#but also the problem with the is that they will blindly accept any kind of those things

[jeremys-stash]

y'all saying "an anti wants to be on the AO3 board blablabla" and like... yes, the woman wants censorship that will bring a lot of problems, but also you're stating that you're pro here. You're stating that you don't mind people shipping incest, child/adult and other stuff.

I do get that censorship is bad, especially since you always have to do a case-by-case for the work depending on how the story is told etc... But also if you complain about "antis" then you're "pros" and therefore your speech is unreliable because you yourself have the same blindfold that you're complaining the other has; which is to be blindly pro everything with the others being blindly anti everything.

If you can't get nuance, I don't trust you nor your judgement.

[chuuyasheaven]

RAAAAAAAAH idk if this counts as an ask but this specific scenario has been marinating in my mind for WEEKS and i think you might enjoy it :3c

to put it shortly ive been thinking of hot-headed reader who has trouble containing their temper (im not projecting whar do you mean) x chuuya (established relationship) that goes from angst to smut…. teehee

basically chuuya and reader begin arguing bc i hc that EVEN THOUGH CHUUYA IS EXTREMELY LOYAL AND DOTING TO THE ONES HE CARES ABOUT…. his temper often gets the best of him. Recently, chuuya had been very busy, and reader knew that, and continuously made an effort to help him in whatever ways they could, be it making dinner/lunch for him, offering to help with paperwork, etc. BUT thing is.. chuuya isn't really noticing this and treats them like a nuisance. He hasn't said anything outright insulting or upsetting, but he treats reader so differently, like he's silently blaming reader for his own temper and mood. He doesn't even call them by their nickname/petname anymore, everything feels so distant now.

So in an attempt to yk, NOT give up on their relationship, reader decides to confront chuuya about this in a calm manner, but he blindly lashes out and reader is NOT having ANY of it… cue a petty back and forth between him and reader, and reader gets out of the house to cool off and meanwhile chuuya finally comes to his senses. He tries to reason with reader when they come back, but they end up doing exactly what chuuya did to them, dismissing him and not accepting any form of half-assed apology. and so,,,,,, chuuya tries to make it up to reader,,,, if ikwym :3c

cue chuuya eating out reader like his life depends on it /jjj ((THIS IS SO LONG LMAO IM LITERALLY SOSORRY))

"You're not getting tired of me, are you?" // C. Nakahara

Summary. Recently, Chuuya has been kinda distant lately, mostly due to his work. This also resulted into you mostly overthinking— what if he isn't at the office all the time just like says? With this thought at the back of your mind, you tried to make an effort to be nice and caring as possible, only for Chuuya to decline the food you make him, denying any help you offer and barely spending time, which made the thoughts even more scary. When you can't take it anymore, you snap, at first he didn't get what your problem was until he thought about your earlier attempts. Now driven with guilt, Chuuya wants to assure you're the most important thing to him and makes up for his actions in the process.

Tags. Chuuya N. / afab! Reader, the summary pretty much already tells the story, angst to smut to fluff maybe, miscommunication, Reader prolly has anxiety, swearing, ooc! Chuuya, suspicions of cheating, Chuuya didn't notice at first but it's okay he'll make it up by licking pussy ^_^, might be cringe, short too idk, Reader might be KINDAAA based off me, petnames (baby, doll, darlin', sweetheart), oral sex (afab! receiving), praising, overstimulation? , p in v, who knows maybe i fucked up the ask and wrote smth else, for the first time ever porn WITH plot, might have a rushed end, might contain grammar errors, etc.

"Hey, Chuuya, wanna eat? I made your favorite!", you said with a nervous tone painted in your voice, which Chuuya didn't really notice. "No, baby, I can't. Sorry, maybe next time?", he answered without even exchanging looks with you, just doing his paperwork as if it was more important to him. It's been like this for several days already and you did nothing but trying to help Chuuya to make things easier, but he didn't budge. You slowly started to get annoyed and just walked away to eat by yourself, silently.

With all kind of negative thoughts which caused you to overthink. These "thoughts" didn't leave you alone since he's become more distant. What if he's losing interest? What if he's not always late in the office? Am I annoying him and a burden? After you finished eating, you just put his plate into the fridge and sat alone in your living room. Some while later, Chuuya came to see you for a few minutes before returning to work. He tired hugging you but you rejected it. Confused, he looks at you before asking. "What's wrong, doll?", did he seriously just ask you that? After pushing away for the— what? The millionth time for his work? At this innocent question you snapped, well, not really but you were beyond pissed.

When Chuuya told you that he was probably busy for the next days, you understood, at first. Knowing Chuuya, he could make some time for you in between, right? He was your really loyal, sweet and loving boyfriend, caring was he too, of course Chuuya should be able to make atleast a little time. And to his credit, he did, at first. He took breaks in which he spent time with you, cooking your food with you, and also other activities you guys normally do. But with time, Chuuya got more and more work and spent less and less time with you. You also understood at first, and trying to be a good girlfriend, you tried to take some work off his back by doing some paperwork with him, only to deny you. Don't get Chuuya wrong, he appreciated it, but he'd rather do it himself. You understood, leaving him be, but then he started to work late, staying behind in the office. That's when you started to overthink a little. You really didn't want to let you thoughts get to you, Chuuya is loyal and so loving he would never, right? Why was he even staying so late in the first place? Was it because you constantly asked him to help to the point he wanted to work in the office at work? These thoughts would slowly consume you later on, and instead of speaking with Chuuya about it, you kept it to yourself, you didn't want to annoy him anyways. It's been 3 days later and he didn't even say a single word to you, just work, work, work. Were you even Chuuya's top priority at this point? You just let him distance himself, in hope of him noticing your presence. All this did was make the situation worse, to the point where you cried yourself to sleep at night feeling unwanted. Did Chuuya finally notice? No, his head is still drowned in paperwork. "Chuuya, do you have time right now?" — "No. Go do something else, doll, I still have work left." His tone had some harshness to it, a hint of annoyance too. But maybe it was because of the stress because of work. "I could help him maybe.", you told yourself, you don't want him to overwork himself, has he even eaten today? "Well, maybe I could help with the paper—" — "You can't, so please go. I still have a lot left." — "But I could—" — "Just go, I'm busy. I can't really talk with you 'cause you're gonna distract me." What a reason, but you can't let him push you away now, can you? "Chuuya, please, I just wanna help you—" — "Just leave me the hell alone and do something else. Look, I love you for trying, I don't need your help the only this you're doing right now is distracting me." "If you say so." Was all you said before leaving his home office without saying another word.

That was the last time you talked to him during these days, but today, was the day you finally snapped at him for pushing you away all these days. And for what did he push you away? For trying to be nice and take some shit off his back? "What's wrong?! What's wrong is that you pushed me away for— what? A week and a half?!", you explained with anger behind your voice, which Chuuya wasn't familiar with. "Doll, I didn't push you away—", before he could speak you went on. "Stop with the bullshit. Whenever I tried helping with anything you always denied me! I can't do this anymore.", you said with a crack in your voice, now Chuuya slowly got pissed too, was it his fault for having an asshole of a boss?

"Do you think I want to do this? Who in the hell would participate in such work as a fucking joke?!", he said rather louder than you. "Your damn work seems to be more important that me, when was the last time you looked me in my face?", you stood up from the couch. "You wouldn't even know what to do!", "I could've if you took some fucking time to explain!", you shouted back, this is where Chuuya might have lost his temper. "Why the hell should I? You won't even understand when I tell you to leave! I'm sorry if the world doesn't fucking revolve around you, some people have other priorities?!", his voice got angrier and louder.

"Appearently I'm not your first priority, which is what I'm supposed to be?! I just wanted to spend time with you, but if I'm so fucking 'distracting' then I'll leave!", "Oh, so now you can take a damn hint?", he called after you tried to walk away. "What?", you stopped and turned around to face him. "Fuck you, then. I'm done, go do your work which is more important to me! All I was doing was to try—", "I don't give a fuck if you were "trying" shit! Just fucking don't because it won't matter anyway all you're being is annoying and desperate.", Chuuya shouted at you.

"So I'm annoying you now?", you said, your voice going quieter. "Yeah, with the way you were constantly up in my shit. You're not the most important thing right now, just stop trying to stress me more than you already are.", when he said that, you were facing the floor, fighting back the angry tears that were building up. "Alright, go do your work. I'll leave you to it.", you muttered, walking towards your door to take a walk. Chuuya just tsk'ed and went back to his room. It was quiet in the apartment, Chuuya was working on some papers left when he thought about your earlier argument. Wondering why you started it, he thought about what you said and slowly realized that what you said was true. He has gotten more distant, he was a little rude to you about leaving him alone and barely paid you and your attempts to help attention.

Knowing he probably fucked up in those past days, hurting your feelings and calling you 'annoying and desperate' probably caused the biggest guilt he ever experienced. Chuuya tried calling you but you hung up instantly. Okay, reasonable. The second time he called you took you're time to pick up. "Hey, baby—", "What do you want?", you asked coldly. "I thought you wanted to be left alone.", Chuuya could hear the pain in your voice. "Look, darling, you know I didn't mean what I said. It was the stress—", you really didn't wanna hear him right now, especially his excuses. "Sorry, Chuuya but I don't really wanna talk right now, since I'm annoying you anyways, talk to you later.", before getting another word out, you hung up. Chuuya just took deep sigh and thought of ways to apologize and make it up to you.

