#but it's a REALLY interesting source of first person accounts

[contact-guy]

I'm reading a bunch of self-reported case studies of queer people in the 19th century (Psychopathia Sexualis by Krafft-Ebing, for those who are curious) and I REALLY love that the impulse to immediately share life stories when you meet another gay person is timeless and universal

[valdevia]

Very funny that tumblr is having discourse about whether my art is misinformation or not, after I've been posting it all over the internet for years without any controversy. So let's talk about it!

I know people arguing are a vocal minority, but I'm not going to dismiss anyone's concerns. It's an actually interesting topic that I really consider, and it touches some important issues in society. So here's my (rambly) two cents.

My art is meant to misdirect, in some way. Photomanipulation and the tone I typically use are meant to briefly confuse the person reading it into thinking they're hearing a real story, at least for a few seconds.

The Intended Experience™

In this sense, I feel like my art can be misinformation! And it's not only people who don't think critically about things like "how come I never heard about mermaids being real before?".

So, no disrespect to anyone that fell for one of my pieces! My work plays with reality, so if you fell for it for more than a minute, it just means my tone and style worked a little too well for you! And there are legitimate reasons to be confused when you see something online, too. For example, there are people who can have trouble telling real and fictional things apart. When you post something that goes out to a million people, you'll get one million different reactions.

That's why I always take care to make it really clear, outside the main piece and snippet of text, that my art is no more than fiction. There are tags, the tone of my account, even my profile picture is meant to reinforce this. I also have a website which, in part, is meant to capture the clicks of people to wonder if my stuff is real and google it, so they can find a real source that's clearly an art website. You can try googling "mycelium infection 1806" or "pupillosarcoma" to see how my website tends to appear first.

If I get this comment I know I've done something believable!

But let's say, for the sake of argument, that my art wholly constitutes misinformation. What we need to understand is that misinformation is not the same as disinformation. Misinformation is just incorrect information. It's your grandma seeing a little bit of a found footage movie on TV and thinking it really happened. She might be spooked, but nobody is harmed. Disinformation is false information that's purposefully crafted and spread in order to cause harm, division, or further a political view.

Now I ask you: what real world harm does my art create? The worst that can happen is that a tiny percentage of those that see it get a little scared thinking a weird bug is real, or that mushrooms really grow on faces, or that scientists have released millions of trilobites into the oceans. Is that really that bad?

Anyway, that's my take on the topic! I'm obviously biased, but this being my style, I do put a lot of thought into it and I'm always open to people's opinions! (Just don't scream at random people on the replies or you'll get blocked!)

[neptilius]

pre-dating gojo—him not giving up on her once his eyes are set on her. commenting on most of her pictures, following her on all her socials, having her and megumi pinned on his imessage , sending her flowers and little trinkets, him being the definition of “i see it, i like it, i want it, i got it.” wc; around 800

being a new teacher at jujutsu tech was overwhelming enough without the world’s most insistent sorcerer making you his personal project. from the moment you stepped foot onto the campus, satoru gojo had his sights set on you, and he wasn’t subtle about it. not even a little.

it started small at first, just lingering glances that made you wonder if you had something on your face. then came the compliments, always with that playful grin of his.

“looking sharp today,” he’d say casually, leaning against your classroom door. “you sure you’re not trying to impress someone?”

“just trying to look professional, gojo,” you’d reply, your tone firm even though his attention made your stomach flip.

but satoru gojo wasn’t one to give up when something, or someone, caught his interest.

within days, you noticed him popping up in your social media notifications. he’d followed you on everything, from instagram to twitter, even a random account you barely used. every post you made earned a comment, ranging from witty remarks to downright flirty observations.

“you really have an eye for photography,” he’d write under a scenic picture, only to follow it up with, “but the view isn’t as good as you.”

you weren’t sure if you wanted to scream or laugh, but the attention didn’t stop there.

flowers began appearing on your desk, beautiful arrangements with little notes scrawled in his messy handwriting. chocolates followed, and once, even your favorite coffee order appeared like magic during a particularly grueling morning. you tried asking who was leaving them, but every time, his students would either look away awkwardly or mutter something vague.

megumi, however, had no patience for it. “it’s obviously gojo-sensei,” he said flatly one afternoon when you found yet another bouquet. “he’s been insufferable lately.”

“fushiguro!” nobara scolded, but the slight eye roll she gave made it clear she agreed.

satoru’s antics didn’t stop there. he began finding excuses to help you with your students, offering “expert training tips” that often turned into elaborate demonstrations meant more to impress you than anyone else.

“see that?” he’d say after a particularly flashy display of cursed technique, turning to you with a cocky grin. “bet you can’t teach them that.”

“because it’s not practical,” you’d retort, ignoring the heat rising in your cheeks.

dont get me started on the memes chile... once you finally relented and gave him your number, your phone became a constant source of laughter; random memes, ridiculous videos, and occasionally, surprisingly thoughtful messages about your day.

“saw this and thought of you,” one text read, attached to a picture of a female cat on top of a male cat nuzzling noses.

it was impossible not to crack a smile, even if you tried to keep your responses measured.

but the cherry on top of gojo’s relentless pursuit? he’d even roped his students into it.

“you should just say yes already,” nobara said bluntly one day, crossing her arms as you prepared for a joint training session. “he’s annoying, but he’s also kind of great when you get past the… everything.”

megumi groaned. “don’t encourage her. he’s unbearable enough as it is.”

“he’s determined,” nobara corrected, smirking. “there’s a difference.”

you shook your head, trying to ignore how warm their words made you feel. it was hard to admit, even to yourself, that satoru’s persistence was starting to grow on you.

he was annoying, yes. overthetop? absolutely. but beneath the theatrics, there was a sincerity to his actions that you couldn’t ignore. he studied you, not in a creepy way. but in a way that made it clear he genuinely wanted to understand you.

the small things he did like— remembering your favorite snacks, asking about your hobbies, or noticing when you seemed stressed. spoke volumes about the kind of person he was beneath the surface.

one afternoon, after yet another “accidental” run in, you finally confronted him.

“what do you even want, gojo?” you asked, crossing your arms as you faced him in the courtyard.

he didn’t even flinch at your tone. instead, he smiled, that confident, playful grin softening ever so slightly.

“you,” he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

your breath hitched, and for once, you didn’t have a quick retort. maybe, just maybe, gojo’s persistence wasn’t as annoying as you thought.

[archangeldyke-all]

I miss CEO Sevika :(

What about Reader and Sevika going to...idk a dinner party/charity event with multiple companies in attendance. Sevika is one of the speakers for the night and while she's nervous, she knocks it out of the park. Meanwhile Reader is like "wow my wife is such a fucking boss and so hot for doing that on stage, I can't NOT suck her off and get fucked in a random, out of the way bathroom right afterwards."

i was thinking about this ask the entire time she was up there by vander's statue giving her speech. my sweet baby.

men and minors dni

sometimes, you forget just how important sevika's work is. most days you're stuck in your office together, making phone calls and signing documents.

but it's nights like this, when sevika's company has its annual ball, that you're hit with how much sevika does for the community.

the company built on the idea of giving low income communities low interest loans to build businesses and homes. there're several neighborhoods and families that you know personally that have had their lives transformed by sevika's work. but it's not just that.

it's parks built on the company's dime, community centers and pools and basketball courts sponsored by sevika herself. it's the team of social workers and accountants sevika's carefully hired over the years, who make sure that your clients are trained in financial literacy so they don't fall through the cracks. it's underfunded public schools-- the schools you went to as a kid-- being sent busload after busload of books and computers and supplies from your wife. it's medical bills being paid off by a mysterious, 'anonymous' source--the chickenscratch on the checks all matching your wife's.

and nights like this, with each lead team member of all the departments giving presentations of the differences they've made in the community this year, where it really hits you how incredible your wife is.

your poor wife. sevika's currently on the brink of passing out from her nerves, a glass of whiskey shakily clutched in her palms as she waits behind the stage. "baby." you coo, reaching up to cup her face.

sevika winces and pouts in your hold. "i hate public speaking." she whines. you chuckle.

"i know, love." you sigh. you'd give this speech for her if you could-- but it's kinda a requirement that the ceo speak at these big events. "it's just five minutes, talk about the good you've done this year, get some claps, get some laughs, then we can bail." you promise her.

sevika pouts even more, slouching down against you. "you remember the first time we put one of these shitshows on?" she asks.

you giggle and nod.

your second year working for sevika, a few months into dating, and the company had the first of it's now notorious annual balls. of course, back then it wasn't quite as sophisticated as today's is, but it was pretty memorable. after her speech (which she nailed, because despite how much she hates it sevika is good at talking) sevika ran off the stage, high on the applause she'd received, and practically leapt into your arms where you stood backstage. "fuck i can't believe i did that." she whispered against your scalp. "and they liked it!" she laughs.

you giggled and kissed her cheek. "course they liked it, you're very easy to like."

and then sevika said the words you'd been dying to hear her say, the words you were trying desprately to keep inside your throat until she was ready. "i couldn't've done it without you, y'know." she whispered. your smile got softer, and sevika leaned impossibly closer to you. "you kinda scare the shit outta me and... i think i'm in love with you."

you had just grinned and kissed her, mumbling a teasing "you think or you know?" against her lips.

and here you are, nearly ten years later, on the same little patch of floor backstage of your favorite venue, smiling up at your wife.

"course i remember, baby. one of the best moments in my life. right up there with meeting you 'n marrying you. think it'll be in the little montage that flashes before my eyes once i die." you say, giggling.

sevika smiles sweetly and kisses you. "yeah, me too." she whispers.

you hold her for a moment, hoping the touch will help her relax a bit, both of you swaying gently in your dark little corner as you wait for seamus to finish his speech and introduce sevika. "you're gonna do amazing, y'know. you do every year."

"ugh. i know." sevika huffs against you. you giggle.

"so then why are you so worried?" you ask. sevika shrugs against you.

"just. 's a lotta people. and i like when you baby me." she says.

you burst into laughter just as the audience on the other side of the stage bursts into applause. sevika groans, and you give her one last good squeeze and a smooch to her cheek before pushing her toward the stage. "go ahead baby. you got this." you encourage her. sevika smiles shyly at you, and you curse. "shit, sev, wait! i left a kiss mark on your cheek!" you squeak, scrambling to grab her wrist and wipe off the lipstick that must've transferred from her lips to your own, then onto her cheek.

sevika ducks out of her hold, though, her smile only growing. "good. let 'em see it." she says, winking at you before ducking under a curtain and out onto the stage.

the crowd bursts into applause at her appearance, and your heart melts as her words sink in.

she's such a fucking sap. you love her so much you think you might explode.

she nails it, because of course she does. by the time she walks back off stage, there are literally people chanting her name, like she's a rockstar or something.

you intend to tease her about it, but then you see her and her sweet shy smile, your very obvious kiss mark on her cheek, and her hands nervously clutching her note cards, and something ravenous courses through your bloodstream.

you nearly tackle her to the floor as you launch forward to kiss her. sevika gasps, and her notecards go flying as her hands reach up to hold you tight. fuck you love her. she's the most incredible woman you've ever met.

