#When a human being speaks actual words in comments with like. An OPINION? They go NUTS

[lionblaze03-2]

having the ‘tumblr person’ internet dialect and commenting on tiktok is soooo funny to me. Yess boys you want to flock to like my comments in the thousands. YEEESSS. I’m not even trying. Hello

[fushiglow]

glo! if you had to keep only one stsg fic for the apocalypse which one would it be?

Well, anon, the fic I would have chosen has unfortunately been removed by the author. I'm devastated, but an author's agency over their own work always comes first and foremost for me (I have controversial opinions about this, I think!). Since I can't share one fic, why not share a bunch of SatoSugu fic recs instead?

—

idolatry - pellucids

This is a fic I will keep screaming about until more people show it the love it deserves. If I could only read one E-rated SatoSugu fic for the rest of my life, I'd probably choose this one! Not only is the writing absolutely beautiful — poetic and evocative and right up my street — but the author's grasp on these characters is perfect to me.

For me, this fic is evidence that it's possible to explore depictions of gender and sexuality in nuanced and thoughtful ways while keeping characters recognisable to their canon counterparts, which is something I really value in a fanfic. I think the highest praise I can give this fic is that it feels like gender euphoria to me.

—

Born to Die - @detta-pica

I could talk at length about this fic, and I have in the comment section! Big, fat, long comments under each chapter — which speaks volumes all by itself.

You can see my thoughts in detail there, but in short, something I really enjoy about hermit's writing is that it's abundantly obvious that she has a strong grasp on the original material. Even in this really unique take on a vampire AU where there's always going to be a degree of give and take when it comes to characterisation and themes, hermit not only dissects those canon themes in a deeply satisfying way that feels true to the essence of the original work, but also sprinkles nods to the canon material into the text in simply delightful ways. As a writer, she's economical with her words in a way that's enviable to me, quite frankly!

If nothing else, read it because the fic is tagged "BAMF Geto Suguru". Suguru is unbearably cool in this, actually.

—

Crack My Ribs Open, I'll Show You My Heart - @alpha-hydra

You'll see the word "evocative" come up again and again in my descriptions of the fics I love. Perhaps this makes sense if you notice the things I focus on in my own writing, but it's something I look for in the fiction I read, too — immersive, descriptive writing that spirits you away to another world.

Alffy absolutely nails that here. They really engage all of the senses in this piece to paint a beautiful picture of the setting and the scenery. Plus, it's always delicious when a fic employs a non-linear narrative to great effect. I was dropped right into the middle of this story and instantly compelled. Ugh, I love this fic.

—

frostbitten - @neyasochi

This fic is still a work in progress, but it's already one of my favourites. Being familiar with sochi's writing already, I highly doubt the ending is going to change that. Once again, extremely evocative writing which means that, with the story taking place during a bitter winter, this one transports you away to a winter wonderland and feels magically cold to read.

I also think sochi's characterisation is just wonderful. Gojo is such a charming shit, and the name calling in this fic is delightful — "fussy little ingrate" and "bossy little peasant" are some of my favourites! Yes, it's light-hearted and fun, but there's a sizeable emotional kick to this story, with some really intense and intimate moments which sochi handles so well.

Lastly, the seasonal imagery and puppy Gojo vibes are all over this fic, so it'll come as no surprise to some of you that I'm enjoying it!

—

G.O.J.O. - yours_grubby

If you enjoyed Ex Machina, you'll enjoy this fic. It features all my favourite Gojo themes neatly bundled up into a unique AI concept that intrigued me immediately. The reason sci-fi settings are my favourite is because sci-fi is the perfect canvas for interrogating our humanity. I think many people are distracted by the technology and the sweeping world-building, but at their heart, sci-fi stories are almost always asking the question "what does it mean to be human?" in some form or another.

We make weapons out of humans, but what about when we make humans out of weapons? What does it say when our technological creations demonstrate more humanity than the humans that built them? Is it even possible for the human brain to construct a sentient artificial intelligence that won't ultimately be subject to the same unique pitfalls of the species that created it? To our unique strengths, too?

This fic had me asking all of these questions and thinking about humanity on a bigger scale. Stories that make me feel things, stories that make me question things, stories that appeal to my humanity — that's the good stuff.

—

That's all for now! The truth is, I don't read fanfic nearly as much as I used to, for a few different reasons. I am not ascribing any moral value to this statement (I can't believe I feel the need to make disclaimers like this these days), but the more time we spend in a world where Gege Akutami isn't actively developing the world and characters of Jujutsu Kaisen, the more I see fandom depictions departing from faithfulness to the original material in ways I don't personally enjoy. Related to that, I think I've also become much fussier as my preferences become more refined over time.

Plus, as many fanfic authors have said before me, reading time is writing time! For someone who published more words than are contained in the whole of The Fellowship of the Ring last year while working full time for an extremely under-resourced charity, that really doesn't leave much reading time unfortunately!

However, it means that the fics that do grab my attention tend to be absolute gems. I hope you and everyone else reading find something you enjoy in this post ♥

[balrogballs]

I came across that silm nobel prize argument you mentioned in yr tag. I’m not asking about the ship war stuff, I know you don’t do ship stuff but only if you don’t mind, I was interested in hearing yr thoughts on the accessibility stuff they were talking abt, like what makes a fanfic acessible. I was thinking of your post on making your AU acessible for a fanfic reader, and it made me think that the nobel prize OP was using the word inacessible in a wrong way?

I assume this refers to that ‘Silm writers are inaccessible & elitist compared to TROP writers, nobody wants to write an essay about the fanfic they read, flower shop AUs have more ‘real human emotion’ than thematically dense fic, it’s AO3 not the Nobel Prize longlist’ nonsense unless there’s another one floating about in which case jesus fucking christ lol

It’s an interesting one lol… I don’t follow the page or post about the show so I didn’t see it, but a bunch of people have DMed it to me across the last couple weeks, since while the OP was speaking in general or collective terms, I tick a few of their shitlist boxes in a rather obvious way lol. I’ve said variations of this across said DMs and other writers may have a different opinion but essentially:

I personally don’t treat ‘accessibility’ as a concern when it comes to fanfic, unless we’re talking disability accommodations like alt-text or not using emojis, or tagging for triggers. ‘Must be enjoyable for people who like a certain style of writing’ is not an accessibility requirement, it’s your Goodreads wishlist. I do not care about what you want Santa to bring you. Perhaps it’s because I’ve not been in fandom long enough but I genuinely cannot think of a response aside from ‘get a fucking grip lol’.

And re your question about my AU, what I meant there by adapting the story for a fanfic audience was that I toploaded it with regional context and diaspora eyes before getting into the actual narrative in a way I wouldn’t have done if (god forbid) I wrote it as a novel. That isn’t a comment on style or theme, it’s literally just because I’d expect that someone walking into a bookshop, picking up, and paying for a book about a Marxist madhouse in North Kerala full of intertextual elements so thinly veiled as to be practically wrapped in clingfilm, would be at least vaguely familiar with the genre and context.

This is something I would not assume of people scrolling through AO3, because there’s no reason to expect that, hence providing extra info, being conscious as to what I can’t presume people already know, putting some extra elbow grease into “world building”, translating within the text itself, answering questions about regional/historical context etc… it’s not an accessibility measure, I’d say it’s closer to providing an appendix/glossary.

I don’t know, like imo it’s kind of ridiculous to sit around shitting on people for writing narratives more complex than what you personally like, but that’s your space, preference and prerogative… go ham and shit away, it is your toilet, not mine.

My irritation is mostly with the language of “accessibility” and “elitism” and trying to make it sound like a societal ill by using such buzzwords. Yes, there may well be elitism or lorebros or whatever in a general fandom sense, but I don’t know what fanfic has to do with that.

The Silmarillion probably does have a higher concentration of whatever they mean by Nobel Prize fics but that’s not exactly due to some oppressive feudal fandom hierarchy, it’s literally just because the fanbase skews older and the source text is conducive to a certain style of literary writing being relatively popular… it’s not some big injustice, it’s pretty normal, generally speaking, for fanworks to reflect the style and tone of the source text regardless of how transformative they are, simply because the one thing most people in any given fandom share is their enjoyment of said source text.

I like to think of myself as being well read but there are tons of books ‘inaccessible’ to me beyond reading preferences. When I was at university I worked on regional literature but I always specified Malayalam rather than ‘South India’ even though the college used the latter as a tag, because I can’t read Tamil or Kannada etc—that doesn’t mean those languages are inaccessible languages. One’s experience as an individual is not a benchmark for something already as subjective as accessibility. I’m not exactly going to call the Dance Mums fanbase elitist gatekeepers for writing fanfiction just because I’ve never seen an episode of the show.

Also not to be an insufferable pedant but like… if someone wants to use ‘publishable standard’ as a negative term, they should probably look up what it means. Publishable standard just means that a work is fit for publication, it’s not meant to be a comment on genre, style or content. The Cat in the Hat is of publishable quality but that doesn’t mean Dr. Seuss should win the Booker.

Finally, I know the OP was speaking in general and refers to a ‘group’ of writers but speaking for myself, l’m sorry I simply cannot see how on earth a style of writing can make someone elitist: I don’t deny I’ve spent years with the academic silver spoon up my ass, I have openly acknowledged it on multiple occasions both joking and otherwise, and also do not deny that comes across in the way I write.

However, my blog is 80% pure shitposting. My AO3 page isn’t required reading. You do not have to enjoy my writing style in order to interact with me, you are allowed to find it insufferable because it often is insufferable. Hell, you can even tell me you hate it, preferences are subjective. There is no gatekeeping here. Nobody is holding quiz nights about 1970s India and beating people if they get a question wrong.

TLDR: yes, yes, fanfiction doesn’t have to be of a publishable standard because it’s people writing for fun yes, yes, elitism is bad, yes, yes, but that doesn’t mean ‘not writing a flowershop AU’ is some kind of systemic oppression against the AO3 proletariat lol.

Hope this went some way to answer your question!

