#on a scale of 1-10 this is like a 6 for things that will set me off but like | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rafeslvbug · 17 days ago

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introducing…nba!rafe

back to basics!! (physical)

height: 6”6/6”7 (power forward) second tallest player on his team, uses his height for intimidation over the ball, and in other ways too - outside the court.

build: 220lbs. built, but needs to be agile at the same time. 6”8 wingspan. back muscles you could honestly die for. probably always has some bruises/scratches up his arms and back that no one knows if it’s from training or from you.

age: early to mid twenties. considered one of the most significant power forwards currently in the nba.

looks!! (specific)

tattoos/piercings: has a small tally on his upper arm for nba championship wins. currently set to two. doesn’t wear earrings, though he’s got one piercing from a bet he made. nothing other than that.

signatures: always wearing sports shorts. around the house, out and about in summer, training, etc. unless you actually have to go somewhere, in which case he knows how to dress up. he’d have a thin chain around his neck. silver. small. plain. about the only jewellery he lets himself wear.

personality

jealous: on a scale of 1-10? 11. he can’t help it, if i’m honest. with your popularity, you’ve dated other men who you still see often in your industry. and he knows your quick with relationships, finding something stable is hard. but he wants to be stable. he doesn’t need other people getting in the way of that. arm around your waist at any of your events, showing up to every concert. wouldn’t hide under a hat in the vip section, probably glare down every man who’s staring at you on stage. i’d hate to think of what he’s like with the male dancers.

straightforward: rafe’s clear about what he wants. you. to win. stability. there’s no questioning him, or his intentions. it’s refreshing in a way, no guessing, no wondering if your partner loves you as much as you do. it’s what you need. in other ways it’s often the cause of his stress. when he knows what he wants, and how to get it, and it doesn’t work out for him. he’s too rigid at times, not as flexible or fun as he should be. on the brightside, it fixes arguments quickly.

charismatic: out of a line of men, no doubt wanting to date you, he got you. his biggest brag, but in the end it was how he did it. irresistible charm, didn’t pretend even for a minute that he was only trying to befriend you. made it clear, took what he wanted. flirtiest idiot alive.

supportive: would be at every concert, every show, every event. whenever he can make it, he’s there. no excuses. expects you to do the same, could cause arguments. biggest fan, though. online, in person. never ashamed to say your his, loves when he gets to talk about you.

dislikes

arrogant players. people who think it’s pure talent that got them here. that they’re untouchable. he’ll straighten them out, show them on the pitch that no one is undefeated.

exes. your exes, specifically. hates that you still work with them on occasion. hates how the media is always raving about you and them. always comparing him and them. also hates how people compare you to his exes, when you & him know full well you’re the best gf he’s ever had and vice versa.

small doorways. can’t fit himself through, has to duck his head, will bang it anyways. and if they’re narrow? might just stay outside, doesn’t want to do the awkward sideways step through.

time wasters. in matches, in life. hates doing things without purpose unless it’s actually comforting. walking around aimlessly? unless it’s supposed to be a relaxing walk, it’s just dumb. hates boredom. restless af.

likes

analysing plays. it’s all he does really, studying how to improve himself and get better at the game. if someone is doing better than he is? fine, he’ll learn from them. improve himself. believes he needs to learn from the greats rather than mope around and envy them - that’s how he becomes them.

emotionally intelligent people. people who can understand him, those he can have deep conversations with while still bantering.

someone who has their priorities straight. wants to be with someone who’s resilient. when they set goals, they meet them. where they can support each other.

listening to you talk. at night, when he’s tired, he can lie down on the bed, and just listen to you talk. about anything. your day, stories, song ideas/lyrics and album concepts. he could do it all day long, that is not purposeless.

family & people-specific hcs

nicknames for you: star, pretty girl, baby, missy

nicknames you have for him: baller, my man, cutiepie (as a joke)

- his jersey number is your favourite number

- you guys are most likely engaged. he’d put the biggest rock on your hand and you wouldn’t be private per say. you’re always at his matches, he at your concerts, always out and about together. you’ll record tts from time to time with him in them, or he might post photo dumps with you in them.

- he’d want kids. definitely. all these basketball players he’s surrounded by have the cutest families. he wants it. wants a little boy/girl to take to all his matches, have on his lap during after match conferences, hold on his hip during concerts.

- he’ll do anything you want. star in a music video? sign him up! attend your concert on stage? yes yes. be part of a tiktok? of course.

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strawbewiecake · 1 month ago

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📌 what helps (no context necessary) 📌

Everyone asks “how do you stay on track” — here’s how. Take what fits. Ignore the rest.

1. Delay the decision.

Set a 30-minute timer. If it still matters after, fine. But most things don’t survive the wait.

2. Log everything.

You forget less when it’s in writing. Numbers > feelings.

3. Use small utensils.

Takes longer. Feels like more. Slows everything down.

4. Ice water. Always.

Cold = alert. Also makes the other thoughts quieter.

5. Mint > sugar.

If you want something sweet, go sharp instead. Gum, tea, oil, whatever.

6. Clean first.

Before anything else, tidy. It helps recalibrate.

7. Stand when you can.

Passive movement still counts. Don’t sit unless you’re earning it.

8. Plan out loud.

Even if no one’s there, narrate the plan. Hearing it makes it real.

9. Brush your teeth.

Twice minimum. It resets the mouth. You’ll want less.

10. Delay “first intake” as long as possible.

Once it starts, it gets harder to stop.

11. Track progress obsessively.

Whatever method works. Spreadsheets, apps, photos, stickers, scratches on the wall. Doesn’t matter.

12. Black coffee is a tool.

Bitter, hot, zero. Enough said.

13. Cut things small.

Visually it tricks the brain. Looks like more. Feels like less commitment.

14. Repetition = safety.

Same meals. Same outfits. Same schedule. Predictability keeps you in control.

15. Stay cold.

Blankets are earned. Heat is a reward.

16. Pick a uniform.

Avoid mirrors, avoid choices. Choose once, then stop choosing.

17. Never eat directly from packaging.

It’s chaos. Use a plate. Use a scale. Use a rule.

18. Save pictures.

Visual reminders of why. Make it a folder. Scroll through it when your brain gets loud.

19. Say no out loud.

Even if it’s just to the fridge. Out-loud “no” works better than silent guilt.

20. Delay. Again. Always delay.

Craving = momentary. Control = permanent.

21. Use liquids to kill time.

Tea. Water. Sparkling stuff. Sip constantly.

22. Keep your hands busy.

Paint nails. Fold clothes. Shred receipts. Idle hands spiral fast.

23. Don’t trust your mood.

Mood lies. Mood passes. Stick to the system.

24. Sleep earlier to avoid noise.

Late night = weak decisions. Just go to sleep. You don’t need that hour.

25. Check the stats.

Weigh in. Take notes. Keep score. It keeps you aware.

26. Routines over feelings.

How you feel doesn’t change what needs to be done.

27. Reward with non-food.

Playlist, candle, bath, nap, photo. But never what you actually want.

28. Watch people you want to be like.

Consume their content. Learn their habits. Copy until it sticks.

29. Replace "I'm hungry" with "I'm bored."

One’s real. One isn’t. You know which one wins.

30. Don’t keep “options.”

If it’s not in your space, it can’t tempt you.

31. No “just a bite.”

You know how that ends. Don’t start it.

32. Pause. Then pause again.

The second pause is where your power is.

📁 Reblog to keep this where you can find it.

💌 DM open if you want to swap more tips quietly.

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simdertalia · 2 months ago

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✨🤘 Band Merch Set 🤘✨

Sims 4, base game compatible | 24 items 💗

This set is brought to you by the lovely patrons who voted in this month's poll, I hope you enjoy! 💗

Always suggested: bb.objects ON, it makes placing items much easier. For further placement tweaking, check out the TOOL mod.

Use the 0-9 keys to raise or lower items to your liking. This & bb.moveobjects are needed for placing the objects that go "on" the display separator. Raise them to desired height, hold down alt and move them right into place accurately, wherever you want!

Use the scale up & down feature on your keyboard to make the items larger or smaller to your liking. If you have a non-US keyboard, it may be different keys depending on which alphabet it uses.

Download below, all in a zip file or pick & choose!

Type “band merch" into the search query in build mode to find quickly. You can always find items like this, just begin typing the title and it will appear.

As always, please let me know if you have any issues! Happy Simming! 💗

📁 SimFileShare (no ads): HERE

📁 Alt Mega Download (still no ads): HERE

🌻 Download on Patreon

Will be public on June 7th 1st, 2025 💗 Midnight CET This has been changed for Edgewave being on for this year

Happy Simming! ✨ Some of my CC is early access. If you like my work, please consider supporting me (all support helps me with managing my chronic pain/illness & things have been rough for awhile now):

★ Patreon 🎉 ❤️ |★ Ko-Fi ☕️ ❤️ ★ Instagram📷

Thank you for reblogging ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

@sssvitlanz @maxismatchccworld @mmoutfitters @coffee-cc-finds @itsjessicaccfinds @gamommypeach @stargazer-sims-finds @khelga68 @suricringe @vaporwavesims @mystictrance15 @moonglitchccfinds @xlost-in-wonderlandx @jbthedisabledvet @fischottersims

The rest of my CC

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arciam · 4 months ago

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Underrated JayVik moments/lines (13/∞)

"You should come up with me. We're partners!"

...This well-meaning, painfully oblivious himbo is2g.

Don't get me wrong; it's great that Jayce wants Viktor to be included. But that scene as a whole, to me, has always been one of the most brutal when it comes to the developing disconnect between Jayce and Viktor.

It's the most unguarded with Jayce Viktor will ever be about his anxiety regarding the precarious spot he inhabits in Piltover and society as a whole, his damaged self-image... and yet there is not a shred of recognition on Jayce's face as to why Viktor would decline to make a public appearance in front of "all of them".

After all, they're partners, equals (and in Jayce's eyes, Viktor was never broken), so where's the issue?

This right here is a running theme throughout season 1 - time and time again, Jayce fully fails to assume Viktor's perspective and see what the world looks like through his eyes. Jayce knows he thinks the world of Viktor, but sadly, this blinds him to how differently they are treated, how broken Viktor views himself in anticipation of people's disdain, and above that, just how lonely Viktor feels.

How fully and truly forsaken he feels whenever Jayce fails to support him.

Jayce doesn't understand that Viktor needs him at all.

Once you recognise this, you see it in almost all of their scenes throughout acts 2 and 3. Even in some they don't share, such as, infamously, the sex scene.

(Even the one time Jayce appears somewhat close to this realisation, he says "now he needs me and there's nothing I can do" ...Jayce please. Even Mel understood that the only thing he would have had to do for Viktor was to not leave him alone, yet this pure-of-heart, dumb-of-ass boyfailure keeps wanting to do the most and thereby accomplishing the least. I love my man dearly but Christ alive...)

Thankfully though, it doesn't stay that way.

Because not only does Jayce eventually learn – in a very hands-on way – what the world looked like from Viktor's perspective by losing the function of his leg, clawing his way from the depths of the Fissures to the top of Piltover in maddening solitude (save for the gawking of unsympathetic entities). And not only does he learn that the „impossible dream“ as his mother put it, the beauty and the salvation he was chasing his entire life was Viktor all along.

He also learns that this same dream literally bent time and space solely to set Jayce on his path to Viktor. To save him from himself, to save him from loneliness –

because Viktor needs him.

"Only you can show me this." - Without you, I am lost.

And I believe the moment Jayce realised this, understood the depth and scale to which Viktor actually needed him, that's all there was. In the end, when given the choice, of course he was going to stay with Viktor over abandoning him ever again.

