#she isn't a reliable narrator | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

penguwastaken · 1 month

Text

About Brainwashing in Danganronpa

Hello to all 3 of the people who see this account. A few months ago, I made a thread on hit website Twitter dot com about brainwashing in the Danganronpa Series. I discussed where it came from, how it works, and how the brainwashing of class 77-B was never a retcon. The thread got a lot of attention there, even getting a "debunk" on other hit website Reddit dot com (lmao). Due to that, there's been a lot of responses and questions. Since I can't really update a Twitter thread, I decided that I'd make the Ultimate™ Brainwashing thread and hopefully dispel any information on the subject while making my original points more clear and covering things I failed to cover. So here it is: Brainwashing in Danganronpa, how it works, where it came from, and how it was intended from the start. (a 🧵 except not really) *Massive spoilers for Danganronpa Zero, Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa Another Episode, Danganronpa Togami, and Danganronpa 3, as well as the series as a whole*

Danganronpa Zero: First Sighting

Brainwashing has its roots all the way back in the second official entry produced in the series, Danganronpa Zero. During the story's events, Ryoko comes across a secret cult made up of students from the reserve course. They're seen staring at a strange video, seemingly turning them and turn them into mindless zombies.

The video depicts members of the student council killing each other. Ryoko is stunned while watching it. She can barely look away, but eventually through force of will she does. This same video is later used to convince the reserve course to rebel.

The way it's described to work is that it uses their “pent-up emotions,” implying that their emotions played a role in its effectiveness. It's also worth noting that the novel itself refers to what is happening as brainwashing, making this objectively the first depiction of brainwashing in the series right from the second entry.

Danganronpa 2: Now it Gets Dubious

Our next instance of brainwashing comes from Danganronpa 2. The concept is brought up multiple times, such as when Makoto states that the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed or how the Neo World Program is good at treating brainwashing, though the details of what brainwashing actually means in this context are kept vague.

It's also worth noting that Danganronpa 2 was being written around the same time as Danganronpa Zero and Kodaka wanted concepts from the novel to appear in Danganronpa 2, likely so readers would feel validated. This is why things like Izuru Kamukura and the reserve course play huge roles in Danganronpa 2, it's not too much of a stretch to say that the same applies with brainwashing. One detail we’re given about the brainwashing is from Monokuma, who states the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed by Junko taking advantage of their feelings. Specifically love, hate, grudges, and "anything really". If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly how the brainwashing video from Danganronpa Zero was described to function, using their pent-up emotions.

I should mention that Monokuma and Junko are known for being unreliable narrators who often stretch the truth, exaggerate things, and use hyperbole to manipulate people into believing their narrative. Monokuma describes the Ultimate Despairs as “nothing more than Junko’s limbs”, which contradicts the existence of characters like Nagito. Who, while in his despair state, did not work with Junko nor did he look up to her (at least in the normal sense like the other Ultimate Despairs). In fact, it would have been impossible for them to really obey any of Junko's orders as Ultimate Despairs because Junko was trapped inside of Hope's Peak with minimal connection to the outside world. This isn't a definitive "Monokuma is lying" statement, but just note that his word isn't 100% reliable. Meanwhile, someone like Makoto who outright mentions brainwashing, is a much more reliable source.

Danganronpa Another Episode: More Brainwashing! (kinda irrelevant tho...)

The next time brainwashing is used is in the next entry, Danganronpa Another Episode. Though its purpose in this discussion isn’t the most useful, as the brainwashing is caused by Monokuma helmets, which don’t have their functionality explained. I figured it was worth mentioning and describing at least, as its another example of brainwashing at least.

I did figure it was worth adding how the brainwashed children act. They obey the Warriors of Hope’s every command, as if they have zero control over their actions. This is different from how the Ultimate Despairs act, who still some free had free will after presumably being brainwashed judging by the actions of Nagito, who is also in this game.

Danganronpa Togami: I Hate My Life

Okay. As mixed as my opinions are on this novel trilogy, it does feature brainwashing. In fact, it might feature one of the most detailed and important descriptions of brainwashing in the series, and even outright CONFIRMS that class 77-B were brainwashed (sorta).

"Hey um... Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu... what do you mean by 'sorta'?" Well my uninformed reader who I guarantee has probably never read this book, there's a twist. I regret to inform you that the canonicity of Danganronpa Togami is rather questionable, as it depicts an extremely unreliable narrator’s warped viewing of events due to this thing called the K2K system, which means not everything in the novel is meant to be taken literally or at face value.

This doesn't mean that everything should be discarded or immediately dismissed however. This just means that we have to use our brains a little and decipher what the hell Yuya Sato was cooking when he wrote this novel trilogy. In the novel, we discover the existence of the elusive despair novel. When read, the novel will turn the reader to despair and inflict them with the despair disease. This novel is what's used to plummet the world into despair, as well as being what caused the class 77-B to become the Ultimate Despairs. There's no known ways to avoid it, once you read it, it's joever. 😔

As I said earlier, the events of Danganronpa Togami can’t be taken literally. Due to this and prior context, we can safely assume that the despair novel is most likely the K2K's warped idea of the despair video from Danganronpa Zero. Instead of being a book being read that brainwashed people, it was a video being watched. What makes me so sure? Well let's look over the similarities. The way the despair novel works is that it uses cruel words to overload the reader with negative emotions, causing them to snap and turn to despair. That sounds almost exactly like the despair video, overloading the viewer by manipulating their emotions until they turn to despair. This connection's a little bit of a stretch but I'll bring it up anyways. The technology used in the despair novels was originally to bring hope. (Take notes, it will probably be important assuming you buy this connection.)

Essentially, the despair novel works the exact same way as the despair video, but instead it’s a book and you read it instead of watching it. This means that class 77-B and the rest of the world were most likely brainwashed via the despair video, and that is what caused the class to become Ultimate Despairs.

Danganronpa 3: The One People Really Don't Like

And all of this brings us to the most detailed yet controversial usage of brainwashing: Danganronpa 3. Many assume that the anime’s usage of brainwashing is a retcon, contradicting the words of our holy savior Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair High School. However, I’d like to debate that. In fact, I'd like to finally put a nail in the coffin of this really stupid debate and finally show you that Danganronpa 3's depiction of brainwashing is exactly how it has always been described.

In Danganronpa 3, we are introduced to Ryota Mitarai and his anime. Using the power of subliminal messaging, it heightens the viewer's emotions and makes them more powerful. What was once a slightly emotional scene is now a complete tearjerker fully capable of tearing at the viewers heart strings! While he acknowledges that there are unethical things that can be done with this technology and it's technically brainwashing, his goal is to use this technology to make the world a better place, even if it can be dangerous. If that sounds familiar, that's because it's what Hope's Peak tried doing with the despair novel in Danganronpa Togami. Though I'll admit, this single point is a little bit of a stretch as there are differences. I just figured it was worth at least a mention.

Using her analytical prowess, Junko gets a rough understanding of how the technology works, so she develops the despair video, featuring the student council killing each other overlayed with subliminal messaging technology to make the despair felt while viewing the video stronger.

