#thank you for not assuming i have the knowledge! that's really considerate!

[danmeichael]

Hi great art - fantastic art!! But sorry that’s not a clavicle 😭 clavicles are the collarbones aka the horizontal bones that run between the top of your chest and shoulder blade. (Think strapless shirt/dress??) I’m pretty sure those things on necks are just muscles or tendons?? But feel free to ignore this!!

i know the muscles on the neck aren't the clavicle, thank you for trying to make sure i wasn't misinformed though!

i think my caption paired with the drawing was misleading! i was referring to the space between his collarbones/clavicles (implied to be exposed, but covered by the panel of angy shen jiu) which i've seen referred to as the clavicle before (particularly in reference to jewelry)

the more anatomically correct term is apparently jugular notch (at least when referring to the skeleton), which is better imo so i guess i'll start referring to it as that!

[retiredteabag]

I believe Nanami has always been a gentleman.

Due to the climate that exists, it can be hard to assume the best of people, knowing this, its not impossible to understand that in your time being a classmate of the man, you had previously been led you to figure the opposite of Nanami Kento.

Of course, you simply could not avoid the blatant roll of eyes when Nanami would bend down to retrieve a fallen pencil for his female classmate. Or when he would place an intentional hand on firm objects to protect from the possibility of future harm. And it would be remiss to not add that you had seen the men in your shared classes sigh anytime Nanami would defend a predominantly feminist sentiment in classroom discussions.

By no fault of your own, you had started to believe the masses that would perpetuate the rumor of his “white knight" status.

This assumption that Nanami was simply trying to get into a girls pants. By being kind and gentle with them, and by being a patient, learned, listener.

This idea all came to a front one day while you were on the train ride home.

Overfilled and uncomfortable, you had never felt so unsafe on your commute home than you had in that moment.

Call it hyper vigilance, but you had the intuition to locate a problem before it occurred. And even before the man, now plastered to your side, had weaseled his way into your proximity, you could smell the poor intentions from a mile away.

Fear sprung through you as you felt his body press against your own, you had a million thoughts flood your brain.

Should you shout at him? Make a scene? Would he accuse you of overreacting? Or perhaps you should simply try to move… but where to? You felt so terribly trapped that you couldn’t withhold the gasp that left you at the sudden ripping loss of his unwanted touch.

A commanding voice, unafraid of accusation, rang through the train car.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

You recognized the tall blond man immediately. He was in your ethics and rhetoric classes, and was notorious for being a real gentleman.

The typical assumption was, that this was for his own personal gain.

And, of course, being nice and being kind are not the same. He, to your knowledge, was being nice, instead of the latter.

Back to the moment at hand though, Nanami’s grasp never faltered on the perpetrators wrist, in fact, your classmate seemed to tighten his fist.

“I said. What the hell. Do you think. You’re doing.”

Real anger resounded from his tone. And every negative emotion from the situation seemed to echo in your brain.

Time passed slowly, all too slowly, and yet, before you could really understand the situation, you had ushered yourself onto your platform after your transport had come to a stop. And somehow, your classmate was staring down at you, asking if you were alright.

“I’m fine.” You force out.

You shouldn’t have to feel grateful nothing worse happened, you shouldn’t feel glad you weren’t physically harmed.

“I’m sorry. This must have been awful…” Nanami runs a hand through his hair and in that moment, all of your vitriol forces itself onto him as he finishes, “May I walk you home?”

Fury at his character, at this act, at everything that had happened today boiled the words out of your mouth, “Oh, for heaven sake, I’m not going to fuck you.”

“W-what?”

To his credit, he looks properly appalled. Stepping a wide margin away from you.

“I’m-I’m sorry, no.” He stutters, clears his throat, “that’s not what I- of course not-“

And he looks genuine in his fear at the thought.

“Right.” You sigh, “Well, thanks for all that, but I need to get home.”

He seems to wage a war within himself, to offer to bring you home, or to leave this be.

After a moment of consideration, he decides on the latter of the options. Solely because he knows now that you must not think of him as a trustworthy or safe individual. And rather than angry at this thought, he is sad. Worried about your past, and determined to be a safe option for you.

“Please get home safe.” And later you will wonder how he remembered you when recalling how he spoke out your name before saying, “I really am sorry, about all of this.”

You had walked home that night jumpy and cold.

—

It wouldn’t take but a week for you to begin questioning his intentions again after you watch your classmate deliver bagged lunches for the homeless outside of campus when he thought nobody was around.

When you had witnessed his genuine argument with another “one of the bros” after disagreeing with them in class.

And when you saw him offer to tutor any and all classmates that felt they might need a little help.

And while you were analyzing his motives, he started to develop his understanding of where you were coming from- eventually deciding that his goal would be to prove to you that he never had any ill will, and instead, cares for you as a human. Not for what you could offer him.

You don’t know yet, but he always has been a gentleman.

[foldingfittedsheets]

so I've been following along with the mattress questions because my mattress is just about exactly 10 years old and sags SO BAD. It's deeply, deeply uncomfortable and all the things you've been saying to look for to replace, it has. I've already decided that when I start getting my paychecks this fall, the first thing I'm buying is a new mattress.

Are there any brands that sell $800-$1000 queen beds that you'd recommend? I get so overwhelmed with choice, so names to at least check out at the store would be useful.

Also, is it better to get a mattress topper earlier rather than later? Or should you wait until you notice problems with it to shell out for one?

(thank you so much, I had just resigned myself to sleeping bad forever, but this series of answers reminded me that I'm an Adult with Adult Money and can (eventually) buy myself a new one. and as I buy the new one, I WILL be buying a couple protectors)

Hmmnnngh. Okay. So here’s the thing. There’s a lot of really good queens in that price range. But taking a recommendation usually supersedes personal comfort, which is why almost all of these asks I deal in generalities rather than specifics. Also because bed names vary by retailer to be confusing because why not.

Just because I think a bed feels good doesn’t mean someone else won’t like something better, and I’ve seen a ton of folks who buy the bed a friend recommends even though their comfort is different. They return it later. So I am going to name names, but it’s very important that you take into consideration how the bed feels not just that I said it’s a good brand. We straight up don’t tell people what we sleep on for this reason because people will just buy that one assuming it’s the best.

Sealy, Serta, and Simmons all make great beds around that price point that I’ve had personal experience with. But as scary as it is the best thing to do is go into a store. The person is there to guide you around. You don’t need encyclopedic knowledge of beds, because it’s all about first how it feels to you. Their job is to help you navigate the showroom from there.

My personal process and what’s still taught in my company is to determine the comfort that fits you, then look at different styles in that comfort. Most folks are a medium-plush if you’re a side sleeper never go firm, ever, for real. Once you know how soft you like it you can compare A-B style between innerspring, hybrid, and foam.

Most people will have a strong preference for one of the three, and you won’t know before trying. Then you can narrow down from there. There’s probably only like six maybe seven beds you need to lay on to find the one!

Regarding the topper: no. Get a bed you like out the gate. When it sags, get a new bed. The ONLY time you will need a topper is if your bed is too hard on shoulders and hips and ideally you’re not buying that because you’ve just bought a super comfy amazing new mattress that’s perfect as is.

You need a thin waterproof protector and sheets and that’s it. Anytime you’re adding stuff like a topper or an extra pillow something is failing you and should get kicked to the curb.

[saintsenara]

What are your thoughts on mediwitches and medical care in the Wizarding World?

thank you very much for the asks, @thesilverstarling and @yorickofyore, which i have handily combined into one for the chance to talk about a worldbuilding question i am legitimately obsessed with:

what the hell is going on with wizarding medicine? part one: the structure of the healthcare system

as i've said here, something which is really interesting when thinking about the wizarding healthcare system is that the signing of the statute of secrecy - the event which causes the total separation of the magical and muggle worlds - in 1689 takes place before a period of considerable advancement in western medicine.

i really like the fact that the canonical worldbuilding around potions suggests that many disciplines of wizarding science are more closely rooted in the medieval and early-modern history of science than their muggle equivalents. i also like the fact that the natural end point of the archaic muggle technology which is used in the series to make the wizarding world seem whimsical by virtue of it being old-fashioned [steam trains etc.] is to assume that wizards live in a world where cutting-edge medical technology is unheard of...

and, therefore, to think of wizarding medicine as a discipline which is meaningfully distinct from its muggle cousin.

and which isn't necessarily more advanced...

the historical context

a muggle physician working in what is now the united kingdom when the statute of secrecy was signed lacked much of what we would take to be basic medical knowledge today, even if he'd studied medicine at a university. he wouldn't know what germs were, for example, and he might still believe that the body was governed by four humours [a theory which was starting to be questioned at the time]. he would never have seen a stethoscope [not invented until 1816]. he would consider the microscope [first used in a scientific context in 1666] bizarre, new-fangled technology - and he is unlikely, especially if he worked outside of london, oxford, or cambridge, to have ever seen one.

he would have had less opportunity to learn about human anatomy, no matter the form his training took, than medical students today. dissections were fairly uncommon, for religious reasons, and surgery didn't really exist as a field... not least because anaesthesia wasn't available until the middle of the nineteenth century.

this is not to say, however, that his anatomical knowledge would have been wrong.

he would probably have relied for his understanding of the inner working of the body on a text called de humani corporis fabrica [on the fabric of the human body], published in the 1540s by the belgian surgeon andreas vesalius. this text - a detailed study of the human body [which supplanted the handbooks in use prior to the sixteenth century - those of the roman physician, galen] - was possible because vesalius managed to obtain a steady supply of executed criminals to dissect. it's a fascinating text - not least because it's still pretty accurate.

as a result, our physician would be aware of many of the major medical discoveries of the later 1500s and 1600s - such as the structure of the musculoskeletal system, the fact that blood circulates in the body, and the fact that the human lungs require the inhalation of air to function.

unless the need for a surgical treatment [such as the extraction of a tooth or the amputation of a limb] was obvious, most of the treatments he would prescribe would be herbal - and his dispensary would include not only plants from all over eurasia, but also from european colonies in the americas.

he might, for example, be found prescribing chocolate... which would make madam pomfrey happy:

“Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least,” said Madam Pomfrey, who was now trying to peer into Harry’s eyes. “I’ve already had some,” said Harry. “Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us.”  “Did he, now?” said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. “So we’ve finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?”

it's important to note that many of these traditional herbal remedies genuinely work. plenty of modern medicines are developed from them [the most widely known, i imagine, being aspirin], and anyone taking a herbal remedy should be aware that they need to check how this remedy interacts with any other medication or supplements they take [especially - i beg - if the herbal remedy in question is st john's wort...]

but it's also true that our early-modern physician would spend a lot of time prescribing various odd pastes, poultices, potions, and powders, made from ingredients such as stones, spiders' webs, animal blood, and human body parts.

