#((but society just can't seem to look beyond that largely!))

[9260remade]

As a rape survivor, I understand the need for safe space together – free from sexist harassment and potential violence. But fear of gender variance also can't be allowed to deceptively cloak itself as a women's safety issue. I can't think of a better example than my own, and my butch friends', first-hand experiences in public women's toilets. Of course women need to feel safe in a public restroom; that's a serious issue. So when a man walks in, women immediately examine the situation to see if the man looks flustered and embarrassed, or if he seems threatening; they draw on the skills they learned as young girls in this society to read body language for safety or danger.

Now, what happens when butches walk into the women's bathroom? Women nudge each other with elbows, or roll their eyes, and say mockingly, "Do you know which bathroom you're in?" Thats not how women behave when they really believe there's a man in the bathroom. This scenario is not about women's safety – its an example of gender-phobia.

And ask yourself, if you were in the women's bathroom, and there were two teenage drag queens putting on lipstick in front of the mirror, would you be in danger? If you called security or the cops, or forced those drag queens to use the men's room, would they be safe?

If the segregation of bathrooms is really about more than just genitals, then maybe the signs ought to read "Men" and "Sexually and Gender Oppressed," because we all need a safe place to go to the bathroom. Or even better, let's fight for clean individual bathrooms with signs on the doors that read "Restroom."

And defending the inclusion of transsexual sisters in women's space does not threaten the safety of any woman. The AIDS movement, for example, battled against the right-wing characterization of gay men as a "high-risk group." We won an understanding that there is no high-risk group – there are high-risk behaviors. Therefore, creating safety in women's space means we have to define unsafe behavior – like racist behavior by white women towards women of color, or dangerous insensitivity to disabilities.

Transsexual sisters are not a Trojan horse trying to infiltrate women's space. There have always been transsexual women helping to build the women's movement – they are part of virtually every large gathering of women. They want to be welcomed into women's space for the same reason every woman does – to feel safe.

Leslie Feinberg, Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Marsha P. Johnson and Beyond

#💬 #leslie feinberg #transgender warriors

[sopebubbles]

Five

Master list

Synopsis: in a world where alphas, betas, and omegas live along side modern humans as second class citizens, you've fallen through the cracks of a society that wants to take everything wonderful from you. Luckily a timely encounter with the boys just might save your life.

Chapter summary: You think you can take care of yourself, but you'd be wrong. There's an alpha more than willing to step in to do the job.

Warnings: that evil little voice in your head, Yoongi pushing your boundaries to save your damn life, but does that mean he can't enjoy it a little?

You could hear the pack move around the house. The sounds of pots and pans and laughter floated into your room just as easily as their scents did. The unfamiliarity of it made your inner voice whine. Not the unfamiliarity of them. Their scents had already become lodged in your brain. You were sure you'd be able to smell them weeks from now, just by memory. You'd think of that beta every time you washed your sheets, if you ever owned a bed again. 

Should have asked the beta to stay.

Why on earth would he want to stay with you?

No, the combination of such joy that could be known to the senses even a room away, even to a stranger, was something that you couldn't have imagined. It brought to mind no memories, for you had never known something like that.

They forgot you were here. Otherwise how could they be so happy? No one has ever been happy with your presence.

Your previous pack never sounded like that. They never laughed, not happily. They only ever bickered and yelled. And if they laughed it was only at one another's expense, especially yours. This pack smelled like laughter. Their scents were bubbly and bright as they moved around the downstairs just beyond the walls that enclosed you, protecting their joy from your bitter, poisonous presence. You laid and listened, your apple scent rotting more and more, so that no one would confuse you for being part of them, especially not yourself. 

Their bliss seemed to carry on for hours, although your perception of time was tenuous. It seemed hours later when Hoseok finally came to your room again. He knocked gently before letting himself in. 

"Good morning, pup. I brought you something to eat. You must be starving." He set down a plate on the bedside table before looking down at you. "I thought you could take a bath and I could change your sheets," he added, gesturing with the towel draped over his arm. 

"I'm fine," you grumbled, rolling over to avoid his gaze. You were vaguely aware of the physical ache of hunger in your empty stomach, but it merely ranked with the other urges you refused to indulge. Hunger, just another animal instinct you must overcome by sheer force of will. 

"You're a wreck," he chuckled.

"Just leave me alone."

Hoseok sighed. "I know you're upset, and you probably feel like shit, but you'll feel a lot better when you've had a bath and something to eat," he pushed, his tone letting you know that he was barely holding onto his patience. 

"I don't need you to take care of me," you snarled, turning back to face him. You took in the other omega and softened. His dark chocolate eyes were heavy, but you couldn't tell if the pinched set of his lips was sadness or annoyance. His throat was covered in deep purple bruises, a particularly large one placed at the curve of his shoulder to his neck. Your eyebrows furrowed. "Did they do that to you?"

"What?" Confusion did not displace annoyance in his voice. You lightly touched your fingertips to your own throat. "Oh, that," he laughed airily, as if it didn't matter, but a bit of pink dusted his cheeks. "They got a little carried away. You've got them all riled up."

You frowned. "I'm sorry they hurt you because of me."

"What? No. Believe me, they've done worse," he chuckled. But his voice wavered as you curled in on yourself. "They just get a little pushy and possessive sometimes."

"I know how alphas are." Hoseok cocked his head at your declaration. "The bastards only want to breed you."

Hoseok bristled. "I don't know what kind of alphas you've had but mine are good men. They just can't help themselves sometimes."

You've heard all the excuses before, made plenty of them yourself. You looked up at him with wide eyes and kept your voice low so the alphas outside wouldn't hear you. "You don't have to put up with it, you know? You can leave. It's not easy, living like this. But it's better than being used by them."

Hoseok wrinkled his nose at you. "I'd never leave my pack." The clear disgust in his tone, aimed at you, turned your stomach. 

Just like Jimin, you knew he'd never understand. Maybe they were right. Maybe it wasn't the pack that was wrong. Maybe packs were good, and it was only you that was wrong. So wrong. A sweet little omega like Hoseok who knew the right things to do and always took care of everyone, even a useless little wretch like you, who wouldn't want him? Who wouldn't treat him well? For him, an alpha could be everything they were supposed to be. Not you. Worthless omega. 

You rolled onto your side, away from Hoseok and the vicious voice in your head. He hovered for a moment, seemingly unsure of himself. Then he walked to the end of the bed and picked up the blanket from the floor where you had banished it after Jungkook left last night. With a flourish, he fluffed it out over your curled form, only for you to kick it off you and fling it into the corner of the room. 

"Get out!" You snapped at him. "Leave and don't come back. I'll take care of myself." You knew you couldn't leave. Jimin probably wouldn't let you even if you tried. But you didn't have to be around Hoseok. And if you pissed him off with your petulence, all the better. He could just leave you to rot.

"Y/N–"

"Hobi," a gentle voice called from the hallway. "I think it's best if you give her some space." 

Hoseok had never met an omega like you. He'd never met anyone like you. Someone who didn't accept comfort or company, much less seek it out. Someone whose moods could turn on a dime. Someone who didn't nest and wouldn't eat! You were an enigma to him. 

Hoseok had grown up in a large and well connected pack, with multiple alphas and omegas and plenty of children. His parents had taught him that while an alpha's role was to provide and protect, an omega's role was to ensure the health and harmony of the pack. His own omega might have implied that an omega was more necessary to the pack than an alpha, but that was just between them. What they emphasized above all else was that the pack meant power and protection, and for Hoseok having a good pack of his very own became a sole ambition. 

It wasn't very hard to achieve either. He has known Jin since they were both in grade school. Their families were of similar status, higher than most Lykos ever reached, both of them descending from early diplomats in Lykos-Sapiens relations who reaped the benefits several generations down the line. Jin's family boasted political leaders while Hobi's had their hands in business, but both the alpha and omega had been born near the tail end of rather large families. As a result, their ambitions didn't have to reach quite so high as the others. There's only so much spotlight after all, and Seokjin and Hoseok had found each other in the shadows of rooms full of much more important people. 

Jin had loved Hobi's sharp tongue, while he admired the alpha's integrity. They had the same expectations from life, which largely consisted of a comfortable home and each other's company. So they married when they were barely eighteen and twenty years old and started a life together. 

They were content for several years until Jungkook came along and contentedness gave way to a feeling of completion. An alpha, a beta, and an omega. A perfect little pack. Hoseok had never wanted a pack quite as large as the one he came from and he thought the three of them would be plenty until they decided to have pups. He thought if he did have a larger pack then certainly he would have at least one other omega to help out, but his boys only ever seemed to bring home alphas, at least until Jimin. After that, things had settled until another omega was nothing more than a secret wish that he kept to himself, only expressed in moments of frustration as an off-hand comment. His alphas were more than enough, he assured them, especially Tae and Jimin who were particularly afraid of becoming a burden. 

And now an omega without a pack had fallen right into his lap, but it was you and everything about you was wrong. It wasn't your fault, the others had been extremely clear about that. But he knew very little about Sapiens, if he were being completely honest. He'd not spent a lot of time around them nor had any close friends who were sap. For him, their bigotry and cruelty was merely an idea with which he had no experience. He'd heard of it, but never seen it first hand. He'd gone to a private school for Lykos. He'd moved from his family pack's house to an apartment with Jin, and he had never encountered the likes of you. Even Yoongi and Jimin, troubled as their families were, had at least one parent to teach them about who they were. You were an apple trying your hardest to be a peach and seeking not to even know how impossible that was.

Your rejection had been difficult for all of the pack. Jungkook and Yoongi went to the gym on Sunday afternoon to escape the house for a few hours. Jimin took Taehyung to the art store for supplies and for dinner because it had been too long since they'd spent time alone together. Namjoon, for better or worse, had papers to grade, so he spent most of the day at the kitchen table with scent blockers in his nose so he could focus. Jin searched the internet for the pack's dream house and tried to show his mate his best finds, which the omega normally would have actively participated in. But instead, Hobi stewed.

