#of course we do to some extent. but it's not the same. we aren't feeling each other's feelings

[ms-demeanor]

Why reblog machine-generated art?

When I was ten years old I took a photography class where we developed black and white photos by projecting light on papers bathed in chemicals. If we wanted to change something in the image, we had to go through a gradual, arduous process called dodging and burning.

When I was fifteen years old I used photoshop for the first time, and I remember clicking on the clone tool or the blur tool and feeling like I was cheating.

When I was twenty eight I got my first smartphone. The phone could edit photos. A few taps with my thumb were enough to apply filters and change contrast and even spot correct. I was holding in my hand something more powerful than the huge light machines I'd first used to edit images.

When I was thirty six, just a few weeks ago, I took a photo class that used Lightroom Classic and again, it felt like cheating. It made me really understand how much the color profiles of popular web images I'd been seeing for years had been pumped and tweaked and layered with local edits to make something that, to my eyes, didn't much resemble photography. To me, photography is light on paper. It's what you capture in the lens. It's not automatic skin smoothing and a local filter to boost the sky. This reminded me a lot more of the photomanipulations my friend used to make on deviantart; layered things with unnatural colors that put wings on buildings or turned an eye into a swimming pool. It didn't remake the images to that extent, obviously, but it tipped into the uncanny valley. More real than real, more saturated more sharp and more present than the actual world my lens saw. And that was before I found the AI assisted filters and the tool that would identify the whole sky for you, picking pieces of it out from between leaves.

You know, it's funny, when people talk about artists who might lose their jobs to AI they don't talk about the people who have already had to move on from their photo editing work because of technology. You used to be able to get paid for basic photo manipulation, you know? If you were quick with a lasso or skilled with masks you could get a pretty decent chunk of change by pulling subjects out of backgrounds for family holiday cards or isolating the pies on the menu for a mom and pop. Not a lot, but enough to help. But, of course, you can just do that on your phone now. There's no need to pay a human for it, even if they might do a better job or be more considerate toward the aesthetic of an image.

And they certainly don't talk about all the development labs that went away, or the way that you could have trained to be a studio photographer if you wanted to take good photos of your family to hang on the walls and that digital photography allowed in a parade of amateurs who can make dozens of iterations of the same bad photo until they hit on a good one by sheer volume and luck; if you want to be a good photographer everyone can do that why didn't you train for it and spend a long time taking photos on film and being okay with bad photography don't you know that digital photography drove thousands of people out of their jobs.

My dad told me that he plays with AI the other day. He hosts a movie podcast and he puts up thumbnails for the downloads. In the past, he'd just take a screengrab from the film. Now he tells the Bing AI to make him little vignettes. A cowboy running away from a rhino, a dragon arm-wrestling a teddy bear. That kind of thing. Usually based on a joke that was made on the show, or about the subject of the film and an interest of the guest.

People talk about "well AI art doesn't allow people to create things, people were already able to create things, if they wanted to create things they should learn to create things." Not everyone wants to make good art that's creative. Even fewer people want to put the effort into making bad art for something that they aren't passionate about. Some people want filler to go on the cover of their youtube video. My dad isn't going to learn to draw, and as the person who he used to ask to photoshop him as Ant-Man because he certainly couldn't pay anyone for that kind of thing, I think this is a great use case for AI art. This senior citizen isn't going to start cartooning and at two recordings a week with a one-day editing turnaround he doesn't even really have the time for something like a Fiverr commission. This is a great use of AI art, actually.

I also know an artist who is going Hog Fucking Wild creating AI art of their blorbos. They're genuinely an incredibly talented artist who happens to want to see their niche interest represented visually without having to draw it all themself. They're posting the funny and good results to a small circle of mutuals on socials with clear information about the source of the images; they aren't trying to sell any of the images, they're basically using them as inserts for custom memes. Who is harmed by this person saying "i would like to see my blorbo lasciviously eating an ice cream cone in the is this a pigeon meme"?

The way I use machine-generated art, as an artist, is to proof things. Can I get an explosion to look like this. What would a wall of dead computer monitors look like. Would a ballerina leaping over the grand canyon look cool? Sometimes I use AI art to generate copyright free objects that I can snip for a collage. A lot of the time I use it to generate ideas. I start naming random things and seeing what it shows me and I start getting inspired. I can ask CrAIon for pose reference, I can ask it to show me the interior of spaces from a specific angle.

I profoundly dislike the antipathy that tumblr has for AI art. I understand if people don't want their art used in training pools. I understand if people don't want AI trained on their art to mimic their style. You should absolutely use those tools that poison datasets if you don't want your art included in AI training. I think that's an incredibly appropriate action to take as an artist who doesn't want AI learning from your work.

However I'm pretty fucking aggressively opposed to copyright and most of the "solid" arguments against AI art come down to "the AIs viewed and learned from people's copyrighted artwork and therefore AI is theft rather than fair use" and that's a losing argument for me. In. Like. A lot of ways. Primarily because it is saying that not only is copying someone's art theft, it is saying that looking at and learning from someone's art can be defined as theft rather than fair use.

Also because it's just patently untrue.

But that doesn't really answer your question. Why reblog machine-generated art? Because I liked that piece of art.

It was made by a machine that had looked at billions of images - some copyrighted, some not, some new, some old, some interesting, many boring - and guided by a human and I liked it. It was pretty. It communicated something to me. I looked at an image a machine made - an artificial picture, a total construct, something with no intrinsic meaning - and I felt a sense of quiet and loss and nostalgia. I looked at a collection of automatically arranged pixels and tasted salt and smelled the humidity in the air.

I liked it.

I don't think that all AI art is ugly. I don't think that AI art is all soulless (i actually think that 'having soul' is a bizarre descriptor for art and that lacking soul is an equally bizarre criticism). I don't think that AI art is bad for artists. I think the problem that people have with AI art is capitalism and I don't think that's a problem that can really be laid at the feet of people curating an aesthetic AI art blog on tumblr.

Machine learning isn't the fucking problem the problem is massive corporations have been trying hard not to pay artists for as long as massive corporations have existed (isn't that a b-plot in the shape of water? the neighbor who draws ads gets pushed out of his job by product photography? did you know that as recently as ten years ago NewEgg had in-house photographers who would take pictures of the products so users wouldn't have to rely on the manufacturer photos? I want you to guess what killed that job and I'll give you a hint: it wasn't AI)

Am I putting a human out of a job because I reblogged an AI-generated "photo" of curtains waving in the pale green waters of an imaginary beach? Who would have taken this photo of a place that doesn't exist? Who would have painted this hypersurrealistic image? What meaning would it have had if they had painted it or would it have just been for the aesthetic? Would someone have paid for it or would it be like so many of the things that artists on this site have spent dozens of hours on only to get no attention or value for their work?

My worst ratio of hours to notes is an 8-page hand-drawn detailed ink comic about getting assaulted at a concert and the complicated feelings that evoked that took me weeks of daily drawing after work with something like 54 notes after 8 years; should I be offended if something generated from a prompt has more notes than me? What does that actually get the blogger? Clout? I believe someone said that popularity on tumblr gets you one thing and that is yelled at.

What do you get out of this? Are you helping artists right now? You're helping me, and I'm an artist. I've wanted to unload this opinion for a while because I'm sick of the argument that all Real Artists think AI is bullshit. I'm a Real Artist. I've been paid for Real Art. I've been commissioned as an artist.

And I find a hell of a lot of AI art a lot more interesting than I find human-generated corporate art or Thomas Kincaid (but then, I repeat myself).

There are plenty of people who don't like AI art and don't want to interact with it. I am not one of those people. I thought the gay sex cats were funny and looked good and that shitposting is the ideal use of a machine image generation: to make uncopyrightable images to laugh at.

I think that tumblr has decided to take a principled stand against something that most people making the argument don't understand. I think tumblr's loathing for AI has, generally speaking, thrown weight behind a bunch of ideas that I think are going to be incredibly harmful *to artists specifically* in the long run.

Anyway. If you hate AI art and you don't want to interact with people who interact with it, block me.

[huellitaa]

why people don't like you ₊˚⊹ 💬🎀

okay this is not as harsh as the title suggests but i wanted to put it literally bcuz this is a problem i've struggled with for the longest time. im gonna be brutally honest here. there are so many reasons why ur not of the social status you want to be or don't have as many friends as you like yadda yadda yadda. SO ,, here's my thoughts on why that's the case , and how to help! 🫶🏻🎀💬

──★ ˙ ̟🎀you're fake

whether its cuz ur trying to "fit in" or because you have a completely different personality stored in the back for everyone you meet, ur fake. its very simple. its not necessarily a bad thing, it just means ur insecure.

🧁𓂃 ࣪˖ how do you deal with this?

stop trying so hard girl. it's not that deep. there are 8 billion people on this earth and counting, u really think this person's gonna matter when ur living ur dreams and thriving even more than you ever imagined you could? no. move on. next please!

find out who the fuck you genuinely are. you're never gonna live your life if YOU aren't the one living it. once you get a start on finding who YOU are it's gonna make you more authentic -> more magnetic -> more attractive in every single way, including social.

u arent obligated to fit in. think about the type of people that you see in the street and you stare a while at, the type of people who stand out from a crowd for whatever reason, the people u look up to, ur idols who you could never imagine to meet in a thousand years; do you think they fit in? do you think merging with a crowd is what made them appeal to you so much? no. think abt that.

wake the fuck up and realise u deserve better. why are you neglecting yourself by hiding yourself from the world? would u do that to anyone else? would u get anyone else to change themselves just so they can fit in? girl get a hold of urself!!! you've been through so much and youve made it so far and yet you're still pretending to be someone you aren't?? you deserve SO much better. people who truly deserve you will always love you for you, no one else.

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ur too awkward / anxious

i want to preface this by saying theres nothing wrong w this at all and i completely understand but ur gonna face some problems of people interacting with you. or you interacting w them. or both. i was diagnosed w generalised anxiety disorder when i was 11, so i understand how much this can impact ur life not just socially but in all areas.

⭐𓂃 ࣪˖ how do you deal with this?

first thing im gonna mention to preface is this can be a symptom of an underlying condition u may need to get checked out. if its impacting ur everyday life please seek therapy, i am not a professional and cannot help u w this, even if i'd like to. i love u ♡

find what is making u anxious. what about social interaction is scary to you, and why? why does interacting w others make u nervous? is there a specific thing ur worried about or u find nervewracking? always. find. the root!

have compassion and empathy and patience w yourself. its perfectly okay and normal to some extent to feel like this and of course we're all gonna feel like this sometimes but its important to treat urself with care, especially in these times.

treat urself as u would a child. i recommend treating urself like a friend a lot but when ur in a delicate and emotional state like this its better to treat urself like ur ur own child. take care of urself with the same love and attentiveness as you would your own children and give yourself time and take care of yourself to work through the issue. ♡

break things down and take it slow and simple. break it into steps and PUT. YOURSELF. FIRST until u feel able to go back out into the public again and be That Girl ♡

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ur straight up mean

this can be anywhere from just being generally disinterested in people, being constantly negative all of the time to being just really shitty and rude. we all have the same potentials and possibilities but sometimes we can fall into the trap of negative patterns when interacting with others, which is okay. everyone messes up sometimes. but the important thing is is that we fall back out of that and become even better for it!