You first left at 6pm but returned at 8pm, you were a little tired after walking a lot so you looked forward to lay in your shared bed, alone again probably. You changed into Chuuya's shirt just like you have been these last several days for some missing closure, not forgetting your shorts before you sat on the bed to be on your phone. Not even five minutes later, the door creaked open, revealing Chuuya with a guilt driven face. "What?, you asked him once again. "Can we talk, please?", you just stared at him before nodding. He sat down on the bed, patting the space next to him, you moved to the edge of the bed to sit down next to him.

"I'm sorry,", Chuuya started. "I'm sorry for neglecting you these past days, didn't mean to make you feel like a burden.", "So you finally got the hint?", you ask sarcastically. "Baby, I mean it. I shouldn't have priotized my work over you and pushed you away during it. I never wanted to feel unimportant.", he held your hand now, gently caressing it. "The stress made me act this way probably and i shouldn't have lashed out at you. You forgive me?", your gaze was still as cold. Chuuya just pulled you close to him, finally after a week, this made you realize that you missed him more than you thought.

Chuuya stroked your back, kissing your forehead first, then your cheeks, and lastly, your lips— those lips he hasn't kissed for something which felt like an eternity. He just wanted to make it up to you one way or another. "Lay down, dollface, wanna make you feel good.", Chuuya said to you while he was holding your chin. "I haven't fully forgiven you yet, y'know that, right?", looking away while you said this, Chuuya just had to chuckle. "You're gonna when I'm done with you, trust me.", you rolled your eyes and just laid back like he wanted. Chuuya moved himself between your legs, removing the shorts and panties blocking his path and letting your legs hang over his shoulders.

"No need to tense up, pretty, jus' relax,", he whispered, pressing kisses to your thighs, never breaking eye contact. Those kisses started to get closer and closer to your cunt, which was waiting for his tongue. Once his mouth got to it's destination, Chuuya started his work. He ate you out like his life depended on it, but he made sure he won't make a big mess. You where quietly moaning, trying to not be heard by him. "Why so quiet, sweetheart?", he lightly teased, you just looked away again. "C'mon, look at me. I wanna make you feel good, remember that?", you looked back at him, your cheeks were slightly flushed and lust was filled in your eyes. Chuuya dived back in and kept his eye contact with you, looking at you while you try to bite down your moans. This only made him suck on your clit, which also broke your silence.

It didn't take long for you to finish with Chuuya looking at you while pleasuring you. As you came on his tongue, still breathing unsteady, Chuuya got up between your legs. "You're so perfect like this, darlin'.", he whispered before kissing you, you could loosely taste yourself on his tongue. While he was kissing you, he freed his cock out of his pants. Chuuya stopped kissing you for a second to insert his dick inside you. He stroked your folds with his tip to catch some slick and entered almost easily, as if your cunt was sucking him in. "Fuck, I forgot how good you felt around me. Forgive me for neglecting this perfect— oh, fuck!", he cut himself off by starting to thrust.

If you weren't loud earlier, you definitely were now. Chuuya was kissing you while being inside you, thrusting while his lips were on yours, whispering "I love you"s and apologies to you. "You're so good for me, fuck— I love you so much.", his thrusts got sloppier, meaning he was close. Your arms were thrown around his neck as you threw your head back, you could feel your upcoming orgasm. "Chuuya— shit, 'm so close, please don't stop!", "Wasn't planning on it, you feel way too good for that, baby.", as your cunt clenched down around him, he surprisingly moaned, instantly cumming inside you. He thrusted once more and that's when you came undone a second time.

"So. . did you change your mind, doll?"

@moth-of-mythos // @pretendtobesick04 // @alastors-deerest // @shi-nakano // @samutoru // @munnaitorei // @sjsnsidream // @shuwyyx // @skelitea // @xaviawinter // @cvidy // @cherrytreegrove // @skk-lover // @pe4rl-diver // @walking-simp

Sorry if ur tag didn't work 😕 also sorry if I fucked the storyline up

[sgiandubh]

What makes a very mature and educated woman confuse the charisma of Jamie and Claire and fall behind the illusion of Sam and Cait?

Look at this picture and many others, look at Cait's smile and the happiness in her eyes

Look at the color of Tony's lips, I don't need to continue

Below this picture are many pictures of them from many years ago

This man has been a reality since 2015, so let us accept reality even if we do not like it

Note: I would love to read everything you write aside from Outlander and S&C

Dear (b)Itchy Anon,

Ah, yes. You folks are definitely a very predictable bunch, because you simply cannot help yourself and just have to do it. Every. Single. Christmas. Eve. For reasons transparent enough to make you & your kin instantly unlikeable.

I was just thinking, the other day, believe it or not. I was thinking of the disingenuous way you - or someone like you - engaged with @cb4tb on another Christmas Eve and told myself: 'I bet the farm this year it's going to be me'. And here we are, with a rather long - and also, rather curious- comment. What am I going to do with you, Anon? Just write a rather long and ironic answer to your delirious rant, what else?

Calling me 'very mature' made me spit my Pepsi - always better in Romania than the eternal Coca-Cola - and I have to dubiously and cheaply congratulate myself, too. In about six months, you were forced to transition from 'Christ, shippers are stupid' to 'Golly, some -if not most - of them really are educated people'. An apparent paradox that never made you question your surroundings.

For instance, I do not need to wear a turban, sport a cigarette holder, rent a garish tent and call myself Miss Cleo, in order to tell with eerie precision English is not your mother tongue, either. You still do have a big problem with phrasal verbs, because you couldn't have possibly meant I 'fell behind the S&C illusion', but rather that 'I fell for that illusion'. You see, falling behind is 'failing to do something in time' or 'being late with a due payment' or 'being unable to make the same progress as one's peers'. We, shippers, naturally have this kind of superpowers. And seasoned bullshit-o-meters, too.

For your information, I haven't. I explained it at length. There is no possible way to do it if one uses common sense and street smarts only. What I did see, along with thousands of other people, mind you, had absolutely -forgive me, Father, for I am about to sin again - fucking nothing to do with Seamus and Sorcha. I mean, d'oh - is this your best argument, Anon? That sad, wilted talking point? Wow. Just wow.

Then, you totally lose control and take The Scarecrow out of the closet (yes, pun totally intended), in the hope you'll make me screech with dread & horror, I suppose. Exactly which one of the five to ten max Tait pics am I supposed to look at? The one at the marathon, where he checks her pulse? The one in Australia, when he pitifully dangles that stick on a beach? The one with the flute? The fist-in-hand one? The one at this year's IFTA, where she looks through him and he begs for a smile? I shall never know, because you do not add any picture and since I am not Miss Cleo, there's no way I could ever guess. Instead, you describe Neverland in Technicolor, lips included (so help me God, I never looked at McIdiot's lips: I take pride in being mentally sound). Indeed, there is no need to continue, Anon, lest you would insist to ridicule yourself.

This man has been a (questionably) useful prop since 2016, in order to give credence to a narrative. You all know it. You all deny it. You live in a parallel reality, currently embraced by PR. Amen. That does not give you the right to police this fandom and no, your derailed zeal will not get you any Brownie points from C.

Speaking only for myself, I will tell you one last time: I will never blindly accept a convenient compromise fiction just because TPTB and/or PR tell me so.

Note: I doubt my writing interests you. I really do, because I don't deal in fanfic. And even if I am an Oriental, know flattery never worked with me. In fact, I can't stand it.

It's Christmas. Take a break from all this pathetic hatred, Anon: if you have but a cell left of humanity in yourself, you can't possibly be proud of this message and there are far more interesting and meaningful ways to spend this special day. He came for you, too. And that is the most important thing in the world, right now.

[timdrakecoffeemug]

People just want Bruce to adopt Billy bcs of the bat-son joke (which I do find hilarious too, don't get me wrong), but I truly think Billy would completely refuse to that if Bruce ever mentions it.

If much, he'd accept Bruce as some kind of mentor in the superhero business, but Billy would state clearly that he already has a father and a family, the Vasquez offer him the kind of stability he has lacked off since he was a child. Freddy, Mary, Darla, Pedro and Eugene did make an effort to make him feel part of the family since the beginning. Billy realised he was the one with high walls keeping them apart.

As much as I love the batfam, they're not stable at all !! There's always a problem keeping them busy, apart, in constant alert and they rarely trust each other or team up without thinking that the others will mess up the plan or anything. Billy in the other hand, as much as they fight (like any siblings do), the Shazamily is actually capable of teaming up and be coordinate, they trust each other blindly despite disagreements or fights. Not just when it comes to powers, Rosa and Victor also trust their kids and can speak with them respectfully and without malicious intent.

Keeping in mind that the Shazamily is less experienced than the Batfam; the new comics are that, new, and it's a fresh start for the Shazamily/Marvelfam so they're just learning how to live with their powers and the responsibility they have with Philadelphia/Fawcett city. Meanwhile the bats have a history of "replacements", distrust and conflicts that it's practically their main trait and are almost incapable to team up between them because they all want to be leaders, because that's the training they received.

I'm all up to a Shazamily and Batfam working together or befriending the other, but not Billy being taking in by Bruce.

Ofc any other option in the topic is respected !! In my personal headcanon, I think that, as much Freddy loves his family, he wouldn't doubt a second before at least choosing to experience a day living with the bats (he'd come back to the Vasquez quickly tho)

[ahoppingmagician]

Stolitz Rant

Now before I shit on the ship and Stolas' whole character, I have to give Spindle Horse some praise. Seeing Blitzo go off on Stolas was like eating your gran's food, comforting, something that you waited for, and fulfilling. Blitzo pleading like a desperate animal for the book was actually very potent, I won't get too much into my life but I have done things similar for people in my past to stay even though it was a dysfunction mess.

Alright that's my little hat's off to you Viv. Now let's get to my problem with this ship.

