#its almost like these things have actual social value

[i-live-inyourwalls]

more haikyuu characters i think would be friends as adults (PLATONIC! I WILL SELF-IMMOLATE BEFORE I BREAK UP MY FAV SHIPS)

bokuto + ushijima

- first of all, part of my reasoning is that it would be funny as fuck

- HOWEVER: bokuto is kinda gullible, takes a lot of what he’s told at face value without questioning it. he’s honest and open about his emotions

- ushijima is VERY literal, also takes things at face value, and doesn’t generally understand other people if they aren’t being direct

- bokuto’s inability to keep anything to himself would actually be helpful for ushijima

- he’d never be confused about bokuto’s emotional state which (as we know) is not something he would pick up on unless he was told

- bokuto would also benefit from being around someone who was incapable of sparing his feelings because ushijima calls it like he sees it (ego probably would take a hit at first, but i think as an adult he’d be more capable of handling it)

- also bokuto is insanely social so he wouldn’t stop trying until he and ushijima were friends

- bonus: he’d get to hang out with tendou which would be fun for him

tendou + tanaka

- they are both insane

- high energy, like messing with people, weird hair

- somewhat self-centered but still socially aware

- i think tanaka would find tendou entertaining and i think tendou would find tanaka funny

- also the potential for them fucking with people to an honestly diabolical degree? yeah, i’m sat for that

- i think they would both mess with ushijima, but i don’t think they’d ever actually be mean— and they’re smart enough to know some of their friends should be left alone (…iwaizumi….daichi….oikawa but only because oikawa would put an honestly neurotic effort into getting revenge—which could only be learned through experience)

nishinoya + kuroo

- i mean… i feel like this one is obvious

- obsessed with themselves, enjoy causing chaos

- kuroo is so much smarter than noya but noya is more unpredictable so…they could definitely be a dangerous combination

- smarter than the tendou + tanaka duo because, like, kuroo

- kuroo would probably take advantage of how willing noya is to do dumb shit and get noya to do his stupidest ideas (noya would not realize he was being strategically convinced, also he probably wouldn’t even care if he knew because he was having fun)

- also, absolutely would be each other’s wingmen. probably with asahi and kenma. can almost guarantee they would NOT be good at this and the other men would just find it confusing

akaashi + kenma

- said in my prev post about this, i think akaashi would be friends with kuroo because they took of kenma and bokuto in high school so have a shared (ish) experience

- he’d be friends with kenma for different but adjacent reasons

- they’re both somewhat quiet and reserved but capable of being sarcastic or harsh if the situation required it

- dating bokuto and kuroo (IN MY WORLD THEY ARE. ITS REAL TO ME!!!)

- anyway, both dating people with VERY different levels of extroversion who like to spend time together

- can sympathize with the sensory overload that is being around bokuto and kuroo at the same time

- BokuAka & KuroKen double dates??? yeah bro. bokuto’s idea, kuroo talks kenma into them.

- they’d probably enjoy watching Bokuto and Kuroo entertain themselves when they all hung out even if it was overwhelming

- ^^^ both of them have a much shorter social battery so would be allies in the situation (if they don’t want to talk, they hide from everyone in silence— my mental image is them quietly doomscrolling in the same room, or kenma playing video games while akaashi reads a book or something— point being, i think they’d be able to be around each other comfortably without it feeling like actual social interaction)

edited for spelling :-)

[anchorandrope]

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[lilacstro]

☆relationship advice and attachment styles for your rising sign☆

back with another post, its been a little while indeed and I hope you all are fine. send post suggestions :)

Paid readings open

support me on ko-fi :)

⭐Aries Risings: With Libra as your DC, it is very possible to have attachment issues to your partner, you may actually be the one who stays even when the scales are unbalanced and when there is not and equal give and take in the relationship, there could be people pleasing tendencies around your partner in the sense like everybody could tell you your damn amazing but you would still probably want that validation from your partner. There can be a tendency of wanting to show the best all the time and this can potentially lead to unauthenticity in your relationships, there is a need to embrace your imperfections, and if your partner does not value you for who you really are, it is the time to leave! Attachment style: Anxious

⭐Taurus Risings: With Scorpio as your DC, its very possible that you become very protective, and almost a little too observant of your partner. There can be a tendency to over analyze things, wanting to read between the lines and shutting down instead of communicating or probably becoming extremely intense when things probably could have been somewhat lighter and easier to communicate. There is intense feelings, and sometimes it can become hard to move on from your partner even when you know you should, you could actually become destructive and fall into a mental hole. There is a need to heal the attachment styles and love from the possibility of loss. Nothing is eternal, afterall. Attachment style: Anxious

⭐Gemini Risings: With Sagittarius as your DC, it usually happens that you see things with too much hope, rose coloured glasses until....those fall out themselves because it suddenly is not exciting anymore. It is possible that you feel the need of something needing to "happen" in the relationship for you to be able to feel its working when its absolutely not like that. Learn to embrace the little things, the silence in the relationship, that is what those moments are about after all. There is indeed a need to slow down, you could be someone who runs away from deeper feelings and prefers to keep things "light" or at the extreme opposite, become extremely philosophical and look things in somewhat unrealistic manner. Attachment style: Avoidant

⭐Cancer Risings: With Capricorn as your DC, it again tells me you could be someone who measures their worth to what they can provide for their partner and even vice versa most times. Relationships are transactional indeed, but they are not transactional to extreme details. It is important to understand that you do not need to go beyond your capacity for someone and neither expect someone for the same either. You are supposed to love and be loved without having to worry about if you are "giving" or "receiving" enough. You could again be someone who does not want to appear weak or submissive, you most probably want to be "clean" but this is not how things are in love, they do get messy but eventually sort themselves. There is a need to work on your emotional capacity. Attachment style: Anxious-Avoidant, Disorganized

⭐Leo Risings: With Aquarius as your DC, it could be that not everything seems deep enough and you may struggle to find meaning, and connection with your partner and your relationship. You may be attracted to partners who are different, and new, and amazing but you, yourself could have problems in accepting that uniqueness sometimes, because more that you want "fun" people, there is a desire for your relationship to be socially acceptable, to be able for others to admire your partner, as much as you admire them and this can again be fatal, for your partner is for you, and not for other people at all! It is yet again possible to probably go back and forth between being sure, and often times this can send a bad signal to your partner. Attachment style: Avoidant

⭐Virgo Risings: Women I have seen with this placement are often "bob the builders" and would do anything to "repair" their partners and relationships until, they have had enough. Then they do not care, and that is because their is an emotional detachment that transcends everything. Anyways, with a Pisces DC, you could actually "fail" to see your partner for who they really are, being in delusion or misconception, and often times being extremely emotionally attached, to a point that your partner may keep hurting you and you may try to heal them. There is a need to "break" cycles and be brave, know and be aware what a powerful person you are, and this amount of unconditional love is not deserving of everybody. At the same time, you could be extremely sensitive in the sense of being really hard to pin down and understand. You could want things to be understood, without making them obvious, without stating them and that can be an issue. There is a need to work on seeing things with clarity and for what they are actually making you feel like at the moment and not in past and future. Attachment style: Anxious

⭐Libra Rising: With Aries DC, it is possible that you are extremely fiery, passionate and extremely in love with your partner, but that energy can wear off very soon since it could very well run out, or become inconsistent, especially based on your moods and feelings. It is important to love your partner all the time and through all your moods and feelings, it is possible that you give someone the reputation of being a "love bomber" though this might not be so at all (not that love bomber insta reels song playing in my head lmfao) It is possible that you look for "I" in a "we" when in a relationship. This is ofc super subjective and there would be different scenarios, but little things like, "I got hurt in the fight we had" and failing to see that the other person suffered equally. There is a need to slow down, since you may really not attach yourself "too much" because you may feel its going to end anyway. There is a need to heal that, you need to show up and be honest and consistent to your partner through all, to be able to expect the same reciprocation you seek. Attachment style: Avoidant.

