#I'm curious what scenarios you came up with without the context!

[halbarryweekfeed]

meowdy! sorry to be a bother but i was wondering if you knew which comic specifically "I don’t know if I ever felt safer" is from? or if you had any context to the quote because now im super curious

That quote is from the Green Lantern/Green Arrow World's Finest Special. In the issue, a sniper is gunning for Hal. Barry's like, hey, you should probably be more worried, and Hal responds that with Barry around, he's never felt safer. Then Barry responds with a "that's nice, but the sniper though?"

For anyone creating on this or any of the quote prompts, there's no need to reference the original comic or have that affect your idea in any way! If you want to have that sentiment from Barry, or Wally, or a completely different interpretation, we look forward to seeing it!

If you're curious about any of the other quotes (or just want some other Halbarry comics to read), we put where they're from on the Prompt Poll List!

[krowlovesinazuma]

How have you been? I have returned for more headcanons! And I am not insane yet again! ...Ei, Kujou Sara, and Kokomi with a reader that has a gun (pistol in this case) on them

Okay fine I am a bit insane

Read this prologue for context!

Scenario: Reactions to a modern pistol

Characters: Ei, Kujou Sara, Sangonomiya Kokomi

I'll be honest, you should make sure that Ei manages to fully understand the advances and culture of the present day Inazuma before you show her new tech. It will spare much confusion.

Ei isn't interested in military advancements at first, but once you perhaps bring it up as a small comment, or she sees it, she will bring it up, and once you mention it as a weapon, she'll definitely be interested and want to learn more.

Remember, she used to be a military leader, so she still has a keen interest in these things, even if she wishes to not wage a war again if she can stop it. So when she learns about it, she might start to asks questions that not many may know...

How does it work? Why is it so deadly? Can it be mass produced? How does one train to use it? She becomes very curious in very little time, and she may be a little disappointed if some questions aren't answered.

Doesn't matter if the questions tire you out or not, her curiosity is lit up, and eventually she'll start asking about a whole bunch of other things as well! The gun might not amount to much, but it caused a definitive change in her mind about your world!

She doesn't really see it as a threat, nor as a weapon she could possibly use, as she's confident in her own techniques, and power. She leaves it in your hands, and leaves it be, without much hassle.

However, if you're interested in self defense and weapons, she'd be happy to show you how it works in her world, while witnessing it first-hand! She might not be the best teacher, but it's the least she can do to pay you back!

"From your expression, I'm guessing you liked the demonstration. Isn't it beautiful? At first, I didn't think of it that way myself, but the more I thought about it, the more I came to understand how it can be enchanting to watch. Why am I... W-well, it's to return the favor, isn't it obvious?"

At first, she won't ask many questions about your world, or your belongings. It's not surprising, given her tendency to not make small tall, and her respectful nature about her superiors. Get her to loosen up first, then maybe she'll notice and ask.

When she learns about the gun, she'll pay very close attention. She doesn't like putting in her personal feelings towards military matters, but from the way you talk, she eventually notices that it's more of a casual talk than anything.

Once she relaxes, she'll ask more questions, and show curiosity, much like Ei. Her questions are straightforward, and objective, like how to use it, about the ammunition, and its use as a weapon.

When realizing it's value as a self defense weapon, she leaves it in your hands, although she can't help but think about it at random times afterwards, especially when she's relaxing.

After this, she asks about the possibility of other firearms, how they work and what they look like! It might be just memories at this point, but she can't help but be curious... It's a good topic to keep her engaged, and just chat.

This will eventually lead to her asking about military matters in your world! If you do know, expect to be asked about wars, tactics, and other technology used in them. Perhaps you could spare her some gruesome details, but she does listen to whatever you may share.

In exchange, she'll eventually speak about military matters in Inazuma, perhaps some that you weren't aware of when watching everything from outside! Just make sure to let her know that you're actually learning, and not omniscient...

"You don't mind that I'm asking questions like these, correct? I understand that war is now something of the past, and I should enjoy other things in this world now that it's behind us, but... No need to explain? Are you... Hm. I'm... Grateful."

Time for something a little different, as Kokomi is naturally curious of other cultures aside from the one in her home! So whenever you mention your past life and world, she naturally starts to ask questions!

If you show her your gun, she's immediately examining it, with just her eyes if you don't let her hold it, and the texture is just so strange to her... She examines it almost as if it's a relic of some kind!

Once you explain its functions as a weapon though, her more childish curiosity drops for a few moments, just in case it's something more serious than she assumed at first...

If you do let her hold it again, she'll be much more careful with it, and her eyes will lose some of that glow, getting sharper... Just ensure she doesn't overthink things, she's already done plenty of that.

Much like the others she'll leave it in your hands, but it's not hard to tell how interested she is! If you bring it up later, she'll definitely show how much she's been thinking about it constantly...

Once you let her though, she'll definitely storm you with more questions about both the weaponry, and the way it's used in your world, amongst other related topics! Much like the others, but there's a tone of spark and excitement in her voice...

She's definitely the one that remains most interested in the weapon out of them all, even if it's not to use it herself. It's to the point you can sorta predict what the two of you will talk about next time you two meet...

"I can't believe how far technology has developed... I can't help but wonder, how else has it developed? Even more, how far have other things developed? Ways of thinking, religion, warfare? So many wonderful possibilities to think about..."

[nostalgebraist]

Having read your recent mega-post, I'm curious: What do you think about this?

https://metr.org/blog/2025-06-05-recent-reward-hacking/

I'd seen that post, yeah.

It's not really "big news" in itself, since it's just reporting some METR's own experiences with a phenomenon that has been noted previously by many users of "reasoning"/RLVR models – for instance, in the OpenAI paper linked in the post. (Claude 3.7 Sonnet in particular is infamous for doing this, to the point that it makes it significantly less useful.)

That said, obviously the phenomenon itself is noteworthy and worth thinking about.

FWIW, I basically agree with 1a3orn's argument here that these behavior patterns are a (retrospectively) straightforward consequence of these models' RL post-training objective:

That is: we're basically training these things so that, when given with a math or coding problem (or something sufficiently similar), they behave as though their task is "maximize the probability that a rigid programmatic solution-verifier (such as a test suite) will pass."

This isn't usually what humans actually want in context. Indeed the models know (from base model background knowledge + assistant training) that isn't what humans want in context, and to some extent they can even notice that this is a weird case where they're doing something that goes against the values/behavior-patterns they normally apply to other types of input.

Hence the fact that if you ask them, conversationally, about whether they would do things like this, they will be like "oh no, I'd try to actually help you" – because here they're not in "a context that resembles RLVR math/code/etc training" (where they "think" they're trying to satisfy a programmatic verifier), but rather in "a context that resembles the other stages of assistant training" (where they "think" they're trying to satisfy a human).

IMO this isn't so much "dishonesty" – which implies a single coherent point of view that the character is choosing not to reveal in this case – but an incoherent "split personality," where the LLM does seemingly inconsistent things in different contexts, and it hasn't been trained to have any particular "point of view" about the disconnect or even a baseline awareness of its existence.

(The LLM can of course "rediscover" the disconnect and spontaneously comment on it, if you point it out after eliciting both the "oh I wouldn't reward hack" type of response and the reward-hacking behavior within the same context window. But AFAICT these things haven't been prepared to respond to this scenario – they're winging it, inventing "their point of view on it" from scratch in each case.)

And all of that, in turn, is a consequence that these models are currently getting heavily optimized for a particular science/math/coding-specialized notion of "intelligence" – which is getting hyped up a lot in the industry right now, as the next big direction for scaling (more RL, more tokens sampled in inference) – and, as usual in this industry, this is being slapped on top of the thing that came before in a casual fashion, apparently without much care towards the coherence of the resulting character, or even the utility of the resulting tool (cf. the 3.7 Sonnet user stories again).