[jasina85]

Okay... Hunter the Reckoning 5th edition. I unfortunately have opinions not many people will be surprised about.

The game still feels like it has an identity crisis between wanting the player characters to be the everymen who said enough and started biting back against the supernatural and being very special with access to special powers. This was true in the legacy era with the Imbued and the Numina, it's still true with Edges. Now, having the characters be special - there's nothing inherently wrong with that, because special characters tend to make for natural protagonists, but it feels like the game can't decide if it wants everyman or special more and it ends up awkwardly reaching for both.

I've heard people say that just as VtM 5 took some mechanics for Chronicles' own Vampire the Requiem (which looking at both systems side-by-side is fairly obvious), so did HtR 5 do the same with Hunter the Vigil. I can't comment on it, as I've neither read through or played the Vigil, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. Speaking of Vampire though...

The attention to detail in places in this book is god-awful. The example presented for the Linguistics merit IS THE SAME LEBANESE VAMPIRE IN MEXICO CITY WORD-FOR-WORD. Seriously?! You couldn't even be bothered to rewrite that to fit the book it's in now? That just feels lazy.

Hunter Creeds... feel utterly pointless. The only mechanical difference between them is what you can use Desperation dice for and their fluff text all reads so similar for the most part that if you were to remove their names from text, I wouldn't be able to tell most of them apart. They feel like they only exist because the designers needed to shoehorn in some kind of character class system, because ttrpgs need to have those, right?

The Drives meanwhile are fine. Nothing much to say here, since they're primarily a narrative tool, rather than a mechanic one.

Edges! I'm very divided on these. The Asset and Aptitude Edges feel okay... until you realize that stuff like getting your hands on say... a car, a custom-made gun or explosive would fall under Allies/Contacts in other splats, but in here getting those is a special ability, implying you need that Edge to have any chance getting it. It feels very messy.

Endowment Edges on the other hand feel pretty fun! They're obviously supposed to be the choose-your-own-flavor Numina, and they feel like the best fit for representing True Faith, but you could flavor then as Hedge Sorcery or in some cases even Hypertech, as long as you accept most of these only work against the supernatural. It's not ideal, but it's probably the most fun part of this book.

Lastly, I want to talk about how HtR5 uses Chronicle Tenants. In short - it doesn't. Oh sure, it tells you to decide on them, but there's no actual mechanical consequence for breaking them. In Vampire, breaking a Chronicle Tenant usually means Stains on your Humanity, in Werewolf you have Harano... in Hunter you have nothing. Chronicle Tenants, at least to me, have always been half about setting a theme, half ideas to be challenged during play. Do you break one when doing so would be the right thing? Hunter leaves no such considerations, because when there's no consequence, does the choice even matter? Instead it treats them as closer to lines and veils for the players, which is just not what they're meant to be.

Oh, right, the orgs... meh? The returning ones like Arcanum and Saint Leopold are mostly the same as they were in legacy, only with questionable rewrites and squandered old plot threads. Also, who thought having an org who's name abbreviates to KKK was a good idea? No, they're not actually the Klan, but seriously? And yes, the choice for not letting players be a part of an org is still dumb.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure I'm going to read much more of Hunter 5. This has been a highly frustrating experience.

On one final note, I've said this before but god damn it, the actual art style of this book? The actual drawings in black and white punctuated with splashes of blaze orange? It is soooo good. I wish this was a consistent art style across the 5th edition World of Darkness with a different color for each gameline. It is simply just so striking.

[hiraethwa]

one summer day

10 epiphany. where ushijima has a sudden realization

<< 09 disconnect. | >> 11 epiphany.

pairing: ushijima wakatoshi x reader a/n: we only go up from here, my loves - ave word count: 3.7k 💀 warnings: violence, threats, vile, misogynistic comments (by a rando), cursing tags: @lemurzsquad @daisy-room @integers -- (inbox me if you want to be added to the tag list)

april, third year

ushijima wakatoshi is by no means a people person. he is a highly motivated individual, mind always focused on the task at hand. he does not mind people interacting with him, although he can survive without it. 

he enjoys playing volleyball and listening to his teammates, occasionally adding to the conversation, but he has never been a particularly talkative person like tendo. it’s not that he dislikes human interaction, he just finds that sometimes, some things are better left unspoken, or perhaps unnecessary altogether. 

he never goes out of his way to befriend someone – he was already busy with volleyball as it is, and to add to it, staying on top of his school’s demanding curriculum. people has commented on his stoicism and general unapproachability behind his back, not that he cares enough about it. so naturally, he did not have a lot of friends to begin with. 

wakatoshi thinks that he is satisfied with his way of life and intends on keeping it simple with just school and volleyball, and none of the drama that he’s heard going around his year all the time. or rather, he intended to. 

and so, he finds himself confused, and irritated as well, when this guy from his year, apparently the captain of the basketball or baseball or whatever, he could care less, tries to start some kind of shit with him. 

ushijima was on his way to lunch with tendo when this idiot came and started badmouthing him and the volleyball team, calling him a useless piece of shit and some other names that he stopped listening to. he wondered what the point of this confrontation is when he doesn’t even know who this person is. 

with a blank stare and a twitching eyebrow, ushijima cuts him off, “i’m sorry, who are you again?” 

it only made him angrier and humiliated, with the crowd that is starting to form around the commotion. “my name is yamasaki takeo.”

“i don’t recall asking for your opinion, yamasaki-san,” ushijima retorts irritably, eliciting a gasp from tendo who is next to him. 

yamasaki gapes at him, as the whispers from the students around them grow audibly. 

that ought to be the end of it, ushijima thinks, as he makes to leave the scene that yamasaki caused. he has better things to worry about, like the fact that you are still not on speaking terms with him, rather than this pointless confrontation that is clearly wasting his time.

“that’s right, because you’re too busy trying to get into miyamura’s pants than focusing on volleyball, aren’t you?” 

tendo reckons that the idiot is relentless in picking a fight with him, and apparently has a death wish. for he had the balls to bring your name up when it is currently occupying the top spot in ushijima’s list of touchy subjects, which is very, very short. in fact, it only has one entry right now.

ushijima clenches his fists. now he is truly irritated, and his short patience is reaching its end. 

yamasaki, noticing that he is finally getting a reaction out of the indifferent volleyball captain, delightedly goes on to drag your name through the mud. 

“is it really that difficult to get your little girlfriend to sleep with you, captain, if you are so high and mighty? or is it just you that she is not interested in?” he mocks ushijima, a shit eating grin on his face now that he has ushijima’s full attention, discovering his weakness. “maybe she’s actually sleeping around with your friends. in fact, i wouldn’t be so surprised if she is, considering how close she is to semi eita as of late.”

if looks could kill, yamasaki would be long dead by now. his only saving grace being the thin fraying thread of patience that ushijima is holding on to. a very, very thin thread. 

“if you know what’s good for you, keep her name out of your filthy mouth.” ushijima grits his teeth. 

ushijima hates that he has you dragged into this spectacle. you’re not his girlfriend, much less his friend at this very moment. he hates that too, that you are so far away from his reach. he dislikes the hole your absence left in his meticulous schedule, and he misses the warmth your presence brings him. 

for your sake, he has been keeping his temper in check. convincing himself that getting into a brawl with yamasaki would only serve to fan the flames of the situation when word spreads around school, and the one who would suffer the most would be you. 

but it appears that yamasaki is asking, practically begging for it, as he continues his goading. “maybe i need to get a taste of her, considering how well she has you wrapped around her finger.”

the thread explodes. 

red. red is all ushijima could see as someone grabs a hold of yamasaki’s collar and throws a fist into his cocky face. he is so full of shit. a killing calm descends on ushijima as he watches the person pull his arm back and send another punch to yamasaki. again. and again. 

he vaguely registers his friend shouting his name and pulling on his arm with a few of other students. semi and ohira, he realizes. puzzled, he looks down to see his hand gripping tightly onto the front of yamasaki’s uniform, and his left hand is covered in blood. 

oh. oh. that was him who punched the asshole.

ushijima releases his hold on yamasaki, breathing heavily as the gravity of the situation settles in. it isn’t some inconsequent drama to circulate around school anymore. 

yamasaki struggles to stand, coughing out blood. his nose sits crookedly on his face, most possibly broken. but he has the nerve to smirk, as much as he could, at ushijima. “not so strong now, are you?”

“says the one with a sorry state for a face,” semi retorts, tense from the whole situation.

he merely wipes at his bloodied face, waving semi off. “i am not the one you need to worry about. i am also not the one who is risking his spot on the under 19 team for the youth world championship with a scandal.”

ushijima recoils, blood running cold. was that his goal all along? 

“maybe, i will forgive your actions, if you get on your knees and beg,” yamasaki pauses, a dark glint in his eyes, “and give y/n to me.”

his words have ushijima struggling to break free from his teammates, caution thrown to the winds, ready to beat him to a pulp. 

“let go of me!” ushijima growls. fuck the consequences, there is no way in hell he will let this asshole lay a finger on you.

he does not notice the crowd parting as the students recognize you and allow you space to get to the front of the commotion. the frown on your face from witnessing the latter half of the events unfolding after you yielded to chika’s curiosity of the commotion that sent students running in the hallways and getting their friends to join them. the sigh that escapes your lips from being the center of the drama. 

“is that all it really takes?” your voice stops him in his attempts to break free, his head snapping towards you in shock.

ushijima has not felt fear in years, certainly not on the volleyball court, not since his parents had a messy divorce, but your words send his heart dropping to the floor. “y/n–”

“stay out of it.” you breathe sharply at him, needing your wits about you if you were to get him out of this situation unscathed. turned away from yamasaki, you let out a trembling breath and steel your nerves. 

you’ve worn a mask in your own home for years, this is nothing, you remind yourself. sure, the whispers would spread, but for him, you would wreck yourself. to hell with this asshole if he dares to try to bring ushijima down. ironic, considering you distanced yourself to save your own heart. when it is all said and done, it still belongs to him.  