(Disclaimer: When I refer to Jayce as a himbo or a dumbass, I am not downplaying his intellect, only questioning why he's not using it sometimes.)

Part 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/7½/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

← Prev | Next →

#JayVik #JayVik meta #Arcane meta #Jayce Talis #Viktor Arcane #Jayce x Viktor #Arcane #Underrated JayVik series

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batboyblog · 10 months ago

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Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #33

Sep 6-13 2024

President Biden marked the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act and highlighted efforts to stop gender based violence. the VAWA was written by then Senator Biden and he often talks about it as his proudest legislative victory. The act transformed how the federal government dealt with domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. In part because of the connection to Joe Biden, President Trump and the Republicans allowed the VAWA to expire in 2019. President Biden passed a new reauthorization, with new protections for women against cyber crime, in 2022. On the VAWA's 30th anniversary President Biden announced $690 million in grants to support survivors of gender-based violence.

President Biden and Vice-President Harris announced a new rule to force insurance companies to treat mental health care the same as medical care. The new rule takes on the use by insurance of restrictive practices like prior authorization, and out of network charges, it also closes a loophole in the law that allowed state and local government health insurance not to cover mental health.

The Biden-Harris administration announced that 50 million Americans, 1 in every 7, have gotten health insurance through Obamacare's marketplaces. Under Biden a record breaking 20.8 million enrolled this year. Since the ACA was passed by President Obama and then Vice-President Biden it has transformed American health care bring affordable coverage to millions and getting rid of "preexisting conditions". During the Presidential debate Vice-President Harris defended the ACA and the need to keep building on it. Trump after 9 years of calling for its repeal said he only had "concepts of a plan" on what to do about health care in America.

The IRS announced that it has recovered $1.3 billion in back taxes from wealthy tax dodgers. For years Republicans have tried to underfund the IRS hindering its ability to police high income tax payers. President Biden in his Inflation Reduction Act ensured that the IRS would have the money it needs to chase high income tax cheats. In February 2024 the IRS launched a program to go after over 100,000 people, making $400,000 or even over $1 million a year who have not filed taxes since 2017. The IRS also launched a program to collect from tax payers who make over $1 million a year who have uncontested debt of over $250,000. Between these two efforts the IRS has collected over a Billion Dollars in back taxes from the richest Americans, so far this year.

The Department of The Interior and White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi highlighted green energy efforts on public land. Highlighting two projects planned in Nevada officials talked about the 41 renewable energy projects approved on public land under the Biden-Harris Administration. These projects over 25 gigawatts of clean energy, a goal the Administration's climate plan set for the end of 2025 but met early this year. With the new projects in Nevada this is enough energy to power 12.5 million homes, and the Bureau of Land Management is another 55 utility-scale project proposals across the West.

The Department of The Interior announced $236 million to help fight forest fires and restore landscapes damaged by recent wildfires. Under President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Administration has spent nearly $1.1 billion dollars to combat deadly wildfires which have over the last 10 years grown in size and intensity thanks to climate change.

The Department of The Interior announced $157 million in wetland conservation. The money is focused on protecting bird habitats. It will protect and preserve thousands of acres of wetlands across 7 states.

The US Senate approved President Biden's nominations of Adam Abelson, Jeannette Vargas, Mary Kay Lanthier, and Laura Provinzino to federal judgeships in Maryland, New York, Vermont, and Minnesota respectively. This brings the total number of federal judges appointed by President Biden to 209. When Biden entered office 318 district judges were Republican appointees and 317 Democratic, today 368 are Democratic appointments and just 267 are Republican. President Biden is the first President in history to have the majority of his appointments not be white men and he has appointed more black women to the bench than any President ever.

#Joe Biden #Thanks Biden #kamala harris #politics #political #US politics #American politics #climate change #domestic violent relationships #mental health #health care #health insurance #tax the rich #judges

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starxanemone · 3 months ago

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꩜ⴰ ࣪˖ BLLK LOVE LANGUAGE HEADCANONS

isagi yoichi & itoshi rin ( as per @newinhalerpls request )

⸻ in which i'll be rating their love language on a scale of 1-10 based on my understanding of their personality + include the type of person they'd be compatible with.

⸻ [ part i. itoshi sae & nagi seishirou ] [ part iii. bachira meguru & noel noa ]

ISAGI YOICHI

ACTS OF SERVICE: 9/10. Out of everyone in Blue Lock, he's the only one (or one of the very few) characters with a decent mental health and thus, have a secure attachment style—at least, based on my observation. He seems like a genuinely nice person so he strikes me as someone who'd be really helpful towards their significant other even when it's unprompted. You don't have to tell him if you need help with something because he's probably on it already.

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: 9/10. Although this guy has such a dirty mouth when playing soccer, off the field, he's actually pretty nice. He even comforts his rivals and isn't really afraid to say when he feels really grateful. You could be doing something as simple as picking up something he dropped and he'd probably give you a small smile with a grateful look on his face as if you handed him the world—that is, when you're his significant other.

Exhibit A: when he thanked Rin for the assist when he scored the last point in the U20 match. Technically, considering their relationship and the nature of Blue Lock, he wasn't obligated to thank him, but he personally felt the need to express it.

PHYSICAL TOUCH: 7/10. He's probably not the type to initiate it, but he's definitely not against it especially if it's his significant other. At first, he'd probably be all awkward and unsure since no one really showed romantic interest in him (according to the Egoist Bible as he hasn't received chocolates on valentines), but he eases into it pretty fast. You just have to be the one initiate all the time. Also, I feel like he doesn't want to feel like he's intruding your personal space which is why he holds back.

QUALITY TIME: 7/10. He strikes me as an independent person, but not the type to isolate himself or retreat into a little shell. He'd probably be the type to think that when you're in a relationship, there are sets of "obligations" he wants to fulfill as a significant other such as remembering significant dates, spending quality time by going out or even just staying in, etc.

GIFT GIVING: 8/10. He gives gifts when there is a special occasion like christmas or your birthday or whatnot, but he probably thinks that he's not all too great at picking out what gifts to give. I feel like he's the type to get you things that you once mentioned you wanted at one point in the past. Like if you say that you wanted a watch about three months ago, that's probably the gift he's going to give you for the next special occasion.

COMPATIBLE WITH: honestly, he looks like he can get along with anyone so long as you're both able to treat each other with respect. It doesn't matter whether you're outgoing or more introverted, or love to explore or stay indoors. I think that with this guy, what matters more is having equal respect for each other.

ITOSHI RIN

ACTS OF SERVICE: 6/10. He's a pretty angsty and irritable teenager on the exterior, but if he warms up to you, I'm sure that he's always helping you, though it's more for his sake than yours. He seems like the type to feel a bit annoyed when something's out of place, so if he sees that your bag's about to fall off your shoulder, he's immediately grabbing it and putting it back in place.

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: 3/10. Not the best at words (he probably got that from his brother). He's not going to comfort you with words or reassurance if you're feeling down, but I think he has the decency to at least stay quiet and listen if ever you're sharing your feelings; it's just that he's not really sure what to say. The best reassurance he can give is by objectively telling you how a situation could likely play out.

PHYSICAL TOUCH: 2/10. Sorry, but he doesn't look like the touchy-feely type. The best he can probably give is a pat on the shoulder that might feel a bit heavy with how he works out a lot. It would be up to you to initiate stuff like hand-holding or hugging, but I'm quite sure that that will take a very long while for him to warm up to.

QUALITY TIME: 7/10. I feel like this is the best love language for him. I feel like he's the type to prefer hanging out in peace and quiet, doing mundane things if he isn't vigorously training. The best hangout would probably be something like watching a scary movie together or chilling on the couch playing scrabble or whatever. Still, I think he'd want hangouts to not be so frequent as he gets pretty tired from social interaction.

GIFT GIVING: 5/10. He knows that couples usually give gifts to each other, but he doesn't really see the point in doing that unless the object he's going to give is something necessary. Basically, he doesn't like giving useless shit that will wither and die in a few days. So, he probably wouldn't randomly buy you romantic stuff like flowers or give you letters, but he'd definitely give you something useful like a pouch, or a table organizer, or a watch if you don't have one.

COMPATIBLE WITH: someone who is empathetic, but also able to set boundaries. I feel like he spent a lot of his time brewing negative feelings due to the disagreement between him and his brother and their lack of communication, which is why someone who is empathetic and isn't afraid to articulate their own feelings is suitable for him. He needs someone to learn from as he doesn't even know how to healthily process and assess his own emotions. But still, they should also be able to set boundaries and know how to stand up for themselves because he tends to be pretty harsh with his words.

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absolutebl · 6 months ago

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2024 BL - Top 10 Trend Report

In last year's trend report I said:

"I think Taiwan has the chops to give us something as good as The 8th Sense or Old Fashion Cupcake but in their style, and I would like to see them exercise their talent for good rather than just profit."

And Unknown happened.

I asked for it, they gave it to me. I could not be more happy. So anyway, I just wanted to crow a bit.

And now...

2024's TRENDS!

1 Trope Subversion Levels Up

My Stand In went so far as to subvert the whole damn romance genre. But in general we saw a lot of BL recognizing, highlighting and calling out it's own absurdities and tropes. From Korea commenting on the Dead Fish Kiss to Wandee Gooodday actually promoting green flag behavior (the real deal).

It was an interesting year for meta commentary, it kind of whole scale left parody behind (say goodbye, Japan) and entered almost every BL from Thailand, even the ones who should have left it alone. (Side eyes Mame.)

2 Old Tropes Revisited

Unknown revisited the step-brother trope (as did Addicted Heroin of course). But there were other old ones we haven't seen in ages, like kidnapping for love, kissing on rooftops, and all the dub con (Blossom). Love Sick rebooted with very little modernization (except where it counted) right up to and including no kisses. Mix Up even did "trapped on the rooftop" which I haven't seen in over a decade.

And then Wimpy dropped. And it felt like I was reading yaoi in my tiny attic bedroom in the 90s.

3 BL Enters All the Workplaces

I love how many adult leads and sides we are getting, even from Thailand. By which I mean, BL outside of a school setting. We still have high school and university set stuff, but that used to be ALL we got. I don't mind school settings, but I like that we have some kind of balance going on these days.

We are starting to get not just cubicles and offices (as Japan foretold) but all kinds of workplaces from retail to authors to the film industry.

4 BL Passes the Sniff Test

He smells good has always been a trope that I love. It was one of my favorite things about Bad Buddy. But this year it felt like every third BL trotted this one out. I was delighted by it. Of course I was. But it happened A LOT.

Century of Love was a key use of it since smell is so coupled to memory, I thought they dealt with it particularly well. But even Japan and Korea deployed the sniff test.

(Seoul Blues)

(Blue Boys) Same actors, different characters.

Pitt Babe

Century of Love

Meet You at the Blossom

Soul Blues

Blue Boys

Dangerous Romance

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans

Cosmetic Playlover

Sunset X Vibes

Monster Next Door

Secret Love

Perfect 10 Liners (technically a 2025 show, but the sniff happened in 2024)

5 Fewer Shipper Characters within BL

Negative trends are always harder to call (it's easier to track the presence of something over the absence) but I'm still calling this one.

In a discussion of The Shipper @heretherebedork and I got into a discussion about this. It really seems like both we are getting less "female shipper" characters and/or they are evolving into overly interested but very supportive female friends instead. Softening, if you will.

I think partly this is because there has been a general decline in this archetype in yaoi over the past 5-10 years, but also they tend to incur pretty bad reactions in fans, and Thailand (especially) tends to pay attention to that kind of thing.

