#obviously interferes with objectivity

[deeplovelydark]

tags by @bijoumikhawal

this all tracks but like. soooo interesting to me

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[a-hazbin-reader]

OMG CAN YOU DO A ALASTOR X MOTHER READER WHERE THEY WAS TRYING TO HAVE ALONE TIME YK MOMMY N DADDY TIME BUT THE TWINS CAME AND RUIN PUSHING ALASTOR AWAY SO HE WON'T TOUCH THEIR MOMMY

👀

Alastor X Reader Headcanons

✅️Romantic

❌️Platonic

TW: Suggestive?, Alastor VS His babies, Alastor and his kids being possessive

Description: 👆⬆️

When it first happens, Alastor thinks it's adorable and can't help laughing at his silly children

He had come back from an overlord meeting and was eager to kiss you, pulling you in close

"How was the meeting, darling?"

His lips are almost touching yours, practically teasing both of you by denying that final touch

"Uneventful as always, my dear~"

Just when he goes to close the distance, you're both suddenly frozen in place, feeling little hands pushing you apart

You both look down to see your twins trying to shove Alastor away from you with all their little might

Their little faces scrunched up in outrage and concern as they try to break their father's iron grip on you

"Oh my~! It seems someone doesn't like it when I take their mother's attention~"

He's laughing and picking up the twins just to squish them between you and him, kissing their squishy cheeks

"BA!"

The second time it happens, Alastor is shocked, not realizing how serious his babies were about this

They're sitting in their highchairs, being fed by you when he comes up to kiss your cheek

His arm wraps around you and he rubs his cheek on you, not paying attention to the warning growls from his spawn

Or the way their ears fold back and they start bleating at him to get off their mother

He goes to kiss you, when suddenly, there's a wet slap of food hitting his cheek

You have to cover your mouth to keep from laughing, your twins already grabbing another handful of food

"Now now~ It's important to share with your pap-OH! That's not very polite..!"

It seems Alastor has finally met his match, running out of the room with his tail between his legs

The third time is when Alastor starts getting concerned, the two of you alone in bed

He just wanted some time alone with you after you two had put the twins down for the night

And you could hardly deny him with his lips kissing along your neck and strong arms pulling you against him

Eventually, his lips find yours, and the kiss turns heated with wandering hands starting to slide under each other's clothes-

When there's a cry from the baby monitor and you both are taken out of the mood, giving each other sheepish looks

"Not to worry, darling~ Watch as your capable husband puts them back to sleep~"

Alastor picks up the monitor and speaks into it softly, his voice usually enough to make the babies fall back asleep

Instead, there's the sharp sound of radio interference and an indignant shriek on the other side, making your husband's ears fold back

"I think I should probably be the one to put them back to bed..."

You give your husband a small pat on the head before kissing him, heading into the nursery for the night

The bed has never felt more lonely

Alastor never thought his own children would turn on him, betrayal truly is a devastating thing

SOMEHOW his children have gotten the idea in their heads that their mother isn't something to SHARE

He has no idea how they learned that

It looks like he'll have to do something he had hoped he would NEVER have to do

Talk about sharing his wife

With his children

But still

So he takes the children for the day, letting you have a day to yourself and kicking you out of the hotel

His twins are obviously a little miffed at him for sending you away, it wasn't a decision that Alastor made lightly

But without the object of their little obsession, then they're back to being his loving little babies

They're snuggling into him when he decides to try and explain why the three of them need to share you

"Now, your mother and I...we need time not only for ourselves but also for each other."

At first, the twins eye him with a dubious expression on their faces, little hands curling into angry fists

"And the three of us, we all love her very much, don't we?"

Then they start to relax and lean on him again, as if accepting their father's words

Things feel calmer when you come back home later that night, your husband and babies all practically glomping on you

Whatever rivalry they had going on before seems to have ended, finally being able to have some affection from your husband without being interrupted

"So...it looks like we're alone~"

"It would seem so, darling~"

He's chuckling and pulling you close, reaching back to lock the door behind him-

"Um? Alastor? There's a bunch of angry guys outside and..."

At least not by your own children

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

[read-marx-and-lenin]

alright.

I'll start with Lenin first, then move to Marx. Lenin was an autocrat and a dictator. There's no way around it. He was unelected and created a one-party state. This was due to the fact that the revolution was led by a vanguard, which the members of, once they succeeded in overthrowing the old government, could easily set up a self-serving dictatorship. He's not a Marxist, and he's not a Socialist.

Since Lenin obviously did not in any way uphold the vision of Marx, I'll tackle him separately. A (stateless) communist society does eliminate many hierarchies, but leaves the most coercive systems untouched. Those being: the hierarchy of the collective over the individual and that coercion required of industrialism. In a commune, one's individual vote is negligible, since the outcome is only affected by one person's vote in very rare circumstances. Once the votes are tallied, the individual is expected to conform to the decisions of the majority, and to accept the commune's laws and customs. This leads to the individual becoming feeling helpless and weak.

Secondly, Marxism fails to address the coercion required to make an industrial society function. In order to have products, you must have a payroll of workers to stand where they are told to stand and do what they are told to do and go home and show up to work when they are told to do it. Instead of working towards goals that are immediate, which directly affect one's condition (such as building a house to live in), one must do a task or set of tasks that ultimately has little to do directly with one's own material well-being. Instead, the hyperspecialized work required in an industrial society is made livable indirectly via trade. This leads to a dependence on the industrial system as a whole, which requires a massive amount of cohesion to function.

Humans are no longer permitted to act autonomously since doing so would be a hindrance to the system. Behaviors which are not conducive to the system are disallowed, but all unimportant facets of our life which do not interfere with the functioning of the system are permitted to grow within said limits.

Lenin was elected as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars by the Congress of Soviets a total of nine times before his death. His position was not one elected by the people directly, but rather he was elected by the congressional representatives of the soviets who were themselves elected by the people. You can argue that his position should have been directly elected if you want, but you cannot say he was unelected. Regardless, while the Chairman of the CPC was the head of government of the RSFSR, and later the Soviet Union, the CPC was not a one-person council and the council as a whole was subordinate to the Central Executive Committee, which was in turn subordinate to the Congress of Soviets. Lenin was not an autocrat or a dictator; he did not hold sole legal authority and the Soviet government had numerous checks and balances.

I see no reason to believe a vanguard party or a one-party state is undemocratic. The USSR was a dictatorship, but not a dictatorship of one person. It was a dictatorship of the proletariat, as the bourgeoisie were stripped of the right to vote and to be elected. You can object to this if you like, but I personally don't think that was a bad decision.

You seem to be arguing that Lenin was neither Marxist nor socialist because the nascent Soviet Union was not yet classless or stateless. Yet why should it have been expected to be? Communism is not something that can be achieved overnight, or even in one generation. In the meantime, there must be some mechanism for suppressing and overthrowing the bourgeoisie. No matter how democratic, how horizontal, and how people-oriented that mechanism is, it still constitutes a state insofar as it constitutes an organ for the oppression of one class by another. Unless you are arguing that the rights of the bourgeoisie should be maintained and protected, you cannot escape this fact.

At the point of achieving a stateless, classless communist society, I don't see why decision-making would necessarily be performed through simple majority vote. While it's rather pointless in my mind to be speculating about how a hypothetical communist society of the future might function, I think it's safe to say they'd be far more capable of exploring alternative forms of decision-making than we are now. In any case, the question of how a future communist society might function is entirely separate from questions of past and present systems of government.

You are right to point out that the industrial mode of production requires collective and specialized activity in order to function, but I fail to see what the alternative is. Humans are a social animal, our production has always been collective and we have always benefited from specialization in labor. The advancement in industry has made possible a reduction in socially necessary labor time, not an increase. It is capitalism and the profit motive that has mandated long hours and low autonomy in the workplace, not industry itself.

People are not inherently stupid or self-centered. They can understand very well the relationship between one sector of industry and another. You do not need to be building a house to understand how, for instance, the nails you are manufacturing will be used to build houses and other goods. You do not need to be manufacturing nails to understand how the iron you are mining will be used to make nails and other goods. The idea that it is alienating to be engaged in a task that is socially beneficial rather than merely individually beneficial is absurd.

You talk about social cohesion as if it is impossible or undesirable. But again, what is the alternative? An incoherent, fragmented society? No society at all, and people just fend for themselves as individuals? I fail to see how anything less than social cohesion is desirable.

You say that industrial society is coercive and prevents people from acting autonomously. I say, what does it mean to act autonomously? Humans must satisfy our basic needs before we can think about engaging in autonomous activity. If you are starving, you are compelled to seek food. If you are freezing, you are compelled to seek shelter. Individual freedom is subordinate to our material conditions, and only through improving our material conditions can we satisfy our basic needs and guarantee individual freedom.

If we are to have a society where the individual freedoms of everyone are maximized, then we must have a society which guarantees everyone their basic needs. Food, shelter, clothing, medicine, education, transportation, communication, etc. All of these must be secured before a person has full freedom to act autonomously. Improving the quality of these things and the efficiency of their production improves the standard of living and reduces socially necessary labor time, which allows for greater degrees of freedom.

You say behaviors which are not conducive to the system are disallowed. I do not necessarily disagree, but I feel you are intentionally obscuring the nature of such behaviors. What is “the system” here? The system is society. So a behavior not conducive to society is an anti-social behavior, a behavior that impedes or harms other members of society. Why should these behaviors be allowed? Is it maximizing autonomy and freedom to allow someone to steal or rape or murder with impunity? No, it is merely trading someone else's freedom and autonomy for your own.

You can certainly maximize your own freedom and autonomy at the expense of others, but if we are to live in a society where the freedom and autonomy of everyone is to be maximized, then there must be certain limits to individual behavior for the sake of others. Maybe someday humanity will evolve to a state where one can live in their own private world with maximum freedom to do as they please without worrying about impacting others, but until that day we will have to live in a society with other people and the social restrictions that come with that. Personally, I don't think it's such a burden to have to care about other people.