Come night time, Jungkook was in his proper place between Hobi and Tae, and it was Yoongi's turn to work a night shift. Jimin waited on the couch for him, eager to avoid another accident, and the two went up to join their packmates in the early hours of the morning. 

By 9 am, only Hoseok, Yoongi and Taehyung were left in the house, and the latter two were sleeping the morning away. It was difficult, but the omega managed to respect your request that he leave you be. With the small exception that he left snacks and water outside of your door. But you never opened up to take them. 

"I guess I can understand why she would be nervous about all the alphas in the house, but why me? Why does she hate me?" He asked Yoongi in the afternoon.  His response to you the day before hadn't been what he'd wanted. His first thought had been to defend his pack, not to listen to your concerns. In his estimation, based on his admittedly sheltered experience, any alpha you had encountered so far had clearly not been worthy of the name. He, by contrast, had collected several of the very best, so who were you to judge and criticize? As time went on though he began to take your behavior more personally tough. His comfort was the best thing he had to offer, but you refused it. 

"It has nothing to do with you, or us," Yoongi reasoned.

"But can't she see we aren't like other people? We've been nothing but kind to her since she got here!" Hoseok pouted.  

Yoongi smiled regretfully. "Babe, she didn't ask to come here or for our kindness. And while I hope she's grateful and more importantly, feels safe, from everything I know about her, I'd be surprised if she did trust us. Just because we're good people doesn't mean she has a reason to trust us if she's never met good people before." 

Hoseok pouted harder. 

By dinner time he thought he was going to lose his mind. When his pack came home from a hard day of work, Hobi went into full omega mode, making sure that everyone had everything they needed to rest and relax. And you were throwing a major wrench in his plans. Maybe you weren't his pup but you were a pup, and he could not stop worrying about you no matter how hard he tried. Now matter how ungrateful and impolite you were, you still needed to be taken care of and you clearly were not going to do it yourself. 

All the alphas felt on edge too, as Hoseok banged utensils on pans anxiously while he cooked, not in the gentle manner he usually had. Yoongi helped to chop fruit, doing so more carefully than usual as he kept his senses alert to the omega tje easy he had all day. Namjoon set the table, putting extra focus into not breaking anything in case that might set his mate off. Jin hovered just as anxiously as he flipped pancakes beside Hoseok. They often had dinner for breakfast on Monday nights as a treat for having made it through a hard day. 

"Do you want me to take care of those eggs?" Jungkook asked cautiously as Hobi's split attention led them to burn. 

"Yes," he replied, shoving the spatula against Tae's chest as he pushed past him toward your door.

"Love, I thought you were giving her space," Jin called over his shoulder. 

"To hell with her space! This is my house, and I need to know what's going on inside of it!" Hoseok marched to your room, Namjoon following close behind after a look from Jin. 

He knocked firmly on the door, but even the four quick beats sounded anxious as they reverberated through the house. No sound came from the other side of the door. Maybe you were sleeping. If that was the case then there would be no harm in Hoseok seeing you for himself. He gripped the nob, half expecting to find it locked, but it wasn't. Cracking the door open just enough to get a view of the bed, he found you were missing. Panic raced through him at the thought that you might have left, so he pushed the door open. And there you were, halfway to the bathroom, sprawled facedown on the floor.

Yoongi set the knife down with a dangerous clatter at the sound of Hoseok shouting his name. His heavy footsteps were followed by those of the other alphas toward your room. He pushed past Namjoon, who took up most of the doorway, in order to crouch beside you and Hoseok. 

"What happened?"

Hoseok felt dizzy as he looked around the room. "I don't know! She was laying here when I came in. She hasn't eaten any of the food I brought or drank any water." Yoongi's hands touched lightly over your body, checking for any obvious injury. "Is she-?"

"No, sweetheart," Yoongi assured him. "Look, see her back rising and falling. She's breathing. She might have passed out from dehydration."

"I'll go get her some water," Taehyung offered. 

"There's plenty of water here. Just-" he was going to tell the crowding alphas to go back to the kitchen and give them some space but he was cut off by the smoke alarm. Luckily that was enough to get their feet moving. Nothing motivated them quite like an imminent threat to their home. 

"What can I do?" Hoseok asked as Yoongi gently rolled you over. 

Yoongi shook his head. "I'm going to try to get her awake first. You go keep them settled." Hoseok hesitated, but Yoongi made eye contact and gave him a reassuring smile. "She's going to be okay. But the three of them might not be without you." The omega nodded and stood to do as he was told. "And set another place at the table," he added. 

Hoseok stopped in his tracks to question him, but the alpha was in full medic mode, checking your pulse with a concentrated look, so he left. 

Yoongi spoke your name loudly and firmly to keep any panic from his voice as she shook your shoulders. He was only five percent panicking, or so he told himself. He'd seen people in this state hundreds of times before and it was almost never life threatening. You had neglected eating and drinking for too long, but that was easy to remedy. He just needed you to wake up. He spoke your name again, and this time he saw your features morph into a grimace, which was better than no response at all. "C'mon, Y/N. You're alright," he assured himself as he moved closer to you. Gently he took hold of your ankles and lifted them to his shoulders in an attempt to get the blood flowing back to your head. Seconds ticked by as he rubbed your soft calves, waiting for you to open your eyes. When your eyelids finally fluttered open, he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. 

"There you are, princess," he sighed. 

When your eyes had fully adjusted, he could see that your pupils were still dilated, and you weren't completely lucid. You began to squirm away from him, but your tired body made very little progress. 

"Take it easy. You passed out. I'm just here to make sure you're alright. Do you know what happened?"

Yoongi reluctantly let your legs slip from his hands as you carefully extricated your legs from his shoulders. You struggled to lift yourself up to your elbows, but he was there with sure hands gripping you around your rib cage. He maneuvered you to the side so you could lean against the bed, and then he unscrewed the top of a bottle of water from the bedside table before handing it to you. 

"Just sip it," he instructed as you took the bottle weakly, needing two hands to hold it steady. "Do you know why you passed out?" You shook your head just barely.

Yoongi's face took on a stern expression that matched his tone when he spoke again. "You haven't eaten or drinken anything for the last day. Do you realize that?"

You shrugged. Yoongi shook his head. "That's why little pups like you need looking after. If you can't take care of yourself, alpha will have to do it for you." You visibly flinched at his words, and Yoongi sighed. Of course he knew he wasn't your alpha. And maybe your past alphas hadn't given you a good impression. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try his hardest. "Look, princess. You can choose not to nest, to stop your heat, or not to take a knot. No one here is going to force you. But you do have to eat and drink. No dead pups in this house. Even if an IV is the one thing I will force on you."

You took in a sharp breath and exhaled in a huff, but at least you didn't look like you were going to put up a fight. A trickle of water slipped over your cracked lips and down your chin. Yoongi swiped it away with the pad of his thumb and felt another pang when you flinched, but he didn't pull away. Rather gently, so gently, touching his fingers to your chin, he made you face him. Being this close to you, where he could look into your eyes and you looked back at him, a thought locked into place that he had been dodging since the boys had brought you home. It was a feeling he hadn't had since he met Jimin, or before Jimin, either. It was a knowledge that you were his, and he would do anything to protect you. The hard part would be not frightening you when you were skittish as a bunny rabbit. 

"Y/N, I will never hurt you. And I know you may have heard that before. And I know you may have been lied to. I know that you have no reason to trust me or anyone else. But time is the only way to earn trust. For now, just listen to me, and I will take care of you. For the next hour all you need to do is eat dinner with us. Can you trust me that long?" 

You didn't respond, but merely lowered your gaze from his and handed him the water bottle. Based on what he had witnessed and heard from the others, this was a good sign. If you didn't want something you were more than capable of voicing your disagreement. Silence was rather an acquiescence, or at least as close as he could hope to get. While he had the chance he decided to press his luck. Your eyes grew big when he took a step closer to you. He placed one arm under yours, reaching around your back while the other went under your legs. You let out a whiny protest, kicking your feet. 

"Oh, I'd love to let you walk to the table on your own, princess, but you've let yourself get so weak that I don't believe you would make it. So just be a good pup for me."

Try as you might to hide, Yoongi didn't miss the rush of blood to your cheeks as you buried your face in his neck. Nor did he miss the small sniff you took of him. His steps halted for a moment, and he adjusted his hold on you, bringing you closer. 

"Go on, pup. It might make you feel a little better," he whispered. Again, you didn't respond except to tighten your arms around his shoulders and bury yourself deeper. 

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#lone wolf #bts a/b/o #bts omegaverse au #bts fic #bts angst #bts au #bts x reader #bts ot7 #ot7 x reader #bts hoseok #bts yoongi #bts jimin #bts taehyung #bts namjoon #bts jungkook #bts jin #bts fanfic #bts poly ot7

[childotkw]

Um, not sure if you've been asked this before (I could've sworn that at one point you had, but i can't for the life of me find the post) but do you have any thoughts about genderbent Regulus Black?

I can see there being a much more different sibling dynamic between them and Sirius as there isn't an heir and backup dynamic with Walburga and Orion no doubt seeing Regulus as a tool to be married off. Not to mention they'd be much more strict with Sirius without a backup heir to replace him.

Not to mention it would be interesting if Tom saw Regulus as a chance to better win the loyalty of the pureblood community, after all having a bride from one of the most prestigious pureblood families would raise his standing by a lot.

I absolutely love your female Harry AU's especially "I pray(death parts us)" and "Serpent In These Still Waters ", and I love the marriage dynamic between Tom and Harry.

However I do wonder about the arranged marriage dynamic that Tom could have. Especially with someone who was born into the world of pureblood politics.

No pressure obviously to answer if you're not interested, but yea I was just wondering.

Ohh yes I know the one you're talking about! I ended up with Rana Black being the fem!Regulus name - you can read the original outline here.

I do have many thoughts about it - mainly how Ran would have grown up shaped by society's expectations and how she would eventually grow to cast those expectations off.

In my idea, Rana manages to convince Orion to ship her off to Beauxbatons. Orion, because his daughter is his favourite child, agrees to do this one thing for her, despite any objections from his wife. Rana actually eventually moves permanently to France with Kreacher as her ""guardian"" (because let's be real, the wizarding world has a pretty broken view on how young children should be raised and this isn't that far out of the norm for them). So Rana misses a large portion of the bullshit that is brewing in Britain.

