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blingblong55 · 19 days

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Worth it- 141 & Laswell

pic credits: @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot (left)and @ave661 (middle)

Based on a request: Wait, wait, first of all hope you're doing well and make sure to drink a glass of water if you haven't already. Cozy? Yeah? Okay, Can I request something (you can choose whether it's a HCor not,etc etc) on how TF141 would react to meeting a teen boy around 15-16, who's like a genius in engineering, mathematics, and physics? Like the boy could legitimately build a rocket if he had the time, help and materials. Maybe the meet him because he got in trouble with the government for unknowingly making a weapon? Maybe he made it for a class assignment and it was stolen without his knowledge? Whatever you think makes sense here. Leaving space for you to enter your own creative thoughts, just the general idea of it. The boy is based on a character of mine from a book I'm writing, his name his Michael, but ofc you can switch that up however you wish. Have fun with this one Ignore if it doesn't sound fun to ya <3 ---- M!Reader, genius!reader, platonic!relationship? ----

A/N: drank enough water, thanks for the reminder <3

Y/N, the name of the unknown internet user that had been chased by many governments and caught by the one and only Task Force 1-4-1.

You created something so dangerous that no one believed Laswell when she told her bosses the age you had when you started all this. You created the one thing most geniuses working for the government didn't know existed outside of the numbers and graphs they had done for it. At first, the FBI had named you un-sub A. Now, they can finally put a name to the unknown face.

How were you caught? Well, it wasn't easy, let's start there. When all this mess began, you were no older than fifteen. You are practically a ticking bomb to the government so when they heard that someone was asking the right questions to chemists around your city, they began to search for you. Laswell at the time was on a small break from work but the journals you had left in your parent's home when you ran away one rainy day.

In the journals, Laswell found all she needed to have a task force assigned to find you. She called it Operation Mikey, the name was just to fill in the void of the one thing she couldn't find, you.

Your parents weren't much help in giving your name, hence why Mikey became a temporary replacement. With them high off any drug and you on the run with the rest of your journals, Price was tasked with finding you and making sure you were secured in their care.

For three months, you ran away. Moving to different cities and continuing your research of the chemical weapon you fabricated in your bedroom, the same one Laswell had locked in a laboratory somewhere in the capital of the country.

In month four, you found an abandoned building in the middle of the desert. That's where your laboratory, if you can call it that, began.

For months after that, you collected data and it wasn't until nine months later that Soap found you trading chemicals with some scientist that you were caught.

Once you were brought in, they had realised so much about you. You were way younger than what their profile had thought of, much more intelligent than they'd think a person your age was and so skilled in engineering, mathematics, and physics.

"Why didn't we find his information sooner," Laswell questions her bosses. "Kid was never even registered by his parents." The man on the phone answers. "How the hell did he even get this kind of education then?" She asks again but you had that answer.

"My parents just bought me books and hired a weird guy from the street to teach me anything," you respond and Price chuckles. "Bullshit, kid. Now tell us, how the hell did you get all of these journals?" He points to the evidence bags. Your research of months now being read by other scientists.

"I am the creator of them, not let me go," you protest against Ghost's grip on you. "No chance," Price barks. "What's your real name?" Laswell asks you. "Y/N," you answer knowing it was either this or get thrown in some federal prison.

"And you created this weapon? do you have any idea how dangerous it is to create something like this? How many people it would take to create a mathematical concept and then make it into a physical form?"

"It's not that hard, lady," you answer with an attitude. Were people this dumb?

It took hours, lots of bribing and one request from Soap and Gaz to give you food for you to open up. What? you are a teenager who needs enough food for growth, of course, you'll talk once they give you food. Talking and having to dumb it down took hours though. After all, how can you explain to hardheaded soldiers about probability theory, and why it mattered so much to your project that it took ten trials and two journals worth of failed work to get?

Laswell was more than impressed, no seriously, she was like a proud mother listening to you explain every page and even give notes in only a way that a teenage boy would to idiotic adults like them. She thought it was so adorable how a boy your age would throw nerdy jokes into the explanations and how she watched you be the only one to laugh at them.

Ghost would often smile when you'd give a snarky comment to Price. Don't get him started on the chuckles he let out when you threw a few old man jokes at Price or made comments on Soap's weird hairstyle. The comments towards Gaz were funny but also adorable how you tried to find more reasons to get him annoyed.

Price thought of his son who was about your age when you'd get excited over your most recent discovery for the weapon you had created. It was nice to know that behind all that matter in your head, you were still a kid. It was even nicer when you'd make the jokes no one understood but secretly, Price's nerdy self understood some jokes.

Gaz saw his younger brother in you, which is why even when you made jokes at his expense, he would let them pass. The way you looked at him when having to explain things was nice in some way but it was way funnier when you called Soap the smart one of all four for being able to understand the way bombs work better than anyone and then have Ghost shake his head and tell you, "that man is just a muppet, don't believe what we tell you about his work."

Soap was fascinated by you for sure. Just like Price, he understood some of the jokes, even the cheesy puns you made about certain elements. He liked you, it was something fresh from the people he usually deals with.

The team, for the past few days, grew to adore the nerdy man you are. Yeah, you teased and even called them out on wrong facts but it was new. It's good to have someone so intelligent and be so honest with them this time. What was funny is that you know so much about many topics few understand but you don't know much about real life outside of the nerdy realm you live in. It's a nice feeling when passing by Laswells office you find a framed picture of the day Ghost and the other men of the team taught you about hunting and even how to play baseball, something you sucked at in the beginning but have gotten better over time.

It's like having four funny, serious, and cool dads and an amazing mum whilst being taken care of at the base the team called home.

A/N: I hope this was somewhat okay and good luck on your book!

Tags: @liyanahelena @mangowafflesss @froggy-anon @jinxxangel13 @enarien @sae1kie @queen-ilmaree @avidreadee123 @ikohniik @konigssultwithghost @luvecarson @a-goose-with-a-knife @foxface013 @marshiely @sleepyycatt

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i-heart-mgg · 2 months

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Puppy Love - Ch.2

Pairings: Spencer Reid x Female Reader

Summary: The team wraps up their case and is dying to head home after many sleepless nights, however Spencer and reader end up have quite the eventful flight back home.

Warnings: light swearing, tension, compromising positions 😏, mentions of murder, child abduction.

Word count: 4019

Previous Chapter - Next chapter

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After getting back to your unkempt motel room and passing out, you were rudely awoken by your body with an undying thirst for some cold, crisp water (those who get it, get it). You, however, were deprived of that. In replacement, was an exceedingly discombobulated Spencer Reid. It was safe to say he was true to his word last night, you didn’t think his eye bags could get any darker.

You strode across the shabby oak floorboards of the police station, going in a B-line straight for the Doctor. Not entirely sure why if you were being honest, but it didn’t matter either way, Hotch called out your name before another encounter could ensue. “Yes, coming!”

You hurried over to the man waiting with the sheriff of the small country town of Kildaresh, Alabama. “(Last Name), This is Sheriff Gill, She’ll get you accustomed to the general layout of the town. Hopefully, it’ll give you a fighting chance of keeping up with Reid when working on the geographical profile.”

The woman was of average height, with brown eyes and hair that flicked upwards at the ends. You flashed her a small smile and light handshake before she gave you a rundown of where the family's houses were located, spots they frequented, places they had in common, and so on. Quickly thanking her, you finally made your way over to Spencer, engrossed in the red lines scattered along the large map. “So… would it be uhm, okay if you could get me up to speed here, please?” You asked.

He didn’t pay you any mind, out of annoyance or obliviousness you weren’t sure. “Dr. Reid..?” He gripped the marker tighter as he made one final stroke connecting a popular Diner and laundromat. His stance shifted to meet your gaze, well-worn Converse squeaking against the floor. “Yes, sorry what did you say?”

“Oh uh I just wanted to know if you could explain what’s going on..” you gestured your hands in the direction of the map, luckily he got the idea from your extremely vague explanation. “Of course, so this is the most popular massage parlour in town, famous amongst the male population for their expertise, and this-“ You giggled, causing Spencer to knit his eyebrows together in bewilderment. “Spencer, you know that’s more than just a massage parlour right?” You teased. His face tightened further, even more lost than before. “You know… happy endings and stuff?”

He stared a while longer before realising what you meant, a vibrant pink dusting the tips of his cheeks. “You are- uh right, about that.” He chuckled, for the most part out of embarrassment. His Adam’s apple bopped in his throat after the laughter had subsided, leaving you with an intense game of trying not to blink, which Spencer inevitably lost. He involuntarily ripped his eyes away from yours. In favour, they traced down every slight curve and outline of your body, before continuing his not-so-little information dump.

— x —

You could hear the deafening sound of the jet flying down into the barren airport, ready to take you home. “God, I am beat!” Exclaimed Morgan as he threw his arms out in an exaggerated yawn. You had caught the unsub, a bastard murdering families consisting of mostly women and recording it to sell online to sickos much like himself.

You and Spencer worked surprisingly well together, tracking down the location of his next target, the Andersons. You quickly picked up on how these things worked, thankfully not being too much of a nuisance- except for maybe teasing Spencer, but that was all in good fun.

Morgan collapsed down on the first seat his drooping eyes lay upon. The man was not lying when he said he was “beat” after that big chase he had with the unsub. Everyone was left on the edge of their seat as Morgan, our last hope of catching the guy, ended the wild goose chase by tackling him to the ground.

The rest of the team poured into the jet and followed suit. You claimed a comfortable spot on the couch next to Spencer, the opposite end as Morgan and the team. He glanced over at you, sporting his straight-lipped smile in acknowledgment of your presence.

You didn’t speak, long night after long night taking its toll on your ability to have any kind of conversational prowess. Reid extended his arm back to reach for something, you couldn’t quite make out what it was until he was laying it over the top of himself. A warm, fluffy blanket. The things you would do to have that wrapped around you right now. Fortunately, Spencer had the foresight- or more like simple observational skills to lift it towards you with a questioning look. For which you gladly took the unspoken offer.

He draped it around you both, making sure it was evenly distributed between the two of you, before lying back to watch the clouds passing by. The radio silence and warm climate lulled you into a slumber within minutes. You had your blanket and something else inescapably had to become your pillow, your subconscious mind's choice? Spencer’s shoulder.

At first, he didn’t realise, attributing it to a peculiar way the blanket had fallen. That theory was soon debunked when whatever the weight resting against him was, moved. He carefully shifted his body to look at his left shoulder, to find that you were sleeping soundly against it. His whole body tensed, stirring you slightly in the process. He tried his best to not make that same mistake again, although it proved tremendously difficult when this was the closest he’d ever come to a woman, apart from his mother and that one time with the Lila Archer, ever.

The combination of you and the blanket was making him seriously start to overheat. Yet he sat impossibly still, terrified of waking you up by accident. Spencer studied and committed each of your features up close to memory, the way your reddish-hued lips were somewhat parted as shallow breaths escaped them, how your eyelashes were so long yet dainty, or the way your face scrunched up in discomfort if he readjusted a centimetre too far. He was borderline panting when you would then bury your face further, cuddling up against him. Causing him to bite down on his lip hard enough for small traces of blood to escape.

In an endeavour to soothe his nerves, he reached into his go-bag for a copy of The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe. The retrieval of the book went swimmingly, your breathing pattern only faltering when he was required to use his left hand to open the hefty book. You started mumbling incoherent noises, squirming about on his side.