Society as it stands today is indeed imperfect and often oppressive. Socialist states in the past and present have yet to achieve the classlessness and statelessness that marks higher-stage socialism, i.e. communism. They too are imperfect and have restricted people's behavior in various ways, some I would argue are necessary, and some I would argue are unnecessary. However, I believe that socialism offers us the greatest opportunity to improve society as a whole and liberate humanity from oppressive structures. I believe that capitalism remains the central impediment to the advancement of society and the pursuit of human freedom. I believe that a vanguard party and a dictatorship of the proletariat have been the most effective means of combating the bourgeoisie so far. And I believe that the advancement of science and industry has been the most effective means of securing and improving the basic needs of the people as a whole.

My question to you remains: what is the alternative? You can criticize all you want, and thoughtful and rational critique of all things is both important and beneficial, but unless you have an alternative to socialist revolution and industrial society, then you're just throwing the baby out with the bathwater. How are we to combat the bourgeoisie without a vanguard or a state? How are we to provide people with their basic needs without industrial production?

[thewertsearch]

?GG: the frog we need is nowhere to be found in the medium ?GG: it was on earth!

Well, that sure isn't a normal frog. There's a lot to talk about here, so let's get started.

First of all, I don’t think this is a First Guardian.

Yes, it’s a white, glowing, obviously supernatural animal, but none of the Green Sun’s calling cards are present. There’s no aura of lightning surrounding the frog, nor are its eyes missing, and its body isn’t flickering into other locations, the way Scratch and Bec do.

Whatever this thing is, it's something we've never seen before.

It was notably teleported directly on top of the mini Battlefield - or, more precisely, it was sent to the real-world analogue to the object’s position on Prospit.

The implications are a little unclear, but the two are clearly connected in some way. Is the Final Frog the same entity as the Battlefield object, or was it sent here to interfere with it?

Second of all – yeah, someone sent it here! Just like with Jaspers, we’re seeing this little guy’s story out-of-order, and he'll be created later in the comic, under unknown circumstances.

This could be very good, or very bad, depending on who sent it.

If the sender was trying to help, then this is a clever way to allow the kids to benefit from hindsight. For example, a future Jade could have done some extra frog breeding down the line, effectively editing the universe retroactively, to take advantage of future insights. This frog could leverage the efforts of characters in future arcs, perhaps augmenting the universe in ways that we'll later learn are vital - inoculating it against English, perhaps?

If the sender is our enemy, then this frog is a trap. Maybe it’s adding traits to the universe that will completely screw us, when the time finally comes to complete the game. It’s really impossible to say how it could screw us, because we don’t know anything about Genesis Frog breeding, but I can think of plenty of nightmare scenarios.

I think the former is more likely, mostly because the frog’s eyes match our heroes' signature colors. This could represent the future versions of our kids, or even the rebooted versions of our heroes. Like, maybe this is a way to create a universe from two Genesis Frog genomes, synthesized across two versions of the same session.

We’ve already abused time travel to get more frog time than we're supposed to. Who’s to say we won’t do it again?

[apas-95]

if you believe that correct theory leads to good outcomes and incorrect theory to bad outcomes

why didnt the USSR prevail? what were they missing?

to a certain degree the USSR was a victim of circumstance - being the first socialist state it was both navigating uncharted waters, as well as holding the attention of the entire bourgeois world - but it did also have a number of theoretical failings which exacerbated and induced issues. we say of stalin's administration that he was 70% correct and 30% incorrect, not that everything done was right! one of the greatest failings of the USSR was its handling of the national question, and its resulting commandism; an issue of the same type as the one that killed Che in Bolivia. obviously the domestic issue of revisionism overtaking the party was the ultimate cause of the downfall of the soviet union, but the cause of said revisionism was the objective situation that the USSR was in - the desperate attempts to undermine the non-aligned movement, the wrong notion of 'peaceful coexistence' the ussr promulgated, etc were all reactions to the fact that the USSR had, like it or not, locked itself into an irreversible nuclear standoff with the USA that it knew it could not actually follow through on. if you want to know what the ussr was missing, look to the state carrying on the torch. the PRC diverged significantly on the questions that destroyed the USSR, and it survived as a result. the USSR tried to divide the world between itself and the US, the PRC instead integrates itself into the entire world; the USSR tried to export revolution and build a dependent bloc, the PRC refuses to interfere in the self-development of other nations; the USSR established the principle of mutually assured destruction, and the PRC stated 'we are against it, but we are not afraid of it.'

[danadiadea]

Severus’ isolation after the exam is one of the reasons Lily’s attempt to get him to abandon his Slytherin ‘friends’ has never sat that well with me.

Because I get why she doesn’t like Mulciber, obviously, but instead she’s asking him to alienate them for…who, exactly? She can’t even be bothered to wait to exchange two words after something really important to him, she’s off with her girlfriends without a second thought, and there’s no indication Sev was hoping she’d wait so clearly this is a well established pattern (strange, considering he’s supposedly a possessive incel stalker, that he doesn’t interfere with her social life!) She appears to have made no moves to introduce Severus to any non-Slytherins or join any clubs together. She’s so over him that she doesn’t even address him personally while her housemates have him strung up by the ankle. And obviously he’s picked up on her indifference, or he wouldn’t be begging for reassurance they’re still best friends. I find it hard to condemn him for not cutting off the Slytherins for Lily’s sake when Lily’s so chronically unsupportive and unavailable. Total isolation does horrible things to people’s brains.

And then of course there’s the fact that Lily’s crush + hangers on have ensured the only space in the castle potentially free from violence is the Slytherin dorms they can’t enter, where Sev is also at considerable disadvantage as a son of a muggle sleeping alongside pureblood supremacists. But this also doesn’t cross her mind. I get that she’s a teenage girl, but 16 year olds are not incapable of putting themselves in another’s shoes! (I’ll add the disclaimer before I get jumped on that ofc I understand that Severus fails to do this for Lily too).

Severus is an incel stalker, but Lily has a friendgroup that talks shit on Severus and that clearly is her priority, but he does not interfere or try to prevent her from hanging out with them, unlike Lily who tells him to not spend time with the only people sho seem to at least somewhat accept him (by the way she doesn't assign anything bad to Avery, and I find it interesting that Sirius doesn't mention Mulcibier when talking about "the gang" at all, but he mentions Avery too. Maybe Avery was closer to Severus, and he was a more decent person overall? also Lily says she detests "some" people he's hanging around with, so maybe there were Slytherins she didn't dislike that much, like Rosier and Wilkies? I don't trust Sirius too much though, he mentions Bella and Rodolfus who couldn't possibly study with Snape).

Lily not adressing Severus during the SWM irks me so much. Like this is the №1 reason I support the "Lily was a deeply imperfect friend" agenda even more than "you're ungrateful to James Potter" stuff, honestly. Like this is charity what she does, not backing up her friend. Not only she doesn't attack them, but she doesn't help him to get his wand back or unbind him – all her attention is clearly on James. Severus isn't treated like a subject of the social dynamics, but more like an object of pity, and we know he's very proud. And I wonder if their friendship was already so rotten, or if Lily and Severus weren't known to be very close publically?... At least the adult Marauders never refer to it, so it wasn't a very big part of Lily or Severus from their perspective it seems. Clearly it was known they were friends, but she might not want to be associated with Severus more than necessary in their later years, since her other friends disliked him. At least that would explain why doesn't she approach him after the exam or vice versa, why she seems to be very, very impersonal during SWM, and why no-one ever (except Petunia) refers to Snily friendship from a Watsonian perspective.

Severus begging for the reassurance they are best friends😭😭😭 Too bad we don't hear the previous lines of theirs, I wonder to which phrase/situation he reacted like that. They probably discussed something related to his affiliations, but I don't think it was about Avery and Mulcibier all the way before – she seems to bring them up rather then continue a long lasting argument against them (also this is obvious it's not an argument they have for the fifth year straight. like Severus couldn't possibly be closely associated with them for a long time before that scene). I can imagine a lot of things from which the dialogue might go to Mulcibier and then to the Marauders, but yeah, that "I thought we were supposed to be friends" line sounds desperate asf... And how he can't contain his happiness when she says she hates James, and forgets about defending Mulcibier! All it had required was Lily supporting him in his rightful anger the tiniest bit!

Severus was pretty selfish as a teen, but no-one cared for him. Was even he himself supposed to not care about him? Well, he'd just die then (non-figuratuvely at this point). Severus was a kid from a violent neighbourhood, with abusive and neglectful parents, didn't have any really close friends who'd stand up for him, and his abusers were supported by the school authorities and the student body. Of course he would do what serves him best in that situation, which is sticking to Avery and Mulcibier! Again, Severus' loneliness in SWM shows they weren't emotionally close at all at least by then, he probably just spent time with them (as you've said, they live together and every place in that school that is not Slytherin dorm room is pretty unsafe for Severus, and also the Marauders might not attack him with other slytherins around, when we know that Lily's presence only heated James up from his glances to her in SWM) and Lily asked Severus to abandon even that without giving him any other options.

Also, my favourite ignored thing about it is that this argument arises just after the Prank had happened "the other day". Might a silenced murder attempt intensify Severus' wish to support Mulcibier, I wonder?

[communistkenobi]

Hi, genuine good faith question if you'd like! How is TOS racist? It was my understanding that the OG Series was like, huge for equality in media?

I’m speaking primarily about the content of TOS itself, not its historical impact - I understand it had various historic firsts in terms of having characters of colour in respectable roles, which I’m not dismissing. My experience with the discourse on here surrounding the show is that people front-load these character representations as emblematic of the show’s progressive politics. Which, if we want to go that route, TOS was contemporary to the US civil rights movement, which provides us with a handy measuring stick to see how TOS actually grapples with race, not just the presence of characters of colour themselves. I'm going to be kind of defensive in this explanation, not towards you specifically, but because I have had this conversation with people online many, many, many times, and so any defensiveness on my part is in anticipation of arguments I know will come up as a result of making the basic claim that a show made in America in the 1960s is racist. I'm also going to be copy + pasting from an older post I've made on the subject since it's been a while now since I've watched TOS so some of the details are fuzzy.

