#rather than its current idol-like marketing

[brofightiscancelled]

[p5x-theories]

Motoha's Confidant

(last updated 11/30/24!)

This post documents the fully filled-in information on Motoha Arai gained through progressing her Confidant! It contains things that could be considered spoilers for her Confidant, as part of the information is a summary of its story.

Motoha is available in the afternoon most days, when it isn’t rainy. Her Confidant is tied to the Proficiency social stat, and level 17 Proficiency is required to fully complete it.

Favorite Presents

(An asterisk (*) marks the special presents added with (and unlocked through) Miyu Sahara’s Confidant, which are liked by all Confidants currently in the game.)

GOAT Baseball Bat An alloy power baseball bat to help players stand out on the field and become baseball stars!

Sports Protective Gear Wearable protective gear used during sports. The black and pink color scheme has won the Fashion Design Award at the Sports Equipment Awards.

GOAT Absorbent Towel Brightly colored, soft, and smooth absorbent towels that quickly absorb and evaporate large amounts of moisture.

GOAT Baseball Glove Made of modified leather for rugged durability, with an unparalleled feel.

GOAT Baseball Uniform Baseball uniforms printed with the team's logo are marketable and priceless collectibles.

Cat Hairpin This kitten-shaped hairpin is very cute.

Heart-Shaped Ring A ring with gemstones arranged in the shape of a heart.

Sumo-Themed Sticker Set This sumo wrestler-themed sticker set contains a variety of popular stickers and is highly collectible.

Guide to Eating While Walking A regularly-published food journal. It mainly introduces various delicacies that are highly talked about in the streets and alleys.

Limited-Edition Keychain* This keychain has a unique shape, and is well-made, but there weren’t many of it produced. It has a certain collector’s value.

Bulk Snacks Value Pack* A combo pack containing a variety of traditional snacks that will remind people of the taste of childhood.

Advanced Essential Oil Combination* A value-for-money set of essential oils, with multiple functions to help you relax your mind and body.

Chestnut Cake* Fragrant chestnut cake with mild sweetness to suit most people’s tastes.

Musical Snow Globe* A snow globe that plays music, and can be shaken gently to make snow fall inside.

Desktop Incense Machine* A household incense machine that is small in size, so it can be placed anywhere.

Everlasting Lily Flower This type of gift is widely beloved by women and represents eternal love. It is a very beautiful and touching gift.

Personal Information

Birthday: April 10th Zodiac Sign: Aries Age: 16 years old Profession: Student Height: 160 cm Weight: Secret...? Blood Type: ?? Interests: Fitness, high-calorie foods Features: Playing baseball

Story

Character Details A second-year high school girl from Kokatsu Academy, and my classmate. She is good at sports in general, and is very popular at our school. She prefers to act intuitively rather than logically, and her academic performance seems to be average.

Personal Data 1 Motoha was selected for a Little League girl's baseball team when she was in elementary school. Her abilities were outstanding, and she was ranked among the Best Nine.

Personal Data 2 At that time, Motoha admired Takeyuki Kiuchi, a fellow baseball player, and regarded him as her idol. She hoped to become as good of a player as Kiuchi in the future. But after meeting Kiuchi in a Little League program, everything changed...

Personal Data 3 Motoha, who was still an elementary school student at the time, hit a fastball thrown by Kiuchi with all her strength, and soon after, Kiuchi announced his retirement from baseball. The media widely publicized that Kiuchi retired due to a physical injury sustained during a Little League program activity. Motoha, still young, believed it was her fault, and never picked up a bat again.

Personal Data 4 It was not until an encounter ten years later that Motoha finally learned the truth about the past. With regrets about everything, and anger at being deceived by Kiuchi and the media, Motoha awakened her Persona.

Personal Data 5 After successfully changing Kiuchi's heart, Motoha joined the Phantom Thieves, and made up her mind to work hard as a member of the team from now on. To this end, she started exercising again, which also included learning how to face baseball again. At Motoha's request, I became her "coach".

Personal Data 6 While accompanying Motoha in retraining, we met her former rival Tamayo Yoshida. Tamayo hoped that Motoha could return to professional baseball, and to that end, issued a challenge for her.

Personal Data 7 In order to defeat Tamayo, Motoha began training arduously. I accidentally discovered that Tamayo was also observing Motoha's constant practice. It turns out that she always admired Motoha, and considered Motoha to be a goal that she had to strive to catch up to...

Personal Data 8 Motoha was so exhausted from practicing that she almost forgot why she started exercising in the first place. Fortunately, she finally remembered her original intention, and in the process, the relationship between Motoha and I gradually changed.

Personal Data 9 After hard training, Motoha met up with Tamayo for their duel, but the result was unexpected... After the match, Motoha praised Tamayo's perseverance and strength, and the two of them, who were once good rivals, united their hearts and became friends who trust each other.

Personal Data 10 Learning to let go of victory and defeat, face reality, and continue working hard, Motoha gained a lot through this experience. Although there will definitely be battles that we can't afford to lose in the future, the rest of the Phantom Thieves and I will definitely stand by Motoha when the time comes.

Voice Lines

Japanese VA: Kaede Hondo | Chinese VA: ZhuQueCheng

(As I can only add up to ten audio files per post, I’ll only include the Japanese lines below! Feel free to ask for the Chinese ones, though.)

My name's Motoha Arai! My Phantom Thief codename is Closer. Once again, nice to meet you!

Me? Hmm... I'm the kind of person who acts as soon as something comes to mind. So on the flip side, I'm not that great at thinking over complicated problems. Hahaha...

I have to do a lot of training to improve my agility in the Metaverse... but, well... today, I worked really hard, so I can go grab a crepe, right? Right?

If I hadn't met you, I'd probably still be dragging my past along with me... So seriously, thank you again. And... let's keep working together going forward!

The Phantom Thieves are probably the only ones who can make people with distorted desires have a change of heart... so I'll keep working hard. In order to help save people like Tomoko, who are being hurt!

I've gotten used to it, but... even now I still think Ruferu is kinda strange when I see him... How should I put it, what's up with that "owl from the Metaverse"...?

Tomoko's my closest friend. We've known each other since we were kids, together in the Little League. She supports me whenever I have a problem, and of course I always want to support her too. So really... we're not just friends, we're best friends!

Confidant-Specific Bonuses

Rank 1 I See It: Unlock the ability to use Third Eye while in the batting cages.

Rank 5 Let's Work Hard Together: When a battle ends with an All Out Attack, the entire team's health will be fully restored (only works with wandering shadows in Palaces and Mementos).

Rank 9 Exercise More: Unlocks higher difficulties and new prizes at the batting cages.

Rank 13 Ready: After visiting a Safe Room, if Highlight energy isn't at 30%, gain Highlight energy up to 30% (only works with wandering shadows in Palaces and Mementos).

Rank 17 Come Here: Unlocks higher difficulties and new prizes at the batting cages.

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

For me - Katsuki is a blight on MHA. Literally even Endeavor is more enjoyable to read because his victims are allowed to hate him and he's getting karmic retribution in the form of Dabi.

Katsuki on the other hand, is useless to the plot and annoying to read.

He gets fake out death after fake out death to build fake tension. Says shit like "I'll kill you!" to his teammates rather than the enemy (it's bad that he says it at all but he says it even to his teammates and friends... That's true scum.)

He hates saving people.

He is in the hero profession only for glory, to be the top dog and to crush his opponents.

He acts like a violent, bigoted (I haven't forgotten the quirkism) narcissist. - but he is loved by everyone despite logic saying he shouldn't be!

He blamed ALL MIGHT (his idol) for Izuku's low self worth rather than admitting his faults. (have I said already? - This character is infuriating, a manipulative scumbag!)

And had the BIGGEST karma Houdini ever in the 1A vs Izuku showdown and the awful apology that followed where Izuku was literally not allowed to speak only to stand there like a prop (like a DEKU) in Bakugou's "redemption." I'm going to hate seeing this animated...

In my honest opinion, I hate this. I hate him - I hate how he's grown like a cancer over what was meant to be (and marketed as) Izuku's story.

Izuku isn't allowed to grow nor even allowed to truly be happy with Bakugou right there ready to poop on his parade if he gets too proud of himself. (remember that headpiece ninja star scene after Izuku is proud of himself for black whip? Still angers me.)

I heard someone put what this story has turned into as "My Kacchan Academia" and that's right.

At the moment I just want to see how this shitshow ends because I've come this far - but I'm not happy with this story and haven't been in a while.

All of this. Especially that last line. I’m only interested in how it ends now rather than what’s happening at the current moment. What was once an interesting idea turned into a rushed product that loses its focus half the time.

[eternal-echoes]

“What does ‘rethinking solidarity mean?’. It does not of course mean calling into question the recent magisterium which, on the contrary, is increasingly showing how farsighted and up to date it is. Rather than ‘rethinking’, it seems to me to mean two things: first of all combining the magisterium with social and economic development since it is constant and rapid it reveals ever new aspects. Secondly, “rethinking” means deepening knowledge, reflecting further to enhance all the fruitfulness of a value — solidarity in this case — which draws in depth from the Gospel, that is, from Jesus Christ, and so as such contains an inexhaustible potential.

…

Unemployment — the lack or loss of work — is a phenomenon that is spreading like an oil slick in vast areas of the west and is alarmingly widening the boundaries of poverty. Moreover there is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them of the dignity of work.

Well, this “something wrong” no longer regards only the south of the world but also the entire planet. Hence the need ‘to rethink solidarity’ no longer as simply assistance for the poorest, but as a global rethinking of the whole system, as a quest for ways to reform it and correct it in a way consistent with the fundamental human rights of all human beings. It is essential to restore to this word ‘solidarity’, viewed askance by the world of economics — as if it were a bad word — the social citizenship that it deserves. Solidarity is not an additional attitude, it is not a form of social alms-giving but, rather, a social value; and it asks us for its citizenship.

