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riddlerosehearts · 5 months

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thinking about how people who watch the emperor's new groove and somehow come out of it shipping pacha and kuzco, or thinking yzma only became evil when kuzco fired her and that she would've been a better ruler than him, are both so wrong in so many different ways and are also missing one of the things that i absolutely love about the movie. which is that, the way i see it, pacha and yzma are counterparts. as parental figures to kuzco.

like, just to get this out of the way first, yzma was a dismissive asshole to a peasant whose family was starving. and yeah, if kuzco had been in her place he definitely would've also done that, which... is why she would not be a better ruler than him. she'd just be the same because they're both horrible people in the exact same ways. her reaction to being fired is to plot murder, and as soon as his funeral is over she sets everyone to work on replacing paintings of kuzco with paintings of herself and covering the palace with imagery that makes it clear that it's all about her now. i'm not even sure why this is a discussion tbh.

and also, kuzco is literally a teenager. he's barely 18 years old. source: in the movie, yzma says at his funeral that kuzco was "taken from us so tragically on the very eve of his eighteenth birthday." she also claims in the movie to have "practically raised" him, to which kronk replies "yeah, you'd think he would've turned out better". and sure, she could be exaggerating, but what evidence do we have that she is? we learn absolutely nothing of his parents, who are never mentioned even once in the movie, or of anyone else who could've raised him, and she's his advisor who for some reason sees no problem with attending to royal duties in his place. most likely because she's his regent. also, i'm not exactly a fan of the sequel tv series "the emperor's new school" but it does have something that backs up my point: kuzco is revealed to be an orphan and just before his father went and got lost at sea, he asked yzma (who was also his advisor) to take care of kuzco if anything happened to him. so, yeah, the writers who worked on the series clearly thought that yzma genuinely did raise kuzco, and nothing in the movie contradicts this.

and i find the idea of her being his only parental figure for pretty much his whole childhood incredibly interesting because, and this also goes back into why she wouldn't be a better ruler than him--she mirrors him as a reflection of what would've become of him if he'd never met pacha. they're both incredibly arrogant, power-hungry, selfish, and cruel, with a tendency to blame their problems on everyone but themselves. yzma was even originally going to have her own reprise of kuzco's theme song "perfect world", which i really wish had been kept:

[ID: Lyrics that read:

I'Il be the sovereign queen of the nation And the chicest chick in creation I'm the cat with all the cream and ooh-la-la This deadly concentration Will put an end to my frustration Now this perfect world begins and ends with moi

What's my name? Yzma, Yzma, Yzma Yzma (what's my name?) Yzma, Yzma (What'd you say?) Yzma (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!) Yzma. End ID]

(this song can be fully heard in "the sweatbox", the documentary about the making of the movie, and is also on youtube btw)

anyway, i'm sure yzma would not exactly have been the most nurturing or hands-on guardian, especially given that she and kuzco don't exactly treat each other like family. but it makes a lot of sense to think that her behavior influened kuzco's throughout the years. and for the entire movie, she remains determined to kill him. when he tries to reason with her and admits that he should've been nicer, she says the same thing to him that he originally said when he fired her. she never grows or changes and in the end, she hurts the one person who was willing to stand by her (and even then, kronk had never fully been on board with her plan) and he ends up trying to crush her with a chandelier. kuzco on the other hand is able to realize the error of his ways, come to regret who he was in the past, and start taking steps toward being a better person. his theme song gets a reprise where it's changed from a song about one person being the center of the world to a Power Of Friendship song. why? because, as i've already mentioned, he has pacha.

pacha, who similarly to both yzma and kuzco is in a position of authority as the leader of the village but unlike either of them is gentle and humble. who isn't afraid to stand up to kuzco and be honest with him even though he's the emperor, who agrees to take him back to the palace but has no obligation to be so helpful, kind, and caring toward him--and just about every reason not to be--and still chooses to be anyway. pacha who is 45 years old (also stated in the sweatbox documentary) and can see that kuzco is practically still a kid, not a single day over 18, who has time to grow and change. pacha, who already has a wife and two kids with another on the way, but practically treats kuzco like one of his own. who acknowledges that if kuzco dies all his problems will be gone and then still worries about him and goes out of his way to rescue him after he wanders into the jungle. who sees kuzco shivering at night and covers him with his poncho, who carries him when he's genuinely too weak to keep walking, who refuses to give up on him even after repeatedly being betrayed by him because he believes there's good in everyone.

also, while yzma ends up repeating kuzco's harsh words of dismissal as she tells him of her plans to kill him, kuzco had previously repeated pacha's words that "nobody's that heartless" after he saved pacha's life. and as the movie progresses kuzco and pacha's relationship becomes more and more equal and is constantly contrasted by moments of yzma being cruel and unappreciative of kronk's kindness. a good example of this is how kronk is constantly being forced to carry yzma everywhere on his back while yzma literally walks all over him and steps on his hands when she gets down, whereas when pacha briefly carries kuzco after the latter collapses he tells him he'll have to walk the rest of the way later and kuzco doesn't even protest.

idk if i'm even explaining well what i'm trying to say here. but basically, if yzma actually raised kuzco and contributed to his current behavior, then she and pacha both are figures who guided him and helped him grow. only yzma helped him become the tyrant that he was at the start of the movie, who was selfish and callous and saw everyone else as beneath him. whereas pacha helped him see the value in being selfless and considerate of others. and in the end, yzma is stuck as a cat and nobody is concerned about her. kronk has found a new job that makes him genuinely happy, while kuzco has decided to build a hut on the hill next to pacha's and effectively joined his family. in the sweatbox documentary it's even mentioned that chicha and the kids were at risk of being removed from the film, but it was decided that they needed to be there because having just pacha as a single guy who lived alone wasn't interesting enough--kuzco needed to go from having basically an empty world where he had nobody to being able to come together with pacha's whole family. and i just think that's incredibly satisfying and beautiful. it also leads up to one of the few things i really do enjoy about the emperor's new school, which is the fact that during the show kuzco moves in with pacha and chicha and pretty explicitly thinks of them as basically his parents while he's like a son to them.

idk. i feel like my mind went in a million different directions while i was writing all this. but i guess i just think that for all of the praise the emperor's new groove gets for its comedy and for how hilarious yzma and kronk in particular are as a duo, the movie also has a lot of genuine heart that gets overlooked. kuzco's character growth and his unique dynamic with pacha is, for me, really what elevates the movie from just a funny movie that i like to one of my favorite disney movies. and i wish more people appreciated that aspect of it and saw it as a found family story in the same way that treasure planet, brother bear, and lilo and stitch are all found family stories.

#disney #the emperor's new groove #help i wrote a whole essay about this movie #and i didn't even mention how much i love the way kuzco's home life is contrasted with pacha's #ugh. they have one of the most interesting and unique dynamics ever in a disney movie. i love them #love how kuzco gets away from yzma's toxic influence by way of accidentally being adopted #by the guy whose village he almost destroyed for a theme park #they're ENEMIES to FOUND FAMILY.... sobs #kuzco #pacha #yzma #kronk

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starmakerr · 11 months

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When Aziraphale said "I don't think you understand what I'm offering" and Crowley just staring so hurt and sadly back at Azi bc "I understand more than you"

And he did. Crowley was a high ranked angel, he worked with Saqael on the horse head nebulae, he saw metatron often enough that he recognized him in physical form when the other arch angels did not.

He can control weather and time. He had access to throne level classified documents. Crowley knows way more than aziraphale does about what it's like to work at the right hand of God and trust and hope, love and believe in it all and then have it so violently ripped from you because you dared ask "why"

He witnessed plans on things he helped create, loved, and breathed life into be destroyed at the almighty's whim and the angels following through without thought or care and it broke his faith and happiness and turned him so bitter and jaded.

Throughout the years he tried to play the part of 'evil', partly in bitterness at God, but also as a way to open Aziraphales eyes as to what he is following because he likes Aziraphale and adores him and doesn't want him trapped under the almighty's thumb to be crushed the way he was.

And after all these years and centuries, after witnessing the cruelty at angels and Gods, and hells hand, Crowley thought after the first Armageddon, that Aziraphale understood, understood him, and he was just let down all over again, the hope belief, and love just stolen from him. And he's sad more than angry at Aziraphale, bc Aziraphale still has that mindset and thinks he can change things.

Everytime that Crowley has been merciful and kind he was tortured either be heaven or hells hand, he just wants to protect this universe he helped create, and all the beings that inhabit it, and he knows for certain that he'll and heaven won't help achieve that, are actively trying to prevent it.

This whole situation is so damn tragic for both of these characters. I'm such a clown for finishing this series in two days and now I have to wait for s3.