Unfortunately this also means we are seeing a worsening of the "no female representation at all" backbone of BL. We Are, which I loved, didn't have a single female character. Not even a throw away.

6 The rise of the green flag seme!

The seme (active attacker in the relationship) got a lot of green flag action this year. We saw lots of Dommy boys, Daddy types, and players asking for permission, trying to communicate, talking about safe sex. Particularly out of Thailand.

To make sure this is clear, green flag means he communicates about the relationship and sex, takes no for an answer, asks for permission for (almost) everything, and doesn't do things like (just spitballing here) take a hotel room key and go into the other mans private room when he's not around (or asleep). Okay? Christ on a cracker. (When it comes to flags Mame has red/green colorblindness.)

Some examples:

Alan from Pit Babe

God from Monster Next Door (except for the one journal reading incident)

Sun from Sunset X Vibes (almost too far)

Yak from Wandee Goodday

Latte from Knock Knock Boys

7 Japan Came to PLAY

Japan came to play and will not leave the field that they built. I may not always like JBL, but when I love it, I REALLY LOVE IT, and when it hits it hit hard (pain or joy). And even when I don't like it, it always gives me a lot to think about.

We had 19 JBLs in 2024:

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun

At 25:00, in Alaska

Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave

I Became the Main Role of a BL

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan

Takara's Treasure

Although I Love You and You

I Hear the Sunspot

Living With Him

Love is Better the Second Time Around

Love is Like a Poison

Perfect Propose

Cosmetic Playlover

Sugar Dog Life

0.5D

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke

Happy of the End

Ossans Love Season 2

Japan had 18 total BLs in 2023.

17-15 in 2022 (a couple I couldn't get hold of and a couple I just don't think are BL, so 2022 is vague).

7 in 2021. <- THAT was when the big jump occurred, 3 years ago. Which might have more to do with the pandemic than anything else.

But back to now: 19 in 2024 means they are actually just increasing their production gradually and in a steady way, as might be expected. In round numbers we didn't see anything unusual.

BUT

The series they've been airing in 2024 are running longer (for them) and being aired over longer periods of time. Not to mention getting better and quicker distribution.

By which I mean, Japan used to have more shorts and movies, less actual series with full run times (by their & Korea's BL industry length standard) on streaming platforms. So I think it's JBL runtime and distribution that is experiencing real growth. And the consistency of that runtime.

In other words, it feels like there are more JBL airing because we have access to most of them (for a change) and they're running long enough to cross into each other (which has been rare in the past).

What's almost more interesting to me is...

8 What the hell happened, Korea?

Korea cut back on their BLs in 2024. I am not sure if that's money drying up, a crack down within the industry over there, the political situation, or something else.

Still, it was wild to see such a stark fall off in production. They had 18 BLs in 2024 but fully half of them were shorts, and more than half were poor production quality than is prior standard. By contrast they had 21 in 2023, but only 1 was a short, and most were very high production (getting 8/10 or higher from me).

Since Korea tends to produce some of my favorite shows, it's no surprise I had no 10/10 BLs at all in 2024 with so little KBL's stepping up to the plate.

I sure hope this isn't a trend but it feels like it might be.

9 Why the hell is the not-kiss back?

Korea doubled down on being a pain in 2024 by bringing back the "they don't actually touch lips and we pretend they did by panning around the back of the head" with the camera. (Jazz for 2 sides, example. Yes, I'm still mad.)

Then Thailand did the with Addicted Heroin. AND with Love Sick.

What is this, 2016?

Color me annoyed. I thought we saw the last of that nonsense with Make It Right.

I remind you all, if they would kiss if they het but they don't kiss when they gay, it smacks of a phobia and I'm salty about it.

Yes yes, there are actor (idol, age) excuses in play. But they should cast differently if this is going to be a problem.

End of discussion.

No really, I don't wanna talk about it. I just want it to go away.

10 The rise of Great Grandmas

We have had cool grandmas before in BL but in 2024 we had so many of them. The Sign, Love for Love’s Sake, Monster Next Door, Jack & Joker, Every You Every Me, The Rebound, Wandee Goodday.

(thanks to @small-dark-and-delicious for bringing this one to my attention)

See the comments for additional discussion of the "why" behind some of these trends as well as a few I missed.

(source)

2023's Trends report here.

#2024 bl #bl round up #2024 bl trends #trend report 2024 #unknown the series #taiwanese bl #japanese bl #korena bl #what happened to korean bl?#My Stand In #wandee goodday #Century of Love #thai bl #daouoffroad #green flag seme #jazz for two #grandma in bl #bl grandma

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boxturret · 1 year ago

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One Tenth Scale Mata Nui

Mata Nui is a cool place, but did you ever feel that it was a bit...big for what it was?

The official maps put the island at 357 kio long, which if you take to be a stand in for kilometres¹, would make the island 357 kilometres long.

This lines up roughly with what we can see in the concept art: they say that Mata Nui is around the size of Denmark, the real measurement being 368km, and it matches with what we see in the Mata Nui Rising cgi video.

So that's all well and good, Mata Nui is 357km long, the GSR itself is 3300km tall, all hunky-dory, as long as you ignore some guy named Greggory yelling about how the robot is actually much bigger, but its fine to ignore him.

But now, actually consider what this means. Denmark is by no means a small country, it has a population of 6 million and would take hours to drive across by car on modern roads. Now that isn't an issue really, but in most media depicting the island its shown to be a place that can be traversed by foot or on animal back in a reasonable time frame.

But now let us look at this earlier map:

Initially the most interesting thing to me on this map was the 3rd measurement: the height of the Mangai volcano²

Now on the one hand, this was cool, now I know how tall to make the volcano, on the other hand... 23km seems pretty big.

It is. 23km is higher than Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the solar system, standing at only 21.9km. So that's pretty big. This made me start thinking about how far various things are apart and how long it would actually take and using some very VERY generous numbers I started plotting out how long it would take to actually get from place to place.

It wasn't very pretty. In the Mata Nui Online Game it would have taken Takua roughly 5 hours to walk from the beach to Ta-Koro, and another 18 to get to Onu-Koro using the highway. Now this would be fine in an epic like Lord of the Rings, but in Bionicle Mata Nui is consistently treated as a place people can pretty quickly get around on.

The Toa are running all over the place and bumping in to each other. Kopaka getting in to the Caldera at the top of the Mangai volcano isn't the equivalent of climbing 3 Mt Everests in a row, its just something he does [correction: It wasn't the caldera, but a lava pool half way up the mountain, so just 1.5 Mt Everests]. Takua travels all over the island in a pretty small amount of time, unless we're supposed to insert day long journeys in between every screen transition.

But then I noticed something. Something very interesting.

Now lets look at the two keys for the sizes on the released and the early map:

Seems pretty consistent, the sizes of the island are the same, a Toa is 1.6 bio on both (incidentally a real Toa figure is approximately 16cm tall), everything seems to match.

But then I counted the zeroes.

The old map has a kio being not 1000 bio, but 100!

You can even see it on the other version of the map.

Now this is incredibly interesting! This shrinks Mata Nui to 1/10th of its commonly accepted size! It goes from being the size of Denmark to being the size of the Isle of Man.

Which....really works a lot better! This turns Takua's trip from the beach from a 5 hour hike to a short half hour walk. This turns the cable car to Mt Ihu from a massive 70km mega structure to something that's dwarfed by real world constructions.

I don't think this is a mistake either, looking at the details of the map.

You have much finer details, such as these ice shelves collapsing in to small icebergs, whereas on the full sized map some of the larger chunks of ice are kilometres across.

One of the major things it includes are the mesas that can bee seen in many of the promotional renders set in Le-Wahi which are nowhere to be seen on the final map. At this 1/10 scale the plateaus seen would match up well with the massive mesas seen in monument valley in terms of size, but with the final size they would be absolutely massive (10 times as big if you can believe it!)

So suffice to say, I don't think this is just a case of a zero being dropped, it really seems to line up with the level of detail on this earlier map.

But what does this do to the GSR? I hear you cry, well it varies. Going by the earlier numbers it would simply be 1/10th the size, so 330km tall instead of 3300km, so still very large, but depending on the size relationship between the robot and the island it could be as "small" as 180km

The island in this picture is roughly the same size as normal, just covers more of the GSR. The final GSR's head is so proportionately tiny compared to its body that the Mata Nui island had to be very small to cover it. But in any case, a robot "only" 180km tall standing up is still going to tower over anything, its many times higher than airplanes fly, its taller than most clouds, really it would be quite consistent with this render:

So, in conclusion, an earlier concept of the island of Mata Nui has it being 1/10 of the size of the final, and that size seems to work better with what we see in various media from the time, and works better with the story.

Personally this is what I'll be going with in terms of the scale of the island going forward, as it really fits with my vision of the setting and works well with all the story and media from that time.

¹-I don't care about someone saying a bio is 4.375966487787¾ feet, feet aren't real and neither are you. ²-Mt Ihu is NOT the highest point on the island, the GSR isn't Pinocchio with a big pointy nose, this has never been reflected in any visual media.

thank you for reading/have a nice day

Update: I have made a companion post with many renders of George visiting places on the island to hopefully better illustrate the scale.

#bionicle #hypothesis #writeup #Mata Nui #GSR

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cadence-the-hypnotic-floret · 1 month ago

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The HDG Storm Scale

Hey, any fellow magic nerds? Probably. In Magic: The Gathering design, there's this useful heuristic tool called the "storm scale". It's essentially a scale that defines how likely it is for keywords to come back in future sets, from 1 (evergreen mechanics) to 10 (Probably never making that mistake again). The scale itself is named after its peak, Storm, an infamously broken mechanic.

I had the idea of doing that with HDG Tropes. Obviously, I speak only for myself, and I threw this together in like 20 minutes, but I think I'm on to something.

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

1-3: Evergreen tropes. Things that will probably show up in most HDG stories, and are very safe ground to tread.

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1. Non-con (individual or systemic, it's in there), tentacles/vines, hypnosis, Disability

2. Basically any mainstream kink, Intox kink, drugging

3. Piss, CGL, ABDL, Vore, a variety of other unusual kinks made much more doable by the setting

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

4-6: Slightly Spicy. Things that are definitely possible in HDG, but which will want to be handled with some care.

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4. Sexual Assault (HDG genre typical), Addiction, Gaslamping

5. Character Death, Identity Death, Kidnapping

6. Sexual Assault (Played straight), Euthanasia (Class-Os)

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7-9: Watch Out! These are elements that have been done well in stories, but are famously landmines liable to break your story, the setting, or both!

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7. Floret Endangerment

8. Affinification, reference to a character's abusive childhood

9. Mass Death.

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10: Just don't! These are just axiomatically not okay in HDG. Yes, these are all things I've seen in fics... just very rarely good ones.

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

10: an affini intentionally abusing or abandoning their floret, an affini intentionally killing another xenosophont, feral xenosophonts killing an affini

(11: Underaged characters. Seriously. We just don't do that here.)

A few quick notes.

HDG is fundamentally fiction. It is a setting made up of stories, with a specific tone and vibe. Certain things will work better or worse within that story environment. The question of "can this happen in this world" is not actually the most important one. The more important question is "what story do I want to tell with this". A lot of the most famous stories in the setting go hard on difficult subjects, because they had something important to say about it. But... you should have something to say about it!

To take up the example of death: there are lots of great stories about grief, or about recovering from the grief of losing a loved one. People die. Sometimes suddenly and tragically. But when it comes to mass death... Removing the question of whether it could happen, what HDG story do you want to tell where countless sophonts dying is an important plot point? Are you sure it's not better served as original sci-fi, or fanfiction in a different setting?

