Welcome, There Is No Exit

aka, Han Juwon Experiences The Darkest Timeline of A Hallmark Channel Romantic Comedy

*wherein I asked myself where would Juwon go for help with his problems and the answer was, obviously an anonymous forum online that offers dubious advice)*

AITA for Having, Like, Standards?

I (M, 27) just moved from a large city to a small town and accepted a major downgrade in my job position for personal reasons. However, my new coworkers (M, range of ages) have made my life extremely difficult. I should clarify that I have OCD and general anxiety disorder, and I don’t feel comfortable sharing that with people, or sharing anything.

I tried to bring a positive attitude to my new life, but within the first 24 hours of my being here, I was violently dragged through reed fields, discovered the body of a total stranger, got sexually harassed by a serial killer (M, 40) from my workplace, and was made to endure a social outing with coworkers. Understandably, I acted out a little. AITA?

Update: no I will not elaborate. Just answer the question.

AITA for Creating A Toxic Work Environment Even Though There Were (Mostly) Good Intentions?

I (M, 27) recently made a series of occupational choices that seemed logical at the time but which I have since learned are not good for anyone.

Context, since you’re all so concerned about that: Essentially, I pseudo-framed a couple of people for tiny crimes with the intent of flushing out dangerous criminals (to the people who asked during my last query, I will not be sharing personal information)

In fairness, and to head off criticism from this unruly website, I should point out that one of these people recently assaulted me with dairy products. The other has been unprofessional at work, dispensing support and wisdom that borders on paternal (actual paternal, not my own—you know what, never mind) behavior. Both are very loyal to one of my coworkers (M, 40s) who I reasonably believed to be a serial killer. That belief has been derailed somewhat by the discovery that he is not, in fact, a serial killer.

This entire situation (his fault) has somehow led to an awkward series of workplace and butcher shop encounters in an insular and frankly criminal-ridden small town, as well as several HR-worthy situations that I cannot be held responsible for. Basements are essentially public spaces.

AITA?

AITA for Choosing To Side With My Country Boy Crush Over My Mean City Dad?

I (M, 27) have been going through it. My workplace romance with the man I originally believed to be a serial killer (M, 40) is suffering ever since we learned (through legal and necessary means) that my own father is responsible for multiple crimes connected to the aforementioned paramour. I’ve been reading comments and questions from my previous queries and I promise I took them to heart, and have found opportunities to 1.) let him put me in handcuffs, 2.) invest in fashionable outerwear, 3.) try to get framed for murder in his place (not feeling appreciated for my efforts here).

However, recent events have led to some strain in the relationship. So I’ve decided to go to hell for him. To be clear, since many of you seemed concerned about my “safety” and “sanity”—this is a perfectly reasonable course of action. However, it does involve betraying a verbally abusive parent in favor of a hot guy with great hair.

AITA?

juwon:

juwon, immediately:

Lee Dong Sik: 우리 집 지하실에만 기어들어 오시는 줄 알았는데? / I thought you only snuck into my basement.

= Literally saying “our” but actually meaning “my.”

Lee Dong Sik: 그래, 여기 내 사유지 맞으니까, / Yes. This is my property.

= Literally saying “my” and actually meaning “my.”

Lee Dong Sik: 찬찬히, 샅샅이 둘러보자고요, 우리 관할. / Let’s take a tour of our jurisdiction slowly and thoroughly.

Something I will never get over is the poor handling of clearly Trans characters in tokyo ghoul, Mutsuki and Kanae deserved BETTER so I’m fleshing out something I’ve noticed: I think that ghouls themselves are generally accepting.

When I was watching the episodes with Kanae, I couldn’t help but notice that no one seemed to say much alluding to him being afab. At first it could be brushed off as “well he just passes very well and has been presenting as male since he was little,” but as we’ve seen, ghouls CAN tell males and females apart by scent.

Nishiki mentions this in episode 2, then goes on to refer to him as a man. It stands to reason that Nishio acknowledges that Kaneki is somehow not completely biologically male, but never addresses it again.

Like with Nishio and Kaneki, any ghoul can smell that Kanae is not biologically male, but they do not address it. They recognize that he presents as a man, and treat him as such. I’m willing to bet that if genderfluidity was handled with any amount of respect in this show, the same would have gone for Mutsuki.

I still fully maintain that Kanae and Mutsuki are ftm, and THIS IS THE HILL I WILL DIE ON. The one good thing, however, to come out of this abysmal handling of trans characters is that we’ve seen the way ghouls react to them

They are fully aware of biology, but simply respect their identities

And it makes sense! For ghouls there is no social safety net, them simply existing is a crime and because of that they must govern themselves. When they fight, it’s for survival or personal grudges that stem from survival, it would be self destructive for them to be bigoted. When there’s nothing stopping the people you hate from throwing hands, you better choose who you hate carefully, and they know this. After generations of a desperation to live in a world where any grudge can mean death, raising a kid to be accepting will save their lives. It’s because of this that when ghouls interact with people who are not Cis or hetero, just going “oh okay, that’s cool” saves everyone’s lives. Having grown up seeing this and knowing that picking a fight over something so minor causes pointless harm for everyone involved, a ghoul would recognize transphobia and any other bigoted rhetoric for what it is. A stupid waste of everyone’s time.

I think initially they would get along maybe bond a little over being beautiful female creatures who are known to eat men and have little interest in them. But then Tomie would feel kind of threatened by Rize and try to make some comment about her being prettier or better than Rize. And then Rize would laugh at her for being a vain monster (like with Tsukiyama), and Chaos would ensue.

Rize: So you’re, like, really pretty.

Tomie: Thank you.

Rize: So you agree? You think you’re really pretty?