#right now i can say what i want and know it’s not gonna be misconstrued bc of the community we have

[padfootastic]

I follow some wolfstar people, but I am real selective about them, they love Sirius as much as I do. Other than that, I’m mostly just hanging out in my own little corner

no but same. i follow a few r/s authors that i can wholeheartedly trust with my boys and that’s it. i’m so, so happy w this little community and everyday, i sit there, fingers crossed & touching wood, that it doesn’t become…more than this.

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[ratatatastic]

"Is [Barkov] a normal dude? Meaning like—is he just like, you're having a cheeseburger some day and he's like 'Oh, no, no, no! I need this, I need the superfoods,' like is he kind-of... is he a normal guy?" "'Is that Wagyu or no?'" "'I need, you know, the best of the best,' Like how is he?" "He's undercover really funny, especially when you get to know him. I don't think he said much for the first 3 to 5 years. But I always joke with him I've never been invited to his house and we've played together for 10 years." "Dude, Brandon Montour said the same thing! We had him on last year! He's like, 'Dude, he's never had us over! We're always like—' But he doesn't live by all you guys, right? He kind-of lives a little further out?" "Yeah, he lives 20-30 minutes away in Boca [Raton.] But, yeah, no I—Listen, it's just his personality. It's who he is, and we respect him for it. Like I said, he's a really funny guy when you get to know him, and sometimes he's got those one-liners. And, you know, he's one of those perfect humans, right? You know, one of the guys we all strive to be, and we'll all come short forever, but—yeah, he's a good person."

The Cam & Strick Podcast | 7.30.24 (x)

i hope this bit never ends if not for the fact that each time ekky has to say it he has to add another year to it which adds to the comedy of it all

"Hey, who's got the best setup on your team with the Panthers? When all the boys get together, 'We're going to your crib. We're gettin' on the jet skis,' whatever. Who's got the best setup?" "Yeah, um—Aaron [Ekblad]'s probably...I mean, Aaron's been there the longest. Hopefully, Barkov hears this! He's been there the longest, but he never invites the boys over to his house!" "Oh~ Barky!" "Is he cheap?" "I'm gonna call Barky out right now, and see if he can invite the whole team over next year..." "Is he cheap? Is he cheap? What is it?" "Will he do it?" "Oh, he's up in 9 East—obviously, like quiet, unbelievable guy, but he's the only up in Boca [Raton.] So I don't know if anybody wants to even drive up to Boca..." "Oh, Fancyland Zone..." "What do you mean? How far is that away from where you are? Like, and everybody else?" "Yeah, we're all in Ft. Lauderdale, Las Olas—within probably... you know some families are in Parkland by the arena, but we're all within probably 10 minutes away and he's up 30, 40 minutes away so."

The Cam & Strick Podcast | 7.25.23 (x)

the boys ribbing sasha for living so far away and never inviting them to his house but still going btw hes amazing and incredible and perfect and sososo good we say this to tease him but like this is just who he is as a person and we accept that so please dont misconstrue this into something its not this is a joke and we dont take it to heart

and on that topic its really a shame that NA media doesnt know how fucking funny and how absolutely unserious he can be. I understand the notion of diligent no-nonsense captain is a prevalent idea (which he is lets make that clear he takes hockey so seriously) but especially since this season hes said hes cut down on weight so he could skate faster (and the results show) so i understand where the questions are coming from knowing the track record but also

we've won a cup and hes ramped it up its fantastic and this is one of my favourite examples of it of how quippy he can be

happy to talk about my cappy!!! happy to tease my cappy!!!

"and you know hes one of those perfect humans right? you know one of the guys we all strive to be, and we'll all come short forever but yeah he's a good person" do you also cry about how terribly fond and sincere ekky gets about sasha

[xe-n4]

misconstrued events

feat. sae note: enjoy ig contains: fluff total: 1185

“Why haven’t you done it yet?” you asked with a playful smile, twirling your pencil between your fingers as you leaned over the cafe table. 

Sae flicked your forehead in response, causing you to fall back into your seat cradling the spot you had just been hit. “Done what?”

You smirked, “Kissed me.”

“That’s cocky.” He said without looking up from his homework. “Who says you're my type?”

His words hurt, but it wasn’t like you weren’t expecting it. You knew he wasn’t interested in you. “You wound me, whatever shall I do?” you joked, pretending it didn’t cut through your heart.

“Quit whining about it so I can get my work done.”

After a long sigh, you turned your attention to the paper in front of you. The thought of even reading the first question brought great sadness to your heart, you needed something fun to do. You looked at Sae again, he was laser-focused on his work. Why did he have to be so boring?

“Sae?” you said in a singsong voice. “Would you still love me if—”

“—you were a worm?” he interrupted. “Very bold of you to assume I love you now. Do your work”. He pointed at your book with his pencil, a stern look on his face.

“You’re mean.”

“And you’re going to fail the next test and then call me at 2 in the morning, crying about it.” He put his pen down at this point, staring you dead in the eye. His stern gaze shot all the butterflies that swarmed your stomach, causing you to shift uncomfortably. You hadn’t expected him to express his frustrations in such a blunt manner. “I’m trying to save myself an earache.”

Sae was expecting another witty comment that would piss him off, but you just nodded and picked up a pen for the first time since you arrived. It stirred something within him, and he didn’t like it.

The rest of the study session went relatively smoothly, Sae got his work done and even got a start on some topics you hadn’t been through yet. You, on the other hand, barely grasped what the hell gas exchange was (school wasn’t your strong suit). But it still bothered him that you weren’t saying much, even as he was walking you home.

“Maybe we should stop for boba?” Sae asked, remembering the comment you made early about the boba store that opened near your house.

“No thanks.” Your tone of voice was bland, it lost all its flavour and expressiveness that you were known for. Why?

Sae couldn’t figure it out, racking his brain for answers on the unusually quiet walk through the park to your place. It unsettled him, to say the least. You’ve always had a playful relationship so he couldn’t understand what was wrong with what he said.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” He grabbed your arm and pulled you to face him. Sae looked into your eyes, pleading for an answer to right his wrongs.

“I have nothing to say.”

“That’s not true, you always have something to say, you always have something to annoy me with—”

“Stop it!” You jerked your hand away from him, embarrassed. That was all he thought of you, ‘annoying’, the thought chipped away at your heart. “I’m not annoying, okay?”

Sae responded with a hesitant and wide-eyed ‘okay’, your outburst caught him off-guard. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“It doesn’t matter, you still said it,” you replied with a bitterness that rolled off you in waves.

He gestured for you to sit down on a bench and he sat beside you. The sound of children’s playful screams filled the thick silence between the two of you. Sae didn’t know how to deal with it, he’s never argued with you before (if you can even this an argument).

“I’m sorry,” he said after a long stretch of silence. “I didn’t mean it that way, I just wanted you to say something. It scares me when you're not yourself.”

With that, some of your bitterness dissipated, and that was why you hated having feelings for him. No matter how much he pisses you off, he always finds a way to make it better, to soothe the hurt he didn’t even know he caused.

“I’m gonna kiss you now.”

As Sae leaned closer to you, he brought a hand under your chin to make you face him. Your breath hitched when you realised what he was doing. His eyes flicked from your eyes to your lips and this simple action revived the butterflies in your stomach.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked and you said yes. When Sae’s lips pressed against yours, you noted that they were soft, softer than you expected them to be and that he was being gentle with you. His hand moved from your chin to hold the side of your face as he deepened the kiss that was initially uncoordinated as if neither of you had ever danced to this rhythm before. However, you became accustomed to the fumbles and missteps, it wasn’t perfect but it felt right.

You were the first to pull away and you came to regret it after you opened your eyes to see Sae still reeling from that experience.

“That was one hell of an apology,” you joked, trying to fill the quiet with anything other than itself.

Sae had completely ignored what you said and cleared his throat and sat up like he was about to give a speech. “You believe honesty’s the best policy, right?”

“I mean, usually, yeah.”

“Then,” he took a deep breath. “I like you. A lot.” Sae turned to you, trying to peer into your eyes for an answer.

“Oh,” you said letting out a breathless laugh. “I like you too.”

You saw through your peripheral Sae’s hand inching closer to your own as if he was scared you’d still reject him after your confession. Eventually, you locked your fingers together between the two of you. 

“Can we talk about earlier?” He asked when he finally managed to get his heart to stop racing.