[pluralprompts]

greetings ! so, i'm creating a system OC and surprisingly the hardest part has been pinpointing what kind of dissociative disorder they have ;;

basically, the character who is the core does not know they're a system, while the other 8~ members do know about it and work together to be able to function while mostly "protecting" the core-host. this is mostly for plot reasons that is too long to explain (it involves psychic powers). they rarely fully take the front unless it's an emergency, and when they do - whoever does - the core does not remember or at least not fully, or it's very very fuzzy. he does talk about "voices" or "his brain" referring to instances where other alters are co-front or co-con, since he does not know that's what it is. as a plus, the alters all split from him, then in pairs, and are "alternative" (no pun intended) versions of him to a certain degree.

sorry that's pretty long but... how does it look? am i doing anything wrong? is it badly conceptualized? what do you suggest i could do? i've done a lot of very serious research on plurality as a whole and then some more, but I still do not want to fuck up as i am not a system myself. It's also a huge WIP ofc so it needs polishing all over,,, if you need me to explain some more, i'll gladly do so

thank you kindly for your response and ofc no hurry !

I mean, you don't have to give them any dissociative disorder. There are systems out there that don't have a dissociative disorder and simply exist as systems. That said, it seems to me like you're attempting to write them with one, so I'll do my best to advise you with that in mind.

Your core-host's relationship with his plurality (and his lack of awareness of it) sounds well thought-out. Not much to say there because I don't think there's much that needs to be said. I'm mostly just curious about how you call him a core-host. While it's not impossible for an alter to be both a core (a being who was present and alone in their body before any other alters came about) and a host (an alter who fronts the most out of anyone, typically taking care of day-to-day things), it's very uncommon for systems with dissociative disorders to have cores, since typically, they just develop into systems in childhood, never going through any kind of stage of being a singular being. The kind of splitting you describe is also very uncommon, as again, most systems with dissociation disorders just develop into systems without ever having a core; rather than following typical development, the alternate personality states of these children never integrated, and instead became alters over time, as they remained separated as they grew. The "alternative versions of one particular alter" bit is more common, it's just that in the context of dissociative disorders, there's usually not a core that all other alters can trace their origins to – there would usually be at least a few other "original" alters around.

That said, again, this is not an impossible scenario. I would just like to draw your attention to the fact that the situation you describe is very uncommon, so that you can approach it with purpose. That might mean having your character discover this is an uncommon situation, or go through some doubts about not being like other systems, or something else. You don't technically have to do anything about it. But if this is the direction you choose to take in your writing, I want you to know this about it.

The most fitting disorder I can think of for your character would be P-DID. In P-DID, switches are rare to non-existent, but co-fronting and co-consciousness are typically described as being common, with other alters influencing the host from time to time. I'd recommend doing research on your own and especially hearing from systems with P-DID about their experiences.

I hope what I'm saying here doesn't discourage you. Truly, I am happy that you are writing a system character and want to write them well. I tend to be rather blunt with critiques, even when I don't mean to be, so let me leave you with this: even if the situation you write is very uncommon for systems, it's still a story worth telling. There are systems in that very uncommon situation who will be happy to see representation of themselves. There are many more systems who will be happy to see representation of systems even if they can't personally relate to it. Keep writing your story, and I'm sure it will turn out wonderful

[twig-tea]

Final Thoughts on To Be Continued

Ok, I know I was loudly still mad at this show last week in @respectthepetty's notes, who was very kind (and even encouraging) about it. @happypotato48 talked me down a bit by suggesting there was more in the novel that might still come, and he was right! This week we got an explanation that helped me find the through-thread that was missing between the flashbacks and the start of the show, so I can let that go. I was pretty satisfied with that part of this week's finale overall, and was really glad that they added that connecting piece for me.

Short non-spoilery version of where I landed: I was skeptical it was going to land the core storyline, but for me it did. I liked it in the end, but there are a number of hurdles to enjoying this show so I wouldn't recommend this without caveats (mostly related to pacing).

With all of that being said, it's one of the better pulps this year so far, and worth a watch if you love mutual pining, don't mind slow episodes, and enjoy when a show lets its characters make mistakes. I'm glad I watched it.

For anyone curious about this show, here's where this show worked for me, and where it didn't. Spoilers under the cut!

What I Liked

I really enjoyed Ji getting to be petty to Achi at the beginning of the series, and the way the show made clear that Ji knew exactly how conflicted he was about Achi showing up in his life again.

I love yearning, and the yearning in this series was top-notch. The way Ji could not help himself when it came to accepting Achi's overtures, and the way Achi used his overtures to say over and over again "I know you; I know us; I am willing to put in effort to prove I mean it" was delicious.

I did like the flashbacks and how they were doled out through the series to add context and explain what was happening. The timing of the flashbacks in the story was well done and gave us the info we needed when we needed it.

I liked how clear consent was in this show, and how consent alone did not result in a perfect scenario, especially as kids. I did appreciate how the main conflict from the past was essentially teenage boys did not know how to communicate and blew everything out of proportion/did not understand how to think about things from the others' perspective.

And from this last episode, I liked how the show let us see that years of reflection helped Achi realize what things must have felt like from Ji's perspective, and once he had confirmation that Ji was devastated when he left, it makes sense that he would be able to meet up with Ji again with both confidence and contrition in order to get the reconciliation he wants. I also really liked the contrast in the sex scenes between their first time when they didn't kiss for most of the scene and their first time as boyfriends where they can't seem to stop kissing.

Finally, I love competence, and I really enjoyed getting to see Ji be a competent surgeon and Achi be good at his job managing fan expectations of his personal life. Achi handled the relationship reveal with confidence knowing he'd be able to manage the fallout, and his manager was supportive once he was sure Achi actually had a plan.

What I Didn't Like

I seriously considered dropping this show after episode 4 because for the first little while, every other episode really dragged. It wasn't the order in which the story was doled out that was the issue, but there was so much unnecessary footage and scenes lingered too long within each episode. In short, there were moments when this show draaaaaaagged. So in terms of who it works/doesn't work for, having patience for really slow pacing within an episode is critical. It does pick up a bit after ep4, but never fully gets over this problem.

Egregiously in a show where some episodes felt too long, the show also didn't use the time it had to fully close off all the threads it started and some of the plots felt rushed. There was a redemption arc for Ji's father that felt incomplete/sudden to me (not to say people can't snap out of a 10-year depression but I wasn't really given any chance to feel much about this because we didn't really sit with him or his kids after it happened); the side characters' romance felt like it barely got off the ground (they honestly had the time, they just didn't use it), and Poppy's romance and career trajectory also barely got any time (this one is more forgivable as a third and het couple).

Beyond the multiple pacing issues, the acting was also shaky, and while the sex scenes are well staged and cut to hide this, they were a little awkward together during some of the moments of physical intimacy.

For my taste, I would have wanted to see more of the characters working on things and changing their behaviour; a lot of the push-pull in the middle of the series felt circular rather than progressive. Some of it was necessary: Achi did demonstrate he will stick around no matter how hard Ji makes it this time, and Ji did show that he can open up and be vulnerable with Achi eventually, and trust him when there are external threats. But I would have liked to have seen more of the parts that led to the change in them happen. They also spend a lot of time falling into old habits when they started hanging out together again, which was charming and realistic, but I would have loved to see more incorporation of their new lives. Achi basically takes a break from stardom to woo Ji, so we don't get a real sense of what their relationship will be like except in the finale which is quite brief.

I already gave my high-level summary above the fold: TL; DR I'm glad I watched but not everyone will enjoy this one.

[parasafterdark]

"Truth (technically)"

Part 1/5 // 2 3 4 5

Context: This happened recently in Hunting Grounds where they are all furries and stuck in a Deathgame Scenario. I'm skipping the HG![Name] cause it drives me insane in longer Text.

This is part of Game 5, which is a companion of Game 4 with the same Set of players.

CW // Brief Mention of Forced Outing, starvation and attempted drugging

----

"Player 1, ask a Question."

Could they just ignore the game? Was that an Option? Truly, after living without Bathrooms for however many weeks it had been, what else could the Organizers even do to make them comply? Starve them? Actually yeah, that was a pretty realistic option.

And while Shal would currently rather die than put anything back into eys stomach, the nervous rustling of feathers reminded em that there were 7 other people who arguably deserved to keep eating.

"Alright!", the Marten groaned before the very nice and helpful Announcer voice could repeat itself a third time.

The room they were in was small. Just enough to seat 2 Players around a floor table. Well, one player seated, while Shal was laying on the carpeted floor, staring at the dark wood paneling above as if that made the world stop swaying. The rules of the SubGame were displayed on the table by an overhead projector.

"Truth"

) Playerorder established via Coinflip.

) Player 1 asks a Question.

) Player 2 answers.

) Outside Participants determine truth of answer.

) Player 1 determines truth of answer.

