#(by which i mean at least the first one doesn't die tragically)

[fallenlightsif]

Since the chapter is now public, I just need to share this here, not only on Patreon...

So, I may have said that before, but I'm a "one canon route" type of player. Which also means that no matter the amount of delicious ROs you create, I normally commit to one...

And ever since the very first posts about this game, I'm commited to Orion.

But then... E... E was tempting me more and more and more... And with the latest update... well it was too much. You're one of the veeeery few authors who made me create a second save just to romance a different character than my primary choice, because I just can't resist anymore. I can't even express just how much I love them. It obviously doesn't make me love Orion any less, but I just can't resist E. And I'll be honest, Julian is making it hard too - but for the time being I'm staying strong (we'll see if it lasts!).

Also, E's latest extra story on Patreon is pure delight and I live for that.

That's it. I just needed to gush about E... And now that I see my post, I actually didn't necessarily have to wait for the public release since it doesn't contain spoilers.......

Now that I think of it though, romancing E feels especially tragic somehow? At least with a crush existing before MC's "death" and having already chosen some romance oriented option by the time it happens. I mean, considering their struggles, and how they really thought THEY would die with the arrow incident and all that... it must be such a cruel twist of fate from their perspective that they survived but MC ends up dying shortly (I'm assuming) later...

There are multiple facets of E’s story that end up making a rather tragic story. Just consider the fact that they are a conjuror as well, and someone who hates their talents to boot.

E has been used as a pawn their entire life by their parents as an eldest child. They’ve gone along with it to spare their siblings. I’m so glad they’ve had a good reception from readers and can’t wait to share more of their story!

#answered asks

[lovifie]

Immortal!Ghost x Reader that always comes back

The first time they met, they grew up together. Neighbours on their little village, since they met Simon felt this attraction towards her. Every second of the day, his mind was flooded with her.

She didn't feel it. A new soul, too anxious to experience, too eager to see, too impatient to learn.

In her first life, she died young, a tragic death that the whole village mourned. A young woman who curiously travelled inside the forest ignoring the threats behind the tree line.

Simon took it the hardest, they were supposed to go there together, but they argued about something so silly, and he stayed home while she perished.

But he never forgot her. And when he grew up, a grown man, travelling to close villages for his business, he felt the attraction again. Feeling mad at himself for breaking your trust, he waited for the woman to turn, as if ready to fault you for his reaction.

But he came face to face with you. Again. After so many years, there you were. He could feel the tears prick at his eyes, teasing to fall; and he felt as if he had been punched on his lungs the moment you looked back at him.

To Simon, he was looking at his old love, the one that never returned said love, that he lost so long ago. But to you, an older man, crying, was looking at you. So you quickly run back to your house, away from him.

Simon doesn't remember much of your second life, there are so many that blend together, at least those on which you didn't love him back. He hates those the most when he had to live through centuries of looking for you, finding you, watching you fall in love with somebody else and then, as always, die.

But sometimes, there are lives in which you would look back at him, with so much love in your eyes. Not as much as Simon, that would be impossible, Simon had a millennium's worth of love saved up inside his heart and you barely had a decade or two; still, you came second to the competition.

At some point, he stopped ageing, or at least it slowed down to the point it seems he stopped. He was relieved he did, keeping his image of 30-something Simon Riley. But it still added pressure to him; now on top of having to find you, there were lives where he needed to stay in the shadows, waiting for the woman he knew you were going to grow up to be.

He was patient, he needed to be, and he didn't mind waiting. At least, in those lives where you were not together, you keep meeting death at a young age. Always involving yourself with dangerous people or just plain old stupid. Not in the lives you were with him, you always died peacefully of old age in the lives you stayed together, impressed with how young he looked, and with him taking care of you until your last breath.

Having lived so many lives, some memories blend into each other and some simply get forgotten, but there are some he remembers as if they just happened.

Like when you first kissed him, or when you first said you loved him, when he first held you at night or when he almost messed it up once.

He thought you were ready to know the truth, that he knew you from many lives ago, that he was immortal and that you have died so many times he couldn't keep count. You almost left your home that night, only stopping after hearing him:

"Wait, you thought I was serious?" Simon laughed. "That's crazy, love. I was just playing, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

He never tried it again.

In any of your lives did you have kids, he was selfish enough to keep you only for himself. But having a kid, knowing that he would outlive him, and at some point he would disappear to look for you again without being able to give an explanation. It was not the child's fault Simon was a selfish man. But he was patient.

In some lives, you would reappear close. On one live, he found you going out of his house, meeting you next door when you moved into the apartment next to his.

On other ones, you would reappear further away. On some, he wasn't even able to find you. He came face to face with you once when you stayed in Manchester for a while, only being there for work. You didn't even speak English in that life, not to worry, he quickly got to work on learning your language just so he could tell you how much he loved you in a language you would understand.

Now, he could almost speak every single language in the world, not wanting to risk wasting time, even though he was a patient man.

As you were reincarnated again and again, he noticed your personality change. In your earliest lives, you were so energetic, always looking for trouble, getting under his skin, ready to run around the world. As lives went on, you began to be calmer, preferring being a listener rather than a talker.

Simon didn't mind, of course, you always remained kind, gentle and as lovely as in your first life.

Simon was a patient man, he had waited for you so many many lives. Always finding you, always meeting you. You always came back.

You are taking your time on this occasion, but he doesn't worry. He is a patient man.

The original attraction is slowly growing weaker as time goes on, but he doesn't worry. You always come back.

He is starting to forget the last time he saw you, but he doesn't worry. He is a patient man.

You usually only take a couple of decades to come back, but this time is growing closer to a century. But he doesn't worry, you always come back.

Simon Riley is a patient man. And you have always come back.

Masterlist

Hii, how are you?

I got this idea today and needed to write it and post it before I forgot or regretted it. So I hope you guys like it 💗

I'm testing out the "permanent" taglist, I'm adding the link if you want to be included it is also on the masterlist.

P Taglist: @whos-fran @thevoidwriting @sklt987659 @kayden666 @thatonepupkai @glocuseguardian3rd @Nothankyew @darkangel4121 @dumb12bvtch1212

#call of duty #cod x reader #cod #call of duty x reader #cod modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare #cod mwii #ghost #simon ghost riley #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost cod #simon riley #ghost imagine #simon ghost imagine #simon ghost x you

[faelapis]

pmmm rebellion: the flower scene

*inhales*

i like pmmm rebellion. a lot. i'd go so far as to say it’s one of my favorite movies. but i've never liked the interpretation from some, of this scene. the flower scene. essentially, the idea is that homura was right in how madoka was "miserable" as a god. because madoka "agreed with her" in the flower scene.

as a baseline, i will say right off the bat that i think pmmm is a franchise where you can never fully escape tragedy. i think any ending to this story will be bittersweet, and there is a certain amount of sacrifice and misery inherent in its very concept.

that being said. i don't think madoka becoming a god was as tragic as homura makes it out to be. i don't think its just a hero sacrificing herself for the greater good. i think it's more. and i think this scene, as much as it is a conversation, is also an act of self-delusion.

this one-note interpretation of madoka as a tragic sacrifice (in how she herself feels) is ignoring... well. the context of the whole series. which homura herself is also ignoring. by which i mean, she was a quite the unreliable narrator in how she described the sacrifice / miracle madoka would go on to perform.

for the record, i think there is something both selfish and selfless to homura. i think she genuinely believes she is helping madoka. and i think homura thinks that's all she wants. this is not an attempt to slander her - but more about how i think she has an incomplete understanding of madoka, and what madoka wants in life.

basically, i'm not trying to argue here that madoka's sacrifice is just good "for the world." obviously, it is. we already know that. what i'm trying to argue is that i think it - in some ways - is also good for madoka herself. not in an uncomplicated way, but that its not all bad. that she gets something out of being this godlike being. at the very least, i think it is better for madoka than the world homura creates.

okay. so. flower scene. homura pretty vaguely just says “you’re going to be separated from everyone you love." which, on its own, is pretty sad. she mentions that there's something "only (madoka) can do". and that madoka, being selfless, would do this because she feels she has to. that it is a tragedy.

what homura doesn't mention is madoka becoming this godlike, conceptual being who is everywhere at all times. which is a pretty big fucking thing to leave out. homura might as well have said “you’re going to be separate from ME, and that’s going to make ME sad” for how honest she was about the context of the situation.

in short, homura is framing the situation as tragically as possible because she wants madoka to say what she wants to hear. she wants to be told that it was miserable. because homura was miserable.

essentially, what homura says will happen: you'll be away from everyone forever. it will accomplish ~something~, but i will not tell you what. it will make me very sad. please comfort me. (which madoka does, because of course. lest we forget part of what she says is she would never want to make someone as strong as homura sad.)

