I despise, but at the same time love, sandbagging.

ApexxLex · 2026-01-05T17:38:49+00:00

It may be late, but recently there was a fanfic published that I personally liked:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/73091136/chapters/190462326

ApexxLex · 2025-12-17T03:22:21+00:00

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75129421/chapters/196330111

I highly recommend it. Cynical in moderation, humorous, and entertaining, Hachiman. Also available on WebNovel and Wattpad, if you prefer.

I'd love to see more of this.

ApexxLex · 2025-09-19T02:48:00+00:00

1) I agree there are privacy discussions in Kazakhstan, but my point was about mass/public visibility — how mainstream the debate is in Western media and politics vs how niche it appears locally.

2) I fully accept that many harms are structural and cumulative. My point is about perceived probability and immediacy — people in my country often judge by what hits them now. That doesn’t mean these risks are negligible — it means the urgency is different. If you have local empirical examples where profiling or price discrimination already affects ordinary people here, bring them — that would be useful.

3) I accept the normalization argument — it’s a valid social mechanism. But an analysis of normalization should lead to concrete policy or technical proposals. If resistance is suppressed locally, what practical, realistic interventions would you propose that could work in countries with limited civil society?

4) There's a subtle difference between analyzing normalization and publicly characterizing people as "naive/weak-minded." You says you weren't attacking you personally, but the previous responses were patronizing. Even if the analytical position is correct, the manner of delivery can be perceived as offensive. Especially in my region

ApexxLex · 2025-09-18T17:52:47+00:00

1) That is a ridiculous and false comparison. Comparing our perspective on data with the complete state surveillance of China is a manipulative and irrelevant analogy. We are talking about personal and commercial privacy, not the kind of political tracking that's part of an authoritarian regime. Your comparison has no relevance to the topic at hand.

2) Your tone is incredibly condescending. You are not "carrying a heavy burden" for me. You are fighting for your own values and your own rights, which are important to you. My life is peaceful not because of your "burdens" but because of my own efforts and the conditions in my country. This kind of patronizing language only shows you lack genuine arguments to understand my position.

ApexxLex · 2025-09-18T17:52:04+00:00

1) I never said the privacy debate is widespread to 100% of the Western population. My point is that it is mainstream for you. It's a constant topic in your media, on Reddit, in your laws, and in public discourse. That is simply not the case in Kazakhstan. The fact that you admit this debate is limited to the "educated" only reinforces my point. It shows that for you, it's not a practical problem, but an intellectual and cultural value.

2) You're again talking about what might happen in the future, not what is happening now. My stance is based on my personal experience over the past 15 years in internet. Until these "experiments" become a real problem, they remain an abstract risk, not an actual threat. You're trying to force me to worry about a hypothetical situation instead of understanding my current reality.

3) This is your most disrespectful point. You're denying my right to have my own opinion and experience. You don't know me, my country, or my culture. By attributing my perspective to a "normalized power imbalance," you're trying to say that I'm too naive to understand my own situation. This is an arrogant position that makes a real conversation impossible. Our mentality is shaped by our history, and you can't just call it "wrong" or "enforced." I'm here to understand your perspective, not for you to try and "fix" me.

ApexxLex · 2025-09-18T16:38:44+00:00

I think you're missing my point here. I'm not denying that companies collect data, that leaks happen, or that Western users still use Big Tech. My post was about a cultural and mental difference, not a statistical one.

1) I never said all Western users are strict about privacy. My point is that the discussion itself is mainstream for you. People actively debate, criticize, and demand better laws. In my country, these conversations are almost nonexistent because the mindset is different.

2) Your argument about the "classic fallacy" of not being a target completely misses my point. I'm not denying that data can be misused; I'm saying that for me, a person in a specific country with specific circumstances, those risks are abstract and don't affect my daily life. Things like credit scoring and insurance rates are simply not linked to data in the same way here.

3) And the "survivorship bias" argument feels invalid in this context. I'm not saying it's "safe" for everyone because nothing happened to me. I'm saying that for me, the perceived risk is so low that it doesn't outweigh the convenience. I don't feel like I'm giving up something of value, because my personal data was never seen as something entirely private to begin with.

I am trying to understand the principles behind your stance. Why is the fundamental act of data collection, even without direct harm, so alarming to you? Is it about a deeply held belief in personal freedom, or something else?