Like okay, the premise of TOS is that the Enterprise, as an ambassador of Starfleet/the Federation, is seeking out new alien life to study. The Prime Directive prohibits the Enterprise crew from interfering with the development of any alien culture or people while they do this, so the research they collect needs to be done in an unobtrusive way. I think this is the first point at which people balk at the argument that TOS is racist or has a colonial conception of the world - the Enterprise’s mission is premised on non-interference, and I think when people hear ‘colonial’ as a descriptor they (understandably, obviously) assume it is describing active conquest, genocide, and dispossession. Even setting aside all the times where Kirk does directly interfere with the “development” of a people or culture (usually because they’ve “stagnated” culturally, because a culture "without conflict" cannot evolve or “develop” beyond its current presumed capacity - he is pretty explicitly imposing his own values onto another culture in order to force them to change in a particular way), or the times when the Enterprise is actually looking to extract resources from a given planet or people, I’m not exactly making this claim, or rather, that’s not the only thing I’m describing when calling TOS racist/colonial.

The show's presentation of scientific discovery and inquiry is anthropological - the “object” of analysis is alien/foreign culture, meaning that when the Enterprise crew comes into contact with a new being or person, this person is always read first and foremost through the level of (the Enterprise’s understanding of) culture. Their behaviour, beliefs, dress, way of speaking, appearance, and so on are always reflective of their culture as a whole, and more importantly, that their racial or phenotypic characteristics define the boundaries of their culture. Put another way, culture is interpreted, navigated, and bound racially - the show presents aliens as a Species, but these species are racially homogeneous, flattening race to a natural, biological difference that is always physically apparent and presented through the lens of scientific objectivity, as "species" is a unit of biological taxonomy. Basically species is a shorthand for race. This is the standard of most sci-fi/fantasy genre work, so this is not a sin unique to Star Trek.

Because of this however, Kirk and Co are never really interacting with individuals, they are interacting with components of a (foreign, exotic, fundamentally different) culture, the same way we understand that a biologist can generalize about a species using the example of an individual 'specimen'. And when the Enterprise interacts with these cultures, they very frequently measure them using a universalized scale of development - they have a teleological (which is to say, evolutionary) view of culture, ie, that all cultures go from savage to rational, primitive to advanced, economically simple to economically complex (ie, to capitalist modes of production). And the metrics they are judging these cultures by are fundamentally Western ones, always emphasising to the audience that the final destination of all cultures (that are worthy of advancing beyond their current limited/“primitive” stages) is a culture identical to the Federation, a culture that can itself engage in this anthropological mission to catalogue all life as fitting within a universal set of practices and racial similarities they call “culture.”

This is a western, colonial understanding of culture - racially and spatially homogeneous people comprise the organs of a social totality, ie, a society, which can then be analysed as an “object,” as a “phenomenon,” by the scientists in order to extract information from them to produce and advance state (ie Federation) knowledge. The Enterprise crew are allowed to be individuals, are allowed to be subjects with a capacity for reason, contradiction, emotion, compassion, and even moments of savagery or violence, without those things being assigned to their “race” or “culture” as a whole, but the people they interact with are only components of a whole which are “discovered” by the Enterprise as opportunities to expand and refine the Federation’s body of knowledge.

Spock is actually a good example of what I'm talking about, because he is an exception to this rule - unlike the others in the crew, his behaviour is always read as a symptom of his innate Vulcan-ness, where his human and Vulcan halves war for dominance in his mind and character. Bones (the doctor, one of the main cast) constantly comments on Spock's inability to feel things, that he is callous and unsympathetic, ruled by Vulcan logic to such an extreme that his rationality is a form of irrationality, as his Vulcan blood prohibits him from tempering logic with human emotion and intuition. Now you can argue that Bones is a stand-in for the racists of the world, that Spock proves Bones wrong in that he is able to feel but merely keeps it under wraps, that Vulcans are not biologically incapable of emotion but merely live in a socially repressive culture, but this still engages in the racial logic of the show - Vulcans are a racially-bound species with a single monolithic culture, and Spock's ability to express and feel 'human emotions' is the metric by which he is granted human subjectivity and sympathy.

And on the flip side you have the Klingons - a “race” that is uniformly savage, backward, violent, and dangerous. In the episode Day of the Dove, where Klingons board the Enterprise along with an alien cloud that makes everyone suddenly aggressive and racist (this show is insane lol), the Enterprise crew begins acting violent and racist, but the Klingons don’t change. They aren’t more violent than before (because they already were fundamentally violent and racist), and they don’t become less violent when the cloud eventually leaves (because they are never able to emerge from their violence and savagery as a social condition or external imposition - they simply are that way). Klingons are racially, behaviourally, psychologically, and culturally homogeneous, universally violent and immune to reason, and their racial characteristics are both physical manifestations of this universal violence as well as the origin of it. The writers and creators of TOS are explicitly invoking the orientalist idea of the “Mongolian horde,” representing both the American fear of Soviet global takeover as well as blatantly racist fears about “Asiatics” (a word used in the show, particularly in The Omega Glory where a fear of racialised communist takeover is made explicit) dominating the world.

This is colonial thinking! Like, fundamentally, at its core, this is colonial white supremacist thinking. Now this is not because TOS invents these tropes or is the origin of them, it is not individually responsible for these racial and colonial logics - these conceptions are endemic to Western thought, and I am not expecting a television show to navigate its way outside of this current colonial paradigm of scientific knowledge. I’m also not expecting an average person watching this to pick out all the intricacies of this and link it to the colonial history of Europe or the colonial history of western philosophy/thought. But this base premise of Star Trek is why the show is fundamentally colonial - even if it was the case that the crew never intervened in any alien conflict, never extracted any material resources from other people, this would still be colonial logic and colonial thinking. The show has a fundamentally colonial imagination when it comes to exploration, discovery, and culture.

I think a good place to end is the opening sequence. The show's first line is always "Space! The final frontier." I do not think the word frontier is meant metaphorically or poetically - I think the show is being honest about its conception of space as an infinitely vast, infinitely exotic frontier from which a globally Western civilisation (which the Enterprise is an emblem of) can extract resources, be they material or epistemic

[kikyoupdates]

Changing Plotlines ⭑˚💞⭑ 𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑝

yandere!ocs x f!reader

yandere, reverse harem, yandere reverse harem, original characters x fem!reader, slowburn, isekai

A desperate cry on your deathbed leads to you being given a fresh start at life. You're overjoyed at having finally obtained a healthy body and a real chance at living normally, only to discover that you've been transported into a yandere game, where danger lurks at every corner. Determined to protect your new life at any cost, you vow to stay as far away from the major characters of the game as possible. But things don't always go as planned.

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Sergei Garin. A major supporting character in Zodin’s Benevolence, and a man unfortunate enough to have fallen in love with the protagonist, unaware of how many twisted yanderes were pining for her affection.  

The game branched off from the main storyline after the player picked enough choices that would put them on a certain yandere’s route. Needless to say, regardless of whoever’s route it was, Sergei ended up dead in some shape or form. He wasn’t always killed off by one of the yanderes, but his self-sacrificial nature, especially towards the protagonist, sealed his fate no matter what. He would either protect the protagonist until his dying breath, or be killed off by a yandere when they discovered Sergei’s romantic feelings towards her.  

Put simply, he didn’t have any good endings. Which is why seeing him here, right in front of your very eyes, was something both awe-inducing and incredibly depressing. He didn’t even know it yet, but his days were numbered.  

Is it possible to keep him from dying? So long as he doesn’t meet the protagonist, then... 

You quickly shook your head. No, you couldn’t think like that. You’d already made up your mind not to interfere with the canon events of the game. If you tried to protect Sergei, you could unwittingly place yourself in danger. As upsetting as it was, you couldn’t risk interfering.  

“Er, my lady?” Sergei frowned. “Is everything alright? Were you perhaps expecting someone else...?”  

“Not at all!” you spluttered. “I’m very happy you’re here! Sorry, I’m just really eager to start training, so I guess I must look like I’m a bit out of it. It’s nice to meet you, Sergei. I’m [Name], as you already know. Thank you for making the effort to be here on such short notice.”  

“It would have been discourteous to refuse your family’s request. Although, it was certainly a rather strange request,” he said with a knit brow.  

You laughed. “Right. Sorry. It’s probably not every day a noblewoman decides to take up sword-fighting. But I’ve always been interested in it, and what’s the harm in learning to protect myself?”  

“It’s far from traditional,” he admitted, “but I’m not one to scorn a person looking to hone their strength. If this is truly what you want to do, I will do my best to facilitate the process for you.”  

“Great! So, can I try swinging a sword now?”  

“I’d say it’s a bit early for wielding a real blade, so you can start with a wooden sword first.” He removed the bag he’d been carrying over his shoulders and pulled out two wooden swords. One of them was noticeably bigger than the other. He handed you the smallest of the two. 

You weighed the object in your hands. “It’s a bit heavier than I was expecting. Aren’t these things usually hollow on the inside?”  

“They can be. But I thought it was better for you to get used to something with a bit more weight to it, especially since a real sword is quite heavy.”  

“Pfft, I’m sure I can handle it,” you waved off, grossly overconfident for some reason.  

Sergei gave you an unimpressed look. “And what makes you so sure?”  

“Uh... I’m optimistic?”  

“I see. So, no real reason, then.”  

“Ugh.” You obviously couldn’t tell him that you’d watched countless anime and were stupidly hoping that the moves you’d seen there could be somehow applied to real life.  

Sergei took a step back and crossed his arms. “Show me how you would swing that thing. Treat it as if it is a real sword. Go on, I’m curious to see what kind of approach you’ll have.”  

“Ready to be impressed?” you grinned.  

“No, not really.”  

“Hey!”  

Sergei looked like he wanted to crack a smile, but he maintained his stern, stoic expression. He wasn’t fooling you. You already knew full well from the game that despite his serious-looking face and rather blunt mannerisms, he was a real gentleman at heart.  

“Okay... here goes nothing!”  

You inhaled sharply, gathering up all your energy, then proceeded to lunge forward and slash the wooden sword through the air, in a downwards motion.  

“Ooh, that actually felt pretty powerful!” you enthused, turning towards Sergei with a bright smile. “Well? How was it? Amazing, huh?”  

Sergei’s expression hadn’t changed. “Definitely not amazing.”  

“But pretty good, though?”  

“Definitely not good.”  

“Uh... at least sort of okay?”  

He didn’t respond, which made you nervous. What was the big deal? It was just a wooden sword, for crying out loud! And it was your first time swinging one. For a total newbie, it couldn’t have been that bad. 