The video works on Mikan, however Junko fears that the video may not be powerful enough to fully go through with her plans due to not understanding the technology nearly as well as Ryota does. Because of this, she forces Ryota to create a better, more powerful despair video. A despair video v2 if you will. Junko’s fears weren’t unfounded, as we discover that Chisa had the mental fortitude to resist the despair video, similarly to how Ryoko was able to resist the same video in Danganronpa Zero. This is exactly why Junko needs a more powerful video, one that she knows can’t be resisted.

"Ermmmm, Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, how come Ryoko and Chisa are able to resist the despair video but Mikan and nobody in the reserve course could?" Good question, the answer is pretty simple. As mentioned before, the video takes advantage of the emotions of the viewer. Mikan is already pretty weak minded, so there wasn't much issue in controlling her. The reserve course already hated Hope's Peak and would take any reason to hate them more, so a video that shows them the sins of Hope's Peak would affect them as well. Ryoko and Chisa have no connection to the reserve course however, and neither are particularly very weak emotionally. Ryoko has the analytical prowess of Junko and Chisa is just a very strong willed person in general, and paired with Junko's lack of knowledge about subliminal messaging when creating the video, it's pretty obvious it wouldn't be that effective on them. All the more reason for Junko to force Ryota to make a better despair video.

The despair video v2 that Ryota is forced to make comes in the form of Chiaki’s execution video, where the stronger subliminal messages paired with witnessing the representation of the happiest moments in their miserable lives and their closest friend suffer makes class 77-B unable to resist. Ultimately this causes them to finally snap, being overloaded with despair, and now they turn into the Ultimate Despairs. (side note this is so freaking cool idc what anyone else says)

This resembles Monokuma’s explanation from Danganronpa 2. Junko used class 77-B’s emotions and years of getting closer against them to turn them to them to despair. Now featuring the added context of her using the video designed to manipulate people’s emotions. This depiction of brainwashing fits perfectly with the information provided throughout the series, even down to the little details. It’s so close in fact that I can say without a doubt that Danganronpa 3 did not retcon anything. “But Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, that isn’t how the video is shown to work during Hope Arc. Therefore it actually contradicts previous entries and is inconsistent!" To that I say, you’re correct! ...at least about the hope video functioning differently, but that doesn’t make it inconsistent. The hope video behaves pretty differently. Instead of overloading the viewer with negative feelings, it simply just shows them a repeating video loop that turns them into a mindless zombie, likely caused by even stronger subliminal messaging. The people affected can also snap out of this state with some time, as seen with Aoi.

The reasoning for this is actually pretty simple, it’s just different technology entirely. It’s stated that the hope video was developed later on after the despair video. If anything, it behaves very similar to the Monokuma masks from Danganronpa Another Episode, which we also already established uses different technology. The hope video doesn’t contradict the despair video at all because they both use completely different tech. This can also be seen with how the despair video uses subliminal messaging, meanwhile the messaging in the hope video couldn’t be further from subliminal. There is no inconsistency, just two different things.

The reason the hope video needed to be broadcasted everywhere was so that since it would be airing everywhere, nobody would have time for the effects to wear off or resist it. This would turn the world into mindless zombies who obey every command, similarly to the Monokuma kids. It's just that now they don't have to force bulky helmets onto everyone.

Debunking Common Arguments

With the hope video out of the way, I think it’s very safe to assume that not only is the despair video’s functionality very accurate to previous descriptions, it’s also always been the reason for the brainwashing of Class 77-B, long before Danganronpa 3. Even if you disagree and think the cause of brainwashing was never explicitly mentioned in Danganronpa 2, there's still the fact that Danganronpa 2 outright says it was brainwashing. So even if a video wasn't the direct cause of it, them being brainwashed was still always intended (though given the context, I'm certain that the video was always the culprit). Many point to this line where Kazuichi asks why they became the Ultimate Despairs and Makoto says he never got an answer to debunk this. But... this doesn't change anything. He asks why they became Ultimate Despairs, not how. And this is completely ignoring the fact that Makoto clearly has done his own digging into the situation, he discovered the Remnants of Despair were hiding among Future Foundation after all. The Future Foundation had access to brainwashing videos, they found them, so of course Makoto is going to know about the brainwashing. But that's not what he's asking about, he's asking about the why. That's what he doesn't know.

Many also point to Mikan stating that it was her many human relationships that led her to being the way she is. Once again, this changes literally nothing. Mikan was the only one of the remnants who actually knew Junko, she was the only one who spent time with her because she was the first subject. This is why she gets more attached to her, and even why she'd believe what Junko would tell her when they spent time together. Monokuma also says that Junko used "hopeless methods overflowing with charisma and humor" to control the masses. I don't even know why I have to address this, but this statement is so vague you can interpret it as a million things. Like for example, this is how she got Ryota to work for her. While pretending to be Makoto to manipulate the people in the trial, Junko tells them that they all became Ultimate Despairs while coming into contact with her at Hope's Peak and they were subjected by her terrifying influence. Again, ignoring how vague "terrifying influence" is, this is literally Junko trying to LIE AND MANIPULATE them. This is quite possibly the worst example you could have used because we know for a fact that she is lying to them while pretending to be Makoto. There's other examples of Junko trying to manipulate them, like mentioning how everyone hated them and their all Ultimate Despairs at the end of the day. But that's just what this is, manipulation. You would think that the "Junko manipulated class 77-B" crowd would understand that saying "everyone hates you but I saw your potential" is literally manipulation 101. Some say that the brainwashing turned them into mindless zombies and eliminates all blame from their actions. While I would agree that it does make them less at fault, they still have the ability to make choices and still have free will. Their original personalities haven't been overwritten, their brains were just rewired to crave despair. They're still each their individual person with their own ways of feeling despair, and characters like Chisa and Nagito show that they regain their free will to an extent.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This whole debate stems from people misunderstanding Monokuma’s words and going along with the popular interpretation, which turned out to be wrong. Whether you like the use of brainwashing or not, it objectively isn’t a retcon as it's been developed ever since Danganronpa Zero. Personally, I love the use of brainwashing. I think the way it's developed throughout the series and its usage in Danganronpa 3 is super interesting. If you disagree, that's fine! Heck, if you choose to headcanon that Junko manipulated 15 individual teenagers into all becoming despair hungry terrorists capable but ending the world and fighting off every military in the world in less than a year, that's cool too! But the truth is, Danganronpa 3's brainwashing is canon and it's also not a retcon nor does it contradict anything. Contrary to popular belief, Kodaka was involved with the writing of the anime. He provided a large draft and outline of the plot and oversaw its development. He produced the anime, he did his homework, he knew what he was doing. I'm sure if Kodaka intended for them to all be manipulated one by one, that's what he would have went with. All information implying that it was manipulation is very few and far between and questionable at best, not to mention outweighed by everything implying it was brainwashing. Mind manipulation stuff is not new in this series, its been around since the first game and brainwashing was established in literally the second entry ever produced. Whether you love it or hate it, think it's the best thing since sliced bread or the death of the series, brainwashing was the answer the whole time. Some people just never noticed it, and instead of acknowledging that they were wrong, they stuck with a headcanon that they believed so much and jumped to the conclusion of "retcon". I hope this mega post managed to inform some people, maybe change some minds too. If you still don't buy it, then I guess there's nothing I can do. Thanks for reading all of this though, I tend to yap a lot about this franchise lmao.

