#there’s no real force or depth to it

[greensaplinggrace]

I think one of the biggest differences between bangel and spuffy is that angel isn’t a partner to buffy. he’s not even someone she knows that well. he’s not someone she’s ever familiar with, and he’s not someone she can ever fully rely on.

yeah their romance was big and grand and all the things a tragic fairytale romance is. but at the end of the day their relationship is so incredibly surface level. all there is is the idea of love, and not even the real thing.

#btvs #spike btvs #spuffy #buffy summers #anti angel #anti bangel #just in case #tbh I’m usually a multishipper when it comes to this sort of thing but… #b*ngel comes across as so surface level to me #there’s no real force or depth to it #even disregarding the weird vibes angel gives off about buffy’s age and his condescension and when he first fell in love with her #and all the ways he keeps her hooked by refusing to leave her alone after breaking up with her #a choice that he makes ‘for her own good’ - which he seems to do a lot #it’s that he has no real impact on her as an actual person/slayer with interests and complexity and depth #while he hurt her and affected her #sometimes it feels like he barely made a scratch at all to what actually represents her personhood #anyways I don’t hate him or the ship really and I get why people like him #it’s just to me it’s kind of ridículous that people #say he was it for buffy #when he was barely even a partner #that’s high school romance not real bone deep love #myramblings

[hecksupremechips]

Mizuki and Date though like. Imagine being 8 and your parents are filthy rich and going through a bad divorce. Your mom treats you like shit, lashing out at you, hitting you, saying she wishes you were never born all because you were behaving like a child. Your dad is more comforting, but he doesn’t do anything to stop the abuse and he spends his time invested in a completely different family, a girl who you love and look up to but he loves her more than you and it fucking shows. Then your dads new friend, some fucking bachelor in his late 20s, is just like "wow you guys are the worst fucking parents ive ever seen" and next thing you know your dad is sending you off to live with him. And it’s just a massive kick in the head cuz you go from a rich lifestyle to living in some really shitty tiny ass apartment with this guy who’s clearly never been around a child in his entire life and he doesn’t know how to behave and does a really bad job of censoring himself like he has a bunch of dirty magazines that he can’t hide very well cuz it’s literally a studio apartment and also he talks to himself sometimes, it’s really weird. He doesn’t even have the slightest clue what he’s doing

And he’s the best parent you’ve ever had

Because fuck, it all really hurts. You have to cope with having never received any love from anyone, and with the fact that your parents clearly don’t want you and can’t even be bothered to send you with anyone even kinda responsible. And this guy has a scary job with crazy hours and you don’t know anything about him and neither does he. But still, he never once hits you or tells you you’re not allowed to cry. He just gives you space and doesn’t push you to feel any sort of way about him. And sometimes, he’s even kind. He makes you some stew, even though it’s a bit chunky. He lets you sleep in the bed and takes the couch for himself, even though he complains about the massive back pain he’d never trade his spot for a second. He pays attention to events at your school and gives you your favorite stuffed animal when you make good grades, even though you called it ugly. He gets worried sick when you come home with bruises and puts on a goofy voice and trains you to defend yourself and you develop some highly deadly skills and even though it’s really abnormal, he buys you a bench press so you can get stronger. There’s this distance there, and you feel really weird caring about someone who you aren’t related to, but you find yourself wishing it was meant to be like this all along, that maybe, he’s secretly your real dad and he loves you like his real daughter

And when you say "I’m back" he says "welcome home"

#aitsf #ai the somnium files #kaname date #mizuki date #THE DATES THEY ARE MY EVERYTHING AAAAAAAAA #its so funny though like imagine being such a bad parent that some loner who jerks off all the time does a better job than you #and hes literally never interacted with children before and is later revealed to have actually been an assassin #renju and shoko really just suck huh #and i dont mean to reduce date to a porno loving loser cuz nah like hes actually got so much depth going on in this situation like he cant #remember a single thing about his past he has no frame of reference for what a family is or if hes ever had one himself #which we then learn he. kinda didnt he was an orphan with no friends no name no one who came looking for him it seems #yet he still finds himself loving and caring for this girl and would literally die over and over for her to live a happy life #hes so genuinely kind and caring and deeply lonely and unsure of himself if hes doing this right #and he feels agonizing pain when hes forced to remember that he isnt mizukis real dad and that. he has nothing #but despite that he doesnt force mizuki to return these feelings because its a lot to burden a child with and shes been through enough #its like. kaname date i love youuuu please just adopt her already 🥺