“Sort of okay,” Sergei hummed, pressing his forefinger against his lips. “I suppose that’s a reasonably accurate description. Then again, it’s only a wooden sword. If you were to replicate that same motion with a real sword, your score would drop considerably.”  

“You’re scoring me?” you gaped.  

He tapped on his head, smiling faintly. “In here, yes. But I’ll be keeping your scores to myself, so as not to discourage you.”  

“That just means I suck!”  

“There’s no point in getting worked up right at the start. Come on, try swinging it again. This time, adjust your grip so that it stays higher on the hilt. It’ll be easier for you to swing it that way. And make sure to keep your torso firm. A strong foundation is what determines how hard your attack will hit.”  

“Like this?” you asked, inadvertently arching your back. 

“What? No, that’s not—ah, I’ll just show you myself,” he sighed, picking up his own sword. “Look closely now. See how I hold the sword, and what angle I’m striking at. See how my body stays perfectly straight and doesn’t wobble around the way yours does.”  

It was only a wooden sword, but you could swear you felt the air in front of you being sliced in half. His motion left a distinct whipping noise behind, fierce enough that it rang in your ears.  

Sergei looked back towards you. “Do you understand now?”  

“Totally,” you nodded. “Basically, it’s all about how big your muscles are.”  

“I see you’ve understood nothing.”  

“I was just kidding! Look, I’ll do it again.” You took up your stance, tensing up just enough that your torse was nice and stable, just like Sergei had said. With even more strength than before, you stepped forward and swung downwards. “Hyah!”  

You were hoping to have been met with enthusiastic clapping, but Sergei was merely staring at you in disbelief.  

“What was that sound you just made?”  

“A battle cry, I think.”  

“I can assure you it was not a battle cry,” he frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And a lady like you shouldn’t be making such vocalizations anyways.”  

“But I thought a battle cry drastically enhances your physical prowess.”  

“...”   

“I'm getting the impression that you might not want to be here.”  

“You’re imagining it,” Sergei coughed into his hand. “Anyways. It was... better, I suppose. But you still need a lot more work. Keep repeating that same motion with your wooden sword, and I’ll be watching you to make sure you have proper form.”  

“But that’s boring,” you whined. “I want to move on to using a real sword. A wooden sword won’t be enough to protect myself with.”  

“I understand that you’re excited, but why do you keep stressing that you’ll need to protect yourself?” he frowned. “A lady like you should never have to fear for her safety. Is there something in particular you’re worried about?”  

Yes. The crazy bastards that live in this world.  

“Not really,” you lied. “But you never know what could go wrong, right? It’s best to be prepared for even the worst-case scenario. It’s a dangerous world out there for women, you know.”  

“That’s certainly true,” Sergei nodded. “I must say, you’re quite earnest, trying to prepare yourself for situations like that. It doesn’t exactly match your personality.”  

“Hey, what’s wrong with my personality?”  

“Nothing, of course.” He bit back a chuckle. “Forgive me. I just meant that of all the noblewomen I’ve ever met, you stand out quite a bit. You don’t seem anywhere near as concerned with etiquette, and you’re even treating someone like me as your equal. Perhaps that’s why I’ve gotten comfortable voicing my opinions.”  

“Well, that’s not surprising,” you said, proudly sticking your nose into the air. “I am pretty amazing.”

“And your boundless confidence leaves nothing to be desired, that’s for sure.”  

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”  

“Yes, please do.”  

You rolled your eyes at him, though it was in a playful, well-intentioned way. Even if Sergei’s tale was a sad one, you were happy to be interacting with one of your favorite characters from the game. There were few genuinely good people in Zodin’s Benevolence, apart from the protagonist, and he was definitely one of them.  

“Just you wait,” you huffed. “I’m going to become so good at wielding a sword, I’ll surpass you in no time.”  

Although Sergei’s expression was stern, his eyes were filled with mirth.  

“I look forward to seeing it.”  

In the end, you hadn’t gotten to use a real sword even once during your training session with Sergei. It was a bit disappointing, but he was the instructor, so you had no choice but to trust in his judgment. It was probably for the best that you build up some skills and confidence first, before attempting the real deal. Plus, the plot had yet to officially begin, so you weren’t in any imminent danger.  

Your parents frantically approached you after your session was over, checking you all over for any cuts or bruises. When you told them you hadn’t even gotten to try out a proper sword yet, they exhaled loudly. Look at you, endlessly worrying your parents even in a different world. Some things never changed.  

Still, you felt confident about the way you were choosing to approach things. There was no reason to afraid so long as you never interacted with the yanderes or the protagonist. Although the initial revelation about being transported into a game had come as a massive shock, you could very well live out a happy life here, just like you’d always wanted.  

“You seem like you’re having a good time.”  

Sometime after your training had come to an end, and you were relaxing in a bubble bath, you began to hear an oddly familiar, distinctively masculine voice in your head.  

“Hello?” you jolted, glancing around. There was no one, as expected. You were all alone in the bathroom, and even your bedroom was empty since the servants had left to give you space to relax. 

No response came, so you sank deeper into the bath, knitting your brows together. Was it just your imagination? A lot of strange things had happened to you recently, so you wouldn’t be surprised if you were hearing the odd remark every now and then. But that voice... you knew you’d heard it somewhere before. It was practically on the tip of your tongue.  

“Hehe. It’s fun watching you get all worked up over nothing. Your reactions are so expressive.”  

“Um—?!” You glanced around for the second time, but there was nobody there again. The voice was definitely coming from your head, and based on what it was saying, it didn’t seem like it was just your imagination.  

You clutched your arms around your chest, though the bubbles concealed most of everything, because apparently, they could see you right now.  

“This isn’t cool,” you muttered. “Whoever you are, can you give it a rest? How are you even talking to me right now? You’re freaking me out.”  

“I’m afraid that’s a secret. You’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure.”  

Great. As if you didn’t already have enough things to worry about with yanderes dominating the major plot of this world, now you had some creepy voice that could talk to you whenever it liked. And why did it sound so familiar? 

Could it be...?  

You didn’t know for certain, since you’d literally been dying at the time, but a strange voice had called out to you back then too. That voice was the whole reason you’d been transported here in the first place. Was this that same voice? The higher power that had saved you and given you a new chance at life?  

“Are you the one that saved me when I was dying?” you asked.  

No response. Either they had no idea what you were talking about, or they really were the same being from before, and they were deliberating avoiding your question.  

“Fine, don’t respond,” you sighed, lathering bubbles and squishing them between your palms.  

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I definitely didn’t save anyone who was dying.”  

Ah, so they were still here.  

“Who are you, then?”  

“Like I said—that’s a secret.”  

“Ugh. Great. Looks like I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.” 

“I’m not here to hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m just here to observe. Don’t worry about me and just focus on what you’ve been doing up until now. It’s quite amusing.”  

You weren’t sure how you felt about someone calling your life amusing, but it wasn’t like you could do anything about it. At the very least, you knew whoever this was wasn’t one of the yanderes, because none of them had these kinds of strange powers. The owner of the voice had promised not to hurt you, still, you weren’t sure how much you could trust them, especially since you didn’t even know who they were.  

For the time being, you just had one simple request.

“Please don’t spy on me while I’m taking a bath from now on,” you said crossly.  

Instead of answering, the voice laughed.

More chapters are available on Quotev!

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💞 main masterlist ♡ character appearances

[artensi]

Apologies for the delay

@luminousbright , I was your partner for the Precure Secret Santa! @precuresecretexchange

You mentioned Cure Empress as one of your favorite side characters and you better believe when I saw her name I was ecstatic!! I have a massive AU in my head about the legendary cures from DokiDoki if they were set in a modern timeline, and it’s genuinely one of the things I love most in the whole world (even though we don’t even know what Magician and Priestess look like!!)

So obviously, I had to draw Empress! I have my own headcanon design for her that has a lot less colors and though I considered using that design, I decided to just go for canon. It’s really hard making the colors look good together since they’re all so different, I hope I managed!

Here is the picture of Empress on her own

You also said you loved Pokemon! I’ve always been interested in Pokemon, but I have super low knowledge since I just never had the time to go into it. I decided I wanted to challenge myself by drawing a non-human object (something I’ve genuinely only ever done once or twice). I spent a while trying to figure out which Pokemon to draw, but I landed on Zygarde from Generation 6. I chose Zygard because it’s a Dragon/Ground type. Dragon because Empress’ fairy partner, Melan, is a dragon. Ground because I headcanon Empress to have earth as her element which she’s most powerful in. I actually forgot this wasn’t canon until recently… oops. I always thought she looked like an earth type because of her green hair, and the pink in her design somehow reminded young me of flower petals so it kinda stuck.

There were a few Dragon/Earth types to choose from, but I chose the one that looked the coolest and also because it appears to be the most powerful. The last legendary precures in DokiDoki were the only ones powerful enough to ward away the darkness for good (until a certain king decided to interfere), so Empress had to have been really powerful too! So the only Pokemon worthy of fighting alongside her would be Zygarde, since it’s super strong. I don’t know much about Zygarde since I haven’t watched much of Pokemon XY or XYZ nor played the games it’s in, so I hope I made it look ok!

Here’s the picture of Zygarde alone

I hope you like your gift ! I worked super hard on it, and it was really difficult to step out of my comfort zone and draw something that isn’t humanoid for the first time in forever.

Have a happy holidays! 🤍

[marinaslibrary]

Part of why Mouthwashing is so brilliant, is because the game really utilizes it's narrator.

And yes, obviously Jimmy being who he is, shapes the narration more than if they picked a morally good/neutral character's point of view.

We only see exactly what Jimmy cares about.

I mean think about it. In other games, the player learns facts/secrets ect about the other characters who randomly info dumb on the MC.

This is quite obviously not the case in mouthwashing, for two reasons :

1) Nobody on that ship trusts Jimmy (for extremely justifiable reasons). There is SO much we don't know about the other characters, unless you dive into their wiki/fandom pages you literally know nothing about them, other than what is revealed in the game which is very little......Which brings us to the second reason on why this is happening:

2) Jimmy just.... Doesn't give a crap about any of them, unless they pose obstacle (Swansea and Anya after the crash) or can be of benefit to him (Daisuke) in any way.