💬𓂃 ࣪˖ how do you deal with this?

try ur best to put ur ego aside and think about yourself from an outside perspective. would you wanna be friends with you? if you were another person, how would you think people feel around you?

(🗒🎀 note: if that's too difficult, create someone in ur head or mentally assign ur traits, the good and bad, to someone you dont really know, and think ab how youd feel around them. insecure? jealous? confident? excited? nervous? think about it.)

i know it sounds weird but literally just sit down and talk to people close to u when you get the chance or the opportunity comes up and ask if anything you do comes off rude or blunt or abrupt or any sort of negative trait you think might be the issue here. or just subtly (or directly, either one works) try and find out their opinions on you so u can figure out if that aligns w what and how u wanna be, and then how you can change that.

just be generally more sweet and polite. people are easily gonna like you more if ur not a total dick. stop being mean to people, say please and thank you, compliment strangers, smile at everyone, put ur ego aside cuz its really not that deep girl.

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ur too nice / people pleaser

okay being nice is not a bad thing. there is a fine line between being THE nice girl and being A nice girl. there is a fine line between being kind and being a pushover. you don't have to sacrifice urself to be nice to people. being nice should go both ways!

🧁𓂃 ࣪˖ how do you deal with this?

first things first, like all things and like i've said a billion times before, you need to address the root of what is causing you to act like this. this should always be the first thing you do when addressing any problem, esp w urself. why are you acting like this? what is causing you to endlessly seek approval like this and sacrifice urself in the process? think.

start saying no to people, even to the littlest things. if you want to do it then sure, but start saying no so much more often. it gives you a sense of control and shows you only you have a choice in the things you do in ur life, no one else.

define kindness. is what ur getting in return to this unconditional self sacrifice genuine kindness, or friendship, or respect, or attention, or whatever else you assume you're receiving from all of this? only you can answer that. ask urself what the genuine meaning of all the things ur trying to gain from this are and then see if that aligns w what ur receiving. (🗒🎀 note: also read this post of mine for more on this! ♡)

again, therapy is gonna help a lot w this. if this is making an impact on ur life, social or otherwise, then i am not a professional and cannot help u w this (as much as id like to). ily and i believe in u ♡

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 you seem "unapproachable / intimidating"

people are threatened by talent. people are threatened by beauty. people are threatened by what they aren't. so, congrats! you've achieved your goal! 🩷💭

🫶🏻𓂃 ࣪˖ how do you deal with this?

i told my therapist once that people have told me i seem rude, unapproachable, intimidating, etc. and i felt really upset about it because i dont wanna come off that way. i wanna be nice and approachable and someone people can talk to. and she asked me what i would do if my favourite celebrity or famous person or whatever was my age and was walking through my school. i told her i'd think they were really cool and want to be friends with them, but wouldn't be sure how to go about it bcuz they'd be super intimidating. think about that.

🗒️🎀 note: but if you do find that people say this or act like this around you a lot, then you might need to do some introspection and ask urself if anything ur doing makes people feel like that rather than their own insecurities and mindset. ♡

i just want to quickly add that not everybody is going to like you. everyone feels a general sense of dislike from time to time and this post is what i mean by that, NOT how to make everyone like you bcuz that's literally impossible and something you shouldn't waste ur time and energy on. as harsh as i may have been in this post ur amazing and i love u no matter how much improvement you have to do ♡ i love you and am proud of you and you should be proud of yourself too!

all my love... 💬🎀🫶🏻💗

[ceilidho]

This is in no way of hating but i want to know why do you enjoy writing noncon/rape? When I first downloaded tumblr which was couple of months ago i was surprised by the amount of noncon fics here. I eventually came to enjoy them which makes me question myself. Whenever i read a noncon fic and enjoy it i feel like im betraying women who actually went through those traumatic events. Plus I actually don't really like dark romance books? I love cod dead dove and that is mainly because i really love the characters and the authors are so talented. I rambled so much and i hope you don't get this in the wrong way i don't mean to hate AT ALL i love the stuff you write. Maybe i shouldn't think too much and let myself enjoy what im reading lol

first of all, no worries! i wasn't sure about your tone/intentions at first, but by the end i was totally fine with the question.

i actually don't mind talking about this stuff - i just sometimes avoid it on main because i prefer chatting about it privately.

second, i'm no psychologist or sociologist, so i probably won't be able to give you the most satisfactory answer, but i think there are a lot of different reasons. i can only name a few. one thing i should mention right off the bat is that rape fantasies are very normal (and this is true whether you're a survivor of SA or not) and writing/reading fiction can be a safe way to process those thoughts/feelings.

one of prevailing reasons is, of course, that many survivors of SA use noncon/dubcon literature/art as a way of processing their experiences and taking ownership of their trauma.

and look, people are going to go back and forth on this point (i've seen it all before - many people refuse to believe that engaging with noncon lit/art is helpful, and in fairness, it's NOT helpful for everyone because every person is different), but at the end of the day, if a survivor tells you "writing/reading this was helpful in my recovery" then that's that!

additionally, for many women and non-binary folk (i can only speak as a cis woman, but i'm sure this is a shared lived experience across many different people), we're also taught from a very young age to suppress our sexual desires / that being open about our sexuality is morally reprehensible and shameful. and a lot of people carry that shame for years, impacting them well into adulthood. so dubcon/noncon fantasies can be a way of being able to enjoy sexual scenarios where you don't have to be the initiator, thus taking away some of the emotional weight and shame.

plus, at the end of the day (and im sure many people will disagree with this take, it's something that i'm still figuring out myself), there is a kind of weird underlying consent implicit in dark fics. like, you might be reading a fic or novel that's ostensibly noncon, but you're also actively seeking out that literature (hopefully it's not just sprung on you - i do very much agree with tagging to the fullest extent and my lukewarm take is that I think all books, even traditionally published ones, should come with content/trigger warnings too).

there are a medley of reasons why someone might write or read dark fiction/dark romance. again, i'm just one person and i can only speak from my own experience!

i think at the end of the day, the important thing to realize is that fiction is fake, and as long as the writer appropriately tags their work and ensures that the audience is aware of what they're getting into when they start reading, they're not coercing the reader into something they aren't prepared for.

and it's totally fine if you have limits (like, you can read and enjoy dubcon, but not noncon) or can't engage with the material at all, but it's also unfair to say that it reflects someone's real life values - the same way that we don't say that the people who enjoy crime fiction must love murder.

and the last thing i want to say because this got a bit out of hand lol, is that, yes, for some people dark fiction is genuinely harmful, whether or not they're a survivor. it's not for everyone and that's completely fine and i'm aware of that, which is why i agree that you should tag as much as possible (even if you feel like you're overdoing it sometimes), but someone else's discomfort doesn't give them the right to tell you how to process your own emotions/experiences/desires/etc.

as long as no one's getting hurt, there's no issue as far as i'm concerned. and sorry but, no one's getting hurt by reading a fic or a novel unless the author didn't give proper content warnings - if you "forgot" to read the tags or read anyway DESPITE being warned, im sorry but that's life.

[liquidorcard]

Tw: Heavy topic discussion ahead.

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So I have suffered with suicidal ideation for the majority of my life. As long as I can remember-- even when I was a child to some extent.

Despite current awareness of mental health issues, honestly, I don't think we have as a society really resolved yet how to earnestly address the issue. I don't blame people for not knowing what to say to suicidal people or just defaulting to the whole "oh I'm sorry, you're not alone, blah blah blah" song and dance. I get they don't know what to say, but.

The issue with being always suicidal is that it's kinda a bitch to figure out how to just live with? You don't want to worry people, or emotionally burden them, you dont want them walking on eggshells around you forever because they think at any moment they could accidentally push you over the edge. Because the conversation around suicidal ideation is so focused on NOT being suicidal anymore, it functionally silences people in a well-meaning, but still harmful way.

Like, let ol' uncle Eldritch affirm for anyone reading this right now: it's OKAY to be suicidal. Not okay as in, indulge the urge. But suicidal ideation is a mental health concern like any other. It's not your fault, and stressing yourself out that you feel this way will do you no good. Accepting a feeling is not the same as acting on it.

For most people the feeling is temporary, but the reality is for some of us it's not. The feeling might be more intense sometimes than others, but it's okay if they're always there. Strange thing to say, I know, but you don't owe anyone happiness. You don't owe anyone self-contentment. Yes, we all want those things, but getting upset with yourself that you haven't achieved that beyond healthy degrees is a vicious cycle that will only make you more miserable.

There's a difference between treating negative emotions as an undesirable outcome, and treating them as if they're a mistake. As if they're not often enough a logical outcome to many of life's challenges, especially these days.

Counterintuitive, I know, but accepting that someday I might lose the battle with my own suicidal ideation probably saved my life at several low points. Something I've had to reaffirm within myself several times over my life. And something it's been very hard to get other people to understand.

The problem may be bad, but it's almost always the stigma that makes it dire.

I'm not going to pretend there isn't some degree of a grain of truth to the idea that some people use suicidal intent to get attention, but that's a gross and misleading oversimplification of the issue. Some people have no suicidal intent, but use it as a means of manipulating others. I'd say those types of people are rarer than you might imagine, but yes, they exist. I'd say the majority of people, especially the ones who express the thought over and over again, just don't know what to do with their feelings. They're looking for an outlet, an explanation, validation, solidarity-- something. They're looking to not feel so isolated anymore, having feelings they know they "shouldn't be having." As stated above, our society still doesn't accept the feelings as acceptable even if we've moved the dial on the topic, and they're feeling shame and frustration that they just can't quite move past that.

I don't want to speak for everyone but I do believe I'm very much not alone on this when I say the phrase "I want to die"/"I'm suicidal" with the same type of intent I say, "I want to sleep," or "I'm hungry." I'd rather be awake and full, but, I'm currently feeling compelled to satisfy the urge to go to bed or eat. I'd rather be alive, however, dying feels like a very tempting offer. Inconveniently, of course, that craving happens to have permanent results. Can't go back to living if/when I have enough spoons to keep going, boo.

That's a very confusing sensation to grapple with-- understanding your life is a finite resource you aren't going to be able to get back, but also, being fucking sick of it. It's hard to know what to do about that-- especially because, again, you aren't ALLOWED to feel that way apparently.