[romanadvoratrelundar]

not gonna lie saving gallifrey was such a boring asspull to bring other time lords back in the mix. & the way the time war was portrayed took all the genuine horror out of it. like, think instead about how interesting it might have been to bring in gallifreyan refugees or something as a way of having time lord stuff to play with without undercutting the horror of the time war and the the doctor’s genocide. honestly the fact that gallifrey got brought back at all kills the really interesting implications of the doctor being the one to singlehandedly end the war, & what that means for their character. and it also kills the horror of the end of time, and how to bring gallifrey back, in any form, would bring with it all the horrors of the time war, war crimes and weapons to terrible to be described, with names like the nightmare child. and in one episode, they just. bring it back and everything is FIIIIINE. the doctor never committed genocide, bringing gallifrey back has no real repercussions the likes of which were implied in the end of time. (like, imagine the creations of a society like the time lords primed for war. even if all were stripped of weaponry, consider the terrible knowledge of such things that might be unleashed, the repercussions of such a war on time lord society & thought.) give us the skaro degradations, the horde of travesties, the nightmare child, the could-have-been king with his army of meanwhiles and never-weres. like, show us the hell that the doctor himself said the war had become by the end!! the doctor only takes the gun from wilf when he realizes the time lords are returning. that holds meaning!!

like, imagine if they actually HAD explored the full implications of how the time war had been lampshaded in previous episodes, gave us a full arc of the doctor dealing with the fallout of the timelords returned, weaponized and wielding horrors unimaginable. bring back the rani! explore the full implications of the doctor’s willingness so commit genocide upon both his people and the daleks. what was so terrible that the doctor decided that for the universe to live, both must die?? there’s so much to work with in that idea alone!!

or like mentioned, give us gallifreyan refugees! surely not all died or were trapped, surely there were other time lords, if even a few. and like, i know that house thing kinda explains that away as “any remaining time lords got eaten by the house” but frankly, i just think that if that’s the excuse you go with as to why there’s no other time lords besides the doctor &the master until gallifrey returns, you’re handwaving it. that could be fascinating!! you could tie it into the audio dramas, or the novels, give us characters from those, bring back characters from classic who! hell, you could bring in the valeyard as a doctor from a timeline that spooled out of the time war, a vesion of the doctor who was never meant to exist, and who practically doesn’t.

at the end of the day, i’m just never getting over the wasted potential of the time war in nuwho. it makes me feel absolutely bonkers, because there’s so much there!

#tldr: go read rtd’s short story about 8 regenerating to 9 #& the end of the time war. its good #i’ll be real i didn’t watch the middle of the capaldi era in great depth bc i found this plot fucking stupid #i also can’t talk about 11 in great detail bc 11’s seasons made me feel like i was being forced to take my brain out back to put it down #so if there are factual inaccuracies in this lmk but. #at the end of my day my opinion is that moffat should have put up or shut up wrtto the implications of t #gallifrey’s return. like…… ?? #doctor who #anti moffat #moffat hate #kinda?? like. this is very much a criticsm of moffat plotlines #the time war #gallifrey #nuwho #new who

[myjurassicisparked]

I'm very obsessed with the fact that Ellie Sattler is very much just.... a normal person. Like yes, she's beautiful and intelligent but also she wears glasses sometimes. She dresses comfortably. She swears a lot but not in an angry badass kinda way, just in a "reasonable reaction to shocking or exciting events" kind of way. She teases people. She touches her boyfriend on the butt a lot. She wants a family. She wants a sucessful career. She's just a pretty normal woman who had very reasonable reactions to dinosaurs existing and trying to eat her and tbh that's why she's so special to me.

#its the RELATEABILITY #the lack of forced feminism while being very feminist is so 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌 #like I really feel like she could be my friend because she feels like a real person #we don't know much about her backstory AND YET she has so much depth because she feels like a real person #anyway Jurassic Park is a perfect movie #jurassic park #ellie sattler

[itspileofgoodthings]

it’s the way Ryan Gosling plays Ken’s feelings for Barbie for me. because the feelings are unreal and fake in the way of a doll but they’re also intensely real in the way of his actual personality/who he actually is.