what actually happens: you will have the power to save every magical girl from suffering. you will become a conceptual god, which will remove you from your human life. but you will also be with every magical girl, always, and give them comfort. you will not only have your own agency, but make sure that the wishes of magical girls everywhere MATTER and don't end in despair. including your own. even when you would become a witch and despair, you will save yourself. and when i die, i will be with you as well.

i think by framing it this way, homura IS being honest about how it "felt" to her. but homura also misunderstands what madoka wants.

first of all, madoka's life as a regular human... well, i'm not going to say it was unhappy. but i think it was unfulfilled. i think madoka was an insecure girl without much sense of what she wanted in life. and it was also ignorant. ignorant of the pain of the world, of the suffering that other magical girls had gone through. it was privileged, but it was also, in this way, empty.

madoka’s self-actualization (in the series) has a lot to do with helplessness vs being able to make a difference. in short, she wants agency. what her wish does is give her that agency, which she trades for her life as a normal human.

what homura’s wish does is the reverse. it’s giving madoka her humanity back, but in return, she no longer has agency. she doesn’t get to do the self-actualization of becoming someone with the power to help others. she is, in that sense, suppressed.

so. like. yes, THAT “regular magical girl who knows zero context of her own character arc” version of madoka? of COURSE she doesn’t want to leave everyone behind. big duh. she isn’t told what it would accomplish (in any specific terms), she isnt aware of how it would create a version of herself with the power to change the world. nor is she acquainted with the non-magical girl version of her in the pmmm series, who had no agency at all until she chose to become a god.

in the series, that is not a moment of despair for madoka. that is when she finds hope. that is when she attains a world where she can give rest to all magical girls. and give herself a reason to fight. that hope and determination carries her, and she is with it forever.

it’s also worth noting, rebellion!madoka's not just saying it would make her sad. she is also doubting herself. she's saying she is far “too spineless” to do it. how she's this weak, helpless person who would never be able to leave people for a greater calling.

putting aside how she’s not really gone / at least exists in this abstract way - she is also demonstrating how she doesn't believe in herself. so even this "happy" magical girl version of madoka still has some of the helpless insecurity of her series counterpart. she may live a relatively peaceful life, but she is not fulfilled. she lacks the purpose, determination and hope of her series counterpart.

in other words, even this version of madoka needs to self-actualize. and part of her knows that. in homura's "happy" new realm, madoka "feels wrong." she seems shy and insecure. ill at ease. uncomfortable. like she's at the start of her arc, not the end. yet the godlike power within her refuses to be erased. it can only be held back. for now.

in a way, i see homura trapping madoka a bit like the symbolism of not letting someone grow up. sure, adulthood might not be as "simple and happy" as childhood, but it also gives you knowledge and agency in life. it allows you to learn & grow, understand the world as it is, make educated choices in who you want to be, and become that best version of yourself. THAT is what madoka is denied. that is how she feels wrong in this “happy” illusion realm that homura creates.

also. god madoka would definitely be a lot happier if she could be with homura in heaven and have the ability to save her lol.

but there's a problem with that, for homura. and that problem is, that would give madoka the agency in the situation, and leave homura the passive receiver of blessings. which is at odds with homura’s own desire for control. like madoka, she wants to not be helpless and have the ability to affect the story. after all, she did fail to stop madoka in the series. i think homura wants some of that agency, too. hence the imagery of her soul gem going from a pawn to a queen.

essentially, i see this as a conflict between two sides who want to be in charge of their own destinies. they've been stripped of their agency by the world, and they want to have it back - no matter what it would cost. this is what they have in common.

when homura refused to join madoka in "magical girl heaven", she was ultimately refusing happiness for the sake of agency. for the sake of being able to be "madoka's hero." that's what she always wanted to be, and failed to be in the original series.

tl;dr: there is something tragic in madoka's wish. for sure. but i think it gives madoka agency in the world, which she always wanted. i think being able to help others can be genuinely fulfilling for the individual, rather than just a sacrifice. it’s empowering, as much as it is the loss of old self. and i think homura wants to feel like that kind of hero, too - no matter what. they both do.

*exhales*

#pmmm #madoka kaname #homura akemi #madoka #puella magi madoka magica #not su / #long post / #for the record we all agree that in an ideal world none of this would fall on the shoulders of middle schoolers #but that’s not why these stories are written #in madoka as with any young anime protagonist it has as much to do with the world of being the burdened protagonist 14 yr olds want to see #and to the symbolic fears dangers and perils that come with being 14. learning about the world and shedding childhoods naïveté etc

[dungeonegg]

Congratulations on your recent return from the dead! As one of the lucky few who’ve achieved such a thing, you’ve earned some special little bonuses. Of course, there’s a second chance at life, though admittedly the paperwork will likely be a pain and reintegration isn’t always a smooth go, but also you’re now eligible to partake in Dungeons! And as we all know, that means getting to discover your own unique set of skills to aid in traversing the Dungeons.

Of course, stumbling into the mysteries of the Tragic Twelve was never part of the speel they gave you when you became a Player. Nor was the sudden contracts with the deceased members of Nilrex Guild, the Players whose massacre revealed a truth no one wanted: you only get two tries at life.

----------------

Play as a newly returned to life Player with necromatic abilities

Get adopted by a trouble magnet with floppy ears and a habit of stowing away in order to escape said trouble.

Figure out the mystery of the Tragic Twelve - a series of traumatic events that resulted in the involved Players 'retiring' and refusing to enter Dungeons, assuming they didn't end up ultimately vanishing from the face of the earth. The culmination of these tragedies, the Nilrex Guild Annihilation, was the first time anyone realized that Players who die die.

--------------------------------

This is my first attempt at IF. Things will change and honestly, I'm figuring things out along the way in terms of characters and whatnot. Honestly I'm not sure if there will be any elements of romance in this.

Updates are likely to be on the slower side. I work two jobs and don't have days off.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure if this will be ChoiceScript or Twine. Since this is my first IF, I'm not at all familiar with how the coding process works on either platform so it'll be a matter of which one I understand in the end.

--------------------------------

CW: child death, more CW will be added as they arise!

-Danny Danny, as the sole survivor of Nilrex, has been deemed MIA by the public, leading to plenty of speculation as to whether or not they were involved in the massacre. However, when you find yourself in danger, it's Danny who keeps you alive. Does that mean they plan to stick around? No, not at all. But with your new allies refusing to let you leave Danny be, it's certain that Danny's going to be playing a role in your life. Whether that's something Danny wants or not remains to be seen.

-Rowe The mysterious guild leader of Nilrex, Rowe may have died twice already but that doesn't mean they're about to let that stop them. Despite their best efforts to appear the least of the guild, there's a reason they led so many whacky, frankly overpowered, Players without anyone staging an uprising. At least, a serious uprising. Apparently Fridays were 'stage a coup' days. Regardless, Rowe's leading you down a path, just like they did the guild. Where that path leads remains to be seen.

-Divondra The drag queen vice guild leader of Nilrex, even a second death won't stop Divondra. Wrangling the guild members may be what Divondra was best known for, but there's certainly more to them than just that. Divondra's always been Rowe's greatest help, whether that's been in terms of things with the guild or just in general life, but will they do the same for you?

-Tallulah Past, present, or future, Tallulah's the crankiest healer you'll ever meet. The oldest known Player, she's quite simply fed up. And quite frankly, she doesn't care to try and hide that in the least. Even so, without Tallulah, the guild would've been in trouble a whole lot more than they were. Because while Tallulah will gladly tell you how you messed up when you get injured, serious injuries are likely to get her attention, particularly if you manage to get on the short list of those she gives an ounce of care about. So will you make it onto that list?

Alouette -The peacemaker of Nilrex, Alouette is the calming influence, the patient ear, the shoulder to cry on, and the waiting hug for comfort. She's also five pounds of hidden craziness when someone messes with the guild. Alouette has a frustrating habit at being good, if not excellent, at most things she tries but she won't rub that in your face. No, instead she'll just encourage you to try all sorts of new things. Does that mean you'll get dragged along according to her whims at times? Yes, yes it does. But where exactly those whims lead? Well, that you'll have to tag along to find out.

Zykelle -Zykelle's probably the biggest doofus you'll find but he's got a good heart and will always step up to keep others safe. Part overgrown puppy, part personal cheer squad, Zykelle's always there when you need someone. Are his ideas always the best? Not necessarily. They've been known to blow up in his face at times. Does that bother him? Not in the least! Sometimes it's funnier even, once you're out of danger that is. And really, that smiling moment of peace is all Zykelle really needs. Care to find out how often he'll bring that about for you?

Aidan -Nilrex's resident chaos gremlin and trouble making prankster, Aidan is one you cannot take your eyes off of if you want things to go 'smooth' or 'peacefully'. But if you're looking for a fun time or a laugh? He's your guy. If there's any sort of mayhem to be found, you can bet Aidan's going to be smack dab in the middle of it. becoming Aidan's partner in crime however means you've got all the insanity he brings along on your side, rather than against you. So just how many people will the two of you drive nuts?