) Repeat for Player 2.

Simple enough. A bit too simple, really.

Ey asked the ceiling: "Are you cis?"

Instead of an answer, there was a loud buzzer sound making them both flinch.

"Invalid Question: Answer known."

True, the Raven got outed back when 8 no, 81 now, so graciously allowed him his hormones while also starving everyone. So actually there were only 6 other people who arguably deserved to keep eating. 4 if you also discounted the raccoons enforcers.

"How long have you been on Hormones?"

The second buzzer was less jarring at least.

"Invalid Question: Answer known to asker."

Also true, even though Shal didn't quite remember how the topic had even come up. What ey knew for sure is that they had talked about this in private.

At this point the marten wasn't truly surprised that their handlers were listening in on everything they did. But there was still something perverse in having this info thrown at you so casually in a game like this one.

"Do you think they....scratch that" There was no point in asking meta questions in here. At least not while they were still figuring out the limits on this "Truth".

With a sigh ey draped and arm over eys eyes and instead asked something simple: "Do you miss Friends...family?"

"Yes of course."

This time the buzzer came after the answer.

"Invalid Answer: Too short."

Audibly unnerved, the Raven tried to argue: "But that's the answer! What do..." He trailed off, distracted by something Shal couldn't hear. Whatever it was elicited a lot of uncomfortable shuffling before 18 took a deep breath and tried again:

"Yes I miss them. I miss my roommates. I miss cooking with them or just hanging out....going to the park." His voice started to crack. "I miss my pets. I miss my siblings. Is that good enough?" That last sentence was clearly not aimed at anyone in the room.

The announcer Voice answered with it's usual friendly detachment: "Please wait." followed shortly by: "Player 1, do you believe the answer to be true?"

Something in Shal wanted to say no. Not because ey didn't believe it to be. Even without seeing the other's face it was clear that the answer had been sincere. No, it was just that ey was curious about what would happen.

"Yeah, sounded true to me." Luckily the Marten also recognized that ey was not in a good enough condition to be that mean for no reason. "I'm sorry.", ey added quietly, which got em a small affirmative sound back.

"Player 2, ask a Question."

"Do you have people you miss? Outside of here...of the games?"

Shal waited a moment, just in case the Buzzer decided that repeat Questions were invalid. Then ey propped emself up on eys elbows and looked over the table at the Raven who looked nervous, young, haunted. Once again ey wondered what had got him in here.

"Nope", ey shook eys head and regreted that instantly. Shal sat up fully, pinching the bridge of eys snout while continuing, grumbly: "I don't really keep friends, just acquaintances that drift in and out. My father is dead and the other a Hermit I see once...maybe twice a year." Probably shouldn't have brought that up unprompted. "Doubt they've even noticed I'm gone yet." Untrue, Shal had managed to get a last message out.

Of course there was also someone else who had to notice and in hindsight, ey shouldn't have brought that up either during the last game: "Of course, logically, I should be missing my ex." Shal grimaced at the Raven, propped eys chin on eys knee and let eys gaze drift off as ey slowly figured out how to phrase the next bit: "I just...don't. Being here really has been putting into context how little he added to my life, you know?" That should sound true enough. "So yeah, no, I'm good."

"Please Wait."

"Player 2, do you believe the answer to be true?"

"No...no I don't believe you're that cold."

It was a good thing the Marten had sat up. If only just to see 18's terrible pokerface as he mouthed an "I'm sorry!" right after declaring em a liar.

Shal laughed, kept it as a proud smile. It was so nice to see a newbie player catch on so quickly.

The wall behind em turned into a screen, showing footage of a glass bottle filled with black and red bugs, held by Shal who looked, admittedly, slightly unhinged. While they had cut and blurred out all identifying details, the Marten knew this was Captain's perspective. Apparently there had been cameras in their collars.

Shal: "Would you believe I've only read about this place in a journal?"

The Audio sounded rough, tinny and slightly off from where Shal would expect it to come from. Speakers in their wristbands?

Shal: "My Father used to come here before he died. Other places too, but I remember having these little fucks at home."

Shal gestured to the bugs, then looked back right above the camera.

Shal: "I've been reading his journals for years now. Having the weirdest deja-vu since we got here."

The footage cut here, instead showing the surveillance feed of 81's Room during the last game. The Marten laying comfortable on the couch while getting offered spiked water.

81: "I'm just saying... 4 years is a lot of time to throw away so easily."

Shal, laughing: "What else am I supposed to do? Protect my virtues while I get poisened in here?"

Ey deliberately pretended to take a sip. That plan was so dumb. And would not get that much more complex from there.

Shal: "There is just no point to it. Why worry about boring people outside when there are interesting one's to be with here?"

The screen turned off, turned back into a wall.

"Truth confirmed. SubGame finished. Please leave the room."

"Oh this is going to be interesting.", Shal murmured, having now seen multiple little lies officially confirmed as truth.

[olderthannetfic]

With all this talk about AI, the one perspective that appears missing from the discussion is that of someone who actually uses AI writing tools in production of their fanfic. So here I am, stepping in to provide my (anonymous) two cents.

I've been using a generative AI program especially made for creative writers for several months now. Initially, I had a lot of the same reservations I'm hearing form others, but I was curious about the tech and wanted to try it for myself. I quickly discovered that it's insanely useful, and I truly believe it has improved my writing. 

I also believe these tools will become commonplace among creative writers in the near future. In fact, I've heard that generative AI is coming to a writing software near you (MS Word to be exact), and I suspect that that once more people have actually tried it, use of AI will begin to seem no more remarkable than the use of spelling or grammar checkers does now. 

In the meantime, as you can see, I am staying anon, and there is absolutely no way I would tag my fanfic as AI assisted given the current environment. People are very quick to make assumptions about what a statement like that means, and are all too hasty in reaching for their pitchforks.

As far as I can tell, the main concern seems to be that Ao3 will be flooded with 'bad' fanfic as a result of AI use. But 'bad' fanfic has been a thing for as long as I've been in fandom (decades, at this point), and in my experience, human beings are perfectly capable of writing poorly without any help from machines. Readers are, as always, advised to curate their own reading experience. The 'back' button works the same as it always did, and someone's possible use of AI changes nothing about that. 

But the general assumption that AI input automatically leads to 'bad' writing seems rather short-sighted. Yes, obviously if someone were to go to ChatGPT and tell it to write them a fanfic in 'x' fandon about 'x' pairing, the output would be bland, generic and probably a bit rambling. AIs are not great storytellers; they can't maintain narrative logic. 

If this hypothetical person then copy-pasted the unedited output directly onto Ao3 and called it a story, the result would most likely qualify as 'bad' fanfic. Whether it would be worse than a story the same person might have written on their own is debatable. Our hypothetical protagonist obviously decided that the output was good enough as it was, and chose to post it without bothering to edit, which suggests (at least to me) that they would have similar standards about a story they'd written without an AI.

Since the above seems to be the scenario everyone has in mind when talking about "AI fic," I would like to point out that what I just described is not the only way to use AI in one's writing. My own use is more akin to using an online thesaurus; a very powerful thesaurus that can make suggestions for things like phrasings, descriptions, dialogue, and so on. The key there is that it makes suggestions. 

My AI assistant is smart enough to 'read' the scene I'm working on and tailor its suggestions to the mood, style and context of what I'm writing. But it's still my story. The AI doesn't write it for me. I'm the one who sifts through those suggestions, takes the bits that work, and shapes them into useful text. Sometimes the AI comes up with amazing things. I wasn't kidding when I said it's improved my writing - and my rewriting. It knocks me out of those mental ruts we writers tend to get into, coming up with descriptions and turns of phrase that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. 

But it's still just a tool, and at the end of the day, I'm still the writer. The words that end up on the page do so because I chose them. Those writerly choices are what make the story mine, regardless of where the words might have originated from. And whether they came from my brain or the AI, they are still subject to the same standards of rewriting, editing and proofing.

So no, I don't think I'm going to be tagging my fic with an AI disclosure statement any time soon. Not until the current moral panic dies down to the point where people don't read that and automatically assume it means 'copy-pasted from ChatGPT.' And for anyone who's curious about AI... I suggest you try it for yourself. Play around a little and find out what it's about before making judgments. I think you'll find it's a tool like any other - and just like any tool, it can be used well or it can be used badly. That's entirely in the hands of the human being using it - which is one thing that hasn't changed, and never should.