123 notes · View notes

luveline · 6 months

Note

hiii, can i have a blurb with emily, it can be literally about anything, i miss her and you write her impeccably ✨🥺

thank you ♡

Emily frowns at her computer screen. She's been having a hard time using the new system, and she can't stop batting at the feathered bangs that kiss her eyebrows, an agitated tic.

She really doesn't like admitting that she can't do things.

You rifle through your desk drawer. A few weeks ago you'd stopped for throat soothers on the way to work and found a packet of strawberry flavoured mentos at the gas station. I love the strawberry flavour, Emily'd said once, but I don't like any of the other ones. It feels like too much of a waste to buy the bag.

You bought them. Chickened out on giving them to her. They're still sealed.

"Hey," you say quietly, careful not to draw the attention of her deskmates. If Spencer or Derek were to witness this, they'd both laugh at you. Everyone knows how you feel except Emily, because isn't that always the way? "Emily?"

She immediately turns her attention and concern to you, her eyes so dark and pretty it makes you feel sick. "Hey," she says, her voice dulcet, near melodic, "you okay?"

"I got you these."

You pass her the box of mentos without fuss.

Her lips part in shock before melding to a smile that brags the pearl of her teeth. "Oh my god. Where did you find these?" Her gaze flickers between you and her newfound treasure. "How did you–"

"I remembered, um, when we went to Austin, you," —you look down at her hands— "said you liked only the strawberry ones. So when I saw them I hoped you'd like them."

"Have you ever tried them?"

You rub at the inside of your wrist. "No."

Emily's chair rattles as she stands, and mentos hit the sides of the box as she breaks the seal with her finger and tips a few into her palm. They're a light pink and smell strongly of strawberry, though there's a subtle coolness to them.

"Here," she says. "I think you'll like them."

You take it because she could offer you little tiny rocks and you'd eat them. You'd smile at her with cracked teeth. Emily doesn't realise how much power she has over you (remarkably) nor the effect of her closeness. You press the mento between your lips and she does the same, beaming this beatific, heart-racing smile at you as strawberry pops over your tongue.

"They're good, right?" she asks, nearly smug.

You nod quickly. You're not a reliable narrator and you'd say yes no matter what, but something about looking at her makes them sweet.

"The– the new computer system, it's buggy, right?" you ask. When she looks at you dumbfounded, you correct, "Non responsive. Doesn't wanna listen."

"Right?" She looks so relieved that it knocks you off kilter.

"I think I figured out how to get my emails to stay in one place," you say, aiming for casual, barely making the mark.

"Could you show me how to do that?"

You sit in her desk chair at her computer and fix her emails to the desktop. The system isn't buggy, but you want her to feel capable. She is capable. Strawberry mentos over your shoulder, her hand resting on the back of her chair, fingertips brushing your back and silky dark hair skimming your shoulder, she's perfect.

Spencer meets your eye from over the desktop monitors. He, of similar disposition, seems to be commending you on your demeanour with widened eyes and a small nod.

Derek, on the other hand, taunts. "Is it hot in here?" he asks, fanning himself with his t-shirt.

Emily leans over your shoulder to grab a case file from her desk, tossing it onto Derek's. "You can fan yourself with that once you've peer reviewed it for me."

Spencer shakes his head in pity.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Emily asks you, looking down. "Are you hot too? You look flustered."

"I'm feeling it," Spencer says.

"Huh. I must be cold blooded," she says under her breath, the exhale tickling your neck. "Weird."

#emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x you #emily prentiss x y/n #emily prentiss x fem!reader #emily prentiss imagine #emily prentiss fluff #emily prentiss fanfic #emily prentiss oneshot #emily prentiss scenario #emily prentiss drabble #emily prentiss fic #emily prentiss fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds x reader

388 notes · View notes

nightmare-foundation-2 · 3 months

Text

Hot take: Ozpin isn't even morally gray. I guess he is if you count past lives (slaughtering potentially thousands of ppl to end a war), but otherwise?? I really don't think he is.

Imo, Qrow is more morally gray, Ironwood pre-villain arc was morally gray, etc. I really don't think any of Oz's actions could count as 'morally gray', even when considering that he kept important information to keep his circle and by extension RWBY and Co hopeful, regardless of if you think it's manipulative or not (technically yes, but there was good intentions behind it so imo it's fundamentally different).

Oz really isn't the bad guy the entire fndm tries making him out to be. If he was I think the show would show him in that light, which it doesn't. It TRIED showing him as morally gray, but generally his actions aren't that bad. The FNDM loves saying Oz is an awful manipulative compulsive liar who's intentions are weird and muddy. But honestly I think if he was like that, he wouldn't be portrayed as good. Most of Salems own opinions on Oz is her projecting and being a hypocrite. I don't think the characters narration is reliable when it comes to Oz. The show itself tried making him seem like that in v6, but ultimately failed.

An example people use to say he's morally gray is pointing out that he made the Academies. Which, I won't lie, is a pretty stupid take. The Academies train older teenagers (17-21, possibly older if they allow older ppl to join) who have already been learning how to fight presumably since they were young. Ruby had presumably already had Crescent Rose for a few years by the time she was 15, and there's several combat schools to teach kids how to fight. Remnantians count as a warrior race! They HAVE to fight to survive. Even if you haven't been to an academy, it's normal to know how to fight to defend against Grimm. Controlled by Salem or not, Grimm are a constant that you NEED to fight against. The Academies just give widespread access to tools and education to learn in a safe environment filled with other hunters. They just so happen to fight off Salems Grimm forces, and unknowingly defend the Relics inside. It's a win-win-win on everyone's side. Yes, people are going to die. But they'd be MORE likely to die if a) they can't defend themselves properly b) don't have proper tools to do so or c) don't know how to fight at ALL. Thanks to the Academies, militaries don't need to be used (except Atlas). The possibility of war goes WAY down, and it's harder for the kingdoms to be actively corrupt (not impossible just less easier to be enforced). Objectively? The Academies are a GOOD thing.