[he might even have recommended some of his patients swallow a bezoar - even if the efficacy of these as a cure for poisoning was starting to be doubted in the seventeenth century...]

and his go-to treatment would - of course - be bloodletting, to remove "bad blood", the cause of myriad ills, from the body.

jkr is - obviously - extremely fond of using these medieval and early-modern remedies as part of the worldbuilding around magical medicine. she's also fond of extending the obsolete technology which is used to make the wizarding world feel whimsical into the realm of the body - wizards wear monocles and use ear trumpets, both of which are assistive devices, because they make the setting feel more magical to a reader in 1997 [and beyond] than glasses and hearing aids.

but there is - if one wants there to be - a sinister undercurrent to the idea that all aspects of wizarding healthcare retain a pre-modern flavour.

wizards do canonically have attitudes towards the body, illness, and disability which, when interrogated, don't seem to have moved on much from the 1680s... which is why this answer is definitely going to end up having a part two, on wizarding attitudes to the body.

for now, though, let's look at how the healthcare system is structured.

the structure of the wizarding healthcare system

the two medical institutions we see in canon - st mungo's and the hogwarts hospital wing - are whimsical pastiches of aspects of the british healthcare system: st mungo's is an nhs hospital [hence the reason it seems to be free - although i think it's interesting for authors to imagine that it isn't...] and the hospital wing is a boarding school infirmary.

st mungo's is immediately familiar to anyone who has worked in a hospital - especially characters like this patient from order of the phoenix:

“And that woman over there,” he indicated the only other occupied bed, which was right beside the door, “won’t tell the Healers what bit her, which makes us all think it must have been something she was handling illegally. Whatever it was took a real chunk out of her leg, very nasty smell when they take off the dressings.”

but the structure of the modern hospital - its departments, its staff - is a post-1689 invention, as are the non-hospital spaces [gp's surgeries, dentist's and optometrist's offices, pharmacies] in which healthcare takes place.

and so how might the places in which healing occurs differ from their muggle equivalents?

st mungo's hospital for magical maladies and injuries

like any hospital, st mungo's offers a combination of emergency and specialist treatment. it doesn't seem to offer general healthcare - such as check-ups - and it doesn't seem to offer treatment for minor-to-moderate ailments.

this makes sense given its real-world influences - in the uk, most aspects of most people's everyday healthcare are the purview of a general practitioner, and specialists tend not to be seen outside of specific, often more serious contexts.

[for example, i'm a woman in my thirties who has never had an appointment with a gynaecologist - something which shocks american friends. this is because everything to do with reproductive healthcare that i've had to do in my life so far - such as cervical screening - has been done by my gp's surgery.]

st mungo's also doesn't seem to perform general dental or optometrical services. this is also the case in the uk.

we know from canon that it has wards which treat long-term residents - such as the longbottoms. in muggle britain, this wouldn't exactly be the case - nhs trusts manage certain types of residential treatment [such as psychiatric hospitals, or brain-injury rehabilitation centres], which tend to be on separate sites to hospital buildings, but long-term care homes and assisted-living facilities are managed by private companies or local councils. the wizarding population is evidently too small to have any form of local government, so this becoming the purview of the healthcare system makes sense.

what is more interesting, though, is that st mungo's doesn't seem to treat anything which doesn't have a specifically magical cause...

community care

we see in canon that wizards prefer to treat even fairly serious magical conditions in the home [with the hogwarts hospital wing as the pseudo-domestic stand-in] - in the form of ron's fake spattergroit in deathly hallows.

we can also assume, then, that things like birth and death [as well as the treatment of non-magical conditions] also generally take place in the home - and that this is why st mungo's doesn't seem to offer any sort of obstetric care.

and this will have an impact on how wizards understand things like birth, death, and aging which - while not divergent from the muggle understanding of these things historically - would be massively at odds with the muggle attitude contemporarily. only around 2% of births in the uk take place at home, for example - and since around 43% of deaths take place in a hospital and 20% take place in a care home, it is now a minority experience to die in your own home. multi-generational living is extremely uncommon for british muggles outside of specific demographic groups. it would presumably not be - since gerontological care must take place in the home - for british wizards.

[i am aware of the wizarding care home in the cursed child, but i think we can either ignore this as not-canon, or imagine it working as an almshouse - such as the royal hospital, chelsea, founded in 1682 - the early-modern equivalent of a care home]

similarly, the treatment of chronic illnesses must generally take place in the home - which offers a really interesting insight into why, for example, remus lupin appears so much less healthy than werewolves like fenrir greyback, who live in quasi-familial community groups.

so too must the care of the terminally ill - which means that wizards would retain a relationship with death that muggles are increasingly detached from. i was struck when talking about deathly hallows with some friends that they were surprised that fleur delacour can see thestrals - and they automatically assumed that she must have witnessed some sort of traumatic death for this to be the case. but if her grandmother [who seems, as of goblet of fire, to be dead] went through the process of dying [which is not immediate!] at home, she would probably have been there to witness and understand it. this is an entirely natural part of the human experience.

and this means - as we'll come to in part two - that who doesn't get treated in the home becomes an interesting question...

healers and their training

the stringent academic requirements for healing training in canon are a pastiche of those needed for a medical degree in muggle britain. medicine is an extremely competitive subject [as in many places worldwide, the number of places is capped] and all uk medical schools require top a-level [the final-year exams which newts are a mirror of] grades.

in the wizarding world - since university education doesn't appear to exist - the subject is taught by apprenticeship. this makes sense - all muggle medical degrees have a considerable practical component, and i think we can easily imagine that trainee healers are also required to attend lectures etc.

however, since there doesn't appear to be general medicine in the wizarding world, healers seem to apprentice from the off in specific specialities.

similarly, on their wards, they seem to function as a combination of all the levels of staff you would find in a muggle hospital - a doctor would not, for example, hand out christmas gifts on a ward - and there doesn't seem to be any hierarchy post-qualification. you can only be an apprentice or a healer - instead of a junior, registrar, consultant etc. [or the american near-equivalents - intern, resident, attending etc.]

but all of this makes sense if we consider it alongside the fact that a lot of treatment must take place in the home. healers are - by their very nature - advanced specialists in a specific [and apparently narrow] range of magical illnesses and injuries, who presumably deal with such a small number of patients [arthur weasley is on a ward with only three people, supervised by two healers - i think many of us who've worked in muggle hospitals would kill for that ratio...] that they are able to take the holistic role they do in canon.

other medical staff

and so most aspects of wizarding medicine must be administered by people who are not [by virtue of formal training] healers - both within the home and outside it.

madam pomfrey, for example, seems to have a different, lower level of training than a healer - not least because her title, which she shares with other non-academic staff like madam hooch, is intended to indicate that she is below the hogwarts professors in terms of qualification [however wizards understand this when it comes to fitness to teach]. we see in canon that she needs to send patients to st mungo's for specific magical injuries which she doesn't have the training and/or equipment to treat [mcgonagall after she's stunned in order of the phoenix, katie bell after she's cursed in half-blood prince], but that she's able to treat most magical injuries which are non-life-threatening, and most non-magical injuries and minor illnesses.

in the uk, a school matron would generally be qualified as a nurse - and madam pomfrey reflects this. obviously, this is primarily a narrative detail which helps the [british] reader understand the wizarding world by referencing something with which they are familiar, but from an in-world perspective it suggests that there is a hierarchy of medical training which we don't hear about in canon.

perhaps even because it would be considered beneath the alumni of as elite a boarding school as hogwarts to go into the equivalent of nursing...

[indeed, the apparent absence of credentialism in the presentation of healing being revealed to be a lie would fit the way the series approaches class... and the class distinctions, not only in terms of post-qualification social status, but in terms of background - in 2016, 61% of people studying medicine or dentistry were privately educated - between doctors and nurses in the uk are significant.]

and so i imagine that general medical treatment - as well as more specialised disciplines like midwifery, dentistry, and optometry - is available in the wizarding world [for a fee?] from licensed [anyone offering medical care in england has required a license since the 1520s] community-based practitioners such as madam pomfrey, with people only seeking treatment at st mungo's for urgent magical cases.

there must also be a voluntary aspect to this community-based medical system - i've always assumed that the people who bring arthur weasley to st mungo's are volunteers rather than professional paramedics, for example - and treatment must also be available from shops - such as apothecaries, which can presumably diagnose ailments as well as sell the treatments for them - which provide medical services alongside various other functions.

