#I feel like all of this is pretty...objectively correct? But I'm aware I can't *really* be objective when it comes to carlos and charles lo

[f1-stuff]

mal, do you have any thoughts about the general cattiness of fred's comments about carlos and their strategy vs. his pace today? it feels like such a sharp 180 over how defensive fred was last week, but it really... felt like fred hung him out to dry this weekend. or are we all reading too much into it, and everything is business as usual in maranello?

I do have some thoughts on this tbh

I think that his comments are probably a mix of his genuine honest opinion, what the data/lap times were telling him, disappointment for the team not getting P2 in the Constructors', and the comments themselves sounding harsher than he maybe intended bc of both him being ESL and people's paraphrasing online making it sound worse than it really was.

If you read what he said in its entirety or watch his interviews with Sky, he clarifies that he does not think they lost the Constructors' in this last race, and that really they lost it bc of mistakes/incidents over the course of the season (which is true). Also, that they've performed much better in the second half of the season, so Carlos' lack of pace today was a surprise and something they need to analyze in the tests Tuesday. I don't think he entirely meant it as a 'Carlos performed badly,' and more as a 'the pace of his car was poor,' the blame being on the car/setup and not the driver.

I have no doubt that Fred knows how talented and skilled Carlos is, but he's also an honest man. Sometimes, we love that! Sometimes, it can come across quite harsh. But I still appreciate his honesty over the alternative. However, I do think that he avoided taking any responsibility for the strategy (which undoubtedly did not help Carlos). He probably should've never started on hard tyres, but I think an aggressive one-stop strategy (hard-medium or medium-hard) would've been better than whatever the heck they did instead. That way, cars on track would be forced to overtake Carlos, rather than the other way around.

More than Fred's comments though, I was disappointed by Ferrari's race report, the wording of which was honestly...abysmal imo.

Not only does this practically lay the blame on Carlos for losing the Constructors' for them, it also fails to acknowledge that he's the race winner in question for Ferrari this year. It gives the credit to "the team" for that win, when I would argue that it was Carlos' driving and clever DRS strategy that won him that race, not his team.

I also took issue with this paragraph:

It doesn't highlight (or even mention) Carlos' efforts or struggles whatsoever. (I want to stress that I agree that Charles tried everything, and that he had an amazing drive. He isn't to blame for the wording here. The P2 all came down to him in the end bc of the position the team and the car put their drivers in this year.)

I agree that Carlos struggled in this race (his pace dropped off from Stroll in front of him by a lot, although he came back at times), but it wasn't all on him, and I expected more support from his team, especially when he was able to claw his way up from P18 to P6 last race in Vegas. It wasn't a good weekend in Abu Dhabi for him, but drivers have bad weekends sometimes. Maybe if the strategy team or the car had less bad weekends, then this off-week for Carlos wouldn't have been such a hard hit.

Anyway, in the end, it might just be lack of awareness on the team's side, in terms of how their statements come across. I'm glad they're showing support for Charles after a rough season for him, and I think it's fair for Fred to be frank with Carlos if he's done a poor job, but it doesn't need to be shared with the media. If he must, then he should also take accountability on the team side. That's just my opinion 🤷🏻‍♀️

[witherby]

how would the batfam have gone about Flit's initial presentation of their secondary gender? (as in when they first showed signs of presenting and presented).

Oh, great question!

Early signs:

You're developing a slight fever and your scent is changing. Gone is the milky, powdery, pup scent everybody has when they're young, and now it's developing into something noticeable.

Tim immediately starts placing bets on what you'll become. He thinks you'll be another beta. Dick is factoring in your spunky little attitude and assumes you'll become an alpha like him. Bruce does not know or care; he just wants you to have a healthy presentation with no complications. Hal already instinctively knows what you'll be. Something in his gut is already aware you'll be an Omega and he's gathering nesting materials for you to ease the transition.

You start scenting your family members more as your secondary glands develop. Has your dad always had this really strong, dark chocolate scent? Has Alfred always smelled like the tea he drinks? You're quickly learning how to discern their moods from their scents as well, and whatever sensations or feelings they're trying to push through them. Jason gives you a big squeeze and you smell lovepacklove, and you cry because that's so nice that it can be conveyed so instinctively!

The Shift:

Your fever reaches a crescendo and your body feels unbelievably sore. You can do little else but lie in bed and breathe through it. Your scent is sharpening and developing further as your caste reaches maturity.

Hal nests you with clothes pilfered from the entire family. Everybody takes shifts keeping an eye on you and ensuring you're healthy and hydrated through the process. Their scents all keep you comforted and help you feel safe while you're in such a vulnerable condition for the next day and a half. At this point, it's clear that you're presenting as an Omega, and only two of them are really surprised.

Post-Presentation:

It's a bit of a sensory overload for a while. Everything feels like it's been shifted a little to the left, and you now have to navigate the world of scents and deferment and challenges and heats. God, you didn't realize how fucking annoying a heat was until you started experiencing them for yourself.

But you don't mind the change overall. In a family of emotionally-stunted vigilantes, now you can read them a hell of a lot better with a quick whiff. Your dad is not indifferent to you wanting to start a cafe that caters to heroes, civilians, and villains after all — he's actually broadcasting panicpupdanger pretty fucking loudly in his scent despite the straight face.

Your family helps you navigate this new layer of the world, too, gently correcting your mistakes when you accidentally keep challenging Dick for the TV remote (it's not an accident, you wanna put your fucking show on!) or keep deferring to Tim over what you should eat for dinner (it's not an accident, you can't make up your mind between tacos or spaghetti and want him to pick).

All in all, they're very supportive of your changes and want to help you become a confident Omega!

Bonus: Conner

This boy did not go through a natural presentation. Lex Luthor implanted information about secondary sexes in his mind when he was cooking in the tank, but not how to navigate them. He's the freakiest alpha to ever alpha when he pops out. Deferring to people he shouldn't. Deferring to objects he shouldn't. Challenging everybody and everything unintentionally. Ignoring actual Challenges posed against him. Unsure how to mask his scent so his emotions are on full fucking display 24/7/365. Ruts are a confusing mess for him. Conner needs some help.

"I'm sorry, I'm not Challenging your bat plushy on purpose I just don't know how to reel these instincts in. I've been alive for two months. I also think we're meant to be together forever. Can I bite you? My body is screaming at me to bite you. You can bite me back. Maybe. You might break your teeth trying actually. I'm so sorry. You smell amazing btw. That was weird to say? I'm sorry. I'm Conner what's your name?"

[biancasaidstfu]

Hi Bianca. I hope all is well with you. My name is Gracie and I know I'm anon atm but for personal reasons, I can't reveal my account name here on Tumblr. For starters, I have to warn you that this might be long, and I will apologize for that but I hope you find this worth reading.

I know nothing of Bridgerton, Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan. Although I am familiar that they all are actors. I heard the names before. I know nothing of the lore, the fandom nor the shipping. But my close friend does. This morning, she came to my office on the verge of tears and I tried to comfort her. We had this series of conversation, hence I ended up here. She showed me an IG story of Nicola, and I noticed it was a reposted story of user JakeLDunn congratulating her on BAFTA nomination(CONGRATULATIONS!!) and I looked at her with questioning look, so I told her that, "Well that's sweet of him. A friend congratulating a friend on achieving such feat on her career." And then here what's started everything. My friend looked at me like I just said something life changing and then she seemed relief for some reason so we had a chat. "So it looks that way to GA huh. Gosh."

My friend told me that she admittedly shipped Nicola and Luke. And she also said she is so confused about Nicola and Jake because they are reportedly dating but a lot of you here felt differently so she asked me to offer my thoughts objectively as a outsider so I said sure. And my friend specifically told me that I can understand Nicola and Jake lore personally and I can understand now why.

To give you a little bit of info about me, I have a bestie (guy) that I met through a common friend. We have a huge age gap and we have a dating rumour amongst our friend group, even to outsiders. I thought about that way too at first, but then this bestie of mine started exhibiting odd behaviours that I only noticed. I saw the way he looked at our coworker (guy). His gaze lingered on our coworker and waaaaay too many signs that led me to conclude that he may be gay. So one day I asked him directly, because if he was really gay as I thought him to be, then the rumours of romance between us might cause some sort of rift and I want to correct that so I sat down with him, and clarified everything. And yes, he is gay. He said it himself. And he is also aware about the rumours of us dating and he did apologize for that. He felt like he used me as a cover up about his sexual orientation and he felt guilty do so, but his trauma about him coming out has led him to remain silent. But he also said it didn't stop him from slowly coming out, hence the signs that I saw. The one point where I truly believe he was gay is that I saw on his personal profile that he is following this painter in our city which is known for its nude paintings of men so yeah that pretty much summarizes it.

My point is, we got close, like real close and I don't mind holding hands with him. Hugging him, taking personal pics of each other without this gender norms. It seemed intimate to outsiders but we know the real deal between us. We are besties. And I secretly helped him with his love of his life, on how to pursue him while on the outside, and its the perfect cover up to be honest. Like I am being pressured to date somebody and I hate that, and now my parents don't bug me that much about dating because of my bestie and they are trying to respect our relationship (no we are not dating) but our age gap is making them feel odd but they are trying to respect that. I feel bad about lying but I don't want anybody really poking about my business, especially my love life and I suspect that something really similar is happening to Nicola.