“Shhhh, it’s ok. Go back to sleep,” he whispered in your ear as he tucked a strand of hair behind it. Which soon evolved into gently stroking your silky hair until he was one hundred per cent certain you were asleep. He may have done it a touch more than completely necessary, but would he ever admit it? Hell no.

He lifted the blanket higher in areas it had shimmied its way down, before turning the pages of his book. Reading ten times slower than he normally would, one because he didn’t go to all this effort for you to wake up, and two because he physically couldn’t. The dense, recently purchased pages caused his hand to strain uncomfortably when turning a page.

Words began to blur into one, as his eyelids were being forced shut by the powerful forces of exhaustion. His body went limp, leaving the book to topple onto the floor of the jet and his head to fall against your own. His previous stiffness had assumed him at a very upright position, that too, was now gone.

Spencer slouched back into the chair, your head now falling against his chest. You stretched out in your slumber to wrap your arm around him like that of a childhood teddy bear. He soon mirrored your movements, his sizeable hands enveloping the circumference of your waist.

— x —

“Flight passengers please be seated for your arrival.” You peeled your eyes open, your knuckles carelessly rubbing the sleep out of them while squinting from the harsh jet lights. The unfamiliar feeling of waking up in a jet left you in a seriously disoriented state, attempting to gain back some awareness, you began by trying to figure out where you were- but more importantly what was preventing you from getting up. The rise and fall of somebody’s chest underneath you may have been a teeny-weeny clue.

“shit.” You had made Spencer your personal lounge and you were now engulfed by his arms. Could you ever not get yourself into such compromising situations? The only option here was to escape, not desiring an onslaught of teasing over a simple misunderstanding, if someone were to discover whatever this was. You pressed your right palm onto the table, gaining some elevation above him while you placed the parallel foot down. Effectively caging him in the tight space. Spencer stirred slightly in response, but for the most part, so far so good.

Your fingers interlaced with his own, meticulously trying to pry them off of you. The faint noises of people who were waking up on the other side of the jet allowed terror to run rampant in your mind. When you attempted to stand up, Spencer’s brow furrowed in disconcertment, unexpectedly strong hands forcing your body to tumble back into his grasp, double the security of the previous hold.

There was no choice but to resort to plan B, you made your next break for it by raising your legs into a kneeling position, praying that you would be able to slip out backwards. You arched your back while you cautiously manoeuvred out of his iron grip, almost far enough to duck your head under his hands. Soft murmurs could now be heard from the other end of the aircraft, and you could practically taste freedom.

Plan C was the last thing on your mind when Spencer suddenly groped your upper thighs, hazardously close to your ass, and pulled you down to straddle his thigh. Your face was scorching hot, about to burst into flames when you let out an involuntary whimper. All oxygen drained from your lungs when you paused to see if anyone had heard. As much as you hated yourself for it, you couldn’t deny how the situation was kinda hot and maybe you didn’t mind being in this position with Spencer under different circumstances.

After waiting a short time you had figured all was well, and by some grace of god, Spencer had seemed to regain some consciousness. You surveyed his features, once tranquil, now shifting to a look of panic when he saw you against him, cheeks flushing as he promptly loosened his grasp on your thigh. He didn’t quite get full-blown freaked out before he collected himself and his thoughts, peering over to check if you were still asleep.

You pretended you were to save him the mortification, yet truthfully, you mostly did it for yourself. His slender fingertips ran up the expanse of your back, before tenderly lifting you by the armpits to rest on the other side of the leather seating arrangement. Placing the blanket back on top of you.

You listened intently to the sound of him shuffling with his go-bag while muttering something you couldn’t quite hear, picking the perfect time to pretend to wake up.

Grumbling, you began to slowly open your eyes, making sure Reid took notice. “(Name), are you awake?” You outstretched your body before responding, “I am now.” Spencer looked at you apologetically, “Sorry if I woke you, we’re landing soon.” “S’ ok, thanks for letting me know, is this your blanket?” Your hand held up the piece of fleece while you made eye contact. “Oh, no, it’s not mine. But thank you anyway.” He said flatly while retrieving the item from your toasty hands.

“Sleep well?” Spencer startled you from your daze. “Ah, yes I did, extremely well in fact.” You said with a slight smirk, not big enough for the Doctor to read into though. “I’m uh, very g-glad. For you, of course.” He stated as he made a plethora of unnecessary hand gestures, clearly recalling the prior events of the trip.

“Did you sleep well too?” You questioned. “I did.. but how’d you know I slept?” The error was already made, there wasn’t any going back on this one. “Oh well, you know..” you trailed off meeting his unfaltering gaze. “I just assumed everyone was, especially you. I know you at least didn’t get any rest that first night, god knows how many others you missed.”

Spencer stared awhile longer, that’s it, your resolve was on its last legs. “Fair enough.” He said, still a bit unconvinced but willing to settle with your answer. “Reid, (last name)! How’s the weather up here, I sure hope you got your beauty sleep and didn’t chat the whole way here.”Emily joked. It was both your turn to get pink in the face. “No, actually, we barely said a word.” Spencer gave a quick smile while he saved you from that awkward interaction, in which you were eternally grateful for.

“Damn (name) you got lucky, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Spencer stop talking.” You giggled for a moment before responding, “Guess he was just too tired to stay awake, I probably kept him up these past few nights. Not that I would mind him talking my ear off the whole way, I actually find his statistics quite intriguing.”

Spencer was dumbfounded, not knowing which part made the butterflies in his stomach go wilder. Was it the insinuation that he was thinking of you each night, which rationally he knew was a harmless joke, yet was the furthest thing from a lie. Or was it you saying you didn’t mind him talking, no, you in fact liked it. Or was it the wink you gave him that made his heart skip a beat? Time wasn’t sufficient enough to have an internal debate with himself, he didn’t need anyone knowing your statement was laden with a tinge of truth.

“What! That is an outrageous accusation, the case was keeping me up. You know, the innocent families murdered? I’m disappointed that you’d think your pretty little face took priority over them.” Emily and you froze in shock, not expecting such a defensive reaction to your joke, and much less the compliment threw in at the end. “Sorry.. uh, that was definitely overkill, not that you aren’t pretty, I’m also not disappointed either… I was trying to joke back…” Spencer trailed off, realising the delivery was completely off after the fact. Shifting from foot to foot, desperately waiting for someone to say anything.

“You think I’m pretty?” Your lips curled into a smile, and Spencer sighed in relief that he hadn’t made you hate his guts. “Well if we’re relatively speaking, you are indeed conventionally attractive,” he blurted out, making you blush from head to toe. “I feel like I’m interrupting something here,” Emily murmured under her breath while she crossed her arms, ready to alight from the jet.

“Interrupting what?” Morgan butted in as he leaned against the couch Spencer and I were previously lying on. “It’s nothing, let’s get out of here so we can enjoy our own homes for a change,” Emily exclaimed while she proceeded to drag Morgan over to the now-open jet door. “Calm down mamas just asking a question here.” He chuckled, placing a hand on his heart in false offence.

Spencer stood nearby in confusion, watching our colleagues stumble down the steep stairs, clearly none the wiser as to why she made such a comment. “Emily’s right, my house does sound rather appealing after being confined to a space the size of my bathroom the past week. I’m gonna head out, you coming?” Spencer perked his head up, not missing a beat before nodding his head in agreement.

— x —

The chirping of birds, as you strolled down the scenic route to the new coffee shop you were trying before work, rang through your ears. It had been a whole two weeks since you started the job, which doesn’t sound like a lot but the amount of work done in that time was astonishing. Thankfully, all cases went well, as well as they could be for serial killers and child abductions, and you seemed to be getting by alright. Great willow trees hung over the pathway, reminding you of how people find them symbolic of humans' capability to withstand hardship, loss, and difficult emotions. A random fact you picked up from Spencer’s rambling spiels.

Speaking of which, you and the doctor had become increasingly close after the past two weeks, paired together on almost every case, eating lunch with each other on the days you actually had the time to, or chatting a bit too much while you were supposed to be writing your reports. Not that you hadn’t grown closer to the other members, it was natural that you would after starting a new job, but with Spencer it was different. When you talked to him or just spent time around him you felt excited, kicking your feet like you were a 13-year-old girl experiencing her first real crush. Not that you had a crush on Spencer, you had literally just met the man. Yet the way conversation flowed so easily made it feel like you had known him your entire life.

You turned the final rustic corner of your picturesque route, effectively ending the refreshing walk as you reached your destination, an ancient-looking building with brick walls, gigantic stained-glass windows, and an abundance of greenery coating the surrounding area. The bell chimed as you stepped through the threshold of the cafe, bookshelves packed from top to bottom lined almost every wall. Yet it didn’t feel cramped, it was rather cozy and you had always preferred older architecture than blocky modern.

“Hello miss! What can I get you today love?” A full-figured elderly lady said welcomingly. “I’ll take a cappuccino please,” you smiled graciously at the woman, you figured you’d stay since work didn't start for about an hour, the warm atmosphere was irresistible on a chilly winter's day like this. “That’ll be four fifty, but I’ll make it four for a sweet girl like you. Name, dear?” She complimented as she mischievously raised her eyebrows up and down. “Ah thank you! It’s just (name).”

You tapped your card against the EFTPOS machine before looking over the wide array of books encased by enormous shelves. The sunlight peaking through the stained glass, casting a halo over a particular section of books, drew your attention. You waltzed your way over the creaky floorboards covered in various scuff marks from what you were sure was a glorious heyday, fingers gracefully skimming over the hard leather backing of the books, they were clearly vintage and of a high quality. A particular one caught your eye, it wasn’t as dusty as the others yet it was obviously cherished by the way the corners and folds were tatty and worn. You pulled the book out to observe the cover, the kind lady spoke up slightly startling you. “You know, I have a regular about your age who loves that book, Ray Bradbury’s work in general I’m certain.”

“I’ll have to meet him I suppose, if the rest of his taste in books is similar then I don’t think we’d ever run out of things to talk about.” You chuckled. Her round cheeks grew wide as she grinned at you, placing your drink down on the homely little booth table you had situated yourself at. “You may be in luck, the young man comes here quite a bit, usually at this time of day too.” Your hand reached out to take a sip of your cappuccino, savouring the bitter yet comforting flavours swirling about your mouth. “That sounds lovely, I can’t wait”.

The bell hanging above the door chimed, alerting the two of you to the presence of another customer, you paid it no mind wanting to know more about this mystery man who seemed to be just your type, however, business was calling to the older woman. Unfortunately interrupting your very intriguing topic. “Hello! What can I get for you today? Or do you just want your usual with extra, extra, sugar?” The woman perked up.

“I’ll just have my usual, thank you”. The man said as the woman excitedly tapped your arm, just when you were about to take a second sip. You placed your cup down, eyebrow rising in curiosity, could this be the mystery man? You glanced up at the beaming old lady scurrying over to a tall, slender figure, one that seemingly resembled a coworker of yours, maybe a bit too well.

“(Name)! I’d like you to meet-“ “SPENCER?!” You exclaimed in utter shock, accidentally interrupting the poor woman. “Hey (name), I didn’t know you went here, um- how’d you know Dilicia?” Spencer questioned his fidgety body language and stuttering signalling he was just as surprised as you were, or maybe that was just his regular self, you weren’t entirely sure. “Uh, well no. It’s my first time trying the place actually, I thought since it was near work it’d be most convenient”. You said, eyes darting side to side as you nervously chuckled.