"sev." you whisper between kisses you can't stop pressing to her skin. "sevika."

"y-yeah?" she asks, her voice squeaky and excited.

"can i blow you in the bathroom, please?" you ask. "want you so fuckin' bad."

sevika shivers full bodied and lets out a shudder before she grabs your wrist and starts sprinting toward the bathroom. you cackle the entire way.

your favorite thing about this venue is that they have plenty of single stall bathrooms. you and sevika have used this feature to your convenience many times over the years.

sevika's already rock hard in her trousers by the time you lock the door and pin her to the wall. she's clawing at you, whimpering as she tries to catch your lips in a kiss. you giggle, cupping her jaw and kissing her soundly, shoving your tongue in her mouth to calm her down a bit.

sevika sighs heavily, and you pull away, gasping a breath before dropping to your knees.

"fuck. i'm not gonna last, baby, fuck." sevika whines as you paw at her pants. you giggle.

"you better. want you to cum inside my cunt, love." you say.

sevika makes a pained noise, and her dick jumps in her boxers. you laugh. "you better touch yourself while you're suckin' me then." she says. "want you to cum with me."

it's your turn to shiver. you claw at her boxers, a little growl escaping you when her cock's finally revealed to you. "fuck." you grunt, before leaning forward and just pressing your face against her cock.

sevika sighs dreamily, reaching down to cup your face as you nuzzle her dick. "so pretty on your knees." she whispers. you smile up at her. "lemme see you touch yourself." sevika requests. you shove a hand down your waistband, rubbing your wet clit with your fingers as you rub your face against her length. "that's it, baby. fuck. now put your mouth on me, love."

you're needy for her, so needy that you take a little too much of her at once, gagging loudly on her cock.

sevika moans at the feeling then laughs at the embarrassment on your face when you pull back and catch your breath before trying again.

"don' laugh at me." you pout, spitting on her dick and jerking her while you blink back your tears.

"'s just cute baby. so fuckin' needy for me you choke yourself on it." she sighs.

you shiver a little. you can't really deny that. "you did amazing, by the way." you whisper. "you always do."

sevika's shoulders scrunch up to her ears, and her eyes dart away from yours. you giggle. "shush. you aren't supposed to be talking right now."

you laugh and kiss her wrist, then try again, taking her back in your mouth and slowly working down her cock.

sevika melts against the wall behind her, and her eyes fly back to yours. you hum around her and she groans. "shit, i'm not gonna last, baby, fuck." sevika whines as she starts thrusting into her mouth.

drool is trailing down your chin and into a puddle on the floor, and when sevika's thigh starts shaking you sink two fingers into your cunt, getting ready to take her.

"fuck, i love you." sevika whines. "i love you so much, baby, love your fuckin' mouth, love fuckin' your mouth--" she cuts herself off with a little giggle, and then she groans. "off-- off-- pull off baby, i'm gonnahh!" sevika shudders as you pull away right before her orgasm. she glares down at you, and you giggle, kissing her clothed thigh. "get up here." she growls, tugging you to your feet and roughly shoving you back against the sink.

you grin, shimmying out of your pants with sevika's help, kissing her anywhere you can reach as she hauls you up.

"you ready for me?" she asks, rubbing her cock against your soaked folds. you whine and nod.

"been ready for you since you put that suit on." you tease.

sevika just chuckles and pushes in, both of you groaning at the feeling.

"oh fuck, please tell me you're close." sevika whines, ducking down to bite at your neck as she starts hammering into you.

your hand flies to your clit, rubbing quick little circles against it in time with her thrusts. "s-so close." you whimper.

sevika shivers at your answer, then lifts up to kiss you on the lips. "i love you so much." she whispers.

"p-please cum inside me, sev, wanna make you feel good."

"y-you always do baby, fuck!" she shouts as she fills you up, cumming and shivering against you.

you grin, satisfaction and pleasure filling you equally until you're falling apart around her, laughing and moaning as you pull sevika to your chest.

"you really did do amazing, you know." you sigh after you catch your breath.

sevika smiles against you. "i know. practiced really hard last night, my wife finds it sexy when i give speeches."

"your wife finds it sexy when you do anything, love." you correct her. she grins.

"can we go home now?" she asks.

you giggle and nod. "kinda have to babe. my shirts covered in drool, and i'm sure we got cum somewhere on your pants or something." you say.

sevika cackles.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @lavendersgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner

@kissyslut @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

@sevikaspillowprincess @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai @my-taintedheart

@glass-apothecary @macaroni676 @artinvain @k3n-dyll @sevsdollette

@ellieslob @xayn-xd @keikuahh @maneskinwh0re @raphaellearp

@iamastar @sevikitty @mascdom @nhaaauyen @annesunshiner

@mirconreadzztuff22 @veoomvroom @lushh-s3vik4s @katyawooga @lesbodietcoke

@lavandasz @strawberrykidneystone

[rebelspykatie]

The Gift That Keeps on Giving - Part 1

AO3

Steve’s always been generous with gifts. Growing up, he had access to money that allowed him to dote upon his friends and loved ones. His ex hated it, said he was flaunting his money, but Steve just liked showing people he cared. It wasn’t about the price of the gift, it was about how he listened and remembered their interests. It just benefited him that he never had to worry about the cost. 

He’s never hesitated to follow through on his gut instinct before, whether something will be too extravagant for the receiving party. Even when he got Jonathan that fancy new camera he wouldn’t shut up about, or Nancy that vacation to Singapore for Christmas after two years together. Even when it ended in breakups both times. He still looks back and remembers the appreciative smiles on their faces when they realized he was listening. He may not have been the right person for either of them, but he was still a good boyfriend. 

There’s no way he’s going to let this year be the first year he lets someone down. His current partner is a little eccentric. Steve was going for something different, he never really intended to find a local metalhead that was into his preppy, jock looks, but it’s been nice having so little in common. Every day he learns about something new, some new band or movie that even Robin hasn’t heard of before. It keeps things interesting. 

So when this hot new metal band Corroded Coffin comes onto the scene, it’s all Steve hears about for months. The album is on a constant loop in the car. The lead singer’s face is practically burned into Steve’s eyelids from how many times they’ve watched the music video for their radio single. He knows when they announce their first tour, he absolutely has to get tickets to the show. What are the odds that they’re playing in Indy and it’s right before Christmas? It’s perfect timing for Steve to make this the best Christmas ever for his boyfriend, who doesn’t have the extra cash lying around for an expense like that. 

Except, when he went to buy tickets, he got the date wrong. He should’ve set an alarm, instead of relying on his shitty memory. The presale happened the day prior, and tickets are gone. Resell prices for tickets are astronomical, something even Steve isn’t willing to fork out for what might not even be a legitimate ticket. He’s been burned before with scalpers, he won’t make that mistake again. He starts scouring the internet, trying to find another source for the tickets. Tries calling the venue to see if there are any available if he physically goes down to the ticket office. Nothing works. 

As the date creeps closer, Steve gets desperate. Robin throws out the idea of messaging the band to see if they’re sympathetic to his story. He never expects anyone to respond when they drunkenly reach out to the band, but he wakes up groggy to a message sitting in his inbox. He stares at his phone in disbelief when he sees the message came from the official Corroded Coffin account. 

Steve doesn’t even remember what he said in the messages from the night prior. He reads back over them and cringes. A not so coherent ramble about how he couldn’t become the worst boyfriend ever at Christmas of all times. Just word vomit everywhere about how this guy might leave him if he doesn’t get the tickets. Which is absurd, because his boyfriend doesn’t even know he’s trying to do this. Maybe he’s got some insecurities from past relationships. At least he didn’t bring up Nancy. 

The reply simply reads ‘Slow down there, pretty boy.’ 

He shakes off the last vestiges of sleep and responds ‘Sorry, I was a little drunk and didn’t think anyone was going to see or respond to this.’ 

The little grey dots pop up right away. ‘You weren’t the only drunk insomniac last night.’ 

Steve huffs a laugh. ‘How crazy do you think I am?’ 

He wonders where they are right now, if it even is one of the band members answering. They probably have someone running their social media accounts. He snaps back to reality when he gets another message. ‘I don’t think it’s crazy to want to make your boyfriend happy. I wanna help.’ And that’s how it starts. 

They trade messages back and forth. He finds out it’s not an intern running their account, that they all have access to it, but only one of them enjoys it. The lead guitarist Eddie Munson is apparently the one responding to him. He sent a picture of his guitar with a hand wrapped around it painted with black nail polish. The same hand that wraps around it in their music video, decked out in a dazzling array of chunky rings. 

He’s never talked to a rock star before. Sure, he’s met famous people through his dad, but they were the boring kind of famous, senators and CEOs. Eddie talks about the tour they’re on. It sounds grueling, like their record took off faster than they expected and now they’re on this whirlwind tour that they love, but it’s daunting having people clamoring over you just a few months after anonymity. 

Before long, they’re talking every day. To the point that Steve feels like he hears more from Eddie Munson than his own boyfriend. He realizes how much of a problem it is when Robin catches him smiling at his phone and makes a joke about being in the honeymoon phase, but he’s not texting his boyfriend. He’s messaging Eddie. How did he get so wrapped up in all of this that he didn’t even see how distant they’ve been? He looks back at the messages with his boyfriend and they haven’t text each other in five days. He can’t even count how many messages have been shared between his account and Corroded Coffin’s since then. There’s too many to go back and tally up. 

Is it emotional cheating if he didn’t realize it was happening? One day he barely knew who Eddie was, the next he was grinning in the car when his music came on, thinking of the silly thing they were messaging about last night. Their messages took a turn from him asking for something to getting to know everything about Eddie Munson’s life as a guy raised in a small town and catapulted into the spotlight, and Steve’s attempts to claw his way out of his father’s grasp and build a family he could call his own. The guilt slaps him in the face. He’s been messaging with one of his boyfriend’s favorite band members, and he has no idea. Telling Eddie Munson things he’s never admitted to his boyfriend. Laid all his fears, hopes, and dreams out there to the wrong person. 

He’s lost sight of what he even started this for, to win over his boyfriend and give him the best Christmas ever. It feels weird to bring it up now in conversation with Eddie. To ask for something like a desperate fan and remind Eddie that he’s a commodity to the public feels cheap. This all spiraled out of control so fast. There’s only one thing he can do. End it. Before this gets worse and he falls stupidly in love with some rockstar he’s never seen in person.

Part 2

[maxtermind]

SCENE 1 :: YOU TORE ME RIGHT APART ↳ you were never not mine — carlos sainz ༉‧₊˚✧

★ : pairing :: carlos sainz x reader ★ : genre :: angst; fluff separated by a hidden emotional turmoil, carlos and y/n navigate the complexities of co-parenting their twins amidst the high-stakes f1 world. amidst paddock visits and personal healing, will they go further apart or find their way back to each other? ★ : a/n :: oh fuck okay here we go! let me know what you guys think so far <3 what are the theories!! ahhhhhh this is more introductory? but lots of drama nevertheless <3 please don't mention the diff twin pics, i'll start crying!