Unhealthy in a Bad Way

It's unhealthy. Now that inherently isn't the bad thing, now before you judge me too hard, I'll explain. If a pairing is presented as toxic that's not my issue but rather how it is handled. Stolitz isn't really presented by the show's narrative to be a horrible mess that should of died as soon as the two grew apart in their adult life. Instead it is presented like a us verses them. Romeo and Juliet type of romance. Now it doesn't really work that way because of everything that one side has done.

Stolas Sucks

I hate this fucking rich bird man, he was such good villian potential, until someone named Vivziepop got to attached to him, and tried to change the story for him to be a hopeless romantic who has a tragic home life, a damsel in distress who needs his knight in shiny armor to save him, instead of what he is a creepy rich man taking advantage of someone, and is definitely just seeing Blitzo as a toy in every since of the word.

If Stolas wants Blitzo to fuck him then it's fine because HE wants it. If HE decided that his daughter needs to be around someone who has ruined her family then she will because Stolas wants it, not even bothering to ask the man in question if he's comfortable with that arrangement. Blitzo doesn't like how he treats him, doesn't matter because Stolas likes it. HE doesn't want Blitzo to have the book anymore and Blitzo will just blindly accept it because that's what Stolas wants. This man with a child acts like a whiny little baby because the man who he has harassed, stalked, coerced into having sex with him, and treats like some kind of exotic pet, doesn't trust him when he gives him the stupid crystals because it goes against want HE wants to happen.

All of that was to point out how self serving this dumbass is.If Stolas wants it to go that way it just will because he deserves it after having an abusive wife. Now abuse is a serious subject, but it's clear as day that Stella was made to be abusive to make Stolas seem understandable. Also doesn't help that the story neglects to inform you that Stolas and Stella had Octavia at 19 and were both victims of the higher class by being forced into this marriage at like 16.

My Big Problem

Now I'll get into the whole contract to sex thing and how morally backrupt he is. This rich man knew how vital that book was for his obsession's business, to the point that he was literally stealing it from him on his birthday. Now like a reasonable man he kicked him out and never made any terrible decision ever, sadly no he fucked him and really liked it. So sometime later the bird man was in his bathtub and called his side piece, while Blitzo is in obvious distress he gives him an offer and won't shut up till he verbally agrees, which the imp did. Now what part of this is romantic? Or even sexy in a taboo way. Like what in the Wattpad is this arrangement. This feels like a ripoff of a book that just shows a toxic relationship like it's suppose to be good, Fifty Shades of Gray. A similar dynamic to our two men here weirdly enough. Which originally was a fanfiction. Now my dear reader like I said a toxic relationship in media isn't inherently bad, but if it is written badly then we have a problem. Why? you may ask me. Simple early teens watch this show, edgy kids watch this show. I personally think kids are fucking radical little guys, but they are also easily influenced. A show that paints this unhealthy relationship as good and worth all the fighting, that it is worth all the heartbreak and trauma because one day it might get better, key word might. For some viewers maybe it was their first gay relationship they were exposed to. This could shift the way they look at LGBT+ relationships as more taboo or sexy instead of it being just another relationship.

Now I'll wrap this rant up, next will be M&M relationship a d how I think it has some accidental toxic underlining, hopefully I can also get my solutions to this and M&M out today aswell.

As always you look fabulous, I'll eat your least favourite organ if you don't say something nice to yourself today. If your having a not getting out of bed day, it's alright the world is scary and you can try again tomorrow.

[cosmicjoke]

I honestly don’t understand why people hated Armin or called him useless in season 4. Did they really expect a 19 year old to suddenly solve the world’s problems or suddenly make all the hatred and prejudice go away in an instant? Add that to the fact that Eren really made the situation worse by instigating a war on paradise island which forced the scouts to fight and having no other options except a genocide. The scouts couldn’t really do anything and were forced in a tight spot because Eren and Zeke planning. They expected to Armin to just flatly become a murderer with no second thought. What the hell was Armin suppose to do? What kind of genius tactic that he should’ve thought off that would solve everything?

also I think that if Erwin was alive, he wouldn’t solve anything either. The amount of people thinking that he would support genocide blindly ignoring his guilt and shame that Erwin felt by sacrificing soldiers lives for his dream which ultimately broke him almost near the end just shows the fandom don’t understand shit.

These people never have an answer when you ask what genius solution Erwin could have provided to save Paradis that Armin or Hange, or anyone else, was incapable of dreaming up. It's because there wasn't any clear or obvious solution, and even if there was, Eren and Zeke, as you point out, didn't give them the chance to find it, because they both decided that Paradis itself was expendable and an acceptable sacrifice in the pursuit of their little dreams, for Zeke, the extermination of an entire race of people, and for Eren, the destruction of the whole world. So... yay, I guess. Gotta' love those Yeager brothers.

Blaming Armin, or Hange, or Levi, or anyone for any of what happened is absurd and shows a level of judgmentalism and arrogance that's really hilarious. As if any of these people that whine about it would have found the solution themselves. The only people to blame for what happened to Paradis are Eren, Zeke and the Yeagerists, oh, and Yelena too. Fuck that bitch.

And Erwin never would have supported the Rumbling, and anyone who thinks he would have doesn't have the first clue about who he was as a person or a character. Like you point out, the people that try to claim he would have supported it don't ever want to talk about Erwin's extreme sense of guilt near the end of his life, nor what the source of that guilt is. The Survey Corps' entire purpose, originally, was to fight for humanity. That didn't just extend to the people of Paradis. They just didn't know of the existence of people beyond the walls, but still, it was for humanity that they fought, for humanity's survival that they dedicated their lives. Erwin's guilt was rooted in his belief that he had failed the soldiers who's lives he'd sacrificed for the goal of freeing humanity, because his own, personal dream was what was fueling him all along. So we're meant to believe that Erwin would have gotten over that sense of guilt and failure toward his soldiers, to the point he would betray everything they fought and died for by destroying the very thing they died for? Seriously?

People's stupidity knows no bounds, honestly.

[misti-chan]

❤ King x reader general romantic headcanons ❤

Note : And here it is! A nice anon and @kaizokuwritings asked for some King content awhile ago, but at the time we didn't have many informations about him! But now I was confident to write for him! So, hope you and everyone likes it!!

Also I try to find content for him, but almost found nothing, so if you want something specific for King don't hesitate to ping me! I'll be happy to write for him! ♥

After all he had gone through during his childhood, King is averse to anything related to socializing or people in general. He is someone with huge trust issues towards everyone beside Kaido whom he trusts blindly and thinks he’s Joy Boy, his real savior. So don’t expect him to trust you and be kind to you at first.

In the beginning, he would actually be cold and kind of sarcastic to you, as he doesn’t seem to care about other people besides, you know, Kaido. So it would be a long and bumpy road before King shows any kind of interest in you or deigns to look at you.

You definitely need to be patient and resilient with him as it would be hard to stand against his hard criticism. Indeed, expect him to criticize you every time you make a mistake. His harsh comments are not necessarily there to bring you down, but are on the contrary there to help you do better and to improve yourself. King believes in hard work in order to progress. So you would also need to be a hard worker, someone searching for growth, for him to get a slight interest in you.

I can also see kindness be something that would attract him to you. He certainly deems you as weak at least at first. But, since he was always beaten as a kid and feared as a man, King doesn’t know kindness nor understand it. If he doesn’t deem you weak he would think you’re trying to manipulate others by showing them appreciation. So, then he understands you’re being 100% true. It clearly intrigues him and attracts him your way. 

King may be hard and seen as heartless by many, but he is far from being emotionless. He believed in Kaido, and literally hoped for him to be his savior. Thus, when he felt his heart infatuated with you, he understood that he was in love with you, and that you were a new hope for his future, a better one. King doesn’t feel shame about his love for you, therefore he wouldn’t have any problem confessing to you. In fact he would be the first to make a step.

King is ready to get rejected since he knows about his reputation and his awful behavior, but ready to get accepted? Not at all. He would be totally surprised and a little moved to see that you’re ready to give him a chance even though he is far from being perfect boyfriend material.

During the dating stage, King would be on his tiptoes. He doesn’t know anything about dating and romance, so he would be kind of clueless in the beginning. But he is trying. He would give you your favorite flowers and compliment your progress, giving you tips to improve and encourage you to continue your efforts. However, he is a very busy man, therefore he wouldn’t have a lot of time to go on dates with you. Nevertheless he would try to make some time for you to take you on strolls around the castle. 

Indeed, he is a secret man and wouldn’t want people to know he is dating you. He likes to keep his life private, especially since it could harm you if people knew about you two. So don’t expect dates outside the castle.

Talking about secrets, you would be the only one allowed to look at his face. You are a new and important part of his life. He trusts you and wouldn’t want to hide anything from you. He really hopes you are as ready as him to share your experience as he wishes you to trust him. However, he would only show you his face in private , as he doesn’t trust others.

As for affection and anything related to touch, King is awkward. He was never touched with desire to show him love, as the only touch he knows is violent and brutal. Thus, when you began to show him your eagerness to touch him, he was reluctant at first. But you started to touch each other little by little, small steps by small steps. After some time and adaptation, King finally found himself reaching out for your touch. It is something that he considers relaxing and soul soothing.

The best part of the day for King, is the evening, where the two of you are eating together and telling each other your day. He loves to hear you talk about your tasks, your work and your colleagues. And if one of them has the audacity to hurt you, you can be assured that you won’t see them the next day. Your security and your happiness is one of King’s priorities. And he is so pleased to see you happy and comfortable in his arms at night, when you snuggle against him for his warmth. 

With you, King is happy and hopeful for better days, and a better life. He wishes that one day, you two could have a small house on a faraway island, where the breeze of the ocean would be the only thing to mess with you.