[maybe the people who make objects such as james and sirius' two-way mirrors are also responsible for lens-crafting and other aspects of optometry.]

this can be a fun worldbuilding detail - historically, surgery [and most dental care] was provided by barbers. clearly, molly doesn't cut her sons' hair at home for financial reasons, but because the one time she let bill go to the barber's on his own, he came back with a gold tooth...

the medical research sector

while the wizarding world doesn't appear to have universities - or other research institutions which look familiar to the modern reader - it clearly has some sort of scientific infrastructure, within which medical and pharmaceutical research [such as the development of the wolfsbane potion in the early 1990s] takes place.

and we can very easily imagine what this infrastructure is...

the statute of secrecy is signed after the emergence in britain of learned societies - essentially, research organisations, which are modelled on the college fellowships of oxford and cambridge [with a little bit of the medieval guild thrown in]. they function as academic networks, peer-review groups, and professional bodies.

in the medical field, the royal college of physicians - which is still going! i'm a member! - was founded in 1519. in the natural sciences more generally, the royal society - probably the most famous learned society in the world - was officially established in 1663.

we know of at least one wizarding learned society from canon - the most extraordinary society of potioneers, founded by hector dagworth-granger - and we know that there are academic journals - such as transfiguration today - which can be presumed to be published by others.

it makes absolute sense that there would be a learned society which focused on the science of healing, and offered publications, lectures, demonstrations [imagine how horrendous the first demonstration of the wolfsbane potion might have been...], research funding, and so on to professionals working in the discipline. it also makes sense that there would be a college or guild for apothecaries.

the real question, though, is what these would be called... after all, the wizarding world tends to have a touch of whimsy to it, but since there's literally a clinical body in the uk called "nice", the muggles might have won this round...

[icarusbetide]

Since you are a purveyor of odd Hamilton takes... Came across this in American Military Biography (1830) by Amos Blanchard:

I had assumed the "orphan Alex" narrative was there from the start (and maybe this is just a very badly researched book), but that made me wonder when that actually became the default version of the story.

(Also how can you be an orphan with a living parent anyway...?)

I love my curated collection of odd Hamilton takes...some of them are printed out on a dart board so I can skewer them to hell along with the corresponding historian's picture but the ones I agree with are 100% accurate and concrete facts.

And thank you so much for sharing, this is really interesting! My first thought was maybe Blanchard was aware of Ann Mitchell, Hamilton's cousin. She lived in America for several years, may have been his major benefactor, and he singled her out in his final letters, entreating Betsey to treat her well.

From a quick search it seems unlikely she accompanied him (Allan McLane Hamilton thought they never met in America), but perhaps the knowledge of a maternal figure helping Ham was public at the time, and the author rolled with "mother"? I stumbled on a paper from 1952, "Alexander Hamilton: The Fact and Fiction of His Early Years" by Larson that addresses the popular myth that Hamilton received help from two friendly aunts; apparently there was an aunt Ann Lytton who died before all of this, separate from the actual helper: Ann Lytton Venton Mitchell, Hamilton's cousin. Not sure how far back that mixup goes, but maybe this author heard about this mother who was actually an aunt who was actually a cousin through the grapevine. Christ.

This did get me thinking about how I've never dug into Rachel's death because it seems like such a concrete incident. There is the 1768 probate court transaction available on founders online for anyone looking for easy access but now I'm having a second hand existential crisis. Maybe Hamilton was actually chilling with his very alive mother who is so confused rn.

I also assumed the orphan narrative thing was present from the start. From what I know, the "lacks good parentage, native land, and money" aspect was always subtly present (which is in itself honestly misleading, he was very privileged. but it makes sense since he's beefing with the elite who can use that relative disparity against him). but maybe the "all alone in the world with nobody to help him" aspect was not.

I'm considering the various examples of people being shady, like Jefferson writing that Ham is a man who "from the moment at which history can stoop to notice him, is a tissue of machinations against the liberty of the country which has not only recieved and given him bread, but heaped it’s honors on his head". This was a letter to Washington of all people, so maybe this indicates that there was some general understanding of Hamilton's background as lacking that allowed him to say all this even in consideration of his frustrations. Newspapers alluded to it. In 1800: "And you might find yourselves equally mistaken, in supposing, that the mode of your descent from a dubious father, in an English island would be no bar in this country to the pretensions to the Presidency."

So clearly there's some aspect of the lowborn narrative peeking through, but I think it would make sense for people to believe & say that he came from questionable, middling backgrounds, but still not see him as an orphan. His childhood wasn't happy or stable by any means, but he still had some support from family and benefactors going for him in America. And he never let go of his deadbeat dad for all the good that did him so he probably didn't refer to himself as an orphan. He didn't even like people thinking of him as lower-class, ("I have better pretensions than most of those who in this Country plume themselves on Ancestry") so I'm sure he didn't embrace the Charles Dickens characterization.

I dunno, maybe it's later historians who dug into Ham's insecurities, feelings of isolation expressed in certain letters, and his elusive background to complete the orphan narrative.

If anything, I suppose this further shows just how far back ambiguities about Hamilton's origins go. Blanchard also claims that Hamilton was born on St. Croix, and apparently there's some modern speculation that he wasn't even born on Nevis. 1830 isn't too far off from Hamilton's death; what book/person did Blanchard consult, if he even did, for this info? I also know that Adams referred to Hamilton as the "Scottish Creolian of Nevis", so Adams must've heard from a different source that Ham wasn't originally from St. Croix. So confusing.

But anyways, thank you so much for sharing this with me - I'm so bad at finding old resources, and I would've never learned that some doofus wrote about Hamilton with - gasp - a nondead parental figure.

Hope you're having a great day! :)

[koolades-world]

Hello! Congrats on 2k followers!!! I’ll be honest, with the way you write so beautifully I really assumed you might have had 5k if not more :0! But, I’m sure it’ll happen quickly without any of us noticing! Anyway! I was thinking of Satan x shy fem! MC who actually confesses to him!! I’m thinking that in one of Asmo’s Friday night games Asmo dares MC to kiss someone who she would date. So she bashfully gives Satan a soft cheek kiss and runs off to the planetarium. When she realises Satan’s presence near her, she spills her heart out using prompts 6 and 36! Prompt 6 to explain her initial attraction to him, and prompt 36 after listing out and explaining the things she loves about him (seeking knowledge, gentle nature, observant, considerate, you know it all!! :))! Sorry if it’s too long, you can cut out any details you don’t like or think are too tedious or completely change it to any other plot you like!

Have a lovely day/night!

thank you!! great to see you again :)) been working on your other request but i'm not sure when i'll have it ready haha

no worries about being too specific and whatnot, it helps me since I don’t actually need to come up with the idea on my own haha. the concept is very cute! you know me, I could rant about all the things I love about satan so actually that part might just be me speaking haha

asmo have friday game nights is SO real I think I may need to expand on that concept later. monopoly is 100% banned in that household, but we can save that fun stuff for later

enjoy <3

prompts 6 and 36 w/ Satan

Despite how busy the household might get during the week, Friday evenings were typically reserved for game nights, hosted and organized by Asmo. It started off as something small with just himself and you because they actually wanted to play games, Mammon because he was simply following you, and Levi because he saw an opportunity to show off. After that, it began to develop and take on a life of its own.

As more people joined, things needed to be more coordinated. Food had to be ordered or turns needed to be taken on who was making what, a schedule of what was going to be played had to be made, and even a seating schedule so nobody would argue over who got to sit next to you.

Tonight, the group would be playing something a little different. In all honesty, it seemed like the perfect game. It didn't require anything but the players themselves, and didn't have a limit to how many could play. Unfortunately, that game was the bane of your existence: truth or dare. You didn't have the heart to tell Asmo of all the horrors that games had brought you when you were younger. But, you'd never missed a game night and it wasn't about to start now. Who know, you might even enjoy it.

So, you took your seat in the circle against your better judgment. Today, you were seated between Satan and Diavolo. Diavolo was always very into the games, but sitting next to Satan made you nervous. Not because of his rage, but because of the effect of being near him had on you. After coming to the realization that you had a crush on him, being around him got so much harder, but you didn't want to disrupt the schedule. It was only one night, you thought you could power through it.

The night was a blur, and the only thing you could focus on was how close you were to Satan. You were squished next to him on the couch, and every time you touched, you felt almost stunned. You could only hoped nobody else noticed your suffering. Unfortunately for you, Asmo never missed that kind of thing and decided he was ready to be your matchmaker, if you'd take the chance.

"Mc! You haven't said anything yet. I'm honestly surprised nobody else has called on you yet. So, truth or dare?" Asmo's words shook you out of your stupor. You sat and thought for a moment about his question. He'd for sure use truth against you in some way, like asking who your favorite brother was. That would start a war. So, instead you opted for dare, hoping he'd just ask to use you as a living mannequin.

"Dare, I guess?" You nervously glanced around. You would have thought at this point you would've grown used to the stares of many eyes at once, but it still never failed to make you nervous.

"I dare you to give a kiss to somebody you would date. Preferably me." He puckered up. Of course you knew your answer, but did you have the courage? The easy way out would be giving Asmo the kiss, but that wouldn't be true to your heart. You could feel the gazes of the others trained on your every move, silently hoping you'll pick them.

"Uhm. Can I back out? Or at least can everybody close their eyes?" You couldn't meet anyone's eyes.

"You heard her. Close your eyes. The quicker you do, the quicker I get my kiss." Reluctantly, everyone in the room shut their eyes, the last being Satan himself. The two of you held inexplicable eye contact, as if he knew about the choice you were about to make before you did. After everyones' eyes were finally shut, you could feel yourself relax a little. But not enough to make it less stressful.

Finally ready to make your move, you got up from your spot and stood in the center of the circle. You stood in front of Satan, studying his features. You could spend hours looking at him. His long eyelashes, his bright blond hair, his full lips. But, you couldn't keep everyone waiting. With all the courage you could muster, you stepped forward, and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. His eyes shot open and for a long moment, you stared at each other.