To date, I have seen mass death done well in... I wanna say almost one story. One Analyst's Opinion earns this moment, and it's a powerful, and deeply horrifying moment that mostly works. Even then, I personally have (literary) issues with how it was handled, and it wreaks havoc on the Affini-Rinan contact timeline if taken with the seriousness it deserves.

EDIT: I have been reminded that No Gods No Masters features mass death and does it really, really well. The overall point still largely stands, I think.

#human domestication guide #hdg

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oracle-of-dream · 1 year ago

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Photo Finisher

Minors DNI

Summary: Yechan is from the rookie idol group, 82Majors, and his managers have set him up in the studio to get some amazing photos. But he's heard of your other prizes for good behavior, so he's interested in your other services...

Warnings: Male Reader, Blowjob, facial, degradation, domYechan, cum eating

Wordcount: 1.7k

You spent your morning selecting the songs for the playlist vibe you needed for today's photoshoot. Rookie idols were always tricky to deal with. Most were scared so stiff that they could hardly count as models...

Today, Yechan from 82Majors was your muse. The appointment was a last-minute order from management, and someone must've paid a chunk of money to call you in before noon. It's a part of your contract that you don't have to work before noon without an extra fee determined based on your mood for the day. It was 8am, so you told your boss to push for 40% higher than your usual rate. This usually moved companies away to pick a later time, but your boss immediately texted you back, telling you to get ready.

It was ten minutes before the photoshoot was supposed to start. Your staff set up everything from lights, cameras, software, and canvases. There was murmuring in the prep room, which is the room before entering the main studio, which meant the client had arrived. After some time, likely for hair and makeup to work him over, a young man with brown hair and strong cheekbones entered and greeted you.

"Hello, photographer y/n. It's a pleasure to be working with you, and thank you so much for taking our call so late minute." He bowed deeply.

"Yeah, hi. Just called me, y/n. Photographer y/n is a little much."

The boy nodded. "I-I'm Yechan, from 82Major!"

"I know who you are. I read the paperwork," you replied dryly.

Your morning coffee hadn't kicked in yet... This was going to be an extremely rough morning.

Yechan took his time to go around to the rest of the staff and introduce himself to each of them, handing out small gift bags from his company.

You looked at your phone for the time. 8AM.

"Okay, that's enjoy chitchat. I'm already at 30% on the irritated scale, and being behind schedule will make it jump to 50%."

With your clear directions, everyone hopped to attention and started scrambling to their stations. Yechan hustled off to get his hair and makeup re-touched before stepping onto the canvas.

"Yechan, if you have any issues or questions with the photos, tell me. The one thing I hate more than waking up early is someone who can't speak on issues.

Yechan nodded eagerly and took followed directions beautifully. Every single angle, down to the degree, was perfect. Clearly practiced. Because of that, you managed to wrap up the first set of photos easily.

"Let's take 10 and switch outfits. We're making excellent time, so let's keep the pace up." You announced to the team.

As you went back to your studio chair, Yechan approached you meekly.

"Yes?" you asked without looking at him, more interested in your phone.

"Um... I'd like to ask you about your services, sir." Yechan mumbled.

You rolled your eyes before looking at him. "My services? I'm a photographer. I take pictures. Be clear about what you want."

"Okay, then I'll be straightforward." Yechan took a deep breath before continuing, "I'd like to please you."

You raised an eye. "Please me? I'm happy enough that we're ahead of schedule. You want me to be happy? Keep working hard."

Yechan shook his head. "I don't know if there's some sort of secret code or something... it's honestly a little embarrassing to just say, you know."

You giggled in your seat, finally looking up from your phone. Yechan was a pretty good-looking man. Knows his angles, good body proportions, and a face card that doesn't look like it'll decline with its high limit. You bet he was about 6 1/2 inches, with a left curve. You read that he was from Canada and the brother of another idol, but you can't remember the brother's name...

You sat back in your chair. "Do you mean you want to have sex with me, boy?"

Yechan's face got pink instantly. "Well, they said you were really frank. But I still didn't–"

"So it's a no?"

"It's a yes! I do want to have... s–sex with you."

You smiled. "And what did you have in mind, young man?" The age gap between you wasn't big, but you could tell he was melting from you treating him like he's the younger in this situation.

"I want to do whatever makes you happy."

"So you have no plan? That's not very well prepared of you."

"I'm pretty skilled though! I got a few tricks!"

You smiled bigger. "Tricks? And what if I refuse? Yechan's face turned white. He clearly didn't consider the possibility of you saying no to him. "You didn't think I was some prostitute, did you? That you could just say, sex, and I'll give it?"

He shook his head, "No! Of course not–I'd never think that."

"Then tell me, what would you want? If you can have anything from this."

He looked around before getting closer to whisper. "Um... If I could choose. I think I'd be really into cumming on your face after you suck me off, and maybe I call you a few names and stuff..."

"Oh, that's it?"

He shrugged. "I'm a rather simple guy..."

"Then, simply guy, let's finish this up so we can get busy," you winked at him as you went off to find more of your staff, leaving him alone with a clear boner.

The photoshoot resumed, Yechan in his new outfit. The crop top really complimented his figure, and honestly got you more excited for what was coming. You could also tell he was pretty excited. His cock could barely stay inside his pants, a few pictures had his tip peeking out, and you personally deleted those to save him from the embarrassment.

After the photoshoot, Yechan went into the dressing room to get changed. You dismissed the staff for the night, thanked everyone for being present, and then walked into the dressing room.

"Hello? Anyone home?" You called.

Yechan let out a small yelp, covering himself. "I'm in here!"

"Yes, obviously. I came here to find you." You closed the door and locked it behind you. "I'm here to give you the reward you requested for being such a good boy today."

Yechan's face was red, his shirt and underwear were on, but his pants were still on the floor.

You winked at him, "easy access? For me? How considerate."

"That's not–"

You dropped to your knees and started crawling over to him. "This is your reward, remember? Anything you want goes, but if either of us says stop, we're done."

Yechan nodded, still covering his crotch.

You crawled right up to him, your face inches away from his dick. "Are you going to hide all day? Isn't it your desire to take charge?" You unbutton your shirt, letting it sensually slide down your shoulders, but not taking it off completely.

"So, I can just go?" Yechan asked again to be sure.

"Yep, just–" Yechan pulled your hair and pushed you into his crotch, making you huff his musk. Slightly sweaty, but pretty clean. You could feel his cock throbbing under the thin fabric, 6 1/2 inches, and curved to the left... You moved your hand to touch it, but Yechan slapped it away.

"Did I tell you to use your hands, s–slut!?" He hesitated at calling you a slut. But the submissive look in your eye reaffirmed him. "Use your mouth to take it out."

You maneuvered your mouth to his waistband, nose grinding against his abs, and dragged his boxes down. His cock smacked you in the face as you moved. His balls were heavy and full, he was throbbing like crazy, and even a slight graze earned a guttural groan. Yechan had really been waiting for you...

"Get to work, whore."

You look up at him, still keeping your hands off him as you caught his cock in your mouth and started licking.

"More than that, I don't want you half-assing it. I'm a busy man!" He pulled on your hair, pulling you into him to make you take more.

Yechan was starting to get more into it, which made you want to mess with him. He wouldn't last long if you tried to push him to it, but if he's so busy, then he can handle it. You straightened your back, corrected his hand to move your head and not pull your hair, and relaxed your jaw. Yechan noticed the change in your attitude as he started getting greedy. Pushing you deep, holding you there, all while telling you how much of an attention whore you are. You pressed him more, flattening your tongue and turning off the gag reflex. You were taking over.

"Wait, holy f–fuck," he moaned as he grabbed a nearby table. "Oh, you're so good. So, so, good at this." You squeezed his balls, earning more praise. "My balls too! Fu–fuck, baby just like that. Keep chugging it." He pushed you down, controlling the tempo, making it faster. "Your mouth is amazing, I–I'm gonna fucking cum." He almost whined as you pulled off of him, jerking him off and licking his tip. His pressure was building. Fast. "Please let me cum on your face!"

You giggled. "Say it in character!"

Yechan's words were still fumbling. "I–I will cum on your face?" He questioned before you squeezed his balls firmly. "God Damn," his cum shot out and landed on your face. "My... g–god." He wouldn't stop, pump after pump. It was at last 8 pumps, full of cum, now on your face. Each was accompanied by a thrust and whining moans from Yechan. You stroked him through it all, milking him completely before giving the tip a lick and a kiss.

"All done?"

Yechan breathlessly smeared his cum on your face, using his cock. Pushing it toward your mouth. "I'm sorry for the mess..." He said breathlessly.

You pulled out your phone and took a picture with Yechan. Cock still out and cum on your face, but a little less as you wiped some off. You put the tip back in your mouth for your picture, earning more begging from Yechan.

"P–Please! No more, I can't cum again!"

You help Yechan finish getting dressed and clean yourself up, sending him on his way and adding his photo to the folder with the others...

#82major #yechan #oracle of dreams #kpop x male reader #kpop x male reader smut #yechan 82major #82major smut #yoon yechan #yechan smut #82major x reader

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yaut-jaknowit · 1 year ago

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In Front of the Clan

Pairing: We'ar-ow (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader

Word Count: 4237

Summary: We'ar-ow decides to speak to her clan about the situation and brings you along. As We'ar-ow speaks, people interrupt and speak falsehoods about the situation. Rumors within the clan always spread around. When the meeting gets a little out of hand, you stand forward.

Author Note: There's only four planned chapters left guys! We're getting closer to the end of this duo.

Masterlist

Ao3

A plate of alien food was set before you. The corners of your mouth quirked up in an appreciative smile towards the large pink Yautja. She grunted before sitting down next to you and leaning into your side. Her warm scales pressing into you while We’ar-ow peers over your shoulder to look at the tablet laid open on the counter.

After learning that she has known about your plan for escape, you only use the tablet to play games now. There was no other use for it. We’ar-ow hasn’t even restricted the access to internet or deleted any of the information you’ve saved. Either she trusts you or she knows you can’t escape even if you tried without her knowing.

Before learning We’ar-ow knew, there was a possibility of actually making it off the mothership and homebound. Yet, she has her claws sunk into your skin. You were never going to escape now… nor did you? Did you want to leave?

That got you thinking. If you had the chance to leave, like an open door back home, would you take it? Leave all this behind. The troubles of not getting hunted down by your ex-mate, or the mess of confusing feelings about the massive alien leaned against your side. The fact the only two people you could safely converse with are her and Xilomere. That was a sad thing to think about. Such a lonely life.

Then, there was We’ar-ow. A creature that always demands, always commanding. She takes no shit from anyone. If she wants something done, she’ll do it herself. She’s protected you from the harms Dwainet attempted to bring down on you. The fact he wants you dead. We’ar-ow won’t throw you to him to get rid of her troubles. No, she’s fighting for you.

You glanced over your shoulder to find her orange eyes on you. “What?” you questioned, concerned there was something wrong. The alien chuffed and reached out with her hand towards your face.

Instantly, your first reaction was to jerk away. Instead, you held your ground. Her thumb swiped at the corner of your mouth then wiped whatever was there off on a napkin. You cursed inside of your brain the way that made your body flush. You bowed your head to look back down at the tablet.

A game was pulled up, the dog hunting one. Where you level up your hunting dogs and breed the best ones. So far, after little less than two months have gotten you far in the game. With nothing else but to pass time now, you are stuck it. There are other games you have downloaded but this one is your favorite.