Addy -The baby sweetheart of Nilrex, Addy loves everyone she meets and is never seen without some kind of animal or creature near by. Addy always sees the best in everyone and everything. But it's best to remember that while Addy herself tends to be on the more harmless side, her 'friends' don't always fall into that same category. Addy's got a habit of opening people up to new experiences and you can bet that she'll be there with you through any aftermath of it too. Probably wanting nothing more than to snuggle with you throughout it all. C'mon, how many cuddle sessions can you get in?

Reveka -Reveka's sass, sarcasm, and smart assery all rolled up in one. Playing nice with others is a setting Reveka hasn't really turned on in years but they're not as cantankerous as Tallulah. Reveka's the one you go to for an adventure, to try something new. You can certainly bet that this one won't let you back down or chicken out. Don't be surprised if hanging around Reveka leads to a fight. Though, a bit of forewarning, Reveka's not exactly...great at physical combat. And yet, Reveka's one of the first to jump to the aid of those around them when it comes down to it. In other words, be prepared for more than a few bar brawls with Reveka around. Might want to take up the running tally the guild had going before.

Demo: TBA

#dungeonegg #intro post #if game

[nanabansama]

Be Worried for Mitsuba

I've seen a frankly concerning number of people say they expect Mitsuba to be fine after what happened in Chapter 110, and as someone who isn't fully confident he will survive yet, it bothers me a bit! As such, I wanted to bring up a list of reasons why I think Mitsuba could be in danger, and why people might be in for a rude awakening depending on how things shape out.

First, I wanted to bring up something that I don't think a lot of people know about. It's the official tag line for Volume 20.

This is from the Square-Enix website. It says: 「最初でさいごの夜遊び。」

This translates as "Their first and last Night Out."

I don't know about you guys, but this gets my warning bells ringing. It's obviously talking about Kou and Mitsuba's date at the aquarium. So if that was their first and also last one, then...that doesn't sound very reassuring, does it?

Now, a popular theory I've seen going around is that Mitsuba will turn Kou into his yorishiro. And while I think this is a delightful idea, I don't think it will happen.

While yorishiro can take human form, the two cases we've seen (Sumire and Tsukasa) were dead by the time it happened. We don't know if it's possible for it to happen to someone who is still alive!

I also want to direct your attention to the first Clock Keepers arc, when Kou got aged up to around Teru's age.

If you remember, Nene, unlike Kou, was unable to be aged up by Mirai because she had no lifespan left. This basically confirms that Kou will survive until he's in high school, less his fate is changed.

Note that he has no visible yorishiro seal, too.

Now...it's not like he still can't become one! But how likely is it, really? Do we even know if a yorishiro can age? And do we know if someone can stop being a yorishiro? We haven't found a way to get rid of a yorishiro outside of destroying it yet. Tell me, how cheap would it be for Kou to become Mitsuba's yorishiro while facing zero of the consequences?

Honestly, I feel the whole concept of a yorishiro cop-out is a bit cheap, anyway...not that I want Mitsuba to die, but it feels cheesy for him to overcome this by just realizing how important Kou is to him, doesn't it? Couldn't we have done that in the Aquarium arc instead of having this pointless, drawn-out segue?

It seems that for all Mitsuba has done, it just hasn't been enough, tragic as it is. I do believe Mitsuba has found something important to him, or is at least starting to...but it's all too little, too late.

Anyway, has anyone thought about a way for Mitsuba to get out of this situation besides getting a yorishiro? It's worth mentioning that Natsuhiko implied only a school mystery with a yorishiro could survive contact with his cursed blood, but I can't help wondering if there's another option.

Mitsuba's body has a unique constitution, after all. He's a Frankenstein amalgamation of several different weak supernaturals given an identity by the sense of reason taken from the previous Mitsuba.

He falls apart if he doesn't eat. When this happens, he can restore himself by eating supernaturals. He also craves human flesh, which also might be able to heal him, but that obviously hasn't been tested yet.

So here's my question: Could Mitsuba eat enough supernaturals or humans to cure his body of the cursed blood? Would he...try to? It's not like there aren't plenty around him right now...

And then what happens? Even if he only ate the plantlike supernaturals, those were humans. They could've been saved, as proven by when Teru defeated one and restored her back to her human form in Chapter 104. If he hurt any of them, then what would that mean for Mitsuba? And how would Kou react? Just something to think about...

Changing subjects, I think the fact that the original Mitsuba Sousuke's mother is present is interesting, too. I feel like she's incredibly important to the events happening to Mitsuba right now--she's here for a reason, that's for sure. Whether that's anything that'll change his fate or not is another thing.

And just to be clear, while his concern for the previous Mitsuba Sousuke's mother is pretty cute, I don't think it's enough to create a yorishiro out of. Heck, even if he was the first Mitsuba, I don't think his bond with his mother was strong enough to manifest as a yorishiro. (No shade, of course.)

I did point out in my Chapter 110 Spoilers post that she could just be here to watch her son die again, which is an idea I still kind of like. It's a bit poetic, no? Or maybe she will somehow be able to meet him one last time and get closure. I can't say for sure, but I feel like ignoring Mitsuba's mom in this discussion at all is a dangerous pitfall...

In any case, I hope this convinced some of you to start worrying for Mitsuba's life.

Huh? Which Mitsuba, you ask?

Who knows...

#jshk #tbhk #tbhk 110 #jshk 110 #sousuke mitsuba

[licorice-lips]

You know, one thing that really bothers me about how people view Bunny and the whole point of The Secret History is that they seem to think that because Richard is an unreliable narrator, that makes him a complete liar and everything that he says happened to and with Bunny was completely twisted into portraying him as bad as Richard can to justify Bunny's murder.

Although that's truth to some extent, I refuse to believe everything about their interactions is a lie, because that would be just lazy writing to justify things you don't want to think about very hard instead of really putting an effort into explaining the open ends to your reader. And I don't believe Donna Tartt is this kind of writer.

Anyway, I saw a post here on tumblr where op says that Bunny is the person that connected the rest of the group to ground reality and that's why his death is so tragic. Even agreeing with this person, I have some thoughts I still want to vent to you guys.

The point of TSH is that knowledge just for aesthetics is dangerous, but that's the thing: our characters have so much knowledge and they are still absolute idiots because they don't see their knowledge through the lens of reality. Their knowledge has no material grounds and therefore, it doesn't even occur to them to be aware of the things they are ignorant about because our minds have trouble understanding how much we don't understand.

(Which is ironic, considering Ancient Greece were the very first Occidental civilization to bring the notion of ignorance to the conversation, but anyways...)

But my point is, as much as Bunny is their link to their humanity, it's not like the humanity Bunny shows is anywhere near the kind of humanity they should be craving, sorry not sorry. From their very first interaction, I hated Bunny because although he's human in his rawest form, he's also just as ignorant as the rest of the group, just in a different way. My problem with Bunny as he's portrayed even early on is that he prides himself on his own ignorance and that, in my personal values, is way more worrisome then not understand how much you don't know.

Because the second case still has space to grow, to learn — albeit with mighty hardship, as exemplified by the very story — and the first one (Bunny's ignorance) is just stasis. And humans don't thrive through inaction, it's just not how we're wired. We are our best version when we're acting to be better — you can perceive this in Bell Hook's All About Love (Chapter 4), in psychology (my therapist has almost emphasize the need to act on my emotions instead of just feeling it and be locked up on them), Theodore Roosevelt has a speech about it too (the man in the arena).

So when I look at Bunny's character through the critical thinking of Richard being an unreliable narrator, it's still inconceivable to me to see him as some people do and be sad about his murder like he didn't deserve to die. Now let's be clear: he didn't deserve to die but it's not like the world is a worst place because of his death. Bunny is insufferable, entitled (although not because of the reasons Henry and the other point out later in the story to justify his murder), bigoted and overall just the epitome of a middle-class American white man (which to me is his worst characteristic), and his death is not that tragic in the overall sense.

His death is tragic because it brings the rest of the group back to reality, where what they do has weight and consequences. And don't even get me started on Julian and how much I hate his ass because it was his responsibility to provide these young adults with an education that was at the very least, grounded in reality. And let me be clear, when I say "grounded in reality" I don't mean common sense. He could still reflect upon Beauty and Terror and all of the stuff he wanted. The problem is that there's a why. We don't study things (specially not philosophy) in a vacuum, the things we do study are real, palpable, material. It has grounds in reality because science, Social Science in special, is about the truth of reality and how it's viewer and how it shapes our very foundations as individuals and as society.

But I digress, I'll do a commentary on Julian and his teaching methods later on.