[chaifootsteps]

Re: Dave’s tweet about an indie award show.

I think it was well-intentioned but I absolutely agree with his new tweet about it that it should be more of a showcase.

WhTever people were being asshats in the replies can fuck off—but I think there’s a very real problem in indie and it’s kind of simple: indie is too personal right now. And there are layers to that.

All art is personal : indie feels more personal than mainstream because everyone has to market Themselves as an individual and being online means everyone has more direct or personal access to you : if you’re young or inexperienced you’re unlikely to have the professionalism or patience required to carry yourself or your project’s production which can result in a looonnnggg laundry list of potential spin-outs and drama.

You can look at video essays of just about ANY failed product/project/kickstarter and have a glimpse into what happens every time someone steps forward with a dream and no experience or maturity to handle the weight of it.

More experienced or generally mature/professional creators know how to handle their productions and their feelings. Such as Tracy, Goose, and Zeurel.

But there’s a MASSIVE population of too-young and/or too-inexperienced indie creators who are impatient and sensitive (and frankly there’s also people involving themself in the indie scene who aren’t creators, akin to “idea guys” who want to make their own “”studios”” or self-proclaimed “journalists” who want to capitalize on the indie interest via video essays.)

Basically what I’m trying to say is indie as a whole is fine but the current climate of the community is extremely under-developed and inexperienced and is comparable to getting really excited about the concept of surviving in a forest but only running in with a dream and a backpack of basics, without any of the physical or mental preparation or experience with survival skills to actually survive or to even enjoy it.

Anyway this was a long-winded way of saying trying to start indie events like award shows is well-intentioned but I don’t think the indie community is mature enough for that right now.

There’s like this unspoken expectation to support or include any indie production no matter what level they’re at just because they’re indie and if you don’t people take it personal and/or start shit-talking.

But the reality is vetting is still important. There are L O T of amateurs in indie who might mean well that can appear impressive with how high excitement and interest in indie is right now—but they don’t realize (or can’t accept that) they aren’t ready. They wanna make the dream happen NOW.

They aren’t actually seasoned enough to see their idea through, run their production efficiently, or carry themselves maturely.

A showcase is a much better step forward in my opinion. Unofficial awards and “top 5 indie series” type posts from random Twitter accounts trying to establish themselves as an authority/news network/hub for animation that are run by people either too unaware/biased/easily swayed, or far too young, are only creating unnecessary divide and isolated storms of drama.

Especially since people don’t realize most of indie is still isolated in its own bubble. “I can’t believe I got shouted out by this random Twitter with INDIE and NEWS in its name I’m so honored—“ and the post itself has very low engagement or has only been engaged with people already on indie’s side, it’s own bubble. I’m not saying the community can’t celebrate itself, just that it needs to be a little more self-aware and analytical instead of blindly trusting and outpouring their whole soul at every slight expression of interest because there are already small fires and spin-outs occurring that result from that very naivety.

Such as an “online convention” that popped up for indie series to join via a Discord server that turned out to be being run by a literal 17-year-old who then got called out for running it like shit and letting people post/say 18+ stuff despite it being in the rules to not do that.

CartoonBase which occasionally makes unresearched biased or interaction-bait posts about indie productions.

Or a 19-year-old running another indie news type of account that jumped onto the Ang drama without knowing the full story.

Sorry, this got long and rambly and kinda turned into a vent lmao. TL;DR we love indie but a large percentage of indie needs to calm down and slow down.

Nah, these are some very good thoughts. Thank you for this.

[collapsedsquid]

Key to understanding Rothbard on matters like this is that he identified himself as a "radical decentralist." He did not make simplistic arguments like "free markets will solve all our problems" and leave it at that. Nor did he think that — like some sort of Marxist — that only a full-blown version of his vision could better achieve the ends he proposed. On the contrary, Rothbard knew that even a move in the direction of truly free markets, through radical decentralization, was better than the centralized state that dictates to all local governments and private owners everywhere. Centralization cuts off every possible solution except the few accepted by the "experts" of the centralized state, and thus ensures that , if the one "official" plan fails, that there is no plan B, or way to prevent the problem from spreading throughout the one, giant national jurisdiction.

In other words, the current lack of decentralization prevents local governments, airlines, airports, or even individual states from having any control over movements between states or into airports. Such matters are all dictated by a single source: the federal government. Were a decentralized approach allowed, however, individual states, cities, airlines, and airports would be responsible for their own safety precautions. Moreover, those making the decisions, i.e.,  those in charge of safety in Atlanta and the Atlanta airport (as just an example), would also be personally affected were the precautions to fail.

Also, were there a decentralized system, it is unlikely that (in our example) were the Atlanta airport to institute precautions (up to and including a full travel ban) that all other airports and states and cities would blindly accept that the precautions were successful. Instead, travelers from Atlanta to, say, Denver, would have to again be subject to checks of their origins, state of health, final destination, etc.

Now some libertarians will say "but that's even worse than what we have now, where at least we have free movement once we're in the US." Now it's true there may be more inconvenience in some cases, assuming one's not already on some federal list (in which case your ability to travel by air is destroyed forever), but of course, this idea of some kind of one-stop-shop for disease control resembles the free market much less than does the decentralist model of redundancies and decentralized checks for disease control. In a totally-privatized society, each airport and local security operation would be likely to insist on checks for disease control. How this would be done exactly would be, as Walter Block often says "an entrepreneurial problem" to solve, but it would  nonetheless be likely that travel safety would be more complex in a privately-owned world. And in our case, it would also be more likely to contain epidemics since a failure at one point in the system would not lead to a complete system failure as is likely under the current system.

What would "President Rothbard" do right now? Well, it's reasonable to assume that President Rothbard would immediately lift all federal regulations prohibiting airlines and local airports from making their own decisions on controlling flights in and out, and who would be free to travel, and he would make it clear that localities, airlines, and airports are responsible for coordinating with other airports for security purposes. If disease were to spread within a particular state (say, Georgia) neighboring states would be free to cut off all travel from that state, or to cut off certain individuals from travel. President Rothbard would refuse to use the Justice Department to prosecute state governments that cut off travel of certain persons or of people overall. The edicts of the supreme court on the matter would be irrelevant since President Rothbard would refuse to send in the national guard and federal troops/police with assault rifles to force compliance with SCOTUS rulings.

Hope argentinians are ready to accept Freedom in the form of mandatory medical examinations whenever you step off an airplane

[vole-mon-amour]

6x18.

There is so much to unpack in here. First of all, imagine having a picture of your delighted boss as his contact pic on your phone. We all know they're friends, but Aaron is still their boss, the leader of the team. Unironically having such a picture on your phone & always being happy to see him speaks volumes. Having such close relationships at work is goals.

Second of all, the entire team recognizing that they are Emily's family. All of them (and David gesturing at himself at "She run to protect us", accepting his role in Emily's life without a blink of an eye. Yes, he's been working with Emily for years, but he joined the team after she was already there, and he still adopted her as a part of his own). However, Spencer (that barely has any close relationships (aside from Derek) and has troubles talking openly about his feelings) recognizing it makes it so much more special. Him straight up going, "This doesn't make any sense. We're her family. We can help." All of that after he opened up to her about his headaches. That kid really does trust her & recognizes her as a part of his people.

Third of all, they keep teaching me that if something wasn't said out loud, it doesn't mean it passed unnoticed. The way Rossi verbally explains about Emily's distancing, her secrets, just not being her usual self reminds me, once again, how good of a profiler he (and the team) is. That's why he went, "You know, you haven't been on vacation for a while. Think about it." He didn't want to invade her personal space and problems (because, if she was ready to talk about it, she would), but he did want to help. Most of the team going silent with her because that's how it works. Hotch asking her only once, "Are you okay?" after she was late for, like, third time in a week & leaving her alone after she dismissed him. It's how he treated Spencer after Hankel, too. It's how he recognizes his team's problems, but mostly chooses to stay out of their way because he believes in them and their ability to talk if they ever need to. That also makes me think of that time when Strauss wanted to fire Aaron, and Aaron went with a full speech on how actually good he understands every single one of them and how hard this job is, and how they all cope in a different manner.

It's only Derek that couldn't keep quiet during that month (and Spencer, at the very end) because he is that kind of person. Because if no one is going to try to do something about that, he will.

This plot-line with Emily & how her team reacts to her behavior is everything.

I usually don't mind spoilers, but I absolutely can agree that going in blindly has its perks with this show (and I don't want to know anything past where I am now). The way I cheered and sobbed like a fool after seeing her coming back. Aaron's little smile. Spencer starting smiling, too. Talking ahead, I couldn't believe she was talking, moving, and actually working with the team. I missed her so much. Seaver's lack of expression is understandable, but she couldn't replace neither JJ and/or Emily even if she wanted to. She can't possibly understand how much they mean to the team (and, frankly, the show and the fans). I am so excited and can't wait for the end of s6 when they both come back. <3

The way Derek was throwing a tantrum & David didn't take the bait even once. He was just a tired experienced old man that was so Done with this kid. I appreciate that about him. I appreciate him accepting people for who they are (and I'm mostly talking about Emily, 'cause he recognized that if she did something, it was for a reason, and a valuable one at that) & working with that.

I can't shut up about Aaron listening to Dave's opinions closely & you can't make me. The partnership is so strong with these two.

The humor in this show. <3

Once again, Derek throwing tantrums (tbh, i'd say he's being kind of a jerk here. Is she your friend or a stranger? It's understandable but I think she deserves a better credit.) David being "Emily is doing the best she can to stay alive, good for her!" And, most importantly, Aaron backing him up on that. "As illegal as it it, Doyle is ruthless & she should act like him."

