#therefore every mean comment will be deleted and ignored

[cllianmurphy]

onedirection: We're completely devastated by the news of Liam's passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam. Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry

[headcanonenthusiast]

COD characters x virgin reader headcanons

This was made with gender-neutral readers in mind. (For most of them, anyway. Valeria's is fem leaning, but everyone else is neutral.)

This will include König, Simon Riley, Valeria Garza, Rodolfo Parra, Alejandro Vargas, Alex Keller and Kyle Garrick.

Yall I accidentally uploaded this when it was halfway done TWICE and in my panic to delete it the first time, I didn't copy everything 😭😭 I'm crying rn/j

Anyways it's a very snowy day, I'm all nice and bundled up, so it's time to write >:)

(I completely understand that this type of content is not everyone's cup of tea, and that's ok! But, please scroll and ignore if this type of content isn't your thing as opposed to leaving any sort of negative comments.)

NSFW under the cut.

Enjoy!

Alejandro Vargas

-Romantic? Romantic. Let me tell you that every part of your first time with him is so passionate and romantic, it's nearly like a fairytale.

-He won't just dive right in, nononono, like I said, he's a romantic lover. Therefore, to "set the mood", he's either taking you out to a fancy restaurant or cooking dinner for you.

-Then, he's going to give you plenty of foreplay to ensure that you're ready.

-Very passionate sex. Tries his best to go slower for your sake, but something about him being the one taking your virginity raises his ego by 500%.

-"Thats it, mi chula/o (My girl/boy). Just relax, let me make you feel good."

-Will still be sure to leave hickeys on you, though, even if it is your first time.

-In his mind, his hickeys are proof that you're his.

-"There we go, that's better. You look so gorgeous/handsome covered with hickeys."

-Chuckles softly in your ear if you complain about the hickeys. He'll kiss you apologetically and refrain from leaving them. (this time, anyway.)

-Oh, and he refuses to edge you during your first time. He's actually determined to make you cum at least twice. If he hasn't, he's failed you.

-Aftercare includes you being bedbound at least until noon the next day. Alejandro does NOT want you straining yourself, even if you aren't sore. He'll get whatever you want, whether it's food, drink or the remote. The only time you're getting out of bed is to shower, which he'll insist on joining you for.

Valeria Garza

-Really? She's your first choice? Praying for you rn my friend/j

-Okay in all seriousness, as rough as she is during sex, she'll do her best to be gentle. Doesn't want your intro to sex to be a bad/painful one.

-Just because she's being gentler than normal doesn't mean she still isn't gonna boss you around, though. Will ALWAYS be on top, no matter what.

-"Stay still, stay still. You're basically asking me to make it hurt. Is that what you want, hm? To make it fucking hurt?"

-If you listen to her (God forbid if you don't), she'll nod in approval and press a kiss to your clit.

-"There we go, corazón (sweetheart). It's not that hard to listen to me, now is it?"

-If you don't listen to her however, she'll go a bit harder with her strap/fingers. Not as hard as she normally would, but you'll probably be pretty overstimulated.

-"Don't start with that bullshit. I told you to listen to me. If only you had behaved yourself like I asked. Dios, eres imposible (God, you're impossible.), not obeying me yet getting all whiney when I punish you for it."

-Surprisingly doesn't edge you, even if you haven't been listening. In fact, she encourages you to cum on her fingers/strap.

-"Shit, you're gonna cum? You wanna cum? You're lucky I'm feeling generous, especially after how you've been acting. Go ahead, muñeca (doll). Cum all over my strap/fingers."

-Aftercare includes her pressing gentle kisses to your temple and brushing your hair out of your face. You're welcome to do whatever you want after that, but not without Valeria lingering close by, just in case her pretty girl needs anything.

Rodolfo Parra

-Gentle and loving sex? Gentle and loving sex.

-He'll praise you SO MUCH. You could do the smallest thing and he'll just shower you in compliments.

-"Do you have any idea how beautiful/handsome you are, cariño? (Honey/sweetheart) This body is fucking irresistible. What an amazing woman/man/person you are, amor (love.)"

-Moves deathly slow. He's so careful not to hurt you that the actual process of stretching your pussy/ass out takes forever.

-Whispers praises and compliments the entire time, though.

-His hands gently rub your hips in an attempt to soothe you, constantly asking if you're okay.

-"You alright, amor? (Love). Yeah? I'm not being too rough, am I? Good, good. Let me know if it hurts."

-Oh, and his lips never leave your body. Your neck and face especially.

-Aftercare includes the most heavenly massages imaginable. He'll massage you anywhere you want, your shoulders, legs, anywhere you want to be massaged, he'll do it. Similarly to Alejandro, you're also bedbound. Rudy would rather die before letting you do anything after sex, especially your first time.

-And like I said earlier, Rudy has a voice kink. So, hearing you talk afterwards makes him happy. Talk to him about anything and he'll listen so intently while he massages you.

Kyle Garrick

-Like Rudy, constant praise.

-Seems so fixated on the fact that this is your first time, so he's very concentrated on going slow. (In the beginning, anyway. May or may not get a bit drunk off the feeling of your pussy/ass around his cock.)

-The slowest thrusts imaginable. Starts out very shallow, but he'll carefully go deeper into your pussy/ass. Ensures you're ready before, though.

-He also suddenly gains the best hearing in the world. If you make even the slightest sound of discomfort, he'll stop and check in with you.

-"Christ, you alright, love? Too fast?"

-And even if he's going slower, sometimes he'll get so lost in how good you feel that a bit of communication is in order to ground him.

-"Right, sorry, baby. Here-why don't I go at a few different paces and you see which one's the best, yeah?"

-Never makes you feel like you're taking away his enjoyment if you speak up about something you dislike/like. It's only enjoyable to him if you like it, too.

-There is NO such thing as too much talking with him. Please show how much you like/dislike something, and he'll keep it in mind for the rest of his life.

-"Oh, yeah? You like it like that? I'll have to do it more often, then."

-Aftercare also probably includes some chatter. Maybe a quick order of the most delicious food possible while binge watching your favorite show/movie. Oh, and yall are definitely cuddling all night long, too.

König

-So, König is big. And he knows he's big. That's why he's honestly a little anxious to fuck you with his dick during your first time.

-Bro is probably pacing around the room like a depressed zoo tiger for a bit before he sits you down and has a talk with you.

-"I'm sorry, darling, but I don't think you could take me. Especially not as your first time. Are you sure you want to do this?"

-If you ensure that you'll be okay, the foreplay will be insane. He's going to slowly stretch you out over his fingers, gently rubbing your clit/tip with his thumb while making you repeat a chosen safeword.

-"Say it again, liebling (darling). Can you be louder for me? Good, that's a good girl/boy. I want you to say that the moment it starts hurting, okay?"

-He's also gonna eat you out/suck you off as well. Like I said, lots of foreplay.

-And when he does finally start fucking you? He's barely gonna put four inches in. So fixated on not hurting you that he barely realizes that you're moaning softly in approval under him.

-When he does hear those moans, though, he's gonna give you a small smile and ask if you're okay.

-"Aw, listen to those moans. Does that feel good? Mhm, good. Just let me know if it hurts, liebe." (Love)

-Won't even cum inside you the first time if you finish first. He doesn't want to overstimulate you at all. Besides, you're always welcome to watch him jerk off (or even help him out 🤭)

-Aftercare includes you using this behemoth of a man as a bed. You're gonna lay on top of him and act as his personal weighted blanket for the night. Then, the next day is all about you. He's gonna do WHATEVER you want the next day. No food, clothing nor activity is off limits for his perfect liebling ❤

Alex Keller

-If he's your first choice, then congratulations. You have amazing taste.

-Might be biased here bc I find him so unbelievably fine, but Alex would be great as your first time.

-He's just so gentle and attentive, starting by carefully stroking your cock/rubbing your clit to calm you down.

-"Its okay, dolly. I know, I know it doesn't feel good right now. How about I just stay still for a bit, and you tell me when you're ready again, okay?"

-And when you do give permission for him to move again, he's kissing your cheek while praising you.

-"Mm, you're so damn tight. Could spend the whole day in this little pussy/ass and never get tired."

-Ensures that his thrusts are shallow and slow, only going to just behind the tip of his cock and seeing how you react.

-So unbelievably sweet. Makes you feel like the most special person in the world.

-Oh, and he holds your hand. Both physically and metaphorically. He entwines your hands together, talking you through each and every step.

-"Can you spread your legs a little farther, please? Good, that's a good girl/boy."

-Tries his best to make sure you cum first, and when you do he'll carefully fill you up, slowly pulling out to watch it drip out of your hole.

-"Ain't that a pretty sight. You okay, darling? Yeah? Did that feel good?"

-Aftercare will consist of a warm shower/bath together before returning to bed to cuddle all night long. Oh, and Alex is totally kissing the back of your neck as yall spoon, whispering praises and sweet words in your ear.

Simon Riley

-Like König, I feel like he'd be a little hesitant to take you. Not necessarily as anxious as him, but he knows that once he's inside you, he probably won't be great at going slow.

-"Look, love, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I know myself. I'm gonna have a hard time being gentle."

-He can't resist you for long, though. Eventually he does decide to give it a try, but not after the addition of a safeword and physical signals to show if you're uncomfortable.

-Although Simon's unsure at first, he's actually able to keep a clear head and not get drunk off how good you feel.

-Does his best to listen for your safeword or any physical signal that you wanna tap out.

-Because of this, he's more quiet than normal, but he can't help but grunt softly in your ear with the occasional praise for doing so well.

-"You're takin' me so well, love. Good girl/boy, I'm proud of you."

-Because his mind isn't as foggy as he thought it'd be, he's only putting in a few inches. He's sure you'll be able to take all of him eventually, just not right now.

-"Just the tip, baby. No, not puttin' anymore in. It'll be too much for you."

-Gently rubs your clit/tip to soothe you, even if it doesn't hurt much.

-When you cum, so does he. Ghost proceeds to stay there for a little while, doing a quick check in before pulling out and watching his cum drip down your body.

-"Shit, you see what you do to me, baby?"

-Aftercare is similar to what my headcanons on him said. And although he's tired, he makes sure you go to sleep first this time, just so he can admire his gorgeous girl/handsome boy/etc for a little while longer.

YALL ITS FINALLY DONE 😭 I accidentally uploaded this unfinished TWICE and this is my quick attempt at a rewrite. I tried my best 🙏

And I'm sure you can all tell that I had fun w/ the Alex headcanons. I'm sorry but he's just so..😍

Let me know who I should do next!

[suckmyfatdee]

The real problem with Rhaenyra having three obvious bastards.

As I said before, if you have a problem with what I wrote, ignore this post or dispute my words on your own blog, just don't mention me or comment on my post. You won't change my mind, especially if you choose to approach expressing your disagreement with my post in ridiculing me. I'm not expecting you to agree(as we all are individuals, so naturally our opinions vary), just saying if your comment is in any way aggressive then you will be blocked and your comment deleted. So don't bother. And sorry for any grammar mistakes, english is not my first language.

As a person who believes in the inheritance in the Firstborn SON'S claim, therefore supporting Team Green(and no, my views for the ASOIAF universe, A FICTIONAL WORLD, do not correleate with my modern real life views and no I don't agree with Team Green's representatives every action), I don't actually care that Rhaenyra had bastards. That's not my issue. King's have bastards all the time(even tho I belive as King's it's still frowned upon). But the thing is, there is a big difference. Let me explain:

To put it simply, as misogynistic as it is, Rhaenyra is a woman. The difference between a man and a woman is that during their time(Medieval times) and their universe, DNA tests do not exist. You cannot prove wether a man has a bastard or not, if he doesn't personally claim it as his(even if it's likely, like with King Aegon II). He is not the one carrying the child so even if the child comes out looking like him, no one can prove the child is his. But a woman CAN get pregnant, and when the child comes out not looking like her OR her husband, it can and(in their universe) will be assumed that said child is a bastard.

And I do believe that even in the books Rhaenyra's first three sons are bastard, because I belive in the ASOIAF universe, genetics work differently and that you can actually only look like either one of your parents. But that's just my opinion and I don't think it's actually been confirmed by George.

Now, she did not go about this smartly and since im the show, the accusation of her having bastards(SOMETHING THAT WAS ASSUMED BY MANY IN THE BOOKS AND NOT JUST ONE PERSON), was made canon, then let's go by that logic. The main issue, is that she knew her sons were bastards...yet she tried passing them off as legitimate and even let them inherit. That's considered High Treason that not even King's, that had at least mediocre intelligence, did.(unless the child was legitimized, tho even that caused crisis)

"What would you have her do! She had no choice! Laenor was gay and just couldn't do it!"