You took a deep breath and ran through the events of today in your mind. “The things you said hurt me Sae. It doesn’t feel great when the person you like says you’re annoying over and over again.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he began with a nervousness unnatural to his character. “I was trying to…um, I was trying—God this is embarrassing.”

His fidgeting amused you as watched him try to get his words out in a semi-coherent sentence. Until it clicked and your eyes widened.

“Wait! Were you trying to flirt?” You tried to hold in your laughter but failed miserably. “Oh, my God!”

Sae turned to you, unimpressed and thoroughly embarrassed. “Could you stop? It’s not that funny,” he mumbled. You ignored his complaints and he pinched your side to get you to stop.

“I’m taking back the kiss, you can go back to being mad at me,” he said standing up before walking off in the direction you came.

“Wait no!”

m.list | like & reblog

[neptunescore]

The way people just suddenly have a collective amnesia of all the the times when the team asked Oscar to let Lando through without a fight is so disappointing. Now fans are just accusing him of not being a good team mate or not thinking of the team. It’s insane. How did Oscar react every time the team asked him to let Lando pass? Did he throw a tantrum? Did he negotiate over the radio? Did he make it hard? No, he literally just followed orders. And everytime this was brought up to them in interviews, what were their answer? Their answer has always been along the lines of “right now it’s not about racing each other. It’s about scoring for the team. It’s about maximizing results. because we dont have the fastest to compete for race wins yet. BUT when we do, that’s when we can race each other for wins.”

And that has always been the position they have taken as a team. Fans are deliberately misconstruing Oscar’s words. Saying that in the interview, Oscar said he wants to win while Lando said he wants 1-2 for the team. So of course that automatically means Oscar is only thinking of himself while Lando is the team player. Like really? You sure about that? You really got all that based on an interview? It’s so strange.

Oscar has never shied away from saying that once they have the car to win races, he’s going to race Lando for wins. That was their goal last year. That was their goal in the beginning of the season. That was what he was counting on when he let Lando through w/o a fight in his home race in Melbourne.

But dont you guys worry, Andrea has just come out and basically say that from now on, team orders prioritizing Lando’s WDC win will be implemented. So Oscar now will come to the remaining 8 races only as an instrument to Lando’s races. And it does not look like Red Bull’s car will get any faster significantly so that’s basically a Lando WDC guarantee. What a happy papaya team.

Honestly yeah, Oscar's always listened to team orders – the amount of times last year he was asked to let lando overtake him is crazy, like if I were a hard-core osc fan I'd be so over mclaren (NOT lando cause it's literally not his fault). Anyway, I don't really know what else to say to you anon, bc from a team perspective rn it does make sense to prioritise lando more. I mean, obv, if oscs qualified much better than him, then they're gonna give oscar more priority, but other than that... yeeaah — their last wdc win was in 2008, I bet they're hungry for it.

I also don't really understand ppl twisting Oscar's words, like leave that man alone. Even if he was saying the shit u think he's saying, he's completely in the right. (I, too, don't care abt landos championship)

ALSO. I HAD NO IDEA ANDREA SAID ANYTHING LIKE THAT??? I mean, glad (im not, but u papaya fans should be🤮😩😔) mclaren finally landed on a proper decision, but I'm acc gonna cry if lando wins the wdc. I'm sorry, I literally hate mclaren, I CAN NOT watch that ugly orange abomination of a team on the top step. I will rip my eyes out and build a better car for max BLIND if it means stopping lando😭.

[bokutosmochi]

CALL ME LITTLE SUNSHINE (WHEN YOU FEEL ALL ALONE) or when you don't use the shaw pack boys' nickname

what's it? crack/fluff

allergen warning/s? food mention in asher's

sugar level? 0.6k

names for the order? davey david shaw, ash asher talbot, miles milo greer

parlor's note? in this one shot, milo has the nickname miles since he doesn't really have a canon nickname as far as i know at least :3

also 'tis the first time i've written for the redactedverse, i hope you guys like it (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

bon appetit!

DAVID SHAW

"david."

he twists in his chair, momentarily paying attention to you instead of paperwork. he swears up and down that he hates that stupid little nickname you gave him - no one has ever used that on him since he was a very small child - but he cannot lie, his given name sounds wrong when it comes from your lips. he thinks to himself if he's done anything wrong in the past few hours that you've been out of the house, any chore that you asked him to do that he may have forgotten about, anything that could possibly upset you, but he's stumped. he can't think of anything. well, except for that shit eating grin you have on your face. in classic david fashion, he graces you with the huff, eye roll, and glare combo you love so much and it gets you giggling. "what? are you so bored that you've resorted to playing pranks that don't work on me?" his deep voice grumbles and you do nothing but nod. "c'mere, you can sit on my lap while i deal with all this paperwork. just don't distract me."

ASHER TALBOT

"asher."

his hand freezes around the playstation controller for a short second before turning to where your voice came from slowly with a too-sweet-and-innocent grin on his face that you recognize from the times when you catch him doing things that he wasn't supposed to. "i swear i didn't eat the last mochi." your eyes widened at his statement. "i was just doing that as a joke! you ate the last mochi?" from the corner of your eye, you watch him mute his mic and you make a mental note to take it easy on him because you're sure that david and milo are gonna give him a hard time for abandoning their game. he sets down the controller on the coffee table in front of him before standing up and walking towards you. "babe, i just said that i didn't. why must you misconstrue my words?" despite yourself, you walk right into his open arms and rest your head against his chest. "i wanted that mochi." a cute pout was on your lips and while asher might find that absolutely adorable, he still wishes that he had more self control. "i'll make it up to you, i promise."

MILO GREER

"milo."

he jumps in surprise for a moment. you appeared in the room out of nowhere, as always. but because of the word that just came out of your mouth, instead of complaining about how you've spooked him for the nth time and how you'll probably give him a heart attack one of these days, his eyebrows furrow in confusion and he looks away from his phone to stare at you. "what's with the name, sweetheart?" the both of you had the day off and you spent the majority of it together. he's sure that he hasn't done anything to upset you since you were practically beaming at him all day. much to his dismay, you say nothing and continue standing by the bedroom's doorway with your arms crossed and an unreadable expression on your face, in your eyes. when you've first met, he advised you to practice having a poker face, but now that you're using it against him, he's not sure if he likes it after all. unless... "this isn't for some dumb tiktok, right? they always got the dumbest challenges there."

i get: reblog

you get: a ride on these werewolf boys' back

[sunniedesi]

In Defense of Future Diary...

TW: lots of yapping.

Making a small essay for Future Diary is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Since my entire blog is dedicated to the series, it only feels right to put something like this out into the ether. However, I’m never sure of the topics that I want to discuss the most. Do I write a defense for the show? My reasons for loving it so much? Its relevance and importance for anime culture? An analysis of Yuno’s character? There’s so much I feel you could say, but I never find the right words to express my feelings coherently. Today, I’ll make the attempt, though. I’ll go over all of the aforementioned questions here, mostly focusing on my personal opinions and feelings regarding the show. I don’t have much experience writing essays or analyses of media, so sorry in advance if my yapping is all over the place.

To begin, I should probably address the elephant in the room: Future Diary, despite its popularity and almost cult-classic status, has turned into a show people love to hate. You see it everywhere, when it comes to reviews, comments, opinion pieces, you name it, if it has Future Diary on the title, people will let you know all the gripes they have with the show. And while I tend to feel defensive or even saddened when I see so much hatred directed at my favorite show… I don’t necessarily blame anyone for feeling that way. I don’t want to be one of those people who pretends to hold the intellectual high-ground, acting as if everyone else is media-illiterate and I’m the one who truly gets the meaning of the series. At the end of the day, it’s just an anime, it’s not that deep. Everyone’s gonna like what they like; we all have different tastes and interests, so it’s only natural we all hold such different opinions about the show, especially given its campy, gory and almost edgy nature. Future Diary is definitely a product of early 2000’s trends, which some people (me lol) appreciate, and others certainly don’t.

That being said, while I respect people disliking the show for personal reasons, there are certain criticisms I see thrown its way that are not necessarily warranted. These issues can be boiled down to the following categories: “plot-holes,” a weak protagonist and toxic pairings. I’ll delve into all of these in a second, but I must say, the amount of times I’ve seen these specific points parroted over and over again makes me believe that many of the people making these arguments are piggybacking off of one another. It’s almost like they’re following a trend, repeating how the protagonist “sucks ass” and that the plot makes zero sense, without showing any examples as to how. 