If that feeling can be fixed it should, but some of us don't have that luxury. Some of us are broken in a way you can patch up, but we can never be fully restored to a mint-like condition. We still have value, we still are useful and can be fully realized people, if there was only room for us to be taken as we are and not how people want us.

Outrageously irresponsible and fucked Lily had the balls to give advice on this, if that even has to be said. Rest assured, she's on my "To Haunt" list if I do end up offing myself (in Minecraft.)

[patchwork-crow-writes]

No, actually, you get the Kralsei "incest" rant now, I've decided.

The ship being considered incest or incest-adjacent is largely a result of several assumptions that are being made about Ralsei, and to a lesser extent about Kris as well. For this to work, you have to assume the following:

Ralsei is modeled primarily on Asriel

All Boss Monsters of a certain age look identical to one another and are related to one another

Kris had absolutely no hand in Ralsei's creation

Kris is heavily uncomfortable with Ralsei's existence

The entire implied romantic undertones of Ralsei's feelings towards Kris were designed to be incestuous from the start

In order, I shall deconstruct and debunk these. Very long post below the read more, you have been warned.

While it is true that Ralsei does share some superficial similarities with Asriel, he's actually much, MUCH more similar to Kris in many ways. All he shares with Asriel is an anagrammed name and a passing likeness. They're not similar in terms of personality, and that goes regardless of which Asriel we're even talking about. Many people associate Ralsei with Undertale's incarnation of Asriel, who doesn't even exist in the same universe. Any similarities between the two are inferred entirely by the player, aided and abetted by the game making these subtle hints that they're "connected" in some way. Yeah, about as connected as Undertale is to Deltarune. To take this a step further, consider Kris and Frisk. No-one is conflating these two, not in a million years. And yet look, they share an anagrammed name and a passing likeness, so they're basically the same person, aren't they? I mean, we both control them through the SOUL, and they're both protagonists of games made by Toby Fox, so if anything they're more similar to each other than Ralsei is to Asriel. But of course, that's utterly absurd, and we all know it. *

I refer you once again to the humans. And before you tell me "they all obviously look different to each other" - and of course I'm not saying they're not different when they obviously are - consider how a monster might look at these humans if you placed them side-by-side. Pale-ish skin, brown hair, no obvious gender markers, similar height profiles. Any monster who's not intimately familiar with any of the humans in question might perhaps confuse them. And so it is with us and Boss Monsters. Just because Ralsei and Asriel share certain characteristics common to ALL boss monsters does not make them the same, or even similar, to each other. You only have to look at the sprites for the two side-by-side to see that there are plenty of differences between them. And as for Deltarune's Asriel? We haven't even seen this guy, we have NO idea what he looks like. We're just making assumptions again based on incomplete information. And if we assume that all boss monsters are related in some way due to how similar they might appear, then what does that make Toriel and Asgore, two boss monsters who have canonically produced offspring in both continuities? I don't need to say it, do I? *

It should be clarified here that I don't just mean Kris consciously made Ralsei at any point, either as an imaginary friend or monster-sona or what-have-you, but that Ralsei's creation as a darkner is somehow linked to how Kris saw themself/wished to be seen in their childhood. The most obvious piece of evidence supporting this is the horned headband that Toriel mentions at the end of Chapter 1. It's heavily implied that Kris would wear it so that they could be the same as their adoptive family, before they supposedly lost it somewhere down the line. It's not too much of a leap in logic to infer from this that Ralsei was created from that headband, at least in part. That said, there are certain aspects of Ralsei that don't exactly fit this neat mold, and I am willing to concede this point if it turns out that the headband thing is a massive misdirect. Nonetheless, I would say that the evidence we currently have to hand points more resolutely towards Ralsei being an aspect of Kris than of him being an aspect of Asriel. *

So I'm just going to say it: WE DON'T KNOW. Because Kris is our protagonist and POV character, it's incredibly easy to forget that we know next-to-nothing about the inner workings of their mind. They have no dialogue except what we tell them to say, and anything we CAN say about them is inferred from how other characters respond to their tone of voice. Of course, we can infer that Kris doesn't fully consider Ralsei a good friend based on his tea healing 60HP, but that on its own doesn't really tell us anything of much substance because you can't exactly cross-reference those numbers against a handy chart or anything - it's all context-dependent. We do at least know that they are comfortable enough around Ralsei to play the odd prank on him, which we know is something they used to do a lot of with Noelle and Asriel, two people they were close to growing up. They will, of their own volition, interpret our instruction to "take a bite" of Ralsei's dummy's clothes to make it look like they're kissing it on the cheek. I don't think that's something you would do with somebody who freaked you out on an existential level, or somebody who reminded you of your brother. Again, I am willing to concede this point should it turn out my interpretation of these clues is incorrect. *

Ask yourself this: What would Kralsei being incest - or incest-adjacent, or pseudo-incest, or whatever - contribute to the characters of Kris and Ralsei, to our relationship to them as players, or to the narrative or wider themes of Deltarune as a whole? I'll tell you - nothing whatsoever. The most such an interpretation can EVER say is that we as players are so easily manipulated by window-dressing and flattery that we will, knowingly or otherwise, romantically pair two characters together who are related in some way, shape or form. And let's say that this IS the intent behind their dynamic - all it amounts to, all it can ever amount to, is a great bit gotcha from Toby Fox himself. Haha, I tricked you into shipping two characters who are secretly related, isn't that fucked up of you? Somehow, I don't think that was his intention with this, it seems such a petty and small-minded thing for somebody who we know is capable of creating moving, thought-provoking, horrifying and beautiful stories. He's better than that. It turns the entire thing into a glorified skill-check: are YOU smart enough to identify that you're being encouraged to engage in incest-shipping, or are you a dumbass who only sees what's presented to you and doesn't ask questions about it? Contrary to popular belief, we're not all 5-D chess grandmasters, and shockingly not everybody is going to interpret the clues in this way. All it does is make people who DO earnestly ship Kralsei feel bad for something the game WAS ENCOURAGING THEM TO DO. Which would be fine if we were playing, say, Spec Ops: The Line, which is very much built around that conceit. And hey, if you wanna feel shitty about shipping two characters together in an extremely unhealthy and harmful manner, Snowgrave is right there. The difference here is that the weird route is A) completely optional, B) difficult if not impossible to accidentally trigger, C) completely derails the game's story and emotional beats, and D) doesn't rely on the shock value of surprise incest to carry it. Snowgrave actually has something INTERESTING to say about the nature of former friends, forced romance, a player's control over a protagonist and how people can be manipulated to do horrendous things by proxy. All the incest interpretation of Kralsei has to offer is that... it's incest, and you're a bit yucky for partaking in it. I'll wrap up this point by saying: incest is a very emotive topic and produces visceral emotional reactions in a lot of people. It's very clever that people have looked critically at Kralsei and observed the possibility, the interpretation, that this could be what's happening, but if the aim in doing so was to promote debate and analysis on the topic, I'm afraid it's only succeeded in doing the exact opposite, causing people to disengage from it entirely. And I strongly believe that's going to severely harm the state of discourse going into Deltarune's future chapters, because how are you going to talk about the game and what it's trying to say if you keep dodging a major part of it for fear of being thought of as pro-incest? It sucks if you're invested in the ship because no-one wants to discuss it, it sucks if you're NOT invested in the ship because it's not likely going to just evaporate come chapter 3, it sucks for everybody.

Now, having said all of that, I am not here to convince you that Kralsei is the truth and the life and what-have-you - you can read any of my other essays on the topic if you want to be preached to in that manner. You're valid and based for not liking Kralsei for any reason, and I wholeheartedly respect your opinion. All I'm trying to say here is that, calling it incest because "Ralsei is/looks like Asriel" or "Kris hates Ralsei" or whatever doesn't do anything for anyone. There are plenty of valid reasons not to like the ship, I just don't think that this is one of them.

Rant over, have a lovely day :D

[hwnglx]

You tarot readers make Jungkook look bad. The dude left home when he was just 12 to chase his idol dream, so he had to grow up without a parent and figure things out independently.

well anon.. clearly you're new to my blog, because i'm usually pretty vocal about this exact fact you just mentioned. i've released several readings and posts where i've talked about how i not only think, but literally saw in my minds eye, jk having to grow up way too early in comparison to other idols in his position, and that definitely taking a toll on him in many ways. in fact, i could talk about this for ages, because i sincerely feel for him, and sympathize with him in this regard.

in general, i always approach every reading i do with a sense of empathy and understanding, but at the same time i'm not here to sugarcoat anything. if me being honest and upright about some negative traits i picked up on during a reading makes them look bad in your eyes.. that's a shame, because idols have their flaws and downfalls just like we all do. i think it's important to remember these people aren't perfect human beings, no matter how much the industry tries to sell them as that. and them having their faults (to a certain extent of course!) does not immediately turn them into bad people.

i understand that it can be a little daunting to read about the con's in my last reading, but you have to understand, he's.. just a man in the end, and he will have his blemishes just like we all do. the last intention i have for this blog is to scrutinize idols and portray them in this bad light.

in addition, i'm in no way blaming the man for his wounds. his inner child has been severely neglected for many crucial years, and is still in need of a lot of healing. sadly, this can express itself in some toxic behavioral patterns, which more often than not aren't actually reflective of our true intentions and nature deep inside. i see a lot of selflessness and purity in jk's heart actually, but much of that just doesn't always find its way out.

so as i said, i feel for him, and truly wish him the best. however, i'm also not saying he's a saint. in retrospect, we're all just flawed people who make many mistakes along the way, but still try our best in the end.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

I'm not the first person to bring this up but, I do feel that the general response to the gun range scene has mostly failed to acknowledge the context that would call for such extreme levels of self-defense training in the first place. We know from episode 23 that even just a few years after the release of the doodler (when Lark and Sparrow themselves are still just teens) things are already pretty bad (to the extent that in Lark's case the stress of it all has already begun to take a physical toll on him- don't forget that he and Sparrow too were once kids who had the world placed on their shoulders), and one need only look at how quickly the situation with the mayor has degraded to imagine how bad things would have gotten by the time Hero was 12. Training your six-year-old to use a gun in a normal or at least mostly normal world? Batshit crazy. Training your six-year-old to use a gun in a world overrun by an eldritch horror where danger, death, and the possibility of corruption from said eldritch horror are around every corner? Still intense but, much easier to understand the reasoning behind.

oh oops it's a long post woops woops woops

In Sparrow's case in particular, we know that he behaves quite differently under alternative circumstances, and that Normal (Hero too for that matter) lives a pretty different life in a post code purple world:

Not that it hasn't been Sparrow's intent and priority to mitigate the extent to which Normal was caught up in everything from the get-go, as evidenced by his namesake. Recall what he had to say on the matter:

In some ways this extreme self-defense training is a "two sides of the same coin" sort of deal vis-a-vis Grant's extreme isolation of Lincoln for his protection, a major difference being that Lincoln still deals with this in a post code purple world (to the extent that he literally had to pretend to starve himself to get his dad to let him go to public school), whereas Normal and Hero get the chance to live mostly normal lives and do as they please (the disapproving words of a drunken and partially-doodlerized Sparrow aside), now removed from the immediate threat of the doodler.