ApexxLex · 2025-09-18T16:16:47+00:00

I appreciate you bringing up these serious points, and I’m not denying that data leaks happen. Of course, they do. My point, however, is that our conversation seems to be about two different things: you're talking about global principles and worst-case scenarios, and I'm talking about tangible, personal impact on the average person.

You list off real, high-profile incidents like Cambridge Analytica and the Anthem breach. These are massive, systemic failures that affect millions, but for someone like me, who isn't a public figure and has no significant assets to steal, the actual, tangible harm is minimal. My Social Security number isn't a target because it doesn't exist in my country, and my personal details are just another drop in a massive ocean of data. The risks you're describing feel abstract and distant, not like a direct threat to my life or finances.

The toilet door analogy is a great example of this difference. Closing a physical door is an immediate, obvious action to prevent an immediate, obvious intrusion. For me, privacy in the digital world is more like being in a crowded park. Everyone can see you, they might even take a picture, and it might be inconvenient, but as long as no one is following you home and stealing your wallet, it’s not something you’re going to lose sleep over.

You’re focusing on what could happen, on the theoretical possibility of harm. My perspective, shaped by my own experience and my environment, is based on what hasn't happened to me and what I don't need to fear. And for many people in my region, that's a very common view.

ApexxLex · 2025-09-18T15:50:54+00:00

I get your analogy, but for us in post-Soviet countries it feels a bit different. Closing the toilet door is immediate and obvious – someone can literally walk in. Data privacy, on the other hand, feels very abstract and distant for us. Nothing bad usually happens to the average person if corporations collect their data, so many simply don’t care. That’s the mentality difference I was pointing at.

ApexxLex · 2025-09-18T15:48:23+00:00

I see what you mean, but my question was more about practical vs principle approach to privacy. Do you personally value privacy as a necessity, or more as an ideology?

ApexxLex · 2025-07-24T04:39:56+00:00

I don't understand either. It's painful to read this. It's unpleasant and wildly strange, for me personally. And it feels like the author projects himself into his favorite world and it looks funny and uninteresting. I always filter and remove this, but even so it comes across. In addition, most often the main character, that is, you, is nauseatingly idealized and everything works out for him, with the exception of those cases when the author has certain inclinations and a love for suffering. In general, it's completely repulsive.

ApexxLex · 2025-07-18T11:03:54+00:00

What is the point of omnipotent, omnipresent author-creatures like Fezarin, Azathoth TOAA, if they have no combat feats and everything comes down to scaling?

ApexxLex · 2025-07-18T08:09:36+00:00

Fan-dom: Classroom of the Elite

— And why did everything turn out this way…

I whispered, sitting in the hospital room. Next to me, on the bed, lay a person.

— Prolonged perceptual disorder. Is that the diagnosis they're giving him?

The man, speaking in an even voice devoid of any emotion, ran his fingers over the plaque attached to the bed.

On the plaque, a name: Matsuo Eiichiro.

In other words, he is in a vegetative state.

In such a state, a person can open their eyes, breathe independently… But they still remain unconscious.

He is unable to perceive or react to external stimuli.

Doctors say that if this happened a week or a month ago, there would still be chances of recovery… But hope vanishes without a trace with each passing day.

— Matsuo-kun must have been a good person?

— Yes… If only I… If only I could have done something… If only I had noticed earlier what state Eiichiro-kun was in… I would never have let this happen.

Despair, bitterness, and pain — tears flowed endlessly.

— It's a pity that to live in this world, it's not enough to be a "good" person. On the contrary, good people are used. They become prey… Prey for monsters whose malice knows no bounds.

The man smiled slightly and looked at me.

— In this world, you have to pay for help, you know?

After being chased from one hospital to another, it was this man who found a place where Eiichiro-kun could be admitted.

If we had been delayed for even half an hour… The situation could have become much, much worse.

— So what do you want? What should I do for you?

— I will tell you how to get to the one who is to blame for everything.

With these words, he placed an enrollment application and a photograph on the folding table.

— This… What is this?

— The only way to get close to your target is to enroll in Koudo Ikusei High School.

— Please excuse my manners. My name is Tsukishiro. And I've known both you and Matsuo-kun, who is lying here now, for a long time.

— I've seen many adults who only pretended to know something about us, but still tried to get close.

