#same path they're all on the same path!!!

[rainbow-starheart]

I genuinely appreciate the nuance and care in your words. There’s a lot of wisdom in what you’ve shared, and I respect that it comes from lived experience. I especially resonated with your point about the need for sustainability in online spaces, how protecting your peace, especially as a neurodivergent person, is not just valid but necessary. You speak with empathy, and I recognize the truth in the exhaustion you describe.

That said, I’d like to add my own perspective, also as an autistic and neurodivergent person. While I understand the burnout, the rage, and the pull toward detachment, I still choose to walk the path of gentleness, not because it’s easy or because I’m naïve, but because it’s hard. I’m aware of the pain and cruelty online, but I refuse to let that be the final say in how I engage with the world. I don’t believe negativity or detachment has to be the “end point” of growth. For me, hope and positivity aren’t delusions, they're conscious choices I renew every day, with full knowledge of the darkness out there.

Pros of your statement:

You speak from experience, and your compassion for others shines through even when you talk about detachment.

You highlight the importance of learning boundaries, real ones, not just symbolic statements like DNIs.

You validate the emotional reality of burnout and the danger of always engaging in anger.

You distinguish between necessary callouts and petty drama, which is important nuance.

Cons :

It risks implying that gentleness is only for the young or naïve, when in fact, some of us choose it over and over again despite knowing better.

While I agree DNIs aren't perfect boundaries, for some people (especially those just learning to assert themselves), they can be important stepping stones, and stepping stones are still valid parts of the journey.

The tone sometimes leans toward quiet withdrawal, which while protective, can unintentionally discourage those who are trying to speak up with care.

Framing blocking as a tool of personal safety is important, but it's also vital to distinguish when silence protects and when it enables.

I say all of this with the utmost respect. We’re all just trying to find ways to survive, heal, and make meaning. Your perspective is a needed one, and so is mine. I’m not trying to be “better,” just different. I see the same stormclouds, but I still want to plant flowers. Even if it’s not always sustainable, I’d rather try to build something soft than surrender entirely to steel.

got told at lunch "you feel like Tumblr Incarnate" and i had to tell them i've been here for 13 years and counting. i was here three years before dashcon happened. i saw the mishapocalypse. i survived the gigapause. i've been here longer than the shoelaces post. i've been here since it was hipsters versus fandom and i played both sides extensively by overdoing the sepia filters on everything and making my own flashing galaxy gif edits for my fandom posts. i'm every tumblr. it's all in me

[mostlysignssomeportents]

More Everything Forever

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me at NEW ZEALAND'S UNITY BOOKS in AUCKLAND on May 2, and in WELLINGTON on May 3. More tour dates (Pittsburgh, PDX, London, Manchester) here.

Astrophysicist Adam Becker knows a few things about science and technology – enough to show, in a new book called More Everything Forever that the claims that tech bros make about near-future space colonies, brain uploading, and other skiffy subjects are all nonsense dressed up as prediction:

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adam-becker/more-everything-forever/9781541619593/

Becker investigates the personalities, the ideologies, the coalitions, the histories, and crucially, the grifts behind such science fictional pursuits as infinite life-extension, space colonization, automation panic, AI doomerism, longtermism, effective altruism, rationalism, and conciousness uploading.

This is, loosely speaking, the bundle of ideologies that Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torres dubbed TESCREAL (transhumanism, Extropianism, singularitarianism, (modern) cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and longtermism):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TESCREAL

While these are largely associated with modern Silicon Valley esoteric techbros (and the odd Oxfordian like Nick Bostrom), they have very deep roots, which Becker excavates – like Nikolai Fyodorov's 18th century "cosmism," a project to "scientifically" resurrect everyone who ever lived inside of a simulation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Fyodorov_(philosopher)

In their modern incarnation, these ideas largely originate in science fiction novels. That is to say, they were made up and popularized by people like me, the vast majority of whom made no pretense of being able to predict the future or even realistically describe a path from the present to the future they were presenting. Science fiction is something between a card trick and a consensual con game, where the writer shows you just enough detail to make you think that the rest of it must be lurking somewhere in the wings. No one in sf has ever explained how consciousness uploading could possibly work, and neither have any of the advocates for consciousness uploading – the difference is that (most of) the sf writers know they're just making stuff up.

Becker's central question is how many "smart" people (some of them very smart and accomplished, others merely very certain that they are smart despite all evidence to the contrary) can mistake futuristic allegories made up by pulp writers for prophesy?

In answering this question, he uncovers a corollary of Upton Sinclair's famous maxim that "it is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it," namely, that "it is easy to get a person to believe something when doing so will make them feel good about themselves."

The beliefs that Becker explores in this book sometimes make the believers rich (like the AI grifters who run around shouting about AI taking over the world and turning us all into paperclips). Sometimes, they make their believers feel good about being selfish assholes (like longtermism, which holds that all the misery in the world today is worth it if you can make 24 heptillion hypothetical simulated people just a little happy in 10,000 years). Sometimes, they make their believers feel good about life after death, or eternal life – the same pitch that religions have been roping in followers with since the stone age.