#it’s the way he looks at her sometimes when she isn’t looking at him #and it’s just full of intense longing and vulnerability #so it’s that combination that I love SO much #which is over-the-top cartoonish-ness that’s full of PERSONALITY and excess and conviction #and then this core of -well I already said it but INTENSE vulnerability #it’s Michael Scott in love with Holly. It’s Schmidt in love with Cece #and the way Ryan plays it is even more so because he’s a doll and of course in a real way his love for her is not a real thing #BUT IN AN EVEN REALER WAY—— #To paraphrase Michael Scott (!!!!!) #it’s the realest thing anyone in Barbieland has ever known (to paraphrase Taylor)! #like he’s the only one trying to do anything real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #and so for me my Barbie takes are all secondhand #because the story they’re telling has some narrative cracks and weaknesses in it #but also I kind of don’t care because they’re not focusing on the story that is the most interesting to me personally #which is this hilarious icon of a cartoon man who is—somewhere in the depths of his little plastic Ken heart—really in love #and I know it seems like I’m just repeating and twisting what the movie DOES say. that he’s in love but it’s fake and he has to get over it #to be his own person #but that’s only the one layer for me!!!!!! #and it’s a true one. I actually love his existential crisis and the moment where he’s forced to be his own person (doll) #and that’s the best thing Barbie could do for him in that moment #but it only addresses part of the situation —the part of his feelings that are fake. it doesn’t actually see or do anything #with the real love that’s also somehow by the magic of personality there #And it pretends it isn’t. BUT IT IS ALSKKSKSJEJJE #like I’m SORRY but he is just an absolute magnet for her and he’s so deeply responsive to her presence underneath all of the exaggeration #it’s in his eyes it’s in his voice!!!!! like. Sorry I know love when I see it akskksksksksjsj #and yeah that love is very decidedly not in her character and at this stage that made sense for it not to be #because of her journey to humanity etc. but I wanted them to do something with that real love in Ken and they don’t even see it #which is OKAY because tbh I’m mostly just delighted that it’s THERE #but yeah. That’s the most interesting part of the movie to me #how could it not be

[antirepurp]

i think some folks may need to have the word "queerbaiting" revoked from their vocabulary until they learn what it means. perhaps

#soda offers you a can #i would not make anyone watch bbc sherlock bc im not a monster but that show defines queerbaiting at every turn #two characters having a deep and meaningful relationship is not queerbaiting by itself #it requires the narrative to set them up in a very particular way where you're forced to read them as romantic #only for that same narrative to deny the existence of any romance repeatedly #bbc sherlock deliberately leads the audience to believe there's romantic tension between sherlock and john #from side characters etc repeatedly assuming they are a couple to some Very deliberate scenes #that would immediately be painted as obvious romance if one of them was a woman #however it also insists on the heterosexuality of both john and sherlock by setting the former up with several girlfriends #and turning irene adler into a quirky little crush for sherlock (who also cures her of being a lesbian i guess) #and obviously john gets a wife but she must be killed off so the homosexual tension between john and sherlock can resume #and we can keep guessing if they end up together or not #they won't. but the writing very deliberately lead the audience to believe this #that's like. shit the defines queerbaiting #it's not Real Human People not telling the world they're queer #and it's not two characters having a relationship that's got more depth than a kiddie pool #sorry. new pet peeve unlocked. or old one rediscovered im not sure

[blackkatmagic]

There are some characters that are just...so wasted. I'm not even talking characters who were in one scene and then killed off, but characters who are set up with fascinating backstories/powers/knowledge bases, the kind of character who legit could solve all the plot problems if you fully played out all the implications of what's been established, and then the author kind of halfheartedly does one or two interesting things with them and sort of...drops them. Kills them off or stops bringing them up and then never mentions them again. It's such a waste.

#kat rambles #for the record this is about granta #if you stop to consider his power set and what's established for force blanks in canon #it's WILD #and as much as i like some of jude watson's work she just never uses him the way she could have #he could have been an actual THREAT #and not a bit recurring villain in a kids book series #who has no consistent motivations and no real depth #it makes me feel true rage #granta omega #star wars

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

underrated genre of character playlist entry: songs a character would relate to because they do not understand their situation, themself, or the song itself well enough to realize it is not accurate (and might well straight up be a callout for people like them). which song is your blorbo's fight club