Another example is people saying Oz brought RWBY and Co unwillingly into the shadow war. Which... is objectively incorrect. Qrow was the one who told Ruby about the information Cinder and Co were going to attack Haven, and Yang eventually went after her after she left. Ruby brought RNJR with her, because they all experienced trauma and reasonably wanted justice, thinking it was just Cinder behind everything. Then Qrow was the one who told RNJR roughly the truth. He didn't particularly want to, bit he relented anyways, and even then he held back information like Oz being immortal. He didn't even tell them about Salem, just that some nasty people wanted the Relics and Maiden powers and that one of them was named Salem. I guess you could count Ruby being brought into Beacon early, but even then that was the SAFEST option. If Cinder or Roman noticed her silver eyes in ep 1 and that got back to Salem, Ruby would be FUCKED. She was already involved in fighting Roman at that point, and thus would likely get targeted again, silver eyes or not. So Oz brought her in, citing her skill as the reason, while the others likely knew the truth. Qrow OR tai wouldn't have been fine with it if Oz only brought her in to put her into the circle. They would've torn him a new one. Not only that, but obviously he DIDN'T KNOW about the upcoming fall of Beacon. He genuinely thought Ruby and her team was going to be fine for the next 4 years, and when he was starting to suspect something was up, he STILL had no idea the Academy was going to be attacked during the festival. Why would he?? A direct attack isn't typical of Salem, iirc he or someone else said it themselves, especially since it had been 80 or so years since the Great War, which is implied that Salem started. Even IF he wanted to bring her in, he would've waited until after she graduated, which is what happened with STRQ and was going to happen with CVFY. Oz places an emphasis on letting them be kids for as long as possible. He only had to involve them when Qrow already told them everything. And even then, Oz repeatedly gave RWBY and JNR an out. He DID NOT WANT them involved, not yet at least. And with Pyrrha, he didn't exactly have a choice. He gave her time they didn't have, and required her to wait n think, and then needed her verbal consent WHILE BEACON WAS BEING ATTACKED. Yes telling her stressed her out, but I think if she knew the same thing could be offered to anyone else, she'd prefer to take on that burden. It wasn't fair, but it visibly pained Oz to have to give her the choice. He didn't want to, but war is never fair. He would've had to go to SOMEONE regardless.

As for Oz keeping the truth that Salem can't be killed a secret, imo, that is a very VERY hard call for anyone to make. For him it was the option of: tell them immediately and not have any allies (something he values heavily) or have them join Salem out of fear, wait first and tell them later and have them possibly freak out like Ironwood/betray him/lose hope and thus not have any allies, or never tell them so he has important allies and they possibly don't betray him or lose hope. Obviously, he chose the last option, and it's entirely possible he wanted to, eventually, tell them the truth, but we just don't know that. Of course I agree that Oz should've told his circle anyways, but for someone as traumatized and paranoid as Oz who's had to make this decision countless times, you can't exactly fault him for keeping the truth hidden. He's likely told the entire truth before and it bit him in the ass several times before he finally decided to keep it hidden. He said it himself, Leo was NOT the first nor was the last to betray him. As for not telling RWBY and Co? They're CHILDREN he's barely known for, what, a year?? And all of that he was their teacher/Headmaster who didn't often interact with them, or their mentor. He barely knew them and as far as we know, didn't get the chance to actually know and get close to them. They already knew just how dangerous Salem was from the fall of Beacon and battle of haven, plus the fact that she controls Grimm. They could've easily assumed Salem was hard to kill at LEAST since she's immortal and been around for countless thousands of years, and there's no way they thought no one tried to kill her. Oz barely knew them and they almost proved him right by nearly giving up. Plus, he was FRESHLY betrayed at that point. I'm sure yall noticed he was immediately pretty closed off due to the revelation of Leo's betrayal. He genuinely considered Leo a friend, so Oz's trauma response is to hold everyone else at arms length.

Another thing is the fact that he hid the truth from Salem as well early on in their relationship. Thing is, Jinn (a presumably reliable narrator) stated that they BOTH hid things from the other. Salem likely didn't tell him that she lied and manipulated kingdoms into turning against the gods, just that she wanted him back and the gods didn't like that bc that ABSOLUTELY would've upset Oz. Oz, knowing Salem didn't like the gods from her story, likely decided right then to keep the full truth from her, worried she wouldn't react well to it, something anyone would do. Not only that, but right after, Salem convinced, possibly manipulated, Oz into acting as a god-king with her, something he clearly didn't want to do. Jinn herself said "the hearts of men are easily swayed" as Salem convinced him to become a God-king with her. So yes, it's very possible that Salem manipulated him into doing that. "But Salem was fine with the truth later when he told her!" Yes, she was, but Oz couldn't have known that. And the whole reason he tried to leave her was because Salem was turning into a dictator tyrant, something Oz didn't want and something Salem was set on. He did overreact a little bit by bringing the kids instead of communicating with her, but it wasn't his fault that Salem immediately attacked him instead of trying to talk to him, or at least waiting until the kids were in a safe place before attacking him. Most of this wasn't Oz's fault, if any of it. Salem overreacted heavily by attacking him with the kids being react there. Had Oz and the kids lived and escaped her, they would've been TERRIFIED of Salem afterwards, traumatized by the ordeal. And it's never shown that Salem actually cared that they died, just that they "could've had freedom", blaming Oz instead. Meanwhile Oz, afterwards, spent whole LIVES drowning his sorrow and regret and trauma in alcohol, and he's clearly STILL affected by it if Salem using the silhouettes of their children is any indication, since she was likely taunting him (but also reminiscing, regardless of her feelings on the matter) and never brought up their children in any matter.

Overall I really don't think Oz is as bad as the fandom says he is. People like to think he and Salem are the same (something i might make a post on later), when they're very, very different. Oz really isn't bad, he's just traumatized and is basing current events off of past experiences. He's far from manipulative, uncaring, or really any negative adjective I've seen people describe him as. I've probably missed some things, but my point has been made I think. The fndm really likes to misinterpret Oz's character, saying he's exactly like Dumbledore, but in reality he's a subversion of characters like Dumbledore. He's a seriously good guy, and I think people miss that.

98 notes · View notes

daliasmay · 2 months

Text

The most ridiculous arguments I've ever seen from E/riels is not about "the smell of bread and roses", no, but about the sunshine she needs in her life, black dress and about that godforsaken city. It takes a megamind to use such arguments.

"Velaris has sunshine", "There's sun in the NC too", "The NC is a sun court we remind you", "Some flowers can bloom in the dark"

Even if the NC has a sun, it it still a night fucking court. n-i-g-h-t. This word means something, isn't it? Spring also has nights and it wasn't a right place for Feyre anyway. And you'd think Elain and Elucien's words about sunshine are just about only the damn flowers and the sun in the sky that rises in the morning and goes down in the evening. Please!

"They dressed her badly so that Eris would ignore her, lol", "They dressed her like that on purpose because they didn't want Elaine's beauty to overshadow Nesta's"

What the fuck?

Eris is completely indifferent to Elain as a woman. It isn't difficult to understand. And he is Lucien's brother, just fun to remember, who saved his life, looked at him with sadness in ACOWAR and visited him in ACOSF. Eris was interested only in Nesta. He is also a fashionable male and he looked at Elain with ✨assessing gaze✨. I suppose he's also noticed how much the black colour doesn't suit her (She used the perfect complement to her black dress - pearls - but even that couldn't save her from the colour that sucked the life out of her), not to mention the fact that he probably knows that she's his brother's mate. So delulu and simple demonstrating a zero reading skills if they understand the text like that. Basta!

It is also equally unfair to both sisters to say that. Nesta is a queen without her sisters, she is amazing woman by her own without any "help". She doesn't need any favours.

Elain is amazing woman, no need to dress her badly on purpose to make someone shine.

