#also I'm starting to realize that a lot of the people who say this or even previous expansions “have nothing in it for them”

[xx-obliviousfantasy-xx]

1)

Real. Societally we need to remember that unintentional harm doesn't make the harm less BAD.

2) (this is gonna turn political or something I guess)

... N o???? Not entirely.

Who is this in reply to in wondering

Absolutely NOT why they're called that in my community. It's because genuinely, when white women start crying, black and brown people are typically killed as the result.

For example (TW SA and Abuse I fucking guess): In the past, a lot of white women would rape black men or force them to do certain actions for them and they generally could not refuse. If they did, their life was GENUINELY at risk because the woman would lie about the circumstances to save her own ass AND/OR as punishment. ALSO, if they got PREGNANT by a black man, they would cry "rape" which, you know, ended with that black man beat to death.

Another example of "white woman tears" would be a white woman and a black woman disagreeing or getting into something of an argument, and the white woman starting to cry, especially if while telling the black woman to "stop being so aggressive" and "calm down." Even if they're literally just the same level of angry. But it doesn't even HAVE to be the woman saying anything like that because in (Americans society at least) people will ALREADY see that woman as the aggressor which puts her at significant risk.

And honestly, can even, unintentionally be manipulation because of the fact that crying is often a learned response into terms of anger as opposed to others because of how it gets people to treat you differently.

Which then

Like yeah that can be a fucking anxiety response and shit but that's STILL causing fucking harm and THAT is where you gotta understand that your tears are NOT without consequence for others.

Everyone is allowed to cry. There are so many situations where we are allowed to cry. Crying in general is not manipulative. And crying at a fucking film or the thought of a dog without legs or something? Not manipulative.

But in certain contexts? Even if not intentional...yeah.

And we people, who cry really easily, gotta learn how to kinda control it kind of better. Not bottle it up but also be able to just leave or whatever.

One time I was crying really hard and then realized I had stop even involuntarily crying and was just continuing to cry and was able to stop.

But also that was genuinely during a time when I was being abused so that was low-key different

Anyways

Don't listen to me. Idk what I'm saying. Listen to people with a PHD or whatever.

Everyone is so weird about people who cry easily. Fellas, is it evil and manipulative to *checks notes* have an involuntary stress response?

[starkrebellion]

💀💀 quick rant because a certain side of the Cobra Kai fandom will apparently never stop pissing me off and this is like the only place where I haven't seen anyone post shit like this

I NEED THESE PEOPLE TO GET A LIFE AND GET SERIOUS FAST.... in what world do they think that this is in any way entertaining or a cool thing to post. This kind of "humor" says a lot about a person's maturity, which in this case is nonexistent.

first of all, calling Peyton List (and generally judging other people for the way they look) a 5/10 is wild and objectively wrong... and even if she wasn't absolutely gorgeous I hope these people posting this shit never find love because Robby clearly didn't choose (not that there even was a choice to make) Tory for her looks. Zara's actress, Rayna Vallandingham, is also super beautiful and from what I've seen seems like a nice person who I'm glad got this opportunity to be in ck, but the character in itself is a jealous bitch and otherwise insufferable, and let's not forget the fact that she literally SA'd Robby. Plus before or after that they didn't spend any real time together... why the fuck would Robby choose her over the girl that he actually knows and loves????

secondly, Sam really doesn't look that different in season 6 than she did in the previous ones. And she certainly doesn't look any worse. If anything Mary Mouser looks even more beautiful now. Only childish people care this much about another person's weight. Calling her "Ham" wasn't funny when it first started, it's not funny now, just like none of the jokes regarding the way she looks are. There's seriously something wrong with these people and they're way too obsessive about bullying this girl who has done literally nothing to them because I can't see a single post about Sam/Mary without someone bullying her in the comments

It's okay to dislike a character but bringing the actor's looks into it is disgusting and immature. They are real people with real feelings!!!! I can't believe that people can actually write that shit about someone else and feel good about themselves afterwards

These people are literally driving me insane, this is like the third post in a span of a few weeks that I've made about this topic.... can they fucking grow up and realize their "jokes" aren't funny in the slightest

[klonoadreams]

HOW WE ALL FEELING, FORMER DORM LEADER CATER DIAMOND TRUTHERS???