Hero's case is, at least from what we currently know about the prophecy, more complicated than Norm's. It is easy to reprimand Lark and Sparrow as being the worst parents (and/or uncles) whilst forgetting that their circumstances are fundamentally different from the other kiddads. The first half of this lying in their shared responsibility (and guilt) in releasing the doodler. Grant and Nicky can retreat to their respective homes on the basis that this is the best they can do, resolving to put their energy into protecting their closest ones first and foremost. At the end of the day, they aren't really any more responsible for dealing with the doodler than any other bystander. The same cannot be said of Lark and Sparrow, who can't exactly look away from the fact that they were the ones who brought the doodler into the world. At least from their perspectives- of course Lark (and Sparrow by extension) in reality was a child that was manipulated into doing what he did, which as some people have pointed out is not dissimilar to what happened to Normal at the end of this episode (and if Sparrow felt the need to rid Normal of his memories of this event in particular, perhaps it was to spare his child from feeling guilty about it for the rest of his life).

The second half of what differentiates them is, of course, the prophecy (right- now we can actually get to Hero lol). We must remember that, as far as the twins knew, the only way to actually "defeat" the doodler permanently was through the chosen one, i.e. Hero (probably- after last episode I'm starting to think that Norm may be more directly involved in the prophecy than previously thought, but that's a tangent). "Continue to let the being you released into the world kill and torture millions (very likely billions) of people, which could wind up including both of your children, or put your ill-fated child through very intense and ultimately traumatizing training to put an end to it, potentially losing her in the process", is essentially the choice the twins were given. Hero isn't made to kill a deer with her bare hands for the hell of it, she goes through what she does because Lark (who likely did not see the same thing that Normal did on the throne- or at the very least interpreted things very differently) and Sparrow had no reason to believe that there was any other possibility. This certainly does not negate or undermine the extent to which Hero was deeply traumatized by it all, but it's not exactly a detail that you can choose to ignore when discussing the ethics of Lark and Sparrow's decision-making.

And yet, despite it all, Sparrow and Lark do ultimately chose saving their children over saving the world. Not before significant damage has already been done (to Hero that is), but they do decide to go through with the one plan that allows both of their children to (hopefully) live a doodler-free life: code purple. Code purple, which ultimately reduces to a trolley problem with a presumably near-equal number of people on both tracks, with the important difference of sparing their own children in one case, and likely not the other. And if we want to talk about Henry's ethical stance in the matter and how it compares to the twins, we need to consider what it says about him if he was *not* in favor of code purple, with all of this in mind. Not to come to any hasty conclusions about Henry either- I think there remains too many unknowns on that front to assume much and... Ultimately it's a complicated matter! But that's kind of my point.

Even post code purple, Lark and Sparrow (and the rest of the kiddads) try to pursue that which they believe (or at least hope) will both put an end to the doodler without involving their children and without the enactment of the prophecy. Is blowing up an entire world with the sun to save all the others a plan I'm gonna sit here and defend? I don't think so lol, but you can't exactly look at it and pretend that Lark and Sparrow don't care about protecting their fucking kids.

My point isn't that Lark and Sparrow haven't made a lot of mistakes and questionable decisions, my point is that their circumstances are so much less black and white than the majority of the takes I see on them make them out to be, and a lot of the conclusions I see people jump to when it comes to the twins' feelings and intentions strike me as... Pretty odd? Tangentially-related: if you don't think Sparrow is someone who is affectionate with and deeply loves his kids despite his flaws, I don't really think we're listening to the same podcast. But even in Lark's case, yes he's more subtle about it and yes, Lark can be quick to anger (not that I personally read him yelling in the last episode as anger so much as panic but all the same), but affection can be sewing bulletproof material into your nephew's mascot costume, or secretly taking him out for pizza, or pretending to be his dad so that you can tell him you're proud of him, or putting your gun down when he asks you to. The twins are anything but perfect but, fuck if they aren't trying (and changing, and improving). And yes, they deserve some damn nuance.

Also, okay, I couldn't really find a neat way to bring this up in the above but, speaking of no-nuance and bad faith takes, can we talk about the locks? Or lack thereof, rather. "How could they be so stupid as to leave the door unlocked?" you're right, that does seem odd, and Anthony made a point to explain that every other door was very thoroughly locked, and Normal seemed to have practically been moved into opening the door against his own will so... Hear me out, maybe, just maybe, the door usually *is* locked??? And something fishy or unusual is afoot? I also wouldn't take their immediate, knee-jerk reactions to a dangerous flesh monster being released to come to any conclusions on whether or not Lark and Sparrow "blame" six-year-old Normal for it. In Sparrow's case, I struggle to even imagine it. In Lark's case, though I wouldn't put him above getting angry over it, my doubts on his deeper feelings are still high. Conversely, if he actually did place some of the blame on Normal, at the very least there is an interesting discussion to be had on how this relates to Lark's own guilt over what Willy manipulated him into doing, and subsequently being denied the catharsis of punishment. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Like I said, a lot of important things are yet unknown.

*breathes* okay end of overdue ramble [insert proper conclusion paragraph here lol], thank you.

[seulgiwifeee]

In a sad mood so can we get wendy comforting sad reader

♡ Member: Wendy x Femreader

♡ Theme: Fluff

♡ Warning: None

Word count: 2.3k

তততততততততততততততততততততততততততততত

Two light knocks are heard outside your bedroom door followed closely with a voice you weren't expecting to hear so soon. "Hey, Y/N?"

Wendy.

Knowing that it's just a few hours past noon, you assume that Wendy must've figured a way around her schedule to arrive home early from work today. You can't deny, you're of course glad about this, but still, not even your lover's presence or the gentle call of her voice can excite you enough to lift the continuous sadness that caves over your mind. All you can muster out is a sniff and sink your head deeper into your pillow.

Wendy presses her ear against the door after struggling to hear an audible response from inside, but eventually after a few more silent seconds she just turns the doorknob, pushing open the door and stepping inside to the scene of you sunken beneath your sheets, curled up closely to the wall with your back facing her. She leisurely walks towards the bed, giving herself time to examine your figure while hearing your occasional sorrow sniffs and whimpers.

Wendy was already sensing dull vibes after walking into a dead silent and empty house and standing outside your bedroom, not hearing any signs of life come from inside although she knew very well that you were in there. But this is just the cherry on top, she can clearly tell that you've been rotting motionless in that same spot for at least a few hours now, wallowing in your secluded emotions, and the pitiful sight of you only causes the joy in her heart to weaken in sorrow even more.

You can feel the mattress weigh down beneath you as she sits on the edge of the bed and rests a gentle hand on you, soothingly rubbing up and down your back while she continues to let you sulk for another good thirty seconds. "What's wrong, babygirl?" she asks with a frown. (Sorry, you can't convince me she wouldn't call her girlfriend babygirl)

You don't respond. Instead, burrowing your head further into the comfort of your pillow and tucking your knees closer into your chest.

Wendy sighs, twisting the top of her body around to meet your curled figure. "Baby?"

Again, not a word is said from you.

Wendy pouts at you, fully climbing onto the bed and laying behind you. She wraps her arms around you and pulls you in close for her to spoon you. Her breath is warm against your neck, sending a wave of chills up your spine as she whispers again. "Talk to me, Y/N. What's up?"

You slip your hands up from beneath your head and bring them down to hers, intertwining her soft fingers with yours. You hold your laced hands close to your chest and sigh as you shake your head.

You swear, you're not intentionally trying to ignore or be difficult with Wendy. In fact, you do want to spill everything that's been bothering you in that jumbled mind of yours, you really do, but despite all that, your stubborn little mouth just won't allow you to execute them into physical words.

She nudges her head against yours. "Come on, Y/N.."

You don't understand why you're not talking.

"Do you just not want to talk about it right now? Will you at least tell me later?"

You give a single nod.

Wendy frowns, but like the amazing girlfriend she is, she still hums understandingly, not wanting to push your patience any further with all these inquiries and snuggles her face closer against your nape, purring slightly.

"Should I leave you alone for now then?" she asks but you quickly shake your head. You might not be in the mood for venting, but you sure don't want to be left alone again to deal with all these invading thoughts. You need her touch and scent so you can at least stay sane to some extent.

She slightly peaks over you. "Well, since you want me to stay with you but aren't going to use your words with me can you turn to me so I can at least see your pretty face? I've barely seen you all day!"

You restrain yourself from moving at first, anxious about how Wendy will react once she sees the mess your face has been shaped into, but eventually you give in and weakly roll over to her, though your lids remain clenched.

You feel the tender touch of a hand cup your flushed cheek, a thumb swiping a lone tear. "Open your eyes for me, love," Wendy directs oh so sweetly.

You sigh, but oblige, fluttering your lashes open until you're making immediate eye contact with Wendy, revealing your all to her.

Now, Wendy can see you clearly, noting your red eyes, the puffiness of your swollen cheeks, the now dried mascara tear stains tattooed down your face, your rosy nose and all your hurt, being so much more apparent to her now.

"Aw my babyy," Wendy whines in her tiny voice, jutting her bottom lip out and staring at you with those big puppy eyes she knows you can never resist.

Wendy leans in, pressing a chaste kiss to the tip of your swollen nose and rakes her slender fingers through your disheveled hair. She leans back, continuing to analyze you with a frown and swipes a loose hair from your forehead. "I hate it when you look sad. I mean, you somehow continue to look adorable even like this, but it's still hurting my heart," Wendy says, sneaking in a tease in an attempt to crack a smile on your somber face, but it goes overlooked as you only focus on her other words, your guiltiness being fueled more and you instead frown.

Making Wendy sad is the last thing you wanted.

"My bad," you mutter, flaking your gaze down in guilt as Wendy finally hears your broken voice for the first time this day.

Wendy scrunches her eyebrows and quickly shakes her head at you. "No no no no no! Shh!" She smushes two fingers against your lips to hush you up while staring you down with a stern look and her lips pursed, continuing to firmly shake her head. "Don't you dare apologize to me for anything. All you need to do is stay here laying your pretty body down while I do everything I can until I can cheer you up and make you give me a genuine smile."

"You really don't have t—"

Wendy cuts you off, forcing those two silencing fingers to your lips again as she whistles another aggressive and long 'Shhhhh.'

"Don't.." she trails off with clenched teeth, cocking an eyebrow as she glares at you with one of her playful, exaggerated faces. Her eyes rapidly look you up and down and she failingly hides a smile, struggling to even take herself seriously. You can't lie, her expression almost stole a chuckle from you too.

