#and they're actually enemies only because of the circumstances

[chiocchi]

If you don't mind answering, why do you ship Tom Riddle and Harry Potter? Besides the whole issue that they are enemies, and the age difference, both characters are heterosexual. It's canonical fact. If it's the dynamic you like... Have you thought about Tomione's ship? They have a lot of potential together. And in the right direction, they would be a couple that could make it in the books.

JDKLJKLFJSDLKFJA This kinda feels like people knocking on your door and trying to get you to believe in their religion. It's pretty funny.

I don't know why are you calling issues to a part of the pairing's appeal lkajdsjfs (And Hermione is Harry's age and they are on the same side too?). And not sure about that canonical fact. Harry can be read as bisexual quite easily and Voldemort|Tom... idk he seems more obsessed with power, immortality, and Harry. But even if that's the case, I don't see why it should matter. We're in fandom after all.

I don't know if I'll be able to convey why I like this ship so much. For starters, I'm really into the unique connection they share. There was a piece of Voldemort's soul inside Harry's; they had a mental link; a whole language they're the only ones to speak (for the most part); Voldemort chose him and marked him; and there's even a prophecy that linked them together. There aren't two people more connected than them. They're soulmates, and the fact that Voldemort didn't intend it and Harry hates it adds another layer of complexity.

But not only that, they're like a broken reflection of each other, which I find fascinating. In his second year, Harry was worried about the similarities between them. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles, they both considered Hogwarts their first real home. I feel like they would have really understood each other in other circumstances. They would have been friends. Because one of their key differences is that Harry found friends and adults that loved him while Tom was probably bullied and, y'know, the whole Dumbledore thing.

Not to mention that Harry would die for everyone whereas Tom would kill everyone. They're insane in their own way. I love their similarities and differences, but more than anything else, I love when they're together. The fanfics and fanarts are awesome.

And the whole thing of being enemies feels quite gay sometimes klafjdlskfja. Harry can't help but think Tom is handsome and, despite everything Voldemort did, Harry wanted to give him one last chance to show remorse. I have no doubt Harry is crazy enough to actually forgive him.

I've thought about Tomione and I've come to the conclusion that I don't like it. pinktom has a really good post about it and I agree with it. Besides, Hermione liked Ron and had something with Krum, and they're nothing like Tom. Just because she's heterosexual doesn't mean she's attracted to any man, y'know? klajdlfkdjs I don't think they would have been a couple in the books, no matter the direction. If it's the dynamic you like, have you thought about Tomarry? More believable, more intense, and a wider range of wholesomeness to fucked up in the fics. It's really interesting. Unless you don't like men being together? Hmm? Suspicious (just kidding. To each their own. So no need to go to other people's asks to try to change their minds :kek:).

Also Harry is my favorite character and he's not replaceable. I kinda don't care about any other character tbh. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

#weird asks

[essektheylyss]

I think Orym is a fascinating character in a way that is often underappreciated, because he is fundamentally a soldier, he was trained as a soldier, and that's... not a bad thing? It has no moral indication, and certainly doesn't imply that Orym is going dark. In fact, in the current circumstances, Orym acting as a soldier is very important and may actually get them through this in one piece.

I do feel that this aspect of his character is frequently approached in the fandom as an afterthought or even swept under the rug, or flat out viewed as a flaw to be overcome (especially given the overall landscape of military conflict in the real world), but being a trained soldier is not inherently indicative of specific morality or ideology. I think it's a judgment that also gets levied against paladins, because, much like any organized forces in fantasy are equated with modern militaries, fantasy worship is equated with Christianity (sometimes in the guise of 'organized religion' with all of its problematic connotations). It's incredibly black and white, and it doesn't fundamentally make sense in much of Exandria, but in this case especially.

You cannot fundamentally map the Tempest Blades onto any real life military, because the task of the Tempest, and Ashari culture as a whole, is protection against both extraplanar threats and also the malicious or misguided intentions of those on the Material Plane trying to fuck with the elemental planes. This is distinctly different even in universe from, for instance, Caleb, who was trained as an assassin in the name of nationalism, or Yasha, who was trained to be a leader in the name of tribalism.

And these two threats that the Ashari are tasked with resisting are both frequent, credible, and existential! Failing at this task is liable to have major sweeping repercussions for the rest of Exandria! It is highly probable that a soldier with Orym's training is expected to need to make incredibly difficult decisions in defense of the common good at more than one point in their life—decisions that would make every person who laughs at the premise of the trolley problem shit their pants.

And crucially, Orym wants his friends to get out of this. He has in fact already promised his entire life to ensure that they do, because he also fundamentally needs them to be able to do what they came for, without hesitation, because the singular mandate that he has devoted himself to is protecting the Material Realm from extraplanar threats, and regardless of the fact that the rest of them do not have the same training, that is also the task that the Hells have chosen.

If Nana Morri can get the Hells out in one piece, regardless of what choices they make, then their personal risk doesn't matter. I imagine that Orym isn't going to tell them that, because given the scope of the threat, there's not necessarily a guarantee that Morri can make that happen, so the rest of the Hells have to make the choice themselves to take the risk and trust that the others have their backs. And in the end, if Orym has to live with that no matter which way fate plays out, he will. He's already had plenty of practice.

They're at war, and that's how soldiers operate. Because when they're behind enemy lines, it's the only way missions get completed and they have a chance of making it back alive.

#critical role #cr spoilers #cr meta #orym of the air ashari #honestly like. the ashari aren't even a nation let alone a state. not that that distinction means anything to most people in this fandom. #anyway I do support orym in his endeavors 😌 #I hope he continues to take the drill sergeant approach cuz it slaps #I did also have war flashbacks to people calling the cobalt soul 'cops' cuz oh my god #this was for the record what made me think about WHY the scourger program was in place cuz hoooo boy

[fire-fira]

I am not sure how much you are into analysis but I want to ask. Do you think raph isn’t as good of a fighter compared to his brothers? because I have a feeling either he’s holding back when sparring with them over fear of harming them or he’s not as good as them.

Anon, you just made my day because this gives me an excuse to nerd out at length. (Though apologies that it took me so long to get this fully written out and posted.)

Disclaimer before I launch into it in full: to fairly compare Raph to his brothers I'm going to do a brief run-down of the three of them before breaking into the full details on him. A lot of this is built on extrapolation from details in various canons and at times might edge toward headcanon territory, though I'll be trying to stick with what's actually present.

With that out of the way--

Comparing Raph to His Brothers

So to start with, I can only fairly do this deep-dive by briefly touching on each of his brothers before getting to Raph himself. I'll say upfront that I think it's less a question of which one is the "best fighter" and more that they're each different types of fighters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses and which might land any of them in the position of "the best" depending on the circumstances.

Leo

Strengths: This is an extrapolation based on various iterations (2003, 2007, 2012, 2014/2016, ROTTMNT, 2023, Batman vs. TMNT, and a little bit of the IDW comics), but Leo strikes me as a tactician-- as the guy who can extrapolate to fifteen different possibilities for the outcome of a fight and fifteen steps ahead of everyone else on each of those possibilities. At his best he knows how to play to his brothers' strengths, put them where needed, and let them go to do their own thing. He's also persistent and willing to put himself through his paces over and over again until he 'perfects' what he wants to learn how to do. As a "traditional" (romanticized) example of a warrior, he is the golden boy of the family. Rise Leo might be a little less likely to get every step 'just so,' but most iterations of him aim to be as flawless as possible in terms of his combat skills. In his ideal world, he will never have a misplaced swing of a sword or inflict any damage he doesn't intend to. That depth of knowledge and highly-trained skill can be damned terrifying for his enemies if it's taken to its fullest extreme.

Weaknesses: His perfectionism and desire to get things 'just right' is a double-edged sword. In the 2003 series it got wrapped up in his PTSD and the need to never make a critical mistake again (which... didn't work out well for him-- hi, shades of Raph at his worst); in the 2007 movie it led him to think his efforts to learn how to be a better leader weren't "good enough" and kept him away from home for two years; in the 2012 series it led him to ignore critical injuries and try to bully himself into being 'better' (when realistically what he did during the farmhouse arc probably would have permanently destroyed one of his knees); in the 2014/2016 movies it led him to temporarily damage his relationship with his brothers by spilling over the worst of his internal perfectionistic vitriol onto them; and in Rise it at times has turned him into a showoff who'll act without letting the others in on his plan (which can backfire horrendously in a worst-case scenario) because if he does it without telling others what he's going to do, then he gets bragging rights if it works out like he planned. Underlying all this is what could turn into an unmanageable case of anxiety depending on the version of Leo and how personally stable he is, as well as how susceptible he is to ruminating over where he feels he went wrong. To say nothing of how many versions of Leo have a GIANT self-sacrificing streak when it comes to their families. Under the right circumstances-- and if someone really intended to make it hurt-- they could easily play all that against Leo and get him to freeze due to overthinking. (Though getting him to that level would take an extreme case and some severe emotional damage to weaponize his guilt.)

Speed: OKAY. Here's where things get a little more cut-and-dried in my opinion-- if a fight is down to just speed anyway. Leo might be pretty neck-in-neck with Raph in terms of speed, maybe just a touch faster due to (generally) being more lean-built than Raph. Leo's not a tank; yes he can fight in close quarters or mid-range and hold his own, but if he can then he tends to be 'slippery' about it. He's not going to batter away at an enemy if he can spin out of range before darting back in and dodging whatever hits he can. If it's just a matter of speed without any other factors involved, then there's a good chance Leo will win in a fight against Raph. If it's a question of strength and endurance though... Well, I'll expand further on that when I get to Raph.

Adaptability: This is something that is absolutely dependent on which version of Leo we're talking about and how hung up that version is on his plans without taking the general chaos of life into account. 2012 and 2014/2016 Leo both are guilty of getting so hung up on the idea that their approach to a combat situation is the right way that they fail to plan for the fact that their brothers' ways of doing things isn't their way of doing things. Which blows up in their faces spectacularly sometimes. IF it's a version of Leo who's more likely to fail to take into account his brothers' differing styles, then Raph might easily play that against him and deliberately do things Leo would find unpredictable (though probably not as much as Mikey, lbr). For versions of him that are better about knowing that his own approach isn't the only/'best' approach, then Leo would be better able to roll with whatever Raph throws his way, within reason.

Combat Style/Approach: Mid-to-close-range, tactician, and definitely NOT a grappler. Yes, his skills and training have him moving with muscle memory when he needs to, but even so, there's a split-second awareness of what his opponent(s) could do and instinctively reacting based on what he's met with. A lot of that means he has to be free to move and avoid getting held in place, or things might go bad quickly.

Donnie

Strengths: No matter which iteration of Donnie you're talking about, you're generally talking about an engineer who's able and willing to casually heft up and carry around a car engine with his bare hands. And considering (with a quick google search) it looks like the average car engine weighs anywhere between 300 to 700 pounds, that alone is proof enough that no one in their right mind would ever want to be punched by Donnie. And considering there are instances where he's able to temporarily support the weight of himself and his brothers (a couple of scenes in the 2003 series are what immediately come to my mind, but that's just my favorite iteration showing itself) it's proof that he has that strength not just in his arms. To give you an idea of just how much weight that implies he can lift, here's a size and weight comparison of some of the largest turtle species currently living.*

Notice anything? Like how... Oh... I dunno... a 4-foot-long Loggerhead sea turtle can weigh up to 400 pounds? Or a 3-foot-long Leatherback sea turtle can weigh 550 pounds on the light end? (Note: this is not meant to be snarky or condescending, just a simple statement of fact that all signs point to these boys are fucking HEAVY.) And that huge amount of weight relative to their body size seems to be pretty consistent among turtle species from what I've seen with my digging around. Which logically implies that the same holds true for these boys, and if we play fast-and-loose with the idea that we can roughly translate length to height... well... For general weight of the boys, I tend to assume at least 200 pounds, at least for those under and up to about 5-foot-tall. For the 2014/2016 set I might even suggest somewhere between 400-500 pounds-- but roughly comparing weight to size with that table of large turtle species, I'm probably severely underestimating their weight all across the board. Being generous, hypothetically saying all four of the 2003 turtles are about 240, that then means there are moments in the 2003 series where Donnie is temporarily lifting around 960 pounds, including himself. AND THAT MIGHT BE A SEVERE UNDERESTIMATION. Terrifying, right? So yes, Donnie is unquestionably strong as hell and maintains that strength by working on his various projects, and a full-force hit from him would land someone in a hospital-- if they're lucky. The other main thing working for him is that he's a tech genius. No, he's typically not as rigid or disciplined in his training as Leo is, but if he has access to tech and distance then he has a whole host of weapons and traps he can bring to the party (something which Rise Donnie excels at in spades). Raph's a much more physical direct-confrontation fighter, but Donnie has the capacity to turn entire environments against his enemies, depending on the means he has at his disposal.