#good omens 2 #goodomens #aziracrow #crowley #angel crowley #spoilers #good omens spoilers

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reilliane · 2 years

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i promised scara brainrots, here we go! slightly angsty, but more on the fluff side this time (surprisingly) and pretty self-indulgent! this is long lmao

✤ she/her

SPOILERS FOR 3.3 ARCHON QUEST!

: ̗̀➛ Reverse Isekai AU (becoming besties with a fictional character- wait, why is he here)

Imagine being in a fit of tears after playing through the Archon Quest. It's always been known that the narrative behind Scaramouche—Kunikuzushi, Kabukimono, Balladeer- just him, is tragic. But boy, with the way everything fell into place, he was meant for tragedy, it's awful.

It's difficult to focus on the characters' dialogue when you're busy trying to see through the blurriness of your eyes, but you manage. You hear him say something to the Traveler, and there shows up a choice box like always. Paying no mind to it, as you are occupied with sniffing and catching your breath, you press whatever.

He mentions ceasing, as what the trailer for version 3.3 entailed, and he's gone, and- wait. Did your game crash? Why is it frozen on a particular scene? Huh, your device shut down- your progress!?

Alas, you're not in the mood to lament over that when you can just spill woe over the story for the mean time. So you do just that, weep and roll around in your bed kicking your feet 'cause wow, yes, the guy's evil and all- but damn! His life is founded on nothing but angst! When you pull for him in game, you'll be placing him in the teapot with only the finest of comforts availa— OUCH!?

To your pain and confusion, something drops onto you from above, crushing your back as that something eventually topples out of your bed with a loud cuss. Wait a minute, was that a voice-? You take a peek and start laughing. Ahahaha, no, impossible, why- that only happens in fanfiction! Yet, his demanding question that reaches your ears in real time only serves to remind you that this is real.

“What the hell are you laughing at, you puny mortal? Answer my question or die where you stand!” AHAHAHA YOU'RE TRIPPIN'!

News flash, you're not. Because all of a sudden you are being pinned on the bed, with a very angry little man above you that doesn't seem to be joking around with what he said about killing you.

Holy smokes, it's supposed to be impossible but no, he's right there. On top of you. If you were reading some kind of e rated fanfiction in ao3, you would've screamed because hey he's looking pretty handsome right now but- woah, woah, calm dOWN SIR YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR ANSWERS!

As expected, Scaramouche does not believe an ounce of what you say, but resigns to it. After all, he has already 'deleted' his existence in Teyvat, it'd only seem logical if he were to be transported in an entirely different world...

Now, as he is a smart guy, he very quickly deduces that you somehow know him. Oh boy, imagine telling him that he's someone from a game. At first, he'll laugh bitterly at it, saying something like 'of course. my misery was some kind of amusement, is it?' BRO mission therapy starts now. You're no Nahida, but still!

Now imagine him learning that he has 'fans'. Boy will be so confused like, fans what fans- do you mean those accessories orrrr-

He understands what you meant when you show him that he has a 'following', and he's pretty stumped. He only ever knew Haypasia, he had a single follower, but in this place- he had... tens of thousands? HUH? HUH??

As he's already been given a reality slap by the Traveler and Nahida, he's no longer in the mindset to be all god-like, but boy the temptation... until he realizes that he doesn't have any elemental powers. And he's become human. Oh boy.

When he realizes that he's breathing and has a heartbeat, dude stares at you for like a minute straight. Is this real? Look, look! He snatches your hand and holds it over his chest and- holy hell he's right, he has a beating heart.

Give him some space to process things, his mind is currently exploding right now.

It'll take him time to understand that he's loved as much as he is hated in this world. The latter he understands, but the former... oh, is this real? He still can't believe it, so you had to go through various social media platforms just to prove a point. He bares his eyes to numerous 'posts' that range from 'YO HE BETTER COME HOME I'LL TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIM', 'AHSDAKJHDJAKDHA HE'S SO HOT BARK BARK YEOAWOADSADH', and other more... flustering posts.

HE'S LOVED! Well, he's also hated, but he's LOVED! In all his confused snark, he asks you where you stand in those two groups. Bro's putting you on the spot, good luck.

If you manage to evade that question, you'll tell him that he's free to stay with you until he gets the ropes of this world. It'll be a bit difficult to adjust with someone new and yes you've screamed far too many times when he pops up somewhere in the house, completely still in disbelief that he's there, but it'll be alright.

When you first accompany him outside, you had to throw him in huge clothes just so that he won't be noticeable. Even if he was 'humanized', he still looks a lot like how he does in game, not to mention his voice. He dislikes hiding, but has to put up with it.

Bro highkey basks in the glory when you both go to a genshin convention and see all the love for him. It's the one time he gets to dress up in his Harbinger attire (though he admits he dislikes having connections with it after knowing the truth) and show himself without fear of hearing "YO ARE YOU SCARAMOUCHE? YOU LOOK LIKE THE REAL DEAL!" because cosplayers are a thing. When he finds out that he gets a 'redesign' he pesters you to buy him the outfit. How laughable, how can the OG guy not have his own made clothes in the game??? You cave of course.

He's still a smug lil shi- though, so he will say that he is the one and only 'Wanderer/Scaramouche' when asked in the convention. Your panicked screaming in the background is thoroughly enjoyed, please, continue giving a good show as he revels in all the attention. Before long, posts about him are scattering all around the internet and you lecture him about the mob on your door and the diehard "HE'S MINE!" fans that has sent threats in your social media. They still believe he's just a really good cosplayer, but still...

“Hah, what're you so scared of?” he'll just smirk in the middle of your lecture, “They won't be able to land a hand on you so long as I'm here.”

Cue malfunction. He knows what he's doing, isn't he? This smug piece of- you'll kick him back into the game if you could!

“Like hell you will. Even if you can, you won't do it. Your boring human life has only become interesting because I'm here.” + :P

DAMN, HE RIGHT THOUGH!

ive always liked his character from the moment he appeared in that first event but now that his lore is fleshed out it's time to go ham >:D

#moonlitrambles #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #scaramouche fluff #wanderer fluff #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin angst #scaramouche angst #genshin headcanons

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see-arcane · 6 months

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I wish for something Dracula as sort of post-apocalypse. Maybe killing him did not stop the infestation, maybe it emboldened other vampires and you have now 100 Ruthvens in his wake having turf wars, maybe his visit awakened legendary dormant ancient evils, maybe it inspired ambitious lords of the dying british/european aristocracy wanting to copycat him and make devil pacts and training in the mountains. And the survivors who experienced it all first hand dealing with it.

Honestly, it stuns me how little has been done with the 'Dracula technically leaving an open spot at the top of the vampire food chain' possibilities. I think Castlevania kind of touches on it, but overall there's just a whole lot of nothing going on in Dracula-adjacent media about it.

Though I will hand the other public domain vampires a pass because, to be honest, I think Count Dracula was the only vampire in literature who was ever concerned about Taking Over the World. Everyone else in the undead scene is just sort of doing the smart thing and. You know. Chilling.

Lord Ruthven wasn't out to conscript others. Dude went out of his way to kill his victims with knives and drink the red runoff, as if to explicitly avoid making other vampires.

Carmilla was out there romancing and drinking girls like an undead Casanova. The vampire who turned her first when she was Countess Mircalla might have been different! But we never find out who that vampire was; we just know about Millie and the growing list of broken/siphoned hearts left in her wake.

Clarimonde, the dead woman in love~, was so bad at making another vampire. Comically, tragically bad at it. All she could bring herself to do was construct a fantasy dreamscape to live in with her human priest crush while taking literally only a single pinprick's worth of blood from him to keep herself going. This, when the priest in question openly declared SHE COULD HAVE HIS ENTIRE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM if she wanted it!

Varney the Vampire was and remains just...terrible at being a vampire. In general.

Countess Dolingen and her undead village, along with Gorcha and the Vourdalak village, both seem to have the whole 'conscript everyone around me/all those I love' angle handled. Except neither group ever ever expands past the borders of their territory. Maybe it's a rule? Maybe they just ran out of people they felt like drinking? Either way, they stopped caring about collecting others and just tucked themselves in their graves to doze once their respective villages were turned.

In short, for somebody to take over Dracula's ~King of the Vampires~ role, we'd actually need an OC to step in. All the actual classic literary vampires, many of whom were kicking well before Dracula appeared on the scene, just are not interested in the undead tyrant game.

(Probably why Dracula had to go around recruiting in the first place. None of the other vampires returned his letters or carrier pigeons for centuries. No, they don't want to join his pyramid scheme vampiric onslaught campaign, thanks. Too busy minding their business and/or dealing with personal drama. Please lose their address.)