So in a sense, Bunny's death was tragic because he was the anchor, even in death, of a reality none of the characters wanted to face. A reality that isn't pretty, nor it is good. So Bunny is not good, he was never good. He was just real. He was a real human being and he lived in the world the rest of the group avoided in a mistaken sense of arrogance, of being above "all that". And that's charming, but it doesn't mean Bunny represent anything near the kind of reality we should aim to live in.

Bunny, just like the others, was ignorant and arrogant about it. But as I said, he prided himself on his ignorance. He studied because he was killing time until he was ready to do something else, something he thought was the "real" thing. And that's just as dangerous, or even more so in a collective sense, than not being aware of our own ignorance.

To deny knowledge and the importance of it, to deny all there is behind the aesthetic, not because you don't see it but because you don't want to see it, is just as dumb as just seeing the looks and thinking there's nothing more to it. And in a collective sense, it's just as harmful. The reality he represents is a reality without knowledge, it's studying and not absorbing anything, not even the aesthetic. The one thing that makes me hate the rest of the group a bit less than I hate Bunny is that they at the very least allow themselves to be influenced by knowledge, although in a idiotic way. And that's not even completely their fault.

Bunny, on the other hand, is just, stasis. He's the same person throughout it all, and based on his family and his general behaviour? He could've been an okay person (the kind you tolerate in family dinners because it's not worth the drama), but he was very far from being a good person because to be a good person requires action, it requires the very knowledge he despises — because if you act without knowledge, you're just as blind as any ignorant (that's why we study).

So I don't get why people get so invested in defending Bunny because his death was just as meaningless as his life would've been. And I get that that sounds mean, but it's true exactly because Bunny's whole thing is his own brand of ignorance is inaction and no one changes doing nothing.

#tsh donna tartt #tsh #the secret history #donna tartt #dark academia aesthetic #dark academia #dark academia memes #richard papen #bunny corcoran #iwwv #writers #writing #the secret history spoilers #the secret history aesthetic #i hate Bunny Corcoran #tbh I hate every character of this book #but i guess its the point #books #bunny corcoran is my actual nightmare #maybe it's trauma #i met a lot of bunny corcorans in my life #probably more than I should #for my very mental health

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere romantic concept for Sans from Dusttale AU?

I can try, sure! Naturally every fic involving DustTale's going to be tragic so prepare yourself.

Yandere! Murder Sans Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Angst, Violence, Murder, Deteriorating mental health (Sans), Mercy killing, Delusional behavior, Forced/Dubious "relationship"

I like to imagine, when it comes to this type of yandere Sans, his obsession is someone he's been close with.

Throughout countless runs he's managed to befriend you.

Y'know... when he was still Sans, or someone close to the original.

Sans wants nothing more than to just live his life with you.

But then the human came along... and the loop of Genocide Runs began.

Sans mental health already starts to go downhill when he is forced remember every run.

Even more so when he has to relive seeing his brother and partner killed.

My HC is with this AU, Sans' obsession is due to the mental decline he experiences due to the resets.

For the first few resets, he does his best to protect you and those he cares about from the human.

He really tries the first few times.

He loves you with all his SOUL... but the human gets to you eventually.

By the time of the 300+ run, Sans realizes he needs a new tactic to break the cycle.

He decides the only way to fight fire... is with fire.

Which leads to his decision to kill monsters in order to grow stronger.

Putting you in the crossfire of two killers.

Sans was most likely not yandere before the Genocide loop.

It's the huge amount of mental strain caused by all of it that makes him snap.

At first, he's just protective every reset.

Which then transitions into possessive behavior...

He tries everything from locking you away to attacking the human first.

He doesn't win... he can't win...

Each failure he deals with makes his mental state decline more and more.

Eventually he'll pull out all the stops.

Which just so happens to be him deciding killing the monsters first will give him the power he needs to face the human.

He views it as "mercy killing" when it comes to you.

If he doesn't kill you... the human will.

If you let him do it, he can at least promise you he'll be quick.

He doesn't want his partner to suffer.

However... are you even his partner, anymore?

You've noticed his change in behavior and distanced yourself.

Only Sans remembers the resets... but you can just sense something's up.

Especially when Sans decides to kill monsters before the human does.

You can run... but Sans is against it.

Don't make things harder... you're preventing the inevitable.

He'll just have to chase you now.

Sans is delusional in this state.

He thinks that you will want to help him stop the cycle in the end.

Even if it means your death.

Sure... he can see you backing away and running... but it's for the good of both of you.

After all this ends... he'll put you both in a better timeline.

You just have to trust him.

Just hold still...

He'll make sure it doesn't hurt too much because he loves you.

What doesn't make things better is when his plan fails.

Now he has to try again... and again... and again.

Poor Sans is stuck in a perpetual loop of watching his friends and partner die.

At some point... the pain won't even matter even more...

He may even get used to chasing you down and plunging a bone deep within you... is it even worth it to say sorry, anymore?

At least he can keep you to himself this way... being the one to mercy kill you over and over until the cycle stops... if it even does.

"Someday we'll love each other again... someday you'll belong to me again... someday... I'll fix things...!"

#yandere undertale au #yandere dusttale #yandere murder sans #yandere dusttale sans #yandere dust sans

[ohnonotthehorrors]

Right, walk with me as I dive into Canary Curse/SecretLife Martyn lore.

The current working theories are:

A: Jimmy is a sign of doom to his allies. Most of his allies have done poorly when partnered with him (Scott, Mumbo, Tango, Joel, and now Martyn), at least in reference to their usual abilities.

B: Watchers dislike Martyn. (And Jimmy)

These are valid in my mind and pair well with the phenomenon. However, I don't think it's exactly what is happening.

Which leads me to a mildly popular theory I'm still debating about (which will be my main point of this post):

Martyn is actively sacrificing himself for Jimmy.

It's not a poor theory, but I don't think it's accurate. For one, it doesn't fit wonderfully with Martyn's character (in game), which is untrustworthy, turncoat, and survivalist among other things.

But lets talk about why I DO like it first.

So this theory is similar to a different situation that happened in limited life. When Joel famously said after Jimmy died 'I was going to sacrifice myself for him, so he wouldn't go out first.' Most people have taken that to mean 'I was going to give him my time/let him perma-kill me.'

What's interesting about this is Joel is going about it in a very productive way. He is gathering time from other players, which he will then give to Jimmy to further Jimmy's odds. It could technically also imply that Joel doesn't plan to die instantly. If he has enough time he can share with Jimmy without full sacrifice.

Joel never got a chance to do this. Making the words tragic and full of broken hope, especially considering how he was then hunted by the majority of the server. Soon dying near where Jimmy fell.

Martyn's actions would be tragic in a very very different way.

This isn't a man being productive. this is a man actively self destroying. looking the universe in the face as he chooses to beat it just seconds before it can kill it's favorite punching bag.

I can not begin to describe how much this feels like a man clawing victory out of a race only he knows he's participating in. (Only he knows hes Winning)

Martyn is not Helping Jimmy's case. He isn't somehow giving him more time on earth or showering him in diamond armor until he's safe. This is not a story where the victory will come sweet, this is one where the victory is death. Not more time with friends and family. Death.

I genuinely love imagining that. Full stop.

However, I don't think it's the Reasoning behind Martyn's actions. (at least partly)

Martyn is known partly for Rebellion. Or at least, THINKING about rebellion. (see, that's an important detail)

Character Martyn always planned on betraying Ren. Always. He was going to mutiny, coup, whatever you want to call it, from day one.

In Double life he doesn't live with his soulmate. Actively, killing them at one point. In Last life he begins talking to Them, beginning his journey into becoming a Listener agent.

In Limited life he actively disobeys the unspoken rules of conduct. (Which, to be clear, I do not think actually EXIST). He steals peoples kills, he acts amicable only to knife people in the back seconds later, he killed people that are supposed to be his allies. In a game where everyone was loyal he he betrayed his closest ally to win the game.

Now. Here's where the Thinking comes into play.

Martyn is never actually rebelling.

Not in any meaningful way at least. It's like the crab in the bucket example, he's pulling other crabs down to get to the mouth of the bucket (winning) and in doing so he Thinks he's rebelling. But he's actually just playing into the Death Game.

throughout this whole thing the ONLY thing he can do to rebel would have been to simply not play the game.

(Which is technically true from a Meta stand point as well)

Martyn could have let himself die. Could have refused to kill. In doing so he is causing the most active form of rebellion against the people Watching, in that he is giving them nothing to watch. He is refusing to PLAY the Death Game.

Now. He didn't chose to do that...

But what if he did THIS time?

Martyn has succeeded his goal, he's won. He is the fourth winner of the life series. And guess what?

It got him SHIT.

An hour and a half of abject loneliness in an abandoned war torn server, all while he slowly waited to die. And after? No escape. No nothing, just right back into the Game.

It's a little like the universe is laughing at him.