It’s really common to find shallow arguments like those in comments sections and forums, but since I don’t want to feel like I’m barking up a tree in writing this essay, I decided to look for a source that encapsulated all of the common criticisms, while also backing them up with examples. Now, there are many good video essays out there on Future Diary, my personal favorite is by The Hot Box. But as far as critical pieces go, the one I found that goes the most in-depth is by the creator NezumiVA, titled: Mirai Nikki is Garbage, and Here’s Why. I’ll be referencing the video as I go along, but please note that while I disagree with many of this creator’s arguments, I don’t intend this to be a personal attack. As I said earlier, we’re all entitled to our different tastes and opinions, I can respect them disliking the series while having my own criticisms to give regarding the video. Just a little disclaimer so my intentions aren’t misconstrued here. 

With that out of the way, let’s take a deeper look into the main three arguments I mentioned before:

“The plot-holes eat up the show”

If you’ve been in the fandom for a while, you know that this is probably one of the most common criticisms levied towards Future Diary, and perhaps the one that holds the most weight. Or at least it would be, if it weren’t for the fact that “plot-holes” aren’t exactly the issue people are pointing at here. To explain, I believe people who dish out this claim all have different understandings of the definition of “plot-hole,” so to clarify: a plot-hole is an inconsistency, a contradiction in the narrative. For example, Yuno’s diary is all about Yukki, if she were to have diary entries not about him, that could be considered a plot-hole, as it contradicts the original narrative. A smaller detail being unexplained or overlooked for the sake of pacing is not a plot-hole. A flaw, yes, but as long as it doesn’t contradict what’s already been established in the story, it’s not a plot-hole. 

On one hand, it is true that there are certain Deus Ex Machina moments that aren’t properly explained in the show (heck, the god of this universe is called that for a reason), such as: how does 5th acquire all of his booby traps? Or where did 9th pull that motorcycle from? Why are characters so quick to forgive/forget certain events? These are smaller details that aren’t properly justified on-screen for the sake of pacing and making the show more interesting. You could possibly count this more as a case of poor characterization, particularly with 5th’s character having a lot of knowledge despite his age or Hinata quickly accepting the coin toss challenge despite having an advantage. Given the show only has 26 episodes, it’s only natural that detailed explanations for smaller details are omitted to make the show flow quicker and be more entertaining. While this may bother some people, I don’t find it to be such a big deal, or at least not a reason to dogpile on the show, when many other animes with shorter runtime fall victim to poor characterization as well. 

Many deem the plot nonsensical for missing these smaller explanations, but again, I find that exaggerated as they’re much, much trivial details that the majority of people don’t think of or focus on when watching the show. The video I referenced touches on the plot being illogical several times, not necessarily mentioning plot-holes per se, but complaining that many of the justifications behind certain plot points are unrealistic or contrived, though let’s be real here… since when is anime realistic? Future Diary, I would argue, does a good job of balancing very unrealistic scenarios with some realistic characters (like Yukki, but we’ll get into that later), which is what makes it interesting to watch. After all, what’s the fun in watching a fantasy show if it’s completely grounded in reality? Not to mention that many of the points brought up in the video aren’t contrived, especially if you were paying attention to the show. For example, the scene of Yuno meditating to figure out Reisuke’s plan. This wasn’t a Deus Ex Machina moment, it was foreshadowing of the fact she has her first-world memories locked away, and the meditation was her trying to access those memories. Same thing with Bacchus having an overpowered diary, it isn’t for the sake of it, he literally designed it to be that way, because he was the one who presented the idea of the diaries to Deus in the first place.

I’m getting a little side-tracked here, but you get the point. Ultimately, the worst sin a show can commit is being boring, and while Future Diary has its flaws in pacing and characterization, it contributes in keeping the viewers hooked to the action, packing its small run of 26 episodes with quite a bit of entertainment. Moreover, a lot of people overreact to these so-called “plot-holes”, yet they also fail to pay attention as to why things happen as they do in the show. Many of these criticisms can be summed up as either: trivial details that are omitted since they have little relevance to the plot and/or people not paying attention to what’s going on. 

Moving on, let’s tackle another very, very popular argument:

“Yukiteru is a total pushover (to put it nicely).” 

This is, without a doubt, the most common criticism I’ve seen people have of the show. I’m not sure if this is because people are used to the upbeat, overpowered protagonist trope in anime, but people don’t realize that Yukki being frustrating, awkward and terrified is an important part of the show’s storytelling, not to mention relatively unique. Very rarely do we see a realistic portrayal of a teenage protagonist in anime, and it is important for the show since it serves as a contrast to the other characters, all dark, callous and obsessed with the goal of becoming a God. Yukki is the only character not interested in any of this at the beginning. All he wanted was to escape reality with his phone and imaginary friends, and he's now thrusted into this terrible and hopeless situation. How exactly is a young boy expected to react under these circumstances? 

Teenagers are naive, dumb, selfish, all characteristics portrayed in Yukiteru, and these characteristics are put under scrutiny by every one of the diary owners, constantly telling him to grow a pair and stop using Yuno. This is easier said than done when you’re used to avoiding every little bit of responsibility in your life, and a girl who’s self-reportedly “crazy good at killing people” suddenly thrusts into your life ready to do all the work for you. Yukki is indeed a very flawed character, but that isn’t an accident, it is an intentional addition. It’s what makes him interesting; it pushes conflict into the show, and most importantly, drives home one of the main lessons of the show with Yukki’s development: fear doesn’t mean you’re not brave, it’s having that fear and pushing forward that makes you brave. A little corny, I know, but a valuable lesson for the Survival Game. 

Every character has an incentive for becoming God, and they’re utterly consumed by it to the point of insanity. Even a character like 4th, who was originally concerned with the goal of bringing order and justice rather than more carnage to the game gets carried away when a proper incentive for God’s seat comes into play: saving his son. In a Survival Game where we're surrounded by the most cunning and twisted of characters, killers, terrorists, people in corrupt positions of power, Yukki stands out like a sore thumb for retaining his humanity throughout it all, unwilling to get his hands dirty, rather willing to see hope in everyone else. It comes across as naive and all-too trusting. This is especially true for his father, but considering how little people he has to rely on, plus his childish hopes of seeing his family back together, his forgiveness towards him makes sense. And the same can be said for Yuno, the one constant he’s got all throughout the game. Despite the abuse and manipulation, she’s ultimately got his best interests at heart, but I’m getting ahead of myself with this point.

Eventually, the circumstances that Yukki goes through (namely his parents’ death) put that humanity, kindness and mercy, the staples of his personality, to test. It’s a testament to how desperate situations can corrupt even the most innocent of individuals. Yukiteru goes from a hopeful individual to a callous killer, no different from Yuno and equally as selfish. Similarly enough, we know thanks to her third-world-self that Yuno was originally a normal, happy girl with the hopes of finally having a loving family taking care of her. All of this, to then be tortured by the people who were supposed to bring that peaceful family life to her. 

Yukki being a weakling may be frustrating to some, it is certainly brought up many times during the video essay, but it’s an important factor that drives the plot and many of Future Diary’s lessons about growth and accountability. Besides, the anime certainly wouldn’t be as interesting to watch if every character was just an OP know-it-all like Akise. Which no hate to him, but the show wouldn’t be the same if every character were like him.

And speaking of Akise, I’ll take the opportunity to mention a point in the video essay that bothered me a bit. The creator says the show is “queerbaiting” with his character, because Akise’s attraction towards Yukki is forced, but I don’t see exactly how this is queerbaiting. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t queerbaiting when a character is insinuated to be gay, yet it’s kept ambiguous enough to never address it? The show straight-up explains the reason behind Akise’s attraction to Yukki. His love is forced because it was created by Deus to further his investigation about Yukki and Yuno. Akise himself is a fabrication of Deus. It is literally explained in episode 23. You can’t bait the audience into believing a character is gay if you explicitly tell the audience the character is gay lol.

But that’s one of the smaller issues I had with the video’s criticisms. My biggest gripes were actually the following: at the beginning of the essay, this creator talks about how many of the plot points in the show are contrived and illogical, but at the same time, they dislike the characters having tragic backstories that explain how they went on to become twisted individuals. Isn’t it a little contradictory that you complain about a character acting unnatural, yet when the explanation for their behavior comes up, you completely disregard it? They go as far as to say Esuno hates women and is misogynistic for his portrayal of female psychosis, and the use of SA as a tragic backstory being distasteful. Because, according to this creator, people who have been victimized never go on to become terrible people themselves, and that this is a “problematic stereotype.” 