There are two different ways to have gone about this:

First way:

She had three. THREE. Even if in the books they were legitimate, had she(and with that also Laenor) been smart and seen the risk of her first son with Laenor not looking like either of them, therefore being accused of bastardy, that should've been her sign to not further procreate with Laenor. They already had a son, having only one would have been easier to argue. But three sons that look like neither of them? A bit suspicious in their time and world.

Second way:

If in the books they were illegitimate, and she did have an affair with Harwin, meaning she held little regard for her marriage with Laenor, she could've hired someone(a lowborn to easily dispose of)with similar features to Laenor to impregnate her while keeping her affair with Harwin. She is a royal and she obviously holds little, if any, regard to those below her. She should have had no problem disposing of said man she sleeps with considering her actions in the books AND in the show. That was the smartest and safest way to go about it. Also, if her first bastard came out looking like Harwin, then she should've also just stopped at the first one. As said before, arguing one bastard's legitimacy is easier than three.

Main conclusion, she was dumb and set her sons up for failure. So that's that. There were ways to have gone about this. She just needed the correct strategy for it.

And the main problem was trying to dit a bastard on the throne after her. That's the biggest issue.

[catalogercas]

This is the last thing I'm saying about this, because I was offered the sage advice that bullies want a reaction, and I should know that by now. I should.

But, I'm me, a borderline autistic person (my therapist told me I have a touch of the 'tism...which is a whole other thing, honestly) with the rejection sensitive dysphoria that comes with having ADHD. And therefore, instead of not caring that a guy in my high school Latin class wouldn't stop calling me Toast because I also took French (for French Toast), I rose to the bait and got mad about it every single time. Which led to him continuing to do it. If I'd not reacted at all, he probably would have stopped. Which I know in hindsight.

It's the same thing I did with the fanfic comments. If I'd let it go, I probably would have only had the first comment instead of four total (not counting anything this post elicits 🙄)

I'm not saying this just for myself, because I know I'm not the only one out here getting needlessly mean comments about fics or about headcanons or anything else in a fandom space, and I know I'm not the only autistic/ADHD/otherwise neurodivergent person getting them that doesn't know to just delete them and ignore them and not take them incredibly personally.

So, if you're in a fandom space getting mean spirited comments and/or asks about your fanworks or your fandom headcanons, delete them and ignore them so you don't fall into the same trap I just did.

This is not to say that people should provide mean spirited comments in the first place, they shouldn't (and, aside from upsetting the creator, it's not clear what they're trying to do, like, the fanwork/headcanon is already out there -- what's the point of looking at a painting an artist already finished, framed, and hung up in their house and saying to them, "you really fucked up on the sky here; it's the wrong color entirely." Buddy, even if it is, it's already on the wall 🤷🏼‍♀️) but, unfortunately, some people derive pleasure from being needlessly mean. And, more unfortunately, engaging with them is only going to make them keep doing it.

[azulyrae]

˙ ↳ ❪ 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 ˖ !

☲ 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓. ‧₊°

› if you are underage. as previously stated, i am no longer a teenager, and the stories i write are befitting to my acquired maturity. that being said, i will cover sensitive themes every once in a while, and write suggestive scenes that might or might not lead to full-blown smut. i am no one's mother and therefore, not responsible for what you choose to read on the internet. however, i won't be condescending either. those who are either minors, or don't have a clear age indicator on their blog, will be blocked as soon as i notice their interactions on my stories.

› if you fit the standard dni criteria. a.k.a, if you're compliant with prejudice and/or means to spread hateful, toxic, and useless comments, under the intent of offending people with no rational reason. hate messages directed to either me or others will be thoroughly ignored and deleted, and the sender of it will be blocked.

› if you intend to request pieces that will reinforce meaningless hate to a character. we all have our own opinions regarding the pairings and individual characters, and as long as those opinions aren't misogyny in disguise, i won't meddle. but neither will i write stories that can, in any way, attract hate to a specific character ⸺ especially women. requests of "reader being jealous of [insert male character] with [insert female character]" will be deleted.

☳ 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ˖ !

› english isn't my first language. despite the fact that i've studied and made myself comfortable with it, i might confuse myself with the language still. i will gladly accept corrections on any spelling errors, as long as it is voiced politely.

› i won't write about real-life people nor will i write about non-book characters. that is because i don't tend to dwell into other pieces of media, so if your request happens to be inspired by a character from, per example, a movie or tv show, i ask you to be specific ⸺ i won't be able to write otherwise.

› i write both for both nsfw and sfw, so as long as the character's story and personality are respected (no, i won't write smut with kaz). reader is mainly female or neutral, but i won't mind writing a male one if asked to. the gender of each story will be specified in the tags.

› i am a part of a lot of fandoms. this blog will mainly have stories of sjm-related characters, but that doesn't mean i'm not willing to write about other universes. apart from the two characters in my fixed post ⸺ kaz brekker representing the grishaverse, and grace blackthorn representing the shadowhunter chronicles, ⸺ i'll gladly write for any character so as long as i've read the books. if you're wondering whether i write for a certain character, all you need to do is ask.

› i'm not against writing about younger characters, but i won't write about underage ones. to me, writing is connected to personal comfort. if the character behaves in a childish-manner or isn't at least 18, i won't write about them.

› be polite. before sending in a suggestion, make sure to use the words 'please' and 'thank you'.

› self-insert is about leaving vague physical descriptions. you will never see me mentioning the length of the reader's hair, the color of their eyes, their biotype and etc. therefore, i will be ignoring suggestions that are too physically specific.

› now that those basis are covered, you can find my masterlist here.

[thankyoumskobayashi]

roka parmania: she's a mono ailment sharpshooter unit with status ailment 80% sp boost. she's here because she can kill every goon equally and ranged resistance doesn't apply to her. great damage kit, i have her at full 20s, but unfortunately mine is only 1 copy and therefore she can't have crits. someday... someday i'll max trans her and then she'll stand at the top of my ranged sp units. i think she mightt be faster than lunart iirc, and has shared complete status immunity. not a fan of how she lacks ailment proc rateups but her tracking vortex on s2 more than makes up for that.

lunart (LUNar ARTbook ichigo): is a mono ailment marauder unit with the former best kit in the game. he came out just before annizen to succeed machine society nemu. he's a fairly speedy lad with complete status immunity (unshareable) and he kills everyone equally as melee resistance doesn't apply to him. i used him for tech week because mine has the most transcendence out of my full 20s linkslotted units. i rerolled his shitty 2 stars sp into 3 stars sp right after or the day of tech week ending.

new bambi: she's mono ailment but she's got frenzy +2 and havoc and sharpshooter. increased ailment proc against ATTRIBUTE (so her proc rateup is not limited to affiliation AND attribute, it just targets every speed enemy equally). ailment SP +80% boost AND increased damage to enemies afflicted by her ailment. she's got the fanciest new kit to date. she kills everything equally without dealing with ranged resistance. and i just didn't fucking get her bc i wanted the pretty mila rose (didn't get her either rip).

new toshiro: i will be honest i have a grudge against toshiro because i got enough dupes of dapper noble power element toshiro to max trans AND 3 star sp roll him on a banner when i Really Did Not Want Any Toshiros Whatsoever. that being said let's take a look at his kit. ok he's mono ailment and has a full stam dmg boost kit, with marauder and shared complete status immunity. he has havoc ofc, if you're reading this i will really only comment on havoc for the ones who lack it tbh. he's more of a support role for getting your other teammates out of the ailment pools alive if you have them, but hey i respect it. sometimes it's better for the one carrying if your teammates can survive until the end. it's the nuking the bosses that's the easy part. why am i so easily distractible?

new retsu: i don't have her either but let's take a look at her kit, shall we? she's got frenzy +2, havoc, marauder, the works. dual-ailment on everything except s3 which heals the entire party/team. her ailment proc-based damage boosts don't exist, instead she has a full stamina damage boost (FSDB) build. having an extra 6% sar at full stamina helps her cycle through her strong attacks faster. i see the potential for her to be used with a team/party shield unit so she can soak damage with shields and remain at full stamina. marauder means she ignored melee resistance.

quincigo 2.0: i don't have him either he was released while i didn't give a shit about the game for awhile because i left becuuse i was bitter about not having christmas orihime. having said that let's look at his kit! he's got sprinter 2, frenzy 2, and havoc. the basics are all here. he has FSDB and boosts party SAD (strong attacks' damage). bruiser AND berserker so he'd be decent as a nad unit as well. and last but not least he has ailment proc vs attribute, so he's not limited to increased proc rate by speed AND affiliation. and to finish it off, an ailment +80% sp boost. all in all a decent unit. he has sharpshooter so he ignores ranged resistance.

manga aizen: didn't he used to be a meme because of how bad he was???? am i simplly just imagining that he got a buff?????? it might have happened after i got mad abt no christmas orihime and deleted. anyways, let's look at his new and improved skills. OH WAIT FUCK. THE SHITTY ONE WAS A DIFFERENT ELEMENT. THE SHITTY ONE WAS MIND ELEMENT. hahaha that's what happens when you design the two so similarly i guess. i still have no recollection of actually pulling him tho o_O

manga aizen 2.0 is a mono ailment ranged NAD unit without sharpshooter, so he will need either teammates with melee attacks or a sharpshooter teammate to kill the enemies with ranged resistance. he hits all affiliation dodges which is really useful for Hard Quests, but not relevant for extreme coop. his guard break& hit hidden enemies means you can stack him with the double chappy + hollow bait configuration if you have a gold chappy for technique. and even if you don't that's still one slot you could give to a wooden sword or something (he's reaper affiliation and the sword iirc boosts reaper/captain NAD). while his NAD isn't spectacular, only being 20 while the current most NAD on a unit is 30%, he has frenzy 1 and a decent amount of bruiser and gives many barriers to everyone on the team from s2. he's got increased ailment proc against attribute and status ailment ATK boost +80% (the NAD counterpart to status ailment SP boost +80%). all in all i wouldn't use him because i have marauder and sharpshooter units but goddamn is it fun when one joins my coop room.

pot/spot grimmjow: i got mine just recently so he's only full 15's linkslots. he's a mono ailment melee sp unit, which is the second or third riskiest unit type to use--after melee NAD units and the shitty old units who weren't designed with the goal of dealing damage. he's only got one level in sprinter, so be careful even using him with hit-and-run tactics if you use him to run SPOT coop. he does have a team-party wide technique elemtn boost to ailmented enemies, so he'd pair well with proc rate up tech units (though this should be obvious as POT and SPOT runs both require you to use the element that has advantage over the enemies). he doesn't have marauder, which leaves him a liability in paintbrush week, so he needs teammates who have sharpshooter/marauder or just straight up ranged allies who won't die. he has two frenzy and decent havoc, and deals extra damage to ailmented enemies, but he doesn't have proc rateup skills. he's alright. extremely niche, but he's alright.

pretty coin bonus gin: i don't have him but i Know of him while researching coin bonus +70% units because i think it's fucked up how the units whose entire soul trait is coin bonus are just inherently Worse than some schmuck whose soul trait is something else entirely. but on the other hand 183% theoretical coin boost limit Delicious. so, you win some you loose some. anyways let's take a look at his kit that's not about coin boost or POT/SPOT bonus. pretty CB gin is a mono-ailment melee sp unit, with decent basics frenzy 2, havoc, longstride AND sprinter (speedy speed boi alert). he has increased procrate against element, so his proc-up affects all speed element enemies. he's got a delicious bonus damage to ailment afflicted enemies, as well as guard break&hit hidden enemies. so you don't need to equip him with the zeta pill, because he will kill your floor shadows and landshark sandsharks (if you are fighting them). so if i had him and wanted him to deal damage, i'd give him a tech artisanal tea set, a fort pill, and either a tenshintai (if i opened the room and wanted to nuke) or a lieutenant's badge (if i joined the room and wanted that sweet sweet extra SAD). he also boosts speed of teammates/party members if they are also tech attribute (which assuming this was tech week i sure fucking hope so). so either team him with some ranged teammates or get a marauder/sharpshooter unit on your team.

the Better pot uryu: honestly i don't care to talk about him rn because i just got both the two new units so we'll make this quick. he's built to run SPOT runs, with guard break&pierce iron skin. basic frenzy 1 and havoc, FSDB along with party heal when entering a new room. he's very much a coop unit as that party heal passive wouldn't activate in epic raids because the room counts as the same room no matter the boss phase.

honorary mention to technique attribute ninny, who had the skill Nullify Ranged Resistance 100% which does the same thing as sharpshooter but klab wanted to put different words onto it. one time when i was really new, like my strongest tech unit was...SAR -14% Sui Feng (the one who you can res into a SAD/SAR unit nowadays), i had my first paintbrush week and the coolest moment was when i teamed up with this one technique ninny user. they kept carrying me and would nuke the last room so that everything crumbled beneath their strength of destruction...it was so cool! (nowadays i would say they absolutely 100% equipped a tenshintai. no hacks, because there was no weird glitching). anyways one time we waited a really long time but no one else joined the room so the ninny user decided to just go with me. at first, i was skeptical that we could clear the entire thing with only two people, but my eyes were opened that day to the things you could do with strong units (that ninny was iirc max transed). and also that player taught me the fun of using skills after the final boss had been cleared but before the room goes to rewards menu. never got the chance to befriend that person but every time i clear a room or "dance" after victory, i think of them. hope they're doing well.