But...

Walburga sees, Walburga knows. In the brief instances she actually interacts with her daughter (who seemed to grow up between blinks, who turned from a slim and silent shadow of a girl into a calm and confident young woman far from her mother's influence), Walburga learns.

Rana is not some demure wife-to-be. She is a...liberationist. A young woman with incorrect and damaging opinions on what her place in the world should be. Her time in France, in that school, has warped her understanding of her duty.

So, Walburga must fix this. As the new heir to the Black legacy, Rana has a responsibility to their House. She must bring in the next generation, and she must accept her place.

Walburga looks at Narcissa, at Bellatrix, and knows she must find her daughter a husband that can curb her radical views.

She also decides, rather firmly, that it's time her daughter learns deference. Learns to bow.

Orchestrating an encounter between her daughter and the Dark Lord is easy enough. Walburga is one of the few that still sees Tom Riddle in the face of Voldemort, and that tenuous childhood connection gives her enough leverage to push her daughter into the man's space with the implied permission to teach the girl how to drop her chin.

Only...that's not what happens.

Voldemort sees Rana's spark, sees her potential and her ideas and her biting cynicism towards the structures of their society; sees the way her eyes constantly drift towards the horizon, towards France, and finds himself a little curious at this until-now unknown Black.

(Voldemort is, after all, a radical himself. Why Walburga thought he would dismiss Rana's ideals or find her foolish is beyond him.)

Marriage isn't the first or fourth or even twentieth plot he envisions with Rana Black - but eventually it does creep into his purview.

And that intrigue, the future he could see forming with everything Rana Black brings with her, is enough for him to kick things into gear.

The biggest problem - the only problem, really - is that Rana Black does not want to marry.

Anyone.

Not even the Dark Lord.

#anonymous #HP #regulus black #tom riddle #regulus x tom #fem!regulus

[agentrouka-blog]

Hey I have a question that you might find interesting. Don't you find it strange that literally no one in this fandom questions whether the Valyrians (including the Targaryens) really were that beautiful and perfect, or whether this is actually part of some „propaganda” in the asoiaf universe? Because it seems strange to me that centuries of incest have not affected anyone at all, and supposedly it can be explained by the fact that "genetics work differently in this universe", but I don't buy it. The other thing is also that Valyria is described as the most advanced, but is it really? Throughout history we have instances where propaganda was used to make a given country or empire seem as good as possible, while the truth may always seems different. So I'm seriously surprised that I've never meet a person who would question the old valyria or even the Targaryens…

Anyway I hope you have a good day and take care!!

I wouldn't say that it has never been questioned in fandom at all? Plenty of fans are critical of the Valyrian empire, especially those who like Dorne and the Rhoynar, and take a look at asoiaf history from that angle.

This post is particularly concise on the subject of exactly why Valyrian looks seem to be considered beautiful by default. (Hint: it's imperialism.)

GRRM himself absolutely lampoons the idea of this universally adored ethereal Valyrian beauty when he gives us Arianne's reaction to a person with Valyrian looks:

"You look… " She hesitated. "…like a woman?" He laughed. "That I am not." " …like a Targaryen," Arianne insisted. His eyes were a pale lilac, his hair a waterfall of white and gold. All the same, something about him made her skin crawl. Was this what Viserys looked like? she found herself wondering. If so perhaps it is a good thing he is dead. "I am flattered. The women of House Targaryen are said to be without peer in all the world." "And the men of House Targaryen?" "Oh, even prettier. Though if truth be told, I have only seen the one." (TWOW, Arianne II)

It doesn't get much more damning than that.

As for their advanced society, they are still famed for their magical steel, which can't be replicated likely because most societies aren't knee-deep in peninsula-destroying blood magic. Which is also where the dragon bites its tail: if your "advanced" technology is essentially all rooted in blood magic that likely had a role to play in obliterating your entire "freehold", your people, and almost all dragons, is that advanced or is it just living large on borrowed time and stolen lives?

Because:

None can say how many perished, toiling in the Valyrian mines, but the number was so large as to surely defy comprehension. As Valyria grew, its need for ore increased, which led to ever more conquests to keep the mines stocked with slaves. The Valyrians expanded in all directions, stretching out east beyond the Ghiscari cities and west to the very shores of Essos, where even the Ghiscari had not made inroads. (The World of Ice and Fire, Valyria's Children)

Seems like whatever they had going for them was bought with the lives of those they oppressed. Either through enslavement or through literally trading their lives in blood magic rituals.

#anti targaryen #anti valyrian

[sneezemonster15]

https://www.tumblr.com/sunshinecherryblossom/732710854315933696/wtf-it-is-true-oh-my-god-when-is-this

This seems false, what do you think about it?

I find it highly unlikely. Unless someone gives me a legit link to it, I wouldn't consider it. Lots of fake interviews of Kishi are doing rounds in this fandom. And Kishi would never say something like this given how he has treated Sakura's character for 700 chapters and beyond. This part is from his 2010 interview (at Jump Fiesta Tokyo-Japan) :

When the interviewer asked Kishi about Sakura, and called her a detestable girl (most people can see how Sakura's character is written as a detestable character, can't speak for delusional people), Kishi replied in a very convenient manner - "Realistic girls are like that..."

Lol. Once he calls his character realistic, what can one say? Realistic characters are never black and white, they stand in the grey area. So you can get away by saying - "Oh, she is realistic", without expanding on it.

Shounen characters are generally larger than life type characters to create a large impact since they serve a pedagogic purpose for its target group. People who are from the good guys camp, are generally taken as good, people who are from the bad guys camp are generally perceived as bad. So of course it would confuse people when Sakura is from the good guys camp but acts like a total douchebag. And naturally they would ask questions about it. But Kishi totally avoided to take the more controversial position by saying - she is realistic.

We know Sakura's character can be realistic, many women are the way she is. But is she a good role model for women of any place at any time? No. She doesn't really serve the pedagogic purpose other characters do. She is a negative person, selfish and immature. We know that. But Kishi cannot say it explicitly in his interviews because it would lead to all the other kinds of controversial questions, and would potentially open a can of worms for him. First question would be - If she is from the good guys camp and remains till the end, why did you write her as negative, even after she got so popular? You could have used her character's popularity with the girls to say something inspiring, something kind. So why didn't you? Any other writer would have jumped at the chance. Writers are supposed to work off the popularity of characters in a medium such as commercial serialilized manga.

Kishi kept writing her as detestable. If he could, he would have told them - I wrote her that way because I needed plot device for Naruto and Sasuke's romance which I was writing in the disguise of ninja manga. Team seven is about S and N. It's a love story about them and Sakura doesn't figure anywhere in their relationship and I want to make it clear by showing why.

And I have a feeling quite a lot of Sakura's characterisation comes from his personal experience of women. Of course he couldn't say all that. But he can be indirect about it. Although when you are indirect about something so many times, with context it becomes quite direct. Hehehe

Just look how Gege responded when he was asked a difficult question from Kubo. Female characters are not given much weight in shounen given its target audience. Most female characters in shounen aren't even given half the character development male characters get. And look at Japanese society, it's so patriarchal, who's surprised their representation of female characters is so backward? I doubt most of these mangakas get out very much, to actually put some effort in knowing how women act and why.

Look at Kubo's interview with Gege. Gege's female characters are kickass, as strong as men, as smart and well developed. They have agency, self worth and esteem. Their characters don't revolve around male characters. But female characters like these are beyond Kubo's imagination lol. Look at the female characters in Bleach hahaha. So this is what he asked Gege.

Kubo finds Jjk women formidable because he cannot even fathom independent women, women who don't depend on men for everything. Lol. They can walk shoulder to shoulder with men, they aren't less than men, like they are in most shounen. But of course, Gege cannot tell Kubo these things. Hehe. Kubo is his senior, and the Japanese have a whole set of etiquette on how to behave with one's senpai. Gege won't say anything even remotely offensive to Kubo, so the best way to deal with such things is to be vague and use self deprecating humor, so as to not appear confrontational, it's a communication tactic. I also use these kinds of tactics when talking to difficult people or people in high positions I don't agree with. I have interviewed hundreds of people in my work. So I understand that one needs to be subtle even in their disagreements.

In Shippuden, later on, Sakura was written with heroine like qualities. So what this means is that Kishi doesn't have a very good opinion on either women or women in shounen. She does get some footage in the manga, where other characters praise her skills, like one would expect a heroine to get. She confesses to Sasuke and Naruto both. Never mind the rejection from both. But it's clear that Kishi would never have made Naruto end up with Sakura who treated Naruto this badly. Kishi is not a fool. He plainly says that she comes off as detestable because that's how she was written. Lol.

Lots of rumours have been doing rounds about Naruto's remake or live action film etc. but as far as I know, nothing such has actually materialised. So I wouldn't worry about it either.

I think it's high time that SS, NH and NrSk accept the reality and move on. It's been years. Sasuke is gay. Naruto is gay. Was established as closeted gay in both parts one and two. He would not suddenly defy his character traits and become straight just because NrSk can't keep it in their pants. So pathetic tch. Guys, there is nothing for you in Naruto except heartbreak. Grow up and move on.

SNS at least have legit reason to still be hopeful. The het shippers have nada. Zilch. Zero. Hehe. But well, who can fight desperation? Not these peeps.