“Oh gosh! Do the two of you know each other already? Isn’t that splendid!” Dilicia exclaimed, wide-eyed and hands clamped tightly together. “W-we do, yes-“ “Yes we know each other, we’re colleagues”. Spencer and you managed to blurt out at the same time. She smirked at both of your guys’ awkwardness before heading behind the polished front counter towards the coffee machine.

The air settled as the initial shock wore off, Reid and Dilicia strolling their way over deep in a conversation you couldn’t quite make out, but knew you were a part of judging by the woman’s giddy expression constantly meeting your slightly less enthusiastic one. “Spencer dear, I must tell you, just before you came me and Miss (name) were talking about you!” Your face flushed at the unwanted confession, sounding more like you were talking shit about him than raving about how great you’d be together. Neither option was appealing if you were being honest.

“Oh- really? Why were you talking about me, if you don’t mind me asking? Also, how did you know that we knew each other? Oh and what exactly did you say about me, for how long…?” Spencer rambled, definitely now overthinking the whole encounter. You stared down at your hands, picking at your long fingernails probably in need of a well-earned file. “We didn’t know it was you… we were just- well, you know, talking about… stuff”. “Sugar plum honey bum no need to be shy! I was telling (name) about how good a match you two would be. And obviously, I was right, seeing that you’re already ‘friends’.” She winked while saying friends in air quotations.

“D-Dilicia, I can assure you that our relationship is purely professional, we only met very recently, about 14 days, 1 hour and 17 minutes to be exact. Which in fact reminds me that we should both get going, my stay has been longer than I anticipated, and we’re going to be late if we stay a moment longer. I already left money by the cash register, thank you for the coffee.” The woman just smiled as she walked to the back, waving goodbye and telling you both to come by next time- and by both, she meant the two of you, at the same time, at the same table, and all the rest of it. She really needed to become a matchmaker on the side of the cafe business.

The doorbell chimed once again, Spencer held the door open and let you through first, exiting the premises and waving goodbye back to the jolly old lady.

I wrote most of this like a month ago but I didn’t finish it until now because of going back to school and stuff 😭😭 thank you so much for all the notes on the first chapter I really do appreciate it!! The comments are so sweet but for some reason I can’t reply 🙄 Anyways expect more chapters and I hope you enjoyed this one! Oh yeah and happy birthday to my husband 😘😘

#cm #criminal minds #early seasons spencer #i need him #cutie pie #mgg #mgg x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid’s hands in every episode #spencer x reader #fluff #spencer reid x reader

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prismatic-bell · 2 months

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I've got a question (as per your post saying questions are welcome.) I hope you'll forgive me if I word things wrong and feel free to let me know so I can avoid doing it again.

So, I never really knew what Zionism was and I feel like I still barely know. Before I looked into it, all I had ever heard was people saying it with venom. From the way they spoke, I just assumed it meant something very aggressive and violent. To my knowledge SOME are violent but it doesn't seem accurate to say that Zionism is inherently violent or evil. I'm sure there's more I should know; It feels like I only barely, barely know the basics. In addition to any insights you might have in general, I guess I'd like to know: Is the Two-State solution technically Zionist, since Israel would continue to be a self-governing state? Am I Zionist or Zionist-ish if I believe in Jewish Indigeneity (while also believing in the indigeneity of the Palestinian people because more than one population can be indigenous to the same place.)

Also, and I apologize if it's inappropriate to make comparisons like this, it feels like the term "Zionist" is sort of used how "Communist" was used in Red Scare USA? It feels like it doesn't even mean anything other than "enemy" and is used to elicit a strong emotional reaction.

I want to learn more so that I don't perpetuate any stereotypes or continue in my ignorance. I'd also love any recommendations on books about Jewish History or the Levant! edenfenixblogs inspired me to read more about Jewish history with the recommendation of Night by Elie Wiesel, and I'd like to continue learning history beyond the Holocaust, too.

So first, your comparison of “Zionist” to “Communist re 1950s” is so spot-on I can’t believe I haven’t heard it before now. I just want to get that out front so I don’t forget later (ADHD goes whee).

So “Zionism” is sort of like “queer” in that it means a lot of different things to different people, but has core things that will always be true. Those things are thus:

1) the Jewish people are indigenous to the Levant;

2) many (though not all) Jews were forced to leave historic Israel and Judea due to Greek and Roman conquest and colonization, and this has gone poorly enough for us over the last two millennia that it’s clear we will not be safe until we have self-determination in our own country;

3) by virtue of being our ancestral and indigenous homeland, that country should be in the Levant.

That’s it, that’s Zionism.

I do want to point out there are Zionists who twist the word into pretzels in order to justify being horrible to others, particularly Palestinians. While I won’t no-true-Scotsman these people into not being Zionists, I will say they’re Zionists the same way the Taliban are technically Muslim. They’ve latched onto an otherwise-neutral label in order to have a bludgeon. That is not what Zionism should be, and for the majority of Zionists, it’s not.

#you ask nina answers #Nina blogs Judaism #or Judaism-adjacent here I guess

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genericpuff · 6 months

Text

And with that, 2000 years of history and 10+ years of an animated adaption later, Attack on Titan is over.

I wasn't planning on making an essay post about this but like all of my essay posts, it got crazy out of hand, so here we are. I have a lot to say on it and the more I wrote, the more I realized exactly what the Attack on Titan finale was about. It's cathartic. It's also kind of a big shitpost but not for the reasons you might think.

Spoilers for the Attack on Titan finale ahead! CW: DISCUSSION OF WAR AND GENOCIDE AHEAD!

Now for anyone who knows what I'm about to talk about (and anyone who follows my stuff here), I'm sure you're wondering , what side do I fall on in regards to Attack on Titan's ending? Am I about to talk shit about it? It's very divisive and somewhat inconclusive. It followed the exact ending in the manga which, while expected, was still disappointing to many who had hoped the anime would take some other path.

But I have to ask, could there have been any other way?

Eren committed mass genocide, bordering on extinction of the entire human race. There was no way that he was gonna come out of it redeemed or as a hero, and he knew it. He went straight up Walter White core here and like Walter White, he is not a hero.

The fact that the Marlayans have been constantly going to war with other countries using Eldians as their personal soldiers goes to show that for countries that seek out conquest, there's no target too small or insignificant that can't be marked as an "enemy", and we see that reflected in Eren as well, in his pursuing of "freedom", an ever-moving goalpost that can never truly be satisfied.

The Jaegerists were hellbent on creating a new empire on the bloodshed of Marley - 'an eye for an eye', so to speak.

Nothing was ever going to truly satisfy either 'side' in the conflict of humanity vs. Eldians because such conflicts' origins have been obfuscated in hundreds of years of history, propaganda, and generational trauma that has repeated itself for so long that many don't even know what they're fighting for anymore, aside from one thing - that they don't want to suffer, that they shouldn't have to suffer for the actions of their ancestors, that they want peace and happiness but don't know where to start with taking the first step.

I think people are disappointed in this ending because, let's face it, it's anime, and it's an anime adaption that took years to finish. We always want to see some kind of vindication from stories like these, but I think in having vindication, it ultimately removes the point altogether of what's being said.

As much as we may try to fight it, try to deny it, the course of human history travels in a circle. Conflict will always arise. History is written by the victors, and those victors will be seen as heroes by whichever side they're fighting for regardless of what heinous acts they may have committed to justify their salvation. And after all of that conflict, regardless of the result - time goes on, and new conflicts arise.

But I don't think that means we have to succumb to grief and suffering and that's a point that I'm seeing missed in a lot of the discussion around the finale. There's a very powerful scene between Armin and Zeke, in which Armin talks about how he was born to run up the hill with Mikasa and Eren. He recognizes fully that if his life isn't meant to be long, he can still cherish those small moments that he thinks back on fondly, the moments that defined his life with the people he cared about.

And that's really all life is. Small moments and experiences that stick with us until the end. The very act of being born in and of itself is a cosmic miracle that gives us the chance to experience things that bring us joy and stay with us forever - however short or long that 'forever' may be. We take these small moments for granted when we're comfortable, but we look for them the most when we're suffering.

If I can relate all this to another piece of media that says the same thing - albeit with a much brighter ending - FF XIV: Endwalker also asks a similar question to Attack on Titan - is the only meaning in life to suffer and die? Of course, by its end, we learn that while death and suffering is an inevitable part of life - not something that should be avoided - it shouldn't persuade us to give in to fear and despair as a constant state of being. And I think Attack on Titan goes for a very similar approach, albeit slightly more as a cautionary tale - a nihilistic reminder that ultimately, the losses and victories we find in our current point of history are still just that, a single point, a blip that will be forgotten until it's ultimately repeated, and there's no escaping that.

It cautions us that freedom cannot exist without constant vigilance for war and conflict. It cautions us that our values and core beliefs for attaining freedom, love and happiness can be twisted into a weapon to cause harm, vindication gained at the cost of another. It cautions us that when left in the wrong hands, power can and will be abused by the ignorant while propagandizing itself as "the greater good".

So why not just find the joy that we can? The friendships, the little moments, the things that bring us happiness even if only temporary. Conflict is inevitable, suffering is inevitable, but that doesn't mean life isn't worth living. "Happiness" is not a tangible end point - it's the side effect of living a meaningful life that's true to yourself.

Attack on Titan is over. Some will argue the ending was the only way, others will argue that there could have been another way and that the anime adaption had the chance to change it but still didn't for reasons beyond their comprehension.

But isn't that the whole point? We'll argue. We'll bargain. Many of the arguments made will reinforce our own beliefs further rather than sway us. Many of us will insist there had to be another way, just as Armin insisted that this couldn't have been the only way, that humanity must have had another option. Meanwhile, many of us will acknowledge that at the end of the day, this is the story Isayama wanted to tell, and regardless of whether or not it makes him an idiot toying with his audience and admitting defeat by lampshading it in the penultimate scene of Eren admitting to his own idiocy, this was the power given to him and he used it in the best way he knew how.

Much like in any conflict, there's one thing that unites both sides - the human need for joy, connection, and freedom.

We might not agree on how Attack on Titan ended, but we can agree that it was a hell of a ride, and I hope we can all agree that it was worth riding, even if it wasn't satisfying for everyone in the end. It brought many people together regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, and differences, and connected them through something they all loved for over ten years. And despite how big a part of our lives it was, life will still go on, and we'll move on to other things to watch, enjoy, and argue over. Isayama will move on to whatever awaits him next, knowing fully well that his choice was his own, that he created the series he wanted to create regardless of how people feel about it. We'll all look for our own forms of joy and happiness as life moves on around us, as conflicts come and go.

Isn't that really what freedom is at the end of the day?

#also ok i know this turned into a philosophical post but like #i'm still just talking about fucking anime #so please for the love of god i don't want to be seeing anyone using this post as a way to play devil's advocate on real actual war crimes #human conflict in and of itself is an enigmatic inevitability but blatant actions of genocide and colonization are not #and that was made VERY clear by the end of the series through eldians and marlayans putting aside their differences to take out eren #also ymir being in love with king fritz was a bit of a weird thing to do but that's for another post #i think it spoke more to her just being that desperate for connection that she fell into an abusive relationship #but idk it could have been executed better esp because a lot of the 'romance' in AoT is weird #still i really enjoyed the finale tbh and i don't think we're supposed to be left feeling strictly one way about it #the fact that we're arguing over whether or not the finale was good is literally just proving isayama right ngl LOL #attack on titan #attack on titan finale #attack on titan spoilers #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki no kyojin finale #shingeki no kyojin spoilers #essay post #long post #tw genocide #tw war

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samsm2mstories · 7 months

Text

My coming out story.

