#also quick disclaimer I'm putting on this just in case

[frozenbluecookies]

Kpop Demon Hunters is one of those movies that reminds me that a thing doesn't have to be an utterly original genius masterwork in order to be good.

I saw a couple posts before watching it that lauded it as groundbreaking, or a masterpiece, and that did set my expectations a little too high. It is not, in my opinion, groundbreaking or a masterpiece. But it is still a really enjoyable watch.

(Quick disclaimer: I'm no film critic, I'm just a rando on the internet sharing my thoughts)

(also, spoilers, in case you don't have the spoiler tags blocked but do want to avoid them)

Like. The plot (at least in the broad strokes) has been done before. "Team of people are secretly fighting against an ancient evil, the fight is going well until suddenly it's not, the antagonist/team of antagonists is causing trouble, but the thing that really breaks the protagonists is emotional turmoil within the team itself. There's a romance plotline in there somewhere. What should have been a big triumphant moment goes catastrophically wrong, the protagonists are hurt and separated from each other, but one of them has an epiphany and steps in at the last moment to rally their team and save the day with the Power of Friendship and Self-Love." None of that is new. Every aspect of that has been done a bajillion times, frequently in that exact combination.

Even the big themes (empathy, and coming to accept the parts of yourself that you had been taught to hate) are common enough. Particularly in media with a younger target audience.

Basically the only thing about the story that isn't super common (at least to a Western audience) are the aspects of Korean culture and mythology. I'm not qualified to speak on those, since I'm not Korean, but it is nice to see more diversity on that front in Western media. Those don't provide anything unique as far as the structure of the plot or themes, though.

And yet, despite the fact that the plot has been seen a million times, it doesn't drag the movie down at all. I wouldn't say it enhances anything, exactly, but it doesn't get in the way of the parts that do shine, and that's good enough for me.

Speaking of the parts that do shine, there are two main parts of the writing that stand out, at least to me. First of the two, I'm going to give the handling of the tone its flowers, because imo it deseves them. The blend of comedy and emotion was excellently executed, in my humble opinion. There was never a joke that made me cringe, or an emotional beat that felt over-dramatic. Beautiful work.

But I think the character writing, fittingly, is the star of the show: it's easy to love the characters, it's easy to get invested in them, and in their relationships with each other, and they're a delight to watch. There once again isn't too much that's unique there, but who really cares when watching it is this much fun, and this heartstring-tugging? Have I seen characters lament that their parent/mentor doesn't love every part of them before? Yes, dozens of times. Did Rumi's "why couldn't you love me?" moment make me tear up anyway? Absolutely.

The music is also a standout: can't have a good musical if the songs are bad. And every one of these songs is a certified bop. And they fit seamlessly into the rest of the story, imo, so no notes there. I was bopping along (or watching with a smile, in the case of Free) the whole way through, and they made the kpop fan in me very happy.

TLDR: This movie isn't super original, except in the finer details, but by god if it isn't a delightful watch anyway. Sure, if I were putting it in competition against the animated greats (the og How To Train Your Dragon, Into the Spiderverse, most of the Disney Renaissance, to name but a few), i don't think it's getting anywhere near the podium. But that doesn't stop it from being a solid, heart-filled, really enjoyable movie. Would watch again, many times over.

[a-casual-egg]

[riizebabie444]

𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚

─── hey everyone, back with another pac. this one is about your future spouse and your family life with them. please remember to support with reblogs and feedback!

i'm currently going through a tough time financially and would appreciate if you considered booking a reading with me <3

─── picking your pile: take a deep breath and allow your soul to centre itself. when you feel your mind balanced and cleared, allow yourself to be drawn to an image. your eyes may gravitate to one, or you may close your eyes and feel which image is calling out.

─── be sure to check out my other readings and don’t forget to share and give feedback. disclaimer: all readings done are for entertainment only. please do not use my tarot readings as a replacement for legitimate advice.

ʚɞ ─── masterlist. paid readings. exchange rules.

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pile one

who is your future spouse?

with the hermit and the queen of swords, i see your future spouse being an introverted person, they like to spend a lot of time alone. perhaps this is because of past relationships that made them prefer to be alone, but i also see a case where they just like being alone because they would rather have zero connections that put up with bullshit people. they trust their inner guidance and don't force themselves to be around people that don't add value to their lives.

in that sense, they say it how it is. if they're not happy about something, they'll make it clear. they are perceptive and hate when others have hidden agendas or sly intentions. they can see right through it. they're a quick thinker, intellectual and emotionally intelligent. but sometimes a bit to harsh and strict with both themselves and others. they can be judgemental sometimes. however, they are a wise person who cuts through the noise. they see the truth easily.

how will they love you?

with two of pentacles and eight of pentacles, they seem like a practical lover. they seem like more of a traditional lover too. not necessarily in the way that they will fulfil traditional gender roles in a relationship, but in the sense that they seek balance above all else. they want to be on equal grounds with someone, and understand a relationship and love in general takes a lot of work. so they will fulfil the role in the relationship that you both expect of them, and they also expect the same from you.

they will work hard to meet your standards, so you will also need to work hard to meet their standards. they show their love with equality, equal effort, equal treatment. for most of you guys, this doesn't mean equality with money etc, like splitting the date costs. but more so about the effort you both put in. that being said, they will put in a lot of effort. relationships are an investment so you will definitely feel like they are investing in you by maybe spending money on you, spending time with you, sharing things with each other. they don't love for what they can gain, they love for what they can share with you.

while you are dating, i do not think they are the most romantic person. they are more practical than romantic but that doesn't mean the feeling aren't there. they just express their love in different ways because that is how the circumstances they've experienced has shaped them. i do see they have big love for you and they try really hard to show it, but it won't always be in the ways you want or expect.

family life with your spouse

with knight of cups and justice, family life however does seem more romantic. i think living together and having a domestic life together will definitely change how they express their love. they will be more obvious with their feelings and needs for you, they will adapt and express their love in the ways you like. i'm seeing more romance and grand gestures which they may not have understood prior to marriage. but after marriage and having a family, they understand it better and will show you. they will be a lot more emotional also.

i see they will still be practical. they could be a bit strict about routines, especially with children. though, family life will open up both of your emotions as there is so much to explore with a family. i see it being very chill and peaceful, some conflicts here and there but honestly, family life seems nice. it will be fair and equal. you will both contribute to the home fairly, they will recognise when either one of you is doing too much or not doing enough, and then they will work to balance it out. i see fair treatment for all children, like no favouritism or double standards. i see a lot of accountability and responsibility. family life seems so mature but in a good way.

pile two

who is your future spouse?

with ten of wands and justice, they seem like a burdened person. they have experienced a whole lot in their lives. they are someone who is afraid of being judged, they might deal with anxiety, but they try not to show it. they are someone who bottles feelings up instead of sharing them. they may be dealing with struggles when you meet them, but overall, they are talented and hard-working. but may sometimes work too hard and burn themselves out.

they have a lot integrity though. if they say they're gonna do something, they will. this could also indicate they have a hard time saying no so they often end up having too much to do which leads to them feelings overwhelmed and exhausted. honestly, your spouse seems like a bit of a mess, they need more balance in their lives. i think they're prone to escapism. i'm supposed to be getting positive messages but with this pile, their messy energy is strong. they have good morals, they won't ever do something they know is inherently bad. they are law-abiding, and maybe follow the rules too strictly. but they are also a lover of simplicity. simple is beautiful to them, and they pay attention to details.

how will they love you?

with the knight of pentacles and wheel of fortune, i think your spouse meeting you is a pivotal point in their life. like they will experience so much clarity in your journey together, and i'm seeing it can help them to change their ways. naturally, they are a good planner so they will love planning things for you. for examples, planning nice dates that fit your taste exactly or planning surprise gifts for you. they'll take notice of all the things you like and don't like, everything they learn about you will be stored in their brain for future reference. they will be hard working when you are with them, in their job, with their family, in your relationship. this energy is different to their overall energy, so i'm seeing they will really change when meeting you or prior to meeting you. they will start to get their life in order.

they will be so kind and loving, they won't let anyone treat you bad. they will also try to deter you from bad decisions also. i mentioned already they are strict with morals, so if you try to do something they don't view as good, they will try to stop you. not in a way to control you but to show you how to be the better person and not stooping to low levels. like, of course they will defend you. but say if you're just being petty or bitter and it is influencing your decision, they will guide you to the better path. they will love you by constantly reminding you how they think destiny brought you together. they will rejoice in your successes and share their own with you.

family life with your spouse

with the hermit and the chariot, i see that you guys will be very private. i think after getting married, you guys might become recluses but it is just because you guys want to spend so much time together without anyone else bothering you. i think maybe you guys might move somewhere new to start your family so you might not know a lot of people, which can also explain your guys' privacy. i see so many late night talks throughout your lives together. you would not get bored of hearing each other talk. you would also help each other uncover your dark pasts and difficult emotions, and face them together.

i see you guys having a lot of willpower. if there's something you want to do as a couple or a family, you will do it. i see children for some of you and not children for others, so take it as it resonates. you will make decisions that will be in alignment with your values. as a family, i see a whole lot of determination. not letting outside influences get to you or your children. you guys would overcome anything. i see so much mundane, day to day domesticity, but also balanced out with exploration of the world. your family could have regular holidays to travel the world. you could have an active family also, like physically active but also just active in the community. if you have children, i see them being very goodhearted. you would raise them well.

pile three

who is your future spouse?

with the moon and ace of pentacles, i'm getting lucky girl/boy syndrome from your spouse. they feel so young-spirited, but they have also experienced a lot. i'm also seeing pretty privilege, so they would be very attractive, and perhaps it helps them to get the things they want in life. however, i think they are quite emotional, and they have a big imagination. they dream of big things, and bright and eventful future. and i think they are known for being caring and nurturing. they have a lot of empathy. but although they are emotional, i see them being quite practical too.

it seems like they're good with money, they don't have a lot of trouble finding good jobs. overall, you will think they are so lucky. security and stability is important to them though, so that's why they are happier and brighter when things go their way. they like to embrace new beginnings but they will always consider the risk. they might come off as careless and impulsive but honestly a lot of thought goes behind all of their actions. they don't do things for the sake of doing them, but rather to enrichen their lives with experiences. i see they may be into manifestation and even spirituality. they try to work on their limiting beliefs because they don't want to be the person holding themselves back. they may look very positive and extroverted, but deep down, they are sensitive and introspective.

how will they love you?

with the knight of wands and the well reversed, i see them being the one to approach you. they will bring opportunities to you, push you out of your comfort zone and help you move closer towards your own dreams. they will be so enthusiastic around you. you absolutely won't be worrying about whether they like you or not because they will show it. if they like you and want to be around you, you will know. and if they don't, then they will also make that clear. they wear their heart on their sleeves. i see them trying to be a bit manly though, whether this is a man or a woman. they will try to act like a macho man which they will enjoy, but just trust that they are also heartfelt and have big feelings even when they wear this mask approaching you.

they will be patient with you, but only to an extent. like, they hate the feeling of waiting for forever. they are excited about what is to come so they will be uncomfortable if you make them feel stuck in place or if you are stuck in the past. they will show their love by helping you overcome your past, helping you close the old chapters of your life before heading onto the new one. i'm seeing that their energy will not be cold or stagnant, though sometimes i see you are the one who makes the relationship feel that way. and they will show their love by not giving up on you, they will bring you along to better places even if they have to drag you. they hate seeing you hung up on the past.

family life with your spouse

with the ace of cups and five of swords reversed, i definitely see you both overcoming troubles from the past after marriage. family life is a new beginning for you both. you or them or both could be very excited for children, for having a home together. it feels almost dreamy when you guys live together. it feels like you both will blossom and thrive as a family, so many new experiences and emotions. romance will also increase. i see you will also meet so many new people, like family members or new friends. you will be surrounded by good people, your spouse will make sure of that and to get rid of anyone who treats you how you were treat in the past.

any conflicts you guys come across, i see you guys resolving them and moving forward stronger. some may just be minor so it is easy to move past them, but even the bigger conflicts, you will both work on them. you guys won't run away at the first sign of trouble, you will stick together even when you hate it and eventually it will turn out good again. there is a lot of compromise and communication. it's not always going to be easy but i see time and time again, you guys will get through it. this isn't the type of marriage and family you want to walk away from, it's the type you want to fight for. so every time, you will always move forward and create positive changes for each other and your children.