Suddenly, all the confidence you'd managed to gather vanished. Panicking, you ran out of the circle through a small gap between Levi and Mammon. You fled to the only place that brought you comfort: the planetarium. Once you were there, you sat down on the ground and looked up at the stars. Finding the constellations brought you comfort. Behind you, you heard the door to the planetarium open. You turned to the sound of the approaching footsteps and was greeted by the man you'd kissed under an hour ago.

"Mc. I thought I'd find you here." Satan sat beside you, following your gaze up to the sky. "I never thought you'd date me of all people." You looked at him from your peripheral vision.

"What make you say that?" You questioned him. To you, he was perfect.

"Well, I always just assumed you'd prefer my brothers' personalities. They all have something going for them, and I'm just me. I'm not as special." His expression didn't change.

"You don't sell yourself enough. You're smart, you're thoughtful, and you're a joy to be around, not to mention how handsome you are. You give me butterflies." You absolutely wouldn't stand for him putting himself down like that, even if it meant confessing in the process. You'd already kind of kicked that off to begin with, so the least you could do was follow though. "But, that's not all. You care about the people close to me. You followed me here, didn't you? That's one of the many things I love about you. You always know exactly what I need when I'm feeling down. You're sensible, you're always honest with me, you're witty, and you have a more mischievous side. You pay attention to detail and you're gentle. I have a hard time thinking about what I don't love about you. To me, you're perfect." At the point, Satan was was looking right at you. This time, you weren't afraid to make eye contact and you met his emerald eyes.

"I could list all the things I love about you, but we'd be here all night. If you give me time, I'll make a book for you. If that was a confession, I accept." He softly smiled at you. He was positively glowing with the compliments you gave him, yet he still seemed to doubt the reality of it all. His cheeks were a light pink, and he held his hand out to you. You took it with a newfound conviction.

"I think it was." You found yourself growing a little bashful again, but didn't let go or look away. You enjoyed the feeling of his hand in yours.

"We could go back to game night, or we could go out? I have this 24 hour cafe in mind I've been meaning to try. It could be our first date." He ran his thumb over your knuckles, pressing a tender kiss to the back of your hand that echoed the one you'd given him not too long ago.

"I'd like that." With a smile, you let him pull you to your feet. The way he smiled at you made you realize you wouldn't regret your decision to step out of your comfort zone.

[ronearoundblindly]

What do you think the most attractive non-physical thing a man can do is?

(Like, for me, it’s laughing at a witty joke I make or genuinely listening to what I’m talking about and taking my word for my knowledge without question. Low standards, i know)

Hnggggg, I'm a sucker for humor--I'm sure that comes as a great shock to all lol--but I had a super difficult time figuring out things that aren't really tied to physical expression as well. Sorry it's taken me so long to answer!

I've settled on something incredibly simple but all too rare: consideration.

Give me a man who actually thinks about you and your needs and you both enjoying life together any damn day. Perhaps I feel sooooo strongly about this because my most recent failed-relationship was devoid of consideration, especially by the end. Perhaps this is why I love (and love to write) Steve Rogers so much.

Steve's strategic mind makes him think things through, but he's also just...used to observing, noticing. He doesn't have to read minds, ya know. He doesn't have to know your exact mood without you saying anything and have fancy, romantic things planned. However, if you prefer some things certain ways, he physically does what works best for you.

If you want to eat a specific diet (or need to), he won't get a bunch of stuff you have to avoid and keep it in front of you. If you have a laundry list of errands to complete in a limited time together, he thoroughly plans an efficient way to do it all without overwhelming you.

This can be as simple as talking to you, just asking what you want or need or prefer, but over time, I'm positive Steve truly learns and remembers the tiniest details about you. I think he'd be proud of how well he knows you, how much he can anticipate, and how extensively he provides.

That's attractive to me. I want that.

Again, the consideration doesn't need to be at his own expense, and I'd actually love to be the one taking care of him just as often. I just hate when only one person is carrying the burden of forethought. I don't think it's fair to assume I'll remember and plan for everything alone. I believe a man should be able to take care of himself and manage his own life. He won't die without you, but you are welcome in his life.

That make sense?

Thank you for asking!

[k-s-morgan]

Hello Ekateryna!  First of all, I hope you’re well and that you haven’t been too badly affected by recent events. This situation is disastrous.                                     

I went to church recently and lit a candle for you and your loved ones. It’s nothing more than a small act of faith, and some people would find it stupid. But they say that as long as you have hope, you have life. In our hearts.     

Concerning your latest piece of fiction on time travel (about Harry and Tom), there’s a question that’s been bothering me. Let me explain: back then, people spoke differently; accents were different, elocution was different, expressions were different; people even used words that today are considered obsolete.    Anyway, my question is: how does Harry manage to fit in despite all this? Doesn’t it occur to anyone that the way he talks is really very odd or even very inappropriate? (The way we talk today might be considered vulgar or completely out of place by people of that time). I understand if you find my question fussy, but I’m genuinely curious.

On the same theme, in relation to the divergence of the times: does Harry have enough general knowledge to, for example, talk about politics or current affairs, or wizards and Muggles in those two spheres? Does he know the music, the fashions, the… OK, I mean, does he know enough about the times to fit in without people thinking, “This guy’s an alien”?     Or, on the contrary, do the people they talk to at Hogwarts find him strange, but don’t tell him so? Does Harry come across as eccentric? That would be really funny, in a sad-funny way, but funny nonetheless.     

I hope you don’t mind my asking. In any case, thank you for the time and energy you devote to your stories. I send you my love and I wish you courage for the future. I send you my love.

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

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

Hi! Thank you so, so much for caring and lighting the candle for me and my family... This means a lot to me. I was so touched to read your ask, and when I told my Mom about it, she actually cried.

And thank you for an interesting question! I do have an explanation for how Harry is perceived by everyone. Since there is an intensifying war with Grindelwald, a lot of people are displaced. Harry arrived to Hogwarts as an orphan. We know there are other students in a similar situation, like Aline, who changed the countries, so most people automatically assume that Harry also came from some other part of the world. Everyone suspects that he’s an illegitimate part of the Potters family, so the general idea is that he was sent away for some other people to raise him, as far from England as possible, but that he still received proper education. So he knows English and he knows the spells, but a lot about his behavior and habits come across as somewhat unusual.  

No one asked him anything for now for different reasons: some depend on Tom to make a decision if someone is worthy of any consideration; others don’t want to touch the mess with the Potters; some despise Slytherins too much while others are just not interested. This will change now the more Harry becomes a part of Tom’s closest circle. 

As for Harry’s knowledge, I think he’s completely clueless about the majority of things :D He knows some things about WW2, but any specifics allude him; he can recognize some music but he’ll never be able to tell what period it is from. Right now, he doesn’t really talk to most people for these general innocent topics to come up, but it’ll start popping up here and there, with more people remarking on how weird Harry is. 

Tom, in turn, just attributes any weirdness to the differences between his world and Harry’s (fake) one. It’s really a very convenient excuse :D 

[moriohradiojanitorroom]

Hi, I stumbled across your blog and I'm really excited to try the match-up✨

Sorry if I write anything wrong, this is my first experience

I have always been told I am a very kind, caring and compassionate person. I think this is true, I always try to help people around me. I am also very optimistic and always try to think of the best. I am still a very shy, insecure and irascible person, but my bad moods pass quickly. If this helps you I am pisces and infp

Speaking of hobbies I really love my favorite manga and anime and cooking. Although some of my recipes sound suspicious but the dishes turn out really delicious. I can't imagine my life without music, I listen to it all the time. I think it's a bit funny, but I do know a lot of facts from many different fields

Oh, I'm afraid I've written too much. If something is unclear then please apologize, English is not my native language. Anyway thanks and good luck, looking forward to your reply💐

Hi there!!! Thanks so much for this request, I was really excited to fulfill it! And don’t worry about too much info or anything like that, this is great! This is also my first time writing a matchup so I hope it’s alright dkdnjsmd You didn’t specify an age or any preferences, so I’m gonna give you a canonically adult character & assume you don’t have a preference for other stuff, like gender or what part they’re from - if you’d like to resubmit with that in mind tho, that’s okay!

With all that in mind, here are some honourable mentions:

Noriaki Kakyoin was the first to come to mind when I read your request, but with the age thing in consideration, I decided to choose someone else.

After that, I considered Jonathan Joestar, Erina Pendleton, and Mohammad Avdol! Ultimately, though, I ended up choosing:

Robert E.O. Speedwagon!

Your positivity and kindness hooked the man in faster than he could even blink - we all know exactly how loyal he is and how quickly he can tell who deserves that loyalty. It only took him a few minutes to read that you’re one of those people.

He’s also pretty intrigued by how much you know. He likes to exchange little bits of knowledge and stories with you, especially after he’s done some travelling and has a wider expanse of knowledge. Even before that, though, he always keeps your words in mind - who knows, one day one of those facts might just save a life!

He also very well understands the difficulties of insecurity and hotheadedness, having faced them himself. He does his best to keep you grounded, and encourages you to leave your comfort zone now and then - it’s key to growth, after all - but he knows when to back off. He can be a little stubborn, especially if he’s enthusiastic, but in the end your comfort matters more. If you’d rather stay at home with him than go out and dance or something, that’s fine by him. Hell, with all the travelling he does, he may actually grow to prefer that more relaxed atmosphere.

On that topic, Speedwagon’s pretty good at reading people’s moods and actions. On top of knowing when he needs to let you chill, he also knows if/when he should make somebody else do the same. If he sees something or someone bothering you, he’s quick to swoop in and do whatever he can to settle the situation, whether that’s just to comfort some insecurities or get a particularly annoying person to back off. If he knows that you can handle it, though, he’ll take a backseat and play cheerleader. In fact, it makes him proud to see it.