( series masterlist \ main masterlist \ drop a request )

yn.user 41 mins ago

yn.user boys are here to support their papa!

username OMG THE IT BABIES ARE BACK ON TRACK charlesleclerc I know they were rooting for me in red🏎 I loved the bracelet btw❤️‍🩹 ⤷ carlossainz dress up leo in red and leave my kids alone username I WOULD KILL TO HAVE Y/N AND CARLOS AS MY PARENTS carlossainz papa won this for his family👍 ⤷ username it's so cute that even though they are separated, carlos never leaves out y/n ⤷ username I think it's his loss, he wants them back so he's playing a persona w words like 'family' lol ⤷ username please get a life, touch some grass🙏 username THE BABIES MADE A BRACELET FOR CARLOS ⤷ landonorris I got one toooooo

carlos is typing... (y/n's pov)

instagram stories

lily is typing... (y/n's pov)

twitter

carlossainz 20 mins ago

carlossainz who said weekends with papa are a bore?

landonorris whoring on main papa sainz? ⤷ carlossainz please unfollow❤️ username DILFFFFF username carlos can I also be your baby mama???? y/n.user MUMMA MISSES HER BABIES ⤷ carlossainz we miss you too ⤷ username pretty sure she was talking about the kids carlos lmao username it's so strange that now we get the updates from separate accounts I miss the og paddock fam ⤷ username well people move on so🤷‍♀️ ⤷ username only the real ones rmb the sainz x y/n post spams lmao

yn.user just now

yn.user stole my tortured heart💫

username who plays cards alone on a beach? 👀 username y/n’s cryptic post has me guessing mhmmm a new love interest maybe?! ⤷ username cards on the beach when alone? definitely not alone. who’s the mystery company hehe carlossainz looks like a peaceful day. glad you're finding time for yourself! ⤷ yn.user hope the boys are still up! returning the call soon🥰 lilymhe finally enjoying some well-deserved relaxation💖 ⤷ yn.user love youuu username i see cards but no players. who's with you y/n username we need more context omg is this a date ⤷ username probably with lily lol username at first i thought you were with carlos but he's in the comments soooo does that mean a new romance

carlos is typing... (y/n's pov)

f1.wags 2 mins ago

f1.wags Our sources have spotted Y/N, ex-partner of F1 driver Carlos Sainz, enjoying a cozy dinner with an unidentified man. The two were seen sharing intimate moments, sparking rumors of a new romance. Could this be the start of a new chapter for Y/N? Stay tuned for more updates as we dig deeper into this developing story.

username wow, moving on already? poor carlos username she couldn't wait a little longer before flaunting her new man username guess she never really loved carlos. just saying ⤷ username carlos deserves better than someone who moves on so fast ⤷ username its been almost half a year? username poor kids. this is why you should never have kids out of wedlock ⤷ username hey good morning, i think you time traveled to 200 years forward. please go back username she’s just trying to make carlos jealous. grow up, y/n username so much for being a loving mother? priorities lol ⤷ username boys were with carlos for one weekend and this is how she spends it ⤷ username from a perfect family to this? disappointing username carlos is better off without her. clearly, she didn’t care about him ⤷ username fr y/n's true colors are showing now. carlos dodged a bullet

carlos is typing... (y/n's pov)

©maxtermind // do not copy, rewrite or translate any of my work on any platforms.

[mdzsartreblogs]

Recognizing AI Generated Images, Danmei Edition

Heyo, @unforth here! I run some danmei art blogs (@mdzsartreblogs, @tgcfartreblogs, @svsssartreblogs, @zhenhunartreblogs, @erhaartreblogs, @dmbjartreblogs, @tykartreblogs, and @cnovelartreblogs) which means I see a LOT of danmei art, and I go through the main fandom tags more-or-less every day.

Today, for the first time, I spotted someone posting AI-generated images (I refuse to call them AI "art" - and to be clear, that's correct of me, because at least in the US it literally LEGALLY isn't art) without any label indicating they were AI generated. I am not necessarily against the existence of AI-generated images (though really...considering all the legal issues and the risks of misuse, I'm basically against them); I think they potentially have uses in certain contexts (such as for making references) and I also think that regardless of our opinions, we're stuck with them, but they're also clearly not art and I don't reblog them to the art side blogs.

The images I spotted today had multiple "tells," but they were still accumulating notes, and I thought it might be a good moment to step back and point out some of the more obvious tells because my sense is that a LOT of people are against AI-generated images being treated as art, and that these people wouldn't want to support an AI-generator user who tried to foist off their work as actual artwork, but that people don't actually necessarily know how to IDENTIFY those works and therefore can inadvertently reblog works that they'd never support if they were correctly identified. (Similar to how the person who reposts and says "credit to the artist" is an asshole but they're not the same as someone who reposts without any credit at all and goes out of their way to make it look like they ARE the artist when they're not).

Toward that end, I've downloaded all the images I spotted on this person's account and I'm going to use them to highlight the things that led me to think they were AI art - they posted a total of 5 images to a few major danmei tags the last couple days, and several other images not to specific fandoms (I examined 8 images total). The first couple I was suspicious, but it wasn't til this morning that I spotted one so obvious that it couldn't be anything BUT AI art. I am NOT going to name the person who did this. The purpose of this post is purely educational. I have no interest whatsoever in bullying one rando. Please don't try to identify them; who they are is genuinely irrelevant, what matters is learning how to recognize AI art in general and not spreading it around, just like the goal of education about reposting is to help make sure that people who repost don't get notes on their theft, to help people recognize the signs so that the incentive to be dishonest about this stuff is removed.

But first: Why is treating AI-generated images as art bad?

I'm no expert and this won't be exhaustive, but I do think it's important to first discuss why this matters.

On the surface, it's PERHAPS harmless for someone to post AI-generated images provided that the image is clearly labeled as AI-generated. I say "perhaps" because in the end, as far as I'm aware, there isn't a single AI-generation engine that's built on legally-sourced artwork. Every AI (again, to the best of my knowledge) has been trained using copyrighted images usually without the permission of the artists. Indeed, this is the source of multiple current lawsuits. (and another)

But putting that aside (as if it can be put aside that AI image generators are literally unethically built), it's still problematic to support the images being treated as art. Artists spend thousands of hours learning their craft, honing it, sharing their creations, building their audiences. This is what they sell when they offer commissions, prints, etc. This can never be replicated by a computer, and to treat an AI-generated image as in any way equivalent is honestly rude, inappropriate, disgusting imo. This isn't "harmless"; supporting AI image creation engines is damaging to real people and their actual livelihoods. Like, the images might be beautiful, but they're not art. I'm honestly dreading someone managing to convince fandom that their AI-generated works are actual art, and then cashing in on commissions, prints, etc., because people can't be fussed to learn the difference. We really can't let this happen, guys. Fanartists are one of the most vibrant, important, prominent groups in all our fandoms, and we have to support them and do our part to protect them.

As if those two points aren't enough, there's already growing evidence that AI-generated works are being used to further propagandists. There are false images circulating of violence at protests, deep-fakes of various kinds that are helping the worst elements of society to push their horrid agendas. As long as that's a facet of AI-generated works, they'll always be dangerous.

I could go on, but really this isn't the main point of my post and I don't want to get bogged down. Other people have said more eloquently than I why AI-generated images are bad. Read those. (I tried to find a good one to link but sadly failed; if anyone knows a good post, feel free to send it and I'll add the link to the post).

Basically: I think a legally trained AI-image generator that had built-in clear watermarks could be a fun toy for people who want reference images or just to play with making pseudo-art. But...that's not what we have, and what we do have is built on theft and supports dystopia so, uh. Yeah fuck AI-generated images.

How to recognize AI-Generated Images Made in an Eastern Danmei Art Style

NOTE: I LEARNED ALL THE BASIC ON SPOTTING AI-GENERATED IMAGES FROM THIS POST. I'll own I still kinda had the wool over my eyes until I read that post - I knew AI stuff was out there but I hadn't really looked closely enough to have my eyes open for specific signs. Reading that entire post taught me a lot, and what I learned is the foundation of this post.

This post shouldn't be treated as a universal guide. I'm specifically looking at the tells on the kind of art that people in danmei fandoms often see coming from Weibo and other Chinese, Japanese, and Korean platforms, works made by real artists. For example, the work of Foxking (狐狸大王a), kokirapsd, and Changyang (who is an official artist for MDZS, TGCF, and other danmei works). This work shares a smooth use of color, an aim toward a certain flavor of realism, an ethereal quality to the lighting, and many other features. (Disclaimer: I am not an artist. Putting things in arty terms is really not my forte. Sorry.)

So, that's what these AI-generated images are emulating. And on the surface, they look good! Like...

...that's uncontestably a pretty picture (the white box is covering the "artist's" watermark.) And on a glance, it doesn't necessarily scream "AI generated"! But the devil is in the details, and the details are what this post is about. And that picture? Is definitely AI generated.

This post is based on 8 works I grabbed from a single person's account, all posted as their own work and watermarked as such. Some of the things that are giveaways only really show when looking at multiple pieces. I'm gonna start with those, and then I'll highlight some of the specifics I spotted that caused me to go from "suspicious" to "oh yeah no these are definitely not art."

Sign 1: all the images are the exact same size. I mean, to the pixel: 512 x 682 pixels (or 682 x 512, depending on landscape or portrait orientation). This makes zero sense. Why would an artist trim all their pieces to that size? It's not the ideal Tumblr display size (that's 500 x 750 pixels). If you check any actual artist's page and look at the full-size of several of their images, they'll all be different sizes as they trimmed, refined, and otherwise targeted around their original canvas size to get the results they wanted.

Sign 2: pixelated. At the shrunken size displayed on, say, a mobile Tumblr feed, the image looks fine, but even just opening the full size upload, the whole thing is pixelated. Now, this is probably the least useful sign; a lot of artists reduce the resolution/dpi/etc. on their uploaded works so that people don't steal them. But, taken in conjunction with everything else, it's definitely a sign.

Those are the two most obvious overall things - the things I didn't notice until I looked at all the uploads. The specifics are really what tells, though. Which leads to...

Sign 3: the overall work appears to have a very high degree of polish, as if it were made by an artist who really really knows what they're doing, but on inspection - sometimes even on really, REALLY cursory inspect - the details make zero sense and reflect the kinds of mistakes that a real artist would never make.

So, here's the image that I saw that "gave it away" to me, and caused me to re-examine the images that had first struck me as off but that I hadn't been able to immediately put my finger on the problem. I've circled some of the spots that are flagrant.

Do you see yet? Yes? Awesome, you're getting it. No? Okay, let's go point by point, with close ups.