© riizebabie444 — all rights reserved. please do not copy, steal, repost or translate my readings on any site. any act of which will be classed as plagiarism.

[theallianceofcelestials]

Hello again, I have another question!: Does SEA!Eclipse have a music box, and can you put a name to or describe whatever or how many physical, psychological, or other conditions/disabilities he and those in his family may or may not have? Oh, and their pronouns please, if it hasn't already been said?

Hi! I'll answer to the best of my ability, but to be honest I'm don't know how well I'll do so with your second question

So first question, Eclipse doesn't have a music box, he mainly put kids to sleep during naptime by exhausting them during playtime and reading them stories. But he does know a couple lullabies, so he can sing

To your second and thus most complicated one, I'll be honest and just say I don't know all of them. So I'll just say the intentional ones and put a bit of a disclaimer up because I'm not a professional on these things, so take what I say with a grain of salt

The entire family is made of entirely co-dependent people, which is a rather unhealhty thing.

Eclipse has depressive disorder, though he'd be fine for the most part if he didn't have all his trauma. He also has PTSD and internalised a bunch of unhealthy things during his time in the daycare

Sun has his typical cleaning OCD and anxiety, and he's fine for the most part. I guess he's the weirdest in the family because he doesn't have the heightened predatory instincts all that much, which I guess counts as a condition in this case

Moon has his anger issues and he's touch averse. He also has troubles sorting through his own emotions and doesn't always pick up on the emotions of others. He also suffers from self-hatred

Killcode is the first one to have a physical condition, and even that's only because of his sheer size. On one end, most buildings aren't made for him so he doubles over a lot, which makes his back hurt. Combine that with gravity, and he's almost constantly suffering from back pains to just minor aches. So I guess he has gigantism. He also has anger issues, though he's a bit more emotionally intelligent than his eldest brother and knows how to work on it

Bloodmoon is an interesting case that I don't know how to properly describe. They're technically conjoined twins, though their nanomachine body allows them to separate. They're also the biggest mess mentally, because they're two people in one. They have many antisocial behaviours, seeing as they eat humans, however different species prey on each other all the time so I'm not even sure that counts. They're quick to anger but they're also two people so a bit of heightened emotions can be excused I think. They're pretty self-depraciating though

Lunar has dwarfism and he's rather forgetful. He has the old Lunar colour blindness thing where he mostly only detects blue and glowing things, though that might just be because old Lunar mixed up colours. Or he has dyschromatopsia, a term which I came across when I tried translating my language's word for mixing up colours

Solar Flare I don't think has anything for the most part, though it is somewhat selectively mute, and it has some minor body dysphoria because it can't properly emote

I don't know if this is good enough, but this is the best I can think of right now. But I do think it's better to go through my stories and try analysing them from an outside perspective because I didn't plan for most of the things in SEA, so some things might be there that I just don't see or don't know

But now onto the easy part, the pronouns:

Eclipse: he/him

Killcode: he/him

Solar Flare: it/they/he, though it's fine with anything so long as it's not feminine

Bloodmoon: they/them because Bloodmoon is a collective entity, but Bloody and Rusty both use he/him

Lunar: he/him mostly, though he also goes by they/them sometimes

Sun: he/him

Moon: while Eclipse mostly uses he/him for him, Moon doesn't care at all. His pronouns are everyone else's problem, not his

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Hyacinthus Iceberg Meme EXPLAIN (P5)

Part 1 ✿ Part 2 ✿ Part 3 ✿ Part 4 ✿ Part 5

It's time for me to answer your questions about this Hyacinthus iceberg meme. There is a lot to tackle, so I'll divide it into 5 parts for the sake of my sanity.

Quick disclaimer: I am NOT an expert in Greek mythology, just a fan of Hyacinthus who wants to learn about him and anyone related to him. Most of the things I'm about to discuss are just theories and speculations of a passerby on the Internet, so do not take them as valid facts!

Bonus disclaimer: We are now entering the "just a theory" section of the iceberg. While the previous parts have myths and essays to back them up, most of the sections here are theories I made up (or shared with other scholars) and might not always be supported by literature texts.

What is the meaning of Hyacinthus' name?

We know is that "Hyacinthus" is a very old name, because the "-nth" suffix indicates its pre-Hellenic origin, or at least that's what Bernard C. Dietrich's "The Origins of Greek Religion" said (cited on Wikipedia). I haven't found a free PDF version of this book yet so I can't verify myself, but if any of you can, I would really appreciate your input!

Because "Hyacinthus" is very ancient, I have two questions: what is the meaning of this name and or what word/root did it derive from?

According theo Theoi.com, Hyacinthus' name was translated to "Larkspur flower" (as seen below)

However, I suspect this translation was coined much later when the god Hyacinthus had been watered down to a mortal, and the name meaning had been morphed and might not hold true for the ancient Hyacinthus. Or the ancient Hyacinthus name did mean "larkspur" and the myth was written to explain why this god share the same name as the flower.

Who knows!

Hyacinthus is the aboriginal god of Amyclae

This is just me doing some Olympic-level mental gymnastics. I can't remember where or if I've read this theory in any other research before, so you gotta endure my mindless rambling in this part.

With the many evidence indicating Hyacinthus was a pre-Hellenic god with a defined role and worship in Amyclae (Sparta), can he also be the very first god in this land? Here's how I think it's plausible:

According to Pausanias' Description of Greece, in Lacedaemonian traditions, Hyacinthus is a direct descendant of Lelex, the in-myth aboriginal king of Laconia. So what if this is a case of people from the same family line being conflated with each other? It seemed to happen with Polyboea and her great-granddaughter Phylonoe, who were often identified with one another (although this one is still questionable as I haven't found any academic articles).

And there you have it. Hyacinthus and Lelex. There could be a slim chance.

Why was Hyacinthus watered down into a mortal???

Hyacinthus was once a chthonic vegetation god worshipped in Amyclae, so why was he watered down into a mortal (or at best, a demigod) in the now-known myth? Was it because when Apollo's cult came along he was turned into a mortal and killed off to "make room" for the new god? But even then, Hyacinthus was still brought back and worshipped with Apollo as a duo, so why all the changes?

And this is not just a strange transition for Hyacinthus. Ariadne was also an ancient Great Goddess of Crete (even with the super cool epithet "Mistress of the Labyrinth") now became a princess. I wonder if the other mortal heroes, especially the ones that was made immortal later, had the same treatment as well.

Hyacinthus and Apollo are "married"

The word "married" should be put in triple quotation marks because Apollo and Hyacinthus weren't actually married like a gay couple would in the 21st century. What I mean is they are "married" in the sense of sharing a shrine together and are worshipped as a duo. Zeus and Hera, a famous married deity couple, shared a lot of shrines together.

So now we have the Apollo - Hyakinthos cult. Hyacinthus once had a wife (who could be Polyboea, as seen in the next section), but she was replaced by Apollo. What's interesting is that Apollo became Hyacinthus' shrine spouse instead of replacing him, resulting in a male-male duo, rather than the typical male-female duo, with seemingly equal respect. Some would argue they were one and the same.

As to why this happens to Apollo and Hyacinthus, I haven't found articles discussing it yet. I will try though!

Polyboea is either Hyacinthus' OG wife or daughter

I suspect the OG shrine spouse of Hyacinthus - before Apollo's worship came to Amyclae - was Polyboea.

Brother-sister sibling duos in Greek mythology are often depicted as husband and wife, e.g. Kronos-Rhea, Zeus-Hera, and even Apollo-Artemis were derived from a married couple before they became twins. Because Polyboea and Hyacinthus are siblings, were depicted to be carried to the Heavens together, and possibly worshipped in the same shrine and festival (the Hyacinthia), they could have been an ancient deity couple in Amyclae.

Are there any basis on this? Well, the website Occult World cited that "The Golden Bough" by James George Frazer was the one suggested this theory, and I'm still looking for a free PDF to fact-check it (yes, I'm a cheap one looking for free stuff)

I've mentioned the theory of Polyboea being Hyacinthus' daughter in part 4, that is was suggested in the book "Cults of Apollo at Sparta" by Michael Pettersson:

Basically, Hyacinthus the prince and Hyacinthus the father of the Hyacinthides (in part 4) could be conflated with one another, and therefore, the scene of Hyacinthus and Polyboea on the altar relief was depicting a father sacrificing his daughter. But there is also another interpretation in this book: Polyboea, the daughter, is going through a ritual where she went from a maiden to a woman.

The Hyacinthia was also seen as an initiation rite by ancient Spartan, where young boys and girls who attended the festival will leave it as official adults. The boys will become men ready to join the military and the girls will become women ready to enter marriage.

Furthermore, the presence of Demeter - Kore/Persephone - Hades trio and Artemis - Athena - Aphrodite trio might serve as allegories. We know, from part 4, that the former trio was connected to the Hyacinthia because Persephone's abduction myth symbolize the girl-to-woman the transition.

But what about the latter? Well, according to Pettersson:

Yeah, the virgin goddesses Artemis and Athena represent Polyboea's maidenhood stage and Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility, is her entering the married life of womanhood.

As from the allegories from the gods, along with the preparation for a sacrificed maiden and a soon-to-be-wedded bride being similar, Polyboea's role as the "sacrificed daughter" and the "maiden becoming woman" could go hand in hand.

Of course, the explanation is more complicated than what I just presented, so I really recommend you guys to check out the book itself for a full view!

Who is Hyacinthus before Apollo?

Let's be real, we (admittedly, myself included) know Hyacinthus first as a lover of Apollo, and second as his own person. When we read the myth, it mostly focus on Apollo's conquest and grief, not much about the prince himself.

So it begs the question: who is Hyacinthus before Apollo?

Is he a local god the Amycleans worshipped before the arrival of Apollo's cult?

Is he a real life man with such great deeds that he was deified in the eyes of his people?

What other heroic achievements did he make?

Was he ever known by a different name?

Has he always been Hyacinthus or is this just the final form he took after millennia of changes?

We cannot know for sure, and we probably never will.

In fact, this final part of the explanation series isn't to be answered, but be used as a prompt for future studying of this prince and god of Sparta. As you can see from my iceberg meme and explain series, there is actually a lot more about Hyacinthus than meets the eye. His historical impacts, worship evolution, mythology roles, etc. aren't as well-documented as other characters, so he can be quite obscure or not analyzed as much by the general audience. He was more than just a lover who died.

This is one of the reasons why I love Hyacinthus, studying him is both a thrill and a pain because there is so much and so little to obtain. And I hope my silly brain rot over him will inspire you to learn just a bit more about my favorite Spartan prince.

THE END

[herefortheships]

What do you think of the Bj and Lydia controversy due to age?

You know, the short answer I have for this is that I do not think it should be an issue that's even brought up anymore. Lydia is now an adult woman in her 50s; plenty of people end up with a partner who is 10+ years older than them, meaning that they would have been a full adult if they would have come across their partner at sixteen. And that's just speaking about the real world; let's not forget Beetlejuice and the characters in that world are all a work of fiction. I don't think the fact that they met when she was a teenager all those years ago should even be an issue to ship it or not. As a matter of fact, people can ship whatever they want. They can even ship it in the first film and it's not an issue... Shipping in itself is inherently innocent. These characters and the situations around them don't even exist, and therefore, whatever you imagine with them, has no effect in the real world. Shipping is no different from a kid grabbing a couple of dolls and making them kiss. It's all in good fun.

Let me tell you, I had written a long freaking essay under this question 😅, but I decided to leave all of that for a separate post. But a few notable points from that essay which I think would be good to include here are the following.

Back in the 90s and early 2000s we had ships with pretty big age gaps on network TV and nobody batted an eye about the age gap (as far as I'm concerned). I'm talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer specifically in this post. This was before social media, but as far as magazines and fandom spaces go, I'm sure the discussions around Buffy's love interests in BTVS centered around which hot vampire was better for Buffy, Angel or Spike. (Even nowadays we see this kind of article, exhibit A). And you don't see these articles starting with disclaimers and trigger warnings, either.