Plus, with the fact you don’t… need to plan an escape anymore, it’s all you can do to pass the time. With We’ar-ow gone during most of the day – despite her attempts to coax you along with her, you have to do something not to go insane now.

We’ar-ow reached out once more and slid the tablet closer to her. You grumbled a noise of disagreement but continued to munch on the food she cooked for you. She did give it to you, nor could you stop her if you tried. From your hunched over spot, you watched as the Yautja tapped away on the device until getting to a page. She turned towards you.

From English to Yautja, the words on the page were returned to their native language. “Hey! What did you do? Now I can’t read it,” you complained and gave her a deadpanned look.

In all of your time around these creatures, you’ve not once learned about their language. The way they spoke it made it seem impossible for you to replicate. You don’t have the proper vocal cords to make such sounds. Seeming some of the words gave you head. Like, how does thirteen words equal a simple ‘how’ or something. Of course, it wasn’t perfectly translated over so it could mean a little different. Yet, still.

“It is time you learned. You are on my ship. I will teach you if you like it or not. At times, I will turn off your translator and test you. Understood?” she explained then tapped the screen. “Find where you can turn it back to English.” Your lips parted at her words.

“But-but I don’t know how to read your language!” you bickered and glared at her. The Yautja’s expression didn’t change. “How do you expect me to navigate through it to get back to English.”

To probably frustrate you more, she patted your cheek with her rough palms. “Sink or swim. This is where you show me what you got. Then, I shall go from there.” You couldn’t believe this! She just changed her soft personality like one-eighty on you. How can you even get to the settings to change it back to normal?! The translator behind your ear only did verbal words than also words on a paper or screen.

“Come on, don’t do this! My puppers need me,” you begged her, not expecting her to let you sink like this. There was no chance you were able to get to the settings and return it to English.

“I have faith in you, little ooman.” We’ar-ow left your side, stealing away the comfort her presence brought you, and stood up from the stool. “I’m going to finish preparing myself for the day. Once, I’m done, I have a meeting with the clan I must attend.”

That caught your attention. You dropped the spork you were using and spun around. This was serious. This must mean she was going to face off with Dwainet.

And instead of hiding here, you needed to be there.

“Can I come with?” you finally asked after three weeks of refusing to leave the safety of your space. Not when Dwainet or one of his goons can come up and snap your neck. The bruises lasted until last week.

We’ar-ow’s eyes lit up for a fraction of second before dipping her head. “Of course. I will warn you. Every eye in this ship will be upon us. I must address the unrest building within the clan and kill it before it becomes a problem,” she warned and hooked her finger under my chin to ensure I keep my gaze on her. “You are free to stay but I promise to keep you protected and safe in and out of this room if you are to join me.”

Your heart began to thunder in your chest at her intimate touch. It was starting to get harder to deny the way your stomach fluttered at gestures like this. The lump in your throat was swallowed down. “This is about me. I’m the center problem. I… I can’t show how afraid I am, can I?” you retorted yet with a soft voice. There was no time to show your fear to the crowd despite how terrified you are in this situation.

One of her upper mandibles quirked up. “You are learning, little one,” she purred and dragged her thumb claw along your fragile lips. You shuttered yet continued to keep eye contact with the large beast before you. “Yes. Now change into something more presenting for a meeting with the clan.”

A deep breath filled your lungs before you slipped off the stool, leaving behind the tablet for a later time. You grabbed your plate and put into the sink then headed into the shared bedroom. We’ar-ow shadowed behind you.

All of the clothes Ruach made for you were hung in the expansive closet before you. Your eyes raked over each strip of clothing, brain mauling over which would be the best for this time. Something grand, something to show you have power despite being a pet in everyone eyes.

Blues, purples, whites, and golds. An array of colors decorated the pieces you chose. Light in fabric, the top of see-through. You didn’t let that bother you as We’ar-ow helped looped strands of golden metal around your neck. Other jewelry decorated your wrists and ankles alike.

Royalty. You looked like royalty.

The bulk of We’ar-ow towered from behind. Each of her hands engulfed your shoulders before one slipped off to wrap securely around your throat. Despite knowing you should be trembling at her hand placement, all you felt was safe. You tilted your head back to find her eyes on you. Her grasp tightened for a fraction of her strength, still not worrying you a bit.

There was a slight pressure pressed onto the spot behind your ear for a moment. The translator. Words of her native language fell from her fangs like water over jagged rocks. Your brows creased, confused on what was spoken to you. The language is completely unfamiliar to you. Since day one, you’ve relied on it to get through everyday life within the Yautjas.

Another small graze over your skin. The translator was back to life. “Hey, what was that for?” you whined with a small pout. Why did she have to force you to do this? That’s what the translator’s for. There was no need to learn Yautja. Maybe the reading part but the speaking, not so much.

The hand shifted so her thumb ran over the scar that marred your skin on the back of your neck. You shuttered at the feeling, head still stretched back. “What did you say?”

A playful glint entered her eyes. “You’ll know once you’re ready,” she spoke ominously. You groaned and leaned against her with the pout still etched into your face.

“You’re not fair. How am I supposed to learn if you won’t teach me what you had just said?” We’ar-ow stepped back to create space for a moment and used her hand on your shoulder to keep you steady. At first, you felt a bit heartbroken she had moved away. Only to slightly tense up when her fangs touched the crook of your exposed shoulder and neck.

Your throat bobbed but you made no move to stop nor to encourage her. A part of you, deep down, wanted for her to take the bite, to latch her teeth onto your fragile skin. You felt them add just the tiniest of pressure to create divots in your skin. Your breath was caught in your throat, unable to move, frozen and at her mercy.

We’ar-ow retracted her head then patted your shoulder. “We must go or else we risk being late. That would not look good on us.” You pulled fresh air back into your weak lungs and dazedly nodded your head.

What was wrong with you?!

Everyone’s eyes were on your forms. The sea of people parted. We’ar-ow stepped forward. No one dared to step in her way, let alone look at their Monarch in the eye. They bowed their heads with respect her. You shadowed at her side, head level and refusing to look at anyone. A steeled expression etched into your face as you refused to shy away from the crowd.

Pet or not, you held a power within the clan. They couldn’t touch you without We’ar-ow baring down on them within the same instant. You gripped that power by the reins tightly as you strutted next to her.

The two of you ascended to her throne. You faltered for a moment, realizing you had to sit on the steps. Heat rushed to your cheeks instantly before you reeled in the embarrassment, ready to find a seat.

Suddenly, your feet left the ground. You squeaked minutely, on the verge of flailing in reaction. When your butt was placed on a warm thigh, you instantly paused your dramatic reaction. For a moment, you stared off blankly, regretting all of your decisions in the moment. Then, you relaxed against We’ar-ow looked down upon the sea of Yautjas crowded at the base of the steps.

The entire room was filled to the brim with the masses spilling out into the hallway. Though, it was heavily overcrowded with faces you couldn’t begin to recognize, you spotted a familiar figure moving through.

Xilomere. Others you learned that were part of the council climbed the steps as well. They stopped short of the last two steps to the throne and spread out. Xilomere and a female Yautja stood the closest, on either side. The alien mentioned by name gave a cheeky wink to you. Heat rushed to your cheeks, knowing the position in her lap wasn’t very professional.

Your hand snaked over to clutch We’ar-ow’s still holding your hips from when she grabbed you. Her other limb was resting on the armrest of her throne. You shifted around to find a comfortable spot to sit in. Which was your back to her chest, one of your legs crossed over the other, head held high. This wasn’t the time to show weakness in front of everyone.

Her fingers widened and allowed for yours to card through them. We’ar-ow trapped your digits between hers, refusing to let you go. This was an action you couldn’t tell was for your support or hers.

Behind you, We’ar-ow leaned in close to your ear. “No matter what happens, I will protect you, my little ooman,” she promised then returned to her original spot. She was attempting to calm your racing thoughts and thundering heart only for them to worsen. It made it seem like she was preparing for a revolution to break out.

We’ar-ow slammed her fist down with an ear shattering roar that echoed after the room fell silent. After a few long seconds to let this sink into everyone, We’ar-ow spoke in voice you’ve deemed to be her Monarch voice. Only used in the presence of her fellow clanmates.

“Many of you know what this about. Rumors spread. I am here to quell this outrage at the source.” Her voice carried out into the room. At first, you tensed your shoulders. Immediately thinking this quelling would include your death once and for all… but We’ar-ow wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t take the easy way out.

“My pet is here to stay despite what that scum decides to try next.” You nearly curl up into her torso at her words, seeking protection. But Dwainet isn’t here to cause chaos. No, he’s locked up. “Number two, if you have an issue with my ruling, either bring it up to me or leave. I don’t need weak Yautjas part of my clan. Only the strongest, only the most skilled are sought after. You don’t have a place amongst the elite.”

“And three, if you don’t see me fit to rule, challenge me. There’s always been a clause to allow any of age to issue a challenge.” Her commanding voice sent chills down your spine. She squeezed your hand tightly. You returned the gesture the best you can.

“How can we trust that you’re strong when your pet is a feeble soft meat?” Someone from the crowd shouted. Others joined into the calls and spitting of harsh words.

“We were blinded by the last Monarch and her horrible rule.” Other agreed with whoever said that. You don’t know who or what happened during the last reign but We’ar-ow wasn’t anything like the sort. She’s a person who deserved to have this position.

Anger fell over your features. With a snarl, you ripped yourself from We’ar-ow hold and lap then stood before her, overlooking the room. Fire sparked to life in your eyes. “I know I haven't been here long, but I have seen the way she rules. A ruler that is strong enough to be gentle and knows when to use her strength,” your voice boomed loudly over the shouting match.

Everyone silenced themselves at first.

“Oh, look at that, the problem only causing more chaos in the mixture,” another voice drawled then scoffed. “I should gut you like the prey you are. Then, you’ll see how weak you truly are, soft meat.” You knew the use of ‘soft meat’ was a terrible insult to humans, but you simply brushed it off. It didn’t hurt to be said to you. Though soft, you could still cause damage.

Due to their words, you instantly knew We’ar-ow was going to step in. But, you had to act fast. “Maybe you’re right. I am weak. I am prey amongst hunters. Yet, here I still stand, with power you could dream of. I sit upon a throne while you grovel at our feet, paying your due respects to a Monarch whose blood, sweat, and tears have been put into this job.”

We’ar-ow stayed seated in her throne, yet eyes watched with rapture.

Then, your eyes drifted over into the direction of the other Yautja who before this one. “You’re right as well. I haven’t been here long. Long enough to know We’ar-ow could put you in your place. All of you in your place. Yet, here she is, choosing a path of peace rather than destruction.”

A new silence filled the tense air. Any eyes willing to meet yours, you glared at. You didn’t care that anyone in this room could kill you at the moment. Right now, this needed to end.

“Do you want discord? Or do you want peace?” you snapped and curled your hands into fists. None of your hits would do damage but it was the thought that counted if anyone dared to step up those steps. Plus, We’ar-ow promised you.

From behind you, We’ar-ow stood up placed her hands on your shoulders. Her thighs pressing into the middle of your back. Knowing that hunter stood at your back, you felt more power fill you instead of terror. She or anyone on this ship may be able to snap your neck, but We’ar-ow would never.

One person started it. They knelt down on one knee, hand splayed out to cover their face, head bowed. Once it began, others followed in their wake. Until all but eleven showed their respect to their Monarch.