Sisters are amazing by their own. They all have their own powers and characters. I feel so sorry for those who don't understand it and use such stupid arguments to explain their ship.

"She is ok in Velaris, Velaris is her home, no need to worry about the Hewn City", "Her home in Velaris and in the NC. She doesn't want to leave the place where her family and nephew lives!!! She has a work - tending to Feyre's gardens and helping people in Velaris with theirs. She is happy!", "The Hewn City is not Elaine's place, that's why she was ridiculous there, Cassian meant that", "She can live in Velaris, she was healthy there!", "You want to take her away from the family that she loves and that loves her. You are a misogynist and Elain hater!", "Cassian is an unreliable narrator, he understand nothing in fashion. We can't believe him!"

PLEASE!

Night Court is her home, but not the Hewn City and Illyrians lands. Night Court is her home, but only in the borders of that retched city. How can they claim that the Night Court is her home, and at the same time erase most of the Court, including its official capital and royal residence?

Velaris is a huge hole that has been closed for thousands of years, and The Night Court is not Velaris, ThE CoUrT oF DrEaMs, how SJM called them, who loves to segregate their own citizens and think about 90% of the Court as scum and lowlifes, and do nothing to make their lives better.

If the Night Court is her home, don't sort its parts.

Cassian is an unreliable narrator, but Feyre with her fantasies and "What if the Cauldron was wrong?" is a very-very reliable narrator, yes-yes. Selective reading will strike you one day and it will be very hurt.

And here we are, with Elain and flowers, when she said the opposite to Nesta in ACOSF. Being Feyre's gardener and personal family baker aren't about her personal growth. Like being Azriel's personal houseplant.

The black dress was a metaphor. It is so cute how they can see things that are not there, but miss the log in their own eyes. (the rose necklace and the whole Azriel's bonus chapter, I can't).

I really don't know how they came up with that.

#anti e/riel #pro elucien #elucien #dasha: acotar thoughts #pro nesta archeron #lucien vanserra #eris vanserra #anti inner circle #anti ic

60 notes · View notes

smallmediumproblems · 2 months

Text

Propaganda under the cut

Why isn't John/David/Cecil/Obituary Writer/etc here?

I'm specifically excluding narrators who are also primary characters in the story. There are a lot of really good unreliable main character POVs, and some that are very, very popular. There are also a LOT of found footage / "documentary" shows, so the pool of "main character who is technically also the narrator" is monstrously large. This is for narrators who have things to say about the story but are moderately to severely removed from it. You'll notice I've also excluded the Documentarian from The White Vault, because by the time she's commenting on the story, she's also a main character.

Madeleine can stay because she's very polite.

Madeleine the mouse

Madeleine doesn't exactly serve a narrative so much as she plates and seasons it before bringing it out. Part plot device, part confidante, and all bohemian authoress. But please, consider the other candidates long and hard before you vote. She's not really too unreliable, she's just incredibly biased.

The Voice of HartLife

You have to be a special kind of unreliable for one of your characters to break down the fourth wall into your recording studio to kick the shit out of you.

The Historian

*Gesturing at a lithograph of Eisen and Telesphore making out sloppy style* "Truly, it is tragic that the men of our generation have lost such deep platonic bonds as are depicted here. So secure were they in their brotherhood that our contemporary idea of friendship fails to-"

The Narrator

No, not Leon. The other guy. I can't possibly describe what his Whole Deal is without spoiling a major plot twist of the show, but guys. He killed Matt Damon, guys. He killed Matt Damon while trying to murder dozens of other people at the same time. (Hundreds? I don't know how trains work.)

Dubrach

Yes, I know it's not really confirmed. That's what unreliable narration is all about. But what could be more reliable than the literal word of god on the puny machinations of his flock? :) :) :) Also he's voiced by Alisdair Stuart, our dad.

The Malevolent Patreon Hastur

...is specifically not included, because a) people are going to think I'm talking about John, and b) brand recognition is going to skew the whole thing, as if Madeleine isn't going to sweep for that very reason. But I'm mentioning him here because of the time he made people so angry that the actual real live writer had to come out and remind them that this is a fictional character. iykyk.

#audio drama #wooden overcoats #our fair city #The Kingmaker Histories #Greater Boston #The Secret of St. Kilda #also i am so sorry i haven't listened to Midst yet 😭

77 notes · View notes

ghouljams · 5 months

Note

"He must be tired of you. Tired of chasing after you when you're such a horrible choice. Not a first choice, not even a second choice, hell you would be hard pressed to be a third choice. It's good that Soap's gotten his little joke out of his system and you can go back to how things were before he started chasing you."

just the hurt feelings and self doubt. Moon is one of the reader characters I can relate to the most cause even when the world around you is saying they want you it doesn't feel that way. especially when the most consistent person decides to leave you alone it feels like rejection even if they meant it to be respectful. It's like the trope of "her words say one thing, but her eyes say another."

how you wrote her thought process on the way to the Prices' place, is just amazing I could genuinely feel the heartbreak and fear. also probably the best way for them to get together and I just know now that Soap has gotten permission he's going to redouble his efforts and make sure you know how loved you are and how utterly perfect you are to him even with your prickly words. I would pick out more of my favorite lines/paragraphs of this fic, but I'm pretty sure I'd end up copying and pasting it.

-Hot mess Rambler

(your puppy is adorable with a boopable snoot. I hope she starts feeling better)

Moon is such a lovely and introspective character. She knows why she bites, but she can't stop it. It's always fun writing out a character's thought process, because it makes them that bit more unreliable. None of the darlings are reliable narrators, and moon especially is unreliable because her point of view is obviously colored by her past. It's good for her to realize that she isn't a reliable voice in her own head, and to let Soap in past her walls.

It's hard to believe people when they say they want you. The world is full of liars and vulnerability is a luxury not everyone can afford. That doesn't mean it isn't worth it though, and Soap wants Moon's vulnerability with him to be worth it.

Soap does absolutely redouble his efforts, this is his confirmation that Moon wants him around, wants to be chased, so he's going to take it and run. You give him an inch he'll make it last a lifetime. I think this gets some of the comradery into their relationship too, Moon knows that Soap's genuine so she can enjoy his flirting a little more. It's a joke that she's in on, not victim to, because she knows he means it even if he's a little over the top.

(Bailey is feeling better, lots of sleeping for her today while she recovers from the last week. It's been rough I'm not gonna lie, but fingers crossed we're on the road to recovery)

#ghoul speaks #x oc #cod x oc #oc: moon #hot mess anon #hot mess rambler anon

64 notes · View notes

livefromcastledracula · 4 months

Note

So, what are your general thoughts on more modern takes on Carmilla that make the titular vampire more sympathetic or outright heroic (anti or otherwise).

I'd say there's probably a lot more room for that kind of reinterpretation compared to, say, Dracula given she was already treated with a certain degree of sympathy in the original novella (but well also a vampiric serial killer and *GASP* a LESBIAN ).