For those who haven't watched BTVS, Angel was around 240-something when he slept with 17 year old Buffy. He slept with her the night she turned 17, by the way; they were already together while she was 16. At the time he was turned into a vampire, Angel was around 26 years old. Angel met Buffy when she was 16, but he was stalking watching Buffy since she was 15:

Now about Spike. Spike met Buffy when she was 16, but he didn't actually become obsessed with her until she was around 20. Still, they got together and it wasn't ever an issue that he met her when she was a teenager. In Spike's case, he did stick around and interacted with Buffy multiple times before they started dating. In Betelgeuse's case, we know that while he watched Lydia from afar, he never actually managed to interact or even be seen by her during the years they were apart.

A lot of antis throw around the word "grooming" around Beetlebabes; I don't think they understand the meaning of that word. To put it simple, to groom someone is to condition them and emotionally manipulate them for years into a certain behavior, in this context, into falling in love or becoming sexually involved with the groomer. This term, therefore, cannot and will not ever apply to Betelgeuse and Lydia's relationship (it also does not apply to Spuffy, while we're at it). How can it? When they only had a few interactions over 30+ years ago and only met now after all that time.

And about those interactions in the first movie, the fact that Betelgeuse attempted to marry Lydia is attached to an idea of sexual inappropriateness only when that particular idea is projected onto what actually happened in that scene. Objectively, for Betelgeuse, marrying Lydia was a means to an end; there was no sexual or romantic implications in their marriage in that movie.

I believe in the case of Betelgeuse x Lydia versus ships like Buffy x Angel or Buffy x Spike, people are quick to see an issue in one where they never notice an issue in the other for the following reason: While Angel and Spike are hot, young-looking vampires, Betelgeuse is gross and does look like a dead guy. That is literally the difference. Spike and Angel are good-looking hotties; Betelgeuse... I love him lots and he is hot for me, but he is not conventionally attractive. I bet you if Betelgeuse looked like Michael Keaton did playing Bruce Wayne... People wouldn't have an issue that he's lusting after 50-something year old Winona Ryder, (also a hottie herself btw).

Let's add here before I close off this post that both Angel and Spike did objectively horrible things to Buffy when they were soulless (Angel while Buffy was still a minor), and meanwhile Betelgeuse has never harmed Lydia (no, the insta-pregnancy didn't harm her; everything that happened in that scene was an illusion). He didn't even behave inappropriately toward her in the first film when he was wilder and hornier than he is now. And yet shipping Bangel or Spuffy (last I checked lol) isn't widely seen as problematic. I ship Spuffy to the moon and back, and used to ship Bangel as well at some point 🤷🏻‍♀️ and I haven't seen people attacking shippers nor have I seen discussions of these ships being inappropriate (though I'm sure there must be... it's 2024 and the purity culture fandom infection has spread widely), not in the way I see Beetlebabes fans being harassed.

Anyway, I wrote a separate post about this and will post it eventually. This wasn't meant to be this long, but here we are 😅.

[saturnbellfromhell]

SKINCARE TIPS part II.

Hello my lovlies, welcome back to a new post! I wanted to come back with something easy and fresh for the beginning of the colder season, since I'm guilty for not taking care of my skin in the fall as much as I am in the summer time. So I want to make a quick post about skincare once again. If you have any questions leave then bellow, I always anwser! With that being said let's get into the post shall we?

〰️ DISCLAIMER

I'm am not a certified dermatologist/cosmetologist, I highly advise to go to one if your having a hard time with your skin! With that being said, let's get into the post. 🕊

TIPS AND TRICKS

I. INTUITIVE SKINCARE

Now I know in the first post I talked about skincare cycling and how that can help to stay on track and it's also very beginner friendly to understand the process and the products that go together. But as time goes and you get into skincare you'll soon realize how good it is to monitor and understand your skin. Some days it will be very dry and patchy and some days it will be immensely oily and clogged. That's why I always recommend having two sets of skincare for different occasions. I work in an environment where my face gets dry patches after a few days, so on those nights I reach for my soothing cleanser and heavier moisturizer. If you're forgetful like me, you can also put an alarm in your calender for monitoring, this also helps me out on those busy weeks.

II. HYGIENE AROUND YOUR SKINCARE

I know many people who don't change their towels, wash cloths after a few days and I'm not saying you're dirty for that, I'm just suggesting you should try changing them everyday. I have 7 wash clothes, which I use once a day (morning and night) and I clean all of them together only with my sheets on the highest temperature. I also stopped washing them with softener, since this can lead to build up over time. If you're worried they will seem stiff, add some white vinegar, they fluff up towels real nice! I advise all my closest friends with acne prone skin to try this out or just use boxed tissues, even though this can be a little pricey and not eco friendly. Not a fan of makeup remover wipes anyway... to add on to this make sure to buy products with pumps so you don't scoop your hands into the product, even if they've been cleaned. Old skin, dust particles and such can get into the product.

III. OVER EXFOLIATING

I know you've heard people say this a million times, but is really is the case, especially if you have reactive/sensitive skin. Stop using exfoliating products more than twice a week. What this can do is a plethora of bad things. From stripping all the natural oils from your skin to dehydrating it, to making it more sensitive than it was before. Patience is the key here.

IV. RETINOL USE

When talking about patience, the first thing that pops up in my head is retinol, because o boy do you need a lot of patience for this. It can seem very intimidating at first but if you stick with simple steps the purging will not be so bad. Retinol makes skin cells turn over faster, by doing so when you start using it, it will push out more dirt than usual. This is the reason people stop using it. They payed so much for this product and now they have to look at a million blemishes popping out of nowhere. Our skin doesn't like big changes and retinol is a big shock to our skin from the start. So I advise in the beginning doing it once a week. I used to have retinol Sundays and yes I did purge, but not so much I had to stop. A pimple or two a week I would say, and with that I would just put pimple patches on them and it would resolve the issue.

Rules for retinol:

1. Never use retinol in the morning, it degrades in the sun. So you're throwing your money down the drain.

2. Don't mix it with vitamin C, salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Yes you can have a skin day where you exfoliate with salicylic acid, but than have a recovery day after. In the same day, I wouldn't recommend it for the majority of people.

3. Never use more than a pea sized amount for a long period of time. Your skin needs to get used to the dosage.

4. I know the "sandwich" method is really popular right now with retinols, but I advise the old fashioned route. Sandwithing is putting a moisturizer before and after a retinol. I like to use a heavy moisturizer after the retinol and that's it. Even if you have acne prone skin, a heavier cream is necessary beacuse retinols dry out skin.

5. Don't apply to damp skin. Even though it may seem like a logical step, it does more damage than good. When applying a retinol to damp skin it penetrates deeper. So this can be quite irritating for your skin.

6. Don't forget the neck area and also your hands!

7. In the beginning do it only once a week and than after a month/two crank it up to twice a week. Really monitor your skin when cranking up the volume of retinol to see if you need to still hold back. Please please please dont rush this step. It's better to hold back a week or two than rushing.

8. Invest in a good sunscreen after getting into retinol and apply it every morning, reapplying every 2-3 hours when doing outdoor activities. If you work only indoor apply in the morning and the moment you exit your work place...that'll do it.

V. SUNSCREEN

For the longest time I didn't invest in some sort of good sunscreen, I have no idea why to be honest with. I guess I was just lazy to be honest. Sunscreen is the most important item to have in your skincare bag. All this money can be spent on creams, toners, moisturizers, retinols and so on...but it means nothing when you don't have UV protection for your skin.

VI. MORE IS MORE

Many think if they have an oily face that they can moisterize less or even not at all. The trick is to find a cream/moisturizer that is not heavy or that clogs your pores. Most of the time you will damage and cause even more blackheads/whiteheads if you don't moisturize because your skin will increase your sebum production. More is more, try out toners as well for amazing hydration!

Also be sure to know that there are 2 types of sunscreen: chemical and mineral.

🖤 Chemical Suncscreens absorb UV rays, acting like a sponge. It's better for oily/acne prone skin because they are lighter than mineral one's. With this being said if you break out easily, you can also try chemical sunscreens. Chemical sunscreens have ingredients like OXYBENZONE, AVOBENZONE and OCTOCRYLENE.

🖤 Minereal Sunscreens reflect UV rays of the skin, they are more suited for babies, sensitive skin and also pregnant women! The ingredients that are in minereal sunscreens are ZINC OXIDE AND TITANIUM DIOXIDE.

IV. BEGINNER ROUTINES

I struggled with this a lot, not even going to lie. When the whole world is just throwing so many products at your face and you just don't know where to begin. What chemicals go together, what is better in the day time, what products should you spurge on etc... I had many problems in the beginning because I was introducing so much to my skin. So I'm going to give a few examples for a beginner skincare routine with some of my favorite products so you don't need to struggle. Also I go by the this too when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to put 10 products on my face.

🖤MORNING

For daytime I recommend just the simple cleanse, moisturize and spf. On to this later you can add hydrating toners, vitamin C, an essence like snail mucin, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide. All of these products can go together!

🖤 NIGHT

Double cleansing in my opinion is a must, even if you have sensitive skin. Start of with an oil based cleanser on DRY skin, message for a minute, rise and than apply a normal cleanser, massage for a minute and rinse again. The oil pulls out gunk from the pores. After that make sure your face is dry and than apply your started retinol followed up with a heavier moisturiser. To this routine later you can also add eyes creams, again essence/and or toners and spot treatments for acne/dark spots.

🖤EXFOLIATION

Even sensitive skin needs exfoliation at less once a week, but be careful to really keep this routine simple. Again double cleanse, only this time the first cleanser is an oil based and the second is a salicylic based cleanser. Follow that up with a very soothing cream. For deeper exfoliation later you can look into exfoliation masks (the ordinary has one with salicylic acid) or a clay mask. Or my personal fave on exfoliation night is aloe vera gel and snail mucin. Glycolic acid and lactic acid are also an exfoliating product.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

xoxo NK

[ambeer6]

Longer than expected yapping about case 2 of DRDT. (dated ep 14 of ch 2)

Some thoughts about the chapter 2 case. Warnings for all the obvious.

First of all, I think Teruko is right about how the pulley system was set up. Rope over the rafters on the ceiling, then through the seesaw and then around the carousel. Then tying the rope to the correct length before letting go, so there's no worry about stopping the carousel with your bare hands. This simply makes sense.

Something that confuses me, is the amount of people arguing against this idea? Not many people on tumblr thankfully, but I don't really see why this setup would be unbelievable.

Advantages of the pulley:

Using a pulley reduces weight. Arei would be far easier to lift using this method. Even a kid could lift her this way by simply leaning into the carousel.

Using the pulley means you don't have to pick up Arei and hook her into the noose. You can simply leave her unconscious on the ground and hook the noose around her instead, then push the carousel.

Even if you're okay with her dying of strangulation, it's easy to tie the rope to the right length and just let her drop to break her neck. It grants Arei a quick death. (and you'll be done quicker)

Even if the killer is strong enough to just lift Arei into the noose, using a pulley is much easier and means you'll spend less time holding her. I know not everyone would care, but I certainly wouldn't enjoy holding onto an unconscious girl and trying to lift her into a noose, let alone an awake girl trying to struggle. (if you believe she woke up)

Downsides of the pulley:

A lot more work to clean up afterwards. Especially since we know most of it wasn't actually cleaned up, all they did was hang Arei into a different place afterwards. (I wonder if they were in a hurry, or if they assumed that somehow people wouldn't realize Arei couldn't have broken her neck from the short rope on the swingset)

a lot more work to set up to begin with. You'll have to either get up very early, or set it up the night beforehand if you wanted to be completely prepared for the murder. Clearly this wasn't just a spur of the moment thing.

That's pretty much all I can think of, honestly. When talking about the advantages or downsides of the pulley at least.

Other stuff that's maybe a bit silly to bring up:

Those fish are a bit big to have fitted through the holes in the jerrycan handles.

How do we think those jerrycans were attached to Arei? Like, I know the handles are broken (also giggle at the size of the holes and the size of the fish), but my question is more like... did they use rope? It sounds logical to use rope, but they don't mention any rope burn on Arei's body.

Maybe the 'glove is for ropeburn' truthers meant the ropeburn on Arei herself? Did the killer place the glove on Arei's neck before hanging the rope with the jerrycans off her? If they got rid of the jerrycans afterwards, maybe they also took Arei's glove. (disclaimer: I don't think they used the glove this way, but I'm open to arguments in favour of it's usage)

Rose mentioned she memorized the trash. Do you think there's a chance the needle and thread will be brought up by her? I feel like if those are going to be important, then Rose will be the person to mention seeing them in the trash.