The tears in Aaron's eyes & him being genuinely so worried for Emily. Characters that don't show any emotions but then something happens to their loved ones & they do >>>>>

These two exchanging pleasantries, too. "Emily said you were the best. I'm unimpressed. <…> If I'm the sociopath, I can't feel any empathy, correct?" — "You're not the sociopath. Doyle is. I though you were a better profiler." & him, finally, being impressed. Aaron rightfully earned his place in BAU and his role as a leader of the team.

The crossover I didn't expect to see, but I'm glad I got it.

[canichangemyblogname]

"So-- what-- you think the Israeli military is lying about the Hamas command center under al-Shifa?"

I do not have the strategic intelligence to disprove their claim because I am a lone citizen living on the other side of the world. I have no way to verify the claim. I know they have fabricated claims and evidence before to justify the mass murder of Palestinians. I know that counterterrorism is a convenient justification and convenient "in" that global powers will blindly accept. I know that violence is preceded and succeeded by propaganda.

And I also know, from my background and education in International Relations-- with a focus on terrorism, authoritarianism, and war, that separatists, militants, and terrorists are often entwined with the civilian population. They sleep next door. They might utilize community spaces. They drive on "civilian" roads. They buy groceries down the street. They do not have a dedicated military infrastructure the same way a nation-state does. So, they simply live and exist among civilians.

On Thursday, 26 October 2023, the BBC's Rebecca Kesby covered this in her interview with Lt Col Lerner of the Israeli Occupying Forces:

Rebecca Kesby (BBC): How is it possible to conduct these kinds of airstrikes where you know civilians are living? Lt Col Lerner (IOF Spokesperson): So, this is the challenge of modern warfare, especially against a ruthless, merciless organization like Hamas. Our role is to operate within the realm of the laws of armed conflict to distinguish between civilians, to distinguish between the non-combatants and the terrorists, and weigh out the military necessity of those activities in a proportionate way. Indeed, it's a huge challenge and, unfortunately, the images coming out of Southern Gaza are heartbreaking. But we can't not do anything. The situation where a terrorist organization has utilized all of the tools of government that they have. So, that is the problem we are facing. When they put their explosive drones, for instance, on the rooftops of their houses, they have no regard for whoever's living in those houses-- Kesby: But as you-- as you say-- Lerner: --but that does become the military target-- Kesby: Sure, but, ugh-- Lerner: --and we have to identify if we can limit the civilian impact. Kesby: Sure. But it is a pretty common tactic of militants to immerse themselves in civilian areas, isn't it? Does it justify, though, attacking them in those areas in the way that you are? I mean, it's the wrong tactic, isn't it? Because it's not working. You haven't crossed Hamas yet.

This is what most people don't know about counterterrorism strategies. Civilians and civilian infrastructure aren't collateral; they're often the targets. It is impossible to conduct a counterterrorism campaign without destabilizing a country or region and without excessive civilian casualties. Tragedy is the point, even though tragedy, destabilization, and disaffection breed extremism and encourage the use of terrorist tactics.

This is what I am *trying* to illustrate to people. The question is not whether Israel is or is not telling the truth. Getting into arguments on the meaning and intention of things is ultimately a distraction. Because the question you should be asking is whether the end (destruction of Hamas) justifies the means (collective punishment of the Palestinian people). I am trying to get people to question the idea that the label of "terrorist" allows a state to use any means necessary, no matter how brutal. Does a state actually have a legitimate claim to the use of any means of force against security threats? And should labeling a group "terrorist" allow a government to legally circumvent people's rights and end their lives?

I know there are tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip. It is a fact. I know they were dug to circumvent the 16-year Israeli blockade and have been primarily used to smuggle in water, food, underwear, and goats. I know that these tunnels stretch beneath the entirety of the Strip, under homes and schools and streets and refugee camps, etc. I am sure Hamas militants have used them to travel. The question isn't if a member of Hamas has ever used one of these tunnels for any number of different operations. The question is: does any Hamas member's use of a tunnel or street or community center or grocery store or apartment justify carpet bombing the Palestinian people, with over 8,000 dead and over 20,000 wounded (numbers as of Oct. 30)?

It does not. Nothing justifies bombing a hospital. Nothing justifies these kinds of numbers. Over 20,000 wounded. We're fast approaching 10,000 dead. Nothing justifies this.

The logic doesn't even add up. They are bombing above-ground apartment buildings and schools and hospitals to target *checks note* subterranean tunnels and command centers. Their tactics don't even work.

It is well-known-- at least among those in academic circles-- that modern counterterrorism strategies are wildly ineffective. But there are money interests involved in counterterrorism. In the US, think Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, or RTX Corp/Raytheon Technologies. There are also often land interests involved and capitalistic interests involved. For example, people are already discussing leveling Gaza to build resort towns. Israel has long talked about their one-state solution that they call “Greater Israel,” and prospectors are already salivating at the vast natural gas reserves off the coast of Gaza. “Gaza, the next Dubai, but only if it’s Israeli,” because people genuinely think the impoverished conditions inside Gaza are entirely the fault of Hamas and never the fault of Israeli apartheid or the 16-year Israeli blockade. “We cut off their food, water, electricity, and commerce. Now, look at how backwards and undeveloped they are! Bet we could do better with the land.”

"Terrorism" is used as a pretext, but involvement in terror-related occupation often has objectives other than stamping out terrorism.

I truly think nothing they are saying or doing makes any sense strategically or logically. Because these aren't strategic counterterrorism measures. These tactics aren't even part of a logical military campaign (if there even is such a thing).

"The Israeli State is not thinking beyond the violence necessary to centralize settler colonial and right-wing power and finalize its ethnostate from river to sea. It is not thinking beyond the mass murder that is needed to accomplish this. Genocide and ethnic cleansing are often about wealth, land, and power. Even the newly appointed minister of Israel’s emergency cabinet said that Gaza must be smaller by the end of the war because 'losing land is the price Arabs understand.'"

"We are watching a genocide unfold under the guise of 'counterterrorism.' This isn’t about Hamas, and never was. Hamas is a convenient excuse. This is about the destruction of the Palestinian people. This is about land. This is about [the] genocidal project of settler colonialism." (source)

[mejomonster]

Anon watching Love and Redemption here. OMG thank you so much for your incredibly thoughtful response. On the topic of misunderstandings, people get so heated and I was really looking for a more measured perspective so thanks for that. Also, your reply has me HYPE so I wanted to share some of my thoughts (I'm till ep 9 now)- I adore the romance but I also love the space this show gives to friendship. Minyan and Linglong being excited about reuniting w Sifeng and being just as hurt as Xuanji by his aloofness.

Xuanji and Sifeng both saving/protecting each other is just something I'm absolutely loving. Also, the inversion of gender roles- this was something that drew me towards the show, like Xuanji being on a traditional (male)hero's journey . But what you said about Sifeng's lover's curse being about purity/chastity and comparing Linglong and Jiang Cheng has my mind blown! I can't wait to see more tropes being turned upside down, already we had Sifeng defying the notion of all demons being Evil. Lastly, here's some spoilery speculation- Hao Chen definitely strikes as someone with an ulterior motive, he has some connection to Xuanji probably in their past life?

Is Sifeng the star of mosha maybe? I know some spoilers about him being a demon. Don't tell me though!

I see and appreciate you, life is just busy ToT

Okay so I'm not spoiling star of mosha but would LOVE to hear what you think once you find out -3-)/

I'm also curious how you feel about who the villain/s are and how those feelings change as it becomes more obvious who the villains are.

Also Mickey He, who was a hottie in Jade Palace Lock Heart, plays Sifengs sect leader legendary drama queen <3 which is a fun fact

I do love rhe friendships in this show. I feel the whole core friend group cares a lot for each other. If you've ever seen Good Omens, the friendships in that and the way of solving problems with love and desire to help also drew me to Love and Redemption.

Something you'll notice about this show and demons is... demons are used in this a lot like dixingren were used in Guardian. Which is very unlike the usual trope. The more demon situations play out in LaR, the more apparent it becomes they're not actually evil in any particular way, not any more than any human generally is, with some bad leaders just like some Sects have awful leaders, and then well. Extend that realization to the Heavenly Realm. This story does a lot to critique absolute power, following leadership blindly and what it means to figure out morality based on your own experiences and explorations versus just believing what you're told, and it does quite a job of using what you Expect each trope to function as/symbolize/get treated in this type of romance three lives xianxia story to comment on such things. Like. Sifeng is a demon. In this type show, like say Eternal Love, typically the demon is the second love interest who never gets the heroine. Who is inevitably corrupted or evil or pitiful and can never escape ultimately that he Is the demonic lesser "bad" one role. (Love Between Fairy and Devil actually also subverts this trope with the "demon" as the main love interest and hero, but it's definitely not the norm it is the exception and I love when this particular trope is changed like this). To extend this, in Eternal Love the "ultimate" bad guy is the Evil Demon King who wants revenge and to destroy the world. His princess and prince demon children might be better and have good intentions, but as his kids they get an extension of his bad ultimate fate. That can be contrasted to what Sifengs story will turn into later: how much does he bear suffering because humans dislike demons, Heavenly realm dislikes demons, despite whatever Sifeng has actually done (good or bad). In fact which demons even committed the kind of evils they're being punished for in LaR, and does LaR paint it as inevitable and acceptable pain they endure. Or as something that should NOT happen and is morally fucked up (like when Xuanji defends Sifeng and starts realizing how much she's been taught that is actually perpetuating harm and not helping innocents). In LaR when the star of mosha is revealed, the Evil Demon King from Eternal Love parallel, is the star equally painted as evil without a backstory? Is the star evil at all, does LaR paint the star as evil like Eternal Love would, or does LaR do something else with the star? Is it fair to assume just cayse the stars role is "evil demon king" that the star is actually evil, or was that just an assumption audiences were likely to make based on the usual tropes of these shows, an assumption that will be shattered and used differently. (There's so much this show does in terms of trope you expect versus how LaR will actually be using the character, which involves expecting the audience to Expect the usual trope outcome then instead LaR veers in a way different direction).