I thought I should share you my story about coming out which was actually recently.

For many years I had a lot of suppressive issues that were out of my hands, society, cultures and other reasons which meant for me it wasn't the right time. Luckily for some countries it's easily being who you are compared to 10-20 years ago. The world sucks still as there are homophobic idiots everywhere, some are just sore losers who got not respect in society while others just don't know any better as their upbringing wasn't teaching them to respect others.

Luckily enough I live in the UK and we as a country have got better even although the early / mid 1900s generation are still hard at adapting to the modern world. It's not their fault as their times were different. Religion, society didn't know much better but that's history as we are the ones that living in this world and will be the ones moving forward. Some people will never understand it and respect it.

I'm lucky to come out around great people, I am a very well respected in person and in general a natural born leader so you could say I was like a captain that was popular which made my coming out harder.

Some of you might be thinking now does it become easier to come out as your identity?

I believe it's can depends on a number of reasons. You got to truly believe that you are who you are.

Don't question it.

If you question yourself, don't come out as that's a sign you are not ready. Talk to your friends, talk to strangers who are gay online (be safe not to disclose personal information)

I will admit I sat in my chair for a few good hours debating how to come out. I decided to go for it and do it in one big statement. That's a strong trait of mine as you all can tell on here.

I needed to write my story in a way that it wouldn't offend people, I did mention about the industry that was homophobic, some of my family and school.

It was that second most nervous point in coming out, just posting/saying it. I thought about listening to a few songs that were a big part of my life, thinking about those moments where sometimes I should of come out earlier to enjoy those moments.

You know what, I don't regret it at all, yes I missed out on some years but I had a brilliant life, travelling the world, experiencing new cultures, and making amazing friends on the way.

It did take a toll on my mental health at times but being the strong person I am, I dealt with it quickly enough.

So that night I sat there and my song came along.

Starship: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (read the lyrics while listening to this song)

You know this was a song of mine but the words in it made me realised I want to go out there and enjoy myself.

I finally did it.....

Those nerves, stomach turning inside out, emotions running wild. It all hit me like a ton of bricks.

What will people think?

What will people say?

Will I lose some friends??

Everything was rushing in and out of my mind, I just went to bed, signed out of social media. I recommend you doing this for a day or two as you want to feel the response in one go.

People started to message me, those who had my mobile number. It became a bit easier, I wasn't in the mood for talking much so I text back in small sentences.

I went to work that day and luckily enough nobody there is on my social media pages. I managed to complete 8/10 hours of my shift.

I went home and cried for abit, emotions still hitting me like bullets. You will have moments thinking was this right but deep down you know you are right.

I decided to look at my social media pages.

The final verdict?

I'm finally a free man.

For those who are younger, there shouldn't be anyone under the age of 18 reading my stories as they are explicted but if you are reading this.

For you coming out would be different, I would recommend you do it now when the moment is right but take into consideration your family. Make sure you won't be disowned or kicked out of the house. Have a read-up online about it all and PLEASE RESEARCH EVERYTHING.

We all have different circumstances and you must be completely assured that coming out will be good when the moment is right..

Yes some might not agree with it.

Yes some might hate you now.

Yes some might be shocked and haven't replied.

Who cares????

This is your life so go out there and enjoy it, be safe while at it. Please use protection during sex with strangers.

Remember if you ever feel I doubt or want to talk, there's helplines, friends in the community, even send me a text if you want to talk more.

Don't be afraid to talk.

I hope you all enjoyed this irl story and it would be amazing if some of you reply to this about your coming out stories. It would make a brilliant discussion.

For those who are unsure on their sexuality, speak to me or other members of the community. Talking helps to make a decision. You will feel much better.

Sam your favourite Alpha writer 😎

#coming out #gay #bisexual #body switch #body theft #possession #muscle theft

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doberbutts · 10 months

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Please feel free to ignore this ask if you feel it would bring any drama towards you-- that said, I am curious, why do you have a mostly negative view of protection dogs? Honestly, not sure where I stand. Idea wise, I don't really care, *however*... the amount of people with "working dogs" that I feel have absolute no idea what they have or how to safely manage their bitesport dogs is high enough, that I imagine there's just as high a percentage of people with "protection dogs", which makes me veeeery uncomfortable. I like the idea of having a dog that would genuinely be able to protect me, but at the same time, I view them the same as a weapon, and the idea of other people having one *who should have no business handling one* makes me. Eugh. I hope that makes sense.

I have a mostly negative view towards *personal* protection dogs. Not all protection dogs, just PPDs.

The reasoning is multifaceted but the largest portion is due to the fact that many people who say they want a PPD actually want a gun. They have an idea in their heads about what PPDs do and what they are capable of and that is honestly mostly fantasy and nonsense in this era. If [general] you are so concerned about being attacked that you need a dog to bite someone at a moment's notice, what you need is to take some self defense classes, get your conceal carry license, and buy yourself a suitable weapon.

Put simply, an aggressor that sees a dog at your side (esp of guardian breeds known for this sort of temperament) and still chooses to attack is prepared for the dog. Some quick work with a gun or a knife and you have just spent 5-10k on a dog's corpse and have no ability to fight back. All the training in the world does not make a dog immune to bullets or blades between the ribs. What will you do when your dog is dead and your aggressor is still coming for you?

Then you have the sticky situation of the fact that even in castle law ans stand your ground states, while it is legal for YOU to kill someone who is attacking you, your dog is not similarly protected. You may not be jailed, but a dog that bites or kills in defense of handler is susceptible to being taken and euthanized for being a dangerous dog. Once again you have just spent thousands of dollars on a corpse.

Unfortunately there are plenty of charlatans out there willing to take your money to train your dog and they may or may not do good work- though in my experience it can be difficult to find someone who actually is capable of doing good work and even harder to afford that person as they know their value is very high. But most do not warn people that they are throwing a lot of money at a problem that can be solved with less than half the amount of cash and not have to live through the experience of your would-be assailant killing your dog in front of you.

Lastly, it is a largely unregulated industry, so there is no standardization of training, no safety precautions, and no consequences when something inevidibly goes wrong. There are no certifications to prove quality. There is very little recourse for those who are harmed by the practice of bad actors. Anyone can claim they know what they're doing and while that is a repeating problem with all dog training- because it's not regulated at all in this country- there is a significant difference in danger of someone who's bad at training teaching a dog how to sit vs someone who's bad at training teaching a dog how to attack people.

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frozenearthwife · 2 years

Text

Ruby is a rare type of protagonist

This is gonna be long, you’ve been warned!

I am a grown ass adult woman. I like female protagonists, I prefer watching them and relating to them, and always have.

I’ve watched a lot of animes since my teenage years, upwards of 400 last I counted on MyAnimeList a few years ago. I’ve been to Tokyo - twice - and spent at least 20 hours scouring the anime stores of Akihabara. I paid the Japanese mailing service to send a Saber figurine back to my home country since it was too big to bring in my luggage. (This one!)

Why does this matter and what does it have to do with Ruby? Read on:

During my years of being an utterly anime fanatic, I started to grow bored. After 400 animes, you’ve seen most of the plot twists. Most of the stereotypical personalities. All the classics have been watched and rewatched. The story beats, even if presented in a new packaging, becomes predictable.

You start to see the patterns, so to say. I’ve been hyped more times than I can count, only to be disappointed when yet another promising series took a predictable, cliché turn with its story or characters. It may not be sudden, sometimes it happens several episodes or even a few seasons into the show. So you never know for sure until having spent a lot of time watching.

There are a lot of GREAT animes with male protagonists, but how rare isn’t it to find one that does NOT build towards the guy being needing to become stronger than his enemies and winning some important final fight? (as is common in shounen in general)

As time went by I found myself getting more and more picky with what I wanted to spend time watching. I prefer shows with the cool, badass, strong girls, since those are the ones I enjoy watching and them being girls makes it easier for me to relate and enjoy their achievements.

Cool...

Badass...

...strong girls.

These are what I want. Finding them, however, can be tedious work, especially in the role as main protagonists.

In the anime world, there are some common tendencies with strong female characters:

1) The badass female character is either a side-kick to the male protagonist, eventually become overshadowed by a male protagonist, OR in some cases by some new girl, because heaven forbid any of the cool girls get developed beyond their one single character arc. (ex. Fate/Zero, A Certain Magical Index, Shakugan no Shana, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri, Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, any anime with a harem, and so many others - they can still be good shows though, that’s not the point!)

2) There are great animes out there with great female protagonists, however they are usually either a) sexualized (ex. Kill la Kill) or b) shows geared towards kids (ex. Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, The Owl Hourse (yes, I’m putting this here even if it’s not an anime) or c) romance focused (ex. Revolutionary Girl Utena). I love these shows for other reasons though!

3) The actually great action animes with badass female protagonists that are allowed to develop and not be overshadowed by their crush/secret male protagonist etc. do exist, but are sadly few and far between. (Soul Reaper is pretty great with Maka, although BlackStar steals a lot of space, and I prefer the anime for this exact reason. A Certain Scientific Railgun was my fav for a long time, but sadly Mikoto is in love with the harem protagonist of the main show and gets overshadowed whenever he’s involved.)

And it doesn’t matter if the show is named after the girl(s) or not!

Here are two girls, each with their own anime named after them (Railgun/Index). Guess who’s the most important character who actually drives the main story?

Shakugan no Shana: Yes, Shana is the name of the girl. Guess which character gets the most power-ups and biggest development?

There’s nothing wrong with liking these shows, I mean I watched them too, and I enjoyed them for the most part... but sometimes I just... whish the dude would stay a side-kick?

So, first impression of RWBY was... cautious optimism?

When I first watched RWBY, because an online friend suggested it, I was surprised to find four strong female protagonists - and Ruby presented as the main protagonist what with the very first episode being named after her and there was no guy in sight.

Seems good? Even if the animation is super wonky. Ruby is cool. I like her. She has an awesome weapon too and is competent with it. She even bites back at people instead of becoming submissive. She gets saved in first episode yes, but it was by an adult woman after a woman took over the fight from Roman.

Also no fanservicy panty shots, suggestive angles and what-not? Seems promising.

But I’d seen this before. A show starts out with a cool, interesting, badass girl as the main protagonist. Then at some point some guy gets introduced, and it turns out he’s special, and she crushes on him, and then he gets stronger, and now she’s his side-kick, and more girls come along, and everything keeps scaling upwards forever (except the original girl), you get the idea.

Then the show turned into some hybrid of Harry Potter x Sailor Moon x high school anime spinoff wannabe with questionable quality? Okay, but maybe with these interesting girls and some cool plot it can work?

The Jaundice episodes seemed to fulfill the prophecy and I lost interest halfway through. Yes, even if the episodes were just 6 minutes long.

I dropped RWBY and didn’t touch it again for several years.

By this point V4 had just finished. I was bored one day, and I decided to give RWBY another chance.

Got past V1 and V2. It was better than I remembered. Got to V3 and... oh no, is Pyrrha gonna do the “stealing the protagonist role” thing?