#ask #sakura #naruto #gege #kishimoto #kubo #haruno sakura

[nahobinobrunestud]

Kink criticism is one of those rare political things that's actually obnoxious to talk about with nearly all political sides like the way liberals love to claim is the case for damn near everything (with of course them always being the enlightened fencesitters). One should of course be critical and understanding of what might be the source of some of their kinks and fetishes on a societal and personal level so that they can examine how society affects their sexuality, whether or not their fetishes might be coming from a source that is hurting them or objectifying to others, and so on and so on. The problems is that even on the part of the left that likes to claim that it's pro kink and progressive on issues or whatever whenever the subject gets brought up often comes in with two presumptions,

a) that any and all kinks and fetishes or at least the ones they see as violent and problematic have to come from some source of moral degeneracy within the person that should and must be fixed like some kind of morally degenerate psychiatric disorder rather than something that can ever just originate from societal issues at worst but be harmless play or even healing when enacted between adults, and

b) the refusal to acknowledge that kinks and fetishes can have a plethora of rationalities or reasons behind them in the mind that vary and change between every person, sometimes being something one associates with something else, sometimes something that might be an actual issue one should look into, and a lot of times nothing at all or at least nothing discernable. Sometimes people are into the idea of BDSM because they get turned on by the idea of beating women or specific groups of minorities (though one could imagine they wouldn't typically get into kink to do it if that were the case), sometimes because they have a history of abuse and think they should be beaten, and many times nothing and no origin at all but because lo and behold it just turns them on cause brains are just like that sometimes.

Most kinks and fetishes believe it or not don't have tragic backstories or horrific tales of sociel woes tied with the people who carry them out, but a lot of leftists can't seem to turn their inner psychiatrist off and diagnose sociological tragic backstories into peoples sexualities and personal lives, and assume that just because certain fetishes come from sociological and soceital woes on a grand scale must necessarily mean that it must be an issue whenever enacted on the personal scale, regardless of what anyone's thinking or what's actually happening. I used BDSM as an example of people including leftists and progressives diagnosing any and every kinkster taking part in it as mentally sick moral degenerates, but this is a lot more common of a thing imposed upon incest roleplayers, ABDL fetishists, consensual non consent roleplayers and so on.

Sure the societal issues that give arise to the origins of these fetishes can be looked into and criticized, but I've never particuarly been into people's attempts at trying to mind read the morally degenerate origins of a person's sexual psyche that may or may not exist and may or may not come from next to nothing beyond "it's just my thing" or "I'm just into that" with it being close enough to such that it'd be impossible to look into how true such a thing is without literal ass superpowers, and I don't think trying to mind read is good marxist praxis or marxist doctrine in general.

I would love to have more mature conversations about kinks and fetishes and what they entail on both large and small scales but until people get over their prejudiced presumptions, and also until it's just safer to do in general or at least there's more safe spaces to do so (this is a social media website where trans women are called out for anything and nothing at all mind you), these conversations just realistically are going to have a judgemental instead of informative and educational edge and not go anywhere. I also didn't get into issues from other sides such as those who refuse to acknowledge that there could ever be any issue with any kink or fetish at all (or at least the ones they're into) both personally and societally, but that's the entire issue summed up already.

[septembersghost]

Sometimes it feels like people like to pat themselves on the back for dissing Elvis because it’s the cool thing to do

I’m the anon who deleted TikTok btw. I was tired of the same repetitive comments about Elvis and decided finally to delete that annoying app LOL.

i'm not sure what you saw on the clock app, though can guess it was probably the same stuff that's said on twt, but any reason you feel to get rid of that app, or anything that's stressing you out!, is a good/valid one.

when it comes to e, between misinformation, misunderstandings, and decades' worth of caricatures and this almost prideful disdain towards him - the origin of which i can't quite figure out? - he's been an easily mockable and reduced figure. like even beyond, idk, judgment of his struggles and addictions and health, or the massive volume of tabloid accounts, or the cardboard camp of impersonators, or the feeling some seem to have that he was too excessive or gauche, or define him by vegas as a kind of sideshow, there are some, i've come to find, that outright reject the idea he was in any way a serious artist. the article i read recently...basically posited he wasted his entire life and talent, in a way that was so cruel and dismissive of everything he ever did after sun records. things i can't even fathom saying about a person. ("success corroded and finally destroyed a budding talent who might have achieved so much more than just celebrity. He might have been an artist...by 1958, when he was inducted into the U.S. Army, his beauty and his creativity were behind him. A few brief echoing rays of the glory that had been might suddenly shine through, yet the sun had all but set." seriously? he was 23 years old in 1958! it's a complete erasure of nearly half his life. and it's particularly jarring as some of what's said in that piece is astute and well-written, yet some of the rest of it...i refuse to even quote.) he created so much wonderful music later, but it routinely gets ignored. (plus he wasn't a songwriter, as if that invalidates his astonishing musicality and gift of interpretation and arrangement). the movies, and critical view of them due to what they are, unfortunately do not help. this embarrassment surrounding him, the sense that his talent was squandered and his legacy tarnished, mixed with misperceptions of his character, is so ingrained in the pop cultural zeitgeist that there are always going to be people set to take him down a peg or deride him or shake their heads rather than lend any sympathy for how and why things unfolded as they did.

that video analysis i shared about the film mentioned him as this sort of quintessential american tragedy, the hollowness of the dream gone wrong, even though he was still trying so hard up to the end, still sharing that love with his audience, and i think sometimes we're uncomfortable looking at tragedy and illness and exploitation, so it's easier to ridicule or blame or turn into a joke. i also think his sincerity and emotion as a performer, the movement that came to him naturally that he couldn't switch off, the unique ways he utilized the power of his voice, read as, for lack of a better word, cringeworthy, to many, because society at large struggles with raw expression. a combination of factors thus make him an easy target. he's that halloween costume, spangles on a jumpsuit and what they erroneously view as shlocky music, or he's the worst perpetuated things, but never real, never explored or offered understanding. it's lousy and disheartening, but it unfortunately is what it is. (i can imagine only a fraction of why this stuff used to upset lisa marie the way it did.) i don't require people to be perfect to care about or be touched by them. human beings are not saints. he was flawed, he had a temper, he certainly misstepped, he made choices along the way that proved to be destructive. he was also generous and gracious and forgiving and compassionate, kind in a way that embraced people and made them feel seen and like they belonged, in a way that's still radiant in recollections, and in what we find in ourselves too.

catherine martin recently said, "elvis is a humanist. he believed in people and kindness and connection, and i think he wanted to use music to bring people together." he'd say, "i'm just a singer. i'm nobody special. do you think they'll remember me?" he always marveled that people came to see him, and held fast to that idea that the happiness and love in that connection of the music was worth something. as my friend wrote to me, there's a lot of dreck out there, but it's boring. there's no fire there, no passion. without the fire and passion you can't even get elvis at all. meanwhile, here we are, nearly fifty years later, on technology that didn't even exist while he lived, still finding reason to remember him, to wax poetic about him, to connect to him and to one another, to find that same joy and solace in the music. i have to believe that matters so much more. some of this other stuff is just useless clatter, you know? there's music and there's noise. i'll choose the music every time.

#anonymous #letterbox #elvis presley #i was a dreamer

[nihils-trolls]

Deeds Done In Shadow

Nyxtra Eidwyn | Present Night | Eidwyn Estate

Finally, the night had come. Both moons were high in the sky, and both at their fullest. The sky was clear in the valley clearing, and not a single other soul was nearby. Nyxtra toiled away to prepare a ritual- one of great importance.

With the end of the staff she carried, she finished drawing out the large magic circle. Eight black candles, placed at eight directions- salt lining the outermost ring. In each direction were also engraved eight runes. To the north, gold. Moving clockwise, a barrier. Then salt, to represent the body. A rune to increase the strength of the barrier, and then silver- purity, wisdom and protection of the spirit. Next was a sigil of rejuvenation, to ensure her good health. Then black sulfur, the element connecting the above and below realms. Lastly, another enhancement rune to channel more mana, increasing the strength of this complicated ward.

Standing in the center of it all, Nyx inspects her work to ensure its quality. Satisfied, she sits down, crossing her legs. Reaching into her shirt, Nyxtra pulls out a periapt hiding below the neckline- then opens it to pour out the contents in front of her. A black, viscous and odorous substance falls out, splattering the ground. As it does, the clear weather begins to shift- clouds suddenly forming and rolling in to cover the moons. The lines she just drew begin to shine a faint lavender, seeming to shift their positions just slightly.

The wind begins to howl as the ichor-like substance rises from the ground, expanding and contorting into a vague shape of some… thing. An arm, then a torso. Then a head and some legs below- if you could truly call them that. Broken appendages at best. As it finishes its formation, Nyxtra meets what little, lifeless gaze the being has to acknowledge it.

A rasping, almost scratching whisper reaches the woman's ears.

"What dreadful purpose have you released me for this time, Gloaming?" The entity spoke slowly and meticulously- but with no uncertain feelings of disdain towards the goldblood. After all, she is the one that contained it.

"You have drawn out and forcefully taken what power I once held already. I've nothing left to give you, not that I would be willing to do so in the first place."

"You have knowledge-" Nyxtra finally replies. She's clearly doing her best not to be impatient, with the being enuncing every syllable with a contemptuous inflection. "Experience. And I know for a fact you've been holding out on me in strength as well. Lies will do you no good here, daemon."

The being makes a low thrumming growl. The ichor slowly solidifies into a black, squishy flesh with fungi sprouting in various places. As a result, the horrid and rotting stench begins to waft away. It looks down at its new features, a scowl now visible on its non-rotten face.

"Going as far as to seal away my very essence, I see."

"Well, I can't have you destroying the very environment I live in. Or my own body," Nyx says with a huff. Shouldn't that be obvious? This daemon is in no position to argue with her. However, she'll let it complain.

"Disgusting." It says, picking at the vessel it's now housed in. The skin pulls off in a chunk, only to reform mere seconds later. "So it's more power you want then?"

Nyxtra crosses her arms now, not breaking eye contact with the entity. "More or less."

"Why." it states, not like a question at all- more like a demand to have an answer.

And Nyxtra humors it. "You're not getting another chance to use it, for one. Two, these nights are… complicated. Society has advanced far beyond what I used to think possible. My kind now flies amongst the stars, albeit without knowing their stories, or even what lies behind the veil.

… I fear my time is too short. I do not want to take any risks further down the line, and I want to ensure I can protect that which I hold close. To aid those that I am able."

The thrumming from the daemon starts up once more. "A noble effort. Or a selfish one? I am in no place to judge, nor to bargain. But I am curious, if you'll humor me once more."

The witch pauses a moment to consider, then nods.

