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I wonder if there's deep ugly feeling inside Sora that didn't want Riku to change for the better.

The Kingdom Key wasn't originally meant for Sora but it doesn't matter to him that he gained it fairly. It'd matter to him that it wasn't his. He almost fell to darkness in 3D. He was tricked but it doesn't matter that there are cruel adults willing to manipulate anyone and everyone. It matters that he was naive enough to get tricked. It doesn't matter that he survived this. It matters that he lost his powers. It doesn't heal his pride that he was able to save Kairi. He failed to survive it and "prove himself". And he's not completely happy Riku became a Keyblade Master because he didn't become one with him. If they can't be equal then he wants to be better. And if he can't be better, then a part of him wants to...I think ugly feelings like this would be what is brought to the surface if he fell to darkness and faced Riku in battle.

If Riku saves him, it'll be phenomenal narratively for HIM but what about Sora? What of his pride? Always needing to be saved? I want to see what created the part of Sora that challenged Riku over Kairi like she was a mere object to be won like that'd somehow make one of them better than the other. Was it not feelings of inferiority? He said he wanted to be like Riku originally but states he's fine with who he is now in KH2. I don't buy it, however, because he only says it after Riku admits that he wanted to be like Sora. So what happens then when he sees Riku happy being himself for the first time in a long time? Does the need to be stronger come back but he suppresses it and his other ugly feelings through his gained maturity? And does he lose that grasp on it when he falls to darkness? Because it's GOING to happen.

This boy needs genuine consoling and he needs it now.

#black rose arc energy #kingdom hearts #soriku #it probably is a slap in the face for sora to finally find something he’s better at than riku #only for riku to surpass him again #there can’t be a number one without a number two #a winner without a loser #and past riku did not hesitate to intentionally make sora feel inferior #to stroke his own ego #riku’s not like that anymore obviously but wounds like that stick around #especially when they aren’t really treated #i do think kh1 was important because it did shatter the perceived inequality between them #sora proved he could be just as good if not better than riku and riku was humbled #but every installment after that has served to challenge that confidence sora found in kh1 #i don’t doubt that there’s a part of him — a part he cannot reconcile — that is bitter and does want to drag riku down #that’s probably mixed in with the general unprocessed pain riku has caused him #but sora would be so mad at himself if he admitted he has these angry or selfish thoughts/feelings #like. i love you and i resent you and i hate myself for it

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I’m not a mugman kinnie mugmans a me kinnie

#last one he’s just like me #cuphead

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I feel it's important you all know this is the cat Astarion is based on.

#now why did neil name him red #bg3

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Thinking about redemption yesterday got me thinking about fallen heroes today, and how rare it is to see a character initially painted as a hero be driven to heinousness for legitimate reasons.

Often times, if a hero goes bad, it's because of an external force corrupting their mind. Or it's a misunderstanding and they were secretly still good all along. Or they were just having a rough day and they'll be good again in five minutes.

We rarely see get to see heroes go sour purely on their own merits. Maybe because their values weren't so benign as they'd seemed when pushed to a natural conclusion. Maybe because they expected too much of themselves or of others. Or maybe personal experience taught them to believe something else.

Whatever the case, as often as writers will attempt to examine the transformative power of better angels, we rarely get to see the transformative power of worse devils.

Which brings me to....

Sayaka Miki is a character that holds a special place in my heart, not for overcoming her flaws but for being consumed by them. She's a cautionary tale into the perils of righteousness.

I need to preface this by bringing up that the characters of Madoka Magica are children. They're irrational, judgmental, ignorant of risk, and quick to throw themselves into horrible mistakes with absolute confidence. Because they're children. That's how this works. The villain of the series is a psychological predator who feeds on the impulsivity and poor judgment of youth, grooming them into self-destruction.

The entire system of Magical Girls exists to give these children enough rope to hang themselves with and then to kick the ladder out from under them. That is the plot, with Sayaka being the primary means by which the show demonstrates the complete journey from rope to ladder.

I just. I need you to understand that even at her worst, Sayaka is a victim of predatory incentives and calculated coercions meant to cultivate her worst traits while stripping her of hopes and dreams. To drown her in mistakes she could never take back. She didn't have the life experience to know better. That's why her predator targets children.

Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. It's not immediately apparent when we meet her, but Sayaka's fatal flaw is ego. Her moral compass is wound extremely tight, and it's only later that we realize it's wound around her neck.

Like many children, Sayaka is trying on an identity moreso than expressing her inner self. She wants to be altruistic. She wants to be selfless. She wants to be a true hero. She wants to live by nothing more than high-minded ideals, expecting no reward for her efforts (but receiving it all the same).

She wants to be the kind of person that Mami was.

But she has no idea who Mami was. She wasn't there to see Mami fracture. To see her break down in vulnerability and express the isolating misery she lives in.