Ugh. I hate when shows trade out their main characters for new ones because they can’t figure out how to develop the ones they already have. Pyrrha is fine, but I’m already commited to team RWBY you know? Pyrrha is so OP compared to the others, it won’t be fun watching her just demolish every single foe ever, especially if she’s gonna have magic as well. It’ll just be her special story along with her romantic story with Jaune. She is going to overshadow team RWBY and then what, is Jaune gonna come along and do the same to her eventually?

With little faith left, I pressed on to episode 9, 10, 11, and... holy shit.

HOLY SHIT!

They really did that, didn’t they? They really made me think they were incompetent, cliché writers and all that. That they were gonna focus on Pyrrha and Jaune going forwards because they had no idea how to tell a compelling story with the girls they’d already established as “main protagonists”.

And then they a) Killed off the “ace student” promised for greatness and b) destroyed the High School setting and c) Allowed the bad guys to win and d) Introduced an actual competent villain AND e) Gave new depth to team RWBY and Ruby in particular.

I was HOOKED. I realized RWBY is a show that allows its protagonists to take a backseat now and then, only to hit hard with the actual meaningful stuff. Developing and letting side characters shine as well, so that it doesn’t seem like team RWBY are the only characters with purpose in this world.

Cause no matter how special or strong or high on the political ladder they are, no character in RWBY has all the answers, nor do they have any means to actually stop Salem.

They still don’t!

Ruby has her silver eyes, but they didn’t “save” Beacon, or Pyrrha, or Penny, or Atlas. Actually, they may be more a curse than anything, now knowing about the Hound and what Salem can do to silver-eyed warriors. Not even a meaningful curse in the “I’ll become a cool vampire” type of curse, but just... horrible! No! Do not want this! Actually bad curse!

Ruby can’t solve this alone. She’s not all-powerful, she isn’t the shounen protagonist who always powers up in a pinch, she’s not the Maiden of all Maidens, she doesn’t always have the answers, she’s not Ozpin’s host or Salem’s Chosen or any of those clichés. That’s not the point of her character and the story we’re being told.

Ruby, like everyone else in this story, has to train, and learn, and fail, and do mistakes, and be wrong, and correct herself, and try again, and do better next time, and trust, take risks, experience loss and helplessness, and we have not seen the end of her development. I’m hyped for V9 not because of new fights, power-ups or what-not, but because I’m excited to see what Ruby has learned from their failures so far, how they’ll pick themselves up, and how they’ll try to approach the defeating of Salem.

Because at this point in time, they have no idea how to do any of it, and that’s what excites me most about RWBY and Ruby’s character in particular.

Ruby does not have all the answers, but she’s trying anyway, because the alternative is to give up.

She’s 17 years old and has been thrust into war against a foe that can’t die, into a role of leadership she has no grasp on how to handle. She’s trying to learn from those around her, imperfect human beings as they too are. She’s doing her best, and although she happens to have special Grimm-melting laser beam eyes, that won’t stop Salem. It won’t save Remnant from the gods.

“What are you?” is going to be a very interesting question to explore in V9.

Ruby is a rare type of protagonist because she’s not the answer to every problem, she’s not the Chosen One solely able to save the world. Yet she’s also not overshadowed or sidelined by someone else. Her story intrigues me more than anyone else’s, in any other show I’ve seen.

#RWBY #Ruby Rose #my precious child #RWBY has great writing #And I would pay to read the actual scripts #Or a book form of the scripts

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qqueenofhades · 9 months

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As much as I love hearing trump getting more charges and would love nothing more than him to get sent to prison, I fear that when he eventually goes to trial, they’re will be some crazy maga nut who could watch him kill their mother and would still claim he’s innocent.

Honestly, I am... not totally sure what y'all want me to say here? I get the fear, believe me, but also, after every Trump indictment, just like clockwork, a lot of Gloomy the Doom Men pop up to pre-emptively insist that it doesn't mean anything, it won't go anywhere, he won't actually be punished, etc. I'm not saying this is that, but it does happen every time, and I just... don't know what I'm supposed to do about it? Is this part of the whole "The System Doesn't Work and Therefore We Are Justified in Not Participating" thing that the online leftists habitually do, or what? Honest question. First it was he'll get re-elected, then it was he will never leave power, then it was the Republicans will win in 2022, then it was he will never get indicted, etc. The goalposts keep shifting so any progress we do make on holding him to account (which is far more than has ever happened to any other American president, including actual war criminal George W. Bush) somehow is "meaningless" and I just?? Don't get it??

First of all, jury selection is a thing, and aims to weed out those who, in this case, are either too vehemently against Trump or too vehemently for him. They want the exact sort of mushy middle voter of which there are far too many in this country, who can be persuaded one way or the other but doesn't have ironclad previous biases. Also, they must have done a good job selecting jurors so far, given that all the grand juries have returned indictments, and at least one of them (the one in NY) had someone who was a fan of conservative talk radio/right wing politics. So if by this you mean one rogue juror will preclude a guilty conviction, that is something that can actually be planned for and prepared, and as I said, all the grand juries seated to hear evidence against Trump so far have returned indictments.

Also, this case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is an Obama appointee and has been willing to sentence J6 defendants harshly in the past. She is widely regarded as competent, fair, and firm, and will not grant any of the bullshit delays that Aileen Cannon the Trump-stooge judge will bend over backward to find for him in the Mar-a-Lago docs case in Florida. So there's a strong possibility this one goes to trial before May 2024, and the judge in this case is neither a Trump judge or a slobbering Trump partisan: indeed, quite the opposite. So I don't think we can assume that she will be so incompetent as to not manage her own trial and/or jury.

Anyway, yes. We don't know what will happen, but similar to the Espionage Act charges he got hit with last time (themselves meriting of a stiff prison sentence) Trump is facing yet more high-level felony charges that come with serious jail time. So how about for now, we don't automatically assume that what will be the most watched and covered trial in a generation will fall apart because of a simple and easily avoidable mistake that even I, a non-lawyer, know how to fix, much less a team of extremely experienced prosecutors who know this has to be absolutely fucking watertight and then some? It will be better on your mental health for the long run and arguably also much more accurate.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts #the giant orange monster

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headspace-hotel · 1 year

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Personally as someone who experiences much more daily suffering than the average person I am deeply uncomfortable with the mere idea of "eliminating suffering" because it treats "positive" experiences like love and joy and happiness as more meaningful. In my experience this is done pretty much exclusively to the detriment of people like me.

Because by acting like suffering inherently decreases the value of someone's life you are implying that lives like mine aren't worth living. And maybe it's just me but I take offense to that! Sure my life isn't perfect and there are a lot of things I wish I didnt have to deal with but this life is mine and I'll be damned if I let other people tell me it's not good enough!

Humans weren't designed to exclusively experience pleasant things. Suffering is part of being alive! And I would not trade that for anything!

Ultimately its a facet of toxic positivity, and it makes me very very nervous. Because the people who are suffering the most always seem to be the ones thrown to the wayside for fancy little hypothetical "innovations" like this. Getting rid of suffering is quite likely impossible but that doesn't mean the people backing the idea won't just put on some horse blinders and pretend they don't see the people who would prove it didn't work.

I was about 12 years old the first time somebody told me I was too depressed to be around and it was catastrophic for my mental health. I just don't think that applying that on a worldwide scale is exactly revolutionary ya know?

The ultimate manifestation of this idea is in anti-natalism (people who think it's actively bad and wrong to have children) and people who believe in this idea are often actively pro-eugenics and just...anti-human.

"eliminate suffering" inevitably ends up at calling for extinction of all life, or at least extinction of human life, and there are people out there who think we should go extinct!...and I think we need to be firmer about calling this extremist and harmful, instead of treating it as a philosophical position to be considered seriously

like, even if voluntary human extinction just involved humans choosing not to reproduce, it's still going to fuck you up to go around looking at other humans and believing that it's bad that they're alive. yes, "existence is bad" I guess is one of the basic possible options to come to when asking questions about life and meaning, and I see how people start feeling like there is a "pro-natalist agenda" or some shit because it's something we don't really talk about.

but...believing that a universal genocide would be a good thing isn't that different from believing a genocide of one specific group would be a good thing.

And "no one should reproduce" is not really any better than "everyone should reproduce," because both violate the basic principle that other people reproducing is none of your damn business.

I am generally really uncomfortable with how so many environmentalism and climate change mitigation proposals focus on human population growth as a main cause of climate change.

There's no real evidential basis for the numbers that get cited as the ideal population for Earth, like supposedly 2-4 billion is the max the Earth can support if everyone lives a "comfortable middle class lifestyle"—What The Fuck Does That Mean? Where does it come from? Is it something we actually need or want? The vast majority of humans on Earth aren't living a "middle class lifestyle."

I want to see breakdowns of complex simulations explaining how much biomass the Earth can actually support, instead of arbitrary bullshit like that.

But from everything I've read, producing enough food for the world population is not even remotely a problem. Capitalism is the problem. Huge companies controlling the food supply and keeping the countries that produce food in poverty is the problem. Technological solutions are important but they will not fix the current problems, just like Eli Whitney's cotton gin didn't eliminate slavery.

Everyone assumes that the system is working as efficiently as it possibly can to meet the material needs of people, and that is so terribly wrong.

Anyway much of that was off topic but yeah, I'm not a fan of this line of thought and where it leads

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doyou000me · 3 months

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Part II: Historical Context and Hyung's Background

So… this is not what I was going to write for Part II. I was going to write about shame and the way we perceive/react to how society sees us. I was going to loop it back to Part I; “An excess of self-awareness was a disease in itself.” I was going to compare how the narrator, his mother and his boyfriend are all affected by it in similar and/or different ways.

And then I got to thinking about the boyfriend, mainly referred to as Hyung.

About two thirds into part II, we get Hyung's backstory and, without spoiling anything, it’s basically a chunk where the narrator name-drops a bunch of movements and incidents that are part of recent history in Korea. Most of it meant next to nothing to me, and I felt like I was missing out on a whole lot of context. So I did some preliminary google searching, realised I needed more historical context, and went to the library to borrow a book on Korean history. Then I started making a timeline. Then I went online and started googling specific movements and incidents. Then I got a headache.

[This is long, so I’m putting the rest of it under the cut. Also, this is about Hyung's backstory so, you know, spoilers about that.]

The chunk of a paragraph that started all this is this one:

“He had been part of the leftover student activist generation of the mid-nineties and after graduation had dipped his toes in the labor movement. The Misun-Hyosun incident demonstrations had also been during his time, as well as protests against the abolishment of the National Security Act and the anti-Chosun Daily movement…”

Student Activism in the mid nineties

Labour Movement

Misun-Hyosun Incident

The National Security Act

Anti-Chosun Daily Movement

That’s 5 historical events, all named in one paragraph without further explanation - likely because a Korean reader is expected to know what this all means. I am not a Korean reader and I have no idea what most of it means. It’s a lot. When I started reading about it, I realised it’s even more. As is often the case with history, a whole lot of things are connected, and many of these things connect all the way back to the Japanese occupation.

There are academic papers written on these things. There are books. I am a pyjama-clad person curled up on my couch with a book and an internet connection. Of course I decided to attempt to summarise and explain it all. What could possibly go wrong?