"Is your stomach as strong as your will, dear mage?" It repeatedly clicks, knowing the answer to this question already. It has foreseen this inevitable moment, its own end.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Nyxtra questions, getting part of the hint. But not all of it.

The daemon makes a noise akin to a chuckle, amused at the thought of what is about to transpire.

"Partake in the way of daemons, killing and consuming one another to exceed their limits. That is the only thing left I have to offer you."

It's then that a switch clicks in her mind. "Dear gods. You mean actually eating you. Don't you?"

"Correct."

A shiver runs down Nyxtra's spine. Gross. Disgusting. Eating an embodiment of.. rot, of decay? To gain power? She cannot state enough- Eugh.

But… it seems logical. That it would work, that is. Mages before had bargained with other entities for power. Even mundane folk were able to wield arcane force through deals. Consuming was like… an advanced version of that, right? Though, it must have its own stipulations. Consequences. Limits. Ones she was not aware of, and doubted the daemon would tell her.

"Do you wish to proceed in this matter, Gloaming?" it interrupts her thinking- the tone it carries, almost goading. "You do not have all night to think it over."

"Oh hush up," she retorts, sighing as she makes up her mind.

Nyxtra stands, pulling a dagger out from her sleeve. She moves in closer to the daemon that slowly sinks to her level, looking deep into its eyes.

In them, she finds only resignation. "Get it over with, witch."

She raises her dagger, plunging it deep into the skull of the beast. And as it slumps over onto the ground, a deep gnawing pains her stomach.

Nyxtra drops to her knees, hunched over the blackened creature, slobbering.

#nihil writes #nyxtra eidwyn #the gloaming #sets this here.

[theinstagrahame]

Thinking quite a lot lately about Christianity, religious trauma, and the past. I spent most of my teenage years as a Christian, and became disillusioned with that faith in college. Largely with my church's attitudes toward and treatment of queer folks (there were other elements, but that's always been the headline looking back).

Recently, I got to thinking about how Christianity's "Apocalyptic" worldviews impact their outlook on the world and the problems that we as a society face. A lot of platitudes for that:

"We live in the World, but are not of the World."

"God has a plan for everything. Let go and let God."

"Our true reward is in heaven."

"God does not challenge you beyond your ability."

"What is good in you except Jesus?"

"Turn the other cheek."

"God turned them over to sin."

"Love the sinner, hate the sin."

"The World is not my home; I'm just passing through."

There's an apathetic underpinning to all of these ideas, in that there is no point in changing the conditions of the world because Earth is just Heaven's Waiting Room--and that you can't do anything about it anyway. And besides, anything bad that's happening is part of God's plan and we just can't see it yet.

Why bother fixing global Climate Change when the End of the World is Nigh? Why should we oust an abusive politician when everyone could die tomorrow? Why try to cure diseases when death means the good go to heaven? What does systemic inequality matter when the "truly virtuous" can look to Heaven instead?

In the years since I stopped going to church, I've definitely become more and more incompatible with those ideas. We can and should put in work now to improve peoples' lives, because why suffer? I cannot understand why we'd let people languish when we can all work together to prevent it.

It worries me, because honestly, the vast majority of our political leaders in the US hold some version of them. Some of them are trying (or at least say they're trying) to work towards improving conditions for people. But the rest?

*gestures broadly at every Conservative who's blocked legislation for the last 15-20 years.*

I'm nowhere near "Original" for thinking about this:

It worries me, because honestly, the vast majority of our political leaders in the US hold some version of them. Some of them are trying (or at least say they're trying) to work towards improving conditions for people. But the rest?

*gestures broadly at every Conservative who's blocked legislation for the last 15-20 years.*

What concerns me most is that Christian Apathy also seems highly corruptible. I haven't got like, peer-reviewed research to back it up. But it seems that any time we see a large group of Christians pushing back against, or simply not standing up to, some kind of major injustice and inequality, that seems like a good place to start looking.

It sure feels like all it takes is a few people willing to claim something morally bad is "God's Plan, Actually" and you're halfway to a war crime.

I don't really have anything pithy to land on here. It's just scary that we live under people who believe this...

#ex christian #religious trauma #christian apathy

[embracingfiction]

#Silent ep 8 - long post ahead:

It's incredible how this drama so methodically addresses one hurdle after another towards Sou and Tsumugi's long-awaited reunion. Now with Minato and Nana having departed and wishing them both well, we are down to just our main couple and their own hesitations.

Episode 8 addresses how the deaf people perceive themselves in a society that largely caters to the hearing. It was an uncomfortable episode because you see how "less" they see themselves compared to others - when they are not really less, just different. As each and everyone of us are.

I felt the discomfort as early as the beginning of this episode. Within its first 15 minutes, Sou had already said sorry twice. And I was like - whatever does have to say sorry for?

Because this is a society designed for the hearing, they feel that their lack of such agency imposes additional burden to others. And this makes them uncomfortable. More so when it is the people important to them whom they would have to impose this additional burden. Because of their disability, loving them requires much greater effort - and to this they infinitely feel sorry for.

This unease was also reflected in Nana. Unlike Sou, however, Nana had a more aggressive stance on it. Being born deaf-mute, all her life, she has felt lacking for this society and she never liked how the latter seem to have used this inadequacy to feel good about themselves. She finds it distasteful to be used merely as a tool - reduced to only her disability - and not be seen as an actual person that she is. As we all would.

This is the very reason why Nana, throughout the series, has always shown apprehension towards the hearing. How she did not see the hearing and the deaf to be capable of understanding each other. How she has always been so selective and sensitive in teaching sign language - because sign language is the only bridge to connect with her, and for her to teach you that, it means she is taking the leap to build a friendship with you, trusting you fully that you are seeing her beyond her disability and truly seeing her for who she is. That is why when Sou taught Tsumugi sign language and Haruo Masaki his classmates, it lit a fuse in her. Because that was something so personal for her and gifting her gift to others betrays that trust. Apart from Haruo-san, she never seems to have built affinity with a hearing person.

Nana's generalization of society's tendency to see them as charity case was not unfounded. We saw this immediately in how Haruo-san's colleague regarded his friendship with her as "volunteer work". We also saw this as early as episode 1 - when Haruo-san met Minato for the first time and the latter regarded him promptly as a "good person" upon learning he teaches sign language.

Why can't it be just any other job? Why can't their friendship be just any other relationship?

This is the hard truth: This society was built by the hearing for the hearing. And this has led to the tendency of the majority to look down on those who cannot hear. To the perception of the latter that they are "less" and therefore, an unnecessary burden for the few who choose to love them, a handy charity case for the rest.

#Silent #jdrama #kawaguchi haruna #meguro ren #kaho #kazama shunsuke

[mbti-notes]

There's been a developing sentiment in the online type community that Fe isn't as valued in the western culture due to a preference for individuality, power and expediency, so there's an increasing unconscious motivation to use the function in a less healthy manner to get social results and feel seen/valued/respected. As a provider who has a lot of high Fe clients, I'm inclined to agree. What do you think?

1) I'm afraid that the claims you've raised don't really make sense to me. On one hand, you're saying western culture has a greater preference for individuality (which ends up devaluing Fe). On the other hand, you seem to be saying that western culture urges people to hide their individuality or put on a facade (in order to fit in and feel seen/valued/respected by society). Which is it? Is individuality valued or not?

2) I studied some cross-cultural psychology back in the day. While it was interesting, something that always bothered me was the tendency to throw around terms without clear definitions. You can't just take concepts/standards from one culture and then try to use them to understand another culture, as though it's easy to draw a straightforward equivalence. For example, if you're trying to measure the degree to which a society is "individualistic", you can't just take the western definition and conception of "individuality" and assume that it should look the same in other societies.

There is more awareness about the difficulty of finding the right definitions and metrics nowadays, but this puts into question the usefulness of older research. When ideas trickle down from academia into mainstream consciousness, the research is already quite dated. As soon as I hear someone start to make broad claims about western/eastern/x culture and they do not understand how their vantage point influences the definitions they use, I immediately get skeptical and brace myself for hearing a bunch of crude stereotypes.

3) I would argue that there is no society in existence that fully embraces individuality because it wasn't until recently that the concept was granted enough importance in the human imagination. Thus, most people don't have a deep enough understanding of individuality to develop the idea to its fullest potential. Even if the human species cared about individuality as soon as they started walking upright, throughout most of human history, they didn't have the time, resources, or options to be anything other than what they were born into. It is modern living that freed us up and gave us more options. We've come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.

4) While there are similarities to be found between people, nobody wears exactly the same psychological lenses as you. Each person interprets information in their own unique way. It is a fact that we are all individuals. And facts are neutral. A fact can SEEM "good" or "bad" to you, depending on your vantage point. But, change your vantage point and you easily see from the opposite point of view. Go beyond the concept of vantage point and you will see that individuality can be both good AND bad.

Individuality, in itself, as a concept, is neither good nor bad. Trying too hard to make the case that it's good/bad is largely an act of ego posturing. It's often about trying to feel better about the perspective you identify with and finding an excuse to ignore other perspectives. There are fairly common arguments you hear out there, but do you pick up on their underlying intention? For example, people claim to defend individuality as a virtue but what they really want is selfishness without consequences, or people malign individuality for the breakdown of society when the truth is that they are terrified of feeling excluded or left to fend for themselves. If you want to be good at analyzing arguments, you have to wonder what motivates people to want to make the argument in the first place.

5) Anyone who thinks Fe ignores individuality hasn't understood it. In the most basic terms, Fe is about social harmony. There can be no real social harmony as long as even one member of a social group is in a state of disharmony and/or feels excluded. Fairness to each and every individual member is part and parcel of Fe. A social group cannot hope to be at its best unless it knows how to bring out the best in all its individual members. What Fe does is grant you the ability to gauge and assess where the group is really at. Whether you know what to do with that information is your own personal matter. It's not the function's fault that people misuse it. There is usually a deeper (psychological) problem going on that needs to be addressed.