Those who refused to bow glared daggers at the two of you. You snarled. Inside of your brain, you’re ready to throw down hands on any of them who didn’t respect the hardship We’ar-ow has endured. We’ar-ow tightened her grip on your shoulders and brought you from your boiling thoughts. You felt the way they twitch, nearly attempting to incircle your throat. Yet, they stayed glued to their spots.

“What paths shall you take? Leave or challenge. I will not tolerate any more disrespect from any of my clan members. I won this place, this title. I will continue to show why I deserve to be here,” she growled and tugged you tightly into her thighs. Her form continuously towering over you.

“We side with Dwainet. We see the flaws that will cause detrimental damage to our clan. You will be our downfall. We will not allow that to happen,” one snapped and stomped his foot down, arms splayed out at his sides in display.

A growled from the pits of hell tumbled from We’ar-ow’s throat. Yet, the Yautja didn’t move from her spot. “Dunkot, detain these foolish younglings,” she demanded a yellowed colored Yautja.

Without hesitation, he began his pathing down the stairs. A short growled fell from him. Others from the crowd moved towards their targets and did what their Monarch ordered them to do. They were escorted out and away. You breathed a sigh of relief and titled your head back to look up at her. Her fingers twitched and ghosted over the column of your throat before returning to their original position.

Her words made you realize. Only those under two hundred years were part of this revolution. Dwainet himself was barely even a hundred years old. They were only stupid young adults playing fire before they even knew it would burn them.

Once they had been hauled out, We’ar-ow gazed out into the crowd. “Does anyone else have something to say to either of us?” she demanded. Everyone stayed bowed but raised their heads to look upon their Monarch again. No one spoke up to voice their concerns again.

“Meeting adjourned.” With that, everyone took their, except Xilomere and the unnamed female Yautja. Though her color was different, her facial features were similar to We’ar-ow in a way that had you unsettled.

Said Yautja spun on her heel and moved along the steps to stand before you. Even at a couple steps down, she still had the same giant form as We’ar-ow. A playful smirk on her fangs. “Such a little thing to cause an uproar, sister. I love the fact you’ve kept them around,” she laughed.

Sister? This is the sister?! Jesus Christ. You don’t know why but you felt the need to impress her in any shape or form.

Xilomere joined the group as well and held out his own fist towards you in a very human fashion. You fulfilled the gesture. “Look at what you did. You’re just as good as We’ar-ow here.” His gaze flickered up to We’ar-ow. “You chose good.” You looked back up at her behind you.

“To be honest, if she wasn’t here, I’d be a shredded mess of meat and shattered bones on the ground right where I stand,” you nervously inputted and leaned more against We’ar-ow’s thighs. Her hands squeezed once more on your shoulders. It was the horrible truth.

He raised a brow and gave you an up and down look. “You are unarmed. Any honorbound Yautja wouldn’t attack you. Prey or not.”

Hidden on the side of your waist band was that knife thar random Yautja gave you a while ago. The fabric that flowed over your shoulders was enough to cover it apparently. “Well,” you drawled then unsheathed the blade carefully. “About that.”

The beautifully crafted blade was shown the group. We’ar-ow bristled behind you then snatched it out of your hand. “Where did you get this?!” she scolded and spun you around to face her. “This isn’t one of mine. Who gave this to you?” You nearly shied away from her due to instinct but held strong.

“A merchant named Wourk. He tried to trick me but I knew better. He gave it to me, free of charge. I needed something to protect myself. I have to show myself as capable without always being seen as this pathetic little creature,” you argued and tried to reach for it but she kept it out of reach. “This issue with Dwainet isn’t resolved. I could be killed by one of his goons.”

She growled and grabbed your throat, pulling you in close as she leaned down to your height. “No you won’t. I told you I would protect you as you are mine. Dwainet nor any of his followers shall lay a digit on you again. This blade will only put you at risk more. You will be seen as huntable prey with it,” she explained then plucked the sheath from your waist band with the hand around your neck.

You spun to look at Xilomere for help. “Help me. Don’t you agree me having a blade would be better than nothing?!” you rallied for him to side with you.

That look on his face told you otherwise. “I agree with her. If you hold a weapon, you are considered worth to be hunted. Without it, you are unhonorable to kill you. She’s just protecting you, ooman,” he resolved. You didn’t dare to turn to the unnamed sister, knowing she too would side with We’ar-ow.

“None of you realize how powerless I feel in this situation,” you growled, hands shaking then glared up at the pink Yautja. “Without you, I would be dead, ten times over. If it wasn’t for you presences alone, many would kill me. I just want to protect myself!”

Your voice carried out into the expansive room. Then, it turned to silence.

Both Xilomere and the sister bowed their heads to look somewhere else as you stared We’ar-ow in the eye.

“Well, I’ve got things to do. See you two later!” Xilomere announced his exit and was swiftly to fast walk down the stairs and out the room. We’ar-ow’s followed after him after giving a wave at the two of you.

Once the door was shut and offered privacy otherwise. Your neck was snatched in firm grasp that didn’t hurt.

“I do not know what it will take to get it through your thick skull. But I will protect you. You are mine to protect. My ooman!” Her fangs roughly clack together then spread wide. “Dwainet will pay for his crimes. He will die by my hand. He will suffer for the trouble of wasting two years of your life.” Her thumb rest upon your pulse point, feeling the way your heart raced.

The words in your throat died. Your chest heaved with each breath as the two of your stared into the other’s eyes. You licked at your lips. Her eyes darted down for a fraction of second during the motion. Long enough for you to notice.

This claim she continues to make felt different this time.

A deep huff dropped your shoulders. “Fine. But can I at least keep the blade? It’s pretty,” you asked, hoping she would let you. Despite the fact it could put you into danger for just having it, you liked it.

Her eyes glanced at it in her hand. “No.” Goddamn her.

#yautja #predator #yautja x reader #yautja x you #alien vs predator #predator x reader #yautja x human #predator x you #predator x human #x reader #We'ar-ow

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thelunarfairy · 9 months ago

Text

The Mythological Secrets Behind Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

It is not new that we see JSHK rooted in Shintuist culture, along with this culture, we have the classical Gods represented, in addition to, of course, some common items related to this.

But there are some points in particular that I wanted to delve into a little and the similarities represented. But, first of all, let's connect the reasoning to the main points before we get to the Gods.

The thread of the story

1 - Tsukasa's fate = sacrifice himself, he sacrifices himself and stays in the house (If he can see supernatural things, then he was close to death, as mentioned by Hanako, people can only see supernatural things if they have a sixth sense (like exorcists) or when death is close).

2 - Nene and Kou finds the red house and convinces him to come back.

3 - Tsukasa comes back.

4 - Temporal paradox.

5 - Creates an alternative timeline full of errors and chain consequences (causing deaths of people who shouldn't die).

6 - At some point Amane decides to kill the family (theory) and sets the house on fire.

7 - It creates a "curse". (everyone who enters the house dies or disappears).

8 - Somehow Hanako becomes a supernatural being and loses control or does something really bad at some point, to the point where the Minamotos have to seal him and create the seven mysteries.

9 - Kako had to go back in time for some reason (to make Hanako forget some things).

10 - Hanako now plays a role, the leader, but at the same time he is the traitor (indicating that there are two Gods).

11 - He along with Tsukasa want to break the cycle of yorishiros and free themselves from this "prison" so that they can save themselves, Tsukasa wants to save Amane and Amane wants to save Tsukasa.

12 - So, Tsuchigomori is the guy who destroys the butterfly effect, but for some important reason, he will probably sacrifice himself for something in the end.

13 - And Nene, the "mermaid" girl who has a bond with Hanako. And let's remember that the entity is from the water, the tentacles and the people or their souls screaming on the other side of the window in the last chapter, you can see the air bubbles coming out of their mouths, which suggests that they are in the water.

14 - Entity from the well + tentacles + water = entity/God of the water that grants wishes. Like the classics, where you throw a coin in the well to make a wish.

15 - Hanako gets a mermaid scale and gives it to Nene to create a bond, so maybe the scale is directly linked to the entity. Even though we saw the mermaid, she is still a supernatural being.

16 - The mermaid giving up on Nene after the fish died was like a warning from the entity, since it was Tsukasa who killed it. We saw a giant fish in the window of the red house, so maybe the entity is the strongest supernatural being that can influence the lesser supernatural beings.

17 - So, all connected, Nene being able to remove the seals, being a kannagi, coming from a mysterious family, makes me wonder about her connection with the entity.

18 - The Minamotos know something, and they still "help" Hanako because it seems to be necessary. Teru was happy when the supernaturals disappeared, but he was the one who decided to bring them back, even though he didn't want to.

19 - So, there's a reason for him to keep Hanako, as if it was necessary for him to do something, but Teru tries to keep him under control.

20 - In the end, there are probably two Gods (theory): The God of the yorishiros and the God (entity) beneath the red house.

21 - Hanako should work for the God of the yorishiros to receive redemption, but he is the traitor, that is, he works for the God of the red house, because he intends to save Tsukasa. Therefore, the twins want to remove all the seals to "free" the entity and get a wish.

22 -What we are seeing now is all the yorishiros being removed while we follow the stories of their owners, for now, away from the main story of the twins.

The Gods who represent the twins

Now that you understand where we are in the story, let's move on to the mythological part of things and the connection between the twins and Gods that haven't been mentioned yet.

Amaterasu: She is the Shinto goddess of the sun. The name Amaterasu is derived from Amateru, which means "shining in the sky." Her full name is Amaterasu-o-mi-kami, which means "Glorious Goddess Who Shines in the Sky."

Amane: A name derived from Amaterasu, (not literally, but a name that would resemble the name Amaterasu to show a slight connection with the Sun Goddess) he is also depicted as the sun in some panels of the manga, as well as being the opposite of Tsukasa, the moon.

Tsukuyomi: Also known as Tsukuyomi-no-kami, he is the god of the moon in Shinto and Japanese mythology. The name Tsukuyomi is a combination of the Japanese words moon/month (tsuki) and "to read; to count" (yomu). Another interpretation of his name is the combination of "Moonlit Night". Tsukuyomi is the god of the moon in Japanese mythology, brother of Amaterasu and Susanoo.

Tsukasa: often represented in the manga in some panels as the moon itself, as he himself mentions being the opposite of Amane, who is represented as the sun. The name Tsukasa also refers to the name of the god of the moon, similarly to Amane's name.

The two are siblings in mythology as well.

The mythology

The creation myth of the Shinto tradition in Japan is wrapped up in a beautiful and tragic love story between the divine couple Izanagi and Izanami.

Heaven and Earth separated during this long creative process, so Izanagi and Izanami, representatives of what was then the newest divine generation, took on the task of generating life in the immense primordial liquid environment.

Izanagi and Izanami decided to improve their creation, molding the relief with mountains, spreading vegetation to cover the soil and creating rivers to promote fertility.

The rest of creation required carnal acts practiced between Izanagi and Izanami, which has a strong symbolism because it highlights the union between the masculine and feminine for the generation of life and procreation.

They generated divine children after the islands were conceived, each of them associated with important aspects associated with nature.

When Izanami gave birth to Kagutsuchi, the god of fire, she ended up burning to death during childbirth. The father was furious and murdered his son.

Izanagi tried to rescue his beloved from the underworld, the dark Yomi. The exits to Yomi are guarded by terrible creatures and are where the dead go to, apparently, rot for an indefinite period of time. Once fallen there, the soul can never return to the land of the living.

Upon arriving there, Izanami asked her husband not to look at her, to return to Earth and to wait while she tried to escape from Yomi.

The impatient Izanami does not obey and looks at his wife, unrecognizable and with a frightening cadaverous appearance, deteriorated and infested with agents of decomposition.