#whosebaby talks #general fandoms tag #shitposting #genuinely this is one of my favorite things to put in a character's playlist #for one thing i seem to like characters who listen to The Plagues and go WOW COOL BLOODTHIRSTY VENGEANCE FOR A WORLD THAT'S WRONGED YOU #and miss or ignore the part where it's meant to be tragic and moses is devastated because they're people and it's his home too #pericles is the first one that comes to mind because the autisms are autisming all over sdmi currently #but he's definitely not the only one #the only thing is it makes me a little itchy because it makes me wish i could put a little note when i share a playlist that #'no this playlist is not about them being a misunderstood hero they just have a severely distorted view of the world' #sometimes because 'misunderstood hero' would be uh. uhhhhh. it would sure have Implications with some instances #but also because No That's Wrong!! the distortion in their pov is what makes them a good character!!! in my own interpretation or otherwise! #pericles loses So Much Depth if you just play his understandable and even admirable traits as unironic instead of twisted and warped #and gone horribly wrong thanks to how his flaws and external life circumstances t-boned those positive/reasonable traits + motivations #where did he make his own choices to lean into it when he did have the agency to do otherwise #(see: i think in the newniverse; without the entity's influence; the very things that make him such a terrifyingly effective force) #(which are his primary expression of being an evil piece of shit due to his trauma and external circumstances and his reaction to them) #(and the choices he makes about them; would make him an equally effective force for good because they'd make him an *amazing* activist) #'i am my own definition of a vengeful righteous hero dishing out justice against real evil' is his extremely warped idea of what he's doing #he thinks he's the main protagonist of hell's coming with me and he's. not. he's just enough steps to the left to be a horror instead #anyway i love him and i love assigning songs like this your honor #professor pericles #SDMItag

[istherewifiinhell]

did i ever get around to mentioning that my least favourite era of tf cartoons (2010-2017, all technically in the same 'continuity' even though. their obviously not actually. and also. that real bad comics lore) there is so much messaging around the idea that like "you need to stick up for yourself" but it will always be completely encounter to the way everyone acts, the meanness of the humour used, and that like... you have to stick up for yourself! against your direct superiors! no they are NOT beholden to you 'sticking up for yourself' and have no particular method of account. You just! Have to! and once you do! they will, ofc, due to their good nature, realise the error of their ways and redress.... i mean. maybe. at least until next episode?

do i think this has ANYTHING to do with how propagandist each show is regards to... the government, the military, police or even yeah religion, and or how they characterize their settings with having NO tf civilians/non combatants.... WELL.

#some shit #its not called cisformers #this era being sandwiched between the show that said oh the good guys govt is act like. a military propagandist state and antagonist force #[common animated w] #and the show thats like. why the war started is unclear but these ppl use to be friends and civilians but the complex relations between #warring factions makes actions reverbate like dominoes thus reestablishing peace is very hard for material practical reasons #[beloved CV narrative focus] #WELL #did think of this cause of an actually poignant real world post whoops #2010-2017 era shows ofc being. the edgy one. the preschool ones. and the copaganda one <- my favourite of the lot. believe it or not. #this is less moral outrage that THE KIDS MEDIA ISNT teaching good lessons and more like. how put. lacking both the emotional depth #to do actually good moralizing. OR the sophistication to just. have fucked up shit happen and like. damn. thats fucked up. #which again. is less caused because of the media and age demo its for. cause the shows b4 and after ARE NOT THIS. #but more. i always suspect. those FUCKING MOVIES. setting us back SEVERELY. #(in terms of how preschool age shows have no civilians is like. how everyone needs A JOB. in the SYSTEM #no Hey its COOL. if ur just. a kid. or. an unaffiliated Guy. hanging out)

[beeapocalypse]

rough idea. the beholder deliberately dreamed up a detached little slice of existence bc it never put much stock into the typical code of eldritch beasties (dreamed realities heretical bc they are viewed as attempting to escape the reality of the existence dragons rot even as it slowly kills them all) and it slowly fade out over a couple of centuries after its death. jane sometimes manages to wander into it while staying over at the falwell family home later on in his life and gets to hang out with the weird imprint of barenville falwell resulting from the beholders constant wistful reminiscing over his company

#she asks cassius about barenville one day and is forced to explain the sudden interest in the family history. freaks him out when he makes-- #--the dreams+eldritch beasty connection bc he CANNOT stomach the idea of any more of those things aorund his home (mistaking it as one just #--kind of leeching off of the general metaphysical sphere rather than it being the sole remains of the beholder) #drahomírs also got an imprint there. much less fleshed out+true to life than barenville bc the beholders always thought of him-- #--as 'spoiling the fun' so to speak. its the biggest aspect of the fading dream that frightens jane bc he KNOWS drahomír. hes an incredibly #--important person in her life and seeing cassius dismiss all depth of his character when extremely stressed out in the past-- #-- makes anything of that sort a bit of a hair trigger for her #dreamed barenville is generally real focused on hunting+research (stalking thru the forest and questioning silhouette witnesses) and-- #--food (eating not cooking) bc that is what was most central to him in the beholders eye. sometimes he will share little anecdotes and-- #--such out of nowhere as he was wont to do as a living man