⭐Scorpio Rising: With Taurus as your DC, it is very possible that you become somewhat "territorial" over your partner. While that may be out of pure love and innocence of losing them, or wanting to keep them all to yourselves, it can feel isolating and probably even manipulative to your partner. Not only that, it makes you become extremely emotionally clingy or attached to your partner when that is not really a good idea, since this gives your partner the power to manipulate or even use you to their will. You maybe someone who believes in concept of "investment" of their time and energy so its not possible to leave, and maybe also because you saw forever with this person and you wanna stay with them through all times, but its important to understand when your partner is going through a rough time and when he is instead giving your relationship a tough time. Be willing to leave when necessary, do not stay stuck just because. Attachment style: Anxious

⭐Sagittarius Rising: With Gemini as your DC, you are very likely to be someone who catches feelings over "words" and normal flirts lmao. Anyways, it is yet again important to not fixate over what someone "promised" or what they "preached or said". It is also important to understand that what you are having right now, is right since you could pretty much always be unsatisfied, and in thoughts of "did I do the right thing or could I do better" even if you might be madly in love with your partner and this could yet again lead you in acting out of ways that would signal your partner this same thing, even though you may not really mean it. So all in all, make a strong and brave decision before commitment, and do not always be in your head about things. Also, PLEASE find people who are good communicators, since y'all are very good at speaking but its important to be heard. Attachment style: Anxious-Avoidant

⭐Capricorn Rising: With Cancer as your DC, its very possible for you to find "home" in your partner. You may be someone who thinks "I choose very wisely so I can hardly be wrong" and this is where things can get wrong. You are very loving and nurturing to your partner and may want to give them the world, but it is important not to have your head stuck into the past all the time, and who they were in the beginning. At the same time its possible that when it is the time to communicate something, you may retreat in a shell and refuse to address the elephant in the room, or try to state things in a way that may seem devoid of actual emotions somehow, even though it may not be the intention. There can be a tendency to chase, or to cling to your partner, to want them probably all the time you feel you need them, and while that is how it should be, sometimes its necessary to understand and respect their commitments. It could also be hard for you to be emotionally understood and to actually open up to your partner. You could also be someone who believes in "chance" system as in "I give only 4 chances" and so on, but its important to understand that the relationship would always teach you, and you need to forgive and seek forgiveness throughout for its never ending. But of course, unforgivable things like cheating or manipulation or hitting should not be forgiven even if its for the first time, Do not trust your chance system but trust your gut. Attachment style: Anxious-Avoidant

⭐Aquarius Rising: With Leo as your DC, you again could be someone who seeks a lot of validation and appreciation from their partner. While we all seek validation from people we love, making it center of your universe can be a problem, especially when you find that your partner does not agree or believe in something like you. Your self worth should not be attached to your partner. It is also possible for you to grow insecure when your partner probably is enjoying themselves, shining and rising. While this should not be out of jealousy for the most parts, but a fear that your partner may "outgrow" you and would not need you no more. It is important to trust yourself and understand that the value you bring to your partner cannot be replaced by a few compliments. You may also have some egoic programming, as if your partner is able to strike some cords in your brain, but this again demands release since you are putting them in power and on a pedestal. Attachment style: Anxious-Avoidant.

⭐Pisces Rising: With Virgo as your DC, you could be someone who over gives. You could be someone who is always ready to serve, to help their partner out from things ranging to cleaning to cooking and to even money. While, it is beautiful to help your partner, over giving just does not sit right, since you are draining yourself for someone who is probably not reciprocating. It is important to find "evidence" of being loved and not just letting that be a thing in your head. If your partner is doing the same thing for you, then wonderful, but do not become alone in the relationship for two. There could also be a tendency to over analyze things, probably pick small fights that you feel are to clear the air but can become troubling to your partner especially if they avoid difficult conversations or confrontations, so it is important to communicate in way you are heard, otherwise, find someone who you are compatible with! Attachment style: Anxious

[astrobydalia]

Astro knowledge

A short more educational post for y'all!

work by astrobydalia

Pisces/Neptune rules marketing while Gemini/Mercury is more about sales. They’re both deeply related but difference is Gemini is the salesman that appeals to your reason and resorts to mind games (Mercury) in a one-on-one to convince you why you should buy into something. Marketing on the other hand is ruled by Pisces because it appeals to the collective unconscious (Neptune). It’s all about crafting subliminal messages that make you see that product/idea as more appealing even when you know what you're seeing is not realistic. Very related to propaganda as well. This is also a field that requires a lot of creativity, they're constantly using metaphors, hyperboles or even making up little fictional stories to sell a product...

I've already said this but for anyone new, the planet that rules real love is moon not Venus. See the full explanation here

Where Sagittarius is in your chart will bring luck and happiness, but Taurus does give off expansive (or dare I say expensive) energy too. Where Taurus sits in your chart is an area of your life that will be more grandiose in nature cause Taurus rules over indulgence and pleasure. You could experience some sort of privilege when it comes to this house, the themes of this house come to you in abundance with little to no effort. Some examples:

Taurus 1st house: have a striking and bold appearance, gives off luxury and attractive vibes regardless of their looks. These people could come across as a "high value woman/man" without trying

Taurus 7th house: very active and abundant love life, lots of suitors and business partners landing on your lab, they want to provide for you and/or give you lucrative opportunities

Taurus 9th house: having access to high quality education or elevated knowledge. Probably attended a very exclusive or expensive collage, payed vacations vibes, easy and frequent relocations

Taurus 10th house: almost untouchable reputation, very respected and liked by others, is always seen as innocent or harmless, lots of success with their ventures

The 2nd house also talks about your roots and upbringing but in a more objective and material sense. This house and the position of its ruler can be very telling of how your actual social and economic context shaped your basic values. It can also talk about your house as the 2nd house rules over real state, lands, properties, etc. The 4th house is more about your home, how you were raised within that reality and how it impacted you emotionally at your core

Example: Libra risings could come from an environment that shaped their values around survival and money gains due to Scorpio 2nd house (I've seen very commonly they come from marginalized groups or humble beginnings or very financially competitive environments). So they have a family that is very demanding and expected them to work or be a boss from a young age (Capricorn 4th house)

Speaking of, 2nd house does not ONLY rule money!!! It rules RESOURCES and anything that you own that is highly valuable and you can put a price on!!!! And yes of course since these things are valuable they can be easily monetized, traded, used to make you money. This can be your skills, assets, real state, etc. The 2nd house is your piggy bank basically

There's a lot of talk about how 11th house is how you make money in your career while 2nd house is how you spend it. Well this is technically true but I'd like to add more explanation to this. In derivative astrology 11th house is 2nd (money) from the 10th (career) so it does show how you actually make money from your career. 2nd house is where you get money but 11th house is how you make money. Your 11th house is the multiplier (credits to @cosmicpuzzle for that fact) while 2nd house is where your financial stability lies on. In other words 11th house is indicative of how you generate more but 2nd house is all about what you already have, its about what you can make with what you OWN already, it deals with money that is already available through your resources' value (again, you piggy bank). This does 'make' you money in a way like if you lose your job and are lacking money your 2nd house where you turn to for example if you own a house you can rent it, you can buy a rare item that costs a lot, selling your art or any other natural skill, etc. The concept of value is important in this house bc it can increase or decrease (while 11th house increases and multiplies). The more valuable your resources are the more potential money you have available which means more financial stability and wealth. Anyways hope all that makes sense

We often refer to water signs when talking spirituality but truth is fire signs are very spiritual in nature as well. Fire symbolizes the spark of life itself, nothing could exist or be created without it. Aries deals with the basic ontological conception of 'I am, I exist', Leo is about how the self manifests and create itself and Sagittarius is about the purpose of the self. Living beings need heat to thrive/live and just like fire radiates heat your spirit radiates energy, creativity, passion, action, inspiration, purpose... and that's what fire signs represent. I'd say fire represents the fundamentality of spirit while water is more about the complexity of inner world.