"Now, baby," she starts, her tone softening again as she lowers her fingers, "do you want to go out somewhere or shall we just stay home for now? I'll do whatever makes you happy."

You look off into thought. You do want to go out with Wendy and have fun, really, but again, you simply just don't have the right energy built up to. "Here."

Wendy nods, trailing her fingers down your cheek and slightly lifts your chin. "Alright then, but first before you or I think about saying or doing anything else, I need to freshen you up. A clear face will be the start of a cleared mind." Wendy's thumb rubs over your smudged mascara.

You nod, getting ready to sit yourself up, but Wendy gently pushes you back down as your back's just barely risen from the bed, waving her finger as she shakes her head again with a disapproving hum. "No. Let me be a gentleman." Wendy scoots up quickly from the bed, grabbing onto you and dragging you by your waist to the end of the bed, completely taking you by surprise and picking you up as you gasp, carrying you bridal style.

Wendy giggles looking down at your startled face and exits the room, walking into the bathroom.

She places you on the sink counter, keeping her hands on your hips as she smirks up at you. You roll your eyes, your lips stubborn though a low, sarcastic remark still manages to slip past. "Oh, what a gentleman you are, Wen."

Wendy grins, feigning a blush as she places a hand over her mouth, pretending to get shy and twists a wavy lock around her finger. "I know right?! Aren't you just so lucky to have me?"

You shake your head looking away from Wendy as you fight to suppress the smile that's trying to creep onto your lips. Wendy whines with a playful pout and pinches your cheek. "Oh come on! I almost had you there! Just smile for me, pretty girl!" Her hand goes under your chin, squishing your cheeks upwards like putty to force a smile with your stubborn lips.

In her other hand, she wets a rag and begins to clean your face in gentle strokes. You both stare at each other silently, Wendy's tender gaze and a smile never leaving her, leaving you feeling all want warm and fuzzy inside just like every other time she's affectionate with you.

"Done!" Wendy announces pridefully once she wipes over your cheek one last time and places the rag down. She places both hands on your silky cheeks forcing you to look down at her and smiles contently. "Smooth just like baby skin now! Don't you already feel so much better now?"

You nod quietly.

Wendy grabs a nearby brush and combs through your hair to get all the tangles out and brushes it high up into a bun. She pinches your cheek again.

"Come on," Wendy gestures holding out her arms. You scoot closer off the edge, wrapping your legs around her small frame and scoot completely off the counter, clinging your arms around her neck as she holds you tightly. She giggles some more as she walks out of the bathroom carrying you and mumbles with a grunt. "My big ole baby."

—

You and Wendy silently lay on the couch. She's settled beneath you as you lay on her chest, your eyelids resting closed as you're lulled into relaxation listening to the pattern of her heartbeat and the sensations from her skilled fingers massaging your head. You can feel yourself nodding off.

Well, until you hear a sudden knock from the front door. You're pretty sure you don't remember inviting anyone over or ordering anything.

But Wendy on the other hand gasps, her eyes gleaming with a childish joy and gently but swiftly sits the both of you up. Well, clearly it seems like she knows what or who's out there.

"What's that?" you ask lowly but Wendy doesn't answer as she continues to skip over to the door.

Your body stays limp as you continue to lay flatly on the couch, although this position does give you a disadvantage of seeing who Wendy's speaking to as she thanks them for whatever she's received and then closes the door.

"Y/N!" Wendy coos, moseying on behind the couch with her hands held behind her back suspiciously.

Your eyes slightly cross looking up as Wendy towers over you, cheesing down widely at you. She removes her hands from her back and reveals a large bouquet of assorted pink and white roses above your head. "For you, my love."

You gasp, immediately sitting up from the couch to get a better look at them.

She hands you the flowers and you happily accept them, looking down and admiring them in shock. Just by the size and neatness with the way they're arranged you know they had to have been one hell of an expensive buy!

"What in the world, baby?! These are so pretty!

Are they really for me?" You place your hand to your melting heart as Wendy nods in confirmation.

"When did you even buy these?" you ask smelling the sweet earthiness of the bouquet.

"While you were busy laying on me I wanted to get these for you to cheer you up because I mean it's flowers! Who doesn't love flowers? I picked out the ones that I felt were as beautiful as you and made sure to buy the fastest same-day delivery they could do.

Just know, I might've bought the prettiest flowers, but they still could never come close to your beauty!"

Oh, you can't take it anymore, she's officially gone too cheesy! You can already feel your teeth molding in cavities from the tooth-aching sweetness of her actions, and the heat is unavoidable as your cheeks flush a deep crimson. You shield the lower half of your face in a failed attempt to hide your shyness. "Thanks so much, Wen. Really."

"It's nothing," Wendy shrugs, giving you a smug look as she flicks her hands over her shoulders to mimic brushing away dust.

She continues to look at you, a smirk held proudly while she slightly tilts her head looking at you with a certain look In her eyes like she's expecting something else to be added.

"What?"

"I don't know why you're purposefully holding yourself back from doing it," Wendy says crossing her arms.

You tilt your head, even more confused from her vague wording. "Holding myself back from what? What are you talking about?"

Wendy places her hands on her hips, tilting her head at you.. as if she expects you to be able to read her mind. "You know what I'm talking about.."

You stare at her completely clueless.

"Come on! You know.." Wendy crosses her arms.

After a few seconds of sharing confusing eye contact, you soon catch on to what she's insinuating, pressing your lips into a straight line and looking up with a defeated sigh. Fine, she wins.

Finally, you give in to her and smile coyly, covering your mouth as you giggle quietly.

Wendy does a mini celebration, cheering a "yes!" and pulls you in tightly in victory for finally being able to crack a smile out of you.

"Finally! Now, there's the smiley Y/N I've been waiting all day to see!"

I mean come on, it's flowers. I feel like flowers can instantly make anyone's mood better! And hopefully this cheers you up too anon,, Also FINALLY.. I have a Wendy fic posted

— Seulgiwifee ໒꒰ྀི♡˵ᴗ͈ . ᴗ͈ ꒱ྀི১

[tangsakura]

My Response to Sukuna's You Pronouns Post

The post I am responding to was made by @thepersonperson.

So here are my thoughts about the way Sukuna uses the second-person pronoun to people + my other observations. Please read @thepersonperson's post first before reading ahead for a better understanding.

Warning: The following content contains JJK spoilers beyond the anime, so if you aren't caught up with the manga, please DO NOT INTERACT. Also, mentions of homosexuality topic in Edo & Heian periods.

Sukuna's default pronoun is always omae. But the way it's written in the manga tells you how he seriously he is addressing you. When he was talking to Yuta and Haruta, it was written as お前, the hiragana/kanji way, the usual way. Yes, he is talking to you, but he is also nonchalant about you. It carries the connotation of 'okay, he/she is just some person, meh' kind of thing if you get what I mean.

We see this with Ryu, who he wasn't taking seriously because his main priority at that moment was to kill Yorozu, who was in Tsumiki's body. On the other hand, he looked down on Yuta since to him, his curse technique wasn't anything special; if anything, Rika was the one he was paying attention to because Yuta's powers depends on her (I hope I worded this right *sweats*).

Whereas if you look at the way he talks to Maki, Jogo, the Twins, and Yuji, he is using オマエ, the katakana way. I think that he is in the moment and directly talking to them seriously. Obviously, he doesn't see them as equals nor the same level as Gojo, but they got his attention, and he's directly talking to them.

As for Mahoraga, I feel like he is reminding it that its master is him now. He was talking as if Mahoraga is his subordinate and is disappointed that it is not fulfilling its master's wishes.

And here is where it gets interesting for Kisama. The people he used Kisama with are people he sees higher than those he uses Omae with.

Let's take a three-floored pyramid. At the very top is whatever the second person pronoun or whatever he uses to indicate that he considers them as equal, which obvs we will most likely not see him use. At the bottom are the Omae people, and in the middle are the Kisama people. It makes sense that Kisama is higher, since Kisama irl was originally used for respectable people, or even those higher than you in the upper class/ranks.

For Yorozu, I think the reason he used Kisama was because he's trusting her enough to do what is necessary if she ever defeats him. Throughout their fight, Sukuna uses オマエ, the serious Omae, meaning he's taking her seriously but still looking down at her more than Kisama people - Gojo and Kashimo. But when they're talking about what would happen if Yorozu defeats him, he talks as if he was trusting her enough with his 'dead' body (remember, to him, defeat = being no different than dying). Of course, he was not seeing her as his equal nor wants defeat from her, but interacting just enough to indicate to her 'hey, I don't ever want to die (be defeated), but if I ever do, do what you want with me. I trust you to some extent' kind of thing.

For Gojo and Kashimo, he uses Kisama to them because he sees them as someone he would fight with all of his attention, more than the Omae people. The ones who will give him a greater satisfaction, the ones he'll get along with even if it'll only be for a short while. Mind you, these two are the strongest in their era, so you might even think of it as acknowledging them for being at the top of the strength hierarchy in their generations.

Let me first start with Gojo.

In chapter 224, Sukuna calls Gojo "名前をついてないだけの魚" - a fish that merely has no name attached to it.

JJK Chapter 224

Think about it. Sukuna is called many names, including the titles 'King of Curses', 'The Fallen', and 'The Honoured One'. Even Kashimo is called, 'The God of Lightning'. But what about Gojo? In this generation, they call him 'The Strongest Sorcerer', but these two were also called that in their respective generations aside from their famous epithet(s). So what's his name outside of that? This is what Sukuna is telling him - he has no name outside of being 'The Strongest', thus he's just a fish. Don't get me wrong. He still thinks highly of him than those in the Omae level.

(Also, man says 'uo', the older Japanese word for fish, instead of 'sakana' lmao)

Now, in another instance, Sukuna included an English word into his speech and switched to the お前 pronoun. How I interpret this is Sukuna tricking Gojo. Remember, today in Japan, Kisama is a really derogatory second-person pronoun that it might as well be a swear word.

JJK Chapter 231

Sukuna isn't looking down on Gojo that much compared to those in the Omae category - he respects him to a certain extent; but Gojo doesn't see it like that. Gojo definitely thinks that Sukuna is looking down on him so much and that he is insulting him. When Sukuna remarks about the 'countdown until that smirk of yours disappears', Gojo sees it as a sign that Sukuna has elevated Gojo and sees him as an equal in the battlefield, indicating that his attacks dealt a tremendous damage on Sukuna. But about the countdown word, I think it may have also come from Yuji's and Megumi's influences that he uses a few English words here and there, but definitely he talked a bit like a modern person to seem like he was trying to connect to Gojo. We might as well say that he was taking advtange of modern Japan's language and societal norms to play on Gojo's mindset.

Anyways, unfortunately, in Sukuna's view, he was now nonchalant. Remember what I said previously about お前 for him - he's not serious in his interaction to the person he's using that to. So while it might not have been obvious to Gojo, it should be obvious to the readers, assuming they pay attention to how he uses his Omae pronoun..... that there was something strange with him. What's going on? Of course, we eventually find out what he has under his sleeve in ch 236.........