Weaknesses: For better or worse, Donnie's primary personal strength-- the one he leans on above all else-- is his intellect and being able to puzzle things out. And again, he's an engineer: yes he can lift and move that terrifying amount of weight, but he's usually not doing it at speed. (Because let's be real, moving heavy and potentially very breakable machinery is not something you want to do quickly when you want to be able to use or repurpose said machinery.) He's not a slouch when it comes to his ninjutsu training, but there's a reason why the concept of Donnie pulling the 'I'm too busy to train right now' is a widespread fandom concept. It doesn't necessarily mean that he's not 'as good of a ninja', but more that he's not a 'traditional' ninja and has had to adapt things to his preferred methods. Yes he has a lot of physical strength, but he prefers to keep a distance from his opponent(s) if possible. Doing so, having that distance, gives him more time to plan and respond-- because unlike Leo, a lot of iterations of Donnie don't have that ingrained ability to read the possible actions their opponent(s) might take and respond on a dime (or at least not to the same level). Raph's tendency to brute force things-- something which Donnie technically could do but clearly does not like to-- might be somewhat unpredictable for him, especially because that puts Raph in close and doesn't give Donnie as much time to respond as he would like. All that said, Donnie could technically win a fight against Raph without his tech if he pretty much said to hell with fighting and decided to do an imitation of an octopus. At the very least he could probably hold him in one place if he was quick enough and managed to get Raph's arms pinned. And somehow kept him from walking. (It wouldn't be a dignified win, but it might still technically be a win.)

Speed: I'm gonna be honest, I do not think speed is on Donnie's side in comparison to his brothers. If he really makes an effort (rather than just going his own route and pursuing his interests) he'd probably be able to keep up with the others going at full tilt for a little while, but he'd probably tire out first. A lot of the work he does due to his areas of expertise is fairly sedentary, and frequently he needs to move with slow and deliberate precision. There's a lot of fine muscle control involved in that kind of work (especially if it involves maneuvering something heavy), but being able to consistently do that doesn't automatically translate to being able to do something similar at high speed. But that's okay, because if he has the distance and varied means of attack he needs, then he doesn't have to worry about keeping up with his brothers for an extended period of time-- it just has to be long enough.

Adaptability: If it involves tech or computer systems, Donnie's ability to adapt to a situation is unparalleled. Give him unrestrained access to an unfamiliar and shiny (and incredibly pervasive) system and he'll be able to make it seem like a tech apocalypse is targeting one specific person if he wants to. If it's a head-to-head physical fight though, it really depends on how desperate he is or how much breathing room he has (or both). If he's frazzled and panicky then there's the possibility he'll miss several opportunities or potential tools and, in a worst-case scenario, he might freeze. (An extreme example of this is how Rise Donnie gave up fighting the crab men when his tech failed, after all his brothers had already failed in that fight.) If he has time and space to think then he's practically unstoppable, but if he doesn't have that breathing room then chances are things won't end well for him.

Combat Style/Approach: Distance fighter, brain-over-brawn, could be a grappler if necessary but uncomfortable enough with it that it might work against him, might as well dub him a 'trap master' for the little surprises he might leave in his wake if he's feeling spiteful. He's a schemer, but not a chess master.

Mikey

Strengths: If there's one thing that can be said for Mikey it's the fact that most versions of him are innately gifted at picking up kinesthetic knowledge, to say nothing of the fact that he tends to be the most spiritually gifted of the brothers. In fact in several series (2003 and 2012 off the top of my head, though I'm certain it may have popped up in others) it's briefly mentioned that if Mikey really buttoned down and was completely serious about his ninja skills he would outclass Leo-- which means that he can naturally slide into the level of skill Leo has worked for years to achieve without even really thinking about it. If he wants to. And most of the time he doesn't want to. (Too much responsibility being that serious, so who can blame him?) However, his not constantly going at the equivalent of Level 99 in a videogame in fights isn't necessarily a detriment to him, because he has other ways to stay true to himself while giving himself an edge. Like being annoying on purpose. And knowing how to aggravate the hell out of his opponents until he tricks them into getting sloppy. Until he tricks them into giving him easy openings they should REALLY know better than to give him-- and would if he hadn't deliberately torn their nerves to shreds. If it's not obvious, I'm saying versions of Mikey like to play mind-games, and if they really want to they can be vicious about it and make it HURT. (Though again, most versions of Mikey are more invested in goofing off and playing around than being outright vicious or serious.) The point is, if he finds a mental opening that sticks, then how invested he is in winning the fight will dictate how serious he is about exploiting that weakness. To say nothing about how creative he can get when he really wants to be.

Weaknesses: The downfall of a lot of Mikeys is how distractable a lot of them can be. (I won't say this is a universal fact because I'm a big fan of there being variation among different realities, but a lot of Mikeys definitely being ADHD doesn't help. How well said version is able to compensate probably also varies.) So depending on the circumstances and the environment, Raph might be able to play that distractibility against him. (Buuuut that would require Raph to play mind-games, and most Raphs aren't the 'mind-game' type.) Plus, for better or worse, it takes a LOT to get most versions of Mikey to the point where he's ready to say 'Fuck everything' and throw everything he can into ending a fight right that second.

Speed: Mikey is, in my honest opinion (and based off most of the series and movies I've seen), the fastest of the brothers-- bar none. Which means if he tore off at full speed with the intention of skipping a fight entirely and just making Raph chase him, Raph probably would never catch him. Until after he wears down anyway. But if he zipped off and found a good enough hiding spot, then he could probably avoid Raph for a while. In a fight, because of his speed, there's a good chance that Mikey might be able to get in more hits than Raph, but that comes with the risk of getting in close to Raph-- and that can easily work against him in very short order.

Adaptability: Mikey's adaptability is through the roof. Most versions of Mikey, you can throw damn near anything their way and they'll roll with it in such a way that they land on their feet while their brothers are still scrambling for stable footing. There's also the fact that he's a very lateral thinker and able to apply concepts from seemingly unrelated sources to scenarios many others wouldn't even think to combine-- and he does so to his advantage. So yeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh, given enough room and space to work with (and not panicking), then there's a good chance Mikey's going to catch Raph off guard with something he'd never expect.

Combat Style/Approach: Close range, flighty, dart in-range to hit and then dart back out of range, mind-games and making his opponents angry to the point of getting sloppy seems to be his preferred tactic. He could be the most terrifying to go up against in a fight if he went absolutely stone serious, but 99.9999% of the time he does not want to and would much rather slip in some fun where he can. (If you don't believe me on that last point, consider that in the 2003 series I'm reasonably sure he has the highest body count of all the brothers, in the 2012 series he killed a kraang and wore the dude's skin on his head multiple times, and in Rise ALL of Dr. Delicate Touch and the frothing maniacal rage he has when angry. 'Nuff said.)

Raph

And here we come to the turtle in question himself, Raph. Hamato Raphael, Raphael Splinterson, Raphie-boy, take your pick.

Strengths: Raph is a TANK. Barring '87, this boy in most iterations pretty much makes it his mission in life to be the strongest of him and his brothers. He's also stubborn as hell and WILL NOT give in if he thinks it's important to stand his ground. Which means he can and will hold his ground and dig in long past when his brothers each have to retreat or fold; he can take the hits they can't and come out the other side still kicking. And what's more, if he feels the need to and is able to get up and be mobile, then he WILL hunt you down for as long as it takes and damned near nothing will stop him-- he is that. damned. STUBBORN. Let's be real, that combination is terrifying. Of course, naturally, this brings up questions of just how physically strong he is. I pointed out up in Donnie's section that Donnie is ridiculously strong, but just how strong is Raph? To answer that question, the infamous scene from 2007:

Just how much psi does it take to snap a katana? WELL, it turns out that finding out that information is really difficult (at least when I was nosing around and trying to find out). When I was doing my initial searching I found a video on facebook examining an anime scene (at the time-- back in September-- it was literally the only thing that remotely came close to answering my question that popped up) that claimed it would take at least 20,000 psi. Being that the person who posted that video didn't include any sources for reference, I'd take it with a grain of salt (especially since despite my best efforts I'm having a hard time finding that video again), but still. If-- for the sake of argument-- we assume that the 20,000 psi measurement is accurate for what it would take to snap a katana, that would mean that our boy Raph is capable of exerting that much force with each hand. And not just a brief spike of getting there either. No, for him to be capable of the force in that 2007 scene (again, assuming the number is accurate) then he has to maintain that force for longer than a second or two.

I don't know about you, but that makes this scene just that much more dangerous and intense in my eyes. It's not just that Raph could have killed Leo by stabbing him; it's also the implication that he could have easily torn Leo apart with his bare hands if he wanted to. So yeeeeeaaaahhhh, if Raph is able to get his hands on any of his brothers and is able to hold on, they're probably toast.

Weaknesses: Whoo boy. In most iterations, point blank, his biggest weakness is his temper. If he gets set off too thoroughly or if someone knows how to play it against him, his temper can make him get sloppy and lead to his defeat-- regardless of how ridiculously strong he is. It also means that, unless it's a version of him who has worked his ass off to keep himself in check, there's a good possibility that he might wind up doing things he'll regret when he's angry (and if someone really wants to twist the knife they can play that guilt and self-blame against him). If you go by 2003 and 2012 there's also his bug-phobia which can be played against him. (Even though 2003 Raph covers it with 'KILL IT WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE'.) If you go by Rise, then you DO NOT. EVER. WANT THAT BOY TO BE ALONE. And on a much more brutal note, going back to his stubbornness which is also one of his strengths

...there's a good chance that this boy might try to push himself past the breaking point if he feels it's necessary.

Speed: I've said before that I think Raph is pretty neck-in-neck with Leo when it comes to how fast he is, Mikey has them both beat in the speed department hands down, and Donnie is most likely to be the slowest moving of the four of them. If Leo has to deal with heavy weights while trying to move at speed however, Raph will have him outclassed due to having more practice in that department. For Raph to have a hope of keeping up with Mikey going full tilt in running away, Mikey would have to be carrying enough to weigh him down considerably. And while Donnie might stand a chance in trying to grapple with Raph, Raph having more experience in moving heavy weights at speed would probably mean Donnie would be better off trying to glom onto Raph like an octopus rather than outright grappling. So Raph's not the fastest, but he's not a slouch either.

Adaptability: As much as I love my boy, Raph is a tank, he's bruiser, he's a bulldozer who freely makes use of sharp and pointy things he can use to stab people with. Adaptability-- barring variation between sneaking in and out versus barreling in as loudly as possible to cause mayhem and destruction as a distraction-- is generally not in his wheelhouse. Given time and learning how to play mind games (and I don't doubt that an adult Raph could pick up and use the skill when he needs to) he'd probably become more flexible, but with where he's portrayed to be at in most iterations he hasn't gotten there yet.

Combat style/approach: Close-range, grappler, brawler, TANK. He WILL hold the line, he WILL dig in and hold his ground, he WILL be the wall and PROTECT with everything he has if he has to. He's also not above being outright brutally destructive when he feels it's warranted. And that "when he feels it's warranted" is key.

Details that affect the outcome:

Raph has a protective streak 500 miles wide. A lot of iterations try to be the wall for his family, the last line of defense when needed. He would sooner see himself hurt than anyone he cares about.

And it's not just his brothers, father, April, Casey, anyone-he-considers-family that he's protective of either.

Seriously, if someone pushes the protective button on this boy and his sense of right and wrong kicks in, he WILL get involved.

Raph cares and feels deeply; to him, family is everything.

You

have

NO IDEA

how much

this boy

LOVES

HIS FAMILY

or how much he'd tear himself up if he ever seriously hurt any of them. So the chances of him ever actually going all-out against any of his brothers is slim. (And the few instances in various iterations where he's come close it's seriously screwed him up emotionally every time. Like 2003 and the pipe incident, 2007 and the after effects of his fight with Leo, the implied guilt Rise had after he snapped back to his senses after reuniting with his brothers after he'd been alone, etc.) He might fight with his brothers, he might disagree with them from time to time, but overall he comes off as someone who firmly believes you don't ever deliberately hurt someone you should care about if you can help it. Which is backed up by instances of him panicking in various iterations where his decisions might result in his family's deaths, as well as the fact that he only really turns on any of them (think SAINW) if they cross the line of not being there for each other like he feels they should be. Some iterations might threaten to run off a lot, but he never will without a damned good reason because he loves his family too much to ever want to do that to them.

Final Assessments

Raph vs Leo: If it's in close and is just down to strength-- Raph wins. If Leo has the time he needs to scheme and play Raph the way he needs to-- Leo wins.

Raph vs Donnie: If it's in close-- Raph wins unless Donnie pulls off an imitation of an octopus and gets all of Raph's limbs pinned and holds on for dear life. If Donnie has the distance, time to scheme, and the means to set traps to his heart's content-- plus tranqs, no one wins against tranqs-- Donnie wins.

Raph vs Mikey: If Raph can get his hands on Mikey and keep him in one place-- Raph wins. If Mikey plays Raph like a fiddle with his mind games and stays out of reach-- Mikey wins.

Raph vs the three of them together: Well shit, that'd be a losing proposition under the best circumstances unless the goal was to try to out-stubborn them at something. 10/10 if he had to, Raph would keep dragging himself along even if all three of his brothers were hanging on to him to try to keep him from reaching his goal. (And if Raph hasn't exploited that fact during some wild-as-shit game of theirs, then Casey Jones is the queen of England.)

Raph vs his guilt if he actually seriously hurt them: Instantaneous loss that Raph would probably have a hard time ever forgiving himself for.

So do I think Raph is as good a fighter as his brothers? Yes.

Do I think he's holding back so he doesn't hurt them? Also yes.