Just like Aries is the "natural" ASC for a birth chart, Libra is the natural ASC for a composite chart cause a birth chart represents the chart of an individual (Aries) while composite represents the mutual relationship between two people (Libra)

When you develop the themes of a certain house in a healthy manner, you naturally start attracting the themes of the opposite house. This goes to show you that things in astrology aren't as compartmentalized as they seem, everything works together in certain way SPECIALLY axis'. Examples:

You need to focus on yourself first (1st house) to find the right partner (7th house)

You need to investigate and learn (3rd house) in order to find higher answers (9th house)

When you invest successfully (8th house) you earn more available resources (2nd house).

When you develop your hobbies and individuality (5th house) you find keen people (11th house)

When you heal spiritually (12th house) you find healthier habits (6th house)

There's this misconception that you have to disregard your South Node in order to develop you NN, but the thing is the SN is the starting point that can lead you towards developing your NN. This can happen as a harsh and painful lesson tho if you liger too much on your SN. For example NN in Libra need to learn to compromise in this life, there's a lot of focus on the self and independence, but eventually this placement teaches them that if you really wanna develop yourself in full potential (Aries) eventually you'll need others (Libra). If they linger too much on Aries SN they could experience a harsh lesson that forces them to count on others

work by astrobydalia

[gremlingottoosilly]

Oh my god, asks are open! Hey how are you?? And what are your favourite König AUs' counterparts??

Asks are still closed, actually, I just used the opportunity to promote my Instagram. But...for my top Konig AUs, I have these ones! 1) Mafia Konig. Oh how I love this man. I honestly don't know much about Austrian criminal life, but I just know that this man is the perfect jaded ex-soldier who came out of service, saw how the system treats its veterans, and decided to seize power for himself. He is cool, strong - his awkwardness and inability to socialize casually is almost going unnoticed as he seeks retired soldiers to make up his crime group, getting control over drug and weapons market. With his connections in all of Central Europe and slowly creeping onto the Eastern part and illegal gun and oil deals, the only thing he is lacking is a pretty girl on his lap, making him feel good. He doesn't like escorts, often leaving bad taste in his mouth - but he sees you, a pretty girl working in a cafe that he owns, in a flower shop that is just a front for his business, in some shabby tourist establishment made to get tourists on cheaply produced drugs...you're innocent, you have no idea about the dangers around you - but don't worry, he is cynical for both of you. 2) Loser!Konig Seeing this big guy with a big title and money and even a house being a complete loser for you is...something. He is dangerous, of course, always getting borderline or straight-up obsessive, so down and for you it's horrible - but the again, he is the only guy to ever love you like this...so, why not give him a chance? Yes, he will hunt you down and out you on his basement by the end of the week because he has no idea what the hell courting is but, then again, he would also give you some interesting lecture about lego and war history.

3) Monster!Konig Obviously, having this giant eldritch horror dude so down bad for you is exciting to write! This version of Konig is mainly a tsundere type, he is acting cold because monsters value power and he doesn't want to seem too soft with his little pet wife - but don't worry, he is soft and warm behind the closed doors, always allowing you to have something nice for yourself. This version of him tights with oviposition, obviously. He is using your fertile, lush body to carry his eggs - so be prepared for all the exciting thing about pregnancy, but over and over again, with Konig cooing over you as he finally mates you for hours on end... 4) Dilf!Konig This bastard uses his kid to maintain contact with you, and he is not even ashamed! It's honestly horrible( he doesn't like to talk to his kid, so he took you in as either willing or a kidnapped nanny, and then proceeded to breed another child into you just because this guy has a major breeding kink, but can't take care of children( He will pay for everything, at least, even hiring some help to make everything a bit easier for you - but god, he starts to like his kids only when you're playing with them...

[drdemonprince]

Do you think nonmonogamy is “more evolved” than monogamy

evolution doesn't work that way, it is not hierarchical and no creature is "more evolved" than any other. evolution is merely a matter of fit to one's environment. when natural variation in a organism meets environmental conditions in such a way that causes certain traits to increase the odds of survival, evolution happens. if the circumstances that determine survival change, then different traits are selected for. no set of traits is "better" than any other inherently.

presuming that what you actually mean is something like "are nonmonogamous people more ascended than monogamous people", no. no group of humans are more ascended or evolved or morally superior than any other. human beings are just animals doing things that grant them social affiliation and (to a lesser extent) pleasure. none of it is moral or immoral, it just is. some humans have always aspired toward monogamy, some humans have always been nonmonogamous; we need not assign a moral value to this any more than we might to the fact that some people generally have firm bowel movements and others tend toward softer stool.

i resent the idea quite common in these conversations that nonmonogamy has to be superior to monogamy, almost as if to justify its supposed excess and deviance. it's just a thing people sometimes do. it is not spiritual, it's not political, it's not a solution to anyone's problems, it is another problem, another challenging, interesting social dynamic for one to navigate, and one that many of us wind up having to navigate at some point in our lives regardless of whether we want to. because it just happens. nonmonogamy, like celibacy, birth, disability, or death, is just a fact of human life whether we like it or not, and it will touch our existence in some way if we are in relationships to other people. i'm nonmonogamy neutral. it's just a thing. it's just part of life.

[penny-anna]

anyway wrt actual LOTR canon: Hobbit society 100% is pro monarchy but also anti big government. historically they were nominally subjects of the King of Arnor (they were given the Shire to live in at his behest) but were largely left to govern themselves.

when the Kingdom of Arnor fell apart they appointed a regent called the Thain to take the place of the king but the Thain is a largely ceremonial positio.n who only has actual authority in (extremely rare) times of war

they also have a mayor (full title Mayor of Michael Delving) which is an elected position. Buckland (where the Brandybucks are from) is socially part of the Shire but politically speaking actually a separate self-governing country run by a feudal lord.

in practice however each individual hobbit family manages its own affairs. the various gentlehobbit families such as the Tooks and Bagginses have a formal head of the family who is in charge. it's implied that wealthy hobbits are typically landowners who have a degree of at least nominal authority over their territory (see: Tookland) but the text doesn't get into this too much.

hobbit society seems to very strongly value both tradition and people being able to manage their own affairs. they are on board with having a king but would be horrified if said king ever tried to actually interfere with their business.

as a side note, a fun (?) fact is that Bilbo Baggins was actually the head of the Baggins family until he left the Shire for good at which point the position passed to Frodo. if you read between the lines a bit this is probably part of the reason why ownership of Bag End is so contentious.

also reading between the lines, we can infer logically that ownership of Bag End also extends to owning at least the rest of the hill and possibly some more of hobbiton? as Lotho Sackville-Baggins was able to do things like evicting families and demolishing houses after buying it.

anyway with deepest regret i must report that not only are Bilbo and Frodo Baggins landlords, Frodo is almost certainly Sam's landlord. sorry. :(

[da-janela-lateral]

Aaaaa I wish I could make some art to accompany this post, but I can't do so in the moment and I really want to express my "post-epilogue Mob and Tsubomi friendship" thoughts. LONG text below.