What differentiates these beliefs from other faith-based claims is that their followers claim that they aren't operating on faith, but on science, reason and rationality. This is where the fact that Becker is a bona fide astrophysicist comes in. Not only is he personally qualified to debunk claims about space colonization, but he's also familiar with the rigorous process of scientific inquiry, and capable of consulting experts and listening to them. That's how he concludes, for example, that having your head cut off and frozen when you die is just a form of corpse mutilation, with a zero point zero zero zero zero percent chance of someone recovering your mind from your freezerburned brain.

Like his subjects, Becker has a complicated relationship with science fiction. He, too, enjoys the imaginative flights of the genre, its delightful thought-experiments, its gnarly moral conundra. I love these too. They make for a fascinating and often useful lens for understanding and challenging our own relationship with technology and our very humanity. Ultimately, Becker is exploring the difference between reading sf because it makes you think in new ways, and reading sf as a kind of prophetic text, and – crucially – he's asserting that it's perfectly possible to enjoy this stuff without organizing your moral life around hypothetical heptillions of virtual people living in the year 25,000; or, indeed, having your head cut off and frozen.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/04/22/vinges-bastards/#cyberpunk-is-a-warning-not-a-suggestion

[thewertsearch]

One down.

"One Act, right?"

No, not kids! I mean these curtain dealies. I still need to set up, what, like another five of these rigs? God dammit.

Six sub-Acts, then - and the first ended the same way Act 1 did, with a seemingly-fatal explosion at the Egbert/Crocker household.

Sounds to me like these six sub-Acts will be 'remixes' of Acts 1 through 6, with events that 'rhyme' with the B1 session. I doubt we'll be rehashing everything, but I think I can make a couple of educated guesses about the path we'll be treading.

Act 6.1, as we've just seen, was dedicated mostly to wacky shenanigans in our protagonist's home, as well as hints of intrigue surrounding their friends. It ended with our hero in mortal peril - although everyone knows they're not really in any danger. The story just got started, after all!

Act 6.2 will probably be similar, but I expect to see Roxy and Dirk take to the stage with their official introductions. It may also introduce Jane's Exile, which had better be a Problem Sleuth character at this point.

By Act 6.3, most of our heroes are entering the Medium, and we've come to understand their lives a little better. We might finally begin to get a sense of the Guardians' personalities - and if we're lucky, the Earth's First Guardian might finally show its face.

Act 6.4 is when things will go horribly, horribly wrong, as powerful antagonists finally emerge from the woodwork to wreak havoc on the session. It might be Jack, again - but it could just as easily be the Condesce, or Lord English himself. The session, at this point, seems almost unsalvageable.

If we're really lucky, Act 6.5 will bifurcate again, and we'll start with a remixed version of Hivebent - this time, with the pre-Scratch trolls, explaining what really went wrong with their session. Then, 6.5.2 will compose the meat of the B2 session, as the kids rally, and try to salvage this new mess.

Scratching isn't an option this time - or, at least, I don't think it is - so I'm not sure what'll happen here. I definitely expect to see some God Tier ascensions, and I'm sure the B2 kids will have some crackpot solution for whatever's tearing their session apart.

Finally, we come to the end of our story - Act 6.6, where the callbacks begin to get recursive. I have no idea what the shape of this Act is going to be - except that it'll undoubtedly involve kids and trolls from at least four timelines finally coming together to end the English problem once and for all.

And that, ladies and gaydies, is my big-picture prediction for the rest of Homestuck. As always, I'm sure a good chunk of this speculation is way off-base - but I am confident that, broadly speaking, the next six Acts will be reflections of the previous six. I'm here for it!

[iamthecomet]

Phantom/Aeon and Cirrus like to roleplay and they especially like when Cirrus is a sweet innocent sister of sin confessing her feelings of lust

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned."

UH HUH OK YEAH I CAN WORK WITH THIS. I leaned a little more toward them roleplaying actual christianity for this one--because why not. Also, please more Cirrus/Aeon they're so fun.

700ish words of blasphemy and heresy, under the cut.

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned."

Aeon tries not to shudder. Tries not to move as Cirrus sinks to her knees in front of him. Borrowed sibling of sin robe pooling onto the floor as she settles. Her hands fall onto her thighs, draped in miles of silky black fabric. Aeon tries not to think about the way it will feel to touch her--he fails. The collar feels tight. How do priests do this? Right, they don't feel desire like this, or at least they aren't supposed to. This, is certainly, not what the catholic church had in mind when they created confession.