Sign 4: HANDS. Hands are currently AI's biggest weakness, though they've been getting better quickly and honestly that's terrifying. But whatever AI generated this picture clearly doesn't get hands yet, because that hand is truly an eldritch horror. Look at this thing:

It has two palms. It has seven fingers. It's basically two hands overlaid over each other, except one of those hands only has four fingers and the other has three. Seeing this hand was how I went from "umm...maybe they're fake? Maybe they're not???" to "oh god why is ANYONE reblogging this when it's this obvious?" WATCH THE HANDS. (Go back up to that first one posted and look at the hand, you'll see. Or just look right below at this crop.) Here's some other hands:

Sign 5: Hair and shadows. Once I started inspecting these images, the shadows of the hair on the face was one of the things that was most consistently fucked up across all the uploaded pictures. Take a look:

There's shadows of tendrils on the forehead, but there's no corresponding hair that could possibly have made those shadows. Likewise there's a whole bunch of shadows on the cheeks. Where are those coming from? There's no possible source in the rest of the image. Here's some other hair with unrelated wonky shadows:

Sign 6: Decorative motifs that are really just meaningless squiggles. Like, artists, especially those who make fanart, put actual thought into what the small motifs are on their works. Like, in TGCF, an artist will often use a butterfly motif or a flower petal motif to reflect things about the characters. An AI, though, can only approximate a pattern and it can't imbue those with meanings. So you end up with this:

What is that? It's nothing, that's what. It's a bunch of squiggles. Here's some other meaningless squiggle motifs (and a more zoomed-in version of the one just above):

Sign 7: closely related to meaningless squiggle motifs is motifs that DO look like something, but aren't followed through in any way that makes sense. For example, an outer garment where the motifs on the left and the right shoulder/chest are completely different, or a piece of cloth that's supposed to be all one piece but that that has different patterns on different sections of it. Both of these happen in the example piece, see?

The first images on the top left is the left and right shoulder side by side. The right side has a scalloped edge; the left doesn't. Likewise, in the right top picture, you can see the two under-robe lapels; one has a gold decoration and the other doesn't. And then the third/bottom image shows three sections of the veil. One (on the left) has that kind of blue arcy decoration, which doesn't follow the folds of the cloth very well and looks weird and appears at one point to be OVER the hair instead of behind it. The second, on top of the bottom images, shows a similar motif, except now it's gold, and it looks more like a hair decoration than like part of the veil. The third is also part of the same veil but it has no decorations at all. Nothing about this makes any sense whatsoever. Why would any artist intentionally do it that way? Or, more specifically, why would any artist who has this apparent level of technical skill ever make a mistake like this?

They wouldn't.

Some more nonsensical patterns, bad mirrors, etc. (I often put left/right shoulders side by side so that it'd be clearer, sorry if it's weird):

Sign 8: bizarre architecture, weird furniture, etc. Most of the images I'm examining for this post have only partial backgrounds, so it's hard to really focus on this, but it's something that the post I linked (this one) talks about a lot. So, like, an artist will put actual thought into how their construction works, but an AI won't because an AI can't. There's no background in my main example image, but take a look at this from another of my images:

On a glance it's beautiful. On a few seconds actually staring it's just fucking bizarre. The part of the ceiling on the right appears to be domed maybe? But then there's a hard angle, then another. The windows on the right have lots of panes, but then the one on the middle-left is just a single panel, and the ones on the far left have a complete different pane model. Meanwhile, also on the left side at the middle, there's that dark gray...something...with an arch that mimics the background arches except it goes no where, connects to nothing, and has no apparent relationship to anything else going on architecturally. And, while the ceiling curves, the back wall is straight AND shows more arches in the background even though the ceiling looks to end. And yes, some of this is possible architecture, but taken as a whole, it's just gibberish. Why would anyone who paints THAT WELL paint a building to look like THAT? They wouldn't. It's nonsense. It's the art equivalent of word salad. When we look at a sentence and it's like "dog makes a rhythmical salad to betray on the frame time plot" it almost resembles something that might mean something but it's clearly nonsense. This background is that sentence, as art.

Sign 9: all kinds of little things that make zero sense. In the example image, I circled where a section of the hair goes BELOW the inner robe. That's not impossible but it just makes zero sense. As with many of these, it's the kind of thing that taken alone, I'd probably just think "well, that was A Choice," but combined with all the other weird things it stands out as another sign that something here is really, really off. Here's a collection of similar "wtf?" moments I spotted across the images I looked at (I'm worried I'm gonna hit the Tumblr image cap, hence throwing these all in one, lol.)

You have to remember that an actual artist will do things for a reason. And we, as viewers, are so used to viewing art with that in mind that we often fill in reasons even when there aren't. Like, in the image just about this, I said, "what the heck are these flowers growing on?" And honestly, I COULD come up with explanations. But that doesn't mean it actually makes sense, and there's no REASON for it whatsoever. The theoretical same flowers are, in a different shot, growing unsupported! So...what gives??? The answer is nothing gives. Because these pieces are nothing. The AI has no reason, it's just tossing in random aesthetic pieces together in a mishmash, and the person who generated them is just re-generating and refining until they get something that looks "close enough" to what they wanted. It never was supposed to make sense, so of course it doesn't.

In conclusion...

After years of effort, artists have gotten across to most of fandom that reposts are bad, and helped us learn strategies for helping us recognize reposts, and given us an idea of what to do when we find one.

Fandom is just at the beginning of this process as it applies to AI-generated images. There's a LOT of education that has to be done - about why AI-generated images are bad (the unethical training using copyrighted images without permission is, imo, critical to understanding this), and about how to spot them, and then finally about what to do when you DO find them.

With reposts, we know "tell original artist, DCMA takedowns, etc." That's not the same with these AI-images. There's no original owner. There's no owner at all - in the US, at least, they literally cannot be copyrighted. Which is why I'm not even worrying about "credit" on this post - there's nothing stolen, cause there's nothing made. So what should you do?

Nothing. The answer is, just as the creator has essentially done nothing, you should also do nothing. Don't engage. Don't reblog. Don't commission the creator or buy their art prints. If they do it persistently and it bothers you, block them. If you see one you really like, and decide to reblog it, fine, go for it, but mark it clearly - put in the ACTUAL COMMENTS (not just in the tags!) that it's AI art, and that you thought it was pretty anyway. But honestly, it'd be better to not engage, especially since as this grows it's inevitable that some actual artists are going to start getting accused of posting AI-generated images by over-zealous people. Everyone who gets a shadow wrong isn't posting AI-generated images. A lot of these details are insanely difficult to get correct, and lots of even very skilled, accomplished artists, if you go over their work with a magnifying glass you're going to find at least some of these things, some weirdnesses that make no sense, some shadows that are off, some fingers that are just ugh (really, getting hands wrong is so relatable. hands are the fucking worst). It's not about "this is bad art/not art because the hand is wrong," it's specifically about the ways that it's wrong, the way a computer randomly throws pieces together versus how actual people make actual mistakes. It's all of the little signs taken as a whole to say "no one who could produce a piece that, on the surface, looks this nice, could possibly make THIS MANY small 'mistakes.'"

The absolute best thing you can do if you see AI-generated images being treated as real art is just nothing. Support actual artists you love, and don't spread the fakes.

Thanks for your time, everyone. Good luck avoiding AI-generated pieces in the future, please signal boost this, and feel free to get in touch if you think I can help you with anything related to this.

[prokopetz]

Hi, I can you shed some light into what happened with the third edition of nobilis and the DeviantArt art? I ask out of genuine curiosity and confusion, as my first impression with nobilis came through tvtropes and the vague posting happening inside the article talking about stolen art, and frankly I never heard a comprehensive anything, from any traceable source. Thanks.

Mm. The gory details aren't really my story to tell (and I'm given to understand that the game's author doesn't like to talk about it, so please don't go pestering her on my account!), but in the interest of heading off the rumour mill, the short version is as follows:

Nobilis 3rd Edition was originally funded via Kickstarter under the banner of Eos Press – who, to be clear, were merely the game's publisher, not its creator.

When the game's preview edition was released to Kickstarter backers, folks noticed that some of its illustrations looked awfully familiar. Several pieces were quickly identified as having been traced from Touhou fanart published on DeviantArt and elsewhere.

The preview edition was withdrawn, and new art obtained to replace the plagiarised pieces. Eos Press made no statement accepting responsibility for the fiasco, and some of the replacement art was apparently commissioned at the author's own expense, both of which are highly irregular; however, at the time, most people assumed it was just the usual small-press lack of professionalism at work.

Fast forward four years, and the owner of Eos Press gets caught red-handed misappropriating Kickstarter funds for personal use, albeit from a different project. In light of this, it's been speculated Eos Press' owner also pocketed the art budget for Nobilis 3rd Edition; that would explain both the low-effort plagiarism and the game's author having to pay for the replacement art out of pocket.

The author of Nobilis subsequently cut ties with Eos Press, recovered the game's publishing rights, and independently published her own version which replaces Eos' "contributions" with original material, produced at her own considerable effort and expense. This version of Nobilis 3rd Edition is the one that's currently for sale via DriveThruRPG and elsewhere.

Clear as mud?

[spitdrunken]

THIS IS INCREDIBLY SELF-INDULGENT BUT. MY BLOG!

notes: power imbalance, sexual harrassment, murder mentions.

rotating a thought in my head where 'you' are an increasingly popular erotica writer from the pride ring. with writing, you've hit a bit of a niche, as a lot of the big porn producers (VoxTech's subsidiaries) are not exactly known for their riveting dialogue or personalities. no one's there for anything more than that, but there are demons who do want a bit more 'meat', so to say, with nowhere else turn. that is where you come in!

it's not enough to make a steady living off of, not even when you start taking incredibly specific commissions, but it's never been more of a hobby anyway. you are completely anonymous online, keeping care to use throwaway emails and accounts for everything. still, voxtech's products are utterly inescapable: it's either using them, or using nothing at all. (and those rumours about their boss vox having complete control over his technology, even after selling, has to be a rumour... you hope.)

meanwhile, as your penname continues to grow more and more recognizable, it falls in the vees' meeting room. valentino's immediate suggestion is just to kill you. people in the comments keep comparing his dialogue to yours. what the fuck is that about? who the hell watches porn for the DIALOGUE in the first place?

velvette, while shrugging her shoulders, only adds that their new releases tend to go trending, prior to release. fucking far from the top of that list, but still. trending is trending.

vox, sighing internally, plasters a smile on his face. there's really no need to kill new up and coming talent, val. we should suggest them to work for us instead. and if they don't... we can simply prevent them from working. they'll make up their mind, then.

you return to your laptop to an utterly inescapable pop-up describing the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to work at voxtech! it's a whole wall of text, describing your pay (higher than you would have expected), where you will be living (in one of the appartment buildings owned by voxtech), and when to head to their main office. there is no word on denying the contract, an utter impossibility, it seems. not that you'd dare. vox's and the radio demon's showdown was the talk of the ring for days, and apparantly, all that rancour was the source of alastor denying a contract of his own. that really is more shit than you can handle in your undead life now. so, you take the job.

as your stories are starting to get heavily promoted, velvette absolutely insists that you add in at least a couple of looong clothing descriptions, based on her tastes. she's such an overwhelming, pushy presence, that it's hard for you to say no. she goes on about how, if it gets popular enough, people might be interested in somewhat similar outfits. probably not, though, let's be honest with ourselves. she makes you model them, all the while telling you that you really wouldn't be allowed to breathe in the direction of her studio otherwise. when you ask her why you absolutely have the one modelling, she just rolls her eyes. you based large parts of their appearances after you, didn't you? might as well make you look the part.

valentino is one of the worst parts of the job. compared to everyone else, he hardly pesters you, but he's still a terrifying presence. he'll give you 'suggestions' and make you steer your work in certain directions, getting too close and blowing smoke into your face. he gives a graphic description of how he jacked off to one of your stories, just to see your response. (this is a lie: why would he jack off if he can just call some stupid whore over to do it for him? also, he doesn't read.)

if a part of one of your stories ever gets a 'porno adaptation', he's having you play the part of the director, and has you sit in during the entirety of the viewing. you can tell he takes great pleasure out of any of your discomfort, or any of your fumbling- until it's too sloppy, and then he gets mad, of course, and you end up leaving the room with shaky legs.

vox seems to be the nicest one out of the three of them. really, he's only ever been courteous to you. but you've seen him flip his lid during the aforementioned 'radio demon fiasco', which you have been wise enough to never mention, so you still walk on eggshells around him. he can also get pretty pushy about deadlines, so you're not taking any chances.

he insists on having semi-regular meetings with you about the sales figures of your most recent works, wherein you also have to describe your process on other projects and pitch new ideas. frankly, you wish these meetings could be an email! but even when you tried to broach the subject, telling him that, surely, the company leader's time is much more important than this?

he simply brushed you off, telling you that he can decide for himself who and what to spend his time on, thank you very much. now, please continue. he'll inform you of the latest kinks and dynamics that have been most popular, though with some peculiar additions as well. you swear that, sometimes, the main character really does seem to resemble yourself in those suggestions, and the love interest a member of the vees...? you're certain you're just imagining it.