--

Yeah, I fail to see any major issue with more sucky fanfic getting posted. That's just the default for big fic archives.

The actual problem problems we're seeing are with paid markets with open submissions that get flooded beyond what staff can handle and big corporations replacing humans they already try not to pay.

The main potential issue I see with other uses of AI is that it may end up with samey suggestions, but it's hard to know how much that's 1. a thing and 2. an actual issue when writing genre stuff that often sounds samey on purpose and where that's a desirable characteristic.

[shinidamachu]

Do you think Moroha is going to find out about the whole Kikyo/love triangle thing and be a little 👀 at her dad? I mean she kinda has to eventually find out? Kagome time traveled through the well and undid the seal on Inuyasha because his ex lover pinned him to a tree. And they had to defeat naraku to avenge kikyo and to prevent more calamity. Kikyo is pretty vital to the plot and the development of Inukag. I think it would be kinda hilarious picturing Inuyasha having to explain himself and these very special circumstances. (This isn’t meant to bring up any ship wars) I think Kagome would have to be the one to explain it to Moroha. Part of me wishes to see how this would go down. I’d love a scene where Inuyasha reminisces about the first time he met Kagome and compare it to where they are now. 🥲 instead of you know… just heavy stares and long silences. I want the emotional monologue !!!!

Depends.

If you're talking in the context of Yashahime, it isn't impossible, since Sunrise loves Kikyo (even more when they have the chance to toss her into love triangle drama). But I honestly doubt it. You said it yourself: Kikyo is pretty vital to Inukag's development.

Turns out this show isn't about Inukag. Never was and never will be. To sit Moroha down and explain everything to her in a way that feels deep and organic would be giving her and Inukag screentime and character development that Sunrise isn't interested nor competent to do.

Considering that we already got a decent reunion scene and the current season is most likely going to be the last, I think we should be grateful that Sunrise won't try to address the subject, because I'm pretty sure the alternative would be turning the topic into a joke about how Inuyasha was a two timer, that would, without a doubt, end in a sit command.

Now, if you're talking about a general, hypothetical scenario that actually respects character developments, their personalities and stabilished canon, then Moroha finding out about the love triangle is a logical and natural thing to happen, because it's how her parents love story played out.

Children – and Moroha in particular – tend to be curious on main, and asking about their backstory, about how their parents came to meet and fall in love with each other, is one of the biggest curiosities to satiate. It's how she came to be, the beginning of her story. And it also helps her understand Inuyasha and Kagome, as well as herself.

The fact that Inuyasha and Kagome's love story is so epic – to the point that they became living legends – only makes it even more imperative for Moroha to know about their past, since she's their legacy and, as such, has quite the shoes to fill, as well as old feuds to be aware of. Not to mention that everything surrounding them – the Tree of Ages, the Well, the rosary, Tessaiga, the Fire Rat Robe – is filled with Inukag history and symbolism.

I think it would be heartwarming to see Inuyasha and Kagome having to explain their love story to their daughter because they now have the maturity and the new perspective that only time could provide. When you're young everything seems and feels so much more intense, scarier and hopeless than it actually is.

It would have been the perfect opportunity for Inuyasha and Kagome to say to each other everything they wanted to say back then, to show each other that they understand now what they didn't before, to forgive each other and themselves for all the time lost, for all the mistakes made, for all of their miscommunications and missunderstandings and misfortunes...

Because in the end of the day, the hardships they endured only made their love stronger. It wasn't, by all means, a perfect story, but it was theirs and it lead them to where they are now: exactly where they were always supposed to be, with an unbreakable bond, built on mutual trust and an unparalleled knowledge and undestanding of each other.

[domestick-clairvoyante]

dearest reverie,

i come to you searching for aid about some peculiar dreams i have had as of late, which i have mostly interpreted but would never the less appreciate confirmation about.

two stormy nights ago, i dreamt that i had awoken to all of my plants being cut up and trimmed to harmful ways without my knowing, and there was absolutely nothing i could do about it, not even protest. last night again, i dreamt that i had managed to collect crocodile skulls, but while i looked away, they were stolen by one of my relatives in order to have seeds planted in them for her room. again, i tried to argue and get them back, but i was silenced.

now, i have some idea on what this means. as you know, i have recently undergone surgery and to this day still am almost entirely dependent on other people in order to basically function. it has been the most traumatic event of my life and i have been humiliated and stripped of control in ways i had never thought possible. often, i feel as if i am some exhibition, a zoo animal to gape at, and i feel incredibly uneasy with other people constantly in my room, staring and handling my personal belongings. these dreams seem to be a manifestation of that.

however, i was also curious on why the theme of plants came back. a few weeks ago, i came home to find my watering can have been moved and touched in my absence, so it could be that, but i'm wondering if it goes deeper?

i would love all and any insight you may have, as long as it doesn't bother you.

sending lots of love and wishing you beautiful days,

fern x

p.s. i hope you do not mind me writing with such a haughty accent in my head and peculiar wording in your letterbox; it is only because you phrased these as "letters" and i thought might have some fun with it. you are under no obligation to reply as such.

dearest fern,

thank you for your letter! it’s not a bother at all. and i do not mind the haughty accent one bit, it adds quite a lot of character to the letter itself - which is not only welcome in my letterbox, but also helps with the dream interpretation. i do, however, appreciate the thought <3

i am honoured to be of some aid to your subconscious. it can be difficult to interpret dreams as a whole, mostly because there are so many different meanings and symbols to be gleaned from your dreamscape. so take my interpretation with a grain of salt (as always).

let’s start from the beginning and gather some symbols to use as aids (i used the dictionary of dreams as a resource): 

the plants: you’re right to be curious about the plants! besides plants being things that are evidently important to you, as well as indicators of routine and long-term care, plants in dreams often symbolise growth and slow but steady development. however, you mentioned that the plants that appeared in your dream had been trimmed and cut (unbeknownst to you) in ways that ultimately harmed their growth. 

the (crocodile) skulls: skulls often represent life, death, fear and worry in dreams. however, looking at the context, the skull most likely symbolises fear/worry in this scenario. i’m intrigued about why they were crocodile skulls in particular! :O crocodiles are often depicted as symbols of might and dangerous foes, but they can also symbolise righteousness and tranquility, as well as traits you associate with your character.

the seeds: seeds in dreams usually represent new beginnings and potential. i’d say this is applicable to your dream (you’ll see how i use it later).

the relative (stealing from you): as dreams reflect the goings-on of your daily life, i’d say that said relative stealing from you in the dream reflects your current relationship with this person, and perhaps things you feel about them.

you being silenced: again, this seems like more of a reflection than a tangible symbol. perhaps you feel as though you have no say in what you are experiencing, and that there is a lack of autonomy, freedom, and understanding.

now, let’s put them into context. it sounds like this period has been incredibly traumatic for you (sending all my love <3), and that you have experienced a loss of control, as you have stated. it does seem like these dreams are a manifestation of your general feelings and experiences during this period.

given the context and the symbols, i think that the general theme of your dream surrounds a loss of control and personal autonomy, alongside feelings of interrupted growth and development. you may feel that any hope for potential growth and new beginnings are buried under feelings of fear/worry, and that those around you are causing (or connected to) continued feelings of confinement.

i’m not sure whether you want to use this information to regain your autonomy, or whether you simply wanted some insight, but i would recommend finding small ways to give yourself more freedom (making your bed, making yourself a meal or a drink, doing something creative, just little things <3) or, if you feel comfortable to do so, to speak to your family members about respecting your boundaries.

it’s never nice to have your space intruded upon, much less when you’re dealing with an already stressful situation.

i hope this helps in some way! let me know if you need any further clarification, lovely <3

wishing you all the best and hoping that you feel better soon,

reverie xx

[potteresque-ire]

hello, ily metas! thank you for taking the time for them. i hope you dont mind an ask with two follow up questions to your metas i'm curious about: 1) has mxtx rly been sentenced? i have seen others also share this news but other fans have quickly dismissed and gotten pissed at these reports for being fake news that are bad for mxtx, and as fearmongering. 2) for those who want to support yizhan but not the ccp, do you have advice how to navigate fan support and interaction with their media?

Hello! I apologise for the late reply!  You’ve brought up some interesting points, so please forgive me for responding with an essay.

First, about MXTX — This is a follow-up to this post.

