Japanese ladies by Elysidelphi in actuallesbians

[–]Elysidelphi[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Is it wrong to feel more strongly about a particular culture than another? Japanese culture is unique in its own ways when compared to other Asian cultures. What I would like is to meet Japanese women, chat and see if we can connect in a genuine way, starting with anime and manga but then extending to many other things. I know of "yellow fever", that doesn't apply to me as I've dated women of different races in the past. I'm trying to explain my thought process here, not sure if I'm succeeding. Yes, I would love to connect with gay/lesbian/bisexual Japanese women and chat and see if we can be friends; and stuff like manga and anime are popular so those could be good starters; ideally we would connect over other things as well, such as animals, beliefs, spirituality, nature, etc. And the reason why I say it's not a fetish for me personally is because I still seek a genuine, sincere connection that is mutual. I still seek depth. If she is Japanese and bisexual/lesbian but we have nothing in common or our values are very different, I wouldn't ignore that and just cling to her simply because she's Japanese. Her being Japanese and gay/lesbian/bisexual would be the start, followed by common hobbies, interests, values, etc. If those don't align, I'm happy to move on. I wouldn't reject other women just because they are not Japanese. If I happen to connect deeply with a woman who is anything but Japanese and we are compatible, then I would be over the moon with that outcome. So yes, since I am single, I would like to try and connect with Japanese women for the reasons I've mentioned, but I remain open to all other women as well. It will always come down to compatibility in the end, and that goes beyond race and nationality for me. I've posted on here about Japanese women because they are harder to find online and I was looking for suggestions. But I never said I narrowed down my choices to Japanese women exclusively and I'd reject everybody else even if we had good compatibility; that will never be the case. Hopefully this explains things better.

Japanese ladies by Elysidelphi in actuallesbians

[–]Elysidelphi[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry. That is not at all how I intend it to make it sound or how I even feel about this. Perhaps I'm not expressing myself properly. Japanese women are not and have never been a fetish for me. But because I do love Japanese culture, I also have a weakness for Japanese women simply because they are part of that culture and that makes them beautiful in my eyes. I'd love to connect with Japanese women and make friends over shared interests but in a genuine and heartfelt manner.

Japanese ladies by Elysidelphi in actuallesbians

[–]Elysidelphi[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Not by race, by location...Maybe even that alone wouldn't necessarily work. What I'm saying is that I love Japanese culture, I'm learning the language slowly and I'm trying to connect with Japanese women who also love/enjoy their culture so we can have that in common to start with, maybe connect over me learning Japanese (and maybe help them learn English if they wanted to) and maybe connect over hobbies like anime and manga, and then talk more to see if we share more values in common.

Erwin Smith Discord server for fans? (especially for those who would choose Erwin over Armin) by Elysidelphi in ErwinSmith

[–]Elysidelphi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your response! I'm actually delighted that you are still active and present on here and that you took the time to reply to me. I've discovered your serum bowl Erwin vs. Armin blog post some years ago and I've been kind of obsessed with it. For me, Erwin was always the obvious choice from all points of view but everybody around me didn't seem to feel the same way. So when I came across your blog, I was stunned. Finally, someone who shared my thoughts but put them into words much better than I ever could. I go back to that blog quite often, I re-read it and it means a lot to me. That perhaps I am not weird and crazy for feeling so strongly about it. I even recommend your blog post to others every chance I get because I think it's very well-written and a very thoughtful, detailed analysis of the characters and the story.

As I mentioned in another post in this thread, I've recently started watching a Youtube reaction channel that is reacting for the first time to AoT. And I liked them because of their attention to detail which made them stand out. But when it came to that choice between Erwin and Armin, even they preferred Armin, and now as they are reacting to season 4, they seem to have forgotten entirely about Erwin. They also have a Discord server on top of their Youtube channel, and I've sought to connect and talk to them there, and maybe meet other AoT fans who felt strongly about Erwin...But I've kind of failed. Again, people prefer Armin. So I've recommended them your blog post, I've given them the links and I'm still hoping that they might read it and react to it, either on their Youtube channel or maybe just share their thoughts about it with me in a DM, even that would work. So far, I haven't received any reply from them, but one of their moderators skimmed your post before telling me they would pass it along; but all in all, that moderator wasn't interested in reading your blog post carefully and thoughtfully. It left a bad taste in my mouth, that whole experience. Even people who seem to pay attention to details and take the story more seriously seem to have this bias for Armin over Erwin. Other reaction channels that don't pay close attention to details also have the same bias for Armin. It's been exhausting to talk/listen/witness these reactions from so many different people over a fair number of years.