The only times when anything is revealed to Jimmy, is when Jimmy happens to overhear, or when a character is dying, and as such they feel the overwhelming urge to confess their deepest secrets, beliefs and regrets before leaving this world.

The biggest example of Jimmy's lack of caring in regards to the rest of the crew, is unironically Curly, with whom he has the most complicated relationship with.

Other than Anya giving his pills, which eventually she can't stomach doing because of her pregnancy during its later stages (hence begging Jimmy to do so), we have no view of how the crew treats Curly.

Does Anya ever talk to him? Is she angry about his lack of interference, his lack of leadership when it mattered the most? Do Daisuke and Swansea visit him? We do not know, because Jimmy cannot possibly be bothered.

Also. If Jimmy hears his yells (which btw reminder that the only reason he gives Curly the painkillers is to shut him up), that means others on that ship do as well.

Do they neglect him? To their knowledge Curly is the one responsible for the crash, do they hold it against him so much they don't care to give him his pills? Do they believe Anya has it all under control? Have they ever offered to help Anya and she denied it? There are simply so many questions, which reveal both each of the characters personalities and the dynamics between them, to which we do not know the answer.

The game manages both to perfectly capture the lack of objectiveness on how each person (and in this case an absolutely vile man) perceives the world, AND show the complete superficiality on relationships in the workplace, especially a workplace that is as corrupt and neglectful of its employees such as pony express.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

What is the current population of Gallifreyans living on Earth as of 2025? And is England really Gallifreyan central as suggested in the stories over the galaxy? And if so why and does the Doctor have anything to do with it?

Are there Gallifreyans on Earth?

🌍 Population Count: No Idea.

When Gallifreyans end up on Earth and decide to stay, they're usually there for a reason. Some might just like the idea of fourth retirement skiing in the Alps or enjoying New York's vibe. But not many Gallifreyans see Earth the way the Doctor does—which is to say, as the most important, most fascinating, most adventure-prone planet in the universe.

If a Gallifreyan is on Earth, it's usually not because they're drawn to it. It's because they don't want to be found. It's the perfect hiding spot for a few reasons:

✅ It's a primitive planet—which means it's legally protected from most direct alien interference under Galactic Law. Anyone trying to find the Gallifreyan will have to file a ridiculous amount of paperwork with the Shadow Proclamation, and no one wants to do that.

✅ They blend in extremely well. Gallifreyans look close enough to humans that they don't need to alter their biology, use a Chameleon Arch, or invent some tragic backstory.

So, are there Gallifreyans living on Earth? Almost definitely, but we'll never know how many.

👽Is the UK Really Gallifreyan Central?

1️⃣ Space-Time Hotspots – London and Cardiff are ridiculously active when it comes to weird space-time phenomena. The rift in Cardiff is basically a free energy source for any stranded or tired TARDIS. London, meanwhile, has enough alien invasions to be a nightmare for insurance companies. As a rule, Time Lords and TARDISes tend to get a little more drawn to places and times where there's more activity.

2️⃣ Treacherous Landings – Gallifreyan navigation systems are complex, and one wrong digit in the coordinates could send a TARDIS straight into the Pacific Ocean. Time Lords who end up on Earth often find themselves in the same few locations—not necessarily because they meant to, but because it's safer than materialising in the middle of nowhere.

3️⃣ The Doctor's Fault (Obviously) – Let's be real. Earth is a tiny planet, populated by a lesser species, and objectively not that interesting.

Most Gallifreyans haven't looked into it that much and have a very warped perception of Earth because the only information they get is from the Doctor's antics. If you were a Gallifreyan casually curious about Earth, you'd assume the entire planet consisted of:

London, which is constantly being invaded.

Cardiff, which apparently contains the only TARDIS fuel station worth stopping at.

Quarries, which seem to make up 90% of Earth's natural terrain.

A warehouse. Something's always going on in that warehouse.

Motorways that may or may not lead directly into hellscapes.

A rotating selection of remote villages with a tendency for cult activity.

Some other rural bits around the edge.

4️⃣ It's Trendy (Probably) – If the Doctor has a reputation for going here, then other young Gallifreyans might find it a bit trendy to visit as well. Some of them probably do it ironically. Some genuinely want to see what all the fuss is about. Some are definitely stranded and making the best of it.

🏫 So ...

We can be quietly confident that there are Gallifreyans on Earth right now, but we have no clue how many. The UK is Gallifreyan central—not intentionally, but it just keeps happening.

Is it the Doctor's fault? Absolutely.

Related:

💬|🪐🌍How is Gallifreyan geography different to Earth?: The landscape of Gallifrey.

💬|🧑💻How long until the Earth might reach the technological age of Gallifrey?: Handy guide for humans wishing to progress.

💬|👥🧑‍⚕️The Doctor: Hero, Rebel, or Nuisance?: Asking just what Gallifrey thinks of the Doctor.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[rianemorgan]

DR. STONE X GHOSTBUSTERS CROSSOVER

Title: Paranormal Science

Ishigami Senku x Reader

Summary: Reader, the granddaughter of Egon Spengler, teams up with Senku, Taiju, and Yuzuriha to revive the Ghostbusters, blending science and the supernatural to capture escaped spirits. Despite Senku’s skepticism, he helps develop advanced ghost-hunting tech. Just as they begin mastering their roles, the world is petrified, putting their mission on hold until Senku awakens to rebuild civilization.

.

.

.

The first time Senku Ishigami met her, it was at a university science exhibition. He had gone to showcase a prototype for a new energy-efficient chemical reaction model, while she was there demonstrating a high-powered containment unit for capturing unstable particles—technology based on her grandfather’s research, though she never outright said it was for ghosts.

Senku had been intrigued at first, analyzing her work with genuine curiosity, until he saw the blueprints of a proton pack tucked into her folder.

“Wait a second,” Senku said, snatching up the design paper with a raised eyebrow. “This looks suspiciously like those Ghostbusters from thr 90s schematic. You’re telling me you’re working on paranormal research?”

(Y/N) grinned, tilting her head. “Not just research. Practical application.”

Senku scoffed, crossing his arms. “Ghosts don’t exist. Everything has a scientific explanation.”

(Y/N) arched a brow. “You sure about that, scientist boy?”

The debate had gone on for over an hour, drawing in a small crowd of amused onlookers. Taiju and Yuzuriha had shown up halfway through, watching in equal parts awe and exasperation as the two geniuses launched into a verbal sparring match about the nature of the supernatural.

“The human brain is predisposed to hallucinations under certain conditions,” Senku argued. “What people call ‘ghost sightings’ can be explained by electromagnetic fields interfering with brain activity. Simple as that.”

(Y/N) smirked. “Then explain why your electromagnetic interference theory doesn’t account for full-body apparitions, objects moving independently, or recorded thermal fluctuations.”

“Tch. Misinterpretations and coincidences. There’s no empirical proof of spectral entities.”

(Y/N) leaned closer, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Then you won’t mind visiting a haunted site with me to test that theory?”

Senku hesitated, and that moment of doubt made her grin even wider.

That was the beginning of their strange friendship. They respected each other’s intelligence, even if their views clashed. For months after their first meeting, they continued their rivalry, testing theories, challenging each other’s perspectives, and eventually working together when an unexpected event forced them to.

Everything changed when the Entity escaped.

It was a powerful ghost—one of the most dangerous spirits Egon Spengler and his team had ever captured. Decades ago, the Ghostbusters had sealed it away in a reinforced containment unit, hidden from the world. But time had weakened the barriers, and the Entity had broken free, bent on finishing what it started—destroying the world.

As Egon’s only descendant, it was now (Y/N)’s responsibility to stop it, permanently.

Unfortunately, Senku, Taiju, and Yuzuriha accidentally got involved. One moment, they were in the lab, making a machine that can turn plastic bottle caps into a usable petroleum, senku was currently working on a mew project(he can't just be a ghostbuster forever, he wants to go to the moon after all) the next they were running for their lives from a rampaging spectral nightmare.

“Okay, I’ll admit—this is terrifying!!” Taiju panted, dodging a flying chair.

“SENKU, Can you do something about this?!” Yuzuriha shrieked as a spectral claw swiped inches from her face.

“…Tch. Fine. I think I can” Senku gritted his teeth. “Ghosts aren’t supposed to be real, but this thing is obviously something.”

He had no choice but to throw his logic out the window and help (Y/N) trap the Entity before it could cause more damage. Together, they reassembled the old Ghostbusters’ equipment, upgraded it, and became an unlikely team. Senku, against his better judgment, became the team’s chief scientist, helping (Y/N) develop even more advanced ghost-catching technology. Taiju, with his sheer strength, handled the heavy lifting, and Yuzuriha provided agility and strategy.

Thus, the New Ghostbusters were born.

It was chaos. It was thrilling. And, much to Senku’s dismay, it was real.

For months, they worked together, tracking down supernatural anomalies, recapturing rogue spirits, and sealing away the Entity’s power.

Their first real ghost capture as a team didn’t go as smoothly as they had hoped.

(Y/N) had managed to track down a rogue spirit haunting an abandoned warehouse, and they knew they needed transportation. It wasn’t hard to find it—the old Ecto-1 was still hidden away, gathering dust in an old storage unit that (Y/N)’s family owned.

“Are we really doing this?” Taiju asked, looking between the rusted car and the gleam in (Y/N)’s eyes.

“Of course we are,” Senku said, already prying open the hood. “But first, we need to make sure this thing actually runs.”

Hours of fixing later, they had the car up and running. But there was just one problem.

“We don’t have a license,” Yuzuriha pointed out.

“No problem,” Senku smirked. “I already hacked into the system and forged us IDs. Yuzuriha, congratulations—you’re officially eighteen with a valid driver’s license.”

“…Senku, that’s illegal.”

“Tch. I've been doung that since I'm what? less than 7 years old?” Senku said with snake like tongue. "There's no illegal in science as long as we move forward!!"

Decked out in the original Ghostbusters uniforms (refitted to their sizes), they hit the road, siren blaring. The thrill of driving an iconic car, breaking multiple traffic laws, and going after a ghost made their adrenaline spike.

Once inside the haunted warehouse, they activated their proton packs. The ghost, a poltergeist with a nasty attitude, shrieked and threw debris at them.