Do I think anyone he went up against if he didn't hold back would be thoroughly screwed? Emphatically YES.

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

*The site I got the turtle size table in Donnie's section is [here], if anyone wants further details on sea turtles.

#Raphael #Leonardo #Donatello #Michelangelo #TMNT #TMNT 2003 #TMNT 2007 #TMNT 2012 #TMNT 2014/2016 #TMNT & Batman #TMNT IDW #meta #this is SO DAMN LONG

[some-zer0]

I think part of the reason why I'm so obsessed with Dahlia is because her and Phoenix are such great foils of each other.

Like, they're both the only people we know who've fallen from Dusky Bridge into the Eagle River and survived, but Phoenix accidentally fell because he was trying to protect his family while Dahlia was purposefully trying to leave hers

And on the subject of family, Dahlia tries so hard to hold disdain for and distance herself from her biological family, whereas Phoenix cares so much about and tries so hard to keep ahold of his found family

In addition, even though Dahlia appears at first glance to be a good actor, she actually loses her composure/drops the act/messes up her story very quickly. On the other hand, Phoenix appears to be a completely open book, but he's actually one of the most secretive characters in AA, and his bluffing skills are of course legendary

There's just... so much to compare between these two. They're selfishness vs. selflessness; they're a killer masquerading as an angel vs. a white knight viewed by many as a corrupt defender of murderers; they're deception vs. the truth. And yet they're also so similar in their passion, drive, and downright stubbornness. And that always makes me wonder whether them meeting under different circumstances might have led to them being friends (or if they're so different they'd be enemies no matter what)

#it's thinking about dahlia hawthorne hours again #ace attorney #phoenix wright #dahlia hawthorne #rambles #honestly I could probably talk so much more about this but this post is already longer than I'd like it to be

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi

Alot of people are saying Meleanor and Maellus are the same when she shot everyone with lightening. But I think she is more extreme. At the very least Malleus hasn't hit anyone, though their have been some close calls. But he has never threatened to hurt sebek, Lilia, or Silver. Melenore and Maellus are similar, but I think Malleus is more in control. Lilia does reprimand him if he acts up or he loses thought.

Mmm, well... I don't really think it's fair to say one is considered "worse" or "better" than the other in terms of control of their powers and emotions??? They're a lot alike, but they're also at completely different points in their lives and under much different circumstances. We also get a very limited perspective of one (Meleanor) over the other (Malleus), who is very much a prominently featured character.

Both Meleanor and Malleus in their basest forms are temperamental, and their bad mood stirs changes in the weather. The old adage, "like mother, like son" is very applicable here. The main difference between them is that Meleanor, the parent and adult, has more responsibilities and lived during a warring period.

We hear tales of Meleanor acting up and letting her powers flare out of control in her youth, and that parallels what we know of Malleus's childhood (ie when he froze the castle and many servants). They are the same. However, I would say that Meleanor's emotions running high is considerably more understandable (at least during the instance when we actually physically see her in the dream), considering that she's in the middle of a war and the life of herself and her unborn child are at risk. She's not just "shooting everyone with lightning" because she's lost her temper for no real reason. Meleanor is mad at Lilia and the soldiers for not showing up to defend her and her child. She had NO reason to believe her men would be returning with humans (Yuu, Sebek, Silver, Grim) in tow (who would be much more susceptible to being hurt from her magic than a fae), so I don’t think she was shooting at them specifically; they just got caught in the crossfires. I have no doubt that Meleanor could have done some serious damage with her magic, but since she's expecting only enemy soldiers or her own to walk through that door, I do feel like she has her reasons??? Like, if it's enemy soldiers, then those humans are for sure fried. But if it's her own soldiers, then she's most likely expecting them to be experienced enough to avoid her strikes (since they are, after all, trained rigorously to protect the royal family). Seriously striking down her own soldiers in a time of war only hurts herself, doesn't it?? Meleanor's anger focuses on Lilia and Lilia alone when he refuses her order to take her baby and leave her to fend for herself. I don't believe that she seriously intended to harm Lilia in that moment; she needs him alive and well to ensure the safety of her son. If anything, it feels like she summoned that lightning (the second time) to try and scare Lilia into running or as some kind of "test" to prove his readiness to do so. (Keep in mind that Lilia at this point was ALSO holding Malleus's egg while Meleanor was trying to blast him; do you think she would honestely try to decimate her friend and her baby when she just told Lilia to make sure the baby was kept safe?) This only got messed up because Silver (bless him) leapt in the way to defend his father, because to him, the danger still felt very real. Comparatively, Malleus gets upset over what are much more mundane things simply due to being a student during a time of peace (not being invited somewhere, Lilia getting a text message from a friend, etc). He does an excellent job of self-regulating most of the time, but he also has bad days when he expresses intent to harm those that anger him or at least considers it (ie the Magicam Monsters during the first Halloween event, Rook in his PE vignette (until he realizes Rook is purposefully provoking him), Rollo in Glorious Masquerade for deceiving him). Maybe he hasn't ever threatened to hurt Diasomnia, but that doesn't mean everyone is safe. Look at book 7, he did not hesitate to turn his magic against the people he cares about to force them to comply with his desires. Malleus is immature and doesn't know a lot about the world, nor is he able to easily cope with change or things that already escape his understanding, which results in these kinds of incidents. And like... even if Malleus doesn't mean to hurt people, that doesn't negate the harm he does do, does it? Just because he "never hit anyone" with his magic (at least not that we know of) doesn't mean he can't hurt in other ways. Think of the worry he caused in Endless Halloween Night or as far back as when he (accidentally) froze various servants in the castle. All of book 7 is also indirectly hurting people; he's not allowing them to live their lives and is deciding it FOR them. Even if Malleus doesn't see what he's doing as harmful, the truth of the matter is that it IS harmful. (Mr. Shroud even surmises that without food or water in those bodies forced to sleep, the dreamers might actually die.)

To quickly touch on Lilia, he shouldn't be used to excuse or to hand-wave away any bad behaviors on Malleus or Meleanor's parts. Yes, Lilia is an important person in both of their lives. Yes, he tells them off for their actions--but 1) his words are not always taken into consideration, understood, or followed through on by Malleus (such as in the Dorm Uniform vignettes) and Meleanor, and 2) there are also instances when Lilia enables them instead of discouraging them from acting out. (Endless Halloween Night comes to mind for Malleus.)

Malleus, like his mother, HAS to learn how to better control himself or risk repeating these same mistakes with or without Lilia. Let's not forget too, it's Malleus who Overblotted, a condition which arises mainly due to negative emotions. I don't know if I would call that a demonstration of being "more in control", but rather a sign of Malleus’s immaturity and inability to accept change 💦 ADDENDUM: it is implied later in book 7 that Meleanor also Overblotted, but not out of negative emotions but rather that she overexerts her magic when fighting.

We don’t know as much about Meleanor or how much of her childish tantrums (like the incident where she blew up part of a castle) carried over to adulthood. We also don’t know enough about her to understand if she ever compromised the safety of others like how Malleus did in his own childhood (again, the whole ice thing). When her castle is under siege, she takes control of the situation and makes a plan, then confronts the Silver Owls for a duel. She’s somewhat selfish in her insistent commands to Lilia, but then again, she has to be—she’s a sovereign with people she desperately wants to protect. Malleus is actually just as immature as his mother was as a child. It's possible to see him as "more in control" because we have so many other instances of him being calm and rational to refer to. Meanwhile, we only hear about Meleanor's destructive rampages via stories and have only one real instance of interacting with her to refer to, and she's being violent for most of it. We have very few instances of her being nice or pleasant to compare to, so by focusing only on what we physically witness, a biased interpretation of her can form. In reality, neither mother nor son is "worse" or “better” than the other—again, the standard for comparison for the two’s present behavior is not equal to begin with.

Malleus needs to be given the time to learn and grow to get to the same position and maturity that his mother reached. He’s still at a point where he’s insecure about his relationships and with the change that comes with the passage of time, not a pillar of control—and that’s just a consequence of his youth and lack of real-life experiences. That’s not to say that Meleanor is perfect or that she’s somehow “more” controlled than Malleus; they're both powerful, demanding, domineering types, which is how the Draconia family in general is described. It’s Meleanor's age and experiences have helped to temper her into a leader who knows what she most wants to prioritize in a live-threatening moment. She still uses force to get her way, but utilizes her powers with a more learned wisdom that deviates from Malleus.

#twst #twisted wonderland #Meleanor Draconia #Malleus Draconia #Lilia Vanrouge #disney twisted wonderland #spoilers #notes from the writing raven #Rook Hunt #Rollo Flamme #Rollo Flamm

[lerelene]

UPD

He's a total asshole

She's a badass softie

He was showing zero redeeming qualities when she fell for him while still pining for her first love - He's getting a perfect redemption arc while retaining his core bitch personality

He had a bit of a soft spot for her from the start (I believe) specifically because she had no problem threatening him with a switchblade - She got a soft spot for him after witnessing firsthand that he can love

She kissed him. Twice

He rejected her. Twice

He kissed her many times after

Oh, he kinda hit her after the first kiss (it was accidental but the asshole still didn't apologize) - She hit him accidentally too (didn't apologize either but came to check on him)

They sang together in an empty nightclub (there were two naked souls on the stage!) - They sang together in a full club (still completely emotionally naked, both of them)

He said that if she was the one to stab him at least he would die with a smile on his face - He said that if they died, they'd die together

She actually stabbed him some time later - She got stabbed in the exact same spot

He said he deserved it and to get away from the scene before someone saw her - She apologized for stabbing him and he said again that he deserved it, unlike her

She was going to but returned and got him to a doctor - He said he was never leaving her and kept his word

He never told anyone who did it but his loving mother found out anyway and knew he did some shit to deserve it

She was so shocked from what she did and hurt from what he did that she spent the whole night out in the cold and fell ill

He snuck from his house and into hers (with a fresh stab wound) to check on her

She was feverish and the only thing she managed to say to him was that she hated him - She was on the verge of dying and the most important thing for her was to tell him that she loved him

He definitely doesn't hate her - Of course he told her that he loves her too

He told her brother figure "she's in love with me" to provoke him into a beating - Her brother figure teases her about their romance now

She tells him off her brother and tells Him to let her go while she's the one who grabbed his collar

He replies that he'll let her go when she does the same (it doesn't feel like he means just her hand on his jacket. especially with the way they're staring at each other. the scene is magical) - He tells her that he cannot let her go in the most romantic circumstance

He's still a total bastard to her loved ones - He's still a sarcastic bastard but now in a much more entertaining way

She sees through him and tells him that he might like getting punished (kinkyyyyyyy) but she doesn't need a dog

He says she's in love with him again - He asks her to repeat her confession or he's not gonna stop trying to snog her

She slams his damn head into a mirror - She jokes she doesn't remember what he's talking about

He's completely feral for this girl - He captures her and kisses her against a wall 😭

There is a group standoff scene where she has her switchblade to his torso and then his throat

They both know she can use it on him (because she already did once) but there's more sexual tension than dangerous tension (even while surrounded by like 40 people including both of their families)

I have a feeling she's gonna be revealed pregnant and it's going to add SO MUCH MORE drama

I'm kinda feasting on this ship it's SO fcked up and delicious!

I don't think there ever was a better written and developed enemies-to-lovers trope than these two

#aslaz #yabani #yabani spoilers

[gallusrostromegalus]

Who has the best relationship with their zanpakutou? Who has the worst? Does anyone have a Beyond Friendship relationship? As in not only romantic or sexual, but something more sibling-like, or perhaps parental in either direction?

Hmmm... I wouldn't have a "best" relationship because there's many, many ways to do a relationship right, but definitely the worst is Mayuri, because Jizo is his parole officer that he kidnapped when he broke out of Hell and BOY HOWDY DOES THAT COME TO BITE HIM IN THE ASS.

As for "beyond friendship", most of them are in the sense that once you've fought and nearly died with someone by your side, "friends" is quite the right description. But to cite a few examples:

Yamamoto and Ryujin Jakka straddle the line between D&D warlock, and D&D paladin - Ryujin chose Yamamoto, amd for a long, long time Yamamoto did not understand WHY. Things got better and worse when he finally grokked why the spirit of change wanted to be wielded by the guy to whom the responsibility of founding civilization.

Rangiku Matsumoto is a strange and very private woman despite the act she puts on, and Haineko is one of exactly two people in the whole world who really understands her. On the other hand, nobody can piss you off quite like someone who really, truly knows you.

Probably the closest relationship is between Unohana and Minazuki. They've been partners for over a millennium, they laid waste to many enemies together, nearly died together several times, went to medical school together and even shared lovers. Where Unohana's soul ends and Minazuki's begins is... Unclear. There are days when they wake up and it's Minazuki weilding their body and Unohana in the scabbard, as it were. This is largely a non-issue; Minazuki is a doctor too.

Hyorinmaru is practically the Deuteronomy of zanpaktou- he's an ancient sword who has had many wielders. It's a lot of pressure for Toshiro, but hyorinmaru also has a lot of practice at this, and the relationship between them is not unlike a doting grandfather and his beloved and dutiful grandson.

Suzembachi is Soi Fon's Emotional Support Giant Murder Hornet and BY GOD the girl needs all the help she can get.