#Drac Attack Pack: 'Oh man oh no what if other vampires start vying for Dracula's spot and try to take over the world too?'#Other vampires: 'Oh shit someone killed Dracula? Send them a fruit basket.' Or: 'Zzzzzzzzz'#dracula #dracula's guest #the vampyre #the family of the vourdalak #clarimonde #carmilla #varney the vampire

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ystrike1 · 9 months

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The Summer Hikaru Died - By Mokumoku Ren (9.5/10)

A wonderful country life comes with downsides. Anti-gay sentiment. Superstition. The crushing feeling that tells you you'll be trapped in your hometown, forever a country bumpkin. Our protagonist is in the closet. His best friend and secret crush dies. The body returns, madly in love with him. They had mutual feelings for each other from the start. Too bad the owner of the body will never be able to express those feelings. The monster is all that is left.

Hikaru was very loved. He was born into a modern family with some spiritual duties that involve the Great Lord Brain-Snatcher. A huge hellish beast that lives in a local mountain. A mass of death with no soul.

Hikaru dies in the forest on that mountain, and he begs the Lord to keep his best friend company.

Hikaru is gone. There is no moment where we get a glimpse of him. The Lord gets his body. His memories. The body becomes his shell, and the Lord uses it to enjoy "life" as a human.

Hikaru's complicated feelings for his best friend are so strong that they quickly bleed into the Lord.

The Lord becomes smitten with Yoshiki, the closeted best friend in question. At first its feelings seem shallow, but they grow. Yoshiki liked Hikaru so much. Yoshiki found Hikaru. He ran to the mountain during a dangerous storm to save Hikaru.

He found Hikaru alive that day, but he quickly realized that "Hikaru" is gone.

The Lord is shocked, and a bit sad.

It was willing to lie and pretend to be Hikaru forever.

It loves receiving love and affection from Yoshiki. It's willing to feel pain and pretend to be human to stay with Yoshiki.

Yoshiki can barely handle what's happening to him, but he accepts the Lord...as a friend.

It's all very tragic. Yoshiki and Hikaru were close. Their relationship was going to change. Yoshiki in particular was planning to move away so he could explore his identity as a gay man. There was a future where the two boys end up together, but it's gone now.

The Lord says it did not kill Hikaru. It found the body and it crawled in, but Hikaru was already dead.

The Hikaru flashbacks show this is mostly true. Hikaru was barely alive and dying for sure. He did give the Lord his body, but the Lord is selfish to the core. It is immortal. It loves being alive, and it loves Yoshiki honestly...the way a monster does. Not the way a human does. The Lord declares its love in awkward ways. It proposes various ideas to Yoshiki. If Yoshiki wants a killer, obedient beast it can be that. If Yoshiki wants a best friend it can be that. The Lord even likes Hikarus other friends, but it never wants to be separated from Yoshiki.

It's immortal. Incredibly old, but Yoshiki is its first love.

The Lord and Hikaru start a relationship...kind of. The Lord wants Yoshiki to touch his real body, which is inside Hikaru. This touching process will make Yoshiki stronger, mentally, against other spirits. More are coming, now that the ancient mountain is empty. Yoshiki is a tempting piece of prey, because traces of the Lord are on him.

It's poetic and evil. Yoshiki must have a closer relationship with the Lord in order to protect himself, but that's why he's in danger.

The other supernatural families and seers in town are afraid. They don't like to see ghosts. They just want to live life, but an adult steps in to give Yoshiki advice. Her husband came back, because of her desire for him. The result was nothing but pain, and scars on her son's body. She regrets her desire. She says that beings like the Lord want to mix with the living. Is the love the Lord feels just a distorted desire to consume? We don't know yet. The Lord is a somewhat considerate and kind character that doesn't enjoy killing. He's just willing to kill anyone who tries to ruin his life with Yoshiki.

The Lord is more passionate than it looks. It cracks jokes most of the time. It tries to be like Hikaru, but it doesn't work. The Lord is very serious and lonely on the inside. It wishes it was a better liar, so Yoshiki could enjoy life with "Hikaru".

Don't pity the Lord yet.

It doesn't want Hikaru to come back.

It's just not bloodthirsty.

It very much wants to take Hikaru's place.

A girl in their friend group almost dies. She also noticed that Hikaru isn't Hikaru. A single touch almost kills her, because she's not being trained to endure the dark like Yoshiki.

It's an odd moment.

The Lord likes playing with all of Hikaru's friends. It feels bad about killing, but it still does it. Only Yoshiki is able to get through to it. Yoshiki doesn't understand why it went for the kill, even though it knows that friends are precious. It's implied that the Lord cannot tell the difference between humans and animals. Yoshiki is "special" because the body it wears was in love with Yoshiki. Humans are fun. It likes playing games with them, but humans are not dogs that can be thrown out or abandoned when they cause trouble.

The Lord has trouble understanding this.

Yoshiki takes the Lord out on a date. They skip school and walk until sundown. Yoshiki brings the Lord to his bedroom, and he stabs it.

He can't let the Lord kill his friends or family. He can't. He has a twisted relationship with it. He might even love it a little. He might even enjoy the "mixing" part of their relationship, but no pleasure is worth death.

Yoshiki is a good person.

The Lord cries.

It failed.

Yoshiki hates it.

Yoshiki begs for death, because he can't handle the power. He doesn't know what to do what the nuclear bomb in his hands.

The Lord wants to make Yoshiki happy.

It rips itself in half on the inside. It gives Yoshiki half of its real body. At half power it can be killed by a human. Its full form is a totally unbeatable, immortal God...but Yoshiki is its only love. It gives Yoshiki some proof that it is trying to understand the value of life.

It might die.

The other adults are looking for it.

The Lord is too big to wander around the human realm.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #yaoi #ish #monster guy #ghost

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goodqueenaly · 9 months

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Absolutely here for the way Sansa turns from using the story of Prince Aemon and Queen Naerys to idealize Joffrey (and, so she believes in that moment, her love for him) to using the story of Aemon and Queen Naerys to defend someone against Joffrey's abuse

Sansa first cites the romanticized history in AGOT, as the royal party travels near the ruby ford back to the capital:

The way he had rescued her from Ser Ilyn and the Hound, why, it was almost like the songs, like the time Serwyn of the Mirror Shield saved the Princess Daeryssa from the giants, or Prince Aemon the Dragonknight championing Queen Naerys's honor against evil Ser Morgil's slanders.

If Sansa's history is generally right here (at least regarding the verifiably historical figures she references), her allusion fails to accurately reflect her own situation. Far from Prince Aemon defying his royal brother's clumsy attempt to invent an almost certainly untrue accusation against their queen-sister by offering to stand as her champion in a trial by combat, Prince Joffrey had only followed the directions of the queen herself to go to Sansa, and later spend the day with her. Nor does either Ilyn Payne or Sandor Clegane really fit the role of Morgil Hastwyck, who had openly denounced the queen as a traitor and participant in an extramarital affair with Aemon himself: Joffrey in fact brags to Sansa that Sandor is his "dog" (or, as he allows, his mother's dog), obedient and "ever faithful" to the prince's command, and if Sandor had made a dry joke about the Stark direwolves, neither he nor the unwillingly mute Ilyn had actually falsely accused Sansa of anything, much less a crime for which the penalty was death (as Naerys had been accused). Indeed, though Sansa could not have known it in this moment, it would not be Joffrey who, Aemon-like, would intervene to save the life and honor of Sansa by confronting an antagonist knight in single combat, but Joffrey who would himself direct Ser Ilyn to crush and traumatize Sansa via the order for her father's head; likewise, it would be Sandor Clegane, very pointedly not a knight, who would intervene to help Sansa, as Joffrey gloried in the killing of Ned Stark and directed another one of his knights to abuse Sansa.

Later in AGOT, as Sansa still believes she loves Joffrey, she again uses Naerys and Aemon’s (supposed) romance:

"I love him, Father, I truly truly do, I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, as much as Jonquil loved Ser Florian. I want to be his queen and have his babies."

Here, however, Sansa's allusion to Aemon and Naerys even less resembles the real-world history, much less her own situation. If Aemon and Naerys really did love one another (and I think they did, putting aside the very obvious criticisms of Aemon's position in the Kingsguard relative to Naerys' woeful position as queen), I definitely do not believe they ever engaged in a sexual affair, much less that the future Daeron II was the product of such an affair. (In fact, it was Naerys who had approached her father to prevent the marriage and her brother to end it after the birth of Daeron - hardly an auspicious example for Sansa.) To be clear, Sansa is I think only repeating the romanticized tale passed down by singers and storytellers for the better part of 150 years - yet even without a true sense of historical accuracy, Sansa's citation to Aemon and Naerys little supports her actual relationship with Joffrey. Indeed, far from the beau ideal of chivalry which Aemon the Dragonknight has come to represent in Westerosi culture, Joffrey instead more closely resembles Aegon IV - abusive, cruel, and hateful, eager for any humiliation great or petty (and especially sexual) which he could inflict upon his betrothed, much as Aegon had done toward Naerys. The story of Aemon and Naerys persists in Westerosi culture, moreover, in no small part because it is a doomed and tragic romance - an impossible love which neither queen nor prince could satisfy in their respective positions, clouded by a suspicious, malicious king. If Sansa had wished to cast herself and Joffrey as perfect lovers destined by their love to be together, her choice of story accomplishes precisely the opposite; to the extent that she and Joffrey will resemble this story, it will be with Sansa as the miserable princess doomed to marry the king and Joffrey as the king who causes her such misery.