6) Don't conflate Fe with "fitting in". We all have to go through a stage in life where we learn the "rules" of how to get ahead in the society we find ourselves in, it's called adolescence. (This is partly determined by biology. We are not the only species to experience adolescence.) We also have to go through a stage in life where individuality emerges enough to prompt us to question our place in the world. (This usually happens in young adulthood, as human brain development reaches full maturation.) People get stuck in immaturity when they do not stop to question and reflect on the rules they have been told to follow. There are many biopsychosocial factors that can contribute to someone getting developmentally stuck. (See the section on Ego Development.)

To survive and continue on, every society places great pressure on its individual members to conform, in hopes that the majority will opt to keep the status quo alive and well, i.e., we all learn conformity before individuality. Some societies apply more pressure than others and some even use harsh tactics to force the appearance of conformity. None of this takes away from the fact that we are all individuals and it is a part of human development to grapple with our individuality.

Even when one's personality is supposedly highly valued by society, one can still feel deeply unfulfilled and question who one really is apart from all the outward appearances of "success". Even in the most tyrannical societies, you find individuals fighting for their right to freedom of expression. And what about people who make a fully conscious choice to conform to societal values because they genuinely believe it is their calling to help their society flourish - would you call them "individuals"? Trying to describe societies as being more/less "individualistic" or "collectivistic" is quite superficial if it only really refers to generalities/appearances and doesn't properly address more private manifestations of individuality. This goes back to the issue of whether you have defined your terms in a way that encompasses their true complexity.

IMO, the degree to which a particular culture prefers individuality isn't very important in the context of your clients, and it misses a larger point: We all have to make difficult choices regarding conformity, as part of our personal growth. Your personality type may have some minor influence on the time in your life at which individuality really starts to matter to you, but everyone must reckon with it eventually.

#individuality #conformity #society #development #growth #adolescence #fe #ask

[7ban-sama]

(Sorry if this has already been answered) Do you think Hanako is turning out to become the final antagonist? He's already been one in the pp arc, and doesn't seem like he has any wish to repent his choices. How yandere do you think he will turn out to be?

*waves hand* no need to apologize! I don't believe I've answered a question directly about this.

I kinda see what you're getting at, and, I've even joked about Hanako being 'the antagonist', since we repeatedly need to contest him at the climax of things. In this way, he does function as our antagonist for contained arcs, outright opposing our mains. More fancifully, Hanako is purposefully drawn like a brooding evil vampire, with his big cape and lidded, disdainful expressions, as he stands on rooftops. Menacing aura to him and all that. It's fun it's flirty it's self-aware. (AidaIro-sensei know what they're doing with the framing.)

Though... to clarify, I wouldn't necessarily think about him as 'the final antagonist'... even if we're going to continue to struggle against him. Even as he acts unapologetically, and in some ways, 'gets worse'... It's just ah, not so cut and dry.

In truth, I don't believe that any one character is the antagonist of the entire manga. I feel like the greatest 'evil' is society at large, and compounding with that, we must untangle individual character's resulting complexes stemming from society. It's society that says, kaii and humans cannot co-exist, all kaii are dangerous monsters. This is upheld by the Minamoto clan, and systems in place at the school. There are harsh rules enforced that keep everyone in line. As the rules are upheld, it becomes ingrained as 'fact' in everyone's minds (human and kaii alike) regardless of evidence to the contrary. There's a defeatism from both sides, that they are opposing forces that can never understand one another.

For example, it's the members of the Minamoto clan that look at Hakubo and see nothing but an emotionless monster. Oni are regarded as evil and mindless, because of their harming and consuming humans. Yet, we then also see the human village act savagely, ordering people be slaughtered and keeping young girls as prisoner. Humans harm humans and perpetuate the harm of humans. We even get, from the perspective of Hakubo, the fact that living with them was the same as living with the oni.

(⬆ This is a really important line... I always feel like this is Iro-sensei speaking to us through a megaphone.)

But regardless of how living with oni and humans is the same, the narrative perpetuated is that humans are the ones that are empathetic and capable of kindness, while oni are not. There's no means for Hakubo to reflect on his own experiences as they are happening... Tragically, he cannot contest these claims that oni are monstrous, because the Minamoto make him act monstrously.

Even if he ultimately cared about Sumire, and their relationship was a mutual one, he can't perceive this, because he was taught that it wasn't possible. It's why his own regret mystifies him. Normally, someone could understand that they're filled with regrets, due to having been in love with someone, but he cannot. He cannot recognize his own humanity...

The tale of Hakubo and Sumire really puts a pin in how they could have been happy together, were it not for society around them. This relationship would be seen as abhorrent, and beyond that, they were designated into roles they were never supposed to break free of, regardless of how they felt. Sumire could have sobbed and kicked and screamed about being a kannagi, Hakubo could've resisted being a slave. They both would have been hunted down and punished, equally, for rebellion. It is an unforgiving world. Your greatest opposing force here is society, and then following that, are the issues stemming from it, since these wind up ingrained in Hakubo.

*waves hands around wildly as i try and thread everything* You see, Hakubo and Sumire are a contained narrative that lays out our core conflicts and themes of this manga. This is like, a blueprint for what's going on with Hanako. The world says to Hanako: you're dead, you're a murderer, you can't ever live a normal life. It's impossible. You can't escape. You'll always be a monster. You are, objectively, bad for Nene to be around. If you tried to resist, you'd be put in place.

And Hanako's been in this system for decades by now, so I think it's just gotten to him. So the part 2 of this all is, Hanako himself fully believes he cannot simply love Nene. To Hanako, the identity of 'Yugi Amane' is dead, and what's left behind is warped and inhuman. And much like Hakubo, it's hard to contest this idea, because there's evidence that Hanako is dangerous. He really DID kill Tsukasa. He doesn't think or feel things a normal 13 yo would. All the lying and underhandedness stacks onto this. Doesn't he continue proving this to be true? Endless cycle.

So I suppose, I would specifically say that our final antagonist is... Hanako's self-hatred and inability to express or accept himself... This is what's keeping him from having a happy ending with Nene (and Tsukasa! 💜) and this is what would be the most satisfying to overcome.

With that in mind, as for 'how yandere' I think he will be... Well, imo we all should be hoping that Hanako can go 'all the way' with this side of himself. Through all this tragedy, and even as Hanako acts out... we actually must wish for him to act out MORE. He's not acting out ENOUGH! He should fully lean into his yandere heart!!! He's Not Quite There Yet... but I hope he can get there, someday.

Y'know, it's funny, I do think at his core he doesn't feel sorry for the bad things he's done... Having relished(?) in the shinjuu , and not REALLY feeling sorry for PP/Severance... Perhaps, unreasonably justified about all these actions. Yet also, I wouldn't say he's totally unencumbered by guilt or regrets either? It's complicated. What's going on inside of him, is conflicting, and that's why you see him so troubled, acting in mysterious ways. Confusing ways? I don't entirely doubt the authenticity of Hanako's severity when he is being self-hating and feeling as though he is dangerous. H-hmmm, how to say, it's like there's a Mr. Hyde in there, like 👅 Yeahhhhh I don't give a FUCK... I would DO IT AGAIN... I WANNA PUT YOU IN A BOTTLE... LICK THE OUTSIDE... HRhgiuhrghhhf!!! . and. ... Hanako is, observing his own thoughts/feelings like, 😭 GOD, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME... [TO HIS LOVED ONES] GET AWAY... BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE......!!!

But what's actually making it worse is that he won't, just, lean into his nature, and be a crazed romantic... He bottles this all up and then it comes out all desperate and unchecked. Hanako is bargaining with his own desires of, nobility and selfishness, and that's what makes things like PP and Severance such a mess. Ultimately it's, neither so noble since he didn't manage to wordlessly, emotionlessly bow out of Nene's life, nor is it as indulgent as making her his forever. But it's like he can't meaningfully conceive of how to do either of these things...

Hanako doesn't want Nene to live in Shijima-san's boundary, he doesn't want her to forget about him, he doesn't want her to grow up and get married without him. He doesn't even want to kill Aoi-!! It's all just a means to an end. It's a half-measure. It perhaps, feels a little better than keeping everything inside, but it doesn't feel as good as rambling like a lunatic and grabbing Nene possessively. Y'know-??? But the glimmers of his true nature we can see through these actions are alluring, it begs for more questions, for further investigation... It makes you want to peel him apart and get the truth to finally leap out. Stop! Holding! Back-!!! (everyone yelling at him)

I think the circumstances that Tsukasa engineers, are DESIGNED to fully unleash Amane... to chip away at him, to force him to inhabit his nature. Hopefully, there'll be a point where it's not even a choice for Amane, he will simply have to act on how he feels. That's the dream.

In summary. I think-? Our GOAL is wanting Hanako to be a yandere, even more of a yandere than ever. He's been too tepid. He's held back too much, still. He hasn't even told Nene he loves her-!! That's crummy for a yandere... We need to get past the obstacles that are impeding his heart. Which are... society, and personal repression. It is those obstacles are 'our enemy'.

#☀️ #💬 #💭

[ridiasfangirlings]

Our Flag Means Death Mikorei AU? Munakata would be a good gentleman pirate www

YES this AU is perfect for them I need it. Munakata would absolutely be Stede, imagine him so excited to be a pirate captain and reading his crew bedtime stories every night and wanting to have bonding activities on the ship, it would be wonderful. Imagine Munakata as like this nobleman's son who is very much in demand in high society, he's expected to make a good marriage and live a high class life without any adventure at all. Munakata is known for his charm and wit and say his family even ends up making a marriage match between him and some equally high class girl who Munakata finds perfectly charming but who he isn't really attracted to in any way. Rather than marry a girl he doesn't love Munakata decides to run away from home in the night, after secretly using some of his wealth to have a big fancy pirate ship built. As it happens Munakata has always been very intrigued by pirates and believes it would be splendid to sail the open seas as a pirate captain, and thus he's decided from now on he shall be Gentleman Pirate Munakata Reisi.