Disclaimer time: I am not a historian or, in any way, an expert on the subject. I’ve spent about a day and a half on this, and it’s not nearly enough. Also, I am paraphrasing to the extreme to make sure I don’t end up writing half a book. I hope it’ll serve as context for anyone reading part II who feels as context-less as I did, but if you actually want to know about any of these topics, I’d recommend doing some reading of your own. I’ll leave references at the bottom.

Also: content warning. This is really dark and really heavy history. Be warned, and take care of yourselves. Now:

Some massively paraphrased Korean history

Japanese Protectorate and Occupation (1907-1945)

Starting out as a protectorate treaty to challenge China’s power on the Korean peninsula and give Japan access to Korean ports, Japan took control of Korea in 1910. What followed was 35 years of repression and Koreans living under systemic racism as second class citizens in their own country. This included institutionalised erasure of the Korean identity. 85% of the Korean population lost their Korean names and were forced to take Japanese names. Many never learnt to write in Korean, only Japanese. Hundreds of thousands of Koreans were killed for protesting against the occupation. All higher positions within the country were given to the Japanese, and the Korean workers were paid half of what Japanese workers got. Towards the end (1931-1945) when Japan went to war with China and needed resources, 3,5 million Koreans were displaced, both within Korea and abroad to Japan and China. Many were forced into slave labour in mines where unsafe working conditions and 17-hour work days killed many. Women, many just teenagers, were made “comfort women” and forced into filthy, violent brothels to serve the Japanese soldiers.

Then WWII ended. Japan surrendered to the allied forces in 1945, packed up and left Korea. Korea was suddenly free.

Just as suddenly, there was no government and no regime. There was no leadership, and not just on the government level. Industries ground to a halt. Production stood still. Displaced Koreans moved back, leading to sudden overpopulation of urban areas. Nationwide unemployment was at 50% and criminal activity, homelessness and alcoholism rose.

American Occupation (1945-1949)

The US stepped in. Due to global tensions after WWII, they did not want Korea to fall into the wrong hands, and made a deal with the Soviet Union: they split Korea in two along the 38th parallel, and the US would get the south part while the Soviet would get the north part. The plan was for Korea to eventually regain independence. The split along the 38th parallel was not grounded in any social or geographical conditions. Farmland and manufacturing in the south was divided from fertiliser production, natural resources and energy production in the north. Families living on different sides of the border were divided.

The American leadership that was put in place had next to no time to prepare, barely any prior knowledge of the Korean history, culture or people and very limited interest in learning. The US leader, General Hodge, had little political or administrative experience, and initially tried to cooperate with the Japanese to help with the occupation (this, as you can imagine, did not go over well). Labour demonstrations born from the terrible conditions Korean workers had lived with were brutally repressed and seen as pro-communist. Racism led to the assumptions that the Koreans were incapable of organising and governing themselves. The National Security Law was established in 1948 with the purpose of arresting North Korean sympathisers and infiltrators.

In 1949, the US withdrew from South Korea, and South Korea was declared the independent nation of the Republic of Korea. The Soviet Union (officially) withdrew from the North - while also helping North Korea, along with China, to build up their military. In June, 1950, the North Korean army marched over the border on the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea.

The Korean War (1950-1953)

On one level, the Korean war was about North Korea invading and trying to take over South Korea, turning all of the Korean peninsula into one Korea. On another, global level, it was a cold war power play between the US and the Soviet Union with South Korea, the US and the UN on one side and North Korea, the Soviet Union and China on the other. Both sides tried to take all of the Korean peninsula. Both sides failed. After three years of war, where foreign soldiers fought in a foreign land and Koreans fought Koreans, nothing was gained. In 1953, the border on the 38th parallel was reestablished. The entirety of the Korean peninsula had been bombarded and razed to the ground. Everything needed to be rebuilt. North and South Korea were among the poorest countries in the world and millions were still separated from their families by the border.

34 000 American soldiers were killed. 140 000 South Korean soldiers were killed. More than 640 000 North Korean soldiers were killed. Over one million Chinese soldiers were killed. Some 3 million Korean civilians were killed. And nothing was gained.

South Korea Under Military Dictatorship (1953-1960, 1961-1987)

So, with hunger, spreading disease and homelessness, with cities in ruin, orphaned children on the streets and widows left to fend for themselves in a country where women were not seen as independent citizens at the time, President Rhee and the Liberal Party won the elections in May 1954, making Rhee the first Korean president. They worked to turn the economy around through the use of five year plans as well as grants and loans from the US and secured national safety with an agreement with the US to place troops in Korea indefinitely - troops that are still present today.

They also turned the democracy into a dictatorship when Rhee risked being voted out of office. Elections were rigged and political opponents silenced. The National Security Law (according to which anti-state groups and those who disturb the national order can be imprisoned) was used to silence and root out opponents. Student protests were regularly held against the violations on democracy and corruption in the Rhee administration. After Rhee’s fourth presidential reelection in 1960, the opposing party rejected the results and student-led protests erupted in Masan, quickly spreading to the rest of the country. This became the April 19 Revolution, which led to Rhee going into exile.

An election was held and a new president was chosen.

The next year, in 1961, General Park led a military coup and took power, claiming that South Korea - amidst strikes, protests and student and left-wing groups discussing immediate reunification with North Korea - was not yet ready for democracy. They focused on economic growth, successfully turning South Korea’s economy around and, on the way, making the chaebol into some of the wealthy conglomerates we know from kdramas. They also focused on improving the relationship with Japan, leading to major protests.

They also cracked down on all opposition. Less than a month after the coup, the KCIA was established - for decades, the KCIA investigated, arrested, tortured and assassinated South Koreans who were accused of being North Korean sympathisers, suspected of supporting communism or seen as a threat to the regime. Gradually, the dictatorship became more and more repressive, with crackdowns on freedom of speech, increased power for the KCIA and martial law being imposed. Student activist protested, demanding a return to democracy, and workers protested with them, demanding better wages and working conditions.

In 1979, Park was assassinated.

General Chun took over, appointing himself director of the KCIA and continuing the military dictatorship, but by this point the people had had enough. Starting with university students in Gwangju, thousands of people in the city gathered to demand a return to democracy. The protest lasted from May 18 to May 27 of 1980, and became known as the Gwangju Uprising. It ended in violence, when the Chun regime isolated the city and went in with tanks and paratroopers. 150 were killed, over 4 000 wounded, thousands arrested - both protesters and citizens simply living their lives in the city. After that the relationship between the regime and the people was strained, to say the least, and anti-American sentiment sky-rocketed as people associated the US forces with the violent crackdown in Gwangju.

It was during this time that “Hyung” was born, in 1979, because yes, this post is still about LitBC Part II, and this all started because I wanted to understand his background better. Hyung lived his first years under a military dictatorship, where the people were under constant threat from the KCIA, student activist groups continuously struggled to regain democracy and anti-American sentiment was on the rise.

In 1987, as the next presidential election approached and with the Gwangju Uprising still fresh in memory, people doubled down on their protests. Led by students and workers, the June Democratic Struggle broke out on June 10 with people demonstrating across the country. It lasted until June 29 - in success, as the new president pledged that South Korea would have free, direct presidential elections. Democracy, for the first time in about 20 years.

Many changes were still needed in the country, but now the population could take to the streets and protest without fear of violent repercussions - and the regime listened. Wages doubled over a span of five years.

In 1997, the Asian Financial Crisis hit South Korea. Several Chaebols went bankrupt and 1988 became the worst year in the history of South Korean economy since the Korean War. (Go watch Reborn Ritch if you’re interested) Today, this is spoken of as the IMF crisis. Fortunately, South Korea recovered relatively quickly. To balance the country’s over-reliance on manufacturing, the government launched a campaign to support the entertainment industry, thus laying the ground for the Hallyu wave that would spread globally in the 2000s.

The 2000s

“Hyung” entered university in 1995, and would have graduated somewhere around the shift of the millennia, right as South Korea was recovering from the IMF crisis. Shortly after his graduation, the Misun-Hyosun Incident, Anti-Chosun Daily Movement and Protests against the abolishment of the National Security Act all happened within quick succession.

The Misun-Hyosun Incident, also known as the Yangju Highway Incident, occurred on June 13, 2002, in Yangju. Two South Korean schoolgirls, 14 year old Shim Misun and Shin Hyosun, were struck and killed by a US army vehicle on the way to a training exercise. Apologies were issued, but the drivers of the army vehicle were ultimately found not guilty by the US MIlitary court, sparking demonstrations across the country and fuelling the anti-American sentiment in South Korea.

The Anti-Chosun Daily Movement can be traced back to the early 1990s. The Chosun Daily, or Chosun Ilbo, is one of the main newspapers in Korea. It is a conservative newspaper and has historically had a very close relationship with the ruling regime, military dictatorships included, which brings into question its role in a democratic country of free speech. With the rise of more progressive online journalism, the criticism against the Chosun Ilbo has increased and people have gathered online to raise their voices, leading to boycotts and an anti-Chosun manifesto being written. In 2002 the movement became an important part in Korea’s development as a progressive country and was a contributing factor to the media reform that followed.

Protests against the abolishment of the National Security Act broke out in 2004, when the then leading political party called for its repeal. This National Security Act/Law is the same one that was established in 1948 to catch communists and North Korean sympathisers, and was then used by the Rhee regime to silence political opponents (are you still with me?). When the law was about to be repealed, a newspaper poll found that 66% wanted the law revised but not repealed, while a majority would rather keep the law as was than have it abolished on grounds that it helps keep the country’s economic stability. The constant threat of North Korea is a very real factor to why people see the law as necessary. Amnesty International has called for the law to be fundamentally reformed or abolished, as it challenges freedom of speech.

Ok. Deep breath.

If you’re still reading, I applaud you. If I lost you somewhere along the way, you won’t see this but I do understand you. As I hope you understand, this is all very condensed. The history of Korea is very complex and much of what I have written about are still sensitive issues today. I’ve tried to keep close to my sources to avoid getting anything wrong, but I am sure there are many, many more movements and issues that would need to be covered to present anything close to the full picture. Still, I hope this has given some insight into the background of “Hyung” and the past that has shaped him into the character that he is.

When I read part II, I did not understand his character. I dismissed him as some conspiracy-reading guy living in a basement keeping a tinfoil hat somewhere, and when our narrator dismisses and downplays his story, I was fully onboard. Now, after a full day of reading up on the historical context and political climate that “Hyung” must have grown up in, I understand his paranoia and reluctance to interact with anything American far more. It leaves marks, having lived in a time when the KCIA could drag you off the street for speaking up against the government, never to be seen again.

Times have changed in South Korea and they’ve come a long way, but the recent past is still very recent and they still have a long way to go before old wounds can be healed and damage done can be cleared up. All it takes is watching a few kdramas, and it’s clear that general distrust in politicians and the legal system is still around. Apart from a better understanding of a character in a book, it’s shed some light on my own naive ignorance and lack of understanding when it comes to some Korean attitudes and reactions I’ve encountered in the past. Some things I frowned at then, I now understand.

Apart from Reborn Rich, which plays out between 1987 and today with its main focus on the financial crisis, I have not watched dramas depicting this part of Korean history (I have avoided them, because the subject matter was very heavy simply to read about. I do not think I could handle watching it dramatised). Neither have I found any good documentaries covering it. If you have recommendations that you’d like to share, please do.

Now, as promised: sources!

Historical background and context: Korea; A New History of South and North by Victor D. Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo (2023)

Most of this post is based on this book, and if you’re interested in 20th century Korean history, I’d really recommend it. It’s a surprisingly easy read.