“On my mark!” (Y/N) shouted, dodging a flying crate. “Three, two—NOW!”

Senku and (Y/N) fired their proton streams, locking the ghost in place while Taiju leaped in, tossing the ghost trap beneath it.

“Hit it!” Yuzuriha stomped on the pedal, and the trap sucked the ghost in, snapping shut with a satisfying click.

Silence. Then, laughter. or in rhis case, Senku slumpung out of exhaustion, I don't think he's build for this tyoe of work, he's a scrawny guy, a stick... literally.

“That was awesome!” Taiju beamed.

“No Taiju kun, that was dangerous,” Yuzuriha huffed. “And highly illegal might I add”

(Y/n) smirked. “Heh. Welcome to fhe world of supernatural I guess, as a scientist this gadgets and traps is really awesome”

Meanwhile, Senku narrow his eyes at (Y/) "though i doubt this is what a logical scientist should do".

"Oh just drop it already and accept this new part of your reality, you leek".

As they drove off into the night, siren wailing, they had no idea that their adventures were only beginning.

Through it all, Senku found himself drawn to (Y/N) in ways he never expected. She was his opposite yet his equal, a scientist at heart but a believer in the unknown. They argued constantly, debated endlessly, and somewhere along the way… fell for each other.

Their relationship was slow, a natural progression of intellectual admiration turning into something more. Late-night research sessions turned into long conversations about science and the supernatural, which turned into playful banter and stolen glances. Senku, ever the logical mind, found himself enjoying her company more than he anticipated. (Y/N) found comfort in someone who challenged her but never dismissed her entirely.

...well that is until a bright green light decided to swallow the entirety of earth, turning every human to stone.

~End

[13as07]

Bruised

(Shino Aburame)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to Pixiv Id]

Requested by: Anonymous

Word Count: 3,530

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Attempted Stabbing

PTSD Attack

Bruises

I fully believe Shino's hair type falls somewhere on the high 3 to low 4 ranking and you can't convince me otherwise

———————————————————————

     "Akimichi-San," I try to coo, my hands up as I slowly approach the elderly man. The elderly man is still built like the brick he was during his Shinobi days. "It's alright, do you know where you are? You're at the Konoha Veterans' Retirement Center," I carefully explain, my eyes flickering from the active PTSD episode patient and my fellow nurses waiting on standby to interfere.

     "Stay back!" The man yells, waving around the butter knife he's clinging to. The butter knife he was just using to split the biscuit he was going to have with his supper. Why doesn't anyone listen to me when I tell them not to give Akimichi-San any sharp object? 'He hasn't had an attack in four months it's fine so we're sure he's fine'. Obviously not.

     "Alright, I can do that," I say calmly, stopping in my tracks. "Everything is alright, Akimichi-San. At the moment you're having a flashback episode. I assure you that you are safe, that your wife is safe, your kids and your grandkids. You're all safe."

     "Stay back you trader! How could you betray your village?!" The man barks at me, eyes locked on me as he continues swishing the knife around. "You... you mind technique Shinobis always try to get in our heads. I don't have a wife! Let alone kids! Your, your, your little mind tricks won't work on me, trader."

     "Akimichi-San - "

     "Stop calling me that! It's Captain Akimichi. I worked hard for my title, respect it!"

     "Of course. My apologies Captain," I mutter, slowly bowing my head in apology. "I assure you I am unwaveringly loyal to both our village and our squad, my Captain."

     The nurse in the door throws his hands up, a nonverbal 'what the hell?' shooting from him. I shrug my shoulders and use my eyes to send back a 'I don't know, I'm just going with the flow I guess?'

     "No. No, no, no. You are not one of mine. You're a trader. I trader I say!" I'm yelled at again, this time paired with the man charging at me. Before I have time to react I'm slammed to the floor, Akimichi-San on top of me trying to stab me with the butter knife. Thank the Lord my coworkers react unlike me, hands flying around his wrist to keep the knife away from me as they attempt to pull him off.

The pain rippling through my body is so overwhelming that it's almost numb like I'm stuck underwater as my patient tries to stab me to death. The noise of my coworkers yelling, of me being yelled at and called a trader is muffled like I can't exactly make the sound out unless I actively try to.

At least it's all numb until an elbow is stabbed into my rib cage, Akimichi-San trying to stay on top of me, threats of my bone snapping hovering just as much as he is. I swear, at the very least I better be sent home early because of this.

————————————

     The more stairs I climb, the harder I breathe. The harder I breathe, the more my side hurts. They said my ribs weren't broken, but I don't exactly believe them at the moment. The pain rippling across my body, aimed at my chest sure makes it feel like something is broken.

     When I get to the top of the stairs - hunched over, panting for breath, and trying to will my body to stop hurting - the smell of cooking filters into the hallway. The single mother two doors down must be making her spicy curry again. It always makes the whole floor smell good.

I sigh as I dig through my pocket looking for my keys. The smell of cooking makes me dread the quick "just add heat" meal waiting for me. Shino has been busy prepping his students for graduation and I've been tied up at the Retirement Center pulling doubles and constant overtime. Our jobs haven't left us much time for each other recently, let alone the energy to cook or clean.

     The thought of our recked apartment only fills me with more dread. Our home most definitely has not been attended to in way too long. Though, since I'm on medical leave for the next week I suppose I'll have time to cook and clean for us. The thought makes the doctor's note ordering me to rest and take my pain meds burn in my pocket. I'll have plenty of time to rest. Spending the day tomorrow cleaning won't do too much harm.

...Or not.

When the door to the apartment swings open, I'm not greeted with the recent commonly placed piles of Shino's grading sheets, the occasional disregarded clothing, the layer of dust that's been building, and the small piles of nick-nacks dumped from my scrub pockets. The yummy scent coating the apartments' hallway seems to be wafting out from our home as well.

"Welcome home, Cricket," Shino mutters, tugging my attention toward the kitchen.

"You're home early," I call back, setting my bags down before my focus shifts to changing into my house shoes.

"I could say the same to you," he counters, walking out of the kitchen, and quickly beating me to the floor. Shino sinks to a knee, propping my foot on his bent leg so he can undo my laces for me. "I did not expect you for another hour or two. It's quite the damper on my day."

"How's it a damper on your day?" I ask, my eyes trailing after his movements. Foot propped, work shoe off, house shoe on, kiss, foot down, repeat. My lover has a bad habit of saying things that come off as mean without explanation; this is one of those times. It's taken some time but I've figured out he rarely if ever means it in a mean way.

"The reason being that I wanted to clean the bathtub before you got home. Everywhere has been cleaned but I've been putting off the shower. I also wanted dinner to be finished before you returned home," he answers, leaning forward to press a string of kisses to my knee before he sets my foot down. "However it is not the end of the world, I can still clean the tub," he adds, climbing to his feet before dusting off his pants.

"You cleaned the whole house, Shi, I can clean the tub," I counter, already heading towards the kitchen to grab the cleaning supplies.

He softly hums, a hand lounging forward to grab my waist. "No, I will clean the tub," Shino mumbles, pulling on me so my back collides with his chest. His head dips down, his nose sliding up and down my neck slowly.

My breath comes out rough, threatening to be a hiss because of his fingers digging into my side. "Okay," I mutter, my focus on not having a pain-filled break-down instead of fighting with him or the soft loving touch he's littering my skin with.

     Shino glances at me, a hint of curiosity in his eyes before he releases me, off to go clean the tub. He has the habit of feeling like he needs to do everything to show that he cares and I have the habit of fighting him on it, insisting that I'm capable of doing things for myself, the house, and us. After having him cling to my bruises, I hurt, and being hunched over the tub doesn't seem like the best idea to help with that pain.

     After a moment - and a pile of calming breaths - I make my way into the kitchen, nosing around to see what he's cooking for dinner. Karaage. I swear if I didn't know any better I'd think Shino is trying to make me plumper.

     "Cricket?" He calls the sound of his voice echoing through the house. "You should come sit with me."

     "Coming," I call back, turning on my heels to head toward the bathroom.

————————————

     "Alright," Shino whispers into my ear, stopping my led steps. "Open," he adds, dropping his hands from their wrapped position around my eyes.

     I know what it's going to be before I open my eyes. Shino's insistence that I stay out of the kitchen and almost locking me in our room were dead giveaways that he wanted to set something special up for our dinner tonight. Still, I can't help but feel giddy when I open my eyes.

     Our table is covered in a spotless white cloth, a thin red cloth lining the middle of it. Perfectly plucked and sorted flowers fill a vase in the middle of the table, my favorite flowers on display with almost sparkly fresh water. The vase is caged in by lit candles on either side of it, the soft flames being the only light in the room, eliminating the perfectly set up platings. Our main course and its sides litter the table, Shino's hard work ready to be enjoyed.

     "You're a doofus," I giggle, leaning back so I can be pressed up against him once again today. "A romantic doofus but still a doofus."

     "I will be more of a doofus later on," he mutters, arms snaking around my waist to pull me closer.

     My teeth clench, a softly hissed breath sliding out of my nose from Shino's usually comforting touch. "You're starting to make me believe I forgot our anniversary," I tease, shifting in his hold to hopefully get him to loosen it or at the very least take some pressure off my bruises.

     "It's not our anniversary," he mutters, eyebrows forwarded a bit as his arms relax, sliding down to my hips. "I have been busy with preparations and you have been busy filling in for the nurses on maternity leave. I enjoy waking up next to you, I do not enjoy it being most of the time I get to spend with you."

"Careful Shino, your emotions are starting to show," I continue to mock, getting a disapproving sigh in response, and his nose buried in my neck again. "How are you going to be more of a doofus later?" I ask, pulling myself out of his grasp and heading toward my chair.

     He moves forward, taking wide strides to beat me to the chair. Shino pulls my chair out, a hand propped out for me to take. I take his hand, letting him help me into my chair before I'm pushed in. "I have prepared us a nice bath to take after we have eaten."

     The thought of my bruised side flickers through my mind. The last thing Shino needs at the moment is to worry about my health. He's already stressed enough about work and when I'm hurt, his stress is at an all-time high. "I appreciate the thought but I think I'm going to bathe alone tonight," I mutter, keeping my focus on filling my plate.