Aeon swallows, his mouth dry, as Cirrus peers up at him from under her veil. Gray eyes softer than he's used to, wide, innocent, an act that Aeon can't help but buy. Aeon almost forgets his line--his role. He's too preoccupied with Cirrus--who can blame him really? Even in a shapeless robe she's immaculate. She finds a way to make everything sensual. Aeon peers down at her, tilts his head, tries to appear thoughtful--merciful--disappointed. "Go on then," he says, waving a hand at her. Feigning disinterest. Cirrus looks up at him, blinks big wide eyes and Aeon's cock stirs underneath the black robes he stole out of Copia's wardrobe. "I've had...lustful thoughts." "Have you? About what?" Cirrus inches closer, close enough to touch. One warm palm finds its way to Aeon's thigh, too high to be casual. He jolts, eyes threatening to flutter closed. Gone already and all she's done is look at him. "I--oh Father it's embarassing." Cirrus' voice is all wrong like this. Breathy. Sweet. Aeon falls into it, lets himself be carried away by her innocence--by his desire to divest her of it. "I cannot absolve you if you don't tell me." She looks at her knees, the hand on his thigh drops away and Aeon mourns it. He catches her fallen hand in both of his, pins it, warm and soft between his calloused palms. "Let me help you," he whispers and is rewarded by the shudder that rolls through Cirrus' body. Her fingers twitch in his. "Well, it's....it's about you, Father." "About me?" Aeon raises his eyebrows, his head tilts deeper. "What about me?" Cirrus meets his eyes--and for a moment Aeon swears he sees the real her, the predator. It's gone in a flash, replaced by uncertainty, innocence, desire. "Well--Father--I--" she hitches closer. Her free hand finds his robes again, seeking to part them in the middle, searching for a hem. Aeon lets her. "Maybe it would be better if you showed me?" He says, voice low, dipping toward gravel, the game dissolving around him as he lowers her trapped hand and places it over his cock, already hard and aching, beneath the robes. Cirrus gasps, makes to pull away but Aeon holds her firm. Her fingers squeeze around him and he hisses, bucking up toward her hand, trying to keep a hold on his role and how good it feels for her to touch him like this. "I've had the same thoughts," he continues. "I've seen you--the way you look at me. I've thought of you too. I've thought of making your penance into pleasure. I've wanted to--I--" Cirrus squeezes and Aeon swears, character breaking. Fuck, how does anyone do this well? How can you play a priest while getting jacked off? Cirrus' fingers break free of his and then both her hands are under his robes, finding flesh. He's hot and so hard his stomach aches. When she drags her palm over the head of his cock she finds it sticky. She licks her lips, Aeon can't take his eyes away from the path of her tongue, the sweep of it. "I want--give me your mouth--please." Cirrus grins, predator back for a little longer this time, a breath that Aeon thinks must last a lifetime. "Is that my penance?" She asks sweetly, already hiking the robes up with one hand while the other circles his cock. Aeon's head drops back eyes fluttering closed.

He searches his brain for the right thing--for something in character--anything he can say. Her breath fans out over his cock and he groans with it. It kicks in her hand, pre dribbling out to leak down and over her knuckles. "Swallow what I give you," he settles on, each word a struggle. "and you will be absolved." He feels Cirrus' smile against the head of his cock just before her tongue darts out to lap at another bead of pre.

"Amen," she whispers.

[minh907]

Hi, this is the girl who asked about giving you ideas, to say there are many sung jinwoo x readers that have a happy ending or angst for the reader, why are we hurting to us readers? i see a specific post where jinwoo is traumatized angst, so why make him feel our pain with bittersweet ending? i don't hate him it's just that there are many posts that don't give up the vibe and slowly start to be tedious when all readers are in pain except for him.

(it may be ooc and a bit oc because I've seen readers impersonating another character like this that should be the reader, not some insert character. not to mention when having the same power, skill and strength like the character that already exists? might as well put oc!reader or out to stereotype yn/reader/name but i would want to have a reader as their own perspective due to the fact people wanted attention to tagged, i understand the popularity but please to all readers reading this, understand to the perspective point of view that we should put oc! reader instead of 'x reader' if they're having features of the characters you want to impersonate, to copy skills and other ability and powers, ok i ramble too much so I'll stop)

how about this: either you make the longest one shot or make a cliffhanger draft, series and a few chapters. take your time to think us readers are not rushed and i would gladly help you as the requester for specific details and ideas to add to your writing as an author, i have a few more ideas if you write this to continue.

a Isekai reader, similar to your previous post yet let's make a different path? the reader Isekai to solo leveling, let's make it female reader/f(y/n), (sorry to gn or male because I don't understand genders perspective but i want everyone to be fair, it's just that I'm more comfortable with female perspective). ok so back with the topic.. the reader, let's say sure we love the protagonist mc sung jinwoo but we only see him as an inspiration and to admire from afar, when the reader Isekai to jinwoo's world, the reader would remain friends and partners, nothing more and would never reciprocate jinwoo's feelings, the reader would turn a blind eye and 'oblivious' of his feelings, let's say we did help him to the minimum but reader has a limit because of the system.

the system would give powers but there are consequences like jinwoo(when he grew stronger, he would slowly lose his emotions) so i suggest that when the reader looks at the consequences once they grow stronger, she holds a book that contains a lot of information spoilers because the consequences are their memory(only to solo leveling) so to a reminder on what their purpose and plans along with reasons. the reader would continue the Life of helping jinwoo like a devoted follower.

once he slowly forgets and doesn't need the reader due to the FL aka cha hae-in, the reader would step back calmly and walk away. in the background reason.. the reader would help jinwoo big time like they would be anomaly without him realizing about it until it's too late when the reader put the system to forget everyone's memories except for him.

with the reader getting stronger, they'll have to cover their tracks so nobody would find the F!reader. maybe in another country— oh wait he would have a million shadows to search for her.. maybe to another planet like the moon? once she left without saying goodbye or where they go when antares battle ends, the reader would say a few words without him knowing that jinwoo would not see the reader again once he used the reincarnation cup.