It took FOREVER to figure out what the hell was going on with Kenpachi, because while theoretically possible, it hadn't actually happened before- Zaraki Kenpachi is a Tsukumogami that died in the living world, and reincarnated as a human in spirit world.

SPECIFICALLY, he was a Holy Sword that had been around for 500 years* seen much battle and developed a revered soul before [REDACTED] and he asked to be ritually destroyed. He reincarnated in the spirit world in the best of one of the Great Eagles, but fortunately for him, all birds are a little bit stupid even if they're also technically Gods, and since the infant was the same size, shape and furiously screaming as he chicks, She Who Rules The Sky decided to just start shoving meat into his mouth too. Sometime after he grew up and his sisters had fleged, he left the nest to travel and hang out with his fellow humans, and eventually decided to give himself a name and raise a daughter, as humans do. They wandered around for many years as humans do, until circumstances resulted in his violent arrival to the court guard.

While off, none of this specifically worried Yamamoto until hyorinmaru was talking to him one day.

"...what do you think Zaraki is becoming?" The dragon asked him one afternoon while they watched Toshiro practice spar with Sasikibe.

"Becoming?" Yamamoto shrugged. "With the damn central 46 banning him from learning Kendo, he's becoming a Damn Nuisance."

Hyorinmaru sighs, a noise like a dam threatening to fail. "You did not notice? Zaraki has spent 500 years as a sword, 500 as an eagle or suchlike beast, and after he named himself and Yachiru, he spent 500 years as a man. And THEN he turned up here."

"I suppose, what of it?" Yamamoto shrugged, watching Toshiro's footing.

"With all due respect to the wielder of fire, when I was a worm, I spent 500 years on land, and then 500 years at sea, and then *I* became a DRAGON, sir." Hyorinmaru explained.

Yamamoto did not actually move, but he was no longer watching the boy.

"-with 500 years each as object, animal and man, Kenpachi surely has become SOMETHING. What is running lose through your court guard, I wonder?"

#aeiwam #an elephant is warm and mushy #bleach #bleach fanfiction

[rainyestcloud]

MAG146: Threshold. An Excruciatingly Deep Analysis. Word Count: 6702 .

The Final scene in mag146 is something i think about often. It wasn't a scene of the three assistants confronting Jon at Martin's behest, it was a scene of desperation for a tangible target that couldn't overpower them the way every other monster had, that could be loosely quantified as deserving every ugly emotion they've had to direct inwards. I think a large part of season four as a whole, is the lack of a "big bad guy" and how the absence of one big pure evil enemy can actually. make things worse sometimes. because back when Elias was present everyone had someone to blame. all their anger about their respective situations could be tied back to Elias and so everyone had common ground in their hatred for him, they had an outlet. Tim and Melanie both lashed out at almost everyone but in the end it was Elias Melanie tried to kill multiple times. It was Elias that Tim's rage always traced back to, and they he held as the true evil until his bitter end. Basira could blame Elias since he's the one who practically forced her into joining the institute to save Daisy. It made things easy. It was simple because it's so easy to direct all your hatred towards the person who's the obvious big bad antagonist. But as soon as Elias was not present anymore, none of them had that outlet anymore. That's a large part of the reason that Jon’s the one being scapegoated. He's the only one with no connection to them all. And the only one they can safely turn their rage towards. Basira and Daisy have a bond near unbreakable due to their history, Melanie and Basira went through the trauma of the Flesh attack together, Daisy and Melanie have the common thread of both being people attempting redemption despite it being what feels like their nature. And through this, they all have something connecting them all. With Jon, there's a lacking in that common thread. Especially since it was Tim who saved everyone from the unknowing. Plus, what makes Jon easy, is the fact that they can trace even just the littlest something involved with him. The point is, when Elias was there, everyone had something they could tie reeeally directly to their issues. But now thats he’s not. Jons the next closest thing. And many aspects about who he is as a person makes it ever so easier to put blame on him. Not only is he non confrontational and self blaming, so he doesn't have it in him to be a danger to anyone who may confront him. But, with the rapid deterioration of his mental state, he's been making bad decisions. He's been unintentionally hurting a few innocent people. And those two things combined are just enough to make him the perfect replacement outlet. Because god with everything they're going through they need something. Because, all in all, it's nobody's fault. And that is the hardest fact for anyone in their situation to accept. Because blame is easy. Blame is simple and blame lets you cast all your misfortunes onto one person without having to take painful responsibility for them. And right now? Fate is the one at fault. Everything is being subtly influenced by the web in a way that simply makes it so fate was the sole decider all along. The end was decided from the beginning. Nothing could have helped that fact. Everybody wound up in their positions because fate deemed them unlucky souls and no matter what they hoped or dreamed or wished to do there was nothing that could have been done because every single one of them was just a plaything for destiny to reel at. And that is the absolute most excruciating thing to accept in their circumstance. Because none of them can handle what they've gone through. And to accept that there's absolutely nothing that ever could have been done about it is. Devastating. Because why should Jon have been born to suffer, why should Melanie have had to live a life built off a burning stick tower of shaky rage, why should Daisy have had to live the life of a desperate predator that she can barely redeem herself for, why should Basira have to dedicate her life to something that-

has only ever backfired on her, and went through so much trauma because of. Every single one of them is at the absolute worst possible spot they could be at for one reason or another (except possibly Daisy), so what other option do they have besides creating blame when the alternative is accepting it was hopeless all along. They're all desperate. Now, to further explain my next point i'm going to bring in some historical context for the term "scapegoat. Based in the Bible, a scapegoat is one of two baby goats; the other is sacrificed, while the other is sent into the desert, carrying all of the sins and impurities with it. The idea is initially mentioned in the Book of Leviticus, where a goat is assigned to be sent into the desert in order to  carry away the sins of the community. Historically, this can be seen in many concepts. All of which are corrupt, and yet simultaneously used as one massive coping mechanism for the ways things are. The term though, interestingly (and ironically seeing a trend in historical scapegoats) enough, is rooted in ancient Judaism. Once a year, during Yom Kippur, Cohen Gadol sacrificed a bull as a sin offering to atone for all the sins he had inadvertently committed during the year. Then he took two goats and brought them to the door of the tent. Two goats were chosen by lot: one offered as a blood sacrifice, and the other as a scapegoat to be sent into the desert and pushed down a steep chasm where he died. The blood of the slain goat was taken behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the closing plate, the lid of the ark of the covenant. Later, the high priest confessed the intentional sins of the Israelites to God and figuratively placed them on the head of another goat, the scapegoat Azazel, who would symbolically "take them away". Now this is a very important analysis of a "scapegoat" because of how it narratively fits into the magnus archives you'll notice, that in the more ancient torah based description, it's abundantly clear that rather than simply an instrument for atonement, the goat is a sacrifice. The sins of the world were all placed on a rather innocent creature, and due to this, it met its untimely demise for reasons none other than fate. I like this specification, because I think it shows a really important context for the situation Jon is is. He isn't just being blamed for other people's problems, he's being utterly destroyed by them. Jons mental deterioration throughout the season has been nothing but noticeable in every way possible. And really? It's mostly due to that. He has an i n s a n e amount of survivors guilt at this point as pointed out by Daisy in Scrutiny, "And of course, for John, there’s survivor’s guilt in there, too. He thinks he’s not human. Makes him very… self-destructive.". So to have such an immense amount of guilt, and then have all the people around you, who you strive to have some sort of trust with, place all this blame on you, is detrimental. Not only is it a punishment perfectly tailored to match what Jons weakest point is, but it's also one that puts him in a cycle of agony that makes the entire situation worse. A sacrifice. It sends him into a vicious cycle of [ deteriorating due to being blamed -> not being able to sustain the pressure and agony of it and needing more statements -> taking more statements -> scapegoated for taking statements -> deteriorating due to being blamed ]. He's caught between a rock and a hard place with the situation because the ways the assistants are coping with their situation is directly contributing to exactly what they get on him for. They see him as a monster for doing what he does, and continue to deliberately try and make him feel worse, which only makes him need to do more of what they hate him for and no on and so forth. It's a vicious cycle full of unhealthy coping that none of them know how to withstand.

So, now that we have down the motives for scapegoating Jon and where Jon stands in the situation and what narrative role he's playing, we can now move on to the scene itself and the fundamentals of each character's stance in it. 

Coping: and how it interferes with regression of development. 

Firstly, I'm going to be starting with Daisy and there's a chance it's because she's my favorite and there's a chance it's because her stance is the most interesting. I lied, it's because she's my favorite! But either way, Daisy in this scene is the most conflicted character, and for extremely good reason. You'll notice that in her speech, she's almost desperately trying not to take sides, because she's the most aware of all the characters. She's undergone the most development and because of it is able to understand perspectives to a point where taking one is just something that's too difficult for her. After escaping the grasp of the Hunt, she's dedicated herself to atonement. Daisy has done terrible, inexcusable things in the past in order to feed the hunt. And since escaping it has done every single thing in her power to make up for it, no matter how hard. But the thing is. She's just as affected as all of them. And that's what makes her actions in this scene so interesting to look at. Because she can. not. blame Jon. She was Jon not too long ago she sees herself in him to a point where its painful. Because she too was caught in a place where she had to do things she knew were wrong simply to satisfy the desire of the hunt. She knows just how hard it is she knows the agony that Jon’s having to go through so she can't stand to see Basira and Melanie acting like he has full control. And yet at the same time, she can't bring herself to go against Basira. Because just as much as she knows where Jon is, she was on the police force with Basira. And cant help but see the justice side of the argument. She can't help but see how her circumstances differ from Ions in a way that Basira points out. So as much as she can see herself in where Jon is, she's incapable of not also being able to understand the points being made by the rest and where they are coming from due to how she knows that the logic for herself cant be applied to Jon. Since Jon knows what he's doing and she didn't. Since Jon hasn't been able to resist but she has. And a part about that fact is that it's Basira making it. She also still has a loyalty to Basira that makes it. Very, very difficult to fully go against her. So she becomes caught in a place where taking full, distinct sides, becomes a difficult endeavor. In the interaction, she's never the one making the points against Jon, but she's also not the one ever advocating for him. She makes a single comment about how Jons situation was similar to hers to try and reason was Basira slightly, but shut up about it after a few vague comments once she saw how driven Basira was in her convictions. BASIRA - You’re a danger, John. A monster. You’re hurting innocent people. ARCHIVIST - So did Daisy. BASIRA - Shut up. It’s not the same thing at all. DAISY - Basira. He has a point. BASIRA - You didn’t know what you were doing. [DAISY MAKES A PAINED SOUND, AS IF TO CONTRADICT HER, BUT STOPS.]. In this interaction especially, you can see just how tied she is between her understanding of both sides. She knows what Jons going through, but she also knows the differences in their circumstances, and it's not something she has solid ground to argue for. Now, bringing the regression topic in, I'll talk about how playing into this coping regresses her development as a character. Daisys current arc, and the one she's been having, is about fighting against her own monster hood. It's about resisting herself. About recognizing what she's done and atonement for it. It's about trying rather than succeeding. It's about fighting against your nature for what you know is right. So when upon seeing someone whos in as pained and monstrous a condition as she was, she cant bring-

herself to fight for them due to inconsistencies with what she believes, she regresses back to the person she was. The one who let their own morals get in the way of what was right. The one who allowed people to get hurt simply because it was "for the greater good." The way that regression is highlighted for her in this scene is how a blinding sense of morals and justice becomes too bright for her to act on the right thing. Even when staring at a pitiful version of the person she used to be. Character regression here works in the way where when tasked with empathy and understanding, she instead prioritized her own personal way of seeing things. 

Second, and much more simple of a spectacle to observe: Ms Melanie King. Melanie is a lot simpler to talk about, and mostly since her motives and ways of thinking are very direct and straightforward. Melanie is a character plagued by anger. She drew an unlucky hand in life, and the only way she was able to rise up to become a person she could be proud of was through fighting her way there tooth and nail, scratching and kicking and biting. So when everything comes crashing down on her. When everything she fought with her life for is suddenly destroyed, she can not blame herself. Because if she admits to herself that it was simply fate's fault that her career collapsed and that it was her fault that she joined the institute in the first place, then it means that everything will have been for nothing. And that her absolute rock bottom in life was all and only because of her. That. is NOT something she can face. And the rage that was once used to build her up in life, is redirected towards the ones who she sees fit to blame. First it was Elias. He hired her, he's the one commanding under the name of the eye, he's the one whose fault it is, and he's the one who she's going to take her rage out on. And so she did. And then Elias was gone. And her rage was taken over by the slaughter. In the time Jon was in a coma her anger festered, it grew, it empowered her and became more a part of her than ever. So once Jon was back, she had an outlet again. And boy did it make it ever so easy for her, though all through good intentioned. Jons surprise little surgery to help release her from the slaughter, the fact that it was her statement she made to him that got her involved with the institute at first, the fact that he's becoming less and less human. So many things about what Jon was doing and had done made it horrifyingly easy for her to place her rage on him. And so, all her anger was redirected towards the archivist that ruined her life. I think at this point it's also worth mentioning Melanie's pride and how it plays into her as a character. She's undergone a l o t of character change. But aside from her frustration the one thing that's stayed stagnant about her as a person is her pride. She took great pride in where she managed to get herself in life back when Ghost Hunt UK was up and her life was at its peak. It was her pride and joy and it's what boosted her ego so high because it's something she did for herself with her own bare hands. So when that collapsed, one of the massive reasons that she needed to blame someone so bad was due to the fact that if she admitted that it was her fault, then all that pride would have collapsed with the rest of her life. Navigating blame away from herself and avoiding acceptance is her way of preserving her ego, which is the only thing she really has left after all she's undergone. And due to this ego, it's also what makes her the most stubborn and fierce during this scene. And so, so willing to go against Jon at any and all costs. But tracing back to this pride of hers, I think it's an aspect that's actually quite a lot during the intervention. The moment Jon refers to her as being a character in an explanation of his she immediately assumes he's trying to blame her for it all. [ ARCHIVIST - The second was… it was after I got stabbed by Melanie. MELANIE - You are not putting this on me ]. She does this again, but this time when Jons agrees with her, this being a blow to her ego that someone like him could even think to agree with an idea of hers. [ ARCHIVIST - She does have a point. MELANIE - I did NOT ask you.] So now that motives and reasoning are out of the way, it's time to explain how regression is doing its work on Melanie here. Melanie's key point in her development as a character is. actually almost hilariously obvious to a point where she's actually seen as reasonable for a split second of her life. She got therapy. 