     "What?" He asks, his tone soaked in surprise. "My little singing Cricket, I have not bathed alone for the majority of our relationship. How often do you randomly appear in the shower with me? Every time. Every day. Not today? Why not?" By the end of his ramble, Shino looks concerned, like he might burst into tears. The shadows of the room and the soft light of the candles don't help the upsetness coating his face.

     I reach across the table, wrapping my fingers around his as I rub my thumb over his knuckles. "It's nothing you did, Shi. I just... want to bathe alone. That's all."

     "But that is our time together. It is something we do together. Cricket?" He races out, his kikaichus starting to spill out and buzz around the more upset he gets. "I want to take a bath with you. Why don't you want to take a bath with me?"

     "I want to, I do. I just... Shino it's not - "

     He stands up, the noise of his kikaichus getting louder. "It is a big deal. That is our 'us' time. We shower together every day. Every day. I do not understand why we would not today. What do I need to do to fix it?"

     I slowly blink, watching Shino hurry around the table. His hands land on me, starting to paw at me and toy with my clothes as he kneels on the ground. His eyes are swimming with concern, eyebrows forward still, and his chest pumping with quicker breaths. I didn't realize he was so attached to our daily shower. Though, he is a man of routine so I guess it's not that surprising.

     "Shino," I try cooing, my side getting irritated from the constant pressure being added and taken away from it. "I think you need to calm down a bit."

"How am I supposed to calm down when you won't tell me what I need to fix?"

"Shi," I try again, cupping his cheeks, softly stroking him as I lean closer to his face. "Calm down. I'm not leaving you, I'm not angry with you, you didn't do anything wrong," I mutter, brushing a butterfly kiss against his nose, hoping it'll help him calm down. It doesn't.

"Alright, so I need to fix an outside source. I still can't fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong," he mutters, nuzzling his nose against mine back. Shino has closed his eyes, his face has gone soft from my gentle redirection that I wasn't convinced would work.

     Looking at the outside layer of my boyfriend, you'd never guess how clingy and insecure the poor man is. I guess that comes with feeling and being treated like an outsider from your generation of Shinobis. I don't understand how my soft Shino could be so over-looked by his coworkers.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about." Maybe it would be less stress on him if I just told him I was hurt... but then he'd stress about me getting hurt again and about my healing process. Why does Shino have to be such a worry-wart? "I'm just a little achy is all."

"From work?" He asks, clinging to my waist again, causing new sparks of pain to bloom.

"Yes," I mutter, tugging his hand down.

His eyes snap open, curiosity and worry flickering through them again. "Was there another incident?" Shino pushes, starting to slide the edge of my shirt up. I'm sure the anxious little cicada has his mind running in a million different directions.

"It's not a big deal," I try to downplay, tugging my shirt back into place. "Would you stop worrying so much? The more you worry the more I stress out about how stressed you are."

"I don't mean to make you stressed," Shino mumbles, eyes locked on me as his hand fights with mine, continuing to try and peel my shirt up. "I just want to fix what is wrong in any way I can. Let me fix it. Please?"

"Fine," I sigh, giving in and letting him raise my shirt. "No freaking out."

"I won't freak out." Shino's face fills with contentment, contentment that quickly washes away once he gets a look over my rib cage. His eyes flicker from my dark bruises to my face, his expression a mix of concern and anger. Well, as close to anger as he can muster. "You are... you are bruised."

"I am bruised," I echo, trying not to jerk away when he runs his fingertips over the marked-up skin. His eyes dance over my skin as well, getting more upset the longer he looks at the bruises.

     His mouth snaps open and closed a few times as he repeatedly blinks, struggling to form a sentence. "Cricket," Shino starts, his voice slowly rising with the nickname.

     "You said you wouldn't freak out."

     "I'm not freaking out," he mutters, letting my shirt fall back into place. "We will have a nice supper and a relaxing bath," he continues, muttering more to himself than me as he walks back to settle into his chair. Maybe I shouldn't have given in and told him.

I carefully watch Shino's body language, waiting for his calm composure to break as he fills his plate. "My students would like to know if you'll be attending their graduation." Maybe it will be okay. Maybe Shino won't have a meltdown over this, maybe he won't stress about it.

     "Of course, I will. I've already been approved for the time off."

     He falls silent, slowly blinking as he stares at me, our food forgotten. "I can't let it go."

"I figured."

————————————

     Shino's hands move slowly, using a towel to gently pat my bruises to dry them off with minimal pain being caused. His panic has gone down a bit since dinner, but he's still as attentive as the dotting boyfriend he is. "Does it hurt? Am I hurting you?" He asks, his touches stalling for a moment.

     "You're not hurting me," I hum, sliding my hand through his hair, being careful not to pull on any of the knots. Unlike the rest of him, Shino's hair is dry since it wasn't his hair-wash day. Despite not washing it, his hair is still knotted and needs to be picked through, though I doubt he'll let me do it for him at the moment. I don't he'll let me do anything for the next week.

     "Alright," he mutters, dabbing at me a few more times before he tosses the towel into the hamper. "Let's go lay you down now."

     "I'm not dying, Shi."

     "I know," he snips at me, ushering me into our bedroom. "You need to rest and your bruises need to be taken care of."

I let out a sigh, taking slow footsteps so I don't get 'yelled' at again for 'over-exerting' myself. Shino's hands wander over me, being careful to avoid my wounds. "Alright, lay down on your side. You're not hurt side, the reason being it is good to elevate bruises above heart level."

"I know, Shi," I giggle, rolling my eyes at him as I crawl into the bed, lying how I was told to. I swear, sometimes he forgets I'm a nurse.

"I will be right back," he tells me, peppering my cheek with kisses before vanishing. It's not long until Shino is back, smothering my face in small kisses again as he sets his supplies down. "Alright, I am going to coat you in some peppermint oiled lotion the reason being that it'll help you heal faster and help with the color. Then we'll start your cold compress," he mumbles, once again talking more to himself than me. "The reason - "

"- being that it'll help the swelling?" I cut him off, chuckling at him again. "I know, Shino."

He falls quiet, blinking at me a few times before he shifts into motion. "I know," he finally whispers, squirting some lotion on my side. Shivers spill down my back from the cold liquid. The soft clinking of glass follows, Shino adding a few drops of peppermint oil before his hands connect with me. His kikaichus start spilling out too, pitter-pattering between the two of us and crawling over the bed sheets.

"You are beautiful. You are outstanding. You are inspiring. You are brilliant." Compliments spill from Shino as easily as his breaths. His hands are nimble and warm as he carefully rubs the lotion into my skin, being sure not to press too hard as he soothes my bruises. The feeling is lulling and comforting, the same as his smooth voice. "You are my everything," he adds, his lips falling down my side, careful to avoid the tinted lotion being massaged with his hands.

"You're amazing too, Shi," I murmur, starting to fall asleep from his pampering. "Thank you. For everything."

"Of course, Cricket," he answers, a hand falling away as the other one crawls down my back, massaging a different area. His lips trail over my arm, twirling up it before connecting with my neck. More kikaichus spill out, tumbling over their master's fingers to explore. They quickly spread their wings, the smell of the oil scaring them off, pushing them to go adventure somewhere else in the room.

Soon, a cloth-wrapped ice pack is laid on my side, just a hint of pressure added to it. "I will be calling out of work tomorrow," he mutters, softly sucking on my skin. Shino is a health nut, obviously, so he doesn't suck longer than a few seconds before finding a different patch of my neck to focus on.

"I don't need you to call out of work. I'll be fine on my own."

"I will not be going to work tomorrow. I will be here with you all day," he grumbles, his nose bumping against my jawline. My throat quickly abounded for my jaw, kisses and soft suctions continuing.

"Why is that?"

"The reason being that I miss you," he whispers, slowly making his way up to my lips. "And I wish to continue pampering you. My pretty, uninformative, stubborn, bruised Cricket." A rare chuckle comes from Shino, soft and almost silent, but still there.

[xaphrin]

At Midnight, My Heart Drops

Fuck.

Raven stared into Damian's calm face, desperately trying to think of something to say - an excuse, a flippant comment - anything. But, no. She stood there, frozen on the spot watching the muscle in his jaw twitch as he waited for an answer for the most unnerving question he could have asked her. 

“I'm… sorry?” She feigned ignorance, trying to buy enough time to get her brain to process his request again. Her heart was pounding in her throat and he had to have heard it. “Can you ask me that one more time?”

“Be my date for the Wayne New Year's Eve party.” 

When he repeated it, it sounded less of a request and more of a demand. As though the inconvenience of repeating himself should have been repaid with a ‘yes’ answer regardless of what the question was. Cocky bastard. Raven fought the automatic urge to open a portal to anywhere and shove him in it. Taking a deep breath, she calmed her pounding heart and stared at him, keeping her face expressionless. Just because she was adept at controlling her emotions, it didn’t mean she didn’t have any.  

“What the fuck for? You’re the son of Bruce Wayne. You wake up and trip over people trying to get dates with you. You have a wellspring of viable candidates to choose from for a New Year’s Eve party.” She fought to keep her panic under control, and continued to stare at him, hoping she looked calmer than she felt. “Please don't ask the girl who doesn't know the difference between an oyster fork and an olive fork.”

“Or a dessert fork.” He smirked as he reminded her of the celebratory dinner party the Mayor had in their honor last year, and the horror of some societal elites as Raven ate her salad with a dessert fork. The scandal.

Raven's face fell and she gave him a deadpan stare, but Damian was unaffected. Finally, he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “The truth is that I need someone I trust to run interference.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted an eyebrow, motioning for him to elaborate. 

“There are… girls. Women.” He shrugged. “Some men.”

“Yes. That's usually who make up populations of people. Your point?”

“I'm a rich, educated, eligible bachelor.” He groaned and stared up at the ceiling, as if he was ashamed to be direct. “Of marrying age.”

“You forgot good looking.”

Why in the fuck had she admitted that out loud? Raven bit the inside of her cheek to keep from looking embarrassed, but Damian stared at her, and she swore she saw his face flush at least a little. She shrugged, trying to be as objective as possible. “I'm not blind, Damian.” She managed to keep herself from blurting out the rest of that statement: you're drop dead gorgeous and totally stacked - of course people are going to try and at least bang you.