Tricky one! I think there is probably more room for 'redemption' with Carmilla than Dracula, because there's a certain ambiguity around her whole character. The novella never makes it 100% clear whether she is just a gaslighting predator toying with her next victim or a lonely immortal trapped in her own impulses. A lot of the things she says and does are similarly mysterious and have multiple potential meanings, including suggestions that she's trying to make a companion out of Laura (and similarly may have tried and failed with Bertha) out of a mixture of vampire compulsion and actual loneliness and longing.

She unquestionably lies, she has unquestionably killed a lot of young women, she unquestionably wishes to turn Laura into a vampire, but she was also herself the victim of a vampire at a young age and how much of all of that is her choice and how much of it is vampiric compulsion is up in the air. Similarly I don't think it's entirely fair to Carmilla to take Vordenburg's account of vampires or Laura's status as a reliable narrator entirely at face value.

So I think particularly given the queer subtext, and changing views around how to read and contextualise that, there's a lot more room for stuff like the Canadian web series (which I love with my whole soul, so I'm totally not biased here) giving us a new take on Carmilla.

Dracula has already had his woobiefication / romantic antihero era and I think it's interesting in the wake of Daily Dracula to see more people seeing him / depicting him as a cruel, gaslighting abuser with undertones of serial r*pist, which, I think, was certainly Stoker's intent with the character. The much more aggressive way his feeding scenes are written compared to the dreamlike, surrealistic Carmilla visitations certainly helps this (oof, the Mina scene never fails to turn my stomach).

I remember reading someone's quite sensible take that a flaw in readings of Dracula is that, by categorizing it as a gothic novel, readers start searching for the central Byronic antihero that typifies the genre, the flawed, stormy, romantic, dark, tragic figure like the Phantom of the Opera or Frankenstein's Creature, or indeed, Carmilla...and Count Dracula just ... isn't that, he's a pure despicable villain, but he's the title character so people try to force him into that role.

I think that's a fair take away.

#carmilla #dracula #dracula daily #count dracula #daily dracula #sheridan le fanu #bram stoker #gothic literature #gothic horror

61 notes · View notes

archer-kacey · 1 month

Text

Homewarming Analysis: Eddie

There are LARGE sections of info in the latest Welcome Home update, but none as strikingly out of place as the last clip in the compilation on awayfrompryingeyes. And what a coincidence! I like discussing puppet trauma.

First thing to note- Poppy is noticeably just gone from the Homewarming celebration. This is especially weird seeing as she was still included by name in the Cookbook, appeared in one of the technical difficulty segments, and was also on Eddie's delivery list for Homewarming. Hell, the narrator of the holiday special insists that everyone had joined in for the festivities.

Yet nobody else seems to notice her absence. More on this later.

In between the other commercials, there are several live-action instances of Eddie showing frustration at the fact that nobody has contacted him all day, and that there are no packages to be delivered.

At the beginning of the holiday special, Sally explains to him pretty breezily that everyone helped out with deliveries so Eddie wouldn't have to do it, meaning he has the day off for Homewarming.

I do think the Neighbors had all the best intentions by trying to surprise him, but unintentionally crafted a pretty perfect hell for Eddie.

There are some recurring themes in Eddie's "about" section- overall forgetfulness, his dedication to his job and by extension his reliability in that regard, the fact that he's often up and about (usually around the Neighbors), and that he works hard.

So not being contacted, not having anything to do for most of the day, and not even seeing anyone walking by outside VERY understandably drives him crazy! And for someone with memory issues already, having a huge disruption like that in an otherwise pretty standard routine has got to be not only jarring, but downright scary as well!

After Sally brings him in for Homewarming and he gets settled in, the narrator insists that Eddie was indeed happy like the rest of the cast. We quickly see this isn't the case. Instead, he seems to be having some kind of derealization, which is shown via live-action shots spliced in with the normal 2D animation.

While Eddie is in crisis, Home is the only other character in frame. Everything else is either extremely dark, or a random sequence of shots. Home stares down at him the whole time, and the whole time Eddie is incredibly aware of this.

There are quite a few abstract shots that either come off as something burning or melting- an ornament dripping yellow liquid onto the floor, a red screen with subtle changes in the lighting and shadows, a live-action shot in a red-lit room with a moving shadow, Eddie sweating profusely (possibly crying), and an actual candle burning and melting.

I don't think the derealization scene is meant to only encompass one thing. Eddie is becoming aware of his surroundings and realizing that the world he lives in isn't exactly real, and Home is scaring the shit out of him. But I don't see a lot of people touching on the fact that this could represent burnout as well.

Eddie is often held up on a pedestal as the hardest working neighbor, the one who likes to help problem solve and the one who physically takes on heavy loads. It was shown between commercials that when he's not fulfilling his normal duties, he literally doesn't know what to do with himself. His passion for his job and his fellow Neighbors is a strength, but if he's been inadvertently neglecting himself, then he's pretty susceptible, maybe even blind, to the fact that he's burnt out. And unfortunately, I think burnout is hitting him in tandem with other things. Home seems to be fully aware of the fact that Eddie is starting to crack, and judging by that stare, I don't think it's going to be handing out mental health services any time soon.

Eddie starts to come back (albeit in a bit of a confused haze), and there are only two characters in front of him- Sally and Frank.

Their two opening lines in the conversation really summarize the difference in their awareness to Eddie's distress.

Frank immediately opens with "this bitch told me you've been doing too much, what's that about?" and Sally responds with "yeah it's not easy being the hottest bitch in town </3"

Okay, maybe not exactly that. You get my point- Frank is immediately sus, Sally isn't.

It isn't until after Sally leaves that Frank tries to get through to him more insistently, and after some coaxing, Eddie seems to start coming back with more clarity of his surroundings.

Also noteworthy that despite still being a little out of it, he can see Frank pretty clearly when he leans down.

Now, the logical part of me says that he's closer with Frank than the others, therefore he might act as sort of an "anchor" when his mental state starts spiraling.

The sappy part of me says that Eddie tends to remember things he's passionate about better. AKA his job, AKA Frank.

Anyway, I mentioned Poppy earlier, and there was a point to that.

We've seen how Eddie's memory can be dodgy at times. He was already in crisis when he arrived to Homewarming, and then he immediately had to go home.

And again, let's not forget that Poppy was cited to have been at Homewarming, and by all other accounts seems to have been included to some degree, even if not front and center.

Maybe she was actually there.

Maybe Eddie just forgot.