"Oh, you thought this would make you Special? You thought this would beet us? This is exactly what we always wanted"

So that one goal Martyn's had since the beginning? Gone. Out the window. And if THAT option is gone, there's really only one left:

I don't think Martyn is trying to die first to save Jimmy. I think Martyn is trying to die first to beet the Watchers/Universe.

(After all. What's a bigger fuck you than breaking the most solid curse in the game?)

#long-ish post #life series #secret life #secret life spoilers #martyn inthelittlewood #jimmy solidarity #canary curse #watchers #traffic life #I'll likely make a more concise version of this later

[comicbookhyperfixationtime]

An Important Aside

CW: Statutory Rape

So, the next issue I have to cover is #197, and it focuses on Kitty Pryde and Colossus. I've briefly mentioned my very strong thoughts on their relationship before, but I think I need to go into more detail about this topic, and I don't want it sandwiched between a bunch of bad jokes and philistine art opinions. When Kitty and Piotr's romance began, she was 14. He was 19. This is statutory assault.

This is definitely ephebophilia and I'm not sure but it may be considered pedophilia as well. Its really, really awful. But the narrative never treats it that way. They write Kitty as a child for sure, she acts in a very childish and immature manner throughout this romance. Its pretty clear Piotr's on a completely different maturity level than her. But he is never portrayed as the absolute monster he is for taking advantage of that. And its not that he doesn't know this is wrong, he angsts plenty about his feelings for Kitty. At one point, the two are in a precarious situation they're not sure they'll live through, and Kitty asks Piotr to have sex with her before they die. He refuses, because he knows she's too young and immature. He knows its wrong and he does it anyway. Which means that the writer and artist of that issue, Chris Claremont and John Byrne, would have to know it was wrong too.

None of the other X-men ever take issue with this. In fact, multiple other X-men encourage their relationship. This includes characters like Storm and Wolverine, Kitty's parental figures on the team. It also includes Professor X, who, may I remind you, has a doctorate in psychology (of course, I shouldn't be surprised Chuck is so blasé considering he had a hots for a teenage Jean Grey and only refrained from pursuing her because of his disability). Eventually, however, somebody finally did take issue with this disgusting situation; the Marvel higher ups.

Claremont was pressured by his bosses to break up the pair, so he did, in the most convoluted, comic book-y way possible; during the Secret Wars event, Colossus is separated from Kitty and meets and falls in love with an alien woman who dies tragically at the end of the event. When he returns to Earth he realizes he's still in mourning for her and has fallen out of love with Kitty. And you'd think that, that's it right? It sucks that they didn't break up because, like, you know, Piotr finally got his head out of his ass and realized he was dating a child, but at least we can move on! But no, we can't, because they reactions that the other X-men have, especially Wolverine are fucking appalling.

They're finally angry at Piotr. But not for starting a relationship with a literal child, no, they're angry at him for finally doing the right thing and ending that relationship. Wolverine especially goes off on him for breaking Kitty's heart. Again, Wolverine who is supposed to be Kitty's mentor and father figure.

I don't really know how to end this because I don't have any important insights aside from "this is fucked up, I hope you know this fucked up, fuck the people who made this." There's definitely a lot more to say about how Kitty Pryde and other teenage characters are sexualized in comics. There's a lot more to say about age-gap relationships in comics (this wasn't the first time a superhero committed statutory rape and wouldn't be the last). But I really don't want to say any of this. I'm not sure now if I want to write a full review of X-men #197 now, because I would rather not spend any more time on this. I might do a mini post about some of the specific panels or scenes I have opinions on.

This whole thing has really ruined 616 Colossus for me, and its tainted other versions too. But I want to make it clear, if he's still a character you like, that's ok. If (adult!) Kitty x Colossus is still one of your ships, that's ok! You can like problematic characters. In long running comic books especially, you can ignore problematic actions or personality traits of your favorite characters, God knows I do all the time. I just needed to get this off my chest.

#marvel comics #comic books #kitty pryde #colossus #piotr rasputin #rant post #serious post

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 14 Pt. 2

We're in the home stretch... last stream of consciousness post! The story ends with these last four chapters...

Oh. Ok. Immediately hitting me with this on the first page. "What's there left to see?" "Let's see the world together." "I wanted to see tomorrow with him." Just another way of showing us that Vash is not driven to survive this fight anymore.

!!! The lights again! He heard Meryl!!! AGHHHHH

I'm actually a little unsure of who is saying the "hey, come on, Vash the Stampede" lines. I'm assuming he's saying this to himself. I don't think anyone else makes sense.

The ambiguity of this situation is so fascinating, and it all comes from the way we almost never see the Plants' true perspectives. We know, at least, that they talk amongst themselves. Before the battle began, the ones who were not fused were concerned and worried over the outcome, and what the right decision is. Knives claims here that they were all united in their hatred of humans over the abuse they suffered, but we also see these dreams that Knives sees also of a mix of human cruelty and kindness - the same thing they transfer to the humans when the feathers start falling. They also all know and seem to like Vash - honestly, I'm of the mind that the Plants feel somewhat neutral about humans overall, and are primarily concerned with not hurting their own kind - which includes both Knives and Vash. Unfortunately, they have very little control or free will in this situation. There are two possibilities for the emotions of the fused entity here:

Knives, having walled himself from truly fusing so he can still direct it and maintain his sense of self, is simply feeling his own hatred, intensified by the power boost from the rest of the Plants - and Vash's interference is something he feels due to having a stronger connection with him specifically.

The Plants, having a less defined sense of self in general, feel whatever the dominant consciousness feels - so all the fused Plants really do feel hatred for humanity. When Vash connects though, they feel his grief and sorrow, as he is the one with the stronger Gate.

I think the second option makes more sense - and this kind of makes this whole situation even more tragic for the Plants... it makes it even harder to glean what they actually want. (Though the situation could be drastically improved if they were recognized as conscious entities - that at least would be a start.)

I like that we still, even in the final act, see Vash allowed to be a bit afraid and hesitant - he definitely knows this is going to be overwhelming and probably going to hurt a lot. With him being as exhausted and prepared to die as he is, he could've just been written as utterly indifferent to the pain but no, even with all that, he's still got a bit of a preservation instinct. It's very real actually.

"I felt that! Where are you?!" "Don't touch me!" <- ...brothers...

Oh it's actually breaking apart... but um. What happens to the Plants...? :(

"I beg of you... once again... grant me that ticket." 😭

MERYL YOU ARE THE STRONGEST PERSON IN THIS MANGA I LOVE YOU FOREVER

YES!

Also this means they're all going to see Vash too, doesn't it?

WAIT. HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE PLANTS. They call him Red Brother? That is so cute... And they are convinced to give love and peace a try because Vash knows and loves both of them... humans and Plants...

(I actually am now thinking, because of the feather we saw on Vash before, that he wasn't talking to himself but that was in fact the Plants urging him to get up... I wasn't aware they could use speech or just images/emotions, so I wasn't sure.)

:') (I was so scared for them guys. But this is interesting - can progress be made so they don't have to live in the lightbulbs? That would be a good step towards instating more autonomy for them.)

AAAAAAAAAAA :''')

"But I will not yield. Our past and our future will not allow it." <-Sunk cost fallacy again. I wonder just how much of the conflict in this series are the characters feeling unable to change simply because they've "come this far". Might be interesting to go back and look on a re-read.

Knives... :(

"I was the one who broke away." 🫠

That's what she told him??? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

IN COMES CHRONICA WITH A STEEL CHAIR

Vash saved him!!!

Oh. The wings... they each only have one... because they shouldn't have been separate like that...

Help girl I am. On the floor. Crying.

"Oh and welcome to No Man's Land." Livio you are so funny

WHAT WAS THE REASON. I AM ALREADY CRYING STOOOOP

Love the return of Vash's old wanted poster. Lol.

Hair down Vash with dark hair :)

Knives... I find it so interesting again that Knives immediately tries to barter Vash as necessary to these people so that he'll save him. But the doctor was actually convinced by the sight of Vash's injuries and the desperation in Knives' voice. It's so minor but it's still such good characterization and further proof that the ideal of kindness is present in ordinary people.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The symbolism of him creating an apple tree as a gesture of what is both thanks and trust... but Knives, ffs, why would you just disappear on your brother without telling him. UGH. He used the last of his power, didn't he. Healed Vash's injury as much as he could then created the tree. Is he dead, or did he just lose corporeality or something? I'm honestly not sure. Either way, Vash lost his brother too after they just got each other back.

Begging him to start singing his murder song again

It was at this moment he knew. He fucked up.

Aww! They are going to be such a good team now that Vash is going to hopefully stop running off. DUDE.

HJHSBJHCBZJHVSBJV WHAT

I did not get the song I was expecting, but the fact that these two apparently play a song about Vash to signal the start of their broadcast is so funny. What is happening.

OMG Sheryl and Lina!!! Badwick and his family! Brilliant Dynamites Neon!