“So what… you want me to lurk in the shadows and scare off anyone you don't approve of? Is there someone specific you're trying to… date? Court?” She rubbed her thumb along her jaw, thinking. “What do rich people from the Hamptons call it? Woo?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “Is there a reason you're being so blithe about this?”

“You just asked me to be your pretend girlfriend so that you can avoid talking to people who might want to date you.” She shoved at her hair and crossed her arms over her chest, needing to do something with her hands. “That’s a setup for a bad romance movie.”

He sighed again, obviously frustrated that Raven wasn’t taking his request seriously. Raven couldn’t take his request seriously. The minute she stopped trying to treat his request like a joke, her heart would break into a hundred pieces. She had been harboring feelings for Damian for years, practically since they had been pulled onto the Titans team together. She could keep her feelings under control as long as she kept a heavy barrier of friendship and distance between them. 

But knowingly putting herself into a situation where she had to be a girlfriend - even a pretend one - would force all of those feelings front and center. It would leave an opening for her to confess those feelings, and she would admit to him (and probably all of his family too) that she loved him. If Raven was being honest with herself, she didn’t want to be hurt when Damian ultimately rejected her confession.

She could see the whole scene play out over and over in her mind, and the risk felt far too great. 

“You’re the only one I want to be my date for the party.”

Raven felt like the floor underneath her had just disappeared. Her heart fell into her stomach before leaping back into her chest to pound frantically against her ribs. Damian’s face was unreadable, and he stared at her, his eyes searching her face for something he could read. 

Raven panicked again, trying to find something she could say that would keep her in control. “Is it because you trust me to not fall in love with you?” Because too late, she added within her own thoughts. 

“Because you’re my friend and I trust you. Full stop.” 

The excitement of his words mingled with the pain of the word friend, leaving Raven to feel both elated and disappointed at the same time. But, that was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She would rather be safe behind her barrier of friendship, then put herself at risk of a broken heart. But still… if he only considered her a friend, then there was nothing she needed to worry about. She could do this for him, as a friend.  

Rubbing her forehead, she turned and stepped back from him, knowing that her next words were going to be her downfall. 

“Just tell me when I have to meet you, and what the hell I should wear.”

[i-heart-hxh]

Hello! I hope AX is fun!

I have a question along the lines of some that you probably have already gotten before. If so, sorry. Mine is basically: do you think people who say there's queer/gay subtext in Gon and Killua's relationship are reading too much into it, or are otherwise biased to an extent that it's effecting objectivity?

The reason I ask is: usually people who say these sorts of things are the borderline homophobic sort that insist kids their age can't be gay or make fun of people who like to engage with anime fandoms, but I have come across someone (in private, friend of a friend, lol) with a couple of arguments which I think leave out all that, and I thought it would be valuable to ask, both just to have a discussion and because I don't quite trust my own skills.

One point was that the famous shinjuu line isn't as romantically charged as the English speaking fandom makes it out to be, and that the word contemporarily refers to multi-death tragedy or dedication resulting in death generally, especially in the context with which Killua said it (being that he was about to follow Gon into a fight with Pitou which he knew they'd lose without any prior mutual agreement). The argument was that a romantic reading of the line comes from bias and unfamiliarity, and as a result isn't as paid attention to in Japanese HxH communities as it is in English ones.

The other was that a lot of the moments showcasing the intensity of Gon and Killua's feelings (such as the dodgeball or "you are light" scenes) are very typical/standard of shounen anime, which often have central themes of friendship that are frequently "overestimated" by fandom to be intentional romantic undertones, and that these two characters are not unique in that respect. They said determining romance-establishing purposes to scenes like the ones Killua shares with Palm is projection that interferes with analysis for all the reasons mentioned above. Part of the argument was that a romantic interpretation ignores a subversion of 'the power of friendship' shounen trope, as Gon and Killua have a comparatively tragic "end" (in quotations because obviously the story isn't done), where Gon pushed Killua away, Killua could not stand up for himself, and Gon ended up defeating a powerful enemy without him; adding romance to it obscures and misses the point of this subversion. They also said it was very unlikely for Togashi, should he want to explore queer themes like this, to be so subtle about it, and to not ascribe intent to the author.

The way I see it is that reading romance between Killua and Gon is just one of many interpretations someone may get from a culmination of moments from the text, and that a lot of meta analysis will inevitably be biased by someone's own experiences. For example, a lot of people can relate to the experience of having a baby gay crush, and so see themselves in Killua and read the character with that background in mind. I think the arguments I see here (on tumblr, but also your blog) are well-substantiated and well-explained, which I think are all that's needed for a "valid" interpretation.

Anyway. I apologize for the long ask. Thank you for reading all that!

Hi! AX was fun, thank you!! I caught a cold so I've been slow to recover this week, but I'm starting to feel better.

So, I've answered similar questions with a lot of different reasons why I think the subtext is intentional, and I think it's worth reading that first because it helps when thinking about Togashi's mindset and interests in his works. While of course I can't put words in Togashi's mouth, there is validity in examining things he has actually said and included in prior works and deducing some of his tendencies and patterns based off of that. I do not think it's a stretch or leap at all to read queer themes into the work of someone who has stated an interest in creating queer works, expressed that he enjoys and is influenced by queer works, is married to someone who created a work known for its queer themes, and has previously included queer themes in his works as well. And I mean, KilluGon isn't even the only queer inclusion in HxH by far either.

The thing is, I can understand where this person is coming from...up to a point. If you take any one or even a small handful of these points in isolation, sure, it's not difficult to say that perhaps the romantic reading of those moments is incidental and not intended to be taken that seriously.

I think the real problem with this attitude is that when you start adding up the number of times something with a romantic implication is included between Gon and Killua and look at the picture as a whole, it does reach a point where it gets increasingly ridiculous to claim it isn't intentional or has no real weight. Why would someone like Togashi, who has such an eye for detail in his stories, bother including these implications over and over and over again if he didn't want it to be read this way? Especially when he is someone who has expressed interest in writing queer stories? I struggle to look at the full picture and accept that there isn't a strong degree of intention to the decisions he makes.

I've seen tons of other anime, including lots of shounen, and while I understand that person's perspective with the fever-pitch friendships that the fandom then takes and interprets as more (something I believe Jump intentionally fosters as a marketing tool), personally I do see HxH as being several notches above other shounen series with regards to both how much subtext exists and also how seriously the bond between the characters is portrayed. To me, it does feel distinct from even many other series where male characters are commonly shipped for these reasons, and I'm actually rather skeptical with regards to the majority of these ships being considered canon or even close to it even when there is some basis the fandom is going off of. But I do think HxH leans into this aspect even more than most other shounen do, both in the series itself and in related offshots like the musicals and marketing and even how both versions of the anime were approached.

Also, I will say that I follow the Japanese side of the fandom pretty closely and read tweets frequently, and I do see people bring up the shinjuu line with regards to Killua's feelings and especially what it says about the gravity of how he feels towards Gon. I would actually agree there is less emphasis on it in the Japanese side of the fandom because the word (including the subtext) is already familiar to Japanese audiences and so they just see it upfront and then either take it that way or not, while it has to be explained to a non-Japanese audience due to the lack of cultural familiarity and also the inadequacy of the English translations to capture the meaning.

Regardless of the fact that it technically can be taken either way, I do strongly feel like the word was used by Togashi with intention and knowledge of how it's normally used in a literary sense. I believe Togashi made a choice to use that word on purpose and let his audience take it as they will. It's also worth noting that Gon and Killua directly parallel another lovers' suicide--that of Meruem and Komugi, who do use romantic language towards one another. Komugi says "I may not be much, but please, let me accompany you," which is an old fashioned way for Japanese women to accept a marriage proposal. This echos Killua's "Gon, you are light. Sometimes you shine so brightly, I must look away. But even so, is it still okay if I stay at your side?”

I also think Gon and Killua's friendship can be and is still a subversion of shounen friendship tropes while at the same time being romantically coded. In fact, that it is so close to romantic is a bit of a subversion itself. I don't think the coding gets in the way of the shounen friendship subversion or takes away from it--both can exist at the same time. I still say that the way the Palm subplot is constructed doesn't fully make sense if you remove the intention of the exact nature of Killua's feelings being explored. Otherwise why bother to have so much emphasis on romance as a theme? Why not construct things differently? Why not have Gon make a platonic friend for Killua to get jealous over instead? Why essentially give Killua a romantic "rival"? Why have Killua "stalk" them on their date and point out that's what he's doing? Why have him freaking out at the thought of Gon going on dates and then saying he wants to be with Gon forever literally the next panel? Why make his jealousy come off as romantic in nature because of the way the whole situation is set up? These decisions matter! Togashi could have approached this entire subplot from any angle, and yet he chose to keep repeatedly referencing romantic love when the focus is on Killua's feelings for Gon.

Obviously as someone who ships Gon and Killua, I do have a certain degree of bias, though I like to think I am able to step away from that and look at the series more objectively as well. I do have moments where I go, "I am I being a little delusional here? Do I need to re-assess?" and think over all of what we've been provided again and...honestly I just come to the same conclusion every time no matter what angle I try to look at it from. I do believe that Togashi writes the KilluGon dynamic in such a way that people who would rather ignore the romantic subtext can do so. It's a perfectly beautiful and complex friendship regardless of whether you acknowledge the romantic subtext or not. I think Togashi enjoys playing with the ambiguity of it. But just because it's ambiguous doesn't mean the romantic subtext doesn't exist or have meaning/intent behind it, and to me, adding up all the different choices made in the series, it does reach a tipping point wherein I seriously believe Togashi includes it with full intention and knowledge of what he's doing. And for what it's worth, I don't think it's actually that subtle. A lot of people notice it and wonder about it and connect with it, even including some people who don't actually want to see it (think about all the dudebros who post online going, "Is it just me or does Killua seem kinda gay???").

I hope this response is helpful to you! I wish I could provide more concrete examples in this post, but I feel like it's getting awfully long as it is. I do sincerely believe that the romantic interpretation is a valid and meaningful one that has legitimate merit when looking at the series. If others would rather ignore that aspect, they're allowed to feel that way, and of course no one is obligated to ship Gon and Killua in a romantic way no matter how much subtext exists. But I don't think that perspective erases the existence of the romantic implications, which are fairly heavy in my opinion when you add them all together.