He gathers up a nice ragtag crew who largely can't believe they ended up sailing with this guy, like he has chef Kamo (whose specialty is a 38 orange glaze cake), pirate duo Akiyama and Benzai (Benzai makes the ship's flag, with a cat on it because he likes cats), super chill pirate Gotou (who enjoys basking naked in the moonlight just because) and of course, his first mate Awashima (who was initially disguised as a boy for the trip but her enormous boobs gave her away almost immediately and Munakata doesn't care that she's female because she's so competent so she's just his first mate now as herself) and his record keeper Fushimi (who gets to write down all Munakata's pirate exploits in a large book every evening). Munakata believes in keeping morale high so he pays his men a handsome wage and reads them stories from his massive library and basically just enjoys being a pirate even though he hasn't actually done much pirating.

Finally the crew actually get a chance to take down a ship and it turns out that it's a merchant vessel belonging to some minor noble Munakata has been previously acquainted with. The noble assumes he should be able to easily capture this bumbling nerd pirate but instead his men end up either fleeing or being captured and the noble himself accidentally falls into Munakata's sword when the ship lurches. Munakata regrets the death but feels this is something he must get used to as a pirate, and has his men bring along the booty to a nearby island to sell. It's around this time he hears people talking of a certain 'Red Monster,' the nickname of a fearsome pirate who is well known for taking down hundreds of ships. Munakata is warned to stay away from such a person but he only smiles in amusement and thinks perhaps such a thing could be valuable experience, surely so great a pirate would have much wisdom to pass down.

It's right after leaving the island that Munakata's ship is forcefully stopped by a ship with red sails, the Homra, and Munakata comes face to face with the Red Monster, pirate captain Suoh Mikoto. Mikoto takes one look at Munakata's ship full of nerds and smirks, like what a bunch of idiots. Munakata is of course nothing but polite, wondering if Mikoto would like to accompany them and share his wisdom as a fellow pirate. Mikoto snorts but he's actually kinda intrigued, being a pirate has become pretty boring with constantly burning down ships and stealing all their gold, and this frilly uptight 'gentleman pirate' seems like he could use a hefty dose of reality about what being a pirate actually means. Beyond that say Mikoto's also recently lost one of his men, Totsuka Tatara, who he was close to and this has only worsened his mood around continuing to be a pirate, like what's even the point of this.

Spending time with Munakata though Mikoto finds himself enjoying being a pirate again, even if Munakata irritates the hell out of him most of the time. Munakata's enthusiasm for learning piracy remains infectious and while he and Mikoto often end up trading barbs with each other there's also this understanding that develops between them. Mikoto starts to realize that even though Munakata looks like a stuffed shirt noble he has this independent streak that makes him just as much of a pirate as any other captain on the seas, while Munakata seems to be able to see things in Mikoto beyond the barbarian facade (imagine Munakata putting his robe on Mikoto and noting that the change is certainly uncanny, it seems you do wear fine things well Suoh). In the end Mikoto has the chance to escape on his own when Munakata's ship is taken and Munakata is arrested for piracy but he decides to return instead and be taken along with Munakata, claiming that he figured he can't let anyone kick Munakata's ass before he gets the chance after all (and later when they're sent to be reformed imagine Munakata wondering why Mikoto went this far and Mikoto considers before shrugging and saying well, maybe Munakata's what makes him happy. Munakata is momentarily surprised and coughs delicately before noting that perhaps...Suoh is the thing that makes him happy as well).

#Mikorei #Talking K #k project #THIS WOULD BE PERFECT I'M JUST SAYING #maybe Yata as a member of Munakata's crew who used to serve with Mikoto and wants to find him again #and who is an old friend of Fushimi's and they fight all the time #Fushimi is defintely Lucius he's just here to be disapproving and gay #imagine Munakata wandering through town yelling 'who wishes to purchase my booty' #while Fushimi facepalms in the background #I made that orange glaze cake too btw and I made a pajama set based on the robe #...we'll ignore the last episode for now XD

[adventism-atheism-orthodoxy-me]

I am periodically reminded of why I do not participate in community discussions - whether in person or on-line. My daughter says I'm neurodivergent. As part of that unofficial diagnosis from a college student, I see connections and make leaps in my thinking that others just don't see. Any time I participate, I am brought up short by people's reactions that I have not anticipated, and that seem to have no relation to the discussion at hand - indicative that my points were completely missed and led people into the weeds.

In the comments of this particular article, the subject of Western abuses in the name of Christianity came up. To my mind, specific liturgies and rites can't be immediately be castigated for their origins.

Society is a fabric, or a mosaic of many different parts. Orthodox societies are composed of different elements and components then are Western societies - think of those elements as different pieces of colored glass and mortar, or perhaps threads and pigments. The elements could be considered to have a flavor corresponding to their various cultures.

That Western Societies are dysfunctional is beyond question among outside observers, The United States, I think looks particularly dysfunctional, even to Western Europe. Rampant poverty, unsustainable production and consumption, societal distrust of almost every civil institution, the list could go on... Our tapestry is tattered, worn, with gaping holes - if it were a mosaic, I would say large pieces of colored glass were missing, or the edges have been chipped off.

Orthodox societies may not be perfect, and I would say could be as wildly distorted, if not more so than Western societies - I would offer the modern "Russian Federation" and Ukraine as cases in point.

However, my feeling is that Orthodoxy has the potential, as the Bride of Christ, to repair the cultural tapestry. Though modern political realities show that just as in the West, Orthodoxy can be distorted into a caricature, a mockery, of the Life in Christ, that is in no way a given. Care is needed.

Specific Rites, Liturgical variations, and all the rest need to be sensitive to the mosaic, the tapestry... Whatever is going to be created, or rather repaired, by their implementation. The goal should be to fix the tapestry, mosaic or whatever so that the culture can become a complete whole - or at least as close to a complete whole as can be attained on earth. The first time this happened, it was with the Greeks, later the Persians, and so on...

Throughout Orthodox history not only have the Bishops been instrumental in this, but the laity has been part of this creation also. There are cases in Church history where the laity has refused to abide by council rulings and persisted in reversing bad decisions. I could be wrong, but I think both Arianism and Iconoclasm were defeated this way.

Managers need not apply.

I have great faith in the triumph of Orthodox Christianity.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." -- 2 Timothy 1:7

#Eastern Orthodox Christianity #Glory to God for All Things #Thoughts

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Bimonthly Media Roundup

- Gurdians of the Galaxy 3 (Movie) - Family movie night for the last Marvel movie I'm willing to watch for a long while, I did enjoy the film although I think it's largely the weakest of the Gurdians trilogy, though in fairness that's in large part due to things outside of the writers control given what happened to the characters in the unrelated Marvel films. For the good parts I'm glad the characters still felt like they cared about eachother, with Nebula and Rocket in particular getting to show a lot of emotional growth, I loved to see more Mantis overall, it had a pretty good sense of humor, and I'm glad that the central cast all got narratively satisfying endings. For the not so good parts I really didn't enjoy alternate Gamora even if I do think they did the best they could with her in the sense of not pairing her off with Peter and letting her do her own thing - I just don't think she should have existed in general as it takes up such a weird space in the film. It's especially a bummer given how big of a role her and Nebulas sibling relationship played in the prior film only to have that all erased with very little interaction between the two here. Rockets backstory is appropriately tragic and the villain being a CEO playing god mad scientist is good but to be honest I didn't really buy his friendship with the other experiments given how generic their "we are friends who love each other" dialogue was. A lot of the big emotional beats just didn't hit like I felt they should, and the ending in particular had a lot of "they are doing this to set up cameos for future movies" moments that felt really in-organic. I don't know, the film is pretty well received so maybe it'll hit differently for me on repeated viewings but for now it kinda feels like the franchise that started with a bang and rose even higher in the sequel ended with a "eh, it was alright'.

- I'm in Love with the Villainess (Manga) - Caught up with the recent releases and uh hmm. I do like the central couple, the gimmick of a bully being unintentionally bullied by their victim being really into the bullying thing is quite funny and beyond that the two of them have heart and interesting personality traits, so that's cool. When the story is just them interacting it's great, particularly later on when the two become more familiar with each others eccentricates. Beyond that though the plot is kinda losing me with it's not exactly supportive portrayal of a class revolution. While the narrative doesn't seem to think the commoners are 'wrong' per say for wanting a more equal society, it does seem to be pretty wishy washy on how they should behave as 'violence isn't the answer' and 'can't we all get along' messages with a largely nice noble cast of characters and not particularly sympathetic commoners leads to a sorta pro nobility message overall which. you know. not great. Not that I particularly expected the lesbian medieval escapist series to be pro revolution, I just assumed they would stay away from politically relevant topics. I guess time will tell to see if they have something more nuanced and interesting to say than I'm giving them credit for given how early we are into the series.

- ENNEAD (Webcomic) - Twitter tells me that the most recent chapters feature a Horus face reveal which I'm hyped about, but the pages haven't been translated yet to my misfortune.

- Trash of the Count's Family (Webcomic) - Second season updates have arrived and I've missed Cale, nice to see him. The art style has changed a little so that the backgrounds and clothing are more detailed which is cool but I do have to say I miss the larger eyes of the old style that made the characters a bit cuter overall, even if the comic as a whole looks fantastic either way. Anyway Toonka's cool I like seeing him too.

- The Locked Tomb Series (Books) - Finished up Nona and man do I immediately want to go reread the whole series with all my gained context now. I've really enjoyed each novel in a totally different way, and truly love all the weird and interesting characters with the dramatic and yet very difficult to describe in a serious way plot points. I do so hope the books get a TV adaptation if for no other reason than to see so many of the actors pull double and triple duty in portraying all the body sharing antics going on. I need to highlight my favorite quotes on the second readthrough given the series has the nerve to be both hilariously clever and stunningly profound. For favorites I'd say Camilla and Gideon have my heart but really everyone is a joy in their own way, and I'm desperately hoping that Alecto has a happy end for at least most of them.