[jjangwonie]

DOUBLE LIFE

DOUBLE LIFE MASTERLIST

𓂃⊹ ִֶָ summary: With your anonymous Twitter account, you've acquired a pretty good following and popularity, throughout your school as well. Jake, your long-time crush, is one of them, head over heels. Yet when you once confessed to him, he had rejected your confession, saying that he already has his eye on someone else. What happens when he finds out that his online crush is the person that he rejected? And... How are you going to deal with this?

𓂃⊹ ִֶָ word count: ~2k

jjangwonie note: first written ep!! I was a little busy the last days, so I wasn't updating as I was initially, but here it is! I decided to split this written ep in two, since it will be too long imo, but then it will be more to look out for, no? ;). I'd love to hear your opinions or speculations about the smau so far, I am having so much fun with this ^^

Important notice! for written eps, I will put the "previous|next" button on the bottom, so it's easier for you to reach 😁

ELEVEN - you look guilty as hell [written]

“Finally, you're out.” Riki's voice reaches your ears as if you couldn't hear his nags and whines through his text messages. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” You roll your eyes, coming out of the girls bathroom.

You push through them and quickly empty your books into your locker, before swinging your bag over your shoulder and the four of you exit the main entrance of the building.

Sunoo huffs a breath out. "Imagine going in between the two buildings in one day." His eyes wander over the long pathway with many patches of nature between the two buildings. "I already am worn out from looking at it." His hands fly to his shaking head.

Jungwon chuckles. "It gets easier. And to be honest, it's a nice break from the cramped classes," he responds while putting his spectacles in its case.

"And an excuse for if you're late," you add with a hint of mischief. "Please. The amount of times I took my sweet ass time when I had Advanced Writing."

"Okay, nerd." Riki breathes out, earning a smack on the arm from you.

"Whatever." You stick your nose up.

"And while I was there, it gave me an excuse to search for my brother and ask for money. You know, the money that I used for your extra desserts?"

Your eyes land on Riki, who avoids your eyes purposefully. "What? Nah, don't know what you are talking about." Of course. Act all innocent all you want.

Sunoo locks your arms together. "Anyways. Excited for tonight? First time going out with the four of us like this, out and about and not getting tipsy in the park." He laughs. "The weather is pretty nice too."

And he is right. To be fair, the warmth of the descending sun touching your skin paired with the soft breeze is indeed nice and very calming.

Not for long, though.

That's when your brother calls out to you. You're met with Sunghoon waving you over, not very far from where you four are standing. But your eyes land on the figure beside him.

"No way," you mutter, eyes wide. And you're not the only one. Jake looks evenly surprised, lips seemingly still. Riki's eyes dart between you two sneakily while you approach. "Well, isn't this interesting?"

"Uhm. Excuse me... Jake?"

Though it is a quieter place, the music of the crowded school festival makes your voice barely heard. Jake turns around, before finding the source of the voice.

"Yeah? That's me."

His eyes looked so dreamy, and his pretty full lips were turned up in a friendly smile, making heat rise to your cheeks to the point of you wanting to run away right there and then.

"...Hi, I'm... well..." you fail to get out of your words.

"Yeah?"

No, you shouldn't leave now. Not when you already, finally, have his attention.

"Um, I have seen you during football practices, and around school."

That's a lie. It wasn't only those practices, and whenever you had to go over to the other building, at least, it didn't feel as casual to you as it might seem.

"I know this is really sudden, and you don't really know me, but... I think you're really cool and, I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime."

You can't even look in his eyes the moment those words fall out of your mouth.

It felt like an eternity before he said something. "Oh! I... Wow, I'm flattered. Really! But..."

Oh.

"I kinda have my eyes on somebody else right now... I hope you understand."

Oh... yeah, of course.

Although the heat in your cheeks doesn't falter, your heart feels like it fell all the way into the ground. As if this isn't the most embarrassing thing that could happen.

"Oh gosh, of course. I am so sorry for bothering you. This was a mistake." You let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"No, no, you didn't bother me at all. It was brave of you to-"

But you're already backing away. "I should go. Please forget that this happened. Sorry again!" you manage to squeeze out, before turning around and disappearing in the crowd.

"Wait, I didn't catch your...." But you're already gone. "...name."

Well, shit.

Sunghoon, oblivious to the tension, grinned.

"Jake, this is my little sister, y/n, and her friends..."

'Does he know? Does Hoon know? Does he even remember? That is stupid, why would he even remember?'

"...you know Riki already. This is Jungwon, right? And that is Sunoo- y/n? You there?"

Sunghoon snaps his fingers in your face, finally making you lift your head to face Jake. He looks as shocked, maybe even more than you.

'No, he does remember, doesn't he?'

"Hi, nice to meet you, Jake." Which comes out as barely a whisper.

Jake is not doing all well either, his eyes darting between you and Sunghoon.

'That's that girl from the other day who asked me out. So her name is y/n... Wait no, she's Sunghoon's sister...'

'She is Sunghoon's little sister.'

'I rejected Sunghoon's little sister.'

'Oh, yeah I'm fucked.'

"Uh hi!" he sounds out hurriedly. "Yeah, nice to finally meet you in person, y/n. And nice to meet you all." Jake plays with the back of his hair. Your brain is setting off alarms, telling you to go away, to cancel this, before something embarrassing happens again. But you can't.

'This is going to be a disaster. How am I going to hang with him in this setting while he is talking real flirty with me on Twitter? What if he decides to text her? What do I do?'

"Earth to y/n," Sunghoon's voice cut through your thoughts. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Riki snickers. "Maybe she's just starstruck meeting Jake," he teases, earning a sharp elbow from Jungwon.

You shake your head. "I am fine, Hoon. Let's go. Don't wanna be late." You take fast strides forward, dragging Sunoo along with you, the others falling into pace with you.

Even though the walk through the city was dead silent, it surprisingly, luckily, went by pretty fast.

As you step into the pub, the warm, lively atmosphere washes over you, a stark contrast to the tense silence of the walk. The air hummed with chatter and the clinking of glasses, while the scent of beer and pub food wafts around you.

You guys walk around and find Jay and Heeseung who were engrossed in their pre-performance rituals. Jay was hunched over his guitar, fingers dancing across the strings as he fine-tuned each note. Heeseung, meanwhile, was running through vocal exercises, his rich voice barely audible over the pub's ambient noise.

The moment Jay spotted you, his face lit up with a broad grin.

"y/n!" he exclaimed, enveloping you in a warm hug. "It's been too long!" As Jay releases you and moves to greet the others, Heeseung approaches, a charismatic smile on his face.

"Well, well," he says, his eyes twinkling as they meet yours. "If it isn't the lovely y/n. You're looking particularly pretty tonight. Did you dress up just for us?"

Before you could even process the compliment, let alone respond, Sunghoon is there, inserting himself between you with speed. "Hyung," Sunghoon warns. "What did I tell you about flirting with my sister?"

Heeseung raises his hands in mock surrender, but the mischievous glint never leaves his eyes. "Can't blame a guy for appreciating beauty when he sees it, can you?"

Sunghoon's eyes narrowed. "I can and I will. Keep it up, and you might find yourself singing soprano tonight." He takes a broad, but humouristic stance.

"Alright, alright," Jay intervenes, still chuckling. "How about we get you all a table? We've got about twenty minutes before we need to set up for real."

As you all settle at a table with a pretty good view of the stage, your murmuring with the three boys comes to a halt when you turn to your brother.

"No. I only said yes to boba," He says sternly. "Oh, come on!" you whine. "Please?" you ask sweetly. He knows he can't win, so he complies with a sigh. "Fine. Non-alcoholic drinks for the four of you," he states while he stands up. Simultaneously, Jake stands up as well. "I-I'll help to bring everything back with you."

When they reach the bar and order the drinks, Jake tries to sound casual, leaning his arms over the bar, mirroring Sunghoon. "So... That's your little sister, huh?"

"Yeah. Why?" Sunghoon's eyebrow raises while watching the bartender making the drinks. "Oh, nothing! Just never seen her around before." But he fails at sounding nonchalant. "You haven't?" Sunghoon asks.

Jake turns his head to face his good friend. "I mean, I've seen her, but I didn't know she was your sister," he downplays. Sunghoon narrows his eyes, but not facing him yet, his eyes stuck on the drinks getting mixed. "Uh-huh. And why are you so interested all of a sudden?"

"Interested? What, no! It's just... she seems nice. Haha..." Jake straightens his back. When the bartender puts the drinks on the bar, Sunghoon finally turns to face Jake. "You're acting weird. What's going on? Jake, have you been hitting on my sister?" he asks suspiciously.

Jake waves his hands frantically. "No! No way! I would never! I mean, not that she's not great, but—"

Sunghoon sighs. "Look, Jake, I know you. If you're thinking of pulling your usual flirty routine—"

"I'm not! Promise! Scout's honor!" He puts his hands up. Sunghoon throws a look at Jake. "You were never a scout."

No, but I did reject your sister once... "What was that?"

"Nothing! I said... uh... your sister seems really... nice!"

Sunghoon narrows his eyes again while handing half of the drinks to Jake. "Uh-huh. Well, keep it that way. Nice and distant. Got it?" Jake nods in response. "Oh, and Jake?" Sunghoon smirks. "Yeah?"

"Stop sweating. You look guilty as hell."

That went really smoothly. Not like it went any better on your end...

"I'm done for. What do I do?" you mutter from behind your hands.

"Quick! Fake your own death!" Sunoo lets out while scooting closer to your seat. Riki deadpans over. "Great idea. I'll start writing your eulogy."