“unfortunately, i am not an object that ushijima can simply give away, yamasaki-san, but am i worth the lengths you went to?” 

you observe as his eyes dart behind you at ushijima. so that’s how it is. you are not what he wants. what he wants is to get to ushijima, for reasons you can surmise from the gossip that had been floating around the last week. 

if you play your cards right, you could twist his arm behind his back, figuratively speaking. he would have no choice but to back down, you hope. if not… you don’t want to even think about it. this has to be enough.

“why don’t i propose you a better trade?” you bat your lashes at the scum in front of you, playing the role of the ever helpless girl using her body to get away with things. praying to the gods above that he will take the bait. just come a little closer and i will show you my teeth, bastard.

surely, you can’t be thinking of actually going out with yamasaki, ushijima tries to convince himself as he watches you smile at the asshole coyly. you are smarter than that, and he is not worth your sacrifice. 

or is he? he averts his eyes as you lean in towards yamasaki. shoves the prickling sense of unfamiliar discomfort down. shushes the pealing bells in his mind. the urge to pummel his face to nothing. 

he tries to put his mind elsewhere, but a sense of inevitability creeps in. dread, he realizes, crawls up his spine and makes its home there.

he wants to shout at you. something. anything. anything but this. he doesn’t need to be in the youth 19 team. he would rather risk it all. he doesn’t need anything, doesn’t want anything but you by his side. and the thought of it terrifies him.

“wakatoshi-kun,” tendo nudges him and grabs his attention away from his thoughts. he follows tendo’s gaze towards you and takashima, whose cocky smirk was completely wiped off his bloodied and bruised face and replaced by a paleness that looked like fear. “that’s your girl.”

“i’m so glad we were able to come to an understanding, takashima-san. i would hate for such a nasty argument to get even more out of hand, don’t you agree? now that we are on the same page, i’m sure this won’t happen again. right, takashima-san?” ushijima shudders at the underlying hostility in your fake cheery voice that is directed towards takashima. he never wants to be on the receiving end of it, he thinks. 

you lay a hand on his arm, an eerily innocent smile on your face. and takashima winces, nodding quickly and too eagerly compared to his earlier behavior. 

“i guess we will see you around?” ushijima catches on to the hidden demand under your nice words. you better stay away from us. “oh, do you need a hand to the nurse’s office?”

what exactly did he miss? but he is too awestruck by the way you turned the situation around that he forgot to correct tendo’s earlier statement. 

he tunes out takashima’s stuttering response as you turn around, a frown finding its way onto your beautiful features as your cold eyes land on him. barely registers tendo calling “show’s over” and gesturing at the crowd to disperse and mind their own business.

he hates the mask you are wearing, pushing everyone, and him, away as a defense mechanism. he hates that he is the reason you had to don it today to protect him from his own actions.   

ushijima finds himself reaching out to you to smooth out the furrow in your brows, only to be met by resistance. your slender fingers hook onto his wrist, halting his movement for a split second before dropping his hand like a hot potato. 

“people are watching,” you remind him. your eyes catch on his left hand, where the skin on his knuckles was split, hesitating on your next words. “you should get that treated.”

he frowns, already missing the feeling of your skin on his. why would he care that people are watching?

the four of them end up walking to the nurse’s office with ohira dismissing himself from the group for some errand he had to run for his class. tendo being tendo, starts pestering you about what you did and how you did it despite your clipped answers. 

ushijima finds himself staring at the back of your head, unsure if you are just a figment of his imagination from how long he went without interacting with you. next to him, semi nods his head at you, “she doesn’t hate you, you know.”

he stays quiet. if that’s true, then why are you so intent on avoiding him?

“you are both impossible,” semi huffs in disbelief. 

finding the nurse’s office empty, semi lets your little group into the dark room. tendo beelines for the cabinet, rummaging for supplies. you didn’t have the energy to tell them that they should probably wait for the nurse to come back.

you keep to the door, fidgeting as if you could not decide to stay or go. “see you guys” you blurt, feet moving quickly out the door.

“y/n–” ushijima panics. is this it? is this all he has left of you?

“i’ll go talk to her.” semi promises, running after you, leaving ushijima in tendo’s hands.

they sit in silence as tendo cleans up ushjima’s bloodied knuckles, the latter unphased by the sting of disinfectant on raw skin with his entire focus on the doorway. wishing. 

sure enough, semi returns with an uneasy y/n in tow, looking like you would rather be anywhere but there. 

he makes you sit on the bed across from ushijima, an indecipherable look in his eyes. “stay, you two need to talk. tendo and i will be right outside.” translation: don’t think about leaving until you talk to him. to which you return an unamused look, crossing your arms in a defensive manner.

you wait until the door clicks closed behind them before stealing a glance at ushijima. his stare displaces you, as if there is nothing more important than you. unbelievable, you think. 

you open your mouth to say something – something mean and hurtful so that he would stop looking at you like he cared, but decide against it, knowing full well your anger, the serpent that rarely rears its head is nasty when it does. 

“why are you avoiding me?” he breaks the silence. the first words you’ve heard from him in a long while, not counting the short exchange earlier and during orchestra practice. you would be lying if you said you didn’t miss his voice. that it didn’t calm the wary hissing wild animal in you on some subconscious level.

“why do you care, ushijima?” the name still leaves a bitter taste on your tongue even though you have tried to get over it. you don’t actually love him, right? it’s just a schoolgirl infatuation. or at least, that is what you keep telling yourself, hoping that it will be true when you repeat it enough times. 

“you are my friend, y/n.” his eyes snap to yours, begging you to understand. 

the feeling of drowning creeps in, bringing you back to the first sleepless nights after you cut him off. how pathetic you were running after someone who did not even treat you as their friend. how worthless. how you went from wishing that he saw you as you are to wishing that he never walked into your life.

“no, if i am your friend, then why didn’t you tell me about the nationals? fuck, i had to find out from semi, and it was only because they needed me to stop you from hurting yourself. what the fuck am i to you, ushijima wakatoshi?” you snap at him. 

he starts to say something, but you are not done, not yet. 

“why bother? why save me from myself, tell me you’re my friend, when you certainly don’t act like it when it comes to yourself? do you think so little of me? or am i just some basket case to you?” your fists curl at your sides, angry tears threatening to escape your eyes, as you will them back. 

why did you start the fight? why? 

and then he is at your feet, kneeling and taking your hands into his, looking at you as if you are his salvation. “it was easy, caring for you. felt right, like second nature. you matter to me, but i–” he glances away for a second, almost too much, he thinks “–i don’t know how to let others do the same to me, even if it’s you, that didn’t come naturally. i’m sorry, y/n.” his knuckles are gentle against your skin, brushing away the tears that you didn’t realize started sliding down your cheeks.

the silence stretches, interrupted by your sniffles here and there. 

“talk to me.” he tucks the hair that is covering your face behind your ear. 

your voice is a pained quiet. “i was running away from you, afraid of what your answer could be. i was scared that you found me unworthy. i felt pathetic, yearning for your friendship if you didn’t feel the same way. but–” your throat tightens at your cowardice, realizing your own mistake.

“it could have been avoided if you just talked to me.” wakatoshi finishes your sentence for you.

“you’re a fucking hypocrite.” you retort, kicking his knee in pettiness. “don’t think you’re so easily forgiven.” and just like that he is forgiven. your heart once again safely tucked away in his hands, returned to its owner after weeks of being torn away bleeding and broken by yours. 

it’s unfair, really. the effortlessness it takes on his part to make you whole unknowingly. maybe you were born without a heart, given away to ushijima by fate. maybe he is meant to come into your life and give it back, to remind you that you are alive, and to live. 

you keep telling yourself that he is meant for more than you. which is the truth. but it is also because you are afraid of losing him forever.  

but he recognizes the way you deflect away from your own vulnerability. “make me beg for it, i’ll do anything to redeem myself.” you mean too much to me.

“anything?” you tap your chin, pretending to be deep in thought. “how about going to the tanabata festival in your kuromontsuki haori hakama?” 

you are trying to see how far he would go to satisfy your demands. usually people wear yukatas to summer festivals, the most casual traditional option, and the most comfortable one in the sweltering heat of summer. a kuromontsuki haori hakama is the highest rank of kimono for men and only worn for formal occasions like weddings and funerals. 

but you would kill to see him in one, and it doesn’t hurt to ask.

“that would be a little difficult… how about a haori hakama?” which is less formal than what you suggested, though enough that he will still stick out like a sore thumb in the crowd, but– “fine.” you wanted to see him in a full formal kimono. 

“i get the crispy ends of your katsu.” nod. “give me a piggyback ride home.” an eyebrow raise, but nod. “i want the only bottle of grape squash that you guys buy every single time.” nod. 

“no more keeping secrets from me.” 

“done.”

“i will have to think of more later, you’re currently on probation.” you narrow your eyes at him, gesturing with your hand, i’m watching you. he catches it deftly, getting all up in your space. 

your breath hitches as he comes eye to eye with you, only inches to spare. “i’m sorry. i’ll do better, i promise.” 

you hear his words, sure, but the thunderous beating of your heart is coming from every direction, deafening. in that moment, you forgot how to speak, tongue twisted in a way that cannot be undone. so you panic, feet kicking out instinctively. 

several things happen in quick succession. wakatoshi grunts, curling backwards in pain. the door bursts open as semi and tendo comes running in to defuse the situation. you sit there in shock. tendo starts cackling at the scene in front of him, tears shining in his eyes. 

“damn, one after another, y/n, you’re putting these boys down real hard.” he wipes his eyes with laughter.

“it was an accident!” 

“sure, sure, if you say so.” he slowly backs out of the room, having a distinctive feeling that you may want to land one on him too. 

“get back here, tendo satori! oi, where do you think you are going? you still need to dress toshi’s wounds.” you dash at him. 

“back to toshi now, are we? why don’t you do it yourself?” he snickers, running away.

semi shakes his head at the two of you, glancing at his captain who is still recovering from your kick in the nuts. he winces at the thought of it. “you good?”

ushijima looks towards where tendo now has an arm thrown over your shoulders, affectionately ruffling your hair, utterly unfazed by the way you are snapping at him. 