An honestly hilariously smart solution to the arising problems but. It was impressive for Melanie. Because her getting help after never once leaning on anyone around her was a massive step for her. It was a release of her pride, a recognition of her needing help from someone, of realizing she wasn't ok, and going out and getting it. Which god is more than can be said for most characters but essentially what therapy meant for her character development, was that she was finally taking a step to acknowledge her irrational anger and work to fix it. What happened in this scene for her, was a messy entanglement with the automatic unleashing of anger that she's always been so accustomed to, and the fact that she just took a massive step to stop that habit of hers. Regression is present here in the way that here, it's that automatic unleashment that ends up dominating, and becomes what overtakes her in this scene. The person she's been trying too hard to become fades away, and she moves back into the bitter, angry, spiteful person she was at the beginning of season four, still infected with the slaughter.

Basira is. undoubtedly the most complicated one. Daisys motives are the most contradicting, but Basira is the most dominant figure in what's happening, making her actions the most intense, and controversial. Basira is. complicated. She's extremely justice oriented and will do just about anything if it's for the wellbeing of the innocent and good of the world. She doesn't have the same "maul and kill the bad protect the good '' philosophy as Daisy, and is much less violent, but nonetheless lets her judgment of if people are good or not define her actions. And this goes for just about everything she has an opinion on, even changing what she thinks drastically if someone's morals shift. The only exception to this rule is Daisy, who seems to always have some affection towards whether what she's doing is good or not. The only time she's ever intervened with Daisy's immoral behavior is when she was going to kill Jon, who was someone Basira saw as moral. This type of mindset of hers got to the point where she completely turned on the police force the moment she recognized it as corrupt without even a second thought or dilemna about what she had sacrificed years upon years of work for. Unlike Daisy, who's developed to be able to see in shades of gray, Basira is still stuck at a point of black and white thinking. Deeming people as either "good" or a "monster." However over time, what went from just a mindset, became an utter and absolute crutch for her. She kept having to save herself from more and more situations. Rayners incident where she had to save herself from the chaos of the situation to when she had to rely entirely on her own head and wits to survive the unknowing, Basira slowly yet surely gets to a point where she can only trust to rely on herself, and her logic. After being through hell and back in Section 31 and then the institute she longs for stability, and gets this by having a rock solid state of mind that develops into the one and only thing she can depend on This gets especially reinforced in season four, when she's forced to take a leadership position. After the unknowing, her one, true last anchor besides herself disappears. Daisy was the one thing she could always count on, the one thing that was always there as an undeniable constant no matter what. But after Daisy was gone, she was left truly alone. So with Jon gone, Elias in prisoned, Martin out on his own agenda, and everyone else besides Melanie dead, she's forced to take leadership of the operation that is the archives. This in itself makes her extremely self sufficient. Becoming more and more self reliant and she increasingly loses anchors. This is likely around the time that she started really looking up to Gertrude, someone who all by herself did an unbelievable amount of justice for the world no matter what it took, or who had to be sacrificed to do it. Gertrudes self sufficiency, her effort, her efficiency, her image, everything Gertrude was, Basira strived to be. She's entirely independent, researching her own things and going all around the country without telling anyone about what she's doing. Leading all the operations such as the stopping of the dark ritual and now, going to investigate hilltop roads. She's undeniably retreated into herself, and no longer is used to being anything but autonomous. Because relying on herself for everything is how she copes. She turns herself into a pillar of stability which she must never leave, terrified that she would otherwise collapse. However despite seeming logical, she also greatly uses Jon as just as much of a scapegoat as Melanie, albeit more subconsciously. The problem that arises with Basira a bit more, is bias. Bias towards what's helpful to her personally, bias towards stability, and a strong bias against things that both destable her, and don't fit her view of justice. 

I'm going to have to try and word this simply because Basira is a little complicated, but essentially, her black and white view of the world mixes with her biases very badly. Being either extremely tolerant, or extremely intolerant. Due to her self sufficient development, she has automatic favor towards anyones who's useful to her. Aka: Melanie. During the flesh attack, Melanie saved her life. Melanie got Helen as an ally. Melanie helped her research and upkeep of the archives when nobody else was around. And otherwise, has stayed out of her way. Due to Melanie having been useful to her, she sees Melanie as a person on her "good" list. And is willing to excuse Melanie's emotional outbursts, and justifies them. She also has automatic favor towards people who provide her stability: Daisy. Daisy has had her back for likely at least a decade. She's always worked together with her, always helped her, always provided a sense of stability for her to rely on, and was a powerful unstoppable force that Basira found comfort in depending on. Daisy was also someone Basira became extremely trauma bound with, enforcing the fact that Daisy would constantly be relied upon. Because of this, Basira looked past her immoral behavior on the police force. Daisy also earned a spot on her "good" list. However, Jon has ever provided for her in a way where she can have this favor towards him, and if anything goes against the exact things that she values Melanie and Daisy for. Unlike Melanie, Jon has never helped her or been of use to her. He's never saved her, never gotten her in the nick of time, never assisted her in something great, and overall has really never been a person that has been of good use to her. Unlike Basira, he's extremely unreliable. He's messy, jumps into action without thinking, he's self sacrificial in the stupid way, always gets himself into danger, is sloppy with plans, puts himself and others in danger, and is the last person you can rely on as a sturdy boulder. So not only does Jon not possess the qualities she tends to favor people over, but similarly to Melanie she associates him with being put in danger due to him being unhelpful at some of the most dangerous places shes ever found herself in, including the unknowing, the stopping of the "dark ritual". And most other scenarios where she's been put in danger, and needs someone to assist her. That being said, this means that she's not willing to look past anything he does due to lacking in the favor that people like Melanie and Daisy have. This especially works in the opposite of Jons favor when the things that he happens to be making mistakes on, is exactly what Basira values. Justice of the innocent. So when you combine ALL these factors. 

Combine her need to be bold, black and white, stubborn and unmoving at all costs [ BASIRA - How many. ARCHIVIST - Basira…BASIRA - How. many. ] [ BASIRA Enough. ]. [ BASIRA -Then we go. Now. Unless, anyone has any objections. ] 

With her newfound need to be independent, autonomous, self sufficient, self reliant at all costs [ BASIRA - No. if he is being controlled, we need to know. And we need to know now. Tell me where she is. ] [ BASIRA - Fine, I’ll go, then. I’ll do some recon on my own, and update you. ]

And finally, her biases towards those she favors mixing with her strong sense of justice [ BASIRA - Why do you think? Because he was ashamed. ] [ BASIRA - You’re a danger, John. A monster. You’re hurting innocent people. ARCHIVIST - So did Daisy. BASIRA -  SHUT UP. It’s not the same thing at all. DAISY - Basira. He has a point. You didn’t know what you were doing. BASIRA -And since you did, you’ve spent every waking hour resisting. He knows exactly what he’s doing. ] [BASIRA-  You don’t get a vote. ]

Now that I've discussed the individual characters and their stances and motives, I want to give my personal review of this scene and it's mostly just. My goodness. Jonathan Sims is scarily good at writing characters. I feel like a lot of writers often don’t go into the messy details of what trauma does to you as a person. A lot of the time characters will go into scarring events and come out only slightly affected. But what's really done so, so well, is the realism put into the coping styles and reactions of each character. They don't react to their trauma in pretty, romanticized ways. Melanie especially depicts this. She has rage outbursts that have ruined her almost all her relationships, she becomes violent out of fear, she reacts irrationally due to defense mechanisms, shes messy and shes vengeful and shes angry and the ways in which she acts in order to protect herself whether its stabbing Jon and other violent outbursts, or a general inability to communicate without thinking the other person has bold intentions to hurt her. She screams at Jon, blames him for all her problems despite him being responsible for dead zero of them, and turns fearful and livid at the sight of him. She's traumatized and it's not depicted in a way that's supposed to get the point across while still preserving love for the character. They aren't afraid to make characters genuinely unlikeable for the sake of realism and it's represented s o well. And she isn't the only character who does this when faced with trauma. Tim becomes bitter towards everyone around him and vents his rage on anyone who comes too close. Martin becomes hateful, spiteful, and self isolating. Basira takes complete domination in order to be in control of situations, and becomes accusatory, cold, selfish, unfair. I could go on and on but there isn't a single characters whose reactions art brutally honest to what anyone would say or do. they are unpleasant and messy and excruciating but they're human, they are unapologetically human. heres a perspective that wasn't so easy to see coming, but it actually fairly crucial to this entire scene and what exactly it means. Martin. Martin was the one took the tape of the bystanders interaction with jon, and left it out for the others to see. A silent instruction to intervene. Which. Dear god shows a lot about who he is as a character and just why the lonely is benefitting so much from him. Martin cares about Jon. It's undeniable. Daisy and Basira and Jon and Martin have always worked quite well as foils because as Daisy is Basira source of stability despite Daisy being rather uninvolved, Jon is Martins source of stability, despite Martin purposefully not involving himself. We already know that one of the main reasons Martin is working with Lukas in the first place, was a promise that doing what he's doing is protecting Jon. Everything from his self isolation to his purposeful self sabotage with his peers to every ounce of work he's doing..is really just all for Jon and the promise of his safety. However, despite his care he refuses to get involved. He digs himself in such a deep self sabotage hole that he refuses to even try and do what Jon really needs from him due to being so deep into what he's doing that he can't really turn back. He's so incredibly focused in on his own agenda, that he ends up endangering what he says he values. He's so uninvolved with the happening of things that he sent a tape containing an example of jon acting “evilly”, to the exact people that push him to do so and without considering the danger that may put him in with his coworkers.Martins perspective on this isn't really something you can tell? So it's hard to guess if i did that knowing what would happen and thinking that would be for the best, or did it thinking things would end differently, not realizing what he was doing. is really just all for Jon and the promise of his safety. However, despite his care he refuses to get involved. 

He digs himself in such a deep self sabotage hole that he refuses to even try and do what Jon really needs from him due to being so deep into what he's doing that he can't really turn back. He's so incredibly focused in on his own agenda, that he ends up endangering what he says he values. He's so uninvolved with the happening of things that he sent a tape containing an example of Jon acting “evilly”, to the exact people that push him to do so and without considering the danger that may put him in with his coworkers. Martin's perspective on this isn't really something you can tell? So it's hard to guess if i did that knowing what would happen and thinking that would be for the best, or did it thinking things would end differently, not realizing what he was doing. Either way, it's very interesting to see just how dedicated Martin is to Peter Lukas’s plans to a point where even the main motivation to what he's doing in the first place becomes something he avoids at every single cost he can, even when attempting to better things. Of course there's a lot about Martin I could talk about, but it wouldn't be relevant to this episode. Instead it's just interesting to focus on the action Martin takes, the inaction he takes, and just why he does these things. 

Martins. certainly an interesting one right now. I keep trying to decipher his motives by leaving the tape out but it's honestly near impossible to fully know what he was counting on happening or not.

Now when you think about this scene in the context of psychologist "Leon Festinger's" cognitive dissonance, it gets even more interesting. For starting context, cognitive dissonance is when ones belief differs from physical evidence at hand. You may have heard of musical dissonance, when two notes in different keys are played in a rather jarring timeframe, made to make the listeners uncomfortable or shudder. Cognitive Dissonance is just this. When someone's belief doesn't line up with the evidence at hand, it creates a jarring discomfort quite similar. An example used by Festinger (1957) may assist in elucidating the theory. A habitual smoker who learns that smoking is bad for health will experience dissonance because the knowledge that smoking is bad for health is dissonant with the cognition that he continues to smoke. He can reduce the dissonance by changing his behavior, that is, he could stop smoking, which would be consonant with the cognition that smoking is bad for health. Alternatively, the smoker could reduce dissonance by changing his cognition about the effect of smoking on health and believe that smoking does not have a harmful effect on health (eliminating the dissonant cognition). He might look for positive effects of smoking and believe that smoking reduces tension and keeps him from gaining weight (adding consonant cognitions). Or he might believe that the risk to health from smoking is negligible compared with the danger of automobile accidents (reducing the importance of the dissonant cognition). In addition, he might consider the enjoyment he gets from smoking to be a very important part of his life (increasing the importance of consonant cognitions). Cognitive dissonance is seen here, particularly in Basira, very starkly. Basira and Melanie believe Jon is a monster. An inhuman thing that's instinct is to only harm others. She views him as this broken twisted thing that needs to be handled and managed so he doesn't destroy the people around him. However, at the same time she's still wholly devoted to Daisy. She holds no blame towards her, and excuses her every action due to her repressed feelings for her and the loyalty she feels towards her, despite Daisy having done far, far worse than Jon. but despite the hypocrisy, they make her feel safe. They give her stability. Because this way, she has a clear opposing force (Jon), and a clear allied force (Daisy and Melanie) and having that gives her the groundedness she longs for. However, cognitive dissonance comes into play. very quickly with this. For example: the evidence of Jon trying to be better. The fact that Jon does everything in his power to help others, the fact that Jon continuously resists using his power if he can't help it, the fact that Jon has a kind heart, the fact that Jon has worked tirelessly for others, the fact that Jons intentions are never once bad.