So in ACOK, well aware of Joffrey's sadism and patterns of abuse, Sansa again reaches for the example of Aemon and Naerys - not, though, to laud Joffrey, but to support another against him:

Prince Tommen sobbed. "You mew like a suckling babe," his brother hissed at him. "Princes aren't supposed to cry." "Prince Aemon the Dragonknight cried the day Princess Naerys wed his brother Aegon," Sansa Stark said, "and the twins Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk died with tears on their cheeks after each had given the other a mortal wound."

Whatever the historical accuracy of her statement - Yandel reporting that "[t]he singers say that Aemon and Naerys both wept during the ceremony, though the histories tell us Aemon quarreled with Aegon at the wedding feast, and that Naerys wept during the bedding rather than the wedding" - Sansa seizes here on a pointedly apt moment from the story of Aemon and Naerys, as a direct counter to Joffrey's sneering criticism of his brother. Just as the occasion of his sister's marriage had (again, so the singers relate) been the cause of brother Aemon's tears, so now Tommen weeps to see his own only sister depart for her marriage. Nor does the parallel end there: here again, as in the days of Aemon and Naerys, are there three royal siblings, two brothers and a sister - and if neither Myrcella nor Tommen are exact duplicates of Naerys and Aemon, both live in shadow of an abusive and cruel eldest brother. Sansa takes the opportunity of Joffrey's attempt to hurt and demean Tommen by providing so admired an example of Tommen's very conduct. If even Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, popularly beloved for his (apparent) chivalry, bravery, and nobility, could have been seen to weep at his sister's nuptial parting without losing any of his celebrated standing, then how could Joffrey, so Sansa argues through this allusion, criticize Tommen in nearly the exact same circumstance? Just as Sansa had used (invented) singer mythology to defend Dontos Hollard from Joffrey's brutality, so now she cites the legend of Prince Aemon, preserved in song, to stand up for Tommen against the same.

#asoiaf meta #sansa stark #aemon the dragonknight #naerys targaryen #joffrey baratheon #aegon iv targaryen

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chiibi-chaan · 1 year

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Ryomen Sukuna//obsession. Part 2.

Content warnings//NSFW(+18, minors dni), dark content, fem!afab!reader ('she' used as Y/n's pronoun), pet names (angel, little mouse), Sukuna being out of character, stalking, paranoia/anxiety, manipulation, possessiveness, masturbation (f! receiving), slight size kink, unprotected sex, implied kidnapping. Not proofread.

synopsis// She was nothing special, just a normal office worker, and yet, she attracted the attention of something she couldn't understand, something she could not even dream of, not even if this dream was a nightmare.

Word count//2.8K

A/n// Make sure to read the part one of this story before continuing. Part 1.

JUJUTSU KAISEN MASTERLIST. MASTERLIST.

When she woke up the next morning, she was pale. She thought it was a dream at first, a kind of bitter-sweet nightmare, but when she saw the state she was in as she looked at her own reflect in the mirror of the bathroom, her mind went blank, her eyes only able to stare with utter shock at all the marks blooming on her skin, from her neck, to her chest, down her stomach and even between her thighs. She couldn't bring herself to believe it, to believe that a man, a monster, did that to her. She felt ashamed, dirty, and yet, she couldn't forget his dark, lustful eyes, staring at her with an uncontrollable, devouring desire. She couldn't miss how much he was craving for her, like a starved dog chained and unable to eat the food in front of him. His eyes stared at her with such dominance, such power, that she could still feel her knees becoming weak. She didn't know what to do, although her memories were blurry due to the sleeping pills she took and the crushing bliss she felt at the moment, she could clearly remember his deep, low voice as he told her that he would come back, for her.

Fortunately, she didn't have to go to work today, it was her day off. But she didn't really know if it was a good thing or not. This man, was in her house last night, he didn't enter by a window, or even by a door, he came from the shadows, from the deep darkness of the night. She wasn't safe anymore, not even in her own house; she knew that he would find her, she could run, but not hide from him, because shadows were everywhere, engulfing everything in their way once the sun disappeared from the sky. She shivered at the thought of him coming back, she didn't know his intentions, she didn't even know why he set his sights on her, she wasn't anything special. To say that she was frightened would be an understatement, she was terrified, to the point of trembling while tears swell in her eyes. Her emotions were like a storm, intertwined together in one and yet fighting against each other; he was the embodiment of the most cruel, merciless creature, he was the Devil; the most beautiful creation, a flawless being, with a perfect eye for inequity and sins. Everything suddenly became clear in her head; her nightmares, her discomfort as she walked back home, it was all his doing, it was his fault. He manipulated her, and she did everything he wanted without even knowing.

Y/n couldn't do anything except staying at home, running away was useless, but she still felt like she was obediently waiting for a beast to come feasting on her; she was the prey, the poor, innocent doe unaware of the wolf hunting her. The most tragical, was that she was aware, she wasn't even in this naive, innocent ignorance, she knew, and yet, she was helpless. She was only human. It was laughable, ludicrous. She didn't even know his name. She ignored everything from him, while he knew everything from her. Deep down, she was curious about him, she couldn't help it; who was he? What was he? What did he want from her? Why did he choose her? Was he truly evil? Everything she thought about him were assumptions, about what she thinks is evil, for her he was a demon, the reflection of chaos, a body dragging death and destruction with each step it took. He was the only thing she could think about for the whole day, hours passing faster than she expected; and soon, the night engulfed the earth, darkness falling upon her. She didn't expect him to appear out of thin air so soon, but here he was, hovering over her smaller frame in the blink of an eye. She gasped, now wide aware of how intimidating he truly was.

"Were you waiting for me, Y/n?"

The sound of his deep voice made her shiver, goosebumps covering her arms and legs as she looked up at him with both fear and curiosity. He smirked, his fingers brushing her hair away from her face before gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, looking down at her with an indescribable gaze. She gasped quietly, staring straight into his red eyes, losing herself in the sea of blood in his dark irides. He hummed and leaned forward, his fingers slowly running through her hair. He looked at her like he could see her thoughts, her feelings, and even her soul, she felt like an open book he could read without even trying. Sukuna’s lips brushed against hers, and this action made her came back to reality. She pushed him away, or at least she tried, his body didn’t budge from an inch, even though she pushed him with all her strength. He seemed like a wall, solid and unshakeable, and the way he looked down at her with a mocking smirk made her see red, her face becoming hot from embarrassment. She looked away from him, and whispered, trying to ignore how her voice trembled as she did. He chuckled, stepping back a little and crossing his arms over his chest, staring at her with amusement in his eyes.

"who… who are you?"

"Are you curious about me, little mouse? I am Sukuna, a king. The king of curses."

"Curses…?"

She whispered, not knowing what were 'curses', after all, she was a normal person, she wasn’t aware of the monsters roaming outside, created by the negative emotions of people. Sukuna sighed, tilting his eyes back a little before explaining what were curses, and letting her understand that he was the king of these monsters, he was the strongest, he was truly the embodiment of corruption, of calamity. She didn’t know how to react, she was frightened to the point of being unable to move, she was just petrified, but at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking that his beauty was ethereal, from another world. Sukuna leaned closer once again, whispering almost against her ear, his hand gripping the back of her neck.

"Are you scared, Y/n? Are you scared of me? Or are you scared of what you think I am?"

His thumb slowly rubbed circles against the column of her throat, making her gulp nervously. She couldn’t tell if she was truly scared of him, or of what he was. He didn’t harm her, he actually treated her like a delicate doll, which would break with the smallest touch. Sukuna didn’t want to harm her, he didn’t want to see her injured or in pain. He wanted to take her away, to lock her in his domain and protect her for the rest of eternity. He didn’t want to take her against her will, he wanted her to agree to come with him, so that he could keep her by his side, make her his queen, his wife.

"Do I have to be scared of you… Sukuna?"

"You should be, angel. But I promise you that I would never hurt you."

He didn’t want to lie to her either, he wanted to be as honest as possible. But he knew from the start that he was going to manipulate her, he didn’t have any other choice. He needed her. As he looked at her, his hand cupped her face, and he brushed his lips against hers again. This time, she didn’t push him away, because she knew that she didn’t truly want to. She desired him. He grunted softly as he realised that she didn’t fight back, his other hand immediately gripping her hip, pressing her against his firm body while kissing her more passionately, more desperately. She responded with the same desperate, the same longing, her arms wrapping around his neck and a gasp escaping from her mouth as he lifted her up, his hands holding her thighs as he deepened the kiss, his tongue invading her mouth. She moaned softly, her fingers gripping his hair and tugging at it slightly, making him groan into the kiss while he carried her straight to her bedroom, taking only a few mere seconds to lay her down on the bed and crawl on top of her, his forearms resting on the mattress on each sides of her head to support his weight.