- Lego Monkie Kid (Cartoon) - Welp I binged through the rest of the series and I will say that seasons 3 and 4 addressed a lot of my issues with it in terms of narrative progression and introducing individual character backstories and arcs. Season 4 in particular was pretty great with the demon brotherhood plot introducing Azure as a competent and sympathetic villain and showing how flawed of a mentor figure Sun really is, as well as featuring some nice character (and design) growth for MK. I like pretty much everything about Macaque and his bitter divorcee vibes with Sun, Red Son and Mei teaming up was a surprisingly cute development, Pigsy and Tang remain as solid and adorable father figures, and I feel like the settings and overall animation looked stellar overall. I do have complaints that I don't really feel like voicing, but as a whole I quite enjoyed this show and will be looking forward to the fifth season - It is really excellent to see a Journey to the West successor actually utilize the series format as opposed to the attempts to cram it into a movie.

- Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Miles Edgeworth (Video Game) - Completed! I do think I liked this one more than the last one, largely because Sebastian was a fun and interesting little shit, though I'd still say it's on the lower end of the Ace Attorney games as a whole - There was just a lot of time wasting and unnecessary appearances of unlikable characters. I also liked a few of the new side characters and the overall look of the designs, though the actual villain motives were very questionable overall, even for the insane universe that is Ace Attorney.

- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Video Game) - Getting a little worn out with the sheer amount of content this has to be honest, I liked exploring the castle and fighting the ganon clones as well as the temples in general but theres still so much to do. That's not a bad thing exactly, but the burnout is hitting and I might have to pick it up later and do more of the final quest and post game content. I did like the physical appearance of the sages helping you in the castle though, that was nice.

- Project Runway All Stars (TV) - As a general rule I don't tend to like All Star as much as it'd predecessor, but this season has been pretty solid actually. The challenges have been fun and creative with solid looks across the board, and while I don't usually agree with the judges favorites we've at least been on the same page when it comes to the worst looks, so my faves have been mostly spared.

Listening to: Sway Cover and Eat Your Young Cover by Reinaeiry, Insane by Black Gryph0n, Wrecking Ball by Mother Mother, Comfort Zone by Fukase, Two Princes by Spin Doctors, World's Smallest Violin by AJR, Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives, Bad as the Boys by Tove Lo, Adore by Jasmine Thompson, Undress Rehearsal by Timeflies, Self Esteem by The Offspring, Lent by Autoheart.

#weekly roundup #my post

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

How do you think the Cullen's would have turned out if they lived their natural human lives and not forever frozen at an age / the state they were in? For example I think Carlisle would always be kind and tame but perhaps not as idealistic. Rose might grow bitter of the world since even if Royce didn't assault her I can't imagine he would be the loving husband she wanted. Edward, who watched his parents die and was dying himself, might not be as moody and miserable. Who knows about Jasper and Alice and Esme. Emmett would probably stay the same. Bella, if she never met the supernatural, probably would just be a quiet old soul but otherwise not mal adjusted. I can't even guess about Renesmee haha since she has no personality next to being ~inhumanly special.

I mean, sadly, we know the answer: they wouldn't be around very long and would have died miserably. There's no such thing as a natural human life, well, I suppose you can die of old age, but the fate of the Cullens didn't have that in store.

But let's get into it just the same.

Alice

Had James not come across Alice, she likely still would have been turned at some point by her maker, who seems to have been very fond of her. It was just a matter of time. The difference being that, instead of being a newborn completely on her own, her maker would have been there. This is an Alice very unlikely to see Jasper or the Cullens in her future, though who knows, Carlisle and her maker might very well cross paths someday due to the similarity of their work.

But I doubt Alice would ever end up on the diet.

For Alice to remain human, she can never have been sent to that asylum. In which case we have two options a) she's not sent to an asylum b) she's sent to a different asylum.

In the first case, Alice is more than likely murdered by her father. This is what got her sent off in the first place: she was running around town claiming that her father had murdered her mother and now planned to murder her. To shut the hysterical woman up, her father sent her to an insane asylum. Which effectively got her out of his life just as he wished.

If that didn't occur to him, then yes, Alice likely falls gravely ill or has some unfortunate accident that she cannot prevent.

Otherwise, Alice is sent to some other insane asylum, likely still loses all her memories due to electroshock therapy, and probably dies very young due to poor health conditions. The life she does live is utterly miserable.

Bella

Bella dies in a parking lot, she's hit by a truck out of control. Otherwise, Bella dies in Port Angeles, she's raped and her body abandoned in a dumpster. Otherwise, Bella is eaten by a vampire.

And if Bella miraculously survives all of that, I imagine her struggle with depression continues throughout high school and into college. In college, she may meet someone who catches her interest, in which case she becomes completely codependent on them for a sense of validation (as she did Edward and Jacob in canon).

The relationship is a toxic mess, ends in a very messy breakup, and Bella goes through her New Moon phase a bit later. She might finally get therapy and survive this very dangerous phase in her life, at which point, she finally starts the slow recovery from depression.

I imagine Bella will be struggling with depression though for all of her life and, if left untreated, it might very well kill her.

Carlisle

Had Carlisle not been turned this means the vampire likely drained him. Carlisle dies at the head of the mob, this sentences the other Cullens to death as well as now no one will turn them.

Let's say Carlisle wasn't as fast that day. He had a leg cramp, or something. Not being well in front of the others, he's not hit by the vampire first. This increases his chances of death, as the vampire seems to have killed the rest he took a bite of, but he could survive.

Carlisle lives with the haunting guilt that the one time he tracks down a true demon he brought death to his parish. Several died due to his actions, the demon got away, and now there's no sign of it. Carlisle completely and utterly failed.

This is probably the final straw for Carlisle. Demons exist, but they are beyond his capacity to hunt, this is a job for God and not mere mortal men. He stops the demon hunts, stops the witch hunts, and focuses himself strictly on helping the community and preaching.

He lives knowing his father would have continued to be sorely disappointed in everything he does.

Carlisle likely marries within a few years, now that his father is dead and he's the established head of the parish. He may or may not like his wife all that much, but he has a responsibility, and having a wife and children is one of those. I imagine that they either are somewhat fond of each other or quietly tolerate one another.

If Carlisle has a son, the son is trained as a priest, sent to seminary as he was, and set to inherit the parish. If he has only daughters, then it will be her husband who will inherit the parish.

When Carlisle dies he is likely remembered very fondly by the parish for the good he did for the community. No one talks about the demon hunting disaster. He's buried next to his father.

Edward

Edward dies of the Spanish Influenza in 1918.

Had he never caught it, and thus never come across Carlisle, I imagine he lives a somewhat ordinary life. He goes to university somewhere very well established, perhaps even one of the Ivy League schools, I can see him training to become a lawyer. He either joins his father's law firm or, if his father's not a lawyer, some law firm in Chicago where he does quite well for himself.

He probably courts then marries some affluent, well to do, woman who hits all the checkmarks he expects from society. They probably get on quite well.

The market then crashes in 1929, when Edward's only 29 years old, and Edward gets to live through the depression. Edward may be lucky enough to retain his wealthy, however, he very well could not have been. Edward is now unemployed, destitute, and miserable just like the rest of the country.

I imagine this is very hard on him, he becomes very bitter and resentful, and as he desperately tires to find work it just gets worse. Edward becomes mired in cynicism.

Then the war hits, Edward is now 41, and he's too old to enlist in the army. He feels a sense of nostalgic bitterness that, once again, he can't go fight the good fight and has to cheer from the sidelines. Nonetheless, the economy starts to recover thanks to the war, Edward recovers with it and things get better.

Edward lives his ordinary human life and, perhaps, lives to sometime in the 1990's.

Emmett

Emmett is eaten by bears.

Had he not happened to be in the mountains that day then, likely, some other unfortunate accident would have befallen him. He's a mountain man, that's a dangerous life.

He gets eaten by bears, eaten by mountain lions, injured somehow and then dies, hit by a tree that he cut down, there are so many possibilities.

If he does live to an older age then he becomes the gruff mountain man stereotype that we all know. I imagine he remains a very friendly, cheerful, man, probably marries some local girl and has a very large family.

Esme

Esme kills herself. With the death of her child, that was the path she chose, and had she not been turned she would have been successful.

However, had her child lived, I imagine her life would have continued on the path it was on. She would have been a single mother, working as a teacher, and raising her child.

They would have been poor, but Esme seemed determined to make this work, and was doing an excellent job at it.

Perhaps, in time, she would meet the right man and remarry. However, I think that would take a lot of time as the whole issue was that she was hung up on the ideal of Dr. Carlisle Cullen who she met when she was sixteen and never saw again.

Regardless, she's far more of a real person grounded in reality than Esme the vampire ever was.

Jasper

Had Jasper not come across Maria, he likely would have died in the war. Many, many, people died in the civil war, and Jasper would be far from alone in that.

If not, he would have returned to the ravaged south, and likely found himself facing unemployment and very difficult times for wherever he came from.

Jasper would likely pull through, we know he has lived through hell in canon and pulled through there, though changed for life by the horrors of the civil war that will now never quite leave him.

Renesmee

Renesmee is never born. Her father is a demon a hundred years older than her mother. There is no chance that Bella becomes pregnant with Edward's human child, let alone his vampire child.

If Bella does become pregnant with a vampire child, she's likely been raped by Joham. Bella dies in confusion and agony, Renesmee is born into this world utterly alone, is picked up by Serena, and becomes yet another sister of Nahuel's.

Renesmee lives the miserable life that all of Nahuel's siblings do.

Rosalie

Rosalie is gang raped to death by Royce and his friends and dies in agony in an alley. Had she not come across Royce that night then likely, after they marry, he at some point rapes her to death and murders her.

The likelihood of Rosalie, with her parent's ambitions and her looks, of not marrying Royce is very small.

Even then, Royce is in town in general, that means all she needed was one bad night. Which, in canon, she had.

However, let's say she lives and Royce wasn't interested in her hand, she marries option number two. As you note, her marriage still likely isn't fulfilling. Rosalie is there to be beautiful and poised, to have tea with the ladies in society, and watch as a governess raises her children.

This is the world she lives in, and she accepts that, but over time she becomes increasingly bitter and resentful of this thing we call life.

TL;DR Remember, there's no escape from the pit of despair we call Twilight

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #the cullens #alice cullen #carlisle cullen #bella swan #edward cullen #esme cullen #emmett cullen #rosalie hale #jasper whitlock #rensemee cullen #bittemoi