Sayaka didn't see that. She only saw how cool Mami looked when she was killing Witches. So when she tries on an identity, she's specifically trying on the identity of Mami - blissfully unaware that her interpretation of Mami was nothing but a mask. She is emulating the behavior of a victim already consumed by the predatory incentives she's accepting.

Sayaka was doomed from the moment she made her wish.

Once again, the show does a brilliant job of concealing this at first. Right off the bat, it's easy for Sayaka to be the hero. She saves both her BFFs Madoka and Hitomi from a Witch in her debut adventure, before being immediately thrust into a moral argument that's super easy for her to win.

This is what a hero looks like! Should we stand by and let monsters eat people YES/NO

Sayaka says no. Sayaka says letting monsters eat people is bad. Solid Bioware-level moral dilemma she's got here. Sayaka won +10 Paragon points for the choices she picked out of this conversation tree, lemme tell you!

Moments like this work to disguise what's going on here with Sayaka. Obviously Sayaka's making good choices and doing the right thing when the alternative is Kyoko going "Want me to break your crush's limbs so he needs you for life support?" That's awful, so since Sayaka's against it then that means she must be right. Right?

Kyoko is the devil. Sayaka is the paragon.

But this is a story about nuanced and complex people. Sayaka isn't that person. Sayaka likes the idea of being that person. She's being dishonest - With herself, with others around her, and with the universe.

She's trying on an identity, not fully understanding who she really is or what her limitations are.

Incidentally, so is Kyoko, which is what makes their Yin and Yang dichotomy so potent. Having never been tested like this before, Sayaka is more selfish than she truly understands - While Kyoko, damaged by trauma, is more selfless than she wants to believe.

The thing Sayaka doesn't quite grasp is that, to an extent, it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to want things for yourself. Again, the identity she's trying to live up to was a lie to begin with. She only saw the mask; Never the humanity underneath. So she fails to recognize her own humanity; Her own needs and wants and desires.

She imprisons her own mind in a cage of altruism.

Sayaka is warned multiple times against spending her wish on another person. But she doesn't understand the perils of it. She lacks the necessary perspective to grasp the level of sacrifice she's making. (Because she is a child. I cannot stress this point enough.)

When she makes her wish, Sayaka wants her sacrifice reciprocated. She wants to be rewarded. But she doesn't want to want that. She wants to be the selfless hero for Kyosuke. To silently grant him a miracle because it's the right thing to do for her friend. But she expects, without consciously thinking about it, that the universe will deliver her nice things because she is good.

But life doesn't work like that. It doesn't give you things you aren't willing to reach for. Sayaka said she just wanted him to be happy. She just wanted to help people. She just wanted to dedicate her life to virtue and altruism, with no wants or needs or desires of her own.

Kyoko was being cruel and unfeeling when she suggested crippling Kyosuke; She was trying to express a mask of selfishness, the same way Sayaka's been trying to express a mask of selflessness. But she wasn't the only person telling Sayaka that it was a mistake to do this. She's just the only person who said it after the fact.

So the universe calls her bluff. While Sayaka waits for her sacrifices to be rewarded, fracturing more and more from learning what those sacrifices truly entail, someone else claims her prize. The work gets harder, not just physically but emotionally. And she only gets what she asked for. Nothing more.

This is what a hero looks like. She wanted to be Mami.

Remind me. What was Mami's reward for her sacrifices?

Oh. Yeah. That's right.

The thing of it is, there is a reward for a Magical Girl's sacrifices. There is a prize you're meant to receive for the unjust hardships and self-destruction that you're volunteering to undertake.

It's the fucking wish.

That she, in her righteousness, gave away.

Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. Her fatal flaw is ego. She was undone by arrogance expressed in ignorance, not of glory the way we often think of egotistic people, but of righteousness. She held herself to a standard no reasonable person could ever live up to, and it crushed her as it came crashing down.

And yet, she was a victim all the same. Because she was walked, hand-in-hand, to that pier by a predator. Children are meant to learn from their mistakes. Not to die for them.

#god. beloved #fave #pmmm

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don't you recognise me?

#if i ever stop thinking about this scene I’m dead #kingdom hearts #soriku #the way riku can see through all the illusions but THIS one trips him up #a home brewed nightmare from the depths of his unspoken fears #that he is irredeemable. that sora believes he’s irredeemable #that sora will never forgive him. they will never be friends again #which contrasts really well with sora’s side of the game and his fear that riku hates him and will never be his friend again #shown through repliku #but riku’s expression here never fails to wreck me #the horror. the devastation #and how he’s ready to just let ‘sora’ kill him #riku has been wrestling with his darkness and trying to make a change the entire game #but if sora says it’s too late he’s too far gone it must be true right #if sora believes he should be destroyed then maybe he should be #raaaaahhhh rattling the bars of my cage #so much of our identity comes from how others perceive us. especially the people we love most #this scene rattles riku so much it haunts him until the end of kh2 #until the real sora makes it clear that he will always recognize riku as riku #he will always love him

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#dhkhhfhdhsh #yeah #cuphead #su

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minthara at the circus 🕸️🎪 + bonus:

#my good friend minthara is the funniest person I know #bg3

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MA’AM ?????