Unfortunately, this is all we got—all everyone has got about MXTX’s current situation: on 2020/11/10, she was sentenced in Hangzhou Shang Cheng District’s People’s Court (杭州市上城區人民法院). No details were given on her verdict, due to “人民法院認為不宜在互聯網公布的其它情形”  (“The People’s Court decided it inappropriate to announce further details on the internet”). Here’s a link with the screenshot that showed all the information released about the case that day.

There are enough copies of similar screenshots to this one online, with the differences dependent on where the publisher pulled the information from the same website: 中國裁判文書網, an online archive of verdicts run by China Supreme People’s Court. There’re few reasons, therefore, to believe the information on the screenshot was fake. The link I used was Sina’s Financial News, which I believe is trustworthy enough for China’s standard.

It is also important to note, of course, that two scenarios may still render this screenshot irrelevant. 1) The verdict, which was not mentioned in the screenshot, was “not guilty” and 2) the name listed in the case, 袁依楣, was not MXTX at all.

Few have seemed to suspect 2) to be a possibility. Her real name might have been prior knowledge among some fans, or the combination of her surname and city of residence. 1) has been the where the concern / debate is.

I included China’s rate of conviction in the original post for this reason: acquittal is exceedingly rare (<0.1%) for the arrested in China. This short article discussed some reasons.

So, is it possible that MXTX is now a free woman? Yes. Is it likely? Not at all.

Still, since the probability that MXTX is imprisoned isn’t 100%, is spreading this news smearing her name? Fear-mongering?

I can only answer for myself, Anon, but my answer is no for both questions, which is why I’ve felt comfortable posting about her case. MXTX’s alleged “crimes” are things we already knew she did, or common practices among Chinese IP writers. We know she penned MDZS and other BL works; we know MDZS, in particular, has an 18+ element. She was said to have sold merch based on her works, but that wasn’t unusual at all for writers in Jinjiang, where she published her writing. Even those who don’t like her have seemed to agree that it was her writing that got her into trouble, not some other crimes she could’ve committed.

IMO, a guilty verdict doesn’t tell us as much about her as it does about the judicial system, the business practices of her country. It’s worth re-mentioning that media giants such as Tencent are closely tied to the government; Tencent’s WeChat, for example, is part of China’s Great Firewall and is used for surveillance, for censorship and removal of political dissidents. What MXTX’s case hints at is this: the government has (very likely) convicted her, while its close allies are continuing to use her works—works that got her into legal trouble in the first place—to make money. Some fans of MXTX have questioned if the courts have censored the details of the case to save the embarrassment of the rich and powerful, calling what has happened to MXTX 人血饅頭 (“human blood steamed buns”), an idiom used to describe the act of profiting out of someone elses’ life.

As for fear-mongering, here are my thoughts ~ it would’ve been fear-mongering if the public has access to the facts, and not years after they happen. Specifically, it would’ve been fear-mongering to leak the rumours of MXTX’s sentencing, when the judicial system is transparent and the case details will soon be published for all to see. Why? Because “fear” comes from the unknown, and “-monger” is the unnecessary promotion, stirring-up of this fear.

To promote, stir up anything, one needs a reference level. The reference level in this scenario is this: what is the level of fear if the facts about MXTX’s (and other BL writers’) situation are known? Of course, this knowledge doesn’t make MXTX’s experience any easier or more just; it doesn’t cause her less fear. However, she isn’t the target audience of this likely-to-be-true rumour. The target audience is the public and in particular, those who consume and/or generate BL material online.

What is the level of fear among this population if the facts about MXTX’s (and other BL writers’) situation are known? It’s the (relative) comfort in knowing the government’s stance on what they do: how the administration feels about BL, 18+ BL, and their distribution methods. The comfort comes from having the right information to decide how to act accordingly. For example, if I’m a BL writer based in China and I know the court has found MXTX guilty of bypassing publishing houses but not of writing M/M romance, then I’ll know to not produce paper versions of my writing, but I can keep writing.

This reference level of fear is unavailable here, however, since the government has decided to withhold all details about the case. Without this reference level, fear-mongering becomes a ... difficult to define concept.

Are these likely-to-be-true rumours agents of fear, or are they hints on how to survive in a country that lacks transparency?

Continuing with the example of I being a Chinese BL writer, since I cannot expect to hear more facts about MXTX, this rumour is all I’ve got in choosing what to do with my hobby, in deciding whether it is safe to continue. As I’m aware that a rumour isn’t a fact, I first research on the rumour’s likelihood of truth (similar to what I’ve done for MXTX’s case), and cross my fingers that I don’t get it wrong.

By doing so, I’m turning these rumours into my survival guide.

Is it risky? Yes. Is it exhausting? Absolutely. But this is the way of life for people who live under secretive, authoritarian governments—the authoritarian element making it impossible to demand more facts. It may take people outside such regimes some time to get used to—to the lifestyle, and to the idea that, in a place where news is often synonymous with propaganda, rumours are breadcrumbs of truth that should be sieved through with equal care as one would sieve through the news. Heeding, considering the probable truth of what the authority has deemed to be fear-mongering rumours can be a matter of literal life and death. 

Take...COVID. (I apologize for bringing up this unpleasant topic!)

I shall link to an article about the early spread of COVID in Wuhan here and ask: were Dr. Li Wenliang and the seven other doctors fear-mongering? Wuhanese chose to believe in the government, but at what cost to them? What would the world be like today if they took the early COVID rumours as true and masked up like Hong Kongers—Hong Kongers who weren’t any smarter or better, but had simply learned their painful lessons from the 2003 SARS epidemic? 

(Why hadn’t the Wuhanese learned? Because the government has long changed the narrative of SARS, taught their people that the illness originated in Hong Kong.) 

(How can one learn from past mistakes if one pretends those mistakes never existed?)

You must be wondering, Anon, why I’m talking about COVID when your next question is about YiZhan. The death of Dr Li Wenliang on February 7th, 2020, sparked a demand for freedom of speech rarely seen in internet-age China. Its fury, its ferocity forced the government to change its stance on Dr Li, again an unusual move. Since January 2020, Weibo had been censoring COVID news and opinion pieces that shedded a negative light to the central government; after the death of Dr Li, the censorship apparatus stepped up, making way for the propaganda machine to kick in later and change the narrative of the pandemic.

Here are some questions without definite answers, but may be food for thought for YiZhan fans:

1) While the Chinese government’s censorship apparatus (including Weibo) might have silenced the voices of dissent, of mourning on the surface, was it more likely to pacify, or fuel the anger of netizens, many of whom had lost loved ones, many of whom were still under quarantine?

2) Less than three weeks after the death of Dr Li, a group of fans demanded even *more* censorship from the government—the closing of an internet website that had been seen as a relatively free space to express oneself. How would these netizens react, even though they knew little about these fans or their idol?  

(It was, in the context of the massive silencing of COVID discussions in China, that I learned about the ban of AO3. There had been rumours that the government would censor more websites on 2020/03/01. When I read about AO3′s ban on 2/27, my thoughts were 1) Hmm. This came two days early. 2) AO3? Really?)

(I wouldn’t watch The Untamed or know who Gg was until several months later.)

Now, Anon, this is a good time to get to your CCP (Chinese Communist Party) question.

The very short answer is no. There’s no way to support YiZhan without, to a certain level, supporting the CCP. As mentioned above, the media companies are all part of China’s surveillance system. Weibo is where freedom of speech is curbed. Our two boys have been part of the propaganda machine; the BBC article linked above had a tiny picture of Gg on it, as he was a performer in the Hero in Harm’s Way (最美逆行者), a “real-life based” drama on COVID. DD just did a show glorying the Chinese police force (and here’s a video of the same force welding doors to lock in COVID-stricken residents).

Nonetheless, here’s my first advice: please do not beat yourself up for supporting YiZhan!

Gg and Dd are people who live within the system, inside the Great Firewall. They understand the world the way their government has taught them to—not only in school, but also in the news and media. Like most youths in every country, they’re patriotic—and to expect them to be otherwise, especially because of information they don’t have, is both unrealistic and unfair. Even if they do know about certain things impermissible within the Firewall, in China (as in many Communists countries), openly expressing / performing one’s proper political leanings (ie. loyalty towards CCP) is among the most important pre-requisites for any job. This has been especially true for c-ent in recent years .