Basira sees this. Basira sees every. Little bit of this. But she denies. She feels that uncomfortable dissonance between what she believes about Jon and about what's in front of her eyes. So in order to close this gap between belief and evidence, she makes excuses. She convinces herself that Jon is barely trying and that things would be fully better if he actually cared, she convinces herself that Jon is against her and is being manipulative, she convinces herself that he's deliberately doing what he is. All these beliefs that convinces herself of help close that uncomfortable gap between her belief and logic, making that dissonance go away. As Lauren Slater said in her book on Leons Psychology "Opening Skinner's Box": “dissonance is really not about looking at how people change. The theory just didn’t concern itself with that.” Which describes her feelings towards Jon, really quite well. Its doubt of progress. Doubt of character. Doubt of the human ability to change and grow and live. Someone else along with this happens with her relationship with Daisy. 

Now for this part if we are to take a look at some more excerpts from Lauren Slater's "Opening Skinner's box:” "Did Festinger ever consider how our justifications are to save not only ourselves, but others too? Did he ever consider how lies and love are intertwined?” This part relates. Incredibly directly to Daisy. Basiras Justification of Daisy's past actions, every single time she says "It's not the same" when talked about Jon and Daisys inhumanness, it's out of pure love. She doesn't want to admit to herself that Daisy may be as in the wrong as she is, but she also doesn't want to admit it to Daisy. She cares about Daisy deeply and doesn't want her to have to face that pain of truly seeing what she's done. She lies to herself out of protection of Daisy, and out of preserving her morals. Because Basira wants to be a good person. She needs to be a good person she needs to stand for the name of justice as a totem, as a symbol. She can't do that if she stood by someone and let them murder countless people, and excuse it, and love that person deeply, and continue to. So she lies to herself. She tries to close the gap in dissonance by justifying Daisy's actions, because god she just needs to. Now, for how Melanie comes into this. It goes without saying that Melanie pretty much also can be directly applied to all of Basiras cognitive dissonance, except for some details. She experiences the same cognitive dissonance as Basira just in an angrier way, with different motives. And it's exactly this that makes the dissonance with Basira and Melanie worse.

“We spend our lives paying attention only to information that is consonant with our beliefs, we surround ourselves with people who will support our beliefs, and we ignore contradictory information that might cause us to question what we have built.” "Soothing can come only if more and more people sign onto the spaceship, so to speak, because if we are all flying this thing together, then surely we must be right.” Companionship. Because if someone believes the same thing as you you cant be crazy. If someone sees what you see then it affirms you, makes you feel like you must be right since you aren't the only one who thinks this. That's what happens with Basira and Melanie. They both experience with dissonance, and find companionship in it. They think. "Oh, well I'm not alone in this belief, so I doubt it's wrong." Their beliefs are affirmed, and they strengthen due to this. There's no room to doubt yourself when everyones telling you youre right. Another variable when it comes to companionship, is just how much both of them long for it. Melanie and Basira are in such lonesome, excruciating places in their lives. meaning that the companionship that comes with this common dissonance is strengthened simply by the fact that they both long for allies and for support. “The psychological opposition of irreconcilable ideas (cognitions) held simultaneously by one individual, created a motivating force that would lead, under proper conditions, to the adjustment of one’s belief to fit one’s behavior—instead of changing one’s behavior to fit one’s belief (the sequence conventionally assumed).”

#the magnus archives #magnus archives #jonathan sims #jon sims #themagnusarchives #magnusarchives #tma #magpod #basira hussain #daisy tonner #melanie king #martin blackwood #the magnus pod #elias bouchard

[raxistaicho]

Is Edelgard a fascist?

So as I mentioned in a recent post, I'd like to dig in detail into the notion that Edelgard is a fascist. And also debunk said notion.

Now then, I'm going to look into the actual indicators of fascism, and not the "that character is in power and I don't like them" version we see thrown carelessly around the internet today.

It's broadly accepted today that the fourteen key signs of a fascist society are as follows:

While the exact wording can vary, these are the most common traits.

We'll start with the easiest ones first:

Corporations and labor movements don't exist in Fodlan, nor is there such a thing as private mass media, nor does Fodlan have elections (no, not even in post Azure Moon), so those can four can't be analyzed. However, given that corporations are modern-day fiefdoms and CEOs and the rich are modern-day aristocrats, it's not hard at all to imagine that Edelgard would align her interests more with the working class than the wealthy if she existed in a different kind of society.

And rampant sexism is the most obvious, "no", given Edelgard cares more about talent than what a person has between their legs.

Moving on next to the things that can be addressed with a little more detail.

Supremacy of the military: So obviously Edelgard starts a war, which makes things a bit weird here, but there's no indication the Adrestian military is given disproportionate focus in terms of funding or cultural emphasis aside from what could be reasonably expected from a country at war. Additionally, Edelgard favors diplomacy as a solution to Fodlan's relations with Almyra and Brigid, and Edelgard demonstrates a wide range of areas of focus for her future reforms between research (Linhardt, Constance), education (Ferdinand), faith (Manuela), and the arts (Dorothea), making it clear the military is just one of many tools in her reformist arsenal. 4 is a strong strong no.

Obsession with national security: This trait is more or less an obsession with external forces attempting to ruin you. Edelgard's detractors would immediately leap to her designating the Church of Seiros as a target while forgetting that the CoS is her only target. With fascism, there is always An Enemy looking to tear down society, but that isn't the case with Edelgard. She targets the CoS for very specific and demonstrable reasons, and once they're defanged she sets out making peace with former enemies abroad and at home. Her detractors would point out Hubert continuing to observe Fodlan for internal threats, but given how fragile Fodlan's internal peace would be for years following the war (rebellions would be a common issue, whether or not the Agarthans are involved), this is more of a justified concern than an obsessive rooting out of imagined agitators. 7 is another no.

Disdain for intellectuals and the arts: Several characters Edelgard forms very close support attachments with (Bernadetta, Dorothea, Manuela, Linhardt, Hanneman) are artistic types or intellectuals, and, despite what her detractors would have you believe, so 11 is another no.

Obsession with crime and punishment: Edelgard treats Varley and Aegir, people who tormented her, her loved ones, and countless others with a very even hand. While Rhea's confinement appears to be under severe circumstances (underground and likely in isolation for five years), this isn't done because Edelgard felt like being extra mean: you simply can't confine a woman who can transform into a dragon in an ordinary cell. Compare this to the Knight of Seiros's obsession with summary executions and Edelgard comes off looking very merciful. 12 is another very likely no.

Rampant cronyism and corruption: Firstly, she actively fights against corruption.

Cronyism is where her detractors will point out her giving positions of power to close friends, but the issue there is a key aspect of cronyism is that the person committing it ignores it does so without regard for the beneficiaries' qualifications.

The two characters most likely to ruffle feathers are Caspar and Bernadetta, but none of their endings imply they were incompetent at their respective positions. It's simply the nature of Fire Emblem ending cards to assume the character was highly succesfull during the war - aside from a few joke characters or poor Ilios.

That's a few more knocked out, leaving only a few left.

Powerful and continuing nationalism: Nationalism is the focus on the advancement of one's own country above all others. Three Houses doesn't treat Adrestia, Faerghus, and Leicester as countries, but as regions or powers, but I'll ignore that for sake of argument. Edelgard detractors claim Edelgard is focused on the advancement of specifically Adrestia, but that's certainly not true. The common anti-Edelgard claim is she's trying to regain the lands of Faerghus and Leicester for its own sake, but she isn't, she's trying to unite Fodlan so she can bring her reforms to all the continent at once.

Additionally, she's very concerned for Brigid's well-being, see her support conversations with Petra in both games, and she expresses an interest in forging better diplomatic ties with Almyra. Ultranationalism of the fascistic sort usually involves a major withdrawal of foreign relations. This is another no.

Disdain for human rights: You could argue with some justification that this is a fairly weak spot for Edelgard through her alliance with the Agarthans, and there's some merit to that. It is, however, a bit jarring to argue that the woman who wants to usher in new human rights has disdain for them.

As I mentioned previously, her treatment of Rhea during her imprisonment in Enbarr is often a sore spot with Edelgard's detractors, and it definitely seems to be the case that Rhea was imprisoned underground and largely in isolation... but again, how does one humanely secure a woman who can transform into a 30-foot flying dragon? It's just one of those things of the issues of trying to secure such an individual.

Also, as I mentioned previously, Edelgard avoids cruel and unusual punishment wherever possible, even for those who've seriously wronged her, such as Aegir. Another no, though perhaps a bit weaker than some past ones.

Identification of enemies/scapegoats:

The scapegoats part is important. As I mentioned previously, in fascist societies, there always has to be An Enemy to fight against, as fascism is obsessed with action for actions' sake and unity against some Other, all to keep the people at home from paying attention to their rights being stripped away.

So while Edelgard certainly identifies the Church of Seiros and Nabateans as a problem for Fodlan as a whole, she does this for the very clear reason of stripping their ability to interfere in the peoples' self-interests, and not just to give Fodlan an enemy to fight. Noticeably, once the church and the Nabateans are defeated in Crimson Flower, Edelgard focuses the rest of her life on social reforms. There's no indication she continues launching wars, whatever Fantasy Invader tries to say. Another no.

Religion and government intertwined:

This would seem to be Edelgard's weakest point, since she appoints one of her own ministers as head of the southern church in Scarlet Blaze. In Crimson Flower proper we have too little information on church life in Adrestia under her to know this one either way.

It's worth remembering that Edelgard's reformed system generally acknowledges the first generations of people in power will more or less be people who would have already had that power, since they're generally the most apt recipients due to their initial advantage. In that regard, the head of Adrestia's religion doubling as a government official is a problem she inherited, not one she created: Count Varley was already minister of Religious Affairs. It would be a lot more suspicious if she named Hubert the southern bishop.

Furthermore, given the nature of Edelgard's merit-based reforms, once Varley dies there's a much better chance of the next southern bishop not being tied to Adrestia's government.

Lastly, Religion and government being "merely" intertwined is an improvement from SS and VW, in which Fodlan becomes a full-on theocracy, and AM, in which religion has permanent influence over the government.

And there we go! Of the fourteen warning signs of Fascism, only one of them could be honestly tied to Edelgard, and mostly only because of her loathed alliance with the Agarthans - which she ditches in Scarlet Blaze, leaving her entirely free of human rights abuses.

So yeah, Edelgard doesn't actually look very much like a fascist when your standards are actual fascism and not, "this lady accrues power and I don't like her for it".

That's why you never take an Edelgard detractor at their word, folks.

#fire emblem three houses #fire emblem three hopes #edelgard von hresvelg #edelgard positive #edelgard discourse #fascism

[leventart-den]

I'm here with another silly idea for ZoSan, dear Strawhearts. And you know what? I love cliches. Because for me it is always so much fun to take something that is very well-known and predictable and think how it can be turned around and changed. So, of course, when I see the "f*ck or die" tag on AO3, my brain immediately starts to work and think what I can do with it. I'm writing this in a very subdued and non-descriptive manner (because I'm just sharing a general idea), but I think you can fill in the blanks given the topic.

So what if this happened and during another battle with an enemy ship, Sanji was somehow drugged.

And now this is a ten times worse version of Sanji, and not only regarding girls. And since it's ZoSan, of course Zoro is the one who finds Sanji in the kitchen and notices that something is wrong with the shitty cook. They fight as usual, but in the end it ends with Sanji admitting that he needs help. He tells Zoro that he trusts him, that he is strong enough to watch over him and not let him out of the kitchen so that Sanji doesn't do things to others that he will later regret. 

So now they're stuck in the kitchen alone with Zoro shooing everyone away from the door who comes to find out what's going on. Although later they still had to move down to another cabin because Luffy couldn’t live without food and was ready to break inside. Sanji, in turn, is holding up adequately for now, but over time things are getting worse. Zoro can tell that the cook is burning like a furnace even sitting a few steps away from him.

Over time, Zoro begins to talk to Sanji to distract him. Somehow they manage to talk to each other without the usual fighting and insults. This is probably because Sanji is too out of it and just doesn't have the strength. And Zoro, despite the impression of an idiot that he sometimes creates, is actually very smart and attentive and senses the situation enough to react adequately. Because you can't be the best swordsman if you can't read your enemies and people in general as a consequence. And Sanji is not just a crew member, he has always been his rival. Zoro is able to read Sanji better than anyone to this point. So he understands when "it's not the right time". 