"Push me away now, Y/n… tell me that you don’t want this… because if you don’t, I won’t stop like I did last night. I will ruin you, I will make you desperate for only my touch."

She looked up at him with hesitation, she wanted him, but she didn’t even know what the consequences of this desire would be. She didn’t know him at all, and yet she was inevitably attracted to him, like iron would be to a magnet. When she finally whispered that she didn’t want to push him away, Sukuna kissed her again, this kiss dripping with even more desperation, with an intense, inextinguishable passion. His hand gripped her hair, tilting her head back as he pulled away from the kiss, burying his face in her neck instead, his lips brushing against the marks he left last night. He groaned and kissed her throat, licking and sucking the tender skin once more. One of his legs opened hers, resting between her thighs, a deep grunt vibrating in his chest as he felt her grind against his muscular thigh. He bit her neck, and gripped her hip, making her grind harder against him, smirking when he felt how wet she already was even through her panties, the soft fabric of her shorts not doing anything to hide it. He kissed her neck one last and kneeled on the mattress, pulling his shirt over his head, smirking as he saw her staring at his muscular chest and chiseled abdomen. His hands slowly brushing along her legs, starting at her ankles and slowly going up, until he reached her thighs. He bit his lip, his fingers slipping under the waistband of her shorts and panties, pulling them down her legs in a swift motion before hovering over her body, his fingers brushing against her crotch while he leaned forward, kissing her once again. She moaned softly, her hips bucking slightly as he teased her, his fingers rubbing her clit slightly before sliding against her slit.

"Please…"

"Please what, angel?"

"P-Please, give me more…!"

He chuckled, pushing two fingers into her core, slowly fingering her while kissing along her jaw, his thumb gently rubbing circles over her clit. She gasped, letting out a breathy moan as she felt his fingers curling up and pressing against her g-spot, her back arching off the mattress and her hips bucking slightly. He hummed softly, moving his wrist faster, pumping his fingers in and out of her hole with an increasing speed, his palm now rubbing against her clit instead of his thumb. He wanted her to come undone on his fingers before making love to her, but he was getting impatient after only a few minutes, his cock already painfully erect and straining against the crotch of his pants. He looked down at the mess she was already making, his fingers coated with her juices and her clit pulsing against his palm. He could say that she was close to orgasm, her hole clenching around his fingers and her moans becoming louder. His free hand helped her pushing her shirt over her head and he leaned forward, kissing and sucking on her breasts while fingering her faster and harder, his palm slapping against her clit with enough force to make her hips buck and her eyes roll back. He clenched his teeth, his arm flexing as he continued fingering her until he felt her hole fluttering and tightening around his digits.

"That’s it, angel… cum for me."

As he whispered into her ear, she whimpered and moaned, her hips bucking up as she came, her wetness covering his hand. Sukuna licked his fingers, and sat back again, unbuttoning his pants while she gasped for air, calming down from her orgasm. He rubbed her thigh with one hand, trying to help her relax while removing his remaining clothes from his body with the other one. Y/n looked at him with glazed over eyes, panting softly and whispering his name quietly, her eyes slowly trailing down his body, and widening a little as she saw his cock, hard and leaking precum from the tip. Sukuna only smirked and grabbed her thighs, spreading her legs and making her wrap them around his waist. He rested one forearm on the left side of her head and kissed her lips briefly. He then buried his face in her neck, slowly sinking his thick member into the warmth of her cunt, gritting his teeth as he held back the need to thrust into her like a beast, letting her adjust to him.

After a few more minutes, he started moving his hips, slowly thrusting in and out of her, his breath hitching as he sank into her tight cunt again and again, his jaw clenching as he tried to hold back, the need to just fuck her into oblivion becoming stronger with each thrusts of his hips. Finally, after feeling her nails dig into his back as she whispered into his ear to move faster, he increased his pace, tilting his head so that he could see her face while he fucked her with all his worth, his hips slamming against hers and his cock reaching the deepest parts of her with each hard thrusts.

"Does it feel good, angel? Are you feeling… f-fuck… any pain?"

He grunted, his teeth digging into his bottom lip as he felt her cunt tightening around his cock, the sound of his voice apparently making even more aroused. He kissed her shoulder, nodding silently as she whispered that it didn’t hurt, and moved his hips faster, pumping his cock into her harder. His eyelids heavy as he looked down at her, not missing any contortion of her face from the pleasure he made her feel. He pressed one of his hand against her lower belly, his eyes darkening as he felt his own cock deep inside her, filling her to the brim, his tip kissing her cervix each time he buried himself into her cunt. He tilted his head back, biting his lip again and gripping her thigh with his other hand, fucking her to the point of bringing tears to her eyes, which rolled back in pleasure as she felt this familiar feeling forming in her belly, her orgasm approaching quickly once again. She dug her nails into his shoulders, gasping and moaning louder while grinding against him. Her legs trembled as he wrapped his hand around her neck, kissing her deeply and grunting deeply, his thrusts becoming sloppier as he felt her cunt tighten around his cock, clenching around him like a vice. His thumb pressed against her clit, and he let out a breathy sigh as he felt her cum almost immediately after he started rubbing her clit, his own release not far away being her. He thrusted one last time, burying his cock into her as deep as he could, before filling her up with his cum, a deep grunt coming out from between his gritted teeth. After a few seconds, he pulled out of her an looked down at her, kissing her forehead and smiling slightly while she panted, her eyes glossy and dazed as she looked back at him with a sleepy expression, her eyelids clearly getting heavy with exhaustion.

"You can sleep, angel… I’ll take care of you."

He whispered, kissing her forehead once again and wrapping his arms around her, holding her firmly against his chest until she fell asleep. His fingers slowly ran through her disheveled hair and his lips brushed against her temple. He was delighted that she accepted him, a slight smile slowly appearing on his lips as he held her tighter. Now, he could take her with him without worrying about anything. After all, he was merciful enough to give her the choice, and she decided to not push him away. He claimed her, she was his, his Queen. And she will rule with him over this world, because with her by his side, he didn’t have to care about the safety of anyone anymore.

"Don’t forget, angel… it was your choice… now, you can’t leave me anymore. You’re mine, my Queen."

#anime #x reader #female reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen smut #manga #jjk x reader #sukuna ryomen smut #sukuna smut #sukuna ryomen #jjk #sukuna x reader #sukuna x you #one shot jjk

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mmm-asbestos · 4 months

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Honestly, Metamy's dynamic to me is both silly and tragic (my favorite). The combination of Amy falling for an evil robotic copy of Sonic is hilarious, but at the same time, the evil robotic copy developing feelings he didn't know he had for the sweet hero is tragic. When you think about it Amy's little crush on metal is both funny and confusing for her as "hes evil and a robot" but other than that she doenst think much of it, but for metal it's so much more. He realizes that not only does he love the hero, his enemy, but he realizes he can love. With him developing feelings for Amy, he not only realizes he has real feelings, that he's more than just his code. It's more than just a file. More than just metal. He's has to struggle with the fact that he's not metal. He's Metal. With Amy, when she discovers her feelings for him, it's confusing, Metal is just Sonic but evil, so why does she like him. But as she spends more time with him, she realizes herself that he's his own person, not just code and orders. He might resemble Sonic and like some of the same things, but he's still him. She finds that she didn't just fall for a different version of Sonic, but she fell for Metal. She also has to learn what true longing is. With Sonic, he just didn't feel the same, but they were always friends, but with Metal, she couldn't even be around him unless their battling. She couldn't be with Sonic, and now she can't even be with someone who loves her the way she loves them because their on different sides. But idk. Also, robot x organic ships are one of my favorite dynamics, and the idea of Amy going out to beat eggman and his minions ass and coming back with one of said minions as her new bf is hilarious.

Sorry for the long ask btw. I like to talk about them...

You are so right and about tragic side of it specifically... For amy love is natural and effortless, as is being good, despite metal being unconventional for that. She just has so much sympathy and kindness to give, even for an evil robot. Metal meanwhile, emotion is an error for him. Recognizing being in love is recognition of something deeply broken inside. Something doesnt make sense, something overtakes the cold logic of the world of oppression he operates under. Allowing error to cloud his logic gives his life meaning other than servitude. And yet, its impossible to stay what he is and be with amy. Amy will never be on his side, and he cant be on hers. There are hard coded allegiances in him, and to betray them is to break his mind even further....