If Jake Dunn suddenly came into picture without any warning, and if he is also rumoured to be part of LGBTQ+, you guys have the right to be suspicious. Because that's how I deflected any other romances with other people without being obvious and not to mention, its the perfect cover up. He is part of my friend group, my bestie and I am comfortable with him, but our relationship is mostly sister/brother that. If you guys felt like Nicola at some point tried to deny the narrative about her and Jake Dunn dating, you would've seen signs. Maybe personally or in social media where all their moves are being monitored. And then suddenly, you guys felt like the narrative is being pushed onto you guys, that's where you have to suspect something behind the scenes is going on. Because that's exactly how it happened to me, about my career and my family. Not to get detailed about it but all I did was I made sure the me and my gay bestie are kinda like in a romantic relationship to ensure the safety of our real relationship. He needed me to cover up his relationship with his bf (now fiancee) because of career issues and mine too. It was mutually consented and beneficial.

Ah, sorry that this have been long, but if you want to know my thoughts about Nicola and Jake Dunn is that, no, I don't believe they ever dated. Because I can see myself in Nicola. That's how I acted around my gay bestie. But you don't have to take this seriously tho, but its just a personal opinion of mine. And an outsiders point of view.

And my friend brought up a timeline, it made me suspicious because I think something happened last year that made Jake came into the picture. I don't have the complete lore yet but the way she told me about the events, I feel like I am missing something completely big.

And thank you miss Bianca! My friend told me if I wanted to share my thoughts about N&J situation so I said why not.

This is such an interesting perspective!!

I really enjoy hearing from people outside of this and what they think is going on based off what they see and having all the lore.

Thank you for sharing ❤️

[aspectpriority]

I dunno. I have a lot of weird hangups about how I present myself online - some rooted in privacy, some in not wanting to annoy the strangers that follow me or come across my blog, and a lot in just general shame around who I am and how I express that.

I'm supposed to be an Adult, but I'm keenly aware that what I considered "mature" was heavily influenced by the pushback against nonbinary and GNC folk here on Tumblr in like. 2015-ish? You know, all that "here's a Real trans man, and here's Skylar (derogatory)" shit. I don't think anyone should feel like they have to outline exactly who they are and label every aspect of their identity in their bio or whatever, but I guess I feel like people should be Able to if that's something that makes them happy. Admittedly, there are some genuine privacy concerns woven into that, especially around your mental health and y'know. Physical location. But that's just part of being online I guess?

It kinda feels like I've "outgrown" the stage where I'm Allowed to include things about myself in my bio - that it's better to provide as little information as possible. And I guess that's a route you can absolutely go down. But the internet is also like.. a pretty fundamental part of self expression for a lot of folk, and sharing parts of yourself - especially parts you can't share irl - is baked into that.

Something about me is that I'm really bad for assuming there's an Objectively Correct answer that I'm going to stumble upon eventually, when in reality, I reckon this is a far more subjective thing that everybody has to figure out for themselves, and is something that'll shift and move over time. What feels good now might feel silly in 2 years time, but that's a natural progression you wouldn't figure out if you just dug your heels in and refused to explore something in the first place, you know?

Also? The world won't fucking explode if I call myself a tiger therian on main. It literally won't. It really isn't that serious and I really don't need to tie myself into knots about it lmao

[renegadephilosopher]

Hello, I've noticed you've been posting about Aristophanes translations, I'm currently picking which one to start with, so I'm curious which one you'd recommend the most. And also if you don't mind which ones omit queerness and which add extra slurs (including the f-one). Thank you!

Hi, yes! Let me go through them :)

The Oxford classics translations by Stephen Halliwell are pretty solid, with detailed introductions and heavily referenced footnotes. I worked with this translation for a Plato seminar, and it's been one of the stronger ones I've come across. They also don't back down from Aristophanes' bawdy humor, which is good. It doesn't have the Greek in the book. My comment: it almost feels like he goes too far with the bawdiness in a way that doesn't feel... entirely correct with the original text. But beyond that, he's very readable and modern. He also does not call Agathon slurs! Yay!

Another note on Stephen Halliwell--he co-authored a book called Greek Homosexuality, covering gender and sexuality studies in Ancient Greece. This was published in 2016, I haven't read it yet but it might comfort you to know he's actually done a fair amount of research on the subject.

Benjamin Bickley Rogers translated all of Aristophanes' existent plays in the late 1890s/early 1900s. Big time censorship. Any mention of sex is almost completely gone, but he makes it sound so pretty that you almost don't notice until you look at the Greek (or any other translation) and then you're like wait a minute... It's very Victorian in its sensibilities. It does have the Greek side-by-side, though! This is usually what's used in Loeb editions... they should get someone new to translate it.

Perseus has English translations side by side with the Greek. This can be good if you want a totally literal translation--HOWEVER in the direct comparisons I've done, I've noticed blatant misunderstanding of some of the lines, to the point where the meaning drastically shifts under the writer's hand. This is specifically for the ones done by Eugene O'Neill Jr, though, which was done in 1938. I can't speak to the other ones, but this isn't the best place to start. It also has the Greek side-by-side. Not censorship exactly, but enough misunderstanding that the intents of lines can be omitted.

Alan Sommerstein did a series of translations in the 1990s. He gets some things right, but overall I found his translation offensive (derogotory). Yes, Aristophanes clowns on people. No, he was not calling Agathon a f----t (the actual word in the Greek is katapygon---generally it's listed in dictionaries as 'homosexual' 'gay man' or 'feminine man'. It doesn't carry the same violent hatred that the English f-slur does. In my opinion, by the 1990s, Sommerstein should have been fully aware of this as a classicist---and not done that).

The George Theodortis translation(s)... this one almost had me cry-laughing. It's very editorialized, done in the early 2000s, and makes some really, honest-to-god, fascinating word choices. He also includes stage directions (???). No footnotes, it's on a website/Amazon. This is not where I'd start, and definitely not the most faithful rendition, but it's deeply hilarious. It preserves the spirit, I'd say, if not going a very overboard (see: the way reddit commenters write when theyre trying to use as many swear words as humanly possible). Aristophanes was more... clever. This is just totally unhinged. Any rhetorical nuance in any of the lines is completely lost. Objectively bad representation of Greek comedy, it's like a drag bring script gone terribly wrong. I can't even say I know the intended audience for this. Also, if you're British it contains slurs ("poofter" i didn't even know what that was until I looked it up). No comment.

An additional note: consider what exactly each translator is trying to accomplish. Are they offering a prose structure? Are they trying to keep it poetry? Are they translating Aristophanes' humor as literal, or are they trying to find a modern English equivalent to it? And between those two options, which do you find more compelling? Do they have heavily cited footnotes, or footnotes describing the original Greek intent/context of the jokes, and is that something you personally care about? Depending on your answers to these, you'll probably find different translations more and less appealing.

I'm sure there are other translations, but these are the ones I'm familiar with! My advice to you: be very skeptical about things that come out before the 1960s. If you do take something from before that and you don't know Ancient Greek, I'd recommend reading both a modern translation and one an older period so you can find the discrepancies yourself. Aristophanes welcomes editorializing, because every translator has a different idea of how to preserve his humor. Some styles you'll find funnier. Others will fall flat.

This got long, but I hope this helps in your journey to read more Aristophanes, and you're welcome to ask any more questions if you have them! Also, if anyone following me has more to add/corrections to make---feel free to! This is all just based on my personal observations.

[wishing-stones]

Hii,,, hope I'm not bothering you too much. I've been a really big fan of your writing for a couple of months now. You don't have to respond to my ask if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand.

I'm someone who easily falls into paranoia spirals, and constantly second guesses whether my behaviour is socially appropriate since I have such a hard time reading a room. I have a habit of unknowingly stepping over the line when I get excited and thus making people uncomfortable, and only being aware of it if I'm directly confronted about it? Though because I absolutely hate conflict I often distance/isolate myself from the people I'm close to and find myself forming deeper emotional attachments to stuffed animals than people.

Would the guys find this to be a problem? Would they particularly care about someone being more open to an inanimate object than them, or if they need to regularly switch between reminding the person of boundaries and assurance that they aren't a selfish or awful person?

(Again, feel free to ignore this if you don't want to respond, I won't get upset if this ask gets deleted for being too much)

- 🖍 crayanon

Okay first of all Crayanon is adorable

Secondly, sending me asks is in no way bothering me! If I don't have the time or energy to respond to them, I often sit on them until I do (or until I come up with a sufficient answer for some of them). The only ones I wind up deleting are the ones I legitimately don't have an answer to LOL.

Thirdly, I'm seeing some self-deprecation here, and I'd like to remind you that you aren't a selfish or awful person for your neurodivergence. I prefer the company of animals, stuffed or not, to people most of the time as well. It's no shortcoming of yours that you have issues reading social queues-- especially when excited. You're far from alone in that aspect, and honestly? You can't blame yourself for crossing a boundary that you didn't know existed. All you can do is keep that boundary in mind going forward. You're not psychic, so you can't have known, and anyone who gets mad at you for crossing a line you weren't aware of... might be someone you may wish to rethink being around. This is a very annoying thing that happens with Neutotypical people, I feel. They expect you to know the exact social standards of every single setting everywhere you go when they... don't communicate that whatsoever. It isn't your fault, and this is all a very long winded way for me to say: Don't beat yourself up over stupid unspoken societal standards. It doesn't make you a bad person, and neither does wanting to avoid these situations. You aren't selfish, and you aren't awful.

