echo by Alistair Soh
“Roses are red, violets are blue,
Be my valentine, I’m waiting for you,
Blood is red, bruises are blue,
Don’t say no…”
While everyone’s busy this Valentine’s with their significant others, obnoxiously rubbing in your face how wonderful it is to be in a relationship while you mope around thinking “I’ll never get a girlfriend!”, or “I’ll never find a date for Valentine’s!”, have you ever wondered whether there are people who admire you in secret? You probably do, and you should be flattered that people have an eye for your qualities. However, have you ever wondered whether things may go overboard with that one particular psychopath slash possessive serial killer? You may even be dating one, right now. These creatures may appear sweet upfront, but deep down they’re willing to do anything to have you all to themselves, and only to themselves.
One may categorize those species of fanatics as yandere.
Yandere (ヤンデレ) is a Japanese term for a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone (or at least innocent) before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence and/or brutality. The term is derived from the words yanderu (病んでる) meaning a mental or emotional illness, and deredere (でれでれ) meaning to show affection. Yandere characters are mentally unstable, and sometimes are incredibly deranged and are not mentally sane, often using extreme violence and/or brutality as an outlet for their emotions. Yandere are usually, but not always, female characters. A classical (and rather extreme) example of yandere is Yuno Gasai, from the manga/anime Future Diary, who is prone to kill anyone who may interfere with her obsessive passion for the series protagonist Yukiteru Amano (or just even be near him without any romantic contact).
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Here are a few disturbing things that a yandere usually keeps track of his/ her… lover (*cough prey): Favourite foods, music, clothes, hygiene products of choice, etc. It gets deeper with their goals and dreams. A few other examples include what he or she typically wears (bonus points for commandeering articles of said clothing), what video games he/ she plays (and if online, which server they use), the lover’s contact list, family background, fears, weaknesses and so on. Ideally, the yandere would want to know EVERYTHING to the finest detail, but he or she has to start somewhere! They will ensure their significant others’ life revolves solely around theirs, and/or vice versa.
As mentioned, these species of fanatics are not easy to spot as their inner demonic nature is masqueraded by a face of innocence, or they are well blended with the regular folk. If you’re still unsure how to discern a yandere, here are a few hints that she or he (but commonly she) is one (A heads before you start judging people who approach you, this list may not apply to everyone!):
- They are 100% cute and/or attractive.
- At a first glance, they looks harmless
- They are completely devoted to your love.
- They make sure you get to school or work on time.
- They always make you a balanced meal, full with their love.
- They are suspicious of the people around you, and that includes your parents!
- They have the cute hobby of collecting knives.
- They are excellent cleaners (to clean up the blood they’ve spilled!).
- People think they are a little crazy.
- They will protect your from anyone and/or anything.
- They do not take rejection well.
- Their reactions can be extreme.
- They hate being alone (particularly away from you)
- They will never admit to being controlling.
- They sometimes want to kill their ‘beloved darling’, but they eventually revert back to being lovey-dovey.
- They might attack anyone that gets too close to you.
- They have their characteristic blank eyes, creepy laugh and lack of empathy.
- They are very vindictive.
- They don’t do rivals or love triangles.
- At the end of the day, their love is to die for. Literally.
A heads up before you start judging people who approach you, this list may not apply to everyone.
So, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, and you do manage to get chocolates from an anonymous admirer or your lover, don’t need to go dumping them in the trash and blatantly accusing them as crazy! They probably mean well… I mean, unless they start keeping collections of your hair in a jar, or have some sort of shrine in which they worship every day.
Maybe then you can consider calling the police. Hey, I’m just saying!