To say that this worldview is incredibly simplistic and naive is putting it mildly. Being a victim doesn’t exempt you from the capability of hurting others, and in fact, the opposite is often true. Hurt people hurt people, that is another main theme in Future Diary, and one of the things I love about it so much. It doesn’t make its characters victims of terrible situations for the sake of pitying them, but to portray their natural descent into madness from being corrupted by a cruel and unrelenting world. Yuno, Yukki, Minene, Tsubaki, these characters all started out as normal until life turned them into the nihilistic monsters they became. They’re morally gray, an example of what you can become when your ethics and moral worldview is tested by society so many times, it ultimately turns you into a societal outcast. Which only makes it funnier that one of the questions asked in the video is “are we supposed to like these characters?” Yes and no, that’s the fun of writing morally gray characters.

I often see these takes with people who fail to understand that the portrayal of something in media ≠ endorsement. It’s the crux of people who lack media literacy, the failure to understand morally gray or just straight up evil characters as protagonists. The media itself isn’t telling you to repeat their actions, it is an exploration of how these actions manifest in the first place, a cautionary tale, if you will. I know that having evil or twisted protagonists isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but to accuse the story or the author of malicious intent would be completely missing the point of the story’s purpose. Not to mention, that it is important for stories like this to exist, to put us in the shoes of those who enact harm, to understand why they do it and keep us from becoming like them.

The show doesn’t justify any of their actions, in fact, it often shows them for what they are: twisted and morally corrupt; it is on the characters themselves to bear the burdens of these actions. A clear example of this is the confrontation that Yukki has with his friends nearing the end of episode 22. It is probably one of my favorite scenes in the entire show: Yukki being forced to face all of his demons at once, realizing just how much damage he has caused, damage that he later has to mend in his final confrontation with Yuno to finally put an end to everyone’s suffering. It is dense, crude, and it is certainly necessary for both him and Yuno. 

Funnily enough, this youtuber goes on to say the following about Yuno’s background: “I really don’t care what her (back)story pans out to look like… her actions are still not excusable.” Which is true, just because someone was abused doesn’t justify them perpetuating the same abuse later. However, they then crush their own point by claiming that Yuno’s obsessions started all because of “a passing conversation.” I guess they weren’t lying when they said that they didn’t care about Yuno’s backstory… because chalking up her obsession as solely a result of that scene is completely disregarding her background. That conversation in the classroom did start Yuno’s fixation towards Yukki, but it is not the root of her obsessive tendencies. Yuno herself believes it to be, but this is an idea that is squandered by Yukki in his final confrontations with her. Moreover, if you paid attention to her backstory, you would understand it is all due to her childhood neglect. And similarly, Yukki’s attraction towards Yuno stems from this as well.

This brings me to the final criticism:

“Yuno and Yukki’s relationship is problematic, toxic and makes no sense.”

There is no denying that Yuno and Yukki start out as an incredibly toxic and troublesome pairing, using each other for their own selfish wants instead of working with each other. This is the Achilles heel in their dynamic, and it is often the cause of their troubles. Yuno acts impulsive, unstable and manipulative towards Yukki due to her insecurities and debilitating obsession, while Yukki pushes all responsibility to Yuno due to his own lack of a spine. They hurt each time and time again, yet they can’t help but be with each other. And this is because, in a twisted way, they compliment each other. 

On one hand, we have a social outcast, ignored by everyone including his family, visibly alone and afraid of being hurt by others, but still seeing the best in people. Then on the other hand, we have a popular girl from a prominent family, visibly perfect, but in reality just as alone due to abuse she experiences at home, making her view people as fundamentally cruel. On the outside they’re opposites, but deep down, they’re both lonely, and terrified of said loneliness. It is only when they meet, when Yukki shows her the kindness she was missing for years and when Yuno gives him the support he had always craved, that they fulfill each other’s needs. By becoming acquainted with Yuno and the Survival Game, Yukki becomes increasingly darker, eventually maturing at the end of the show, while Yukki awakens Yuno’s empathy and pulls her back from the darkness, as we see when she falters to hurt third-world Yuno and her parents. 

Their complementary personalities are even referenced by their diaries, which only work seamlessly if paired. They balance each other out perfectly, bringing out the best of each other, but only after learning to push back on their worst characteristics, which is also true for real-life relationships. In truth, just like these two, people are flawed, traumatized and generally toxic to one another. There’s no such thing as people or relationships that start out perfect from the get-go, they need to learn to grow together. 

In that sense, this is what makes the ending of the show so powerful to me. Yukki isn’t set on killing Yuno or becoming God anymore. He’s finally taking responsibility, coming to terms with the awful deeds he’s done, and the fact that he can’t undo them. Instead, he wants to help Yuno come to terms with her own demons, finally giving back to her what she needs and not something for his own benefit. Similarly, Yuno realizes just how off the deep-end she’s gone when she meets her past self, acknowledging that she’s lost her original goal, and that repeating the cycle of hurt won’t fix her already broken spirit. That world isn’t for her, and so she finally ends the hurt, giving her and Yukki the peace they need. 

Many people don’t like Redial because they see it as an undeserved Happy Ending for two awful individuals, but the way I like to see it is as a form of redemption. Both characters, in the end, do what they have to do to restore order in the world. Yukki pays for his sins in the void, finally a God but at the cost of mourning what could’ve been. First-World Yuno ends the suffering she’s putting herself through so her new self can thrive, almost akin to breaking free from her past traumas to finally heal. The new self regains those memories, not to sulk, but to build from them, going back with Yukki to start a new world that isn’t characterized by their original hurt. In a way, it's a story about how the most downtrodden of individuals can find solace in love, break from their past and learn to heal together. For me, it’s cathartic and fulfilling to watch.

To finish this lengthy post, I feel it’s appropriate to mention the importance of Future Diary’s characters, and more specifically, Yuno. The video describes her writing as shallow and contrived, but I’ve already addressed that in the previous paragraphs. Many people love chalking her up to “cRaZy YaNdErE gUrL™ 🤪​,” but she’s so, so much more than that. Her character actually has a lot of depth if you pay attention to her story: she’s a girl, an orphan who went on to be neglected by her foster father and abused by her foster mother, resulting in complex trauma, insecurities and fear of abandonment that she tries to hide and overcompensate for in her overly aggressive tendencies. Her obsession in avoiding the loss of the only person she has becomes her demise, as she lives in a loop of torment all for the sake of not being alone again, a cycle of hurt only she has the power of breaking if she finds the strength to do it. Whether it was intentional or not, Yuno portrays a lot of the issues people with mental illness, such as BPD, struggle with. 

Now, claiming that Yuno is a perfect, one-to-one representation of BPD would be reducing this disorder to a caricature, there’s obviously so much more to BPD than what you see in this portrayal. But, I feel like out of the huge list of characters that fall under the “yandere” or crazy girl trope, she’s probably one of the best written ones in anime. I know she’s often dubbed the “yandere queen,” but seriously, it’s rare to see media committing to this trope and properly characterizing it. I would go as far as to say she’s the best character I’ve seen written in this genre, only sharing that spot with another character from a certain game (but given that the mere mention of its name is enough to ensue controversy, I’ll abstain from talking about it here 🙄​). A big portion of characters within this trope are quite two-dimensional, without clear motives for their obsessions, or having their issues played up for laughs (I’m looking at you, Anna Nishikinomiya). Heck, many of the characters associated with the trope aren’t actual yanderes, like is the case for Shion Sonozaki or Lucy from Elfen Lied. 

Yuno’s character is rich and interesting to watch, she isn’t just some “crazy girl” for the sake of it. She’s a product of tragedy, only motivated by the hope of finally having Yukki alleviate all of her insecurities and sorrows. I’ve always found the “yandere” trope interesting since it delves into the lengths people are capable of going over an obsession, and how these form to begin with. Given how complex, sensitive and even personal this topic can be, it’s important to have characters like this be properly written, and I’m glad that Yuno set a standard for this back in her day, even if many people don’t take her character seriously. 