"Can we please be serious for one second?" Jungwon sighs and pries your hands from your face, urging you to sit up. "Serious? How can I be serious when my crush slash real-life rejector is talking to my brother?!"

Sunoo gasps. "Ooh! I've got it! We'll create a distraction. Riki, how fast can you learn to juggle?"

"About as fast as y/n can grow a few inches." He leans back and rolls his eyes. A glare is quickly sent his way. "I will end you, Riki."

You take a big breath before sitting straight. "What if Jake tells Sunghoon he rejected me?" Riki sits up and leans over the table this time. "Didn't he get really concerned when you were moping around?"

That is true. You never told your brother, but it was easily noticeable you were out of it for some time.

"Okay, let's think. Would Jake hyung even remember that it was you he rejected?" Jungwon taps on the back of his hand. "But what if he does? Hoon will kill him." You say up front, before pointing at yourself. "And then me."

"Ooh, murder mystery. That's another great distraction, great idea." Sunoo lets out, stuck in his own thoughts. Riki pats Sunoo's head sarcastically. "Sure, because adding homicide to the mix will definitely improve the situation, hyung."

Jungwon sighs and faces you, trying to find your eyes.

"Look, y/n, even if he remembers, I doubt he'd bring it up to your brother. It would be awkward for him too. And he definitely doesn't know about your Twitter... situation."

You groan and you're back behind your hands. "I'm doomed."

"There, there. Look on the bright side." Jungwon chimes in again and pats your back. You peek from behind your fingers. "What bright side?"

"...I'll let you know when I think of one."

"They're coming back! Quick, assume casual positions!" Sunoo whispers loudly as he sees Sunghoon and Jake walking back with the drinks.

Riki leans back in his chair, acting all cool and nonchalant. "Oh yes, this is how I always sit when I'm not worried about potential fratricide."

"I hate you all so much right now." You hiss back. "Love you too, shorty," Riki grinned, ducking as you swat at him.

Jungwon pats your back again. "Now smile and try not to look like you're planning an escape route."

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[twakiju2]

Is Zionism bad?

I apologise for my ignorance, but I am 13 and have heard people say it is bad. Is it really?

Hi!

Welcome to tumblr. Never apologize for not knowing something— it’s much better than pretending you know something you don’t❤️

By definition, Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people should be able to self-govern in our homeland, the biblical land of Israel (roughly the area covered by the modern state of Israel). That’s it. No more, no less. The modern Zionist movement began in the late 1800s, but the ideology has existed since the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

In my opinion, there is nothing bad about Zionism. I am a proud Zionist— meaning that I support Jewish self-determination (again: no more, no less). Throughout history, Jews have been exiled over and over, and in the past century we have finally returned home (though it’s important to remember that there are Jewish families who never left Eretz Yisrael [the land of Israel]). Does this mean I support the Israeli government? No. But I should not have to say that to justify my existence as a Jew whose identity is deeply rooted in…well, my roots.

However, many people demonize Zionism and Zionists. They twist the definition into whatever demonization fits their interests. Israel is not perfect— no country is. Israelis are not a monolith— no people are.

I am in no way denying the existence or history of Palestinians. I am not attempting to justify violence nor destruction. For there to be peace in the region, everyone must be willing to accept that neither Israelis nor Palestinians are going anywhere.

I’m not going to try and form your opinion. That’s up to you. Keep in mind that I am not myself Israeli— I’m an American Jew with family and friends in Israel, and I lived there for a year.

I highly recommend the Instagram account rootsmetals if you want to learn more about Jewish and Israeli history— she has great posts that are very well-sourced.

My only other advice to you is to not let the internet, ESPECIALLY social media, be your guide to developing your personal beliefs. I strongly suggest getting off of social media until you’re at least 15, but I was 13 not too long ago and I know that that’s probably the last thing you want to be told. And that’s okay.

Best of luck ❤️

[lgbtlunaverse]

heads- up: someone is taking jc-centric fics and turning them into jc-bashing wangxian fics

I don't usually like to bring twitter drama over to tumblr but since the perpetrator in this case explicitly said they do this ON TUMBLR I felt it was pertinent to do so.

Today user DyuaLan on twitter, aka @jiaoji on tumblr, publically bragged about finding chengxian, xicheng, and zhanzheng fics and changing the names to make them wangxian fics with jiang cheng bashing.

When authors (understandably) reacted to this by blocking them, they boasted about still having 15 stolen fics in their drafts on top of the ones they've already posted.

And that they do all of this stuff on tumblr anyway, not twitter

If you have written any kind of Jiang Cheng ships, or Jiang Cheng-centric fic in general, and are not a fan of your work being stolen, it's in your best interest to block them.

They also said that they block everyone they steal from. Though if you go to the blog now and are blocked, please don't panic, that might just be for fanwar reasons.

Here's proof that DyuaLan is in fact the same person as Jiaoji:

(@jiaoji and @jiaoji2 lead to the same blog, it was probably called this because they at some point lost access/moved from their previous blog @jiao-ji)

And here jiaoji is bragging on their tumblr about feeling too lazy to even rewrite someone else's work

Their ao3 is "Jiao_ji" where they have 16 works total, most of which are in portuguese, making it harder to verify which ones are stolen, as a lot of their "sources" are probably in english. (Most of the fics they have written on tumblr itself are also in english) They also have a wattpad account with the url "Dilf_ji"

As a bonus here they are 2 years ago whining about zhancheng authors blocking them because it means they can no longer steal their fics, this has been going on for a while.

And talking a bit more about stealing from chengxian and zhancheng authors:

While I haven't written any jiang cheng ships, I am a fic writer, and I know the work that goes into it. I can work on a single oneshot for months on end. So this kind of attitude, where if you hate a ship the author's work is just free for the taking, is appaling to me. Inspiration is normal, fandom is inherently transformative. Hell, ao3 has a "works inspired by" function for exactly that. But wholesale lifting someone's else's writing, only changing the ship and adding salt about a character you hate? Yeah, no. "Character bashing" fics aren't my cup of tea in the first place, but if you're going to do it, at least have the decency to write the damn things yourself.

I don't like doing callouts, so while I know that I can't really control anyone else's actions, I want to say for my own peace of mind... please just block this person. I don't wanna cause even more discourse. Remember: you don't feed trolls. I posted this because i think writers deserve to be warned when someone is maliciously stealing and editing their work, not to instigate harassment.

[kastellaran]

Medicine Seller Pronouns

@dharmafox (sarahwatchesthings) in the Mononoke Commmunity asked about the Medicine Sellers' personal pronouns, and I was going to leave a comment, but as always I tend to go on, so I decided to make it a separate post.

I'll start with Kon, since he's obviously the most interesting. Ri's pronoun usage is really obvious and none of them are unusual. In the movie, Kon does not use any pronouns. This isn't unusual for Japanese as I'm sure many of you know. It's generally preferred to avoid using pronouns if possible, and Japanese makes it very possible. Additionally, Kon doesn't speak very much anyway so there aren't a lot of opportunities for him to use one. Nonetheless, in a lot of Japanese fanart you'll see him using あっし (asshi), although it's not 100%, it's such an unusual one that the prevalence of it in Kon fanart/comics is notable. So where does this come from? In the novelization of Karakasa, there are random changes to the dialogue of characters made here and there. I personally don't understand the reason for a lot of them, like they're kind of inconsequential and don't seem like the kind of changes necessary for adapting between media, but that's not the point. In Kon's first scene, when he introduces himself to Asa and Kame, in the movie he says:

只のしがない薬売りでございます。(tada no shiganai kusuriuri de gozaimasu) "Just a humble medicine seller." In the book, however, the same line is: あっしは、只のしがない薬売りでございます。(asshi wa tada no shiganai kusuriuri de gozaimasu) "I'm just a humble medicine seller." So they go out of their way to show him using this pronoun. What is it, exactly. Well, when I looked it up, the English description of it I found was: "Mainly used by dashing males and craftsmen," which was very funny, but also seemed a strange grouping to me. So I searched a Japanese dictionary and found this: 一人称の人代名詞。 「わたし」のくだけた言い方。 男性、特に職人などが多く用いる、いなせな感じの言い方。 "First person singular pronoun. Elided form of "watashi." Commonly used by men, especially skilled workers. An inase style of speech." What is inase? Unfortunately there isn't a lot of information about it in English, so I had to look at Japanese wikipedia and some other Japanese sources to piece it together. I'd like to warn you that this term is very deeply rooted in its historical context, and I am not an Edo period historian or even someone who knows a lot about Edo period culture. I would say I know a moderate amount, but definitely not enough to accurately convey subcultures and feelings of the time, which is what I'm about to attempt. So please take what I'm saying with a grain of salt, and if you find sources that disagree with me, of course take those into account. The word inase originates from a variation of the hairstyle called the ichoumage (ginkgo hairstyle), which is the most common hairstyle you see on men of the Edo period:

This is the image on the Japanese Wikipedia article for the ichoumage. It's also commonly called chonmage which is how I knew it, but according to Japanese Wikipedia that term originally referred to the thin, wispy one that older men would have.

Anyway, so an inase ichoumage (mullet's back ginkgo hairstyle) is a lopsided version of this hairstyle that was popular among young men of the Edo period. According to Japanese Wikipedia: "It was a word enjoyed and used, along with those long-strapped inase ashida they wore, by those quick-tempered and quarrelsome young men of the fish market, such as the skilled workers and chivalrous rogues (侠客/kyoukaku)."

Inase described this kind of roguish masculinity embodied by these working-class young men. Different from the refined sensibility of the upperclasses, it seems that inase could be likened to the kind of masculinity we today attribute to the popular image of, say, deli workers or perhaps construction workers. Young, working-class men with hot-tempers who represent a kind of spirit of the city. So this is the type of image asshi evokes. This is presumably what the author of the Karakasa novelization was calling upon when they had Kon use that pronoun. Interestingly, being a medicine seller, Kon is not actually part of this social class as far as I can tell; he's a merchant, a class which occupied a rather interesting place in society as the absolute lowest class in the hierarchy which possessed a great deal of wealth and social influence, but that's a separate discussion. Basically, it seems like the author of the novel wanted to associate Kon with these inase men, these young, roguish, kind of rough men of the time.

The last thing I want to say about Kon's pronoun usage is that it's possible he might use a different pronoun when speaking to say, Utayama-sama (if he uses one with her at all), but I haven't read that far into the novel. It wouldn't be surprising to me if he did though. As for Ri, as I recall he uses two different pronouns. In Ayakashi Bakeneko, he uses both ore and watashi, and in Mononoke, he uses watashi only (as far as I can remember, though if anyone remembers some instance of him using ore in the 2007 series, please let me know). Neither of these pronouns are unusual; both are in common use today. Before I get into describing them, I want to emphasize that pronouns are a really fluid class of words in Japanese. What pronouns are in use, who uses them, and when they're used has changed a lot and changed very quickly. Even today, one person does not only use one pronoun. First person pronouns aren't really like third person pronouns in English, where a person generally has one set that is used for them in all contexts and describes something fundamental to their person; in Japanese, a person will use different a different pronoun depending on their situation and who they're talking to. They represent your relationship to the people around you (I recognize this is just one way of looking at it). Statements like "X pronoun is used by X type of person" are almost always oversimplified and don't represent the variety of use cases in real life, however it is true that anime characters are constructed using common tropes and character types, so their pronoun usage can be analyzed a little more along those lines than you would do in real life.