The current crisis is not only economic and financial but is rooted in an ethical and anthropological crisis. Concern with the idols of power, profit, and money, rather than with the value of the human person has become a basic norm for functioning and a crucial criterion for organization. We have forgotten and are still forgetting that over and above business, logic and the parameters of the market is the human being; and that something is men and women in as much as they are human beings by virtue of their profound dignity: to offer them the possibility of living a dignified life and of actively participating in the common good. Benedict XVI reminded us that precisely because it is human, all human activity, including economic activity, must be ethically structured and governed (cf. Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, n. 36). We must return to the centrality of the human being, to a more ethical vision of activities and of human relationships without the fear of losing something.”

- Pope Francis, TO THE CENTESIMUS ANNUS PRO PONTIFICE FOUNDATION, 25 May 2013

[letmeoutofthebasementt]

what i find interesting abt ateez is they are neither of an immature age range not like the other groups debuting currently but theyre not middle aged either so maybe their interest in an older age partner comes from that bc other idols tend to usually say either their age or younger depending on it from other tarot readings.

obvi it can change over time but its just interesting bc even the youngest member seem to dislike being babied and called a maknae jongho defo seems older or wants to be older than his age group (i relate to him a lot) whereas hongjoong seems younger in his appearance but he is second oldest, hwa seems most like his actual age, san again i thought he was older than a 99liner maybe not if he was smaller physically, yeosang again i thought he was a bit older and wooyoung just acts younger sometimes with his members on camera but maybe off camera he is bit more mature than what he shows, mingi with his deep voice and height i honestly thought he was like 26 or smth. ateez just have different vibe to them than that of other groups their age idk why yet they keep intruiging me with their varied styles and sounds or their sort of dgaf way of doing it.

i still wish there were some older groups tho like nothing wrong with what btob were doing and i enjoyed watching kingdom too cause these groups dont seem to get the chance to mix and match the members or to change the song up and really do something creative and different.

I agree with you so much. Ateez definitely are a group that don’t really seem their ages and that’s not entirely a bad thing or a good thing. And yeah, I enjoy kingdom for that reason too.

I honestly wish there were older groups, but at the same time, I suppose I get WHY there aren’t many. Younger groups are more marketable, and companies don’t want to take that risk, and they can just wait for the idols to age and have them cultivate their craft for years rather than throwing them in already on the older side. But hopefully there’ll be older groups soon

[abby-conrad]

Issue Exploration and Analysis

  Issue Exploration and Analysis: Intersectionality

The sociopolitical issue I have chosen to explore throughout this course is the concept of intersectionality, as it relates to its impact on each sphere of society and our relationships. The term “intersectionality” was developed by civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw to identify and explain the ways in which different aspects of one’s social identities relate to “systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination” (“FYS 101: Intersectionality). Crenshaw’s theory aims to explore and identify how categories like gender, race, ability, sexual orientation etc. interact and create a complex web that uniquely intertwines to form individuals with unique experiences. While intersectionality expresses a beautiful narrative of how we exist as complex beings within our respective societies, it also works to describe the ways in which our given identities interact to create a “complex convergence of oppression” (“FYS 101: Intersectionality).

It is both necessary and crucial to utilize the intersectional perspective in order to effectively approach the multiplex social justice issues that persist within our culture. When beginning to tackle issues such as the gender wage gap, one must also take into consideration factors such as race or socioeconomic status (among others) in order to approach it in an effectively holistic manner. If all identities are not considered inequities may be reinforced, and the approach may do more harm than good or only work to serve those within the majority (“What is Intersectionality”). 

The Center for Intersectional Justice suggests a particular approach to justice that can most effectively address the shortcomings in our current structures and legislation. The Center proposes that true justice is the “fair and equal distribution of wealth, opportunities, rights and political power within society” (“What is Intersectionality”). This approach is bottom-up rather than the more common top-down distribution of opportunity. It argues that if we mend the systematic disadvantages held by those with the greatest barriers we can develop a more harmonious culture that works towards equity and support for those at each level of our socioeconomic institutions. We can begin to mend our institutions by calling for them to provide opportunities and resources directly to our school systems, markets, taxation programs, etc. ( (“What is Intersectionality”).

As appealing as it seems our systems in the United States are wholly antithetical to this perspective and approach. Our institutions idolize and thrive off of hierarchy, competition, privilege, and power for select groups who have historically dominated. The dismantling of these frameworks is challenging, but I believe it is a necessary step in reworking a society conducive to diversity and inclusion in its most authentic form. A lot of this change begins with legislation aimed at reallocating funds and redistributing opportunities in a way that is appropriate for both individual communities and on a federal level. However, in a more tangible way we can support the cause by continuing to educate ourselves on different identities and their impacts, as well as celebrate what makes us unique and crucial to a vibrant society (“Making it Work How-To Guide: Intersectionality in Practice”). 

References 

Carastathis, Anna. Intersectionality : Origins, Contestations, Horizons / Anna Carastathis. University of Nebraska Press, 2016. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=eb9d7dc5-8424-3c5c-b661-015ee4673466.

Making It Work How-to Guide: Intersectionality in Practice, Inclusive Friends Association, Mar. 2022, www.makingitwork-crpd.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/MIW%20How-To-Guide-Intersectionality%2008March2022.docx. 

“Research Guides: FYS 101: Intersectionality.” Intersectionality - FYS 101 - Research Guides at Syracuse University Libraries, researchguides.library.syr.edu/fys101/intersectionality#:~:text=Intersectionality%20(or%20intersectional%20theory)%20is,oppression%2C%20domination%2C%20or%20discrimination. Accessed 2 Feb. 2024. 

Steinmetz, Katy. “Kimberlé Crenshaw on What Intersectionality Means Today.” Time, Time, 20 Feb. 2020, time.com/5786710/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality/. 

“What Is Intersectionality” Center for Intersectional Justice , www.intersectionaljustice.org/what-is-intersectionality.

[hwaightme]

Your fan, Yunho (part 1)

(part 2) (your fan ml)

🎮pairing: yunho x game developer!reader 🎮genre: fluff, slice of life, opposites attract, serendipity, humour summary: a bulletpoint-style wordstream of what it would be like if yunho was stanning you 🎮wordcount: 2.6k 🎮warnings/tags: language, reader is a developer, coding and gaming is life, wooyoung knows, yunho as a gaming enthusiast, reader is a serious introvert, business friend playing wingwoman, flirting in chat, reader is oblivious, yunho wants to be noticed, possible gaming dates, ateez have potential as twitch streamers, let me know if anything else 🎮a/n: Hello everyone! This is a wave I had in relation to 'Your fan,___', now for Yunho! Thank you everyone for your likes, comments and reblogs <3

You were a game developer, who started out quite early with simple arcade style games, and progressed to more complex rpgs story-focused fps games, which had given you recognition and helped you rise to where you were today.

And where were you now? Well, you were your own boss, a developer self-started Cogent Studio, in the heart of Seoul, working with some of your closest friends.

When you had the time and energy, you would attend cons, do interviews here and there, or join your gamer friends' streams to either play together if the game was multiplayer, or merely enjoy a peaceful couple of hours together, talking about the greatest love of your life - games and computer science

Other than that, you never really chased the limelight, nor felt the need to. So long as you could keep on doing what you did, you were happy.

This was why you were grateful that one of your friends was terrifically social media savvy, and could start a trend out of nothing if they wanted to.

They were normally the ones do give you nudges as reminders that "it was time to do some publicity"

This was exactly how you had stumbled upon a livestream which ended up changing your life for even better

It was a couple days after the official release of your studio's latest, rather ambitious project, Aenigmata.

This fever dream had, from initial character sketches to final implementation and server testing and the sort had taken a grand total of five years, with you repeatedly reworking one part after another as your skills improved and you found other experts to mentor you along the way.

On top of this being a career challenge, you wanted to be extra evil and create countless riddles and adapting puzzles, making them the way to have the highest chances to succeed in the more "action-packed" parts of the game.

So bent on wanting to create the perfect intellectual challenge, in fact, that you had dabbled in the implementation of machine learning into the game, to make the World of Aenigmata feed on your mistakes and challenges (to a limit, of course)

This strategy/shooter/rpg crossed with a science experiment had already done some rounds among enthusiasts and critics, being very well received, and commended for its "disruptive nature" compared to the current market.

You were not too bothered by the sales, seeing as your less multifaceted projects were doing well enough (unlike your distributors), but they appeared to be as stable as a game of such a style would allow.

Your extra sleepless nights dedicated to ensuring there were both single player and small party multiplayer paid off too - Youtubers and Twitch streamers were starting to get in on the fun and publicise the game you had made with your very own hands.

And on this particular day there was one livestream in particular that had caught the attention of your friend and marketing guru.

A certain 'Jeong duo' from an idol group by the name of ATEEZ were live on YouTube, actually had been for almost an hour, and lo and behold, were playing your game.

"Can you imagine, Y/N? THE Wooyoung and Yunho from ATEEZ, playing Aenigmata. This is like, gold for us. Can you believe how many potential buyers we could be hitting right now? Come on, take a look here-"

"Do they like it?" You deadpanned, not wanting to take your eyes off the code you were currently debugging.

Your friend wiggled her phone right in front of your face. "Y/N, this is IMPORTANT!!! This could bring us the BIG FIGURES if we use it right!"

Back at it again with the business-speak... you were glad that this was not your task to take care of. So to satisfy your now pouting marketing chief, you switched attention and repositioned the phone to take a closer look.