The theory is going hella strong with this upcoming update in December, and I'm mainly losing my shit because of how fucking funny it was, but also, it always made the most amount of sense???

Of how thankful Cater was post Riddle OB??

More than that, he knows a LOT more about the Queen of Hearts than you'd expect, and the way he goes about Heartslabyul etiquette.

Like above all else, his lenience is something that matches the King of Hearts that he is starting to appear to be based off of in ways. It should be mentioned ESPECIALLY, that it was the King of Hearts who allowed Alice to have her trial in the Disney film.

But apart from that, Cater has also been rather enamored with teh Queen of Hearts herself, given what information he's mentioned about her.

Like a thing in comment with these chats is that Cater is involved to some extent, and he knows further than what's shown on the surface, something that can sometimes slip by Riddle.

It's just very fascinating that regardless of the outcome, Cater is a member of Heartslabyul through and through, even with his tendency to slack off at times.

Above all else, he was the one helping manage Riddle too, when he was at his worst. Like you gotta understand, the fact that CATER DIAMOND, of all people, avoided EVER pissing off Riddle and getting punished by him is a LOT more impressive, when you realize how everyone else was dealing with him. ESPECIALLY with his MagiCam obsession and phone tap tap tapping. :V

There's a lot more to Cater than meets the eyes, given that a lot of what he does in Heartslabyul comes naturally to him. I'm just saying, if it turns out to have been true with the theory that he was the former Dorm Leader of Heartslabyul before Riddle...well, the signs were certainly there. It's already pointing to Cater being the true twisted King of Hearts character and not Trey, as his own comparison mentioned.

[begrudging-fudanshi]

So i stared reading windbreaker after i saw your post about it , it's wholesome manga with amazing fights

in your opinion Why didn't nii satoru reveal Sakura's past until now ? Why was Sakura alone ?

Hell yeah. Welcome to the fandom. I'm glad my propaganda has been working.

To be honest, I've been thinking about this series way too much over the last couple weeks, so this is probably going to be A Lot. I am dumping a lot of accumulated thoughts in here and simultaneously trying to keep a bunch of other thoughts from cluttering it up. If any of this feels disjointed, it's because I've been trying (I swear) to not make this like 10,000 words long lmao.

(CW: Wind Breaker manga spoilers + discussion of child neglect, trauma, feelings of worthlessness, parental loss, grief, and a suicide attempt in the context of the series. Hope you're ready for some pain.)

I'm going to answer your questions in reverse order, because I think they're actually very closely connected.

Sadly, my read on Sakura's past is really dark. Based on what we know so far, there's a lot to suggest that Sakura has been badly neglected for a long time, both physically and emotionally. Based on his lifestyle and the way he talks about himself, I really struggle to believe that he's received any genuine affection or care in many years, if ever. (I'm so glad he was able to go to Furin.)

The flashbacks at the start of episode 1 of the anime suggest he was taken in by relatives who didn't want him, and I think they basically set him up for failure in every way. They seem to have done the bare minimum required of them by the law, like sending him to school, but I can see no evidence that they did much of anything else. Like, what kind of asshole sends a 15-year-old kid to live alone in a barren apartment with literally nothing to wear except his school uniform? Caring people wouldn't let a kid live like that. (That said, I have a bad feeling that his lifestyle seen in episode 56 is an upgrade compared to what he had before.)

Given this, it's clear Sakura really means it when he says he's always done things by himself. I think this is why he looks so torn up when his friends show him real kindness and why he's so sensitive to anyone showing affection. I also think this means that he really wants to forget his past. This is a big part of why we haven't seen it revealed yet: Sakura isn't ready to revisit it, himself.

---

Something interesting about Wind Breaker's backstories is that they all (as far as I and my notes can remember) follow a consistent pattern. They're not just lore dumps that tell us about the character's past. They actually follow each character through a process of changing their beliefs about themselves, often based on their view of the past. This is why they're all in the first person. Some of them happen in the present while some of them are presented as flashbacks, but either way the process is basically the same.