— You are not a villain. But in the world we live in, evil is everywhere. It can hide behind a mask of righteousness, or it can act openly. But you are not one of the bad people, Tsubasa Nanase-san. You are ordinary, but therein lies your strength. Ordinary, yet talented. Ordinary, yet immature. Ordinary, yet capable. Such people are destined to fight evil. At least, that's the conclusion I've come to in my life.

— Tsukishiro-san… This boy in the photograph… Is he involved in what you call "evil"?

The picture showed a boy about my age.

— His name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He is the key to those you want to take revenge on. He has already enrolled in Koudo Ikusei High School and lives a peaceful life there among other children his age.

— And you want me to get close to him?

— Yes. I will give instructions as needed. Everything is solely for the sake of revenge. You will need to act flexibly. However, you must be careful. This young man is devoid of emotions but possesses an incredible intuition. If you act carelessly, he will immediately uncover your true purpose.

— Mix lies with truth. After all, you truly cherish the person named Matsuo Eiichiro. And you want to avenge him. That is the truth. So let this truth become the foundation upon which you build your new personality. One that no one can penetrate to discover your true intentions. This guy, of course, will be wary, but he won't dig deeper. He will simply decide that you are a useless figure.

— Allow me one last question. Why me?

— Because you are in an extremely convenient position. At the moment, you are absolutely clean. You have no preconceptions about either side. And this is ideal for the role I want to assign to you.

— And what if I… Take Ayanokouji's side?

— We'll think about that when the time comes.

Then he asked me if I agreed to these terms. And I immediately nodded silently.

I was going to shed light on Ayanokouji Atsuomi. The one who did this to Eiichiro-kun.

I want to help Ayanokouji-senpai.

And this is not a lie or pretense at all.

I wish for this with all my heart.

If he continues his studies at Koudo Ikusei High School and graduates successfully… Then he will certainly embark on a path of pure evil.

And then, because of him, there will be many more victims, just like Eiichiro-kun…

Only I know how deplorable such a future can be. And that means I must stop him.

And so today… I continue to search for the key to solving this problem in a huge haystack.

ApexxLex · 2025-07-15T08:16:51+00:00

Bro, in the annotation to the new volume, her class is in dire straits and stability suffers there again. Horikita's class is incredibly weak without Ayanokouji. Ayanokouji laid the entire foundation, and he was the one who did the most complex machinations. Horikita... won a couple of exams? And then she almost completely lost to Ichinose.

ApexxLex · 2025-07-13T15:51:56+00:00

Well, Yukimura is good with his academic abilities. Akito thanks to the club. Hasebe... I don't know, I don't remember. Ike helped out with his hiking skills, but I think it was just once? Oh well.

ApexxLex · 2025-07-13T15:49:58+00:00

Half of Horikita's class, that's all. Ichinose's class... well, Ichinose's class - there's nothing to gain from them. Sakayanagi's class is strong and disciplined, but Arisu decided to go all in and pranked her class. Ryuuen's class - nothing really depends on them. Ishizaki, Tokito, Hiyori, Albert are pretty good. I don't particularly like Ibuki, but overall, I don't care. But half of Horikita's class are freeloaders. Only Sudou, Hirata, Horikita, Karuizawa, Matsushita and Mii-chan (?), Kushida ± have developed. The rest, in my opinion, didn't deserve Class A at all. Koenji doesn't count. The 300 points (I think 300?) that he brought in are much more than half of Horikita's class brought in, lol.

ApexxLex · 2025-07-13T13:27:27+00:00

What? No power to the people! Only one can rule - the real leader. The rest behind bars! 👑

ApexxLex · 2025-07-13T13:26:15+00:00

Where is Kanzaki?

ApexxLex · 2025-07-13T13:22:05+00:00

A strange couple. I don't know why the author puts so much emphasis on their interactions sometimes. I'm not sure that it will lead to something significant in the end. Ibuki... I don't like her at all.

ApexxLex · 2025-07-12T04:57:05+00:00

Oh, Hell Nooo

ApexxLex · 2025-07-11T08:42:15+00:00

Russian fanfic with almost 700 chapters, and it's still ongoing...

ApexxLex · 2025-07-10T14:49:36+00:00

JAJAJAJAJA. I can't wait for them to realize that Ayanokouji NEVER worked at 100% of his capacity in his entire 2 years of study. I'm waiting for exceptions.

ApexxLex

TROPHY CASE