#either that or poppy's dead both are plausible tbh #welcome home arg #welcome home puppet show #eddie dear #archer writes

30 notes · View notes

thor-is-trans-and-pan-he-told-me · 7 months

Text

if i rewrote helluva boss i would make it so that stolas is an unreliable narrator so as a result you can't trust the things he says and his own personal perspective because it's questionable as well as being untrustworthy

example:stolas believes that blitz loves him and admires him and that they have a forbidden romance when in reality blitz is FUCKING TERRIFIED of stolas and the consequences of what could happen if he breaks his deal with stolas

stolas thinks that octavia is oblivious to her mother and fathers failing and dysfunctional relationships when surprise! she's not she's been aware of that fact since she was nine and has learned that her dad isn't the most reliable or trustworthy person and so she's slowly developed a closer relationship with her mother to the point that as an adult octavia spends more time at her mother's place and rarely visits her father because she's realized how unhealthy and toxic her father is

if one were to say life from stolas' pov(specifically in first person) they'd realize his POV is questionable at best because ninety percent of the time his pov is one that the audience knows isn't correct and isn't how things actually are(such as stolas believing that stella is the bad guy and wants to take octavia from him when in reality all stella wants to do is give her a daughter a family that isn't arguing 24/7 and give her daughter a happy and healthy life)

so yeah that's my helluva boss rewrite so far lol

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #vivziepop critical #spindlehorse critical #hopeless rambles

59 notes · View notes

rise-my-angel · 2 months

Text

Heres the rub: Mirri Maz Duuri is not responsible for what happened to Drogo or Rhaego. She was very clear that Drogo was going to die from his wounds. She gave specific instructions which Drogo didn't listen to, and the result is naturally his wound getting infected passed the point of curing. Drogo was already going to die, so nothing that happens to him is Mirris fault.

Rhaego though, I contest the idea that Mirri did anything to him to intentionally and maliciously kill a child. Clearly Mirri understood that Rhaego would be the price for Drogo, but first, that is Danys fault for asking absolutely no more questions on the matter once Mirri clarified it would not be Danys life as the price. As soon as she learned she was not to die, she clearly considered any other life not worthy of question. Mirri distinctly warns her multiple times of the danger and price of the blood magic she is demanding Mirri perform, but does not ask her to clarify what any of those warnings mean beyond her own life.

But here's the thing, when Mirri tells Dany what Rhaego looked like when he was born, this is not the first time a Targaryean woman has given birth to a highly deformed stillborn. Rhaenyra was said to have given birth to an equally as deformed child, and while some of this can be chalked up as exaggerations, history also tells us that real life babies born from massive degrees of inbreeding were born with highly unusual deformities.

Rhaego might have been alive inside Dany but that does not mean that he would've gone on to be a viable live birth, or even really go on to survive infancy.

So if the dying Drogos life is traded for the barley alive Rhaego, it explains why neither life really made it. The situations would have ended up the same if Dany never ordered Mirri to perform the spell. Drogo would die from injuries and Dany would've go on to birth a highly deformed, barley alive Rhaego who likely wouldn't have survived due to the extreme nature of his birth defects.

Targaryean women have a very concerning track record of fertility issues. Danys own mother suffered 8 miscarriages and stillbirths before having a living child and then died giving birth to her next. Fertility and stillbirth is a rampant issue amongst these women due to the abhorrent effects of generational inbreeding.

Drogo was always going to die from his injuries, and Rhaego was never going to survive being born from a mother with such damaged genetics.

But because Dany ordered her to do this, she can claim it was Mirri who caused this.

"When your womb quickens again and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before."

Isn't some prophetic vision or warning or confession. Its Mirri telling Dany that Drogo will never be as he once was, because it is as possible as Dany giving birth to a living child. It's her saying that Mirri cannot promise he will come back because she cannot promise the impossible.

Even if Mirri did all of this on purpose, which we do not know because Dany burns her alive before finding out with any true certainty, it doesn't matter.

Drogo and Rhaego were never going to survive anyways. But Mirri gets blamed, because we are fooled into thinking Danys pov is her being a reliable narrator, and she tells us Mirri is to blame and then burns her alive before the audience has a chance to question that position.

Mirri isn't a child murderer. The effects of rampant incestual inbreedings on hereditary genetics is Rhaegos killer.

#game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #anti daenerys targaryen #anti dany stans #anti targaryen #anti targ stans #mirri maz duur #mirri maz duur did nothing wrong

34 notes · View notes

transmascutena · 27 days

Note

I wonder how obvious it was that the fairytale prologue/opener wasn't actually telling the whole story?

i personally knew going in that the show would be subverting a lot of tropes, so i assumed there was more to it. from what i've seen of other people's blind reactions it's pretty mixed whether they buy it or question how reliable the narrator really is in those scenes. but whether or not they suspected that there was more, it always seems to be surprising when it's revealed exactly what it is. it's a good twist (not that a twist being surprising is what makes it good but you know what i mean)

i think the show kind of expects you to accept it at face value at the beginning, and the whole "she decided to become a prince herself" thing is subversion enough to satisfy a lot of people. but there is also the "but was that really such a good idea" line, hinting at the fact that there are things we do not know, and setting up what the show is trying to say about princehood. we're definitely supposed to question it, and even more so when we're shown how unreliable the other flashbacks in the show are. already in episode 9 we can see that it's not really the full story. it mentions utena being sad after losing her parents, but it's nowhere near the despair we actually see from her in that moment. and from that you can see that the story isn't an accurate reflection of reality, but exactly what it's presented as: a fairy tale story. and that flashback scene also raises the question about what the eternal thing utena was shown by the prince really was, which is followed up on in the full reveal in episode 34. i think it's a really good set-up for where the show is going, whether or not it's obvious.

#asks #m

20 notes · View notes

squuote · 10 months

Note

We know so very little about Mariella, but I think her existence as an entity similar enough to Stanley to be narrated in the same structure is very interesting. A lot of people take a lot of liberties with her when they include her in fanfics/other fanworks, often making her somewhat of a straightman, a force of sensibility and stability (and often emotional intelligence)-- which is great!! I love seeing people have fun with her, and it's often good to have foils to Utter Disaster characterizations of Stanley and Narrator-- but personally I see her as... well, as more of a parallel to Stanley, especially with both of them occupying a "protagonist"/"office worker" role when seen.

TSP/TSPUD is constantly operating on at least five levels of meta simultaneously, so it's hard to discern exactly how reliable any information is, or what level of meta it should be read on. Mariella's described presence is her witnessing the destruction of Stanley in "the real world" and simply being glad that it isn't her before moving on. I think this actually speaks to a distinct LACK of emotional intelligence, or at least self-awareness, perhaps to outright denial/willful ignorance-- within the narrative put forth by the Narrator, Mariella appears to be self-conscious, perhaps even defensive, her first instinct self-protective and self-assuring-- "that isn't me. I'm sane. How fortunate that I am sane. How fortunate that isn't me." The irony of Mariella is, of course, that she is ALSO simply a vessel narrated and controlled by the Narrator, not in the real world but within a story, exactly as Stanley is/was (in this narrative put forth by the Narrator) before he apparently 'realized the inconsistencies of his reality' and spontaneously died.

The interesting contrast to THAT is then that Mariella is outside the control of the player, so she ISNT identical to Stanley, and whether she is within the influence of the Mind Control Facility or not within the Narrative is not entirely clear. She is a character, she is framed like a protagonist by the Narrator, but she is outside the player's reach, and largely outside the visible narrative. Does she have her own player? Does she exist in her own form, or like Stanley (at least Stanley per the Real Person Ending) is she reliant on being puppeted to make choices, somewhere beyond the player's perception? How real is she?