They start talking some time after Confession Arc, but their bond actually begins after Tsubomi moves from Seasoning City. She enjoys having someone to tell her how things are going on her hometown, as she didn't keep in touch with all of her school friends and misses how life was in Seasoning. This helped her to get more used to this drastic change on routine.

It was... awkward on the start. Mob had to process that Tsubomi was nothing like the perfect concept that lived on his head, besides the fact that she was upset by people idealizing her (its not nice to know you're part of the problem). Tsubomi on the other hand needed to shut down her slight suspicion built with the experience of bad rejection aftermaths and trust in Mob's intentions. After all, he was her good childhood friend

It doesn't take much for them to get over this, though. Mob comes to care a lot for the real Tsubomi and makes an active effort to know her better. This flawed, human Tsubomi was different, but she was a dear person to him and so it wasn't an issue. Tsubomi is relieved to see Mob's desire to become her friend was genuine (and feels a little bad for doubting). She was glad to get back in touch with him after so such a long time and got impressed with how much he had matured without her noticing. In a way, she also used to see him as that little boy from years ago...

They talk to each other by phone almost daily, speaking of how was their day and sending random stuff. If anything happens, they sure would inform the other.

Mob discovers she likes the yellow cat plush and keeps showing her cats he saw. Tsubomi tries to read some of his favorite manga to understand what he is talking about.

Tsubomi got overwhelmed with how much her school life changed in her new city. She was very happy to not being treated as a deity, but also wasn't used to being a common student. Mob helps her to become adjusted to a normal life and stop wearing the mask she was forced to use in Salt Mid. He understands how weird it is like to be your own vulnerable, true self next to others.

In exchange, Tsubomi's experience proves to be very valuable when Mob gets more attention from his peers and has to face social situations he never participated of before. Parties are stressing. She too recognizes he is still learning to express himself and is happy to see how he opens up with her.

Althought Tsubomi learns to be more authentic over time, she still struggles with demanding too much of herself. She panicked after thinking she didn't do good in her exams, and Mob spends an hour explaining that she isn't special and how its bad to expect she'll be flawless all the time. Besides that, her skills shouldn't define her worth as a person, as she is much more than her results. Tsubomi remembers this.

Mob often asks for Tsubomi's opinion. Sure, Reigen is still his go-to for advice, but some topics are more comfortable to talk with someone his age. Mob really values Tsubomi's confident honesty and her practical, direct solutions. He also feels safe talking with her because he knows that despite being blunt, she wouldn't say anything to hurt him.

They visit each other occasionally when they're on high school! The train rides are quite long, though, so most times it's more practical to invite more people and have a sleepover. Mob and Tsubomi's respective friends know the other pretty well.

[kittyit]

One thing I don't like about trans critical spaces is how they are focused on trans women being unattractive and 'cringe.' this is just my personal experience, but I have been sexually victimized by multiple trans women, most of whom passed, many of whom were skinny and beautiful and most of which had high brow tastes and no interest in anime or other cringe topics. one of these TIMs was a serial sexual assailant and I think probably attracted to underage boys, and she was also beautiful and charismatic. Meanwhile, I also know multiple trans women who are good people and don't infringe on female spaces but who are conventionally "ugly", broad-shouldered, and have masculine interests. It also seems like the only thing TIMs criticize about each other publically is being "ugly", large, or fat.

my position has consistently been for about 15 years that mocking someone's appearance is not a feminist act. it simply isn't.

mocking appearance is essentially a cruel hobby, it's primate social aggression we're using our huge brains for. it's really fun, and that's why almost everyone does it. i sometimes do it too, in private, in intimate company, and it's enjoyable. i say this to clarify that despite my position, i don't set myself apart or above from women who do it. i do it too. and it's constant in basically every subculture online. julie bindel actually posted on her facebook recently troubled about this same thing. as you said, it's so common in queer/trans circles too, the long-forgotten 2013 values of tenderqueerism fallen to the wayside. stan culture, politics, just basically everything...i really can't stress enough that in my opinion, it is a hobby

mocking appearances is not feminist or activism. it quite often is anti-feminist. it's kindergarten stuff to not judge a book by its cover. it doesn't matter what a male person looks like - he is still male and all considerations that apply to male people apply to him. i don't need to think a male person has a hideous appearance to criticize him for any of the oppressive acts he's doing. focus on appearance (or other unrelated personal attacks) often takes the sting out of a criticism of someone's character, morals or actions and makes your argument easier to dismiss. and of course the now mocked & dismissed concept that when you rip into someone's appearance, you do friendly fire to anyone around who shares those features. but of course this doesn't matter to anyone because it's 1. so fun 2. we're so used to it 3. everyone is doing it 4. so who cares? (I do. However)

i also just can't really scrape up that much finger wagging anymore at women who do spend a huge amount of time blowing off steam mocking the insane parodies that trans women present as. it's basically evil imaginative play. it's just not activism and acting like it is, as you said, is really detrimental to radical feminism being understood as a feminist way of thought that deeply affects women's lives.

as for the rest of this, have you read pronouns are rohypnol? you do not have to call a serial rapist pedophile you knew she. there is no one here but us, he cannot hear you. i encourage you to free up processing power in your mind, especially if you've survived trans male violence. calling the men who harmed you he can be a turning point in reclaiming your own sense of reality, it was for me

[morlock-holmes]

I didn't say I think "dominant" culture values rational systems (and what dominant culture do you even mean), just that rationalism falls way short on its claims to do so. And I dunno, this is personal, but I can't agree that the subculture that told me "actually you should reframe your entire life around your scrupulosity" is much of an improvement, even if the bar is extremely low. Not when that subculture is full of all the kinds of social manipulation and cruelty it claims to be above.

I'm making very narrow claims that don't really have anything to do with what you're talking about here.

I have trouble communicating how much even high functioning autistic people have struggled with things that allistic people "just know", (a phrase I've heard again and again when interrogating allistic people).

Here's an example, which I believe I heard as a real life example although I can't recall where:

You have issues with the texture of clothing and there are only a few dress shirts you have that you can stand to wear. You have a sudden nose-bleed on one of your shirts and get blood all over the collar and down the front.

You launder the shirt but the blood stains have set in and are still very visible.

Should you wear that shirt to the office?

Most allistic people already know that the answer is, "almost certainly not."

An autistic person is likely to go through this process:

I have no idea if I should wear that shirt to the office or not, so let's figure it out.

Well, I have laundered the shirt so it is clean and sanitary, the stains are just visual blemishes.

All the social messages I've heard since I were a kid say that you can't judge a book by its cover and that looks don't matter, it's what's inside that counts.

And, I have a desk job, I wasn't hired to look a certain way, but rather to produce a certain kind of work, and wearing this comfortable shirt makes it easy for me to work without being distracted by uncomfortable clothes.

Therefore, logically, I can't imagine that anybody at the office will object to my wearing this shirt.

That last sentence is key, and I really want you to focus on it. You **aren't** thinking, "Well, maybe the button down drones at the office think this is a problem, but I know better than they do."