And as for remembering part of Yorozu's words..... it isn't clear when you read it this chapter alone, but once you read chapter 238, it makes sense.

JJK Chapter 238 (English Translation)

In that moment, Sukuna recognized that Gojo is having a hard time with making sense of 'love', that Gojo is dealing with solitude but hasn't come to terms with it. It made sense now as to why Sukuna remember Yorozu's words - chapter 238 confirms this through his dialogue. (I swear, this man knows how to read a person's psyche and personality so well and he uses it against people (e.g. Yuji)

Also, Yorozu's default second-pronoun, at least with Sukuna, is Anata, which is feminine and is the usual female second person pronoun regardless of the female's relationship to the person she's speaking with. Women also uses this to call their spouse or lover, just as how men will use omae or kimi to their spouse or lover (though, if we're talking about Sukuna, I don't think this rule will apply because of how he uses Omae......). Nevertheless, unless we see more of her, I'll consider Anata as her default second person pronoun.

Anyways, after Gojo's death comes Kashimo. Sukuna definitely acknowledges him as 'The Strongest' of his generation, as indicated with his use of Kisama, but he got pissed. He was high at that moment. He was genuinely satisfied. He fought someone who stood his ground and wasn't thrown uselessly around like Jogo did. He got to learn about this unique, calculative and power cursed technique. He was challenged with overcoming infinity, something so difficult to bypass, but overcame it with 10 shadows (shoutout to Mahoraga/Makora), not by his own technique alone. He got a new version of dismantle - World Slash.

He also most likely witnessed probably the most heartwarming afterlife scene for him (I refused to believe that he didn't witness the airport scene with Gojo and co. in their much younger selves - I mean he was there watching Jogo's afterlife scene then goes to interrupt, and does the same thing with Kashimo's afterlife scene), which makes me believe that it was also one of the reasons why he was beaming when he said, 'You are praiseworthy, Satoru Gojo. It seems that I will not forget you for as long as I live.'

JJK Chapter 236

Unlike Jogo and Kashimo, Gojo did not move on to the afterlife full of regrets and disappointment. Sure, he said that he didn't do well enough to reach Sukuna and all, but that was literally inconsequential. Like did you see him with all the people he was with during Inventory Arc, including Riko (no Toji) when he finally passed on? He was all smiles and there was nothing else. He got all the answers and anything else that he needed - the closure - from his peers from the afterlife, understood it all, and came to terms with it. So, there was no reason for Sukuna to intervene and give his two cents to Gojo to give him the closure he needed. That was why, Sukuna must've been happy, because Gojo had a 'proper death', no regrets and disappointment or whatsoever towards the life he led. He nor anybody else alive at the moment weren't needed by Gojo for him to move on.

Anyways, back to the topic of Kashimo.

I believe that if Kashimo had waited for a while for Sukuna to savour the aftermath of his fight with Gojo (I'm not even surprised if he was mourning his death a bit), he would've bothered to 'properly' fight Kashimo. What I mean is fighting him with him knowing about him, including his name. But that didn't happen. Even though he recognized Kashimo as worthy like Gojo Satoru, he entered at the wrong time. Even so, Sukuna entertained him, but if you read their fight, it wasn't the same as the one with Gojo. It felt more rushed and it just felt like Sukuna wasn't doing it for the sake of having fun and learning. It didn't help that Kashimo was being demanding of him for answers to his complications and issues.

Then, in the afterlife scene, when Kashimo was talking to Sukuna, it was noted how Kashimo went from Omae to Anta. I believe this is him not only elevating Sukuna or lowering himself in their interaction, but also letting Sukuna about his feelings for him. Anta is the informal version of Anata and is still feminine enough. When a guy uses feminine language, they are being polite/respectful to whoever they are talking to (unless they don't identify as a male).

Remember, Kashimo was from the Edo period and during that time, believe it or not, homosexuality was rampant among the monastic (monks) and samurai classes. There was this thing called age-structured homosexual relationships. So, basically, somebody young, usually adolescent male, would be in a relationship with their master, a male adult. Until the adolescent one comes of age, they will be in this relationship. Usually the older one is the active and dominant one, while younger one is the one receiving the older one. In the case of the samurai class, the younger one receives the older partner "out of love, loyalty, and affection, rather than sexual desire". There are also male prostitutes, mainly kabuki actors, who are sought by males, as well.

I think Sukuna also recognized Kashimo's attraction to him but he rejects him outright with the words he said to him that love was worthless. I mean, even in Heian era, there were also homosexual relationships. This is evident in Genji Monogatari, where Genji rejected a lady and instead slept with her younger brother. (Also, mind you all, we don't know Sukuna's sexual preferences, so don't make assumptions lmao)

In anycase, this is my two cents regarding Sukuna's second-person pronouns. I hope you had a fun time reading it. Feel free to share your thoughts or let me know what I missed. As usual, I will respond when I feel like it lmao

Until next time!

[handweavers]

of all the questions in the world "why are you trans" or "why are you gay" has to be one of the least interesting ones that exist but it's often the go-to question for conservatives when faced with the existence of lgbt people esp in conservative countries in my personal experience. and i've been trying to figure out why they ask that because it feels like such a stupid question on the surface like what do you mean 'why'??? but it occurred to me that the question really is "why did you choose to be open about this/make it my problem" and many try to answer by saying "i didn't choose i was born this way" which i personally find to be an unfulfilling answer, especially because that isn't really what the person is asking. they ask that question not necessarily because they can't fathom why people have such feelings but because they can't fathom why we would act on them, why we would be open about it, why we would do anything but keep those feelings very tiny and miserable within ourselves.

like i think most people regardless of their politics can understand to some extent the concept of gay attraction or gender euphoria, can recognize some aspect of that in their own experience, and if you come from a conservative country or culture you'll discover many people who have such feelings but have entirely stifled them, stamped them down, disregarded them, and it's clear those feelings still haunt them. people who will say "of course everyone has feelings for people of the same gender you just can't act on them" with a straight face or "everyone has wished they were a different gender but we cant do anything about it so oh well" not realizing how they sound and they're upset with you because you didn't ignore those thoughts or disregard them. they aren't exactly upset with you because you have those feelings, they're upset with you because you aren't ashamed of them, and whether that specific shame is a feeling that they relate to or the shame they're familiar with is of a different kind, if you're from a culture where social shame is so powerful and encompassing, the idea of someone not also being internally or externally crushed by that shame and taking their life into their own hands is upsetting. to see someone do that and not suffer consequences of doing so feels wrong to them.

like we have family members who remained stuck in marriages that made them miserable, in towns and villages that made them miserable, in jobs and lives that make them miserable, even if they had the material means to escape, but did not do so because of shame and some sense of duty, like that misery means something. perhaps those who did not have the material means to escape their misery, but you did, and what results is resentment and blame. and they look at you and it's not even necessarily that you're gay or trans or whatever that they hate you for, but because you escaped that shame, you were miserable and you decided you did not have to be and you did something for yourself, and just that act is often seen as selfish and upsetting within this cultural context.

esp in cultures where this kind of misery is seen as familial duty, so by forgoing such misery and the social expectations placed upon you you are simultaneously shirking your familial responsibility, in a society where familial and communal ties are everything. so when family members ask me "why are you trans" i just answer that i chose happiness and i am content with my choices, and the rest is something for them to work out.

[jackiespurnell]

I cant think of anything different for Jackie as an ask but i would like to hear your take on her character. Maybe bless us with a character analysis???

ahhh okay!!! i have so many thoughts on her!!!! for starters, i wanna talk about why i think some ppl in the fandom hate her sm cause ive never seen anyone whos neutral on her tbh like either ur a jackie anti or a jackie stan theres no in between.

i see a lot of people using the fact that her only crime was being a teeanage girl as an argument to defend her and while i wholeheartedly believe that, i think that’s the exact reason why people dislike her. i think a natural instinct that viewers have when watching a show is to take the sides of the "heroes." people usually root for the people with the best moral code (which is why nat is so beloved, besides the fact that she's hot asf). but in a show based on survival, where morals for the most part go out the window the second everyone is stranded in the wilderness together, nobody cares if you're the realest or the more relatable. in fact, i think in a show that is based on things that are highly unlikely to happen/deals with topics outside of everyday things, you're more likely to prefer characters that aren't real. in stuff like yellowjackets, people want the batshit crazy ones. they want the cult leaders and the butchers and the psychopaths. its made very clear that jackie isnt any of these things. you dont go into a show about cannibalism and murder and survival and think of a character like jackie. 

she's not the typical final girl. shows like these make you want to root for actively seek final girls. so of course, most people aren't going to gravitate towards jackie. i think ive seen maybe two people aside from myself on tumblr who jackie is their number one character and theres a reason for that. shes simply not what most yellowjackets viewers are looking for.

also, shes just a girl trying to fit into society and doing a pretty damn good job at it, at least on the outside. i think that’s another part of the reason she has so many antis, because 99% of the people want to fit in one way or another but if you’re getting seen/treated as an outcast, of course you’re going to envy the cool, popular girl. it would be another story if she was bitchy and mean but the fact that she’s so nice probably bugs people too without them even realizing it. sorry, but it’s the truth - people hate girls who are pretty and kind. jackie is that.

now, im not saying she’s perfect whatsoever, she has several flaws, she can be super vain and demanding sometimes, and even bossy, although i do believe a lot of that comes from obliviousness and compulsory heterosexuality (which, i won’t get too into cause i feel like a lot of people have already talked about it).

now, for a character study i think her defining trait is her popularity which is insanely sad, but also, its true. you see that she only knows how to be a cool, popular high schooler and the second all that doesn’t matter anymore, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. there’s a mitski songs with the lyrics “if i gave up on being pretty i wouldn’t know how to be alive” and i think that describes her perfectly. in a time and society where everyone has a public and a private side, and i think spent so long crafting ‘public jackie’ that she forgot how to be ‘private jackie.’ she spent so long trying to be a pretty girl that she forgot how to be just a girl.

i also think a reason that she was so kind to misty - outside of her just being a kind person - is the fact that jackie saw herself in misty. while i don’t think jackie was ever unpopular, i don’t personally believe that was always as cool and charismatic and we see her in high school. i think she was always charming to a certain extent, but i truly think entering high school she went the extra mile to become beloved and popular. misty was trying to do the same thing as jackie, she was trying so hard, and as much as i love misty, she was failing. jackie felt bad for her because she knew, not so long ago, she was kind of similar to her. jackie was also trying too hard. i saw an ella purnell interview where she said that sometimes she (ella) forgot she was a person, instead of a brand and i believe jackie resonates with that. she forgot she was a person, not just a popular girl.

she forgot who she actually was outside the makeup and the smiles and the perfect girl persona so much so that when the plane crashed, she didn’t know how to be. because while the other girls slipped out of their public image, jackie didn’t know who she was outside of her public image.

it got so bad that i don’t even think shauna truly loved her. shauna, who just wanted what was best for her best friend. shauna, who never really wanted jackie to die. shauna never really loved her, because shauna never really knew her. we see loads of bunnies around adult shauna’s house, when in reality, we know jackie hated bunnies. even shauna only saw the idea of jackie that she showed people, and that’s not shauna’s fault by any means, but it just goes to show that jackie never really let anyone in.

i think the most tragic thing about jackie by far, is that, ultimately, she just wanted to be loved. and she thought that by putting on this whole facade of having her life together and being the cool, hot soccer captain, people would appreciate and love her. but she mistaked being loved for being admired. and, as sad as it is, i think jackie died without anybody truly loving the real her.

tysm for the ask @yourlocalsaiko

[meldingintheunderdark]

The Drow twins and Halsin

Notwithstanding Halsin's peculiar predisposition with drow, yet another interesting topic about the man tbh, the foursome is honestly quite sad.