Oh no, they were handsome. Here lied your rationality. No, Y/N, we must stay focused, brothers, we must stay focused.

You actually bit the inside of your cheek to remind yourself that it, in fact, was not simp o'clock, and you had hot two-dimensional characters to design. Okay that brought you back down a few notches. Now for the...

Wait, they were pretty good! You took note of what stage of the game they were at, and called out for your friend who was texting on her other phone (yes, she was that type of boss lady)

"You said they were idols, right?" After receiving an enthusiastic confirmation, you rubbed your chin, pensive. "Okay you know what they are cool, I respect them. And look at that set up sheesh flexing that alienware..."  you trailed of, seeing as your friend began to lose you after the first sentence.

"Then how about you say it?"

"Didn't I... just do that?"

Your friend pinched the bridge of her nose.

"No, you dufus. IN CHAT."

"Oh."

After a couple more minutes of pointless back and forth, you were convinced. One could even say you were excited. Normally you would only make appearances in streams of people who you knew personally (even in chat) so this was a first. Even though you were going to be sending a message through the studio's account, it felt personal.

Here went nothing.

<cogent_studio> Happy to see you enjoying Aenigmata! Thank you so much Wooyoung and Yunho, ATEEZ hwaiting!

At first everything was quiet - honestly you were a little disappointed.

Well, it turned out to be lag, because after giving it a few more seconds, chat exploded, @ing you and the two members, saying that this was the world's most ambitious crossover in history.

This fanbase was wonderful, you decided.

"Wait... wait... DID THE STUDIO WRITE TO US IN CHAT?" The louder of the two exclaimed.

"Let me check... Oh my, Woo, yes they did, HELLO!!!" the one who you now knew to be Yunho waved at the camera.

He was about to leap into the air and never come down. His fans knew that he was pretty good at certain games, though still often attributed the title of gaming king to Yeosang, but what they did not know was that your work was especially meaningful to him, and your drive and wit made him look beyond the products. He was your loyal fan, and was not ashamed to admit it.

Of course, it was the studio account that had written in chat, meaning it could be anyone with permissions (as far as he could remember you had entrusted three people with rights to spreading culturally significant memes) but he could not help but hope that of all the staff it was you who had noticed him. So he tried his best to be ever so gallant and attractive, much to Wooyoung's amusement. His friend was well aware of Yunho not so subtly being starstruck by you, but so far was not wrecking havoc.

Your friend looked particularly smug when she saw a grin spreading across your face. And not while you were amidst work... well kind of related, but still, much further away from the centrepoint of your comfort zone.

What sealed the deal for you and kicked you over the edge and into checking ATEEZ out was when Yunho, allowing Wooyoung to take over the gameplay for some time, decided to try directly interacting with you.

Patiently waiting for every message from you. Asking questions. Gushing about your other projects.

Finally, Yunho thought, it was his geek side's time to shine. The more challenging part was not keeping up the conversation that was getting progressively more technical, but to stop himself from over sharing.

And that was HARD when he had your mains in various games down pat, memorized the funniest moments from streams where you were hanging out with your friends and had read up on the theories and conspiracies attempting to connect the various games you had released over the years.

He had found out about you through a group of game connoisseurs back in high school, and had not looked back since then. Mingi knew the best about all the ins and outs of Yunho's stanning (though it spread rapidly enough - not that anyone minded, it was cute; besides, you had expert and exclusive knowledge on such a grand variety of things in the industry, that sometimes a member would even Yunho in watching bits of press or streams)

Being your fan was a way for him to keep himself grounded and and connected to other parts of life when he was a trainee, when he had events back to back and was sometimes struggling to function.

Just seeing you, of similar age to him, out there, going through your own battles and coming out on top, continuing to hone your craft whilst ignoring any hate spat in your direction... that had motivated Yunho to go on.

To put it simply, it was had for Yunho to contain his inner fanboy. So he switched it up and instead acted like a gentleman.

At one point your friend even half-whispered "is this... a date?" To which you countered

"How would it be anything except business? He is talking to the studio, and I am merely a rep."

"Uhhh.... what did he say just now?"

Yunho had suddenly grown quiet, stumbling over his words a couple times - some observant fans had pointed out that his ears were growing pink. Why was he so cute and bashful all of a sudden?

Your friend leaned into the screen peering at the two ATEEZ members and the chat like a scientist into a microscope - "What is happening, I lost the plot"

Luckily for you, Wooyoung had found Yunho's behaviour and inaudible question entertaining, so he paused the game and placing a hand on the taller man's shoulder, smirked right at his audience.

"Yunho, I think you might actually be Sherlock Holmes with your deductions. Let's try it out. Who do we have the pleasure of talking to, could it be the Y/N herself?"

Oh. So apparently the style of your responses was enough for Yunho to figure out it was YOU?

More than enough, actually. He had seen you chat enough times to know your style.

You wanted to run and hide. Or more specifically, to lie and say "unfortunately not, this is her friend. But at the studio we are pretty much a hivemind so you could say you are talking to Y/N!"

You were about to send those exact words when your friend SLAMMED the back space and literally hissed at you

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, YOU FOOL???????? CAN'T YOU SEE?????? THIS IS CRITICAL!!!!!!!!!"

"Okay bro chill"

<cogent_studio> yes, indeed it is! No wonder you are acing Aenigmata

After that, Yunho's behaviour had noticeably changed. So did his body language.

He had adjusted his posture to be somehow even more proper, you swore his voice got slightly deeper, and he got more... competitive? With his own team mate?

It was almost as though upon finding out that it was YOU he was talking to he felt it to be his mission to impress you with his skills... at playing your own game.

Wooyoung had an unreadable yet sly expression, giving Yunho the occasional jab on the shoulder or giggling to himself.

As a wise man once said "this is kinda sus"

And that was pretty much how the next two hours passed. You had transferred the stream to one of your monitors, and during intervals when the guys were in hardcore focus mode managed to finish your debugging duties. This sort of contact was not as bad as you thought.

Once the livestream ended, with Yunho shining like a thousand suns when he saw a final message from you thanking them and hoping to stay in touch, you deflated.

Who was this social person and what did they do to Y/N? You desperately needed to lock yourself in your gaming lair and play some mind-numbing simulator. Just as you were about to clock out you caught the devious winks from your business friend who started this whole thing.

"Hello hello, I see you are free again, how are you feeling, darling?"

"Drained, tired, overwhelmed, was about to go hermit mode for the rest of the day."

"Ah brilliant, then I caught you at the right time. You have a call with ATEEZ's management at two fifteen in the afternoon tomorrow, don't worry I'll be handling the details there you just have to look pretty and do your big brain things. But if all goes well there, you will be having a gaming session organised with ATEEZ to promote their activities and your game."

Oh what the hell did you get yourself into?

Surprise surprise, everything did go well and you were to have an official scheduled activity with a major idol group.

You did not want to admit it, but inside you were shaking. This live would have an astonishing number of people compared to what you were used to, or at least a totally different type of crowd. Maybe there would be some of your diehard supporters here and there, but without a doubt 99% would be ATINY.

On the day you had met two new additions to the gamer squad, in the form of Yeosang and Mingi, wit the former recognising the brand of your gaming chair and complimenting it. Needless to say, you had labelled him as a homie straight away.

Just because they were apparently famous did not mean you went easy on them, oh no, they were with a person who had deliberated going pro into esports at one point.

And your good-humoured and well-balanced competitiveness paired with a genuine passion for the craft and activity had resulted in a record number of views - two disparate fanbases coming together, confused but enjoying the show nonetheless.

One of the most popular highlights from the stream ended up being you and Yunho's genius sabotage in Among Us, where literally everyone was clueless of who was impostor until you got to steal the victory. And another, that had gained more likes upon being turned into an edit was one from the couple of Overwatch 2 rounds you had played. Specifically, it was after you had solo carried your team to victory after their elimination and got MVP.

The edit was simple, and all it really showed was the MVP reel and Yunho's face cam. The caption did all the work:

"Get you a man who looks at you the way Yunho looks at Y/N getting MVP"

You rewatched that edit an embarrassing number of times. Fooling yourself into thinking that it was because it was just that funny (no, fam, no)

A couple of days after and your routine had gone back to normal, aside from a considerable increase in sales of Aenigmata, as well as your older games, and being mutuals with ATEEZ on Twitter.

But one night, marking nearly a week since the scheduled gaming session, when you booted up Steam again to pick your way to unwind, someone sent you a chat. Like they had been waiting for the your little status icon to turn green, all this time.

When you opened up chat, you did a double take. The username was of none other than Yunho, asking if you were free to play.

And thus began your story as an unbeatable duo.

You had finally gotten yourself a new gaming companion, while Yunho started falling for you, far beyond what was previously just being a fan. Now, he was getting to know the real you, and you could not be more attractive.

[eirikrjs]

I'm kinda confused about the typical hardcore Megaten fan's reaction to Soul Hackers 2. Hasn't SMT always appealed to weeb trends? What's the difference in this case, that it actually has a marketing team backing it up?

I can only answer for myself for this one, but when I originally got into SMT around 2005, it was because it was different than other RPGs. Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga stood out in the market. It marched to the beat of its own drum instead of following trends; the "punk" attitude by which you used to see SMT defined.

But then something peculiar happened: Persona didn't just become popular, it became a trend-setter. So how can you swim against the trends when their current is carrying you? This is why you see complaints that games like Tokyo Mirage Sessions, SMT4A, and indeed even SH2 have more of that trend-chasing Persona influence instead of the original "punk" creativity mentioned above, whether it's TMS going from SMT x FE to its final idol form, SMT4A's writing and characters, or SH2's presentation and more Persona-like demon mechanics.