[zeawesomebirdie]

The zero draft for this fic is at 8,660 words

When I first started this fic, I figured it wouldn't be longer than 5,000 words total all finished

I still have several more scenes to go

Girl help

#this is for the m@tt/chester fic #the one for bingo #i swear on the Force #i #i dont even have words #this is the second fastest ive ever drafted anything #this fic has. literally possessed me #i will not know peace until it is done #and i still havent started the *real* writing!!! #im trying a new drafting method where my zero drafts are more in depth #trying to avoid needing to do a full second rewrite you know? #i figure a more in depth zero should allow for a more polished first draft #one that requires less rewriting #which would hopefully mean more things get finished #(we shall see though)

[videostak]

saw some1 say that james chance/contortions had a beefheart influence in it and its like no they were both just listening to albert ayler u eeeediot.

#the thing is that like listening to beefheart is great but once u hear stuff his influences u can rly appreciate it #so much more #like listening to it knowing just where hes coming from and what hes doing makes the music that much more mindblowing #knowing its this weird mixture of blues rock howling wolf stuff with free jazz and contemporary classical dissonance and #that he pulls it off so effortlessly and that it doesnt feel forced makes it all the much more enjoyable i think #like theres a real genuine legit depth to it which is why ppl loved it in the first place

[spiinsparks]

         ||. don’t mind me screaming, crying, dying over how freakin complicated Sonic’s bond with the Forces Rookie would have been. Genuine friendship blooming from shared trauma, and only starting because of Sonic’s own insistence at running away from his problems? Yes.

#(like on the one hand ... he likes this new guy! they're super similar and the rookie clearly has a good heart) #(and not only that but the rookie has helped his friends survive... they helped him /escape/) #(there's something so invaluable in that...) #(but ... they're also not tails.) #(and for as capable and strong-willed and a breath-of-fresh-air that they are for sonic it would never and could never be the same) #(sonic having to deal w the constant nagging though of 'am i really friends with them or am i just using them as an escape') #(not wanting that kind of friendship for ANYBODY and trying real hard to form a genuine connection !! and succeeding !! but the guilt #still being there in some small ways at the end of the day. cos they're not who he really wants to be around) #(but the people hw /wants/ to be around he just.... he can't yet. not totally it''s too overwhelming. he's not ready) #⸨ * OOC ⸩ — he was never actually called a rodent in the games but yknow . #⸨ * HC ⸩ — i’m gonna reach for the stars although they look pretty far . #(anyways i'm working on proper in-depth pages for the forces verse bc that one /alone/ needs.... yknow. a lot of info/hc dumping)

[daydreamerdrew]

The Night Force (1982) #11

#I hope that this arc ends up exploring what I think makes Vanessa and her perspective unique #the fact that she’s spent the majority of her life institutionalized and is only just now able to go out into the world #an adult with no real experience at all #and also how despite her cheerful outlook is still traumatized #from those years of being trapped in an institution with no one listening to her #like I think that she does come across as a bit naive in her trust in the Baron #and she’s excited about venturing out into the world of 1933 #but I’d really like to see her character explored in more depth #dc #the night force #vanessa van helsing #baron winters #my posts #comic panels

[gl1tteryzebra]

Rafe + belly bulge size kink🤷‍♀️ maybe he pushes on her lower belly🫢

Idk haven't seen that with rafe

this has me 🫠🫠🫠

you'd suggested the new position to rafe after a friend spent the better half of an hour raving about how it had her seeing entire constellations in the span of a few minutes– and the blonde was more than willing to oblige.

it wasn't anything crazy, really; your lower back was hoisted off the bed by a stack of pillows, allowing rafe to reach depths you never knew existed.

his thrust were slow, measured, drawing breathy ah's from your mouth with each rocking motion. his plump lips were moving, asking you something, however your brain had turned to mush– his question struggling to bypass the dandelion fluff coating your ears. all you could focus on was the rhythmic squeak of your bed frame, the trail of heat left by his burning kisses, his fingers digging into the flesh of your waist...

and then everything stilled. there was a strange pressure on your lower abdomen, not unpleasant but foreign. the sensation sending prickles down your spine, your warm walls involuntarily clenching as your eyes shot open to be met with his darkening blue orbs.