With that out of the way...

Generally speaking, the guys are really good with mental health and neurodivergence in general. It's kind of a monster society thing-- since monsters are all so vastly different from one another, they don't tend to balk at anything that has to do with appearance or mentality. It's just the way you are, and if it happens to cause problems for you or them, they're still very supportive. They might nudge you towards professional help if it becomes a serious problem, but on the whole, these guys are very hard to offend by behavior.

Killer also has issues with boundaries sometimes, and needs to be corrected. With the guys, this usually comes in the form of playful violence, but you can shove him off or tell him to back up or steep off just as easily. His are hard to cross, but if you manage it, he's pretty gracious with letting you know, and if he sees you edging up on that line again, he'll playfully remind you of it. He won't get mad. The most you'll get for your troubles is a noogie.

Dust may snap if his boundaries are crossed in any serious way, but he's kind of a withdrawn person. He doesn't mean to be mean, but he'll be firm. He might get a little short and brisk to get you to back off... but he'll explain why once he's wound down from it. He might get a little rattled, but he won't hold it against you. Learning to be around new people can sometimes have a steep learning curve that can go on for years after you've met and grown close to them.

Axe only snaps if you get near his skull injury. Otherwise, he's pretty chill. If it's a social boundary, he isn't bothered too much, and will remind you that it's there calmly. He'll also warn you off of it if he feels you're creeping toward his or anyone else's boundaries, and praise you with reassurances if you remember these on your own. It'd do you well to remember that one of his biggest boundaries is to not startle him awake, since... that's less one for him and more one for you, so you don't get hurt on accident.

Cross will gently bodily move you if it's a physical boundary and just... say your name correctively if it's a social one. He'll explain his boundaries, but prefers reminding you rather than telling you. He thinks that you'll remember these on your own soon enough if he just... nudges you away from them. He's pretty understanding, even if he looks stern. Baggs takes note of these behaviors and works with you on them. Little memory exercises to remind you of where general boundaries might be, offers different methods of mindfulness, and takes everything in stride. Even if you cross his, he's patient and explains gently. He also likes the subtle sort of nudging you in the right direction-- making your own associations and your own corrections are far preferable than straight directions. It allows you to build your own habits and reminders that are custom-tailored to you.

Nightmare has arguably the hardest time with this because he is not pleasant when a boundary of his has been crossed. He'll get a little sour, but still remind you carefully of what that was and why he didn't like that. It's really not you, it's him. He gets cranky and bitter when bothered, but... he also has to remind himself that no one here is psychic and can't possibly know what he's thinking. He likes to lead you into conclusions yourself ("Do you remember what happened last time?") rather than actively correcting it, and does so as gently as he can. This bothers you deeply, and he can tell. He doesn't want you agonizing over a simple mishap that, in the grand scheme of things, matters very little.

As for being closer to stuffies than to them...

...They might get a little jealous, but the most that nets you is them sitting with the plush so that you have no excuse but to spend time with them. Oh no. Fortunately, they can be pretty still and quiet if you don't feel like people at the moment. Just hanging around quietly is enough.

[liskantope]

Today in Political Facebook Posts I Want To Complain About (really this kind of post should have its own tag): someone posted a meme with rainbows and the words "Wishing all THE HOMOPHOBES a super uncomfortable month".

I'm sort of down with this and my first instinct isn't to be critical (although the comment under it, suggesting we extend this to the whole year and towards not only homophobes but everyone to the right of "us [far on the left]" -- not my paraphrasing: the phrase "anyone right of us" is literally there -- annoys me considerably more), but it also doesn't feel like the kind of sentiment anyone should want to spread around in the service of being one's best self, somehow. This instead appears to reflect the insistence on a "warrior mode" model of the world which I find profoundly unsettling. I don't really want anyone of any social/political persuasion to feel uncomfortable unless it's a kind of discomfort that directly leads to growth. I feel kind of like responding with something like "Wishing all THE HOMOPHOBES a super enlightening month in which their exposure to gay stuff makes them chill out and realize that 'the gays' are actually pretty cool and not so scary after all."

I think also, part of what rubs me the wrong way about statements like that is that it comes across to me below the surface as, in a way, a form of bullying through exploiting the fact that today, throughout most of Western society, LGBT people and allies have the power to get in the faces of anti-LGBT people and not vice versa on a cultural level. Even as recently as 20 years ago, it wouldn't really make sense to wish an uncomfortable month on homophobes because Pride was still something that was pretty marginalized -- there was a vigorous culture around it and plenty of allies, but it wasn't being blasted into everyday awareness through slogans emanating from every major company, from the White House, etc. But in the 2020's, it is. Homophobes in 2004 didn't have to feel uncomfortable because, at least in most places, they could just completely avoid gay stuff mostly by not being around actual Pride events. Now they generally can't avoid it. And, much as I'm cynical about "corporate wokeness" and companies' role in making such a dramatic turnaround over the past decade, I'm glad that things are as they are in the 2020's rather than as they were in the '90's or '00's. But while for good rather than for evil, the pendulum has swung in the direction of giving the gay rights side the power of shoving it in conservatives' faces. And as soon as you step back from the object-level position of "pro- gay rights is the correct stance" and open your range of vision to include the other side's point of view, "I hope homophobes have an uncomfortable month" becomes "We happen to have the establishment very visibly on our side nowadays, so now I hope that that gets rubbed in your face as much as possible."

It reminds me of a (completely unrelated) Facebook friend, extremely on the progressive end of the spectrum but with a ton of conservative extended family, who a few years back got reported for posting a picture of herself breastfeeding her baby. Of course Facebook didn't respond to the report by taking down the picture because Facebook's policy was that breastfeeding doesn't constitute nudity and is okay. My friend never found out which conservative relative reported her picture but decided the most mature way to show her disdain for them was to post a dozen or so more pictures of herself breastfeeding in order to get back at them by making them super uncomfortable, openly stating that this was her purpose. Now, I'm 100% on the side of there being nothing wrong with breastfeeding in public or with images of it being publicly posted, that it shouldn't be considered sexual or indecent, and that attitudes against it probably ultimately stem from a form of misogyny. But I couldn't help interpreting my friend's response in light of "what if the shoe were on the other foot" or "what if the established rules (on Facebook) were the other way around", so that her behavior looked an awful lot like "Well we have a disagreement and Mom/Dad/Teacher the established authority (Facebook) happens to have taken my side of it, so now I just get to rub that in your face, nyah nyah nyah."

Yes, I know what the obvious response to my views is: how can I criticize an attitude of wanting to maximize enjoyment that a large part of culture is on the pro-LGBT side, let alone call it something like "bullying", when LGBT people have still overall had a pretty raw deal (and the T part of the acronym is still struggling badly to win the culture war, although I'd argue that's a bit of a digression from this post's question). And that something similar (though I have a vaguer idea of what it would be) could be said regarding the breast feeding in public issue. There is a point there, which is part of why a good bit of my gut goes "yeah, let the homophobes feel uncomfortable now; after all, they spent a good part of living memory making gay people feel uncomfortable, completely wrongly." But that still comes across to me as embracing a naive sort of "punching up vs. down" model of moral argument, and either way, it certainly doesn't seem like the path toward changing hearts and minds.

[eldritchwyrm]

finally watched dune (2021). assorted thoughts

i really enjoyed this movie but i'm having serious trouble explaining why. i didn't get the same type of enjoyment out of it that i'm typically looking for in a big-budget sff movie. i wasn't worried about the characters' fate at literally any point. i didn't find it "exciting," i didn't "relate" to anyone, and i wasn't "emotionally invested" in the character relationships. i wasn't even intellectually invested in the adaptation project from a critical perspective. i was drawn in by... something else?

felt like timothée chalamet phoned in all his lines. it was like he was doing a cold read of the script over a zoom call and the vibes were just absolutely flatlining. but i don't actually think that was his fault? i think that was an accurate depiction of the character as given to him?

as far as i can recall this is the first time that a sci fi movie actually gave me a gut-swoop feeling via its portrayal of LARGE SCALE. every other sf movie tries soooo haaaard to get me to care about Identical Giant Spaceship #28489211 Did I Mention It's Big, but this is the first time i actually had a "oh that's BIG" feeling

pretty sure that effect was almost all shot composition. lots of extreme wide shots in which architectural features / space objects formed austere, abstracted shapes

i really liked every shot EXCEPT, ironically enough, the ones that featured dunes (lowercase).

me pointing at a generic sand dune: i've had enough of this guy

related to the sand imagery. i am Aware that dune enacts a complex critique of imperialism over the course of several novels and that the Point is to make you uncomfortable at first. i am still uncomfortable. this is fine. this is the point. but i find the move of "immerse you in white saviorism for a whole novel, then subvert it" a lot easier to handle in book form? the cinematic gaze is very different from the novelistic gaze. it does Things to the portrayal of otherwise very similar plot events. still deciding if i like that

then again it's been so many years since i read the novel... idk

i did feel like maybe i should've seen this on a big screen. and i will probably attempt to see the sequel in theaters? something i have not done of my own volition in many years, even before the pandemic?

whatshername who played jessica was an incredible actor. profoundly weird in exactly the correct way

i was surprised by how little emphasis they gave to the litany; it was present just enough but they didn't Make A Scene of it. i'm guessing that's being saved for the sequel

okay now that i've thought about it more: i think i enjoyed this movie the same way i might appreciate an art film.

so the thing about arthouse films is many of them prioritize reflective, reflexive commentary, often in a brechtian or approximately brechtian mode. often this promotes certain kinds of immersion (an ill-defined term! which we use a lot regardless!), especially the intellectual and aesthetic, at the cost of other kinds of immersion.

there's a certain liveliness of character that can be found in the best "commercial" artworks — the sort of thing that makes people say the characters "jumped off the page". that particular brand of liveliness is much rarer in "literary"/arthouse texts because the particular flavor of reflective mode that's fashionable right now puts up a barrier between that "liveliness" and the reader/viewer/etc.

i don't mean that these texts can't directly engage audience emotion or deliver a gutpunch or whatever -- i'm trying to get at the fact that they exhibit a deep distrust of charm. charm as an affect is contradictory to brechtian detachment. that's not particular to 21st century literary fiction or arthouse film, that's a cultural movement that's been happening in fits and starts in america and britain for a while now?