I think it’s important to close up this post repeating the sentiment I had at the beginning. My purpose in writing this defense isn’t so much to force people into liking the show, and even opinions I disagree with like the ones in NezumiVA’s video are valid in their own right, as everyone has different perspectives in interpreting media. This is simply my take as someone who’s been a fan of the show for a really long time, since I don’t see many in-depth essays for Future Diary out there. It is a show that has stuck with me for its lessons on learning to be brave, healing from the past and selfless love. As silly as it may sound talking about an anime, it’s something that I can always look back to and smile, laugh or cry along with. Despite people’s conflicting views and endless criticisms, it will never fail to have a special place in my heart. Given how much time I’ve dedicated to this series, it’s only fair I dedicated a little bit of that time explaining my love for it too. And if you made it this far down the post, I would also like to thank you for dedicating a little bit of your time to my shower thoughts as well!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Omg I got an Idea, Can I have some headcanons for a human! reader criticizing patriarchy! ken's ways and how their kind of fucked up? (Also I need them explaining that they're basically saying house house in the Mojo Dojo Casa House name lol,)

- Kneecaps anon

Ghgjjd okay so I know Sasha and Gloria already informed him of that in the movie, but this prompt was funny to me

.....

At first you were reluctant to follow this random guy named Ken to "Barbieland" after he asked you a billion questions about horses and patriarchy.

He insisted on showing you how the Kens were treated, convinced that once you understood everything you'll sympathize with them more.

In the end, you went with him out of genuine curiosity, finding out that this supposedly imaginary pink utopia was, in fact, not-so-imaginary as you transverse the different landscapes together.

Although at one point you had to man the 2D speedboat as he got seasick.

When you both arrive, Ken goes on to tell everybody what he learned while you get lost exploring Barbieland.

You didn't think he'd take your jokes about the patriarchal structure of human society seriously..

But he clings to them as facts and radically transforms the doll world, and within hours it becomes Kendom Land.

You don't know how it all happened so fast, though you got irritated quickly over what he's done to the place you were just starting to admire.

Especially when he takes on a macho persona and dons that silly fur coat, before stealing Barbie's dreamhouse and reintroducing it to you as his "Mojo Dojo Casa House".

Something about that definitely irked you.

"You know "casa" is just Spanish for house, right?"

"Yeah, duh." He rolls his eyes.

"But you're already saying "house" anyways."

"...and your point?"

"My point is that you're pretty much saying "mojo dojo house house"."

"No I'm not. Because it's Mojo Dojo Casa House." He pouts, before asking a nearby Barbie to "brewski beer" him (to which you tell her "do NOT" and shoo her away).

You quickly remember you're arguing with a children's toy....so he was definitely going to be stubborn like a child and you'll just have to put up with it for now.

Ken couldn't brainwash a human, although he's still gonna argue with you and have petty temper tantrums whenever you keep criticizing the way he's running things.

"I'm just saying, this is NOT how men act in Century City at all.." You try explaining as he pouts, sorting through his western and denim outfits. "You just took whatever ideals you liked about them, dialed them up to 11, and forced them onto everyone here."

"Forced?? Take a look around, [y/n]--the Kens are happy! We embraced those ideals because we never got to have ANY of these cool things under the Barbies! If not for the multitude of...limitations in the Real World, I could've been the next president of California-"

"Don't you mean United States?"

"...no, I mean your country of California."

"......you seriously think California is a country? It's a state."

He does a double-take. "It is...? I thought Los Angeles was the state.."

'Oh for crying out-'

You realize the dolls had seriously misconstrued ideas about the Real World if they got the basic geography of it wrong.

But you're not gonna sit here and school him on everything. That wasn't your job and you do have your own life to get back to, anyways.

So you just...leave Kendom in the reverse order you arrived.

You'll let him live out his fantasy, but didn't want any part of it.

Especially upon seeing a group of construction worker Kens building a brick wall up and not sideways.

[hwnglx]

do you have ANY idea what the jimin and jeongyeon beef was? or if there even WAS any 😭

i didn't look into their relationship fully, since these questions felt more right while reading. let me know if you want me to dive further into their dynamic and what happened. (update: right after posting i got asked to read more on their relationship so i will soon 🤍 stay tuned for that!)

was there any truth to the jimin + jeongyeon rumors?

based on tarot. i do not know these idols personally. energies are always changing. what i say is NOT straight fact. pls take it with a grain of salt!

was there any beef between them? pagofc&char, tower&4ofc, pagofp&knofc&kingofp

not to the extent of which it was made out to be. a lot of it was projection, people strongly pushing their own desired narrative on it.

they tried their best to ignore the rumors, but i think this all happened during a time where they might've been in a talking or flirty stage of some kind. so it caught them off guard and made things even more awkward between them. they knew their every move was gonna be overanalyzed, so it made things.. just awkward, best way to describe it.

how did jimin feel about the rumors? 3ofsw+3ofw+7ofsw, 2ofp&pagofsw, 9ofp, 10ofw&star, 9ofc

he was being very cautious. at first, he was taken aback by all the sudden talk. he felt like he was being watched way too closely and it was a little silly. this entire discourse made him realize how the community will just buy into any story if it's in their interest, and almost.. ignore actual reality, essentially not even care about it. the idea of the beef was more interesting than what actually happened behind closed doors, in his eyes.

it made him once again realize these are the things that come with being a public figure. i believe due to him being the more experienced idol out of the two, it didn't affect him all that much. he knew how to deal with things of this nature much better than jeongyeon.

still, i got the 3 of swords and kept asking what the reason is (since i did not get a "sad" vibe from him at all), and i believe he just didn't like how people started being so nosy about him and a person he was talking to. they probably were getting to know each other, things were still fresh anyway, so he felt the timing was just bad.

how did jeongyeon feel about the rumors? 5ofw&9ofsw, 10ofsw, star&9ofc, wheel&just

oh wow. jeongyeon definitely felt much stronger about it. it lowkey seemed to have messed her up.

the swords lead me to believe she thought a lot about it, a lot of anxiety on her part. she did not like all this back and forth talk about it at all. the 10 of swords is telling me, she just felt like she couldn't really do anything about the rumors. like there's no way out of it, no matter what she does or how she acts. people will continue to talk and everything will be misconstrued or matched to their fantasies in some way.

also, i believe it happened during a time where she had a lot of hope for their connection to blossom into something more. she genuinely seemed to have liked him, a lot of wishful thinking. so similarly to jimin, she thought the timing of it all was very unlucky, unfair almost.

idk, she gives me very self-victimizing and overly dramatic vibes. i can almost see her crying to her friends about it like.. "why would it happen now? while i was finally getting close to this guy i like and sht is awkward for me anyway?" very emotional girl for sure ☹

[stevie-petey]

SPEAKING OF SEASON FOUR

I'm so worried that the duffer brothers are gonna fuck up jancy. That flirting with Steve and Nancy in season four was not cute. Like jancy isn't my favorite ship in the series (because I'm in love with Jonathan but that's not the point) but we've established that Nancy DOESN'T love Steve. Did you see Jonathan's face when Nancy started talking about how Steve's grown up? You could tell it made him insecure, It's foreshadowing the love triangle all over again and there's no point in keeping it. It doesn't add to the story it's just another stupid plot for drama, which we don't really need!

It also takes away from Nancy's character!! She's not the kind of girl to just go from guy to guy. She's also not the kind of girl to flirt with her ex who's clearly still got feelings for her while she has a boyfriend!! Even if it was unintentional, like subconsciously, still she's smarter than that and she cares about Jonathan and Steve's feelings she wouldn't risk hurting the both of them at once.