No, you aren't thinking that at all. You're thinking, "I put together the clues so I'm sure everyone at the office will feel the exact same way as I do"

And when they don't, it's a shock.

Now, I want you to further imagine that this is how you reason about other people and the world, but through some cosmic joke you've ended up at an employer where dressing right is incredibly important.

You'll get yelled at by your boss if you wear the wrong thing and your coworkers will turn on you. But there's no published dress code, you're just supposed to "just know" what an employee should wear.

But look at your reasoning above! You *don't* "just know" what the fashion is. Imagine you eventually say, to your boss and some coworkers, "I'm starting to get really stressed about not knowing what to wear to work, I really want to wear the right thing and be part of the team but I don't know how and I'm getting stressed out."

Immediately everybody turns on you. Your boss calls you into his office to ream you out. Your coworkers start a petition to fire you because you're obviously trying to undermine the valuable work culture that they have worked so hard to create. Concerned work friends pull you aside and go, "Jesus, are you crazy? We all stress out about what to wear but you never say it in public!"

Think about what that might feel like.

Now imagine you get fired and at your next job the boss is like, "Hey, the dress code is pretty important here, here's a list of what we expect. Sometimes some stuff is kind of on the edge so you won't know, but it's always fine to ask me if something is appropriate, and if you accidentally wear something that's on the wrong side that's fine, I'll let you know and we'll work on getting you some more appropriate stuff, but you won't get in trouble."

I want you to really think about what it would feel like, as an autistic person, to be at that second job after decades working at the first. To suddenly know you could ask questions or make mistakes at something that doesn't come easily to you after so much time in an environment where you're told that this stuff comes easily to everyone and people only *pretend* to be bad at it to get away with things.

What you're doing is coming in and going, "Well, that second job might be bad for other, unrelated reasons."

I will completely grant that, you're utterly correct. That second job might be terrible for a bunch of unrelated reasons.

But I'm never going back to that first job.

[max1461]

Motivated by this post by @eightyonekilograms, although not a direct response to it (just some general thoughts I have). This is not a defense of making unsubstantiated claims in academic articles!

I think bullshitting has always been totally normalized and uncontroversial in most spaces, except very carefully cultivated ones with strong anti-bullshitting mechanisms. I've been saying this for years: people's words don't actually mean anything much of the time! Normal people do not ask themselves if something is true before saying it. They say it because it sounds good, or feels right, or they expect it will please their audience. This is not some unique quirk of this or that political faction, it's the near-universal nature of the human social world. You can't, like, just go around literally believing people on things (unless they give you a really good reason to do so) or you'll find yourself totally epistemically adrift.

You also can't go around demanding evidence from people on every claim they make, because you don't have the time for that and neither do they. Beyond that, if they're telling you some shit about their personal life it's very often (I might even say: almost always) best to treat it as true regardless of whether it actually is or not, for both practical and moral reasons (the latter related to respecting others' autonomy).

So what does one do? In my opinion:

Practice passive skepticism. When you hear a new claim, don't start by evaluating its truth value! You probably don't even have the requisite background knowledge to do that effectively anyway, and you probably don't need to know the truth value of every random claim the people around you make (most of it has little relevance to you). Just suspend judgement on shit by default. This also means you won't easily be duped, because you're not in the habit of believing (or disbelieving!) random claims that you hear. Only actually go to the trouble of making a truth deliberation if you're genuinely interested in a claim, or genuinely need to know its truth value for some practical reason. You can hold a claim in your head for years "just in case", and then deliberate on it when doing so actually serves you instead of right when you hear it, and you'll be able to do it right instead of doing it in a hurry. Stop with the relentless truth-seeking! It's not a good strategy.

Get comfortable just going along with what other people are saying to you while your judgement is suspended, or even while you actively disagree (as long as you judge the disagreement not to be of practical or personal relevance). I think people worry about... accidentally coming to believe something, just because they've gone along with it? Well, don't do that. You're an independent mind with your own set of epistemic standards; apply them! But (this is social advice, not epistemic advice): you don't always need to be externalizing them, vocalizing them! That will get you into needless bullshit arguments over bullshit that you already know is likely bullshit, which you could have just avoided. Determine for yourself what you think is true, on the inside, and vocalize it when it's relevant or desirable to do so.

Uh, probably some other stuff that I forgot while I was writing this, whatever.

People are really wonderful, they are wonderful creatures, but they don't mainly use language for conveying truth (that's a common misconception) and if you go into life expecting that they will, they will come out looking horrible! But truth-seeking is not the main thing most people understand language to be for, and this isn't wrong, it's a perfectly valid use! I myself do all kinds of stuff with language other than truth-seeking; in fact, as articulated above, most of my truth-seeking does not involve linguistic exchange at all (or, well, it does, but it's linguistic exchange that doesn't superficially look like it's related to truth-seeking). Uh. And you don't have to be a liar to do any of this, I mean you can tell people honestly "I don't really know" about something on which you have suspended judgement if they ask. You can be perfectly open about your passive skepticism (and why shouldn't you be, it is a desirable state of mind IMO). So yeah.

[ao3cassandraic]

Angels, demons, language, and culture part 4: Literalism and metaphor

Part 1 (angels are never children, and that matters), Part 2 (written language is mostly coded human rather than ethereal/occult in Good Omens), Part 3 (human writings contain useful social rules, which is partly why Aziraphale values them)

It may be time to restate @thundercrackfic's original questions?

How good is Aziraphale’s reading comprehension? How much does he understand subtext and metaphor? Because his behavior this season struck me with the impression that he didn’t really understand the books he collects. He’s clever at puzzle solving, and contains vast knowledge; but he always seems to take things at face value (when he’s not willfully misunderstanding), and refuses to give up black-and-white thinking, which would make it very difficult to analyze texts.

I think there are definite reasons to believe that reading comprehension of human literature (as defined in the question) is difficult for Aziraphale. One of them, as stated in part 1, is that Aziraphale doesn't get the tremendous advantage of childhood and its brain plasticity, which (among other things) is known to help with learning language. I'm not surprised his French is pretty bad. Learning another language from the ground up as an adult can be a cast-iron PITA (yes, experience speaking).

Another is simply that Aziraphale is not human. He's an outsider to humanity. He's fairly empathetic, and he does learn (unlike almost all his fellow angels!), but that leaves him without much of a yardstick to gauge when human literature is being literal and when it's not. There also seems to be a general angelic tendency to believe what they're told? Muriel definitely has it, Michael seems to as well, and even s1!Gabriel can only (and barely) muster skepticism on one occasion that I recall (the photo incident). I can see this making Aziraphale's reading, especially early in his existence on Earth, a good bit harder for him than reading is for, say, me. I'm used to unreliable narrators and figurative language and other sorts of clever fun productive lying. Aziraphale's acquaintance with lying is -- well -- his lies don't usually involve much metaphor? I suppose one could argue that "big sharp cutty thing" is a kenning, but not really in the human way of kennings because he only uses it the once.

Moreover, it appears (based on the s1e3 cold open, mostly) that he bops around the world quite a bit until finally settling in London (with the occasional jaunt elsewhere when he gets peckish). Nothing at his creation other than the auto-polyglottism She bestows on Her angels seems to give him any tools for navigating the bewildering variety of human cultures and customs... and literary metaphor (along with lots of other literary things) is commonly culturally-bound, culturally-specific.