“i told you, i am not telling you! it defeats the purpose of what i said to that scum if i told you! get your dirty hands off of me.” you frown at the redhead, and then as if sensing his eyes on you, you point at ushijima. “you, don’t ever pick fights again even if i get dragged into it, it’s not worth it.” 

“but he picked a fight with ushijima-kun first.” 

“why, you brat. do you want to find out what dirty secrets i know about you?”

“wah, scary, y/n-chan. remind me to never get on your bad side.” 

you make a face at tendo, which ushijima finds adorable. his lips quirk in a smile at the scene unfolding in front of them, finally responding to semi’s earlier question. 

“yeah. yeah, i think so.”

“ushijima-kun, you’re down bad.”

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[sonofthesaiyans]

Hats off to Jean Kirstein, the Scouts' unlikeliest hero.

Honor dictates that I say a few words to honor the birthday of one of the 104th's strongest and most naturally gifted soldiers.

Jean Kirstein is a character who, at one point, I would have said had one of the most impressive arcs of any individual character in Attack on Titan. Once content to keep himself to the sidelines in service of the royal government, Jean has really come a long way from when we first met him in the early days of season one.

Jean has always been abrasive and cynical, holding on to no fantasies about the miserable world he and his friends have long been trapped in. But in spite of all he's gone through, he's shown a keen sense of judgement and natural leadership that has allowed him to survive again and again in a situation he at one point would have been all to happy to look the other way, and never turn back. In a world where insanity dominates between the Titans and humanity, Jean always seems to know what to do even when he's at an utter loss of what the outcome could be, and he's so often been a voice of reason when faced with the panic of his comrades or the zeal of his friendly rival turned mortal enemy, Eren.

His old pal Marco recognized this potential in Jean, and it seems Marco's words have resonated strongly with Jean long after his own demise. Understanding what was at stake, he took a hard look at what he signed himself on to and charged at it head on. Through and through, he's proven a dependable ally to those serving by his side and ultimately, under his own command. One of Jean's greatest assets, and perhaps in his own mind his greatest curse, is his nobility. Whatever his faults and failings, Jean has always sided with the greater good, and is one of the most incorruptible characters on Paradis. He's been pushed to his limits every bit as much as the rest of his circle......And through it all still stands tall.

By no means flawless, and I actually have some far stronger opinions about Jean in spite of the fact that I rarely ever comment on him around here.......And that's a discussion for another day.

For tonight though, gotta acknowledge the impressive track record of a guy who probably never should have been a Scout in the first place.......And somehow has lived to speak of the experience after going through Hell and back time and time again.

Seriously, Jean Kirstein would have been a worthy contender to become Commander of the Scout Regiment, or second-in-command under Hange and/or Levi. Whatever the case, he's certainly been an asset to the greater cause of freedom, and perhaps understood the meaning of what that was far better than Eren himself EVER did.

Keep moving forward as you always have, Commander Jean.

Happy Birthday to a man worthy of wearing the Wings of Freedom.

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

Oh, and one last thing; If you really do truly love Jean, then for the love of all that is good and just.........

Do NOT even think about it with the lame as hell Horseface jokes. I think the fact that I acknowledged not just Jeanmarco, but also "Jeankasa" up here is being pretty generous as it is. So please, don't push it, alright?

Besides, I can name five other characters who look more like horses than him.....

[crow-caller]

Hi Crow,

Apologies if this has been asked before but I’m trying to get to the bottom of what people describe as ‘biblically accurate angels’ and I’m getting conflicting results and I thought why not ask someone who definitely knows more on the topic than me. Is the incomprehensible multi-eye wheel creature thing true?

"True" is the problem, because... it is, and it isn't, and it depends, and it's complicated!

I looooove angels, you're right, and I was working on doing a vid on this exact topic because the term 'biblically accurate angel' is a pet peeve of mine. However, no matter the power of my autistic angelic obsession, I wouldn't say I'm a perfect source. I got intimidated outta making that video because I got too anxious of messing it up and losing my angel cred. BUT! I do know some stuff.

What's wrong with "Biblically Accurate Angels?

Three things!

1. "Biblically"

Most people I see, when confronted with the word 'Biblically', think of Christianity. The Bible technically refers to a collection of texts shared by a number of Abrahamic religions, but I've a lot of people entirely unaware of that fact. There's often a general lack of recognition around 'biblically accurate angel' posting that angels aren't exclusively or originally Christian concepts. Tumblr is an outlier of a place, remember; I read youtube comments.

2. "Accurate"

This makes me lose it, just a little bit, because the idea 'real angels in the bible actually looked like scary monsters' is both incorrect and kind of a rude thing to say about a holy entity a number of religions believe in.

There are a lot of ideas of angel classification and hierarchy, but you'll usually only see one--- the Christian one. This has nine orders in three spheres, going usually angel, archangel, principality (3rd sphere, most humanoid), powers, virtues, dominions (2nd, basically no lore), thrones/ophainim, cherubim, seraphim (1st, weirdo patrol). The lowest spheres are closest to humanity, the highest are closer to the divine.

(it's worth noting there's a big difference between 'what is exactly in the canon holy text' versus 'writings/visions/ideas from scholars later'. There's differing opinions everywhere and also different sects.) Little is universal.

Speaking of, religions! Heard of them? Angel hierarchy as it's commonly see is very specifically a Christian angle! There's a number of different Jewish angelic hierarchies which include different types or interpretations of angels. There's usually 10 ranks instead of 9 too.

I know the least about angels in Islam, but they don't have a strict angel hierarchy either, though some angels are more important than others.

As for angel physical descriptions, it varies. They can take human form, but they're spirits doing that for our convenience. Some of them are doing weird stuff, but most of the time an angel is some essence of light and fire taking a lesser defined shape for our convenience.

Some of the main ideas of a 'biblically accurate angel' come from one of my fav bits of the bible, the chariot in Ezekiel.

If you've not read the fun weird bits of the bible before, let me introduce you!!

These are the Living Creatures which are considered Cherubim in Christianity. The wheels are the Ophanim, who are also Thrones. The whole thing sounds like a very intricate chariot rather than a bunch of angels, but hey, it says right there they're 'living beings'

3. "Angels"

What is an angel anyway?

Well, there's an answer, but as I think I've highlighted there's a number of different, varying ideas of them which are all equally valid! This can include, of course, the artistic choice of making them monsters ( I love doing this ), but it's incorrect to assert such a design is 'more or truly accurate'.

Angels are messengers. The word for angel originally was Messenger, and the role of angels is generally to serve as a conduit and messenger of divine will. They can be teachers or healers. They often are more extensions of the holy rather than truly independent spirits, good because they are divine rather than the choice of free will. (but like everything I'm saying it depends bc religions and opinions are not unified monoliths).

Not all angels are messengers. Even without a strict hierarchy, there's a common idea of specific angels for specific jobs. The idea of Archangels is also common, though which are and how many differs wildly, as does their function.

Angels are divine beings. Humans don't become them. There also are some sects that believe this, like the Latter Day Saints, but generally the divide between human and angel is very clear. Humans are generally above angels, because we're beloved new ocs.

angels are cool. I really like them

---

anyway, this is a very approximate ramble for you on the subject. I think I could have gone on in much more detail and I decided not to. Especially as I note I don't have that kind of 'learn and memorize everything about your special interest' kind of autism, just 'a lot more than normal over many years'. Angels are a really complicated subject because religion is, and it all differs. But I do dislike Biblically Accurate Angel because I think it's really misled people who come across it casually. Yes, there's weird angel stuff, but it's pretty rare (especially in common canon), and it isn't 'the secret creepypasta truth'.

[llendrinall]

How to kill a woman online all over again (How to recognize a smear campaign)

“It's actually sad because it just shows you have people who really want to hate on women” Melissa Nathan – Professional Online Assassin (PR Crisis Manager)

In December 2024 The New York Times published a story about a targeted campaign of harassment and character assassination against actress Blake Lively. I won't rehash the details of the case here. Be it enough to know that Lively suffered sexual harassment during the filming of It Ends With Us. Baldoni, the perpetrator, orchestrated a campaign against her to preemptively mar her character so that any allegations against him would be dismissed.

I won’t dwell on that here. Instead, having read a lot of what has been published, I want to describe how these public relations campaigns work.

The main idea is that the rich and powerful can and will hire people (Melissa Nathan being the most famous at the moment) to turn public opinion against their victims. This has two benefits for them:

Victims are less likely to speak up when they find themselves targets of attack.

Prosecutors, judges and jurors can be swayed by these campaigns.

Ultimately the idea is that only good, saintly, women are victims of abuse. If the woman is less than perfect then she is either lying or deserving of the abuse.

How do we recognize these campaigns? These are the traits I have noticed so far.

The target is a woman.

The attacks comes from within and without. So there will be “inside” stories as well as “public” stories.

Inside stories can be something like a “journalist” claiming something terrible happened behind the cameras, leaking videos out of context, etc.

Public stories are ideas supposedly noticed by the public. Someone commenting on the victim’s outfits, accessories or behaviors and extrapolating to their character. For example, if she uses a leather bag, she is supporting animal abuse, but if she uses a plastic bag, she is bad for the environment.

Of course, since people are far from perfect, some of these stories will point to actual bad behavior. That still is no justification for abuse.

3. The campaign is multi-platform.

Traditional media pick up the story. This doesn’t mean proper, trust-worthy media, but it’s important that some paper tabloid like, say, The Daily Mail will mention it.

Online media also pick up the story.

Social media pick up and spread the story through all platforms. This, to me, is the most tell-tale sign that something fishy is going on, when Reddit, Instagram reels, Tik-tok videos and Youtube short are all in agreement that this woman is nasty. Some posts will be bots, some created by actual humans working by the PR firm and many more made by users following the trend because as Nathan notices, people like to hate on women.