Now she was a form of decomposing flesh that gave birth to several demons, with worms and demonic creatures slithering over her body. She, realizing her husband's audacity, orders the demons to chase him.

Izanagi flees from the demons, and rolling a huge stone, traps them in Yomi. Izanagi, furious at Izanami's betrayal, uses the powers of the sun to destroy all the demons. Thus began the existence of death, caused by Izanami's pride.

After Izanagi left his wife Izanami, locked in the Shinto underworld of Yomi, he purified himself in a spring and accidentally gave birth to three children.

The sun goddess Amaterasu was born from Izanagi's left eye, the moon god Tsukuyomi was born from his father's right eye, and the god of the sea and storms Susanoo was born from Izanagi's nose.

Where are the similarities in JSHK?

Let's compare.

Mitology

Izanami: Izanami is related to death and she's trapped in the world of Yomi, the world of the dead, she hides her appearance because of her cadaverous form, like she did with her husband.

JSHK

Entity: In JSHK we also don't see the entity, which stays in the dark.

And we have the sacrifices, which are linked to the same reasoning, gradually losing their human form and becoming cadaverous beings.

In JSHK, the entity is said to be very strong, it is weak because it is sealed, "trapped", just like Izanami is trapped in the underworld and cannot return.

Second possibility about the entity

Mitology

Serpent Yamata no Orochi: was a colossal dragon with eight heads and eight tails. According to legend, Yamata no Orochi terrorized the Izumo region, demanding that a young girl be sacrificed to him every year.

In the story, a couple's daughters were sacrificed, leaving only the youngest one alive. The dragon was killed by Susanoo when he tried to save the young woman from being sacrificed. He fell in love with her and married her.

JSHK

The entity demands sacrifices with young women, usually from the same family, since Kannagis come from families that offer to give one of their daughters for sacrifice.

The representation of marriage and Sumire may be linked to the meaning of Sumire's desire to be saved, directly reflected in the mythology of the serpent.

When Suzanoo fell in love with the woman who was going to be sacrificed, he saved her and got married with her.

In Sumire's case, she was not saved and did not marry Hakubo, as she wished. A tragic version of the story.

Implying that the entity of Sumire's time was perhaps the serpent.

Let's continue with the comparisons.

Mitology

Izanagi: He was responsible for imprisoning Izanami in the world of the dead, and tried to keep her imprisoned.

JSHK

The God of Yorishiro: the one who values maintaining seals and mysteries, apparently to keep "something" imprisoned, implying that it is in fact the entity of the red house that is officially sealed.

Let's continue with the comparisons.

Mitology

Susanoo: Susanoo is the god of the sea and storms, son of Izanagi and brother of Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon.

JSHK

Yashiro: Often depicted as a mermaid and having a direct link to Hanako because of the scales, we can associate her with the myth of Susanoo.

We may still have doubts about Nene's association with him, but Suzanoo had a direct connection with Amaterasu (the sun goddess we are representing as Amane).

At a certain point, Suzanoo goes to Amaterasu's house to resolve a conflict between them.

To link this to JSHK, if you notice, when Hanako throws Nene in fish form into the sky (at the end of the anime) a small storm appears.

Some people theorized that it represented her crying, but at the end, the clouds appear next to the sun and the rain begins. Representing the "storm".

Furthermore, Susanoo is the God who saves the young woman from being sacrificed to the serpent. We see this represented in the moment when Nene is the only one who can "save" Sumire from being devoured by Hakubo, but in this case, she does not. Referring again to the tragic side of mythology and Sumire's story.

Let's continue with the comparisons.

Mitology

The red house and yomi

Yomi is the Japanese word for the world of the dead in Japanese mythology and Shintoism. Its exits are guarded by terrifying creatures and it is where the dead go to apparently rot for an indefinite period of time. Once fallen there and fed in the fire at the center of Yomi, the soul can never return to the land of the living.

Similar to the red house specifically over the abyss where the sacrifices that fell began to rot and could not return.

Water as a Symbol of Transition and Cleansing

Water plays an important role in the series, particularly through its association with Hanako’s past and its connection to bathrooms and wetlands – liminal places between the world of the living and the dead. In Shinto, water is a symbol of purification and renewal, something that is also explored in the story of Hanako, a spirit trapped by regrets who seeks redemption.

The aquatic environment can be interpreted as an allusion to Susanoo, a deity associated with the sea and storms.

Light and Darkness – Themes of Life and Death

Just as Amaterasu represents light and order, some elements of the series suggest a cycle between hope and despair, or redemption and regret. Hanako-kun is a spirit who carries both light (his moments of affection for Nene) and darkness (his tragic secrets and violent past). This duality may echo the myth of Amaterasu, where light and darkness must find balance.

The Seven Mysteries as Guardians and Forces of Chaos

Just as the kami (gods) of Japanese folklore have different personalities and roles, the Seven Mysteries in the series play specific roles that resemble the forces of nature. Some are benevolent and seek balance, while others represent chaos and danger. This multiplicity is characteristic of Japanese myths, where there is no clear division between good and evil.

Although Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun does not directly mention Amaterasu or Susanoo, the themes of water, purification, light, and darkness found in the series can be seen as a subtle reference to these gods and the natural forces they represent.

In addition, we must add urban legends.

Influences of Japanese Folklore on Hanako-kun

Seven Mysteries of School (七不思議, Nana Fushigi) One of the main inspirations for the series are the legends of the "Seven Mysteries of School," popular stories told among Japanese students about supernatural occurrences that happen in schools. Each mystery usually involves ghosts or strange events, and each school may have its own versions.

In the Hanako-kun universe, these Seven Mysteries are essential, as the spirits that govern each of them have influence over the spirit world and the school.

Spirit World and Boundaries Between Realities In Hanako-kun, there is a strong separation between the world of the living and the spirit world. Places in the school, such as bathrooms or forgotten rooms, function as portals that connect these two worlds. This idea reflects the traditional Japanese concept that certain places, such as temples, cemeteries, or ruins, are meeting points between the physical and spiritual worlds.

Supernatural Elements Inspired by Yōkai and Spirits

Many of the characters and creatures featured in the series are based on or inspired by yōkai (supernatural creatures) and onryō (vengeful spirits) from Japanese folklore. The series also introduces concepts of its own, such as:

Tsukumogami: Ancient objects that gain life and consciousness after 100 years. Some characters in the series resemble this idea, as spirits are tied to specific places or objects in the school.

Onryō: Hanako is a spirit with a tragic past, reflecting the idea of vengeful ghosts or those trapped on Earth due to unresolved regrets.

Akuma and Mononoke: Some spirits are aggressive and need to be purified or controlled, as is the case with several antagonists in the series.

Spiritual Hierarchy and the Conflict Between Mysteries Within the story, the Seven Mysteries have a hierarchy and follow specific rules that govern the coexistence of humans and spirits. The main conflict of the series arises when the mysteries begin to rebel, seeking to change these rules and gain more power. This hierarchical structure is an original creation of the series, but it recalls the idea that kami and yōkai have their own laws and orders in Japanese folklore.

While Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun doesn't explicitly follow a specific Shinto or Buddhist mythology (so far), it does draw heavily from Japanese urban legends, the Seven Mysteries of School, and concepts from Japanese spiritual folklore such as yōkai, tsukumogami, and onryō.

The series creates its own mythology by combining these traditional elements with a unique narrative.

Which is particularly fascinating!!

It was a fun journey to find these new details to add to the events of the series. Of course, despite the associations and similarities, don't take anything in this post too seriously or canonical, it's just for fun.

There are probably many more details that still need to be discovered or included, (like the mythology about the Minamoto family, and even some common supernatural beings, like Tsuchigomori, who represents Tsuchigumo, but well, if I talk about all of them, this post will be huge).

For this post, that's enough.

If you've read this far, I hope you've had fun!

#jshk #tbhk #toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #amane yugi #hanako kun #aidairo #yugi twins #hanakokun #jshk spoilers #tsukasa yugi #tbhk tsukasa #jshk tsukasa #yugi amane #yugi tsukasa #mitology jshk

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vermont-writes-fanfic · 9 months ago

Note

Kinda curious how you would rate the escapeability of some other yandere characters from Hellsing if that's okay, like Jan, Luke, Walter and the Doctor

Hi anon! Are you the same one as before, if so hello again!

The scale will go like this: 0=Inescapable 10= Complete Escape

Slight warning as ya know...yandere...

How Escapable Are They PT.2

Jan Valentine

Escapability Rating: 6/10

“The fuck are you going babe?”

Jan is very…scatter brained, to put it best. He relies more on his big brother for all of the logical thinking so when it comes to escaping him you need to keep him distracted long enough to skidaddle. The only trouble is 1.) He likes to show you every thing, and 2.) His brother, he knows you’ll try and run. If you can manage to get him distracted or start done trouble your chances are pretty high!

Luke Valentine

“I don’t have time for this, sit still.”

Escapability Rating: 5/10

He’s disappointed in you, trying to escape, really? You know he doesn’t have time for this, so be good and sit still. That’s his downfall, his brother and his work. He expects you to just do as he says and scares you into sitting still, but hell never resort to physical punishment and once you realise that it’s easier. Any time he is caught up you can try and slip away but he’s just so damn fast. Better hope you can hide well~

Walter C. Dornez

“And where are you off to Butterfly?”

Escapability Rating: 2/10

He has all the time in the world to ensure that you will never escape, and he is utterly captivated by you. His level of strategic thinking is not to be trifled with and he has most certainly set up his threads all over the house so he knows exactly where are or are headed. He even sets threads on the clothes he sets out for you in the morning so the likely hood of you escaping is slim…unless you don’t wear what he asks you to. He’s busy enough to where you are not always but his side, however if you can be then you will be plain and simple. When you aren’t, he expects you to wander of practice some hobby so there is plenty of time for you to think and explore possible escape routes. All this is good and well but once he has you, you can’t escape so your execution of your plan has to be flawless and clever. But do remember he works for the Hellsing Organisation, meaning he has favours to cash in should your agility best him.

The Doctor

“You will stay right here my precious specimen, where I can keep a close eye on you~”

Escapability Rating: 0/10

Sorry, but there is no way you are getting away from him dead or alive. He keeps you in the same room he performs experiments on just to revel in the way you quake and shiver at the blood curdling screams of his victims. He scared you into submission without a doubt and will even threaten to mangle you so you simply can’t move away from him. You are his perfect specimen, and he intends to keep you.

Bonus

Rip Van Winkle

“Mein Liebling, why are you trying to leave me?”

Escapability Rating: 3/10

You would think that she’d be pretty easy to escape but she can be very manipulative and clingy. She will try to win you over by love and care genuinely wanting to keep you all to herself, however if you refuse her advances she will resort of emotional manipulation. She knows just how to pull on the heart strings of mostly anyone, and well if that doesn’t work she always can lock you up and have Zorin or The Doctor mess up your poor little mind and make you dependant on her. You are her darling, what kind of lover would she be if she let you leave?

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redsugarx · 5 months ago

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青白之魅 4: Set Design

1 Introduction & Presentation // 2 Background & Influences // 3 Hair & Makeup // 4 Set Design // 5 Clothes & Accessories // 6 Conclusion

I read yalls tags obsessively when you reblog these and they're so cute, tysm they are very encouraging :>

Thank you Bloomin Studio for this shot of the set before getting started!

The set took a lot of inspiration from Green Snake (1993). We set this up in Cujo’s living room, which was already equipped with a wide black backdrop and some lighting. Bloomin Studio was kind enough to bring their Chinese style side table, foam rock, smoke machine, and additional lighting.