I mean, if you read something (maybe in high school (or analogue) or college) that was written A Long Time Ago and/or Very Far Away, didn't it probably have a ton of what lit-critters call "apparatus" in it? Explanatory introductions, bibliography, and above all footnotes/endnotes/margin notes, many of which explain figures of speech that otherwise wouldn't make sense? Not to mention stuff like (just as an example) which local then-current political morass Dante threw this particular historical person in this particular circle of Hell for. Stuff that if you're not there, not embedded in the culture and the time, you're just plain gonna whiff. Hell, even Shakespeare editions have a ton of apparatus, and Shakespeare's in Early Modern English for pity's sake!

(Which is not to say that something has to be ancient or not-from-here to benefit from some apparatus. What is The Annotated Pratchett File if not apparatus for Discworld?)

So our peripatetic angel reading literature of whatever time he's actually in (which mostly won't have apparatus he can rely on for help) will often find himself not clued-in enough to a given human culture to completely understand its literary figures, metaphors included. And sure, that's going to lead to some misreadings and misunderstandings and overliteral takes! I can't read Dante's Inferno and understand everything in it! It takes Italianists years, if not decades, to do that!

And to make the problem even more difficult, literature feeds on itself, and on other arts as well. (Hi hi hello, comparative literature major, I totally studied various flows of literary and artistic influence in college and wouldn't trade that major for anything ever, it was the best major.) Think about all the time and effort GO meta-ists have spent of late teasing out callbacks and allusions and references in GO s2. That kind of work is also part of what Aziraphale has to do to understand fully what he reads... and it's a lot of work, even for a reader as voracious and possibly sleepless as our angel.

So yeah, in sum, I don't think Aziraphale has a perfect -- or even good -- track record on understanding what he reads. I adore him because he reads anyway! He never gives up on trying to understand! That's absolutely praiseworthy! (Crowley has something of an analogue to this in his love for human inventions. He doesn't understand how anything actually works, for the most part, but he loves it all the same.)

I think there's also an outstanding question about what Aziraphale gains from reading, a sense of social rules (Part 3) aside? Well, it's known that reading (especially fiction, especially fiction about characters who are Not Like The Reader) increases empathy. I don't know if Aziraphale reads specifically for that reason, but I'm absolutely willing to believe that fiction works on him that way, just as it does on us, even if he doesn't fully understand everything he reads. Did you fully understand everything you read as a child? Or even as an adult? I would never claim that of myself. Yet I certainly will claim that I picked up a lot of what I suppose I will call my character -- it runs deeper than personality -- and my general understanding of life (insofar as I have one) from reading.

If I had to answer why Aziraphale reads, though? I'd think back to my own childhood, as a bullied child with somewhat neglectful parents who held outsized expectations of me. Reading for me was peace, was escape, was enjoyment, was something to think about that wasn't my own unhappiness, was -- now and then, honestly not often enough -- seeing myself reflected in a book and feeling less alone. I hope and believe that human literature and music served similar purposes for our poor angel.

[mugiwara-lucy]

One thing I just can NOT stop thinking about is Trump saying he was going to let Elon Musk control the government in the office chance he gets elected.

Like….He actually said he would treat the Government like he treats Twitter. (Not calling it X because fuck that.) if you didn’t know, Twitter has lost over EIGHTY PERCENT of its value since he took over:

Now consider what would happen if he did the same to our government and he said he would slash EIGHTY percent of the government:

Couple that Trump’s “Mass Deportation” and Tariffs schemes?? America would LITERALLY collapse on itself and I’m not sure how long it would take to recover…..

IF we could….

And you don’t have to take my word for it. Over TWENTY THREE award winning economists acknowledge just how destructive Trump-Musk would be.

THIS is why I say to NOT get complacent! Are we doing great? Yes.

Do I think we can win? YES!

But we can NOT throw in the towel at the end! We still have FOUR DAYS!! I dunno about you guys but I did NOT spend four months making phone calls, knocking on doors, sending emails/post cards and making DAILY posts getting people to vote blue down the board just so ELON FUCKING MUSK would be running the government.

So let’s push through to the end these last four days….

Because THIS is how Russia became the shit show it is today.

And this mother fucker has the balls to say it’ll be “fun”?

Yeah because you’re a billionaire so you won’t be impacted by his bullshit.

I hate him as much as I hate Trump but not as much as Vance

[feverdreamsandlucidnightmares]

I keep thinking about moral vs ethical authorities and actions in the Trigun animes. I hope this ramble about it makes sense.

I think most of us will agree that morality is perfectly capable of secular development and is unbeholden to religion in general, though religions can certainly serve as a moral authority and inform specifics. But they are not, or at least not the only, source of morals.

And while ethics and morals are often used as synonyms, they do actually have different meanings. The short version is that ethics are the rules and standards of a social system/culture/etc and morals determine what a person individually thinks is wrong or right. Often, people’s morals and ethics follow the same principles and authorities. They don’t have to, though.

Functionally, let’s say that ethical choices are social goods, and thus social authorities are the ethical authorities within a given society or culture. Much like laws and power structures are meant to protect and benefit the people they govern, a social or common good is something that benefits the largest number of people within a society. In Trigun, these authorities include the Bernardelli Insurance Society (in a limited capacity), the JuLai/July military police, the Eye of Michael, and (notably, but discretely) Millions Knives.

There’s plenty of speculation on and textual implication within Trigun Stampede that Knives and Conrad having their hands in a lot of JuLai’s governance and polices. This is where the moral value of the ethical systems in place becomes questionable.

There are a lot of implications to unpack within an ethical system potentially developed and controlled by a genocidal semi-immortal being using it as a shadow government. The abridged, most important point is that there is no reason for Knives to be a part of a system that allows humans to flourish, build community, and grow. There is every reason for him to convince/allow everyone to think that he is.

A social good is one with the support of those in authority. It has no innate moral value. Laws and orders from unjust governments do not absolve anyone of the weight of their actions. But they determine who is punished.

So, the Eye. The church of No Man’s Land. A social authority for people in Hopeland, at least to some extent. Enough so that the orphanage cannot stop the Eye from taking its children. And Windmill Village to a much larger extent. So much so that its people volunteer their children as sacrifices. And it’s implied to have a much wider reach than just that. The Eye of Michael is a cult that preys upon the planet’s most desperate. Rollo - sick and poor and unlucky. Blessed. Made new, made whole (everything down to his emotions tampered with). Monev the Gale. Wolfwood and Livio - orphans and poor. Wolfwood, the handpicked Child of Blessing. The perfect candidate to be a child soldier. Nicholas the Punisher. Livio, the volunteer. The good and faithful brother follower. Livio the Double Fang. The other Gung-Ho-Guns. Dominique the Cyclops, Midvalley the Hornfreak, Rai-Dei the Blade, E. G. Mine, Leonof the Puppet-Master, Hoppered the Gauntlet, Caine the Longshot — volunteers? Desperate people doing desperate things? Or violent people playing at divine intervention? Social authorities in their own right, in the sense that they can do what they want without repercussions from the masses. They answer to Legato, to Knives, not to the traditional governments of No Man’s Land.

And Legato has been desperate. He would kill almost anyone before suffering that again. He would die to escape it, too. Life holds so little meaning to him. The end is near and he is both hierophant and harbinger. He lays no claim to justice, only ruin, but it’s all in Knives’ name.

Knives, who plays god. Who puts a bounty on his brother’s head to drive him back to him. All that power, he gets to determine what is wrong or right and people can either agree or die. It’s easy to see where his morals fail, but there isn’t a higher power to enact justice. So, he has the authority, what goods does he perform with it?