Clothes baul.

Something else I want to mention is that the way some people talk about this case makes me uncomfortable. I want to remind people that this is just a story that someone wanted to tell. I understand that the people saying they'll drop hang themselves if the killer is a specific person are just joking, but if I were the dev, I'd feel extremely uncomfortable from just how many people are talking about the case like this.

I understand not wanting a certain character to die and I can't stop you from making jokes about it, but saying that killing off your fave character is a horrible writing choice and you'll kill yourself over it, would put immense stress on the dev, as well as everyone who helped with the project.

Also on the topic of writing: people make illogical decisions sometimes, but especially when under stress. The case needs to make sense, but I don't want people arguing something is bad writing because the killer made one or two illogical decisions along the way.

Another thing I noticed is that a lot of people are assuming what I call the "Ellery Queen case logic", which assumes that the reader (or viewer, in this case) should be able to solve the full murder based on the clues given during the investigation, before the confrontation (trial, in this case). While definitely understandable, it's great being able to solve things beforehand, we need to remember that this is not the only way to go about writing cases. Personally I've engaged more with what I call the "Arthur Conan Doyle case logic", which leaves the most vital piece(s) of evidence hidden from the reader (viewer) until the end of the final confrontation. This makes is either very difficult, or even impossible to solve the case beforehand, meaning you'll have to wait until the very end to even see the final piece of the puzzle.

Now, there's no saying whether Despair Time uses either one or the other case logic style (they could mix it up between every chapter if they want to), so because of that, I ask people to be polite about people's theories, even if they don't explain every single piece of evidence, or if they state that we need to wait for more evidence to be revealed even though the trial already started.

Nothing wrong with voicing your own ideas on people's theories, it can be helpful if they actually misremember something (I misremembered stuff too, so it was good to have it pointed out!) and can help people rework their theories with your arguments in mind, but I just ask that you're not condescending about it if you do.

THAT'S ALL! THANKS FOR READING!

[athenaluciscaelum]

Hello!

I hope you're doing well! Is it okay if I request a Dante x Female!Reader fic where they've been dating for over a year, but they haven't been "intimate" yet because the reader is traumatized by an awful experience in her childhood and almost got raped?

Dante makes sure to support her and always make her feel safe.. So thanks to his kindness they eventually manage to do it.

Hope this topic doesn't go against your rules..Thanks a lot! 🙏🏻

I hope I do justice to your request, I'm sorry if it took too long, I work full-time. From someone who could not be saved. ♥️♥️♥️ I have to post it in two part, Tumblr won't let me in one.

//MINOR DO NOT INTERACT!//

Pairing: DMC5 Dante x Fem!Reader

Rated: MATURE

Words: 3661 words (PART 1 + PART 2)

Warning: Attempted rape, mature, nsfw

Disclaimer:

Please refer to warning, and do not proceed if it triggers you. Stay safe

Your Pain

PART 1 OF 2

The room was dark, only moonlight poured in illuminating your beautiful face as you were sitting on bed, your back against the headboard. Dante was sitting beside you, his big hands holding your soft little hand, your hands were so delicate and shapely, yet could do such remarkable things. It surprised him, he smiled as he rubbed his thumb on the back of your hand. He sighed, his head on top of yours, his scruff rubbing against your hair. His words echoing in your ears, “I will wait, princess, I will wait.” Your mind replaying everything.

It all started when one faithful day, you were riding your bike to your university, you liked the pleasant weather of Capulet City. You just moved into a small one-bedroom apartment to stay close to your campus. You loved riding a bicycle since you were a kid. So it was your mode of transportation, also you loved the aesthetic of wearing a pretty dress and riding the cycle. Just so picture aesthetic, you can ride quite fast if you like, but you loved enjoying weather and sightseeing. In car or fast-paced vehicle, you just move so fast, you rarely observe what is around you. That's not the case with your trusty bicycle. You took in the city.

But on the first day of University, you got lost, you stumbled in the part of the city opposite to the university. You sighed internally, you came across an old building, it had a sign 'Devil May Cry' fancy name, you thought. But good name, you went in, it was 9AM, you saw a man behind the desk. The place looked old, it had strong liquor and stale pizza smell, empty bottle and pizza boxes littered around. You saw naked women poster on the wall. This looked no good, fear settled in your heart. You turned to walk out, but a deep voice stopped you. Dante puts down magazine from his face and sat up straight, “You need help, babe?” Babe! Babe! Did he just called you babe?! This man was no good, you were trembling and was little frozen. You gulped, “Ummm…. nothing, wrong place, I will be on move.” Dante thought you have a demon problem, and you were unsure if Dante could do a job, a man with hangover in an unkempt office was not the most potential prospect for killing demon, right? He was quick, and he was in front of you quickly, his arms crossed. He spoke looking down at you, those icy blue eyes felt so scary, “Hey..... I can help, just tell me.......” You were scared, no voice came out of your throat, a dark room, a man, the stench-it all just bring forth memory in your mind which you tried to bury every night. All you could do was cry, and you screamed, “NO!!!!” Dante was shocked, he frowned and was panicking, his voice urgent, “Hey! Hey! Princess! Calm down! I will help…. I won't hurt you, I promise, please.....just don't cry….jeez!” You looked at him, you saw honest concern and panic etching his face. This was new, most men in your life were always scary, Dante was scary too, but he looked genuine, you were confused, most men invoked only one feeling in you, 'beware! Do not get close!', but Dante felt right, though the whole setting was wrong. You were still shivering, but spoke, wiping your tears, “sorry… I am Y/N, I lost my way, I needed to go to Capulet City University, but.....” Dante hummed, “That's on the opposite side, princess, but not to far.” You smiled and nodded, “Thank you, just guide me, I will go…" Dante shook his head, “No… I feel bad for whatever happened...I don't know...God, I saw you crying, whatever that was for? I'm so scary? Anyway…. I will drop you on my motorcycle.” You refused, “I have my bicycle.” Dante looked at the clock, “When your class starts?” You looked at the clock, “Ohho! It starts in 15 mins!” Dante smiled, “At your service, ma'am.” You fumbled, “But my bicycle.” Dante shrugged, “come and get it tomorrow or in the evening?”

Dante dropped you safely to your university, you waved at him as you ran to your class. You came back next morning to Devil May Cry with crêpes you made in the morning, in a box. You wanted to thank Dante. You knocked on the door, Dante opened it yawning, it was 8AM, you smiled and gave him the box, “Thank you for tomorrow, and I apologize for my rude behavior. Please accept this as an apology.” Dante scratched his head leaning on the door frame, “Naah, princess, seriously you didn't need to go through the trouble.” You got past him inside placing the food on the coffee table, “I insist, and I never got your name. Rude. “ You giggled and Dante just smiled, it was a pretty smile and sweet sound. Dante chuckled as he joined to near the coffee table, “My name is Dante.” You smiled, “Thankyou, Mister Dante” Dante clicked his tongue, “Drop the Mister, y/n” You nodded and smiled, “Okay, well, if you're going to eat this, right now, best, but if you're going to wait for your girlfriend or something. I will suggest keep it boxed.” Dante looked at you with smile, opening the box and eating the crêpe, “No girlfriend, I am alone here. How was your lecture tomorrow? I hope you reached on time and didn't get an earful from your professor.” You blinked, “I am not a student, I am professor......well, still I do not like to be late for my class and I do not give my students an earful if they are late.” Dante was surprised, “Ohho…. professor? Aren't you young?” You nodded, “Yes, I am twenty-five, but trust me, it is possible. I lack experience, but I have my own strong points.” Dante nodded in appreciation and popped a blueberry in his mouth, “And add good cook to the list, these crêpes were fantastic.” You smiled, “I will be going.....” Dante nodded, “I hope you're late again.” You smiled as you took your bike and left.

From that day onwards, you have no business in Dante's part of town, but you found yourself there. Like when your brakes stopped working, off course, Dante would have some tool, he can lend you. And when you were looking for new cabinets for your new apartment. You can ask Dante, he is a local. Or when you wanted to eat some Pizza, though you rarely had it before. Dante must know the best Pizzeria in the town. And when you try new recipe, you cooked too much, you knew nobody, so you have to bring some to Dante as thanks and also wasting food is bad, right?

It has been a month, you got some business in Dante's shop or other, he came back from a mission after a week, he saw your bicycle outside his shop and found you on the steps of the front door with a paper bag in your hand. You feel asleep. He sighed running finger through his hair, he spoke looking up, “y/n” He walked to you and poked your cheek to wake you, you woke up startled. You were breathing heavy, broke in cold sweat when you stood up and looked at Dante, your hand on your heart, you smiled, “Ohhho… it's you..... Dante... Trish told me you will be back tonight. So I thought I should get you some spaghetti.” Dante sighed and ran finger through his hair, his mission, a fresh reminder in his mind of what his life really is. You do not fit in this mess. He spoke cold, “Why?” You blinked and smiled, “Why? Because you must be hungry, let's go in. Or spaghetti will be cold.” Dante opened his mouth to say something, but he just took a deep breath. He took hold of your wrist and pulled you in, closing the door. You were confused, “Dante?” Dante took out his dual pistol from holster and put them on coffee table, along with rebellion, you never saw them before, you always thought the were just display thing. You frowned looking at Dante face for explanation, you mumbled, “Is this human blood on it?” Dante shook his head, “No…demon blood….” You were unsure of what you heard, but now you can connect all the dots, “Ohho…" Dante raised an eyebrow, “Ohho?” You nodded, “I see… You must be so hungry, after killing demons, let's eat, go and shower.” Dante was confused? Baffled? Surprised? He didn't know, he just smiled and nodded, “Sure, princess….”

After dinner, it was late night, riding your bicycle back was not a safe option. Dante and you were sitting on the couch watching a movie, a commercial came in public interest about rape survivor and to reach out for help. Dante was neutral, his hand around your shoulder, suddenly he felt you go stiff and eyes hollow. You were looking at the screen without blinking, he can hear your heartbeat quicken and your body feeling light. He rubbed his thumb on your cheeks, turning your chin to face him, his voice soothing, “all good, princess?” You were back in reality and nodded, “Yeah, was just feeling sleepy….” Dante smirked, “You can sleep in my room, but there is only one bed.” You blinked, you hit his head with a pillow, “This couch is quite comfortable, thank you.” Dante cupped your cheeks, leaning down to kiss your soft lips, tilting your head, to mold his lips to your…you wrapped your hands around his neck and kissed him back with the same fervor. Dante's hand was on your waist trying to feel the skin under the shirt, as your crop top rode up, he was quick to feel your skin, his hand close to your underboob. You flinched and pulled away, your lips red and swollen, your eyes full of fear. Dante quickly cupped your cheeks again, he was afraid, he fucked up, “did I something wrong?” A fear obvious in his voice. You shook your head, finding it difficult to form words in your head, you took a deep breath, “Of course not….can we take it slow? I-I-I-I…" Dante looked into your eyes, “Hey… Hey…no need to explain yourself….of course, I can take it slow… you set the pace, okay?” You nodded with teary eyes, you were emotional. You were happy at bare minimum because that's what you were taught. Furthermore, you blabber, “Thank you…” Dante chuckled, “Whatever for? For not being a jerk?” You and Dante laughed, you hugged him tight. That night, Dante slowly explained you his job, his heritage, and his love. “I love you, y/n.” You kissed that idiot, “I love you too!” You both sat on the couch, cuddling and talking. Not long after, you looked out, and it was already the crack of dawn, you stretched and yawned, “My students can rest today.” Dante smiled," I can't, I have a mission …" You were sad, “Leaving?” Dante kissed your forehead, “Go upstairs and rest… I will be back before you know.”

Thereafter, things were fast, you moved in within two months of knowing Dante. You asked him for privacy and different room, and he accepted it. It was fun, living together, waking up to see him. But one thing that was lacking was intimacy. Every time things got too hot, you made some excuse that you were too tired, too uncomfortable, or too busy. Dante understood each time, even when he knew everything was not right, and just said one thing each time, “you know, you can tell me anything, right?”