I mean if we're talking about come home it could work as something for bug and Steve to work through I guess ( I don't wanna talk about it too much because it's so far away and there's a lot more we have to go through to get to that point) but it's so outside of Nancy's character. Maybe she's just confused cause she almost died and saw Steve get seriously hurt? But still Nancy isn't a homewrecker and she's not a super jealous or promiscuous person. Even if she didn't know about how close bug and Steve have grown she wouldn't go after him. But strictly speaking of stranger things now. She hardly interacted with Steve in season four, which is fair she's still in highschool and Steve has a job. They have their own shit going on. It's understandable. I feel like Nancy's character gets misconstrued a lot, partially because she keeps getting reduced to a love interest. I just hope Nancy and Jonathan don't fall apart because of how much they've changed during their time away. I love Steve but he's not right for Nancy and she's not right for Steve. I hope they Don't ruin such a great relationship with so much potential. Like I see the problems in jancy but I can see how well it could work if given the chance.

honestly it just feels like the writers dont KNOW what to do with nancy anymore or even jancy. i adore them and think theyre so sweet together but the writers are just ,,,, pissing me off. bringing back steves feelings for her and nancys weird feelings for him was just ??? unnecessary and NO ONE was asking for it

i will say however i do see the vision for stancy. i think they did have a good shot at being in love and happy, theyre right person wrong time, but if that was the plan since season 1 then ,,,, it shouldve been touched on earlier ?!?!!? we dont see nancys feelings for steve at ALL until season 4 like even WHILE THEY WERE DATING. its stupid. and like u said: nancy isnt like that !! she’d never directly hurt anyone :( shes so kind and loyal and the writers are mean

and jancy ,,, ugh they have sm potential if the writers would just figure them out. they keep having the same argument of jon wanting to care for his family and nancy wanting to uncover and explore shit its just. ugh.

for season 4 i will DEF be retconning some shit because yeah. im not dealing with a repeat love square that will be resolved literally THIS SEASON in season 2. feels so dumb to be so repetitive. i will however bring in some elements in that love triangle back in 4 but not in any definitive or dramatic way. smh

[cyncerity]

About the situation

ok so i hate addressing drama on here but this feels important.

If this is how you’re learning about the Shubble situation, i apologize

more under the cut

first things first: i 100% stand with and believe Shubble. My heart is with her fully and I’m so glad she’s healing from what she went through with her abuser.

the reason im posting this, though, is because of the discourse surrounding Wilbur Soot and the possibility/evidence that he was the unnamed abuser Shubble was talking about. And as many of you know, i post a lot of crimeboy/sbi/wilbur-centric stuff. For now, because from what i can tell the situation is less than a week old, i’m going to give Wilbur time to respond. I won’t say that it’s him, i won’t say that it’s not him, but i’m prepared for the worst.

As for this blog, i’m probably going to handle this the same way i handled the Dream situation; i’m going to take a break from Wilbur centric aus for the moment until things become clearer, but the odds that i’ll stop writing for his character all together are slim. I don’t write with ccs in mind, ever, period. At this point i’m treating the dsmp cast like OCs with how far removed from their og characters they tend to be in my stories. In all honestly, i stopped watching half of these creators over a year ago, but i still like the idea of their dsmp characters. Hell, to be completely truthful i don’t think i’ve ever watched a Dream or Sapnap youtube video in full and those two are main characters in like half of my aus.

Also clarification just so this doesn’t get misconstrued: when i say “i’m going to handle this like the Dream situation,” i mean i’m gonna keep writing and not take down my previous stories, i’m just going to distance myself from the creator until more comes to light. I don’t want to compare Shubble’s experiences with abuse to fakes snapchat screenshots posted on twitter. Again, I stand with and believe Shubble’s story 100%, abuse is not something to be taken lightly and I wish her nothing but the best. It takes guts to speak out like she has and I commend her bravery.

This situation is a bit harder for me than the Dream one, though, because as I mentioned, i was never a huge cc!Dream fan, more a c!Dream fan. But I’ll be devastated if this is all true because I was a huge Wilbur Soot fan. Never really liked LoveJoy, just wasn’t my type of music, but SootHouse was quite literally the first YouTube channel i ever watched. Not to be parasocial, but Wilbur’s videos got me through some tough times. His YLYL videos were the only things that brought me joy when Techno’s death announcement was released on my birthday. I really looked up to him.

I don’t want to make this about me, the main thing in this situation is to support Shubble. No matter who the ex is, she deserves all of our unwavering support right now. I hope that if it wasn’t Wilbur that he somehow clears his name soon, but that if it was (im hoping it’s not but im not ignorant enough to blindly disregard all the evidence) that he regrets what he did and is getting help. I believe people can change and that everyone deserves a second chance, but im not going to know what to think of him until he gives a genuine, heartfelt apology for his actions, fully commits to bettering himself, and proves that he’ll never do something like this again.

[picnokinesis]

hello taka,

I respect you very highly as a cherished mutual of mine. I’m on anon because I can’t trust people not to misconstrue me and paint me as something I’m not. I just want to express concern over your reblog of South Africa—people conflate the situation with them and with Israel in dangerous ways. the key difference is that the Hamas-run government’s mission is to kill all Jews and Israelis. This includes the Muslims and Christians living in Israel. They are not synonymous situations, because there has never been a precedent for what’s happening now. it is naive to think that there would be no risk to the Israeli citizens, because there is a genuine threat to all of their lives. I just wanted to share this with you because it is very painful to see misinformation like this being spread, and how it misrepresents the situation. You don’t have to respond to this; I am sympathetic to why you shared it. I am only sending this ask because I see that you care and I don’t want you to be misled.

Hi there!!

I actually really appreciate this ask, because it made me go and have a conversation with a good friend of mine who studies international conflict and relations, and has a much greater understanding of this sort of thing than I do. Which is gonna be the basis of my response here, but I just wanna clarify that I'm by no means an expert on any of this, or how this sort of situation can be resolved.

I think I get where you're coming from here! And actually, I fundamentally agree with you on a lot of things - you're right, there is a tendency right now for people to draw parallels between these other historical/current situations, which can lead to over-generalisation which isn't really helpful, as some things are a lot more complicated and less clear cut than others. And, also, every situation is unique. You're right - the solution to apartheid in South Africa, and the situation in Boliva are not the same as what's happening with Israel and Palestine. So saying these situations are exactly the same isn't helpful.

However - I do think you missed the point of that post. Or, at least, the point how I interpreted it. For example, I don't think that post was at all calling for a Hamas-led government - in fact, I don't think it mentioned Hamas at all? My initial reaction to your ask, I'll admit, was frustration, because it seems that every time people try and talk about what's happening in Gaza, people bring up Hamas, and whilst I know why, it comes back to the whole thing of like, if you're spending so much time explaining that, no, you don't agree with Hamas and you think the Oct 7th attack was wrong, then you are not talking about the bigger problem, which is that nothing that Hamas did could ever justify what the Israeli government is doing right now, or has been doing since 1948. I know that's not at all what you were saying, but it is really frustrating. I think you're right, I don't think there should be a Hamas-led government (thought, to be frank, it's not really my place to say who should or shouldn't be in charge). I don't know what the government of a free Palestine (presumably combined with Israel) would look like - and I know that building a democracy is very difficult and also dangerous. But we have to hope that it's possible to achieve something that would actually work, right? We have to believe that there can be a future where Israelis and Palestinians can live together, equally, and without fear, and without prejudice, for either side (and I personally think the risk is much greater for Palestinians not being treated equally, but at the same time I recognise what you are saying too). The fact is that historically, a multicultural Israel/Palestine has existed (albeit, Israel as the country state that we know it today didn't necessarily, but you get what I mean) - and so I think that post is a lot less about 'these situations are all the same and should be treated the exact same way, with the same solutions'. If it is about that, then I don't think it's correct. I think it's a lot more about solidarity, and the idea there have been all sorts of awful situations before, and that afterwards, when varying solutions were achieved, people were able to live side by side with each other. That it is possible.

That said though, I definitely didn't have all these thoughts in mind when reblogging that post - I just thought yeah I really agree with this! and reblogged it. So, I'll be honest, I didn't know or understand all of what you said here - so I'm really glad that it prompted me to go and talk to my friend and start looking more into things and learning more, which is never a bad thing. Because you're right, this is complicated. And it isn't black and white.

There isn't an easy solution to what's going on. And I'm not here to provide that solution anyway. But - I guess I come at this from a Disaster Management perspective, which makes sense since I studied that. And in Disaster Management, there's a thing very imaginatively named 'the Disaster Management Cycle', and basically it goes from prevention, preparation and mitigation > DISASTER > response, recovery, development, building back to a new normal where things are better, and cycle back into that initial prevention for future disasters. And so, when I'm thinking of response, I'm also thinking of what needs to come next - what comes after the ceasefire? What comes after the aid, the immediate relief? We've got to think about recovery and development, and what that new normal would look like. And I think, whilst I now see that making comparison the way that post did can cause harm in it's own way, I think that the core of it was that we want to work for a future in Palestine and Israel where there is no displacement of anyone, where people can return and have freedom of movement, where people are equal. And, sure, that isn't going to happen tomorrow, and it's not going to happen next week - because it takes time and it's extremely difficult. And I probably am naive - but we have to have hope, right? We've got to have something to aim for. We (or, rather, someone) has got to be able to sit down and say this is what we want a free Palestine to actually look like, and there will be things that are practical and things that will be idealistic, and things that will be a bit of both, but regardless...we gotta start somewhere.