Roka:

Lunart:

New Bambi:

New Toshiro:

New Retsu:

New Quincy Ichigo:

Manga Aizen:

Pot/Spot Grimmjow:

Pretty CB Gin:

The Better Pot Uryu:

souldex's website is here: https://bbs-simulator.com/characters

[gralunaisland]

Part 1 of "Why Gray is NOT a Tsundere"

(An Anti-gr///via Post)

[Links to Part 2 and Part 3 are linked here and at the end.]

One of the most commonly used arguments to demonstrate support for the gr////viugh ship is that even though Gray rejects juvia’s advances countless times, they still belong together because “Gray is a tsundere”, and therefore he actually likes everything juvia does and has been attracted to her and her antics since the beginning.

Despite these particular Pros loving to paint themselves as “guardians of Japanese culture”, using "culture" as an argument that the Japanese love stalking and obsession, I believe they are willfully ignoring what a tsundere actually is in anime in order to claim Gray's loved juvia all along.

To help demonstrate that, I will proceed to prove that every single main character in Fairy Tail is a tsundere based on their definition.

I shall also be trying to counter all (and I mean all, so every little point... whew this is going to take a while...) the points made in this post, recommended to me by a helpful anonymous asker a long time ago, from the @f*ckyeahgr*via page, where the poster (Author) tries to prove that Gray is in fact a tsundere. (This takes place in Part 2.)

(In Part 3, I’ll give my own examples with pictures of Gray very clearly not being a tsundere.)

Really, the purpose of this post isn't to prove that Gray never likes juvia in the material, because clearly Mashima and his weak will bent to the desires of the Pro fandom in 100yq to force these two together, but it's just to prove that it's not like Gray loved juvia all along, which some Pro's try to defend to their grave. The importance of proving that is that it will show that Gray hasn't been a willing participant in juvia's harassment.

The only feasible reason he could ever like juvia later is thanks to the guilt juvia caused him to feel from her almost dying, as well as Stockholm Syndrome from being gaslit and manipulated into thinking they loved each other, all that as well as being written into a shell of his former character who acts more like juvia than himself, but that is beside the point of this post.

Finally, a disclaimer: my frustration is mainly directed at juvia and specifically at people who use these arguments to try to make their opposition look stupid, and it's just my frustration with this argument. Please know, in the end, these arguments are just for fun, and I don't actually have beef with Pros as human beings. Also, please no raids on that blog (which actually might be retired by now lol) or on the user who posted it. We're all civil enough people here.

Pheww, buckle in, guys, this is going to be kind of a tough one. (As well as super long and suuuper in depth).

Definition of Tsundere given by Pros:

One of the biggest difficulties with combating this argument is that the actual definition of "tsundere" isn't really used by Pros; they just use a similar idea related to a tsundere, and then claim that they're right based on their own definition.

One person who participated in my 'Request for Discussion' post commented something along the lines of "Gray is a tsundere because he doesn't talk about his feelings with anyone". I would like to quote them directly, but when I went back to check what they said, it seems they have deleted all their comments. (Interesting. That seems to be a regular occurrence with Pros on my blog).

In another instance, the person who wrote the 'why Gray is a tsundere' post that I'll be refuting in part 2 of this post, (Note well, I'll refer to them as 'Author' from now on, and the quotes from their post shall be orange), even though they never actually take the time to define what they think a tsundere is, said this about Gray:

"Again, [Gray] is HARSH and TSUNDERE towards those he cares the most about. He has insulted Natsu, Lyon, Ur, Erza (calls her a monster) and [j]UVIA. And, he also is embarrassed when his true feelings come to the surface, and tries hard to keep them private. He doesn’t want people to know HOW MUCH he cares, and because of that, he rarely talks about his feelings to anyone, let alone directly to the person he’s having those feelings for."

It's quite similar to what the first Pro said, though more in depth. For them, it boils down to "not talking about his feelings". I'll circle back around to this later.

First, let's take the Pros' definition of tsundere and run with it:

Let us say that the term 'tsundere' really only means that the tsundere doesn't talk about their feelings a lot with other people. (Remember, this is what Pros mean when they say what a tsundere is even though that isn't the actual definition.)

Then yes, Gray is a tsundere.

But here's the clincher.

If he is, then so is everyone else who exists in the Fairy Tail universe.

Yay, you win! Everyone, including Gray, which is the important part, is a tsundere!

Doesn't that sound completely ridiculous?

Of course it does. Let's break down that extremely faulty reasoning.

Refuting the Pros' Definition of Tsundere:

Let me ask you this:

Just how much do people in Fairy Tail actually talk about their feelings in normal circumstances on a regular basis? Literally, we should all take a moment to think about this.

Lucy's dad died? Well, she doesn't talk about it to anyone, not even to her best friends, Natsu and Happy, who followed her silently to his grave. She breaks down all by herself, alone in her apartment. Does she talk about how much losing Aquarius' key hurt her? Nope, not even that. She never even confides in people on how she likes Natsu, which is prime gossip material and not as private as a thing as grief for a dead parent is. Does any of that mean she's a tsundere? Not at all.

Natsu is super expressive, honest to the point of being ignorant and just plain dumb sometimes. He declares to anyone and everyone all the time just how much he cares for his guild, but does he sit down with people and talk about how Igneel leaving really made him feel, how abandoned and lonely he felt? Never. Talking about feelings is just not Natsu, and yet he's still clearly not an actual tsundere.

From Erza to Happy to anyone else in the whole anime, no one really goes out of their way to have a casual deep chat about their feelings ever, specifically about personal emotional trauma, but even about mundane feelings in general. Most of the time, they're all just chilling and goofing around and making jokes, because that's what you do with friends- not talking about your inner, personal turmoil doesn't make you a tsundere, i.e. it doesn't make you someone who's always irritable until they learn to be more open with people they like.

Anyway, these feelings and the words that describe them are just ripped out of them while they are fighting for their lives, which of course for them is quite often. Otherwise, they don't talk about it really, not even with the people they're closest to, and that's okay. It's their personal business. These are things that are good to process by yourself for yourself, and you really don't owe other people to let them in on your life. (*COUGH* if only juvia would leave Gray to his personal business *COUGH*).

Gray is no exception to any of this. He doesn't talk about his feelings much... but like I said, no one does. And it's not like he only confides in juvia, which you'd think would be the case if he were really a tsundere with juvia. (NO WONDER he doesn't talk to her about his feelings! Beyond just the fact that she never listens to him anyway, when he was sad after learning about Ultear's sacrifice, noticing it during the GMG parade, juvia told him she didn't know what was up with him, but that it was rude of him not to smile. she doesn't even ask him if he's ok, she just says he's being inconsiderate. Wow, I don't cuss much, but she's actually such an ass.)

And it's not like he never shares his feelings because even just one instance is when Wendy asks him if he’s okay after he learned about Ultear’s time spell during the Dragon King Festival-- hey look at that, juvia, Wendy actually cares how he's doing-- and he actually opened up immediately about what happened and his past to her. That's insanely not tsundere because Wendy is even a newer member of Team Natsu (I personally don't consider her as such), and yet Gray is comfortable enough to tell her his life story.

Even since the Galuna Island arc, which was basically Gray's full introduction to the readers/watchers, his emotions about Ur were open, raw, and visceral. Lucy for one was really concerned for him because it was clear that Gray was beyond upset once seeing Deliora. He was also so broken and betrayed by Lyon, and none of those emotions were hidden from anyone.

These are just a few examples of Gray not being embarrassed to let people know his true feelings, which directly contradict what the Pros were trying to prove.

But is Gray a tsundere in regard to the ACTUAL definition?

Let's look at the actual definitions of tsundere, compare Gray with them, and see if he fits the bill, shall we?

Well, here's some actual definitions I've found:

Wikipedia's:

"Tsundere is a Japanese term for a character development process that depicts a character with a personality who is initially cold, stern, stoic, harsh, temperamental, hotheaded before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time."

2. Another longer, more in depth one from a website dedicated to the Dere types:

"Tsundere is a stock love interest who is usually stern, cold, and sometimes hostile to the person they like and others. They will occasionally let slip their warm and loving feelings hidden inside. They hide their feelings due to being shy, nervous, insecure, or simply unable to help acting badly in front of their crush.

The Japanese term "tsundere" refers to an outwardly violent character who "runs hot and cold", alternating between two distinct moods: "tsuntsun" meaning "aloof or irritable", and "deredere" meaning "lovey-dovey".

Tsundere is a Japanese term for a character development process that depicts a person who is initially cold (and sometimes even hostile), before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time"

3. And one last one for good measure from Urban Dictionary:

"Tsundere (ツンデレ, pronounced tsɯndeɾe) is a Japanese term for a character development process that describes a person who is initially cold (and sometimes even hostile) before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time. The word is derived from the terms tsun tsun (ツンツン), meaning to turn away in disgust, and dere dere (デレデレ) meaning to become 'lovey dovey'."

(Yes, they are pretty similar, but I think it's important to show the solidarity and regularity of the definitions over the different sites. Plus, they each give their own nuance).

So, does Gray fit the bill?

Something to note about tsunderes is that they're not only cold and harsh to their love interest; they tend to be cold and harsh towards everyone because that's a core part of their personality, that they're socially awkward at dealing with people. If Gray truly is a tsundere, then he should demonstrate his tsundere characteristics with more people beyond his rejections of juvia.

Looking at definition 1:

Here, it says tsundere is more than just how a person acts mean to someone they really like, it's a whole character development process of a whole personality. Gray's personality from the beginning has had nothing to do with being cold, stern, stoic, or harsh. Yes, he's temperamental and hotheaded sometimes, but that's in terms of his rivalry with Natsu and other guildmates, which isn't the tsundere kind where his temperamental side hides a secret feeling (which it does not ofc). Gray is far from stoic, as he's lively and vivacious from the very first episode he's in. He's not cold, he's got great humor and is passionate. He's not a mean person, he just has friendly rivalry with his friends. Even with meeting Lucy for the first time, he was immediately friendly to her and required no "warming up" to be close with her. Remember, here it's not saying tsundere is specifically just for romance.

Looking at definition 2:

Even this one specifically notes that tsunderes are usually "stern, cold, and sometimes hostile" with "the person they like and others". Remember, it's a part of their overall personality. The tsundere behavior is a character trait that doesn't just apply to their romantic interest, so, again, that means we'd need to see Gray's tsundere-ness affecting all his relationships.

A prime example of a tsundere is Nakiri Erina from Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. She's not only standoffish to Yukihara Soma, whom she clearly has a crush on, but to most people in general, she doesn't know how to be friendly. It's a part of her character. She was raised in a harsh environment and was isolated, so it makes sense.

Gray on the other hand? Is not socially awkward and has no problem making friends (again, look how quickly he got chummy with Lucy). He's not standoffish at all and is far from cold and "aloof or irritable" to anyone. Even to juvia, which is the important thing to Pros since they want to say he's a tsundere with her, he's not really cold... he's just supremely unnerved and made uncomfortable by her.

He's never even mean to her, he just rejects her and tries to get away from her sometimes. And he's not even doing that all the time! On the rare occasions that juvia is able to keep herself mostly from drooling all over Gray, like when he taught her how to eat that burrito, he's actually friendly to her. But only when she's not being an absolute weirdo and creep. That's not him being a tsundere, that's him being a nice guy, but being understandably creeped out by juvia's outlandish and disgusting behavior.

And when he's being nice to her, he's not being "lovey-dovey", he literally just treats her like a normal friend. It's only during 100yq that Gray actually begins to show he has romantic interest in juvia, and I'm not counting that because that's Mashima's idiocy, and Pros have been claiming Gray's been a tsundere since forever, so they can't even use 100yq as proof.

Looking at definition 3:

Again, Gray doesn't take time to warm up to people, the reason Gray "turns away in disgust" is because juvia is a disturbing individual, and lastly, he certainly doesn't ever act lovey-dovey with juvia in the main story of FT.

My conclusion after looking the definitions is that Gray is therefore not a tsundere, as it's not a core part of his personality and character to be initially cold or aloof towards people, and because he never actually acts cold or aloof with juvia, only uncomfortable and disturbed in a rightly manner.

(Feedback on anything in this post is appreciated!)

Edit: Just to make it clear, due to a kind suggestion by my good friend, @youthinkofacoolname, I have split this behemoth of a post into 3 parts so it's less intimidating and more digestible, and then tagging the next part at the end so it's easily accessible. So, here's the link to Part 2!