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magnorious · 3 months

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The Reveal that Changed Percy Jackson

*Spoiler Alert*

I’m talking about the Nico vs Cupid scene in book 8, House of Hades. I picked this scene, even though there were a great many in the original series that defined Percy Jackson as a story far more meaningful than just “cool tweenage demigods with magic and superpowers who fight evil”.

When this book came out, Nico vs Cupid was almost all anyone talked about. Why? Because Nico came out. Nico, an explicitly gay character in a book published by Disney, in a rather high profile series. Nico, the little angsty brat displaced from the timeline, comes out of nowhere with a world-shattering reveal.

House of Hades is already the darkest book in the series and, I think, the most polished and successful with this tone and how it feels so complete. While Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus, the constant clever and horrific callbacks to quests from prior books quite literally come back to haunt them. The others trying to carry on without them, the ridiculously high personal stakes, the drama, the storytelling, it spares no expense in this book.

The Nico vs Cupid scene was something else, though, and all these years later… I’m not so sure it was done for the better.

—

Independent of the Big Reveal, this scene does a lot of things we’d never seen before in this series, namely this: Cupid is scary, and no one expected him to be.

Percy Jackson, though it does have its serious moments, is the series where the god of wine wears leopard print shirts and the god of the seas has a fishing chair for a throne. These characters quip and joke even when they’re trying to be intimidating and Percy’s personality, snarky and sassy and very rarely shooting straight, undercuts a lot of the attempts at looking competent and threatening (and we love him for it).

They’ve fought gods and monsters and demigods and characters have died really tragic deaths, but for the most part, these serious moments all come when we expect them to.

This scene comes out of nowhere and for anyone who hasn’t read the book in a while, here’s the context: Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus and Nico is kind of the de-facto leader in their absence, knowing the most about Tartarus of the remaining crew. He and Jason are sent on a side quest to go retrieve the Staff of Diocletian from Cupid and Nico is not at all happy about this venture, but we don’t know why beyond that he’s Nico and he’s never happy.

Right out of the gate, Cupid is not at all who we expect him to be and this fight scene, absent of Percy, is suddenly very serious. Cupid doesn’t quip, he doesn’t show himself, and he fights dirty. The god of love, not the god of war or anything we expect to be violent and dangerous.

He’s whispering in characters’ heads, throwing them around like ragdolls, and taunting Nico ceaselessly all in Jason’s POV. Cupid gets some seriously badass lines, too.

“I’ve been to Tartarus and back,” Nico snarled. “You don’t scare me.” I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work—a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you—especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy.” [Cupid's] voice sounded smaller, much more human. “Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve faced it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.”

In all this, unfortunately in Jason POV, we’re primed only once by a previous god finally acknowledging that gays exist in this universe. This universe, based on Greek Mythology, famous for its not-straightness. Even then, audiences have spent 7 and a half books accepting that there won’t be any gays. No one is expecting this from Nico.

So when it comes, when Nico reveals he has a crush on Percy… the fandom lost our minds.

—

And I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, looking back. On the one hand, obligatory “we need representation,” but on the other, there was this one reviewer who knew what was up long before anyone else did.

She’d said something along the lines of raising damning concerns that Nico’s entire character arc was now defined by his homosexuality, that this scene frames all his anger, all his hate, all his rage and depression, about this one aspect of his character, and diminishes him because of it.

All these years later, I’m disappointed to say I agree with her.

This book series’ only major canonical gay (so far) is forced out of the closet with a proverbial gun to his head

Now, Nico likely never would have come out without that gun, but the way it happened, especially in front of Jason who he’s not friends with, showing Jason his memories because it’s not Nico’s POV and Jason has to see somehow because Nico sure won’t detail those scenes himself is... not good?

Jason handles it well, as well as he can given that this is Nico, and Cupid is an explicit villain so him forcing Nico out is in-character and not my problem. The narrative forcing Nico out is the problem—that this is a big reveal both to Jason and the audience is the problem.

The book isn’t new and with respect to when it was written and who wrote it, it’s not a terrible scene or terrible representation. But it’s not just forcing Nico out of the closet, either.

All of Nico’s character development is retroactively pinned on his sexuality

I get it. Nico’s… 14? 14 and from an era where being who he is was a death sentence, with zero education on the matter. Internalized homophobia is a thing (though Nico doesn’t actually seem to hate himself for being gay, he hates himself for crushing on Percy. Nor does he hate other gays or the concept).

Nico, though, is the one demigod who can summon any ghost he could dream up to teach him to hate himself a little less. He could have summoned the ghost of Freddie Mercury and what a dazzling mentorship that would have been.

The way the scene is framed makes it look like all of Nico’s rage comes from this one relationship, when it comes from so much more. He’s a son of Hades, a god no one trusts or likes and is synonymous with death, evil, and deceit. His sister, his last living relative, died on a quest as just a teenager. He has no friends at camp, powers that scare people, and is almost a century removed from everything and everyone he knew in his old life.

And he went and left camp *only* because of his crush on Percy? Not for any other reason?

When he does get his crush on Will, that only makes it worse. Nico did have friends, even if he didn’t believe it. He did have Percy and he’d earned the respect of his fellow campers after the Battle of Manhattan. He back-slid in HOH for this reveal, as if a romance is the only thing that could make him happy.

Cupid’s message is the narrative’s message: The only way to conquer love is to face it [in combat]

With a gun to his head, in front of a veritable stranger, instead of in, I don’t know, therapy with Apollo? There couldn’t have been any other way to fit this reveal in? He couldn’t have made his own group therapy session with other ghosts? Persephone or Demeter never sat this boy down for The Talk with a literal captive audience?

And that it’s a “reveal” at all, in incredibly dramatic fashion, a plot twist for shock value. The book couldn’t drop hints in Nico POV? Couldn’t casually state it anywhere at any time in the previous 3 books? Couldn’t treat it at all like this is normal and not a life-or-death situation?

I just feel bad for the kid. Nico can’t be the only demigod who has a guilty, unrequited crush. Cupid is forcing this out of him because that crush happens to be on another boy.

It’s in Jason’s POV

This world shattering, deeply personal reveal, and the character who’s having it isn’t even the narrator. Jason is a fine character and I know why it’s him out of everyone who could have gone with Nico, but this should have been solely Nico’s moment, not Jason’s commentary about Nico’s moment, being a non-consenting voyeur into Nico’s very personal memories about Percy.

Even if it’s not Jason’s POV to retain the surprise, it certainly starts to feel like Jason’s POV to retain the surprise. Jason can still be present, but even then—Cupid needed Nico to face Cupid, not Cupid and Jason.

—

It sucks because the scene as a whole, removed from the context, is incredible. The choreography, the pacing, the intensity of the battle, Cupid as a villain and Nico and Jason’s desperation to just stay alive.

Its impact on the series can’t be ignored. Blood of Olympus is no one’s favorite. It’s a terrible last book and not all that great as a book, period, but the ending?

Among other travesties, Nico confronts Percy, tells him he had a crush on him, and then *immediately* starts pining after Will. Percy doesn’t get the chance to talk to him, stunned at this reveal. They never have a heartfelt conversation about it, what this means for their friendship, how Percy never noticed or how this makes him feel, if he’s at all guilty for potentially leading Nico on and being a bad friend.

We get none of that. Nico just finds a pretty blond boy after, what, four years pining after Percy? One awful confrontation with Cupid and a few lines of dialogue traded with Jason and all his angst and moodiness is cured off-screen.

Can’t Nico go five minutes where he figures out who he is before he’s trading one crush for another? Can he not define himself independently of who he likes for just a couple chapters? He tells Jason after the Cupid fight that he’s over it, but… c’mon, he’s absolutely lying there, or he wouldn’t have been so hurt and upset and hesitant to reveal himself.

I love that he’s popular now, I love that he does have a healthy relationship (one that eclipsed the whole fandom for better or for worse), but the way he went about becoming popular still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Nico did walk so the rest of the series' extended universe could run. We did get Solangelo, we got Apollo being Apollo, we got a world based off Greek Mythology that stops straight-washing history. It's just a shame that he had to be forced out the way he did, and that his whole character is now defined by his relationship with Will.

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo #nico di angelo #solangelo #house of hades #blood of olympus #retrospective

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ikamigami · 5 months

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What happened to Moon's therapy with Earth where she told him to re-establish the bond he had with Sun and Moon agreeing to it? Like Moon, where is the progress in that? Hello??? I get it, Moon and Solar has a lot in common (and that's one of the reasons people ship them together but I digress) but like Sun is his brother. The one who has been there from the start, Old Moon, to now, New Moon. I get it, Moon wants to protect his family that's why he is always keeping things from them but as Earth said before, Sun wants to protect him and everyone else too. Please, I'm so tired of the Solar and Moon show episodes...

Thank you for asking this question, anon!

I hope that you don't mind that I'll use your ask to address the elephant in the room.. which is why Moon is keeping things from Sun once again?