"that got your attention, huh?"

"rafe...wha–" you could only let out a choked moan as he did it again, hissing through his teeth as you tightened around him.

"look," his ring clad fingers curled around your chin, forcing your gaze down. there– even with your cloudy mind –you saw it. below your bellybutton was a small lump protruding from the skin of your tummy. your eyes widened as he rolled forward as if to demonstrate, his cock visibly shifting within you. "you sure you can handle this dick, babe? looks like 'm 'bouta split you open."

he began to flick his hips forward again, lewdly tracing the outline over your stomach, entranced by the sight of your body's morphing into one. "ra–mmph!"

"fucked you so good you can't even think, that's cute, real cute," he pressed down again, and this time stars exploded behind your eyes, toes curling as mouth fell open in a state of shock– you never came that fast.

“fuck me." he groaned, continuing to shallowly fuck you through it as laboured breaths slowly returned to normal.

"gotta thank that friend of yours," you nodded your dazed head in agreement. "now lem'me get my fill."

sincerely ~ 🦓༝༚༝༚

#rafe cameron drabble #rafe cameron smut #rafe cameron prompt #rafe cameron x reader #divider by @fairytopea #fem reader

[eelhound]

"The idea of reforming Omelas is a pleasant idea, to be sure, but it is one that Le Guin herself specifically tells us is not an option. No reform of Omelas is possible — at least, not without destroying Omelas itself:

If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of that vile place, if it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed. Those are the terms.

'Those are the terms', indeed. Le Guin’s original story is careful to cast the underlying evil of Omelas as un-addressable — not, as some have suggested, to 'cheat' or create a false dilemma, but as an intentionally insurmountable challenge to the reader. The premise of Omelas feels unfair because it is meant to be unfair. Instead of racing to find a clever solution ('Free the child! Replace it with a robot! Have everyone suffer a little bit instead of one person all at once!'), the reader is forced to consider how they might cope with moral injustice that is so foundational to their very way of life that it cannot be undone. Confronted with the choice to give up your entire way of life or allow someone else to suffer, what do you do? Do you stay and enjoy the fruits of their pain? Or do you reject this devil’s compromise at your own expense, even knowing that it may not even help? And through implication, we are then forced to consider whether we are — at this very moment! — already in exactly this situation. At what cost does our happiness come? And, even more significantly, at whose expense? And what, in fact, can be done? Can anything?

This is the essential and agonizing question that Le Guin poses, and we avoid it at our peril. It’s easy, but thoroughly besides the point, to say — as the narrator of 'The Ones Who Don’t Walk Away' does — that you would simply keep the nice things about Omelas, and work to address the bad. You might as well say that you would solve the trolley problem by putting rockets on the trolley and having it jump over the people tied to the tracks. Le Guin’s challenge is one that can only be resolved by introspection, because the challenge is one levied against the discomforting awareness of our own complicity; to 'reject the premise' is to reject this (all too real) discomfort in favor of empty wish fulfillment. A happy fairytale about the nobility of our imagined efforts against a hypothetical evil profits no one but ourselves (and I would argue that in the long run it robs us as well).

But in addition to being morally evasive, treating Omelas as a puzzle to be solved (or as a piece of straightforward didactic moralism) also flattens the depth of the original story. We are not really meant to understand Le Guin’s 'walking away' as a literal abandonment of a problem, nor as a self-satisfied 'Sounds bad, but I’m outta here', the way Vivier’s response piece or others of its ilk do; rather, it is framed as a rejection of complacency. This is why those who leave are shown not as triumphant heroes, but as harried and desperate fools; hopeless, troubled souls setting forth on a journey that may well be doomed from the start — because isn’t that the fate of most people who set out to fight the injustices they see, and that they cannot help but see once they have been made aware of it? The story is a metaphor, not a math problem, and 'walking away' might just as easily encompass any form of sincere and fully committed struggle against injustice: a lonely, often thankless journey, yet one which is no less essential for its difficulty."

- Kurt Schiller, from "Omelas, Je T'aime." Blood Knife, 8 July 2022.

#kurt schiller #ursula k. le guin #quote #quotations #the ones who walk away from omelas #trolley problem #activism #introspection #discomfort #reform #revolution #suffering #ethics #morality