Personally, I think Mariella is a very similar presence to Stanley, but without the influence of a Player/the repetition of the Parable, she has shut out the hints of her nature to survive. She is a foil to Stanley (Stanley-the-Narrator's-character, anyway) because Stanley recognizes his reality and is destroyed by it, and Mariella sees that conclusion and refuses to reckon with her reality honestly.

Conceptualizing her outside of the Parable-as-Game metanarrative, I think of her as someone who was Weird growing up, who was made to feel small and stupid and Incorrect for that weirdness, and learned to self-protect by strongly and determinedly identifying as Just Perfectly Normal, obedient to social norms and a careful expert at navigating her position and role. Someone who learned to be bland, to laugh at people failing to fit in in order to fit in herself, to turn her face from their suffering because she was Normal, she WAS. She is normal, and everyone knows that Weird people get made fun of, because they're Weird. She hasn't grown past that and she fights questioning things around her because she is petrified of being Weird and outcast again. I think as a character she deserves internal torment too (/affectionate) and the opportunity to grow from shitty coping mechanisms, instead of always being the Perfectly Balanced Background Supportive Lesbian. (She IS a lesbian tho. To be clear.) Yes this is a HIGHLY autistic reading of Mariella but that's because I am too autistic to perceive a character as neurotypical.

Ideal fanwork narrative, for me, is her reluctantly befriending Stanley (and/or Timekeeper/Employee 432) where they all work at the Office Where Nothing is Wrong I Promise-- reluctant because she knows they're Weird but befriending because they are genuinely nice to her and despite her best efforts she isn't actually friends with/fully accepted by/comfortable with people who ARENT a little Weird-- and starting out a little shitty and judgemental and then slowly growing out of that and coming to recognize that it's Okay To Be Weird and that she is, and she's been hurting others and herself trying to suppress it for approval she has never and will never truly get. Partially brought about because there is Definitely Something Wrong In This Office and she has to embrace seeming crazy, defiant, and bizarre in order to solve the mystery with Stanley/TK and break free of the office's trap.

*waves hand* obviously that narrative concept also involves a lot of other characters growing too, and is based on how I perceive them, but you were asking about Mariella.

ANON I NEED TO THANK YOU PERSONALLY FOR THIS ASK I have literally been rotating it in my mind since you sent it holy fuck. Everything about this has given me an entire new outlook on how I perceive Mariella and I mean that so genuinely. I love the concept of Mariella forcing away the possible reality of being another vessel for the Narrator to project stories onto. Her need for herself to be normal, for her to be in control in such a contrasting and different way than how Stanley wishes to be in control.

Stanley fully knowing that he has no control over himself vs Mariella who insists that she has control, that she knows what is and isn't real. IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD ANON. SO, SO GOOD. I literally am framing this on my wall, I fucking love this so goddamn much

#asks #anon #the stanley parable #mariella #bookmark #IVE ACTUALLY MADE SOMETHING BASED ON THIS. I JUST FINISHED IT BUT LIKE FUCKING. I GOTTA THANK YOU ANON #this ask is so good and I fucking adore it so much #this flows so well with the ending's dialogue too. i was just relistening to it yesterday #and man it fits so well with this fr. i fucking lovethis so much AAAGHHH #also hell fucking yeah autistic mariella fr

62 notes · View notes

poorlittleyaoyao · 9 months

Text

Okay! Trying this again now that it's not midnight, because I'm still on my bullshit but have more words now. What I do not have is my copies of the first two novel volumes, since I am traveling, so I can't do direct quotes.

We know that, at some point, JGY and XY became cultivators. IIRC, it is stated in Volume 1 that becoming a cultivator without a golden core is possible but it's unorthodox and unlikely--even moreso given that a golden core in MDZS/CQL is akin to an organ that can be permanently destroyed/remove rather than an energy reserve from your qi being super swole. Demonic cultivation is appealing in part because it operates under a different set of parameters, and (though the world at large doesn't know this) WWX invents it in large part to compensate for the loss of his core.

We can also safely assume that the means to do this aren't accessible to everyone. We see peddlers hawking dubious cultivation materials. JGY tells his sworn brothers about the fraudulent pamphlets his mother purchased for him as a child and laments that she and people like her have no way of knowing that they're useless. (Since this statement goes unchallenged by LXC, NMJ, or WWX's narration, I think we can take this particular JGY assertion at face value.) In Yi City, WWX explains the "folk wisdom" practiced by regular people, ranging from the effective (the rice congee to absorb poison, the mortuary's high threshold to keep corpses from hopping away) to the superstitious (the paper effigies and joss money), and WWX reminds the juniors that these people don't have cultivation knowledge of their own. All of this suggests that there is no freely-accessible bank of cultivation knowledge, demonic or otherwise. There are no old-timey YouTube tutorials, and there is no indication that a person can roll up to a sect like it's nbd in this particular universe for formal education.

WHICH BRINGS ME BACK TO MY ORIGINAL POINT, which is: how did JGY and XY become cultivators in the first place?

JGY has acquired some level of cultivation by the time he's working with the Nie, albeit with a shaky foundation that both he and Narrator WWX identify as a deficit he'll need to compensate for with breadth over depth. How did he develop his power without formal training or reliable study materials? Teenage XY has somehow become capable enough for the Jin clan to see him as an asset, despite the fact that he is a feral street urchin who can't even read as a child, and demonic cultivation is a brand-new technology, as it were. Where, when, and how did he teach himself? What skills did he demonstrate that caught JGY's interest?

Since this story is not about JGY and XY's professional journeys, the text doesn't have an explanation. (Or, if it does, this website and also the wiki have been slipping, because "how the hell does JGY even have a core?" has vexed me since 2021.) There isn't a definitive answer here! What I am curious about--because I cannot possibly be the only one who wonders about worldbuilding ramifications and what offscreen events brought these characters to where they are, and I think it is fair to wonder about the mechanics of things that a text itself brings up--is people's personal headcanons.

So! Canon-compliant Xue Yang and/or Jin Guangyao enjoyers! Tell me how you personally explain their whole deal! Bonus points for telling me how it changes for CQL, bc both of them are coming from very different places there, and an MDZS-compliant explanation won't work for CQL and vice versa. Bonus BONUS points if you have fic exploring it that you can link.

#I have only read the first two volumes of the novel and am not reading any more so tbh I will believe almost anything you tell me novel-wise #CQL solves the JGY mystery bc he doesn't have a weapon of his own till Nightless City; ergo he WASN'T a cultivator prior #(which also explains some of his secondary status in Qinghe even though he's been there awhile and NMJ and NHS both respect and trust him)#meanwhile CQL solves the one 'how did the Jin learn of XY?' problem but raises about a million brand-new XY problems #such as 'why doesn't he use the Yin Iron himself?' and 'what could either WRH or JGS offer him to make him work for them?'#and also 'what was XY up to for literally the entire Sunshot Campaign besides wrecking SL's life?'#and ALSO also 'how does any of this square with the assertion later on that XY and JGY were in cahoots from the beginning?'#(answer: it doesn't. that assertion makes zero sense and requires everyone involved to be both psychic and stupid at the same time)

47 notes · View notes