The one conversation I had with my friend on Discord.. reminded me that I saw the shift in how Moon acts towards Sun.. and that it all started when Moon went to Evil Sun's dimension.

I realised that from that moment Moon stopped informing Sun about things and started distancing himself from Sun...

It's also that from that moment Moon started to tease Sun again. First it was Sun turning into a dragon but later Moon started teasing Sun about "the crush he has on Roxanne"...

Moon also stopped calling Sun brother.. and when you remember that Evil Sun told Moon that Sun and Moon being brothers is rare.. things start to make sense...

I thought that showrunners run out of ideas to give us the plot of "past repeats once again" and started using jokes about Sun having crush on Roxanne to fans' annoyance.. but if we take Moon's visit in Evil Sun's dimension into consideration then it all makes sense...

Moon is paranoid and I'm afraid that he's scared that Sun may start acting like Evil Sun.. and he's scared that maybe his brotherhood with Sun isn't that.. deep...

It explains why Moon started distancing himself from Sun and why he started teasing Sun.. it's because Moon sees Sun as his brother and he cares about Sun deeply.. but he's scared of these doubts that appeared in him since the talk with Evil Sun and he tries to be casual about it and that's why he started acting like that towards Sun..

I think that Moon didn't lie to Earth that he trusts Sun with his own life.. but I think that Moon is doubting that trust and he's scared of it.

It's the same thing when you starts to distrust your own family due to how paranoid you are and ofc Moon is scared of it.. Who wouldn't be scared?

But Moon should talk about it with Sun.. Sun needs to know why Moon is distancing himself.. why Moon is pushing Sun away...

Because if Moon won't talk with Sun soon.. something terrible will happen and Moon will regret running away from this issue forever...

Moon doesn't realise how much it is affecting Sun.. how much Sun is suffering because of Moon's decision...

Earth sees that something is off with Sun and she sees that Moon distanced himself from Sun that's why she both tried to reassure Sun that he can talk to her about whatever is bothering him and tried to push Moon to reconnect with Sun...

And like I said Sun is lying that everything is fine and he's in his best mental state.. it's a lie.

He's suicidal and Moon's decision to push Sun away makes Sun feel like he's unneeded and it's pushing him more and more on the edge...

Something tragic will happen.. and I can see it happening in three ways (actually two but.. I'll give three options just because):

Sun will try to sacrifice himself by going after Eclipse or creator - it happened once already so I'd love if showrunners wouldn't do that with Sun again...

BM will attack Sun and Sun will give up - it's very likely to happen.. it was established more than once that BM wants to kill Sun and Sun giving up was hinted in episode when Sun and Moon played Joyville.. Moon said that Sun will give up in life or death situation one day...

Sun will try to kill himself by overusing star's power either on himself or maybe on the voodoo doll - the possibilty is high because Castor reminded Sun twice to not use star's power, Sun throat was hurt similarly to Lunar's and Lunar's throat was hurt due to overusage of their powers.. The thing with voodoo doll is more unlikely to happen...

I think that Earth would push Moon even more to talk to Sun.. bit she's busy dealing with that whole creator situation and it's a big deal for her so I can't blame her for not thinking about Sun and Moon's situation at the moment...

Moon on the other hand is once again prioritizing wrong thing.. He's taking care of Eclipse's situation.. but the thing is Eclipse isn't a threat... He didn't do anything. The only thing that Eclipse is trying to do for now is to find out who brought him back. In other words Eclipse is busy with his own issues...

Moon should talk to Sun. It's more important than Eclipse's or Ruin's situation...

It's not that surprising that Solar doesn't see the issue with the way Moon is distancing himself from Sun.. because Solar doesn't understand how it is affecting Sun and why it is bad for Sun's mental state.. It's because Solar is poorly managing his own feelings and emotions... That's why he doesn't see that there's a problem and that something tragic will happen really soon...

So it seems that I was right and show is really going with Sun is suicidal plot and that's good because it shows us that the story is consistent and that showrunners aren't giving up on some parts of a plot like some of us had thought.

Unfortunately we're heading into one of the most angsty story plots in the show and we need to prepare for it.. At least I'm sure (or I hope so) that Sun won't succeed and he'll only end up in a coma or something similar...

I hope that the answer satisfies you, anon 🙇‍♀️

#sun and moon show #sams #sams sun #sun and moon show sun #sams moon #sun and moon show moon #sams eclipse #sams solar #laes #laes earth #sams evil sun #tw suicide #anon #anon ask #ask answered #sams bloodmoon #sams creator #laes lunar

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ghostinthegallery · 10 months

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I just need everyone to know that I enjoy writing Necrons a *completely normal* amount. And I think about how to write them pretty much the average amount too. Just so we're clear.

But y'all I really like writing for Orikan (and not just because of the banter with Trazyn. That's only like 60% of why)

We went on a journey, him and I. Because I hated his robotic guts for easily 2/3rds of Infinite and the Divine...

In my defense, the scene of him shattering all those ancient ceramics enraged me! I've been going to museums since I could walk. I love art and history! I watch the Great Pottery Throwdown!! He did not start off from a sympathetic place.

But damn it, the bastard grew on me! He's obscenely competent, literally the best at what he does, but that doesn't change the fact that he's essentially a servant to more powerful people and that he is *profoundly lonely*

The thing about a lot of characters who think they are smarter than everyone around them is that they are wrong and usually have an arc about needing to be humbled. Orikan actually is smarter than everyone around him! He runs circles around farseers! He pulls time shenanigans that are considered *impossible* on a semi-regular basis. No one can truly compete with him (well, almost no one, put a pin in that).

Except that means he has no equal, no person he can really relate to, and he's painfully aware of that. Jokes about e-girlfriends aside, meeting Vishani was a dream come true, because she was actually someone Orikan respected, who respected him in return, and who he could talk to like a friend. He got that after waiting millions of years.

Except it was all a lie. The god that damned their people decided to ruin Orikan's day in particular in the most personal way possible.

It's a particularly cruel twist because not only are there no other Necrons for Orikan to consider an intellectual equal, there aren't any he can really TRUST. He warned every single one of them that biotransference would be a disaster and no one listened. Not only that, they forced him to give up his body and soul. He was dragged to the furnaces knowing what was going to happen to him, and it doesn't sound like he's gotten a whole lot of "mea culpas" from anyone.

So yeah, everyone's an idiot, their idiocy cost him his literal soul, and the one time he got the friend he craved it turned out to be an evil star god cosplaying his nerd-crush.

Which is a lot of angst to work with as a writer! And it is fun as hell. There's just one more ingredient that truly elevates this tragedy souffle. Time to take out the pin...

The pin is Trazyn. No one should be shocked by this.

Because the thing is, Orikan *does* have an equal, a counterpart, and someone he can...not trust per se, but at least understand. The only problem is that he does not realize it, because that person is Trazyn. Who Orikan hates. A lot.

Justifiably, to be fair. Trazyn is an asshole (loveable asshole, but still). But more relevantly, Trazyn represents a philosophy Orikan understandably cannot stand. Trazyn represents the past, memory, preservation. None of those things have served Orikan well. Necrontyr society kind of sucked (early deaths to cancer or dying in a war were about the only options). And that was before it fundamentally failed him specifically. Plus, preservation and stasis are anathema to what a chronomancer devotes themselves to being able to do. So yeah, Trazyn may be a genius in his field equal to Orikan, but Orikan does not respect that field, so he can never admit it.

Orikan embodies the "want vs need" principle of character writing. He wants a companion and an equal. He needs to accept that those will not come in the form he expects or even likes. He's nowhere near doing that and it's *deliciously tragic*

How can I not love this hyper-competent, lonely nerd with a tsundere streak and strong motivation to Burn Society to the Ground?

I've been rambling too long, I'm cutting myself off before I start going off about the relationship between Orikan and Imotekh which is admittedly based way less on canon (have they even been in a scene together ever?) and way more my own interpretation and extrapolation.

I'll probably talk about writing other characters too, I love these undead robot idiots to much to shut up

#writing #necrons #orikan the diviner #the infinite and the divine #trazyn the infinite #the silence and the storm #unhinged ramblings #could a depressed person do THIS?#character analysis i guess #i just think they're neat #fanfic

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alfiely-art · 5 months

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I'm voting Kotoko Guilty this round for quite a few reasons. First off, the only other two characters who have been voted guilty are Haruka and Muu. Yk. Minors. Who are already in a shitty mindset, who's verdict will most likely make that worse? Yeah. I would rather not have them beat up by Kotoko. And she WOULD beat them up- she would have beat up Amane if she hadn't been stopped, and Amane is much younger than Haruka and Muu.