LIVIO!!! And the kids and Miss Melanie... at Wolfwood's grave... (Livio I love your new look.)

:')

"The same song of humanity still sang."

What a beautiful end to this story... thank you everyone in the book club (and to Rev for organizing it!); I had so much fun with this. I can't wait to go through the tag some more and go back through everyone's posts again - I fell behind a few times so I want to do a re-read of everyone's analyses and thoughts. I'll have a few more posts probably, but for now... thanks for what was a really fun experience everyone! I think this manga's story and characters will stay with me a long while.

#storyrambles #trigun #trimax #trigunbookclub #until the next time... if we do book club 2.0 i'll definitely be there :)

[skaruresonic]

Do you have any opinion about this post? It proposes that a key element of Shadow's characterization is loyalty, and the reason portrayals like SA2, '06, TMOSTH and Prime are beloved is because Shadow is loyal to something (I would add Forces as well), while others like Boom and IDW fall flat because he's only in for himself.

(some of the tags, of course, are all "sega take notes, everyone gets it but you", which is funny for multiple reasons)

I want to agree with it more than I do. The way it's worded makes it difficult for me to be fully persuaded, because it seems to be missing something.

I feel like the post is a bit over reductive. It's already an exercise in futility to try to boil Shadow down to one or two traits because he contains multitudes, nuances, and subtleties; it'd be like distilling Eggman down to "evil scientist" and then ignoring all the ways in which his manchild behavior molds his character archetype.

The others have limits on their loyalty. Sonic will help you out, but he’s not gonna kill a man for you. Shadow will. He doesn’t have that limit. If you are Shadow’s friend and you need him to kill for you, he will do it. Period.

Idk maybe it's just me but something about this style of analysis rubs me the wrong way. When people make declarative, emotionally-loaded statements about the characters that Sound Good on paper but don't hold up to close scrutiny. If you're going to assert something this lofty, you need to provide concrete examples. When did Shadow kill for a friend in the games? When did he express the willingness? Can you give me an example?

also lmao "Sonic's not gonna kill a man for you," Sonic will absolutely kill a man if he fucks around and finds out While I agree with the overarching idea that loyalty can be an important part of his character, if we're talking post-ARK raid Shadow... You kind of have to be honest about the brand of loyalty he possesses, because his loyalty looks very different from Amy's or Tails'. It's a specific, hardwon type of loyalty. It's begrudging. It's that "Pssh, what? I don't care. Feelings are for wussies" kind of loyalty, if anything. Like, it took Rouge dragging his unconscious ass home, a three-day-long fever dream, and her twisting his arm just to get her to begrudgingly call her "ally." You know what I mean?

On the other hand, I disagree with the notion that an overt lack of loyalty inherently makes him unrecognizable, since self-determination is an arguably equally prominent part of his character. In ShTH, you're just as free to ignore the wishes of your partner characters and go your own way. Cue the Fleetwood Mac.

Framing it as though loyalty is the linchpin on which his character rests risks defining Shadow solely through his relationships with others. Note that I'm not necessarily saying his relationships aren't important, just that they're not the most important. Agency and the right to determine his own destiny are vital parts of his character as well. He didn't just tell Rouge "And I will fulfill my promise to Maria; that's the only thing that matters to me now" in SA2. He first told her "Even if my memories aren't real, it's still me, Shadow."

...I'm not sure why OP decided to include Archie and X in their analysis, considering Archie and X are dead and have no bearing on Game!Shadow's character. Not sure what's meant by Shadow being "loyal" to Amy in MoSTH, either; I don't really have context for that since I didn't play it. If I had to guess, however, methinks OP may be mistaking Shadow doing something kind for Amy for friendship or loyalty towards Amy. You can do kind things for others without necessarily being "ride or die" for them.

This is where the post really loses me. Shadow's backstory doesn't need to be expanded upon at this point in the series; they've already dedicated at least three games and a handful of adaptations to his tragic backstory. We don't need to keep returning to the same well again and again. Surely we can do better than to navel-gaze. And the reasons why "he's like this" ought to be clear to anyone who's played the games, since they're fairly self-evident.

"But what about pre-raid Shadow?" I hear someone inevitably ask. Well, yes, Shadow displays obvious loyalty toward Maria, Gerald, and the ARK as a whole, but certain ShTH endings notwithstanding, it's not a blind sacrificial devotion. Regardless of his loyalty, he exercises the agency not to act like a mindless weapon in the hands of his creator. He possesses reason and more importantly, uses it. He still has enough presence of mind to seek to undo "all the evil the Professor has created" in SA2.

Even before the trauma of the raid and Gerald's programming went and deeply mucked up his sense of self, he was preoccupied with notions of self and identity, for understandable reasons. He wasn't purely a lapdog for Maria or the researchers. I feel like swinging the pendulum in the polar opposite direction and saying "Shadow is defined chiefly via his dedication to others" because it swung too far into "Shadow is a hyper-macho jerk" territory isn't a balanced stance to take.

Like this post is arguing from a Watsonian perspective, as though IDW!Shadow's jerkassness indicates some sort of internal selfishness, when the Doylist "Shadow was just written like shit in the book" will suffice. Shadow has a character outside of his relationships to others, just as Sonic and Eggman do. He's quiet, introspective, and in all honesty, he comes out with some hard-hitting lines sometimes. "This is the final voice of the last war machine," anyone?

Sorry if this reply is all over the place, I'm just writing down thoughts as they occur to me lol. Feel free to add your two cents.

#asks

[spritecranverry]

(Spoilers for 'Babel' if u haven't read it yet and don't want those)

Hi I'm re-reading this book after my physical copy got delivered and I'm here to argue that Robin's fate is sealed the moment he chooses his name:

When Robin's mother dies, she says his name - his real name - one last time. It's only two syllables, but he'll never hear it again; Professor Lovell decides it's not worth keeping because the English tongue wouldn't be able to pronounce it. It's in this portion of the book that Kuang establishes one of the first instances of language as a means of wielding power: namely, the power to erase.

Even further, the scene where Robin chooses his 'English' name encapsulates his relationship to his identity for the rest of the book: he is simultaneously disconnected (or "un-anchored", as Kuang puts it on page 15) from his culture and 'othered' by it while living in English society, no matter how hard he tries to assimilate. Lovell makes Robin drop his own family's surname on page 12 (which we also never learn), effectively cutting him off from ever re-tracing his own ancestry and lineage. I think it's interesting to note that part of why Lovell doesn't value Robin's surname is because to the English, a name that isn't linked to status and capital is worthless.

What's even more interesting, though, is that Lovell doesn't let Robin take his last name, even after Robin realizes that he's his biological father. Instead, he forces Robin to choose a random English name. He tells him on page 10 that he has no family, and that his father is "unknown". Lovell wants Robin to remove all markers of his Asian identity from his name while simultaneously never claiming his son as his own despite his dependency on him.

This effectively places Robin in this odd liminal space where he is only allowed to participate in English society conditionally, but he also doesn't have the option to ever return to Canton because he no longer has the ability to fully reconnect there. His identity as a result morphs into this ambiguous thing that is constantly in flux relative to how white society perceives him. The choice to make him literally half white and half Asian as opposed to a fully Chinese man trying to assimilate makes this especially poignant; at no point does he have the ability to opt out of this constant state of limbo that the construct of racial identity puts him in. Robin - and perhaps Kuang did this intentionally - exists during a time when diasporic and mixed identities are still being formed and conceptualized, which means he wouldn't have much access to communities of people in similar situations. With the exception of Griffin, he's basically alone here.

It's during the scene where Robin first sets off on that ship to England that I'm reminded of what happened to the identity of enslaved Africans once they got through the Middle Passage: they and their descendants would never be able to fully re-integrate into their cultures of origin, but would also be permanently 'other' in the eyes of American society, relegating them to a constant state of place-lessness. An un-anchoring, if you will. (Obviously these are not the same, but a similar thing is happening in terms of cultural belonging and as an African American this is what came to mind. Please don't jump me 🤚🏾)

Let's circle back to the footnote on page 11 that quotes the book Robin took his name from: "I killed Cock Robin. Who saw him die?"

For the entirety of 'Babel', we see Robin struggle for the rest of his short life against the implications of his name and the circumstances that led to him choosing it, and none of it of his own volition. I think the most tragic part of Robin's story is that Lovell decided what he was supposed to be long before the book even begins. Robin's decision, then, to stray from that path renders him with (at least in his eyes) no other viable way to exist in this world in the state his father has left him in. Once he decides to stop participating in the imperialist machine, neither England nor Canton (which he has no way to return to after killing his father) has a place for him.