Although, as a few more hours pass, everything begins to slide even further down the slope. Zoro begins to think that the shitty cook has bitten more than he can chew. And if Zoro is completely frank, he himself has been having “strange” thoughts for some time now, which he stubbornly refuses to name. He suggests turning to Chopper for medical help, but Sanji categorically refuses. Chopper is too young and there is no way in hell that Sanji would allow him to be exposed to “such things in life” even as a doctor.

More time passes and when at some point Sanji stops responding to Zoro and he realizes that Curly blacked out Zoro thinks that he had enough.

He manages to bring Sanji back to consciousness and angrily (because he’s worried, although he won’t admit it) says that the cook is an idiot and instead of being stubborn and enduring and possibly dying, Zoro could help him. They could solve this problem. And in general it’s not even a problem, there’s nothing “special” about it, they’ll just forget about it after that and that’s it. However, despite his clouded consciousness, Sanji watched him very carefully and maybe he would have believed Zoro that “there is nothing special about this” if he had not been red as a tomato and his hands had not trembled so much, despite how tightly they were squeezing the collar of his shirt. 

So after a moment of silence, he carefully removed Zoro's hands, never taking his eyes off Zoro.

"Marimo. If you want to help me, help me. Stay with me. Make sure I don't do anything stupid. Restart my heart if it stops. Help me breathe if I can't anymore. But don't fucking ever offer me this solution again. That won't happen, not in circumstances like these. Not under pressure. I don't want to hear this. I'd rather fucking die than let anything control me and influence my actions. I am my own man, this is my body and only I can decide what and how."

There was something left unsaid. Something Zoro doesn't know yet about the cook's past. But he understands that it is important enough not to try to propose this solution anymore.

Silence fell after that, interrupted only by Sanji's heavy breathing and muffled wheezes of pain. Each of them with their own thoughts. Curly is strong, Zoro knows he will get through, but despite this, for some reason it’s hard to hear his pain. Zoro's hand twitches to reach out to him and somehow bring comfort. But he doesn't do that, he just sits next to him.

It becomes dark, night falls over the sea and a sudden thought comes to Zoro.

“You said that you don’t want it to happen under such circumstances.. Does that mean that under different..”

"Shut up shitty Marimo."

"..you would make out with me?"

Zoro doesn't see Sanji's face, he doesn't answer. But the silence is so loud that Zoro begins to think that he is about to suffocate. He wasn't prepared for how hard it would hit him.

They don't speak after that. It's deep into the night when Zoro hears that Sanji's breathing has become measured, he seems to have fallen asleep. The drug has worn off. Zoro sighs, feeling suddenly very tired and as if sobered up. This is an unpleasant and strange feeling. It was as if it suddenly became colder. He feels nervous and angry. And the worst thing is he understands why.

He is afraid of losing what he doesn't have. What he didn't know he needed. Something he didn't notice.

Sanji shifts in his sleep and Zoro feels a growl forming in his throat.

He doesn't sleep that night.

He guards.

#sanji #zoro #zosan #vinsmoke sanji #black leg sanji #roronoa zoro #one piece #it's a “f*ck or die” situation but nothing will happen between them #you won't find smut here I'm absolutely not descriptive it's just a small idea as always

[symbioticsimplicity]

I'm going to combine all of my favorite thoughts together and no one can stop me

Billy doesn't die at the end of S3, and Eddie doesn't die either. Steve grows into a pretty little punk and the three of them have the most confusing dynamic in the entire group. The kids mostly find it entertaining, but Nancy and Robin are slightly worried.

Billy has gotten better, he really has. With him having been dragged into the kid's lives more, he caught Hop's attention more and the man had immediately realized what was actually going on in the Hargrove household. Hop won't suffer an abuser, especially one server enough to producer Billy and has his father arrested shortly before the start of season 3. Billy is still a bit of a dick, but there isn't nearly as much bite behind his bark.

Billy and Steve have an antagonistic relationship that keeps both of them on their toes. Its not exactly playful, they've got too much baggage for that, but they're not really enemies either?

Steve and Eddie get along like long lost soulmates. There's no real reason that they should, bur they see each other in a way no one else really sees them.

Billy and Eddie cannot and should not be left alone together under any circumstances. Too much chaos and not enough braincells. They're smoking buddies, they've got similar taste in music and Eddie intimately understands the rage that lives in Billy, knows he probably would have been just like him if not for Wayne.

When the three of them are all together, its madness. Billy and Eddie act mostly on impulse with Steve being the only thing keeping them from killing themselves on a dare from one another. If Billy gets too hyphy, Eddie can and will tackle and wrestle the violence out of him. Eddie loves listening to Steve and Billy banter back and forth, its one of the few times he just listens rather than rambling on himself. Steve appreciates not being the only person in the group who didn't spend their high-school years being a goddamn nerd even if Eddie looks crestfallen when he and Billy give him twin blank stares when he launches into a DND rant.

The others are happy these three don't seem so isolated and miserable anymore, which is the only reason they're willing to put up with The Tension. They all capitalize it in their heads because its That Bad.

Billy is an incredibly pretty man, everyone knows that. Steve Harrington is also incredibly pretty (more so when he grows into himself) which everyone knows. Eddie Munson is incredibly gay, although not everyone knows that.

Eddie gets distracted by Billy all the time. His eyes are gorgeous and his lips are hypnotizing and hes never wearing enough clothes. Hes also got this fucking thing he does with his tongue when hes ready to fight that Steve is sure has nearly gotten him killed because he was staring at it. Then there's the way Eddie looks when he's shredding on his guitar that makes Billy feel some kind of way he tries real goddamn hard to ignore. Or fuck forbid Steve is wet for any reason.

They're all a mess, and they're all clueless that the others feel the same and it really is painful to watch.

It boils over though when Steve goes punk. Thats the last fucking straw for Billy, who has the impulse control of a newborn. He takes one look at this man in his revamped letterman and his torn jeans, lips glossed and hair artfully tussled, and just loses it. He pins him to the wall of Eddie's trailer and kisses him half stupid.

Eddie stands there awkwardly, feeling a little lie he's dying inside, unable to decide who hes more jealous of and about to to go to the woods for somewhere private to have a smoke and a cry, when Billy pulls off Steve and turns right around to haul Eddie in next. Both Eddie and Steve are baffled, pinned to the wall between Billy's arms.

When he finishes with Eddie, he glances between the two of them with a "Go on, we all know you want to" and waits patiently as they have a silent conversation before falling into each other.

Its odd, definitely, and it takes a lot of talking about (and maybe a bitching match that turns into a kissing match) but they find a way forward, the three of them, thanking God for Billy's shit impulse control every step of the way.

#stranger things au #stranger things #steve harington #eddie munson #billy hargrove #harringroveson #harringrove #steddie #mungrove #LISTEN I JUST THINK THEY ALL DESERVE LOVE #GAY LOVE WITH BOYS JUST AS PRETTY AS THEY ARE

[leviathan-supersystem]

some thoughts on the right-libertarian discourse on greed, namely the whole "stupid communists are against greed, but they don't realize that greed, ie. self-interest, is actually good, and an inevitable part of human nature" talking point:

so like, on the face of it, treating "greed" and "self interest" as synonymous is obviously moronic. greed is a type of self-interest, sure, but most people would not define all self-interest as "greedy". brushing your teeth is obviously in your own self-interest but nobody is going to be like "wow look at this greedy motherfucker brushing their teeth". no, obviously when people talk about greed they're talking about when people act in their self-interest specifically in ways that harm the interests of others, when someone acts only with regard to themselves in ways that harm the group overall.

to give a hypothetical, if there's a birthday party, it's not greedy for someone to get a piece of cake, even though this is obviously in their self-interest, it's greedy for them to go back for fourths or fifths before everyone else has gotten a piece, thus causing others to go without. and by pursuing their short-term self interest in a way that does not take into account the interests of others, they harm their long-term self interests, since after that people might not want to invite them to future parties.

so the whole "greed is human nature" argument ignores that while there are of course circumstances for every person in which they will act in their self-interest without regard for the well-being of others, there are also circumstances for every person where they will be willing to make sacrifices to their short-term self interest for the greater benefit of the group. largely this depends on how someone feels about the other people in this scenario, we'd probably be more willing to make a personal sacrifice to help our best friends than to help a stranger, or our worst enemy.

and of course usually this can still be modeled in terms of long-term self-interest, but that said, there have been examples of people giving their lives to save the lives of other people they truly care about, and i think it's pretty hard to model that in terms of long-term self interest. but at any rate, in most cases all that's really necessary to avoid acting in ways that anyone might call "greedy" is to just consider long-term self-interest and not just short-term self-interest, to consider how making sacrifices to our own short-term self-interest for the greater good of our community benefits us in the long term because we benefit from our community continuing to function.

okay, so we've established that "greed" is not the same as self-interest, but rather, a specific form of malignant self-interest, short-term self-interest pursued in ways harmful to the community, and, consequently, usually to one's own long-term self interest. great. but the thing is, libertarians/ancaps/objectivists/etc ultimately do acknowledge this distinction.

the real disagreement between marxists and righ-libertarians isn't "one thinks humankind can exist without greed/self interest, one knows that greed/self interest is human nature", though of course right-libertarians are very fond of this framing since it's flattering to themselves, it's that marxists and right-libertarians fundamentally disagree on where the distinction between benign self-interest and greed is. see this tweet which is what got me thinking about this in the first place:

okay so do you see what he did there! first he talks as if greed and self-interest are fundamentally the same, but then he changes gears and talks about how greedy communists are with clear disdain. almost as if greed isn't just "self-interest", but rather, self-interest to the detriment of others, most especially, theft. the most direct and overt form of prioritizing one's own self-interest with callous disregard for others.

and the thing is, both marxism and right-libertarianism propose vast expansions to the category of "theft", propose that many acts which are currently considered benign are in fact malignant acts of greed/theft, namely that marxism proposes that the profit reaped by landlords and owners is theft, and right-libertarians propose that taxation is theft.

but while marxism arrives at this conclusion by looking at society as it exists, looking to see where it's dysfunctional, and drawing conclusions about how it could be improved, right-libertarianism bases itself not on material analysis but rather deonotological principles which are derived from nothing. the "NAP" is true because it's true because it's true, don't question it, don't ask them to provide evidence that it's a viable foundation for a functional society. and certainly don't ask why it's "aggression" for a tenant to stay on a property when they can't make rent, but it's not aggression when the landlord calls the cops to drag them into the street.

like, the funny thing is right-libertarianism proposes that basically every society on earth is wildly wrong about the morality of taxation, but also proposes that all existing land ownership claims are legitimate, even though basically every one of them, worldwide, can be traced back to either feudal land disputes, which were resolved through violence, or colonization, which also occurred through violence. fundamentally, the history of existing land ownership claims is so drenched in violence that the notion that they're somehow one of the only things society as a whole got right is ludicrous, especially coming from people who claim their ideology is based on a "non aggression principle."

[bomberqueen17]

On the way home from work I was thinking about Rochr and Iorveth in your fic and remembered a question I had for you: there is this scene in which Roche gives an overtired and insomniac Iorveth a blowjob in a secluded room, there are knives involved, I think Breniriel is guarding the door? Anyway, Iorveth finally falls asleep and it is implied that Iorveth has been adapting poorly to feeling save and thus somehow feelt safe enough with Roche to fall asleep but not his friends /family?? I don't think they were even talking at this point in your fic, what did I miss?

Have a nice evening /day!

Well, so like, that's the premise of the fic. I'm not saying this to be an ass, this is a genuine response, because it is sort of an honor to have someone thinking about your work beyond even the time it takes to read it, but: That is the premise of the fic.

And either it works for you, or it doesn't. That's just... how fiction works. Do i think that in real life two traumatized people would actually hit it off just like that? Do I think it would work? Do I think it would be healthy? Do I think it would lead to long-term happiness for either or both of them?

I won't answer that, I will just leave that to sit for a moment. My answer is immaterial anyway, because the author's intent is only marginally relevant in some circumstances.

This is fantasy, critically, more broadly than fiction (is it a broader category? I think so). Like... one of them is an elf, and has a shapeshifting dragon as his leige and protector. Some other fantasy elements are even less realistic, but the idea is that they're plausible, for the purposes of fiction.

So this is kind of how fiction works, and fantasy in general. Do you accept the premise of this story? Do you find it plausible, for the purposes of this fictional exercise, that, to bring it specifically back to this story, two characters who have long been enemies, would find something in common like this? Two people who have been on opposite sides but were in the same conflict, who went through many of the same things, who, crucially, commanded others during this awful cataclysm of violence, who had to warp their own moral centers not only to survive but also to potentially damn others by their tragic, inevitable actions. Who have in the past bitterly fought, physically injured one another, murdered one another's comrades, and worse... but in this new peacetime, find, strangely, unexpectedly, compellingly (precedentedly, in reality!) that their former foe is the only one who truly understands what they've been through. And they can trust this former foe the way they can't trust others, because this foe gets it, because this foe knows what's at stake, fully understands what happened, has the same sense of both the fragility of society and the preciousness of its little contracts. Iorveth knows Roche would stab him in the face, not the back, and that is a kind of trust. The whole underpinning of this ship is that in the video game there's a scene where one can best the other, and in each decision tree the loser says unhinged shit about how if they have to die they're perversely glad that at least it was the other who is doing it. Because that other understands what it's worth, and is a worthy foe.