Also, this man grew up on the most dangerous street in London. He’s no stranger to meals with some odd ingredients, and frankly, he’ll be even happier to learn how good they taste! He’s not the best cook himself, he’s the type of man who uses whatever he has on hand to try scraping together something reasonable, so a good meal will go straight to his heart.

For the sake of anime and manga, I’m gonna go ahead and pretend we’re a little more modern day for the next few. I feel like Speedwagon is more of a reading guy than a television guy. After a long day, he’ll to sit down and read with you, manga or not. He’ll watch a show too if you ask, but there’s something quite romantic about cuddling up and sharing a book that he feels can’t be matched by much else.

On that note, please forgive him ahead of time - if you do get him to sit down and watch your favourite shows, he will have a lot of commentary. He’s the type of guy who will interrupt a scene to enthusiastically declare something like, “So THAT’S why the bugger carries that chain around!”, or confoundedly question what a character thinks they’re doing. He’ll probably do this while reading too, just maybe not as often. He’s not trying to interrupt, he just gets excited - if you tell him to settle down, he’ll do his best to accommodate, but he might slip from time to time.

Also, (and this is another one of those modern day ones) depending on your music taste, he may or may not buy vinyls or discs of your favourite bands and try to get you to dance with him to them. He’ll probably suggest a concert at least once - something tells me that he’s the type to prefer live music.

Knowing that you’re passionate about something makes him passionate, too. He’ll try his best to look into your interests on his own time, and try to involve you in whatever he finds - maybe he asks an older lady he knows for interesting recipes to show you, or he scours a book store for a series he hasn’t heard you talk about yet. He’s doing his best to match your love for these things, even if they’re sometimes new to him.

Your bright outlook on life, your compassion, your love for the things you enjoy - they’re all astoundingly inspirational to this man. He may sometimes worry that you deserve better than an Ogre Street ex-thief, but by god, will he use all the motivation you give him to make a good life for you.

Okay - I think I might have rambled a bit there, but yeah, thank you so much for the request!! It’s the first one I’ve gotten anyways so I hope you’ll forgive all the babbling jehdjjfs

This was a ton of fun to write, and I hope that you’re happy with it!

[vitanithepure]

Ok, now your turn! :D What does Imogene think of her retinue?

Aaah, thank you for the ask and brace yourself for a long one because - oh, she has Thoughts™ 😂

Abelard is the designated grandpa. They agree on most things, and she dons her most shit-eating grin each time Abelard announces who she is. Also, they got this going on:

Idira is the coolest person on the ship, and that is even taking iceman into consideration. Just. So. Cool. Imogene adores her bravery, admires she had the guts to go her own way and against the world that hates her very existence.

Argenta can go space herself. She knows where the airlock is. Imogene has no idea why is she even part of her retinue if she disagrees with everything the Rogue Trader does and her solution to all world's problems is to burn it all down. No love between them, that's for sure.

Pasqal is the fount of knowledge and the right amount of religious calling for Imogene. Having been born on a Forge World she grew up surrounded by the Adeptus Mechanicus and their work. She shares a lot of respect and values with Pasqal and is absolutely fascinated by his pursuits. She would commit acts of unrestrained heresy if he asked her to, lol.

Iceman is scary. At first. Imogene quickly learns that her new status as a Rogue Trader gives her a lot of leeway when in comes to dealing with the agents of the Inquisition, including this particularly obvious snitch (as she believes) and she makes it a little game of sorts - how much can she annoy Heinrix until he turns around and leaves? Jokes on her, I guess, because at some point she realizes she wouldn't let him go even if he wanted to xD

Cassia is...uniqe. Imogene has no idea how to act around her. On one hand she seems to be insanely powerful. Influencing emotions of others? Third eye that could potentially kill just by looking into it? Or worse? All that in a frail, otherworldly body and a mind of a very cloistered young adult? On the other hand...she is so nice. So open and up for discussing things. So incredibly insightful for her age, Imogene went all in with her big sister mode.

(And below I'll go into companions you didn't mention yourself, so I assume you haven't met them. No big spoilers about them, just leaving you to decide if you wanna know who potentially is out there!)

Jae is wonderful. She's living her life, taking what comes in stride and never is content with what she already has. Imogene has a lot of fun with her, 10/10 friend and all around awful influence if you ask Abelard about their relationship :D Wonder for how long will that last, though...

Yrliet is...complicated. It's kind of like she took a trip to the zoo and found a mon-keigh named Imogene free from her enclosure and decided to see where she was running to. Imogene is stubborn though, and shortly after their meeting went "yeah, I'm gonna confuse her so much". Their relationship is uneasy because of all the outside influence barging in between them.

Ulfar didn't join Imogene, so... too bad buddy, have fun. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Marazhai is...well, he is. But Imogene wishes he wasn't. Really regrets bringing him along. Probably things won't end well between them and I intend to headcanon this so hard xD

[furiousgoldfish]

i was also incredibly isolated as a kid (not to the same extent, and now i am an adult and moved out, but i was also homeschooled, heavily [and only really] involved with the church, and i also moved regularly as my dad was in the military)

i’m still working on reconciling the idea that i might have been abused with the knowledge that my parents loved and still love me deeply, and that most of what they did was based in fear for me, or in their own insecurities. and still, i cannot deny the long lasting effects of their “overprotectiveness.”

i don’t know what i’m really trying to say… only that, i’m grateful to see the isolation and confinement acknowledged. that i’m not one person blowing it out of proportion, and that it truly did have the ability to hurt me that much. thank you for giving us that space to recognise that <3

It is very hard to reconcile the idea that your parents both loved you deeply and harmed you on a very deep level at the same time. I think, even if it's based on insecurities, they are responsible for their child's safety, happiness, health, emotional well being and all of the skills to happily live in the world, and if they failed you in all or most of these area, then they failed, insecure or not. The responsibility cannot be on you, you had absolutely no say in any of it. You were the one who was out of experience, who couldn't know what was being done to you, or how badly it would damage you. They were adults, they had time to learn and grow, and if they didn't do that, and ended up putting you in danger, abuse and harm, then that is on them, not you.

I can tell that you love your parents deeply, and that putting any responsibility for your pain on them feels counter-intuitive, ridden with guilt and pain. And that is true for a lot of children of abusive parents, they really know how to make us feel so much compassion, consideration, understanding and love for them, we cannot bear to make them feel guilty or like they've done anything wrong, even when we're drowning in trauma symptoms. But, they never extend the same courtesy to us, do they? When we're drowning in trauma, they have the upper hand to help us, to acknowledge what they did, to admit all of it, to tell us it wasn't our fault, to let us know they're sorry, that they should have known better, that they were in the wrong, that they are responsible for putting us in this state. They have the ability to try and make amends and to put the pressure off of us, to take over that guilt for the things they themselves have caused.

But they never do that, do they? Instead they act incapable of handling what they did, and expect us, the children, to bear all of it, to forgive without being asked forgiveness, to suffer whatever new abuse they have in the store for us.

I mean, I'm assuming a lot here, I don't know if this really is your situation or not. But I do want you to have as much consideration, understanding, kindness and compassion for yourself, as you do for your parents right now. You're struggling, and you deserve to feel like your feelings are important, and to be taken seriously. You deserve to be acknowledged. You deserved to be protected from the evils of both church and military, and it was none of your fault that you were exposed to it. Your parents could have figured it out before giving birth to you, and you've ended up paying for their mistakes, and that is not okay. I am so sorry these people put you thru all of this.

But this doesn't mean you have to do anything, or force yourself to feel anything. If my words feel too painful, you are free to ignore them, and conclude that you know and understand your situation better than I ever will. I hope you take it slow, and that you go easy on yourself, and give yourself time to settle on how you really feel, without any pressure, without feeling like anyone else's feelings matter more than yours in this. I'm glad you came to talk to me about this, and I hope you get more experiences where you get compassion and acknowledgment, because based on what you wrote, I can tell that you did not get a lot of situations where you were allowed to feel like your experience matters. But it does.

[kiisaes]

Hey! So I read your post about my hero academia, the one where you talked about having a weird fatherly connections towards it and I wanted to ask you about what aspects you don’t like about the series? I share a lot of your sentiments but I do think it’s probably more than mid series? A lot of the details and writing I like and I think is considerable better than other shounen mangas. Anyways sorry for rambling. I just wanted to know what aspects you liked on the series and the ones you didn’t like.