Long before he makes that final decision at the end of the book, Lovell subjects Robin to what I think can be interpreted as its own kind of death. He's become a ship permanently lost at sea with nothing left to anchor him and with no destination in sight. The other characters never really seem to fully understand the extent of the loss he has experienced because he is the only character other than Griffin who has been 'un-anchored' in such a specific way. Re-reading the book knowing what his fate will be, then, makes the rest of the story feel like a very slow, winding, and complicated march towards death.

TL; DR: Robin's been dead since the very beginning of 'Babel'. In fact, he's dead the very moment he becomes 'Robin', and Lovell killed him. But who saw him die?

#blabbering #long post #babel an arcane history #babel rf kuang #babel or the necessity of violence #the footnotes are themselves a part of the story if you really think about it #bookblr

[thedawningofthehour]

I just had a morbid thought. But, what if Galois die? Either by an anti-mutant Yokai group, in a kidnapping attempt by the mercenaries or by members of the resistance? How would the characters react?

Well, that would be an incredibly unfulfilling end to the story, for one. And don't get me wrong, character deaths that are by design unsatisfying absolutely have their place, (Finnick's death in Mockingjay comes to mind) but I feel like it would be more frustrating here than make a point.

Honestly, I could see it going either way for Draxum. He could either give up right then and there and die with him, or he could go total Rhaenyra after Luke's death. Total liquidation on his enemies, and no mercy for his allies who object. Once that was over, though, he wouldn't really have any direction and would eventually end up destroying himself. He means it when he says he can't lose Galois. He could handle losing anyone else, everyone else. Even Cass, he'd totally go Angry Murder Dad for her as well, but it wouldn't destroy him like losing Galois would. (it might have been different if he was lying to himself about Cass's origins as well, but he still lies to himself and says she isn't his daughter)

If Cass is still alive and Galois is dead, then the world would end. Instantaneously. She'd explode like the birth of a star.

It would also kill Splinter. Not right away, he'd live long enough to get revenge on Draxum and everyone who contributed to his son's death, but he'd end himself not long after. He wasn't lying when he said he couldn't lose another kid. That also applies to losing the same kid twice. Losing Donnie the first time almost killed him as it was.

(Leo ramble under the cut because I went way off the rails-but fuck it I wrote the end scene of the next chapter in one sitting today I am allowed to go a little insane)

I'm hesitant to go all 'two halves of the same whole, twins can't live without each other' because we literally have proof that Leo can live without Donnie. We don't know how long Donnie's been dead by the point the movie starts-Leo having his bandana wrapped around his sword implies that it wasn't very recent, while Casey's familiarity with Donnie and the fact that his gear is certified GeniusBuilt shows that his death must have happened when Casey was old enough to remember him, or even after Casey started training and Donnie built weapons to suit his fighting style. So Leo's probably been without Donnie for at least a couple of years at that point. And he is still kicking ass and serving cunt, in his very homosexual way-though he does kind of have a whole-ass kid to raise and the resistance to live for, which he doesn't have in doth. And even in the movie, Future Leo throws himself into a Krang incineration beam rather than return to the past with Casey and live without the family he's lost. And there's the whole deal with Leo sacrificing himself so there's no chance whatsoever of living to see his brothers die.

I just don't see Leo being able to move on from something like that. Knowing his brother died pointlessly, maybe even painfully, never remembering who he was. There would be no closure, no point to start moving on. I talked about this with another fic author, the whole thing about fulfilling vs. unfulfilling deaths in media, and I think Future Donnie's death is as good as any to talk about that.

Like, let's talk about Replica's Donnie. He died epicly. In the midst of battle, sacrificing himself to plant a spy probe, and even got in some snappy comments to Prime (and maybe killing him too? I'd have to reread) before ending his own life. From his family's perspective, yes, it felt pointless and awful and they would much rather Donnie back than whatever bullshit he sacrificed himself for. And it's tragic for the audience, but it still feels satisfying. Donnie went out on his own terms, for a cause, in a literal blaze of glory. We see his family mourn, but we also see Leo receive some measure of closure from Omega telling him how proud Donnie always was of him. And crying right after-but as he tells Casey a frame later, he felt just a little better.

Or a more subtle example in Cass's series. Donnie's (temporary) death is none of that. He dies weakened to the point where he can't even stand up on his own, he dies quietly and he dies slowly. It was heartbreaking-like, bitch, I cried, but I don't think a single person would call it unsatisfying. Even with his quiet, demure death, so undeserving of him and his awesomeness, there was still a sense of satisfaction in the fact that he was such a threat that the Krang had to resort to such tactics to kill him. (and that he stuck it to them one final time, outliving their expectations and coming back to fuck them up when they thought they were safe, he had to be dead) And in the end, he's accepted his death, he tied up all his loose ends and feels ready to go. He dies peacefully, spending his final moments feeling his brothers' love for him. His brothers get to hold him and say goodbye. Yes, they're in mourning, but they show hints of healing and moving on-until Mikey finds out that Donnie's spirit isn't with their ancestors. That pulls the wound right back open, and Leo doesn't really seem to move on from there.

Having Donnie die as Galois I think would be a lot like that for Leo. Raph, Mikey, and even April would find ways to move on-after getting their revenge, of course, but they would use Donnie's memory to drive them forward. "Plant this tree because Donnie would have liked that." "Buy only produce from sustainable farming practices for my restaurant because Donnie would have approved." "Get that degree because Donnie would have kicked my ass if I didn't."

I don't think Leo would be able to do that. I think he'd feel very lost, with a lot of rage and sorrow and no real direction for any of it, no drive to find an outlet and get his life back on track. Maybe he wouldn't outright shoot himself, but he'd stop caring about keeping himself alive.

#like i said i wrote a very intense scene in one sitting today #i always go a little nuts when i do that #doth asks #tw suicide #fuck i didn't add a trigger warning for the last ask i mentioned it in did i #i'm sorry i am so bad at tagging shit #a lot of stuff kind of falls under the umbrella of 'if you're reading this fic you already know what you've signed up for' #but i feel like suicide talk deserves an extra warning just in case

[lisaas2418]

My thoughts on Chapter 7

I fucking finally managed to fully watch the current chapter 7 translations and oh boy I have many thoughts about it.

(First off I deleted asks related to Chapter 7 but don't worry I will answer their questions here)

-Its an emotional wreck. I thought Chapter 6 regarding Idia and Ortho was already heartwrecking but dammit Silver's breakdown broke **me** down. Especially the part in one of the flashbacks where ChildSilver gifts Lilia an acorn-braclet while saying that it will give him a long life and that they always be together (That sentence broke my heart so much). It made me so sad and so mad that Silver kept saying that Lilia can't love him since he is the son of the enemy, like no my boy ofcourse he loves you like a son you idiot (I felt like Sebek and that means something)

-The Shroud family dynamic is so fucking sweet I can't. The father being more rational and the mother being more emotional, yet both love their sons deeply is so heartwarming (calling humanoid Ortho their son aswell and loving him like they do with the other two made me cry)

-All in all Ortho and later Idia definitly carry the segments in Reality and in Dreamland. Ortho's new gear looks so fucking cool, him outsmarting OverblotMalleus twice was so funny, Idia noticing the signs that everything in his dream is fake at the beginning just shows how really smart he is, the brother drama, fucking PhantomOrtho showing up (didn't expected that), IDIA FUCKING OVERBLOTTING AGAIN (my jaw dropped) and last but not least Idias decleration of war against Malleus for causing all this was soo epic (even though the reason was his mother searching through his files, like what did you there to react that way Idia?)

-Lilia's dream segment was sooo cool. Maybe a bit long but cool nontheless. It made me like Sebek more then I did before, I could definitly understand why people would simp for General Lilia and Baul Zigvolt, Melenaor is very pretty and being a great mother to Egg Malleus while also sometiimes acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum (like mother like son let me tell you), Lilia's backstory is full of injustice, prejeduce and classisim towards him it made me really mad (overall the conflict between humans and fairys), also the Senate can go to Hell and stay there I fucking despise them, the reason why Malleus hatched in the first place was so sad and wholesome at the same time (speaking of Malleus...)

-Look I may will get hate for this, but I have a right to voice my opinion. I understand his story is tragic, I really do. But as the overblot boys before it doesn't excuse shit. Him putting everyone (forcibly) to sleep and make them have happy dreams that aren't even real is just....no, also I'm not sure if that's true but it seems like he has no idea that his magic is expanding to whole Twisted Wonderland (also the moment Ortho said that the bodies may die of not getting their nutrieses by being asleep for so long, I just began to fear Malleus), overall the fact that he doesn't see anything wrong with this action and behaviour is really terrfying more then what the others did (atleast for me). All I'm saying it that at the end of the Chapter I am not sure if I can forgive him for this because all my sympathy that I have him is overshadowed by how reckless his actions and behaviour is (also he tried to kill Ortho, like wtf dude?!)

Now since the chapter isn't complete yet I won't say anything regarding GameYuu yet and I have decided to wait till it's over before I say anything about my Yuusona. I know that I kinda already did this but for that I would like you to forget the information I said about my Yuusona regarding Chapter 7, that would be nice.