Misun-Hyosun Incident/Yangju Highway Incident: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangju_highway_incident

National Security Act: https://wilj.law.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1270/2012/02/kraft.pdf

Anti-American Sentiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-American_sentiment_in_Korea

Anti-Chosun Movement: https://www.academia.edu/86931794/The_Anti_Chosun_Movement_Journalism_Activism_Politics_and_Historical_Memory_in_Post_Authoritarian_South_Korea_1998_2002

Student movements in Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_movements_in_Korea

Internet activism in South Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_activism_in_South_Korea

National Intelligence Service: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Intelligence_Service_(South_Korea)

@lurkingshan I'm not sure if this counts as meta or goes as a context-post, so I hope it's okay I'm tagging you

#litbc book club #love in the big city part II #when my interest in everything Korean overcomes my general disinterest in history

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imfeelingbad · 1 month

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(As a ukrainian) I lost all hope in humanity forever ago and I'm pretty sure I won't change someone's opinion, but I just want to tell the truth that i cry about every time.

I didn't see my home for 2 years. When I was there all I heard was explosions, bombs and warplanes. I saw ruined houses. I saw my half-destroyed school near which a projectile fell. I saw fire, smoke, a lot of it. I was in there. I heard all this. I heard. I saw. with my own eyes and ears. And what did you see and heard in the west, saying "This is all just Ukrainian propaganda"?

I was in the metro and saw hundreds of my fellow citizens, that a few months ago were casually going in this metro to their jobs, schools, universities etc. Some were sitting on the floor, some on old crusty carpets, with no fresh air, no normal ability just to go pee, not even talking about washing. But they were there just to be safe. Just to not die. They didn't care about hygiene, warm food and bath, delicious drink in their favorite café, all they did care about was just surviving.

Then I heard about Bucha massacre (read about this, if you think "russian soldiers are just poor people who don't want war and against Putin!!"). I heard hundreds women, children, men being raped, killed, tortured and firstly I was shocked. Then I heard about Irpin, Mariupol', Izium, Bahmut, now Avdiivka and many other ukrainian cities, that were completely destroyed by russians. But the difference is now I'm not shocked or surprised. Because now I understand this is Russian world, Russian culture, whole Russia in general.

But no one cares. No one cares about genocide, if the victim is big country in the center of Europe (even though every country has many people of color, and the biggest country in the world terrorizes it).

I saw a girl in the tiktok that was telling about the film "20 days in Mariupol". I looked in the comments and started crying. Why am I, my family, my friends, all ukrainians supposed to suffer while some westerns and russians are just laughing and saying "slava russia"?

Many people were talking about Gaza and I agree, there is total hell in Gaza and I feel very sorry for Palestinian people. I know how it is. But what gives YOU, a person that is sitting in the safe place with all basical human needs and think a war is just some trend, the right to compare the DEATHS of people that DIED from GENOCIDE and say that one GENOCIDE is less bad than another.

I'm not saying that we are suffering more than Palestinians, I'm saying that it's just so cruel to normalize deaths of people.. any people. That DON'T HURT anybody. That just want to live in a free country.

If I say, boycott Israel, all people from Israel are terrorists, people will agree with me. But when I say Russia is the terrorist, people will say "No, you're just xenophobic!"... And the genocide of my people is NOT xenophobic?? And the hundreds of years of destruction of Ukrainian culture is not xenophobic??

"What about Gaza?"

Gaza needs help. Ukraine needs help. Congo needs help. Syria needs help. No one should suffer. THAT'S my point.

Did you hear something about Holodomor in Ukraine? About MILLIONS of Ukrainians that died because soviet government were taking LITERALLY EVERY FUCKING BREAD CRUMB?? around 3.9 million ukrainians died. And this is only according to official data. These are only people whose identities have been established. It does not take into account people who were missing, or who were just horribly maimed.

If you still think I'm an ukrainian propagandist and not some fucking random teen like you who's just sharing my thoughts, read about Holodomor in Kazakhstan, first Russian-Chechen war, SECOND Russian-Chechen war, Russian-Georgian war, Russia’s invasion of Syria, Illegal occupation of Crimea and Donbas or just anything that involves Russia and war crimes.

If you're still saying this is all propaganda, Photoshop, I'm not surprised. Of course, everything around is propaganda. But not your beautiful truthful swamp.

Sometimes I just wish I was in yours shoes. Not caring about anything.

I don't care what russia supporting bots will say, I don't care people will not believe me, I just want to feel alive again.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_war_crimes

#war #genocide of ukrainians #russia is a terrorist state #ukraine #україна #palestine #free palestine #free ukraine #genocide #first post #last post #russia #ruzzia #israel #ussr

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putschki1969 · 4 months

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youtube

【2023 LAST】 I Wanted the Final Video to be a Conversation

Hello, this is Hikaru. Thank you for watching! This time, as this is the last video of 2023, I wanted to feel connected with everyone so I asked you submit questions and messages on Instagram. This is a video that answers your questions! Once again, it is a laid-back and casual video 🍀 I've answered all the questions except those that I can't answer on my own! The video ended up being over 50 minutes 😂 Please kill time during the New Year holidays 🙇‍♀️If you have any video suggestions, please leave them in the comment section📝

I loved this so here are some of my highlights┗(•ˇ_ˇ•)―→

What do you do to take care of your throat and vocal health? She always carries lozenges with her and uses a face mask all-year round

Do you take voice training lessons? From time to time, yes. But those lessons are extremely expensive so she can't afford them too often

Please share an episode with Keiko that left a lasting impression! Hikaru gets asked this question a couple of times but she doesn't really come up with any specific story or anecdote. She does however say that being able to perform together again has been really special this year. She also emphasises how Keiko is like a sister to her, a precious senpai/nakama she looks up to.

Any tips on how to distinguish Hikaru's voice from the other two in Kalafina songs with harmony? Hikaru can't really give any advice because for her, her own voice is obviously most noticeable. She asks all fans who listen to a lot of Kalafina to provide some suggestions in the comment section. [LOL, I am surprised there are still so many people who struggle with this]

Any fan messages that have left a lasting impression? Hikaru makes sure to read every letter, message and comment. They all mean a lot to her. But sometimes someone will tell her something along the lines of Hikaru's music having changed their life and of course Hikaru can't help but be incredibly moved by a sentiment like that.

Something she always pays attention to when singing? Never neglect your emotions, they should always shine through.

Are you in love right now? Hikaru obviously thinks that's a decidedly private question but kudos to her for even including it in the video. She wonders if anyone else aside from the person who sent the question would actually want to know about this. In her mind, the person is probably in the minority so she tells people to leave a comment if they really want to know about her love life. Also, she feels like no matter how she answers that question, people would start worrying about her and she would rather not have that happen.

How to take care of your physical health? Exercise to some extent, stick to a balanced diet with lots of protein, do a lot of strength training to build muscle.

Any overseas food that left a lasting impression? Not particularly but she enjoys trying local items at Starbucks or McDonald's whenever she is in another country

What's your ideal type? What stuff did you fight about in previous relationships? Another question about her love life but since it's not really about her current relationship status she tries to answer some of it. Her ideal type is someone who truly values their family and takes care of them. As for fights, Hikaru is a bit vague here on whether this refers to actual past romantic relationships or just all relationships in general but basically, she is not the type to have emotional outbursts or anything so she doesn't really "fight" with people. It depends on someone's definition of a fight though. For her that's everything that can't be resolved through a civil discussion and she personally never lets it get that far.

Will Hikaru do any anisong covers on her YouTube channel? Hikaru struggles with rights and licenses so it's hard to find songs she can sing on her channel but if she does, she will give it a try

What is your ambition for next year? Hold a solo live in a bigger venue.

What are your thoughts on Kalafina's current situation? Wakana, Keiko and herself are all pursuing a solo career so she would be happy if everyone listened to their music and continued to support them [very neutral but precious answer]

I love Keiko! What should I do? Hikaru is a bit baffled that she would get a question like that. She then goes off on a tangent about the difference between "ai" and "koi". The person asking the question is using the word "ai" to describe their love for Keiko but in Hikaru's opinion, "ai" is probably not the correct term here because if you are worrying about what the other person thinks of you and wonder how you should act, it's more likely a case of "koi" instead of "ai" (with "koi" being more frequently used for romantic love whereas "ai" usually refers to a more general concept of love). As for what that person should do, they should definitely support Keiko's activities.

Please share an interesting anecdote from Kaji.Fes? She thought it was special that she got the chance to change her outfit for the final song (into the world) even though ever performer was supposed to only have one outfit. Then, at the after party she was fortunate enough to be seated close to Yuki Kajiura on her table which is how she ended up drinking a bit of alcohol even though she never ever drinks. That was a fun experiences.

Will you be eating mucchan manju in Fukuoka? [This is a local snack in Fukuoka, Wakana has been doing a lot of promotion for it, it's that thingy she eat in Kalafina's 10th Anniversary Live] Hikaru hopes she has time to eat it

Hikaru's Appearance at "26 Hours Music Champ 2023 Winter" Event

Broadcast date : 12/29 20:00 – 12/30 22:00 Platform: Music Champ

Hikaru's part aired on 12/30 (Sat) 16:00-17:00. She had a special Talk Session and then performed at the "SPECIAL DREAM LIVE 2023 Winter" LIVE🎤airing from 17:00 to 21:00 Official HP: http://music-champ.com/26h-winter Line-up/Schedule :https://www.music-champ.com/26h-winter/26h

Tweet 1 | Tweet 2 by Hikaru

#kalafina #hikaru #hikaru ch.#video #Youtube #my summary #my translations #26 Hours Music Champ 2023 Winter #music champ #I only tuned in for a few minutes #Hikaru looked like she was about to fall asleep during the live section XD #the whole thing seems so chaotic #too many people

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justicerikai · 2 months

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Charisma House - Superhuman Sharehouse Story “Charisma” - #83 The Tendou Household

Please read alongside listening to the drama track on Youtube.

Let me know if I missed something!

TL note:

Seiza: Japanese sitting position where one sits politely on your knees.

Atami is a place known as a resort town and for its hot springs. The perfect place to cleanse your soul and soak into relaxation. This is also a location in the easter egg ending of AI: The Somnium Files. This part is irrelevant. I like making people read more than necessary.

Everyone: Ahahaha

Sarukawa: …..

Sarukawa: A dream, huh…

Sarukawa: …!

Sarukawa: Where, am I….

Housemaid 1: Ah, Sarukawa-sama!

Sarukawa: !?

Assistant 2: Nakagami-sensei, what’s the report?

Nakagami: Our personnel and budget got cut, and we must refrain from any conspicuous actions for the time being.

Assistant 2: I knew we went too far, even if it was done in the name of capturing the Charismas.

Nakagami: This damned decrepit country prioritizing appearance rather than results.

Torahime: No matter, Torahime will follow Sensei to the depths of hell!

Nakagami: What’s the destination of the Charismas

(Hitting desk sound)

Torahime: Ngagh!

Assistant 3: Please look at this!

Assistant 1: What is it

Assistant 3: This is the house where Tendou Amahiko was born, but isn’t this place…

Assistant 1: !? Don’t tell me… Tendou is…THAT Tendou!?

Assistant 3: The esteemed family behind generations worth of skilled doctors. The kind whose connections run deep in politics and finance.

Assistant 1: Not a chance we’d even come near if this is where they’re hiding…!