I absolutely love that Liu Xueyi was cast as Hao Chen. He does such a good fucking job and made me feel a Lot

A (minor) spoiler I am giving you is:

The show ends happy. I just wanted to put that out there because I know one never knows with a show like this

[cl0ckworkqueerness]

pinned post 📌

hi my name is jordan or robin, i don't really have a preference but i typically go by jordan offline and robin online

my pronouns are he/him ONLY, and please only use typically masculine-based terms (i.e. "man", "guy", etc) for me. you do not need to know the details of my transition or my body.

i am a transgender man, and although i do have a condition that some view as under the intersex umbrella (PCOS), i don't consider myself intersex personally-- although if you have it and you do, that's totally fine with me, as your experience is probably different from mine

I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL THEORIST OBVIOUSLY i'm just some guy in his early 20's who's throwing his hat into the ring so please don't blindly accept my opinions as fact. or anyone's opinions, for that matter. but especially that of a guy who's just now learning things and sitting solidly upon Mount Stupid of the Dunning-Kruger graph

i'm here to learn more about and give my thoughts on gender studies, as well as develop my own hypotheses, theories, and opinions. i would love people's input on their experiences, especially if they don't match mine. i want to learn as many sides as i possibly can to get a big-picture grasp on the concepts of gender, sex, and everything else that may be discussed here

this blog will be entirely focused on subjects relating to sex, gender, gender discrimination, trans people and issues, intersex people and issues, queerness, and occasionally sexual and romantic orientation. any other subject matter will be addressed as it relates to any of these topics (for example, how black trans people face intersectionality of transphobia and racism, or how neurodivergent people often do not have their gender taken seriously)

i am not going to critically engage with bad-faith arguments. if i am going to engage with them at all, then it is going to be public mockery or using a bad-faith argument as an opportunity to learn or speak about something related to it. if you step into my ask box, especially if you're going anon, you agree to whatever i may say in response to it being posted publicly even if that means making fun of you. if you do not want this, do not send an ask

i will NOT tolerate, under any circumstance, any kind of prejudice, e.g. transphobia (including, but not limited to, transmisogyny AND transandrophobia), interphobia/intersexism, or any other kind of prejudice, even if it is not relating to gender. yes, this includes androphobia, which very often comes with gender essentialism. i am NOT an anti-feminist MRA, so fuck off if you want to strawman me and say that i am

i will primarily be talking about my own firsthand experiences, which may include more mentions of transandrophobia than transmisogyny. i will do my best, though, to emphasize the equality of these struggles, because neither are worse than the other and they are both severe problems that must be addressed with serious attention, especially if either are coming from inside the trans community itself

under the cut are a few of my general beliefs. if you don't want to read through the rest, that's totally fine and i understand, this post is long enough already lmao

- * - * -

first of all, any of these beliefs may shift or alter over time. if that is the case i will regularly check this and make sure no edits need to be made, and if something conflicts with a post i made, please refer to the original post rather than this list

and also, all of these are opinions that i hold. if you disagree with anything, we can talk about it

with that in mind, let's begin!

to me, gender has no categories or boxes to fit everyone into. rather, gender is sort of an internal perspective of the self, which may or may not change over time, and is different for everyone, much like an internal fingerprint. you cannot tell someone's exact gender by their self-expression, nor simple descriptive words like "non-binary" or "man" or "woman". there is nothing prescriptive or inherent about any of these labels, and these labels are not and can never be "categories", and thus by nature are difficult to define. the closest i've gotten is describing a sort of "core" of a person which these words can describe, but everything connected to it can be of any nature so long as it supports and upholds the core. but this idea is very underdeveloped as of right now and i'll need to think about it

the presence or lack of gender dysphoria in someone has no bearing on someone's transness. that is to say, you don't need it to be trans, and you don't need to be trans if you have it. gender euphoria is an experience most powerfully felt by trans people, so if i were to explain what makes someone trans in very simple terms, it would be "experiencing intense gender euphoria with certain words, phrases, aspects of presentation, activities, or other stimuli". i believe there's more to it than this-- the idea that cis people may experience some form of gender euphoria is on my list of ideas to flesh out-- but generally speaking this is the belief i hold. this also means transmeds get fucked lmfao

bioessentialism (assigning inherent attributes based on sex) and gender essentialism (assigning inherent attributes based on gender) are always bad no matter for what purpose(s) they're used. no exceptions. this means i will not be seeing eye-to-eye with most radfems-- yes, even trans-inclusive ones-- unless they can actively challenge the notion of anyone having any inherent traits because of their manhood, womanhood, femininity, masculinity, or anything of the sort

sex, much like gender, is not binary. there are multiple different characteristics that don't just come down to chromosomes, and to define sex as purely chromosomal is beyond stupid because human bodies are more complex than that

gender as most see it in western society today is a social construct, however to me, gender is tied to one's sense of self that is built upon social interactions and culturally-constructed ideas, concepts, etc. that is to say, gender is who "you" are, constructed by how you interact with society

gender as most see it in western society today should be deconstructed and replaced with the idea that, basically, you can be whoever you want forever. anyone should be able to incorporate anything into their gender that makes sense for them, yes, even "weird" or unconventional things, including any and all pronouns that you use

everyone regardless of gender is hurt by discrimination based on sex, gender, etc. which means yes, men are hurt by misogyny too and the only way to eliminate systemic and social misogyny is to eliminate all systemic and social sex and gender discrimination

cant believe i have to say this. transandrophobia is a real thing. androphobia is a real thing. men can suffer in ways different than women but those ways are still very real. discrimination, prejudice, even bigotry are not exclusive to one, "most oppressed" group. it is not the fucking oppression olympics, get your head all the way out of your ass. baeddelists can fuck right off

all ideas that borrow from gender critical theory, gender essentialism, bioessentialism, or any other ideology that is exclusionary towards one or more types of trans people should NOT be portrayed as "progressive", nor should they be adopted by anyone who actually gives a damn about making a change for a better and more inclusive future. basically, do not sit at the TERF table if you don't wanna get called a TERF

people should be believed for the labels they define themselves with, because even if they're liars, what good does it bring to risk gatekeeping a real person with real experiences. this goes for sex, gender, sexual orientation, romantic orientation, so on and so forth. this also applies to everything else in my mind but for here i'll mainly be talking about it in relation to these things

some people's definitions of themselves might not make sense to you, and that's okay. there are some things that don't even make sense to me yet. but i choose to live and let live, and i think pretty much everyone would benefit from others doing the same. sometimes, what people say about themselves isn't really supposed to make sense to anyone but themselves. the human experience is a complicated mess in every other regard, so why is this any different

i'll probably end up adding more as i continue to think and process my own ideas. until then, that's basically everything i can think of right now

good-faith debates and challenges are welcome, although i might not respond to everything. i will try my best to keep on top of education and information, but i promise i will get some things wrong. in those cases, i wish to be better informed so that i don't perpetuate misinformation or poorly-supported ideas

and finally, in case you haven't seen my banner:

i believe that's everything! thanks for reading all this way, and i look forward to this experience

[mysticdragon3md3]

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6:14 AM 4/26/2023

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I still like to read El's fatal flaw as her unrelenting Resolve. The same ideal that's advocated by so much Shonen Manga and anime in general, shows off it's negative, flip side in FE3H through her. As I've said before, she never doubts herself, but that also means she never checks herself. She is always moving forward, unquestioning her path. In my opinion, it's also why she neither seriously considers changing her overall strategy, nor questioning the costs/"ends justifying the means". She laments the costs of her path, but she never lets it change her---which I think is the big difference between Dimitri's past of "villainous deeds" vs her past/present of villainy. (She's the villain of 3 out of 4 routes, the character designers put horns on her head and dressed her all in red like a devil, and then named her house "black" like darkness even though her house color is clearly red. FE3H did a lot to hint she's the villain. But that doesn't mean she still can't be the hero of her own story, and I think the FE3H devs honestly wanted that too.) I think it's symbolic that at the end of Azure Moon, she tries to kill Dimitri with the dagger that he had given her once in their childhood, which she says encouraged her to move forward, and a second time as adults, while Dimitri told her to use it to cut her own path. At the end of Azure Moon, El is defeated and Dimitri offers her a truce. But she is so myopically focused on her predetermined path, that she brings out the dagger that symbolizes her moving forward with her plans, no matter who/what she has to cut through or at what costs. And she uses it to try to kill Dimitri, because she honestly thinks she can still win. She can't see any other path for herself, besides the one where she wins thru force and conquest. But as admirable as Determination and Resolve are, in and of themselves, she demonstrates their tragic aspects by not even considering the alternate path of cooperation and drastically changing her strategy.