So no, SMT didn't always chase weeb trends, but you can say it's always been a melange of pop culture influences. But being "totally 100% original" was never the point for any Megaten game; rather, the series was about being artistically and creatively expressive in ways counter to popular RPG trends, from the days when those trends were set by Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Megaten stood out to survive. It's been apparent since around Persona 4 that the games Atlus develops have not been as creatively distinct as they used to be, sticking to formulas or attempting to emulate past successes.

[dearestones]

Stolen Moments (Matsuda Touta x Reader)

Warnings: Implied cheating, mentions of alcohol, takes place during the Yotsuba Arc.

Anonymous Request: Henwooo!! Iz meeee the Matsu fangirl anon tehee. Can I request for some Matsu x reader 👀 I don't exactly have an idea for it but whatever comes to your mind first angst or fluff I'll take it :3

.

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You looked at the blonde woman slumped over your couch, clearly inebriated and unconscious due to the rosiness in her cheeks and the fact that she was sprawled all over the furniture. For a moment, you considered maneuvering her body so that it would rest in a position better suited to the current circumstances, but thought better of it. Backing away from your living room area, you walked back into the kitchen, the cozy, warm lighting instantly lifting your mood and adding clarity to your thoughts.

There, hunched over the counter, a can of beer in hand, Touta stood. Despite how early it was in the morning, his eyes were sharp. Bright and undulled by the hard work that he must have been up to these past few months. Sometimes, you wondered if his work as a detective was worth it.

You wondered if he had any time to sleep anymore.

You wondered if this is what all your relationship would ever amount to: stolen moments caught between the ascending twilight and falling dawn. It had been too long.

Hesitant, but still determined, you reached his side and gently pulled the can of beer from his grasp. Luckily for you, his grip wasn’t too strong. Despite his naivete and relative newness as a detective, you knew from firsthand experience that he was far stronger than what most people would give him credit for.

As you placed the mostly full can of beer onto the counter, the quiet clink adding to the awkward silence.

With slow, deadened movements that you would usually associate with the elderly, Touta turned to you. The fervor that you witnessed earlier had died down to a dull, but present glimmer of light. It was like watching the stove slowly turned down to its lowest setting. 

He began to incline his head towards you, as if wanting to rest his head into the crook of your neck and shoulder. However, just as the warmth of his breath was about to hit your skin, you stepped away the same instant your hand pushed gently against his chest.

Touta looked like he was about to cry.

“She’s a bit too young for you, isn’t she?” You didn’t mean to sound too accusing, but you were well aware of the implications. Long nights without a loved one by your side, a lovely beauty just wanting to be touched… The scent of alcohol that clogged your nose and made your head swim. Of course, this was Touta you were talking to; he would rather put a gun to his head and pull the trigger rather than think about cheating on someone he was already seeing. “Bit of a bad idea to bring her here.”

A part of Touta must have realized that you weren’t too hurt—just curious. The woman on your couch was insanely beautiful, makeup minimal but had a devastating impact on how others must have perceived her. Was she a model? It would make sense… Her face looked rather similar to some of those up and coming idols that were steadily making bigger and bigger waves on the market. If you thought hard enough, perhaps a name or a project associated with the woman would come to you, but for now, you wanted Touta’s answer.

You weren’t afraid of what he was going to say, but you were still wary of his answer.

Despite the low probability, a chance was still a chance.

Touta ruffled the back of his head, messing up his raven black locks. Despite the grave situation, he forced himself to chuckle.

The forced levity, despite how awkward it may have seemed, made you smile.

Touta was still Touta no matter the circumstances.

“You know how I told you that I’ve been tasked with odd jobs for an investigation?” If you read between the lines, you knew that the case he was working on was supposedly very discreet—something that you wouldn’t expect much coverage from ordinary news outlets.

“I think so. Has your boss finally realized your worth and given you something important to do?” For a moment, you wondered if the woman on your couch was a victim in need of protection. It would make sense… but the alcohol?

Touta hummed a little to himself as he leaned back against the counter and tilted his head up as if he wanted to avoid looking at you. A blush dusted his handsome features as you continued to stare at him.

“You could say that. Honestly, I think they just decided to give me something to do that wouldn’t drag down the others.” He tilted his head forward again and rewarded you with a soft, but tired smile. “Still, at least it’s progress and besides, the task that I’ve been set out to do is actually pretty fun.”

“And this has to do with the unconscious woman because?”

“I’m her manager… She’s an idol who made her debut a year or so ago? She’s a key part of the investigation that I’m currently on and needs protection.”

So, you were mostly correct, but you had no idea that there was going to be an idol involved! What was her name? Have you heard of her?

“What’s her name?” You couldn’t help but ask in excitement, the shift in mood finally lightening the atmosphere. “Is that allowed? Can I know her name?”

A genuine smile greeted you. This time, when he leaned towards you, his head making a slow, but gradual descent towards the crook of your neck and shoulder, you pulled him close. His warmth was welcoming, heady and comforting.

“Probably best that you don’t know.” He continued to nuzzle into your neck while you stroked his hair. “I just wanted to visit and well… She somehow got herself into a bit of alcohol, so I thought we’d take a break before heading back.”

Oh. That’s right, he still had to leave.

“That’s okay.” You left a kiss on his hair. “We still got time to spend with each other.”

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If you want to donate a Ko-Fi, feel free https://ko-fi.com/devintrinidad.

DEATH NOTE MASTERLIST

[potteresque-ire]

More ask answer about Word of Honour (山河令, WoH) and the so-called “Dangai 101 phenomenon” under the cut ~ with all the M/M relationships shown on screen, does it mean improved acceptance / safety for the c-queer community?

Due to its length (sorry!), I’ve divided the answer into 3 parts: 1) Background 2) Excerpts from the op-eds 3) Thoughts This post is PART 3 💚. As usual, please consider the opinions expressed as your local friendly fandomer sharing what they’ve learned, and should, in no ways, be viewed as necessarily true. :)

(TW: homophobic, hateful speech quoted)

Here are the key points I’ve picked up from these op-eds:

* The state believes Danmei can turn young people queer. * The state also believes Dangai dramas can turn young men “feminine” to suit the taste of Dangai’s young, largely female audience. * The state views queerness in both sexes, and androgynous beauty in men as negative traits. * The state is wary of Danmei and Dangai’s popularity and wishes to contain them as subcultures. * The state is particularly annoyed by how the Dangai dramas have achieved their popularity with CP-focused promotions and marketing tactics, in which the actors are involved and blur the line between fictional and real-life suggestions of queerness.

What do I think of, concerning the acceptance and/or safety of … everything, with the above opinions given by the state media about Dangai?

* For c-queers, I don’t think things are different from before—these op-eds didn’t change the big picture for me. The op-eds taking traditional BL characterisation for Dangai / Danmei means the state’s intended focus of the genres is not its queerness; this is not unexpected, as the established review system is supposed to have removed the show’s queer elements, and to characterise those elements as queer would be a critique against the NRTA.

 While unpleasant, the veiled, antagonistic view towards non-traditional gender expressions and homosexuality isn’t new: the state has long believed popular culture can turn its young male audience “feminine”; the NRTA directive that bans homosexual content from visual media already makes clear its stance that homosexuality is, while not criminal, something that is Not Good in its eyes.

A (very) good thing that can be said, I think, is that none of the op-eds explicitly disapprove of the queer elements, the things that got away from being censored—of which there were, arguably, many in WoH. While Article O2a noted such “playing edge ball” (note the articles use this term to avoid mentioning “queer”), the comment right after was neutral / positive (“provide their audience with room for imagination”). Article O3, meanwhile, acknowledged that Dangai can be imitated by introducing suggestive atmosphere between male characters in their plot layout, thereby admitting that suggestive atmosphere between male characters in their plot layout is a defining trait of Dangai—and it didn’t say anything bad about it; the criticism was only for non-Dangai playacting Dangai.

This signals, to me at least, that Dangai can continue to be the cover for queer relationships to reach its audience for now — which is, perhaps, the best case scenario for continued queer representation on TV, given the current sociopolitical climate.

* For Danmei / Dangai, I’d also venture to say the genres are safe. Upcoming Dangais may need to undergo stricter / further reviews (if the rumours surrounding Immortality 皓衣行 are to be believed), and whether they can still achieve explosive popularity after such reviews remains a question; the genres themselves, however, will likely survive. 

Article O1 was a very positive, very enthusiastic review of WoH; its determined focus on the show’s aesthetics (as TU’s review) signals to me that the state approved of the genre’s take on aesthetics—which, again, also includes the aesthetics of a world cleansed of its real problems, which also aligns with the NRTA’s directive on TV / web dramas to focus on the positives of life in the country (Previously translated in this post: D12: … They [Pie note: the dramas] cannot place too strong an emphasis on social conflicts, must showcase the beautiful lives of the commoners.). Article O2b was very critical at places, but actually tried to sever Danmei  / Dangai from its major complaint, argued that the attention-grabbing gimmicks path was taken * instead of * aspiring to positively, proactively guide and display Danmei culture, therefore positioning Danmei on the “good side”.  While Danmei was named a (bad) influence for potentially turning youths queer (and predator, by the cartoon) in Article O2a, no mention was made of eliminating the genre both in the same Article or its editorial (Article O2b). The focus was placed, instead, on the subculture’s “containment”, and how it has been broken for “Rot Culture” to reach mainstream. The implied solution to Danmei’s “bad influence”, therefore, was to re-contain rather than eliminate.

[Logically, of course, this makes little sense. Blaming Danmei on turning youths queer is already confusing correlation and causation—youths may be drawn to Danmei because they are queer, rather than Danmei turning them queer. Re-containment, meanwhile, suggests that the state, which isn’t a fan of gays, is okay with Danmei turning kids gay… as long as there aren’t a lot of kids.