(I) would always choose you to be your partner and ally, (L)et's meet again, alright? (Y)ou brought colors to lit up my life on my grayscale monochrome world, (S)o I'll be waiting (J)ust for you.. after all, we're not in a rush because we always have time in the world.

(it's ily sung jinwoo, you can make him a bit yandere or something. but anyways let's make him feel our pain! it's unfair for us to be sad!! sorry if my grammar and typing is complicated to understand, you can ignore or skip it if you want.)

Thanks for sharing this with me 💗

Your idea is really interesting, and it would be great if it were written as a complete story

But maybe with your idea, it would become a new story and it would probably repeat Farewell which I don't want to do a similar story because I know I would just write it quite similar to Farewell (〒▽〒)

So if possible, I would just write part 2 of Farewell, continuing the story, when the MC (reader) decides to leave, erase everyone's memories of them and erase their memories of everyone. The MC in the story has decided to let go and live for themselves, meaning they will not pay attention to Jinwoo anymore and start a new life.

I'm sorry 😭🙏

________________________

If it were written as a story, I think it would go like this

_________________________

The old book still lay in the pocket of the cloak - the soft leather worn, the edges curled as if it had been through many storms. No matter how many battles, how many times you almost lost yourself, the one thing you never let go of was this notebook.

It had no power. It did not open a portal, it did not activate a hidden skill. It was just a normal notebook, but it was the only place where you dared to be honest.

Each thin page, recorded fragments of memory - sometimes hastily scribbled in smudged ink, sometimes neatly written as if in a false peace. Each word written was a reminder, an anchor to keep you from being swept away by the growing wave of power.

The first page, written in shaky handwriting. "Don't love him. Don't stay because of him."

You remember writing that sentence, your hands were so cold that you could barely hold the pen. You cried, you laughed, you whispered 'stupid' to yourself. But you wrote anyway, because you knew that if you didn't write it down, you would forget why you kept your distance.

Turn to the second page.

"He doesn't belong to you. And you don't belong to this world."

Not belong, that sentence became a mantra. You repeated it every night, every time his eyes accidentally passed you, every time you heard his name from someone else like a legend, like a god, like something forever out of reach.

And you knew, even though your heart was slightly moved, you couldn't get any closer.

The next page, the writing was sharper, as if written when you had better controlled your emotions, when you had learned to accept. "Just a partner. Just a companion."

Not a lover. Not a chosen one. Not a kept one.

You were with him out of obligation. Because you can help him. Because you want this world to have a chance to survive. And because, in some corner of your heart, you can't turn your back on him - even if it means pushing yourself into loneliness.

As your strength increases, each piece of memory fades, you forget the face of the mother you once loved, forget your favorite food, forget the reason you were afraid of the dark. But every time you read these lines again, you remember a little, not in images or memories, but in feelings. A silent but passionate feeling.

You turn to the last page.

Just one line, written in soft handwriting, like a light touch on a wound that has never healed:

"If he forgets you…don't be hurt. Let him be happy."

You pause for a long time on that line. Your eyes close slightly, as if to stop the thoughts from surging.

You know, one day, he won't see you anymore, not because you're not there, but because his heart is full. You know, in the countless things he protects, you're just a faint part - not enough to make him stop.

And you promise yourself, that you won't hold on. You won't cry. You won't ask for anything.

You'll just smile, close the book and walk away.

Because you love him.

But you love him enough not to become a chain.

______________________

The light from the Fragments of Light still hung in the air, like stars that had yet to fall. The battle with Antares was over, but the air still smelled of ashes and sacrifice. Everything had ended - and begun - in an eerie silence.

Jinwoo, still clutching the Reincarnation Cup, looked up at the sky. In that silent light, his eyes shone with a rare peace, as if he could finally rest. He would go back in time, to fix all his mistakes, save those who had fallen, and start over again - this time, without war, without death.

You came in that moment. No one saw you. Not a single footstep, not a single breath. You just came, as you had always come to him in silence, a figure without a name, without a title, just a 'partner'. You don't need to call his name, because he always recognizes you, somehow.

Jinwoo turns around, his eyes softening when he sees you. He doesn't seem surprised. He seems to have always believed that you would be here, by his side, until the very end. "You're here," he says, like a thank you that hasn't been said in all the years of companionship. "Thank you for always staying."

You just smile. No reply, no explanation. You know, if you say more, you won't be able to hold it in. You'll cry. You'll grab his hand and beg him to stay. But you can't.

Because you've decided long ago.

You take a deep breath, as if to stuff all the emotions into your chest, then speak - each word is soft, but falls like a cut.

"I would always choose you to be your partner and ally."

"Let's meet again, alright?"

"You brought colors to lit up my life on my grayscale monochrome world."

"So I'll be waiting…" you stopped, your heart skipped a beat.

"Just for you."

The light rose around everything before Jinwoo could either speak or say your name.

You spoke softly yet uncertainly if he could hear you say " After all, we're not in a rush" while standing there. "Because we always have time in the world."