It's kind of ironic that she is so tied to her predetermined path of solving all of Foldan's problems through conquest, even if that path was determined by herself. Because she has so many moments where she almost sighs forlornly up at the sky, like at Gronder, and simply moves forward saying "And so we fight on", as if she's so sad about fighting all her old classmates, but helpless to stop it---or worse, willing to push down and ignore those feelings of dissonance and compassion, in order to make their deaths acceptable costs. And that latter is supposed to be "strength"??? El demonstrates a lot of good questions that the writers probably want us to ask, but blindly following her like she "did nothing wrong" deprives people from those productive questions. As I understand it, she has many moments throughout her route, of feeling bad for what she "must" do. But for all her "strength" in following her Determination and Resolve, she seems more helpless against it and powerless because of it. The ironic thing being that it is within her own power at any time to stop the war, cooperate instead, and/or pinpoint her attacks onto specific problematic authority figures (whether Rhea, the Agarthans, or those Faerghus nobility she mentioned, I think in 3Hopes, who were too tied to the Church). But instead, she is helpless against a predetermined path of her own making…knowingly, because she thinks it gives her strength.

(Not to bring up Sengoku Basara 2009-2011 again, but… This is just like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, thinking he has to prove his Resolve to himself, and thus his commitment to becoming "stronger" or his Resolve in being "strong", by killing the person he loved the most. As if killing those you care about are proof to yourself that you can achieve Resolve and walk a path towards "strength". But is it really Strength when you're killing off your compassion towards others? Making calculations weighing some lives as worth the nebulous "better future world" you're still speculating to make?)

Anyway, another thing I thought interesting was how each of the 3 main lords seem to represent different paths by contrasting each other.

People often say they don't understand the point of the Golden Deer, as if Claude's route seems too unrelated to the personal drama between Dimitri and El. But I think Claude was a vital contrast to El. Not only was he someone who was shown in his Supports to question himself, when confronted with being wrong, immediately pivoted to fix his flaws, but also when confronted with his blind spots, he took them in earnestly and head on. He is not someone who only finds Strength in rigid Resolve, but also in flexibility and adaptability. He also constantly reminds us that there are better ways than war to get even the dirty jobs done. I find it so strange that we have one lord, El, who acts like war/conquest is the only solution, while we have a prominent lord character, frequently reminding us that poisoning, subterfuge, and manipulation ARE A THING. To paraphrase an old ninja saying, a general killed in his bed in his sleep, is just as dead, as if you had sent hundreds of your soldiers to die on the battlefield, trying to take the general down. It is continuously ironic to me that El worked with subterfuge practitioners like Hubert and the Agarthans, and yet she is too set in her ways to consider making full use of such tactics.

The 3 main lords tell 3 different types of stories, which are made more interesting in how they clash and contrast with each other. El is on the anti-hero path in her route and the villain path in 3 other routes. She is in a tragedy story, because she refuses to acknowledge or change her flaws; she does not change/Grow. Dimitri is on a more typical hero or anti-hero route. He has a fall and does a lot of terrible things for a long time, but we witness his journey through that, towards repentance and redemption. He CHANGES and is the one forever bringing up his commitment to change and repentance. Claude on the other hand is on more a paragon story. He has already done almost all his Growth before the main story even starts. By the time he reaches Fodlan, he has already settled into an ideal of turning his tragic experiences into fuel for constructive change in himself and compassion extended outward to others, while not letting his past bog him down into sadness or obsession. And his plans to extend his compassion outward, also takes into consideration, respecting others' differences and accepting the hard work it would take to persuade dissenters without always resorting to violent force. He is already mature enough to not be looking at only himself and his past trauma, unlike the other 2 main lords. Meanwhile, we experience with Dimitri, his obsession with his past trauma, his reconciliation with his past trauma, and his eventual mature state of mind, focusing his efforts more on others than on his revenge, just like Claude. Meanwhile, El uses it as motivation for all her actions, which could be said to be pretty much revenge against the Church, the Agarthans, her past, the systems of Adrestia, and the whole world. She does all this self-focused mindset and actions, while refusing to acknowledge how she's centering everything in her world around her trauma and in a non-constructive manner towards others, thus still actually making everything about herself and her trauma. Meanwhile, Claude has already looked past his trauma and focuses more on others, and Dimitri's entire story is about his process of working to look past his trauma, to focus on others instead. As someone mentioned once, the majority of Claude's Supports are him offering help to the Golden Deer and solving their problems. Similarly, Dimitri takes on the mantel of king as a responsibility to serve his people, taking it as even more important than whether it's a position he deserves or if his past crimes can ever be redeemed.

I once said of Sengoku Basara 2009-2011's Date Masamune that his infinite Strength came from his heart being externalized outward. He seemed invincible because the thing he cared about most, wasn't obsessing over his past trauma or his own selfish wants---which he demonstrated in episode 1 he was willing to forgo for the sake of others. The thing he cared about the most, were his soldiers, the normal people of Sendai, the normal people of his entire country, who just wanted to live peaceful lives. There are only 2 times in that series when he actually puts his hand to his eyepatch, as if his traumatic lost eye was actually painful to him: When he worried about endangering the lives of his soldiers. A warrior of Strength and maturity, extends their concerns outwards, not centered on themselves. A general, waging wars to prove their own "strength" to themselves, to become "stronger", to avenge their past traumas, all while ignoring how it effects the normal people, who shouldn't have to be soldiers, is not a good leader. Whether Toyotomi Hideyoshi or El.

But since El is all about "the ends justify the means", why not interpret this by her own terms. She's doing all this horror, in order to establish a system that will supposedly be more beneficial for all. And that's where I think the contrast with the other main lords becomes interesting again. Claude is repeatedly said, within the canon text, to have the same goals and interests as El. Yet they contrast in their methods to achieve those goals. In a war story like Fire Emblem, it would be very easy, and often is the case of such stories, to just assume war as the only option. It's how the plot happens for the expected genre. But it's very interesting that we have a 3rd lord like Claude, who comes in to remind us that not only can conflicts be resolved through negotiation, but he is often spoken of (and in 3Hopes, shown) to be actually doing the hard work of negotiation with other authority figures, until he can convince them to his side. The best part being that Claude is flexable enough that we can trust him to be open to compromise, rather than rigid stubbornness in his positions. We've seen him admit mistakes and blind spots in his Support conversations. He knows how to meet conflict with a laugh, then actual practical argument points (see his Support with Lorenz), as well as pivot to integrate what he can learn from those that he has had conflict with. Even with people he conflicts with, Claude is always smoothing things over and encouraging cooperation. (Not just in his Lorenz support, but also in his Fire Emblem Heroes conversations with El. He is always luring her in with agreement, but then sliding in a contradictory point to consider, with the least amount of intimidation, until he moves the conversation the way he wants it to go.) Claude demonstrates that El's methods are unnecessary and methods more true to Compassion can achieve the same goals.

(And anyway, as the video essay "Edelgard Will Always Lose" by BOOFIRE191 noted, she is essentially creating the same system and similar problems as Rhea. A pure meritocracy always sounds nice, until you realize it's ignoring needed equity, for twisted versions of equality, while pretending external misfortunes don't exist, as if everyone in misfortune deserves it for not "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps". Or as Dimitri said, "It is the path of the strong, so it can only benefit the strong.")

Anyway, that was too much rambling about my problems with El. I guess I had stuff to get off my chest for a long time. As someone mentioned, Claude's flaw was being too secretive and still having a little more Growth to go, towards being as open to forging bonds with other people, as would have ideally better facilitated cooperation. Maybe some people wouldn't have felt the need to start wars if they were earlier and better made to feel they could collaborate with and trust others. Who knows? And Dimitri's flaw was his obsession with his revenge. We know that; we saw his entire Growth through his story. But that's as even as I'm willing to get about the 3 lords' flaws. I still have more problems with the Emperor, than the other 2 lords.

[kuuderekun]

Heroarchy is Fascism

https://mithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2023/03/heroarchy-is-fascism.htmlThe problem with Umberto Eco’s attempt to reconstruct a hypothetical Ur Fascism is that the actual Ur Texts of Fascism were never lost but were in fact preserved and celebrated, and Eco’s guess about what shared traits of the many 20s and 30s movements called Fascist were key to identifying it were in fact wrong.

The actual Ur Text of Fascism was the Heroarchy philosophy of Thomas Carlyle, I’m not the first to suggest this by any means, many Nazis during the 30s in both Germany and Britain saw the connection at the time.  But I feel there are lessons to be learned from this connection.

Now I have in the past made a big deal out of distinguishing Nazism from Fascism, and I still believe the differences do matter ,but learning to understand how much Carlyle is the key has helped me to accept that they are sibling or cousin ideologies and Carlyle is their Grandfather.

Thomas Carlyle is most famous for being the author of the Great Man Theory of History.  A theory of history generally discredited today even though its influence on historical fiction still lives.  That theory is itself part of Fascist ideology, Fascism at its core is about trying to identify the right Great Men of the present to put in power and then blindly follow.  But Carlyle didn’t talk about only that subject, his political philosophy he literally called Heroarchy, essentially a type of Monarchism but that claimed Meritocracy rather than the standard familial inheritance of traditional Feudalism.  And he was openly Racist and Antisemitic with even hints of Marcionism. 

During his own lifetime his writings and ideas were very popular not just within his own country of England but also in Germany and across the Atlantic in the former colonies, especially in The South.  Mussolini and the other founders of Italian Fascism may have been less inclined to explicitly cite Carlyle than their cousins in countries speaking Germanic languages.  Geroges Sorel’s philosophy is an important middle man in understanding how Hero Worship gave birth to Fascist movements in Romance Language countries, alongside Integralism.

Fascism and Liberalism both value Meritocracy but with different ideas on how that Merit ought to be determined and measured, the Left needs to reject Meritocracy altogether.  Understanding the role of Heroarchy in Fascist ideology also helps us understand why there is disagreement about if Fascism is Individualist or Collectivist.  You see while Fascism represent the Far Right on most specific policy issues relevant to the modern world, when it comes to Individualism vs Collectivism dichotomy Fascism places itself in the center, they believe the State needs all the people to be a single Body Politic, but they also believe those Great Men need to rise up to be the Heads of that Body. Modern critiques of the Great Man Theory often treat it is an individualist error but Carlyle himself was no fan individualism, not any Liberal understanding of it anyway.