It’s also important to note that Zazie does not perform moral or social goods. Zazie serves themself, for their own betterment. And this is not a moral failing because applying human morals to a multi-consciousness conglomerated hivemind controlled collective of bugs can’t make sense. Zazie is all of the wams on No Man’s Land. All of their collective experiences in the species’ existence. All of their lives, all of their loss. It’s all Zazie. And Zazie believes that the needs of the many (themself in all their facets) outweigh the needs of the interlocutor few (humanity, Plants). Tentatively willing to coexist and adapt, unwilling to accept their own destruction. Allies or enemies. They work with Knives until it no longer benefits them. Very utilitarian.

Nonetheless, the Eye of Michael and its chosen crusaders, its sychophants, its priests are a definitive social and tentative moral authority within No Man’s Land. So, who can tell Conrad that he is performing anything other than a social good by doing his experiments? He claims he’s trying to save humanity and the only authority over him wants humanity dead. A flawed system. The Gung-Ho-Guns perform social goods by killing whoever they are sent to exterminate. This, of course, includes Vash without regard to whoever might be caught in the crossfire. Vash, who unwittingly takes the blame for his brother over and over. Vash, who has a bounty placed on his head by his brother and his misguided puppet government. Vash, who is being mocked and chided, his bounty the same as the cost of a new Plant. Vash, the Humanoid Typhoon, legally an act of God, the first “human” natural disaster. Destruction in his wake.

Wolfwood performs a social good by betraying Vash. He has the authority to justify his actions through his ordainment.

And Wolfwood performs a moral good by saving Meryl. It’s the first unilaterally moral good he performs in Trigun Stampede. That’s important. The thing about Wolfwood is that he knows the difference between moral and social goods. He knows whatever values he’d like to act on don’t align with his orders, but there’s always other lives at stake. Wolfwood doesn’t kill because he’s particularly bloodthirsty. He’s pragmatic. Other people have to die to keep the orphanage safe. An unfortunate, but necessary cost that he’s willing to pay. Until he isn’t anymore. Monsters don’t need morals, but if Vash can afford them maybe he can, too.

And normal, everyday people perform social goods, too, by trying to stop bank robbers and bandits and the Nebraska Family. And Vash. Those are ethical decisions, stopping criminals threatening your home is ethical. You just have to remember who determines who the criminals are and why.

Your moral and ethical authorities, ideally, should be in alignment. This is not a utopia, so they aren’t. And these random people living on the planet he forced them onto are continuously subjected to the so-called social good of Knives enacting his divine plan in order to force Vash’s hand. They are a necessary sacrifice for his greater good. The greater good that is Knives’ Eden, that is a world remade in his image. Vash remade in his image.

[eeveearoace-creative]

a speech about goncharov i made for my public speaking class!

note: this is not exactly what will be spoken for my class, as i am not reading my speech word-for-word. however, this is an outline of the speech i will be presenting, and i thought y'all might be interested in seeing it.

Introduction:

The purpose of my speech is to inform my audience of the fake movie “Goncharov” and how it has impacted me. My goal is to inform my audience of how the fake movie “Goncharov” came to be and of the value it has. 

By a quick show of hands, how many of you have seen or heard of Goncharov before? [Quick pause as I wait for no hands – or almost no hands – to go up.] Alright. So, Goncharov was a 1973 mafia movie supported by Martin Scorsese, and has been widely regarded as the greatest mafia movie of all time. It’s about the Russian mafia in Naples, Italy, and follows a variety of characters such as Goncharov himself, Katya, who is Goncharov’s wife, Audrei “The Banker” Daddano, and my personal favorite, Joseph “Ice Pick Joe” Morelli, with actors such as Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, and Lynda Carter. So, why have you never heard of this movie before? Well, everything I just told you? It’s all a lie. It’s all made up. Goncharov? Yeah. It never actually existed. 

I remember being part of the Goncharov fandom as it first blew up on Tumblr in late 2022. It was a great source of joy for me and made a significant impact on Tumblr’s culture. I am going to show my audience how Goncharov came to be, the creativity is spawned, and briefly reflect on how the website it originated on was vital for its growth. 

So, what is Goncharov, and what is going on here?

Origins:

Goncharov was a fake movie created by Tumblr in late 2022. 

Sometime prior to August 22nd, 2020, Tumblr user ZootyCoon posted a photograph of knockoff boots they had bought that advertised a non-existent movie, Goncharov, on them, claiming that Goncharov was “the greatest mafia movie of all time.” In response, on August 22nd, 2020, another Tumblr user, AbandonedAmbition, commented “This idiot hasn’t seen Goncharov”, which was then added to the post itself by Tumblr user LoserMo. 

While ZootyCoon’s original post did receive some attention, it wasn’t until November 18th, 2022 that Goncharov truly hit it off as a cultural phenomenon, thanks to Tumblr user Beelzeebub, who posted a fan-made poster for Goncharov, receiving almost 20,000 likes and over 15,000 reblogs in three days. 

Fandom:

As it turns out, you don't actually need a piece of media to be real in order for a fandom to form around it.

Countless fanworks were created for Goncharov, including fanart, fanfiction, music, scene analysis and analysis of motifs, gif sets, memes, and so much more. As mentioned in a YouTube video by YouTuber ColeyDoesThings, there was even a time where Goncharov had more fanfiction on a popular fanfiction website than James Cameran’s Avatar, the highest grossing movie of all time. 

So much lore was being created for Goncharov in such a short amount of time that efforts had to be made to record it all. Multiple individuals attempted to create a “master copy” of Goncharov’s lore, including what is now a 48-page Google doc that includes a plot summary, brief descriptions of various scenes, and links and sources to various contributors. 

But Goncharov could not be contained just to Tumblr. Various media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes, and The Washington Post all posted articles about Goncharov, an internet phenomenon. 

Tumblr:

But, why? Why this fake movie, and why on Tumblr of all places? 

As a social media site, Tumblr has an incredibly weird culture. There are no public follower counts, no verification for users, and a whole array of weird social rules. But one thing that really makes Tumblr special is the interaction between large and small blogs alike. Because anyone can and is encouraged to create their own content and add to others’ content, something like Goncharov could very quickly become a “yes, and” game among Tumblr’s users. 

Tumblr is also very much a “fandom” site. Fanart, fanfiction, and other fanworks dominate the website, and Goncharov in its heyday was no exception. Interactions between fans and fan creators is what really causes fandoms to grow and survive, so it makes sense that Goncharov thrived the way it did considering how easy it was to find fellow fans. With no pressure to reveal your “true” self, there’s a lot less pressure when you share what you’ve created. 

Conclusion:

So, what can we learn here?

The fake movie “Goncharov” was unintentionally created by a tag on a pair of off-brand boots but didn’t truly become popular until Beelzebub’s poster. Fandom quickly grew around it, creating countless fanworks, but Tumblr’s unique culture as a social media site is what truly allowed it to thrive. 

There is joy and creativity in unusual places. Whether or not you believe Goncharov to be a waste of time, the popularity of a fake movie says something about the human fascination with stories. Thank you. 

[bluemoondust]

✧Yandere Headcanons — Pregame✧

Character(s): Maki Harukawa, Himiko Yumeno, Rantaro Amami, Ryoma Hoshi

Note: Once again, these are based off my own interpretation on their personalities. One of the things I wanted to do when writing these was to slightly mirror these four off of their counterparts when it comes to behavior and traits as a yandere.

