothersome for him. Maybe if he snuck out now?

A weight landed on his shoulders. A wide, accusatory glare was sent up at the owner of the offending limb. Seungjae did not get a look back and didn’t even get the chance to get away before the man’s ire was turned towards him now.

“You two— You must be working together!”

“Ahjussi, you are misunderstanding things,” Seungjae calmly stated. 

If he could just detangle himself from the situation and make his leave, he’d be able to let the two of them duke it out instead.

“What? No, he’s not.”

Ah, of course the delinquent had to speak up at this exact moment. 

“I don’t know you—“

“I want my phone back!” The older man cried out.

His phone? Seungjae heard stupid things since the beginning of the scenarios, but this really took the cake. Not only were phones practically useless to keep, they were equally useless to steal. Seungjae couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy! He was dragging him into this mess all because of a stolen phone. 

That’s it. He’s leaving.

Pushing the other teen away from him, Seungjae went to exit the complex. He couldn’t spend another second in the same room as all of these… whatever the hell they were. Of course, everything from that moment onward was set in motion. 

“Well, don’t we have an interesting crowd tonight!” That voice. Seungjae couldn’t forget it even if he wanted to. 

A dokkaebi blocked the entrance with its tiny body. It would have been easy to walk around it and into the cold streets of Seoul. That was if he wouldn’t be killed the moment he stepped out of the complex. The dokkaebi was well aware of this, giving Seungjae a smug smirk, as if he was looking at a large fish he caught at the end of his fishing rod, like he was the winning prize.

[The constellation ‘The Serpent Queen’ is looking at you.]

[The constellation ‘Guardian of Youths and Travel’ is looking at you.]

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ is looking at you.]

The messages were getting annoying. A sub-scenario was about to start and that obviously drew in any constellation with low standards and free time. This only made the dokkaebi smile with glee, floating past Seungjae in order to hover in the middle of the group.

“Welcome, you lucky few. You have seen me before so you know the drill, right?” The dokkaebi’s eyes silenced everyone. A few could only give a shaky nod in response, hoping that would appease it enough to continue with the instructions.

“Great! This scenario is a bit complicated, but I’ll only explain it once.” 

It waved its hand languidly, making the scenario screen appear before everyone’s faces. 

This was bad news, Seungjae thought. A scenario like this could only produce terrible results. Perhaps excessive bloodshed? Maybe even death. It may not say to kill anyone, but Seungjae could already feel the shift in the atmosphere. He was in the presence of murderers.

The dokkaebi clapped its hands before beginning its explanation, “There is one individual among you that is marked as a traitor. You must find this person and send them out of the scenario’s borders.”

The room stayed silent. 

“Of course, if that was all, I wouldn’t be explaining, right? This Traitor is capable of picking a partner. If you capture the partner and send them out instead of the original Traitor, they still have a chance at winning. However, if you catch only the original Traitor, they both lose.”

So naturally, anyone would be skeptical of one another. If Seungjae had been the dokkaebi, he would’ve done this sub-scenario further down the line, especially to groups of people that trust each other. Sure, there were the two in the corner, the teenage girl and the former military man, as well as the group in the other, but that was it. Still, it was a terrible scenario to go through. Because there was no trust established, people would have an easier time casting innocents out.

Seungjae was ripped from his thoughts when the woman who eyed him before raised her delicate—no, she was nowhere near delicate—hand. 

“Will this area remain a safe zone if we complete the scenario?” She asked.

He really didn’t like how her voice sounded. She was amused, truly, but also confident. That was a bad combination to go against, especially when her attention was still zeroed in on him. Chills ran down his spine.

The dokkaebi hummed. “Yes, only to the winning team, of course.”

“And if we don’t send out the Traitor, but someone who’s not?” This time, it was the annoying delinquent that spoke up.

“Then you’ll have to pray the monsters don’t come charging. It’s an automatic loss for everyone.”

Murmurs filled the air. Everyone had to play it safe now, but just how safe could you be before the sun rose, claiming everyone’s fate?

“My dear constellations, I’ve left you waiting for far too long! Without further ado, I present to you, Liar Liar!” The dokkaebi disappeared dramatically, blinding everyone before realization washed over everyone. The sub-scenario had begun. Before chaos could descend on the group, Seungjae eyed the notification in front of him with nothing but contempt. 

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ is concerned for Incarnation Ahn Seungjae.]

[The constellation ‘Seer of the Battlefield’ has gifted you 20 coins.]

I appreciate the sentiment, old man, but this isn’t the time, Seungjae thought to himself. Was this constellation expecting him to lose and get sent out into the cold night? Yes, it was an unfavorable situation to be in, but the constellation needed to have a little faith…

Who was he kidding? The result was glaringly obvious. 

[You are the Traitor.]

A/N: Hi! Thank you for reading! This is my first fanfic ever. I'd appreciate any and all feedback! This is just something I wrote in my spare time, so I don't know if I'll ever release Chapter 2. I'm really thankful you read all the way down! Thank you! Also, all of the faceclaims so far are: - Kenma Kozume playing as Ahn Seungjae - Kazutora Hanemiya playing as INCOMING OC