Watashi is probably the most commonly used first person pronoun in Japanese, and for good reason. It's pretty neutral and polite, but because there is an overlap between polite speech and feminine speech, if it's used in a casual setting it's seen as more feminine (or just over-polite/stiff). Ri's speech differs somewhat depending on who he's talking to/what episode it is (it is normal to change your speech based on who you're talking to IRL though), but in general he speaks formal-masculine. It makes sense for him to use watashi especially considering he is socially below most of the people he talks to. Ore nowadays is associated with men and is considered to be a casual masculine pronoun, though it is worth noting that in the Edo period it was used by women as well, and in some dialects of Japanese it still is.

It's worth noting that these pronouns don't strictly convey one idea or not convey it; it's contextual. The same goes for any kind of language honestly, but what I mean is that if you're speaking to say, your boss or your teacher or a stranger, you should be polite to them because you either don't know them well, or you want to show them respect. In that setting, using formal/polite speech (pronouns included) is accepted and encouraged. However, when speaking with people in your circle, such as your friends or family, if you started speaking politely, you'd be suddenly putting distance between yourself and them, and it could even be rude. So it's not that one pronoun is always polite, always feminine, always rude, always masculine, it's that they have certain vibes, and that vibe combines with the context to produce an implication. Ri introduces himself to Kayo with watashi because he's a stranger to her and a merchant. Throughout the series, he generally uses -masu forms and some keigo, but also uses the sentence ender -ze sometimes, addresses Ochou as anata/

Oops, this post got away from me. Pronouns in Japanese are not easy to sum up quickly, and I feel like they're often oversimplified. Um...hope this helps!

[markantonys]

i'll be interested to see if this holds true for WOT s3 since the s1 finale had so many extenuating circumstances and can't really be included in the comparison, but based off of the s2 finale, i believe that season finales tend to bear the brunt of "It's Different From The Books!" ire because they are the culmination of all the smaller changes made throughout the season.

this turned into a bigger analysis post than i expected lmao par for the course with my blog! read on for exploration of how the 2x08 conclusion of each season-long arc is the the most emotionally satisfying conclusion and/or the most thematically appropriate conclusion possible based on the show's particular version of the story, plus a bonus tangent on the nature of adaptation.

for a finale episode, the writers' prime concern 100% has to be "wrapping up all the season's arcs in a way that feels satisfying with everything that's happened in the first 7 episodes, using the book version of the finale event as the framework" rather than "recreating the book version of the finale event exactly as it is with all the same scenes and themes". the nature of storytelling inherently means that every single person who tells the same story will focus on different themes (just think of how many versions of the hades & persephone story there are), and a good adaptation knows that being internally consistent with its own Emphasized Themes is more important than copying-and-pasting scenes from the source material without making any changes to account for the specific way this adaptation is telling the story.

(but a lot of people can't even get past this first point because they don't understand that this is how adaptations - how storytelling in general - work. like, person B literally cannot tell the exact same story that person A told without putting their own spin on it. it's not possible! unless they're simply reading out the exact words that person A wrote, which can't be done when putting 14 massive books into maximum 64 hours of tv. so many readers like to meet this point with "but why does the books' version of the story need to be changed at all?" which is just a non-starter because a) medium differences require a ton of changes, and b) even if no changes were *required*, they would happen anyway because that is human nature when it comes to storytelling. when it comes to story-listening too! ask a hundred different book fans what WOT is about and you'll get a hundred different answers. rafe & co can't possibly make an adaptation that captures every single reader's idea of What WOT Is About, and nobody in the world could ever re-tell the story of WOT in the exact same way that RJ told it, not even the most die-hard book fan; all rafe & co can do is focus on making sure the show honors the core of the books' story while also telling a good story in its own right, independent of the source material.)

i was a classics major, okay? it gets to me! anyway, corralling myself back on topic.

for 2x08, it's very telling just how far Minority Reader Opinion deviates from the general audience opinion. general audiences fucking LOVED this episode (it's the highest-rated on imdb out of the entire show, currently at a 9.0; most episodes are in the 7-8 range), but a bunch of readers call it disappointing and one of the worst episodes of the show. if it was actually a poor quality episode of television, the general audience ratings would reflect that too (as they do for 1x08, currently at a 6.4 (i personally think 1x08 gets way more hate than is deserved and i thoroughly enjoy that episode, but i accept that's just me)), but they don't.

so what does that mean? to me, it means that 2x08 is objectively a very good episode of television which general audiences found satisfying, but which some readers disliked because it prioritized the emotional & thematic needs of its own version of the story over the exact nature of the falme events in the source material. which is exactly what a good adaptation should do! if you forget the books and just look at the show (which the vast majority of viewers are doing), then every resolution that happens in 2x08 is the most satisfying resolution possible and/or the only resolution that was thematically permitted for that particular season storyline.

egwene: her season arc was about learning to stand on her own two feet and not cling onto her mentor figures or compare herself unfavorably to others. thus, her freeing herself from the a'dam is the most satisfying possible conclusion to her season arc. nynaeve and elayne freeing her in the books is nice, but in the show version, thematically, it would've undercut egwene's Overcoming Impostor Syndrome arc to go "yeah actually it's true that she's not good enough on her own and when it comes down to it she does always need nynaeve to help her out". that version worked in TGH where she didn't have an Overcming Impostor Syndrome arc, but it wouldn't have worked in the show where she did. (but, yes, egwene learning in 2x08 that she doesn't have to rely on others is a double-edged sword, which nicely sets up her later-series struggles with trying to shoulder too much herself and not letting even her friends or partner help her.)

rand: his season arc was about learning to lean on others and not isolate himself or try to protect his friends by withholding his burdens from them. thus, him failing to defeat ishamael until all his friends come to lend aid in various ways is the most satisfying possible conclusion to his season arc. rand defeating ishy singlehandedly in the books is nice, but in the show version, thematically, it would've undercut his Learning That Strength Is In Numbers arc to go "yeah actually it's true that rand is capable of winning his biggest battles all by himself and thus it's no problem for him to push his friends away". given the themes that s2 emphasized for rand, the only appropriate finale outcomes were either success with his friends' help or total failure on his own, and they chose the former. (that being said, rand pushing his friends away is a continuous issue for him throughout the series, so i doubt he's perfectly learned his lesson after 2x08; we shall see!)

interesting to note that rand and egwene have inverse arcs in a way (foils!) and that some elements of their book falme climaxes were swapped, and that the way the show has done it subverts the expected gender roles. typically, men are expected to be Lone Wolves and women to be Team Players, and the WOT books absolutely play into these stereotypes throughout the series (sometimes intentionally as social commentary, sometimes unconsciously as an accepted truth of the world), but 2x08 and s2 more broadly did the opposite with our yin-and-yang co-protagonists. it's egwene who has the arc about learning to be a Lone Wolf and rand who has the arc about learning to be a Team Player. and imo these subconscious gender role expectations are a part of why some readers (esp reddit) got SO heated about "how come egwene can succeed by herself but rand can't", because it feels Wrong to them and Not How Things Are Supposed To Work (they've never questioned why rand can succeed by himself but egwene needs her friends' help in TGH, or all the other times in the books when men succeed by themselves and women succeed by relying on each other). but it's a totally apples-to-oranges comparison because egwene and rand had totally different season arcs and focal themes (but many paralleling & foiling moments within that), and so they each get a conclusion tailor-made to their individual stories.

mat: his season arc was about realizing he's a good, worthy person, finding the inner strength to overcome his worst impulses and temptations, and coming through for his friends after leaving them at the waygate. thus, him getting his Big Damn Hero moment with the horn of valere, getting validation that he is literally a hero, and overall spending the episode doing all he can to support his friends is the most satisfying possible conclusion to his season arc. (but stabbing his bff just as he was flying on a confidence high and trying to save the day was a downer note to end on, so we've complicated his relationship with heroism and set up some more internal issues for him to wrestle with next season.)

perrin: his season arc was about learning to acknowledge his inner wolf but also coming to regard it with fear and to believe that wolf & human sides can't coexist and he must Choose One (.......suddenly being struck by the bisexuality metaphor of it all. nice!) thus, him giving into violence to murder a human to avenge a wolf is.....well, it's pretty upsetting for him and serves to reinforce his growing belief that his two sides can't coexist, but thematically, it's fascinating and sets him up for some really great internal (and external) conflicts in s3. he's just gotten what he thinks is pretty strong evidence to corroborate ishy's claim that embracing his wolf side means embracing the shadow, so he's set up for a season 3 of deep-diving into his relationship with violence and his inner wolf. it's also a neat parallel with 1x08: there perrin's avoidance of violence allowed fain to escape, whereas here his embracing of violence has traumatized him (again), so our poor guy is really feeling conflicted in the pacificism-or-violence question because both sides seem wrong to him right now. huh, i guess perrin's full-series arc is about finding a middle ground rather than one extreme (pacifism/tuatha'an/human) or the other (violence/aiel/wolf). i feel like i've just had an epiphany lmao this is why i love the show! it tells the same story as the books, but tells it in a different way that makes me think about it differently and gain new insights!

nynaeve: her season arc was about learning that she, on her own, as she is today, is not enough to protect her loved ones. this is a tough pill for both her and the audience to swallow! but it's needed for her character, and we see it in the books too. nynaeve has an incredible amount of power, but she's terrified of having that much power and wants to pretend it doesn't exist. she's resistant to change, she's used to being in charge, and she's very "my way or the highway". these are all things she needs to grow out of (or moderate, at least) in order to be able to step up and do her part for tarmon gai'don. she has to learn how to embrace her power instead of being afraid of it or being too stubborn to let other people guide her and teach her, so s2 shows her what happens if she doesn't, first hypothetically in the accepted test (everyone she loves dies because she's blocked and refused channeling training) and then for real in falme (she couldn't help elayne fully or rand at all because of her block). so her 2x08 conclusion being Total Failure is not emotionally satisfying, no, but it's thematically exactly what she needed and will goad her into facing her block head-on next season. thematically, like rand, nynaeve only had 2 options for falme: break her block and succeed, or retain her block and fail, and it was too soon for the former (we gotta let her cook a while longer, plus the story will become too easy if nynaeve, or rand, reaches supernova capability too soon), so it had to be the latter. if the show had gone with a third option of her succeeding without breaking her block, then that would've taught her and the audience that it's fine to leave the block in place and she doesn't need to challenge herself to grow as a person, because when it TRULY matters she can always get around the block.

other characters get appropriate resolutions too! moiraine and lan get to work together to succeed after being at odds and failing on their own all season (rand foils!). elayne gets validation that she is an essential and trusted part of the friend group after feeling like somewhat of an outsider earlier in the season. ishamael getting vanquished and lanfear betraying him only to be betrayed by him in turn is exactly where their mutual mistrust was leading them (and it shows us why it's so important that Team Light be able to work as a team rather than as self-interested individual operators; the contrast between ishy & lanfear looking at the seals together while plotting to betray each other vs. rand standing on the tower with all his friends behind him makes me cry your honor. imagine hating that ishy's defeat was a team effort, could not be me!)