However, I’m hoping to tease out what the state may do, not whether the state is logically sound.]

Article O3 had the harshest wording on Danmei—“the canon and the Rot Culture behind it still hides large amounts of pornographic, violent content…”; “this vulgar custom of “playing edge ball” as a means to tempt, to lead the audience into indulging in fantasies [Pie note: sexual fantasies implied by the idiom 想入非非] have spread from visual media production…” . Still, no word on axing the genre, only containment.

* For CP culture, specifically, actor-character based CPs that are promoted with the dramas: while I don’t see it on the chopping board yet, these op-eds are, I believe, warnings for those in charge of the promotion and marketing of the upcoming Dangai dramas to tread carefully. I find the reach of these warnings difficult to predict still, because these warnings can be genuine—as in, the government truly believes the CP-focused promotion and marketing tactics are morally objectionable—or they can be more for show, in that the true reason behind the warnings is that CP-focused promotions, which also put a heavy focus on in-drama candies, make the NRTA / censorship board look like a joke and the government had to put up some objections to save face. 

In all cases, companies will likely need to talk to the government to nail down its stance. Whether to heed the warnings afterwards, tone down or eliminate the CP-focused promotions will require a thorough risk-benefit analysis. After all, CP culture appears to sits at the heart of the money-making machinery of Dangai dramas. The expenditure of fans is mainly to support their favourite actors and see their interactions, and money is, ultimately, what Dangai 101 is about.

Finally, for the sake of completion ~ how likely did these op-eds reflect the actual opinions of the state? Here are the sources of the articles:

Article O1: 上觀新聞, which is under Liberation Daily 解放日報,  the official daily newspaper of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Article O2: 半月談 Banyue Tan, a state-controlled biweekly magazine published by the Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of China.

Article O3: 光明日報 Enlightenment Daily, a newspaper associated with Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中共中央機關報).

None of them are of the calibre of People’s Daily (official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party). However, they’re all very well-respected state-sponsored sources. Banyue Tan does require an asterisk  ~ while affiliated with the Xinhua News Agency, the massive influence of which has earned it its nickname “the world's biggest propaganda agency”, Banyue Tan‘s authority on this particular issue of Danmei/Dangai has been somewhat undermined by a … strange (?) trivia to end this super long piece: the magazine has also been caught in the controversy surrounding 227. Due to its pro-TU, pro-Gg stance, antis have insisted there are Gg fans within its writer’s ranks, who have used the state-sponsored publication for their private, support-Gg purposes. To this day, the argument is ongoing—with the criticism of Danmei in Article O2 sparking another round of “discussion” due to its previous approval of TU—and the lead anti is a well-known international politics professor and CCP (Chinese Communist Party) mouthpiece named Shen Yi (沈逸), whose claim to fame was the US government cancelling his visa and denying him entry due to suspected espionage …

[Banyue Tan was not the only state-sponsored publication caught in 227′s cross-fire. This is one of the reasons why some political watchers have suspected 227 to have a political component, that some form of political power struggle was happening in the post-227 chaos and disguised as the fan war.

While the truth may never be revealed, one thing is for certain ~ fan wars are about the worst things fans can do for their favourite idols, by lending space for such veiled conflicts to happen, by lending the names of their idols / their idols’ fans to the actually warring parties who may not wish to reveal who they are.]

[Okay okay, I will shut up now :) ].

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 <-- YOU ARE HERE

[in-somnis-veritas]

Characters

(This is for an AU currently in the works! This is one of the only available posts for it right now, but make sure to drop by the page and follow us to stay up to date! More in-depth info will be released soon about the world of Adrestia)

Name | Age | Race | Status Mod Paragraph

Tommy | 16 | Half-elf | Commoner

Tommy was born and raised in the town of Alnwick, living with his mom for the first few years of his life as his father worked in the capital city of Somritas as a knight. He was raised completely unaware of his status of being a half-elf or the fact that his mother was, in fact, an elf. Now, 16 years old with a dead mother, he continues to live his life believing he’s human--not even showing the telltale signs of being a half-elf because of a pendant he’s worn since he was a toddler. Not that he knows that’s what it does. Loud, rambunctious, mischievous--he always finds the time to harass his friends or flirt with pretty girls who happened to be nearby. Best friends with Tubbo and with a brotherly relationship with Dream, he’s out thriving as an extrovert. Though it’s safe to mention he’s completely banned from the capital city,

Tubbo | 16 | Druid | Knight

Tubbo's entire existence is illegal, pretty much. Born to two druids, he himself is also a druid. When he was 6, his camp was attacked. All of his people were killed. The only survivors were him and his baby brother. After fleeing, they survived on their own for a week. They were soon picked up by another camp, which Tubbo lived in for 9 years. When he was 15, his camp sent him to the city. His brother stayed behind, while Tubbo made the three-day long journey to the city. Soon after his arrival, he became a knight. He has served ever since. Despite being magical, he appears fairly human. The only true way to tell he is a druid is the triskelion tattoo he has, which is just below the crook of his elbow on his right forearm. Within the city, his closest friend is Niki. She was the first one to find out about his magic, and he genuinely trusts her with his life. Outside of the city, his best friend is Tommy. Considering he can't go inside the city, Tubbo usually goes outside the walls to visit. Tommy was the second to find out. Saying he trusts Tommy with his life isn't true, mainly because he would be the one endangering it to begin with.

Dream | 19 | Human | Prince/Royalty

Prince Dream von Galatea the 1st, born August 12th, 1599, is the sole male heir to the well known kingdom, Somritas, in the northern Adrestia region. He is a very respected and competent prince to his royal adversaries and renowned across the land as an excellent warrior. Dream trains almost daily and vigorously, so much so that many outsiders try their hand at challenging him but have yet to beat him. The man greatly idolizes the old “fairy tales” of the human hero saving others from the monstrous non-human races. Though, this then causes the prince to have a bit of a Hero Complex. When a situation involves or pertains to someone he cares for and is emotionally invested in, he’s generally a very impulsive and sensitive man that will end up following his feelings in the heat of the moment rather than his rationalized thoughts. Other than that, however, Dream’s quick at adapting to new situations and thinking on the spot, especially when placed under pressure. To add on, he’s fiercely protective and compassionate to those under his kingdom’s rule and is seen often interacting with the townsfolk in the Town Square, thus his subjects adore the kind prince wholeheartedly. In order to rise to his rightful place as King, he must venture outside the castle walls and vanquish countless magical non-human races, thus proving himself capable to his father. Subsequently along the way, Dream’s close minded beliefs will get upturned as he begins to discover not everything in his kingdom is as fair and just as he once thought. 

George | 20 | Changeling | Upperclass Tailor

George Pruitt is a fairly upper-class tailor born and raised in Somritas. Both of his parents are tailors, and he is one of the most skilled tailors in the city. Many members of royalty favor him and ask specifically sew their clothes for important events. He is Prince Dream's favorite tailor as well. His upbringing was regular and nothing strange happened, but around 14 years old, he started getting signs of magic. He withdrew from people and really only socialized with Dream, which is why they're so close. He tries to seem as human as possible, and hates that he's magical.

Niki | 18 | Human | Commoner

Niki lives in the northern Adrestia region in the kingdom of Somritas as a baker. She owns her own shop where she she sells breads, pastries, cookies, and the like. The unofficial hub of all mysterious strangers, Niki seems to know everyone and everything. While raised on the culture of magical non-humans being bad, her encounters throughout the years change her mind to be more open and welcome to everyone. She makes friends very easily and her shop is one of the most visited in the kingdom.

Techno | 19 | Cursed Human | Prince/Royalty

Technoblade is the prince of the kingdom of Strata, a kingdom in the Adrestia region and one that is allied to the kingdom of Somritas. He was cursed the night before his fifteenth birthday by an unknown intruder in the castle and was shunned by the general public in the kingdom because of his now ‘monstrous’ appearance. He left the kingdom even though the king and queen wanted him to stay and is now searching for someone to undo his curse, which brought him to Somritas. He stays out of the actual kingdom because he would be burned if he ever went inside due to his appearance, so he just camps out in the forest close to it and only goes to the very outskirts of the marketplace and the black market to find someone that can break the curse. Techno is extremely blunt and he’s not afraid to call someone out for being an idiot, but only when he’s comfortable with that person. He hates interaction with people that he doesn’t know and pretty much never talks to anyone unless they talk to him first. He kinda bounces around in different groups of people, but stays with Dream mostly.

Wilbur | 25 | Cursed Human | Outlaw

Wilbur was born in a family that practiced magic. One day, they were caught and the royalty put them up to be executed, but Wilbur able to escape. He would steal things on the streets and retreat to the woods at night. He did this for a couple of years, but when he was 21 he got caught and was scheduled for a public execution. He got one of his eyes removed but was able to escape by setting something on fire as a distraction. He retreated to the forest once again where he practiced witchcraft and lived somewhat peacefully. Then he met Tommy.

Fundy | 20 | Silver dragon-touched human | Traveling Healer

Fundy is a mysterious traveler that works as a healer for money, slipping in and out of towns and leaving little more than a healed patient or two and fleeting memories of him behind. He leaves little opportunity for anyone to get close, and he always carries a wooden fox mask.

Philza | Ealy 30s | Aasimar | Commoner

Phil lives outside of the kingdom, on the edge of a forest with his wife. Aside from tending to his animals and small farm he makes furniture for the more wealthy members of society. He’s an all around kind and genuine normal guy, he’s always willing to lend a helping hand. Sometimes though, when the light hits right, an ethereal glow seems to take form in the shape of a ring above his head. Despite being a regular ol' guy, rumors seem to follow him wherever he goes. Many stories spread about a winged figure slaying beasts either in traps or by their own sword, swooping out of the sky to defend people, leaving nothing left of once feared monsters. Sadly, absolutely none of the rumors are talking about him, couldn’t be. Phil’s just ordinary.