First things first, solo romanced Halsin ends up as a mute bear. There is none of the daring flirt present with Astarion and Shadowheart. Absolutely tragic. While I understand dirty talking to an ever changing PC would have been a logistical nightmare for Larian, the scene feels rather stale. But it's nothing compared with Halsin's behavior before, during and after the "Underdark experience".

Halsin: An intriguing pair. Takes me back to my youth... Sszazar: Interested, Halsin? Halsin: More than interested, if you feel the same. [...] Sszazar: I would like to hire both of you. And I hope my partner will join us as well. Halsin: So long as all are willing, I see no reason why we should deny ourselves...

Whilst I've read comments arguing Halsin is not enthusiastic at all or cocky and happy to show off, I disagree with the lack of nuance.

Clearly, during the initial talk to hire or not the twins, the bear is down to have fun with them and, from my pov, the fact they are drow is the driving force motivating his choice. He craves drow as much as he despises them (Lolth-sworn).

Sorn Orlith: I can't quite believe it - a night of passion with the famous Halsin? I might faint before I can expend myself. Nym Orlith: Legends spread of you throughout the city... We heard tell that you can change into a bear. Halsin: I hadn't realised I was that popular. But we must give the people what they want, mustn't we?

It's interesting to note the first allusion to his traumas happens during said talk. Furthermore, as soon as they're in complete darkness, Sorn immediately admits they know who he is. The twins explain that Menzoberranzan drow (they seem to hint they fled this city) aren't merely spreading rumors about Halsin but legends. In other words, his traumatic years are widely distributed folktales, retold over and over again. We know that legends are altered over time, thus I wonder if details are embellished. Since Nym mentions his wildshape the instant Sorn is quiet, I do believe his traumas are now a bunch of raunchy, bawdy tales Menzoberranzan drow like to share when they're feeling naughty.

Of course, some stories may come from his other visits. Unfortunately, the canon doesn't give sufficient info to differentiate their content, let alone their sources.

So, Halsin is already thinking about his captors, moreover he is physically vulnerable because they're all blind and butt naked, then he is hit with this information.

Halsin: I hadn't realised I was that popular.

This sentence alone is worth analyzing.

Halsin is already aware he is popular amongst drow (and everyone else with good taste in men). This is probably related to one of his statements during his love confession :

Halsin: And I've been to the Underdark. Many times.

He returned to the Underdark despite his traumas (or rather because of them), therefore he has surely been exposed to his fame. Some of it, at least, because the emphasis "[...] that popular" implies he doesn't know how famous he actually is. He is now exposed to the glaring fact that he is (and his traumas as well) fetishized to a certain extent by Menzoberranzan drow.

Halsin: [...] But we must give the people what they want, mustn't we?

English isn't my first language, so my interpretation may be erroneous. Nevertheless, the use of "we" instead of "I" intrigues me. In my opinion, the pronoun is very significant. Why does Halsin switch from "I" to "we" the very next sentence? Because he is diluting the first person with the pronoun "we". He's distancing himself.

"But I must give the people what they want, mustn't I?" sounds harsher. He must do it. It's an obligation. He's compelled to do so. The pronoun "we" helps him feel safer. He's trying to have control in the given situation. People write novels about Astarion dissociating, rightfully so, yet I believe that "I" vs "we" is a form of dissociation too. He sees the twins. He thinks about his captors. He is sexually attracted to the twins. He was and still is trauma-bound to his captors. He learns his traumas are saucy tales in total obscurity, naked.

But it isn't the icing on the cake yet.

If we rewind to the very beginning, who are Sorn and Nym? They're prostitutes. They are paid 1000 gold to service their clients. And yet...

Sorn Orlith: Will tonight at last be the night I die during an act of pleasure? [...] Nym Orlith: Doesn't it...? How does it even fit? [...] *The drow are filled with awe at your and Halsin's habits throughout the night, time and time again.*

In the end, Halsin is servicing them, like he did with his captors. He shifts to a bear because they want it. Their overeager reactions and the narrator line may indicate they are thrilled to get the famed bear and have him at their entire disposal. He is a legend. Do they truly ackowledge him as a common, but thick af, wood elf? Or do they solely see the mysterious hero of some spicy tales? I particularly dislike the scene because it seems Halsin and, in my case, Sszazar are observed rather than pleased by the twins. I suspect that for Sorn and Nym Halsin is an exotic toy and not a normal client.

Also, he only shifts back to his hunk self when the twins are out of the picture. In the closing shot of them all napping, he's still a bear. I assume he spent the whole night as a bear. Is it merely to become the best pillow available? I bet his wildshape make him feel safer.

Halsin: Indeed. Our time with them was... certainly bracing. Takes me back to some youthful misadventures in the Underdark.

Last but not least, the option to ask Halsin about his "misadventures" in the Underdark is available thanks to this encounter. Technically, Halsin can reveal his traumas without ever leaving the Underdark room at Sharess' Caress. His years of suffering are at the forefront of his thoughts and he opens up about them the moment he's asked by the one person who reciprocates care.

To conclude, I think Halsin did not have a grand time during the foursome, even if he appears eager at first. I don't believe the night was downright traumatizing, however it did reopen old festering wounds. His decisions are heavily influenced by his unhealed, unaddressed traumas.

It does bother me to read countless lame takes about Astarion vs Halsin, as if one deserves more care and attention than the other. They're both terribly traumatized. Because Halsin reacts differently to his traumas, because he is not the perfect, ideal victim, too many fans disregard his pain. The way I see it, the foursome is full of hints about his traumas. He's not dumping everything out of nowhere when morning comes. His pain was here all along. It's a fascinating encounter.

[kanmom51]

This needs to stop

I really contemplated if to put these words down, but I am so angry and disappointed and sad at this point that I felt I had to vent.

Disappointed. I think that's the key word for what I am feeling right now.

I understand that people are upset/angry/enraged by the shit that followed JM's release of his first solo album Face. I understand because I am enraged as well.

I have no doubt in my mind that he was wronged.

He succeeded beyond anyone's dreams and probably kind of ruined certain dreams some of these people had of their own.

But to take that anger and to turn it on the one person that supported and supports JM beyond any of us is infuriating to me.

Turning on JK?

Because of what? A shithead called Scooter Braun, who has his own personal agenda and history shows us has zero real interest or care in the actual artists he is pushing?

Do people forget who JK is?

Do they need a reminder course here?

I guess I will have to give them one.

JK is JM's favourite person in the whole world.

And a full masterlist to show it:

JK is JM's number 1 fan and showing it to us whenever he just can, with or without the company's permission.

JK is one of the most artistic and creative people there are.

Suga about JK

And maybe read what one of the stylists working on the Seven concept had to say about JK and the concept.

JK's concept. He came ready to the table. He knew what he wanted to show, what message he wanted to send.

He was given option, other concepts, other ideas, and he chose what he chose.

JK didn't steal JM's ideas. He didn't utilize them for the lack of coming up with original ideas of his own. Don't believe me, believe JK's talent, his artistry.

JK CHOSE this. This is what he wanted us to see.

It's not about copying. It's about showing us who inspires him.

It's about showing us, not only telling us, who his catalyst is.

He CHOSE the EXACT same leather pants that JM wore.

Do you see the scribble at the bottom of the jeans?

JK CHOSE the jeans with the mud.

He CHOSE.

He did not copy or plagiarize.

He took artistic liberty to mirror JM's photoshoot to an extent.

Sending us all I'd say more than one message.

First one is what I mentioned above. JM is his inspiration.

Second is connecting himself to JM, to Face, to Like crazy.

Perhaps his way of showing us he's that person that stood by JM's side when he was struggling. The one that tread mud with him. The one that tried to wake him up, save him, but JM wasn't ready for that just yet at the time. The one that let JM embrace him while trying to escape reality.

And instead of seeing what JK is trying to tell us, his fans, Jikookers as well, are turning on him?

Making JK out to be someone that doesn't have an original idea and goes and steals JM's is disrespectful to both JK and JM, btw.

This coming from people that supposedly love and know JM and JK?

JM is a 27 strong willed young man. And evidently, JM has no issues with JK of late.

JK is a 25 yo creative artistic young man, who adores and admires and lives for JM, and would NEVER steal something from JM, never take something of JM's and pass it on as his own.

Do they not understand that JM is joking when he calls JK his copycat? Has been for years now.

Did they not see the joy and love in his eyes when JK said "I'm hyung's copycat"?

He knows that JK looks up to him.

He knows that JK is inspired by him.

He lives for that.

And to go and to make it into something ugly it's just so infuriating.

JM was wronged. We can agree on that. The COMPANY could have and should have done better.

THE COMPANY.

Not the other members.

Not JK.

I get the anger and frustration. But do we take it out on the one person that did right by JM? Do we take it out on the one person JM loves more than anything? The person that JM will stand by and support and root for to succeed? How is that loving JM?

Since when did two wrongs make a right?

Don't go around saying you won't support JK's single.

Support him all while continuing to support JM's songs.