So now sitting on bed with him. You gulped…." Dante…." He look at you, “yeah.sleepy? Want to go back to your room?” You sighed," D-d-Dante…. I am not okay…" Dante frowned, “What are you saying, princess? You're not feeling well?” You shake your head, “I am broken, Dante.” You were crying. Dante hugged you tightly wipping your tears, “Shhhhh….princess… You are not broken, you are my princess….” You cried clenching on his shirt, “I can't even do something as basic as intimacy….” Dante frowned, “So what? I can't keep place clean…" You blinked at him and laughed through your tears, Dante grinned, “That's how I like you princess, smiling…" You nodded, your head on his chest, “Dante…I need to tell you something.....” Dante heart felt heavy,by now he guessed, but he prayed all God that what he thinks is wrong. He looked at you with trust and care, putting a strand of hair behind your ear…You summoned all your courage, your voice breaking.

“When I-I-I-I was eight…. I was left alone by my parents with a family friend of my dad, his wife and him volunteer to baby sit me. My father and mother needed to address some urgent business. His wife was a nice woman. I was in my room drawing. When he came in, and I heard the door click and locked. I got up from the floor and looked at him, I was smiling and spoke, 'Mister Mann, I'm hungry, let's get a snack.' I saw the creepiest smile on Mister Mann face, I felt fear.....”

Your voice broke, your eyes full of tear…you could not keep it in…your hand on your mouth. Dante held you tight and rubbed your back. “I couldn't understand as he tried to do it… I took a lamp and hit him with the lamp on my bedside before he could go any further than trying to grope me…. I was unable to unlock the door. But me banging the door, bashing of lamp, all lead to Misses Mann comes upstairs running. She warned her husband, either he opens the door, or she is calling 911. So Mister Mann opened the door. He tried to accuse me that I am a devil child who hit him. Misses Mann saw scratches on my arms, and she acted like she trusts his husband. But she took me and ran to police station. The whole investigation was messy, so my mom withdrew the case, saying it is harming my future.”

Dante clenched his fist, he was changing, his demon eyes in a slit, his demon side burning for justice for his mate. His voice was dark and metallic, “WHERE-IS-HE-NOW?” You nuzzled his chest, “Six feet under, his wife divorced him and he got shot by a man whose daughter he was trying to prey on.” Dante let out a huff, “He deserved worse death…if he was alive, he would have..." You were shivering and out your hand on his mouth. He held you tight…Dante kissed your hair, “It's okay, months, years, I can wait, you have nothing to be sorry for. Only person who should be sorry is dead, and your mother owes you an apology.” You nodded feeling so much lighter. You feel asleep in his arms. The next day, you didn't say much about last night, nor did Dante mentioned it. He loved you as he always does. He wanted all of this to unfold on your own accord, he was patient with you, like you were with him.

Tag: @sacredwarrior88 @marshmallows-and-champagne

[nyoomerr]

Do you have any tips for finishing works and getting enough confidence to post them?

sure! just keep in mind that these are tips from my single perspective, and everyone's creative processes are different, etc etc all the usual disclaimers 🙈

↓↓ all advice under the readmore cuz it got pretty lengthy ↓↓

for finishing works, you'll probably have to start by identifying why you don't feel like continuing a particular WIP.

is it a time/energy thing? make sure you're staying physically healthy (good food, keeping hydrated, moderate exercise) and that you aren't forcing yourself to sit down and write at the end of a long day when you've already spent all your mental energy elsewhere. this is one of the lamest points of advice on the whole list but i am being so serious about it.

is it a lack of inspiration? try talking about the fic with a friend, using prompt generators, or thinking back to what originally inspired the fic to begin with. if you started writing the fic for One Specific Scene, go write that scene, regardless of how far out you are from it chronologically! you can always revise or rewrite it later if it turns out that the in-between scenes change some of the context or flow.

is it that you're struggling to get a scene written just right? skip past it and come back later, maybe leaving just a quick one or two line summary of what you want to happen in that scene so you don't forget later. if you can't skip past it, then tell yourself "okay, i'm going to rewrite this later," before trying to write it - if you have already decided that this will not be your final draft, then it can help you feel less hesitant to put imperfect words down.

for gathering the confidence to post a work, it's a bit more tricky...

i think most people want to post things because they want to receive external validation on it... so so valid and relatable 🤝 BUT this motivation makes it hard to actually shut out the factors that can cause nerves (i.e., advice like "turn off comments if you're worried about receiving criticism" is useless, because then you also don't get the positive comments you likely wanted in the first place).

one strategy you could try is starting with a small audience first - just send it to a friend you know will be your hypeman. if you're feeling more bold, you can try sharing it with a discord server or group chat - essentially, narrowing the audience down to people that you know will be supportive of your work, no matter what.

if sharing the fic with your friends actually sounds like the Worst Case Scenario, then i'd instead recommend posting it to an anon collection! if you end up not being happy with the response to the fic, you can pretend it was never yours to begin with - there's no shame in using the anon tool as it was meant to be used. if you end up feeling really proud of the work after the nerves have passed, you can always de-anon it later to tie it back to you!

regardless of how or who you share it with though, my top recommendation is that you sit down and identify every little thing that you're proud of in your work before you post it. write these things out so you don't forget! the people who are going to read your work will not have the same tastes, experiences, and desires that you personally had when you sat down to write the fic to begin with. if they don't like parts of it, it does NOT mean those parts are bad - it just wasn't for them personally!

that can be hard to remember when you're getting feedback, though, which is why it's important to have those things that YOU like about your work written down so you can go take a look at them to remind yourself.

if you try posting a work and afterwards go "oh, that isn't for me, i'd rather just create for myself personally," then that's totally chill! what would be tragic is if you posted a work and then felt so shitty after the fact that it tainted your enjoyment of the creation process itself. that's why, no matter what, please remember that you wrote this fic for yourself, and hold on to the things that you like about it!!

anyway that got pretty rambly but TLDR: 1) figure out why you're having trouble finishing your WIP and tackle that reason instead of blindly pushing yourself forward 2) ease yourself into posting in whatever way is least intimidating for you, no need to jump straight to having an AO3 profile linked to your writing 3) no matter what, make sure you remember the things that you personally enjoy about what you made, and celebrate those things!

[thesilliestofgals]

Hello everyone, I'm making this huge post because I'm hyperfixated on what's going down in the Ever After High fandom right now, and I need to type all my thoughts out. So, get your tinfoil hats ready folks, because it's speculation and theorizing time.

DISCLAIMER: this is all just speculation and/or incoherent rambling. I'm putting it under the cut because... it's a little long lol (if you see any grammatical and/or spelling errors ...no you don't)

Earlier today, January 5th (or January 4th, depending on your timezone) Mattel released a "new" song for Ever After High, "Can't Get Me Down" (you'll see why I put new in quotation marks in a bit). Reaction to the song itself was... mixed, with some really liking it, some not liking it, and some being more neutral. The reason why this sent the fandom into a frenzy is because, obviously, this is our first real content from the actual source since the series ended in 2018.

Tin foil hat time, I don't think this song is "new" at all. I'm speculating that this song was in the Mattel's equivalent of The Vault for a long time, which could explain a lot about why it sounds janky and almost ai. Also, I saw some people saying it reminded them of Taylor Swift, and we know, canonically, Taylor Swift exists the EAH universe as Tailor Quick, and Raven is a fan of her. Adding on the fact that Raven is used as the cover for this song, I suspect she would've sung this either in a webisode, or more likely a special, but it got cut for whatever reason.

Here we get to my biggest point: why now? Why would Mattel, with no promotion beforehand, just drop this out of the blue? I saw someone suggest it was a mistake, and I saw someone else suggest that this was leaked by some employee, but I don't think either of those are the case- if they were, it likely would've been taken down already.

I shared this theory through an ask, but I'll reiterate it here: My theory is Mattel is using this as a tactic see how people would respond to the idea of EAH making a comeback.

I think EAH making a comeback now kind of makes sense- look at what happened during it's downfall; iirc doll sales were low, but also, Disney had created Descendants. This is a bit more into conspiracy theory territory, but from what I've heard discussed, many think Disney's creation of Descendants was the nail in the coffin for EAH. It's also common knowledge that Disney is extremely territorial about fairytales, and especially when it comes to princesses, so them making Descendants to assure EAH's decline... checks out. With Disney not doing well now, Mattel could be trying to take advantage of that. But that's just my theory, I could be totally wrong and Mattel could be doing this for some other completely random reason.

There was also some other stuff about trademarks, but I'm not good with that kind of stuff, so you can read more about that here.

TL;DR: this situation is very *exaggerated and vague hand waving in air* as you can tell by this post, so while we can continue speculating and/or doing our own digging, I think it'd be best to keep an eye out to see if Mattel releases any more songs, or even any announcements/statements.

If I forgot anything or explained this poorly, I apologize!! Please let me know if I did either and I will try and correct that!!

[suffarustuffaru]

Scrolling through your blog is such a fun experience, you bring an absolutely great vibe to this fandom and I love it SO MUCH. Could even say you restored my hope in it, since there has been some aspects that made me force myself to leave it, and I hope me bringing one of them up here won't upset anyone.

Now I completely understand if you wish to not answer my ask, but I figured it's worth a shot. So, one of said aspects was a controversy regarding one of the rezero characters that made me feel like you can't mention them without being called names (mostly on tiktok, but other social media also, tho not as much).

Yeah I'm talking about Felix. I'm not transphobic by any means, and I'm fine with people headcannoning whatever they want, but seeing thousands of people calling others transphobic for calling Felix a 'he' made me so unsafe I forced myself to look for other interest. Which is funny since most of the people saying this weren't even part of the fandom. I was wondering if anyone else here had similar situations and just.. how do you deal with it? It seems silly, I know, but feeling like I can't speak about a rather important character from a media I love made me so upset.

No matter how much I tried explaining it, they either dismiss it or say Tappei made him a trans girl without knowing.

Now, if you do decide to answer this and say that Felix indeed may have been 'trans coded' a little bit (Did I used that term correcly? Idk) I'll understand (hell, I would probably agree, you character analysis are great), I'm just upset at the absolute lack of respect for any other way of referring to Felix other then she/her.

(Also in case people don't know, their proof of Felix being a trans girl is the scene from EX1, with the whole calling himself a girl in front of a mirror thing)

Sorry for this is being long and probably messy I just had to get this off my chest.. also I hope I didn't came of as offensive in any way, if I did I'm really sorry.

hi there anon! first of all - aw thank you for your compliments about me and my blog. im super passionate about rezero (though thats probably super clear to anyone whos seen any content i make for a while aljsdlkf) and well. ive been lurking about in this fandom since summer 2020 so i definitely understand having to leave/distance yourself from this fandom because outside of tumblr, the rezero fandom is kind of . well. to put it simply, theres a lot of metaphorical landmines unfortunately!! T^T and admittedly i wouldve left this fandom a lot sooner if i didnt stick to my own corner and curate spaces with other people who were super chill (like lots of people lurking about here on tumblr + rz tumblr in general!!). so i totally understand how you feel anon (and youre not silly for being upset, i promise!), though admittedly im not super super familiar with some rezero spaces (such as rz twitter) bc i 1. dont speak japanese and 2. i try very hard to avoid the negativity whenever possible!! T^T

and also i apologize for taking a while to answer your ask!! you're one of my older asks that kinda got lost in my drafts hah but i also just wanted to like. take extra care with your ask bc its a super important topic. like not just to me (though its definitely important to me) but its important in general. and i really like felix so. <3

a quick disclaimer is that i myself am not transfem. i am however afab and most likely genderqueer!! (im winging it as i go hah.) felix is also not a character id say im as well-versed in yet, but i do like felix a lot and ex1 changed my entire brain chemistry. and ill also be defaulting to he/him pronouns in this post because thats what he uses in canon.

felix is - at the end of the day - a fictional character, and tappei is a cis man who doesnt Entirely write characters like felix through a queer lens. arguably tappei is Self-Aware when he writes characters who are into other characters of the same sex (though the Representation is arguably a little bit questionable at times depending on how you look at it), but when it comes to characters like felix or subaru who have some Gender Stuff going on, it's more nebulous there. i dont know if tappei 100% realizes he's made characters that could be read as Trans/Genderqueer (emphasis on "read as", because i support different interpretations of these characters), but tappei Definitely Is Very Aware that gender and gender presentation and gender roles are super important when it comes to characters like felix, subaru, and crusch.

i think tappeis own perceptions of gender and gender roles do bleed a bit into the text as much as tappei is pretty purposeful with themes surrounding gender in rezero, but rezero itself still has all sorts of identity issues to explore with a lot of its characters and gender is a big part of that!!

so first and foremost im gonna be examining felix the best i can Purely Off Of The Canon Text, though i do like viewing rezero from a queer lens myself (and it is arguably very queer). im gonna talk first about felix and then ill move onto talking about my personal feelings on rezero fandom stuff :o !!

so felix's relationship with his gender is complicated and he Absolutely does not fit into traditional gender roles or gender presentation right now. these are undeniable. and if people headcanon felix as transfem thats totally understandable and valid!! but to say a headcanon is 100% canon and that other interpretations of a character as complex as felix are invalid isnt exactly it. for sure. i mean i myself interpret him as nonbinary haah. but felix's relationship with gender is so so so So complicated that i dont think you could just say hes transfem and then Not Elaborate More.

but regardless of how Exactly you label felix, i think you could possibly say that hes trans coded. tappei, even if he probably doesnt entirely know hes made pretty genderqueer characters, is Aware and Purposeful of how gender affects felix and his perception of himself and his identity and other peoples perception of him and this is brought up Over and Over Again in canon—felix’s gender identity, at the moment, aligns more with femininity in his presentation in every way, though he still perceives himself as masculine. felix’s case is complicated, and while im not entirely sure on this i think you could argue that hes trans coded—“coding” suggests a level of intent when making these characters, and i think that intent is present in some way with tappei. because tappei Knows just how important gender is with felix’s character and you can tell with how often and how Integral it is to felix’s entire character.