The cup glowed. The light of rebirth, of a chance to start over, swept through the world like waves. Everything was swept away by it, war, pain, loss, and you.

[seleneprince]

I've had the draft for the next chapter of Tales of Bats and Wolves open for what feels like hours but i've barely advanced because i'm just trying to put in order my ideas and decide what i'm actually going to include in the series because otherwise it'll be too much.

Now, instead of getting anything done, I can't stop thinking of the idea of N! Daughter actually being Catwoman's sidekick for a while as part of her training because seeked the woman out to learn her ways, and they both spend a year running around committing heists together. And ofc, Catwoman made her do it all in heels sharp enough to kill a person and tight leather, because if she you can't committ crimes with style, what's the point?

For this time, no one knows who Catwoman's new sidekick is. Some don't even know she exists, since Selina is actually a decent mentor and keeps her in the shadows because, well, she's only teaching her the ropes, she doesn't have to be involved in the gruesome parts of Gotham's underbelly (the girl does that by herself). Those who do know her call her Catgirl, which N! Daughter dislikes because she doesn't want to be a copy of Catwoman (which it's ironic because the suit she wears during the heists is very similar), but unfortunately, both Selina and Mrs Wayne find it amusing and like it. Suddenly, she's called kitty and catgirl by her mom and her mentor/somewhat mother figure?

It's even better considering Selina and Wife! Darling were friends in their youth until they went separate ways for a while, but Selina was definitely there when she gave birth and got to hold the baby sometimes until she left again. Years later, getting asked by that same baby, now older, to be mentored by her feels like one of the universe's jokes.

Anyway, just keep coming up with scenarios for this. Maybe they cross paths with the batfamily and they just don't recognise Catwoman's new companion (why would they?). She stands far from them and wears her own suit, rarely speaks and vanishes before anyone can catch her. Selina covers for her. After all, Bruce should be capable of recognising his own child. This falls on him.

No one guesses it...except one person.

*After everyone's gone*

The Signal: "Since when do you work with Catwoman, weirdo?"

Catgirl: "Excuse me?"

Signal: "C'mon, sis. I knew it as soon as I saw you. I didn't say anything because i wanted to hear you first. But seriously, what the hell?"

Catgirl: "Look, it's complicated. She's just training me, okay? So what's a couple of stolen goods?"

Signal: "I don't care about that. I meant your outfit. Geez, you look like you're about to star in the cover of a Playboy magazine. Was it really necessary?"

In the end, he keeps her secret because they're besties (and ngl he wants to see how far she can take this before the batfam figures it out).

Spoiler: They never do. She quits when she feels she's learnt enough and wants to go solo, and no one ever finds out her identity.

[project-sekai-facts]

I wrote the original post at 2am so it's kind of a mess. I think it's a bit of both. Kanade's 5th event is entirely based around the fact her view of Mafumum is unreliable compared to Mafuyu and Mafudad because she's only ever known her as a manipulative parent who is actively ruining her child's life. She can't understand how this person could have ever genuinely loved and cared for Mafuyu, so she talks with Mafudad and he tells her a story about Mafumum walking a newborn Mafuyu to the hospital through a snowstorm because she fell ill and the car broke down. There's nothing but genuine care in that action, it's a newborn baby there's no idealised version of her daughter projected onto it.

But on the other side of things, Kanade was able to see through Mafumum for the first time. Mafuyu was never able to see how her mother was affecting her, because she loves her so much and is clinging to the genuine care she was shown as a child. Kanade is the first one to see with her own eyes how Mafumum is controlling every aspect of Mafuyu's life. She sees her as this cold and imposing figure who has pushed Mafuyu to the point of despair due to her actions. But as mentioned, her view is limited. She doesn't know anything about Mafumum beyond this interaction and some things she learns from Mafuyu. She doesn't know about the past, which holds her back.

Mafumum hasn't loved the real Mafuyu in a long time. She's moulded Mafuyu to be the perfect child because that's what she wants for her. Partially, it's probably an ego stroke for her to be able to say her child is better than everyone else's, but partially, she's a mother who wants the best for her child and encourages (pushes) her to go above and beyond all expectations. Mafuyu is an only child and only daughter at that, and mafumum is clearly someone who didn't get the life she wants Mafuyu to have. She's living through Mafuyu but is blind to her own actions because she thinks giving Mafuyu the 'best' life is the right thing to do. Mirage of Lights and Maigo's flashbacks can coexist, she cares for Mafuyu because that's her daughter, but at the same time, she wants Mafuyu to be her perfect little darling who never does any wrong.

She fears Kanade in a similar way to how Harumichi dislikes Akito. Both think that they're a bad influence on their children who are leading them on an undesirable path, and once again the difference is that Harumichi never once actually stopped Akito. Mafumum is genuinely threatened by the idea of Kanade taking Mafuyu away from her, and does everything in her power to stop it. She's someone who wants control and doesn't want it taken away, and she's a mother who doesn't understand why her daughter is going against her when all she ever did is what was best for her.