Eret | 20 | Cursed Human | Noble (Court member)

Eret is from a small town on the northern coast of Somritas. They was raised there for the first 17 years of their life surrounded by elves and magic users the entire time. It was a hidden safe haven for elves within the kingdom, a vast majority of its population being the magical creatures. The village was full of so much magic that it ended up causing the humans who lived alongside the elves to become magic sensors, hence why Eret is, well, a magic sensor. They ended up doing something, that something never being disclosed as Eret refuses to explain. It ended up with the high council of elves within the town to be LIVID. They became petty. They cursed him. They made the kid appear magical, ruining Eret’s humanity and forcing them to look similar to an elf with glowing eyes. But it backfired and destroyed their retinas, completely blinding them. So, fueled with the want for revenge, Eret turned on their village and ratted out the magical population. It just so happened to be that they ratted the village out to a royal court member. This gave them a pardon and an audience with the king who gave them an offer. They could help the king as a magic sensor and spy and continue to sniff out the magical congregations or they could burn with the village. Eret chose to stay alive, so they helped the royals torch the village.

[olderthannetfic]

It's really surprising that you're so well versed in older fandoms and yet participate in new popular ones (that cdrama, kpop) is this by design? Im in my twenties and my interest turnover is already way slower than it used to be

You know, that’s a really interesting question. I wouldn’t say it’s by design exactly in that I do tend to just follow what strikes my fancy, and I can’t force myself to want to write fic for just anything. (I find it easier to like reading fic without serious involuntary emotional investment, but writing takes more. Vidding I can do on command most of the time, but I don’t usually bother unless I have a lot of feels or I’m fulfilling someone’s prompt.)

However, me getting into BTS was 100% due to me wanting to understand BTS enough to explain to people who weren’t very interested but wanted to know what was going on in fandom lately. Under normal circumstances, I run the dance party at Escapade, the oldest extant slash con. We borrowed vividcon’s thing of playing fanvids on the wall--all of them set to dance music--as the soundtrack for the dance party. This means I’m creating a 3-hour mixtape of fannishness, which has amazing potential to make people feel in the know about Fandom Today... and equal potential to make them feel alienated if nothing they care about shows up. Only about 100-150 people attend the con, so it really is possible to make a playlist that feels inclusive yet informative--it just takes a huge amount of work.

Every year, I do a lot of research on which fandoms are getting big and look for vids from vidders people won’t have heard of, so there is an element of consciously trying to keep up with things. Generally, I only get into these fandoms myself if I had no idea what they were and then suddenly, oops, they’re my kryptonite, like the buddy cop android plot in Detroit: Become Human, which sucked me in hard for like 6 months on the basis of a vid.

(So if you’re into cross-fandom meta and associated stuff as one of your fannish interests, you tend to have broader knowledge of different fandoms, old and new, than if you’re just looking for the next place you’ll read fic. It’s also easier to love vids for unfamiliar things than fic.)

But though I was only looking for a basic primer on BTS, BTS has 7 members with multiple names and no clear juggernaut pairing, not to mention that AU that runs through the music videos and lots of other context to explain. The barrier to understanding WTF was going on at all was high enough that to know enough to explain, I had to be thoroughly exposed... And once I was over that hurdle, oops, I had a fandom.

--

In terms of old vs. new, here’s the thing: kpop fandoms in English and c-drama fandoms in English right now feel a lot like anime fandom in English did in the early 00s. I had a Buddy Cops of the 70s phase in the middle, but my current fannishness is actually a return to my older fannishness in many ways.

What do I mean about them being similar?

Yes, I know some wanker will show up to say I think China, Korea, and Japan are indistinguishable, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the way that I used to routinely meet Italian and French and German fans, Argentinian and Mexican, Malaysian and Indonesian and Filipino too. English-language fandom of SPN or MCU may have all those fans from all those countries, but it feels very American most of the time. English-language fandom of a non-English-language canon is more overtly about using English as a lingua franca.

It also tends to attract people who as a sideline to their fannishness are getting into language learning and translation, which are my other passion in life after fanworks fandom. (I speak only English and Spanish and a bit of Japanese, but I’ve studied German, French, Russian, Mandarin, Old English, and now Korean.)

Nerds arguing about methods of language learning and which textbooks are good and why is my jam. This is all over the place in English-language fandoms of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean media. Those fandoms also tend to be full of speakers coming from a Germanic or Romance languages background who face similar hurdles in learning these languages. (In other words, if you’re a native Japanese speaker trying to learn Korean, the parts that will be hard for you are different than if you’re an English speaker, but you’re also usually not doing fandom in English.)

There’s also an element of scarcity and difficulty of access and a communal attempt to construct a canon (in the other sense) of stuff from that country that pertains to one’s fannishness. So, for example, a primer explaining the genre of xianxia is highly relevant to being a n00b Untamed fan, but just any old thing about China is not. A c-drama adapted from a danmei webnovel is perhaps part of the new pantheon of Chinese shit we’re all getting into, but just any old drama from decades ago is probably not... unless it’s a genre precursor to something else we care about. Another aspect here is that while Stuff I Can Access As A N00b Who Doesn’t Speak The Language may be relatively scarce, there’s a vast, vast wealth of stuff that exists.

This is what it felt like to be an anime fan in the US in 2000. As translation got more commercial and more crappy series were licensed and dumped onto an already glutted market, the vibe changed. No longer were fans desperately trying to learn enough of the language to translate or spending their time cataloguing what existed or making fanworks about a show they stuck with for a bit: the overall community focus turned to an endless race of consumption to keep up with all of the latest releases. That’s a perfectly valid way of being fannish, but if I wanted that, I’d binge US television 24/7.

Anime fandom got bigger, but what I liked about anime fandom in English died, and I moved on. (Okay, I first moved on to Onmyouji, which is a live action Japanese thing, but still.)

Hardcore weeaboos and now fans of Chinese and Korean stuff don’t stop at language: people get excited about cooking, my other other great passion. Times a thousand if the canon is something like The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, which is full of loving shots of food preparation. People get excited about history! Mandarin and Japanese may share almost nothing in terms of grammar or phonology, but all of East Asia has influence from specific Chinese power centers historically, and there are commonalities to historical architecture and clothing that I love.

I fell out of love with the popular anime art styles as they changed, and I’m not that into animation in general these days. (I still own a shitton of manga in art styles I like, like Okano Reiko’s Onmyouji series.) I’ve become a filmmaker over the last decade, and I’m very excited about beautiful cinematography and editing. With one thing and another, I’m probably not going to get back into anime fandom, but it’s lovely to revisit the cultural aspects I enjoyed about it via live-action media.

BTS surprised me too, to be honest. I really dislike that early 90s R&B ballad style that infests idol music (not just Korean--believe me, I resisted many rounds of “But Johnny’s Entertainment though!” back in the day). While I like some of the dance pop, I just don’t care. But OH NO, BTS turn out to be massive conscious hip hop fanboys, and their music sounds different. I have some tl;dr about my reactions in the meta I wrote about one of my fanvids, which you can find on Dreamwidth here.

--

But back to your comment about turnover: I know fans from the 70s who’ve had one great fannish love and that’s it and more who were like that but eventually moved on to a second or third. They’re... really fannishly monogamous in a way I find hard to comprehend. It was the norm long ago, but even by the 90s when far more people were getting into fandom, it was seen as a little weird. By now, with exponentially more people in fandom, it’s almost unheard of. I think those fans still exist, even as new people joining, but we don’t notice them. They were always rare, but in the past, only people like that had the stamina to get over the barriers to entry and actually become the people who made zines or were willing to be visibly into fanfic in eras when that was seen as really weird. On top of that, there’s an element of me, us, judging the past by what’s left: only people with an intense and often single passion are visible because other people either drifted away or have seamlessly disappeared into some modern fandom. They don’t say they’re 80 or 60 or 40 instead of 20, so nobody knows.

In general, I’m a small fandoms and rare ships person. My brain will do its best to thwart me by liking whatever has no fic even in a big fic fandom... (Except BTS because there is literally fic for any combination of them, like even more than for the likes of MCU. Wow. Best fandom evar!) So I have an incentive to not get complacent and just stick with one fandom because I would very soon have no ability to be in fandom at all.

My appetite for Consuming All The Things has slowed way down, but it also goes in waves, and a lot of what I’m consuming is what I did back in 2000: journal articles and the limited range of English-language books on the history of m/m sex and romance in East Asia. It’s not so much that I have a million fandoms as that I’m watching a few shows as an expression of my interest in East Asian costume dramas and East Asian history generally.

I do like to sit with one thing and experience it deeply rather than moving on quickly, but the surface expression of this has changed depending on whether I’m more into writing fic or more into doing research or something else.

But yes, I do do a certain amount of trying to stay current, often as a part of research for fandom meta or to help other people know what’s going on. Having a sense of what’s big doesn’t automatically mean getting into all those things, but I think some fans who are older-in-fandom and/or older-in-years stop being open to even hearing what’s new. And if you’ve never heard of it, you’ll never know if you might have liked it.