That's it, that's the ship manifesto, LOL.

So-- that's the exercise of the story, trying to draw the reader along to find this as plausible-- I did not say realistic! Plausible-- as possible. The art lies in underpinning it with realistic detail here and there-- including that after many wars in real life history, the veterans of the conflict have found more in common with their opposing veterans than with the civilians of the side they fought for-- and so on and so forth. To make it vivid, to make it relatable, to make the fantasy compelling.

And if the premise doesn't work, then the story doesn't work. That's fine, not all art is for everyone. But that's how it is. Either you accept the premise, and it works, or you don't, and you go find something else that works better for you. This is no judgement on anybody, you or me or anyone, that's just how fantasy works. A reader brings as much to it as the author, and takes as much away, and while there's an element of skill on the part of the author, a large part of it is just going to be the reader's response. Things will or won't work for you and there's nothing wrong with that, it's just another of the ways fantasy works.

(I don't know if you've missed anything, I haven't reread that scene in quite some time because I'm still working on sequels and that takes up a lot of my energy and time; same reason I rarely respond to comments, I just don't have time to both do that and make new works. I do think the blowjob with knives is a separate scene from the passing out with knives but I don't recall exactly either. It's kind of a long story. If you think you missed something, try rereading it? But if that doesn't compel you, then it's really no skin off my nose if you don't! It's fine! I'm not offended, I just don't know how else to answer that question. I don't remember the scene that well. I wrote it like a year ago or more. But I'm well aware the premise of it doesn't work for everyone, which is why there are so many people writing so many different stories.)

LOL I have more to say on this topic because I got a faintly ridiculous comment on a story recently on kind of a loosely related concept, but this is getting long and I should address it separately. Suffice to say, you got a long reply here because I have been spending some time thinking about fiction, what it is and isn't, and how it works.

#on fiction #my writing #asks answered #fantasy being the broader category of imagination #fiction being specifically published narratives #idk how else to explain it #public answer because this is something i'm considering a lot #not to spotlight this person who i genuinely think didn't mean to be a jerk #but it is hard not to see this as kind of a mean thing to ask #like truly i cannot read the story for you it either stands alone or it doesn't #and the other comment i started to essay about is way meaner LOL

[ups3tti]

Hi yeah sorry me again with more DOTD thoughts, it still makes me lose my mind sometimes I know this is probably all in my head just because I think about these two characters a concerning amount but it always interested me how Cole paralleled/contrasted Morro on a scaled-down level. I can't get this out of my brain in a way that makes total sense but bare with me here. I just can't get over the going-it-alone-out-of-anger/desperation-and-the-terrible-consequences-that-followed. He goes after Yang out of anger and desperation and unleashes the souls of departed enemies (accidentally) on his friends. He fought through all of Yangs students on his own to reach Yang himself in a confrontation surrounding an interdimensional rift, and we get yet another scene of a Sensei trying to talk sense into a student except this time Yang is the one forcing Cole to let go and not the other way around, sending Cole back to life instead of to another death. After everything is said and done he has a bright green scar/rift on the left side of his face which always reminded me of Morro's bright green hairstreak on the right of his. The visual parallel is less important to me but still neat yk. Also one being sent high into the air and one being sent deep into the sea, floating temple vs. underwater tomb, yeah. You don't have to tell me that I'm overanalyzing this and looking for connections that probably don't exist because I know I am, but I still lose it everytime. Cole only survived because Morro was able to remind his friends and Sensei that he even existed and it sent them to go find him and give him the strength he needed to keep going. It just makes me think about how Morro could've turned out in different circumstances constantly. Like, what if he had sources of worth and love that weren't tied to the idea that he was the green ninja. What if he had friends to keep him grounded like Kai or family to worry about or an identity of his own before ever being introduced to the idea of the green ninja like everyone else did. God day of the departed should've been so much longer I wanted SO MUCH MORE out of it ALSO also would've loved to see Cole and Morro actually interact. In my head they're such a duo and I care about them greatly I'm also definitely not insane over Wind and Earth and their twin connection to death and also destiny and legacy. Definitely not. Topic for another time I've rambled too long

#sketti rambles #morro ninjago #cole ninjago #ninjago #ninjago dotd #ninjago day of the departed #sorry yall. when i remembered i could actually post my thoughts on tumblr i started becoming more insufferable

[cinderswife]

"if there were two guys on a moon and one of them killed the other with a rock, wouldn't that be fucked up or what?"

After a decisive victory, Rose asks Snow a question. Nearly two decades later in a similar circumstance, General White asks the same question of Colonel Belle.

(Crossposted to ao3)

“Hey Snow, if there were two guys on a moon and one of them killed the other with a rock, wouldn't that be fucked up or what?”

When Snow had excused herself from a vital meeting to take an unexpected call from Rose, she'd feared the worst. Rose dying, maybe, or an injury she couldn't fully recover from. Not… whatever this was.

Though covered in blood, Rose had set up her camera to show her rooting around in what must've been a foreign kingdom's pantry. In each hand she held a bag of what seemed to be pastries, comparing the two with a critical eye. Just in frame was a bottle of dark red wine. 

“Are you okay?” Snow demanded, flattening her black bear ears in alarm. “That’s an awful amount of blood!”

Rose blinked at her. “Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Most of its not mine, though I think there's still a bullet in my arm. Also Ruthlind is ours. Anyways, back on topic. Two guys, stuck on a moon, rock.”

Snow couldn't decide whether to be relieved that Rose was mostly okay or horrified that she was witnessing the aftermath of another successful conquest. She elected to go with the former for now. “Okay, fine. It'd be fucked up, obviously. He killed the other guy. The other guy is dead. There's no coming back from that.”

“Gods, you're boring. Try again.” Rose pulled out a pastry from the left bag and took an experimental sniff.

Well. Fine, if Rose insisted. “Couldn't they have asked someone to resolve their dispute? Surely there was a Luncount available who could weigh in?”

“Nah, as far as they know, they're the only two guys alive on the moon. And anyways, maybe they didn't have a dispute. Maybe the guy with the rock was bored and wanted to see what would happen. Maybe he had the chance to get revenge on an old enemy except the other guy wasn't his enemy, not really. Maybe he was just really angry at no one in particular and took it out on the other guy. Doesn't really matter.”

At some point during her rant, Rose had decided that the pastry on the right was the way to go and was now demolishing the bag, washing it down with wine straight from the bottle. Because clearly she had no sense of decorum. Animal.

“I suppose that would still be fucked up,” Snow said, steepling her fingers. “Not only did he kill the other guy, he’s all alone now.”

“Exactly, like what was the fucking point of all that. Wow, congrats dude, you can commit violence. Whooo. Now you’re alone on the moon instead of with another guy who can keep you from going off the deep end.” Rose burped and wiped her mouth, which considering her hand was covered in blood splatters did little to fix the situation. “Excuse me. Good wine by the way, I think you’d like this one.”

“I think I’m all right, actually.” Snow was perfectly content to stick with ethically sourced wine, thank you very much.

Rose shrugged. “Too bad. More for me then.” She took another swing then sighed, glaring at the relay comm. “Dammit, General Swan wants my report ‘before I get too drunk.’ Better get going, see you at home.”

“See you at home, Rose.”

___

Nearly two decades later, General Mercymourn White sat atop a lonely rooftop and watched a Marquess’ castle burn. Below her, civilians and soldiers alike danced beneath the evening firelight, celebrating the end of another petty tyrant. For them, victory still felt like glory. For her, not so much.

She sat against the wall, keeping her blind and deaf side out of the way so she could still pay attention to what was going on around her as she argued her way through a bag of jerky. It wasn’t her fault that even well over a decade later half-chewed food still liked to slip through the burned and lipless half of her mouth. It was just really, really annoying. 

Footsteps echoed up the stairwell beside her and she tensed, reaching for her pistol. When the unknown party revealed itself to be the dark and beautiful Colonel Belle she only relaxed a little. Even the Beast’s presence guarding the bottom of the stairs did little to comfort her.

“Mercy,” Belle said, using the shortened first half of General White’s name in that way she did when she pretended like they were close enough to care about the General’s feelings, “are you doing all right? You’re not celebrating with the rest of us.”

“Oh, I’m fine Miriam,” General White responded, keeping up the charade they played at. “Just thinking.”

“What about?” Belle sat across the roof from her, keeping a safe distance between them.

General White wiped the meat crumbs off her jacket and took a long, slow drag on the cigar she’d lit on the castle’s embers. “If there were two guys on a moon and one of them killed the other with a rock, wouldn't that be fucked up or what?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Humor me.”

Belle hummed, tapping her fingers together as she thought. “I don’t think so,” she said after a moment. “The other guy’s most likely a crown soldier and if not still liable to be a traitor, so it’d make sense to eliminate him.”

“Ah, but these men have never heard of the war in their lives. As far as they know, they’re the last two beings on their forsaken rock.” General White set aside the bag of jerky for now, loathe to eat when others could watch her fail at it, and took another long puff. The smoke drifted into the air, joining the smoke from the blaze below.

“I’d still do it,” Belle said, shrugging. “The other guy’s a liability regardless. If he’s dead then I have a decent food source and one less mouth to feed, not to mention it’ll be easier to get myself off if I don’t have to worry about another person.”

“Pragmatic as ever.” The half smile that was her best impression of a real smile crossed General White’s half lips. “And if it were you and me? What then?”

Belle raised an eyebrow at her, curious but not daring to question why. She chose her next words carefully. “I am going to politely decline answering that question for the sake of my wellbeing.”

General White laughed, a rough low sound that blew smoke across the roof and into Belle’s face. Accidentally of course. “And you wonder why I don’t trust you.” Belle began to protest, but General White waved her off. “You’re dismissed, Colonel. Go celebrate with your husband.”

“Yes, sir.” Belle rose to her feet and saluted. “Good night, Mercy.”

“Good night, Miriam.”

#the mechanisms #ouatis #once upon a time in space #rose red ouatis #snow white ouatis #general white ouatis #colonel belle ouatis #this is a shitpost i took seriously. anyways.

[13eyond13]

a friend of mine who isn't into Death Note asked me why people ship Lawlight. I gave her a pretty good answer but I feel that couldn't encapsulate it fully and you are the most articulate/analyzer person I can think of here, can you help me?

omg, I'm flattered you think that, but a bit worried I won't be able to speak for everybody about this! I'll probably just have to mostly say why I like to ship it and hopefully that will suffice...

1) the constant tension and the mind games between them is the heart and soul of the series to me. Light's a complicated character that is both very entertaining to follow and also sort of an infuriating bastard to watch as well, so when L waltzes in being like "HOLD ON A MINUTE HERE I KNOW IT'S YOU AND I'M DEFINITELY GONNA PROVE IT" and Light both seems to get extremely excited about how clever he is and also horrified and determined not to lose, that makes for a very charged dynamic that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Light's curiously positive reactions to L opposing him, as well as the way L intuitively understands him and pushes his buttons so effectively, is definitely one of the funniest and most intriguing things to watch in the entire show.

2) there's a lot going on in the narrative to continuously draw parallels between them and to sort of suggest that they're the true equal and peer that the other one has never actually had their entire lives, the solution to the boredom and loneliness and aloof superiority they've both been feeling due to their above-average intelligence and privileged positions and ambitious competitive stubborn streaks and so on. People love that and also find it super tragic/angsty or fascinatingly ironic and darkly funny that they end up only meeting in an enemies, "you're the closest thing to a real friend I've ever had but one or the other of us will have to die" sort of way

3) This part of their relationship also gets me as well - they probably would not have easily met if Light HADN'T been Kira, because L never has to meet any of the people he works alongside nor any of the criminals he catches in person - Light was just good enough at being a criminal to force L to meet him in person, basically. And there's also no guarantee that if they DID meet in other circumstances that they would have clicked so weirdly well as they do, because their cat and mouse game was probably the best way they could both impress each other the most and prove their own intelligence and entertainingness to each other as well. The immense difficulty of setting up this ship so that it actually works is part of the enduring appeal to me.

4) I think there's just a lot of intrigue to how much is left unsaid between them the entire time. They literally never get to have an actual straightforward heart-to-heart even once in the story, but they're seen obsessively thinking about each other the entire time (and Light continues to do so for years after L's death, even to the point of comparing everyone else who opposes him to L unfavorably after his death and admitting he feels bored again now that L is gone). I think a lot of fans were kind of dying to see them interact in a more straight-forward way

5) the handcuffs are certainly fairly suggestive and kinky hahaha... and the memory loss arc definitely brings up a lot of interesting "what if" type scenarios in every shipper's mind. Not everybody is convinced that they really hate each other, and seeing them work together on the case like that causes a lot of people to think about how they might get along if Light had never picked up the notebook in the first place. The fandom has a lot of people who really like the idea of them together whenever Light isn't Kira, and also a lot of people who think their dynamic is superior and works better when Light IS Kira - and having both of these different dynamics between them presented to us in canon makes for even more interesting possibilities to explore

#there is probably more to it than that as well #but these were the main things i could think of off the top of my head #ask #anon #lawlight #p