She's layered. She's the cold and imposing manipulative mother, but she's (in her own eyes) well-meaning and loving. I don't think they would be putting so much emphasis on her emotional turmoil over losing Mafuyu if they were going to turn around and reveal she actually was an irredeemable master manipulator the entire time who put it all on as an act so her husband would go get Mafuyu back. The wouldn't have made a point about how she once loved the real Mafuyu if it didn't mean something. Also if she was totally irredeemable then this whole arc would just abruptly end. Like. They'd realise she sucks and ditch her for good and then what? Mafuyu6 is probably going to be about getting through to Mafumum and pushing her to realise her flaws and abuse. Whether or not she does realise or if she stays deep in denial over her actions is a different question, but either way gives the plot a direction to continue in.

Also just cultural context of asian parenting the way she pushes Mafuyu to succeed is pretty normalised. I have multiple friends doing degrees they don't want to be doing because their parents pushed them to go for the academics that will earn them a well paying job over the creative subjects they actually wanted to study and have a career in. The same language was used "you don't want to do that though, it's only a hobby", "don't be silly that's not a real job", "but you should think about money, like sugeons, they earn a lot [to their son who gets squicked by blood]". Like this whole thing is a criticism of that style of parenting and how it can affect children despite what parents may think.

The reason Kanade's viewpoint is unreliable is because her parents were incredibly laid back and musically oriented. She comes from the lowest class family in the game, but they were comfortable with a simple life surrounded by music and family. The rest of Niigo all come from artistically minded families who are pretty lenient in how they parent their children, Mafuyu does not have that privilege. Mafumum is the opposite of them, she's strict and holds onto societal expectations. She's a stay at home mum who had a child at the age of ~24, married an older man from a higher social standing than her, practically raises her child alone while her husband is the breadwinner, and her time in the workforce was probably shortlived or near nonexistent. She is the societal expectation for a woman. Considering that, it adds another layer to why she treats Mafuyu like that. Mafumum is a woman bound by society, she conforms to its expectations of how a parent should raise their child, but she also encourages (pressures) Mafuyu to do the things she didn't. It's this dichotomy of following expectations and actual care for her daughter.

What grinds my gears is what when people say that the reason Kana5 is bad due to it trying to make Mafumon sympathetic.

A couple have even gone as far as saying that Kana5 is as bad as Toya5 for the same reason and I-

Look. I deeply understand the idea of abusers being more complicated than simply “evil trash” is hard to comprehend. And I may sound insensitive but,

They need to grow up. They should not let their biases cloud their judgement and assume something is bad just because a piece of media has something they personally don’t like

the difference between harumichi and mafuyumum is their awareness.

harumichi - fully aware of what he is doing, fully aware his son is his own person and does not stop him despite heavy disapproval

mafumum - completely oblivious to what she is doing to mafuyu, projecting an idealised version of mafuyu onto her (and possibly an idealised version of herself)

harumichi working toya to the bone is him applying how he learnt to toya. the intent was not to physically/emotionally harm toya but that is what ended up happening (physical exhaustion is to be expected, he should not have forced toya to keep working but he deals with the same so he probably doesn't think it's a big deal). that said, he is fully aware of the fact he is taking away from toya's childhood, and admits this in concerto that toya's life was not "normal".

mafumum is entirely unaware of her abuse to mafuyu. this is repeatedly made clear in events post sayonara persona. mafudad relays to her what mafuyu tells him and she's incredibly distressed to learn that she'd been hurting mafuyu and she doesn't know what she did wrong. she can be manipulative, but she's not aware that she's being malicious, she thinks she's genuinely doing what's best for her child who she loves. there's also some context clues such as her young age compared to other parents, the fact she doesn't have a job and the fact she's at a lower social standing to her husband that suggest she may also be projecting the life she didn't get onto mafuyu.

harumichi being given the attempted sympathetic backstory doesn't work. he is neglectful towards his son, but is slowly easing out of these ways a little bit. toya has already begun to make ammends without the need for making harumichi sympathetic. he's a bad parent who did a bad thing knowingly.

with mafumum it is justified. in her first appearance, we see her from the biased viewpoint of kanade, who sees her as a cold and neglectful parent towards mafuyu. however from mafuyu's pov, she is a loving mother who is misguided in how she shows this love. this is what unreliable notes is about. mafumum is a bad parent who did a bad thing unknowingly. she is sympathetic because she is a troubled mother coming to terms with the fact she ruined her child's life.

both characters are loved by their children by virtue of them being their parents. the story is going to convey that no matter how bad they are as people. yes, forgiving abusers in fiction is overdone and to some degree unrealistic, however we do not yet know if that is where the story will go. all we know is that there will be a reconciliation. but even if mafumum specifically gets forgiven, it would not be unjustified. i feel like the first impression we get of mafumum from Kanade POV left a strong impact on a lot of people that they can't let go of. the whole point of the current arc is to let that go. the game builds her up as this malicious antagonistic force so that it can deconstruct that when we get to see her from an unbiased POV. she's not a villain like many people make her out to be, she's a human who made a mistake. a very bad and very big mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. she is a loving mother who fucked up really badly because she was too obsessed over perfection to actually see her daughter for who she is.

if the writers try and make us forgive harumichi though fuck them he fucking sucks. like i feel like toya will because he's like that yknow but i don't think the audience should feel sympathetic towards him.