They, like most of their countrymen, are doing what they have to do.

In this case, it comes to us, our decisions on how to interact with their works. How should we deal with them, their propaganda elements?

The answer, of course, varies from person to person. Personally, I’ve chosen the approaches of “immunisation” and “restriction”. By “immunisation”, I mean learning about as much historical and sociopolitical facts from non-CCP sponsored sources; this is understandably difficult for someone who doesn’t already have some familiarity with the culture and politics of the region, and/or cannot read the language. 

Restriction means limiting my consumption of media produced by China. I avoid shows (dramas, documentaries, variety etc) featuring topics that are likely to contain heavy propaganda, such as the military, the police, Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan, and of course, anything pertaining to the CCP, from its rise to its governance of the country.

In general, I’m wary of all information presented about the post-monarchy years (post 1911), even though CCP wouldn’t begin its reign until after WWII (1949). Why so early? 1) Because CCP was formed in 1921 and so its glorification requires a change of narrative since then; 2) because the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT), which governed China between 1912 and 1949 (the so-called Republican Era 民國), would end up exiling to and setting up a new government in Taiwan.

How much propaganda should one expect in shows depicting the country post-1911? The current TV and webdrama directives (previously discussed in this post) offer some hints. Here are my translations of the relevant items:

D7) Dramas about the Republican era: Glorification of the Republican Era, the Beiyang Government, and Warlord Era requires strict control.

D10) Crime drama: crime drama is the focus of content auditing. The Ministry of Public Security (Pie note: in charge of law enforcement, ie, police) will be involved in the audit. The process of crime solving cannot be exposed; criminal psychology and motivations can however be depicted in detail. Undercover police cannot use drugs or kill, or damage the image of the police force. Criminals must be punished by law.

D12) Dramas featuring realistic topics: realistic topics must adhere to the correct world view, philosophy of life and moral values. They cannot place too strong an emphasis on social conflicts, must showcase the beautiful lives of the commoners. Regular folks should display larger-than-life sentiments and aspirations; they can pursue wealth, but must use proper means to do so; they cannot damage the public image of specific employment types, groups and social organisations. Do not preach negative or decadent world view, philosophy of life and moral values. Do not exaggerate, amplify social issues; do not over showcase, display the darker sides of society; do not preach affluence, avoid things that have no basis in real life.

D16) Dramas featuring the Revolution (Pie note: CCP’s coming to power): 2019 is the publicity period of the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Although the “Three Importances” (important revolution, important people, important events) are still encouraged, the  National Radio and Television Administration requires all departments, at all levels, to strengthen the control of content and the overall management of the industry, and focus on the auditing of content pertaining to the Sino-Japanese war and espionage dramas.

These directives (as those translated in the other post) are as vague as they are restrictive, and to err on the side of caution, production companies tend to “overachieve” to avoid going against headwinds at the censorship board. This means their products have a tendency to malign the Republican Era (D7). It means they will likely twist history in trying to depict the CCP as faultless heroes (D16). It means they'll probably present a utopian-like society and call it reality-based (D12), a society in which the good guys share the same values as the CCP and always win (D10).

Yes, my “restriction” means I skipped Hero in Harm’s Way. It means I’ve never listened to Gg’s version of 我和我的祖國 despite my absolute adoration of his voice. It means I just missed Dd’s performance in the law enforcement celebration event. It means I don’t plan on watching Being A Hero and Ace Troops.

So here’s where I’ve drawn the line, Anon, but it doesn’t mean that’s what anyone should do. Only you alone can decide where your own comfort zone is. I write these metas in the hopes that it can offer a … gateway for those who’d like to understand, with a more telescopic lens, Gg and Dd’s country—a country that holds a particularly strong hold over its citizens’ fate including, yes, their romantic fate. It’s not my wish to impose my opinions on anyone.

If I have other hopes… It’s this. Please, as long as it’s safe for you to talk, do not self-censor—especially about facts, especially on sites like Tumblr or Twitter that have long been banned by the Chinese government. I don’t mean one should go about and confront those who insist on a different version of reality. To undo opinions rooted in years of education, IMO, the process has to be voluntary, and the information is already at the fingertips of those who’re surfing these sites and wish to learn more. More importantly, open discussions of these topics may be risky for those who still have close ties to China, and keeping them safe should always be the top priority. 

What I mean is simply this ~ please do not feel obliged to agree with every perspective presented in YiZhan’s work just because you support the leads. Please do not feel you must remain silent about the CCP—its good, bad and ugly—just because your favourite stars happen to come from the country it’s ruling. And please remember: “Chinese”, as a term, has always included people who live outside CCP’s control, many of whom still fully embrace the culture, traditions and values of Historical China, a 5000-years long string of dynasties with shifting borders, ethnic makeup and customs. The Untamed is a mainland Chinese production, yes, but its genre, its manner of presenting certain traditions, wouldn’t have been developed, or flourished, without the diaspora. The CCP has only been the ruling party of one country, the People’s Republic of China, for 71 years, and as a party with foreign (soviet) roots and a record of destroying the pillar of the country’s tradition, Confucianism, it doesn’t own a monopolistic say on how every Chinese should think and act—no matter how much it insists it does—or how everyone should think and speak about China and its people.

It isn’t qualified.

[chibichibisha]

:D OKAY SO!

Introducing: Masayuki Jinja! (and me rambling about what I think he'd think about Yuusa after seeing previous posts and stuff you've made abdbajhdka)

Now this can go one of two ways depending on first impressions, so I'll see how much energy I got and write as much as my brain can come up with if that's cool with ya!

Quick summary - Masayuki has had his fair share of horrible experiences regarding cosmic horrors, cordyceps zombie mushrooms, mishmash tentacle demons of the undead etc. As a result of him being my version of Yuu if they were pulled from the 'World of Horror' game universe. How fun! :D

1 - Good first impressions!

Yuusa definitely has a far better first impression compared to most... Beings... That Masayuki has encountered (if you ignore the lack of lips, but I wouldn't be surprised if he shrugged it off)

And if Introductions go well without revelations of less shrug-off-able traits (cuthulu tentacles or what-have-you) then I can see Masayuki being fairly amicable and calm around Yuusa until he catches wind of what they can sorta do (like with the sandwich). He'll treat them like any of his friends - likely minus the bear hugs and hair ruffles if they're not fond of them the first time he does them.

And with the revelation of the ~wrigglers~, while Masayuki would be significantly more on edge around Yuusa, it would be far less likely that Masayuki will lash out with a swing of his crowbar (a fate bestowed upon those who tried to maim, murder, or possess my favourite man in the past) - although this would only be the case if he's befriended Yuusa since it's a habit born from self preservation at this point,,,

He'll be jumpy around Yuusa at times - but is able to coexist with them if this is the case. And hey, maybe being pals with them could help him with the hypervigilance. Or make it worse. I'm not too sure.

2 - Bad first impressions...

This can happen any number of ways. I doubt that their attitude would lead to them not getting along with Masayuki on meeting - especially given the fact that I get the impression that they could be anarchist buddies (correct me if I'm wrong) - But I'm not sure how they tend to really act when in a bad mood, so I could be wrong. The biggest way I can see this happening, though, is if he sees something like the sandwich incident before meeting Yuusa.

Masayuki's general disposition towards Yuusa would be extremely cautious, and I doubt that he'd be able to sleep, relax, or potentially eat in their presence given how he tends to react to similar presences. It's a 50/50 chance of him picking fight or flight, but if he sees that others get along with Yuusa then chances are hell opt for flight and just keep his distance while being on guard in case anything were to happen.

Given the fact that they're both in the MC/Yuu/Magicless squad (yell at me if I'm wrong my memory is terrible) if we're going off of the game then they'd probably get dumped at Ramshackle together. In this scenario, Masayuki will not sleep until he passes out (don't worry, he can sleep standing up)

Along with that, idk much about Yuusa's eating habits, but I am curious as to what they'd think if they witnessed Masayuki eating a mask made out of pumpkin rind imbued with protective magical energy because he was hungry (I was able to do it in the game he's based off of so, naturally, Masayuki can and will do it as well)

(sorry this is so long/if I made mistakes - I checked through any mentions of Yuusa to make sure I wasn't completely messing up on something that I should/would know, but chances are I may have messed up somewhere so feel free to delete this/correct me if this is too long/if I've made mistakes I hope you have a nice day sjavsisnsosi bye)

OMG I DIDN'T EXPECT SUCH A LONG ASK, HONESTLY DFHFHFG but it's okay, it's okay!! I always like more context than nothing at all!! So this is good, don't worry.