4. The story jumps the algorithm and now you are hearing about it.

Think of this: You enter Tik-tok and Instagram and stare at a short video of someone tying a knot. It’s a cool knot so you watch the video half a dozen times to learn how to do it. Next time you enter the site, your feed offers you nothing but knot-tying videos. That’s the algorithm working.

Now, when you are peacefully watching knot-tying videos and in pops a video of someone mocking the ridiculous way this woman drinks water, that’s a jump in the algorithm.

In other words, I can’t tell you any other films in which Blake Lively has starred, I have no interest in her whatsoever, and yet I got videos saying how horrible and tone-deaf she was during promotion.

If you are learning nasty things about a person even though you care nothing about them, their job or even their industry, then we should take pause. I’m not saying dismiss it, but ask yourself why are you seeing this.

5. There is a comparison with a man.

It’s not enough that the victim is a bad woman. She must be compared to a man, most likely her abuser, who is a much better person. He would never use a leather/plastic/cotton bag, don’t you know?

Examples:

Knowing how these campaigns work, it’s easier to notice their outline, their shape, under the waves of news and social media. Here are some examples.

The Fallen - Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp. This is the paradigm of online assassination. If you were online in the spring of 2022 it was impossible to avoid the hate against Heard who, I am sure, is a horrible person. Yet she was also abused by Depp. He lost a libel suit against a tabloid. You really have to be a nasty piece to lose a libel suit. Depp, by the way, also used Melissa Nathan as an online gun-for-hire.

The Ones Currently Fighting – Blake Lively against Justin Baldoni is the most recent one. Summer and Fall of 2024 was marked by the hate against her. Again, I am sure she is insufferable, entitled, blonde and all together quite impossible to describe. This doesn’t change the fact that Baldoni sexually harassed her. One should not have men ogling one’s naked body.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Did you know that Melissa Nathan not only represented Johnny Depp and Justin Baldoni, but also Brad Pitt? Did you know that once this fact was made public Pitt finally signed the divorced papers after eight (8!) years? Little is known of this story because Angelina Jolie has amazing intuition for public relations. She has been silent for almost a decade, while there are news about Pitt going out with his girlfriend, Pitt missing his children and Pitt being sad that his children are forsaking his last name.

(The report on the 2016 plane incident states that Pitt choked one of the children and hit another in the face. Can’t imagine why they would take the Jolie name after that).

(As an aside, I think there is a racist bias here at work and that people assume he hit the boys, not the girls, and the POC children, not the white ones, so “it’s not as bad”).

The One Success Story so I can finish this on a hopeful note – Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas. The moment the couple split, stories emerged of Sophie being a bad mother for, hear this, going to a wrap-up party, having a career in film instead of staying home and what not. This was in 2023, the sting of the Heard-Depp case was recent and Sophie Turner’s fans were not having it. I remember reading an editorial noting how the campaign had fizzled out and Jonas stop fighting for custody of their children.

Anyway:

Bad women can be victims of abuse.

No one deserves abuse.

If you ever think “why am I being showed this?” that’s an abuser killing his victim online all over again.

[marlsswrites]

you're absolutely disgusting for glorifying fascist characters

james married lily and they would both vomit at the idea of being anything close to friendly with a death eater

Okay this is so stupid but I feel like I should speak up about this because it is HORRENDOUS.

Also really? An anonymous hate comment? Thats just sad, if you’re going to be hater at least have the guts to say it to my face.

I actually laughed when this came into my inbox. They are wizards! Fictional wizards, to clarify. We know next to nothing about regulus, james or lily! So, if i want to make a post about jegulus, i will make a fucking post about jegulus.

You can’t go around calling people fascists just because you dont agree with their opinion, it is so childish and it takes the meaning from the word.

I respect everyones opinions, you dont like jegulus? Thats fine, i respect that. You ship jegulily? Cool, I don’t massively ship it but id never hate on someone who does. You ship jily? Yay, me too! So how about you send a prompt to my inbox and ask me to write a jily oneshot, you dont need to flood my inbox with stupid hate while being anonymous! If you really want to say something, you wouldnt do it anonymously.

There is so much to this fandom, so many headcanons and so so many opinions. And everyone has the right to their opinion, I really dont give a shit that you dont like jegulus, but calling me a fascist is just so pointless.

How on earth do you want me to react? “Sorry, I will stop shipping the couple that have offered me comfort on a daily!” Or “oh wow, you’re being pointlessly stupid, that is such a good point!”

No, because at the end of the day, no one reacts like that. No one will listen to you if you act like that! If you dont support me for liking jegulus, get off my page, honest to god. If you dont like jegulus but you like wolfstar, just skip the jegulus content. Its so easy!

If you want less jegulus content on your feed, maybe stop actively searching for jegulus creators to hate on?

Jegulus brings me so much comfort, if im having a bad day I can just do some writing, or make a video, or read some more of the fanfic i was in the middle of. And you are calling me a fascist simply because i seek comfort in a couple of fictional wizards? Just let people be happy, it really isn’t difficult. And if you cant understand that, you really shouldnt be commenting on it, because you are obviously uneducated and not mature enough to be saying and speaking up about things like that.

I am literally just a another human trying to have some fun and find happiness in the things that I love, and you are some random person online who clearly only finds joy in trying (and failing) to make people feel like shit, get a life. And again, if you have a problem with this post, please DNI, hate is not wanted and is really not needed.

Anyway im off to write some more gay fanfiction about said ‘fascists’, bye!! 🫡

[snarkyfivehargreeves]

Thoughts on Allison, Luther & Five

Now I also have been moved to want to write something about the Hargreeves siblings and the importance or priority each of them give to their problems, what they're going through as opposed to everyone together.

Under the cut because ooops, it got a little bit out of hand here.

Look, I love Five dearly. He's snappy, smart and his wit's as sharp as a knife. He's a character I love very much. Not enough to say he doesn't have flaws. I know he does, and I've seen him make less than good decisions and I've seen him being somewhat insensitive, maybe a little abrasive. My point is, he's a flawed human being. So are the others.

That being said, I think it's really interesting to see over time (now that I'm almost done with Season 3, I've been able to see the progression of the characters and the way that each of them react to the things that happen to them) the way that Five and his siblings look at their situations. It just called my attention two particular instances.

1. Luther on the day of his wedding: I'll give it to him, it is his day and he doesn't want bad things to happen to ruin it. But (and maybe this just me), when he talked to Viktor and asked Viktor to make up with Allison, it didn't seem so much as 'Look, it would mean the world to me if I could see the two of you make up and not have this hostility between you' as it did 'This is my day, you should do this because I don't want you to be fighting. This is my day and this is what I want to ask for from you.' Also Viktor's 'Why should that be on my bucket list?' lends to that. It's just a little strange for me...And even later when Luther gets mad at Viktor and Allison and growls, "This is my day, behave for two hours. Don't ruin this for me" (paraphrasing ok). 2. Allison in...3x07? When she rumours Viktor: I understand that Allison has suffered and she's going through those painful things. But it did strike me when, in her upset, she looked at everyone and said something along the lines of that they aren't considering her pain, what she's going through. It seemed...it appeared to me, in my lowly opinion, that she's fixated on her hurts and the bad stuff going on in her life (which is natural, and it's just a thing that we do, when we hurt over things, we of all people feel it so much more because it's happening to us). I just don''t think she should have put that ABOVE all the other matters that they were discussing (might have been stopping Harlan, trying to stop the next fricking apocalypse because those poor people, they never get a break)

I could absolutely be wrong, and if I am, please folks, help a girl out and show me which episodes Five does do this. But I don't recall a moment where Five has vocalized painful shit that he's been through and asking or making a sort of comment as to why no one's paying any attention to this. It just came to my mind that when he landed back in the Academy after he set off those explosions...he had a shrapnel wound that he didn't breathe a word of to anybody. He actually ended up collapsing because he's losing too much blood when he, Diego and Allison are investigating Jenkins' house. He didn't speak a word about it. It just seems to me that the stuff that has happened to him, he definitely didn't make it a very big deal when speaking of it to his siblings (if he did at all).

For example, he snaps at someone about how he spent 45 years alone in the apocalypse. Now we suppose that really messed with his head and it wasn't an enjoyable experience for him. But he doesn't really talk to anyone about it. Okay, granted he avoids vulnerability like the plague and he'd rather die than do that. But then, there's another moment where he makes to Luther an offhand comment about the loneliness he felt. 'It does something to your head' or something like that. And also when he has his siblings gathered in Eliott's place and says 'You died, guys. I watched it. I want to forget it, but I can't.' There's some emotion there.

I mean maybe it's just not his personality to give any attention himself to the things that are hurting him (physically or emotionally) but I haven't seen him react to things the way that Luther and Allison have.

I'm not saying Five is a perfect, can-do-no-wrong character. Just what I've observed (and hah I miss things even in the simplest of settings so I could totally be wrong about all this, and in such a case, please ignore my nonsensical ramblings. XD)

It just caught my attention enough to write.

[thislittlekumquat]

Right but they have a point in regards to the belief in this figures not being based in any sort of fact or evidence,

That’s the difference, the atheist worldview is by far more accurate

We mock flat earthers for being wrong but not other provably false beliefs?

With all due respect, and I mean that, the concept of any sort of divinity is by definition unprovable. Modern science runs into the issue of unprovables quite often. When I was in college, my professors all worked quite hard to ensure that we understood that there are very few absolutes even in science. Many things that we take for granted as "laws" actually have the formal title of "theory", because they haven't been proven, but there's so much evidence in favor of them and the way we operate under the assumption of their truth continues to provide results, that they are essentially, but not truly, laws. Evolution, for example, is not a law as defined by science, but rather a theory.