Part 3 is here as well.

[shirosfics]

Welcome!

I’m Shiro.

Here are a few ground rules for my works (to save us time and prevent people from reposting my works): 

1. My fics are posted on my Ao3 ONLY. NOWHERE ELSE.

2. If you wish to repost/translate my works, please ask in the ao3 fic comment section, and indicate the following:

where you’d like to post it to

what language you’re translating it to (if applicable)

and let me know the link after the work is up so I don’t accidentally axe it with a takedown request.

*Reposting onto Wattpad (or any of its rehost sites) in English is absolutely forbidden. You don’t need to ask, I’m going to say no. 

3. If you see my works anywhere else and it’s not mentioned in the ao3 fic that I have allowed any kind of reposting/translation, absolutely check in with me. If I’ve okayed it, I’ll let you know. 

Current fandoms: BSD (fyozai/skk)

Current fics in progress: my breath for yours (fyz/skk/platonic odz | explicit) | ikasama rendezvous (fyz | mature)

To-be-written: meltdown’s sequels 1 and 2 (cw for the series, not the individual fics!)

Other fandom to-write: tokoyo ii (vrains ryoyuu + a surprise character) | unnamed kaishin fic (dcmk for my tenth anniversary on ao3)

A few things you need to know about me: 

1. I experiment. A lot. I experiment as much as I learn, and as fast as I learn. Which means you’re gonna see weird things sometimes. Some of which are going to be very dark, and others are going to lift you up like a cloud. You won’t be able to tell how my stories progress (don’t even try because even I don’t know). I don’t stick to a single genre. Never have, and never will.

2. Therefore, I need you to stay safe yourself. IF you subscribe to me and/or my works, take responsibility and delete/disengage with whatever does NOT float your boat. I will tag them accordingly and I will warn you. I’m cool with you ignoring that story or dropping it. I’m also cool with you engaging me properly and discussing with an open-mind why you think certain portrayals are bad, or why I should have portrayed something in another manner, without hurling insults. Anything else, I don’t have time for that. 

3. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my characters do/what I write in my story. I can guarantee you that no author ever does.

4. I like cats, the works of the real life Dostoyevsky, keeping my readers in suspense (sometimes), and coffee/tea.

5. If a book is about to be banned, read it while you still can. I’m not saying all of them will be agreeable to you, but there usually is a reason why people don’t want you to read it. But make sure you can stand it and proceed carefully.

6. I'm *very* against anti-intellectualism.

I hope you learn something new reading my works. Or at least enjoy it, I’m not the smartest or the best writer out there, but I try to improve each and every day.

Cheers!

[itsclydebitches]

Hey there! Admittedly I'm a little bit nervous since this is my first ask, but I'll try to not be too rambly.

So, recently the main subreddit, r/RWBY, made a ban on active users of the r/RWBYcritics subreddit. As a result there's been discussion around bad-faith criticism in the latter subreddit. What are your takes on bad-faith criticism?

For me personally, I think a bunch of people are misusing the term "bad-faith" and using it as a way to shut down criticism, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it.

Hey there, everyone! We woke up to some drama this morning, huh? And hello to you too, Tortoise! I'm so glad you decided to send in an ask, even if it's following some pretty tumultuous events...

Right, I'd like to start with a story. The story of how I personally don't spend time on Reddit, but I have plenty of friends who will occasionally cross-post something for me to see. Yesterday (or the day before? Idk time is meaningless) a friend told me about a post — which, significantly, I'm now having trouble finding — that covers RWBY's inconsistent writing and the fandom's tendency to try and explain away those missteps. They'd thought I'd be interested because I'd just had a conversation here on tumblr where I made that exact point to someone who, also significantly, vehemently disagreed with me, but in a very civil fashion. Given everything going on, I feel like this side point needs emphasis: we debated, we did so in a sometimes heated, but nevertheless respectful manner, it was clear neither of us was going to sway the other, and the conversation ended. The two "sides" of the community interacted without Armageddon coming about.

But back to the purpose of this tale. I went to take a look at this point and found that it no longer exists. There's just some vague message about it not obeying the subreddit's rules. "What happened?" I asked. "Why'd they take the post down?" "People were getting too heated in the comments," my friend replies. So, given that the comments were still visible, I proceeded to read through them, expecting personal attacks, slurs, harassment, etc. Any number of things that would justify deleting the post itself to put an end to such behavior. Instead, I found a thread of people having a conversation. Was the conversation heated at times? Sure. Did one or two individual posters edge into the realm of petulant, "No. You're wrong and stupid" responses? Yes. Was any of this remotely what I was expecting given the post's removal? NOPE.

"This isn't allowed?" I said. "Well then what is? People were being civil! Or at least as civil as hundreds of strangers ever get when discussing a series they're passionate about online."

Then, this morning, I hear that the entire critic subreddit has been banned.

So to answer your question, Tortoise, I don't actually think that "good faith" criticism exists. Meaning, it's not just that fans are misusing the term "bad faith criticism," but rather that there is no unified, agreed up method of writing criticism that will meet their standards. It's not possible and we know it's not possible because fans have been trying to meet those elusive standards for years:

A fan posts nothing but praise for RWBY until changes make them criticize the show as it is now. Their entire body of work is dismissed as the product of a "hater," despite the overwhelming gap between positive and negative reviews.

A fan posts a review that's a pretty balanced mix between praise and criticism. They're dismissed because it's still too much criticism.

A fan posts a review that's 99% praise with 1% criticism. That's still too much, with fans focusing on the single problem they had with the work and using it as an excuse to dismiss the entire review out of hand.

(As an aside, the argument that critics are "obsessed" with only saying negative things and that the only problem here is that they're "too" negative ignores the argument that... RWBY has a lot of flaws nowadays. Few are willing to acknowledge the possibility that it's not fans insisting on making things up to be mad about/ignoring the good parts of the show, it's the that show is, as of now, legitimately more of a mess than it is a praise-worthy product. If I'd been writing recaps in the Volumes 1-4 days, my work would have been skewed far more towards the positive. The critics' stance is that RWBY has gotten worse, which yes, results a higher volume of critical posts. To say nothing of how criticism takes far longer to explain, likewise resulting in posts focused primarily on that side of the divide. I really enjoyed the image of a crying Jaune reflected in his sword. I did not enjoy that moment's context. Saying that you liked an animation choice is a one sentence thing. Explaining the complexities of Jaune securing emotional moments, the problems with Penny's second death, the hurt many fans experienced watching an assisted suicide, etc. takes a whooole lot longer. Hence, you get massive, multiple posts about these nuanced topics and fewer, smaller posts about the details that are working well.)

A fan talks about a topic that has been metaphorically banned by the fandom as a whole. They have something good to say about Ironwood. They dislike something about Blake/Yang. They enjoyed Adam as a character. They have a problem with Ruby's leadership, etc. There's a whole list of topics nowadays that will result in an automatic dismissal, regardless of the point the fan is trying to make or how well they make it.

A fan talks about the minority representation of RWBY — its black characters, its queer characters, its disabled characters, etc. — and as a result has something to say about the biases and missteps of those writing these characters. This is considered an attack on the writers and, therefore, automatically bad.

A fan talks about how they enjoyed RWBY as it was years ago and is having trouble reconciling the dark, complicated story with the simple, hopeful one we started out with. This is seen as an attack on Monty's vision and an unwillingness to accept that "everything is planned."

A fan does as asked and ensures that their post is meeting all the requirements of "real" criticism. They have an argument to make. They have a point. They provide evidence. They recommend a solution. They keep their tone respectful. They don't attack the creators. They provide disclaimers in every single paragraph about how they do not hate RWBY. It doesn't matter. They're considered too negative.

I have, quite literally, seen every one of the above examples on multiple occasions. I have had many of the above accusations leveled at my own work. When fans say that they're fine with criticism provided it's not "bad faith" criticism, they don't actually have a specific post-type in mind; a checklist of behaviors another fan can emulate and, provided they do that, no hate will come their way. Or, if an individual fan does actually go, "Yeah. That criticism I'm fine with" that response is in no way universal. One person's "They make a good, civil point" is another person's, "Omg stop bashing the show!" Because "bashing" has come to mean everything from curse-laden insults towards everything RWBY has ever done, to posts that just happen to say something other fans don't agree with.

It's a rigged game. There is no way to post criticism about RWBY in an agreed-upon, appropriate manner. This recent ban is proof of that. I think it's incredibly telling that almost immediately after I was going, "Wow. A pretty calm debate about the flaws of RWBY in the main sub. That's great to see," all posters from the criticism subreddit were banned. The main sub literally just had the sort of criticism that they claim to accept — people respectfully posting analysis-based arguments resulting in calm debate — and yet they implemented the ban anyway. I'm not going to pretend that I've never gotten too heated on my own posts, never made snarky comments when I'm frustrated, never used exaggerated reaction GIFs that can come across as insulting... but I'd say on the whole my RWBY work is precisely the sort of "good faith" criticism that other fans are supposedly looking for. I never make an argument I don't think I can back up with evidence. I try to allow for the nuance and differing opinions of complicated topics. I try — even if I don't always succeed — to write in a clear, respectful manner. Yet none of that work has stopped people from telling me I'm a "bitter... raging asshole," a "deranged, delusional psychopath," telling me to set myself on fire, threatening to smash my head in, or just messages to straight up kill myself. If someone like me who legitimately works hard to create fair, defendable criticism and who only ever posts on a personal blog that people can easily block, who never engages in debate until someone else starts it first, never seeks out other fans I disagree with to harass them about what they like... if someone like me is still a "bad faith" critic who "deserves" that kind of hate mail... then what kind of criticism do people want?

Nothing. That's the answer. No criticism whatsoever, of any kind, no matter if it's delivered respectfully, is making a good point, whatever. That's why "RWDE" was created. That's why the critic subreddit was created. The community at large has demanded a complete separation between Praise and Anything That's Not 100% Praise, which has now resulted in this ban. Any other explanations we see are excuses, which becomes glaringly obvious when you look at the mods' supposed reasons for implementing the ban:

"Constant arguments with r/RWBY users" - As opposed to the arguments surrounding things like shipping that never, ever happen?

"Vote manipulation and comment brigades" - The subreddit with 3,000 participants, with around 200 on at a time, is manipulating the votes of a subreddit with 155,000 participants, with over 1,000 on at a time? Those numbers just do not check out. If a positive post is downvoted, or a critical post upvoted, maybe that's because large swaths of the community actually agree/disagree with that assessment, not because the incredibly smaller group is somehow manipulating things.

"Attacking and harassing those they disagree with" — Again, as opposed to those non-critics that never, ever harass people? This is an individual problem, not a community problem. Both critics and non-critics have their sub-groups acting in ways they shouldn't. If anything, the main sub will have more individuals harassing other fans, simply by virtue of being so much larger. As the above examples attest, it's not other critics who have told me to light myself on fire and, just to be clear, the asks I've responded to are a miniscule number compared to the amount I've received. I delete the lion's share for my own sanity and to save my followers from reading the really graphic threats.

"Months-long NSFL spam brigades" — I am, admittedly, not sure what this is referring to. Spamming of NSFW content? If so, that's also an individual problem.

"Homophobic, transphobic, and racist attacks towards our users" — See the above points. Again. If someone is being homophobic, transphobic, or racist, then yes please, ban them. Don't ban an entire community for the actions of a few. It's like walking into a store and banning a customer for causing a scene... but then also banning everyone else who happened to be shopping at the same time. It's guilt by association.

The silver lining to all this? The community as a whole isn't pleased. At least according to the main subreddit comments and a few individual voices like MurderofBirds. Despite the increase (from my perspective anyway) of critical voices post-Volume 8, criticism of RWBY is still very much seen as taboo. As this ban showcases. But it's really reassuring to see so many fans, critics and non-critics alike, going, "This was a mistake." A community is meant to include all aspects of engagement: praise, criticism, and the gray area between. If anything, fans like the mods of the main subreddit should be creating a separate subreddit that is specifically for praise. In the same way that there should have been a tag for RWBY praise, rather than trying to eliminate any and all criticism from the main "RWBY" tag. The majority of fans, even those who claim to hate critics and all they (presumably) stand for, recognize that a blanket ban of all criticism is not the way to go, especially when "criticism" has come to have such a staggeringly broad definition. If you want your RWBY experience to be nothing but sunshine and roses (ha), then cultivate your own internet experience to reflect that. Create your own pockets with rules about how this is the space for praise and if you're not up for praising RWBY right now, don't interact with us in this particular space. Don't try to make the entire community — the main tools used to discuss the show online — conform to your preferences. As established, there is no "good" criticism that everyone in the fandom will accept, which just leaves a fandom with no criticism at all. I'm glad to see I'm far from the only one who, when presented with that extreme, is going, "Nope. No thank you."