And, of course, the worst part of this whole situation is that we're not there yet. We're not even in response. We're still in the disaster stage. And I think that is what we've got to be talking about the most at the moment because the situation is getting worse and worse, and I can go on about long term solutions all I like, but there are things that need to be done right now. And, unfortunately, neither you nor I have the power to snap our fingers and do that - but we do have the power to be as annoying as possible to the people who do. So, my friend - I have no idea which country you're in, but if you're in the UK or the USA or any country that's failed to back a ceasefire or has cut funding to UNRWA, and you haven't been annoying to your local official/rep/mp about it yet - give them hell. And then, when we're in the recovery stage, we can start talking about who should be in charge and making sure no one else ever gets killed or loses everything over all of this.

[datastate]

yoite i think there must be something deeply wrong with me as well. chapter 9. i'm actively dying.

top ten reactions to yoite's work. no contention

i love that this is either 1) the inception of tobari's hatred of large mechanical objects that can kill you in the wrong hands or 2) his grandfather knew this and just told him to grow thicker skin so the fatal fall would kill him less. either way, average grandparent if we're being honest.

also unrelated to the world but saraba is so pretty...

AND ALSO ALSO I MADE ITS OWN POST BUT. MIXED TOBARI. WHAT IF I DIED. <- IS ALSO MIXED. also juuji is super cutesit here

he is so cringe no matter the form.

raises my hand. okay so you know how i-no was searching out her other half as a way to finally be human in ggs. while it is fully possible that yoite has been sent here alone on orders + presumably to make it less suspicious, what if. dissension in the ranks? :3 <- TORTURED

i don't have much to say for all this, i'm just chewing on tobari and saraba. i understand that rebuilding banten with its descendants would be important anyhow, but at this point it feels like you're building them back up just to eradicate them fully, you know? to make it more obvious & drawn out who the descendants are so that banten's no longer given any hold within nabari. the main thing, at least from how i'm reading it right now, that is keeping banten relevant in this fight is the fact that only they hold the "knowledge" - it's just a matter of how other groups will overwhelm each other first to have the best chance at taking miharu without necessarily killing him/risking it being reborn before they can capture it

that is such a cruel way to phrase it, even if it is one that allows no rebuttal... grahhh. the cost of a single person -- because ultimately, if tobari truly isn't going to use the "knowledge," it means he values miharu as a person. which is good, but it also means that you're giving up the lives of so, so many other people for someone who, when weighed, just... doesn't matter, logically.

especially with someone like juuji thinking she could join them, i assume she's miharu's age or so, wouldn't that in itself be an equal trade? it's the fact he has this personal connection that's both saving miharu from being treated solely as an object & is the reason why his actions are so questionable. even if i really do sympathize & understand his perspective, it's. aughhh... his own logic won't provide him the justification to do this, where others who dehumanize them do not struggle in the least with disposing of people like steps to reach the knowledge trapped within.

he's destroying me steadily. slowly, but steadily. god ... this guy & how considerate he is of even miharu's intentions, not wanting those to be so easily misconstrued...

I'M GONNA BE SICK

this whole fight is so cool. i don't have much to say to this other than his whole delivery goes so hard & particularly the fact he is using first-person with miharu 's face is just. killing me beyond words. it's literally just... they truly know how to build motivations for each character so seamlessly... delicious work

[tearfully] did you know i like them... (also raimei trying to hype herself up again ... </3)

the way i genuinely started shaking... this would be even cooler animated, such a shame that the nno anime doesn't exist [my dearest mutuals have put blinders on my head

[narwhalandchill]

ok misc stream thoughts!!!

ANYWAY livestream over nice 30 pulls of aventurine funds for anni!!!! they didnt do anything insane but honestly it was kinda cope to expect them to, ratio for free was clearly a more of a spontaneous move and hes available throughout anniversary anyway so the "another 5*" were.... a little over the top im sorry wjkjwdjkwdjk altho i wouldnt have complained obviously. a free himeko or sth couldve been on theme for the cosmodussy event but eh cant be helped

im actually glad for the skippability of the reruns 😭😭 like i have luocha n jingliu (+ LC for latter) so by skipping acheron for now im gonna have a nice time getting aventurine and most likely his LC (2/3 of his 4* LC selection is so sad tho), love that fucker hope he gets to do proper mayhem in story too. cool death talk please dont actually die yourself for real for real tho i will be sad. like i do think its based of aventurine to pull off a stunt that appears to be what we in the business might call a certified chapter 5 komaeda moment but. ahahaha nooo dont actually die youre such a funny hat man .

(also sick boss form is sick but . bootleg FL im sorry aventurine. they hit perfection already and theyre never fucking topping the galaxy cape cyclops eye beak mask drip i swear JSWJWJDKWJKDWJK but also yes me biased? in favor of that ginger? i could never)

but it seems ill have a solid time getting aventurine and saving up for now??? since i dont think im too interested in robin or boothill either. i was kinda worried topaz' rerun would be in 2.1 for IPC antics with aventurine bc i am kinda curious abt pulling for her but now its gonna be 2.2 at the earliest so. Phew

the stream ran a bit too long lmao but like overall i tend to like the dev discussions so most of it was still neat, altho downside of dev streams is that not knowing chinese i cant just like. afk and listen on headphones and go get water or something 💀💀 and they were definitely dragging stuff out on purpose no way they werent but eh. people will live its just bideo game livestream. and like these folks do hard work on the game they can yap about what they do sometimes its only right lmao

leakers public shaming session was definitely a jumpscare but i do genuinely empathize w shaoji on that one. like. ive always been one for kit + banner leaks first and foremost and story leaks just. i dont care for them much. ive had my share of looking at them occasionally but i definitely agree with the way story leaks either by themselves or when misconstrued and misinterpreted really fucking mess with the intended experience for any given story and how that must feel like shit for the writers. like if story leaks stopped happening altogether id be perfectly content. and thats just ppl who look at story leaks on purpose cuz. im not going to even begin w how like. yes the leaks subreddits and most big leakers do spoiler warnings and keep the story stuff spoilered. but then theres literally the entire rest of the internet where shit gets spread untagged and without warnings the second they are posted anywhere at all and how that fucking ruins peoples experiences. like its 1 thing to click at a spoiler tagged post knowingly and get ur experience messed up with. but when u dont even want to see it its rly fucking bad and i v well understand condemning all story leaks (even those properly flagged) just on that basis alone. but yeah actually felt bad for him there and see where he was coming from for sure, even as a consumer of leaks

ok well that sure was a wall of text. didnt expect to write that much JWJKWJKDDWJK but ya

Anyway. biggest priority is holding strong w skipping acheron as sick as her animations are but def looking forward to her teaser and the animated short. like . even with the black swan dykery. (that was a fucking jumpscare too). i dont need her rn. despite how cool she is 😭😭

& also have to say im v happy they clarified their stance on hi3rd references like. the way theyre going abt it is absolutely how it should be going. hsr by nature is more directly linked to hi3rd like honkai is in the name but its such a dumbass idea (like some fan takes out there....) to want the stories of hsr depend on another games lore. rewarding old fans with easter eggs and tidbits is perfectly fine and im even interested in seeing where they go with acherons obvious raiden situation - especially knowing theyre not about to ruin their own story with "it was hi3rd all along!" (not that i ever rly thought theyd seriously blunder that bad lmao 💀) . so yea thats neat

i think story wise im not gonna say much of my thoughts bc unfortunately i have clicked on like. a leak or four. not the major stuff i dont think but enough that commenting on stuff w some of the things im aware of in the periphery is going to tint stuff . but im still excited to see where things go!!!