Now regarding as to does Maleficent knows about what happend to Malleus mother. Yes she kinda knew what happened. Her opinion is a mix of "she died protecting her kingdom and her son, which is digniful" and "she was a close person to Lilia so I understand why he felt that way". Also if the Senate weren't dead already she would have burned them or stroke them with lightning alive. Yes she is evil but not disgustingly classist like some fairys are (or human in that regard).

Well this was long overdue but I'm finished for now with Chapter 7. Hope you liked reading and see you till my next post ^^

#twisted wonderland #chapter 7

[lenny-rambles]

About "When All the Embers Die"

Title: When All the Embers Die

Author: MelodramaticCoffeeAddict

Update 21: Chapter Twenty (Then)

Relevant tags: ZoLu, angst, modern au, acesan, ongoing, the swords are dogs, happy ending (allegedly)

A modern au ZoLu fic in which the crew were friends once, and now Zoro's not; and about why is that.

IT UPDATED! IT UPDATED! IT UPDATED!!! Thank you so much author for updating!!! I adore this story and it's been a blast. Truly, the angst and hurt/comfort are so well managed that I can't help but get really into it. Everyone should read this fanfic because it's effin fantastic.

All right, first of all, I am a big fan of MelodramaticCoffeeAddict's works. I've read a lot of them, and the ones I haven't is because I'm scared of the feelings they'll give me. Most of them are very angsty and Zoro-centric, which means I'm very drawn to her works. But I'm digressing.

All right, spoilers for the fic and OP Marineford arc, (though that last one is kinda a stretch but whatever) BEWARE!!

We start basically where we left the "then" part of the story, which is great because I can't get enough of Zoro and Luffy's reaction to the reveal. Like, Zoro, my man is Destroyed, he is basically in hell right now, his only lifelines are Wado, Luffy and Ace. (Which is so sad now given what we know about "now") (OHHHH I HAVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THAT!!!)

I want to talk about Ace's role in the story before I continue. Or at least, a little thing that popped up when this beautiful fic was invading my consciousness and not letting me study: Zoro doesn't get to keep his older siblings for long. An that's so sad!!!!! Like, the foreshadowing for Ace's death being to save Zoro, who could very well be trying to save Luffy from anything (or at least the way I understood it) Is So Tragic. This would be the second Older Sibling that sacrifices themselves for Zoro, I think that would break him. That's what gives him the permanent stutter in the "now" portion of the story.

This last part actually relates to the author's comment about a hc where Zoro just, buries his emotions instead of dealing with them, because then he would break. If Ace's death is Zoro's "fault" that will be what finally breaks the dam. He will not come back from that. And we know so!!! Because he didn't!!!

All right, back to the scenes in the fic

Sanji's been giving them food but Zoro doesn't want any, I understand this so much, this is so sad :c. Luffy eats it (haha), and Ace very much acts as the ultimate support for everyone. Let's go AceSan, I just really like how Ace doesn't neglects his role as everyone's support in favor of someone else. Even Usopp got some support! I love you Ace <333

Luffy reminding Zoro it was not his fault got me by surprise!! I sometimes forget this is a ZoLu fic ('cause of the plot) lol. This is such a nice way of giving a sweet scene that doesn't shift terribly the tone of the chapter, I really liked it.

More Zoro angst!!! He's blaming himself for the short trip :c Even though Luffy already told him nothing is his fault and he doesn't own anyone anything (some chapters ago), he still thinks he's the worst because he's ruined his friends fun!!! I WANNA CRY

Some more situational fluff: Luffy gives Zoro a ride home, and only Zoro!!!! I know this has Plot Reasons, it also has Ship Implications and I'm here for both. I really like Zoro and Luffy's relationship here! I don't remember getting a Luffy POV in this fic so far, I'll have to re-read, but I'd like to see their relationship through Luffy's pov.

The moment I've been waiting for ever since the birthday chapter is finally here!! Zoro calls Mihawk dad!!!!!! I was expecting this but it still made me feeeeel for them. I'd say I really like their relationship in the fic, but I say that about everything relationship in the fic. I just really like this fic and the way the author handles the characters in a very unusual setting, but makes it make sense for the canon counterparts!!!

Mihawk comforting Zoro part 1, thank you Mihawk for giving it your best to be a good dad, even if it doesn't always work out as intended. Your efforts have not been in vain because it's Your House where Zoro feels safest, not his, not Luffy's, not Ace's, Yours!!!

A short rambling about the dogs!!! They know what to do, I really love the dogs in this fic. They are *in character* for like, 2-3 lines of dialogue we've from canon, but in all honesty, I eat up any anthropomorphization of Zoro's swords (even Oda's, but we don't talk about Oda's take on that) but this is one of my favorites!

Oh yeah, the post dissociation clarity is weird. Like, as someone who also has the bad habit of "keeping big emotions under the rug" I have now added "to ACTUALLY check on them later" to the strategy, because it suck feeling a stranger to your own trauma. Hopefully Zoro learns this, but the way the story is headed, I don't see it happening in the "then" chapters...

On this, I haven't been through something similar to what's on the story, but both God and my psychiatrist know that the line between hyper rationalizing your feelings and just ignoring them blurs terribly quicky. So Zoro being like "I have to BE FINE, because if I AM NOT FINE then this would be terrible, the most horrible thing to ever happen, and that can't be true, because I don't think I could survive that" is very close to home for me, I just wish he went to therapy.

More angst (thanks) Zoro's issues with self worth and him being a waste unless he is excellent and strong and how I relate to that because of Internalized Family Expectations that were Not Met. Not much to develop on that, I just think about this take on Zoro's character and wonder what it means to myself.

Not wanting to eat because of anxiety for something totally unrelated to food is also very personal to me. The moment when eating stops being the Joie de Vivre to become A Chore is when it's known something's wrong, so seeing it in action for Zoro is great.

Mihawk comforting Zoro part 2, thank you Mihawk for loving your son. Perona also loves Zoro but she's a bit (a lot) lost right now. I think Mihawk wants to give Zoro a sense of normalcy through his panic attacks and all, so he keeps calm. And Perona knows that being dramatic is almost always more fun than being stoic, so she is. But my poor Zoro ends up confused about how to properly react to stressful situations thanks to these two, and by stating that on the fic we now know why he is Like That. I hope he gets to calm down more soon.

Ussop!!! I love it when we get his POV, I really like Usopp's POV in general for Fics, but this one serves also for an "antagonistic" narrative in the story. My man is too wrapped up in his own insecurities that he can't see that the way he and Zoro protect themselves from trauma is basically the same. They both create and project an image of themselves that has it more together than they actually do, the only difference is that now Usopp can't call Zoro's bluff and viceversa. They are both too into their own heads to even think that someone has issues as bad a they do. (Because why would they? Everyone else is so very much incredible! They are just the lesser friend, the one that's disposable, the useless one) They are all liars trying to get the best of themselves out, so that none of their wonderful friends ever finds out about what they've got within.

But they did!!! And it's Usopp's fault for not respecting Zoro's boundaries!!! Zoro's exposed everytime that happens and Usopp Can't Get Enough of it, because now he is not the weak one. He can call the bluff and regain some sort of validation towards him and his way of projecting out. What good it does to him though, because his bluff's also been called by everyone but Zoro. It makes sense for him to finally stop and think about what he's done for a change. Ding dong mtherfcker, it's consequences of your actions!

Side note, I really like Luffy paying for Usopp's phone but still too mad at him to actually talk to him directly, that's Luffy if I ever read him.

Usopp apologizing because he fears his friends stopping from being his friends and not because of him actually being sorry (even though he knows he's in the wrong) is peak Usopp behavior. In fact, it is very much canon, since that's basically how the end of the Water 7 saga goes. (until Zoro makes Luffy understand and so Usopp understand that half-assed apologies won't do). Let's hope he doesn't have to get punched anymore to be all right with the crew again.

Ah, Usopp being petty because Zoro apologized is funny, and very interesting for things previously mentioned.

And then the fic ends. It was a very good update! I'm So Glad the author is still updating! even though it' stated to be somewhat more of a bore now (than it was at the start :c) I await the next update expectantly because I can't get enough of this, and sincerely hope the fic gets to be done, because this is such a good story it'd make me sad if it were to just, stop. So once again, thank you so much author for all the work you put through and take your time!!!

Oh well, this is a great piece (haha), I think the fic is very non shippers accesible, because most of the moment can be interpreted as platonic (but why would you?) or plainly Not In English (I love that, I really like those but where they flirt in other languages, they are such dorks omg). So I believe any Zoro fans should read it, if you like modern aus, because it is a really good Zoro fic, and fic in general. I'm biased but I'm right!!!

#zolu #zolu fanfic #txt #rambles