(this is reminding me i still need to read erin horáková's dissertation)

(damn that's reminding me i need to find her dissertation)

(i could always. ask. but that seems. embarrassing)

anyways these aren't inherent qualities of genre. they're not foundational.

you see plenty of texts that employ "commercial" modes of audience engagement that are later recuperated into the literary canon and treated as literary fiction, even if they weren't originally marketed as such. to kill a mockingbird is a decent example of this

ANYWAYS i'm almost sure i enjoyed dune (2021) as an arthouse film? i found myself wishing i could turn down the character voices into a low murmur so that i could just be whisked through the interplay of light and shadow without being bothered with "plot"

despite my apparent lack of investment in the characters, i thought duncan's death was a great example of a classic trope done right? i just found the whole scene incredibly satisfying, narratively? idk.

i got seriously tired of seeing dreamy wordless visions of zendaya's face tho. so you paid for zendaya to be in this movie. WE GET IT.

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Thank you (again) to @fangirlwriting-stories for the tag!!! I love these :D

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

61!  

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

573,015

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Sanders Sides at the moment - I usually only really write for one fandom at a time, haha. Though technically hell's belles too? Because of the crossover?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

I hate that I wrote for the bnha fandom - my lovely tss fics have been entirely outshined (if you go and find these fics I will personally steal every left sock you own.).

These are all My Hero Fics, please go give my TSS fics some kudos and love before I cry.

5 -Cuddles at Midnight, with 529

4 - Objective : Initiate Hitoshi Shinso, with 566

3 - The Adopt A Hero Foundation, with 852

2 -New Beginnings, with 3187

1 - Not Cut Out For Heroics, with 7851.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do! I always try to, at least on all my SaSi fics, I don't really respond to comments on the bnha fics anymore unless someone says something particularly interesting because I can't stand to look at them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't write angsty endings, really :/ please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I've ever written anything with a particularly sad ending?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Also pretty hard to choose because theres so many dndjkxkdd dnjdjxsk possibly 'Across Land and Water'?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have only got hate comments like a couple of times and every time they were really fucking pathetic. So... Take that as you will, lol.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't, but I'd really like to, if I can ever work myself up to it haha. There's not enough monsterfucking in the tss fandom when there's more than enough opportunities.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't usually write crossovers, In my brain I don't see the point in rewriting the story of one thing but with the characters of another?

But! I love fandom fusions, which I guess is a subcategory of crossover? Which is just, when I add the characters of one fandom into the setting of the other, keeping the original's storyline and characters the same.

I've only actually written one of these - my hell's belles crossover/fusion! Which I love very much!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of, haha, I have found some of my art on Pinterest though.

(where the fudgecakes is question 12??)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've written a few things with @viola-halogen , none of them have ever seen the light of day lol (as far as I remember?), but they were all incredibly fun. I also used to rewrite angsty fic endings (with permission from the authors) with two other people who were both very awesome. Those are still on wattpad somewhere.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Honestly don't have one? Not an all time favourite. It always depends on what fandom I'm in? So currently it's Prinxiety, or Roceit, or Anaroceit. When I was in the bnha fandom it was tododeku. Etc.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Most of them?

I'm honestly so sad I don't think I'll ever finish Crown Princes and Butterfly Wings. I'll probably never 'finish' my New Year's AU, and there's been so many wips sat in my doc for almost a year that I don't think I'll finish :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

This is so hard to answer, I'm having a bit of a 'i hate everything I'm doing' moment rn, cndjdksks - I love writing dialogue, and I love character design/backstory creation and AU worldbuilding.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Executing the plot I came with. Sticking to my fucking plans (the fics are always worse when I improvise xndjkdks)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I feel like it can be done well? And it's always cool - at least if the author provides some kind of translation so I can actually still follow the fic.

I don't do it personally because I don't know any other languages and feel like I'd probably offend someone if I Google translated it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically? Either the Rainbow Magic book series or this one mermaid kids book series I don't quite remember the name of. When I was really little. My first fanfic that I knew was fanfic was Aphmau.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Ribbons and Rainstorms, by a mile. Go read it if you haven't, I love it so much!!!!

Tagging: @viola-halogen (If you want to, just because I already tagged you in this post lol), , @naminethewriter, @edupunkn00b, @prodigal-explorer <3

[psychewritesbs]

Was it ever explained why Tsumiki, in particular was chosen to be a vessel to a reincarnated sorcerer? I've yet to reread the Culling Games so I may have forgotten or didn't notice the explanation, but on the chance that it was never cleared up, don't you think it's way too convenient how it all played out? That the 'opportunity' Sukuna was waiting for happened because Yorozu (his glorified simp) reincarnated in the body of Megumi's sister?

Makes me wonder what was Sukuna planning to do if Yorozu possessing Tsumiki was out of the equation? Cause we know he can't harm anyone because of his pact with Yuji. Maybe he'd have Uraume kidnap/kill Tsumiki. But I doubt that would be enough to get Megumi to succumb completely though. Since it wasn't until Sukuna killed Tsumiki with the TST that Megumi relented and I doubt having someone else kill his sister would have the same effect.

It also raises the question of how involved Kenjaku was in this whole ordeal? Cause pretty sure he's the one planting these reincarnated sorcerers and picking their hosts. I'm aware he had suspicions that Sukuna has his eyes on one of the students (though I'm not sure if he knew it was Megumi that Sukuna took interest in) but I don't think he and Sukuna were in cahoots in this at all (at the very least they didn't make any mention of it in any of their conversations we've seen). So does that mean, Tsumiki have always been a vessel ever since she fell into coma. Did Kenjaku just get lucky when choosing a vessel or did he purposely target Tsumiki because of Megumi (maybe he kept track of them because they were related to Toji)?

Then there's the fact that way back in chapter 1, Megumi who was sent by Gojo to retrieve Sukuna's finger just so happens to also be a compatible vessel. Like we all know, with Yuji Kenjaku was pulling the strings in the back. Didn't Kenjaku say that it didn't matter if Yuji swallowed the finger then cause he'd still find another way to make Yuji eat it? But what's the case with Megumi?

Is it really just coincidence, that in a one in a million chance, he so happens to have the capability and compatibility to host Sukuna as well? I remember someone mentioning it before but looking back at chapter 1, it seemed like Gojo and Kenjaku were both sending their 'champions' to retrieve a famed treasure (Sukuna's finger) and it's just so funny cause in a way it reminds me of Kenjaku's beef with the 6 eyes and limitless users. No wonder they were the bane of his existence 😂.

But back onto the question, is it fate/destiny? Cause the concept seems alien in JJK's standards. I wonder if aside from Kenjaku there's someone else orchestrating their own scheme behind the curtain.

It's just, there's so many suspicious stuff surrounding Megumi's increasing 'connection' to Sukuna that I wonder if this is somehow a play on fated souls or something else completely. In any case, I would really love to know your thoughts on this, and pls do correct me if I was remembering things wrong.

Wait... just... um... just saying that I love Yorozu lol. This is a Yorozu certified friendly blog lmao.

She's my crazy bitch I love her.

AND to your point, I'm not sure anymore. Like, let's say it was a twist that could be under way, or it could totally just be thick ass plot armor and Gege didn't think too much into it lol.

But....

I hope it's the former. Perhaps it was a coincidence that Sukuna happened to take an interest in Megumi, but something about Tsumiki being chosen feels like it could potentially be an obvious attempt at getting the Zenin kid with 10s ct involved in a major conflict like the Culling Game.

To be fair, I think it's still to soon to tell, but in retrospect, it really does look like Sukuna saw a shiny object (10s) that he decided he wanted to take for his own gain.

I do still feel like Sukuna acknowledges Megumi's potential, which goes back to what you said about the lengths he had to go through to break Megumi's will.

If there is a fated soul connection here, I think it comes back to how Megumi has to overcome Sukuna. Sukuna represents what Megumi could be if he got out of his way--Sukuna's mindset is unburdened by love and reason and so he is free to be himself.