(more under the cut) (i do have a habit of being rambley/wordy sometimes if. if you couldnt tell already. but i hope this response is up to your standards!!)

these three analysis posts on felix's relationship with gender have all discussed this topic in-depth before i have, and i 1. really like the rezero content i see from all three of these people and 2. they All have slightly different takes based on the canon we have but also some similar points. because felix is complicated!! of course our takes are probably gonna be a bit different - he's a multifaceted character with such a complex relationship with his gender that it's hard to tell what every single one of his personal feelings on it is (especially when at the moment he hasnt appeared in the main story since arc 5 and he still has a Lot of character development to do). and of course fiction is fiction, we can all take away any sort of meaning from a story like this.

but you know. this is my post so im gonna try to analyze felix right now and say my two cents on what i think of his relationship with gender.

so im gonna try not to retread too much on what liquidstar, sufferu, and gourmet of gluttony have already said about felix (and i think theyre all very smart people with interesting analysis posts and theyve all explained their thoughts pretty well) and instead add on with my own thoughts - theres this felix excerpt from arc 4 wn that i think about sometimes. im gonna put it down here!!

and also important to note—like other people have mentioned, crusch and felix made a “deal” of sorts in the past where crusch takes on felix’s masculinity and felix takes on crusch’s femininity. and also like other people have said—and i myself have said in the past—i do have some mixed feelings on this wkdndn and as i said before also i do wish tappeis feelings on gender bled a little less when theyre Not Integral To The Story. bc i dont think tappei 100% knows hes made trans coded characters, but. anyway yeah so thats the whole deal with crusch felix. and in its own right i think it has So Many Interesting Implications!!

i think when it comes down to it, gender presentation IS a bit of a performance, isn't it? like i love to wear dressses and skirts and i love to keep my hair short and wear suits, but you know - these sorts of things tend to be gendered. our gender is often perceived through how we present ourselves, but in recent years gender roles being attached to clothing has gotten a bit less Rigid. but these rigid roles associated with presentation are even more dialed up to Eleven in a medieval world like the rezero fantasy world. and i dont use the word "performance" in a negative way -

what i mean is that when it comes to felix's character, does felix think he's a boy because that's what he's been told? does he think he's a boy because he TRULY sees himself that way, or does he THINK he has to see himself as one? does felix try to present and perform femininity, ie as or like a traditionally feminine girl, purely ONLY for crusch's sake, or is it because felix ALSO WANTS to? what does felix think of gender outside of crusch? who is felix outside of crusch? who is felix outside of tying his entire personality to other people? does felix’s femininity show the “radiance of ferris’ soul” bc of the deal he made with crusch or bc this truly is felix’s soul? these are like the big questions behind his entire character and character arc that would determine in the end how felix identifies in both his gender and In General.

so what is felix's identity at the moment? bc right now, felix is stuck between his feminine self, tied to crusch, a symbol of crusch, tied to his own reliance on crusch and worship of her—and his masculine self, someone broken off from crusch. felix is tied to crusch right now to worrying extents with his obsessive devotion to the point of changing himself to mold into her image, and beyond that, hes still tied to guilt surrounding fourier’s death. gourmet of gluttony puts all of this way way more intelligently than i ever could, but at the end of the day, i think the best narrative decision here would be for felix to accept himself in ALL of his entirety.

healing in rezero is noted to be a kind power, specifically by fourier and fourier saying this right to felix when hes the most talented healer in lugunica, and healing itself is often stereotypically feminine activity. knighthood is stereotypically masculine, and on top of all this, we see in ex1 that biehn argyle twists the power of healing into something grotesque—trying to bring back the dead and revive what cant be revived, which is once again another reoccurring theme in rezero.

how far can “from zero” go? what HAS to stay dead and what can be revived? who is allowed to live? HOW do you live freely? felix is someone born from a horribly abusive and neglectful family who twisted healing magic’s kindness into cruelty, felix is someone who was taken into a family that showed him kindness and now hes desperate to pay them back with everything he has and everything he is, felix is a healer who lashes out when hes cornered and a healer who treasures life and a knight who cant physically fight like the others, felix is someone stuck with the horrible knowledge that he cant save everyone—that some things just Couldnt end better no matter how much he wished for it to.

felix is stuck between all kinds of worlds, and in terms of gender, hes quite literally still stuck between boyhood and manhood in the biological sense—hes purposefully made it so that he hasnt hit puberty yet so he can better pass as feminine. he hasnt Physically Grown past puberty—which is the mark of becoming an adult. and he hates himself in a number of ways, but he also hates himself for failing to be traditionally masculine. his abusive family stole ten years of his life and the torture left him physically weaker, so he cant be strong physically, which is something associated with traditional masculinity. felix is the best healer, a traditionally feminine job and skill, but he cant save everyone. felix becomes more feminine as part of his deal with crusch, but while crusch accepts her femininity and masculinity readily, and while crusch’s memory is erased by gluttony—felix is left behind, alone, still holding onto femininity while not entirely being able to hold onto it while he also cant entirely hold onto the traditional masculinity he expects out of himself. and with arc 3 on, felix feels hes failed both fourier and crusch. the two most important male and female figures in his life.

felix is basically stuck in this liminal space where hes not Enough for himself in literally every direction, and the only way out is to accept every part of himself and move forward by trying to define who he is without other people—his birth family and his found family dont define him. they can shape him, sure, but he has to stop shaping himself to meet them and figure out how to let himself just. Be. and take up a space thats firmly his. from a queer lens, this kind of thing is pretty queer—because to stop being in between worlds, you have to accept everything instead of splitting yourself into halves over and over again. killing or maiming yourself or parts of yourself is no way to live, and felix is Life itself.

and i think regardless of the Exact Labels you could give felix, i think his arc—which is perfectly in line with all of rezeros themes—is inherently about self acceptance and the bridging of the gap and combination of femininity and masculinity. felix is both and identifies, in one way or another, with both, similar to how he loves someone who identifies with both (crusch) and just as hes loved her and fourier. imo it wouldnt be right for felix to choose one or the other in terms of feminine vs masculine—he needs to be the one learning and navigating his honest feelings on both sides bc i think he Yearns to be both. hes a boy who dresses like a girl and its up to him to know if he wants to be a man and/or a woman due to his own internal desire or if parts of that is Only due to external pressures.

--

and alright now that ive said all my thoughts on felix atm im gonna address the other questions you had in your ask!! note that this is just my opinions and thoughts regarding my own experience in the english fandom, you dont have to agree or anything 👍

but i AM very sorry about your negative experiences in this fandom. T^T people calling other transphobic for using he/him for felix (and also people being transphobic about characters like felix or subaru/natsumi in general) is something ive seen as well. the rezero fandom is sadly very often toxic and Bigoted in a lot of ways (with the exception of rezero tumblr and certain segments of rezero ao3, from what ive seen), which is Ironic for a story thats so clearly about love and self-acceptance, which is also ironic because arguably tappei and otsuka and the rezero marketing team (i Love the female characters in rezero but theres just so much sexualized or vaguely sexist merch/moments that dont add to the story, you know? kind of just. misses the point of their characters sometimes.) sort of contribute to it a little bit as much as tappei does do some really great things with his writing.

rezero is the first fandom ive been active in but its definitely not the first ive ever been in, and ive been in some insane fandoms before. like i said earlier though, i think i just cope by curating my experience to what i like, yknow? liking posts i enjoy, looking at stuff i enjoy, etc :O !! fandom is a hobby so i try not to look at negative stuff when i can help it wkdnd. which im sure youre aware about already but i always have to keep reminding myself of this bc places like rezero reddit or twitter get pretty rough!! but its really helped me just following artists and creators i like, enjoying their content, chatting with cool people i vibe with, rezero tumblr being the chillest rezero space in the whole fandom, and its also helped me a lot making rezero content of my own—like this whole blog!! its really shocked me how much people seem to value my thoughts enough to ask me things frequently but i appreciate it pfft. and i hope you guys like reading my posts!!

but yeah like. curate, curate, curate. it helps a LOT and it gets me excited to experience rezero not only by myself you know? not that i didnt have fun by myself but its its own level of fun finally finding spaces to have fun with others!! and i LOVE finding beautiful fanart!! chef’s kiss. and trying to be the change i want to see is satisfying on its own :,) i want to post random shit about rezero, so i post it. i want to make fanart for fun and share it. i want to brute force people into loving otto more so i ottopost (dont worry, i still hate him bc true otto fans also hate him at the same time <3 /lh). i want more queer rezero content so i try to make some more!! brings more personal power i think and its very fun!! and it helps with lessening the quiet despair of fandom toxicity ;-;; (which is something ive done many times and will continue to do sometimes so i feel your pain 🫂) and i promise theres cool people in the fandom 👍 i may reply late to asks or dms but im ALWAYS down to talk about rezero things its so fun 👍👍

and its really really hard sometimes to deal with fandom toxicity especially if its forcefully knocking at your door—definitely dont force yourself to stay or look at things if you cant, bc thats totally understandable!! and i myself have been harassed a little in the past. but definitely having some sort of coping—the block button, backing out of things you dont agree with or like, lots and lots of curating, etc—helps me a lot. and i think mental health wise i feel much better trying to look on the bright side of things!! its MY hobby goddammit!! ill fight people subaru-style if they try to poison it!! and however long anyone reading this decides to spend with rezero and rezero tumblr—you are welcome here 👍

but yes my very Long rambling aside - i hope this post somewhat helped you!! felix is a very important character that i like very much and need to learn more about and i have Many Feelings on the english side of this fandom, but im very grateful to all the cool people ive met over the years here for sure!! :o

also ill probably post the finished version soon but if youve read this far here is a sneak peak of felix art i did recently (just as a reward for once again reading all of my Endless Yapping)👍👍

[rggz]

majima's fake kansai dialect explained

got this video in my youtube recommended earlier and a lot of people in the comments seemed confused as to how exactly it is that majima's speaking differently in this scene and i love to ramble so. here we are. bit of linguistic meta under the cut :)

quick disclaimer though: i'm not a native japanese speaker nor am i an expert on kansai dialect so there'll likely be some oversights and nuances that i didn't pick up on here. so just remember that this is all for fun. ok?

1. だ (da) vs や (ya)

i'm going to try not to use too much linguistic jargon here so please bear with. in standard japanese the copula (essentially a verb that means "to be" when describing a quality possessed by the subject of the sentence, eg. the sky is blue) "だ" is used in casual speech, whereas in kansai dialect "や” is used instead. listen to the sentence translated as "if you want out, now is the time", and you'll hear the difference - instead of ending his sentence with や as he would when he speaks in kansai dialect, majima uses だ.

2. いる (iru) vs おる (oru)

listen to the sentence translated as "but you've got yasuko". he uses the verb いる (to be (in a location, doing an action, etc.) or to have, for animate objects) to say that saejima has yasuko, whereas in kansai dialect the verb おる is used instead.