Assistant 2: I’m sure the higher ups wouldn’t want any kind of conflict either…!

Assistants: ….! What do we do… To think it’s really….

Nakagami: Do not falter!

Assistants: !?

Nakagami: It’s irrelevant. Whatever the situation at hand may be, we march to capture them.

Nakagami: No matter the risks we must take.

Assistants: ….!

Torahime: Sensei…

(The sound of housemaids moving around)

Sarukawa: ….

Sarukawa: Um… ‘m seriously doin’ fine here, no need to go outta yer way like that now.

Maidservant 1: How preposterous!

Maidservant 1: Such considerate arrangements are a given when you’re a bosom friend of young master Amahiko!

Sarukawa: We ain’t no chums

Manservant: Sarukawa-samaaaaaa~!

(Sound of running through the corridor, sliding into seiza position)

Manservant: Here, my good sir. Hair wax of the finest caliber in terms of holding power.

Sarukawa: WHA-!?

Manservant: I’m well aware of the peril and life-dangering risks Sarukawa-sama has gone through to keep his hair standing upright, no matter the cost!

Sarukawa: That’s embarrassing! The fuck did you get that from! Who told ya!

Maidservant 2: Sarukawa-samaaaa!

Sarukawa: What’s it this time!

Maidservant 2: It appears that your bosom friends have made their return.

Sarukawa: Eh?

Maidservant 1: Welcome back, Terra-sama!

Terra: Thaaanks~~

Manservant: Welcome, Motohashi-sama!

Iori: Sorry to keep you waiting~

Terra: It sure warmed me all up~

Rikai: Honestly, such a pleasant hot bath.

Iori: Riiight~

Sarukawa: Huh?

Iori: Ah, Saru-chan’s awake! Good morning

Rikai: Looks like you’re fine, what a relief.

Sarukawa: The hell have you guys been up to?

Fumiya: Vacation

Sarukawa: Huh!?? WUH!? EH!? HUEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!!!??

The five of them: Huh?

Sarukawa: VACATION?

The five of them: Yea

Sarukawa: While I was knocked out you went on VACATION!?

Terra: To Atami

Sarukawa: NO WAY!

Iori: The hot springs were amazing.

Rikai: Not to mention how beautiful the ocean was.

Sarukawa: WAITwaitwait, you GOTTA be pulling my leg. What the fuck are you idiots doing

Terra: I mean, it’s not like you were able to lift a finger or anything for a while. So we had time to kill in the meantime.

Fumiya: Then I got an idea. Now's the chance! Let’s go to Atami, like that.

Sarukawa: Don’t just get used to this shit!!! Show some concern no matter how many times this happens!!!

Ohse: Sorry, Sarukawa-san. At the very least take this as a souvenir.

Ohse: A drawing I made of Atami’s sea.

Sarukawa: AS IF I NEED THAT!!!!!!

(Sarukawa throwing a tantrum, the others calming him down)

Iori: Calm down, Saru-chan…! There’s a good reason for this!

Sarukawa: Hahn!?

Maidservant 1: Young master Amahiko, her ladyship is…

Amahiko: ….Understood.

Sarukawa: Hah? Ya bailed outta this place?

Fumiya: Yeah

Fumiya: The Tendous are no small-fry

Fumiya: Timing was just right to get away under the guise of you needing rest, but a new problem popped up.

Rikai: The family has been investigating us.

Rikai: What kind of people we are, what our relationship is with their precious son.

Rikai: And it’s not as if I can say that we’re a ragtag bunch of misfits, save for me.

Terra: Why? Nothing’s stopping you

Rikai: Absolutely not! Amahiko-san’s the worst one of all!

Iori: That’s why, Saru-chan, we had to take shelter for a bit.

Iori: A vacation in name only.

Ohse: It was all an act.

Sarukawa: …..

Sarukawa: That’s what’s up, huh

Sarukawa: So, wasn’t like y’all actually went out on a lil’ trip, huh

The five of them: No, we did.

Sarukawa: YOU DID GO!?

(Sarukawa throwing a tantrum, the others calming him down)

Maidservant 2: Everyone?

Four of them: Wuh!

Maidservant 2: Dinner has been arranged.

Four of them: …

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: …….

Rikai: Terrific…

Ohse: Is such a thing really okay…

Iori: …Unbearable---

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: …….

Terra: YUM! I think Terra-kun’s gotta go for seconds

Fumiya: Unfair, Terra, I want too. Excuse meeeeee

(Sound of a small whistle being blown)

Rikai: You two…! Your behaviour…! And how can you two be so unbothered?

Ohse: Where’s Amahiko-san?

Iori: Dunnooo

Rikai: And where did Saru go?

Iori: Drinking his sorrows away alone in his room

Ohsa: Uwah…

Amahiko’s mother: Is it to your liking?

The four of them: Wah!

(Rikai being flustered)

Rikai: Terra-san, Fumiya-san…! Seiza…! Straighten your back and…! C’mon, hurry…!

Amahiko’s mother: My apologies for showing up during your meal.

Four of them: No no not at all, Ma’am

Amahiko’s mother: Once again, I am Amahiko’s mother.

Amahiko’s mother: Thank you for always taking care of my son.

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: No no no it’s us who should say so, don’t mention it at all.

Amahiko’s mother: How do I say… What sort of person is Amahiko you all…

Rikai: …Eh?

Amahiko’s mother: Ah, please excuse my impoliteness.

Amahiko’s mother: He never mentions anything to us.

Amahiko’s mother: Could you kindly tell me about it, if that is alright with you all?

Rikai: …Ah

Amahiko’s mother: What is his occupation at the moment?

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: HUH!?

Amahiko’s mother: Eh?

Rikai: Huh?

Amahiko’s mother: Hm?

Iori: Wha?

Amahiko’s mother: Uh huh?

Ohse: Mhm?

Amahiko’s mother: ?

Fumiya: ?

Amahiko’s mother: Did I ask something I shouldn’t have..?

Terra: Amahiko-san’s job, right? He’s the World Se--

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: @@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: Huh? World?

Rikai: Ah, no, ah, uuum, well, you see with world, um, yes world yes, um right ma’am you see, it’s it’s it’s that yes Yes uuum Amahiko-san’s work is world, um, Yes! Basically the world! Amahiko-san goes around the world, doing all kinds of wonderful labor!

Amahiko’s mother: Oh my! That’s overseas then.

Rikai: Exactly!

Amahiko’s mother: And what does he do overseas specifically?

Rikai: EH!?

Terra: Stripping and pole da-…

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: @@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: Excuse me?? Stripping????

Rikai: With stripping he means, um, that, that there’s a lot of circumstances surrounding it which Minato Ohse-kun will explain further.

Ohse: Wha-!! You jest, milord!

Rikai: You can do it.

Ohse: …! Um… stripping is like, um, uuuh… poop…? No not poop, absolutely not poop…!

Ohse: …!

Iori: With stripping it’s not meant in the sense of taking off clothes, but stripping yourself of any prejudice towards others.

Amahiko’s mother: Huh

Iori: In other words, Amahiko’s work overseas pertains to helping out any kind of person no matter who they are, isn’t that right, Ohse-san.

Ohse: Yes, exactly that.

Ohse: (IO-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Amahiko’s mother: …Some kind of humanitarian aid, then

Iori & Ohse: Yes!

Amahiko’s mother: And what does that include then?

Terra: Asparagus, Assparagus-

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: @@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: Asparagus?

Rikai: Amahiko-san developed a new variety of asparagus!

Terra: Bobongalinga---!

Amahiko’s mother: Bobongalinga?

Rikai: Bobongalinga is a region under conflict at the moment.

Rikai: Asparagus is being distributed, free of charge, to the refugees and children in need

Terra: ECSTASYYYYY---!!

Iori: Is what the people feel thanks to the economic benefits from cultivating this new form of asparagus.

Terra: Propagating sexy--

Ohse: Scientists are propagating how to grow this new species of asparagus

Ohse: It’s referred to as the Se-XY method, which involves Selenium and the XY system, in order to grow more

Amahiko’s mother: Oh wow… It's as if he’s performing some kind of liberation campaign overseas.

(Sound of dishes rattling)

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: LIBERATION CAMPAIGN! THAT!

Iori: Just as you say, ma’am

Rikai: Indeed, ma’am, it’s truly praiseworthy.

Ohse: Amahiko-san never fails to impress

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: Ahahaha…hahah…

(Sound of the door sliding open)

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: !?

Sarukawa: ★◎◆∴▽★◎◆∴▽★◎◆∴▽!!!!!!!

Rikai: (Saru!? At this timing!?)

Iori: (He’s awfully drunk!)

(Sarukawa throwing a tantrum, the three of them calming him down)

Sarukawa: I’MMAKILLYA!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: KILL!?

Fumiya: (Slides in) You’re mistaken, ma’am. He’s speaking a different language

Fumiya: He’s a foreigner

Amahiko’s mother: From what country?

Fumiya: Bobongalinga

Amahiko’s mother: Oh my! This guy is!?

Fumiya: He’s one of the children in need

Fumiya: Tendou-san rescued him, and thus brought him to his own home.

Fumiya: His overwhelming joy led him to have one too many drinks, and is unconsciously speaking in his native language.

Amahiko’s mother: Although he seems to be upset for some reason…

Fumiya: Interpreter Motohashi-kun.

Iori: Yessir!

Iori: “I will never forget Tendou-san’s favor. He’s a good man beyond words.”

Iori: “Which is why, Ma’am, no further inquiry is necessary.”

Iori: “ok I’m going to bed now goodnight.”

Sarukawa: WE GOTTA GO NO MATTER WHAT, TO ATAMI! ATAMIIIII!!!!!!!!!

(Rikai and Ohse bringing Sarukawa away)

Amahiko’s mother: …..

Amahiko’s mother, Rikai, Ohse, Fumiya and Iori: Ahahaha… hahaha

Amahiko’s mother: Hahaha.. (cough, cough)

Amahiko’s mother: Fufu.. sorry.

Amahiko’s mother: Thank you, everyone. Your kindness has put me at ease as his mother.

Amahiko’s mother: He’s working hard in his own way.

Rikai, Ohse, Fumiya and Iori: Aah, yes you know, he’s truly wonderful yes…!

Terra: Hmph

Terra: ….

Ohse: (Terra-san wasn’t the only one who thought so.)

Ohse: (If all of this was okay.)

Ohse: ….?

Ohse: …Amahiko-san?

Ohse: …! That’s…!

Amahiko’s father: How far must you indulge yourself to finally have your satisfaction.

Amahiko’s father: You’re a man of the Tendou family. Any more selfishness will not be forgiven.

Amahiko: …..

Amahiko: ………Duly noted.

Amahiko: Dear father…

Extra TL notes for the TL notes enthusiasts:

There’s a pun with 脱いで (nuide, get nekkid) and 一肌脱いで (hitohadanuide, to pitch in and help). This became stripping.

Iori makes a pun on ecstasy with エクスタ市, read as “ekusuta-shi” with the shi part meaning city. Tried to make a pun like, ecsta city, but ECSTA exists as the European Council for Student Affairs. Pun has been just circumvented by turning into something else, especially considering sexy gets the same treatment with セク市 (pun on セクシー).

#charisma house #charismahouse #ito fumiya #kusanagi rikai #tendou amahiko #terra #motohashi iori #sarukawa kei #minato ohse

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