[jjyusmile]

the boyz as european university students

notes: for european deobis! this is my imagination running wild with the help of @haechansbeas​ <33 not sure if anyone has done this before... just a little fun for everyone hehe :’)

warnings: mention of food and drink, mention of loneliness

sangyeon

- graduated from the university of barcelona and moved to the uk last year

- he is currently doing a phd in international politics at the univeristy of exeter

- he plans to move to geneva in switzerland eventually and become a south korean ambassador for the united nations

- he spends his weekends alone most of the time, taking long hikes and listening to music 

- often goes clubbing and teaches his juniors the meringue dance after a few too many rum and cokes

jacob

- studies music technology at the university of toronto but is doing a year abroad at the norwegian academy of music

- allowed to take any electives he wants.. he chose lyrical spanish and dance theory

- misses his friends and dogs a lot -- plans to go home for christmas just to cuddle his brother and his dog

- time distance sucks what is the point

- but he is very much used to the cold weather

- at graduation, he is on track to win most caffeinated and most likely to star in a disney remake

younghoon

- his family moved to moscow when he was twelve just so he could get into the russian institute of theatre arts for drama

- has two dogs named kyung and woo

- plans to find a job in moscow after he graduates but wouldn’t mind going interrailing first before settling down

- wants to visit his friend juyeon so that he has a place to stay for edinburgh fringe festival

- aspires to star in his first korean drama as the male lead but will take any role he can get first

hyunjae

- he flew to milan to study musical theatre with aspirations of moving to new york and starring in a one man off-broadway show

- loves to be on stage but hated the theory work so he eventually dropped out

- fell in love and moved with them to a single bedroom in london, it didn’t work out

- now works as the assistant manager of a boba cafe by the london palladium and gets discounted theatre tickets through an usher he met during the chitty chitty bang bang run

- wears suits and carries around his badge to show his authority

- will probably move back to korea soon and audition to become an idol

juyeon

- moved to scotland when he was 16 to live with his mum’s best friend, now attends the university of edinburgh

- lives in a studio apartment that has a clear view of arthur’s seat on a sunny day out of his tiny window... gets a little lonely sometimes so he meal preps a lot

- studies classical literature and doing a dissertation on toxic masculinity in the epics of homer

- spends his time in clutter filled bookstores trying to find obscure novels

- has read war and peace so many times that the binding on his copy is unthreading

- no space for a book shelf but cannot push his desk chair under his desk because thats where he stores his collection

kevin

- he and changmin decided to move to paris together to venture the city of art… oh and love 

- attends the university of paris to study child psychology with a minor in graphic art 

- sits on his not-so-spacious balcony each morning with a cup of coffee and sketch book looking out onto the concorde waiting for his roommate to wake up

- sells his design prints on etsy under the username m0onscribblez so that changmin can’t find him and buy them all

- will go to independent art exhibitions in his free time and class it as “studying”

chanhee (new)

- got 4 distinctions in maths, economics, psychology and physics in school

- received an unconditional offer from 7 russell group universities but finally accepted an offer from the university of cambridge with a shoulder shrug

- studies a double honours in maths and economics; has been class president for three years and will accept nothing less than that

- but still personifies infp

- interns at cambridge university press as a marketing and finance assistant but could calculate his seniors under the table

changmin (q)

- rents a two-bedroom apartment with kevin and his dog, ghana

- he and ghana will often crash in kevin’s room while he’s up all night drawing

- studies art history at école du louvre and takes advantage of the free louvre tickets he gets to “treat” kevin to a day out “on him”

- teaches at the dance studio on the corner; will shout at students who do not get the choreo right after he’s already told them once

- meets his roommate for lunch every day at the same cafe next to notre dame where he orders the iced tea of the day… unless its hibiscus, we don’t do hibiscus

- drags kevin the horror-themed nights at the local cinema complex downtown

haknyeon

- attends leeds beckett university because they offer the best undergraduate degree in photography

- lives in a 10-person house but only gets along with three of them

- voted best smile at the union awards, he gave the prize toothbrush to his housemate and they moved out because they were offended

- often takes advantage of the student night at the clubs in town every monday

- dance leader of the b-boying society

- will take a packed lunch and wander into the dales when he needs time away from chaotic uni life

sunwoo

- goes to the university of hull to study sport rehabilitation; everyone wants to sit beside him but he just wants to copy their notes

- captain of the football (soccer) team and won the national university championship two years in a row

- doesn’t go to the library because the only free desks by late afternoon are too close to the high story windows

- lives in a flatshare in town so that he’s closer to the nightlife

- friends with everyone and is often mistaken as ‘the guy who flirts’

- doesn’t attend lectures unless they’re after 2pm and will only go to campus on days he has football training

eric

- lives just across the river from sunwoo in lincolnshire

- spent most of his time playing animal crossing and failed his exams, found the university of lincoln through clearing

- studies business management but is considering switching to computer science if they’ll let him

- goes there just to compete against sunwoo in the humber games

- everyone wants to be his friend because he sounds like a cali boy... will be friends with anyone if they will listen to him

- has many dates lining up for the end of year ball but would rather take sunwoo 

-------

A/N: we procrastinated the other day and came up with these university scenarios for the boyz and they just fit so well.. will probably also post this on my twitter lol

[supop]

There’s been a lot of talk about the parasocial relationship between BTS and ARMY lately. What are your thoughts on this? Also do you think BTS will enlist and renew their contracts once it expires?

BTS’s enlistment? If they do, they do. If they don’t, they don’t. If I were them, I would. No offense, but I wouldn’t want to feel like I owed my country anything years down the line. At the end of the day, none of the members’ intentions for becoming idols had to do with creating some sort of big, global cultural impact. They simply wanted to make music, perform, and get paid for it. And in the case of any future controversies, people are extremely quick to turn their backs on you. Today your the nations’s pride, tomorrow you’re scum who lacks discipline because you never enlisted. Though I do think bts intends on enlisting. Most of the direct comments I’ve seen about them in this regard have come from politicians attempting to make some sort of statement. Even k-armys never bring up bts’s enlistment. It’s really not a conversation worth venturing into because only time will tell.

That said, I doubt bts will renew their contracts for a 3rd time. And I’m not saying this from a kpop perspective, but from one of age, maturity, and priorities. Most artists (western ones included) that enter their 30s tend to be interested in one of two things: 1.) starting a family or 2.) branching off into other creative ventures. And I’m not saying you can’t do both, but when it comes to bts, there isn’t just one person’s opinions or goals to consider, but 7. It’s normal if, after 14+ years all 7 of them are no longer on the same page in regards to career goals. That being said, the time their current contract is set to expire is 2026. By then Jin will be well into his mid-30s and Jungkook 30 himself (going by Korean age). Lol, ironic especially since some younger fans currently get a kick out of teasing Jin about his age. Anyway, the discussion of parasocial relationships that’s been brought up as of recent only further complicates the identity between bts and army. When you have a significant other (and perhaps even a child), it’s kind of hard to keep up with the whole, “army are my soulmate, eternal life partner, the reason why I’m happy, why I smile, why I live, why I breathe, why I work hard, etc” sthick. Rain and Taeyang are a prime example of idols who, after getting married, eventually drew hard lines between “real family” and “fan family”.

Truthfully, I don’t really care if bts disbands. My only hope is none of the members end up with the short end of the stick, and they all go on to do whatever makes them happy. Fans/solos often bring up mistreatment/favoritism between members, still no “hard” evidence has ever been brought up to prove this. Sure, we can make guesses from what the members have said in interviews, and line distribution results, but at the end of the day they’ve also said things to negate all these points. Seemingly, the only proof of this would be if bighit suddenly decided to heavily allocate its resources into certain members’ solo careers if all 7 choose not to renew their contracts. Though, it’s clear bighit intends on keeping it ot7. ot7 content maximizes profits way more than even the most popular member ever could. If not, they would have properly marketed rapline’s mixtapes as albums/significant bodies of work rather than treating them as passion projects. The truth of the matter is, if bts falls apart, so will army (just as it did with one direction). Bighit knows this and bts themselves know this. So it really comes down to whether or not the members’ choose to prioritize their own happiness or the happiness of their fans. That is of course, if their individual happiness involves distancing themselves from the ‘bts brand’.

Sure, “most” fans are there for all 7 members but we all tend to have our favorites and will readily choose sides if it comes down to it. Lol, if one of the members going on a solo tour, would it still be appropriate for a said member to call their fans ‘army’? Though, that question only stands if bts have a bad falling out (again, just like with 1d). If not, they could very well still go on to do solo activities, and regroup as BTS by releasing new music every once in a while. If they all chose to renew, I have a feeling it would be on this basis and their schedules would be a lot more laid back with a lot less content production.