3. いい (ii) vs ええ (ee)

see: "saejima, are you really sure you want to leave her behind?". literally, this would translate to "saejima, is it really okay to leave her behind?" (with the word いい translating to okay). in kansai dialect ええ is used in place of いい.

4. 本当 (hontou) vs ほんま (honma)

see the same sentence as no. 3, where instead of using the kansai "ほんま" to mean really (lit. truth), majima uses the standard "本当".

5. いる (iru) vs おる (oru): the squeakuel

adding an extra note on this one because interestingly, even after saejima calls him out on him slipping up, majima doesn't switch straight back to kansai dialect. see the line "i'm fucking serious here" - the actual dialogue translates literally to "[hey] you, when people are talking seriously-".

the japanese present continuous is formed by putting the verb into て (te) form and adding the verb いる to express continuity - to be doing something. "are talking" is translated from "喋ってる" (shabetteru - note that the い sound of いる is omitted in casual speech). however if you've noticed a pattern here, you might think that in kansai dialect the verb おる would be used instead, and you'd be correct.

this construction is used by saejima in the previous line, where he says "you're forgetting your kansai dialect" (though this is translated as "your kansai accent's slipping"). 忘れて (te form of wasureru, to forget) is added to おる (to be). note however that て＋おる becomes とる (toru).

-

it's worth mentioning, though, that none of these are absolute rules (especially not nowadays among younger people). rather these observations were largely based on what majima tends towards using himself in general throughout the series. even in the first half of the same cutscene, i think the difference is pretty stark.

that being said though i do think it's also easy to miss - it's not so much a difference in accent or the way the words themselves sound as it is a case of differences in grammar, words used, expressions, etc.

however, there are definitely differences in intonation between kansai and kanto dialects - in fact, because majima's va is from tokyo he had trouble getting the intonation right, and as such it's a liiiitle off in places, but everyone was sort of just like meh. it's majima so it's fine. therefore, i reckon it tracks that majima doesn't sound too different between dialects and is actually a cool bit of characterisation, albeit unintentional.

as for where he's actually from, it could really be anywhere, but given that regional dialects were a lot more prevalent and stronger even just in the 80s, i'd wager that he is indeed from somewhere in kanto.

this would all suggest too that majima fully mastered his use of kansai dialect in sotenbori, which would make sense. excluding his sequence as the lord of the night in which he uses keigo (specifically a combination of kenjougo - humble language which lowers the speaker - and sonkeigo - respectful language which puts the listener at a higher position), majima has no other instances of his dialect slipping that i've noticed despite how serious much of yakuza 0 is. note that this is not to say kansai dialect doesn't have honorific speech, just that majima is using standard honorific speech, and even this contains interjections of kansai dialect.

as a little related tidbit, something else i noticed is that the only other person majima uses keigo with is shimano (1) (2) (3). not nearly to the business level that he uses as the lord of the night, but it's there (as is his kansai dialect, as he still uses おる and other kansai language that i won't go into here for brevity's sake). instead of using や as an ending particle he uses です (desu, the keigo - specifically teinego or polite language - equivalent of だ), and uses verbs in their teineigo ます (masu) form. he doesn't use it with sagawa, and not even with terada as the 5th chairman in the majima saga.

anyway, that's all :) i was rambling about this to myself in my notes app anyway so i thought why not share it in case anyone else is interested too. ty for reading!

[www-internetangel-com]

Could you elaborate on Aventurine not owning a casino? I saw the tags and I'm not sure if you have yet

Oh sure thing. You're gonna get some other useless but related information too though. And I've just woken up so I'm hoping this makes sense.

Also, disclaimer, I'm talking thematically here and also reference him being passively suicidal.

So, first of all, casinos are all maths. A lot of the games you play are just probability and such. Yes, even slot machines. And while Aventurine is a very intelligent man who would know how they work, I don't think it works thematically for him to own one. Knowing the rules of the game doesn't ruin the experience of playing it, but being in complete control of the game isn't really something he would want, I don't think? A lot of card games are strategic in nature (hell, card counting is literally just probability and risk assessment) and rely on reading people. Aventurine looks more for influence over others, not outright control, and the illusion of a casino owner doesn't work for him. Not in my mind anyway. And owning the casino itself would essentially eliminate any risk of being a player. While Aventurine would look for safety in influence, I think he's like a lot of people going through traumatic experiences and wouldn't feel comfortable in control -- you need something to fight against to feel comfortable.

So here I want to talk about some things from the game that make me believe this. Firstly, his ultimate animation. Did you know there are a few types of roulette wheel? Well now you do! Aventurine's wheel doesn't actually match any wheel I've seen (it appears to have 32 slots with a rate of 31/1 on green, and American and European wheels have 38 and 37 slots respectively).

The way I interpret his ultimate is always having it land on green (or, in this case, the crown, as its the only slot with a design that is unique to the others, even if the numbers don't match up to it being "green" because that would usually be on 0 and 00 spots). The house edge on a European wheel, which I know more about, is roughly 2% while an American wheel is 5%. So I imagine using a wheel like this is meant to represent that Aventurine places strategy on his luck. Yes, landing on green would be incredibly lucky, but specifically choosing wheels with a lower house edge is also a strategic gamble. His famous voiceline here (yes, "bust... or maybe I'll take it all!) also makes me believe this is all calculated, because the planning behind what games to play, the background knowledge of the game itself, the ability to do quick equations on the spot -- that all works as his character. He is quite literally in the strategic department of the IPC, of course every choice he makes is completely thought out. But there's also the caveat of the planning not being perfect. Again, you have to account for random chance.

This also reflects in a couple of things in game that... I cannot be bothered to grab screenshots for, I'm sorry! But its a commonly known fact that Aventurine frequently bets his life and puts himself into the thick of situations... if he can plan around it. Aventurine wouldn't do that without reason. I think the image that some people have of him being an impulsive gambler is also just a façade to have people underestimate him. People forget he is a high ranking member of the IPC that, again, is known to be an amazing strategist. A lot of his actions in the game act as if he was playing at a table; he reads his opponents, he makes guesses on how they will react to certain situations, he reads the room as conversations happen, and he's highly adaptable to when something goes awry. There is constant danger to everything he does in these situations. Its what helped him survive for a long time. And I honestly don't think he minds the risk when 1. its planned out and 2. it is definitely a side effect of having a traumatic life, and he probably views either outcome as a win.

Although this is a serious topic, I think its an extreme that reflects a lot of his philosophy. What risk/reward payout do you get when you're in control? What is there to prove when there is no risk? What strategy is there to owning a casino itself? There's floor planning, removing the observation of time, and other design features, sure, but its static. There's no change. There's barely a risk when your competitors will be doing the same thing. There's no way to change things when this is, essentially, the meta of casino ownership. And then a lot of casino profit itself comes from marketing and selling the idea of a rich life through means of hotels, merchandise, expensive beverages -- its just not him, you know? Its boring, you're removed from anything interesting, and you're going to be untouchable as somebody who owns it all.

Now, to argue the counter: but Aventurine would feel safe and secure in this situation and he's finally at the top where he can't be hurt. I feel like Aventurine has this need to prove himself. Again, his means of survival. If he isn't able to prove his ability, then he may feel endangered. I do want him to feel safe and secure, I'm sure any fan of his characterisation would, but it just feels too far removed from the text we're given as players.

If you excuse a comparison to the DSMP for a second, its sort of the opposite effect of c!Quackity. He made a casino because he never felt like he could control his life, he never ended up on top, he was always taken advantage of, and he had a need to prove himself as a powerful person. Some of those traits would fit Aventurine, but not all of them. While he never had control of his own life (and I have a few things I could unpack with that but this is about casinos specially), and while he does need to prove himself to others, the need to prove himself is a survival trait and that's what makes me think being in charge would be seen as a threat. Hence the difference here. I love both of these characters because, well, the way they have themes around gambling can be read in many ways and show the nature risk in our own lives.

I hope this makes sense. I can expand on anything later if you wish.

[fgmetanoia]

💙💛 Blue and yellow: a study in media's mlm couples' color-coding 💛💙

So, since I've apparently lost all ability to write an introduction, we're gonna do without.

Let me just say, originally this was much shorter and then somehow it became a monster, I'M SORRY.

* sigh * I'm an overthinker, I can't take absolutely ANYTHING easy. Enjoy.

Quick disclaimer before starting: what follows absolutely doesn't claim to be a theory. It's more just like me trying to put some pieces together and see if something coherent comes out of it. So don't expect many deep thoughts in here, but any contribution is more than welcomed.

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Okay so, let's get started.

In the last few years, explicitly queer couples have increased in the media and I've started noticing a recurrent theme in their color-coding (I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I never saw anyone talking about it so... Sorry if I say banal stuff)

We all know about the blue and yellow deal:

Mike and Will, Simon and Wille (technically Simon is dressed in purple half of the time, but let's just ignore that for now), Nick and Charlie.

I know that these are just three cases, but I tend to notice patterns when they're there, and THREE times in THREE major queer Netflix show is enough of a pattern for me.

Plus, these are just some of the most famous ones, I'm sure there are more (feel free to add them in the tags).

Firstly, let's note how the yellow character is almost always 'the gay one' (horrible saying, sorry, but I don't know how else to put it) usually also out, or somehow the most notably queer one of the two, and somehow the most "innocent", pure of heart and/or idealistic.

While the blue one is usually bisexual and either not out yet for various reasons or in denial of their own sexuality (at least at the beginning of the story).

Jumping from one thing to another and at the cost of sounding super obvious, in color theory if you put yellow and blue together, you'll get green.

It's kind of obvious how in these shows they use green to symbolize the connection and attunement of these characters, with the most obvious one being Nick's green sweater (you know which one, I'd put a picture but tumblr has a limit), but when he and Charlie are in Paris in S2 they're also often dressed in green.

Plus, even if Simon and Wille are a little bit different (we'll see them later), they're also dressed in green to symbolize attunement and/or longing.

And don't even get me started on Mike being constantly dressed in green in S1 after Will goes missing...

So, yellow + blue = green. Green is a thing, right?

Now, I'm not an expert in any way when it comes to queer culture and historical coding, but I know that in 1800s queer men used to signal each other by wearing green flowers. Oscar Wilde himself used to do that if I'm not mistaken. It could be the origin behind this trope...?

This is stupid, I’m just babbling and it probably means nothing? Yes, absolutely, let's move on.

Let's instead indulge some more in symbolism and color psychology, because why not.

As you can see from this ugly but crystal clear infographic I found on Pinterest, yellow is usually a color associated with fun, optimism, happiness and whatnot.

On the other hand blue symbolizes trust, reliability, security, etc.

I don't know if everyone can see what I'm trying to underline, but I work in marketing and these are very common codes used by brands too.

Like, just pick the first 'yellow brand' you can think of and compare it to a blue one. It's always a matter of happy vs reliable. Here, let me visualize it for you:

Now, back to our shows, these associations are perfectly in line with our characters:

Will is described as a sensitive boy. He's gentle, artsy, warm and before the traumatic events of S1 we can presume he has an enthusiastic and happy personality. On the other hand, Mike is much more grumpy, but he's a leader, he's trustworthy and (except for when he's busy sticking his head up his ass for his own reason denying his own queerness) he's a safe person and reliable.

In the same way, Charlie is portrayed as soft, innocent, happy and bubbly but not in a exuberant or overabundant way. Nick on the other hand, is somehow the pillar of the two, in S1 he's the one that steps up to protect Charlie from Ben. He's the leader of the rugby team, and before he dumps them, of his friend group too.

Simon and Wille in my opinion are more complicated: for one thing, there is the color metaphor. As I anticipated, we don't only see them coded in yellow and blue (+ green) like the other characters. They often wear purple and orange too. But the reliable vs carefree metaphor sticks here too: Wille represents monarchy - steady, reliable, leader... Blue - while Simon is a queer artist - he's an idealist, carefree (debateble, but surely more free than Wille) and unapologetically himself -. On a side note, I find it interesting that they resolved them and closed S3 with white, as if to symbolize a clean canva, a new start. They could've more easily gone with green again, but they chose white.

Where am I going with this, you'll ask. I don't have the slightest idea, okay? At this point I'm just rambling.

But let's take some time to analyze them better.