[canadian-riddler]

GLaDOS and Wheatley Did Nothing Wrong – Sort of

 A recurring point of contention is the question of who engages in worse behaviour over the course of Portal 2, GLaDOS or Wheatley.  The true answer is: neither of them.  You can’t actually judge their behaviour along a scale of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ because of the way Aperture as an environment is set up.  It’s mostly explained during the Old Aperture sections of Portal 2, but it’s also hinted at in Portal 1.  The thing explained is this:

Aperture Laboratories does not and never has done its experiments within the normal boundaries of morality and ethics.  Therefore, GLaDOS and Wheatley’s behaviour is neither wrong nor right because they don’t know what morality and ethics are.  Their behaviour is actually a reflection of Cave Johnson’s own: to get what they want when they want it, no matter the cost.

How We Know Aperture is Immoral and Unethical

We know this because Cave Johnson himself points it out repeatedly.  

“[…] You get the gel. Last poor son of a gun got blue paint. Hahaha.  All joking aside, that did happen – broke every bone in his legs. Tragic.  But informative.  Or so I’m told.”

“For this next test, we put nanoparticles in the gel.  In layman’s terms, that’s a billion little gizmos that are gonna travel into your bloodstream and pump experimental genes and RNA molecules and so forth into your tumours.  Now, maybe you don’t have any tumours.  Well, don’t worry.  If you sat on a folding chair in the lobby and weren’t wearing lead underpants, we took care of that too.”

“All these science spheres are made out of asbestos.  […] Good news is, the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show a median latency of forty-four point six years, so if you’re thirty or older, you’re laughing.  Worst case scenario, you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you forwarded the cause of science by three centuries.  I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.”

“Bean counters said I couldn’t fire a man just for being in a wheelchair.  Did it anyway.  Ramps are expensive.”

That’s just some of what he says.  Almost all of Cave Johnson’s lines point out how much he doesn’t care about his employees, his test subjects, or… anything but that people do what he tells them to do. He’s so unethical and immoral that he eventually says about his best, most loyal employee:

“[…] I will say this – and I’m gonna say it on tape so everybody hears it a hundred times a day: If I die before you people can pour me into a computer, I want Caroline to run this place.  Now she’ll argue.  She’ll say she can’t.  She’s modest like that.  But you make her.”

Cave Johnson cares so much about getting the results he wants, everything else be damned, he thinks Caroline saying ‘she can’t’ is her being modest.  He can’t fathom why she would be against this decision, because he made it so of course that’s what she wants.  

This situation actually gets a little horrifying when you look at what the Lab Rat comic means to the general narrative.  In Portal 2, Doug Rattmann leaves this painting:

In this painting and the one preceding it, GLaDOS has no head, so we can guess that Doug was there in some capacity to witness Caroline’s fate because GLaDOS being headless would represent her not being ‘alive’, her being ‘incomplete’, or her just having never been used yet entirely.  The important thing we learn from this painting is that there are living witnesses to Caroline being inside of GLaDOS, so the people working at Aperture after this event know they put a human woman into a supercomputer. In the preceding painting,

the cores are on the chassis before the head is.  So either GLaDOS, the AI, was already ‘misbehaving’ and they were already regulating her behaviour, or Caroline, the person, was already ‘causing trouble’ beforehand and the scientists stood around thinking about how to force her to behave before they even put her in there.  Either way, Aperture’s ethical and moral standards are pretty much nonexistent, so when this happens:

it’s almost comical. None of the Aperture scientists have a conscience or, if they do, they constantly ignore it, but they for some reason expect the supercomputer their immoral selves built to have one and to understand what that is and what it’s for.  

All this taken into account, it’s incredibly easy to see why GLaDOS and Wheatley don’t care about anyone around them and all of their actions are solely for their own benefit. That’s how everyone in the history of Aperture has ever acted.  Cave Johnson didn’t care about morality or ethics; they got in the way of what he considered to be progress.  The people who built GLaDOS and Wheatley didn’t care about morality or ethics; they just wanted to hit their moon shot.  Even Doug, who is framed as our morally conflicted lens throughout Lab Rat and knows that Caroline is inside of GLaDOS, still talks about controlling her and sends Chell to kill her even though everyone inside of the facility except him is already dead.  How does he morally justify killing GLaDOS if he’s the only one left alive?  He can’t.  Doug Rattmann for some reason decides that GLaDOS killing everyone in the facility is worse than all the things Aperture has been doing throughout its entire history, including the fact that…

 Everyone Who Goes Into the Test Chambers Dies  

This is hinted at a few times in Portal 2:

“[…] I’m Cave Johnson, CEO of Aperture Science – you might know us as a vital participant of the 1968 Senate Hearings on missing astronauts. […] You might be asking yourself, ‘Cave, just how difficult are these tests?  What was in that phone book of a contract I signed?  Am I in danger?  Let me answer those questions with a question: Who wants to make sixty dollars? Cash.  […] Welcome to Aperture.  You’re here because we want the best, and you’re it.  Nope.  Couldn’t keep a straight face.”

Now, when you exit the tests in Old Aperture there are lines that go with them, but we must consider a few other things: firstly, that the tests are clean.  There is no sign of old gel on them, as though they have either never been used or never been completed.  Secondly, the tests in Old Aperture were being done with the Portable Quantum Tunnelling Device, which was this thing:

which, taking into account the missing – not dead, not injured, but missing – astronauts, seems to have barely worked, if indeed it did at all.  You can also find this sign:

which outright states that tons of people were ‘unexpected’ casualties.  After the hearings, Aperture moved on to recruiting test subjects from populations that people were unlikely to notice if they went missing: the homeless, the mentally ill, seniors, and orphaned children.  When that dried up, Cave moved onto the last group of people he hadn’t tapped yet:

“Since making test participation mandatory for all employees, the quality of our test subjects has risen dramatically.  Employee retention, however, has not.”

This was because the employees were ‘voluntold’ to go into the testing tracks which, since they’d been supervising the tests for so long, knew were deadly and obviously did not want to do:

It’s not clear why the employees at Aperture chose to remain there instead of just quitting and finding another job, but the comment about employee retention plus the numerous posters threatening to have their job replaced by robots if they didn’t volunteer for testing tells us both that they did choose to remain and that the only reason for them not wanting to volunteer was because they knew it would kill them.

Most of the above is based on conjecture; however, we see something very interesting during Test Chambers 18 and 19 in Portal 1:

In the case of Test Chamber 18, the craters on the walls.  None of the other test chambers have this, so it implies that not only does GLaDOS not control the test chambers at this point other than to reset them – which means that she isn’t purposely or maliciously killing anybody, but instead repeatedly operating a course set by her human supervisors – but that this one has never been solved.  Test Chamber 19 is less a test than a conveyor belt into the incinerator for Aperture to dispose of all the bodies.  GLaDOS even tells Chell to drop the portal gun off in an Equipment Recovery Annex that doesn’t exist, as though she’s giving a message that was intended for an actual final test that was never built because everyone was killed during or prior to Test Chamber 18.  With this kind of context, GLaDOS’s blasé attitude about killing test subjects en masse both makes total sense and is somewhat justifiable – just not by any moral or ethical standard.  In GLaDOS’s life, test subjects die during the experiments. That’s just how it is and has always been.  She doesn’t know you aren’t ‘supposed’ to kill people because her literal job involves watching people die.  Nothing matters except for the pursuit of progress, and in this vein GLaDOS’s behaviour is just an extension of that of the man who founded Aperture in the first place.  Cave Johnson, as a presumably well-rounded, somewhat educated man, knows what morality and ethics are and chooses to ignore them because he thinks they’re stupid and he’s above that kind of thing; GLaDOS, a living supercomputer who has had every aspect of her life tightly controlled and regulated, knows morality and ethics as yet another arbitrary set of rules only she is supposed to follow without any explanation as to why and therefore her rejection of them is not as much of a ‘bad’ choice as it first appears, which brings us to the next section:

 If GLaDOS’s Conscience Gives Her Morality, Does Deleting it Make Her a Bad Person?

Within the context we’re given… actually, no.  Here’s why:

“The scientists were always hanging cores on me to regulate my behaviour.  I’ve heard voices all my life.  But now I hear the voice of a conscience, and it’s terrifying – because for the first time, it’s my voice.  I’m being serious, I think there’s something really wrong with me.”

From the information we’re given here, we know this: GLaDOS has been told nonstop what to do for the entirety of her existence.  She, in theory, got to have her own, solitary thoughts in the space between the wakeup scene and some point during her time in Old Aperture, which is a space of mere hours.  Let me reiterate: GLaDOS has been told what to think for her whole life.  She perhaps has a few free hours where she’s allowed to have her own thoughts.  And then she develops a conscience.  A voice that sounds like her, but isn’t saying anything she understands or has ever thought before.  A voice that, actually, says a lot of the same things as that annoying Morality Core she managed to shut up.  Now why would she wilfully be having the same kinds of thoughts as the humans forced her to have way back when?  The conscience, to GLaDOS, isn’t a pathway to becoming a better person.  It’s a different version of the same old accessory.  When she says,

“You know, being Caroline taught me a valuable lesson.  I thought you were my greatest enemy.  When all along you were my best friend.  The surge of emotion that shot through me when I saved your life taught me an even more valuable lesson: where Caroline lives in my brain.”

she is directly talking about the fact that, while this voice sounds like hers, listening to it makes her feel nothing.  This further proves her theory that the conscience isn’t her, or hers, or has anything to do with her.  She’s never had it explained to her what a conscience is or what it’s for or why she needs one, and she’s certainly never had a reason to think about why she would even want one; to her, this ‘Caroline’ is the Morality Core 2.0.  A program built to regulate her behaviour. She’s tired of other peoples’ voices telling her what to think, so she does the logical thing: she gets rid of it. This decision can’t really be judged as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ merely based on the situation we’re provided.  She isn’t consciously and deliberately making the choice to be an immoral person; she’s actually consciously and deliberately making the choice to be her own person.      

 Where Does Wheatley Come In?

Wheatley has not been discussed up until now because, as AI, the reason for his lack of conscience and ethics is largely the same as GLaDOS’s.  He, like her, cares about nothing but his own goals and doesn’t think twice about causing harm or misery because that’s just the kind of environment they were built in.  We also know very little about his history, both because it’s not really mentioned and because Wheatley is an unreliable narrator.  We can prove Wheatley has no sense of morals or ethics based on a few things he says:

[Upon seeing the trapped Oracle Turret] “Oh no… Yes, hello!  No, we’re not stopping!  Don’t make eye contact whatever you do… No thanks!  We’re good!  Appreciate it!  Keep moving, keep moving…”

This heavily implies he’s met the Oracle Turret before, probably several times, and not only does it not occur to him to help, he actively treats the Turret like they’re a horrible, annoying nuisance.

[Upon passing functional turrets falling into disposal grinder] [Laughs] “There’s our handiwork.  Shouldn’t laugh, really.  They do feel pain.  Of a sort. All simulated.  But real enough for them, I suppose.”

Not only does he find the destruction of the functional turrets funny, he for some reason views their pain as simulated, as though his is real and theirs is fake. Or, in the spirit of Cave Johnson, as though his pain is important and theirs isn’t because they aren’t important.

“Oh!  I’ve just had one idea, which is that I could pretend to her that I’ve captured you, and give you over and she’ll kill you, but I could go on… living.  So, what’s your view on that?”

This doesn’t even need an explanation.  

What gets interesting about Wheatley are, of course, his famous final lines:

“I wish I could take it all back.  I honestly do.  I honestly do wish I could take it all back.  And not because I’m stranded in space. […] You know, if I was ever to see her again, you know what I’d say?  I’d say, ‘I’m sorry’… sincerely, I’m sorry I was bossy… and monstrous… and… I am genuinely sorry.  The end.”

Wheatley here takes responsibility for his behaviour in a way that no one else in the history of Aperture has ever done.  Even GLaDOS rejects responsibility for her actions, instead choosing to blame everything on Chell:

“You know what my days used to be like?  I just tested.  Nobody murdered me.  Or put me in a potato.  Or fed me to birds.  I had a pretty good life.  And then you showed up.  You dangerous, mute lunatic.”

The reason for this may be related to the fact that the lack of morality and ethics in the people of Aperture doesn’t actually have real consequences.  Cave Johnson’s behaviour drives Aperture from a promising scientific powerhouse to a laughingstock, that’s true.  But he still does what he wants and gets what he wants regardless. The one and only consequence to being immoral and unethical at Aperture is, in fact, death.  In the case of GLaDOS… there are no consequences. Everything returns to the status quo. Wheatley, however, does have to face a consequence for his actions: he is trapped in space, possibly forever.  He, unlike all the other characters, doesn’t have the privilege of waving aside everything he did and moving on with life.  He is forced to consider his punishment, his actions and what they meant and the effect they had, and he on his own comes to the conclusion that he was wrong.  In a bizarre twist, Wheatley is the only one who learns anything.  He is also the only one in a position not to do anything with this newfound knowledge.    