(it's also worth noting that the characters who had the least individual success/victory in 2x08 (nynaeve, rand, perrin) are the ones who will have the biggest individual storylines in s3 (tanchico & moggy, waste arc, two rivers arc), whereas the characters who had the most individual success/victory (egwene, mat, moiraine, lan) are the ones who will be taking a bit more of a backseat (of course they all have their own stuff to do, but none of them is *the* lead character of their TSR/s3 traveling group). this is intentional!)

so there you have it. 2x08 is adored by the general audience, and it's because of this: it gives us some damn satisfying conclusions to all the season arcs (and some exciting and visually stunning battle sequences to boot), and all the viewers who AREN'T beleaguered by "But The Books!", which is most of them, recognize that for the good storytelling it is. i for one will always care far more about the show telling a good story within itself than the show being identical to the books, and rafe & co will too, as they should.

the only downside to the episode is that, yes, it is quite cramped for time because there are a lot of arcs to wrap up. this should be less of an issue in future seasons when the season finale isn't "every single major storyline converges in the same place at once". for example, judging by the "goldeneyes" episode title it seems s3 might split it up so that perrin's conclusion in the two rivers is in 3x07 while other conclusions in other locations are in 3x08, giving each more breathing room. whereas 2x08 had no choice but to stuff everything in that episode into that specific episode because it's not like perrin could just do his falme stuff an episode early and take a nap while everyone else was doing THEIR falme stuff in the next episode, nor could the full falme sequence have been split into 2 episodes since that would have disrupted the flow of the story. the only solution would be for 2x08 to be extra long, which is nice to imagine, but we all know that streaming shows almost never deviate from their set episode lengths and so there isn't much point sighing about "this episode should have been 90 minutes long!" because that just is not on the table, never has been, and never will be. the first step to being able to jive with an adaptation is making peace with the limits of its particular medium!

plus, the only things i might deem "missing" from 2x08 are non-essential (ingtar darkfriend reveal - that is NOT important fight me, it's only important in the books as our first example of a morally-gray shadow-aligned person but the show has already been doing that in spades) or will likely be included in 3x01 (the gang spending some time together to breathe and process and catch up). at the end of the day, the show is always going to need to be paced very very tightly with not as much breathing room as those of us accustomed to entire books dedicated to reacting to the previous book might expect. and 2x08 did manage to pack in a LOT of character work amidst all the action and did a good mix of resolving s2 arcs while leaving some unresolved to carry into s3 and introducing some new arcs/issues/conflicts, all within 70 minutes, which i find pretty impressive. in conclusion, 2x08 my fucking beloved <3

[colie-nne]

Hello dear writer 👋 there's this reader-insert prompt in my head that I couldn't just get it out of my head. I hope this prompt takes your interest. It's up to you how you will want this to go as whether it be an imagine, headcannon or etc. Thank you, much love 𔘓

Prompt:

Carlos Sainz Jr., the renowned Formula One driver, takes to his social media account and shares a cryptic message that hints about a special someone in his life. As fans eagerly await further details, it becomes apparent that Carlos' significant other is no ordinary person – but is a beauty queen in her country.

my queen

pairing: carlos sainz x beauty queen!reader | instagram au

requested: yes | no

a/n: Hi this is my first in au, hope I did your request justice. I also really really liked the prompt, thanks for the request!! (Requests are open)

+ Valiente will be updated tomorrow so hang tight.💌

carlossainz55

liked by charles_leclerc and 163,452 others

carlossainz55 On a trip with royalty❤️

view all 1,045 comments

user excuse me? Carlos?

charles_leclerc a trip with royalty indeed👑

user what's with all the royalty?

user 😍😍😍

user Carlos is entering his aesthetic era!!!

Daily WAG updates

liked by pierregasly and 217,951 others

Daily WAG updates Ferrari's very own Carlos Sainz is seen with a mystery woman on a beach trip to the Maldives. The source stated that the two have been cozy with each other the entire time. Are we seeing a new wag on the paddock this coming season?

view all 524 comments

user oh carlos has game all along

user lord, i see what you've done for others

user does this have something to do with the royalty thing?

user to be the girls these f1 men date !!!

user girl i don't think that's a mystery woman at all

user care to explain?🤨 user Carlos has been following Spain's winner for some universal pageant or whatever for about a long time now, even before her winning the crown. So I'm not going to be shocked if the mystery woman's her. user reallyy?? what's her @? user its yourusername

user Pierre wtf you doing here?!☠️

yourusername

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc and 326,803 others

yourusername very late vacation dump 🌶️

user ahhh y/n!! i've missed you

user will you be coming to the show in Paris?

yourusername of course!! can't miss it😊 user oH MY GOD! she responded, Y/n i love you!!

user uhmm... looks like you didn't crop a pic properly🧐

liked by landonorris

user why is lando here😭

user omyy just came here from the wags update!!! the emoji and the cropping error just proved a lot of things

user wdym wag update? user just search it up you'll see the most recent one.

yourusername

liked by carlossainz55, vittoria and 771,218 others

yourusername are you happy to be in Paris? oui...it's good to be back

user the fact that a French designer invited Miss Universe-Spain to their show, shows how wanted the y/n l/n is in the fashion industry. this is coming from a french woman too

carlossainz oui🥐

charles_leclerc no, mate... no yourusername i wholeheartedly agree with you user f1 collab, when?

user CARLOS?! Is this a confirmation?

vittoria looking good 👑❤️

user there's the crown thing again. who is she anyways? user how the hell, don't you guys know who y/n is? she's the reigning miss universe and the most sought Spanish beauty queen after years. user ooh so she's from Spain too. I see now user ☠️

user why am I just realizing the meaning of the crown emoji...

Daily WAG updates

caption: ✈️ >> 👑🇫🇷

331,092 likes

Daily WAG updates Carlos is confirmed to go on his way to Y/n. The story was posted 5 hours ago. He might be in Paris now, update you guys soon.

user the fact that you've typed that so casually just tells me how much you've waited to have a Carlos girl on the paddock

user He be flying to his girl during his supposed time to rest... when will it be my time?

user the fact that we all know he'll be meeting y/n despite them not confirming it yet is so funny.

f1updates

742,663 likes

f1updates Carlos Sainz has landed this evening after being invited by a french-designer in Paris, France.

user ...i see it very clearly now

user the story caption and this just gave everything up. ya'll better confirm it asap

user carlos in a fashion show was not on my 2023 f1 bucket list

user if we see him and y/n together, let's just say that "i told you guys"

yourusername

liked by carlossainz55 and 931,438 others

yourusername Thank you for tonight, Paris (credits: 🌶️)

user the chili🫣

user y/n!! i love your dress so much, thank you for letting me take a picture with you

user saw her being called into the runway so suddenly, the crown fits her so much🫠

user oop y/n in her soft launching era. is it Carlos?? i hope so

carlossainz55 🤍

user it's confirmed guys... user cute🥲 kill me rn

Daily WAG updates

liked by charles_leclerc, pierregasly and 196,582 others

Daily WAG updates UPDATE!!! It is confirmed by multiple sources that the reigning Miss Universe Y/n L/n is indeed Carlos Sainz's mystery woman. Who would've thought that our newest WAG would be the queen of the universe herself, can't wait to see her in the paddock!!! 👑

yourusername

liked by carlossainz55, landonorris, danielricciardo and 907,531

yourusername bebé, hemos sido atrapados... anyways, these are some of the very flattering pictures of us from our trips during the past 3 months. Buena seurte en tu proxima carrera, mi amor!!

(Baby, we've been caught) - (Good luck on your next race, my love!!)

carlossainz55 mi amor, ¿por qué las fotos? (my love, why the pictures?)

yourusername because you look flattering in them🤩 landonorris flattering isn't what I'd call them

charles_leclerc you should have posted what you posted in the other one

user charles? qhat other one!! user this made me curious yourusername the internet might not handle it!

danielricciardo all hail the king and queen👑

user dannyy😭 yourusername says the man who's insisting Carlos isn't fit for a king danielricciardo why'd you have to do me like that carlossainz55 still has a ring in it, no? landonorris we'll have to see you in a dress before we can answer

[olderthannetfic]

On the topic of the ao3 ship stats thing, I would also like to call into question the inclusion of the "Race" category and how races are being categorized and if they should be included at all.

The first thing is that I see Latino is considered a race, but I believe Latino is moreso a cultural/ethnic category and not a race. It makes it more interesting that Afrolatino is separate from Latino, since it means that everyone categorized as Latino could be white Latino characters and therefore not as racially diverse as the category seems to imply? Or something?

Same goes for the Asian category- wouldn't it make sense to separate it into East/South East/South Asian at least since Asia is massive. Especially since it would be interesting to see the % of Asian representation that is taken up by East vs. South East Asians, given that K-pop, anime, Chinese BL, and Thai BL are all very popular.

I don't think that it's a bad thing to include a race category when taking into account this data, but the fact that these racial categories seem to be arbitrarily decided makes it less reliable in my opinion. Also what about characters who are mixed race, or mixed ethnic heritage?

In some ways, I think it would be more interesting to categorize the origin of the media/source material for these ships. How much of the chart is taken up by Korean origin ships (i.e. K-pop groups) vs. Japanese origin ships (i.e. anime) vs. American origin ships (i.e. American movies and TV)? It would also a valuable insight since I would expect something like Thai BL to have all or majority Asian characters. So in some ways, the race category is more insightful into the diversity of American/UK/Canadian/etc. media. It would also be interesting to see how much of the Asian characters are coming from Asian media/music groups.

This is not to say that analyzing the racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds of characters in the most popular ships wouldn't give insights. I think it would be interesting to see how this changes over time. But I think that if we want the data about racial discrepancies and diversity to be meaningful, the categorization must be consistent and done with more care.

--

Lulu seems like a nice person, but she is a dumbass about Asian media. She told me once that she was shocked the year BTS suddenly popped up all over the top ships.

Like... really? You were shocked? And you literally had never heard of BTS? As a fandom researcher? If that had been 2013, sure, fine, but it very much wasn't.

This isn't even about being Western-centric because shittons of fans in the UK and US are into Asian fandoms. (UK because that's where she's from. US because that's the place we all wank about being centered all the time.) This is just a basic failure of a lot of meta writers and even academics who study fandom.

Part of why people insist on staying this dumb is that acknowledging Asian media, particularly live action stuff, makes it obvious that the real issue is how the media handles characters. Fans who were all about the white guys all the time still fell hard for Wangxian.

Clearly, fandom has no problem attaching to nonwhite characters when they are the unmarked ethnic majority leads in something. So the supposed failings of fic might be about skin color or antiblackness specifically, or they might really be about the failings of media when it either fails to include certain characters or sidelines and others the ones it does have.

Those conclusions aren't as tidy and don't make as good a tire iron to club other fans with.