Also complete side note: I absolutely love you’re art it’s so beautiful you’re and really skilled drawer!

sure! and thank u anon!

i want to preface this by saying that everything here is my opinion. media analysis is inherently subjective and something i think is bad might be something you think is good. considering how mha is not a shounen that's universally applauded for any or all of its writing choices, it's expected that you and i may perceive this content differently. doesn't mean i'm right and you're wrong and vice versa, it's just a different individual take on the source content.

also, even though i think mha is "mid to mid-good" (as quoted from my textpost) i don't use "mid" as either an insult or in a "it's so average it's bad" way. i know that word has been fucked over bc ppl automatically assume that something being mid means something is bad or bland or boring. it's a middle of the road series with a good share of flaws and strengths, and it doesn't particularly stand out as anything incredibly amazing or awful. just an average to decently good story, and its level of quality fluctuates throughout its run.

at the end of the day, i do like mha. despite what i think of it, it's a series i hold close to my heart and one i can enjoy even without a critical eye. if i didn't, i wouldn't have been making content for it for 2, almost 3 consistent years.

anyway, stuff i like + stuff i don't like under the cut: (warning: VERY LONG)

mha stuff i do like:

deku. he is my little boy

for the most part, horikoshi's character writing is one of his strongest abilities. characters like bakugou, shigaraki, and dabi (and honestly the todoroki family as a unit) are some of the most compelling characters in a story like this. they're allowed to be complex, dynamic and a blend of virtuous and damning traits. they match the overall themes of mha, which is that the sheer concept of "good vs evil" is surface level at best, and that placing people into strict boxes blocks them from everything else that they are. basically a complete "fuck you" to viewers who must condemn a morally grey hero/villain, for example. even less morally grey characters like ochako (imo) are still fun twists and explorations on their given character stereotypes. however i'm obligated to say "for the most part" because hori's superb character writing only matters when he gives those characters time to breathe and actually exist. i'll get into this more later

horikoshi's art is fantastic and undoubtedly his greatest attribute as a mangaka. i firmly believe that, as far as shounen art goes, there aren't any that can rival mha that are also at its global reach. there's never a single moment where i read a chapter and go "wow that art wasn't incredible" because that's not possible. he utilizes his art knowledge so effortlessly and brings out so much in every panel he makes. the manga art never feels dull. i'm so insanely jealous and in awe of him. i guess i could be biased when making this point but i find it hard to genuinely hate his art. it's so polished every time

this is a smaller point that adds to the last one but i do appreciate how he draws women. not when he's using them for uncomfortable gags, but just in general. there's like, actual meat on their bones. they have realistic body proportions (for his style). many of the women are "chubbier" than other shounen women, and a good amount of them are buff as FUCK. it feels like hori puts the same amount of effort into drawing his female characters as he does his male characters, even if he might not dignify that writing-wise

as a fellow comic artist, i absolutely love his understanding of comic language. it's small details like his onomatopoeia reminiscent of western superhero comics that really tie the presentation together. each panel is full of life, with characters and backgrounds working together in the most effective ways. i can't remember what tumblr textpost brought this up, but he also loves playing around with panel borders. he spices them up by using different subjects or objects to split up panels. and this was more of a strength earlier in the series imo, but his pacing was also pretty quick and resourceful. it shows to me that he truly loves creating manga and knows when it's the right time to visually deviate from the norm. again, i'm truly envious of how he can do this. i only hope to reach his level someday ...

this is definitely a biased point, but some of the series' arcs/storylines are some of my favorite ones in fiction. these include the tournament arc, the kamino rescue arc, the overhaul arc, twice's death, and anything relating to the todoroki family. obviously i'm only listing a handful of examples here because i think nearly every arc has its good moments that i can comment on. but when i think of good mha storylines, i think of these first

i also think that mha as a whole is a fun series that knows how to laugh at itself. there's nothing more awkward than a story that takes itself way too seriously, but the content itself is poorly written or not interesting. thankfully, horikoshi doesn't really fall into this issue

there are canon lgbt characters in this series. even if that's kind of a low bar atp (considering how only 1 out of the 3 play a consistently important role), a win is a win is a win. especially in mainstream shounen, beggars can't exactly be choosers.

mha is a story about systemic societal injustice, which is a lofty concept to tackle. thankfully the story is about powers being the norm so the whole "i'm born better than you because i have abilities" is less of a status quo rejection and more of a status quo enabler. as a story concept, it's a good basis, doesn't seem too hard to comprehend, and opens the door for nuanced storytelling and discussion. i think hori does this well at the start of the series. but as the story goes on... uhhh. i'll talk about it.

mha stuff i don't like:

man do these women have basically nothing interesting to do. i complimented how they're drawn earlier, but with the exception of a few notable ones, a lot of their characters pale in comparison to the men. it's even sadder considering that the amount of women in mha is significantly lesser than, so 5 important female characters is like, 1/4 of the female cast. 5 important male characters is like, 1/12 of the male cast. idk i didn't count the amount of characters in this series but it sincerely feels this way, especially if you remember that there are definitely more than 5 important male characters at any moment throughout this series. and when female characters do have their time to shine, there's a 50/50 chance that they die, get gravely injured, or lose limbs. which normally isn't an issue in a battle shounen like mha, but out of the important character deaths in this series, a fair amount of them are women. midnight, magne, and star and stripe have pretty anticlimactic deaths too, to add insult to injury. lady nagant talked her shit then exploded. she's still alive but like ... what? did these characters have to be treated this way? i can't really think of any important male characters who get introduced then axed from the story like this, except for maybe stain (though he's a far more important character narratively). the reason why i bring up this really lengthy point is not because i think horikoshi is actively misogynistic. i just think he falls into the trap that many shounen mangakas face, which is that male characters are more interesting to a male dominated audience. hence, female characters usually get thrown to the side. there are some important women in mha that stand toe to toe with male characters, like toga and ochako, and there are definitely certified girlbosses like mirko and yaoyorozu. but god do i wish i could add more women to this list without having to think really really hard.

and to add onto the previous, shallow, unimportant characters only gain backstories when the narrative demands for it. horikoshi used to write characters revealing their intentions and history in relatively natural ways, like with ochako and her goal to become a hero for money. it kind of came out of nowhere, but it's a valid conversation a teenager would have with other teenagers. in context, it was revealed normally. i'm not sure when these reveals turned forced, but i remember seeing kirishima's backstory and being like "well .. would this have ever been told to us if kirishima wasn't a main character in this arc?" this isn't against kirishima's character; i love the guy and i think his history was short but contextualized his personality really well. but with the recent shoji backstory reveal i could only think, "wow. horikoshi must be really glad he made a mutant character to project this theme onto, huh." it didn't feel like shoji was ever meant to have a backstory — not to mention a very depressing one — but he got one this late in the series run because it was convenient for the plot. perhaps i'm a cynic and this isn't an issue for others, idk. that being said, i think characters like shoji and even star and stripe and lady nagant could have benefited from more natural character developments, maybe with more time given so it doesn't feel like a weirdly convenient reveal.

i just really fucking wish mineta would die already. like get kicked into the sun or blown up with TNT or run over by a car or something. he's less of an openly creepy loser than he was in the beginning of the series, but i'm sure that's because he literally doesn't have the luxury to be creepy at the moment. he's one of the least appealing gag characters that never grows and changes as a person. and he got a backstory before kaminari. can you fucking believe this shit? why does horikoshi keep entertaining this bullshittery— oh yeah. i just remembered that the girls were perved on quite a bit in this series, which wasn't funny and moreso uncomfortable for a lot of readers. like, i know it's shounen, it's animanga, fanservice is kind of the unfortunate norm. but by god, do we need a series poster child for pervy, male-gaze behavior?

i commented earlier about mha's themes and that i think, at least at the start, hori had a good grasp of what he was writing. framing society's systemic flaws and failures in a wacky superheroes vs villains story is not only clever, but makes this actually serious topic accessible to those who might think social-cultural politics are too intimidating. he sets this up starting from deku and bakugou (oppressed and privileged), then adds onto it with stain (heroes who retain the status quo by seeking money and status are not true heroes, because they don't help those in need). shigaraki is thrown into the mix along the way (society fucks over the underprivileged, even those who want to do good, which breeds more villains and in the real world, more criminals) and his little league of villains all have their own stories (spinner: those who don't look like the masses are cast aside, harassed and villainized; dabi: if you don't live up to cruel expectations established by society and parroted by those in your life, you might as well be worthless; toga: any unconventional worldviews and actions are deemed scary and evil; magne: trying to conform to a rigid society as a queer person is fucking hard, man). there's also endeavor (even though you're in a position of power and respect, it doesn't automatically make you a good person). these are all GREAT, and are super compelling set-ups for mha's overall themes: that society should change somewhat, villains are a product of this flawed system, there aren't fully good people nor fully bad people, rehabilitation/growth is good, and true heroes aren't identified by title, but by actions.

these themes are quite apparent throughout mha's entire run. but i feel like the further it goes, the less horikoshi knows how to verbalize them. the latest mini arc dealt with spinner vs shoji in a strangely awkward clash of ideals. spinner is seen as a martyr who really just wants mutants to be accepted into society, and his status rallies up those who have also been hurt. shoji retaliates by... telling them to stop? by saying this isn't the right way? because he was fortunate enough to be in this position, he suddenly has the authority to tell those like him to find a better way to get their voices heard? what, should they all just become heroes? haven't we established that the society they all belong in is fucked up, and that drastic change must be made? i understand what horikoshi is trying to say but it's... off. like the point is there, but the execution is clumsy. shoji even says something like spinner's revolution setting them back 30 years, which is so fucking bizarre to say, and would certainly raise eyebrows in the real world. it sounds like villains can express their grievances with society but they can't dare revolutionize. otherwise, they'll be silenced/ignored again. it's the whole "violence breeds more violence" belief, but there's more to that that should be explored. man, i dunno.

i'm harping on this one story instance but recent mha is riddled with well-meaning but clumsy storytelling like this. and since the narrative relies on these complex, nuanced themes, it's jarring when the nuance falls through. if mha is about breaking harmful norms, why do they still dictate the execution? hori did it so right with deku and bakugou, their relationship being a definite high in the series. but i truly don't how he'll treat the villains at the end of this arc

ok tumblr's telling me to shut up anyway these are my thoughts. again, even though i've rambled so much about my dislikes, i think mha is still a fun and enjoyable series. it misses the point sometimes, but it doesn't detract from its successes. either way my opinions should not rule over how you consume the series. it's always important to form your own opinions!!!