Mike and Will

Despite the fact that Stranger Things is a horror/sci-fi TV show, Mike and Will's arc is all about coming to terms with themselves and living a life true to their nature. It's a common theme in the show, really. Nancy talks about it ("My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family. [...] Screw that."), Jonathan talks about it ("Do you wanna be normal? Do you wanna be just like everyone else? Being a freak is the best. I'm a freak") and there are characters whose entire existence's point is only to show that (Eddie and Argyle just to mention two).

Out of the two, it's Will the first one who comes to terms with himself and accepts himself (at least at some level).

Mike on the contrary, stays longer in denial of his own sexuality and is not only scared of it, but a victim of heteronormativity, to the point that he attacks Will when he tries to get his attention and away from El in S3 ("It's not my fault that you don't like girls").

Hopefully, in S5 they'll get together and their arc will be completed, with Will who overcomes the shame put there by his father and Mike who get some unconditional love (finally) and learns to be his true self despite of what other people think.

Simon and Wille

Now, young royals is a different story from Stranger Things. This show is a whole campaign against monarchy and, honestly, ALL kinds of systems that (on various levels) cage people and force them to live inside the closet certain lines and behavioral rules (celebrity industry? Nope? Okay).

Simon is free, he accepts himself and his only problems, before Wille, are about his family and being marginalized in a rich-kids school because he's poor.

Wille on the contrary arrives at Hillerska without knowing a damn thing about himself. He's angry and caged by the crown's rules about clean image and whatnot, which only makes him more angry.

When he clicks with Simon he has some difficulty to accept himself at the beginning, but quickly overcomes that and the whole damn problem from that moment until the very end of the show are caused by his public image and the control the crown has over it.

The whole point of this story, in brief, is for Wille to free himself of the chains of royalty and his public image.

Nick and Charlie

Once again, Charlie is the first one to come out (and he gets bullied and marginalized because of it, like it happened to Will and possibly to Simon too?) while Nick doesn't know he is bisexual until he meets Charlie and starts liking him.

Despite the fact that queerness is at the very center of this show, though, coming to term with it is not an issue here. Nick accepts himself almost immediately and no main character is a dick about it (his father and brother are not relevant enough for the purposes of this post, because homophobia is not the enemy in Heartstopper, fear is).

The actual thing to overcome here is identity. Nick could've lived a perfect straight life, never knowing he is bisexual (unless something else happened, but that's beside the point), but would've it been a truthful life? No. He would've lived lying to himself without even knowing it.

Meeting Charlie and falling in love with him frees nick of the chains of his straight identity, allowing him to discover a whole new side of himself.

So, let's recap it quickly: yellow character is optimistic and carefree, he knows and accept himself, while blue character, the reliable leader, discovers some queerness inside of himself thanks to yellow character and proceeds to be a little bit in denial of it before overcoming it and becoming his true self, completing his arc.

At the end they both free themselves of their own chains.

All of these three stories are about getting free from chains (societal chains in ST, system chains in YR, and identity chains in HS) and live truthfully.

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So, there's that. And like, I'm not saying it's EVERYWHERE but it's definitely something.

Just to quote some other tangential (and potential?) couples that don't completely fit in the previous scheme, Steve and Eddie are yellow and blue too:

In s4 Steve has a yellow sweater and Eddie has his jeans vest (blue). A reach? Yeah probably. Especially if you consider that Steve is the grumpy one out of the two, he's the leader and the protector, while Eddie is the Jester, the funny one, happier and artsy of the two. Yes, yes, I know, they're switched. It's the reason why I didn't include them above, but still...

In The Song of Achilles there are no color mentioned that I remember, but somehow certain versions of the cover are blue and gold. Coincidence? Probably. And yet we have another mlm couple associated with yellow and blue:

And honestly, I've always headcanoned Achilles as the yellow/golden character because of his appearance and Patroclus as the blue one because of his personality.

If they'll ever make a movie/TV show adaptation I'll bet my left asscheek that they're going to be color-coded like that.

And again, in Call Me By Your Name (book) the only colors mentioned are the ones of Oliver's swimsuits (4 colors: red, yellow, green and blue, with the attention put on the red and blue ones). And YET the cover of the movie looks like this:

Let's close with a Waterparks quote, because a touch of emo is always a good idea

I'm color-coding my moods, you're yellow, I'm natural blue

Let's get together and be green like my insides

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So, as you can see this is less then half-baked, and I've probably only discovered hot water [do English speakers say that? I don't know, it's an Italian way of saying that means you've pointed out something obvious] but I can see a pattern. These are all mlm couples with a repetitive scheme-color, similar narrative arcs, and all these media pieces came out in or after 2017 or so.

I have the feeling that this is something.

I'm very curious to hear other people's thoughts on this, especially if you think this is a bunch of bullshit, debunk the shit out of me, I'll appreciate it 🙏 thank you

[stoopid-turtle]

made-up thoughts about dd's thoughts

Hi there! I warned y'all that I might post more and I've been watching SDC so I wanted to compile my massive load of DD thoughts. Apparently, I think about dd a lot.

I've struggle with how to organize these thoughts because they're so scattered and there are just a whole bunch of them. So I decided to center them around moments I think about a lot. Not necessarily fun dd moments, though some of them are fun. But just...moments that I feel tell me a lot about dd.

As a disclaimer, I'm making up a bunch of nonsense about dd as a person, but I don't actually know him and you shouldn't take anything I say seriously. I'm very likely to be wrong about most of it. In fact, if dd somehow managed to read this humble post, he would probably roll his eyes. And you know what? It would be an honor for him to have done so.

There'll be a few posts. There are three others in drafts right now, though I may combine two of them. We'll see. But I'm starting out with this one just because it was done first.

I'm at around ep 8 of SDC4, and I think the only way to watch subtitled versions of SDC5 are by downloading an app that Google won't let me download because of region restrictions (and then paying a subscription fee). Needless to say, I probably won't be able to watch SDC5 anytime soon. :(

(those episodes are sooooo looonnngggg)

There's an episode in SDC4 when the captains have picked 4 leaders to start off their teams. They put together a rehearsal battle to show the other contestants the captain's style and help make decisions during the next recruitment segment.

DD picks 4 top dancers as his leaders. These are fantastic dancers, specifically battle dancers. And they do horribly in the rehearsal battle because they're not used to dancing routine, there are no choreographers so while their performance was highly technical, it wasn't really entertaining or meaningful, and the team itself just didn't cohere because these are all people who specialize in battling alone.

DD has a little meltdown while his team loses, and it's kinda uncomfortable to watch. He says in a debrief with his team afterward that he's one of those people that likes winning (which, yeah, duh, DD).

I think a lot about DD's initial strategy. It seems straightforward. Get the best dancers. Have the best team. Work hard. Win.

DD's not a deep thinker. I don't mean he's stupid, because he's actually pretty smart and quick to pick up on things. But he just doesn't see the need to introspect or dwell on things. He strikes me as the type of person who might go through some difficult event and come out the other side wanting to just move on because, "It's in the past. Why bother thinking about it?"

(I think he is getting more introspective as he gets older, as evidenced with his performance of Like the Sunshine. I think that's typical as one ages though)

I'm also struck by the feedback he gives as a captain. He usually makes pretty detailed comments about the technical aspects of the dance, and sometimes, with the more thematic pieces, he'll just outline the story of it. He's pretty literal and straightforward in his thinking.

In any case, dd stands out among the captains for his emphasis on winning. The captains of the other teams cultivate a family atmosphere and often make an effort to emphasize having fun over winning (dd emphasizes fun...as long as his team is winning). The other captains will break down in tears when they have to eliminate dancers, and they'll give nothing but praise to the dancers.

DD is the prototypical "not here to make friends" competitor (though he does actually make friends). One of the most common comments dd gets from dancers or judges is that he works really hard and is a perfectionist with his technical performance. (As a fangirl, I love hearing other people remark on how impressive dd is. I'm all like, "Damn right, that's my bb!"). Dd has high expectations of himself and of the dancers in his team, and he'll criticize the dancers if he feels they fell short.

It's not mean-spirited but it is blunt and is something that the other captains don't do. DD will point out mistakes and be outspoken when he's disappointed with a performance. He also doesn't cry when he has to eliminate someone. He obviously doesn't like doing it, and I do think his style of doing it quickly without the anxiety of drawing it out is kinder. But it also fits in with his decisive, direct way of doing things.

I think about this all in connection with the bts of gg saying he prefers men without makeup. DD gets incredibly defensive, misconstruing what gg's saying as a slight against idols. It's a funny bts, because gg's clearly trying to pay dd a compliment, but dd doesn't even realize this because he's so caught up in defensiveness.

But the defensiveness tells us that dd's felt belittled and looked down on for his idol background, I think especially in some of his hobbies and other activities. Professional dancing, motorcycling racing, skateboarding. His being an idol has made people not take him seriously (I think that's what happened at the beginning of SDC3 when dd got the fewest towels of all the captains from the start).

I think that can be frustrating because dd's initial interest as a teen boy was dancing. I don't know all the decision-making that went into him going off to get trained by Yuehua as an idol, but doing so ironically made it harder for him to get respect from the professional dancers that he admires.

That's why dd works so damn hard, often to the point of overwork. He's demanding of his team just as he's demanding of himself. This is a guy who puts himself into the hospital with how much he works (and then forgets about it afterward). He's wearing himself out in trying to prove himself, and I'm glad that he recently actually took a day off when he was sick. GG's a good influence.

This all takes us to another DD moment, one that is more fun to watch, and that is dd's whole thing with the waacker, Xiao Bao. During a battle, Xiao Bao touches the back of dd's head, and dd immediately stands up and grabs Xiao Bao, keeping a hold of him even as he tries to dance away. Then there's some minor waacking and, um, lip-licking from dd.

When asked at hotpot, dd explains that he was trying to get Xiao Bao to run out his time by keeping a hold of him so he couldn't dance. By touching him, Xiao Bao had challenged dd and dd responded according to street dance rules. DD seems confused by others' confusion because it's self-explanatory to him.

It is just...so very dd to be so single-minded about a thing that he doesn't even realize how incredibly gay it looked. Just, immensely fantastically gay. (I'll get back to this in another post, but I'm focusing elsewhere here)

Honestly, he's sometimes come across as being on the spectrum, though that may well be me overidentifying with some traits. But he has his special interests and while he may be generally quiet, he will start happily rambling if asked about motorbikes or legos or skateboarding (or if plopped down next to gg). He's incredibly fidgety and has a weird thing with stroking tassels.

I know people on the spectrum are more often associated with sensitivity to lights and noise, but there is variation in that. Some folks tend towards the opposite and end up being thrill-seekers.

Some of his mannerisms and social interactions ping me as spectrum-y. During the "JC's fake butt" bts conversation with the rest of the cast, gg characterizes dd as the type to bluntly go up to JC and ask him about the fake butt. He's probably not wrong.

In the bts, dd also has several moments of not being properly romantic by gg's standards or of being a little mean to gg and then apologizing later. This may be more of a young man thing than a spectrum thing, though. IME, guys that age are more prone to that sort of thoughtless behavior than guys who are older.

In any case, dd's reputation as aloof is surface-deep, as seen when he's comfortable with people. He's able to joke and play around with others once he warms up to them. I know gg is often seen as uniquely able to soften dd up, and I do think dd is distinctly more affectionate/playful with gg. But it's a difference in degrees. DD also seems comfortable with the other DDU hosts, with his UNIQ brothers, sometimes with the other SDC captains (though not as often), with certain dancers (like Bouboo and Yang Kai).

Heck, Yang Kai even lampshades this in SDC S4. The captains are recruiting their team members and they send gifts to the dancers to woo them. Even though Yang Kai is a definite joiner on dd's team, dd sends him a framed photo of the two of them from Yang Kai's win the previous season. He also gifts Yang Kai a charm for his newborn son. Yang Kai is touched and he comments that he wouldn't expect these gifts from dd because dd just doesn't express his emotions like this usually. (I wonder if dd had some help in choosing the gifts, because all his gifts are incredibly thoughtful in a very uncharacteristic way (sorry, dd))

So, yeah, I have so many thoughts about how dd shows him feelings. I'm not super-attached to the autism spectrum thing, so don't take it too seriously. Hell, don't take any of this seriously. I've never met the guy. I'm just wildly extrapolating from translated glimpses of him.