In each backstory, the character starts out believing something about themselves that gives rise to a contradiction that keeps them trapped. This belief somehow keeps them from living their best life. However, someone else helps them challenge that belief, giving rise to a revelation that lets them change how they see themselves. This change enables them to see new possibilities and lets them move forward towards the life they want.

For example:

Umemiya believed his parents would blame him for their deaths, so he couldn't let himself grieve them nor believe that he deserved to live. His guilt blocked out his memory of the event, keeping him from remembering what really happened. However, a nameless(?) Furin student and Shitara helped him realize that his parents saved him and were happy to see him survive. Thus, he was able to grieve and imagine a future for himself other than his self-destruction.

Kaji believed that his rage was uncontrollable and couldn't even see himself as human. Hiragi helped him realize that he could manage his triggers and change his behavior to be able to live his life.

Tsubaki believed that she couldn't like pretty things or express herself how she wanted. Ito and Yui helped her learn to dress up and present herself the way she liked, allowing her to accept herself and transition. (I know she's not canonically transgender but that's still the best way I can see to describe it.)

After Yui's death, Ito believed that she might never have truly loved him. Tsubaki, Sakura, Suo, and Nirei help him realize the secret meaning of the tree that she planted in his garden, letting him live his life without worrying if she was truly happy.

What's important here is that the character must be ready to have their beliefs about themselves challenged so they can understand their full truth. Otherwise, their story of their past would be incomplete.

Because Sakura isn't yet in a position to challenge the beliefs holding him back, he can't reveal his past, either. He has friends helping him, but it's going to be a while before they've truly shaken his most unhelpful beliefs.

---

That said, this process has actually played out with Sakura once before and I think it tells us a lot. It shows us exactly why he's not ready to reveal his past.

In chapter 1, Sakura starts out believing that he's meant to always be alone, leading him to initially reject the people of Makochi. Then, Kotoha helps him acknowledge that he does want to be accepted and convinces him to give it a shot. However, while this does help Sakura a lot, this isn't a complete resolution. He still has an even more deep-seated belief that has to be addressed.

In addition to asserting that he's meant to be alone, Sakura lays out what I believe is an even more fundamental belief that really gets to the root of his deepest trauma. He doesn't quite say it explicitly, but it underpins both his belief that he's meant to be alone and that he's worth nothing but his fists.

The closest he comes to naming it is when he describes Furin. He says it's "The lowest of the low, hated by all others, worth nothing but their fists … It's a battle to determine the trashiest of the trash. That suits me perfectly." I have to admit, the first few times I heard/read this, I completely missed how fucked-up it is. I think I've gotten so used to taking shonen protags' confident declarations at face value that I just didn't question it, in the same way I've learned not to question, say, 12-year-old Gon deciding to become a pro hunter and travel the world fighting adults. The way it's presented very deliberately blunts the impact as well, making it feel like more stereotypical shonen protag bluster.

However, as I read through the rest of the manga, it became clear that this is what Sakura actually, deeply believes about himself. He's 15 years old and he truly sees himself as trash—in other words, worthless. The only way he can imagine finding worth in himself is through his strength. Even then, he can only imagine this as a means to see worth in himself. He can't let himself imagine anyone else ever valuing him for any reason. To put it more sharply, he can't imagine deserving unconditional love. Based on what little we do know about his past, this belief stems from a lifetime of emotional neglect.

The thing is, Sakura's belief that he's worthless is actually, paradoxically, a coping mechanism. As horrible as it is, it helps him rationalize his life in a way that lets him keep living despite his neglect and isolation. If he's truly worthless, then he's never had a reason to expect being loved or accepted by anyone—he's always been meant to be alone. This is how he can tell himself that he doesn't care and has given up. This lets him bury the pain of his isolation and pretend it doesn't truly hurt. He has no reason to get his hopes up for the future, nor any reason to question why he's been treated so badly in the past. He can accept it, even if he hates it, because it was always inevitable. However, this also means that he's holding back an unfathomable amount of pain inside of him. To doubt his own worthlessness, therefore, is to expose himself to overwhelming grief. This coping mechanism protects him, but it also traps him and prevents him from finding relief.