So, that's one thing to consider. Another thing to consider is that there is not only value in things we can prove or disprove with modern science. I can't scientifically prove that my spouse loves me. I can't scientifically explain why I like my favorite band, or my favorite novel. And yet these are things I know, and they're true in the sense that they form my world, my experiences, and my life. If you try to prove every single thing you believe in, or that you prefer, or that you experience, you'll never be satisfied. To practice science and to live life ethically and happily, you need to understand what science is, what its limitations are, and how to prioritize it as a concept and as a way of knowing. Science, nor indeed any system of knowing, cannot be the be-all, end-all of your thoughts and opinions. I am a scientist and a historian by education, and having both allow me to understand that many of the conundrums we face today are not unique to us, and many of the things we assume our ancestors did not know, they did in fact know (Ferdinand and Isabella and basically all of Europe knew that the world was round. They even knew that Columbs' calculations were wrong about the size of the sphere. They gave him money for other complex geopolitical reasons, and they were his last ditch effort, since every other wealthy patron he approached knew he was wrong and turned him away).

I suspect that the impulse to deny divinity derives in the majority of cases from a sense that the human institutions of religion are frequently abusive and cause as much suffering as they do comfort to their adherents. This is a fair assessment, and you're not wrong to make it. But on an individual basis, there is nothing less intelligent or foolish about feeling that a divine something exists. I am not arguing that religious people are better than atheists. Speaking as a former angry teen atheist myself, I am simply commenting on the fact that it has been a facet of the formal atheist movement for centuries to assume that it's more rational to be atheist. Even if it were, who is to say that rationalism makes one a better person? You're on tumblr, so I assume that there's something here that moves you. Is it a fandom? Is it photography? Is it art? Is it music? None of these are rational pursuits.

So I reject the idea that divinity is demonstrably fake, because it isn't, by definition, and I reject the idea that even if it was demonstrably false, it makes one a better or smarter person to be an atheist. I think it's completely fine to be an atheist, but one must temper one's sense of self-importance with the experiences of others.

P.S. I screenshotted the post because I found it ironic that OP used the word "stigmata", which is a very particular devotional concept and image in Roman Catholicism, among other Christian sects, and a very mystical one at that, in their username, while simultaneously professing to find people who are religious to be stupid and backwards. I think there's something going on there, and it amused me. But I did not bother OP or the person who reblogged it onto my dash, nor did I tag the post in any way to lead people to my post. So I wonder why you, anonymously, felt as if their point is any more valid than mine.

[kitkatpancakestack]

I saw your post on The Pitt and I’m intrigued by your comment because I feel like I’m in the trenches at the moment as I read ship war discourse….like this is not the takeaway we should be having from this show. I actually don’t know how to put it into words but I just feel that shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Med and The Resident have skewed how we view medical shows. To me, they are all essentially soap operas because they focus on personal drama where the characters just happen to work at hospitals. But a show like the Pitt focuses on the medicine and how the characters navigate it because they are working in what we know is a broken/overwhelmed system which is hard enough but then you are also bringing in you own personal history, experiences and biases while still going “how can I provide the care these patients need in a system that is actively working against everyone while actually learning how to be a competent doctor or navigating burnout/PTSD from a system that grinds you down at a spiritual level of the years?” IDK like maybe it’s my own personal bias and opinions where we have all these complex and flawed characters who are actually so representative of the state of healthcare and medicine and so many of them being badass women that I could care less about shipping Dr. Mohan or Dr. King with their chief residents/superiors and reducing them to that…..if you want that go watch Grey’s Anatomy….

Hmm, I see what you're saying. In some ways I agree. But I have no problem with shipping. It is a fun and mostly harmless activity. I think it's fun. As for the ship wars, as long as there is media there will always be ship wars and they will always be needlessly contentious.

My issue is with all the other conversations around the show. Many just miss the point so hard. I'm probably too close to the subject matter and will maybe sound really uppity in my response lol, but I'm honestly not trying to judge anybody for the way they engage with this show. Some of it is just a little.... disappointing.

I LOVE medical shows. Always have. I've seen everything under the sun. They all have their merits. I'm not about to preach about what makes the pitt so unique bc I think anybody who pays attention can identify what makes it different from your average network medical drama. But:

We live in a period right now of rampant and malignant distrust in the healthcare system. Particularly since COVID-19. I'm speaking specifically from my experience as a USAmerican. I won't go too deep into that, because that is a whole other mile-long post, but what has resulted from that is a destabilizing series of blows to an already decrepit system, and the people who suffer the most are the ones who are ultimately the least culpable: the healthcare providers.

I hear from my family and from friends and post after post on this website about how much people hate doctors and nurses and how they think they are stupid and useless and heartless monsters. It's hard to defend yourself from this when you're inside it and see firsthand the complexity of it, because it is SO far from perfect, but there are also SO many people trying to do good. The main reason I was excited for the pitt was because it invites the audience at large into the fold for the day. Rather than an outsider looking in, the intimate slog of the way the show is directed makes you feel like you are there and you are IN IT. This is what it's like. Day after day week after week year after year. How do you maintain your humanity? How do you keep hold of who you are? How can you see the worst of people and still come back the next day?

So. Idk. There's so much more I could say but. Ultimately people can do whatever they want. I can only continue to engage in conversations about the subject irl and online I will just filter and move on. The most important thing is that people continue to experience it. In any case, it's still an amazing show.

[samodivas]

How do you define love? Not trying to cross examine your take that love is "something you do," but I'm a philosophy student. I can't help myself, I love hearing people's takes and exploring mine.

I actually think Love is very poorly understood and defined by basically everyone. It's a word we all use, but one few people actually agree upon, when you get down to it.

Because of linguistic and cultural plurality, I'd say there are a lot of types of love; "I love ice cream" is surely quite different from "I love you [pointed at marital partner]" or "I love my dog" etc.

In terms of what I do for my ice cream, well, I devour it or let it fallow in the freezer for months before I remember it's there. That's way different from the things I do for my partner, which are different from what I do for the dog. When you crunch that down, it looks like 1 = 2, which doesn't work logically.

To get specific, "things you do" are verbs, and feeling is used syntactically like a verb. We conjugate feeling like a verb; I/you/they feel, I was feeling, I felt. While emotions and sensations are different from actions like running or crafting, they are "things you do." We can even learn how to select and choose thoughts and actions that moderate and select emotions, in a similar [but non identical] way we chose actions.

So what's common abouy my love for ice cream, my partner or my pets? Similar positive feelings, ones we might call love. Those feelings are usually situated before my actions for them, and are not identical to those things that I do. We say "people will do crazy things for love," speaking to how that intrinsic feeling comes before the more conventional action.

Understanding that love is a feeling doesn't really tell us what kind of feeling though, besides positive. This is an area I'm still exploring. You could also get really granular about confusion between love and like, but I think the two feelings are at least related, and may exist on a spectrum based on magnitude.

Does that make sense? Clarity is important for exploring nuanced topics like love, but I worry I don't always achieve it. I'd like to hear your feedback & thoughts about love.

Cheers ✌️🍝

Thanks for dropping in! I'm going to put everything under the cut to spare people's dashboards because I can turn a simple question into an essay. (Humanities students unite lol)

Also, a note: @a-book-dragon left a much more well-articulated (philosophy-based) comment under yours in that post, which is how I found it in the first place. I'm just not familiar enough with dialetics (and I found the gif before that lowkey annoying) so I went directly to the source (you) to reblog it. (She's also super smart if you want to discuss something with her and can probably hold a conversation based in philosophy a lot better than I can.)

I agree that "love" and "like" are related, not just on a linguistic level, and I also think that there are different types of love. So while there's the type that says you love to consume something, there's also the type that's about giving, providing, cultivating.

The only book on the subject I've read is bell hook's "all about love" and to be honest, I don't entirely agree with everything she states there, but it does cover a lot of my beliefs on the subject. I was surprised to see her articulate some conclusions I had already reached by myself. I'm honestly not too well-versed in philosophy at all so all my opinions are based on less scientific approaches to the subject, ranging from personal experience, observation, art, cultural notions, etc.

First, I don't think love is necessarily positive in all its expressions. A love for power or possession can translate into a monstrous greed or violence. A lot of cases of domestic violence (referencing my country here) always point to how the perpetrator did it because "he was jealous" over his partner. Plenty of parents end up being abusive out of "love" for their child, which turns them into controlling, hypercritical bullies in the name of love. Controversial take but I don't think people who do bad things always do them because they're unsalvageable monsters, they often do them because they believe in their heart they have to, or that it's okay because they just love this person so much they have nothing else they can do. I think when we discuss love there needs to be room in that conversation for the ways love can twist us, too.

Second, I actually think there's a better distinction that can be made between what I consider two main types of love. In my language they would be "obich" (you would say this both for a love of dancing, pancakes, or to tell someone you love them, be it your mother or your spouse) and "lyubov" (this is used to describe a lover, making love, being in love, and having a love of something, including a love for animals). The following paragraph is going to be my personal interpretation of the concepts, not something that's universally agreed upon by other people in my culture (Bulgarian in case you're curious) nor something I've seen discussed outside of like, two conversations with my own romantic partner or my best friend.

So, linguistically, I make the distinction between "love" (obicham) which to me is something that goes deep and is harder to shake, and it goes in a different direction than being "in-love" (lyubov) which is the more exciting, sexy, lustful side of love. (I don't like calling it an infatuation because I feel like that word in particular is used to demean the feeling. It doesn't have to be less important, it's just different). It's also worth noting that the first kind of love I described tends to be used most often (in my language) as a verb (to love, I love you, loving pancakes, etc), while the second is usually a noun (making love, falling in love, what even is love?, etc). I also think it's interesting that this mostly matches how the words are used in English despite us being like two or three branches apart within the larger Indo-European language family tree.

Next, I believe you can have both of these feelings for your romantic partner, or just one of them. You might not have either of them if you're in a relationship that's very shallow or with someone you don't find interesting or attractive, though to me that's a questionable relationship. (To each their own though.) I can personally attest to having a world of difference between the past 2 experiences of falling inlove I've had, wherein my current relationship feels like a love that is built, and the previous person I was inlove with [I'm not saying it was a situationship but I'm not not saying it] felt like something that would come upon me like a sickness. It was not something based out of action, out of the active caring for another person. It was like clinical insanity, borne out of a brief but intense two weeks of knowing each other, a great attraction, fantastic sex, and a lot of uncertainty that comes with being very different people and not having similar goals or even continents between ourselves.