In that sense, Sukuna has been a catalyst for Megumi's growth from the beginning.

Idk I'm having a hard time grounding this idea but I totally see what you mean. It's something that feels like it was a coincidence, but wasn't really a coincidence lol.

Ah! Sorry anon, that's kind of all the thoughts I have on the topic atm. Not sure if that helps. Let's keep this in mind tho, not only is it good brainrot, the theme of fate is running in the background in jjk.

Thanks for stopping by!

[bookmuseum]

[REVIEW] In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

4/5 stars (★★★★)

"After listening to a lot of these stories, I began to think that American loneliness is a completely different creature from anything we experience in this country, and it made me glad I was born Japanese. The type of loneliness where you need to keep struggling to accept a situation is fundamentally different from the sort you know you'll get through if you just hang in there. I don't think I could stand the sort of loneliness Americans feel."

The choice of having a 20-year-old male Japanese sex tour guide and an essentially lobotomized white American murderer-psychopath as the novel’s main protagonists was pretty brilliant. Murakami managed to encapsulate almost everything I find eerie about Japan as a non-Japanese who’s also been colonized by them. (I've been colonized by America too so it was like a double whammy). I know Kenji's not a universal Japanese narrator, but I found his point of view really fascinating and insightful: "Very few people of our generation or the next will reach adulthood without experiencing the sort of unhappiness you can't really deal with on your own." He's not paralyzingly cynical or totally pragmatic. There's just something about how he thinks (and Murakami's writing style) that makes you want to keep turning the page. I could really feel for him and sympathize with where he was coming from, even though I didn't necessarily agree with most of the things he did, said, or believed in.

First off, I’ve never been to Japan and a small part of me doesn't want to ever go. When I say that, people’re always surprised because 1. "Your research is on Japanese literature and you love a lot of Japanese media!" and 2. To so many people, Japan’s this ideal vacation spot slash perfect getaway paradise, but it’s always been plain freaky to me. I don't know how to explain it, but Murakami summed it up really well: "But people in this country don't know how to relate to outsiders because they haven't had any real contact with then. That's why they're so insular." (Murakami says some stuff I disagree with in this passage that I didn't fully quote, like how everyone else in the world has been colonized/invaded except for Japan ergo it's an outlier, which is objectively untrue, but I digress). Basically, Kenji's correct: Japan is insular, it’s a no-man’s land for the Japanese, and in essence -- even in the wake of modernity -- it's still cut off from everywhere else. It's even cut off from a large portion of Asia, which even Kenji points out as ironic since Japan tried to take over the continent yet felt nothing for the people it wanted to conquer. That cold Pan-Asianist mentality still lingers, even today. That creeps me out. Of course, I'm all too aware that since I've never actually been to Japan and haven't really interacted much with Japanese people (I have, and some agree with me, but you can never be too general) to form a substantial opinion, I still can't shake this feeling of emotional disconnect that Kenji managed to put into words.

Ironically, according to Murakami, even though Japan is so self-centered, its also so out of touch with its own inner and outer reality. As the book vividly illustrates, Japan is opened up to the rest of the globalized world, but the country has simultaneously clung so hard to that old world policy of Sakoku traditionalism and history whilst also trying to catch up with the West after Meiji that its become so unrecognizably absorbed by its own modernization, but only because of a matter of time, not principle. Japan’s both futuristic but colossally stuck in a past it can’t even recognize, and it's intrinsically tied to its emergence as a dominating economic world power after World War II:

"You can’t change the grownup world to suit your idea of how things should be, so you have to learn to press the right buttons, and kids growing up find themselves constantly in situations just like that cat’s. There’s no consistency to the way your parents and other adults respond to you when you’re a kid. It’s especially inconsistent in this country, because there aren’t any solid, standard criteria for judging what’s important. The grownups live only for pronouncements by adults that make it clear that all they really want or care money and things with established monetary value, like designer goods. The media -- TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, whatever -- are full of about is money and material goods. From politicians and bureaucrats to the lowliest office drudge drinking cheap saké at some outdoor stall, they all show by the way they live that money is the only thing they aspire to. They’ll puff themselves up and say 'Money isn’t everything,' but all you have to do is watch their behavior to see where their real priorities lie."

Sidenote: Kenji touches on a vast intergenerational gap riddled with mutual animosity: "We don’t live the way you tell us to because we’re afraid that if we do we’ll grow up to be like you, and the thought of that is unbearable. It’s all right for you because you’ll be dead soon anyway, but we’ve still got another fifty or sixty years to live in this stinking country." (Even though he's specifically talking about Japanese youth, I felt his sentiments were relatable to anyone who's young now in the postmodern world. Things are just so fast and unnatural with the way everything's structured; adults can't be trusted anymore).

Anyway, I loved Murakami's portrayal of postmodern Japan worshipping money, material, soaplands, meaningless pleasure, greed, and capital. I loved how Kenji, who takes on the reluctant voice of a disillusioned youth, just accepts the fact that Japanese people love all things Western at the cost of their own cultural erasure and sensitivity. I loved the deadness of it all: ". . . [A]pparently none of the Japanese knew anything, which made her wonder if people here never came up against the kind of suffering where you can't do anything but turn to your god for help." While the image is interesting and holds some truth, Murakami suggesting Japan's neo-capitalism and gross over-consumerism is because the country, unlike North America and Christianity, lacks an overarching God to pray to in times of hardship didn’t seem like a fair comparison to me since it prioritizes monotheism and unfairly disregards the richness of Japan's religious practices and history. In general, I think the world itself has become more godless than ever.

I don't wanna talk about "the Great Omiai Pub Massacre" scene. I liked it, but I think people focus too much on it to the point they mistake the novel's themes being centered on that instant. It's definitely the most visceral and shocking part in the book, -- really well written and psychologically terrifying -- but Kenji's thoughts and actions after the massacre were the most interesting to me -- more compelling than the actual scene itself:

"They were like automatons programmed to portray certain stereotypes, those people. The truth is it had bugged the hell out of me just to be around them, and I'd begun to wonder if they weren't all filled with sawdust and scraps of vinyl, like stuffed animals, rather than flesh and blood. Even when I saw their throats slit and the gore oozing out, it hadn't seemed real to me. I remembered thinking, as I watched the blood drip down from Lady #5's throat, that it looked like soy sauce. Imitation human beings, that's what they were . . . . What did I have in common with the victims? Just that we were all human trash. I couldn't kid myself -- I wasn't so different from them. That's why I understood then, and that's why they bugged me so much."

What a great inner monologue. Perfectly encapsulates what Murakami's trying to say about urbanized consumer culture and postmodern society. From the fact that we never really know what most of the victims' names were (Yuko and Maki might've been using stage names), to how the stuffed animal metaphor foreshadows what Frank later says about how he feels detached from his own body, I thought this part was very evocative and penultimate. Kenji's observations about his life and the people he interacts with were just the right amount of self-deprecating whilst also externalized outward loathing that ironically still translates to a hurt ego. Murakami didn't lean in too far on the edginess aspect, which I appreciated: "I wasn't sure I knew any longer what was right and what was wrong. It was a very precarious feeling, but it hinted at a sense of liberation like I'd never experienced. Liberation from the countless little hassles of everyday life. It was as if the border between 'me' and 'not me' was dissolving, leaving me in a sort of slush . . . I was going somewhere I'd never been before."

The miso soup metaphor kind of fell flat for me, but the more I thought about it the more it fit. I just think Murakami could've developed it a bit better from earlier on in the novel. The scene where Kenji and Frank go to his extremely frozen ex-hospital hideout ("What a weird place this was, I thought. It felt completely isolated and, partly because of the cold, like being on another planet") hideout share a cup of instant noodles was interesting: You have to put in a powder mixture with the hot water to make the noodles themselves, which relates well to when the two eventually eat the buckwheat noodles once New Year's arrives. All the noodle-eating and connecting it to one's life and raison d'être foreshadows Frank dropping the unhinged miso soup line at the novel's close.

What I think Murakami's saying is that Japan’s like miso soup because, even if you try to mix it, the paste clumps will always settle at the middle after a while and leave the rest of the broth sort of transparent and filmy, which is what makes miso soup so discernable. It's a metaphor for globalization and how Japan can’t be totally mixed with its surroundings due to its own paradoxically self-perpetuated isolation complex, which Frank as a foreigner manages to highlight really well: You can be in the miso soup (the belly of Japan and all its multilayered complexities -- which Frank also notes smells like human sweat to represent Japan’s exhausted middle working class), but you're never the soup itself; Frank and non-Japanese will always be gaijin.

I think that's why Murakami decided that Frank never hears those bells (at least we as the reader never see it happening) because they’re not meant for an outsider like him, which is sorta tragic in its own way (if you disregard the murder part) because he was looking to release himself from his inner despair by coming to Japan, but instead he ended up in a country that matched it tenfold and he got swallowed up in all of it. Frank was out of his league in Japan, funnily enough. And Kenji taking the swan feather at the end, which was mucky, is a symbol of Japan being “given” worldly goods and outside influences wrapped up in bows, strings, and enclosed envelopes, but in the end they’re impure offerings, like souvenirs from somewhere else that’ll never assimilate with the country itself. Swans aren’t native to Japan either, but they migrate there, as Frank points out. They’re not native to where Frank lived in America either, and I'd say there’s a strong chance that the “swan” he mentions seeing as a kid is a Canadian goose since its feathers are gray, but then again you can't exactly take Frank's word too literally because, as we all know, all he does it lie and kill people.