[actualbird]

Hi zak! I've been a longtime reader of your original works. Do you have any tips on what pieces to put in your writing folio?

hi anon !!! im very sorry it took me forever to get back to this ask, and doubly sorry if you are no longer in need of tips OTL. still, thank u for reading my original works, thats a pleasant surprise to know!! i havent posted my original writing website here in......a long while, since im the (very slow) process revamping the site HAHA,

but yeah, tips on what put in a writing portfolio!! if ever you still need em or if ever anybody out there can make use of this. all of these based completely on my personal experience of applying to writing workshops and writing jobs, so feel free to take what you think applies to you/would help you, and leave the rest behind

-

1 ) in general, put your Best Works. but take into consideration that You are usually your own worst critic, so you definitely could benefit from a second opinion (or many)

so, obviously, you wanna be putting in your best stuff. and thats still the general method that i'd choose, but with the added reminder that a lot of the time, writers can be blind to certain works that they themselves made that other people really liked or found immensely compelling.

this for lots of reasons: writerly self-esteem problems, that odd experience of mostly remembering the arduous Process of writing the thing and less the actual finished product, general blindness to stuff in your own work since you Wrote That (and probably revised it 76439754985 times) so it's just hard now for you to realize the level of skill thats apparent to many others

the opposite effect is also very possible, where you can be Incredibly attached to a work (maybe for sentimental reasons, maybe because the you learned a lot along the way, etc) but other people kinda found the whole work meh.

bottom line: by this point, you know youve got skill in writing. but the skill OF seeing and evaluating your own skill is a whole different animal

reach out to your friends, writing peers, or reading peers and ask them what they think some of your best works are. personally, i think it's good both to ask people who are Also in the practice/study/career of writing, and people who arent, simply because a more diverse set of information is always better than a lesser diverse one. if you want, you can ask follow up questions like "why?", or you can just stick to getting a general pulse check of what is resonating to the people who read your work. because [tv commercial voice] The Answer May Surprise You!

and once you know what resonates with others, you can start chopping down the list with armed with that new knowledge

-

2 ) "Best" should not be a catch-all term, cut it up into specific categories and showcase your Best in top categories you want to focus on. this way, you get a folio that's showing a wide range of your capabilities

if i were picking between two applicants, both of which submitted portfolios of their Best fiction works (and theyre both Very good), i would ultimately choose the applicant who gave a portfolio that showed a wider range of what Bests theyre capable of rather than the applicant who submitted 5 really great stories but they all still employed the same techniques/concepts/themes

......if that makes sense?

like, okay, let's assume the portfolio is a fiction portfolio. no specific lit genre limitations or whatever, just, fiction in general.

"fiction in general" is a ridiculously huge field! theres the genres of course, so many damn genres. but what im more focused on is Technique. there are so many ways to structure your plot and pacing, there are so many ways to create your cadence and tone, there are so many kinds of characters and so many ways you can make them clash, so many dang ways to make your story's themes come to light. theres a Lot

so take a portfolio as a chance to show the widest possible range of what you can do, and what you can do Well

let's say you did Tip 1 and coming from that, youve got a list of 15 stories you think would be good for a portfolio. your next step then is to identify which stories are doing the same Thing (whether that be in its genre, structure, themes, etc) and then decide which of those stories showcases your ability to Do that Thing best.

if ive got 3 different stories that are all magical realism pieces using a very subdued tone to communicate the plot's conflict and emotion, then im gonna need to pick just one to put in my folio, the one that did it Best. and then you can go back to Tip 1 and get a second opinion on that if you want, and THEN i repeat with the other stories, this time picking a different Thing-Technique-Structure-Theme-Etc to focus on

basically my point is that a portfolio, ideally, should show different Kinds of Bests. because that is much much more appealing than only seeing One kind of Best

-

3 ) you can make as many portfolios as you want, tailor-made specifically for what youre using that portfolio for

this is something i learned after college and when i was applying for various writing jobs. for context, i dual wielded fiction and nonfiction in college. though my degree ultimately/officially went into the nonfiction track, i still wrote a whole lotta original fiction, and when i was applying for jobs, my personal list of Bests included a lot of fiction pieces, as well as nonfiction pieces

but i was applying to all different kinds of jobs, and it would be slightly off-course to submit a fiction piece to a job like Feature Writer For Magazine. additionally, it would be slightly off-course to submit a nonfiction piece to a job like Romance Game Writer

(.....both of those real jobs i applied for and man, sidenote, can you believe i almost became a romance game writer? like, how ironic that is now that im into the fandom i am Currently into. guys. guys i got to the second interview stage of that job. Guys. jdhvfhvfkshd)

anyway, remember how Tip 2 is about showing off a diverse array of what youre capable of? well, dont get Too diverse. always remember the people/organization/etc that you will be submitting this portfolio to, and keep in mind what They are looking for

if youre applying for a sci-fi fiction workshop, submit your Best pieces that do different techniques or things BUT are still within the parameters sci-fi fiction, so they are relevant. if youre applying for a feature writing job, maybe fiction might work, but read the works that the magazine puts out, maybe. get a feel for their style, what they like. like idk , if theyre super into that Anthony Bourdain-esque kinda description of gritty details, then maybe a fiction piece that shows off that kind of descriptive skill can still be relevant.

make a new portfolio whenever the need arises to best adapt to whatever it is youre gunning for

-

in summary :

tip 1: Best works but cast a wider net and ask other people because us writers can get tunnel vision sometimes

tip 2: whittle down your list to show different kinds of Bests that you can do, avoid redundancy

tip 3: keep your Bests relevant to whatever the task at hand may be

well....thats all i can think of. i hope some part of this can be helpful to anybody out there. hope youre doing well, anon :")

[teecupangel]

So it's obvious that God doesn't really exist but what if there's hell? But hell's more like hazbin hotel/helluva boss type of hell so all the assassins and templars just pile there or something so even in death they still have this war going on and they just keep coming back no matter how many times they die

Me seeing this ask preview while still half-asleep:

My brain apparently thinking we’re uneducated indios from the 1600s: O dios mio! Don’t let the friars hear you or you’ll be whipped!

Well, that woke me up. Thanks, nonny XD

Alright, let’s be clear, this is about how there is no non-Isu creator god in Assassin’s Creed… that we know of.

However…

If we take into consideration that, whenever someone talks about an omnipowerful god, they’re usually talking about the Judeo-Christian God, we do have an idea of which Isu this god is meant to represent in AC lore.

The Templars (historically made up of Christian knights and created by a Christian king) use the phrase “May the Father of Understanding Guide Us” a lot.

Now, the Father of Understanding we usually know is Tinia but the Capitoline Triad is more or less a title that get used frequently by the Isus, usually to talk about three specific Isu scientists that accomplished something great (and this gives the whole “Holy Trinity” a different connotation in AC Lore)

Another Capitoline Triad was in charge of Project Anthropos which created the humans. Among them is the Father of Understanding “Yaldabaoth”.

Now, you might be wondering: why are we picking Yaldabaoth and not the other two Isus?

Because all three of them are different names taken by the Demiurge, said to be the ‘god’ that created humanity but also limited their knowledge. (There’s the whole ‘Yaldabaoth is not the true god but a false god’ or ‘Yaldabaoth is the god of the old testament’ and other more ‘origins’ for Yaldabaoth so here, have a wiki link if you’d like to know more). Yaldabaoth is, in my experience, the most commonly used name among the three. Also, Father of Understanding of the Templars being Yaldabaoth would make more sense than picking the Sacred Voice or the Mother of Wisdom.

So, in the Lucifer (TV series) x AC crossover idea, I proposed Yaldabaoth as being a different Isu from the Judeo-Christian God to amp up the Isu drama but, for this one, we’ll just assume that Yaldabaoth is the basis of the Judeo-Christian God (because it’s a bit funny that the Templars would be ‘worshipping’ one called ‘false’)

Annnyywaaayy, your idea is there is a ‘hell’ and I think you don’t mean the whole Underworld-Elysium type of setup as the one in the Atlantis DLC of Odyssey.

I feel like the idea of ‘hell’ would work well to my idea of how Desmond is Zagreus’ Sage.

Not the premise itself but the idea of the Afterlife program:

What if the initial idea of the Afterlife is that humans were not meant to reproduce, that they were meant to die and then be revived in a younger body with all their memories intact, making it faster for them to return to work. Elysium houses the data of the exemplary slaves, the best of the crop. The others go to the other parts of the Afterlife (with Tartarus being the part where the data of the ‘defects’ go so they won’t be loaded again).

It was only a bit later that the Isus realized it takes too many resources to keep creating bodies based on human data (DNA) so the next batch of humans could reproduce.

Now, in this context, Tartarus would be the ‘hell’ and, what if, in this setup, the actions of both the Assassins and the Templars would count them as ‘defects’ because they certainly go against what the Isus think humans should be with their desire for free-will or total control (in the hands of humans, bah!).

And, you say eternal war?

Okay.

So I’m going to tip my hand here, those who read my fics last year would know last year, August had the highest fic post count mainly because:

A lot of shit went down in August in AC lore… mostly deaths. (Arno’s bday, Clay’s death, Juno’s death, Umar’s death, (most importantly) Altaïr’s death, etc)

My birthday is in August and I tend to do a Birthday special whenever I’m active which is really just “post more than usual on my birthday!”

I’m explaining this because I actually have an AC fic idea based on the premise of Xenoblade 3’s eternal war which I am hoping I would be able to write this August and this ask gives me the chance to talk about it. XD

So the idea was, there would be two main factions that kept on fighting one another, locked in an eternal war. Their entire life, all they know is that they’re meant to live for one year (yeah, not ten years, one year) then they will either die on the battlefield or they would be given the chance to meet their mentor and be ‘initiated’. But for them to live up to their final week, their cube must not be empty and the only way to fill it even just a little is by either killing enemy soldiers or letting the cube absorb important artifacts of their enemies. Both factions mainly used three-person cells but there are rumors of four-person spec ops teams.

So the plot was meant to start with a POV from Arno’s team which is composed of him, Evie, and Jacob. They get a mission to find some kind of artifact and they get sidetracked because they’re attacked by an enemy cell composed of Bayek, Eivor, and Kassandra who are presumably after the same artifact.

Their fight gets broken up by a comet-like thing crashing down near them and they assumed it’s the artifact they were after so they raced to get there first. When they get there, the artifact looked like… a pod?