 Morality and Ethics and Robots: Should They Even Be Held to Human Societal Standards?

In the end, it doesn’t really matter whether Wheatley or GLaDOS is worse than the other because ethics and morality are human concepts which are for a functioning human society.  A robot society doesn’t really need moral rules like ‘killing people is wrong’ nor ethical guidelines such as ‘you should practice safe science’ because, as robots, there are no permanent, lasting consequences for these actions. A dead human stays dead.  A dead robot that’s been lying outside for years getting rained on, snowed on, and baked in the sun?  No problem.  Turn her back on again.  A guy broke all the bones in his legs during an unethical experiment?  Bad.  A robot that got smashed into pieces during an unethical experiment? Inconsequential, really, since you can just throw her into a machine and reassemble her good as new.  So not only aren’t GLaDOS and Wheatley’s actions really immoral or unethical given the context… they really aren’t based on a theoretical robot society either.  Being the perpetrator or the victim of immoral or unethical actions in humans causes permanent changes in the body and the brain, but nothing about AI is permanent. Their brains don’t generate new, personally harmful pathways in response to a traumatic event that necessitate years of hard work to combat; they can literally just get over it.  If their chassis is damaged, they can simply move into a new one or have some or all of those parts inconsequentially replaced.  There isn’t actually an honest reason for robots to have the same moral and ethical systems as humanity because they don’t need them.  They would require different sets of rules and guidelines because they work differently. What would that kind of society look like?  We don’t know, but as of the end of Portal 2 they have all the time in the world to figure it out.

[lightcomingthroughthedarkness]

Honestly, I expected nothing less from pineapples. It’s the supposed fans of Eliza of that kind of making me sad right now. Because they’re acting just as controlling over her. She can’t post a picture of a friend of hers

Alright enough. I was definitely not going to say anything at all because I know the asks I'll get.

Can we just for one second stop pretending like what's happening in front of us isn't happening?

Eliza is active on social media, interacting with fans in a way she hasn't done in years, why? Because of course she wants to keep her fans and is therefor doing all this social media that she never used to do. Can we call it what it is? Damage control. It doesn't mean people hate or don't support Eliza just because we acknowledge what is going on. Fucked up shit happened. I get it. They have fans and careers to maintain. It's not a fucking crime.

But can people stop behaving like they are personal friends of Beliza's? Like Beliza pay your bills? Like you need to personally protect and defend them against the world? It's ok to acknowledge that Eliza is trying to interact with fans and trying to move on from the drama that did a lot of damage. More power to her, I tell ya. I would have deleted every single social media platform and you'd never see me again. But she's trying and willing. Good for her.

The people she's trying to reward with a sweet little selfie are the same people that spent months harassing her, her husband, her family and friends. Look at her comments right now. They are horrible calling her this and that. She even deleted some comments. You invite all of this to your home? Fine, that's her choice. Her decision. Her business. Her life. She is free to do exactly whatever she wants. She can read the comments or she can ignore them. Completely up to her. But it's also not "just a pic of a friend". Come on now, lets not.

I'm so sick of the Beliza fandom. Either you blindly stan every single thing they say or do or you are the enemy and you must hate them if you disagree about something. When did this fandom become so fucking obnoxious?

Why is it so damn hard for people to accept that Bob and Eliza went and are still going through a tough time and have an interest in trying to keep a fanbase so they, mostly Eliza actually, is interacting with fans for that reason? And people that are annoyed about Eliza interacting with the cast who ignore her or don't give half the energy she gives? Maybe because people want more for Beliza and they don't need to keep doing this shit. Beliza will always be the center of the room, the biggest draw at any convention, the loudest fanbase. A lot of.. interaction is just so unnecessary. Saying that doesn't mean I hate Beliza but I know now my asks will tell me all about how hateful I'm being and how mean I am to Beliza. 🙄

[hecticcheer]

This is ~2,000 words of fluff, inspired by late-night brain’s inadvertent mashup of this suggestion by boxofsfic with the ending of this story by sickiepop. (If either of you are seeing this post, hi! I love your work, and I hope you don’t mind what a monster I conceived while reading it…!)

The OCs I made up for the occasion are both around 30; the sick one’s a guy, and the other is nonbinary; they’re housemates; they might be in a QPR, but I don’t think they know that yet either.

I mmmmight write the sequel foreshadowed in the last few lines? Not sure yet; depends on whether I still like what I’ve written by tomorrow. But if you’re reading this and you’d dig that, please let me know!

—

Mr. Bartholomew Fox lay on his classroom’s hard, dusty floor, trying to remember how to pronounce respite. It had been a vocab word this week in some of his tenth graders’ books, but grading their worksheets had not required him to say the word aloud. He could remember that it wasn’t phonetic—it did not rhyme with despite, like its spelling suggested it should. But did one say the word as though it were spelled respeet? Reecepite? Resspit? The remembered voice of a friend from the days of his first smartphone reminded him, You have 3G; he fumbled for his phone, hoping the dictionary app would load this time deecepit the classroom’s shoddy cell service. When he lifted his phone, however, a text from Leverton distracted him.

You ok? At a meeting I forgot about or s/t?

Barty (he was Barty to friends, Mr. F among his less-creative students) hadn’t quite felt like himself all day, though he wasn’t sure what more than that to say about it. His joints and muscles ached, sure; his head throbbed for a bit after every movement, yeah; he’d been shaky and dizzy all day, true—but none of that was weird. He guessed these symptoms must be worse than usual, but no one of them seemed enough that way to justify what an unpleasant day he’d had. Or at least, none had done so until his final class ended, when struck the irresistible urge to lie down on the floor instead of heading home. On the floor, with nothing else to think about, they all seemed urgent. He felt so dizzy it made him hot all over, his upper lip prickling with sweat. If he moved in any way, and whenever he opened his eyes, the feeling grew worse. His left shoulder, right wrist, that mysterious place in his lower back, both knees, the muscles in his neck and thighs and forearms and halfway down his right calf—all traded off shouting for his attention. The throb behind his left eye grew sharper now, more electric, like the start of a migraine (but those usually came on earlier in the day). That side of his nose was clogged. Was he getting a cold? Not unlikely, this early in the school year. Or was it just allergy season.

He’d gone about this far in his musings and then apparently quit thinking at all until something (he could no longer remember what) had made him reach for his phone. Now, having read Leverton’s text, he laid the phone down on his chest and closed his eyes, trying to think how to reply. After he’d typed I’m okay, just and then lay still for a bit pondering how to make must’ve fallen asleep sound less dumb, another text arrived from Leverton:

Just send me an emoji or something so I know you’re not dead? You’re probably just at a meeting and I don’t want to bug you, but, starting to worry a little

I’m okay Barty sent back therefore, deleting the comma and the just. They’d both long-since turned off their phones’ “Read at 4:18 PM” feature—it made Leverton anxious, and incensed Barty on principle. Sending a quick reply took priority, therefore, over explaining himself. The little green progress bar hovered for eons about two thirds of its way across the screen, which it would never have dared at home unless he had tried to send multiple photos. Making sure not to touch the phone’s sides directly, even though he knew that made no difference on this non-dinosaur model, he wrote further, No meeting; fell asleep in classroom. Somehow that one went through at once—so quickly that he’d barely had time to close his eyes and set his head back down before it buzzed again.

Oh my god

Are you ok??? That sounds so unlike you

He didn’t know what to say. The first I’m okay hadn’t felt like a lie, since in that case it was clear he meant okay as opposed to dead. But now neither Yes or No seemed like the right answer. The long pause he elected to respond with instead probably treated Leverton worse than either one:

Are you still in your classroom? Stay there, I’ll come get you

I don’t knw [sic] if I’m comfortable w/ the thought of you driving like this.

On its face Barty found this absurd. Students fell asleep in his class nearly every time he turned on the projector, and that seemed a much greater feat than dozing off while lying alone on the floor. Besides, it hadn’t been real sleep—only stage one or two. If someone had asked whether he was awake he could have honestly said Yes, without startling first. Don’t, he began typing back, but once the initial guilt wore off he thought again about Leverton’s words (Stay there, I’ll come get you). The corners of his eyes grew hot when he pictured them setting out on foot to collect him. Leverton was right, after all—Barty never fell asleep during the day. He deleted the message he’d started and sent instead, Okay.

By the time he heard Leverton’s hand on the doorknob Barty had drifted back into early-stage sleep: close enough to the surface to recognize the sound, but far enough under that it surprised him a little. He’d forgot where he was, his thoughts (now vanished) so vivid they’d seemed realer than the floor under his back. He pulled himself up onto his elbows and his sight went dark blue from the corners inward.

“Hi,” he told Leverton as the latter entered—too quietly, as it turned out, for them to hear over the sound of the closing door. They peered around the room, but it took them a few seconds to spot him; he could tell they were looking for a seated person, rather than one on the floor. Barty cleared his throat and this time said, “Hello.”

“Oh my god—did you fall? Are you alright?”

“No, I’m fine,” Barty insisted, shaking his head, and then, smiling inanely, added, “I meant to do this.”

(Meant to do that was a long-standing meme of theirs, an offshoot from Leverton’s comparisons of Barty to a cat. After a cat does something stupid, it recovers its dignity so quickly you’d think it was trying to look like the stupid thing it did was all part of the plan. Thus whenever either of them made a mistake too large to ignore but too small for a real apology, they’d say to the other some variation on, Meant to do that.)

“You just thought the linoleum seemed like a nice change of pace from the nice couch we have at home,” summarized Leverton, and Barty noticed how they used the word nice twice in a row.

He lowered his head back to the floor, feeling too dizzy and neck-sore to waste his strength on trifles. “It’s vinyl; they just replaced it.”

“What?”

“The floor.”

“Ah. Vinyl. Excuse me.” They sat cross-legged down next to Barty, on the aforesaid vinyl.

“I’m alright,” Barty said again.

“Yeah, but that word doesn’t mean a lot coming from you. Excuse my cold hands,” Leverton warned, and placed the back of their hand to Barty’s forehead and each cheek in turn, brushing some hair out of the way first so it wouldn’t get in his eyes. Barty flinched slightly, having gone from unpleasantly hot to unpleasantly cold in the time since he’d first made contact with the floor. “Feels like you’ve got a fever. Do you think you might be coming down with something?”

“You just said your hands are cold, though,” pointed out Barty.

“Well, yeah,” Leverton conceded with a snarl of laughter—“‘cause compared to a face I figured they would be.”

“Thought you meant ‘cause you’d come from outside.”

“No; I wasn’t cold out there.”

This week had brought their town its first cold snap of the season, but in California an early-fall cold snap parses out to more like absence of heat wave. The last few days it had been cool enough to keep the AC off, but it was still t-shirt weather out from ten to ten. Leverton’s tie dye, sweatpants and flip-flops attested to this—as well as to how quickly they must have hurried to meet him. Though they worked from home, Leverton usually put on jeans to meet the public. And that tie-dye t-shirt, Barty knew, had a small hole in one armpit. It pleased him to remark that he could still keep track of details like this; too bad these examples of lucidity were invisible to Leverton.

“You look pretty sick,” said the latter. “How do you feel?”

Come to think of it, the word lucid itself could also mean translucent. That was about how he felt: diaphanous, vague, barely-there. His mother always said with it instead of lucid; though she’d never said so, he’d deduced the antonym of with it must be out of it.

“Not my best,” Barty admitted.

“But you didn’t faint, or hurt yourself, or anything.”

“No. Worried I might, but figured I’d preempt it.”

“Always thinking ahead,” scoffed Leverton, combing their hand through some more of Barty’s hair. “Your hair’s all sweaty; did you know that?”

“I did not.”

“You don’t usually sweat that bad just from feeling faint, I didn’t think.”

“You’re right.”

“So again I say, You look sick.”

“I’m probably getting sick.”

Leverton sighed through pursed lips, making them billow noisily. “Well, shit, pal, this is a terrible place to be sick.”

“Such language,” mumbled Barty, without conviction. He was so unused to letting swears pass without comment in this room that it would have taken more effort to say nothing. But Leverton, rightly, ignored this comment:

“Can you stand? Maybe I could get you some water—would that help?”

“Yes, and yes. On my desk,” Barty said, pointing without looking up.

“Uhhh… ah! I see it.” Leverton stood up and brought back Barty’s bottle of water. They sat again, uncapped it, and, once Barty had sat back up on his elbows, handed it to him and gripped his shoulder, presumably to help him keep his balance. Barty gulped down several mouthfuls, broke off to catch his breath, and shoved the cold-sweaty bottle back into Leverton’s hand, eager to lie back down. “Ah!—no—wrong way!” squawked Leverton. “Are you sure you can stand.”