In the movie, when the two sisters take human form and join human society, they create a full-blown mansion in an empty, desolate area using magic. When trying to reveal to Xu Xian the true nature of his wife, Fahai the monk calls the house an illusion, but it served its purpose as their home, so is it really “fake?” Who decides whether something is “real” or not, and how? This is part of the reason I wanted to construct the set from scratch, in someone’s living room—the idea that we could make something beautiful and complex happen in an unlikely place.

(Unfortunately I do not have centuries of spiritual cultivation under my belt, so I had to buy things and set them up like a mortal.)

Behind the scenes, with Cujo handling Spirit, who's wound around Yulan's forearm :>

Bamboo

Green Snake (1993) screenshot, 10:25

The opening scenes of Green Snake (1993) take place in a bamboo forest. In an important foreshadowing, the monk Fahai chases a spider demon in human form through a bamboo forest. The spider demon has cultivated for two centuries—180 years longer than Fahai himself—in an effort to reincarnate, but Fahai takes his power away and traps him in a pot, because it goes against the natural order for a demon to take human form.

He goes on to attack the snake sisters, who are still in snake form, before he realizes that there is a pregnant woman giving birth in the forest, and the snakes are simply shielding her from the rain. This scene alone sets up the rest of the movie to question, what are the limits to what we consider human? What happens when we stop considering someone as human, and how far will someone go to be considered human? I find that these questions are very relevant to the world today, especially in the US right now.

In addition to being a vital building material throughout East Asia for the past, present, and future, bamboo holds significant cultural value as a plant that is thin and flexible, yet stronger than many brittle materials. It's one of the Four Gentlemen, representing the virtues an upstanding person should have—ideally, a well-read gentleman should be open-minded and flexible, yet enduring, just like bamboo.

梅蘭竹菊，趙少昂，1985，香港商報副刊 March 2022

Each plant of the Four Gentlemen represents a season. Bamboo represents the summer. Summer is the season during which the Dragon Boat Festival happens, a holiday also associated with snakes—the reveal of Bai Suzhen's snake form to Xu Xian happens during that festival, when they drink realgar wine (arsenic wine... controversial to say the least) to honor tradition, which is poisonous to snakes (possibly to people too??? who knows honestly).

In Green Snake (1993), Xiaoqing is the only one affected by the realgar wine because Bai Suzhen's cultivation is high enough that it's harmless to her.

We bought two pots of faux bamboo for our set. They’re a little questionable up close, but they look pretty realistic as part of the backdrop. Unfortunately real bamboo grows like nobody's business and comes with just... a whole host of problems that we weren't prepared to deal with during a one-day shoot, so we had to use artificial alternatives. Thankfully, Cujo (the super cool Snake Guy running Art of Scales) said he'd be able to use them, so they definitely didn't go to waste after the shoot :)

The bamboo came in not-so-pretty black plastic pots with a brick inside as a weight, so I brought a big semi-collapsible woven bamboo (bamboo squared! hahaha) basket, and stuck one of the plastic pots inside. It looked SO much better once you couldn't see the black plastic.

We also used Cujo’s bamboo screen as a structural layering piece. Dried bamboo was and still is one of the most common building materials you'd see in Asia, so the bamboo screen was perfect, not to mention it saved us the trouble of having to fly one down to SoCal since it was already there. It's made of a bunch of bamboo stalks tied together and can roll/unroll. Huge thanks to Cujo and also Kevin for fiddling with its shape to make it stand up on its own, that thing was heavy!

Water

Green Snake (1993) screenshot, 00:38

Snakes are traditionally associated with creation (Fuxi & Nuwa) and the element of water. Green Snake (1993) opens and ends with the visual of running water, with many important scenes taking place on a canal or by a lake. The original Legend of the White Snake is said to have taken place by the 西湖/xi1 hu2/West Lake in Hangzhou—the bridge on which Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen are said to have met is still there, and a popular attraction.

In the Peking Opera, Bai Suzhen refers to the lake several times as a symbol of the constance of nature: as conflict rises around her, she remarks on how similar the lake looks to that one day all those years ago when she first took human form and met Xu Xian.

斷橋殘雪, Armstrong, William Collection, Historical Photographs of China, 1908-1910

To create the look of reflective water, we used Mylar mirror paper. It's a favorite of indoor photoshoots, especially in the Hanfu world—probably like 80% of hanfu studio photoshoots use it. The paper is super reflective and comes in a roll so that it can be spread out over the floor of the set, making it look like we’re lying on the surface of a peaceful lake.

Fabric

Green Snake 1993 diverges from the original legend a bit. There's an earlier scene where Xu Xian accidentally sees Xiaoqing's snake tail while the sisters are bathing and runs off in terror. In an attempt to hide themselves, the sisters hang up green silk, and tell him (when he comes back) that what he simply mistook fabric from their laundry flying in the wind as a snake tail (somehow this works, as male characters in Chinese stories tend to be dumb as hell).

Green Snake (1993) screenshot, 48:25

We bought copious amounts of misty white tulle to hang off the bamboo screen and trail across the mirror paper ground. It looked a lot like fog or the foam at the bottom of a waterfall, and it also helped cover the backdrop stand on the right. They were not silk, because once again We Had A Budget, but one of the pieces of fabric was printed with calligraphy, which was a nice touch.

Scrolls

We used two scrolls in this set: one is our standard 九雲閣 calligraphy scroll (that’s Cloud9 Pavilion in Chinese, jiu3 yun2 ge2) just as a fun little branding thing, and the other is a silk-mounted print of the 紅葉題詩仕女圖/红叶题诗仕女图/hong2 ye4 ti2 shi1 shi4 nv3 tu2/'Lady Inscribing Poetry on Red Leaves' by 唐伯虎 (Tang Bohu).

红叶题诗仕女图, 书法欣赏，February 2017

Writing poems on red leaves has a fair amount of symbolism behind it. 紅葉題詩—the image of a woman writing a poem on a red leaf—is a common trope in literature and Chinese paintings, and lots of poems and art pieces depict the same thing. There are a variety of stories associated with the action, mostly having to do with Tang Dynasty palace ladies under the rule of 唐玄宗 (Emperor Xuanzong), who only had eyes for 楊貴妃/杨贵妃 (Yang Guifei). One sadder version tells the story of the other neglected palace ladies writing poems expressing their yearning for freedom on red leaves and dropping them into the river, hoping that the current will carry them out of the Shangyang palace that they were not allowed to leave. Another category is a little cuter, describing chance meetings between lovers—people finding throwaway poems on red leaves and then later getting together, that sort of thing.

明陈洪绶《题诗红叶图》, Sohu 2020 (another painting of the same trope)

I didn't really look into the story behind the painting until after the shoot, but I can see sort of a connection between the intent of this shoot and some elements of the stories described. Stories about the neglected palace ladies—who are said to have entered the palace at 16 and left at 60 (上陽白髮人, 白居易 Bai Juyi), never having seen the emperor's face once—are usually grievances against the emperor's favoritism of Yang Guifei, which is by extension a criticism of the emperor's rule (the decline of the Tang Dynasty's golden age happened under this guy so he gets a lot of shit for causing it).

I draw this back to the question of what it means to be seen as human—were the thousands of frankly unnecessary palace ladies seen as human in Xuanzong's eyes? What happens when someone is so 'high up,' whether politically or spiritually or whatever, that they cease to view other people as equally human? Should a system be upheld when it no longer serves its function in a changing environment?

Zhang Guo Having an Audience with Emperor Tang Xuangzong (張果见明皇), Wikimedia Commons, Yale University Press 2002

When I picked the painting, though, I didn't really consider all this; I mostly wanted to have a painting of a woman (common subject matter trope for painters, called 仕女圖/仕女图/shi4 nv3 tu2/'palace maid image', somewhere in the background. The Legend of the White Snake deals in the contrast of form versus essence, Green Snake (1993) even more so. The snake sisters take the form of women; does that make them women?

Fahai certainly didn't think so, until the end of the film, when he sees that Bai Suzhen has given birth to a healthy baby boy. There's a moment of cognitive dissonance—Fahai realizes that maybe Bai Suzhen really did become human by virtue of living and experiencing humanness. (To what extent does experience dictate identity, versus origin?) If she really became human, then Fahai has spent the better part of the entire movie killing a human, which is entirely opposite from when he thought he was acting righteously to uphold the natural order. He can't say that his actions were justified because he had good intentions—if good intentions trumped effect, then Bai Suzhen must be virtuous because her intentions were also innocent. This was a fascinating realization at the end of the movie.

Yulan as Bai Suzhen with lots of smoke in the background

I especially like this photo of Yulan as the White Snake (because I can get all Art Analysis with it). She's lying on the ground, reaching up towards the painting, like the woman illustrated on the scroll is the goal she is trying to reach. There's smoky haze in the background, and her hand is pinched in a lotus position, as if she is trying to catch the mist in her fingertips. Most notably, the position of her body hides the snake embroidery on her sleeve, but you can still see the tiniest hint of it through the sheer fabric.

Does the fact that she sees the form of a woman as her goal make her less of a woman, or does it actually validate her identity as one? (didn't mean it as a trans allegory when I started it but I guess it is now lol)

Umbrella

We got a grand total of like three shots with our oil paper umbrella, partially because we've had that thing for years and its opening mechanism is lowkey broken so it was really hard to get good poses with it. I'm glad we got at least one good picture with it though—it's a real oil paper umbrella that's waterproof and hand-threaded (even though the braking mechanism sheared off a while ago so it won't stay open unless you hold it there).

If my hand was not holding the umbrella up it would collapse :/

Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen meet in a scene known as 借傘/借伞/jie4 san3/'Borrowing the Umbrella," where Xu Xian lends Bai Suzhen his umbrella when it starts raining while they're on a boat. Bai Suzhen rejects it, saying she can't possibly take the umbrella from him (since he'd get wet), and sends Xiaoqing to give the umbrella back to him. They go back and forth like this until Xiaoqing takes both their hands and has them share the umbrella. When the sisters have to leave, Xu Xian lets them take the umbrella with them so they don't get rained on on the way back home—a clever flirtation setting up another chance to meet, since he has to go retrieve the umbrella from their home.

Other Stuff I Got That Doesn't Have Specific Symbolism:

Fake moss—looked very realistic! Clung to absolutely everything though, I still find it on my socks sometimes.

Various vases—went for dark-colored or greenish vases, some off Amazon and some from China. You'll notice that they're all empty, because they kept tipping over when I put fake flowers in them ;-;

Candles—these were Cujo's, shoutout to him running out the morning of to get new batteries for them! Super atmospheric :D

Fake rock & smoke machine—very popular for hanfu photoshoots, but not practical to get for one-time use, so we asked Bloomin Studio if they could bring theirs. They have lots of experience in producing and set design!

Fake flowers—I got SO MANY fake flowers and ended up using like. 3 branches of them ;-; Thankfully was able to gift most of those to Art of Scales & Bloomin Studio so I didn't have to cart them back up to NorCal.

Yeah ngl I used maybe like 60% of the stuff I bought for this shoot. In my defense I was buying props for like a good 3-4 months before it actually happened and retail therapy is Important to me.

Here is another behind the scenes shot :)

Okay this one was a bit shorter, partially because there were a lot of elements that I wanted to include that I unfortunately didn't end up having enough time to set up. I'll recap those on post 6. I am tired but I hope this was interesting :)

1 Introduction & Presentation // 2 Background & Influences // 3 Hair & Makeup // 4 Set Design // 5 Clothes & Accessories // 6 Conclusion

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