Feeling [as a verb and a noun] is very important for both types. But the main difference is that the first is achieved through the action of loving, by turning love into a verb. It's almost like training because the more time passes, the stronger that love is. So I think that's also an appropriate type of love to describe between parent and child - it's an incredible bond (or so I hear) and it may change over time as you both change and grow, but it's also something that's largely based around your closeness, your active caring for each other, there's a certainty there. The second type can be that romance-novel, crazy-stupid-mania type of love. That's the love people talk about when they describe "love-sickness" or "wanting" someone.

Let's consult those old greek types of love for a second:

I love (lol) these and they have their uses, though I think dividing them this much can be a hindrance. Feeling part of a group (philia) can include a family unit (storge) or love of humanity/contributing (agape). Self-love (philautia) can be 'I'm a whole human who deserves respect and kindness' or it can be 'fuck my tits so look good when I'm riding him, I'm so glad we put a mirror there' (eros). I would say that to love (obich, the first kind I was describing earlier) covers 6/9 of these, and the remaining 3 (eros, ludus, mania) are covered by love (lyubov, the second type I was describing).

Note: for the remainder of this, I will refer to "9" types instead of 8, because when I found the image it said "9 types of love" and I later saw they're actually 8. Then I found some article claiming the 9th type, which I'm adding here for consistency:

(I like the concept so it stays. Nine aspects of love it is!)

Everything so far served as the introduction, theories, methods, and background. Let's get back to the research problem: do [those men described in the specific post] actually love women?

In regards to "I don't think these men love women", I am definitely refering to the first type of love, which covers 6/9 bases. This isn't to say they aren't capable of loving any individual woman on the planet in any of those ways 6 aspects but I do think that they don't love (6/9 aspects) women as people, or potential (romantic or sexual) partners. They have already narrowed down the category for women who deserve their love (obich), and the women they can love (3/9 aspects, lyubov).

I am perhaps also going back to OP's original point which is that many of these men don't even like women, which doesn't necessarily contrast with your point that these hyper-specific turn offs (like piercings, tattoos, dyed hair, cat-ear headphones, or taking pictures of your latte) are also stand-ins for traits they have a hard time articulating. These men are capable of wanting women (which includes lust, attraction, basically those 3/9 aspects/lyubov) and I'm sure that for many of them, there are women they do like, perhaps as friends, or coworkers, or crushes. (Or, to be honest, as pets, because while I can never truly know what goes on in a man's mind (since I am a cis woman), just based on the these 'women aren't really people like you and me' types that I've seen who still have female friendships (? somehow ?) I can only assume they treat these friendships I mentioned with a type of delight and frivolousness that one does when they get to hang out with someone's dog, or when a particularly friendly but mangy cat brushes up against your leg. Something that falls between 'well it doesn't count' and 'I guess I might fuck her but she's still pathetic' or something. Let me know if that even remotely makes sense outside my head)

In addition to these traits-as-stand-ins, we also have a lot of other things that OP didn't necessarily say but I felt they were implied, so that affected my comment. To back up my point a little bit, I consulted two random articles listing beauty trends and fashion trends men hate for some. These include:

Taking pictures of little things - this doesn't necessarily mean posting them, but other than your latte it could be a cool rock or a pretty leaf on the ground.

Taking pictures of herself - Oh she's so vapid and self-absorbed! (Meanwhile his ig feed is full of OnlyFans models and women he 'talks to' in their bikinis)

Red lipstick - a very popular makeup trend that men very vocally complained about when it began earlier in the 2010s.

Super short denim shorts - which is ironic because that's the pornified look that men are always drooling over?

Having tattoos - I personally know at least two men who express disgust at women with tattoos, with one of them saying he's convinced a woman with tattoos would be a cheater. (To their credit, neither of them are tattooed at least...)

More recently, thin eyebrows, bleached eyebrows, pouty lips (pretty sure this started as a porn/sexy pose trend to begin with?)

Talking to other men on dating apps (when you have just met on a dating app and are in the get-to-know-each-other, see if you want to date at all, stage...)

Having any sort of body hair

Wearing any makeup at all

Not wearing enough of it (because we're all actually ugly without it)

Having male friends (to be fair, a lot of women also dislike this in men they would consider dating)

Speaking a certain way (accents, dialects, speech impediments... sure, not liking one of these things/having a pet peeve is fine, but always nitpicking at these things in any woman... at that point you're making up problems)

Weightlifting or having any muscles at all - 'oh she looks like a man!' (she does not)

Yeah basically it's a long list and we can keep going.

I'd also like to point out that what you described in your comment, to me, sounds like [those dudes] love the idea of being loved. Perfectly fair - everyone wants/loves that idea. They also, perhaps, see love as a type of subservient self-sacrifice. So that means someone taking on their burdens in exchange for them "providing". Only most of these men are incapable of providing anything beyond disappointment, though the ones that actually make money think that somehow covers the emotional void between them and their partner. (The amount of times I've tried, in vain, to explain you need to be present for your partner, actually DO things for them, not just sneeze money when the check comes.... sigh.)

We can also draw some parallels to the madonna/whore complex, to how [these] men are often attracted to women they're also disgusted by (e.g.: how many of them watch hardcore pornography and at the same time think women who do this are disgusting and evil? There was a great video by Kidology about Kendel Kay, AKA the Stay-at-Home Girlfriend, who had this exact thing happen to her when her boyfriend dumped her for being 'demonic' after she gave up doing porn because of him. She was very much an active OF model when they met.]

Summary sentence: I agree with your point and where you are coming from but I believe it's more accurate to say these men [described in OP's post and your comment] do not love women so much as they are technically capable of wanting them if they meet their predetermined list of qualities. To me, "I could potentially fuck and imagine having my emotional needs met by a woman who fits this checklist of requirements" is simply not something I would call love.

[soemthingsparkly]

i would absolutely love to share a rant!

all the characters are so psychologically fucked up in such a realistic way that i didn't see represented much. grian venting to tango about feeling left out. the fact that he felt left out at all over something so small. they're so codependent and i love it.

and then there's scott and jimmy's dynamic. scott kissing jimmy and then jimmy venting to grian and then grian just responding with "HE DID WHAT??????" and then at the cafe. the idea of someone doing something they shouldn't have and then having a panic attack over a third party's opinion on it is so... idk how to say it. like i said, a type of fucked up that you don't see talked about much and i relate so hard to it. it's clear scott's probably trying his best out at least trying a lot to not hurt jimmy but he's failing miserably and i don't think he even realizes it. and like. yeah. ive been there. i don't actually know why scott broke up with him but i get the vibe it was supposed to be like. to help jimmy in some way. like "oh wait ive been toxic maybe i should end this for his sake". but doing that obviously hurt jimmy, especially since he didn't say *why* he did it. and scott obviously did something really drastic and sudden so he's not doing well either and he really wants to go back to jimmy. he knows he's being manipulative and it's not on purpose but in trying to stop and be better he keeps making things worse. and like. this is all a side thing. this fic is mostly about mumscarian and you threw in this flower husbands sideplot but it's still so fleshed out and so *real*.

and speaking of the mumscarian thing the way you write their friendships, especially grian and mumbo's is amazing. it's not like. a stepping stone to a romantic relationship even though they are going to end up in one. very "not more than friends, different from friends" vibes /vpos. it doesn't feel like they're ending up in a romantic relationship. it feels like they're making their relationship romantic and i love that so much.

grian just texting mumbo that he's bored gives such hcs7 vibes and like he yeah they're so codependent and it's so obvious from grian's side my god

and the way you write pearl is amazing, she's got this sibling energy and it's great.

the way you write all of them is amazing actually. i can hear everything they say in their voices. the clockers are on point, especially scar and bdubs.

i could keep going im sure lmao but anyway great fic i love it if you read this ill cry /pos

This has been sitting in my ask box for a while because I just love it so much anon and I was like~~~ how do I respond to such a long ask with the same level of enthusiam?

I wanna break this ask into chunks and there's bits of your ask I wanna respond to directly, so...

all the characters are so psychologically fucked up in such a realistic way that i didn't see represented much.

I'm glad you think so! I definitely feel like I'm being a little bit risky with how I'm presenting some of the, I suppose, human consequences of being human?

I think a lot of what fandom (in general) consumes gets a little over-sanitised these days. Our favourite characters aren't allowed to be flawed like real people, they must be flawed in a way that is either endearing, entertaining (sarcastic or snarky), or easily forgivable.

But that's not always that interesting when it comes to wanting characters we can truly relate to?

Grian gets upset he's left out not just because he has Trauma™, but because he does have a co-dependancy on Mumbo that borders on unhealthy. Tango tells Grian to, in not so many words, get over himself and try and have fun - not because he knew Grian would respond well to it, but because he's blunt and doesn't know how to comfort people gently. Bdubs makes fun of Scar for being disabled, because he knows that everybody in that group chat understands he's joking and that his comments will never leave that group chat (in-world that is, of course, everybody who reads the fic will read them).

And Scott for example, is not a very well-liked character amongst readers at the moment, but he's absolutely one of my favourite to write. You put it pretty well here:

he knows he's being manipulative and it's not on purpose but in trying to stop and be better he keeps making things worse.

Like yes, exactly. He's trying to do better, but the actions he takes that he thinks (or is being co-erced into believing via mental illness) will make things better, keep making things worse and he doesn't really understand how to do it right. And haven't we all been in that position before?

And yet up until chapter 17, we've only ever seen into their dynamic from the outside. We've only ever seen Scott's actions from Jimmy's POV or from the POV of someone who cares about Jimmy.

And somehow it's Jimmy, of all people, defending Scott.

It's absolutely fascinating to see readers reactions and I'd be so happy to talk about this forever and ever and ever, hehehe.

And what you said about Mumbo and Grian's relationship, here:

very "not more than friends, different from friends" vibes /vpos. it doesn't feel like they're ending up in a romantic relationship. it feels like they're making their relationship romantic and i love that so much.