This comes to a head in chapter 1, as the townspeople surround him and the old woman tries to tend to his wound. As she reaches towards him, he screams at her to stay away. This act of genuine kindness fills him with terror. It's not just that he fears eventual rejection—it's that he fears the idea he could be accepted at all. Remember, he's just "failed" to win the fight and, worse, ended up having to be protected because he got hurt. Sakura could accept Kotoha's kindness earlier because he "earned" it by stopping her attackers, but now there's someone trying to help him for what feels like no reason at all. For Sakura, who must believe that he was never meant to be loved, being shown kindness for no apparent reason is an existential threat. This is why he allows Kotoha to help him instead—he can still rationalize her help as transactional.

This rationalization provides his means of escape. To accept his place in Makochi, he only has to accept that he doesn't have to be alone. He doesn't have to believe that he can be valued or loved unconditionally, nor that he deserved anything better. Instead, Sakura finds a way to "earn" his acceptance: The chapter culminates with Sakura accepting Bofurin, which he shows by leaping over all the others to kick the Spaltips' leader in the face. By showing his strength, by upstaging the heroes and claiming his place among them, Sakura proves (to himself) that he is strong enough to be accepted. Rather than accept that he could always have been valued and accepted unconditionally—that he always could have been loved—Sakura would rather believe he's earned his acceptance.

In this way, Sakura can continue to believe in his own worthlessness, saving himself from having to face his past. Because of this, even as he's learned that he can be accepted, I think he still believes he was meant to be alone from the start. This lets him continue to justify his past suffering and minimize his own pain.

This comes back around in chapter 162, when Sakura's classmates talk about his low self-esteem. Despite their efforts to show him that he's loved and valued, Sakura ultimately still believes he's only worth his strength. We see how he rejects Umemiya's praise, unable to understand how he could be praised when he "failed". He still can't see anyone loving him unconditionally.

But, as long as he believes this, his past will remain a mystery, not just to his friends and to us as readers, but even to Sakura himself. Just as Umemiya's repression kept him from realizing that his parents loved him, Sakura's repression keeps him from realizing that he has always deserved to be loved. He cannot acknowledge the pain he's endured nor let himself grieve. He's trapped believing he must always prove his worth through his strength alone. Of course, changing this isn't going to be easy.

He will get there. His friends will help him through it. Still, it's going to be rough. I think it'll be a while yet before he's ready to tell us about his past.

[pardonmydelays]

i have a confession to make: i'm actually doing better than i ever was

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Of my 2% capacity to be attracted to anyone, my type is like 90% women, 5% pretty men and 5% men you would swear are super fucking manly, and never questioned being straight and cis, but are now suddenly *stressed* that they can't figure out why their attraction to me [fully socially interpreted as a woman and labelled that way up until relatively recently] feels incredibly fucking gay

[fantasticalleigh]

seeing so many videos on YT lately that are like “I read this dark romance book and i’m calling the police” or some condescending put-down derivative

babe if it’s not for you then put it down and find something new to read nobody wants an hour-long video of you yucking someone’s yum

[lonely--seeker]

I think I'm going insane. Lately my dreams have been so mundane, it wouldn't be weird if I wasn't just a person that has nightmares 80% of the time, so I now my dreams are so hard to distinguish from reality.

I wouldn't be able tell what was real from what not if it wasn't because last night I went to my doctor's appointment and I was handed new glasses by Harvey just to go back home and find out Laois was cooking something in my backyard.

[elytrafemme]

also like. life update. since coming to college i think i've decided i want to be less online in general, because i don't think it benefits my mental health to be on any online website too much. i know i still have strong ties to fandom and whatnot but i'm trying to reconcile my relationship with the things i've created knowing the headspace i was in when that happened; cs is more of a diary to me than anything, at least where i'm at currently. i DO want to be on discord more this break because there's people i want to VC and catch up with-- but ultimately i think i'm like exactly the worst kind of person to operate with any kind of stability on the internet so we're going to mess around with what that looks like for me for a while. love u guys and once finals are officially up in two days i'll be back to say hi :]

[doctor-who-war-doctor]

After going to 5 productions of Punchdrunk/Emursive shows in the span of 14 months I finally got a 1:1! I remember going my first time being so scared of getting one thinking they would run up out of nowhere and grab me (yes I have anxiety)

But the last few times I've gone I've been trying to get one. I'll never forget the time I was following Sexy Witch; she looked me dead in the eyes and proceeded to sprint up 3 flights of stairs to her 1:1 room. I ran with her only to get cut off by someone at the last minute. Thats just how the show can be sometimes, I still love her.