In the Miso Soup was a good read. More thought-provoking than I expected, which was a nice surprise. I look forward to reading more of Murakami's work in the future.

[prettyboykatsuki-moved]

don’t hold it | m. fushiguro

★ tags ; 18+, piss, dubcon-ish(consent is implicit but he is tipsy), alcohol, implied sub!megumi, humiliation and shame, a handjob, public-ish sex (they're in an alley), gn!reader, age gap / power imbalance, aged-up characters, tsundere!megumi

★ wc ; 2.1k (GOODBYE!!!!)

★ a/n ; i started writing this in nov of last year and it was only like 400 hundred words. how did this even happen. i dont even want to talk about it,

★ synopsis ; your offer to megumi does bad things to his head. he really should never drink alone with you.

Megumi doesn’t like to drink often.

Partially because he’s well aware that drinking with you is a little dangerous. When he’s tipsy with his guard down, you tend to mess with him a little more than he likes. You always get off on teasing him. It’s in character for you to do so, to the point he's expecting it every time you hound him for a drink or two.

Aside from that, he doesn’t like not being in control of himself. Alcohol is good for people like Yuuji or Nobara who like getting loose. Their personalities aren't reserved to begin with so the extent to which they can humiliate themselves is limited. But Megumis always been reserved at best. He likes to keep quiet, make sure no one is paying too much attention to him and be in his own space.

So, his decision to go drinking tonight wasn’t really his. It’s Yuujis birthday and after some light-hearted accusation about being a bad friend, he was eventually convinced to go. Begrudgingly, he tells him that he’ll be in attendance. He only finds out you’re going after the fact - likely a purposeful decision on his best friends behalf.

His relationship to you is complicated. You’re three years his senior and above him in pay grade, so he’s supposed to be a respectful junior to you. It's not that Megumi doesn't respect you, you're good enough at your job that you've earned some bare minimum respect.

He address you with the correct honorifics and looks to you for advice and critique on his own moves. You two have similar curse techniques so it's a pretty natural thing.

Really, if it wasn't for your need to pick on him - Megumi can't find any faults with your character. Objectively he knows that. You're a little bit all over the place but you're a good senior to have. But he's really a little wary of you no matter what anyone says. You've given him plenty of reason to be.

Megumi can't answer whether or not he likes you. He thinks he does, but the way you always manage to make him squirm is not an entirely pleasant experience. He doesn't know how to react to your cheeky flirty other than flat-out rejection. You know that he's not really rejecting you though, that his prickly engagement is just a sign of tolerance. Maybe even enjoyment, and your ability to see through that always makes him feel a little dizzy.

So, he avoids you. He hasn't been able to unpack that and he doesn't plan too any time soon.

He's managed to make it outside for a breath of fresh air, scurrying away from you before you finished making greetings. You always sit next to him at outings, and now that he's officially tipsy - he can't imagine it going well.

He leans on a wall. The cold night air makes a wave of goosebumps appear on his skin. He's never been to this bar before so he doesn't have any idea where the bathroom is. It's a little crude but he thought maybe he could find a patch of grass and go out there.

A familiar voice breaks him out of his train of thought.

"Woah, Fushiguro," You peek your head out of the door before popping in "What are you doing out here?"

Of course you would show up when he's explicitly trying to avoid you. He sighs.

"I'm trying to get away from all the noisy people inside." He says flatly, looking away.

You step outside and trot next to him, hands in your pockets. Flashing him a smile, you laugh softly.

"Aw, you're talking about me, aren't you? Not nice."

Your scolding is faux sincere. Megumi fights a smile back like it'll cost him his life, sighing and purposefully turning away from you. Instead of taking the hint, you get up on your tip toes and hover over his shoulder.

"Whatcha looking at?"

"Nothing. Why are you out here?"

"So cold," You tut, before backing away "I came out here for a smoke break. You?"

He frowns.

"Quit smoking," He says first, rubbing his temple "I came out here cause I couldn't find the bathroom."

"Oh, so ya need to piss? Decided to take it to the great outdoors huh?"

His frown deepens, eyebrows and expression pinched in irritation.

"Stop being weird. If you know that, then smoke somewhere else."

An expression crosses your face that makes Megumi nervous. He can't count on his hands how many times he's seen. Right before you get on your antics, your eyes look darker than normal. You're unusually mischievous, a soft lilt to the way you speak - mouth twisted in a smirk.

"Don't wanna." You say cheerily, a pleasant expression "Are you tipsy, Fushiguro?"

"What's it to you?"

"I don't wanna harass a drunk person."

"So you know it's harassment," He says, annoyed. You shrug him.

"Mm, maybe? You never push me away, though. Always let me do what I please with you."

He doesn't have anything to say to that. A flush is creeping on his neck, warm and unpleasant and squirmy. He clicks his teeth and looks away, arms crossed over his chest.

"Why are you saying it like that? You're my superior so obviously it's an abuse of power on your end and not mine."

"You make me sound like a criminal, you know."

"You are one."

"So stubborn," You whistle, getting up close to him. An inch between you, no more - no less "You don't hate it do you?"

"You're so annoying."

"And you're so dishonest, Fushiguro." The sweetness in your voice doesn't disappear despite everything. Megumi covers his face with his hand, a bad habit.

"Shut up."

"Mhm, okay." You ease back just a little. Megumi dutifully ignores the thumping in his chest - heartbeat against his ribs. "Do you still need to go?"

He looks at you confused.

"Yeah?"

"I'll help you."

His eyes widen.

"What the hell are you saying?"

"You're tipsy, aren't you? What if you miss your aim and get it on your pants huh? And it's dark." You offer, flimsily "I'll hold it and help you aim."

He doesn't like that he twitches. He hates the way his body is reacting to you all at once - like a storm. The smell of alcohol on your breath and perfume, the warmth of your body, your proximity. Megumi feels so conscious of you, he can't stand it. Can't stand the way all the blood rushes south at the way you're basically asking to touch his dick.

"...You're out of your mind." He whispers, voice hushed and hoarse. Your smile flickers on your face.

"That a no? You can say no." You offer as a peaceful middle ground. A chance to back out, something you always do for him. It's part of the reason he has a hard time with you.

"...I d-don't...That's—What are you...?"

"Fushiguro," You practically purr, voice thick with lust. His body is so hot "Can I help you?"

"...Do whatever you want." He offers, unable to swallow his pride. You take it as permission, like he expected. A small part of him, deep down, is relieved that you didn't make him say yes. He doesn't want to unpack that yet.

Instead of saying anything else, you move towards the other end of the bar in an alley - further away from the door and out of the way of people. He follows you hesitantly. With your back against the wall, you look up at him. There's just enough light to make out your features, smug as always.

Your hands don't hesitate when the reach for the front of his pants. He can feel himself twitch, fighting an erect. He takes a deep breath, as your fingers fiddle with the zipper and button of his jeans.

He can feel his expression pinch again, strained jaw as your hands so easily touch him. His.. soft cock and him. It's vulnerable. He needs to go but you're humming to yourself as you pull down the front of his boxers.

"You're so pale," You muse, fingers tracing his navel - brushing against the hair he's left trimmed "You have a mole on your hip. How cute."

Every muscle in his body is tense trying to keep his head afloat. The tension is so thick, it makes him sick. You look pleased with yourself, perfectly calm but obviously excited. Megumi feels his forearms press against the wall as his knees nearly buckle.

"Still needa go, hm?" You say, pulling down his boxers until his cock is fully out. He's nearly hard, just barely there. You drag your finger down his length while it's soft and he chokes on air "You should do it on the wall, then. I'll get behind you,"

Megumi feels his body prickle with heat as you stand behind him, just as you promise. Your head pokes out from one side of him, while your hand slips underneath his thin sweater. Goosebumps appear all over his body, your fingers barely scrape his skin.

"You're so soft," You say warmly, hot breath on his spine "So pretty."

Megumi feels your hand reach in the front of his boxers and wrap around his shaft. Everything else goes blank other than the fact you're touching him, and your hands are soft and your voice is so quiet and so smooth. He can feel the erection he'd been trying to suppress hit him with full force as you squeeze his cock to your hearts content.

"You're getting hard." You note, if only to humiliate him slightly. "Are you pent up?"

"Please shut up." He nearly begs. You giggle.

"Okay, okay," You shift your hand a little, looking at the wall. You really intend to help him and not just ruin his day a bit. The realization unsettles him "Just let go when you're ready, 'kay?"

Every word he wants to say is escaping him. Humiliation and shame flood his entire body, sweeping over him in a tide. His body final releases at the sound of your words, as if on command. A warm sensation of relief overwhelms him, the sound of it hitting the concrete under him making his brain feel staticky.

He's so embarrassed he can't even open his eyes. He's so aware of what's happening he wants to crawl in his skin. Even more so at the feeling of your body behind him, your head pressed against his back - the little sigh you do as he releases. He's getting hard in your hand again - even harder than before.