#going through so many drafts rn and omg this is so funny of her #kingdom hearts

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I miss when rose quartz/pink diamond used to be drawn with messier hair actually

#su

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do naruto and sasuke like cats :3

yeh they like cats

#so true #naruto #sns

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anti-aqua

#kingdom hearts

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nothing else matters. only cuphead

#i would commit crimes for them #cuphead

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Usagi Tsukino

#sailor moon

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why do you hate swifties so much

because they aligned themselves with the treacherous count dooku

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animals are celebrities to children. children are like "i love this guy" when they see an animal

#me too

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I find it interesting how Roxas is often described as the “angry one” or “short-tempered one” when compared to Sora or Ventus, mostly because I always felt Sora and Ven have a shorter fuse than Roxas.

The association between Roxas and anger is understandable, because many of Roxas’ most poignant moments in the series happen when he is very (and understandably) angry, but I also feel like it’s a disservice to his character to only reduce him to his anger, especially when it’s far from who he is in normal circumstances.

For example, during Days, many Organization members treat him poorly and insult him to his face and, for the most part, Roxas doesn’t react at all. In Halloween Town, Lock, Shock, and Barrel throw bombs in his face multiple times before Roxas finally snaps at them. He senses that many people around him are keeping things from him, but it takes him months before he confronts someone about it. That’s far from someone I’d consider short-tempered or easy to anger.

The only situation I can think of when we see him get upset quickly is if anyone does or says something bad to Xion and, even then, the most of his reaction is verbally snapping at Saix to make him stop disrespecting her. In Axel’s case (when Roxas is upset with him for attacking Xion), Roxas doesn’t confront him at all, he just avoids him altogether. Also, I think it’s important to note that every moment in which Roxas is very angry happens when his entire life is falling apart, which is a situation in which, I believe, everyone would be upset.

Roxas seems the kind of person who bottles everything up without much reaction until it becomes too much and he explodes, and that’s when he has a hard time controlling his anger/emotions. Having spent most of his life in the organization probably plays a part in it as, every time he brings up any emotion, his feelings are invalidated and suppressed. That’s not an environment that gave him the tools to process strong emotions in a healthy way.

Let’s compare that to Ventus. Ven is the definition of short-tempered in BBS. He’s ready to throw hands with Vanitas the moment he says something remotely bad about Terra, which was minutes after he met him for the first time. He fought the dwarves without a second thought just because they refused to talk with him. His first reaction when he becomes small and is trapped in a mousetrap is to shout. These are just some examples from the top of my head, but it’s clear Ven has a shorter fuse than Roxas.

Ventus usually expresses how he feels in any given situation and has a short fuse. On the flip side, he doesn’t seem to hold on to these feelings at all. He externalises them the moment he feels them, but then he lets it go and it doesn’t bother him anymore. Out of the three of them, Ventus seems the most open about his emotions and, from what I remember, when he opens up about feeling a certain way with his friends, his feelings are usually not invalidated nor brushed aside. In UX, Ventus seems calmer and doesn’t have much anger in him, but he’s still open to expressing his feelings of low self-worth and sadness with the other union leaders.

Sora, I think he falls in the middle? He seems to have a shorter temper compared to Roxas, which was especially clear in KH2, where he snaps at the Organization multiple times, but he also bottles up his emotions more than Ven, especially around his friends. This happens mostly with his sadness, which he always tries to hide or brush aside, but in KH3 we can also see, for example, how much he’s bothered by everyone constantly bringing up him not passing the Mark of Mastery, even if he tries not to show it.

I think Sora feels like he should always be happy for his friends’ sake, and even during the rare moments when he tries to express his sadness, his feelings are not truly welcomed (“No frowning. No sad faces. This boat runs on happy faces”), so he just tries to brush it off as a joke. He’s loud in expressing any kind of positive emotion, and he openly expresses his anger against his enemies (and to his friends too, sometimes), but he also doesn’t hold on to that anger and is pretty forgiving. However, he usually bottles up his sadness, low self-esteem and other negative feelings, and then explodes when he can’t hold it together any longer (like it happened at the Keyblade Graveyard when he thought all his friends were gone forever).

#i think this is why I’ve never been able to vibe with fandom roxas content #kingdom hearts #part of roxas’ uh widespread mischaracterization ig also i think comes from people believing what‘s said over what’s shown #when in kh you really cannot blindly trust what the characters say #diz especially is proven wrong about p much everything he assumes and claims

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The Beast that Bothers

#luke #cats