Figures clad in robes and masks appeared all of a sudden with one of them stepping forward to say, “Do not be rash, father. It doesn’t have to end this way. Return what is rightfully ours and I will ensure that the Grand Masters’ punishment will be light.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” A man’s voice comes out from underneath the pod and it opens to reveal some kind of small cockpit. A man with dirty blond hair stepped out of the pod together with what seemed to be some kind of coffin following him by floating behind him.

He touches the coffin just as the masked man says, “Father, don’t-!”

They hear a hissing sound as air leaves the coffin as it slowly opens, revealing a sleeping young man. The young man gasped awake and grabbed his right hand tightly, coughing painfully. The blond man turned to face him and asked, “Do you remember who you are? Desmond?”

“Who…” The man called Desmond stared at him for a moment before he said, “I know you…”

“My name is Edward Ken-”

Bang!

Desmond’s eyes widened as blood splattered on his face and Edward fell on him before sliding down.

The masked man lowered the pistol he had fired as he said, “I had hoped it did not come to this, father.”

Desmond’s eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

“Haytham?”

(Yeah, I’m ending it there. I mean… I have more notes that includes what the fuck is actually going on but I guess this ask has been hijacked into a sneak peek on what you guys might get in August)

[not-poignant]

Not the same anon but your responses about Temsen have piqued my curiosity. How would you say TND Temsen differs from UtB Temsen?

And would UtB Temsen treat an omega partner differently to an alpha partner, in terms of aftercare or lack off? You said he treats alpha partners the way bad alphas treat omegas, so I'm assuming he wouldn't treat an omega partner like that (if he's ever had an omega partner in the past)?

In your mind, would Temsen have treated Efnisien the same as one of his alpha partners (rough, abruptly) or would he have been different and more considerate because of Efnisien's omega-like biology and trauma? Would Efnisien have even had a choice in the matter if Temsen decided to fuck him?

Also, apologies if these questions are annoying, there's no need to answer if you'd prefer not to. I just really enjoying hearing your thoughts and opinions on things

Hi anon!

These questions definitely aren't annoying! Thanks for answering them! I'm now going to ramble, you've enabled the beast :D :D

How would you say TND Temsen differs from UtB Temsen?

The biggest difference is that they're entirely different species, and in ways that pretty profoundly affect their behaviour.

Vench Temsen needs intimacy to live, and peak alpha Temsen can literally be killed by heartbreak. Those things create really disparate desires and needs. In that sense, how they orient to love and relationships is fundamentally different from each other, because what one needs and requires and enjoys, the other has a biological drive to avoid and be wary of.

We know from Gary, that most peak alphas avoid love, and in fact never bond with anyone at all, and that this isn't just choice-based, it's literally a biological drive to keep them safe and protected from the catastrophic results that can happen if they fall in love/bond and then have that bond rupture or break.

The ways they're similar are that they're both healers, they're both quite straightforward while being quite calculating, and they're both in possession of a lot more power than they often pretend to have. :D

But Vench Temsen is a lot softer (or as soft as he'll ever get) because he needs intimacy to live. I still think he sometimes comes across as a bit more detached and less warm than some of the other vench, and that we see him at his most comfortable and confident in his position as healer.

And would UtB Temsen treat an omega partner differently to an alpha partner, in terms of aftercare or lack off?

Underline the Black Temsen cannot sleep with omegas. Like, it's literally impossible for him, because he's not attracted to them in any way or form. He's never been aroused by, or attracted to omegas, or betas, and he exclusively - like Gary - sleeps with alphas. (Though I think Gary has been attracted to betas in the past, he just hasn't pursued it).

I can't imagine Temsen with an omega partner at all. For a start, omegas aren't fully coherent around him, and can't be fully lucid / aware all the time, especially once Temsen's pheromones go up. There are mild exceptions, but eventually an omega would essentially become brainwashed and just do what Temsen wanted. Temsen - aside from not being interested in omegas - would find that unattractive as well. He wants people who know what's happening to them, not people who are so mentally and physically affected by his pheromones (in a way he can't really control except through distance) that they lose that knowledge.

Most peak alphas aren't attracted to omegas - Augus is actually an outlier for this! Crielle also isn't. Every peak alpha we've ever met - bar one - has never been attracted to omegas.

In your mind, would Temsen have treated Efnisien the same as one of his alpha partners (rough, abruptly) or would he have been different and more considerate because of Efnisien's omega-like biology and trauma?

Temsen would have been businesslike about it. He would have seen it as discharging a medical need, like a procedure that he knows Efnisien won't enjoy but is necessary - sort of like when he knocks Efnisien out while Efnisien is screaming at him. I don't think Efnisien having omega biology would have changed that? It's just Temsen is very aware that Efnisien isn't a partner he'd choose for himself, he's someone who needs something medically, that an alpha companion isn't there to do.

He wouldn't have been intentionally rough or mean, but it would have been rape, and he likely would have used a combination of medication and his pheromones to make sure Efnisien was both unable to fight back properly, and semi-'consenting' to what was happening to him. Regarding the aftermath, I think he would have gone the 'you couldn't help it and I didn't give you a choice, that's very unfair, let's organise some therapy for you.' Sort of...caring but cold?

It likely would have exacerbated the infection he was experiencing and Temsen is fully aware that it could have killed him as a result, which is why he's kind of regretful about realising that about himself (i.e. that he would have done something that would have been the wrong thing to do, because he wouldn't have cared about Efnisien's consent).

Also Temsen wouldn't have wanted to really do it, so I don't think he'd be kind so much as 'I know this is something we both don't really want to do, let's get it over and done with, okay? I'll make it as easy as possible.'

I think Temsen likes Efnisien as a person, even as an alpha, but he doesn't want to bond with anyone. And that becomes extremely clear when people push for a closer connection to him. He keeps everyone at arm's length. Efnisien's first encounter with sex being with someone who deliberately keeps him emotionally at arm's length, who is calculating and manipulative, and who then is like, abrupt and straightforward about it... even if Temsen wasn't seeking to devastate or traumatise Efnisien, these things would be devastating and traumatising anyway.

I love Temsen as like... Efnisien's doctor. He's protective and does care for Efnisien, and has no problems with seeing Efnisien as an alpha, which is very affirming - especially in the no-nonsense way Temsen does things. But Temsen is not a good candidate to be a close friend, a companion, or a lover. When he stays in his category, he's amazing, when he branches out of that category, he can be very dangerous. I think this is also a big reason why Temsen also keeps to himself. He's not unaware of this.

Would Efnisien have even had a choice in the matter if Temsen decided to fuck him?

No. Zero chance. Temsen would have seen it as medically necessary (and to a degree, Efnisien did need medically necessary intervention that he didn't want. Including surgery.)

He was the one advising Gary all along to put his fingers inside of him, and Gary was the one who came up with the compromise of digging his fingers into Efnisien's back to try and access the rest of the lare membranes/veins this way instead. It was Gary who contradicted Temsen's advice and tried to find more appropriate workarounds that wouldn't be as traumatising to Efnisien.

I think Temsen actually lost patience with Gary's 'sensitivity' a few times, tbh. But Gary's method/s, while they didn't always work, and were sometimes complicated by Gary's own avoidance, were the best way to handle Efnisien as a person.

I love Temsen, in all his forms. I knew when he came into this story he'd be an absolute powerhouse. He pulls rank on Gary, which gives you an idea of how much power he holds - which really, compared to every other character we've met so far, is all of it. But that also makes him even less suited to things like love, relationships, intimacy etc. Not only that, he doesn't want or need it in order to be healthy.

Peak alphas can get all of their genuine needs met through the attainment and maintenance of power, and having control over others. Temsen isn't missing out on anything, his quality of life is actually pretty good!

[joylinda-hawks]

Recently I have not had enough time to delve into legal considerations. Actually, thanks to the excess of work, I want to distract myself from legal considerations. But I want to share some observations. I know that many people are irritated by the appearance of new photos on IG, to which the real ZZH lost access after August 13. Why do I think it is this date, since from that date ZZH could not use social media in his country, and secondly, he was not interested in publishing there, especially if he clearly said that he would appear publicly after regaining his good name. And public exhibition means not only physical presence, but also the publication of any photos. ZZH has a strong moral backbone and would probably not change his mind. I assume that apart from him, people from his company had access to the IG account and could easily change the account password without his knowledge. This is not unusual in the industry, especially if there is, for example, a conflict of interest between a specific person and his company. I know such situations from the point of view of resolving such disputes in court. Moreover, when browsing IG, there is clearly an inconsistency in the publication of posts and photos on this account before and after 8/13. It seems like completely different people do it. Photos appearing after 8/13 are a different matter. Many people accuse that if the photos are not real, why doesn't ZZH question it, demand their removal or demand that he regain access to his IG account. The answer is simple: a real ZZH is not interested in this. Since IG does not formally exist in CN, there is currently no basis for pursuing any claims related to false publications on IG or statements on YT. Only after regaining its good name in CN ZZH and its lawyers will they be able to take action against these platforms. Returning to the photos, you may be surprised, but I will say one thing, the public publication has one good side - it shows us a imposter and many people consider him to be ZZH. But no one, apart from ZZH's closest and trusted lawyers, knows what ZZH really looks like at the moment. ZZH is an actor, he knows how to change his appearance and with this knowledge and the fact that he definitely knows what an imposter looks like, he definitely tries to look completely different. And this gives him some freedom, he can go out, shop, go somewhere. And I can say that many ZSJ fans wouldn't recognize him if they met the real ZZH on the street. So I think that thanks to the actions of the fraudster gang, the real ZZH can peacefully lead his life away from the attention of the fraudster's fans and cooperate with lawyers to regain his good name.