"Feeling better?" Your voice comes out like a coo, condescending but full of adoration "You're almost completely hard. Did it feel good to let go?"

When the last of his stream stops, he finds himself mortified at how painfully turned on he is. Even more so by the feeling of your hand. You spit into your other hand, dripping the spit onto his cock quickly before the one already touching it gives it a hard stroke. He chokes out on a moan, a shiver crawling up his spine. His whole body is tingling, pressure forming in his skull. The knot in his stomach is wrapped tight, surely because of your fist in the loop.

"I-it's dirty." He chokes, forehead touching the wall in front of him. He can feel it in his stomach, shamelessly responding to your touch as you stroke his stiff cock. Was he always such a pervert?

"Then it's okay to get it more dirty," You say softly, pressing a kiss to his back "We can't go inside like this, can we?"

He's shaking hard, a whimper falling from his lips unintentionally. It feels so fucking good. Maybe it's the alcohol, or maybe it's the fact its your hand. The one he's been picturing for months and months, wrapped around his shaft and stroking him so slowly. The fact that you're in public - only a few feet away from the bustle of the city. This is special attention no doubt. He can't help but like it.

He doesn't know why he's so turned on that he's panting. He's not like this normally. He has more pride than that, but right now - he's bathed in shame and desire. All he can do is let your fist wrap around his cock like he's always wanted. Nothing else is viable.

"You're twitching." You inform, giggly "Will you cum for your senior, Fushiguro?"

"Fuck, fuck."

He cums into your fingers in a hot flash. You catch it all in your palms, just over the tip as his stomach clenches hard. A wave of euphoria leaves his whole body ragged, sobering him up completely as his erection finally settles again. He's so dazed from the experience, he hasn't moved an inch. Your voice startles him.

"You did well," You say pleasantly, removing your hand. He turns to face you. Pressing a kiss to his lips, you smile "Now, do you have a tissue?"

He shivers.

"Y-yeah," He says, reaching for his pocket "And call me Megumi."

[itsclydebitches]

I'm sorry, but as someone who can't stand how Yang acted for 80% of Atlas, saying "her feeling like she had to help raise Ruby is demeaning and unempathetic to Tai" is a HORRIBLE take. If Yang held it against Tai that'd be one thing, but she doesn't, least not as far as we've seen.

And "she decided he's an unfit parent"? That's literally just headcanon. Where is this stated or supported in any way? Literally everything, from the show to the comics to the manga, shows she absolutely values her father and his guidance. Her providing similar guidance to Ruby at some point doesn't change that, she's stated to be Ruby's mother figure, a woman in her life she could seek advice on in regards to things as well.

Like anon I get you're frustrated by how empathy and morality are handled in this show, I am too, but this just ain't it.

I have simillar feelings on the Weiss scene too but that's another story, you already kind of covered it.

Agreed, though I don't want to rag on the other anon. As said, I can very easily see how someone would come to that conclusion, especially given how often we discuss parts of the show without actually re-watching those scenes, leading to iffy interpretations down the line. A fandom pretty heavily focused on a "Tai is a bad dad" reading + Yang's unfair criticisms of others from Volumes 5-8 (notably her most recent characterization. The one fresh in everyone's mind) = an easy opportunity to mistakenly slam the two together. It happens. That's why I try, whenever possible, to re-watch moments, or at the very least re-read transcripts. I'm well aware of how easy it is to get sucked into how the fandom discusses scenes and take that interpretation at face value, when in fact what's canonical has gotten pretty warped across, in this case, six years of content and discussions.

But let's talk about Weiss a bit more! I think it's worth re-emphasizing that, yes, I'm well aware that she was the victim of that dinner party. My own criticism lies less in that specific moment and more the conceptualizing of our heroes as a whole, which leads to some missed opportunities in that moment, some quite important. For example, most classically heroic characters would be horrified at nearly hurting/killing someone, regardless of whether that was intentional or not. That's a crucial part of what makes them heroic: cherishing life and shouldering responsibility for others' safety, even when it's clear from the audience's more objective perspective that they weren't at fault. There's a happy middle ground here between acknowledging Weiss' horrific panic attack and acknowledging Weiss' responsibility moving forward to ensure that her trauma doesn't endanger others—given that her trauma is drawing on literal, combat techniques—highlighting her desire to do right by the people of Remnant, even when they're snobbish, rich assholes. Any reading that boils things down simply to "Weiss is the only victim in this situation and besides, why do we care if a racist Atlesian bites the dust 😒?" is a small representation of the much larger writing problems of Volumes 7 and 8: acting like Mantle is full of only good victims, Atlas only evil perpetrators, and a defense of the latter isn't worth anyone's time—certainly not the heroes who never, ever make mistakes with massive consequences. Weiss' near attack also carries with it the beginnings of a lot of themes that RWBY never capitalized on, but pretended were an important part of the story by the end of that Atlas arc, like Ironwood's supposed propaganda, or Whitley's question of whether power should be solely in the hands of a few, individual huntsmen. Weiss' situation might have been reframed into something that looks intentional: Here's not just a girl, but a Schnee girl, attacking a poor, defenseless civilian with her scary powers. Are we really going to leave the safety of our kingdom—the world—in the hands of people like her? You should be backing the army, people who have your real interests in mind, led by the man who saved that woman's life—General Ironwood! And the audience would rightly be going, Hey now wait a fucking minute. That's not what happened! It was an accident born of trauma and abuse. How can you manipulate the people into thinking otherwise? Into thinking Weiss is the enemy here? Like, if you're going to write Ironwood/Atlas as the awful, propaganda spewing antagonists... actually write that story.

So the party scene could have been the launching point for a lot of important work, both in terms of Weiss' characterization (a hero learning to balance flaws with her people's safety; taking responsibility for her mistakes, no matter the initial intention) and the world building (what does it mean for a Schnee to (mistakenly) attack a civilian when tensions are this high and faith in huntsmen is beginning to fail?) But for the purposes of what we actually got, that lack of reflection on Weiss' part, as said, reads badly when pit against her actions in Volumes 6-8. Because my brain is super focused on Star Wars atm, I think Anakin is a decent comparison to all this. Meaning, we know where he ends up—super scary Sith Lord who is going to do All The Bad Things Ever—and that will, naturally, color our reading of everything that happens in prequal material. When Anakin gets pissed and cuts the limbs off a Separatist, it produces a "Yikes" reaction in the audience because we know that anger, grief, frustration, and fear are going to lead him down an awful path. In contrast, when Obi-Wan is challenged about his no killing unarmed men policy and cheekily looks to Rex to kill him instead, we don't really go "Yikes" because we know Obi-Wan remains true to the Light for his entire run. All their actions have the primary reading of "They were justified that time/they made a mistake/they're allowed to be human/etc." But only Anakin has the secondary reading of, "That action is REALLY BAD—more bad than Obi-Wan's—because we know where it leads. It reads as setup for his inevitable fall." That's basically where the RWBY group is at the moment, provided you're unhappy with their lack of empathy in the later volumes. If the group had remained more compassionate then yeah, we'd continue to shrug off past moments that sorta imply otherwise because we know that's not who they really are. Weiss never grappled with nearly hurting someone only because, hell, RWBY doesn't let her grapple with anything! She didn't even get to respond to getting speared through the gut. But knowing where they end up—knowing that Weiss will be party to Ozpin's treatment, will help betray Ironwood, will accuse Marrow of abandoning her city only to do nothing for it in turn, will threaten her brother, will give the wish to destroy her entire kingdom and displace all its people, etc.—creates that "Yikes" response whenever we see something earlier that even somewhat aligns with her current characterization. It doesn't erase the 100% correct reading that Weiss was the victim and made a totally unintentional mistake in that moment. It doesn't erase the knowledge that RWBY rarely capitalizes on the implications of scenes like this anyway. It only adds another reading in the form of, "Well, knowing where she ends up... I can kinda see that future version in her here too."

[softer-ua]

I wanted to explain a bit of Bakugo's 'jealousy' to Deku starting new friendships, I think it's more a matter of insecurity rather than jealousy. Like Bakugou can't empathize as naturally as other people, most of the time he can't identify his own emotions and has an attitude that people, in general, disapprove.

He is aware of this and is one of the main reasons why he resented Izuku, he had all this traits and used them effortless.

I think what bothers him the most is how easily this people who meet Izuku for less than a year can bond so well with him with little effort. I think he mainly is upset with how others can say what they mean...and he doesn't.

I think it's more of him being insecure and petty, he really is not that angry, but...sad. It also points out how he was the one who threw away their friendship.

Ugh, everytime I stop and think about Bakugo I get sad, he is still a jerk but i'm glad he got a second chance and upset in how people doesn't stop to notice he really doesn't want to screw his second opportunity

I couldn’t agree more

I think the saddest part is that until recently Katsuki couldn’t articulate any of those thoughts, like it’s hard to imagine for more well adjusted people just how pure and raw Katsuki was really running on just a “This situation makes me feel bad and it needs to not” baseline

It’d be like living your entire life with a thought on the tip of your tongue but always out of grasp, but it’s with just about everything that isn’t a hands on skill.

Empathy is very much a skill you have to learn to use correctly and grow it. We’re all born with the ability to be compassionate but if you don’t grow up in a home that values that and encourages you to use it than you won’t have the guidance need it for it to flourish.