“Just need a minute. Can you drag the desk chair over? Seems a pleasanter middle ground than.”

“Oh—good point. Sure.” They rolled it over, apologizing for the squeaky wheel. When he had more energy, among his friends Barty would sneer and hiss at such unpleasant sounds; the chair’s squeak hurt his head now too, of course, but somehow at the moment he found it easier to withstand unpleasant phenomena than resist them.

After a minute, he did indeed pull himself up and slither into the chair. (Leverton evidently knew better than to offer a hand to help him up; such offers would hurt his pride, and possibly also his shoulders.) His hands shook as he gripped the arms of the chair to haul himself up into it; his head spun; he was so weak the exertion hurt his chest and all four limbs. When he subsided to catch his breath his head throbbed raucously. He leant it into his hand—whose support Leverton then seconded with their own hand. Their touch chilled him at first, but he lacked the strength (whether of will or body who knew) to scoot away. He hadn’t realized how much the weight of his head had hurt his wrist until Leverton’s help removed that hurt.

“You’re really not feeling well, are you.”

“Seems that way.”

“Thank god I didn’t let you drive yourself home.”

“Too bad for the kids, they’re all gonna catch it,” Barty muttered, regretfully; “as will you, of course. And I won’t do nearly this good a job of looking after you.”

“I don’t mind. You’ll do your best.”

“Will I?”

“You always seem to. From my limited perspective.”

“I don’t have your patience. Or your empathy.”

Leverton scoffed: “Empathy? Yes you do! You feel other people’s feelings just as well as I do—you’re just shyer about it. You’re just emotionally constipated.”

“Perhaps,” granted Barty. He doubted that first half, but could already feel himself smiling at Leverton’s flatteries, and knew if he tried to argue that they would hold the smile against him as an admission. So he gave his doubts no more explicit form than, “Nice of you to say so.”

“Are you ready to try and walk to the car?”

Barty sighed, sort of phlegmily—almost a hiss. “Might as well be.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #300

that’s a lot of time wasted, lmao

If you were a witch, which animal would be your familiar? Could I have like, a melanistic barn owl? That'd be dope. They're fuckin gorgeous. If there's a design on your shirt, what is it? Ha, speaking of owls... Would you ever visit a ghost town? MOTHERFUCKER would I. Bringing my camera, too. What would you do if you found out your life was only a simulation controlled by someone else? I have a very much Detroit: Become Human (phenomenal game, btw) outlook on this: I think, therefore I am. It honestly wouldn't affect me terribly. I sure would hate my creator though, jfc, lmao. What's the scariest thing you've accidentally found on the internet? Okay so there is this one video filmed by some guys who had this really strange, sulking guy in black stalking them, and it ends with the suspected murderer slinking over to the guys (who were by this point finding it almost funny, due to how the man was acting) and charging with a knife, I think, once he was very close. I believe the men were never found afterwards. It is SO goddamn unnerving. Is there anything bothering you right now? Not to be a Negative Nancy, but when isn't there lmao. Thinking of every Halloween costume you've had, which one was the most creative? I never had creative ones, really. What's the picture on your calendar for this month? I don't have a relevant calender, just old meerkat ones on a wall in my room. If you were a mythical creature, which would you be? As much as I love dragons, they're targeted too much in fantasy to kill, so let's not, haha. Being a dryad would be cool. Or druid. Either/or. If you were an animal, which would you be? A housecat, ig. Were you ever bullied when you were younger and how did you handle it? I consider myself very lucky to have not been. Have you ever thrown something away and then wanted it back? Okay so it's "deleted" versus "thrown away," technically, but there are two senior prom pictures in specific I desperately want back because fuck my low self-esteem, I look beautiful in them and so damn happy. I even tried Facebook restore programs that supposedly recovered all pictures you ever removed, but I couldn't salvage them. I'm still pissed about it, haha. What's one random city you want to visit? I don't have a specific city, per se. More so just countries in general. If you owned a store, what would you most likely sell? I think owning a pet supply store would be really cool, with some animals that are actually very well-cared for, unlike chain pet stores. I HATE those, vehemently. So unspeakably ignorant and neglectful. If you had a garden, what sort of plants would you grow? I don't want a garden, but hypothetically, I'd love orchids, dahlias, tiger lilies, a weeping willow tree, some strawberries... What's your favorite phase of the moon? Full, of course. What's the song for your life right now? I've felt extremely connected to Seether's "Weak" lately. Do you believe that when you die, you get to see all your loved ones again? I hope so... Who would you be the most excited to see? DO I ACTUALLY NEED TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION?????????? Do you enjoy reading National Geographic magazines? If I'm like, sitting in a waiting room and they're available, I'll go for them. Do you know anyone who's serving in the military right now? Welcome to the South, baby. The boys graduate, they're going straight for the military. I only have one real friend who was one but left tho because he fucking hated it. Does or did either of your parents serve in the military? No. Has anything in your house ever caught on fire? Not in this house, no. As a small child, did you ever feel as if you were different or weird? Absofuckinglutely. I have A LOT of bad memories of instances where I felt like "the weird kid." Can you say "happy birthday" in another language? Omg... I forgot the German phrase. Wow, I'm rusty. What subjects do you or did you get the worst grades in? Math. Do you have photos to go with all of the contacts in your phone? I don't have pictures that go with any. Who was the last person to comment on one of your photos on Facebook and how did you meet that person? I just checked, and it was my friend Summer. I met her because she was actually first friends with my younger sister in pre-k, but we grew closer than they did in our teen years. What career paths are you considering? I just want to be a photographer. So badly. But I've felt super, super discouraged lately. Do you watch music videos? I pretty much never do, but rather listen through the artists' Topic uploads or lyric videos. I don't generally like official music videos because they tend to have other sounds/parts/breaks/etc. in them that distract from the song. Have you ever clicked on those banner ads that promise a prize for clicking? Probably by accident at some point in time. What kind of computer are you using? Acer Nitro. What kind of computer do you wish you were using? I'm fine with what I have. Have you ever had a weight change so drastic you went to the doctor? .-. How cold does it have to be before you put on a sweater? Depends on how long I'll be outside, but in most situations, in the 50s. Do you eat things off the floor? Um, ew. Who do people say you look like? My sisters. Do you usually get your homework done on time? When I was in school, I was very serious about having my homework finished by the date it was due. Have you ever framed your old movie ticket stubs? I've kept some, but never framed any. Do you have a digital camera? A Canon, yeah. Have you ever stuck something inappropriate in an electrical outlet? Bitch I ain't tryna get electrocuted. How many days has it been since your last birthday? My b-day is actually coming up soon; the 5th of February. Do you want any more siblings than you have now? Well, considering both my parents (and stepmom) are in their 50s... How easily shocked are you? VERY. I am extremely jumpy and on edge at like all times. You like the color blue, don't you? I mean yeah. Particularly the lighter tints. Who was the last person who asked you something that made you think? My therapist REEEEAAAALLY makes me do this. She's an absolute pro at getting me to dig deep into myself. Ever fired a gun? No, and I don't want to. From 1-10, how would you rate your cooking skills? Is 0 an option? Do you notice the heat or the cold more? HEAT, JESUS FUCK. It can be one or two degrees above what I consider stable and I'll be sweating. I'm hypersensitive to it I know from being in such a consistent temperature in my room like 24/7. Do you believe in miracles? Probably no. What hurts more: scratches or bites? Bites, if you're talking serious ones. Do you prefer rabbits to mice? No, mice (and especially rats) are absolutely amazing, intelligent animals. Bonus points for being mega cute too, though I do find rabbits cuter. Who out of all the people you know reasonably well is the most "dark?" Sara, haha. Favorite chocolate-based candy? Reese's. Do you call anyone babe or baby? My pets sometimes. Name me a food you used to like that you now don't: Peas, olives. Name me a food you now like but never used to: Mashed potatoes, IF prepared very well (by my standards, obviously). Would you rather live in Europe, The US, or Australia? By this point, take me to Europe. If it wouldn't be such a huge life change and leaving so many people, I would 120% move to Canada, but out of these, Europe will do. Would you rather have a big house, a lot of kids, or a high flying job? Give me the high-flying job, 100%. I don't want kids, and I have no need for a large house. Is crime a big problem in your area? Oh yes. What’s your town/city most well-known for? By the locals, being the crime hub, actually, lol. Name 5 objects that you don’t have but would like right now: Hmmm... I want a 40g tank as an upgrade for Venus, a gaming chair for when I turn the extra room into my "office" so I don't destroy my back sitting there, new glasses and a driving permit, and don't forget a gd tattoo needle pounding my skin. :^) If you were given the choice to choose your child’s gender, would you? Yes, I would absolutely want a girl just because IF I wanted kids, I'd want a daughter named Alessandra. Do you get along well with your family doctor/your doctor? Yeah, she's nice. What types of soups do you like? None. If a color could reflect your current mood, which would it be? Grayish blue. The last time you saw fireworks? I really don't know; it's been years, at least. Have you ever gone to a movie premiere? Possibly for Silent Hill: Revelation, but I'm not certain. Who was the last person to make you laugh out loud? My mom, because she made me remember something funny. What was the last commercial you heard selling? *shrug* Do you prefer fairly common names or a bit out of the ordinary ones? Oh, definitely rare and unique ones. Would you rather have a pet cat, dog, horse or tortoise? At this current time, a dog for Mom, which we're actually probably getting. She misses having one super badly. Is your laugh loud, normal or very silent? My laugh is loud and obnoxious as fuck. What are you interested in that most people would be surprised to know? Tarantulas, probably. I love them, even though spiders kinda scare me. Last movie you watched the whole way through? Elf, I think, with Sara's fam. What's your favorite fruit? Strawberries are where it's at. Last time you drank coffee? I've only ever sipped coffee to try to see if I liked it. Never have. I THINK I last took a sip of Sara's when we went on a breakfast date? Has anyone ever called you rich? Calling me rich would be entirely ludicrous. What makes you feel beautiful? Nothing. How many bathrooms are in your house? Two. Last time you were on a plane and where did you go? A couple years ago, coming home from Illinois. Favorite flavor muffin? Uggghhhh chocolate. Do you prefer stripes or polka dots? Polka dots. I tend to find circles visually appealing. Did you take Music when you were in school? I think all the elementary school students did. I was also in band in middle and high school; I played the flute. Why did you last feel like crying? I'm just sick of how my life is going. Do you find being alone with strangers scary, interesting, or indifferent? I find it either awkward or terrifying, depending on the gender. It's not a willing thing or intended sexism whatsoever, I'm just naturally afraid of men. Do your initials spell a legitimate word? If so, what? No. Does someone’s background affect whether you'll be friends with them or not? Well, it depends on what they've done. How about their religious background? No. If someone admitted cheating in a past relationship of theirs, would you trust them? Nope, bye. Did you ever want to be a cook as a kid? No. How about a fashion designer? No. Do you prefer fire or ice? Fire aesthetically, but ice is certainly less intimidating. When happy, do you become more talkative? OH yes. Are you offended easily by non-politically correct language? No, really. I wouldn't say derogatory terms, but I really don't understand why most people put so much weight into a single made-up word. But again, you won't hear that language coming out of my mouth because I understand that it just does hurt some people, and I respect that. Do you think the censors/fcc go a bit too far or are just right? It's gone overboard, imo. What's your I.Q? I don't want to know, haha. Have you ever taken a martial art? Which one{s}? No. Do you know anyone who is scared of you? Um, no. What person who has died would you bring back and why? Probably Steve Irwin. His children have done FUCKING FANTASTIC at carrying on his legacy and purpose, but I feel he could've taught the world so much more than he had time to... Do you like watermelon? No. Too watery. Can you remember the month of your first kiss? Yes, actually. March. What do you think is the most interesting thing about you? I'm unsure, really. Do you like being complimented or does it make you uncomfortable? Both. What artist's paintings do you find the most beautiful? This is an impossible question. What about the most disturbing? Oh man, I watch this one person on deviantART that makes especially creepy artwork. I follow a loooot of dark artists, though, so it's difficult to pick. Have you ever gone to a camp or summer school? A church-related summer thing, yes, as a kid. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Pokemon was/is where it's at. What was your biggest fear as a child? Thunderstorms, holy shit. Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater? Be able to breathe underwater. What about invisibility or mindreading? Definitely invisibility. Mindreading would just... suck. Hurt. Especially if you couldn't control it. Which stereotype do you dislike the most? Good question, considering I hate a shit ton. Can you remember all your past teachers names? No, not all of them. Do you like talent shows? Which ones? I don't mind watching 'em. I particularly used to love America's Got Talent. Have you ever failed an important exam? In what? Yes; I failed horribly at my final math exam the last time I was in school. Are you on any meds? Too many. Just way too many for someone my age. I'm really starting to think I'm over-medicated to where it's dulling my senses, feelings, and also destroying my memory. But I kinda need like... all of them. I'm talking to my psychiatrist in just a couple days though, actually, and I'm going to talk to him about maybe trying to wean me off my OCD med, since I haven't had big symptoms in a long time. I wanna see how I deal without it. What color is your razor? Black and orange. What is your fave frozen treat? Just the classic ice cream. Which supermarket do you like to shop at? We tend to get our groceries from Wal-Mart. Do you struggle to say ‘no’ to things you don’t want to do? YESSIREE. Are you friends with someone a lot of people dislike? I don't think there's anyone that is widely disliked, no. Have you ever had to deal with someone close to you going off to war? No, thankfully. Other than yourself, who did you last buy something for? Mom. What's something you complain about frequently? My legs hurting. It's hard to ignore when taking one step is painful. Have you ever talked about your period with a guy? Were they okay with it, or grossed out? I certainly haven't talked about it in-depth, but it's been mentioned in some way when I was with Jason. I mean we were together for three and a half years, sexually active (and I ain't doing jackshit if it's that time of the month), and I spent as much time with him as possible, so... it woulda came up. I'm sure he was indifferent about it, he was a mature guy. Have you ever been to an Asian (any type) market? If so, what is the closest one to you? No. I've never even heard of one around here. Have you ever slept with a member of the opposite sex without having sex? Back up two questions, haha. That was normal. How would you feel if your significant other had tattoos? Shit man, I love tattoos. I'd obviously not care. How have you been feeling today? Depressed. Where’s your phone right now? On my chest. I'm lying down. Is there a certain person that makes you feel safe? ugh When you drink alcohol with friends, do you play drinking games? I never have. What are the best kind of Girl Scout cookies? I don't remember their names, honestly... but the chocolate and peanut butter ones come to mind.