Part One — Kaede, Shuichi, Kokichi, Kaito

Bonus — Protagonists

Warning(s): Thoughts of Murder, Possessive Behavior and Thoughts (Maki), Implied Depression, Slight Guilt Tripping, Implied S//uicidal Thoughts (Himiko), Hints of Possessive Behavior and Obsessive Thoughts, Blackmail, Manipulation, Implied Kidnapping (Rantaro), Hints of Depression and S//ucidal Thoughts, Mentions of Murder (Ryoma)

✧Harukawa, Maki✧

Maki was wary of these unhealthy feelings at first. She thought it'd stay innocent since she values you so much. Despite what everyone else says, you've taken your time getting to know her. Because of that, she fully trusts and deems you as a keeper. The friendship was innocent and some of the best moments of her life. She wanted more. Maybe it was selfish of her to daydream about holding your hand and you confessing to her one day. It was all just fantasy, right? It wasn't, actually. It was a longing.

You're the only person she hangs out with, and she's okay with that. You have her deepest secrets (not entirely...) while she has yours. Maki always promises to never tell a soul about what you've confided to her. What is spoken under your home stays there, after all. She'll take everything she knows about you to her grave. She doesn't believe anyone else would know you on the level she does. That's preposterous. They were never the shoulder you cry on, the one who knows how you like your breakfast or that you'd like a certain meal at a specific time of day...only Maki would know. She's stuck to you—by the hip.

It's no secret how much she detests people entering your life. Calm as ever, she tolerates them for the time being. You assume Maki is uncomfortable meeting new people due to her social skills. Your assumption is partially correct. She is uncomfortable around these new faces, but at the same time, she hates them. If they as so much as look at you in a way that insinuates affection beyond friendship, Maki's blood will be boiling. You're busy talking to this person, yet her mind is elsewhere. All she can think about is how this person can be snuffed out. It's so violent, the confines of her mind. She was someone who was into violent and bloody video games and stories, but...she never considered the possibility of it happening in real life.

It stays on the back burner for a while. Could she really have the capability to enact these gruesome thoughts? Maybe...she thinks to herself as she watches on intensely. It would be necessary, in her own words. Losing you would be worse than someone else losing a friend, son/daughter, or whoever this person is to others. Maki needs to ensure you're by her side for years. Just enough for you two to date, get married, and have a family. A family that she has always wanted since the day she played house as a kid. 

✧Yumeno, Himiko✧

Himiko takes much time to love someone as deeply as any yandere would. Even more so than the more stubborn ones. It's not like she doesn't care for others. She's just tired and always in some form of slump. She goes through life the same way without a shred of change. Just how she likes it. Himiko goes with the flow of things and makes no effort to form friendships or long-lasting bonds. Content with her life, she spends many hours alone with her interests. That is until she meets you, her darling.

You actually scare her. Almost terrifies her. Being in your presence makes her remember you're the embodiment of her life, changing its course. For better or worse, she doesn't know. It does not matter since it's still a terrifying thing to face. So Himiko avoids you for a while. There are moments when you run into her, and some part of her mind says to stay. She's very conflicted and isn't willing to get out of her comfort zone. That's fine. She'll come around. When she does, it'll be similar to Maki. Himiko would be attached by the hip and follow you around. She strangely feels safe rambling about her fixations to you. The amount of time she puts into them is unhealthy, but it distracts her from thinking about things in life. You're a distraction as well...she's happy with that.

She's excessively codependent on you. Which is why rivals frustrate and scare her to death. Himiko has this overwhelming urge to burst into tears when you show signs of 'favoring' this person over her. She wouldn't consider herself a crybaby at all, but now crying is something she feels like doing when your bond is threatened. She won't admit to having these fears, choosing to bottle up her true emotions until they burst. When that happens, she vents everything to you. Unintentionally guilt-ripping you severely since she mentions the bullying and thoughts of death. Sometimes life is a pain. It's not worth it anymore.

Himiko feels like you're the only reason she gets up in the morning. A reason to press on another day. She doesn't want to lose that since it would be like a part of her has died. So she makes sure you're focused on her a lot. You're not a cruel person; she knows that, so that's why it is safe to say that her mindset and unhealthy lifestyle will concern you. Himiko feels safe and comforted that you're worried about her mental health, and she'll keep it that way if that means your attention is solely on her. After all, she can't live without you.

✧Amami, Rantaro✧

Rantaro is another person who takes time before actually falling for a person. He is cynical and has seen the worst out of people left and right. He always assumes that people are only out for their self-interests. He hates the flowery words people throw at him for his looks alone. They’re so surface-level. So superficial. Just like his father. The only way Rantaro would ever fall deeply for someone is if the person is genuinely kind and isn’t looking for something in return. 

That is where you come in. Rantaro tests you after your first act of kindness. It has to be a one-time thing. He was actually caught off guard by your actions. You continue to surprise him, and in turn, he keeps you around. Oh no, don’t assume it’s for some surface-level bullshit like having you is a one-and-done thing. No. It’s permanent and something real to him. Anyone who thinks he’s that shallow knows nothing about him. 

He hates how people see him as a playboy, but sometimes that has its benefits. Using people he could care less for is pretty handy, especially when it’s for your sake. None of the words he says to them will ever amount to how he feels for you. If any of his admirers ever mess with you, he will confront them privately before destroying their self-esteem. Oh, and if he’s feeling a little sadistic about it, he will blackmail them. They really do have a loose set of lips to trust him with their secrets, huh? Just because they were wearing rosetinted glasses. 

The one thing in life Rantaro dreams of is traveling to escape his life. Now, he has you to share it with. He plans to take you with him one day when the time comes, but if you’re showing signs of not desiring such a thing…he’ll start small. You two don’t have to leave the country immediately, maybe in another city or a cabin somewhere out of town. You are coming with him one way or another. He will be frank when he says he is selfish because everyone else is. He has finally found something in his life that is worth his efforts, and no one is taking that from him. Not even you. 

✧Hoshi, Ryoma✧

Ryoma is pretty similar to Himiko in the sense where you are probably his only reason to get up in the morning. However, that'd be selfish to burden you with such knowledge. If you knew this, that'd bring concern. It's not like he hates pity or being cared for…it just makes him believe he's acting like a spoiled child. It's safe to say that Ryoma is a very selfless yandere. He doesn't see you in a bad light, nor does he accuse you of doing any wrong. Why? Oh, that's because you're the only person who was ever nice to him. 

It's a cruel world we live in and he has seen the worst some days. His appearance plays a big factor into how he's treated and the focal point of his insecurities. Ryoma does not feel capable of doing a lot of things because of it. Still, he does want to prove himself to you; that he deserves the right to stand by your side after putting up with him. Ugh, it makes him sick to his stomach how hopeful and clingy that sounds. He just wishes that he could be as cool as those guys he's seen in shows. The ones who are so unbothered but know when to take action; things he is not. 

Rivals scare and irk Ryoma. All his intrusive and self deprecating thoughts play in his mind when faced with them. It's awful. Why does he keep imagining standing above their corpses? He isn't capable of that—he can't even take a dose of confrontation. It's stupid of him to be annoyed by these rivals or your friends. You don't belong to him nor are you dating him. Still, that is a nice thought. 

Though sometimes these people get him in a depressive state and he never wants to talk about it. It would be attention seeking to tell you how much he craves death whenever things go wrong or when he sees you happily engaging with others. You don't need him, but he really needs you. That's the most selfish thing he's ever thought of. He wants to admit that yeah, you're the reason why he's still alive. Sometimes he wonders why he can't have this and then he looks at himself. Would it really be too much to ask for? Maybe, but over time he has come to see that he wants to live. So no one is going to take his very reason to walk another day. No one.