[bisexualhobi]

i would just like to preface that i love both bts and superm before going into this so it doesn’t seem like i’m just pitting one group against another and i’d love to hear your thoughts on tis if you have any after my rambling. but one thing i always found interesting that has been brought up before which you answered (and truthfully is now a bit funny to me) is when superm debuted with jopping which was predominantly english and how a portion of army on twitter mocked it and for sm/superm giving into the western market by making an english song and predominantly english album with the album and then super one. especially since bts had that interview where they said they would never do any english songs and yet here they are with dynamite and butter which generally sound like the same song but regurgitated. obviously it’s aimed at western audiences who mainly listen to top 40 hits so it lacks the typical nuance and charm of bts songs that we’ve come to expect. i just find the general reactions to both interesting since i distinctly remembered how hard superm was being clowned on twitter with people saying how it was an obvious appeal to western audiences … and now bts have done that yet it’s being defended in the name of a grammy nomination?? which, like you said, would be warranted if the song up for one was black swan rather than dynamite. even so a bare bones comparison is that (at least to me) is that jopping still sounded like a kpop song in terms of production as did other songs on the album whereas dynamite/butter sound bubblegum pop. this was a whole lot of nonsense rambling that’s been bouncing around in my head that i wanted to see if you had any thoughts since you’re very well spoken and i like seeing your opinions whenever you appear on my dash!

hey! this is a really interesting comment and i appreciate u sending it cause i think i had some similar thoughts about it and i think you managed to express it really well. i didn't answer before because i was sick lol but i agree with the whole "army attacking other artists for doing english releases vs. it's suddenly okay when bts does it". that's their specialty. they are constantly shifting the goal posts on genuine discussions and their double standard when it comes to bts vs. other artists is so hypocritical it's hilarious how they don't see what's wrong with it

personally i don't really get a lot from bts vs superm discussions because it's really a shallow narrative that won't get you anywhere substantial. i'd very much rather discuss hybe vs sm's marketing approaches regarding their US centric groups. that's more interesting imo and there's no need to pit the members against each other. both groups are gonna face xenophobia and be treated like zoo animals when it comes to US promotion which is incredibly painful and sad.

but i think superm's purpose is so incredibly. transparent?? manufactured?? that there's no much criticism that can be done without acknowledging that bts' marketing tries so painfully to separate themselves from that that it comes full circle and it falls back into the glaringly obvious marketing ploys that kpop has pushed for years. they are the same lol. both are being pushed by a major label to squeeze every last penny off the kpop fever currently taking america. both are groups that won't break into the gp beyond a few tv appearances and an already segmented fanbase. BOTH are trying to appeal to a western audience but the difference is SM is literally not even trying to hide the fact that they just want your money lmao 😭 while hybe tries to rely on a fake sincerity where they try to sell bts as the underdogs and the "not like other idols" raw and real but like. they ARE manufactured and they are made so hard to sell a cookie cutter wholesome image so like. there's nothing raw about that i'm sorry 😭

"jopping still sounded like a kpop song in terms of production" THIS IS EXACTLY IT this is literally what i've been thinking for a long time. jopping may be the most clownable and transparent attempt to become viral in recent kpop but like. it still fucks. it's literally peak Kpop Sound in every aspect. if someone were to ask me how can you define late 2010s kpop in a single song i would probably pick this one. you can hate it or love it but the song is a great expression of music production that is a DELIGHT to listen to with headphones. i also think it's dumb and fun and i don't expect anything from its lyrical content but it manages to take you on a RIDE. you start off with a stadium chant then it drops the bass then suddenly it's got vocal riffs, a tight rap verse, then it takes it all the way to edm and finally has a brilliant dancebreak. it's jampacked of fun stuff that works well together.

would i want bts to do jopping? fuck no. but what they've been doing with butter isn't any better or superior artistically speaking so...

[andthisiswitchcraft]

Familiars: what are they?

This is something that comes up every once in a while and lately has been coming up a lot, so we should discuss familiars. It is largely thanks to modern commercialization of misconceptions from the European witch trails that we get our current misunderstandings of familiars. So let's breakdown the history and perceptions of familiars to get a better grasp of them.

Familiars are a kind of tutelary spirit, a non-corporeal intelligence that a witch/magician summons and binds to themselves. In a way, they are like a servant to the witch, but under some conditions. For instance, the magician needs to appease their familiar to keep its company. If a familiar feels that the magician has violated the terms of their pact, they will leave and may even harm the magician. Likewise, if the magician were no longer happy with the services their familiar provided, or they felt their familiar was leading them into danger, they would banish them or call on another spirit to send it away forever. Ultimately, assuming a good bond has been made, the familiar will stay with the magician for the remainder of the magician's life, as familiars do not die. They're spirits, so they don't die. They will assist in magical practices, teach, heal, fetch money, fetch mightier spirits to help, et al. In return the magician will give shelter, food, water, and whatever else the witch-familiar compact may have an agreement on.

The oldest and closest thing we have to the modern idea of a familiar are the household gods of the ancient world. Even as cities developed, individual households had their own gods. It isn't until much later that we see cities and states develop their own "household gods" or gods of the city.

Prior to the Romans there does not seem to be much of a distinction between household gods and the larger religion gods. But the Romans had three different names for these sorts of spirits that give us some clear distinctions of the perceptions these people had of their gods: genius loci, dii familiares, and lares. The genii loci were "spirits of place," and were spirits that governed and protected a specific area, such as a neighborhood, a crossroad, a forest, etc. Genii loci that governed a household were called lares. These were the household gods that residents set up shrines to just inside the doorway, a common practice to this day. Then there were the dii familiares, which were something like the lares, but watched over the whole family, as the family did not always stay in the home, but expanded, moved, went to the market, etc. If these household gods were not kept happy, they would leave the house and family, leaving them unprotected, and may even come back to harm them.

We see evidence of this in the Bible, particularly in Genesis where Rachel steals her father's household idols. Eventually there would be state genii loci, lares, and dii familiares, such as Roma personified as a goddess in her own right. Hermes was also a genius loci, usually at crossroads. Enodia (Hecate) was another crossroads genius loci. However these two gods become more state religion deities with their servant spirits watching over crossroads. Jehovah is very much like this with the ancient Israelites, even having a pact, i.e. the Covenant, of which the Ark of the Covenant was a fetish object to house God.

However, truly the oldest idea of a familiar is the personal daimon or demon, a specific daimon that is assigned to each person at birth. The oldest complete example of conjuring a personal daimon is described in the first portion of the Greek Magical Papyri, a collection of magical spells and rites dating between 1st century BC to 5th century AD. This rite details how to conjure a daimon that will be bound to the magician, and will teach and guide them, dine and sleep with them, and be with them until the end of the magician's days. Socrates himself may have had something like this when he refers to his daimonion, a "divine something" that advised and guided him, but never controlling him.

This personal daimon becomes a central feature of western magic. In Byzantine magic, such as in the Hygromanteia, the daimon becomes something akin to the dii familiares, though distinctly personal to the magician and the same familiar can be passed from master magician to apprentice (such as Dr. Faustus to his pupil). All grimoires been the 13th and 18th centuries have a rite to conjure a familiar or to conjure a spirit to bring a familiar. A great example of this is in the Ars Goetia where several demons are listed as being good for bringing familiars. Similar examples are found in spirit registers such as in the Grimorium Verum. Even folk magic includes ways of gaining a familiar, and the rites are usually a lot more simple than the formal ceremonial magic of the Renaissance grimoires. These are found in various Secreti or books of secrets (see for instance Treatise of Magical Secrets and Mixed Cabala, trans. by Rankine and Skinner)

Our current conceptions of a familiar come from the witch trails of the 16th and 17th centuries. Prior to this time period magic was not exactly forbidden. Magic was usually something that was tacked onto other charges, usually treason. Since magicians held their reputations via rumors and recommendations, and rumors are what Oliver Cromwell sought to destroy, thus witchcraft enters the courtroom thanks to such rumors of magicians. As witchcraft becomes chargeable on its own in the 16th century, we see players like Matthew Hopkins enter the stage. These "witch hunters" were nothing more than opportunistic assholes who used Cromwell's methods of hunting via rumors. Anything could be used as evidence of a witch, and townsfolk often used these opportunities to get rid of someone they didn't like by accusing them of witchcraft. Most of the people, usually women, though there were plenty of men tried as well, who were accused of witchcraft were not actually witches. They could just be lonely old widows that have a dog or a cat to keep them company.

Familiars, or rather pets, were a common way of determining if someone was a witch, since that was part of being a witch. However, people back then had pets like anyone today. So these women who were seen as unusual and therefore a witch, had their pets used as evidence against them. And really, they were like many of us: they had a close relationship with their pets, talked to them, really cared for them, took them everywhere with them. This all sounds strangely like a familiar, and to opportunists like Hopkins, it was the perfect rumor to locate a "witch." But really it was just an excuse to kill a quirky old woman no one liked who lived alone and loved to talk to her birds, and someone else probably really wanted her land.

Much of this pet as a familiar has become sensationalized today. In a way, yes, you can conjure a familiar to inhabit the body of your pet. In the Renaissance, possessing an animal with a spirit was no big deal. Today that would probably be seen as unethical to your pet. But there really is no need for this, as a spirit will physically appear to a magician at their command, and can even take on familiar forms such as a dog if the magician requests it. It is not uncommon to see in Renaissance grimoires a portion of the conjuration includes the magician stating, "appear to me in a pleasing form."

Further, it's borderline animal abuse to truly treat your pet like a familiar. A lot of energy is exhausted by familiars to be your servant, but they're spirits and can usually handle it, and if they can't, they go get you a bigger stronger spirit to handle it. Pets cannot do that, and they shouldn't have to. To truly use your pet as a familiar will most likely harm them in the long run. Pets should be treated like family, not your magical teacher and conduit.

In practice, the familiar can be almost any kind of spirit. In the Abramelin rite the familiar is called the Holy Guardian Angel, a divine heavenly entity assigned to each person at birth. In the Faustian tradition, the demon Mephistopheles is Dr. Faustus's familiar. In the Christian tradition, the Holy Spirit acts as a sort of familiar to Jesus, assisting Jesus with his miracles, and according to Paul raised Jesus from death. But familiars can also be souls of the dead, such as ancestors. In fact, the lares and dii familiares may have been ancestors of that family/household that always stuck around to watch over everyone, and later became deified.

So while our pets are very important to us and can even be a bit magical, they are not the same as a familiar. And in many ways it's wrong to say they are. It takes something that was viciously used to torture and kill lonely old women and sensationalizes it into an aesthetic, rather than a way of life, a devotion, and a compact you keep and renew each and every day with the same entity. And to make your pet an actual familiar is abusive. Having a tutelary spirit (or several) is central to western magical practices, but it is not the same as having a pet. If you want to get a pet, get a pet. If you want a familiar, there are hundreds of ways to conjure one up and make a lifelong pact with it.

The reason this is important to understand and differentiate is so you become a better pet owner and a better witch.

Franklin

Image: Matthew Hopkins, "Witch Finder General" (a title he made up) investigating witches and their familiars.