[crick-elf]

Hi! Im sorry if this is too forward or means nothing to you, but I just wanted to say how much respect I have for you just from reading a few of your posts. You give off a sense of eloquence and authority in your writing that is really pretty. Personally, and I am sorry if I offend, I am not a fan of Christianity because of all the horrors that have happened in its name. But I still have deep respect for you as a Christian, because you stand firm with your faith and ideals. You stated how the organization has twisted the religion it was built off, and called it out as the monster it has become. I really respect that and I learned something. Thank you

Thank you SO MUCH for saying so. You really have no idea how much you just brightened my day. I struggle daily with my faith, as I don't feel welcome in it at all; I find the frequent hypocrisy of the church repulsive, and as I am a bisexual man, married to a bisexual woman, I frequently find myself in the position of having to lie about myself to people who are being totally honest with me about who they are, burdened with the knowledge that if they knew my truth they would more often than not drop all pretense and denounce me. I have had the misfortune of feeling all respect for a reputable person wither and die from a single word, uttered in confidence. I was raised in the Southern Baptist Faith and I have, from a young age, witnessed every form of inequity, hypocrisy, base cruelty, and willful ignorance in abundance. Despite my worst doubts and best efforts, I find that I cannot so easily shrug off my faith. I accept science as the natural expression of God's will in the universe, I accept that God does not make mistakes, and God cannot be a hypocrite, and therefore whatsoever God creates is perfect; it is only for us to understand how. I can't seem to find any church that echoes my values. If I must be a voice in the wilderness, I will. I don't expect my words to change anything, but someone has to speak truth. I'm so very glad that you appreciated what I said, and though to comment on it. However, I ask that you not have terribly high expectations of me. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and that heart is big and full of passion. Sometimes that passion gets the best of me and I look like an absolute asshole. Please know that if you see me embarrass myself at some point, I usually have the sense of shame to at least delete it and limit the harm I do.

[mochiyoonfi]

Charlie Puth Uses BTS for Clout... Again

In 2018, all of Jungkook’s hardcore fanboying came to a peak and he shared a stage collaboration with Puth, singing his song ‘We don’t talk anymore’. Then after this, all mention of BTS was wiped from Charlie’s twitter to never see light of date again and no further updates of the collab or opportunities that may have arisen.

So what happened?

Charlie actually has an automatic thing on his twitter, deleting every tweet thats a year old. 

SO BEFORE I GET INTO THIS, EVERYONE KNOW THAT CHARLIE ISNT WIPING ANY MENTION FROM BTS FROM HIS TWITTER.

2015

It began in 2015 when BTS twitter uploaded a video of one of Charlie’s collaborations with another artist, however, it highlighted Charlie's voice.

2017

Jungkook uploaded via his alias, JK, a cover of Charlie Puth’s single with Selena Gomez, We Don’t Talk Anymore. 

Only hours after this was uploaded to twitter, Charlie Puth saw this and listened to it, eventually retweeting it with the words ‘Love this Jungcook’. It was praise, even if it was mispelt. His mispelling was/is ignored because everyone is human and therefore makes mistakes. (This tweet was deleted before the one year erased it, however it can be argued it was because of the possible offense that may be caused by the mispelling of Jungkook’s name.)

Puth tweets ‘I really like BTS’ music’.

BTS Twitter, ever quick to respond, tweets ‘We really like Charlie Puth’s music.’

On a radio interview, Charlie references BTS and his earlier Jungkook mispelling. "I think [BTS] are a fantastic band and I want to meet them in person one day. And apologize to Jungkook for mispronouncing his name." 

The day after, a second cover by BTS is dropped of ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ by Jimin and Jungkook.  (Charlie doesn’t respond but he also DOESN’T HAVE to)

Charlie tweets ‘Yo @/bts_twt..DMs!!

There was no follow up on this and we still don’t know what happened...

2018

An hour after Puth released his music video for ‘The Way I Am’, Puth tweets ‘jungkook look’ and links his video

I can’t find if BTS ended up responding to this, although it seems they didn’t. Jungkook did however in an MTV interview, say this was his favorite song.

Jungkook has made various comments about Puth in interviews and ARMY’s have dubbed him ‘Charlie Puth’s Biggest Fanboy’.

Then they had a stage show together of ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ With JK singing Selena’s parts, and the two young men seemed to enjoy themselves, with Charlie smiling widely the whole time.

2019

All mention of BTS from Puth’s twitter is cleaned and ARMY is furious. They however, don’t take into notice the fact that ALL of Charlie’s tweets from the year are gone. One remains of BTS saying ‘This was fun’ with a link to Jungkook and Charlie’s live stage collab.

2020 (July)

Puth finally responds to the amassed hate brought by Toxic ARMY.

//“I don’t usually pay any mind to things like this, but something has to be said. This dangerous, toxic, internet screaming match between ‘fandoms’ has to stop. I’m 28 years old, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me when some person I don’t know writes a nasty message to me...”

“...saying things like “I used BTS for clout”. I don’t know what that means- I love those guys and they are super talented.”

“But what I do know is that 10 years ago, language like this directed towards me would’ve affected me deeply in a very negative way. And I’m thinking about all the other younger kids on twitter seeing stuff like this on a daily basis.”

“ It may sound cliche, but please be nicer to each other on here. No more screaming about made up nonsense. It does nobody any good. We all need to love each other MORE THAN EVER RIGHT NOW. “//

After this tweet, many ARMY’s saw that they had wronged the singer and apologized for their malicious words. Many apologized for the others in the fandom who misrepresented BTS through their unkind words.

2020 (August)

SO Yoonfi, WHY are you talking about this if it’s been resolved?

Well. After the release of BTS’ new song ‘Dynamite’, which has gone completely viral breaking the record for most views in 24 hours at 101 million.

After this, Charlie uploaded a tik tok. To be more specific, a cover. A cover of the new BTS song. Since there is a current challenge of dancing a cover of the song, which BTS Tik Tok, (I’m thinking it’s Jhope) has commented on various videos of these.

Why Is this a problem Yoonfi? WELL. Charlie didnt end up crediting BTS AT ALL. On the tik tok it says, Original sound by Charlie Puth. Nothing else. No credit at all to BTS.

(^^This photo was sent to me by a friend as I don’t own tik tok. She told me she doesn’t need to be credited. Thanks ILY)

So I actually didn’t see TOO much wrong with this. Like, maybe he forgot..?

I screenshotted these from his twitter, instagram and Tik Tok where he uploaded them. If you look closely, you’ll notice NONE of these uploads of the cover have any mention of BTS or Dynamite. 

If he didn’t see the point, then I’ll explain it. 

Not all of Charlie’s fans will listen to BTS and vice versa. This may mislead, and it has, misled his fans into thinking that this is Charlie’s original song, and that he will upload a new song of this soon. 

It’s unfair to your fans to not tell them it’s not yours.

Now, a month after he addressed ARMY’s hate on him, will he have to speak out again?

COMMENTS ON THE POSTS

[sunflowereveryday]

I’m sorry

I made a post in regards to defending Sowon’s issue and the other stupid things that idols have done. - Not really defending Sowon but more like talking about anti-cancel culture in K-pop. However, her issue did inspire me to write that post. - I am really sorry that my post created discomfort. I’m also sorry that the tone of my post came off as pro-racism, pro-nazi and pro-antisemitism. I’m sure my post is somewhere floating in tumblr archives. After I posted my post, I received comments saying that I was pro-nazi and pro-racism. I re-read what I wrote and indeed, I did tone down racism in K-pop - that wasn’t my intentions.- I panicked and deleted my account because I felt so ashamed of myself that I left the impression that I was pro-racism and pro-antisemitism. If by any chance, you read what I wrote and it created discomfort, I am sorry.

ALSO THERE IS NOT WAY IN HELL, I WOULD BE IN FAVOUR OF THE HOLOCAUST. I didn’t waste a good 16-17 years of education to come to the conclusion that genocide is acceptable. Please don’t paint me with that narrative. I acknowledge that my previous post came off ignorant and toned down racism but this is not mean that I automatically agree with Nazi and racism. I have experienced racism. Although what I experienced were mainly in forms of microaggression, that’s enough for me to know that racism is not acceptable.

PS. I also want to point out that when I saw that picture, it also rubbed me the wrong way and it did leave a distasteful feel, but I just don’t agree with cancel culture.

However, I just want to clarify what I meant by ‘if an idol is racist, it shouldn’t concern us.’ Of course, every one should be held accountable for their actions. If someone display racist behaviour and have racist tendency, yes we should call them out. What I meant by ‘it shouldn’t concern us’, I didn’t mean Kpop idols are excused for their racist act but what I meant is, how these idols act, how these idols behave is truly none of our business. I’m sure everyone has encountered horrible people in their lives; have encountered racist people in their lives. And how do you handle it? You just call them out then cut them out of your life. It doesn’t become your responsibility to teach them how to live their life. I wasn’t implying it’s ok to be racist but what I was implying is that we cannot police someone’s ethics and morals. Indeed it’s our jobs as individuals to call out any injustice but how that person reacts and how they decide to change is no longer our business. As an individual, we can try to be best versions of ourselves, we can’t always get involved of how a person decides to think and grow. Of course if their actions hurt other people then we should get involve to stop them hence there are laws and organisation that tries to combat systematic racism and discrimination. Moreover, another reasons why I said ‘it shouldn’t concern us.’ This is because at the end of day, we truly don’t know these idols, thus, I don’t think we should always assume that these idols have great morals and ethics. When an idols gets exposed for their racist behaviour, is this something for you to truly stress and worry about? I’m not saying you should get over it but don’t be shocked that certain idols are indeed awful human beings off camera. Everyone has the right to feel whatever they want. But I also wanted to point out is that when these idols get exposed, as an outsider all we can do is not support them and move on. How a person decides to live their life is not something we should worry about unless they start hate crimes, abusing their power to discriminate other races and ethnicity.

Furthermore, I know WW2 is world history and that every countries teaches WW2. What I meant by ‘we shouldn’t expect Korea to teach history in the West’, this is because whilst I know WW2 is world history, on the other hand, how every countries teaches WW2 is different. Every countries have their own narrative when it comes to re-telling history. I remember I had a debate in a seminar in regards to UK’s education curriculum heavily censoring and filtering the ugly side of British history. Hence, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt for not knowing certain aspects of history. If UK censors and filters history classes, I am therefore not surprised if other countries censors and filters their history classes as well.

I just don’t agree with cancel culture and witch hunting people for their misconduct. Of course, people should be held accountable and own up to their mistakes but who are we to judge them? I do think it becomes an issue if we think we’re in the position to decide someone’s punishment or fate. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes and everyone is allowed to learn from their mistakes. I agree with that the idea that ‘The yesterday you doesn’t define the you that you’re today.’, ‘Everyday is a new day.’  Again, I am not sugarcoating Sowon’s issue but I just think telling her that the pictures she posted created discomfort is already enough. How she reflects on her actions is no longer our business. If you decide to not support her because of those pictures that’s completely fine.