It’s even worse in homes where it’s actively discouraged purposely or not, the child ends up trying to suppress on of the key elements to the human experience.

Katsuki is someone who naturally feels a lot but is never taught how to deal with them, all he’s ever learned is that if you don’t like someone’s behavior being angry will stop them. When the only tool you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.

Katsuki feels like there’s something special and unique about Deku that makes him more heroic, but no one else around him seems to see it or acknowledge it. Which I can only imagine feels like a constant undercurrent of gaslighting.

Deku never wins at anything but he still reminds Katsuki of AM in a way he quite literally can’t explain, and it’s something that he knows/feels he’s lacking.

Not only is Deku naturally kinder, he’s also grown to make it instinctive. He doesn’t have to think about it, he’s not bound to a “what do I say” mentality because he’s comfortable enough to know that his goal to save everyone with a smile shines through.

He’s mastered the art of making people feel seen and understood, and as he gets older he starts adding more practical hero skills to his tool belt.

This scares the absolute shit out of Katsuki because he doesn’t understand or see himself, and doesn’t want others to either. He wants to project the idea of strength and victory without any of the human vulnerability attached to it.

But regardless of how calloused, afraid of vulnerability, and closed off you get, no one out runs the desire to feel connected. Katsuki underneath everything is suffering from a profound amount of isolation, that is often self inflicted to keep control.

Katsuki is smart and physically gifted, it doesn’t take much to master something and make it muscle memory for him which makes his reflexes insane. But it’s not instinctive, Deku can walk into a situation blind and figure out what the objective is and how to achieve it as long as his body can keep up with his mind.

Katsuki needs a clear objective, telling him to rescue or win isn’t enough. Left to his own devices he will achieve those ends and nothing else, if the victims are physically rescued he’s not sticking around to make sure they feel safe, if the objective is to defeat a villain than everyone else better get out of his way. Katsuki needs to feel in control and to make guesses leaves you open to getting things wrong.

It’s not until he’s pretty much directly told he needs to be kinder and more careful about how he goes about things does his behavior change. Which has lead to an avalanche of character growth, because before now Katsuki had a very pinhole view of what being a hero is being he fit in the hole no one corrected him until reality slapped him in the face.

Deku had to have a full picture, and that’s why now even if he doesn’t know wtf is going on he’s very quick to put the context clues together and understand the quirks around him and the objective because he’s okay with getting things wrong and trying again.

Basically Katsuki has been very lonely and confused for like 90% of his life, and he keeps learning how much of that is his own fault ☹️

[folktotech]

A Case of You by Joni Mitchell is one of the best songs ever written.

It is the best love song ever written. Mitchell perfectly encapsulates what it is like to know that love is fizzling out, taking the rose colored glasses off and putting them back on when it is appropriate. It demonstrates how the concept of "falling" in love can be so dangerous, as stated so eloquently in the book All About Love by the late Bell Hooks. You must have critical thinking skills, which includes knowing when to let go instead of falling into the abyss of love. "A Case of You" is an homage to her hometown, her past lover(s?), and her own strength and power. "If you want me I'll be in the bar." Come on. What a badass thing and a CORRECT thing to say to a man who describes himself as "constant" when you know this relationship is splitting apart at the seams. You can't save this now. I'm going to the bar.

How bittersweet it is to love. "You're in my blood like holy wine, you taste so bitter and so sweet." Has anyone ever demonstrated the Starbucks-coffee-when-they-make-your-drink-wrong feeling that is love so perfectly?

"I could drink a case of you and still be on my feet." Oh how similar love is to drugs. Oh how we love to compare the two. Mitchell could drink a whole case, never get enough, and still take the rose-colored glasses off. That takes a strong, strong person. The self-awareness and relatability that Joni emits through a stripped back accompaniment, speech like and soaring vocals, and lyrics that read like beautiful prose make this the best love song ever written.

The progression of the song through the years and the way Mitchell performs it as she ages adds another layer of beauty to this piece. It gets vocally deeper and more reflective as she ages. It has longevity and the ability for other singers to make it completely their own. (See Prince's sensual and aching rendition and James Blake's reflective, sputtered out, conversational cover.)

I love Joni Mitchell. She is forever an inspiration and a core member of any true folkie's musical treasure trove.

Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift is one of the worst songs ever written.

"It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me." And I honestly agree. Or whoever made her release this silly song.

I am not a big fan of Taylor Swift, but I can appreciate her artistry in a multitude of ways. Objectively, she's pretty good. Subjectively, I hate the quality of her voice and think her lyricism is sub-par and surface level. Her lyrics have matured since the start of her career, but when we start at cheerleading and Romeo and Juliet there is only so far we can go.

The most horrifying lyric is: "Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby and I'm a monster on the hill." How is Taylor Swift going to write the album Folklore, then give her fans THIS. She could have said how huge she feels compared to other people in so many ways that didn't sound stupid. Taylor Swift and I are both 5'11", so I really do understand the struggle of feeling like a monster on the hill while everybody is a... sexy baby... I guess. The difference is, Taylor Swift is a rail thin blonde woman with a model build, weighing 100 pounds less than me. She also steps on a scale that turns to the word "FAT" rather than a number in the music video, at least in the original. She edited that part out after some well-deserved criticism.

I genuinely didn't know if this song was supposed to be deep and personal or comedic or a mix of both before I looked it up. Somehow, the balance is off no matter the answer. I remember laughing in utter shock and confusion when the music video and song were released. I did some research and she describes the song as being pretty candid and personal... so I don't think it's supposed to be funny. Dramatic, maybe, but not funny.

The weird owl-cityesque instrumental break around 2:15 just does not match the mood of the song at all and sticks out like a sore thumb. I also hate the weird percussion/clapping sound that appears several times throughout this song.

"It's me, hi, I'm the problem it's me." is a catchy little pop lyric, but Taylor Swift is not really the problem. Having insecurities and lacking wisdom does not make you the problem, it just means you have a lot of first world problems and normal human emotions. I don't think "everybody agrees" at "tea time" and I don't think anyone really cares, unless they also think that disliking yourself and being kind of annoying and a little bit of a closeted narcissist is some really deep and relatable inner turmoil.

It is really not that deep.

I could probably say a million other negative things about this song, but I feel like you kinda get the point.

[lurlur]

It started because the old bookshop on the corner was open. I'd never seen it open before although I was certain that it was still an active business. It lacked that abandoned and neglected vibe when I walked past, but I hadn't seen it actually open.

I had time and more than a little curiosity, so I went inside. There were a couple of people already browsing when I got there which really helped me get over that anxious 'am I allowed to be in here' feeling that I get in new places. It was just an ordinary bookshop.

Ok, so that's not entirely true.

It was an insane bookshop, but not in the kind of way that would make you suspicious. It mostly just made me think that the owner was madder than a box of frogs. I found a second hand copy of White Teeth next to a first edition of Gulliver's Travels. An ancient-looking treatise on the palaeontology in Dorset had an abandoned teacup on it, but a collection of reprinted regency romances were kept in a locked cabinet. I honestly could have browsed for days and never worked out if there was any kind of organisational system.

But that's not why I'm telling this story. I'm just- ugh -that bookshop was like a dream.

Anyway, I was casually looking around when these two men appeared. Like, I know how this is going to sound, but they really did seem to just appear out of nowhere. I didn't hear the bell over the door, they didn't walk past me, I was just suddenly aware of them existing beside me. It was freaky.

They were pretty dressed up, suits and coats, y'know? Very matchy. Coordinated, I guess. The guy who, I think, owned the place turned up and was looking really nervous. My drama sense was tingling so, of course, I started to pay proper attention.

I'd been in the shop for about ten minutes and hadn't heard anyone say a single word in that whole time. It was like a library in there, peaceful, still. That's why I jumped when the owner spoke. He literally just asked if he could help the two men, but it had been so quiet before that he might as well have yelled out a bunch of swear words.

The tall one said something insane like "I wish to purchase one of these material objects" which is just not how anyone speaks at all. The shorter one corrected him with "books" and they both looked really pleased with themselves. I can't exaggerate how very unsettling they were from the get go.

Then the tall man asked if they could discuss the purchase in private because he was buying pornography. They both loudly said pornography and looked around the shop to make sure we'd all heard it.

The owner, bless his socks, just hurried them off to his back room like he was used to this bullshit.

I managed to stop staring eventually and looked back at the book in my hands.

"Jesus Christ, like Intimate Books isn't right next door," I said under my breath, completely disgusted by these creepy men making us all part of their weird exhibitionism.

The woman next to me snorted and muttered "right?" as she caught my eye.

We gave each other theatrical shudders and burst into laughter just as one of the men yelled "thank you for my pornography" from the back room. That just made us laugh all the more.

"Dude, find another way to get your fix of disapproval. None of us consented to being involved in your weird little fetish!" she said in a voice meant just for me.

"Can I take you for coffee?" I asked, struck by some need to know her better. Luckily, she said yes and that was our first date. Such a strange set of circumstances brought us together, but I can't say that I don't love the result.

GOOD OMENS ⇢ 1x02 | THE BOOK

Human beings are so simple…and so easily fooled! Yes. Ahem, good job. You… You fooled them all.

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