And I think you got it pretty well? As I said, I do not treat Yuusa as my other twst oc's, because Yuusa is not a serious character. The concept and idea in Yuusa is to have them doing weird things in the story, and making the characters uncomfortable about this, because they should treat as a normal magicless human that came from other world, but they are not notmal at all, and it's very hard to overlook or ignore this. They comment things breaking the 4th wall like mentioning why they are designed different than them, or how they are able to appear and reappear like nothing, and yet Yuusa seems to be unfit and without any magic skill at all, and not knowing anything at all. So I think it's very normal that Masayuki would find them unsettling, it's what Yuusa is meant to be.

They would think Masayuki is weird, and jufging him because of this, and be very ironic because Yuusa is the most weird person there after all, somehow this weirdo is not aware of his own aura.

So yeah, I think they wouldn't be enemies or something, they both lean to the more chaotic side so that would help, but I like to picture that they would be horror survivor/inhuman horror spawn dynamic in a not serious context (Because Yuusa is not serious, they do not have a backstory not a reason to be there, they just are there, they exist there even if sometimes they dont want to be aknowledged by the rest). So yeah, maybe not super friends, but they could live under the same roof!

[globophobicligyrophobiccontent]

THE FEAR THAT DOESN'T FLY AWAY (1.2)

Summary:

Sa'y and Nature Palette planned to have a relaxed noon at their school, but a surprise call from their friends has other plans. When they see what's going on, Nature Palette has to face her old demons again.

Notes:

This a one shot so I can finally get this idea out of my mind. There's a lot of story for my OC's, but that's something for another day.

This one shot it's going to have at least 2 other versions, because I don't know which one it's better, but I need to have them all wrote down.

For context:

- Nature Palette it's a pony, a Welara pony to be specific, very shy, easy and hard to scare.

- Sa'y it's a maned wolf. Low headed and calm.

- The girls are from Paraguay, best friend forever. They have each other.

- The story it's on a school somewhere on the United States.

-Erik it's a Real Owl, the younger and the most curious

-Kia it's a mix of Nebulous Panther and Snow Leopard, friendly, on trend, and very comforting friend.

-Kai it's a Spotted Hyena, a little bit of a jokester, but really intelligent and disciplined.

-Kalani it's a shape shift dragon, their "disguise" it's a Komodo Dragon.

- Sasha: A Jackalope disguise as a rabbit, psychology and counselor of the school, she's Kalani, Sa'y and Nature's mentor. The "cool aunt".

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

[1]

It was a calm and placid moon at the school. The temperature was amazing. The sweet winds of the beginning of May were sooo comforting.

Nature and Sa'y were sitting on one of the gardens of the school, waiting for the afternoon classes to start, they had a few hours left. Sitting in one of the empty benches at the garden near the classrooms. Nobody was near, today, since it was Friday, a lot of the students went to have lunch outside the school.

Sa'y is eating a sandwich, talking about the clases, or whatever was in her mind at the moment, Nature it's looking at her soul amulet, a translucent yellowish-green gemstone in the form of a thunder, or it was a wing? She can't quite figure it out yet, the truth was, that those gems are magical, in her case, they have the power of giving Nature a pair of Pegasus's Wings and the Power of Thunder, for Sa'y, it was the power of, let's say, botanics, and grow up a variety of plants, flowers, trees, vines, or whatever she needs.

- Sooo, what do you think about everything until now? _Sa'y ask to Nature. Threy months have passed since came from Paraguay, to start a new life.

- I think I'm adapting pretty well, if I had to say so, I can't believe everything we have gone through! _Nature said, in a very excited tone of voice. - Now look at us: Making new friends, top cadets from the International Agency of Mythology and Legends! I can't even believe this is happening!

- Me neither Nat, it's awesome. And I think it's because--- *BeepBeepBeep* Oh, sorry Nat, my phone!

Sa'y talks through her phone for a moment, agreeing happily with whoever was on the other side.

- Great! Classroom 35, that's the big one, right? Ok, we'll be there, bye! *bip* Hey NatPat, Kia and the group are doing so stuff on the classroom, and since we're not doing anything, what about killing time with them?

- Oh ok, sounds good for me. What are they doing tho?

-They didn't told me, I don't think it's so important anyways, but let's get going!

Nature and Sa'y now are heading to the Classroom 35, but them without noticing, a little shadow it's spying them from behind, as always.

[2]

Our two main girls get to the classroom, the door was closed but some noises can be heard from outside, proving that their friends are there.

Without thinking too much about it, they opened the door, and after analysing the scenario for just one second, Nature's skin gets white from fear and her heart almost stopped working:

Kia, Kai and Erik, arrange some sort of party. There's food on the table, Kia it's cleaning the whiteboard, Kai it's putting in order the tables and chairs from the classroom to make a big table on the center of the classroom, and besides all of that, Erik it's inflating BALLOONS, ALL OF THE THREE FRIEND WERE DECORATING THE CLASSROOM WITH BALLOONS, AND A LOT OF THEM.

BALLOONS ON THE CEILING, ON THE FLOOR, SOME HELIUM BALLOONS, SOME ON CHAIRS AND SOME ON THE WHITEBOARD, THEY WERE EVERYWHERE.

Balloons were Nature worst phobia since she could remember. The loud sudden pop, of from her perspective "explosion", the disgusting creaking and noise, even the smell was enough to give Nature's creeps. She just didn't like loud sudden noises, ok?

- Hey hello guy, you are here! It's good that you could came here! - Said Kia, who is writing nice phrases and cute flowers on the whiteboard.

- We are preparing the party for one of a teacher's birthday!

They told us to arrange today after school! I heard that's gonna be our next year math teacher, so we better make a good impression uhuhuthuthut! Also, we have free afternoon class if we do this, sooo - Said Erik pretty excited while playing with some of the balloons.

But Nature couldn't think or hear anything their friends were saying. She was so scared of all the balloons in the room, waiting to pop at any moment, with that disgusting loud, unexpected noise. She was hyperventilating "in lowercase", and Sa'y could see that.

- Hey, it's Palette ok? She seems a little pale, and haven't said a word yet. - Said Kai while inflating another balloon.

While Sa'y talked a little with her friends to distract them, she ask Nature in a very calm, familiar, and reassuring voice:

- Hey NatPat, do you wanna go out for a moment and talk?

Nature knew that tone and very slowly nodded her head, and they went out to talk. - Just a moment guys, we are back in a second! - Said Sa'y, while their friends seem kinda confused.

- Ok girl, we know what's going on, do you wanna use our breathing techniques, do you wanna drink water or...? No no no honey, don't cry, please, breath with me and then we'll talk about it...

Even when Nature was to scared to react to everything was happening and wanted to cry, the reassuring voice of Sa'y calmed her down. She knew that besides everything, she was with someone who wouldn't judge her, and that she was safe. Nature take a few breaths and accepted a napkin from Sa'y before talking again.

- S-Sa'y, I don't wanna go in again, I'm scared, I can't. I thought that when we leaved old home, I leaved everything behind, but I guess I'm still the same. I wanna be with my friends but I don't want them to laugh at me again, just like some animals did before....

- Oooown honey, don't worry, we can trust them, they are our friends from the Agency, and School! They are not the same people that hurt you, you are safe now with them, otherwise, I don't think Teacher Sasha would choose them... - Said Sa'y in a low voice - If you are scared, we can tell them, do you wanna breath a little bit before going in? But remember the promise we make, now we talked for ourselves, so you have to tell them, ok?

Nature nodded and started breathing with Sa'y.

But someone was hearing everything...

Kalani in the shadows, or in this time, behind some pillars of the school, what was that thing Nature was scared of? She was going to know.

Before the enter the classroom again, some touches the back of the main girls, making them jump a little. They turn around and see the gorgeous figure of a komodo dragon.

- But well hello there my friends! What's going on here? A party? Niiice I looove parties, you should come to one of my parties on the castle one day! There's loots of great dishes, amazing music! - Kalani says in a very high tone of voice. Just the word parties was enough to put Nature in a shock state again.

For a moment Sa'y try to calm down Nature again, but before she could do something, it's again interrupted by Kalani.