CulturedThug is the name of a former YouTuber who was somewhat prominent in the AltRight as a self described Fascist, and unlike a lot of other self described Fascists who I don’t think actually understand the word any better than those using it as a generic insult, CulturedThug is very well read, if I had to give anyone the dubious distinction of being the contemporary Philosopher of Fascism it would be him.  I bring him up here mainly because I watched a video once where he lists his favorite movies, now most of them he did not explicitly claim to like because he saw them as Fascist movies that spoke to him as a Fascist, but the top 3 he did, and they were (I may be misremembering the exact order) the 2002 film Hero starring Jet Li, Conan The Barbarian starring Arnold Swarzenegger, and John Boorman’s Excalibur.  All three definitely are in different ways modern manifestations of the kind of Great Man Hero Myths that Thomas Carylyle fixated on, and so them being the kinds of movies to speak to modern Fascists shows fetishization of that kind of Hero Myth is still at the heart of Fascist identity.

This is not to say that all stories about Heroes are inherently Fascist whether they intended to be or not, a lot of this is tied to specific ideas about what makes a Hero that overlap a lot with Toxic Masculinity and fetishization of the Heroic Sacrifice.  But they are amorphous enough that you can create a fairly Fascist compatible Hero Myth even while trying to be Leftist or succeeding in getting lots of Leftist to praise the story you wrote. The etymology of the word Hero simply means Defender or Protector, that obviously is objectively good, it's the stuff people like Carylye wrapped up into the concept that is the problem.

In general I feel Anime definitely has very different ideas about what makes a Hero that I feel allows most Anime to be safer from these issues, especially when I look at how many of my favorites place so much emphasis on rejecting the necessity of Sacrifice.  And yet there are exceptions, everything I’ve said above in this post only adds to the reasons to be concerned about shows like Attack on Titan and Gate.  But actually digging into this Carlyle as the root of Fascism thesis has caused me to become self reflective about some characters and sequences I’ve liked in shows not usually thought of as being part of the Fascism in Anime discussion.

First is the infamous Grail Dialogue which is episode 11 of Fate/Zero. Iskandar is a very popular character in the fandom, you’ll be hard pressed to find a video essay on this Dialogue that doesn’t take the position that he “won” the debate, that his argument on what makes a good King is vindicated as the correct one.  Now my personal view is that the most correct position is the hypothetical fourth left unrepresented.  But my point here is that Iskandar’s position when you really break it down is Heroarchy, it is essentially Fascist ideology boiled down to its simplest expression, but because he doesn’t preach in a German accent wearing an SS Uniform countless viewers were actually swayed by it.

And the sad thing is even my favorite Anime Genre to refer to as Antithetical to everything wrong with western ideas of Heroism is not immune.  Yuki Yuna Is A Hero I have referred to as my favorite Magical Girl Anime in the past, and I still love the show.  But I’ve come to realize a lot of what happens in this saga is essentially the Stab-in-the-Back-Myth applied to Mahou Shoujo.  Any story so built around your Heroes Sacrificing everything for society yet being constantly betrayed by that society should always raise a red flag.  Now there are certain Anti-Fascist ways to read the story even when you're aware of this connection, but I felt it was important to bring up.

However the real reason I think it’s important to talk about this relationship between Fascism and Hero Myth is because it helps explain how a story can knowingly or not teach or reinforce Fascistic ideas in the story it tells with it’s Heroes even while draping it’s Villains in the cosmetic iconography of certain past specific Fascist regimes, or even explicitly identifying them with one.  You see in modern popular fiction the Nazis have been semi-disconnected from the original political project of the NASDAP.  Both actual Nazis and Space Nazis are in the popular imagination now just new Dragons to be slain by modern Heroes in making modern Hero Myths.  Sometimes they are even literally hoarding Gold just like Fafnir.

That’s my issue with the discourse surrounding the song Be Prepared in The Lion King, that film gets to be considered Anti-Fascist by default because Triumph of The Will is referenced during the villain song.  But the problem is this is a film where the villain is a queer coded “degenerate” member of the ruling class colluding with the foreigners who don’t belong in the kingdom, it’s a story where the villains upset the natural order of things but putting the rightful King back on the throne magically restores everything.  It is exactly the kind of Hero Myth that Fascists love. Basically if you're gonna have the main villain be a different "race" from most of their minions, it's really messed to then call them Nazis when your the one who just did a Nazi propaganda trope.

Even Casablanca I think needs to be criticized more, this is a movie where the actual reasons people today consider the Nazis uniquely Evil aren’t relevant at all.  As far as this film is concerned the Nazis main sin was invading and taking over other countries, where the principal Refugee in the story isn’t depicted as any kind of marginalized person but a White Man who simply opposes them because of what he believes in, whose beliefs themselves are not explored in depth either.  But if that’s why the Nazis are bad then the very setting of the film undermines any notion that the French have moral superiority, Casablanca was a French colony the actual indigenous people of which are not represented in the film.  There’s actually something deeply wrong with lionizing a defiant display of Patriotic French Resistance on soil the French themselves stole.

And yes all this also applies to Star Wars as well, after all Star Wars has become so married to the Monomyth thesis of Joseph Campbell, and modern criticism of Campbell has its roots in how much Campbell’s ideas also derived from Carlyle. Modern Internet Neoreactionaries have always seen themselves in the Rebels and their bad understanding of Socialism in The Empire, and I’ve already talked about why they aren't without good reason to do so.

Even in Andor which so many Breadtubers now think is so special, so good even compared to other Star Wars at being Anti-Fascist and Anti-Capitalist.  In episode 10 Luthen the character played by Stellen Skarsgard gives a speech to his informant that everyone has been simping for as one of the best Anti-Fascist Speeches of all time.  But to me it’s exactly that kind of monologue that should raise a red flag. It is a part of the understanding of the Heroic Sacrifice in the minds of people like CulturedThug that it’s sometimes your conscience, your very morality that has to be sacrificed.  And no I’m not against acknowledging that a resistance movement may have to do some morally gray things, that you can’t change the world without getting your hands dirty, but justify it with normal utilitarian arguments rather then preaching a Sermon about how you’re sacrificing your soul for the salvation of the future.

The current backlash to Harry Potter has helped open people’s eyes on this, the Slytherin/Voldemort ideology is coded as being Nazi like, yet the text literally contains Nazi propaganda in its depiction of the Goblins.

But before that and even still to an extent Breadtubers are only prepared to process the idea that a story could have Nazi villains but be counterproductive to actually opposing Fascist ideology when the problem was the villains being too cool.  And that was the basis of the freak out a lot of Leftists in the Anime Community had over Dies Irae in 2017, that yeah the Nazis may be villains but they’re cool sexy Bishonen villains who the Fujoshi are gonna turn into Ernst Rohms in their Doujins.

I’m not sure what I think about Dies Irae, I didn’t feel like I understood what it was trying to say when I watched it and now I don’t properly remember all of it, and fans of the VN hated the Anime as an adaptation to begin, I’m not gonna play the VN I don’t even play the VNs of Anime I actually liked a lot more than this.  But there were moments in there that as I recall them now make me wonder if maybe it was trying to be self aware about the very issue I’ve been talking about, acknowledging that these Nazis fetishize that very kind of story this genre of fiction has its roots in and was perhaps trying to say something about that.  Or maybe it was just pretentious lampshade hanging, IDK someone who understands the original VN will have to answer that.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Shamanism (excerpts)

From the book, The Korean Mind: Understanding Contemporary Korean Culture

Korean Sociologists say that the depersonalizing and dehumanizing aspects of Confucianism contributed enormously to the continued survival and popularity of shamanism because shamanistic rituals provided direct, immediate relief to many of the intellectual and emotional problems caused by the strict Confucian code of conduct….

Korean educational writer In Hoe Kim said in an article entitled “The Values of Korean People,” published in 1979 (Seoul, Munumsa), that the traditional shamanistic beliefs of Koreans had become identical with their most basic goals –a long life that was peaceful, mentally and physically comfortable, envied by others, and ensured continuation of the family line. But the very things that made shamanism an “easy” religion for people to accept and follow had a negative side that also fundamentally affected Korean attitudes and behavior.

Recent studies of shamanism conducted by the Korean Institute of Policy Studies (KIPS) say that shamanism promoted childish submission to the supernatural, precluded self-reflection, and discouraged any attempt to develop self-esteem, to improve one’s own character or habits, or to be the master of one’s fate and take pride in creative efforts of any kind. On the plus side, shamanism valued human life and human happiness and sought to maintain a harmonious relationship between people and the cosmos at large, from local nature spirits to the gods of the universe.

While the KIPS noted that the general influence of shamanism on people was that it made them passive and submissive, the flip side was that if their lives were disrupted by any outside force, regardless of its source, they were prone to blindly lash out with extraordinary violence.

The Korean Mind: Understanding Contemporary Korean Culture Boyé Lafayette De Mente    ISBN: 978-0804842716    Reprint edition 2012

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Shamanism is at the heart of Sun Myung Moon’s church

Sun Myung Moon – Emperor, and God

Holy Grounds and the Shamanic Guardians of the Five Directions in Moon’s church

Shamanism: The Spirit World of Korea Any understanding of the so-called New Religions of Korea would be difficult without some knowledge of shamanistic influences upon them.

Fear and Loathing at Cheongpyeong

The Moons’ God is not the God of Judeo-Christianity

Hananim and other Spirits in Korean Shamanism