[tommyssupercoolblog]

i love your post about dnp’s relationship!! i feel like people don’t really understand the true level of love people can have for each other outside of just a regular romantic relationship

we live in a society that constantly shoves the concept of romance down our throats, that we are all made to believe that people are either in a romantic relationship, or they’re not. we can all agree that everything is on a spectrum, so why can’t we do the same for relationships?

dan and phil very obviously love and care for each other in a very special and beautiful way. there is no more that needs to be said.

another thing that i find kind of annoying is when people say that “the only reason they call each other ‘best friends’ is cause they haven’t hard launched yet, and they call each other boyfriends/partners/husbands/etc in private”. i say this so many times, and ill keep saying it, everyone has their own definitions of labels. “best friend” can feel so much more intimate, meaningful, and personal to them than any other label, and that is beautiful! of course, like you said, this isn’t to say that they’re “definitely not” saying those things, it’s just something to consider

i could also very much be projecting, as i’ve been slowly figuring out i may not be as alloromantic as i initially thought, but i digress

i could also be totally wrong!! the beauty of having such a caring relationship with another person is knowing that no one can ever truly know the extent of your relationship besides each other. that is a remarkable thing, and should be enough for everyone to understand, and respect everyone’s theories/opinions/experiences without hate ❤️

i’m sorry this is so long, i really hope it made sense, i rambled for quite a while, but oh well, thank you for reading :)) <33

No I get it! That's why I said something haha

Thing is they absolutely could be dating in private and to be completely transparent I do have some suspicions they might be. But it seems to be a very black and white, and very CERTAIN, issue with a lot of people. Some folks said they were worried about Dan and Phil being all "no homo" about the conspiracy theories as if it'd destroy the relationship they have if they did, and it made me think about how...if they don't consider themselves a couple that doesn't mean they don't consider themselves soulmates and very important to each other- they obviously do, they've said it over and over. Nothing can erase that.

I did have someone say they think the idea of a QPR is unlikely because they never expressed interest in one and while I don't think they have actively said that, they also generally have kept things private until necessary, and also....QPRs are not in the public consciousness. Do you have any idea how many people found out about the aromantic and asexual spectrums for the FIRST TIME EVER from Jaiden Animations' coming out video? And that didn't even mention QPRs. Queerplatonic relationships are NOT common and they aren't visible to a lot of people, even other queer people.

Talking about a queerplatonic relationship would require a lot of setting groundwork and sitting down and EXPLAINING, similar to how Jaiden had to explain things in her video. It's not enough to go "this is a queerplatonic relationship" if no one knows what the fuck that is, you have to thoroughly debrief everyone, so if that is what going on I could see why it wouldn't be so casually brought up. Like, they would need to feel comfortable and ready to sit down and explain it to people.

There's also the fact, as they mentioned in the tags as well, that if they were a man and woman people would already assume they were together as fact; but that's just as much amatonormativity as it is homophobia. That assumption, that a man and woman who act like Dan and Phil would be together, shouldn't go unchallenged. The difference in assumptions often comes from homophobia, but the assumption wouldn't exist in the first place without amatonormativity.

(Same person also mentioned they aren't aroace but I'm going to discount that critism entirely as you don't need to be aroace to have a QPR in the first place, they just come up more in those spaces because people are already critiquing the idea of relationships and what they mean.)

I just don't want anyone to lash out if it's a QPR, and I also want people to remember (or learn!) that QPRs are an option, because it's not discussed often and this is a pretty good opportunity to broach the topic. They could be dating, they could be in a QPR, we don't know. And the thing is, we can't know- that's what I'm saying- unless they elaborate we'll never know and that's...okay!! :D

I have no problem with posts calling them a couple or anything, I reblog those a lot, I just felt I should mention this option too.

Regardless they're still our silly gay little YouTube blorbos and that's incredible :3

[acti-veg]

You know. I often here about how "Indigenous people honor animals even when they kill them" and that... That doesn't really seem to be the experience I get when I join my community. Sure people do "care" for the animals that their survival depends but ultimately I feel like to take the life of a living being requires a level of objectification and detachment otherwise how can you do it without going literally crazy and tormented by guilt? While I don't like to judge my people whose sustenance comes from animal products I don't think I'd be able to raise an animal and then kill it. I have a cat pet and I can't imagine the though of any harm coming to them let alone to cause them harm. I keep thinking about how my grandma when she was little refused to eat the meat of a lamb she played with and got very attached to.

This is something that I've always found incredibly frustrating about online discourse on this topic. The idea that 'indigenous people' all think, or feel or behave a certain way as if they are some sort of homogenous group is absurd. Indigenous populations are as diverse a literally any other culture, two indigenous groups in two seperate continents may share very little, and two indigenous individuals even less.

Of course there is some level of shared identity between and within indigenous cultures and lots of common themes, animism and shamanism, a reverance for nature and a duty of care for it are common threads. But excluding animism, those are also common threads for all major world religions, perhaps not to the same extent, but that doesn't exactly guarantee good treatment for animals, and certainly not protection from exploitation or abuse.

This noble savage stereotype, while leftists may view it as a positive, is completely unhelpful and means we don't engage with the actual issues facing indigenous communities. Positive stereotypes obscure what the priorities and challenges of communities actually are, and just allows us to view people in overly simplistic terms for us in our media and our arguments.

Indigenous advocacy groups have been telling us about ranchers stealing their land, extorting, bullying and killing them for decades, much of which is to feed western demand, which is routinely ignored in discourse of this kind. Instead all they do is use indigenous people as pawns in their shitty anti-vegan arguments while not bothering to even learn anything about the cultures they're bringing up. Most of them got their ideas of what indigenous people are or aren't from clumsy stereotypes in film.

As with all groups they want to use in their arguments, they're not interesting in hearing about complex, multi-faceted stories or competing ideologies held within those groups. They just want a simple 'indigenous hunters honour the animal and use every part' so they can throw it at vegans while pretending we think that subsistence hunting communities are terrible people for killing animals. Unfortunately this isn't new, I've seen anti-vegans trot this one out with zero analysis or nuance for at least a decade.

[lady-phasma]

Do you believe Aemond is a Valyrian Supremacist? He models Daemon so much in his focus on Valyrian history, dragons, Targaryen blood etc, that to me I feel as though he must to some extent believe Targaryen's to be superior? I see alot of people defending him on the basis he isn't, but... I just don't see why Aemond of all characters wouldn't have feelings of superiority based on his blood? Extending from that, do you think he would have preferred to wed a Targaryen woman? We get a glimpse he feels that way from the TV show, but in the circumstances he had another sister instead of Helaena, surely he would have been betrothed to her/wanted to be? I just truly cannot see him as being free of "bigotry" in regards to seeing non- Valyrians as below him. Like? Isn't that the point of him hating Rhaneyra's sons? Because they are bastards from a lower House?

This is a really great ask, anon. Thank you for asking me. But of course, you asked me, so it’s no surprise that I will give a very me answer.

First, I really dislike having that phrase Valyrian Supremacist on my blog. I only have it one other time that I can remember and that was also an ask. Briefly, I’ll tell you why: it is a 20th-21st century Earth term that may not have been present in Westeros. If we are discussing in-universe theory and not literary/film theory then I choose to avoid it.

This may get long but I want to be as clear as possible: I only slightly agree with you. If we grant the premise, that he models parts of his personality after Daemon (which is a difficulty premise to grant in its entirety), then I would say that his Targaryen side would value that heritage to a degree. However, he cares deeply for his entire family and that includes the Hightowers. His last name is Targaryen, but let’s not forget he is also a Hightower. I think great houses/names are very important to royalty in Westeros, Aemond included. Hightowers are certainly not lowborn.

Trying to go in the same order as your questions, I would say next that all descendants of Valyria may feel superior because of history and dragon lore. I can never overlook House Velaryon in these discussions. They also have immense pride in their heritage and name. However, when you say “Aemond of all characters” I wonder exactly why he stands out as someone for whom this pride seems more important. If we examine his actions in season one and in the book, I think we can see that his character is no more or less concerned with it than the average character.

If he were more concerned with Targaryen blood and that pride fueled his decisions, what would that say about Alys Rivers? I think most fans who haven’t read the book know a little about her, but for those who don’t she was a bastard Aemond took as a “war bride.” Regardless of whether or not she bewitched him, we can’t talk about his life as a whole without mentioning her and their relationship. If she did, we aren't told at exactly what point that happened. He wasn't above sex with non-Targaryens.

Since it was first uttered, I have been obsessed with his line “I would perform my duty, if mother had only betrothed us.” Leo Ashton delivered it with such sincerity and commitment that it is hard to argue against Aemond’s devotion to his family (not discussing any specific romantic ships here). As we know, royalty and aristocracy in Westeros get very little choice in who they wed. The hypothetical “if he had another sister” is interesting because that marriage would, ultimately, be decided by Viserys and Alicent.

Such a betrothal would have been seen as a duty and honorable, so I have no doubt that Aemond would have agreed. I don’t know that anyone would disagree that Aemond puts his family above everything else. Thus, I have yet to see in the series direct bigotry from him. Factually, with no nuance, the issue with Rhaneyra’s sons is illegitimacy. Every character may have a different interpretation as to how this effects the line of succession and only a few state it explicitly in the series. I would argue that Aemond doesn’t care that their father isn’t Laenor Velaryon when he first calls them bastards. Children at that age might not really comprehend the ramifications of that accusation (I think we see clearly that Aegon doesn’t). Aemond first dislikes his nephews because they were cruel to him. Yes, his brother was as well. The Pink Dread was seemingly almost entirely Aegon’s idea, but siblings often forgive each other more readily than they may forgive outsiders.

In Fire & Blood we get a clear picture of how much his animosity and resentment fuel his actions:

One by one, every man and boy with Strong blood in his veins was dragged forth and put to death, until the heap made of their heads stood three feet tall.

I do not think this action was about bloodlines or heritage. I believe this was entirely revenge. By this point in the Dance, Aemond is furious and nearly crazed by his need to avenge the wrongs done to his family. I don’t think it was an attempt to annihilate the Strong bloodline, but a show of force and power. Aemond is formidable, rash, and still young enough to not care about consequences. Perhaps you have noticed I skipped over the direct slight against him. Lucerys altered Aemond’s life irrevocably. Had this same mutilation happened to a low born boy, he would have had no future at all in Westeros. Aemond’s lifestyle was only salvaged because he is royalty and through determination of will.

Would the loss of an eye, the murder of one’s young nephew (Prince Jaehaerys), and the maiming of one’s brother cause a young prince to go nearly mad with rage and the need for revenge? I believe so. By this point in the Dance, further along than I think you asked about, Targaryen heritage is probably the last thing on Aemond’s mind. I have no doubt that he was raised to believe that dragons, the throne, and many other things make Targaryens better. But we should never discount his mother’s influence. This man loves her dearly and Alicent may provide some balance in his understanding of things. My headcanon about his religion (not particularly relevant here) comes from the canon that Alicent has a strong faith in the Seven. I think this has a deep effect on Aemond and could influence whether or not Targaryen blood is paramount to him.

Lastly, I wanted to address this statement:

I see a lot of people defending him on the basis he isn’t

I assume that you use “defending” in the sense that these fans attempt to separate him as somehow immune to this pride or better than other Targaryens. I don’t know that I have read exactly the defenses you’re referencing, but I will be clear: this is not a discussion of fanfiction. If that is an element of a work of fanfiction, then by all means, go for it. It doesn’t seem plausible, however, that anyone of Valyrian descent is immune to this type of indoctrination.