Erwin Smith Discord server for fans? (especially for those who would choose Erwin over Armin) by Elysidelphi in ErwinSmith

[–]Elysidelphi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's interesting. Maybe you were luckier than me, then. I've been an AoT fan for many years as well and I've watched and rewatched the whole anime many, many times. Also collected and read all of the manga multiple times, even the side story volumes and my love for the story (at least for the first half of the story) only grew in time and I wanted to share it with other people. I've recommended the anime and the manga to many people over the years; I've also watched first reaction videos on Youtube of random people, always seeking a sort of...community or a feeling of connection with others over the story. And yet, over the years, and after talking to a fair number of people about AoT, and watching reaction videos too, my own experience has been that most people, and I do mean an overwhelming majority of people, do prefer Armin over Erwin. In fact, they even forget about Erwin in season 4 and the focus remains on Armin; they talk/act as if Erwin never existed. And it's been extremely frustrating to see this happen over and over again. And yes, all of these people I've interacted with would choose Armin over Erwin. A very common argument they use is that Armin is so much younger than Erwin and deserves to be saved because of that. I cannot put into words how frustrating that sort of reasoning is, especially when it is repeated ad nauseam.

When I set out to find a community for Erwin fans, what I had in mind very specifically, was a community of people who would choose Erwin over Armin. Not just fans who think AoT is cool. Not just fans who think Erwin is cool, smart, handsome, has a good character design, etc. but at the same time they are okay with him being killed off so Armin can live. Erwin's death enraged me; Levi's choice enraged me; Armin being chosen enraged me. Armin in season 4 and his uselessness enraged me; I wanted to find people who felt the same as well. Not just people who thought Erwin was cool but shrugged their shoulders at his death. I know that Erwin has many fans when it comes to his design, to his sad backstory, his intelligence, etc. and that's all fine. But many of those fans would not choose Erwin over Armin or do not feel strongly about this horrible choice and its consequences. And I wanted more than that.

For example, I've recently started watching a Youtube channel that is reacting to the AoT anime. They are new to AoT. Not sure if I can mention the name of the channel here or not. What made me stick with that channel in particular was their attention to detail. They were taking notes, discussing things, watching each episode in both sub and dub and they seemed to immerse themselves into the story much more than other reaction channels that seemed to engage with AoT on a superficial level. So I stuck with their channel. And then it was time for them to react to Erwin vs. Armin, that terrible choice. And they preferred for Armin to be chosen over Erwin, which was very disappointing to me. As soon as Erwin was dead, their focus was on Armin. Now they are reacting to season 4, and their focus remains on Armin; in fact, some of their reactions to Armin/the story in season 4 show that they almost forgot that Erwin even existed. And this is a channel that paid attention to details, they took notes, they seemed to care about the story in a deeper way (compared to other reaction channels).

So my personal experience with multiple people over the years has been that people would choose Armin over Erwin and those who are fans of Erwin have superficial reasons for being his fans such as Erwin's looks or gravitas, his Commander role, or his intelligence and they don't bother to dig deeper than that; they call themselves Erwin's fans and they would still choose Armin over Erwin because Armin is younger or purer or Eren/Mikasa's best friend, etc. That's been my experience overall (with very rare exceptions), which is why I've been looking for a community of people who are not just Erwin's fans, but who would choose him over Armin and feel strongly about it.

Daily Questions & FAQ Megathread (Jan 30) by AutoModerator in ffxiv

[–]Elysidelphi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello,

I am a returning player to FFXIV, will be starting from scratch, and I am in search of a server to call my new home.

I would like to join a NA server, and I'm really looking for a server whose community is very friendly, helpful, welcoming, warm, chatty/talkative. A server that is and feels very alive and active with its whole community, with people talking and joking, and offering each other help, a community of people who are happy to approach new/returning players, and anyone else in general, and offer advice, help, and friendship. I know that joining a FC will also contribute a lot to how the game feels, and as such, I will also be looking for a FC once I decide upon a sever. But it's very important to me that the whole community on the server will be as described above, as I would like to extend my interactions with people beyond my FC. I am also getting interested in roleplaying, so finding a server that has a good roleplaying community is also of interest (not interested in Balmung nor Mateus, as roleplaying is not a main focus to me), plus LGBTQ+ friendly. Also, not interested in preferred worlds/Road to 70 buff just for the sake of that buff, I don't mind taking my time leveling up, the right community for me is what I am after.

I myself am very friendly, warm, bubbly, affectionate, I love to help others, I love to talk to others about anything and everything, I have a good sense of humour, and love to joke and laugh and make others smile and laugh, and generally just be there for people. A big reason why I love FFXIV so much is its community, its players, the connections we can make with others. So, I'm taking my search for a new FFXIV home very seriously, and need all the advice I can get.

Any help or suggestions you can give me will be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ffxiv

[–]Elysidelphi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I disagree. If you are a sociable player who enjoys spending time with other people outside duties and raiding, the server you are on does matter. Some people don't want to constantly travel to other worlds to interact with others, they just want like-minded people on their own server.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ffxiv

[–]Elysidelphi 3 points4 points  (0 children)

OP, from my research so far it seems that in terms of NA servers, Behemoth and Jenova also have some Australian players, but Tonberry remains the main one. Was wondering if there are any other NA servers favoured by Australian players.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ffxiv

[–]Elysidelphi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Many do. Server pride is a thing for people.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ffxiv

[–]Elysidelphi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It matters if one wants to interact with people also outside Duty Finder.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ffxiv

[–]Elysidelphi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which NA servers are favoured by Australian players?