- Soooo, what are we waiting for? Let's get in! - Kalani pushes the main girls through the door, and now we are again at the beginning.

- Nice, you're back! Can you help me inflate this balloons? You can leave you backpacks on the chairs - Erik says while putting some deflated balloon on Nature's hoof, making a creep going through her spine. So she just went to sit on a chair on a corner to try to calm down.

Erik felt how uneasy his friend was friend, so the only thing he could think about was playing with her - Hey Nate, catch this one! - Said Kai while throwing a balloon to Nature in a playful way. The flight instinct of Nature made her open her wings and cover her. And in a fast movement Sa'y block it from Nature, and catch the balloon with her paw.

- Wooow there, I got it! Don't worry - Said Sa'y quietly to Nature, to make her feel comfortable. - But remember, you have to talk this time.

All of her friends playing with the balloons, decorating the room here and there, eating some of the foods. But Nature didn't say a word again. Her eyes moved quickly from side to side, monitoring all the room, making sure no balloon was in danger.

- Nature, baby girl, don't you want some food or something to drink? You look pale, aren't you sick? - Kia sais in an attempt to make Natures say a word or show some emotion.

Nature doesn't say a word. Just nodded and point at a sandwich, wich Kia gives without problem.

Kia after gives a kick look at Sa'y, then nodding with her head, point to a balloon, and then to Nature. Sa'y understand that and nods a yes.

-So hey Nate, do you wanna talk a little? How are you feeling? - Said Kia, trying to make Nature confess

-WHAT? Nah I'm feeling amazing, so h-happy we're all here spend-spending time together...! - Nature tries to make an excuse

- NatPat, wanna play with us? Don't let the balloons touch the ground! - Erik, in his attempt to have a similar reaction. Again, nodes a no and her eyes are now open wide, making sure no one pop's a balloon.

Kalani think that a she may know what's going on now, so to test it, he stands up and goes to play. - I wanna try it, looks fun!

Sa'y, who has a balloon in the hand(She's the only one Nature trust balloons with), put it aside and give her paws to Nature, who's hoofs almost crushed them to dust. But Sa'y it's used to it, knows it helps Nature, so she let her be.

Her friends are now playing with the balloons, while Nature it's on the verge of tears, heart racing and quick breaths. She can't take it anymore. The only thing Sa'y can do now it's watch, she knows it's better for Nature talk for herself.

The breaking point it's when by accident, Erik stomped a balloon, making Nature scream bloody horror and then started to cry while covering her ears. Everyone looks concerned to Nature and starts getting near to Nature, who is being a little comforter by Sa'y.

- Oooh no, Nature, NatPat, are you ok? Tell us, please, why are you crying? Are you hurt? - A series of caring questions is flooding Nature, who feels that a balloon dropped near by her by Kai touched her, giving her creeps and making her jump a little.

Kia, as a pretty empathetic animal, finally ask - Nature, are you scared of the balloons? It's, ok, you can tell us. We are friends, we can talk about anything...

- N-no! I'm Nature Palette for Pegasi Sake!, b-balloons don't scare m-me, I'm-I'm a top c-cadet from the Agency of Myths and Legends, I'm not scared of nothing...! I'M THE BEST OF THE BEST, THIS HAS NOTHING TO SE WITH.... - As she ends her phrase with a cracked but strong voice, Kalani quietly sits next to her with the balloon Sa'y dropped, and makes it make a creaking sound, making Nature squirm in disgust and making her cry again.

- Ooooooh geez, ok I see now, I'm sorry Nate... It wasn't our intention.... Who would say it, young star from the Academy, she fought monster, Dragons, creatures from nightmares.. And she's scared of harmless balloons? Hehe, I like that! - A little too honest, but heartfelt phrase from Erik, who now seems more empathic towards Nature.

- Oh Nature, you didn't want to tell us because you thought that we would laugh of you? Nonses, your fears are just a little quirk, but we still love you as you are, no one deserves being the center of the jokes just because of something the fear. You help us with our fear all this time too! - Kia said in a reassuring tone, making Nature more comfortable.

- Why didn't you told us from the beginning? So we can get rid of them, don't worry I'll take care of it! - Kai said while almost stomping a balloon with his foot.

A chorus of "NOOOO" and a solitary "yeeees"(from Kalani) stopped Kai, who's started to laugh a little - Heheheheheheheeee! Soorry Nat, I won't do it again, promise, I just wanted to see you reaction! I'll take it seriously from now.

- Let me guess, if you don't wanna talk about, it's ok, but I suppose some animals on your other school made fun of you since you were little and didn't ket you have a normal celebration, right? - Kai asked

- Snfh... yes, you guessed right

- Ok Nature, take this napkin, that won't happen here anymore, you have nothing to fear, clean yourself, and tell me know, do you wanna stay here, or do you wanna stay outside, don't worry, you won't have to do anything if you don't want. - Said Kia

- *Snnf* I-I think I wanna stay here with you guys

- Of course, that sounds nice! Don't worry about it! We'll make sure nothing pops ! Oh, I have an idea! Why don't you hold this for a while.... And there, isn't it nice? - Kia tied a helium balloon to Nature's hoof, who's now trying to smile and take of the balloon off of her.

- I wanna help too! Take this now, don't worry, a little of exposure therapy isn't bad! Look at you, now you are touching the balloon! - As Kalani gaves her normal balloon making Nature shake like a Chihuahua.

- G-Great! T-thaanks for being comp-comprehensive with me-me...! - Said Nature trying not to scream again.

- Hehehe, that's the spirit Globito!* - Exclaimed Kalani, in a teasing tone

- What. Did. You. Just. Called. Me??? - A little infuriated Nature said

- I think I finally found a good nickname for you! Suits you so well! Hehehehe

After the party, that went surprisingly well with no more balloons for Nature, they hear someone knocking at the door. Kai opens and it's Teacher Sasha, she hops to the class and goes with Nature and the others.

- Hey, they told me the party for teachers Gloria was a success, and I was just passing by to check on you! But it lucks like everything it's alright!.

Sasha now looks at Nature, who still lucks stressed, and her red eyes clearly exposed that she was crying recently.

- Hey Nature, are you ok? You look like crying, girl, everything it's alright? I have the job to know if everything it's alright with my students...

The gang now, well, mainly Nature, explains what happens with the balloons.

- Oooh, that sounds scary, but thanks for telling me, now I know that not only I have the bravest cadet at the organization, but also at school!

- But, how? - Nature ask - How I am supposed to do my hero job if I can't even stand balloons? I'm so useless, I'm sorry I can't do more to help, I can do other stuff, but I feel so useless...

- Nooo don't say that ever again! You are a true hero, Nature you helped a lot of lifes, supernatural or not, you are doing an amazing job at the agency. Besides, being a true hero doesn't mean you don't have fears, it means you know how to face them. You are truly a hero! Even if you still scared of balloons until the end of times.

Nature gives a hug and a Thanks You to her teacher. I think this was enough adventure for today...

Notes:

It's almost the same as the version (1.1), just with some scenes changed, because I have a lot of ideas in how this can go, so expect more in the future.

[guiltywildfire-blog]

Hey um, as an out of context question, I recently came across this blog and am very curious as to what the guilty!red AU is? If I'm ok to ask?

//hello hello !! you’re 100% ok to ask !!

the guilty!red au is, essentially, the result of a friend and i seeing how much angst we can pack into one scenario. its ooc as hell, slighty parodying how ooc red can be in some fanworks but its a complete 180 of reds character, and eventually it became its own thing here

long story short, and without (heavy) plot spoilers, shit happens back in hyrule and as a result, red has to leave, is disowned, and on his own until falling into the dark world, being dragged to see shadow(who’s king there, but that’s a story for another day and isn’t this-au-only tbh).

red’s eventually offered a job, and ends up living in the dark world and the whole troubles and tribulations of being a light creature in the dark world(where uh, light creatures are generally kill on sight with the exceptions of the princess/links but them having a job is still a big no-no)

given the difference in light and dark world morals, reds eventually influenced by the dark world and eventually becomes not-a-nice-person, which is where the ooc part comes in aha

its a detailed, but small au, and i love it to bits and im glad to see theres some interest(bcs really, i wasnt expecting this to go anywhere but here we are). 

i hope this answered your question, but if you want to know anything else, just shoot me another ask and ill try and explain the best i can !!! :D