[constant-lee]

Hi can i know more about your ninjago ballet au im so interested in it

Thank you, anon! I'm so flattered!! 🌸🌹

The ideas aren't finalized yet. It's still a very scattered, messy AU. Regardless, I'd love to hear any ideas that people would like to add to my AU! Anyway, I'm just dreaming this up for fun.

Nya and Kai get a scholarship to a well-known ballet school (don't know if I should have Wu run it >.<). They're orphaned dancers from Ignacia. Naturally, they took the scholarship, which covers both tuition and boarding.

Kai meets Cole, Jay, and Zane in said ballet school and become friends. They are all full-time boarding students at the school.

They have academic classes in the morning and dance classes the afternoon.

Their teacher selects them four to act as understudies the princes courting the princess in the Rose Adage of the Sleeping Beauty ballet (they don't have a lot of guys to choose from :(().

"We're dancing with a girl? (Finally!) Is she hot?" "Jay!"

They meet Nya, the third understudy for the role of Sleeping Beauty, not bad for someone who's just moved to a new ballet school!

Jay falls in love with Nya during their time in the rehearsal.

Nya's primary role in the Sleeping Beauty ballet is really Princess Florine! Florine has a pas de deux (a duet) with the character called Blue Bird, who is secretly King Charming in the story. Yes, they're both wearing blue.

Unfortunately for Jay, he's only the first understudy for the role of Blue Bird.

But the guy who plays Blue Bird get injured! So now, Jay can partner with Nya for the show! (Sorry, original Blue Bird!)

Unfortunately, Nya's scholarship doesn't cover the cost of her pointe shoes. Being a pre-professional student, she can end up softening her pointe shoes so quickly to the point they're unusable for her. :(

Kai works a part-time job outside of dancing in order to make some money to buy her new pairs. Nya tells him not to. She can make her shoes last if she really tries, but it is crazy uncomfortable for her. Kai insists that it's fine.

Cole hates ballet! His father is a performing artist (and also crazy rich), and also wills for his son to pursue the same path. Awarding scholarships and prizes is more forgiving towards men because the ballet world has a lot more female dancers than male dancers. Cole is not terrible by any means, and all the judges who watch him in competitions can tell he is not passionate about the art. Yet, they continue to award him trophies and training to hopefully inspire him to dance. But as long as he can't eat cake freely, then will Cole really want to do ballet?

Cole, wanting to try something new, then sneaks outside past curfew in order to take breakdancing classes. He ends up liking it a lot. Ballet requires him to be dancing upright all the time—the fact that breakdancing keeps him low and close to the ground is a breath of fresh air.

He disguises himself and, eventually, takes on the alias "Rocky Dangerbuff" for informal breakdancing competitions. They don't validate his identity with a passport or any other certificate, so he just keeps his identity a secret.

A few months in, Cole confesses to Jay about his double-life. Jay is surprised, but he understands. He's met Cole's father before, and hopes that Cole is happy with whatever he's doing. Jay knows, in his heart, ballet and cake do not mix. :(

Eventually, Kai and Zane find out, and all of them attend one of Cole's breakdancing competitions, which, unfortunately, takes place past curfew.

Cole gets the other three to try hip-hop, and suprisingly, they like it! They're not sure whether or not they enjoy it more than they enjoy ballet, but it is definitely fun to let loose in a while.

Once Kai learned about the cash prizes in these underground dance competitions, he wanted to start making money ASAP. If he gets really good at it, he can make more than what his part-time job is earning him!

Kai, Zane, Cole, and Jay eventually start competing in group battles. They call themselves the Ninja!

Nya is not stupid! She knows her friends are sneaking out.

Enter, Samurai X!

These are all my ideas for now! Sorry if they're a bit messy! I'm happy to answer any questions or hear out any suggestions!! I don't know when or how Lloyd comes into the picture bwahahaha <3

[bciphergrl]

Welp, I got hit with another CRK AU. I don't have a name for it yet. But it's pretty much what if the lights of the soul jams had physical bodies. I'll explain the plot itself to give all of you a better understanding:

This AU will take place around where the Beasts are already sealed within the Silver Tree. Sure, the witches still took half of the powers of the soul jam with only the uncorrupted remnants and scatter them across Earthbread to find more worthing cookie to own them. But this is where the story changes. They had search far and wide for the thousands of years. After for doing that for so long, one of the lights within the soul jam did something that not even the witches didn't think ahead: it created it's own physical body and became an owner of itself. The other did the same one by one. The only downside to it is they'll forget what/who they truly are and believe that they're a mortal cookie who is the owner of the soul jam.

Now, I'll give you a small summary of each light:

Pure Vanilla Cookie was the first light to create his own physical form. He doesn't remember what he did or who he once was. He only knew his "name". His parents adopted him. Some of the cannon stuff of the OG is the same, aside from already being the "owner" of the soul jam from the very start and not exactly a normal cookie. At least until we get to the part where he goes to Beast Yeast with Gingerbrave and the gang.

Golden Cheese Cookie became the second light to make her own physical form. Just like Pure Vanilla Cookie, she has no recollection of her past life and already has her soul jam much earlier. She does know her "name " though. She lived on her own throughout her childhood and learned so much from other cookies in the desert (I'll add more to it, once I play her story in the game).