I don't even mind her fighting injustice to feel good about herself. I mean, she's still fighting injustice. Regardless of her personal feelings about it, she's still doing good things. It's the way she goes about it that worries me. The article she was reading on her phone states that "more violence than necessary was used". Of course, the article could always be biased, but Kotoko has shown herself to be a violent person. Her call to us to vote everyone else in Milgram as Guilty, regardless of their crime, is a request for us to give her permission to make them her enemy and crush them. She would apply the same amount of force to, say, Yuno- someone who simply had an abortion because she didn't want the baby- as a person who kidnapped a child.

Kotoko sees everything in black and white. Yuno's "crime" of an abortion is just as evil as Haruka's crime of murder. Here's a reminder of the character's crimes (from my understanding):

Haruka: killed out of desperation to be seen, to have his mother finally acknowledge him after he wasn't good enough (ie, neurotypical) to keep up with the other kids.

Yuno: Had an abortion because she didn't want the baby. She didn't have some tragic reason why, she had a normal life. She was simply doing as she pleased.

Fuuta: Took part in cancel culture, which ended up doxxing a minor and she took her own life. He didn't want to accept responsibility for this, but it was clearly weighing on his mind.

Muu: She bullied others with her friends, and then her friends turned on her. She reached out to a classmate for help, but didn't receive any. Muu stabbed her in a panic, after alluding to either her or the classmate dying at the end of all of this.

Shido: Medical malpractice ? I think ? It's still not clear to me idk

Mahiru: Abused her boyfriend until he offed himself due to her sheltered life and toxic positivity. She feels as though she can't change, and she wants someone to love even if it hurts both of them.

Kazui: Lied about romantically loving his wife so that he could fit in to society at large. When he finally opened up about his feelings, the shock of it all caused his wife to end her life. He cared for her, but can't continue lying like this.

Amane: Killed her abuser, and is clinging to religion to both justify it to herself and comfort herself.

Mikoto: Still unclear whether he or John did the murder, how many murders there were, who was murdered, etc. The focus isn't exactly on the murder, moreso how mentally ill people are pushed to their limit with no support or help from others and the unhealthy coping mechanisms that can arise from that.

She tells us to throw away our sympathy. But understanding and kindness and sympathy are so so so important- not just in Milgram, but everywhere else, too. Yes, these are just characters, but a popular theory is that they represent societal issues. And I do believe that's true. They may not be real, but they represent real problems real people face. By ignoring the nuance, we blindly swing at whatever we're told is "guilty". Kotoko only attacked the prisoners we announced as Guilty. She won't act on her own moral code, merely the law. We are the law in Milgram, so she follows us.

I adore Kotoko, but her mindset is genuinely dangerous. While this is unlikely (cough, Amane) I hope her Guilty vote will help her. But it probably won't- Guilty votes destroy a person. But I can't vote her Innocent, either. I don't forgive her for her black and white thinking. Thus, she is Guilty to me. I'm very curious how she'll develop after this. I'm a little scared, too, but oh well.

#milgram #textpost #milgram kotoko #kotoko yuzuriha #opinions #milgram voting #if you disagree id love to hear your perspective #about kotoko i mean. shes the focus #i adore her but she scares me also

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runabout-river · 6 months

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As antagonist who do you think is better between Sukuna, Kenjaku, or Toji? Why? How will you rank them?

Because the story isn't finished yet, it's difficult to rate Kenjaku and Sukuna, so their part will be incomplete here and I'll hopefully don't forget to revisit this ask and answer in like 9 months.

Toji is a fantastic antagonist especially if you count his actual panel and screen time into the massive impact he had on the characters and plot. He's intelligent, a planer and powerful but he still had his fatal flaws like his pride with which he gambled his life away.

His presence is still felt into the present storyline in addition to his temporary revival having another huge impact on the plot. Personally, I love his tragic past and his tragic relationship with Megumi the most.

Kenjaku is the technical main villain of the story because he's the one who actually pushes the plot (of the present timeline) forward. He's the active antagonist and his intelligence and 1000 years of experience make him fascinating every time he's in a panel but for me the plotting parts from Shibuya and before were a bit boring. He really came into himself after the reveal of his identity and especially after we found out that he's Yuji's mother.

He reminds me a bit of Aizen from time to time but Gege made the right call in not turning him into a master planer and "everything according to keikaku" kind of guy. Instead, he does plan things but more than wanting things to go his way, he wants things to end up in chaos in a mad scientist way, which is extremely good to look at and think about. Hopefully, we get a Heian flashback of him (or her).

Sukuna is the de facto main villain and he's awesome if not flat at times. We don't get to see much of his personality except "arrogant bad guy, hates the protagonist + a little bit of a gay crush on the deuteragonist". But still, every scene he's in he dominates.

He dominates the good guys and he dominates the bad guys. Sukuna putting Mahito into his place at the beginning and him just straight up fighting and killing Jogo are one of my favorite parts of the manga because they put him into this antagonistic Other role and enhance his presence as the most evil and free character.

Between these 3, I'll put Toji at the top because we've seen everything from him, which isn't true for Sukuna and Kenjaku. Sukuna might take the top spot of we get into his personality a bit more because right now, even though I love what we've seen from him thus far, he's still a little too flat for my tastes.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #sukuna #toji fushiguro #kenjaku #ryomen sukuna #kenjaku jjk #ask #meta

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ckret2 · 1 year

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Wait what's up with Dr. Horrible?? (I never watched it I just know of the song Brand New Day and that's it)

Okay so short plot summary: the main character is a mad scientist/aspiring supervillain who's presented as an earnest, nerdy, likable guy. We're intended to find him sympathetic; his villainous goals are comically cliché and he has some moral standards he sticks to, like we mainly see him commit property crimes but he refuses to kill people.

He has a crush on a very nice idealistic girl who wants to feed the homeless.

His nemesis is a smug handsome dudebro superhero whose collateral damage from his fights is arguably worse than what the villain himself would have done. The superhero ends up dating the idealistic girl after saving her from a near-death experience he himself caused by breaking the villain's machinery.

The superhero says some douchey misogynistic things about his new girlfriend to Dr. Horrible in private, so, naturally, he decides to compromise his values and murder the superhero. Through no fault of Dr. H's own (the narrative would like us to believe), the superhero makes the weapon malfunction in a way that, instead, kills the girl. Dr. H is broken-hearted and despondent but finally recognized by society as a true supervillain.

So, good nerd "villain" VS bad jock "hero" and the nice girl takes the douchebag with muscles.

This was several years before the "incel vs chad" meme took off—but it's hauntingly familiar in hindsight.

The thing is, even though the main character does have his "villain" moments, the way it's written makes it pretty clear the audience is supposed to be on his side. His evil is cartoonish and funny rather than things that actually tend to bother viewers, we're supposed to want to see him win over the girl and be mad that she went for the jock. Not only is HE your typical "nice guy (who isn't nice)" who doesn't understand why he skeeves out girls—but the STORY thinks he's genuinely a nice guy, too*.

(*This is the part that's controversial. Some people think "nah, Joss Whedon knew exactly what he was doing, we ARE supposed to recognize that he's really just a creep in defiance of how the narrative frames him, it's an unreliable narrator thing" and other people think "Joss really thinks Dr. Horrible is a tragic underdog who deserved to get the girl." Personally, I think the truth is somewhere in between, but it's closest to "tragic underdog.")

Except, Dr. Horrible is a supervillain! That's what makes the whole thing extra interesting. On a surface level, this is your basic role-reversal type story, "the supervillain is actually the hero and the superhero is actually the villain"—but once you recognize Dr. Horrible isn't quite as much a decent guy as the narrative paints him, the role reversal reverses: "the villain really is villainous, he's your typical vengeful entitled incel, but seeing the story through his eyes he can't see himself that way."

It's really a masterfully done unreliable narrator story breaking down the toxic incel "girls only don't like me because I'm nerdy" "they go for bad boys with muscles" "if I can't get a girl it's my right to lash out at the world" viewpoint, done convincingly enough that you can totally buy into the narrator's skewed perspective. (Like, it took years before I started seeing this "it's a breakdown of nerd culture toxic masculinity" interpretation of Dr. H in mainstream discussions. Some people might've been saying it at the time but it was nowhere near as widespread as it is now; when it first came out, just about every discussion I saw took it for granted that the narrative considers Dr. H the "good guy.")

But, on the other hand, it's only an okay trope role reversal story. Like it's pretty good? It's all right. It's fine.

The story is better if you look at it saying "Dr. H really is the bad guy here, but is so deep in his head neither he nor the narrative sees that" and worse if you look at it saying "Dr. H is a misguided good guy stuck in a tragedy."

And yet, I'm pretty confident "misguided good guy" was the authorial intent. For other folks who believe that was the intent, in order to let the narrative truly flourish, they have to interpret it in a way that directly defies what they assume the author wants; in order to say "the main character is blind to his true nature" they also have to say "the author is blind to the main character's true nature." And I think that's fascinating.

#dr. horrible #anonymous #ask

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