Slight Spoiler Warning for L$T, I'll keep it breif and vague, no character names!

Moving onto my 2nd viewing of Life and Trust just a few days ago, I was following one of the many characters of the show and suddenly he asks for my hand! I eagerly take it and he sits me down and hands me some photos to look through. This was infront of a few people so I was very nervous. After writing down something I couldnt see in his journel he asks for the pictures back, puts everything away and leaves.

Now you'd think this is where my story ends but it gets better! I end up losing him but after a little frantic searching I found him. After a bit more following, some very wonderful scenes and beautiful choreography, he asks for my hand again.

I am shocked as I'm wearing a very distinct shirt so I know he knows he's choosing me again. Honored I take his hand once more and after some gentle guidance he leads me up the ledge he's on and takes me to a private 1:1 area. He performed an amazing monologue and leaves me with a parting gift before he guides me back to the public space again. We are alone and he says a few more things to me before he breaks away to contine his loop. I was and am in awe. Unfortunately I did not get to see the end of his loop as I lost him again, that's alright though, it was basically time for me to find another character to follow anyways :)

This is a very long winded way of saying thank you for making me feel special, thank you for being so gentle and making sure I was safe. Im so glad you were my first 1:1 it was at the level of intensity I was hoping for. I know you probably treat everyone that way and I'm glad you do because I can't wait to come back for more, I feel really confident about 1:1s now.

And yes this has sealed the deal for me. I love this show and I am absolutely itching to get back, darn my expensive hobbies!

[straightlightyagami]

you know until relatively recently i thought i'm at least like.. noticeably above average appearance-wise, i took it basically as a given since i was a little kid. but then i realized i'm actually ugly as fuck and nobody would ever pay any attention to me or find me good-looking or hot or whatever and i will be alone forever and die alone. so.

[adore-gregor]

study smart not hard (altough both is best actually) this saying is so true

[tj-crochets]

*laying on the floor*

Hey so is it normal for quilt piecing to be very fun but also utterly exhausting

(^^^has chronic fatigue and chronic pain. Why is this a surprise)

oh absolutely! Ironing and cutting out fabric are both very high spoons tasks for me I have never been officially diagnosed with chronic fatigue but I do have POTS and severe iron deficiency and I think there's some overlap there? It helped me a lot to get a chair and change my ironing board so I could iron sitting down, and I have my fabric cutting surface for quilts set up so I can do at least some of it sitting down as well. Pinning the quilt sandwich (which I do by crawling all over the floor) always requires a break afterwards for me, and I need breaks when doing the quilting for anything larger than a baby quilt because hauling the blanket around to get it in the right position to sew gets tiring very quickly. The piecing itself isn't as tiring for me, but I can see how it easily could be depending on your quilting setup

[13eyond13]

.

[tvrningout-a]

i will not lie: i read the new chapters for j.jk while i was eating, and now i'm Thinking

[that1randomnerd]

Why can't people just let others live without trying to make them change their bodies?

Theres something really insidious about how gastric bypass advocates deny that essential organ mutilation is unhealthy.

"I've lost so much weight I'm so healthy" your stomach is mutilated.

"My doctor is praising my progress" your stomach is mutilated.

"I fit in so many more clothes now"

Because an essential, life sustaining organ in your body was cut up and your digestive system rerouted.

Health isn't the end all be all of value, humanity or importance but I feel like there is a huge lie here when this is "healthy" and it's just ignored.

Sorry to just bring this up out of no where but I was reminded of how little this is really talked about in bypass circles. Like, no matter what, you are now unhealthy. The spector of health continues. The Ouroboros is unbroken. Only this time it's doctor approved.

-mod squirrel