AAND OH. ACTUALLY i do have one more thing . so the multiple POV thing being actually implemented is SOOOO good im so fucking happy theyre committing to it being a thing 😭😭😭 like SO many story pitfalls can be avoided by just letting it be that TB doesnt need to be fucking everywhere a major thing happens as the centerpiece of events so we as players can see it. like it gives a way of showing different events and sides of characters in a much more natural manner its sooo good that theyre implementing it already. like this alone has me in such high hopes for the story going forward. like yea theyve branched from our POV before already and in penacony as well but expanding on it even more is 100% the correct way forward

last thing: god they did jingliu so dirty in her concert illustration. WHAT is she wearing 💀💀💀anyway yeah lesgo 2.1 its cool

i lied real last thing: siobhan . siobhan i would do anything---

[solardashpraxus]

🎁, 💛, and 🔫 for the person ask game :D

PROXY HIIII MY BEST FRIEND PROXY THANK UOU I LOVE YOU SO MUCHHHHHHHHHH <3 <3 <3 kisses u thank you for doing this. cue “oh good i get to explain this to you. you will regret it” image :3 hold on to your hat it’s gonna be a wild ride

🔫 favorite S.E.E.S member?

oooh this one is hard! i’m not that far into persona 3 (reload) so i haven’t met them all yet but i’ve got a pretty good idea of what they’re all like.

ok i think i have to give 2 cop-out answers first: the protagonist (like yeah he’s literally there for the audience to project on but. ohohoho) and koromaru (has not actually joined the team yet but. he’s ouppy dog. the goodest of boys!)

OK now for real answer time: i’d have to say junpei? again im not super far into the game but despite his personality being… kinda annoying and sexist, he’s also just such a cheery and fun guy that i can’t help but be endeared to him! and i hear he goes through some big character growth later on. apparently he’s kinda like sokka? a big part of it is his voice actor too, zeno robinson did fucking amazing. also i haven’t gotten that far yet but i think im gonna really like ken when he shows up 👍

🎁 favorite character?

GRRRRRGH ok so. i could go on another huge spiel about which characters could claim this spot and why but. man there’s no contest. TATSUYA SUOU LETS GOOOOO YEAHHH TATSUYA FUCK YEAH TATSUYAAAAA!!!!!! WIN FOR MOTORCYCLE BISEXUALS VROOM VROOOOOOOM!!!!! (and also the suffering ^_^)

💛 favorite dynamic(s)?

hhhhhrhgk asking some hard questions here. this will be very long you have been warned. okkkk. ok so. starting off simple with joker and ryuji they’re just. so silly man. they’re just buds having a good time! and they’re just goofing off and hanging out but they care so much about each other and it just creates this sense of. light and warmth and joy and respite from the world around them. i think that “you make me feel free” goes both ways. and that’s not even talking about what happens with them in canon!!! god i love ryuji so much.

anyway for the next one we have to take a trip into my beautiful mind (aka I Am Just Making Shit Up)… ok imagine with me: joker is aromantic asexual but doesn’t know there’s terms/community for it yet. also he’s probably not cis but he doesn’t have time to think about that right now there’s ruin coming or whatever. and ann is a recently realized lesbian who’s coming to terms with how her experiences with sexual harassment + objectification affects her sexuality (and she’s in love with shiho!!!) and they’re each others first person to come out to and they bond so hard over being queer in ways that especially defy japanese social and gender norms (being a lesbian in a society where young women are sexualized + objectified while also placing huge importance on traditional values, marriage by a certain age, having children + starting a family 🤝 being aroace in a society where men are expected to sexualize women, be dominant + increasingly to gain a sense of power/masculinity in their sexual prowess [Belarmino, Melanie and Roberts, Melinda R. (2019). Japanese Gender Role Expectations and Attitudes: A Qualitative Analysis of Gender Inequality. Journal of International Women' s Studies, 20(7), 272-288.] sorry bout the citation i wanted to get my facts right) (also like, atlus come on. queer issues perfectly fit into the themes of persona 5 you’re just a fucking coward + homophobe) sorry abt the tangent ANYWAY they get just so much closer after that, as well as a lot more comfortable with casual platonic intimacy + physical affection cause they both know they can be safe + not have their actions misconstrued by the other. tbh i could see them being in a qpr? there like. gay best friends in a way that doesn’t put emphasis on stereotypes cause they just hang out and genuinely have so much fun eating crepes and trying on outfits and talking shit abt ann’s coworkers lol. they would have the best sleepovers.

ohhohoh and im not even done! ok so i haven’t gotten that far into persona 2 innocent sin cause i got softlocked 13 hours in somehow + now i have to restart BUT i know things, and hooooo boy tatsuya and jun lemme tell you. shuake fans eat your heart out cause tatsujun was doing it better back in 1999. like i haven’t read a lot of in depth analyses cause im trying not to get even more spoiled than i already have been but. the entire basis of innocent sin’s story starts with their relationship… and thinking about everything jun goes through and then what happened in eternal punishment… GOD they’ve got me so fucked up. head in hands. everyone play persona 2 please.

[wizardduckgay]

internet

this fake, meaningless, screen world makes you hate, and hate, and hate, and hate, so much and so often and with such passion and about so many things, that you confuse yourself into thinking that's all you know, that's what you love, that's what you are, that's all you can do. you see slivers of lives cascade around you, everybody's problems, their dreams, their every thought. but we've engineered a culture around human behavior where the primary form of interaction, the major form of communication motivation / goals, rewards, benefits, encourages, and sometimes requires, negativity.

sincerity gets confused for sarcasm, genuinity gets perverted into otherness, intent ignored or misconstrued and ever questioned. is it bait? or do they just have an opinion; do you profit from my hate? or am i hurting you just for speaking. a superposition between being completely hidden from public eye and being viewed by millions, who each now have a direct line into your veins to say anything at all. you are punished for interaction

a sea of broken glass that we choose to swim in, for the promise of seashells made of the exact sand we chose to abandon. the people you meet may be financially motivated to push you down, they may be your friend, they could be a paragon or a "paragon", they may not even be real. millions of different islands all made of quicksand, themselves too being being broken into glass. the ocean floor a concrete jungle whose lines get blurred day by day. they house both the pistons that smash the glass and the gears that churn it all into profit.

we're left with corpses.

i guess i just want to, like... im sick of seeing takes, all the time everyday about everything, im tired of being forced to have a take about anything and everything. im tired feeling like everything i see is just an attempt to steal my attention or time or energy (and always money), im tired of feeling like i have to be invested in everything that crosses my feed, or that i need to be carefully examining the underlying morals and ethics of every word of every sentence someone posts all the time everytime. im tired of the constant stream of constantly different-yet-algorithmically-similar information, tired of feeling like every minute gesture i make and every behavior i exhibit (and dont exhibit) is being fed into a money generator (whether for the company or for the individual). im tired of anticipating scrutiny over every letter i type, im tired of hating what i make more than others realistically would just so i can motivate myself through fear to try and change and improve it.

i kinda remembered today, and have been remembering recently, that none of what i see here matters. or, well, not that it doesnt matter, god i mean there's genocide and rights abuses and corruption and a world of misinformation, and its just monday. of course it all matters. but, trying to Do It All All The Time, isn't healthy nor is it feasible. you just get hit over and over and over and over again upside the head with hammers, constantly reminding you of just how fucking little you can do for the things that matter. even the information is glass in its own right

no, what matters, is that im going to wake up tomorrow and my mom's still gonna be there. she'll still be a bit sick, and in pain, but she won't have spontaneously died in her sleep; she's gonna be there. what matters is that my dad is gonna come home from work, safe from the drive home and safe in his head and happiness. what matters is that my brother is doing fine, even if he's not in the house all that often. what matters is that my dog still has a few years left in her, and still loves to play with her toys and go outside

my friends, family, and self, are all safe. i cannot speak for their happiness, nor security, nor if they are necessarily doing well, but they are safe.

i have the time, energy, resources, and motivation, to make change. but, and this is especially true at this point in my life, this is all wasted if it is spent on what the magic box in my hand is showing me. it could never be enough, it will never be enough. I do not have enough in me to meaningfully impact most of what i see on there, not yet. so, i divert it to what is within reach. with what i have left, i can try to help others i am close with online, and the communities i am active in.

i saw a tweet thread today about the Red Dead Redemption 1 Remaster mod project, and how an individual online pestered the creators for weeks, took credit for the entire project, and hid the evidence. of course, this sucks. mod devs are super fucking rad and that individual is in the wrong (and their community is apparently now against the actual mod devs in some fashion?). but like, at the end of the day, the situation just boils down to internet drama. I have no stake in the RDR1 modding community, nor the individual's community. it sucks, my Take is that the person did bad, but man,

i kinda just laughed at the two thudes on the internet getting pissed at each other. it was funny.

this isnt about any specific platform, or medium of communication within the internet. but at the same time, like do the math folks lmao...