I'm actually SO glad you feel that way about them, because that's exactly the way I feel about them, too. They're not just friends, so much as they're Grian and Mumbo. The idea of them being friends almost suggests an alternative of them being not friends and I just don't there's a way in this world that they can exist and be without one another. So yes, I love this a lot and I love that you feel that way about them.

Thank you so much for this absolutely beautiful message - I am such a fan of analysing characters and their interactions and all that. Frankly, thank you for giving me a space to talk at length about the way these characters are in this fic!!

Here is a tissue for the tears, I hope you don't cry too hard. Remember to stay hydrated <333

Lumi <3

[hanako-san]

Note:This post is my collection of thoughts about tere that I have had for a long time. I also commented earlier, but it was in Amane's defense. I was waiting, I really was waiting for chapter 110. What I will write is simply a 'bad laurel' for this egorcist. I held my thoughts for so long. And I'll honestly put it in pro tags. I warn you that this is not for you if you like him, and if you do, read at your own risk. Honestly, it's not hate, just an opinion based on his behavior and what he does. I will also express myself in stronger words about him, what I think about him and his behavior too.

-

A little comparison

Tsukasa: crushes Akane in front of teru and speaks honestly about his plans.he literally admits to being complicit in the school's events from the very beginning

teru reaction:

When Amane do something:

When in front of teru's eyes have to stop Tsukasa:

When teru wants stop Amane:

Honestly, it's amazing what a disgusting person teru is. Didn't he say something like that?

Akane is temporarily supernatural. He is student and it should be his duty to save him, but you sit and wonder instead of acting. Mirai protected him, and then Amane took action, and he still doing nothing, just watching? Where are you at the moment? so-called 'hero' you 'dreamy boy'. I see, it's Tsukasa, not Amane, so he look and do nothing, just watch. he totally useless if it's not Amane. He don't react. I understand Amane is 'dangerous', but his younger twin brother isn't?

Actually, since the chapter with Mitsuba when he first appeared, I always wondered why teru reacts when Amane is responsible for something, but not Tsukasa. this person's bias is still astounding to me. Tsukasa confesses to everything, but teru sits and does nothing. This 'great defender of people', this 'great hero who protects people at night so that they can lead a peaceful life', this 'hero' turns out to be an even greater scoundrel and bastard. Does this surprise me? . of course not. I didn't expect anything else from him.

First Mirai reacted, literally saving Akane's life, then Amane reacted. I have to believe that such a strong exorcist as him was unable to free himself, and Amane, who always loses to him and is no opponent for teru in a fight, could free himself and stop Tsukasa. Laughable.

-

-

He doesn't even have the look of a murderer, it doesn't disgust him. He's not even surprised by what he sees. He just allows it. Sure, sure. If it had been Amane, he wouldn't have punched Akane again, and teru's foot would have ended up on Amane's chest.

Where's your so-called 'professionalism'? Tsukasa is just harming a living person in front of you. Akane may be No.1, but he's not immortal. He's a living human who almost met death. Tsukasa admits to destroying the yorishiros. When he thought that only Amane was behind it, he immediately wanted rid of the him, but when Tsukasa admits it, he does nothing. Your so-called professionalism is simple hypocrisy, which I knew from the very beginning. He decide who to get rid of and when. Amane especially bothers him.

He also reacted to Aoi because he like her, as you admitted. But when Akane is in trouble, he don't react, you just look and nothing else. The supernatural took his childhood away. He couldn't play like other children, so he found solace in murdering supernatural creatures. Instead of blaming the old man and at some point opposing him, he go and do this job in which the lives of people whose fate he don't care, are completely indifferent to him and he don't do it for others,but himself, just because he love to kill.

He a hypocrite, he talking about Amane, but he is 100 times worse yourself. He love killing supernaturals, that's something that gives him fun. His words and his sadistic face and smile prove it.

He wanted to be a hero and a cool older brother, but for them he will always be. In fact, he is far from a hero, he's a disgusting hypocrite.Actually, he can, because he's on the 'good side' and the 'bad' side is supernatural.

What I find funny is that he presented No. 6 in a good light by saying that he still takes care of the place where the village stood. A demon that slaughtered the far shore and riddled it like a French cheese.

I can finally say it openly. You are a disgusting person. You are not a hero, you are just a lying and cowardly, narcissistic and sociopathic egorcist who likes to abuse Akane and Tsuchigomori and Amane as well. A hypocrite and you contradict yourself when it comes to Tsukasa, in actions and words. You are a disgusting hypocrite. I despise you. You're trash to me.

I dedicate these words to you, I can't stand the sight of you either, and I have to do it for the sake of history.

There are no dictionaries of words I can use to describe his abusive and disgusting behavior at this moment. There are no words in the dictionary to describe how much I hate him, how much my contempt is huge and I really don't care if he takes actions in chapter 111 or later towards Tsukasa. For me, what mattered was this important moment. That's all.The further he go, the worse he is minamoto teru so-called 'hero'(A hero like you, I would to run away as far as possible)

I call him a narcissist because he is one. He loves attention and people who are gathered around him and admire him to such an extent that he himself causes it to raise his ego and uniqueness to the top. And in fact, he is a nobody. He may have the looks, but he has a nasty personality, and his appearance and fake politeness are just pathetic, like all of him. He feels better than these 'evil' supernatural ones, but in reality he is just a nobody, a zero. There's nothing special about him.

Edit: I forgot one thing that both teru and Kou are only good with words.

In fact, teru takes action after the fact to 'save the situation', the narrative is supposed to say that he is 'hope for a difficult situation', but when it comes to specific actions, they are both the same. they are only good with words and 'meaningless' actions. unlike a pair of twins they hate.

minamoto says that if this continues, yorishiros will be destroyed and he showed 'concern' for nene's life when he actually doesn't care, he has proven it many times and this time it's not the other way around. If he wanted to, he would have reacted, not spoken and just watched. He won't take the risk when He risks his life all the time before,he won't do it now. the twins have no problem with it.teru is supposed to be the 'great hero' to save people, and this involves a risk that he doesn't take NOW. So Lame.

What should you do teru? It's best to do what works best for you. Hunting supernaturals at night, saving the day and showing up after the fact and abusing weak supernaturals and hating Amane as much as ever. This is what you do best, you 'hero'.

[mysblog]

Stranger from Hell

So, I just finished it and I remember that during the last EP I recalled all the past events and concluded that the series is quite amusing and interesting but not overly thrilling. Pleasant to watch but not catchy. A series to watch while doing something else. But as the last EP came to an end and all the messed up pieces came together I was so shocked (in a positive way). Tbh, tho I read a lot of comments saying that the end ruined everything. In my opinion the ending was that missing piece to make that drama stand out more.

The whole drama felt like watching a silly and humble dude going through all sort of trouble. Step for step watching how miserable his life is getting. Feeling bad for him and being angry because everything seems so unfair.

It was around EP 6 when it all starts to change. Especially that one part:

cuz, its kinda true. Before that, Jong-woo rarely speaks up to anyone. Even if he speaks up, he gets shushed by everyone around him. Being all quiet even tho the people around were treating him extremely poor. For example the chef who always seemed to hit on Jong-woo's Girlfriend Ji-Eun right in front of him or his colleague who always bad-mouths him.

But after his encounterment with Moon-jo, Jong-woo starts to voice his thoughts. Not only that but even gets a knife. For me, thats the most interesting part because in that part he indeed looked like all the psychopath we met in that Studio.

Especially it reminded me of Nam-bok who always used to watch him with a knife behind his back.

Taking that scene and Moon-jo's words, it makes you ask: who are the real humans? The ones living up to who they really are, doing what they like, or the ones putting on a facade to please society. Every single Character in the Drama has some sort of inner conflict. For example, Byeong-min who seems to hold some grudges against Jong-woo for some trauma he's been through, or the chef having a hard time finding a girlfriend, and even Ji-Eun being overly stressed from all the backlashes she receives at work. Everyone seems to carry around some sort of baggage but never talks about it. Instead, they keep it within themselves or lash out at others if can't suppress it. To get back to the question, Considering all these aspects, isn't it better to simply voice out your thoughts and do what you want?

I'd like to say yes, but the short answer to this question is no. That's when society and law collide. According to the law. Everyone's free to do whatever they want as long as they don't bother others with their behavior or don't do anything illegal, but the truth here is that you might be allowed to do this by law but not by society.

'Weird' describes something unnatural or strange. But we as human beings love similarities: the more someone acts and thinks like you, the more you tend to like them. That's called the chameleon effect. We naturally exclude people who don't are like us, that's when they become 'weird' to us. And because no one in society is showing up as themselves or is putting on a character they'd like to be, the ones that do, stand out even more and have a harder time connecting to others. So instead they suppress it (like everyone else) or become the so-called outcasts. In the Drama that's the Eden Studio.

But the Eden Studio is a bad place full of bad people, right? So actually it's a good thing to not 'stand out', right? From here on it gets complicated. The Movie shows a humble, sweet character who turns into a reckless murderer, but that doesn't happen from one day to another. Jong-woo went through a horrible time with no one listening to him, no one caring for his concerns, and no end in sight. A process of slowly and painfully giving up on others and then on himself. He needed a helping hand that no one was able to give because everyone seemed to worry about their own misfortune. That's when he slowly turned into that 'weirdo', bringing back that scenario where he held a knife behind his back. "Monsters are not born, they're made".

Stranger from Hell is not necessarily an unknown person but rather an unknown side of human beings. Something everyone has within themselves.

There're a lot of other things in SFH that I'd like to mention but that would make the post way too long. The last thing I thought is pretty interesting is that the last EP was called 'Gaslighting'

'using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.' Recalling the ending, this might be the most suitable name not only for that EP but for the whole series. Due to the restless nights and the unhealthy environment Jong-woo slowly loses touch of is own sanity and becomes a whole mess. Falling completely into Moon-jo hands.

As I just mentioned, there’s a lot about SFH that should be mentioned. Especially about Moon-jo. If some of y'all are interested I'm gonna link you a great Reddit post about the moral of SFH and the mindset of Moon-jo.