Hollyberry Cookie was the third light to follow her friend's footsteps by giving herself a physical body. Also just like her friends, she isn't aware of her old life, already has her soul from the start and knows her "name". But, unlike her friends, she had a son, Royal Berry Cookie, who will later marry Jungleberry and have a daughter of their own, Princess Cookie. (I'll talk more about half cookie and half light another time.)

Dark Cacao Cookie was the second last light to do the same as his friends and go through a similar pattern. No recollection of his old life. Owning a soul jam from the start. Only knowing his "name". Following the same path as Hollyberry Cookie, he had a son, Dark Choco Cookie.

White Lily Cookie became the last light to make her own physical body. She knows her "name" and owns a soul jam from the very start. However, weird enough, she recalls fragments of her previous life. She thinks that those are just "bizarre dreams". At least that's what she thought during her childhood. As she enters adulthood, she began to have second thought on those "dreams". It made her kinda question her existence.

I'll most likely make another post with the five lights of the soul jams in their physical forms, AKA the Ancients.

[hello-from-nrc-infirmary]

Well... there's no humans around here, only Pokémon. Ah, that Glaceon goes by Victor. I'm sure you'll see him again if you stay in Sage Town.

*Folia is kind enough to stay near the shade as they get outside and follow along a path*

Yes, quite familiar! Though, mainly with the teams and not the guildmaster. My partner and I stop in regularly to sell wares together. I sell berries and juice, while she sells various accessories. I usually stop by the guild the evening before to announce that we'll be open in the morning.

Nightwing has seven rescue teams, and they're all good in their own right. Victor has a habit of challenging the same member of the guild's top-notch team. He lost again and I was trying to collect him

(waited to do this just so I could have a bit of Casimir time but. Eh. Why not throw my own post out there related to my own au??? Pokemon time babey.

I say as though I don't still have SEVERAL lore posts to make about it.)

Yuna awoke in the depths of a strange cave that she had no recollection of having ventured into.

It was dark, with the only light source being some wall sconces that seemed impossibly high up... That, or she was oddly close to the ground, of course.

She blinked slowly, her eyes feeling heavier than usual, and tried to take her surroundings into account to little to no avail... It was simply too dark and too large of a space for her to tell what was going on.

And then came the footsteps and the sound of chatter, though whether it was to another person or to onesself she couldn't determine. She couldn't tell who or what they belonged to, but they clearly belonged to something.

She hesitantly clambered behind a nearby rock and waited patiently to see whoever was approaching.

Tagging @nrcsfavoriteshrimps since u asked so politely hehehehe

[slayerdurge]

the brainrot is telling me to do an evil karlach origin play through

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I'm not ready to shut up about Aveline and Carver--so, when you go see Aveline in Act 1, you can catch up with her a little bit and that's where this conversation can happen:

Aveline: "It's just one more change, though. The real end for me was Ostagar. What about you, Carver? You were there. Do you feel something similar?" Carver: No. Aveline: All right, then. Bit of a tit, your brother.

I wanted to see what she would say if Carver isn't in the party. Instead, she says this:

Aveline: Carver was there. I imagine he feels something similar. If he allows it.

......well, at least she didn't call him a tit?

[thegreatyin]

honestly part of the reason i've been really looking forward to finally playing light fingers (aside from the obvious horrors and whatnot) is because it, alongside bag a legend, contains a Choice™ i to this day am Extremely Torn About Making. like i've known for ages that the Choice™ exists in this ambition and STILL i am undecided about it. this Choice™ is of course. well. let's just say that by the time this ambition ends, caeru may not be the only catboy around town

[see-arcane]

Don't you just hate it when you track down a shady ethics-free Victorian laboratory to have a violent talk with the weirdos who threatened people you've made it your penitent life-mission to protect only to discover someone else has beaten you to the punch (and certain organs) and they just so happen to be your resurrected Creator who's been dead for almost a century and it's all So Awkward, ughhhhhh

( @severedfeetpics behold the Creatures!)

[sundayrobin]

going thru my screenshots from 2.3 while waiting for the update (because i stupidly didn't pre-install them) and this might be my favorite part of the tb mission.

himeko is telling us that at its core, humanity is rooted in storytelling and the nameless’s mission to travel across the galaxy embodies this spirit. their journey centers around exploring new worlds but the significance of their travels goes beyond mere exploration; it's about encountering diverse stories from different people and places. it's in the "miniscule". it's in the individual tales that contribute to a grander tapestry of human existence which they strive to remember and honor. it's in how the nameless creates a shared experience that they carry along with them to other planets they visit. it's how they're able to create connections that transcend the vast distance it probably takes for the astral express to traverse from one planet to another. exploration becomes merely the means to achieve their true goal: to forge connections via the star rail through stories they encounter. it's why i think it's very fitting that the trailblaze is considered the one closest to humanity. in a world that extends as vast as the cosmos, they choose to ground themselves in these stories, to remember them when no one else would. because it's these individual tales and the ongoing dialogue between them that creates a continuous, living narrative that binds living species across the galaxy together.

[tetrameryxx]

Everyone look at my video game dinosaurs